F Dávid Šoltés (Prince George, 2013-15) signed a one-year contract with Košice (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, as a 19-year-old with the Cougars, he had 28 points, 13 of them goals, in 44 games.
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The host Portage Terriers, who also are the MJHL champions, won the RBC Cup on Sunday, beating the
CCHL-champion Carleton Place Canadians 5-2 in the championship game.
The title goes from one team of Terriers, the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers, who won it last season, to another.
I can’t tell you how shocked I was to read that Portage’s victory in the national championship game was the first for a Manitoba team since 1974.
Yikes! That was a long time ago. I should know, because I was there.
I was in my first year at the Winnipeg Tribune, after two at the Brandon Sun, and one of my beats was the MJHL.
The Selkirk Steelers, under head coach George Dorman, won the MJHL title in 1973-74 and headed out on the playoff trail.
The Steelers won the MJHL, beating arch-rival Portage in seven games — the Terriers had won the national title the previous season — and taking out the West Kildonan North Stars in five.The Steelers took the best-of-seven ANAVET Cup final from the Terry Simpson-coached Prince Albert Raiders, 4-2, and then beat the B.C.-champion Kelowna Buckaroos, 4-3, despite playing the last four games in the Little Apple.
There weren’t any three-, four- or five-team tournaments back in the day, and the victory over Kelowna put the Steelers into a best-of-seven national final with the Central Junior A League-champion Smiths Falls Bears.
The Steelers camped out in Ottawa — the first thing Dorman did was get the team out of the small motel in which the CAHA (Canadian Amateur Hockey Association) had the team staying and into a Ramada Inn.
The series went seven games, with all games played in the Nepean Sportsplex because there wasn’t any ice in the Smiths Falls Memorial Centre. The Steelers won the first two games, 5-4 and 7-4, with the Bears taking Game 3, 3-0. After Selkirk won the fourth game, 2-1 behind a 48-save effort by G Andy Stoesz, I seem to recall writing that the series was all over, that the Bears were done like dinner.
You guessed it! Smiths Falls came back with 6-3 and 5-4 victories, the latter in OT, to set up a Game 7 with the winner taking home the Centennial Cup, this being the days before corporate sponsorship put business names on so many things.
In Game 7, the teams played through three scoreless periods — Smith Falls F Terry Fournier ripped a shot off the cross-bar late in the third — and appeared headed to a second OT when Gord Kaluzniak scored. In those days, under CAHA rules, teams played 10 minutes of overtime, no matter how many goals were scored, but if they were still tied they went to 20-minute sudden-death periods. Kaluzniak, a Selkirk kid, scored with two minutes left in the 10-minute period, and the Steelers were able to defend their lead until period’s end.
Considering that the victory gave the MJHL its second straight Centennial Cup, it is hard to imagine that the league wouldn’t be home to the trophy again until last night.
What makes it that much more interesting is that the Centennial Cup was presented to the CAHA by the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association to commemorate the province’s centennial year of 1970.
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Somehow it was only fitting that in this era of social media, at least one media outlet reported that “Terriers forward Gordie Bombay” scored a PP goal. Portage F Jordyn Boyd uses the Twitter handle @GordieBombay14. Boyd, who has played in the WHL with the Everett Silvertips and Kootenay Ice, gave the Terriers a 3-1 lead early in the third period.
The Bowles brothers, Brad and Shawn, stretched the lead to 5-1 later in the period. Shawn also had two assists. Their sister, Candace, works for Brandon radio station CKLQ and is the in-game host for the Brandon Wheat Kings.
The Canadians had beaten the Terriers, 3-0, in the round-robin.
Last year, the Yorkton Terriers beat those same Carleton Place Canadians, 4-3 in overtime, in the final game in Vernon, B.C.
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Here is the Memorial Cup schedule (all games on Sportsnet; all times Eastern):
Friday, May 22: Kelowna vs. Quebec, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 23: Rimouski vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 24: Quebec vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Monday, May 25: Rimouski vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 26: Oshawa vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 27: Quebec vs. Rimouski, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 28: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 29: Semifina, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 31: Championship game, TBA
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The hockey season is over for many Canadians, it having ended when the last two Canadian teams, the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames, were eliminated from the NHL playoffs. In his latest piece, Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail writes: “It is impossible to count the number of Canadians who will now largely tune out. After the hardest winter in memory for so many, warm spring evenings or weekend afternoons are for spending anywhere but in front of the television watching, say, a team from Florida play a team from California.” . . . That column is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Various sources, including Darren Dreger of TSN, have reported that Dave Lowry, the head coach of the
WHL’s Victoria Royals, is in the mix for the head-coaching position with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. . . . Lowry, who has completed three seasons as the Royals’ head coach, also is the head coach of Canada’s national junior team. . . . Also believed to be contenders for the position are former NHL coaches Peter DeBoer, Dan Bylsma and Randy Carlyle. . . . Of course, the Sharks also want to have a chat with Mike Babcock. . . . Even if Lowry doesn’t get the Sharks’ job, his name now is in the NHL loop and you can bet that more interviews with different teams will follow, maybe not this offseason but in the future. . . . The Sharks have been looking for a head coach since they announced that Todd McLellan wouldn’t return for an eighth season. That was said to be by mutual agreement. . . . McLellan, a former WHL coach (Swift Current, 1994-2000), spent the past few weeks as the head coach of the Canadian team that won the IIHF World championship in Prague on Sunday. Canada, under McLellan, ran the table, completing its tournament with a 6-1 victory over Russia.——
At the moment, there are three WHL teams — the Kootenay Ice, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Vancouver Giants — without head coaches.
Last offseason, there were 10 teams changing coaches; this season, it doesn’t seem the number of changes will approach anywhere near that total.
In Kootenay, the Ice is looking for a replacement for Ryan McGill, while Lethbridge GM Peter Anholt is said to be down to a shortlist of three as he searches for a replacement for himself. The Giants, at some point, will hire a replacement for Claude Noel.
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Perhaps you heard about Russian president Vladimir Putin’s big game on the weekend. He scored eight times in an exhibition game that featured a lot of former NHLers and was played in Moscow. Putin’s team won, 18-6. . . . Putin spent most of the game on a line with Pavel Bure and Valeri Kamensky. . . .
The QMJHL championship will be decided tonight in Quebec City as the Remparts and Rimouski Oceanic play Game 7. The host Oceanic won Game 6 on Sunday, beating the Remparts 5-4 in OT on a goal by D Jan Kostalek. . . .
You may have seen the mini-documentary on Dickson Liong that got a whole lot of exposure earlier this month. On the weekend, Liong wrote a piece for The Fourth Period, explaining how he came to be the star of that piece. His story is right here.
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World champs 🇨🇦 @Burnzie88 pic.twitter.com/CjlNmZWo1h
— Tyson McLellan (@TysonMcLellan88) May 17, 2015
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The MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers edged the visiting Steinbach Pistons 3-2 on Friday night, running their winning streak to 20 games. That set a new franchise record, erasing the mark set by the 1974-75 team, and tied the MJHL record. The Steelers are scheduled to meet the host Portage Terriers tonight. . . . At 40-6-2, the Steelers boast the league’s best record.
The Kelowna Rockets got out to a 4-0 lead and went on to beat the host Kamloops Blazers, 4-2. That improved the Rockets’ record to 41-7-3, the best in the WHL, while the Blazers slid to 11-36-5 and into a tie with the Lethbridge Hurricanes (11-38-5) for the WHL’s poorest record, each with 27 points.
The Blazers got back into this one with a pair of goals from F Cole Ully, the first at 12:20 of the third on the PP, and the second at 18:13. Ully, who is having a solid season despite the team’s record, has 24 goals.
F Todd Fiddler broke a 1-1 tie at 11:30 of the third period to give the Prince George Cougars a 2-1 victory over the host Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Fiddler, 20, played for the Warriors earlier in the season, before being dropped from their roster and ultimately traded to the Cougars. He's got 32 goals this season. . . . Fiddler also drew an assist on D Mark McNulty's 13th goal at 3:21 of the second period. . . . Fiddler has 57 points, including 30 goals, in 34 games with the Cougars. . . . Josh Uhrich got his sixth for the Warriors at 6:41 of the second. . . . The Cougars (21-26-7), now six points shy of the Western Conference’s last playoff spot, have won three in a row and have one game left, in Swift Current tonight, on their East Division swing. . . . The Warriors (13-30-8) are out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. . . .
In Regina, G Daniel Wapple stopped 16 shots to help the Pats to a 6-0 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . It was Wapple's second shutout this season -- he has one with Medicine Hat and one with Regina -- and the third of his career. . . . Saskatoon G Troy Trombley turned aside 41 shots. . . . Regina broke open a scoreless game with four second-period goals. . . . Regina F Chandler Stephenson scored twice, giving him 23, while F Dryden Hunt had a goal, his 15th, and two assists. . . . Among Saskatoon's scratches was F Nikita Scherbak, the league's leading freshman. He sat out with an undisclosed injury. . . . Regina (26-21-5) is tied for sixth with the Red Deer Rebels in the Eastern Conference; they are a point back of the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Blades (14-35-4) are 11th and out of the playoff picture. . . .
In Swift Current, F Graham Black scored three times as the Broncos beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 4-3. . . . Black, who has 26 goals, two more than he scored last season, gave his guys a 4-2 edge at 17:57 of the third period. . . . It was Black’s first WHL three-goal game. . . . F Curtis Sanford scored twice for the Tigers, giving him 24. . . . Broncos D Julius Honka drew two assists. . . . Medicine Hat F Alex Mowbray, a 17-year-old from Calgary, scored his first WHL goal in his 18th game of the season. . . . Medicine Hat F Curtis Valk had his goal-scoring streak snapped at eight games, the longest in the league this season. . . . The Broncos (26-18-8) have points in their last five games (3-0-2) and are back atop the East Division, two points ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Tigers (29-18-3) are fourth in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of Brandon. . . . 
The host Edmonton Oil Kings scored three second-period goals and beat the Tri-City Americans, 3-1. . . . Edmonton F Curtis Lazar scored his 28th goal of the season to get the Oil Kings rolling. . . . F Brian Williams got Tri-City's goal, his 32nd, on the PP, at 19:33 of the third. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 28 shots, seven fewer than Eric Comrie of the Americans. . . . The Oil Kings (36-13-1) lead the Eastern Conference and are atop the Central Division by three points over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Americans (25-22-5) are eighth in the Western Conference, three points behind the Everett Silvertips. . . . 
In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice scored the game's last four goals and beat the Raiders, 4-1. . . . Ice F Luke Philp scored his 20th goal, giving the Ice a 2-1 lead at 2:35 of the third period, as he ran his point streak to 12 games, the longest in the WHL right now. . . . Philp also had an assist. . . . F Dakota Conroy scored his 20th goal for the Raiders late in the second period, only to have F Zach Franko tie it with his 15th just 41 seconds later. . . . The game's lone fight featured Prince Albert D Josh Morrissey and Ice F Sam Reinhart, who were teammates on Canada's national junior team. It was the first fight of Reinhart's WHL career and came in hi 182nd game. He has 33 career penalty minutes, nine of them this season. . . . The Ice (26-21-4) is eighth in the Eastern Conference, seven points ahead of the Raiders, who have lost three straight. . . . The Ice is 7-2-1 in its last 10. . . . 
The host Calgary Hitmen blew a 3-0 lead and then broke a 3-3 tie with three third-period goals to beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 7-4. . . . Calgary F Chase Lang gave his guys a 3-0 lead with his sixth goal, on the PP, at 19:09 of the first period. . . . Brandon came back with three second-period goals, tying it on F Quintin Lisoway's fifth goal at 19:56. . . . Calgary F Greg Chase broke the 3-3 draw with his 29th goal at 5:32 of the third and F Adam Tambellini added insurance with his fourth at 12:26. . . . Brandon got a goal, his eighth, and two assists from F Ryley Lindgren. . . . According to Brad Curle, the radio voice of the Hitmen, Calgary his seven posts. . . . The Wheat Kings have lost three in a row. . . . 
In Victoria, F Cain Franson's shootout goal gave the Vancouver Giants a 5-4 victory over the Royals. . . . Victoria F Logan Nelson had forced OT with his second goal of the night, and his 15th of the season, at 9:51 of the third period. . . . Victoria F Joe Hicketts had two assists and was plus-2 as he returned from arm surgery. He had last played on Oct. ??. . . . Victoria F Brandon Magee got his 19th goal and also had an assist, the 100th of his career. . . . Vancouver F Dalton Sward scored his 16th goal, a shorthanded effort at 8:00 of the second period. That tied the franchise's single-season record that had been held by James Henry (2009-10). . . . The Giants (26-19-8) have won two straight and are sixth in the Western Conference, six points behind the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Royals (33-16-3) are tied for third with the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . 
In Portland, the Winterhawks ran their winning streak to nine games with a 6-0 blanking of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . G Brendan Burke put up his second shutout this season, stopping 32 shots. He has six shutouts in his career. . . . The Winterhawks, who led 1-0 and 4-0 at the intermissions, got two goals from F Oliver Bjorkstrand, who now has 36. . . . Portland D Mathew Dumba had one assist and was plus. The Winterhawks are 7-0-0 with Dumba in the lineup. He has eight points, including six assists, and is plus-16. . . . Porltand F Brendan Leipsic ran his goal-scoring streak to seven games, the longest active such run in the league right now. . . . The Winterhawks (35-12-5) are 10 points behind the Western Conference-leading Rockets. . . . The Chiefs (31-16-4) are fifth, three points in back of Seattle. . . . 
In Everett, F Ryan Gropp’s PP goal at 7:21 of the second period broke a 1-1 tie as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Silvertips, 2-1. . . . F Mathew Barzal gave Seattle a 1-0 lead at 13:34 of the first period. Barzal, the first pick in the 2012 bantam draft, has eight goals. . . . Everett F Josh Winquist got his 32nd at 19:07 of the first, via the PP. . . . Gropp has 13 goals with Seattle. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 24 shots in running his record to 7-0-0. He’s got a 1.25 GAA and a .956 save percentage. In seven games with Seattle, Kozun is seeing an average of 29.1 shots per game. In 29 appearances with Kamloops this season, that number was 38.3. With the Blazers, he was 5-19-3, 3.95, .897. . . . Seattle (32-15-5) is tied for third in the Western Conference with Victoria, while Everett (25-19-8), which has lost six in a row, is seventh, two points behind Vancouver.
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