Showing posts with label Len Boogaard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Len Boogaard. Show all posts

Friday, January 13, 2017

Len Boogaard fights the good fight ... Patrick solid in return ... Americans, Cougars roar back to win


———

 F Björn Svensson (Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, 2003-06) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Ingolstadt (Germany, DEL). Svensson was released by Färjestad Karlstad (Sweden, SHL) on Thursday. He had three goals and three assists in 31 games.
———

 The WHL has acknowledged that, yes, Don Hay’s first head-coaching victory occurred on Dec. 18, 1987, but, no, it isn’t going to count it.
If you’re late to this story, everyone thought that Hay had posted his 700th victory on Jan. 6 when his
Kamloops Blazers beat the visiting Kelowna Rockets, 3-1.
The WHL had said that Hay’s first coaching victory occurred on Dec. 13, 1991, when Hay, then an assistant coach with the Blazers, took over while head coach Tom Renney was with Canada’s national junior team. The Blazers went 6-5-0 under Hay during that stint.
But in conversation after the Jan. 6 game it became apparent that Hay also had taken over the Blazers from head coach Ken Hitchcock in December 1987 when the latter joined Team Canada’s coaching staff.
The Blazers went 2-4-0 with Hay as the head coach of record, twice beating the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-2 both times, giving him the first two WHL victories of his career.
That would mean, then, that when the Blazers beat the Giants on Jan. 6, it actually was Hay’s 702nd victory.
Understand that people other than WHL head coaches get credit for victories a number of times each season.
For example, Mark O’Leary, an assistant coach with the Moose Jaw Warriors, ran the bench from Dec. 9 through Jan. 4 when head coach Tim Hunter was with Team Canada. The Warriors went 7-3-2 with O’Leary in charge.
Earlier than that, Lethbridge Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt stepped in when head coach Brent Kisio was at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. The Hurricanes went 2-2-1 under Anholt.
Just this week, Dean Brockman, the head coach of the Saskatoon Blades, missed a 5-4 OT victory over the visiting Calgary Hitmen because he attended a funeral. Assistant coach Ryan Keller was the head coach of record and earned his first victory.
Last season, the Brandon Wheat Kings played 13 games without general manager and head coach Kelly McCrimmon — one while he was at meetings in Calgary and 12 while he was with Team Canada. David Anning, then an assistant coach, stepped up and was 9-3-1.
You would think, then, that it is obvious that Hay should be given credit for the two 1987 victories.
However, when Earl Seitz, the sports director at CFJC-TV in Kamloops, contacted the WHL office and asked for clarification, here is the response he received:
“Upon further review, Dec. 18, 1987, should serve as Don’s first game as the coach of record. It also happens to be a 5-2 Blazers win at Seattle. While this changes the first game/date on Don’s coaching record, it does not change the number of career victories. We maintain that (the Jan. 6) win versus Kelowna is his 700th career coaching victory.”
All of this is significant because Hay is only the second coach in WHL history to get to 700 victories and now has the career record within reach. Ken Hodge, who coached with the original Edmonton Oil Kings and Portland Winterhawks, is on top, at 742.
It is most likely that Hay, assuming he is back for a fourth season as head coach of his hometown Blazers, will get the opportunity at some point next season to break that record.
It’s up to the WHL to clarify things by crediting Hay with the two victories before then so that the situation isn’t any messier when that time arrives.
——
The Edmonton Oil Kings have added D Matthew Robertson to their roster and he is expected to play tonight against the host Lethbridge Hurricanes. He had been playing with the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings. The 6-foot-1, 170-pounder was the seventh overall selection in the 2016 bantam draft. He has three goals and eight assists in 22 games with the Kings.
———
Concussion Report

 Len Boogaard isn’t going away. The father of the late Derek Boogaard continues to work towards getting fighting out of hockey. His son was an enforcer — in the WHL, the AHL, the NHL — and Len knows the hell through which Derek lived.
In an epic piece in The Globe and Mail, Roy MacGregor writes: “Scientists say that the developing brain is most vulnerable and Len Boogaard wonders how, then, junior hockey can justify fighting on any level.”
“Why,” Boogaard wonders, “would you have a 16-year-old fighting a 20-year-old? It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Later, MacGregor writes: “If, as the (NHL) itself has said, fighting causes about 10 per cent of the concussions suffered in a season, why not reduce those concussion injuries by 10 per cent immediately by putting an end to fighting?”
Boogaard added: “How do you square the circle where they want to get rid of headshots but they allow fighting in the league?
“What am I missing?”
MacGregor’s complete essay is right here.
———

——

FRIDAY’S GAMES:


At Brandon, F Tyler Coulter scored three goals and added three assists but was overshadowed by the return of F Nolan Patrick as the Wheat Kings beat the Kootenay Ice, 8-5. . . . Patrick, who is likely to be
NOLAN PATRICK
the No. 1 selection in the NHL’s 2017 draft, had two goals and two assists in his first game since Oct. 11. . . . Patrick, who began the game on a line with Ty Lewis and Stelio Mattheos, now has 13 points, including six goals, in seven games this season. . . . The Ice took a 2-0 lead as F Colton Kroeker (3) and F Vince Loschiavo (15), on a PP, scored at 1:33 and 6:00 of the first period. . . . The Wheat Kings came back with three goals, from F Linden McCorrister (2), Patrick, on a PP, and Coulter, shorthanded. . . . D Dallas Hines pulled Kootenay into a 3-3 tie at 18:07 of the first, on a PP. . . . Brandon took control with the next three goals, as Patrick got another PP goal, at 6:24 of the second period, Coulter scored again at 8:42 and F Reid Duke (24) counted at 13:31. . . . Still, the Ice didn’t go away and got back to within one when F Brett Davis (8) scored 53 seconds into the third period and D Sam Huston got his first at 3:11. Huston is from Brandon scored his first goal in his 30th game. He was a ninth-round pick by the Ice in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . Mattheos added insurance with his 15th, at 8:09, and Coulter completed his hat trick with his 19th goal, on a PP, at 17:52. . . . Brandon got two assists each from D Kale Clague and F Tanner Kaspick, with Mattheos and Duke adding one each. . . . D Troy Murray had two helpers for the Ice and Kroeker had one. . . . G Logan Thompson started for Brandon and gave up three goals on 10 shots in the first period. Travis Child, acquired from the Swift Current at the Broncos, made his Brandon debut with 14 saves on 16 shots over the last two periods to earn the victory. . . . The Ice got 32 saves from Payton Lee. . . . The Wheat Kings were 3-6 on the PP; the Ice was 2-5. . . . The Wheat Kings had Duke in their lineup despite his having taken a kneeing major and game misconduct in a 5-2 loss to the visiting Tri-City Americans on Wednesday night. Obviously, the WHL office didn’t feel the hit was worthy of a suspension. . . . Brandon (21-17-4) holds down the Eastern Conference’s first playoff spot, six points ahead of the idle Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Ice (10-26-8) has lost two in a row. . . . The teams meet again tonight in Brandon. . . . Announced attendance: 3,671.
——

At Kamloops, G Carter Hart returned to the Everett Silvertips’ lineup and blanked the Blazers, 4-0. . . .
CARTER HART
Hart, who hadn’t played since he was with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship, stopped 22 shots for his fifth shutout this season and the 15th of his career. He is in his third season with Everett. . . . Only 13 goaltenders in WHL history have more shutouts than does Hart. . . . F Patrick Bajkov (19) scored the game’s first goal, at 14:20 of the second period. . . . Everett put it away with three third-period goals, two from F Devon Skoleski, who has eight goals, and one from F Matt Fonteyne, who has a dozen. . . . F Dominic Zwerger and F Connor Dewar had two assists each, while Fonteyne and Bajkov each had one. . . . Everett D Kevin Davis, who is from Kamloops, had his 13-game point streak snapped. . . . Kamloops G Dylan Ferguson stopped 24 shots in his 14th straight start. Ferguson is on that run because G Connor Ingram, Hart’s partner with Team Canada, is getting some R&R with his family in Imperial, Sask. . . . Each team was 0-2 on the PP. . . . Everett also had D Noah Juulsen back after the WJC, while D Aaron Irving returned from an undisclosed injury. . . . The Blazers had F Garrett Pilon back after a three-game absence due to a concussion. D Chaz Reddekopp of the Victoria Royals served a two-game suspension under supplemental discipline for the unpenalized hit on which Pilon was injured. . . . Everett (27-5-7) has points in three straight (2-0-1) and is tied for second in the overall standings, one point behind the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Blazers (25-16-3) were 2-0-1 in their previous three games. They are third in the B.C. Division, two points behind the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Announced attendance: 3,575.
——


At Lethbridge, F Nikita Popugaev scored the only goal of a shootout as the Prince George Cougars came
NIKITA POPUGAEV
back from a 5-1 deficit to beat the Hurricanes, 6-5. . . . Lethbridge led this one 5-1 with fewer than 15 minutes left in the third period. . . . Cougars F Jesse Gabrielle got things started with his 21st goal, on a PP, at 5:13 of the third period. . . . F Josh Curtis (7) scored shorthanded at 6:55, to get the visitors to within two. . . . F Brogan O’Brien’s sixth goal, at 10:23, cut the deficit to 5-4. . . . O’Brien then tied the score at 15:59. . . . The Hurricanes had taken a 2-0 lead on goals from F Jordy Bellerive (20), at 4:51 of the first period, and D Brennan Riddle (3), at 5:45. . . . Popugaev’s 24th goal got the Cougars on the scoreboard, at 6:33. . . . The Hurricanes then added three straight goals to seemingly take control. F Jadon Joseph (1) scored on a PP, at 16:01 of the first period, with D Brennan Menell (7) counting, shorthanded, at 4:58 of the second period and F Tyler Wong getting his 30th goal, at 11:53. . . . Popugaev also had two assists, while Gabrielle had one. . . . Wong and Menell each had an assist for the Hurricanes. . . . G Nick McBride stopped 37 shots for Prince George, three more than Lethbridge’s Stuart Skinner. . . . Each team was 1-4 on the PP. . . . The Cougars are three games into a trip on which they’ll play four games in five nights. . . . Prince George (30-12-2) has won two in a row and has moved back into first place in the overall standings. . . . Lethbridge (23-15-6) had won its previous three games. The Hurricanes are second in the Central Division, six points ahead of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Announced attendance: 3,675.
——
At Medicine Hat, F Chad Butcher scored three times and added two assists to help the Tigers to a 7-3
CHAD BUTCHER
victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Tigers grabbed control early as they led 5-0 before the second period was five minutes old. . . . The home side got first-period goals from Butcher, on a PP, at 10:33; F Mark Rassell (18), at 11:54; F Zach Fischer (24), on a PP, at 14:54, and F Mason Shaw (14), at 15:51. . . . Butcher upped the lead to 5-0 at 4:08 of the second period. . . . F Riley Stotts (5) scored for the Broncos at 4:29 of the second period, but Butcher completed his hat trick, with his 20th goal, on a PP, at 17:45. . . . The Broncos then got goals from F Aleksi Heponiemi, his 15th, at 3:02 of the third period and F Lane Pederson, his 18th, at 15:17. . . . D Clayton Kirichenko, who also had three assists, scored his fifth goal, into an empty net, at 16:39. . . . F Steve Owre had two assists for the Tigers, with Fischer adding one. . . . Pederson had two helpers for the Broncos. . . . G Michael Bullion stopped 18 shots for Medicine Hat. . . . G Jordan Papirny, in his first start since coming over from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Tuesday, was beaten four times on nine shots in 15:51. Taz Burman came on to finish up and stopped 23 of 25 shots in 40:42. . . . Medicine Hat was 3-3 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-2. . . . F Ryan Graham was among Swift Current’s scratches. He is out with an undisclosed injury. . . . Swift Current F Glenn Gawdin didn’t finish the game. . . . The Tigers (30-13-1) are tied for second in the overall standings, one point behind the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Broncos (24-13-7) had won their previous two games. They are third in the East Division, four points behind the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Announced attendance: 3,568.
——
At Portland, the Winterhawks built up a 5-1 lead and, unlike a couple of other teams on this night, hung
HENRI JOKIHARJU
on for a 5-4 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . F Ryan Hughes (15) gave Portland a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 5:03 of the first period. . . . The Chiefs tied it at 16:40 as F Ethan McIndoe got No. 9 on a PP. . . . Portland went back out front just 13 seconds later on F Brendan De Jong’s seventh goal. . . . Second-period goals from F Skyler McKenzie (26), F Colton Veloso (10) and D Caleb Jones (4), on a PP, gave Portland a 5-1 lead. . . . Jones, who has points in 10 straight games, was playing his first game since returning from winning gold with Team USA at the World Junior Championship. . . . Spokane F Kailer Yamamoto’s 26th goal, at 18:06 of the second period, got the Chiefs to within three goals. . . . McIndoe scored again, at 11:54, and D Nolan Reid’s first goal made it 5-4 at 13:19. . . . D Henri Jokiharju had three assists for Portland, while F Cody Glass added two. Jones and Hughes each had one. . . . Yamamoto added an assist to his goal. . . . G Cole Kehler turned aside 28 shots to earn the victory. . . . Spokane starter Jayden Sittler gave up five goals on 23 shots in 33:28. Dawson Weatherill came on in relief to stop the 10 shots he faced, in 25:09. . . . Portland was 2-2 on the PP; Spokane was 1-1. . . . F Hayden Ostir returned to Spokane’s lineup for the first time since Dec. 13. . . . The Winterhawks (22-18-1) hold down the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot and are one point out of third in the U.S. Division. . . . . The Chiefs (17-19-7) have lost four in a row (0-3-1) and are four points behind Portland. . . . Announced attendance: 4,338.
——

At Prince Albert, the Red Deer Rebels scored the game’s last two goals and beat the Raiders, 4-3. . . .
ADAM MUSIL
The last two goals came from two players who skated for Czech Republic at the World Junior Championship. . . . F Michael Spacek tied the score, 3-3, at 7:01 of the third period, while shorthanded. He’s got 17 goals. . . . F Adam Musil’s PP goal, at 16:52, proved to be the winner. It was his 16th goal. . . . The Raiders had opened a 2-0 first-period lead on goals from F Parker Kelly (6) and F Tim Vanstone (7), on a PP. . . . The visitors tied it on two quick second-period goals from D Alexander Alexeyev (4), on a PP, at 2:24, and F Lane Zablocki (11), at 4:05. . . . F Curtis Miske gave the home side a 3-2 lead with his seventh goal 48 seconds into the third period. . . . Red Deer got two assists from D Colton Bobyk and one each from Alexeyev and Spacek. . . . G Riley Lamb stopped 33 shots for Red Deer, two more than the Raiders’ Ian Scott. . . . Red Deer was 2-5 on the PP; Prince Albert was 1-5. . . . The Rebels (20-17-6) have won two in a row and are third in the Central Division. . . . The Raiders (8-32-4) have lost eight straight (0-6-2). . . . Raiders F Simon Stransky didn’t play the last 10 minutes of the third period after taking a check from Red Deer D Brandon Schuldaus. . . . Announced attendance: 2,127.
——

At Regina, the Tri-City Americans erased a 5-1 first-period deficit and beat the Pats, 6-5. . . . Regina scored four times in the game’s first 11 minutes but couldn’t hang on. . . . D Connor Hobbs (17), F Jake
MAX JAMES
Leschyshyn (16), F Bryan Lockner (2) and F Dawson Leedahl (17) had the home side out front 4-0 by 10:51 of the opening period. . . . F Michael Rasmussen, back in Tri-City’s lineup after a two-game absence, made it 4-1 with No. 30, on a PP, at 11:16. . . . Regina F Filip Ahl (19) got that one back at 17:12. . . . F Vladislav Lukin got the Americans’ comeback started with two goals — he’s got 18 — at 18:33 of the first period and 4:32 of the second. . . . F Jordan Topping (10) added a PP goal at 16:08 of the second and F Tyler Sandhu (12) tied it with another PP score, this one at 6:48 of the third. . . . The Americans won it on F Max James’ eighth goal, at 10:27 of the third period. . . . D Juuso Valimaki had three assists for the visitors, with Sandhu and Lukin adding one each. . . . Regina F Adam Brooks had three assists, with Leedahl and Hobbs each getting one. . . . Tri-City G Evan Sarthou gave up three goals on eight shots in 8:40. Rylan Parenteau came on stop 26 of 28 shots in 51:20 and also earn two assists. . . . The Pats started Tyler Brown, who was beaten four times on 17 shots through two periods before leaving with an undisclosed injury. Kurtis Chapman played the third period, giving up two goals on 12 shots. . . . Brown is expected to miss a Saturday-Sunday home-and-home with the Prince Albert Raiders. The Pats have been juggling backup goaltenders with Jordan Hollett (ankle) sidelined. Chapman is expected to start tonight against the visiting Raiders, with Max Paddock of the midget AAA Brandon Wheat Kings backing him up. . . . The Americans were 3-7 on the PP; The Pats were 1-3. . . . Tri-City (27-17-3) is 5-0-0 on an East Division swing that wraps up Saturday in Swift Current. The Americans are second in the U.S. Division, four points behind Everett, but the Silvertips hold eight games in hand. . . . The Pats (27-5-7) have lost two in a row and slipped into a tie for second in the overall standings. . . . Announced attendance: 5,313. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has a game story right here.
——
At Langley, B.C., F Thomas Foster turned with a goal and an assist to help the Moose Jaw Warriors to a
THOMAS FOSTER
4-1 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Foster had been dealt to by the Giants to the Warriors earlier in the week. . . . Foster opened the scoring with his 11th goal, on a PP, at 7:19 of the first period. . . . Vancouver tied it at 12:22 when F Ty Ronning scored No. 17. . . . Moose Jaw F Jayden Halbgewachs, who leads the WHL with 38 goals, broke the tie, on a PP, at 18:25. He also had two assists and now has 70 points, tying him with forwards Adam Brooks and Sam Steel for the WHL scoring lead. . . . The Warriors got insurance from F Brayden Burke when he scored his 13th goal, on a PP, at 2:59 of the third period. Burke also had two assists. . . . Moose Jaw D Colin Paradis finished it with his first goal, shorthanded, at 11:03. . . . G Brody Willms stopped 25 shots for the Warriors, while Vancouver’s Ryan Kubic blocked 21. . . . Moose Jaw was 2-4 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-7. . . . The Giants were without F Tyler Benson with an undisclosed injury for a fifth straight game. . . . D Darian Skeoch (ankle) also was missing from Vancouver’s lineup. . . . The Warriors (26-10-7) were playing the first game of a B.C. Division tour. They have closed to within two points of the East Division-leading Regina Pats, who have four games in hand. . . . The Giants (16-24-4) have lost four in a row and are 10 points out of a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 4,461.
——
At Victoria, F Dillon Dube scored three goals and added an assist as the Kelowna Rockets dumped the Royals, 9-2. . . . The Rockets had beaten the host Royals, 4-3, on Wednesday night. . . . D James
DILLON DUBE
Hilsendager gave Kelowna a 1-0 lead with his second goal, at 2:37 of the first period. . . . The Royals tied it on F Jack Walker’s 21st goal, at 5:06. . . . The Rockets followed that with the next seven goals, the first three from Dube, who has six goals this season. . . . Dube has six goals and 13 assists in 14 games. He missed the start of the season with a knee injury. . . . Dube’s last two goals came in the second period when the Rockets counted six times. . . . F Devante Stephens (8), F Tomas Soustal (14), F Reid Gardiner (2) and F Jack Cowell (3) had Kelowna’s other second-period goals. . . . F Ethan Price (4) scored for Victoria at 19:39. . . . Kelowna F Erik Gardiner, Reid’s younger brother, closed out the scoring with his second goal, at 12:58 of the third period. . . . D Cal Foote and F Carsen Twarynski each had two assists for the winners, Cowell, Soustal and the Gardiner boys added an assist each. . . . Walker added an assist to his goal, too. . . . G Michael Herringer stopped 19 shots for the winners. . . . Victoria starter Griffen Outhouse was beaten four times on 19 shots in 30:20. Dean McNabb then made his WHL debut and allowed two goals on four shots in 2:26. Outhouse then came back in and gave up three more goals on 20 shots in 27:14. . . . Kelowna was 2-4 on the PP; Victoria was 1-6. . . . The Rockets (26-15-3) have won three in a row and now are second in the B.C. Division, two points ahead of the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Royals (22-18-4) have lost three straight and are five points behind Kamloops. . . . Announced attendance: 7,006.
——

SATURDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Kootenay at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Prince George at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Vancouver at Kamloops 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Spokane at Portland, 7 p.m.
Prince Albert at Regina, 7 p.m.
Red Deer at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
——

SUNDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Lethbridge at Calgary, 4 p.m.
Regina at Prince Albert, 4 p.m.
Spokane vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 5:05 p.m.
Red Deer at Swift Current, 4 p.m.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:59 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Wheaties win in Edmonton . . . Tambellini OT hero . . . Langhamer, Hill pitch shutouts

If you didn’t watch the fifth estate’s episode — The Pain Game: Drugs, Doctors and Pro Sports — you should give it a view. It’s right here.
A lot of the news magazine’s show deals with the late Derek Boogaard and it really is scary stuff.
The foundation for a lot of the show is work done by Len Boogaard, Derek’s father who has retired from the RCMP. Through this, Len has documented the trail of drugs that led to his son’s opiate addiction and, ultimately, to his death.
The document is 23 pages in length and to sit and peruse it, one prescription at a time, really is overwhelming.
“In an effort to better understand the circumstances that contributed to the death of my son,” Len writes, “I requested documentation from team medical staff, outside physicians, the NHL’s substance abuse program, the rehabilitation facilities Derek attended, drug testing facilities and the pharmacies that filled his numerous prescriptions.
“In addition, I have spoken with a number of people who knew Derek and I have analyzed his own personal documents, such as cell phone, bank and email records.
“I was not always provided with the documentation I requested; however, I believe I have obtained information sufficient to construct a time-line of sorts spanning from Derek’s first entry in a rehabilitation facility in September 2009 until his passing.”
The document is heart-breaking and raises all kinds of questions. More than anything, though, it shows how the NHL, a couple of NHL teams, the NHLPA and various doctors — a couple of whom all but run from the fifth estate’s camera — failed Derek Boogaard.
You really need to watch this episode of the fifth estate. And if you haven’t already, read Boy on Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard. Written by John Branch of The New York Times, this is a devastating look at how Boogaard went from a fun-loving youngster who was just trying to fit in to an NHL enforcer who was enabled every step of the way.
Package all of this together and you get a look at an unseemly side of the NHL.
———


 

SUNDAY’S GAMES:

In Edmonton, G Jordan Papirny stopped 41 shots and the Brandon Wheat Kings scored the game’s last two goals as they beat the Oil Kings, 3-2. . . . The Wheat Kings lead the series 2-1 with Games 4 and 5 scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Both games are to be televised by Sportsnet. . . . Last night, Brandon D Macoy Erkamps, in his fourth WHL season but in the playoffs for the first time, broke a 2-2 tie at 6:02 of the third period. . . . Brandon F Jayce Hawryluk had tied it at 2:31 of the third with his third goal of the series. . . . The Wheat Kings took a 1-0 lead on F John Quenneville’s goal with 26.3 seconds left in the first. . . . The Oil Kings scored twice in the second — F Davis Koch at 1:54 and D Ben Carroll, on the PP, at 6:30. . . . The Oil Kings thought they had tied the score late in the third period when F Brandon Baddock had his own rebound go off his chest and past Papirny. But the goal was disallowed after video review. . . . “Hands are tied: you can’t glove it in, you can’t high-stick it in, you can’t use your feet, so I tried to use my body,” Baddock said on the Oil Kings’ website.“They said . . . I kind of directed my shoulders into it, and obviously that’s not allowed.” . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 26 shots. . . . Brandon F Braylon Shmyr was unsuccessful on a penalty shot at 16:23 of the first period. . . . Edmonton was 1-for-4 on the PP; Brandon was 0-for-3. . . . Edmonton F Mads Eller left the game in the first and didn’t return. He was injured when he hit one of the gates at the Oil Kings’ bench in attempting to check Shmyr. Eller’s status for Tuesday’s game isn’t known. . . . The Oil Kings took out D Marshall Donald and F Brayden Brown, replacing them with D Jake Kohlhauser and G Tyson Gruninger. . . . Brandon had F Duncan Campbell and F Tanner Kaspick back after they missed the first two games. To get them in, Brandon took out F Stelio Mattheos and D Mark Matsuba . . . Attendance was 5,957. . . . Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the Wheat Kings, reports that Brandon F Quintin Lisoway is expected to have knee surgery today. Lisoway last played on March 4.

In Calgary, F Adam Tambellini’s goal at 16:36 of OT gave the Hitmen a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The series is 1-1 as it heads for Cranbrook, B.C., and games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. . . . F Pavel Kamaukhov scored both of Calgary’s regulation-time goals, both via the PP. He also drew an assist on the winner. . . . Kamaukhov gave the Hitmen a 1-0 lead at 9:01 of the second period and tied the game 2-2 at 10:31 of the third. . . . F Sam Reinhart got the Ice’s first goal, on a PP, at 17:51 of the second. . . . F Jaedon Descheneau gave the visitors a 2-0 lead at 19:36 of the second. . . . Hitmen F Radel Fazleev had two assists, giving him four helpers in two games. . . . Calgary G Mack Shields came on to start the third period and stopped all 19 shots he faced. Starter Brendan Burke had given up two goals on 18 shots. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin turned aside 30 shots. . . . The Hitmen were 2-for-2 on the PP; the Ice was 1-for-2. . . . D Jake Bean was among Calgary’s scratches. He suffered an apparent ankle injury in the third period of Friday’s game. . . . Attendance was 8,560. . . . Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun has a game story right here.

In Medicine Hat, F Trevor Cox scored the game’s only goal as the Tigers beat the Red Deer Rebels, 1-0, in overtime. . . . The Tigers had won the opener 2-1 on Saturday, so goals have been hard to come by. . . . Cox had two assists on Saturday, so has been in on all three of his side’s goals. . . . The teams now head to Red Deer for games on Wednesday and Thursday nights. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 27 shots in earning his first career playoff shutout. . . . Red Deer G Rylan Toth turned aside 36 shots. . . . Cox finished second in the regular-season points race, with 109 points, including a WHL-leading 80 assists, banked the winner in off Toth. . . . The Tigers were 0-for-5 on the PP; the Rebels were 0-for-3. . . . Medicine Hat had D Ty Lewington, its captain, back in the lineup after he served a one-game WHL suspension. . . . Attendance was 4,006.

In Portland, G Adin Hill turned aside 21 shots to lead the Winterhawks to a 3-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . It was Hill’s first career playoff shutout. . . . The series is tied 1-1 with the next two games in Kent, Wash., on Tuesday and Thursday nights. . . . F Nic Petan scored the game’s first goal, at 14:23 of the first period. . . . The Winterhawks iced it with empty-net goals from F Dominic Turgeon, at 18:02 of the third, and F Oliver Bjorkstrand, at 18:14. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 36 shots. . . . Each team was 0-for-2 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 9,119. . . . The game story that freelancer Scott Sepich wrote for The Oregonian is right here. . . . Paul Danzer of The Columbian has a game story right here.
———


With the Portland Winterhawks having opened the playoffs with two home games, Scott Sepich, a freelancer who often writes for The Oregonian, looks at the team’s relationship with Veterans Memorial Coliseum, a venue that is 55 years of age and in need of at least some help. . . . That story is right here.
———







“More than a quarter of all helmets worn by hockey players, from the NHL to youth leagues, are unsafe, according to an independent study provided to ‘Outside the Lines’ that ranked hockey helmets based on their ability to reduce concussion risk,” writes Steve Fainaru of the ESPN investigative newsmagazine Outside the Lines. “Out of 32 helmets in the marketplace that were tested by researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, nine failed to earn a single star on a five-star scale and were classified as ‘not recommended.’ Just one helmet, made by Warrior Sports, received three stars. The rest received one or two stars.” . . . The really scary part of this report is, as Fainaru writes, “Hockey players wearing the ‘not recommended’ helmets risk incurring at least six concussions per season, and in some cases more than eight, according to Virginia Tech.” . . . The complete story, including a chart showing test results, is right here.
———

THE COACHING GAME:

Dwayne Kirkup won’t be back as head coach of the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives. He had been in the position since May 6, 2013, having joined the Natives after a stint as head coach of the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders. He was the MJHL’s coach of the year in 2009-10. . . . This season, the Natives finished 15-42-3, leaving them with the 11-team league’s poorest record.
———



There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:01 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

  © Design byThirteen Letter

Back to TOP