Showing posts with label Ty Lewis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ty Lewis. Show all posts

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Rasmussen's season over? . . . Of course, Mom gets her hug . . . Broadcasters thank their mentor


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F Michael Rasmussen of the Tri-City Americans may not play again this season, due to what the team is saying is a fractured wrist. Rasmussen is believed to have a broken scaphoid in one wrist.
That is a bone in the wrist that, when broken, can be slow to heal, primarily because it doesn’t receive
MICHAEL RASMUSSEN
optimal blood flow due to its location.
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Rasmussen is expected to be a first-round selection in the NHL’s 2017 draft. From Surrey, B.C., he has 55 points, including 32 goals, in 50 games this season. He last played on Feb. 1.
The Americans are 7-3-0 without him. They started by losing three in a row and now are riding a seven-game winning streak. They will visit the Seattle Thunderbirds tonight and then head for Kelowna and a Saturday night date with the Rockets.
Rasmussen, who doesn’t require surgery, is under the care of Dr. Rodney French, a hand/wrist specialist, in Vancouver, B.C. Dr. French is expected to re-examine Rasmussen in about six weeks.
Tri-City also has been without F Vladislav Lukin (undisclosed injury). He hasn’t played since Feb. 18. Bob Tory, the Americans’ general manager, told Taking Note on Thursday that Lukin won’t play this weekend, but that they hope to have him back for a March 10 date with the visiting Prince George Cougars.
Lukin has 55 points, including 24 goals, in 61 games, so getting him back will help take some pressure of the other forwards in Rasmussen’s absence.
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With mumps in its neighbourhood, the WHL issued an edict on Feb. 24 that “instructed all WHL clubs to advise players to refrain from any direct contact with fans at this time.”
You have to think that the WHL wasn’t intending to keep mothers away from sons, though.
But the law of unintended consequences struck in Kamloops on Wednesday night following the Blazers’ 5-4 OT victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Seattle F Ryan Gropp, a 20-year-old who is from Kamloops, likely had played the last game of his hockey career in his hometown. Afterwards, well, here’s Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week . . . 
“Members of Gropp’s family were waiting near the dressing room to see him after the game, but were told to leave by security, which was acting on instructions to keep the general public away from players due to the WHL’s well-documented mumps outbreak.
“A mother just wanted to see her son. That eventually happened in the face of the ever-growing swarm of security guards.
“Words were exchanged, but both parties went their separate ways without much incident.”
Someone who witnessed it told Taking Note: “The Walkie Talkies came out. . . . At first, there was one (security person). Within minutes, there were seven of them.”
Mom didn't leave until getting a hug from her son, which is all she wanted in the first place.
The photo in the above tweet was taken the previous weekend when all the parents were in Kent for parents' weekend.
Hastings’ complete game story is right here.
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The NHL’s Washington Capitals have signed D Lucas Johansen of the Kelowna Rockets to a three-year, entry-level contract. Johansen was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the NHL’s 2016 draft.
This season, Johansen, 19, has 36 points, including 30 assists, in 60 games. Last season, he put up 49 points, 10 of the goals, in 69 games.
Johansen, from Port Moody, B.C., is the younger brother of F Ryan Johansen of the NHL’s Nashville Predators.
The Capitals also announced Thursday that they have signed D Colby Williams, a former captain of the Regina Pats, to a two-year, entry-level deal. Williams, 22, has 13 points, three of them goals, in 49 games with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, with whom he signed a one-year deal prior to the season.
Williams, who is from Regina, had 104 points, including 25 goals, in 211 career games over six seasons with the Pats. He served as the team’s captain in 2015-16.
The Capitals selected Williams in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2015 draft.
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Three cheers for D Connor Hobbs of the Regina Pats.
The Pats have been atop the WHL’s overall standings for much of this season. However, they have
encountered some adversity of late and their lead has shrunk to five points over the second-place Medicine Hat Tigers, although the Pats do hold two games in hand.
The Tigers are scheduled to play in Regina tonight (Friday) and Hobbs, rather than saying it’s “just another game,” told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that “it’s a huge game.”
“We’ve struggled a little bit as of late,” Hobbs continued, “and Medicine Hat is a good team. They’re closest to us (in the standings). We just have to treat it like it’s the huge game that it is.”
The Pats will play three times in fewer than 48 hours this weekend — they are at home to the Calgary Hitmen on Saturday night and then in Brandon for a Sunday (4 p.m.) start against the Wheat Kings.
Regina may get D Jonathan Smart and F Filip Ahl back at some point this weekend. Ahl, who has 24 goals and 17 assists in 45 games, and Smart both have been out since Feb. 20.
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Prior to Wednesday’s game in Kamloops between the Blazers and Seattle Thunderbirds, I received an email from a fan asking if he could come up to the press box and say hello.
“There are four of us coming up for the game,” Jon Whiting, a Thunderbirds’ fan, wrote in the email.
“Hmm, that’s interesting,” I thought. “Sheesh, that’s a long drive just to watch one junior hockey game.”
Whiting showed up beside me in the second intermission and we had quite an enjoyable chat. It turns out that he has a friend who is a pilot and so they hopped in a small plane about 3 p.m., and were having dinner in Kamloops by 5:30.
They flew back to Seattle after the game.
“Walked in my house about 1 a.m.,” messaged Ryland Spencer, one of the flying foursome. “Was a fun trip!”
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Bob Miller, the longtime play-by-play voice of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, announced his retirement on Thursday, although he will work the team’s last two regular-season games, on April 8 and 9.
CRAIG WEST: Baseball fan.
That announcement may not have meant much to Canadian hockey fans, but it meant a lot to a pair of men who call WHL games. Craig West, the radio voice of the Tri-City Americans, and Mike Benton, who calls Everett Silvertips’ games, both watched the announcement via live stream. You can bet there was a tear or two, because Miller has been a mentor to both men.
Later, West posted this on Facebook:
“Bob truly helped me so much showing me how to treat the game, the players, management and coaches with respect on both sides.
In March 1991 during my first season in the WHL, I made a trip from Spokane to see the Kings play Winnipeg at the Forum. I took a tape and resume to Bob before he went on air. He was gracious and said, ‘Craig, when the season is over I will listen, break this out and be in touch with you.’
In May 1991, the Chiefs clinched the WHL title with a win over Lethbridge in four straight. The night before departure for Quebec City for the Memorial Cup, my home phone rings: ‘Hello Craig, this is Bob Miller.’
After about two minutes he says, ‘You think I'm one of your friends putting you on! Maybe this will convince you . . . please say hi to Debbie and Bryan Maxwell from my wife and I. We went to dinner many times when he was with the Kings.’
I then realized it was him! On his own time, which amounted to a 90-minute phone call, he basically took all the rough edges off my call. ‘Craig, when you say the play comes across the blue line . . . which blue
Mike Benton, voice of the Silvertips.
line? The Chiefs or Seattle?’ ”
Meanwhile, Benton turned to his blog, writing:
“Bob’s name still stands on my resume as a reference, and he went above and beyond to phone the Stockton Thunder for a recommendation when I pursued (and landed) my first broadcasting job in hockey. As many fellow friends in the business can attest to, he was always willing to pick up the phone when you called his house. Whatever he was in the middle of, he was always willing to give you 5-15 minutes of an intimate and warming conversation, whether to catch up or provide solid, raw, and unfiltered career advice.
“He taught me more than just the basic mechanics of handling the flow of play-by-play and preparation: he taught me about the value of being approachable. In the long run, you never know who you may meet, and use that valuable experience to ‘pay it forward.’ ”
Benton’s blog is right here, and he wrote a whole lot more about what Miller means to him.
bentonhockey.wordpress.com/2017/03/02/thank-you-bob-we-smile-because-it-happened/
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If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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JUST NOTES:

F Ty Lewis of the Brandon Wheat Kings was back at practice on Thursday. Lewis is second on the Wheat Kings in goals (28) and points (61) and leads in assists (33). He missed Wednesday’s 3-2 OT loss to the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes in which Brandon dressed 17 skaters, one under the maximum. . . . The Wheat Kings are at home to the Calgary Hitmen on Friday night. . . .
Bill Yuill, the head of Monarch Corporation and the owner of the Everett Silvertips, is chairing a committee in Medicine Hat that wants to manage The Arena, the former home of the Medicine Hat Tigers that has been scheduled for closure. . . . Collin Gallant of the Medicine Hat News has more right here. . . . 
There was a time when the day of the NHL trade deadline was like a car wreck from which you couldn’t look away. That was then. This is now. On Wednesday, when I flipped on TSN, the talking heads were debating whether they would trade Auston Matthews for Connor McDavid. Click! That was the end of that. . . . Ken Campbell of The Hockey News, meanwhile, writes right here about The Yard Sale for Misfit Toys.
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If you aren’t already, you should be following the Medicine Hat Tigers (@tigershockey). They have been reliving the franchise’s history and it has been a lot of fun that includes a lot of familiar names, like Al Conroy.
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THURSDAY’S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Calgary at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Kelowna at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
Vancouver at Portland, 7 p.m.
Lethbridge at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Kamloops at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Regina 7 p.m.
Kootenay at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.
Spokane at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.

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Saturday, January 7, 2017

Upon further review, Hay has 702 wins . . . 'Canes add d-man . . . Steel sparks Pats

The accolades were flying late Friday, and well they should have, after the Kamloops Blazers had posted a 3-1 victory over the visiting Kelowna Rockets.
Don Hay, the Blazers’ head coach, was shaking hands and accepting congratulations on what was
Don Hay now has 702 WHL head-coaching victories.(Photo: Christopher Mast / mastimages.com)
thought to be his 700th WHL regular-season coaching victory.
But, as it turns out, it actually was No. 702.
Here’s the story behind the story . . . 
Asked about his first WHL coaching victory, Hay said it came in Tacoma when the Blazers beat the Rockets early in the 1992-93 season. That would have been on Sept. 26, 1992, when the Blazers won, 8-7 in OT.
Hay remembered the Blazers trailing after two periods when they heard the public address announcer say: “Can you believe they are the Memorial Cup’s defending champions?”
“I think Hnat Domenichelli ended up scoring three goals in that one,” Hay said with a chuckle, “and we won it.”
As it turns out, however, that wasn’t No. 1.
Earl Seitz, the veteran sports director at CFJC-TV in Kamloops, had checked with the WHL office and was told that No. 1 came on Dec. 13, 1991, when the Blazers beat the visiting Spokane Chiefs, 7-4.
Yes, Hay, who was an assistant coach under head coach Tom Renney at the time, remembered that one, too. Renney had left to work as the head coach of Canada’s national team at the World Junior Championship.
But . . . guess what? Upon further review, it seems that wasn’t No. 1 either.
Hay then pointed out that he also had taken over as head coach in December 1987 while Kamloops head coach Ken Hitchcock was with the Canadian junior team as an assistant under Dave Chambers.
When I got home, I dug into my records and discovered that Hay’s first victory as a WHL head coach actually came on Dec. 18, 1987, when the Blazers beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-2.
Kamloops went 2-4-1 with Hay filling in for Hitchcock, the other victory coming on Dec. 20, another 5-2 victory over Seattle, this one in Kamloops.
What all of this means is that Hay actually got his 700th regular-season coaching victory on Dec. 30 when the Blazers beat the host Vancouver Giants, 4-2. Of course, Hay spent 10 seasons as the Giants’ head coach before returning to the Blazers in the summer of 2014.
It also means that Hay, with 702 victories, now is 40 behind Ken Hodge, the only other man to have won 700 games as a WHL head coach. Hodge retired at 742, having coached the original Edmonton Oil Kings and Portland Winterhawks. The Oil Kings moved to Portland in time for the 1976-77 season.
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Here’s a look at WHL head coaches who have more than 500 regular-season victories to their credit:
1. Ken Hodge (Edmonton, Portland), 742
2. Don Hay (Kamloops, Tri-City, Vancouver) 702
3. Don Nachbaur (Seattle, Tri-City, Spokane) 682
4. Lorne Molleken (Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Regina) 626
5. Ernie McLean (Estevan, New Westminster) 548
6. Pat Ginnell (Flin Flon, Victoria, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, New Westminster) 518
7. Mike Williamson (Portland, Calgary, Tri-City) 516
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WHL trades since Dec. 27:
Trades: 18.
Players: 29.
Bantam draft picks: 20.
Conditional bantam draft picks: 5.
(WHL trade deadline is Jan. 10).
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have acquired D Kyle Yewchuk, 18, from the Edmonton Oil Kings for a fifth-round selection in the 2018 WHL bantam draft.
The trade was announced shortly after the Hurricanes had beaten the visiting Oil Kings, 7-4, on Friday night. Yewchuk didn’t play for the Oil Kings.
That fifth-round pick moved on to the Kelowna Rockets as payment for F Riley Stadel, 20, who was dealt to the Oil Kings earlier Friday.
The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Yewchuk was a third-round pick by Edmonton in the 2013 bantam draft. He has a goal and four assists in 27 games this season. In 75 career games, he has a goal and nine assists.
Earlier in the week, the Hurricanes acquired D Brady Pouteau, a 6-foot-3, 200-pounder, from the Regina Pats.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:


At Kamloops, the Blazers skated to a 3-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets, giving head coach Don Hay
LUC SMITH
what was believed to be his 700th regular-season coaching victory, but actually was No. 702. . . . G Dylan Ferguson continued his superb play for the Blazers, as he stopped 30 shots. With starter Connor Ingram away, Ferguson, 18, started 12 straight games and went 8-3-1. . . . F Jermaine Loewen (6) gave the Blazers a 1-0 lead at 19:35 of the first period. . . . F Rudolfs Balcers made it 2-0 with his 21st goal, at 12:29 of the second period. . . . F Dillon Dube (2) got the Rockets to within a goal when he scored on a PP, at 15:33 of the second period. . . . The Blazers got insurance at 7:45 of the third period as F Luc Smith scored his seventh goal — his first in five games with the Blazers since being acquired from the Regina Pats. . . . Smith also had an assist. . . . Kelowna G Michael Herringer stopped 33 shots. . . . The Rockets were 1-2 on the PP; the Blazers were 0-6. . . . The Rockets had Dube (Canada), F Tomas Soustal (Czech Republic) and F Calvin Thurkauf (Switzerland) back from the World Junior Championship, while the Blazers had Balcers (Latvia) and D Ondrej Vala (Czech Republic) in their lineup. Ingram didn’t dress but is expected to start either tonight in Kelowna or Sunday in Portland. . . . The Blazers are 4-2-0 against Kelowna this season; the Rockets are 24-7-1 in the last 32 meetings. . . . Kamloops (25-15-2) has won two in a row and is second in the B.C. Division, now three points ahead of Kelowna. The Blazers also have closed to within four points of the division-leading Prince George Cougars, who hold two games in hand. . . . The Rockets (23-15-3) have lost four in a row (0-3-1). . . . The Blazers are without F Garrett Pilon, their No. 1 centre, who has a concussion. . . . Announced attendance: 3,732.
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At Cranbrook, B.C., F Kailer Yamamoto and F Hudson Elynuik each scored twice to lead the Spokane
HUDSON ELYNUIK
Chiefs to a 4-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The teams will meet again Saturday night, this time in Spokane. . . . The Ice took a 1-0 lead on F Zak Zborosky’s 28th goal, at 9:58 of the first period. . . . Yamamoto tied it at 7:55 of the second period and Elynuik’s shorthanded goal, at 4:07 of the third, put the Chiefs out front. . . . Yamamoto added insurance with his 25th goal, at 9:24, and Elynuik, who has 16 goals, iced it with an empty-netter at 17:20. . . .Elynuik also had two assists, while Yamamoto had one. . . . Spokane G Jayden Sittler earned the victory with 24 saves. . . . Ice G Payton Lee turned aside 46 shots. . . . Each team was 0-4 on the PP. . . . The Chiefs (17-16-6) have won two in a row and are three points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Ice slipped to 8-24-8. . . . Announced attendance: 1,845.
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At Lethbridge, F Egor Babenko scored two goals and added three assists to help the Hurricanes to a 7-4 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Oil Kings actually held a 4-2 lead in this one halfway
EGOR BABENKO
through the second period. . . . G Graham Millar (10), in his first game with Edmonton since coming over from the Everett Silvertips, tied it 2-2 at 3:06 of the second period. . . . D Anatolii Elizarov (6) and F Tyler Robertson (11) scored at 6:49 and 10:22 to give Edmonton a 4-2 lead. . . . F Jordy Bellerive’s shorthanded goal, at 12:11 of the second, got the Lethbridge comeback started. He’s got 16 goals. . . . Babenko added his second of the game, and 13th of the season, at 12:50 and F Tyler Wong’s 26th goal gave his guys the lead, 5-4, at 17:51. . . . F Ryley Lindgren (14) added insurance, on a PP, at 2:24 of the third period and F Ryan Bowen (9) added another PP goal, at 14:34. . . . Lethbridge F Giorgio Estephan and Bellerive each had two assists, while Wong and Bowen had one apiece. . . . The Oil Kings got two assists from Robertson and one from Millar. . . . All four goaltenders got into this one. . . . Lethbridge starter Ryan Gilchrist allowed three goals on 13 shots in 29:38, with Stuart Skinner coming on to stop 14 of 15 shots in 30:22 to earn the victory. . . . Edmonton went two periods with Patrick Dea, who was beaten five times on 17 shots. Josh Dechaine played the third, allowing two goals on 12 shots. . . . Lethbridge was 3-4 on the PP; Edmonton was 1-3. . . . The Hurricanes (21-15-5) had lost their previous two games. They are second in the Central Division, five points ahead of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Oil Kings (18-19-4) have lost two in a row but still hold down a wild-card spot. . . . Announced attendance: 3,553.
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At Moose Jaw, G Brody Willms stopped 23 shots to earn his first WHL shutout as the Warriors beat the
BRODY WILLMS
Saskatoon Blades, 4-0. . . . Willms stopped eight shots in the first period and 12 in the second. . . . F Brayden Burke scored the game’s first two goals, both via the PP, at 17:20 of the first period and 2:21 of the second. Burke, who has 12 goals, later added an assist on F Brett Howden’s 19th goal, at 8:10 of the third period. . . . F Jayden Halbgewachs also scored, getting his WHL-leading 35th goal while shorthanded, at 10:20 of the second period. . . . Halbgewachs also had two assists. . . . Saskatoon G Brock Hamm stopped 27 shots. . . . The Warriors were 2-3 on the PP; the Blades were 0-5. . . . The Warriors had head coach Tim Hunter back behind the bench. He spent the past month as an assistant coach with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship. With Mark O’Leary running the bench in Hunter’s absence, the Warriors went 7-3-2. . . . Moose Jaw (24-9-7) has points in six straight games (4-0-2) and is second in the East Division, four points ahead of the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Saskatoon (15-21-6) is 2-1-2 in its past five games. The Blades, who are four points out of a playoff spot, will play 12 of their next 13 games at home. . . . Announced attendance: 3,683.
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At Prince Albert, F Jordan Topping scored two goals and added two assists to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 7-1 victory over the Raiders. . . . It was Tri-City’s first game on a six-game East Division swing. . . .
RILEY SAWCHUK
The Americans scored five times in the third period, including F Riley Sawchuk’s first WHL goal. Sawchuk, from Prince Albert, was a sixth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. The goal came in his 30th game. . . . Topping, who has six goals, opened the scoring at 18:10 of the first period. . . . D Dylan Coghlan made it 2-0 with No. 7, at 11:10 of the second period. . . . The Americans got third-period goals from F Max James (7), Sawchuk, F Michael Rasmussen (29), Topping and F Kyle Olson (10). . . . F Cole Fonstad (7) had Prince Albert’s goal, at 18:20 of the third period. . . . F Tyler Sandhu had two assists for the Americans, with Olson, James and Coghlan getting one each. . . . Tri-City G Rylan Parenteau, who was acquired from the Raiders earlier this season, stopped 40 shots. . . . Prince Albert starter Ian Scott allowed five goals on 22 shots in 44:17. Nic Sanders came on in relief to stop nine of 11 shots in 15:43. . . . The Raiders were 1-6 on the PP; the Americans were 0-1. . . . The Americans had D Juuso Valimaki (Finland) back after he played at the World Junior Championship. . . . Raiders F Sean Montgomery sat this one out with an undisclosed injury after playing in 113 straight games. . . . The Americans (23-17-3) are second in the U.S. Division, five points ahead of the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Raiders (8-30-3) have lost five in a row (0-4-1). . . . Announced attendance: 2,321.
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At Prince George, the Victoria Royals took a 2-0 lead and hung on to beat the Cougars, 2-1. . . . F
REGAN NAGY
Vladimir Bobylev, who returned to the Royals from Russia prior to Christmas, scored his second goal, on a PP, at 7:32 of the first period. . . . F Regan Nagy, who also had an assist, made it 2-0 with his 12th goal, at 12:48 of the second period. . . . F Kody McDonald (9) got the Cougars to within one just 58 seconds into the third period. . . . F Nikita Popugaev, acquired Thursday from the Moose Jaw Warriors, had an assist for the Cougars. . . . Victoria G Griffen Outhouse turned aside 25 shots, while Prince George’s Ty Edmonds stopped 36. . . . The Royals were 1-3 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-2. . . . The Royals are without D Chaz Reddekopp for the doubleheader in Prince George as he serves a two-game suspension for an unpenalized hit that left Kamloops F Garrett Pilon with a concussion on Dec. 31. . . . Victoria (22-15-4) has points in six straight games (5-0-1) and has closed to within a point of the third-place Kelowna Rockets in the B.C. Division. . . . Prince George is 27-11-2 and third in the overall standings. . . . Announced attendance: 3,319.
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At Red Deer, D Alexander Alexeyev broke a 2-2 tie at 2:24 of the third period as the Rebels beat the
ALEXANDER ALEXEYEV
Vancouver Giants, 3-2. . . . Alexeyev, who also had two assists, has three goals. . . . F Austin Glover scored his 13th goal and added two assists for Red Deer as he ran his point streak to 11 games. . . . Glover gave Red Deer at 1-0 lead at 3:25 of the first period. . . . D Matt Barberis (8) tied it, on a PP, at 2:32 of the second period. . . . F Adam Musil put the home team back out front with his 14th goal, at 3:57. . . . The Giants tied it when F Radovan Bondra got No. 19, at 11:20 of the second. . . . Red Deer G Lasse Petersen, fresh off playing for Denmark at the World Junior Championship, stopped 24 shots, as did Vancouver’s Ryan Kubic. . . . Each team was 1-3 on the PP. . . . F Michael Spacek and Musil both were in Red Deer’s lineup after playing for Czech Republic at the World Junior Championship, while Bondra (Slovakia) was back with the Giants. . . . Rebels D Colton Bobyk played in his 200th regular-season game. . . . Giants F Tyler Benson missed his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Rebels (18-16-6), third in the Central Division, had lost their previous two games. . . . The Giants (16-21-3), who are eight points out of a playoff spot, had won their last two games, both in Alberta. . . . Announced attendance: 5,108.
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At Regina, the Pats scored three times before the game was nine minutes old and went on to beat the Calgary Hitmen, 6-2. . . . F Sam Steel, who leads the WHL points race, scored the game’s first two goals,
SAM STEEL
at 1:20 and 4:59. . . . F Adam Brooks got his 22nd goal, at 8:17. . . . Calgary F Jordy Stallard (18) got his guys to within two at 11:52 of the second period, but Regina F Nick Henry got that one back, on a PP, at 8:13 of the third. . . . F Matteo Gennaro (15) scored Calgary’s second goal, at 10:59. . . . Steel completed his hat trick with No. 30, at 11:54, and Henry added his 20th goal, at 15:30. . . . Steel also had an assist, leaving him with 69 points, two more than Brooks, who also had an assist. . . . Henry added an assist to his goal, while D Connor Hobbs had three helpers and F Dawson Leedahl and D Dawson Davidson each had two. . . . G Tyler Brown stopped 25 shots for Regina in earning his 19th victory. . . . Calgary G Cody Porter allowed three goals on 17 shots in 28:36, with Kyle Dumba coming on to play the last 31:24. He was beaten three times on 18 shots. . . . Regina was 1-3 on the PP; Calgary was 0-1. . . . The Pats (27-3-7) are 6-0-1 in their last seven games. They lead the overall standings by four points over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Hitmen (14-18-5) had points in their previous three games (1-0-20). They are seven points off the playoff pace. . . . Regina head coach John Paddock earned his 100th regular-season victory. . . . D Jake Bean was back in Calgary’s lineup after being at the World Junior Championship. . . . The Pats didn’t have D Sergey Zborovskiy (Russia) in their lineup. . . . Announced attendance: 6,484, the Pats’ fifth straight sellout.
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At Kent, Wash., F Keegan Kolesar scored the only goal of a shootout — it was awarded via video review — to give the Seattle Thunderbirds a 4-3 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Kolesar was the
KEEGAN KOLESAR
shootout’s second shooter. . . . Seattle scored the game’s first three goals; Everett came back with the next three. . . . The Thunderbirds took that 3-0 lead on goals from F Luke Ormsby (3), at 12:31 of the first period; F Zack Andrusiak (5), at 18:03; and F Donovan Neuls (9), at 1:03 of the second. . . . Neuls’ goal came when he entered play from the bench as the extra attacker with a delayed penalty coming against Everett. . . . Neuls also had an assist. . . . The Silvertips were 3-4 on the PP. . . . F Dominic Zwerger’s 18th goal, at 10:11 of the second period, got the comeback started. . . . F Riley Sutter (12) scored at 2:03 of the third period and F Matt Fonteyne tied it with his 11th goal, at 3:15. . . . Everett got two assists from D Kevin Davis and one each from Zwerger and Sutter. . . . G Rylan Toth earned the victory with 38 saves, 12 more than Everett’s Mario Petit. . . . Seattle was 0-2 on the PP. . . . The Thunderbirds had F Alexander True (Denmark) back from the World Junior Championship, but didn’t dress F Mathew Barzal (Canada). . . . F Scott Eansor also was among Seattle’s scratches. . . . G Carter Hart and D Noah Juulsen, both of whom played for Canada at the WJC, were scratched by Everett. . . . The Thunderbirds (20-14-4) have won two straight. They are third in the U.S. Division, one point ahead of the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Silvertips (25-5-7) have lost two in a row (0-1-1). They lead the U.S. Division by eight points over Tri-City. . . . Announced attendance: 4,418.
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At Swift Current, the Brandon Wheat Kings erased a 3-1 first-period deficit with four straight goals as they
TY LEWIS
beat the Broncos, 5-4. . . . F Ty Lewis gave Brandon a 1-0 lead at 8:13 of the opening period. . . . The Broncos responded with three straight goals. F Tyler Steenbergen (28) scored at 11:50. F Glenn Gawdin got No. 13 at 12:35. F Lane Pederson scored his 17th at 14:15. . . . The Wheat Kings got to within one when Lewis scored his 20th goal, at 15:12 of the second period, on a PP. . . . F Tanner Kaspick who has 13 goals, then scored twice for Brandon, at 4:18 and 11:18 of the third period, the second one coming while shorthanded. . . . The Wheat Kings went ahead 5-3 with another shorthanded goal, this one from F Tyler Coulter, at 14:42. He’s got 16 goals. . . . Steenbergen’s 29th goal, at 18:37, got the Broncos to within one. . . . Brandon D Daniel Bukac had three assists, while Kaspick added one. . . . Pederson had two assists for the Broncos, while Gawdin had one. . . . The Wheat Kings got 30 stops from G Logan Thompson. . . . Travis Child stopped 28 shots for Swift Current. . . . The Broncos were 1-5 on the PP; the Wheat Kings were 1-7. . . . D Kale Clague (Canada) wasn’t in Brandon’s lineup. . . . The Wheat Kings (19-16-4) hold down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . The Broncos (22-12-7) had won their previous three games. They are third in the East Division, four points behind Moose Jaw and nine ahead of Brandon. . . . Announced attendance: 1,764.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Calgary at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Kamloops at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Red Deer at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
Everett at Portland, 6 p.m.
Victoria at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Regina, 7 p.m.
Tri-City at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Kootenay at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Prince Albert at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 12:06 AM
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Saturday, November 19, 2016

Memorial Cup contender in P.G.? . . . Ex-WHLer hospitalized after collapsing . . . Pats' streak meets Royal end

F Bud Holloway (Seattle, 2003-08) has been released by CSKA Moscow (Russia, KHL). He had three goals and six assists in 12 games.
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So . . . did D Brendan Guhle win a game or lose one on Friday night in Prince George?
Moments after the host Cougars had beaten Guhle and the Prince Albert Raiders, 4-2, the veteran was informed that he had been traded to Prince George.
In fact, once the Raiders had been informed of the trade — the Cougars gave up D Max Martin, 18, F Kolby Johnson, 17, a 2017 first-round bantam draft pick and a 2019 third-round pick — Guhle walked into the Cougars’ dressing room and met his new teammates.
“Obviously I’m excited,” Guhle, who was selected as the game’s third star, told Ted Clarke of the Prince George Citizen. “It was mixed emotions at first when I found out, but they’re obviously a great team, looking at their record they’re 17-4 and I’m excited to join a team that’s already very good.”
Talk about going from the outhouse to the penthouse.
The Raiders have the WHL’s poorest record; the Cougars, after Friday’s victory, were alone atop the 22-team league’s overall standings.
“I was obviously a little upset at first,” Guhle continued. “I got drafted by Prince Albert and have been there 4½ years and it was tough. They were great to me and the coaching staff is awesome.
“But I’m excited to hopefully win a championship here in Prince George. My No. 1 goal coming back from Buffalo this year was to win a championship. It didn’t happen in Prince Albert and they were generous enough to let me go to a place where they felt I could win and put me in a good position here and I’m excited about that.”
The Raiders selected Guhle with the third-overall pick in the 2011 WHL bantam draft. The Buffalo Sabres picked him in the second round of the NHL’s 2015 draft and has signed a three-year, entry-level deal with them.
While Guhle didn’t find out about the trade until after the game, the other two players involved — D Max Martin, 18, and F Kolby Johnson, 17 — were told before the game that they had been dealt to Prince Albert. Neither played in the game.
“It was a weird situation,” Johnson told Clarke, “because I came to the rink and my old team was battling my new team and I was just wondering who to cheer for.
“It’s hard because every year since I was 14 I’ve been coming to this camp and I’ve been putting on that jersey for a few years now. These are the only guys I know and we’re so close together. It’s such a unique experience here because we travel so much and we’re always together.”
This is a huge deal for the Cougars, who have erased any doubts anyone may have had about their intentions this season. Their roster features 26 players, including nine defencemen and 15 forwards. The oldest team in the WHL, they are carrying 10 1997-born players and three 20-year-olds.
Before leaving Prince George, Martin took time to mention the MC. Yes, he did.
Guhle, Martin said, is “the real-deal defenceman and he’ll just put this team over the top. They’re a Memorial Cup contender if not one of the favourites . . . he’ll just really boost them that much.”
Guhle is expected to be in the Cougars’ lineup on Tuesday when they play host to the red-hot Regina Pats.
The Raiders, who went 0-5-0 on their B.C. Division tour, next play Wednesday when they entertain the Swift Current Broncos.
When you are a community-owned team and play in a smaller arena as do the Raiders, it never is easy for management to make the decision to trade a player like Guhle in an attempt to solidify the future. It will be interesting to see the impact of the decision on the Raiders’ attendance.
To this point, through nine home games, they are averaging an announced attendance of 2,140 fans. Last season, their final figure was 2,369, which was down from 2,431 in 2014-15.
Clarke’s complete trade story is right here.
www.princegeorgecitizen.com/sports/hockey/cougars-get-guhle-in-trade-from-prince-albert-1.2943570
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The Saskatoon Blades have released F Luke Gingras, 18, while signing F Dryden Michaud, 18, and adding him to their roster. . . . Gingras, from Langley, B.C., was a fourth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft. He had two goals and an assist in 15 games this season. He was in his third WHL season. In 109 games, he put up 13 points, six of them goals. . . . Michaud has been skating with the Blades for two weeks and made his debut in a 6-3 loss to the host Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday night. From Maple Ridge, B.C., he started this season with the junior B Abbotsford Pilots, scoring four goals and adding four assists in five games. Last season, he had 40 points, 18 of them goals, in 43 games with the Pilots.
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Former WHL F Craig Cunningham, the captain of the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners, is in hospital today after collapsing on the ice prior to a game against the visiting Manitoba Moose on Saturday night.
Cunningham received medical attention, including CPR, on the ice before being removed and taken to hospital.
The game subsequently was postponed.
Later Saturday, John Chayka, the general manager of the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, released this statement:
“Craig Cunningham suffered a medical emergency on the ice prior to the start of tonight’s game . . . at the Tucson Convention Center. Cunningham was taken to a local hospital where he is receiving medical treatment. Our thoughts and prayers are with Craig and his family. We will provide a medical update once we receive more information.”
Cunningham went into Saturday’s game with 13 points, including four goals, in 11 games.
Cunningham, 26, is from Trail, B.C. He played five seasons in the WHL, four-plus with the Vancouver Giants and 35 games with the Portland Winterhawks. In 330 regular-season games, he had 264 points, including 103 goals. He added 63 points, 25 of them goals, in 79 playoff games.

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Before going on to a life loaded with small arenas, minor hockey games and penalty of Starbucks product, Mike Fraser was an ink-stained wretch. Well, perhaps he wasn’t ink-stained, newspapers having been taken over by computers by the time he started writing in Brandon. . . . These days, between scouting assignments and his day job, Fraser writes a highly readable column for the Brandon-based Westman Journal. . . . His last two columns have involved anecdotes from the scouting trail. The latest one is right here and the first one also is available on the paper’s website. . . . Enjoy, and try not to snicker or raise your eyebrows, especially while reading Part 2.
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JUST NOTES:

G Shannon Szabados, who once was in camp with the Tri-City Americans, has signed with the Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs of the Chinook Hockey League. The Chiefs are a senior AAA team that competes for the Allan Cup. Szabados was released by the SPHL’s Peoria Rivermen last month. Szabados, 30, played the previous two seasons with the SPHL’s Columbus Cottonmouths.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:

At Brandon, F Ty Lewis scored twice and added an assist as the Wheat Kings skated to a 6-3 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . One night earlier, the Wheat Kings scored five PP goals in beating the visiting Blades, 8-1. . . . Brandon (12-7-3) has won five in a row. . . . The Blades (9-14-1) have lost three straight. . . . This time, Brandon was 0-3 on the PP; the Blades were 1-6. . . . The Wheat Kings led 3-0 before the game was seven minutes old, with F Rylan Bettens (1) scoring at 2:10, Lewis getting No. 13 at 3:46 and F Tyler Coulter (9) counting at 6:53. . . . The Blades got to within one when F Braylon Shmyr (7) scored at 10:26 of the first and D Bryton Sayers (3) added another at 9:09 of the second period. . . . However, Lewis stretched the lead to two at 16:15. . . . F Lukus MacKenzie (1) pulled the visitors close again, at 18:34. . . . Brandon put it away with third-period goals from F Reid Duke (13) at 3:53 and F Tanner Kaspick (10) at 5:37. . . . Brandon got two assists from F Stelio Mattheos, while Kaspick added one to his goal. . . . G Jordan Papirny earned the victory with 30 saves, two more than Saskatoon’s Logan Flodell. . . . The Wheat Kings continue to play without F Nolan Patrick. . . . Announced attendance: 3,742.
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At Everett, F Tyler Wong’s breakaway goal broke a 1-1 tie as the Lethbridge Hurricanes got past the Silvertips, 2-1. . . . Wong scored his 11th goal of the season, off a pass from D Brennan Menell, at 11:35 of the third period. . . . F Ryan Vandervlis (1) gave Lethbridge a 1-0 lead at 19:17 of the first period. . . . D Lucas Skrumeda (1) pulled Everett into a tie at 3:52 of the second period. . . . G Stuart Skinner stopped 30 shots for the visitors, with Carter Hart making 22 saves for Everett. . . . The Silvertips were 0-1 on the PP; the Hurricanes were 0-2. . . . The Hurricanes (8-11-3) had lost their previous five games (0-4-1). . . . Everett (15-3-4) had been 7-0-3 in its last 10. . . . Announced attendance: 5,322.
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At Cranbrook, B.C., F Beck Malenstyn scored twice as the Calgary Hitmen snapped a four-game losing skid with a 4-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Malenstyn, who has five goals, opened the scoring at 11:00 of the first period. . . . The Hitmen, who have won 12 straight games from the Ice, went up 3-0 on goals from F Lucas Cullen (2) at 14:39 of the first period and F Mark Kastelic (3), on a PP, at 2:31 of the second. . . . F Matt Alfaro’s seventh goal got the Ice on the board at 5:19. . . . Malenstyn got that one back at 14:04. . . . F Zak Zborosky scored his 18th goal for the Ice, on a PP, at 12:58 of the third period. . . . F Matteo Gennaro had two assists for Calgary. . . . Alfaro added an assist to his goal. . . . Calgary got 29 saves from G Cody Porter. . . . Ice starter Jakob Walter blocked eight of 10 shots in the first period. Payton Lee finished up, giving up two goals on 17 shots. . . . Each team was 1-4 on the PP. . . . F Bryce Bader, a second-round pick in the 2016 WHL bantam draft, made his WHL debut with Calgary. From Sherwood Park, Alta., he plays for the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings. . . . The Hitmen, who were playing their fourth road game in five nights, improved to 8-9-2. All told, it was a six-game road trip; Calgary went 2-4-0. . . . The Ice slipped to 4-13-6. . . . Announced attendance: 1,809.
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At Medicine Hat, F Matt Bradley scored in the shootout to give the Tigers a 5-4 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . F Max Gerlach also scored for the home side in the circus, with F Aleksi Heponiemi scoring for the visitors. . . . F James Hamblin had two goals and an assist for the Tigers, his second goal, and sixth of the season, providing them with a 4-2 lead at 2:20 of the third period. . . . Broncos D Max Lajoie (3) trimmed the lead at 3:14 and Heponiemi forced OT with his sixth goal at 12:38. . . . F Max Gerlach had a goal (13) and an assist for the Tigers. . . . The Broncos got two assists from F Tyler Steenbergen. . . . G Nick Schneider stopped 21 shots for the Tigers, while the Broncos got 44 saves from Travis Child. . . . Each team was 0-2 on the PP. . . .The Broncos are 0-4 in shootouts this season. . . . The Tigers (16-5-1) have won five in a row. . . . The Broncos (11-7-6) have lost two in a row. . . . Announced attendance: 4,015.
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At Portland, F Ryan Hughes scored twice, his second goal coming in OT and giving the Winterhawks a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Hughes, who has nine goals, won it at 2:17 of extra time. . . . F Colton Veloso (5) and Hughes gave Portland a 2-0 lead in the first period with goals at 14:41 and 19:50. . . . Seattle roared back and took a 3-2 lead in the second period, with F Scott Eansor (10) scoring, on a PP, at 3:53; D Turner Ottenbreit getting his third at 10:25; and F Nolan Volcan (9) counting on another PP, this one at 15:55. . . . Porlland F Joachim Blichfeld (7) tied it at 19:30. . . . F Alexander True (10) put Seattle back out front at 5:16 of the third period, only to have Portland F Keegan Iverson (10) tie it, on a PP, at 7:00. . . . F Cody Glass had two assists for Portland, with Hughes, Iverson, Blichfeld and Veloso each getting one. . . . Seattle got two assists from F Sami Moilanen, while True, Ottenbreit and Volcan each had one. . . . G Cole Kehler came up with 42 saves for Portland, while Seattle got 23 from Rylan Toth. . . . Seattle was 2-5 on the PP; Portland was 2-7. . . . The Winterhawks (10-12-0) have won two in a row. They had been 1-9-0 in their past 10. . . . The Thunderbirds (10-8-2) had won three in a row. . . . Announced attendance: 5,457.
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At Spokane, F Garrett Pilon had a goal and two assists to lead the Kamloops Blazers to a 6-4 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Spokane scored the game’s first two goals, but the Blazers took control with the
GARRETT PILON
next five. . . . F Spencer Bast (3) got the visitors into a 2-2 tie at 18:42 of the first period and F Collin Shirley’s 11th goal, on a PP, broke the tie at 19:55. . . . D Joe Gatenby (3) and Pilon (4) upped that lead to 5-3 with goals at 6:11 and 7:25 of the second. . . . The Chiefs got to within one on two goals from F Keanu Yamamoto (7), at 15:51 of the second and 2:01 of the third. . . . Blazers F Rudolfs Balcers iced it with his 14th goal at 6:22. . . . Kamloops continues to be led by Pilon’s line, which has Balcers and Deven Sideroff on the wings. Sideroff had two assists and Balcers had one. . . . Kamloops also got a goal and an assist from F Nick Chyzowski, who has nine goals. . . . F Hudson Elynuik had two assists for the Chiefs. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram was sharp, with 42 saves. . . . Spokane starter Dawson Weatherill gave up four goals on nine shots in 26:11. Jayden Sittler finished up, allowed two goals on 13 shots. . . . Kamloops was 3-9 on the PP; Spokane was 1-4. . . . Spokane received the game’s first two and last two PP opportunities. In between, the Blazers had nine in a row. . . . The Blazers (14-10-1) have won three in a row, all against U.S. Division opponents. . . . The Chiefs (8-8-5), who are scheduled to play in Kamloops on Wednesday, have lost seven straight to the Blazers. . . . The Chiefs lost F Kailer Yamamoto and F Ethan McIndoe to undisclosed injuries in the first period. Neither returned to the game. . . . Announced attendance: 5,336.
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At Kennewick, Wash., F Kobe Mohr scored two goals, including the OT winner, as the Edmonton Oil Kings got past the Tri-City Americans, 5-4. . . . Edmonton took a 4-2 lead into the last half of the third period, only to watch it disappear. . . . D Juuso Valimaki (6) cut the home team’s deficit to one at 12:59 and F Michael Rasmussen tied it with his WHL-leading 20th goal, at 16:28. . . . Rasmussen, who is in his draft season, has 20 goals in 24 games. Last season, he finished with 18 goals in 63 games. . . . F Adam Berg had a goal and an assist for Edmonton, which got three assists from F Lane Bauer and two from F Trey Fix-Wolansky. . . . Valimaki finished with two goals and an assist, while F Tyler Sandhu had two assists and Rasmussen had one. . . . G Patrick Dea stopped 27 shots for the Oil Kings, with Evan Sarthou blocking 36 at the other end. . . . Each team was 1-5 on the PP. . . . The Oil Kings (10-10-2) have won two in a row. . . . The Americans (14-8-2) have lost two straight. . . . Announced attendance: 3,754.
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At Victoria, it took 19 games but the Regina Pats finally lost in regulation time as they dropped a 5-3 decision to the Royals. . . . The Pats (15-1-3) had won their previous 10 games. . . . The Royals (13-8-2) have won two in a row. . . . Victoria F Tyler Soy opened the scoring with his 12th goal, on a penalty shot, at 6:16 of the first period. That gave him the Royals’ career goal record, with 102, breaking the mark he had shared with F Brandon Magee. Soy got there in 234 games, while Magee played in 252. The franchise record, which incorporates the Royals and Chilliwack Bruins, is held by F Ryan Howse, who put up 140 goals in 262 games, all with the Bruins. . . . F Dante Hannoun upped Victoria’s lead to 2-0 with his ninth goal, on a PP, at 19:01 of the first. . . . D Connor Hobbs scored a PP goal at 10:39 of the second period to get Regina started. . . . Victoria D Chaz Reddekopp (3) restored the Royals’ two-goal lead at 12:45. . . . The Pats got back to within one when D Chase Harrison, who also had an assist, got his sixth goal at 19:46. That ran his point streak to 14 games, the longest in the WHL this season. . . . Victoria F Carter Folk, with his first goal of the season, gave the Royals a 4-2 edge at 17:06 of the third period. . . . Hobbs got his ninth goal at 17:36. . . . Victoria F Jack Walker (12) iced it with the empty-netter at 19:56. . . . Walker and Hannoun each had an assist. . . . The Pats got two assists from F Adam Brooks, who has at least a point in each of the 13 games he has played this season. . . . G Griffen Outhouse sparked the Royals with 43 saves, while Tyler Brown made 20 saves for Regina. . . . Victoria was 1-4 on the PP; Regina was 1-5. . . . Announced attendance: 6,619.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Lethbridge at Portland, 5 p.m.
Regina vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 4 p.m.
Kelowna at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:57 PM
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