By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Brendan Ranford could only watch as his Kamloops Blazers teammates struck for 14 goals over their last two WHL games.
It was kind of like being the youngster who isn’t allowed into the new sandbox.
“We played well,” Ranford said following practice at Memorial Arena on Thursday, “but I wanted to be back in the lineup.”
That will happen tonight as the Blazers (2-1-0) welcome the Spokane Chiefs (1-1-1) to Interior Savings Centre. Game time is 7 o’clock; the game also will be televised by Shaw.
The Blazers then will bus to Everett for a Saturday night tilt with the Silvertips (0-1-2), before returning home to face the Medicine Hat Tigers on Monday at 2 p.m. The Tigers took a 2-2-0 record into a game last night in Victoria against the Royals last night.
Ranford, the Blazers’ high-scoring left winger, had to sit out the first three games of this regular season as he completed a six-game suspension left over from last season.
Without him, the Blazers went 2-1-0 in three home games, losing 1-0 to the Prince George Cougars, then swatting the Vancouver Giants 6-2 and the Royals, 8-2.
Ranford said he was especially excited with his team’s offensive production over the last two games.
“It shows that we do have the depth this season, “ he said, “and that I don’t have to score every game and we can still end up winning. It’s awesome to have that.
“We have a good team right now and in the three games we only gave up five goals.”
Ranford’s trials and tribulations in the second half of last season have been well documented — how he scored 30 goals in his first 39 games, but then counted only three times in his last 29 games, and how he came unravelled in Game No. 69, cross-checked linesman Kris Hartley, who was escorting him to the penalty box after a skirmish against the visiting Kelowna Rockets, and subsequently was suspended for six games.
To Ranford’s credit, he asked Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, to arrange a meeting with Hartley, who is from Kamloops.
“We had a meeting and I apologized to him,” Ranford said. “Mr. Doerksen was really genuine . . . it could have been more. He could have given me 15 games . . . it’s a good thing that he only gave me six.”
The finish to his season blurred the fact that Ranford still was able to put up 86 points in 68 games.
And he sees no reason why he can’t continue at that kind of pace, starting tonight.
“We had an awful second half but that’s over and done with,” Ranford said. “We have to be consistent this whole season. With the start that we’ve had, it should be a good one.”
Ranford will start the game back on a line with centre Chase Schaber and Jordan DePape.
“This will be a test for them,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said. “They played well together last season and had some chemistry.”
But, from what Ranford witnessed over the last two games, that line should have some help on offence.
The Blazers have gotten good production from a line that has Colin Smith between Tim Bozon and J.C. Lipon. They have combined for 15 points.
And, when J.T. Barnett returns from a knee injury, which could be sometime this weekend, perhaps even tonight, he will skate on a line with centre Matt Needham and Dylan Willick. Barnett had 21 goals two seasons ago with the Vancouver Giants, but fell off to 13 last season with the Blazers. They have moved him back tot he right side in the hopes that he can recapture his scoring touch.
“This should be a good test,” Ranford said, “with me and Barnett coming back . . . hopefully, we can play the same way we’ve been playing.”
———
Charron said the goaltending plan has Cam Lanigan starting tonight, with Taran Kozun backing up. On Saturday in Everett, Cole Cheveldave is scheduled to start, with Lanigan on the bench.
Charron said he isn’t in any rush to trim a goaltender from the roster, adding that he is quite prepared to wait for the situation to sort itself out.
With Barnett’s return to active duty, the Blazers will have 25 healthy bodies on their roster. And Charron sounds as though he would like to keep everyone around, at least through Christmas.
“We don’t want to get caught short in numbers again,” he said, referring to what happened in December when the Blazers lost players to Christmas tournaments and ended up playing with 15 skaters, three under the limit.
Carrying 22 skaters also allows the coaching staff more options.
As Charron said, “When you’re not playing well, you won’t be in.”
JUST NOTES: F Darren Kramer, who turns 20 on Nov. 19, is the Chiefs’ new captain. Kramer led the WHL in fighting majors (46) last season, the first of which came in Kamloops against D Corey Fienhage. Kramer had 14 points, including seven goals, in 68 games last season, after which he was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the sixth round of the NHL draft. This season, in two games, Kramer has two goals and one minor penalty. . . . F Liam Stewart (shoulder) won’t play for Spokane tonight. He is the 17-year-old son of actress Rachel Hunter and rock legend Rod Stewart. . . . Kamloops F Aspen Sterzer has been awarded an assist on his club’s last goal in the victory over Vancouver. That was his first WHL point and came in his 12th career game, 10 of which were played last season. . . . Following Sunday’s victory over Victoria, D Tyler Hansen lost an assist on his club’s sixth goal; it went to Smith, giving him a four-point night. Hansen then was given an assist on the Blazers’ fourth goal. . . . D Jordan Thomson, selected fourth overall by the Blazers in the 2011 bantam draft, has earned a spot on the Manitoba team for the U16 Western Challenge in Moose Jaw, Oct. 27-30. Thomson plays for the midget AAA Southwest Cougars, who play out of Souris, Man. . . . F Dallas Calvin, who has signed with the Blazers, was to have played with the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters this season. However, Calvin, 16, left the Smokies after being a healthy scratch for one game and has returned to the KIJHL’s Beaver Valley Nitehawks.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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Showing posts with label Kris Hartley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kris Hartley. Show all posts
Friday, October 7, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Tuesday . . .
The WHL revealed late Tuesday afternoon that LW Brendan Ranford of the Kamloops Blazers has been suspended for six games.
That is the price Ranford, who leads the Blazers in all three major offensive categories, will pay for cross-checking linesman Kris Hartley across the chest during the second period of a game in Kamloops on Friday.
The Blazers were in the process of dropping a 5-1 decision to the Kelowna Rockets at the time, a loss that would be their fifth in a row. One night later, without Ranford in the lineup, they would lose 1-0 in a shootout to the Rockets in Kelowna.
Ranford will sit out the Blazers’ last two regular-season games — they are at home to the Prince George Cougars on Friday and will play in Prince George on Saturday.
Should the Blazers make the playoffs, Ranford will sit out the first three games of the first-round series. Should the Blazers not qualify, Ranford will be forced to watch the first three games of the 2011-12 regular season.
The Blazers go into tonight’s games in ninth place in the Western Conference, two points out of eighth and three out of seventh.
From here, I would suggest that Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, who handles discipline, got this one about right. While Ranford’s crime was unforgivable, there wasn’t any attempt to injure Hartley, nor was the linesman knocked off his feet or even off-balance.
Still, there is no excuse for Ranford’s action.
But, in the end, Ranford and the Blazers will pay more than six games for this.
For starters, we will never know if Ranford’s presence might have made a difference in that 1-0 game in Kelowna on Saturday. The score would indicate that was a winnable game for Kamloops; however, Ranford has ended his regular-season with zero points in his last six games.
And, of course, we will never know what kind of impact he might have in the approaching two-game series with Prince George.
Let’s not forget, too, that for the rest of his WHL career, Ranford may as well wear a scarlet letter as someone who put a stick to an official. After all, what do you think the odds are of Ranford ever getting a break from the men in stripes, at least during the rest of his days in this league?
———
In Edmonton last night, the Oil Kings scored the game’s last seven goals and beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 8-1. . . . Edmonton F Jordan Hickmott played in his 300th regular-season game. Hickmott, who also has played with the Prince Albert Raiders and Medicine Hat Tigers, had a goal, his 28th, and an assist. . . . The victory lifted the Oil Kings, who are seventh in the Eastern Conference, to within a point of the idle Brandon Wheat Kings. Each team has two games remaining. . . . The Hurricanes (23-34-13), with two games to play, are ninth, two points behind the Prince Albert Raiders (28-36-5), who have three games to play. . . .
In Medicine Hat, F Max Reinhart scored the game’s first two goals to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 4-1 victory over the Tigers. . . . Reinhart has 34 goals. . . . The Ice was 1-for-3 on the PP; the Tigers were 1-for-9. . . . The victory kept the Ice in the chase for third place in the Eastern Conference as it now trails the Tigers by three points. Each team has two games remaining. . . . The Tigers are four points behind the Central Division-leading Red Deer Rebels, who also have two games to play. . . .
In Swift Current, G Mark Friesen stopped 32 shots to help the Broncos to a 6-0 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . The shutout was Friesen’s sixth this season. . . . Regina was 0-for-9 on the PP; the Broncos were 3-for-5. . . . F Brad Hoban had three goals, giving him 23, while F Justin Dowling returned to the lineup from an ankle injury and got his 20th goal. . . . The loss ended Regina’s faint hope of catching Prince Albert for the conference’s last playoff spot. The Pats now are six points back with just two games remaining. . . . The Broncos are a point behind Regina, so won’t be in the postseason either.
---
There are six games on Wednesday’s schedule.
The Prince Albert Raiders meet the Hitmen in Calgary. The Raiders can clinch at least a tie for eighth place with a victory. The Hitmen, the WHL’s defending champions, will finish last in the Eastern Conference and out of the playoffs. . . .
The Moose Jaw Warriors, who will finish fifth in the conference, are in Saskatoon to face the Blades, who will finish first overall in the WHL this season. . . .
The Everett Silvertips are to meet the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash. The Silvertips aren’t likely to have G Kent Simpson (ankle) or F Landon Ferraro (groin) in their lineup. . . . Everett, which will finish with four road games in five nights, is eighth in the Western Conference, but a victory would life it past the idle Prince George Cougars and into seventh. . . . The Americans will finish fourth in the conference. . . .
The Vancouver Giants, having lost six in a row, are in Portland to face the Winterhawks. Vancouver, with four games left, is tied with the Chilliwack Bruins for fifth in the conference. The Bruins have three games left. . . . The Winterhawks, with four games left, continue to lead the conference, but are just one point ahead of the Spokane Chiefs. . . .
The Chiefs, who have four games to play, are at home to the Bruins. The Chiefs, by the way, will open the playoffs on the road as their building isn’t available on the March 25 weekend. . . .
The Kelowna Rockets, who will finish atop the B.C. Division and thus be the conference’s second seed for the first round, are at home to the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Seattle is last in the conference. It is four points out of a playoff spot with four games remaining.
---
There would seem to be quite a tussle going on in the boardroom of the Chilliwack Bruins, with minority owners Moray Keith and Jim Bond trying to keep the WHL team right where it is.
The Chilliwack Progress has more right here, including confirmation from Keith on reports that Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins has expressed interest in being involved.
That story is right here.
---
JUST NOTES: The Kamloops Blazers have added F Matt Needham to their roster for the remainder of their season. Needham, the Blazers’ first pick in the 2010 bantam draft, already has played 11 games with Kamloops, earning seven points. He had 45 points in 38 games with the midget AAA Prep team at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton this season. . . . Goaltenders Jacob DeSerres and Andrew Hayes were teammates for a Memorial Cup-bound team -- the host Brandon Wheat Kings -- a year ago. Earlier this season, both lost out in the 20-year-old numbers game, cleared WHL waivers and chose to try their luck in the QMJHL. Now they will meet up in the first round of the playoffs there, DeSerres with the Saint John Sea Dogs, who are having a record-setting season, and Hayes with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, who go in as the No. 16 seed. . . . Adam Brown of the Kelowna Rockets was named the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 3-0-0, 0.65, .979 last week. . . . D Brendan Kennedy, who was selected by the Prince Albert Raiders in the sixth round of the 2009 bantam draft, will play next season for the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks. His twin brother, Jeff, who is a forward, also will play for Salmon Arm. Jeff’s WHL rights belong to the Kamloops Blazers, who placed his name on their protected list in November. The brothers are twins -- they will turn 17 on Feb. 6 -- from Terrace, B.C. They played this season with the midget AAA Prep team at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, B.C.
That is the price Ranford, who leads the Blazers in all three major offensive categories, will pay for cross-checking linesman Kris Hartley across the chest during the second period of a game in Kamloops on Friday.
The Blazers were in the process of dropping a 5-1 decision to the Kelowna Rockets at the time, a loss that would be their fifth in a row. One night later, without Ranford in the lineup, they would lose 1-0 in a shootout to the Rockets in Kelowna.
Ranford will sit out the Blazers’ last two regular-season games — they are at home to the Prince George Cougars on Friday and will play in Prince George on Saturday.
Should the Blazers make the playoffs, Ranford will sit out the first three games of the first-round series. Should the Blazers not qualify, Ranford will be forced to watch the first three games of the 2011-12 regular season.
The Blazers go into tonight’s games in ninth place in the Western Conference, two points out of eighth and three out of seventh.
From here, I would suggest that Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, who handles discipline, got this one about right. While Ranford’s crime was unforgivable, there wasn’t any attempt to injure Hartley, nor was the linesman knocked off his feet or even off-balance.
Still, there is no excuse for Ranford’s action.
But, in the end, Ranford and the Blazers will pay more than six games for this.
For starters, we will never know if Ranford’s presence might have made a difference in that 1-0 game in Kelowna on Saturday. The score would indicate that was a winnable game for Kamloops; however, Ranford has ended his regular-season with zero points in his last six games.
And, of course, we will never know what kind of impact he might have in the approaching two-game series with Prince George.
Let’s not forget, too, that for the rest of his WHL career, Ranford may as well wear a scarlet letter as someone who put a stick to an official. After all, what do you think the odds are of Ranford ever getting a break from the men in stripes, at least during the rest of his days in this league?
———
In Edmonton last night, the Oil Kings scored the game’s last seven goals and beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 8-1. . . . Edmonton F Jordan Hickmott played in his 300th regular-season game. Hickmott, who also has played with the Prince Albert Raiders and Medicine Hat Tigers, had a goal, his 28th, and an assist. . . . The victory lifted the Oil Kings, who are seventh in the Eastern Conference, to within a point of the idle Brandon Wheat Kings. Each team has two games remaining. . . . The Hurricanes (23-34-13), with two games to play, are ninth, two points behind the Prince Albert Raiders (28-36-5), who have three games to play. . . .
In Medicine Hat, F Max Reinhart scored the game’s first two goals to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 4-1 victory over the Tigers. . . . Reinhart has 34 goals. . . . The Ice was 1-for-3 on the PP; the Tigers were 1-for-9. . . . The victory kept the Ice in the chase for third place in the Eastern Conference as it now trails the Tigers by three points. Each team has two games remaining. . . . The Tigers are four points behind the Central Division-leading Red Deer Rebels, who also have two games to play. . . .
In Swift Current, G Mark Friesen stopped 32 shots to help the Broncos to a 6-0 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . The shutout was Friesen’s sixth this season. . . . Regina was 0-for-9 on the PP; the Broncos were 3-for-5. . . . F Brad Hoban had three goals, giving him 23, while F Justin Dowling returned to the lineup from an ankle injury and got his 20th goal. . . . The loss ended Regina’s faint hope of catching Prince Albert for the conference’s last playoff spot. The Pats now are six points back with just two games remaining. . . . The Broncos are a point behind Regina, so won’t be in the postseason either.
---
There are six games on Wednesday’s schedule.
The Prince Albert Raiders meet the Hitmen in Calgary. The Raiders can clinch at least a tie for eighth place with a victory. The Hitmen, the WHL’s defending champions, will finish last in the Eastern Conference and out of the playoffs. . . .
The Moose Jaw Warriors, who will finish fifth in the conference, are in Saskatoon to face the Blades, who will finish first overall in the WHL this season. . . .
The Everett Silvertips are to meet the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash. The Silvertips aren’t likely to have G Kent Simpson (ankle) or F Landon Ferraro (groin) in their lineup. . . . Everett, which will finish with four road games in five nights, is eighth in the Western Conference, but a victory would life it past the idle Prince George Cougars and into seventh. . . . The Americans will finish fourth in the conference. . . .
The Vancouver Giants, having lost six in a row, are in Portland to face the Winterhawks. Vancouver, with four games left, is tied with the Chilliwack Bruins for fifth in the conference. The Bruins have three games left. . . . The Winterhawks, with four games left, continue to lead the conference, but are just one point ahead of the Spokane Chiefs. . . .
The Chiefs, who have four games to play, are at home to the Bruins. The Chiefs, by the way, will open the playoffs on the road as their building isn’t available on the March 25 weekend. . . .
The Kelowna Rockets, who will finish atop the B.C. Division and thus be the conference’s second seed for the first round, are at home to the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Seattle is last in the conference. It is four points out of a playoff spot with four games remaining.
---
There would seem to be quite a tussle going on in the boardroom of the Chilliwack Bruins, with minority owners Moray Keith and Jim Bond trying to keep the WHL team right where it is.
The Chilliwack Progress has more right here, including confirmation from Keith on reports that Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins has expressed interest in being involved.
That story is right here.
---
JUST NOTES: The Kamloops Blazers have added F Matt Needham to their roster for the remainder of their season. Needham, the Blazers’ first pick in the 2010 bantam draft, already has played 11 games with Kamloops, earning seven points. He had 45 points in 38 games with the midget AAA Prep team at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton this season. . . . Goaltenders Jacob DeSerres and Andrew Hayes were teammates for a Memorial Cup-bound team -- the host Brandon Wheat Kings -- a year ago. Earlier this season, both lost out in the 20-year-old numbers game, cleared WHL waivers and chose to try their luck in the QMJHL. Now they will meet up in the first round of the playoffs there, DeSerres with the Saint John Sea Dogs, who are having a record-setting season, and Hayes with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, who go in as the No. 16 seed. . . . Adam Brown of the Kelowna Rockets was named the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 3-0-0, 0.65, .979 last week. . . . D Brendan Kennedy, who was selected by the Prince Albert Raiders in the sixth round of the 2009 bantam draft, will play next season for the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks. His twin brother, Jeff, who is a forward, also will play for Salmon Arm. Jeff’s WHL rights belong to the Kamloops Blazers, who placed his name on their protected list in November. The brothers are twins -- they will turn 17 on Feb. 6 -- from Terrace, B.C. They played this season with the midget AAA Prep team at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, B.C.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Doerksen plans on speaking with Ranford today
 |
| Brendan Ranford (19) of the Kamloops Blazers, here taking down Brendan Gallagher of the Vancouver Giants in an early-season game, will be hearing from the WHL office on Monday. (Photo by Keith Anderson/Kamloops Daily News) |
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Left-winger Brendan Ranford of the Kamloops Blazers can expect to hear from Richard Doerksen today.Daily News Sports Editor
Doerksen, the WHL's vice-president, hockey, is charged with handing out discipline on behalf of the league.
Ranford, an 18-year-old from Edmonton, was suspended indefinitely on Saturday morning after he was given a game misconduct for physical abuse of an official during Friday's 5-1 loss to the visiting Kelowna Rockets.
At 9:10 of the second period, Ranford was being escorted to the penalty box to serve a slashing penalty when he cross-checked linesman Kris Hartley across the chest.
Immediately after the game, Ranford was contrite and told The Daily News that he wanted to apologize to Hartley.
“It wasn't the right thing and I regret doing it,” he said. “In the heat of the game sometimes things happen like that . . . after thinking about it, it wasn't the right thing, for sure.”
Doerksen said he will speak with Ranford today “and then from there we'll finalize it.”
Kevin Muench, the WHL's director, officiating, is to speak with Hartley to get his part of the story.
The Blazers, who lost 1-0 in a shootout to the Rockets in Kelowna on Saturday to extend their losing streak to six games, aren't scheduled to play again until Friday, when the Prince George Cougars are at the Interior Savings Centre. The Blazers conclude their regular season the next night in Prince George.
Doerksen, who has been with the WHL since the late 1970s, wasn't in his office Sunday so didn't have access to archival material. But he couldn't immediately recall the last time he had to deal with a player having struck an on-ice official with a stick.
“Fortunately, we don't have many of those,” said Doerksen. “Any time there is contact with an official, it's serious.
“There's no doubt about that. The way that play developed there was really no need for it whatsoever . . .“
This is the second time this season that a Kamloops player has become physically involved with a linesman.
Centre Chase Schaber, the Blazers captain, drew a three-game suspension following a Nov. 20 game in Portland. In that game, which the Winterhawks won 6-4, players from both teams became involved following the end of the second period.
“It was more during the context of that altercation,” Doerksen said. “All the players were on the ice, and the linesman was trying to restrain him.“
Doerksen said that was more a case of a linesman “trying to keep (Schaber) from being involved.”
The incident involving Ranford, Doerksen said, “was just (a linesman) escorting the player to the penalty box.”
Doerksen also said the fact that the Blazers now have had two players physically involved with on-ice officials wouldn't factor in whatever decision he reaches on Ranford.
“These were two very unique situations . . . different situations,” he said. “It's not that they happened a week (apart). One was a lot earlier in the season.”
Ranford came out of that Portland situation with a one-game suspension, which is the only time he has been disciplined by the WHL during his three-season career.
Meanwhile, with Ranford missing his first game, the Blazers lost again Saturday despite goaltender Jeff Bosch stopping 40 shots and earning his third shutout of the season.
Forward Geordie Wudrick and defenceman Tyson Barrie scored for the Rockets in the shootout, while only forward Thomas Frazee was able to score for the Blazers.
It was the first time in franchise history that the Blazers have lost 1-0 in a shootout. The closest they have come previously was Nov. 29, 2003, when goaltender Jeff Glass and the host Kootenay Ice posted a 1-0 overtime victory.
While the Blazers, who are ninth in the 10-team Western Conference, went into the weekend fighting with the Cougars for the eighth and final playoff spot, they now find themselves chasing the Everett Silvertips.
The Cougars won Friday and again Saturday to move ahead of Everett, which is two points ahead of the Blazers.
While Kamloops only has the two games remaining, Everett will close out the season by playing four road games in five nights — in Kennewick, Wash., Portland, Chilliwack and Vancouver.
JUST NOTES: Bosch made his 22nd straight start on Saturday. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 33 shots, recording his third shutout of the season and his 84th career regular-season victory, breaking Kelly Guard's franchise record. . . . Kamloops F J.C. Lipon, who left Tuesday's 5-4 loss to the visiting Tri-City Americans with what he feared was a separated shoulder, was back in the lineup after missing just one game. . . . The Rockets won the season series 6-3-0; the Blazers were 3-5-1. Kelowna had a 37-21 edge in goals scored.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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