F Dustin Cameron (Saskatoon, Prince Albert, 2004-10) has signed a one-year contract with Bad Nauheim (Germany, DEL2). This season, with Heilbronner Falken (Germany, DEL2), he had 19 goals and 31 assists in 51 games. He led his team in goals, assists and points. . . .
F Danis Zaripov (Swift Current, 1998-99) has signed a two-year extension with Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Russia, KHL). This season, in 60 games, he had 64 points, including 24 goals. An alternate captain, he was third in the league’s scoring race.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
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Marty Klyne, a long-time Regina businessman, has joined the Regina Pats as their chief operating officer. According to a news release, Klyne “will be responsible for all facets of the business, focusing on fan experience and operational excellence. His responsibilities include revenue, sales growth, costs and financial goal management.” . . . Klyne is a former publisher and CEO of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and Regina Leader-Post. He also was president and CEO of the Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation and COO of the Regina Regional Economic Development Authority (now the Regina Regional Opportunities Commission.
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It appears that the Wenatchee Wild be in the BCHL’s Mainland Division when next season gets here. Brian Wiebe, over at Brian’s Banter, has more, including a chart showing the mileage between Wenatchee and the other Mainland Division teams. Keep in mind that the Prince George Spruce Kings are in that division. . . . Brian’s Banter is right here. There also is a link to it over there on the right.
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In the QMJHL, the Rimouski Oceanic blanked the host Val-d’Or Foreurs 6-0 last night to sweep the semifinal series, 4-0. The Oceanic will meet the Quebec Remparts in the championship final. Because the Remparts are the host team for the Memorial Cup, both teams advance to the championship tournament.
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In the OHL, D Stephen Desrocher broke a 2-2 tie at 8:23 of the third period to give the visiting Oshawa Generals a 3-2 victory over the North Bay Battalion. . . . That semifinal is 2-2 with Game 5 in Oshawa on Friday night. . . . The other series, with the Erie Otters holding a 3-1 lead on the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, continues tonight in the Soo. Erie has won three straight games in that series.
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Ryan Howse, who starred with the WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins (2007-11), has been named Prince George’s minor hockey coach of the year for his work with a Bantam Tier 2 team. Howse, 23, was a third-round pick by the Calgary Flames in the NHL’s 2009 draft.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The OHL’s Kitchener Rangers have fired head coach Troy Smith, while re-signing general manager Murray Hiebert. . . . Smith’s contract was to expire in July. . . . Hiebert now is signed through 2017-18. . . . The Rangers went 32-26-10 in the regular season, then lost a first-round playoff series to the London Knights in six games. . . . It is believed that assistant coach Mike Van Ryn, a former NHLer, is in the running as the next head coach. The Rangers also are negotiating for the return of Mike McKenzie, another assistant coach.——
The AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats have announced that Gord Thibodeau now is their general manager and head coach. Garry VanHereweghe, who also is a coach with the Bobcats, had been the GM. VanHereweghe stays on as coach and assistant GM. All of this was agreed to when Thibodeau was hired on May 1. . . . The Bobcats also announced that assistant coach Kris Wiebe is returning, as are Curtis Johnson, the strength and conditioning coach, and athletic therapist Jeff Sotkowy. They also have hired Tom Keca as head scout.
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Brent Clarke has resigned as head coach of the Federal Hockey League’s Watertown Wolves, this season’s playoff champions. The Wolves, in their inaugural season, won the regular-season title and went on to win the Commissioner’s Cup. Clarke was named the FHL’s coach of the year.
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If I followed hockey more I'd probably know in advance that I'm about to get all these stupid tweets... Still not a hockey coach.
— Michael T. Babcock (@mikebabcock) March 13, 2015
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In Brandon, F Tim McGauley had a goal and two assists to lead the Wheat Kings to a 4-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . McGauley scored his 42nd goal at 3:54 of the first period to run his point streak to 24 games, the longest in the WHL this season. He’s got 51 points, including 17 goals, in that stretch. . . . McGauley also took over the WHL scoring lead. He’s got 103 points, two more than F Trevor Cox of the Medicine Hat Tigers and three more than Portland Winterhawks F Oliver Bjorkstrand. . . . The last Wheat Kings skater to win a WHL scoring title was F Eric Fehr, with 111 points, in 2004-05. . . . F Morgan Klimchuk scored Brandon’s second goal, breaking a 1-1 tie, to run his point streak to 12 games. . . . Klimchuk finished with two goals, giving him 32. . . . Wheat Kings D Ivan Provorov scored his 15th goal. . . . F Peter Quenneville had two assists for Brandon. . . . The Wheat Kings had F Kirklan Lycar in their lineup. Lycar, a 17-year-old from Elma, Man., played this season with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings. He had 20 goals and seven assists in 53 games. . . . Brandon, already without F Nolan Patrick, F Reid Duke, D Kale Clague and F Quintin Lisoway, also scratched F John Quenneville. . . . Brandon G Alex Moodie stopped 19 shots in beating his former club. . . . Brandon was 3-for-7 on the PP; the Blades were 0-for-4. . . . The Wheat Kings (50-11-7) have won three in a row. . . . The Blades (19-46-4) have lost six straight. . . . 
In Red Deer, the Rebels erased a 2-0 deficit with three second-period goals and beat the Calgary Hitmen, 3-2. . . . D Travis Sanheim, with his 13th goal, and D Ben Thomas, with his seventh, scored 44 seconds apart late in the first for Calgary. . . . Red Deer F Riley Sheen got his guys on the board with a PP goal, his 21st, at 1:17 of the second. . . . F Preston Kopeck tied it with his 20th at 9:08 and D Brett Cote broke the tie with his ninth, on a PP, at 14;15. . . . Red Deer was 2-for-5 on the PP; Calgary was 0-for-2. . . . Rebels G Rylan Toth made 28 saves. . . . Calgary started Brendan Burke, who was beaten three times on 12 shots. Mack Shields played the third period, stopping seven shots. . . . Attendance was a season-high 7,058. . . . The Rebels (37-21-10) have won five straight. . . . The Hitmen (40-22-5) have lost three in a row. . . . 
In Moose Jaw, the Regina Pats scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Warriors, 4-3. . . . Moose Jaw took a 3-0 lead when F Axel Blomqvist scored his 24th goal at 14:19 of the first. . . . Regina F Patrick D’Amico got his 19th goal at 14:48 of the first. . . . Pats D Colby Williams got his side to within a goal with his 10th goal at 19:19 of the second. . . . Regina F Rykr Cole scored his ninth goal to tie it at 1:03 of the third. . . . F Pavel Padakin got the winner, his 26th, shorthanded, at 15:12. . . . The Pats thought D’Amico had scored just before that, but he ended up with a penalty instead. . . . After the game, Regina head coach John Paddock told reporters. “I got whacked once already this year, but all I know is that there were two game-winning goals.” . . . Moose Jaw F Brayden Point, celebrating his 19th birthday and playing in his 200th game, scored his 34th goal. . . . Regina G Tyler Brown stopped 33 shots, three more than Moose Jaw’s Zach Sawchenko. . . . Warriors F Jaimen Yakubowski, just off a stint on the injury list with a shoulder injury, didn’t finish the game. He left after taking a check from Regina F Austin Wagner. . . . The Pats (37-22-9) have won two in a row. . . . The Warriors (29-34-5) have lost two straight. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has a game story 
In Cranbrook, F Jaedon Descheneau and F Matt Alfaro each scored twice as the Kootenay Ice dumped the Medicine Hat Tigers, 7-1. . . . Ice F Austin Vetterl snapped a 1-1 tie with a PP goal at 8:49 of the first period and the home side took it from there. . . . Descheneau, who has 32 goals, also had an assist. . . . Alfaro has 12 goals. . . . D Tanner Lishchynsky, D Tyler King and F Levi Cable each had two assists for the Ice, while F Luke Philp scored his 30 goal and added two helpers. . . . Vetterl added two assists to his goal. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart scored his 18th goal. . . . The Tigers’ goal came from F Trevor Cox, his 26th. He scored while shorthanded at 8:20 of the first period. . . . Kootenay G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 32 shots, setting a franchise single-season record in the process. That record (1,724) had been held by Tim Winters (1996-97). . . . The Tigers were missing D Ty Stanton and D Tommy Vannelli. . . . The Ice (35-29-4) has won two straight. . . . The Tigers are 41-23-3. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story 
In Prince Albert, the Swift Current Broncos scored two shootout goals and beat the Raiders, 2-1. . . . F Glenn Gawdin and F Jake DeBrusk scored for the winners in the shootout; F Reid Gardiner scored for the Raiders. . . . D Brendan Guhle gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead with a PP goal at 5:18 of the first period. He’s got four goals. . . . Broncos F Coda Gordon got his 24th goal at 9:38 of the second period. . . . Broncos G Landon Bow stopped 46 shots, six fewer than Prince Albert’s Nick McBride. . . . The Raiders were without F Austin Glover, who isn’t likely to play tonight or Sunday either. . . . The Broncos (31-32-5) ended a seven-game losing skid. . . . The Raiders (28-35-4) had a four-game winning streak snapped. . . . 
In Lethbridge, F Mads Eller had a goal and two assists to help the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 5-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Oil Kings D Jake Kohlhauser broke a 1-1 tie with his first WHL goal at 2:59 of the second period. . . . Kulda upped the lead to 3-1 with a PP goal, his 13th, at 17:41. . . . F Jamal Watson, with No 24, and F Tyler Wong, with No. 26, scored for Lethbridge. . . . Edmonton G Patrick Dea stopped 24 shots. . . . The Oil Kings (33-29-7) have won three in a row. . . . The Hurricanes (20-39-8) have lost three straight. . . . 
In Kamloops, the Blazers snapped an 18-game losing streak against Kelowna as they beat the Rockets, 5-1. . . . Yes, Kelowna had beaten Kamloops in 18 straight regular-season games. . . . Kamloops F Collin Shirley scored his side’s first two goals, at 0:33 and 15:59 of the second period. The second goal came via the PP. . . . Kelowna F Gage Quinney got his 16th goal at 19:30 of the second, via the PP, but the Blazers scored the game’s last three goals. . . . Kamloops F Cole Ully and F Jesse Zaharichuk each had two assists. . . . Among the Rockets’ scratches were F Tyrell Goulbourne, F Rourke Chartier, F Justin Kirkland and D Josh Morrissey. . . . With the injury situation, the Rockets have familiarity and communication issues on the ice, and that leads to players going 1-on-1 a lot. They were thoroughly outplayed by the Blazers in this one. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram stopped 22 shots in winning for the 20th time in his freshman season. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle turned aside 31 shots. . . . Kamloops was 1-for-6 on the PP; Kelowna was 1-for-4. . . . The Blazers (27-34-7) have won two in a row. . . . The Rockets (50-13-5) have lost two straight. They have been beaten twice in a row in regulation time for only the first time this season. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans erased a 2-0 second-period deficit and beat the Prince George Cougars, 7-4. . . . F David Soltes, with his 11th, and D Josh Connolly, with No. 13, gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead. . . . The Americans stormed back to lead 3-2 on second-period goals by F Ty Comrie, his seventh, F Brian Williams, No. 16, and F Max James, his third. . . . Cougars F Chase Witala got his 35th at 16:19 of the second, to tie it 3-3, only to have F Jordan Topping score his 10th goal at 17:55 for a 4-3 Tri-City lead. . . . Americans F Justin Gutierrez, who also had two assists, scored his 10th goal at 3:35 and F Lucas Nickles added his 23rd at 8:45 for some insurance. He later scored into an empty net. . . . The Americans got two assists from each of D Justin Hamonic, F Richard Nejezchleb and D Parker Wotherspoon. . . . Cougars F Zach Pochiro scored his 17th goal and added two assists, while F Brad Morrison had two assist. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie made 36 saves. . . . The Americans (29-35-3) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Cougars (28-35-5) have lost three straight (0-2-1). . . . Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald has a game story 
In Spokane, the Chiefs blew a 3-0 lead but then scored the game’s last two goals and beat the Portland Winterhawks, 5-3. . . . The Chiefs held a 3-0 first-period lead on goals by F Adam Helewka, his 39th, on a PP, F Riley Whittingham, his 15th, and F Kailer Yamamoto, his 20th, shorthanded. . . . Portland D Anton Cederholm got his guys going with his eighth goal at 9:43 of the second. . . . F Oliver Bjorkstrand got his WHL-leading 55th goal at 19:47 of the second, via the PP, and F Chase De Leo tied the game with his 34th at 5:29 of the third. . . . Whittingham broke the tie at 9:39 of the third period, while on the PP, and F Dominic Zwerger added an empty-netter. . . . Bjorkstrand’s goal was his 100th point of the season. He now has back-to-back 100-points seasons. . . . Chiefs D Jason Fram had two assists. . . . Portland F Nic Petan drew one assist, giving him 350 career regular-season points in 246 games. . . . Spokane was 3-for-7 on the PP; Portland was 1-for-4. . . . The Chiefs (33-29-4) have won two in a row. This victory was head coach Don Nachbaur’s 200th with the Chiefs. . . . The Winterhawks (40-21-5) are 9-1-2 in their last 12 games and 17-2-2 in their last 21. . . . 
In Vancouver, G Coleman Vollrath stopped 25 shots to lead the Victoria Royals to a 2-0 victory over the Giants. . . . Vollrath has five shutouts this season. He now shares the franchise’s single-season record with Lucas Gore (2009-10, 2010-11) and Patrik Polivka (2013-14). . . . F Brandon Magee scored his 21st goal, shorthanded, at 7:49 of the first period. . . . F Alex Forsberg got No. 26 at 2:11 of the second. . . . Vancouver G Cody Porter stopped 23 shots. . . . F Parker Smyth, a 16-year-old from Red Deer, made his Vancouver debut. He was a second-round selection by Saskatoon in the 2013 bantam draft. The Giants acquired him in January for a 2016 sixth-round pick. He played this season with the midget AAA Red Deer Optimist Chiefs. Smyth is the son of former NHLer Kevin Smyth, who played with the Moose Jaw Warriors (1990-93). . . . The Royals (37-27-4) have won three straight. . . . The Giants (26-39-3) are on an eight-game skid. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., D Jerret Smith scored in the seventh round of a shootout to give the Seattle Thunderbirds a 3-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . F Roberts Lipsbergs scored for Seattle in the second round after Everett F Carson Stadnyk had scored in the first round. . . . Lipsbergs scored both of Seattle’s regulation-time goals, the first on a PP at 14:11 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. That goal followed a diving call against Everett F Ivan Nikolishin. . . . Lipsbergs’ second goal, and 14th of the season, gave Seattle a 2-1 lead at 9:57 of the third. . . . D Noah Juulsen scored his eighth goal for Everett at 15:13 of the first and Stadnyk’s 26th, at 17:59 of the third, forced OT. . . . F Kohl Bauml and D Cole MacDonald each had two assists for Everett. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 21 shots, one fewer than Everett’s Carter Hart. . . . Seattle (34-24-9) has won two in a row. . . . The Silvertips (40-27-8) have lost two straight.
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