Yesterday, you will recall, I mentioned that there were 32,262 fans in attendance at three hockey games on B.C.’s Lower Mainland on Friday night.
Just to recap, that was 18,890 at an NHL game in Vancouver, 7,044 at an AHL game in Abbotsford and 6,328 at a WHL playoff game in Vancouver.
An emailer has suggested that the total be added to, what with there having been 1,018 fans at a BCHL playoff game in Surrey at the same time.
So make the total 33,280.
Another emailer writes:
“The better bet for a (WHL) team to relocate would be to place a team in Langley . . . great facility and no sour aftertaste . . . too early for the Dub to go back to the ‘Wack. Just a thought . . .”
The 5,500-seat Langley Event Centre is home to the BCHL’s Langley Rivermen.
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Justice never sleeps.
Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, has hit F Darren Kramer, the captain of the Spokane Chiefs, with a one-game suspension for shenanigans at the end of Game 5 in Vancouver on Friday night.
The Chiefs won the game, 5-1.
Kramer was given a roughing minor at 18:02 of the third period. At 20:00, he was penalized for roughing and for leaving the penalty box.
He won’t play tonight in Spokane as the teams meet in Game 6. The Chiefs hold a 3-2 lead.
Should Vancouver win, Game 7 will be played Wednesday in Vancouver.
The Tri-City Americans, who have to be hoping for a seventh game, await the winner of the series.
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A Saturday night with nary a WHL game.
What are we to do?
Well, there was ch-ch-ching moment in the QMJHL, where Gilles Courteau, the commissioner, is certain to add to the league’s coffers after some comments made by Leo-Guy Morrissette, the owner of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.
There was a time when the Morrissette brothers ruled the QMJHL, or at least tried to, but now Leo-Guy is the only one left. It’s nice that he helps out the media at times by reverting to the old days when owners, GMs and coaches weren’t afraid to speak their minds, even if they were putting feet in mouth at the same time.
In this instance, Morrissette is alleging that some owners are spending too much money, making it impossible for others to compete.
Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Sports wraps up this story right here.
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Here’s a good ready, nay, a great read for you. It’s been 50 years since Emile Griffith pummelled Benny (The Kid) Paret to death in a boxing match on live television. Dan Klores looks back right here in a story from the pages of The New York Times. It's amazing how some of the best of sports writing involves boxing or horse racing.
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Some interesting numbers from Jeff Hollick, the radio voice of the Kootenay Ice.
On his blog (jeffhollick.blogspot.com), he points out that the Ice, the WHL’s defending champion, was 19-5-3 on Nov. 30 and was riding a six-game winning streak.
After which the roof fell in.
From that point through the end of the regular season, the Ice was 17-21-7 and never put together more than back-to-back victories.
Of course, the Ice then was swept from the playoffs by the Edmonton Oil Kings, which means Kootenay won only 17 of its final 49 games.
Hollick also points out that the Ice lost 25 games in which it led or was tied in the third period.
It’s apparent that, as things started to slide, the Ice became a very fragile team, something one might think wouldn’t happen to a team that was coming off a championship season.
But it just goes to show the difference between success and failure at this level can be a very fine line, indeed.
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ON THE MOVE:
G Kent Simpson of the Everett Silvertips has signed an ATO with the Rockford IceHogs, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. Simpson, 20, was a second-round selection by Chicago in the 2010 NHL draft. . . . F Shane McColgan of the Kelowna Rockets will be joining the Connecticut Whale, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers. He was a fifth-round selection by the Rangers in the 2011 NHL draft. . . . If was a no-brainer, but it seems that F Troy Bourke of the Prince George Cougars has been the first player selected to play for Canada at the IIHF U18 World Championship in Brno and Znojmo, Czech Republic, April 12-22. . . . Two graduating members of the Calgary Hitmen have pretty much decided to go to school, F Jimmy Bubnick to the U of Saskatchewan, which is in his hometown of Saskatoon, and D Brock Sutherland to the U of Manitoba. Sutherland is from Brandon. . . .
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IN THE PROS:
G Calvin Pickard of the Seattle Thunderbirds came on in relief and stopped all eight shots he saw as his Lake Erie Monsters dropped a 4-0 decison to the host Texas Stars in an AHL game last night. Pickard came on with 16:59 left in the third period. D Duncan Siemens of the Saskatoon Blades also played for the Monsters. He was minus-1 with one shot on goal and a tripping minor. . . . G Damien Ketlo, who finished up with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, stopped 44 shots as the visiting Colorado Eagles beat the Las Vegas Wranglers 4-3 in an ECHL shootout. Ketlo also stymied four Las Vegas shooters in the circus.
———
And, finally, for all the hockey fans out there, right here is Jim Matheson’s Hockey World from the pages of the Edmonton Journal.


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Goaltender Chris Driedger of the Calgary Hitmen wasn't able to corral this shot
by Kamloops forward Dylan Willick, who got the Blazers' third goal with this
shot on Saturday night. Driedger and the Hitmen went on to win the game, 5-4.
(Photo by Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Mike Williamson won’t admit it, but it may have been the best $750  he ever spent.
On Feb. 12, with his team losing its fourth game in a row, the head coach of the Calgary Hitmen threw a water bottle-tossing tantrum for which he was ejected and later fined — it cost him $375 per bottle.
On Saturday night, with Jimmy Bubnick scoring his 100th regular-season goal and setting up two others, the Hitmen beat the Kamloops Blazers 5-4 at Interior Savings Centre for their third straight victory since Williamson’s show.
“I don’t think (Feb. 12) had anything to do with it,” said Williamson, whose squad had won 15 of 17 before its short-lived slump. “Our team has been close. The wheels just got off the track a little bit. We played really well this trip.”
Bubnick, with all due respect to his head coach, feels otherwise.
“I think so,” Bubnick replied when asked if Williamson’s rant served as a wakeup call. “It’s good to see emotion like that. When your coach gets into the game like that it says a lot about him. I think we responded well. In the end, it was a good move by him.”
So did the players chip in to help Williamson pay his fine?
“Ha ha,” a chuckling Bubnick said. “No, we didn’t.”
Williamson will have to be content with a three-game sweep in the B.C. Division — a 5-3 victory over the Victoria Royals and a 7-1 whipping of the Kelowna Rockets preceded Saturday’s victory, one that had some suspense attached to it.
“We knew the game wasn’t closed until the last buzzer went,” Williamson said. “(The Blazers) have a lot of firepower and they’ve come from behind enough, especially recently, so we knew that they weren’t going to lay down. We had to come up with some big stops at the end and fortunately we were able to do it.”
The Blazers played well for the game’s first six minutes, but their chances of victory were dealt a blow at 6:39 of the first period when referee Brett Montsion ejected defenceman Austin Madaisky with a cross-checking major for a hit on Calgary forward Alex Gogolev.
“All I saw was (Gogolev) was low,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said. “He got hit in the neutral zone. How many times do we see those hits? This is the game of hockey. If a guy puts himself in a vulnerable position . . . I didn’t think it was a direct hit from behind . . . it was a hit in the neutral zone that turned out bad.”
Calgary captain Cody Sylvester scored two power-play goals 1:18 apart and the Blazers were in chase mode for the fourth time in five games.
Kamloops drew even on goals by Colin Smith, his 30th, at 16:46 of the first and Dylan Willick at 10:09 of the second period.
However, winger Brendan Ranford was penalized for hooking at 14:40 and Calgary’s Victor Rask broke the 2-2 tie with five seconds left in the penalty.
When defenceman Kenton Helgesen beat Kamloops goaltender Cole Cheveldave through traffic at 2:16 of the third period, the Blazers found themselves down by two, again.
Willick got them back to 4-3, with his 25th goal, on a PP at 13:13, only to have Bubnick get his 100th goal, and career-high 27th this season, less than two minutes later.
Ranford got the Blazers to within one at 18:07, but that was it for the home boys.
“We’re going through a small stretch of time where things aren’t working for us right now,” Charron said.
The Blazers are 22-8-0 at home, where they now have lost two in a row for just the second time this season. Overall, their longest losing skid this season has been two games, something that has happened on six occasions.
They’ll try to snap out of it Wednesday against the visiting Victoria Royals.
The Blazers (41-14-4) continue to lead the WHL’s overall standings, but they now have three teams — the Edmonton Oil Kings, Tri-City Americans and Portland Winterhawks — just three points in arrears.
The Hitmen, now 35-22-3 and fourth in the Eastern Conference, will be back home by Wednesday. And Bubnick will be looking for No. 101.
“It took me a few games but I couldn’t have written the script any better,” said Bubnick, who was selected by the Blazers with the fifth pick of the 2006 bantam draft. “To get my 100th goal here and my 300th game . . . it’s been a pretty memorable season. And I can’t remember scoring a bigger goal.”
Bubnick played his 300th career game here on Dec. 30 as the Hitmen won, 6-3. He played his first 182 games with the Blazers before being traded on Jan. 10, 2010, along with Tyler Shattock and Zak Stebner, for Chase Schaber, who didn’t play Saturday because of an undisclosed injury, and Madaisky.
Bubnick, Shattock and Stebner helped Calgary to the 2010 WHL championship, while Schaber is in his second season as the Blazers’ captain and Madaisky has blossomed into a top-end defenceman.
However only Bubnick was around to contribute Saturday.
“I’ve got a lot of close friends here, a lot of good fans here,” the 20-year-old native of Saskatoon said. “It’s a great organization and I couldn’t be happier to see how they’re doing this season.”
Bubnick now has career highs in goals (27), assists (34) and points (61), eclipsing his 25-32—57 log from 2008-09 with the Blazers.
“He’s been very good,” Williamson said. “His leadership . . . his approach . . . he has been one of the hardest-working guys every day at practice and in games. He has been incredible for us.”
JUST NOTES: Attendance was 3,942. . . . The Blazers are 15-4-4 in one-goal games. Each of their last five games has been decided by a goal — they are 3-2-0. . . . Ranford ran his points streak to 10 games. . . . Madaisky likely is looking at a suspension, although the Blazers will point out to the WHL office that Gogolev wasn’t injured on the play. . . . The Daily News’ Three Stars: 1. Bubnick: A great ‘homecoming’; 2. Sylvester: Two goals and energy; 3. Willick: Rewarded for strong play.

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Riley Sheen of the Medicine Hat Tigers tweeted this picture,
showing the damage after a Friday night fight.

A TALE FROM THE WHL:
There is an arena that is home to a WHL team and there is a parking lot in behind that arena. Before and during the early portion of every game, said parking lot is patrolled by an attendant, who makes sure that drivers park in some kind of organized fashion.
Without the attendant’s work, chances are the rear entrance to the arena would end up blocked, thus keeping emergency vehicles from having access, if necessary.
Anyway . . .
This attendant rules with an iron fist.
And so it was that a vehicle full of on-ice officials pulled into the parking lot a couple of hours before a recent game.
The attendant approached the vehicle.
Attendant: What are you guys doing here?
One official: What do you mean?
Attendant: There’s no game here tonight.
One official, glancing at other vehicles in parking lot: What do you mean?
Attendant: Cirque de Soleil is here tonight.
One official: Ahh, (crap)! Well, is it OK if we park here while we make a phone call?
Attendant nods, turns and walks away.
Moments later, the official, pointing a finger, tells the attendant: That was a good one. But, remember, I don’t get mad . . . I get even.
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JUST NOTES:
You have to admire the spunk of F Riley Sheen of the Medicine Hat Tigers. He got into a scrap with F Jordan Wyton of the host Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday night. It happened at 7:06 of the second period. Sheen, who was bloodied in the exchange, didn’t return. However, he later tweeted the photo that is seen above. . . .
F Connor Sanvido has been dropped by the Seattle Thunderbirds. He had 13 points, four of them goals, in 47 games. An 18-year-old from Maple Ridge, B.C., Sanvido was the 14th overall selection in the 2008 bantam draft. In 101 career regular-season games, he had 20 points, including seven goals. He last played for the Thunderbirds on Feb. 6. . . . Asked by blogger Mike Caccioppoli what happened, Seattle head coach Steve Konowalchuk replied: “He wasn't putting in the work we needed so we sent him home.” . . . On the Seattle stats page on the WHL website, Sanvido’s name now carries the red ‘x’ of a player no longer on the roster. . . .
When Matt Kassian played in the WHL (Vancouver, Kamloops, 2003-07), he always was a good interview. Obviously, that hasn’t changed. Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis Star Tribune talks with Kassian right here about his role as an enforcer with the Minnesota Wild.
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The QMJHL wraps its season around the Quebec school system schedule, which is why it starts its training camps in mid-August. This season, the QMJHL is going to open its regular season later than it has in the past, which means . . . well, here’s Willy Pavov of the Halifax Chronicle to tell us exactly what it means.
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Somewhere on high the Dipsy Doodle Dandy from Delisle is smiling. The Delisle Chiefs of the junior B Prairie Junior Hockey League set a league record with a regular season-ending 23 straight victories as they ran their record to 32-8-0-0. They finished three points ahead of the Saskatoon Royals, who went 30-9-0-1 (the last digit represents ties), in the North Division. . . . In the South Division, Fort Knox is 31-5-0-3 with a game to play. . . . The Chiefs, under head coach Dave Norris, haven’t lost since Nov. 26 when they were beaten 5-2 by visiting Fort Knox. . . . The PJHL’s regular season ends with two games today. . . . For you youngsters out there, the late, great Max Bentley, a Hall of Famer, will forever be known as the Dipsy Doodle Dandy from Delisle. He was one of the brothers from one of hockey’s first families.
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In the OHL, G Mark Visentin set a single-season shutout record as the Niagara IceDogs got past the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, 3-0. It was his 10th shutout of the season, breaking the record that had been held by Don Lockhart (Toronto Marlies, 1949-50). . . . Visentin, who has twice played for Canada’s national junior team, has put up his 10 shutouts in only 36 starts.
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With the Tampa Bay Lightning clearly in a selling mode, you have to think there is hope for the Tri-City Americans and their fans. . . . F Brett Connolly played seven shifts totaling 5 minutes 15 seconds in Tampa Bay’s 2-1 victory over the visiting Washington Capitals on Saturday night.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Blaine Sautner, the head coach of the University of Regina Cougars, has decided to retire. Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post reports that Sautner is “headed home to run a ranch.” . . . According to Hamilton, Sautner and a brother plan on operating the family ranch near Flaxcombe, Sask. . . . Sautner, 43, is the father of Edmonton Oil Kings D Ashton Sautner, 17. . . . Blaine Sautner announced his decision after the Cougars (5-20-3) ended their season with a 4-1 loss to the visiting Saskatchewan Huskies on Saturday. . . . He has been the U of R head coach since 2005-06.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Portland, F Ty Rattie had a five-pointer as the Winterhawks whipped the Seattle Thunderbirds, 11-2. . . . Rattie finished with three goals, giving him 48 on the season, and two assists. He also was plus-5. . . . That gave Rattie 97 points, two fewer than F Mark Stone of the Brandon Wheat Kings, who was in action later in the day. . . . It was Rattie’s fourth hat trick of the season. . . . Rattie is on pace to become the first Portland skater with 50 goals since F Josef Balej scored 51 in 2001-02 and the first 100-point man since F Todd Robinson finished with 109 in 1997-98. . . . The Winterhawks’ played host to an afternoon game and left the curtains open in Veterans Memorial Coliseum to let the sun shine in. . . . They will have the curtains open again Monday when the Prince George Cougars are in town for a matinee on Presidents Day. . . . Portland F Sven Bartschi had three assists and he now is on a two-point-per-game pace, with 78 points in 39 games. He has 56 assists, the fourth-best total in the league. . . . Portland F Marcel Noebels, who was acquired at the trade deadline, had two goals and an assist, as did teammate Brad Ross. . . . Ross broke a 1-1 tie with a PP goal at 11:10 of the first period. . . . Portland took that 2-1 lead into the second when it scored five times. . . . Seattle G Daniel Cotton went the distance, stopping 37 shots. . . . Portland G Brendan Burke also stopped 37 shots. . . . Talk about a tough month: Seattle D Dave Sutter has had back-to-back minus-4 outings and now is minus-17 in nine February games. . . . Portland has won six in a row. . . . The Winterhawks hadn’t scored 10 goals in a home game since Nov. 27, 2002, when they beat the Cougars, 10-2. . . . Portland last scored 11 in a game on Jan. 17, 1997, when they won 12-1 in Kamloops. . . . Portland F Oliver Gabriel had a goal, his 13th, as he ran his points streak to 10 games. . . .

In Brandon, F Michael Ferland scored the game’s first three goals and F Mark Stone became the first WHLer this season to reach 100 points as the Wheat Kings. . . . Ferland finished with four goals, giving him 40, and an assist. . . . Stone, who had two assists, got to 100 points with an assist on the game’s second goal, a PP score by Ferland late in the first period. Stone is the first Wheat Kings skater with back-to-back 100-point seasons since F Peter Schaefer (1995-97), the pride of Yellow Grass, Sask. . . . F Brenden Walker had three assists for Brandon, his third three-point outing in his last four games. He now has 66 points in 58 games. . . . The Wheat Kings, who have won four in a row,s were without F Alessio Bertaggia, F Kevin Sundher, F Jason Swyripa and F Tyrel Seaman, all out with injuries. . . .

In Swift Current, it was Sheldon Kennedy Day and the Broncos responded with an 8-3 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . The City of Swift Current honoured Kennedy, a former Broncos captain who now is an advocate for those in abusive situations, with a proclamation declaring Saturday as Sheldon Kennedy Day. . . . F Coda Gordon had two goals for the Broncos, giving him 27. It was his third straight two-goal game. . . . Swift Current F Levi Bews also had two goals for the Broncos, while F Colby Cave and F Brad Hoban each had three assists. . . . The Blades, who beat the visiting Broncos 7-3 on Friday, had been 5-0-0 against Swift Current. . . . Broncos G Jon Groenheyde stopped 33 shots. . . . The toughest person in the WHL on Saturday night may have been the anthem singer at this game. A tweet from Cody Nickolet, who does colour on Blades’ broadcasts: “Credit to the anthem singer in Swift Current tonight, he slipped on his way on the ice. Did the anthem with a bloody forehead.”

In Cranbrook, F Chandler Stephenson broke a 2-2 tie with a PP goal at 15:57 of the third period as the Regina Pats beat the Kootenay Ice, 4-2. . . . The Pats led this one 2-0 before the Ice scored two goals 1:12 apart early in the third period. . . . D Luke Paulsen got his second goal at 3:05 on a PP and F Max Reinhart tied it with his 23rd at 4:17. . . . Regina F Lane Scheidl iced it with another PP score at 19:26 of the third. . . . Stephenson’s goal was his 16th. . . . Regina F Jordan Weal scored his 34th goal. . . . Regina D Brandon Davidson and D Martin Marincin each had two assists. . . . The Ice lost D Jeff Hubic to a charging major and game misconduct at 13:00 of the third period. . . . Regina was 2-9 on the PP; the Ice was 0-2. . . . The Ice is listing F Drew Czerwonka as being out week-to-week with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Ice will bring in F Luke Philp from the AJHL’s Canmore Eagles, who didn’t make the playoffs. He had 46 points, including 16 goals, in 48 games with the Eagles. He already has played 10 games with the Ice and has one assist. . . . A tweet after the second period from Jeff Holick, the radio voice of the Ice: “Asst Coach Jerry Bancks gm misc for clapping hands. Was encouraging his team, Ref thought he was being mocked.” . . . Bancks is an assistant coach with the Ice. . . .

In Medicine Hat, the Tigers turned the tables on the Moose Jaw Warriors and beat them, 6-0. . . . Playing in Moose Jaw on Friday, the Warriors had beaten the Tigers, 6-0. . . . Medicine Hat G Kenny Cameron stopped 36 shots for his first WHL shutout and his second career victory. . . . F Boston Leier led the Tigers last night with two goals, giving him 12, and an assist. . . . F Chad Labelle, playing his third game, scored his first WHL goal. . . . The Tigers continue to be without G Tyler Bunz, F Kale Kessy, F Hunter Shinkaruk and F Curtis Valk, all out with injuries. . . . The Tigers had Dawson MacAuley from the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers backing up Cameron in both weekend games. . . . The Warriors had won six in a row. . . .

In Kamloops, F Jimmy Bubnick scored his 100th regular-season goal and set up two others as the Calgary Hitmen edged the Blazers, 5-4. . . . Kamloops D Austin Madaisky was ejected with a cross-checking major at 6:01 of the first period. . . . Calgary F Cody Sylvester scored two goals on the resulting PP, giving him 20 this season, and the Hitmen never trailed. . . . Kamloops did tie it on goals by F Colin Smith, his 30th, at 16:46 of the first and F Dylan Willick at 10:09 of the second. . . . Calgary F Victor Rask broke the 2-2 tie at 16:35 of the second. . . . Bubnick has 27 goals this season. . . . Willick finished with two goals; he’s got 25. . . . Calgary was 3-5 on the PP; Kamloops was 2-3. . . . Calgary F Alex Gogolev, who took the hit from Madaisky, finished the game. . . . The Blazers continue to lead the overall standings. They now are three points ahead of the Eastern Conference-leading Edmonton Oil Kings and the Tri-City Americans and Portland Winterhawks, who are tied atop the U.S. Division. . . . The Hitmen moved into fourth in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers and one ahead of the Kootenay Ice. . . .

In Everett, F Ryan Chynoweth scored on a spin-o-rama in the shootout to give the Silvertips a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . F Brendan Gallagher gave the Giants a 1-0 lead in the shootout. . . . F Kohl Bauml tied it for Everett. . . . Vancouver F Jordan Martinook had broken a 1-1 tie with two goals, giving him 34. . . . The Silvertips pulled even on two second-period goals by F Jordyn Boyd, who now has six scores. . . . Everett now is 2-8 in shootouts. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson stopped 39 shots through OT. . . . The Silvertips had F Michal Urbaniak make his WHL debut. Urbaniak, who turned 17 on Jan. 17, plays for the junior B North Van Wolf Pack. He has 12 points and 80 penalty minutes in 36 games. . . . Vancouver had a three-game winning streak come to an end. . . . The Giants went 4-1-1 in winning the season series with the Silvertips. . . .

In Kelowna, D Damon Severson opened the seventh round of the circus with a goal that gave the Rockets a 4-3 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . F Shane McColgan, Kelowna’s third shooter, gave his side a 1-0 lead. . . . Red Deer F Charles Inglis answered with a goal to tie it all up. . . . The Rebels led this one 2-0, only to have the Rockets score three straight goals. . . . Kelowna F Brett Bulmer broke a 2-2 tie with his second goal of the game, and 24th of the season, at 5:00 of the third. . . . D Mathew Dumba pulled Red Deer even with his 17th goal at 19:28 of the third. . . . Red Deer G Deven Dubyk stopped 38 shots. Kelowna F Brett Lyon failed to score on Dubyk on a second-period penalty shot. . . . Red Deer D Devan Fafard, playing his 11th game this season and the 34th of his career, scored his first goal. . . . The Rebels fell one point further back in their attempt to get to the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. With 14 games remaining, they are nine points behind Brandon. . . . Kelowna is destined to finish fifth in the Western Conference. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., F Brendan Shinnimin scored twice to help the Tri-City Americans to a 3-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . It was the Americans’ 40th victory this season, the sixth straight season they have reached that milestone. The Americans have gotten there in each of head coach Jim Hiller’s three seasons with them. . . . The Chiefs led 2-0 before the game was six minutes old, with F Liam Stewart getting his 10th, on a PP, and F Marek Kalus getting his 17th. . . . Shinnimin got his 40th of the season, on the PP, at 14:01 of the first and then tied it at 14:55 of the second, on another PP. . . . D Derek Ryckman got the winner at 15:48 of the second. He has three snipes this season. . . . Shinnimin has matched his point total (96) from last season and has 299 for his career. . . . Tri-City F Patrick Holland had three assists and F Adam Hughesman drew two. Hughesman has 200 assists, the fourth Tri-City player to get there. . . . Spokane G Mac Engel stopped 31 shots, 12 more than Tri-City’s Ty Rimmer. . . . The Chiefs have lost four in a row for the first time this season and now trail the fourth-place Vancouver Giants by five points. Spokane does hold two games in hand. . . .

In Victoria, G Drew Owsley stopped 28 shots as the Prince George Cougars beat the Royals, 3-1. . . . The Cougars built up a 3-0 first period lead on an even-strength goal by D Dan Gibb, his first, a power-play score by F Caleb Belter, his fourth, and a shorthanded tally by F Greg Fraser, his 14th. . . . The latter two goals came at 16:39 and 18:55. . . . D Hayden Rintoul scored his 14th of the season at 19:22 of the first, on a PP, for the Royals. . . . Victoria G Jared Rathjen stopped all 17 shots he faced after relieving Keith Hamilton following Victoria’s third goal. . . .

Here’s the deal on the chase for the Western Conference’s last two playoff spots. . . . Seattle, with 14 games remaining, and Victoria (13) are tied for seventh, with 42 points. Everett (14) is ninth, with 41, and Prince George (15) is 10th, with 40. . . . The teams that finish seventh and eighth will draw the B.C. and U.S. Division winners in the first round.
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
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Kenn Oliver of the St. John’s Telegram has a piece right here on Brad Yetman, a former QMJHL player whose competitive career was ended by concussions. Yetman is 21 years of age.
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Oliver also has a second concussion-related story right here. This one is about Ryan Graham, a former QMJHL player who isn’t sure how many concussions he suffered during his career. He suffered another one last seeing while playing for the Acadia Axemen, a Canadian university team. That one scared him.
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Mike Raptis has an interesting story in today’s Vancouver Province about a minor hockey coach who admits that he “cuffed” a 12-year-old player. And now the Burnaby Minor Hockey Association is having fingers pointed at it and is facing accusations of being an old boys' club. Yikes! Not in minor hockey!!



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Lost game perhaps has been found

Things have been looking up of late for Kamloops Blazers goaltender
Cam Lanigan, here in action against the Seattle Thunderbirds
in Kent, Wash., on Feb. 4.
(Photo by Christopher Mast / mastimages.com)

By GREGG DRINNAN

Daily News Sports Editor
While the Kamloops Blazers are enjoying some success during this WHL regular season, it hasn’t been the kind of winter that goaltender Cam Lanigan envisioned.
Oh, Lanigan, like his teammates, is enjoying a ride that has taken the club to the top of the WHL’s overall standings. It’s just that as he was preparing for this season, Lanigan thought he would have a better place than the end of the bench from which to take in the action.
The Blazers (41-12-4) go into two weekend home games — the Red Deer Rebels (25-26-5) are at Interior Savings Centre tonight, with the Calgary Hitmen (33-22-3) there on Saturday — on a five-game winning streak. At home, they have won nine straight and 15 of 16.
Kamloops, which is 17-3-2 since its Christmas break, leads the WHL’s overall standings by three points over the Edmonton Oil Kings and the Western Conference by seven points over the Tri-City Americans and Portland Winterhawks.
Lanigan, a 19-year-old from Calgary, came into training camp prepared to be the team’s starter. But he got off to a slow start and, by the time he found his game, freshman Cole Cheveldave, an 18-year-old Calgarian, was firmly entrenched as the go-to guy.
But, like a good boxer, Lanigan has gotten up off the canvas and is putting the pieces back together.
“I started to put a string of wins together,” he said after beating the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings 3-2 on Tuesday night. “I’m just trying to get our team two points. I’m not too worried about my stats at this point of the season.”
Lanigan was acquired from the Oil Kings, in exchange for fellow goaltender Jon Groenheyde, on Nov. 4, 2010. Lanigan’s early days with the Blazers were nothing to write the NHL about — he went 3-9-0, 5.59, .843 — as he backed up Jeff Bosch.
The Blazers, you may recall, opened this season carrying three goaltenders, the third being Taran Kozun. Lanigan started opening night — he gave up a soft goal in a 1-0 loss to the Prince George Cougars — and four of the first 10 games. But he gave up 11 goals in the next three starts, going 1-2-0 in the process, and it wasn’t long before Cheveldave was the starter.
At one point, Cheveldave started 24 of 26 games. Of late, however, Lanigan has played well enough that he at least is making head coach Guy Charron think before he chooses a starter.
“His last starts have been good,” Charron said of Lanigan. “Before, he put doubt in our mind whether he could to it. But coming in after the first period against Kelowna and his last few starts, he has played well.”
Lanigan has started four of the last 12 games and has been solid, backstopping his mates to four victories. Throw in 45-minutes of shutout relief in an overtime victory over the Kelowna Rockets a week ago and he is 5-0-0 with a 1.47 GAA and a .949 save percentage in his last five appearances. For the season, he is 12-4-0, 2.70, .904.
“They are starting to come,” he said of his statistics. “They were hurting . . . but they’re climbing back. I try not to look at them too much. I just want to give our team a chance to win.”
Charron said Cheveldave will start tonight, and that a decision has yet to be made about Saturday.
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The Rebels, meanwhile, are nearing the end of a season that started with promise but has since turned into a nightmare.
They played like one of the WHL’s top teams in beating the host Blazers 5-3 on Nov. 11, after which they were 13-4-1 and three points out of the lead in the Eastern Conference. But, after losing 3-1 to the Cougars in Prince George on Tuesday, they are eight points out of the conference’s last playoff spot.
Out with long-term injuries are G Patrik Bartosak (shoulder), D Aaron Borejko (concussion), F Colten Mayor (thumb), F Joel Hamilton (back) and D Justin Weller (wrist). F Adam Kambeitz (ankle) and D Kayle Doetzel (ribs) are listed as week-to-week. F John Persson didn’t play Tuesday and is day-to-day. Hamilton, who suffered two fractured vertebrae in a Saturday game, was released from hospital yesterday.
The Rebels dressed 17 skaters, one under the maximum, in Prince George and that included three players from the midget AAA ranks. F Scott Feser, the younger brother of Tri-City Americans F Justin Feser, joined the Rebels from the Red Deer Optimist Rebels, while D Kevin Pochuk plays for the Winnipeg Wild and Dexter Bricker is in from the Swift Current Legionnaires.
The Hitmen, meanwhile, opened a three-game tour of B.C. by beating the Victoria Royals 5-3 on Tuesday.
The Hitmen, who meet the Rockets in Kelowna tonight, headed west having lost four in a row and five of six, that slump coming after they had won 14 of 15.
The frustration reached a boiling point on Sunday when head coach Mike Williamson did the water-bottle-throwing thing during a 4-0 loss to the visiting Kootenay Ice. Williamson has since been fined $750, so his shopping on this trip has been curtailed.
The Hitmen are without power forward Jaynen Rissling, who is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery.
JUST NOTES: Kamloops D Bronson Maschmeyer (lower body) suffered an injury in practice Thursday at Memorial Arena. “It’s going to be a game-time decision,” Charron said. “It’s a minor thing.” Maschmeyer has played in 201 consecutive regular-season games, all with the Blazers, who acquired him from the Vancouver Giants before the 2009-10 season. The Giants scratched him from the lineup for their final game of 2008-09. . . . Calgary F Jimmy Bubnick, who began his career with the Blazers, has career highs in goals (26), assists (32), points (58) and plus-minus (plus-15). He’s 20 so this is his final WHL season. . . . Through 28 home dates, the Blazers’ average attendance is 4,036. They drew their largest crowd of the season — 5,044 — to Tuesday’s game.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
Cardiff Devils (Wales, UK Elite) announced that F Brad Voth (Medicine Hat, 1996-2002) has been forced to retire due to injury. He had eight goals and 12 assists in 33 games this season for the Devils. This season was Voth's seventh with the Devils. You can read the retirement announcement right here.
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ASK THE COMMISSIONER:
From a reader of the blog . . .
I had the pleasure of attending a game Friday night between the Winterhawks and Silvertips. I saw you deliver a video message to Brent Peterson, which was nice.
At 0:17 of the 3rd period, the puck apparently entered the Portland net, but play continued. At the end of this portion of play, a high-sticking double minor was assessed to (Portland defenceman) Joe Morrow as play was reviewed by the replay booth. A goal was awarded to the Silvertips, and the clock was rewound to the time of the goal.
My question is this: Why did the high-sticking penalty stand?
If Team A scores a goal, but play goes on and Team B scores an apparent goal at the other end, the first goal counts and all play between that point and the next whistle (and review) is treated as void — but not a penalty? This doesn't seem to make sense.
In this case, the scoresheet reads as though Morrow high-sticked a player, then Everett scored on the delayed call. What actually took place on the ice is that Morrow was found guilty of high-sticking sometime after the Everett goal, yet at a point of the game that was played twice.
It is unclear to me how Everett is awarded the goal AND the power play in this situation.
Thank you for your time.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, F Quinton Howden scored three goals to lead the Warriors past the Prince Albert Raiders, 7-2. . . . The Warriors opened a 2-0 first-period lead on two Howden goals, only to have the Raiders tie it early in the second. . . . F Mark McNeill had a goal and an assist for the Raiders, the goal coming on a penalty shot. . . . The Warriors then scored the game’s last five goals. . . . F Kenton Miller got his 20th, Howden got his 20th and F Cam Braes got his 30th. . . . The victory lifted the Warriors, who lead the East Division, to within four points of the Eastern Conference-leading Edmonton Oil Kings. . . .

In Regina, the Lethbridge Hurricanes opened up a 3-0 lead and hung on for a 3-2 victory over the Pats. . . . F Nick Buonassisi gave the visitors a 3-0 ledge at 6:04 of the third period. . . . The Pats closed the gap to 3-2 when F Dominik Volek scored at 19:12 of the third. . . . Lethbridge G Damien Ketlo stopped 45 shots, while Regina’s Adam Beukeboom turned aside 10. . . . Regina held a 16-3 edge in shots in the first period and 22-3 in the third. . . .

In Saskatoon, F Hunter Shinkaruk reached the 40-goal plateau to help the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 7-2 victory over the Blades. . . . Shinkaruk scored three times, once in each period, with two of them on the PP. . . . He also had an assist. . . . Tigers F Curtis Valk added two goals, giving him 21, and an assist. . . . Medicine Hat F Emerson Etem had two assists. . . . The Tigers lost F Brendan Hurley to a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct at 19:10 of the first period. Saskatoon D Duncan Siemens, who was on the receiving end, didn’t return to the game. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 41 shots. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Dylen McKinlay scored three times to carry the Kootenay Ice to a 4-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . McKinlay has 14 goals. . . . Ice F Max Reinhart (foot) missed his fourth straight game. . . . Ice F Jesse Ismond had three assists. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 28 shots. . . . McKinlay has 35 points in 46 games, including 10 in his last four outings. . . .

In Swift Current, F Mark Stone scored two goals, including the 100th of his career, and added three assists as the Brandon Wheat Kings bounced the Broncos, 6-3. . . . F Michael Ferland and D Ryan Pulock each added a goal and two assists for Brandon. . . . The Broncos led 2-1 in the first period and 3-1 in the second, but gave up the last five goals. . . . The loss dropped the Broncos 10 points behind Brandon, which holds the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . Brandon D Brodie Melnychuk played in his 300th regular-season game, all with the Wheat Kings. He had a goal, his fourth this season and the 21st of his career, and was plus-4. . . .

In Red Deer, Calgary F Jimmy Bubnick had perhaps the best night of his career as the Hitmen beat the Rebels, 6-2. . . . Bubnick, 20, scored twice and added three assists, while going plus-5. . . . He has 24 goals. . . . Bubnick is one goal and three assists from career highs. He has 53 points in 53 games. . . . Calgary D Kenton Helgesen, who had one assist, also was plus-5. . . . F Trevor Cheek also scored twice for Calgary. He’s got 18 goals. . . . The Hitmen have won 15 of their last 17 games. . . .

In Portland, F Jordan Martinook broke a 2-2 tie at 19:31 of the third period as the Vancouver Giants beat the Winterhawks, 3-2. . . . The loss ended Portland’s franchise-record home-ice winning streak at 19 games. . . . Martinook has 30 goals in 53 games, after scoring 11 in 72 last season. . . . Vancouver G Adam Morrison stopped 47 shots. . . . Vancouver F Marek Tvrdon scored twice, including his 20th goal at 12:59 of the third to give his side a 2-1 lead. . . . Portland F Taylor Peters got that one back just 55 seconds later. . . . The teams play again Monday in Portland. . . . Vancouver is 3-0-0 against Portland this season. . . . Jim Beseda of the Oregonian reports that the Winterhawks sat F Brad Ross “for the second consecutive night for disciplinary reasons.” . . . Portland F Ty Rattie wasn’t on the bench for the third period after taking a hit to the head. . . . Rattie has a WHL-leading 87 points, one more than Brandon F Mark Stone and Regina F Jordan Weal. . . .

In Prince George, F Shane McColgan had a goal and two assists to help the Kelowna Rockets to a 4-1 victory over the Cougars. . . . The Rockets, who beat the host Cougars 2-1 on Friday with McColgan scoring the winner, scored the game’s last three goals. . . . Prince George G Devon Fordyce stopped 45 shots, 31 more than Kelowna’s Adam Brown. . . .

In Kent, Wash., the Kamloops Blazers scored one goal in each period and beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-1. . . . The Blazers swept the four-game season series from Seattle. . . . Seattle F Colin Jacobs opened the scoring at 7:26 of the first period. . . . Kamloops F Brendan Ranford tied it with his 29th goal at 13:22. . . . F Cole Ully gave the Blazers the lead at 19:40 of the second period. . . . Kamloops G Cam Lanigan stopped 38 shots, two fewer than Seattle’s Calvin Pickard. . . . Seattle has lost five in a row. . . . The Blazers continue to lead the overall standings, two points ahead of the Tri-City Americans and four up on the Edmonton Oil Kings, who didn’t play Saturday. . . . The Americans are scheduled to play in Kamloops on Wednesday. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans erased a 2-0 deficit in the second period and beat the Victoria Royals, 6-3. . . . The victory was Tri-City head coach’s Jim Hiller’s 200th as a WHL head coach. He has 128 of those with the Americans, the rest with the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . F Jamie Crooks, with his 29th, and F Brandon Magee, with his 18th, gave the Royals a 2-0 lead midway through the second period. . . . The Americans scored three times before the second was over and added three more early in the third. . . . F Adam Hughesman had two goals and two assists for the Americans, while F Brendan Shinnimin added a goal and three assists. They each have 31 goals. . . . The Americans won the season series, 3-1. . . .
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Cody Beach, Moose Jaw.
F James Henry, Moose Jaw.
F Brendan Hurley, Medicine Hat (major).
F Patrick Holland, Tri-City.
D Keegan Kanzig, Victoria.
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SATURDAY’S CHECK-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Cody Beach, Moose Jaw.
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The Seattle Times is reporting today that talks are ongoing that could result in NBA and NHL franchises for Seattle, if a facility is built south of Safeco Field. The complete story is right here.


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JUST NOTES:
The Vancouver Giants will be busy today getting the injuries of at least three players re-evaluated. G Adam Morrison, F Brendan Gallagher and F Dalton Sward all were injured on Friday, either prior to or during an 11-4 loss to the visiting Tri-City Americans. Those three, along with D David Musil (wrist), sat out Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the visiting Kelowna Rockets.
I’m told that Morrison actually was injured before Friday’s game, when he was struck on the chin by a soccer ball that players kick around as part of their pregame warming-up process. Morrison was yanked in the second period after giving up five goals in 10:04 and then wasn’t on the bench for the third period. . . . He is believed to have a concussion. . . . The Giants had Alexander Ahnert, 18, from the junior B Delta Ice Hawks backing up Jackson Whistle, 16, on Saturday. The Giants are expected to bring in G Payton Lee, 15, from Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna today. Lee was a second-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft. . . .
Gallagher, meanwhile, is believed to have suffered a separated shoulder when he slid hard into the end boards during Friday’s first period. He had one arm in a sling while he watched Saturday’s game. He is expected to be out for up to six weeks. . . . Sward also is believed to have a separated shoulder. He, too, was sporting a sling and is looking at being out for up to six weeks. . . .
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F Brett Connolly played 7:08 as the Tampa Bay Lightning dropped a 6-3 decision to the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday afternoon. . . . Connolly played 10 shifts — three in each of the first two periods (2:43 and 1:54), four in the third (2:31). . . . All of his playing time was at even strength. . . . It was the Lightning’s seventh straight loss, the first time that has happened since 2008-09. . . . Hello, Steve, this is Bob Tory calling . . .
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, F Cody Sylvester broke a 3-3 tie at 11:27 of the third period to give the Hitmen a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Hitmen have won seven in a row. . . . It was Calgary’s first victory over Edmonton in four tries this season. . . . Sylvester has 17 goals. . . . F Jimmy Bubnick scored twice for Calgary, giving him 19. . . . Oil Kings F Henrik Saumuelsson, playing in his third game, was ejected with a charging major at 2:51 of the second period. . . . The Hitmen struck for one PP goal on the Samuelsson goal, but weren’t able to score on a 5-on-3 that lasted 1:24. . . . Edmonton F Curtis Lazar later scored his 12th goal on a 5-on-3 PP early in the third period to forge a 3-3 tie. . . .

In Regina, the Saskatoon Blades scored the game’s first five goals and went onto a 7-4 victory over the Pats. . . . The Blades scored four times on 10 first-period shots. . . . Saskatoon, which has won five in a row, won for the third time in as many nights. . . . F Nick Zajac scored his first WHL goal, in his 38th game, in the opening period, with F Lukas Sutter getting his 20th of the season. . . . F Matej Stransky scored Saskatoon’s last two goals, giving him 25. . . . Saskatoon G Alex Moodie, who would have been returned to the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild had starter Andrey Makarov not ended up concussed on Jan. 7, made his fourth straight start for the Blades and stopped 34 shots. He has started eight of their last 10 games and is 7-2-0. Yes, he started Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. . . . Les Lazaruk, the radio voice of the Blades, reports that Makarov is expected to be out at least another, and also that F Josh Nicholls, who has missed 15 games with a knee injury, may return this weekend. . . .

In Moose Jaw, the Warriors scored five times in the third period and beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 8-2. . . . The Warriors took a 3-2 lead into the third period. . . . F Justin Kirsch had two goals and an assist for Moose Jaw, which got a goal and two assists from F James Henry and a goal and two assists from F Cam Braes. The latter two were acquired earlier in the week prior to the trade deadline. . . . F Quinton Howden chipped in three assists for the Warriors. . . . Brandon has lost four in a row and seven of its last eight. . . . Moose Jaw was 3-for-4 on the PP, ending an 0-for-20 stretch. . . . This was Moose Jaw’s first home gme since Dec. 28. . . . Brandon D Ryley Miller left in the first period with an apparent leg injury. . . .

In Everett, F Zach Franko scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Kelowna Rockets a 3-2 victory over the Silvertips. . . . It was the third game in three nights for both teams. . . . Everett F Reid Petryk forced OT with his eighth goal of the season at 6:18 of the third period. . . . F Brett Bulmer had two assists for Kelowna. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke stopped 39 shots.
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SUNDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Ryan Olsen, Saskatoon.

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As you make your way through today, please take a moment to think about Jack Jablonski, the 16-year-old hockey player with Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School in Minneapolis, who was badly injured in a Friday game. Tim Leighton of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press writes that Jablonski “remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Hennepin County Medical Center. He is immobilized with a halo and unable to move his legs.”
Leighton’s complete story is right here. If you don’t read anything else today, read this.
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A regular reader here who also is a big, big WHL fan sent me a link to a terrific column by Jack Blatherwick, a columnist at Let’sPlayHockey.com.
Included in Blatherwick’s column – it is headlined Stop the charade: Fighting in hockey is not part of the game – is a paragraph that really resonates:
“I'm not writing to dispute the theory that ‘fighting fire with fire’ is the only way to extinguish flames – that violence reduces violence. I write because we adults in hockey (fans, coaches, league commissioners) are contributing to a far worse problem for young athletes who trust us.”
Blatherwick also makes an excellent point about how the fighting issue, entangled as it is with the talk of concussions and CTE, could well turn into a recruiting issue.
Blatherwick’s entire column is right here.
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Tyler Olsen of Chilliwack Times joins the chorus in calling for a ban on fighting in hockey. He presents his case right here.
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If you are a hockey fan, you have to admire the skill level and the skating ability of the Russian national junior team. And if you are a hockey fan who was following along on Twitter on Tuesday night, well, was that hilarious or what?
One thought I had while watching the game, and it is the only tournament game I have seen, is that our players seem to be more robotic than they used to be, while the Russians kids were playing with all kinds of excitement and emotion. Remember when it used to be the other way around?
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JUST NOTES:
The Edmonton Oil Kings have added F Henrik Samuelsson, who turns 18 on Feb. 7, to their roster. Samuelsson, who was born in Scottsdale, Ariz., and is the son of former NHLer Ulf Samuelsson, has been playing for Modo in Sweden, having suited up with the U-18, U-20 and senior teams. A potential power forward-type of player, he is expected to arrive in Edmonton this week. . . . Samuelsson is eligible for the NHL’s 2012 draft. . . .
F Shayne Neigum (Medicine Hat, Edmonton, Chilliwack, Kamloops, Regina, 2006-11) has left the ECHL’s Ontario Reign and joined the U of Saskatchewan Huskies. Neigum, 21, had four assists and 36 penalty minutes in 19 games with the Reign. . . . Darren Zary of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that F Kevin King (Kootenay, 2006-11), who had been with the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals, and F Spencer Edwards (Red Deer, Seattle, Moose Jaw, 2006-2011), who was with the Central league’s Allen Americans, have joined the U of Calgary Dinos. . . .
F Mark Stone of the Brandon Wheat Kings has been named the winner of the Brandon Sun’s prestigious H.L. (Krug) Crawford Memorial Award. The annual award is emblematic of sporting excellence in southwestern Manitoba. Stone finished third in the WHL scoring race last sason, with 106 points. He was leading the league in scoring early in December when he left to join the Canadian national junior team. . . . Stone is the 13th member of the Wheat Kings to win the medal, the others being Brayden Schenn, Mark Derlago, Eric Fehr, Jordin Tootoo, Cory Cyrenne, Marty Murray, Trevor Kidd, Ray Ferraro, Dunc McCallum, Glen Hanlon, Ron Chipperfield and Juha Widing. . . .
The Red Deer Rebels have added F Marc Mackenzie, 18, to their roster. MacKenzie, a 6-foot-3, 195-pounder from Sherwood Park, Alta., who played minor hockey in Kelowna, had been with the Kelowna-based Okanagan College Coyotes of the B.C. Intercollegiate league. . . . He had eight points and 51 penalty minutes in 11 games with the Coyotes. . . . If you’re a Rebels fan, there’s more on Mackenzie right here.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Victoria, the Calgary Hitmen got three goals from F Chase Clayton and two goals and two assists from F Jimmy Bubnick as they dumped the Royals, 9-4. . . . Clayton, who scored three goals in 55 games last season, went into the game with two goals and came out with five. . . . Bubnick, 20, has 16 goals. . . . Calgary D Josh Thrower, the 23rd overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft, made his WHL debut. He had an assist and was plus-2. Thrower is from North Vancouver. . . . F Logan Nelson, a freshman from Rogers, Minn., had three goals. Nelson, 18, has 17 goals. He now has 39 points in 39 games. . . . Calgary now is 20-6-3 and in eight place in the 12-team Eastern Conference, just five points out of fourth. . . . The Hitmen finished last season with just 20 victories (20-47-5). . . . It was the sixth time this season that Victoria has allowed at least eight goals. In its last three games, Victoria has been outscored 22-13 and is 0-3. . . . The Royals now have lost seven in a row. . . . Calgary was 3-for-4 on the PP. . . . Victoria F Kevin Sundher ran his point streak to nine games with an assist and also had the fifth fight of his WHL career, this one in the third period with F Brady Brassart. . . .

In Portland, F Taylor Peters scored at 3:08 of OT to give the Winterhawks a 4-3 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Portland F Dillon Wagner forced OT with his third goal at 11:534 of the third period. . . . Peters, who scored on a breakaway, has eight goals. . . . The Winterhawks have won 13 straight games on home ice, three shy of the franchise that was set from Oct. 1–Dec. 11, 1993. . . . Portland is 16-2-1 on home ice this season. . . . Portland had a 49-29 edge in shots. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie was held to one assist. He leads the CHL in goals (37) and the WHL in points (69). . . . Portland G Mac Carruth has 69 career regular-season victories. He is fifth on the franchise list, behind Darrell May Sr. (105), Brent Belecki (79), Scott Langkow (71) and Lanny Ramage (69). . . . One other interesting note from Graham Kendrick’s notes: “Winterhawks public address announcer Sean Norris will be appearing on Monday's episode of Jeopardy, airing at 7 p.m. on KATU. Norris was in Los Angeles in October to tape the episode.” . . . Bob Bell for $500, Alex. . . . Sorry, Scooter, couldn’t resist!
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A few more words about Taylor Peters. . . . It turns out that he has a blog (Blades of Glory) that is right here. . . . And his Jan. 2 entry explains how he and his billets’ son climbed into kayaks in the dark of night and may have saved the lives of two kayakers who had capsized. . . . This is great stuff! . . . Oh, and Peters can write a bit, too!
Portland freelance writer Scott Sepich has more on the Peters story right here.
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Hockey Canada and the CHL have started the Ed Chynoweth Internship Program, aimed at alumni of the CHL and the national men’s and women’s programs who are pursuing careers in sports administration, communications, marketing or development.
According to a news release, “Internships will be awarded annually to up to five outstanding college or university students who have completed or are working toward an undergraduate or graduate degree in a sports-related field.”
For more information, check out the WHL website or visit hockeycanada.com.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Dan DaSilva (Portland, 2002-2005) signed a contract through Dec. 24 with La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland, NL B). He was released after a tryout with Biel (Switzerland, NL A) on Thursday. The contract begins Monday.
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JUST NOTES: F Sebastian Svendsen, 20, wasn’t in the Moose Jaw Warriors’ lineup Friday night as they beat the host Brandon Wheat Kings, 7-6. James Gallo, the radio voice of the Warriors on CHAB, reported via Twitter than Svendsen has left the club and returned home to Denmark. He missed the early portion of the season with a knee injury and has four points in 11 games. . . . Moose Jaw F Justin Kirsch left in the first period and didn’t return. That followed a hit from Brandon F Darian Dziurzynski. . . . Moose Jaw F Quinton Howden had four assists. He has 22 points in 13 games. . . . The Warriors erased a 6-4 deficit with three third-period goals. . . . Brandon F Mark Stone had a goal and two assists, giving him a WHL-leading 58 points in 27 games. Stone has goals in each of his last eight games. . . .
F Mark McNeill’s ninth goal, at 3:04 of OT, gave the Prince Albert Raiders a 4-3 victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants. . . . The Raiders had lost six in a row. . . . F Kellan Tochkin of the Raiders tied the score with 8.4 seconds left in the third period. . . . F Justin Maylan, 20, drew three assists for the Raiders. He has 32 points in 27 games and just may have some market value between now and the Jan. 10 trade deadline. . . . In Saskatoon, the Calgary Hitmen dumped the Blades 6-2. That ended Saskatoon’s eight-game winning streak and franchise record-tying 10-game home-ice winning streak. . . . The Hitmen are 3-0 on a four-game East Division swing that ends tonight in Prince Albert. . . . Calgary got two goals from F Jimmy Bubnick, who is from Saskatoon. . . .
In Edmonton, G Laurent Brossoit stopped 27 shots to lead the Oil Kings to a 3-0 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. It was Brossoit’s first shutout this season and the third of his career. . . . He is 13-7-2, 2.43, .914. . . . F Tyler Maxwell, acquired Thursday from the Everett Silvertips, had one assist in his Edmonton debut. He played on a line with Michael St. Croix and Dylan Wruck. . . . The Oil Kings were without D Mark Pysyk (undisclosed). . . . The Lethbridge Hurricanes went into Red Deer and beat the Rebels 5-1 in a game that featured 12 fighting majors. The Hurricanes took 76 of the game’s 118 penalty minutes. . . .
In Kelowna, G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 35 shots in leading the Kootenay Ice to a 4-0 victory over the Rockets. . . . At this point, Lieuwen has to be one of the leading candidates for the player of the year award. He is 13-4-3, 1.78, .938. This was his first shutout of the season and eighth of his career. . . . Backstopped by Lieuwen, the Ice is 18-5-3 and leading the overall standings. . . . The Ice played five B.C. Division teams in seven nights and ran the table. . . . The Ice scored its last three goals on the PP. . . . F Sam Reinhart had a goal and an assist, giving him four goals and 10 assists over the five-game swing. His older brother, Max, had three assists and finished the B.C. part of what will be a nine-game trip with four goals and six helpers. . . . Ice F Brock Montgomery, who scored one goal in 54 games last season, had two last night, giving him seven in 26 games this season. . . .
In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans beat the Swift Current Broncos, 5-1, in a game that featured 142 penalty minutes, 71 to each team. . . . The teams took 74 of those minutes for a dustup at 17:48 of the third period. . . . In Everett, F Jordan Weal had two goals and an assist, the 200th of this career, to help the Regina Pats to a 5-2 victory over the Silvertips. Regina is 1-2-1 on its U.S. Division tour that ends in Kennewick tonight. . . .
In Kent, Wash., F Charles Inglis tied the game at 19:21 of the third period and scored the only goal of the shootout as the Prince George Cougars edged the Seattle Thunderbirds, 3-2. . . . Prince George G Drew Owsley stopped 32 shots. Seattle F Burke Gallimore wasn’t able to beat Owsley on a first-period penalty shot. . . . G Mac Carruth stopped 46 shots as the host Portland Winterhawks beat the Spokane Chiefs, 5-3. . . . Spokane is 0-7 on the road this season and that includes three losses in Portland.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
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The AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons have recalled F Milan Kytnar (Kelowna, Saskatoon, Vancouver, 2007-10), while also signing D Dylan Yeo (Prince George, Calgary, 2003-2007) to a free-agent tryout deal. . . .
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A Friday night tweet from Katie Strang of ESPN, who covers the New York hockey scene: “Asked (Islanders) GM Garth Snow if he is contemplating sending Nino Niederreiter back to junior team Portland Winterhawks of WHL; he said ‘No’.”
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A second tweet from Strang: “Also, Isles spokesperson said Niederreiter is indeed healthy. 19-year-old Swiss winger was scratched for 3rd straight game tonight.”
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Later, Strang wrote about this on her blog right here.
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Josh Cooper of The Tennessean has the latest on Brent Peterson right here. Peterson, a former player and coach with the Portland Winterhawks is living with Parkinson’s disease and preparing for surgery that he and his family hope will provide some relief.
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Andrew King, a former junior hockey player, tells his concussion-plagued story right here, from the pages of the Montreal Gazette.

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Taking Note on Twitter

The Vancouver Giants have added D Eric Walker, 18, to their roster. Walker, who was listed by the Giants after the 2008 bantm draft, spent the last two seasons with the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters and was to play this season with the Northern Michigan Wildcats. However, after not getting into one of NMU’s first 12 games, he opted to leave and join the Giants. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Walker is from Castlegar, B.C. He could be in the Giants’ lineup tonight (Sunday) against the visiting Kootenay Ice. Interestingly, in each of his two seasons with Trail, he had four goals and seven assists in 59 games. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reported: “Walker (was) in his freshman season at Northern Michigan but is yet to play a game with the squad, who were 4-6-3 as of Friday. He was also one five Northern Michigan players charged in connection with thefts of bikes from the school’s campus. According to the Mining Journal of Marquette, Mich., each of the players faces trial on the misdemeanour charges Dec. 6 in Marquette County District Court.” . . . Walker is a nephew of former NHLer Steve Bozek. . . . Former Seattle Thunderbirds head coach Walt Kyle is the head coach at NMU. . . . F Dylan Walchuk, 19, of McBride, B.C., whose WHL rights belong to the Spokane Chiefs, also was charged in the bicycle thefts. He was charged with receiving and concealing stolen property.
The Marquette Mining Journal has more on that story right here.
The North Wind, NMU’s student newspaper, has more on the story right here, includig a link to the police report.
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In Moose Jaw, the Warriors broke a 1-1 third-period tie with two PP goals and beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 3-2. . . . F Kenton Miller gave Moose Jaw a 2-1 lead at 2:51 and F Justin Kirsch upped it to 3-1 at 8:28. . . . Kirsch has seven goals, including three winners, in nine games since coming to Moose Jaw from the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Tigers again had Kenny Cameron in goal, with Dawson MacAuley of the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers backing him up. G Tyler Bunz, who took a puck to the head while on the WHL team’s bench in a Subway Super Series game in Regina on Wednesday, is expected to miss at least a week. . . . F Emerson Etem and F Hunter Shinkaruk, the Tigers’ two snipers, both were kept off the scoreboard. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald notes that the Warriors have won eight in a row at home, five by 3-2 counts. . . .

In Swift Current, the Broncos erased a 4-0 deficit and stunned the Wheat Kings, 5-4. . . . Swift Current F Daniel Dale, an 18-year-old from Grande Prairie, Alta., scored his first two WHL goals in his 19th game. . . . Brandon had won four in a row; the Broncos, who now head into the U.S. Division, have won three straight. . . . Dale broke a 4-4 tie at 11:31 of the third period. . . . F Mark Stone had a goal and two assists as the Wheat Kings took a 4-0 lead before the game was 24 minutes old. He leads the WHL with 50 points in 24 games. . . . Swift Current F Christian Magnus also had a goal and two helpers. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun points out: “Brandon had been 12-0-1-0 when leading after two periods this season, while Swift Current had been 0-11-1-1 when trailing after two.” . . .

In Calgary, D Collin Bowman scored his first three goals with the Hitmen, leading them to a 7-1 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Bowman, who enjoyed his first career hat trick, had scored four goals when he was acquired from the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . He scored the game’s first two goals and the last one. . . . Bowman has 27 goals in 295 career games. . . . Calgary F Jimmy Bubnick picked up his 100th career regular-season assist on a second-period goal by F Trevor Cheek. . . . The victory left the Hitmen, who have won three of four, at 10-9-2, the first time they’ve been above .500 this season. . . . Nine of the Eastern Conference’s 12 teams are at .500 or better. Five of the Western Conference’s teams are at .500, with three other teams within one, three and four points. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Brady Ramsay scored three times and added an assist, leading the Hurricanes to their second victory in as many nights, 5-2 over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Ramsay, an 18-year-old sophomore from Calgary, has 10 goals in 24 games. He scored one in 57 games last season. . . . The Oil Kings, already without D Mark Pysyk and D Griffin Reinhart with undisclosed injuries, lost F T.J. Foster to an undisclosed injury in the first period. . . . Lethbridge F Cam Braes played in his 300th regular-season game, all with the Hurricanes. He scored his club’s second goal, his seventh this season and the 82nd of his career. . . .

In Red Deer, the Saskatoon Blades won the latest clash of the titans, beating the Rebels, 2-1. . . . All three goals came in the second period. . . . F Colton Mayor put Red Deer on the board at 2:06. . . . The Blades got goals from D Dalton Thrower, on the PP, at 14:42 and F Lukas Sutter at 18:31. . . . Saskatoon G Andrey Makarov, fresh of playing in two games for Russia in the Subway Super Series, stopped 43 shots. . . . The victory lifted the Blades into first place overall, one point ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings and Tri-City Americans. . . . Red Deer D Matt Dumba took a slashing major and game misconduct at the game’s final buzzer. Just a few seconds before that, Red Deer head coach Jesse Wallin was given the old heave-ho. . . .

In Victoria, F Elgin Pearce had his first career three-goal game and added an assist as the defending-champion Kootenay Ice whipped the Royals, 8-3. . . . It was the second lop-sided loss in two nights for the Royals, who were trounced 11-3 on Friday by the Giants in Vancouver. . . . F Jesse Ismond had two goals and three assists for the Ice. . . . Pearce, Ismond and D Luke Paulsen, who had a goal and an assist, each was plus-4. . . . Paulsen’s goal was his first of the season and fourth in 118 career games. . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 25 shots. That included a third-period penalty shot attempt by F Austin Carroll. . . .

In Everett, the Vancouver Giants got two shootout goals and bet the Silvertips, 2-1. . . . Vancouver F Brendan Gallagher and F James Henry each scored in the shootout. . . . F Joshua Winquist counted for the home team in the shootout. . . . The Giants have won six in a row. They are at home to the Kootenay Ice tonight as the defending champions begin a nine-game road trip. . . . D Evan Morden got Everett on the board, shorthanded, at 10:32 of the second. . . . It was the third shorthanded goal allowed by Vancouver over its last four games. . . . F Taylor Makin tied it at 4:52 of the third. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz stopped 47 shots through OT. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reported before the game that Silvertips D Ryan Murray (ankle) was running stairs. . . . That is great news for the Silvertips and for the Canadian national junior team. . . .

In Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds broke a 2-2 tie with four straight second-period goals and beat the Portland Winterhawks, 6-3. . . . Seattle struck for the four goals in a span of 5:53, two of them coming eight seconds apart. . . . F Burke Gallimore had two goals for the winners, with F Luke Lockhart adding a goal and two assists. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie and F Sven Bartschi, both of whom have been burning it up of late, were pointless and minus-5 and minus-4, respectively. . . . Bartschi came up short on a second-period penalty shot with Seattle leading 6-2. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 47 shots in what was his fourth start in four nights. He went the distance in the WHL’s two Subway Super Series games with the Russians on Wednesday and Thursday in Regina and Moose Jaw. On Friday, he stopped 47 shots in beating the visiting Tri-City Americans, 3-0. Yes, he’s in the conversation as the WHL’s player of the year, and it isn’t even December. . . . Portland had won six in a row. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., F Justin Feser scored at 1:25 of OT to give the Tri-City Americans a 3-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The winner was scored with the teams playing three skaters aside. . . . Kamloops F Matt Needham had forced OT with his fourth goal of the season, at 13:28 of the third. . . . The Americans led 2-0 going into the third period. . . . Feser’s goal was his ninth of the season. It also was the second OT goal of his career. . . . Tom Gaglardi, the Blazers’ majority owner, wasn’t at the game. Rather, he was in Dallas where the Stars, the team he officially purchased on Friday, was losing 4-1 to the San Jose Sharks, their fifth straight setback. Gaglardi will be introduced as the Stars’ owner on Monday in Dallas and will take part in a ceremonial faceoff later that evening prior to a game against the Edmonton Oilers. . . .

In Spokane, the Chiefs beat the Regina Pats 6-5 after a nine-round shootout. . . . With Spokane shooting first, F Mike Aviani opened the ninth round with a goal and the Pats weren’t able to equalize. . . . Regina D Brandon Underwood gave his side a 5-4 lead at 4:09 of the third period. . . . Spokane F Steve Kuhn tied it at 18:59. . . . Underwood went into this season with two goals and 15 assists in 149 career regular-season games with the Kamloops Blazers. He had three goals and nine assists in 22 games with Regina. . . . F Jordan Weal had a goal and three assists for Regina. He has 33 points in 21 games this season. For his career, he has 302 points, including 198 assists, in 233 regular-season games. . . . The Chiefs are 4-0 against East Divison teams, with the Swift Current Broncos coming to town Wednesday. . . .

In Prince George, the Kelowna Rockets erased a 2-0 first-period deficit and beat the Cougars, 4-2. . . . The Rockets swept the doubleheader, having won 3-2 on Friday night. . . . Kelowna F Tyson Baillie broke a 2-2 tie at 2:06 of the third period on the PP. . . .
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Rhett Rachinski, Edmonton
D Kayle Doetzel, Red Deer
D Daniel Gibb, Prince George
D Tyler Bell, Kamloops
D Austin Madaisky, Kamloops
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Two good reads today, both from the pages of The Globe and Mail. The first, which is right here, is by former Regina Leader-Post writer Darrell Davis, who chronicles the return to work of NHL referee Mike Hasenfratz. . . . The other, from the keyboard of Roy MacGregor, is right here. He’s writing about “slippage” as he wonders if the NHL’s crackdown on headshots isn’t fading away.

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