FRIDAY’S GAMES:
pic.twitter.com/4YOHI7OkyD
— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) April 11, 2015
In Brandon, the Wheat Kings, playing before a sold-out crowd, opened with a 5-1 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . They’ll play Game 2 tonight in Brandon. . . . The Wheat Kings scored the game’s first two goals, with F Duncan Campbell getting his first at 9:48 of the first and F Tim McGauley getting his fourth at 1:56 of the second. . . . F Taylor Cooper, a former Wheat Kings skater, got Regina’s goal at 9:12 of the second. . . . F John Quenneville got his fourth goal for Brandon at 13:50 of the second. . . . The Wheat Kings put it away with two third-period goals — D Ivan Provorov scored his first at 10:41 and F Jayce Hawryluk got No. 4 at 14:04. . . . F Tyler Coulter had two assists for Brandon. . . . Brandon has scored the first goal in each of its past five games and has won each of those games. . . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny celebrated his 19th birthday by stopping 21 shots, five fewer than Regina’s Daniel Wapple. . . . Regina was 0-for-4 on the PP; Brandon was 0-for-3. . . . F Reid Duke was back in Brandon’s lineup after a 21-game absence with an undisclosed injury. He hadn’t played since Feb. 13. . . . Brandon F Morgan Klimchuk remains sidelined. . . . Attendance was 5,130. . . . A Friday tweet from Phil Andrews, the radio voice of the Pats: “Pats HC John Paddock will be inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in October. Official announcement coming Monday.”
———
An interesting tidbit from the Hodge’s Heroes blog, where Brandon Rivers writes: “D-man Caleb Jones (1996) was ranked No. 115 overall among North American skaters in Central Scouting's final rankings. Jones, who is playing with the USNTDP, has reportedly signed with Portland, though this has not been announced by the Winterhawks. There could be some reason why this has not been announced as of yet, but I do not know exactly why.” . . . This speculation goes back to a report by Corbett Smith and his High School Sports Blog for The Dallas Morning News. Smith reported on April 2 that Jones, the younger brother of former Winterhawks D Seth Jones, has opted to join the Winterhawks, who selected him in the third round of the 2012 WHL bantam draft. Smith wrote: “According to local youth hockey expert Tanner Wilson, Caleb says he’s 100 percent committed to the Winterhawks for next season; Caleb had been courted by several top NCAA programs, most recently Wisconsin. He also had offers from Boston College, Boston University (currently in the NCAA’s Frozen Four) and Umass.” . . . Caleb Jones, 17, spent the past two seasons in the U.S. National Team Development Program.——
David Levin, who was born in Tel Aviv, will be selected by the Sudbury Wolves with the No. 1 pick in today’s OHL draft. . . . Levin, now 15, was 12 when he left his parents and brother behind to come to Canada in order to focus on hockey. . . . He played this season with the AAA minor midget Don Mills Flyers. Their head coach is Lindsay Hofford, who once did a stint as head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes (2003-06). Hofford also is the director of scouting for the OHL’s London Knights. . . . John Matisz of QMI Agency has more on Levin right here.——F Sam Reinhart’s debut with the AHL’s Rochester Americans has been delayed. Reinhart suffered an undisclosed injury as his Kootenay Ice dropped a seven-game series to the Calgary Hitmen last week, so the Americans, the AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres, have chosen to hold out Reinhart until next weekend. . . . The Americans will conclude their regular season with three games next weekend. The last game, on Sunday, April 19, will be against the host Adirondack Flames, whose roster includes F Max Reinhart, Sam’s older brother.
——
The AHL’s Adirondack Flames have signed G Taran Kozun of the Seattle Thunderbirds to an amateur tryout deal. Kozun, who played out his junior eligibility this season, was in a development camp with the Washington Capitals in 2014. Adirondack is the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames. This season, Kozun was 33-19-8, .915, 2.41. . . . Former Kelowna Rockets head coach Ryan Huska is in his first season as Adirondack’s head coach. . . . The Flames are at home to Dean Chynoweth and the Lake Erie Monsters on Saturday and Sunday. . . . Seattle D Evan Wardley, who also used up his junior eligibility, has joined the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers. . . . Seattle D Shea Theodore, 19, is playing with the Norfolk Admirals, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Theodore was selected by the Ducks in the first round of the NHL’s 2013 draft.
——
The BCHL has made a move to get older players onto its teams’ rosters. Here’s a note from Brian Wiebe, over at Brian’s Banter:“The BCHL has re-introduced the roster rule stating that each team must have a minimum of two players 17-years-old or younger on its active roster in 2015-16. This is a change from this season when teams were required to have a minimum of four rookie players, which was defined as those entering the season with less than 30 games of junior A experience. The 17-years-old-and-under rule was in place for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons after teams were required to carry a minimum of one 16-year-old and one 17-year-old on their rosters during the 2011-12 season.”
———
The Red Deer Rebels have signed F Austin Pratt, a native of Lakeville, Minn., who was a fourth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. Pratt, who attended a Rebels’ prospect camp last summer and was in their training camp prior to this season, played the past two seasons at Shattuck St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn. This season, with the school’s U-16 team, he had 52 points, 20 of them goals, in 55 games. . . . Pratt may be the only 16-year-old on the Rebels’ roster next season as it prepares to play host to the 2016 Memorial Cup. . . .
It is expected that F Connor McDavid of the OHL’s Erie Otters or F Jack Eichel of Boston U will be first pick in June’s NHL draft. On Friday afternoon, Eichel was named winner of the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s top player; later in the day, McDavid became the first Erie player to score five goals in a regular-season or playoff game as the Otters dropped the visiting London Knights 7-3 in a second-round game. . . . The Otters lead the series, 2-0. . . . Erie D Kurtis MacDermid has been suspended for eight games for a headshot that has taken London F Max Domi out of the series. . . . Erie F Mason Marchment has been hit with an indefinite suspension for a hit on London F Mitch Marner. . . .
G Eric Comrie of the Tri-City Americans started for the AHL’s St. John’s Ice Caps last night. He made 28 saves in a 3-2 loss to the visiting Hershey Bears. . . . F Brayden Point of the Moose Jaw Warriors scored his first AHL goal last night, as he and the host Syracuse Crunch beat the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 4-3, in OT. Point forced OT with a PP goal at 3:43 of the third period.
———
THE COACHING GAME:
Chad van Diemen is the new head coach of the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings. Van Diemen, 33, spent the past six seasons with the BCHL’s Powell River Kings, as assistant GM and associate head coach. . . . Van Diemen, who signed a two-year contract, replaces Dave Dupas, who resigned following the season. Dupas, who is from Kelowna, cited family reasons in resigning. . . . Van Diemen is from Kamloops. He played four seasons (1998-2002)in the BCHL, with the Nanaimo Clippers, Powell River and Quesnel Millionaires before going on to play four seasons of NCAA hockey -- one at Iona and three at Manhattanville. . . . His father, Case, was the president of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers for a while when the franchise was community-owned.——
The Hamilton Bulldogs, who will begin play in the OHL next season, have signed George Burnett as their first general manager/head coach. Burnett, a 26-year veteran of the coaching wars, spent the past 11 seasons as the GM/head coach of the Belleville Bulls. That franchise is relocating to Hamilton. Burnett, 53, is a long-time OHL coach, having also worked with the Oshawa Generals, Niagara Falls Thunder, Oshawa Generals and Belleville. He also has coached in the NHL and AHL. He has 611 OHL coaching victories, ranking him second among active coaches and leaving him fifth on the all-time list.
———
Victoria Cougars vs New Westminster Bruins, #WHL playoff game April 7, 1979 at the Victoria Memorial Arena. pic.twitter.com/3R6UISrkNV
— Victoria Cougars (@victoriacougars) April 10, 2015
There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
playoffs each season. But in those playoffs, they went 2-15 and were first-round losers each time.
Sabres. Reinhart, the second overall pick in the NHL’s 2014 draft, opened the season by playing nine games with Buffalo. He went on to help Canada win the 2015 World Junior Championship. In 47 regular-season games with the Ice, he had 65 points, including 19 goals. . . . F Tim Bozon was sent by the Montreal Canadiens to their AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. Bozon, who has used up his junior eligibility, was a third-round pick by the Canadiens in the 2012 NHL draft and he has signed with Montreal. This season, Bozon had 63 points, including 35 goals, in 57 regular-season games. . . . D Rinat Valiev will join the Toronto Marlies, the AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Valiet, who turns 20 on May 11, was selected by the Maple Leafs in the third round of the NHL’s 2014 draft. He had 46 points, nine of them goals, in 52 regular-season games with the Ice this season. He also played for Russia at the 2015 World Junior Championship. . . . F Jaedon Descheneau of the Ice, who was fifth-round pick by the St. Louis Blues in the NHL’s 2014 draft, is joining the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. He has yet to sign with the Blues. This season he had 81 points, 34 of them goals, in 70 games this season.
McDavid plays.
In Prince Albert, F Austin Glover had two goals and an assist to help the Raiders to a 6-4 victory over the the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Raiders led 4-0 at 3:22 of the second period, only have Brandon tie it before the end of the period. . . . F Simon Stransky broke the tie with his 10th goal at 1:10 of the third. Glover got the empty-netter, his 11th goal this season, at 19:39. . . . F Reid Gardiner scored his 28th goal and added two assists for the Raiders, who got three assists from D Brendan Guhle. . . . F Jayce Hawryluk, who sat out the previous 13 games with an undisclosed injury, scored three times for Brandon. He’s got 22 goals and is the club’s sixth 20-goal man. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauley ran his point streak to 15 games when he scored his 35th goal of the season. . . . Prince Albert G Nick McBride stopped 31 shots. . . . The Raiders were 1-for-2 on the PP; the Wheaties were 0-for-4. . . . With G Alex Moodie (undisclosed injury) out, the Wheat Kings had brought in G Logan Thompson to back up G Jordan Papirny. However, Thompson was ill and a scratch last night. . . . Brandon continues to be without F Nolan Patrick, F Reid Duke, D Ivan Provorov and D Kale Clague, all out with undisclosed injuries. . . . The Raiders (24-32-3) had lost their last two games (0-1-1). . . . The Wheat Kings (43-10-6) suffered their first regulation-time loss since Jan. 10. They had been 14-0-2 in their previous 16 games and had won nine straight on the road. . . . 
In Regina, the Pats ran their winning streak over Saskatoon to 13 games with a 4-1 victory over the Blades. . . . Regina F Adam Brooks, who had missed eight games with a knee injury, scored his 21st goal and added an assist. The Pats also got a goal, his 18th, and an assist from Jesse Gabrielle. . . . Regina scored three times in the second period, the first, from F Braden Christoffer, coming 44 seconds in on a PP. he’s got 18 goals. . . . Regina F Patrick D’Amico had two assists. . . . F Ryan Graham, who had missed nine games with a back injury, scored his 14th goal, a shorthanded effort, for the Blades. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple made his 15th straight start. He stopped 32 shots, eight more than Brock Hamm of the Blades. . . . The Pats (31-19-7) had lost their previous three games (0-3-1). . . . The Blades (17-38-3) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Kamloops, F Brayden Point’s three goals led the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 4-3 victory over the Blazers. . . . Point scored the game’s first two goals, at 4:38 of the first, on a PP, and at 12:58. . . . Warriors F Jack Rodewald got his 28th at 9:00 of the second, on a PP, for a 3-0 lead. . . . F Cole Ully, with his 29th, and F Joel Hamilton, with his 12th, got the Blazers to within one but they weren’t able to tie it. . . . Point stretched the lead to 4-2 with his 26th goal at 15:34 of the second. . . . Hamilton got his second of the game, and 13th of the season, on a PP at 19:37 of the third period. . . . D Dustin Perillat and F Axel Blomqvist each had two assists for the visitors. . . . Moose Jaw G Zach Sawchenko stopped 31 shots, six more than Connor Ingram of the Blazers. . . . Moose Jaw was 2-for-6 on the PP; Kamloops was 1-for-4. . . . The Warriors (24-30-5) are 2-0-1 in their last three. They are 3-2-1 on a seven-game road trip that ends tonight in Prince George. . . . Kamloops (22-32-6) has lost three in a row. . . . 
In Spokane, the Calgary Hitmen scored the game’s last three goals, all in the third period, and beat the Chiefs, 4-3. . . . F Kailer Yamamoto’s 18th goal gave the Chiefs a 3-1 lead at 4:57 of the third. . . . D Micheal Zipp got his ninth goal at 6:23 to get Calgary to within a goal. . . . F Elliott Peterson, with his ninth, tied it at 7:48. . . . D Colby Harmsworth won it with his second goal of the season, at 12:38. . . . F Adam Tambellini drew two assists for the Hitmen. . . . Calgary G Brendan Burke turned aside 26 shots, six more than Spokane’s Garret Hughson. . . . Spokane F Calder Brooks had one assist in his first game since Jan. 2. He had been out with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Chiefs also had D Nick Charif back in the lineup. He last played on Jan. 24. . . . This was the first of 11 straight road games for the Hitmen, whose home building is being taken over by the Canadian men’s curling championship. . . . The game featured a matchup of the Helgesen brothers, F Kenton, 20 with the Hitmen and D Tyson, 17, with the Chiefs. They are from Fairview, Alta., and had family in the crowd. "It was a pretty special experience," Kenton told Chris Derrick of the Spokane Spokesman-Review. "I've never really played against him. . It was kind of cool. We were kind of hitting each other a few times and getting into it.” . . . The Hitmen (35-18-5) have won three straight. . . . The Chiefs (27-26-4) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Victoria, F Leon Draisaitl broke a 2-2 tie at 19:17 of the third period as the Kelowna Rockets beat the Royals, 3-2. . . . Kelowna D Josh Morrissey had tied the game, with his 13th goal, on a PP, at 12:36 of the third. . . . Draisaitl, who also had two assists, has 10 goals. . . . F Austin Carroll scored his 34th goal for the Royals, giving them a 1-0 lead at 1:48 of the first. . . . Kelowna F Cole Linaker tied it with his 13th, on a PP, at 10:29. . . . F Greg Chase scored his 17th, on a PP, at 9:51 of the second to give the home side a 2-1 edge. . . . Kelowna was 2-for-6 on the PP; Victoria was 2-for-7. . . . Morrissey now is on a 10-game point streak. . . . Kelowna G Michael Herringer stopped 25 shots, four fewer than Coleman Vollrath of the Royals. . . . The minor penalties handed out includes seven for roughing, two for checking from behind and one for a headshot. . . . The Rockets (46-9-4) have won four straight. . . . The Royals (32-23-4) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Everett, F Tyler Sandhu scored the only goal of a three-round shootout as the Tri-City Americans beat the Silvertips, 2-1. . . . F Carson Stadnyk gave the home team a 1-0 lead with his 23rd goal at 14:24 of the first period. . . . D Parker Wotherspoon tied it with his ninth goal at 16:56 of the third. . . . Each team was 0-for-2 on the PP. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 30 shots through OT, while Austin Lotz of the Silvertips stopped 26. . . . Sandhu began this season with Everett, before being traded to the Red Deer Rebels and then to the Americans. . . . Everett F Logan Aasman (concussion) played in his first game since Nov. 30, but the Silvertips were without D Noah Juulsen (undisclosed injury). . . . Tri-City’s scratches included D Brandon Carlo, who took a puck to the head on Tuesday. . . . Tri-City has taken three of four games from Everett over the past two weeks. . . . The Americans (27-29-3) had lost three straight. . . . Everett (35-16-7) has points in five straight (2-0-3). . . . 
In Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds scored three PP goals, the last one in OT, and beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-3. . . . D Jerret Smith got the winner, scoring his eighth goal of the season on the PP just 58 seconds into extra time. . . . Lethbridge F Mike Winther had been ejected with a spearing major and game misconduct at 16:54 of the third period. . . . F Jamal Watson had given Lethbridge a 3-2 lead with his 22nd goal, shorthanded, at 4:06 of the third. . . . Seattle F Cory Millette tied it with his 16th goal, on the PP, at 4:30. . . . Seattle was 3-for-5 on the PP; Lethbridge was 1-for-3. . . . F Mathew Barzal had four assists for Seattle, while Millette had two. . . . Smith added an assist to his goal. . . . Seattle D Shea Theodore scored his ninth goal, via the PP, and had an assist. . . . D Kord Pankewicz had a goal, his seventh, and an assist for the Lethbridge, which got two assists from Winther before his departure. . . . Lethbridge G Stuart Skinner turned aside 34 shots, 14 more than Taran Kozun of the Thunderbirds. . . . Lethbridge head coach Peter Anholt put up 127 victories as head coach of the Thunderbirds (1989-92). . . . The Thunderbirds now are (30-21-7). . . . The Hurricanes (18-34-6) have lost two straight.
Posts
