Blazers: Rebuilding, reloading or retrenching?

Rebuilding, reloading or retrenching.
Take your pick, because the Kamloops Blazers have placed themselves firmly in the ‘re’ world.
If there was any doubt, it was erased Wednesday when the WHL team traded Cole Cheveldave, its starting goaltender for each of the last two seasons, to the Prince Albert Raiders for a 15-year-old forward, Jake Kryski, who is two or three years away form making an impact in this market.
If you are an aspiring WHL player, in any position, who is searching for an opportunity to play, Kamloops will be the place to be in late August when training camp opens.
The Blazers, who ended a horrible drought when they got into the second round of playoffs two seasons ago and reached the Western Conference final last spring, have some openings on their roster. Yeah, like Lindsay Lohan has some openings on her schedule.
The Blazers have 10 forwards with at least some WHL experience, but five of those are really, really raw. The roster shows five defencemen, but only one of those, 19-year-old Landon Cross, has played regularly at this level.
Of the five goaltenders on the depth chart at the moment, only one, Taran Kozun, has played even one WHL game.
On top of that, the chances are good that two of their prime 20-year-old candidates – centre Colin Smith and right-winger JC Lipon, who finished tied for fourth and 11th, respectively, in the WHL scoring race last season – will open the season in the AHL. Smith, who has signed with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, would seem ticketed for the Lake Erie Monsters, while Lipon, who has yet to cut a deal with the Winnipeg Jets, may start with the St. John’s IceCaps.
In making the run to the Western Conference final a few weeks ago, where they were beaten in five games by the eventual-champion Portland Winterhawks, the Blazers morphed into a team that relied on one goaltender, four defencemen and seven or eight forwards. At season’s end, they were using three 20-year-old forwards and eight players who were 19.
When a team does that, it knows that the time will come to pay the piper. For the Blazers, that time is now.
Over the last two seasons, Cheveldave played in 111 of the team’s 144 regular-season games and was credited with 70 of its 94 victories.
Kozun, a 19-year-old from Nipawin, Sask., got into two games in 2011-12 before being assigned to the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks.
Last season, in 1,092 minutes over 20 games with Kamloops, he went 11-4-3 with a 2.36 GAA and a .914 save percentage.
However, he had a propensity for letting in one bad goal – one that was either of the soft variety or one that came at an inopportune time — and that, more than anything, ate at the coaching staff’s confidence in him. Of course, Kozun really was caught in the backup goaltenders’ conundrum — he needs ice time to improve, but no matter how well he plays he’s stuck behind the veteran starter.
It also hurt Kozun’s chances that his team came out of the gate like a cat on fire.
The Blazers, you’ll recall, were the major junior game’s early-season sensation last autumn. At one point, they rattled off 14 straight victories and climbed to the top of the CHL’s rankings. That only served to fuel the fire as management went all-in on the season.
You will recall that in acquiring veteran defenceman Joel Edmundson from the Moose Jaw Warriors on Dec. 6, the Blazers surrendered a 2015 first-round bantam draft pick and forward Jayden Halbgewachs, who had been their first-round selection, 19th overall, in 2012.
The Blazers, who knew that Edmundson, then 19, was a rent-a-player and would be somewhere in the St. Louis Blues organization in 2013-14, recouped some of that loss with the acquisition of Kryski, who put up 118 points, including 59 goals, in 58 games with the Burnaby Winter Club’s top bantam team last season. Kryski was honoured in 2012 as Hockey Now’s B.C. minor hockey player of the year, and attended the Raiders’ spring camp in late May.
WHL rules prohibit Kryski, at the age of 15, from playing for the Blazers in 2013-14. He will be expected to make the roster in September 2014 and start being a serious contributor one year later.
Between now and then, though, you can expect the Blazers to be wheeling and dealing.
As has been well documented, the Blazers reached the WHL final in 1999, then weren’t able to get out of the first round of playoffs until 2012.
Let’s hope this latest (a) rebuilding, (b) reloading, (c) retrenching, (d) all of the above doesn’t take as long.

(Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca, gdrinnan.blogspot.ca and twitter.com/gdrinnan.)

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THE EDGE: Who has it, Kamloops or Portland?

 By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers and Portland Winterhawks are about to meet in a WHL playoff series for the second straight spring.
While these organizations have met in 11 previous series, they haven’t done it in consecutive seasons since 1993-95.
Throw out the one time they met in one of those round-robin affairs, and each side has won five series, going back to 1981-82.
On Friday night in Portland, then, they will begin a best-of-seven series that carries with it some long-term bragging rights.
There isn’t much doubt that the Blazers go into the Western Conference final as the underdog.
After all, the Winterhawks finished atop the WHL’s overall standings. They led the league in offence and were second on defence. Their top line — Brendan Leipsic, Nic Petan and Ty Rattie — finished 1-2-3 in the scoring race. Defenceman Seth Jones, a freshman from Plano, Texas, is likely to be the first pick in the NHL’s 2012 draft.
We could go on and on, but by now you get the idea that this is a pretty good team.
On top of all that, the Winterhawks are of the opinion that the world is against them. Their general manager and head coach, Mike Johnston, has been suspended since late November and won’t be back this season. The franchise has been fined $200,000 and has forfeited a number of draft picks.
And, yes, the Portland players are buying into this adversity stuff.
“Absolutely,” veteran forward Taylor Peters told Paul Buker of The Oregonian. “When we had those sanctions back in November we kind of took it as a chip on our shoulder. It was ‘it’s us, we’re going to do this for Mike and we’re going to do this despite all the setbacks we’ve had.’
“We’re definitely building off that adversity. We have ‘adversity’ written on our playoff shirts, just to remind us that we’ve battled through this so far, we’re not going to come this far and give up now.”
But the Blazers haven’t come this far just to roll over, either. This also is a good team, one that finished second in the B.C. Division with the WHL’s fourth-best record.
The Kamloops line that had Colin Smith between Tim Bozon and JC Lipon was dominant until Lipon left to play for Canada at the World Junior Championship.
In the second half of the season, the Blazers have focused on their defensive play, and, with the acquisition of Joel Edmundson from the Moose Jaw Warriors, have gotten progressively better.
So . . . this shapes up as a series that should provide some terrific entertainment. Here’s a look at how one observer sees things as it begins:
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GOAL
Cole Cheveldave of the Blazers has gotten better as the playoffs have worn on. He was solid in a six-game victory over the Victoria Royals, who may have lost that series in the third period of Game 1 when they blitzed the Blazers’ net but weren’t able to beat the goaltender.
Portland’s Mac Carruth is the winningest goaltender in WHL history and is at the top of his game right now. Carruth, a 20-year-old from Shorewood, Minn., has signed with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. He will appear in his 65th WHL playoff game on Friday.
EDGE: Portland.
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DEFENCE
The Winterhawks big four — Jones, Derrick Pouliot, Troy Rutkowski and Tyler Wotherspoon — is the best in the WHL. Jones is a stud. Period. He almost surely will be the No. 1 pick in the NHL’s June draft. Pouliot was taken eighth overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2012 draft. Rutkowski (Ottawa Senators) and Wotherspoon (Calgary Flames) have signed NHL deals. They have 37 points in 10 playoff games this spring. They also have played in 183 playoff games.
The Blazers’ top four doesn’t carry that kind of pedigree, but has been in 114 postseason games and is a solid group that plays well together. Edmundson, who has signed with the St. Louis Blues, has gotten better and better over the last two months. He is a 6-foot-4, 210-pounder who can dominate. Tyler Hansen may be the most under-rated player in all of the WHL; he and partner Sam Grist punish people in their zone. Marek Hrbas has been consistent and will surprise you with some of his jaunts into the offensive zone. Those four have 16 points in 10 games. Their job, however, is to defend and they do that very well.
EDGE: Portland, but not by as much as you might think.
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FORWARDS
Portland has the WHL’s top forward line — Brendan Leipsic, Nic Petan and Ty Rattie finished 1-2-3 in the scoring race and have put up 49 points in 10 playoff games. . . . Rattie has 41 career playoff goals, 11 of them this spring. . . . Portland has been getting good secondary scoring from a line that features Oliver Bjorkstrand, a freshman from Denmark, Chase De Leo and Taylor Leier. They have a combined 35 points. . . . Taylor Peters, 20, is one of the WHL’s top defensive forwards and a great penalty killer.
Brendan Ranford of the Blazers has never played better. He had nine points in the four-game sweep of Kelowna. . . . Ranford, Cole Ully and Lipon have proved a formidable threesome. . . . The Blazers will welcome back Colin Smith on Friday. He missed the last three games after suffering a suspected concussion in Game 1 of the last round. Smith had 106 points in the regular season, tops on the Blazers. . . . Portland will have to try and keep Kale Kessy from taking up residence in front of Carruth. Kessy, a big body with good hands, has 11 goals and that ties him with Rattie for the league lead. . . . There is speculation that Bozon, who has missed seven games since suffering a fracture in his right hand on March 26, may be ready for Game 1. . . . Smith and Kessy will be reunited Friday, perhaps with Chase Souto on the left side.
EDGE: Portland. The pendulum could shift if Bozon returns.
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SPECIAL TEAMS
Portland has the best PP in the playoffs, at 30.8 per cent, and has scored the most PP goals (16). . . . The Blazers are fourth, at 26.3 per cent, and have scored 15 goals. . . . Kamloops has received 57 opportunities in 10 games, to Portland’s 52. . . . You may recall that the Blazers had 11 PP opportunities to Kelowna’s one in Game 4 of that series.
Portland’s penalty-killers have surrendered only three PP goals in 28 opportunities (89.3 per cent), and that’s No. 2 in the WHL. . . . The Blazers are 13th, having been beaten eight times on 35 chances (77.1). That has to get better if Kamloops is to win.
EDGE: Portland.
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COACHING
The Winterhawks went 37-12-3 after Travis Green, the assistant GM/assistant coach, took over for the suspended Johnston. Green’s right-hand man is Kyle Gustafson, who has been with the Winterhawks since before the 2008 ownership change.
The Blazers have put together back-to-back 47-20-5 seasons under head coach Guy Charron and associate coach Dave Hunchak. The latter has done a terrific job with the Blazers’ back end.
EDGE: Kamloops.
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INTANGIBLES
Every Kamloops player who took part in the seven-game thriller with Portland last spring will tell you the team learned never to quit while playing in those games. . . . At one time or another, every coach plays the ‘us against the world’ card. Never has it had more meaning than in the Portland dressing room this season. . . . Portland has seven players on its roster who have played in, and lost, each of the last two WHL championships series.
EDGE: Portland.
———
THE CALL
It’s Portland, in six games.


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Blazers move into conference final

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
This time, there won’t be a comeback.
It wasn’t easy and it took overtime, but the Kamloops Blazers made certain of that.
The Blazers managed to shake off the Kelowna Rockets 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday night at Interior Savings Centre, sweeping the visitors from the second round of the WHL playoffs.
Let the history books show that Kale Kessy’s second goal of the game and his 11th in 10 playoff games won this one.
With the Blazers on the power play — they were 3-for-11 with the man advantage, while the Rockets were, uhh, 0-for-1 — Kessy shook off a hit from Kelowna’s Ryan Olsen along the right boards and got to the net in time to redirect defenceman Joel Edmundson’s hard pass behind goaltender Jordan Cooke at 2:24.
The Blazers are into the Western Conference’s best-of-seven final for the first time since the spring of 1999, when they swept the Tri-City Americans before losing the championship final in five games to the Calgary Hitmen.
Kamloops will meet the Portland Winterhawks in the conference final, with the first games in Oregon on April 19 and 20. Yes, the Winterhawks, who completed a sweep of the Chiefs with a 5-0 victory in Spokane last night, and Blazers now will have eight days off.
The Rockets, meanwhile, will be off for a while longer than that.
The Rockets had fallen behind the Seattle Thunderbirds 0-3 in the first round, then had become the second team in WHL history to win the next four games and the series.
So you can bet the Rockets were grasping at that straw after a 5-4 overtime loss at ISC on Tuesday night left them in that 0-3 hole, again.
But this time there wouldn’t be a miracle. Almost. But not quite.
The Rockets, who were playing their sixth game in nine nights, did a lot of hanging around and hanging on last night. They took the game’s first six minor penalties, five of them in the first period. Although they gave up just one power-play goal, that to Kessy, they paid a steep price from their energy bank because they spent so much time defending and were forced to over-use their top guys.
Due to injuries, the Rockets had been trying to make do for the most part with five defencemen. By the end of the first period, the back-enders were almost on empty and the mistakes were mounting.
And the Blazers kept pushing. Hard. They held a 19-4 edge in shots after 20 minutes.
Still, the Rockets got some momentum eight minutes into the second period when they were given their first power-play opportunity. They didn’t score right then, but forward Tyson Baillie, back from a two-game suspension, pulled the visitors even at 12:48 when he beat goaltender Cole Cheveldave from 20 feet out in the slot.
By that point the Rockets were looking like they might make a game of it.
But that thought appeared to end when Kamloops forward JC Lipon, who scored the OT winner Tuesday and was dominant in this one, checked Olsen off the puck in the Blazers’ zone and turned around the play. Moments later, at 17:05, defenceman Marek Hrbas gave the Blazers a 2-1 lead.
And then, with 27.4 seconds left on the clock, centre Matt Needham scored off some good work by Cole Ully the Rockets really were in trouble.
But Kelowna survived three Kamloops power plays in the third period and got goals from J.T. Barnett and Cole Linaker to force overtime.
The Blazers, as they had done Tuesday, opened the overtime with energy and the result was that Kelowna defenceman Madison Bowey, in trying to clear the zone, inadvertently put the puck into the crowd. That, in today’s game, is a delay-of-game penalty.
The Blazers stormed to the attack on the PP, with Kessy beating Cooke on their seventh shot of extra time and their 45th shot of the game.
Kamloops goaltender Cole Cheveldave stopped 22 shots and, as he did on Tuesday night, made at least half-a-dozen of the timely variety.
Early in this season, it was the Rockets who ended the Blazers’ franchise-record 14-game winning streak. Later, the Rockets skated past the Blazers and won the B.C. Division’s regular-season pennant.
But last night the Blazers sent the Rockets home for the summer and moved on to the conference final.
You know the Rockets would switch positions in a New York minute.
JUST NOTES: The attendance was 4,904. . . . Lipon had two assists and remains the only player in the WHL with at least one point in each of his team’s playoff games this season. . . . The Daily News Three Stars — 1. Kessy: Two goals in big game; 2. Cheveldave: Getting better each time out; 3. Linaker: Bright future. . . . The Blazers were without C Colin Smith for a third straight game. He suffered a suspected concussion early in the second period of Game 1. However, he is back skating and should be back for the start of the conference final. . . . Games 3 and 4 in the conference final will be at ISC on April 23 and 24. If necessary, Game 5 would be in Portland on April 26, Game 6 in Kamloops on April 28 and Game 7 in Portland on April 30. . . . Andy Clovechok, Mr. Hockey in these parts, celebrated his 90th birthday by attending last night’s game, with the lovely Molly, of course.

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Assistant coach Enio Sacilotto (left), head coach Dave Lowry and the
Victoria Royals may be pondering what might have been as they prepare
to play host to Game 3 of their WHL playoff series with the Kamloops
Blazers tonight at Bear Mountain Arena.

When all is said and done in this WHL playoff series between Victoria and the Kamloops Blazers, the Royals are going to look back at the third periods of Games 1 and 2 and curse their luck.
Because as the series shifts to Victoria and games tonight and Thursday, the Royals find themselves trailing 2-0 in the first-round best-of-seven set. The Blazers, understand, are full marks for the lead, but, sheesh, the Royals have to be playing that old game of “What if . . .?”
As silly as it may seem, especially if you weren’t in Interior Savings Centre on Friday night, the Royals likely deserved a better fate in a game they lost 3-2.
Had the Royals won that game, who knows where the series would be right now. But, then, as a wise man once said, if ifs and buts were candies and nuts, and, well, you know the rest.
To refresh your memory, the teams were tied 2-2 going into the final 20 minutes of the series opener on Friday night. To that point, the Blazers held a 24-13 edge in shots and had scored twice in five power-play opportunities; in fact, they had received the game’s first five power plays.
The Royals showed that they are capable of playing a game that is physical AND disciplined, but they were guilty of taking some ticky-tack penalties — defenceman Jordan Fransoo taking an interference penalty for shooting away Kamloops centre Colin Smith’s stick in the second period comes to mind.
And the visitors paid a steep price for it. Still, though, the Blazers weren’t able to put them away.
After JC Lipon put the home boys ahead early in the third period, the Royals’ physical forecheck began to pay dividends and, for much of the stretch run, Victoria owned the Kamloops zone from the faceoff dots to the end boards.
On this night, though, the Royals weren’t able to solve the magical goaltending of the Blazers’ Cole Cheveldave.
A team isn’t going to win in the playoffs without goaltending, and the Blazers certainly got that on Friday night.
The next night, the Blazers were in complete control until the third period. Again. This time, they took a 5-1 lead into the final 20 minutes and certainly appeared to have it wrapped up. But the Royals gained some momentum from their power play, then got their forecheck buzzing, and the next thing you knew it was 5-4.
An interesting decision by Victoria head coach Dave Lowry — he lifted goaltender Patrick Polivka with well over one minute left in the third period, despite the fact that his guys had owned the puck in the Kamloops zone in the late going — allowed Blazers captain Dylan Willick to end proceedings with an empty-net goal at 18:52.
“I thought we had a pretty good game,” explained Kamloops defenceman Joel Edmundson, “except as soon as we started taking penalties they pounced on the opportunities and that’s what killed us. We stuck to our game plan in the first two periods. We need to focus on our discipline.”
Ah, yes, that old discipline thing.
As Edmundson put it rather succinctly: “You can’t really work on discipline, you have to have that in your head.”
So, to recap, the Royals can look back at Game 1 and wonder why they couldn’t beat Cheveldave in the third period, and they can look back at Game 2 and say that they didn’t really lose, that they simply ran out of time.
More than anything, though, they have to be wondering what might have been if only they had a healthy Alex Gogolev in their lineup. Gogolev, a silky smooth centre from Moscow, has had surgery to repair damage to a leg from a skate cut, so won’t play again this season.
The only two-spotter — a 20-year-old import — in the WHL, Gogolev led the Royals in assists (45) and points (65), all accomplished in 49 games, and he keyed their power play. He hasn’t played since Feb. 5 and the Royals are 6-13-3 without him. In fact, they won the first three games they played without him and then went 3-13-3, including the two weekend losses to Kamloops.
The Blazers actually are 17-3-2 against Victoria over the last two seasons, including regular-season and playoff games. When you look at those numbers, you realize the Royals really are up against it in having to beat the Blazers four times in the next five games in order to prolong their season.
Meanwhile, down the road in the sunny Okanagan, the Kelowna Rockets find themselves locked in a struggle with the giants of Puget Sound, the Seattle Thunderbirds. That series resumes tonight in Kent, Wash., the Thunderbirds having stolen out of Kelowna with two overtime victories. (Coincidentally, the Rockets have lost perhaps their best overall player, centre Colton Sissons, who is their captain, with a shoulder injury. He won’t play for a couple of months.)
The behemoths known as the Thunderbirds spent the two games clogging the middle of the ice and the area around their net, and the Rockets had trouble penetrating. The result was few scoring chances and two Thunderbirds victories.
As he rode out of town, Seattle head coach Steve Konowalchuk was heard to say: “We weren’t supposed to win anything.”
We can assume that he was at least smiling when he said it.
But in order for the Interior of B.C. to experience a playoff series between Kamloops and Kelowna — the teams will meet if they survive the first round — the Rockets are going to have to win four of the next five games with Seattle.
Which puts Kelowna in the same boat as Victoria.

(Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca.)

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Blazers take 2-0 lead to the Island

Centre Colin Smith and defenceman Joel Edmundson of the Kamloops
Blazers celebrate the latter's second goal in the first period of a WHL
playoff game on Saturday night.
(HUGO YUEN / KAMLOOPS DAILY NEWS)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Joel Edmundson played one season in the Moose Jaw Civic Centre — aka the Crushed Can.
So the Kamloops Blazers defenceman is quick to admit that he isn’t the least bit concerned about playing in Victoria’s Bear Mountain Arena.
“No, I’m excited,” a grinning Edmundson said late  Saturday night, after scoring twice as the Blazers dumped the Victoria Royals 6-4 in a WHL playoff game at Interior Savings Centre. “I think most of the guys are excited. There’ll be a great atmosphere there.”
The Blazers hold a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round series, with hostilities set to resume at Bear Mountain on Tuesday and Thursday nights. A fifth game, if needed, would be played at ISC on Saturday.
The Royals normally play in 7,006-seat Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, but it is being prepped for the Ford world men’s curling championship that opens Saturday. Thus, the Royals are having to play first-round games at Bear Mountain, a 2,781-seat facility that opened in February 2004.
Bear Mountain’s ice surface is the same as the ISC — 85 feet by 200 feet — but it will seem more compact because of the smaller venue with fans situated close to the playing surface.
The beloved Crushed Can, which gave way to Mosaic Place prior to 2011-12, was said to have a playing surface that was 85x194, but it appeared smaller than that, perhaps because of the concave roof that seemed to hang 10 feet above the ice.
“That was my favourite rink,” Edmundson said. “The smaller ice . . . fans right on top of you. I love it . . . love it.”
Edmundson, a 6-foot-4, 210-pounder who has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues, also is expecting another unfriendly reception, like the one he got Jan. 16, the last time the Blazers were in Victoria.
“I was getting booed every time I touched the puck so I’m pretty used to it,” he said, adding that the Royals’ fans weren’t happy about “a couple of big, dirty hits.”
On Saturday, Victoria’s fans wouldn’t have been at all happy about his two goals, which gave the Blazers a 2-0 first-period lead and got them started to what was a dominant 40-minute performance.
In the second period, the Blazers got two goals from winger Tim Bozon, who turned 19 on Sunday, and a singleton from centre Brendan Ranford. Forward Jamie Crooks scored for the Royals on a late power play, by which point the visitors trailed 5-1 and had been soundly outplayed.
But the Royals scored three times in the third period, cutting the deficit to 5-4 with 1:44 left on the clock and making things a lot dicier for the home team than it needed to be.
“When we play this team 5-on-5 we’re a dominant team,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said. “When we allow this team to get on the power play, we give them life. The two penalties we took in the third period weren’t necessary.”
Kamloops defenceman Tyler Hansen took an interference penalty at 4:07 and, while the Royals didn’t score with him off, they gained some momentum and centre Tyler Soy did at 7:44.
And then, at 14:50, Blazers winger Chase Souto cut through the top of the Victoria crease, stuck out his left leg and dumped goaltender Patrik Polivka. Forward Austin Carroll scored on the subsequent power play and now it was 5-3.
“They are a dominant team when they go on the power play,” Charron reiterated, “and we have to avoid those situations.”
The Royals followed that with the game’s most dominant shift, raising havoc in the Kamloops zone until a shot bounced off forward Brandon Magee and past goaltender Cole Cheveldave.
Just like that it was 5-4 and now there was real cause for concern.
But the Royals’ balloon was quickly deflated as, with Polivka on the bench for the extra attacker, Kamloops captain Dylan Willick was able to push the puck up ice and score into the empty net just 36 seconds after Magee’s goal.
“It was their power play that got them momentum,” Willick said. “We can clean up the penalty kill but it all starts by being disciplined.”
Willick, like Edmundson, has no concerns about going into Bear Mountain. As Willick pointed out, the Blazers travel well — they were 20-13-3 on the road this season.
“You know it’s going to be a loud rink; they probably are going to sell it out since it’s a smaller one,” Willick said. “But it’s a playoff atmosphere, like our building — it was loud tonight. We just have to go in there and focus on the game.”
Willick added that playing away from home “has been big ever since Guy has been here. He preaches road games as much as home games. We’ve turned that page in the last couple of years and we’re fine with it.”
The Royals no doubt will try to feed off their two third-period efforts. In Friday’s 3-2 setback, they were the better team but weren’t able to solve Cheveldave. On Saturday, they scored three times and got back into the game, albeit briefly.
“We have to play a consistent 60-minute effort,” said Victoria defenceman Joe Hicketts, who is from Kamloops. “We saw in both third periods in the last two games that we can play with them and beat them. Playing like that from the start of the game into the second period . . . that’s been a downfall all season, it seems.”
Indeed, the Royals have been outscored 112-76 in second periods during the regular season and playoffs.
Perhaps the Royals will be able to turn that around at Bear Mountain, a facility they are somewhat familiar with, having spent a week there in September when Cirque de Soleil was in the big building.
“It’s a small rink,” Hicketts said. “It’s going to be loud . . . close quarters. It’s a smaller building and we’re hoping it’s packed, standing room only.”
So is Edmundson.
JUST NOTES: Attendance was 4,505. . . . Polivka finished with 23 stops, while Cheveldave made 20 saves. . . . Neither team made any lineup changes for Game 2, meaning D Tyler Stahl, the Victoria captain, didn’t play. For the second night in a row, he took part in the warmup and then took off his gear. He has missed 10 games since last playing on March 2 . . . . The Daily News Three Stars: 1. Edmundson: Two key goals, solid defensively; 2. Lipon: Four helpers and plus-3; 3. D Marek  Hrbas, Kamloops: A solid night. . . . The Royals spent Saturday night in Kamloops and were to leave Sunday, in time to catch the 3 p.m. ferry.


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Hockey Canada is expected to announce one of the these days that Don Hay, the head coach of the Vancouver Giants, will coach Canada’s entry in the IIHF’s U-18 world championship. That tournament is scheduled for April 18-28 in Sochi, Russia. . . . Last year’s tournament was held in Brno and Znojmo, Czech Republic, with the U.S., Sweden and Canada finishing in that order. . . . This year, Canada will be in a pool with Sweden, Germany, Switzerland and Slovakia. The other pool is to comprise the U.S., Finland, Russia, Czech Republic and Latvia. . . . Canada opens April 13 against Slovakia.
Hay, of course, has extensive experience with Hockey Canada. The 59-year-old from Kamloops has twice coached the national junior team, winning gold in Red Deer in 1995 and bronze in Calgary/Edmonton in 2012.
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We have word of another hockey team that uses a logo similar to that of the NHL’s Washington Capitals. Here is the logo used by the junior B Regina Capitals, of the Prairie Junior Hockey League.

———

 The WHL’s first-round situation:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Edmonton (1) vs. Kootenay (8)
(Edmonton leads 1-0; Game 2 on Sunday in Edmonton)
Saskatoon (2) vs. Medicine Hat (7)
(Medicine Hat leads 2-0; Game 3 on Tuesday in Medicine Hat)
Calgary (3) vs. Swift Current (6)
(Calgary leads 2-0; Game 3 on Monday in Swift Current)
Red Deer (4) vs Prince Albert (5)
(Red Deer leads 2-0; Game 3 on Tuesday in Prince Albert)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Portland (1) vs. Everett (8)
(Series tied 1-1; Game 3 on Wednesday in Everett)
Kelowna (2) vs. Seattle (7)
(Seattle leads 2-0; Game 3 on Tuesday in Kent, Wash.)
Kamloops (3) vs. Victoria (6)
(Kamloops leads 2-0; Game 3 on Tuesday in Victoria. Bear Mountain Arena)
Spokane (4) vs. Tri-City (5)
(Spokane leads 2-0; Game 3 on Tuesday in Kennewick, Wash.)
———
SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Red Deer, the Rebels jumped out to a 3-0 lead and hung on for a 3-2 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . F Rhyse Dieno gave the Rebels a 3-0 edge at 6:25 of the second. . . . The Raiders got in it on goals from F Jonas Knutsen, at 14:15 of the second, and F Shane Danyluk, at 10:05 of the third. . . . Red Deer G Patrik Bartosak stopped 36 shots, two fewer than Prince Albert’s Luke Siemens. . . . Red Deer F Joel Hamilton came up dry on a first-period penalty shot with his side up 1-0. . . . F Turner Elson had two assists for Red Deer. . . .

In Spokane, F Blake Gal broke a 4-4 tie at 16:31 of the third period and the Chiefs went on to a 6-4 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . F Jesse Mychan had pulled Tri-City into a 4-4 tie with a PP goal at 8:41 of the third. . . . The goal was Gal’s second of the game. . . . Spokane G Eric Williams stopped 15 shots. . . . The Chiefs have taken four straight games from the Americans, including two late in the regular season. . . . The next two games and a third, if necessary, will be played in Kennewick, Wash. . . .

In Portland, the Winterhawks held Everett to 11 shots on goal and beat the Silvertips, 4-1. . . . Portland D Troy Rutkowski had a goal and two assists, while F Ty Rattie had one of each. . . . Portland D Shaun MacPherson scored his first playoff goal at 8:04 of the second. It gave Portland a 2-0 lead and ended up being the winner. . . . The game degenerated in the late going and by the end the visitors had taken 88 of 130 penalty minutes. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz stopped 30 shots. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth turned aside 10 shots, including three in the first period and one in the second. . . . Everett had lost 16 consecutive games in Portland before winning Friday’s opener, 4-3. . . .

In Kamloops, D Joel Edmundson and F Tim Bozon each scored twice as the Blazers got past the Victoria Royals, 6-4. . . . The Blazers led 5-1 going into the third period. The Royals then scored three times and trailed 5-4 with 1:44 left. . . . Kamloops F Dylan Willick put it away with an empty-netter at 18:52. . . . Kamloops F JC Lipon drew four assists. . . . The Royals got a goal and an assist from each of F Jamie Crooks and F Austin Carroll. . . . Victoria lost D Ryan Gagnon in the first period when he lost an edge and crashed awkwardly into the boards. He eventually was helped off the ice but didn’t return. Head coach Dave Lowry said Gagnon will be “re-evaluated” when the Royals return home. . . . Royals general manager Cam Hope told play-by-play man Marlon Martens that he saw Gagnon in the dressing room after the incident. “He was walking and talking and quite upset that he had put himself in that position and was out of the game. But hopefully he’ll be back soon.” . . .

In Kelowna, F Alex Delnov scored at 2:41 of OT to give the Seattle Thunderbirds a 2-1 victory over the Rockets. . . . F Cole Linaker gave Kelowna a 1-0 lead at 13:28 of the second period. . . . Seattle D Jared Hauf forced OT with a goal at 10:08 of the third. . . . Among the Rockets’ scratches was veteran F J.T. Barnett, who had played in Game 1. The Rockets inserted freshman F Austin Glover, who turned 17 on Jan. 15, in Barnett’s spot. . . . The Rockets were 31-5-0 at home in the regular season, but now have lost two straight playoff games, both in OT, at home. . . .
The Thunderbirds now are 6-2 against the Rockets in playoff OT games. Here’s a look, courtesy of Ian Henry, the Thunderbirds’ director of public and media relations:
March 30, 2001 — In Game 1 of the first round, Shane Endicott scored at 2:14 of overtime for a 5-4 Seattle victory.
April 6, 2001 — In Game 4 of the first round, Brad Tutschek scored at 2:20 of overtime for a 3-2 Seattle victory.
April 8, 2001 — In Game 5 of the first round, Paul Hurd scored at 5:27 of overtime for a 2-1 Kelowna victory.
April 22, 2003 — In Game 3 of the Western Conference final, Tyler Metcalfe scored at 18:58 of the second overtime for a 3-2 Seattle victory.
March 28, 2008 — In Game 3 of the first round, David Richard scored at 15:12 of overtime for a 3-2 Seattle victory.
March 29, 2008 — In Game 6 of the first round, Lucas Bloodoff scored at 10:59 of overtime for a 4-3 Kelowna victory.
March 22, 2013 — In Game 1 of the first round, Luke Lockhart scored at 19:09 of overtime for a 5-4 Seattle victory.
March 23, 2013 — In Game 2 of the first round, Alexander Delnov scored at 2:41 of overtime for a 2-1 Seattle victory.
———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (5):
D Marco Mueller, Everett

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (2):
F Taylor Peters, Portland


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G Brandon Glover of the Seattle Thunderbirds got the WHL a whole lot of publicity, including some pub at SI.com. However, it seems the league doesn’t believe in the axiom that no publicity is bad publicity.
Glover has been suspended for two games after getting into a scrap with G Austin Lotz of the Everett Silvertips on Saturday night. According to the WHL website, the suspension actually is “for game misconduct versus Everett.”
From that same game, the Thunderbirds drew a $500 fine for the goaltenders’ fight, and Seattle D Evan Wardley was suspended for two games after picking up his fourth game misconduct of the season.
Meanwhile, F Jordan Messier of the Moose Jaw Warriors was hit was a three-game suspension for a game misconduct he incurred in a game against the visiting Swift Current Broncos on Friday. Messier came off the bench during a line change and got involved in a scrap. . . . That suspension ends Messier’s WHL career as he is 20 and the Warriors have only three games remaining.
The Warriors also were fined $250 “for actions of player” in that game.
———

The Tri-City Americans have added D Brandon Carlo, 16, to their roster for the rest of this season. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound Carlo, from Colorado Springs, Colo, played this season with the U-16 Colorado Thunderbirds. He put up 47 points, including 10 goals, in 41 games. Carlo was a 10th-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. According to an Americans’ news release: “Under the USA Hockey/Hockey Canada/CHL agreement, Carlo will be limited to six games played for the remainder of the season, including the 2013 WHL playoffs.” . . .
The Americans also announced that they have added F Fraser Bulbuc, 18, to their roster. He had been with the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders. Bulbuc has played in four games with the Americans this season, scoring one goal.
The Kootenay Ice has added F Hudson Elynuik, 15, to its roster for the last four regular-season games. A third-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, Elynuik played for the midget AAA Calgary Flames. . . .
The WHL’s draft lottery will be held on March 20. . . .
The Prince Albert Raiders have added F Matteo Gennaro, 15, and D Brendan Guhle, 15, to their roster. Gennaro, a second-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, had 21 points in 30 games with the midget AAA St. Albert Raiders. He will stay with the Raiders through the weekend’s final regular-season games. Guhle, the third overall pick in the 2012 bantam draft, played with the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings. He had five points in nine playoff games and will remain with the Raiders through the playoffs. . . .
F Henrik Samuelsson of the Edmonton Oil Kings has signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes. Samuelsson, the son of former NHL D Ulf Samuelsson, was a first-round selection, 27th ovearll, in the 2012 NHL draft. He has 79 points, including 32 goals, in 67 games this season. Last season, the native of Scottsdale, Ariz., had 23 points in 28 regular-season games after joining the Oil Kings following the Christmas break. He added 14 points in WHL playoff games then was named to the Memorial Cup all-star team.
According to capgeek.com, D Joel Edmundson of the Kamloops Blazers will get NHL salaries of $642,500, $717,500 and $867,500 under the terms of the three-year deal he signed with the St. Louis Blues last week. His AHL salary would be $70,000 in each of the three seasons. Edmundson, a second-round selection in the NHL’s 2011 draft while he was with the Moose Jaw Warriors, also got a signing bonus of $277,500, payable in three annual instalments. . . .
The Red Deer Rebels have added F Jordan DePape, 20, to their roster. DePape, who hasn’t played since Nov. 11, left the Kamloops Blazers in order to undergo shoulder surgery. The Rebels acquired him as a free agent on Jan. 10 in the hopes that he would help them in the playoffs. . . . Red Deer has two games remaining, both against the Edmonton Oil Kings.
———
The matchups, if the WHL playoffs opened today:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Edmonton (1) vs. Kootenay (8)
Saskatoon (2) vs. Medicine Hat (7)
Calgary (3) vs. Swift Current (6)
Red Deer (4) vs Prince Albert (5)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Portland (1) vs. Everett (8)
Kelowna (2) vs. Seattle (7)
Kamloops (3) vs. Victoria (6)
Spokane (4) vs. Tri-City (5)
———
MONDAY’S GAMES:
No Games Scheduled.
———






I will let you guess what was on TV last night . . .
———
From Portland Winterhawks F Chase De Leo (@Dels9): “Bachelor season finale tonight, mixed emotions. Excited, but sad it's going to be over. Think with your head Sean, not your hammer. #WifedUp”
———
From Brandon Wheat Kings D Nick Walters (@nickwalters3): “Lindsay Illl love you and treat you right”
———
From former Portland F Brad Ross (@bross1818): “Wow Sean your an idiot can't believe you didn't pick Lindsay. I'm #heartbroken #idmarryyou”
———
And then there was Bachelor fan Mike Fraser (@MikeFraser29), who scouts for the Brandon Wheat Kings but seems to have missed the finale: “Congrats to my alma mater, @ICGaels, for winning the MAAC men's basketball championship tonight and advancing to the NCAA tournament.”
———
From Shawneen Esson (@s_esson): “Seen 2 of the @SCBroncos packing bags at Safeway tonight! Pretty nice to see even if one was tweeting on the job! Lol”

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Charles Thomas (Stompin' Tom) Connors, OC
(February 9, 1936 – March 6, 2013)

Gee, wasn’t the start of last night’s NHL game between the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs exciting!
There was Toronto F Frazer McLaren, one of the toughest hombres in the WHL during his days with the Portland Winterhawks and Moose Jaw Warriors (2003-08) fighting Ottawa F David Dziurzynski, who obviously was overmatched.
The teams had been playing for 26 seconds.
Dziurzynski, it’s safe to say, will be on the shelf for a while. After going down like a fallen tree, he had to be helped to the dressing room. Shortly after, the Senators announced that he has a concussion.
Following the game, Ottawa F Zack Smith, a product of the Swift Current Broncos (2004-08), told reporters that McLaren “was asking (Dziurzynski) to fight as soon as we got on the ice. That's what McLaren does."
———
The WHL has suspended Victoria Royals head coach Dave Lowry and two of his players — D Keegan Kanzig and F Tim Traber — for their roles in shenanigans in the third period of a 6-0 loss to the Blazers in Kamloops on Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, I received a missive from someone who had read about the goings-on and took issue with (a) my use of a couple of words, and (b) a few other things. . . .
“In reading your article . . . I am confused by the terms ‘goofy’ – ‘It was at 3:22 of the third period when things began to get goofy‘ – and ‘silliness’ – ‘There was more silliness as the period progressed’.
“In between goofy and silliness, I read about a player face down, with another player on top of him, pulling his sweater hard enough that ‘he choked me out’ according to the face down player. The Kamloops goalie stated ‘He was right out’.
“My impression of events from your article, is that the Kamloops player lost consciousness due to the actions of a Victoria player. I was not there, so correct me if I am wrong, however, I find that action neither goofy nor silly. It is violence. If you did that on a sidewalk, you would likely be charged with assault. If you did that at school, you would likely be suspended.
“Why is it acceptable on the ice? Why are violent actions minimized in the newspaper? The offending player should be tossed for multiple games, if not permanently. I find it ridiculous that adults cheer when young kids (which is really what WHL players are) fight so violently.
“I was also very disappointed to hear about it as it was happening, as my sister was there, taking her 10-year-old son, with his team, to the game as part of Minor Hockey Night. My son was also there with his team. My sister was not impressed by the number of people cheering at the fights. I sadly thought ‘Wow – what a great example for our kids.’ I'm not sure how many kids were there to see it, but I'd guess quite a few.
“People get annoyed when the younger kids play rough, and expect the refs to deal with it, yet where do they think kids learn this? We need to call it what it is and get fighting out of the game PERIOD.
“My son has been in hockey longer than he has been in school, and learned many very important life skills from it so I am reluctant to say that I hate hockey, but I can see how people would get that opinion.”
———
D Scott Ramsay played four seasons (2007-11) in the WHL, splitting time with the Chilliwack Bruins, Seattle Thunderbirds and Medicine Hat Tigers, before his career came to an end because of post-concussion syndrome.
It is downright chilling to hear the 21-year-old Ramsay talk about how he battled depression before getting his life back on track.
He admits that he tried all kinds of medication. “You name it . . . we had a drawerful,” he says.
He also talks about how his mother told him that she would have kicked him out of the family home had she not been aware of his struggles, and that she said he had become a terrible person.
The interview is part of the Bell Let’s Talk program and it’s right here. It is three minutes in duration and really is worth a listen.
These days, Ramsay attends the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, B.C. He is studying to become a registered nurse and, if all goes well, he will graduate in 2015.
(A stick tap to DK for this one.)
———
D Joel Edmundson of the Kamloops Blazers has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues.
He is the third WHLer to sign an entry-level deal with an NHL team this week. Earlier, F Taylor Peters of the Portland Winterhawks signed with the Dallas Stars and F Josh Nicholls of the Saskatoon Blades got a deal done with the New York Rangers.
Edmundson, 19, was a second-round selection, 46th overall, in the NHL’s 2011 draft.
From Brandon, Edmundson was a sixth-round pick by the Moose Jaw Warriors in the WHL’s 2008 bantam draft. He played two-plus seasons with the Warriors before being dealt to the Blazers. In exchange for Edmundson, the Blazers surrendered defenceman Tyler Bell, 18, centre Jayden Halbgewachs, who plays for the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians and had been Kamloops’ first-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, and a first-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft.
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Edmundson has 17 points in 32 games with the Blazers, after earning eight points in 29 games with Moose Jaw. In his WHL career, he has 68 points in 188 games.
While contract details aren’t yet available for Edmundson’s deal, capgeek.com has the numbers on Peters and Nicholls.
Peters, 20, signed as an undrafted free agent. He signed for NHL salaries of US$792,500, $842,500 and $925,000. His AHL salary would be $70,000 in each of three seasons. He also got a signing bonus of $277,500, payable in three instalments of $92,500.
Nicholls, 20, was a seventh-round pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL’s 2010 draft. He never signed with the Leafs, and the Rangers got him as a free agent. Nicholls signed for NHL salaries of US$667,500, $717,500 and $742,500. His AHL salary would be $70,000 for each season. And he got the same signing bonus as did Peters – three annual payments of $92,500.
———
It is signing season for former WHL players, too, with two Manitoba Bisons headed to the ECHL’s Florida Everblades.
F Ty Dittmer, 25, is joining the Everblades, as is G Jesse Decker, 26.
Dittmer, from Brandon, played three-plus seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings (2004-08) and then played four seasons (2009-13) the Bisons.
Deckert, from Winnipeg, playing in the WHL with the Regina Pats, Tri-City Americans and Prince Albert Raiders (2002-07) before going on to spend four seasons (2009-13) with the Bisons.
———
Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune takes a look right here at the Portland Winterhawks as they head into the last few games of the regular season.
Eggers ends his piece like this:
“It may be that the Hawks are a team of destiny after losing general manager/coach Mike Johnston early in the season as part of league sanctions, the severity of which have never been fully explained.
“It would be nice for the title to come to Portland, if only for the opportunity to see Ron Robison present the championship trophy following the final game.
“The commissioner is looking ahead to that possibility with more than a bit of apprehension, don’t you think?”
———
The Tri-City Americans have added F Tyler Fraser, 15, to their roster. Fraser, a third-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft, played this season with the midget A-1 Cloverdale, B.C., Colts.

———
The Kootenay Ice have added F Hudson Elynuik, who was a third-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft. He plays for midget AAA Northwest Calgary Athletic Association Flames. He is the son of former WHL F Pat Elynuik and a brother to Campbell, who also played in the league.

———
As expected, the Saskatoon Blades have added D Kyle Schmidt, who turned 20 on Jan. 20, to their roster. He played 16 games with the Blades earlier in the season, then was assigned to the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars, whose season has ended. Schmidt played 65 games with the Calgary Hitmen in 2010-11 and got into 61 with the Blades in 2011-12, so provides the Memorial Cup hosts with some experienced depth on the back end as the playoffs approach. . . . Meanwhile, the Blades are saying the F Michael Ferland, 20, is doubtful for their next game, Friday against the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. Ferland left in the first period of Tuesday’s 9-5 loss to the Calgary Hitmen with an undisclosed injury.
———
There was an Alberta midget AAA playoff game last night that was decided after 143 minutes and 20 seconds. Yes, they played into the fifth OT period before the Southside Athletic Club beat Sherwood Park, 1-0. . . . F Jake Debrusk scored the goal and G Jordan Papirny earned the shutout with 62 saves. . . . Game 5 in the best-of-five series will be played Friday.
———
The matchups, if the WHL playoffs opened today:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Edmonton (1) vs. Kootenay (8)
Saskatoon (2) vs. Swift Current (7)
Calgary (3) vs. Medicine Hat (6)
Red Deer (4) vs Prince Albert (5)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Portland (1) vs. Everett (8)
Kelowna (2) vs. Seattle (7)
Kamloops (3) vs. Victoria (6)
Tri-City (4) vs. Spokane (5)
———
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Swift Current, G Justin Paulic turned aside 37 shots as the Moose Jaw Warriors beat the Broncos, 2-1. . . . With Daniel Wapple (concussion) still out, Paulic was making his 21st consecutive start. Paulic, who has gone the distance in each of those starts, is 19-22-8. . . . G Zach Sawchenko, 15, has joined the Warriors for the remainder of the season and was on the bench last night. He played for the midget AAA Notre Dame Argos, whose season is over. . . . Moose Jaw F Brayden Point’s 19th goal, at 14:03 of the first period, gave his side a 2-0 lead and the Warriors went on to victory. . . . F Sam Fioretti drew two assists for the Warriors. . . . Moose Jaw F Miles Warkentine (knee) was back from a four-game absence. . . . The Broncos remain tied for sixth in the Eastern Conference. They and the Medicine Hat Tigers are three points ahead of the Kootenay Ice. . . .

In Prince Albert, F Elliott Peterson scored the game’s last two goals as the Calgary Hitmen edged the Raiders, 4-3. . . . Peterson, a 17-year-old freshman from Saskatoon, has four goals in 34 games. He also had an assist last night. He now has 11 points. . . . Raiders F Mark McNeill, with one goal in his previous 15 games, got No. 22 in the second period to give his guys a 3-1 lead. . . . Calgary F Cody Sylvester pulled the Hitmen to within one at 12:00 of the second on a power play. . . . Sylvester also had an assist, giving him nine points in slightly more than 24 hours. . . . A scoring adjustment was made sometime after Calgary’s 9-5 victory over the Blades in Saskatoon on Tuesday and Sylvester ended up with a goal and six assists. Yes, they added an assist to his totals. . . . Calgary G Chris Driedger stopped 38 shots. . . . F Leon Draisaitl, a freshman from Germany, scored his 20th goal of the season for Prince Albert. . . . The Raiders have lost three in a row, but they clinched a playoff spot when the Lethbridge Hurricanes lost. . . . Prince Albert’s loss allowed the idle Saskatoon Blades to clinch first place in the East Division. The Blades will go into the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed, meaning they will play the No. 7 seed. . . . The Raiders are fifth in the conference and now trail Red Deer by six points. . . .

In Regina, F Michael St. Croix rang up his seventh career hat trick, leading the Oil Kings to a 6-3 victory over the Pats. . . . The Oil Kings scored the game’s last four goals, all in the third period, as they overcame a 3-2 deficit. . . . St. Croix scored two of those goals — he’s got 36 — and also had an assist. He scored eight goals in four games against Regina this season. . . . The Oil Kings have won four in a row. . . . Edmonton F T.J. Foster had a goal, his 27th, and two assists, while F Trevor Cheek drew three assists. . . . Edmonton had a 38-14 shot advantage. . . . Edmonton lost D David Musil to a clipping major for a hit on Regina F Dyson Stevenson at 1:04 of the second period. . . . Regina D Colton Jobke returned from injury. He hadn’t played since Jan. 19. . . . However, Regina D Colby Williams left with a suspected concussion after taking a hit from D Stephen Shmoorkoff. . . . The Oil Kings lead the Eastern Conference with 99 points, eight fewer than the Portland Winterhawks, who lead the overall standings. . . .

In Lethbridge, G Patrik Bartosak stopped 39 shots as the Red Deer Rebels dumped the Hurricanes, 4-0. . . . Bartosak has five shutouts this season and six in his career. This season, he has an incredible .936 save percentage. . . . F Turner Elson scored the game’s first two goals, one on the power play and the other shorthanded. . . . Lethbridge hasn’t scored even one goal in its last three home games. . . . Hurricanes captain Graham Hood played in his 300th regular-season game, and he left early with a boarding major for a hit on D Devan Fafard at 3:54 of the second period. . . . The Hurricanes are six points out of a playoff spot with six games remaining. . . . Red Deer, which has won four in a row, is fourth in the Eastern Conference, six points ahead of Prince Albert. . . .

In Spokane, the Seattle Thunderbirds overcame a 2-0 deficit and beat the Chiefs, 4-2. . . . Seattle D Shea Theodore scored his 17th goal at 6:36 of the third period, on the PP, to tie the game. . . . Seattle F Connor Sanvido got his 14th, while shorthanded, at 8:01. . . . Seattle F Riley Sheen then added his13th into an empty net. . . . Seattle F Luke Lockhart had two assists. . . . The Chiefs had their five-game winning streak snapped. . . . Spokane D Tyler King returned to the lineup after being out since Jan. 25 with an undisclosed injury. . . . Seattle G Brandon Glover stopped 27 shots. That included a penalty shot by D Brenden Kichton at 16:20 of the third period with Seattle leading 3-2. . . . Seattle moved into sole possession of seventh in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Everett Silvertips. . . . Each team has five games left. . . . The Chiefs are fifth, one point behind the Tri-City Americans. . . .

In Kelowna, F Rourke Chartier scored in the sixth round of the circus to give the Rockets a 4-3 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . F Austin Carroll gave the Royals a 3-2 lead at 18:45 of the third perid, only to have D Madison Bowey get his second of the game, and 12th of the season, 27 seconds later to force OT. . . . With head coach Dave Lowry having been suspended by the WHL for goings-on in Kamloops the previous night, assistant Enio Sacilotto served as head coach for the first time. He is a veteran coach, having spent a long time coaching in Europe. . . . The Rockets were without F Myles Bell, their leading scorer. Bell, who suffered a leg injury in a 3-0 loss in Kamloops on Sunday, took the pregame warmup last night and then departed. . . . Due to injuries, illness and suspensions, the Royals, who are two games into a stretch of five games in six nights, dressed seven defencemen and nine forwards. . . . Victoria scratched nine skaters last night, including D Keegan Kanzig and F Tim Traber, who were suspended by the WHL for their actions in Kamloops on Tuesday night. As well, the Royals scratched F Logan Nelson, saying he was ill. He left the game in Kamloops at 19:10 of the third period and appeared to be favouring his left leg. . . . The Royals had D Chaz Reddekopp, the 13th overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft, make his WHL debut last night. Reddekopp plays for the midget AAA team at the Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna. . . . Victoria also used F Matthew Campese, the 49th selection in that draft, for a second straight game. . . . Victoria F Alex Gogolev, the team’s leading scorer, missed his 14th straight game. . . . The B.C. Division-leading Rockets, who won seven of eight from Victoria this season, now hold a three-point lead on Kamloops and Kelowna has a game in hand. They’ll play Friday in Kamloops and Saturday in Kelowna. . . . The Royals appear headed to a sixth-place finish in the Western Conference.
———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Levi Bews, Swift Current

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None
———






From Tri-City Americans F Malte Stromwall (@stroms15): “Finally in tri after the nightmare roadtrip!”
The Americans road the bus to Prince George on Sunday, played a Monday-Tuesday doubleheader, and headed for home immediately after dropping a 3-0 decision in the second game. Tri-City had won the opener, 6-3.
———
From Edmonton Oil Kings F Curtis Lazar (@CurtisLazar95): “Just realized I forgot to roll up the rim on the coffee I drank today . . . #amateur #hopeless #imadud”


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.