Home-ice advantage for Game 7? Scooter checks in ... Ice inks top pick ... Ex-WHL coaches out of work

F Patrick Baum (Swift Current, 1997-98) has retired, per Dresden (Germany, DEL2) website. This season, he had two goals and eight assists in 48 games. He played his entire 10-year professional career in DEL2. . . .

F Kevin King (Kootenay, 2006-11) has signed a one-year contract with the Milton Keynes Lightning (England, Premier). This season, he hd 16 goals and 15 assists in 44 games with Gap (France, Ligue Magnus). He was an alternate captain on the team that won the French championship. . . .

F Lukáš Zeliska (Prince Albert, 2006-07) has signed a one-year contract with Dunkerque (France, Division 1). This season, with Cholet (France, Division 1), he had nine goals and eight assists in 24 games.

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In this space yesterday, with the help of Hartley Miller of 94.3 The Goat in Prince George, we pointed out that home teams went 44-41 in the WHL’s 2017 playoffs.

Having read that, Dean (Scooter) Vrooman, who has been around the WHL almost as long as ice, sent along a note. Scooter is the go-to guy when it comes to chronicling winners and losers in series that have gone seven (or nine) games.

This time he passed along some numbers that involve series that have gone the distance over the years.

Here we go . . . 

From 2012 through 2017, the road team was 4-11 in Game 7s. Road teams were 2-2 in Game 7s in 2017.

From 2004 through 2010, the road team was 10-10 in Game 7s.

From 1986 through 2003, the road team was 3-29 in Game 7s (or Game 9s).

From the beginning of the WHL in 1966-67 through 1984, the road team was 5-10 in Game 7s or Game 9s.

Overall numbers are: In 82 deciding games in series that went the distance (seven or nine games) in league history, the home team is 60-22.

And with Lethbridge and Regina each coming from 3-1 down to win a playoff series this year, there is this interesting factoid: Teams have rallied 11 times since 1996 from 3-1 down to win a best-of-seven playoff series. In 2017, two teams rallied from 3-1 down in the same playoff year to win a series for the first time since 1998.

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The Kootenay Ice has signed F Connor McClennon, who was the second overall selection in the 2017 WHL bantam draft. McClennon, from Wainwright, Alta., will turn 15 on June 25. He played this season for the bantam prep team at the Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna, putting up 99 points, including 45 goals, in 30 games. . . . McClennon is the first player signed under the Ice’s new ownership team of Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell.

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Will former Moose Jaw Warriors F Kelly Buchberger sign on with the New York Islanders as an assistant coach with good friend Doug Weight, who is the head coach? Elliotte Friedman, in his latest 30 Thoughts, reports that Buchberger and Weight spent some time watching the WHL championship series, specifically F Mathew Barzal of the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . That piece is right here.

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The Victoria HarbourCats of baseball’s West Coast League have signed Claire Eccles, a left-handed pitcher, as the league’s first female player. Eccles, 19, is from Surrey, B.C., and has played for the Canadian women’s national baseball team. Eccles was introduced at a news conference in Victoria on Tuesday. . . . Jim Swanson, the HarbourCats’ managing partner, is a former sports editor of the Prince George Citizen who covered the Cougars for a number of years. . . . There is a news release right here.

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The NHL’s New York Rangers have fired Ken Gernander, the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. Gernander, 47, had been the coach in Hartford for 10 seasons. Including his time as a player, he had been there since 1997. The Wolf Pack was 388-304-84 with Gernander as head coach and made the playoffs in five of 10 seasons. However, it missed the playoffs the last two seasons and four of five. . . . At the same time, the Rangers named Chris Drury has Hartford’s general manager. Jim Schoenfeld, who had been the GM, is the Rangers’ senior vice-president and assistant GM and will focus on working with the NHL club.

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Ray Bennett and Rick Wilson, both of whom have ties to the WHL, were among four assistant coaches fired by the NHL’s St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. . . . Bennett, 54, had been on the Blues’ staff for 10 seasons, after spending seven with the Los Angeles Kings. A native of Innisfail, Alta., Bennett worked with the Spokane Chiefs and Moose Jaw Warriors before heading to L.A. . . . Wilson, a Prince Albert native who spent one season with the Blues, has been an NHL coach for 28 years. Before joining the New York Islanders, Wilson, 66, was a coach with the Prince Albert Raiders for eight seasons (1980-88), the last two as head coach. . . . The Blues also dropped assistants Ty Conklin and Steve Thomas.

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Adam Keefe, 33, is the new head coach of the Belfast Giants. He spent the previous two seasons with the Giants as a playing assistant coach. Keefe, the team captain from 2012-17, has been with the organization since 2011, helping the Giants win two Elite League championships. . . . Keefe replaces Derrick Walser, whose contract wasn’t extended after this season ended.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
G Barry Brust (Spokane, Calgary, 2000-04) signed a one-year contract with the Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL). He had a 2.53 GAA and a .925 save percentage in 52 games for the AHL-champion Binghamton Senators last season. . . .
D Lawrence Nycholat (Swift Current, 1996-2000) signed a one-year contract with the Krefeld Pinguine (Germany, DEL). He had five goals and 23 assists in 32 games for the Hershey Bears (AHL) last season. . . .
F Scott King (Kelowna, 1996-97) signed a one-year contract with the Hannover Scorpions (Germany, DEL). He had seven goals and 15 assists in 49 games with Adler Mannheim (Germany, DEL) last season. . . .
G Rastislav Stana (Moose Jaw, Calgary, 1998-2000) signed a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow (Russia, KHL). He had a 2.24 GAA and a .917 save percentage in 26 games with Severstal Cherepovets (Russia, KHL) last season.
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I was saddened to read that Ralph Borger, who for years owned the MJHL’s St. Boniface Saints and was a driving force behind that junior A league, died on Sunday, 18 days past his 81st birthday. . . . Back in the day, when I was at the Winnipeg Tribune, I got to know the always-smiling Ralph and always enjoyed his company. And no one was more supportive of the MJHL than was Ralph. . . . Oh, those were some kind of meetings with Ralph and Ben Dzikowicz in attendance! . . . For more on Ralph and his contributions to hockey, check out this right here. . . . You have to know that hockey is better for this man having taken a huge interest in it.
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Alan Caldwell over there at Small Thoughts At Large has done up his annual study of the WHL teams and mileage they will accumulate in the approaching season. Yes, the Prince George are No. 1 on the bus parade. . . . Check it out via the link over there on the right.
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The Vancouver Giants have added veteran WHL scout Todd Ripplinger to their front office. Ripplinger, whose contract wasn’t renewed by the Regina Pats last month, is the Giants’ new director of player development. Ripplinger had been Regina’s director of scouting since 1997. . . . The Giants also extended the contracts of director of player personnel Jason Ripplinger and scouting director Terry Bonner, both of whom have been with the club since Day 1. . . . Yes, the Ripplingers are brothers. . . . Terry Bonner is the father of Giants general manager Scott Bonner and Kamloops Blazers GM Craig Bonner.
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F Kevin King (Kootenay, 2006-11) has signed with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. He had 76 points, including 33 goals, in 68 games with the Ice last season, then added 16 points in 19 playoff games as the Ice won the WHL championship. He had 227 points in 335 games with the Ice over five seasons. . . . Mark Holick, a former Ice head coach, is heading into his second season as the Crunch’s head coach.
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Ben Pherson of the Rochester, Minn., Post-Bulletin offers up his opinion of what’s going on with NCAA hockey. That is right here, and he doesn’t think this is such a good idea.
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Mark Driver of the Providence Journal checks in with old friend Ed Staniowski, whose goaltending helped the Regina Pats win the 1974 Memorial Cup at the Corral in Calgary. Staniowski certainly has had an interesting time since his hockey career came to an end. That story is right here.
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JUST NOTES: F Marcel Noebels of the Seattle Thunderbirds has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. From Germany, he was a fourth-round pick in the 2011 NHL draft. Last season, his first in the WHL, Noebels had 54 points, including 28 goals, in 68 games. . . . The MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers have acquired the rights to F David Conrad (Spokane, Tri-City, 2008-11) in a deal with the Winnipeg Saints. Conrad, from Winnipeg, is a 20-year-old. He had 24 points in 69 games with Tri-City last season. . . . G Julien LaPlante, who lost his scholarship to Union College, because he didn’t tell the coaching staff he had played 20 minutes in an exhibition game for the Portland Winterhawks, will attend Providence College. There’s more right here.
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THE COACHING GAME: Former NHL player John Marks is the new director of hockey operations and head coach of the USHL’s Fargo Force. He spent last season as head coach of the MJHL’s Winkler Flyers. With the Force, he takes over from Jason Herter, who left for an assistant coaching role with the U of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. Marks was attractive to the Force at least in part because he played and coached at the U of North Dakota. . . . Former WHL coach Jeff Truitt is one the move again. But this time he is at least staying in Texas. Truitt, a former assistant and head coach with the Kelowna Rockets, stepped down as director of hockey operations with the Moose Jaw Warriors a year ago to become an assistant coach with the San Antonio Rampage, then the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes. But the Coyotes have moved their affiliation from San Antonio to the Portland, Me., Pirates, with the Florida Panthers now the Rampage’s parent club. Truitt, who just last week was working the Coyotes’ development camp, was named Monday as an assistant coach with the Texas Stars, who are hooked up with the NHL’s Dallas Stars. Glen Gulutzan, who was the Texas head coach last season, has moved up as head coach in Dallas. Last week, Texas named Jeff Pyle its new head coach. . . .
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By now you likely have heard that former WHL and NHL star Joe Sakic scored a $1-million hole in one on Sunday. If you haven’t seen it, the video is right here, and it is outstanding. I can’t ever recall seeing the normally reserved Sakic celebrate like that after scoring a goal.
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Today’s good read comes from Adrian Dater of SI.com. . . . Get yourself a double-double and check out this story right here. It’s all about Tim Horton and Tim Hortons.

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

Tuesday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Dwayne Newman (Brandon, Victoria Cougars, 1987-92) signed a one-year contract with the Chelmsford Chieftans (England National League). He had one goal and 10 assists in 54 games with the Peterborough Phantoms (England Premier League) this season. Chieftains head coach Garry Clarke already has named Newman team captain for next season, his 16th season in England.
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ON THE ICE TUESDAY:

JOE ANTILLA

In Cranbrook, F Joe Antilla scored at 6:12 of OT to give the host Kootenay Ice a 3-2 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Ice holds a 2-1 lead in the WHL final, with Game 4 in Cranbrook tonight. . . . Game 5 will be played Friday in Portland. . . . Antilla, who had 21 goals in 72 regular-season games, has nine goals in 17 games in these playoffs. Antilla scored the winner from the left faceoff circle. Antilla turned 20 on Jan. 17. He is from Madeira Park, B.C. . . . F Kevin King gave the Ice a 1-0 lead at 17:53 of the first period, with his fourth goal of the series. . . . The Winterhawks replied 61 seconds later when F Ty Rattie scored. . . . The Winterhawks took the lead at 3:54 of the third when F Sven Bartschi scored his 10th goal of the playoffs and fifth of this series. He is on a five-game goal-scoring streak. . . . Ice F Drew Czerwonka forced OT with his second goal of these playoffs at 13:58. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 34 shots, four fewer than Portland’s Mac Carruth. . . . The Ice was 0-for-3 on the PP; the Winterhawks were 0-for-1. . . . Referees were Devin Klein and Nathan Wieler. . . . Ice D James Martin is perhaps looking at a suspension after taking a charging major and game misconduct for a hit on Portland D Troy Rutkowski at 14:16 of the third. . . . Portland F Ryan Johansen took a roughing minor at the same time. In the end, the Winterhawks weren’t able to do anything on the three-minute power play. . . . Attendance was 3,402. . . . The Winterhawks played without two suspended players. F Tayler Jordan has served his one-game sentence and will return for Game 4. F Brad Ross remains under a ‘tbd’ suspension. . . . Ice F Matt Fraser, who was helped off the ice and appeared unable to put weight on his left leg after the collision with Ross, was back in the lineup for Game 3. . . . After the game, Ice head coach Kris Knoblauch compared the hit by Martin on Rutkowski to a hit by Portland F Riley Boychuk on Ice D Hayden Rintoul in Game 2. That hit drew an elbowing major and game misconduct, but no suspension.
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From the WHL school of marketing . . .
For US$25, you can get your Hockey’s Most Wanted t-shirt from the Portland Winterhawks. Yes, each t-shirt features a ‘wanted poster’ on which are mug shots of F Brad Ross, F Tayler Jordan and F Riley Boychuk. Ross and Jordan missed Game 3 of the WHL final with suspensions, while Boychuk escaped suspension after being hit with an elbowing major and game misconduct in Game 2. . . . Hey, at least they didn't use mugshots of referees!
If you’re interested, you are able to order a shirt right here.
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In the OHL, the host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors dropped the Owen Sound Attack 7-3 to take a 3-2 lead in the championship final. . . . They’ll play Game 6 in Owen Sound on Thursday.
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F Sven Bartschi of the Portland Winterhawks is the CHL’s player of the week. He had seven points, including five goals, in three games last week. . . . The Winterhawks have signed G Jarrod Schamerhorn, who played this season with the major midget Kootenay Ice. Schamerhorn, a 16-year-old from Kelowna, attended the Winterhawks’ training camp prior to this season and was then added to their list. He has worked with Portland goaltending coach Tyler Love for a while now. The 6-foot-1, 183-pound Schamerhorn was 4-14-3 with a 4.69 GAA for an Ice team that finished 8-25-7. . . . The Swift Current Broncos have released F Brandon Bruce and D Ryan Aasman. . . . Bruce, from Cranbrook, had one assist and four penalty minutes in 34 games. He’ll turn 18 on May 28. . . . Aasman, from Medicine Hat, was acquired from the Seattle Thunderbirds early in the season. He had two assists and four penalty minutes in 33 games with the Broncos. The Prince Albert Raiders selected Aasman with the eighth ovreall pick in the 2007 bantam draft. In 161 regular-season games, Aasman, 19, has one goal and 11 assists.
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THE COACHING GAME: The OHL’s Sarnia Sting has named Jacques Beaulieu as its new general manager and head coach. He was GM/head coach of the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs (2006-09) and, according to a Sting news release, “was responsible for drafting or trading for 12 players on the current Sea Dogs roster.” The Sea Dogs were the CHL’s top-ranked team for much of the season and now are in the QMJHL’s final. Beaulieu spent the last two seasons as an associate coach with the OHL’s London Knights. . . . The Kamloops-based Thompson Rivers University WolPack is looking for a head coach following the resignation of Lorne Cumming. The WolfPack won the B.C. Intercollegiate league’s regular-season title with a 19-4-1 record and reached the championship final, where it lost to Simon Fraser University. Cumming was honoured as the BCIHL’s coach of the year.
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In case you missed this, I lifted it off Alan Caldwell’s blog (Small Thoughts At Large — the link is over there on the right). He put this together after the bantam draft last week. It has to do with birth months and this, I think, is one of the more intriguing stories in the world of sports today. After you check it out, go and find a copy of Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, and enjoy the essay on the subject of the relationship between success and birth dates.

From Small Thoughts At Large:

One more stat category I missed in that review of the draft picks (below): what month were the most players born in? I think we already know the answer to this, but here's the math:

232 players picked. Of those, the numbers by birth month:

January: 41 (17.7%)
February: 36 (15.5%)
March: 32 (13.8%)
April: 34 (14.7%)
May: 25 (10.8%)
June: 13 (5.6%)
July: 13 (5.6%)
August: 14 (6.0%)
September: 5 (2.2%)
October: 10 (4.3%)
November: 4 (1.7%)
December: 5 (2.2%)

Overall, 62% of draft picks were born in the first four months (33%) of 1996. Assuming that births of baby boys were evenly spread over the 12 months of the year, you can see what a disadvantage the boys born in the last third of the year (10.3% of picks) had against the bigger, older boys from the early months.

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

NATHAN LIEUWEN

SATURDAY’S PLAYOFF GAME:
In Medicine Hat, G Nathan Lieuwen earned the shutout and F Cody Eakin had three points as the Kootenay Ice dumped the Tigers, 3-0. . . . The Ice leads the series 2-0 as the teams head to Cranbrook for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . Lieuwen stopped 25 shots for his franchise-record third shutout of these playoffs. He and Dan Blackburn share the career record with three shutouts. . . . Lieuwen, a 19-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., has three shutouts in 12 games in this postseason after putting up three in 55 regular-season games. . . . Eakin opened the scoring at 3:57 of the first period, then drew assists on goals by F Kevin King, his first, at 14:32 of the second, and F Joe Antilla, his seventh, into an empty net, at 18:41 of the third. . . . Eakin had 13 points, including five goals, in 12 playoff games. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 37 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . The Ice was 0-for-5 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-for-3. . . .
The Tigers were without G Cole Grbavac, who drew a ‘tbd’ suspension for a hit on Ice F Steele Boomer late in the third period of Game 1. Boomer, who is believed to have a concussion, isn’t expected to play in Games 3 and 4 in Cranbrook on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . F Sam Reinhart, who has been playing in the Telus Cup in Newfoundland, will be joining the Ice on Monday. Reinhart was the 15th overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft.
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ELSEWHERE . . .
Marc Habscheid was in the house Friday when the Victoria Salmon Kings beat the visiting Utah Grizzlies 2-1 in double overtime to advance to the third round of the ECHL playoffs. Habscheid met with the Victoria media on Saturday. Habscheid spent the last two seasons as the GM/head coach of the Chilliwack Bruins, who have been sold and are relocating to Victoria. And, although there hasn’t been an announcement made as regards Habscheid future, he will run the team’s table at the bantam draft and sure sounds like he’ll be moving to the B.C. Capital.
Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist has that story right here.
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The Salmon Kings, the Western Conference’s seventh seed, now will meet the Anchorage Aces, who had the ECHL’s best regular-season record. . . . . They’ll open with the best-of-seven series with games Wednesday and Thursday at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, then head for Victoria and Games 3 and 4 on April 30 and May 2. A fifth game, if necessary, is scheduled for May 4 in Victoria. If needed, Games 6 and 7 will be played in Anchorage on May 7 and 8.
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Derek Spalding of the Nanaimo Daily News takes a look at the situation in that city in terms of the WHL and a new arena. He also mentions  that the “Nanaimo Clippers' owners have the first right of refusal to any incoming franchise.” . . . According to Tourism B.C., Nanaimo has a population of more than 84,000. There are more than 138,000 people in the regional district.
That story is right here.

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

That's owner Len Barrie (centre) behind the bench
of the Victoria Grizzlies on Tuesday night.
(Photo courtesy Evan Hammond)

A former WHL player was behind the bench during a BCHL game Tuesday night.
Len Barrie, who owns a piece of the Victoria Grizzlies, took a turn coaching as the Grizzlies skated to a 5-4 victory over the visiting Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
Former WHLer Kyle St. Denis had three assists for the Grizzlies.
Sharie Epp of the Victoria Times Colonist has the story right here. And, yes, Barrie says he’ll be coaching through the end of the season.
(By the way, the Bulldogs showed up without their jerseys so wore practice jerseys belonging to the major midget South Island Thunderbirds.)
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The WHL’s governors and general managers spent Monday and Tuesday in Las Vegas. They are believed to have been holding meetings there.
Perhaps they were checking out the area’s viability for a WHL franchise.
Surely it only was a coincidence that all the WHL big shots were in Las Vegas on Tuesday, the same day a story in the Las Vegas Sun dealt with a proposed three-stadium complex. That story is right here.
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Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that the SHA will have a province-wide bantam AA league up and running in time for next season. Interestingly, the 18-team league won’t include any teams from Saskatoon. Harder’s story is right here.
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When the Vancouver Giants and Kamloops Blazers meet in Whitehorse on Saturday, the referees will be Steve Papp and Trevor Hanson, while Chris Sweeting and Nathan Van Oosten will be working the lines. . . . F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Red Deer Rebels is the CHL player of the week. He had 12 points in three games last week. . . . The New York Islanders had former WHL G Joel Martin (Lethbridge, Tri-City, Vancouver, Calgary, 2000-03) on the bench for the third period of a 5-3 loss to the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs. Martin, 28, signed with the Islanders on Feb. 4 and was with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers when he was recalled Tuesday on an emergency basis.
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A note from Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada: Great days to be a reporter in the QMJHL's East Division. Chicoutimi is reportedly to hire Guy Carbonneau as coach, meaning two more games against Quebec and Patrick Roy. While the two have been close for a long time, their relationship is strained right now. Carbonneau went on RDS recently and said Patrick's son, Frederick, should receive a lengthy suspension for a dirty hit. (He got three games.) Needless to say, Roy, who thought the hit was shoulder to shoulder, wasn't amused.
Friedman’s weekly blog posting, 30 Thoughts, is a must if you’re a hockey fan. You will find this week’s posting right here.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
Seattle at Kamloops: The Thunderbirds have one victory in their last 10 games but are just two points behind Kamloops, which holds down the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . The Blazers are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games; they also are down to five healthy defencemen.
Regina at Lethbridge: The Pats and Hurricanes have played 54 games and they’re tied for 10th in the Eastern Conference, three points out of a playoff spot.
Prince George at Medicine Hat: The Cougars blew a chance to get some breathing room when they lost 6-5 in Edmonton last night. The Tigers will be looking for a victory that will lifted them into third place in the Eastern Conference.
Swift Current at Prince Albert: The Broncos won their last start but are 2-8-0 in their last 10 and are clinging to seventh in the Eastern Conference, a point ahead of Brandon and two ahead of Prince Albert. The Raiders are 3-6-1 in their last 10.
Moose Jaw at Saskatoon: The Warriors are comfortably in fifth place, seven points our of fourth and 11 out of sixth. They’ve lost three in a row but have won two of three with the Blades this season. The Eastern Conference-leading Blades have won eight straight and nine of 10.
Portland at Spokane: This one is the game of the night. The Winterhawks have won their last thhree, are 9-1-0 in their last 10 and hold a five-point lead over the Chiefs, who hold two games in hand.
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SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Edmonton, the Oil Kings exploded for four third-period goals and beat the Prince George Cougars, 6-5. . . . The Cougars had taken a 4-1 lead into the second period and led 5-2 going into the third. . . . Edmonton F Travis Ewanyk got it started at 5:51 of the third, and that was followed by goals from F Jordan Hickmott (10:24), F Mike Piluso (13:55) and F Dylan Wruck (18:27). . . . The Oil Kings outshot the visitors 26-5 in the third. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit, who relieved starter Jon Groenheyde to start the second, stopped 17 of 18 shots. . . . Edmonton F Cameron Abney had three assists. . . . There wasn’t a special teams goal scored in the game. . . . Prince George F Spencer Asuchak returned from an eight-game suspension after testing positive for a prohibited substance. He was pointless and minus-4. . . . Attendance was 3,370. . . . The Oil Kings are sixth in the Eastern Conference, but now are five points clear of the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Cougars are sixth in the Western Conference, a point up on the Everett Silvertips. . . .
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In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice erased a 2-0 deficit with six straight goals and went on to beat the visiting Regina Pats, 7-4. . . . F Kevin King scored three times for the Ice. He’s got 26. . . . D Brayden McNabb drew four assists for the Ice, while F Cody Eakin had a goal, his 25th, and two helpers. . . . F Jordan Weal had two assists for Regina. . . . Ice G Brett Teskey stopped 19 shots. . . . Regina G Damien Ketlo stopped 37 shots. . . . The Ice was 3-for-6 on the PP. . . . Regina had F Nils Moser back after he sat out 16 games with a knee injury. . . . Attendance was 2,164. . . . The Ice, third in the Eastern Conference, moved to within six points of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Pats remain 10th, three points out of a playoff spot. . . .
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In Red Deer, the Medicine Hat Tigers scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Rebels, 3-1. . . . F Byron Froese gave the Rebels a 1-0 lead with his 31st goal at 19:41 of the first period. . . . That lead held up into the third period when F Kellan Tochkin tied it at 1:27 on a PP. He’s got 20 goals. . . . Medicine Hat F Cole Grbavac broke the 1-1 tie with his 12th goal at 13:19 and F Emerson Etem added his 30th, on a PP, at 15:18. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey, the WHL’s scoring leader, had one assist and now has 88 points. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 37 shots, three more than Red Deer’s Darcy Kuemper. . . . With two games left, the Tigers hold a 3-1 edge in the season series. . . . Attendance was 4,358. . . . Medicine Hat was 2-for-3 on the PP; the Rebels were 0-for-1. . . . The Tigers were without D Scott Ramsay (concussion) who was hurt in a 4-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday. . . . The  Tigers remain fourth in the Eastern Conference, just one point behind Kootenay and seven in front of Moose Jaw. . . . The Rebels are five points behind the conference-leading Saskatoon Blades, who now hold three games in hand.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Three minors:
Kootenay D Brock Montgomery
Red Deer F Chad Robinson
Red Deer D Colin Archer

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

Varady gets mail

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Sean O'Connor (Moose Jaw, 1999-2002) signed a one-year contract with Augsburger Panther (Gernamy DEL). He had 15 goals and six assists in 35 games for the Ontario Reign (ECHL) last season. . . .
D Chris Schmidt (Seattle, 1992-96) signed a one-year contract with Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg (Germany DEL). He had one goal and five assists in 51 games with Alder Mannheim (Germany DEL) last season and picked up one assist in four games for Germany at the Olympics in Vancouver. The contract includes a trial period until Nov. 25, when it rolls into a contract for the rest of the season. . . .
D Sean Curry (Tri-City, Medicine Hat, 2000-02) signed a one-year contract with the Hamburg Freezers (Germany DEL). He was scoreless in two games with the Toledo Walleye (ECHL) this season. Last season, Curry had four goals and seven assists in 67 games for the Adirondack Phantoms (AHL).
F Björn Svensson (Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, 2003-06) was released by Timrå (Sweden Elitserien). The older brother of Edmonton Oilers F Magnus Pääjärvi, he had two goals and three assists in 19 games this season.
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Jay Varady’s gold medal is in a closet at home.
And now he has a championship ring for one of his fingers.
Varady, the Everett Silvertips’ associate coach, was an assistant coach with the U.S. national junior team at the last World Junior Championship, which it won in Saskatoon.
Which is how Varady got the gold medal.
Then, just a little while ago, a package arrived in the mail and landed on his desk. He let it sit there for at least three days before he opened it.
He says he thought it was video from the U-18 tournament that was held in Europe over the summer. Varady was an assistant coach with that American team, too.
However, that U.S. team finished second to Canada in the U-18 tournament that is known as the Ivan Hlinka Memorial. Which is why Varady didn’t care to watch the video from that game anytime soon.
Except that there wasn’t video in that package.
When he finally got around to opening the mail, he discovered his World Junior championship ring.
“It’s very nice,” Varady said. “Very nice.”
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Don’t be surprised if Alan Millar, the Moose Jaw Warriors’ director of hockey operations, and Craig Bonner, the general manager of the Kamloops Blazers, exchange a few phone calls today.
Depending on what the Warriors learn about the seriousness of D Dylan McIlrath’s knee injury, of course.
McIlrath left a 3-0 victory over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes on Saturday with an apparent knee injury. He is to undergo further tests today, at which time more should be known.
If McIlrath is to be out for any length of time, the Warriors may well be interested in D Linden Saip, a 19-year-old who left the Blazers on Nov. 1. Saip, who was in his third WHL season, is at home on the Lower Mainland of B.C., waiting word on a possible trade.
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The Kelowna Rockets scratched two players — F Max Adolph and F Gal Koren — with concussions prior to Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Blazers in Kamloops. During the game, the Rockets lost F Colton Sissons to what may turn out to be a concussion. . . . G Jacob DeSerres stopped 22 shots Sunday as the Saint John Sea Dogs scored a 6-0 victory over the visiting Quebec Remparts and moved back into top spot overall in the QMJHL. DeSerres, who was waived through the WHL after getting caught in the 20-year-old numbers game with the Brandon Wheat Kings, has two shutouts.
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A reminder that there are two rare Monday night games in the WHL. The Portland Winterhawks continue their tour of the East Division with a stop at the Crushed Can in Moose Jaw, while the Brandon Wheat Kings are in Regina to meet the Pats. . . . The Wheat Kings then will scurry down the TransCanada Highway and try to get home before the Winterhawks arrive in Brandon. The two teams play there on Tuesday night.
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In Calgary, the Kootenay Ice scored a 6-2 victory Sunday, sending the Hitmen to their 12th straight loss, which ties a franchise record. . . . F Kevin King had two goals and two assists for the Ice, which has beaten the Hitmen five times this season. . . . It was King’s fourth career four-point game. . . . Ice D Brayden McNabb had three assists and was plus-5. . . . The Ice has won three in a row.

In Kamloops, F Brendan Ranford became the WHL’s first 20-goal scorer this season as the Blazers dropped the Everett Silvertips, 3-1. . . . Ranford scored once, his 20th, and now holds a two-goal lead over F Brendan Gallagher of the Vancouver Giants. . . . F Jordan DePape had two PP goals for the Blazers in the first period. . . . Kamloops G Jeff Bosch stopped 38 shots, including 16 in the third period. . . . Everett scratched F Landon Ferraro, who apparently suffered an upper-body injury Saturday night.
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SUNDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Zero.
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WHL teams at .500 or better: 16-of-22 (.727).

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
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