 |
| Jess Brown, who covers the Spokane Chiefs for the Spokane Spokesman-Review, re-tweeted this photo late Friday night. Yes, that is rock star Rod Stewart, the father of Chiefs F Liam Stewart, who was at Friday's game, which was part of the team's annual family weekend. |
Joe Marsh, the head coach at St. Lawrence University, announced his retirement on Friday. Marsh, the head coach there for 26 years, didn’t coach this season as he had taken medical leave. Mike Hurlbut was the interim head coach this season. . . . Greg Carvel has been named the head coach to take over from Marsh. Carvel worked as an assistant coach this season.
———
FRIDAY’S GAMES:
(If you’re a WHL fan and on Twitter, you should be following @WHLFacts)
In Prince Albert, F Anthony Bardaro scored four times to lead the Raiders to a 5-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Bardaro, who has 35 goals, broke a 1-1 tie at 1:00 of the second, then later scored the game’s last three goals, the final one into an empty net. . . . Bardaro’s second goal broke a 2-2 tie at 7:50 of the third. . . . Prince Albert D Josh Morrissey had three assists. A 16-year-old from Calgary, Morrissey has 37 points in 63 games, and he’s plus-3 on a team that has surrendered 72 more goals than it has scored. . . . Prince Albert F Justin Maylan also had three assists. . . . F Ryon Moser had a goal, his 14th, and an assist for the Broncos, while F Graham Black had two assists. . . . D Brycen Martin, the second overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft, made his WHL debut with the Broncos. . . . Neither team will be in the playoffs. . . .
In Brandon, F Matej Stransky had four points to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 6-2 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Stransky had a goal, his 36th, and three assists. . . . Stransky has 71 points in 66 games, after picking up 26 in 71 as a rookie last season. . . . F Ryan Olsen added two goals, giving him 13, and an assist for the Blades. . . . F Alessio Bertaggia gave Brandon a 1-0 lead, with his 23rd goal, on a PP at 8:10 of the first. . . . The Blades responded with three straight goals. . . . Brandon F Mark Stone had two assists but left in the third period favouring a hand. . . . The Blades clinched a playoff spot with the victory. . . . The Blades are on an extended road trip because the Tim Hortons Brier (aka the Canadian men’s curling championship) is in their home arena. The Blades are 2-2-1 on this swing. . . . Brandon scratched F Kevin Sundher (concussion), F Tyrel Seaman (concussion), F Daniel Asham (knee), D Dylan Kuczek (shoulder), D Rene Hunter (upper body) and G Brandon Anderson (personal). The Wheat Kings went with 17 skaters, one under the maximum. . . . The Blades scratched D Dalton Thrower (shoulder), while welcoming back D Connor Cox (back). Cox, who had two assists, hadn’t played since Feb. 18. . . . Thrower may not play again before the playoffs start. . . . Brandon F Darian Dziurzynski, who was acquired from the Blades earlier in the season, played in his 300th regular-season game. . . . Saskatoon and Regina, each having four games remaining, are tied for sixth in the Eastern Conference, just one point behind Kootenay, which also has four games remaining. . . . Brandon is eighth, 10 points ahead of Red Deer, which has five games left. Red Deer’s only hope to make the playoffs is to force a sudden-death tiebreaking game with Brandon. For that to happen, Brandon would have to lost each of its last four games in regulation time, while the Rebels went 5-0-0. . . . 
In Regina, the Pats scored the game’s last two goals and beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-4. . . . F Matt Marantz, who sat out the last three games, pulled Regina into a 4-4 tie with his 13th goal, at 7:13 of the third, on a PP. . . . F Morgan Klimchuk broke the tie with his 17th goal, at 15:42. . . . Regina F Jordan Weal continued his stellar season, with a goal and two assists. He has 114 points, including 39 goals. . . . The Warriors got three goals from F Kenton Miller, giving him 34, while F James Henry had a goal, his 16th, and two helpers. . . . Regina G Matt Hewitt stopped 39 shots, 22 more than Moose Jaw’s Luke Siemens. . . . Regina holds a 4-2-1 edge in the season series with Moose Jaw. They’ll finish it off tonight in Moose Jaw. . . . The Pats clinched their first playoff spot since 2008. . . . The Warriors, who have clinched the East Division title, will open playoffs as the No. 2 seed, meaning they will play the seventh-place finisher. . . .
In Cranbrook, F Emerson Etem scored twice to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 3-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Ice took a 1-0 lead on F Joe Antilla’s 14th goal at 14:26 of the first period. . . . That lead held up well into the third period, when Etem scored at 15:14 and 17:32, the latter on the PP. . . . F Hunter Shinkaruk got his 46th into an empty net at 19:21. . . . D James Bettauer had two assists for the Tigers. He has 44 points in 55 games with the Tigers, who acquired him early in the season from Prince Albert. All told, he’s got 53 points in 70 games. . . . Etem has a WHL-leading 58 goals as he strives to be the league’s first 60-goal game since Layne Ulmer of the Swift Current Broncos (2000-01). . . . Tigers G Tyler Bunz stopped 26 shots. . . . The Tigers had F Cole Grbavac, their captain, back for the first time since Feb. 22. . . . The Tigers are third in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Calgary. . . . The Ice is fifth, four points behind Calgary and just a point ahead of Saskatoon and Regina. . . . Bob Ridley, the longtime radio voice of the Tigers, called his 2,999th regular-season game. He gets to 3,000 tonight in Lethbridge. . . .
In Lethbridge, F Trevor Cheek scored twice to help the Calgary Hitmen to a 6-3 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . He has 22 goals. . . . Calgary D Collin Bowman broke a 3-3 tie with his 14th goal at 11:25 of the third and Cheek added insurance 1:22 later. . . . The Hurricanes erased 2-0 and 3-1 deficits. . . . F Clayton Chase and F Danny Gayle each had two assists for Calgary, which got 39 saves from G Chris Driedger. . . . The Hitmen, 8-2-0 in their last 10, stayed two points behind third-place Medicine Hat. . . . 
In Red Deer, the Edmonton Oil Kings wrapped up their first Eastern Conference title with a 5-2 victory over the Rebels. . . . Edmonton F T.J. Foster scored two PP goals 30 seconds apart late in the first period to erase a 1-0 deficit. . . . Foster has 28 goals. . . . Edmonton F Curtis Lazar added his 17th at 18:57 of the first, giving the Oil Kings three goals in 2:04. . . . The Rebels got to within 3-2 when F Mason Burr scored his third goal at 14:01 of the second. . . . The Oil Kings put it away with two empty-net goals, including F Travis Ewanyk’s first of the season. He was playing in his seventh game of the season after coming back from shoulder surgery. . . . The Oil Kings are tied for first place overall with Tri-City. . . . 
In Vancouver, F Brendan Ranford had five points and F Brandon Herrod scored three times as the Kamloops Blazers dropped the Giants, 6-3. . . . Ranford, who has 39 goals, had two goals and three helpers in the second five-point game of his season and career. . . . Herrod, who has 27 goals, enjoyed his third career hat trick. . . . F Jordan DePape, the third player on that line, had three assists. . . . The Blazers were 3-10 on the PP. At one point in the third period, the power plays were 10-1. . . . Vancouver finished with 56 of 88 penalty minutes. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave stopped 23 shots. . . . Vancouver starter Adam Morrison stopped seven of 11 shots and left at 1:03 of the second with his side down 4-1. Jackson Whistle came on to finish up, stopping 13 of 15. . . . Morrison has gotten the hook from three straight Friday night games. . . . The Giants have lost five in a row at home. . . . The Blazers were without F Chase Schaber (leg) and he won't play in the rematch tonight in Kamoops. . . . Kamloops, which has clinched the B.C. Division, is two points behind Tri-City and one behind Portland in the race for first place in the Western Conference. . . . The Giants remain tied with Spokane for fourth in the Western Conference. They will meet in the first round but have yet to decide home-ice advantage. The Chiefs hae five games remaining; the Giants have four to play. . . .
In Spokane, G Ty Rimmer stopped 35 shots to help the Tri-City Americans to a 4-2 victory over the Chiefs. . . . F Brendan Shinnimin, who leads the WHL with 125 points, had a goal, his 55th, and three assists. He now has 200 career assists. . . . Shinnimin also ran his point streak to 19 games, tying Medicine Hat F Emerson Etem for the longest in the WHL this season. . . . Tri-City F Patrick Holland had one assist, giving him a WHL-leading 80. He is the first WHLer player with 80 assists in a season since Portland’s Todd Robinson got there in 1996-97. . . . Holland also has at least one assist in 16 straight games, the longest such streak in the CHL this season. He hs 30 helpers in those 16 games. . . . Tri-City F Adam Hughesman scored the game’s first two goals, giving him 43 on the season. Both those goals came via the PP. . . . The Americans were 2-2 on the PP. . . . Tri-City F Justin Feser, who has 37 goals, scored shorthanded in the second period. It stood up as his third straight game-winner. . . . It is family weekend in Spokane and rock star Rod Stewart, the father of Chiefs F Liam Stewart, was in attendance. . . . The Americans lead the Western Conference and U.S. Division by one point over Portland. . . . The Chiefs have lost three in a row. . . . The Americans, who have won three in a row, tied a franchise single-season record with their 23rd road victory. . . . The Americans have four games remaining, all at home. . . .
In Kelowna, G Keith Hamilton returned to his hometown to stop 26 shots and lead the Victoria Royals to a 3-1 victory over the Rockets. . . . The Royals acquired Hamilton in a trade from Portland prior to this season. . . . Victoria F Jamie Crooks broke a 1-1 tie with his 35th goal at 6:22 of the third period. . . . D Brett Cote added insurance with his first WHL goal just 35 seconds later. . . . Cote, a 17-year-old freshman from Oakbank, Man., was playing in his 61st game. . . . Kelowna D Myles Bell opened the scoring with his 14th goal, six of which have come in six games against Victoria. . . . Rockets F Colton Sissons, who is their captain, has been out since Feb. 11 with a concussion. However, he is back on skates and hopes to return for the playoffs. . . . The Royals moved into seventh in the Western Conference, a point ahead of Everett. . . . The Silvertips are three points ahead of Seattle and five up on the idle Prince George Cougars. . . .
In Everett, D Troy Rutkowski scored with 1:31 left in the third period to give the Portland Winterhawks a 4-3 victory over the Silvertips. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth preserved the victory when he stopped F Josh Winquist on a penalty shot with 4.7 seconds left in the third period. . . . F Ty Rattie had a goal, his 54th, and an assist for Portland. . . . D Josh Caron scored his first goal of the season for Everett. It was his third goal in 166 career games. . . . The Winterhawks were without F Sven Baertschi, who made his NHL debut with the Flames, who beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-3 in Calgary. Baertschi is expected to play for the Flames on Sunday afternoon when they play the host Minnesota Wild. . . . Last night, Baertschi played 9:08 over 16 shifts. He had seven shifts in the first period, four in the second and five in the third. . . . Everett slipped into eighth in the Western Conference. . . . Portland stayed within a point of Tri-City, which leads the Western Conference and the U.S. Division.———
FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Hayden Rintoul, Victoria.
F Shane McColgan, Kelowna.
———
FRIDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Zach McPhee, Everett.
———
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Regina at Moose Jaw
Prince Albert at Swift Current
Saskatoon at Brandon
Red Deer at Edmonton
Medicine Hat at Lethbridge
Vancouver at Kamloops
Victoria at Everett
Prince George at Kelowna
Portland at Seattle
Kootenay at Spokane
———
In the BCHL, the Penticton Vees scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Spruce Kings 8-5 in Prince George, running their record winning streak to 42 games. The BCHL regular season concludes this weekend. The Vees will wrap it up tonight with another game in Prince George.
There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
Posts
