Taking Note has been honoured with a Carson — a 2015 Paul Carson Broadcast & Media Award — as was announced Wednesday afternoon.
According to the news release that is pictured above, the awards “recognize excellence in sports broadcasting and journalism” in B.C.
Taking Note is being recognized as the Best Blog (Rest-of-BC). Pro Hockey Talk, with Jason Brough, Mike Halford and Cam Tucker, was named the Best Blog (Vancouver-based).
A number of veteran B.C. sports journalists, including Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province, Ian MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun, Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist and Scott McKenzie of the Nanaimo Daily News are among the print honourees.
I am thrilled that folks know that we even exist here at Taking Note, and I am honoured to win an award that is in memory of a man who meant so much to journalism in B.C.
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D Lukáš Bohunický (Kootenay, 2005-07) has signed a contract for the rest of the season with České Budějovice (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). He was released at his request by the Edinburgh Capitals (Scotland, UK Elite) on Monday. He had a goal and 13 assists in 36 games this season. . . .
F Chris St. Jacques (Medicine Hat, 1999-2004) has signed for the rest of the season with the Bietigheim Steelers (Germany, DEL2). This season, with Sterzing/Vipiteno (Italy, Serie A), he had two goals and 12 assists in 15 games. With the Wedemark Scorpions (Germany, Oberliga), he had eight goals and 15 assists in 12 games. St. Jacques played last 3 1/2 seasons with Bietigheim. . . .
F Jakub Langhammer (Spokane, 2002-04) has been released at his request by Regensburg (Germany, Oberliga). He had two goals in two games. Per a Regensburg press release, Langhammer will join an unnamed DEL2 club.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, the Raiders scored three second-period goals en route to a 6-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . .Fittingly, it was Bash The Blades night in Prince Albert. . . . The Raiders scored the game’s first five goals. . . . That included F Sean Montgomery’s first WHL goal, in the 45th game of freshman season, at 9:54 of the second period. . . . F Kris Schmidli had three assists for Prince Albert, while F Reid Gardiner scored his 22nd goal and added an assist. F Simon Stransky and F Austin Glover each had two assists. D Jesse Lees scored his eighth goal — his first since arriving in Prince Albert from Kelowna — and had an assist. . . . Raiders G Rylan Parenteau stopped 32 shots, four fewer than Nik Amundrud of the Blades. . . . This was the final game of the season series between these teams and it ended 4-4-0. . . . The Raiders (20-27-1) had lost their previous four games. They are in Calgary on Friday. . . . The Blades (14-30-3), who play in Swift Current on Friday, had won five in a row. . . . 
In Edmonton, F Lane Bauer’s shootout goal gave the Oil Kings a 2-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . F Brett Pollock also scored for Edmonton in the shootout — he extended it with a goal in the third round — while F Nick Merkley scored for the Rockets. . . . D Joe Gatenby scored for Kelowna at 9:33 of the first period. His first WHL goal came in his 85th game. . . . Edmonton F Dysin Mayo tied it with his 10th goal of the season, on a PP, at 6:35 of the second. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 35 shots, five more than Kelowna’s Jake Morrissey. . . . The Rockets gave the goaltending start to Morrissey, meaning he and his holder brother, D Josh Morrissey, were on the ice together for the first time since the latter was acquired from Prince Albert on Dec. 10. . . . F Leon Draisaitl, who started the season with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, made his return to Edmonton. The Oilers, if you missed it, arranged for Draisaitl to be traded by Prince Albert to the Rockets at the trade deadline. . . . Draisaitl went pointless and wasn’t able to score in the shootout. . . . The Rockets were 0-for-8 on the PP, including the game’s last seven. . . . The Oil Kings were 1-for-3. . . . Edmonton (23-21-6) ended a four-game losing skid (0-3-1). The Oil Kings play in Red Deer on Friday. . . . The Rockets (37-8-4), who visit Lethbridge on Friday, have won their previous three games. They are first in the overall standings, three points ahead of idle Brandon. . . . 
In Lethbridge, F Brayden Burke had a goal and two assists and G Jayden Sittler beat his former team as the Hurricanes dropped the Kootenay Ice, 6-3. . . . The Ice took a 2-1 lead into the second period, only to have the Hurricanes score the next five goals. . . . Burke tied the score with his third goal of the season, at 1:32 of the second, and F Tyler Wong broke the tie, with his 21st, at 13:53. . . . F Zane Franklin, who made his WHL debut with the Hurricanes on Tuesday night, scored his first WHL goal in this one, tying the game 1-1 at 14:45 of the first. . . . Lethbridge D Brandon Kennedy scored his first WHL goal in his 23rd game, at 6:54 of the third. . . . Wong also had an assist and was plus-4. . . . Kennedy, F Pavel Skumatov and F Giorgio Estephan each had a goal and an assist for Lethbridge. . . . Estephan has 25 points, 10 of them goals, over his last 14 games. . . . F Tim Bozon scored his 20th goal and added an assist for the Ice. . . . Skinner stopped 38 shots. . . . The Hurricanes (12-29-6), who will entertain Kelowna on Friday, have equalled their victory total from last season. . . . The Ice (26-23-1) had won its last four games. Kootenay is at home to Regina on Friday. . . .
In Portland, the Winterhawks erased a 2-1 deficit with three straight goals and hung on to beat the Victoria Royals, 4-3. . . . Victoria F Alex Forsberg scored his 20th goal of the season at 12:41 of the second period for a 2-1 lead. . . . Portland F Alex Schoenborn tied it, with his 15th goal, at 17:20. . . . D Alex Henry gave the Winterhawks the lead at 3:08 of the third, with his fifth goal, and F Chase De Leo made it 4-2 with No. 22 at 13:21. . . . Forsberg got the Royals to within a goal at 13:39. . . . Portland G Adin Hill stopped 36 shots, four more than Victoria’s Justin Paulic. . . . F Miles Koules and D Blake Heinrich had two assists each for Portland. . . . Portland won despite not getting any points from its big line of Oliver Bjorkstrand, Nic Petan and Paul Bittner. Victoria D Joe Hicketts and his partner, Chaz Reddekopp, were plus-3 while playing as much as possible against the Petan line. . . . Hicketts also had one assist. . . . F Dominic Turgeon was back in Portland’s lineup for the first time since Jan. 17 and scored his 15th goal. Portland F Mitch Walter remains out. Both were injured in fights. Walter hasn’t played since Jan. 14. . . . The Winterhawks (29-19-3) have won six straight and are three points behind U.S. Division-leading Everett, which olds three games in hand. . . . Victoria (26-20-4) had points in its previous seven games (6-0-1). . . . Portland is at home to Kamloops on Friday, while Victoria will play in Spokane. . . . 
In Kamloops, the Blazers scored three PP goals and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-3, to grab sole possession of a playoff spot. . . . Still, it was the only Kamloops goal that wasn’t on special teams that won it, D Brady Gaudet getting his second goal of the season at 14:38 of the third period, breaking a 3-3 tie in the process. . . . Kamloops F Cole Ully scored twice, giving him 24, and had an assist. . . . Kamloops F Deven Sideroff had three assists, all on the PP. . . . F Matt Needham, the third member of that line, had two assists. . . . Seattle D Shea Theodore had two assists. He has 185 career points, two shy of Craig Channell’s franchise record (Breakers/Thunderbirds) for a defenceman. . . . Seattle F Cory Millette had given his guys a 3-2 lead at 14:46 of the second, on a PP, with his 12th goal. . . . Kamloops D Dawson Davidson, who was brought in to add to the PP, scored his third goal at 3:42 of the third. . . . Kamloops was 3-for-5 on the PP; Seattle was 1-for-5. . . . Seattle D Jared Hauf and Kamloops D Ryan Rehill, a couple of heavyweights, were tossed nine seconds into the game for becoming involved in a staged fight. . . . The Blazers scored two first-period goals. According to Tbird Tidbits, it was the sixth time in 48 games that Seattle has allowed more than one goal in the first period. The Thunderbirds are 1-5-0 when that happens. . . . Kamloops, already without injured Swiss D Michael Fora, lost Slovakian D Patrik Maier at 15:18 of the third period when he was KO’d in a scrap with Seattle F Nolan Volcan. Maier was wobbly and needed help getting to the dressing room. . . . The Blazers (19-25-6) moved into third place in the B.C. Division, two points ahead of Vancouver and Prince George. . . . The Thunderbirds (23-19-6) are third in the U.S. Division, two points ahead of Spokane and Tri-City. . . . The Thunderbirds are in Prince George for games Friday and Saturday nights. . . . The Blazers travel to Portland for a Friday night game.———
Happy b'day to Paul Henderson. There's something special about Canada's Summit Series hero turning "72"! pic.twitter.com/cyRZouw47f
— O-Pee-Chee Stars (@opeecheestars) January 29, 2015
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F Brandon Magee has decided to return to the Victoria Royals for a fifth season. Magee, 20, signed a tryout deal with Kometa Brno (Czech Republic, Extraliga) in May but has since decided to opt out of that deal. . . . From Edmonton, Magee played one season with the Chilliwack Bruins and is preparing for his fourth with the Royals. Last season, he had 67 points, including 25 goals, in 65 games. In his career, he has 203 points, 90 of them goals, in 268 games. . . . He will miss the first 12 games of the season with a suspension left over from the WHL playoffs last spring. . . . The Royals expect to open the season with Magee, D Travis Brown and F Austin Carroll as their three 20-year-olds.
The road from Bakersfield, Calif., to Moose Jaw stopped in Phoenix for F Brayden Watts, who was a third-round selection by the Warriors in the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. . . . Watts will be in Moose Jaw when camp opens on Thursday. He’s too young to stick this season, but Bob Bartlett, the Warriors’ manager of U.S. scouting and player development, says Watts has a chance to play next season. . . . Mike Griffith of the Bakersfield Californian has Watts’ story 
In Brandon, F Jayce Hawryluk broke a 4-4 tie with 28.9 seconds left in the third period and the Wheat Kings beat the Regina Pats, 5-4. . . . With the victory, Brandon (15-13-2) moved past Regina (15-13-1)and into a sixth-place tie with the Kootenay Ice (15-14-2) in the Eastern Conference. . . . Hawryluk, who has 13 goals, scored twice and added an assist. . . . The Pats pulled into a 4-4 tie with goals by F Braden Christoffer at 7:48 of the third period and D Griffin Mumby at 8:40. . . . Mumby scored his first WHL goal in his 73rd game. The 17-year-old from Calgary was scoreless in 51 games last season. . . . Regina lost D Kyle Burroughs after he absorbed a first-period hit from Hawryluk. Burroughs was wobbly and needed help to get off the ice. He didn’t return. Hawrulyk wasn’t penalized on the play. . . . G Jordan Papirny stopped 30 shots in his 14th straight start for Brandon as G Curtis Honey remains sidelined with an injury. . . . Brandon was 3-for-5 on the PP. . . . The Pats are without F Morgan Klimchuk (hip). . . .
In Swift Current, F Graham Black had a goal, his 16th, and two assists to help the Broncos to a 4-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Black also was plus-4. . . . The Broncos (18-11-3) lead the Eastern Conference by two points over the idle Medicine Hat Tigers (17-8-3), who hold four games in hand. . . . Broncos F Colby Cave opened the scoring, with his 17th, at 1:53 of the first period. That was the Teddy Bear goal. . . . Broncos G Eetu Laurikainen stopped 35 shots. . . . The Hurricanes have lost seven in a row and have one victory in their last 18 outings. . . . Lethbridge had F Russell Maxwell (undisclosed injury) and F Tyler Cooper (concussion) back in its lineup. . . . The Hurricanes got their goal from F Carter Folk, a 17-year-old Reginan. It was his first WHL goal and came in his 22nd game, 15 of which have come this season. . . .
In Red Deer, the Rebels overcame a 3-1 deficit with four straight goals and beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 6-3. . . . The Raiders got goals from F Leon Draisaitl, his 16th, and F Mike Winther, his third, at 16:32 and 16:59 of the second to take a 3-1 lead. . . . But the Rebels tied it before period’s end as D Kayle Doetzel, with his first, and F Dominik Volek, with his 14th, counted 35 seconds apart. . . . Rebels D Haydn Fleury broke the 3-3 tie with his fifth goal 42 seconds into the third. . . . Volek had a goal and an assist, and was plus-3. . . .
In Spokane, F Mitch Holmberg, the WHL’s leading scorer, struck for two shorthanded goals in the first period and the Chiefs went on to a 2-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . With D Tyler King off for tripping, Holmberg scored at 17:51 and 19:29. . . . Chiefs G Eric Williams turned aside 27 shots, 10 fewer than Saskatoon’s Troy Trombley. . . . Saskatoon went 0-5 as it played five times in six nights on its U.S. Division swing. The Blades are 1-9-0 in its last 10. . . . The Chiefs were 0-for-4 on the PP; it has gone three games without a PP goal. . . . F Liam Stewart drew assists on both of Holmberg’s goals. Holmberg leads the WHL in goals (32) and points (66). . . . The Chiefs are without D Reid Gow, who has an undisclosed injury. He has yet to score this season, but has 33 assists in 28 games. . . . Saskatoon D David Nemecek took a charging major and game misconduct for a second-period hit on Spokane F Riley Whittingham. . . .
In Vancouver, G Jared Rathjen stopped 33 shots to lead the Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Ice, which has lost three straight, outshot its hosts 8-4 and 14-5 in the last two periods. . . . Vancouver F Jackson Houck broke a 2-2 tie with a PP goal at 15:19 of the third period. . . . F Austin Vetterl had pulled the Ice into a 2-2 tie at 6:14, on the PP. Vetterl, who once played for the Giants, also had an assist. . . . The Giants (13-11-7), with points in 11 straight games (6-0-5), hold down the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot, seven points up on the Prince George Cougars (11-16-4). . . . Vancouver’s next three games all will be against the Victoria Royals. They’ll play Friday and Saturday in Victoria, then return for a game in Vancouver on Tuesday. The Royals (19-11-1) are fourth in the Western Conference, six points ahead of the Giants.
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