Warriors announce all-time team . . . Americans Warm to Beck . . . Silvertips derail Hitmen

F Pascal Dupuis of the Pittsburgh Penguins is out of action, thanks to a second blood clot that was found in a lung. It turns out that he actually played five games with that clot hanging around, such is the hockey mentality. If you haven’t read his story, it’s right here, all in Dupuis’ words.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors, who are celebrating their 30th anniversary season, unveiled their all-time all-star team on Friday night. The lineup features G Joey Perricone, D Travis Hamonic, D Morgan Rielly, F Troy Brouwer, F Theo Fleury and F Ryan Smyth. . . . The all-time team was selected in voting by fans.
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By the time this weekend is over, the Tri-City Americans will have turned to their fifth starting goaltender of the season. . . . Eric Comrie and Evan Sarthou, the two regulars on the roster, both are injured. Casey Kaiser, a 19-year-old from Richland, Wash., has started. Nick Sanders will be returned to the midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes after he made his second straight start, this one last night against the visiting Spokane Chiefs. . . . Tonight, in Spokane, the Americans will start Beck Warm 15, from the major midget Vancouver North West Giants. That will be his first WHL start. Warm, who signed with the Americans on Friday, also is expected to start on Wednesday against the visiting Vancouver Giants. . . . Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald has more on Warm right here.
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F Oliver Bjorkstrand of the Portland Winterhawks is chasing a franchise record tonight against the host Seattle Thunderbirds. Mike Tokito of The Oregonian takes a look at Bjorkstrand — his past, his present and his future — right here.
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The junior B Sicamous Eagles of the Kootenay International Junior League are looking for a new head coach, which would indicate that Blair Robinson won't be back. The Eagles were 26-23-1-2 this season, good for fourth in the Doug Birks Division. They then lost a first-round playoff series in five games to the Kamloops Storm. . . . According to a news release, “Anyone applying must have at least 5 years of Junior coaching experience and have all CHA Coaching Levels,  plus Speak-Out and Respect in Sports.”
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IF THE WHL PLAYOFFS BEGAN TODAY:

Eastern Conference
Brandon vs. Edmonton
Calgary vs. Kootenay
Regina vs. Swift Current
Medicine Hat vs. Red Deer
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Western Conference
Kelowna vs. Tri-City
Everett vs. Spokane
Victoria vs. Vancouver
Portland vs. Seattle
(NOTE: Team with home-ice advantage shown first.)
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:

In Regina, D Ty Stanton scored two second-period goals and the Medicine Hat Tigers went on to a 2-1 victory over the Pats. . . . Stanton, who has nine goals, scored at 2:13 and 8:31. . . . Regina F Ty Cooper got his 24th goal at 18:31 of the third period. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 27 shots, 11 fewer than Regina’s Daniel Wapple. . . . Medicine Hat was 0-for-7 on the PP; the Pats were 0-for-4. . . . The Tigers (38-21-3) had lost their previous three games. They are second in the Central Division, two points behind Calgary. . . . The Pats (33-20-8) had been 3-0-1 in their last four. They will finish second in the East Division. . . .

In Moose Jaw, F Brayden Point scored his 28th goal for the Warriors as they got past the Saskatoon Blades, 3-1. . . . The Warriors had a 19-3 edge in shots after one period but had only a 1-0 lead. Here’s a tweet from the Moose Jaw Times-Herald’s Matthew Gourlie on those three shots: “One shot was two feet over the net and another was by Dallas Valentine on his own net.” . . . D Dustin Perillat scored his eighth goal for Moose jaw at 6:23 of the first period. . . . Point made it 2-0 at 2:42 of the second on a PP. . . . Saskatoon F Ryan Graham scored his 17th goal at 4:50 of the third to get his guys within one. . . . Moose Jaw F Jack Rodewald got the empty-netter at 19:37. He’s got 29 goals. . . . Warriors G Zach Sawchenko stopped 21 shots. . . . Saskatoon G Brock Hamm turned aside 37 shots. . . . Saskatoon F Cameron Hebig came up short on a third-period penalty shot with his side down 2-1. . . . F Axel Blomqvist (groin) was among Moose Jaw’s scratches. . . . Moose Jaw F Jaimen Yakubowski left in the second period favouring his left arm and didn’t return. . . . The Warriors (25-31-5) are seven points out of a playoff spot with 11 games remaining. . . . Saskatoon (18-40-4) is the first team to 40 losses this season. . . .

In Brandon, the Kootenay Ice outscored the Wheat Kings 2-1 in the shootout to post a 3-2 victory. . . . It was the Ice’s third straight shootout game. It has won two of those games. . . . F Rihards Bukarts gave Brandon a 1-0 lead in the second round of the shootout. Ice F Matt Alfaro tied it in the third round and F Jaedon Descheneau won it in the fourth round. . . . The loser point, combined with a Regina loss at home, allowed Brandon to clinch first place in the East Division. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart opened the scoring with his 17th goal, on a PP, at 8:14 of the second period. . . . Brandon F Morgan Klimchuk tied it with his 22nd at 19:22. . . . Alfaro got his 10th at 10:42 of the third for a 2-1 Ice lead. . . . Bukharts forced OT with his 28th goal at 16:33. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauley picked up an assist on Bukarts’ goal to run his point streak to 18 games. He’s got 37 points, 25 of them assists, over that stretch. . . . The Ice was 1-for-4 on the PP; Brandon was 0-for-1. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny, making his 12th straight start, stopped 35 shots. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin turned aside 32. . . . The Wheat Kings had G Alex Moodie back on the bench. He missed 11 games with a concussion. . . . Brandon still is without F Nolan Patrick, F Reid Duke and D Kale Clague with undisclosed injuries. . . . The Ice (33-27-3) has points in seven straight (5-0-2). It holds the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot, seven points ahead of Edmonton. At the same time, the Ice is fourth in the Central Division, four points behind Red Deer. . . . Brandon (45-10-7) had won its previous two games. It is three points behind Kelowna, which leads the overall standings. . . .

In Red Deer, F Brooks Maxwell scored twice to help the Rebels to a 5-3 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Maxwell’s second goal, his 19th of the season, gave the Rebels a 4-1 lead at 12:18 of the second. . . . Red Deer F Scott Feser had broken a 1-1 tie with his 12th goal, on a PP, at 5:09 of the second. . . . F Luke Coleman, who joined the Raiders this week from the midget AAA Red Deer Optimist Chiefs, scored his first WHL goal at 13:50 of the second and D Jesse Lees got them to within one with his 11th goal, on a PP, at 6:03 of the third. . . . Rebels F Riley Sheen provided insurance with his 18th goal, an empty-netter, at 19:53. . . . The Rebels were 2-for-3 on the PP; the Raiders were 2-for-4. . . . F Jayden Hart, a 22-goal man, was back in the Raiders’ lineup after not having played since Jan. 30. . . . Red Deer (32-20-9) has won two in a row. It is third in the Central Division, six points behind Medicine Hat. . . . The Raiders (24-34-3) have lost two straight and now are 11 points out of a playoff spot with 11 games remaining. . . .

In Kamloops, F Matt Needham broke a 2-2 tie at 16:21 of the third period and the Blazers went on to beat the Victoria Royals, 4-2. . . . Blazers F Logan McVeigh gave his side a 2-1 lead with his seventh goal at 4:28 of the third. . . . Victoria F Brandon Magee scored his 18th just 33 seconds later. . . . Needham got his 21st goal when he redirected a point shot by D Brady Gaudet, who scored twice, giving him four, and added an assist. Gaudet’s second goal was an empty-netter. . . . Victoria G Justin Paulic stopped 38 shots, while Blazers G Connor Ingram made 12 saves. . . . The Blazers outshot the Royals 13-6, 14-4 and 15-4 by period. . . . The Blazers lost F Deven Sideroff with an apparent right wrist injury. He left for the dressing room at 7:47 of the third period after taking a check in to the end boards in the Victoria zone. He plays the right side on the Blazers’ top line with Needham and LW Cole Ully. Sideroff, a freshman from Summerland, B.C., has 40 points, including 16 goals, in 58 games. . . . The Blazers (23-33-6) had lost their previous four games. They are fifth in the B.C. Division, three points behind Vancouver and two behind Prince George. Vancouver is in Kamloops tonight. . . . The Royals (33-25-4) have lost two straight. They will finish second in the B.C. Division. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., G Garret Hughson stopped 28 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Spokane Chiefs beat the Tri-City Americans, 4-0. . . . Hughson has three career shutouts. . . . D Jason Fram had three assists. . . . F Jackson Playfair’s 10th goal, at 13:11 of the first period, on a PP, stood up as the winner. . . . F Adam Helewka scored his 33rd goal in the second period; he also had an assist. . . . Tri-City F Austyn Playfair wasn’t able to beat Hughson on a third-period penalty shot. . . . Spokane was 2-for-5 on the PP; Tri-City was 0-for-5. . . . Americans G Nick Sanders stopped 21 shots. . . . Tri-City had D Brandon Carlo back in the lineup. He sat out a few games after taking a puck to the head. . . . The Chiefs (29-27-4) have won two straight. They hold the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot, five points up on the Americans. . . . The Americans (27-32-3) have lost three in a row. . . .

In Vancouver, G Michael Herringer turned aside 29 shots to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 4-0 victory over the Giants. . . . Herringer has two career shutouts. . . . F Gage Quinney scored once and drew two assists. . . . Quinney, who has 15 goals, was in on Kelowna’s first three goals, drawing the primary assist on each of the first two and scoring the third. . . . F Leon Draisaitl scored his 13th goal for the Rockets, on a first-period PP. He’s got goals in four straight games. . . . The Rockets had F Alexander Uryga, 16, in their lineup. A list player from North Vancouver, Uryga has been with the junior B North Vancouver Wolf Pack. . . . Vancouver is without F Dalton Sward (hand) indefinitely and he is team captain. In his absence, the ‘C’ is being worn by D Mason Geertsen. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle was in the lineup for the first time since undergoing an appendectomy early in February. He was backing up Michael Herringer. . . . D Josh Morrissey and F Rourke Chartier were among Kelowna’s scratches. . . . The Rockets (48-10-4) have reached 100 points for a third straight season. . . . The Giants (26-32-3) are third in the B.C. Division, one point ahead of Prince George and three up on Kamloops. . . .

In Everett, F Carson Stadnyk had two goals and an assist as the Silvertips dumped the Calgary Hitmen, 7-2. . . . Everett took a 2-0 lead on early first-period goals by F Derek Leedahl, his 12th, at 0:34 and Stadnyk at 3:29, via the PP. . . . F Adam Tambellini got Calgary to within one at 16:09. . . . F Matt Fonteyne restored Everett’s two-goal lead with his fifth goal at 11:58 of the second. . . . Tambellini got his 44th goal, shorthanded, at 15:50 to leave Calgary trailing 3-2. . . . Everett scored the next four goals, two of them coming in the second period. . . . Stadnyk scored the game’s final goal, giving him 25. . . . F Nikita Scherbak got No. 26 for Everett and F Kohl Bauml got his 29th. . . . Everett F Ivan Nikolishin had three assists. . . . Silvertips G Carter Hart turned aside 41 shots. . . . Everett D Ben Betker was tossed at 4:23 of the third for a headshot on Calgary F Chase Lang. . . . D Kevin Davis (undisclosed injury) was among Everett’s scratches. . . . Everett (37-18-7) leads the U.S. Division by four points over Portland. . . . Calgary (38-19-5) had won nine straight on the road and six in a row overall. The Hitmen, who lead the Central Division by two points over Medicine Hat, had won four straight in the U.S Division. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Jansen Harkins scored 33 seconds into OT to give the Prince George Cougars a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Harkins, who also had three assists, has 19 goals. . . . Cougars F Jordan Ross, an 18-year-old from Kronau, Sask., scored his first WHL goal, in his 21st game, at 17:57 of the second period to force OT. . . . Seattle held a 3-1 lead in the second period when Seattle D Evan Wardley was hit with a triple minor. Four seconds later, Seattle D Jerret Smith was hit with a delay-of-game minor. . . . Cougars F Zach Pochiro then scored PP goals 39 seconds apart to tie the game. . . . Seattle F Luke Osterman gave his side a 4-3 lead with his second goal of the season at 14:44 of the second. . . . Pochiro also had two assists, as did Cougars D Josh Connolly. . . . Seattle F Mathew Barzal had two assists. . . . Prince George was 3-for-7 on the PP; Seattle was 2-for-6. . . . The Thunderbirds held a 20-3 edge in first-period shots but led only 1-0. . . . Seattle took 57 of the game’s 102 penalty minutes. . . . The Cougars (25-33-4) have won two in a row to get within a point of third-place Vancouver in the B.C. Division. . . . The Thunderbirds (31-23-7) have lost two straight. They are third in the U.S. Division, seven points behind Portland and eight ahead of Spokane.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES

(all times local)
Medicine Hat at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Regina at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Kootenay at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Lethbridge at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Tri-City at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Calgary at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Portland vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Prince George at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
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@NickHPatterson tell the copy editors @EverettHerald I got their headline for tomorrow... HART OWNS HITMEN Thank you I'll show myself out
— Tips After The Game (@TipsATG) February 28, 2015

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Sask. Hockey Hall names inductees . . . Hunt's streak at 16 . . . 'Tips, Ams whip T-birds, Chiefs

The Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame named its 2015 inductees on Saturday. Here is the list:
Players — Wendel Clark, Guyle Fielder, Victor Lynn, Dave (Tiger) Williams,
Builders — Dave King, Jackie McLeod, Dr. Gerry Rooney.
Officials — Kevin Muench.
Grassroots — Elgar Petersen.
Teams — 2002-03 Humboldt Broncos, 1932 Saskatoon Quakers, Simpson Flyers.
The Hall of Fame is located in Swift Current.
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The Vancouver Giants are preparing to head into the Central Division and they’ll do it without injured D Clayton Kirichenko. Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that the Giants will add D Kole Bryks, 17, to their roster for the road swing. From Edmonton, Bryks plays for the midget AAA St. Albert Raiders. . . . The Giants played in Kamloops last night. They spent the night and were to leave this morning for Cranbrook, where they play on Tuesday.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:

In Prince Albert, the Medicine Hat Tigers scored three second-period goals and went on to beat the Raiders, 5-4. . . . Tigers F Dryden Hunt broke a 2-2 tie at 15:19 of the second period and F Chad Labelle got his sixth goal at 16:32. . . . Hunt’s 18th goal ran his point streak to 16 games. . . . Medicine Hat F Trevor Cox, who leads the WHL with 73 points, scored his 17th goal. . . . The Tigers had a 5-2 lead in the third period when the Raiders got goals from D Jesse Lees, his seventh, and F Matteo Gennaro, his sixth. . . . Tigers G Marek Langhamer stopped 35 shots, seven fewer than the Raiders’ Rylan Parenteau. . . . Tigers F Chad Butcher scored his 14th goal and added an assist, while F Cole Sanford scored No. 35 and also had an assist. Sanford now has 65 points, second only to Cox. . . . F Jayden Hart of the Raiders, who used to play for the Tigers, scored his 21st goal and added two assists. . . . Raiders F Kris Schmidli had two assists. . . . Medicine Hat has won 15 of the last 18 meetings between these teams. . . . The Tigers (30-12-2) have lost their previous two games. They lead the WHL with 18 road victories, one more than Brandon. . . . The Raiders (19-25-1) have lost two in a row. . . .

In Swift Current, F Braylon Shmyr scored two goals as the Brandon Wheat Kings dumped the Broncos, 5-3. . . . Shmyr has 10 goals this season, and is the 10th Brandon skater with at least that many goals. . . . Brandon F Nolan Patrick broke a 1-1 tie with his 18th goal 30 seconds into the second period. . . . Brandon F Duncan Campbell added his eighth at 5:59 and the Wheaties were never headed. . . . F Morgan Klimchuk, who scored his 100th and 101st regular-season goals one night earlier, and F Tim McGauley each had two assists. . . . McGauley had been credited with two goals and three assists in Friday’s 8-5 victory over visiting Lethbridge. One of those assists was later taken away. He now has 56 points in 46 games, good for a tie for sixth place in the scoring race. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 40 shots. . . . The Wheat Kings (33-9-4) have won four in a row and are just one point behind the idle Kelowna Rockets (34-8-3) in the race for first place overall. . . . Brandon has three victories from four trips to Swift Current this season. . . . The Broncos are 21-20-5. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story right here. . . .

In Moose Jaw, G Zach Sawchenko turned aside 28 shots to lead the Warriors to a 5-0 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Sawchenko has three shutouts this season. . . . F Jiri Smejkal scored two goals and added an assist. He’s got eight goals. . . . F Jack Rodewald scored his 21st goal. . . . D Ryan Gardiner, F Tanner Eberle and F Brayden Point each drew two assists. . . . Lethbridge G Jayden Sittler stopped 43 shots. . . . It was the second time this season that the Hurricanes have been blanked. . . . The Warriors improved to 19-24-4 and now are just three points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Hurricanes (10-27-6) have lost four in a row. . . .

In Saskatoon, F Wyatt Sloboshan scored with 10.8 seconds left in the third period to give the Blades a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart had scored his 10th goal at 17:09 of the third to pull his guys into a 2-2 tie. . . . A scoring change well after Friday’s action gave Reinhart an assist and a share of the Ice’s franchise career points record with F Jarret Stoll (286). Last night’s goal gave Reinhart the franchise record (287). . . . D Nolan Reid had given the Blades a 2-1 lead with his second goal in as many games, this one at 5:27 of the third. . . . Reid went into Friday play with one career goal. He now has three and is on a two-game scoring streak. . . . Sloboshan also had an assist. . . . Saskatoon G Brock Hamm stopped 26 shots, three fewer than the Ice’s Wyatt Hoflin. . . . Hamm, who joined the Blades from the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos, has two victories, both over the Ice. . . . The Blades (12-29-3) have won three in a row for the second time this season. They also moved out of the Eastern Conference basement and are one point ahead of Lethbridge. . . . The Ice, which has lost three times to the Blades this season, slipped to 22-22-1. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story right here. . . .

In Calgary, G Austin Carroll, whose NHL rights belong to the Calgary Flames, scored twice to lead the Victoria Royals to a 4-1 victory over the Hitmen. . . . After the game, the Hitmen held a players-only meeting. . . . Carroll, who now has 28 goals, was a seventh-round selection by the Flames in the 2014 NHL draft. Carroll, 20, is from Calgary. . . . Carroll’s first goal, 30 seconds into the third period, on a PP, gave the Royals a 2-0 lead. . . . Victoria D Joe Hicketts scored the game’s first goal, his ninth, on a PP, at 14:42 of the first period. . . . Hicketts also had an assist. . . . Victoria F Brandon Magee had three assists, and now shares the Victoria/Chilliwack franchise career regular-season points record of 241 with former F Kevin Sundher. . . . Victoria D Travis Brown had three assists. . . . The Royals were 2-for-2 on the PP; the Hitmen were 0-for-1. . . . The Royals (24-19-3), who play in Edmonton this afternoon, have won four straight. . . . Calgary continues to be without F Jake Virtanen and D Travis Sanheim, both out with undisclosed injuries. . . . The Hitmen (23-17-5), who entertain Regina this afternoon, have lost three in a row (0-2-1). Calgary will make F Ryan Getzlaf the inaugural member of their Forever A Hitmen club during this afternoon’s game. . . . Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun has a game story right here. . . .

In Red Deer, F Adam Musil scored in the ninth round of a shootout to give the Rebels a 4-3 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Musil was the only one of the 18 shooters to score. . . . The Pats erased a 3-1 deficit to force OT. . . . F Adam Brooks scored shorthanded at 10:01 of the second period. . . . He’s got 19 goals. . . . F Taylor Cooper tied it with his 18th goal at 8:44 of the third. . . . Cooper had scored the game’s first goal at 2:02 of the first. . . . The Rebels answered that goal with three of their own, from F Adam Musil, his 11th, D Colton Bobyk, his second, and F Presten Kopeck, his 14th. . . . The Rebels were 0-for-10 on the PP; the Pats were 0-for-3. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple stopped 32 shots, six more than Taz Burman of the Rebels. . . . Red Deer (26-14-6) is 6-0-1 in its last seven and trails Central Division-leading Medicine Hat by four points. . . . The Pats (26-15-4) have lost two straight. . . . The Pats play in Calgary this afternoon. . . .

In Kamloops, G Connor Ingram stopped 36 shots as the Blazers blanked the Vancouver Giants, 1-0. . . . Ingram, a 17-year-old freshman from Imperial, Sask., has two shutouts in his freshman season. . . . Ingram has taken hold of the starter’s role in Kamloops and has started six of the team’s eight games since the Christmas break. . . . Kamloops F Logan McVeigh sealed the victory with a big block on Vancouver D Mason Geertsen with two seconds on the clock. . . . F Matt Needham scored the game’s only goal, finishing off a 2-on-1 with F Cole Ully for his 15th goal of the season at 16:33 of the second period. . . . Ully has 58 points, 38 of them assists, in 43 games. . . . Vancouver G Payton Lee turned aside 26 shots. . . . F Thomas Foster was among Vancouver’s scratches. He drew a ‘tbd’ suspension for a kneeing major he took on Friday night in a 3-0 loss to the visiting Tri-City Americans. . . . The Blazers (16-24-6) have won two in a row. They are fifth in the B.C. Division, but now are two points behind the fourth-place Giants, who begin a six-game Central Division swing in Cranbrook on Tuesday, and four points in arrears of third-place Prince George. . . . Vancouver (19-23-2), which was blanked 3-0 by visiting Tri-City on Friday, has lost three in a row. . . .

In Prince George, F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored two goals and added two assists as the Portland Winterhawks dropped the Cougars, 8-2. . . . Bjorkstrand has 27 goals in 34 games. . . . Portland built a 6-0 lead before F Brad Morrison got his 17th goal of the season for the Cougars. . . . F Miles Koules scored his 20th goal and had two assists for Portland, while F Nic Petan drew three assists and F Chase De Leo had two. . . . Portland D Keoni Texeira picked up his fourth goal and had an assist. . . . Winterhawks G Adin Hill stopped 38 shots. . . . Portland F Dominic Turgeon didn’t return after a second-period fight with F Colby McAuley. . . . The Winterhawks were without F Mitch Walter for a second straight game after he took a hard punch to the face during a fight in a game in Kamloops on Wednesday. . . . The Winterhawks won 4-3 in a shootout on Friday night. . . . Portland will play the remainder of its regular-season games entirely within the U.S. Division. . . . The Winterhawks (25-19-3) have won two straight and are second in the U.S. Division. . . . The Cougars (20-24-2) are 0-3-2 in their last five. . . .

In Everett, G Austin Lotz stopped 31 shots to help the Silvertips to a 6-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds before 8,317 fans. . . . Lotz has four shutouts this season and 10 in his career. . . . After a scoreless first period, Everett scored twice in the second period and added four more in the third. . . . F Jake Mykitiuk, who scored his first goal of the season in Friday’s 5-3 victory over visiting Spokane, got the winner, scoring at 4:38 of the second. . . . F Carson Stadnyk scored his 16th goal and added two assists, while F Nikita Scherbak got his 20th goal and also had an assist and F Kohl Bauml scored No. 19 and had an assist. . . . F Dawson Leedahl scored his seventh goal and had an assist, and F Remi Laurencelle drew two assists. . . .  Everett was 2-for-5 on the PP; Seattle was 0-for-1. . . . TBird Tidbits (@TBirdTidbits) points out via Twitter that Seattle is 1-8-3 on Saturday nights when it also played the previous night. The Thunderbirds were coming off a 5-2 victory over the Rockets in Kelowna. . . . The Silvertips (28-12-4) have won four straight. . . . Seattle (22-17-5) is 3-1-1 in its last five outings. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., G Evan Sarthou blocked 25 shots to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 7-0 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Sarthou has four shutouts in his freshman season, with the last two coming on back-to-back nights. He beat the Giants 3-0 in Vancouver on Friday. . . . Sarthou was making his 16th straight start. G Eric Comrie is out with an undisclosed injury. . . . This was the first time this season that Spokane has been shut out. . . . On Dec. 31, the Chiefs beat the host Americans, 10-2. . . . F Lucas Nickles scored twice, giving him 16 goals, and added two assists, while D Brandon Carlo scored his third goal and had two assists. . . . Tri-City D Carter Cochrane, who was acquired last week from Everett, had two assists. . . . F Tyler Sandhu, an acquisition from Red Deer, got his 10th goal and also had an assist. . . . Besides Comrie, the Americans also scratched F Richard Nejezchleb (ill) and F Parker Bowles (undisclosed injury). . . . Spokane F Adam Helewka had his franchise record-tying nine-game goal-scoring streak snapped. . . . The Americans (22-21-2) have won two in a row. . . . The Chiefs (23-17-4) have lost three in a row (0-2-1).
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Bobby Clarke of the Flin Flon Bombers. #SJHL #Flyers pic.twitter.com/kNHxEwVkji
— Jen (@NHLhistorygirl) January 17, 2015

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The Flint Flonbombers? . . . Warriors make a Point . . . Blazers whip Winterhawks

It’s official. The OHL’s Plymouth Whalers are being sold and will relocate to Flint, Mich., in time for the 2015-16 season. There now is speculation about what the team’s nickname might be once it is in its new home. . . . A tip of the hat to the WHL executive who emailed me and suggested the Flint Flonbombers would be most suitable. . . . It is impossible to disagree with that.
Ken Campbell of The Hockey News has more on the Flint situation right here.
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ICYMI, former Kamloops Blazers G Devan Dubnyk was acquired by the NHL’s Minnesota Wild from the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday. The Wild is Dubnyk’s fifth NHL organization  in a year -- he went from the Edmonton Oilers to the Nashville Predators to the Montreal Canadiens to Arizona and now to Minnesota.
Which brings me to G Don Blishen.
You may recall that I mentioned Blishen here on Wednesday in a piece on players who had been with six or seven WHL teams during their careers.
Blishen was on the list of those who had played for six teams. The Calgary native, who now is 43, played for the Calgary Wranglers, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Swift Current Broncos, Portland Winterhawks, Tri-City Americans and Brandon Wheat Kings (1986-90).
It seems that he came awfully close to playing for the Spokane Chiefs, too.
Craig West, a former radio voice of the Chiefs who now calls the play for the Tri-City Americans, recalls Spokane GM Tim Speltz having dealt G Shawn Dietrich to Tri-City for Blishen.
As West recalls, Blishen might have been Chiefs' property “for an hour or so” before he was dealt to Brandon, along with F Bobby House and F Marty Murray, for G Trevor Kidd on Jan. 21, 1991. With Kidd backstopping them, the Chiefs ended up winning the Memorial Cup.
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Whenever I watch a Vancouver Canucks game on Sportsnet, I chuckle in the early going when a Safeway promotion appears and the voiceover provides the name of someone who will win $1 million if a Vancouver player scores five goals during the game.
Yeah, when is the last time one of the Canucks scored five goals in a game?
Well, the same promotion runs in Manitoba. And, on Tuesday night, Gail McDonald of Brandon would have won $1 million had one of the Winnipeg Jets scored five goals against the visiting Florida Panthers.
It was close, too, as Matthieu Perreault of the Jets scored four times over the first two periods.
There’s more right here.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:

In Moose Jaw, F Brayden Point scored three times to lead the Warriors to a 4-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The victory moved the Warriors to within three points of the Ice, which holds down the Eastern Conference’s second of two wild-card playoff spots. . . . Two goals from Point, who has 20 goals, and one from F Torrin White, his ninth, gave the Warriors a 3-0 lead midway through the second period. . . . Point has two hat tricks this season. . . . The Ice got to within 3-2 before the period ended, as F Austin Vetterl got his fourth and D Rinat Valiev scored his sixth. . . . Valiev returned after a seven-game absence. He played for Russia at the WJC and then was ill. . . . Point gave his side a 4-2 lead with his 20th goal at 11:08 of the third, on a PP. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart made it 4-3 at 12:09, with his ninth goal. . . . Reinhart has 15 goals in 13 career games against Moose Jaw. . . . Warriors D Dallas Valentine and F Axel Blomqvist each had two assists. . . . Moose Jaw lost F Jaimen Yakubowski to a headshot major and game misconduct at 4:08 of the third period. The hit was on Reinhart. . . . Kootenay lost D Troy Murray in the first period when he didn’t return after taking a hit from Yakubowski. . . . The Ice held a 33-18 edge in shots, including 12-3 in the third. . . . The Warriors (18-23-4) who play in Swift Current on Friday, have won two in a row. . . . The Ice (21-21-1), which is in Prince Albert on Friday, has lost four straight. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has more on the game right here. . . .

In Medicine Hat, F Pavel Padakin scored Regina’s first two goals and the Pats went on to a 6-1 victory over the Tigers. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple, in his first start since returning from a groin injury, stopped 37 shots. . . . WHL Facts (@WHLFacts) tweeted that Wapple is 16-0-2 since Nov. 7. . . . F Dryden Hunt, whom the Tigers acquired from the Pats prior to the trade deadline, got the game’s first goal, his 16th, at 6:54 of the first period. He is on a 14-game point streak, the longest in the WHL today. . . . Padakin, who has 13 goals, tied the score at 8:41 and then gave the Pats the lead at 1:11 of the second. . . . The Pats added three third-period goals, including a shorthanded score by F Austin Wagner at 4:57 for a 3-1 lead. He’s got 11 goals. . . . F Braden Christoffer and F Sam Steel each had two assists for Regina. . . . Regina F Colton Kroeker scored his second goal of the season on a third-period penalty shot. . . . D Chase Harrison (concussion) was back in Regina’s lineup. . . . Regina (26-14-3), which is in Edmonton on Friday, had lost its previous two games. . . . The Tigers are 29-11-2. They are in Saskatoon on Friday. . . .

In Calgary, F Brooks Maxwell’s shootout goal stood up as the winner as the Red Deer Rebels beat the Hitmen, 5-4. . . . The Hitmen had taken a 4-2 lead into the back half of the third period. . . . Maxwell scored his 13th goal, on a PP, at 10:34 and F Conner Bleackley forced OT with his second goal of the game, and 22nd of the season, at 18:51. . . . Red Deer outscored the home team 3-2 in the skills competition. . . . F Connor Rankin scored twice for Calgary, giving him 23. . . . Calgary D Travis Sanheim had three assists. . . . F Jake Virtanen was among Calgary’s scratches. . . . The Rebels (25-14-5) have won five straight and stretch their lead over the third-place Hitmen to four points in the Central Division. . . . Calgary (23-16-5) has lost two in a row. . . . The Rebels are at home to Victoria on Friday. . . . Calgary next plays on Saturday against visiting Victoria. . . .

In Kamloops, the Blazers struck four times in the first period and went on to beat the Portland Winterhawks, 6-2. . . . The Blazers line of Matt Needham between Cole Ully and Deven Sideroff combined for 10 points. Needham had two goals, giving him 14, and two assists; Ully notched his 20th goal and had two assists; and Sideroff scored his 15th goal and added two assists. . . . The Winterhawks scored twice in the second period to briefly make a game of it. . . . Portland F Alex Schoenborn scored his 13th goal and also had an assist. . . . D Michael Fora had two assists for the Blazers. A freshman from Switzerland, he has 23 points in 38 games. After putting up eight points in his first 19 games, he has 15 in his last 19. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram stopped 24 shots, none bigger than a left pad save off F Miles Koules with eight seconds left in the second period that kept the Kamloops lead at 4-2. . . . Portland G Evan Johnson stopped 17 of 19 shots over the last two periods as he made his first appearance since being acquired from the Calgary Hitmen. He relieved Adin Hill, who surrendered four goals on 16 shots in the first period. . . . Portland F Chase De Leo had a 17-game point streak come to an end. . . . F Nic Petan returned to the Portland lineup after an 11-game absence. He was with Team Canada at the WJC, where he tied for the tournament scoring lead, and then was said to be ill. If you were thinking mumps, forget it. A Portland insider told Taking Note that Petan was quite run down when he got back from the WJC. . . . F Mitch Walter wasn’t on the Portland bench in the third period. He was playing his first game since being acquired from the Edmonton Oil Kings at the trade deadline. He was involved in an early second-period fight with Kamloops F Nick Chyzowski and took an overhand right square in the face. Walter looked wobbly going to the penalty box. . . . The Blazers (15-24-6) now have won one more game than they did all of last season when they finished 14-53-5. They next play Saturday when they entertain the Vancouver Giants. . . . Portland (23-19-3) had won its last two games. . . . The Winterhawks will meet the Cougars in Prince George on Friday and Saturday. . . .

In Kelowna, F Rourke Chartier and F Dillon Dube each scored twice to help the Rockets to a 7-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Chartier leads the WHL with 38 goals. . . . Dube has 10 goals even though injuries have limited him to 19 games. . . . Chartier also had an assist. . . . F Leon Draisaitl and D Madison Bowey each had two assists for Kelowna. . . . Rockets G Jackson Whistle, in his 100th regular-season WHL appearance, stopped 19 shots. . . . Tri-City G Evan Sarthou turned aside 28 shots. . . .The Americans list G Eric Comrie as being out two to three weeks with an undisclosed injury. He hasn’t played since returning from the WJC. . . . The Rockets are 34-7-3; the Americans are 20-21-2. . . . Kelowna is atop the Western Conference and the Americans hold down the conference’s second wild-card spot, so this may well be a first-round playoff matchup. . . . The Rockets are at home to Seattle on Friday, while the Americans visit Vancouver.
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From Dylan Bumbarger, a community blogger at The Oregonian . . .

in case anyone wants it pic.twitter.com/14G2GBhjCg
— Dylan Bumbarger (@dylandb) January 15, 2015

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Some Saturday WHL highlights, and a coaching change in the PJHL

D Josh Hanson was back in the Portland Winterhawks' lineup on Saturday night. Hanson missed the regular season's first six games with a hand injury. He is one of four 20-year-olds on the Portland roster, so Travis McEvoy sat this one out. The other 20s with Portland are D Josh Smith and F Miles Koules, who was acquired earlier in the week from the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . .
The Seattle Thunderbirds have released F Kevin Wolf, 18, and he is expected to join the AHL's Canmore Eagles. From Cuomo, Minn., Wolf was pointless in three games with Seattle this season. Last season, he had a goal and two assists in 27 games. In 2012-13, he had one assist in 20 games. Seattle selected him in the 10th round of the 2011 bantam draft. . . . Seattle G Danny Mumaugh had the scoop on this move on Thursday when he tweeted: "Going to miss (Kevin Wolf)! Sad to see him go after living with him for the past 2 years. Good luck big."
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Brandon F John Quenneville left early with an undisclosed injury as the Wheat Kings dropped the visiting Red Deer Rebels 7-1 on Saturday night. . . . The Kootenay Ice lost F Jon Martin with an undisclosed injury during a 6-4 loss to the Hitmen in Calgary on Saturday. Ice head coach Ryan McGill told Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Townsman that Martin is day-to-day. . . . The Hitmen got a goal and three assists from F Chase Lang in the victory. . . . The Ice blew a 4-1 lead in that one and McGill wasn't a happy camper at game's end. Rocca has more right here. . . .
The Kelowna Rockets, missing four injured defencemen, ran their record to 6-0-0 with a 6-4 victory over the Silvertips in Everett on Saturday. D Mitchell Wheaton didn't play, after being injured Friday night. Also on the shelf with undisclosed injuries are Joe Gatenby, Jesse Lees and Cole Martin. . . . The Rockets got three goals from F Roarke Chartier and four assists from F Nick Merkley. . . . Kelowna F Tyson Baillie scored an empty-netter, giving him a WHL-leading eight goals in six games. He has at least a goal in each of the six games. . . .
G Zach Sawchenko of the Moose Jaw Warriors put up his second straight shutout on Saturday, stopping 25 shots in a 5-0 victory over the visiting Tri-City Americans. On Thursday night, in his previous start, Sawchenko and the Warriors beat the visiting Red Deer Rebels, 3-0. . . . Sawchenko, who turns 17 on Dec. 30, had zero shutouts in 26 appearances with the Warriors last season. He now is riding a shutout streak of 170 minutes 56 seconds. . . .
F Matt Needham, the captain of the Kamloops Blazers, had a tough Saturday night in Medicine Hat. He took five minors and a fighting major in a 5-1 loss to the Tigers. In 187 regular-season games, he has 169 penalty minutes. Last season, he took 37 minutes in 48 games. . . . F Chase Witala had a goal and three assists as the Prince George Cougars beat the host Spokane Chiefs, 6-2. . . .
G Landon Bow stopped 35 shots and F Glenn Gawdin scored in OT as the Swift Current Broncos beat the Royals 2-1 in Victoria. . . . The Portland Winterhawks won their first game this season (1-5-1), getting an OT goal from F Alex Schoenborn to beat the Silvertips 3-2 in Everett. . . . The Silvertips have released F Addison Runey from their roster. He is expected to join the NAHL's Amarillo Bulls. Runey, 17, is from McKinney, Texas. . . . Everett now is carrying 24 players, including 14 forwards and eight defencemen.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The junior B Port Moody, B.C., Panthers of the Pacific Junior Hockey League have fired head coach Kevin Flather, with Ron Johnson, the team's director of hockey development, stepping in on an interim basis. General manager Frank Iantorno indicated that the search for a replacement has begun. . . . Flather joined the Panthers in May after spending last season as head coach of the Kootenay International Junior League's Grand Forks Border Bruins. . . . The Panthers lost 8-1 to the host North Vancouver Wolf Pack on Wednesday and 7-0 at home on Saturday. Those results dropped Port Moody's record to 0-8-0-1 and left it last in the five-team league.

Another player at home with brain injury . . . To dry scrape, or not to dry scrape

G Leland Irving (Everett, 2003-08) has signed a one-year contract with Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Russia, KHL). He was invited to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s training camp on a tryout basis on Sept. 9. Last season, with Jokerit Helsinki (Finland, Liiga), he was 2.14 and .922 in 55 games. . . .
F Karel Hromas (Everett, 2004-06) has been released by Kadaň (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). Last season, he had one assist in seven games with Chomutov (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had 11 points, including six goals, in 29 games on loan to Kadaň.
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CONCUSSION REPORT:

Veteran F Chase Souto, 20, no longer is with the Kamloops Blazers. Souto, who is hoping to play in his fifth season with the Blazers, has returned to his California home as he tries to recover from at least the fourth concussion of his WHL career.
Souto suffered his latest concussion on Feb. 7 and still wasn’t feeling well when he reported to the Blazers training camp in late August.
“He took part in the first two days of training camp,” Blazers head coach Don Hay told Earl Seitz of CFJC-TV in Kamloops. “He came to us and said he wasn’t feeling quite right. Our doctors looked at him and shut him down.
“We’ve given him some time to go home, get well rested, then have the possibility of coming back and joining us at a future date.”
Souto finished last season with 31 points, including 20 goals, in 47 games. He suffered a broken hand during a fight in Moose Jaw on Dec. 15 and didn’t play again until Jan. 17.
His latest concussion came in a game against the visiting Victoria Royals on Feb. 7. He tried to play again, on Feb. 28 in Calgary, but it didn’t work and his season was over.
Now there isn’t any time frame for a return.
“The doctor feels he’s not at 100 per cent right now,” Hay said,
“and wants to give him a little more time to recover.”
Souto incurred two concussions as a 16-year-old freshman, the first coming four games into the season on an open-ice hit in Chilliwack, the second occurring when he was on the receiving end of a heavy check in Cranbrook.
Then, on Sept. 10, 2011, he took an elbow to the head during an exhibition game against Kelowna and that resulted in brain injury No. 3.
Three years ago, after Souto suffered that third brain injury, I talked with him and wrote this piece right here. The interesting part is how he kept playing after the hit and intentionally got into a fight. That way, he got tossed with the automatic game misconduct and was able to buy some time as he tried to determine whether he might be able to keep the brain injury from training Colin Robinson and the coaching staff.
With Souto gone, the Blazers are down to two 20-year-olds -- G Bolton Pouliot and D Brady Gaudet.
Will Souto be back in time to fill that third spot.
“That is open right now,” Hay told Seitz, “but there’s always the possibility it might get filled.”
The Blazers also need Souto’s offence. With him on the roster, they return 106 goals from a team that had the second-poorest offence in the WHL last season.
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Sometime during the next week, the WHL will issue a news release covering rule changes for the 2014-15 regular season. Don't expect the trapezoid behind the nets to be expanded or for the area between the hash marks at faceoff circles to be widened, a la the NHL. No doubt the WHL would like to use both rules, but there isn't time to change the paint schemes in all of the arenas before the season opens on Friday. . . . I experienced the dry scrape before overtime for the first time on Friday night. I would hope the WHL dumps that idea before the regular season begins. There are times when there is a real buzz in a building as everyone prepares for OT. But the time it takes to do a dry scrape sucks the atmosphere right out of the building. At least, that was the case last night in Kamloops, where the Blazers scored at 18:53 of the third period to forge a 3-3 tie and force OT with the Prince George Cougars.
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Some impressions from that game:
Kamloops F Matt Needham needs to have a lot of games just like that one for the Blazers to have success this season. The Blazers’ captain had the winning goal, on the PP, and two assists. He set up the tying goal by winning a faceoff in the Cougars’ zone. . . . Kamloops D Patrik Maier, a Slovakian freshman, had a goal and an assist and showed some flair. He slammed his gun into its holster after rifling a shot through a screen for a third-period goal. He also showed a sharp stick and some feistiness in front of his net. . . . Blazers F Jake Kryski, 16, was the best player on the ice. The kid has a lot of game for someone that young. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles the grind of a WHL schedule. . . . The Cougars had a few veterans who played like it was the last exhibition game, which it was. At this level, coaches shouldn’t have to be yelling at players to skate hard on the way back into their zone. . . . Prince George D Dominic Thom looks like one of those players you hate to play against but love to have on your team. . . . Cougars F Jari Erricson, 20, has some rust after playing only four games last season thanks to a brain injury. . . . The Cougars scratched F Jansen Harkins, meaning he finishes the exhibition season with nine points, including four goals, in three games.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers are waiting to find out exactly what is wrong with G Jared Rathjen. Shaun Clouston, the Tigers’ GM and head coach, has told Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News that Rathjen, 20, has yet to get medical clearance to play. . . . “In his medical, (Rathjen) had some abnormalities appear on some testing, and so basically until those are investigated and looked into, our doctor has said he can’t participate,” Clouston told McCracken. “So he’s been just kind of waiting. He’s going to see a specialist next week and hopefully he’ll be back to normal.” . . . For now, then, Nick Schneider will be the Tigers’ starting goaltender, with Cole Schafer from the junior B Medicine Hat Cubs backing up. That means Schneider starts tonight against the Red Deer Rebels in Stettler, with Schafter on the bench. . . . McCracken also reports that F Anthony Ast (wrist) and F Chad Labelle (knee) are hobbled.
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It’s hard to believe, but F Tim Bozon is in camp with the Montreal Canadiens. It was only in March when Bozon, then with the WHL’s Kootenay Ice, was in the intensive care unit of a Saskatoon hospital, deathly ill with Neisseria meningitis. He has come a long way since then, though, and Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette has the story right here.
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The OHL has handed out its first major suspension of the season, hitting F Noah Bushnell of the Sarnia Sting with a 10-game sentence for a headshot -- an elbow to the an opponent’s chin -- during a preseason game. . . . There’s more, including video, right here.
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It sounds like Tim Hunter, the first-year head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors, got welcomed to the WHL on Friday night. His club was outshot 42-20 en route to a 6-2 loss to the host Brandon Wheat Kings. Afterwards, Hunter told Katie Brickman of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald: “I never trust the shot clock on the road. I don’t think it was quite as bad as it was but, still, they did outshoot us and outwork us.” . . . Ah, yes, the shot clock on the road in the WHL. There isn‘t a coach in the league who hasn‘t walked the same ground as Hunter. . . .
An interesting note from Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, after the Blades’ 3-2 shootout victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos last night: “The 1,134 fans who attended Friday’s game got a taste of what the setup will look like at the rink this season. The upper bowl will be curtained off for almost all games in an effort to create a better atmosphere and stronger demand for tickets. The lower bowl holds approximately 6,000 people.” . . . During that game, Nugent-Bowman tweeted: “Broncos D Jordan Harris dumped to the side of the SC net. He skates off the ice with his left shoulder dangling down.” . . .
F Justin Hickman of the Seattle Thunderbirds was to have joined the Winnipeg Jets team at the Young Guns tournament in Penticton, B.C., but those plans were ruined by an undisclosed injury suffered in practice this week. . . . The Toronto Maple Leafs revealed Friday that D Rinat Valiev of the Kootenay Ice won’t participate in their camp because of an undisclosed injury. . . .
F Kristian Ferletak of the Victoria Royals drew a one-game suspension for the goaltender interference major and game misconduct he incurred Thursday against the visiting Vancouver Giants. He won't play tonight in Kelowna against the Rockets. . . . Victoria D Joe Hicketts wasn’t selected in the NHL’s 2014 draft, but is with the Detroit Red Wings’ rookie team in a tournament at Traverse City, Mich. Last night, he scored in OT and also drew an assist as the Red Wings beat the St. Louis Blues, 6-5.
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Please @TheWHL, no dry scrapes before overtime.
— Daniel Nugent-Bowman (@DNBsports) September 13, 2014

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