Here is something from www.sciencedaily.com that was passed along by a reader of this blog:
“Instituting and enforcing rules that limit aggressive acts like bodychecking in ice hockey should help reduce injuries for young players, including serious brain and spine injuries, according to a new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).”
Two paragraphs later:
“Brain and spinal cord injuries among hockey players have been increasing over the past 15 years and are often the result of aggressive bodychecking. In players aged 9-16 years, brain injuries account for 15% of all injuries.
That complete release is right here.
———
If you are at all interested in what other countries are doing with their national junior hockey programs, check this out right here. It’s a report from Finland involving the selection process for the U16 team.
———
The NAHL’s Wenatchee, Wash., Wild has been given approval by USA Hockey to move to the BCHL. The approval came during USA Hockey’s winter meetings in Orlando, Fla. . . . The Wild still will need to make application to the BCHL and the move will have to get the approval of Hockey Canada.———
For a great read on the Lance Armstrong fiasco, check this out right here. It’s from Paul Kimmage of The Observer and make sure you read it right to the end.
———
SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Regina, F Colby Cave broke a 1-1 tie at 4:07 of the second period as the Swift Current Broncos shut down the Pats, 2-1. . . . G Eetu Laurikainen stopped 30 shots. . . . F Morgan Klimchuk gave Regina a 1-0 lead, with his 24th, at 7:11 of the first. . . . Swift Current F Graham Black tied it, with his 19th, at 13:32 of the first. . . . The Broncos lost F Coda Gordon at 12:56 of the first period with a boarding major and game misconduct. . . . Broncos F Adam Lowry was held pointless for the first time since Nov. 20. He totalled 37 points in what was a 21-game streak, the longest in the WHL this season. . . .
In Moose Jaw, the goaltenders stole the show as the Kootenay Ice beat the Warriors 3-2 in the circus. . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 22 shots through OT and then faced 10 circus shooters without giving up a goal. . . . Moose Jaw G Justin Paulic turned aside 23 shots and was 9-for-10 in the shootout. . . . F Zach McPhee, who has five goals in 45 games this season, got the winner. . . . Ice F Jaedon Descheneau forced OT with his 13th goal at 9:17 of the third. . . . F Sam Reinhart had a goal, his 23rd, and an assist for Kootenay. . . . Descheneau and Reinhart both are on 10-game point streaks. . . . D Kendal McFaull scored twice for the home team. He’s got three. . . . The Ice, with just 21 players on its roster, lost F Jon Martin 21 seconds into the second period when he was hit with a charging major and game misconduct for a hit on D Morgan Rielly. . . . Rielly was cut above the right eye but didn’t miss a shift. . . . The Ice, with 11 victories in 12 games, has closed to within four points of a playoff spot. . . . 
In Saskatoon, D Nick Walters, the 24th shootout in the circus, scored to give the Brandon Wheat Kings a 3-2 victory over the Blades. . . . Brandon won the shootout, 2-1. . . . Walters told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that he had never before taken part in a shootout. . . . In his third WHL season, Walters has seven career goals. . . . Brandon G Corbin Boes, who is from Saskatoon, stopped 43 shots through OT and was beaten by only F Shane McGolgan in the shootout. . . . Saskatoon G Andrey Makarov stopped 31 shots on Andrey Makarov Bobblehead Night. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauley scored his 14th goal at 15:45 of the third to force OT. McGauley played the first five games of his WHL career with the Blades in 2010-11. The 20th overall selection in the 2010 bantam draft, McGauley went to Brandon as part of the deal in which F Brayden Schenn went the other way. . . . The Blades have lost four of five. . . . Brandon remains without D Ryan Pulock (wrist). . . .
In Red Deer, the Prince George Cougars scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Rebels, 3-1. . . . D Dan Gibb scored at 15:31 of the first period to break a 1-1 tie. That was Gibb’s second goal of the season. . . . Prince George nursed that until F Klarc Wilson got the empty-netter at 19:19. . . . Prince George G Mac Engel, who is from Red Deer, stopped 30 shots. . . . 
In Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 30 shots as the Tigers beat the Calgary Hitmen, 4-0. . . . Langenhamer posted his first WHL shutout. . . . F Blake Penner gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead with his second goal at 9:40 of the first period. . . . 
In Kamloops, F Brandon Magee scored two PP goals in the third period as the Victoria Royals came from behind to beat the Blazers, 5-4. . . . Magee tied the game at 3:01 and got the winner at 6:20. . . . F Alex Gogolev had a goal, his 16th, and three assists for Victoria. . . . Magee, who has 19 goals, also had an assist. . . . The Royals finished 3-10 on the PP; Kamloops was 2-6. . . . F Matt Needham scored three times for Kamloops. Needham, who has 11 goals, got his second goal at 18:42 of the second and scored again at 19:39 to forge a 3-3 tie. . . . Kamloops F Tim Bozon (ill) missed his second straight game. . . . Victoria beat the Blazers three times in five nights, having won 6-4 and 3-2 (shootout) at home earlier in the week. . . . Kamloops G Taran Kozun started his third straight game for the Blazers, the first time he has done that. However, he didn’t finish, as he left after Victoria’s fourth goal, having stopped 11 shots. . . . 
In Everett, G Austin Lotz stopped 30 shots to lead the Silvertips to a 3-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Lethbridge F Reid Duke scored his seventh goal in his last six games at 10:02 of the first. . . . Duke later left the game with an undisclosed injury. . . . Everett followed with three straight goals, including one from F Mitch Skapski, his first, early in the second period. . . . Lethbridge G Christopher Tai turned aside 30 shots. . . . With three defencemen injured — Connor Cox, Austin Adam and Ayrton Nykkel — the Silvertips brought in Kevin Davis, their 2012 first-round bantam pick from Kamloops. Davis’s club team, the major midget Thompson Blazers, played in Langley, B.C., earlier in the day. . . . Lethbridge D Dan Johnston (shoulder) was injured Friday in Portland and isn’t expected back in the lineup for a while. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., F Branden Troock broke a 2-2 tie at 4:59 of the second period and the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent) went on to a 4-3 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . And so ended Seattle’s 15-game losing streak. . . . The Thunderbirds won four in a row before losing 6-2 to the visiting Winterhawks on Dec. 8. Seattle then lost its next 15 games. . . . While Seattle was struggling, the Winterhawks had gone 14-0-1. . . . Seattle F Adam Kambeitz scored his 10th goal — his first since coming over from Saskatoon on Jan. 10 — and it stood up as the winner after Portland F Nic Petan scored his 31st at 13:55 of the third. . . . Petan and Swift Current’s Adam Lowry share the WHL lead in goals. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic scored his 30th in the first period and has goals in five straight games. Leipsic is riding a 14-game point streak, the longest active one. . . . Petan also had two assists and leads the WHL with 80 points, four more than Leipsic. . . . Seattle F Roberts Lipsbergs had a goal, his 18th, and an assist. . . . 
In Kelowna, F Carter Rigby struck for three goals as his Rockets beat the Vancouver Giants, 4-3. . . . Kelowna has won 19 straight home games, a record for the franchise’s time in the Okanagan. While located in Tacoma, the Rockets once won 24 straight. . . . Rigby has eight goals this season. . . . F Cain Franson scored twice for the Giants, giving him 18 this season. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke stopped 19 shots in winning his 18th straight start. . . .
In Spokane, F Matte Strömwall’s goal 21 seconds into OT gave the Tri-City Americans a 4-3 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Tri-City F Jesse Mychan scored his seventh goal, at 11:23 of the third, to give his guys a 3-2 lead. . . . Spokane F Dylan Walchuk got his 13th, on the PP, at 14:40. . . . Strömwall has 13 goals this season. . . . F Parker Bowles scored twice for the Americans, giving him 15 on the season. . . . Spokane F Todd Fiddler got his 30th, one off the WHL lead. . . . Tri-City G Luke Lee-Knight stopped 39 shots. . . . Spokane C Brenden Kichton had two assists as he ran his point streak to 11 games.———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Ben Betker, Everett
CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Joel Edmundson, Kamloops
F Ryan Harrison, Everett
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
