Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Tuesday . . .

A huge apology to F Cass Mappin of the Vancouver Giants. You may have read here earlier in the week that he had been a healthy scratch in a weekend game. It turns out that Mappin was quite ill and I’m now told that he may have the H1N1 virus. . . . Vancouver F Tod Kennedy also is down with the flu, although the team isn’t certain on the strain.
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The Regina Pats’ players and staff received their regular flu shots on Tuesday, and all will get H1N1 vaccinations when they become available at some point in November. Pats GM Brent Parker told Greg Harder that none of his players has contracted H1N1 and that the team is taking all kinds of precautions, as are, you can bet, all of the other WHL teams.
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F Zach Franko, a second-round selection by the Kelowna Rockets, has committed to attend Bemidji State and play for the Beavers. Franko, 16, is in his first season with the MJHL’s Winnipeg South Blues. Franko was in training camp with the Rockets, but chose to go home and keep open his options. "Not everyone makes it to the NHL, ultimately that's my goal, but you need something to fall back on," Franko told the Winnipeg Sun. "I'm getting my education paid for, so it couldn't be better. It was tough when Bemidji offered me the scholarship, but ultimately it came down to my decision and I have no regrets." He expects to play in the MJHL at least through next season.
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Brent Sapergia, the president and general manager of the ECHL’s Louisiana IceGators, is going behind the bench. With the IceGators off to an 0-3 start, the team says Sapergia “will temporarily replace Ron Handy as head coach.” . . . Handy has been reassigned “to concentrate on community relations and off-ice operations.” Sapergia is a former WHLer (Saskatoon, Portland, 1979-81).
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You can add F Cody Ito, 17, to the Kelowna Rockets’ list of walking wounded. That list now numbers seven. Ito (chest) is likely to be out for a week. F Brandon McMillan (toe) and F Lucas Bloodoff (knee) are close to returning. However, four other players aren’t close to being ready. F Max Adolph (ankle) will sit for another three weeks or so. F Evan Bloodoff (knee) won’t play for four or five months. G Mark Guggenberger (sports hernia surgery) is out for another month. D Kyle Verdino (knee) is listed as week-to-week. . . . The Rockets (7-6-0-1) are at home to the Eastern Conference-leading Calgary Hitmen (12-3-0-0) on Wednesday night. Calgary has won five in a row. . . . Last spring, the Rockets took out the Hitmen in six games to win the WHL championship. Game 6 was played in Kelowna.
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A source in Lethbridge says that D Luca Sbisa, 19, having been told by the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks that he was being returned to the WHL, was all set to rejoin the Lethbridge Hurricanes and had, in fact, already contacted his former billet. But that was before Andre Rufner, Sbisa’s agent, became involved and now is believed to be trying to arrange a trade between the Hurricanes and a Western Conference team. . . . The wildcard in all of this, however, may be that Rich Preston, Lethbridge’s GM/head coach, and Anaheim GM Bob Murray are long-time friends. . . . You have to think Sbisa could do a lot worse than go back to Lethbridge, play 30 minutes a game and get his game back in gear. After all, the Ducks are concerned about his development and nothing helps that like lots of ice time and playing in all situations. . . . You can bet that Western Conference general managers are paying close attention. As Vancouver GM Scott Bonner told Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province: ““If he was available, I’m sure every team in the league would inquire, but I know I haven’t got a call about him and I know that Rich Preston is pretty excited about getting him back. If it was us, we would keep the player. We would tell the player to come back and play for us and I think Rich will take the same stance.”
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On Wednesday, the WHL’s most interesting matchup has the Tri-City Americans in Chilliwack to play the Bruins. The Americans (11-2-0-0) are coached by Jim Hiller, who was fired by the Bruins after last season and replaced Don Nachbaur in Tri-City. Nachbaur left to take over as head coach of the AHL’s Binghamton Senators. The Bruins’ lineup includes D Mitch McColm, 20, who was a fan favourite in Kennewick, Wash., while he was with the Americans. . . . “I’m not uneasy,“ Hiller, who coached the Bruins for three seasons, told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald. “The game isn’t about me. I’m emotionally invested in some of the players, but it’s important we stay focused and play like we have been.” . . . The Americans have won nine straight games. Fowler reports that the Americans are 12-1 against the Bruins (4-6-2-3) over the last three seasons, including 6-0 in Chilliwack. . . . The Americans are expected to start G Drew Owsley, who, like the team, is 11-2-0-0 and has won nine in a row. The franchise record for consecutive victories, according to Fowler, is 10 and is shared by Chet Pickard (2007-08) and Mark Dawkins (1991-92). . . . The Americans are without F Sergei Drozd, who has joined the Belarussian team at the junior A World Hockey Challenge in Summerside, P.E.I., from Sunday through Nov. 8.
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The Prince George Cougars have confirmed that G Hudson Stremmel, 18, has joined them and been added to their roster. Stremmel, a native of Reno, Nevada, had been with the NCAA Division 1 Colorado College Tigers after playing last season with the USHL’s Chicago Steel. Stremmel was selected in the sixth round of the 2006 bantam draft by the Chilliwack Bruins but never played for them.
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The ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings have signed F Jay Henderson to a one-year deal. Henderson (Red Deer, Edmonton Ice, 1994-98) played last season with Innsbruck EV in Austria, where he had 32 points and 104 penalty minutes in 50 games.
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For the latest on former Kamloops Blazers captain Jared Aulin, who is into a comeback with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, check this right here.
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Some former WHL goaltenders were in the news Tuesday. . . . Anton Khudobin (Saskatoon, 2005-06) was recalled by the Minnesota Wild from the AHL’s Houston Aeros after Josh Harding (Regina, Brandon, 2001-04) was unable to practice because of soreness in his legs. . . . The Aeros signed Brett Jaeger (Medicine Hat, Vancouver, Saskatoon, 2001-03) to a tryout deal to fill the spot on the roster. . . . The Colordo Avalanche, with Peter Budaj having contacted the H1N1 virus, recalled Tyler Weiman (Tri-City, 2000-04) to backup the red-hot Craig Anderson.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings have acquired F Paul Van de Velde, 19, from the Everett Silvertips for a conditional ninth-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft. Van de Velde, who is pointless in 10 games with Everett this season, was reassigned earlier this week to the MJHL’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines. He is from Mariapolis, Man., a small community about 90 minutes southeast of Brandon and was teammates in midget AAA with Wheat Kings players Darren Bestland, Aaron Lewadniuk and Jay Fehr. Van de Velde is to join the Wheat Kings on Wednesday in Spokane. . . . Brandon lost F Paul Ciarelli (shoulder) to an injury in practice on Monday.
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There is interesting news out of the Western States Hockey League where the Idaho Junior Steelheads, a team owned by former WHL executive John Olver (his last name is spelled incorrectly in the story on the link), got in a spot of trouble for doffing their duds during practice. That story is right here.
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TUESDAY:
In Red Deer, F Willie Coetzee scored the only goal of the shootout as the Rebels edged the Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-3. . . . Coetzee had two assists in regulation time to run his point streak to 10 games. . . . The Rebels (7-8-0-0) got two goals from F Nathan Green, who forced OT when he scored on the PP at 18:46 of the third period. . . . D Adam Borejko, a recent acquisition from the Kelowna Rockets, scored his first goal of the season for Red Deer. . . . The Rebels took a 2-0 lead into the second period, only to have Seattle score three times in less than seven minutes, with F Jonathan Parker’s sixth goal at 14:55 giving the visitors a 3-2 lead. . . . Seattle (3-9-0-2) was 0-for-5 on the PP; the home side was 1-for-8. . . . Attendance was 4,108. . . . Coetzee was the first shooter in the circus. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 39 shots, nine more than Red Deer‘s Kraymer Barnstable.
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In Saskatoon, D Stefan Elliott set up three goals as the Blades dropped the Medicine Hat Tigers, 7-2. . . . D Sam Klassen added a goal and two assists for the Blades, who had four defencemen -- Klassen, Elliott, Teigan Zahn and Jyri Niemi -- each go plus-3. . . . The Blades (10-3-0-2) were 0-for-3 on the PP; the Tigers (8-4-2-2) were 1-for-5. . . . Attendance was 3,635. . . . Medicine Hat F Bretton Cameron scored twice, giving him 14 goals in 16 games. Last season, he scored 11 times in 46 games; the season before that, he had 11 goals in 59 games. . . . Saskatoon had a 48-27 edge in shots and drove Medicine Hat starter Tyler Bunz to the bench five minutes into the second period with its fourth goal. . . . Red Deer D Tomas Kundratek (flu) was back after being out for a week.
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In Portland, F Chris Francis scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Winterhawks a 5-4 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Brandon forced OT by erasing a 4-1 deficit with two late second-period goals, both from F Jay Fehr, and an early third-period PP score by F Brayden Schenn. . . . Francis, now 2-for-7 in shootout attempts, shot second for Portland (12-5-0-0). . . . D Troy Rutkowski scored twice for Portland. . . . G Kurtis Mucha stopped F Matt Calvert, Brandon’s third shooter, to preserve the victory. . . . Brandon outshot Portland 13-3 in the third period. Calvert rang a shot off a post midway through the period with the score at 4-4. . . . Attendance was 1,523. . . . Portland G Ian Curtis left the game at 18:32 of the first period with a shoulder injury. He had stopped all 10 shots he faced. . . . Calvert was stopped by Mucha on a shorthanded breakaway in OT. . . . Portland F Nino Niederreiter had his 10-game point streak snapped. He had 12 points over that span. . . . It was one year ago this week that Bill Gallacher and his team took over the Winterhawks’ operation.

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