F Malte Strömwall (Tri-City, 2011-13) has been assigned by Lulea (Sweden, SHL) to Asplöven Haparanda (Sweden, Allsvenskan). The length of the loan period isn’t known. This season, with Växjö (Sweden, SHL), he had two goals in 21 games. In 12 games with Luleå, he had a goal and an assist. He scored on Tuesday in his first game with Asplöven.
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It’s a story that seems to be as old as hockey itself — minor hockey parents abusing officials. And now there is talk of a parent-free weekend in a league on Vancouver Island. One 17-year-old referee thinks that’s not a bad idea. . . . There’s more right here and right here.
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NHL Central Scouting issued its mid-season rankings on Tuesday and, yes, F Connor McDavid of the OHL’s Erie Otters is No. 1 among North American skaters. Coming in at No. 9, F Mathew Barzal of the Seattle Thunderbirds is the top-ranked WHL skater. . . . If you haven’t seen the rankings yet, there is a sortable version right here.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Cranbrook, G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 39 shots to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Ice took a 3-1 lead into the third period and were up 4-2 when Vancouver F Dalton Sward scored his ninth goal at 19:54 of the third period. . . . F Luke Philp scored his 21st goal for the Ice, which got two assists from F Sam Reinhart and a goal and an assist from F Zak Zborosky. He’s got 13 goals. . . . Vancouver F Tyler Benson scored his 11th goal 15 seconds into the second period for a 1-1 tie. . . . Philp scored at 5:15 and F River Beattie gave the Ice a 3-1 lead at 10:20 with his fourth goal. . . . D Mason Geertsen scored his ninth goal and added an assist for Vancouver. . . . Giants G Payton Lee stopped 25 shots. . . . The Giants opened a six-game Central Division swing with this game. . . . They are scheduled to play in Medicine Hat tonight. . . . Vancouver was without F Thomas Foster, who sat out Game 2 of a three-game suspension for a kneeing major and game misconduct he incurred on Friday night. He went knee-to-knee with Tri-City F Brian Williams. . . . According to Tri-City’s injury report, Williams, who didn’t play Saturday against the visiting Spokane Chiefs, will be out for up to three weeks. . . . The Ice is 23-22-1. . . . The Giants (19-24-2) have lost four in a row. . . . 
In Prince George, the Everett Silvertips scored the game’s first five goals and went on to beat the Cougars, 6-1. . . . The Cougars lost D Sam Ruopp, their captain, to a kneeing major and game misconduct at 10:19 of the first period. . . . Everett F Ivan Nikolishin scored his 11th goal on the ensuing PP and the Silvertips were off to the races. . . . Everett F Kohl Bauml scored twice, giving him 21 goals. . . . Everett F Remi Laurencelle scored his 10th goal and added an assist for the visitors, who got two assists from D Cole MacDonald. . . . F Chase Witala scored his 25th goal for the Cougars, at 13:45 of the third period. . . . Everett was 3-for-7 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-for-3. . . . The Cougars are without F Jansen Harkins, their leading scorer. He is in St. Catharines, Ont., for the Top Prospects Game. . . . Earlier in the day, the NHL’s San Jose Sharks sent D Mirco Mueller to the AHL’s Worcester Sharks on a conditioning assignment. Mueller’s WHL rights belong to the Silvertips and there has been speculation that he might yet end up back with them. . . . The Silvertips (29-12-4) have won five in a row. . . . The Cougars (20-25-2) have lost six straight (0-4-2). . . . The teams meet in Prince George again tonight. ———
Rinat Valiev and Sam Reinhart were presented with framed World Junior prints prior to the start of tonight's game. pic.twitter.com/knNuC8zKxw
— Kootenay ICE (@WHLKootenayICE) January 21, 2015
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Players with the Tri-City Americans are making a conscious effort to be careful with how they handle social media. . . . “In today’s day and age, the guys have to be very careful,” head coach Mike Williamson told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald. “They are public figures. They are in the spotlight and sometimes things get misconstrued when you put something out on social media. We haven’t told them not to do it, but we remind them to be smart and represent themselves, their families and the team in a professional manner. Things can get magnified and it stays with them forever.” . . . That story is 
G Eric Comrie stopped 43 shots and F Vladislav Lukin scored twice to lead the visiting Tri-City Americans to a 4-1 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders on Tuesday night. . . . Lukin, a freshman from Ufa, Russia, isn’t related to former WHL F Jarret Lukin (Kamloops, Medicine Hat, 2000-05), who is from Fort McMurray, Alta. . . . In Kelowna, G Jackson Whistle stopped 18 shots as the Rockets ran their record to 7-0-0 with a 4-0 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. Whistle has four career shutouts, one in each of his first four seasons. Since the start of the 2012-13 season, when he was acquired from the Vancouver Giants, Whistle is 40-6-1. . . . F Carter Rigby had two goals and an assist for Kelowna.
The BCHL’s Penticton Vees announced Tuesday that they have received a commitment from F Tak Anholt, 16, for the 2015-16 season. . . . Anholt’s WHL rights belong to the Brandon Wheat Kings, who acquired them from the Lethbridge Hurricanes last week in the deal that involved F Reid Duke and D Macoy Erkamps also moving to the Wheat City. . . . Anholt is playing at Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford, B.C. He has eight points, including six goals, in his first two games with the U-18 prep team. . . . Lethbridge selected him in the second round of the 2013 WHL bantam draft. . . . 
In Regina, G Daniel Wapple stopped 31 shots as the Pats beat the Victoria Royals, 3-2. . . . The Pats, who have won three in a row, scored three second-period goals to take a 3-0 lead and then hung on as the Royals scored twice in the third. . . . Wapple had started eight straight games before Dawson MacAuley played in a 4-2 victory over the host Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday. . . . The Royals had won nine in a row on the road and seven in a row overall; this also was their first regulation-time loss in 15 games. . . . Victoria is 3-1-0 on a five-game swing that wraps up tonight in Saskatoon. . . . F Chandler Stephenson scored his 28th goal of the season and added an assist for Regina. . . . The Royals got a goal, his 32nd, and an assist from F Austin Carroll. . . . F Boston Leier was among the Pats’ scratches. He has 66 points, including a team-leading 31 goals. . . . Regina, 8-1-1 in its last 10, continues to lead the East Division, now by six points over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Royals (42-17-4) are third in the Western Conference. . . . 
In Brandon, the Calgary Hitmen ran their winning streak to nine games as they beat the Wheat Kings, 5-4. . . . It seems that a late-game play -- Brandon F Rihards Bukarts hit the cross-bar with a second left in regulation -- was under video review but that was unbeknownst to almost everyone. A tweet from Wheat Kings radio voice Bruce Luebke: “Teams off ice, stars announced and sticks taken to dressing room before Steve Papp emerged with no goal call.” . . . The Wheat Kings are winless in eight games. . . . Calgary F Jake Virtanen had a goal, his 39th, and two assists, while F Brady Brassart picked up an assist and now is riding a 12-game point streak. . . . Calgary opened a 3-0 lead and the Wheat Kings were forced to chase the game after that. They got to within 3-2, 4-3 and 5-4 but weren’t able to pull even. . . . G Chris Driedger made his first start since being suspended by the Hitmen for being in violation of team rules. He finished with 24 saves. . . . Brandon, which had 12 shots through two periods, scored three times in 17 shots in the third. . . . The Wheat Kings got F John Quenneville and F Jayce Hawryluk back from injuries, but were without F Richard Nejezchleb, D Rene Hunter and F Peter Quenneville (all injured) and D Colton Waltz (suspended). . . . The Hitmen (41-15-6) have as many points (88) as the Eastern Conference-leading Edmonton Oil Kings, who have the edge in winning percentage (.746-.710) and hold three games in hand. . . . The Wheat Kings (28-26-8) are seventh in the converence, two points head of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . 
In Moose Jaw, the Medicine Hat Tigers struck for four goals in a span of four minutes 16 seconds en route to a 6-0 victory over the Warriors. . . . The Tigers went 4-0-0 versus the Warriors this season. . . . Tigers G Marek Langhamer stopped 34 shots, including 16 in the third period, for his second shutout this season and the fourth of his career. . . . With the score 6-0 in the second period, Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald tweeted: “Five of the Tigers' six goals have been scored by players who are 5-foot-9 or shorter. Speed skills.” . . . Medicine Hat got two goals from F Chad Butcher, who now has four this season, and a goal, his 28th, and two assists from F Cole Sanford. . . . F Trevor Cox also had a goal, his 21st, and two assists. . . . F Curtis Valk, who had an 18-game point streak snapped in his last game, got his 35th goal and added an assist. . . . Among Medicine Hat’s scratches were D Tommy Vannelli and D Ty Stanton. . . . The Tigers (37-21-3) are fourth in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Warriors (15-36-9) are 10th in the conference. . . . 
In Edmonton, the Oil Kings ran their winning streak to three games with a 4-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Oil Kings, who have won 20 of 23, fell behind 1-0 on F Colby Cave’s 28th goal, shorthanded, at 2:54 of the first period, but scored the game’s last four goals. . . . Edmonton F Curtis Lazar got his 34th of the season. . . . D Griffin Reinhart, the Oil Kings’ captain, played in his 200th regular-season game. . . . The Broncos are spending the weekend without F Nathan Burns (undisclosed injury). . . . Edmonton (43-14-2) leads the Eastern Conference. . . . The Broncos (29-24-8) are sixth, eight points behind the Kootenay Ice. Furthermore, the Broncos now are six points behind the East Division-leading Regina Pats. . . . 
In Red Deer, the Rebels ended a five-game home-ice losing skid with a 5-3 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . F Rhyse Dieno had two goals, giving him 20, and an assist for the Rebels. . . . Since joining the Rebels last season, Dieno, 20, has 114 points, including 47 goals, in 103 games. . . . F Cain Franson scored twice for Vancouver, giving him 27. . . . F Jackson Houck had three assists for the Giants. . . . Dieno’s first goal, at 13:21 of the second period, on the PP, tied the game, 2-2. . . . F Conner Bleakley’s 27th gave the Rebels the lead at 18:18 of the second. . . . Dieno’s second goal came into an empty net at 19:00 of the third. . . . The Giants were without veteran defencemen Dalton Thrower and Brett Kulak. . . . Ch-ch-ch-ching! There was a multi-fight situation at 19:42 of the third period. . . . Red Deer, which had lost three in a row and 10 of 11, is 29-29-4 and holds down the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot, two points ahead of the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The Giants (29-24-10) are sixth in the Western Conference, two points up on the Everett Silvertips. . . . 
In Portland, F Keegan Iverson broke a 2-2 tie with his 20th goal of the season at 5:27 of the third period and the Winterhawks went on to beat the Kamloops Blazers 4-2 for their 18th straight victory. . . . The Winterhawks are 18-1-1 since Jan. 4. . . . Portland now has seven players on its roster with at least 20 goals. The Medicine Hat Tigers (1985-86) and the Winterhawks (1980-81) share the single-season record, at 12. . . . The Blazers led this one 2-1 after the first period on goals by F Matt Revel, his 14th, and F Carson Bolduc, his fifth. . . . Portland F Taylor Leier, with his 32nd, tied it 42 seconds into the second. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic added insurance with his 34th at 9:05 of the third, via the PP. . . . Kamloops G Benoit Pouliot stopped 42 shots, 28 more than Portland’s Corbin Boes. . . . F Matt Needham, the team captain, was back in the Blazers’ lineup after being out with an undisclosed injury. It was his first game in February and his second of 2014. . . . Portland F Nic Petan, who leads the WHL points race, had one assist. He’s got 103 points, three more than Spokane Chiefs F Mitch Holmberg, who was blanked last night. . . . Petan is riding a 14-game point streak, while F Oliver Bjorkstrand, who had an assist, has put together a 12-game streak. . . . The Winterhawks will go for 19 in a row tonight against the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Portland (44-12-5) is seven points behind the Western Conference-leading Kelowna Rockets. . . . Kamloops (12-44-5) is two games into a 10-game road trip. . . .
In Prince George, G Jackson Whistle turned aside 35 shots to help the Kelowna Rockets to a 4-2 victory over the Cougars. . . . With the victory, the Rockets became the first team in the CHL to reach 100 points this season. . . . D Mark McNulty scored his 17th goal of the season, on a PP, 19 seconds into the second period to give the home side a 1-0 lead. . . . Kelowna D Damon Severson tied it at 17:41 of the second, on the PP, and F Justin Kirkland gave the Rockets the lead at 19:10. They’ve each got 13 goals. . . . F Todd Fiddler got his 41st goal of the season for the Cougars. . . . Prince George G Adam Beukeboom stopped 40 shots. . . . The Cougars had D Peter Kosterman, 20, back in their lineup after he missed 25 games with a broken jaw. . . . The Cougars remain without F Jari Erricson, F Alex Forsberg, F Brett Roulston, F David Soltes, F Chase Witala and G Brett Zarowny. . . . The Rockets are without D Tyson Baillie (leg) and D Jesse Lees (undisclosed). . . . Let’s play three: These two teams will meet again tonight in Prince George and they’ll clash again Tuesday, this time in Kelowna. . . . The Rockets (48-8-4) lead the WHL’s overall standings. . . . The Cougars (25-31-8) are two points out of the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., F Leon Draisaitl had two goals and an assist to help the Prince Albert Raiders to a 6-4 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Draisaitl, who has 28 goals, broke a 2-2 tie at 18:06 of the second period, via the PP. . . . Raiders F Shane Danyluk upped the lead to 4-2 with a shorthanded goal at 3:46 of the third and the visitors were never headed. . . . Danyluk has six goals, three of them in his last two games. . . . The Raiders have opened this six-game road trip with three straight victories. . . . Tri-City got two goals and an assist from D Mitch Topping. He’s got seven goals this season. . . . Topping has 33 goals in 306 career regular-season games. This was the first two-goal game of his career. . . . At one time in the second period, the Raiders held a 16-4 edge in shots. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 30 shots, eight more than P.A’s Cole Cheveldave. . . . The Raiders (28-28-4) are two points behind Red Deer, which holds down the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . The Americans (27-27-6) are eighth in the Western Conference, two points ahead of Prince George. . . .
team’s 12th straight loss, it also came on what should have been a fun night.
building, ever.
D Ryley Miller, who played most of five seasons with t he Barndon Wheat Kings, has signed with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers. Miller, who completed his junior eligibility last season, wrapped up last season with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings. In 241 WHL games, he had 37 points and 537 penalty minutes. . . .
The Brandon Wheat Kings are down to three 20-year-olds with the decision by F Jason Swyripa not to return for a fourth season. Instead, Swyripa, a Calgary native who played 200 games with the Wheat Kings, will activate his WHL scholarship and plans on attending Brandon University. He had 61 career points, including 23 last season. . . . Swyripa’s decision leaves Brandon with F Jens Meilleur and Chad Robinson and D Rene Hunter as its 20-year-olds, at least for now. . . .
The Medicine Hat Tigers have signed D David Quenneville, the 10th overall selection in the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft, to a contract. Quenneville, whose brother John plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings, has spent the last two seasons with the Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club Lions in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League. Last season, he had 72 points, including 34 goals, in 32 games. . . .
F Taylor Makin, who played three seasons in the WHL (Prince George, Vancouver, 2009-12), has decided to continue his hockey career with the Acadia Axemen of Wolfville, N.S. . . . Makin, now 21, played one game with the Vancouver Giants last season before joining the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits and helping them to the national junior A championship. . . .
The Kelowna Rockets are anticipating that 180 prospects will attend their rookie camp that begins Wednesday at Prospera Place. Of the 12 players selected by the Rockets in the 2013 WHL bantam draft, it’s beieved that only D Cal Foote, a late 1998, won’t be in attendance. He was the 43rd overall pick in the 2013 bantam draft. Foote, the son of former NHL D Adam Foote, is sidelined by injury. 
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