F Patrick Holland (Tri-City, 2008-13) signed a one-year contract with HPK Hämeenlinna (Finland, Liiga). Last season, with the St. John's Ice Caps (AHL), he had two assists in 21 games. He also had a goal and three assists in four games with the Ontario Reign (ECHL). . . .
F Colin Fraser (Red Deer, 2001-05) signed a one-year contract with the Nuremburg Ice Tigers (Germany, DEL). Last season, he was pointless in one game with the St. Louis Blues (NHL) 1 GP. He spent most of the season with the Chicago Wolves (AHL). An alternate captain, he had nine goals and eight assists in 59 games.———
Brendan Hunchak, the son of former Moose Jaw Warriors and Kamloops Blazers head coach Dave Hunchak, has been selected to play for Team B.C. at the peewee box lacrosse nationals in Whitby, Ont., later this summer. . . . The winner of peewee nationals, for players ages 11 and 12, will receive the E.G. Dopp Trophy. . . . Brendan Hunchak, who is a goaltender, and Connor Barrett, both of Kamloops, made Team B.C. . . . The tournament in Whitby runs from Aug. 1-9. . . . In Kamloops, the 2003 age group in lacrosse is said to be perhaps the strongest the city has seen, with much of the credit belonging to the likes of coaches Sean Campbell, Doug Clarke, Geoff Krug, Neill Steed and Brook Webster. . . . As an aside, it’s worth noting that Barrett’s mother, Eryn Bulmer Barrett, was a world-class diver who was on Canada’s national team for 11 years, and is a two-time Olympian. She recently worked as Kate Upton’s stunt double during the filming in Vancouver of The Layover, a film that is scheduled for release in 2016.
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F Riley Sheen (Medicine Hat, Seattle, Lethbridge, Red Deer, 2011-15) has committed to attend NAIT in Edmonton and play for the Ooks, under head coach Serge Lajoie. Sheen, from Edmonton, played out his eligibility last season as he split 71 games between the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Red Deer Rebels. He totalled 71 points, 24 of them goals, in 71 games.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Tuesday that they have hired Jim Hiller, DJ Smith and Andrew Brewer as assistant coaches under head coach Mike Babcock. Hiller, who coached in the WHL with the Chilliwack Bruins (remember them?) and Tri-City Americans, spent last season with Babcock in Detroit, as did Brewer. Smith was the head coach of the Memorial Cup-winning Oshawa Generals. . . . Smith spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, winning two Memorial Cups, before joining the Generals in June 2012.——
On Tuesday evening, Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada tweeted that he is “hearing Todd Nelson will be the next coach at AHL Grand Rapids — Detroit's affiliate.” . . . Nelson, a defenceman, played four seasons with his hometown Prince Albert Raiders (1986-90). . . . Nelson, 46, has been coaching since 2001-02 when he was a player-assistant with the United league’s Muskegon Fury. He split last season between the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons and the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. . . . Grand Rapids is without a head coach because Jeff Blashill now is head coach of the parent Detroit Red Wings.———
The Prince Albert Raiders have signed their two first-round selections from the 2015 bantam draft — F
Cole Fonstad and F Carson Miller. . . . Fonstad, from Estevan, Sask., was the fifth overall selection. He had 67 points, including 36 goals, in 29 games with the bantam AA Estevan Bruins last season. He had 10 points, six of them goals, in 10 playoff games. . . . Miller, from Yorkton, Sask., was the 21st overall pick. He played for the bantam AA Yorkton Terriers, putting up 107 points, including 49 goals, in 31 games. He had 21 points, seven of them goals, in nine playoff games. He was the Saskatchewan Bantam AA League’s leading scorer in the regular season and in the playoffs.———
Sheldon Kennedy actually turned 46 on Monday, so we’re a couple of days late. But . . . Happy Birthday!
Happy 46th to dedicated child abuse advocate & experienced rollerblader Sheldon Kennedy (@ShelKenn). @RespectGroup pic.twitter.com/rHQwt8ToZT
— O-Pee-Chee Stars (@opeecheestars) June 16, 2015
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reasons. The Spruce Kings went 27-24-1-6 (one tie, six OT losses) and finished third in the Mainland Division. They beat the Langley Rivermen in six games in a first-round series, then lost to the Chilliwack Chiefs in four. . . . Dupas had been the Spruce Kings’ head coach since Nov. 25, 2010. . . . Dupas has a home in West Kelowna. His wife and two sons stayed there while he coached in Prince George. . . . “I have some potential replacements in mind and I’m going to make some calls over the next few days and have some conversations with guys that I feel would be a good fit,” GM Mike Hawes said in a news release. “We’re in no rush to fill the spot but that being said I would like to fill the vacancy sooner than later so that the new coach can be heavily involved in the recruiting and building of next season’s team.”
In Edmonton, F Riley Sheen scored two goals and set up another as the Red Deer Rebels beat the Oil Kings, 6-2. . . . Attendance on Fan Appreciation Night was announced at 16,104, the third-largest in franchise history. . . . Sheen has 24 goals. . . . Red Deer D Nelson Nogier broke a 2-2 tie with his third goal at 3:30 of the third period. . . . Rebels F Wyatt Johnson upped the lead to 4-2 with his 25th goal, shorthanded, at 7:43. . . . F Brooks Maxwell scored his 27th goal, also shorthanded, and added two assists for Red Deer, while F Scott Feser scored his 17th goal and had an assist. . . . The Oil Kings got two assists from each of F Andrew Koep and D Ashton Sautner. . . . Edmonton was 1-for-7 on the PP; Red Deer was 0-for-1. . . . The Rebels (38-22-11) are 1-1-1 in their last three. . . . The Oil Kings (33-31-7) have lost two in a row. . . . The teams meet again tonight, this time in Red Deer. The Rebels expect to have F Conner Bleackley, their captain, in the lineup for the first time since Feb. 6. . . . Brian Swane of the Edmonton Sun has a game story 
In Moose Jaw, F Jack Rodewald and F Jesse Shynkaruk scored shootout goals to give the Warriors a 7-6 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Wheat Kings held a 3-1 lead early in the second period when the Warriors exploded for three goals in 28 seconds. F Tanner Eberle got his 33rd goal at 4:43; F Jayden Halbgewachs scored his fourth at 5:04; F Axel Blomqvist got No. 25 at 5:11. . . . Brandon D Kale Clague tied it with his third goal at 14:13. . . . The Warriors took the lead on Rodewald’s 34th goal 23 seconds into the third period. . . . F Nolan Patrick pulled Brandon back even with his 29th goal at 1:20. . . . F Brett Howden put Moose Jaw back in front with his 22nd goal at 1:47. . . . Brandon D Macoy Erkamps scored his second goal, at 7:05, to force OT. . . . Brandon G Alex Moodie stopped 25 shots, five fewer than Moose Jaw’s Zach Sawchenko. . . . Warriors F Brayden Point scored his 37th goal and added two assists. Eberle also had two assists. . . . F Braylon Shmyr scored twice for Brandon, giving him 18, while F John Quenneville and F Morgan Klimchuk each had two assists. . . . Moose Jaw was 0-for-4 on the PP; Brandon was 0-for-1. . . . Moose Jaw F Jaimen Yakubowski, 20, had shoulder surgery Friday, so his WHL career is over. . . . The Warriors (32-34-5) have won three in a row. . . . Brandon (52-11-8) had won its previous five games. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has a game story 
In Cranbrook, Calgary G Brendan Burke stopped 29 shots to help the Hitmen to a 2-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Calgary D Loch Morrison scored his fourth goal at 9:19 of the second period and F Jordy Stallard got his fifth at 14:57 as the visitors went ahead 2-0. . . . Ice F Tim Bozon got his 35th goal at 14:36 of the third, on a PP. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 29 shots. . . . The Ice was 1-for-4 on the PP; the Hitmen were 0-for-1. . . . The Hitmen (44-22-5) have won four in a row. . . . The Ice (37-30-4) had a four-game winning streak end. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story 
In Saskatoon, F Chad Butcher broke a 1-1 tie at 16:55 of the second period and the Medicine Hat Tigers went on to a 3-1 victory over the Blades. . . . They’ll play again tonight in the last regular-season game in the history of the Medicine Hat Arena. . . . Butcher, who missed a chunk of the season with a concussion, has 20 goals. . . . F Dryden Hunt scored his 33rd goal, on a PP, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead at 15:40 of the first period. . . . F Nick Zajac tied it with his 11th goal at 17:47. . . . Tigers F Trevor Cox provided insurance with his 28th goal at 17:49 of the second. . . . Medicine Hat F Matt Bradley left in the first period with an undisclosed injury. . . . Tigers G Marek Langhamer stopped 21 shots, 23 fewer than Brock Hamm of the Blades. . . . The Blades scratched D Brycen Martin with an undisclosed injury. . . . Saskatoon also scratched G Nik Amundrud (groin), The Blades had Joel Grzybowski on the bench. An 11th round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, he played for the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers but has yet to sign with the Blades. . . . Attendance was announced as 8,929 and the 50-50 draw was worth $60,207.50. It was claimed by Ross and Carly Wiebe, who are father and daughter. Merry Christmas to them! . . . The Tigers (44-23-4) are 3-0-1 in their last four games. . . . The Blades (19-48-4) have lost eight straight. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story 
In Prince George, G Ty Edmonds turned aside 36 shots to lead the Cougars to a 3-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The 4,570 fans in attendance gave the Cougars a standing ovation at game’s end after they had clinched their first playoff spot since the spring of 2011. . . . F David Soltes gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead with his 13th goal at 2:01 of the second period. . . . F Kody McDonald upped that to 2-0 with his ninth goal 35 seconds into the third. . . . Kamloops F Cole Ully scored his 34th goal at 8:22. . . . Cougars F Colby McAuley added insurance with his fifth goal at 18:28. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram stopped 38 shots. . . . The Cougars were 0-for-6 on the PP; the Blazers were 0-for-3. . . . The Cougars (31-35-5) have won three in a row. . . . The Blazers (27-37-7) have lost three straight. . . . Prince George is in Kamloops tonight. The Cougars are 5-2-0 against the Blazers; the Blazers are 2-4-1 against the Cougars. . . . 
In Spokane, F Ryan Gropp struck four times to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 7-2 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Gropp, who has 28 goals, scored once in the first period and three times in the third when Seattle struck five times. . . . F Mathew Barzal had three assists for the Thunderbirds. . . . F Adam Helewka scored his 42nd goal for Spokane. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 29 shots. . . . Seattle D Sahvan Khaira took a kneeing major and game misconduct at 5:12 of the second period. The Chiefs weren’t able to score on the five-minute PP. . . . Spokane was 0-for-3 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 0-for-2. . . . The Chiefs had F Hudson Elyniuk back in their lineup. He hadn’t played since Dec. 28. . . . “For me, we weren't committed,” Chiefs head coach Don Nachbaur told Chris Derrick of the Spokane Spokesman-Review. “I mean, it looked to me, and it was apparent with the end result, that you're not going to win games unless you outwork the other team and we got outworked in everything we did. We were second to every puck and that was the choice we made. We chose not to play the game the right way and those are the results you get when you play like that.” . . . The Thunderbirds (37-25-9) have won three in a row. . . . The Chiefs (34-32-4) have dropped three straight. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., G Eric Comrie turned aside 43 shots to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 4-2 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Tri-City F Tyler Sandhu broke a 2-2 tie with his second goal of the game, and 16th of the season, at 10:15 of the third period. . . . F Beau McCue added his 26th goal, into an empty net, at 18:46. . . . The Americans got two assists from each of F Jordan Topping and F Richard Nejezchleb. . . . F Miles Koules scored his 27th goal and added an assist for Portland. . . . G Adin Hill stopped 29 shots for the Winterhawks. . . . Tri-City is 1-8-0 against Portland this season. . . . The Americans (30-37-3) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Winterhawks (42-22-6) had been 2-0-1 in their previous three games. . . . 
In Victoria, the Everett Silvertips erased a 2-1 deficit with three straight goals and beat the Royals, 4-3. . . . F Austin Carroll’s 38th goal of the season gave the Royals a 2-1 lead at 12:38 of the second period. . . . Everett F Brayden Low tied it with his 15th at 14:45 and F Remi Laurencelle, who had two assists, got No. 22 at 17:02 to give the visitors the lead. . . . D Noah Juulsen got his eighth goal at 10:27 of the third period. . . . Victoria F Tyler Soy got his guys to within one with his 28th at 15:01. . . . F Nikita Scherbak had two assists for the Silvertips. . . . Everett G Carter Hart stopped 18 shots, six fewer than Victoria’s Coleman Vollrath. . . . Everett was 1-for-2 on the PP; Victoria was 1-for-3. . . . The Silvertips (42-20-8) are 2-0-1 in their last three. . . . The Royals (38-29-4) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Vancouver, D Madison Bowey scored on the PP at 1:05 of OT to give the Kelowna Rockets a 4-3 victory over the Giants. . . . The Giants’ playoff hopes had ended a few minutes earlier when the host Tri-City Americans beat the Portland Winterhawks, 4-2. . . . Bowey, who also had an assist, has 17 goals. . . . Kelowna F Leon Draisaitl forced OT with his 17th goal, on a PP, at 15:54 of the third period. . . . Draisaitl also had three assists. . . . Giants F Dawson Holt, playing in his second WHL game, scored his first goal to pull the Giants into a 2-2 tie at 2:59 of the third. . . . The Giants took a 3-2 lead on F Alex Baer’s 13th goal at 10:14, via a PP. . . . Vancouver D Brennan Menell had two assists. . . . Attendance on Fan Appreciation Night was 11,644. . . . The Rockets are 7-0-0 against the Giants this season. . . . Kelowna was 3-for-5 on the PP; Vancouver was 2-for-5. . . . Kelowna G Michael Herringer, who is 5-0-0 against the Giants, stopped 23 shots. . . . Vancouver G Cody Porter made 22 saves. . . . Kelowna D Josh Morrissey is in a walking boot and isn’t expected to be ready for the opening round of the playoffs. He hasn’t played since Feb. 28. . . . This game was televised by Sportsnet and intermission panellists John Shannon and Todd Warriner were all over the Rockets for what they perceive as a lack of veteran leadership. They were echoing the comments made by owner/GM Bruce Hamilton in the Kelowna Daily Courier earlier in the week. . . . The Rockets (52-13-6) are 2-0-1 in their last three games. . . . The Giants are 27-40-4.
In Lethbridge, F Matt Alfaro scored two goals and set up another to help the Kootenay Ice to a 5-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Alfaro, who equaled a single-game career high with three points, has nine goals. . . . The Hurricanes scored the game’s first two goals and took a 2-1 lead into the third period. The Ice put it away with three goals in the first 7:08 of the third. . . . F Tim Bozon tied a franchise record with a goal eight seconds into the third. D Steve McCarthy had set the record on Dec. 18, 1998, at Red Deer. . . . Bozon has 26 goals. . . . F Jaedon Descheneau had two assists for the Ice, with D Troy Murray scoring his third goal and adding an assist. . . . F Mike Winther had two goals for Lethbridge, giving him 11, and F Ryley Lindgren drew two assists. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 17 shots, 16 fewer than Jayden Sittler of the Hurricanes. . . . The Ice (29-27-2) has points in its last two (1-0-1) . . . The Hurricanes (18-33-6) are 6-4-0 in their last 10. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., F Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and three assists as the Portland Winterhawks dumped the Tri-City Americans, 5-1. . . . Bjorkstrand’s 40th goal, at 2:50 of the first period, gave Portland a 2-0 lead and stood up as the winner. . . . F Paul Bittner, who scored twice, had opened the scoring 27 seconds into the game. He’s got 24 goals. . . . F Nic Petan added his 11th goal and two assists for the Winterhawks. . . . F Tyler Sandhu scored his 13th goal for the Americans, getting it on the PP at 8:31 of the first. . . . Portland G Adin Hill made 24 saves in his 20th straight start. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie turned aside 45 shots. . . . The Americans, who revealed this week that F Parker Bowles and D Carter Cochrane won’t play again this season, lost D Brandon Carlo in the first period. He left after being struck in the head by a puck and didn’t return. . . . Also missing from Tri-City’s lineup was F Richard Nejezchleb (undisclosed injury). . . . Portland has won the first six games of the 10-game season series. . . . The Winterhawks (33-20-4) are 2-0-1 in their last three. . . . The Americans (26-29-3) have lost three in a row.
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