In Swift Current, G Jon Groenheyde picked up his first career shutout as the Broncos got past the Red Deer Rebels, 4-0. . . . Greonheyde, 20, was playing in his 133rd game. . . . He made 25 saves as the Broncos blanked an opponent for the first time this season. . . . Groenheyde played the first 60 games of his career with the Kamloops Blazers, then was with the Edmonton Oil Kings for 35 appearances. This was his 38th game with Swift Current. . . . F Andy Blanke’s second goal of the season, at 1:02 of the first, stood up as the winner. . . .
In Saskatoon, F Lukas Sutter had two goals and two assists to help the Blades to an 8-6 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Sutter has 19 goals. . . . The Raiders took a 3-2 lead into the secod period when the Blades scored three times on four shots. The Raiders twice got back to within a goal but couldn’t equalize. . . . Saskatoon G Alex Moodie stopped 40 shots and picked up his first WHL assist. . . . Prince Albert F Anthony Bardaro and F Justin Maylan each scored his 20th goal. . . . Saskatoon D Duncan Siemens scored his sixth goal of the season, one more than he counted last season. . . . Raiders D Josh Morrissey, who is 16 and having a terrific season, had a goal and three assists. He has 24 points, including five goals, in 41 games. . . . The Blades have won four in a row. . . .
In Brandon, F Ben Walker’s shootout goal gave the Victoria Royals a 4-3 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Walker had two assists in regulation time as Victoria snapped a 10-game losing skid. . . . The Wheat Kings, who are 0-2-1 in their last three home games, have lost 10 straight shootouts. . . . Brandon is 1-5-1 in its last seven games. . . . The Royals erased a 3-1 deficit when F Jamie Crooks scored at 16:56 of the second and F Brandon Magee tied it at 13:43 of the third. . . . The Royals held a 20-8 edge in shots in the third. . . . F Mark Stone got his 30th of the season for Brandon. . . . Victoria F Dakota Conroy scored his first goal for the Royals, and it came against the team that traded him away on Monday. . . . F Kevin Sundher, who went to Brandon in that exchange, had two assists. . . . Brandon G Curtis Honey, in his first start at home, stopped 46 shots, seven more than Victoria’s Keith Hamilton. . . .
In Edmonton, F Jordan Peddle’s goal at 3:06 of OT gave the Oil Kings a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Oil Kings now lead the Eastern Conference by eight points over Kootenay and the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Edmonton F Henrik Samuelsson had forced OT with his first WHL goal at 8:30 of the third. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart scored his 13th goal, giving him 34 points in 38 games. Jeff Hollick, the Ice’s radio voice, reports that Reinhart has tied F Jarret Stoll and F Nigel Dawes for the franchise record for points in a season by a 16-year-old forward. D Steve McCarthy holds the record, with 40 points at 16 years of age. . . . Kootenay F Drew Czerwonka, the team captain, left the game in the first period and didn’t return. . . .
In Medicine Hat, the Tigers scored the game’s last three goals, two into an empty net, as they beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 6-3. . . . F Emerson Etem had two goals, giving him 37 this season. He has goals in seven straight games, totalling nine goals in that span. . . . Etem broke a 3-3 tie at 10:48 of the third. . . . F Curtis Valk also scored twice for Medicine Hat. . . . Tigers G Tyler Bunz stopped 35 shots in posting his 100th regular-season victory. . . . Moose Jaw F Cam Braes, acquired Monday from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, scored his 100th career goal. He has played in 322 games. . . . Tigers D Patrik Parkkonen had three assists. . . .
In Kamloops, F Tim Bozon scored twice to help the Blazers to a 5-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Bozon, a Swiss freshman, was 39th in the NHL Central Scouting midseason rankings of draft-eligible North American skaters that came out earlier in the week. But he wasn’t named to the CHL Top Prospects Game. . . . Go figure! . . . Bozon has 22 goals. . . . Bozon is riding a seven-game point streak during which time he has 12 points, including six goals. . . . Kamloops F Brandon Herrod scored his 20th goal of the season, 18 of which came with the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Kamloops now has five 20-goal men on its roster. . . . The Blazers have won six in a row and now are just one point the Tri-City Americans, who lead the overall standings and the Western Conference. . . . Kamloops D Austin Madaisky didn’t pick up even one point but he was plus-4. . . . Everett D Ryan Murray, who was third in those same Central Scouting rankings, scored his sixth goal of the season. He has 12 points in 17 games. . . . The Silvertips had planned on heading to Kamloops immediately following a 4-3 overtime victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs on Friday night. However, their departure was delayed for an hour when one of their players was selected for a drug test and, uhh, wasn’t able to go. As a result, they didn’t arrive here until 5 a.m. . . .
In Prince George, the Cougars broke a 1-1 tie with three straight third-period goals and beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-2. . . . The Cougars had beaten the Hurricanes 6-3 on Friday. . . . Prince George F Jordan Tkatch snapped a 1-1 tie at 4:47 of the third. . . . Prince George F Troy Bourke had two assists, giving him five in the two-game series. . . . Cougars G Drew Owsley stopped 39 shots. . . . Lethbridge F Brady Ramsay scored his 16th goal in his 43rd game. Last season, he scored once in 57 games. . . . The Cougars are ninth in the Western Conference, but now are just one point behind the Seattle Thunderbirds and Victoria Royals, who are tied for seventh. . . .
In Vancouver, G Adam Brown turned aside 36 shots as the Kelowna Rockets edged the Giants, 4-3. . . . The Giants overcame a 3-1 third-period deficit, tying the game with two goals 29 seconds apart. F Riley Kieser scored his second goal in as many games, at 6:17, and D Tyler Vanscourt tied it on the PP at 6:46. . . . Kelowna F Carter Rigby got the winner at 7:32. He’s got 13 this season. . . . The Giants were without F Brendan Gallagher and F Dalton Sward, both of whom were injured in Friday’s 11-4 loss to the visiting Tri-City Americans. . . . Gallagher took a big hit from Tri-City F Patrick Holland in the first period and, later on the same shift, took a hard fall into the end boards, possibly injuring his right shoulder. . . . Tweeting about Gallagher’s injury, Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province wrote: “They are saying nothing, which, to me, says a lot. I think it is serious.” . . . Vancouver also was without G Adam Morrison. He got the hook in that loss and wasn’t on the bench in the third period, although head coach Don Hay said later that “there’s nothing wrong with Mo.” . . . With Morrison out, Alexander Ahnert, 18, came in from the junior B Delta Ice Hawks and backed up Jackson Whistle, 16. . . . Ewen reports that the Giants are believed to be bringing in G Payton Lee, 15, from Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna. . . .Vancouver D David Musil (wrist), who didn’t play Friday, also sat out. . . . The Giants are saying that Gallagher, Morrison and Sward are day-to-day and will be re-evaluated on Monday. . . .
In Kent, Wash., G Mac Carruth stopped 25 shots as the Portland Winterhawks blanked the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-0. . . . Carruth has two shutouts this season — both against Seattle — and four in his career. He blanked the Thunderbirds 2-0 on Dec. 31. . . . Portland has won three straight games. . . . The Thunderbirds have lost six in a row. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie scored his WHL-leading 39th goal of the season. . . . The Winterhawks also got a goal from F Marcel Noebels, who was acquired Tuesday from Seattle. . . . Portland D Joe Morrow had an assist to run his points streak to six games. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 48 shots. . . .
In Spokane, F Dominik Uher had two goals and an assist to lead the Chiefs to a 5-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Uher has 14 goals. . . . Spokane F Dylan Walchuk broke a 3-3 tie with a PP goal at 7:05 of the third. He has two goals in two games since joining the Chiefs this week. . . . Tri-City D Sam Grist had tied the game 3-3 with his first WHL goal in 96 games at 11:28 of the second. . . . F Todd Fiddler scored for Spokane. He had 10 points in 35 games with the Prince Albert Raiders. Since joining the Chiefs, he has 10 points, five of them goals, in nine games. . . . Spokane G Mac Engel stopped 31 shots. He is 6-0-0 in his last six starts.
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Manraj Hayer, Everett.
F Tim Bozon, Kamloops.
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In the BCHL on Saturday night, the Penticton Vees ran their winning streak to 23 games with a 4-0 victory over the visiting Prince George Spruce Kings. . . . The Vees next play Friday when they are at home to the Westside Warriors.
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If you watched last spring’s Memorial Cup, you may have seen D Brayden McNabb’s hit on Owen Sound Attack F Joey Hishon. You may even recall that McNabb ended up with a one-game suspension for a hit that left Hishon with a concussion. Well, McNabb now is with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, while Hishon continues his recovery and hasn’t skated since that incident. (McNabb may have suffered a concussion in Buffalo’s 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.)
Sean Fitz-Gerald of the National Post has more right here.
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Congratulations to old friend Dennis Pottage and all of those who have been named to the first induction class for the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame.
Also to be inducted are players Sid Abel, Doug Bentley, Max Bentley, Johnny Bower, Glenn Hall, Gordie Howe, Elmer Lach, Metro Prystai, Fred Sasakamoose and Bryan Trottier; builders Ed Chynoweth, Bill Hunter, Gordon Juckes, Father Athol Murray and Doc Seaman; grassroots contributor Bill Ford; and, Pottage as an official.
As well, five teams will be inducted — the 1989 Swift Current Broncos, the 1974 Regina Pats, the 1985 Prince Albert Raiders, the 1982-83 U of Saskatchewan Huskies and the 1955-64 Semans Wheat Kings.
The Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame is to be located in the Credit Union iplex, the home of the Broncos. The induction banquet is scheduled for July 28.
All I know is that I’m glad I wasn’t on the selection committee. With all of the great hockey players and contributors to the game who came out of Saskatchewan, I can’t imagine the angst that must have gone into picking the first inductees.
And when you look at those names, one thing is for certain — that induction dinner is going to be a storyteller’s delight.
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Brent Peterson, a former player and coach with the Portland Winterhawks, will be inducted into the WHL team’s Hall of Fame in a ceremony prior to a Feb. 3 game with the visiting Everett Silvertips.
He will join former owner Brian Shaw, former owner, GM and coach Ken Hodge and former player Dennis Holland in the club’s Hall of Fame.
“Brent is deserving,” Winterhawks president Doug Piper told Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune. “He was our first captain, a very good player, and he coached us to a Memorial Cup title. He is one of the most popular members the organization has ever had. And his contributions to hockey are outstanding at all levels.”
Peterson couldn’t be more thrilled.
“It’s awesome,” Peterson told Eggers. “What an honor. I know it’s not (former Hawk) Cam Neely being in the NHL Hall of Fame, but it probably means as much to me.
“The Winterhawks are my favorite team in the world. Every time I see a (former) Winterhawk in the NHL, even if I didn’t coach him, I always make sure to say hello. We all have that bond, that special relationship. You are proud to be a part of an organization that has done so well for so long.”
Peterson, 53, now works with the NHL’s Nashville Predators. He was on the coaching staff until Parkinson’s disease forced him to step back.
The Winterhawks also have said they will hold and auction and fund-raiser to benefit the Peterson Foundation for Parkinson’s.
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The Minnesota State High School Hockey League will activate new rules Monday aimed at cracking down on tough hits. A check from behind, boarding or head contact will carry with it at least a major penalty. It is the first time the league has implemented such rule changes in midseason. The move comes after Jack Jablosnki, a player with Benilde-St. Margaret’s, was hit from behind and left paralyzed.
David La Vaque of the Minneapolis Star Tribune has more right here.
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Today’s good read comes from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. It’s his weekly notes package and it is topped with an item on a former WHL player box who now is an NHL referee.
Pour yourself a cuppa and enjoy this right here.
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