1. The QMJHL has never won three straight Memorial Cup championships. The Halifax Mooseheads will try to complete the trifecta today against the Portland Winterhawks in the championship final in Saskatoon. . . . The Saint John Sea Dogs won it two years ago and the host Shawinigan Cataractes won it last year. . . . The WHL hasn’t won the Memorial Cup since 2008 when the Spokane Chiefs did it. . . . The last time one league won three in a row was 1987-89 when the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers won it twice and the Swift Current Broncos won it in 1989, right in Saskatoon.
2. The Winterhawks first won the Memorial Cup in 1983. They won it again in 1998. This is 2013. If you do the math, those are 15-year increments. Omen? Coincidence?
3. The Mooseheads beat the Winterhawks 7-4 on the second game of this tournament. You may recall that Halifax F Nathan MacKinnon scored three goals in that one as Portland G Mac Carruth had a less than average night. . . . Carruth has gotten a whole lot better since that game. The Mooseheads haven’t played since beating the London Knights 9-2 on Tuesday. Yes, that’s a lot of time off.
4. A ticket price-related note from a Winterhawks fan: “I took an informal survey on the ’Hawks fan forum . . . and every respondent (including myself) wrote back and said that if they turned the $32 club level seat (WHL playoffs) into a $100-plus Memorial Cup ticket that we would all bypass the event and just watch it on TV.”
5. Assuming that both goaltenders, Carruth and Zach Fucale of Halifax, play well, I would suggest that the outcome of this game will rest with Portland’s big four on defence. Seth Jones, Derrick Pouliot, Troy Rutkowski and Tyler Wotherspoon are capable, as a group, of controlling a game. If that happens in this one, Portland wins. But if Halifax forwards Jonathan Drouin, Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Frk get time with the puck in the offensive zone, the Mooseheads will win.
6. Some observers may look at this game as MacKinnon versus Jones. If you absolutely have to go in that direction, rather than Mooseheads versus Winterhawks, I’d suggest it’s more MacKinnon versus Ty Rattie. . . . MacKinnon is cooler than a Saskatchewan winter when the puck is on his stick; Rattie wants it on his stick when the temperature is the hottest.
7. The Mooseheads and Winterhawks have been the two top-ranked teams in the CHL throughout the season, so it’s only fitting that they meet today with all the marbles on the table. . . . And, if you were wondering, the Mooseheads will be the home team, so get the benefit of last change.
8. F Ben Fanelli of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers was honoured Saturday as the CHL’s humanitarian of the year. Fanelli‘s hockey career almost ended after he suffered a serious head injury that cost him most of the 2009-10 season. If you aren’t aware of his story, it’s worth at trip to Google. . . . Fanelli, 20, played out his eligibility this season and is working towards a psychology degree at Wilfrid Laurier University.
9. Considering what the Winterhawks have gone through this season, wouldn’t you like to know just how many WHL front-office types are pulling for them to win today? I’m thinking the over-under might be about two.
10. Memorial Cup attendance . . . it’s the story that just won’t go away. Kevin Mitchell, the sports editor of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, has been tackling the issue all week and his latest missive is right here. It includes some rather pointed comments from former Blades D Rhett Warrener. . . . Oh, and ticket prices in the upper deck apparently have slid to $27 for the final.
———
The Reading Royals won the ECHL title on Saturday night, beating the host Stockton Thunder, 6-0, and winning the series, 4-1. . . . This is Reading’s first championship; the Royals completed their 12th ECHL season. . . . Reading D Patrick Wellar (Portland, Calgary, 2000-04) became the second player in ECHL history to win the Kelly Cup three times. The other is F Scott Burt (Seattle, Swift Current, Edmonton, Red Deer, 1994-98).
———
If you missed it, Hockey Canada, which is holding its annual general meeting in Charlottetown, P.E.I., voted Saturday to dump body checking from peewee hockey and below.
The reaction, at least on Twitter, was to be expected, perhaps best summed up by this from Harrison Mooney (@HarrisonMooney): “I've never been more upset that my son won't be constantly hit in the head than I am right now. #BringBackBodychecking”
I would like to thank TSN’s Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) and Willy Palov (@CH_WillyPalov) of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald for providing me with so much Saturday morning entertainment. Your tweets and retweets were things of beauty.
A sample . . .
McKenzie: “I laugh at meatheads who say, If kids don't like hitting, play another sport. That's the point: they and their parents are goin to do that.”
Palov: “Concussions and hockey politics/toxic adults are why my kids play basketball.”
Palov again, this time in response to a tweet sent his way: “Because that's what matters? @AdamMX182: your kids will probably go nowhere sports career wise playing basketball in Canada”
And one more from Palov, in response to the intelligentsia: “I think it makes perfect sense." @MC_MooseCountry: “so your kids play basketball but you're a hockey reporter?? doesn't make sense”
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From Steve Webb (@SteveWebb20): “@HockeyCanada now that the game will be safer for kids on the ice.Can something be done about the crazy parents #unrealistic expectations”


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Blazers right back in Western Conference final

Kamloops Blazers goaltender Cole Cheveldave made some key first-period saves,
including this one on Portland forward Nic Petan.
(Keith Anderson / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
It was late in the second period when the Interior Savings Centre crowd began chanting “Chevy! Chevy!! Chevy!!!”
And the sound system blared: “Like a rock.”
The fans were saluting Kamloops Blazers goaltender Cole Cheveldave, who was exactly that as he and his mates overwhelmed the Portland Winterhawks to the tune of 5-1 on Tuesday night.
What that means is that the Winterhawks take a 2-1 edge in the WHL’s best-of-seven Western Conference final into tonight’s game at ISC. And the series now is certain to return to Portland for Game 5 on Friday.
The Blazers won this one because Cheveldave was terrific in the first period, and the Winterhawks didn’t have an answer for the Kamloops line of, left to right, Tim Bozon, Colin Smith and JC Lipon.
On Nov. 16, the trio combined for 14 points in a 6-4 victory over the visiting Winterhawks, the only time this season that Kamloops beat Portland, prior to last night. For various reasons, including Lipon’s stint with the national junior team, the line was broken up and rarely reunited . . . until last night.
“It was a matter of, we weren’t generating what we thought we needed to generate,” Guy Charron, the Blazers’ head coach, explained. “You sometimes go back to what gave you success and early on they were the top line in the WHL. There was no reason to think they wouldn’t be able to put it together.”
“They’re a good line,” said Travis Green, Portland’s interim general manager and head coach, “one of the best lines in the league. But we made mistakes tonight that we don’t usually make.”
Bozon, playing his third game since coming back from a fracture in his right hand, had two goals and two assists; Smith potted a goal and had two assists; and Lipon had an assist and a whole lot of sandpaper.
“We just wanted to come out and play hard,” Smith said. “We need to focus on playing hard and things will open up. If we’re focused on the end result, some things can go sideways.”
The Blazers also won this one by beating Portland goaltender Mac (The Truth) Carruth four times on 11 shots in the second period, turning a 1-1 tie into a 5-1 lead in the process. They also triumphed by winning pretty much every one-on-one battle for two periods, no matter where it took place, and that was something they had failed to do in 4-1 and 4-0 setbacks in Portland.
“The effort was there,” Charron said. “We had more jump. We skated well. We took the body.”
Defenceman Joel Edmundson got it started just 1:07 into the second, fourth-line winger Aaron Macklin kept it going with a nifty wrap-around against the flow at 8:02, and Bozon scored twice, at 14:56 and 17:04, to hand control to the Blazers.
“Smith, Bozon, Lipon got things going and that’s what we needed,” said Charron, whose team went into the game not having beaten Carruth in 117 minutes 50 seconds. “We needed some offensive production, something positive to build on.”
All of that came after a first period in which Portland had a number of glorious scoring chances and the Blazers were fortunate to escape at 1-1.
That, of course, was thanks to Cheveldave, the 19-year-old sophomore from Calgary who missed a practice last week as he attended the funeral of a grandfather.
“He was in perfect control of every situation,” Charron said of his goaltender, who made 35 stops. “He was really strong. He was never out of position . . . a very strong game by him.”
Portland defenceman Tyler Wotherspoon agreed.
“Their goalie played well,” he said. “We got some chances and Cheveldave stood on his head over there. He kept them in it right away.”
Right away was when Portland was handed a 5-on-3 advantage for a full two minutes just 4:53 into the game.
“The 5-on-3 didn’t make us too comfortable,” Charron admitted. “But I thought we did a pretty good job under the circumstances. Their first goal, it was so early in the game we knew we had plenty of time.”
The Winterhawks were only able to score once on that PP, when the puck appeared to bounce past Cheveldave off an ankle belonging to winger Ty Rattie. The Blazers got that one back at 16:37 when Smith redirected a Bozon shot through Carruth’s legs.
In between, it was the Cheveldave show.
There was a come-across stop on Oliver Bjorkstrand early on, and three outstanding saves in one flurry during a late Portland power play as he beat Nic Petan on a back-door play, then robbed Petan with a glove, and got a shoulder on a Rattie back-door shot. And let’s not forget stoning Wotherspoon with a glove when he went in alone after a big-league pass from defenceman Seth Jones. All of that came in a 50-second span.
Late in the period, Cheveldave beat Chase De Leo from in tight.
It’s no wonder the crowd was chanting.
“I felt great,” Cheveldave said, “and I was seeing everything. That’s all I can ask for. Our defencemen were clearing bodies out in front of me and I was able to see the puck really well.”
While the Blazers were savouring the sweet taste of victory, the Winterhawks already were working on erasing the loss from their minds.
“We can’t dwell on this night,” Wotherspoon said. “We have to learn from our mistakes. We have to come out strong in the first period and show them that we’re ready to play, and clean up our mistakes.”
“It doesn’t happen very often,” Green said, “but tonight we just weren’t sharp in a lot of areas. The good thing is we get right back at it (tonight).”
JUST NOTES: Attendance was 4,642. . . . Each team was 1-for-5 on the PP. . . . Carruth stopped 24 shots. . . . Green said he never once thought about yanking Carruth. “Not at all,” the coach offered. “I don’t think he (gave up a bad one). I liked Mac’s game tonight . . . it didn’t cross my mind at all.” . . . The Winterhawks lost F Joe Mahon to a game misconduct eight minutes into the first period. Green said he understood the penalty was for “a gesture of some kind, but I’m not 100 per cent sure.” . . . The Daily News Three Stars: 1. Cheveldave: In the zone; 2. Bozon: Looks healthy; 3. D Joel Edmundson, Kamloops: Big in his zone. . . . Earlier in the day, Carruth was named the CHL’s goaltender of the week after stopping 60 of 61 shots in the first two games of this series. . . . Both goaltenders have terrific playoff beards, but Cheveldave gave a bit of an edge to Carruth. “He’s got a pretty good one,” Cheveldave said with a laugh. “He’s got a year on me, though.”

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THE EDGE: Who has it, Kamloops or Portland?

 By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers and Portland Winterhawks are about to meet in a WHL playoff series for the second straight spring.
While these organizations have met in 11 previous series, they haven’t done it in consecutive seasons since 1993-95.
Throw out the one time they met in one of those round-robin affairs, and each side has won five series, going back to 1981-82.
On Friday night in Portland, then, they will begin a best-of-seven series that carries with it some long-term bragging rights.
There isn’t much doubt that the Blazers go into the Western Conference final as the underdog.
After all, the Winterhawks finished atop the WHL’s overall standings. They led the league in offence and were second on defence. Their top line — Brendan Leipsic, Nic Petan and Ty Rattie — finished 1-2-3 in the scoring race. Defenceman Seth Jones, a freshman from Plano, Texas, is likely to be the first pick in the NHL’s 2012 draft.
We could go on and on, but by now you get the idea that this is a pretty good team.
On top of all that, the Winterhawks are of the opinion that the world is against them. Their general manager and head coach, Mike Johnston, has been suspended since late November and won’t be back this season. The franchise has been fined $200,000 and has forfeited a number of draft picks.
And, yes, the Portland players are buying into this adversity stuff.
“Absolutely,” veteran forward Taylor Peters told Paul Buker of The Oregonian. “When we had those sanctions back in November we kind of took it as a chip on our shoulder. It was ‘it’s us, we’re going to do this for Mike and we’re going to do this despite all the setbacks we’ve had.’
“We’re definitely building off that adversity. We have ‘adversity’ written on our playoff shirts, just to remind us that we’ve battled through this so far, we’re not going to come this far and give up now.”
But the Blazers haven’t come this far just to roll over, either. This also is a good team, one that finished second in the B.C. Division with the WHL’s fourth-best record.
The Kamloops line that had Colin Smith between Tim Bozon and JC Lipon was dominant until Lipon left to play for Canada at the World Junior Championship.
In the second half of the season, the Blazers have focused on their defensive play, and, with the acquisition of Joel Edmundson from the Moose Jaw Warriors, have gotten progressively better.
So . . . this shapes up as a series that should provide some terrific entertainment. Here’s a look at how one observer sees things as it begins:
———
GOAL
Cole Cheveldave of the Blazers has gotten better as the playoffs have worn on. He was solid in a six-game victory over the Victoria Royals, who may have lost that series in the third period of Game 1 when they blitzed the Blazers’ net but weren’t able to beat the goaltender.
Portland’s Mac Carruth is the winningest goaltender in WHL history and is at the top of his game right now. Carruth, a 20-year-old from Shorewood, Minn., has signed with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. He will appear in his 65th WHL playoff game on Friday.
EDGE: Portland.
———
DEFENCE
The Winterhawks big four — Jones, Derrick Pouliot, Troy Rutkowski and Tyler Wotherspoon — is the best in the WHL. Jones is a stud. Period. He almost surely will be the No. 1 pick in the NHL’s June draft. Pouliot was taken eighth overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2012 draft. Rutkowski (Ottawa Senators) and Wotherspoon (Calgary Flames) have signed NHL deals. They have 37 points in 10 playoff games this spring. They also have played in 183 playoff games.
The Blazers’ top four doesn’t carry that kind of pedigree, but has been in 114 postseason games and is a solid group that plays well together. Edmundson, who has signed with the St. Louis Blues, has gotten better and better over the last two months. He is a 6-foot-4, 210-pounder who can dominate. Tyler Hansen may be the most under-rated player in all of the WHL; he and partner Sam Grist punish people in their zone. Marek Hrbas has been consistent and will surprise you with some of his jaunts into the offensive zone. Those four have 16 points in 10 games. Their job, however, is to defend and they do that very well.
EDGE: Portland, but not by as much as you might think.
———
FORWARDS
Portland has the WHL’s top forward line — Brendan Leipsic, Nic Petan and Ty Rattie finished 1-2-3 in the scoring race and have put up 49 points in 10 playoff games. . . . Rattie has 41 career playoff goals, 11 of them this spring. . . . Portland has been getting good secondary scoring from a line that features Oliver Bjorkstrand, a freshman from Denmark, Chase De Leo and Taylor Leier. They have a combined 35 points. . . . Taylor Peters, 20, is one of the WHL’s top defensive forwards and a great penalty killer.
Brendan Ranford of the Blazers has never played better. He had nine points in the four-game sweep of Kelowna. . . . Ranford, Cole Ully and Lipon have proved a formidable threesome. . . . The Blazers will welcome back Colin Smith on Friday. He missed the last three games after suffering a suspected concussion in Game 1 of the last round. Smith had 106 points in the regular season, tops on the Blazers. . . . Portland will have to try and keep Kale Kessy from taking up residence in front of Carruth. Kessy, a big body with good hands, has 11 goals and that ties him with Rattie for the league lead. . . . There is speculation that Bozon, who has missed seven games since suffering a fracture in his right hand on March 26, may be ready for Game 1. . . . Smith and Kessy will be reunited Friday, perhaps with Chase Souto on the left side.
EDGE: Portland. The pendulum could shift if Bozon returns.
———
SPECIAL TEAMS
Portland has the best PP in the playoffs, at 30.8 per cent, and has scored the most PP goals (16). . . . The Blazers are fourth, at 26.3 per cent, and have scored 15 goals. . . . Kamloops has received 57 opportunities in 10 games, to Portland’s 52. . . . You may recall that the Blazers had 11 PP opportunities to Kelowna’s one in Game 4 of that series.
Portland’s penalty-killers have surrendered only three PP goals in 28 opportunities (89.3 per cent), and that’s No. 2 in the WHL. . . . The Blazers are 13th, having been beaten eight times on 35 chances (77.1). That has to get better if Kamloops is to win.
EDGE: Portland.
———
COACHING
The Winterhawks went 37-12-3 after Travis Green, the assistant GM/assistant coach, took over for the suspended Johnston. Green’s right-hand man is Kyle Gustafson, who has been with the Winterhawks since before the 2008 ownership change.
The Blazers have put together back-to-back 47-20-5 seasons under head coach Guy Charron and associate coach Dave Hunchak. The latter has done a terrific job with the Blazers’ back end.
EDGE: Kamloops.
———
INTANGIBLES
Every Kamloops player who took part in the seven-game thriller with Portland last spring will tell you the team learned never to quit while playing in those games. . . . At one time or another, every coach plays the ‘us against the world’ card. Never has it had more meaning than in the Portland dressing room this season. . . . Portland has seven players on its roster who have played in, and lost, each of the last two WHL championships series.
EDGE: Portland.
———
THE CALL
It’s Portland, in six games.


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Dmitri Uchaykin, a 33-year-old forward in the Kazakh league, died Sunday morning after taking a hit to the head in a Saturday game.
Uchaykin played for Ertis Pavlodar. He was taken to hospital after being checked by Donatas Kumeliuskas, a Lithuanian forward who plays for Arystan Temirtau.
According to thehockeyhouse.net, Uchaykin, who leaves a pregnant wife and young daughter, was unconscious when taken to hospital and never regained consciousness before dying of a cerebral hemorrhage.
Uchaykin, according to thehockeyhouse.net, “spent a big majority of his professional career with Amur Khabarovsk in multiple levels of Russian hockey, including the KHL, before getting traded to Gazovik Tyumen (Russia2) mid season in 2008-2009. He would later play two seasons with Yermak Angarsk (VHL/Russia2) before finishing off the last two seasons of his career with Ertis Pavlodar in Kazakhstan.”
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“Hockey accounts for almost half of all traumatic brain injuries among Canadian children and teens taking part in team sports, says a study, which also looks at how and why kids are getting hurt.”
So begins a story by Sheryl Ubelacker of The Canadian Press that takes a look at that study and what it means. That story is right here.
———
D Tyler Wotherspoon of the Portland Winterhawks has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames. He was a second-round selection, taken 57th overall, in the NHL’s 2011 draft. . . . He had 37 points in ?? games during the regular season and finished at plus-62, a number that was behind only Portland F Nic Petan in the entire WHL. . . . Wotherspoon also played for the Canadian national junior team at the 2013 world championship.
———
THE COACHING GAME:
Matt O’Dette won’t be back as head coach of the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors. O’Dette was told Monday that his contract won’t be renewed, but he finished out the season and told his players after a 5-1 loss to the San Francisco Bulls on Saturday. Asked what he told his players after the game O’Dette told Mike Griffith of the Bakersfield Californian: “To be honest, I let them know I'm not coming back next year. I'm not being renewed. I knew a few days ago. We wanted to finish strong, finish as pros and play right until the end. I faked it all week and didn't tell anybody. There's no point in hiding it now. That's what I told the guys. It was emotional. It was a tough speech to give the guys. That's that. It's disappointing." . . . The Condors finished 24-41-7, the poorest record in the ECHL.
———
Paul Buker of The Oregonian takes a look at what’s happening in the series between the Portland Winterhawks and Everett Silvertips. . . . As Buker writes right here: “Everett won’t go away, like those zombies that just seem to keep coming in ‘Walking Dead.’ ”
———
The WHL was quiet on Easter Sunday.
There are three series still alive, all in the Western Conference, with two of them going tonight.
The Victoria Royals, trailing 3-2, play host to the Kamloops Blazers at Bear Mountain Arena. The Royals stayed alive with a 4-2 victory in Kamloops on Saturday.
In Everett, the Silvertips hope to continue their brave stand in front of the Evil Empire tonight. The Silvertips, after winning 3-2 in Portland on Saturday, trail 3-2.
The third series resumes Tuesday with the Kelowna Rockets and Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent) meeting in Kent, Wash. Seattle holds a 3-2 edge after dropping a 4-3 decision in Kelowna on Saturday.
———
The WHL’s first-round situation:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
FIRST ROUND
Edmonton (1) vs. Kootenay (8)
(Edmonton wins 4-1)
Saskatoon (2) vs. Medicine Hat (7)
(Medicine Hat wins 4-0)
Calgary (3) vs. Swift Current (6)
(Calgary wins 4-1)
Red Deer (4) vs Prince Albert (5)
(Red Deer wins 4-0)
———
SECOND ROUND
Edmonton (1) vs. Medicine Hat (7)
Calgary (3) vs. Red Deer (4)
———
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Portland (1) vs. Everett (8)
(Portland leads series 3-2; Game 6 tonight in Everett)
Kelowna (2) vs. Seattle (7)
(Seattle leads 3-2; Game 5 on Tuesday in Kent, Wash.)
Kamloops (3) vs. Victoria (6)
(Kamloops leads 3-2; Game 6 tonight in Victoria, Bear Mountain Arena)
Spokane (4) vs. Tri-City (5)
(Spokane wins 4-1)


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Tomas Karpov (Moose Jaw, Calgary, 2007-09) signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Telford Tigers (England, Premier). He had three goals and 11 assists in 22 games with Berounsti Medvedi (Czech Republic, 1. Liga) this season.
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The Everett Silvertips changed up their coaching staff on Tuesday as they fired head coach Mark Ferner and assistant coach Chris Hartsburg.
General manager Garry Davidson has taken over as the interim head coach. Davidson said he will finish this season and then begin the search for a head coach.
Former Everett D Mitch Love is left as the lone assistant coach and Davidson said there aren’t any plans to add another one at this time.
Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald summed up the situation in his blog:
“The crux of the change was a difference in philosophies between Davidson and Ferner. Ferner was hired not by Davidson, but by Davidson's predecessor, Doug Soetaert. Davidson is a proponent of attacking, offensive hockey. Ferner is a proponent of hard-working, defensively-responsible hockey. These differences were known from the beginning, when Davidson was hired last February. Davidson gave it some time to see if the two could come to reach some sort of middle ground, but that never happened. Both Davidson and Ferner acknowledged the difference in philosophies.”
More from Patterson’s blog:
“Davidson said he'd been growing frustrated with the team's style of play the past couple months, and essentially came to the conclusion over the Christmas break that a change needed to be made. That explains why the move was made now, despite the Tips winning three of five since the break. He also wants the team accustomed to playing a more offensive game by the time a new coach is brought in.”
Patterson has more right here.
Patterson also spoke with Ferner and that story is right here.
———
The Brandon Wheat Kings have released D Ryley Miller in order to get down to the maximum of three 20-year-old players. That leaves them with F Nick Buonassisi, F Michael Ferland and D Tyler Yaworski as their 20s. . . . Miller, a second-round pick by Brandon in the 2007 bantam draft, played 241 games with the Wheat Kings, recording 37 points and 537 penalty minutes. This season, he had six points and 99 penalty minutes in 38 games.
———
The Kelowna Rockets announced Tuesday that D Mitchell Chapman, 20, won’t play again this season. He suffered an ankle injury on the opening day of training camp and hasn’t played at all this season. . . . That leaves the Rockets with three 20s — F JT Barnett, F Cody Fowlie and F Dylen McKinlay.
———

If you haven’t yet heard about this, there was a standoff of sorts between a Kootenay International Junior Hockey League team and one from the BCHL on Saturday in Trail. It involved a bus and a player, but no trade. At least not yet! Anyway, HQKootenay.com has some details right here.
 ———

F Daulton Siwak, 19, has left the Prince George Cougars and returned home to Olds, Alta. . . . "He told us that he was going to go home and ponder his life and think about what he wants to do," Cougars GM Dallas Thompson told the Prince George Citizen. . . . Siwak had 17 points in 38 games this season.
———
The Saskatoon Blades had a new old goaltender at practice on Tuesday. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that Tim Cheveldave, the team’s goaltending coach and a veteran of three seasons (1985-88) with the Blades, put on the pads. That’s because Russian G Andrey Markarov hasn’t yet returned from the World Junior Championship.
Nugent-Bowman wrote: “Before stepping on the ice, the 44-year-old joked with backup Alex Moodie, telling him to ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ ”
———
TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Brandon, the Calgary Hitmen scored nine seconds into the game and went on to beat the Wheat Kings, 7-2. . . . F Brooks Macek set a club record for fastest goal to start game. F Brad Moran had scored 12 seconds into a game on Jan. 22, 1999. . . . According to @WHLFacts, Macek’s goal was the quickest to start a WHL game this season. . . . F Brady Brassart had a goal and two assists for Calgary, which scored two empty-netters. . . . The Hitmen had won five in a row; Brandon has lost six straight and has fallen into the Eastern Conference basement in the process. . . . Calgary F Zane Jones scored his 15th goal, running his goal streak to five games. . . . Brandon F Richard Nejezchleb suffered an undisclosed injury in the third period. . . . F Michael Ferland (undisclosed injury) was back in Brandon’s lineup after a three-game absence, while F Alessio Bertaggia, who played for Switzerland at the World Junior Championship, was back after missing 10 games. . . . The victory lifted the Hitmen into first place in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Hitmen remain without F Victor Rask, who played for Sweden at the World Junior Championship. He is expected back later this week. . . .

In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice dumped the Edmonton Oil Kings 2-1 and vacated the Eastern Conference basement. . . . The Ice, which has won six straight, now is one point ahead of Brandon with two games in hand. . . . The Oil Kings had a four-game winning streak end. . . . F T.J. Foster’s 19th goal gave Edmonton a 1-0 first-period lead. . . . F Jaedon Descheneau, 17, continued his fine season — he has 31 points in 38 games — with a goal at 18:06 of the second and D Joey Leach got the winner, his third, on a 5-on-3 PP at 1:12 of the third. . . . Edmonton D Martin Gernat (shoulder) has received medical clearance to return but was scratched. He will get a few practices under his belt before returning. . . .

In Medicine Hat, G Cam Lanigan stopped 31 shots as the Tigers dropped the Vancouver Giants, 4-0. . . . The shutout was the first of the season for the Tigers. . . . Lanigan, 20, has three career shutouts, two of this season. The first one came while he was with the Portland Winterhawks. . . . F Blake Penner, 16, scored his first WHL goal just 1:21 into the game. He has played 33 games with the Tigers, 27 of them this season. . . . F Jacob Doty got his eighth goal of the season as he ran his goal streak to four games. . . . The Giants are without D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen (hand) and F Rob Trzonkowski (knee), and they lost D Scott Cooke (arm) in the first period. . . .

In Portland, D Tyler Wotherspoon enjoyed the first four-point night of his career as the Winterhawks beat the Prince George Cougars, 6-4. . . . Wotherspoon, in his first game back after playing for Canada at the World Junior Championship, had his first two-goal game, as well. . . . The Winterhawks have won 11 in a row. . . . F Ty Rattie also was back in Portland’s lineup after being with Team Canada. He had two assists. . . . Portland D Derrick Pouliot returned from an undisclosed injury. . . . Portland D Seth Jones, who won gold with Team USA at the world junior, didn’t play. . . . Winterhawks F Paul Bittner scored his eighth goal as he ran his goal streak to four games. He has the game-winner in each of those games. . . . The Cougars dress just 16 skaters. . . . The same teams play in Portland again tonight. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Liam Stewart broke a 3-3 tie at 6:12 of the third period to give the visiting Spokane Chiefs a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Stewart had nine goals this season. . . . F Mike Aviani scored his 20th goal at 19:07 of the second period to pull the Chiefs into a 3-3 tie. . . . Spokane head coach Don Nachbaur was back with Chiefs for the first time since early December when he left to join the Canadian national junior team as an assistant coach. . . . The Thunderbirds have lost 11 straight games. . . . These teams play again tonight in Spokane.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None
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From Red Deer Rebels D Brady Gaudet (@bgooday23): “On our way to the land of living skies! Where beauties are born #306”
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From former WHL F Jake Trask (@Jtrask29): “Gonna be a stressful next few days for #Whl guys. Cant say I miss that. #Deadline #Cyyyaa”

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The WHL’s trade deadline arrives on Thursday. Here is a look at trades since the end of the WHL’s Christmas trade moratorium:

Jan. 1: Medicine Hat trades D Dylan Busenius, 19, F Jayden Hart, 18, and a 2014 sixth-round bantam draft pick to Prince Albert for F Logan McVeigh, 18, D Zach Hodder, 19, F Connor Hobbs, 15, and a 2013 second-round bantam draft pick.

Jan. 2: Vancouver trades F Kale Kessy, 20, to Kamloops for F Rob Trzonkowski, 18, and a 2015 fifth-round bantam draft pick.

Jan. 3: Everett trades F Trent Lofthouse, 18, to Victoria for a 2014 sixth-round bantam draft pick.

Jan. 3: Victoria trades G Jared Rathjen, 18, to Vancouver for a 2013 eighth-round bantam draft pick.

Jan. 7: Victoria trades D Jesse Zgraggen, 19, to Calgary for a 2013 fourth-round bantam draft pick.

Jan. 7: Lethbridge trades F Jay Merkley, 17, to Swift Current for F Josh Derko, 19, and a 2014 third-round bantam draft pick.

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The Wotherspoon brothers, Parker (left) and Tyler, met up
at the Everett tournament. Do you think Mom is a little bit
proud of her two defencemen, or what? Parker was
selected with the 21st pick of the 2012 bantam draft; Tyler,
the 23rd selection in the 2008 draft, has played the last
three seasons with the Portland Winterhawks.

In case you missed it on Sunday, the CHLPA – no, it hasn’t gone away yet – began tweeting what is says are “est tickets sold for 2011-12” and “est. revenue” from those sales in all three major junior leagues. . . . For example, it tweeted that the OHL's Sarnia Sting had “est tickets sold for 2011/12 = 99,844 with an est. revenue of $1,792,194.00 just in tickets sale.” . . . That works out to $17.95 per ticket, a figure I doubt very much. . . . Wait. It gets better. . . . Using CHLPA figures as tweeted, the Kamloops Blazers’ average ticket price was $18.10. Don‘t think so. . . . Uhh, the Portland Winterhawks had an average ticket price of $44.55. I’m thinking everyone in their front office is looking for a raise this morning. . . . The Red Deer Rebels with an average ticket price of $34.45? No wonder Brent Sutter is back in the general manager’s office. He couldn’t afford to stay in the NHL. . . . The Tri-City Americans at $24.38? The Seattle Thunderbirds at $34.40? Stop it. You’re killing me!
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Dear CHLPA:
I doubt that approaching things in this fashion is the way to forge a relationship of any kind with the CHL. In fact, to date, I doubt that you have done anything that will in any way be the beginning of any kind of a relationship with the CHL. So . . . why don’t you just go away and stop embarrassing yourself? And come back when you have all your ducks in a row.
It becomes more and more apparent every day that you are in no way prepared for all the things that would be involved in forming a union/association that would work on behalf of major junior hockey players.
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As I have stated before, I’m all for there being an advocate or ombudsman or someone in some kind of position who could deal one-on-one with major junior hockey players who might have concerns or problems. . . . But the CHLPA has yet to show even one indicator that it should be in that position.
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So . . . if there aren’t any objections, we will move on from the CHLPA and get on with playing some hockey.
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In other news, the WHL is preparing to do away with the trapezoid behind each net.
The QMJHL announced earlier this summer that it had killed the trapezoid and it’s believed that the OHL is headed in the same direction.
With the WHL, it seems it wasn’t an easy decision and I’m guessing that there was a whole lot of discussion and a lot of back-and-forth on this.
No trapezoid means that a goaltender is allowed to roam far and wide in order to play the puck. There are those who feel that without the trapezoid, and with goaltenders more involved in playing pucks, it is a lot harder to get in on the forecheck. That, of course, means coaches will call off the forecheck and go into a trapping defence.
I have felt since its inception that the trapezoid is unfair simply because it penalizes those goaltenders who have worked hard to develop puck-handling skills.
But if removing it takes us back to the days of the trap, well, as someone said: “For me, this is a classic case of ‘careful what you wish for.’ ”
The last thing the game needs is to have 10 skaters clogging up the neutral zone at the same time.
The coaching in the WHL has never been better. Surely, those coaches are able to use the skilled players on their rosters in such a way as to avoid having to trap.
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JUST NOTES: The BCHL’s Langley Rivermen have added D Tyler Vanscourt, 20, to their roster. The native of Corona, Calif., split 70 games between the Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders and Vancouver Giants last season, putting up a total of 32 points, including 12 goals. . . . F Marek Tvrdon, 19, is back in Vancouver and skated with the Giants for the first time on Sunday. He had been delayed getting out of Slovakia due to visa problems. After missing all but 12 games in 2010-11 due to shoulder problems, Tvrdon had 74 points, 30 of them goals, in 60 games last season. . . . The Giants have assigned F Brodyn Nielsen to junior A. Nielsen, 18, had one goal in 14 games with the Giants last season. He was a 10th round selection by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2009 bantam draft. . . . Jeff Olson, a fifth-round pick by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the 2008 bantam draft, was killed in an car accident on Friday. Olson, who was from Kindersley, Sask., finished last season with the Vermilion Tigers of the Northeastern Alberta Junior B Hockey League. He had 21 points and 20 penalty minutes in 17 games.

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