Otters bite Thunderbirds at Memorial Cup ... Stankowski solid in goal ... Spitfires next for Seattle

The OHL-champion Erie Otters opened the Memorial Cup with a 4-2 victory over the WHL-champion Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday in Windsor, Ont., in a game that wasn’t as close as the score would seem to indicate. . . . G Carl Stankowski was Seattle’s best player, finishing with 31 saves and giving his side a chance to win a game in which Erie really was the better team. . . . In the first two periods, Erie outshot Seattle, 12-8 and 17-6. . . . Still, the teams were tied 2-2 going into the third period. . . . Erie F Alex DeBrincat opened the scoring, on a PP, at 5:40 of the second period. . . . Seattle tied it at 9:01 as F Scott Eansor scored. Eansor, a left-hand shot, beat G Troy Timpano off the rush from the right faceoff dot. . . . Erie went back out front at 17:59 as D Jordan Sambrook walked out of a corner, took the puck to the net and stuffed it past Stankowski. . . . At that point, Erie had a 16-4 edge in second-period shots. . . . The Thunderbirds tied it with 52.6 seconds left to play as D Austin Strand moved in from a point and scored over Timpano’s catching mitt. . . . Erie F Dylan Strome broke the tie at 1:36 of the third period, as he scored off the rush. He drove to the net, eluded the checking of F Keegan Kolesar and somehow backhanded a pass from F Taylor Raddysh past Stankowski. . . . F Christian Girhiny iced it with an empty-netter at 18:41. . . . Timpano finished with 18 saves. . . . Erie was 1-3 on the PP; Seattle was 0-2. . . . Announced attendance: 5,259, and there were a lot of empty seats. . . . G Rylan Toth, 20, was in uniform for Seattle for the first time since March 11. Toth, who led all WHL goaltenders in regular-season victories (36), played the first period against the Portland Winterhawks on March 11, stopped all 11 shots he faced and then was removed for what Taking Note was told at the time was precautionary reasons. He hasn’t played since then. . . . G Matt Berlin, who was on the bench for all 20 of Seattle’s WHL playoff games, was scratched to make room in the lineup for Toth. . . . F Haydn Hopkins, 20, was among Erie’s scratches. He has played 53 regular-season WHL games, split among the Saskatoon Blades, Prince George Cougars and Vancouver Giants. He had three goals and seven assists in those games. Hopkins, who is from Victoria, had a goal and three assists in 31 games with Erie last season. This season, he was pointless in four games, before adding two goals and an assist in 10 playoff games. . . . F Landon Quinney, who turned 19 on April 27, is on the Saint John Sea Dogs’ roster but hasn’t played since undergoing an appendectomy late in the regular season. He had a goal and seven assists in 35 regular-season games. Last season, he had three goals and 13 assists in 69 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Thunderbirds (0-1) are back at it today (Sunday) when they meet the host Spitfires (1-0) at 4 p.m. PT (7 p.m. ET). Windsor opened the tournament on Friday with a 3-2 victory over the QMJHL-champion Sea Dogs.

Andy Eide of 710 ESPN Seattle has a game story right here.

Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun was there, too, and filed this story right here.

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Mike Babcock, the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, stopped by the Memorial Cup on Saturday. This right here is worth a watch/listen.

Love this. True at the lower levels as well. Nothing wrong with slow and steady. pic.twitter.com/vEOcePco5B

— Cody Nickolet (@CodyNickolet) May 20, 2017

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NFL should spin goal posts . . . No Rush to get to Saskatoon . . . Marlins like paying managers

You may have heard that the IOC has stripped the U.S. men’s 4x100-metre team of its silver medal from the 2012 London Olympic Games because of Tyson Gay’s doping suspension. As Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post writes: “Good work, IOC: The Americans took 37.04 seconds to finish the race and you took nearly three years to catch up to them.” . . . . New York Yankees starter Chase Whitley is to become the 16th major league pitcher this season to undergo reconstructive surgery to repair an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing arm. “The procedure has become so prevalent,” Hamilton notes, “it seems like it’s being done on every Tommy John, Dick and Harry.” . . .

If you didn’t hear, the pooh-bahs at Wimbledon have decided to ban selfie sticks. “Great,” noted Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald. “Now what’s the Queen supposed to do between sets?” . . . Too bad the pooh-bahs at the French Open didn’t get the memo. . . . Here’s Dickson, again: “Warren Buffett said he began playing ukulele in college to impress a girl. A ukulele to impress a girl? Were all of the oboes checked out? Now that he's acquired some $72 billion, I'm thinking she's impressed.” . . . “The Portage Terriers won the RBC Cup,” reports RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com, “ending Manitoba’s Junior A hockey championship drought dating back to 1974. Or as the Chicago Cubs call it, just yesterday.” . . .

After the NFL made a rules adjustment, Ray Ratto of CSNBayArea noted: “The only extra-point rule change that would have meant anything is spinning the goal posts during the kick so it's more like miniature golf.” . . . Here’s Ratto on head coach Mike Babcock’s decision to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs: “He’ll be tunnelling back to Michigan by Christmas.” . . . That’s an interesting on-air crew that ESPN is using for the NBA’s Western Conference final between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets. Analyst Mark Jackson was fired as Golden State’s head coach, while Jeff Van Gundy, the other analyst, once got gunned by the Rockets. . . .

There is speculation that the NLL’s Edmonton Rush is going to end up in Saskatoon. Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon Express doesn’t think that’s a good idea: “Professional lacrosse will not work in Saskatoon. Period. End of story. Teams in Buffalo and Colorado attract 16,000 people to their games. Calgary averages approximately 12,000. Edmonton had 7,000 at a game last week and is kicking tires for a new home.” . . . According to Hutchinson, “Nickelback is wanted in Australia for ‘crimes against music.’ Isn’t this the country that gave us Air Supply?” . . .  Has anyone told fans of the Edmonton Oilers that they didn’t win the Stanley Cup on Tuesday when Todd McLellan was introduced as their head coach? . . . Of course, the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup on Wednesday — didn’t they? — with the signing of Babcock as their latest head coach. . . . Forgotten in the champagne and caviar and releasing of balloons is that the Oilers missed the playoffs this season. By 36 points. The Leafs? They were 30 points out. . . .

“So do we finally have the real thing in American Pharoah?” wonders Bill Littlejohn, our South Lake Tahoe, Calif., correspondent. “Or will the Belmont Stakes turn yet another Triple Crown contender into Sam the Sham?” . . . You may have heard that Russian President Vladimir Putin scored eight times in an exhibition hockey game that featured a number of retired stars. As Littlejohn points out: “So much for Mitt Romney and his fight against Evander Holyfield” and “It was captured for posterity by the same photographer who caught Mao swimming the Yangtze.” . . . “Dwyane Wade reportedly wore three outfits at his wedding,” according to Littlejohn. “Was the wedding planner an Oregon Duck grad?” . . .

“Vladimir Putin just gave back Robert Kraft’s Super Bowl ring,” reports comedian Argus Hamilton, “saying if a team can’t play by the rules, it isn’t worth having.” . . . Headline at SportsPickle.com: Study: All the games you fall asleep watching have awesome finishes. . . . “Former Baltimore Ravens LB Ray Lewis will release a memoir,” notes Vancouver comic Torben Rolfsen. “Will the publisher be DC or Marvel?” . . .

“History will be made when the new span connecting Detroit to Windsor is named in honour of hockey great Gordie Howe,” writes Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times. “It’s believed to be the first Howe-inspired bridge that wasn’t installed by a dentist.” . . . Here’s Richmond, B.C., blogger TC Chong: “A new bridge connecting Detroit to Windsor will be named after Gordie Howe. Calgary already has a street named after Gordie. It’s Elbow Drive.” . . . One more from Chong: “Newly hired Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock called the Leafs ‘Canada’s Team’ in his first press conference. Babcock seems to be confused — somebody please tell him that he’s the head coach of Toronto, not Canada’s Olympic team.” . . .

The Miami Marlins fired manager Mike Redmond last Sunday. They ended up putting general manager Dan Jennings in the dugout as the manager. Because they still are paying Ozzie Guillen, who was fired after the 2012 season, the Marlins now have three managers on their payroll. We should also mention that they dumped catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia the other day. They still owe him US$14 million. . . . Now let’s not shed any tears for Miami owner Jeffrey Loria, whose fingerprints, you may recall, were all over the demise of the Montreal Expos. . . . In 20 years with the New York Yankees, Derek Jeter played for three managers. Giancarlo Stanton first played for the Miami Marlins five years ago. He now is playing for his seventh manager — Jennings. . . .

“Police said they found about 1,000 weapons at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco after the shootout last weekend,” reports Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe. “Well, gosh, I can certainly see why Texas lawmakers are pushing to loosen the state’s gun laws.” . . . Here’s Hough, again: “A Norwegian Cruise Line ship that ran aground in Bermuda has been refloated. No word on what NCL might do regarding compensation for the passengers. If it was an airline, it would probably charge for an extra stop.”

(Gregg Drinnan is a former sports editor of the Regina Leader-Post and the late Kamloops Daily News. He is at gdrinnan.blogspot.ca and twitter.com/gdrinnan. Keeping Score appears here on weekends, except when it doesn’t.)

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Great news from Ewen . . . Babcock: Road hockey by candlelight? . . . Canucks going to P.G.

#ThanksDave pic.twitter.com/eDS6gcWsiH

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) May 21, 2015

F Waltteri Hopponen (Everett, 2013-14) signed a two-year-plus-option contract with HPK Hämeenlinna (Finland, Liiga). This season, with the Sioux City Musketeers (USHL), he had two goals and eight assists in 28 games; in 31 games with the Lincoln Stars (USHL), he had four goals and 14 assists. . . .
F Riley Holzapfel (Moose Jaw, 2004-08) signed a one-year contract with Karlskrona (Sweden, SHL). This season, with HV71 Jönköping (Sweden, SHL), he had seven goals and six assists in 49 games. Karlskrona won promotion to SHL from Allsvenskan this season.

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The really big news on Wednesday — yes, even bigger than Mike Babcock or David Letterman — came from long-time friend Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province.
It arrived via email:
“Today marks my four-year anniversary of being discharged from GF Strong. I also saw the cancer doctors this morning and I'm now officially four and a half years cancer free.
“I believe that the support Carol-Ann and I have received has been instrumental in what's been achieved to date. Thanks again.
“As a reminder, if you're free on Aug. 5, we're throwing a Ride To Conquer Cancer fundraiser at the Earls on Fir Street. There's a silent auction, plus we get a portion from some drinks and appetizers that night.”
It just doesn’t get any better than that.
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F Tyler Johnson of the Tampa Bay Lightning is the hot story, to date, of these NHL playoffs. Johnson was a free-agent signing by the Lightning after a terrific career with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. Johnson stands 5-foot-8 and has had to overcome that throughout his career. It’s why no NHL team signed him until after his 20-year-old season. Al Murray, the Lightning’s head scout, had a lot to do with that, and Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has more on that right here.
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Meanwhile, Ed Willes of the Vancouver Province talked with Spokane Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz and, yes, the subject was Tampa Bay Lightning F Tyler Johnson. . . . That piece is right here.
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We just witnessed two more days of social media at its best.
You might recall that on Tuesday, free-agent head coach Mike Babcock wasn’t going to Toronto, was negotiating with Buffalo, and perhaps was talking with San Jose, but almost certainly was going to stay in Detroit. Oh, and St. Louis might be interested.
So what happens?
Of course, he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. (The news conference is scheduled for today, which means another day of Twitter exploding.)
This is great news for hockey fans who have long wondered just how much impact a coach can have on a team.
The Leafs have been, well, the Leafs for a long time now. It is going to be interesting to see how much of an impact Babcock has on them. After all, instead of dealing with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, he now has Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. Instead of Niklas Kronwall, he’s got Dion Phaneuf.
You have to think that the Leafs will hold the course with their rebuild, meaning there won’t be any huge free-agent signings in an attempt to speed up the process.
If they are going to contend for the Stanley Cup, they need to find a top-end goaltender and a minute-eating defenceman who will quarterback the PP. Perhaps Morgan Rielly will become capable of filling the latter role, but is there a big-time goaltender on the roster?
Anyway . . . Babcock, who once was fired by the Moose Jaw Warriors, now is by far the highest-paid coach in the NHL. His eight-year deal with Toronto averages out at $6.25 million per season. That is quite a bit more than the man who is No. 2 on the list. Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks is paid $2.75 million per season. . . . Babcock spent two seasons (1991-93) in Moose Jaw, going 33-36-3 and 27-42-3. He was dumped after that second season and replaced by Al Tuer, who now is a pro scout for the Florida Panthers. . . . Babcock had been in Detroit for 10 seasons. The only active NHL head coaches who have been in position for more than four seasons are Claude Julien (Boston), Quenneville, Dave Tippett (Arizona) and Jack Capuano (New York Islanders). . . . Julien just completed his eighth season with the Bruins, while Quenneville is in his eighth season with the Blackhawks. Tippett has been the Coyotes’ head coach through seven seasons. Capuano has been the Islanders’ head coach since Nov. 15, 2010. . . . BTW, Babcock spent some of his childhood in Leaf Rapids, Man., which is a couple of slapshots from my hometown of Lynn Lake. Babcock has told stories of Leaf Rapids not having street lights so he and his friends put candles in the snowbanks in order to play road hockey at night. I don’t know about that, but I do know that my first skate every fall was on Eden Lake, which is right by Leaf Rapids. That first ice of the year on Eden Lake was the best I ever skated on.
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Here is the Memorial Cup schedule (all games on Sportsnet; all times Eastern):
Friday, May 22: Kelowna vs. Quebec, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 23: Rimouski vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 24: Quebec vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Monday, May 25: Rimouski vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 26: Oshawa vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 27: Quebec vs. Rimouski, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 28: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 29: Semifina, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 31: Championship game, TBA
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In the AHL, the host Utica Comets beat the Oklahoma City Barons 1-0 on Wednesday night in Game 7 of a second-round series. . . . The Comets are affiliated with the Vancouver Canucks, the Barons with the Edmonton Oilers. . . . F Alexandre Grenier won it with his fourth goal at 7:11 of the third period. Here’s hoping he gets free Slurpees for life! . . . Utica G Jakob Markstrom stopped 35 shots. . . . Attendance was 3,835. . . . The Comets, under head coach Travis Green, will meet the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Western Conference final. Green, the former Portland Winterhawks assistant GM and assistant coach, is seen as one of the best young coaches in the game. . . . Griffins head coach Jeff Blashill may be the next head coach of the parent Detroit Red Wings. . . . That series, with a 2-3-2 format, opens with games in Utica on Sunday and Monday. . . . The Eastern Conference final features the Manchester Monarchs, under former Moose Jaw Warriors head coach Mike Stothers, against the Hartford Wolf Pack of head coach Ken Gernander. The Monarchs are hooked up with the Los Angeles Kings; the Wolf Pack with the New York Rangers. That series opens tonight in Manchester.
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Admit it. There are nights when you lay awake and wonder: What are Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 10 best movies?
Well, Rolling Stone has the list and it’s right here.
Did you know that a studio originally had O.J. Simpson tabbed as the Terminator, and not Arnold? That’s what it says in this story. . . . Check it out, and sleep well.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Jamie Kompon, the general manager and head coach of the Portland Winterhawks, will coach at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge later this year. Kompon has been named head coach of one of three Canadian teams that will play in the tournament, a host city and dates for which have yet to be announced. . . . Kompon will be head coach of Canada White. . . . Former Kootenay Ice coach Kris Knoblauch, now the head coach of the OHL’s Erie Otters, will be the head coach of Canada Red, with Marco Pietroniro, the head coach of the QMJHL’s Baie-Comeau Drakkar, running Canada Black. . . . Kompon’s assistant coaches will be Jamie Heward, who is an assistant with the Swift Current Broncos, and Serge Lajoie, the head coach of the Edmonton-based NAIT Ooks. . . . Wade Klippenstein, the Brandon Wheat Kings’ director of scouting, will be involved in team selection as he is Hockey Canada’s western regional scout.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have signed D Tyler Strath, who was a third-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . The 6-foot-2, 160-pound Strath, who is from Carseland, Alta., had 23 points, four of them goals, in 31 games with the bantam AAA Rocky Mountain Raiders this season. . . .


The Vancouver Canucks and Prince George Cougars announced Wednesday that the NHL team will hold its training camp at the CN Centre in Prince George, Sept. 18-20. . . . Medicals will take place Sept. 17 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, with on-ice work starting in Prince George on Sept. 18. . . . Canucks president Trevor Linden said in a news release that the team is “committed to holding future training camps in communities throughout B.C.” . . . Canucks D Dan Hamhuis is a part-owner of the Cougars.
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In case you've had a bad day pic.twitter.com/yw79sdU7b9

— GuyCodes (@GuyCodes) May 20, 2015

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Yes, computers rule world . . . Matthews saga continues . . . Babcock saga up next

Every once in a while we get reminders of how computers rule our world.
My wife and I were reminded of that, again, on Sunday afternoon.
No, it wasn’t anything serious; in fact, we were laughing about it later.
With it being Mother’s Day, and neither of us having a mother still with us, and with our son spending the day with his future in-laws, Dorothy and I went for a drive.
We took Highway 5A to Merritt and stopped at the Walmart there to stretch our legs.
Dorothy went on her way and ended up picking up a couple of items. I went my way, which included a stop at the magazine rack. I found a commemorative baseball magazine — The Game We Love — from The Sporting News. It carries an $11.99 price tag, but I decided to treat myself.
And so it was that we headed for a cash register with three items in our cart. The cashier scanned the first two. No problems.
When she scanned the magazine, it wouldn’t register. Apparently, it wasn’t in the system. She called for a CSM, but none came. So she escorted us to the courtesy desk.
The young lady there scanned the magazine. It didn’t register on her computer. It became apparent from the look on her face that she didn’t have any idea what to do. Apparently, she didn’t know how to key in something that wasn’t in the system.
Instead, she looked at us and said: “I’m sorry but I can’t sell this to you.”
Pardon me?
“I can’t sell this to you.”
Seriously!
We ended up leaving the other two items on the counter as we shook our heads in bewilderment and left the store, the computers having won. Again!
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F Byron Ritchie (Lethbridge, 1993-97) has signed a two-year contract with MODO Örnsköldsvik (Sweden, SHL). This season, with Bern (Switzerland, NL A), he had 43 points, including 29 assists, in 50 games. He was the team’s captain and led it in assists.
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For the conspiracy theorists: This tweet originated with the WHL’s Twitter account on Sunday afternoon. . . . Weren’t the Brandon Wheat Kings on the same flight? . . .

The @Kelowna_Rockets are home and ready to host @bdnwheatkings in Game 3 tmrw! #WHLChampionship pic.twitter.com/Ou7p2Slecf

— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 10, 2015

SUNDAY’S GAME:

No Game Scheduled.
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Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun was at the first two games of the WHL championship series, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, in Brandon. One of the stories he filed was this piece on Wheat Kings D Ivan Provorov. There is a photo of Provorov with the story — check out the length of his stick.
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Is he, or isn’t he?
The topic of whether F Auston Matthews will play in Switzerland next season was a hot topic on social media on Sunday.
For a while, it was Twitter at its worst. Matthews was expected to play in Switzerland. Then he had signed for $500,000 with a Swiss team. Then he hadn’t. But he was negotiating. . . .
In the end, it seems that nothing had changed from the previous day.
Matthews, the early favourite as the first overall selection in the NHL’s 2016 draft, may yet end up playing in Switzerland, perhaps for the Zurich Lions, or maybe for the Kloten Flyers, who are owned by the owner of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. Or, he could end up going to school, having apparently narrowed the field of suitors to five Division I schools.
Or, he might opt for the WHL. The Everett Silvertips hold Matthews’ WHL rights, having selected him in the third round of the 2012 bantam draft.
The good news is that his advisors — the NCAA (wink, wink) doesn’t allow potential players to employ agents — say a decision is imminent.
In a text to NHL.com, Matthews wrote: "I am looking at all opportunities. Switzerland, Everett and the CHL, as well as the NCAA are all great options for me. I am speaking with my family and advisers Pat Brisson and Judd Moldaver and will probably make a decision soon."
Why is it good news that an announcement is imminent? Because once Matthews makes a decision, it will allow the hockey world to focus all of its attention on Mike Babcock’s world.
Michael Traikos of the National Post takes a look at the Matthews situation right here.
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Speaking of Mike Babcock, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet has his weekly 30 Thoughts right here. The top is all about Babcock and his suitors. . . . If you haven’t heard, Babcock was in Buffalo on Sunday. Yes, he chatted with Sabres’ management. Of course, he is as likely to be the next head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes as the Sabres.
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In the QMJHL, the Rimouski Oceanic beat the host Quebec Remparts 4-2 on Sunday in Game 3 of the championship series. F Samuel Laberge scored his first two goals of the playoffs for the winners. . . . The Remparts, having won twice in Rimouski, hold a 2-1 lead with Game 4 in Quebec City on Wednesday.
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Mike O’Brien is a former colleague — we worked together at the Regina Leader-Post. Since those days, he’s done a lot, including some acting. These days, there isn’t any acting because he’s dying of cancer. Still, he’s trying to find some humour along the way. . . . His story is right here.
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Just finished "Slapshot" for about the 150th time. If you haven't seen it, DO IT. Great, gritty and hilarious writing and a REAL movie star.

— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) May 10, 2015

I want to know something. Why does Brian Burke even wear a tie. Maybe he doesn't know how to tie it? Can somebody @NHLFlames help him? #NHL

— Allan Bristowe (@AlBristowe) May 11, 2015

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.