Warriors to honour Captain Canada . . . Scherbak only bruised . . . Blades shock Wheaties

F Lukáš Vantuch (Calgary, Lethbridge, 2005-07) has been loaned by Liberec to Hradec Králové (both Czech Republic, Extraliga) for the rest of this season. He had been an injury replacement with Landshut (Germany, DEL2) earlier this season, earning three assists in six games. He was released on Oct. 21. . . .
D Ty Wishart (Prince George, Moose Jaw, 2004-08) has signed a contract for the rest of the season with Mora (Sweden, Allsvenskan). This season, with the Evansville Icemen (ECHL), he had one goal and one assist in 14 games. He was a teammate with the NY Islanders and Bridgeport (AHL) with Mora head coach Jeremy Colliton (Prince Albert, 2001-05).
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The Moose Jaw Warriors will retire No. 28 in honour of F Ryan Smyth (1992-95) on Feb. 6. A second-round selection by the Warriors in the 1991 bantam draft, he totalled 224 points, 110 of them goals, in 188 regular-season games with the Warriors. . . . The Warriors also have retired numbers worn by Kelly Buchberger (24), Mike Keane (25) and Theo Fleury (9). . . . According to a news release, “His best season was 1993-94, in 72 games he had 50 goals and 105 points. He is one of 10 players in Warriors history to score 50 goals in a season, and one of 13 players to record 100 or more points in a season.” . . . The Edmonton Oilers selected Smyth with the sixth pick of the NHL’s 1994 draft. He played 1,270 NHL games, with the Oilers, New York Islanders, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings. He also is known as Captain Canada for having played 90 games for various national teams. According to the news release, Smyth “is the only player in hockey history to win gold at the Olympics, World Cup, World Championships, World Juniors, and Spengler Cup.” . . .
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Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that Everett Silvertips F Nikita Scherbak is day-to-day with a "deep thigh bruise." Scherback was taken from the ice in Kent, Wash., on a stretcher on Saturday night, during a game in which Everett beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-2 in a shootout. . . . Scherbak has 28 points, including 11 goals, in 19 games, but he won't play tonight against the visiting Kamloops Blazers.
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F Marcus Messier, 20, has joined the AJHL's Drumheller Dragons, and has three points, including two goals, in three games going into Tuesday action. Messier left the Prince Albert Raiders on Nov. 8, citing "personal family matters." He was placed on WHL waivers on Nov. 13. . . . Tip of the fedora to Tyler King, the radio voice of the AJHL's Fort McMurray Oil Barons, for the info.
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Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet has split his weekly 30 Thoughts into two pieces this time. . . . He opens right here with a terrific piece on memories of Pat Quinn and Victor Tikhonov. . . . Friedman follows up with his 30 Thoughts right here.
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Purely for your reading enjoyment, right here is a piece written by Jef Lund for Rolling Stone. The headline says it all: The 15 Worst Owners in Sports. . . . Note that this one comes with a language warning.
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THE DEPT. OF DISCIPLINE:

F Carter Folk of the Lethbridge Hurricanes drew a three-game suspension under supplemental discipline for an incident in a game against the host Kootenay Ice on Friday night. D Dylan Overdyk was injured on the play and is out indefinitely. . . .
F Matthew Campese of the Kamloops Blazers was suspended for two games for a knee-on-knee hit on F Chase Witala of the Prince George Cougars on Friday night. Witala left the game and didn’t return, nor did he play Saturday in Vancouver. He is shown on the injury report as day-to-day. . . .
F Aaron Macklin of the Prince George Cougars and F Dakota Odgers of the Vancouver Giants scrapped off the opening faceoff in Vancouver on Saturday. . . Macklin drew a two-game suspension for his second such fight of the season; Odgers got a one-game suspension. . . . Vancouver drew a $250 fine for the fight, while Prince George was hit with a $500 fine. . . .
F Chase Lang of the Calgary Hitmen drew a one-game suspension after taking a cross-checking major and game misconduct during a Sunday game in Red Deer. . . .
The Edmonton Oil Kings have been fined $250 for a warmup violation in Brandon on Saturday night.
Yes, the WHL’s Christmas shopping fund is rounding nicely into shape.
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The Kelowna Rockets, who played on the weekend with 16 skaters, two under the maximum, have added F Jordan Bortsmayer and F Kole Lind, at least for the short term. . . . Both player for the midget AAA Saskatchewan Contacts. . . . Bortsmayer was a third-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft, while Lind went in the fourth round. Lind has 34 points, including 21 goals, in 20 games; Bortsmayer has nine assists in 20 games. . . .
F David Soltes of the Prince George Cougars will play for his native Slovakia at the World Junior Championship in Toronto and Montreal, Dec. 26 through Jan. 5. . . . Soltes has 11 points, including eight goals, in 20 games in his sophomore season. Last season, a knee injury limited him to only 14 games with the Cougars. . . . He is scheduled to leave the Cougars on Dec. 11. . . .
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:

In Brandon, F Brett Stovin scored at 1:35 of OT to give the Saskatoon Blades a 5-4 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Stovin, who was foiled by G Jordan Papirny on a first-period penalty shot, has four goals this season. . . . The Blades took a 4-2 third-period lead on goals by F Nikita Soshnin, his second, at 13:52, and D Ryan Coghlan, his first, at 15:38. . . . The Blades traded F Cory Millette to the Prince Albert Raiders last week at least in part to free up playing time for Soshnin, who has goals in two straight games. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauled forced OT with his 12th goal at 19:50. . . Brandon F Reid Duke had a goal, his seventh, and two assists. . . . Saskatoon G Trevor Martin stopped 40 shots, while Nik Amundrud was dressed as the backup. . . . Brandon was 1-for-2 on the PP; the Blades' PP unit didn't get even one opportunity. . . . The Wheat Kings (19-5-2) had won their previous two games, while the Blades (7-16-1) came in 0-3-1 in their previous four. . . . The teams will meet again Friday, this time in Saskatoon. . . . Before then, though, the Blades will entertain the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight. . . .

In Edmonton, the Prince Albert Raiders scored three second-period goals en route to a 4-3 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . The Raiders have won five straight regular-season games in Edmonton. . . . F Jayden Hart, with his 13th, D Sawyer Lange (6) and F Simon Stransky (3) scored for the visitors as they erased a 1-0 deficit and took a 3-2 lead into the third period. . . . F Matteo Gennaro, with his third, gave the Raiders a 4-2 lead at 16:12 of the third period. . . . Edmonton F Lane Bauer scored his ninth at 18:39. . . . Edmonton D Ashton Sautner tied a career high with his eighth goal of the season, running his point streak to seven games in the process. . . . F Reid Gardner had two assists for the Raiders, who got 23 saves from G Rylan Parenteau. He won for the sixth time in seven starts as the Raiders (12-13-0) ran their winning streak to four. The Raiders are 5-4-0 under head coach Marc Habscheid. . . . G Patrick Dea turned aside 36 shots for the Oil Kings, as Tristan Jarry (ill) sat out for a second straight game. . . . “We were a train wreck in our own end," Edmonton head coach Steve Hamilton said on the team's website. “Our D-zone, it was maybe the softest we’ve been in our own end all (season). If our guys choose to forget this one, then they’re missing the boat. They need to remember this because we were brutal in our own end.” . . . Edmonton had been 5-0-1 in its previous six home games. . . . The Oil Kings (12-10-4) now have lost three in a row (1-1-1). . . . The Oil Kings are at home to the Swift Current Broncos tonight; the Raiders travel to Calgary to play the Hitmen. . . .

In Medicine Hat, the Tigers scored three times on the PP and twice while shorthanded as they stung the Vancouver Giants, 6-1. . . . The Giants' Alberta road swing got off to an inauspicious start when Tigers D Kyle Becker scored shorthanded at 2:22 of the first period. . . . Becker added a second shorthanded goal at 18:01 of the first period. . . . He's got six goals this season. . . . The home side was 3-for-6 on the PP. . . . Tigers F Matt Bradley scored his sixth goal and added three assists, while D Tyler Lewington also had three assists. . . . Vancouver starter Payton Lee surrendered three goals before leaving at 7:25 of the first period. . . . The Tigers (17-6-2) had lost their past two games. . . . The Giants (9-16-0) have lost four straight. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer turned aside 24 shots in posting his 50th career regular-season victory. . . . F Matt Bellerive scored Vancouver's goal, his 10th, at 18:33 of the third period. . . . Prior to the game, the Tigers honoured the memory of the late Pat Quinn, who was one of the Giants' owners, with a moment of silence. “That was a touch of class,” Giants head coach Troy Ward told Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News. “I wouldn’t expect anything less out of this organization. I think the whole hockey world has a touch of class. It’s a wonderful business to be in at a very sad time
for our organization and hockey in general.” . . . The Giants meet the Hurricanes in Lethbridge tonight. . . .

In Portland, the Winterhawks scored the game's last three goals and beat the Victoria Royal, 4-2. . . . Portland D Blake Heinrich tied the game 2-2 with his second goal of the season at 6:54 of the second period. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his second goal of the game, and 15th of the season, at 19:10 of the second for a 3-2 lead. . . . F Dominic Turgeon added insurance with his seventh oal at 16:54 of the third. . . . Portland F Nic Petan had two assists, while Turgeon also had an assist. . . . Victoria F Greg Chase scored his first goal for the Royals since coming over from the Calgary Hitmen in a trade last week. . . . Portland G Adin Hill stopped 36 shots, including all 16 he faced in the third period. . . . Victoria G Jayden Sittler, making his third straight start, turned aside 32 shots. . . . Portland (12-12-3) has won three in a row. . . . The Royals (14-12-2), who are to face the Chiefs in Spokane tonight, had won their previous two starts.
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WHL Weekly Report Injuries: #7 Paul Bittner, F, lower body, TBD http://t.co/77KMkXsMZO. The NSA should have the secrecy of WHL injuries.
— Fake Mike Johnston (@FakeMikeJ) November 25, 2014

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
     
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