Blazers mourn loss of den mother

Doris Rubel (left), Dean Clark, Bob Brown, Tom Renney, Ken Hitchcock,
Don Hay and Mark Ferner, who was representing his late father Ed,
watch as the Blazer Legends banner is raised to the rafters on Feb. 19, 2005.
(Photo by Matt Silver/Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor

The Kamloops Blazers will play with heavy hearts this weekend.
Doris Rubel, the organization’s den mother seemingly forever, died early Thursday with daughter Kerry at her side. Doris was 75.
Rubel was the WHL team’s long-time billet co-ordinator. She had been involved in the billeting of hockey players here since the 1960s and had worked with the Craft Kings, Braves, Rockets, Chiefs, Jr. Oilers and Blazers.
A funeral service will be held Wednesday, 1 p.m., at the Calvary Temple.
The Blazers will honour Rubel’s memory with a moment of silence prior to tonight’s game at Interior Savings Centre.
The Blazers are at home to the Vancouver Giants tonight and the Victoria Royals on Sunday. Coincidentally, both coaches, Don Hay of the Giants and Marc Habscheid of the Blazers, have ties to Kamloops and the Blazers and were well-acquainted with Rubel.
Wheelchair-bound for the last few years and in failing health recently, Rubel wasn’t able to attend the Blazers’ regular season-opening game on Saturday. But she simply refused to abdicate what she felt were her responsibilities to the hockey club.
“She has been (working), right until early (Thursday) morning,” said Dave Chyzowski, the Blazers’ director of sales and marketing. “Kerry has been helping. Doris refused to give up . . . she still wanted to do stuff.”
Chyzowski, an Edmonton native, played three seasons (1987-90) with the Blazers and lived with Rubel during part of that time.
“I remember living at her house like it was yesterday. If you know her from the outside,” he said, “you see how much she cares. If you live with her, you see how much she loves these kids. Now that I’m a parent, I would love to have my kid be in her hands.
“She instilled discipline. She didn’t take any (crap). She used to charge us 25 cents if we said a bad word. She had a jar in her house and if you said a bad word, you owed her money. She would say, ‘You don’t talk like that around here.’
“Nowadays, with the kids we have, she’d be a multi-millionaire.”
Forwards Brendan Ranford and Ryan Hanes are the longest-serving Blazers presently on the team’s roster.
“She welcomed me to the city when I was 16-years-old . . . she was a great person,” said Ranford, 19, who is from Edmonton. “She was always humble and very nice to every player. This is a tough loss for the organization.
“You could go to her for anything. She was really open for whoever needed help with billets. She was a great person.”
Hanes, who is from Kamloops so lives at home, never had to deal with Rubel in terms of billeting.
“I didn’t see her very often,” he said, “but the guys appreciated the help because she was always there for them. If there was anything they needed billet-wise, she was always there. She was one of the nicest ladies . . .”
Rubel often took in players when situations arose with other billets or if a change was requested.
“She would say, ‘He can come and live with me and I’ll take care of him,’ ” Chyzowski said. “She cared more about kids who came and played for this team. She fed everybody. I don’t think she made under a million sandwiches for this hockey team.
“She was unbelievable and she never wanted anything in return. People don’t realize how special she and Kerry have been. They gave and gave everything.
“Both their lives have been dedicated to all our alumni, the coaches and the hockey team.”
Rubel was honoured as a Blazers Legend in 2005 and was inducted in the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2004, she was named the first recipient of the WHL’s Distinguished Service Award.
“I haven’t called my mom,” Chyzowski said. “She is going to be in tears. She will be devastated.
“It’s a shitty day but it’s a day to celebrate what she has done for us.”
Chyzowski then dug a quarter out of a pocket and went looking for the jar.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
twitter.com/gdrinnan

Former Blazers react, via Twitter, to the death of Doris Rubel:
Jeff Bosch:
“RIP Dorris Rubel, you did so much for the blazers organization. you will be missed. Thank you for everything last year.”
———
Corey Hirsch:
“Doris could always make me smile or laugh when I needed it. The Lord got a kind soul today. I will miss you Doris.”
———
Brad Lukowich:
“Prayers for the Rubel and Kamloops Blazers family. Doris thank you for keeping us all in line and being the mom who was there when ours couldn’t.”
———
Brandon Underwood:
“Very saddened to hear of the passing of Doris Rubel, treated me so well all 3 years I was in Kamloops. May she rest in peace.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Wednesday . . .

MAX REINHART

ON THE ICE TUESDAY NIGHT:
In Cranbrook, Kootenay F Max Reinhart scored the game’s first three goals, all in the first period, en route to a record-tying five-goal night and the Ice went on to beat the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers, 7-2. . . . The Ice, which now has won 11 straight playoff games, swept the Tigers from the Eastern Conference final. . . . The WHL record for consecutive playoff victories is 12. It has been done five times, most recently by the Calgary Hitmen in 2009. . . . Reinhart, who has a WHL-high 14 goals, scored his first three in a span of 6:42 in the first period. . . . The record for fastest three goals in a playoff game by one player is 2:39 (Doug Saunders, Kamloops Jr. Oilers, April 14, 1984). . . . Reinhart got to five with two shorthanded goals, at 9:15 of the second and 4:50 of the third. . . . Others to have scored five times in one playoff game are Dave Chartier (Brandon, March 27, 1981), Don Nachbaur (Billings Bighorns, April 20, 1978) and Dave Kryskow (Edmonton Oil Kings, March 25, 1971). . . . Nachbaur, of course, now is the head coach of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Reinhart now has 22 points, including 14 goals, in 14 playoff games. He had seven goals and two assists in the four games against the Tigers. . . . Reinhart is second in the WHL scoring race, three behind Medicine Hat F Linden Vey. . . . Ice F Cody Eakin, named the Eastern Conference playoff MVP, added his side’s other two goals, giving him eight. He had five goals and four assists in the series, and has at least one goal in each of his last five games. . . . Ice F Matt Fraser drew three assists. . . . Ice D Brayden McNabb had two assists. He tied a franchise record with a nine-game point streak and has set franchise records for assists and points in a playoff season by a defenceman. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen made 21 saves. . . . Ice D Hayden Rintoul had one assist and was plus-5. . . . Attendance was 3,474. . . . The Ice was without F Drew Czerwonka, who was stretchered off the ice and taken to hospital after a nasty spill into the boards during Tuesday’s Game 2. Other than being a bit sore, he is OK. In fact, he had the OK to play but was held out. . . . The Tigers were without D Sebastian Owuya, due to an undisclosed injury.
———
In Spokane, F Brendan Leipsic scored at 7:44 of OT to give the Portland Winterhawks a 3-2 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Portland leads the Western Conference final, 2-1. . . . They’ll meet again Friday in Spokane before returning to Portland for Game 5 on Saturday. . . . Portland is 6-0 on the road in these playoffs. . . . Leipsic won it by finishing off a 2-on-1 break with F Taylor Peters. . . . Spokane D Jared Cowen opened the scoring at 15:07 of the first period. . . . Peters tied it with a shorthanded goal at 16:13. . . . After a scoreless second period, The Chiefs took a 2-1 lead at 8:40 of the third on a goal by F Levko Koper. . . . Portland F Ryan Johansen forced OT with his ninth goal at 17:46 of the third. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth made 43 saves. . . . Spokane G James Reid stopped 29 shots. His night’s work included stopping Portland F Sven Bartschi on a second-period penalty shot with the score at 1-1. . . . Spokane was 0-for-9 on the PP, while Portland was 0-for-2. . . . Attendance was 5,542.
———
WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
———
THE COACHING GAME: The Regina Pats have decided not to renew the contracts of assistant coach Shaun Sutter or goaltender coach Ryan Cyr.
———
JUST NOTES: Mac Carruth of the Portland Winterhawks is the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 1-1, 1.51, .962 last week. . . . The OHL’s Owen Sound Attack took out the Windsor Spitfires, who won the last two Memorial Cups, in five games and have advanced to the 2011 MC tournament. The Attack, which won 10-4 at home on Wednesday, will be the OHL representative. The Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, the host team, and the Attack first will compete in the OHL championship series. The final will open Tuesday or Thursday in Mississauga. . . . Victoria WHL fans will pay $576 for one adult season ticket in standard bowl seating, while a senior/student ticket will sell for $396. The Victoria franchise, formerly the Chilliwack Bruins, announced its pricing plan Wednesday. There are upgrades available to Club seats ($856) and King club seats ($1,136). Check the team’s website for more details. . . . G Jeff Bosch, who completed his WHL eligibility with the Kamloops Blazers this season, has committed to attend Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont., and play for the Thunderwolves. Kyle Moir, another former WHLer, graduated after this season, leaving the Thunderwolves needing a goaltender. . . . D Riley McIntosh (Kelowna, Tri-City, 2006-10) also will attend Lakehead U and play for the Thunderwolves. McIntosh played this season with the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express.

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

Blazers left to wonder what happened

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The grim reality set in Sunday.
Players with the Kamloops Blazers players knew the nightmare was real when they reported to Interior Savings Centre for exit interviews with the coaching staff.
“It is today, seeing all the bags packed and guys with straight faces . . . not too many smiles at the rink today,” right-winger Jordan DePape said Sunday afternoon.
Goaltender Jeff Bosch added: “I just had my meetings and stuff like that. It definitely has set in that it’s all over and done with . . .”
The Blazers’ WHL season is over; it ended officially with a 5-1 loss to the Cougars in Prince George on Saturday night.
The Blazers went into the season’s final weekend needing two victories to keep their playoff hopes alive. Instead, they lost twice -- the visiting Cougars beat them 3-2 in a seven-round shootout on Friday -- to run their season-ending losing skein to eight games.
Future WHL Guides will show that the Blazers wound up at 29-37-6, placing them fifth in the five-team B.C. Division and ninth in the 10-team Western Conference.
Kamloops is out of the playoffs for only the second time in the franchise’s 30 years in the city. The other time was 2005-06 when it finished 34-33-5.
And it is only the fifth time in those 30 years that the team has won fewer than 30 games.
What happened over those last eight games? How could a team go 4-0-1 on a Central Division swing, scoring 26 goals in the process, and then lose eight in a row?
For starters, the offence, including the power play, dried up. The Blazers scored 12 goals in those games and four of them came in a 5-4 loss to the visiting Tri-City Americans on March 8. That was the only game in the final eight in which Kamloops scored more than two goals.
And the Blazers got outscored 10-1 on special teams, their power play going 1-for-27 while the penalty killers were 26-for-36.
“I don’t know if we just took things for granted after that trip and thought success was going to come easily . . . and it just went downhill,” DePape said. “I don’t know. (Brendan) Ranford left the lineup with the suspension, but even before that, I don’t know if we weren’t getting our bounces or pucks weren’t going in, but it just wasn’t there.
“I don’t know if we were holding our sticks too tight or what . . . it just seemed to stop.”
Defenceman Bronson Maschmeyer doesn’t know what was wrong with the power play, just that it “was shot, too.”
“On the road trip we had a really good power play,” he said of a unit that scored 11 times in those five games. “The last games . . . you could feel it. I was out there. I felt it.”
Before those last games, though, Maschmeyer said, “We felt good about ourselves. It’s tough not to when you have a good trip like that. But at the same time I knew, and the team knew, that we also got some good bounces.”
The Blazers scored four third-period goals en route to a 6-5 shootout victory over the Tigers. And then they went into Cranbrook and beat the Kootenay Ice, 8-5.
“The one thing we said going into that game was ‘Try not to get into a run-and-gun’, and we did the exact opposite,” Maschmeyer said. “We knew we had a bit of luck on our side on that trip.”
Bosch, a veteran of four WHL seasons, wasn’t prepared to point the finger at the offence.
“I don’t think you can really pin it on one thing in general,” said Bosch, who watched from the bench Saturday after starting 23 straight games. “It seemed like everything on that Alberta trip went our way . . . every bounce.
“Then we came back and it was kind of our Achilles heel all season long -- we faced a little bit of adversity and our team didn’t handle that very well. That was probably the major factor . . . the adversity thing.”
Maschmeyer said there were five late-season games in which the Blazers let points get away late in the third period.
“We knew we weren’t out of the woods,” Maschmeyer said. “Other teams were looking for spots. It’s not like any games were easy, but you have to find ways.”
In the end, the Blazers found themselves three points behind the Everett Silvertips, who went 28-33-11 and nabbed the conference’s last playoff spot. The Silvertips picked up 11 loser points -- teams are given one point for each overtime or shootout loss -- while the Blazers earned six.
“Lethbridge . . .we had them and they scored that one goal,” Maschmeyer said of a game that was 1-1 in the third period and turned into a 4-1 loss to the Hurricanes, one of the Eastern Conference’s weak sisters. “Even just to get a point in that game and start from there . . .
“Even Tri-City, 55 seconds left. Somehow we lost it . . .”
The Americans broke a 4-4 tie in the last minute of the third period to win that one, 5-4.
Perhaps Bosch best summed up the last two weeks when he said: “You couldn’t predict it to go the way it did,” he said.
The Cougars, meanwhile, won the last seven games in the season series, to win it 7-1-0. They will be on the road Friday to open a best-of-seven first-round series against the B.C. Division-championship Kelowna Rockets.
JUST NOTES: Bosch, who is from Martensville, which is just outside Saskatoon, is 20 so his WHL career is over. He said he has heard from a couple of ECHL teams and may finish the season with one of them. But, he added, “I’m thinking school is probably my primary unless I get some sort of good offer.” . . . Maschmeyer, 19, said he definitely wants to return for his 20-year-old season. . . . Prince George got a goal and three assists from D Sena Acolatse and a goal and two helpers from F Brett Connolly on Saturday. F Thomas Frazee had the Blazers’ lone goal. . . . G Cam Lanigan, in his first start since Jan. 19, stopped 24 shots. . . . Last season, the Cougars had the worst record in the 60-team CHL, at 12-56-4. This season, they finished 33-35-4.

Inglis shoots down Blazers' playoff chances

CHARLES INGLIS

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor

The roller-coaster that has been the Kamloops Blazers’ 2010-11 WHL regular season crashed and burned Friday night at Interior Savings Centre, shot down by the stick of Prince George Cougars centre Charles Inglis.
There were 5,088 witnesses as the Cougars beat the Blazers for the sixth straight time — this time the score was 3-2 in a shootout.
The result means the Blazers, for the second time in the franchise’s 30-year history in Kamloops, won’t appear in the playoffs.
The loss was the seventh in a row for the Blazers, who picked the worst possible time to go on their longest skid of the season. They will conclude their portion of the 72-game schedule tonight in Prince George.
The Blazers now have a 29-36-6 record and, with 64 points, find the Western Conference’s eighth playoff spot out of reach. The Cougars (32-35-4) moved past the Everett Silvertips and into seventh place. A victory tonight would send the Cougars into a first-round matchup with the No. 2 Kelowna Rockets.
Last night, the Blazers erased an early 2-0 deficit to force overtime and the ensuing shootout, but not one of their seven shooters was able to beat goaltender Ty Rimmer.
That’s right. The shootout went seven rounds and the Blazers’ playoff lives were resting on every shot.
Inglis, the 14th shooter, was able to roof a shot from in tight on Kamloops goaltender Jeff Bosch.
And just like that — PFFFFT! — the air was out of the Blazers’ playoff balloon. Many of the Blazers sat on their bench as though shocked by what had transpired. The Cougars, meanwhile, celebrated.
“It feels pretty good,” said Inglis, a preseason acquisition from the Saskatoon Blades who has 60 points, including 32 goals, this season. “I had lots of confidence going in there.”
Inglis, an 18-year-old Winnipegger, said he turned to head coach Dean Clark and said: “I’m going to score if you put me out there, so he did. I was lucky enough to have it go in.”
It turns out this wasn’t the first time Inglis had tried that tactic.
“The last time he said to me, ‘I got this one,’ ” Clark said, “and he went out and missed.”
Which is why Clark, who was fired as the Blazers’ head coach early in the 2007-08 season, went through six shooters before turning to Inglis on this night.
“He used to coach here,” Inglis said, “so this was huge for him. He was the happiest guy out there.”
Clark chose to take the high road and not say anything about any personal satisfaction he might feel after eliminating the Blazers. But he was smiling when he offered up a “no comment.”
Outside the Blazers’ dressing room, Kamloops head coach Guy Charron was wondering about his club’s energy level.
“Our effort was strong in the third period but in the first two periods we didn’t play with the same energy,” he said. “We allowed them to stay in the game and take the lead, build some momentum.
“I really didn’t think we were going to come out flat. I thought we were going to come out with some energy and enthusiasm and take the play to them.”
Right-winger Brett Connolly, who was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning with the sixth pick of the 2010 NHL draft, scored the game’s first two goals, scoring on a big-league hesitation shot at 7:58 and then banging home a rebound on a power play just 30 seconds later.
“Connolly’s first goal was a breakdown defensively when the coverage wasn’t there,” Charron said. “We addressed those things prior to the game, that with Connolly we’ve got to make sure he’s not an impact on the game.”
Connolly now has 70 points, including 45 goals, in 58 games.
Kamloops winger Bernhard Keil cut the deficit to one with a highlight-reel goal at 13:19 of the first period, dragging the puck around and past Rimmer while having only one hand on his stick.
The Cougars nursed that 2-1 lead into the third period, only to have Kamloops forward Thomas Frazee tie it with his 30th goal of the season at 2:06.
“We let off the gas a little bit,” Inglis said, “and they stayed in it. We knew they were going to play hard throughout the whole game.
“They tied it up and almost scored a late one at the end there, but we came out with the victory and eliminated them from the playoffs.”
JUST NOTES: Referees Jeff Ingram and Pat Smith gave the Blazers four of seven minors, with each team takig a fighting major. . . . Prince George was 1-for-4 on the power play; the Blazers were 0-for-3. . . . The Cougars had the lone PP of the last 25 minutes and Bosch, who played extremely well in what was his 23rd straight start, prevented a Prince George victory with a gigantic pad save on D Martin Marincin. . . . Bosch finished with 24 saves, three fewer than Rimmer. . . . Kamloops LW Brendan Ranford served the second game of a six-game WHL suspension for physical abuse of an on-ice official. He also will miss tonight’s game and the first three games of next season. . . The Daily News’ Three Stars: 1. Inglis — Finished the Blazers; 2. Bosch — Solid again; 3. Connolly — Fun to watch.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Saturday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Justin Keller (Kelowna, 2003-06) signed a one-year contract
extension with Linz (Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had 21 goals and 12 assists in 34 games for Linz this season.
———
If you read one thing today, make it this piece from Saturday’s Globe and Mail. Written by Ken Dryden, the former Montreal Canadiens goaltender, the headline on the piece is -- Ken Dryden on hockey violence: How could we be so stupid?
The piece is right here.
———

In Everett, F Nino Niederreiter ran his goal-scoring streak to seven games as his Portland Winterhawks beat the Silvertips, 2-1. . . . Portland G Keith Hamilton, starting again in place of the injured Mac Carruth, made 36 saves. . . . Hamilton is 15-5-2. . . . Niederreiter, who has 38 goals, has 11 goals over that seven-game run. . . . Everett has lost seven in a row, including a 6-3 loss to visiting Portland on Friday. . . . Attendance was 8,423, the Silvertips’ largest crowd this season. . . . The Winterhawks remain atop the Western Conference, one point up on the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Everett slipped into eighth, one point behind Prince George and two ahead of Kamloops. . . .
In Kelowna, shootout goals by F Geordie Wudrick and D Tyson Barrie gave the Rockets a 1-0 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 33 shots, seven fewer than Jeff Bosch, who made his 22nd straight start for Kamloops. . . . F Thoms Frazee had a shootout goal for Kamloops. . . . The Blazers, who lost 5-1 to the visiting Rockets on Friday night, now have lost five in a row. . . . Kamloops was without F Brendan Ranford, who is under WHL suspension after he was hit with a game misconduct for cross-checking linesman Kris Hartley on Friday night. . . . The Rockets are in Chilliwack today. . . .
In Kent, Wash., the Prince George Cougars scored four times in the latter half of the third period and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-1. . . . F Spencer Asuchak broke a 1-1 tie at 11:02 of the third. . . . The victory lifted the Cougars into seventh place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Everett. . . . The Thunderbirds, with four games left, are four points behind Everett. . . . The Cougars will be in Kennewick, Wash., today to play the Tri-City Americans. . . .
In Spokane, the Chiefs got a shootout goal from F Levko Koper to beat the Kootenay Ice, 4-3. . . . Koper was the ninth shooter in what was a five-round event. . . . Spokane F Tyler Johnson had a goal, his WHL-leading 51st, and an assist. . . . The Chiefs have won seven in a row but continue to trail Western Conference-leading Portland by a point. . . . The Ice is fourth in the Eastern Conference, five points behind Medicine Hat with three games left. . . .
In Lethbridge, F Kellan Tochkin had two goals to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 5-1 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The Tigers were without F Linden Vey (neck), who leads the WHL’s points derby. . . . The Tigers are two points behind the Central Division-leading Red Deer Rebels. Each team has three games left. . . . The Hurricanes are ninth, two points behind Prince Albert, with each team having three games left. . . .
In Moose Jaw, the final meeting in the Crushed Can between the Warriors and the Regina Pats went to a shootout before the home team won, 2-1. . . . The game drew 2,945 fans, which is a couple of hundred more than capacity. Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that fans “stood five-deep to watch the game.” . . . How much did the game mean to Moose Jaw? Here’s Warriors head coach Dave Hunchak talking to Gourlie: “Our whole focus was to try to win the game for the city of Moose Jaw and our supportive fans. Coaches come and go. Players come and go. But the fans have been supportive and consistent and behind this team for 26 years. It’s not that it didn’t mean a lot to us — because it did — it was focus of ours. To be able to pick up that puck in our building meant an awful lot to the fans that support our hockey team year in and year out.” . . . One more note from Gourlie: “Warriors left-winger Cody Beach left the game in the third period after Neigum ducked out of the way of a hit and Beach landed awkwardly after being undercut. Beach left the ice favouring his left leg and was taken to hospital post-game for further evaluation.” . . . The Warriors will finish fifth and look to be headed to a first-round matchup with Kootenay. . . . The Pats are six points out of a playoff spot with three games left. . . .
In Brandon, F Mark Stone picked up two assists, giving him 101 points, as the Wheat Kings dumped the Prince Albert Raiders, 7-3. . . . Stone is the first Brandon skater to surpass 100 points since F Eric Fehr (2004-05), who now is with the NHL’s Washington Capitals. . . . Brandon F Scott Glennie had a goal and three assists to get to 90 points for the first time in his career. . . . Prince Albert F Jonathan Parker left in the second period with an elbowing major and the accompanying game misconduct. . . . The Wheat Kings now are sixth in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of Edmonton. . . . Prince Albert continues to cling to the conference’s last playoff spot, two points up on Lethbridge. . . .
In Saskatoon, the Blades blanked the Edmonton Oil Kings 4-0 to set a franchise record with their 53rd victory of the season. . . . G Steven Stanford stopped 35 shots to earn the shutout, his third this season and the fifth of his career. . . . D Stefan Elliott had a goal and an assist, giving him the franchise record for career points by a defenceman. He has 240. The previous record had been held by Pat Price (1970-74). . . . The Oil Kings still were able to clinch a playoff spot. They are seventh in the conference. . . . The Blades will finish first overall. . . .
In Red Deer, G Darcy Kuemper stopped 31 shots as the Rebels blanked the Swift Current Broncos, 5-0. . . . Kuemper has 13 shutouts this season and that ties the WHL’s single-season record. He now shares it with Bryan Bridges (Seattle, 2004-05) and Kelly Guard (Kelowna, 2003-04). . . . The Rebels have three games remaining. . . . F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had three goals and two assists, to get to 101 points. The last Red Deer skaters to get to 100 were F Justin Mapletoft and F Kyle Wanvig, both of whom did it in 2000-01. . . . The Rebels, who meet the Hitmen in Calgary today, are the conference’s second seed, two points up o Medicine Hat. . . . The Broncos won’t be in the playoffs. In Chilliwack last night, the Bruins got two goals from F Ryan Howse as they dumped the Vancouver Giants, 8-5. . . . Attendance was 4,193. . . . Howse has 50 goals, the second WHLer, behind Spokane F Tyler Johnson, to get there this season. . . . Vancouver, which still was able to clinch a playoff spot, has lost six straight for the first time this season and has been outscored 28-6 in the process. . . . The Bruins had beaten the Giants 6-2 in Vancouver on Wednesday. . . . F Spencer Bennett scored four times for the Giants, giving him 34 on the season. . . . The Bruins, who clinched a playoff spot with the victory, have closed to within a point of the Giants, who are fifth in the Western Conference. Each team has four games remaining. . . . The Bruins are at home to the Kelowna Rockets today. . . .

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca

     

gdrinnan.blogspot.com

     

Taking Note on Twitter

Short on defenders, Blazers doing fine on road

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
When the Kamloops Blazers headed into the WHL’s Central Division a week ago, their defensive brigade had more holes in it than a pair of old work socks.
Austin Madaisky and Brandon Underwood, who had evolved into their shutdown defensive pairing, both were gone with long-term injuries.
And while they were in sole possession of the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot, they only had a one-point lead on the Chilliwack Bruins and were six back of the Prince George Cougars.
Tonight, as the Blazers (27-31-4) prepare to face the Tigers (38-17-6) in Medicine Hat, they still are eighth, but now they are five points ahead of Chilliwack and the Seattle Thunderbirds. Not only that — Kamloops is just one point in arrears of the seventh-place Cougars.
That’s what happens when you go on the road and earn five of a possible six points in three games.
The Blazers won in Edmonton, beating the Oil Kings 4-3 in overtime, then lost 4-3 in OT to the Rebels in Red Deer. And, on Wednesday night, the Blazers surrendered 3-0 and 4-1 leads before beating the Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-4 in OT.
Kamloops played in Lethbridge without another veteran defenceman, Josh Caron having been hit with a three-game suspension for a hit from behind on Red Deer forward Josh Cowen, who suffered a broken hand and will miss at least three weeks.
So, you’re wondering, what’s been going on?
“Corey Fienhage has really stepped up his game,” offered assistant coach Scott Ferguson from Medicine Hat on Thursday. “He’s been playing really well.”
Fienhage, a 20-year-old in his first WHL season, was plus-3 in Lethbridge. He is plus-7 in nine February games, after going into the month at minus-15.
Fienhage has been partnered a lot with Brady Gaudet, 16, who is deep into his freshman season.  Gaudet was the 10th overall selection in the WHL’s 2010 bantam draft.
“Gaudet has really benefited from the icetime,” Ferguson said. “He’s playing beyond his years right now.”
Gaudet, from Redvers, Sask., had a Gordie Howe hat trick in Lethbridge, scoring his fourth goal, picking up his sixth assist, and getting into his third scrap of the season.
Ferguson also pointed to veteran Bronson Maschmeyer, 19, as a guy “who has always been back there for us.”
“Those three guys,” Ferguson stated, “have really stepped up their games, and that isn’t taking anything away from (Tyler) Hansen and Caron. All of them have really stepped up their games.”
Ferguson played three seasons with the Blazers before going on to a pro career that included 218 NHL games. He remembers being forced to play extra minutes.
“There were times when I had to play every other shift,” Ferguson recalled. “I didn’t mind it. When you’re doing it, you keep it simple. You know you’re going to get out there and you try to limit your mistakes. But you’re not worried about making mistakes because you know you have to play.
“It was just a matter of knowing you’re going to get back out there, so keep it simple and keep your shifts short. You tend to get into a game a little bit quicker that way. Sometimes it can be beneficial.”
And that, he thinks, is pretty much what is happening with the Blazers right now.
That, along with forwards who have become more conscious of their defensive play and goaltender Jeff Bosch, who has been more than solid. Bosch is expected to make his 15th straight start tonight.
“I really believe defence is a five-man unit,” he said. “As a team we’re really focused on the defensive side of it to help out the back end. The forwards are doing a good job of coming back, and Bosch has been playing really well.
“That’s why I love hockey. It’s a team game . . . it’s all six guys on the ice.”
And it’s also special teams.
The Blazers’ much-maligned penalty killers, who have had the WHL’s worst success rate through most of the season, haven’t been torched once on this road trip. They are 16-for-16, the second time this season they have been perfect for three games in a row. (Coincidentally, the first time they had this success also was in the Central Division, in October.)
Of course, they’ll need all they help they can get again tonight as they play the Tigers and again Saturday when this swing wraps up in Cranbrook against the Kootenay Ice (39-18-4). The Ice and Tigers are tied for third in the Eastern Conference.
The suspended Caron won’t be available for either game, which means right-winger Jordan DePape will be back on defence. He spent most of Wednesday’s game there, moving up only on the power play and in OT, when he scored the winning goal.
DePape, who is from Winnipeg, played some on the back end during his minor hockey days. And when the Blazers ran into penalty problems during an exhibition game, they moved him back.
“It has been a good challenge for him,” Ferguson said. “He’s a smart player. I think he has learned to appreciate the defensive responsibilities.
“He looks fairly strong. He skates backwards well, he reads the ice well, he’s not shy to go back for pucks and take a hit to make a play. He’s a big, physical guy who skates well and sees the ice well.
“He’s done a good job.”
JUST NOTES: The Blazers continue to be without F Chase Schaber (leg), who now has missed 17 games in a row and 19 of the last 21. . . . The Tigers are showing four players as being out with concussions — D Jace Coyle, D Matt Konan, D Scott Ramsay and F Sam Dezman — while D Patrick Parkkonen (shoulder) also is out. . . . Coyle and Konan are day-to-day, Dezman is indefinite, and Parkkonen and Ramsay will be out another week. . . . The Blazers are at home Wednesday when the Kelowna Rockets are scheduled to pay a visit. . . . F Cole Ully, who made his WHL debut with the Blazers on Wednesday, has returned to the midget AAA Calgary Flames. A post-game scoring change Wednesday gave him his first point, an assist on the Blazers’ fourth goal.

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

Kamloops defenceman Corey Fienhage (6) tries to keep
Tri-City forward Justin Feser away from a rebound and
Blazers goaltender Jeff Bosch.
(Photo by Keith Anderson/Kamloops Daily News)

 

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor

If you don’t think the Kamloops Blazers are starting to resemble a M*A*S*H unit, you weren’t paying attention on Tuesday night as the home boys got past the Tri-City Americans 3-2 in a shootout before 3,963 fans at Interior Savings Centre.
The relationship between the Blazers and injuries got to the point where Dr. Sven Kipp, one of the WHL team’s doctors, came down from his seat in the stands and spent a lot of the second period taking in the proceedings from the bench area.
The Blazers, already without forward Chase Schaber and defencemen Austin Madaisky and Brandon Underwood, lost winger Brendan Ranford with an apparent shoulder injury for better than 20 minutes early in the game, and also had forwards JC Lipon and Bernhard Keil go off in various stages of distress.
“I didn’t want to think about it,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said of his state of mind when Ranford, who has 33 goals, missed a check on Tri-City defenceman Matt MacKenzie and returned to the bench just 28 seconds into the game. Ranford got help from trainer Colin Robinson, before moving into the tunnel behind the bench and ultimately going to the dressing room.
However, Ranford came back early in the second period and was around for the end.
“Fortunately, he was able to come back,” Charron said. “He has an injury but it’s a minor injury.”
In fact, Ranford, in his 199th regular-season game, played a large role at the end, scoring the first of his side’s two shootout goals. A left-hand shot, Ranford deked goaltender Chris Driedger and scored on a backhand to the glove side.
Centre Colin Smith, a right-hand shot, also deked and also beat Driedger to the glove side.
“Those two have great skills and can do it against any goaltender,” Charron said.
Meanwhile, Kamloops goaltender Jeff Bosch turned aside 26 shots through overtime and then beat Tri-City snipers Brendan Shinnimin and Justin Feser in the showdown.
“Bosch was very good,” Charron said, “and he was great against their top scorers.”
The victory improved the Blazers’ record to 25-31-3 and lifted them back into sole possession of the 10-team Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. They are one point ahead of the Chilliwack Bruins (24-27-4), who hold four games in hand.
The Americans (35-16-3), who picked up a flu bug after arriving in Kamloops following a 6-1 victory in Chilliwack on Sunday evening, are tied for third with the Spokane Chiefs, five points behind the pace-setting Portland Winterhawks.
“Certainly, we beat a very good hockey team,” Charron stated.
The Blazers opened the scoring at 11:15 of the first period when centre Dylan Willick took the puck away from defenceman Paul Sohor deep in enemy territory and centred it to right-winger Jordan DePape, who beat Driedger.
Driedger, who made 26 saves, was making his fifth WHL start in place of the injured Drew Owsley, whose knee injury apparently isn’t as bad as was first thought.
It took the Americans only 1:01 to tie it, though, as Carter Ashton, the right winger on their big line, pulled the trigger on a power play.
Left-winger Bernhard Keil put the home side back out front less than three minutes later, capitalizing on another Americans’ turnover and scoring for the third time in 36 games.
Feser pulled the Americans even at 8:16 of the second, finishing off a slow-developing 2-on-1 break while his side was shorthanded.
Charron admitted to having concerns about his club’s fragility at that point in the game. But, despite the adversity, the Blazers battled in this one and it could be argued that they deserved to win in regulation time.
Still, the Americans came within an eyelash of winning it in overtime when centre Kruise Reddick beat Bosch on a rebound but it was ruled time had expired before the puck entered the net.
JUST NOTES: Referee Derek Zalaski gave the Americans six of 11 11 minors and one of two majors. . . . The Americans were hit with the game’s last three minors but were able to escape unscathed. . . . Kamloops F Thomas Frazee played in his 300th regular-season WHL game. Frazee, 20, also has played with Portland, the Medicine Hat Tigers, Moose Jaw Warriors and Regina Pats. . . . Tri-City, which is back here on March 8, leads the season series 2-1 and has a 15-5 edge in goals. . . . The Blazers are next at home on March 2 against the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Keil took the night’s hardest check when he was drilled in the neutral zone by Tri-City D Tyler Schmidt in the first period. In the second period, Keil was on the receiving end of nasty check by Shinnimin that resulted in a boarding minor. . . . Lipon has battled ankle/leg problems through much of the second half. He left late in the second period, unable to put any weight on his right leg. But he was back for the third. . . . The Blazers leave Thursday for a five-game swing into the Central Division. They open Friday with a game in Edmonton against the Oil Kings.

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

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers were double losers on Wednesday night - they lost a hockey game and their leading scorer no longer leads the WHL point parade.
The Medicine Hat Tigers, who skate as well as any team in the league, jumped out to a 2-0 lead and went on to a 4-1 victory over the Blazers before 3,857 fans at Interior Savings Centre.
Medicine Hat centre Linden Vey had a goal and an assist, giving him 67 points on the season, one more than left-winger Brendan Ranford of the Blazers, who was held off the scoresheet.
“I don't think it's something you worry about,” Vey, a 19-year-old from Wakaw, Sask., said of a potential scoring title. “It just happens. You go out there and focus on winning. At the end of the day, they don't remember who wins the scoring race; they remember who wins the championship.”
The Tigers (27-12-2) kept pace with the top bunch in the Eastern Conference - they are fourth, a point out of third - while the Blazers (20-22-2) remain tied for seventh in the Western Conference, two points out of sixth and one ahead of the Chilliwack Bruins.
Kamloops leaves today at 9 a.m., for Kennewick, Wash., and a Friday night date with the Tri-City Americans. Kamloops is at home to the Portland Winterhawks on Saturday night.
The Blazers had their chances last night - they outshot the visitors, 28-17 - but were done in by a wonky power play and the goaltending of Medicine Hat's Tyler Bunz.
“I thought we had chances,” offered Kamloops right-winger Jordan DePape, who said he isn't concerned over an offence that has two goals in its last two games, both losses. “We hit a couple of posts. We just needed a couple of bounces to go in.”
The Blazers ended up 1-for-7 on the power play, the goal coming off the stick of left-winger JT Barnett with the Tigers ahead 3-0 midway though the second period. The Kamloops power play also was torched for a shorthanded goal, as Vey set up the speedy Emerson Etem for the team's WHL-leading 12th such score.
That goal rounded out the night's scoring.
“Again, we generated some chances,” DePape said of a power-play unit that is ranked sixth in the WHL. “But we have to be better, especially defensively. They scored a shorthanded goal and we can't let that happen.”
The Blazers started OK but Medicine Hat's first goal, winger Tyler Pitlick's 17th just 5:43 in, seemed to set them on their heels. Even though the Blazers came out of the period with a 10-7 edge in shots, the Tigers dominated play.
“They came out with a lot of intensity,” Vey said. “Right off the bat they were after us. But we got pucks in and then we stuck to our game plan. We played simple, got pucks on net, got a few breaks and ended up with the win.”
It wasn't quite that simple, but that about sums it up.
Cole Grbavac, who began his WHL career with Kamloops, got his eighth goal in typical garbageman fashion, with the Tigers piling into the crease and hacking away until the puck got behind goaltender Jeff Bosch.
That would stand up as Grbavac's first game-winner this season.
The visitors went up 3-0 at 6:34, as winger Kellan Tochkin, acquired Monday from the Everett Silvertips, found Vey alone on the right side of the Blazers' zone. He zigged and zagged and beat Bosch for his 27th goal this season.
Not quite 10 minutes later, Bosch made a blocker save on Vey. As often happens, the play moved into the Medicine Hat zone and Barnett was able to shovel the puck under Bunz.
That goal gave the Blazers a lift, as did a glove save by Bosch on Medicine Hat captain Wacey Hamilton on a late Tigers' power play.
However, Kamloops wasn't able to put any more pucks behind Bunz, who finished with 27 saves in winning for the 20th time this season.
“He's played real well,” Vey said of Bunz, 18, who was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the fifth round of the 2010 NHL draft. “He gives us confidence.
“We capitalized on our opportunities. We tried to keep pucks to the outside and our goaltender played well for us. He's played well the whole season and is a big part of the reason why we're winning.”
The Blazers had centre Chase Schaber back after their captain missed two games with a leg injury. But he obviously is still hurting and wasn't nearly as effective as he normally is.
And they welcomed back defenceman Josh Caron after a 41-game absence. Against a Medicine Hat team with tremendous speed, Caron was used sparingly as he returned from a broken collarbone suffered in the second game of the season.
JUST NOTES: Referee Steve Papp gave Medicine Hat seven of nine minors. . . . The Tigers were 0-for-2 on the power play with the first of those lasting just 11 seconds. . . . The Daily News Three Stars: 1. D Sebastian Owuya: The 6-foot-4 Swede was a tower of power back there; 2. Bunz: 20 victories; 3. Barnett: Had some chances. . . . Oilers head scout Stu MacGregor was upstairs, no doubt watching Bunz and Pitlick, both of whom were 2010 Edmonton draft picks.

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

The MacBETH REPORT:
F Lynn Loyns (Spokane, 1997-2001) signed a one-year contract with Brunico/Val Pusteria (Italy Serie A). He had six goals and three assists in 26 games for the Krefeld Pinguine (Germany DEL) last season. Loyns missed the last half of the season after tearing an ACL in mid-January in a game against Ingolstadt.
———
Sometime today or Tuesday, the WHL office — hello, there, Richard Doerksen — will finalize the discipline emanating from that messy situation in Portland between the Winterhawks and Kamloops Blazers on Saturday night.
And it will be interesting to see just what comes out of all this.
One fan, in a posting to this blog, felt the stuff hitting the fan was “all started by a vicious cross-check by Brad Ross on Dylan Willick after the buzzer.”
Ross, who appears to give Willick three shots off a faceoff to start the scrap, plays for Portland, Willick for Kamloops, and the buzzer signalled the end of the second period.
Those two fought and were then sent to their dressing rooms.
As the teams came off their benches to head to their respective dressing rooms, Portland F Nino Niederreiter shot Willick’s helmet along the ice and toward the exit the Blazers would be taking.
As the helmet scooted past Kamloops G Jeff Bosch, he raised both arms slightly in a gesture that said: “Hey, what’s going on here?” Or something like that.
At the same time, Bosch was slowly coasting toward the Portland players and soon found himself in a cluster of Winterhawks.
As the Blazers in the neutral zone noticed the predicament in which their goaltender now found himself, a few of them headed towards him. Soon players were milling around.
Which was when Portland D Joe Morrow appeared to skate right at Kamloops F Brendan Ranford and shove him towards the corner boards. And away they went. Somehow, though, referees Matt Thurston and Derek Zalaski ruled that this wasn’t a fight, as they gave Ranford a roughing minor and Morrow two roughing minors.
Bosch ended up in a fight, albeit a brief one, with Portland G Mac Carruth. Bosch came out of that with a slight cut on his forehead — it didn’t need stitches — and a blackened and swollen eye. He is to see a doctor on today, although the team says that is strictly a precautionary measure.
Meanwhile, in the neutral zone, Kamloops F JC Lipon and Portland F Seth Swenson were flailing away at each other.
When all was said and done, Bosch and Carruth got tossed, as did Lipon and Swenson.
Both teams are certain to be fined $250 each because of the battling goaltenders.
But the WHL will have to rule on whether this was what it calls a multi-fight situation. By WHL definition, a multi-fight situation involves three or more fights at the same time.
At a glance, it might appear that there were four fights.
However, Ross and Willick had been broken up and sent to their respective dressing rooms.
And the incident involving Morrow and Ranford didn’t warrant fighting majors, at least not in the eyes of the two referees.
Which leaves only two fights — Bosch vs. Carruth and Lipon vs. Swenson.
However, Morrow and Swenson were suspended by the WHL on Sunday, meaning they didn’t play in the Winterhawks’ 3-1 loss to the visiting Spokane Chiefs that night.
Swenson’s suspension may mean Lipon also will be suspended.
Morrow, who you will recall received only a double minor, was suspended for something, which may or may not mean Ranford also will be suspended. But when you watch the video it’s hard to see Ranford doing anything, other than defending himself.
There are other issues to deal with here, too.
Kamloops captain Chase Schaber received a game misconduct, apparently for making contact with one of the linesmen. Did he, or didn’t he, and, if he did, how serious was it? Is that worth a suspension?
And Portland F Ryan Johansen, who left the ice surface and went into the dressing room, returned to the fray while wearing a baseball cap. He didn’t get involved in anything, but there is the matter of leaving the ice surface and then returning. He played last night, so that move wasn’t deemed worthy of a suspension, but might it be worth a fine?
The Blazers next play Tuesday against the visiting Regina Pats. Portland is at home to the Everett Silvertips on Wednesday.
———
Don’t look now but the 10-team Western Conference is something of a mess.
The Portland Winterhawks are 20-4-1 and threatening to run away with things, what with a 12-point lead over the second-place Vancouver Giants.
But after that there are only six points separating nine teams.
A week ago, the Kamloops Blazers were coming off two home-ice victories — they beat the Kelowna Rockets 4-0 and the Everett Silvertips 3-1 — and were tied for fifth, just one point out of third place.
This morning, the Blazers wake up having lost two straight road games and find themselves in last place.
Kamloops (11-11-1) is 10th, one point behind the Spokane Chiefs, Kelowna and the Prince George Cougars, who are tied for seventh. (Yes, all 10 teams are at .500 or better, but we won’t get into that, at least not now.)
The Chilliwack Bruins are sixth, with 25 points, just one point behind the Seattle Thunderbirds, Tri-City Americans and Everett, all of whom are tied for third, just three points behind Vancouver.
This has the feel of a horse race that will be like this right into March.
How big a role will injuries play?
And how big a price might be paid by those teams that lose players to national junior teams and to the U-17 World Hockey Challenge during the month of December and into January?
Yes, there are interesting times ahead.
The Eastern Conference, meanwhile, appears to be splitting into three packs.
The Kootenay Ice, Saskatoon Blades and Red Deer Rebels have opened up a bit of room, over a pack that features the Medicine Hat Tigers, Moose Jaw Warriors, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Swift Current Broncos and Brandon Wheat Kings. At the same time, the Regina Pats, Prince Albert Raiders and Edmonton Oil Kings are scrambling to get back into playoff position, while the 12th-place Calgary Hitmen have lost 13 of 14 and are 12 points out of a playoff spot.
———
SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS:
In Moose Jaw, F Spencer Edwards and F Dylan Hood each scored twice to lead the Warriors to a 6-3 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . It was the first game between the teams since they completed a five-player deal on Tuesday. . . . F Cody Beach, who went from Calgary to Moose Jaw in that deal, had two assists. . . . Edwards broke a 2-2 tie on the PP just 34 seconds into the third period and Hood added another PP goal just 1:03 later. . . . G Brandon Glover, who went from the Warriors to the Hitmen, stopped 28 shots. . . .
———
In Medicine Hat, F Wacey Hamilton set up three goals as the Tigers doubled the Prince Albert Raiders, 4-2. . . . The Tigers led 3-0 in the third period when Prince Albert D Antoine Corbin scored two goals 43 seconds part to get his side to within one just past the midway point. . . . F Tyler Pitlick scored into an empty net at 19:43 to give the Tigers some insurance. That was his eighth goal. . . . F Emerson Etem had two assists for the Tigers. . . .
———
In Kennewick, Wash., G Kent Simpson stopped 37 shots to spark the Everett Silvertips to a 4-2 victory over the host Tri-City Americans. . . . Everett has won three straight games. . . . F Josh Winquist had two assists for the Silvertips, while F Tyler Maxwell got his 17th goal and F Kellan Tochkin notched No. 11. . . . Everett remains with F Landon Ferraro (concussion) but F Parker Stanfield, who had been out with a concussion, has returned. . . . The Americans have lost five of their last six games. . . .
———
In Portland, the Spokane Chiefs scored twice in the game’s first five minutes and went on to a 3-1 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . F Blake Gal and F Anthony Bardaro scored those Spokane goals and they came just seven seconds apart. . . . Portland had won 14 of its previous 15 games. . . . The Winterhawks were without D Josh Morrow and F Seth Swenson, both of whom were suspended by the WHL for their roles in a melee during a Saturday night game with the visiting Kamloops Blazers.
———
SUNDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
One minor:
Tri-City D Drydn Dow

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

F Kyle St. Denis apparently has told the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies that he won’t report to them. . . . St. Denis, 20, spent the last three seasons with the Kelowna Rockets. But after playing in 64 games his first season, he played just 22 and 26 each of the last two seasons as he ran into concussion problems. The Rockets placed him on the injury list to begin this season and apparently released him from that list recently. . . . His junior A rights belonged to the Vernon Vipers, who dealt him to the Grizzlies. . . . However, St. Denis has said he would like to play with his hometown Trail Smoke Eaters, whose roster includes his younger brother, Travis. . . . A source indicated last night that it “looks like (Kyle) St. Denis may wait out the Dec. 1st deadline for teams to have their final rosters in and if Victoria does not make a deal with Trail he will not play hockey for the remainder of the season.” . . .
------
Some highlights from Saturday WHL games:
In Chilliwack, F Colin Reddin’s shootout goal gave the Regina Pats a 3-2 victory over the Bruins. . . . Chilliwack has never beaten Regina in five meetings since coming into the WHL. . . . Regina F Thomas Frazee has an eight-game point streak after picking up two assists. . . . The Pats had lost five straight. They now are 1-1-0 on their B.C. Division swing that continues Tuesday in Kamloops. . . . F Kevin Sundher had a goal and an assist for the Bruins. He had a goal and two assists Friday in a 4-3 victory over the visiting Tri-City Americans. . . . Regina G Damien Ketlo stopped 45 shots. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore turned aside 39 shots. . . .
------
In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice scored three shorthanded goals, tying a franchise record in the process, as they dropped the Prince Albert Raiders, 6-1. . . . The three shorthanded goals actually were scored consecutively, by F Max Reinhart, D Jagger Dirk and F Kevin King. . . . The Ice also scored twice on the PP as it improved to 16-5-2. . . . Kootenay had a 17-1 edge in shots in the third period. . . . The Raiders got their goal from F Jonathan Parker in the second period. That goal halted Ice G Brett Teskey’s shutout string at 124:47. . . .
------
In Portland, F Nino Niederreiter scored twice to lead the Winterhawks to a 6-4 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Winterhawks have won 14 of their last 15. . . . This was their first home game since they went 5-1-0 on an East Division swing. . . . This game was marred by a multi-fight situation at the end of the second period that involved battling goaltenders. Jeff Bosch of the Blazers and Portland’s Mac Carruth were ejected after the melee that included all the players from both teams on the ice and mostly milling around. . . . But there were three fights so it will be ch-ch-ching time. . . . Teams will be fined for battling goaltenders and for the multi-fight situation. . . . Just in time for Christmas shopping, too. . . . Kamloops ended up taking 101 of the 166 penalty minutes handed out. . . . Portland D Taylor Aronson had a goal and two helpers. . . . The Winterhawks now are 20-3-1. . . . Kamloops F Brendan Ranford got his 21st goal of the season and also had two assists. . . . Kamloops F Chase Schaber had a goal and an assist, as he ran his point streak to 10 games before getting tossed in that mess at the end of the second period. . . . F Sven Bartschi had two assists for Portland. . . .
------
In Brandon, the Moose Jaw Warriors staged a late rally and beat the Wheat Kings, 4-2. . . . F Quinton Howden broke a 2-2 tie with 1:12 left in the third period as the Warriors scored three times in the last 3:07. . . . Moose Jaw F Cody Beach, who was acquired Tuesday from the Calgary Hitmen in a five-player deal, had a scrap with Brandon D Ryley Miller. . . . Big deal, you say. . . . Each of the last three teams these guys have met, they have scrapped. . . . Brandon has lost three in a row. . . . Moose Jaw F Mackenzie Royer got the rally started with his first goal since moving to the Warriors in that deal with Calgary. . . . Yes, the Hitmen are scheduled to play in Moose Jaw tonight. . . . Yes, the Crushed Can will be hopping. . . .
------
In Edmonton, G Laurent Brossoit earned his first WHL shutout as the Oil Kings beat the Red Deer Rebels, 3-0. . . . Brossoit, 17, stopped 33 shots. . . . F Dylan Wruck scored twice for the Oil Kings. . . . Red Deer G Dawson Guhle, in his first start since being acquired earlier in the week from the Regina Pats, stopped 30 shots. . . . Edmonton F Josh Lazowski had two assists. . . .
------
In Lethbridge, the Saskatoon Blades improved to 16-6-1 with a 5-3 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Saskatoon fell behind 2-0 early and then got goals from five different players. . . . According to the online game sheet, Lethbridge GM/head coach Rich Preston was dismissed from the proceedings at 16:09 of the third period by referees Trent Knorr and Brent Montsion. . . . The Hurricanes ended up taking 83 of the game’s 96 penalty minutes.
------
In Medicine Hat, F Linden Vey scored his club’s first three goals and the Tigers went on to a 7-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . F Tyler Pitlick added two Medicine Hat goals. . . . Vey also had an assist. . . . The Broncos got two goals from F Justin Dowling. . . . The Tigers have won three in a row and are at home to Prince Albert tonight. . . .
------
In Prince George, the Kelowna Rockets beat the Cougars 2-1 in overtime to complete a weekend doubleheader sweep. . . . The Rockets had won 4-2 on Friday night. . . . F Evan Bloodoff scored the winner at 1:13 of OT. It was his third goal of the season and ended an 18-game drought. . . . Kelowna’s other goal came from F Andreas Stene, his first of the season, just 15 seconds into the game. . . . D Tyson Barrie assisted on both Kelowna goals. . . . F Brett Connolly got his 18th of the season for the Cougars. He scored all three of their goals in the two games. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown, who had something of a sore knee earlier in the week and didn’t play Friday, stopped 28 shots. . . .
------
At Kent, Wash., F Tyler Maxwell’s two goals helped the Silvertips to a 3-2 victory over the host Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Maxwell scored 27 seconds apart as Everett took a 3-0 lead in the first period. He has 16 goals this season. . . . F Kellan Tochkin, who had three goals in Everett’s 4-2 victory over visiting Kamloops on Friday, drew assists on both Maxwell goals. . . . Maxwell also assisted on the game’s first goal, by F Josh Winquist. . . . The game featured the two goaltenders who played for the WHL in the Subway Super Series. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 30 shots, one more than Everett’s Kent Simpson. . . . Attendance was 5,143. . . .
---
At Kennewick, Wash., the host Tri-City Americans whipped the Spokane Chiefs, 8-3. . . . F Brendan Shinnimin and F Mason Wilgosh both scored twice for the winners. . . . F Patrick Holland added a goal and two assists for the Americans, with F Adam Hughesman getting three assists. . . . The Americans snapped a five-game losing streak before 5,818 fans. . . . The teams have split their first four meetings this season. They won’t face each other again until the annual New Year’s Eve gala at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.
------
SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Two minors:
Both to Kootenay F Brock Montgomery.

 

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca

     

gdrinnan.blogspot.com

     

Taking Note on Twitter

Ranford, Bosch toast of CHL

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
For what is believed to be the first time in franchise history, the Kamloops Blazers claimed both CHL player-of-the-week awards on Wednesday.
Left-winger Brendan Ranford was named the player of the week, while Jeff Bosch took goaltender-of-the-week honours.
Ranford had back-to-back three-point games as the Blazers won both their games last week. He had two goals and an assist in a 4-0 home-ice victory over the Kelowna Rockets and followed that up with a goal and two helpers in a 3-1 victory over the visitingEverett Silvertips.
Ranford, 18, is in his third WHL season. He leads the WHL in goals, with 20, and is tied for third in points, with 33.
Ranford was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the seventh round of the NHL’s 2010 draft.
Meanwhile, Bosch was 2-0-0 with a 0.50 GAA and a .984 save percentage as he went the distance in both games. He stopped 23 shots against Kelowna, record his second shutout of the season, then made 38 saves in beating Everett.
Bosch, 20, is in his fourth WHL season. He was acquired earlier this season from the Moose Jaw Warriors for a sixth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft.
The last Kamloops player to be a CHL player or goaltender of the week was Justin Leclerc. He was named goaltender of the week on Nov. 20, 2007, after going 2-0-0, 0-.96, .961.
———
The Blazers will lose two players off their roster to Team West, which will play in the U-17 World Hockey Challenge, right after the Christmas break.
D Brady Gaudet, who is from Redvers, Sask., and F Logan McVeigh, from Kenaston, Sask., are to play for Team West in the tournament that opens Dec. 29 and ends Jan. 4. It will be played in Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie, Man.
The Blazers didn’t have anyone selected to Team Pacific, which represents Alberta and B.C.
———
There weren’t any Blazers on NHL Central Scoutings early-season rankings that were released earlier this week.
However, G John Keeney, who is on the Blazers’ list and plays for the USHL’s Omaha Lancers, showed up on one list. He is ranked eighth among USHL goaltenders.
———
JUST NOTES: The Blazers had hoped to have D Josh Caron back in their lineup this weekend, but now are thinking he won’t be ready until early in December. Caron suffered a broken collarbone on Sept. 25, in the second game of the regular season. . . . The Blazers will play the Silvertips in Everett on Friday and the Winterhawks in Portland on Saturday. They return home to face the Regina Pats on Tuesday. . . . The Vancouver Giants have added F Richard Vanderhoek, 19, to their roster. Vanderhoek, who had 43 points in 25 games with the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles, was a sixth-round pick by the Blazers in the 2006 bantam draft. He has joined the Giants and is expected to play Friday against the visiting Regina Pats. He was pointless, with two penalty minutes, in four games with the Blazers in 2007-08. . . . The AHL’s Houston Aeros have signed former Blazers D Bryce Lampman, 28, to a tryout. A fourth-round pick of the New York Rangers in the NHL’s 2001 draft, Lampman played with the AHL’s Peoria Rivermen last season, totaling 20 points in 57 games.

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

Russians next up for Ranford

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
No WHL player is hotter these days than left-winger Brendan Ranford of the Kamloops Blazers.
The 18-year-old from Edmonton is on a run of three straight three-point games and has 11 points over his last four games. He leads the WHL with 20 goals and is tied for third in points, with 33, all accomplished in 21 games.
Ranford, who had 29 goals in 72 games last season, became the first WHLer this season to reach 20 goals when he snapped a 50-footer through a defenceman and past Everett goaltender Kent Simpson in the Blazers’ 3-1 victory over the visiting Silvertips on Sunday night.
“I shot around (the defenceman),” Ranford said. “For sure, (Simpson) was screened). I’ve been doing that since bantam and peewee hockey. I try to shoot across the box. It’s a tough save for him to make, going across the grain . . . he’s going one way and the puck goes the other way.”
As for the recent run in which Ranford has scored seven goals in four games, he said: “You have to shoot the puck. Right? (Head coach Guy Charron) is always me after me to shoot the puck more and . . . I’ve been getting the bounces.”
Next up for Ranford is Game 5 of the Subway Super Series, which will be played at Interior Savings Centre on Wednesday, 7 p.m. For whatever reason, Ranford wasn’t an original selection to Team WHL, but he was added to the roster on Thursday. (The WHL revealed Monday that winger Brendan Gallagher of the Vancouver Giants won’t play in the game here but will play Thursday in Prince George.)
Ranford has no idea how he’ll do on Wednesday; he just wants to play.
“They’re a really good hockey team,” he said of the Russians. “I’ve noticed how they’ve been doing.”
The Russians took two games from the QMJHL, winning 5-4 and 4-3, before dropping a 4-0 decision to the OHL on Thursday in London. Last night, in Sudbury, the OHL won 2-1 in a shootout.
———
Forward Lindey Vey of the Medicine Hat Tigers will play in both Super Series games. Vey, 19, had a goal and three assists in a 6-4 victory over the visiting Regina Pats on Saturday.
Vey, like every player on the team, wants to make an impression on Hockey Canada head scout Kevin Prendergast, and Medicine Hat head coach Shaun Clouston doesn’t know why he can’t do just that.
“I thought that the last two nights Linden has really done a good job with his game,” Clouston told the Medicine Hat News. “He has worked hard, but he has also played real smart.
“He is looking for the right spots. He is executing the systems. I think he is being rewarded for doing that.”
Vey is tied with Ranford for third in the WHL scoring race, each with 33 points.
————
G Jon Groenheyde, who was traded by the Blazers to the Edmonton Oil Kings for G Cam Lanigan on Nov. 4, watched Sunday’s victory over Everett.
“I haven’t been home yet,” he said, referring to Edmonton as “home.”
“This has been the longest road trip ever,” he added.
On the day of the trade, the Oil Kings were in Prince George for a weekend doubleheader, so Groenheyde joined them there. The Oil Kings went from there to Chilliwack, Kelowna and Spokane before wrapping up Saturday in Cranbrook.
The Oil Kings flew Groenheyde back to Kamloops to allow him to pick up his car and some belongings. They don’t play until Saturday when they are at home to the Red Deer Rebels.
———
JUST NOTES: Ranford was named the WHL’s player of the week on Monday. He had six points, including three goals, in the team’s two games. . . . Kamloops G Jeff Bosch is the WHL’s nominee as goaltender of the week after going 2-0-0 with a 0.50 GAA and a .984 save percentage. . . . Kamloops C Chase Schaber had an assist Sunday to run his point streak to eight games. He has 11 points, eight of them assists, over that stretch. . . . Ranford’s goal on Sunday was announced as unassisted. After the game, assists were added to RW Jordan DePape and D Austin Madaisky. . . . Team WHL players are to arrive in town this afternoon and practice at ISC at 5:30 p.m. The Russians are scheduled to practice at 7:30 p.m. . . . D Matt MacKenzie of the Calgary Hitmen has the flu so won’t play Wednesday. He has been replaced by D Alex Petrovic of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Schaber and D Austin Madaisky of the Blazers are part of Team WHL for the Wednesday game. . . . Spokane D Jared Cowen will captain Team WHL on Wednesday. Schaber and F Curtis Hamilton of the Saskatoon Blades will serve as alternates. . . . The Blazers, with seven victories in their last 10 games, next play Friday in Everett and Saturday in Portland. Their next home game is Nov. 23 against the Regina Pats.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter

Blazers complete weekend sweep

BRENDAN RANFORD

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
For awhile, it was as though Batman chose to be Robin’s caddy. Or the Green Hornet decided to spend a night as Kato’s assistant.
Left-winger Brendan Ranford, the WHL’s leading triggerman, turned playmaker Sunday night, setting up the Kamloops Blazers’ first two goals and getting them started towards a 3-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips before 3,920 fans at Interior Savings Centre.
Right-winger Jordan DePape scored those goals, both coming via the power play, and Ranford later iced this one with his 20th goal of the season as he completed this third straight three-point game. He has 11 points, including seven goals, over his last four games.
One night earlier, Ranford scored twice and set up a third, goaltender Jeff Bosch stopped 23 shots and the much-maligned penalty-killing unit was perfect in beating the visiting Kelowna Rockets, 4-0, in what was the Blazers’ best home-ice performance of the season.
The Blazers (11-9-1) knew going into the weekend that if things broke a particular way they could have been in the 10-team Western Conference cellar by Sunday night.
Instead, the two victories have them tied with the Prince George Cougars for fifth, just a point out of third.
Last night, the Blazers were facing an Everett team (8-8-4) that was playing its third game in as many nights and had won the first two. On Saturday, the red-hot Rockets (10-11-0) were in their third game in four nights.
“We beat two teams . . . this team was undefeated in three games,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said, “and (Saturday) night we beat a team that was undefeated in six games. Credit should be given to the hockey team.”
While the Blazers played Saturday what Charron called a “textbook” game, they weren’t able to repeat that effort against an Everett team that was quite structured.
“We thought for sure this would be a very similar situation (to Saturday’s game),” Charron said, “but sometimes it’s not within our control. The players want to but . . .”
The two DePape goals — he now has seven in 16 games — put the Blazers up 2-0, with winger Kellan Tochkin pulling the visitors to within a goal at 6:19 of the second period.
After that, though, Bosch closed the door. He finished with 38 saves, including 16 in the third period.
“Everyone except one guy wasn’t very good,” Charron said.
Bosch, who tweaked a knee and came out after the first period of a 5-4 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary on Nov. 5, said he “felt really confident and really strong” in both games.
Some of that, he said, was due to a couple of sessions he had last week with former NHL goaltender Bill Ranford and Blazers goaltending coach Dan DePalma.
“That really helped out, I thought,” Bosch said.
On Saturday, Bosch put up his second shutout of the season, and the 10th of his career, and the penalty killers were 7-for-7.
Bosch, who now has 10 career shutouts, also blanked the host Red Deer Rebels, beating them 1-0 on Oct. 20.
Ranford’s two goals lifted him into the WHL lead, one ahead of Brendan Gallagher of the Vancouver Giants. Ranford stretched that lead to two last night.
But it was the penalty killers, who according to the numbers were the worst in the league going into Saturday, who saved the game.
The Blazers walked into three minor penalties in a span of 1:59 early in the second period. Kamloops, which had a week between games to work on things, was more aggressive and more structured than it had been on the kill and it was able to keep the game scoreless.
Late in the period, the Blazers struck three times in 1:49 to beat the Rockets, who came in having won six in a row.
Chase Schaber and Colin Smith had the Blazers’ other goals.
JUST NOTES: On Sunday, the Blazers were 2-for-2 on the PP, while Everett was 1-for-2. . . . One of Everett’s scratches was F Landon Ferraro, who suffered an upper-body injury in Saturday’s 3-2 OT victory over the visiting Chilliwack Bruins. . . . The last time Kamloops blanked Kelowna? Dec. 1, 2006, when Dustin Butler stopped 11 shots in a 5-0 home-ice victory. . . . Saturday’s attendance was 4,496, the second-largest crowd of the season. . . . Schaber’s assist on Ranford’s second goal Saturday was the 100th point of his WHL career. . . . Former Blazers head coach Ken Hitchcock, who isn’t listed as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ front office staff but is working as a special advisor, took in both weekend games. He was fired as the Blue Jackets’ head coach last season despite having a contract that runs through 2011-12 at US$1.3 million per. . . . The Blazers will play their annual game against the local Special Olympics floor hockey team tonight at Brocklehurst Middle School. The fun starts at 7 o’clock. . . . It’s Team WHL against the Russians on Wednesday as the Subway Super Series comes to the ISC. The Blazers will be well represented on the WHL team with D Austin Madaisky, Ranford, Schaber, Charron and trainer Colin Robinson. Game time will be 7 p.m.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter

Ch-ch-ching time after Calgary at Spokane game

The Seattle Thunderbirds have dealt D Ryan Aasman, 18, to the Swift Current Broncos for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. The Prince Albert Raiders selected Aasman, who is from Medicine Hat, with the eighth pick of the 2007 bantam draft. They dealt him to Seattle last season for F Jonathan Parker. . . . Aasman was pointless in eight games with Seattle this season. In 167 career games, he has 14 points, including two goals, and 68 penalty minutes. . . . The Thunderbirds were carrying nine defencemen at the time of the deal.
---
F Colton Orr of the Toronto Maple Leafs and F Derek Boogaard of the New York Rangers both played in the WHL and now, of course, are enforcers in the NHL. However, they have never fought each other. James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail looks at both men as the teams prepare to play tonight.
---
Canada’s national junior team will play warmup games in three Ontario cities prior to the 2011 World Junior Championship in Buffalo. Canada will play Switzerland in Oshawa on Dec. 20, Sweden in Toronto on Dec. 21 and Finland in Kitchener on Dec. 23. . . . The 2011 Alberta Cup is to be played in Lethbridge, at the Nicholas Sheran Arena, April 13-17. According to a press release: “The Alberta Cup is the premier hockey event in the province that helps identify the top male bantam-aged players from each zone in Alberta.” . . . Leigh Mendelson, who was an assistant coach with the Spokane Chiefs (2008-09), has signed on as an assistant coach with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. Last season, he served as an assistant coach -- an 16 games as interim head coach -- with the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals. . . . Congratulations to Bill Whitehead of Roland, Man., who will be one of the 2011 inductees into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame. A longtime player with the junior and senior Carman Goldeyes, Whitehead now is the reeve for the RM of Roland. He also is vice-president of Hockey Manitoba. Whitehead played for the MJHL’s Selkirk Steeler when they won the Centennial Cup, then the trophy for the national junior A championship, in 1974. . . . The ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings have signed F Gabe Gauthier, who has spent the last four seasons with the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs. Gauthier, 26, was selected by the Saskatoon Blades with the 12th overall pick of the 2000 bantam draft but took the NCAA route (Denver) and won two championships. It looked as though he would spend this season playing with Bolzano, Italy, before he signed with Victoria.
---
WEDNESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (four road teams wins and a line brawl -- ch-ch-ching):
MEDICINE HAT 3 at MOOSE JAW 2 (SO): F Linden Vey scored the only goal of the six-shooter shootout. . . . The Tigers (5-3-0) got the game’s first goal, when F Emerson Etem got his fourth at 10:52 of the first period, and the teams alternated goals after that. . . . F Nathan MacMaster got his fourth for the Warriors (4-7-1), on the PP, at 17:21. . . . D Thomas Carr put the Tigers ahead, on the PP, at 15:42 of the second period. . . . Moose Jaw F Quinton Howden, on the PP, forced OT with his sixth goal of the season at 19:50 of the third period. . . . The Warriors had won their last two games. . . . The Tigers now have won three straight. . . . Medicine Hat was 1-for-3 on the PP; the Warriors were 2-for-5. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 31 shots, while Moose Jaw’s Thomas Heemskerk stopped 23. . . Attendance was 2,527. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero.
---
LETHBRIDGE 4 at REGINA 3 (SO): F Graham Hood scored the only goal of the five-shooter shootout as the Hurricanes (4-4-2) snapped a three-game losing streak. . . . Lethbridge acquired Hood from Regina in a deal last season. . . . The Pats (2-7-2) got the game’s first goal, with F Andrew Rieder getting his second at 12:00 of the first period, and the team’s alternated goals after that. . . . Lethbridge F Mitch Maxwell, with his third, tied it 3-3 at 7:56 of the third period. . . . Regina G Damien Ketlo made 40 saves, while Lethbridge’s Brandon Anderson turned aside 30 shots. . . . Lethbridge was 1-for-3 on the PP; Regina was 1-for 6. . . . Attendance was 3,102. . . . The Hurricanes were without F Austin Fyten (foot, 4-6 weeks) and F Brody Sutter (shoulder, 2-3 weeks). . . . Checking-from-behind count: One minor, to Lethbridge D Derek Ryckman.
---
KAMLOOPS 1 at RED DEER 0: The Blazers won it on F Brendan Ranford’s 11th goal of the season and a 39-save effort from G Jeff Bosch. . . . Ranford, who has 14 points on an eight-game point streak, scored on the PP at 14:38 of the third period. . . . Bosch earned his first shutout of the season and ninth of his career. . . . Kamloops (5-6-1) opened a three-game swing into the Central Division. It had given up 21 goals in losing its last three games, all at home. . . . Kamloops, with the WHL’s worst penalty-killing record, gave up the game’s first six power plays but didn’t surrender a goal. . . . Red Deer G Bolton Pouliot turned aside 22 shots. Pouliot, 16, was making his second WHL start but it was his first decision. . . . Red Deer finished 0-for-9 on the PP; Kamloops was 1-for-5. . . . It was the fifth time in franchise history that Kamloops won by a 1-0 score, the first since March 8, 2008, when G James Priestner stopped 35 shots in a victory over the host Prince George Cougars. Priestner, of course, now plays for the Cougars. . . . Red Deer (7-4-0) had won five of its last six games. . . . This was the first time since opening night that the Blazers had allowed fewer than three goals in a game. . . . Former WHL star Mike Moller, providing analysis alongside veteran play-by-play man Cam Moon on 106.5 The Drive, sounds like he really enjoys himself. Moon is a big, big, big baseball fan so I’m thinking he had mlb.com up on his laptop. . . . Attendance was 3,914. . . . Checking-from-behind count: One minor, to Kamloops D Linden Saip.
---
BRANDON 3 at PRINCE GEORGE 5: F Nick Buonassisi continued his fine start with three assists to lead the Cougars (6-4-1) to what was victory No. 400 for head coach Dean Clark. He has coached in Calgary, Brandon, Kamloops and Prince George. . . . Buonassisi, 18, has 13 points in 10 games after putting up 31 in 60 games last season. . . . F Brett Connolly scored twice for the Cougars, who have won three in a row. He has 11 on the season. . . . Connolly got the game’s first goal, at 4:24 of the first period, but Brandon (4-7-0) came out with a 2-1 lead on goals from F Brenden Walker, his fifth, and F Paul Ciarelli, his third. . . . The Cougars struck for three second period goals, including F Greg Fraser’s first. . . . Prince George D Sena Acolatse, the CHL’s reigning player of the week, had two assists, as did F Taylor Stefishen. . . . The Wheat Kings have lost seven in a row after opening the season with four straight victories. . . . Cougars G James Priestner, the game’s first star, stopped 31 shots. . . . Brandon G Liam Liston stopped 33 shots. . . . Brandon was 0-for-4 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-for-5. . . . Attendance was 1,797. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero.
---
EVERETT 0 at PORTLAND 2: G Mac Carruth stopped 22 shots for the shutout. . . . It was his first shutout this season and the second of his career. He also blanked Everett last season. . . . The Winterhawks (9-2-1) were 2-for-7 on the PP, getting second-period goals from F Teal Burns, his first WHL goal, at 7:30 and F Sven Bartschi, his ninth, at 16:29. . . . Portland enjoyed six second-period power plays. . . . Everett (5-3-2) was 0-for-3 on the PP. . . . Bartschi has 13 points on a six-game point streak. Linemate Ty Rattie had one assist and now has 14 points on a six-game point streak. . . . Rattie is third in the scoring derby, with 22 points, three more than Bartschi. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson stopped 36 shots. . . . Portland had a 14-5 edge in second-period shots and 10-4 in the third. . . . Attendance was 1,666. . . . Checking-from-behind count: One minor, to Everett D Ryan Murray. . . . Associate coach Jay Varady ran the Everett bench for the first time in the absence of head coach Craig Hartsburg, who underwent a surgical procedure on Wednesday.
---
VANCOUVER 7 at KELOWNA 5: The Giants gave up five straight goals and then scored five in a row to win it. . . . Vancouver (6-5-2), which had lost three straight, opened a 2-0 lead before the game was three minutes old. . . . The Rockets (3-7-0), who are 1-5 at home, scored five times in a span of 4:43 early in the second period to seemingly take control. . . . But the Giants got the game’s last five goals, including three from F Brendan Gallagher, who now has 13. He also had an assist. . . . Vancouver C Craig Cunningham, the WHL’s leading scorer, had five assists. He has 27 points in 13 games. . . . Gallagher is second, with 23 points. . . . Vancouver D Neil Manning had a goal and two assists. . . . F Spencer Main scored twice for Kelowna, while F Shane McColgan and F Mitchell Callahan each had a goal and two helpers. . . . D Tyson Barrie (hamstring) was in Kelowna’s lineup for the first time since Oct. 8. . . . Both teams used two goaltenders. . . . Vancouver’s Mark Segal stopped 16 of 21 shots before Brendan Jensen came on to stop all 21 shots he faced. . . . Kelowna’s Jordan Cooke stopped 18 of 24 shots, with Adam Brown coming in late and stopping five shots. . . . Vancouver was 3-for-4 on the PP; Kelowna was 0-for-3. . . . Attendance was 6,077. . . . Checking-from-behind count: One minor, to Vancouver D Tyler Hart.
---
CALGARY 1 at SPOKANE 8: F Blake Gal scored three goals in a game that included 110 penalty minutes, 56 of them to the Hitmen. Yes, there was a line brawl. Ch-ch-ching! . . . Spokane F Darren Kramer, who scored his second goal of the season, was involved in three fights, including one in a line brawl late in the third period. Gotta think there will be some adjustments to the online scoresheet because it doesn’t show Kramer with a game misconduct. . . . Fines and suspension to follow. . . . Gal, who has eight goals, completed his first career hat trick at 3:59 of the second period. . . . The Chiefs improved to 4-5-0. . . . F Kenton Miller had two goals and an assist for the Chiefs, with F Tyler Johnson drawing three assists. D Brendon Kichton and Jared Cowen each had two assists. . . . Spokane D Tanner Mort only had one assist but was plus-4. . . . Calgary (4-6-0) went 2-3 on its swing into the U.S. Division. . . . F Misha Fisenko scored Calgary’s goal, his second, on a first-period PP. . . . Calgary was 1-for-3 on the PP; Spokane was 2-for-8. . . . Attendance was 3,657. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero.
 
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter