D Dave Sutter of the Seattle Thunderbirds, F Sven Bartschi of the Portland Winterhawks and F Alessio Bertaggia of the Brandon Wheat Kings are among the 33 players in the Swiss national junior team’s selection camp. . . . That camp is being held in Red Deer. . . . The World Junior Championship opens Dec. 26 in Calgary and Edmonton. . . .
D Tanner Mort, 18, has asked the Spokane Chiefs to trade him. Dave Trimmer reports in the Spokane Spokesman-Review that Mort, “who has sat out seven games . . . requested a trade.” . . . Spokane GM Tim Speltz tells Trimmer: “We want players who are totally engaged. Tanner has had a stretch this year he needed to reflect. Because guys want (something), it doesn’t matter what they want. What matters is what’s best for the team.” . . . Mort has five assists and 11 penalty minutes in 20 games this season, his third with the Chiefs. He played 30 games in 2009-10 and 63 last season when he finished with 16 points. . . . Mort was a fourth-round selection by the Chiefs in the 2008 bantam draft. . . .
The BCHL’s Penticton Vees made it a franchise-record 18 in a row on Saturday, beating the visiting Powell River Kings, 7-2. . . . Freshman Mario Lucia, 18, had three goals, giving him 60 points, including 26 goals, in 31 games. . . . The Vees (30-3-0-2) next play Jan. 4 when they are at home to the Vernon Vipers. . . .
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SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Moose Jaw, F Andrew Johnson scored the winner as the Warriors beat the Kamloops Blazers 4-3 in a shootout. . . . The Warriors are 7-1-2 in their lst 10; Kamloops is 7-2-1. . . . It was the first time this season the Blazers had gone to a shootout. They were the last WHL team to get there. . . . Kamloops, which went 3-2-1 on its East Division swing, led 2-0 early in the second period. . . . The Warriors came back with three straight PP goals, with Johnson tying it eight minutes into the second and D Joel Edmundson giving the home side the lead for the first time at 7:22 of the third. It was his first goal of the season. . . . Kamloops F Chase Souto forced OT at 13:33. . . . Moose Jaw G Spencer Tremblay stopped 43 shots through OT. He gave up one goal in the shootout, made two stops and got help from a post on another attempt. . . .
In Saskatoon, F Carter Rigby scored his 10th goal and added two assists as the Kelowna Rockets droipped the Blades, 5-1. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown turned aside 37 shots. . . . The Rockets were 3-for-8 on the PP; the Blades were 0-for-5. . . . Kelowna finished its East Division trek at 2-3-1. . . . The Blades have lost three straight and are just 2-8-0 in their last 10 outings. . . .
In Edmonton, the Oil Kings ran their winning streak to 11 with a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Oil Kings, in their fifth season of existence, will complete their pre-Christmas schedule today against the visiting Regina Pats. But Edmonton will go into the break riding high atop the Eastern Conference, its 23-8-3 record leaving it with a one-point lead on the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . F Alex Gogolev game the Hitmen a 1-0 lead at 7:16 of the first on a PP. . . . Edmonton F Mitchell Moroz tied it with the Teddy Bear goal at 19:46 of the first. . . . F T.J. Foster go the winner, his 16th goal this season, on a PP at 13:58 of the second. . . .
In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes won their fourth straight game, 4-1 over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Hurricanes, given up for dead not that long ago, have won four in a row and are 8-2-0 in their last 10 outings and will go into the break feeling good about their game. Still, they are eight points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Hurricanes scored the game’s first three goals, including F Cam Braes’ 20th of the season, a shorthanded effort at 1:31 of the second that stood up as the winner. . . . Lethbridge G Damien Ketlo stopped 35 shots. . . . Lethbridge D Albin Blomqvist, an 18-year-old freshman from Sweden, scored his first goal of the season in his 28th game. . . . Lethbridge F Juraj Bezuch, a Slovakian freshman who turned 18 on Tuesday, incurred a clipping major at 19:42 of the third. Swift Current D Erik Fleming took a slashing major at the same time. . . . Lethbridge F Graham Hood scored the Teddy Bear goal, on a PP, 45 seconds into the second period. . . . The Broncos have lost four straight. . . .
In Medicine Hat, F Hunter Shinkaruk scored two goals to lead the Tigers to a 4-2 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Shinkaruk has 30 goals, second in the league to Portland Winterhawks F Ty Rattie, who has 33. Shinkaruk and teammate Emerson Etem, who is with the U.S. national junior team, have 30 apiece. . . . Shinkaruk has 48 points in 36 games; last season, he finished with 42 points, 14 of them goals, in 63 games. . . . The Tigers broke open a 1-1 game with three straight goals, F Scott McKay scoring at 19:42 of the first and Shinkaruk striking twice in the second period, at 8:49 and 19:25. . . .
In Red Deer, the Rebels scored two early second-period goals and went on to a 2-1 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . F Tyson Ness gave Red Deer a 1-0 lead 29 seconds into the second, and F Turner Elson upped that to 2-0 at 1:05. . . . Regina F Jack Rodewald cut the lead to 2-1 at 9:18 of the third but the Pats weren’t able to equalize. . . . Red Deer G Deven Dubyk stopped 22 shots. . . .
In Spokane, the Portland Winterhawks posted an 8-6 victory over the Chiefs, giving them a 4-0 record against their divisional rivals this season. . . . F Brad Ross had two goals and two assists for the Winterhawks, while F Ty Rattie had a goal, his WHL-leading 33rd, and two helpers. Both players were cut by Canada’s national junior team earlier in the week. . . . The Winterhawks were without F Sven Bartschi, who is attending the Swiss national junior team’s tryout camp. . . . Portland led this one 2-1 just 3:39 into the first period and then never trailed. . . . Spokane F Colin Valcourt scored on a second-period penalty shot to cut Portland’s lead to 3-2. . . . However, Rattie scored 6:20 later on a PP and Ross scored shorthanded eight minutes after that. . . . Ross has 22 goals. . . . F Jarid Hauptman had two goals and an assist for Spokane, with F Marek Kalus chipping in a goal and two assists. . . .
In Kent, Wash., the Tri-City Americans exploded for five third-period goals and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-3. . . . Tri-City F Justin Feser started the comeback just 34 seconds into the third period. . . . F Patrick Holland tied it with goals at 2:29 and 4:13. . . . Feser got his 17th, at 6:21, and that stood up as the winner. . . . F Mason Wilgosh added insurance at 18:02. He also had three assists in becoming the 49th player in franchise history to reach 100 career points. . . . This was Wilgosh’s second career four-point night. . . . Tri-City G Ty Rimmer stopped 25 shots, 13 fewer than Seattle’s Calvin Pickard. . . . Feser also had two assists, while Holland had one. . . . Tri-City F Adam Hughesman, 20, was held off the scoresheet in his 300th regular-season game. He has 293 points, including 113 goals, in those 300 games. He is the seventh player to play No. 300 in an Americans uniform. . . . Tri-City is 27-7-0, its best-ever record at the Christmas break. . . . In four of the last five seasons, the Americans have had at least 23 victories at the break. . . . The Americans have won eight in a row, the seventh time in franchise history the team has put together a streak of eight or more victories. . . . Tri-City leads the WHL in victories (27), points (54) and winning percentage (.794). . . . They also have the fewest losses (7). . . .
In Prince George, F Cain Franson scored twice to help the Vancouver Giants to a 3-1 victory over the Cougars. . . . Franson had scored once and set up two others Friday as the Giants won 3-2 in Prince George. . . . He has 14 goals. . . . Franson has 10 points in six games against the Cougars. . . . Prince George F Alex Forsberg scored the Teddy Bear goal at 15:26 of the third period on a PP. . . . Earlier, there was a false alarm when a Prince George hit the cross-bar and was ruled no goal. It did result in a few Teddy Bears on the ice, thought. . . . More bears hit the ice with 5:39 to play and the Giants leading 2-0. This time it was a fight involving Cougars D Jesse Forsberg and Vancouver D Luke Fenske that brought out the bears. . . . Must have been tough to maintain any momentum with three separate Teddy Bear-related delays. . . .———
SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Kristians Pelss, Edmonton.
F Marc McCoy, Red Deer.
D Zach Yuen, Tri-City.
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SATURDAY’S TWEET OF THE DAY:
From freshman F CurtisLazar of the dmonton Oil Kings:
“Solid evening, 2pts for the boys- @MitchMoroz picked up the teddy bear goal and we got Nintendo DS 3D's as a X-mas gift #WHL #Oilkings”
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SATURDAY’S TWEET OF THE DAY, Part 2:
From the Spokane Chiefs:
“The Chiefs want to send out a very special thank you to Dave Trimmer (@SRtrim) for all the years of great journalism. You will be missed and best of luck in the future.”
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F Charlie Coyle, the 28th overall selection in the NHL’s 2010 draft, has left the Boston University Terriers and joined the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs. “I’m at the point where I want to just focus on hockey,” he told the Boston Globe. “I just want to set school aside and focus on my pro career and get to (the NHL). That’s why I made the move to go play for Saint John, to put my 100 percent effort toward hockey.” . . . Coyle, 19, is from East Weymouth, Mass. . . . The San Jose Sharks selected him in the 2010 draft. But they dealt his rights to the Minnesota Wild last summer, along with F Devin Setoguchi and a 2011 first-round pick, for D Brent Burns.
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F Ryan Walsh, an all-star player during his QMJHL and Canadian university career, is the latest player to retire due to post-concussion syndrome. Walsh, 33, had been playing with the Clarenville Caribous of the Newfoundland Senior league. "For the most part, I'm fairly healthy,” he told John Browne of the St. John’s Telegram. “I don't have any headaches, which I had when I was younger and had a few concussions. I'm fortunate. It's not that bad. And, at the end of the day, it's just a game.”
The complete story is right here.
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This has nothing to do with hockey, but everything to do with putting people on pedestals.
This is from the blog of Gregg Doyel, a national columnist for cbssports.com:
“Rudy Ruettiger was unmasked this week as a financial fraud, a liar and a swindler who used his fame — and a series of lies — to pump up the profile of his company to unwitting investors, then dump the stock at an enormous profit.”
Rudy Ruettiger? He is the Rudy of Rudy/Notre Dame fame. If you’ve seen the movie . . . RUDY! RUDY!! RUDY!!!
Doyel spins his story into more on Tim Tebow and it’s definitely worth a read.
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For today’s good read, we take you to The Globe and Mail and a piece headlined: Ken Dryden’s call to action for NHL boss Gary Bettman.
It is right here.
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