Hamilton still hunting for coach . . . 3-on-3 coming to WHL? . . . Kessel won't play this season

G Kevin Nastiuk (Medicine Hat, 2001-05) signed a one-year contract with Eisbären Berlin (Germany, DEL). Last season, with Dresdner Eislöwen (Germany, DEL2), he had a 3.29 GAA with two shutouts in 33 games. . . .
D Juraj Valach (Tri-City, Vancouver, Regina, Red Deer, 2006-08) signed a tryout contract with Medveščak Zagreb (Croatia, KHL). Last season, with Slavia Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had six goals and seven assists in 43 games. . . .
F Robin Soudek (Edmonton, Chilliwack/Victoria, 2008-12) signed a tryout contract with Olomouc (Czech republic, Extraliga). Last season, with the Stockton Thunder, Rapid City Rush and Evansville Icemen (all ECHL), he had 18 goals and 21 assists in 62 games. . . .
F Jan Eberle (Seattle, 2006-08) signed a tryout contract with Olomouc (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, with Kladno (Czech Republic, 1. Liga), he had 18 goals and 19 assists in 52 games. He was an alternate captain.
D Mitch Versteeg (Lethbridge, 2006-07) signed a one-year contract with Kaufbeuren (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with the Nikko Icebucks (Japan, Asia HL), he had four goals and 10 assists in 40 games. . . .
F Mark Derlago (Brandon, 2003-07) signed a one-year contract with the Nikko Icebucks (Japan, Asia HL). Last season, with Esbjerg (Denmark, Metal Ligaen), he had 65 points, including 25 goals, in 36 games. He finished third in the league’s scoring race and was a first-team all-star. He also was an alternate captain.
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Bruce Hamilton, the president and general manager of the Kelowna Rockets continues to go through the process of hiring a head coach to replace the one-and-done Dan Lambert.
“I’m still waiting . . . there’s one particular individual that I’m waiting to see what he wants to do,” Hamilton told Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Courier. “If he’s interested, then I would bring him in (for an interview) right away. . . .
“I’ve reached out to this guy. Someone who knows me contacted me and said ‘hey, this guy might be interested or might be looking.’ . . . A lot of times you’re dealing with guys who are in jobs right now and trying to decide whether they want to stay there or not.”
Lambert now is an assistant coach with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. He spent five season as an assistant coach with the Rockets, under head coach Ryan Huska. Last season, Lambert helped guide the Rockets to the WHL championship.
Fisher’s story is right here.
——
On Monday evening, I posted a ‘Scattershooting’ piece here in which I wrote: “The WHL hasn’t announced it yet, but you can bet it will be going to 3-on-3 overtime in the upcoming season. Why? Because it mirrors the NHL, that’s why.”
It wasn’t long after that piece was posted than a couple of readers were in touch to inform me that WHL commissioner Ron Robison recently was on The Pipeline Show and said that the WHL was going to 3-on-3 OT this season.”
Robison appeared with The Pipeline Show guys on July 14. Asked about “changes on ice” that fans can expect to see, Robison responded:
“We have to take the time to make sure we all are on the same page and want to move forward with what the NHL has adopted. Our agreement with the NHL calls for us to mirror their playing rules. We really like the 3-on-3 overtime rule. I think there are some other areas that we will have some further discussion on. We still have the ability to determine at what stage we implement those new rules, but our thoughts are certainly to move forward for the upcoming season and we’ll take those steps in consultation not only with the general managers within our league but obviously the CHL as well to make sure we’re as consistent with our playing rules across the country as possible.”
——
Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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Greg Ireland has resigned as head coach of the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack in order to accept a coaching position elsewhere. However, no one is saying just where that position is. . . . Ireland had been with the Attack since 2011-12. . . . Ireland’s departure leaves the Attack with at least three vacancies on its coaching staff. Earlier this summer, assistant coach Drew Bannister left to become head coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and assistant coach Daniel Tkaczuk now is on the Kitchener Rangers’ coaching staff.
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Dave Brown is the new general manager of the OHL’s Erie Otters. He replaces long-time GM Sherry Bassin, who was moved out as the franchise changed hands. . . . Brown has been with the Otters for four seasons, serving most recently as director of hockey operations. . . . The Otters also are working on a contract extension with head coach Kris Knoblauch, whose current deal runs through 2015-16.
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Amanda Kessel, who hasn’t played hockey since the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, won’t play again this season thanks to post-concussion syndrome, meaning her college career is over. Kessel, the sister of Pittsburgh Penguins F Phil Kessel, suffered a concussion while with the U.S. women’s Olympic team. She was injured before the Games, but was cleared to play in the Games. . . . A star with the U of Minnesota Golden Gophers, she didn’t attend school after the Olympics. She won’t return to hockey in the upcoming season, although she may attempt to attend school. . . . Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forts Herald has more right here.
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Congrats to one of the hardest working men in show biz @ChadScharff on his new gig with @BladesHockey

— Morley Scott (@Morley_Scott) July 21, 2015

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Raiders to honour Modano

THE MacBETH REPORT:


F Johannes Salmonsson (Spokane, 2005-06) signed a two-year contract extension with Linköping (Sweden, SHL). He had 10 goals and 11 assists in 53 games last season.
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The Canadian Medical Association, at a meeting in Calgary, has condemned NHL owners for their acceptance of violence in the game.
According to The Canadian Press: “Two-thirds of delegates . . . voted ‘to condemn the complacency of the NHL in regards to violence in hockey.’ ”
The complete story is right here.
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Meanwhile, a study published online in the journal Neurology on Wednesday, deals with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and the impact it may have on different people.
Sheryl Ubelacker of The Canadian Press has that story right here, and this is important stuff.
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In their 43-year history, the Prince Albert Raiders have never retired a number. That will change on Nov. 1 when the Raiders retire F Mike Modano’s No. 9. This will happen prior to a game against the visiting Regina Pats. . . . Modano had 295 points in 176 games over three seasons with the Raiders. . . . According to a Raiders’ news release: “A sub-committee of the Raiders Board of Directors extensively researched and deliberated the honour of retiring jerseys by junior hockey franchises, and created a very strict criteria from their findings for the Prince Albert Raiders Hockey Club. Following an evaluation of the criteria, the Board of Directors approved the retirement of Mike Modano’s number 9.” . . . Mayor Greg Dionne has declared Nov. 1 and 2 to be Mike Modano Weekend in Prince Albert. The weekend also will feature the Kinsmen Sportsman Dinner, with Modano as special guest. Former Raiders play-by-play voice Kevin Winters will be the emcee.
———
F Robin Soudek, who played in the WHL with the Edmonton Oil Kings, Chilliwack Bruins and Victoria Royals (2008-12), will attend the University of Prince Edward Island and play for the Panthers. Soudek, from Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, played pro in his home country last season but was limited to 11 games by injuries.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Edmonton Oil Kings have signed head coach Derek Laxdal to a two-year extension that runs through 2015-16. . . . Laxdal, 47, has been with the Oil Kings through three seasons and has gotten them into the last two WHL championship finals. The Oil Kings won it all in 2011-12 and were runners-up last season. . . . In his three seasons in Edmonton, the Oil Kings are 132-64-20. . . . Laxdal, who played in the WHL with the Brandon Wheat Kings and Portland Winterhawks, joined the Oil Kings from the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads, where he was director of hockey operations and head coach. The Steelheads won the Kelly Cup in 2007.
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The BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors have added Ryan Parent to their staff as an assistant coach and director of scouting. Parent, who lives in Vernon, most recently was general manager and head coach of the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats. . . . Rylan Ferster, the Warriors’ GM/head coach, also announced that Cory Cross, who played more than 600 NHL games, will work with the team’s defencemen. . . . Brent Gough is back as assistant GM and associate coach. . . . Shae Naka, who had been on staff as an assistant coach, now is at Pursuit of Excellence.
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The AJHL’s Grande Prairie Storm has moved Blaine Bablitz from general manager and head coach to strictly GM. He will serve as a full-time general manager and now will have more time to focus on those duties. . . . Matt Hughes, who is preparing for his second season with the Storm, is the new head coach. . . . Jim Lawrence and Adam Manah are the assistant coaches. Manah also is the head coach of Grande Prairie’s midget AAA team.
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The junior B Revelstoke Grizzlies of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League have signed another coach. In fact, Darren Naylor has signed on as the general manager and head coach. . . . Naylor, who also has coached the KIJHL’s Columbia Valley Rockies, is the fourth head coach the Grizzlies have had this summer. . . . Naylor is a former WHLer (Victoria, Swift Current, 1987-90).
Alex Cooper of the Revelstoke Times Review has more right here.
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From Vancouver broadcaster Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff): “Word at WHL Giants golf tournament is that Sportstalk is moving to CISL AM650 starting in October.”
Dan Russell, Shaw TV’s WHL play-by-play voice, is the host of the long-running Sportstalk on Vancouver radio station CKNW. His contract isn’t being renewed when it expires on Aug. 31.
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Later, Russell (@DanRussellST) tweeted: “Rumours duly noted — but nothing official to announce regarding future of Sportstalk. #cautiouslyhopeful”


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Petr Vala (Seattle, 1997-98) signed a one-year contract extension with Zell am See (Austria, Inter-National-League). He had 22 goals and 26 assists in 23 games to finish third in league scoring this season. Vala also was captain of Zell am See this season. . . .

F Robin Soudek (Edmonton, Chilliwack/Victoria, 2008-12) requested and was granted his release by Ceske Budejovice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had one goal and one assist in 11 games this season before suffering a knee injury that caused him to miss the rest of the season. Soudek signed a two-year contract with the club last summer but asked for his release so he can return to Canada and go to school.
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F Justin Feser of the Tri-City Americans is the Western Conference’s player of the year. . . . . Feser, from Red Deer, completed his WHL eligibility this season and now is with the AHL’s Portland Pirates. . . . He finished his final season with 106 points, including 44 goals, in 72 games. He had 40 more points than Tri-City’s second-leading scorer. . . . He also set a WHL record by playing in 321 consecutive regular-season games. . . . Feser is the third Tri-City player to be so honoured in the last five years – F Brendan Shinnimin was saluted last season, while F Colton Yellowhorn was the pick in 2008. . . . F Adam Lowry of the Swift Current Broncos was named the Eastern Conference’s player of the year on Wednesday.
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On Wednesday, Wade Klippenstein, the Prince George Cougars’ assistant GM and director of player personnel, tweeted this from @CoachKlipp: “One more day, then off to see the best 1998 born players BC has to offer. #WHLBantamDraft13 #Bcbestever @BCHockey_Source”
On Thursday morning, Klippenstein tweeted: “Thanks to everyone involved with the PG Cougars Its been a wonderful 6 years. Best of luck to all down the road. #Thanks”
Later in the day, the Cougars issued a press release that began: “Prince George Cougars General Manager Dallas Thompson has accepted the resignation of Assistant General Manager/Director of Player Personnel Wade Klippenstein effective immediately.”
Thompson found out about the resignation via an email from Klippenstein.
Klippenstein had spent the last four seasons as the assistant GM and director of player personnel.
Julie Stewart-Binks of CTV in Regina (@JSB_CTV) tweeted: “Klippenstein says he resigned over ‘philosophical differences’, but has no ill will toward anyone.”
All of this comes with the WHL’s bantam draft looming on the horizon. It is scheduled for May 2 in Calgary.
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G Luke Siemens, who played out his eligibility with the Prince Albert Raiders, has committed to the U of Alberta Golden Bears. Seimens, from Delta, B.C., had a 2.89 GAA and a .912 save percentage this season and was named the Raiders’ MVP in the regular season and playoffs. . . . He also played with the Prince George Cougars, Everett Silvertips and Moose Jaw Warriors. . . .
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The Allan Cup semifinals in Red Deer will feature the Kenora, Ont., Thistles against the host Bentley Generals, while the Rosetown Redwings will meet the Clarenville, Nfld., Caribous. . . . Kenora advanced with an 8-2 victory over the Fort St. John Flyers on Thursday, while Rosetown dumped the Stony Plain Eagles, 4-1. . . . Former WHLers J.J. Hunter and Casey Lee each scored twice for Rosetown. . . . And how about Kenora D Mike Garrow, who is vice-principal at H.J. Cody High School in Sylvan Lake, Alta.? Danny Rode of the Red Deer Advocate reports that Garrow “flies to Kenora throughout the season to play weekend games with the Thistles,” whose roster comprises “players he grew up with and played with at the junior level.”
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They’re playing musical franchises in the AHL and the season isn’t even over. . . .
On Thursday, the AHL’s board of governors approved the relocation of the Houston Aeros to Des Moines, Iowa. The franchise is affiliated with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and will be known as the Iowa Wild.
The board also OK’d the sale of the Peoria Rivermen from the St. Louis Blues to the owners of the Vancouver Canucks. According to an AHL news release: “No determination has been made relative to the operation of the franchise for the 2013-14 season.”
However, there is ample speculation that the franchise will be relocated to Abbotsford, B.C. The Calgary Flames, who own the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat, are said to be moving that franchise to Utica, N.Y.
Meanwhile, the Canucks also have an affiliation with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, with their two-year agreement ending after this season.
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The WHL’s playoff situation:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Edmonton (1) vs. Calgary (3)
(Calgary leads 1-0; Game 2 tonight in Edmonton; all games on Shaw TV, with Dan Russell calling the play.)
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Portland (1) vs. Kamloops (3)
Series opens tonight in Portland.
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THURSDAY’S GAME:
In Edmonton, F Brady Brassart scored at 1:44 of OT to give the Calgary Hitmen a 3-2 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Brassart has seven playoff goals, having scored three times in each of Calgary’s previous series-opening games. . . . Calgary G Chris Driedger stopped 33 shots, while Edmonton’s Laurent Brossoit turned aside 16. . . . Edmonton F Henrik Samuelsson forced OT with his seventh goal of the playoffs, on the PP, at 13:05 of the third period. His father, former NHLer Ulf Samuelsson, was in the stands. . . . Edmonton F Curtis Lazar hit the crossbar just 13 seconds into OT. . . . The Oil Kings didn’t give up even one PP goal over their first two series. The Hitmen, however, scored on their first PP opportunity, taking a 2-0 lead on a goal by F Zach Jones at 3:32 of the second period. . . . The Hitmen were outshot 10-3 in the first period but scored on their first shot, by F Victor Rask, just 85 seconds in. . . . Rask has at least one point in each of Calgary’s 11 playoff games. . . . Calgary F Jake Virtanen, the first overall pick in the 2011 bantam draft, had two assists. . . . F Trevor Cheek, who began his WHL career with Calgary in 2010-11, got Edmonton on the board at 13:42 of the second. . . . F Dylan Wruck had two assists for Calgary. . . . The Hitmen have played five road games in these playoffs and each one has gone to OT. They are 3-2 in those games. . . . It also was Calgary’s franchise-record sixth OT game of these playoffs. . . . Amazingly, the teams hadn’t played each other since concluding their regular-season series on Dec. 18.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (16):
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (5):
None
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From Edmonton Sun columnist Terry Jones (@sunterryjones): “Not huge crowd for Oil Kings-Hitmen. Thursday night a killer for family crowd? Backlash on Kevin Lowe comments? Series being shown on SHAW?”
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From the Edmonton Journal’s Evan Daum (@evandaum): “6,337 in attendance tonight. Smallest Edmonton playoff crowd since Game 4 of 2011 conf. quarters. 5,938 watched Red Deer win 5-1 that night”

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Former WHLer David Rutherford with the Kelly Cup that he
and his Florida Everblades teammates won on Wednesday night.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Filip Novak (Regina, 1999-2002) signed a one-year contract extension with Dynamo Moscow (Russia, KHL). He had two goals and nine assists in 39 games for the KHL champions this season. . . .
D Tomas Slovak (Kelowna, 2001-03) signed a one-year contract with Plzen (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had one goal and one assist in 31 games for Dinamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL) and was pointless in one game on assignment to Gomel (Belarus, Open League) this season. . . .
F Milan Kytnar (Kelowna, Saskatoon, Vancouver, 2007-10) signed a three-year contract with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). He had one goal and two assists in 13 games with the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL), seven goals and five assists in 17 games with the Stockton Thunder (ECHL), was pointless in one game with the Edmonton Oilers (NHL), and had no goals and three assists in 16 games with HPK Hämeenlinna (Finland, SM-Liiga). . . .
F Robin Soudek (Edmonton, Chilliwack/Victoria, 2009-12) signed a one-year plus option contract with Ceske Budejovice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had 27 goals and 30 assists in 65 games with Victoria this season.
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ROB TRZONKOWSKI

On a day when the NFL’s Denver Broncos acquired FB Chris Gronkowski from the Indianapolis Colts, it was only fitting that the Calgary Hitmen should trade away F Rob Trzonkowski.
Trzonkowski, an 18-year-old from Calgary, was sent to the Kamloops Blazers for a fourth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Trzonkowski has 16 points and 200 penalty minutes in 111 regular-season games. He was an eighth-round selection in the 2009 bantam draft.
As for Gronkowski, he was acquired for CB Cassius Vaughn. Gronkowski is one of three brothers in the NFL at the moment. Trzonkowski is the only member of his family in the WHL.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Bliss Littler is the new director of hockey operations and head coach of the NAHL’s Wenatchee Wild. Littler is a veteran coach who has 577 career victories at the junior A Tier 1 and Tier 2 levels in the U.S. He has been coaching for more than 19 years. Most recently, he has been the GM and head coach of the USHL’s Omaha Lancers. In Wenatchee, Littler replaces John Becanic, who resigned last month. . . .
The owners of the NAHL’s Johnstown Tomahawks have signed Jason Spence as the team’s head coach. He is an assistant coach with the ECHL’s Greenville Road Warriors. . . . Spence

played and worked for the ECHL’s Johnstown Chiefs from 2005-10. . . . The owners, according to a news release, named the “new team the Johnstown Tomahawks and unveiled a new team logo and name design that honors the storied history of the Johnstown Chiefs and its home arena made famous in the classic hockey film Slapshot.” . . . The Tomahawks will play out of the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown. . . . From the news release: “The team logo and name's color scheme of red, white and blue was created as a tribute to the American war veterans honored and commemorated throughout the War Memorial Arena for their sacrifices and service to our country. The "Tomahawks" nickname was chosen to symbolize the new team's fighting spirit, exciting style of play and good sportsmanship the team and its fans expect from their young players.” . . . Sportsmanship? That means this team won’t include a  future Denis Lemieux. . . . “You do that, you go to the box, you know. Two minutes, by yourself, you know and you feel shame, you know. And then you get free.” . . . Presumably there will be any bounties placed on the opposing Tim McCrackens of the world, either. . . . Hmmm! Wonder how many games the Hanson brothers will attend. . . .
Luke Richardson has been named head coach of the Binghamton Senators, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. Richardson, a former NHL defenceman, has been an assistant coach with Ottawa for the last three seasons. With Binghamton, he replaces Kurt Kleinendorst, who announced May 8 that he was leaving the organization with expiration of his two-year contract next month. Under Kleinendorst, the B-Sens won the AHL’s 2011 championship. . . .
The BCHL’s Vernon Vipers have signed Jason Read and David Robinson as assistant coaches to work alongside GM/head coach Jason Williamson. . . . Read worked this season with the midget AAA Calgary Royals. . . . Robinson is a former WHL player (Chilliwack, 2007-10) who returned to Vernon to play for the Vipers in 2010-11. He was the team captain as it reached the RBC Cup final. Robinson played this season at the U of Calgary with the Dinos. . . .
The AHL’s Hershey Bears announced Wednesday that head coach Mark French and assistant coach Troy Mann will return for another season. The Bears are affiliated with the NHL’s Washington Capitals. . . .
The ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays have signed head coach Spencer Carberry, 30, to a two-year extension. . . . Carberry is from Victoria and just completed his first season as head coach, after spending a season as assistant coach. He took over from Cail MacLean, who moved to the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat as an assistant coach.
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The price of rent goes up . . . the price of tickets go up. Such is life in Brandon.
The Wheat Kings and the Keystone Centre announced the signing of a five-year lease agreement that will have the team continue to play in Westman Communications Group Place. The parties had been working on the five-year extension to a 10-year lease, with the extension due to expire on May 31.
"We are pleased to come to this agreement with the Wheat Kings," Neil Thomson, the Keystone Centre’s general manager, said in a news release. "It does mean a significant increase in the revenue for the facility since the last agreement in 1997."
Kelly McCrimmon, the Wheat Kings’ owner and GM, added: "It is true that we are paying much higher rent in our new agreement. However, in our minds we traded that with various factors. One of our goals in these negotiations was to protect our customers from additional fees. The Keystone Centre was looking for more revenue in the deal and spoke at length about increasing agency fees, implementing a new facility fee and even paid parking.
"In our minds, we felt that this would not work out for our fan base. So as a result, those costs were absorbed by us in the framework of this new agreement."
It is expected that the increased rent will help pay for improvements in lighting, seating and sound in the arena.
The Wheat Kings also announced their season-ticket prices, with adult tickets having risen $75 to $425. (Purchase by June 15 and save $25.)
That “equates to a single-game ticket price of just over $12 . . . which represents a saving of close to $8 (based on box office regular admission prices),” reads a news release. “To help illustrate the savings, if one was to purchase tickets for 36 individual games, the price (including agency fees) would be $720. That means, fans will have paid for their season tickets by the 22nd game of the year.”
The Wheat Kings also have gone back to offering Senior season tickets, at $375. Youth tickets (18-and-under) are going for $200.
"Our season ticket base is very important to us," McCrimmon said. "Under terms of our new lease, we will be paying in excess of four times the cost of the previous one and, while this is a positive development for the Keystone, it does significantly increase our cost of doing business."
This season, the Wheat Kings averaged about 4,100 fans per game, with about 3,000 of those being season-ticket holders.
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F Brandon MacLean scored at 4:54 of OT to give the host Florida Everblades a 3-2 victory over the Las Vegas Wranglers and the ECHL’s Kelly Cup title. . . . Florida won the series, 4-1, to earn its first championship in its 14-season history. . . . The Everblades’ roster included former WHLer David Rutherford, who lost five teeth to a high-stick in Game 1,
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The Red Deer Rebels and Westerner Park are adding 100 feet of digital LED ribbon signage to the fascia of the newly created lower suite level. According to a news release, “This signage is identical to that found ringing the lower bowl of both the Scotiabank Saddledome and Rexall Place.” . . . Gotta wonder if Cam Moon, the longtime radio voice of the Rebels, will have Major League Baseball scores on the ribbon in season?
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G Mark Segal, who played in 36 games with the Vancouver Giants in 2009-10 and 55 the next season, has decided to end his competitive hockey career. Segal spent this season with the McGill Redmen, who won the school’s first CIS championship since its hockey program began in 1877. . . . Segal got into 11 games with McGill, going 9-2, .924, 2.27. . . . Segal, who is from Vancouver, has chosen to move to the U of Victoria but doesn’t plan on playing hockey, unless it’s of the intramural variety.
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The Prince George Cougars have signed F Brett Roulston, a native of Whitehorse, Yukon, who turns 18 on Oct. 15. . . . Roulston played this season with the major midget Cariboo Cougars, who play out of Prince George. He had 36 points, including 16 goals, in 35 games. . . . He has been on the Cougars’ list since March. At one time he was on the Kamloops Blazers’ list, but a recurring back problem caused him to miss the 2010-11 season.

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Penalty shot key in Blazers' Game 2 victory

Dylan Willick (11) and Chase Schaber (10) of the Kamloops Blazers try
to get a puck under Victoria Royals goaltender Jared Rathjen
on Saturday at the Interior Savings Centre.
(Photo by Hugo Yuen / Kamloops Daily News)

 By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor

It only took the Kamloops Blazers 20 minutes to ruin head coach Guy Charron’s mood on Saturday night.
In complete control with a 6-1 lead as the third period began, the Blazers gave up three goals and settled for a 7-4 WHL playoff victory over the Victoria Royals.
The Blazers, having won back-to-back playoff games for the first time since 1999, lead the best-of-seven affair 2-0 with the scene now shifting to Victoria for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
“Our third period was unacceptable,” Charron said. “A 6-1 score . . . I know everyone feels it’s a comfortable lead. My message is that you cannot give a team any life. It showed a little vulnerability on our part in that third period.
“If we want to grow and be a competitive team in the playoffs we have to tighten up. We can’t give up three goals in the third period like that.”
The Blazers have beaten the Royals nine times in 10 meetings this season, outscoring them 50-26 in the process. On Saturday, the Blazers had a 53-28 edge in shots and completely owned the second period. The Royals, however, won the third period 3-1 and you can bet they will be trying to use that to their benefit.
“We’re not going away,” Marc Habscheid, the Royals’ general manager and head coach, said. “Some of our top end guys have more to give. We need more from some of our top six forwards, for sure.
“But we’re not going away. I like that about our group. We’re young but we’re going to be feisty.”
The Blazers, spurred by Jordan DePape’s penalty-shot goal at 19:24 of the first period, exploded for five second-period goals on 20 shots to take control.
“It was big,” Charron said of the penalty shot.
“That’s a tough call,” Habscheid said.
The penalty shot was awarded after Victoria forward Ben Walker hooked DePape, who appeared to be struggling to control the puck as he went in on goaltender Keith Hamilton.
“I don’t think I’ve had a penalty shot in my life. . . . It was pretty exciting,” said DePape, who turned 20 on March 17. “I was 50-50. I didn’t know if it was a hook or a penalty shot.”
A long shift left DePape gasping for breath just before the freebie.
“I went to the bench and threw my mouthguard to (trainer Colin Robinson) because I could hardly breathe,” said DePape, who also scored the the Blazers’ third-period goal. “He gave me some water and I went to the blue-line. I was thinking deke and I went down and I just reacted, made a quick release and it went in.”
DePape fired a shot high to Hamilton’s glove side and the Blazers were off.
Kamloops winger Tim Bozon got his third goal of the series just 38 seconds into the second period, but forward Jamie Crooks got the Royals on the board 2:16 later.
“They got 2-0 early and then we made it 2-1,” Habscheid said. “We were right there . . . 10 minutes bit us again.”
He was referring to the midpoint of the period where the Blazers broke it open with four goals in 6:42, with defenceman Brady Gaudet and forwards Chase Schaber, Dylan Willick and Cole Ully the triggermen.
One night earlier, the Blazers scored three second-period goals, two of them coming 47 seconds apart, to break open what had been a 1-1 game.
Austin Carroll, Robin Soudek and Taylor Crunk scored for the Royals in the third period.
“Again a 10-to-12-minute stretch did us in like the first game,”
Royals forward Tim Traber told the Victoria Times Colonist. “We’re coming home now and believe we can beat these guys.”
DePape isn’t so sure.
“We got too relaxed,” DePape said of his club’s third period. “We took them for granted. In playoffs, you can’t let happen. It’s not a weakness but maybe they think they’ve got something now. . . . There were some minor breakdowns but we can regroup.”
Kamloops defenceman Marek Hrbas, who again was a physical forced, added: “We stopped playing our game and they got some chances. They got a couple of goals and we got back to it. But that can’t happen in the next game. We have to play a full 60 minutes . . . all game every game.”
JUST NOTES: Attendance was 4,527. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave stopped 24 shots but, like his teammates, appeared to lose focus in the third period. . . . Jared Rathjen replaced Hamilton in Victoria’s net after Schaber gave the Blazers a 4-1 lead at 9:03 of the second. . . . The Blazers were 2-for-7 on the power play; the Royals were 0-for-5. . . . Referees Colby Smith and Jon Stephenson gave Victoria 42 of 80 penalty minutes. The last half of the game slowed to a crawl at times as the teams engaged in scrum after scrum, with the officials content to stand and yell at the players, rather than issue meaningful penalties. . . . The Daily News Three Stars: 1. F Matt Needham, Kamloops: Battling; 2. Willick: Bloodied in another night at the office; 3. D Marek Hrbas, Kamloops: Gives more than he receives.

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Bozon leads Blazers to Game 1 victory

Chase Schaber (10), Matt Needham and Dylan Willick (11) celebrate the latter's
goal, the first of the game for the Kamloops Blazers on Friday night.
(Photo by Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
So, Tim Bozon, how was your first taste of the WHL playoffs?
“It was really intense from the regular season,” offered Bozon, after his two-goal effort had helped the Kamloops Blazers end a 19-game playoff losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Victoria Royals at Interior Savings Centre.
The Blazers hadn’t won a WHL playoff game since March 30, 2005, when they beat visiting Kootenay 3-2 in Game 3 of a first-round series the Ice would win in six games.
The teams will play here again tonight. Game time is 7 o’clock.
The scene then shifts to Victoria for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
Tonight’s game, as with all games in this series, will be shown live on Shaw TV.
Bozon, who scored 36 goals in the regular season and has been named the Western Conference’s rookie of the year, broke a 1-1 tie at 4:13 of the second period when he scored off a nifty against-the-grain back pass  by Colin Smith. Bozon later got the game’s final goal when a shot by defenceman Austin Madaisky hit a post and caromed in off the shaft of Bozon’s stick.
“We beat them seven times in the regular season,” said Bozon, referencing the fact his side was 7-1 against Victoria, “and this wasn’t an easy game.
“The first seven minutes I was surprised. They were coming hard and I had to be prepared to get hit.”
Such is life in the WHL playoffs.
In fact, the second period wasn’t even over and Bozon, who was born in St. Louis but joined the Blazers from Switzerland, had the look of a warrior, his upper lip swollen and oozing blood after being hit with a puck.
The game started as expected, with the underdog Royals, who finished 44 points behind the Blazers, having brought their physical game with them. Defenceman Jordan Fransoo delivered a couple of hard checks on forwards Matt Needham and Chase Schaber; Victoria forward Taylor Crunk popped Madaisky; defenceman Tyler Stahl knocked down Bozon; forward Robin Soudek checked Aspen Sterzer . . . and on it went.
But the hardest hit of the opening 20 minutes may have belonged to Kamloops defenceman Marek Hrbas, who stamped forward Tim Traber.
The teams played to a 1-1 tie in a physical first period — Dylan Willick counting for Kamloops and Robin Soudek, via the power play, for the visitors.
Willick’s goal was the result of some solid work by Needham, who won a one-on-one battle with defenceman Keegan Kanzig beside the Victoria net. That allowed Willick to bang home the puck.
The Blazers took over in the second as they scored three times, the last two — from Bozon and Schaber — 47 seconds apart, and were spending more and more time in the offensive zone.
“I thought outside of 10 minutes it could have gone either way,” said Victoria GM/head coach Marc Habscheid, referring to a bad spell in the second period. “We did a lot of things we wanted to and we were right there. So we’ll try and build off it.”
The Royals were outshot 34-27 but did force Kamloops goaltender Cole Cheveldave into a couple of terrific saves, one in particular — a glove save off forward Ben Walker after a crazy bounce off the end glass — bringing the crowd of 4,948 to its feet.
“We got in on the play and created some turnovers,” Habscheid continued. “I just thought their best players raised their games and I thought our best players weren’t our best players.”
The Royals are a team that isn’t going to score a lot of goals off the rush, choosing instead to harrass defenders into turnovers, then get the puck to the net and create havoc. So the Blazers want to get the puck deep into the Victoria zone and make the Royals bring it back 200 feet. For the most part, Kamloops was successful in doing that.
“We had some jitters in the first period,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said, “but you also have to give credit to the other team.
“But after the first period, we got to play more the style we needed to play to be successful. From that moment on it went well.”
If there was a concern with the Blazers’ game, it may be with a power-play unit that was 0-for-4, although Schaber’s goal came four seconds after Victoria defenceman Keegan Kanzig was let out of stir following a checking-from-behind minor for a hit on Jordan DePape.
“I think we did some good things,” Charron stated. “They had killed 42 of 44 penalties coming into this game, so we knew we were faced with a good penalty-killing team. Schaber’s goal wasn’t a power play but it resulted form a power-play situation.
“It’s more of a concern if you don’t win the game and you wish your power play had done something.”
JUST NOTES: Victoria G Keith Hamilton stopped 30 shots. . . . Schaber, in his first game after a six-game injury-related absence, also had an assist. . . . Referees Steve Papp and Brett Montsion chose not to hand out penalties from any of a number of last-half scrums. “It’s one of those things,” Charron said. “It’s really up to the officials what they’re going to let go and not let go. Overall, I think it was good. We try to preach to our players, ‘If you get into a scrum get out of there.’ ” . . . Kanzig picked up three of Victoria’s five minors and also took a late-game misconduct. . . . The Daily News Three Stars: 1. Bozon: The eye of the tiger; 2. Madaisky: Leader on the back end; 3. Hrbas: Tough and strong.

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