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F Tyler Redenbach (Prince George, Swift Current, Lethbridge, 2001-05) has signed a one-year contract with Pardubice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, he had nine goals and 16 assists in 41 games with Pardubice. However, he was without a contract and was training in Finland. He arrived back in Pardubice on Saturday evening.
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The Kamloops Blazers have moved out two players off last season’s roster. . . . F Matt Campese, who turns 19 on Dec. 10, was released, while D Cam Reagan, 19, was traded to the Prince Albert Raiders
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Among the latest players to return to the WHL from NHL teams:
Brandon Wheat Kings — F Tanner Kaspick, St. Louis Blues; D Kale Clague, Los Angeles Kings.
Kelowna Rockets — D Devante Stephens, Buffalo Sabres; D Braydyn Chizen, Minnesota Wild.
Medicine Hat Tigers — F John Dahlstrom, Chicago Blackhawks.
Moose Jaw Warriors — G Zach Sawchenko, Nashville Predators.
Portland Winterhawks — F Keegan Iverson, Minnesota Wild; F Rodrigo Abols, Vancouver Canucks.
Prince Albert Raiders — D Vojtech Budik, Buffalo Sabres.
Prince George Cougars — D Josh Anderson and F Brogan O’Brien, Colorado Avalanche; D Tate Olson, Vancouver Canucks.
Red Deer Rebels — F Brandon Hagel, Buffalo Sabres.
Vancouver Giants — F Radovan Bondra, Chicago Blackhawks; D Darian Skeoch, Anaheim Ducks.
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With the Portland Winterhawks getting back F Keegan Iverson (Minnesota Wild) and Latvian F Rodrigo Abols (Vancouver Canucks) back on Monday, they now have two 20-year-olds on their roster. . . . The Winterhawks’ roster also features two freshmen imports — F Joachim Blichfeld of Frederikshavn, Denmark, and D Henri Jokiharju of Oulu, Finland. Now that Abols is back, the Winterhawks will have to trade him or release one of the other two. . . . Teams aren’t allowed to trade first-year imports; they can only be released, in which case they are placed on waivers and can be claimed by another team. . . . You can bet that Portland GM/head coach Mike Johnston was paying attention Sunday when the Everett Silvertips gave up a third-round bantam draft pick to get Austrian F Dominic Zwerger, who also is 20, from the Spokane Chiefs.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings have dropped brothers Baron and Tyler Thompson from their roster. Neither was in the Brandon lineup for its season-opening weekend games. . . . The Thompsons are from Lakeville, Minn. . . . Tyler, 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, had two goals and an assist in eight games with the Victoria Royals last season. He was a third-round pick by the Royals in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . The Wheat Kings acquired both Thompsons in an Aug. 31 deal with Victoria that featured five players, four bantam draft picks and a conditional pick. . . . The Wheat Kings have 21 players in town, with two others — F Reid Duke (New York Rangers) and D Ivan Provorov (Philadelphia Flyers) — at NHL camps. . . . D Kale Clague was returned by the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.
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The Prince George Cougars visit the Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C., in Tuesday’s only WHL game. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has a look right here at what’s in store for the two teams, who’s hurt, who’s back from the NHL and who isn’t.
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Darren Steinke, a former Medicine Hat News sports reporter who now freelances out of Saskatoon, was in attendance on Sunday as the Blades celebrated the lives of Gordie Howe and his wife, Colleen. . . . How did the Blades do? . . . “The Blades hit all the positive checkmark points,” he writes on his blog, “which included ones you didn’t even think of.” . . . His complete report is right here. . . . And a big tip of the cap to Blades president Steve Hogle for the work he put into this really special event.
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JUST NOTES:
We got the first ch-ch-ching of the season on Monday when the WHL fined the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Medicine Hat Tigers $500 apiece for the multi-fight situation (aka garage sale) they staged on Saturday night in The Hat. . . .
The Lethbridge Hurricanes have returned F Connor Lyons, 17, to the midget AAA Hurricanes. Lyons, a list player, has signed a WHL contract. The son of former Hurricanes sniper Corey Lyons, Connor was pointless in three exhibition games and Friday’s regular-season opener. Last season, he had 23 points, seven of them goals, in 34 games with the midget AAA club. . . . The WHL Hurricanes are down to 25 players, including two goaltenders and eight defencemen. . . .
The Tri-City Americans have signed D Tyler Jette, 18, to a WHL contract. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Jette is from Farmington, Minn. Jette, who is expected to join the Americans today (Tuesday), is coming off three seasons with the Farmington High team of the USHSL. Last season, he had 22 points, including five goals, in 22 games. . . . Jette actually started last season with the USHL’s Bloomington Thunder. He was pointless in two games before returning to his high school team. . . . He was nominated for the 2015-16 Reed Larson Award as the top senior defenceman in Minnesota. Jette also was one of 10 finalists for the Mr. Hockey Award that goes to the state’s top high school player. . . .
The OHL’s Erie Otters have released F Haydn Hopkins “in support of his pursuit to play out his 19-year-old season closer to home in Western Canada,” according a news release from the team. . . . Hopkins, from Victoria, was a 12th-round pick by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2012 bantam draft. He has three goals and seven assists in 53 regular-season WHL games, split among the Blades (4), Prince George Cougars (33) and Vancouver Giants (16). . . . Last season, he had a goal and three assists in 31 games with the Otters. He was pointless in the first two games of this season.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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MONDAY GAMES:
No Games Scheduled.
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TUESDAY GAME (all times local):
Prince George vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7 p.m.
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Bowles, who leads the Americans in assists (31) and points (44), suffered an injury to his left shoulder during a 3-0 loss in Kamloops on Feb. 9. Cochrane, who is from Kamloops, was acquired from the Everett Silvertips at the trade deadline in January. He also has a shoulder injury. . . . As well, G Evan Sarthou has an undisclosed injury that may end his season. “We need more analysis by the doctors before we know for sure (on Sarthou),” Tri-City general manager Bob Tory told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald. “It would be nice to have two healthy goalies going into the playoffs. (Cochrane) was just starting to feel comfortable here, then he got hurt in the Medicine Hat game. It wasn’t a hard hit, but he was in an awkward position. It’s one of those years. It’s part of hockey and you have to fight through it. Hopefully the guys get hungry. They need to stick together and compete as a group.”
In Victoria, the Moose Jaw Warriors scored the game’s first three goals and went on to a 4-3 victory over the Royals. . . . F Jack Rodewald got the Warriors rolling when he scored his 26th goal of the season 1:30 into the first period. . . . Former Victoria F Axel Blomqvist added his 22nd at 2:01, with Rodewald getting the lone assist, and F Tanner Eberle made it 3-0 with his 30th at 1:53 of the second. . . . The Royals twice got to within a goal but weren’t able to equalize. . . . Moose Jaw F Jiri Smejkal’s 10th goal, at 10:42 of the third, provided a 4-2 lead and stood as the winner. . . . Warriors F Brayden Point had two assists. . . . Victoria F Austin Carroll had one assist and set the Victoria franchise record for most points in a single season. He’s got 68. F Brandon Magee set the previous record (67) last season. . . . The Chilliwack/Victoria franchise record (101) is held by F Mark Santorelli (2007-08). He won the WHL scoring title that season. . . . Victoria was without D Ryan Gagnon. He served a one-game suspension for having incurred his third game misconduct of the season against host Seattle on Sunday. . . . The Royals were playing their fourth game in 90 hours. . . . The Royals, who are second in the B.C. Division, are at home to the first-place Kelowna Rockets on Friday and Saturday. . . .Moose Jaw improved to 23-30-4, while Victoria slipped to 32-22-4. . . .
In Prince Albert, F Riley Sheen scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Red Deer Rebels a 2-1 victory over the Raiders. . . . F Scott Feser scored his 11th goal of the season for Red Deer at 3:23 of the second period. . . . F Matteo Gennaro tied it with his 10th goal, on a PP, at 16:42 of the second. . . . The Raiders shot first but failed to scored in the shootout, so Sheen’s second-round goal stood as the winner. . . . Rebels G Rylan Toth stopped 29 shots, three more than Prince Albert’s Rylan Parenteau. . . . The Rebels had Trevor Martin on the bench in support of Toth. Martin, who came over from the Saskatoon Blades in a January deal, has been with the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. The Red Deer Advocate reports that Martin is expected to start tonight in Saskatoon. Taz Burman, who didn’t dress last night, is scheduled to be on the bench tonight. . . . The Rebels remain without F Conner Bleackley, their captain, who is out with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Raiders continue to play without F Kris Schmidli, who is out with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Rebels (29-18-9) are 3-4-3 in their last 10. . . . The Raiders (23-32-3) have lost two straight (1-0-1). . . . Brett Smith of the Prince Albert Daily Herald has a game story 
In Lethbridge, F Matt Alfaro scored two goals and set up another to help the Kootenay Ice to a 5-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Alfaro, who equaled a single-game career high with three points, has nine goals. . . . The Hurricanes scored the game’s first two goals and took a 2-1 lead into the third period. The Ice put it away with three goals in the first 7:08 of the third. . . . F Tim Bozon tied a franchise record with a goal eight seconds into the third. D Steve McCarthy had set the record on Dec. 18, 1998, at Red Deer. . . . Bozon has 26 goals. . . . F Jaedon Descheneau had two assists for the Ice, with D Troy Murray scoring his third goal and adding an assist. . . . F Mike Winther had two goals for Lethbridge, giving him 11, and F Ryley Lindgren drew two assists. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 17 shots, 16 fewer than Jayden Sittler of the Hurricanes. . . . The Ice (29-27-2) has points in its last two (1-0-1) . . . The Hurricanes (18-33-6) are 6-4-0 in their last 10. . . . 
In Calgary, G Brendan Burke turned aside 29 shots to help the Hitmen to a 4-1 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . After a scoreless first period, the Hitmen got two second-period goals, from F Connor Rankin, his 27th, at 6:54, and F Radel Fazleev, his 17th, at 10:30. . . . F Steve Owre got his 15th goal, on a PP, at 18:56. . . . Calgary F Adam Tambellini added insurance with his 40th goal 23 seconds into the third. . . . F Chase Lang hit an empty net for his 23rd goal at 18:31. . . . With G Marek Langhamer fighting the flu, G Nick Schneider made his second straight start for the Tigers. He stopped 23 shots. . . . The Tigers were without F Trevor Cox, the WHL’s scoring leader, for a second straight game. He was hit with a ‘tbd’ suspension for a boarding incident against visiting Calgary on Saturday. Calgary F Kenton Helgesen, the victim of that hit, didn’t play last night. . . . The Hitmen will play their next 11 games on the road as the Canadian men’s curling championship takes over their home building. . . . Calgary will play five games in the U.S. Division and then go into B.C. for three. . . . While Calgary has won 11 of 12, the Tigers have lost eight of 10. As a result, the Hitmen (34-18-5) have closed to within four points of the Central Division-leading Tigers (37-19-3). . . . The Hitmen went 3-3-0 in the season series; the Tigers finished 3-2-1.
McCrimmon, the team’s owner, general manager and head coach, informed fans of that news in a letter.
In Brandon, F Liam Stewart scored 27 seconds into OT to give the Spokane Chiefs a 5-4 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Stewart scored his 20th goal of the season off a Tyson Helgeson rebound. . . . The Chiefs erased a 4-1 deficit and Stewart drew the primary assist on the last two goals. . . . The last two of those goals came via the PP, with F Markson Bechtold getting his seventh goal at 8:08 of the third period and F Dominic Zwerger getting his 13th at 17:09. . . . Zwerger had two goals. . . . The tying goal came after Brandon was penalized for having too many men on the ice. . . . The Chiefs were 3-for-4 on the PP; Brandon was 2-for-8. . . . Spokane D Jason Fram drew an assist on each of his club’s last three goals. . . . F Ryan Duke scored twice for Brandon, giving him 20. He is the fifth player on the roster with at least 20 goals. . . . Duke’s second goal gave Brandon a 4-1 lead at 17:27 of the second period. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauley had two assists, running his point streak to 12 games. He has 25 points, including 16 assists, over those 12 games. . . . Spokane G Tyson Verhelst, a freshman from Brandon, stopped 33 shots, as did Brandon G Jordan Papirny. . . . F John Quenneville returned to Brandon’s lineup after sitting out four games with a suspected concussion. . . . The Wheat Kings are still without G Alex Moodie (suspected concussion), D Ivan Provorov and F Jayce Hawryluk, the latter two with undisclosed injuries. . . . The Chiefs (27-24-4) are 3-2-0 on an East Division swing that ends tonight in Swift Current. . . . The Wheat Kings (41-9-6), who had won six straight, are 12-0-2 in their last 14 outings. . . . 
In Calgary, G Nik Amundrud stopped 35 shots to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 4-2 victory over the Hitmen. . . . Calgary had won its previous nine games. . . . The Hitmen had won six in a row at home, outscoring the opposition 39-6 in the process. . . . Saskatoon D Schael Higson broke a 2-2 tie with his first goal at 14:52 of the second period. . . . F Cameron Hebig added insurance with his 14th goal at 10:40 of the third. . . . Hebig also had two assists. . . . Saskatoon F Mitch Skapski had two assists. . . . Calgary F Terrell Draude scored his ninth goal and also had an assist. . . . Calgary G Mack Shields, on his 20th birthday, turned aside 21 shots. . . . The Blades (16-35-3) snapped a four-game losing skid. . . . The Hitmen (32-18-5) won the season series, 3-1-0. . . . Calgary is second in the Central Division, five points ahead of Red Deer. . . . Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun has a game story 
In Medicine Hat, the Prince George Cougars scored three first-period goals en route to a 4-2 victory over the Tigers. . . . Cougars G Ty Edmonds stopped 41 shots. . . . The Cougars scored their first three goals on only four shots as they lead 3-0 at 7:24 of the first period. . . . F Zach Pochiro scored two of the early Cougars goals, giving him 12. . . . The Tigers got the deficit to 3-2 when F Steve Owre scored his 14th at 8:28 of the third. . . . Cougars F Jari Erricson got the insurance into an empty net at 19:25. He’s got 19 goals. . . . Medicine Hat F Mark Rassell was penalized for high-sticking at 15:13 of the first period. It was his first penalty of the season and came in his 48th game. . . . F Chase Witala had two assists for the Cougars. . . . The Cougars had dropped seven straight games to the Tigers. . . . Prince George (22-32-4) had lost its previous three games (0-1-2). . . . The Tigers (36-17-3) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Kamloops, the Blazers scored the only two goals of the shootout and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 3-2. . . . F Cole Ully and F Jake Kryski scored for Kamloops in the skills competition, while F Mathew Barzal and D Shea Theodore came up short for Seattle. . . . Seattle F Donovan Neuls forced OT with his sixth goal at 19:59 of the second period. Actually, he scored with 0.9 showing on the clock. . . . D Ethan Bear scored his 10th goal of the season for Seattle, on a PP, at 1:59 of the first period. . . . Kamloops got goals from F Joel Hamilton, his 11th, shorthanded, 59 seconds into the second and F Matt Needham, his 18th, at 13:53 of the second. . . . Hamilton had played 21 games without scoring. It was his first goal for Kamloops since being acquired at the trade deadline in January. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram stopped 26 shots, three fewer than Seattle’s Logan Flodell. . . . Flodell, who joined Seattle when G Danny Mumaugh chose to retire, made his fifth career start, his fourth this season. His first three starts were against Prince George. His fourth was against Vancouver. . . . Kamloops D Marc (Jimmy) McNulty had two assists in a solid effort. . . . This was a very uneven game with a lot of turnovers and about two month’s worth of poor passes. . . . Head coach Don Hay of the Blazers celebrated his 61st birthday with his 631st WHL victory. . . . The Blazers (22-29-6) have won two in a row. They are 3-0-0 against Seattle this season, with all three games decided by one goal. . . . The Thunderbirds are 28-20-7. . . . 
In Kelowna, the Rockets scored the game’s first five goals and went on to a 7-3 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . The game ended with a verbal exchange between the benches. . . . At game’s end, Regan Bartel, the radio voice of the Rockets, tweeted: “Royals forward Austin Carroll narrowly misses Lucas Johansen's head and fight breaks out. Lambert/Mallette have choice words for Dave Lowry.” That would be Kelowna head coach Dan Lambert and assistant coach Kris Mallette; Dave Lowry is the head coach of the Royals. . . . Kelowna F Rodney Southam opened the scoring with his eighth goal at 1:08 of the first period. But he is looking at a suspension after instigating a fight in the game’s last five minutes. . . . D Cole Martin and F Cole Linaker each had two goals for the Rockets. Martin, who finished plus-4, has five goals; Linaker has 12. . . . Kelowna F Leon Draisaitl had three assists, as did D Madison Bowey, while F Nick Merkley had two. . . . F Austin Carroll scored his 30th goal for the Royals. . . . Draisaitl has 23 points, including 16 assists, in 16 games with the Rockets. . . . Kelowna G Michael Herringer stopped 22 shots. . . . The Rockets again were without G Jackson Whistle (appendectomy) and F Tyson Baillie (concussion). . . . The Rockets (43-9-4) lead the overall standings by two points over Brandon. . . . The Royals (30-21-4) had their four-game winning streak come to an end. . . . 
In Everett, G Carter Hart stopped 22 shots to lead the Silvertips to a 6-0 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Hart, a 16-year-old freshman from Sherwood Park, Alta., has three shutouts. . . . Everett F Remi Laurencelle scored twice, giving him 17. His first goal, 1:19 into the game, stood up as the winner. . . . He also had an assist. . . . Everett D Lucas Skrumeda scored his first goal, while D Tristan Pfeiffer got his second. . . . D Noah Juulsen, F Brayden Low and F Ivan Nikolishin each had two assists. . . . Everett was 2-for-2 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-for-4. . . . Everett (35-16-5) is 2-0-1 in its last three. . . . The Giants (23-30-3) had won their previous two games. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reported that the Giants were without D Arvin Atwal due to a “team-imposed suspension.” . . . Patterson’s game story is 
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