Showing posts with label Quinn Benjafield. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quinn Benjafield. Show all posts

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Cougars roll into break . . . Silvertips right there, too . . . Steel leading scoring derby

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM TAKING NOTE

You’re back home after a long day of hacks and whacks at the shopping mall. Right here, to help you chill, are Elvis Presley and Martina McBride with . . . Blue Christmas.
——
If you haven’t seen it, the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, as they always do, have had some fun with a Christmas classic. Their take on the movie Elf is right here.
———
By my count, the WHL has 28 players involved in Christmas tournaments.
One of those, D Vladislav Yeryomenko of the Calgary Hitmen, completed his involvement on Saturday as he helped Belarus to the IIHF Under-20 Division 1 Group A championship in Bremerhaven, Germany, thus earning promotion to the 2018 World Junior Championship in Buffalo.
Belarus beat Austria, 4-0, in its final game. Belarus finished with four victories and an OT loss, its 13 points leaving it two clear of Germany.
Yeryomenko finished with a goal and two assists in five games.
With Yeryomenko and Belarus finished, there are 27 other WHL players who are either in a selection camp or will play in the World Junior Championship when it opens in Montreal and Toronto on Boxing Day.
Here’s a look at who’s where, at least for the moment:
Brandon (1): D Kale Clague (Canada).
Calgary (2): D Jake Bean (Canada), D Vladislav Yeryomenko (Belarus).
Edmonton (0).
Everett (2): G Carter Hart (Canada), D Noah Juulsen (Canada).
Kamloops (3): F Rudolfs Balcers (Latvia), F G Connor Ingram (Canada), D Ondrej Vala (Czech Republic).
Kelowna (3): F Dillon Dube (Canada), F Calvin Thurkauf (Switzerland), F Tomas Soustal (Czech Republic).
Kootenay (0),
Lethbridge (0).
Medicine Hat (2): F John Dahlstrom (Sweden), D Kristians Rubins (Latvia).
Moose Jaw (0).
Portland (2): F Joachim Blichfeld (Denmark), D Caleb Jones (U.S.).
Prince Albert (2): D Vojtech Budik (Czech Republic), F Simon Stransky (Czech Republic).
Prince George (0).
Red Deer (3): F Adam Musil (Czech Republic), G Lasse Petersen (Denmark), F Michael Spacek (Czech Republic).
Regina (2): F Filip Ahl (Sweden), D Sergey Zborovskiy (Russia).
Saskatoon (1): D Libor Hajek (Czech Republic).
Seattle (2): F Mathew Barzal (Canada), F Alexander True (Denmark).
Spokane (1): F Pavel Kousal (Czech Republic).
Swift Current (0).
Tri-City (1): D Juuso Valimaki (Finland).
Vancouver (1): F Radovan Bondra (Slovakia).
Victoria (0).
———

SATURDAY’S GAMES:


At Calgary, the Kelowna Rockets erased a 2-1 deficit with five straight goals as they beat the Hitmen, 6-2.
JAKE KRYSKI
. . . The Rockets took a 1-0 lead when F Jake Kryski scored at 8:56 of the first period. . . . Calgary went up 2-1 on goals from F Mark Kastelic (4), at 12:32, and F Jakob Stukel (9), on a PP, at 11:29 of the second. . . . Kryski tied it on a PP, at 13:16. Kryski, who was acquired from the Kamloops Blazers, has 13 goals in 30 games; he finished last season with 12 goals in 67 games. . . . Kelowna F Kyle Topping put his guys out front, on another PP, at 15:02, and D Riley Stadel (4) provided some insurance, on yet another PP, at 19:12. . . . Topping got his second goal of the game and eighth of the season in the third period, while F Nick Merkley scored No. 9. . . . Rockets F Kole Lind ran his point streak to 13 games with three assists, while D Lucas Johansen and F Erik Gardiner each had two. . . . G Brodan Salmond stopped 17 shots for Kelowna. . . . Calgary got 19 saves from Cody Porter. . . . Kelowna (21-12-2) has points in three straight (2-0-1). . . . The Hitmen slipped to 12-16-2. . . . The Rockets are 4-1-1 on a seven-game road trip that ends in Edmonton on Sunday afternoon. . . . D Micheal Zipp, Calgary’s captain, was scratched with an undisclosed injury. . . . Announced attendance: 6,144.
——

At Everett, F Devon Skoleski broke a 2-2 tie at 17:10 of the third period and the Silvertips went on to beat the Portland Winterhawks, 4-2. . . . He’s got four goals. . . . F Connor Dewar added insurance with his
DEVON SKOLESKI
fourth goal, at 18:12. . . . F Cody Glass scored both Portland goals, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead at 2:53 of the second period and pulling them into a 2-2 tie at 16:39 of the third period. Glass has 19 goals. . . . Everett F Eetu Tuulola’s eighth goal, at 19:28 of the second period, tied the score 1-1 and was the Teddy Bear Goal. . . . F Matt Fonteyne’s eighth goal gave Everett a 2-1 led at 12:22 of the third period. . . . D Kevin Davis had two assists for Everett, while Tuulola added one. . . . Davis has three goals and 21 assists in 32 games. His career highs are three goals, in each of the previous two seasons, and 22 assists in 2014-15. . . . Everett G Mario Petit stopped 25 shots, while Portland’s Cole Kehler turned aside 41. . . . Portland was 0-1 on the PP; Everett was 0-5. . . . Portland had a 10-1 edge in shots in the game’s first 10 minutes; Everett had a 13-1 edge in the second 10 minutes. . . . The Silvertips (24-4-5) have won three in a row. They go into the break in second place in the overall standings, one point behind the Prince George Cougars and with three games in hand. . . . The Winterhawks (19-16-1) have lost two straight. . . . Announced attendance: 5,733.
——


At Cranbrook, B.C., F Quinn Benjafield and F Jermaine Loewen each had two goals and an assist as the
JERMAINE LOEWEN
Kamloops Blazers overwhelmed the Kootenay Ice, 8-1. . . . The Blazers went 4-1-1 on a six-game Central Division swing in which they played six games in eight nights. . . . The Blazers took control with the only three goals of the first period, as Loewen, who has three goals, scored at 11:35, F Deven Sideroff got his 22nd, on a PP, at 13:02, and D Dawson Davidson got No. 3 at 18:28. . . . F Ryley Appelt made his WHL debut with the Blazers and he started on their big line, alongside Garrett Pilon and Deven Sideroff, with Rudolfs Balcers having left to join the Latvian national junior team. An Edmonton native, Appelt was a fourth-round pick by the Blazers in the 2015 bantam draft. He plays for the Norther Alberta X-Treme prep team in the CSSHL. . . . Appelt made it 4-0 with his first WHL goal, at 3:53 of the second. . . . F Vince Loschiavo scored for the Ice, getting his 12th goal at 4:56. He takes a seven-game goal streak into a Sunday afternoon game against the Hitmen in Calgary. . . . Benjafield, who has nine goals, scored at 6:10 and 14:32 of the second period. . . . Pilon also scored for Kamloops, giving him six goals. . . . D Joe Gatenby and F Nick Chyzowski each had two assists for Kamloops, while Sideroff had one. . . . G Dylan Ferguson blocked 19 shots for Kamloops. He went the distance in all six games on the road trip. . . . Ice starter Jakob Walter surrendered five goals on 18 shots in 26:10. Payton Lee came on in relief to stop 13 of 16 shots in 33:50. . . . Kamloops was 2-4 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-3. . . . The Blades go into the break at 21-13-2. . . . The Ice (6-21-8) has lost five in a row (0-4-1). . . . Announced attendance: 1,731.
——
At Medicine Hat, F Max Gerlach scored twice to help the Tigers to a 5-3 victory over the Red Deer
MAX GERLACH
Rebels. . . . The teams were tied 2-2 going into the third period when F Matt Bradley put the Tigers ahead with No. 15, at 12:49. . . . Gerlach, who has 23 goals, added insurance at 15:03, on a PP. . . . Gerlach had opened the scoring at 6:19 of the second period and D Dave Quenneville (19) made it 2-0, on a PP, at 16:20. . . . The Rebels tied it as F Dawson Martin got his fifth goal, at 18:15 of the second, and F Evan Polei scored his 15th just 37 seconds later. . . . The Tigers’ final goal, shorthanded, came from F Mark Rassell, his 17th, at 18:23 of the third. . . . F Akash Bains (6), who also had an assist, scored for Red Deer at 18:48. . . . F James Hamblin and F Mason Shaw each had two assists for the Tigers, while Rassell had one. . . . G Nick Schneider turned back 25 shots for Medicine Hat, while Riley Lamb stopped 38 for the Rebels. . . . The Tigers were 2-6 on the PP; the Rebels were 1-3. . . . Medicine Hat (25-10-1) has won four in a row. . . . Red Deer (16-14-6) has lost three straight (0-2-1). . . . Announced attendance: 3,286.
——
At Prince Albert, D Kade Jensen broke a 3-3 tie at 16:22 of the third period as the Swift Current Broncos
KADE JENSEN
got past the Raiders, 4-3. . . . The Raiders took a 2-0 lead on first-period goals from D Loch Morrison (2), at 3:20, and D Max Martin (5), on a PP, at 12:16. . . . It didn’t last, though, as Swift Current tied it on goals from F Kole Gable, at 15:06, and F Aleksi Heponiemi (10), at 18:18. . . . Gable’s fourth goal gave the Broncos a 3-2 lead 4:05 of the second period. . . . The Raiders tied it on F Austin Glover’s 12th goal at 15:15 of the third period. . . . Jensen, who also had an assist, won it with his third goal, with Heponiemi getting the only assist. . . . Broncos G Travis Child allowed two goals on four shots in 12:16. Taz Burman came on to get the victory, stopping 16 of 17 shots in 47:44. . . . The Raiders got 31 saves from Ian Scott. . . . Prince Albert was 1-1 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-3. . . . The Broncos (18-10-7) are 3-0-1 in their last four games. They are 5-0-0 against Prince Albert this season. . . . The Raiders (7-26-2) have lost three in a row. . . . Announced attendance: 1,977.
——
At Regina, F Adam Brooks scored three goals and added two assists, and F Sam Steel had a goal and
ADAM BROOKS
three assists, as the Pats bounced the Moose Jaw Warriors, 7-3. . . . One night earlier, in Moose Jaw, the Warriors had beaten the Pats, 5-4. . . . Last night, the Pats took a 2-0 lead, then fell behind 3-2, before scoring the game’s last five goals, all in the third period. . . . F Dawson Leedahl (14) got Regina started 55 seconds into the game, with Brooks making it 2-0 at 10:13. . . . D Matt Sozanski (1) got the Warriors on the scoreboard, on a  PP, at 11:33. Sozanksi, who returned Friday after missing two weeks, has one goal and 20 assists in 26 games with Moose Jaw, after putting up three goals and 18 assists in 62 games with the Spokane Chiefs last season. . . . Moose Jaw tied it at 12:10 when F Jayden Halbgewachs, who had a 10-game goal streak end on Friday, got his WHL-leading 29th goal. . . . F Brett Howden put the visitors in front, 3-2, with his 15th goal, on a PP, at 5:35 of the second period. . . . Regina D Connor Hobbs (14) tied it on a PP at 2:23 of the third period, with Brooks making it 4-3 at 12:46. . . . Brooks, who has 17 goals, completed the hat trick while shorthanded at 15:23. . . . Steel got his 23rd goal, on a PP, at 17:13, and F Rykr Cole scored his fifth goal at 18:54. . . . Steel now leads the WHL scoring race, with 54 points, one more than Brooks and F Chad Butcher and F Mason Shaw, both of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Halbgewachs is two points off the pace. . . . Regina got two assists from F Austin Wagner, with Hobbs and Leedahl each getting one. . . . Sozanski added two assists to his goal for Moose Jaw, with Halbgewachs and Howden getting one each. . . . Regina G Tyler Brown stopped 28 shots, while Moose Jaw’s Zach Sawchenko was considerably busier, with 47 saves. . . . Regina was 2-4 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 2-5. . . . Regina (22-3-6) had lost its previous two games (0-1-1). The Pats are third in the overall standings, four points behind the Prince George Cougars but with five games in hand. . . . Moose Jaw (20-8-5) had won its last two games, but now is five points behind the Eastern Conference-leading Pats, who hold two games in hand. . . . Announced attendance: 6,484.
——

At Saskatoon, F Connor Gutenberg snapped a 2-2 tie at 18:54 of the third period as the Brandon Wheat
CONNOR GUTENBERG
Kings edged the Blades, 3-2. . . . F Meyer Nell scored his first goal, shorthanded, to give Brandon a 1-0 lead at 3:42 of the first period. . . . Saskatoon tied it at 2:13 of the second period when F Braylon Shmyr (14) scored the Teddy Bear Goal on a PP. . . . The Wheat Kings went back in front, at 8:54, as F Tyler Coulter got his 11th goal. . . . F Jesse Shynkaruk (11) pulled the Blades back into a tie, at 3:40 of the third period. . . . Brandon F Tanner Kaspick earned two assists. He returned in Brandon’s 3-2 shootout victory over the visiting Blades on Friday night after being out since Dec. 3. . . . Shmyr and Shynkaruk added an assist each for Saskatoon. . . . Here is Les Lazaruk, the Blades’ radio voice: “ All three Wheaties' goals came off face-offs in the (Saskatoon) zone . . . with Brandon centres pushing the puck past the (Blades’) faceoff taker, stepping around him and setting up a team-mate in the slot for fairly easy scores.” . . . Brandon got 22 stops from G Jordan Papirny, while Logan Flodell stopped 26 for Saskatoon. . . . F Tyler Lees of the Blades was given a penalty shot at 5:19 of the second period, with the game tied 1-1, but wasn’t able to beat Papirny. Lees, a fifth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft, was playing his third game this season with the Blades, but his first at home. Lees, 16, plays for his hometown midget AAA team, the Regina Pat Canadians. . . . The Blades were 1-7 on the PP; the Wheat Kings were 0-4. . . . The Wheat Kings (15-14-4) have won two in a row. . . . The Blades (13-19-4) had points in their previous four games (2-0-2). . . . Brandon holds down the Eastern Conference’s second wild card spot and now is four points ahead of Saskatoon. . . . Announced attendance: 4,319.
——
At Kent, Wash., G Rylan Toth stopped 26 shots to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 3-0 victory over the
RYLAN TOTH
Tri-City Americans. . . . That was Toth’s first shutout of the season and the seventh of his career. He had five last season and one in 2014-15, all with the Red Deer Rebels. . . . D Jarrett Tyszka scored his third goal, at 6:06 of the second period, on a PP, and that was all Toth would need on this night. . . . He preserved the blank job with 15 third-period saves. . . . Seattle got a shorthanded goal from F Sami Moilanen, his 11th, at 5:58 of the third period. . . . D Brandon Schuldaus finished it with his second goal, an empty-netter, at 16:58 of the third. . . . D Ethan Bear had two assists. . . . Seattle’s PP was 0-16 before Tyszka’s goal. . . . The Americans got 22 saves from G Rylan Parenteau. . . . The Thunderbirds were 1-2 on the PP; the Americans were 0-5. . . . Seattle (17-13-3) had lost its previous three games. . . . Tri-City (19-15-3) has lost four in a row. . . . Announced attendance: 3,601.
——

At Spokane, G Ty Edmonds stopped 30 shots to lead the Prince George Cougars to a 2-1 victory over
TY EDMONDS
the Chiefs. . . . Edmonds, 20, made his 188th appearance with the Cougars, tying the franchise record held by Scott Myers. Edmonds also went over 5,000 career saves during this game. . . . The Cougars took a 2-0 lead on goals from D Tate Olson, his third, on a PP, at 5:07 of the first period, and F Aaron Boyd, his fourth, at 14:11 of the third. . . . F Keanu Yamamoto scored his 14th goal for the Chiefs, at 16:41 of the third. That ran his point streak to 14, the longest active run in the WHL at the moment. He’s got 21 points, including nine goals, in those 14 games. . . . Spokane G Dawson Weatherill turned aside 26 shots. . . . The Cougars were 1-2 on the PP; the Chiefs were 0-3. . . . The Cougars (26-8-2) go into the break having won five in a row. They will have a happy holiday as they assured themselves of staying in first place overall. . . . The Chiefs are 14-13-6. . . . The Cougars were without F Jesse Gabrielle (undisclosed injury) for a second straight game. . . . F Wyatt Sloboshan and D Nolan Reid, who were acquired earlier in the week from the Saskatoon Blades, made their Spokane debuts. . . . Announced attendance: 6,094.
——
At Victoria, F Ty Ronning’s PP goal, at 4:46 of OT, gave the Vancouver Giants a 5-4 victory over the
TY RONNING
Royals. . . . Ronning has 11 goals this season. . . . The Giants took a 2-0 lead on first-period goals from F Jack Flaman (10), at 9:56, and F Tyler Benson, on a PP, at 13:34. . . . (Flaman is from Vibank, Sask. Might he be related to ex-NHLer Fernie Flaman, who was from Dysart, Sask.?) . . . Victoria F Eric Flochuk’s second goal, at 15:57, was the Teddy Bear Goal. . . . Because that goal came in the last five minutes of a period, the teams were sent to their dressing rooms while the ice was cleared. . . . When play resumed, Vancouver D Jeff Rayman got his first goal, at 17:53, for a 3-1 lead. . . . The Royals roared back to take the lead on goals from D Chaz Reddekopp (5), on a PP, 54 seconds into the second period; F Matt Phillips (24), at 19:55; and F Jack Walker (17), at 8:44. Walker scored from behind the icing line as he banked the puck in off G Ryan Kubic. . . . The Giants forced OT when F Thomas Foster scored his eighth goal, at 18:42 of the third period. . . . One night after he drew three assists in a 6-4 victory over the visiting Portland Winterhawks, Benson had a goal and three assists. He drew assists on the Giants’ last two goals. This season, he has 10 goals and 24 assists in 28 games. Last season, one that was ruined by health and injury concerns, he finished with nine goals and 19 assists in 30 games. . . . Ronning and Foster each added an assist. . . . Victoria D Ryan Gagnon had two assists, with Walker and Phillips adding one each. . . . Gagnon played in his 284th regular-season game, setting a Royals’ career record. He had shared the record with F Logan Fisher (2012-16). The Chilliwack/Victoria record belongs to F Brandon Magee, who played in 318 games with the Bruins (2010-15). Gagnon could finish this season having played in 320 games. . . . Kubic finished with 38 saves. . . . Victoria starter Griffen Outhouse gave up four goals on 17 shots in 22:39. Dylan Myskiw stopped 24 of 25 shots in 42:07. . . . Vancouver was 2-5 on the PP; Victoria was 1-4. . . . The Giants (13-18-3) have won two in a row. . . . The Royals (17-15-4) have lost two straight. . . . Announced attendance: 6,129.
——

SUNDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Kootenay at Calgary, 2 p.m.
Kelowna at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
——

DEC. 19-26:

No Games Scheduled.
——

TEDDY BEAR, TOQUE AND MITTEN TOSS GAMES:

Dec. 17: F Braylon Shmyr, 2:13 2nd period, Brandon 3 at Saskatoon 2.
Dec. 17: F Eetu Tuulola, 19:29 2nd period, Portland 2 at Everett 4.
Dec. 17: F Eric Florchuk, 15:57 1st period, Vancouver 5 at Victoria 4 (OT).
Saturday, Jan. 21: Vancouver vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Nov. 26: D Micheal Zipp, 19:47 1st period, Lethbridge 4 at Calgary 2.
Dec. 2: D Artyom Minulin, 13:24 1st period, Calgary 1 at Swift Current 5.
Dec. 2: F Jordy Bellerive, 14:00 1st period, Red Deer 3 at Lethbridge 5.
Dec. 3: F Adam Musil, 14:27 1st period, Lethbridge 2 at Red Deer 3 (OT).
Dec. 3: D Ondrej Vala, 10:38 1st period, Vancouver 2 at Kamloops 5.
Dec. 3: F Nick Merkley, 6:54 2nd period, Brandon 1 at Kelowna 3.
Dec. 9: F Austin Glover, 0:32 2nd period, Moose Jaw 7 at Prince Albert 3. 
Dec. 9: F Riley Woods, 11:45 1st period, Swift Current 1 at Regina 8.
Dec. 9: F Keanu Yamamoto, 4:01 1st period, Kootenay 3 at Spokane 4.
Dec. 10: D Josh Thrower, 12:13 1st period, Prince Albert 4 at Moose Jaw 5 (SO).
Dec. 10: F Nick Bowman, 13:38 2nd period, Kamloops 3 at Edmonton 2.
Dec. 10: D Troy Murray, 1:51 2nd, Kelowna 7 at Kootenay 3.
Dec. 10: F Max Gerlach, 5:26 1st period, Calgary 4 at Medicine Hat 7.
Dec. 10: F Skyler McKenzie 2:21 1st, Everett 2 at Portland 5.
Dec. 10: F Josh Curtis, 6:02 2nd period, Seattle 4 at Prince George 6.
Dec. 10: F Tyler Sandhu, 0:36 1st period, Victoria 3 at Tri-City 4.
Dec. 16: F Linden McCorrister, 17:47 1st period, Saskatoon 2 at Brandon 3 (SO).
Dec. 16: F James Malm, 3:34 1st period, Portland 4 vs. Vancouver 6, at Langley, B.C.

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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:49 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Blazers hand Broncos a line and loss . . . Dahlstrom fills hat against Ice . . . Blades end Giants' streak

———
Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
———

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:

At Kamloops, the Blazers snapped a 2-2 tie with two quick goals early in the third period and went on to a 5-4 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Blazers (5-6-0) were playing only their third home game of the season. They are 3-0-0 on home ice. . . . The Broncos (8-3-1) are 6-1-1 in
NICK CHYZOWSKI
their last eight games; they are 2-1-0 in the B.C. Division. . . . The Blazers led 2-0 on goals from F Collin Shirley, his third, at 17:21 of the first period and F Nick Chyzowski, his fourth, at 1:11 of the second. . . . The Broncos pulled even when F Cole Johnson got his first goal at 5:32 of the second and F Glenn Gawdin got his eighth at 9:13. . . . Shirley’s second goal of the game broke the tie at 1:00 of the third period, as he finished off a nice passing play with F Quinn Benjafield and Chyzowski. . . . Just 1:21 later, F Deven Sideroff took advantage of a Broncos’ turnover high in their zone and scored his fourth goal for a 4-2 lead. . . . F Calvin Spencer’s PP goal pulled the Broncos back to within one at 13:22, but Chyzowski restored the two-goal lead at 18:55. . . . Broncos F Brandan Arnold closed out the scoring at 19:11. . . . The Broncos won two faceoffs in the Kamloops zone after an icing call and had a couple of chances but weren’t able to equalize. . . . Gawdin added an assist to his goal for the Broncos, with F Aleksi Heponiemi getting two assists. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram, making his ninth straight start, blocked 27 shots, eight fewer than Swift Current’s Travis Child. . . . The Broncos were 1-6 on the PP; the Blazers were 0-3. . . . “I thought we played a great game,” Kamloops head coach Don Hay said. “We had a real good effort.” . . . The line of Shirley, Chyzowski and Benjafield had a terrific night. Chyzowski had two goals and two assists. He’s into his fourth season and this was the first time he had more than two points in one game. This season, he has five goals and eight assists in 11 games. Last season, he put up careers highs of 15 goals and 10 assists in 72 games. . . . Shirley added an assist to his two goals, while Benjafield had two helpers and two giant blocked shots, both with his right leg. Both times he limped off but he didn’t miss a shift. “Every game, he blocks shots and blocks shots,” Hay said. “He’s in an ice bucket up to his knee.” . . . Announced attendance: 2,948. . . . That is the smallest crowd to attend a regular-season game in the facility since it opened for the 1992-93 season. Prior to this crowd, the lowest was 2,988 from Jan. 3, 1993 when the Tri-City Americans beat the Blazers, 7-4. That third game that the Americans played in Kamloops in a seven-day period (Dec. 28, Dec. 29 and Jan. 3).
——
At Kelowna, D Lucas Johansen’s PP goal at 1:04 of OT gave the Rockets a 4-3 victory over the
LUCAS JOHANSEN
Everett Silvertips. . . . F Nolan Foote’s first WHL goal, set up by his older brother Cal, gave Kelowna a 3-1 lead at 13:56 of the second period. . . . Everett tied it on two goals by F Riley Sutter, at 0:33 and 18:52 of the third period. Sutter, who turns 17 on Oct. 25, has six goals and three assists in nine games. Last season, as a freshman, he finished with a goal and three assists in 31 games. . . . Cal Foote also drew an assist on the winner. . . . D Dominic Zwerger had the primary assists on both of Sutter’s goals. . . . G Michael Herringer turned aside 19 shots for the Rockets. At the other end, Carter Hart gave up two goals on five shots in 7:49. Mario Petit came on in relief and stopped 20 of 22 shots. . . . The Rockets were 2-4 on the PP; the Silvertips were 1-4. . . . The Rockets (4-7-0) had lost three in a row. . . . Everett (8-2-2) has lost two straight. . . . Announced attendance: 4,335. . . . Jason Tansem, the head coach of the junior B Kelowna Chiefs of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, won the 50/50 draw and went home with a cheque for $4,388 in his jeans.
——
At Medicine Hat, F John Dahlstrom scored three goals and added an assist to help the Tigers to a 10-3 victory over the Kootenay. . . . Dahlstrom, a freshman from Kungsbacka, Sweden, was playing in
JOHN DAHLSTROM
his ninth regular-season game. He has four goals and six assists. . . . F Mason Shaw drew five assists and F Matt Bradley had a goal and three assists. . . . D Clayton Kirichenko, F James Hamblin, F Ryan Jevne and F Mark Rassell helped the winners with a goal and an assist each. . . . D Dallas Hines and F Zak Zborosky each had a goal and an assist for the Ice. Zborosky has 10 goals. . . . The Tigers were 1-1 on the PP; the Ice wasn’t given an opportunity. . . . G Nick Schneider stopped 34 shots for the Tigers. . . . Ice starter Declan Hobbs blocked 30 of 38 shots, with Jakob Walter coming on in relief to stop 11 of 13 in 17:58. . . . The Tigers (7-3-1) have points in their last three games (2-0-1). . . . The Ice (1-6-4) is 0-3-2 in its past five. . . . The Tigers played without two of their 20-year-olds, as F Chad Butcher was serving a WHL suspension and F Steve Owre sat out with the flu. . . . Announced attendance: 3,452. . . . The Tigers have played 44 regular-season home games, including eight this season, in the Canalta Centre. This was the smallest crowd at any of those games.
——
At Moose Jaw, G Zach Sawchenko, making his third straight start, turned aside 21 shots to help the
ZACH SAWCHENKO
Warriors to a 3-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Warriors (7-2-2) have won three in a row. . . . The Hurricanes (5-5-2) are 0-3-1 in their last four. . . . Moose Jaw D Josh Thrower gave his guys a 1-0 lead with his first goal just 50 seconds into the game. That was his 10th goal in 253 regular-season games, his fourth in 42 games with Moose Jaw. . . . F Tyler Wong’s sixth goal pulled Lethbridge into a tie at 17:55 of the first period. . . . F Noah Gregor gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead at 8:25 of the second and F Nikita Popugaev scored the empty-netter at 18:51 of the third. He’s got eight goals. . . . Lethbridge was 0-1 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-2. . . . Lethbridge G Stuart Skinner stopped 29 shots. . . . Announced attendance: 3,047.
——

At Langley, B.C., F Jesse Shynkaruk’s sixth goal broke a 1-1 tie at 18:20 of the second period as the
MASON McCARTY
Saskatoon Blades beat the Vancouver Giants, 3-1. . . . F Mason McCarty scored twice for Saskatoon, getting PP goals at 13:10 of the second period and 0:28 of the third. McCarty has seven goals. . . . F Josh Paterson drew assists on both of McCarty’s goals. . . . F Thomas Foster scored for the Giants, at 14:23 of the second period. . . . The Blades (6-3-1) are 2-1 on their B.C. Division swing. . . . The Giants (5-8-0) had a four-game winning streak snapped. . . . The game featured the CHL’s last two goaltenders of the week. Saskatoon’s Logan Flodell, who was honoured last week, stopped 31 shots, two more than Ryan Kubic of the Giants, who got the honour this week. . . . Saskatoon was 2-5 on the PP; the Giants were 0-2. . . . The teams made a trade earlier in the day, but neither of the players — F Josh Bruce went from the Blades to the Giants for F Gage Ramsay — played in this one. . . . Announced attendance: 3,627.
——

THURSDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.
——

FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Lethbridge at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Prince Albert at Edmonton 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Tri-City at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Medicine Hat vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 7 p.m.
Calgary at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Spokane at Regina, 7 p.m.
Portland vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.
Swift Current at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.

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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 12:07 AM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, September 5, 2016

Morrisseau out of hospital, more tests ahead . . . Wheaties sign second-rounder . . . Winterhawks now 3-0-0

D Nikolai Ladygin (Medicine Hat, Tri-City, 2001-02) has signed a one-year contract with Dunaújváros (Hungary, MOL Liga). Last season, with Beibarys Atyrau (Kazakhstan, Kazakh Vysshaya Liga), he had four goals and eight assists in 37 games.
-——
F Koby Morrisseau of the Spokane Chiefs has been released from hospital after being injured during an exhibition game in Everett on Saturday afternoon. . . . A WHL insider familiar with the situation told Taking Note late Monday afternoon that Morrisseau was released on Sunday morning and returned to Spokane. “He will undergo further testing this week, but it appears that everything should be fine after a recuperation period that may be a while,” Taking Note was told. . . . Morrisseau, the ninth overall selection in the 2015 bantam draft, was injured at 13:17 of the third period after being checked by F Brett Clayton of the Portland Winterhawks. After receiving medical attention on the ice, Morrisseau was placed on a backboard, then on a stretcher and taken to hospital. . . . Taking Note was told Saturday night that X-rays were negative. . . . Morrisseau, who is from Grandview, Man., will turn 16 on Oct. 18. He has signed with the Chiefs. . . . Clayton was handed a major for checking to the head — it later was changed to checking from behind — and a game misconduct.
——
F Brett Clayton of the Portland Winterhawks has been served with a TBD suspension for the check that resulted in Spokane Chiefs’ F Koby Morrisseau leaving a game on a stretcher in Everett on Saturday. . . . The WHL also suspended D Dmitry Osipov of the Vancouver Giants for one game after he took a boarding major and game misconduct against the Chiefs on Friday. . . . A WHL player suspended during the preseason will serve the suspension by missing an exhibition game or games. However, if the suspension were to run past the end of the exhibition season, he would miss regular-season games. . . . There are two skaters who will miss the start of the regular season with suspensions left over from last season. F Max James of Tri-City will miss the Americans’ first two games, while F Tyler Wong of Lethbridge is to miss the Hurricanes’ opener.
——
The Brandon Wheat Kings have signed F Ben McCartney, who was a second-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. From Portage la Prairie, Man., McCartney played last season with the Okanagan Hockey Academy’s bantam prep team, putting up 33 points, including 18 goals, in 23 games.
———
Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
———

SUNDAY’S GAMES:

In Everett, the Portland Winterhawks scored four third-period goals and beat the Silvertips, 4-1. The Winterhawks ran their exhibition record to 3-0-0 after one weekend of play. F Ryan Hughes led the Winterhawks with two goals. . . . The Victoria Royals got two goals from F Jack Walker as they beat the Tri-City Americans, 4-2. . . . The Seattle Thunderbirds scored the game’s last two goals to beat the Spokane Chiefs, 4-3. F Brandon Schuldaus tied the score at 19:18 of the second period and F Scott Eansor won it at 1:04 of the third. Schuldaus drew an assist on the winner. F Alexander True and F Keegan Kolesar had two assists each for Seattle. F Eli Zummack scored twice and added an assist for Spokane, which got a goal and two assists from F Taylor Ross. . . . 
In Kamloops, F Quinn Benjafield had a goal and two assists, while D Luke Zazula drew three assists as the Blazers got past the Kelowna Rockets, 5-2.
———



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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 6:35 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, February 28, 2015

McGauley still streaking . . . Hitmen win showdown in Kelowna . . . Bjorkstrand's tear continues



D Mark Pysyk of the AHL’s Rochester Americans collapsed while taking part in a pickup basketball game on Saturday and was taken to hospital. He was released later in the day. Pysyk is a former captain of the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Kevin Oklobzija of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle has more right here.
———

THE WHL PLAYOFF PICTURE:

EAST DIVISION: Brandon (9 games remaining) will finish atop the Eastern Conference standings and now trails Kelowna by one point in the race for first place overall. . . . Regina (10) will finish second in the division. . . . Swift Current (10) is third, eight points ahead of Moose Jaw (10), which is six points ahead of Prince Albert (11). . . . The Warriors are five points behind Edmonton (10), which holds down the conference’s second wild-card berth.
CENTRAL DIVISION: Calgary (9) is atop the division, two points ahead of Medicine Hat (9). . . . Red Deer (10) is third, seven points behind Medicine Hat and five ahead of Kootenay (8), which is in possession of the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Edmonton (10) is seven points behind Kootenay.
B.C. DIVISION: Kelowna (9) has clinched first place in the Western Conference and holds a one-point lead over Brandon atop the overall standings. . . . Victoria (10) will finish second. . . . Prince George (9) has won three straight and moved back into third place, one point ahead of Vancouver (10) and two up on Kamloops (9). . . . Vancouver is two points behind Tri-City (9), which holds down the conference’s second wild-card berth.
U.S. DIVISION: Everett (9) sits atop the division, but is only two points ahead of Portland (10). . . . Seattle (10) is third, nine points behind Portland and six ahead of Spokane (11). . . . Spokane holds the conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Spokane is seven points ahead of Tri-City (9), which is 2-8-0 in its last 10 and clinging to that second wild-card spot.
———

IF THE PLAYOFFS BEGAN TODAY:

Eastern Conference
Brandon vs. Edmonton
Calgary vs. Kootenay
Regina vs. Swift Current
Medicine Hat vs. Red Deer
——
Western Conference
Kelowna vs. Tri-City
Everett vs. Spokane
Victoria vs. Prince George
Portland vs. Seattle
(NOTE: Team with home-ice advantage shown first.)
———

SATURDAY’S GAMES:

In Swift Current, F Dryden Hunt scored two goals and set up another as the Medicine Hat Tigers dropped the Broncos, 5-1. . . . Tigers F Cole Sanford scored his WHL-leading 47th goal at 11:13 of the second period for a 2-1 lead. . . . Sanford had the WHL lead until Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand tied him later in the evening. Bjorkstrand later scored again, giving him 48. . . . Hunt, who has 30 goals, scored at 19:52 of the second, on a PP, and again at 1:30 of the third. . . . Sanford also had an assist, getting him up to 88points in 63 games. . . . Tigers F Trevor Cox, the WHL scoring leader, drew three assists. He’s got 97 points in 60 games. . . . Tigers F Steve Owre and D Kyle Becker each had a goal and an assist. . . . Owre has 16 goals; Becker has 11. . . . F Jake DeBrusk got No. 37 for the Broncos. . . . The Tigers were 2-for-5 on the PP; the Broncos were 0-for-2. . . . Medicine Hat G Nick Schneider stopped 30 shots, nine fewer than Swift Current’s Landon Bow. . . . The Broncos had D Dillon Heatherington back in the lineup. He last played on Jan. 23. . . . The Tigers (39-21-3) have won two in a row. . . . The Broncos (30-27-5) have lost two straight. . . .

In Moose Jaw, F Jesse Shynkaruk scored at 1:31 of OT gave the Warriors a 6-5 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . The Pats led 2-0 on a pair of goals by F Adam Brooks, the second one shorthanded. . . . The Warriors then scored four in a row, with F Tanner Eberle getting two of them in 24 seconds and F Jack Rodewald scoring his 30th. . . . The Pats tied it in the first half of the third period as F Jesse Gabrielle scored his 20th and Brooks completed his first hat trick with his 25th. . . . F Patrick D’Amico gave Regina a 5-4 lead with his 18th goal at 15:28 on a PP. . . . Warriors F Brett Howden got his 15th at 16:56 to force OT. . . . Shynkaruk won it with his seventh goal of the season. . . . Eberle left the Warriors’ bench for the dressing room early in the third period and didn’t return. After the game, Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald tweeted: “Tanner Eberle is still being evaluated, but it looked like a shoulder injury and he has had a previous shoulder surgery.” . . . Rodewald also had two assists, while linemate Brayden Point scored his 29th goal and had two assists. . . . Moose Jaw D Austin Adam also had two helpers. . . . Moose Jaw was 2-for-5 on the PP; Regina was 1-for-3. . . . The Warriors (26-31-5) have won two straight. . . . Regina (33-20-9) is 0-1-2 in its last three. . . .

In Brandon, F Peter Quenneville scored twice to help the Wheat Kings to a 6-4 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Quenneville has 20 goals, and is the seventh player on the Brandon roster to reach that mark. . . . The Wheat Kings built a 5-2 lead before the Ice got two goals in the latter half of the third period to get to within one. . . . Brandon F Morgan Klimchuk iced it with an empty-netter at 19:28 of the third. He’s got 27 goals. Klimchuk also had two assists. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauley had two assists as he ran his point streak to 19 games, tied for the longest such streak in the WHL this season. F Dryden Hunt put together a 19-game streak split between the Regina Pats and Medicine Hat Tigers earlier in the season. Hunt put up 30 points, 10 of them goals, in his streak. McGauley has 39 points, including 27 assists. . . . According to Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the Wheaties, McGauley has the team’s longest point streak since F Cory Cyrenne went 23 games in 1997-98. . . . F Tim Bozon scored twice for the Ice, giving him 31 this season. He has scored at least 30 goals in each of his four WHL seasons. . . . Ice F Jaedon Descheneau scored his 30th goal, while F Sam Reinhart had two assists. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny, making his 13th consecutive start, stopped 26 shots. . . . The Wheat Kings (46-10-7) are 3-0-1 in their last four. . . . The Ice (33-28-3) had points in their previous seven (5-0-2). . . .

In Red Deer, D Kord Pankewicz scored in the fifth round of a shootout to give the Lethbridge Hurricanes a 3-2 victory over the Rebels. . . . With Red Deer shooting first, Rebels F Connor Gay and Hurricanes F Jamal Watson exchanged first-round goals. . . . After seven skaters fired blanks, Pankewicz won it. . . . Lethbridge F Tyler Wong, celebrating his 19th birthday, forced OT with his 23rd goal at 13:05 of the second period. . . . Red Deer F Reese Johnson scored his first WHL goal, in his third game, at 11:07 of the first period. . . . Hurricanes F Mike Winther tied it with his 13th at 15:11. . . . Red Deer F Adam Musil got his 13th on a PP at 2:26 of the second for a 2-1 lead. . . . Red Deer F Wyatt Johnson came up empty on a penalty shot seven seconds into OT. . . . Lethbridge G Jayden Sittler stopped 30 shots, while Red Deer’s Rylan Toth turned aside 27. . . . The Hurricanes (19-35-8) snapped a five-game losing skid (0-3-2). . . . The Rebels (32-20-10) had won their previous two games. . . .

In Kamloops, the Blazers erased a 3-2 third-period deficit and beat the Vancouver Giants, 6-3. . . . F Carter Popoff gave the Giants a 3-2 lead with his 24th goal at 2:23 of the third period. . . . Kamloops D Michael Fora tied it with his fifth goal at 8:16. . . . F Cole Ully of Kamloops broke the tie with his 30th goal at 13:07 and freshman F Quinn Benjafield got his second of the game, and fifth of the season, at 16:20. . . . F Jackson Houck scored his 20th goal for Vancouver in the first period and F Ty Ronning notched his first of the season, also in the first. . . . Ully finished with a goal and two assist, giving him 81 points in 60 games. He also was plus-4. . . . F Logan McVeigh and F Joel Hamilton each had two assists for Kamloops. . . . The Blazers scratched freshman F Deven Sideroff, who left early in the third period of Friday’s 4-2 victory over visiting Victoria with an apparent injury to his right wrist. In his absence, F Jesse Zaharichuk started on the right side with Needham and Ully. Cody Nickolet, who tracks WHL lines and defence pairings, has the Ully-Needham-Sideroff line together for 54 of the Blazers’ 62 games going into last night. . . . Before the night was done, Kamloops head coach Don Hay had cycled a number of skaters through the right wing on that line. Later, he even split up Needham and Ully, putting Ully out with Luke Harrison and McVeigh. It paid off in Harrison’s 12th goal, at 17:37 of the second. . . . Vancouver had F Matt Bellerive (illness) back for the first time since Jan. 25. . . . The Blazers scored four goals on seven shots in the third period. . . . F Tyler Benson had two assists for Vancouver. . . . There were three minor penalties called, two to the Blazers. . . . Neither team scored on the PP. . . . The Blazers (24-33-6) have won two in a row. . . . The Giants (26-33-3) have lost two straight. . . .

In Spokane, F Curtis Miske scored three goals to help the Chiefs to an 8-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Chiefs took control with five second-period goals. . . . Miske, a freshman from Beaumont, Alta., who turned 18 on Jan. 17, now has five goals in 49 games. . . . Chiefs F Adam Helewka scored twice, giving him 35, and added an assist, while F Kailer Yamamoto and F Keanu Yamamoto each had three assists. Yes, they are brothers. . . . Spokane G Garret Hughson stopped 22 shots. He lost his shutout bid when F Taylor Vickerman scored his sixth goal on a PP at 19:45 of the third period. . . . Tri-City F Beau McCue missed on a second-period penalty shot. . . . Spokane D Riley Whittingham took a charging major and game misconduct at 19:02 of the third period. . . . Tri-City G Beck Warm, a 15-year-old making his first start, stopped 31 shots. With regular goaltenders Eric Comrie and Evan Sarthou injured, Warm is the fifth starting goaltender the Americans have used this season. . . . Spokane leads the season series 7-3-0 with two games remaining. . . . The Chiefs (30-27-4) have won three in a row. . . . The Americans (27-33-3) have lost four in a row. . . .

In Kelowna, F Kenton Helgesen scored at 15:57 of the third period to give the Calgary Hitmen a 2-1 victory over the Rockets. . . . Helgesen’s goal was his 20th of the season. . . . Rockets F Leon Draisaitl scored the game’s first goal, his 14th, at 8:40 of the first period. That was his 200th WHL point. . . . Draisaitl was later ejected, taking a major for goaltender interference at 14:31 of the second period. . . . Calgary F Jake Virtanen tied the game 1-1 with his 19th goal, on a PP at 5:55 of the second. . . . Virtanen also had an assist. . . . Hitmen G Brendan Burke stopped 30 shots. He’s 9-1-1 since being acquired from Portland at the trade dealine. . . . Rockets G Jackson Whistle started for the first time since Feb. 6 when he beat visiting Kamloops, 5-3. He underwent an appendectomy after that start. . . . Whistle turned aside 22 shots in this one. . . . D Josh Morrissey returned to Kelowna’s lineup after a one-game absence, but left in the second period with an apparent left leg injury. According to Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Courier, Morrissey “got tangled up with Calgary forechecker Carsen Twarynski, went down awkwardly and had to be helped off the ice unable to put any weight on his left leg.” . . . Calgary was 1-for-3 on the PP; Kelowna was 0-for-6. . . . The Rockets remain without injured F Rourke Chartier. . . . The Hitmen (39-19-5) are 5-1-0 on a six-game swing that started with five U.S. Division stops. . . . The Rockets (48-11-4) had won their previous two games. They also had won eight straight on home ice. . . . Fisher’s game story is right here. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Oliver Bjorkstrand ran his goal-scoring streak to a franchise record-tying 11 games as the Portland Winterhawks dumped the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-2. . . . Bjorsktrand scored twice, giving him 48 goals in 49 games, as he took over the WHL’s goal-scoring lead. . . . He now shares the franchise record of 11 straight games with F Tony Currie, who did it in 1976-77, the Winterhawks’ first season in Portland. . . . Bjorkstrand broke a 1-1 tie at 13:40 of first period and later added an empty-netter at 18:01 of the third. . . . The online scoresheet credits Bjorkstrand with Portland’s third goal, a PP score at 2:29 of the second period, but that one is expected to be changed to F Paul Bittner, who also scored another goal. He’s got 29. . . . Bjorkstrand also had an assist. He has 90 points, good for second spot in the scoring race. . . . F Chase De Leo scored his 31st goal and added an assist for Portland, while F Nic Petan had two assists. . . . F Mathew Barzal got his 12th goal and had an assist for Seattle. . . . Portland G Adin Hill was credited with 49 stops, 26 more than Seattle’s Taran Kozun. . . . Portland was 1-for-1 on the PP; Seattle was 0-for-3. . . . The Winterhawks (37-20-5) have points in eight straight (6-0-2). . . . Seattle (31-23-8) has lost three in a row (0-2-1). . . .

In Everett, the Prince George Cougars scored the last five goals and beat the Silvertips, 5-1. . . . F Jake Mykitiuk, who began his WHL career with the Cougars, got Everett on the board with his third goal at 10:16 of the first. . . . Cougars F Chase Witala tied it with his 31st at 13:02 of the first, on a PP. . . . F Aaron Boyd broke the tie with his sixth, at 8:21 of the second. . . . Witala finished with two goals, while F Jansen Harkins had three assists for a third straight game. . . . Cougars D Josh Connolly had two assists, and F Zach Pochiro scored his 16th goal and added an assist. . . . Cougars G Ty Edmonds stopped 27 shots, two more than Everett’s Austin Lotz. . . . Prince George was 2-for-4 on the PP; Everett was 0-for-6. . . . The Silvertips were without D Ben Betker, who served a one-game suspension for a headshot major and game misconduct he incurred on Friday night. . . . Everett also was missing two other defence men — Kevin Davis and Tristen Pfeifer, both with undisclosed injuries. . . . The injuries and the suspension meant that Everett dressed just four defencemen, so F Dawson Leedahl helped out on the back end. . . . The Cougars scratched F David Soltes for a second straight game. . . . The Cougars (26-33-4) have won three in a row. . . . The Silvertips now are 37-19-7.
———

SUNDAY’S GAMES

(all times local)
Prince Albert at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Regina, 6 p.m.
Swift Current at Saskatoon, 6:05 p.m.
———

MONDAY’S GAME

(all times local)
Seattle at Victoria, 7 p.m.
———

TUESDAY’S GAMES

(all times local)
Edmonton at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Red Deer at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
Calgary at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
Kelowna at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Vancouver at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
———




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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:49 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Rimmer undergoes cancer surgery . . . Donaldson family remembers Ryan . . . Hitmen streak hits nine








F Štěpán Novotný (Kelowna, Swift Current, 2008-11) has signed for the rest of this season with Žilina (Slovakia, Extraliga). Novotný started this season with Žilina but moved to Nitra (Slovakia, Extraliga) in December. In 33 games with Žilina, he has 10 goals and seven assists. He had three goals in 13 games with Nitra.
———


Further down, under Tweet of the Day, you will find four tweets from G Ty Rimmer (Brandon, Prince George, Tri-City, Lethbridge, 2009-13). Rimmer, 22, is the latest young hockey player to have been diagnosed with testicular cancer.
Among the former WHL players who have been faced with this disease are Cody Smuk, Brandon Davidson and Dylan Tait.
Rimmer has had surgery and all signs point to his making a complete recovery.
In his tweets, he encourages young men to get checked out and to be quick to see a doctor if anything irregular is noticed.
Let’s not forget that Cole Hamblin, a former WHLer, lost his battle with a rare form of cancer, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, early in November.
Please allow me to point out the importance of early diagnosis. I have twice been treated for basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. The first time, the dermatologist told me that if you were to get skin cancer, this was the one to get. That diagnosis involved a spot on one forearm.
The second time we dealt with spots on both hands that I had written off as nothing more than dry skin.
I now am more careful than ever before in terms of exposure to the elements, meaning I put on sun screen even on the cloudy days.
I also had a colon cancer test come back “mildly positive,” as my family doctor explained to me, late last fall. That led to a colonoscopy early in January. Thankfully, it didn’t find anything.
With the prevalence of cancers today, I would ask anyone with any suspicions to see a doctor. Early diagnosis is of the utmost importance.
Just ask Ty Rimmer.
———
Want to get a look at the new arena in Medicine Hat — the Medicine Hat Regional Event Centre (aka The House that Bob Built)? It looks to be shaping up quite nicely. . . . Click right here and take a look at a video from CHAT-TV. (Tip of the hat to Kim Johnston for providing the link.)
———



The Portland Winterhawks have signed D Jackson Caller, 15, who was a seventh-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. Caller, from Kamloops, plays for the midget prep team at the Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna. He has 13 points, including three goals, in 29 games. The academy shows him at 6-foot-1 and 167 pounds. . . .
Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reported Wednesday that F Logan Aasman, 19, is back skating with the Everett Silvertips. Aasman, who has been out since Nov. 30 because of a concussion, had been at home in Medicine Hat recovering. He returned to Everett last week and is practising in a no-contact jersey. If all goes well, Aasman might return to the Silvertips’ lineup around month’s end. . . . Aasman had eight points, two of them goals, in 25 games when he was injured. In 108 career games, he has 26 points, including seven goals. . . .
The Brandon Wheat Kings, who are one point out of first-place overall, are showing D Kale Clague as being out week-to-week. Clague returned from a wrist injury last week but was injured Sunday, in his third game back. . . . Brandon F John Quenneville (suspected concussion) practised Wednesday, while F Jayce Hawryluk (undisclosed injury) remains out, as is D Ivan Provorov (undisclosed injury) and G Alex Moodie (suspected concussion). . . .
F Quinn Benjafield of the Kamloops Blazers ended up with a four-game suspension for a headshot major and game misconduct he took Saturday against the visiting Kelowna Rockets. He hit F Tyson Baillie, who is listed by the Rockets as being out week-to-week. Benjafield has sat out one game so far. . . . The Blazers and Tri-City Americans each were fined $250 for warmup violations prior to Monday afternoon’s game in Kamloops. Tri-City D Riley Hillis came out of that with a one-game suspension for a game misconduct he incurred. Interestingly, there isn’t anything on the online game sheet that indicates that Hillis was ejected. He served the suspension last night as the Americans played in Everett. . . .
D Alec Capstick of Langley, B.C., has committed to the U of Notre Dame where he will play hockey for the Irish. . . . Capstick, who will turn 16 on Feb, 18, was selected by the Saskatoon Blades in the fourth round of the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. . . . He is playing at Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford, B.C. . . .
The Vancouver Giants are another WHL team to have gotten Hockey Hooky fever. They’ll play host to the Moose Jaw Warriors on Wednesday with the game starting at noon. The Warriors also will play a Hockey Hooky game in Victoria on Tuesday. That game is to start at 12:05 p.m.
———







The Donaldson family — mother Dana, father Doug and sister Kirsten — are determined that the life of their son and brother, Ryan, won’t have been for naught.
They are convinced that concussions suffered while playing hockey led to his suicide last February at the age of 17.
Gary Ahuja of the Langley Times has an extensive piece right here on the Donaldson family.
“Concussions and even simple brain shaking cause changes in the brain that cause the sufferer to lose control over their impulses,” Dana told Ahuja. “Basically, they make impulsive decisions. That is what Ryan did, he made an impulsive life-ending decision.
“That was not him and all his many friends need to know it was the brain injury that caused his death.
“Anyone who knew him knows he was full of life and positive.”
The family’s goal is to make sure no one else goes through what they have experienced in the past year.
“One of the biggest things for us is that we have come to realize with concussions, if we could go back, we would change exactly how we dealt with Ryan,” Doug said.
“Once a player has had one concussion, they know what the questions are and how they are going to answer them so they can get back in the game,” he said.
“With the baseline test, you can take that away from a player.”
The Donaldsons are organizing the inaugural Ryan Donaldson Memorial Tournament. Individual players will register for the tournament, teams will be selected via a draft and fun will be had by all.
Proceeds will be used to provide access to baseline testing to any players who want it. There also are plans to set up a trust fund that will be used to aid families who are dealing with concussions.
It is worth noting, too, that the Donaldsons donated their son’s organs as they took him off life support.
“We figured he was such a giving kid, this is what he would have wanted to do,” Dana told Ahuja.
———

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:

In Prince Albert, G Nick McBride stopped 24 shots to lead the Raiders to a 3-0 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . It was McBride’s second shutout of the season and second of his career. It was his first victory in 12 decisions, too. . . . Raiders F Tim Vanstone scored his eighth goal at 2:56 of the second period and it stood up as the winner. . . . The Raiders struck for three goals in 4:07, with F Colton Heffley getting his fifth at 6:41 and F Matteo Gennaro getting No. 9 at 7:03. . . . Chiefs G Garret Hughson stopped 27 shots. . . . F Craig Leverton had two assists. . . . Eleven of the 16 minor penalties called in the game were for roughing. . . . Each team was 0-for-4 on the PP. . . . Vanstone left in the second period with an undisclosed injury and didn’t return. . . . The Raiders (23-31-2) have won two in a row. They have 16 games remaining and are seven points out of a playoff spot. . . . Spokane (26-24-4), which has been shutout in five of its last 11 games, is 2-2-0 on its six-game East Division trip. The Chiefs, who are in Brandon on Friday, hold down the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Jeff D’Andrea of panow.com has a game story right here. . . .

In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice scored five second-period goals and went on to beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 6-3. . . . Ice F Levi Cable, who was playing his 250th game, got the game’s first goal, his 24th, just 59 seconds into the first period. . . . Ice F Jaedon Descheneau picked up his 150th career assist on Cable’s goal. . . . Tigers F Cole Sanford scored his WHL-leading 44th goal on a PP at 2:54 of the second. He’s riding a 12-game point streak. . . . Ice D Rinat Valiev broke the tie with his eighth goal at 11:07 and the Ice added four more before the period ended. . . . Cable and Valiev each had two assists, as did F Luke Philp. . . . Ice F Tim Bozon scored his 22nd goal and added his 150th career assist. . . . Descheneau added his 25th goal, while F Sam Reinhart got No. 13. . . . With head coach Ryan McGill ill and unavailable, assistant coach Jay Henderson ran the Kootenay bench. . . . The Ice had D Tanner Faith back on their bench, but he was in the role of an assistant coach. He is recovering from season-ending shoulder surgery. . . . The Tigers were without D Ty Stanton (ill), but had D Tyler Lewington, their captain, back from a one-game suspension. . . . The Ice (28-26-1) had lost its previous three games. It owns the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot, one point up on Edmonton. . . . The Tigers (36-16-3) lead the Central Division by six points over Calgary. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story right here. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Jamal Watson scored twice and set up another to lead the Hurricanes to a 6-3 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Watson has 20 goals. . . . The Hurricanes erased a 2-1 deficit with three straight goals. . . . F Jack Rodewald gave Moose Jaw a 2-1 lead with a shorthanded goal at 2:08 of the second. He’s got 25 goals. . . . Lethbridge F Mike Winther tied it with his ninth goal, on a PP, at 14:53. . . . F Johnny Wesley got his third goal at 18:30, on another PP, and Watson upped the lead to 4-2 at 2:48 of the third. . . . Moose Jaw F Jiri Smejkal, who had two assists, cut the deficit to one with his ninth goal at 12:57. . . . The Hurricanes iced it with a pair of shorthanded empty-netters, from Watson and D Andrew Nielsen, his seventh. Nielsen also had two assists. . . . Smejkal has 23 points in 54 games, with six of the points coming in two games against the Hurricanes. . . . Lethbridge G Stuart Skinner turned aside 38 shots, 16 more than Moose Jaw’s Zach Sawchenko. . . . D Reid Zalitach played his first game for the Warriors since Nov. 1. He had left the club for personal reasons. . . . The Hurricanes now are 16-32-6. . . . The Warriors (21-29-4), who are nine points out of a playoff spot with 18 games to play, have lost two in a row. This was the first of seven straight road games as the Canadian women’s curling championship has taken over their home arena. . . .

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 right here. . . .

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 right here.
———

THURSDAY’S GAMES

No Games Scheduled.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

(all times local)
Swift Current at Regina, 7 p.m.
Spokane at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Saskatoon at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Lethbridge at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, 7 p.m.
Prince George at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
Tri-City at Portland, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Vancouver at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
———






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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:17 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

  © Design byThirteen Letter

Back to TOP