Showing posts with label Lane Zablocki. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lane Zablocki. Show all posts

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Hunter rips into veteran forwards . . . Ex-WHL coach in hospital after crash . . . Rebels have 'Canes on ropes

Scattershoot

 The Spokane Chiefs weren’t going to re-sign Don Nachbaur as head coach after the 2017-18 season, so the decision was made to part company right now. According to the Spokane Spokesman-Review that’s how general manager Scott Carter explained the decision that was announced on Thursday morning. . . . “In my mind, we weren’t going to carry on beyond this year and this opened up a discussion,” Carter told the newspaper. “We both felt it was in both our interests to part ways now. Don is a good coach, but we were willing to move forward. There’s nothing negative about Don.” . . . In September, the Chiefs had signed Nachbaur to an extension through next season.
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If you’re a WHL team looking for a coach, where do you start? Well, how about with Kyle Gustafson or Enio Sacilotto? . . . Gustafson is the Portland Winterhawks’ associate coach and is in his 11th season on the coaching staff there. Travis Green, the last assistant coach in Portland under Mike Johnston, has worked out pretty well with the AHL’s Utica Comets. In fact, his name comes up every time there is an NHL head-coaching vacancy. So why not Gustafson? . . . Sacilotto, who has a terrific resume, is the Victoria Royals’ director of prospect development and WHL scout. He was moved into that position on Aug. 25, after six seasons as an assistant coach. Earlier this month, he was named head coach of Croatia’s entry in the 2017 IIHF World Championship tournament (Division 1, Group B) that runs in Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 23-29.
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So . . . you’re wondering: What’s up with Mathew Barzal? . . . The Seattle Thunderbirds forward, the Western Conference’s outstanding player, last played on March 7. He took a pregame warmup on March 10, but left the ice before the game began and has yet to return to game action. He was said to be showing mumps symptoms and was tested. However, the Thunderbirds have never commented publicly on the results. On Thursday, through a team spokesperson, general manager Russ Farwell told Taking Note: “He is recovering from illness and doing well, but as we (are in) the playoffs we do not have any further comment at this time.”
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Apparently, if someone is tested for mumps, the results are available about three days later. That being the case, it might be worth noting that the Thunderbirds have never said whether Barzal tested positive for mumps. Just spitballing here, but what if his “illness” isn’t mumps? Could he have an injury or some other ailment?
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Hey, Sportsnet, I didn’t comment on your abysmal CHL telecast schedule late in the regular season. But your decision to show us the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs beating the host Hamilton Bulldogs, 5-1, on Thursday night, while the London Knights and Windsor Spitfires were playing was a slap in the face. You set the table by showing two games earlier in the London/Windsor series, which is the most attractive matchup in the opening round of CHL playoffs, so why not continue with it?
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BTW, the host Spitfires won, 3-2, in OT last night to take a 3-1 lead in that series. They’re back in London for Game 5 tonight when there aren’t any games scheduled for TV. The Spitfires, don’t forget, will be the host team for the 2017 Memorial Cup tournament.
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Meanwhile, in Gary Bettman’s world, five Canadian NHL teams were playing on Thursday night and all five games — Florida at Montreal, San Jose at Edmonton, Ottawa at Minnesota, Toronto at Nashville, Anaheim at Winnipeg — were televised with regional restrictions. Thankfully, WGN Chicago was showing a baseball game between the Cubs and Houston Astros.
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The MLB season begins Sunday. Finally!
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 The WHL’s department of discipline was busy whacking and disciplining on Thursday. Peter Anholt, the general manager of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, contributed $1,000 to the WHL’s Easter egg fund for “actions following game at Red Deer on March 29.” That was Game 3, which the Hurricanes lost, 4-3, in OT to the Rebels on Wednesday night. . . . Meanwhile, D Dalton Yorke of the Tri-City Americans had his suspension set at two games. He sat out a 9-2 loss to the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds on Wednesday and will miss tonight’s Game 4 in Kennewick. If the Americans lose, their season will be over and so will Yorke’s career as he is in his 20-year-old season. He was suspended under supplemental discipline for a high hit on Seattle F Ryan Gropp in Game 2. Yorke was given a charging minor on the play. Gropp was scratched from Game 3 with an undisclosed injury.
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Parry Shockey, a former WHL coach who is well known in hockey circles, remains in a Calgary hospital after being involved in a serious accident on Highway 519 near Fort Macleod, Alta., on March 16.
According to Fort Macleod RCMP, a car travelling west pulled out to pass another vehicle when it collided head on with an SUV that was travelling east.
Shockey was driving the SUV. The driver of the car was declared dead at the scene.
Shockey, with non-life-threatening injuries, was taken by ambulance to hospital in Calgary.
Shockey, 63, was an assistant coach with the Spokane Chiefs for two seasons (1994-96). He was the head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 1996-97, then spent two seasons (1997-99) as head coach of the Regina Pats and one (2004-05) with the Moose Jaw Warriors.
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Would a WHL head coach make healthy scratches of two of his best forwards for Game 5 of a playoff series that is tied 2-2?
The Swift Current Broncos beat the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-2, on Wednesday night to even that series. They’ll play again Friday in Moose Jaw.
After Game 3, Moose Jaw head coach Tim Hunter unloaded on veteran forwards Noah Gregor and Jayden Halbgewachs.
As reported by Marc Smith of discovermoosejaw.com, Hunter said:
“When you have two of your best players – Noah Gregor and Jayden Halbgewachs – play like fourth liners for 60 minutes, we’re not going to win a hockey game ever/ We can’t have two of our top six forwards play like they’re disinterested, zero effort and zero commitment to the team effort, so we may just forge on without them.”
Hunter pointed out that he sat Brayden Burke in an earlier game in the series and the veteran forward responded.
“I sat out Burke for 20 minutes and he got the message, he’s played great since,” Hunter told Smith. “Maybe that’s what will happen to Halbgewachs and Gregor, they can sit out for a game and we’ll see what they can do in Game 6. . . .”
Burke was benched during Game 2 on Saturday night, then returned to scoring the game-winner in a 3-2 victory that evened the series, 1-1.
“You can’t start the game with two passengers,” Hunter continued, “and then have everyone else playing at the end of their stick, which is unacceptable. We knew they were going to compete harder tonight, this is a do-or-die game for them, and we came out like, ‘It’s all great, we won a game here, let’s just go home.’ ”
Meanwhile, Randy Palmer of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald quoted Hunter saying:
“We’re like a boat carrying a couple of anchors in Halbgewachs and Gregor, who haven’t played very well in the four games so far, and that’s going to end because they’re going to be candidates for being sat out.
“I’m not carrying around two guys that I’ve warned and hoped would play better at this point, so we’re going to take some measures to change the lineup.”
Here’s Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post:
“I have seen (and heard) coaches who are upset with their teams. I have been involved in off-the-record conversations with coaches who are privately livid over the performance, or lack thereof, of a particular player.
“But rare is the day in which a head coach will publicly single out a skater — Hunter being a notable, quotable exception.
“Hunter is very good at what he does, as evidenced by his inclusion on Canada’s world junior coaching staff. Perhaps he will emerge from this series with an enhanced reputation, adding the unofficial title of ‘master psychologist’ to his resume.
“But if this ploy proves to be a failure, the fallout could last considerably longer than the Warriors’ 2016-17 season.”
 They’ll play Game 6 back in Swift Current on Saturday.
Smith’s complete story is right here.
Vanstone’s column is right here.
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F Garrett Pilon of the Kamloops Blazers has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Washington Capitals. They selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2016 draft. . . . Pilon, who turns 19 on April 13, was born in Mineola, N.Y., but played minor hockey in Saskatoon. He is the son of former NHLer Rich Pilon. . . . Garrett had 47 points, including 15 goals, in 71 games as a WHL freshman in 2015-16. This season, he put up 20 goals and 45 assists in 67 games. . . . The Capitals said in a news release that Pilon will report to the AHL’s Hershey Bears when the Blazers’ season ends. They trail the Kelowna Rockets, 3-1, in a first-round series, with Game 5 in the Little Apple tonight (Friday). Pilon has one assist in the first four games of the series.
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JUST NOTES:

The junior B Pacific Junior Hockey League has expanded to 11 teams with the addition of the Langley Trappers, who will play out of the George Preston Recreation Centre. The Trappers are co-owned by Burt Henderson and Brad Bakken. Henderson will be the general manager and head coach, with Bakken as the assistant GM and associate head coach. Bakken, a defenceman in his playing days, got into 53 games over three seasons (2005-08) with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Interestingly, as Gary Ahuja of the Langley Times, points out, the Trappers arrive in Langley one season after the junior B Langley Knights moved to Surrey following the relocation of the Vancouver Giants from the Pacific Coliseum to the Langley Events Centre. . . . Ahuja’s story is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:

The MJHL’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines issued a news release Thursday morning, stating that they are “accepting resumes for the position of head coach and for the position of assistant general manager.” . . . The Wolverines were 14-42-4 this season, finishing last in the 11-team MJHL, under general manager/head coach Barry Butler.
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The junior B Nanaimo Buccaneers of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League have replaced general manager/head coach Dan Lemmon with Curtis Toneff, who had been an assistant GM/assistant coach with the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters. . . . Toneff is a Nanaimo native. . . . The Buccaneers had a 31-16-1 regular-season record, the best in the franchise’s five-year history, then lost in five games to the Campbell River Storm in the North Division final. . . . Lemmon spent two seasons with the Buccaneers.
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Judd Lambert has resigned as head coach of the junior B Richmond Sockeyes of the Pacific Junior Hockey League. This season, the Sockeyes were 22-13-3-5, good for third place in their division. The Sockeyes have yet to name a replacement. Lambert, a former Sockeyes goaltender, had been head coach for five seasons, before taking a year off. He returned for the 2013-14 season.
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The AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons have hired Kevin Hasselberg as their general manager and head coach. He replaces Brian Curran, whose contract wasn’t renewed after he finished his fifth season. Hasselberg, a native of Duchess, Alta., left the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars last summer for the SPHL’s Pensacola Ice Flyers. He had been GM and head coach of the North Stars for five seasons. Hasselberg took over from Rod Aldoff in Pensacola, but was fired and replaced by Aldoff on Feb. 13. . . . This season, the Dragons finished 22-33-5, good for sixth place in the eight-team Viterra South Division. . . . Hasselberg also spent six seasons as head coach of the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlies.
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THURSDAY GAMES:


At Red Deer, F Evan Polei, who scored the OT winner in Game 3 on Wednesday night, broke a 3-3 tie on a wrap-around with 1:59 left in the third period as the Rebels beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 5-3. . . .
LANE ZABLOCKI
The Rebels will take a 3-1 series lead into Lethbridge for Game 5 on Saturday . . . The Hurricanes (44-21-7) finished second in the Central Division, 22 points ahead of the Rebels (30-29-13). . . . For the second straight game, the Hurricanes watched a two-goal lead disappear. . . . F Tyler Wong put Lethbridge ahead at 2:19 of the first period, with F Jordy Bellerive (1) making it 2-0 at 15:39. . . . Red Deer halved the deficit on F Lane Zablocki’s goal at 19:22. . . . The Rebels pulled even when F Brandon Hagel scored a shorthanded goal at 5:14 of the second period. . . . Wong’s fourth goal, on a PP, gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead at 17:58. . . . Zablocki’s fifth goal of the series, on a PP, got Red Deer back into a tie at 9:11. . . . Polei’s third goal snapped the tie and Hagel (4) added an empty-netter at 19:05. . . . Red Deer got four assists from F Michael Spacek and two from D Carson Sass. Polei added one to his goal. . . . D Igor Merezhko and F Egor Babenko each had two assists for Lethbridge. . . . The Rebels got 27 saves from G Riley Lamb, while Lethbridge G Stuart Skinner stopped 38 shots. . . . Lethbridge was 2-8 on the PP; Red Deer was 1-3. . . . The Hurricanes were without F Giorgio Estephan for a second straight game after he took a high-stick to the face from Spacek in the second period of Game 2. . . . Announced attendance: 5,213.
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At Calgary, the Regina Pats scored three second-period goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the Calgary
AUSTIN WAGNER
Hitmen. . . . The Pats, who finished atop the overall standings, swept the Hitmen from the first-round series. . . . Regina finished 42 points ahead of Calgary in the regular season, so a sweep wasn’t a surprise. . . . Going back to the regular season, the Pats now have won 12 straight games. . . . D Dallas Davidson broke open a goal-less game with his first goal at 2:51. . . . F Austin Wagner, who is from Calgary, made it 2-0 at 7:47 and then added more insurance at 19:25. Both goals came via the PP. . . . Wagner has three goals in these playoffs. . . . F Tristan Nielsen (1) got Calgary on the scoreboard, on a PP, at 7:03 of the third period. . . . Regina put it away on PP goals from D Connor Hobbs (1), an empty-netter at 17:53, and F Jeff de Wit (1), at 19:11. . . . Hobbs also had two assists. . . . G Tyler Brown stopped 20 shots to earn the victory over Cody Porter, who made 34 saves. . . . Regina was 4-6 on the PP; Calgary was 1-3. . . . Announced attendance: 7,246.
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At Portland, F Matt Revel scored two third-period goals to give the Winterhawks a 5-4 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . The series is tied, 2-2, with Game 5 in Prince George on Saturday. Then
MATT REVEL
they’ll head back to Portland for Game 6 on Monday. . . . Someone mentioned to me that if the series goes seven games, the Winterhawks will spend 90 hours on their bus. . . . A seventh game, if needed, would be played Wednesday in Prince George. . . . Last night, the Cougars got out to a 2-0 lead on first-period goals from F Aaron Boyd (3), at 8:12, and F Jesse Gabrielle (1), at 11:17. . . . The Winterhawks pulled even before the period ended, though, as F Evan Weinger (1) counted at 17:01 and F Skyler McKenzie (3) scored on a PP at 18:33. . . . F Keegan Iverson (2) gave the Winterhawks the lead at 8:20. . . . The Cougars roared back to take a 4-3 lead late in the period on goals from F Nikita Popugaev (1), on a PP, at 15:46 and F Radovan Bondra (2), at 17:24. . . . Revel, a late-season waiver pickup, tied the score, 4-4, at 8:54 of the third period, then got the winner at 15:34. . . . Revel suffered a collarbone injury while with the Kamloops Blazers during a game against the host Edmonton Oil Kings on Dec. 10. He was on the shelf as the Jan. 10 trade deadline arrived and the Blazers added F Lane Bauer, 20, from the Oil Kings. In order to make room, Kamloops put Revel on waivers. He played 11 late-season games with Portland, scored twice and adding an assist. . . . He went into last night’s game with a goal and six assists in 14 career playoff games. . . . The Winterhawks got a big game out of D Caleb Jones, who drew four assists, while F Cody Glass had two. . . . D Brendan Guhle had two assists for the Cougars, with Bondra getting one. . . . The Winterhawks got 29 saves from G Cole Kehler. . . . At the other end, G ty Edmonds stopped 27 shots. . . . Portland was 2-4 on the PP; Prince George was 1-3. . . . Portland F Brad Ginnell, the grandson of the late Pat Ginnell, a WHL legend in his day, made is playoff debut. . . . The Cougars scratched F Brad Morrison, who returned from an ankle injury to score a goal in Game 2, but struggled in Game 3. . . . Announced attendance: 4,491.
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FRIDAY GAMES (all times local):

Seattle vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m. (Seattle leads, 3-0)
Swift Current at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m. (Series tied, 2-2)
Kamloops at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m. (Kelowna leads, 3-1)
Victoria at Everett, 7:35 p.m. (Series tied, 2-2)

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Sunday, March 12, 2017

Nanaimo votes NO! . . . Tigers own Central pennant . . . Cougars set a record . . . Steenbergen gets 50



While the Kootenay Ice was losing 6-1 to the Rebels in Red Deer on Saturday night, the franchise’s immediate future was being decided in Nanaimo.
Voters there went to the polls in a referendum through which the City asked for the OK to borrow $80 million that would go towards the construction of an events centre that would include a 5,700-seat arena.
The WHL had entered into a memorandum of understanding under which Nanaimo was to get a franchise in time for next season and a 20-year lease agreement in a new facility if Saturday’s vote was YES.
Scratch that idea.
Unofficial results show that 23,885 people voted, with 19,179, or 80.3 per cent, of those saying NO, and 4,706 saying YES.
Karl Yu of the Nanaimo News Bulletin posted a brief interview with Bill McKay, Nanaimo’s mayor, on Instagram.
“I have to say that I expected to see that based on the conversations I’ve been having with members of the community,” McKay told Yu. “I didn’t believe it was going to be this high. They have made their position very clear on this particular project at this time.”
McKay added that the city is working on five other major projects, but that this one “happened to be the one at the forefront.”  
The News Bulletin reported in a story that is right here that there were “slightly more” than 66,000 eligible voters, so turnout was about 37 per cent.
The result is expected to made official at a city council meeting on Monday.
So . . . what’s next for the WHL and the Ice?
Well, keep in mind that this wasn’t a vote against the WHL; it was a vote against borrowing $80 million
that was to go to a project that would include an arena. The WHL, then, could choose to leave the Ice where it is, be patient, see how things develop in Nanaimo, and try again.
Of course, it’s hard to see the Ice as a profitable enterprise if the status quo is maintained. Fans in Cranbrook and area know that the WHL would prefer to be somewhere else and that the present ownership, the Chynoweth family, wants out and has been trying to get out for a while now.
Taking Note was told last week that a local group has had an offer on the table for about a month, but that it was told everything was on hold pending the Nanaimo referendum.
Well, we know how that turned out, something that just might give the Cranbrook group some leverage.
If the Ice isn’t in Nanaimo and it isn’t in Cranbrook, where then?
You can forget Winnipeg, which is home to the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets and the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. You can forget Wenatchee, Wash., where the ownership of the Wild is said to be thrilled with the way things have turned out in the BCHL. You can forget Abbotsford, B.C., which has an arena without a hockey team but is in the Vancouver Giants’ footprint. You can forget Penticton, B.C., which is in the Kelowna Rockets’ footprint.
Where then?
Well, everything seems to point to Cranbrook, a city that not that long ago built an arena to house a WHL team. Sound familiar?
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Steve Ewen, who covers the Vancouver Giants for Postmedia, is working to kick cancer’s butt for a second time. As a result, he has his blog — Crush the Tumour with Humour — up and running. In this latest entry, he writes about everything that sucks, although he does admit “I married well.” . . . Give him a read right here.
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The ECHL’s Missouri Mavericks aren’t going anywhere; they’re just changing their name. Starting on June 1, they will be the Kansas City Mavericks. The change was name official during the Mavericks’ awards celebrations on Saturday. The Mavericks, who are completing their eighth season, play out of Independence, a city that is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.
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If the WHL playoffs began today . . . 
Eastern Conference
Regina vs. Calgary
Medicine Hat vs. Brandon
Moose Jaw vs. Swift Current
Lethbridge vs. Red Deer
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Western Conference
Seattle vs. Portland
Prince George vs. Victoria
Kelowna vs. Kamloops
Everett vs. Tri-City
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:


At Brandon, the Wheat Kings erased a 2-0 first-period deficit with five straight goals en route to a 5-3 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . One night earlier, the Raiders had beaten the visiting Wheat
KALE CLAGUE
Kings, 3-1. . . . Last night, the visitors got early goals from F Parker Kelly (19), at 2:39, and F Cole Fonstad (11), on a PP, at 10:03 of the first period. . . . Brandon tied it on PP goals from F Stelio Mattheos, his 26th, at 13:10 of the first and F Reid Duke, his 36th, at 9:32 of the second period. . . . F Connor Gutenberg’s 12th goal gave the Wheat Kings the lead at 10:06 and F nolan Patrick made it 4-2 at 14:33. . . . D James Shearer (8) added insurance at 3:41 of the third period. . . . F Kolten Olynek got the Raiders’ last goal, at 14:01. . . . Brandon got two assists from D Kale Clague and one each from Patrick, Mattheos and Duke. . . . G Logan Thompson stopped 26 shots for the victory. . . . The Raiders got 37 saves from G Ian Scott. . . . Brandon was 2-8 on the PP; Prince Albert was 1-7. . . . F Nikita Krivokrasov, who signed earlier in the week, made his WHL debut with the Raiders. He is the son of former NHL F Sergei Krivokrasov. . . . The defending-champion Wheat Kings (30-28-10) clinched a playoff spot. They are in possession of the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot and seem likely to finish there. . . . Prince Albert is 19-43-7. . . . Announced attendance: 4,339. . . . Prior to the game, the Wheat Kings added six more players to their 50th anniversary Dream Team. Ron Chipperfield (1970-74), Brayden Schenn (2007-10) and Laurie Boschman (1976-79) were selected to the second forward line, with Ryan Pulock (2010-14) and Wade Redden (1993-96) named as the second defence pairing. Glen Hanlon (1974-77) was the first of two goaltenders to be named.
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At Edmonton, G Michael Bullion stopped 28 shots to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 4-0 victory over
MICHAEL BULLION
the Oil Kings. . . . The Tigers will finish atop the Central Division for the first time since the spring of 2007. . . . Medicine Hat had beaten the visiting Oil Kings, 9-3, on Friday. . . . Bullion has posted the first three shutouts of his career in his last 11 appearances. He is 15-5-0, 2.81, .904 with the Tigers, who acquired him from Portland in January. . . . The Tigers scored once shorthanded and three times on the PP. . . . F Max Gerlach got it started with his 32nd goal, on a PP, at 18:57 of the first period. . . . F James Hamblin (18) added a shorthanded goal at 1:12 of the second period, with F John Dahlstrom (29) scoring on the PP at 9:05. . . . The game’s final goal came from Hamblin, on a PP, at 3:34. . . . Dahlstrom also had an assist. . . . The Oil Kings got 45 saves from G Patrick Dea. . . . Medicine Hat was 3-5 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-5. . . . The Oil Kings were without D Brayden Gorda, who drew a one-game suspension for a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct in Friday’s game. Tigers F Ryan Chyzowski, the victim on that hit, was in the lineup last night. . . . F Zach Fisher was among the Tigers’ scratches. . . . Medicine Hat (49-19-1) has won three in a row. It is second in the overall standings, five points behind Regina. . . . The Oil Kings (20-42-6) have lost 11 in a row (0-9-2). . . . Corey Graham, the voice of the Oil Kings on TSN 1260, called his 500th WHL game. . . . Announced attendance: 15,235.
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At Kamloops, F Rudolfs Balcers scored with 5.1 seconds left in the third period to give the Blazers a 4-3
DYLAN FERGUSON
victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Balcers’ 40th goal of the season finished a game in which Kamloops overcame a 3-0 deficit to win for the third time in four nights at home. . . . Balcers scored the game’s last two goals. . . . The Blazers trailed 3-1 going into the third period. . . . F Quinn Benjafield (16) got the home team to within a goal at 1:00 and Balcers tied it 27 seconds later. . . . F Deven Sideroff, back after serving a one-game WHL suspension, had the Blazers’ other goal, his 36th, at 13:58 of the second period. . . . F Calvin Spencer (15) had given Vancouver a 1-0 lead with 2.3 seconds left in the first period. . . . F Jack Flaman made it 2-0 with No. 15 at 1:17 of the second period and F Bartek Bison (7) upped it to 3-0 at 3:29. . . . Kamloops got two assists from each of Sideroff, D Ondrej Vala and F Lane Bauer. . . . G Dylan Ferguson stopped 42 shots to earn the victory. . . . The Giants got 29 stops from G Ryan Kubic. . . . Kamloops was 0-2 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-4. . . . The Blazers (41-23-6) have won three straight. They have clinched at least third place in the B.C. Division. They are eight points ahead of Victoria, which has three games left, and three in arrears of Kelowna. . . . The Giants (19-43-6) have lost eight straight (0-7-1). . . . Announced attendance: 3,870.
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At Kelowna, F Dillon Dube scored his second goal of the game on a PP in OT to give the Rockets a 4-3 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Dube’s 19th goal came 19 seconds into extra time. . . . F Reid
DILLON DUBE
Gardiner had given Kelowna a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 5:08 of the first period. . . . Victoria F Regan Nagy (18) tied it at 7:53. . . . F Dante Hannoun gave the Royals a 2-1 lead, at 1:48 of the second period. . . . Dube, who also had two assists, tied it at 14:51. Dube had two goals and an assist in an 8-1 victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants on Friday. . . . F Rod Southam put the Rockets back out front with his 17th goal, on another PP, at 18:15. . . . Hannoun tied it with his 25th goal, on a PP, at 12:50 of the third period. . . . F Calvin Thurkauf had two assists for Kelowna, as did D Cal Foote. Gardiner added an assist to his goal as he ran his point streak to 15 games. . . . G Michael Herringer earned the victory with 24 saves, seven fewer than Victoria’s Dylan Myskiw. . . . Kelowna was 3-7 on the PP; Victoria was 1-6. . . . The Rockets (43-21-5) have won a season-high seven straight games. With three games remaining, they are two points behind B.C. Division-leading Prince George and three ahead of Kamloops. . . . The Royals (37-26-6) have lost four in a row (0-3-1), all in the last five nights on the road. They hold down the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot and can finish no higher. . . . Victoria was without head coach Dave Lowry for the second night in a row He and one player have been isolated from the rest of the team after showing symptoms of mumps. They are awaiting results of tests to determine if it is indeed mumps. . . . With Lowry gone, assistant coaches Dan Price and Doug Bodger ran the Victoria bench. One night earlier, Price and general manager Cam Hope were behind the bench for a 6-2 loss in Kamloops. . . . Announced attendance: 5,526.
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At Lethbridge, F Mark Kastelic celebrated his 18th birthday with a pair of goals to help the Calgary
MARK KASTELIC
Hitmen to a 5-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . One night earlier, the Hitmen beat the visiting Hurricanes, 4-3. . . . Calgary (27-31-10) jumped into the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, one point ahead of Saskatoon. The Hitmen can stretch that to three points as they play host to Edmonton this afternoon. . . . Kastelic, a second-round selection in the 2014 WHL bantam draft, is from Phoenix. He had five goals and five assists in 59 games as a freshman last season. This season, he has 13 goals and 19 helpers in 63 games. . . . The teams came out of the first period tied, 2-2. . . . F Tyler Mrkonjic (6) gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 8:57, with Lethbridge D Calen Addison (7) tying it at 13:52. . . . The Hitmen went back out front on F Jakob Stukel’s 23rd goal, at 15:03, and Lethbridge tied it when F Jordy Bellerive got his 26th, at 17:07. . . . The Hitmen won it with the last three goals. . . . F Beck Malenstyn broke the tie with No. 27, at 14:08 of the second period. . . . Kastelic then scored twice, getting his 12th at 14:42 of the third period and adding an empty-netter at 17:00. . . . Stukel also had an assist. . . . Calgary G Kyle Dumba stopped 32 shots, 10 more than Lethbridge’s Stuart Skinner. . . . Lethbridge was 0-1 on the PP; Calgary was 0-2. . . . The Hurricanes were without F Matt Alfaro and F Zak Zborosky for a third straight game. . . . Calgary had F Matt Dorsey in the lineup for the first time since Jan. 6. . . . Lethbridge (43-19-7) is second in the Central Division but can’t catch first-place Medicine Hat. . . . Jason Monnery, Calgary’s equipment manager, worked his 500th WHL game. . . . Announced attendance: 5,178, the Hurricanes’ largest crowd this season.
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At Moose Jaw, F Adam Brooks scored two goals and added an assist to lead the Regina Pats to a 4-3 victory over the Warriors. . . . The Pats had blanked the visiting Warriors, 5-0, on Friday. . . . On Saturday,
ADAM BROOKS
Regina got off to a 3-0 lead. The Pats got two first-period goals, from F Braydon Buziak (10), at 14:09, and Brooks, on a PP, at 16:36. . . . F Filip Ahl got it to 3-0 with his 25th goal at 1:48 of the second period. . . . The Warriors got second-period goals from F Brayden Burke (19), at 9:13, and F Thomas Foster (21), at 10:59, and it was a one-goal game. . . . Brooks stretched the lead to two with his 39th goal, at 11:45 of the third period. . . . F Brett Howden’s 35th goal, at 14:50, pulled the Warriors back to within one. . . . Brooks, the WHL’s defending scoring champ, set a single-season career best in goals. He had 38 last season when he won the scoring title with 120 points in 62 games. This season, he has 117 points in 62 games. . . . Pats F Sam Steel, who leads the WHL scoring race, was held pointless in his 200th regular-season game. He has 123 points. . . . D Connor Hobbs had two assists for Regina. He leads all WHL defencemen in goals (28) and points (80). . . . Burke added two assists to his goal, while Foster also had an assist. . . . Moose Jaw F Jayden Halbgewachs had one assist in his 200th game. . . . G Tyler Brown stopped 32 shots for Regina, while Moose Jaw’s Zach Sawchenko turned aside 18. . . . Regina was 1-2 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-4. . . . Moose Jaw thought it had tied the game late, but the potential goal was waved off for goaltender interference. . . . The Pats (48-12-8) have won four in a row. They lead the overall standings by five points over Medicine Hat. . . . The Warriors (41-19-8) have lost two straight. They are second in the East Division, six points ahead of Swift Current with each team having four games remaining. . . . Regina went 5-3-0 in the season series; Moose Jaw was 3-4-1. . . . Announced attendance: 4,729.
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At Portland, the Seattle Thunderbirds struck for a pair of shorthanded goals and two on the PP to beat the Winterhawks, 6-3. . . . Seattle went up 1-0 when F Matthew Wedman (5) scored at 2:38 of the second
TYLER CARPENDALE
period. . . . Portland tied it on F Skyler McKenzie’s 40th goal, at 3:25. . . . The Thunderbirds’ special teams then went to work in taking a 3-1 lead. F Nolan Volcan’s 14th goal, at 10:56, came while shorthanded, and F Ryan Gropp got No. 32, on a PP, four minutes later. . . . Portland D Shaun Dosanjh got his guys to within a goal with his second score this season, at 18:01. That was his fourth goal in 169 career games. . . . F Alexander True (23) got the second shorthanded goal, 48 seconds into the third period. . . . F Keegan Iverson (23) followed for Portland at 3:01. . . . Seattle put it away with the game’s last two goals. F Sami Moilanen got No. 21 on a penalty shot at 14:48, and D Ethan Bear scored his 28th goal, tops among WHL defencemen, on a PP, at 18:59. . . . That also ran Bear’s points streak to 15 games. . . . Seattle got two assists from F Donovan Neuls and F Keegan Kolesar, with Gropp and True each adding one. . . . D Caleb Jones had two helpers for Portland. McKenzie had one. . . . Seattle G Rylan Toth was scheduled to start, but also was marked as questionable before the game. He got through the first period, stopping all 11 shots he faced, but then left as a precaution because of issues with a lower-body issue. This close to the playoffs, no one is going to fool around with something like that. . . . Toth was replaced by Matt Berlin, who turned aside 17 shots over the last two periods. . . . Shane Farkas made 30 saves for Portland. . . . Seattle was 2-6 on the PP; Portland was 1-6. . . . Seattle F Mathew Barzal, who left after the warmup prior to Friday’s 3-2 victory over visiting Everett, was among the scratches. Seattle continues to be without D Jarret Tyszka, F Scott Eansor and D Reece Harsch. . . . F Tyler Carpendale, who signed earlier in the day, made his WHL debut with Seattle. A sixth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft, he turned 17 on Jan. 26. From Powell River, B.C., he had eight goals and eight assists in 34 games with the junior B Westshore Wolves of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. . . . Seattle (44-19-6) has won three in a row. It leads the Western Conference by one point over Prince George and Everett. . . . The Winterhawks (37-27-4) had a five-game winning streak end. They hold down the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot, two points behind Victoria. Portland also is fourth in the U.S. Division, a point behind Tri-City. . . . Announced attendance: 7,235.
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At Red Deer, F Lane Zablocki scored once and added three assists to lead the Rebels to a 6-1 victory
LANE ZABLOCKI
over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Rebels beat the Ice, 4-1, in Cranbrook on Friday. . . . Last night, the Rebels responded to a 1-0 deficit by scoring four times before the first period came to an end. . . . F Vince Loschiavo (28) gave the visitors the lead at 4:49. . . . Zablock then drew the primary assist on three straight goals, with D Ethan Sakowich (3) scoring at 5:25, F Evan Polei (31) at 14:45, and F Brandon Hagel (25) at 17:31. The latter two goals came via the PP. . . . F Austin Pratt got No. 16 at 18:12. . . . The Rebels closed it out as Zablocki got his 26th goal, at 10:43 of the second period, and F Dawson Martin (9) scored, on a PP, at 13:22. . . . Red Deer got three assists from F Austin Glover and two from D Jared Freadrich. . . . Red Deer had planned to start G Riley Lamb, but apparently had a vision problem in the warmup, meaning Lasse Petersen got the start and made 15 saves. . . . At the other end, Payton Lee turned aside 31 shots. . . . Red Deer was 3-6 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-3. . . . The Rebels (28-28-12) have points in five straight (3-0-2). They are third in the Central Division, four points ahead of Calgary. Each team has four games remaining. . . . The Ice (14-43-11) has lost six in a row (0-5-1). . . . Announced attendance: 5,072.
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At Spokane, the Prince George Cougars built a 3-0 first-period lead and went on to beat the Chiefs, 4-3. .
TANNER WISHNOWSKI
. . The Cougars (44-21-5) set a Prince George franchise record for victories in one season. Prince George had twice won 43 games, in 1997-98 and 1999-2000. The Victoria Cougars won 60 games in 1980-81. . . . F Josh Curtis (9), F Jared Bethune (22) and F Nikita Popugaev, on a PP, scored for the Cougars in the opening period. . . . After a goal-less second period, F Jared Anderson-Dolan scored for the Chiefs, on a PP, 57 seconds into the third. . . . The Cougars got that one back as D Josh Anderson (3) counted at 10:59. . . . Spokane made it interesting with two late goals, as F Kailer Yamamoto got No. 39, on a PP, at 13:39 and F Hudson Elynuik scored his 27th, at 18:47. . . . F Tanner Wishnowski, who moved from Spokane to Prince George in January, played only his third game since Nov. 19. He has an assist in each of his past two games now. . . . Yamamoto also had two assists, with Anderson-Dolan getting one. . . . The Cougars got 27 saves from G Nick McBride. . . . G Jayden Sittler turned aside 36 shots for Spokane. . . . The Cougars were 1-2 on the PP; the Chiefs were 2-6. . . . Prince George leads the B.C. Division by two points over Kelowna. . . . The Chiefs (26-32-10) have lost six straight (0-5-1). . . . Announced attendance: 8,233.
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At Swift Current, F Ryley Lindgren’s second goal, at 19:02 of the third period, gave the Broncos a 3-2
RYLEY LINDGREN
victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Broncos F Tyler Steenbergen had tied the game 2-2 at 14:11 of the first period as he became the first WHLer to reach 50 goals this season. . . . Steenbergen, who turned 19 on Jan. 7, has 86 points in 68 games, after putting up 46 points, 20 of them goals, in 67 games as a freshman last season. . . . Steenbergen is the first Swift Current skater with 50 goals since F Jeremy Williams put in 52 in 68 games in 2003-04. . . . Lindgren, who has 25 goals, gave the Broncos a 1-0 lead at 6:10 of the first period. . . . The Blades took a 2-1 lead on goals from F Mason McCarty (20), at 11:08, and F Logan Christensen (11), at 11:39. . . . D Max Lajoie drew two assists for the Broncos, with Steenbergen and Lindgren getting one each. . . . G Taz Burman stopped 35 shots for the Broncos. . . . The Blades got 27 stops from G Logan Flodell. . . . Swift Current was 0-4 on the PP; Saskatoon was 0-6. . . . The Broncos had beaten the host Blades, 5-3, on Friday. . . . Swift Current (37-21-10) appears likely to finish third in the East Division. . . . The Blades (27-33-9) now are one point out of a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 2,476, the largest crowd this season in Swift Current.
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At Kennewick, Wash., G Mario Petit stopped 22 shots in helping the Everett Silvertips to a 5-1 victory
MARIO PETIT
over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Petit lost his shutout bid at 8:41 of the third period when F Tyler Sandhu scored his 21st goal. . . . Petit, who caddies for starter Carter Hart, is 11-5-3, 2.77, .899 in 21 appearances this season. . . . Everett took a 2-0 first-period lead on goals from F Dominic Zwerger, his 26th, at 2:55, and D Lucas Skrumeda (4), at 16:14. . . . D Kevin Davis scored his seventh goal, on a PP, at 1:00 of the third period for a 3-0 lead. . . . The Silvertips closed it out with late third-period goals from F Patrick Bajkov (28) and F Sean Richards (8), both via the PP. . . . Everett got two assists from Zwerger, F Riley Sutter and D Noah Juulsen, with Davis adding one. . . . G Evan Sarthou stopped 34 shots for the Americans. . . . Everett was 3-6 on the PP; Tri-City was 0-3. . . . Everett D Aaron Irving missed his second game in as many nights. . . . According to the online scoresheet, Tri-City D Dakota Krebs took a high-sticking major at 19:30 of the third period. . . . Everett (41-15-11) is second in the U.S. Division, one point behind Seattle. . . . Tri-City (38-27-3) has lost four in a row. It is third in the U.S. Division, one point ahead of Portland. Each team has four games remaining. . . . Announced attendance: 4,793.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Edmonton at Calgary, 4 p.m.
Everett at Portland, 5 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 12:16 AM
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Sunday, February 26, 2017

Rebels get some breathing room . . . No quit in these Broncos . . . T-Birds putting heat on 'Tips


The Dauphin Kings were eliminated from MJHL playoff contention on Sunday, something that officially clears the way for the Brandon Wheat Kings to play first-round playoff games in that city’s Credit Union Place.
The Wheat Kings are forced to hit the road because the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair takes over the Keystone Centre complex in Brandon from March 27 through April 1.
The Wheat Kings, the WHL’s defending champions, hold down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. They are fourth in the Eastern Conference, seven points behind the Swift Current Broncos with 10 games remaining.
It is looking like the Wheat Kings will face the Medicine Hat Tigers, who lead the Central Division, in the first-round of the playoffs.
The Wheat Kings are expected to play Games 3 and 4 there on March 28 and 29. A sixth game, if needed, would be played in Dauphin on April 2.
The Dauphin facility has 1,763 seats and room for 752 standees.
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If you’re looking for an interesting read, try this one right here. The headline is: The RV Bandit who stole a million dollars, one wallet at a time. . . . It involves a guy who was a regular on the auto-racing circuit but didn’t watch much of the races. Instead, he . . . well, give it a read. It’s interesting, to say the least.
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If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:

At Calgary, F Lane Zablocki scored two goals and added an assist to help the Red Deer Rebels to a 7-2
LANE ZABLOCKI
victory over the Hitmen. . . . One night earlier, playing at home, Red Deer had blown a 3-0 lead and dropped a 6-3 decision to Calgary. . . . Yesterday, the Rebels scored the game’s first four goals and went from there. . . . Zablocki, who has 25 stars, got it started with a PP goal at 17:47 of the first period. . . . D Carson Sass (5) made it 2-0 just 25 seconds later. . . . F Evan Polei’s 28th goal, at 3:12 of the second period, increased the lead and F Michael Spacek (27) made it 4-0 at 11:24. . . . The Hitmen threw a scare into Red Deer by cutting the deficit to 4-2 with late second-period goals from F Matteo Gennaro (37) at 17:45 and F Jakob Stukel (21) at 19:17. . . . But the Rebels took control back with three third-period goals, from Zablocki, on a PP, F Austin Glover (20) and F Austin Pratt (15). . . . Red Deer got three assists from F Adam Musil and two from D Brandon Schuldhaus, with Polei, Pratt and Spacek each getting one. . . . G Riley Lamb stopped 22 shots to earn the victory. . . . Calgary got 22 stops from G Trevor Martin. . . . Red Deer was 2-6 on the PP; Calgary was 0-4. . . . The Rebels (26-28-10) are third in the Central Division, their lead over fourth-place Calgary (24-28-10) now at four points. . . . Calgary is in possession of the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, two points ahead of Saskatoon. . . . Announced attendance: 7,208.
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At Regina, the Swift Current Broncos, playing their third game in fewer than 48 hours, scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Pats, 5-4 in OT. . . . The Broncos lost 7-0 in Regina on Friday, then went into
RYLEY LINDGREN
Moose Jaw on Saturday and dropped a 5-2 decision. . . . The Broncos, who had lost five straight games to Regina, won this one on F Ryley Lindgren’s 19th goal, at 3:16 of OT. . . . F Austin Wagner (27) had given Regina a 1-0 lead at 2:54 of the first period. . . . The Broncos tied it on F Kole Gable’s sixth goal, at 6:30. . . . Regina went back out front when F Nick Henry got No. 31, at 7:27. . . . F Tyler Steenbergen tied it 2-2, on a PP, at 11:20. . . . The Pats took the lead again on F Dawson Leedahl’s 31st goal, at 14:15 of the second period. . . . F Sam Steel, who leads the WHL scoring race, gave the Pats a two-goal lead, on a PP, with his 44th goal at 16:08. . . . The Broncos’ comeback started when F Aleksi Heponiemi (24) struck at 1:11 of the third period. . . . Steenbergen tied it, on a PP and with an extra attacker on the ice, with 12.6 seconds left in the third. . . . Swift Current D Max Lajoie drew the primary assist on each of the last two goals. . . . Lindgren and Heponiemi each had one assist. . . . Henry, F Adam Brooks and D Connor Hobbs had two assists each for Regina, with Steel and Leedahl each getting one. . . . Steel now has 113 points, 10 more than Brooks. . . . Steenbergen has 45 goals and is tied for the league lead with F Tyler Wong of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Steel and F Jayden Halbgewachs of the Moose Jaw Warriors are next, at 44. . . . G Taz Burman earned the victory with 43 saves. . . . G Jordan Hollett stopped 25 shots for the Pats. . . . Swift Current was 2-4 on the PP; Regina was 1-6. . . . The Broncos lost D Sahvan Khaira to a charging major and game misconduct at 14:35 of the second period. . . . F Robbie Holmes was among Regina’s scratches. He was injured on Friday on a hit by Broncos F Lane Pederson, who completed a two-game suspension by sitting out this one. . . . The Broncos also were without F Glenn Gawdin (ill). . . . F Kjell Kjemhus made his WHL debut with the Pats. From Grande Prairie, Alta., Kjemhus, 15, was a fourth-round pick in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. He has been playing at Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna. . . . Swift Current (31-20-10) had lost its previous three games (0-2-1). The Broncos appear headed to a third-place finish in the East Division and a first-round matchup with Moose Jaw. . . . Regina (44-9-8) has points in four straight (3-0-1) and leads the overall standings by seven points over Medicine Hat. . . . Announced attendance: 6,484.
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At Saskatoon, G Zach Sawchenko blocked 29 shots to lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 2-0 victory over
ZACH SAWCHENKO
the Blades. . . . Sawchenko has three shutouts this season and nine in his career. He has won 27 games this season, one shy of the 28 he posted last season. . . . F Luka Burzan’s 13th goal, at 10:32 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . F Justin Almeida’s ninth goal, at 10:10 of the third period, provided insurance. . . . The Blades got 20 saves from G Brock Hamm. . . . Each team was 0-5 on the PP. . . . Moose Jaw lost F Noah Gregor at 15:50 of the second period when he took a kneeing major and game misconduct for a hit on Saskatoon D Mark Rubinchik. . . . D Josh Thrower of the Warriors played in his 300th regular-season game. This was his 89th game with the Warriors. He also has played with the Vancouver Giants, Tri-City Americans and Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Warriors (38-17-8) have won six straight games. They are second in the East Divsion, 12 points behind Regina and 12 ahead of Swift Current. . . . The Blades (24-31-8) have lost two in a row. They are two points behind the Hitmen, who hold down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . Announced attendance: 3,844.
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At Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds opened up a 4-0 lead en route to a 6-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Seattle, which clinched a playoff spot with the victory, got first-period goals from F Keegan Kolesar (22), on a PP, at 7:10; F Luke Ormsby
ANTHONY BISHOP
(6), at 12:35; and D Anthony Bishop (1), at 18:04. . . . Bishop, an 18-year-old from Kelowna, scored in his 98th regular-season game, the 58th of this season. . . . The Thunderbirds went ahead 4-1 on F Ryan Gropp’s 29th goal, on a PP, at 4:56 of the second period. . . . F Connor Dewar’s 11th goal, shorthanded, got Everett on the scoreboard at 10:39. . . . F Mathew Barzal, who also had three assists, scored No. 9, on a PP, at 12:14. . . . Seattle’s Elijah Brown added his third goal at 15:13 of the third period. . . . Barzal has 71 points, including 62 assists, in 37 games. He has points in 18 of his past 20 games, recording 52 points over that stretch. He has put up back-to-back four-pointers. . . . Seattle got two assists from D Ethan Bear, who left in the second period and was seated in the press box by game’s end. Later, Andy Eide of 710 ESPN Seattle tweeted that he asked Thunderbird head coach Steve Konowalchuk “what he could tell us about Bear’s situation.” The response: “Nothing.” . . . Seattle next is scheduled to play Wednesday in Kamloops. . . . Bear ran his point streak to 12 games, while Kolesar now is riding an 11-game streak. . . . The Thunderbirds got 20 saves from G Rylan Toth, who now leads the WHL with 33 victories. . . . Everett starter Carter Hart was beaten three times on 12 shots in the first period. Mario Petit played the last two periods, stopping 12 of 15 shots. . . . Seattle was 3-5 on the PP; Everett was 0-4. . . . Seattle (40-18-5) has won 14 straight home games and is second in the U.S. Division, one point behind Everett (38-13-10), which had a seven-game winning streak snapped. . . . Everett also leads the Western Conference standings, one point ahead of Prince George and Seattle. . . . Announced attendance: 5,157.
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At Spokane, F Reid Gardiner and D Devante Stephens had four-point nights as the Kelowna Rockets beat the Chiefs, 9-5. . . . The Rockets, who scored nine times on 22 shots, were playing their third game
REID GARDINER
in fewer than 48 hours, while the Chiefs had Saturday off. . . . Kelowna scored five times in the first period and opened up a 7-0 lead before the second period was half over. . . . Gardiner scored twice, giving him 11 goals, and added two assists, while Stephens picked up his 11th goal and added three helpers. . . . The Rockets also got two goals from each of F Rod Southam, who has 16, and F Carsen Twarynski, who has 15. Also scoring for Kelowna were F Dillon Dube (12) and F Nick Merkley (22). . . . Merkley, Dube and F Nolan Foote had two assists each. . . . Spokane scored five of the game’s last seven goals, getting them from F Keanu Yamamoto (23), F Hudson Elynuik (22), F Alex Mowbray (3), D Ty Smith (4) and F Riley Woods (10). F Jaret Anderson-Dolan had two assists, with Yamamoto and Woods each getting one. . . . The Rockets got 21 saves from G Bordan Salmond. . . . Spokane starter Jayden Sittler allowed four goals on six shots in 12:00, with Donovan Buskey coming on for his WHL debut at that point. Buskey, a 17-year-old from North Vancouver, gave up three goals on six shots in 18:54. Sittler re-entered and finished up, stopping eight of 10 shots in 29:06. . . . Buskey was a third-round pick by Spokane in the 2015 bantam draft. He has been with the major midget Vancouver Northwest Giants. . . . Spokane was 3-6 on the PP; Kelowna was 2-5. . . . The Rockets (37-21-5) are third in the B.C. Division, one point behind Kamloops with a game in hand. . . . Spokane (25-27-9) has lost three in a row and is nine points out of a playoff spot with 11 games remaining. . . . Announced attendance: 4,927.
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At Victoria, the Royals completed a tripleheader sweep of the Vancouver Giants with a 3-2 victory. . . .
DYLAN MYSKIW
The Royals had won 6-4 in Langley, B.C., on Friday and 3-1 at home on Saturday. . . . On Sunday, the visitors took a 1-0 lead at 3:15 of the first period when F Johnny Wesley scored his 10th goal. . . . The Royals took control by scoring the next three goals. . . . F Jared Dmytriw, who had scored twice on Saturday, got No. 13 at 10:36 of the second period. . . . F Dante Hannoun (21) gave the Royals the lead with a PP goal, at 11:15. . . . Victoria F Vladimir Bobylev picked up his eighth goal, on a PP, 49 seconds into the third period. . . . The Giants got close when F Bartek Bison (6) scored at 14:38. . . . The Royals got two assists from F Jack Walker. . . . G Dylan Myskiw turned aside 24 shots to earn the victory. . . . Vancouver G Ryan Kubic blocked 35 shots. . . . Victoria was 2-8 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-5. . . . The Royals (35-23-5) have points in five straight (4-0-1). They hold down the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot, five points ahead of Portland. Victoria also is fourth in the B.C. Division, six points behind Kelowna. . . . The Giants (19-39-5) have lost three in a row. . . . Next up for Vancouver: Another tripleheader, this time against the Portland Winterhawks. It starts Wednesday in Langley. . . . Announced attendance: 4,007.
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MONDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
Lethbridge at Regina, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:19 PM
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