Showing posts with label Riley Woods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Riley Woods. Show all posts

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Scattershooting ... Blades Welcome the World with win ... Pachal, Raiders on fire

Scattershoot

 Scattershooting, while waiting for Milos Raonic to play Down Under . . .

I wish there was a way to find out how many junior A and major junior hockey players changed teams over the three or four weeks leading up to Jan. 10. I am guessing it was somewhere around 400 — and that may be low. Regardless, isn’t it time for Hockey Canada, if it really governs the sport in this country, to deliver ask operators if this really is necessary?
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One of the amazing things about junior hockey is the way junior A teams trade from one league to another. On Jan. 10, for example, the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzles acquired F Shawn O’Malley from the NAHL’s Shreveport Mudbugs. Yes, that Shreveport. O’Malley, 19, is from Ann Arbor, Mich.
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The Winnipeg Jets have had goaltending issues through a lot of this season, but brings one to wonder: Whatever happened to Eric Comrie, who was a second-round selection in the 2013 NHL draft?
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Is it just me or is Samuel L. Jackson in every movie trailer that shows up on TV?
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There isn’t a better promotion in all of junior hockey than the Welcome the World event that is staged by the Saskatoon Blades. They held the second annual on Sunday and it really is something else. If you haven’t seen the highlights — new citizens of our country, young and old, getting introduced to hockey and some of them getting their Canadian citizenship — check them out. And a tip of the fedora to all of those involved in this wonderful event.
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The Blades, if you haven’t noticed, have won five in a row and have seven of their next eight games on home ice. With them showing signs of turning things around, you are free to wonder if the fans will come back.
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There are 10 teams in the WHL’s Western Conference and only one of them, the Vancouver Giants, has a point percentage below .500. Thank you, loser point.
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There are a lot of people in and around the NHL who are grumbling about the shootout. Guy Boucher, the head coach of the Ottawa Senator, so despises it that he refuses to watch when his team is involved in one. “I never watch shootouts,” Boucher told James Mirtle of The Athletic (theathletic.com). “I never have. Two reasons: One, I hate it. I think it’s a team game, and it should be decided by team play. But I understand that the game has got to end. The other thing, two, is I got into a habit of not looking. It makes no difference if I look or not so I let the guys do their thing. I used to get involved and talk to the guys, ‘Eh you could do this and that.’ Now I stay out of it.” . . . Mirtle spoke with Boucher after Ottawa had beaten the host Toronto Maple Leafs in a shootout on Saturday night.
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The best part of writing sports for newspapers for more than 40 years was the late nights, if only because a guy could easily make it through the late night/early morning Australian Open matches. No more. On Saturday morning, I stuck with Roger Federer until 2 a.m., then went to sleep assuming he was going to lose.
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Can you remember a season in which the NFL playoffs served up so much boredom? Of this season’s 10 playoff games, eight have been lop-sided and all but unwatchable. Will the Super Bowl be worth watching for anything other than NFL commish Roger Goodell presenting the championship trophy to Brady, Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft?
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F Axel Blomqvist (Lethbridge, Victoria, Moose Jaw, 2012-15) has been released at his request by Södertälje (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He was pointless in seven games.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:

At Calgary, D Brayden Pachal scoed at 1:52 of OT to give the Prince Albert Raiders a 3-2 victory over the Hitmen. . . . The Raiders scored the game’s first two goals. . . . F Jordy Stallard, who had been acquired
BRAYDEN PACHAL
from the Hitmen earlier in the month, ran his goal-scoring streak to four games with his 14th goal, at 17:13 of the first period. . . . F Kolten Olynek’s 10th goal, on a PP, made it 2-0 at 5:15 of the second period. . . . The Hitmen tied it as F Jakob Stukel (14) scored on a PP, at 14:50 of the second, and F Matteo Gennaro (29) counted at 19:14 of the third period. . . . Stukel assisted on that goal. . . . Gennaro has at least one goal in six straight games. He has 11 goals in that stretch. . . . Pachal, who asked out of Victoria because wanted more playing time, has two goals in eight games since the Royals dealt him to the Raiders. His first goal gave the Raiders a 3-2 victory over the host Red Deer Rebels on Friday. Pachal had one goal in 75 games with Victoria. . . . G Nic Sanders stopped 30 shots to earn the victory over Trevor Martin, who made 23 saves. . . . Prince Albert was 1-2 on the PP; Calgary was 1-6. . . . D Jake Bean was among Calgary’s scratches. Bean played for Team Canada at the World Junior Championship and the Hitmen have given him a few days off. . . . Prince Albert got back F Tim Vanstone but F Simon Stransky and F Drew Warkentine remain out. . . . The Raiders (11-34-5) have won three in a row for the first time this season. They were playing their fourth game in five days, and their third in less than 48 hours. They still are last in the overall standings, but now are just three points behind the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Hitmen (17-21-8) have lost three straight (0-1-2) and are four points out of a playoff spot. They were playing their third home game in four nights. . . . Announced attendance: 7,722.
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At Edmonton, the Moose Jaw Warriors put the cap on a six-game road trip with a 2-0 victory over the Oil
ZACH SAWCHENKO
Kings. . . . The Warriors went 4-2-0 on the trip that included five games in the B.C. Division. . . . G Zach Sawchenko earned the shutout with 32 saves. That was his first shutout of the season and seventh of his career. . . . F Brayden Burke (15) scored the game’s first goal, on a PP, at 8:09 of the first period. . . . F Yan Khomenko (11) added insurance, at 11:08 of the third period. . . . Edmonton G Josh Dechaine stopped 27 shots in his second career start. . . . Moose Jaw was 1-3 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-3. . . . F Trey Fix-Wolansky was among Edmonton’s scratches. He served a one-game suspension after taking a game misconduct late in a 5-2 loss to the visiting Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday. . . . The Warriors, who continue to be without F Noah Gregor, scratched F Brett Howden, their captain, due to illness. . . . Moose Jaw (29-12-7) has won three in a row and is second in the East Division, four points behind the Regina Pats, who hold four games in hand. . . . Edmonton (18-25-4) has lost eight straight and is six points away from a playoff spot. It hasn’t won since beating the visiting Calgary Hitmen, 4-3 in OT, on Jan. 1. . . . Announced attendance: 7,559.
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At Everett, F Riley Woods scored the only goal of a three-round shootout to give the Spokane Chiefs a 4-
RILEY WOODS
3 victory over the Silvertips. . . . Everett took a 2-0 first-period lead on goals from F Matt Fonteyne (15), at 0:51, and F Patrick Bajkov (20), at 6:57. . . . Bajkov had an assist on Fonteyne’s goal. . . . F Hudson Elynuik (17) halved the deficit for Spokane at 4:00 of the second and Woods tied it with his night goal, at 16:30. . . . D Lucas Skrumeda, who had been out since Jan. 6, gave Everett the lead at 16:42. He has three goals in 27 games after going into the season with two scores in 128 games. . . . Spokane F Kailer Yamamoto forced OT with his 30th goal just 31 seconds into the third period. . . . Yamamoto also had an assist. . . . Spokane got 24 saves from G Jayden Sittler, five of them in OT. . . . Everett G Carter Hart turned aside 17 shots. . . . The Chiefs were 0-2 on the PP; the Silvertips were 0-3. . . . The Chiefs’ bus didn’t get to the arena until 45 minutes before game time and they were down 1-0 just 51 seconds into the first period. . . . The Silvertips were without D Noah Juulsen, but had Skrumeda and F Devon Skoleski back. . . . The Chiefs (20-20-7) have won two in a row and are tied with the Portland Winterhawks for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . The Silvertips (30-6-9) are 2-0-1 in their past three games, which they played in fewer than 48 hours. They are tied with the Regina Pats and Prince George Cougars atop the overall standings. . . . Announced attendance: 4,408.
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At Regina, F Dawson Leedahl scored twice to help the Pats to a 5-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . F Tyler Coulter’s 21st goal gave Brandon a 1-0 lead at 19:20 of the first period. . . . The Pats
DAWSON LEEDAHL
took over with four second-period goals. . . . D Josh Mahura (11) scored on a PP at 2:02. . . . Leedahl scored his first goal at 11:38. . . . F Austin Wagner scored No. 20 at 12:14. . . . Wagner is the seventh player on the Pats roster with at least 20 goals. . . . Leedahl got his second of the game and 24th of the season, on a PP, at 15:49. . . . F Filip Ahl got Regina’s last goal, his 21st, at 19:01 of the third period. . . . Brandon got its final goal from D Schael Higson (3) at 19:16. . . . F Nick Henry had two assists for Regina. . . . Both teams were playing for a third time in less than 48 hours. The Pats had lost 8-5 to the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday, then beat the Broncos 6-5 in Swift Current on Saturday. The Wheaties lost 3-2 in a shootout to the host Saskatoon Blades on Friday, returned home to beat Medicine Hat, 5-2, on Saturday, then hit the road for Regina. . . . Regina G Max Paddock, who plays for the midget AAA Brandon Wheat Kings, made 29 saves, with Kurtis Chapman of the MJHL’s Portage Terriers backing him up. . . . G Jordan Hollett was among Regina’s scratches. He made 23 saves in a 6-5 victory over the host Swift Current Broncos on Saturday, his first appearance since Nov. 20 when he suffered a high ankle sprain. Hollett is expected to start Friday against the host Calgary Hitmen. . . . Regina also is without starter Tyler Brown, who has an undisclosed injury. . . . The Wheat Kings got 42 saves from G Logan Thompson. . . . Regina was 2-2 on the PP; Brandon was 0-4. . . . The Wheat Kings were without D Dmitry Osipov, who drew a one-game suspension after taking a charging major and game misconduct during Saturday’s 5-2 victory over the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. That was for a hit on Tigers F Chad Butcher. . . . The Pats (31-6-7) have won two in a row. Their .784 point percentage has them atop the overall standings. They have 69 points, as do the Everett Silvertips and Prince George Cougars. . . . The Wheat Kings (23-18-5) had been 3-0-1 in their previous four games. They are in possession of the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Announced attendance: 5,419.
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At Saskatoon, F Jesse Shynkaruk and F Josh Paterson each scored twice as the Blades ran their winning streak to five games with a 6-3 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Shynkaruk scored two
JESSE SHYNKARUK
first-period PP goals, at 4:36 and 14:42, for a 2-0 lead. . . . Shynkaruk, who was a walk-on when the Blades opened training camp, has 21 goals in 35 games; he went into this season with 23 goals in 196 games. . . . The Broncos cut the deficit in half when D Dom Schmiemann scored his first goal, at 2:44 of the second period. . . . The Blades came back with two goals, from D Evan Fiala (3), at 5:31, and F Chase Wouters (5), on a PP, at 9:02. . . . Swift Current got back to within a goal when F Tyler Steenbergen scored No. 35, at 11:34, and F Aleksi Heponiemi got his 19th, at 19:31. . . . Paterson, who has 11 goals, put it away with third-period goals at 13:04 and 18:36. The latter was an empty-netter. . . . The Blades got three assists from F Braylon Shmyr and two assists from each of D Bryton Sayers and D Mark Rubinchik. Wouters and Paterson each had one. . . . Heponiemi had two assists for the Broncos, while Steenbergen had one. . . . The Blades got 28 saves from G Brock Hamm, while the Broncos’ Taz Burman blocked 20. . . . Saskatoon was 3-5 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-5. . . . The Broncos lost former Blades F Ryan Graham, who left in the first period with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Blades (20-22-6) went 5-1-0 on a six-game homestand that ended with this game, and they will play seven of their next eight at home, too. They hold down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot by four points over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Broncos (25-16-8) have lost three in a row and remain third in the East Division. . . . Announced attendance: 4,224.

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MONDAY’S GAME (all times local):

Prince George vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7 p.m.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Kamloops at Portland, 7 p.m. (ppd. from Jan. 8)
Medicine Hat vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, 7 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:11 PM
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Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Hurricanes get d-man from Pats . . . Patrick back with teammates . . . Tigers lose Quenneville


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WHL trades since Dec. 27:
Trades: 10.
Players: 18.
Bantam draft picks: 10.
Conditional bantam draft picks: 1.
(WHL trade deadline is Jan. 10).
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have acquired D Brady Pouteau, 18, from the Regina Pats for a seventh-
BRADY POUTEAU
round selection in the 2018 WHL bantam draft.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Pouteau, from Oak Bluff, Man., was a fourth-round selection by Regina in the 2013 bantam draft. This season, he had two assists in 18 games with the Pats. Last season, as a freshman, he had two goals and five assists in 43 games.
Before joining the Pats, Pouteau played two seasons with the midget AAA Pembina Valley Hawks, helping them to the 2014-15 league championship.
Pouteau, who turns 19 on Jan. 9, was in the lineup on Wednesday night when the Hurricanes met the host Moose Jaw Warriors. He brings more size to a Lethbridge back end that already included the likes of Brennan Riddle (6-foot-2), Ethan King (6-foot-6) and Igor Merezhko (6-foot-5).
The Hurricanes now have eight defencemen on their roster.
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The Vancouver Giants set off alarm bells Wednesday afternoon when they issued a news release stating
TYLER BENSON
that F Tyler Benson wouldn’t play in a game that night against the host Edmonton Oil Kings.
Benson, the first overall pick in the 2013 WHL bantam draft, was limited to 30 games last season by surgery to remove a cyst near his tailbone and then an inflamed pubic bone. This season, however, looked to be different as he put up 42 points, including 31 assists, in 33 games with a team that is struggling in the basement of the B.C. Division.
Benson, who is from Edmonton, was a second-round pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2016 NHL draft and he signed an NHL contract late last month.
From the Giants’ news release quoted general manager Glen Hanlon: “In consultation with the Edmonton Oilers, we’ve decided that it would be best for Tyler to miss (Wednesday’s) game due to a minor injury. Tyler has been assessed by both our staff and the Oilers’ medical team, and we’ll take his status day-by-day. Tyler is very disappointed that he won’t be able to play in his home town and help our team continue its winning road trip.”
According to Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province, Benson didn’t get on the ice in overtime on Monday when the Giants beat the Hitmen 5-4 in a shootout in Calgary. However, Benson did take part in the shootout. He didn’t score, but he did have a goal and an assist in regulation time.
After playing in Edmonton, the Giants’ next game is scheduled for Friday in Langley, B.C., against the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors.
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DAVID QUENNEVILLE
The Medicine Hat Tigers are likely to be without D David Quenneville for up to six weeks after he suffered a broken tibia during a 6-2 loss to the visiting Regina Pats on Tuesday night.
Quenneville was injured while blocking a shot in the first period. He tried to keep playing, but was forced to leave the game.
Quenneville, an 18-year-old from Edmonton, is having a career season, with 20 goals and 28 assists in 38 games. He is one of three Tigers with at least 20 goals and also is their third-leading scorer. Quenneville also leads all WHL defencemen in goals and points.
As a freshman, in 2014-15, Quenneville finished with six goals and 14 assists in 66 games. Last season, he had 14 goals and 41 assists in 64 games.
The Tigers next are scheduled to play on Saturday night when they are at home to the Vancouver Giants.
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F Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings, who has played only six games this season, none since Oct. 11, has told Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun that he will play in January.
NOLAN PATRICK
Patrick, 18, is back skating with the Wheat Kings. He skated by himself on Monday and then took the morning skate on Tuesday before the Wheat Kings played the visiting Saskatoon Blades that evening. Patrick, wearing a no-contact jersey, practised with his teammates on Wednesday.
“I’m getting close to returning so it’s exciting,” Patrick told Bergson, who wrote: “He said he will play in January for sure, although the date of his
return is pending.”
Patrick has said that he was injured during last spring’s Eastern Conference final against the Red Deer Rebels. He had surgery to repair a sports hernia in July and missed most of training camp. While neither Patrick nor the Wheat Kings has explained the reason, or reasons, behind his absence, speculation has involved his recovery from that surgery.
Despite having missed 33 games, Patrick remains the consensus No. 1 selection for the NHL’s 2017 draft. That is built on a 2015-16 season in which he put up 102 regular-season points and added 30 more in 21 playoff games. He was named the WHL’s playoff MVP as he led the Wheat Kings to the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
For now, Patrick will work on getting back into game shape.
“It’s really nice to be back here and out there skating,” Patrick told Branden Crowe, the radio voice of the Wheat Kings. “I felt pretty good (Wednesday), but I still have a ways to go to get my cardio back up and get into shape.”
According to Crowe, Patrick has travelled “all over Canada since October, seeing different doctors (and) specialists and trying out a variety of physiotherapy and chiropractic options.”
Still, Patrick told Crowe, “I still have a little bit of healing to do.”
Patrick continued: “These last couple of days have been the best I’ve felt in five months so it’s feeling good and I’m just trying to get my timing back and get myself back into shape.”
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The Victoria Royals will be without D Chaz Reddekopp for two games against the host Prince George Cougars this week. Reddekopp has been suspended for two games under supplemental discipline for something that happened during the Royals’ 6-1 victory over the Blazers in Kamloops on Saturday night. . . . Reddekopp had an assist in that game to run his point streak to 11 games, tied with D Kevin Davis of the Everett Silvertips for the longest active streak at the moment. . . . The Royals are scheduled to play in Prince George on Friday and Saturday nights. Victoria goes into the two games in fourth place in the B.C. Division, four points behind second-place Kamloops and two behind the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Cougars are in first place, six points ahead of Kamloops.
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Concussion Report
It certainly seems that the medical community is on the verge of a blood test that will determine whether someone has suffered a concussion. As Alan Maki of The Globe and Mail reports: “After two years of blood profiling, researchers associated with Western University have been fine-tuning a test that can determine if a person has suffered a concussion. The test comes with a 90-per-cent accuracy rate, a previously unheard count in the medical community working to unlock the mysteries of the brain.” . . . Maki’s complete story is right here.
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JUST NOTES:

With two defenceman — Tyler Jette and Brendan O’Reilly — on the injured list, the Tri-City Americans have recalled four defencemen. Mitchell Brown, 15, joins the Americans from the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, B.C.; Landon Fuller, 17, has been with the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks; Colten Gerlib, 17, plays for the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles; and, Samuel Stewart plays for the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives. . . . Brown was a second-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Fuller was selected in the fifth round of the 2014 bantam draft. . . . The Americans, who lost 5-2 to the Blazers in Kamloops on Tuesday, open an East Division swing on Friday against the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . 
The Everett Silvertips have returned D Gianni Fairbrother, 16, to the Vancouver Northwest Giants of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. He is pointless in two games with Everett. Fairbrother was a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . 
The Kamloops Blazers have returned F Brodi Stuart, 16, to the Fraser Valley Hawks of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. Stuart, a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft, was pointless in two games with the Blazers. . . .
The Prince Albert Raiders have returned D Rhett Rhinehart to the Yale Hockey Academy prep team that plays in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. Rhinehart, who turned 15 on Nov. 27, was a first-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. He was pointless in two games with the Raiders. . . . 
The Prince George Cougars have returned F Tyler Ho, 16, to the Valley West Hawks of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. He was a third-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. . . .
The Seattle Thunderbirds have dropped F Ian Briscoe, 17, from their roster. He will be joining the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings. Briscoe, a fifth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, had two goals in 17 games with Seattle.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:

At Edmonton, F Brendan Semchuk broke a 2-2 tie at 16:27 of the third period as the Vancouver Giants
BRENDAN SEMCHUK
got past the Oil Kings, 3-2. . . . F Ty Ronning had given Vancouver a 1-0 lead with his 15th goal, at 16:52 of the first period. . . . F Adam Berg, playing his first game since Dec. 5, pulled Edmonton even with his third goal, at 11:55 of the second period. . . . The Giants went in front again, at 2:25 of the third period, as F James Malm scored No. 11 on a PP. . . . The Oil Kings tied it at 3:13 with F Trey Fix-Wolansky getting his 10th goal. . . . Semchuk, a sophomore from Kamloops, won it with his sixth goal. A first-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, injuries limited Semchuk to 28 games last season when he finished with one goal and one assist. This season, he’s got 14 points in 37 games. . . . D Matt Barberis had two assists for the Giants, while Ronning had one. . . . Vancouver G Ryan Kubic was sharp, making 40 stops. . . . Edmonton G Patrick Dea, making his 100th regular-season appearance, turned aside 25 shots. . . . Vancouver was 1-2 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-0. . . . The Giants (16-20-3) are 2-0-0 on an Alberta trek that continues Friday against the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Oil Kings slipped to 18-18-4. . . . F Graham Millar and F Brett Kemp, acquired earlier in the day for D Aaron Irving, weren’t in Edmonton’s lineup. . . . Announced attendance: 7,355.
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At Kelowna, F Riley Woods scored at 3:19 of OT to give the Spokane Chiefs a 3-2 victory over the
RILEY WOODS
Rockets. . . . Woods, who has seven goals, was making his Spokane debut after being part of a trade with the Regina Pats for F Wyatt Sloboshan. F Rykr Cole, who also went to Spokane in that exchange, made his Chiefs debut, too. . . . The visitors scored the game’s first two goals, with F Kailer Yamamoto getting his 23rd, on a PP, at 10:36 of the second period, and D Tyson Helgesen (6), Spokane’s captain, counting just 35 seconds later. . . . F Rod Southam, Kelowna’s captain, got his guys to within one when he scored his ninth at 18:01. . . . D Riley Stadel (5) pulled Kelowna into a 2-2 tie at 16:17 of the third period. . . . D Ty Smith had two assists for Spokane. . . . D Lucas Johansen had two assists for Kelowna. . . . The Chiefs got 33 saves from G Jayden Sittler. . . . At the other end, Michael Herringer stopped 19 shots. . . . Spokane was 1-4 on the PP; Kelowna was 0-3. . . . The Chiefs (16-16-6) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Rockets (23-14-3) have lost three in a row (0-2-1). . . . Announced attendance: 4,821.
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At Moose Jaw, F Jayden Halbgewachs, the WHL’s top gun, scored three times and G Zach Sawchenko
ZACH SAWCHENKO
blocked 41 shots as the Warriors dumped the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-1. . . . Sawchenko, who stopped 23 shots in the third period, improved his record to 16-4-5 with the victory. . . . Halbgewachs scored 15 goals in 69 games last season; this season, he’s got 34 goals in 39 games. He also has 27 assists, one more than he recorded last season. . . . This was his first career hat trick; he also has nine two-goal games this season. . . . The Warriors took a 2-0 lead on goals by F Luka Burzan (10), at 6:05 of the first period, and Halbgewachs, at 11:51 of the second. . . . D Brennan Riddle’s second goal got Lethbridge to within one at 16:15. . . . Halbgewachs put it away with goals 4:49 and 18:43 of the third period, the latter into an empty net. . . . F Brayden Burke and F Brett Howden each had two assists for Moose Jaw. . . . The Hurricanes got 20 stops from G Stuart Skinner. . . . Moose Jaw was 0-3 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-5. . . . The Hurricanes had D Nolan Jones, 15, in their lineup as they played in his hometown. Jones, a second-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft, plays for the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals. He was pointless in two earlier games with the Hurricanes. . . . The Hurricanes scratched three defencemen — Calen Addison, Ty Prefontaine and Ethan King — but had Brady Pouteau in the lineup. He was acquired earlier in the day from the Regina Pats. . . . The Warriors (23-9-7) have points in five straight (2-0-2). . . . The Hurricanes (20-15-5) have lost two in a row. . . . Announced attendance: 2,979.
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THURSDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Kelowna at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Spokane vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Tri-City at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Calgary at Regina, 7 p.m.
Everett vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.
Brandon at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:50 PM
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Monday, January 2, 2017

Chiefs, Pats swing deal . . . Raiders make another trade . . . Malm shoots Giants to victory


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WHL trades since Dec. 27:
Trades: 8.
Players: 14.
Bantam draft picks: 7.
Conditional bantam draft picks: 1.
(WHL trade deadline is Jan. 10).
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The reunion of long-time friends Rykr Cole and Dawson Davidson lasted about a week.
It ended Monday when the Regina Pats dealt Cole to the Spokane Chiefs.
RYKR COLE
RILEY WOODS
Cole and Davidson both are from Moosomin, Sask. They were reunited on Dec. 25 when Davidson found out that the Kamloops Blazers had traded him to the Pats.
“He’s my best friend, pretty much,” Davidson told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post after the trade. “We’re both from Moosomin. We played midget together in Moose Jaw and roomed together for a year. I saw him a lot over the break. When I got traded, I instantly called him.
“It’s going to be fun to reunite. He’s a great guy and an unbelievable leader. I’m looking forward to playing with him again.”
Cole told Harder: “He let me know he got traded to Regina and I was pretty excited. He came over and
WYATT SLOBOSHAN
we talked about it. I’ve been showing him around Regina a bit. It’s nice to have a guy coming in that you know, especially with Dawson being one of my really good buddies.”
While Cole and Davidson were enjoying the reunion, F Wyatt Sloboshan was choosing not to return to the Spokane Chiefs after the Christmas break.
On Tuesday, the Chiefs dealt Sloboshan, 19, who had been acquired from the Saskatoon Blades, and a third-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft to the Pats for Cole, a 19-year-old forward, and F Riley Woods, 18.
The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Sloboshan, from Vanscoy, Sask., has played 30 games this season, 29 of them with Saskatoon. He had four goals and 12 assists with the Blades — he was the team’s captain — and was pointless in one game with Spokane. In 146 career games, he has 91 points, including 33 goals. He was a third-round pick by the Swift Current Broncos in the 2012 bantam draft.
Cole, from Moosomin, Sask., was a third-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. The 6-foot-0, 185-pounder had six goals and seven assists in 34 games this season. He put up 27 goals and 30 assists in 166 career games.
The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Woods, a list player from Regina, had six goals and seven assists in 28 games with the Pats this season. In 59 career games, he has 15 goals and 12 assists.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have acquired F Curtis Miske, 19, from the Spokane Chiefs for a fourth-round pick in the 2018 WHL bantam draft. . . . The Chiefs, having acquired F Rykr Cole and F Riley Woods earlier in the day from Regina, had to make a move to get their roster down to 25 players. . . . Miske, from Beaumont, Alta., had five goals and nine assists in 28 games this season. The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder played in 154 regular-season games with the Chiefs, scoring 22 goals and adding 36 assists. The Chiefs had selected him in the second round of the 2012 bantam draft. . . . This was the 13th trade made by the Raiders this season.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers, having acquired G Michael Bullion, 19, from the Portland Winterhawks on Sunday, have dropped G Duncan McGovern, 16, from their roster. He will join the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings. . . . The Tigers picked up Bullion as veteran support behind starter Nick Schneider, who leads the WHL with 25 victories. . . . With the Tigers, McGovern, who is from Winnipeg, was 2-4-0, 4.06, .858. McGovern was a fifth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft.
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F Taylor Sanheim, a former WHL player, now is with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. They acquired Sanheim, 20, from the MJHL’s Portage Terriers on Monday, with F Ty Barnstable, 18, going the other way. . . . Sanheim had 12 goals and 39 assists in 132 career regular-season games with the Calgary Hitmen. This season, he had two goals and five assists in 18 games with the Hitmen when he was released.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors will be without D Dmitri Zaitsev when they meet the Raiders in Prince Albert tonight (Tuesday). He has been suspended for one game “for game misconduct” during a 2-1 OT loss to the visiting Wheat Kings on Saturday night.
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MONDAY’S GAME:

At Calgary, F James Malm scored in the fourth round of a shootout to give the Vancouver Giants a 5-4
JAMES MALM
victory over the Hitmen. . . . The Giants erased a 4-2 third-period deficit to force OT. . . . D Dylan Plouffe (4) got the visitors to within a goal at 4:44, with D Matt Barberis tying it with his seventh goal, at 18:49. . . . The Giants grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second period on goals from F Ty Ronning (14), at 5:17, and F Tyler Benson (11), at 6:06. . . . Calgary appeared to take control by scoring the game’s next four goals. . . . F Jakob Stukel (12) got the Hitmen started at 9:09 of the second period. . . . F Matteo Gennaro followed that with two goals, his 13th and 14th, at 16:48, on a PP, and 50 seconds into the third period. . . . F Beck Malenstyn’s 16th goal gave Calgary a 4-2 lead at 2:46 of the third. . . . Benson also had one assist. . . . Gennaro and Stukel each had two assists, while Malenstyn added one. . . . Vancouver got 34 stops from G David Tendeck. . . . Calgary G Kyle Dumba made 36 saves. . . . Calgary was 1-4 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-4. . . . The Giants (15-20-3) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Hitmen (14-17-5) have points in three straight (1-0-2). . . . F Evan Patrician, a 15-year-old from Calgary, made his WHL debut with the Giants, who selected him in the seventh round of the 2016 bantam draft. He plays for the midget AAA Calgary Flames. . . . Announced attendance: 7,026.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Saskatoon at Brandon, 7 p.m.
Tri-City at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Regina at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Lethbridge at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:00 PM
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Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Välimäki feted in Finland . . . Brooks' streak at 20 . . . Blades stun Warriors

Juuso Välimäki (centre) of the Tri-City Americans shakes hands
with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, who is behind his
wife Jenni Haukio (in purple). (YLE screen grab)
Juuso Välimäki is greeted by Finnish First Lady Jenni Haukio.(YLE screen grab)
D Juuso Välimäki of the Tri-City Americans was in Helsinki, Finland, on Tuesday where he was among those feted in that country’s Independence Day celebrations that included the Linnan Juhlat — Palace Ball — which, according to The MacBeth Report, “is a REALLY big deal . . . it is televised live and garners high ratings.
Välimäki was among the honourees because he captained the Finnish team that won the U-18 IIHF world championship in Grand Forks, N.D., in April.
Here’s more from The MacBeth Report:
It begins with the reception line, where everyone is individually greeted by the President (currently Sauli Niinistö) and spouse/significant other (wife in this case, Jenni Haukio).
The first people through the line are war veterans, led this year by 91-year- old General Jaakko Valtanen, former Commander of the Finnish Armed Forces. These are veterans of the Winter War and Continuation War, two wars fought during the Second World War, when the Soviet Union twice attacked Finland. The veterans are dwindling in number every year, just like here.
Afterwards, it's dinner, then dancing. 
Anyway . . . 
From Turun Sanomat (Turku's daily newspaper), a story that includes a picture of Välimäki arriving at the Palace is right here.
There are more pictures of the reception line right here.
And there is more coverage right here, in Finnish, from the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE).
As best as we can tell, Välimäki was the youngest guest at age 18. A Finnish singer named Robin Packalén also is 18, but Välimäki is about six weeks younger. The oldest was a veteran aged 101.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings have acquired F Meyer Nell, 19, from the Red Deer Rebels for a conditonal 10th-round selection in the 2018 bantam draft. Nell is from Boissevain, Man., which is south of Brandon and is playing for the Boissevain Border Kings of the Tiger Hills Hockey League while attending the U of Manitoba in Winnipeg. He spent two seasons with the Rebels, picking up nine goals and 15 assists in 121 games. . . . The Rebels selected Nell in the fifth round of the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Nell is expected to join the Wheat Kings after the Christmas break.
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F Vladimir Bobylyov chose to return to Russia this season, rather than play a second season with the Victoria Royals. Now, according to News 1130 Sports, a Vancouver radio station, Bobylyov, 19, may be coming back to Victoria. Bobylyov — he was Bobylev in his first stint in the WHL — had 67 points, including 28 goals, in 72 games with the Royals last season, after putting up three goals and six assists in 52 games with the Vancouver Giants in 2014-15. After last season, he was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2016 draft. . . . He hasn’t been productive in Russia, recording one goal and two assists in 20 games with Spartak Moskva of the KHL before being sent to the VHL’s Khimik Voskresensk. He has a goal and an assist in two games there. . . . The Royals have only one import — Russian D Marsel Ibragimov — on their roster so there is room for Bobylyov.
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The WHL handed out 16 games worth of suspensions and $500 in fines on Tuesday. . . . F Zach Fischer of the Medicine Hat Tigers was given a five-game suspension for becoming “engaged with an unsuspecting opponent.” He hit F Matt Fonteyne of the host Everett Silvertips during a Friday game. Fischer has missed two games and will be eligible to return on Dec. 13 against the visiting Kelowna Rockets. He will miss games divisional games against the Red Deer Rebels, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Calgary Hitmen. . . . F Baron Thompson of the Brandon Wheat Kings was hit with a three-game suspension after taking a headshot major and game misconduct for a hit on F Connor Bruggen-Cate against the host Kelowna Rockets on Saturday. He already has sat out one game and will miss another tonight (Wednesday) when the Wheat Kings play the Cougars in Prince George. . . . F Kolby Johnson of the Prince Albert Raiders was given four games for a headshot major and game misconduct after hitting D Chase Harrison of the host Regina Pats on Saturday. Harrison began this week in concussion protocol. Johnson began his suspension by missing Tuesday’s game against the visiting Calgary Hitmen. . . . D Ryan Gagnon of the Victoria Royals will sit for four games after taking a charging major and game misconduct in a Saturday game against the Cougars in Prince George. . . . The Medicine Hat Tigers and Seattle Thunderbirds each were fined $250 for warm-up violations prior to their Saturday game in Kent, Wash. Ch-ch-ching! Just in time for the WHL office’s Christmas party!
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Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that the Vancouver Giants were missing two players from Monday’s practice. F Radovan Bondra suffered a leg injury on Friday night against the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings and is expected to return Friday against the visiting Everett Silvertips. D Darian Skeoch watched with his right foot/ankle in an air cast. According to Ewen, Skeoch is week-to-week.
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F Pavel Kousal of the Spokane Chiefs will be leaving the team to play for his native Czech Republic at the World Junior A Challenge in Bonnyville, Alta., Dec. 11-17. Kousal, who is eligible for the 2017 NHL draft, has seven goals and two assists in 24 games in his first season with the Chiefs.
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Patrick Conway offers up his latest look at the KHL and its teams and it’s all right here.
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If you’ve got a comment, some information you would like to pass along, or if you just want to say hello, feel free to contact me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
If you would like to donate to the cause, please visit the bottom of this post and go right ahead.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:

At Cranbrook, B.C., F Riley Woods scored at 2:20 of OT to give the Regina Pats a 5-4 victory over the
RILEY WOODS
Kootenay Ice. . . . Woods has four goals this season. . . . Regina F Adam Brooks ran his point streak to 20 games with a third-period goal. He leads the WHL with 46 points, two more than teammate Sam Steel. . . . F Jake Leschyshyn (11) gave Regina a 1-0 lead at 10:47 of the first period. . . . The Ice then took a 3-1 lead on second-period goals from F Vince Loschiavo (7), at 0:33; F Noah Philp (4), at 1:01; and F Zak Zborosky, on a PP, at 5:02. . . . Zborosky has 22 goals and is tied for the WHL lead with F Jayden Halbgewachs of the Moose Jar Warriors. . . . Steel pulled Regina even with two goals, giving him 19, at 10:55 and 15:39. . . . Brooks gave the Pats a 4-3 lead with his 13th goal, at 3:27 of the third period. . . . Loschiavo forced OT with a goal at 11:07. . . . Regina D Sergey Zborovskiy had three assists, giving him 12 points, including nine assists, over his past three games. . . . The Pats got two assists from D Jonathan Smart, who has five points in three games since being acquired from the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Leschyshyn added an assist to his goal. . . . Zborosky added two assists to his goal. . . . It was Zborovskiy versus Zborosky and each had three points. . . . The Pats got 46 saves from G Tyler Brown, while Payton Lee stopped 39 for the Ice. . . . Kootenay was 1-8 on the PP; Regina was 0-1. . . . The Pats (20-2-4) are 4-0-1 in their past five games and now are tied with the idle Everett Silvertips for first place in the overall standings. . . . The Ice (6-17-8) has points in three straight (1-0-2). . . . Announced attendance: 1,538.
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At Moose Jaw, the Saskatoon Blades scored twice in the last two minutes of the third period and then
MICHAEL FARREN
beat the Warriors, 4-3, in a shootout. . . . F Michael Farren scored in the fifth round of the shootout to give the Blades the victory. . . . It was the first shootout of the season for both teams. . . . With the Warriors leading 3-1, Saskatoon F Chase Wouters (3) scored a PP goal at 18:05. . . . The Blades tied it when F Jesse Shynkaruk got No. 8 at 19:01. . . . The last two goals came with G Brock Hamm out for the extra attacker. . . . The Warriors had taken a 2-0 lead into the third period on goals from F Brett Howden (13), at 11:34 of the first period, and F Noah Gregor (13), on a PP, at 19:06 of the second period. . . . F Caleb Fantillo’s second goal of the season allowed the Blades to halve the deficit at 1:36 of the third period. . . . Warriors F Jayden Halbgewachs gave his guys a 3-1 lead, on a PP, at 12:34. The goal gave Halbgewachs the WHL’s goal-scoring lead. F Zak Zborosky of the Kootenay Ice scored his 22nd later in the evening. . . . Halbgewachs also had an assist, while F Nikita Popugaev had two of them. . . . Farren, a 16-year-old from Surrey, B.C., also had two assists for the Blades, as did F Kolten Olynek. . . . Hamm finished with 33 saves through OT and added four more in the shootout as he won for the second time this season. He hadn’t gotten a victory since Oct. 1. . . . Zach Sawchenko stopped 31 shots for the Warriors. . . . Moose Jaw was 2-3 on the PP; Saskatoon was 1-2. . . . The Blades (11-17-2) had been 0-2-1 in their previous three games. . . . Moose Jaw D Matt Sozanski missed his second game with what is believed to be a shoulder injury. . . . The Warriors (16-6-5) had D Matthew Benson, 16, make his WHL debut. Benson has two goals and six assists in 14 games with the Delta Hockey Academy team in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. . . . The Blades had F Tyler Lees, 16, in their lineup. He has six goals and 14 assists in 19 games with the midget AAA Regina Pats Canadians. He was a fifth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Some notes from Les Lazaruk, the youthful radio voice of the Blazers: “The victory ended a three-game winless streak, was the Double Blue's first win over the Warriors after five straight losses and was the first win at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw after eight consecutive setbacks, dating back to Nov. 8, 2013. Add in the fact that the Blades were 0-14-0 when trailing after two periods this season and had only won once previously in 18 games when the opposition opened the scoring, and the result was remarkable.” . . . Announced attendance: 2,808.
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At Prince Albert, F Jordy Stallard broke a 2-2 tie at 15:47 of the third period as the Calgary Hitmen got
JORDY STALLARD
past the Raiders, 3-2. . . . Stallard scored his fourth goal on a PP. . . . F Carsen Twarynski (9) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 2:29 of the second period. . . . The Raiders tied it when F Sean Montgomery scored his eighth goal at 4:36. . . . Calgary took the lead right back, with F Beck Malenstyn (7) scoring at 7:07. . . . That lasted until 19:10 when F Simon Stransky (12) pulled the Raiders into a 2-2 tie. . . . Stransky also had an assist. . . . The Hitmen got 22 saves from G Cody Porter, while Ian Scott of the Raiders blocked 39 shots. . . . Calgary was 1-6 on the PP; Prince Albert was 0-3. . . . The Hitmen (9-14-2) had lost their previous five games. . . . The Raiders 6-22-1 have lost two in a row. . . . F Justyn Gurney, 16, made his WHL debut with the Hitmen. From Delta, B.C., he has 25 points, including eight goals, in 17 games with the Valley West Hawks of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. Gurney was a sixth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Announced attendance: 1,824.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Tri-City at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Seattle at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Regina at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Red Deer at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Calgary at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Victoria at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
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TEDDY BEAR, TOQUE AND MITTEN TOSS GAMES:

Friday, Dec. 9: Moose Jaw at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 9: Swift Current at Regina, 7 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 9: Kootenay at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10: Prince Albert at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10: Kamloops at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10: Kelowna at Kootenay, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10: Calgary at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10: Everett at Portland, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10: Seattle at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10: Victoria vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 16: Saskatoon at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 16: Portland vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17: Brandon at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17: Portland at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17: Vancouver at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
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.

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