Showing posts with label Evan Polei. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Evan Polei. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

WHL in eye of LGBT storm? ... Butcher, Polei get 2017-18 AHL deals ... DraftGeek guide available, too


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 F Ben Maxwell (Kootenay, 2003-08) has signed a one-year contract with Spartak Moscow (Russia, KHL). This season, he had eight goals and seven assists in 48 games with Sochi (Russia, KHL). He was an alternate captain. . . .
D Rory Rawlyk (Medicine Hat, Vancouver, Prince Albert, Red Deer, 2000-03) has signed a one-year contract with Memmingen (Germany, Oberliga). This season, he had three goals and 12 assists in 21 games with Brașov (Romania, MOL Liga), one goal and one assist in 14 games with the Florida Everblades (ECHL), and four goals and five assists in 25 games with the Atlanta Gladiators (ECHL). . . .
D Jonathan Harty (Everett, 2004-08) has signed a one-year contract with Székesfehérvár (Hungary, Erste Bank Liga). This season, with Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia, Erste Bank Liga), he had five goals and eight assists in 23 games. He also had two goals and 15 assists in 26 games with the Heilbronner Falken (Germany, DEL2).
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 F Jaret Anderson-Dolan of the Spokane Chiefs will be a first-round selection in next month’s NHL draft. He made sure of that by putting up 76 points, including 39 goals, this season as a 17-year-old sophomore.
But it is his commitment to excellence that makes him really special, that and the fact that he has two
JARET ANDERSON-DOLAN
mothers. Josh Horton of the Spokane Spokesman-Review has written a terrific story about Anderson-Dolan and it’s all right here, including this:
“Jaret hears other players talk smack to him on the ice about his two moms, although it happens less in the WHL because he’s a respected player within the league.
“But that’s far from the worst prejudice and discrimination he’s experienced.
“When Anderson-Dolan was going through the WHL bantam draft process, some teams told him and his family they would not take him because of his two mothers.
“Anderson-Dolan, with the talent to be picked in the top five of the (2014) draft, slipped all the way to No. 14 to Spokane.”
As Anderson-Dolan told Horton: “I can’t change people’s opinions. If that’s how they feel about it, I’d honestly rather not be in that organization if they’re going to be like that. I’d rather be in an organization with the Chiefs where they support it completely.
“Maybe that ended up with me falling in the draft a little bit, but I don’t really care, honestly.”
Really, WHL? In 2014, three short years ago, there were teams that took the low road on this? There were teams who chose not to draft a highly talented player because he grew up in a household with two moms? Really?
The WHL has to be better than this. Perhaps this will make its way on to the agenda for its annual meeting in June. In the meantime, I’m thinking that we haven’t heard the end of this, at least not on social media. There were indications on Twitter last night that a storm is brewing.
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It turns out there is another bantam draft guide available, this one put together by DraftGeek, which is hooked up with the gang at DUBNetwork. . . . While Western Elite Hockey Prospects, which was mentioned in this space yesterday, has D Kaiden Guhle ranked No. 1, the crew at DraftGeek is going with F Connor McClennon of the Pursuit of Excellence. . . . DraftGeek’s guide, which may be purchased right here, features its top 180 skaters and 25 goaltenders, who are eligible for Thursday’s bantam draft. . . . There also are thumbnails of each of the top 180, a mock first round, a list of the top 10 U.S.-born prospects, and DraftGeek’s top 22 2003-born prospects.
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The Bakersfield Condors have signed F Chad Butcher and F Evan Polei to AHL contracts for 2017-18. Butcher played out his junior eligibility with the Medicine Hat Tigers, while Polei did the same with the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Butcher, from Kamloops, put up 103 points, including 76 assists, in 68 games this season. In four seasons, he had 259 points, 82 of them goals, in 301 games. . . . Polei, from Wetaskiwin, Alta., had 33 goals and 29 assists in 69 games this season. In 242 career games, he had 131 points, including 72 goals. He actually finished this season with the Condors, getting into one game and recording one minor penalty. . . . The Condors are the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.
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Two players off the Kelowna Rockets’ roster are off to the AHL. . . . F Dillon Dube has joined the Stockton Heat, a team whose head coach is Ryan Huska, a former Rockets’ assistant coach and head coach. Dube was a second-round selection by the Calgary Flames, the Heat’s parent club, in the 2016 NHL draft. This season, he had 55 points, 20 of them goals, in 40 games. He missed the start of the WHL season with a knee injury incurred at the Flames’ training camp. . . . Dube’s stay was a short one as the Heat’s season ended last night when it fell 2-1 in OT, on a shorthanded goal, to the San Jose Barracuda. San Jose won the best-of-five series, 3-2. . . . D Lucas Johansen will finish the season with the Hershey Bears, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Washington Capitals. He was the 28th overall selection in the NHL’s 2016 draft. This season, he had 41 points, including 35 assists, in 68 games. . . . Dube and Johansen both have signed three-year entry-level NHL contracts.
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The OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads are scheduled to open the OHL’s championship series on Thursday in Erie, Pa., against the Otters.
On Tuesday, Rogers TV shut down channels in Brampton, Mississauga, Richmond Hill and Toronto.
This apparently won’t impact the televising of the OHL’s final series — it’s called the Rogers OHL Championship Series — but there are expected to be changes before another regular-season arrives.
In Western Canada, Shaw TV announced last week that it was shutting down three stations — in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. That means that the WHL on Shaw, which is in its 13th season, will end its run with the conclusion of this season’s championship series.
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D Ben Verrall, who played one game with the Prince Albert Raiders in 2013-14, will attend York U in Toronto and play for the Lions. Verrall, from Saskatoon, played the past three seasons with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. He will turn 21 on Aug. 10. . . . In three BCHL seasons, he had eight goals and 21 assists in 132 games.
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Coaching

 The BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs have signed Matt Hughes to a two-year contract, with an option for a third season, as general manager and head coach. Hughes had been the head coach of the U-18 Midget Prep team at the Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna. . . . Hughes also has coaching experience in the AJHL and NAHL, as well as in the BCHL with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. . . . Hughes takes over from Kevin Willison, who was fired after this season. He had been with the Bulldogs for six seasons. . . . Alberni Valley finished 16-32-7-3 this season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012. . . . Evan Hammond, the radio voice of the Bulldogs, has a news release right here.
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MONDAY-THURSDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.
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FRIDAY’S GAME (all times local):

Seattle at Regina, 7 p.m. (Game 1)


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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:17 PM
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Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Blazers pay for Ingram's diatribe . . . Broncos, Pats ready to go . . . Silvertips get call from Hall of Fame


The WHL has fined the Kamloops Blazers $500 “for comments from player following game versus Kelowna on April 2,” according to the league’s website.
This, of course, alludes to G Connor Ingram and his reaction to a situation that developed Sunday night
CONNOR INGRAM
during the Blazers’ 4-2 season-ending loss to the visiting Kelowna Rockets.
If you’re late to this, Kelowna had a 2-0 lead midway through the third period when Kamloops F Deven Sideroff, his stick in the air, deflected a point shot past Kelowna G Michael Herringer. The call on the ice was a goal, but the officials went to video review in an attempt to determine whether Sideroff had made contact with the puck with his stick above the cross-bar.
The replays shown to the crowd on the scoreclock video screens were inconclusive, so there was much consternation in the stands when the goal was disallowed.
Ron Robison, the WHL commissioner, was in the building and entered the video review booth where, according to Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week, “he was seen analyzing the replay and talking with video goal judge Rob Fryer.”
On Monday, Ingram told Hastings:
“When it’s a goal on the ice, you usually have to have pretty conclusive evidence to turn it over. Like I said (Sunday) night, when you play Kelowna, you’re not going to get that call. The commissioner is in the building. He’s up in that room. You know as soon as he goes up there, you’re not going to get it. It’s disappointing, but that’s what happens when you play those guys and, with who runs their team, they’re going to get those calls. That’s just the way it is.”
Bruce Hamilton, the owner, governor, president and general manager of the Rockets, was in the Sandman Centre. He also is the WHL’s chairman of the board and is generally seen as the league’s most powerful individual.
Obviously, the WHL couldn’t allow Ingram’s comments to skate with no reaction, thus the $500 fine to the Blazers.
However, the WHL likely could have saved itself a lot of grief had it had someone explain things to the media both before and after the game.
The game was to have started at 7 p.m. However, there were a couple of terrible accidents, one of them involving a fatality, on the Coquihalla Highway between Kamloops and Vancouver that resulted in it being closed. As a result, three of the scheduled on-ice officials as well as Jeff Bradley, who was to have been the game supervisor, were stuck on the Coquihalla and backup officials were summoned.
With Bradley in limbo, Robison stepped into the role of game supervisor, so was there to support Fryer.
The WHL should have had someone — why not Robison? — address the media before the game and explain all of this, including the fact that the game’s start time had been moved to 8 p.m. Someone should have provided the media with the names of the scheduled officials and their circumstances, along with the names of the replacement officials and from where they were travelling. Someone should have explained that Robison had stepped into the role of game supervisor.
Later, perhaps immediately after the game, someone from the WHL — why not Robison, as the supervisor? — should have met with the media and explained how the decision had been reached to overturn the call on the ice on Sideroff’s non-goal. Was there an angle, or angles, available in the video review booth that wasn’t shown on the big screen? Is the picture quality in the video review booth better than what is on the big screen? What role did Robison play in the process?
On Wednesday, Hastings spoke with Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey. Doerksen explained Robison‘s role:
“The video goal judge makes the call, but he certainly received verification that the call was correct that he was making. . . . the video goal judge made the determination of the decision and he was supported by the commissioner, who was in the booth to take a look at it as well. The WHL supervisor has the final say on any very close call.”
In this case, of course, Robison was acting as the WHL supervisor.
Doerksen refused to question the optics of the situation.
“(Robison) did exactly what was expected of that role,” Doerksen told Hastings. “To go into support and make sure, in conjunction with the video goal judge, that the call being made was correct.”
On Tuesday, Ingram signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, which selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2016 draft. The contract includes three annual signing bonuses of US$92,500. So chances are Ingram can afford to pay the fine himself, should the Blazers suggest it.
Hastings complete story, including a testy exchange with Doerksen, is right here.

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The second round of the WHL playoffs get rolling tonight with one game — the Swift Current Broncos and the Pats will get it going in Regina.
The Pats (52-12-8) finished atop the overall standings, 24 points ahead of the third-place Broncos (39-23-10).
Regina swept the Calgary Hitmen from a first-round series, while the Broncos went seven games in eliminating the Moose Jaw Warriors. Swift Current won Game 7 in Moose Jaw — the home team was 2-5 in that series — so playing on the road won’t be an issue.
The Pats went 7-0-1 in the season series; the Broncos were 1-7-0.
Of course, the Broncos are playing the underdog card.
“There’s a reason they’re ranked No. 1 in the country,” Manny Viveiros, the Broncos’ director of player personnel and head coach, told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post. “They’re deep, they’re well coached and they’re a real good hockey team. We’re very honoured to have an opportunity to play these guys. There’s no question they’re the favourites and we’re the underdogs but we’re OK with that. It’s a challenge we look forward to.”
Sportsnet will show Game 2 of the series from Regina on Friday night and Game 3 from Swift Current on Monday night.
Meanwhile, Shaw TV will televise the second-round series between the Medicine Hat Tigers and Lethbridge Hurricanes. That series opens with games in Medicine Hat on Friday and Saturday nights.
The Tigers (51-20-1), who finished atop the Central Division, eight points ahead of the Hurricanes (44-21-7), were 4-3-0 in the season series. The Tigers scored at least five goals in five of those games, including games of seven, eight and nine scores.
The two Western Conference series will open on Friday, with the Everett Silvertips playing host to the Seattle Thunderbirds, and the Portland Winterhawks in Kelowna against the Rockets.
The Silvertips (44-16-12) won the U.S. Division pennant, finishing two points ahead of the Thunderbirds (46-20-6). Everett was 4-4-2 in the season series with Seattle, while the Thunderbirds went 6-4-0. In the 10 games, the winning team scored one, two or three goals on six occasions.
The Rockets (45-22-5) wound up second in the B.C. Division, while the Winterhawks (40-28-4) were fourth in the U.S. Division and are in the playoffs as the conference’s first wild-card entry. Kelowna was 3-1-0 against the Winterhawks this season. Kelowna won twice in Portland, 3-2 and 5-3, on Oct. 29 and 30. The Winterhawks won the most recent meeting, 5-4, in Kelowna on Jan. 28.
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The 2018 CHL Top Prospects Game will be played in Guelph‘s Sleeman Centre, home of the OHL’s Storm, on Jan. 25. Next year’s game will be the 23rd annual Top Prospects contest, an event that features 40 of the top NHL draft-eligible players from the OHL, QMJHL and WHL. This will be the first time the game will have been played in Guelph.
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Two more WHLers — D Josh Brook of the Moose Jaw Warriors and F Kyle Olson of the Tri-City Americans — have been added to the roster of the Canadian team that left Wednesday for Slovakia and the IIHF U-18 World Championship tournament  that is to be played in Poprad and Spisska Nova Ves, from April 13-23. . . . As well, Moose Jaw D Jett Woo is with the team as an underage player, allowing him to gain international experience. . . . Canada will play exhibition games against Russia in Bratislava on April 9 and Switzerland in Piestany on April 10. . . . Canada opens tournament play on April 13 against Latvia. . . . On April 4, Hockey Canada named F Jaret Anderson-Dolan of the Spokane Chiefs, F Stelio Mattheos of the Brandon Wheat Kings and G Ian Scott of the Prince Albert Raiders to the team, and added Spokane D Ty Smith as an underage player.
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D Brendan Guhle of the Prince George Cougars has left to join the Rochester Americans, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. Guhle, 19, played three games for the Sabres in December. . . . Ted Clarke of the Prince George Citizen reports that Cougars F Radovan Bondra, 19, will join the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs, who are affiliated with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, while F Jesse Gabrielle, 19, is off to the AHL’s Providence Bruins, who are hooked up with the NHL’s Boston Bruins.
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F Evan Polei of the Red Deer Rebels is off to join the Bakersfield Condors, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. Polei, who played four seasons in Red Deer, turned 21 on Feb. 19 so has used up his junior eligibility. This season, he had 33 goals and 29 assists in 69 games, then added three goals and six assists in six playoff games. However, he sat out the Game 7 loss to the host Lethbridge Hurricanes on Tuesday night as he served a one-game WHL suspension for a checking-to-the-head major and game misconduct he incurred in Game 6.
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F Brett Howden of the Moose Jaw Warriors will finish his season with the Syracuse Crunch, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning. Howden, 19, was taken by the Lightning with the 27th selection of the 2016 NHL draft. This season, he had 38 goals and 43 assists in 58 regular-season games. He added two goals and an assist in a seven-game first-round loss to the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Howden signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Lightning on Dec. 28.
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The Detroit Red Wings have signed D Dennis Cholowski, 19, to a three-year entry-level contract. The Red Wings selected him with the 20th overall pick of the NHL’s 2016 draft. Cholowski, from Langley, B.C., played two seasons with the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs, then spent this season at St. Cloud State, recording one goal and 11 assists in 36 games. . . . Cholowski’s WHL rights are held by the Prince George Cougars, who selected him in the 10th round of the 2013 bantam draft.
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If you enjoy stopping off here and would care to make a donation to the cause, please feel free to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Coaching

 Mike Gabinet, 35, is the new head coach of the U of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks. Gabinet had been the team’s associate coach. He played four seasons with the Mavericks. He later worked at NAIT in his hometown of Edmonton as an assistant coach with the Ooks, taking over as head coach for 2015-16. A year ago, the Mavericks hired him as associate coach. Gabinet takes over as head coach from Dean Blais, who resigned last month after eight seasons behind the bench. Gabinet now is the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I hockey. . . . Eric Olson of The Associated Press reported that Gabinet will get US$250,000 per year on a five-year deal, along with a country club membership and a car. There is a $20,000 bonus for a regular-season title, $50,000 for a berth in the Frozen Four, and $75,000 for a national championship.
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The Everett Silvertips received a request from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, so equipment guru James Stucky got right to work. The stick that F Cal Babych used in ending the longest game in CHL history on Sunday is on its way to the hall. The Silvertips beat the host Victoria Royals, 3-2, with Babych scoring in the fifth OT period.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.
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THURSDAY’S GAME (all times local):

Swift Current at Regina, 7 p.m. (Game 1)

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:54 PM
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Monday, April 3, 2017

Ingram: That's just the way it is . . . Broncos take out Warriors . . . Winterhawks sideline Cougars


Let’s go back to Sunday night in Kamloops.
CONNOR INGRAM
It was 10 minutes into the third period and the hometown Blazers were trailing the Kelowna Rockets 2-0 in a game that Kamloops needed to win if it was to stay alive in these playoffs.
F Deven Sideroff of the Blazers parked himself in front of Kelowna G Michael Herringer, then got his raised stick on a point shot and deflected it into the net.
The call on the ice was a goal, so when it went to video review conclusive evidence showing Sideroff’s stick above the cross-bar when contact with the puck was made would have been needed to overturn it.
The replays shown on the big screen on the scoreclock certainly were inconclusive, so we have to assume that the video review official had a better quality picture or a different angle because the goal was disallowed. The Rockets went on to end the series, thanks to a 4-2 victory.

On Monday, the day after the night before, Blazers G Connor Ingram pretty much mirrored the feelings of the team and its fans when he told Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week:
“When it’s a goal on the ice, you usually have to have pretty conclusive evidence to (overturn) it. Like I said (Sunday) night, when you play Kelowna, you’re not going to get that call.
“The commissioner is in the building. He’s up in that room. You know as soon as he goes up there, you’re not going to get it.
“It’s disappointing, but that’s what happens when you play those guys and, with who runs their team, they’re going to get those calls. That’s just the way it is.”
Ron Robison, the WHL commissioner, was in the building and, apparently, visited the video review booth at the time of the Sideroff non-goal.
Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ owner, governor, president and general manager who is the WHL’s chairman of the board, also was in the house.
No, he didn’t visit the video review booth.
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The B.C. Division had four teams in the playoffs when the first round started. The Kelowna Rockets are the only one left standing. . . . Last night, the Portland Winterhawks eliminated the Prince George Cougars, who had finished atop the division, winning the franchise’s first pennant since it relocated from Victoria over the summer of 1994. . . . The second-place Rockets, of course, knocked the third-place Blazers from the post-season on Sunday. . . . Also on Sunday, the Everett Silvertips took out the fourth-place Victoria Royals, although it took five OT periods in what was the longest game in CHL history. The Royals had qualified for the playoffs in the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot.
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F Garrett Pilon of the Kamloops Blazers will be joining the Hershey Bears, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Washington Capitals. The Capitals selected Pilon in the third round of the NHL’s 2016 draft and signed him to a three-year entry-level contract last week. Pilon, whose Blazers were eliminated from the WHL playoffs on Sunday night, had 65 points, 20 of them goals, in 67 games this season. . . . Pilon will turn 19 on April 13, so will have to play next season with the Capitals or the Blazers; he isn’t eligible to start next season in Hershey.
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D Jake Bean of the Calgary Hitmen has joined the Charlotte Checkers, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina selected Bean with the 13th overall pick of the 2016 NHL draft. . . . Bean had 45 points, including 37 assists, in 43 regular-season games this season. He missed a good chunk of the early part of the season with a hand injury, returning in time to play for Canada at the World Junior Championship. . . . Next season, Bean will be 19 and will have to play with the Hurricanes or be returned to the Hitmen.
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Three WHLers were among the first players added to the Canadian team that will play in the IIHF U-18 World Championship in Poprad and Spisska Nova Ves, Slovakia, April 13-23. . . . F Jaret Anderson-Dolan of the Spokane Chiefs, F Stelio Mattheos of the Brandon Whet Kings and G Ian Scott of the Prince Albert Raiders are in Etobicoke, Ont., this week for a brief training camp before the team leaves for Slovakia on Wednesday, where it will play a pair of exhibition games. . . . As well, D Ty Smith of the Chiefs was invited to the training camp as an under-aged player in order to allow him to gain more international experience. . . . Canada will play Russia on Sunday in Bratislava and Switzerland on Monday in Piestany before opening the tournament against Latvia on April 13. . . . Steve Hamilton, the head coach of the Edmonton Oil Kings, is an assistant coach with Canada.
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Neate Sager, who freelances junior hockey pieces for Sportsnet, takes a look right here at Sunday’s marathon between the Everett Silvertips and host Victoria Royals, and he does it by the numbers. He also takes a look at some other CHL goings-on.
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F Calvin Spencer of the Vancouver Giants has signed with the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers. He split this season between the Swift Current Broncos and the Giants, putting up 29 points, including 16 goals, in 66 games. Spencer, who turned 21 on Feb. 29, played four seasons in the WHL, the first two with the Seattle Thunderbirds. In 230 regular-season games, the native of Brooklyn Park, Minn., had 66 points, including 32 goals.
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The Red Deer Rebels will be without F Evan Polei for Game 7 against the host Lethbridge Hurricanes tonight (Tuesday). Polei has been given a TBD suspension after he incurred a headshot major and game misconduct for a hit on Lethbridge F Tanner Nagel in Game 5 on Sunday. . . . Meanwhile, Red Deer D Alex Alexeyev skated Monday for the first time since having knee surgery in early February. He won’t play tonight but you can bet his presence gave his teammates a lift. . . . After a 4-1 loss to the visiting Hurricanes on Sunday, Brent Sutter, Red Deer’s owner, GM and head coach, told reporters: “You guys thought the Lethbridge Hurricanes were going to beat the Red Deer Rebels 4-0, because they had 20-some more points in the standings. “Our kids have played hard in this series. At the start of the series, if you’d have said we got to play to Game 7 against this team in their home building, we would take it.” . . . The conclusion of Game 7 will signal the end of the first round.
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BCHLThe BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers are staying put and, in fact, the future looks good with a move underway to turn the team into a community-owned franchise. At a news conference on Monday, it was revealed that the process has begun to form the Nanaimo Clippers Hockey Society. . . . Greg Sakaki of the Nanaimo News-Bulletin writes: “Keeping the Clippers in the Harbour City involved a group of individuals contributing at least $50,000 each to allow the society to purchase a portion of the hockey club. There was sufficient commitment to satisfy the current ownership group.” . . . Sakaki’s story is right here.
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The OHL’s Niagara IceDogs have signed head coach Dave Bell to a three-year extension. Bell just completed his first season as head coach, after spending three seasons on staff as an assistant coach. The IceDogs finished 23-35-10 this season, good for eighth spot in the 10-team Eastern Conference. They were swept from a first-round series by the Peterborough Petes.
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If you enjoy stopping off here and would care to make a donation to the cause, please feel free to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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MONDAY GAMES:


At Portland, the Winterhawks, the Western Conference’s first wild-card team, beat the Prince George Cougars, 4-2, to advance to the second round of the WHL playoffs. . . . The Winterhawks won the
COLE KEHLER
series, 4-2. They had finished fourth in the U.S. Division, at 40-28-4. The Cougars won the B.C. Division pennant, at 45-21-6. . . . The Winterhawks next will face the Kelowna Rockets, who eliminated the Kamloops Blazers, 4-2, on Sunday night. This will be the fifth playoff meeting between these teams since 2011. . . . The Winterhawks and Rockets will get started in Kelowna on Friday night. . . . Last night, the Winterhawks scored the game’s first three goals, all in the second period. . . . F Colton Veloso (2) made it 1-0 at 5:35, with F Ryan Hughes (2) counting at 7:18 and F Alex Overhardt (1) upping the lead to 3-0, on a PP, at 11:58. . . . The Cougars got on the scoreboard when F Kody McDonald (2) scored at 6:38 of the third period, seven seconds after the expiration of a PP. . . . The Winterhawks got that one back just 1:07 later as F Keegan Iverson got his third goal of the series. . . . F Colby McAuley (4) added a late PP goal for the Cougars, at 18:59. . . . G Cole Kehler stopped 35 shots for the Winterhawks and was saluted as the game’s first star. . . . The Cougars got 38 stops from G Ty Edmonds. . . . Prince George was 1-2 on the PP; Portland was 1-5. . . . Prince George had F Tanner Wishnowski back after he served a one-game suspension for becoming involved with a fan during Game 4 in Portland on Thursday. . . . The Cougars again were without F Brad Morrison, a 20-goal scorer who was unable to recover sufficiently from ankle woes to contribute. Morrison, who missed the last three games of the series, was injured in a fight on Feb. 24 and played in only two games after that. . . . Announced attendance: 4,211.
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At Moose Jaw, G Jordan Papirny stopped 39 shots to lead the Swift Current Broncos to a 3-2 victory over the Warriors. . . . The Broncos, who won three times in Moose Jaw, took the first-round series, 4-
JORDAN PAPIRNY
3, and will open the second round in Regina against the Pats on Thursday. . . . The Warriors had finished second in the East Division, five points ahead of the Broncos, who were 24 points behind the first-place Pats. . . . Last season, Papirny, now 20, backstopped the Brandon Wheat Kings to the Ed Chynoweth Cup. Last night, he stopped 14 shots in the first period, 11 in the second and 14 in the third. . . . Papirny, who will turn 21 on Monday, went 2.02 and .947 in the seven games. He now has played in 56 playoff games, going 37-19, 2.77, .916. A year ago with Brandon, he went 16-5, 2.93, .897. . . . Last night, The Broncos took a 2-0 lead on goals from D Colby Sissons (2), at 4:30 of the first period, and F Tyler Steenbergen (6), on a PP, at 1:47 of the second. . . . F Justin Almeida (2) got the Warriors to within a goal at 7:49. . . . F Glenn Gawdin (3) restored Swift Current’s two-goal lead at 3:17 of the third period. . . . D Josh Brook (2) made things interesting when he scored for Moose Jaw at 14:59. . . . The Broncos got two assists from D Max Lajoie, with Steenbergen adding one to his goal. . . . Brook had an assist for the Warriors. You can bet he’ll be added to the Canadian U-18 team that will leave on Wednesday for the IIHF World Championship in Slovakia. . . . The Warriors got 27 saves from G Zach Sawchenko. . . . The Broncos were 1-4 on the PP; the Warriors were 0-5. . . . Announced attendance: 4,585.
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TUESDAY GAME (all times local):

Red Deer at Lethbridge, 7 p.m. (Series tied, 3-3)

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:27 PM
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Thursday, March 30, 2017

Mumps still hanging around WHL? . . . Tigers sweep defending champs . . . Polei OT hero in Red Deer


F Jamie Lundmark (Moose Jaw, Seattle, 1998-2001) has signed a one-year extension with Klagenfurt (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). This season, in 51 games, he had 26 goals and 25 assists. He led the team in goals and points, while serving as an alternate captain.
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 The mumps may not yet be through with the WHL.
Jon Keen, the voice of the Kamloops Blazers on Radio NL, wasn’t available for Game 4 of a series with the Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday night.
Jeremy Bosch, who usually rides shotgun with Keen on home games, handled the play-by-play with Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week providing the analysis.
During the game, Taking Note was told by three sources that Keen has shown symptoms of mumps and has been placed in isolation awaiting test results.
Keen later told Taking Note that his situation is “very premature at this point.”
Keen is in his 14th season as a play-by-play voice in the WHL. Keen began his WHL career with the Swift Current Broncos before moving to Kamloops. He called his 1,000th game on March 8.
With the playoffs here, the Blazers, like other teams, have shut down the information highway, so it’s not known if there is anyone else in the organization with symptoms.
It could be that the Blazers are at least the sixth WHL team to be hit by the mumps, following the Brandon Wheat Kings, Medicine Hat Tigers, Seattle Thunderbirds, Swift Current Broncos and Victoria Royals.
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The WHL’s defending champions bowed out last night in Dauphin, Man. The Medicine Hat Tigers beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-2, to sweep the holders of the Ed Chynoweth Cup from the first round. . . . The Wheat Kings played all four games without F Nolan Patrick, who was injured in the second-last game of the regular season. . . . Brandon also was without veteran F Tanner Kaspick. . . . Patrick ended up playing only 33 games this season, putting up 46 points, including 20 goals. He underwent sports hernia surgery in July and missed almost all of training camp. He returned for the season’s first five games, then didn’t play again until Jan. 14. . . . He has been projected as the consensus No. 1 selection for the NHL’s 2017 draft through the entire season. It will be interesting to see if that holds up on June 23 in Chicago.
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The Tri-City Americans were without D Dalton Yorke, 20, for Game 3 of their series with the Seattle Thunderbirds on Wednesday night. Yorke drew a TBD suspension for a hit he delivered during the Game 2’s third period in Kent, Wash., on Saturday night. Yorke took a charging minor at 15:10 for a hit on F Ryan Gropp, who was scratched last night. The suspension came under supplemental discipline, meaning the Thunderbirds sent video to the league and asked for a review. When it comes to supplemental discipline, the injury factor carries a lot of weight. . . . While Yorke was scratched last night, F Vladislav Lukin returned to the Americans after missing Game 2. Tri-City also had F Nolan Yaremko back for this one. He missed the end of the regular season and the first two games of this series after being injured in practice.
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The Thunderbirds, meanwhile, again were without F Mathew Barzal and G Rylan Toth as they took a 2-0 edge into Game 3 last night. Barzal (mumps) hasn’t played since March 7. Barzal, the Western Conference’s player of the year, took the warmup prior to a March 10 game, then left for the dressing room before the anthem. Barzal hasn’t played since then. . . . Toth, who led WHL goaltenders with 36 victories in the regular season, was taken out of a game in Portland on March 11. At the time, it was said to have been for precautionary reasons. He hasn’t played since then. . . . F Ryan Gropp, who apparently was injured in Game 2 on a hit from Tri-City D Dalton Yorke, led the Thunderbirds in goals (35) and points (84) in the regular season.
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Regan Bartel, the play-by-play voice of the Kelowna Rockets, put this note on his blog Wednesday morning:
“The Rockets had their fair share of scoring chances in (Game 3 on Wednesday), but according to the Kelowna Rockets analytics team, the shot clock wasn't exactly true. The Rockets had 23 shots on net, not the 38 that were shining brightly on the Sandman Centre shot clock. If that indeed is true, 23 shots on net won't win you too many games against elite goaltending.”
Ahh, the games inside the playoff games!
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The playoffs are here so when a coach says that an injured player is OK and “he’ll be fine,” well, you take it with a grain of salt. . . . On Sunday, F Giorgio Estephan of the host Lethbridge Hurricanes left in the second period after taking a high-stick from F Michael Spacek of the Red Deer Rebels. Lethbridge head coach Brent Kisio told Dale Woodard of the Lethbridge Herald: “He’s fine. He’s good to go.” . . . Estephan was scratched from Game 3 in Red Deer last night.
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One player who was in the lineup last night in Red Deer was Rebels captain Adam Musil. He hadn’t played since March 4. The next day, he suffered an undisclosed injury in an off-ice incident — he later was seen with a walking boot on an ankle — and was listed as being out week-to-week.
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The Vancouver Giants didn’t make the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t hard at work. On Wednesday, they announced the signing of F Cyle McNabb, a list player from Winnipeg. McNabb, who will turn 17 on Sept. 15, spent this season with the Rink Hockey Academy’s prep team, putting up nine goals and 16 assists in 29 games.
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If you enjoy stopping off here and would care to make a donation to the cause, please feel free to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
If interested, you also are able to follow me on Twitter at @gdrinnan.
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F Travis Jost has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche, which selected him 10th overall in the NHL’s 2016 draft. This means Jost, who played two seasons with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees, will leave the U of North Dakota Fighting Hawks after just one season. The Regina Pats hold his WHL rights, having acquired them from the Everett Silvertips. The Pats will be the host team for the 2018 Memorial Cup. Hmmm . . .
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It was a tough day for hockey at North Dakota. Earlier in the day, word got out that the school is axing its women’s program. The team was practising at the time that word leaked. . . . Brad E. Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald, who covers UND hockey like sand covers a beach, reported that the women’s team had a recruit on campus at the time. Lauren Hennessey had left Boston at 5 a.m., for her UND visit. . . . The announcement came one day after USA Hockey reached an agreement with its women’s national team that averted a boycott of the IIHF World Championship that is to begin Friday in Plymouth, Mich. . . . UND also will be dropping men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams.
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Coaching

 The junior B Mission City Outlaws of the 10-team Pacific Junior Hockey League announced Wednesday that co-coaches Mike Drouillard and Brad Veitch have retired. Veitch spent five years with the Outlaws; Drouillard was there for four seasons. . . . The Outlaws then named Mike Renner as their new head coach. Earlier in the day, the PJHL’s Port Moody Panthers had announced that Renner, the team’s interim head coach, wouldn’t be returning. That was announced by Peter Zerbinos, who took over as general manager on March 16. The Panthers finished 16-27-1 this season, putting them fifth in the five-team Tom Shaw Conference. . . . Mission was 18-22-4, which left it fourth in the Harold Brittain Conference.
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WEDNESDAY GAMES:

In Red Deer, F Evan Polei scored 48 seconds into the second OT period to give the Rebels a 4-3 victory
EVAN POLEI
over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Rebels hold a 2-1 lead in the series with Game 4 scheduled for tonight in Red Deer. . . . The Rebels scored the game’s last three goals, winning it on Polei’s second of the series. This was the first OT game of these WHL playoffs. . . . F Lane Zablocki had given Red Deer a 1-0 lead with a PP goal at 2:44 of the first period. . . . The Hurricanes stormed back with three straight goals. . . . F Tyler Wong (2) scored on a PP at 8:51. . . . D Brennan Menell (1) gave the visitors the lead at 18:57 of the second period. . . . F Zak Zborosky (1) upped the lead to 3-1 at 3:10 of the third period. . . . F Brandon Hagel (2) scored on a PP at 16:53, getting the Rebels to within one goal. . . . Red Deer tied it when Zablocki scored his third goal of the series with 19.6 seconds left in the third period. . . . The Rebels got three assists from D Jared Freadrich and two from Polei. . . . Wong had two assists for Lethbridge, with Menell and Zborosky adding one each. . . . G Riley Lamb stopped 49 shots for the Rebels, four more than Lethbridge’s Stuart Skinner. . . . Red Deer was 2-5 on the PP. . . . The Hurricanes were 1-2 on the PP. They had been 0-12 before Wong scored. . . . Announced attendance: 5,017.
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At Kennewick, Wash., D Ethan Bear and F Donovan Neuls each had five points as the Seattle Thunderbirds whipped the Tri-City Americans, 9-2. . . . The Thunderbirds hold a 3-0 lead in the series
DONOVAN NEULS
and can end it Friday in Kennewick. . . . The Americans switched goaltenders, going from Rylan Parenteau, who had started the first two games (0-2, 4.65, .875), and bringing Evan Sarthou off the bench. But Sarthou was lifted before the game was 11 minutes old, having allowed three goals on seven shots. . . . Bear, who finished with two goals and three assists, opened the scoring at 2:55. . . . F Scott Eansor (2) made it 2-0 at 7:48 and D Jarret Tyszka (1) upped it to 3-0 at 10:16. . . . Neuls, who scored his second goal and added four helpers, made it 4-0 at 12:03, with D Austin Strand (2) increasing the lead to 5-0 at 17:08. . . . Seattle also got goals from F Keegan Kolesar (3) and F Alexander True (1), with Bear later adding his second of the game and second of the series and Strand scoring his third. . . . F Austyn Playfair (2) and F Morgan Geekie (1) scored for the Americans. . . . True and Kolesar added three assists each. . . . Seattle G Carl Stankowski stopped 21 shots in running his record to 3-0 in relief of injured starter Rylan Toth. . . . Parenteau allowed six goals on 29 shots in 49:44. . . . Seattle was 3-7 on the PP; Tri-City was 0-4. . . . Announced attendance: 2,632.

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At Portland, F Jansen Harkins scored once and added four assists to lead the Prince George Cougars to
JANSEN HARKINS
a 6-1 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . The Cougars lead the series, 2-1, with Game 4 scheduled for tonight in Portland. They’ll be back in Prince George for Game 5 on Saturday. . . . F Skyler McKenzie (2) gave the Winterhawks a 1-0 lead just 14 seconds into the first period. Who knew the home side wouldn’t score again? . . . Harkins (2) tied it at 8:26 and F Kody McDonald (1) put the Cougars out front, on a PP, at 12:36. . . . F Colby McAuley (1) scored at 17:42 for a 3-0 lead. . . . D Tate Olson (1), F Brogan O’Brien and McAuley (2) added Prince George’s other goals. . . . D Brendan Guhle and F Nikita Popugaev each had two assists for the winners, with McAuley getting one. . . . The Cougars got 37 stops from G Ty Edmonds. . . . Portland starter Cole Kehler allowed six goals on 38 shots in 47:35. Shane Farkas finished up by stopping all seven shots he faced in 12:25. . . . Prince George was 2-5 on the PP; Portland was 0-6. . . . Announced attendance: 4,585.
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At Dauphin, Man., the Medicine Hat Tigers ended a goal-less game with two scores in the first two
DAVID QUENNEVILLE
minutes of the third period en route to a 3-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Tigers swept the best-of-seven series and eliminated the defending champions. . . . Medicine Hat had a 37-15 edge in shots through two periods but couldn’t get the puck past Brandon G Logan Thompson. . . . D Clayton Kirichenko finally solved Thompson, scoring his third goal of the series 24 seconds into the third period. . . . D David Quenneville made it 2-0 at 1:31. . . . F Reid Duke got Brandon to within a goal, on a PP, at 3:11. . . . Quenneville replied with his third goal of the series, on a PP, at 12:09. . . . The Wheat Kings got another PP goal, this one from D Kale Clague (1), at 15:48. . . . The Tigers got 23 saves from G Michael Bullion, who went the distance in all four games. . . . Thompson finished with 51 saves. . . . Brandon was 2-4 on the PP; Medicine Hat 1-5. . . . The Wheat Kings took their first-round home games to Credit Union Place in Dauphin because the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair has taken over the Keystone Centre complex. . . . Announced attendance: 1,825.
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At Kamloops, G Michael Herringer stopped 24 shots to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 1-0 victory over
MICHAEL HERRINGER
the Blazers. . . . The Rockets lead the series, 3-1, with a chance to end it at home on Friday night. . . . Exactly on year earlier, on March 29, 2016, Herringer stopped 40 shots in a 1-0 victory in Kamloops. . . . Last night, Herringer saved the victory with a terrific push across save on Kamloops F Collin Shirley late in the third period. Herringer was trying to smother the puck on the right side of his crease, when it squirted loose. Shirley corralled it behind the net and came out the other side. Herringer somehow got his left pad to the post and stopped the stuff attempt. . . . Herringer now has two shutouts in this series — the Rockets won the opener, 4-0 — and four in his post-season career. . . . Dillon Dube, the best forward on the ice in this one, scored the game’s only goal, at 2:37 of the second period. He’s got three goals in the four games. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram put on quite a show, stopping 48 shots. The Rockets held a 40-14 edge in shots after two periods. . . . Steve Yzerman, the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, was in the house. The Lightning selected Ingram in the third round of the NHL’s 2016 draft. . . . Kelowna was 0-3 on the PP; Kamloops was 0-7. . . . The Blazers, who beat the visiting Rockets 4-1 on Tuesday night, now are 1-20 on the PP in the four games. . . . The Blazers remain without F Luc Smith, who was hurt in the second-last game of the regular season. . . . Announced attendance: 4,297.
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At Victoria, G Griffen Outhouse turned aside 30 shots as the Royals beat the Everett Silvertips, 2-1. . . .
GRIFFEN OUTHOUSE
That series is 2-2 as it heads back to Everett for Game 5 on Friday. Game 6 is scheduled for Victoria on Sunday. . . . Last night, F Regan Nagy (1) gave Victoria a 1-0 lead at 5:03 of the first period and F Dante Hannoun (1) made it 2-0 at 19:16 of the second. . . . Everett got within a goal when F Patrick Bajkov scored his fourth goal of the series, on a PP, at 16:05 of the third period. . . . Everett held a 10-7 edge in shots in the first period and 11-7 in the second. . . . The Silvertips got 18 saves from G Carter Hart. . . . Everett was 1-4 on the PP; Victoria was 0-3. . . . The Royals again played without F Jack Walker and D Scott Walford, both of whom have undisclosed injuries. . . . The Silvertips continue to be without F Riley Sutter and F Devon Skolenski, who also have undisclosed injuries. Sutter is believed to be close to returning. . . . Announced attendance: 4,637.
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At Swift Current, F Ryley Lindgren scored three times to lead the Broncos to a 5-2 victory over the Moose
RYLEY LINDGREN
Jaw Warriors. . . . The series is tied 2-2 as it heads back to Moose Jaw for Game 5 on Friday night. They’ll be back in Swift Current for Game 6 on Saturday. . . . The Broncos took control with three goals in the first nine minutes of the first period. . . . Lindgren scored twice, at 0:59 and 2:03, with F Tyler Steenbergen making it 3-0 at 8:57. . . . The Warriors made it interesting with a pair of early second-period PP goals, F Brett Howden (1) counting at 1:16 and D Josh Brook (1) finding the range at 2:25. . . . Steenbergen added his fourth goal of the series, on a PP, at 18:57 of the third period. . . . Lindgren iced it with his third goal of the game, and fourth of the series, on a PP, at 19:45. . . . The Warriors got two assists from each of F Jayden Halbgewachs and F Brayden Burke. . . . Swift Current got 30 stops from G Jordan Papirny, while Moose Jaw’s Zach Sawchenko turned aside 20. . . . The Broncos were 2-3 on the PP; the Warriors were 2-6. . . . Announced attendance: 2,890. . . . Darren Steinke, the travelling blogger, was on hand for this one. His blog is right here.

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THURSDAY GAMES (all times local):

Lethbridge at Red Deer, 7 p.m. (Red Deer leads, 2-1)
Regina at Calgary, 7 p.m. (Regina leads, 3-0)
Prince George at Portland, 7 p.m. (Prince George leads, 2-1)

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 12:16 AM
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