Carl is king with T-Birds ... Broncos, Silvertips take leads ... Blazers take Rockets to Game 6

F Kevin Undershute (Medicine Hat, Portland, 2004-08) has signed a one-year extension with Caen (France, Div 1). This season, in 24 games, he had four goals and a team-leading 16 assists.

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So #Kamloops, If @GlobalOkanagan wants to make fun of crowd size @blazerhockey games, you show up Sunday night, I'll send them a crowd shot pic.twitter.com/yDYARAaWCA

— Allen Douglas (@ADouglasPhotos) April 1, 2017

Shots fired!

The Global TV outlet based in Kelowna chose to do a story this week on attendance at Kamloops Blazers’ home games.

The story followed two home playoff games. In  those games, the Blazers played host to the Kelowna Rockets, with 3,878 fans in the Sandman Centre on Tuesday night and 4,297 there on Wednesday.

This season, the Blazers’ average attendance for 36 regular-season home games was 3,782. The Global piece was slugged: Where are the hockey fans in Kamloops?
Interestingly, the only hockey person to try to answer that question was Bruce Hamilton, the governor, president and general manager of the Rockets, who also is the WHL’s chairman of the board.

There wasn’t a comment from Stu MacGregor, the Blazers’ general manager who was at both home playoff games, nor was their a comment from Tom Gaglardi, the Blazers’ majority owner who attended Game 4.

It was interesting, too, that Hamilton wasn’t asked: Where are the hockey fans in Kelowna?

The Rockets averaged 6,082 fans per game in 2011-12, slipped to 5,358 in 2012-13, and haven’t been close to 6,000 since then. This season, they averaged 5,162 fans, down 80 from the previous season.

The Global piece is right here.

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Mike McKenzie has been named general manager of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers, effective immediately. He takes over from Murray Hiebert, who wanted a lighter workload and now is the director of hockey operations. . . . McKenzie, the son of TSN’s Bob McKenzie, has been with the Rangers since 2012. He was an assistant coach for three seasons, before adding assistant general manager to his job description in 2015. . . . The Rangers had their season end Friday night, with a 6-2 loss to the host Owen Sound Attack, which won the series, 4-1. Ryan McGill, a former WHL player and coach, is the Attack’s head coach. . . . In another OHL series, the host London Knights beat the Windsor Spitfires, 2-1. Windsor still leads that series, 3-2, and is going home for Game 6 on Sunday afternoon.

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The junior B Richmond Sockeyes of the Pacific Junior Hockey League have signed Steve Robinson as their new head coach. He replaces Judd Lambert, who stepped down earlier in the week after being head coach for nine of the past 10 seasons. . . . The Sockeyes finished their in their division this season, at 22-13-3-5. . . . This season, Robinson coached the midget A1 team in the Seafair Minor Hockey Association, which is in Richmond.

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After all, he's a hockey player.

Back at it. pic.twitter.com/QrxdfhRygg

— Tucson Roadrunners (@RoadrunnersAHL) March 31, 2017

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FRIDAY GAMES:

Interesting image from Tri City tonight. pic.twitter.com/ubxxlU03JP

— SpokaneChiefsFanPage (@gochiefsgoblog) April 1, 2017

At Kennewick, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds advanced to the second round with a 5-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans, who never held a lead as they were swept. . . . The Thunderbirds now await the

CARL STANKOWSKI

winner of a series between the Everett Silvertips and Victoria Royals. If it’s the Silvertips, they’ll start in Everett on April 7 and 8. If it’s Victoria, the series would begin in Kent, Wash., with games on April 8 and 9. . . . Tri-City has lost 10 straight playoff games, going back to 2014. . . . If you’re looking for a series MVP, how about Seattle G Carl Stankowski. He got into seven regular-season games, but stepped up with G Rylan Toth unable to answer the playoff bell. Toth led all WHL goaltenders with 36 regular-season victories. . . . Stankowski, who stopped 28 saves last night, went 4-0, 2.00, .932 in the series. . . . F Alexander True (2) gave the Thunderbirds a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 3:01 of the first period. . . . The Americans got even when F Kyle Olson (1) scored at 6:19. . . . F Nolan Volcan (2) put Seattle back out front at 19:59. . . . F Nolan Yaremko (1) got Tri-City even again, at 3:58. . . . Seattle F Donovan Neuls (3) broke the tie at 16:56. . . . Seattle got insurance from F Sami Moilanen (1) at 19:20 of the second. . . . True added an empty-netter at 18:33. . . . Seattle got two assists apiece from D Austin Strand, D Ethan Bear and F Keegan Kolesar, with Moilanen adding one. . . . Kolesar now leads the WHL’s playoff scoring race, with 11 points. . . . G Rylan Parenteau stopped 27 shots for the Americans. . . . Seattle was 1-3 on the PP; Tri-City was 0-3. . . . The Thunderbirds continue to be without F Mathew Barzal and G Rylan Toth, neither of whom has played since early March. As well, F Ryan Gropp missed his second straight game after taking a high hit from Tri-City D Dalton Yorke in Game 2. . . . Yorke sat out the second game of a two-game suspension last night. . . . Announced attendance: 3,020.

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More cow bells have arrived! Just $10 at the front doors! #whlplayoffs #MJvsSC #weplay4MJ #citymj pic.twitter.com/q401FdVGga

— Moose Jaw Warriors (@MJWARRIORS) March 31, 2017

At Moose Jaw, F Lane Pederson scored twice to help the Swift Current Broncos to a 2-1 victory over the

LANE PEDERSON

Warriors. . . . The Broncos lead the series, 3-2, and get their first chance to wrap it up tonight in Swift Current. A seventh game, if needed, would be played Monday in Moose Jaw. . . . The Broncos also got a huge night from G Jordan Papirny, who finished with 34 saves. The Warriors had a 16-9 edge in second-period shots and it was 10-1 in the third. . . . Pederson scored his first two goals of the series in the second period, at 3:25 and 14:03. . . . Moose Jaw got its goal from F Brett Howden (2), on a PP, at 17:22 of the second period. . . . G Zach Sawchenko stopped 20 shots for Moose Jaw. . . . The Warriors were 1-6 on the PP; the Broncos were 0-2. . . . The Warriors had F Jayden Halbgewachs and F Noah Gregor in the lineup, both of them surfacing after head coach Tim Hunter threw them under the bus following Game 4. Hunter had threatened to scratch both players from the lineup, but didn’t. Perhaps their combined 161 points, including 77 goals, in the regular season had something to do with it. . . . Halbgewachs has a goal and two assists in this series, while Gregor is pointless. . . . The Broncos had D Noah King, 17, in the lineup for the first time since Nov. 4. They scratched D Dom Schmiemann. . . . Announced attendance: 4,465.

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I asked Blazers HC Don Hay to give me his cliche' heading into game five - an elimination game. "One die all die".

— Regan Bartel (@Reganrant) April 1, 2017

At Kelowna, the Kamloops Blazers got 32 saves from G Connor Ingram as they stayed alive with a 4-1 victory over the Rockets. . . . Kelowna holds a 3-2 lead in the series. They’ll return to Kamloops for Game

CONNOR INGRAM

6 on Sunday. A seventh game, if needed, would be played in Kelowna on Tuesday. . . . The Blazers won Game 3, 4-1, at home on Tuesday, then dropped a 1-0 decision on Wednesday. . . . After five games, Ingram is 2-3, 2.01, .951. . . . Ingram, who turned 20 on Friday, has played in 12 playoff games, all against the Rockets. He is 5-7, 2.98, .944. . . . F Reid Gardner (2) gave the Rockets a 1-0 lead at 11:05 of the first period, meaning this was the first time in the series that the team scoring first didn’t win. . . . F Garrett Pilon, who signed a three-year entry level contract with the NHL’s Washington Capitals on Thursday, pulled the Blazers even with his first goal at 17:46. . . . Pilon also drew an assist on a goal from F Quinn Benjafield (2) at 1:22 of the second period that gave Kamloops the lead. . . . The visitors put it away with third-period goals from F Rudolfs Balcers (2), at 5:32, and F Collin Shirley (1), shorthanded, at 12:22. . . . Kelowna had been the only one of the CHL’s 60 teams not have allowed a shorthanded goal this season. . . . Benjafield added an assist to his goal. . . . The Blazers got 15 saves from Ingram in the second period and 10 more in the third. . . . The Rockets were 0-4 on the PP. . . . The Blazers were 0-8 on the PP; they now are 1-28 in the series. . . . The Blazers had F Luc Smith in their lineup for the first time in this series and he picked up an assist. Smith had suffered an undisclosed injury late in the regular season. . . . Jon Keen, the radio voice of the Blazers, didn’t make the trip, so missed his second straight game after showing symptoms of mumps. He isn’t expected to return for Sunday’s game, but hopes to be back if there is a Game 7. . . . The Rockets chose not to make head coach Jason Smith or players available for post-game interviews, according to Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Courier, “due to fear of the mumps.” Post-game quotes from head coach Jason Smith were made available via Kevin Bain, Kelowna’s media relations manager. . . . Announced attendance: 5,547.

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Sweater / suit combo update:

Tips 14-4 .... 1-0 playoff OT 👍 pic.twitter.com/y7gx2anOD0

— Mike Benton (@Benton_Mike) April 1, 2017

At Everett, F Eetu Tuulola scored at 7:02 of the first OT to give the Silvertips a 3-2 victory over the

EETU TUULOLA

Victoria Royals. . . . The Silvertips lead the series, 3-2, with Game 6 in Victoria on Sunday afternoon. . . . Everett got the game’s first goal with F Matt Fonteyne (2) scoring at 5:14 of the second period. . . . Victoria tied it 48 seconds later when F Carter Folk scored his first goal. . . . The Silvertips went back out front when F Patrick Bajkov got his fifth goal, on a PP, at 19:59. . . . Victoria F Jared Dmytriw (1) forced OT with a goal at 14:20 of the third period. . . . Tuulola won it with his second goal of the series. . . . The Silvertips got two assists from each of D Kevin Davis and F Dominic Zwerger, with Bajkov and Fonteyne adding one each. . . . Bajkov and Zwerger, who has eight assists, now have 10 points apiece, one point off the playoff scoring lead. . . . G Carter Hart stopped 17 shots for the Silvertips. . . . At the other end, Griffen Outhouse blocked 33 shots. . . . Everett was 1-3 on the PP; Victoria was 0-1. . . . The Silvertips welcomed F Riley Sutter back to their lineup, but they remain without F Devon Skoleski. . . . The Royals continue to be without F Jack Walker and D Scott Walford. . . . Announced attendance: 3,833.

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SATURDAY GAMES (all times local):

Red Deer at Lethbridge, 7 p.m. (Red Deer leads, 3-1)

Portland at Prince George, 7 p.m. (Series tied, 2-2)

Moose Jaw at Swift Current, 7 p.m. (Swift Current leads, 3-2)

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
Nothing in the way of signings today, just some odds and ends from the KHL . . .
The KHL held their “extension” draft to stock the new Russian team, Admiral Vladivostok, on Monday. No WHL or North American players were taken in the draft. The league didn’t release the names of the players who were available for selection, only the players chosen by Admiral.
The KHL released its 2013-14 schedule. The 52-game regular season starts Sept. 4 and ends March 3, with no games scheduled for Nov. 2 through Nov. 10 or from Dec. 13 to 24 for national team tournaments. There also will be a four-week break (Jan. 30 to Feb. 24) for the Olympics. By contrast, the NHL is planning on breaking for the Olympics on Feb. 9, just three days before the start of the tournament on Feb. 12.
Here is something you would never see in the NHL. KHL vice-president Vladimir Shalaev attacked the schedule, saying he is “embarrassed” that it offers only 52 games due to international hockey commitments. “A league like the KHL has no right giving fans only 52 games in the regular season,” Shalaev said. “It’s a mockery; it’s like making Pavarotti sing once a year.”
Russian Hockey Federation president Vladimir Tretiak said last month that it was the KHL’s duty to organize its regular-season schedule based on the interests of the national team.
The KHL also released team salary cap data for the 2012-13 season. The 26 KHL teams paid total salaries of 13.8 billion rubles (US$434.4 million) to 791 players for an average per player of 17.4 million rubles (US$549,134). This does not include NHL lockout contracts, which didn’t count against the league salary cap.
Three teams had player payrolls of more than 1 billion rubles (US$31.5 million): Ak Bars Kazan (1.06 billion rubles, US$33.4 million), Salavat Yulaev Ufa (1.043 billion rubles, US$32.9 million), and SKA St. Petersburg (1.023 billion rubles, US$32.2 million).
Metallurg Novokuznetsk had the lowest player payroll at 128.5 million rubles (US$4 million).
The league didn’t provide individual player salary information but 37 players counted more than 60 million rubles (US$1.89 million) each against the salary cap.
The KHL has import rules, unlike the NHL. For the 21 Russian-based clubs, they are allowed five non-Russian citizens on their rosters. There are two exceptions for 2013-14 season.
Admiral Vladivostok are allowed seven and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl are allowed six. The seven clubs based outside of Russia have a sort of “reverse import” rule. Each team must have at least five players on their roster who are eligible to play on their country’s national team.
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1. The City of Medicine Hat is getting a new multi-purpose facility that will include a 7,059-seat arena. City Council voted 8-1 in favour of the construction of the Medicine Hat Regional Event Centre in the northwest part of the city by the Trans-Canada Highway. . . . According to a news release, the facility will be “designed by PBK Architects and will be constructed by PCL Construction Leaders. Council also agreed to have SMG Worldwide Entertainment and Convention Venue Management operate the building which will become the new home for the Medicine Hat Tigers.” . . . Shovels should be in the ground in August, with the Tigers in the new arena for the start of the 2015-16 season. . . . The cost: $74 million.

2. Hey, Medicine Hat, well done. But, sheesh, I thought you might name a new arena after the one and only . . . the legendary Bob Ridley. . . . There are enough Centres, Places and Arenas out there. Why not go with something like, uhh, Bob Ridley’s Bus Stop? . . . Hey, just thinking out loud here. . . .

3. On the subject of arena names, the Ottawa Senators have called a news conference for today at which, according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, it will be announced that Scotiabank Place has been replaced by the Canadian Tire Centre.

4. Marty Williamson, the GM/head coach of the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs, isn’t about to complain about the CHL’s decision to get rid of import goaltenders. But that doesn’t mean he understands why it’s happening. Bill Potrecz of the St. Catharines Standard has more right here, including this from Williamson:
“We believe we’re the best development league and we always take pride in making those comments. We have the Yakupovs as well as the Ryan Stromes and Dougie Hamiltons so that makes for quite a league. Now, to me, there’s a little asterisk beside it because now we don’t have the best goalies. We have the best North American goalies, but we don’t have the best goalies in the world coming to our league.”

5. If you have been watching the Stanley Cup final, perhaps you are asking yourself: How is it that Boston Bruins D Zdeno Chara didn’t win the Norris Trophy? . . . Then you realize that he finished fifth in the voting. And then you go and bang your head against a wall.

6. The Lethbridge Hurricanes have hired Kyle McDonald as their high performance coach. . . . McDonald, the owner of Regina-based Competitive Will Training, actually began his hockey coaching career as an assistant with the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns while he was studying psychology. Since then, he has had coaching stints at the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask., with Hockey Canada and with the Iowa State Cyclones.



7. The OHL’s Kitchener Rangers have promoted assistant coach Troy Smith to assistant GM/assistant coach and signed him through 2014-15. . . . They also extended assistant coach Mike McKenzie through 2014-15. . . . They work alongside GM/head coach Steve Spott.




8. The AHL’s Calder Cup final could be decided tonight as the Grand Rapids Griffins take a 3-2 series lead over the Crunch into Game 6 in Syracuse. . . . Of course, the Griffins led this series 3-0 before losing two in a row at home. . . . If it goes to Game 7, it would be decided in Syracuse on Thursday night.



9. I don’t know where he got the information, but I’m certain that I heard TSN’s Dan O’Toole say the NHL Entry Draft is history and that it’s now simply the NHL Draft. . . . To that, I say: It’s about time!




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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Fredrik Pettersson (Calgary, 2005-07) exercised his KHL opt-out clause and has left Frölunda Gothenburg (Sweden, Elitserien) after completing just one year of a four-year contract. He now has signed a contract with Donbass Donetsk (Ukraine, KHL). No terms were announced. Pettersson had 16 goals and 24 assists in 54 games as an alternate captain for Frölunda this season. The head coach of Donbass is former Portland assistant coach Julius Supler.
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Hearty congratulations to old friend Roy MacGregor, who was named Friday as this year’s winner of the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award. It is a Hockey Hall of Fame honour that is selected by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association.
MacGregor is a prolific writer, who now is with The Globe and Mail. A veteran of the newspaper game, he also has written a number of books, hockey-related and otherwise, as well as a highly successful series of childrens books — The Screech Owls.
The surprise with this award is that he hadn’t won the award a whole lot earlier than this.
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Also on Friday, veteran hockey writer Red Fisher of the Montreal Gazette announced his retirement. Fisher has written about the NHL for 57 years, beginning with the infamous Richard riots in 1955.
Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette writes about Fisher right here.
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James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail writes right here about the Toronto Marlies trying to move forward after losing an AHL playoff game Thursday on a goal that should have been disallowed.
That piece is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Adam Deadmarsh (Portland, 1991-95) had to end his NHL playing career because of concussion-related problems. Now he has left his assistant-coaching job with the Colorado Avalanche for the same reason. Deadmarsh was 28 when he retired as a player; he’s now 37. . . . His wife, Christa, sent this message to Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: “Adam was hurt (concussion issues) this season and decided that health/family and safety are his priority … Adam enjoyed coaching, but this was the right decision … We are back in Idaho and will love being close to our family again:) Hello Idaho friends … we are home:)” . . .
Mike Heilka of the Dallas Morning News reports here that the Dallas Stars “are speaking with Willie Desjardins about taking the head-coaching job with the Texas Stars.” Desjardins, the former GM and head coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers, has one year left on his contract with Dallas. He is the associate coach to head coach Glen Gulutzan. . . .
The OHL’s Kitchener Rangers have hired Mike McKenzie as an assistant coach. Yes, he is a son of Bob McKenzie, TSN’s crack hockey analyst. Mike, 26, played four seasons of NCAA hockey at St. Lawrence U — he twice was on the NCAA all-academic team — before turning pro and playing with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers and Albany River Rats and the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. He retired after playing last season with the AHL’s Houston Aeros. . . . In Kitchener, he will work alongside GM/head coach Steve Spott. . . .
Craig Hartsburg, a former head coach of the Everett Silvertips, has been dismissed as associate coach by the NHL’s Calgary Flames. He left the Silvertips prior to this season to work with the Flames and then-head coach Brent Sutter. . . . When the Flames dumped Sutter, they also got rid of assistant coach Dave Lowry, a former head coach of the Calgary Hitmen. . . .
Former NHL coach Paul Maurice has signed on as head coach of the KHL’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Maurice began this season as head coach of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, only to be fired 25 games into it. . . . Former NHL G Tom Barrasso has signed on as Maurice’s assistant coach. . . .
Two WHL assistant coaches — Dwayne Gylywoychuk of the Brandon Wheat Kings and Malcolm Cameron of the Regina Pats — have been named to the coaching staff of Team West that will represent Manitoba and Saskatchewan at the U17 World Hockey Challenge. That tournament is to beging in Drummondville and Victoriaville, Que., on Dec. 29. . . . Don MacGillivray, the head coach of the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues for four years, is Team West’s head coach for a second consecutive year. . . .
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As you no doubt are aware, the Oklahoma City Thunder has advanced to the NBA final. (BTW, it’s final, not finals, and I don't care what David Stern thinks. It’s one series so it’s singular. OK?)
You also should be aware that the Thunder began life as the Seattle SuperSonics.
So . . . how are the sporting fans of Seattle feeling?
Let’s just say they aren’t enjoying this one bit.
Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times pretty much sums it up with his Friday column right here.


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