Bibeau sharp as Foreurs open with victory; Royals goaltender signs pro deal

G Patrik Polivka (Victoria, 2012-14) has signed a two-year contract with Plzen (Czech Republic, Extraliga). This season with the Royals, he was 2.56 and .915 in 43 games. . . . Polivka, who turned 20 on March 4, is eligible to return to Victoria for one more season, but would have been a two-spotter -- a 20-year-old and an import. . . .


G Leland Irving (Everett, 2003-08) has signed a one-year contract with Avangard Omsk (Russia, KHL). This season with Jokerit Helsinki (Finland, Liiga), he was 2.14 and .922 in 55 games.
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1. Dan Kinvig of the Abbotsford News reports right here that the CHL had some people conducting a survey in a local shopping centre on Wednesday. However, Jeff Hubert, the WHL’s director of communications, told Kinvig that the purpose of the survey wasn’t to test Abbotsford’s receptiveness to a WHL team. . . . I wonder how many Chilliwack residents happened to be in that particular shopping centre on Wednesday?

2. The news in The MacBeth Report that G Patrik Polivka has signed to play
professionally with his hometown team (he’s from Plzen, Czech Republic) puts G Coleman Vollrath, 19, atop the Victoria Royals’ depth chart. . . . Vollrath had a terrific season (20-8-2, 2.39, .928), really stepping up his game when Polivka missed time in early January and again in early February with a concussion. . . . Michael Herringer, an 18-year-old from Comox, B.C., who was a ninth-round draft pick in 2011, likely is in the Royals’ No. 2 slot, at least at this moment.

3. Wondering what’s in store for the Canadian Hockey League in terms of TV exposure through Rogers Communications over the next few years? Chris Zelkovich of the Eh Game over at Yahoo! Sports has some answers right here.

4. The championship game for the 2014 Memorial Cup is eight days away, but I have no idea what time the puck will drop. On what I believe is the tournament’s official website, there is one place where it has game time as noon Eastern. But I received an email today that contained the entire schedule, with starting times for every game but the final, which is listed as “TBD.” . . . So let’s go with TBD until TV decides when the game will begin.

5. When this season began, F Brendan Ranford was struggling to find playing time with the AHL’s Texas Stars. Things have since changed and Ranford, in his first pro season, is tied for the AHL playoff lead in goals. . . . Alyssa Dombrowski has more right here on Ranford, who played the previous five seasons with the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Ranford got his seventh goal last night as the visiting Stars beat the defending-champion Grand Rapids Griffins 3-2 to take a 3-2 lead in that series. Game 6 is Sunday in Texas.

6. The Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers open the third round of Stanley Cup play today and the puck drops at 10 a.m. Pacific. Thank you, Gary Bettman, and tell me again how TV doesn’t rule your world. . . . Come on! The Canadiens and Rangers in a Stanley Cup game has to be on CBC-TV on Saturday night.

7. The Drummond men now are involved in the ownership of two hockey teams, father Gary with the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes and son Jason with the Regina Pats. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has Jason’s story right here.
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The Vancouver Giants have signed G Cody Porter, a North Vancouver native who turns 17 on Sept. 23. . . . Porter played this season with the midget AAA Vancouver-North West Giants (1.75, .942 in five games) and the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors (3.55, .875 in 16 games).
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THE COACHING GAME:
Craig Mohr is the new head coach of the junior B Fernie Ghostriders of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. Mohr is quite familiar with the KIJHL, having coached the Ghostriders in their first two seasons (2004-06) in the KIJHL and also worked with the Golden and Beaver Valley franchises. He also has worked with the midget AAA Calgary North Stars. This season, he was the assistant GM and assistant coach with the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks. . . . He also played 17 games with the Flin Flon Bombers in what was then the WCHL in 1971-72. . . . Mohr takes over in Fernie from Dale Hladun, who now is head coach of the KIJHL’s 100 Mile House Wranglers.
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The B.C. Major Midget Hockey League has revealed its list of head coaches for 2004-15. If you are interested, that list is right here.
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MEMORIAL CUP
(at London, Ont., all times Eastern)
(all games televised by Sportsnet)
Friday: Val-d’Or 1 vs. London 0 (8,863)
Saturday: Guelph vs. Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Sunday: London vs. Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Monday: Guelph vs. Val-d’Or, 7 p.m.
Tuesday: Edmonton vs. Val-d’Or, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: London vs. Guelph, 7 p.m.
Thursday: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7 p.m.
Friday: Semifinal, 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 24: No game scheduled.
Sunday, May 25: Final, TBD.
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FRIDAY’S GAME:
The Val-d’Or Foreurs’ two stars came through in a 1-0 tournament-opening victory over the London Knights. . . . G Antoine Bibeau, whose NHL rights belong to the Toronto Maple Leafs, stopped 51 shots and F Anthony Mantha scored his 87th goal this season at 16:20 of the first period. . . . Mantha has 82 goals in 82 games for the Foreurs this season. . . . London G Anthony Stolarz, playing his first game in seven weeks after also serving an OHL suspension, stopped 27 shots. . . . The Knights were playing their first game after a 34-day layoff. They were eliminated by the eventual-champion Guelph Storm in the second round of the playoffs. . . . Bibeau stopped London F Bo Horvat on a third-period penalty shot. . . . In Saturday’s lone game, the WHL-champion Edmonton Oil Kings will meet the OHL-champion Guelph Storm.

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Ownership transfers cleared; former Chiefs coach wins in KHL

As expected, the WHL’s board of governors approved the transfer of ownership of the Prince George Cougars and Regina Pats on Wednesday in Calgary.
Long-time owner Rick Brodsky has sold the Cougars to EDGEPRO Sports and Entertainment Ltd. The new ownership group is led by Prince George businessman Greg Pocock and also includes Raymond Fortier, Ernest Ouellet and John Pateman, along with NHL defencemen Eric Brewer and Dan Hamhuis, both of whom are former Cougars players.
Later, Hartley Miller at hqprincegeorge.com reported that Pocock had confirmed that general manager Dallas Thompson wouldn’t be retained, while head coach Mark Holick, with two years left on his contract, will return for a second full season. Thompson and Todd Harkins, the Cougars’ director of player personnel, will handle the team’s bantam draft moves today.
Brodsky purchased the franchise in 1992, when it was the Victoria Cougars, and moved it north for the 1994-95 season.
Meanwhile, Diane and Russ Parker have sold the Pats to Queen City Sports and Entertainment Group Ltd. The Parkers owned the Pats for 19 seasons. QCSEC is headed up by Anthony Marquart, and also includes Jason Drummond, Todd Lumbard, and Gavin and Shaun Semple.
Marquart will be the Pats’ governor, a role previously filled by Chad Lang, the senior vice-president and general manager, while Lumbard, a former Brandon Wheat Kings and Pats goaltender, will be the president.
The Pats’ new owners aren’t anticipating any changes within the front office or coaching staff.
“We want to keep everyone in our organization in the same role,” Lumbard told Greg Harder of The Leader-Post. “We have some of our own ideas that we want to implement of course, but the plan is to go in and work together with the group we have, try to improve, give them as much support as we can, engage the community and rely on some of our ownership group to utilize their resources in the community.
“We want to put every resource we can into building this hockey team into the best on-ice product we can and also really work hard on the game experience for our fans and make the arena a fun place to be.”
Harder also reported, as he did earlier, that the Pats’ new owners are negotiating with former captain Mike Sillinger, who is likely to join the organization in hockey operations. He presently is with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers as director of player development.
While the WHL’s board of governors has approved both transfers, neither sale has closed. Both deals should be officially done nearer to the end of this month.
The Pats’ new owners will meet the media in Regina on Monday. The Cougars’ new owners have scheduled a news conference for May 13 at the CN Centre in Prince George.
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1. Rick Williams, who played in the WHL with the Saskatoon Blades and Victoria Cougars, is losing his fight with dementia. His father, Clarence, calls it a struggle “worse than death.” . . . Rick Williams is 60 years of age. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has that story right here.

2. The WHL held its awards luncheon in Calgary on Wednesday. A list of award winners can be found on the WHL’s website (whl.ca). . . . The bantam draft is to be held today. For coverage, visit Alan Caldwell’s blog -- Small Thoughts At Large. There is a link over there on the right.

3. What does it say that Mike Johnston, the general manager, head coach and chief architect of the Portland Winterhawks, has never been saluted as the WHL’s coach of the year or executive of the year? The Winterhawks are into the WHL championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup for a fourth straight season, all of them under Johnston.

4. What does it say that Derek Laxdal, the head coach of the Edmonton Oil Kings, has yet to be named coach of the year? The Oil Kings are into the championship final for a third straight season. (Bob Green, the Oil Kings’ former GM, was named executive of the year for 2011-12 and 2012-13.)

5. John MacKinnon of the Edmonton Journal has written a solid column on Mike Johnston, who doesn’t keep any secrets when asked about Portland’s success. That piece is right here.

6. Mike Pelino, who worked as an assistant coach with the Spokane Chiefs for two seasons (1998-2000), is celebrating a Gagarin Cup championship today. Pelino is an assistant coach under Mike Keenan with the KHL’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk. They won the KHL title on Wednesday, beating Lev Prague 7-4 in Game 7 of the championship series. . . . There is more right here.

7. On Sunday, TSN wasn’t able to free up room on either of its channels to show an NHL playoff game from start to finish. Last night, to make up for Sunday, TSN had the Minnesota at Colorado game on both of its channels at the same time.

8. Was Twitter amazing last night, or what? Three Game 7s in the Stanley Cup race and then Rob Ford’s world went bananas. . . . If you live in Toronto, you have to vote for Ford again because those of us who don’t live there want to see this soap opera through to its conclusion. How does it end?

9. I really don’t know what We The North means, but, with apologies to the Vancouver Canucks . . . We Are All Raptors.

10. Late last night, TSN’s Farhan Lalji tweeted that the Canucks will fired head coach John Tortorella today. That being the case, I would suggest Todd McLellan would be a good fit there.

11. Looking for a good read? Click right here and read all about Bill Simmons of ESPN/Grantland. It’s a piece from Rolling Stone that was written by Rob Tannenbaum.

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THE COACHING GAME:
The BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs have signed Kyle Adams as associate coach. He will work alongside head coach Jason Tatarnic. . . . Adams has spent the last five seasons on the coaching staff of the junior A Woodstock Slammers in Ontario. He spent three of those seasons as an associate coach on Tatarnic’s staff.

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THE FOURTH ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
WHL final, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup
(x - if necessary)
(All games televised live by Shaw)
(All games televised by Root Sports -- Game 2 live, others on delayed basis)
PORTLAND (2, West) vs. Edmonton (1, East)
Season series: Portland, 0-0-1; Edmonton, 1-0-0.
Saturday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
Sunday: Edmonton at Portland, 5 p.m. (Moda Center)
Tuesday: Portland at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: Portland at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
x-Friday, May 9: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
x-Sunday, May 11: Portland at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
x-Monday, May 12: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
INJURIES
Portland: None.
Edmonton: None.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAME:
No game scheduled.
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From Taylor Roseveare (@PoTaylourHead), who was a ticket executive with the Saskatoon Blades: “Want to thank the @bladeshockey for an amazing 3 years. What a ride # newdirection #standuporganization”
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From Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC): “It was a very painful day at CBC. All the best to a lot of talented people...this was not about your performance, which was always elite.”

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Conference finals resume Friday night

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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