 |
D Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (Brandon, 2002-04) has signed a two-year extension with Färjestad Karlstad (Sweden, SHL). He has two goals and three assists in 25 games. He also is an alternate captain.
-———
 |
The QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads announced on Thursday that they plan on submitting a bid in the hopes of playing host to the 2019 Memorial Cup tournament. . . . From the Mooseheads news release: “The 2018-19 season will celebrate the 25th anniversary season of the Mooseheads. It will also be 20 seasons since the club hosted its only previous Memorial Cup in 2000 when the hometown team electrified the City of Halifax and garnered national attention for the franchise. The fans were possibly the biggest story of the event in the spring of 2000 as 79,877 packed the Scotiabank Centre (then Metro Centre) for the eight-day tournament which at the time was the second-highest total in the history of the Memorial Cup.” . . . Halifax won its only Memorial Cup title in Saskatoon in 2013, beating the Portland Winterhawks, 6-4, in the final. . . . The 2017 tournament will be played in Windsor, Ont. . . . The 2018 tournament, which marks the 100th anniversary of the Memorial Cup, is to be played in Hamilton, Oshawa or Regina.
——
The Czech Republic’s national junior team includes seven WHLers on its 22-man roster. . . . Three of the eight defencemen are from the WHL — Vojtěch Budik of the Prince Albert Raiders, Libor Hájek of the Saskatoon Blades and Ondrej Vala of the Kamloops. . . . As well, four of the 12 forwards are from WHL teams — Adam Musil and Michael Špaček of the Red Deer Rebels, Simon Stransky of Prince Albert and Tomas Soustal of the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The WHLers are expected to join their Czech teammates in Montreal on Sunday.
——
It was 36 years ago last night — Dec. 8, 1980 — when John Lennon was shot down on a sidewalk in New York City. Jimmy Breslin, the legendary columnist, was with the New York Daily News. He was at home that night when he got the call. . . . This link right here will take you to the column he wrote on deadline. This is what newspapering used to be.
——
If you’ve got a comment, some information you would like to pass along, or if you just want to say hello, feel free to contact me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
If you would like to donate to the cause, please visit the bottom of this post and go right ahead.
———
 |
Ryan Howse no longer is an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings. According to a news release, Howse “has stepped down . . . for personal and family reasons.” . . . Last season, he was the head coach of the Prince George Coast Inn of the North Cougars, a midget Tier 1 team that won the B.C. championship. . . . Howse played four WHL seasons (2007-11) with the Chilliwack Bruins.
——
The AJHL’s Grande Prairie Storm has fired general manager/head coach Kevin Higo and replaced him with Matt Keillor. . . . Higo had the rest of this season left on a three-year contract. . . . Keillor has spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Storm, while also working as head coach of the midget AAA Storm. . . . The AJHL’s Storm is 7-22-5 and in sixth place in the Viterra AJHL North, 14 points out of fifth. . . . Under Higo, the Storm was 33-108-13.
——
The SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers have added Larry Wintoneak to their staff as an assistant coach. He will work alongside GM/head coach Geoff Grimwood. . . . Wintoneak, who has coached in the SJHL with the Flin Flon Bombers, La Ronge Ice Wolves and the Klippers, has been Kindersley’s strength-and-conditioning coach for the past two years. He will continue with those responsibilities while also working as an assistant coach.
———
Tweet of the Day
2.12 - Over the past 2 1/2 weeks, @C_Hart70 has improved his career GAA to 2.12, now tied with Cam Ward for the 6th best in WHL history https://t.co/Vixo6A9MCC— WHL Facts (@WHLFacts) December 8, 2016
———
THURSDAY’S GAMES:
No Games Scheduled.
——
FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
Red Deer at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Edmonton 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Portland, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Prince Albert, 7 p.m. (TBG)
Seattle at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Swift Current at Regina, 7 p.m. (TBG)
Kootenay at Spokane, 7:05 p.m. (TBG)
Kelowna vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Everett vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7:30 p.m.
TBG: Teddy Bear Game.
Everett vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7:30 p.m.
TBG: Teddy Bear Game.
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.
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 
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 
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.
In Moose Jaw, the Warriors scored five goals on eight second-period shots as they beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 8-2. . . . F Jesse Shynkaruk scored three times for the Warriors, giving him six this season. He’s got five goals in 18 games since being acquired from the Kamloops Blazers. . . . F Tanner Eberle added two goals for Moose Jaw, giving him 23, while F Jack Rodewald scored his 19th goal and had two assists. . . . After a scoreless first period, the Warriors scored four times in a span of 8:21 in the second. . . . Warriors G Zach Sawchenko stopped 25 shots. . . . The Warriors were 2-for-3 on the PP; the Raiders were 0-for-4. . . . Prince Albert is without D Tomas Andrlik, who suffered an ankle injury while playing with his billets on an outdoor rink. . . . The Warriors (16-20-4) snapped a seven-game (0-6-1) losing skid. . . . The Raiders (16-23-1) have lost five in a row, scoring only six goals in the process. . . . The Warriors are fourth in the East Division, three points clear of the Raiders. Moose Jaw is six points behind the third-place Swift Current Broncos and seven points out of a wild-card spot. . . . 
In Saskatoon, F Kohl Bauml scored twice to lead the Everett Silvertips to a 6-2 victory over the Blades. . . . Everett is 2-0-0 on its six-game East Division swing. . . . F Sam McKechnie got Saskatoon on the board first, with his 14th goal, on a PP, at 6:54 of the first period. . . . The Silvertips scored the game’s next five goals. . . . Bauml, who is from Saskatoon, has 17 goals. He tied the game at 8:17 of the first and gave his guys the lead 28 seconds into the second on a PP. . . . Everett F Nikita Scherback, who was acquired from Saskatoon early in the season, had two assists. . . . Saskatoon G Nik Amundrud, who began the season with Everett, gave up five goals on 20 shots before being replaced by Trevor Martin at 9:16 of the second. . . . Everett D Noah Juulsen also had two assists. . . . Everett G Carter Hart stopped 26 shots in winning for the second time in as many nights. . . . Saskatoon F Garrett Armour was given a charging major and game misconduct at 9:48 of the second period. . . . Everett was 3-for-4 on the PP; Saskatoon was 2-for-3. . . . The Silvertips now are 23-11-4. . . . The Blades (9-28-3) have lost three in a row. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story 
In Brandon, F Morgan Klimchuk broke a 4-4 tie at 5:43 of the third period and the Wheat Kings went on to a 7-4 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Klimchuk, who also had an assist, scored his 15th goal in his first game with his new team. He was acquired from the Regina Pats on Friday. . . . Calgary F Jody Stallard, who is from Brandon, gave the Hitmen a 3-1 lead with his fourth goal at 7:01 of the second. . . . The Wheat Kings took a 4-3 lead on goals from F Rihards Bukarts, his 14th, F Nolan Patrick, his 17th, and F Jayce Hawryluk, his 17th, in a span of 3:34 late in the period. . . . Calgary D Michael Zipp scored his second goal of the game, and sixth of the season, at 4:05 of the third to tie it at 4. . . . Patrick also had two assists, while Hawryluk finished with two goals and an assist. He added one of Brandon’s two empty-net goals. F Tim McGauley got the other, his 25th goal this season. . . . Brandon D Ryan Pilon had three assists and was plus-4; D Macoy Erkamps had one assist and also was plus-4. . . . The Wheat Kings (29-7-4) have points in 10 straight (8-0-2). . . . The Hitmen, who play in Regina tonight, are 20-15-3. . . . Calgary, Kootenay and Edmonton are tied for third place in the Central Division. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story 
In Edmonton, F Davis Koch broke a 1-1 tie at 14:00 of the second period as the Oil Kings beat the Kootenay Ice, 3-1. . . . Koch has two goals this season. . . . Edmonton F Brett Pollock opened the scoring at 10:16 of the first, scoring his 17th on a PP. That was Edmonton’s first PP goal in five games. . . . The Ice tied it on F Matt Alfaro’s sixth goal at 10:12 of the second. . . . Edmonton F Lane Bauer got his 11th goal into an empty net at 19:18 of the third. . . . The Ice was 0-for-7 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 1-for-3. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 32 shots, three more than Kootenay’s Wyatt Hoflin. . . . The Oil Kings were able to dress only 10 forwards, and only four of those are veterans of the Memorial Cup-championship team. . . . The Oil Kings (19-16-5) have won three in a row. The victory allowed them to pull into a tie for third in the Central Division with Kootenay and Calgary. . . . The Ice (21-18-1) had points in each of its previous seven games (6-0-1). . . . Prior to the game, the Ice announced that D Tanner Lishchynsky will stay with the team for the remainder of the season. He went into last night with two assists in four games. A Saskatoon native, he had been with the SJHL’s Flin Flon Bombers. Lishchynsky, who turns 20 on Monday, was a 10th-round pick by the Vancouver Giants in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . 
In Medicine Hat, G Marek Langhamer turned aside 46 shots, including 25 in the third period, to lead the Tigers to a 2-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Tigers F Chad Butcher returned from injury to score his 12th goal of the season at 7:11 of the second period. He hadn’t played since Dec. 7, missing seven games with a concussion. . . . Tigers F Curtis Sanford notched his 31st at 7:36 of the third. . . . Broncos F Zac Mackay scored his fourth goal, shorthanded, at 10:45 of the third. . . . Broncos G Landon Bow stopped 30 shots. . . . Each team was 0-for-2 on the PP. . . . Tigers F Trevor Cox, who leads the WHL with 65 points, had one assist. . . . The Tigers (27-9-2) have won three straight. . . . The Broncos (19-17-4) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Kamloops, the Blazers scored twice in a shootout and beat the Vancouver Giants, 3-2. . . . F Deven Sideroff got the winner in the fourth round, after teammate Jake Kryski and Vancouver F Jackson Houck had earlier shootout goals. . . . Vancouver D Josh Thrower’s third goal of the season, at 16:15 of the third period, forced OT. . . . Kamloops F Matt Revel had broken a 1-1 tie with his 14th goal at 9:04 of the third. . . . Kamloops F Deven Sideroff opened the scoring, with his 14th, at 7:17 of the first. . . . Vancouver D Anwar Atwal scored his fifth at 18:41 of the first. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram stopped 43 shots, while Vancouver’s Cody Porter turned aside 32. . . . Referees Kevin Bennett and Mike Langin officiated a penalty-free game. . . . Kamloops F Matt Needham picked up his 100th career assist on the game’s first goal. . . . Among the Blazers’ scratches were two of their 20-year-olds, D Brady Gaudet, who is injured, and F Mike Winther, who hasn’t scored since Nov. 19. . . . D Conner McDonald, a second-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, made his WHL with the Blazers. . . . Kamloops (14-23-5) had lost its previous five games. . . . The Giants (18-19-2) had won their previous two games. . . . The loser point allowed Vancouver to pull into a tie with Prince George for third in the B.C. Division. They are five points ahead of Kamloops. . . . Kamloops F Luke Harrison wasn’t suspended by the WHL after taking a charging major and game misconduct in the third period of a 6-4 loss to the visiting Kelowna Rockets on Friday night. . . . 
In Portland, G Adin Hill stopped 35 shots for his first WHL shutout as the Winterhawks dumped the Tri-City Americans, 3-0. . . . The Winterhawks held a 50-35 edge in shots. . . . F Evan Weinger’s sixth goal, at 8:55 of the second period, got Portland started. . . . D Anton Cederholm got his fifth at 2:38 of the third and F Miles Koules scored his 14th into an empty net at 18:08. . . . F Keegan Iverson had two assists. . . . Tri-City D Brandon Carlo was back after playing with the U.S. side at the World Junior Championship. . . . The Winterhawks had F Chase De Leo back after his time with the U.S. team. . . . D Layne Viveiros was among Portland’s scratches. . . . The Americans dressed 17 skaters, one under the maximum. D Tyler Fraser, 17, played his first game this season. . . . F Austin Gray played his first game with Portland. He plays for the Prince George-based Cariboo Cougars and leads the B.C. Major Midget League in scoring, with 46 points in 25 games. . . . The Winterhawks (20-17-3), who entertain Seattle tonight, ended a three-game losing skid. . . . The Americans (18-18-2) have lost three in a row (1-1-1). . . .
In Victoria, F Austin Carroll broke a 2-2 tie at 11:57 of the second period and the Royals went on to a 4-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Royals had beaten the visiting Chiefs 8-1 on Friday night. . . . Carroll has 26 goals. . . . Spokane F Kailer Yamamoto’s 16th goal, at 19:30 of the first, on a PP, gave his guys a 2-1 lead. . . . Victoria D Travis Brown tied it with his 15th at 8:49 of the second. . . . Royals F Tyler Soy scored his 13th into an empty net at 19:14 of the third. . . . Spokane F Adam Helewka got his 20th goal of the season. . . . The Royals (20-18-3) have won three in a row. . . . The Chiefs (21-14-3) have lost two straight. . . . The Royals beat the Chiefs 8-1 on Friday night. . . . 
Posts
