The note Leonard Cohen sent his old girlfriend Marianne Ihlen (subject of his songs) when she was dying this summer. https://t.co/o1J89ks9Gj pic.twitter.com/ZTnufo2hMG— Robert Loerzel (@robertloerzel) November 11, 2016
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F Michal Řepík (Vancouver, 2005-08) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga). This season, he was pointless in two games with Trakto Chelyabinsk (Russia, KHL). He was released by mutual agreement on Oct. 10. Řepík injured a shoulder with Chelyabinsk and now has mononucleosis. Sparta hopes he will be ready to play in January. . . .
F Fredrik Pettersson (Calgary, 2005-07) has been assigned by Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Russia, KHL) to Sarov (Russia, Vysshaya Liga). He had five goals and seven assists in 24 games. . . .
F Gaelan Patterson (Saskatoon, 2006-10) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Chamonix-Morzine (France, Ligue Magnus). Last season, he had 10 goals and 14 assists in 45 games with Sparta Sarpsborg (Norway, GET-Ligaen).
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The Brandon Wheat Kings have acquired F Zach Russell, 17, from the Victoria Royals for a sixth-round selection in the 2017 WHL bantam draft. . . . Russell, who signed with the Royals in August 2015, is from Calgary. The 6-foot-0, 180-pounder is playing for the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks and has six goals and five assists in 19 games. . . . Last season, he had 19 goals and 21 assists in 31 games with the midget AAA Calgary Flames. . . . Grant Armstrong, Brandon’s general managerr, joined the Wheat Kings in August after working as the Royals’ assistant GM, player personnel.
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I can remember a number of years ago when someone — if memory serves, it was Gerry James when he owned an SJHL franchise — was heard to say that as an owner the best season a junior A team could have would be to lose Game 7 of the league final on home ice. That, he felt, was the perfect season because once your team started playing outside its own league the expenses mounted in a hurry. . . . I don’t know if that was the case here, but: Last season, the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors won the national championship and owner Mark Cheyne says the franchise lost $300,000. . . . "Oh yeah, it blows people away,” Cheyne told Evan Cooke of AM1150, a Kelowna radio station. “And then when you start throwing the numbers around, they're just like, ‘Are you kidding?’ People don't understand how much it costs to run that thing. They can physically see what you drag in for revenue on any given night, but they just don't understand the budget side of it.” . . . BTW, Cheyne says the Warriors have been for sale “for a year now.” . . . Cooke’s story is right here.
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Rudy Poeschek, a former WHL and NHL enforcer, is back in court. As Tim Petruk of Kamloops This Week writes, Poeschek has been charged with breach of probation, “accused of missing meetings with his probation officer in July and August.” . . . Last year, Poeschek was sentenced to 45 days in jail “after pleading guilty to a string of criminal charges.” . . . Poeschek, 49, says he is having issues with his memory, that he forgot about the meetings with his probation officer and almost forgot about Thursday’s court date. . . . Petruk’s latest story on Poeschek is right here.
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Evan Vossen is the new general manager and head coach of the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves. He takes over from Shawn Martin, who was fired on Oct. 24. . . . This season, the Ice Wolves were 2-12-1 under Martin, who was in his fourth season as head coach. They go into weekend play at 3-15-3. . . . Vossen, 30, is a native of Swift Current. He played three seasons (2004-07) playing for the Ice Wolves. He then went on to spend five seasons at McGill U in Montreal, playing for the Redmen. He was the team captain in 2011-12, his last season, and scored the overtime goal as the Redmen beat the Western Mustangs 4-3 in the Canadian university championship final. That gave McGill its first hockey title in its 135-year history.
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JUST NOTES:
According to a Thursday afternoon tweet from the Vancouver Giants, D Tyler Brown, who was listed as ‘retired’ on this week’s roster report, “has chosen to return to the U.S. to attend school.” . . .
@czaikowski5 going to miss seeing you everyday, good luck brother! #footloose #juju ❤️— Cody Glass (@Cody12Glass) November 10, 2016
D Carter Czaikowski, 18, has left the Portland Winterhawks. He tweeted on Thursday afternoon that he has “decided to start a new chapter in my life by attending university.” . . . Czaikowski, from Calgary, was a sixth-round selection by Portland in the 2013 bantam draft. He had four assists in 37 games with the Winterhawks last season, and had a goal and four assists in 17 games this season. . . .
F Grant Mismash, a fifth-round selection by the Red Deer Rebels in the 2014 WHL bantam draft, has committed to the U of North Dakota for 2018-19. From Edina, Minn., Mismash, 17, is playing for the U.S. national U-18 team. . . .
F Brannon McManus, a fourth-round pick by the Portland Winterhawks in the 2014 WHL bantam draft, has committed to attend the U of Minnesota next season and play for the Gophers. From Newport Beach, Calif., he is in his second season with the USHL’s Omaha Lancers.
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We have made an addition to our helmets in the memory of the late Marek Svatos. pic.twitter.com/W3ULIWOMFm— Kootenay ICE (@WHLKootenayICE) November 10, 2016
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THURSDAY’S GAMES:
#WHL SAS/EDM: @EdmOilKings Aaron Irving posts first 2-goal game in 224 games; ties Corbett and Reinhart for most team goals by D-man (30).— Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) November 11, 2016
At Edmonton, D Aaron Irving scored two goals, including the empty-netter, as the Oil Kings doubled the
Saskatoon Blades, 4-2. . . . Irving has six goals this season and 30 in his career. He now shares the franchise’s career record for goals by a defenceman with Cody Corbett and Griffin Reinhart. . . . The Oil Kings got a 2-0 lead on goals from D Anatolii Elizarov, his first, at 19:05 of the first period, and Irving, 24 seconds into the second. . . . The Blades tied it when F Logan Christensen scored his fifth, at 9:40 of the second, and F Mason McCarty added his 12th, at 13:10. . . . F Trey Fix-Wolansky broke the tie at 11:28 of the third period. . . . Irving got the empty-netter at 19:53. . . . G Patrick Dea turned aside 34 shots for the victory, while Saskatoon’s Logan Flodell stopped 35. . . . Edmonton was 0-2 on the PP; Saskatoon was 0-1. . . . The Oil Kings (7-9-2) have won two in a row. . . . The Blades slipped to 8-10-1. . . . F Kirby Dach, the second overall pick in the 2016 bantam draft, made his WHL debut with the Blades. He is playing with the midget AAA Fort Saskatchewan Rangers this season. . . . The Oil Kings had G Boston Bilous dressed in support of Dea and in place of freshman Liam Hughes. Bilous, from Langley, B.C., was a fourth-round pick in the 2016 WHL bantam draft. He is playing for the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds of the B.C. Major Midget League. . . . Announced attendance: 8,429.
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| AARON IRVING |
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At Moose Jaw, F Sam Steel scored on a PP just 19 seconds into OT to give the Regina Pats a 5-4 victory over the Warriors. . . . Steel’s goal, his 15th of the season, was Regina’s fourth PP score of the game. . . .
The Warriors, who were outshot 51-27, forced OT on F Nikita Popugaev’s second goal of the game, and 13th of the season, at 16:31 of the third period. . . . F Filip Ahl, who has 14 goals, scored three times for Regina. He opened the scoring on a PP at 6:07 of the first period. . . . The Warriors then took a 2-1 lead on PP goals from Popugaev, at 14:20, and F Tristan Langan, his first, at 16:05. . . . Ahl scored the only two goals of the second period, getting a PP score at 10:49 and then putting the Pats out front at 19:59. . . . Moose Jaw tied it on F Noah Gregor’s seventh goal, at 11:32 of the third, only to have F Dawson Leedahl put Regina out front again, with his seventh goal, at 14:46. . . . Steel, the WHL’s leading scorer, also had an assist, while D Connor Hobbs had two helpers. . . . The Pats got two assists from F Adam Brooks, who is on a 10-game point streak. He has at least a point in every game he has played with Regina this season. . . . Regina D Chase Harrison had one assist to run his point streak to 11 games, the longest in the WHL this season. He has two goals and 13 assists over that stretch. . . . Moose Jaw F Luka Burzan had two assists, with Gregor adding one to his goal. . . . The Pats got 23 saves from G Tyler Brown, with G Zach Sawchenko blocking 46 for the home team. . . . Regina was 4-7 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 2-4. . . . The Pats (13-0-3) have won nine in a row and remain the only one of the CHL’s 60 teams not to have lost in regulation time. Regina also has points in 16 straight games; the last time a WHL team accomplished that was in 2014-15 when the Brandon Wheat Kings and Kelowna Rockets both did it. . . . (A tip of the cap to Geoffrey Brandow, who tweets at @GeoffreyBrandow, for those last stats). . . . The Warriors (11-4-3) have lost two in a row (0-1-1). . . . The Warriors were without three top-end forwards — Brett Howden (hip), Jayden Halbgewachs (suspended) and Brayden Burke, who was acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Tuesday — and had five 16-year-olds in the lineup. . . . Announced attendance: 4,442, the Warriors’ first sellout of the season.
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| SAM STEEL |
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At Langley, B.C., the Vancouver Giants scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Prince George
Cougars, 4-2. . . . F James Malm gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 14:26 of the first period. . . . The Cougars moved out front on goals from F Brad Morrison, his eighth, at 17:53, and D Cole Moberg, his first, at 6:16 of the second period. . . . Malm’s second of the game, and fifth of the season, tied the score at 19:01. . . . Vancouver F Dawson Holt broke the tie at 6:44 of the third period, with his fourth goal, and F Radovan Bondra, who also had an assist, provided insurance with his 12th at 8:46. . . . G Ryan Kubic stopped 35 shots for the Giants, with the Cougars’ Nick McBride blocking 37. . . . Each team was 0-2 on the PP. . . . The Giants (9-11-0) have won two in a row; the Cougars, who had won eight of nine on the road, are 14-4-2. . . . The Cougars were without D Sam Ruopp, who served Game 2 of an eight-game suspension, and F Kody McDonald, who has one game left in a three-game sentence. . . . The Giants wore special uniforms as they honoured the late Pat Quinn, who owned a piece of the franchise. Quinn is to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto on Monday. . . . Announced attendance: 3,383.
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| JAMES MALM |
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FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
Red Deer at Brandon 2:30 p.m.
Prince Albert at Kamloops, 5 p.m.
Everett at Portland, 7 p.m.
Calgary vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.
Tri-City at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
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.
McCrimmon, the team’s owner, general manager and head coach, informed fans of that news in a letter.
In Brandon, F Liam Stewart scored 27 seconds into OT to give the Spokane Chiefs a 5-4 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Stewart scored his 20th goal of the season off a Tyson Helgeson rebound. . . . The Chiefs erased a 4-1 deficit and Stewart drew the primary assist on the last two goals. . . . The last two of those goals came via the PP, with F Markson Bechtold getting his seventh goal at 8:08 of the third period and F Dominic Zwerger getting his 13th at 17:09. . . . Zwerger had two goals. . . . The tying goal came after Brandon was penalized for having too many men on the ice. . . . The Chiefs were 3-for-4 on the PP; Brandon was 2-for-8. . . . Spokane D Jason Fram drew an assist on each of his club’s last three goals. . . . F Ryan Duke scored twice for Brandon, giving him 20. He is the fifth player on the roster with at least 20 goals. . . . Duke’s second goal gave Brandon a 4-1 lead at 17:27 of the second period. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauley had two assists, running his point streak to 12 games. He has 25 points, including 16 assists, over those 12 games. . . . Spokane G Tyson Verhelst, a freshman from Brandon, stopped 33 shots, as did Brandon G Jordan Papirny. . . . F John Quenneville returned to Brandon’s lineup after sitting out four games with a suspected concussion. . . . The Wheat Kings are still without G Alex Moodie (suspected concussion), D Ivan Provorov and F Jayce Hawryluk, the latter two with undisclosed injuries. . . . The Chiefs (27-24-4) are 3-2-0 on an East Division swing that ends tonight in Swift Current. . . . The Wheat Kings (41-9-6), who had won six straight, are 12-0-2 in their last 14 outings. . . . 
In Calgary, G Nik Amundrud stopped 35 shots to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 4-2 victory over the Hitmen. . . . Calgary had won its previous nine games. . . . The Hitmen had won six in a row at home, outscoring the opposition 39-6 in the process. . . . Saskatoon D Schael Higson broke a 2-2 tie with his first goal at 14:52 of the second period. . . . F Cameron Hebig added insurance with his 14th goal at 10:40 of the third. . . . Hebig also had two assists. . . . Saskatoon F Mitch Skapski had two assists. . . . Calgary F Terrell Draude scored his ninth goal and also had an assist. . . . Calgary G Mack Shields, on his 20th birthday, turned aside 21 shots. . . . The Blades (16-35-3) snapped a four-game losing skid. . . . The Hitmen (32-18-5) won the season series, 3-1-0. . . . Calgary is second in the Central Division, five points ahead of Red Deer. . . . Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun has a game story 
In Cranbrook, G Brody Willms stopped 32 shots to lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 5-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Willms, 16, was making his fourth career WHL start. . . . F Tanner Eberle and F Brayden Point each scored twice for Moose Jaw. . . . Eberle’s first goal, 28 seconds into the second period, was shorthanded. He’s got 29 goals. . . . Point has 23 goals. . . . Ice F Austin Vetterl’s ninth goal, while shorthanded, ended Willms’ shutout bid at 10:38 of the third period. . . . Warriors F Axel Blomqvist scored his 21st goal and added an assist. . . . The Warriors were 0-for-7 on the PP; the Ice was 0-for-4. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin surrendered four goals on 20 shots in 44:43. Declan Hobbs, who was brought in from the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts for the weekend, came on to stop all 10 shots he faced. . . . Ice G Keegan Williams, who usually backs up Hoflin, was a healthy scratch. . . . Moose Jaw had F Jesse Shynkaruk back from a three-game suspension and F Jaimen Yakubowski returned from a four-game injury-related absence. . . . The Ice was without head coach Ryan McGill for a second straight game with what the team is calling “general body soreness.” In his absence, assistant Jay Henderson ran things. . . . The Warriors (22-29-4) had lost their previous two games. They are 1-1-0 on a seven-game road trip. . . . The Ice is 28-27-1. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story 
In Medicine Hat, the Prince George Cougars scored three first-period goals en route to a 4-2 victory over the Tigers. . . . Cougars G Ty Edmonds stopped 41 shots. . . . The Cougars scored their first three goals on only four shots as they lead 3-0 at 7:24 of the first period. . . . F Zach Pochiro scored two of the early Cougars goals, giving him 12. . . . The Tigers got the deficit to 3-2 when F Steve Owre scored his 14th at 8:28 of the third. . . . Cougars F Jari Erricson got the insurance into an empty net at 19:25. He’s got 19 goals. . . . Medicine Hat F Mark Rassell was penalized for high-sticking at 15:13 of the first period. It was his first penalty of the season and came in his 48th game. . . . F Chase Witala had two assists for the Cougars. . . . The Cougars had dropped seven straight games to the Tigers. . . . Prince George (22-32-4) had lost its previous three games (0-1-2). . . . The Tigers (36-17-3) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Portland, F Chase De Leo and F Oliver Bjorkstrand each scored twice as the Winterhawks dumped the Tri-City Americans, 7-1. . . . Tri-City scored the game’s first goal when F Jordan Topping got his seventh at 3:19 of the first period. . . . Tri-City took that 1-0 lead into the second period when Portland exploded for six goals in 13 minutes. . . . Bjorkstrand has 39 goals. . . . De Leo, who has 29, scored his 100th regular-season goal. . . . Portland F Miles Koules had a goal, his 23rd, and two assists, while D Blake Heinrich, F Nic Petan, D Brendan De Jong and F Evan Weinger each had two assists. . . . Portland D Josh Hanson scored his first goal of the season. He has five in 301 career regular-season games. . . . Portland D Keoni Teixeira was pointless but finished plus-4. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 41 shots, 23 more than Portland’s Adin Hill. . . . The Winterhawks (32-20-4) are 1-1-1 in their last three. . . . The Americans are 26-27-3. . . .
In Kamloops, the Blazers scored the only two goals of the shootout and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 3-2. . . . F Cole Ully and F Jake Kryski scored for Kamloops in the skills competition, while F Mathew Barzal and D Shea Theodore came up short for Seattle. . . . Seattle F Donovan Neuls forced OT with his sixth goal at 19:59 of the second period. Actually, he scored with 0.9 showing on the clock. . . . D Ethan Bear scored his 10th goal of the season for Seattle, on a PP, at 1:59 of the first period. . . . Kamloops got goals from F Joel Hamilton, his 11th, shorthanded, 59 seconds into the second and F Matt Needham, his 18th, at 13:53 of the second. . . . Hamilton had played 21 games without scoring. It was his first goal for Kamloops since being acquired at the trade deadline in January. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram stopped 26 shots, three fewer than Seattle’s Logan Flodell. . . . Flodell, who joined Seattle when G Danny Mumaugh chose to retire, made his fifth career start, his fourth this season. His first three starts were against Prince George. His fourth was against Vancouver. . . . Kamloops D Marc (Jimmy) McNulty had two assists in a solid effort. . . . This was a very uneven game with a lot of turnovers and about two month’s worth of poor passes. . . . Head coach Don Hay of the Blazers celebrated his 61st birthday with his 631st WHL victory. . . . The Blazers (22-29-6) have won two in a row. They are 3-0-0 against Seattle this season, with all three games decided by one goal. . . . The Thunderbirds are 28-20-7. . . . 
In Kelowna, the Rockets scored the game’s first five goals and went on to a 7-3 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . The game ended with a verbal exchange between the benches. . . . At game’s end, Regan Bartel, the radio voice of the Rockets, tweeted: “Royals forward Austin Carroll narrowly misses Lucas Johansen's head and fight breaks out. Lambert/Mallette have choice words for Dave Lowry.” That would be Kelowna head coach Dan Lambert and assistant coach Kris Mallette; Dave Lowry is the head coach of the Royals. . . . Kelowna F Rodney Southam opened the scoring with his eighth goal at 1:08 of the first period. But he is looking at a suspension after instigating a fight in the game’s last five minutes. . . . D Cole Martin and F Cole Linaker each had two goals for the Rockets. Martin, who finished plus-4, has five goals; Linaker has 12. . . . Kelowna F Leon Draisaitl had three assists, as did D Madison Bowey, while F Nick Merkley had two. . . . F Austin Carroll scored his 30th goal for the Royals. . . . Draisaitl has 23 points, including 16 assists, in 16 games with the Rockets. . . . Kelowna G Michael Herringer stopped 22 shots. . . . The Rockets again were without G Jackson Whistle (appendectomy) and F Tyson Baillie (concussion). . . . The Rockets (43-9-4) lead the overall standings by two points over Brandon. . . . The Royals (30-21-4) had their four-game winning streak come to an end. . . . 
In Everett, G Carter Hart stopped 22 shots to lead the Silvertips to a 6-0 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Hart, a 16-year-old freshman from Sherwood Park, Alta., has three shutouts. . . . Everett F Remi Laurencelle scored twice, giving him 17. His first goal, 1:19 into the game, stood up as the winner. . . . He also had an assist. . . . Everett D Lucas Skrumeda scored his first goal, while D Tristan Pfeiffer got his second. . . . D Noah Juulsen, F Brayden Low and F Ivan Nikolishin each had two assists. . . . Everett was 2-for-2 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-for-4. . . . Everett (35-16-5) is 2-0-1 in its last three. . . . The Giants (23-30-3) had won their previous two games. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reported that the Giants were without D Arvin Atwal due to a “team-imposed suspension.” . . . Patterson’s game story is 
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