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The Regina Pats escaped with a 3-2 OT victory over the host Prince Albert Raiders in Monday’s only WHL game.
The Pats, who have been the CHL’s No. 1-ranked team for much of this season, were playing their fifth game in seven days in seven different cities. Yes, that’s absurd, and here’s hoping the teenagers in this league get some relief from the schedule-maker next season.
“When you play five games in seven days, you can’t expect to have the energy,” John Paddock, the Pats’ general manager and head coach, told Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post. “It’s impossible. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Monday . . .
“I’m not making excuses for them or anything . . .”
Paddock admitted to being “happy with the two points,” but, as he added, “when you think of five games in seven days, that’s a tough schedule on anybody.”
The Pats went 2-3-0 in those games.
Go back a bit further and you discover that the Pats have played their past eight games in eight different cities in a span of 13 days. They have had five off days and you wonder how many really good practices Paddock has been able to hold in that stretch. Remember that the WHL is a development league.
The schedule calls for the Pats to play 15 games in February’s 28 days.
They don’t play on March 1 or 2, but then will play three games in fewer than 48 hours. Oh, and they will finish the season by playing four games in five nights. This time, though, the first three of those will be at home.
What’s that? Oh, you want some more scheduling notes . . .
The Vancouver Giants have 12 games left in their season.
The first three of those are against the Victoria Royals.
The next three are against the Portland Winterhawks.
Seriously.
Come on . . . you couldn’t make up something like that.
The Giants will play host to the Royals on Friday and then the teams will meet in Victoria on Saturday and Sunday.
On March 1, the Winterhawks will visit the Giants, and the teams are to clash in Portland on March 3 and 4.
A few more scheduling notes . . .
The Everett Silvertips, who lead the Western Conference by one point over the Seattle Thunderbirds, are to play seven of their final eight games on the road. They will play those eight games over 12 days. The seven road games will be played in six different cities; they’ll make two stops in Kennewick, Wash., for games with the Tri-City Americans. . . .
Everett and Seattle are to meet three more times, two of them in Kent, Wash., the home of the Thunderbirds. The first of those is Sunday in Kent, when Seattle will be enjoying its second straight three-in-three weekend. . . .
The Americans are third in the U.S. Division, five points ahead of the Winterhawks. They will play Wednesday in Kennewick, Wash. The Americans are to finish up by playing five of six at home. But the last three, two of which are to be against the Spokane Chiefs, will be played in fewer than 48 hours. . . .
The Kamloops Blazers have 11 games remaining, with seven of those to be played at home. They trail the B.C. Division-leading Prince George Cougars by two points. The Cougars also have 11 games remaining. The Blazers and Cougars are to meet four more times, with three of those in Prince George. . . .
The Cougars’ final 11 games include a one-game trek to Kelowna for a March 1 date with the Rockets, and a swing into the U.S. Division to play three games in four nights. . . .
Don’t count out the Rockets, who are five points behind Prince George with two games in hand. The Rockets have 13 games left, with five of those against teams unlikely to make the playoffs. The Rockets also will finish up by playing six straight at home — over a 14-day period — before ending their schedule by visiting the Giants. In fact, three of Kelowna’s last five games will be against the Giants, who won’t make the playoffs for a third straight season. . . .
The Royals, who are four points behind Kelowna, have an opportunity to get on a roll, with their next three games against Vancouver and then two in a row with the Chiefs, who are nine points out of a playoff spot. However, Victoria will finish by playing six of seven games on the road, including two each in Kamloops and Kelowna. The Royals will finish by going home-and-home with Everett. . . .
The Moose Jaw Warriors will finish by playing nine games in 18 days, but seven of those games will be on home ice. They will go home-and-home with Regina on March 10 and 11 and do the same with the Swift Current Broncos on March 17 and 18. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades are scrambling in the hopes of making the playoffs for the first time since the spring of 2013. The Blades and Calgary are tied for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. Saskatoon has 13 games remaining, one of those against the Hitmen — in Calgary on March 8. The Blades also have four games remaining with the Prince Albert Raiders, who won’t be in the playoffs but are 5-4-1 in their past 10 games. Saskatoon is coming off a weekend in which it played three road games in fewer than 48 hours, going 0-2-1, including a 3-2 loss in Calgary. This weekend, the Blades again will play three games, the first two against the Raiders, in fewer than 48 hours, but the last two are at home. . . .
The Broncos are third in the East Division, six points behind the Warriors with a game in hand. This weekend, the Broncos will play three games in fewer than 48 hours, two of them against Regina. The Broncos will finish the season with four games in five nights, only one of them at home. . . .
The Red Deer Rebels, who are 1-6-3 in their past 10 games, are in Prince George tonight (Tuesday) having lost eight in a row (0-6-2). The Rebels are third in the Central Division but are just two points ahead of the Calgary Hitmen, who are 3-0-1 in their past four games. The Rebels are at home to the Kootenay Ice on Friday, then will go home-and-home with the Hitmen on Saturday (Red Deer) and Sunday (Calgary). The Rebels and Hitmen also will meet March 15 in Red Deer. . . .
And now let the fun begin!
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Connor Hobbs, the leading scorer among WHL defencemen, didn’t play Monday as his Regina Pats beat the host Prince Albert Raiders, 3-2 in OT. The WHL has hit Hobbs with a TBD suspension after he took a charging major and game misconduct for a hit on F Brett Howden during a 4-0 loss to the Warriors in Moose Jaw on Saturday night. . . . Hobbs leads all defencemen in goals (26) and points (69). . . . The Pats are scheduled to meet the Blades in Saskatoon on Wednesday night before returning home to face the Swift Current Broncos on Friday.
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Jake Morrissey, a former WHL goaltender, was credited with a goal on Friday night as his Sherwood Park Crusaders scored a 3-1 victory over the visiting Camrose Kodiaks. He was the last of the Crusaders to touch the puck — he had stopped a shot — when a Camrose player in trying to get the puck to a defenceman had it go all the way down the ice and into a vacated net. . . . Terry Jones of Postmedia has more right here.
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.@ArizonaCoyotes emergency goalie Marek Langhamer: I was doing my best to try to stay calm. pic.twitter.com/i6f8gpSgot— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) February 21, 2017
G Marek Langhamer, who played three seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers, stopped seven of eight shots as he made his NHL debut in relief of Arizona Coyotes starter Mike Smith on Monday night in Glendale, Ariz.
Were this baseball, Langhamer, 22, would have been credited with a save in a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Coyotes. Of his seven saves, one was fantastic as he went post-to-post to beat Anaheim forward Sami Vatanen with his left pad as time expired.
Smith left at 4:29 of the third period after a goalmouth collision with Anaheim’s Jakob Silfverberg. Smith went into concussion protocol but is fine and is expected to practise on Tuesday.
Langhamer had been with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners before being summoned to backup Smith after Louis Domingue was hurt.
Langhamer, from Moravska Trebova, Czech Republic, was with Medicine Hat from 2012-15. The Coyotes selected him in the seventh round of the NHL’s 2012 draft.
Langhamer played as a 20-year-old with the Tigers in 2014-15. His WHL career ended on April 17 when he stopped 54 shots in a 4-3 double OT loss to the host Calgary Hitmen, who won a second-round series, 4-1.
Langhamer became the last import goaltender to play anywhere in the CHL, which had announced in June 2013 that it was banning such players. Import goaltenders in the CHL at the time were allowed to complete their eligibility.
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@gdrinnan reports in 10 Sea/Port GP BOTH sides have winning record vs other! This might be biggest reason I left Sportstalk.LEGIT fake news!— Dan Russell (@DanRussellST) February 20, 2017
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MONDAY’S GAME:
#WHL REG/PA: @WHLPats Dawson Leedahl puts home 2 goals including overtime winner. 23rd multipoint game this year (14 coming into year).— Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) February 21, 2017
At Prince Albert, F Dawson Leedahl scored two goals, including the OT winner, as the Regina Pats beat the Raiders, 3-2. . . . Leedahl’s 29th goal of the season won the game at 2:31 of extra time. . . . Leedahl,
a 20-year-old from Saskatoon, was acquired from the Everett Silvertips prior to the season. He has career highs in goals, assists (44) and points (73), all in 57 games. Last season, one that was shortened by injury, he finished with 12 goals and 15 assists in 27 games. In 2014-15, he had 14 goals and 19 assists in 52 games. His career high in assists (24) had come in 2013-14. . . . On Monday, F Sean Montgomery (13) had given the Raiders a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 13:13 of the first period. . . . Leedahl tied it at 4:35 of the second period. . . . The Raiders went back in front at 11:07 as F Tim Vanstone scored No. 11, on a PP. . . . Regina D Josh Mahura, who also had an assist, got his guys into a 2-2 tie with his 14th goal, at 19:47 of the second. . . . Regina F Sam Steel, the WHL’s leading scorer, had two assists. He has 105 points, seven more than teammate Adam Brooks, who had one assist. . . . Brooks, the defending WHL scoring king, and Steel are tied for the WHL lead in assists (66). . . . Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post points out that Brooks, who put up 120 points last season, “is poised to become the first Pat in more than a quarter-century to register consecutive 100-point seasons. Mike Sillinger hit triple digits in 1988-89 (131), 1989-90 (129) and 1990-91 (116).” . . . The Pats got 27 saves from G Jordan Hollett. . . . G Ian Scott turned aside 41 shots for the Raiders. . . . Prince Albert was 2-5 on the PP; Regina was 0-2. . . . Regina, already without F Jake Leschyshyn (knee) and D Connor Hobbs (WHL suspension), lost F Filip Ahl to a charley horse during the game. . . . The Pats (42-9-7) had lost their previous two games. They lead the overall standings by six points over the Medicine Hat Tigers and hold two games in hand. . . . The Raiders (16-39-6) are 1-0-1 in their last two games. . . . Announced attendance: 2,461.
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| DAWSON LEEDAHL |
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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
Edmonton at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
Red Deer at Prince George, 7 p.m.
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relocating the franchise to the Manitoba capital. The Kootenay Ice would then pack up and leave Cranbrook for Lethbridge.
There is speculation that moving the IceCaps to Winnipeg would be a temporary move, with the Jets continuing to look for a home for the franchise that is closer to Manitoba than St. John’s. Perhaps that would mean finding a city in close proximity to the AHL’s new Pacific Division.
Robison was asked: “Have you had much thought or many talks about expansion or relocation?”
In Prince Albert, F Reid Gardiner scored the game’s last two goals, both via the PP, to give the Raiders a 4-3 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Gardiner, who has 31 goals, tied the game 3-3at 12:01 of the second period and snapped the tie at 6:50 of the third. . . . F Simon Stransky and F Austin Glover drew assists on both goals. . . . The Raiders led 2-0 after one period, only to have the Hurricanes scored three second-period goals, two of them by F Giorgio Estephan, who now has 20 goals. . . . F Brayden Burke had two assists for Lethbridge. . . . Once again, Hurricanes G Stuart Skinner shone, this time with 55 saves. . . . Raiders G Nick McBride stopped 21 shots. . . . Each team was 2-for-4 on the PP. . . . Lethbridge D Nick Walters played in his 300th regular-season game. Walters, from Spruce Grove, Alta., has played 145 games with Everett, 50 with Brandon and 105 with Lethbridge. . . . The Raiders (27-35-3) have won three straight. . . . The Hurricanes slipped to 20-37-8. . . . 
In Moose Jaw, F Torrin White scored three times to lead the Warriors to a 7-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . White opened the scoring at 1:53 of the first period, made it 3-0 at 13:46 of the first and completed his hat trick at 1:06 of the second to make it 5-0. . . . White has 15 goals. . . . The Warriors scored four times in the first period. . . . Moose Jaw F Brayden Point scored his 32nd goal and added three assists, while F Brett Howden notched his 18th goal and had two helpers, and F Axel Blomqvist drew three helpers. . . . Moose Jaw G Brody Willms stopped 28 shots. . . . Moose Jaw was 3-for-7 on the PP; the Blades were 1-for-5. . . . The Warriors honoured the Snowbirds aerobatics team by wearing special jerseys in the warmup. Snowbirds members were in the dressing room prior to the game and on the bench during warmup. . . . The Warriors (29-32-5) have won three in a row. . . . The Blades (19-43-4) have lost three straight. . . . 
In Brandon, F Morgan Klimchuk had two goals and two assists as the Wheat Kings dumped the Swift Current Broncos, 9-1. . . . Brandon F John Quenneville broke a 1-1 tie with his 17th goal at 4:57 of the second period and the Wheat Kings ran away from there. . . . Klimchuk, who has 29 goals, is riding a 10-game point streak. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauley scored his 40th goal and added two assists as he ran his point streak to 22 games, the longest in the WHL this season. He’s got 47 points, including 15 goals, in that streak. It’s the longest point streak by a Wheat Kings skater since F Cory Cyrenne went 23 games in 1997-98. . . . McGauley also went over 200 career regular-season points. He now has 202 points in 219 games. This season, he’s got 97 points, three shy of the WHL scoring leader, F Trevor Cox of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . F Peter Quenneville scored twice and added an assist for Brandon. He’s got 26 goals, with eight of them coming in his last four games. . . . Brandon D Eric Roy scored his fifth goal and added two assists, while F Jayce Hawryluk scored his 26th goal and had an assist. D Matt Taraschuk had two assists. . . . Brandon was 4-for-5 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-for-1. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 22 shots as he became the first WHL goaltender to 40 victories this season. He is the first Wheat Kings goaltender with at least 40 victories since Glen Hanlon set the WHL single-season record of 49 in 1976-77. . . . The Wheat Kings (48-11-7) last won 50 games in 2009-10. . . . The Broncos (30-31-5) have lost six in a row. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story 
In Edmonton, F Davis Koch broke a 2-2 tie with his eighth goal of the season at 17:24 of the third period as the Oil Kings beat the Calgary Hitmen, 3-2. . . . Edmonton F Lane Bauer had tied the game with his 23rd goal at 1:45 of the third. . . . The Hitmen took a 1-0 lead on F Adam Tambellini’s 45th goal at 12:42 of the first, on a PP. . . . Edmonton D Dysin Mayo tied it with his 13th goal, on the PP, at 15:38. . . . The Hitmen took the lead when D Travis Sanheim scored his 12th goal, on the PP, at 13:51 of the second. . . . Tambellini, Sanheim and Mayo also had an assist apiece. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 28 shots, four more than Calgary’s Brendan Burke. . . . Calgary was 2-for-4 on the PP; Edmonton was 1-for-5. . . . The Oil Kings were without D Marshall Donald, who was on crutches after Friday’s 6-4 loss to visiting Regina. Donald was acquired from the Hitmen in January. . . . The Oil Kings improved to 31-29-7. . . . Calgary (40-21-5) has two games left in its franchise-record 11-game road trip. It is 6-3-0 with games left in Red Deer on Friday and Lethbridge on Saturday. . . . 
In Red Deer, D Haydn Fleury broke a 3-3 tie at 7:20 of the third period and the Rebels went on to beat the Regina Pats, 5-3. . . . Fleury has six goals. . . . F Riley Sheen, who also had two assists, scored his 20th goal into an empty net at 18:38 of the third. . . . F Adam Musil gave Red Deer a 1-0 lead with a PP goal at 2:03 of the first period. He’s got 14 goals. . . . The Pats went ahead on goals by D Chase Harrison, his third, at 3:00 of the second and D Colby Williams, his ninth, just 17 seconds later. . . . Regina F Taylor Cooper assisted on both goals. . . . Red Deer F Reese Johnson pulled his guys even with a breakaway goal at 18:35 of the second and D Bart Cote broke the tie 13 seconds later. Johnson has two goals; Cote has eight. . . . Regina F Braden Christoffer scored his 24th goal, on a PP, 53 seconds into the third period. . . . Each team was 1-for-2 on the PP. . . . Red Deer G Taz Burman stopped 23 shots. . . . Regina G Tyler Brown turned aside 29 shots. . . . The Pats had Cole Sears backing up Brown. Daniel Wapple took a high shot on Friday night and now is listed as day-to-day. . . . Sears, 17, is from Red Deer. . . . . The Rebels (35-21-10) have won three in a row. . . . The Pats (35-21-9) are 2-1-1 in their last four games. . . . 
In Medicine Hat, G Marek Langhamer posted his second shutout in three games as the Tigers beat the Kootenay Ice, 1-0. . . . Langhamer has two shutouts this season and six in his career. . . . The game was about one hour late in starting after the Ice encountered some mechanical with their bus while en route to Medicine Hat. . . . Tigers F Cole Sanford score the game’s lone goal, getting No 48 at 3:36 of the first period. . . . Langhamer finished with 16 saves, 15 fewer than the Ice’s Wyatt Hoflin. . . . Kootenay was 0-for-3 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-for-2. . . . Tigers F Trevor Cox drew an assist on the game’s first goal as he became the WHL’s first 100-point man this season. . . . Cox also leads the WHL in assists, with 75. . . . Tigers D Tommy Vannelli was back in the lineup after missing 18 games with a broken finger, while D Ty Stanton (ribs) returned after a two-game absence. . . . The Tigers are 41-22-3. . . . The Ice (33-29-4) has lost three in a row (0-2-1). . . . 
In Vancouver, the Everett Silvertips scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Giants, 3-1. . . . F Tyler Benson scored his 14th goal for the Giants at 7:52 of the first. . . . Everett F Remi Laurencelle tied it with his 20th goal at 1:39 of the second and D Cole MacDonald broke the tie with his 10th goal at 2:15 of the third on a PP. . . . MacDonald also had an assist. . . . F Matt Fonteyne added insurance with his sixth goal at 6:21 of the third. . . . Everett G Carter Hart stopped 25 shots, while Vancouver G Payton Lee kicked out 27. . . . The Giants lost F Vladimir Bobylev with an undisclosed injury after he took a hit from Everett F Logan Aasman in the first period. . . . Vancouver F Zane Jones was in the lineup despite having incurred a boarding major and game misconduct on Friday night. The WHL announced Saturday afternoon that no further discipline would be forthcoming. . . . The Silvertips (40-19-7) have won three in a row. . . . The Giants (26-37-3) have dropped six straight. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has more on the game 
In Prince George, F Taylor Crunk scored in the 11th round of a shootout to give the Victoria Royals a 4-3 victory over the Cougars. . . . The Cougars had beaten the Royals 4-3 on Friday night. . . . Last night, the Royals took a 3-0 lead in the latter part of the second period, thanks to goals from D Chaz Reddekopp, his fifth, F Brandon Magee, his 19th, and D Ryan Gagnon, his first. . . . This was a special night for F Tyler Mrkonjic — more on him later — and he got the Cougars on the board with his eighth goal, at 17:27 of the second period. . . . D Tomas Andrlik pulled the home side to within a goal with his third at 5:10 of the third. . . . F Chase Witala tied it with No. 33, on a PP, at 16:59. . . . Victoria F Jack Walker, the first shooter in the breakaway contest, scored. . . . F Zach Pochiro, shooting third, kept the Cougars’ chances alive. . . . That was all the goals until Crunk scored to end it. . . . Prince George F Jansen Harkins had one assist, his 58th this season. That tied the Prince George single-season record set by F Quinn Hancock in 1997-98. . . . Cougars G Ty Edmonds stopped 31 shots. . . . Royals G Coleman Vollrath made 31 saves. . . . The Cougars were 1-for-7 on the PP; the Royals were 0-for-2. . . . The Royals (35-27-4) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Cougars (28-33-5) had won their previous five games. . . . The attendance was 5,404, with the Cougars’ owners guaranteeing the biggest 50/50 draw in franchise history. The winning number is to be posted on the team’s website. . . . The other half of the draw is to go to the Shelly L. Mrkonjic ALS Research Fund. Shelly, who died of ALS in 2006, was Tyler’s mother. So it was only fitting that he should score on what had to be a special night for the family. . . . 
In Portland, F Paul Bittner scored three times and added two assists as the Winterhawks dumped the Tri-City Americans, 6-2. . . . Bittner, who has 32 goals, scored the game’s first goal, at 7:29 of the first period. He made it 3-1 with a PP goal at 16:26 of the first and then got the game’s final goal, at 18:20 of the third. . . . Portland F Nic Petan continued his amazing run with three more assists. He has 20 helpers in his last six game. In his last 20 games, Petan has five goals and 39 assists. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand had two assists, but his franchise-record goal streak ended at 12 games. With 97 points, he is three off the WHL lead. . . . Portland F Miles Koules scored his 25th goal and added an assist. . . . Portland F Chase De Leo came up short on a penalty shot in the second period. . . . G Adin Hill stopped 30 shots for Portland, while Tri-City’s Evan Sarthou turned aside 46. . . . Portland was 3-for-5 on the PP; the Americans were 1-for-3. . . . The Winterhawks (39-20-5) are 8-0-2 in their last 10. . . . Tri-City (28-35-3) has lost two in a row. . . . 
In Kelowna, the Rockets erased a 1-0 deficit with four straight goals and went on to a 5-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . F Jackson Playfair gave the visitors a 1-0 lead with his 11th goal, on a PP, at 1:28 of the first period. . . . Kamloops D Cole Martin tied it with his sixth goal at 5:34 of the second and F Tate Coughlin gave the Rockets their first lead with his second goal of the season at 5:58. . . . F Chase Braid upped the lead to 3-1 with goal No. 12 at 12:17. . . . Kelowna F Nick Merkley scored his 18th goal and added an assist. . . . Martin and Braid also had assists, while F Leon Draisaitl had two of them as he ran his point streak to 11 games. . . . Draisaitl has 43 points, including 16 goals, in 26 games since joining the Rockets from the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. . . . The Rockets remain without D Josh Morrissey, F Rourke Chartier and F Justin Kirkland. . . . With the victory, the Rockets (50-11-5) have won 50 games for a third straight season. The only other WHL teams to have done that are the Kamloops Blazers (1989-92) and Edmonton Oil Kings (2011-14). . . . The Chiefs (31-29-4) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., D Jared Hauf broke a 1-1 tie at 15:36 of the third period as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Kamloops Blazers, 3-1. . . . F Cory Millette gave Seattle a 1-0 lead with his 21st goal, at 4:53 of the second period. . . . Kamloops F Matt Needham tied it with his 23rd goal, at 17:16 of the second period. . . . Hauf then scored his third of the season. . . . Seattle F Nick Holowko scored his fifth goal into an empty net at 19:16 of the third. . . . Seattle F Mathew Barzal had two assists. . . . The Blazers had won the first three games of the four-game season series. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 39 shots, 10 more than Cole Ingram of the Blazers. . . . Kamloops was 0-for-2 on the PP; Seattle’s PP didn’t get off the bench. . . . The Thunderbirds improved to 33-24-9. . . . The Blazers (24-34-7) are 3-1-1 in their last five games.
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