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F Riley Holzapfel (Moose Jaw, 2004-08) has signed a one-year extension with the Vienna Capitals (Austria, Erset Bank Liga). Last season, he had a 22 goals and 31 assists in 54 games, leading the team in goals, assists and points in the regular season. In the playoffs, he had 12 goals and 11 assists in 12 games, leading all league scorers in goals and points. . . . Holzapfel won the Ron Kennedy Trophy as the league’s MVP. That trophy is named after a former Austrian national team head coach. Kennedy played (Estevan/New Westminster Bruins, 1970-73) and coached (Medicine Hat, 1988-90) in the WHL. Kennedy, who passed away on July 9, 2009 from cancer, was Austria’s head coach from 1996-2002. . . .
F Brady Ramsay (Lethbridge, 2010-14) has signed a one-year contract with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite). Last season, he had three goals and eight assists in 42 games with the Indy Fuel (ECHL).
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The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed D Ty Bauer to a WHL contract. Bauer, who is from Cochrane, Alta., was a second-round selection in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft. Last season, with the bantam AAA Airdrie, Alta., Xtreme, he had three goals and 14 assists in 36 games.
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F Alex Swetlikoff, a third-round selection by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft, said Wednesday that he will attend the U of Denver and play for the Pioneers. Swetlikoff, who is from Kelowna, will turn 16 on July 6. Last season, he had 19 goals and 26 assists in 28 games with the Yale Hockey Academy’s prep team in Abbotsford, B.C.
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The WHL released its 2017-18 exhibition schedule on Wednesday. It begins on Aug. 29 when the Swift Current Broncos visit the Moose Jaw Warriors. The WHL’s release and the schedule are right here. . . . According to the WHL, it will release its regular-season schedule later this month.
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F Thomas Foster, who played five WHL seasons, will attend UBC and play for the Thunderbirds in 2017-18. Foster, 21, played most of his WHL career (2012-17) with the Vancouver Giants, who dealt him to the Moose Jaw Warriors last season. In 289 regular-season games, he had 53 goals and 93 assists. Last season, the native of Slave Lake, Alta., had 21 goals and 27 assists in 68 games.
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Former WHL D Bryan McCabe has been promoted by the NHL’s Florida Panthers to director of player personnel. He had been director of player development. McCabe, 42, played in 1,135 NHL games after having played four seasons (1991-95) with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Spokane Chiefs and Brandon Wheat Kings.
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If Don Matthews wasn’t the best defensive co-ordinator and/or head coach in CFL history, he certainly is in the conversation. Matthews died on Wednesday at the age of 77 after a lengthy illness. He truly was one of the great characters in CFL history. I was at the Regina Leader-Post while Matthews was the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ head coach, so got to sit through a number of his news conference. At the time, Darrell Davis was on the CFL beat at The Leader-Post; he remembers Matthews, on and off the field, in a wonderful piece that is right here.
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The OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs have added Dave Matsos to their staff as an associate coach. He spent the last four years with the Sudbury Wolves, the last two-and-a-half as head coach. Matsos, 43, also has been an assistant coach for three seasons with the Windsor Spitfires. Earlier, he guided England’s Sheffield Steelers to three straight EIHL championships. . . . In Hamilton, he will work alongside head coach John Gruden.
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The OHL’s Kitchener Rangers have signed Andreas Karlsson as an assistant coach, after announcing that associate coach Jason Fortier’s contract won’t be renewed. Karlsson spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the York U Lions. Prior to that, he was the head coach of Frölunda HC J20 in Sweden’s top junior league. A sixth-round pick by the Calgary Flames in the NHL’s 1993 draft, Karlsson enjoyed a 19-year pro career that included stints with the Atlanta Thrashers and Tampa Bay Lightning. . . . In Kitchener, he will work alongside head coach Jay McKee and assistant coach Matthew Barnaby.
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That moment when Joe Hicketts decides it would be a good idea to put the octopi on his head. @griffinshockey Calder Cup Champs #news8 pic.twitter.com/vYhshzZ9Az— Larry Figurski (@larryfigurski) June 14, 2017
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Bruins and Victoria Royals, and we’re counting that as one team. Jones also played for the Calgary Hitmen and Everett Silvertips.
Marshall, who was born in Brandon and raised in Virden, was a seventh-round selection (92nd overall) by the St. Louis Blues in the NHL’s 1970 draft. He was the Wheat Kings’ MVP for 1970-71.
In Edmonton, D Ryan Pilon broke a 1-1 tie at 17:42 of the second period and the Brandon Wheat Kings held on for a 2-1 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . The Wheat Kings had lost 14 straight games (regular season and playoffs) in Edmonton. . . . On Sunday, when they beat the Hitmen 5-4, Brandon snapped an 11-game regular-season skid in Calgary. . . . Pilon has seven goals. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny, who is from Edmonton, stopped 25 shots. . . . Brandon F John Quenneville, who also is from Edmonton, got Brandon’s first goal, at 16:55 of the first, on a PP. He’s got 15 goals. . . . That was the first time in six games that the Wheat Kings opened the scoring. . . . F Brett Pollock scored his 19th goal for Edmonton, at 10:56 of the second. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry made 19 saves. . . . The Wheat Kings (31-9-4), who took three of four from the Oil Kings, have won two in a row. . . . Edmonton slipped to 21-18-5. . . . 
In Lethbridge, the Red Deer Rebels outscored their hosts 4-2 in the third period en route to a 5-3 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . D Haydn Fleury came out of the penalty box and scored his second goal of the season on a breakaway, snapping a 1-1 tie at 2:08 of third period and the Rebels were never caught. . . . Fleury also had two assists. . . . Red Deer F Conner Bleackley scored twice, given him 21. . . . F Riley Sheen had two assists for Red Deer. . . . D Kord Pankewicz drew three assists for Lethbridge. . . . F Johnny Wesley, in his first game since being acquired from the Vancouver Giants and making the move from the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles, scored for the Hurricanes. . . . Lethbridge was 1-for-2 on the PP; the Rebels’ PP never got off the bench. . . . The Rebels (24-14-5), who play in Calgary tonight, have won four in a row. . . . The Hurricanes (10-26-6) have lost two straight. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., F Keegan Kolesar scored the only goal of a five-round shootout to give the host Seattle Thunderbirds a 5-4 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Kolesar scored his 14th goal of the season on a first-period PP. . . . Seattle F Nolan Volcan forced OT with his sixth goal at 5:30 of the third. . . . Spokane F Adam Helewka had given his side a 4-3 lead with his 25th goal at 16:46 of the second. He ran his goal-scoring streak to eight straight games, one shy of the franchise record. . . . Spokane F Kailer Yamamoto had one assist, and now is riding an 11-game point streak. . . . D Shea Theodore and D Ethan Bear each had two assists for Seattle. . . . F Ryan Gropp, in his second game since returning from an undisclosed injury, scored his 16th goal for Seattle. . . . Chiefs F Liam Stewart scored his 16th goal. In his fourth season, he has career highs in goals and points (30), all in 42 games. . . . The Thunderbirds (21-16-5) are 2-0-1 in their last three. . . . The Chiefs are 23-16-3.
exchange for D Connor Hobbs, who turned 18 on Sunday, and two bantam draft picks -- a second-rounder in 2016 and a third-rounder in 2015.
and an assist in 12 games -- when he left them on Oct. 29 and asked to be traded. Shortly after, he joined the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks for four games. He then played for Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge in Kindersley, Sask., but hasn’t been in a game since it ended on Dec. 20.
Also on Monday, the Saskatoon Blades dealt G Trevor Martin, 18, to Red Deer for D Kolton Dixon, 19.
Joe Hicketts has heard it for most of his life. In fact, you couldn’t blame him if he sometimes thinks his first name really is Undersized. . . . The 5-foot-8 Hicketts has a spot on Canada’s national junior team, the Victoria Royals defender and Kamloops native having been named to the team on Friday night. . . . But what it is that sets Hicketts apart. For starters, his mother, Lee-Gaye, will tell you that “he has a passion that’s hard to believe.” She also will tell you that she first noticed it when he was not yet three years of age. . . . Mark Masters of TSN has more on Hicketts 
Major junior hockey hit the pages of The New York Times on Sunday with a story by Jeff Z. Klein that chronicles the three lawsuits that have been filed against the Canadian Hockey League and the three leagues that function under its umbrella -- the OHL, QMJHL and WHL. Klein’s story is 
In Moose Jaw, D Dustin Perillat had a goal and an assist to help the Warriors to a 4-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Perillat broke a 1-1 tie with his third goal at 16:44 of the second period and F Brayden Point mde it 3-1 with his 15th goal at 19:02. . . . Moose Jaw G Justin Paulic stopped 27 shots, five fewer than Saskatoon's Trevor Martin. . . . F Alex Forsberg was among the Blades' scratches, but only because his name was accidentally left off the original game sheet. . . . Saskatoon dressed 17 skaters, one under the maximum. . . . The Warriors (12-12-3) have won two in a row. . . . The Blades (7-18-2) have lost three straight (0-2-1) as they head for Kamloops and a Tuesday date with the Blazers. . . . It was Hall of Fame weekend in Moose Jaw and Nathan Liewicki of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has more 
In Calgary, F Matt Bellerive had two goals and an assist as the Vancouver Giants ended a six-game losing skid with a 6-3 victory over the Hitmen. . . . Vancouver F Jesse Roach broke a 1-1 tie with his first goal at 6:23 of the second period and F Jackson Houck upped the lead to 3-1 with his eighth goal, via the PP, at 10:12. . . . The Hitmen weren't able to equalize as Vancouver G Payton Lee stopped 32 shots. . . . Giants F Thomas Foster and F Tyler Benson each had two assists. . . . Vancouver D Josh Thrower and F Gage Ramsay also scored their first goals. . . . F Jake Virtanen scored twice for the Hitmen, giving him seven on the season. . . . Bellerive's second goal, his 12th, was into an empty net. . . . Vancouver was 2-for-2 on the PP; Calgary was 0-for-4. . . . The Giants (10-18-0) went 1-4 and fired head coach Troy Ward while in Alberta. . . . The Hitmen are 14-11-3. . . .
In Medicine Hat, F Matt Bradley scored his seventh goal at 2:14 of OT to give the Tigers a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Oil Kings took a 2-0 lead into the second period on goals by F Andrew Koep, his seventh, and F Mads Eller, his third, the latter via the PP at 19:05 of the first. . . . The Tigers tied it on second-period goals 29 seconds apart by D Tommy Vannelli and D Tyler Lewington, at 15:31 and 16:00. Vannelli has 10 goals; Lewington has four. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 49 shots, 30 more than Medicine Hat's Marek Langhamer. . . . Edmonton D Ashton Sautner had two assists as he ran his point streak to 10 games. . . . The Oil Kings were without seven regulars, including F Edgars Kulda. . . . Edmonton had two APs, D Kyle Yewchuk and D Jordan Dawson, in the lineup. . . . The Tigers (19-6-2) have won three in a row. . . . The Oil Kings (14-10-5) had won their previous two starts. . . . 
In Kamloops, F Austin Carroll scored twice as the Victoria Royals beat the Blazers, 5-3. . . . Carroll broke a 3-3 tie with his 20th goal at 16:11 of the thid period as he put home the rebound of a shot by D Joe Hicketts. . . . F Taylor Crunk iced it with his fifth goal just 18 seconds after Carroll scored. . . . The Royals scored twice in the game's opening 1:11 and went up 3-0 at 14:33 of the first period. . . . The Blazers came back and tied it on F Matt Needham's ninth goal at 5:41 of the third period. . . . Hicketts and F Axel Blomqvist, who really can impose his will on a game when he wants to, each had two assists. . . . Hicketts, who almost certainly will be invited to the Canadian national junior team's camp on Monday, left 45 seconds into the third period after blocking a shot with his left foot. He perhaps missed one shift before returning looking none the worse for wear. . . . Kamloops G Cole Kehler made his first start in seven games and stopped 27 shots. Connor Ingram had made six straight starts. . . . Kamloops was without D Ryan Rehill and F Deven Sideroff. Rehill served a one-game suspension for a late instigator penalty in Friday's 7-3 loss to the visiting Regina Pats, while Sideroff apparently was injured in that game. . . . F Jake Kryski moved up into Sideroff's spot alongside Cole Ully and Matt Needham on the Blazers' top line to start the game, although head coach Don Hay moved bodies around through the last two periods. . . . The Ully-Needham-Sideroff line was together for 24 of the Blazers’ first 28 games. . . . Victoria F Brandon Magee completed a five-game suspension. He was suspended for a spearing incident in a Nov. 19 games against Kelowna. . . . The Royals (15-13-2) had lost their last two games. . . . The Blazers (11-13-5) are 0-3-1 in their last four. . . . 
In Spokane, the Chiefs ran their winning streak to five games as they beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 2-1. . . . The Chiefs have won by a 2-1 score on four occasions during that streak. . . . F Jacob Cardiff scored his second goal of the season at 11:31 of the first period to get the Chiefs started. . . . D Jordan Henderson upped the lead to 2-0 with his first goal at 2:27 of the third. . . . F Tyler Wong got the visitors on the board, with his ninth, at 19:31 of the third period. . . . Spokane G Tyson Verhelst stopped 25 shots, while Lethbridge’s Stuart Skinner turned aside 37. . . . The Chiefs (14-7-3) are tied with Portland for second in the U.S. Division and Spokane holds five games in hand. . . . The Hurricanes (6-17-4) have lost two straight and 11 of 12. . . .
In Kennewick, Wash., the Portland Winterhawks got out to a 3-0 lead and hung on for a 3-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . This was the first meeting of the season between these teams. Portland also has yet to play the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Portland F Paul Bittner scored his ninth goal just nine seconds into the game. . . . F Oliver Bjorkstrand got his 18th goal at 4:04 of the second and F Miles Koules made it 3-0 with his ninth at 7:14 of the second. . . . Tri-City F Ty Comrie cut into the lead with his third goal at 18:22, then F Brian Williams scored his seventh, making it 3-2, at 1:21 of the third. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie made 39 saves, 11 more than Portland’s Brendan Burke. . . . Portland F Nic Petan had two assists. . . . Portland F Chase De Leo had one assist; it was his 200th career point and came in his 239th game. . . . The Americans were 0-for-4 on the PP; Portland’s PP never got off the bench. . . . The Winterhawks (14-12-3) have won five in a row. . . . The Americans are 15-12-0. . . .
In Kent, Wash., F Luke Philp had three points, including the 150th of his career, as the Kootenay Ice beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-2. . . . The Thunderbirds led this one 2-0 at 10:23 of the first period. . . . Ice F Tim Bozon tied it with his eighth goal, at 15:06 of the first, and Philp got his 11th at 19:32 to put the visitors out front. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart ran his point streak to 10 games with his sixth goal and an assist, while F Jaedon Descheneau has points in nine straight. He had his 15th goal, into an empty net, and an assist. . . . The Ice improved to 12-15-0, while the Thunderbirds slipped to 10-12-4. . . . The Ice is in Everett to play the Silvertips this afternoon, while the Thunderbirds entertain Spokane.
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