A nightmare for junior teams? . . . Meet Vaughn Karpan . . . Tigers win clash of leaders

Very meaningful memorial will be erected here in the near future as the 30th anniversary of the Broncos bus crash approaches on Dec 30. 🍀 pic.twitter.com/4HBK5GJHSq

— Candace (@c_woodside) November 2, 2016

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F Toni Rajala (Brandon, 2009-10) has signed a two-year extension with Biel-Bienne (Switzerland, NL A). He has 13 goals and four assists in 19 games.

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These days, the OHL’s London Knights are the most successful of the CHL’s 60 franchises. The defending Memorial Cup champions regularly play in front of 9,000 fans at Budweiser Gardens. Morris Dalla Costa of the London Free Press has following the OHL and the Knights for a long time and has written a column on the proposed class-action lawsuit filed by current and past players as they attempt to have the CHL teams in Alberta and Ontario pay them at least minimum wage and benefits. Late last week, Justice R.J. Hall of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench ordered teams to turn over financial statements and tax records. “It’s a nightmare decision for the junior teams,” Dalla Costa writes. . . . He fully understands that a ruling favouring the players may cause havoc with some franchises. “Some of the junior hockey teams, the small market teams,” Dalla Cost writes, “would be justified with those concerns. But junior hockey is a business and as business partners, teams will have to find a way to help each other survive . . . or not.” . . . His complete column is right here.

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Vaughn Karpan is one of the most impressive and most thoughtful people I have met during more than 40 years around the world of hockey. We both are from northern Manitoba — he was born in Flin Flon and calls The Pas home; I was born in Sherridon and call Lynn Lake home — so perhaps that is why we hit it off. He really is an intriguing guy and had quite a playing career; for one thing, he was on Team Canada when it won the 1987 Izvestia Cup right in Moscow. He is correct when he says “it’s something nobody in Canada talks about.” It should be remembered as one of the greatest moments in Canada’s hockey history. . . . Anyway, Karpan recently left the scouting staff of the Montreal Canadiens to sign on with the expansion Las Vegas franchise as director of player personnel. So why would he leave the Canadiens for an expansion franchise in Las Vegas, which is a long, long way from The Pas? . . . Lucas Aykroyd of iihf.com talks with Karpan about that and a lot more right here.

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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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The BCHL’s Wenatchee Wild has signed Bliss Littler, its general manager and head coach, through the 2020-21 season. The Wild is in its second season in the BCHL, having moved from the NAHL. . . . Last season, the Wild finished 34-16-4-4 and lost a divisional final series. This season, the Wild is 13-2-1-0 and sits atop the six-team Mainland Division. Its .844 winning percentage is No. 1. . . . Littler, one of junior hockey's most successful coaches, has been coaching since 1989 when he was an assistant coach with the SJHL’s Minot Americans.

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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:

What a shot by Nikita Pop-Pop-Popugaev and the Warriors win 3-2 in OT. pic.twitter.com/HUvDxsjI3L

— Moose Jaw Warriors (@MJWARRIORS) November 3, 2016

At Brandon, F Nikita Popugaev scored at 2:13 of OT as the Moose Jaw Warriors overcame a 2-0 deficit and beat the Wheat Kings, 3-2. . . . Popuvaev finished with two goals — he has 11 — and an assist. . . . F Reid Duke had given Brandon a 2-0 lead with goals at 9:35 of the first period and 7:37 of the second. . . . Popugaev cut into that lead at 8:09 of the second and drew the secondary assist when F Brayden Watts tied it, with his second goal, at 19:06. . . . G Brody Willms stopped 28 shots for the victory, while Brandon’s Logan Thompson made 37 saves. . . . The Warriors were 0-7 on the PP; the Wheat Kings were 0-2. . . . Moose Jaw (10-3-2) has won three in a row. . . . Brandon (6-6-3) has lost four straight. . . . The Wheat Kings continue to be without F Nolan Patrick, while the Warriors again scratched injured F Brett Howden. . . . Announced attendance: 2,825.

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At Everett, F Dominic Zwerger scored twice as the Silvertips skated to a 4-1 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Zwerger, who has six goals, opened the scoring 26 seconds into the game. . . . F Patrick Bajkov’s sixth goal make it 2-0 at 2:13. . . . Everett went up 3-0 when Zwerger scored again, at 6:53 of the second period, on a PP. . . . F Michael Spacek’s ninth goal got Red Deer on the board at 14:07 of the second. . . . Everett F Eetu Tuulola ended the scoring with his fourth goal, via a penalty shot, at 11:11 of the third period. . . . Bajkov added an assist to his goal. . . . G Carter Hart came up with 27 saves for the Silvertips. . . . Red Deer G Lasse Petersen made 28 stops. . . . Everett was 1-4 on the PP; Red Deer was 0-3. . . . The Silvertips (12-2-2) are 4-0-1 in their last five. . . . The Rebels (8-7-2) have lost four in a row. . . . F Matt Fonteyne returned to Everett’s lineup after missing eight games with a shoulder injury He drew the primary assist on Bajkov’s goal. . . . The Rebels are without D Carson Sass, who left the team to attend a grandfather’s funeral. The Rebels brought in D Jacob Herauf from the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings. . . . Announced attendance: 2,657.

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Wishing @TheWHL referee and #Kelowna's Steve Papp a solid start to season tonight in Kamloops. Has been out after undergoing hernia surgery.

— Regan Bartel (@Reganrant) November 2, 2016

At Kamloops, F Jordy Bellerive scored at 1:44 of OT to give the Lethbridge Hurricanes a 2-1 victory over the Blazers. . . . Bellerive has four goals. . . . F Collin Shirley’s seventh goal gave the Blazers a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 7:27 of the first period. . . . F Giorgio Estephan’s seventh goal pulled the visitors even at 12:26 of the second period. . . . D Kord Pankewicz had two assists for the winners. . . . The Hurricanes got 27 saves from G Stuart Skinner. . . . G Connor Ingram turned aside 30 shots for the Blazers. . . . Kamloops was 1-5 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-2. . . . The Hurricanes (7-7-2) have won two in a row. . . . The Blazers slid to 9-9-0. . . . Announced attendance: 3,448.

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Raiders forward Cavin Leth shares a laugh pre-game with two ex-teammates, T-Birds Matt Berlin and Turner Ottenbreit pic.twitter.com/b2Ca6SJ1iV

— Jeff D'Andrea (@Jeff_paNOW) November 3, 2016

At Prince Albert, the Seattle Thunderbirds erased a 2-0 deficit with five third-period goals and beat the Raiders, 5-2. . . . Seattle (6-6-1) has won two in a row and now is 3-1-0 on its six-game East Division tour. . . . The Raiders (4-11-1), who have settled into the league basement, have lost four straight. They are 1-6-1 at home. . . . The Raiders jumped out front 2-0 in the first period on goals from F Luke Coleman (5), at 12:03, and F Parker Kelly (3), at 13:41. . . . The Thunderbirds erased that with three goals in 40 seconds, with F Nolan Volcan (5) scoring at 4:26 of the third period, F Ryan Gropp (2) counting at 4:43 and F Dillon Hamaliuk (1) breaking the tie at 5:06. . . . Seattle got insurance from F Ian Briscoe (2), at 10:10, and F Sami Moilanen (4), at 11:04. . . . Moilanen also had an assist for a two-point game. . . . G Rylan Toth stopped 25 shots for the Thunderbirds. . . . Prince Albert starter Ian Scott surrendered five goals on 30 shots in 51:04. Nick Sanders finished up with nine saves. . . . Each team was 0-5 on the PP. . . . Announced attendance: 1,975. . . . Before the game, the Raiders dropped F Dylan Williamson, 18, from their roster. A fourth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft, he had one assist in eight games this season. Last season he had three goals and four assists in 60 games with the Raiders.

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At Prince George, F Steve Owre had a goal and three assists as the Medicine Hat Tigers, the WHL’s highest-scoring team, dumped the Cougars, 6-4. . . . The Tigers (11-4-1) have won three in a row and sit atop the Central Division. . . . The Cougars (13-3-2) had been 5-0-2 in their previous seven games. They continue to lead the B.C. Division and the overall standings. However, their lead atop the overall standings is down to two points over the Everett Silvertips (12-2-2), who hold two games in hand. . . . The Regina Pats (11-0-3) are three points behind the Cougars and have four games in hand. . . . F Jared Bethune put the Cougars out front with his sixth goal, shorthanded, at 2:28 of the first period. . . . The Tigers took control with the next three goals. F Max Gerlach (10) got it started at 12:25 of the first period. Owre, who has two goals, got a shorthanded score at 19:18. F Zach Fischer (9) scored on the PP for a 3-2 lead at 9:50 of the second period. . . . The Cougars got back to within one when D Sam Ruopp scored his second goal, at 17:46. . . . The Tigers then got the next two goals, with D David Quenneville (9) getting a PP goal at 4:09 of the third period and Fischer scoring again, at 6:47. . . . The Cougars made it interesting on goals from F Yan Khomenko (6) at 13:18 and F Jesse Gabrielle (7), on a PP, at 18:20. . . . Medicine Hat F John Dahlstrom iced it with the empty-netter at 19:32. He’s got seven goals. . . . F Chad Butcher had two assists for the visitors. . . . Bethune recorded two helpers for the Cougars. . . . The Tigers got 36 stops from G Nick Schneider, while G Ty Edmonds turned aside 31 for the Cougars. . . . Medicine Hat was 2-3 on the PP; Prince George was 1-2. . . . F Kody McDonald of the Cougars was hit with a slashing major and game misconduct at game’s end. At the same time, the on-line scoresheet indicates that Ruopp took a fighting major and game misconduct. It would appear to have been a one-man fight and that could result in disciplinary action. . . . Announced attendance: 2,737.

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#1 in the country, #1 in your hearts! #JoinTheRegiment https://t.co/5PPcejPouQ

— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) November 2, 2016

At Regina, the Pats celebrated their move to the top of the CHL rankings with a 10-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Pats (11-0-3) have won seven in a row and remain the only one of the CHL’s 60 teams not have been beaten in regulation time. . . . The Ice (3-9-4) was coming off a weekend sweep of the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . D Connor Hobbs had a goal and three assists, with F Filip Ahl, F Nick Henry and F Sam Steel each scoring twice and adding an assist. F Dawson Leedahl and F Adam Brooks each had three assists and F Austin Wagner had two. . . . The Ice got both of its goals from F Fedor Rudakov. . . . G Jordan Hollett stopped 30 shots for Regina. . . . Kootenay starter Payton Lee gave up six goals on 39 shots through 40 minutes. Jakob Walter played the third period, stopping 19 of 23 shots. . . . Regina had a 62-32 edge in shots. . . . Regina was 2-3 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-6. . . . The Pats had D Sergey Zborovskiy, D James Hilsendager and D Brady Pouteau back from injury when they beat the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds, 6-3, on Sunday. . . . Hilsendager, who missed five games, and Zborovskiy, who sat out one game, played against the Ice, but Pouteau was scratched. He had suffered an ankle injury in the preseason. . . . Announced attendance: 3,713.

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.@SCBroncos F Tyler Steenbergen (@T_Steener) has 30 goals in his last 53 games since coming back from Christmas break last season

— Shawn Mullin (@shawnmullin) November 3, 2016

At Swift Current, D Aaron Irving’s third goal of the season, just 29 seconds into OT, gave the Edmonton Oil Kings a 5-4 victory over the Broncos. . . . The Oil Kings built a 4-0 lead and then watched as the home team tied it with four third-period goals. . . . Edmonton earned its lead on goals from F Davis Koch (3) at 4:56 of the first period, F Branden Klatt (2) at 5:55 of the second period, F Nicholas Bowman (2) at 6:20 and F Lane Bauer (8), on a PP, at 11:49. . . . F Tyler Steenbergen got the Broncos started at 3:47 of the third period, via a PP. . . . D Kade Jensen (2) made it 4-2 at 7:02. . . . Steenbergen (12), on a PP, made it a one-goal game, at 10:44. . . . D Artyom Minulin (4) forced OT when he scored at 19:22, with G Taz Burman on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Koch, Irving and Bauer had an assist each. . . . Minulin, D Max Lajoie and F Aleksi Heponiemi had two assists each for the Broncos, while Steenbergen added an assist to his brace of goals. . . . G Patrick Dea stopped 32 shots for the victors. That included stopping F Arthur Miller on a penalty shot at 7:57 of the second period. . . . Swift Current starter Travis Child was beaten four times on 21 shots in 31:49. Burman came on in relief and allowed one goal on 14 shots in 27:57. . . . Each team was 2-5 on the PP. . . . The Oil Kings (5-8-2) snapped a three-game losing skid. . . . The Broncos are 9-5-3. . . . The Broncos have dropped D Noah King, 17, from their roster and brought in F Josh Baker, 17, who had been with the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints. An eighth-round pick in the 2014 WHL bantam draft, Baker is expected to say with the Broncos through the weekend. King had gotten into only four of their first 16 games. He was pointless. King, from Winnipeg, was a 10th-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . Announced attendance: 1,801.

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THURSDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.

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FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Seattle at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.

Medicine Hat at Kamloops, 7 p.m.

Edmonton at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.

Kootenay at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.

Saskatoon at Regina, 7 p.m.

Red Deer at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.

Calgary at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

Portland vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.

Kelowna vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7:30 p.m.

Lethbridge at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Raiders show profit for 2015-16 . . . Wheaties get their GM . . . Ice adds coach . . . Veteran scouts on move

F Ned Lukacevic (Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) has signed a one-year contract with Katowice (Poland, PHL). Last season, with the Coventry Blaze (England, UK Elite), he had four goals and nine assists in 21 games. He also had nine goals and 12 assists in 25 games with the Edinburgh Capitals (Scotland, UK Elite). . . .
D Kirill Vorobyev (Portland, 2012-13) has been assigned by CSKA Moscow (KHL, Russia) to Zvezda Chekhov (Russia, Vysshaya Liga). Last season, with CSKA Moscow, he had three assists in 28 games. He also had two goals and six assists in 16 games with Zvezda Chekhov . He had one assist in two games with Krasnaya Armiya Moscow (Russia, MHL). MHL (Molodezhnaya Liga) is Russia's top junior league.
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It isn’t much, but it’s a profit, and that’s important to the community-owned teams in the WHL. The Prince Albert Raiders held their annual meeting on Monday and reported a profit of $3,892 for the 2015-16 season. . . . The Raiders showed a profit despite that fact that their attendance dropped 62 fans per game from 2014-15, when the franchise reported a loss of $61,365. In 2015-16, the Raiders averaged 2,369 fans per game. . . . The Raiders definitely would appear to be headed in the right direction; after all, they reported a loss of more than $262,000 for the 2013-14 season.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings, the WHL’s defending champions, announced Tuesday that they have signed Grant Armstrong as their general manager. He replaces Kelly McCrimmon, the franchise’s owner and governor, who is joining the NHL’s Las Vegas franchise as assistant general manager. McCrimmon had been the GM since 1989, when he took over from Bill Shinske. . . . Guy Flaming of The Pipeline Show was the first to suggest that Armstrong could be headed to the Wheat Kings. . . . “I think it’s time,” Armstrong told Taking Note. “Hopefully, we’ll provide Kelly with a team he’s going to be proud of.” . . . . Armstrong, 54, from North Vancouver, had been with the Victoria Royals for four seasons, the past two as assistant GM, player personnel. Before that, he was the director of player personnel for two seasons. . . . Prior to that, Armstrong spent four seasons as the Portland Winterhawks’ head scout. . . . He has been a familiar face in Lower Mainland hockey circles, having coached the junior B North Delta Devils, while serving as the North Vancouver Minor Hockey Association’s director of hockey operations. He also has been involved with the North Delta Minor Hockey Association as a coach and development co-ordinator. He was honoured with the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association’s Coaching Development Award in 2003. . . . The Wheat Kings also announced that Mick McCrimmon, 30, will be the team’s assistant GM. McCrimmon, Kelly’s son, has a law degree, and will assist in hockey and business operations.
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The Kootenay Ice has signed Roman Vopat as an assistant coach. He spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach with the Prince George Cougars. . . . Vopat played two seasons in the WHL, with the Moose Jaw Warriors and Prince Albert Raiders, before going on to a 16-year professional career that included 133 NHL games. A native of Litvinov, Czech Republic, Vopat and his family reside in Cranbrook. . . . With the Ice, he’ll join head coach Luke Pierce and fellow assistant Gordon Burnett behind the bench.
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With WHL training camps about to open, or in some cases having already started, Alan Caldwell has come through again. His annual numbers-filled look at WHL teams and their prospects is right here.
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Vaughn Karpan, a native of The Pas, Man., has joined the NHL’s Las Vegas franchise as its director of player personnel. He had been with the Montreal Canadiens since 2005, most recently as director of pro scouting. He also worked with the Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes for 13 years, five as director of amateur scouting. . . . Karpan played for Canada’s national men’s team (1983-88), playing in two Olympic Winter Games. He captained the U of Manitoba Bisons while playing there and also played one season (1979-80) with the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Las Vegas also confirmed something that was reported here yesterday — former Prince Albert Raiders general manager Bruno Campese has been hired as an amateur scout.
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Bruce Franklin, a longtime scout with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, has moved to the Anaheim Ducks to fill the new position of director of player evaluation. Franklin spent 23 years with Chicago, the last six as chief amateur scout. . . . He cut his scouting teeth in the WHL, where he was part of two Memorial Cup champions. He was a scout with the 1984-85 Prince Albert Raiders and the director of player personnel with the 1988-89 Swift Current Broncos.
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Scott Galbraith, a fan of the OHL’s London Knights, has filed a civil statement of claim asking for $100,000, including $80,000 for aggravated and punitive damages, after he says he purchased a game-used sweater but wasn’t given the one that he had bought. The suit also names the Canadian Hockey League and the Hockey Hall of Fame. . . . Robert Cribb of the Toronto Star has more right here.
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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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Billy Keane is the new head coach of the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues. He had been their assistant coach, so steps up to fill the spot created when Don MacGillivray joined the Brandon Wheat Kings as an assistant coach. . . . McGillivray had been the GM/head coach of the Blues for seven seasons. . . . Keane had been an assistant coach with the Blues for three seasons. He played for them for two seasons (1982-84). . . . Tim Schick will be the Blues’ director of hockey operations and head scout, with Wayne Bartley on board as assistant coach. . . . Keane is the brother of former NHL/WHL F Mike Keane.
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Often when I look at the list of trending topics on Twitter I am overwhelmed by a sense of dread for our species.

— Guy Flaming (@TPS_Guy) August 24, 2016

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Oceanic forces MC tiebreaker . . . Nickolet does draft preview up right . . . New deal for Everett coach

G Brett Jaeger (Medicine Hat, Vancouver, Saskatoon, 2000-04) signed a one-year contract with Dresdner Eislöwen (Germany, DEL2). This season, with the Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven (Germany, DEL2), he had a 3.07 GAA in 15 games. Jaeger has dual Canadian-German citizenship. . . .
G Mark Guggenberger (Portland, Swift Current, Kelowna, 2007-10) signed a one-year contract with the Perth Thunder (Australia, AIHL). This season, with the Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL), he was 3.46 and .893 in 23 games. He also got into two games with the Fort Wayne Komets (ECHL), going 1.95 and .905. . . . Guggenberger signed with Perth in December but the club just announced it. He also will work with youth goalies in Western Australia. . . . At present, Perth is in first place in the AIHL with a 6-1-0-1 record.
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The QMJHL-champion Rimouski Oceanic and the host Quebec Remparts will meet in a Memorial Cup tiebreaker tonight. . . . On Wednesday night, the Oceanic dropped the Remparts 4-0, setting up tonight’s tiebreaker, with the winner

moving into Friday’s semifinal against the WHL-champion Kelowna Rockets. . . . The OHL-champion Oshawa Generals (3-0) have advanced to Sunday’s final. . . . The other three teams all finished 1-2 — it was the first time that three teams have done that — but the Rockets moved into the semifinal based on a tiebreaking formula. . . . Oceanic G Philippe Desrosiers stopped 27 shots for last night’s shutout. . . . Quebec G Zach Fucale allowed four goals on 25 shots before being lifted for Callum Booth, who stopped 17 shots over 27:20. Still, you know that Fucale will start for the Remparts tonight. . . . Rimouski F Justin Samson, in the lineup for an ailing Anthony DeLuca, got the game’s first goal, scoring one second after the expiration of an Oceanic PP, at 14:36 of the first period. . . . Oceanic F Michael Joly finished with a goal and four assists. He now has a tournament-high six points. . . . Rimouski was 2-for-6 on the PP; Quebec was 0-for-3. . . . Attendance was 10,277. . . . Rimouski was without DeLuca, a 44-goal man in the regular season, due to illness. . . . The Remparts, who never seemed in the last game of the round-robin, lost F Anthony Duclair (shoulder) and F Jérome Verrier (leg) with injuries in the third period. It isn’t known if they will be available tonight. . . . Rimouski has won its last six games at the Pepsi Colisée.
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Here is the Memorial Cup schedule (all games on Sportsnet; all times Eastern):
Friday, May 22: Kelowna 3 vs. Quebec 4 (9,497)
Saturday, May 23: Rimouski 3 vs. Oshawa 4 (8,409)
Sunday, May 24: Quebec 4 vs. Oshawa 5 (OT) (10,970)
Monday, May 25: Rimouski 3 vs. Kelowna 7 (6,981)
Tuesday, May 26: Oshawa 2 vs. Kelowna 1 (7,002)
Wednesday, May 27: Quebec 0 vs. Rimouski 4 (10,277)
Thursday (tiebreaker): Quebec vs. Rimouski, 7:30 p.m.
Friday: Semifinal, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday: Championship game, 7 p.m.
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The Kelowna Rockets drew a $500 fine on the weekend after someone in their organization was critical of the referees in Game 1 of the Memorial Cup in Quebec City. The guilty party wasn’t identified, so I asked readers of this blog who they thought it may have been.
All told, there were 117 voters, with general manager Bruce Hamilton getting the most votes (63). Among the five options presented in the poll, Ogopogo came in second (27), followed by play-by-play man Regan Bartel (12), head coach Dan Lambert (9), F Leon Draisaitl (6).
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There isn’t a more devoted observer of the WHL than Cody Nickolet, and he has released the fruit of his labours -- his final WHL rankings of players eligible for the 2015 NHL draft. It is more than 75,000 words in length, so there is a lot of detail. You should check it out right here.
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The Montreal Canadiens announced Wednesday that Vaughn Karpan, 53, has been named director of professional scouting. Karpan, a veteran scout, played for the Brandon Wheat Kings (1979-80) and is from The Pas, Man. He is preparing for his 11th season with the Canadiens, the past five as a pro scout. Karpan also spent 13 seasons with the Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes.
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Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman reports that the Kootenay Ice may go to camp with seven 20-year-olds on hand. But that won’t include F Ryan Chynoweth or D Lenny Hackman. Chynoweth, the son of Ice general manager Jeff Chynoweth, is expected to play junior A, while Hackman apparently is headed to school. . . . Rocca’s story is right here.
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Pat Micheletti, the second-leading scorer in the history of the U of Minnesota Gophers, underwent a kidney transplant on Wednesday at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. His new kidney came from his brother, Jerry. . . . Michael Russo of the Minnesota StarTribune has more right here.
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F Owen Sillinger, the son of former WHL/NHL F Mike Sillinger, will play next season with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. This season, Owen played with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. He had 64 points, including 25 goals, in 42 games. . . . Sillinger, who will turn 18 on Sept. 23, was selected by the Vancouver Giants in the 10th round of the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft.
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The Manchester Monarchs, under former Moose Jaw Warriors head coach Mike Stothers, are headed to the AHL final. The Monarchs completed a sweep of the Hartford WolfPack on Wednesday night, winning 3-1 in Hartford. . . . The Monarchs are affiliated with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings; the WolfPack is with the New York Rangers. . . . The Monarchs will meet either the Utica Comets (Vancouver Canucks) or Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit Red Wings) in the final. That series is 1-1 heading into Game 3 tonight in Grand Rapids.
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The Allen Americans and South Carolina Stingrays will play for the ECHL championship. . . . The Americans beat the visiting Ontario Reign 3-1 in Game 7 of their semifinal series last night, while the Stingrays beat the host Toledo Walleye 1-0 in triple OT of their Game 7. . . . The Americans became the fifth team in ECHL history to win a series after trailing 3-1. . . . The final is scheduled to open Sunday in Allen, Texas.
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THE COACHING GAME:

The Everett Silvertips have signed assistant coach Brennan Sonne to a contract extension through 2015-16. That will be Sonne’s second season on the coaching staff, alongside head coach Kevin Constantine and fellow assistant Mitch Love. . . . Sonne, 28, worked with the forwards and on skill development this season. . . . From Maple Ridge, B.C., Sonne played parts of three seasons with the Silvertips, and also played with the Red Deer Rebels and Edmonton Oil Kings.
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The B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League’s Selkirk Saints are in need a head coach as Alex Evin is off to the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs as an assistant coach and goaltender coach. Evin guided the Saints to the BCIHL championship this season, his first as head coach. . . . Bob Hall of the Nelson Daily has more right here.
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Check out this young fellow’s favourite book . . .

Pre K #Grad #BigAce pic.twitter.com/J5r3vuzYnb

— George (@Big_G_09) May 27, 2015

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Benn Olson (Kamloops, Seattle, 2004-08) signed a one-year contract extension with the Coventry Blaze (England, UK Elite). He had three goals and 12 assists in 53 games with the Blaze and led the league in PIM with 392, including 19 fighting majors. That total was 126 minutes more than the runner-up. Coventry director of hockey operations Paul Thompson: “Benn is the toughest guy in the league but he is also one hell of a defenceman. Benn ticks all the boxes, he is hugely popular with the fans and the league needs characters like him. He fills opposing rinks too, not just ours. We knew Benn was tough, he has that in abundance, but we also knew he could play. He got better as the season went on and had a lot of responsibility. I think he was under-rated by a lot of people in the league — but certainly not by us. He is still young but he is smart and he has been a rock-solid acquisition for us.” . . .

F Levi Nelson (Swift Current, 2004-08) was one of seven players who were told that they wouldn’t be offered contracts for next season by Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg (Germany, DEL). Nelson started the season as captain of the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL), getting 10 goals and 14 assists in 32 games before being traded on Dec. 31 to the Greenville Road Warriors. Nelson had three goals and three assists in Greenville before joining Wolfsburg on Jan. 31, where he had one goal and one assist in 11 regular-season games and two goals and three assists in 12 playoff games.
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JUST NOTES:
The boys are back in town in Saskatoon. Yes, the Blades, the host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup, are back and were on the ice Monday for the first time since they were swept from a first-round series by the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . F Erik Benoit (knee), who missed all of that first-round series, will be ready by the time the Memorial Cup gets here. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that Benoit is skating by himself and should be practising inside of 10 days. . . . Nugent-Bowman also reports that D Shayne Gwinner “has been sent home and is no longer a member of the” Blades. Gwinner, who had been picked up from the Prince Albert Raiders for a fifth-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft, had eight points in 19 regular-season games. . . . Nugent-Bowman’s story is right here.
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D Mathew Dumba of the Red Deer Rebels has joined the Houston Aeros, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. . . . The Wild selected Dumba with the seventh overall pick of the NHL’s 2012 draft. He had 42 points in 62 regular-season games with the Rebels this season.
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The Everett Silvertips, who just completed their 10th WHL season, have signed a five-year lease with Comcast Arena that will run through the 2017-18 season. According to a news release: “The new five-year renewal comes on the heels of the club’s initial lease agreement, which spanned 10 seasons since the inception of the Silvertips and the construction of Comcast Arena at Everett in 2003.” . . . The Silvertips have made the playoffs in each of their 10 seasons in the WHL.
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Three former players with the Brandon Wheat Kings, a one-time head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors and a former head coach of the Winnipeg Warriors are among the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame’s 2013 inductees. . . . Mike Ford, Bill Mikkelson and Vaughn Karpan, all of whom played for the Wheat Kings, will be among the inductees at the annual dinner on Oct. 5, as will former Moose Jaw head coach Gerry James, who was a tremendous athlete and played for the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers and NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, and Bruce Southern, a longtime scout who once coached the Winnipeg Warriors before they relocated to Moose Jaw. . . . Also going into the hall will be former players Bill Watson and the late Ed Hoekstra, along with builders Wayne Fleming and Wayne Chernecki, both of whom will be inducted posthumously. . . . Others to be inducted are referee Ian Heather, builder Don MacKenzie, St. James Canucks founder Tom Miller, on-ice official Bob Thompson, veteran coach Al Tresoor and the 2003 Île-des-Chênes North Stars, the 2003 Allan Cup champions.
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The Bentley Generals opened the Allan Cup tournament with a 2-0 victory over the Rosetown Red Wings on Monday at the Red Deer Arena. . . . The second goal came off the stick of G Dan Bakala, a 25-year-old Calgary native who played three seasons at Bemidji State. . . . Here’s Greg Meachem, the sports editor of the Red Deer Advocate: “With the Bentley Generals clinging to a late 1-0 lead, Bakala steadied a puck in front of the net and lifted the rubber over oncoming traffic, all the way down the ice and into the vacated Rosetown Redwings goal to seal a 2-0 win in the Allan Cup opener for both teams.” . . . Former Kelowna Rockets G Kelly Guard was in goal for Rosetown.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Leland Mack has left the major midget Greater Vancouver Canadians after four years. The Canadians play in the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. . . . Mack now is the head coach of the Burnaby Winter Club’s U-16 academy team. . . .
Mark Osiecki was fired Monday as head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes. According to athletic director Gene Smith, the decision was made because of “a difference of opinion over the management of the program that could not be resolved.” . . . Assistant coach Steve Rohlik now is running the program until a replacement is hired. . . . Osiecki was the Buckeyes’ head coach for three seasons, going 46-50-16. . . . There already is speculation that Ohio State will hire former U of Denver head coach George Gwozdecky. . . .
Jim Montgomery, the general manager and head coach of the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints, is the new head coach of the U of Denver Pioneers. . . . Montgomery is completing his third season with Dubuque and will take over the Pioneers once the USHL season is over. . . . Montgomery has a 118-45-21 regular-season record with Dubuque, where the Fighting Saints won the Clark Cup as playoff champions in 2010-11, their inaugural season.
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The WHL’s playoff situation:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Edmonton (1) vs. Calgary (3)
Series opens Thursday in Edmonton; all games on Shaw TV.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Portland (1) vs. Kamloops (3)
Series opens Friday in Portland.
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MONDAY’S GAMES:
No games scheduled.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (16):
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (5):
None
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From Shawn Mullin (@shawnmullin), the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos: “Congrats to Adam Lowry on getting his deal done with the Winnipeg Jets. He’s a safe bet to play in the NHL but what is his ceiling?”

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Canada's 'Miracle on Ice'

Team Canada, after winning the 1987 Izvestia Cup.
(Photo courtesy Vaughn Karpan)

When Canada won the 1987 Izvestia Cup, Eric Duhatschek was there. He was in Moscow, covering the tournament for the Calgary Herald.
"I've long maintained," Duhatschek, who now is with The Globe and Mail, wrote in a Hockey Canada newsletter, "this was Canada's Miracle on Ice — winning, on the road, against a Russian team that played three 6-5 games against the Canadian team of Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Dale Hawerchuk three months earlier. A special, if under-appreciated moment in Canada's hockey history."


By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
There have been many memorable moments for Canadian teams on the international hockey scene.
Yes, it all starts with the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union.
There also have been many memories made by Canada’s national junior team. And the 1961 Trail Smoke Eaters have to be included on anyone’s list.
But what of the 1987-88 Canadian national team?
This team, under head coach Dave King, deserves its own place high on that list . . . really high.
All Canadian hockey fans know that Paul Henderson’s goal on Sept. 28, 1972, scored in the Luzhniki Ice Palace in Moscow, won the Summit Series for Canada. What you may not know is that over the next 15 years not one Canadian team was able to win even one game against the Soviets in the Soviet Union.
And it wasn’t for a lack of trying, because Canada was a regular participant in the

Vaughn Karpan's 1987 Izvestia Cup
championship ring.

Izvestia Cup, a pre-Christmas tournament that was sponsored by the Izvestia Daily newspaper. (The tournament now is the Channel One Cup and is sponsored by a television company.) The purpose of the tournament, which began in 1967, was to get the Soviet national team some top-notch competition before the following spring’s World championship.
Prior to 1987, Canada’s Izvestia take amounted to silver medals in 1969 and 1986, and a bronze in 1978. But Canada had never won gold.
That drought ended in December 1987.
“It wasn’t as known or important to a lot of people,” Guy Charron, the head coach of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers and an assistant coach on that Canadian team, says. “People don’t know and don’t care that Canada won the Izvestia tournament. But it’s the only Canadian team that has ever won Izvestia.”
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As Canada headed for Moscow in December 1987, the 1988 Olympic Winter Games were on the horizon, scheduled for Feb. 13-28 in Calgary.
“Izvestia is something that was always on our schedule, and especially the season of the Olympics,” recalls Charron, who worked under King and alongside fellow assistants Tom Watt and Dale Henwood.
“Guy was a critical part of the team,” says Vaughn Karpan, a forward on the Canadian team who now lives on the Lower Mainland and works as a pro scout for the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens. “Dave was tough and he was on 24/7; he had to be. He led the charge. He got the most out of every one of his guys.
“Guy was the guy the players could go to. He was good at it. I can’t say enough good things about Guy.”
The team was stationed in Calgary, where it spent most of its season practising. But there were jaunts to various locales for games and tournaments. And this would be a big one.
The 1987 Izvestia Cup would allow the competing teams to get a read on where everyone stood with the Olympics just two months away.
“It was the biggest competition prior to the Olympics,” Charron says, adding that it would allow the Canadians to see where they were at “and how can we compete with the Russians, knowing that they were going to be a big machine in the Olympic Games.”
Ahh, yes, the Soviets.
This was before the Iron Curtain fell. The Soviet Union was one gigantic nation. Czechoslovakia hadn’t split in two. West Germany had a hockey team. Times were a whole lot different.
“We had gone there a number of times,” Charron recalls. “We played Izvestia every year. Getting into that rink was always very special. I have great memories.
“They had key ladies . . . you had a designated room and we always had the same key lady. I remember her saying my name in Russian . . . ‘Welcome Guy!’ I have great memories of going to Russia even at a time that was much different from now.”
For example, there was the hotel.
“Our accommodations were the pits,” Charron says. “I had to sleep with the lights on so the bugs wouldn’t crawl down the wall. I’d walk into the room and say, ‘I’m back!’ ”
He’s laughing now, but you can bet it wasn’t funny 25 years ago.
“You got accustomed to it,” he adds. “It was always a great experience and Dave always brought us to different places to learn about their culture. I just wish I had had the opportunity to go into a family home.”
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There was no doubt that the Soviets would win the 1987 Izvestia Cup. After all, they had won this event eight of the previous nine Decembers, the exception being 1985 when Czechoslovakia had shocked the hockey world.
In 1987, as in most appearances at this tournament, the Canadian amateurs were seen as cannon fodder.
“We didn’t have the names,” Charron says. “With the exception of some of the players, we were an amateur team. Some of those players played in the NHL afterwards but this team was not made of NHL players.”
Goaltender Andy Moog was between NHL jobs, while defenceman Randy Gregg had played in the NHL. But it’s safe to say there were more household names on the Soviet roster than on Canada’s.
The Soviets had the KLM line – Vladimir Krutov, Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov – and it was magic on ice. More often than not, those three were on the ice with defencemen Vyacheslav Fetisov and Alexei Kasatonov. In fact, those five were known in the hockey world as the Green Unit, thanks to the green sweaters they wore in practice.
The Soviet roster also included a young Alexander Mogilny, as well as the likes of Evgeny Belosheikin, Vyacheslav Bykov, Sergei Yashin, Valeri Kamensky, Anatoly Semenov and Sergei Starikov. The team was under the thumb of legendary head coach Viktor Tikhonov.
The Canadians? Along with Moog and Gregg, the roster featured Gord Sherven, Ken Berry, goaltender Sean Burke, Karpan, Marc Habscheid, Zarley Zalapski, Cliff Ronning, Serge Boisvert, Brian Bradley, Chris Felix, Bob Joyce, Serge Roy, Wally Schreiber, Tony Stiles, Claude Vilgrain, Craig Redmond, Ken Yaremchuk and team captain Trent Yawney.
The Canadian team was just that – a team in every sense of the word. Hey, even the coaching staff did grunt work.
Charron uses the word “camaraderie” to describe what he experienced.
“Here I am, I’ve played in the NHL and we’re unloading the bus and I’m carrying sticks with Dave,” he says. “I remember a couple of times we had guest coaches and they couldn’t believe that Dave and I were carrying luggage and sticks and bags.
“For me, it was the Olympic team and everybody had to chip in.”
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The 1987 Izvestia opened on Dec. 16 with the Soviets pounding West Germany 10-1, Czechoslovakia getting past Finland 2-1, and Canada edging Sweden, 3-2.
The next day, the Soviets and Finland played to a 3-3 tie, while Sweden beat West Germany 3-2, and Canada dropped a 4-1 decision to Czechoslovakia.
The Izvestia Cup’s world was unfolding as it should.
After a day off, the tournament resumed on Dec. 19 with the Swedes beating Czechoslovakia 2-1 and Finland dropping West Germany, 8-2. The day’s big game, however, featured Canada and the Soviet Union.
“As an underdog, you go into those games competing, making sure you don’t embarrass yourself with one of the best teams in the world,” Charron says in describing Canada’s mindset. “I’m not sure we went into the game thinking, ‘We can beat these guys.’ But we had momentum and we felt good about ourselves. We said, ‘Let’s go out there and play, play hard, play the best we can.’ ”
As the game progressed, the Canadians started to believe, maybe not in miracles, but that they could win this game.
Just talking about it 25 years later causes Charron’s voice to tremble a bit.
“Wow! All of a sudden realizing we can win this game, there was lots of emotion, lots of intensity,” Charron remembers. “It was like a big-time game when you have a sense that you can win this game. There was a lot of tension and a lot of intensity, a lot of big-game feelings at that game.”
Karpan, a native of The Pas, Man., had to sit out the game because of a high ankle sprain suffered against the Czechs. He got it taped and later played in Canada’s last two games.
But he remembers that “Sean Burke and Cliff Ronning were the stars for us that night” against the Soviets.
Berry came through, too, scoring a pair of third-period goals as the Canadians skated to a stunning 3-2 victory.
“I can vividly recall the smells and sounds in the arena,” Burke wrote in a Hockey Canada alumni newsletter, “and how in beween periods we were served hot tea. The crowd sitting in wood seats all dressed in greys and blacks and whistling their disapproval at the Russian stars, realizing they might actually lose in their homeland to a bunch of unknown Canadians.
“I can still see Ken Berry scoring from long range and the immediate thought that we were going to have to hold on for dear life to win the game . . .
“And then I remember the euphoria of our dressing room and the faces of guys that had worked so hard for this moment. We all knew we still had to beat the Finns to win the tournament, but how could anyone stop us if we just beat the most feared team in the world?”
A lot about Canadian hockey had changed after our first really sustained look at the Soviets in the eight-game series of 1972. Practice habits were different now, and there was more of a European influence in the flow of the game being played in North America.
The Soviets, however, hadn’t changed.
As Charron puts it, in 1987 he was glad “they didn’t pick up on our way of doing things sooner.”
“It didn’t matter how the game went on, he rolled four lines,” Charron says, referring to Tikhonov, the great Soviet coach. “If the fourth line was up for the power play, the fourth line played the power play. He wouldn’t double-shift the KLM line.”
Charron remembers watching the Soviets play earlier in the tournament and feeling the urge to yell at Tikhonov.
“Even watching against other countries, I was shocked,” Charron says. “I’d say, ‘Gawd, put that line back out there.’ But it was the fourth line’s turn, so . . .”
Charron also remembers one other thing about the Soviets from that era, something that is oft-mentioned by hockey observers from back in the day.
“There was no emotion from them,” Charron says. “The energy that Canadian teams have when they sense they can win something . . . that was something I noticed and I thought if they could ever have brought emotion. . . . Now they do.”
Charron noticed quite a difference when he was on Team WHL’s coaching staff when it played a Russian team in a Subway Super Series game in Kamloops in 2010.
“I could see the (Russian) kids in the hallway having fun, playing games,” he says. “I thought, ‘Wow, that’s different from what I was used to seeing in those years.’ ”
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Beating the Soviets put the Canadians in control of their destiny. But the Canadians still had to play West Germany and Finland.
Even after the high of having conquered the great Soviet team, there wouldn’t be a letdown.
“We knew what we were on the verge of accomplishing,” Karpan says.
On Dec. 20, the day after beating the Soviets, Canada got past West Germany, 2-1, while Sweden and Finland tied 2-2, and the hosts beat Czechoslovakia, 5-3.
Two days later, the tournament concluded with Canada beating Finland 4-1, West Germany getting past the Czechs, 4-3, and the Soviets disposing of Sweden, 4-1.
But even after the tournament ended, the games didn’t stop.
“The Russians always won,” Karpan says, adding that the hosts loved the tournament-ending trophy presentations. “They didn’t win this time, so they had a trophy made up for the team that had won the most Izvestias.“
Years later, in the alumni newsletter, Sherven, a forward from Weyburn, Sask., admitted he was really looking forward to the presentations.
“As it was my third Izvestia,” Sherven wrote, “I remember really looking forward to hearing our national anthem at the closing ceremonies, instead of the Russian anthem. Unfortunately, they never had a recording of our national anthem, so we had to listen to the Russian anthem again. I guess they didn’t expect us to win.”
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This Canadian team would beat the Soviets again, also by a 3-2 count, this time in Saskatoon in a tuneup game a week before the Calgary Olympics began.
As Karpan points out, this was the same Soviet team that Mario Lemieux and Team Canada had beaten in the third game of a best-of-three series to win the 1987 Canada Cup in September. After the Soviets won Game 1, Lemieux scored the winning goal in each of the next two games, one in double overtime and the other with 1:26 to play in the third period.
“We had two wins in our three games against them,” Karpan says.
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“We won Izvestia, which was a great thing for Canada,” Charron says. “But looking back, winning a medal in the Olympics probably would have been more important to all of us.”
There would be no medal for Canada in Calgary. Canada placed fourth, with the Soviets winning gold, Finland taking silver and Sweden bronze.
“It gave us a good feeling going into the Olympic Games,” Charron says of the Izvestia victory, “except I’ll never forget Dave’s comment after we won. He said, ‘We just won too early.’ ”


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