Hunchak: I was in the darkest place I'd ever been in

More than a year has gone by since Dave Hunchak left the Kamloops Blazers. They were in Spokane for a Jan. 10 game with the Chiefs when Hunchak, the Blazers’ head coach, left the team and returned home. The team announced that he was on a leave of absence; he never returned. Hunchak has told Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail that his nightmare began with an anxiety attack that ultimately was followed by depression. . . . “The best way I can describe it is: I was in the darkest place I’d ever been in,” Hunchak told Maki. “I was thinking it was possible I could do something I would regret.” . . . Maki’s complete story is right here, and it deals with a lot more than Hunchak, who, by the way, is back to where he was and wanting to get back to coaching. In the meantime, he is working in Kamloops as an electrician.
———
“A Canadian lawyer has told Washington state legislators he opposes a bill that might allow Western Hockey League teams to circumvent laws on child labour and minimum wage, a change WHL team executives say is critical for them to stay in business,” writes Rick Westhead of TSN. “In a Feb. 17 letter that was sent to seven Washington state senators and obtained by TSN, Toronto lawyer Ted Charney wrote that he opposes Bill 1930 on behalf of his clients, Lukas Walter and Sam Berg, former major junior hockey players who are now suing the Ontario Hockey League, the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Charney hopes to have a lawsuit certified as a class action case.” . . . Westhead’s complete story is right here.
———
WHL commissioner Ron Robison and the general managers of the four Washington-based teams appeared at a Senate hearing in the state capital of Olympia on Wednesday. Scott Sepich, a Portland-based freelancer, has that story right here.
———
The sporting community in Kamloops is coming together to help Peter Friedel, who has done a lot of volunteer work with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, the junior B Kamloops Storm of the Kootenay International Junior league and the Kamloops Venom junior lacrosse team. . . . The Storm will donate a portion of the gate receipts from its Saturday playoff game to Friedel, and a dinner and dance to benefit him is scheduled for March 7. . . . Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week has more right here.
———



F Trevor Cox of the Medicine Hat Tigers has had his suspension set at three games. He was suspended under supplemental discipline for a hit on Calgary F Kenton Helgesen during a game on Saturday. Cox, who already has missed two games, will complete the suspension on Sunday when the Tigers play in Edmonton. . . . Helgesen didn’t play in Calgary’s 2-1 victory over the visiting Tigers on Tuesday.
———







F Logan Aasman of the Everett Silvertips doesn’t even know when he first was concussed. He just knows that recovering at home in Medicine Hat wasn’t a whole lot of fun. Aasman, who last played on Nov. 30, finally has been cleared to return and Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has the story right here.
———

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

B.C. DIVISION: Kelowna won at home and now leads the overall standings by two points over idle Brandon. Each teams has 14 games remaining. . . . Vancouver won at home and remains third in the B.C. Division, but now is three points ahead of Kamloops, which lost on the road, and idle Prince George.
U.S. DIVISION: All five teams enjoyed the day off. You have to think players from the four Washington-based teams were watching goings-on in Olympia.
EAST DIVISION: Moose Jaw lost in OT on the road and the loser point lifted it to within seven points of a playoff spot.
CENTRAL DIVISION: Red Deer won on the road. It remains third in the division, four points behind second-place Calgary and nine points ahead of Kootenay, which holds down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot.

———
In Vancouver, D Mason Geertsen’s second goal of the game, at 4:11 of OT, gave the Giants a 3-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Geertsen, who has 11 goals, had given the Giants a 2-1 lead at 19:28 of the second period. He also drew an assist on his side’s first goal. . . . D Spenser Jensen forced OT with his third goal at 6:06 of the third period. . . . F Jack Rodewald gave Moose Jaw a 1-0 lead with his 27th goal 59 secondsd into the second period. . . . F Thomas Foster scored his 10th at 14:22 of the second, on a PP, to pull the Giants even. . . . F Tyler Benson had three assists for Vancouver. . . . Vancouver was 1-for-2 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-for-3. . . . Moose Jaw G Brody Willms stopped 29 shots, six more than Vancouver’s Payton Lee. . . . It was a Hockey Hooky game, meaning a noon start. Moose Jaw had played in a Hockey Hooky game in Victoria the previous day and had come away with a 4-3 victory. . . . F Ty Ronning and D Arvin Atwal were among the Giants’ scratches. News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) tweeted that “Atwal hasn’t played since off-ice incident last week.” . . . The Giants (25-30-3) have won two in a row. . . . The Warriors (23-30-5) are 2-2-1 on a seven-game road swing that continues Friday in Kamloops. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has a game story right here. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has a game story right here. . . .

In Saskatoon, the Red Deer Rebels scored two third-period goals and beat the Blades, 4-3. . . . D Amil Krupic’s fifth goal of the season, at 13:41 of the second, had given the Blades a 3-2 lead. . . . D Josh Mahura scored his first WHL goal at 13:56 of the third to tie it and F Preston Kopeck got the winner, his 17th goal of the season, at 15:21. . . . Kopeck, F Riley Sheen and F Wyatt Johnson each had a goal and an assist for Red Deer. Sheen has 17 goals; Johnson has 22. . . . F Wyatt Sloboshan had two assists for the Blades, whose captain, F Brett Stovin, scored his 24th goal. . . . Red Deer G Trevor Martin, who was acquired from the Blades, stopped 30 shots in his first start since being added from the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. He now will return to Melville. . . . Saskatoon G Nik Amundrud turned aside 35 shots. . . . Saskatoon D Brycen Martin had his point streak snapped at 11 games. . . . The Rebels (30-18-9) are 2-0-1 in their last three. . . . The Blades now are 17-37-3. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story right here. . . .

In Kelowna, every skater on the roster but one picked up at least one point as the Rockets whipped the Kamloops Blazers, 11-4. . . . Only D Madison Bowey failed to get at least one point. . . . F Tomas Soustal led the way with two goals, giving him eight, and two assists, with F Rourke Chartier adding two goals and one assist. . . . Chartier now leads the WHL with 46 goals, one more than F Cole Sanford of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . D Josh Morrissey also scored twice for the Rockets, giving him 12. They got three assists from F Leon Draisaitl and two from each of F Nick Merkley, F Tate Coughlin and F Cole Linaker. . . . F Collin Shirley scored twice for Kamloops, giving him 20, and added an assist. F Matt Needham also scored his 20th goal this season. . . . Kamloops F Cole Ully had two assists. . . . According to a tweet from Kelowna play-by-play voice Regan Bartel: “Last time the @Kelowna_Rockets put up 11 goals on home ice prior to tonight was in an 11-2 win vs. Giants Jan 5/2002.” . . . The Rockets now have beaten the Blazers in 18 straight regular-season meetings. The Blazers last posted a regular-season victory over the Rockets on March 3, 2013, when G Cole Cheveldave stopped 25 shots in a 3-0 shutout in Kamloops. F JC Lipon scored all three Kamloops goals. F Cole Ully and D Ryan Rehill are the only two players off today’s Kamloops roster who played in that game. . . . The Rockets won the last two regular-season meetings that season, all eight last season and another eight this season. The teams will meet twice more this season. . . . The Rockets (45-9-4) have won three in a row. . . . The Blazers (22-31-6) have lost two straight.
———
THURSDAY’S GAMES
(all times local)
No Games Scheduled
———
FRIDAY’S GAMES
(all times local)
Red Deer at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Regina, 7 p.m.
Edmonton vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Portland, 7 p.m.
Calgary at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Kelowna at Victoria, 7:30 p.m.
Tri-City at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
Lethbridge vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.
———

GM, Head Coach, & Bus Driver. @PeterAnholt guiding us the way for the 1st leg of our trip! #TripleThreat #CaneTrain pic.twitter.com/7gT2xhKXeW
— LethbridgeHurricanes (@WHLHurricanes) February 18, 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.

Former WHL official in mayor's office . . . Ex-WHLer retires due to concussion . . . Raiders dump slump

Former WHL on-ice official Andrew Jakubeit, 43, is the new mayor of Penticton, B.C. He was elected on Saturday, winning the race by more than 2,000 votes. . . . Jakubeit, who grew up in Kelowna, and his wife, LeAnne, have been active in the Penticton business community for almost 20 years. He has been president of the Downtown Penticton Association and has been on city council. He also has been heavily involved in minor hockey in Penticton. . . . Garry Litke, who had been Penticton's mayor, opted not to run.
---
Elliotte Friedman leads of the latest version of 30 Thoughts with notes on the NHL and Las Vegas. That is right here.
---


The BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs have announced the retirement of F Scott Cooke, 20, “due to medical reasons.”
Cooke joined the Bulldogs from the Moose Jaw Warriors earlier in the season. In his first game with the Bulldogs, he “suffered a concussion and has experienced reoccurring symptoms ever since," according to a news release. "Cooke remained with the team hoping to get back on the ice but unfortunately that didn’t happen.”
Cooke, who is from Surrey, B.C., plans to attend school in Kelowna in the new year.
Cooke was a fifth-round pick by the Vancouver Giants in the WHL’s 2009 bantam draft. He had a goal and three assists in 79 games with the Giants, then scored five times and added four assists in 42 games with Moose Jaw. He left the Warriors early this season.
---

SATURDAY'S GAMES:

In Regina, the Pats scored two third-period goals and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 2-1. . . . Regina F Morgan Klimchuk tied the game at 1:46 of the third period. That was his sixth goal this season and the 200th regular-season point of this career. . . . Pats F Patrick D'Amico got the winner, his 10th, at 15:32. . . . F Luke Osterman scored his first goal for Seattle, at 5:08 of the first perod. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple stopped 29 shots, four fewer than Seattle's Taran Kozun. . . . The Pats (11-9-1) have won three in a row. . . . Seattle (9-9-3) is 2-3-0 on an East Division swing that wraps up today in Swift Current. . . .

In Swift Current, F Simon Stransky scored the shootout winner as the Prince Albert Raiders snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the Broncos. . . . F Craig Leverton and Stransky scored for the Raiders (9-13-0) in the four-round shootout, with F Coda Gordon scoring for the Broncos (11-8-4), who are 1-0-2 in their last three outings. . . . Prince Albert F Reid Gardiner scored twice, giving him 10 this season. His second goal, at 9:40 of the third period, forced OT. . . . Stransky had the primary assist on each of Gardiner's goals. . . . Gordon scored his 11th goal of the season at 19:00 of the second period to run his point streak to 13 games, the longest in the WHL thus far this season. . . . Raiders G Rylan Parenteau turned aside 28 shots three fewer than Broncos G Landon Bow. . . . The Broncos are at home to the Seattle Thunderbirds this afternoon. . . .

In Brandon, F Braylon Shmyr scored the only goal of an eight-round shootout to give the Wheat Kings a 3-2 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 42 shots going into the shootout. At the other end, Marek Langhamer stopped 36 shots through OT. . . . Brandon F Reid Duke tied the game 2-2 with his sixth goal at 9:07 of the third period. . . . The Wheat Kings (17-4-1) and Tigers (14-4-2) are the Eastern Conference's top two teams. . . . An interesting sidebar to this game involved the Quenneville brothers -- F Peter and F John with the Wheat Kings and D Dave with the Tigers. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story right here.

In Red Deer, F Preston Kopeck scored twice and added a assist to lead the Rebels to a 5-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Kopeck has six goals this season. . . . The teams were even 1-1 after one period, but the Rebels scored the game's next three goals. . . . F Wyatt Johnson had two assists for the Rebels (11-8-3), who are 8-1-2 in their last 11. . . . Red Deer G Rylan Toth made 28 saves, three fewer than Saskatoon's Alex Moodie. . . . Saskatoon F Nick Zajac drew a boarding major and game misconduct seven seconds into the second period for a hit on Red Deer D Haydn Fleury. . . . The Blades (6-15-0) visit the Calgary Hitmen this afternoon. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Sam Reinhart had a goal and two assists to help the Kootenay Ice to a 4-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The Ice (8-13-0) has won five straight. . . . Reinhart broke a 1-1 tie with his third goal at 6:46 of the second period. He has 10 points in three games since returning from the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. . . . The Ice held a 27-9 edge in shots through two periods. The final totals were 39-22. . . . The Hurricanes (5-12-4) have lost six in a row (0-3-3). . . .

In Vancouver, F Brandon Magee had five assists and D Joe Hicketts had four to spark the Victoria Royals to a 7-5 victory over the Giants. . . . F Axel Blomqvist scored twice for Victoria (11-10-2), giving him nine this season. . . . The Giants (8-12-0) led 3-2 early in the second period when the Royals struck for three straight goals in a span of 7:18. . . . F Joel Hamilton had two goals, giving him nine, and an assist for the Giants, while F Matt Bellerive had three assists. . . . Hicketts now has 28 points, tops among WHL defencemen. He also has moved into a tie for fourth in the overall points race. . . . The Giants lost D Ryely McKinstry to an undisclosed injury on his first shift of the game. . . .

In Everett, the Silvertips outscored Kamloops 2-1 in a 15-round shootout and beat the Blazers, 3-2. . . . A 15-round shootout means that 30 shooters took a turn. That means only three skaters on each team didn't get to participate. . . . Everett D Kevin Davis, who is from Kamloops, scored the winning goal. . . . Everett D Carter Cochrane, who scored his side's other shootout goal, also is from Kamloops. . . . D Michael Fora, Kamloops' 13th shooter, scored the Blazers' lone goal of the shootout. . . . Cochrane matched that and, two rounds later, Davis won it. . . . The Blazers had a potential goal disallowed in OT when it was ruled that F Cole Ully had kicked the puck into the net. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz stopped 30 shots through OT, while Kamloops' Conor Ingram turned aside 21. . . . Kamloops F Deven Sideroff forced OT with his 11th goal at 19:59 of the third period. He also had an assist. . . . Everett took a 2-0 lead in the first period as it outshot the visitors, 11-4. . . . The Blazers (9-10-4), who are 0-4-3 in their last seven, scored twice in the third period when they held a 17-3 edge in shots. . . . F Carter Stadnyk had a goal, his 10th, and an assist for Everett. . . . The Silvertips (14-2-3), who are 9-2-0 in their last 11, will visit the Portland Winterhawks this evening. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald profiled Davis in Friday's paper. The story, which is right here, referred to Davis as "the Silvertips' silent assassin." . . . Patterson's game story from last night is right here. . . .

In Prince George, the Kelowna Rockets ran their winning streak to seven with a 6-2 victory over the Cougars. . . . On Friday, the Rockets beat the Cougars, 6-3. . . . Last night, the Rockets scored the game's first five goals. . . . F Rourke Chartier opened the scoring with his WHL-leading 23rd goal, via the PP. He also had two assists. . . . Kelowna F Nick Merkley had two assists for the fourth straight game. He and Chartier lead the points derby, each with 40. . . . Chartier has at least one goal in 10 straight games, while Merkley is on a seven-game points streak. . . . Kelowna F Tomas Soustal scored twice, giving him five, while F Tyson Baillie had three assists. . . . F Jari Erricson had two assists for the Cougars. . . . The Rockets were 3-for-7 on the PP. . . . Kelowna F Justin Kirkland left in the first period with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Rockets (20-1-1) are the first team in the WHL to 20 victories. They are 10-0-1 in their last 11 games. . . . The Cougars (11-11-0) have lost three straight. . . .

In Spokane, F Richard Nejezchleb scored twice and added an assist to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 5-3 victory over the Chiefs. . . . His first goal tied the game 1-1 at 10:56 of the first period; his second one broke a 2-2 tie at 17:28 of the second period on a PP. . . . Nejezchleb, a 20-year-old Czech, has 10 points, including five goals, in five games since being acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . F Brian Williams drew three assists for the winners. . . . The Americans (14-9-0) are second in the U.S. Division, seven points ahead of the Chiefs (9-7-3), who hold four games in hand.
---

Sat night off, Watching Jackson(Spokane) vs Austyn(Tri-Cities)#hockeydad
— Jim Playfair (@Jim_Playfair) November 16, 2014

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jakub Sindel (Brandon, 2004-05) was released from his tryout contract with Kärpät Oulu (Finland, SM-Liiga) after Kärpät signed ex-NHL F Jozef Stumpel. Sindel had three assists in 11 games with Kärpät during his tryout. Sindel had agreed to extend his tryout contract one more week earlier Tuesday but, when Kärpät signed Stumpel Tuesday evening, Sindel was released.
———
Mac Engel, meet Mac Engel. Yes, the Spokane Chiefs’ goaltender has a big, big fan named, uhh, Mac Engel. Same name, same spelling. Check it out right here.
———
Kevin Allen of USA TODAY takes a look at the NHL and the state of concussions. This is a thorough overview of what is going on in the NHL, including the number of concussions this season, the number of games players have missed because of concussions, and the cost. That story is right here, and it’s a good one.
———
A Tuesday afternoon tweet from TSN hockey analyst Bob McKenzie: “No decision req'd until trade deadline but my sense is TBL more inclined to keep Brett Connoly in NHL than return him to Tri City (WHL).”
McKenzie, Part 2: “If Connolly finishes NHL season with TBL, and Bolts miss playoffs (as expected), he can be assigned to Norfolk for AHL playoffs.”
———
In the last while, the weather in various parts of B.C. has been dicey, at best. As a result, we have heard stories of teams, including the Kootenay Ice and Lethbridge Hurricanes, having faced lengthy delays as they attempted to bus from one place to another.
And now we can add the Victoria Royals to the list.
The Royals completed their East Division swing on Saturday night with a 9-6 loss to the Saskatoon Blades. Naturally, the Royals left for home right after the game, which would have been around 10:30 p.m. CT, or 8:30 p.m. PT.
The Royals arrived home Monday afternoon, two weeks after the trek to the eastern hinterlands had begun. You may recall that as the Royals were about to start the trip, F Kevin Sundher was informed that he had been traded to the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Anyway, it seems the Royals arrived at Tsawwassen to catch the ferry to Schwartz Bay near Sydney By The Sea only to discover that high winds had cancelled a number of sailings. So the team spent Sunday night at Tsawwassen, waiting and hoping for the winds to decrease.
The Royals, who went 2-4 on their swing, are back in action Friday and Saturday against the visiting Kamloops Blazers. The Blazers, who take a nine-game winning streak into Kelowna tonight, are 5-0-0 against Victoria this season.
———
Don’t look now, but there is an interesting race going on for the last couple of playoff spots in the WHL’s Western Conference.
And it could be that loser points will play a rather large role in settling the issue.
The Everett Silvertips, who lost 7-4 last night in Portland, are last in the 10-team conference in which eight teams will qualify for the postseason.
But the Silvertips have picked up seven points over their last seven games and are just six points behind the eighth-place Victoria Royals (15-28-5), who are one point behind the Seattle Thunderbirds (17-26-2). The Prince George Cougars (15-29-2) are ninth, three points behind Victoria and three in front of Everett.
Keep in mind, too, that Victoria is 2-7-1 in its last 10 games, although six of those (2-4-0) came in the East Division. Prince George is 2-8-0 in its last 10. Seattle, meanwhile, is 1-8-1.
That has allowed Everett, which is in its ninth season and has never missed the playoffs, to sneak back into the picture.
Everett (10-28-9) may end up holding something of an edge, too, because of its nine loser points to this point in the season.
———
The Portland Winterhawks have signed F Presten Kopeck, a 16-year-old third-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft. Kopeck, who is from Medicine Hat, has 19 points, including seven goals, in 45 games with the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats. Last season, with the midget AAA Medicine Hat Tigers, he had 19 points in 34 games. Kopeck, who was in training camp with the Winterhawks prior to this season, will finish this season with the Bobcats.
———
There is a neat story in Tuesday’s Edmonton Sun about the Edmonton Oil Kings, who have become involved in a snow-shovelling program that benefits needy homeowners. That story is right here.

———
D Daniel Gibb of the Prince George Cougars took part in a program called Breakfast Idol at P.G. radio station The River 101.3 on Tuesday. No, he didn't sing Stayin' Alive. . . . You can catch it all right here — he’s a wizard with the Cube. You also should go over there and vote for Gibb, who needs all the help we can provide.
———
TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Swift Current, G Luke Siemens stopped 32 shots to help the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 3-0 victory over the Broncos. . . . Siemens had sat out his club’s last three games due to what head coach Mike Stothers had said was a need to re-focus. . . .. F Kenton Miller scored the game’s opening goal, on the PP, at 18:37 of the first period. . . . Moose Jaw F Cam Braes, who missed Monday’s practice because he was ill, got his 28th goal of the season. . . . The Warriors had lost their first two games in Swift Current this season. . . . G Jon Groenheyde made his 20th straight start for the Broncos. He stopped 39 shots. . . . Moose Jaw D Joel Edmundson had two assists. . . . The Warriors have put up four shutouts this season, three by Siemens. . . . The Broncos have been shut out twice. . . .

In Cranbrook, G Curtis Honey stopped 34 shots for his first WHLshutout as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the host Kootenay Ice, 1-0. . . . Brandon had G Corbin Boes in the lineup for the first time since he suffered a broken hand on Dec. 7. G Brandon Anderson was a healthy scratch. . . . This was Brandon’s second shutout of the season; Boes has the other one. . . . It was the first time this season the Ice has been blanked. . . . F Kevin Sundher scored the game’s only goal, his 23rd of the season and his first with the Wheat Kings since he was acquired from the Victoria Royals on Jan. 9. That came at 16:28 of the first period. . . . Brandon is 7-3-1 in its last 11 trips to Cranbrook. . . . Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the Wheat Kings, reports that it’s Brandon’s first 1-0 victory since Feb. 20, 2008, when Joe Caligiuri stopped 30 shots and F Jay Fehr scored the lone goal in beating the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. . . .

In Portland, the Winterhawks ran their franchise-record home-ice winning streak to 18 games with a 7-4 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Winterhawks got two goals from each of D Joe Morrow and F Marcel Noebels. . . . Portland G Brendan Burke, the son of former NHL G Sean Burke, stopped 29 shots to earn his third victory of the season. . . . Everett, trailing 4-2, tied it with goals from F Ryan Harrison and F Reid Petryk 48 seconds apart midway in the second period. . . . Portland F Taylor Peters broke the 4-4 tie with his 10th goal at 14:51 of the seocnd. . . . Harrison had two goals for Everett, giving him 13, while D Ryan Murray had two assists. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie had two assists, giving him a WHL-leading 83 points, two more than Regina Pats F Jordan Weal. . . . The Winterhawks were without D William Wrenn, their captain, who was suspended by the WHL “for actions at Spokane on Jan. 22.” According to Jim Beseda of the Oregonian, Wrenn was suspended “for an altercation as he was leaving the ice after Sunday’s 6-1 loss at Spokane.” . . .
———
TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Graeme Craig, Swift Current.
———
After reading here about the sportsmanship shown by Seattle Thunderbirds G Calvin Pickard the other night, another WHL fan has sent me a note, this one involving Everett Silvertips D Ryan Murray:
“When Everett was last (in Kamloops) . . . when they were announcing the three stars, Ryan Murray came out for his star and took time to pose with kids who were giving out the (goods). Then, on his way off the ice, he went out of his way to tap the Blazers star on the shin pads.
“It’s nice to see something like that and then read the story about Pickard.”
———
For today’s good ready, here is Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe with a terrific look at Tim Thomas and how he screwed up by not visiting the White House with his Boston Bruins teammates on Monday. That piece is right here.

 To those of you who have taken the time to help out the cause, thank you so much. Your generosity really is appreciated. . . . 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.