Here it is! The plaque which will be installed after the Howe's ashes are interred on Sunday. #ThankYouMrHockey pic.twitter.com/gvnVERJBE3— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) September 19, 2016
The final chapter in a Saskatchewan love story will be written on Sunday when the intermingled ashes of Colleen and Gordie Howe are placed in an urn and set into a vault at the base of a statue of Gordie near the SaskTel Centre, the home of the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Kevin Mitchell of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here on the work that has gone into preparing the site and the plaque that will be left at the site.
———
 |
Some very positive things in the Lethbridge Hurricanes Business Report from Business Mgr Terry Huisman. pic.twitter.com/8zeAOQU8Dv— Pat Siedlecki (@radiopat258) September 20, 2016
One year after losing more than $486,000, the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ board of directors told shareholders on Monday night that the community-owned franchise put up a profit of $197,235 for the 2015-16 season.
That may have had something to do with why general manager Peter Anholt was named the WHL’s executive of the year after his first season on the job.
The team’s annual general meeting was attended by 120 shareholders representing 228 shares.
Shareholders also were told that the team is budgeting for a profit of $96,190 in 2016-17.
And for a change there weren’t any calls to sell the franchise.
——
The Saskatoon Blades have acquired D Jackson Caller, 17, from the Portland Winterhawks for a fourth-round selection in the 2018 bantam draft. . . . Caller, from Kamloops, suffered a broken wrist in Portland’s training camp a year ago. He did get into eight games with the Winterhawks, recording one assist, but spent most of the season with the junior B Revelstoke Grizzlies. He had 10 points, including four goals, in 18 games with Revelstoke. . . . Portland selected him in the seventh round of the 2014 bantam draft. . . . On Sunday, the Blades acquired G Logan Flodell, 19, from the Seattle Thunderbirds. On Monday, Saskatoon dropped G Joel Grzybowski, 17, and he has reported to the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars. Grzybowski, from Hafford, Sask., was an 11th-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . The Blades are expected to open the season with Flodell and Brock Hamm, 19, as their goaltenders, but Dorrin Luding, 17, is still on the roster.
——
The Red Deer Rebels have acquired F Jordan Roy, 18, from the Tri-City Americans for a conditional fifth-round selection in the 2019 bantam draft. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from Kimberley, B.C., had two goals and an assist in 34 games with the Americans last season, his first in the WHL. The Americans selected him in the fifth round of the 2013 bantam draft.
——
The Spokane Chiefs have placed veteran F Jacob Cardiff, 20, on waivers, while dropping F Eli Zummack and G Donovan Buskey from their roster. . . . Zummack, 16, will return to the major midget Okanagan Rockets, who play out of Kelowna. A Kelowna native, he was acquired from the Red Deer Rebels in a trade last season. The Rebels selected him in the second round of the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Buskey, 16, was selected by the Chiefs in the third round of that 2015 draft. From North Vancouver, he will join the major midget Vancouver-Northwest Giants. . . . Cardiff, who is from Regina, played 156 games over three seasons with the Chiefs, totalling 25 points, including 13 goals. . . . The Chiefs are down to four 20-year-olds — F Keanu Yamamoto, F Markson Bechtold, F Dominic Zwerger, who also is an import, and G Jayden Sittler. That is one over the maximum so obviously there will be at least one more move coming. . . . The Chiefs also are down to two goaltenders — Sittler, who was acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes over the summer, and freshman Matt Berlin, 17, who was a seventh-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft. . . . Spokane’s roster sits at 27, including two goaltenders and 16 forwards. . . . The Chiefs also are carrying three imports at the moment, with Czech forwards Pavel Kousal and Ondrej Najman, both freshmen, joining Zwerger, who is from Austria. Teams have until Oct. 15 to get down to two imports. But remember that first-year imports can’t be traded, so in order to keep Zwerger either Kousal or Najman would have to be released.
——
F Erik Middendorf, a fourth-round pick by the Moose Jaw Warriors in the 2015 bantam draft, has committed to attend the U of Denver and play for the Pioneers in 2018-19. Middendorf, 16, is from Scottsdale, Ariz. He had 25 points, including 15 goals, in 32 games for the U-16 Phoenix Jr. Coyotes last season. This season, he is playing in the U.S. National Team Development Program.
———
JUST NOTES:
The Swift Current Broncos have released F Tristen Elder, who turns 19 on Dec. 11. From Kinistino, Sask., Elder had two assists in 38 games with the Broncos last season. He was pointless in four exhibition games this month. He was a sixth-round pick by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the 2012 bantam draft. . . .
F Nick Merkley, 19, has received medical clearance to return to full-contact practices with the Arizona Coyotes, who selected the Calgary native in the first round of the NHL’s 2015 draft. He suffered a season-ending knee injury while with the Kelowna Rockets last season and later underwent surgery. Merkley, who had 48 points, including 17 goals, in 43 games with Kelowna last season, is expected to return to the Rockets for a fourth WHL season. He has 196 points, 62 of them goals, in 182 regular-season games with Kelowna. . . .
F Jayce Hawryluk, 20, suffered a broken hand during a Sunday fight while with the Florida Panthers’ prospects team. Hawryluk was fighting Washington Capitals prospect Jakub Vrana. Hawryluk, who played last season with the Brandon Wheat Kings, now is likely to miss Florida’s main training camp as he needs surgery. It was expected that he would begin the season with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. . . . Hawryluk had 106 points, including 47 goals, in 58 regular-season games with Brandon in 2015-16. . . .
D Haydn Fleury, 20, suffered an undisclosed injury while with the Carolina Hurricanes’ prospects team in Traverse City, Mich., on Friday. Fleury, a product of the Red Deer Rebels, was injured when he fell awkwardly during a 4-3 OT victory over the New York Rangers and didn’t play Saturday or Monday. Carolina is expected to keep him off the ice until its main training camp opens on Friday. Fleury was a first-round pick in the 2014 NHL draft. He is expected to begin this season with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.
———
Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
———
 |
The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League has suspended Bill Rotheisler, the general manager and head coach of the junior B Castlegar Rebels for 45 days and fined him $500. His sin? Tampering. . . . The KIJHL told the Rebels about the disciplinary actions on Sept. 6. The Rebels filed an appeal three days later in the hopes of having the suspension reduced. That appeal was denied. . . . Rotheisler can still run practices, but he is barred from team activities from one hour before games until one hour afterwards. . . . Chelsea Novak of the Castlegar News has more right here.
——
The junior B Port Moody Panthers fired head coach Mark Goble last week. “At this time, we have decided to make a change in the direction of our team,” Panthers general manager Frank Iantorno said in a three-paragraph statement on the team’s website. . . . Associate coach Mike Renner was named interim head coach. . . . Goble had been the head coach since April. . . . The Panthers are 1-2-0-0 and in last place, but just two points out of second, in the five-team Pacific Junior Hockey League.
———
 |
———Wife asks my 8yr old son if he'd like to see the royals next wknd 'I LOVE the Royals' She meant William/Kate, he meant @victoriaroyals LOL!— Stormin' Norman (@StorminNorman73) September 19, 2016
MONDAY-THURSDAY GAMES:
No Games Scheduled.
——
FRIDAY GAMES (all times local):
Kootenay at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Kelowna at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Prince Albert at Regina, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Everett at Vancouver, 7:30 p.m.
Prince George at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
If you are interested in advertising on this site, there is information just below the banner at the top of this page. . . . 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.
In Prince Albert, F Austin Glover had two goals and an assist to help the Raiders to a 6-4 victory over the the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Raiders led 4-0 at 3:22 of the second period, only have Brandon tie it before the end of the period. . . . F Simon Stransky broke the tie with his 10th goal at 1:10 of the third. Glover got the empty-netter, his 11th goal this season, at 19:39. . . . F Reid Gardiner scored his 28th goal and added two assists for the Raiders, who got three assists from D Brendan Guhle. . . . F Jayce Hawryluk, who sat out the previous 13 games with an undisclosed injury, scored three times for Brandon. He’s got 22 goals and is the club’s sixth 20-goal man. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauley ran his point streak to 15 games when he scored his 35th goal of the season. . . . Prince Albert G Nick McBride stopped 31 shots. . . . The Raiders were 1-for-2 on the PP; the Wheaties were 0-for-4. . . . With G Alex Moodie (undisclosed injury) out, the Wheat Kings had brought in G Logan Thompson to back up G Jordan Papirny. However, Thompson was ill and a scratch last night. . . . Brandon continues to be without F Nolan Patrick, F Reid Duke, D Ivan Provorov and D Kale Clague, all out with undisclosed injuries. . . . The Raiders (24-32-3) had lost their last two games (0-1-1). . . . The Wheat Kings (43-10-6) suffered their first regulation-time loss since Jan. 10. They had been 14-0-2 in their previous 16 games and had won nine straight on the road. . . . 
In Regina, the Pats ran their winning streak over Saskatoon to 13 games with a 4-1 victory over the Blades. . . . Regina F Adam Brooks, who had missed eight games with a knee injury, scored his 21st goal and added an assist. The Pats also got a goal, his 18th, and an assist from Jesse Gabrielle. . . . Regina scored three times in the second period, the first, from F Braden Christoffer, coming 44 seconds in on a PP. he’s got 18 goals. . . . Regina F Patrick D’Amico had two assists. . . . F Ryan Graham, who had missed nine games with a back injury, scored his 14th goal, a shorthanded effort, for the Blades. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple made his 15th straight start. He stopped 32 shots, eight more than Brock Hamm of the Blades. . . . The Pats (31-19-7) had lost their previous three games (0-3-1). . . . The Blades (17-38-3) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Cranbrook, G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 46 shots to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 4-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Edmonton got the game’s first goal when F Luke Bertolucci scored his seventh at 12:52 of the first period. . . . Ice F Levi Cable tied it with his 25th, via the PP, at 17:31 of the second. . . . F Sam Reinhart broke the tie with his 14th goal, and 300th career point, on a PP, at 7:10 of the third. . . . Reinhart later added an empty-netter. . . . F Luke Philp scored his 24th goal and added an assist for the Ice, while D Renat Valiev had three assists. . . . Hoflin stopped all 18 shots fired his way in the second period and 16 more in the third. . . . The Ice was 2-for-2 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 0-for-1. . . . A Pink The Rink promotion drew the season’s largest crowd — 3,224. . . . The Ice (30-27-2) has points in three straight (2-0-1) as it goes on the road for five games, starting tonight in Spokane. . . . The Oil Kings are 26-27-6. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has lots more on the game and Reinhart's milestone 
In Kamloops, F Brayden Point’s three goals led the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 4-3 victory over the Blazers. . . . Point scored the game’s first two goals, at 4:38 of the first, on a PP, and at 12:58. . . . Warriors F Jack Rodewald got his 28th at 9:00 of the second, on a PP, for a 3-0 lead. . . . F Cole Ully, with his 29th, and F Joel Hamilton, with his 12th, got the Blazers to within one but they weren’t able to tie it. . . . Point stretched the lead to 4-2 with his 26th goal at 15:34 of the second. . . . Hamilton got his second of the game, and 13th of the season, on a PP at 19:37 of the third period. . . . D Dustin Perillat and F Axel Blomqvist each had two assists for the visitors. . . . Moose Jaw G Zach Sawchenko stopped 31 shots, six more than Connor Ingram of the Blazers. . . . Moose Jaw was 2-for-6 on the PP; Kamloops was 1-for-4. . . . The Warriors (24-30-5) are 2-0-1 in their last three. They are 3-2-1 on a seven-game road trip that ends tonight in Prince George. . . . Kamloops (22-32-6) has lost three in a row. . . . 
In Portland, the Winterhawks broke a 2-2 tie with three third-period goals and beat the Vancouver Giants, 5-2. . . . F Keegan Iverson gave Portland a 3-2 lead with his ninth goal at 3:52 and F Skyler McKenzie added insurance with his third goal at 4:49. . . . Portland D Layne Viveiros iced it with his sixth goal at 14:18. . . . F Oliver Bjorkstrand notched his 41st goal for the Winterhawks. . . . Vancouver F Dalton Sward forged a 2-2 tie with his 11th at 19:17 of the first. . . . F Dominic Turgeon, with his 18th goal, and McKenzie each added an assist. . . . Giants G Jackson Houck got his 19th goal and also had an assist. . . . Portland G Adin Hill stopped 31 shots, 10 fewer than Vancouver’s Payton Lee. . . . Portland was 0-for-7 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-for-2. . . . The Winterhawks (34-20-4) have points in four straight (3-0-1). . . . The Giants (25-31-3) had won their previous two. . . . 
In Spokane, the Calgary Hitmen scored the game’s last three goals, all in the third period, and beat the Chiefs, 4-3. . . . F Kailer Yamamoto’s 18th goal gave the Chiefs a 3-1 lead at 4:57 of the third. . . . D Micheal Zipp got his ninth goal at 6:23 to get Calgary to within a goal. . . . F Elliott Peterson, with his ninth, tied it at 7:48. . . . D Colby Harmsworth won it with his second goal of the season, at 12:38. . . . F Adam Tambellini drew two assists for the Hitmen. . . . Calgary G Brendan Burke turned aside 26 shots, six more than Spokane’s Garret Hughson. . . . Spokane F Calder Brooks had one assist in his first game since Jan. 2. He had been out with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Chiefs also had D Nick Charif back in the lineup. He last played on Jan. 24. . . . This was the first of 11 straight road games for the Hitmen, whose home building is being taken over by the Canadian men’s curling championship. . . . The game featured a matchup of the Helgesen brothers, F Kenton, 20 with the Hitmen and D Tyson, 17, with the Chiefs. They are from Fairview, Alta., and had family in the crowd. "It was a pretty special experience," Kenton told Chris Derrick of the Spokane Spokesman-Review. "I've never really played against him. . It was kind of cool. We were kind of hitting each other a few times and getting into it.” . . . The Hitmen (35-18-5) have won three straight. . . . The Chiefs (27-26-4) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Victoria, F Leon Draisaitl broke a 2-2 tie at 19:17 of the third period as the Kelowna Rockets beat the Royals, 3-2. . . . Kelowna D Josh Morrissey had tied the game, with his 13th goal, on a PP, at 12:36 of the third. . . . Draisaitl, who also had two assists, has 10 goals. . . . F Austin Carroll scored his 34th goal for the Royals, giving them a 1-0 lead at 1:48 of the first. . . . Kelowna F Cole Linaker tied it with his 13th, on a PP, at 10:29. . . . F Greg Chase scored his 17th, on a PP, at 9:51 of the second to give the home side a 2-1 edge. . . . Kelowna was 2-for-6 on the PP; Victoria was 2-for-7. . . . Morrissey now is on a 10-game point streak. . . . Kelowna G Michael Herringer stopped 25 shots, four fewer than Coleman Vollrath of the Royals. . . . The minor penalties handed out includes seven for roughing, two for checking from behind and one for a headshot. . . . The Rockets (46-9-4) have won four straight. . . . The Royals (32-23-4) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Everett, F Tyler Sandhu scored the only goal of a three-round shootout as the Tri-City Americans beat the Silvertips, 2-1. . . . F Carson Stadnyk gave the home team a 1-0 lead with his 23rd goal at 14:24 of the first period. . . . D Parker Wotherspoon tied it with his ninth goal at 16:56 of the third. . . . Each team was 0-for-2 on the PP. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 30 shots through OT, while Austin Lotz of the Silvertips stopped 26. . . . Sandhu began this season with Everett, before being traded to the Red Deer Rebels and then to the Americans. . . . Everett F Logan Aasman (concussion) played in his first game since Nov. 30, but the Silvertips were without D Noah Juulsen (undisclosed injury). . . . Tri-City’s scratches included D Brandon Carlo, who took a puck to the head on Tuesday. . . . Tri-City has taken three of four games from Everett over the past two weeks. . . . The Americans (27-29-3) had lost three straight. . . . Everett (35-16-7) has points in five straight (2-0-3). . . . 
In Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds scored three PP goals, the last one in OT, and beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-3. . . . D Jerret Smith got the winner, scoring his eighth goal of the season on the PP just 58 seconds into extra time. . . . Lethbridge F Mike Winther had been ejected with a spearing major and game misconduct at 16:54 of the third period. . . . F Jamal Watson had given Lethbridge a 3-2 lead with his 22nd goal, shorthanded, at 4:06 of the third. . . . Seattle F Cory Millette tied it with his 16th goal, on the PP, at 4:30. . . . Seattle was 3-for-5 on the PP; Lethbridge was 1-for-3. . . . F Mathew Barzal had four assists for Seattle, while Millette had two. . . . Smith added an assist to his goal. . . . Seattle D Shea Theodore scored his ninth goal, via the PP, and had an assist. . . . D Kord Pankewicz had a goal, his seventh, and an assist for the Lethbridge, which got two assists from Winther before his departure. . . . Lethbridge G Stuart Skinner turned aside 34 shots, 14 more than Taran Kozun of the Thunderbirds. . . . Lethbridge head coach Peter Anholt put up 127 victories as head coach of the Thunderbirds (1989-92). . . . The Thunderbirds now are (30-21-7). . . . The Hurricanes (18-34-6) have lost two straight.
In Spokane, F Ivan Nikolishin scored at 2:59 of OT to give the Everett Silvertips a 3-2 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Chiefs F Keanu Yamamoto scored twice for Spokane, the second one at 16:52 of the third period forcing OT. . . . The Silvertips, at 6-0-3, are the only WHL team not to have lost in regulation time. . . . D Noah Juulsen had two assists for Everett. He has 11 points in nine games. Last season, he finished with 10 points in 59 outings. . . . F Dominic Zwerger had two assists for Spokane. . . . The Chiefs (4-2-3) have points in seven of nine games. . . . Everett has won its last two games in Spokane, the first of those on March 12, after losing 18 in a row. . . . These same teams will play Wednesday in Everett. . . . Chris Derrick of the Spokane Spokesman-Review has a game story 
In Kent, Wash., D Ryan Rehill scored with 13.3 seconds left in OT to give the Kamloops Blazers a 5-4 victory over the host Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Seattle F Keegan Kolesar had forced OT with a shorthanded goal at 16:10 of the third period. . . . Rehill has five goals in 130 career regular-season games. . . . Kamloops F Cole Ully set up four goals. . . . The Thunderbirds have played 11 games this season, with five of those going to OT. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram stopped 28 shots in earning his first WHL victory. . . . 
In Saskatoon, D Blake Orban and F Andrew Koep each scored twice as the Edmonton Oil Kings dumped the Blades, 6-4. . . . The Oil Kings have won four in a row. . . . The Blades had a three-game winning streak snapped. . . . The 7-3-0 Oil Kings are off to their best start in modern franchise history. “I’m shocked by that, to be honest,” Oil Kings head coach Steve Hamilton said on the team's website. “We’ve had some pretty good team efforts. When we’ve been able to generate offence, it’s come from a variety of sources. With the exception of tonight, we’ve defended pretty hard, and that’s always going to be backbone for us." . . . The Oil Kings broke a 2-2 tie with four straight goals, three in the second period and one early in the third. . . . F Brett Pollock and D Ashton Sautner each had three assists for Edmonton. . . . Edmonton F Cole Benson scored his second shorthanded goal in four games. . . . F Alex Forsberg had two goals for Saskatoon. . . . Edmonton G Patrick Dea stopped 25 shots, including beating F Garrett Armour on a second-period penalty shot with the Oil Kings leading 3-2. . . . Saskatoon was without F Nick Zajac (shoulder) and D Isaac Schacher (wrist), both of whom were injured on Friday. . . . The Blades ran a Pink The Rink promotion that included F Cory Millette wearing the captain's C in memory of his late father, Adrien, who died of cancer on Jan. 30, 2011. . . . Cory’s mother, Kim, took part in the ceremonial pre-game faceoff. Later in the evening, Kim won the 50/50 draw, so went home with $7,765 in her purse. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story 
In Calgary, F Chad Butcher's two goals led the Medine Hat Tigers to a 5-1 victory over the Hitmen. . . . One night earlier, in Calgary, the Hitmen beat the Tigers, 2-1, in OT. . . . Last night, the Tigers, now 9-1-1, enjoyed a 34-18 edge in shots. . . . Butcher, 18, went into this season with eight goals in 101 career regular-season games. This season, he has 10 goals in 11 games. . . . Medicine Hat was 0-6 on the PP; the Hitmen PP unit never had an opportunity. . . . 
In Cranbrook, G Coleman Vollrath stopped 27 shots to help the Victoria Royals to a 4-0 victory over the host Kootenay Ice. . . . F Brandon Magee drew two assists in his first game after serving a 12-game suspension. . . . Vollrath posted his first shutout of the season and the second of his career. . . . The Ice completed a six-game Central Division road swing with four victories. . . . Ice F Jon Martin didn't finish the game, leaving late in the first period after seemng to injure himself while delivering a hit. He was playing his second game after returning from a three-game absence with an undisclosed injury. . . . F Tim Bozon was among the Ice's scratches. He has an undisclosed injury. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story 
In Lethbridge, G Tyler Brown stopped 29 shots in his first WHL appearance to lead the Regina Pats to a 6-1 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Brown, from Winnipeg, joined the Pats a couple of weeks ago when Tyler Fuhr left the club for personal reasons. Brown normally backs up Daniel Wapple. . . . F Morgan Klimchuk scored his first goal of the season in his first game for Regina. He had returned from the camp of the NHL's Calgary Flames with a wrist injury. . . . F Connor Gay had a goal and two assists for Regina, which scored the game's last six goals. . . . Lethbridge D Nick Walters played in his 250th regular-season game, while it was No. 200 for F Zane Jones. . . . 
In Brandon, F Jayce Hawryluk scored four times to spark the Wheat Kings to a 10-3 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Hawryluk has nine goals on the season. . . . The Wheat Kings have a promotion with Smitty's, a local restaurant, that gives each fan in attendance a free breakfast if they scored seven goals in a home victory. . . . Brandon fans will be eating well, because the Wheat Kings beat the visiting Swift Current Broncos 8-3 on Friday night. . . . D Reid Duke added a goal and three assists for Brandon. . . . F Chase De Leo had two goals for Portland. . . . G Bolton Pouliot saw his first action with the Winterhawks since joining the team on Friday. He stopped 16 of 20 shots after coming on in relief of Brendan Burke with Brandon leading 6-2 late in the second period. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story 
In Vancouver, F Jackson Houck and F Alec Baer each scored three times as the Giants whipped the Prince George Cougars, 9-1. . . . Houck and Baer each has five goals this season. . . . Houck also added two assists. . . . The Giants got a goal and three assists from F Carter Popoff and a goal and two helpes from F Joel Hamilton. . . . Vancouver F Tyler Benson had two assists. 
Posts
