Showing posts with label Jesse Shynkaruk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesse Shynkaruk. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Porter: Seven injuries on one play . . . Rockets close on Cougars . . . T-Birds back on top in wild West


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 F Alex Leavitt (Swift Current, Everett, 2003-05) has announced his retirement. This season, he had 19 goals and 41 assists in 46 games with the Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite). . . .
F Andrew Clark (Brandon, 2005-09) has signed a one-year extension with Innsbruck (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). This season, he had 23 goals and 34 assists in 49 games.
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 Les Lazaruk was busy on Tuesday night, calling the play of the Saskatoon Blades’ game in Red Deer against the Rebels.
But during some down-time earlier in the day, he compiled standings showing the WHL’s 22 teams before the Jan. 10 trade deadline, after the deadline, and going into last night’s games.
Here you go (figures in parentheses are post-deadline) . . . 
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B.C DIVISION
Prince George 28-11-2 (14-9-3) 42-20-5
Kelowna 24-15-3 (16-6-2) 40-21-5
Kamloops 25-15-3 (13-8-3) 38-23-6
Victoria 22-16-4 (15-7-1) 37-23-5
Vancouver 16-23-3 (3-18-3) 19-41-6
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U.S. DIVISION
Everett 25-5-7 (14-9-4) 39-14-11
Seattle 21-14-4 (20-5-2) 41-19-6
Tri-City 24-17-3 (14-8-0) 38-25-3
Portland 21-18-1 (14-8-3) 35-26-4
Spokane 17-17-7 (9-11-3) 26-28-10
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EAST DIVISION
Regina 27-4-7 (18-8-1) 45-12-8
Moose Jaw 25-9-7 (16-8-1) 41-17-8
Swift Current 23-12-7 (11-8-3) 34-20-10
Brandon 20-16-4 (9-11-6) 29-27-10
Saskatoon 15-22-6 (10-9-3) 25-31-9
Prince Albert 8-31-3 (10-10-4) 18-41-7
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CENTRAL DIVISION
Medicine Hat 29-12-1 (17-7-0) 46-19-1
Lethbridge 22-15-5 (20-2-2) 42-17-7
Red Deer 18-17-6 (8-11-5) 26-28-11
Calgary 14-19-5 (11-11-5) 25-30-10
Edmonton 18-20-4 (2-20-1) 20-40-5
Kootenay 10-24-8 (4-17-2) 14-41-10
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If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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The Calgary Hitmen were playing the Pats in Regina on Jan. 6 when G Cody Porter went down. Oh, did he! . . . “I had seven injuries on the one play,” Porter said in a story posted at hitmenhockey.com. “It was a third-degree separated shoulder, third-degree dislocated shoulder, third-degree broken collarbone, torn labrum, torn AC joint, torn rotator cuff and a torn Bankart lesion. So it was a pretty serious injury off a play that didn’t seem very serious at the time.” . . . After all that, you have to wonder if his nickname isn’t Doc. . . . Anyway, Porter worked amazingly hard at rehab and is back, at least in a backup role, and it’s just in time because G Trevor Martin is out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. . . . Porter’s story is right here.
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When the Kamloops Blazers awoke on Friday morning, they were in Prince George, preparing for a game with the Cougars that evening. At the time, the Blazers were second in the B.C. Division, three points behind Prince George.
When the Blazers boarded their bus late Saturday night and headed for home, having lost both ends of a
doubleheader (8-4, 6-1), they were third in the division, seven points behind the Cougars and one behind the surging Kelowna Rockets.
Tonight, the Blazers open a Wednesday/Friday doubleheader against the visiting Victoria Royals. On Tuesday night, the Royals opened a five-game trek with a 4-3 loss in Kelowna.
The Royals went into that game having won six straight games, but all of those were against non-playoff teams (Kootenay, Vancouver and Spokane). Victoria will play in Kelowna again on Saturday.
A Victoria sweep of the Blazers would move the Royals past the Blazers, knocking Kamloops into fourth place in the division.
Such is life in the B.C. Division where four of the WHL’s most competitive teams reside.
The Blazers will have F Jermaine Loewen back for tonight’s game after he served a one-game suspension incurred after he took a cross-checking major and game misconduct on Friday night.
The Royals remain without D Chaz Reddekopp, who has been out since Feb. 15, and F Ryan Peckford, who hasn’t played since Feb. 7, both of whom remain week-to-week. There is a chance that F Tyler Soy, who last played on Feb. 11, could return Friday in Kamloops.
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Mike Fraser, the writing scout, has been out on the playoff trail of late. Just the other day, he was at a bantam game in Alberta when he glanced at the players’ benches and counted the coaches — one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. . . . In his latest column for the Brandon-based Westman Journal Fraser wonders: What’s up with that? . . . It’s all right here.
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If you haven’t seen it already, former WHL/NHL D Brent Sopel opened up his heart and soul with a piece headlined Lost in My Mind that was posted at The Players’ Tribune on Tuesday. . . . This is a heart-wrenching piece about a man who came to believe he was stupid but now knows that he is learning disabled. . . . Former players like Corey Hirsch, who had a piece there earlier, and Sopel are proving that hockey players are people, too. . . . Sopel’s piece is right here.
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JUST NOTES:

The Kamloops Blazers have a pair of 2016 bantam draft picks — F Connor Zary of Saskatoon and D Quinn Schmiemann of Wilcox, Sask. — practising with them this week. Zary, a second-round selection, had 45 points, including 27 goals, with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts this season. Schmiemann played with the midget AAA Notre Dame Hounds, who play out of Wilcox. He had 11 goals and 15 assists in 42 games. . . . Both players are scheduled to return to their homes on Sunday. . . . 
F Keyvan Mokhtari of the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies has committed to Colorado College, starting with the 2018-19 season. A native of Burnaby, B.C., he had 36 points, including 19 goals, in 47 games with the Grizzlies this season. . . . Mokhtari, who will turn 19 on May 4, was a seventh-round selection by the Everett Silvertips in the 2013 WHL bantam draft.
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If the WHL playoffs began today . . . 

Eastern Conference
Regina vs. Saskatoon
Medicine Hat vs. Brandon
Moose Jaw vs. Swift Current
Lethbridge vs. Red Deer
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Western Conference
Seattle vs. Portland
Prince George vs. Victoria
Kelowna vs. Kamloops
Everett vs. Tri-City
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:


At Kelowna, the Rockets built a 4-0 lead and hung on for a 4-3 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . F
NOLAN FOOTE
Nolan Foote got the Rockets started with his 17th goal — he’s 16 years of age — at 9:31 of the first period. . . . Kelowna went ahead 2-0 on F Carsen Twarynski’s 16 goal, at 4:33 of the second period. . . . F Calvin Thurkauf scored No. 33 just 22 seconds later. . . . F Leif Mattson (7) upped the lead to 4-0 at 5:19 of the third period. . . . The Royals made things interesting with three goals in the second-half of the third period. . . . F Jack Walker scored his 29th goal at 12:40. F Jared Dmytriw, who now has 15 goals, added scores at 12:58 and 18:45. . . . Walker also had an assist. . . . The Rockets got two assists from D James Hilsendager. . . . G Michael Herringer stopped 30 shots to earn the victory. . . . Victoria starter Giffen Outhouse was beaten three times on 22 shots in 24:55. Dylan Myskiw came off the bench to stop 15 of 16 shots in 34:48. . . . Kelowna was 0-2 on the PP; Victoria was 0-4. . . . The Rockets (41-21-5) have won five in a row to close with two points of the B.C. Division-leading Prince George Cougars. . . . The Royals (37-24-5) had points in their previous seven games (6-0-1). They are fourth in the B.C. Division, three points behind the Kamloops Blazers. The Royals play in Kamloops on Wednesday and Friday nights. . . . Announced attendance: 4,507.
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At Medicine Hat, F Chad Butcher scored 36 seconds into OT to give the Tigers a 4-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Butcher, who has 25 goals, had drawn the primary assist on F John Dahlstrom’s game-
CHAD BUTCHER
tying goal, at 16:11 of the third period. He’s got 28 goals. . . . The Tigers got out to a 2-0 lead on goals from F Mark Rassell (34), who was playing in his 200th regular-season game, at 8:17 of the first period, and D Clayton Kirichenko (12), at 4:47 of the second. . . . The Ice took the lead on three third-period goals. F Brett Davis got his 18th at 1:44. F Colton Kroeker scored No. 17 at 6:40. F Vince Loschiavo, with assists on the first two goals, put the visitors out front with his 25th goal at 8:08. . . . Medicine Hat G Michael Bullion actually made a glove save on Loschiavo’s shot, but it turned out that the glove was over the goal line. . . . D David Quenneville had two assists for Medicine Hat. . . . Kroeker and Davis had one each for the Ice. . . . The Tigers had anticipated starting G Nick Schneider, but he came up ill during the warmup, so Bullion made his fifth straight start. He earned the victory with 24 saves. . . . G Payton Lee blocked 30 shots for Kootenay. . . . The Ice was 0-2 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-3. . . . The Ice went 1-3-1 on a five-game road trip. . . . Medicine Hat (47-19-1) leads the Central Division, by four points over Lethbridge and is second in the overall standings, three points behind Regina. . . . The Ice (14-41-11) has lost four in a row. . . . Announced attendance: 3,030.
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TYLER STEENBERGEN
At Prince Albert, F Tyler Steenbergen broke a 2-2 tie with 57.9 seconds left in the third period as the Swift Current Broncos beat the Raiders, 4-2. . . . Steenbergen has 47 goals, one off the WHL lead that is held by F Tyler Wong of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Steenbergen does lead the WHL in game-winners, with 11. . . . The Broncos iced it with an empty-netter from F Ryley Lindgren (23), at 19:42. . . . F Parker Kelly had given the Raiders a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 8:57 of the first period. . . . The Broncos tied it when F Lane Pederson got No. 20 at 13:55. . . . It stayed that way well into the third period when F Kaden Elder put the visitors ahead with his 15th goal, at 10:25. . . . Kelly tied it with his second of the game and 18th of the season at 13:07. He’s got four goals and two assists over his past two games. . . . The Broncos got two assists from D Artyom Minulin. . . . G Jordan Papirny earned the victory with 33 saves. . . . G Ian Scott was beaten three times on 33 shots in 55:15, with G Nic Sanders stopping both shots he faced in 4:16. Sanders came on while Scott had an equipment issue. . . . The Raiders were 1-3 on the PP; the Broncos were 0-2. . . . Swift Current (35-20-10) has won five in a row, the last three of those on the road, and appears headed to a third-place finish in the East Division. . . . Prince Albert now is 18-42-7. . . . Announced attendance: 1,886. . . . Darren Steinke, the wandering blogger, was in the house and posted this right here.
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At Red Deer, F Jesse Shynkaruk scored with 16.5 seconds left in OT to give the Saskatoon Blades a 2-1
JESSE SHYNKARUK
victory over the Rebels. . . . It was Shynkaruk’s second goal of the game, his fourth OT goal this season and his 10th game-winner of the season. . . . F Deven Sideroff of the Kamloops Blazers has five OT goals this season, tying the WHL record (F Eric Fehr, Brandon Wheat Kings, 2004-05). . . . Shynkaruk, 20, was a walk-on to the Blades’ training camp as he hoped to extend his WHL career. When this season began, Shynkaruk had 23 goals and 25 assists in 196 career regular-season games. This season, he has put up 51 points, including 30 goals, in 52 games. . . . Shynkaruk had opened the scoring, on a PP, at 1:12 of the first period. . . . The Rebels tied it at 12:10 of the second on F Evan Polei’s 29th goal of the season. . . . The Blades got 35 saves from G Logan Flodell. . . . At the other end, Riley Lamb also stopped 35 shots. . . . Saskatoon was 1-3 on the PP; Red Deer was 0-4. . . . The Calgary Hitmen didn’t want to see this game turn into a three-pointer, but it did. Saskatoon (26-31-9), which plays in Calgary tonight, moved into the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, one point ahead of the Hitmen. Red Deer (26-28-12) is third in the Central Division, four points ahead of Calgary. . . . Announced attendance: 4,029. . . . Greg Meachem of reddeerrebels.com has a game story right here. It’s worth a click to see the photo by Rob Wallator that features Red Deer’s Matt Campese and Saskatoon’s Jackson Caller.
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At Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds moved back atop the Western Conference standings with a 5-2
KEEGAN KOLESAR
victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Thunderbirds (42-19-6) lead the conference by one point over the Prince George Cougars. Seattle also leads the U.S. Division, by a point over the Everett Silvertips. . . . F Hudson Elynuik (26) gave the Chiefs a 1-0 lead at 5:55 of the first period, but the Thunderbirds roared back to score the next five goals. . . . F Alexander True (21) tied it, on a PP, at 9:08, and D Turner Ottenbreit (6) shot Seattle into the lead at 10:45. . . . D Anthony Bishop gave Seattle a 3-1 lead with his second goal of the season at 19:30. . . . F Keegan Kolesar (26) and F Donovan Neuls (14) added third-period goals for the winners. . . . F Kailer Yamamoto scored Spokane’s final goal, his 37th, on a penalty shot at 19:07 of the third period. . . . Seattle got two assists from each of F Mathew Barzal and F Ryan Gropp, with Kolesar adding one. Kolesar is riding a 15-game point streak. . . . Seattle D Ethan Bear had an assist in his return to the lineup, running his point streak to 13 games. . . . Seattle got 26 saves from Rylan Toth, who  leads the WHL with 35 victories. . . . Spokane starter Jayden Sittler allowed five goals on 28 shots in 46:28. Donovan Buskey finished up, stopping all five shots he faced in 13:32 in the second appearance of his WHL career. . . . Seattle was 1-2 on the PP; Spokane was 0-3. . . . The Chiefs (26-29-10) have lost three in a row (0-2-1). They are 12 points out of a playoff spot with seven games remaining. . . . Announced attendance: 5,807.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Saskatoon at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Prince George at Portland 7 p.m.
Everett at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Regina at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

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Saturday, February 11, 2017

Tigers derail 'Cane train . . . Pats win sets franchise record . . . Barzal six-pack sparks Seattle


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The Everett Silvertips, who opened an East Division trek in Brandon with a 2-1 loss to the Wheat Kings on Friday, made a pair of roster moves Saturday morning. They dropped F Bradly Goethals, 18, from their roster as he has left the team, and brought back F Cal Babych, who had been with the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express. . . . Babych, who turned 20 on Jan. 18, played two games — on Jan. 29 and 31 — with the Silvertips during a recent stint with them, before being returned to Coquitlam. . . . Babych also has played with the Calgary Hitmen, Prince George Cougars, Prince Albert Raiders and Vancouver Giants. In total, he has 35 points, 15 of them goals, in 154 regular-season games. He had seven goals and 22 assists in 36 games with the Express this season. . . . Everett acquired Goethals from Brandon on Oct. 12 for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft. He had three goals and three assists in 23 games with the Silvertips. “Bradly Goethals made significant strides to become a regular in our lineup,” general manager Garry Davidson said in a news release, “and made a decision to leave our hockey team for personal reasons. We acknowledge his wishes and priorities, and wish him well in his future endeavours.” . . . From Île-des-ChĂȘnes, Man., Goethals had 74 points, including 41 goals, in 43 games with the midget AAA Eastman Selects last season. He led the Manitoba Midget Hockey League in goals and points.
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When the Northern Michigan Wildcats blanked the visiting Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks, 2-0 on Saturday, in Marquette, Mich., G Atte Tolvanen, a 22-year-old from Vihti, Finland, recorded his fifth straight shutout. That tied the record for consecutive shutouts that was set by Medicine Hat native Blaine Lacher in his senior season (1993-94) with the Lake Superior State Lakers. Lacher still holds the NCAA record with a shutout streak of 375 minutes 1 second. . . . Tolvanen’s streak is at 335:49. . . . Tolvanen is in his second season at NMU after spending two seasons in the NAHL, first with the Minnesota Magicians and then the Minot Minotauros. . . . The Wildcats are scheduled to visit the Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks on Friday and Saturday nights. . . . The Wildcats’ head coach is Walt Kyle, who has been there since June 13, 2002. Kyle spent two seasons (1992-94) as head coach of the Seattle Thunderbirds.
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If you enjoy stopping off here and would care to make a donation to the cause, please feel free to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Concussion Report

 Like football and hockey, the sport of bull riding has come face-to-face with a concussion problem, a situation that has been exacerbated by the death of cowboy Ty Pozzobon, a rodeo star from Merritt, B.C. Pozzobon, who was 25 when he died on Jan. 25, is believed to have suffered 12 concussions. . . . Charlie Gillis of Maclean’s has more right here on Pozzobon and the situation in which bull riding now finds itself.
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“In the 1950s,” writes Juliet Macur of The New York Times, “tobacco companies responded to research proving a link between smoking and lung cancer by trying to discredit the science. They formed their own research group to poke holes in the data and to stave off public panic that cigarette smoking could cause serious diseases and death.
“More than 60 years later, the NHL has responded to a class-action lawsuit regarding head injuries with a similar approach.
“The suit, brought by former players and their families, claims that the league hid the dangers of brain trauma. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages.
“It now looks as if the NHL, which makes about US$4 billion a year, has chosen to go after the science behind the brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. It’s late to this game. Even the NFL — a longtime and loud naysayer that blows to the head cause CTE — has acknowledged the link.”
Macur’s story in its entirety is right here.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:


At Calgary, F Tristen Nielsen scored in the eighth round of a shootout to give the Hitmen a 3-2 victory
TRISTEN NIELSEN
over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . F Jake Kryski gave Calgary a 1-0 lead in the skills competition to end the second round, but F Tyler Steenbergen tied it for the Broncos in the third round. . . . That set the stage for Nielsen, a first-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft who has two goals in 34 games this season. . . . F Ryley Lindgren sent the Broncos into a 1-0 lead at 9:01 of the first period. . . . Calgary tied it at 10:30 of the second period as F Matteo Gennaro got No. 34. . . . Lindgren’s 17th goal gave the visitors a 2-1 lead at 12:05. . . . Calgary forced OT when D Brady Reagan (4) scored, on a PP, at 13:12 of the third period. . . . Gennaro also had an assist. . . . G Kyle Dumba blocked 21 shots to earn the victory over Jordan Papirny, who stopped 31 shots, seven of them in extra time. . . . Calgary was 1-4 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-3. . . . The Hitmen (20-26-9) had lost their previous three games. They are three points away from a playoff spot. . . . The Broncos (29-17-9) are 4-0-1 in their past five outings. They are third in the East Division, five points behind Moose Jaw. . . . Announced attendance: 6,272.
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At Cranbrook, B.C., F Cole Fonstad’s goal in the eighth round of a shootout gave the Prince Albert
COLE FONSTAD
Raiders a 4-3 victory in a game featuring the teams with the WHL’s poorest records. . . . The Raiders (14-38-5) had lost their previous three games. . . . The Ice (12-34-9) has lost five in a row (0-4-1). . . . They are tied for 21st in the overall standings, with the Ice holding two games in hand. . . . F Brett Davis scored for the Ice in the second round of the skills competition, with F Cavin Leth keeping the Raiders alive with a goal in the third round. . . . The Ice had taken a 1-0 lead when F Colton Kroeker scored at 3:26 of the first period. . . . The Raiders tied it on F Simon Stransky’s 15th goal at 18:12. . . . The final four goals came in the third period. . . . F Vince Loschiavo got No. 20 to put the Ice ahead at 1:07. . . . The visitors then took the lead on goals from F Parker Kelly (11), at 13:27, and F Curtis Miske (13), at 15:15. . . . Kroeker, who also had an assist, forced OT with his 11th goal at 18:43. . . . Loschiavo had two assists for the Ice. . . . Miske had an assist for the Raiders. . . . Fonstad, a 16-year-old from Estevan, Sask., was the fifth-overall pick in the 2015 bantam draft. He has nine goals and 12 assists in 55 games. . . . G Nic Sanders stopped 34 shots for the Raiders, including six in OT. . . . The Ice got 25 saves from G Payton Lee. . . . Prince Albert was 0-3 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-7. . . . Announced attendance: 1,924.
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At Medicine Hat, G Michael Bullion stopped 19 shots in recording his first WHL shutout as the Tigers
ZACH FISCHER
dropped the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 5-0. . . . Bullion, who was acquired from the Portland Winterhawks to back up Nick Schneider, was making his 36th career appearance. It was his 12th appearance with the Tigers. He now is 9-2-0, 2.72, .898. . . . D Clayton Kirichenko scored the game’s first goal, his 10th, on a PP at 3:47 of the first period. . . . F James Hamblin added insurance with No. 16, shorthanded, at 1:31 of the second period. . . . F Ryan Jevne (9) F Zach Fischer (29) and F Mason Shaw (22) also scored for the Tigers. . . . Fischer also had two assists, as did D Jordan Henderson. Kirichenko added one. . . . The Hurricanes started Stuart Skinner in goal. He left after allowing five goals on 34 shots in 52:08. Adam Swan then made his WHL debut, stopping all four shots he faced in 7:52. . . . Medicine Hat was 1-2 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-2. . . . The Tigers (40-16-1) have won four in a row. The now lead the Central Division by eight points over Lethbridge. . . . The Hurricanes (33-16-7), who had won nine straight, had points in each of their previous 15 games (13-0-2). . . . Announced attendance: 4,419.
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At Moose Jaw, G Carter Hart turned aside 31 shots to lead the Everett Silvertips to a 2-0 victory over the
CARTER HART
Warriors. . . . The victory lifted the Silvertips back into first place in the U.S. Division, one point ahead of the Seattle Thunderbirds, whose game against the visiting Portland Winterhawks started shortly before Everett’s game ended. Just over two hours later, Seattle completed an 8-5 victory and moved one point ahead of Everett. . . . Hart now has put up back-to-back shutouts as he blanked the visiting Vancouver Giants, 1-0, one week earlier. This is his second shutout streak of the season. As November ended, he put up three in a row. . . . Hart leads the WHL with eight shutouts this season and now has 18 in his career. . . . F Devon Skoleski (11) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 10:18 of the first period, with F Eetu Tuulola (13) providing insurance at 10:13 of the second period. . . . Skoleski also had an assist. . . . The Warriors got 32 saves from G Zach Sawchenko. . . . Each team was 0-3 on the PP. . . . The Silvertips are 1-1-0 on their six-game East Division trip. . . . Everett (32-12-10) is nine points ahead of third-place Tri-City in the U.S. Division. . . . The Warriors (32-17-8) have lost three in a row (0-2-1). They are second in the East Division, five points ahead of Swift Current. . . . Announced attendance: 3,337.
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At Red Deer, D Josh Mahura’s goal at 3:04 of OT gave the Regina Pats a 4-3 victory over the Rebels. . . .
JOSH MAHURA
Mahura, who has 13 goals, was acquired from the Rebels in a deal at the trading deadline. He has four goals and six assists in 15 games with Regina, after recording nine goals and 24 assists in 39 games with the Rebels this season. . . . F Austin Pratt (12) had given the Rebels a 1-0 lead at 19:25 of the first period. . . . The Pats took a 2-1 lead on goals from D Connor Hobbs (25), on a PP, at 19:45 of the second period and F Adam Brooks (31) just 26 seconds into the third. . . . Red Deer responded with two PP goals to take a 3-2 lead. F Michael Spacek (24) counted at 5:46, with D Colton Bobyk getting his fifth at 6:51. . . . The Pats forced extra time when F Austin Wagner got his 25th goal at 7:08. . . . Wagner also drew an assist on the winner. . . . Brooks also had two assists, with Hobbs adding one. . . . Regina F Sam Steel, the WHL scoring leader, had one assist. . . . Steel has 98 points, four more than Brooks. . . . The Rebels got 47 shots from G Riley Lamb. He was especially busy in the second and third periods as the Pats outshot the Rebels by margins of 21-5 and 17-5. . . . Regina G Tyler Brown turned aside 23 shots. . . . Red Deer was 2-5 on the PP; Regina was 1-7. . . . The Rebels had F Cam Hausinger and F Adam Musil back after they served two- and one-game suspensions, respectively. . . . Regina (40-6-7) ran its winning streak to 11 games. The Pats lead the overall standings by six points over Medicine Hat with four games in hand. . . . The Rebels (23-24-9) have lost four in a row (0-3-1). They are third in the Central Division, six points ahead of Calgary. . . . Announced attendance: 6,297.
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At Saskatoon, F Jesse Shynkaruk scored his second goal of the game at 4:43 of OT as the Blades beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-2, on Ukrainian Night. . . . Shynkaruk now has 26 goals this season, and
JESSE SHYNKARUK
that’s not bad for a 20-year-old who was a walk-on at training camp. . . . Shynkaruk, who is from Saskatoon, went into the season with 23 goals and 25 assists in 196 career regular-season games split between the Kamloops Blazers and Moose Jaw Warriors. He was a seventh-round pick by the Blazers in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . This season, he has 26 goals and 14 assists in 41 games. . . . The game’s first four goals came in a span of 6:19 in the second period. . . . Shynkaruk put the Blades ahead 1-0, on a PP, at 9:35. . . . Brandon F Ty Lewis (25) tied it, on a PP, at 12:12. . . . The Blades went back out front when F Josh Paterson (13) counted at 14:11. . . . The Wheat Kings pulled even as F Stelio Mattheos (21) scored another PP goal, at 15:54. . . . Shynkaruk’s OT winner came from the backdoor off a pass from F Mason McCarty. . . . F Nolan Patrick and D Kale Clague each had two assists for Brandon. . . . Saskatoon G Logan Flodell stopped 21 shots, one more than Brandon’s Travis Child. . . . Brandon was 2-5 on the PP; Saskatoon was 1-4. . . . The Wheat Kings dressed 16 skaters, two under the maximum, as they used nine forwards and seven defencemen. . . . The Blades, already with six players on the injury list, lost F Chase Wouters to an undisclosed injury in the first period. . . . This was the final game the eight-game season series. The Wheat Kings were 4-2-2; the Blades finished 4-3-1. . . . For those unfamiliar with the beloved loser point, that means Brandon won the series, 10-9. . . . Saskatoon (23-26-6) has won three in a row and holds down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, 10 points behind Brandon and three in front of Calgary. . . . Brandon (27-20-8) has points in four straight (2-0-2) and is five points behind third-place Swift Current in the East Division. . . . Announced attendance: 4,307.
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At Kent, Wash., F Mathew Barzal had a career-high six points as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Portland Winterhawks, 8-5. . . . F Ryan Gropp had two goals and an assist for Seattle, running his goal-
MATHEW BARZAL
scoring streak to six games and his point streak to 12. In those 12 games, he has put up 11 goals and 14 assists, and Seattle is 11-0-1 in that span. . . . Barzal finished with a goal, his eighth, and five assists. He has 54 points, 46 of them assists, in 29 games this season. He has played 190 regular-season games, putting up 253 points, including 192 assists. . . . The first four stoppages in this game were for goals. . . . Seattle took a 1-0 lead when F Tyler Adams scored his second goal at 1:39 of the first period. . . . Portland went ahead 2-1 on goals from F Jake Gricius (6), at 4:02, and F Cody Glass (26), at 5:33. . . . Barzal tied it at 6:38. . . . Barzal’s goal was the first of four straight for Seattle. . . . D Reece Harsch got his third goal at 18:48. F Alexander True scored No. 18, shorthanded, at 3:27 of the second period and F Keegan Kolesar (16) upped Seattle’s lead to 5-2, on a PP, at 7:47. . . . The Winterhawks got back to within a goal as F Joachim Blichfeld scored twice, giving him 23, at 9:16 and 14:51. . . . Seattle D Ethan Bear stretched the lead with his 21st goal, on a PP, at 10:30 of the third period. . . . The Winterhawks made it interesting as F Skyler McKenzie (35) counted at 11:16. . . . Gropp put it away with two goals, at 11:49 and 18:10, the second into an empty net. . . . Gropp, who also had an assist, has 11 goals and 14 assists in his 12-game run. . . . In his last four games, Gropp has seven goals and five assists. . . . In their last four games, Barzal, Gropp and Kolesar have combined for 37 points. . . . Bear, who was playing in his 250th career game, also had three assists for his second career four-point game. He has 52 points, including 31 assists, in 53 games. . . . Portland got two assists from glass. . . . The Thunderbirds got 29 saves from G Rylan Toth, while Portland’s Cole Kehler blocked 20. . . . Seattle was 2-4 on the PP; Portland was 1-5. . . . The Thunderbirds were able to dress only 16 skaters, including 10 forwards. . . . The Thunderbirds were without D Turner Ottenbreit, who left Friday’s 6-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans and didn’t return. Seattle F Sami Moilanen, who also didn’t finish Friday’s game, was in the lineup last night. . . . The Winterhawks played for a second straight night without a 20-year-old in their lineup. . . . Seattle (35-15-5) is 11-0-1 in its past 12 games and leads the U.S. Division by one point over Everett. . . . The Winterhawks (30-23-3) are fourth in the U.S. Division, two points behind Tri-City. . . . Announced attendance: 5,653.
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At Spokane, the Chiefs built a 4-0 second-period lead and hung on for a 4-3 victory over the Tri-City
ETHAN McINDOE
Americans. . . . F Kailer Yamamoto’s 31st goal, at 2:28 of the first period, gave the home side a 1-0 lead. . . . F Keanu Yamamoto’s 21st goal, at 3:09, upped that to 2-0. . . . Both goals came via the PP. . . . F Ethan McIndoe scored two second-period goals for a 4-0 lead. He’s got 14 goals. . . . The Americans got back into it with three third-period goals. . . . F Brett Leason got his third at 1:40, with F Tyler Sandhu scoring his 15th at 10:24, and D Juuso Valimaki counting his 16th at 12:56. . . . The Chiefs got two assists from F Riley Woods and one each from the Yamamoto brothers. . . . Spokane started G Jayden Sittler, who was beaten three times on 19 shots in 52:56. He got the victory. Dawson Weatherill came on to earn a save, stopping all five shots he faced in 7:04. . . . G Rylan Parenteau stopped 25 shots for the Americans. . . . Spokane was 2-3 on the PP; Tri-City was 0-3. . . . Tri-City was without F Michael Rasmussen for a second straight game. . . . The Chiefs (23-23-9) have points in three straight (2-0-1). They are eight points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Americans (31-23-3) have lost three in a row. . . . . Announced attendance: 9,848.
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At Langley, B.C., G Brodan Salmond blanked the Vancouver Giants for a second straight night as the
BRODAN SALMOND
Kelowna Rockets posted a 5-0 victory. . . . One night after making 22 saves in a 6-0 victory in Kelowna, the 18-year-old native of Calgary stopped 19 shots for his third career shutout. . . . The Royals got out to a 1-0 lead when F Calvin Thurkauf (25) scored, on a PP, at 6:10 of the first period. . . . D James Hilsendager (3) made it 2-0 at 8:49. . . . F Erik Gardiner (4) counted on a PP, at 1:01 of the second period, giving him two goals in two nights. . . . D Lucas Johansen (4) and F Kole Lind (26) had the other Kelowna goals. . . . The Rockets got three assists from F Dillon Dube, with Gardiner and Johansen adding one each. . . . The Giants got 33 saves from G David Tendeck. . . . Kelowna was 2-4 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-3. . . . The Rockets (32-20-4) have won two in a row. They are third in the B.C. Division, six points behind Kamloops and two ahead of Victoria. . . . The Giants (18-34-5) have lost two straight. . . . Announced attendance: 4,233.
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At Victoria, G Dylan Ferguson blocked 36 shots to lead the Kamloops Blazers to a 3-1 victory over the
DYLAN FERGUSON
Royals. . . . One night earlier, the host Royals beat the Blazers, 2-1 in a shootout. . . . Last night, the Blazers went 3-7 on the PP, scoring in the final minute of each period. . . . The Royals were 0-6 on the PP. . . . F Collin Shirley’s 23rd goal gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 19:53 of the first period. . . . Victoria tied it at 1:37 of the second period when F Eric Florchuk got his third goal. . . . F Deven Sideroff (31) gave Kamloops a 2-1 lead at 19:07 of the second period, with F Rudolfs Balcers (31) adding insurance at 19:39 of the third. . . . The Blazers got two assists from D Joe Gatenby and one from Sideroff. . . . Ferguson improved to 14-9-2, 2.71, .923. . . . The Royals got 33 saves from G Griffen Outhouse. . . . The Royals lost F Jared Dmytriw when he took a headshot major and game misconduct for a hit on F Deven Sideroff at 17:19 of the third period. . . . The Blazers (34-18-6) have points in five straight (3-0-2). They are second in the B.C. Division, four points behind the Prince George Cougars, who don’t play this weekend. . . . The Royals (31-22-4) hold down the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot, three points ahead of Portland. . . . Announced attendance: 5,853.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Calgary at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Lethbridge vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 4 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:10 PM
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Sunday, January 22, 2017

Scattershooting ... Blades Welcome the World with win ... Pachal, Raiders on fire

Scattershoot

 Scattershooting, while waiting for Milos Raonic to play Down Under . . .

I wish there was a way to find out how many junior A and major junior hockey players changed teams over the three or four weeks leading up to Jan. 10. I am guessing it was somewhere around 400 — and that may be low. Regardless, isn’t it time for Hockey Canada, if it really governs the sport in this country, to deliver ask operators if this really is necessary?
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One of the amazing things about junior hockey is the way junior A teams trade from one league to another. On Jan. 10, for example, the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzles acquired F Shawn O’Malley from the NAHL’s Shreveport Mudbugs. Yes, that Shreveport. O’Malley, 19, is from Ann Arbor, Mich.
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The Winnipeg Jets have had goaltending issues through a lot of this season, but brings one to wonder: Whatever happened to Eric Comrie, who was a second-round selection in the 2013 NHL draft?
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Is it just me or is Samuel L. Jackson in every movie trailer that shows up on TV?
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There isn’t a better promotion in all of junior hockey than the Welcome the World event that is staged by the Saskatoon Blades. They held the second annual on Sunday and it really is something else. If you haven’t seen the highlights — new citizens of our country, young and old, getting introduced to hockey and some of them getting their Canadian citizenship — check them out. And a tip of the fedora to all of those involved in this wonderful event.
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The Blades, if you haven’t noticed, have won five in a row and have seven of their next eight games on home ice. With them showing signs of turning things around, you are free to wonder if the fans will come back.
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There are 10 teams in the WHL’s Western Conference and only one of them, the Vancouver Giants, has a point percentage below .500. Thank you, loser point.
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There are a lot of people in and around the NHL who are grumbling about the shootout. Guy Boucher, the head coach of the Ottawa Senator, so despises it that he refuses to watch when his team is involved in one. “I never watch shootouts,” Boucher told James Mirtle of The Athletic (theathletic.com). “I never have. Two reasons: One, I hate it. I think it’s a team game, and it should be decided by team play. But I understand that the game has got to end. The other thing, two, is I got into a habit of not looking. It makes no difference if I look or not so I let the guys do their thing. I used to get involved and talk to the guys, ‘Eh you could do this and that.’ Now I stay out of it.” . . . Mirtle spoke with Boucher after Ottawa had beaten the host Toronto Maple Leafs in a shootout on Saturday night.
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The best part of writing sports for newspapers for more than 40 years was the late nights, if only because a guy could easily make it through the late night/early morning Australian Open matches. No more. On Saturday morning, I stuck with Roger Federer until 2 a.m., then went to sleep assuming he was going to lose.
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Can you remember a season in which the NFL playoffs served up so much boredom? Of this season’s 10 playoff games, eight have been lop-sided and all but unwatchable. Will the Super Bowl be worth watching for anything other than NFL commish Roger Goodell presenting the championship trophy to Brady, Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft?
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F Axel Blomqvist (Lethbridge, Victoria, Moose Jaw, 2012-15) has been released at his request by SödertÀlje (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He was pointless in seven games.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:

At Calgary, D Brayden Pachal scoed at 1:52 of OT to give the Prince Albert Raiders a 3-2 victory over the Hitmen. . . . The Raiders scored the game’s first two goals. . . . F Jordy Stallard, who had been acquired
BRAYDEN PACHAL
from the Hitmen earlier in the month, ran his goal-scoring streak to four games with his 14th goal, at 17:13 of the first period. . . . F Kolten Olynek’s 10th goal, on a PP, made it 2-0 at 5:15 of the second period. . . . The Hitmen tied it as F Jakob Stukel (14) scored on a PP, at 14:50 of the second, and F Matteo Gennaro (29) counted at 19:14 of the third period. . . . Stukel assisted on that goal. . . . Gennaro has at least one goal in six straight games. He has 11 goals in that stretch. . . . Pachal, who asked out of Victoria because wanted more playing time, has two goals in eight games since the Royals dealt him to the Raiders. His first goal gave the Raiders a 3-2 victory over the host Red Deer Rebels on Friday. Pachal had one goal in 75 games with Victoria. . . . G Nic Sanders stopped 30 shots to earn the victory over Trevor Martin, who made 23 saves. . . . Prince Albert was 1-2 on the PP; Calgary was 1-6. . . . D Jake Bean was among Calgary’s scratches. Bean played for Team Canada at the World Junior Championship and the Hitmen have given him a few days off. . . . Prince Albert got back F Tim Vanstone but F Simon Stransky and F Drew Warkentine remain out. . . . The Raiders (11-34-5) have won three in a row for the first time this season. They were playing their fourth game in five days, and their third in less than 48 hours. They still are last in the overall standings, but now are just three points behind the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Hitmen (17-21-8) have lost three straight (0-1-2) and are four points out of a playoff spot. They were playing their third home game in four nights. . . . Announced attendance: 7,722.
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At Edmonton, the Moose Jaw Warriors put the cap on a six-game road trip with a 2-0 victory over the Oil
ZACH SAWCHENKO
Kings. . . . The Warriors went 4-2-0 on the trip that included five games in the B.C. Division. . . . G Zach Sawchenko earned the shutout with 32 saves. That was his first shutout of the season and seventh of his career. . . . F Brayden Burke (15) scored the game’s first goal, on a PP, at 8:09 of the first period. . . . F Yan Khomenko (11) added insurance, at 11:08 of the third period. . . . Edmonton G Josh Dechaine stopped 27 shots in his second career start. . . . Moose Jaw was 1-3 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-3. . . . F Trey Fix-Wolansky was among Edmonton’s scratches. He served a one-game suspension after taking a game misconduct late in a 5-2 loss to the visiting Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday. . . . The Warriors, who continue to be without F Noah Gregor, scratched F Brett Howden, their captain, due to illness. . . . Moose Jaw (29-12-7) has won three in a row and is second in the East Division, four points behind the Regina Pats, who hold four games in hand. . . . Edmonton (18-25-4) has lost eight straight and is six points away from a playoff spot. It hasn’t won since beating the visiting Calgary Hitmen, 4-3 in OT, on Jan. 1. . . . Announced attendance: 7,559.
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At Everett, F Riley Woods scored the only goal of a three-round shootout to give the Spokane Chiefs a 4-
RILEY WOODS
3 victory over the Silvertips. . . . Everett took a 2-0 first-period lead on goals from F Matt Fonteyne (15), at 0:51, and F Patrick Bajkov (20), at 6:57. . . . Bajkov had an assist on Fonteyne’s goal. . . . F Hudson Elynuik (17) halved the deficit for Spokane at 4:00 of the second and Woods tied it with his night goal, at 16:30. . . . D Lucas Skrumeda, who had been out since Jan. 6, gave Everett the lead at 16:42. He has three goals in 27 games after going into the season with two scores in 128 games. . . . Spokane F Kailer Yamamoto forced OT with his 30th goal just 31 seconds into the third period. . . . Yamamoto also had an assist. . . . Spokane got 24 saves from G Jayden Sittler, five of them in OT. . . . Everett G Carter Hart turned aside 17 shots. . . . The Chiefs were 0-2 on the PP; the Silvertips were 0-3. . . . The Chiefs’ bus didn’t get to the arena until 45 minutes before game time and they were down 1-0 just 51 seconds into the first period. . . . The Silvertips were without D Noah Juulsen, but had Skrumeda and F Devon Skoleski back. . . . The Chiefs (20-20-7) have won two in a row and are tied with the Portland Winterhawks for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . The Silvertips (30-6-9) are 2-0-1 in their past three games, which they played in fewer than 48 hours. They are tied with the Regina Pats and Prince George Cougars atop the overall standings. . . . Announced attendance: 4,408.
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At Regina, F Dawson Leedahl scored twice to help the Pats to a 5-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . F Tyler Coulter’s 21st goal gave Brandon a 1-0 lead at 19:20 of the first period. . . . The Pats
DAWSON LEEDAHL
took over with four second-period goals. . . . D Josh Mahura (11) scored on a PP at 2:02. . . . Leedahl scored his first goal at 11:38. . . . F Austin Wagner scored No. 20 at 12:14. . . . Wagner is the seventh player on the Pats roster with at least 20 goals. . . . Leedahl got his second of the game and 24th of the season, on a PP, at 15:49. . . . F Filip Ahl got Regina’s last goal, his 21st, at 19:01 of the third period. . . . Brandon got its final goal from D Schael Higson (3) at 19:16. . . . F Nick Henry had two assists for Regina. . . . Both teams were playing for a third time in less than 48 hours. The Pats had lost 8-5 to the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday, then beat the Broncos 6-5 in Swift Current on Saturday. The Wheaties lost 3-2 in a shootout to the host Saskatoon Blades on Friday, returned home to beat Medicine Hat, 5-2, on Saturday, then hit the road for Regina. . . . Regina G Max Paddock, who plays for the midget AAA Brandon Wheat Kings, made 29 saves, with Kurtis Chapman of the MJHL’s Portage Terriers backing him up. . . . G Jordan Hollett was among Regina’s scratches. He made 23 saves in a 6-5 victory over the host Swift Current Broncos on Saturday, his first appearance since Nov. 20 when he suffered a high ankle sprain. Hollett is expected to start Friday against the host Calgary Hitmen. . . . Regina also is without starter Tyler Brown, who has an undisclosed injury. . . . The Wheat Kings got 42 saves from G Logan Thompson. . . . Regina was 2-2 on the PP; Brandon was 0-4. . . . The Wheat Kings were without D Dmitry Osipov, who drew a one-game suspension after taking a charging major and game misconduct during Saturday’s 5-2 victory over the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. That was for a hit on Tigers F Chad Butcher. . . . The Pats (31-6-7) have won two in a row. Their .784 point percentage has them atop the overall standings. They have 69 points, as do the Everett Silvertips and Prince George Cougars. . . . The Wheat Kings (23-18-5) had been 3-0-1 in their previous four games. They are in possession of the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Announced attendance: 5,419.
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At Saskatoon, F Jesse Shynkaruk and F Josh Paterson each scored twice as the Blades ran their winning streak to five games with a 6-3 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Shynkaruk scored two
JESSE SHYNKARUK
first-period PP goals, at 4:36 and 14:42, for a 2-0 lead. . . . Shynkaruk, who was a walk-on when the Blades opened training camp, has 21 goals in 35 games; he went into this season with 23 goals in 196 games. . . . The Broncos cut the deficit in half when D Dom Schmiemann scored his first goal, at 2:44 of the second period. . . . The Blades came back with two goals, from D Evan Fiala (3), at 5:31, and F Chase Wouters (5), on a PP, at 9:02. . . . Swift Current got back to within a goal when F Tyler Steenbergen scored No. 35, at 11:34, and F Aleksi Heponiemi got his 19th, at 19:31. . . . Paterson, who has 11 goals, put it away with third-period goals at 13:04 and 18:36. The latter was an empty-netter. . . . The Blades got three assists from F Braylon Shmyr and two assists from each of D Bryton Sayers and D Mark Rubinchik. Wouters and Paterson each had one. . . . Heponiemi had two assists for the Broncos, while Steenbergen had one. . . . The Blades got 28 saves from G Brock Hamm, while the Broncos’ Taz Burman blocked 20. . . . Saskatoon was 3-5 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-5. . . . The Broncos lost former Blades F Ryan Graham, who left in the first period with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Blades (20-22-6) went 5-1-0 on a six-game homestand that ended with this game, and they will play seven of their next eight at home, too. They hold down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot by four points over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Broncos (25-16-8) have lost three in a row and remain third in the East Division. . . . Announced attendance: 4,224.

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MONDAY’S GAME (all times local):

Prince George vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7 p.m.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Kamloops at Portland, 7 p.m. (ppd. from Jan. 8)
Medicine Hat vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, 7 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:11 PM
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