The CUC, of course, is home to the Saskatoon Blades.
So the Blades have cut a promotional deal with PBR Canada and Wrangler that includes the use of a third jersey.
Yes, that is the third jersey in the photo above.
The Blades plan on wearing these jerseys on Nov. 12 against the visiting Portland Winterhawks.
One look at those jerseys raises a question: They practically scream WRANGLER, even through there is no label in evidence. So how long before we see advertising patches on WHL team jerseys?
When you see a jersey like this one it makes you think it won’t be long until there are Husky/Mohawk patches on the front and KalTire strips across the back.
Or maybe it’ll have Drake Hotel across the back in place of the name bar.
(PBR? That would be Professional Bull Riders.)
———
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jared Aulin (Kamloops, 1997-2002) signed a one-year contract with Leksand (Sweden Allsvenskan). He had 16 goals and 21 assists in 64 games for the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) last season. The contract contains a one-month tryout clause, then rolls into a contract for the rest of the season. . . .
F Roman Tvrdon (Spokane, 1999-2001) signed a one-year plus option contract with Dukla Trencin (Slovakia Extraliga). He had six goals and four assists in an 11 game try-out with Skalica (Slovakia Extraliga) this season.
———
Congrats to old friend Cam Moon, the long-serving radio voice of the Red Deer Rebels. He worked his 1,001st consecutive game Friday night as the Rebels beat the visiting Vancouver Giants, 5-2.
If you haven’t listened to Moon call a game, you should. He’s personable and easy to listen to, and he and analyst Mike Moller clearly enjoy bringing the games to their listening audience.Moon will be back at it tonight as the Saskatoon Blades visit Red Deer. Moon once played goal for the Blades — he also played for the Prince Albert Raiders and Medicine Hat Tigers — and has some great stories to tell, most of which are fit only for private conversations.
He will have a tougher time calling tonight’s game than he did last night. You can bet on that. . . . Why? . . . Because he is one of the biggest baseball fans around. So you know he’ll have Game 3 of the World Series up on his laptop tonight. Yes, he is talented enough to keep one eye on Texas and San Francisco, while talking about Saskatoon and Red Deer.
———
Greg Meachem, the sports editor of the Red Deer Advocate, has a story right here on the Seattle Thunderbirds’ backup goaltender. Michael Salmon hasn’t had a whole lot to do this season because he’s the caddy for Calvin Pickard, perhaps the WHL’s best goaltender. Salmon, however, is working hard and trying to be a good teammate.———
Former WHL scoring champion Erik Christensen continues to be his own worst enemy. Christensen has all the tools to be a superb offensive player -- he won the 2002-03 WHL scoring title with 108 points while with the Kamloops Blazers -- has always struggled to deal with the pressure he puts on himself to perform. That is the problem again, this time as he struggles to find his place with the New York Rangers. Larry Brooks of the New York Post writes about it right here.
———
haven’t seen all of Hockey Canada’s officiating assignments for IIHF events, but at least four WHL officials have been selected to work on the international stage. . . . Matt Kirk and Pat Smith will work at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo, Dec. 26 through Jan. 5. . . . Kiel Murchison will be at the the IIHF World Championship in Bratislava and Kosice, Slovakia, April 29 though May 5. . . . Trent Knorr gets the U-18 World Championship (Division 3, Group B) in Mexico City, March 14-19.
———
There was an interesting goaltending battle in Canada West hockey on Friday night as the visiting Alberta Golden Bears scored a 5-4 shootout victory over the Calgary Dinos. . . . Kurtis Mucha of the Golden Bears stopped 18 shots through OT and then turned aside five shooters in a shootout. At the other end, Dustin Butler turned aside 29 shots and stopped the first four shootout shooters he faced before F Sean Ringrose scored to win it. . . . Calgary F Matt Isbister had given his side a 4-3 lead at 18:56 of the third, only to have Alberta F Chad Klassen tie it at 19:42.
———
It was one year ago tonight when Ben Fanelli of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers was crushed by Mike Liambis of the Erie Otters. Liambis now is playing for the UBC Thunderbirds, who play in the CIS’s Canada West conference. But waht of Fanelli? It turns out he has yet to receive medical clearance to return to game action. Jeff Hicks of the Kitchener-Waterloo Record has that story right here.———
John Shipley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that U.S. college hockey officials will meet with NHL people on Nov. 9 in Toronto. The college hockey people, including Paul Kelly, the executive director of College Hockey Inc., are concerned about losing young players to NHL teams. Shipley’s story is right here.
———
Haven’t seen one like this in a while. In the Central league last night, the host Missouri Mavericks scored a 5-2 victory over the Mississippi RiverKings. The teams combined for 300 penalty minutes. Check out the scoresheet right here. Gotta love the fact that each team ended up with 150 minutes.
———
FRIDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
CHILLIWACK 7 at CALGARY 2: F Roman Horak had two goals and an assist and F Ryan Howse drew three assists for the Bruins (8-4-0), who won their fourth straight game. . . . D Brandon Manning helped out with a goal and three helpers. . . . The Hitmen
(4-9-0) have lost five in a row and have scored six goals in those games. . . . The Bruins scored the game’s first two goals — F Brandon Magee getting his first WHL goal and Horak getting his eighth — before the Hitmen roared back to tie it before the first period ended. . . . F Justin Krisch and F Trevor Cheek, with his first WHL score, counted for Calgary. . . . The Bruins, however, got goals from F Robin Soudek, his sixth, and F Chris Collins, his first, before the first period ended. Soudek scored at 17:53, with Collins scoring shorthanded at 19:46. . . . Manning, with his fifth, gave Chilliwack a 5-2 lead in the second. . . . Horak, with his ninth, and F Kevin Sundher, with his second, finished the scoring in the third. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 30 shots. . . . Calgary opened with Juraj Holly. He gave up two goals on five shots and left at 4:39 of the first. Michael Snider came on to stop 20 of 25. . . . The Bruins were 2-for-6 on the PP and now are 23-for-75 (30.7 per cent) on the season. . . . Attendance was 7,813. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero.———
BRANDON 4 at KOOTENAY 5 (SO): The Ice scored three shootout goals to win this one. . . . F Matt Fraser, F Jesse Ismond and F Max Reinhart beat Brandon G Liam (Sonny) Liston, who stopped 37shots through OT. It was the first shootout of Liston’s WHL
career. . . . Ice G Brett Teskey stopped 13 shots. . . . The Wheat Kings (6-9-1) were playing the seventh game of an eight-game swing that ends tonight in Lethbridge. . . . The Ice now is 11-3-1 and has won seven in a row. . . . The Wheat Kings led this one 3-0 at 12:18 of the first period on goals by F Brenden Walker, his seventh, D Brodie Melnychuk (3) and F Mark Stone (9). . . . The Ice came back to take a 4-3 lead, with F Drew Czerwonka counting at 11:38 of the third period for that lead. . . . Brandon F Hampus Gustafsson forced OT at 12:34 of the third. . . . F Scott Glennie and F Paul Ciarelli each had two assists for Brandon. . . . F Christian Magnus, D Joey Leach and Czerwonka each had a goal and an assist for the Ice, while F Elgin Pearce had two assists. . . . Brandon was 0-for-3 on the PP; Kootenay was 1-for-6. . . . Attendance was 2,478. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero. . . . The Ice was without two defencemen — Hayden Rintoul (collarbone) and James Martin (nose). They lost D John Neibrandt after a second-period scrap with F Michael Ferland.———
SPOKANE 2 at MOOSE JAW 3: D Connor Cox scored at 15:40 of the third period to break a 2-2 tie. It was his third goal of the season. . . . The Warriors (6-8-1) got the game’s first goal, from F Dylan Hood at 6:39 of the first, and the teams alternated
goals after that. . . . Chiefs F Levko Koper forged a 2-2 tie at 5:54 of the third on the PP. . . . The Chiefs (5-7-0), who had won three of four, were playing Game 1 of an eight-game road trip. . . . Moose Jaw F Danny Gayle had a goal and an assist. . . . Moose Jaw G Thomas Heemskerk kicked out 21 shots, while Spokane’s James Reid turned aside 40. . . . The Chiefs were 1-for-4 on the PP; the Warriors were 0-for-4. . . . Attendance was 2,556. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero.———
SWIFT CURRENT 4 at PRINCE ALBERT 3 (OT): F Stepan Novotny’s 11th goal of the season, at 2:04 of OT, won it for the Broncos (9-8-0). . . . The Raiders (5-7-4) have lost six in a row. . . . Prince Albert’s Sebastian Svendsen scored twice, giving him 10.
He opened the scoring at 15:52 of the first period and the teams alternated scoring after that. . . . Swift Current F Cody Eakin, returning from a hip injury, tied the score 3-3 with his ninth goal at 7:43 of the third on the PP. . . . F Mark McNeill and F Jonathan Parker each had two assists for P.A. . . . The Broncos got two assists from F Taylor Vause, while F Justin Dowling, playing with a sore right shoulder, had a goal and an assist. . . . The Broncos were 1-for-4 on the PP; the Raideers were 1-for-5. . . . Swift Current G Mark Friesen stopped 37 shots, 12 more than Prince Albert’s Eric Williams. . . . Attendance was 2,073. . . . The Raiders played again without three defencemen — Jordan Rowley (wrist), Nathan Deck (knee) and Emerson Hrynyk (shoulder). . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero. . . . Of the 13 minor penalties handed out, four were for goaltender interference. Each team took two of those penalties.———
VANCOUVER 2 at RED DEER 5: F Andrej Kudrna had a goal and two assists for the Rebels (10-5-0). They acquired Kudrna, who has nine goals, from the Giants last season. . . . F Byron Froese added two goals for the Rebels. He has eight on the season. . . . D
Alex Petrovic and F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had two helpers for the home team. . . . The Giants (9-6-2), who had won four in a row, scored the game’s first and last goals. . . . Vancouver F Brendan Gallagher had his 16-game point streak snapped. Gallagher, with 15 goals and 13 assists, had at least one point in each of his team’s 16 games going into this one. . . . Giants F Craig Cunningha, who leads the WHL with 34 points, also was held pointless. He had been riding a 10-game streak. . . . Red Deer G Darcy Kuemper stopped 27 shots. Vancouver opened with Mark Segal, who gave up four goals on 22 shots. Brendan Jensen came on late in the second period and stopped nine of 10. . . . The Giants were 1-for-7 on the PP; the Rebels were 3-for-7. . . . Vancouver took 50 of the game’s 90 penalty minutes. . . . Attendance was 4,408. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero.———
PRINCE GEORGE 2 at SEATTLE 0: G Ty Rimmer stopped 36 shots for his first WHL shutout. Rimmer, who was acquired by Prince George from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Oct. 16 for a sixth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, was making his first start
for the Cougars (8-6-1). . . . This was the first shutout by a Prince George goaltender since March 6, 2009, when Kevin Armstrong stopped 31 shots in a 2-0 victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs. . . . Last night, the teams were scoreless well into the third period. . . . F Nick Buonassisi broke the scoreless tie with his sixth of the season, on the PP, at 13:59. . . . F Taylor Stefishen added insurancee at 16:24. It was his second of the season. . . . Tefishen, Buonassisi and D Martin Marincin each had two points. . . . G Calvin Pickard stopped 30 shots for Seattle (5-3-3). . . . The Thunderbirds have lost four in a row, with the first three of those losses coming in OT or a shootout. This, in fact, was their first loss in regulation in seven games. . . . The Cougars were 1-for-8 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 0-for-7. . . . Attendance was 3,033. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero.———
TRI-CITY 3 at EVERETT 2 (SO): The Americans (11-4-1) got two shootout goals, while both Everett (5-4-4) shooters were blanked. . . . F Adam Hughesman and F Patrick Holland both scored in the shootout. . . . The Silvertips have lost five in a row
and have scored seven goals in those games. . . . The Americans have won four of five. . . . F Parker Stanfield scored his third goal at 2:30 of the second period to give the Silvertips a 2-1 lead. . . . F Brooks Macek got his third at 9:21 of the second to tie the score at 2-2. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley turned aside 38 shots, seven more than Everett’s Kent Simpson. . . . This was victory No. 48 for Owsley, moving him into seventh on the franchise’s all-time list, one ahead of Olaf Kolzig, who now is one of the team’s owners. . . . The Americans were 1-for-3 on the PP; the Silvertips were 0-for-3. . . . Attendance was 6,422. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero. . . . The Silvertips announced after the game that their Pink in the Rink auction raised US$38,807.77, with proceeds benefiting the Providence General Foundation. Among other things, they auctioned off special game jerseys. The highest price paid for a jersey was $1,500, for D Ryan Murray’s. . . . And a special tip of the cap to Denny Spencer, a season-ticket holder in Everett. He donated $5,000 in memory of his wife, who recently lost her battle with breast cancer. You, sir, are someone special.———
KELOWNA 2 at PORTLAND 4: The Winterhawks (11-2-1) broke a 1-1 tie with three straight goals as they welcomed F Nino Niederreiter back into their lineup. . . . Niederreiter, the fifth pick in the NHL’s 2010 draft, was sent back by the New York
Islanders on Thursday. He had one assist last night. . . . Niederreiter had a goal and an assist in nine games with the Isles. According to CapGeek.com, he was paid US$101,613 while in the NHL. . . . The Winterhawks have won five in a row. . . . D Joe Morrow scored for Portland, on the PP, at 8:45 of the first, with Kelowna F Cody Chikie, who scored both Kelowna goals, tying it at 9:04 with his first of the season. . . . F Riley Boychuk broke the 1-1 tie at 16:55 of the first. . . . After a scoreless second period, the Winterhawks got third-period goals from F Brad Ross, his seventh, at 15:32, and F Sven Bartschi, his 10th, at 15:59. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie had two assists. . . . Rattie and Bartschi are on eight-game point streaks. . . . The Rockets, who have lost four of five, are 4-9-0. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 33 shots, while Kelowna’s Adam Brown turned aside 32. . . . Kelowna wsa 0-for-9 on the PP; Portland was 1-for-8. . . . Attendance was 2,448. . . . Checking-from-behind count: Zero. . . . However, the teams, who play again tonight in Portland, combined for 114 penalty minutes, with the Winterhawks taking 58 of those.———
Congratulations to all of the players who were in action on Friday night. Eight games and not one checking-from-behind penalty. In Regina, Brad Hornung is smiling.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Posts
