Generals need OT to stay perfect . . . Rockets, Oceanic on tap today . . . No Draisaitl was Oilers call

D Zack FitzGerald (Seattle, 2001-05) signed a one-year contract with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite). This season, as a player-assistant coach with the Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite), he had two goals and 12 assists in 50 games.
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THE MEMORIAL CUP:

The Oshawa Generals clinched a Memorial Cup playoff berth on Sunday, beating the host Quebec Remparts 5-4 in OT before 10,970 fans. . . . The OHL-champion Generals are 2-0; the Remparts 1-1. . . . The Generals, who outshot the Remparts 50-25, forced OT with a goal late in the third period, then won it on D Stephen Desrocher’s goal at 18:07 of OT. His wrist shot glanced in off the crossbar. . . . The goal came off a faceoff win by F Cole Cassels, who had been on the bench for a bit trying to recover after blocking a shot. . . . All three games in this tournament have been decided by one goal. . . . Tonight, the WHL-champion Kelowna Rockets (0-1) meet the QMJHL-champion Rimouski Oceanic (0-1). . . . Quebec F Dmytro Timashov scored twice, his second goal, at 8:48 of the third period, giving the Remparts their first lead of the game, 4-3. . . . The Generals forced OT when F Tobias Lindberg scored on the PP at 17:51. Before that goal, Oshawa’s PP was 0-for-8 in the tournament. . . . Cassels finished minus-1 but he drew an assist on each of Oshawa’s last two goals. . . . Quebec G Zach Fucale stopped 45 shots, 24 more than Oshawa’s Ken Appleby. . . . The Remparts were 1-for-3 on the PP; the Generals were 1-for-4. . . .
Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier sets the stage for tonight’s game: “Without doubt, the Generals (2-0) will be rooting for the Oceanic (0-1) to defeat the Rockets (0-1) today. If Rimouski wins, Oshawa will
 advance to Sunday’s championship game, regardless if the Rockets beat the Generals on Tuesday. . . . Sunday’s game was the third consecutive one-goal contest to open the 2015 Memorial Cup. The last time a championship opened with three straight one-goal outcomes was 2008.”
——
Here is the Memorial Cup schedule (all games on Sportsnet; all times Eastern):
Friday, May 22: Kelowna 3 vs. Quebec 4 (9,497)
Saturday, May 23: Rimouski 3 vs. Oshawa 4 (8,409)
Sunday, May 24: Quebec 4 vs. Oshawa 5 (OT) (10,970)
Monday: Rimouski vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday: Oshawa vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday: Quebec vs. Rimouski, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7:30 p.m.
Friday: Semifinal, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday: Championship game, 7 p.m.
——
Kinsey Millhone has nothing on Sunaya Sapurji, one of the junior hockey writers for Yahoo! Sports Canada.
When F Leon Draisaitl didn’t play for Germany in the 2015 World Junior Championship, Sapurji wanted to know whether that was his decision or one made by the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, the team whose roster Draisaitl was on at the time.
(The Oilers later assigned Draisaitl to the WHL, but told the Prince Albert Raiders, with whom he had played in 2013-14, that they wanted him with the Kelowna Rockets. Draisaitl was dealt to the Rockets and was the WHL’s playoff MVP.)
Sapurji didn’t have any success finding an answer to her question during the tournament but she didn’t give up. On Sunday, she tweeted that she had gotten the answer from Draisaitl and that it was a decision made by the Oilers.
“That wasn’t really my decision, to be honest,” Draisaitl told reporters at the Memorial Cup. “It was the Oilers’ decision. I don’t want to comment too much on it. It’s their decision and I’m happy with whatever would have happened.”

Without Draisaitl in its lineup, Germany ended up being relegated.
“It’s never fun to see your country go down, especially your age-group,” Draisaitl said. “It’s kind of funny, all my best friends are on that team. I’ve played with all those guys for a number of years. It’s not easy to see something like that, so, obviously it’s disappointing. I would have loved to help them out a little bit at least. But at the same time, I played in the NHL, and that’s a kid’s dream. There’s nothing bad I have to say about that.”

@sunayas @SteveBurtch good for us germans to know. Some questioned his willingness to play for his country..

— Lukas B (@LkB94) May 24, 2015

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Jay Isbee, the governor of Washington, has signed a bill that makes players on the state’s four WHL teams amateur athletes. That exempts those teams from any minimum wage-related laws. However, Scott Sepich, writing for Yahoo! Sports Canada, reports right here that the story may not yet be over.
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F Andrew Johnson, who played out his junior eligibility this season with the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors, has committed to the U of Saskatchewan and the Huskies for next season. Johnson, who is from Saskatoon, played with the Moose Jaw Warriors, Seattle Thunderbirds and Swift Current Broncos (2010-15). He was a second-round selection by the Warriors in the WHL’s 2009 bantam draft.
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Tyler Richards, a goaltender with the NLL’s Vancouver Stealth, is retiring at the age of 28. Why? Because he has had three concussions in the last five years, all from being hit in the head by shots. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has that story right here.
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A little rainy. But looks like there WILL be baseball today in KC. These are our seats. C'mon guys! Throw me a ball! pic.twitter.com/nyXXkogE0t

— Dan O'Connor (@DanOConnor_PG) May 24, 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.

Winterhawks in front of 'Tips . . . Former WHLer next top cop in Toronto? . . . Gong show in NHL

F Stanislav Balán (Portland, 2005-06) has signed a one-year contract with Vítkovice Steel Ostrava (Czech Republic, Extraliga). This season, with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had 13 goals and 18 assists in 51 games. . . .
F Roman Horák (Chilliwack, 2009-11) has signed a one-year extension with Vityaz Podolsk (Russia, KHL). This season, he had 31 points, including 18 goals, in 53 games. . . .
D Michal Hlinka (Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, 2010-12) has signed a one-year extension with Dukla Trencin (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had 15 points, seven of them goals, in 43 games this season.
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THURSDAY’S GAME:

In Portland, the Winterhawks scored the game’s first five goals as they skated to a 5-3 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Portland takes a 2-1 lead into Game 4 tonight at home. . . . The teams hadn’t played since Saturday because of arena availability issues in Portland. . . . Portland D Anton Cederholm opened the scoring with his first goal at 17:52 of the second period. . . . By coincidence, freelancer Scott Sepich wrote a feature on Cederholm and his father, who is in Portland this week from Sweden, for The Oregonian. That piece is right here. . . . F Nic Petan got his sixth goal at 18:13 of the second, on a PP, and F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, giving him eight, in the third period. . . . F Dominic Turgeon upped it to 5-0 at 14:27. . . . Everett scored three times in 1:46 late in the period, with D Kevin Davis, F Ivan Nikolishin and F Graham Millar scoring. . . . Petan also had two assists for Portland, as did F Miles Koules and F Chase De Leo. . . . F Logan Aasman had two assists for Everett. . . . Winterhawks G Adin Hill stopped 16 shots. . . . Everett starter Carter Hart gave up four goals on 34 shots. Reliever Austin Lotz was beaten once on two shots in 6:26 of playing time. . . . Portland was 2-for-5 on the PP; Everett was 0-for-2. . . . Everett F Dawson Leedahl returned to the lineup after a five-game absence, but the Silvertips remain without D Noah Juulsen and D Tristen Pfeiffer. . . . Leedahl was involved in a fight with F Keegan Iverson at 10:27 of the second period, then took a cross-checking minor at 19:01. Leedahl didn’t return to serve out his penalty to start the third period. Nikolishin actually finished serving the penalty. . . . Attendance was 5,518.

Joke that'll kill at your next dinner party: Q: What do you call it when Everett hockey players pay gratuities in quarters? A: Silver tips
— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) April 17, 2015

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D Connor Hobbs of the Regina Pats has drawn one of those ‘tbd’ suspensions from the WHL for a hit in Game 4 against the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Wednesday night. Hobbs took out Brandon D Ryan Pilon, whose status for Game 5 in Brandon tonight isn’t known.
Here’s Rob Henderson, the Brandon Sun’s sports editor, with some thoughts earlier Thursday:
“It would be in the Wheat Kings’ best interest to end the series as soon as possible. In addition to the obvious desire to not let the Pats force a Game 6 on Sunday in Regina, the physical series is also taking a serious toll on both teams’ lineups.
“Wheat Kings Jayce Hawryluk, Rihards Bukarts, Colton Waltz and Ryan Pilon have all been injured since the series began, with Pilon being knocked out of Game 4 by the hit that led to Hobbs’ major. . . . Pats defenceman Sergey Zborovskiy still has one game left in his suspension for the hit that sidelined Hawryluk, while Regina’s Rykr Cole and Chase Harrison have also gone down to injuries in the series.”
Henderson added that Kelly McCrimmon, Brandon’s general manager and head coach, “didn’t divulge any information when asked if any of his injured players would return for tonight’s game.”
Brandon F Morgan Klimchuk, who has sat out six games, took part in Thursday’s optional skate.
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The Calgary Hitmen can eliminate the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers tonight and book a berth in the Eastern Conference final. . . . The Hitmen are coming off a 2-1 OT victory in Medicine Hat on Wednesday night that gave them a 3-1 lead in the series. . . . Calgary F Adam Tambellini, who leads the WHL playoffs in assists (10) and points (19), missed Game 4 with an undisclosed injury, but was back on skates Thursday. He likely will skate again this morning and then be re-evaluated. . . . You can bet that the Hitmen go into tonight’s game with their first-round series victory over the Kootenay Ice fresh in their minds. Calgary was ahead 3-1 in that series and it ended up going seven games. . . . The Tigers may be without F Blake Penner, who left Game 4 with an undisclosed injury. . . . Laurence Heinen wrote this story for the Calgary Herald.
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The NHL’s Colorado Avalanche is dropping its affiliation with the AHL’s Cleveland-based Lake Erie Monsters. . . . The NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets are expected to announce today that they are moving their affiliation from Springfield, Mass., to Lake Erie. . . . There is speculation that the Arizona Coyotes will hook up with Springfield, at least for one seasno. . . . Former WHL GM/coach/player Dean Chynoweth is Lake Erie’s head coach. . . . Jared Bednar, another former WHL player, is the head coach in Springfield. . . . Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch, who broke the story, writes that the Springfield coaching staff, which includes another former WHLer in Nolan Pratt, would move to Lake Erie. . . . Portzline’s blog piece is right here. . . . Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reported last night that the Avalanche will affiliate with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage, which had been hooked up with the Florida Panthers. Next season, Florida will be affiliated with the AHL’s Portland Pirates, who had been Arizona’s farm team. Arizona, of course, will end up cutting a deal with Springfield, and the circle will be complete.
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The Globe and Mail is reporting that former WHLer Dale McFee, who is the president of the Prince Albert Raiders, is the “wild card contender” to become Toronto’s next police chief. McFee, who played four seasons with the Raiders (1982-86), also is a former Prince Albert police chief; he now is Saskatchewan’s deputy minister of corrections. . . . Robyn Doolittle’s story is right here.
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SUN FRONT: Game 2 btw #Sens & #Habs goes Friday. All we gotta say is HEADS UP, P.K. #ottnews #NHLPlayoffs #slashgate pic.twitter.com/qYJwF18yTL
— Ottawa Sun (@ottawasuncom) April 17, 2015

As Pierre LeBrun of ESPN notes in this piece right here, the NHL series between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators already has degenerated into a “gong show,” and it's only one game old. . . . It could be that Ottawa F Chris Neil, who didn’t play in Game 1, will be doing his thing tonight in Game 2.
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Just as things heat up in the NHL players and we are wondering if something might relieve the pressure, if only for a few minutes, along comes a video starring ESPN’s Britt McHenry. . . . If you haven’t seen it or read about what happened, well, it’s like something out of Dumb and Dumber and Dumbest. Seriously, you thought stuff like this only happened in Judd Apatow movies. . . . At one point, McHenry says to the attendant at a towing company’s lot: “Maybe if I was missing some teeth they would hire me, huh? . . I’m in television and you’re in a f------ trailer, honey.” . . . Sheesh, wouldn’t you think that someone who is in the TV business would realize that she just might be on camera in a place like that?
Richard Deitsch of SI.com has more right here.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed D Jarret Tyszka, who was the 16th overall selection in the 2014 bantam draft. From Langley, B.C., Tyszka played this season for the midget team at the Yale Hockey Academy, putting up 10 points, three of them goals, in 23 games.
—
F Tyler Jeanson of the MJHL-champion Portage Terriers has signed a letter of intent with the Colgate University Raiders. Jeanson, 17, was selected by the Kamloops Blazers in the ninth round of the 2012 bantam draft. The MJHL’s rookie of the year last season, he had 54 points, including 23 goals, in 56 regular-season games this season.
—
The Melfort Mustangs won the SJHL championship last night, beating the host Notre Dame Hounds 4-0 to win the series, 4-0. Trevor Blevins, the Mustangs’ head coach, is from Melfort. He was a player with the Mustangs when they last won the SJHL title, in 1996. . . . The Mustangs went 12-2 in their playoff run, with both losses coming in OT. . . . In the BCHL, the host Penticton Vees beat the Nanaimo Clippers 3-2 last night. The Vees take a 3-2 series lead into Nanaimo for Game 6 tonight. The Clippers had won Games 1 and 2, both in Penticton. . . . In the AJHL, the Spruce Grove Saints hold a 3-1 lead on the Brooks Bandits with Game 5 scheduled for Spruce Grove tonight. . . . Three teams — the host Fort McMurray Oil Barons, Melfort and the MJHL-champion Portage Terriers — now have spots in the Western Canada Cup. It runs in Fort McMurray, April 25 through May 3. The top two teams move on to the Royal Bank Cup, the national championship tournament. This year, it will be held in Portage la Prairie, Man.
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I hear contract talks with Canes head coach and GM Peter Anholt are proceeding and they hope to have him signed soon.
— Dylan Purcell (@dylpurcell) April 17, 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.

Wheaties win in Edmonton . . . Tambellini OT hero . . . Langhamer, Hill pitch shutouts

If you didn’t watch the fifth estate’s episode — The Pain Game: Drugs, Doctors and Pro Sports — you should give it a view. It’s right here.
A lot of the news magazine’s show deals with the late Derek Boogaard and it really is scary stuff.
The foundation for a lot of the show is work done by Len Boogaard, Derek’s father who has retired from the RCMP. Through this, Len has documented the trail of drugs that led to his son’s opiate addiction and, ultimately, to his death.
The document is 23 pages in length and to sit and peruse it, one prescription at a time, really is overwhelming.
“In an effort to better understand the circumstances that contributed to the death of my son,” Len writes, “I requested documentation from team medical staff, outside physicians, the NHL’s substance abuse program, the rehabilitation facilities Derek attended, drug testing facilities and the pharmacies that filled his numerous prescriptions.
“In addition, I have spoken with a number of people who knew Derek and I have analyzed his own personal documents, such as cell phone, bank and email records.
“I was not always provided with the documentation I requested; however, I believe I have obtained information sufficient to construct a time-line of sorts spanning from Derek’s first entry in a rehabilitation facility in September 2009 until his passing.”
The document is heart-breaking and raises all kinds of questions. More than anything, though, it shows how the NHL, a couple of NHL teams, the NHLPA and various doctors — a couple of whom all but run from the fifth estate’s camera — failed Derek Boogaard.
You really need to watch this episode of the fifth estate. And if you haven’t already, read Boy on Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard. Written by John Branch of The New York Times, this is a devastating look at how Boogaard went from a fun-loving youngster who was just trying to fit in to an NHL enforcer who was enabled every step of the way.
Package all of this together and you get a look at an unseemly side of the NHL.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:

In Edmonton, G Jordan Papirny stopped 41 shots and the Brandon Wheat Kings scored the game’s last two goals as they beat the Oil Kings, 3-2. . . . The Wheat Kings lead the series 2-1 with Games 4 and 5 scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Both games are to be televised by Sportsnet. . . . Last night, Brandon D Macoy Erkamps, in his fourth WHL season but in the playoffs for the first time, broke a 2-2 tie at 6:02 of the third period. . . . Brandon F Jayce Hawryluk had tied it at 2:31 of the third with his third goal of the series. . . . The Wheat Kings took a 1-0 lead on F John Quenneville’s goal with 26.3 seconds left in the first. . . . The Oil Kings scored twice in the second — F Davis Koch at 1:54 and D Ben Carroll, on the PP, at 6:30. . . . The Oil Kings thought they had tied the score late in the third period when F Brandon Baddock had his own rebound go off his chest and past Papirny. But the goal was disallowed after video review. . . . “Hands are tied: you can’t glove it in, you can’t high-stick it in, you can’t use your feet, so I tried to use my body,” Baddock said on the Oil Kings’ website.“They said . . . I kind of directed my shoulders into it, and obviously that’s not allowed.” . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 26 shots. . . . Brandon F Braylon Shmyr was unsuccessful on a penalty shot at 16:23 of the first period. . . . Edmonton was 1-for-4 on the PP; Brandon was 0-for-3. . . . Edmonton F Mads Eller left the game in the first and didn’t return. He was injured when he hit one of the gates at the Oil Kings’ bench in attempting to check Shmyr. Eller’s status for Tuesday’s game isn’t known. . . . The Oil Kings took out D Marshall Donald and F Brayden Brown, replacing them with D Jake Kohlhauser and G Tyson Gruninger. . . . Brandon had F Duncan Campbell and F Tanner Kaspick back after they missed the first two games. To get them in, Brandon took out F Stelio Mattheos and D Mark Matsuba . . . Attendance was 5,957. . . . Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the Wheat Kings, reports that Brandon F Quintin Lisoway is expected to have knee surgery today. Lisoway last played on March 4.

In Calgary, F Adam Tambellini’s goal at 16:36 of OT gave the Hitmen a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The series is 1-1 as it heads for Cranbrook, B.C., and games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. . . . F Pavel Kamaukhov scored both of Calgary’s regulation-time goals, both via the PP. He also drew an assist on the winner. . . . Kamaukhov gave the Hitmen a 1-0 lead at 9:01 of the second period and tied the game 2-2 at 10:31 of the third. . . . F Sam Reinhart got the Ice’s first goal, on a PP, at 17:51 of the second. . . . F Jaedon Descheneau gave the visitors a 2-0 lead at 19:36 of the second. . . . Hitmen F Radel Fazleev had two assists, giving him four helpers in two games. . . . Calgary G Mack Shields came on to start the third period and stopped all 19 shots he faced. Starter Brendan Burke had given up two goals on 18 shots. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin turned aside 30 shots. . . . The Hitmen were 2-for-2 on the PP; the Ice was 1-for-2. . . . D Jake Bean was among Calgary’s scratches. He suffered an apparent ankle injury in the third period of Friday’s game. . . . Attendance was 8,560. . . . Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun has a game story right here.

In Medicine Hat, F Trevor Cox scored the game’s only goal as the Tigers beat the Red Deer Rebels, 1-0, in overtime. . . . The Tigers had won the opener 2-1 on Saturday, so goals have been hard to come by. . . . Cox had two assists on Saturday, so has been in on all three of his side’s goals. . . . The teams now head to Red Deer for games on Wednesday and Thursday nights. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 27 shots in earning his first career playoff shutout. . . . Red Deer G Rylan Toth turned aside 36 shots. . . . Cox finished second in the regular-season points race, with 109 points, including a WHL-leading 80 assists, banked the winner in off Toth. . . . The Tigers were 0-for-5 on the PP; the Rebels were 0-for-3. . . . Medicine Hat had D Ty Lewington, its captain, back in the lineup after he served a one-game WHL suspension. . . . Attendance was 4,006.

In Portland, G Adin Hill turned aside 21 shots to lead the Winterhawks to a 3-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . It was Hill’s first career playoff shutout. . . . The series is tied 1-1 with the next two games in Kent, Wash., on Tuesday and Thursday nights. . . . F Nic Petan scored the game’s first goal, at 14:23 of the first period. . . . The Winterhawks iced it with empty-net goals from F Dominic Turgeon, at 18:02 of the third, and F Oliver Bjorkstrand, at 18:14. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 36 shots. . . . Each team was 0-for-2 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 9,119. . . . The game story that freelancer Scott Sepich wrote for The Oregonian is right here. . . . Paul Danzer of The Columbian has a game story right here.
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With the Portland Winterhawks having opened the playoffs with two home games, Scott Sepich, a freelancer who often writes for The Oregonian, looks at the team’s relationship with Veterans Memorial Coliseum, a venue that is 55 years of age and in need of at least some help. . . . That story is right here.
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“More than a quarter of all helmets worn by hockey players, from the NHL to youth leagues, are unsafe, according to an independent study provided to ‘Outside the Lines’ that ranked hockey helmets based on their ability to reduce concussion risk,” writes Steve Fainaru of the ESPN investigative newsmagazine Outside the Lines. “Out of 32 helmets in the marketplace that were tested by researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, nine failed to earn a single star on a five-star scale and were classified as ‘not recommended.’ Just one helmet, made by Warrior Sports, received three stars. The rest received one or two stars.” . . . The really scary part of this report is, as Fainaru writes, “Hockey players wearing the ‘not recommended’ helmets risk incurring at least six concussions per season, and in some cases more than eight, according to Virginia Tech.” . . . The complete story, including a chart showing test results, is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Dwayne Kirkup won’t be back as head coach of the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives. He had been in the position since May 6, 2013, having joined the Natives after a stint as head coach of the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders. He was the MJHL’s coach of the year in 2009-10. . . . This season, the Natives finished 15-42-3, leaving them with the 11-team league’s poorest record.
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LOOK: TV analyst Brian Engblom takes puck to forehead, returns to game after needing stitches http://t.co/hRHZ8KSwhW pic.twitter.com/opGeAdK7Ks
— Eye on Hockey (@EyeOnHockey) March 30, 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.

Hunchak: I was in the darkest place I'd ever been in

More than a year has gone by since Dave Hunchak left the Kamloops Blazers. They were in Spokane for a Jan. 10 game with the Chiefs when Hunchak, the Blazers’ head coach, left the team and returned home. The team announced that he was on a leave of absence; he never returned. Hunchak has told Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail that his nightmare began with an anxiety attack that ultimately was followed by depression. . . . “The best way I can describe it is: I was in the darkest place I’d ever been in,” Hunchak told Maki. “I was thinking it was possible I could do something I would regret.” . . . Maki’s complete story is right here, and it deals with a lot more than Hunchak, who, by the way, is back to where he was and wanting to get back to coaching. In the meantime, he is working in Kamloops as an electrician.
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“A Canadian lawyer has told Washington state legislators he opposes a bill that might allow Western Hockey League teams to circumvent laws on child labour and minimum wage, a change WHL team executives say is critical for them to stay in business,” writes Rick Westhead of TSN. “In a Feb. 17 letter that was sent to seven Washington state senators and obtained by TSN, Toronto lawyer Ted Charney wrote that he opposes Bill 1930 on behalf of his clients, Lukas Walter and Sam Berg, former major junior hockey players who are now suing the Ontario Hockey League, the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Charney hopes to have a lawsuit certified as a class action case.” . . . Westhead’s complete story is right here.
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WHL commissioner Ron Robison and the general managers of the four Washington-based teams appeared at a Senate hearing in the state capital of Olympia on Wednesday. Scott Sepich, a Portland-based freelancer, has that story right here.
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The sporting community in Kamloops is coming together to help Peter Friedel, who has done a lot of volunteer work with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, the junior B Kamloops Storm of the Kootenay International Junior league and the Kamloops Venom junior lacrosse team. . . . The Storm will donate a portion of the gate receipts from its Saturday playoff game to Friedel, and a dinner and dance to benefit him is scheduled for March 7. . . . Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week has more right here.
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F Trevor Cox of the Medicine Hat Tigers has had his suspension set at three games. He was suspended under supplemental discipline for a hit on Calgary F Kenton Helgesen during a game on Saturday. Cox, who already has missed two games, will complete the suspension on Sunday when the Tigers play in Edmonton. . . . Helgesen didn’t play in Calgary’s 2-1 victory over the visiting Tigers on Tuesday.
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F Logan Aasman of the Everett Silvertips doesn’t even know when he first was concussed. He just knows that recovering at home in Medicine Hat wasn’t a whole lot of fun. Aasman, who last played on Nov. 30, finally has been cleared to return and Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has the story right here.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

B.C. DIVISION: Kelowna won at home and now leads the overall standings by two points over idle Brandon. Each teams has 14 games remaining. . . . Vancouver won at home and remains third in the B.C. Division, but now is three points ahead of Kamloops, which lost on the road, and idle Prince George.
U.S. DIVISION: All five teams enjoyed the day off. You have to think players from the four Washington-based teams were watching goings-on in Olympia.
EAST DIVISION: Moose Jaw lost in OT on the road and the loser point lifted it to within seven points of a playoff spot.
CENTRAL DIVISION: Red Deer won on the road. It remains third in the division, four points behind second-place Calgary and nine points ahead of Kootenay, which holds down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot.

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In Vancouver, D Mason Geertsen’s second goal of the game, at 4:11 of OT, gave the Giants a 3-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Geertsen, who has 11 goals, had given the Giants a 2-1 lead at 19:28 of the second period. He also drew an assist on his side’s first goal. . . . D Spenser Jensen forced OT with his third goal at 6:06 of the third period. . . . F Jack Rodewald gave Moose Jaw a 1-0 lead with his 27th goal 59 secondsd into the second period. . . . F Thomas Foster scored his 10th at 14:22 of the second, on a PP, to pull the Giants even. . . . F Tyler Benson had three assists for Vancouver. . . . Vancouver was 1-for-2 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-for-3. . . . Moose Jaw G Brody Willms stopped 29 shots, six more than Vancouver’s Payton Lee. . . . It was a Hockey Hooky game, meaning a noon start. Moose Jaw had played in a Hockey Hooky game in Victoria the previous day and had come away with a 4-3 victory. . . . F Ty Ronning and D Arvin Atwal were among the Giants’ scratches. News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) tweeted that “Atwal hasn’t played since off-ice incident last week.” . . . The Giants (25-30-3) have won two in a row. . . . The Warriors (23-30-5) are 2-2-1 on a seven-game road swing that continues Friday in Kamloops. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has a game story right here. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has a game story right here. . . .

In Saskatoon, the Red Deer Rebels scored two third-period goals and beat the Blades, 4-3. . . . D Amil Krupic’s fifth goal of the season, at 13:41 of the second, had given the Blades a 3-2 lead. . . . D Josh Mahura scored his first WHL goal at 13:56 of the third to tie it and F Preston Kopeck got the winner, his 17th goal of the season, at 15:21. . . . Kopeck, F Riley Sheen and F Wyatt Johnson each had a goal and an assist for Red Deer. Sheen has 17 goals; Johnson has 22. . . . F Wyatt Sloboshan had two assists for the Blades, whose captain, F Brett Stovin, scored his 24th goal. . . . Red Deer G Trevor Martin, who was acquired from the Blades, stopped 30 shots in his first start since being added from the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. He now will return to Melville. . . . Saskatoon G Nik Amundrud turned aside 35 shots. . . . Saskatoon D Brycen Martin had his point streak snapped at 11 games. . . . The Rebels (30-18-9) are 2-0-1 in their last three. . . . The Blades now are 17-37-3. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story right here. . . .

In Kelowna, every skater on the roster but one picked up at least one point as the Rockets whipped the Kamloops Blazers, 11-4. . . . Only D Madison Bowey failed to get at least one point. . . . F Tomas Soustal led the way with two goals, giving him eight, and two assists, with F Rourke Chartier adding two goals and one assist. . . . Chartier now leads the WHL with 46 goals, one more than F Cole Sanford of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . D Josh Morrissey also scored twice for the Rockets, giving him 12. They got three assists from F Leon Draisaitl and two from each of F Nick Merkley, F Tate Coughlin and F Cole Linaker. . . . F Collin Shirley scored twice for Kamloops, giving him 20, and added an assist. F Matt Needham also scored his 20th goal this season. . . . Kamloops F Cole Ully had two assists. . . . According to a tweet from Kelowna play-by-play voice Regan Bartel: “Last time the @Kelowna_Rockets put up 11 goals on home ice prior to tonight was in an 11-2 win vs. Giants Jan 5/2002.” . . . The Rockets now have beaten the Blazers in 18 straight regular-season meetings. The Blazers last posted a regular-season victory over the Rockets on March 3, 2013, when G Cole Cheveldave stopped 25 shots in a 3-0 shutout in Kamloops. F JC Lipon scored all three Kamloops goals. F Cole Ully and D Ryan Rehill are the only two players off today’s Kamloops roster who played in that game. . . . The Rockets won the last two regular-season meetings that season, all eight last season and another eight this season. The teams will meet twice more this season. . . . The Rockets (45-9-4) have won three in a row. . . . The Blazers (22-31-6) have lost two straight.
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THURSDAY’S GAMES
(all times local)
No Games Scheduled
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FRIDAY’S GAMES
(all times local)
Red Deer at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Regina, 7 p.m.
Edmonton vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Portland, 7 p.m.
Calgary at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Kelowna at Victoria, 7:30 p.m.
Tri-City at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
Lethbridge vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.
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GM, Head Coach, & Bus Driver. @PeterAnholt guiding us the way for the 1st leg of our trip! #TripleThreat #CaneTrain pic.twitter.com/7gT2xhKXeW
— LethbridgeHurricanes (@WHLHurricanes) February 18, 2015

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Kompon era starts in Portland . . . Silvertips promote La Forge

D Brett Carson (Moose Jaw, Calgary, 2001-06) has signed a one-year contract with the Vienna Capitals (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, with AIK Stockholm (Sweden, SHL), he had 10 points, including three goals, in 49 games. . . .
G Jeff Glass (Kootenay, 2002-05) has signed a one-year contract with Lada Togliatti (Russia, KHL). Last season, with Spartak Moscow (Russia, KHL), he was 2.32 and .919 in 37 games. He was traded to CSKA Moscow in January and was 1.31, .944 in six games. . . .
F Mark Derlago (Brandon, 2003-07) signed a one-year contract with Esbjerg (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). Last season, with Aalborg (Denmark, Metal Ligaen), he had 49 points, including a team-high 25 goals, in 33 games. He was third in the league in goals. . . . Derlago broke an ankle on March 9, in the first game of the playoffs. “I just kind of fell back and a guy landed on me wrong and I knew something was wrong right away,” he told Brandon Sun sports editor James Shewaga. Derlago is playing baseball and summer hockey in Brandon in this off-season. “It’s not quite there yet, but it’s getting there,” he told Shewaga. “I have a screw in my ankle that I have to get taken out before I go (to training camp next month), but I have been skating and playing ball and everything, so it feels pretty good.”
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1. As expected, the Portland Winterhawks introduced Jamie Kompon as their general manager and head coach on Wednesday afternoon. . . . Kompon, 47, brings two Stanley Cup rings to the Winterhawks, having been an assistant coach with the 2011-12 Los Angeles Kings and the 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks. . . . He takes over from Mike Johnston, who had been with the Winterhawks since October 2008 and guided the club into the last four WHL championship finals. 
Portland freelancer Scott Sepich covered the news conference for The Oregonian, and his story is right here.

2. On Wednesday, Mitch Peacock of CBC Winnipeg tweeted that Hockey Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk, who is in Winnipeg as a guest coach at the Jets’ developmental camp, “says some of today's prospects suffer from over-coaching and specializing in a single sport too young.” . . . Hawerchuk, whose background in the game gives him a whole lot of credibility, joins a chorus that includes Brent Sutter, the owner/GM/head coach of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . If you missed it, Sutter told Jason Gregor of the Edmonton Journal a while ago that there aren’t as many really good athletes playing hockey now and that he feels it’s because there isn’t enough variety in their athletic careers. Check that out right here.

3. The Everett Silvertips have signed Bil La Forge to a three-year contract extension that runs through 2016-17 and changed his title from head scout to director of player personnel. . . . La Forge, 40, has been with the Silvertips since 2008 and had been head scout since the summer of 2011. La Forge, from Edmonton, also has scouted for the Tri-City Americans and Lethbridge Hurricanes.

4. By now you’re likely aware that Unifor, a rather large player on the Canadian union front, is attempting to unionize major junior hockey players. In this story right here, Robert Cribb and Rick Westhead of the Toronto Star detail how Unifor is using former players to try and recruit today’s players to the organization. . . . There are a couple of interesting notes near the end of that story. At one point, they write: “The CHL this year has increased the monthly stipend for players to $450 from $200, and has agreed to give each player $1,000 to go towards off-season training.” That’s interesting because the OHL announced late last season that it was making those moves, but the WHL never did state that it would follow suit. In November 2012, when the WHL took disciplinary action against the Portland Winterhawks for what were deemed illegal player benefits, one of the claims was in the area of paying for off-season training. . . . Also in the Star story is this: “(CHL president David) Branch said . . . that (Tim) Bozon’s case was a fluke that won’t be repeated because of changes to the WHL’s medical coverage. Bozon’s expenses are being covered by his team and league, Branch said.” . . . Again, the WHL has never stated that it and the Kootenay Ice are covering the medical and rehabilitation costs incurred by Bozon, who spent March battling Neisseria meningitis in a Saskatoon hospital, and his family. . . . At the time, the WHL also promoted a fund drive, asking fans to donate money to help Bozon and his family. The WHL has yet to state publicly just how much money was donated by fans.

5. The Red Deer Rebels have signed F Jake Leschyshyn, the sixth overall selection in the 2014 WHL bantam draft, and G Dawson Weatherill, who was taken 37th overall. . . . Leschyshyn, the son of former Saskatoon Blades and NHL D Curtis Leschyshyn, had 59 points, including 31 goals, with the bantam AA Saskatoon Stallions last season. . . . Weatherill was 2.52 and .929 in 18 games with the bantam AAA Red Deer Rebels White. . . . The Rebels also added former WHL G Taylor Dakers as a full-time member of their coaching staff. Dakers, who is moving from Calgary to Red Deer, is the goaltending consultant after working with the club on a part-time basis last season.

6. Brent Sutter isn’t certain that he will make an official bid to play host to the 2016 Memorial Cup, but the Red Deer Rebels’ owner/GM/head coach informed the WHL on Tuesday that his organization remains interested. According to Greg Meachem, the sports editor of the Red Deer Advocate, “Sutter, who has twice come up short in bidding for the national major junior championship event, is still waiting for more input from league governors concerning whether they will go for the almighty dollar in determining the WHL host city for the 2016 tourney.” . . . “At the end of the day, we still need to know what they’re doing from a league standpoint,” Sutter told Meachem. “We don’t want to go through the exercise that we did last time, with the hard work and the commitment and dollars that were put in . . . when it’s almost automatic that someone else is getting it. There’s still some research that needs to be done from the league’s perspective, but we’ve thrown our name in the hat and we’ll see where it goes from there.” . . . Vancouver Giants majority owner Ron Toigo has said that his organization will be involved in the bidding.

7. The BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals announced Wednesday that G Lane Michasiw and D Mitch Stapley have committed to them for the 2014-15 season. . . . Michasiw, an 18-year-old from Saskatoon, was the tournament MVP as the Prince Albert won the 2014 TELUS Cup as national midget AAA champions. His WHL rights belong to the Victoria Royals. . . . Stapley played last season with the major midget Vancouver Northwest Giants. He was a ninth-round selection by the Vancouver Giants in the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft. . . . Kevin Rothbauer of the Cowichan Valley Citizen has more right here.

8. At 3-0, one fan of Brazil’s soccer team said: “This was not normal for us. The players were dumb cockroaches in the field. I realize that only a miracle could save us.” . . . If you are wondering just how the people of Brazil felt as the dream died during Tuesday’s 7-1 World Cup loss to Germany, check out this piece right here by Sam Borden of The New York Times. “When the fourth goal went in,” added another Brazilian, who watched the game in a bar, “people started saying, I am ashamed to be Brazilian.”
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The BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies have added Micah Aivazoff (Victoria Cougars, 1985-89) to their staff as associate coach. . . . Former NHLer Denny Lambert has been named head coach of the Batchewana Attack, one of eight teams committed to play in a new junior league in Ontario -- the Canadian International Hockey League. The league features a couple of other former NHLers as head coaches, Denis Maruk with the Milton Battle Arts Cobras and Tom McCarthy is with the Espanola Rivermen.
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One of primary reasons I recommended Kompon to Gallacher is that he actually read my books. You would think it's time rest of the WHL did.
— Fake Mike Johnston (@FakeMikeJ) July 9, 2014

 


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