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F Petr Kalus (Regina, 2005-06) has been released by the Nottingham Panthers (England, UK Elite). He had one assist in four games. Earlier in the season, he was pointless in three games with Orli Znojmo (Czech Republic, Erste Bank Liga). . . .
F Adam Courchaine (Medicine Hat, Vancouver, 2001-05) has been released by Székesfehérvár (Hungary, Erste Bank Liga) by mutual agreement. He had five goals and five assists in 16 games.
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Sad day. RIP Marek Svatos. God bless my friend. #HockeyIsFamily— Robert (Bob) Tory (@BTORY) November 6, 2016
Nov. 6, 2001 - 15 years ago today, Marek Svatos scored the 3rd & 4th @WHLKootenayICE goals in a 4-3 win over Moose Jaw— WHL Facts (@WHLFacts) November 6, 2016
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Like a number of other hockey people, Jeff Chynoweth, the president and general manager of the Kootenay Ice, spent Sunday reflecting on the life of Marek Svatos.
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| Marek Svatos, here with the Colorado Avalanche, died on the weekend at the age of 34. (Photo: nhl.com) |
Svatos, who played for the Memorial Cup-champion Ice in 2001-02, was found dead on Saturday. Svatos died in Lone Tree, Colo., near Denver. He was 34.
According to the Denver Post:
“Lone Tree police responded to Svatos’ home on Bluffmont Street after a family member called shortly after midnight for medical aid, Sgt. Ryan Gallegos said Sunday. He didn’t divulge details of the call.
“A cause of death had not been confirmed as of Sunday afternoon.”
From Kosice, Slovakia, Svatos, who was selected by the Ice in the CHL’s 2000 import draft, played two seasons (2000-02) with the Ice, totalling 118 points, including 61 goals, in 92 games. In his second season, he put up 77 points, 38 of them goals, in 53 games.
He played 32 playoff games with Kootenay, scoring 19 goals and adding eight assists. In four Memorial Cup games, he had a goal and four assists.
“The news of his passing has hit the Ice family hard,” Chynoweth told Taking Note on Sunday morning, adding that he already had heard from a few former teammates. “It’s so sad. He gone way too young.”
Asked about his memories of Svatos, Chynoweth replied: “He always had a smile on his face.”
Svatos came over to Cranbrook after being drafted, but wasn’t able to play immediately for the Ice as his club team in Slovakia, HC Kosice, wouldn’t release him.
“We had to get a court injunction to get him released from his contract back home,” Chynoweth said. “But he made an immediate impact for us when he was cleared to play. He loved to score goals and went to the hard areas of the ice to do that. He was a great talent and teammate.”
En route to the Memorial Cup title, the Ice ran up against the Prince George Cougars in the first round. The Ice, then in the B.C. Division, had finished 38-27-0, two points behind the division-champion Kamloops Blazers and four ahead of the Cougars (34-27-2).
“Marek’s battles with (Prince George defenceman) Dan Hamhuis . . . stick out as another defining moment as they went tooth-and-nail against each other all series,” Chynoweth said. “Marek was tough as nails and played through shoulder and ankle injuries through our run to the Memorial Cup.”
Svatos went on to play 344 NHL games, all but 28 of them with the Colorado Avalanche, and put up 172 points, including 100 goals. His career was short-circuited by shoulder and knee injuries.
Svatos is survived by his wife, Diana, and two children.
Former Kootenay Ice (@WHLKootenayICE) player Marek Svatos passes away: https://t.co/IDB73Z5qYB pic.twitter.com/3A3nhkHXSQ— CranbrookTownsman (@CranTownsman) November 7, 2016
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Imagine the surprise on Mark Ferner’s face when the general manager and head coach of the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers discovered a stranger in the team’s dressing room prior to a game in Duncan, B.C., on Friday night.
“I asked who he was and what he was doing there,” Ferner told the Vernon Morning Star.
What happened next?
“He ran and I chased him,” Ferner said.
Ferner’s players were out and about on a pre-game run prior to playing the Cowichan Valley Capitals.
“They jumped on him and got their cash and jewellery back,” Ferner said. “He was 16 and the police know him.”
Later, the Vipers watched a 2-0 lead disappear as they lost, 5-2, to the Capitals.
The Morning Star’s story is right here.
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SUNDAY’S GAME:
Brutal stretch for @pdxwinterhawks. 8 straight losses, all were 1-goal games in the last 2 minutes.— Scott Sepich (@SSepich) November 7, 2016
At Portland, G Rylan Parenteau blocked 44 shots in leading the Tri-City Americans to a 3-2 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . Tri-City overcame a 2-0 first-period deficit. . . . F Jake Gricius (2) and F Ryan Hughes (6) scored for Portland. . . . Tri-City F Kyle Olson started the comeback with his sixth goal at 8:45 of the second period. . . . The Americans tied it at 5:25 of the third period when F Michael Rasmussen counted his WHL-leading 16th goal on a PP. . . . The game-winner came from F Parker AuCoin, his seventh goal this season, at 11:14 of the third period. . . . Parenteau is 6-2-1, 3.57, .900 since the Americans acquired him from the Prince Albrert Raiders. This was his 50th regular-season victory. . . . G Cole Kehler turned aside 28 shots for Portland. . . . Tri-City was 1-3 on the PP; Portland was 0-4. . . . The Americans (12-6-1) have won four in a row. . . . The Winterhawks (8-11-0) have lost eight straight. . . . Announced attendance: 5,856.
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LEADERS
POINTS: F Sam Steel, Regina, F Mason Shaw, Medicine Hat, each 28; F Kailer Yamamoto, Spokane, 26; F Chad Butcher, Medicine Hat, 25; F Cody Glass, Portland, each 25.
GOALS: F Michael Rasmussen, Tri-City, 16; Steel, F Tyler Steenbergen, Swift Current, each 14; Yamamoto, F Zak Zborosky, Kootenay, each 13.
ASSISTS: Shaw, 23; F Brayden Burke, Lethbridge, Butcher, Glass, each 18; D Chase Harrison, Regina, F Steve Owre, Medicine Hat, F Aleksi Heponiemi, Swift Current, each 16.
VICTORIES: Nick Schneider, Medicine Hat, 11; Ty Edmonds, Prince George, Griffen Outhouse, Victoria, each 10; Carter Hart, Everett, Michael Herringer, Kelowna, each 9.
GAA: Hart, 1.89; Connor Ingram, Kamloops, 2.01; Ty Edmonds, Prince George, 2.29; Logan Flodell, Saskatoon, 2.34; Cody Porter, Calgary, 2.46.
SAVE %: Ingram, .937; Flodell, .932; Hart, .926; Edmonds, .921; Outhouse, Porter, Ian Scott, Prince Albert, each .920.
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MONDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
No Games Scheduled.
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F Marek Svatos (Kootenay, 2000-02) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL) after an unsuccessful tryout with the Florida Panthers. Svatos last played in 2010-11, when he had three goals and five assists in 19 games with Avangard Omsk (Russia, KHL) and four goals and four assists in 28 games split between the Nashville Predators and Ottawa Senators. . . .
Assistant coach Jason Becker ran the bench Wednesday, as the Cougars dropped a 3-2 decision to the visiting Prince Albert Raiders.
F Dryden Hunt of the Regina Pats is working to come back from a second concussion this season. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post writes 
Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun reports that D Ryan Pulock (wrist) was back practising with the Brandon Wheat Kings on Wednesday. He has missed five games with a chipped bone in a wrist. The Wheat Kings will meet the Rebels in Red Deer on Friday, but Pulock wasn’t ready to commit himself to playing just yet. . . . Brandon D Rene Hunter didn’t skate after blocking a shot in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the visiting Saskatoon Blades. Also missing was F Nick Buonassisi (ill), who didn’t play Tuesday.
In Saskatoon, the Edmonton Oil Kings scored the game’s first three goals and went on to a 4-2 victory over the Blades. . . . D Griffin Reinhart, who turns 19 today, scored twice for Edmonton, giving him six. . . . Saskatoon F Josh Nicholls scored his 32nd goal at 2:21 of the third to get the Blades to within 3-2. . . . Reinhart got his second goal at 15:02. . . .
F Jaedon Descheneau drew three assists as the host Kootenay Ice got past the Medicine Hat Tigers, 3-2. . . . F Luke Philp broke a 2-2 tie at 13:52 of the third. . . . In 11 January games, Descheneau has 18 points, including 14 in the last seven. . . . Last season, Deschenau, a 17-year-old from Edmonton, had 14 points in 54 games. Now he has 45, including 32 assists, in 45 games. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart, who was day-to-day on the injury list, had two assists. . . . Kootenay, which has won five straight and 12 of 13, has closed to within four points of an Eastern Conference playoff spot. . . .
In Kamloops, G Austin Lotz stopped 65 shots — yes, 65! — but the last one he faced got past him and gave the Blazers a 4-3 OT victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . By period, Lotz stopped 29, 18 and 18 shots. His 65 saves were a single-game franchise record. The previous record (55) had been set by Kent Simpson in a game against Portland last season. . . . Kamloops won it when F Cole Ully scored on a penalty shot at 1:17 of extra time. It was Ully’s second goal of the game and 16th of the season. Ully, who had 20 goals, including nine goals, in 55 games last season, has 33 points in 40 games this season. . . . Everett somehow took 43 of the game’s 58 penalty minutes, including 14 of 19 minors. . . . Kamloops ended up going 0-for-12 on the PP; the Silvertips were 1-for-3. . . . Lotz was chosen as Wednesday’s first star by Neate Sager of the 
In Prince George, the Prince Albert Raiders overcame a 2-0 deficit and beat the Cougars, 3-2. . . . F Mike Winther broke a 2-2 tie at 12:57 of the third period with his 17th goal. . . . It was the Cougars’ first game since head coach Dean Clark was fired on Tuesday. Assistant coach Jason Becker ran the bench, with Mark Holick, the new head coach, planning to take over with the Everett Silvertips in town for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader. . . .
In Spokane, D Brenden Kichton scored in the circus to give the Chiefs a 5-4 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Kichton, who scored his 16th goal in the first period, was the only one of six shooters to score in the circus. . . . Spokane G Eric Williams stopped 41 shots. . . . Spokane led 3-1 after the second. The Winterhawks forced OT with goals by D Troy Rutkowsk, his 16th, at 15:13 of the third and F Ty Rattie’s 23rd at 16:31. Rutkowski’s goal was a shorthanded effort. . . . Rattie’s goal was his 300th career point. It came in his 245th game. . . . The Chiefs had beaten the host Winterhawks 5-2 on Monday. The teams play again Friday in Spokane.
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