New arena for Nanaimo? . . . Dillabaugh, Mast in demand? . . . Americans win another title

thank you so much everyone who helped and came out this weekend!! It means the world to us to see you out there!

— RD memorial (@RDMtournament) June 15, 2015

Most Fun I've Had In A Long Time, Thank You @RDMtournament Great Event And Better Cause 👍 @kellanlavallee @QuailLeroux78 @AaronMarkin

— Eric Callegari (@EricCallegari) June 15, 2015

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F Ryan Harrison (Prince Albert, Medicine Hat, Everett, 2007-13) signed a one-year contract with Olofström (Sweden, Division 2). This season, with the University of Calgary (CIS), he had three goals and 14 assists in 23 games. . . .
F Brennan Bosch (Medicine Hat, 2005-09) signed a one-year contract with Harzer Falken Braunlage (Germany, Oberliga). This season, Bosch captained the University of Saskatchewan Huskies (CIS). He had nine goals and 16 assists in 28 games. . . .
F Kevin Undershute (Medicine Hat, Portland, 2004-08) signed a one-year contract with Harzer Falken Braunlage (Germany, Oberliga). This season, with the Eston Ramblers (Sask Valley Hockey League), he had 53 points, 21 of them goals, in 21 games. He led the Ramblers in scoring and was sixth in the league. . . .
D Bohdan Višňák (Saskatoon, 2006-07) signed a one-year extension with Nice (France, Division 1). This season, he had one goal and eight assists in 24 games.
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Ever since the Chilliwack Bruins scurried across the Strait of Georgia to Victoria during the summer of 2011 and were re-born as the Royals, the WHL has yearned for a second team on Vancouver Island.
The natural choice is Nanaimo. The problem, of course, is that there isn’t an arena there that meets WHL requirements.
However, it seems there is a move afoot to build a new arena in Nanaimo.
Brian Martin, who owns the Howard Johnson Hotel and approximately eight acres of land there, is wanting to build a sports and entertainment complex in downtown Nanaimo. The total cost would be somewhere around $80 million.
The project would include a 5,000-seat arena.
Spencer Anderson of the Nanaimo Daily News has more right here.
Once a shovel goes into the ground on a new arena, the lineup to own the Nanaimo WHL franchise will form on the right.
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There also is a report that Surrey, B.C., wants to get involved in a public-private partnership that would result in a new arena next to the Scott Road SkyTrain Station. . . . Were that arena to be built to WHL standards, you are free to wonder whether the Vancouver Giants would be interested in moving from the aged Pacific Coliseum. . . . Michael Mui of 24 Hours Vancouver has more on a possible new arena right here.
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Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada filed his latest 30 Thoughts on Sunday. This one includes mention of Kim Dillabaugh, who had a good run as the Kelowna Rockets’ goaltending coach, and Lyle Mast, the Tri-City Americans’ goaltending coach. . . . 30 Thoughts is right here.
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If the Tampa Bay Lightning is to win the Stanley Cup, it will have to go seven games to do it. If that happens, Stacy Roest would become the eighth former Medicine Hat Tigers player with at least one Stanley Cup ring. Roest, 40, is the Lightning’s director of player development. . . . There’s more right here. . . . With the AHL having been decided on Saturday night and the ECHL last night, the NHL is the last one standing. Of course, the Chicago Blackhawks can end it in Game 6 at home tonight.
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In the ECHL, the host Allen Americans scored two first-period goals 1:16 apart and went on to a 6-1 victory over the South Carolina Stingrays in Game 7 of the Kelly Cup final. . . . The Americans have won a championship each of the past three seasons. They won the last two Central league titles before the league was absorbed by the ECHL. . . . F Chad Costello (10:31) and F Vincent Arseneau (11:47) got the Americans off to a 2-0 lead and they never looked back. . . . The Americans’ lineup includes F Spencer Asuchak (Tri-City, Prince George, 2008-12) and F Dyson Stevenson (Regina, 2010-14). . . . Asuchak had 21 points, including 11 goals, in 25 playoff games, while Stevenson had eight points, three of them goals, in 23 games. . . . Attendance last night was 6,125. . . . The game sheet is right here. . . . Ryan Gerbosi of the Dallas Morning News has a gamer right here.
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Congrats to pal Mike Stothers on leading his @MonarchsHockey to the Calder Cup Championship! #jobwelldone #waytogoGoldie

— Don Nachbaur (@HCChiefs42) June 14, 2015

Congrats to my old liney Steve Martinson who directed his @AllenAmericans to the Kelly Cup. Special congrats to @Asuchak16

— Don Nachbaur (@HCChiefs42) June 15, 2015

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Report: Leafs make offer to McCrimmon . . . Tigers sign two D-men . . . Raiders newser today

Most Sundays, the Toronto Sun contains a column of odds and ends that is written by Steve Simmons. The one that appeared yesterday included this:
“Leafs have an offer on the table with Kelly McCrimmon, owner, general manager and coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings. When (Leafs president Brendan) Shanahan was hiring Mark Hunter, he kept asking people who are the best talent evaluators in the business: Hunter’s name always came up, right along with McCrimmon. The question with McCrimmon: Whether he wants to walk away from junior hockey empire for an NHL gig?”
There has been enough smoke involving the Maple Leafs and McCrimmon over the past few days that there obviously is something going on here.
There was a time, and not that long ago, when McCrimmon would have jumped at an opportunity such as this. That was then; this is now.
The difference now is that he has put together a team that reached the WHL final this season, a team that is poised for a dominant WHL season in 2015-16, and you can bet that the decision facing McCrimmon is much tougher than it would have been.
One thing is for certain — he wouldn’t consider leaving unless he knew he was leaving the Wheat Kings in good hands. That isn’t a problem off the ice, where his front-office staff, led by Rick Dillabough and Lyn Shannon, is second to none.
But should he leave, who would be the head coach. Assistant coach Darren Ritchie has been on staff for seven seasons, the last three in a full-time position. David Anning has been an assistant coach in Brandon for three seasons.
Should McCrimmon leave, does he promote Ritchie to head coach and bring in another assistant? If that were to happen, who would be the general manager? Or, would McCrimmon hire a general manager/head coach?
Of course, all of this is speculation. At the end of the day, it could be that McCrimmon simply decides to stay put. If he does that, however, he will do it while wondering if the NHL ship will ever come his way again. He’s 54 now, so that is a valid question.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers looked after some signings on Sunday. No, it didn’t have anything to do with a lease for the Canalta Centre. . . . Rather, the Tigers signed two selections, both defencemen, from the 2015 WHL bantam draft. . . . Layne Matechuk was taken with the 39th selection after putting up 38 points in 31 games with the bantam AA Humboldt Broncos. . . . Cole Clayton was taken six picks later. He had 30 points in 33 games with the bantam AAA Rocky Mountain Raiders.
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First, it was FIFA. Then, it was Hope Solo. Both dealt black eyes to soccer. Richard Deitsch, who writes about the media for si.com, takes a look right here at how Fox Sports handled what went on Sunday involving Solo, the goalkeeper for the U.S. national women’s soccer team.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia News is reporting that the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers have interviewed Kris Knoblauch, the head coach of the OHL’s Erie Otters. Apparently, the Flyers are looking for a head coach for their AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms. . . . Knoblauch played in the WHL with the Red Deer Rebels, Edmonton/Kootenay Ice and Lethbridge Hurricanes (1996-99) and has coached with the Prince Albert Raiders and the Ice. . . . Seravalli reports that Knoblauch also has spoken with two or three other NHL teams who have openings with their AHL affiliates. . . . Servalli’s report is right here.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have scheduled a news conference for this morning at which they are expected to introduce Curtis Hunt as their new general manager. Hunt resigned Friday as general manager and head coach of the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons. Hunt is a former Raiders defenceman who was a freshman on the team that won the 1985 Memorial Cup.
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The Prince George-based Cariboo Cougars will be the host team for the 2017 Telus Cup tournament, at which the national midget AAA championship is decided. Ted Clarke of the Prince George Citizen has more right here.
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In the AHL, F Nic Dowd scored at 5:36 of OT to give the host Manchester Monarchs a 2-1 victory over the Utica Comets in the Calder Cup final. . . . The Monarchs lead the series 2-0 as the teams head to Utica for Game 3 on Wednesday. . . . Manchester won the opener 3-2 in OT on Saturday. . . . Last night, F Zach O’Brien gave the Monarchs a 1-0 lead with a PP goal at 19:05 of the first period. . . . F Nicklas Jensen pulled the Comets even at 1:12 of the second. . . . Attendance was 6,078. . . . Dowd also had an assist on O’Brien’s goal. . . . The Monarchs are affiliated with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings; the Comets with the Vancouver Canucks.
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In the ECHL, F Vincent Arsenault’s goal at 8:49 of the second OT gave the visiting Allen Americans a 3-2 victory over the South Carolina Stingrays in Game 4 of the Kelly Cup final. . . . The series is 2-2 with Game 5 scheduled for Tuesday in the North Charleston Coliseum. . . . F Dyson Stevenson, who played with the Regina Pats (2010-14), had a goal and an assist as the Americans took a 2-0 lead with goals 29 seconds part in the first period. . . . South Carolina F Caleb Herbert forced OT with a goal at 11:49 of the second period. . . . Attendance was 7,058.
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I say this every year, but the OHL and WHL are really missing out by doing their drafts online. The Q crushes it with the show they put on.

— Willy Palov (@WillyPalov) June 6, 2015

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Hurricanes' new coach is . . . Robison reacts to Lethbridge vote . . . Ex-Seattle goalie to coach Ravens

The Lethbridge Hurricanes will introduce a new head coach on Thursday afternoon and social media speculation has it that the new man is Brent Kisio. . . . Kisio has spent the past eight seasons with the Calgary Hitmen, moving from video coach/assistant coach to associate coach. . . . The son of former Hitmen head coach Kelly Kisio, Brent played four seasons at the U of Nebraska-Omaha, graduating with a degree in criminology. . . . He has been Calgary’s associate coach for three seasons. . . .
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes and assistant coach Bryan Maxwell mutually decided to go their separate ways on Tuesday. Maxwell, a veteran WHL coach, is a former Hurricanes general manager and head coach (1995-03) who returned as an assistant last summer.
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The fallout and reaction continues from the Hurricanes shareholders’ meeting that took place in Lethbridge on Monday evening.
At that meeting, attendees voted 68 per cent in favour of moving forward with the process to sell the franchise. However, that wasn’t enough as the Hurricanes’ constitution calls for a 75 per cent majority in order to go ahead. Thus, the franchise will remain in the hands of the community.
Interestingly, Mike Moore, the general manager and vice-president of business operations of the rival Calgary Hitmen, attended the meeting. It seems the NHL’s Calgary Flames, who own the Hitmen, own 86 shares in the Hurricanes.
All of which leads to this question: What are the optics of one WHL team, a privately owned team at that, owning shares in a community-owned rival?
The Hitmen, of course, are owned by the NHL’s Calgary Flames. Did the Flames own a piece of the Hurricanes when they purchased the Hitmen in 1997? If they did, why weren’t the Flames forced to divest themselves of those shares at that time?
Ron Robison, the WHL commissioner, addressed that issue in an interview with Pat Siedlecki, the news director at CJOC in Lethbridge:
“It’s a historical matter that has not been resolved and we will certainly be addressing that . . . the reality is that the Flames do have shares that were acquired many years ago and remain in a position to exercise those rights under the shareholder agreement. Consequently, they were eligible and had the right to attend the meeting.”
Asked if it was a conflict, Robison replied:
“It is certainly under private ownership, but it remains for interpretation under community ownership. Our view is that the matter needs to be addressed and will be addressed in the near future with both the Lethbridge Hurricanes and the Calgary Hitmen.”
Meanwhile, Robison told Siedlecki that the WHL has to “respect the excision of the shareholders.”
Robison added that there was an obvious sign that “the majority wish to go that direction, but at the end of the day the constitution stands with respect to 75 per cent as a requirement. . . . Consequently, the community ownership will continue in Lethbridge and we intend to get fully behind the community ownership and the board to support them to the full extent.”
Robison, who early in May had recommended to shareholders that they sell the franchise to private interests, did admit to being surprised by Monday’s decision.
“I guess I would be a little bit, only because I think there was a strong movement in that direction,” he stated. “Now we need to move on to do what we need to do to support and strengthen the community ownership.”
Asked if the franchise might still be privatized down the road, Robison said: “The only way that would occur is if the club could no longer meet its financial obligations, and we are hopeful that’s not going to be the case. We have to show every confidence in the board and their ability to turn things around. . . . We are going to watch very carefully and ensure that the business plan is realistic.”
The complete interview is right here. It runs five minutes 42 seconds.
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Despite the fact that F Connor McDavid and his Erie Otters weren’t in the Memorial Cup tournament, the championship game, between the Oshawa Generals and Kelowna Rockets, did quite well in terms of TV viewership. In fact, it drew the second largest Memorial Cup audience in Sportsnet history -- an average viewership of 759,000. . . . Chris Zelkovich of Yahoo! Sports Canada has more right here.
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Tom Gaglardi, the owner of the NHL’s Dallas Stars and the majority owner of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, wasn’t in court Tuesday as the Crown’s appeal of an earlier judgment was heard. . . . The Crown has asked that fines against Gaglardi and his company, Northland Properties, be doubled after both were convicted of damaging salmon habitat. . . . Tim Petruk of Kamloops This Week has that story right here.
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Don't forget to check out our poll over there on the right, and take a stab at picking the next head coach of the Vancouver Giants.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Danny Lorenz, a former WHL goaltender, has signed on as the head coach of the Seattle Ravens, who are preparing for their first season in the seven-team Northern Pacific Hockey League. . . . Lorenz, 45, played four seasons with the Seattle Thunderbirds (1986-90) before going on to a 14-season pro career. . . . Of late, he has been the hockey director at the Kent Valley Hockey Association. . . . The NPHL is a junior league with teams playing a 42-game regular season. The other teams are the Cheney Icehawks, Eugene Generals, West Sound Warriors, Wenatchee Wolves, Bellingham Blazers and Tri-City Outlaws.
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The Regina Pats have signed D Dawson Barteaux, who was the 14th overall selection in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. Barteaux, from Foxwarren, Man., played this season with the Yellowhead Chiefs, who play in the Winnipeg bantam AAA league. He had 27 points, including seven goals, in 31 games. . . . Barteaux was one of 34 prospects to attend the Pats’ spring camp last weekend.
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The Kamloops Blazers have signed F James Shepard, who was their first selection in the 2015 bantam draft. He was the 22nd player selected, taken with the first pick of the second round. . . . The 5-foot-8, 155-pound Shepard, who is from West Vancouver, had 111 points, including 32 goals, in 61 games with the North Shore Winter Club’s bantam AAA team that won the Western Canadian bantam championship. . . . It is expected that Shepard will play with the major midget Vancouver-Northwest Giants in 2015-16. . . . The Blazers now have signed their first two picks from the 2015 bantam draft. D Devan Harrison of Dysart, Sask., who was taken three picks after Shepard, signed on May 13.
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In the AHL, a couple of former WHL coaches have guided their teams into the Calder Cup final. . . . Travis Green and his Utica Comets scored a 2-0 victory over the visiting Grand Rapids Griffins last night to win the Western Conference final, 4-2. . . . The Comets (Vancouver Canucks) will meet Mike Stothers and his Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings) in the final. The series will follow a 2-3-2 format with Games 1 and 2 in Manchester, N.H., on Saturday and Sunday. . . . The teams had the AHL’s top two regular-season records. . . . The Comets are in their second AHL season. The Monarchs are moving to Ontario, Calif., after this season. . . . The two teams have never played against each other. . . . Last night, F Cory Conacher scored at 3:16 of the second period and F Alexandre Grenier added an empty-netter at 18:46 of the third. . . . Utica G Jacob Markstrom stopped 21 shots. . . . Attendance was 3,835.
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F Spencer Asuchak and F Dyson Stevenson, both former WHLers, each had a goal and an assist last night as the host Allen Americans scored a 5-2 victory over the South Carolina Stingrays in Game 2 of the ECHL’s championship final. . . . The series, using a 3-3-1 format, is tied 1-1 with Game 3 in Allen tonight. . . . Stevenson scored his second playoff goal at 6:05 of the first period to open the scoring. Asuchak’s 11th playoff goal, at 4:43 of the third, gave Allen a 4-1 lead. . . . Attendance was 3,804. . . . Asuchak, from Kamloops, played with the Tri-City Americans and Prince George Cougars (2008-12). . . . Stevenson, from Shaunavon, Sask., played for the Regina Pats (2010-13).

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Conference finals resume Friday night

D Brett Festerling (Tri-City, Vancouver, 2001-07) signed a four-year contract with the Hamburg Freezers (Germany, DEL), where he joins twin brother Garrett. This season with Nuremberg (Germany, DEL), Brett had 11 points, including two goals, in 31 games. The Festerlings hold dual Canadian-German citizenship. . . .
F Daine Todd (Medicine Hat, 2003-08) has signed a two-year contract with Jokerit Helsinki (Finland, KHL). This season, with Portland (AHL), he had 32 points, four of them goals, in 54 games. . . .
F Curtis Huppe (Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Tri-City, 1995-2000) has signed a one-year extension with the Guildford Flames (England, Premier). Huppe missed most of this season due to injury, but did have seven points, including four goals, in eight games with the Flames.
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Queen City Sports & Entertainment has confirmed the names of its partners as it works through the process of purchasing the Regina Pats from Diane and Russ Parker of Calgary.
Anthony Marquart, who heads up QCSE, is joined by former WHL goaltender Todd Lumbard, Jason Drummond of DGC Entertainment Inc., and Shaun and Gavin Semple of Brandt Entertainment Inc., all of Regina. (Gavin and Shaun Semple are father and son, respectively. Jack Semple, a Canadian guitar player of note, is another son.)
According to a QCSE news release, “Marquart also said that in the coming weeks they will be sitting down with all Pats management, coaches, and employees to discuss their needs, their ideas, their goals, and their career aspirations. Once they’ve done that, they’ll be rolling out a business plan that will chart a course for a successful future for all of the Pats stakeholders – especially the fans.”
The WHL’s board of governors is expected to approve the sale on April 30 in Calgary.
(If you are at all curious about the Semple family, you may want to give this right here a read. It’s from the Prairie Policy Centre and details the growth of the Brandt brand.)
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1. If you watched Canada beat Switzerland 3-2 in a quarterfinal game at the IIHF U-18 world championship on Thursday, you saw a prime example of how puck possession is most times more important than playing dump and chase. . . . Canadian D Travis Sanheim of the Calgary Hitmen mishandled a pass at the Swiss blueline and had to retreat into the neutral zone. He got control of the puck, with his head up, then stepped up and then around a Swiss defenceman to create 2-on-1 with F Travis Konecny, who took the pass, deked to the backhand and got the winner. . . . I’m thinking Sanheim’s draft standing, at least with a few NHL teams, jumped a few spots on that one play alone. He was at No. 53 among North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s last rankings.

2. I’m still trying to get my mind around the fact that New York Yankees starter Michael Pineda drew a 10-game suspension for using pine tar, while F Matt Cooke of the Minnesota Wild got seven games for a knee-on-knee collision that took an opponent out for what is expected to be four to six weeks.

3. What makes the Pineda suspension even more confusing is that virtually every baseball person who has spoken about this admits that most pitchers use pine tar, or another foreign substance, to help their grip on the baseball, especially in cooler weather.

4. What makes the Pineda suspension even more confusing than that . . . hitters say they don’t mind pitchers using pine tar to improve their grip, something that gives them better control. No pine tar might mean more hit batters and who wants that?

5. The adage “If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’ ” used to belong to NASCAR. These days, it apparently belongs to Major League Baseball.

6. Rick Reilly, once of Sports Illustrated, now of ESPN.com, has written a column that is full of some truths that he has discovered over time. Of course, they all are true, including: “The best sports book ever written was Ball Four. Everything else has just been an attempt to copy it.” . . . That column is right here.

7. It was in the third period when TSN’s Gord Miller, calling the Boston at Detroit Stanley Cup game, said it was “Hudson Bay rules” and you knew right then that the Red Wings were done. Detroit GM Ken Holland and head coach Mike Babcock need to admit that the Red Wings won’t win anything unless they find another Bob Probert or Joey Kocur to ride shotgun and create room for the skaters.

8. Detroit F Henrik Zetterberg returned to action for the first time since a back injury took him out of the Sochi Olympics. Can we just give him the Grizzly Adams Award for best beard in the playoffs?

9. If the Portland Winterhawks and Edmonton Oil Kings both win their next games, it will set up the third straight WHL championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup between these two teams. . . . It also will be Portland’s fourth straight trip to the final. . . . Portland is in Kelowna tonight with a 3-1 lead on the Rockets; the Oil Kings are at home on Saturday and hold a 3-1 edge on the Medicine Hat Tigers.

10. Team Canada beat Switzerland 3-2 in a quarterfinal game at the IIHF U-18 world championship in Finland on Thursday. Canada will meet the Czechs in a Saturday semifinal game. The game starts at 9 a.m. Pacific time and will be shown on TSN. The other semifinal features Sweden and the U.S. It starts at 5 a.m. Pacific.
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F Dyson Stevenson, who played out his junior eligibility with the Regina Pats this season, has signed a one-year deal with the AHL’s Portland Pirates. Stevenson had 76 points, including 38 goals, in 68 games with the Pats this season. In 252 career regular-season games with Regina, he had 168 points, including 75 goals.
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The OHL’s Owen Sound Attack has signed general manager Dale DeGray, head coach Greg Ireland, assistant coach Drew Bannister and athletic therapist Andy Brown to contract extensions. . . . DeGray now is signed through 2016-17, which will be his 10th season as GM. . . . Ireland, who has been head coach for three seasons, is signed through 2015-16. . . . Bannister has been with the Attack for two seasons. . . . Brown, who has been with the Attack since 2005-06, is signed through 2016-17.
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After playing three seasons (2010-13) with the Edmonton Oil Kings, F Stephane Legault didn’t play hockey in 2013-14, choosing not to play his 20-year-old season. Instead, he attended NAIT in Edmonton. . . . Now, Legault, who had 105 points in 172 regular-season games with the Oil Kings, has committed to attend the U of Alberta and play for the CIS-champion Golden Bears in the fall. Legault, who turned 21 on March 3, is from Edmonton.
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THE THIRD ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
(x - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
EDMONTON (1) vs. MEDICINE HAT (4)
(Edmonton leads, 3-1)
Season series: Edmonton, 5-0-1; Medicine Hat, 1-5-0.
(All games on Shaw TV)
Friday: Medicine Hat 3 at Edmonton 8 (7,694)
Sunday: Medicine Hat 1 at Edmonton 3 (5,763)
Tuesday: Edmonton 1 at Medicine Hat 2 (3,189)
Wednesday: Edmonton 4 at Medicine Hat 1 (3,832)
Saturday: Medicine Hat at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
x-Monday: Edmonton at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
x-Tuesday: Medicine Hat at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Edmonton: D Blake Orban, day-to-day.
Medicine Hat: F Anthony Ast, day-to-day; F Gavin Broadhead, day-to-day; F Hunter Shinkaruk, indefinite.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
KELOWNA (1) vs. PORTLAND (2)
(Portland leads, 3-1)
Season series: Kelowna, 4-0-0; Portland, 0-4-0.
Friday: Portland 4 at Kelowna 5 (6,218)
Saturday: Portland 5 at Kelowna 3 (6,341)
Tuesday: Kelowna 3 at Portland 4 (OT) (9,259)
Wednesday: Kelowna 1 at Portland 5 (9,744)
Friday: Portland at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
x-Sunday: Kelowna at Portland, 2 p.m.
x-Tuesday: Portland at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Kelowna: F Myles Bell, week-to-week.
Portland: None.
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THURSDAY’S GAMES:
No games scheduled.

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Tiebreaker Tuesday belongs to Raiders

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jaroslav Vlach (Prince George, 2009-11) had his club option picked up by Liberec (Czech Republic, Extraliga) for next season. This season, Vlach had seven points, four of them goals, in 36 games with Liberec. While on loan to Benatky nad Jizerou (Czech Republic, 1. Liga), he had six points, including three goals, in nine games.
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F Tim Bozon of the Kootenay Ice continues to make progress as he battles Neisseria meningitis in Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital.
Bozon, who is to turn 20 on Monday, has been in hospital since March 1. His parents, Helene and Philippe, have been with him since arriving from their home in Switzerland on March 2.
While there has been no official news this week, someone familiar with the situation told me that “Tim is improving each and every day” and that there are “lots of positives of late.”
The WHL has established a trust fund to help Tim and his family with medical and rehabilitation costs. You are able to contribute at any BMO Bank of Montreal in Western Canada. . . . Should you live outside of that area, please mail donations to:
Western Hockey League
c/o Tim Bozon
Father David Bauer Arena
2424 University Drive NW
Calgary AB
T2N 3Y9
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The Regina Pats are expected to be fined by the WHL office after they ran a closed practice earlier this week. As Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports in today’s paper, closing practices is in violation of the league’s media policy that states all regular-season and playoff “practice sessions and game-day skates” must be open to the media. . . . “We’ve clarified that with them and we’ll take the appropriate action,” WHL commissioner Ron Robison told Harder. Robison also said that “in all likelihood there will be a fine” to the Pats. “They’re entitled to close to the general public but not media. (Restricted public access) is pretty common, especially at this time of year.”
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Harder also reported that the Pats may be without F Dyson Stevenson, their leading scorer, when they open a first-round series against the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday night. Stevenson has a broken hand and, according to Harder, his “status depends on whether he’s cleared to use a playing cast.” . . . D Kyle Burroughs, the team captain, is expected to play in Game 1, while D Colby Williams is day-to-day. G Daniel Wapple (sprained ankle) may not be ready.
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D Brett Kulak of the Vancouver Giants has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Calgary Flames. Kulak, from Stony Plain, Alta., was a fourth-round selection in the NHL’s 2012 bantam draft. . . . This season, he put up 60 points, including 14 goals, in 69 games. In his third WHL season, he had career highs in goals, assists and points. . . .
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The Saskatoon Blades just completed one of the most futile seasons in the franchise’s history. Of course, it was somewhat predictable after they sold the farm, the village and the rural municipality in an attempt to win the Memorial Cup on home ice last season. . . . But what of general manager Lorne Molleken and head coach Dave Struch? Molleken has two years left on his contract; Struch’s contract is up in a few months. . . . Majority owner Mike Priestner says there will be meetings on Friday and decisions may be made from there. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here.
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Les Lazaruk, the long-time play-by-play voice of the Saskatoon Blades, is of the opinion that the Blades’ new owners should keep head coach David Struch. Lazaruk explains his thinking right here.
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General manager Brad Robson of the Lethbridge Hurricanes has told Dylan Purcell of the Lethbridge Herald that head coach Drake Berehowsky and assistant coach Mike Craig will be back for 2014-15. Both just completed their first seasons as the Hurricanes missed the playoffs for a fifth straight season. Robson, a long-time scout and assistant GM, also completed his first season as GM. He said his future is up the team’s board of directors. . . . That story is right here.
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Chances are that when the San Jose Sharks’ season comes to an end, whenever that may be, head coach Todd McLellan won’t be putting money on the line when he’s on the golf course with his son, Cale, 14. . . . Earlier this week, Cale scored back-to-back aces while playing a tournament on a 913-yard short course. . . . The evidence is right here.
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F Spencer Bast, a list player, has signed with the Kamloops Blazers. Bast, who turned 17 on Jan. 5, is in his second season with the midget AAA Battlefords Stars. He was second in this season’s scoring race with 68 points, 31 of them goals, in 44 games. . . . From Macklin, Sask., Bast is leading the Saskatchewan Midget AAA league’s playoff scoring race with 15 points, seven of them goals, in six games. The Stars are 6-0 in the playoffs and have advanced to the championship final. They will meet the Regina Pat Canadians or Notre Dame Argos, who are to meet tonight in Game 5 of a best-of-five semifinal.
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There’s another Helgesen in the WHL. . . . D Tyson Helgesen, 16, has joined the Spokane Chiefs from the AJHL’s Whitecourt Wolverines, whose season is over. Helgesen was a fifth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. He had five assists in 55 games with Whitecourt this season. . . . Tyson’s older brother, Kenton, plays for the Calgary Hitmen.
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G Travis Child has joined the Swift Current Broncos. He was a second-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft. Child, who will turn 17 on June 13, is from Killam, Alta. He played this season with the midget AAA Sherwood Park, Alta., Kings. . . . The WHL’s bantam draft lottery is scheduled to be held this morning at the league’s office in Calgary. The Lethbridge Hurricanes, Kamloops Blazers, Saskatoon Blades, Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince George Cougars and Red Deer Rebels will be taking part. They are the non-playoff teams. . . . D Jesse Forsberg, who completed his WHL eligibility with the Moose Jaw Warriors this season, has signed an ATO with the ECHL’s Colorado Eagles. . . . Former Brandon Wheat Kings captain Ken Schneider has stepped down after four seasons as head coach of the midget AAA Wheat Kings. According to a tweet from the midget AAA team’s account, it had a .724 winning percentage under Schneider’s guidance.
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TUESDAY’S TIEBREAKER:
In Red Deer, they called it Tiebreaker Tuesday. It just as easily could have been Heartbreaker Tuesday. . . . The Prince Albert Raiders scored three third-period goals to erase a 3-2 deficit and beat the Rebels 5-3 in a game that decided the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. . . . The two teams had finished the regular season in a tie for eighth place. . . . The Raiders now will meet the Edmonton Oil Kings, the conference’s No. 1 seed, in the first round. That series will open in Edmonton on Saturday afternoon. . . . F Jayden Hart gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead at 7:08 of the first period, with Red Deer equalizing at 11:52 on a goal by F Wyatt Johnson. . . . Hart also had two assists. . . . F Evan Polei gave Red Deer the lead at 7:43 of the second period, only to have Prince Albert F Reid Gardiner tie it at 11:1. . . . Red Deer F Rhyse Dieno gave his side the lead on a PP at 13:57. . . . The Raiders then took the lead again, this time with two quick goals early in the third period. F Collin Valcourt, a Red Deer native who was celebrating his 21st birthday, scored at 2:21, on the PP, and F Dakota Conroy broke the tie at 4:43. . . . Raiders F Leon Draisaitl drew assists on the tying and winning goals. . . . Raiders D Josh Morrissey iced it with an empty-netter at 19:45. . . . Raiders G Nick McBride stopped 27 shots, while Red Deer’s Patrik Bartosak turned aside 42. . . . This was the fifth tiebreaker in WHL history and the first one to be decided by more than one goal. . . . The Rebels had forced the tiebreaker with a 5-0 victory in Edmonton on Sunday. The Oil Kings scratched a number of veteran players from that game, something that no doubt will provide the Raiders with at least some motivation. . . . Prince Albert’s roster includes five players from Edmonton and surrounding area.
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THE FIRST ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
(x - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE





EDMONTON (1) vs. PRINCE ALBERT (8)
Season series: Edmonton, 2-1-1; Prince Albert, 2-2-0.
Saturday: Prince Albert at Edmonton, 1:30 p.m.
Sunday: Prince Albert at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Tuesday: Edmonton at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, March 26: Edmonton at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
x-Saturday, March 29: Prince Albert at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
x-Sunday, March 30: Edmonton at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
x-Tuesday, April 1: Prince Albert at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Edmonton: F Brandon Baddock, 3-5 weeks; D Blake Orban, indefinite.
Prince Albert: D Graeme Craig, indefinite.
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REGINA (2) vs. BRANDON (7)
Season series: Brandon, 5-3-0; Regina, 3-3-2.
Saturday: Brandon at Regina, 7 p.m.
Sunday: Brandon at Regina, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, March 26: Regina at Brandon, 7 p.m.
Friday, March 28: Regina at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
x-Saturday, March 29: Brandon at Regina, 7 p.m.
x-Monday, March 31: Regina vs. Brandon, site TBA, 7 p.m.
x-Wednesday, April 2: Brandon at Regina, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Brandon: None.
Regina: D Kyle Burroughs, day-to-day; D Tye Hand, indefinite; G Daniel Wapple, indefinite; D Colby Williams, day-to-day; F Dyson Stevenson, day-to-day.
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CALGARY (3) vs. KOOTENAY (6)
Season series: Calgary, 4-4-0; Kootenay, 4-2-2.
Thursday: Kootenay at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Saturday: Kootenay at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Monday: Calgary at Kootenay, 7 p.m.
Tuesday: Calgary at Kootenay, 7 p.m.
x-Thursday, March 27: Kootenay at Calgary, 7 p.m.
x-Saturday, March 29: Calgary at Kootenay, 7 p.m.
x-Monday, March 31: Kootenay at Calgary, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Calgary: F Cal Babych, day-to-day; F Radel Fazleev, day-to-day; F Connor Rankin, day-to-day.
Kootenay: F Tim Bozon, indefinite; F Ryan Chynoweth, indefinite; D Landon Cross, 1 week; D Tanner Faith, 3-5 months; D Landon Peel, 1 week.
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MEDICINE HAT (4) vs. SWIFT CURRENT (5)
Season series: Medicine Hat, 2-2-0; Swift Current, 2-2-0.
Friday: Swift Current at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: Swift Current at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday: Medicine Hat at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, March 26: Medicine Hat at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
x-Saturday, March 29: Swift Current at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
x-Sunday, March 30: Medicine Hat at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
x-Tuesday, April 1: Swift Current at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Medicine Hat: F Gavin Broadhead, day-to-day; F Hunter Shinkaruk, indefinite.
Swift Current: None.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE





KELOWNA (1) vs. TRI-CITY (8)
Season series: Kelowna, 4-4-0; Regina, 0-3-1.
Saturday: Tri-City at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday: Tri-City at Kelowna, 5:05 p.m.
Tuesday: Kelowna at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday, March 26: Kelowna at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.
x-Friday, March 28: Tri-City at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
x-Saturday, March 29: Kelowna at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.
x-Tuesday, April 1: Tri-City at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
(NOTE: Tri-City plays home games in Kennewick, Wash.)
INJURIES
Kelowna: F Tyson Baillie, 1-2 weeks; D Jesse Lees, indefinite.
Tri-City: F Phil Tot, day-to-day; F Taylor Vickerman, indefinite.
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PORTLAND (2) vs. VANCOUVER (7)
Season series: Portland, 4-0-0; Vancouver, 0-3-1.
Friday: Vancouver at Portland, 7 p.m.
Saturday: Vancouver at Portland, 7 p.m.
Tuesday: Portland at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, March 26: Portland at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
x-Friday, March 28: Vancouver at Portland, 7 p.m.
x-Sunday, March 30: Portland at Vancouver, 2 p.m.
x-Tuesday, April 1: Vancouver at Portland, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Portland: F Adam de Champlain, day-to-day.
Vancouver: F Tyler Benson, indefinite; G Jared Rathjen, day-to-day; F Jakob Stukel, indefinite; D Dalton Thrower, indefinite; F Cain Franson, day-to-day.
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VICTORIA (3) vs. SPOKANE (6)
Season series: Victoria, 1-3-0; Spokane, 3-1-0.
Saturday: Spokane at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday: Spokane at Victoria, 5:05 p.m.
Wednesday, March 26: Victoria at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Thursday, March 27: Victoria at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
x-Saturday, March 29: Spokane at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
x-Monday, March 30: Victoria at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
x-Wednesday, April 2: Spokane at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
INJURIES
Victoria: None.
Spokane: F Jacob Cardiff, day-to-day; D Colton Bobyk, week-to-week; F Adam Hascic, day-to-day; F Blair Oneschuk, week-to-week.
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SEATTLE (4) vs. EVERETT (5)
Season series: Seattle, 5-4-1; Everett, 5-4-1.
Saturday: Everett at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday: Seattle at Everett, 4:05 p.m.
Tuesday: Everett at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
Friday, March 28: Seattle at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
x-Saturday, March 29: Everett at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
x-Monday, March 31: Seattle at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
x-Wednesday, April 2: Everett at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
(NOTE: Seattle plays home games in Kent, Wash.)
INJURIES
Seattle: F Connor Honey, indefinite.
Everett: F Kohl Baum, indefinite.
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From the Edmonton Oil Kings (@EdmOilKings): “Dear @PARaidersHockey, congratulations on your most important victory. We look forward to competing with you in the upcoming hockey matches.”
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From Edmonton Journal sports columnist John MacKinnon (@rjmackinnon): “Well, #PARaiders beating Red Deer #Rebels makes #EdmOilKings benching half their lineup on Sunday a moot point, obviously. #Whew #WHL”

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