Let’s start with a great story involving the Portland Winterhawks Booster Club. . . .
You may be aware that 43 members of the booster club made their way to Prince George for a mid-week doubleheader, then rode the bus to Kamloops for Friday night’s game and wrapped it up in Kelowna on Saturday night.
It seems they made a stop before arriving at Friday’s game in Kamloops.
It was Family Literacy Week in Kamloops and the organizing committee had partnered with Kamloops Honda on a book drive that they called Heap the Honda. New and gently used children’s books were being collected to be given to children on Jan. 25, which is ABC Family Literacy Day.
The book drive was ongoing at Friday’s game between the Blazers and Winterhawks.
As I understand it, the booster club got wind of this promotion before arriving at Friday’s game and club members were able to make their way to a book store, where they purchased children’s books that helped Heap the Honda when they arrived at the Sandman Centre.
The Blazers won the game, beating the Winterhawks, 4-3 in a shootout, but the children of Kamloops were the real winners, thanks to people like those in the Portland Winterhawks Booster Club.
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Five people with ties to the WHL are among the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame’s class of 2017.
Bob Bourne, the late Eddie Litzenberger, the late Stan Dunn, Graham Tuer and Ken Wheler will be honoured at the annual induction dinner in Battlefords on July 22.
Bourne played for the Saskatoon Blades (1971-74) before going on to an NHL career that included four Stanley Cup titles with the New York Islanders.
Litzenberger played three seasons (1949-52) with the Regina Pats, appearing in the 1950 Memorial Cup. During his pro career, he won four Stanley Cups and two Calder Cups.
Dunn was the head coach of the Weyburn Red Wings during their only season in the WHL. He later spent four seasons as the general manager and head coach of the Swift Current Broncos.
Tuer is a favourite among the hockey scouting fraternity and has been around WHL arenas for a year or two. A former assistant GM with the Regina Pats, he most recently has scouted for the Kelowna Rockets and the Pats.
Wheler was a long-time WHL referee.
Bourne, Litzenberger and Fiona Smith-Bell will be inducted as players, with Dunn and Tuer going in as builders.
The Northwest Hockey Development Association is to be inducted in the grassroots division, while two teams — the 1983-84 Wilkie Outlaws and 2000-01 Lloydminster Border Kings — also will be inducted.
The Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame is located in the iPlex, the home of the Swift Current Broncos.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
At Brandon, F Stelio Mattheos had a goal and three assists to lead the Wheat Kings to a 5-2 victory over
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| STELIO MATTHEOS |
the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Wheat Kings scored four goals, three of them on the PP, in the game’s first half and took that 4-0 lead into the third period. . . . F Nolan Patrick opened the scoring at 10:03 of the first period and F Connor Gutenberg (10) made it 2-0 at 15:33, on a PP. . . . Mattheos’s 17th goal upped the lead to 3-0, on a PP, at 2:25 of the second and F Reid Duke’s 26th goal, on another PP, made it 4-0 at 9:57. . . . The Tigers got a pair of third-period goals, both on the PP, from F Max Gerlach (25), at 7:43, and F Mason Shaw (15), at 11:01. . . . Patrick iced it with an empty-netter at 19:33. He’s got eight goals. . . . Mattheos, who is seen as a potential first-round pick in the NHL’s 2017 draft, has 38 points in 45 games. . . . F Ty Lewis had two assists for Brandon. . . . G Logan Thompson stopped 41 shots for Brandon, nine more than Medicine Hat’s Nick Schneider. . . . Brandon was 3-3 on the PP; Medicine Hat was 2-7. . . . The Wheat Kings lost D Dmitry Osipov to a charging major and game misconduct at 9:00 of the third period. . . . The Wheat Kings (23-17-5) have points in four straight (3-0-1). They hold down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot and are seven points behind the third-place Swift Current Broncos in the East Division. . . . The Tigers (31-15-1) lead the Central Division by four points over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Announced attendance: 4,155.
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At Edmonton, the Prince Albert Raiders scored the game’s first four goals and went on to beat the Oil
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| JORDY STALLARD |
Kings, 5-2. . . . F Curtis Miske (9) got it started at 7:30 of the first period. . . . The Raiders took control with three goals in 1:30 in the second period. F Jordy Stallard (13) made it 2-0 at 8:51, with F Cavin Leth (12) scoring at 9:06 and F Cole Fonstad (8) at 10:21. . . . The Oil Kings got on the scoreboard when F Davis Koch got No. 12, at 1:02 of the third period. . . . Prince Albert got that one back as F Sean Montgomery got his 10th at 3:47. . . . F Ty Gerla got his fifth goal for Edmonton at 18:25. . . . Miske and Stallard each had an assist for the Raiders. . . . G Nic Sanders blocked 29 shots for the winners. . . . Edmonton starter Patrick Dea was beaten four times on 20 shots in 30:21, with Josh Dechaine coming on in relief to stop four of five shots in 29:39. . . . Edmonton was 0-4 on the PP; Prince Albert was 0-6. . . . Prince Albert (10-34-5) has won two in a row for the first time this season. . . . Edmonton (18-24-4) has lost seven straight and is four points out of a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 10,647.
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At Kamloops, the Blazers tied the game with 52.3 seconds left in the third period and then scored 59 seconds into OT to beat the Prince George Cougars, 5-4. . . . Prince George led 4-2 after the second
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| COLLIN SHIRLEY |
period. The Cougars went into the game with a 24-0-1 record when leading after two. . . . F Nic Holowko’s fourth goal got Kamloops to within one at 5:22 of the third period. . . . F Deven Sideroff tied it with his 27th goal and F Collin Shirley won it with his second goal of the game, and 20th of the season. . . . The visitors took a 2-0 lead before the game was five minutes old, with F Jesse Gabrielle (22) scoring, on a PP, at 3:29, and F Jansen Harkins (15) counting at 4:36. . . . F Lane Bauer cut the deficit in half with his 26th goal, his first with Kamloops since coming over from the Edmonton Oil Kings, on a PP, at 6:23. . . . Cougars D Brendan Guhle got that one back at 7:26, only to have Shirley score on a PP at 13:18. . . . Guhle’s second of the game, and 11th of the season, gave the Cougars a 4-2 lead at 13:18. . . . After the six-goal opening period, the teams played a scoreless second. . . . Sideroff, Bauer and F Rudolfs Balcers each had two assists. . . . The Cougars got two assists from each of Gabrielle and Nikita Popugaev, with Harkins adding one. . . . Harkins now has 151 career assists, one shy of the Prince George record held by Troy Bourke. . . . The Blazers got 27 saves from G Connor Ingram, while Ty Edmonds turned aside 35 for the Cougars. . . . Kamloops was 2-4 on the PP; Prince George was 1-3. . . . The Blazers (29-16-3) have won four in a row. They are second in the B.C. Division, eight points behind the Cougars and three in front of the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Kamloops will play its next seven games on the road, six in the U.S. Division and one in Kelowna. . . . The Cougars (33-13-3) remain atop the overall standings, a point ahead of the Everett Silvertips. The Cougars have lost two in a row (0-1-1). . . . Announced attendance: 3,734.
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At Kelowna, F Kole Lind, who hadn’t scored in 10 games, had two goals and two assists to lead the
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| KOLE LIND |
Rockets to a 4-1 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Lind, who has 22 goals, picked up a pair of PP markers, breaking a 1-1 tie at 11:07 of the second period and adding insurance at 3:00 of the third. . . . F Tomas Soustal (15) gave the home side a 1-0 lead at 4:53 of the opening period. . . . Portland tied it at 14:00 when F Joachim Blichfeld got No. 14 on a PP. . . . D Braydyn Chizen iced it with his third goal at 15:45 of the third period. Lind’s assist on that goal gave him 100 career points. . . . Soustal also had an assist. . . . The Rockets got 34 saves from G Michael Herringer, while Cole Kehler stopped 33 at the other end. . . . Kelowna was 2-6 on the PP; Portland was 1-5. . . . Kelowna was again without F Reid Gardiner (undisclosed injury), F Dillon Dube (ill) and F Nolan Foote, who has missed eight straight games. . . . The Rockets (27-17-4) had lost their previous three games (0-2-1). Kelowna is third in the B.C. Division, three points behind the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Winterhawks (22-21-3), who were playing their fourth road game in five nights, have lost five in a row (0-3-2). They hold down the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . Announced attendance: 5,361.
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At Lethbridge, the Hurricanes scored late in the third period and again in OT, both goals coming via the
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| ZAK ZBOROSKY |
PP, as they beat the Calgary Hitmen, 3-2. . . . F Tyler Wong’s 34th goal tied the game at 19:42 of the third period and F Zak Zborosky’s 31st goal won it at 3:21 of OT. . . . G Giorgio Estephan drew an assist on both goals. . . . F Alec Baer gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead with his ninth goal — his sixth since arriving from the Vancouver Giants at the trade deadline — at 14:25 of the first period. . . . Calgary F Matteo Gennaro put his guys ahead with two quick goals in the second period. He scored on a PP at 1:58 and added No. 28 at 6:45. . . . Gennaro has goals in five straight games, having scored 10 times during that stretch. . . . G Stuart Skinner turned aside 31 shots to earn the victory. . . . Calgary G Trevor Martin stopped 21 shots. . . . Lethbridge was 2-7 on the PP; Calgary was 1-5. . . . F Matt Alfaro, acquired from the Kootenay Ice at the trade deadline, made his Hurricanes debut with one assist. Lethbridge was without F Egor Babenko and F Ryan Bowen. . . . The Hurricanes (26-15-7) have points in eight straight (6-0-2). They are second in the Central Division, four points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Hitmen (17-21-7) have lost two in a row (0-1-1). They are three points out of a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 4,231.
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At Red Deer, F Lane Zablocki scored three times and added an assist and F Brandon Hagel had two
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| LANE ZABLOCKI |
goals and four assists to lead the Rebels to a 6-2 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Zablocki has six goals and two assists in seven games since coming over from the Regina Pats. . . . He opened the scoring at 3:56 of the first period. . . . Victoria D Scott Walford (2) tied it at 5:00. . . . Hagel’s PP goal, at 13:28, gave the Rebels a 2-1 lead. . . . Zablocki made it 3-1 at 12:48 of the second period. . . . The Royals got back to within one when F Tyler Soy scored his 20th goal, shorthanded, at 5:55. . . . Soy has scored at least 20 goals for three straight seasons. He had 28 in 2014-15 and 46 last season. . . . The Rebels put it away with the game’s last three goals. . . . F Adam Musil got his 17th at 10:20 of the third period. . . . Zablocki completed the hat trick at 11:10. . . . Hagel scored his second of the game, and 20th of the season, on a PP, at 15:38. . . . F Michael Spacek drew five assists for Red Deer. The line of Spacek, Hagel and Zablocki totalled 15 points. . . . The Rebels got 21 saves from G Lasse Petersen. . . . G Griffen Outhouse stopped 38 shots for the Royals in what was his 21st consecutive game. That ties the Victoria/Chilliwack Bruins franchise record that had belonged to Lucas Gore (2010-11). . . . Red Deer was 2-6 on the PP; Victoria was 0-3. . . . Red Deer F Austin Glover played in his 200th regular-season WHL game. . . . The Rebels (21-20-7) had lost their previous four games (0-3-1). They look to be headed to a third-place finish in the Central Division. . . . The Royals (26-19-4) had won four in a row. This was their third game in as many nights, after wins in Edmonton and Calgary. . . . Victoria is in possession of the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot. It is fourth in the B.C. Division, two points behind the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Announced attendance: 5,557.
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At Kent, Wash., F Mathew Barzal scored two goals and added an assist as the Seattle Thunderbirds
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| TURNER OTTENBREIT |
dumped the Vancouver Giants, 6-1. . . . This was the final Teddy Bear Game of this season and it was D Turner Ottenbreit who scored the goal, giving Seattle a 1-0 lead at 9:30 of the first period. . . . He was the sixth defenceman to score a TBG this season. . . . Ottenbreit has four goals. . . . Barzal made it 2-0, at 14:43. . . . Seattle went up 4-0 on goals from F Alexander True (14), at 8:03 of the second period, and Barzal, who has six goals, at 6:03 of the third. . . . F Calvin Spencer (11) scored for Vancouver at 7:45. . . . The Thunderbirds put it away on third-period goals from F Sami Moilanen (14), at 9:40, and F Luke Ormsby (4), at 11:36. . . . Seattle got three assists from F Ryan Gropp, while F Tyler Adams had two assists. . . . G Rylan Toth stopped 15 shots for Seattle. . . . Vancouver G David Tendeck turned aside 40 shots. . . . Seattle held a 33-9 edge in shots through two periods. . . . Each team was 0-3 on the PP. . . . The Thunderbirds (25-15-4) are comfortably in third in the U.S. Division. . . . The Giants (17-27-3) are 10 points out of a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 6,146.
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At Spokane, the Chiefs unleashed a 50-shot barrage en route to a 5-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . .
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| TYSON HELGESEN |
F Eli Zummack gave Spokane a 1-0 lead with his fourth goal, on a PP, at 12:18 of the first period. . . . F Kailer Yamamoto made it 2-0 with his 29th goal at 5:56 of the second period. . . . The Ice got to within a goal when F Noah Philp (6) scored at 1:04 of the third period. . . . D Ty Smith’s third goal, on a PP, at 9:59, restored the two-goal lead. . . . F Ondrej Najman (4) provided some insurance for the Chiefs at 14:09 and D Tyson Helgesen (7) added more, at 16:27. . . . Ice F Kaeden Taphorn’s second goal, at 19:22, closed out the scoring. . . . Spokane got two assists from each of F Rykr Cole and F Jaret Anderson-Dolan, with Helgesen adding one. . . . G Dawson Weatherill earned the victory with 22 saves, while Jakob Walter blocked 45 at the other end. . . . Spokane was 2-4 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-4. . . . F Peyton Krebs, the first overall selection in the 2016 bantam draft, played in his sixth game this season. Under ordinary circumstances, a 15-year-old is allowed to play five games in the WHL before his club team has its season end. The Ice, however, has been allowed to keep using Krebs due to the team’s injury situation. . . . The Chiefs (19-20-7) are two points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Ice (11-29-8) has lost two in a row. . . . Announced attendance: 9,506.
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At Swift Current, D Connor Hobbs snapped a 5-5 tie at 15:30 of the third period as the Regina Pats beat the Broncos, 6-5. . . . Hobbs won it with his 20th goal of the season. He and David Quenneville of the
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| CONNOR HOBBS |
Medicine Hat Tigers lead all defencemen in goals. Quenneville is out with a broken fibula. . . . F Jake Leschyshyn (17) gave Regina a 1-0 lead at 7:51 of the first period. . . . The Broncos replied with goals 41 seconds apart from F Riley Stotts (6) and F Aleksi Heponiemi (17). . . . Regina followed that with two goals to take a 3-2 lead into the second period. D Josh Mahura got his 10th goal — his first with Regina since being acquired from the Red Deer Rebels — at 15:04 and D Chase Harrison (6) scored on a PP at 19:47. . . . F Glenn Gawdin’s 17th goal pulled the Broncos into a tie, on a PP, at 7:31 of the second period. . . . F Sam Steel’s 34th goal sent Regina into a 4-3 lead, on a PP, at 14:25. . . . Heponiemi’s second goal, on a PP, tied it at 14:25 and Gawdin put the home side out front at 16:49. . . . The Pats tied it when F Dawson Leedahl counted No. 22, on a PP, at 13:59. . . . Regina got three assists from F Adam Brooks, with Hobbs and Steel adding one each. . . . Gawdin, D Max Lajoie, F Tyler Steenbergen and F Lane Pederson each had two assists for Swift Current, with Heponiemi getting one. . . . G Jordan Hollett stopped 23 shots for Regina. He was playing his first game since Nov. 20 and ran his record to 8-0-1. . . . G Jordan Papirny turned aside 29 shots for the Broncos. . . . Regina was 3-4 on the PP; Swift Current was 2-5. . . . Regina (30-6-7) is atop the East Division, four points in front of the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . According to Kevin Shaw (@theblueliner), who knows such things, this is the third time that the Pats have had at least 30 victories in their first 43 games, the others being in 1980-81 (31) and 1983-84 (30). . . . The Broncos (25-15-8) have lost two in a row. They are third in the East Division, five points behind Moose Jaw. . . . Announced attendance: 2,177.
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At Kennewick, Wash., D Kevin Davis scored a pair of goals to help the Everett Silvertips to a 4-2 victory
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| KEVIN DAVIS |
over the Tri-City Americans. . . . This season, Davis has six goals and 35 assists in 44 games. Over the previous two seasons, he totalled six goals and 35 assists in 133 games. . . . F Brandson Hein’s second goal gave Everett a 1-0 lead at 18:33 of the first period. . . . The Americans tied it at 19:48 of the second period when F Kyle Olson got his 12th goal. . . . Davis gave the visitors a 2-1 lead at 11:51 of the third period. . . . F Vladislav Lukin pulled the Americans into a 2-2 tie at 13:23. . . . Davis broke the tie, on a PP, at 15:30 and F Connor Dewar added insurance, with a PP goal into an empty net, at 19:33. He’s got nine goals. . . . F Morgan Geekie had two assists for the Americans. . . . G Mario Petit stopped 22 shots for the Silvertips as he improved to 10-2-3. . . . Tri-City got 19 saves from G Rylan Parenteau. . . . Everett was 2-3 on the PP; Tri-City was 0-2. . . . Tri-City lost F Jordan Topping to a charging major and game misconduct at 19:10 of the third period. . . . The Silvertips (30-6-8) have won two in a row. They lead the U.S. Division by seven points over the Americans. Everett also is second in the overall standings, one point behind the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Americans (29-18-3) had won their previous seven games. . . . Announced attendance: 4,302.
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TEDDY BEAR, TOQUE AND MITTEN TOSS GAMES:
Jan. 21: D Turner Ottenbreit, 9:30 1st period, Vancouver 1 vs. Seattle 6, at Kent, Wash.
Nov. 26: D Micheal Zipp, 19:47 1st period, Lethbridge 4 at Calgary 2.
Dec. 2: D Artyom Minulin, 13:24 1st period, Calgary 1 at Swift Current 5.
Dec. 2: F Jordy Bellerive, 14:00 1st period, Red Deer 3 at Lethbridge 5.
Dec. 3: F Adam Musil, 14:27 1st period, Lethbridge 2 at Red Deer 3 (OT).
Dec. 3: D Ondrej Vala, 10:38 1st period, Vancouver 2 at Kamloops 5.
Dec. 3: F Nick Merkley, 6:54 2nd period, Brandon 1 at Kelowna 3.
Dec. 9: F Austin Glover, 0:32 2nd period, Moose Jaw 7 at Prince Albert 3.
Dec. 9: F Riley Woods, 11:45 1st period, Swift Current 1 at Regina 8.
Dec. 9: F Keanu Yamamoto, 4:01 1st period, Kootenay 3 at Spokane 4.
Dec. 10: D Josh Thrower, 12:13 1st period, Prince Albert 4 at Moose Jaw 5 (SO).
Dec. 10: F Nick Bowman, 13:38 2nd period, Kamloops 3 at Edmonton 2.
Dec. 10: D Troy Murray, 1:51 2nd, Kelowna 7 at Kootenay 3.
Dec. 10: F Max Gerlach, 5:26 1st period, Calgary 4 at Medicine Hat 7.
Dec. 10: F Skyler McKenzie 2:21 1st, Everett 2 at Portland 5.
Dec. 10: F Josh Curtis, 6:02 2nd period, Seattle 4 at Prince George 6.
Dec. 10: F Tyler Sandhu, 0:36 1st period, Victoria 3 at Tri-City 4.
Dec. 16: F Linden McCorrister, 17:47 1st period, Saskatoon 2 at Brandon 3 (SO).
Dec. 16: F James Malm, 3:34 1st period, Portland 4 vs. Vancouver 6, at Langley, B.C.
Dec. 17: F Braylon Shmyr, 2:13 2nd period, Brandon 3 at Saskatoon 2.
Dec. 17: F Eetu Tuulola, 19:29 2nd period, Portland 2 at Everett 4.
Dec. 17: F Eric Florchuk, 15:57 1st period, Vancouver 5 at Victoria 4 (OT).
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SUNDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
Prince Albert at Calgary, 4 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Spokane at Everett, 4:05 p.m.
Brandon at Regina, 4 p.m.
Swift Current at Saskatoon, 2:05 p.m.
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F Stelio Mattheos scored in OT to give Team Canada a 4-3 victory over Slovakia at the IIHF U-18 World Championship in Poprad, Slovakia, on Saturday. Mattheos, who plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings, had two goals in the game, the second coming at 2:38 of OT. . . . F Kyle Olson of the Tri-City Americans also scored for Canada, which got 26 saves from G Ian Scott of the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Finland (2-0-0-0) leads Group A with six points, while Canada (1-1-0-0) is a point behind. In IIHF events, teams get three points for a regulation victory, two for an OT victory, one for an OT loss and nothing for a regulation loss. . . . Team Canada next plays Monday when it meets Switzerland. On Tuesday, Canada will face Finland in its final round-robin game.
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