Hitting right notes in Prince George . . . Two more players leave teams . . . Another shutout for Whistle

THE MUSIC MAN:

CURTIS ABRIEL

Recently, the Moose Jaw Warriors' Twitter account (@MJWARRIORS) was playing a game of "Remember When . . ." At one point, the tweet was: “We had the actual organ in the Civic Centre #glorydays #livemusic #intune.”
Which brings us to Prince George’s CN Centre, the home of the Cougars who, if you aren't aware, are under new ownership this season.
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The Cougars’ new owners are hoping for a revival in their community this season.
And like the hosts to a good revival meeting, they see nothing wrong with a little organ music at their games.
It used to be that an organist was almost the entire stoppage-time
entertainment at a lot of hockey games. However, with the growth of computers, more and more teams have gone to pre-packaged music and the organs got squeezed out.
In Prince George, the Cougars have done something to reverse that. Yes, a keyboardist has become a big part of their game presentation.
"Apart from our relatively good improvements on the ice, the thing we are most happy about is that an exciting, electric atmosphere has once again returned to the CN Centre, and the fans are having an extremely good time attending our games," Andy Beesley, the Cougars' vice-president business, told Taking Note via email. "We’ve made some dramatic changes to the ‘fan experience’, including our incredible pre-game light/laser show, and, of course, our music upgrades."
The Cougars have hired Curtis Abriel as their music director. A resident of Prince George who is from Kitimat, Abriel is a well-known figure on the city's music scene.
With the Cougars, Abriel controls all music and sound effects, and also plays a live keyboard which, according to Beesley, is "mostly organ" and is used a lot throughout a game.
"Curtis has a natural ability to read the crowd, and get them clapping and cheering with various musical punctuations to mimic the mood of the crowd during stoppages in play," Beesley added. "Curtis has made a major contribution to the atmosphere inside the CN Centre . . . the power of a live keyboard with a skilled musician cannot be overstated."
How popular has the addition of Abriel proven to be?
The Cougars, who are at home to the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday (7 p.m.) and Sunday (2 p.m.), now have added a camera inside the video control room where Abriel operates from "so we can show live shots of him on the video scoreboard from time to time," Beesley writes.
The Cougars are using a lot of live music on game nights. On opening night, they had a local band, Out of Alba, on the roof of the CN Centre to welcome fans to the game; Out of Alba also played inside during 90-second timeouts during the game.
During a recent Saturday game, the Cougars had a live DJ -- DJ Ant -- doing his thing during stoppages in play and intermissions. Beesley reports that the DJ was "set up in the stands and was a huge hit."
In fact, DJ Ant was so popular, according to Beesley, "that we have arranged to have him set up in the stands again and play ALL the music for an upcoming game, with Curtis also playing live organ from time to time."
The Cougars, Beesley reports, also plan to include more live musicians during future games, including, yes, a trumpet player.
CHARGE!
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MORE PLAYER DEPARTURES:

Two more players have chosen to leave their WHL teams.
D Connor Hobbs, 17, has asked to be traded and has left the Medicine Hat Tigers, while D Tyler Green, 19, has decided to leave the Moose Jaw Warriors.
Hobbs, from Saskatoon, had two assists in five games with Canada at last summer's Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament. He had a goal and an assist in 12 games with the Tigers this season. Last season, he had three points, including a goal, in 10 games. He had been one of eight defencemen on the Tigers' roster.
Hobbs was a fourth-round pick by the Prince Albert Raiders in the 2012 bantam draft. The Tigers acquired Hobbs on Jan. 1, 2013. Along with Hobbs, they got D Zach Hodder, then 19, F Logan McVeigh, 18, and a second-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft for D Dylan Busenius, 19, F Jayden Hart, 18, and a sixth-round pick in the 2014 draft.
Green, meanwhile, apparently told the Warriors that he wants to get on with his education.
“He contacted us (Wednesday) and asked to meet with Tim (Hunter) and I,” Alan Millar, the Warriors' general manager, told Katie Brickman of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald. “He just explained to us that he has lost the passion for the game and didn’t feel like he wanted to play any longer.”
Green, 19, is from Port Coquitlam, B.C. He was a second-round selection by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2010 bantam draft. Seattle dealt him to the Brandon Wheat Kings and they, in turn, traded him to Moose Jaw on Oct. 5 for a fifth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft.
The Warriors acquired the 6-foot-7, 220-pound Green after D Austin Adam, a 6-foot-5, 200-pounder, suffered a shoulder injury. Adam is back skating but isn't expected to play for a couple of weeks.
Green's departure leaves the Warriors with six defencemen.
Green is at least the third player to walk away from the Warriors this season. Veteran forwards Brandon Potomak, 19, and Scott Cooke, 20, left after having played just two games each.
On Wednesday, the Kootenay Ice and D Jordan Steenbergen, 18, parted company by mutual agreement. He was pointless in 12 games this season.
The Prince Albert Raiders had two players -- F Dakota Conroy and F Colton McCarthy -- leave the club earlier this month. Conroy, 20, had two points in 10 games, while McCarthy, 18, was pointless in eight games.
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G Jared Rathjen, who has yet to play this season, is joining the Prince George Cougars. Rathjen, 20, is from Prince George. He was placed on waivers by the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Rathjen opened training camp with the Tigers and got into two exhibition games. However, he was sidelined when a health issue was discovered. He recently received medical clearance to return to action but has yet to play, although he has been practising with the Tigers. . . . Rathjen was acquired by the Tigers from the Vancouver Giants over the summer. The Tigers gave up a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft in the exchange. . . . In 74 regular-season games with the Victoria Royals and the Giants, he is 20-30-8/3.81/.873. Last season, he was 13-8-5/2.98/.898. . . . The acquisition of Rathjen leaves the Cougars with three goaltenders, the other two being sophomore Ty Edmonds, 18, and freshman Tavin Grant, 16. . . . Edmonds is 7-7-0/4.04/.875, while Grant is 1-1-0/5.75/.828. . . .
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In order to make room for Rathjen, the Cougars have waived D Wil Tomchuk, who is joining the AJHL's Fort McMurray Oil Barons. He is from Fort McMurray. . . . The Cougars are left with Rathjen, F Jari Ericsson and F Chance Braid as their 20-year-olds. . . . Tomchuk have five assists in 26 games with the Cougars last season, after coming over from the Tri-City Americans. This season, he had two assists in 15 games. In 131 regular-season games, he had a goal and 10 assists. . . . The Tigers are down to 23 players, including eight defencemen and 13 forwards. Their 20s are D Tyler Lewington, D Kyle Becker and Czech G Marek Langhamer. Lewington turns 20 on Dec. 5.
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Scoop Cooper, who writes at hockeybuzz.com, has known Gordie and Mark Howe for a number of years. With Gordie having suffered a stroke, Cooper writes right here about Mr. Hockey
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Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal chatted with former Portland Winterhawks head coach Brent Peterson about Gordie Howe, Andrew Ference and more. It's all right here. . . .

F Alex Forsberg, who suffered an undisclosed injury a week ago, practised with the Saskatoon Blades on Thursday. He is listed as questionable for tonight's game against the Pats in Regina. Saskatoon D Ryan Coghlan has been out since Oct. 22 and will sit for at least another month. He suffered a separated shoulder during a fight. . . . The Blades will make a move on defence before too long because they are down to six healthy defenders. . . .

There was an interesting revelation from the NHL's St. Louis Blues on Thursday morning. In an era when hockey teams are reluctant to release information regarding injuries, Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock told reports that forwards David Backes and T.J. Oshie have concussions and are out indefinitely. . . . "Backes is concussed, out ... Oshie is concussed, out," Hitchcock said.
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THE COACHING GAME:

There is an interesting story developing in Cold Lake, Alta., where the board of the directors of the Ice, a junior B team, has fired head coach Neil Langridge. The Ice was 10-2 when Langridge was fired on Tuesday. Furthermore, the Ice is coming off four straight league titles and is to be the host team for the 2015 Keystone Cup. Theresa Seraphim and Peter Lozinski of the Cold Lake Sun have more right here. "I can say that I will be leaving this organization with my head held allot higher then others involved," Langridge tweeted.
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THURSDAY'S GAMES:

In Portland, G Jackson Whistle stopped 29 shots to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 5-0 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . It was Whistle's second shutout in his last three starts. He's got three shutouts this season and six in his career. . . . The Rockets (13-1-0) have won three in a row. . . . F Rourke Chartier scored twice, giving him 11 goals this season. . . . F Justin Kirkland added a goal, his sixth, and two assists, while F Austin Glover drew three assists. . . . The Winterhawks hadn't been shut out at home since Oct. 9, 2011, when Ty Rimmer of the Tri-City Americans stopped 43 shots in a 4-0 victory. . . . The Americans also blanked Portland on Dec. 11, 2011, the last time the Winterhawks have gone without a goal. On that night, Rimmer turned aside 29 shots in a 3-0 victory. . . . With eight defencemen dressed, the Rockets had Jesse Lees playing on a forward line at times. . . . The Rockets were without head coach Dan Lambert, who is in Sarnia, Ont., preparing to coach one of Canada's entries in the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. . . . If you keep track of such things, the coaching victory belongs to assistant coach Kris Mallette, his first. . . . The Rockets and Winterhawks (5-10-2) will meet again Saturday in Portland, where the Winterhawks are 0-5-2. . . .

In Seattle, F Lane Pederson scored his first two WHL goals to help the Thunderbirds to a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Pederson, a 17-year-old from Saskatoon, was playing in his 14th game of the season. He was pointless in two regular-season and three playoff games last season. . . . Seattle scored the game's first four goals and took a 5-1 lead into the third period. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 22 shots, three more than Edmonton's Patrick Dea. . . . F Mathew Barzal and F Ryan Gropp each scored his seventh goal of the season for Seattle. . . . “I thought they just outworked us,” Oil Kings head coach Steve Hamilton said on the team’s website. “We need to play with more pace to our game. We have to be harder to play against. We got our show run by a team that was aggressive and in our face.”
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198 - With tonight's 5-0 victory, the @Kelowna_Rockets have ended Portland's streak at 198 straight reg season games with at least one goal
— WHL Facts (@WHLFacts) October 31, 2014

Petan, Morrissey on way back . . . How did Corsi get its name?

The biggest news of the WHL's Sunday came courtesy the NHL's Winnipeg Jets as they returned F Nic Petan to the Portland Winterhawks and D Josh Morrissey to the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Petan, 19, has 269 points, including 95 goals, in 198 career regular-season games. He is coming off back-to-back 100-point seasons, having put up 120 points in 2012-13 and 113 last season. . . . Morrissey heads into his fourth season with 158 points, 53 of them goals, in 202 games. Last season, he had 73 points, including 28 goals, in 59 games.
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The WHL’s pooh-bahs (aka the board of governors) is scheduled to gather in Calgary this week to decide on a host team/city for the 2016 Memorial Cup. They will hear bids from the Red Deer Rebels and Vancouver Giants and a vote is scheduled to be held on Wednesday. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province sets the stage right here.
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If you are a WHL fan, you should be paying attention to Cody Nickolet's blog WHL From Above. There's a link right here, or you can find it over there on the right. . . . Among the things he is doing is charting the lines and defence pairings of every one of the WHL's 22 teams. What has he learned from this exercise? In the early going, at least, it seems that consistency leads to success. . . . Going into Sunday’s games, he tweeted: “SC/REG/PG/MJ/MH/EVT/CGY/BRN are among the most consistent WHL teams lineup-wise recently. They’re a combined 24-0-3-2 in this last stretch.” . . . You also are able to follow him on Twitter (@DubFromAbove).
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Wally Hergesheimer, who was 5-foot-7 and 145 pounds when he began his NHL careers, has died. He was 87. In each of his first three NHL seasons, he led the New York Rangers in goals. . . . There’s more right here.
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If you are a reader and a hockey fan, one of the most anticipated dates of the early hockey season is Oct. 14. That’s the day that Bob McKenzie’s latest book -- Hockey Confidential: Inside Stories From Inside The Game -- is to hit the stores. . . . On Sunday night, McKenzie described the book this way: “The book is a collection of stories about hockey people – a well-known hockey executive reflecting on a near-death experience; an NHL fighter talking about what it’s really like to give and take punches; an NHL star talking about the essence of scoring goals; a teenage hockey phenom and his family explaining what it’s like to grow up ‘exceptional’ in Canada; plus, multiple other stories of ‘hockey people’ and their life journeys, much of it fused with some universal themes (life, death, family, giving) that transcend the game.” . . . McKenzie also shared the story of how Corsi got its name. That story is right here.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings, their roster overloaded with defencemen, have dealt Taylor Green, 19, to the Moose Jaw Warriors for a fifth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . From Port Coquitlam, B.C., Green was a second-round pick by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2010 draft. . . . Brandon added D Macoy Erkamps in a deal with the Lethbridge Hurricanes last week and also had to make room for D Eric Roy, who is out with a shoulder injury. As well, Russian D Ivan Provorov, 17, has already proven that he can play in this league. . . . The Warriors are looking for Green to fill a void created when Austin Adam went down with a shoulder injury. . . . When the two of them are healthy, the Warriors’ lineup will include two of the league’s biggest defencemen. Green is 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, while Adam is 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds. . . . Green had a goal and an assist in four games with Brandon this season. In 138 career games, he has 20 points, including four goals.
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D Ryan Coghlan is on his way back to the Saskatoon Blades. Coghlan, who turns 19 on Oct. 31, was dealt by the Prince Albert Raiders to the Blades on Sunday for a seventh-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Coghlan had been released by the Raiders on Sept. 25 and was expected to play in the BCHLwith the Cowichan Valley Capitals. . . . The Blades had dealt Coghlan and F Collin Valcourt to the Raiders on Dec. 28, getting back D Dylan Busenius and second- and fifth-round picks in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . Coghlan, from Nanaimo, B.C., has 13 points, five of them goals, in 59 career games. He was pointless in two games with the Raiders this season.
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Are concussions really the NFL's black lung disease? . . . "Since the NFL insists on behaving like the coal industry circa 1969, the only solution to its problems is for Congress to step in and regulate the business of these 32 billionaire plunderers," writes columnist Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post. "This week, the Department of Veterans Affairs brain bank announced that 76 out of 79 deceased NFL players had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease. The price for owning a team just went up. Jerry Jones, Bob Kraft, Dan Snyder, Steve Bisciotti and all the rest, if you want to enrich yourselves at the expense of the ravaged health of others, be prepared to pay for it. Your future is endless litigation and government interference." . . . Jenkins' complete column is right here and it makes for compelling reading, especially with an apparent connection between CTE and some instances of domestic abuse.
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It seems that in some areas of the sporting world, athletes still are reluctant to report concussion symptoms to their teams’ medical or training staff. The New York Times has reported that three recent studies “concluded that for every diagnosed concussion, (college football) players sustained six substantial hits that they suspected might have caused a concussion but did not report. The players added that for every diagnosed concussion, they also received 21 dings — or smaller hits — that they also did not report.” . . . Ken Belson’s complete story is right here.
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In another New York Times story, Jeff Z. Klein reports on a school district near Toronto that has “started immersing its more than 4,000 ninth graders in a detailed course on concussions and other traumatic brain injuries. District schools are also teaching modified versions of the curriculum to some students in third and sixth grades. It is believed to be the first course of its kind to be taught across an entire school district in Canada or the United States.” . . . Klein’s complete story is right here.
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The Red Deer Rebels were without D Haydn Fleury as they beat the host Regina Pats 4-3 in OT on Sunday night. Fleury, who was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes with the seventh-overall pick in the NHL’s 2014 draft, was injured Saturday night in Brandon. Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ GM/head coach, told the Red Deer Advocate that “we’re hoping it’s not serious.” . . . F Preston Kopeck scored the OT winner for Red Deer, his second goal of the game. . . .
The Kamloops Blazers went into Edmonton and beat the Oil Kings 6-2 on Sunday, handing the defending Memorial Cup champions their third straight home-ice loss. Edmonton G Tristan Jarry has lost three straight games for only the second time in his four-year career. . . . Kamloops F Cole Ully continued his hot start with two goals and an assist. One of the WHL’s most exciting players, Ully, 19, has 14 points, including six goals, in eight games. . . .
In Vancouver, the Giants scored three times on the PP and once while shorthanded in stinging the Prince George Cougars, 6-1. F Jackson Houck had a goal and two assists for the Giants, with F Carter Popoff scoring twice.

Hansch the man in Edmonton

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Kirill Starkov (Red Deer, 2006-07) signed a one-year contract with Yuzhny Ural Orsk (Russia, Vysshaya Liga), the farm club of KHL team Metallurg Magnitogorsk. He had six goals and nine assists in 52 games with Oskarshamn (Sweden, Allsvenskan) last season.
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Randy Hansch was introduced Thursday as the second general manager in the modern era of the Edmonton Oil Kings. The announcement came one day after Bob Green moved up to the parent Edmonton Oilers as director of amateur free-agent scouting. . . . Hansch had been assistant GM and director of player personnel under Green. . . . Hansch joined the Oil Kings for their first season (2007-08) as an expansion team. . . . An Edmonton native, Hansch is a former WHL goaltender who spent 15 seasons working in scouting and player personnel with the Kamloops Blazers. He also has scouted for the NHL’s Calgary Flames and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Alicja Siekierska of the Edmonton Journal has more right here.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings have acquired D Taylor Green, 18, from the Seattle Thunderbirds for a conditional fifth-round selection in the 2014 WHL bantam draft. The 6-foot-7, 227-pound Green, who is from Port Coquitlam, B.C., was selected 26th overall by Seattle in the 2010 bantam draft. Last season, Green had seven points in 65 games. . . . In 69 regular-season games, Green has eight points.
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G Matt Hewitt, who played the last three seasons with the Regina Pats, will attend UBC and play for the Thunderbirds. Hewitt, who is from New Westminster, B.C., played out his eligibility with the Pats last season. . . . With the Thunderbirds, Hewitt will compete with Steven Stanford (Prince Albert, Saskatoon, 2007-11) for playing time.
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F Jeff Ulmer has signed to play for HDD Olimpija Ljubljana in the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga in Austria. Ulmer, 36, is from Regina and is entering his ninth season in Europe. . . . He will be playing in the same league as his brother, Jason, 34, who has signed with EHC Linz. Jason is going into his ninth season in Europe.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Jim McTaggart is out and Tyler Alos is in. That was the story Thursday involving the Seattle Thunderbirds’ coaching staff. . . . McTaggart had been an assistant coach in Seattle for the past eight seasons. . . . Alos, 20, played four seasons with the Thunderbirds before retiring 10 games into last season because of post-concussion syndrome. . . . Alos then joined the club’s staff as a skills coach. . . . A native of Spokane, Alos was a sixth-round selection by the Thunderbirds in the 2008 bantam draft. . . . He will work alongside head coach Steve Konowalchuk and assistant Matt O’Dette, along with goaltender coach Ian Gordon.
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The junior B Revelstoke Grizzlies are looking for another head coach. Kevin MacKay, who stepped into the new job last week, left the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League team on Thursday, citing personal reasons. He was to have replaced James Eccles, who was hired earlier this summer and left for another job shortly afterwards. . . . Kevin Kraus, the GM and head coach last season, is on the coaching staff of the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks.
Alex Cooper of the Revelstoke Times Review has more right here.
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From Saskawhat (@saskawhat): “A few notes from my chat with Mark Lamb this week: Confirmed Levi Bews is not expected at training camp but "the door is wide open for him"
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More from Saskawhat: “Bews dealing with personal issues arising from the flooding this summer in Alberta.”
Bews had 36 points, including 21 goals, in 60 games with the Broncos last season. The Longview, Alta., native had 64 points in 189 regular-season games. Bews, 19, also has played with the Saskatoon Blades and Vancouver Giants.

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