With Internet problems in the press box at Interior Savings Centre, veteran
sportscaster Earl Seitz of Kamloops TV station CFJC had time to pose for
a photo with the gals from the station on Friday night. There's more from
Seitz further down in this report.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Johnny Boychuk (Calgary, Moose Jaw, 1999-2004) signed a lockout contract with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had five goals and ten assists in 77 games with Boston Bruins last season. . . .
F Kris Beech (Calgary, 1996-2001) was released by Pardubice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had two goals and six assists in 21 games with Pardubice this season. . . .
F Evander Kane (Vancouver, 2006-09) was released from his lockout contract by Dinamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL). He had one goal and 47 PIM in 11 games with Minsk.
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Brent Sutter, the owner, president, general manager and, since Tuesday, interim head coach of the Red Deer Rebels continued to reshape his roster Friday. He released D Jan Bittner, a 19-year-old Czech who didn’t have a point in 14 games. . . . Sutter also released F Austin Ferguson, who was pointless in four games with the Rebels after having been acquired from the Kelowna Rockets. Ferguson, 17, is from Abbotsford, B.C.
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The Kamloops Blazers have acquired F Joey Kornelsen, 19, from the Calgary Hitmen for a fifth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft. . . . Kornelsen, in his fourth WHL season, also played for the Moose Jaw Warriors. In 187 regular-season games, he has 62 points, including 24 goals. This season, he has four assists in 18 games. . . . With the Hitmen getting F Victor Rask back from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, Kornelsen may have had trouble getting playing time in Calgary. . . . The Blazers, meanwhile, are without two 20-year-old forwards. Dylan Willick (broken ankle) likely won’t play until after Christmas, while Jordan DePape (shoulder) continues to be evaluated by medical staff. . . . Kamloops associate coach Dave Hunchak coached Kornelsen while both were with the Warriors. Moose Jaw selected him with its first pick, 33rd overall, in the 2008 bantam draft. . . . Alan Caldwell, over there at Small Thoughts At Large, notes that the Hitmen now hold 10 selections in the first six rounds of the 2013 bantam draft. As Caldwell tweeted: “Lots of trade bait there, if they want to make a move later.”
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Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun reports that D Martin Gernat is back in Edmonton, although he’s still a while from getting back into the Oil Kings’ lineup. Gernat, who watched his teammates practise on Friday, had shoulder surgery in the Czech Republic in September. If all goes well, Gernat could begin light skating in a couple of weeks. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound Gernat had 55 points, including nine goals, as a freshman last season. The Edmonton Oilers selected him in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2011 draft.
The Oil Kings return to action tonight as they play host to the Prince Albert Raiders. The Oil Kings will be without F Travis Ewanyk, who suffered a knee injury during Team WHL’s 1-0 Super Series shootout victory over a Russian side in Vancouver on Wednesday. He was to undergo an MRI on Friday and there already is speculation that he will be out for at least a month.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Victoria, G Patrik Polivka stopped 20 shots as the Royals beat the Everett Silvertips, 5-0. . . . It was Polivka’s first WHL shutout. . . . He had help as the Silvertips hit three posts. . . . It also was the Royals’ first shutout since the franchise relocated from Chilliwack prior to last season. . . . The big story, however, may have come in the second period when Everett D Ryan Murray left the game after taking a check from Victoria F Logan Nelson. There were reports that Murray was taken to hospital with what is believed to be an injury to his left arm or shoulder. . . . Murray, taken second overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2012 NHL draft, is one of the league’s top defencemen. If healthy, he will play for Canada’s national junior team and may be the captain. . . . F Jamie Crooks had two goals, giving him nine, and an assist for the Royals, who have won two in a row. . . . Everett F Manraj Hayer was back after missing six games with an undisclosed injury. . . .

In Kamloops, the Blazers got 14 points from their big line as they snapped a four-game losing streak with a 6-4 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . RW JC Lipon had two goals and two assists, while C Colin Smith had a goal and four assists and LW Tim Bozon was two and two. . . . Lipon leads the WHL in goals (19) and points (48), while Smith leads in assists (31) and is second in points (47). . . . The three had combined for just seven points in the previous six games, five of which were losses. . . . Portland had its 12-game winning streak snapped and fell four points back of the WHL-leading Blazers. . . . F Brendan Leipsic had a goal and two assists for the Winterhawks, his seventh straight multi-point game. He is on a nine-game point streak. . . . Kamloops F Brendan Ranford and Portland D Troy Rutkowski both played in their 300th regular-season games and each scored a goal. Each player is with his original team. . . . Kamloops D Sam Grist was pointless but finished plus-5. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth suffered his first loss in 10 decisions. He has given up 10 goals in his last four periods at Interior Savings Centre. That goes back to Game 6 of a second-round series last spring when the Blazers came back from a 5-2 deficit to win, 7-6. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Alex Delnov had two goals and an assist to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 4-3 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Delnov, who has eight goals, played for Russia in the Super Series-clinching victory over Team WHL on Thursday in Victoria. . . . Seattle F Robert Lipsbergs broke a 3-3 tie 15:57 of the third period. . . . F Hunter Shinkaruk scored twice for the Tigers, giving him 17. . . .

In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice scored three times in the game’s first 7:30 and went on to a 5-3 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Brandon G Corbin Boes gave up four goals on 15 shots but last just one period. Curtis Honey came on to stop 17 of 18. . . . Kootenay G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 32 shots. . . . The teams meet in Cranbrook again tonight. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Logan McVeigh broke a 2-2 tie at 2:03 of the third period as the Prince Albert Raiders beat the Hurricanes, 3-2. . . . The victory lifted the Raiders past the idle Calgary Hitmen and Edmonton Oil Kings, into first place in the Eastern Conference. . . . F Leon Draisaitl had two goals for the winners. . . . F Russell Maxwell got his 14th goal of the season, in his 24th game, for Lethbrige. Lst season, he finished with 15 goals in 72 games. . . . Draisaitl, a German freshman who turned 17 on Oct. 27, has 18 points, five of them goals, in 22 games. . . . The Raiders are 6-0-0 against Alberta teams this season. They play in Edmonton tonight. . . .

In Prince George, G Andrey Makarov stopped 42 shots to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 4-0 victory over the Cougars. . . . One night earlier, Makarov backstopped a Russian team to a 5-2 victory over Team WHL in a Super Series game in Victoria. He also played in Wednesday’s 1-0 shootout loss to the WHL in Vancouver. . . . This was Makarov’s first shutout this season and the third of his career. . . . Saskatoon F Josh Nicholls got his 19th goal, one of the league lead held by Kamloops F JC Lipon. . . . Prince George F Caleb Belter drew a boarding major and game misconduct at 12:10 of the first period. . . . Saskatoon D Matthew Pufahl, who was hit by Belter, needed help getting off the ice and didn’t return to the game. . . . The Cougars lost D Rinalds Rosinskis, who left in the second period after blocking a shot with his left leg. . . . The Blades continue their B.C. swing in Vancouver on Sunday. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that the Blades are expected to bring up F Nick Gomerich, 16, from the major midget North Island Silvertips for the game. . . .

In Vancouver, F Thomas Foster scored in the circus to give the Giants a 4-3 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Foster was the 13th shooter in a seven-round shootout. . . . . Regina F Morgan Klimchuk forced OT with his 12th goal at 19:06 of the third period. It came via the PP. . . . Pats F Lane Scheidl, who began his WHL career with the Giants, notched his 11th goal and added two assists. . . . F Kale Kessy scored twice for Vancouver, including a shorthanded score at 7:16 of the third period that gave his side  3-2 lead. . . . Regine D Kyle Burroughs, who is from Langley, B.C., scored his first goal of the season in front of family and friends. . . . The Giants have back-to-back victories for the first time this season. Ironically, both victories have come in shootouts, a part of the game that Vancouver head coach Don Hay doesn’t enjoy. . . . Vancouver remains without F Cain Franson, who is believed to have a concussion. He has missed eight games. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Kelowna Rockets, 3-2. . . . Tri-City F Justin Feser won it with his 15th score this season at 14:44 of the third period. . . . Americans G Eric Comrie stopped a season-high 41 shots. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke returned from an undisclosed injury — speculation had him with a concussion incurred in a practice — to stop 19 shots. . . . The same teams meet in Kennewick again tonight.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Trevor Cheek, Vancouver
D Mirco Mueller, Everett
F Manraj Hayer, Everett

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen, Vancouver
———
TWEET OF THE DAY:
Tri-City F Philip Tot (@totter19) with some advice for the ladies: “Women’s make up should come with a warning. Do not exceed entire bottle in one night. Know your limits #naturalbeauty #seriously”
———
TWEET OF THE DAY II:
From Earl Seitz (@EarlCFJCsports), veteran Kamloops sportscaster: “We can put men on the moon, land rovers on Mars and fly drones to get the enemy. These days the enemy is the internet at the ISC #needdrone”
Oh, does he get my support on this one. It’s 2012 (almost 2013) and we have nothing but Internet grief, night after night, at Interior Savings Centre.


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Blazers get forward from Hitmen

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
With two 20-year-old forwards on the shelf with long-term injuries, the Kamloops Blazers dealt for Joey Kornelsen, 19, from the Calgary Hitmen on Friday.
Willick suffered a broken right ankle on Nov. 2 and isn’t expected to play again until after Christmas.
Jordan DePape missed most of last season with a left shoulder injury for which he underwent surgery on Nov. 4. He injured his right shoulder on Sunday in a 3-1 loss to the Winterhawks in Portland. While he continues to be evaluated by medical staff, head coach Guy Charron said yesterday afternoon that he fears DePape has a long-term injury.
DePape missed six games earlier in the season with an injury to his right shoulder. Prior to last night’s game against the visiting Portland Winterhawks, DePape said he doesn’t know the severity of this injury and that he hopes to know more on Monday.
DePape said he was killing a penalty on Sunday when he “stood up on (Ty) Rattie at the red-line. It wasn’t even a hard hit.”
DePape added that he has skated since being injured and said it was “OK.” But he admitted to feeling discomfort “randomly.”
“But,” he added, “it’s not a full dislocation.”
The 6-foot-1, 1971-pound Kornelsen, a native of Abbotsford, was the Moose Jaw Warriors’ first selection, 33rd overall, in the 2008 bantam draft. He played two seasons with the Warriors (2009-11) before being traded to Calgary 12 games into last season.
Dave Hunchak, the Blazers’ associate coach, was Moose Jaw’s head coach during Kornelsen’s two seasons with the Warriors.
Hunchak said yesterday that Kornelsen is a physical player “and a great kid, as well.”
History shows that Kornelsen won’t provide much in the way of scoring — he had career highs in goals (11) and assists (14) in 61 games with Moose Jaw in 2010-11 — but adds veteran depth and some grit that is so necessary if the Blazers are to make a deep playoff run.
In 187 career regular-season games, Kornelsen has 62 points, 24 of them goals. This season, he has four assists in 18 games.
Kornelsen didn’t play in Kamloops’ 6-4 victory over Portland last night but should play tonight against the visiting Prince George Cougars.
With Willick and DePape both out, the Blazers are down to one 20-year-old — left-winger Brendan Ranford. Should the Blazers put Willick or DePape on the 30-day injury list, they could bring in one or two 20-year-olds (each team is allowed to have three on the active roster). Once an injured 20-year-old player returns, a team has 14 days in which to get back down to three.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning’s decision to keep F Brett Connolly on its roster is one that may reverberate through the WHL for more than just this season.
Connolly, 19, was the sixth overall selection in the NHL’s 2010 draft. Steve Yzerman was running his first draft as the Lightning’s general manager, meaning Connolly is his original first-round selection.
The Lightning signed Connolly a while back, but, as a 19-year-old, he either had to play in the NHL or with the WHL’s Prince George Cougars.
Connolly has had a great start to his NHL career and has been playing on a line with veteran stars Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis.
All of which is great for Connolly and not so great for the Cougars.
It is no secret that the Cougars have struggled, on the ice and at the gate, for the last while. This, however, was going to be the season when things started to turn around.
They acquired Drew Owsley, a front-line goaltender, from the Tri-City Americans over the summer. The Edmonton Oilers returned D Martin Marincin for a second season. Other defenders, like Daniel Gibb and Jesse Forsberg, were coming into their own.
Up front, Troy Bourke was proving to be a brilliant young forward, while the enigmatic Charles Inglis had proven last season that he can score. There are other good, young forwards, like Alex Forsberg  and Chase Witala.
The glue, however, was going to be Connolly. Not every junior hockey team can boast a superstar who is playing in his hometown. It should be instant box office.
That dream, however, is dead. Yzerman told Connolly on Tuesday night that he would be staying in the NHL.
The Cougars have lost seven straight games now. They are struggling to score goals, having been twice blanked 1-0 by the visiting Tri-City Americans on the weekend.
The second game drew an announced crowd of 1,663.
Connolly was going to be at least part of the solution to both of those problems. He would score and would put some fans in the seats.
But that was before Lightning hit the Cougars' outhouse.
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The Calgary Hitmen dealt F Kenton Miller, 20, and F Justin Kirsch, 19, to the Moose Jaw Warriors for D Collin Bowman, 20, F Joey Kornelsen, 18, and a fourth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft.
The Hitmen acquired Miller, who is from Redvers, Sask., off waivers from the Spokane Chiefs during the offseason. He was a seventh-round draft pick by the Regina Pats in 2007. He had 28 points in 28 games with the Chiefs last season. This season, he had three goals in 11 games with the Hitmen.
Kirsch had 42 points in 66 games with Calgary last season. He had five points in 10 games this season.
The Warriors have been hit hard by injuries and just came off a road trip during which they lost three games in a row, each by one goal.
The Hitmen are coming off a 7-1 loss to the visiting Portland Winterhawks on Tuesday.
Bowman, who began his career with the Kelowna Rockets, is the younger brother of former Spokane Chiefs sniper Drayson Bowman, who now is in the Carolina Hurricanes organization.
The Hitmen are hoping that Bowman will be the puck-moving defencemen they feel they have been missing. He had 49 points, including 38 assists, with the Warriors last season. He has five points, four of them goals, in seven games this season.
Kornelsen had 37 points in 118 regular-season games with the Warriors. He brings the Hitmen another young forward.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds have dealt D Erik Fleming, 19, to the Swift Current Broncos for a 10th-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . In 156 games with Seattle over the last three seasons, Fleming, from Calgary, had 15 points and 72 penalty minutes. Fleming has played just one game this season to due an undisclosed injury. . . . He was the 16th overall selection in the 2007 bantam draft. . . . The Thunderbirds also assigned D Austin Frank, 18, to the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs. . . . Seattle is in Victoria for a doubleheader with the Royals on Friday and Saturday nights.
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The Swift Current Broncos sent F Dillon Wagner, 20, to the Portland Winterhawks for F Adam Smith, 17, who is with the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers. . . . The 125th overall pick in the 2006 bantam draft, Wagner was in his fourth season with the Broncos. He had 53 points in 163 regular-season games. . . . This week’s WHL injury report shows Wagner as being out for three weeks with an undisclosed injury. . . . Wagner joins F Charles Wells and D William Wrenn as Portland’s 20-year-old players. . . . The Broncos are left with F Taylor Vause, F Brad Hoban and G Jon Groenheyde as their three 20s. . . . Smith, selected by Portland with the 178th pick of the 2009 bantam draft, is from Nanaimo. He has one assist and 13 penalty minutes in six games with the Clippers, after finishing with three points and 15 PMs in 30 games with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals last season. . . . A gritty forward, Smith played two games with the Winterhawks last season, going pointless with five penalty minutes. . . .
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F Connor Redmond, who has had nothing but shoulder problems for a couple of years now, has left the Vancouver Giants and joined the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express. Redmond, 19, has seven points and 60 penalty minutes in 51 regular-season games with the Giants over the last two seasons. . . . Redmond was selected 11th overall by the Red Deer Rebels in the 2007 bantam draft. . . . Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun has that story right here.
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JUST NOTES: The Medicine Hat Tigers have assigned D Kyle Becker, 17, to the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. A native of Langley, B.C., he had offseason surgery on a broken scaphoid and has just recently been cleared to return to action. He was a seventh-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. . . . The Vancouver Giants and Prince George Cougars have been fined $250 apiece for a line brawl that took place Tuesday in Vancouver. . . . Prince George D Martin Marincin drew a ‘tbd’ suspension for an interference major he incurred in that game.
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In Medicine Hat, the Tigers doubled up on the Portland Winterhawks 4-2 last night in front of their 300th straight regular-season sellout (4,006). . . . That news paled beside the announcement that the venerable Bob Ridley, the long-time radio voice of the Tigers, has opened a Twitter account. Seriously! . . . F Hunter Shinkaruk scored for the Tigers. He has 11 goals and two assists. . . . The Tigers also got a goal from F Emerson Etem. He has a WHL-leading 17 goals, to go with nine helpers. . . . The game featured the Leier cousins — F Boston Leier, 18, skates for the Tigers, while F Taylor Leier, 17, is with the Winterhawks. Both are from Saskatoon. . . . Portland is 1-3 on its 17-day, nine-game trek. . . .
In Edmonton, G Tristan Jarry, 16, made his first start and helped the Oil Kings to a 4-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Jarry stopped 20 shots. He was a third-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . F Curtis Lazar, the second overall pick in that draft, scored his fourth goal of the season for Edmonton. . . . Oil Kings D Mark Pysyk played his 200th regular-season game. . . . Edmonton has won three in a row. . . .
In Saskatoon, F Josh Nicholls had two goals and F Brent Benson had three assists, as the Blades dumped the Regina Pats, 5-3. . . . Saskatoon D Darren Dietz didn’t pick up even one point, but he was plus-4. . . .
In Spokane, the Chiefs ran their home record to 8-0-0 with a 6-1 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . The Chiefs closed out a seven-game homestand by completing the sweep. . . . Victoria G Jared Rathjen made his first WHL star but trailed 2-0 before the game was four minutes old. . . . Spokane held a 33-13 edge in shots. . . .
In Moose Jaw, F Quinton Howden had a goal and an assist on the first two shifts of his first game of the season to help the Warriors to a 5-2 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Howden returned to Moose Jaw from the camp of the NHL’s Florida Panthers with a concussion. . . . D Joel Edmundson, who returned from the NHL’s St. Louis Blues with an ankle injury, also was back in Moose Jaw’s lineup. . . . Moose Jaw was without D Kendall McFaull (hip) and D Dylan McIlrath (undisclosed), while F Sebastian Svendsen (knee) won’t play for another couple of weeks. . . .
In Kelowna, G Adam Brown stopped 28 shots as the Rockets beat the Prince George Cougars, 2-1. . . . The Cougars have lost seven in a row. . . . The Cougars, already without D Martin Marincin (suspended) and F Brett Connolly (NHL), lost F Troy Bourke just 22 seconds into the game with a boarding major and game misconduct. . . . Prince George did have F Charles Inglis back in the lineup after he completed serving a 10-game suspension. . . .
In Cranbrook, the defending-champion Kootenay Ice scored the game’s first three goals and beat the Red Deer Rebels, 3-2. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 29 shots. . . . The Ice now is 10-3-2 and has won three in a row.
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CBC News has reported details of the hazing incident involving players on the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives. According to CBC, one of the hazed player’s parents says their 15-year-old son “was forced to parade around the dressing room with water bottles tied to his genitals.”
That story is right here.

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

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Dave Hunchak expects the Kamloops Blazers to begin tonight’s WHL game with guns blazing.
After all, the Blazers have won four of their last five games and have climbed out of the 10-team Western Conference’s cellar and into seventh place.
“We’ve put a lot of miles on already,” said Hunchak, who is the Moose Jaw Warriors’ head coach and assistant director of hockey operations, on Monday. “Teams have been trying to come after us every game we’ve opened up.
“I expect Kamloops to come at us hard and physical. And I expect us to be able to push back.”
The Warriors began this trip in Calgary on Dec. 28, with a 6-1 victory over the Hitmen. Moose Jaw then beat the Vancouver Giants 6-3 on Thursday and the Chilliwack Bruins 4-2 on Friday. The run ended Sunday with a 5-2 loss to the Cougars in Prince George.
Still, the success has helped propel the Warriors (23-14-2) into fifth place in the 12-team Eastern Conference, just two points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers and four in arrears of the Red Deer Rebels.
“We’ve been able to find ways to win games,” Hunchak said. “It hasn’t been pretty at times . . . we’ll take the two points.”
The Blazers, meanwhile, are coming off two straight victories. They beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-2 in Kent, Wash., on Saturday night, then returned home and manhandled the Kelowna Rockets 5-1 on Sunday.
That improved their record to 19-19-2 and has them seventh, a point behind Vancouver and two in back of Kelowna.
“I expect (the Blazers) to be fast,” Hunchak said. “I expect them to be physical. I expect them to play with a lot of confidence after the little stretch they’re on here right now, especially at home.”
Both teams will be missing players, what with the World Junior Championship in Buffalo and the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in Winnipeg in the process of wrapping up.
The Warriors spent part of last evening watching teammate Quinton Howden and Team Canada defeated the United States 4-1 in a semifinal game in Buffalo. You can bet the Warriors try to get some motivation from the fact that Howden’s second goal of the tournament stood up as the winner.
Moose Jaw also is without forward Antonin Honesjek, who is in Buffalo with the Czech Republic and will play in a relegation-round game against Slovakia today. Forward Dalibor Bortnak of the Blazers is on the Slovakian roster.
The relegation games are to be played even though it already has been decided that Germany, including Blazers winger Bernhard Keil, and Norway will be relegated. Those two teams are to play each other today.
The Warriors also are missing forward Brayden Cuthbert and defenceman Morgan Rielly, both of whom are with Team Western in Winnipeg. Rielly, from Vancouver, was the second overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft.
Moose Jaw has added three players as it attempts to fill those spots. Forward Brandon Potomak of Kelowna and defenceman Spencer Morse of Calgary were second-round selections in the 2009 WHL draft, while defenceman Matthew Franczyk of Winnipeg, 17, has joined them from the MJHL’s Winnipeg South Blues after starting this season with the Swift Current Broncos.
Hunchak said that two of the three newcomers likely will play tonight.
Also missing from the Blazers’ lineup will be forward Logan McVeigh and defenceman Brady Gaudet. They also are with Team Western.
The Blazers also will be without defenceman Josh Caron (collarbone) and winger JC Lipon (ankle). The Blazers now say that Caron, who hasn’t played since Sept. 25, will be out for another two weeks. Lipon suffered an ankle injury on Sunday and is believed to be day-to-day.
With Lipon injured, the Blazers have brought back forward Aspen Sterzer, 16, from the Calgary-based midget AAA EDGE academy. He will play tonight, then join his regular team at a tournament in Kelowna. Sterzer, from Canoe Flats, is pointless in seven earlier games with the Blazers.
Bortnak, Keil, McVeigh and Gaudet are expected to rejoin the Blazers in time for weekend games. The Blazers are at home to the Chilliwack Bruins on Friday and then play in Kelowna on Saturday.
JUST NOTES: Game time at Interior Savings Centre is 7 p.m. . . . Thomas Heemskerk (20-12-2, 2.94, .907) starts in goal for Moose Jaw. . . . The Blazers will go with Jeff Bosch, who was acquired from the Warriors earlier in the season. Bosch (15-8-1, 3.23, .903) made 88 regular-season appearances with the Warriors. . . . The Cougars headed for Kamloops right after Sunday’s game in Prince George, arriving here Monday, around 12:30 a.m. . . . This will be the Blazers’ sixth game in nine days since the end of the Christmas break. . . . The Warriors will play Thursday in Kelowna and Friday against the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook before returning home. . . . Moose Jaw’s Joey Kornelsen, a 17-year-old forward from Abbotsford, has a goal in each of the four games on this trip, giving him six on the season. . . . F Dylan Hood, a 20-year-old from Osoyoos, has eight points, including six goals, over his last six games. Hood has 48 points, including 20 goals, in 38 games this season.

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