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| Brendan Shinnimin of the Tri-City Americans has had more than one goaltender in his sights in the month of February. (Photo by John Allen / AridAcres.com) |
Pick one . . . Amazing! Incredible!! Out of sight!!!
Shinnimin scored the game’s first four goals as his Tri-City Americans beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds 5-1 and moved into first place in the U.S. Division, the Western Conference and the WHL’s overall standings, all at the same time.
But first things first . . .
Shinnimin went into the game with 48 goals this season; he came out with 52, the third player in the WHL to get to 50 this season.
Shinnimin, a 20-year-old from Winnipeg, scored at 16:17 and 19:04 of the first period, and 1:21 and 11:23 of the second. The last three of those came via the PP.
He also drew an assist on a PP goal by F Adam Hughesman at 3:08 of the third period. That goal, his 38th, got Hughesman to 98 points.
The third member of that line, Patrick Holland, picked up four more assists. He has 96 points, including a WHL-leading 73 assists.
But back to Shinnimin. . . .
He now has 115 points and leads the WHL scoring race by 10 points over F Mark Stone of the Brandon Wheat Kings. With 52 goals, Shinnimin is tied with Portland Winterhawks F Ty Rattie, one behind F Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers.
Shinnimin has career highs in goals (52), assists (63) and points (115), having reached those numbmers in 59 games. His previous highs were 34 goals, 62 assists and 96 points, all coming in 60 games last season.
Shinnimin is the first Tri-City skater to get to 50 goals in one season since Dylan Gyori in 1998-99. Gyori finished with 53.
Shinnimin also has goals in 10 straight games, with 21 goals in those games.
Now for the mind-boggling part of this . . .
In his last four games, Shinnimin has put up 19 points, including 11 goals. He has a four-goal game and two three-goal efforts. In 13 February games, Shinnimin has scored 23 goals and added 18 assists. That, folks, adds up to 41 points, which is a good season for a lot of players.
The Americans also have won each of those four games which, combined with other outcomes, has moved them back to the top of the WHL’s overall standings.
G Drew Owsley, a former teammate now with the Prince George Cougars, tweeted: “At this space, @ShinboSlice might score his 60th on me in a couple of weeks. #uhoh”
And there was this tweet from Hughesman: “Congrats to @ShinboSlice for 50 goals. Honestly speechless and have no words to describe/tweet about his month.”
Earlier in the day, Jeremy Schappert, a former Seattle skater who is from Winnipeg, tweeted: “Dear Brendan Shinnimin, How are you doing this?”
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| Garth MacBeth, who pens The MacBeth Report, was in action on the weekend. |
The Thunderbirds and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington and Alaska held their annual Hockey Challenge on Saturday and Sunday in Kent, Wash.
Included in the weekend festivities were the Thunderbirds’ two home games, along with the All-Star Game on Saturday that includes local celebrities and media personalities, along with alumni from the WHL team. And, yes, it turns out that Taking Note was represented. Garth MacBeth, who does such a remarkable job on The MacBeth Report, suited up and we have a photograph to prove it. . . . The Hockey Challenge began in 1998, according to a news release, “when hockey-playing Microsoft employees, with the help of the Thunderbirds, took an in-house rivalry public and decided to raise money the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington and Alaska (RMHC). Since inception, the Challenge has raised more than $4 million for RMHC, which provides a home-away-from-home for children and their families during medical treatment, making each day a little easier.”
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MORE SUNDAY GAMES:
(Once again, this is done with a tip of the hat to @WHLFacts. Follow @WHLFacts on Twitter for even more info.)
In Edmonton, F Mitch Moroz scored twice to help the Oil Kings to a 4-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Moroz, who has 15 goals, got the game’s first and third goals as Edmonton took a 3-0 first-period lead. . . . The Hurricanes had won three in a row. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit stopped 31 shots in winning his 35th game this season. . . . F Brady Ramsay scored his 23rd goal of the season for Lethbridge. Ramsay, who turned 19 on Feb. 7, had one goal in 57 games last season. He has 23 in 61 this season. . . . The Oil Kings have a 10-point lead over the Medicine Hat Tigers atop the Central Division and lead the Eastern Conference by six points over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . .
In Calgary, F Victor Rask broke a 1-1 tie at 8:48 of the third period as the Hitmen edged the Kelowna Rockets, 2-1. . . . F Jimmy Bubnick opened the scoring for Calgary, with his 29th, at 4:57 of the first on a PP. Kelowna had been penalized for having too many men on the ice. . . . F Brett Bulmer pulled Kelowna even with his 29th at 11:07. . . . Rask won it with his 27th. . . . Calgary G Brandon Glover stopped 26 shots, four fewer than Kelowna’s Jordon Cooke. . . . Kelowna has lost three in a row. . . . The Hitmen had F Calder Brooks back after he missed seven games with a shoulder injury. . . . The Hitmen now are fourth in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Medicine Hat and a point up on the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Rockets will finish sixth in the Western Conference. . . .
In Everett, G Kent Simpson turned aside 35 shots to lead the Silvertips to a 2-1 OT victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Silvertips were less than a minute away from being blanked for a second straight game when F Josh Winquist pulled them into a 1-1 tie with his 13th goal at 19:09 of the third period. Yes, Simpson was on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . F Ryan Harrison won it with his 18th at 1:07 of extra time. . . . F Cam Reid had scored for Portland, at 2:53 of the second. . . . The Winterhawks had won nine in a row. . . . Everett D Brennan Yadlowski completed his 10-game suspension by sitting this one out. . . . Everett has closed to within a point of Seattle, which holds down the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . Portland and the Kamloops Blazers are one point behind the Western Conference-leading Tri-City Americans, who also lead the overall standings. The Blazers are to play in Portland on Tuesday.———
SUNDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Brady Ramsay, Lethbridge.
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SUNDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
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In the BCHL, the host Penticton Vees ran their winning streak to 37 games, this time beating the Prince George Spruce Kings, 4-1. . . . The Vees next play Thursday when they return to Merritt to play the Centennials. Those teams played in Merritt on Saturday night, with the Vees winning 2-1 in double OT.
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Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz wasn’t in uniform Saturday as the Tigers scored a 4-3 shootout victory over the visiting Kelowna Rockets. It seems the veteran goaltender, whose NHL rights belong to the Edmonton Oilers, is battling concussion problems.
Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal blog The Cult of Hockey has more right here.
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F Brady Leavold (Swift Current, Kelowna, 2004-2008) is with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees these days. But the road to the Killer Bees was full of potholes and heroin and Oxycontin and who knows what else. Brian Sandalow of Valley Freedom Newspapers has Leavold’s story right here.
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ASK THE COMMISSIONER:
Paul Kelly, squeezed out as executive director of College Hockey Inc., tells Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe that he isn’t sure where he’s going from here, but . . .
“Ideally, I’d like to stay in hockey,” Kelly told Dupont. “I’m grateful for the opportunity the commissioners gave me, and now I’m going to take some of the advice I’ve given to a lot of college-aged hockey players the last couple of years: back away a bit and not leap at the first thing that comes along. When you do that, it often forecloses what can be even better opportunities.
“But I know I love the game, and would equally love the chance to stay in it, be that with the NHL, a team’s front office, international hockey, wherever.
“I know we did some very good things at CHI, and I know I leave there with it in good hands. I truly believe it has the chance to thrive.’’
So, Mr. Commissioner, why doesn’t the CHL hire Kelly as its president, a move that would allow David Branch to focus entirely on his position as commissioner of the OHL?
Hey, it was just a thought!
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