Silvertips have their coach ... Hitmen looking for new GM ... Giants need assistant coach

F Josh Holden (Regina, 1994-98) has signed a one-year extension with Zug (Switzerland, NL A). This season, Holden, the team captain, had 14 goals and 25 assists in 49 games. . . . Next season will be Holden’s 10th with Zub. According to Zug's website, Holden is eligible to apply for Swiss citizenship this year. . . .

F Josh Green (Medicine Hat, Swift Current, Portland, 1993-98) announced via his Twitter account that he has retired. “Walking away on my terms,” he wrote. . . . This season with KooKoo Kouvola (Finland, Liiga), he had 11 goals and six assists in 38 games. He was the team captain.

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With their arch-rivals, the Seattle Thunderbirds, flying high over Western Canada, bringing home the Ed Chynoweth Cup on Monday afternoon, the Everett Silvertips announced that they have a new head coach.

As expected, the Silvertips have brought in Dennis Williams, a 37-year-old native of Stratford, Ont., to replace Kevin Constantine, whose contract wasn’t renewed following this season.

Williams becomes the fifth head coach in the franchise’s history, which began with the 2003-04 season.

DENNIS WILLIAMS

Constantine has done two four-year stints as head coach, winning 326 regular-season and 45 playoff games in the process.

This season, Everett went 44-16-12 — for the second 100-point season in its history — and finished atop the Western Conference and the U.S. Division. The Silvertips also were the WHL’s best defensive club, allowing only 169 goals in 72 games. In the playoffs, they took a first-round series from the Victoria Royals in six games, then got swept by the Thunderbirds.

Everett management is hopeful that Williams can inject a little more run-and-gun into the Silvertips’ game.

From a Silvertips’ news release:

“Williams has 11 years of head-coaching experience across junior and college levels, carrying a lifetime winning percentage of .673 over the past seven seasons as head coach with Bloomington of the United States Hockey League and Amarillo of the North American Hockey League. After guiding Bloomington to a 29-24-7 record and fifth place in the Eastern Conference in their expansion season of 2014-15, he led the Thunder in 2015-16 to a 36-18-6 record, an appearance in the Eastern Conference final, and a victory shy of reaching the league’s Clark Cup final.”

Williams has been the USHL-Bloomington, Ill., Thunder’s general manager of hockey operations and head coach for three seasons. Before that, he was the director of hockey operations and head coach of the NAHL’s Amarillo, Texas, Bulls.

CSH International, Inc., the sports property division of The Monarch Corporation, owns the Silvertips, Thunder and Bulls. The Monarch Corporation is a private investment company that is headquartered in Medicine Hat and is headed up by Bill Yuill.

Taking Note was told last week that Williams had two years left on his contract with Bloomington.

The Silvertips’ news release didn’t mention either assistant coach Mitch Love or goaltender coach Shane Clifford. Brennan Sonne, the team’s other assistant coach this season, has left the club and signed on as head coach of Angers, a professional team in France.

The Silvertips’ news release on Williams is right here.

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The Calgary Hitmen are in the market for a general manager after they announced on Monday that their hockey operations are being restructured.

MIKE MOORE

The Hitmen are owned by the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, the parent of the NHL’s Calgary Flames.

On Monday, Mike Moore, the WHL franchise’s vice-president of business operations and general manager since 2013, was named vice-president and alternate governor.

According to a news release, Moore’s “new role will see a continued focus on business operations while also acting as an advisor and providing support to the general manager.”

Moore has been involved in the WHL since 1997. He spent one season (1997-98) as Calgary’s assistant general manager, before moving to Kamloops as the Blazers’ GM (1998-2004). He was the Medicine Hat Tigers’ GM for one season (2004-05), before spending three seasons as director of athletics at the Calgary-based Edge School.

Moore returned to the Hitmen for 2008-09, as director of business operations, later adding assistant GM to his responsibilities, then being name GM and vice-president of business operations in 2013.

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Teams in the WHL each play 72 regular-season games as they strive to earn home-ice advantage in the playoffs.

Right?

But is home-ice advantage worth anything when the real season starts?

Well, the final figures are in and it seems that there isn’t much of an advantage, if any.

Hartley Miller is the sports director at 94.3 The Goat in Prince George and also provides analysis on broadcasts of the Cougars’ home games.

What follows is from numbers he compiled . . .

In the first round of the WHL playoffs, the home team was 22-22.

That figure was 13-10 in the second round, 6-6 in the third round, and 3-3 in the championship final.

Add it all up and the home team was 44-41 in the 2017 playoffs.

Four series went seven games. In Round 1, the home team was 1-1 in Game 7s and 1-1 in Round 2.

As Miller notes, “In the conference finals, the Regina Pats ended the series in Lethbridge and the Seattle Thunderbirds did the same in Kelowna.” As well, the Thunderbirds ended the championship final in Regina on Sunday night.

“In other words,” Miller notes, “the location of the game seems to mean less and less the bigger the series.”

Miller also took a look at the NHL playoffs, including Monday’s game.

In the opening round, the home team was 19-23. In the second round, it was 15-11.

Including Monday, the home team is 2-2 in the third round.

To this point, then, the home team is 36-36 in the NHL playoffs.

Advantage? Not really.

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F Matt Revel, who played out his junior eligibility this season, has decided to attend UBC and play for the Thunderbirds. A native of Abbotsford, B.C., Revel split his final season between the Kamloops Blazers and Portland Winterhawks, totalling nine goals and 12 assists in 42 games. He missed a chunk of the season after suffering a collarbone injury. While recovering from that, the Blazers placed him on 20-year-old waivers and he was claimed by Portland. In 314 career WHL games, he had 71 goals and 101 assists. He played the first 104 of those regular-season games with the Saskatoon Blades.

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The Tri-City Americans have signed D Tom Cadieux, who was a second-round selection in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft. This season, the Saskatoon native had eight goals and 13 assists in 29 games with the bantam AAA Notre Dame Hounds of Wilcox, Sask. Cadieux, who won’t turn 15 until Sept. 11, also had a goal and an assist in four games with the midget AAA Hounds.

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A lot of snow has gone into the Zamboni since Dave King was the head coach of the WHL’s Billings Bighorns. These days, the man who is one of the godfathers of Canadian hockey coaches is in Paris as an assistant coach with Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship. Lucas Aykroyd sat down with King and what resulted is a two-parter. Part 1 is right here. Enjoy!

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Tyler Kuntz won’t be returning to the Vancouver Giants for a third season as an assistant coach. The Giants revealed Monday that they have “parted ways” with Kuntz. He spent two seasons with them, working with head coaches Lorne Molleken (2015-16) and Jason McKee (2016-17). Before joining the Giants, McKee was the head coach of the UBC Thunderbirds.

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The SPHL’s Knoxville Ice Bears announced on Monday that head coach Mike Craigen’s contract won’t be renewed. Craigen was 206-151-35 in seven regular seasons with the Ice Bears. In the playoffs, he was 16-15. When the Ice Bears won the 2014-15 championship, Craigen became the first person in SPHL history to win championships as a player (2006, 2008) and coach.

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George Burnett, preparing for his first season as the general manager and head coach of the OHL’s Guelph Storm, said Monday that assistant coaches Todd Harvey and Luca Caputi will be back as assistant coaches, with Matt Smith returning as goaltending coach. . . . As well, Phil Golding has been named the Storm’s assistant general manager. He has been with the organization since 2007, working in the business operations department.

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Alex Evin has signed on with the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings as their associate coach. Evin, 30, has spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs. Before that, he spent three seasons with Selkirk College of the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League, one as head coach and two as an assistant coach. With the Spruce Kings, Evin will be working alongside head coach Adam Maglio.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Hunter rips into veteran forwards . . . Ex-WHL coach in hospital after crash . . . Rebels have 'Canes on ropes

The Spokane Chiefs weren’t going to re-sign Don Nachbaur as head coach after the 2017-18 season, so the decision was made to part company right now. According to the Spokane Spokesman-Review that’s how general manager Scott Carter explained the decision that was announced on Thursday morning. . . . “In my mind, we weren’t going to carry on beyond this year and this opened up a discussion,” Carter told the newspaper. “We both felt it was in both our interests to part ways now. Don is a good coach, but we were willing to move forward. There’s nothing negative about Don.” . . . In September, the Chiefs had signed Nachbaur to an extension through next season.

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If you’re a WHL team looking for a coach, where do you start? Well, how about with Kyle Gustafson or Enio Sacilotto? . . . Gustafson is the Portland Winterhawks’ associate coach and is in his 11th season on the coaching staff there. Travis Green, the last assistant coach in Portland under Mike Johnston, has worked out pretty well with the AHL’s Utica Comets. In fact, his name comes up every time there is an NHL head-coaching vacancy. So why not Gustafson? . . . Sacilotto, who has a terrific resume, is the Victoria Royals’ director of prospect development and WHL scout. He was moved into that position on Aug. 25, after six seasons as an assistant coach. Earlier this month, he was named head coach of Croatia’s entry in the 2017 IIHF World Championship tournament (Division 1, Group B) that runs in Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 23-29.

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So . . . you’re wondering: What’s up with Mathew Barzal? . . . The Seattle Thunderbirds forward, the Western Conference’s outstanding player, last played on March 7. He took a pregame warmup on March 10, but left the ice before the game began and has yet to return to game action. He was said to be showing mumps symptoms and was tested. However, the Thunderbirds have never commented publicly on the results. On Thursday, through a team spokesperson, general manager Russ Farwell told Taking Note: “He is recovering from illness and doing well, but as we (are in) the playoffs we do not have any further comment at this time.”

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Apparently, if someone is tested for mumps, the results are available about three days later. That being the case, it might be worth noting that the Thunderbirds have never said whether Barzal tested positive for mumps. Just spitballing here, but what if his “illness” isn’t mumps? Could he have an injury or some other ailment?

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Hey, Sportsnet, I didn’t comment on your abysmal CHL telecast schedule late in the regular season. But your decision to show us the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs beating the host Hamilton Bulldogs, 5-1, on Thursday night, while the London Knights and Windsor Spitfires were playing was a slap in the face. You set the table by showing two games earlier in the London/Windsor series, which is the most attractive matchup in the opening round of CHL playoffs, so why not continue with it?

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BTW, the host Spitfires won, 3-2, in OT last night to take a 3-1 lead in that series. They’re back in London for Game 5 tonight when there aren’t any games scheduled for TV. The Spitfires, don’t forget, will be the host team for the 2017 Memorial Cup tournament.

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Meanwhile, in Gary Bettman’s world, five Canadian NHL teams were playing on Thursday night and all five games — Florida at Montreal, San Jose at Edmonton, Ottawa at Minnesota, Toronto at Nashville, Anaheim at Winnipeg — were televised with regional restrictions. Thankfully, WGN Chicago was showing a baseball game between the Cubs and Houston Astros.

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The MLB season begins Sunday. Finally!

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The WHL’s department of discipline was busy whacking and disciplining on Thursday. Peter Anholt, the general manager of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, contributed $1,000 to the WHL’s Easter egg fund for “actions following game at Red Deer on March 29.” That was Game 3, which the Hurricanes lost, 4-3, in OT to the Rebels on Wednesday night. . . . Meanwhile, D Dalton Yorke of the Tri-City Americans had his suspension set at two games. He sat out a 9-2 loss to the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds on Wednesday and will miss tonight’s Game 4 in Kennewick. If the Americans lose, their season will be over and so will Yorke’s career as he is in his 20-year-old season. He was suspended under supplemental discipline for a high hit on Seattle F Ryan Gropp in Game 2. Yorke was given a charging minor on the play. Gropp was scratched from Game 3 with an undisclosed injury.

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Parry Shockey, a former WHL coach who is well known in hockey circles, remains in a Calgary hospital after being involved in a serious accident on Highway 519 near Fort Macleod, Alta., on March 16.

According to Fort Macleod RCMP, a car travelling west pulled out to pass another vehicle when it collided head on with an SUV that was travelling east.

Shockey was driving the SUV. The driver of the car was declared dead at the scene.

Shockey, with non-life-threatening injuries, was taken by ambulance to hospital in Calgary.

Shockey, 63, was an assistant coach with the Spokane Chiefs for two seasons (1994-96). He was the head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 1996-97, then spent two seasons (1997-99) as head coach of the Regina Pats and one (2004-05) with the Moose Jaw Warriors.

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Would a WHL head coach make healthy scratches of two of his best forwards for Game 5 of a playoff series that is tied 2-2?

The Swift Current Broncos beat the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-2, on Wednesday night to even that series. They’ll play again Friday in Moose Jaw.

After Game 3, Moose Jaw head coach Tim Hunter unloaded on veteran forwards Noah Gregor and Jayden Halbgewachs.

As reported by Marc Smith of discovermoosejaw.com, Hunter said:

“When you have two of your best players – Noah Gregor and Jayden Halbgewachs – play like fourth liners for 60 minutes, we’re not going to win a hockey game ever/ We can’t have two of our top six forwards play like they’re disinterested, zero effort and zero commitment to the team effort, so we may just forge on without them.”

Hunter pointed out that he sat Brayden Burke in an earlier game in the series and the veteran forward responded.

“I sat out Burke for 20 minutes and he got the message, he’s played great since,” Hunter told Smith. “Maybe that’s what will happen to Halbgewachs and Gregor, they can sit out for a game and we’ll see what they can do in Game 6. . . .”

Burke was benched during Game 2 on Saturday night, then returned to scoring the game-winner in a 3-2 victory that evened the series, 1-1.

“You can’t start the game with two passengers,” Hunter continued, “and then have everyone else playing at the end of their stick, which is unacceptable. We knew they were going to compete harder tonight, this is a do-or-die game for them, and we came out like, ‘It’s all great, we won a game here, let’s just go home.’ ”

Meanwhile, Randy Palmer of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald quoted Hunter saying:

“We’re like a boat carrying a couple of anchors in Halbgewachs and Gregor, who haven’t played very well in the four games so far, and that’s going to end because they’re going to be candidates for being sat out.

“I’m not carrying around two guys that I’ve warned and hoped would play better at this point, so we’re going to take some measures to change the lineup.”

Here’s Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post:

“I have seen (and heard) coaches who are upset with their teams. I have been involved in off-the-record conversations with coaches who are privately livid over the performance, or lack thereof, of a particular player.

“But rare is the day in which a head coach will publicly single out a skater — Hunter being a notable, quotable exception.

“Hunter is very good at what he does, as evidenced by his inclusion on Canada’s world junior coaching staff. Perhaps he will emerge from this series with an enhanced reputation, adding the unofficial title of ‘master psychologist’ to his resume.

“But if this ploy proves to be a failure, the fallout could last considerably longer than the Warriors’ 2016-17 season.”

 They’ll play Game 6 back in Swift Current on Saturday.

Smith’s complete story is right here.

Vanstone’s column is right here.

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F Garrett Pilon of the Kamloops Blazers has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Washington Capitals. They selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2016 draft. . . . Pilon, who turns 19 on April 13, was born in Mineola, N.Y., but played minor hockey in Saskatoon. He is the son of former NHLer Rich Pilon. . . . Garrett had 47 points, including 15 goals, in 71 games as a WHL freshman in 2015-16. This season, he put up 20 goals and 45 assists in 67 games. . . . The Capitals said in a news release that Pilon will report to the AHL’s Hershey Bears when the Blazers’ season ends. They trail the Kelowna Rockets, 3-1, in a first-round series, with Game 5 in the Little Apple tonight (Friday). Pilon has one assist in the first four games of the series.

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JUST NOTES:

The junior B Pacific Junior Hockey League has expanded to 11 teams with the addition of the Langley Trappers, who will play out of the George Preston Recreation Centre. The Trappers are co-owned by Burt Henderson and Brad Bakken. Henderson will be the general manager and head coach, with Bakken as the assistant GM and associate head coach. Bakken, a defenceman in his playing days, got into 53 games over three seasons (2005-08) with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Interestingly, as Gary Ahuja of the Langley Times, points out, the Trappers arrive in Langley one season after the junior B Langley Knights moved to Surrey following the relocation of the Vancouver Giants from the Pacific Coliseum to the Langley Events Centre. . . . Ahuja’s story is right here.

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THE COACHING GAME:

The MJHL’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines issued a news release Thursday morning, stating that they are “accepting resumes for the position of head coach and for the position of assistant general manager.” . . . The Wolverines were 14-42-4 this season, finishing last in the 11-team MJHL, under general manager/head coach Barry Butler.

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The junior B Nanaimo Buccaneers of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League have replaced general manager/head coach Dan Lemmon with Curtis Toneff, who had been an assistant GM/assistant coach with the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters. . . . Toneff is a Nanaimo native. . . . The Buccaneers had a 31-16-1 regular-season record, the best in the franchise’s five-year history, then lost in five games to the Campbell River Storm in the North Division final. . . . Lemmon spent two seasons with the Buccaneers.

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Judd Lambert has resigned as head coach of the junior B Richmond Sockeyes of the Pacific Junior Hockey League. This season, the Sockeyes were 22-13-3-5, good for third place in their division. The Sockeyes have yet to name a replacement. Lambert, a former Sockeyes goaltender, had been head coach for five seasons, before taking a year off. He returned for the 2013-14 season.

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The AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons have hired Kevin Hasselberg as their general manager and head coach. He replaces Brian Curran, whose contract wasn’t renewed after he finished his fifth season. Hasselberg, a native of Duchess, Alta., left the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars last summer for the SPHL’s Pensacola Ice Flyers. He had been GM and head coach of the North Stars for five seasons. Hasselberg took over from Rod Aldoff in Pensacola, but was fired and replaced by Aldoff on Feb. 13. . . . This season, the Dragons finished 22-33-5, good for sixth place in the eight-team Viterra South Division. . . . Hasselberg also spent six seasons as head coach of the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlies.

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Interesting how the pre-seasons for @MLB and @NBA are ending about the same time.

— Janice Hough (@leftcoastbabe) March 31, 2017

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THURSDAY GAMES:

Rebels were 2-23-2-1 when trailing through two periods in the regular season...they're 3-1 facing that scenario this week @Rebelshockey #WHL

— Troy Gillard (@Troy_Gillard) March 31, 2017

At Red Deer, F Evan Polei, who scored the OT winner in Game 3 on Wednesday night, broke a 3-3 tie on a wrap-around with 1:59 left in the third period as the Rebels beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 5-3. . . .

LANE ZABLOCKI

The Rebels will take a 3-1 series lead into Lethbridge for Game 5 on Saturday . . . The Hurricanes (44-21-7) finished second in the Central Division, 22 points ahead of the Rebels (30-29-13). . . . For the second straight game, the Hurricanes watched a two-goal lead disappear. . . . F Tyler Wong put Lethbridge ahead at 2:19 of the first period, with F Jordy Bellerive (1) making it 2-0 at 15:39. . . . Red Deer halved the deficit on F Lane Zablocki’s goal at 19:22. . . . The Rebels pulled even when F Brandon Hagel scored a shorthanded goal at 5:14 of the second period. . . . Wong’s fourth goal, on a PP, gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead at 17:58. . . . Zablocki’s fifth goal of the series, on a PP, got Red Deer back into a tie at 9:11. . . . Polei’s third goal snapped the tie and Hagel (4) added an empty-netter at 19:05. . . . Red Deer got four assists from F Michael Spacek and two from D Carson Sass. Polei added one to his goal. . . . D Igor Merezhko and F Egor Babenko each had two assists for Lethbridge. . . . The Rebels got 27 saves from G Riley Lamb, while Lethbridge G Stuart Skinner stopped 38 shots. . . . Lethbridge was 2-8 on the PP; Red Deer was 1-3. . . . The Hurricanes were without F Giorgio Estephan for a second straight game after he took a high-stick to the face from Spacek in the second period of Game 2. . . . Announced attendance: 5,213.

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We couldn't do it without YOU, the fans! Thank you for your support! See you next year! #PUREhockey pic.twitter.com/d2aTjIaO0T

— Calgary Hitmen (@WHLHitmen) March 31, 2017

At Calgary, the Regina Pats scored three second-period goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the Calgary

AUSTIN WAGNER

Hitmen. . . . The Pats, who finished atop the overall standings, swept the Hitmen from the first-round series. . . . Regina finished 42 points ahead of Calgary in the regular season, so a sweep wasn’t a surprise. . . . Going back to the regular season, the Pats now have won 12 straight games. . . . D Dallas Davidson broke open a goal-less game with his first goal at 2:51. . . . F Austin Wagner, who is from Calgary, made it 2-0 at 7:47 and then added more insurance at 19:25. Both goals came via the PP. . . . Wagner has three goals in these playoffs. . . . F Tristan Nielsen (1) got Calgary on the scoreboard, on a PP, at 7:03 of the third period. . . . Regina put it away on PP goals from D Connor Hobbs (1), an empty-netter at 17:53, and F Jeff de Wit (1), at 19:11. . . . Hobbs also had two assists. . . . G Tyler Brown stopped 20 shots to earn the victory over Cody Porter, who made 34 saves. . . . Regina was 4-6 on the PP; Calgary was 1-3. . . . Announced attendance: 7,246.

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MATT REVEL FOR PRESIDENT

— Chad Balcom (@hawkeyblog) March 31, 2017

At Portland, F Matt Revel scored two third-period goals to give the Winterhawks a 5-4 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . The series is tied, 2-2, with Game 5 in Prince George on Saturday. Then

MATT REVEL

they’ll head back to Portland for Game 6 on Monday. . . . Someone mentioned to me that if the series goes seven games, the Winterhawks will spend 90 hours on their bus. . . . A seventh game, if needed, would be played Wednesday in Prince George. . . . Last night, the Cougars got out to a 2-0 lead on first-period goals from F Aaron Boyd (3), at 8:12, and F Jesse Gabrielle (1), at 11:17. . . . The Winterhawks pulled even before the period ended, though, as F Evan Weinger (1) counted at 17:01 and F Skyler McKenzie (3) scored on a PP at 18:33. . . . F Keegan Iverson (2) gave the Winterhawks the lead at 8:20. . . . The Cougars roared back to take a 4-3 lead late in the period on goals from F Nikita Popugaev (1), on a PP, at 15:46 and F Radovan Bondra (2), at 17:24. . . . Revel, a late-season waiver pickup, tied the score, 4-4, at 8:54 of the third period, then got the winner at 15:34. . . . Revel suffered a collarbone injury while with the Kamloops Blazers during a game against the host Edmonton Oil Kings on Dec. 10. He was on the shelf as the Jan. 10 trade deadline arrived and the Blazers added F Lane Bauer, 20, from the Oil Kings. In order to make room, Kamloops put Revel on waivers. He played 11 late-season games with Portland, scored twice and adding an assist. . . . He went into last night’s game with a goal and six assists in 14 career playoff games. . . . The Winterhawks got a big game out of D Caleb Jones, who drew four assists, while F Cody Glass had two. . . . D Brendan Guhle had two assists for the Cougars, with Bondra getting one. . . . The Winterhawks got 29 saves from G Cole Kehler. . . . At the other end, G ty Edmonds stopped 27 shots. . . . Portland was 2-4 on the PP; Prince George was 1-3. . . . Portland F Brad Ginnell, the grandson of the late Pat Ginnell, a WHL legend in his day, made is playoff debut. . . . The Cougars scratched F Brad Morrison, who returned from an ankle injury to score a goal in Game 2, but struggled in Game 3. . . . Announced attendance: 4,491.

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FRIDAY GAMES (all times local):

Seattle vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m. (Seattle leads, 3-0)

Swift Current at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m. (Series tied, 2-2)

Kamloops at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m. (Kelowna leads, 3-1)

Victoria at Everett, 7:35 p.m. (Series tied, 2-2)

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Wheaties send Papirny to Broncos, add two defencemen . . . Tracking Regina first-rounders . . . Revel to Portland

WHL trades since Dec. 27:

Trades: 35.

Players: 62.

Bantam draft picks: 45.

Conditional bantam draft picks: 11.

(WHL trade deadline passed on Jan. 10 at 3 p.m. MT).

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The WHL hung the “CLOSED” sign on its meat market on Tuesday afternoon, but not before 62 players had changed addresses. That’s just  since Dec. 27.

Since Nov. 8, which was the date of the season’s first major deal — the Lethbridge Hurricanes sent F Brayden Burke to the Moose Jaw Warriors for F Ryan Bowen, a second-round bantam draft pick and a conditional third-rounder — the WHL office has cleared 53 trades involving 89 players, 59 bantam draft picks and 17 conditional draft picks.

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No one keeps track of the movement of WHL bantam draft picks like Alan Caldwell over at Small Thoughts At Large.

On Tuesday afternoon, he posted a couple of tweets point out the following involving the Regina Pats and some of their first-round bantam draft picks, starting with 2015.

D Dawson Barteaux, Regina’s first-round pick in 2015, was traded to the Red Deer Rebels on Tuesday.

The Pats’ 2016 first-rounder was dealt to Red Deer last season in a trade that brought back F Jake Leschyshyn.

Regina’s 2017 first-round pick was part of a deal involving Red Deer on Tuesday.

The Pats still own their 2018 first-rounder but it will go to the Everett Silvertips if F Tyson Jost reports to them. Jost is a freshman with the U of North Dakota Fighting Hawks.

Regina’s 2019 first-round pick will go to Everett if Jost reports or to Red Deer as part of Tuesday’s deal.

Got that? If not, check out Caldwell’s site. There’s a link over there on the right.

Jost spent two seasons with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees before heading to North Dakota. The Colorado Avalanche selected him with the 10th overall pick in the NHL’s 2016 draft.

For the latest on the Pats and Jost, check out this story right here by Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post.

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An OHL GM once told me why the league in his view doesnt allowing trading of 1st rounders. "They are protecting stupid GMs from themselves."

— Steve Fitzsimmons (@playbyplayguy) January 10, 2017

“More than 150 players and almost 200 draft picks have been exchanged in (major) junior hockey leading up to the trade deadline, including picks far, far into the future,” writes Ken Campbell of The Hockey News.

In one trade involving the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires and Hamilton Bulldogs, a second-round selection in the OHL’s 2026 draft changed hands. Yes, 2026!

Campbell’s piece is right here.

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The Brandon Wheat Kings, the WHL’s defending champions, shook up things a bit just before the WHL trade deadline arrived by sending G Jordan Papirny, 20, to the Swift Current Broncos.

Papirny, who was in his fourth season in Brandon, was the go-to goaltender as Brandon won the Ed Chynoweth Cup last season.

From Edmonton, Papirny and a fourth-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft were sent to the Swift Current Broncos for G Travis Child, 19, D Kade Jensen, 19, and two draft picks — a second-rounder pick in the 2019 draft and a fifth-rounder in 2019.

The Wheat Kings then traded that second-round pick and D Jordan Wharrie, 19, to the Vancouver Giants for Russian D Dmitry Osipov, 20. Wharrie will be joining his third team this season, having started with the Victoria Royals.

Papirny, who was a first-round pick by Brandon in the 2011 bantam draft, is the Wheat Kings’ franchise career leader in games played (188), minutes played (10,967) and victories (111). He and Tyler Plante share the record for shutouts (12).

This season, Papirny was 13-11-1, 3.24, .906 in 26 games. In his career, he is 111-53-20, 2.90, .907. He also holds the franchise record for playoff appearances by a goaltender (49) during which he went 33-15-1, 2.87, .910.

Jensen, from Calgary, is in his fourth WHL season, having also played with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2012 bantam draft. In 41 games this season, the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder has three goals and six assists. In 220 career games, he has 14 goals 32 assists.

Child goes to Brandon where he will share the net with Logan Thompson, who also is 19. Child, from Killam, Alta., was a second-round pick by Swift Current in the 2012 bantam draft.

This season, in 24 games, Child was 13-3-3, 3.03, .902 with the Broncos. In 75 career games, he is 23-23-6, 3.20 and .902.

Osipov, 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, has one goal and 10 assists in 42 games with the Giants this season. In 239 career games with Vancouver, he has seven goals and 31 assists. With Brandon, Osipov joins Czech D Daniel Bukac, 17, as the import players and F Tyler Coulter and F Reid Duke as the 20-year-olds. 

Wharrie, from Port Moody, B.C., had three goals and seven assists in 34 games with the Wheat Kings, who acquired him in September from the Victoria Royals.

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Having added F Ryley Lindgren, 20, from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Monday and G Jordan Papirny, 20, from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Tuesday, the Swift Current Broncos found themselves with too many 20-year-olds.

In order to get down to the maximum of three, the Broncos traded F Calvin Spencer to the Vancouver Giants for a conditional ninth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft.

The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Spencer, from Brooklyn Park, Minn., had 10 goals and six assists in 36 games with the Broncos this season. In 200 career games, the first 99 of them with the Seattle Thunderbirds, he has 26 goals and 27 assists.

The Giants now have two 20-year-olds on their roster, with Spencer joining D Jeff Rayman.

The Broncos now have F Ryan Graham, Papirny and Spencer as their 20s.

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The Portland Winterhawks made two moves on Tuesday, one a trade and the other a waiver claim.

Portland dealt D Jake Hobson, 17, to the Swift Current Broncos for a fifth-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft.

Hobson, from Christopher Lake, Sask., is the son of former WHL D Doug Hobson and played the previous four seasons with teams in Prince Albert. He was a third-round pick by the Winterhawks in the 2014 bantam draft.

This season, as a freshman, he had one assist in 18 games with Portland.

Meanwhile, the Winterhawks also claimed F Matt Revel, 20, off waivers from the Kamloops Blazers. Revel was in his fourth season with Kamloops when he suffered a collarbone injury during a game against the host Edmonton Oil Kings on Dec. 10. He isn’t expected to be able to play until some time in February.

Revel, from Abbotsford, had seven goals and 11 assists in 31 games with Kamloops this season. Last season, the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder finished with 53 points, including 23 goals, in 66 games. In 303 career games, including 104 with the Saskatoon Blades, he has 169 points, 69 of them goals.

In Portland, Revel joins D Shaun Dosanjh, who was on the Blazers’ roster earlier in the season, and F Keegan Iverson as the 20-year-olds.

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WHL suspends two veterans . . . Cougars run victory skein to eight . . . Blazers stop Tigers' win streak

Two veteran players sat out Saturday night WHL games with suspensions that were handed out by the WHL office following incidents on Friday night.

The Moose Jaw Warriors, playing at home against the Kootenay Ice, were without D Josh Thrower, who drew a one-game suspension for instigating a fight in the last five minutes of Friday’s 5-2 loss to the visiting Portland Winterhawks. Thrower instigated a fight with F Rodrigo Abols of the Winterhawks at 15:28 of the third period.

The Warriors also were fined $500.

Meanwhile, F Austin Wagner of the Regina Pats missed last night’s game against the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings. He drew a TBD suspension after taking a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct for a hit on F Kaeden Taphorn of the visiting Kootenay Ice at 9:50 of the first period on Friday.

Taphorn left the game, which the Ice won, 4-3, in OT, and didn’t return. According to Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post, Taphorn “was bloodied by the hit and sporting a large bandage on his swollen forehead after the game.”

Taphorn was scratched from Saturday’s nights game in Moose Jaw.

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The Spokane Chiefs and Seattle Thunderbirds announced a deal involving G Matt Berlin late on Friday night.

In that deal, Berlin, 18, moved from the Chiefs to the Thunderbirds for what both teams said was a conditional selection in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft.

For those of you keeping track, it turns out to be a conditional ninth-round selection.

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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

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Today it's "every kid gets a trophy" but there was once a time when the rule was "only Bobby Orr gets a trophy." pic.twitter.com/1wFXLdnji5

— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) October 8, 2016

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SATURDAY’S GAMES:

Chyzowski brothers go head to head tonight when Tigers host Kamloops .  7.30 game time at Canalta.

— Bob Ridley (@BobRidley_CHAT) October 8, 2016

At Medicine Hat, the Kamloops Blazers scored two shorthanded goals in the second period en route to a 5-1 victory over the Tigers. . . . The Blazers (3-5-0) snapped a three-game skid. They ended a seven-game road trip at 2-5. . . . The Tigers (5-2-0) had a five-game winning streak snapped. . . . The home side led 1-0 on a goal by F James Hamblin at 18:11 of the first period. . . . Kamloops F Quinn Benjafield tied it, on a PP, at 12:13 of the second period. . . . F Garrett Pilon, who left Friday’s 2-1 loss to the host Calgary Hitmen after taking a hard check in the second period, gave the Blazers a 2-1 lead with a shorthanded goal at 12:13 and F Matt Revel added another shorthanded snipe at 19:07. . . . Revel later added his fifth goal into an empty net. . . . Pilon added an assist to his goal, with D Ondrej Vala picking up two assists. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram was strong, with 39 saves. . . . The Tigers got 21 saves from G Duncan McGovern. . . . Kamloops was 1-7 on the PP; Medicine Hat was 0-5. . . . The Blazers were without D Dallas Valentine (undisclosed injury). . . . The game featured a brother act as F Nick Chyzowski of the Blazers, who is in his third season, and freshman F Ryan Chyzowski of the Tigers faced each other for the second time in their WHL careers. Nick had a goal and an assist; Ryan was blanked. . . . Announced attendance: 4,028.

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At Moose Jaw, the Warriors scored four goals in the second period and went on to a 6-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . F Brett Howden, who had a goal and three assists, gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead at 1:34 of the second period with his sixth goal and they were off to the races. . . . F Nikita Popugaev scored his fourth goal and also had three assists for Moose Jaw, while F Jayden Halbgewachs scored twice, giving him six, and added an assist. . . . Warriors D Josh Brook had a goal and an assist, and D Dmitri Zaitsev had two assists. . . . F Zak Zborosky had a goal, his seventh, and an assist for the Ice (1-4-2). . . . The Warriors (4-1-2) got 20 saves from G Zach Sawchenko. . . . Ice starter Declan Hobbs was beaten six times on 24 shots in 41:39, with reliever Payton Lee stopping all 14 shots he saw. . . . The Warriors were 3-7 on the PP; the Ice was 1-2. . . . Announced attendance: 3,223.

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Another packed house for Cougars post game show. Tonight was awesome, and we do it all over again Tues & Wed! pic.twitter.com/Tx8CekkMrW

— Andy Beesley (@Andy_Beesley) October 9, 2016

At Prince George, F Brad Morrison scored the game’s last two goals to give the Cougars a 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Giants and their eight straight victory. . . . F Bartek Bison and F Kody McDonald gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead before the game was six minutes old. . . . However, the Giants took a 3-2 lead by scoring three times in a span of 50 seconds — F Radovan Bondra (6:21), F Ty Ronning (7:00) and F Jack Flaman (7:11) getting the goals. . . . Prince George pulled even when F Jesse Gabrielle scored at 12:00 of the first, only to have F Johnny Wesley give the Giants the lead again, at 18:51. . . . Morrison, who has four goals this season, tied it at 18:51 of the second and won it at 7:26 of the third. . . . While the Cougars improved to 8-0-0, the Giants fell to 1-7-0. . . . Prince George got two assists from F Jansen Harkins, while McDonald added two assists to his goal. Gabrielle also had an assist. . . . G Nick McBride stopped 22 shots for the winners, with David Tendeck turning aside 19 for the Giants. . . . Prince George was 2-4 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-2. . . . The Cougars next put their season-opening eight-game winning streak on the line on Tuesday and Wednesday against the visiting Everett Silvertips (4-1-1). . . . Announced attendance: 3,320.

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We'd like to explicitly thank the @Kelowna_Rockets and @blazerhockey for the weather they brought with them this week.  😞 pic.twitter.com/XVyuFR74so

— Red Deer Rebels (@Rebelshockey) October 9, 2016

At Red Deer, freshman G Riley Lamb stopped 38 shots to post his first WHL shutout as the Rebels beat the Kelowna Rockets, 5-0. . . . Lamb, who turned 18 on Sept. 28, is from Rivers, Man. The blank job came in his sixth appearance this season. . . . The Rebels (3-3-2), who had lost six of their last seven games with the Rockets, took control with two second-period goals, F Michael Spacek scoring at 6:20 and F Dawson Martin at 19:02. . . . Spacek and Martin each scored twice, while D Colton Bobyk had a goal and two assists, and D Austin Strand and F Akash Baines each had two assists. D Josh Mahura had one assist, running his point streak to six games. . . . The Rockets (3-5-0) have been blanked twice this season. They had won their previous two games. . . . Kelowna G Brodan Salmond, who turned 18 on Saturday, stopped 24 shots. . . . Red Deer was 1-4 on the PP; Kelowna was 0-5. . . . Announced attendance: 4,515.

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At Regina, F Sam Steel had a goal and two assists to lead the Pats to a 5-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Regina (4-0-2) has yet to lose in regulation time. . . . The Wheat Kings are 2-2-1. . . . The Wheat Kings scratched F Nolan Patrick, the team captain, who forced OT with a late goal on Friday and then scored the shootout winner in a 4-3 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos. Brandon head coach David Anning told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that Patrick was scratched due to illness. . . . F Jake Leschyshyn scored his fourth goal, at 12:06 of the first period, giving Regina a 2-1 lead. . . . Regina D Connor Hobbs made it 3-1 at 1:48 of the second period. . . . F Ty Lewis got Brandon to within one at 16:36 but that was it for the visitors. . . . Steel added insurance at 3:00 of the third period and set up F Braydon Buziak for the empty-netter at 18:54. . . . Steel and Buziak each has five goals. . . . Leschyshyn and Hobbs each added an assist, while F Dawson Leedahl had two helpers. . . . Regina G Tyler Brown stopped 18 shots, while Brandon’s Jordan Papirny turned aside 30. . . . Brandon was 2-6 on the PP; Regina was 2-8. . . . Announced attendance: 4,131.

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Goaltender Logan Flodell backstopped the Saskatoon
Blades to a victory on Saturday night.(Photo: Darren Steinke)

Cody Glass of the Portland Winterhawks, who leads the
WHL points derby, was held off the board Saturday night.(Photo: Darren Steinke)

At Saskatoon, G Logan Flodell turned aside 34 shots to help the Blades to a 3-1 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Blades (4-2-0) have won three straight. . . . The Winterhawks (5-3-0) had won their previous two games. They are 2-2-0 on a six-game East Division tour. . . . F Braylon Shmyr broke a 1-1 tie at 17:16 of the second period and the Blades nursed the lead until F Josh Paterson got the empty-netter at 18:56 of the third. . . . F Jake Gricius, a Colorado Springs native who turns 17 on Oct. 13, had his first WHL goal for Portland. . . . The Winterhawks got 20 saves from G Cole Kehler, who lost for the first time in five decisions this season. . . . The Blades were 0-3 on the PP; the Winterhawks were 0-5. . . . The Winterhawks scratched Latvian F Rodrigo Abols, 20, for the fourth time in five games. . . . Announced attendance: 3,016.

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At Spokane, F Tyler Soy scored twice to help the Victoria Royals to a 4-1 victory over the Chiefs. . . . F Jared Dmytriw and Soy gave the Royals a 2-0 lead, the former scoring at 18:12 of the first period and the latter at 4:12 of the second. . . . Spokane F Ty Smith got his first WHL goal at 6:22 of the third. . . . Victoria F Matt Phillips stretched the lead at 14:44 and Soy got the empty-netter at 19:26, his third goal of the season. . . . D Ryan Gagnon had two assists for the Royals (3-4-0), who got 34 saves from G Griffen Outhouse. . . . The Chiefs (1-3-0) got 31 saves from Dawson Weatherill. . . . Each team was 0-3 on the PP. . . . Announced attendance: 4,918.

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At Swift Current, the Broncos scored the game’s last two goals and beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 4-3. . . . F Arthur Miller continued to write quite a first act to his career with the Broncos as he opened the scoring with his third goal of the season, at 2:42 of the first period. He’s got three goals. . . . The Raiders went in front when F Tim Vanstone scored at 17:26. . . . D Max Lajoie pulled the Broncos even at 6:38 of the second period. . . . F Luke Coleman, at 8:23 of the second, and F Austin Glover, on a PP, at 4:15 of the third, put the Raiders back out front. . . . The Broncos tied it when F Riley Stotts scored his fourth goal, on a PP, at 6:27 of the third and won it on F Calvin Spencer’s third goal at 16:36. . . . F Aleksi Heponiemi had three assists for the Broncos (5-2-1), who are 3-0-1 in their last four games. . . . The Raiders (2-5-0) have lost three in a row. . . . G Tax Burman made 29 saves for the Broncos. . . . Raiders G Ian Scott stopped 35 shots, 19 of them in the first period. . . . Announced attendance: 1,994.

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At Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans scored three times in a four-round shootout and beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-5. . . . Lethbridge’s first two shooters, F Giorgio Estephan and F Tyler Wong, both scored, but the Americans responded with goals from F Morgan Geekie, F Michael Rasmussen and F Parker AuCoin. . . . Tri-City F Nolan Yaremko forced OT with his first goal of the season, on a PP, at 18:03 of the third period. . . . Wong had given Lethbridge a 5-4 lead, on a PP, at 13:36 of the third. . . . The Hurricanes held leads of 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, 4-2 and 5-4. . . . Max James had two goals and an assist for the Americans. The 19-year-old James had 10 points, including three goals, in 64 games last season. He had five goals and five assists in 58 games as a freshman in 2014-15. This season, he has four goals and an assist in five games. . . . D Parker Wotherspoon had a goal and four assists for the winners, with D Dylan Coghlan adding two assists and AuCoin picking up a goal and an assist. . . . F Jesse Zaharichuk scored three goals and added an assist for Lethbridge. It was his first WHL hat trick. He went into the game with 16 goals in 113 regular-season games, including a pair of two-goal games. . . . Lethbridge got two assists from each of F Brayden burke and D Kord Pankewicz. . . . Tri-City starter Beck Warm gave up three goals on 10 shots in 24:20, with Nic Sanders coming on to stop 13 of 15. . . . Lethbridge G Ryan Gilchrist, in his first career start, stopped 31 shots. . . . Tri-City (4-3-0) was 3-7 on the PP; Lethbridge (4-2-1) was 2-7. . . . Announced attendance: 3,103.

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SUNDAY’S GAME (all times local):

Edmonton at Saskatoon, 2:05 p.m.

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MONDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Vancouver at Calgary, 4 p.m.

Kootenay at Swift Current, 2 p.m.

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Raiders, Rockets deal . . . Cougars waive goaltender . . . Blazers stun Blades

D Angel Krstev (Lethbridge, 1999-2000) exercised an out clause with Litoměřice (Czech Republic, 1. Liga) and signed a contract for the rest of this season with Neumarkt/Egna (Italy, Serie A). This season, he had eight assists in 22 games with Litoměřice 22 GP, 0+8.
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We lost Jean Beliveau on Tuesday night and the hockey world was quick to react right here.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have acquired F Colton Heffley, 20, from the Kelowna Rockets for a fourth-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. Heffley, from Swift Current, has 83 points, including 23 goals, in 270 regular-season games, all with the Rockets. . . . This season, he has 10 points, three of them goals, in 27 games. . . . He was a second-round selection in the 2009 bantam draft. . . . The Raiders meet the Rockets in Kelowna on Saturday night. . . .

The Prince George Cougars have placed G Jared Rathjen, 20, on waivers, a move that allows them to get down to the maximum of three 20-year-olds on their roster. . . . Rathjen, who is from Prince George, got into three games with the Cougars. He also has played with the Victoria Royals and Vancouver Giants, and started this season with the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The move leaves the Cougars with F Chance Braid, F Jari Erricson and F Zach Pochiro as their 20-year-old players. The Cougars had two weeks to get down to three after the NHL’s St. Louis Blues returned Pochiro, who had been with the ECHL’s Anchorage Aces. . . . They will continue to go with Ty Edmonds, 18, and Tavin Grant, 16, as their goaltenders. . . .

The Vancouver Giants have dropped F Brendan Holterhus, 17, from their roster. He is expected to join the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints. A native of Edmonton, he was pointless in 16 games with the Giants.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:

In Red Deer, F Connor Rankin scored three goals and added three assists to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 9-5 victory over the Rebels. . . . Rankin's third goal, and his 11th of the season, was the 100th of his career. He enjoyed his first hat trick with Calgary and the third of his career. . . . The Hitmen led this one 5-0 after the first period. . . . The Rebels got to within 6-4 and 7-5 but that was it. . . . Calgary F Beck Malenstyn scored twice, giving him four goals this season, while F Chase Lang scored his 12th goal and added two assists. . . . F Riley Sheen, who was acquired Monday from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Monday, had two goals and an assist for Red Deer. He's got five goals this season. . . .

In Victoria, the Portland Winterhawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead and hung on to beat the Royals, 6-4. . . . The Royals, who trailed 4-1 after the first period, tied it 4-4 on F Brandon Magee's ninth goal at 8:31 of the third period. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his 100th regular-season goal, shorthanded, to give his side a 5-4 lead at 10:25. . . . Portland F Nic Petan added insurance with an empty-netter at 19:54. He has 300 career points, including 199 assists. . . . Bjorkstrand, who has 19 goals this season, has goals in five straight games. . . . Portland F Chase De Leo scored his 16th goal. . . . Victoria D Travis Brown scored twice, giving him 12 goals this season. . . . The Winterhawks have won six in a row. . . .

In Kamloops, the Blazers erased a 3-0 first-period deficit and beat the Saskatoon Blades, 4-3. . . . F Cameron Hebig gave the visitors a 3-0 lead with a PP goal at 18:56 of the first. . . . The Blades took a 3-1 lead into the third period. . . . F Matt Revel, whom the Blazers acquired from the Blades last season, scored his eighth goal at 13:38. . . . Kamloops won it with two goals in the game's final minute. D Michael Fora got his third goal at 19:23 and Revel got the winner at 19:40. . . . The equalizer banked off two Saskatoon players, hitting a shin and a head on the way into the goal. . . . F Matt Needham and F Cole Ully each had two assists for Kamloops. . . . D Adam Henry had two assists for Saskatoon. . . . Saskatoon G Nik Amundrud stopped 45 shots. G Trevor Martin was to have started, but couldn't go because of the flu. . . . The Blades scratched F Sam McKechnie and D Amil Krupic with the flu. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix is on the road with the Blades. His game story is right here.

Padakin does it again

SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, the Hitmen scored three second-period goals and went on to beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 4-1. . . . F Pavel Padakin scored the game’s first goal, the Teddy Bear Goal, at 3:42 of the second period. He also got that goal a year ago and now is the first player in franchise history with two such scores. . . . Attendance was 17,199 and they tossed 25,921 stuffed toys onto the ice. According to the Hitmen, that total is 998 shy of their record total from 2007 . . . . F Greg Chase scored twice for Calgary, giving him 16 on the season, while D Alex Roach had two assists. . . . Padakin’s goal was his seventh. . . . Padakin almost certainly will be hearing from the WHL office, after he took a slashing major and game misconduct at game’s end. . . .

In Lethbridge, the Edmonton Oil Kings opened up a 2-0 lead and went on to beat the Hurricanes, 3-2. . . . Edmonton had beaten host Lethbridge 2-1 on Friday night. . . . F Edgars Kulda’s eighth goal, at 13:26 of the second period, via the PP, gave the visitors a 3-1 lead. . . . Lethbridge F Reid Duke got his side to within one with a PP goal at 11:18 of the third. It was his second goal. . . . Hurricanes D Nick Walters played in his 200th regular-season WHL game. . . . The Hurricanes (3-22-4) have won just once in their last 17 outings. . . . Edmonton has won three in a row. . . .

In Spokane, the Seattle Thunderbirds outshot the Chiefs 46-29 as they cruised to a 5-1 victory. . . . D Adam Henry had a goal and two assists for Seattle, which got two assists from D Shea Theodore. . . . Seattle was 3-for-6 on the PP. . . . The Thunderbirds had a 5-0 lead before F Riley Whittingham scored for the Chiefs at 11:27 of the third. . . . Seattle G Justin Myles stopped 28 shots. . . . The Thunderbirds (16-9-4) have won four in a row and are tied with the Chiefs (17-10-2) for fifth spot in the Western Conference. . . . The Chiefs have lost three in a row and four of five. . . . Spokane was without D Reid Gow, its captain, after he suffered an undisclosed injury in a Saturday game. . . . Chiefs F Mitch Holmberg, who leads the WHL in goals (30) and points (64), was held without a point for the second game in a row. He has played 29 games this season and has points in 25 of them. . . .

In Portland, F Nic Petan struck for four goals and added an assist, leading the Winterhawks to a 6-5 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . F Brendan Leipsic drew five assists for Portland, which held a 53-16 edge in shots. . . . The Blades are 0-3 in the U.S. Division. . . . Petan, who didn’t get his first goal until 15:37 of the second period, has 19 scores this season. . . . The Blades led 4-1 when Petan scored his first goal. . . . Portland scored six goals but only five players picked up points. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand had two goals, giving him 23, and added an assist. He broke a 5-5 tie at 19:40 of the third. . . . F Nathan Burns and F Matt Revel each scored twice and added an assist for the Blades. Burns has 14 goals; Revel has nine. . . . F Nikita Scherbak had four assists and was plus-4 for Saskatoon. . . . Petan now has 60 points, just four behind WHL scoring leader Mitch Holmberg of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Holmberg also leads the WHL in goals (30), while Petan leads in assists (41). . . . The Winterhawks (20-5-3) closed to within one point of the Everett Silvertips (20-4-4), who lead the overall standings.
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From Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks): “Saskatoon takes their lone timeout. If they want another then head coach Dave Struch will need to dump a soda on the ice.”
Someone has been paying attention to the follies of Brooklyn Nets head coach Jason Kidd.

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