Milestone tonight for Blades' radio voice

D Colten Teubert (Regina, 2005-10) has signed two-year extension with the Iserlohn Roosters (Germany, DEL). This season, he has six points, including one goal, in 33 games. . . .
D Joel Kwiatkoiwski (Tacoma/Kelowna, Prince George, 1994-98) has signed a two-year extension with Fribourg-Gottéron (Switzerland, NL A). In 46 games this season, he has 22 points, five of them goals. At plus-22, Kwiatkowski is second in the league in  plus/minus, behind only Marc-André Bergeron of the Zurich Lions, who is plus-27.
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Congratulations to old pal Les Lazaruk, the radio voice of the Saskatoon Blades, who will call his 1,500th WHL game tonight when the Blades met the Rebels in Red Deer. That’s a lot of miles on the vocal cords. . . . It was heart-warming to see so many congratulatory messages on Twitter over the last couple of days. . . . Considering his record in Strat-O-Matic Baseball, back in the day, the old redhead made the right career choice!
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Bruce Vance, the Prince Albert Raiders’ business manager and director of marketing, is battling cancer. When he isn’t working his day job, he manages the A&W Bears, and the players are showing their support for him. Jeff D’Andrea of paNOW.com has more right here.
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The Vancouver Giants will salute Brendan Gallagher tonight by inducting him into their Ring of Honour. Gallagher, the Giants’ all-time leading goal scorer (136) and point man (280), now plays for the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens. . . . If you never saw him play with the Giants, but have seen him in action with the Habs, you should know that he hasn’t changed his game. Which is why tonight’s ceremony should take place right on the lip of a goal crease and not at centre ice.
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The QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs have signed head coach Ross Yates to a two-year extension that runs through 2015-16. Yates, 54, signed on as an assistant coach prior to 2012-13. He stepped up as co-general manager, with Christian Vermette, and head coach on Oct. 30. . . . Earlier in the week, the Sea Dogs announced that Darrell Young had signed a three-year deal as general manager, a post he will assume on March 1. Young, 55, has spent six seasons as an amateur scout with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. He also is a former director of hockey operations with the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats. . . . With Young’s signing, Vermette has moved over to become head scout.
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The Borowitz Report from The New Yorker addresses right here the friendly US$45-billion acquisition involving Comcast and Time Warner Cable. Now this is hitting the nail squarely on the head.
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SATURDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
Victoria at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Swift Current at Regina, 7 p.m.
Kootenay at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Calgary at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
Prince George at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Portland at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, F Boston Leier scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Regina Pats a 5-4 victory over the Raiders. . . . Regina led this one 3-1 in the second period, only to have the Raiders roar back with three straight goals. . . . Regina F Dryden Hunt forced OT with his 17th goal at 11:35 of the third period. . . . Leier scored his 31st goal and added an assist. . . . The Raiders, who were 4-for-6 on the PP, got two goals and an assist from F Leon Draisaitl, but he came up short on a penalty shot in OT. . . . He’s got 25 goals. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple made his sixth straight start. He’s 5-1-0 in those starts. . . . Regina F Chandler Stephenson counted his WHL-leading seventh shorthanded goal. WHL Facts (@WHLFacts) tweeted that Stephenson “has the most single season SHG's for a @WHLpats player since Brett Lysak's 7 in 2000-01.” . . . Stephenson has 27 goals this season. . . . Raiders D Sawyer Lange had three assists. . . . Prince Albert F Jayden Hart will be hearing from the WHL office after taking an interference major and game misconduct at 8:13 of the first period. . . . The Pats (30-22-5) have won three in a row and now lead the East Division by a point over the Swift Current Broncos and Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Raiders (26-27-4) are four points out of the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . .

In Swift Current, Medicine Hat F Curtis Valk ran his point streak to 17 games as the Tigers dropped the Broncos, 7-3. . . . Valk scored two goals, giving him 33, and added an assist. He is one game shy of the longest point streak in the WHL this season. . . . The Tigers trailed 2-1 just 23 seconds into the second period but scored the next five goals. . . . Tigers F Miles Koules, whose father Oren also played for Medicine Hat back in the day, notched his 20th goal of the season. . . . F Cole Sanford added a goal, his 27th, and two helpers for the Tigers. . . . The Tigers (35-20-3) have won three straight. They are a comfortable fourth in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Broncos (28-22-8) are tied for sixth with Brandon. . . .

In Brandon, F Matt Alfaro scored to end a five-round shootout and give the Kootenay Ice a 3-2 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Alfaro, a 17-year-old freshman from Calgary, has two regulation-time goals in 51 games. . . . Ice F Tim Bozon forced OT with his 27th goal at 11:14 of the third period. He also had an assist. . . . Kootenay F Sam Reinhart got his 30th goal and added an assist as he ran his point streak to 16 games. . . . Brandon F Brett Kitt, who went into the game with two goals and had been a healthy scratch in five of the last seven outings, scored both his side’s goals. . . . The same teams will do it again tonight in the Wheat City. . . . The Ice (32-22-4) is 8-2-0 in its last 10 and is fifth in the Eastern Conference, five points behind Medicine Hat and four in front of Swift Current and Brandon. . . .

In Calgary, D Alex Roach scored 11 seconds into OT to give the Hitmen a 6-5 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Roach, who has six goals this season, also scored in the third period to pull his side into a 4-4 tie. . . . Calgary F Greg Chase scored his 30th goal at 15:21 of the third. He also had two assists. . . . Saskatoon F Nikita Scherbak scored twice, the second one forcing OT at 17:30 of the third. He has six goals in three games against Calgary this season. . . . Scherbak was back for the first time since Jan. 29. . . . The Hitmen have won five in a row. . . . With G Chris Driedger having been suspended by the team, Mack Shields went the distance, making 19 saves. Evan Johnson, a 17-year-old from Winnipeg, was backing up. . . . Saskatoon G Troy Trombley stopped 43 shots. . . . The Hitmen (37-15-6) are two points behind the Edmonton Oil Kings, who lead the Eastern Conference and the Central Division. Edmonton (40-14-2) holds two games in hand. . . . The Blades (15-39-5) have lost three in a row. . . .

In Edmonton, F Scott Feser scored three times, the last one in OT, as the Red Deer Rebels beat the Oil Kings, 3-2. . . . Feser, who has 10 goals, forced OT with a goal at 5:35 of the third period. . . . Red Deer G Patrik Bartosak stopped 450 shots, 30 more than Edmonton’s Tristan Jarry. . . . The Rebels snapped a seven-game losing streak. . . . The Oil Kings went in having won 16 of their previous 17 games. . . . F Mats Eller had two assists for the Oil Kings. . . . Edmonton F Mitch Moroz was tossed with a charging major just 42 seconds into the second period. . . . Red Deer (28-26-4) is eighth in the Eastern Conference, four points ahead of Prince Albert and four behind Swift Current and Brandon. . . . The Oil Kings (40-14-2) are 8-1-1 in their last 10. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Ben Duperreault broke a 2-2 tie at 5:56 of the second period and the Moose Jaw Warriors went on to a 4-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Moose Jaw G Zach Sawchenko, making his fourth appearance in 2014, stopped 27 shots. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that Sawchenko suffered a skate cut “near his rib cage” with two minutes left in the second period. While Justin Paulic came on in relief, Sawchenko went to the dressing room for stitches, then came back to play the third period. . . . Gourlie also reports that Moose Jaw F Sam Fioretti “didn’t play in the third period as he began to feel the effects of a high hit” from earlier. . . . Moose Jaw F Jack Rodewold scored his 19th goal and added an assist on his 20th birthday. . . . F Torrin White also had a goal, his 16th, and an assist for Moose Jaw. . . . The Warriors were without F Scott Cooke, who drew a two-game WHL suspension under supplemental discipline for a hit on Kootenay Ice F Tim Bozon on Feb. 11. Bozon sat out one game with an injury incurred in that hit, but returned last night. . . . Neither Moose Jaw (15-33-8) nor Lethbridge (12-42-5) will make the playoffs. . . .

In Kamloops, the Portland Winterhawks scored four first-period goal and went on to post their 15th straight victory by beating the Blazers, 7-4. . . . The Winterhawks tied a franchise record for consecutive victories (1979-80, 1997-98); they can break the record tonight when they meet the Giants in Vancouver. . . . The Blazers have lost 11 in a row. . . . F Taylor Leier scored his 30th goal in the second period, giving Portland five 30-goal men on its roster. The 1986-87 Blazers hold the single-season record, with nine 30-goal scorers on their roster. . . . Leier finished with two goals and two assists. . . . Portland F Nic Petan had a goal, his 31st, and two assists. He leads the WHL in assists (67) and points (98). He leads the points derby by five points over Spokane Chiefs F Mitch Holmberg. . . . Portland F Dominic Turgeon had two goals, giving him nine, and an assist, while F Brendan Leipsic had a goal, his 32nd, and two helpers. . . . Turgeon, who enjoyed his first career three-point outing, has eight points over his last five games. . . . Kamloops got two goals from F Cole Ully, who has 26 this season. The second one was a shorthanded penalty shot in the second period. . . . Portland was 4-for-6 on the PP. . . . With G Brendan Burke ill, G Corbin Boes started for Portland, which had Adin Hill from the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks backing up. Hill, 17, is a list player who signed with the Winterhawks on Aug. 30, 2012. . . . Portland (41-12-5) is second in the overall standings, nine points behind the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Blazers (11-42-5) have the WHL’s poorest record. . . .

In Kelowna, F Rourke Chartier scored twice, the second one breaking a 2-2 tie at 19:35 of the third period, as the Rockets doubled the Prince George Cougars, 4-2. . . . The Cougars, who had won four straight road games, took a 2-1 lead into the third period, only to have F Carter Rigby tie it at 5:34. . . . Chartier, who has 19 goals, got an empty-netter at 19:50. . . . Cougars F Troy Bourke had two assists, making him the Prince George franchise’s all-time leader, with 141. F Blake Robson held the previous mark. . . . The Rockets are 5-0-0 against the Cougars this season. . . . Prince George D Mark McNulty scored his 16th goal, running his point streak to nine games. . . . The Rockets (46-8-4), who have won three in a row, lead the overall standings. . . . The Cougars (24-29-7) are five points out of the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. . . .

In Everett, D Kevin Davis scored his first career goal in OT to give the Silvertips a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Davis, a freshman from Kamloops, was the 11th overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft. He has played in 56 regular-season games. . . . Everett F Dawson Leedahl scored his fifth goal at 7:14 of the second. He hadn’t scored in his previous 32 games; he last scored on Nov. 19. . . . Vancouver F Joel Hamilton tied it, with his sixth goal, at 3:48 of the third. . . . Everett G Carter Hart, 15, was backing up Austin Lotz, who stopped 26 shots. . . . The Silvertips welcomed back F Manraj Hayer, who hadn’t played since Jan. 25. They still are without F Zane Jones and F Tyler Sandhu. . . . Everett also played without G Daniel Cotton and F Darcy DeRoose, who have been suspended by the team. . . . Vancouver G Jared Rathjen stopped 29 shots. . . . The Giants were without D Dalton Thrower (ankle) for a ninth straight game. . . . Everett (28-21-8) has won two straight and now is tied for sixth with Vancouver (27-22-10) in the Western Conference. . . . The Giats have lost four in a row. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Russell Maxwell scored with 25.6 seconds left in the third period to give the Seattle Thunderbirds a 4-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Maxwell has 12 goals this season, two in 15 games with Seattle since coming over from the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Seattle led this one 3-0 with less than 11 minutes to play in the third period. . . . The Americans got goals from F Lucas Nickles (shorthanded at 9:25), F Parker Bowles (PP at 13:43) and F Beau McCue (17:15) to tie it. . . . McCue’s goal came with G Eric Comrie on the bench for the extra attacker as Tri-City head coach Jim Hiller rolled the dice early. . . . Seattle F Keegan Kolesar scored his second goal of the season in the second period for a 2-0 lead. . . . Seattle D Shea Theodore had two assists. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 37 shots, 16 more than Eric Comrie. . . . Tri-City D Justin Hamonic left in the second period, having left some blood on the ice, after taking a slapshot from Seattle D Shea Theodore up high. Hamonic returned in the third period wearing a face shield. . . . There was a multi-fight situation at 8:33 of the third period, meaning fines may be in order. . . . Seattle finished the game with 90 penalty minutes to Tri-City’s 61. . . . Seattle (36-17-5) is fourth in the Western Conference, four points behind the Victoria Royals, who open an East Division swing tonight, and eight ahead of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Americans (27-25-6) hold down the conference's last playoff spot, five points ahead of Prince George.
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From Kirk Luedeke (@kluedeke29): “Just heard the excellent hockey book ‘Sudden Death’ by Culp, Drinnan & Wilkie being made into a movie. Must read about SC Broncos bus tragedy.”


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Alex Leavitt (Swift Current, Everett, 2003-05) signed a one-year contract with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had eight goals and 24 assists in 57 games for HPK Hämeenlinna (Finland, SM-Liiga) this season. . . .
D Joel Kwiatkowski (Tacoma/Kelowna, Prince George, 1994-98) signed a two-year contract with Fribourg-Gottéron (Switzerland, NL A). He had eight goals and 12 assists in 42 games for Bern (Switzerland, NL A) this season.
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The big news Monday involved the Portland Winterhawks, Everett Silvertips and D Seth Jones.
Jones, now 17, was selected by the Silvertips with the 11th overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft. Jones is projected as an early first-round pick in the NHL’s 2013 draft. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Jones has been playing in the U.S. National Team Development Program and captained the team that won the IIHF U-18 world championship last week in Czech Republic. He had eight points, including three goals, in six games in the tournament.
However, Jones, who is believed to be choosing between the WHL and the U of North Dakota, has told the Silvertips that he has no interest in playing for them.
“Seth has indicated to us through his family advisor that he has no interest in playing for the Everett Silvertips,” Garry Davidson, Everett’s general manager, said in a news release. “We’re now pursuing other avenues toward receiving some kind of value for this former first-round bantam pick.
“At this point, we feel that this arrangement with Portland is the best way for us to benefit the Silvertips going forward.”
On Monday, the Silvertips dealt Jones’ negotiating rights to the Winterhawks for an undisclosed conditional 2013 bantam draft pick.
Obviously, the Winterhawks have given up something, perhaps a mid-round draft pick, just to speak with Jones during an undisclosed window of time. Should Portland be able to cut a deal with Jones, you can bet there will be more, lots more, compensation involved.
You can also bet that some people will point to the Everett-Portland connection involved in this deal. Davidson, who took over as the Silvertips’ GM on Feb. 15, was brought into the WHL by Johnston as Portland’s director of player personnel, a role he filled for almost four seasons until leaving for Everett to replace the fired Doug Soetaert.
It also is interesting that Bob Tory, the Tri-City Americans’ general manager, was unsuccessful about a month ago in an attempt to acquire a 72-hour negotiating window in order to speak with Jones and his family.
And say what you want about Johnston, but when he identifies a need, he aggressively pursues it. After all, who else would have given up 2012 and 2013 first-round bantam draft picks and a player (F Seth Swenson) to get F Marcel Noebels from the Seattle Thunderbirds at the Jan. 10 trade deadline?
But Johnston had identified a need for a big centreman and Noebels now skates between Sven Baertschi and Ty Rattie on what may be the WHL’s most-explosive forward unit.
Of course, it could be that there won’t be that much difference between a first-round pick originally held by Portland and a second-round selection that had belonged to the Silvertips. As compensation for hiring Davidson, Everett is believed to have surrendered two second-round bantam picks, one in 2012 and the other in 2013.
So, in essence, Johnston gave Seattle two first-round selections, which will be late in that round, and got two second-round picks from Everett that will be in the upper half of that round.
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Mark Visentin, a goaltender with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs, stopped 22 shots and scored a goal last night in a 5-2 playoff victory over the host Ottawa 67’s. There’s more right here.
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How many WHL goaltenders have scored goals and who are they? Answer below.
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F Dominik Uher of the Spokane Chiefs has joined the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on an ATO. Uher, 19, had 68 points, including 33 goals, in 63 games with the Chiefs. From Frydek-Mistek, Czech Republic, Uher was a fifth-round selection by the parent Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL’s 2011 draft.
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JUST NOTES: Portland F Ty Rattie has 27 career playoff goals, one shy of Randy Heath’s franchise record. . . . With 16 goals in these playoffs, Rattie is three away from the franchise single-season record held by Dan Woodley (1987). . . . Portland D Derrick Pouliot had four assists in Portland’s 5-4 OT victory over host Tri-City on Saturday night. The last Portland defenceman with four assists in a playoff game? David Babych did it against the Seattle Breakers on March 28, 1980. . . . The NAHL’s Alaska Avalanche, which played out of Palmer, has been sold and will play out of Johnstown, Pa., next season.
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Bruce McDonald, a member of the Seattle Thunderbirds’ radio crew, was diagnosed with leukemia over the weekend.
A note from the Thunderbirds: “Bruce is the second member of the T-Birds family who has been diagnosed with leukemia in the past month. Chris Rumble, assistant coach Darren Rumble’s oldest son, was diagnosed with leukemia about two weeks ago and has since started an aggressive chemotherapy treatment.”
Thom Beuning, the radio voice of the Thunderbirds, passes along this info: “Bruce assists me with the home broadcasts of Thunderbirds games (and has been associated with the team in some way or another. . . fan, statistician, color commentator . . . since he was a youngster, or almost as long as the franchise has been in Seattle).”
If you aren’t aware, Bruce has cerebral palsy, thus gets around in a motorized scooter.
As Beuning writes: “Just keep good thoughts and say a prayer or two for him.”
Feel free to visit the Thunderbirds’ Facebook page right here and send along thoughts, prayers and wishes to Bruce and Chris, who have to know the hockey world is with them.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
Brendan Burke, who turned 17 on March 11, is the Portland Winterhawks’ backup goaltender. He also is the son of Phoenix Coyotes goaltending coach Sean Burke. After the Coyotes ousted the Chicago Blackhawks last night, Brendan (@bburke1) tweeted:
“I will be collecting my money for the yotes win tomorrow. cash only, no checks.”
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WHL goaltenders who have scored goals:
Jordan McLaughlin, Prince George Cougars, March 5, 2003.
Jason Clague, Red Deer Rebels, March 28, 1994, vs. Lethbridge Hurricanes (playoffs).
Jeff Calvert, Tacoma Rockets, Dec. 29, 1992, vs. Moose Jaw Warriors, December 29, 1992.
Chris Osgood, Medicine Hat Tigers, Jan. 3, 1991, vs. Swift Current Broncos.
Olaf Kolzig, Tri-City Americans, Nov. 29, 1989, vs. Seattle Thunderbirds.

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