Portland goaltender Mac Carruth had the answers as he blanked the Blazers
3-0 in Kamloops on Wednesday night.
(Murray Mitchell /Kamloops Daily News)

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Patrick Baum (Swift Current, 1997-98) signed a one-year contract extension with Heilbronner Falken (Germany, 2. Bundesliga). He had one goal and seven assists in 30 games for the Falken this season. Heilbronn also announced that it won’t offer contracts for next season to 13 players, including G Kevin Nastiuk (Medicine Hat, 2001-05). Nastiuk had a 2.21 GAA in 26 games this season. . . .

F Wacey Rabbit (Saskatoon, Vancouver, 2001-07) signed a two-year contract extension with Lørenskog (Norway, GET-Ligaen). He had 19 goals and 34 assists in 44 games this season. . . .

G Justin Pogge (Prince George, Calgary, 2003-06) signed a one-year contract with Karlskoga (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had a 2.37 GAA and .925 save percentage in 44 games with Ritten/Renon (Italy, Serie A) this season. . . .

F Zdenek Okal (Medicine Hat, 2008-10) and F Ondrej Vesely (Portland, Tri-City, 1996-98) signed one-year contract extensions with Zlin (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Okal had seven goals and four assists in 46 games with Zlin, one goal in a one-game loan to Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic, 1. Liga), and was named Extraliga rookie of the year. . . . Vesely had 10 goals and 31 assists in 52 games with Zlin.
———

If you haven’t seen it by now, right here is what the hockey world will be talking about today. The QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and the Baie-Comeau Drakkar had quite a brawl following a game last night. . . . They are to meet again on Friday, so the QMJHL is going to have to make some disciplinary decisions in a hurry.
———

“Hockey parents are in shock after learning their kids are not covered for brain injury in a concussion-plagued sport.” . . . So begins a rather interesting piece written by Elaine O’Connor and Frank Luba of the Vancouver Province. . . . The complete story is right here.
———

Former Kamloops Blazers F Chase Schaber played this season with the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns, but has since turned pro and is with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads. Chris Langrill of the Idaho Statesman has Schaber’s story right here, including the injury in last season’s playoffs that almost cost him one leg.
———

D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen, who played out his junior eligibility with the Vancouver Giants this season, has decided to attend UBC and play for the Thunderbirds next season. Vannieuwenhuizen, the Giants’ captain this season, played four seasons with Vancouver. . . . F Greg Fraser, who played four seasons with the Prince George Cougars (2008-12) before playing this season with the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers, also has committed to the Thunderbirds.
———
THE COACHING GAME:
Steve Rohlik is the new head coach at Ohio State. He spent three years as the associate coach under Mark Osiecki, who was fired earlier this month. When Osiecki was dropped, Rohlik was named interim head coach. . . . Rohlik, who is a head coach for the first time, also spent 10 seasons as an assistant at Minnesota-Duluth and three at Nebraska-Omaha.
———

 The WHL’s playoff situation:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Edmonton (1) vs. Calgary (3)
(Series tied 2-2; Game 5 on Friday night in Edmonton; all games on Shaw TV, with Dan Russell calling the play.)
———
WESTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Portland (1) vs. Kamloops (3)
(Portland leads series, 3-1; Game 5 on Friday night at the Rose Garden in Portland.)
———
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, the Edmonton Oil Kings scored four times in the first 10:15 of the opening period and went on to beat the Hitmen, 7-3. . . . Edmonton F T.J. Foster scored the game’s first two goals, in the opening 2:10, giving him three in the playoffs. . . . Oil Kings F Michael St. Croix finished with a goal and three assists. . . . Edmonton D Martin Gernat had a goal and an assist, and was plus-5. . . . The Oil Kings, who took a 5-1 lead into the second period, have twice enjoyed five-goal periods in this series, while Calgary has done it once. . . . Calgary F Brooks Macek scored on a second-period penalty shot. . . . Calgary F Elliott Peterson, who had four goals in 38 regular-season games, got his fifth in his 14th playoff game. . . . The Oil Kings were without D Griffin Reinhart, who left in the third period of Game 3 with an undisclosed injury, and F Luke Bertolucci, who departed in the second period after absorbing a stiff check by Calgary D Jaynen Rissling. . . . Edmonton inserted F Cole Benson and D Stephen Shmoorkoff into the lineup. . . . Reinhart actually returned to Edmonton in order to be re-evaluated. . . .

In Kamloops, G Mac Carruth stopped 29 shots and F Nic Petan scored twice as the Portland Winterhawks dumped the Blazers, 3-0. . . . Carruth has two shutouts in this series, four in these playoffs and seven in his career. . . . Portland F Nic Petan scored twice, giving him eight this spring, and had an assist. . . . For the second straight game, the Winterhawks got an early 1-0 lead with a 5-on-3 PP goal. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie had three assists, upping his career playoff total to 88 points. He passed former Kamloops F Rob Brown (1983-87) and moved into third on the WHL’s all-time list. Former Kamloops D Greg Hawgood (1983-88) is next on the list, with 100 points. . . . Rattie leads the WHL playoff scoring derby, with 29 points in 14 games. . . . Portland F Keegan Iverson drew a charging major and game misconduct for a third-period hit that knocked Kamloops F Brendan Ranford out of the game. . . . Blazers head coach Guy Charron wasn’t able to provide an update on Ranford’s condition after the game. . . . There’s a video featuring that Iverson hit on Ranford right here.
———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (20):
D Joel Edmundson, Kamloops

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (6):
None
———






From Cody Nickolet (@WHLFromAbove): “Shaw TV replay shows Griffin Reinhart's skate getting sliced in a collision last night. Ouch. He's not playing tonight in Game 4.”
———
From Jesse Spector (@jessespector): “You hate to see a guy hurt his undisclosed at this time of year.”
———
From Paul Buker (@Pnbuker) of The Oregonian: “Thanks to WHL Live for the video feed. Can my $7.95 go towards the 'FREE MIKE' fund? Is that OK? No?”

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Doug Lynch (Red Deer, Spokane, 1998-2003) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) after his release by Frölunda Gothenburg (Sweden, Elitserien). He had two goals and two assists in 33 games with Frölunda this season. Lynch has spent the past three seasons and four of the last five with Red Bull.
———

The WHL trade deadline is due to arrive on Thursday.
There has been talk that the OHL may move its deadline until sometime next week.
The WHL, it seems, isn’t about to change anything. Asked on Sunday night if the WHL would move its trade deadline, an official with one WHL team quickly responded: “No.”
Some WHL teams, however, are going to lose players, perhaps for the remainder of this season.
Once NHL camps open next weekend, D Morgan Rielly of the Moose Jaw Warriors will report to the Toronto Maple Leafs, reports Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star right here.
As for other WHLers, D Griffin Reinhart of the Edmonton Oil Kings will check in with the New York Islanders, while D Mathew Dumba of the Red Deer Rebels could go to camp with the Minnesota Wild.
———
SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, F Brady Brassart scored twice to lead the Hitmen to a 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Brassart’s second goal, his 13th of the season, broke a 4-4 tie on the PP at 10:39 of the third period. . . . Calgary has won three in a row. . . . D Brett Kulak had a goal and two assists for the Giants. . . . Calgary G Mack Shields stopped 22 shots. . . . Vancouver G Payton Lee, in his first start since playing for Team Pacific at the U17 World Hockey Challenge, stopped 29 shots. . . . Having added G Jared Rathjen, 18, in a trade with the Victoria Royals last week, the Giants have assigned G Tyler Fuhr, 17, to an unspecified AJHL team. He went 4-8-0, 4.74, .830 with the Giants. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reported after the game that Giants D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen, their captain, suffered a hand injury while blocking a shot in a 5-0 loss in Edmonton on Saturday and will be out for at least four weeks. . . . Ewen also reported that F Rob Trzonkowski suffered a knee injury in the loss in Calgary and will be out indefinitely. Trzonkowski, 18, was acquired from Kamloops on Wednesday night in a deal that had F Kale Kessy, 20, move to the Blazers. . . .

In Regina, D Colton Jobke broke a 1-1 tie at 3:47 of the third period and the Regina Pats went on to beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-1. . . . The goal was Jobke’s second of the season. . . . Regina F Morgan Klimchuk iced it with an empty-netter at 19:08, his 21st goal of the season. . . . The Pats have won five in a row, while Brandon has lost four straight. . . . Brandon F Mike Ferland, 20, sat out his third straight game with an undisclosed injury. . . . This was the first time these teams have played each other since opening weekend. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Erik Benoit scored twice to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 3-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Ice has won five straight games. . . . Benoit broke a 1-1 tie at 10:44 of the third period and then upped the lead to 3-1 at 14:14. . . . Red Deer G Bolton Pouliot stopped 45 shots, 24 more than the Ice’s Mackenzie Skapski. . . . D Joey Leach had two assists for the Ice. . . .


In Lethbridge, F Reid Duke scored his first two goals this season to help the Hurricanes to a 4-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Duke, a 16-year-old from Calgary, had two goals in 12 games last season. He has two in 30 games this time around. . . . Duke was playing in his first game since returning from a stint with Team Pacific at the U17 World Hockey Challenge. . . . F Jaimen Yakubowski also scored twice for Lethbridge, giving him 23 goals in 44 games this season. He had 16 goals in 68 games last season. . . . Lethbridge G Christopher Tai stopped 40 shots as he improved to 3-1-0. . . . Moose Jaw F Jordan Messier, 20, played in his 300th regular-season game. It was his 30th game with the Warriors, after playing 270 with the Tri-City Americans.
———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None
———

From former WHL D Kevin Kraus (@KevinMKraus): “Thanks to whatever nice individual who cleared the foot of snow off my vehicle while we were on the road #nicepeople”
Kraus is the GM/head coach of the junior B Revelstoke Grizzlies of the Kootenay International Junior League.

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:
F Ned Lukacevic (Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Banska Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga). He was pointless in two games on try-out with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, 2. Bundesliga) earlier this season. . . .
F Jordan Knackstedt (Red Deer, Moose Jaw, 2004-08) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Milan Rossoblu (Italy, Serie A). He had one assist in 11 games with Tingsryd (Sweden, Allsvenskan) to start the season. Knackstedt was on a two-month contract with Tingsryd that expired Thursday. This is a return to Italy for Knackstedt, who had 18 goals and 35 assists in 42 games with Bolzano in Serie A last season. . . .
F Lee Goren, who played two games with Saskatoon in 1995-96 before heading off to the University of North Dakota, was released by Pelicans Lahti (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had four goals and eight assists in 13 games this season.
———
The Portland Winterhawks, the WHL’s hottest team at present, are in Vancouver to meet the Giants tonight. . . . Vancouver is expected to be without F Cain Franson, who is believed to have a concussion. He has missed the club’s last six games. . . . The Winterhawks (13-3-1) have won nine in a row; the Giants are 5-12-0. . . . This game is available on Shaw TV, with Dan Russell calling the play. . . . Meanwhile, Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that the Gaints “are changing up their play-by-play situation again.” . . . According to Ewen, Morley Scott is returning to do some road games, while Blake Price, who has been doing some home games, also will be going on the road. . . . “Team officials confirmed Thursday that they had let go Alex Grebenyuk,” Ewen writes. . . . Grebenyuk had taken over from Dan Elliott, who was dropped after two years on the job and now is doing media relations at UBC. . . . Ewen’s report is right here.
———
The Prince George Cougars will be without sophomore F Jake Mykitiuk for the immediate future. Mykitiuk, who turns 17 on Nov. 21, has been diagnosed with mononucleosis. He already has missed four games.
———
The Everett Silvertips have signed F Kyle Raymond to a WHL contract. Raymond, 16, as a seventh-round selection in the 2011 WHL bantam draft. He is playing with the junior B Princeton Posse of the Kootenay International Junior League. In 17 games, the 6-foot-4, 185-pound Raymond has 12 points and 22 penalty minutes. . . . Raymond, from Langley, B.C., is with the Silvertips for tonight’s game against the host Tri-City Americans. He will return to the Posse after the weekend. . . . At the same time, the Silvertips returned F Brandon Bruce, 19, to the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials. Bruce was pointless in four games with the Silvertips.
———
D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen, 20, the captain of the Vancouver Giants, took a puck to the mouth on Sunday night during a 9-1 loss to the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash. It cost him three teeth. “That's the way she goes,” he told Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun. “My mom told me it was bound to happen because I had so many problems with my front teeth before. I think I've had them chipped about four or five times already.” . . . Vannieuwenhuzien also has a four-stitch cut on his lower lip and a fractured upper palate. He will play tonight wearing a full cage. . . . Pap’s complete story is right here.
———
Former Vancouver Giants F Casey Pierro-Zabotel scored two goals last night, leading the ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators to a 4-3 victory over the host Orlando SolarBears. . . . Pierro-Zabotel, who has six goals, recovered from being drilled from behind by Orlando’s Mike Liambas in the first period to help the Gladiators win their sixth straight game. . . . With 19 points, Pierro-Zabotel leads the ECHL scoring race. He won the WHL’s 2008-09 scoring title, with 115 points in 72 games.
———
G Logan Flodell, who signed with the Seattle Thunderbirds on Wednesday, stopped 18 shots last night to help the Regina Pat Canadians to a 5-1 victory over the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox, Sask. . . . The Pat Canadians got three goals from F Mitch Lipon, the younger brother of Kamloops Blazers F JC Lipon, who is leading the WHL scoring race. . . . Mitch has eight points, including five goals, in his last two games. . . . The Pat Canadians (8-2-2), who have won four straight, are tied for first place with the Tisdale Trojans (8-3-2). . . . The most amazing number, however, falls under goals-against -- the Pat Canadians have surrendered 17 goals in 12 games. The Prince Albert Mintos (7-3-2) are No. 2, having allowed 27 goals.
———
TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Edmonton broadcaster (630 CHED) Dan Tencer (@dantencer): “Oil Kings head coach Derek Laxdal says Oilers draft pick Mitch Moroz has upper body injury and might not play for Team WHL in Super Series.”


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Ivan Dornic (Portland, 2003-05) signed a one-year contract with VEU Feldkirch (Austria, Inter-National Liga). He had nine goals and seven assists in 25 games with Metallurg Zhlobin (Belarus, Extraliga) and six goals and six assists in 10 games with Aalborg (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga) last season. . . .
F Layne Ulmer (Swift Current, 1997-2001) signed a one-year contract extension with Asiago (Italy, Serie A). He had 19 goals and 22 assists in 45 games with Asiago last season. . . .
F Ryan Watson (Lethbridge, 1998-2000) signed a one-year contract with Pontebba (Italy, Serie A). He had eight goals and eight assists in 18 games with Val Pusteria (Italy, Serie A) last season.
———
F Andrew Rieder, who had off-season shoulder surgery, has not yet been cleared to return to action so won’t be on the ice when the Regina Pats open camp on Friday. . . . Rieder told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that he hopes to be ready by opening night (Sept. 21). . . . Rieder was injured in the playoffs and had surgery on May 11. . . . Harder has more on Rieder right here.
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D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen is the new captain of the Vancouver Giants. Vannieuwenhuizen, 20, is in his third season with the Giants. He takes over as captain from Brendan Gallagher, who is expected to play in the Montreal Canadiens’ organization this season.
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The Kamloops Blazers signed D Cameron Reagan on Tuesday. He was a fourth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Kamloops now has signed its top three 2012 bantam picks. F Jayden Halbgewachs, a first-rounder from Emerald Park, Sask., and F Nick Chyzowski of Kamloops, who was taken in the second round, signed earlier in the summer. . . . Regan, from Sherwood Park, Alta., played bantam in his hometown last season and likely will play midget AAA there this season. He had 27 points in 30 games with the bantam team last season.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors announced the signings of nine players on Tuesday.
D Logan Hermus, from Big Valley Alta., played for the midget AAA Red Deer Northstar Chiefs last season. The Warriors selected him in the fourth round of the 2011 bantam draft.
D Dustin Perillat played for his hometown Saskatoon Outlaws, a bantam AA team, last season. He was a fourth-round selection in the 2012 antam draft.
D Dallas Valentine, a 16-year-old list player, spent last season with the midget AAA Red Deer IROC Chiefs.
F Ben Duperreault, from Wilcox, Sask., was an eighth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. If he doesn’t stick with the Warriors, he’ll play for the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals.
F Brandon Del Grosso, a ninth-round pick in the 2011 draft, spent last season with the major midget Vancouver-North West Giants.
F Ethan Lazaro of St. Albert, Alta., was selected in the seventh round of the 2012 draft. He played for the bantam AAA St. Albert Sabres.
F Colton McCarthy was born in Moose Jaw but grew up in Salmon Arm, B.C. He is expected to play for the junior B Nelson Leafs in the Kootenay International junior league. Last season, he played at the Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna.
They also announced the signings of D Tyler Brown and F Ethan Williams, two fifth-round selections from the 2012 draft. The signings of both players actually got out earlier in the week.
Brown, from Olympia, Wash., will play this season for the U-16 AAA Omaha Lancers. He played at Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna last season. Williams, from Winnipeg, also was at PoE last season. This season, he’ll play midget AAA in Winnipeg.
———
It would appear that F Taylor Leier of the Portland Winterhawks is somewhere on the U.S.East Coast seeking medical treatment for an injury.
Leier tweeted Tuesday afternoon that he was in “Carolina” to have surgery today, but that he expects to be back in Portland rather quickly.
The tweet, it should be noted, disappeared shortly after being posted.
Leier was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers with the 117th pick of the 2012 NHL draft. He apparently came out of a Flyers’ summer camp with an abdominal injury. Leier, who had 37 points in 72 games last season, may be ,
Leier, 18, had 37 points, including 13 goals, in 72 games as a freshman last season.

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Tim Tisdale (left) and Darrin McKechnie took part in a pregame ceremony
in Regina on Friday night to commemorate the 25th anniversary of a bus
crash in which four members of the Swift Current Broncos - Trent Kresse,
Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka and Brent Ruff - were killed. Tisdale was on
that Broncos team, while McKechnie played for the 1986-87 Pats.
(Photos courtesy Regina Pats)

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Robby Sandrock (Spokane, Swift Current, Medicine Hat, Kelowna, 1994-99) signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, 2.Bundesliga) after his release by mutual agreement by Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had two goals and three assists in nine games for Medvescak this season. . . .
F Marcel Hossa (Portland, 1998-2001) was released by Spartak Moscow (Russia, KHL). He had six goals and 11 assists in 35 games for Spartak this season.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds have launched @TbirdsGameday – it’s right here. . . . According to Ian Henry, the director of media and public relations, “The idea is to separate our live game updates from other news and info we put out via Twitter. We are using Twitter a lot and there could be some fans who want to get just news and info from us but don’t want us jamming up their Twitter feed on game nights with a bunch of updates. This way those that want lots of updates and want to communicate with the team on game night have a separate Twitter to do this.”
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WHL TRADE TRACKER (since Dec. 27):Trades made: 3
Players: 9
Draft picks: 3
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Saskatoon, F Lukas Sutter scored three times as his Blades skated past the Prince Albert Raiders, 9-4. . . . Sutter, who has 14 goals, also had an assist and finished plus-5. . . . Saskatoon F Michael Burns had one assist and was plus-6. He wasn‘t able to beat Prince Albert G Cole Holowenko on a second-period penalty shot. . . . D Dalton Thrower had a goal and two assists in the first period as the Blades assumed a 4-1 lead. He finished with two goals, giving him six, and three helpers. . . . Saskatoon G Alex Moodie, in his first start, stopped 34 shots. . . . The Raiders had won five in a row. . . . Prince Albert F Kellan Tochkin was given a boarding major and game misconduct at 3:52 of the third period. . . .

In Brandon, F Michael St. Croix had two goals and an assist as the Edmonton Oil Kings dumped the Wheat Kings, 7-1. . . . F Dylan Wruck added a goal and two assists. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit stopped 41 shots. . . . St. Croix has 22 goals. . . . Brandon G Brandon Anderson, making his sixth straight start, left after two periods. Curtis Honey, 17, made his WHL debut with 10 saves on 12 shots. . . . Edmonton has won 14 of its last 16 games. . . . Congratulations to Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the Wheat Kings on 880 CKLQ. He was honoured before the game for having called 1,300 regular-season games. He has been the voice of the Wheat Kings since 1993 and, including playoffs and Memorial Cup games, has called 1,533 games. Luebke is the longest-serving play-by-play man in Wheat Kings’ history. . . .

In Regina, F Jordan Weal had a goal and three assists to lead the Pats to a 4-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The game was played on the 25^th anniversary of the bus crash in which four Broncos players were killed. On Dec. 30, 1986, the Broncos were headed for Regina and a date with the Pats when their bus left the highway just east of Swift Current. . . . Weal has 58 points, including 21 goals, in 38 games. This was his 250^th regular-season game. He has 327 career points, including 115 goals. . . . Freshman F Coda Gordon scord his 16^th goal for the Broncos. . . . Regina G Matt Hewitt stopped 31 shots. . . .

In Cranbrook, D Brendan Kichton scored in the sixth round of a shootout to give the Spokane Chiefs a 3-2 victory over the host Kootenay Ice. . . . Spokane F Liam Stewart forced OT with his fourth goal, on the PP, at 7:02 of the third period. . . . Spokane G Mac Engel stopped 40 shots, two more than the Ice’s Mackenzie Skapski. . . . F Todd Fiddler, acquired Thursday from the Prince Albert Raiders, had a goal for the Chiefs. . . .

In Medicine Hat, the Tigers won their fifth straight game, beating the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 3-2. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 29 shots in improving to 21-8-4, 2.43, .925. He will be a candidate as the conference’s player of the year. . . . Lethbridge GM/head coach Rich Preston got tossed with 4:52 left in the third period so will be making a Happy New Year donation to the WHL office next week. . . . Medicine Hat F Curtis Valk gave his club a 3-1 lead just 10 seconds after Preston exited. . . . Lethbridge D Adam Henry got it to 3-2 at 17:56 but Bunz closed the door after that. . . .

In Kamloops, F Calder Brooks had a goal and two assists to help the Calgary Hitmen to a 6-3 victory over the Blazers. . . . Brooks has three goals this season. . . . The Hitmen erased a 1-0 Kamloops lead with five straight goals, three of them in the first period. . . . Kamloops D Austin Madaisky scored the game’s first goal; he has goals in four straight games. . . . The Blazers had won six in a row at home. . . . G Cam Lanigan was in goal for Kamloops, his first start since Dec. 2. He was gone after one period, though, having given up three goals on 10 shots. . . . Calgary F Jake Virtanen, the first overall pick in the 2011 bantam draft, got his first WHL goal to erase the Blazers’ 1-0 lead. . . . Kamloops D Jordan Thomson scored his first WHL goal in his third game. The fourth overall pick in the 2011 bantam draft, Thomson will be returning to midget AAA after a New Year’s Day game against the visiting Prince George Cougars. . . .

In Portland, F Ty Rattie had three goals and an assist to move into the WHL scoring lead as the Winterhawks snuck past the Victoria Royals, 7-6. . . . Portland beat visiting Victoria 6-3 on Wednesday night. . . . Portland has won 11 in a row at home. . . . Rattie has had three hat tricks this season. He now leads the WHL in goals (36) and points (67). . . . After playing to a 2-2 first-period draw, the teams combined for seven second-period goals, with Victoria emerging with a 6-5 lead on F Jamie Crooks’ third goal of the game and 20^th of the season. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic tied it at 4:41 of the third on the PP and D Derrick Pouliot got the winner at 6:14. . . . Leipsic had two goals and two assists for Portland. His first goal, at 7:12 of the second, was the 11,000^th in franchise history. . . . Portland F Brad Ross came up short on a late-second period penalty shot. The Winterhawks are 0-7 on penalty shots this season. . . . Ross did have three assists and now has a seven-game point streak going. . . . Victoria G Keith Hamilton stopped 47 shots, while Portland’s Mac Carruth turned aside 33. . . . Attendance was 8,836, giving Portland three straight home crowds of more than 8,000. . . .
In Vancouver, D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen scored his first WHL goal and it was the winner as the Giants beat the Prince George Cougars, 5-1. . . . Vannieuwenhuizen was playing in his 104^th career game. . . . After the teams played through a scoreless first period, the Giants scored four second-period goals to take a 4-1 lead. . . . Vannieuwenhuizen also had an assist and was plus-3. . . . The Giants are 5-3-0 with assistant coach Glen Hanlon at the controls while head coach Don Hay is with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship. . . .

In Kent, Wash., G Calvin Pickard stopped 40 shots as his Seattle Thunderbirds blanked the Moose Jaw Warriors, 2-0, for their third straight victory. . . . The Warriors had won four in a row; they also had beaten Seattle in each of their last five meetings. . . . Pickard has three shutouts this season – and 10 in his career – and they haven’t been easy. He has stopped 43, 37 and 40 shots in them. . . . F Tyler Alos scored his second goal of the season at 18:46 of the second period, with F Burke Gallimore gettings his 16^th, via the PP, at 1:37 of the third. . . . The game was the first of Moose Jaw’s U.S. Division swing. The Warriors meet the Everett Silvertips tonight.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Chance Braid, Prince Albert.
D Tyler Yaworski, Prince Albert.
F Brendan Hurley, Kootenay.
F Daulton Siwak, Prince George.
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In LaSalle, Ont., G Tristan Jarry (Edmonton) stopped 34 shots as Team Pacific beat the Czech Republic 4-0 to go to 2-0 at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. . . . F Sam Reinhart (Kootenay) scored twice and leads the tournament with four. . . . F Curtis Lazar (Edmonton) and D Kyle Burroughs (Regina) also scored. . . . F Greg Chase (Calgary) had two assists. . . . Team Pacific plays Russia this afternoon in LaSalle. . . . Team West, which didn’t play Friday, will play the Czechs in Tecumseh, Ont., tonight. . . .
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Tim Tisdale, a former member of the Swift Current Broncos, took part in a ceremonial faceoff prior to last night’s game in Regina. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post talked with Tisdale and that story is right here.
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The legendary Ernie (Punch) McLean is in the news these days.
Here is the first paragraph of Darah Hansen’s story from the Vancouver Sun:
“An 84-year-old widow is suing a British Columbia Hockey Hall of Famer, alleging she gave him thousands of dollars in gold and silver and he won't give it back.”
Hansen’s complete story is right here.
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Tony Hand, who gave the WHL a whirl back in the day, has been named head coach of the Great Britain national team. That story is right here. Hand had eight points in three games with the Victoria Cougars in 1986-87 before choosing to return home.
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Damien Cox of the Toronto Star weighs in on the impact of speed on the NHL’s concussion problem. That piece is right here.

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