Tigers sign North Dakota commit . . . Blades have company . . . Ast heads to Germany

F Carter Ashton (Lethbridge, Regina, Tri-City, 2006-11) signed a one-year contract with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Russia, KHL). Last season, he was pointless in seven games with the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL), had four goals and four assists in 12 games with the Toronto Marlies (AHL), and had three goals and 11 assists in 29 games with the Syracuse Crunch (AHL). . . .
F Stanislav Gron (Seattle, Kootenay, 1997-99) signed a one-year contract with the Manchester Phoenix (England, Premier). Last season, with Cortina (Italy, Serie A), he led his team with 44 points, including 20 goals, in 30 games.
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29 Days @tigershockey Training Camp! pic.twitter.com/kpQJCxUD7Y

— Shaun Clouston (@ShaunClouston) July 21, 2015

The Medicine Hat Tigers have signed F Max Gerlach, a 17-year-old from Flower Mound, Texas, who had committed to North Dakota. Of course, in signing with the Tigers he gives up his NCAA eligibility. He had 42 points in 21 games with the U-16 Colorado Thunderbirds last season. Gerlach was a sixth-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft. . . . Gerlach is about 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds, so should fit in well with the Tigers’ offensive game plan, which has been centred on smallish, speedy forwards. . . . The Tigers also signed F Tyler Preziuso, 16, who was a third-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. Last season, with the South Island Royals of the B.C. Major Midget League, he put up 40 points in 40 games.
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The WHL’s Saskatoon Blades have company in the SaskTel Centre, what with the National Lacrosse League’s Edmonton Rush having relocated and morphed into the Saskatchewan Rush.
The much-rumoured move was made official Tuesday at a news conference at Saskatoon’s Delta Bessborough Hotel. Rush owner Bruce Urban was on hand, along with the NLL’s championship trophy.
The two teams’ schedules will overlap, for sure. The 2015 NLL regular-season schedule ran from Jan. 2 through May 2, with the playoffs concluding June 5.
Colin Priestner, the Blades’ managing partner, moved to Saskatoon from Edmonton when his father, Mike, purchased the Blades almost two years ago. Colin told Taking Note he is looking forward to working with the Rush.
“We don’t have any ties to them from Edmonton,” he told TN, “but we’re always open to anything that could benefit our fans. I’m sure we will find time to have a conversation with them at some point when they are up and running, to see if there’s anything we could potentially do together.”
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The U of Lethbridge Pronghorns, under head coach Spiros Anastas, added three more players to their 2015 recruiting class on Tuesday. D Evan Wardley, F Zane Jones and F Mitch Makin all have committed to the Pronghorns, bringing the number of newcomers on the roster to 15. . . . Wardley, from Vulcan, Alta., played four seasons with the Seattle Thunderbirds, putting up nine goals and 31 assists in 208 games. He finished the season by playing nine games, six of them in the playoffs, with the ECHL‘s Wheeling Nailers. . . . Jones, from Olds, Alta., played four seasons in the WHL, having stints with the Victoria Royals, Calgary Hitmen, Everett Silvertips, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Vancouver Giants. In 260 games, he scored 77 goals and added 72 assists. . . . Makin, 21, from Lethbridge, played three seasons with the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs, finishing with 42 goals and 58 assists in 141 games. . . . Wardley, Jones and Makin all have used up their junior eligibility.
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Dickson Liong (@DLLiong) tweeted Tuesday afternoon that F Anthony Ast “will play in Germany next season. The team that he has signed with will make an official announcement soon.” . . . Ast, 20, is from Richmond, B.C. He was a first-round selection, 19th overall, by the Vancouver Giants in the 2010 bantam draft. His WHL career was hampered by illness and injury. He played 109 games with the Giants over four seasons (2010-14), scoring 15 goals and adding 26 assists. He was dealt to the Medicine Hat Tigers and played 27 games with them in 2013-14 and 21 last season, picking up 16 goals and seven assists.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers have announced that Gerry Fleming will be the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. The franchise has relocated from Oklahoma City where it was the Barons. . . . Fleming, a 48-year-old native of Montreal, had been an assistant coach with Oklahoma City until being promoted to head coach when Todd Nelson moved up to the Oilers to replaced the fired Dallas Eakins as interim head coach.
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The ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals, who are affiliated with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers and the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, have signed Eric Veilleux as their head coach. Veilleux, 43, was an assistant coach with the Admirals last season when they were in the AHL. Prior to that, he spent nine seasons in the QMJHL. He guided the host Shawinigan Cataractes to the 2012 Memorial Cup title. He then worked as head coach of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar for two seasons.
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Last night, in mentioning WHL commissioner’s July 14 visit with the guys at The Pipeline Show, I meant to include a link to the interview. A day late, here it is right here.
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The Vancouver Giants have signed D Kaleb Bulych, who was a second-round selection in the 2015 WHL bantam draft. Bulych is from Yorkton, Sask. Last season, he had 33 points, including 13 goals, in 31 games with the bantam AA Yorkton UCT Terriers.
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F Trent Lofthouse (Everett, Victoria, Vancouver, 2011-14) has decided to attend the U of Regina and play for the Cougars. Lofthouse, from Surrey, B.C., played out his junior eligibility last season with the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons.
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very happy and thankful that i have a chance to be on the swiss cover of #NHL16 @EASPORTSNHL pic.twitter.com/KwI4a1O89F

— nino niederreiter (@thelnino22) July 21, 2015

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Kamloops, Lethbridge, Vancouver shuffle forwards . . . Hitmen, Oil Kings make deal . . . Rockets add Braid

The WHL trade deadline arrives today at noon MT. That’s 11 a.m. Pacific and 1 p.m. Central.
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If you follow the WHL, make sure you check out Small Thoughts At Large, the blog where Alan Caldwell tracks all the WHL bantam draft picks.
He has created a spreadsheet for each season and tracks the transfer of picks via trade, also noting what was involved in each transaction.
It’s a tough job because not all of these trades are cut and dried, but Caldwell does a terrific job of sorting through it all.
His blog is right here and the link to the spreadsheets is on the right-hand side.
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Over the last while, Todd Harkins, the first-year general manager of the Prince George Cougars, has experienced the downside of the WHL’s trade deadline and he wishes that some people would take a look at how they operate.
"What people don’t realize in social media is these are kids,” he told Regan Bartel, the radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets, earlier in the week. “They are not pros. They play like pros and I think that is the misunderstanding. They love the game at this age and they just want to play and they are doing their best. We have to be careful how we treat them in those social media rings as fans.”
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THE NUMBERS:
(Since Dec. 10)
Trades: 30.
Players: 52.
Draft picks: 38.
Conditional draft picks: 6.
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FRIDAY’S TRADES:

Moments after dropping a 2-1 shootout decision to the visiting Kelowna Rockets, the Kamloops Blazers announced two trades, both involving 20-year-old forwards. . . . The Blazers sent Mike Winther to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for an eighth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft and acquired F Joel Hamilton from the Vancouver Giants for a sixth-round pick in 2017. . . . Both players were healthy scratches on Friday night. . . . Winther, from Trochu, Alta., has 16 points, including six goals, in 40 games with Kamloops. He also has played with the Prince Albert Raiders and Calgary Hitmen. In 271 regular-season games, he has 158 points, including 76 goals. However, he hasn’t scored since Nov. 19 and has been a healthy scratch for two straight games. The Blazers had acquired him from Calgary for a 2015 fourth-round draft pick and a seventh-rounder in 2017. Taken 16th overall by Prince Albert in the 2009 bantam draft, he was a second-round pick of the Dallas Stars in the 2012 NHL draft, but was never signed. . . . Hamilton, from Cochrane, Alta., has 27 points, 10 of them goals, in 40 games with the Giants this season. He played two seasons with the Red Deer Rebels, before moving to the Giants, where he played last season for Don Hay, now the head coach in Kamloops. In 224 career games, he has 130 points, 37 of them goals. Vancouver gave up a third-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft to get Hamilton from Red Deer. Hamilton was a fourth-round pick by Red Deer in the 2009 bantam draft.
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The acquisition of F Mike Winther left Lethbridge with four 20-year-olds, a situation that was resolved when the Hurricanes dealt F Zane Jones to the Vancouver Giants for the rights to F Johnny Wesley, 17, who is with the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles. . . . Jones, from Olds, Alta., has also played with the Everett Silvertips, Calgary Hitmen, Victoria Royals and Chilliwack Bruins. . . . The Bruins selected him in the fifth round of the 2009 bantam draft. . . . This season, he has 30 points, including 18 goals, in 36 games with Lethbridge. In 229 regular-season games, he has 134 points, including 66 goals. . . . Wesley, from White Rock, B.C., has 21 points, five of them goals, in 32 games with the Eagles. He scored one goal in his lone game with the Giants this season.
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The Kelowna Rockets added a third 20-year-old to their roster with the acquisition of F Chance Braid from the Prince George Cougars. In exchange, the Rockets gave up F Brogan O’Brien, 17, who is from Prince George. . . . The Cougars had gotten Braid from the Prince Albert Raiders over the summer. He had 13 points, including eight goals, in 35 games with the Cougars. A power forward-type, he’ll add some sandpaper to the Rockets’ roster. . . . O’Brien was a 10th-round pick by the Rockets in the 2010 bantam draft. He is playing with the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings and had 15 points, including six goals, in 48 games going into weekend games.
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The Edmonton Oil Kings acquired D Marshall Donald, 19, from the Calgary Hitmen for a 2015 fourth-round draft pick. . . . Donald, from Edmonton, has eight points in 32 games in his first season with the Hitmen. He was a third-round pick by Calgary in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . Donald played the last three seasons with the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders. Prior to that, he was with the Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club program. . . . Donald is out with an undisclosed injury but is expected to join the Oil Kings early next week.
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TRADE DEADLINE DEALS:

(All draft picks in bantam draft unless otherwise noted)
Dec. 10 . . .
To Kelowna: D Josh Morrissey (95), F Gage Quinney (95).
To Prince Albert: D Jesse Lees (95), F Austin Glover (96), 2016 second-round pick, 2017 third-round pick.
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Dec. 12 . . .
To Red Deer: D Nelson Nogier (96), F Austin Adamson (96).
To Saskatoon: F Mason McCarty (97), 2015 second-round pick, 2016 first-round pick.
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Dec. 16 . . .
To Calgary: G Thatcher Demko, 19, who is at Boston College.
To Spokane: Conditional draft picks. Guy Flaming of The Pipeline Show tweeted that he had it as a second-rounder in 2015 and a second- or third-rounder in 2016.
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Dec. 27 . . .
To Swift Current: D Griffin Foulk, 19.
To Lethbridge: Conditional eighth-round pick in 2016.
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Dec. 27 . . .
To Red Deer: D Colton Bobyk, 18, and a 2016 fourth-round pick.
To Spokane: D Nick Charif, 19, a second-round 2015 pick and a conditional sixth-round 2016 selection.
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Jan. 2 . . .
To Brandon: F Morgan Klimchuk, 19.
To Regina: F Jesse Gabrielle, 17.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Medicine Hat: D Kyle Burroughs, 19, and F Dryden Hunt, 19.
To Regina: D Connor Hobbs, 17, and two draft picks -- second-rounder in 2016 and third-rounder in 2015.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Saskatoon: D Kolton Dixon, 19.
To Red Deer: G Trevor Martin, 18.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Red Deer: F Connor Gay, 19, and three bantam draft picks -- a first-rounder in 2016, a second in 2015 and a seventh in 2017.
To Regina: F Jake Leschyshyn, 15, and a fourth-round pick in 2017.
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Jan. 5 . . .
To Brandon: D Reid Gow, 20.
To Spokane: A fifth-round pick, Spokane’s option for 2015 or 2016.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Kelowna: F Leon Draisaitl, 19.
To Prince Albert: F Tomas Schmidli, 18, D Dalton Yorke, 18, and three bantam draft picks -- a first-rounder in 2015, a fourth-rounder in 2016 and a conditional fourth-rounder in 2016 or 2017.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Prince George: D Tomas Andrlik, 19.
To Prince Albert: A 12th-round pick in 2015.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Moose Jaw: D Connor Clouston, 18.
To Kamloops: A fifth-round pick in 2017.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Calgary: G Brendan Burke, 19.
To Portland: G Evan Johnson, 18, and a fourth-round pick in 2016.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Lethbridge: D Brady Reagan, 17.
To Regina: F Taylor Cooper, 19.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Victoria: F Alex Forsberg, 19, a third-round pick in 2015 and a fourth-round pick in 2016.
To Saskatoon: F Brayden Dunn, 16, and a first-round pick in 2017.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Portland: D Adam Henry, 20.
To Saskatoon: A second-round pick 2017.
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Jan. 6 . . .
To Moose Jaw: F Axel Blomqvist, 19, a third-round pick in 2015 and a fifth-round pick in 2017.
To Victoria: D Alexey Sleptsov, 18, G Justin Paulic, 19, and a sixth-round pick in 2015.
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Jan. 7 . . .
To Tri-City: F Tyler Sandhu, 18.
To Red Deer: Fourth-round picks in 2015 and 2016.
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Jan. 7 . . .
To Kamloops: D Marc McNulty, 19, and a 2016 sixth-round draft pick.
To Prince George: D Josh Connolly, 19, and a 2015 sixth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 7 . . .
To Saskatoon: D Brycen Martin, 18, and a conditional 2017 fifth-round draft pick.
To Swift Current: D Jordan Thomson, 18, and a 2016 first-round draft pick (originally belonged to Red Deer).
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Jan. 8 . . .
To Kootenay: D Lenny Hackman, 19.
To Lethbridge: A 12th-round pick in the 2015 draft.
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Jan. 8 . . .
To Saskatoon: F Mitch Skapski, 18, and 2015 fifth-round draft pick.
To Victoria: A 2016 fifth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 8 . . .
To Lethbridge: G Jayden Sittler, 18.
To Victoria: A 2016 seventh-round draft pick.
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Jan. 8 . . .
To Seattle: F Cory Millette, 19.
To Prince Albert: A sixth-round pick in the 2015 or 2016 bantam draft.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Kelowna: F Chance Braid, 20.
To Prince George: F Brogan O’Brien, 17.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Edmonton: D Marshall Donald, 19.
To Calgary: A 2015 fourth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Kamloops: F Joel Hamilton, 20.
To Vancouver: A 2017 sixth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Lethbridge: F Mike Winther, 20.
To Kamloops: A 2017 eighth-round draft pick.
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Jan. 9 . . .
To Vancouver: F Zane Jones, 20.
To Lethbridge: F Johnny Wesley, 17.


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Three d-men on move . . . Papirny, Lotz pitch shutouts . . . Hurricanes win again

Travis Green, a former assistant GM and assistant coach with the Portland Winterhawks, is headed to the AHL All-Star Game. Green, who is in his second season as head coach of the Utica Comets, will be one of two Western Conference coaches. . . . Utica leads the conference with a 20-5-5-0 record. . . . There’s more right here.
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Garry Davidson, the general manager of the Everett Silvertips, has told Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald that he tried to land D Josh Morrissey before the Prince Albert Raiders dealt him to the Kelowna Rockets.
Davidson also said that he continues to shop, but . . .
"Between now and Jan. 10 I'd still like to strengthen the team in certain positions," Davidson told Patterson. "But the market looks really foggy right now, there's not a lot of teams selling.
"I've talked to teams about high-end players, but it's one thing to talk and another to make something happen. I want to stay with our philosophy of building through the draft and we've already traded away a first and a second, so I'm not excited about giving up other top picks. I'll try to do it another way, but that's very difficult. Maybe we'll have to be patient and ride it out this season."
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The Red Deer Rebels have acquired D Colton Bobyk, 18, and a 2016 fourth-round bantam draft pick from the Spokane Chiefs for D Nick Charif, 19, a second-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft and a conditional sixth-round selection in 2016. . . . Bobyk has played only eight games this season thanks to injuries. From Red Deer, he has been medically cleared to return. This season, he has a goal and three assists in those eight games. Last season, he had 12 points, including five goals, in 56 games. He was a 10th-round pick by the Chiefs in the 2011 draft. . . . In 2012-13, Bobyk played for the Red Deer Optimist Chiefs, who won the TELUS Cup as national midget champions. . . . Charif, from Edmonton, also has been out with an injury but has been cleared to play after missing 24 games. Last season, he had 13 points, three of them goals, in 57 games. This season, he has a goal and seven assists in 11 games. . . . The Chiefs now hold two first- and two second-round picks in the 2015 draft.
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The Swift Current Broncos added D Griffin Foulk, 19, on Saturday, acquiring him from the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a conditional eighth-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . The Hurricanes had released Foulk from their roster earlier in the month. . . . Foulk, from Broomfield, Colo., had 23 points, including six goals, in 153 regular-season games split between the Everett Silvertips, Seattle Thunderbirds and Lethbridge. . . . He had been an eighth-round pick by the Edmonton Oil Kings in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . The Broncos were looking for some back-end help with D Dillon Heatherington playing for Team Canada at the World Junior Championship. The Broncos also are without D Jordan Harris (undisclosed injury). . . . Foulk was in Swift Current’s lineup last night as they beat the visiting Regina Pats, 5-3.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:

At Swift Current, the Broncos erased a 2-0 first-period deficit and went on to beat the Regina Pats, 5-3. . . . F Adam Brooks, with his 14th, and F Connor Gay, with his 16th, gave Regina a 2-0 lead. . . . Broncos F Colby Cave tied it with two goals, giving him 17, at 17:41 of the first and 4:20 of the second. . . . Swift Current F Carter Rigby broke the tie, with his 13th, at 14:46, and F Jake DeBrusk got his 18th at 16:35. . . . Rigby also had three assists and DeBrusk had two. . . . Broncos G Landon Bow stopped 40 shots. . . . The Broncos (18-14-4), who visit Regina tonight, have won two in a row. . . . The Pats (20-12-2) had points in their previous three games (2-0-1). . . . Regina D Colby Williams (wrist) was back in the lineup after missing seven games. . . .

At Moose Jaw, G Jordan Papirny stopped 29 shots to help the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 3-0 victory over the Warriors. . . . Papirny has 22 victories and three shutouts this season. It was his fourth career shutout. . . . Brandon F Reid Duke got the game’s first goal, his 11th, at 9:57 of the first on the PP. . . . Duke also drew an assist on F John Quenneville’s 13th goal, an empty-netter at 18:30 of the third. . . . Brandon F Peter Quenneville had two assists. . . . The Wheat Kings (25-7-4) have points in six straight (4-0-2). . . . The Warriors (15-18-3) have lost four in a row. . . . Brandon F Jayce Hawryluk scored his 14th goal. He missed the last three games prior to the Christmas break with an undisclosed injury. . . . Brandon F Jesse Gabrielle was ill and didn’t practice on Friday. He wasn’t dressed for this one. D Kale Clague (undisclosed injury) also was among Brandon’s scratches. . . . Moose Jaw F Jaimen Yakubowski sat out a one-game WHL suspension. . . . Moose Jaw F Noah Gregor missed his 26th straight game with an undisclosed injury, while F Ben Duperreault (14 games, undisclosed injury) was back in the lineup. . . . However, F Tanner Jeannot is out for a couple of months with an undisclosed injury and D Tyler Brown (hand) will sit for up to four more weeks. . . . The teams meet again today, this time in Brandon. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story right here. . . .

At Prince Albert, F Nikita Soshnin broke a 3-3 tie at 10:00 of the third period and the Saskatoon Blades went on to a 6-3 victory over the Raiders. . . . Soshnin, who also had two assists, has five goals this season. . . . Blades F Ryan Graham added two empty-netters, giving him 12 goals this season. . . . F Sam McKechnie had two goals, giving him 10, and an assist for Saskatoon (8-25-3), which snapped an 11-game skid (0-9-2). . . . F Reid Gardiner and F Jayden Hart each scored his 18th goal for the Raiders (16-19-1). . . . The rematch goes this afternoon in Saskatoon. . . . Saskatoon F Wyatt Sloboshan (broken jaw) was back after missing 23 games, while F Nick Zajac returned after a three-game absence with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Raiders were without D Mackenze Stewart, who served a one-game WHL suspension. . . .

At Edmonton, F Wyatt Johnson scored two second-period goals to lead the Red Deer Rebels to a 3-2 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Johnson, who has 17 goals, gave the Rebels a 2-1 lead 32 seconds into the period. . . . Edmonton F Brett Pollock tied it, with his 14th, at 4:10. . . . Johnson broke the tie at 15:24. . . . Red Deer F Brooks Maxwell had two assists. . . . Rebels G Rylan Toth stopped 30 shots, four more than Edmonton’s Tristan Jarry. . . . The Rebels (19-13-4), who entertain the Oil Kings today, had lost their previous two games. . . . The Oil Kings are 16-15-5. . . . This was the first meeting of the season between these teams. . . . The Rebels had F Adam Musil back after a three-game absence with an undisclosed injury. . . .

At Cranbrook, G Wyatt Hoflin stopped a career-high 49 shots and F Levi Cable scored four times as the Kootenay Ice dropped the Calgary Hitmen, 6-2. . . . Hoflin was making his 24th straight start. . . . A note from Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman: “Should he get the start Sunday afternoon, Hoflin will tie the Kootenay Ice franchise record for consecutive appearances by a goaltender. Todd Mathews set the record with 25 consecutive appearances in net from Jan. 21 to March 14, 2009.” . . . Cable, who has 15 goals, scored the game’s first three goals and added a fourth in the second period to give his side a 5-0 lead. . . . It was Cable’s first regular-season hat trick. . . . Cable also added an assist for his first five-point outing. . . . Ice F Jaedon Descheneau scored his 19th goal. . . . The Ice (19-17-0) has won four in a row. . . . The Hitmen (19-13-3) has lost two straight. . . . The teams meet this afternoon in Calgary. . . . The Ice, which is missing three defencemen, has added D Tanner Lishchynsky, 19, for the next five games. He plays for the SJHL’s Flin Flon Bombers and has played 78 WHL games with the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Ice is without D Tanner Faith and D Dylan Overdyk, both of whom are injured, and D Rinat Valiev, who is with Russia at the World Junior Championship. . . . Calgary D Ben Thomas returned after missing nine games with an undisclosed injury. . . . According to Jeff Hollick, the radio voice of the Ice, Cable is the eighth player in Ice franchise history to enjoy a four-goal game. . . . Taylor Rocca’s game story is right here.

At Lethbridge, F Zane Jones broke a 5-5 tie at 17:36 of the third period and the Hurricanes held on for a 6-5 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Jones scored twice in this one, giving him 17. He also had an assist. . . . Lethbridge also got two goals from F Jamal Watson, who has 15. . . . The Hurricanes took a 4-2 lead into the third period, only to have the Tigers tie it on two goals by F Alex Mowbray, who has six. . . . Watson gave Lethbridge the lead on a PP at 12:00, only to have D Kyle Becker pull the Tigers even at 5-5 with a PP goal at 16:59. . . . Lethbridge G Stuart Skinner stopped 42 shots. . . . The Hurricanes (9-20-5) are on a three-game winning streak. . . . The Tigers (24-9-2), who remain without F Chad Butcher (undisclosed injury), had won their previous two games. . . . There’s a rematch tonight in Medicine Hat. . . .

At Kelowna, F Rourke Chartier, the WHL’s leading goal scorer, hit for two more as the Rockets beat the Kamloops Blazers, 4-2. . . . Chartier has 34 goals. . . . He broke a 2-2 tie 52 seconds into the third period with his second goal of the game. It turned out to be his ninth game-winner this season. . . . Kelowna F Tyson Baillie scored his 24th goal, while F Cole Linaker had two assists. . . . F Cole Ully scored his 17th goal for the Blazers (13-21-5), who have lost three in a row. . . . The Rockets (29-5-3), who have won 13 straight games with the Blazers, have won three straight. . . . This game started a stretch in which the Rockets will play nine of 11 games at home. . . .

At Victoria, the Prince George Cougars built up a 4-1 lead and hung on for a 4-3 victory over the Royals. . . . F Zach Pochiro scored twice for the visitors, giving him seven this season. His second of the game, at 16:25 of the second, on a PP, stood up as the winner. . . . F Tyler Soy scored twice for the Royals, giving him 12 in his sophomore season. However, he came up short on a second-period penalty shot. . . . D Tate Olson had two assists for the visitors. . . . Prince George outshot its hosts, 30-19. . . . The Cougars (18-18-0) had lost their previous three games. . . . The Royals ((17-18-3) have lost five straight (0-4-1). . . . They’ll play again this afternoon in Victoria. . . .

At Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Portland Winterhawks 4-3 in a game that featured six first-period goals. . . . The Thunderbirds got out to a 3-1 lead and the Winterhawks never were able to catch up. . . . F Ryan Gropp’s 15th goal, at 19:53 of the first, proved to be the winner. . . . He also had an assist. . . . Seattle D Jerret Smith scored his third goal of the season and added an assist. . . . F Paul Bittner got his 14th goal for the Winterhawks. He also added an assist, while F Alex Schoenborn drew two assists. . . . Portland was 2-for-3 on the PP; Seattle was 0-for-5. . . . The Thunderbirds (15-15-4) have won two in a row. . . . Portland (19-15-3) had won its previous two games. . . . F Cody Glass, Portland’s first-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, made his WHL debut. . . . The Winterhawks are at home to Spokane today. . . . The Thunderbirds are in Vancouver this afternoon. . . .

At Everett, F Nikita Scherbak scored on a PP 28 seconds into OT to give the Silvertips a 1-0 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Scherbak has 16 goals this season. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz stopped 28 shots in posting his second shutout this season. He has eight career shutouts. . . . Vancouver G Cody Porter turned aside 21 shots in making his third straight start. . . . Everett had a 13-5 edge in shots in the first period; Vancouver had the edge, 12-2, in the second. . . . The Silvertips (21-9-4) have won two in a row. . . . The Giants (16-18-1) had a seven-game winning streak end. They had been 6-0-0 under head coach Claude Noel. . . . D Ben Betker (concussion) was back in Everett’s lineup. The Silvertips still are without F Logan Aasman and D Tristen Pfeifer, both out with undisclosed injuries. . . . The Silvertips also sent F Nik Malenica to the junior B Nanaimo Buccaneers of the Vancouver Island Junior League. He was pointless in 11 games with Everett. . . . The Silvertips visit the Tri-City Americans tonight. . . . The Giants, who had F Jackson Houck (undisclosed injury) back in the lineup, are at home to Seattle this afternoon. . . .

At Spokane, F Kailer Yamamoto had a goal and two assists to lead the Chiefs to a 5-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . He’s got 10 goals. . . . The Chiefs scored the game’s first five goals. . . . Spokane scored two shorthanded goals -- by F Calder Brooks and F Liam Stewart -- and got a PP goal from Yamamoto. . . . Spokane outshot Tri-City, 35-19. . . . Spokane leads the season series, 4-1-0. . . . The Chiefs (19-12-3), who visit Portland today, have won five straight. . . . The Americans (17-16-1) have lost three in a row. Tri-City plays host to Everett tonight.
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Max's first hockey game and he gets stuck next to the Calgary Hitmen section #booooo pic.twitter.com/fNrxRBaOxK
— Old Huntstein (@OldHuntstein) December 28, 2014

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WHL: Coaching news and player moves

As you may have guessed, I'm away for a bit. We have been celebrating the first anniversary of Dorothy's kidney transplant. Yes, a good time is being had by all. . . . I will be back on a regular basis late next week but, for now, here's an attempt at catching up on a few things:








F Lukáš Vantuch (Calgary, Lethbridge, 2005-07) signed a contract through Nov. 5 with Landshut (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with Landshut, he had 49 points, including 17 goals, in 53 games. He had been on a tryout with Dusseldorf (Germany, DEL) in August but didn't win a contract. . . .
F Antonín Honejsek (Moose Jaw, 2009-11) has been assigned on loan by the Espoo Blues (Finland, Liiga) to Kiekko-Vantaa (Finland, Mestis). This season, with the Blues, he had one goal in two games while averaging nine minutes of ice time per game. . . .
D Patrik Vrána (Moose Jaw, Prince George, 2006-07) was released by Cracovia Krakow (Poland, Ekstraliga) by mutual agreement. Last season, with Polonia Bytom (Poland, Ekstraliga), he had four goals and seven assists in 32 games.
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The Kamloops Blazers have added Mike Needham to their coaching staff, replacing associate coach Mark Ferner, who resigned this week and now is the general manager and head coach with the BCHL's Vernon Vipers. . . . Ferner was in his second season back with the Blazers. . . . Needham, who has been working at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton. For the past three seasons, he has been the head coach of OHA's bantam prep team. . . . At the same time, Needham has worked as the Blazers' skills coach. . . . Needham played three seasons (1987-90) with the Blazers and is the father of Blazers captain Matt Needham. . . . OHA commitments will keep Mike from joining the Blazers until Monday. . . . Ferner, meanwhile, is a familiar face in Vernon where he coached the Vipers to three straight BCHL titles and won the 2009 and 2010 RBC Cups as national champions. . . . Any chance of Ferner becoming the Blazers' head coach went by the wayside in January when the team brought back Guy Charron as head coach following the departure of Dave Hunchak. If there was any doubt after that, it disappeared when Don Hay returned to Kamloops as the Blazers' head coach over the summer. Hay had spent the past 10 seasons as head coach of the Vancouver Giants. . . . In Vernon, Ferner takes over from Jason Williamson, who resigned as GM/head coach citing personal reasons. . . .

The Kamloops Blazers' roster is at 26 after they released F Mitch Friesen, 18, on Wednesday. From Surrey, B.C., Friesen had a goal and two assists in 21 games last season. He has a goal and three assists in 68 regular-season games. . . . He was a fourth-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . Kamloops now is carrying three goaltenders, eight defencemen and 15 forwards. . . . That number includes F Mike Winther, 20, who was acquired from the Calgary Hitmen for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft and a sixth-rounder in 2017. Winther was selected by the Prince Albert Raiders with the sixth-overall pick of the 2009 bantam draft. He was later dealt to Calgary and now is into his fifth WHL season. . . . In 231 regular-season games, the native of Trochu, Alta., has 142 points, including 70 goals. Last season, injuries limited him to 31 games. He had 26 points, including seven goals. A second-round pick by the Dallas Stars in the NHL's 2012 draft, Winther didn't sign and now is a free agent. . . . The Blazers also have D Brady Gaudet and G Bolton Pouliot as 20s. They also own the WHL rights to veteran F Chase Souto, 20, but his career is in doubt because of concussion-related issues. . . .

The Everett Silvertips have traded F Zane Jones, 20, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. Jones, from Olds, Alta., was a fifth-round selection by the Chilliwack Bruins in the 2009 bantam draft. He has 104 points, including 48 goals, in 192 regular-season games split between Everett, the Calgary Hitmen, Victoria Royals and Chilliwack. Last season, he had 24 points, 11 of them goals, in 42 games with Calgary and two goals and two assists in 11 games with Everett. . . . The deal leaves Lethbridge with four 20-year-olds, the others being D Tyler Bell and D Nick Walters and F Riley Sheen, who turns 20 on Dec. 21. . . . WHL teams have to declare a maximum of three 20-year-olds by Oct. 15. . . . The Silvertips are down to three -- D Ben Betker, who turns 20 on Sept. 29, F Brayden Low and F Kohl Bauml, who will be 20 on Nov. 25. . . .

The Regina Pats acquired Ukrainian F Pavel Padakin, 20, from the Calgary Hitmen for a third-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. Padakin is a two-spotter -- a 20-year-old import. To make room for him, Regina released sophomore F Max Kammerer, who is from Germany. . . . Padakin was to have played in the KHL this season, but after he signed with HC Donbass Donetsk, it took a leave from the league due to the political situation there. . . . Last season, Padakin had 54 points, 27 of them goals, with the Hitmen. The previous season, as a freshman, he had 22 goals and 16 assists in 70 games. He scored in his only game with Calgary this season. . . . Regina also has four other 20s on its roster -- F Logan McVeigh, F Chandler Stephenson, F Braden Christoffer and F Patrick D'Amico. Stephenson is expected to play in the Washington Capitals' organization. . . . Regina's other import is Russian D Sergey Zborovskiy, a 17-year-old freshman. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has written a terrific feature on Padakin in which he talks about the situation in Ukraine. As this is written, the feature isn't on the newspaper's website, but it should be right here sometime Thursday morning. . . .

The Hitmen are left with three 20-year-olds -- F Connor Rankin, F Adam Tambellini and D Kenten Helgesen. . . . After the New York Rangers returned Tambellini, Alan Caldwell of Small Thoughts At Large tweeted: "If I'm not mistaken, the return of Adam Tambellini to the WHL means the Hitmen owe the Winterhawks a 2015 4th round pick." . . . Calgary also is down to two imports in sophomore Russian F Radel Fazleev, 18, and freshman Pavel Karnaukhov, a 17-year-old Belarussian. . . .

On Wednesday night, the Calgary Hitmen announced that they have dealt F Linden Penner, 19, to the Moose Jaw Warriors for a conditional sixth-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. From Sherwood Park, Alta., Penner was a 10th-round selection by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2010 bantam draft. He has four goals and four assists in 41 regular-season WHL games. All the points came in 39 games with Calgary last season. He also has played one game with the Everett Silvertips. He was pointless in one game with the Hitmen this season. . . .

The Warriors had two veteran players -- F Scott Cooke, 20, and F Brandon Potomak, 19 -- leave them after spending a lot of Saturday's home-opener on the team's fourth line. Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has that story right here. . . . Cooke's departure leaves the Warriors with three 20-year-olds -- F Tanner Eberle, F Jack Rodewald and F Jaimen Yakubowski. . . . Eberle still is in camp with the Montreal Canadiens. . . .

The Prince Albert Raiders are expected to announce the signing of a new assistant coach on Thursday. That moves follows the announcement on Wednesday that Tim Leonard has stepped down for personal reasons. He was into his third season with the Raiders. Leonard, who had a long and successful run as head coach of the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos, joined the Raiders in March 2012. He now has rejoined the Mintos' coaching staff. . . .

The Saskatoon Blades dealt Russian F Nikita Scherbak, their leading scorer from last season, to the Everett Silvertips for G Nik Amundrud, 17, and two conditional bantam draft picks -- a first-rounder in 2015 and a second-rounder in 2016. Scherbak is in camp with the Montreal Canadiens, who selected him with the ?? pick of the NHL's 2014 draft. If Scherbak doesn't end up in Everett, the Silvertips keep both draft picks. . . . Had Scherbak been returned to the Blades, it would have left them with three imports. They added Russian F Nikita Soshnin, 17, and Swedish D Amil Krupic, 19, in the 2014 CHL import draft. CHL rules allow each team to keep two import players, but a team is allowed to draft a third if one of their imports is a first-round NHL selection. However, those same rules don't allow the trading of freshmen imports, so in order to keep Scherbak, the Blades would have had to release Soshnin or Krupic. . . . The Silvertips may find themselves in the same kind of jam, as they also have D Marco Mueller, who is in camp with the San Jose Sharks. He was the 18th overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft. Right now, Russian F Ivan Nikolishin, an 18-year-old sophomore, is the only import in Everett. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here. . . . Should Scherbak end up in Everett, it would shed a whole different light on the Western Conference. The Silvertips have been wondering from where the goals will come; thus, they made the move on Scherbak. There's more right here from Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald.

If you missed it, Elliotte Friedman's latest blog posting, 30 Thoughts, is right here. The top is especially interesting because it deals with the fact that NHL teams are starting to wonder if players are spending too much off-season time working out.
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The Kootenay Ice will be without D Rinat Valiev for up to four weeks. He was in camp with the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs when he suffered an undisclosed injury and underwent surgery. Apparently, the injury isn't considered to be overly serious. . . . Three WHL teams have each been fined $500 for becoming involved in multiple-fight situations. The Seattle Thunderbirds and the Winterhawks went at it on Sept. 19 in Portland. The host Tri-City Americans drew a fine, while the Prince George Cougars didn't, for an incident in Kennewick Wash., on Sunday. . . . F Tyler Wong of the Lethbridge Hurricanes was hit with a three-game suspension for incurring a headshot major and game misconduct on Saturday in Medicine Hat. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades will be without F Ryan Graham, 18, after he was found to have mononucleosis while in camp with the NHL's Minnesota Wild. He won't play until sometime in October. . . . Matthew Liebenberg of the Prairie Post has an in-depth look right here at the financial picture presented by the Swift Current Broncos during the franchise's annual general meeting.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
The Straubing Tigers (Germany, DEL) announced that they won’t offer contracts for next season to seven players, including F Tyler Beechey (Kootenay, Calgary, 1997-2002). He had 14 goals and 16 assists in 34 games with the Tigers this season. . . .


The Krefeld Pinguine (Germany, DEL) announced that they won’t offer contracts for next season to five players, including G Scott Langkow (Portland, 1991-95. Langkow had a 2.60 GAA and a .906 save percentage in 48 games this season. . . .


F Dustin Johner (Seattle, 1999-2004) signed a one-year contract extension with Djurgården Stockholm (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had 19 goals and 16 assists in 45 games this season. Johner led the team in goals and was third in points. . . .


Brothers F Brad (Red Deer, 1994-99) and Greg (Spokane, 1994-98) Leeb announced their retirement per the Coventry Blaze (England, UK Elite) website. Brad had 24 goals and 26 assists in 57 games, while older brother Greg had 17 goals and 39 assists in 59 games this season. Blaze head coach Paul Thompson, after Coventry had beaten the Cardiff Devils 11-5 on April 8 in the UK Elite bronze medal game to end the season: “They told me before the game they were going to retire – what careers they have had. They came here and never once took a day off, they have been the hardest workers in practice and they are a credit to themselves, their families and our club. They didn’t come just to finish their careers in Coventry, they wanted it more than anybody. Full respect to them both and they are quite proud to have finished in a Coventry Blaze jersey." . . . Brad Leeb tweeted after the game: “Huge thanks to @thommoblaze for putting Greg & I on ice for last shift of our last game. Then presenting us with official game sheet. #Class”
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If you are a regular visitor here and if you peruse the messages that are sometimes left here, you will be aware that there is an anonymous fool out there who loves to troll in these parts.
Sometime Thursday, the troll left this message:
“How mad were you last nite when Kessy deflected that home? Blazers win again.”
The day is coming when this blog will fade to darkness and one of the reasons will be the idiots among us who hide behind the cloak of anonymity that is provided by the Internet. But I feel this latest comment warrants a response, simply because it provides me with an opportunity to provide some insight into how good journalists operate.
First, allow me to say that I was thrilled when Kale Kessy scored in overtime on Wednesday night. Just like I was really upset when the Kelowna Rockets scored two third-period goals to force overtime.
And I have a feeling that if you ask Earl Seitz of CFJC-TV in Kamloops how he felt, he will echo my reactions.
You see, in my business, it’s all about deadlines.
The newspaper at which I work publishes six days a week. The deadline on five of those nights is 11 o’clock. On Wednesday nights, that deadline is 10 o’clock. The deadline doesn’t mean my story has to be in by that time; it means the last page has to be out of the editorial department and to the prepress department by that particular time. Miss a deadline and you mess with a whole lot of schedules, from the prepress department to the pressroom to the distribution people. Miss a deadline often enough and you will be working somewhere that doesn’t have them.
On Wednesday nights, I want my story in by 9:40 p.m. . . . 9:45 at the very latest.
On Wednesday night, then, the Blazers finished the second period with a 3-1 lead. Things were looking good. (By the way, I would have felt the same way had the Rockets been leading 3-1.)
So after the second period I put together the foundation of a game story that had the Blazers winning in regulation time. Things looked even better when two of Kelowna’s top forwards, Tyson Baillie and Myles Bell, took penalties early in the third period. Baillie drew a minor; Bell ended up with a misconduct. I continued to tap away at that ‘Kamloops wins’ lead while those two took seats in the penalty box.
Of course, the Rockets then got goals from J.T. Barnett and Cole Linaker.
Linaker’s goal, at 9:24 of the third period, forged a 3-3 tie and brought an identical reaction from the media types in the press box: “We do not want overtime.”
But overtime it would be.
In the playoffs, there is a 15-minute break between the third period and the start of overtime. I used the time to quickly bang out a second game story, this one written as though Kelowna had won the game.
So . . . as the overtime started, I had two game stories on the go on my laptop.
The key now was to have the game end early in the extra period.
Because had the game not ended until 10 or later, not even the final score would have gotten into our paper.
Before leaving for the arena, Mark Hunter, my partner in the sports department here, and I chatted about Plan B. That would be implemented if the game ran past 10 p.m. Had that happened, readers of Thursday’s Daily News would have found one photo from the Blazers game, indicating that it still was in progress at press time. Instead of a game story, readers would have been treated to a Canadian Press story about the Toronto Maple Leafs.
As you are aware, Kessy ended the game at 2:24 of OT.
The important time, however, was 9:47 p.m. That was the time the game ended. That meant I had time to get a story into the office.
I quickly wrote a lead for The Canadian Press and filed it and the game summary, which also was sent to members of the Western Major Junior Hockey Writers Association.
I then deleted the game story I had started that had Kelowna winning.
I fine-tuned the ‘Kamloops wins’ story and emailed it to The Daily News.
Of course, the story didn’t contain any quotes or reaction of any kind. That simply isn’t possible with deadlines that tight. So after filing I journeyed to the dressing room areas and got enough reaction to write two stories for Friday’s newspaper, stories that you are able to find on this blog today. (If you want to be a journalist, it might be worth knowing that those stories were written at home on a day off. In this business, at least when you work for a smaller newspaper, a day off often means only that you won’t be in the office.)
So, to answer the troll’s question, I wasn’t mad when Kessy scored; rather, I was ecstatic. As I would have been had Madison Bowey scored for the Rockets in OT.
You have to understand that real journalists aren’t cheerleaders. It doesn’t matter to us who wins or who loses. Rather, it’s all about the story. All we want to do is report the story. And if an overtime goal allows us to do that and beat a deadline, hey, we’re happy.
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The Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care is well into some brain-related research that involves a number of men, including about 25 retired NHL players. The first results should be made available in a few months, but the research is going to continue for years. . . . Rachel Brady of The Globe and Mail has the story right here.
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Well, folks, that’s it! The WHL is done for a week.
The Calgary Hitmen eliminated the Red Deer Rebels last night in a series that took five games. The second round of WHL playoffs featured four series — three ended in sweeps and the other in five games. And, sheesh, but it was ugly, as the winning teams held a 70-16 edge in goals scored.
So all will be quiet for a few days.
The Hitmen will open the Eastern Conference final in Edmonton with games against the Oil Kings on Thursday and April 19.
The Western Conference final begins with games April 19 and 20 in Portland with the Winterhawks meeting the Kamloops Blazers.
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The WHL’s playoff situation:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
SECOND ROUND
Edmonton (1) vs. Medicine Hat (7)
(Edmonton wins, 4-0)
Calgary (3) vs. Red Deer (4)
(Calgary wins, 4-1)
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
SECOND ROUND
Portland (1) vs. Spokane (4)
(Portland wins, 4-0)
Kelowna (2) vs. Kamloops (3)
(Kamloops wins, 4-0)
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THURSDAY’S GAME:
In Calgary, the Hitmen limited the Red Deer Rebels to 17 shots and posted a 5-1 victory. . . . Calgary F Zane Jones broke a 1-1 tie at 10:37 of the first period. . . . The Hitmen nursed a 3-1 lead into the third period when they scored two shorthanded empty-netters, at 17:58 and 18:40. . . . Red Deer G Patrik Bartosak stopped 29 shots, 13 more than Calgary’s Chris Driedger.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (16):
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (5):
None
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From Spokane Chiefs D Brenden Kichton (@B_Kichton8): “Can't believe my junior career is over....it feels like yesterday I was headed to Spokane as a 16 year old...ready for the next chapter tho!”
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From Regan Bartel (@Reganrant), the radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets: “Officiating so good in 1st rd and so bad in 2nd. Like Seinfeld episode where Jerry dates good looking girl only to realize she has man hands”
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From Spokane Chiefs F Liam Stewart (@LiamStewart11): “That awkward moment when your in 5guys burgers n fries with @rachelhunterx and @rodstewart comes on… #HeyDad”
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From Rachel Hunter (@rachelhunterx): “@LiamStewart11 @rodstewart ‘Stay With Me’ was my #favourite song of your dads”

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.

You waited for it and here it is. The Edmonton Oil Kings Christmas video that debuted last night is right here.
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Kylee Bliss has to go to her school’s main office three or four times a week. Why? Because she can’t remember the combination for the lock on her locker. She suffered a concussion more than a year ago when she and a teammate banged heads during tryouts for her high school basketball team in Kansas City.
Blair Kerkhoff of the Kansas City Star has her story right here. It’s worth reading.
“Kylee’s basketball career is over,” he writes, “but that’s the least of the family’s concerns. Now 16, she doesn’t go to school in the first hour because of all the commotion in the hallways, and attending sporting events is out because of the overstimulation. In class, she must have test questions read aloud, and she can only do schoolwork in short segments before needing a break.”
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Dean Clark, the head coach of the Prince George Cougars, really hurt this week when his captain, forward Brock Hirsche, announced his retirement because of shoulder problems.
Clark lived the same story more than a few years ago.
"It's unfortunate for him and it's an emotional day for me," Clark told Sheri Lamb of the Prince George Citizen. "The same thing happened to me as a 20-year-old where I couldn't continue the season."
Clark had to quit in 1984-85 while with the Kamloops Blazers. He moved behind the bench and worked alongside head coach Ken Hitchcock, just like Hirsche went behind the bench with the Cougars last season and again this season.
Clark has told Hirsche he welcome to work as an assistant coach again. Hirsche has said he will think about things over Christmas. He had surgery on Tuesday and really wants to see how he feels.
"He's a great kid and a great leader," Clark told Lamb. "You just don't replace guys like that. You want to have as many of those type of guys on your team as you can have. Those are the guys you win championships with.
"Whether he decides to come back, I hope he does, but if he doesn't, that's fine, too."
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D Dalton Thrower (concussion) is expected to return to the Saskatoon Blades’ lineup tonight as they play host to the Regina Pats. He has missed 11 games since Nov. 5. . . . Thrower told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that he was injured during a practice “altercation between two teammates.” Thrower added: “You play the game and you’re going to get hurt. It doesn’t matter if it’s a practice or if it’s in a game. All you have to do is bounce back from it.”
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As you may be aware, the WHL last week fined the Portland Winterhawks $200,000, suspended general manager/head coach Mike Johnston through the end of the 2013 Memorial Cup and took away a bunch of draft picks.
I am told the Winterhawks have yet to be presented anything in writing from the WHL explaining the penalties.
As for those two news releases issued by the Winterhawks last week, the team has been told the WHL is thinking about additional sanctions but, as of Friday, there was nothing official.
So, at least for now, forget the rumours of the Winterhawks having been fined $25,000 for the first one and $50,000 for the second one.
I also have been told that the WHL has said it might fine the Winterhawks another $50,000 any time they speak up on this situation.
I’m just wondering if Portland owner Bill Gallacher is running a tab with the WHL office these days.
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Ray Ratto of CSNBayArea.com takes a look at what he calls impasse by ass. Yes, he’s writing about the NHL lockout and he pins the tail on two people (uhh, Gary Bettman isn‘t one of them). That piece is right here.
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The OHL’s London Knights are riding a 17-game winning streak after beating the visiting Niagara IceDogs 5-2 on Friday. The London franchise record is 18 (2004-05) and the Knights can tie it on Sunday when they play host to the Mississauga Steelheads.
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Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail checks in right here with a mother who is working to have body checking banned from all levels of minor hockey, starting with bantam and going down.
And there are people who agree with her.
MacGregor writes:
Principal researcher Michael Cusimano says such serious injuries as concussions are often the result of aggressive bodychecking and account for 15 per cent of all injuries to hockey players ages 9 to 16. In a startling statement, the researchers said up to one-quarter of players suffer concussions in a single season.
In the Toronto doctor’s opinion, bodychecking should be banned from minor hockey for all age groups.
Emile Therien, past president of the Canada Safety Council, agrees. The injury factor in minor hockey has reached a point where, in Therien’s opinion, “it’s child abuse” not to act on it. Therien, who attended American college on a full hockey scholarship (and is the father of Chris Therien, who played 11 seasons in the NHL), says it was the medical profession that forced the hockey world to act on eye protection a generation ago.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, the Red Deer Rebels ran their winning streak to nine games with a 2-1 victory over the Warriors. . . . F Matt Bellerive scored the winner, his sixth, with 10.9 seocnds left in the third period. . . . F Justin Kirsch gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead at 4:50 of the first period. . . . Red Deer F Tyson Ness tied it at 4:42 of the third. . . . The Rebels are 9-0-0 since owner/general manager Brent Sutter took over as the interim head coach from Jesse Wallin. . . .

In Brandon, F Mitch Holmberg scored twice and added an assist as the Spokane Chiefs beat the Wheat Kings, 5-2. . . . Holmberg, who led the WHL in goals in the early going and then was sidelined with a concussion, has 18 goals. . . . Spokane G Garret Hughson stopped 33 shots, including 19 in the third period. . . . The Chiefs are 5-0-0 on their East Division tour and have won six in a row overall. . . . The Wheat Kings had D Ryan Pulock back in their lineup. He hadn’t played since being struck in the face by a puck on Nov. 18. . . . Brandon F Jens Meilleur also returned from an undisclosed injury. . . . Among the Wheat Kings’ scratches was D Rene Hunter, 19, who was in his third season with the Wheat Kings. He had six assists in 24 games. . . . Media reports had him leaving the team, but Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun tweeted during the game that he spoke with general manager Kelly McCrimmon. “He will not say that Hunter has left team permanently, instead saying he is on a personal leave,” Henderson reported. . . . The Wheat Kings are 0-6-1 in their last seven games and have lost 11 of 12.

In Lethbridge, F Jaimen Yakubowski scored five times but it wasn’t enough as his Hurricanes dropped an 8-7 shootout decision to the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Yakubowski, who has 18 goals, is the first player this season to score five times in a game. The WHL’s reigning player of the week scored once shorthanded, once on the PP and three times at even strenght. . . . Tigers F Hunter Shinkaruk had two goals, an assist and the winner in the circus, while teammate Miles Koules added a goal and four helpers. . . . The Hurricanes held a 7-5 lead late in the third period when Shinkaruk got his 19th at 15:06 and F Elgin Pearce tied it with his 11th at 17:08. . . . Shinkaruk and F Curtis Valk ended it with the only goals of the circus. . . .

In Edmonton, the Calgary Hitmen erased a 2-0- first-period defict and dumped the Oil Kings, 5-2. . . . Calgary has won 12 of its last 14 games. . . . F Zane Jones broke a 2-2 tie at 11:50 of the third period and then added his eighth goal of the season at 16:42. . . . F Brady Brassart and F Brooks Macek drew assists on both goals. . . . D Keegan Lowe (ankle) was back in the Oil Kings’ lineup after a three-game absence. . . . The Hitmen are 4-0-0 against Edmonton this season. . . . They’ll play again tonight in Calgary. . . . Edmonton F T.J. Foster will play in his 300th regular-season game tonight. . . .

In Kamloops, G Cole Cheveldave stopped 23 shots as the Blazers blanked the Prince George Cougars, 3-0. . . . Cheveldave has two shutouts this season and six in his career. . . . D Marek Hrbas got the game’s first goal, at 5:08 of the first. . . . F Colin Smith got his 23rd in the second period, tying him for the WHL lead with Spokane F Todd Fiddler. . . . D Joel Edmundson, in his first game since being acquired Thursday from the Moose Jaw Warriors, scored in the third period. . . . The Cougars played without F Colin Jacobs, who was serving Game 3 of a six-game suspension, D Marc McNulty (eye infection) and F Chase Witala (undisclosed). F Alex Forsberg (concussion) was back in the lineup after missing one game. . . . Kamloops F Aspen Sterzer drew a headshot major and game misconduct in the first period. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Sam Reinhart gave Kootenay a 3-1 lead just 45 seconds into the third period and the Ice hung on for a 3-2 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . D Josh Morrissey pulled the Raiders to within one with a PP goal at 11:16 but that was all the scoring. . . . G Andy Desautels made his third start of the season for the Raiders and stopped 24 shots. . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski turned aside 37 shots. . . . Raiders D Evan Morden drew a headshot major and game misconduct for a hit on Ice D Brock Montgomery in the third period. . . .

In Vancouver, G Eetu Laurikainen stopped 28 shots to help the Swift Current Broncos to a 3-1 victory over the Giants. . . . The Broncos will play the Royals in Victoria tonight, after which Laurikainen will leave to join the Finnish national junior team. . . . Swift Current F Adam Lowry scored on a shorthanded penalty shot, the second straight game in which that has happened. . . . Lowry’s father, Dave, is Victoria’s head coach, meaning there will be a father-son reunion of sorts tonight. . . . Broncos F Levi Bews, who suffered a knee injury in a 2-1 loss to the Blazers in Kamloops on Tuesday, returned to the lineup and scored his side’s first goal. . . . The Broncos are 1-2-0 on their B.C. Division tour. They’ll finish it up in Prince George on Tuesday, after travelling from Victoria. . . .

In Portland, the Winterhawks outshot the Tri-City Americans 46-13 but dropped a 3-2 decision. . . . G Luke Lee Knight stopped 44 shots in his second start of the season for the Americans. . . . Portland had won its last 12 home games and seven in a row overall. . . . The Americans got second-period PP goals from Connor Rankin and Malte Stomwall. The goals came 1:08 apart. . . . Rankin, who has 11 goals, scored the game’s first two goals. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic drew on assist to run his points streak to 17 games. . . . Portland D Seth Jones is on a seven-game streak after also getting an assist. . . . The Winterhawks are in Kent, Wash., tonight to meet the Seattle Thunderbirds and then play the host Americans on Sunday. . . . Freelancer Scott Sepich reports that Portland, at 23-5-1, is off to its best 29-game start in franchise history. . . .

In Everett, F Robert Lipsbergs scored for the 10th time in 11 games as his Seattle Thunderbirds dumped the Silvertips, 5-1. . . . Lipsbergs has 15 goals. He is riding a six-game goal streak and an 11-game points streak. . . . Seattle F Mitch Elliot scored his first goal in 27 games this season and the ninth of his 220-game career. . . . Seattle has won four in a row. . . . The Thunderbirds are 4-0-0 against Everett this season. . . . Everett F Carson Standyk was given a charging major and game misconduct after a second-period collision with Seattle G Brandon Glover. . . . Glover stopped 33 shots and lost his shutout bid when F Tyler Sandhu got his 10th goal at 19:53 of the third. . . . Everett F Ryan Harrison (knee) returned from a 10-game absence.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Jake Virtanen, Calgary
F Taylor Peters, Portland

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Colin Smith, Kamloops
F Aspen Sterzer, Kamloops (major)
D Evan Morden, Prince Albert (major)
D Tyler Wotherspoon, Portland
F Presten Kopeck, Portland
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Portland freelance writer Scott Sepich (@SSepich): “Apparently some poor Rose Garden loading dock staffter just asked Ken Hodge if he was Tri-City’s bus driver.”
Hodge, of course, is the winningest coach in WHL history.
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From Kelowna Rockets F Colton Sissons (@colton_es15): “Peeled my mandarin orange in one piece this morning, gonna be a fabulous day!”
Actually, it wasn’t. Hockey Canada announced Friday that Sissons won’t be attending the national junior selection camp because of an undisclosed injury. He is believed to have a concussion.

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