The assembly line in action. Fantastic work done by all! #TeamWork pic.twitter.com/QUXqpyDvwK— Okanagan Hockey (@OkanaganHockey) May 12, 2017
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The Everett Silvertips appear poised to introduce Dennis Williams as their new head coach.
He would replace Kevin Constantine, who was told on April 18 that his contract wouldn’t be renewed.
One source told Taking Note on Thursday that he has heard from “a few different people that Everett has a done deal” with Williams. This was the second time in two days that Taking Note has received the same information from different sources.
Williams, 37, is a native of Stratford, Ont., He has spent three seasons as the general manager of hockey operations and head coach of the USHL’s Bloomington, Ill., Thunder. One source told Taking Note that Williams has two years left on his contract with Bloomington.
Before working with the Thunder, Williams was the director of hockey operations and head coach with the NAHL’s Amarillo, Texas, Bulls.
The Silvertips, Thunder and Bulls are owned by CSH International, Inc., the sports property division of The Monarch Corporation, a private investment company that is headquartered in Medicine Hat and is headed up by Bill Yuill, its chairman.
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The WHL’s championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup resumes tonight (Friday) in Kent, Wash., with the Regina Pats and Seattle Thunderbirds each having won twice. The Thunderbirds posted the most convincing victory over the series on Wednesday when they skated to a 6-1 victory.
The Pats, of course, have been without F Adam Brooks since he suffered a suspected concussion when he was hit by Seattle D Turner Ottenbreit during Game 1. Brooks, who won last season's WHL scoring title, put up 250 points between last season and this one.
Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reported Thursday that “Brooks is skating but it remains to be seen when he’ll get the green light.”
John Paddock, the Pats’ general manager and head coach, told Harder: “I don’t really have an answer. I definitely think there’s a chance to a good chance (he’ll play again in the series). In saying that, he’s not a lock to play (Friday) or the next two games after that.”
After Game 5, the teams will return to Regina for Game 6, which is scheduled for Sunday, and Game 7, if necessary, on Monday.
Harder’s complete story is right here.
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G Nick McBride has told the Prince George Cougars that he won’t be returning for his 20-year-old
season. Ted Clarke of the Prince George Citizen reports that McBride informed the Cougars of his decision “about a month ago.” . . . This season, McBride played in 22 games, going 14-5-1, 3.05, .903, as he backed up Ty Edmonds, 20, who made 53 appearances. . . . A native of Maple Ridge, B.C., McBride started his WHL career with the Prince Albert Raiders. He played two seasons there, before being dealt to the Cougars. . . . McBride, a former WHL scholastic player of the year, is expected to attend school rather than return to the Cougars. . . . Tavin Grant, 19, would appear to be No. 1 on the Cougars’ depth chart now. He played this season with the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings. Also on the depth chart is G Taylor Gauthier, the ninth overall selection in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. Gauthier, 16, played this season with the midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes. . . . According to Clarke, the Cougars also will bring in Ty Taylor, who turns 18 on July 5. He played this season with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers. . . . McBride is the second goaltender to leave the WHL for school in recent days, rather than return for his 20-year-old season. Zach Sawchenko won’t be back with the Moose Jaw Warriors, choosing instead to attend the U of Alberta and play for the Golden Bears. . . . Clarke’s story is right here.
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| NICK McBRIDE |
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D Dallas Valentine, who played out his junior eligibility with the Kamloops Blazers this season, has decided to attend the U of Lethbridge and play for the Pronghorns. Valentine, who is from Red Deer, played four seasons in the WHL. Six games into his third season, the Moose Jaw Warriors traded him to the Blazers. . . . In 260 regular-season games, the 6-foot-4, 205-pounder had 10 goals and 55 assists.
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Aaron Keller, who has played and coach in Japan since 1997, announced his retirement via Facebook on Thursday. Keller, 42, is a native of Kamloops. A defenceman, he played four seasons (1992-96) with the Kamloops Blazers and was part of two Memorial Cup-championship teams (1994 and 1995). . . . Keller played one season of pro in North America, before joining the Snow Brand Sapporo in Japan for the 1997-98 season. Since 2002-03, he has been part of the Oji Eagles’ organization. He also represented Japan in various international competitions. Keller last played in 2013-14. This season, he was the Eagles’ head coach.
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The Red Deer Rebels have brought back a familiar face as their athletic therapist. The team announced that Josh Guenther has left the team, “due to personal reasons,” after one season, and that it has hired Terence Robertson as athletic therapist. . . . Robertson was the team’s athletic therapist from 2004-13. Since 2013, he was with Collegiate Athletic & Sports Medicine in Red Deer.
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The Tri-City Americans have signed F Kaden Kohle to a WHL contract. The Americans selected Kohle, who is from Humboldt, Sask., in the first round — 12th overall — of the 2017 WHL bantam draft. This season, Kohle, 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds. had 66 points, including 38 goals, in 29 games with the bantam AA Humboldt Broncos. In 2015-16, he had 12 goals and 14 assists in 26 games with the Broncos.
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Sneak peak into some of our marketing, this will get posted next week. Renewals May 15 and Season Tix on sale May 24...can you please share? pic.twitter.com/n75sIMxQQh— Greg Fettes (@greg_fettes) May 11, 2017
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THURSDAY’S GAME:
No Game Scheduled.
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FRIDAY’S GAME (all times local):
Regina vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m. (Series tied, 2-2)
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In Prince Albert, the Raiders built up a 4-0 lead and then held off a furious Regina comeback before beating the Pats, 5-3. . . . Raiders G Nick McBride stopped 55 shots. . . . Raiders F Matteo Gennaro scored his 13th goal at 14:18 of the second period for a 4-0 lead. . . . The Pats got third-period goals from F Adam Brooks, his 28th, F Braden Christoffer, his 25th, and F Pavel Padakin, his 24th, to get to within one. . . . Padakin’s goal, on a PP, came at 15:44 with G Daniel Wapple on the bench for the extra attacker. Padakin was playing in his 200th WHL game. . . . Raiders F Reid Gardiner iced it with an empty-netter at 19:01. He’s got 32 goals. . . . F Jordan Tkatch scored twice for the Raiders, giving him 11 goals, while F Jayden Hart had three assists. . . . Regina F Sam Steel was helped from the ice with an apparent leg injury and went to the dressing room in the second period. After the game, Phil Andrews, the radio voice of the Pats, tweeted: “John Paddock says Sam Steel’s injury is not serious at first assessment. Will know more in the days to come.” . . . Regina was 1-for-1 on the PP; the Raiders weren’t given even one opportunity. . . . Wapple finished with 20 saves. . . . Prince Albert (28-35-3) has won four in a row. . . . Regina (35-22-9) has lost two in a row. . . . 
In Brandon, F Tim McGauley scored once and added two assists as the Wheat Kings beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-3. . . . McGauley became the second WHLer this season to reach the 100-point plateau when he scored his 41st goal into an empty net at 19:44 of the third period. He now is tied for the WHL scoring lead with Medicine Hat Tigers F Trevor Cox. . . . McGauley extended his point streak to 23 games with an assist on a first-period goal by F Morgan Klimchuk. That goal, his 30th this season, ran Klimchuk’s point streak to 11 games. . . . McGauley has 16 goals and 34 assists in those 23 games. . . . The Wheat Kings led 2-0 in the first period but found themselves trailing 3-2 after Warriors F Brayden Point scored his 33rd goal with 8.7 seconds in the second period. . . . Brandon F Rihards Bukarts tied it with his 31st goal at 3:16 of the third and F Jayce Hawryluk broke the tie with this second of the game, and 28th of the season, at 8:23, via the PP. . . . Point also had an assist, while F Axel Blomqvist had two helpers. . . . Klimchuk and Bukarts also added an assist each. . . . Moose Jaw F Jesse Shynkaruk and Brandon F John Quenneville were tossed 45 seconds into the game for taking part in a staged fight. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 29 shots, four fewer than Moose Jaw’s Zach Sawchenko. . . . Brandon was 1-for-2 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-for-1. . . . The Wheat Kings (49-11-7) have won two straight. . . . The Warriors (29-33-5) had a three-game winning skein end. . . . 
In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice scored the game’s first three goals and went to a 4-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Ice F Luke Philp opened the scoring at 1:17 of the first period. That was his 29th goal of the season and his 200th career regular-season point. . . . Philp later added an assist. . . . Ice F Jaedon Descheneau scored his 30th goal of the season, while F Tim Bozon got No. 32 into an empty net at 19:47 of the third. . . . Descheneau has reached the 30-goal mark for a third straight season. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 27 shots, losing his shutout bid when F Giorgio Estephan scored his 21st goal at 18:55 of the third. . . . Ice D Rinat Valiev had two assists. . . . Lethbridge G Jayden Sittler made 41 stops. . . . Ice F Jon Martin took 29 of his team’s 33 penalty minutes. He got into a dustup with D Devan Fafard at 19:12 of the first period and was given two for instigating, two for roughing, five for fighting, a misconduct and a game misconduct. . . . Ch-ch-ching! Lethbridge GM/head coach Peter Anholt picked up a game misconduct at 18:42 of the third period with his side trailing 3-0. . . . The Ice (34-29-4) ended a three-game losing skid (0-2-1). . . . The Hurricanes (20-38-8) have lost two in a row. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story 
In Edmonton, the Oil Kings scored three power-play goals en route to an 8-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . The home team scored the first four and last four goals in this one as they scored eight times for the first tie this season. . . . F Edgars Kulda and F Andrew Koep each had a goal and two assists, while D Ashton Sautner had two assists. Kulda has 12 goals; Koep has 13. . . . Edmonton F Lane Bauer scored the game’s first goal, his 24th, 53 seconds into the game and the Oil Kings took it from there. . . . The Oil Kings were 3-for-7 on the PP; the Blades were 0-for-4. . . . Edmonton G Triston Jarry stopped 34 shots, including a second-period penalty shot by F Sam McKechnie. . . . Saskatoon G Brock Hamm turned aside 38 shots. . . . The Oil Kings (32-29-7) have won two straight. . . . The Blades (19-44-4) have lost four in a row. . . . 
In Vancouver, F Dominic Zwerger broke a 1-1 tie at 13:28 of the first period and the Spokane Chiefs went on to a 4-3 victory over the Giants. . . . Zwerger has 15 goals. . . . F Jackson Playfair gave the Chiefs a two-goal lead with his 12th at 5:39 of the second. . . . Vancouver F Jackson Houck scored his 22nd goal, on a PP, at 9:30 of the second. . . . F Blair Oneschuk got his sixth goal at 17:49 of the second to restore Spokane’s two-goal lead. . . . Giants F Zane Jones got his guys close with his 28th goal at 1:10 of the third, but they weren’t able to equalize. . . . The Giants’ coaching staff moved D Arvil Atwal to the forward ranks for this one. . . . The Chiefs (32-29-4) had lost two in a row. . . . The Giants (26-38-3) have lost seven in a row.
In Calgary, the Hitmen ran their winning streak to nine games with a 4-3 five-round shootout victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . F Brad Morrison scored for the Cougars in the first round of the shootout, with F Adam Tambellini countering for the Hitmen in the second round. . . . F Connor Rankin won it in the fifth round. . . . Cougars G Ty Edmonds stopped 49 shots through OT. . . . Morrison forced OT with his 20th goal at 12:00 of the third period. . . . The Hitmen led 2-0 in the second period, only to have the Cougars tie it on D Tate Olson’s fifth goal, on a PP, at 1:20 of the third. . . . F Jake Virtanen shot Calgary back into the lead with his 15th goal at 11:13. . . . Tambellini had two assists, while D Travis Sanheim scored his 11th goal and added an assist. . . . Calgary F Kenton Helgesen, the team captain, scored his 18th goal of the season in what was his 250th career game. . . . Morrison also had an assist, while F Zach Pochiro got his 10th goal and added an assist. . . . Calgary G Brendan Burke stopped 19 shots. . . . The Hitmen (32-17-5) are second in the Central Division, six points behind Medicine Hat. . . . The Cougars (21-32-4) are 0-1-2 in their last three games. They are fifth in the B.C. Division, but just three points behind third-place Vancouver. . . . 
In Vancouver, F Carter Popoff scored twice to help the Giants to a 3-1 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Edmonton F Lane Bauer scored his 18th goal at 9:42 of the first period. . . . The Giants scored the game’s last three goals. . . . Popoff tied it at 7:33 of the second period and F Vladimir Bobylev got his third just 44 seconds later. . . . Popoff, who has 22 goals, iced it with an empty-netter at 19:34 of the third. . . . Vancouver G Cody Porter stopped 31 shots. . . . Giants G Payton Lee, who has been out with a hand injury, was on the bench backing up Porter. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry blocked 21 shots. He played in his 148th career game to set a franchise record. He had shared the mark with Laurent Brossoit. . . . Vancouver F Tyler Benson had two assists. . . . Vancouver D Arvin Atwal was eligible to return from a WHL suspension, but he was a healthy scratch. . . . Vancouver (23-29-3) has won two in a row and has moved into third place in the B.C. Division, one point ahead of idle Kamloops. The Giants have a game in hand. . . . Edmonton (25-26-6) has lost two straight; it went 1-3-0 on a trip into the B.C. Division, scoring only six goals in the process. The Oil Kings hold down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has a game story 
In Everett, the Tri-City Americans erased 2-0 and 3-2 deficits as they beat the Silvertips 4-3 in a shootout. . . . F Vladislav Lukin scored the lone goal of the three-round shootout. Lukin, a freshman from Ufa, Russia, isn’t believed to be related to former Kamloops Blazers captain Jaret Lukin. . . . This really was a wild one. . . . Everett led 2-0 after one period — on goals from F Patrick Bajkov, his 20th, and Remi Laurencelle, his 15th — and took that lead into the third. . . . The Americans tied it on D Brendan O’Reilly’s first goal, at 7:23 of the third, and F Lucas Nickles’ 20th just 12 seconds later. . . . F Nikita Scherbak put Everett back out front with his 23rd goal at 12:05. . . . Tri-City pulled even on F Beau McCue’s 21st goal at 14:28. . . . D Brandon Carlo had two assists for the Americans. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz stopped 26 shots through OT, three more than Tri-City’s Eric Comrie. . . . F Parker Bowles was among the Americans’ scratches. Bowles, who leads the Americans in assists and points, left a 3-0 loss in Kamloops on Sunday with an apparent injury to his left arm or shoulder. . . . The Americans also scratched D Riley Hillis (suspended), D Tyler Morrison (undisclosed injury) and D Dylan Coghlan (undisclosed injury). Tri-City F Braden Purtill moved back to defence for this one. . . . The Americans (26-26-3) are fifth in the U.S. Division, but are in the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . Everett (34-16-5) leads the U.S. Division by seven points over idle Portland. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has a game story 
The Moose Jaw Warriors had many people, including players, from their organization take part in a three-hour safeTALK presentation with Donna Boyer of the Canadian Mental Health Associated last week. Katie Brickman of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald sat through it and writes 
It's doubtful that any WHL team is delving as deeply into analytics -- aka fancy stats -- as the Saskatoon Blades. The Blades have hired Bruce Peter as their director of analytics. Daniel Nugent-Bowman takes a look 
G Tyler Fuhr, 19, is back with the Regina Pats. Fuhr left the club in late September. “It was personal business; we’ll just leave it at that,” Fuhr told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post. “It was something I had to deal with. I wanted my main focus to be on hockey and nothing distracting me. I think that was the best thing to do. Everything is resolved now.” Fuhr, who is from Sherwood Park, Alta., hasn't played for the Pats since Sept. 26. In his absence, Tyler Brown, who had been with the MJHL's Winnipeg Blues, backed up starter Daniel Wapple. . . . Harder also reports: "Work crews have started making preparations for the installation of a new centre-ice scoreboard at the Brandt Centre. The process will require significant modifications — including adjustments to catwalks, wiring and ventilation as well as structural reinforcement — so the clock can be raised into the rafters during non-hockey events. It’s hoped the new scoreboard will be in place before the New Year." 
In Saskatoon, G Nik Amundrud made 30 saves to help the Blades to a 5-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . F Ryan Graham led the Blades with a goal, his second, and two assists. . . . F Brayden Point scored twice for the Warriors, giving him eight on the season. . . . Saskatoon was 2-for-6 on the PP. . . . Saskatoon had F Nick Zajac back after he missed four games with a shoulder injury. . . . The Warriors, who were playing their fourth game in five nights, now have lost four in a row. They have scored five goals over their last five games. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a gamer 
In Red Deer, the Rebels scored the game's last three goals and beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 5-3. . . . Rebels F Grayson Pawlenchuk tied the game 3-3 at 18:01 of the second period, with his fifth goal, and D Devan Fafard broke the tie, with his second, at 6:45 of the third. . . . Red Deer F Wyatt Johnson added insurance with his seventh goal. He's on a three-game goal streak. . . . F Trevor Cox drew three assists for the Tigers (11-2-1), while F Cole Sanford scored his ninth goal. . . . Medicine Hat F Chad Butcher picked up an assist as he ran his point streak to 10 games, the longest in the league this season. . . . Besides losing the game, the Tigers lost a tire. Here’s a late-night tweet from Bob Ridley, the bus-driving radio man: “On way home. May take a few hrs longer. Flat tire on Q.E . 2 at Olds turnoff. Waiting for help.” . . .
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