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The Vancouver Giants have signed F Thomas Foster, their first-round selection, 20th overall, in the 20-11 bantam draft. Foster, who is from Slave Lake, Alta., is the younger brother of Edmonton Oil Kings F T.J. Foster. . . . Thomas Foster has 17 points, including seven goals, and 10 penalty minutes in 22 games with the Alberta midget league’s St. Albert Raiders. He is expected to join the Giants on Monday on a three-game swing into Alberta. According to the Giants, he “is expected to play at least the game in Edmonton against the Oil Kings and his older brother.” . . .———
The Prince George Cougars have signed G Ty Edmonds of Winnipeg, who was a ninth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. Playing with the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild, Edmonds is 15-1-0, 1.87, .908. He also has two shutouts. . . . The Wild’s other goaltender is Alex Moodie, who presently is having a pretty good run with the Saskatoon Blades. . . .———
Three WHL forwards have been added as injury replacements to the Top Prospects Game that is to be played in Kelowna on Feb. 1. Tim Bozon of the Kamloops Blazers, Mike Winther of the Prince Albert Raiders and Branden Troock of the Seattle Thunderbirds will replace three injured OHL players -- Nail Yakupov of the Sarnia Sting, Jarrod Maidens of the Owen Sound Attack and Matia Marcantuoni of the Kitchener Rangers. . . . NHL Central Scouting rated Winther at No. 26, Bozon at No. 39 and Troock at No. 90 in its mid-season rankings of North American skaters who are eligible for the NHL’s 2012 draft. . . .
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The report on the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives has been completed but won’t be made public. MJHL commissioner Kim Davis has commented on it and, oh boy, what a can of worms this is.
It is quite obvious from a story by Paul Waldie of The Globe and Mail that Davis has no idea as to what constitutes hazing.
At one point, Davis tells Waldie: “Dressing up as a woman and going to mall, I don’t like it, but what’s the harm? I don’t know.”
I would suggest that dressing up young players in women’s lingerie, as happened with one WHL team this season, is hazing and also demeaning.
Furthermore, why does stuff like this have to happen? Have we not progressed past this kind of outright stupidity? Do adults who are in control of junior hockey teams not understand that some players live in absolute fear of being subjected to this kind of treatment?
Waldie’s story is right here and it is an eye-opener.
———
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, G Spencer Tremblay stopped 23 shots to lead the Warriors to a 2-0 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . F James Henry scored his eighth goal, and his second with Moose Jaw, at 9:20 of the first and it stood up as the winner. . . . F Cam Braes, the other major acquisition by Moose Jaw at the trade deadline, had the other goal, his 27th. . . . Braes also had an assist. . . . The Warriors scratched G Luke Siemens, and brought in G Daniel Wapple, 16, from the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers to serve as the backup. Wapple was a fourth-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . Warriors head coach Mike Stothers told Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald that Siemens “needed to be re-focused.” Siemens, who was acquired from Everett early in the season, is 22-9-4, 2.59, .909 with the Warriors. However, he has given up 14 goals (5, 2, 5, 2) in his last four starts. . . . Victoria is 1-3-0 on its East Division swing. . . . This was the first time this season the Royals have been shut out. . . . The Royals lost three players to injury during the game. . . . D Zach Habscheid left in the first period after taking a hit from F Quinton Howden. . . . F Tim Traber left after a second-period fight with Dallas Ehrhardt. . . . Moose Jaw D Dylan McIlrath was tossed with a checking-to-the-head major at 19:08 of the second period. That came for a hit on D Jesse Zgraggen. . . .
In Regina, the Kootenay Ice scored three PP goals and beat the Pats 3-2 in OT. . . . F Sam Reinhart got the winner at 3:32 of extra time. . . . He finished with two goals, giving him 15, and an assist. . . . His other goal tied the game 2-2 at 7:26 of the third. . . . His brother, Max, drew three assists. . . . F Morgan Klimchuk scored both Regina goals. He has a dozen. . . . The Ice was 3-7 on the PP. . . . The Ice had spent about 26 hours on the bus as it worked to get to Regina for the game. The team left Cranbrook on Monday, spent 11 hours in Sparwood in hopes that No. 3 highway would open, eventually returned to Cranbrook and then took another route, arriving in Regina on Wednesday at 3 a.m. . . . 
In Saskatoon, F Brenden Walker scored three times and added an assist to lead the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 6-4 victory over the Blades, who had won their last five. . . . The Wheat Kings, who had lost four in a row, erased a 2-1 deficit with four straight goals to open the third period. . . . Walker has 18 goals. . . . G Alex Moodie, 16, stopped 29 shots in his fifth straight start for Saskatoon. He has started nine of the club’s 11 games since the Christmas break. . . . Blades D Duncan Siemens was scratched from the lineup for, according to the team, “violation of team rules.” That allowed D Tommy Stipancik to get back into a game. . . . It turns out that Siemens missed a team meeting. . . . The teams will meet again Friday in Saskatoon. . . .
In Edmonton, F Michael St. Croix scored three times and G Laurent Brossoit got the shutout as the Oil Kings beat the Prince George Cougars, 5-0. . . . St. Croix, who scored three straight goals, picked up his second hat trick of the season and the third of his career. He has 28 goals. . . . The Oil Kings, who had a 52-26 edge in shots, now are 20-3-1 at home. . . . Edmonton F Tyler Maxwell scored the game’s first goal, the third straight game in which he has done that. . . . Brossoit, who stopped 26 shots, posted his second shutout of the season and the fourth of his career. He stopped F Greg Fraser on a first-period penalty shot. . . . Edmonton D Martin Gernat drew three assists. . . . The Cougars have been blanked a WHL-high eight times. . . . 
In Calgary, F Emerson Etem scored twice to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 5-1 victory over the Hitmen. . . . The Hitmen, who were opening a five-game homestand, had won eight in a row. . . . The Tigers now are 3-0 against Calgary this season. . . . Etem, who has 39 goals in 40 games, has scored in eight straight games for the third time this season. . . . F Jimmy Bubnick scored his 20th goal of the season for Calgary. . . . The Hitmen took control with two goals in the first minute of the second period. Already leading 1-0, Etem scored shorthanded just 11 seconds into the period and F Curtis Valk added his 15th at 0:54. . . . Tigers G Tyler Bunz stopped 29 shots. . . . The Hitmen took 64 of 114 penalty minutes. . . . The Tigers were 0-9 on the PP; the Hitmen were 0-7. . . . The Tigers had a 45-30 edge in shots, including 19-2 in the third period. . . .
In Kamloops, G Cole Cheveldave stopped 24 shots to help the Blazers blank the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 3-0. . . . Cheveldave, an 18-year-old freshman from Calgary, has four shutouts. His first three all were against Prince George. . . . The Hurricanes have been shut out three times. . . . The Blazers have won seven in a row — with Calgary’s loss, this is the longest active streak in the WHL now — and are just one point behind the Tri-City Americans, who lead the WHL’s overall standings. The teams meet Saturday in Kennewick, Wash. . . . F Brendan Ranford and F Tim Bozon each scored his 23rd goal of the season. . . . Lethbridge is 1-3 on its B.C. Division tour. . . . 
In Kelowna, Everett G Kent Simpson stopped 34 shots as the Silvertips beat the Rockets, 3-2. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 20 shots. That included a save on a second-period penalty shot attempt by F Josh Winquist. . . . The Silvertips had lost 13 straight on the road. They hadn’t won away from home since Oct. 28. . . . D Nick Walters scored at 2:05 of the third to give the visitors a 3-1 lead. . . . F Shane McColgan got the Rockets to within one at 10:08.———
WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Matthew Konan, Medicine Hat.
F Hunter Shinkaruk, Medicine Hat.
D Macoy Erkamps, Lethbridge.
D Tyler Kizuik, Lethbridge.
F Ryan Harrison, Everett.
D Nick Walters, Everett.
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