THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Alex Leavitt (Swift Current, Everett, 2003-05) was released by Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had one goal and four assists in 13 games with Zagreb this season.
———
I was remiss here yesterday in not congratulating old friend Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail for his having been honoured with the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for excellence in hockey journalism. MacGregor was part of the Hockey Hall of Fame festivities on Monday.
The Last Season, a work of hockey fiction starring Felix Batterinski that was published in 1995, is being re-released. If you haven’t read it, you should.
As well, John Allemang of The Globe and Mail has a terrific profile of MacGregor right here.
And if you’re looking for a good piece of MacGregor writing, check out this one right here. It appeared late last month after he spent some time with fans of the AHL’s Hershey Bears. It’s a classic.
———
Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos, has interviewed me about Sudden Death: The Incredible Sage of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos. . . . He also has read the book. . . . His opinion of it is right here, as is the interview.
———
No less an authority than Earl Seitz, the veteran sportscaster at CFJC-TV, has given his stamp of approval to Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos. . . . CFJC reporter Chad Klassen filed this report right here. . . . Yes, that is Tri-City Americans scout Terry Bangen in the background in one shot. Yes, he purchased a book. He also told me that on the evening of Dec. 30, 1986, he and play-by-play man Kelly Moore were five minutes from airtime with a Kamloops Blazers game when they were told of the bus crash. It really was one of those "where were you?" moments.
———
If you’re interested in hearing some great sports radio, go on over to CKNW’s site and find the podcast of Dan Russell chatting with Phil Esposito. The conversation lasted more than an hour and was terrific.
Go right here and click on hours 1 and 2. You won't be sorry.
———
The Saskatoon Blades are heading out on a five-game swing into the B.C. Division without three injured players. F Jessey Astles underwent surgery on a wrist after suffering a skate cut, while F Brett Stovin and D Dalton Thrower have undisclosed ailments. . . . The Blades have added D Nelson Nogier, 16, to their roster for the junket. . . . The Blades being their tour of B.C. in Prince George on Friday. . . . A tip of the cap to the ol' redhead, Les Lazaruk, for the injury info.
———
The Swift Current Broncos’ next three games will be in the Central Division, starting Saturday night in Red Deer. The Broncos likely will be without F Brent Benson, 19, who has missed two games with an undisclosed injury and is listed as week-to-week.
———
The Regina Pats are going to have to make a 20-year-old decision. They now have four of them, after adding D Alex Theriau, who was dropped last week by the Medicine Hat Tigers and had joined the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. (Rick Valette of Octagon Sports tweeted that information last night.)
Theriau is expected to play Friday when the Pats open their B.C. Division swing in Vancouver against the Giants.
He joins G Matt Hewitt, D Colton Jobke and F Lane Scheidl as the Pats’ 20-year-olds. However, Jobke is listed as being out indefinitely with an undisclosed upper-body injury.
———
Former Spokane Chiefs D Jared Cowen will undergo hip surgery on Saturday. Cowen, the ninth overall selection by the Ottawa Senators in the NHL’s 2009 draft, had been playing with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators. According to Rick Valette, Cowen’s agent: “Jared has a small tear in his labrum (hip). He will have surgery Saturday morning in New York. I expect he will be out for the season."
———
The Everett Silvertips have added F Brayden Low, 18, to their roster. Low had been with the BCHL’s Powell River Kings. So far this season, he had played in the BCHL with Powell River and the Merritt Centennials, putting up 10 points in 17 games. He was a seventh-round pick by the Portland Winterhawks in the 2009 bantam draft. He played five games with Portland over the last two seasons and was in camp with the Seattle Thunderbirds prior to this season.
———
You may want to check out Sam Cosentino’s latest blog entry — Coz For Thought. . . . One of Sportsnet's junior hockey voices has some interesting tidbits, including a couple involving the Subway Series. It’s right here.
———
F Victor Rask has been assigned to the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen by the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. He had five points, including a goal, in 10 games with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. He was a second-round selection in the 2011 NHL draft. . . . “We’re just trying to do what we think is best for Victor,” Charlotte head coach Jeff Daniels said in a news release. “We want him to be able to get as much ice time as possible in all situations that he might not have gotten here. He needs to be playing at the end of games, taking key faceoffs and being in more of a leadership role.” . . . As a freshman in Calgary last season, Rask had 63 points, 33 of them goals. . . . “He really opened our eyes,” said Daniels of Rask, who ranked tied for second among AHL rookies with a plus-seven rating at the time of his assignment. “We’re really happy and Carolina is really happy with the way he played. His hockey sense is really good, and he was making plays.” . . . Rask is expected to play for Sweden at the world junior tournament next month. He helped his country win the gold medal a year ago. . . . Rask is expected to be in Calgary’s lineup on Sunday when they play host to the Swift Current Broncos.
———
TWEET OF THE DAY:
Jim Bray (@jhabray): “Dear Miami, we tried to warn you. Your friend always, Montreal.”
———
TWEET OF THE DAY II:
Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie): “On (extremely) off chance anyone (in VAN) finds a silver money clip, 2 (now cancelled) credit cards and my company ID cart, let me know. #doh)
———
TWEET OF THE DAY III:
From the aforementioned Bob McKenzie: “Don't think it's post-traumatic stress from losing money clip, but in all seriousness, never felt as discouraged about state of NHL as today”

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.

Don't forget to vote in the latest poll over there on the right. Thank you.
———
If you are so inclined, you can click right here and listen to a conversation between Ted Deller, the host of The Morning Edition at CBC Regina, and yours truly. Yes, the subject of the conversation was the book that is pictured over there at the right, Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos.
———
Former Spokane Chiefs D Jared Cowen is to have surgery later this week that apparently may end his season. Cowen had been playing with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators. Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen has more right here.
———
G Brenden Fiebelkorn, 18, has left the Tri-City Americans. According to a news release from the team, Fiebelkorn, who is from Winnipeg, left “for personal reasons.” Backing up Eric Comrie, 17, with the Americans, Fiebelkorn had gotten into only two games this season. . . . The Americans have added G Luke Lee-Knight, 19, to their roster. He was in training camp with the Americans and has been with the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. He was 4-1-0, 2.56, .924 with the Broncos. Last season, he played with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders and Spokane Chiefs, going a combined 2-4-3, 4.82, .841 in 22 games. . . . The Americans also are bringing in G Evan Sarthou, 15, while Comrie is away with Team WHL at the Subway Super Series this week. Sarthou, a third-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, will practise with the Americans this week. . . . From Black Diamond, Wash., Sarthou plays with the L.A. Jr. Kings of the Tier 1 AAA Elite Hockey League. He is 7-2, 2.31, .900. He has three shutouts.
———
With the rebuilding Vancouver Giants already having traded away the likes of D David Musil, F Nathan Burns and  F Austin Vetterl, there has been ample speculation about the future of F Slovakian F Marek Tvrdon. . . . However, Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports right here that general manager Scott Bonner has said Tvrdon, 19, will be out indefinitely with an arm infection. . . . Tvrdon has been scratched from the Giants’ last two games. . . . He had 74 points, including 31 goals, last season. This season, he has 22 points, eight of them goals, in 18 games.
———
MONDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 17 shots and F Brock Montgomery had three goals to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 4-0 victory over the Hitmen. . . . The Ice had lost eight in a row, while the Hitmen had won five straight. . . . Skapski put up his second shutout of the season and second of his career, while Montgomery enjoyed his first career hat trick (in 203 games). . . . Montgomery, who has 11 goals, scored the game’s first three goals. . . . The Ice held a 30-15 edge in shots. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart picked up a first-period tripping penalty. Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun points out that Reinhart now has six penalty minutes in 89 career regular-season games. . . . Read into it what you want but the Hitmen are 5-4-2 at home and 8-1-1 on the road. . . .

In Moose Jaw, G Ty Rimmer stopped 34 shots as the Lethbridge Hurricanes dropped the Warriors, 4-1. . . . Rimmer is 13-8-2, 2.65, .922. . . . Lethbridge got two goals from F Jay Merkley. . . . The Warriors lost D Travis Brown to a headshot major and game misconduct late in the second period.
———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Travis Brown, Moose Jaw (major)
D Colby Harmsworth, Calgary
———
TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Portland D Josh Hanson (@HansoloCup4): “Who designs 007s suits? Id go fight bad guys too if I could move around that well in a suit #MineDontMoveLikeThat #HookMeUp #WellPlayed007”

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.

Madaisky hoping to recapture form he showed in 2010

Daily News Sports Reporter
Austin Madaisky remembers the 2010 postseason well.
Yes, his Kamloops Blazers lost in four games to the Vancouver Giants, and yes, it was the last time the Blazers made the playoffs.
But it also was the coming-out party for the defenceman, who will lead the Blazers into the playoffs today. Kamloops is to play host to the Victoria Royals at Interior Savings Centre at 7 p.m.
The Blazers had acquired Madaisky, who turned 20 on Jan. 30, from the Calgary Hitmen as part of a blockbuster deal in January 2010. He was decent in the final 26 regular-season games with the Blazers that season, scoring two goals and assisting on seven others.
But it was the 2010 postseason in which Madaisky turned a corner. He had a point in each of the Blazers’ four losses, ending with three goals and three assists to lead the team.
“I felt great — that was probably some of the best hockey I’ve played in my life,” said Madaisky, a Surrey native. “I’m hoping to find that level again this postseason.”
Madaisky was named a Western Conference second-team all-star Thursday, and said he improved a lot this season, his fourth in the WHL.
“I grew a lot as a player this year,” Madaisky said. “I think a lot of that can be attributed to bringing in (associate coach) Dave Hunchak, who’s a great defensive coach, and (head coach) Guy Charron.”
———
Brendan Gallagher of the Vancouver Giants was named to the Western Conference’s first all-star team for the second straight season on Thursday.
Gallagher, who spent the first part of the season with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens and also spent time with Canada at the World Junior Championship in Edmonton and Calgary around Christmas, ended with 41 goals and 36 assists in 54 games.
He is the only repeater on the first team, although all of the other 2010-11 first-teamers have moved on. D Jared Cowen and F Ryan Johansen are full-time NHL players, while D Tyson Barrie and F Tyler Johnson are in the AHL. G James Reid has spent time this season in the AHL, Central League and ECHL.
Three other all-stars from 2010-11 are on the 2011-12 teams. D Brendan Kichton of the Spokane Chiefs and F Brendan Shinnimin of the Tri-City Americans moved up from the second team to the first team, while D Ryan Murray of the Everett Silvertips made the second team for the second straight year.
———
The Western Conference’s three other first-round series are to begin tonight.
The No. 1 seed, the Tri-City Americans, will play host to the eighth-seeded Everett Silvertips in Kennewick, Wash., while the No. 3 Portland Winterhawks will entertain the No. 6 Kelowna Rockets.
The Vancouver Giants, who finished fourth in the conference, are at home to the No. 5 Spokane Chiefs.
All WHL playoff series are best-of-seven.

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.

The Columbus Blue Jackets announced Tuesday that they will keep F Ryan Johansen, 19, rather than return him to the Portland Winterhawks. As a 19-year-old, he either has to play in the NHL with Columbus, or with the Winterhawks, who hold his WHL rights.
When it comes to keeping or returning junior-aged players, keep in mind that NHL teams are faced with two deadlines.
One involves 10 NHL games. Once a player dresses for his 10th game of a season, his NHL contract kicks in. So a player on a three-year contract uses up the first year with game No. 10.
There also is a 40-game mark of which you should be aware. Once a player suits up for a 40th game in one season, he is one year closer to unrestricted free agency.
———
The Brandon Wheat Kings have dealt F Carter Proft, 17, to the Spokane Chiefs for a fifth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. Proft, from Spruce Grove, Alta., was a fifth-round pick by Brandon in the 2009 draft. He had one goal and 10 penalty minutes in 13 games with Brandon this season. "Carter was in a situation where we weren't going to be able to get him adequate ice time to keep him happy", Brandon GM Kelly McCrimmon said in a news release. "When Jens Meilleur and Dominick Favreau return to our line-up we would have 14 forwards. When this opportunity presented itself, we felt it was the right move for all involved."
———
JUST NOTES: F Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers is the WHL’s player of the month for October. He had 31 points, including 21 goals, in 15 games. . . . Nathan Lieuwen of the Kootenay Ice is the WHL’s goaltender of the month. He was 9-2-0 with a 1.45 GAA and a .948 save percentage. . . . A couple of WHL grads scored their first NHL goals on Tuesday night. F Brett Connolly (Prince George) had the Tampa Bay Lightning’s second goal in what was a 4-2 loss to the host Carolina Hurricanes. D Jared Cowen (Spokane) scored his first in a 5-3 loss to the host Boston Bruins. Cowen tied the game 3-3 in the third period, only to have the Bruins come back with two quick ones. The first of those came off the stick of Boston D Johnny Boychuk, also a former WHLer. . . . Tyler Bunz of the Medicine Hat Tigers is the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 2-0-0, 1.00, .966 last week.
———
With the Canadian Finals Rodeo making its annual stop in Edmonton, the NHL’s Oilers, including C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, are heading out on a six-game road trip that will take them to Los Angeles, Phoenix, Montreal, Boston, Detroit and Chicago.
"I got $80 every two weeks when I played in Red Deer,” Nugent-Hopkins told Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. “I think per diem in the NHL is $98 a day. I don't think I've touched much of that yet.”
And, yes, the Oilers will be flying, something the kid didn’t do with the Red Deer Rebels.
"The bus in Red Deer was a nice-looking bus, but it's sometimes eight hours on the road and you have to play the next day," Nugent-Hopkins continued. "A plane is still, uh, better than a bus."
One other thing . . .
"I've noticed the hotels are probably a little nicer in the NHL than junior," he said with a laugh.
Matheson’s complete story is right here.
———
In Medicine Hat, F Emerson Etem continued to burn up the WHL, scoring one goal and setting up four others — getting all five points in the third period — as the Tigers bounced the Everett Silvertips, 10-2. . . . Etem leads the WHL in goals (22) and points (36), all compiled in 16 games. . . . Tigers F Hunter Shinkaruk had a six-point night, including three goals. He has 14 goals in 17 games. . . F Dylan Bredo, the third member of that line, had a goal and three helpers. They combined for 15 points and finished plus-12. . . . The Silvertips tied a single-game franchise record for goals allowed and set a franchise record for goals against in a period when the Tigers struck six times in the third. . . . The Tigers, who also had two goals disallowed, held a 52-25 edge in shots. . . .
In Regina, the Pats built up a 2-0 lead and hung on to beat the Saskatoon Blades, 2-1. . . . The Pats are 11-6-0 and two points behind the Eastern Conference-leading Kootenay Ice (11-3-2). . . . Regina G Matt Hewitt stopped 26 shots, one fewer than Saskatoon’s Andrey Makarov. . . . Regina D Artem Bidlevskii was back after missing three games with a concussion. . . .
In Kent, Wash., F Brendan Gallagher scored three goals and drew an assist as the Vancouver Giants doubled the Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-2. . . . Gallagher has 14 goals in 13 games. . . . His first goal was the 226th point of his career. The Vancouver franchise record for career points (273) is held by F Adam Courchaine. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 46 shots. . . .
In Prince Albert, F Jimmy Bubnick struck for three goals as the Calgary Hitmen came from behind to beat the Raiders, 5-2. . . . It was the second three-goal game of Bubnick’s career, and came in his 276th regular-season game. Bubnick, who is from Saskatoon, had three goals in a 4-3 loss to the Cougars in Prince George on Dec. 1. . . . Calgary scored four third-period goals to erase a 2-1 deficit. . . . The Hitmen got a shorthanded score from F Calder Brooks. That was his first WHL goal. . . . It was the ninth shorthanded goal allowed by the Raiders this season. . . . Calgary F Brady Brassart took a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct for a late second-period hit on Prince Albert D Antoine Corbin. . . .
In Swift Current, F Michael Ferland scored three times and set up another, leading the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 7-3 victory over the Broncos. . . . It was Ferland’s second hat trick of the season. . . . He has 14 goals. . . . Brandon F Mark Stone had a goal, running his season-opening point streak to 16 games. . . . Brandon F Darian Dziurzynski took a charging major and game misconduct for a hit on F Andy Blanke at 19:16 of the third period. . . . Things got silly late in the game and that included Broncos G Jon Groenheyde getting tossed at 19:51 after he tried to entice Brandon G Corbin Boes into a bout. . . . In the end, the Broncos took 65 of the 123 penalty minutes handed out. . . . The Broncos sold tickets for $2 apiece and drew 2,187 fans.
One interesting note from last night’s games. . . . Brandon F Michael Ferland, Vancouver F Brendan Gallagher and Medicine Hat F Hunter Shinkaruk each scored three goals. . . . Each of them has 14 goals, tied for second behind Medicine Hat F Emerson Etem, who has 22. . . . If you were wondering, F Tyler Toffoli of the Ottawa 67’s leads the OHL with 13 goals in 12 games. In the QMJHL, F Zach O’Brien of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan has the lead, with 18 goals in 20 games.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Sunday . . .

Doug Soetaert has been thinking about the Everett Silvertips’ next head coach for a couple of weeks now.
“This rumor of Craig (Hartsburg) moving out has probably been out there for about two weeks now,” Soetaert told Rich Myhre of the Everett Herald on Sunday, “and people have contacted me. I've kind of got a list together in my head of what I'm going to do. I'm going to contact some coaches that are available and I'm hoping to have somebody in place (by) early July.”
Soetaert announced earlier Sunday that Hartsburg, 51, had resigned after two seasons as the Silvertips’ head coach. Hartsburg is expected to be named associate head coach with the NHL’s Calgary Flames, likely at some point this week.
In the meantime, Soetaert is looking for Everett’s fourth head coach — after Kevin Constantine, John Becanic and Hartsburg — as the franchise prepares for its ninth WHL season.
Soetaert also told Myhre that he will want a three-year commitment from the next head coach because “I'm not going to lose a coach after a year or two.”
Everett went 74-54-16 in the two seasons that Hartsburg was head coach, although he missed a chunk of last season after undergoing open-heart surgery. He was the Western Conference nominee as coach of the year for 2009-10.
If you’re not aware, this is one of the plum head-coaching jobs in major junior hockey. The Silvertips are a first-class organization with some terrific young talent on the way and you can bet Soetaert is going to hear from a lot of potential coaches.
By the way, Soetaert also told Myhre that assistant coach Chris Hartsburg, who is Craig’s son, is expected to return.
Jay Varady, the club’s other assistant coach last season, left earlier in the summer for a head-coaching position in France.
Myhre’s complete story is right here.
---
Everett joins the Moose Jaw Warriors and Seattle Thunderbirds as WHL teams without head coaches.
The Warriors parted company with Dave Hunchak after the season, while the Thunderbirds did the same with Rob Sumner.
———
JUST NOTES: D Jared Cowen, who has been with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators since the Spokane Chiefs’ season ended, suffered a concussion on Saturday night and won’t play in Game 6 of the Calder Cup final. Cowen was hurt in the first period of the Senators’ 4-2 victory over the visiting Houston Aeros on Saturday. The Senators take a 3-2 lead into Game 6 on Tuesday in Houston. . . . Binghamton assistant coach Steve Stirling also will miss the remainder of the series. He experienced chest pains while at the Binghamton arena on Sunday afternoon and later in the day underwent what the teams is calling “successful” quadruple bypass surgery. Stirling, 51, is from Clarkson, Ont. He spent more than a season as head coach of the NHL’s New York Islanders before ending up with the Senators.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Monday . . .

It’s game night in the WHL, with Game 3 of the championship final scheduled for Cranbrook.
The series is tied 1-1, with the Portland Winterhawks having opened with a 4-3 OT victory on home ice. The visiting Kootenay Ice won the second game, 7-5, after opening up a 6-1 lead.
The Winterhawks, of course, ran into some penalty problems in that game and now will be without two veteran forwards tonight.
F Tayler Jordan has been suspended for one game after taking a checking-from-behind major for a hit on Ice F Steele Boomer in Game 2.
F Brad Ross drew one of those ‘tbd’ suspensions under supplemental discipline, following a collision with Ice F Matt Fraser. Fraser needed help getting off the ice and was unable to put any weight on his left leg.
If you haven’t seen them already, the Jordan-Boomer hit is right here, with the Ross-Fraser collision right there.
It seems the league has decided not to suspend Portland F Riley Boychuk, who drew an elbowing major and game misconduct for a hit on Ice D Hayden Rintoul. That check is right here.
———
Condolences to the family of former WHL D Clayton Stoner (Tri-City, 2002-05), whose brother Luke, 30, was killed Friday morning in a logging accident near Mahatta River on Vancouver Island. . . . According to a press release issued by the Port Alice RCMP, the death is being attributed to a workplace incident. . . . The Stoners are from Port McNeill. . . . Teresa Bird of the North Island Gazette has more right here. . . . Clayton Stoner, 26, spent this season with the NHL's Minnesota Wild.
———
D Jared Cowen left the Spokane Chiefs when their season ended and joined the Binghamton Senators, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. . . . He played for Binghamton on Friday night and earned an assist on the first shift of his professional career. Binghamton went on to beat the Portland, Me., Pirates, 3-0, to win a playoff series 4-2. . . . Binghamton will meet the Charlotte Checkers in the Eastern Conference final. . . . Former Seattle Thunderbirds C Jim O’Brien scored one of the Senators’ goals in that victory.
In an AHL game on Monday night, F Dustin Boyd (Moose Jaw, 2002-06) scored six seconds into the third OT period to give the host Hamilton Bulldogs a 2-1 victory over the Manitoba Moose. It was Game 7 of a Western Conference semifinal. Boyd won the period-opening faceoff, dumped the puck off the end boards, beat a defender to it and whacked it past G Eddie Lack for the winner. Hamilton F Nigel Dawes (Kootenay, 2001-05) forced the OT with a goal at 6:24 of the third period. . . . Boyd and Dawes both are from Winnipeg.
———
F Sven Bartschi of the Portland Winterhawks is the WHL’s player of the week. He had seven points, including five goals, in three games last week. . . . All signs point to the BCHL’s Quesnel Millionaires being sold and on the move to Chilliwack where they will be rebranded as the Chiefs. Tyler Olsen of the Chilliwack Times has that story right here.
———
Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun has an interesting piece right here on the OHL draft that was held on Saturday.
“The changing face of hockey in this province made startling history on Saturday,” Simmons writes, “when three of the first six selections — four of the first 12 players picked — in the Ontario Hockey League priority draft were players of colour.”
———
In the QMJHL final, G Jacob DeSerres stopped 17 shots to help the visiting Saint John Sea Dogs to a 5-0 victory over the Gatineau Olympiques in front of 4,000 fans. . . . Saint John, which has won eight straight road games in these playoffs, leads the series 2-1 with Game 4 in Gatineau on Wednesday night. . . . DeSerres (Seattle, Brandon, 2005-10) is 10-2 in the playoffs.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Denis Rehak (Prince George, 2003-04) signed a two-year contract extension with Vitkovice Ostrava (Czech Republic Extraliga). He had three goals and two assists in 48 games for Vitkovice this season. . . .
F Mikhail Yakubov (Red Deer, 2001-02) signed a two-year contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Russia KHL). He had 11 goals and 10 assists in 53 games for Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia KHL) this season. . . .
F Egor Mikhailov (Spokane, 1996-97) signed a one-year contract
extension with Spartak Moscow (Russia KHL). He had 10 goals and nine assists in 49 games with CSKA Moscow and Spartak Moscow last season. (Egor’s father is Boris Mikhailov, who was part of the team that played against Canada in the 1972 Summit Series.)
———
D Jared Cowen of the Spokane Chiefs, whose season ended Monday night, will join the AHL’s Binghamton Senators. Cowen was selected ninth overall by the Ottawa Senators in the NHL’s 2009 draft. In fact, he almost made the Senators’ roster in training camp last fall. Binghamton is involved in the AHL’s Atlantic Division final. On Tuesday night, Portland won 6-2, leaving Binghamton with a 3-2 lead in the series. Binghamton is missing three regular defenceman, all of them injured, so Cowen is expected to see some playing time. . . .
———
The ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings cleaned out their dressing room on Tuesday. However, RG Properties, which owns the franchise, hasn’t yet revealed its plans for the Salmon Kings. We do know that they won’t be back in Victoria, has RG Properties has purchased the WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins and will relocate that team to the B.C. capital.
On Tuesday, Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist talked with Mark Morrison, the Salmon Kings’ GM and head coach, about his thoughts. That story is right here.
———
THE COACHING GAME: Mike Verdone of the Sault Star reports that Mike Stapleton will be the next head coach of the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. A Soo assistant from 2008-10, Stapleton moved on after failing to agree on a contract with then-GM Dave Torrie. Stapleton, who will replace Denny Lambert, spent this season as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. . . . Former Kootenay Ice head coach Mark Holick was the Crunch’s first-year head coach. . . . Gavin Holcomb, who had been an assistant coach with the La Ronge Ice Wolves for three seasons, is the new GM/head coach of the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs. He replaces Darrell Mann, whose contract as director of hockey operations and head coach wasn’t renewed by the team’s board of directors.
———
The host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors opened the OHL final with a 5-2 victory over the Owen Sound Attack on Tuesday. The Majors, the host team for the Memorial Cup, are 13-1 in the playoffs. Attendance was 2,644. Game 2 is Thursday in Owen Sound. . . . Yes, Owen Sound is in the Memorial Cup, too. . . . In the QMJHL, the Gatineau Olympiques scored a 4-2 victory over the host Quebec Remparts to win their semifinal, 4-3. The Olympiques had trailed the series 3-1 before winning three in a row. Attendance wsa 11,815. . . . The Olympiques will meet the Saint John Sea Dogs in the final. That series starts with games in Saint John on Thursday and Saturday. Saint John’s lineup includes former WHL G Jacob DeSerres, 20.
———
The WHL holds its bantam draft on Thursday in Calgary.
The vast majority of the drafted players will have been born in 1996, although there likely will be a few 1995-borns selected in the later rounds.
From a WHL news release: “Players eligible . . . will be 1996-born players who reside in Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.”
The Western Elite Hockey Prospects’ rankings that have appeared here, in advance of the draft, haven’t included any American players.
So here is WEHP’s top 10 Western U.S. prospects, keeping in mind that Tyler Neisz of WEHP has tried to weed out players who are expected to take the NCAA route:
1. F Matt Jones, Arizona 95 AAA, 5-10 170
2. F Steven Owre, L.A. Selects, 5-8, 143
3. F Kienan Scott, Spokane Jr. Chiefs, 5-9, 150
4. F Taylor Vickerman, Spokane Jr. Chiefs, 6-0, 175
5. D Carson Vance, Phoenix Jr. Coyotes, 5-7, 148
6. D David Dziezawiec, Pikes Peak Minors, 5-10, 147
7. F Chris Koukis, Pursuit of Excellence, 5-9, 150
8. G Daniel Mumaugh, Colorado Thunderbirds, 511, 160
9. F Scott Eansor, Colorado Thunderbifds, 5-10, 155
10. D Johnny Walker, Phoenix Jr. Coyotes, 6-0, 164
(SOURCE: Western Elite Hockey Prospects)

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that Everett Silvertips trainer Chris Walker made a huge save following a WHL game on Feb. 4. Walker helped save the life of a recreation league player who had had a heart attack. That story is right here.
———
Far too often we watch those who play in the WHL and forget that they are young men trying to find their way in this difficult and sometimes ugly world.
David Searle is an 18-year-old defenceman who played with the OHL’s Guelph Storm. At 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, he is an impressive looking player.
But, in January, Searle asked the Storm for a leave of absence. He wasn’t injured. He wasn’t ill. He simply doesn’t know if he he wants to continue playing hockey.
Todd Vandonk of kawartha.com has Searle’s story right here.
———
F Stephen Peat, one of the toughest players ever to skate in the WHL, has signed with the senior AAA Penticton Vees. Peat, 31, signed at the Feb. 10 deadline. Peat (Red Deer, Tri-City, Calgary, 1995-2000) was selected by the Anaheim Ducks with the 32nd pick of the NHL’s 1998 draft. His pro career was halted by a broken leg. He now lives in Vancouver. . . . The Vees and Prince George Mohawks will play Feb. 26, 8 p.m., in Summerland, B.C., and Feb. 27, 2 p.m., at Memorial Arena in Kamloops.
———
HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Saskatoon, F Brayden Schenn scored at 1:04 of OT as the Blades got past the Medicine Hat Tigers, 5-4. . . . Schenn also had an assist. . . . Schenn has 29 points in 13 games with Saskatoon. Of his 11 goals with the Blades, two are OT snipes. . . . Linemate Curtis Hamilton added a goal, his 19th, and two helpers. . . . Saskatoon F Jake Trask, the third member of that line, goit his 24th goal. He has points in nine straight games and at least one goal in eight of those. . . . The Tigers forced OT with two late third-period goals. . . . D Thomas Carr scored his sixth goal on a PP at 17:15. . . . F Emerson Etem tied it shorthanded at 18:45. . . . Etem, who had two goals, has 32 on the season. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey had three assists. He now leads the WHL with 95 points, two more than Spokane F Tyler Johnson. . . . Tigers F Wacey Hamilton had two assists, as did Saskatoon D Duncan Siemens. . . . The Blades, down 1-0 midway in the second period, went ahead 3-1 with three goals in 3:10. . . . Attendance was 4,838. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 34 shots, eight more than Saskatoon’s Stephen Stanford. . . . Saskatoon G Adam Morrison (mononucleosis) is back on the ice, so the Blades have returned G Tyler Oswald to the midget AAA Pembina Valley Hawks, who play out of Morden, Man. . . . The Tigers were without F Sam Dezman, F Tyler Pitlick, D Matthew Konan and D Scott Ramsay, all of whom are out with concussions. According to Sean Rooney of the Medicine Hat News, “Pitlick is listed as day-to-day, Ramsay as seven to 10 days, and Konan week-to-week. Konan was hurt Friday in Brandon, Ramsay last week in Moose Jaw, and Pitlick took a hit to the jaw (on Feb. 9) against Prince George.” . . . Rooney also reported that Dezman, who hasn’t played since Dec. 14, may be finished. Dezman, a 19-year-old from Edmonton, has a history of concussion-related problems. . . . Saskatoon, the first WHL team to 45 victories, has 92 points, eight more than the Red Deer Rebels in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Tigers, who clinched a playoff spot with the loser point, are tied with the Kootenay Ice for third. . . . As luck would have it, the Ice will play host to the Tigers on Friday night. . . . And, as more luck would have it, the Blades will visit the Ice on Saturday night. . . . And, as even more luck would have it, the Blades will be in Medicine Hat on Sunday. . . .
———
In Moose Jaw, the Calgary Hitmen showed that they will continue to fight the good fight, as they dumped the Warriors, 3-1. . . . Defending-champion Calgary, with the WHL’s poorest record, scored the game’s first three goals. . . . F Jimmy Bubnick got it started with his 17th, at 1:07 of the first period. . . . F Kris Foucault had a goal, his 19th, and an assist, while F Trevor Cheek got his eighth. . . . F Andrew Johnson got his fourth for Moose Jaw, at 17:26 of the second. . . . Calgary G Mike Snider stopped 31 shots. . . . Moose Jaw G Brandon Stone turned aside 26. . . . Attendance was 2,512. . . . The Warriors, with 14 games left, appear headed for a fifth-place finish. They are nine points behind Kootenay and The Hat, and 11 points ahead of Edmonton. . . . A first-round matchup appears likely to have Moose Jaw meeting Kootenay or Medicine Hat, with the latter having home-ice advantage. . . . The Hitmen are 13 points behind eighth-place Prince Albert so will have to be content with playing the role of spoiler over their final 14 games. . . . The Warriors are in Prince Albert on Friday, while Calgary drops in on Regina. . . .
———
In Regina, F Mark McNeill, a player the scouts are falling in love with, had two goals as the Prince Albert Raiders edged the Pats, 4-3. . . . The Raiders erased a 3-2 deficit with the game’s last two goals. . . . McNeill got his second, and 24th of the season, at 10:27 of the second on a PP. . . . F Justin Maylan scored the winner, his 13th, just 54 seconds later. . . . D Antoine Corbin and D Jordan Rowley each had two assists for the Raiders. . . . F Jonathan Parker got his 38th goal for the Raiders. . . . Regina got a goal and two assists from F Garrett Mitchell, who has 17 goals, and three assists from D Brandon Davidson. . . . Mitchell came up dry on a first-period peanlty shot. . . . Each team scored two PP goals. . . . Raiders G Eric Williams stopped 37 shots, eight more than Regina’s Matt Hewitt. . . . Attendance was 3,966. . . . This loss really hurt Regina, which is tied for 10th with Lethbridge and now is six points behind the Raiders, who hold down the conference’s final playoff spot. . . .
———
In Vancouver, G Adam Brown kicked out 42 shots and F Colton Sissons scored three times and set up another to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 4-2 victory over the Giants. . . . Vancouver got on the board first, when F Spencer Bennett got his 28th just 34 seconds into the game. . . . The Rockets came back with the next three, with Sissons getting two and F Geordie Wudrick getting his 31st. . . . Vancouver F Andrej Stastny got his mates to within one at 16:56 of the second, only to have Sissons complete his hat trick at 17:33. . . . Sissons has 14 goals. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 18 shots. . . . Kelowna F Zach Franko had two assists, on PP goals by Wudrick and Sissons. . . . Kelowna was 2-for-3 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-for-2. . . . Attendance was 5,877. . . . Kelowna still is without F Mitchell Callahan (head). Also missing were D Mitchell Chapman (head), F Jason Siebert (wrist), F Brett Bulmer (leg) and F Jessey Astles (shoulder). As well, F Colton Jobke served the third game of a seven-game suspension. . . . The Giants remain without D Joel Rogers (concussion) and F James Henry (knee). . . . The Rockets moved atop the B.C. Division with the victory. Actually, they and the Giants are tied, each with 65 points. But Kelowna, with a game in hand, has a .580 winning percentage; the Giants are at .570. . . . They are six points ahead of Prince George. . . . Spokane visits Kelowna on Friday, while the Giants are at home to Seattle. . . .
———
In Everett, D Brendon Kichton scored two goals and was plus-5 as the Spokane Chiefs dumped the Silvertips, 7-2. . . . Spokane D Jared Cowen had two assists and was plus-6. . . . Spokane F Levko Koper scored three times, giving him 29. . . . Koper, 20, had a career-high 27 goals last season. . . . Chiefs F Anthony Bardaro had three assists. . . . Spokane F Tyler Johnson, who is second in the WHL scoring race, had one assist. . . . F Tyler Maxwell scored his 37th goal for Everett. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson, making his 12th straight start, stopped 46 shots. . . . G Mac Engel made 21 saves for Spokane, which had veteran James Reid back on the bench. He has been out with a hip injury. . . . Everett D Ryan Murray was unable to score on a first-period penalty shot. . . . Attendance was 4,723. . . . The Chiefs are second in the U.S. Division, three points behind Portland with each having played 57 games. The Tri-City Americans, with three games in hand, are two points behind Spokane. . . . Spokane is in Kelowna on Friday, while the Americans are at home to Chilliwack. Portland is idle Friday but will play visiting Chilliwack on Saturday. . . . The Silvertips, who are two points ahead of eighth-place Kamloops, are on their way to Prince George for a weekend double dip. . . . Kamloops opens a five-game Central Division swing in Edmonton on Friday.
———
WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Blazers gain measure of revenge

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Unlike Sesame Street, Friday night’s WHL game at Interior Savings Centre was not brought to you by the letter ‘A’.
The Kamloops Blazers’ coaching staff, having watched its charges drop a 10-1 decision to the Chiefs in Spokane on Wednesday night, chose to have the team, already without captain Chase Schaber, play without alternate captains in Friday’s rematch at Interior Savings Centre.
School remains out on whether it worked as the Blazers, outplayed for much of the first 45 minutes, got a late goal from forward Dylan Willick to tie the game and then beat the Chiefs 4-3 in a shootout before 3,974 fans.
As goaltender Cam Lanigan stopped Spokane centre Tyler Johnson to end the shootout, the Blazers poured off their bench in celebration, the sense of relief quite palpable in the building.
The victory lifted the Blazers (13-12-1) into a three-way tie for sixth place in the ultra-tight 10-team Western Conference. The Chiefs (12-9-3) and Chilliwack Bruins are tied with Kamloops.
Blazers defencemen Corey Fienhage and Bronson Maschmeyer and forward Jordan DePape wore letters in Spokane on Wednesday. Fienhage, forward Shayne Neigum and defenceman Austin Madaisky had them Tuesday in a 4-3 overtime victory over the visiting Regina Pats.
Schaber, the captain since the season began, completed a three-game WHL-issued suspension last night.
“It’s nothing negative,” head coach Guy Charron said of the decision to strip some of his leadership group of the letters. “It’s a situation where . . . I don’t know how to really explain it. The game we lost in Everett (a 4-2 decision on Nov. 19) we had issues that we had to iron out.
“At this point it doesn’t mean that the players won’t get the letters. It comes with a responsibility. For some of them . . . they have to learn. It’s like with your kids — sometimes you have to reprimand them a little bit to maybe get the message across.
“It’ll all get sorted out at a certain point. But for now we’ve decided that was the thing to do.”
On Radio NL’s postgame show Wednesday night, assistant coach Scott Ferguson made reference to some finger-pointing among players that had taken place during the loss in Spokane.
Charron chose not to go there.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t want it to be negative.”
Madaisky, who scored one of two Blazers’ shootout goals, said the coaching decision didn’t have any impact.
“It’s a roomful of leaders in there,” the third-year defenceman said. “And the guys know who talks sometimes and who doesn’t. We don’t need the other teams or the fans or media to see the A’s on the jerseys. The guys in the room know who the leaders are.
“There are some guys who don’t say anything but they go out on the ice and lead by example. Dylan Willick is a good example of that. He’s a very quiet kid but when he hits the ice . . . he competes hard.”
Willick was his usual gritty self Friday night, zipping and buzzing and blocking shots. He got rewarded at 18:20 of the third period when, with goaltender Cam Lanigan on the bench, he corralled a loose puck off a faceoff in the Spokane zone and beat goaltender Mac Engel to get the Blazers into overtime.
Engel had come on during the second period to replace Spokane starter James Reid, who suffered an injury to his right leg when he got caught up in a bit of traffic. It was Engel’s fifth appearance of the season and third in November.
The shootout was delayed by about 15 minutes due to a problem with one net. Finally, referees Ryan Benbow and Ryan Bonnett decided to let both teams shoot at the same net.
Brendan Ranford beat Engel. Lanigan stopped Spokane forward Blake Gal. Madaisky scored. Then Lanigan stoned Spokane spark plug Tyler Johnson for his 43rd and last save of the game.
“He played very well,” Charron said of Lanigan, who had been lit up for eight goals in Spokane. “He had an excellent game.”
Madaisky was able to unveil his shootout move. He skated straight down the centre of the ice, got to within 15 feet, hesitated, and blasted a shot past Engel’s catching mitt.
“I’ve done that move maybe 10 to 15 times in practice and haven’t missed yet,” a smiling Madaisky said.
Earlier in the game, the Blazers had gotten up 2-0 on a pair of goals by winger Jordan DePape but Johnson got those back, scoring while his side was two men short in the second period and adding a power-play goal early in the third.
Spokane defenceman Jared Cowen gave his side a 3-2 lead by finishing off a 3-on-2 with Johnson and Levko Koper at 5:51 of the third.
The Blazers held a 7-5 edge in first-period shots but were outshot 17-7 in the second as Spokane took over.
Madaisky, like many of his teammates, struggled early in what was their third game in four nights.
“I don’t know what was going on,” Madaisky said, adding that he got great support from partner Tyler Hansen, who “I thought had a great game . . . if it wasn’t for him I may not have seen any ice in the third period.”
Madaisky took four minor penalties and was in the penalty box when Johnson scored Spokane's tying goal.
“After you take eight minutes in penalties,” Madaisky admitted, “it goes to your head and you start thinking you can’t do anything out there. It got to the point where I was thinking I couldn’t touch anybody. I have to thank (Ferguson) . . . he stuck with me.”
Madaisky and his teammates picked it up in the third period, though, especially in the back half and it paid off.
“I sensed some fatigue tonight,” Charron said. “This was our fifth game in eight nights and it’ll be six in nine (tonight). . . . We kept plugging away.”
The Blazers are back at it tonight, this time against the visiting Prince George Cougars.
JUST NOTES: Referees Ryan Benbow and Ryan Bonnett gave the Blazers six of 10 minors and one of two majors. . . . Ranford was credited with two assists after the game, giving him three on the night. He has 41 points, one off the WHL lead. . . . Kamloops F Dalibor Bortnak missed the last five minutes of the first period and the early part of the second after blocking a Cowen shot with his left knee. . . . The Daily News Three Stars: 1. Willick: Nothing but hard work, this time with a goal; 2. Johnson: Veteran loves this building; 3. Lanigan: Kept his guys in it and won it in the shootout. . . . After tonight, the Blazers don’t play until Friday when they meet the visiting Saskatoon Blades. 
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter

Saip waiting for move

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Linden Saip, not that long ago a defenceman with the Kamloops Blazers, is at home, waiting for the phone to ring.
Craig Bonner, the WHL team’s general manager, is on the road, waiting for the phone to ring.
Saip, a 19-year-old defenceman from Delta, left the Blazers on Nov. 1. At the time, he said he felt it was “time to move on . . . I just kind of feel my role here is diminishing.”
On Thursday afternoon, Saip said he hasn’t had any second thoughts.
“No,” he reiterated. “My time was done there.”
These days, Saip, who was in his third season with the Blazers, is at home, “skating a bit” and working out in a home gym.
“I’m waiting for the release thing to happen,” Saip said Thursday afternoon.
His junior A rights are held by the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles, but, when asked about going that route, Saip said: “I haven’t quite decided yet. We’ll see what happens then I’ll lay my options out.”
He did admit to having “heard from BCHL and WHL teams.”
Saip also admitted that he wants to play again.
“Yeah . . . I’m hoping that it gets straightened out,” he said. “I am anxious to get back.”
Bonner, meanwhile, is in Saskatchewan, getting a look at some East Division teams and some Blazers’ prospects. He spent Wednesday in Prince Albert watching the Raiders beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 3-2, and was in Regina yesterday.
Bonner said he has had WHL teams ask about Saip, but added “I’m waiting on him to want to continue to play in the Western league.”
“I contacted the family last week,” Bonner continued, “and just said, ‘Let me know . . . there are teams interested. When you want to play in the Western league, let me know.’
“It’s up to him. I’ve got teams interested. Once he says, ‘Yeah,’ we’ll go from there.”
Bonner said he has heard from “quite a few teams,” but that it hasn’t moved past the inquiry stage.
“I haven’t really gotten into price,” he stated. “I have an idea in my head but I didn’t want to start getting into it and then have him say he didn’t want to play.”
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Saip had seven points, three of them goals, and 28 penalty minutes in 13 games with the Blazers this season.
p p p
The Blazers are back at it tonight against the visiting Spokane Chiefs. This will be the Blazers’ third game in four nights, and they are at home again Saturday when the Prince George Cougars come calling.
Kamloops opened the week Tuesday with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Regina Pats at Interior Savings Centre. The Blazers left for Spokane immediately afterwards, and got spanked 10-1 by the Chiefs on Wednesday.
While the Blazers welcomed back left-winger Brendan Ranford in Spokane, they remain without forwards Chase Schaber and JC Lipon. Schaber will complete his three-game suspension tonight, while Lipon also will sit on Saturday. All three were suspended by the WHL following a melee after the second period of a 6-4 loss to the Winterhawks in Portland on Saturday.
Forward Aspen Sterzer, 16, was brought in from the EDGE Academy in Calgary and has played two games. He is expected to play again tonight.
Veteran goaltender Jeff Bosch, who was believed to have suffered a concussion during a fight in Portland, will return from a two-game absence tonight, but it wasn’t know last night whether he will start or back up Cam Lanigan, who gave up eight goals in Spokane.
Troy Trombley, 16, came in from the midget AAA Fort Saskatchewan Rangers and backed up the last two games. He made his WHL debut in Spokane, allowing two goals on nine shots in 14 minutes.
p p p
JUST NOTES: Game time tonight and Saturday is 7 o’clock. . . . Blazers F Dylan Willick, 18, and F Colin Smith, 17, have won academic awards and will be saluted prior to Saturday‘s game. Willick, from Prince George, is completing English 110 at TRU. Smith, from Edmonton, is a full-time student at Valleyview Secondary, where he is taking Chemistry 12, English 12, Foods and Nutrition 11, and Peer Helping 12. . . . After playing the Cougars, the Blazers will be off until Dec. 3 when they meet the Saskatoon Blades at ISC.
----------
SCOUTING REPORT
Spokane Chiefs (12-9-2)
at Kamloops Blazers (12-12-1)
Today, 7 p.m., Interior Savings Centre

Key injuries: Kamloops -- D Josh Caron (collarbone, out), G Jeff Bosch (concussion, probable). Spokane -- D Garrett Leedahl (concussion, out), F Dominik Uher (shoulder, out).
Overview: The Blazers, 5-5-0 in their last 10, are tied for last place in the 10-team Western Conference, but are only four points out of second. . . . The Chiefs, 6-2-2 in their last 10, are tied for fifth, one point ahead of Kamloops. . . Spokane is 2-0 against the Blazers, having won 10-1 at home on Wednesday and 4-3 in a shootout here on Oct. 6. . . . Chiefs D Jared Cowen scored three times in the rout, doubling his season total to six. . . . Kamloops LW Brendan Ranford leads the WHL with 22 goals. He has 16 points, including nine goals, in his last seven games. . . . Kamloops will be without C Chase Schaber and RW JC Lipon, both of whom are serving WHL suspensions. . . . The Blazers lead the WHL in penalty minutes (643) and fighting majors (47). The Chilliwack Bruins, in two fewer games, have 581 penalty minutes and 37 fights. . . . F Darren Kramer, who joined the Chiefs on Oct. 6 from the AJHL’s Grande Prairie Storm, leads the WHL in fighting majors, with 14 in 18 games. F Ryan Hanes of the Blazers is tied for third, with nine. The two fought Wednesday in Spokane. . . . The Blazers have the WHL’s poorest penalty killing, at 71.9 per cent, while the Chiefs are fourth (85.7).

 

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca

     

gdrinnan.blogspot.com

     

Taking Note on Twitter

Derrick Pouliot of the Portland Winterhawks
in one of the club's third jerseys.
(Photo courtesy Bryan Heim/Portland Winterhawks)

’Tis the season. No, not for that. For third jerseys.
And the Portland Winterhawks are the latest WHL team to enter the fray.
The Winterhawks unveiled their third jerseys Wednesday night and went on to score a 4-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips before 7,444 fans at the Rose Garden.
The jersey in the photo above is that third jersey.
It’s different, as third jerseys should be. And the more I look at it, the more it grows on me.
Earlier, the Saskatoon Blades unveiled the denim look -- the Canadian tuxedo -- and got a whole bunch of publicity and reaction throughout the hockey world.
The Lethbridge Hurricanes, Brandon Wheat Kings, Kamloops Blazers, Chilliwack Bruins . . . everyone is getting in on the act.
And while they should.
With attendance figures falling like snowflakes in some communities, teams are having to pull out all stops in trying to lure fans into their buildings. And once they get them there, they have to put on an entertaining show in the hopes of turning them into regular customers.
The Winterhawks, for one team, are hard at work and seem to be on the right track.
------
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Radek Duda (Regina, Lethbridge, 1998-2000) has been assigned on loan by Chomutov (Czech Republic 1.Liga) to Plzen (Czech Republic Extraliga) for the rest of this season. He had 23 goals and 37 assists in 44 games for Chomutov last season and has one goal in two games with Plzen this season. . . .
D David Turon (Portland, 2002-03) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Lausitzer Fuchse Weisswasser (Germany 2.Bundesliga) after terminating his contract with Dukla Trencin (Slovakia Extraliga). He had two goals and one assist in 25 games with Dukla this season. . . .
F Troy Ofukany (Kelowna, Regina, Red Deer, 2004-08) signed a tryout contract with the Luleå Rebels (Sweden Division 1). He had eight goals and five assists in 49 games with the Wichita Thunder and Odessa Jackalopes (both Central Hockey League) last season.
------
The OHL has had it with staged fighting and has moved to bring an end to it, starting with games of Friday.
From an OHL press release:
“The Ontario Hockey League today announced a new playing rule that will come
into effect with the commencement of games on Friday, November 26, 2010.
“The new rule is: ‘If two or more players should enter into a fight prior
to, or at the drop of the puck at the commencement of any period of a game,
then such player(s) shall be assessed an automatic game misconduct. In
addition to any penalties assessed, the OHL Member Team shall be fined
$500.00 and the player(s) suspended for one (1) game. For any subsequent
offence by the same team, the fine shall increase in $500.00 increments, and
for any subsequent offence by the same player the minimum suspension would
double from the previous occurrence.’ ”
------
In case you have forgotten, the AJHL is staging an outdoor game Friday in Fort McMurray with the Oil Barons playing host to the Drayton Valley Thunder. The AJHL’s single-game attendance record apparently is 4,400. The outdoor game is expected to draw 5,000 or more fans.
------
Here is a Thanksgiving Day story for you that involves Mandi Schwartz and her family. It’s a must read on this particular day.
------
Some Wednesday highlights:
For starters, the 10-team Western Conference got put in the mixing bowl and tossed around like so much salad . . . again.
What a horse race this is going to be.
The Kamloops Blazers beat the visiting Regina Pats on Tuesday night and vacated the cellar. The Blazers lost to the Chiefs in Spokane last night and fell back into the basement.
But, as incredible as this may sound, the Blazers are four points out of second place.
The Portland Winterhawks won again and now hold a 14-point lead over the second-place Vancouver Giants.
The Giants have 29 points and are just one point ahead of the Tri-City Americans. The Seattle Thunderbirds are a point behind the Ams. The Chiefs, Kelowna Rockets, Prince George Cougars and Everett Silvertips are one point behind Seattle.
The Chilliwack Bruins and Kamloops are tied for last, one point that group of four.
Amazing!
---
In Prince Albert, the Raiders scored three times in the third period and beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 3-2. . . . F Brandon Herrod, with his ninth, broke a 2-2 tie at 17:08 of the third period. . . . F Todd Fiddler had a goal, his sixth, and an assist for the Raiders, as did F Jonathan Parker, who got his 15^th goal. . . . D Antoine Corbin had two assists for the Raiders. He has played four games since coming over from the Kelowna Rockets and has three two-point games. . . . Raiders G Eric Williams stopped 34 shots. . . . Attendance was 1,893. . . .
---
In Swift Current, F Killian Hutt scored his ninth goal on a PP at 4:28 of OT to give the Broncos a 3-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Brandon D Ryan Pulock forced OT with his second goal of the season at 7:05 of the third on the PP. . . . F Scott Glennie had two assists for Brandon. . . . F Adam Lowry had a goal and an assist for the Broncos, while D Kyle Verdino had two assists. . . . Broncos G Mark Friesen stopped 34 shots. . . .
---
In Edmonton, F Dylan Wruck broke a 3-3 tie with a PP goal at 13:32 of the third period as the Oil Kings edged the Calgary Hitmen, 4-3. . . . Calgary had won the last 16 games between these teams, including four in the playoffs. . . . Since entering the league, the Oil Kings are 4-18-0 versus the Hitmen. . . . Wruck has 10 goals this season. . . . F Michael St. Croix drew three assists for Edmonton. . . . F Trevor Cheek had two assists for the Hitmen. . . . Calgary scored all three of its goals on the PP as it erased a 2-0 deficit. . . . F Kristians Pelss, with his second goal of the season, pulled Edmonton even at 7:16 of the third period. Pelss, 18, will play for his native Latvia at the Division 1A U-20 world junior championship in Bobruisk, Belarus, Dec. 13-19. . . . Edmonton G Jon Groenheyde stopped 32 shots. . . .
---
In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes got three shootout goals and beat the Red Deer Rebels, 5-4. . . . F Cam Braes had two goals for Lethbridge and F Mitch Maxwell drew three assists. . . . D Alex Petrovic and F Dalton Siwak each had a goal and an assist for Red Deer. . . . Siwak forced OT with his seventh goal at 15:08 of the third. . . . F Mark Reners, F Jacob Berglund and F Austin Fyten scored for the home team in the shootout, while only F Byron Froese was able to counter for Red Deer. . . .
---
In Kelowna, F Geordie Wudrick scored three times to lead the Rockets to a 6-1 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . The Rockets scored three goals in the game’s last minute, the first into an empty net. . . . Kelowna D Tyson Barrie had two assists. . . . Barrie became the franchise’s all-time leading scorer among defencemen last weekend. He now has 190 points, including 146 assists, in 219 regular-season games. The previous record (186 points) was held by Burt Henderson, who played with the Rockets from 1993-96. That included two seasons in Tacoma. . . . The Rockets, who were 4-10-0 not that long ago, now are 13-11-0, meaning they have won nine of their last outings. . . . Wudrick, who played his 300^th game last weekend in Prince George, has 10 goals in 23 games this season. It was his second hat trick of this season and the third of his career. . . . He got his third goal at 19:59 of the third period. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 32 shots. . . . Regina F Thomas Frazee had a nine-game point streak end. . . . Kelowna F Max Adolph (concussion) returned to the lineup after a nine-game absence. . . . Rockets F Andreas Stene will play for Norway at the World Junior tournament in Buffalo, Dec. 26 through Jan. 5. He has six points in 18 games with Kelowna. . . . F Gal Koren of the Rockets will play for Slovenia in the U-20 Division 1, Group B championship in Bled, Slovenia, Dec. 12-18. Gal, who has been out with a concussion, is pointless in nine WHL games. . . .
---
In Chilliwack, G James Priestner stopped 28 shots to lead the Prince George Cougars to a 4-0 victory over the Bruins. . . . It was the first of eight scheduled meetings between these teams this season. . . . The Bruins, who are 2-3-4 over their last nine games, are three games into a six-game homestand. . . . It was Priestner’s first shutout this season and the third of his career. It was his first shutout since March 8, 2008, when, while with the Kamloops Blazers, he beat the Cougars 1-0 in Prince George. . . . F Brett Connolly had two assists for Prince George. . . . Attendance was 2,267. . . . The Bruins had F Robin Soudek back in the lineup for the first time since Nov. 11 when he was hit from behind by Vancouver Giants D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen, who drew a seven-game suspension. . . . . “I've seen it a few times, and I think the hit was probably partly my fault because I turned my back to him,” Soudek told Eric Welsh of the Chilliwack Progress. “As soon as I hit the boards, everything in my neck cracked and I was just happy I was able to move my fingers and toes. But they did the X-rays and everything was OK. The concussion was the worst, because some days you feel pretty good and think it might be gone. And the next day you've got symptoms back. It's not a fun time.” . . .
---
In Portland, the Winterhawks got two goals and an assist from F Oliver Gabriel as they beat the Everett Silvertips, 4-2. . . . The Winterhawks are 21-4-1 and that’s the WHL’s best record. . . . Attendance in the Rose Garden was 7,444. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 22 shots, 12 fewer than Everett’s Kent Simpson. . . . The Silvertips remain without F Landon Ferraro (concussion). . . .
---
In Spokane, D Jared Cowen scored three times as the Chiefs spanked the Kamloops Blazers, 10-1. . . . The teams meet again Friday in Kamloops. . . . Cowen, who was playing in his 201^st regular-season game, enjoyed his first three-goal game. . . . He has six goals this season and 25 for his career. . . . F Tyler Johnson, F Steven Kuhn, F Anthony Bardaro and F Matt Marantz each had a goal and two assists for the Chiefs, while F Brady Brassart and F Levko Koper each had two assists. . . . F Brendan Ranford scored for the Blazers, giving him a WHL-leading 22 goals. . . . The Chiefs scored four times in the first period and six times in the third. . . . This was the worst beating absorbed by the Blazers since Jan. 17, 1997, when they lost 12-1 to the Winterhawks in Portland. . . . The last time the Blazers surrendered at least 10 goals in a game was Oct. 12, 2009, when they were beaten 12-5 by the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . In their last two visits to Spokane, the Blazers have been outscored, 17-1. The Chiefs beat them 7-0 on Feb. 17. . . .
---
In Kent, Wash., F Adam Hughesman scored the lone goal of the shootout as the Tri-City Americans beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-4. . . . The Americans, who came in having lost six of seven, trailed 3-0 at 12:31 of the second period and 4-2 late in the third. . . . F Kruise Reddick, at 17:23, and F Jordan Messier, 18:01, scored for the Americans to force OT. . . . F Neal Prokop, who suffered a badly broken leg in the first round of the playoffs last spring, returned to the Americans’ lineup. Tri-City dressed Prokop, Reddick and D Zak Stebner as its 20-year-olds, choosing to sit D Tyler Schmidt. The Americans have 14 days to declare three 20-year-olds. . . . Prokop had one assist, setting up Messier’s tying goal. . . . Hughesman had two assists in regulation time, while F Brendan Shinnimin had a goal and an assist. . . . Seattle got two goals from F Colin Jacobs and two assists from F Tyler Alos. . . . Talk about busy goaltenders! Drew Owsley of the Americans stopped 42 shots, while Seattle’s Calvin Pickard turned aside 55. . . . Attendance was 2,639. . . . From the Americans’ Dan Mulhausen: “Owsley matched his season-high with 42 saves in collecting his 50th WHL win. Meanwhile, Pickard faced 50-plus shots for the fourth time in his career, finishing with 55 saves in the tough luck loss. Three of the four times he has faced 50 or more shots in a game have come against Tri-City, including a career-best 57-save shutout on Oct. 2, 2009.”
---
WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Two minors:
Seattle F Travis Toomey
Seattle F Brenden Dillon

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

WHL ready to defend CHL's honour

Team Russia players get a close-up look at Team WHL
goaltender Calvin Pickard during a Tuesday practice
at Interior Savings Centre in Kamloops.
(Photo by Keith Anderson/Kamloops Daily News)

By MARK HUNTER
Daily News Sports Reporter
There were plenty of laughs and good times on the Interior Savings Centre ice Tuesday as Team WHL practised together for the first time.
Head coach Ryan Huska is expecting that to change tonight.
Huska, the head coach of the Kelowna Rockets, will lead Team WHL into a Subway Super Series game against a touring Russian side at 7 o'clock. This is the fifth of six games in the Subway Super Series, which is in its eighth year, and the Russians carry a 2-2 record into tonight.
Over the previous seven years, the Russians had been barely better than terrible, winning just six times in 42 games against their CHL opposition. Five of those victories came against QMJHL teams, with the WHL's lone loss coming in Cranbrook on Nov. 28, 2007, when Russia won 5-1.
The Russians have looked good this year, beating the QMJHL twice - 5-4 in Saint John on Nov. 8 and 4-3 in Drummondville on Nov. 10 - before losing twice to the OHL, 4-0 in London on Thursday and 2-1 in a shootout in Sudbury on Monday.
“You find out in a hurry that this isn't just a skate-around game - we're here to win,” said Huska, who was an assistant coach last year. “I think the players, they understand that now. There's a lot of pride on the line, especially this year since the series actually means something.”
In 14 games against the Russians, the WHL has won 13 of them and has outscored its opposition 65-21.
The first four games of this Super Series have been televised (as will tonight's, on Rogers Sportsnet), so the WHL players have had a chance to see what they will be up against.
“They're definitely faster, stronger and more skilled this year,” said Kamloops Blazers forward Chase Schaber. “We're going to be ready to go too, and it's going to be a fun game.”
The Super Series was created in 2003 and has replaced the WHL's all-star game.
But only a few of the first 14 WHL-Russia games have lived up to expectations and, more often than not, the WHL has run away with them. Of those 14 games, Team WHL has won eight by three or more goals.
The games were close in 2009 - the WHL won 2-1 in Victoria on Nov. 25 and 4-2 in Kelowna the next night.
Now, with the series tied 2-2, the WHL isn't planning to let its visitors win the series for the first time.
“Every year, we want to try to show that the WHL is the best league,” said Spokane Chiefs defenceman Jared Cowen, who will wear the captain's C for Team WHL tonight. “When they come, they expect the WHL to be the toughest league and I think we'll do our best to show that (tonight).”
But there's more than pride at stake for the Team WHL players - the series also serves as an opportunity for Hockey Canada's scouts to take a long look at potential players for the World Junior Championship, scheduled for Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Buffalo, N.Y.
The last time a Super Series game was played in Kamloops, on Nov. 30, 2006, three key members of Canada's gold-medal winning junior team contributed to the WHL's 8-1 victory.
Carey Price, who would be named tournament MVP at the 2007 world junior tournament in Sweden, turned aside 22 shots in Team WHL's victory, while Cody Franson and Darren Helm each scored a goal.
“No one's really talked about (world juniors) so far, but I think some guys are thinking about it,” said Cowen, who played on the Canadian team that finished second at the WJC in Saskatoon and Regina in January. “Obviously, this is the first stepping stone towards that - if you play well, you have a good chance of getting asked to camp.”

mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca

Huska happy to be with 'home' team

RYAN HUSKA

By MARK HUNTER
Daily News Sports Reporter
It has been a long time since Ryan Huska wasn't wearing the enemy's colours at Interior Savings Centre.
Huska, the head coach of the Kelowna Rockets, is to serve as head coach of Team WHL for tonight's Game 5 of the Subway Super Series. The WHL will play a touring Russian side at 7 o'clock.
Before he came to running things in Kelowna, Huska was on three Memorial Cup-winning teams in Kamloops. From 1991-95, he played 247 games with the Blazers, picking up 162 points.
These days, when Huska walks into the building that was known as Rivershore Coliseum when he played, he's usually an enemy. He's glad to be on the other side of that, if only for a night.
“It's fun,” Huska said. “I think these opportunities are terrific - you get an opportunity to work with some terrific coaches who normally we don't get to spend a lot of time with.”
Huska scouted for the Blazers from 2000-02, before being named an assistant with the Rockets before the 2002-03 season. He served under Marc Habscheid and Jeff Truitt before being given the head-coaching duties prior to 2007-08.
His Rockets won the WHL championship in his first season, and Huska has been named an assistant coach for Canada's entry at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo, N.Y., after Christmas.
“My playing years, I learned the game of hockey from (former head coach) Tom Renney, and Don (Hay) and (former general manager) Bob Brown and everyone else in this organization,” said Huska, who has won four Memorial Cups - the latest with the Rockets in 2004. “I feel like I got a lot of opportunities because of my time here.
“Since I've been working in the coaching side of things, I feel the same way about my time in Kelowna with (president/GM) Bruce Hamilton and the rest of the staff . . .”
Assisting Huska tonight will be Kamloops Blazers head coach Guy Charron and Calgary Hitmen head coach Mike Williamson. Charron won't make the trip to Prince George for Thursday's final game of the series, and former Blazers GM/head coach Dean Clark, now the head coach of the Cougars, will take his spot.
———
Huska apparently knows a good thing when he sees it - Brendan Ranford and Chase Schaber will remain linemates for tonight's game.
The Blazers forwards, who will be joined by defenceman Austin Madaisky in representing Kamloops on Team WHL, will start the game on a line with Saskatoon Blades' winger Darian Dziurzynski.
“I love it, actually - from what I hear, Darian's a hard-working guy, just like me and Brendan,” said Schaber, who is the Blazers' captain. “I think we'll be a top contender for the hardest-working line in this series and probably the greasiest.”
Schaber, a centre, has made a living out of feeding the puck to Ranford, who leads the WHL with 20 goals, and also would do well to pass to Dziurzynski, who is tied for the Blades' lead with 12 goals.
———
Seattle Thunderbirds goaltender Calvin Pickard was nothing short of brilliant the last time he played at ISC, but he won't get the chance for a repeat performance tonight.
Pickard stopped 49 shots in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Blazers on Oct. 30, and was the main reason his Thunderbirds even managed a point in the game.
He is scheduled to suit up for both of Team WHL's Super Series games against the Russians, but will back up Everett Silvertips goaltender Kent Simpson tonight and start Thursday.
“It's not disappointing . . . whatever game they need me in is going to be the game I perform in,” said Pickard, an 18-year-old from Winnipeg who leads the WHL with 627 saves. “I'm excited.”
This isn't Pickard's first Super Series - he made 19 saves as Team WHL beat Russia 2-1 in Victoria on Nov. 25, 2009.
———
Jared Cowen also is a veteran of the Super Series, having played against the Russians each of the last two years.
Cowen, the captain of the Spokane Chiefs, had an assist in last year's 2-1 victory in Victoria. He also helped Team WHL beat the Russians 5-0 in Swift Current on Nov. 26, 2008, and 2-1 in Prince Albert the next night.
“First year, I was the young guy and didn't know what to expect with the Russians or playing with these guys,” said Cowen, who will play tonight, but not in Prince George. “Last year was better . . . but it will be interesting to see what the Russians have.”
Cowen also was a member of the Canadian team that finished second at the World Junior Championship in Saskatoon and Regina.
It was a long Tuesday for Cowen, a 19-year-old defenceman from Allan, Sask., who flew from Spokane to Seattle to Vancouver to Kamloops.
———
Speaking of long days, the Russians spent most of Tuesday on airplanes and in airports.
Russia lost 2-1 in a shootout to Team OHL in Sudbury on Monday, then hopped a plane from Sudbury to Toronto. From Toronto, the Russians flew into Vancouver, then backtracked to Kamloops on a charter.
The charter also had WHL players on it, and landed in Kamloops around 4:30 p.m. The teams were situated on opposite ends of the plane, with the Sportsnet television crew in between.

mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca

Ex-WHLer gets AHL head-coaching job

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Duncan Milroy (Swift Current, Kootenay, 1998-2003) signed a contract (one year with a club option for another year) with the Krefeld Pinguine (Germany DEL) after obtaining his release from Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic Extraliga). He had three goals and three assists in 20 games for Mlada Boleslav this season. Last season, Milroy had 12 goals and 24 assists in 74 games for Houston Aeros (AHL). . . .
G Ian Gordon (Swift Current, Saskatoon, 1992-95) signed a one-year contract extension with Ingolstadt (Germany DEL). He has a 2.49 GAA and a .924 save percentage in 16 games with Ingolstadt this season. This is Gordon's 11th season in the DEL.
———
The Tri-City Americans have sold more than 2,500 season tickets for what is believed to be the first time in franchise history. The shut off season-ticket sales last week with the total at 2,525, which is up five per cent over last season. . . . Records kept by some of the team’s previous owners are a bit sketchy, but it’s believed that this constitutes a new high. . . . “Our staff has done a tremendous job developing a solid season-ticket base,” Americans’ governor/general manager Bob Tory said in a news release. “Credit also needs to go to our fans who have jumped on board and helped us enjoy some tremendous hockey.  And to our players, who have given more than just a solid on-ice effort, but have been actively involved in the community to add to the quality of life in the Tri-Cities.” . . . The Americans are in their 23rd season in the Tri-Cities. They are owned by Tory, Stu Barnes, Olaf Kolzig and Dennis Loman. . . . Last season, the team averaged 4,480 fans, its highest number since 1990-91. . . . The Americans meet the Bruins in Chilliwack on Friday, then hurry home to meet the Spokane Chiefs on Saturday and the Everett Silvertips on Sunday.
———
The Calgary Hitmen have lost 12 straight games to equal a franchise record. In 1995-96, the Hitmen endured two 12-game losing streaks but that was their first season in the WHL. . . . The Hitmen next play Friday when they visit the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . When Calgary lost 6-2 to the visiting Kootenay Ice on Sunday, it was without F Tyler Fiddler (upper body), D Jaynen Rissling (lower body) and D Alex Roach (leg). During the game, the Hitmen lost D Matt MacKenzie (flu) and D Peter Kosterman (injury), so moved F Cody Sylvester back to defence. . . .
———
On Monday, the Regina Pats dealt G Dawson Guhle, 18, to the Red Deer Rebels for LW Lane Scheidl, 18. . . . Scheidl, from Saskatoon, was acquired by Red Deer from the Vancouver Giants. He has six points in 20 games this season with the Rebels. . . . Guhle was 1-1-1, 6.25, .825 with the Pats, who are going with Damien Ketlo, 19, and freshman Matt Hewitt, who turns 18 on Dec. 11. . . . The Pats actually issued a press release last week saying they had assigned Guhle to the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires, but it was pulled back a couple of hours later. Could be this deal has been in the works since then. . . . With Red Deer, Guhle will back up veteran Darcy Kuemper as the Rebels have assigned Bolton Pouliot, 16, to the midget AAA Calgary Royals. . . .
———
The Kamloops Blazers swept the WHL’s player-of-the-week awards. . . . LW Brendan Ranford was named player of the week after picking up six points, including three goals, in two games. He became the first skater to 20 goals this season when he scored once in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over the visiting Everett Silvertips. . . . Kamloops G Jeff Bosch is the WHL nominee as the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 2-0-0 with a 0.50 GAA and a .984 save percentage last week.
———
Pat Bingham (Kamloops, New Westminster, 1985-89) is the new head coach of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s New York Islanders. The Islanders fired head coach Scott Gordon on Monday, replacing him with Bridgeport head coach Jack Capuano. . . . Bingham, who is from Vancouver, has been an assistant coach with the Sound Tigers since 2007-08. He has been in the Islanders organization since 2005. He also has coached in the Central and United leagues and in the ECHL.
———
The Moose Jaw Warriors were without two key performers when they dropped a 6-3 decision to the visiting Portland Winterhawks on Monday night. . . . F Quinton Howden sat out a one-game suspension for a cross-checking major he incurred in Saturday’s 3-0 victory over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Warriors filled that spot with F Carter Hansen, the 10th overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft. He playes for the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals. . . . The Warriors also were without D Dylan McIlrath, who suffered a right knee injury on Saturday. McIlrath was selected 10th overall by the New York Rangers in the 2010 NHL draft and the Rangers are flying him into the Big Apple on Wednesday where he is scheduled to undergo an MRI. . . . “I remember battling in the faceoff circle for the puck,” McIlrath told Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald. “I watched the video and it looked like the guy fell on the outside of my right knee.” . . . .According to Gourlie, “When McIlrath went down he was in obvious distress and his pained scream could be heard all the way to the Civic Centre rafters.” . . . “I heard a noise you shouldn’t hear and went down in a lot of pain,” said McIlrath. “I knew right away it was pretty serious. I’m not the one to lay on the ice if it wasn’t serious.” . . . McIlrath actually is walking better and swelling has gone down, so he is thinking the injury may not be as bad as first feared. The MRI will reveal whether that is wishful thinking.
———
As expected, the WHL doled out some suspensions Monday.
D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen of the Vancouver Giants got hit with seven games for that hit from behind on F Robin Soudek of the host Chilliwack Bruins on Thursday. The Bruins have yet to update the world on Soudek’s condition. . . . This was a nasty, nasty hit but, for whatever reason, was worth five games less than what F Brendan Shinnimin of the Tri-City Americans got for his hit on F Josh Nicholls of the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Shinnimin is eligible to return Saturday when the Americans play the Chiefs in Spokane. . . . Vannieuwenhuizen will be eligible to return Dec. 7 when the Giants are at home to the Kamloops Blazers.
Meanwhile, D Adrian Van de Mosselaer of the Edmonton Oil Kings got a two-game sentence for a kneeing major in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to the host Kootenay Ice; Moose Jaw Warriors F Quinton Howden got hit with one game for a cross-checking major in a 3-0 victory over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes on Saturday; and, F Brad Ross of the Portland Winterhawks got two games for a game misconduct he picked up during a 5-4 loss to the Blades in Saskatoon on Friday. . . . It isn’t true that Ross got tossed so that he could go and sit with Shannon Tweed and Gene Simmons.
———
F Igor Revenko of the Prince Albert Raiders is in Edmonton today to undergo an MRI. He felt a pop in his groin area in a recent game and tried to play through it, but with no luck. Revenko, 20, had 55 points, including 27 goals, last season and you can bet the struggling Raiders are feeling his absence. . . . Raiders D Nathan Deck also is said to be at least a week away from returning. . . . Revenko and Deck are two of the Raiders’ three 20-year-olds. . . . The Portland Winterhawks have their Teddy Bear Toss scheduled for Dec. 11 when the Prince George Cougars are in town. The Winterhawks say they already have sold nearly 8,000 tickets for that game. . . . The Spokane Chiefs have added D Tim Krzyzaniak, 18, to their roster. He has played two WHL games in his career — one in each of the last two seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings. He is from Neepawa, Man., which is just north of Brandon. He had three points in 12 games with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings this season. The Chiefs are with D Garrett Leedahl, who is hurt, and anticipate losing D Jared Cowen to Canada’s national junior team so have been looking for some depth. . . . The Chiefs are in for quite a weekend as they go on the road to play Seattle, Tri-City and Portland, in that order, starting Friday. . . . Cowen has been named captain of Team WHL for Wednesday’s Super Series game in Kamloops. F Chase Schaber of the Kamloops Blazers and F Curtis Hamilton of the Saskatoon Blades will serve as alternates. Calgary D Matt MacKenzie was to have been an alternate for both games, but he has the flu and has been replaced by D Alex Petrovic of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The WHL also announced that Kamloops F Brendan Ranford will replace F Brendan Gallagher of the Vancouver Giants for the game in Kamloops. Gallagher will play in Prince George on Thursday. . . . F Cody Eakin of the Swift Current Broncos will wear the ‘C’ for Team WHL on Thursday in Prince George, with D Tyson Barrie of the Kelowna Rockets and F Brett Connolly of the hometown Cougars as the alternates. . . .
———
In Moose Jaw, F Ty Rattie had two goals and two assists to lead the Portland Winterhawks to a 6-3 victory over the Warriors. . . . Rattie has 14 goals. He also has 38 points, just two behind Vancouver Giants F Craig Cunningham, who leads the league. . . . The Winterhawks scored three times in the second period after the teams played to a 2-2 draw in the opening 20 minutes. . . . Portland F Sven Bartschi had his 17th goal and an assist to run his points streak to 16 games. He has 33 points on the season. . . . Portland lost F Tayler Jordan to a charging major and game misconduct at 6:10 of the third period. . . . Portland is 4-1-0 on its East Division swing, which wraps up tonight in Brandon. Immediately after the game, most of the Winterhawks will start the 24-hour bus ride back to Portland. F Ryan Johansen, D Brett Ponich, Rattie and F Brad Ross, however, will miss the bus ride. Altogether now . . . awwwwww! They will fly to Prince George where they will play for Team WHL in Wednesday’s final game of the Subway Super Series. . . . Ross didn’t play last night in Moose Jaw. He drew a two-game suspension for receiving a game misconduct during Friday’s 5-4 loss to the Blades in Saskatoon. He served the first game of that suspension Saturday as the Winterhawks won 8-2 in Prince Albert.
———
In Regina, F Hampus Gustafsson had a goal and two assists to lead the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 5-2 victory over the Pats. . . . Brandon acquired Gustafsson from the Pats earlier this season. . . . The Wheat Kings also got a goal and assist from F Jason Swyripa. . . . Brandon has won three straight and became the 17th of 22 teams to get to the .500 mark. . . . If you’re a Wheat Kings fan on the Brayden Schenn, well, the Los Angeles Kings made him a healthy scratch for a fifth straight game last night. . . . Jason Clermont, who caught the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ winning TD in Sunday’s thrilling victory over the B.C. Lions, and teammate Chris Getzlaf took part in the ceremonial faceoff prior to the game. . . . The Pats now head into the B.C. Division for a five-game tour that opens Friday in Vancouver.
———
MONDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Zero.
———
WHL teams at .500 or better: 17-of-22 (.773).

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter