Broncos stun Pats in opener; Papirny, Lindgren in spotlight . . . Winterhawks sign top prospect

Some notes on a marathon game that was played in Finland last Friday . . .
It was playoff game in the Mestis semifinals, which is one level below Liiga, the top league. In Vantaa, just outside Helsinki, TuTo Turku and K-Vantaa played the longest game in Finnish hockey history at any level.

TuTo tied it 3-3 with the goalie pulled and 25 seconds left in the third period, but Vantaa won it on a PPG at 17:54 of the fifth OT period. The game started at 6:30 p.m. — that is the standard weeknight start time in Finland — and ended at 12:47 a.m., so it started in March and ended in April. It put Vantaa up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.

The tough thing about all of this is that Game 3 was scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m., in Turku, slightly more than 14 hours after Game 2 had ended. Luckily, Vantaa and Turku are only two hours apart by car or bus. Vantaa won Game 3, but TuTo came back to won Games 4 and 5. Game 6 is Friday in Vantaa.

Now for some numbers from Game 2 . . .

Four defencemen for K-Vantaa played more than 60 minutes, with Paavo Ylipaino leading the way at 63:52 in 76 shifts. One of their d-men, Juho Rautanen, was injured in the first period and didn’t return. He played only 2:26 on four shifts in the first period. 

For TuTo, D Kristian Tuohilampi led the way with 68:12 in 82 shifts. He scored to tie the game at three and had 10 shots on goal. No one else played more than 60 minutes for TuTo.

The shots on goal were 65-62 for TuTo. Each team had one player with 20 or more shots on goal. RW Julius Rantaeskola for K-Vantaa had 24 shots on goal (57 shifts, 43:02), while RW Kalle Moisio (57, 36:10) had 20 for TuTo . Rantaeskola had two goals and an assist, all in regulation and all on the power play. In fact, all four of K-Vantaa goals were power-play goals. Moisio was held pointless.

Another note of interest: K-Vantaa had two video reviews go against it and wash out goals, one at 8:50 of the third period and the other at 15:15 of the first overtime. You can't tell from the summary what the ruling was on the ice so you don't know if video confirmed or overruled.

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Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post was chatting with John Paddock, the Regina Pats’ general manager and head coach, about the decrease in scoring in hockey. . . . Paddock pointed to two things — video and goaltending equipment. Along the way, Paddock said: “Shrinking the goalies’ equipment overall is probably the best you can do. (Pats goaltending coach and Regina Police Service constable) Rob Muntain can walk in here with a flak jacket on that can stop a bullet, but we have to have goalies with (pads) six inches above their shoulders. I think that (reducing the size of goalie equipment) is still the direction to go, myself.” . . . Vanstone’s entertaining read is right here.

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The Portland Winterhawks have signed D Clay Hanus of Minnetonka, Minn., to a WHL contract. Hanus, who turned 16 on March 25, is a list player. He was limited by injury to seven games this season as a freshman at Minnetonka High School. Last summer, he took part in a USA Selects U-15 camp that was held for the top 2001-born players in the U.S. . . . He attended the Winterhawks’ camp prior to his season. . . . “We believe Clay is one of the best defencemen in his age group in the United States,” Mike Johnston, Portland’s vice-president, general manager and head coach, said in a news release. . . . Interestingly, Hanus had committed to the U of Minnesota on Sept. 29, announcing it via his Twitter account. On Thursday, Chris Dilks of SB Nation wrote that “Hanus is regared as one of the top 2001-born defencemen in the nation. . . . He’s a smooth skater with a strong shot from the point.“ . . . His father, Tim, spent four seasons (1988-92) at St. Cloud State where he played for the Huskies.

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In the latter part of this WHL season, with the Brandon Wheat Kings having had an encounter with the mumps virus, freshman D Garrett Sambrook left the lineup with an illness. The Wheat Kings indicated at the time that he wasn’t out with the mumps. This week, Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun, wrote about Sambrook, a native of Medora, Man., who turned 17 on Jan. 30. . . . It turns out that Sambrook had a seizure early on Feb. 25 as the Wheat Kings were riding the bus to Medicine Hat after a game in Lethbridge. . . . “I woke up laying on the floor and everybody was pretty concerned,” Sambrook told Bergson.“I wasn’t real sure what was going on.” . . . Sambrook was taken to hospital in Medicine Hat, then returned to the family’s home where he had another seizure. . . . Needless to say, he underwent a battery of tests, before finally being diagnosed with epilepsy. He now is on medication to control it. . . . This week, he was medically cleared to play hockey again. . . . “(The doctors) said most
likely I’ll be good to go for the season,” Sambrook said. . . . This season, in 55 games, he had a goal and six assists.

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The OHL’s Guelph Storm dismissed head coach Jarrod Skalde on Thursday. Skalde, who had a year left on his contract, had been head coach since Dec. 19, 2015. The Storm missed the playoffs each of the past two seasons, finishing last in the Western Conference each time. The Storm also will soon with without a general manager as Mike Kelly said in February that he will be leaving when his contract is up on May 31.

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The BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings announced a coaching change on Thursday, after Chad van Diemen stepped down after two seasons as head coach citing family reasons. . . . The Spruce Kings immediately promoted associate coach Adam Maglio to head coach. . . . In van Diemen’s first season, the Spruce Kings went 14-38-4-2, improving to 25-27-4-2 this season. They lost a first-round playoff series in seven games to the highly favoured Wenatchee Wild. . . . Maglio, a native of Nelson, B.C., has been with the Spruce Kings for two seasons.

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The ECHL’s Allen Americans have signed Steve Martinson, their general manager of hockey operations and head coach, to a contract that runs through the 2020-21 season. . . . All Martinson has done in his five seasons in Allen is win four league titles. If fact, in 20 years of coaching, his teams have won 10 titles. . . . Under Martinson, the Americans won the Central league championship in 2012-13 and 2013-14. The Americans then moved to the ECHL and promptly won back-to-back championships. . . . The Americans will open this season’s playoffs on Wednesday. Their opponent has yet to be determined.

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THURSDAY’S GAME:

We win!!!!!  Do you believe? Our game star!!!! pic.twitter.com/lXLKCkjcRa

— Liam Choo-Foo (@lchoo65) April 7, 2017

At Regina, G Jordan Papirny stopped 53 shots, including 18 in the first period, to lead the Swift Current Broncos to a 2-1 OT victory over the Pats. . . . F Ryley Lindgren won it at 15:12 of the first OT period.

JORDAN PAPIRNY

He’s got six goals in these playoffs. . . . F Austin Wagner (4) had given the Pats a 1-0 lead at 17:36 of the first period. . . . Regina held a 19-2 edge in first-period shots. The Broncos had two PPs that period and failed to get a shot on goal. . . . Swift Current tied the game when F Lane Pederson (3) scored at 19:21 of the third period with Papirny on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . In OT, Broncos D Sahvan Khaira entered the Regina zone on the right side, then slipped the puck to F Aleksi Heponiemi, who fed Lindgren on the left side. Lindgren, who drew the lone assist on Pederson’s goal, snapped a shot past Regina G Tyler Brown, who finished with 34 saves. . . . Lindgren went into the playoffs with two goals and two assists in 12 career post-season games. This spring, he has 10 points in eight games. . . . Papirny is 5-3, 1.84, .953 in these playoffs. He backstopped the Brandon Wheat Kings to the WHL final two seasons ago and helped them win the Ed Chynoweth Cup last season. . . . Regina was 0-1 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-6. . . . Going back to the regular season, the Pats had won their previous 12 games. The Pats also had won seven of the eight regular-season games they played against the Broncos this season. . . . The Broncos have played five road games in these playoffs, and won four of them. . . . Sportsnet will televise Game 2 of the series tonight (Friday) from Regina and also will show Game 3 from Swift Current on Monday. . . . Announced attendance: 6,484.

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FRIDAY GAMES (all times local):

Seattle at Everett, 7:35 p.m. (Game 1)

Portland at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m. (Game 1)

Swift Current at Regina, 7 p.m. (Swift Current leads, 1-0)

Lethbridge at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m. (Game 1)

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Foreurs, Oil Kings in semifinal; Stoll talks Yorkton and Terriers

F Mikhail Yakubov (Red Deer, 2001-02) has signed a one-year contract with Vityaz Podolsk (Russia, KHL). This season, with Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia, KHL), he had 13 points, two of them goals, in 32 games. He was the team captain. . . .


F Alexander Kuvaev (Lethbridge, Vancouver, 2010-12) has signed a two-year extension with Severstal Cherepovets (Russia, KHL). This season, with Severstal, he had two assists in 10 games. He also played with Almaz Cherepovets (Russia, MHL), leading the team in scoring with 39 points, including 17 goals, in 35 games. . . . The MHL is Molodezhnaya Hokkeynaya Liga or Junior Hockey League, Russia's national junior league. . . .

F Toni Rajala (Brandon, 2009-10) has signed a three-year contract with Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia, KHL). This season, with HV71 Jönköping (Sweden, SEL), he had 30 points, including 13 goals, in 37 games. He was drafted in the fourth round of the KHL’s 2009 junior draft by Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, which traded his rights to Yugra on Wednesday for Yugra's first-round selection in the 2015 KHL draft.
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1. Jon Rosen, the former radio voice of the Everett Silvertips who now is the L.A. Kings Insider, took time out from a visit to Wrigley Field this week to chat with F Jarret Stoll. Mostly they talked about Stoll’s connection to Yorkton and to the SJHL’s Terriers. You may recall that Stoll arranged to pay for some team meals as the Terriers made a run to the RBC Cup title last week. As I suspected, it turns out that superstition had something to do with it. . . . Rosen’s piece is right here and it really does show that you can take the boy to Los Angeles but you can’t take Yorkton out of the boy. Great stuff!

2. The 2014 Hockey Coaches Conference has added more presenters to its roster. . . . Ryan Jankowski, Hockey Canada’s head scout, will do a presentation on player evaluation. . . . Mike Johnston, the general manager and head coach of the Portland Winter Hawks, will do a session on passing skills. . . . Enio Sacilotto, a long-time coach who now is an assistant with the Victoria Royals, will handle small area games. . . . Jeff Compton, who also is on the Royals’ staff, will deal with Hockey IQ. . . . For more info, click on the conference’s ad at the top of this page. . . . The conference is scheduled for July 18-19 at the U of British Columbia in Vancouver.

3. “Well, those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer are upon us and we’re staring down the barrel of a strike,” writes columnist George Johnson of the Calgary Herald. “And not a Gary Bettman sighting to be had.” . . . This time, it’s the CFL that’s on the verge of going over a cliff. Seriously. . . . Johnson’s take is right here.

4. D Derrick Pouliot, who completed his junior eligibility with the Portland Winterhawks this season, had shoulder surgery on Wednesday and will be out for up to six months., Pouliot was taken eighth overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL’s 2012 draft. He has signed an NHL contract. He was honoured this season as the WHL’s top defenceman.

5. The BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings have signed general manager Mike Hawes to a three-year contract extension. Hawes had one year left on this contract, so now is signed through 2017-18. . . . He is preparing for his 10th season with the organization. He has been the GM since November 2010.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Allen Americans, who won the Central league championship earlier this month, have signed head coach Steve Martinson through 2015-16. He just completed his second season with the Americans and has won back-to-back championships.
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Scott Hillman has resigned as head coach and director of hockey operations of the Central league’s Missouri Mavericks, who play out of Independence. He had filled those positions since the Mavericks began play in the league in 2009-10. . . . The Mavericks made the playoffs in each of Hillman’s five seasons with them. This season, they won a franchise-record 44 games and had the league’s best regular-season record.
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MEMORIAL CUP
(at London, Ont., all times Eastern)
(all games televised by Sportsnet)
Friday: Val-d’Or 1, London 0 (8,863)
Saturday: Guelph 5, Edmonton 2 (8,842)
Sunday: Edmonton 5, London 2 (8,863)
Monday: Guelph 6, Val-d’Or 3 (8,796)
Tuesday: Val-d’Or 4, Edmonton 3 (2OT) (8,745)
Wednesday: Guelph 7, London 2 (8,863)
Thursday: No game scheduled.
Friday's semifinal: Val-d'Or vs. Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Saturday: No game scheduled.
Sunday: Final, 4 p.m.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAME:
F Scott Kosmachuk scored his first three goals of the tournament to lead the OHL-champion Guelph Storm to a 7-2 victory over the London Knights. . . . The Storm (3-0) had already clinched a berth in Sunday’s final. . . . The loss eliminated the Knights (0-3) from the tournament. . . . Without the need for tiebreaker, today will be an off-day in London. . . . Friday’s semifinal will feature the QMJHL-champion Val-d’Or Foreurs (2-1) and the WHL-champion Edmonton Oil Kings (1-2). The Foreurs beat the Oil Kings 4-3 in double OT on Tuesday night. . . . Last night, Kosmachuk got the Storm started with two first-period goals, at 5:46 and 12:44, the latter via the PP. . . . London got on the board at 17:05 as F Brett Welchyka scored a PP goal. . . . F Tyler Bertuzzi restored Guelph’s two-goal lead with a PP goal at 2:23 of the second, only have London F Josh Anderson cut into that lead at 5:34. . . . However, the Storm took control on Bertuzzi’s second goal, and fifth of the tournament, at 16:05 and a PP goal by F Jason Dickinson at 1:20 of the third. . . . Kosmachuk completed the hat trick at 8:01. . . . Storm F Marc Stevens finished off the scoring at 1714. . . . Guelph G Justin Nichols stopped 45 shots. . . . London starter Anthony Stolarz turned was beaten three time on 17 shots, leaving at 2:23 of the second period with his side down 3-1. Reliever Jake Patterson stopped 17 of 21 shots. . . . Guelph was 3-for-6 on the PP; London was 1-for-4. . . . Storm F Zack Mitchell was ejected with a kneeing major at 6:56 of the first period. London F Dakota Mermis, who was on the receiving end of the hit, returned to the game. . . . The Storm was without D Chadd Bauman after he was suspended for the duration of the tournament for a kneeing major he incurred for a hit on Val-d’Or D Guillaume Gelinas on Monday night. Gelinas, who was named the QMJHL’s top defenceman this season, won’t play again in the tournament. . . . The Knights were appearing in their third straight Memorial Cup. They are the first team to play in three in a row and not win even one championship.
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From Josh Brown (@BrownRecord), during last night’s game: “I'm thinking there is soon going to be tons of semi and final Mem Cup tix available soon.”


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