from Summerland, B.C. . . . According to his Twitter account (@SidSational_10): “Officially signed with the kamloops blazers! #blazernation” . . . Sideroff, who was placed on the Blazers’ protected list in September, plays for a midget AAA team at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, B.C. . . . The 5-foot-9, 140-pound Sideroff has 41 points, including 12 goals, and 64 penalty minutes in 35 games.———
SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, F Braden Christoffer scored his first two goals to help the Regina Pats to a 5-2 victory over the Raiders. . . . An 18-year-old freshman from Sherwood Park, Alta., Christoffer went into the game with five assists in 38 games. . . . Regina F Connor Gay, who went in with one assist in 13 games, set up two goals. . . . The Pats lost D Kyle Burroughs with a kneeing major and game misconduct at 14:51 of the first period. . . . Regina G Teagan Sacher stopped 30 shots. . . . Regina F Morgan Klimchuk scored his 20th goal, while F Lane Scheidl added No. 21. . . . The Pats have won four in a row. . . . 
In Portland, the Winterhawks ran their winning streak to 10 games with a 5-3 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Winterhawks lead the overall standings by seven points over the Kamloops Blazers and Kelowna Rockets. Portland holds two games in hand on Kelowna and three on Kamloops. . . . The Winterhawks are 13-1-0 since the WHL unloaded on them. . . . Portland F Paul Bittner broke a 3-3 tie at 2:07 of the third period and then added insurance with 2:08 left to play. . . . Bittner, a 16-year-old from Crookston, Minn., has nine points, five of them goals, over his last five games. On the season, he has 15 points, including seven goals. . . . Portland F Nic Petan had a goal and two assists. He has 67 points, one short of Kamloops F Colin Smith, who leads the league. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic, who also had a goal and two assists, is third in the points derby, with 65. . . . The Winterhawks gave the goaltender start to Brendan Burke, who made 23 saves. . . . The Winterhawks are at home to the Prince George Cougars on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . Everett F Logan Aasman, who signed with the Silvertips earlier in the week, scored his first WHL goal at 6:17 of the second, giving the visitors a 3-2 lead.
In Red Deer, G Grant Naherniak stopped 27 shots to help the Rebels to a 4-3 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Naherniak, a 16-year-old freshman from Moose Jaw, is 1-1-0, 3.78, .866. . . . D Mathew Dumba broke a 3-3 tie with a shorthanded goal at 18:23 of the third period. He’s got 10 goals this season. . . . That goal came just 30 seconds after Moose Jaw F Jordan Messier tied it on the PP. . . . F Dominik Volek had a goal, his third, and an assist for Red Deer. He’s got five points in six games since joining the Rebels after the Christmas break. . . . The Rebels are 4-0-0 against Moose Jaw this season, having won four one-goal decisions. . . .
In Brandon, F Curtis Valk broke a 2-2 tie early in the third period and the Medicine Hat Tigers went on to beat the Wheat Kings, 4-2. . . . Valk got his 23rd goal just 41 seconds into the period. . . . F Hunter Shinkaruk added insurance when he scored on the PP at 16:44. . . . Valk also drew two assists, as did F Elgin Pearce. . . . F Mike Ferland (undisclosed) missed his second straight game. . . . Tigers F Jacob Doty, 19, scored his seventh goal of the season. He has career highs in goals, assists (10) and points (17), all in 41 games. He has goals in three straight games. . . . The Tigers went 2-1-1 on a four-game swing over five nights. . . .
In Edmonton, G Tristan Jarry stopped 24 shots to help the Oil Kings to a 5-0 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Jarry has tied the franchise’s modern day single-season record with three shutouts. He shares that record with Laurent Brossoit, Torrie Jung and Alex Archibald . . . . Brossoit blanked the Hurricanes in Lethbridge 4-0 on Thursday. He was scheduled to start last night, too, but came down with the flu so opted out. . . . D Ashton Sautner, 18, scored his first goal of the season and the third of his 98-game career. . . . D Cody Corbett scored the game’s first goal, his third this season, and was plus-4. . . . The Oil Kings have won four in a row, the last two by shutout. . . . Edmonton F Henrik Samuelsson had two assists. He’s got 18 points over his last 10 games. . . .
In Lethbridge, F Adam Lowry scored three times as the Swift Current Broncos beat the Hurricanes 3-2 in the circus. . . . Lowry scored twice in regulation time, giving him 27, and added another in the shootout. Under hockey’s goofy rules, the shootout goal doesn’t count in his individual stats. . . . F Graham Black also scored in the circus for the Broncos, while Lethbridge’s two shooters both came up short. . . . Lowry now has a 17-game point streak going. That is one shy of the longest in the WHL this season. F Brendan Leipsic of the Portland Winterhawks had an 18-game streak from Oct. 28 to Dec. 8. . . . Lowry gave the Broncos a 2-1 lead at 17:43 of the third, only to have F Sam Mckechnie, with his 19th, tie it for the Hurricanes at 18:07. . . . D Reece Scarlett had two assists for the Broncos. . . . The Broncos dressed 17 skaters, one under the maximum allowed. . . .
In Prince George, the Kelowna Rockets scored six times in the second period and doubled the Cougars 8-4 to move into a tie with the idle Kamloops Blazers atop the B.C. Division. . . . F Tyson Baillie and F Myles Bell each had a goal and two assists for the Rockets. . . . Baillie has 14 goals; Bell has 26. . . . F Justin Kirkland, a 16-year-old from Camrose, Alta., scored his first WHL goal for the Rockets. It came in his 11th game, and fifth this season. . . . F Jarrett Fontaine scored twice, giving him six, and added an assist for the Cougars, who dressed just 15 skaters, including D Sam Ruopp, a 15-year-old from the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., the Spokane Chiefs scored the game’s last four goals and beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-2. . . . Seattle now has lost 10 in a row. . . . Spokane F Collin Valcourt tied it with his 12th goal at 8:28 of the second period and F Mike Aviani put the Chiefs out front with his 19th at 11:40. . . . Spokane G Eric Williams stopped 34 shots, 11 fewer than Seattle’s Brandon Glover. . . .
In Victoria, F Brandon Magee scored twice and added an assist as the Royals downed the Tri-City Americans, 5-2. . . . Magee has 16 goals this season. His second one was an empty-netter. . . . Magee broke a 2-2 tie with his 15th goal at 1:19 of the third period. . . . F Tim Traber got his second of the season at 14:53 of the third. . . . Victoria F Alex Gogolev had three assists and was plus-4. . . . ———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None
CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None
———
From Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuba (@mcuban): “Im sorry NBA fans. Ive tried for 13 yrs to fix the officiating in this league and I have failed miserably. Any suggestions? I need help”
———
From Oklahoma City Barons F Jordan Eberle (@ebs_14): “Hey @RNH_93 make sure you get some rest at home 6 games in 30 days. I’m about to play my 3rd game in 2 and a half days. #woose”
———
From Oklahoma City Barons F Taylor Hall (@hallsy04): “Hey @RNH_93 hope u r having a nice rest at home after playing 8 games in a mth. @ebs_14 and I will grind out 3 games in 2.5 days. C u soon”
———
From Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons (@simmonssteve): “I won’t believe the NHL lockout is over until Dickie Dunn writes it. If Dickie Dunn writes it, it’s got to be true.”
—————————
The WHL’s trade deadline arrives on Jan. 10. Here is a look at trades since the end of the WHL’s Christmas trade moratorium:
Jan. 1: Medicine Hat trades D Dylan Busenius, 19, F Jayden Hart, 18, and a 2014 sixth-round pick to Prince Albert for F Logan McVeigh, 18, D Zach Hodder, 19, F Connor Hobbs, 15, and a 2013 second-round pick.
Jan. 2: Vancouver trades F Kale Kessy, 20, to Kamloops for F Rob Trzonkowski, 18, and a 2015 fifth-round pick.
Jan. 3: Everett trades F Trent Lofthouse, 18, to Victoria for a 2014 sixth-round draft pick.
Jan. 3: Victoria trades G Jared Rathjen, 18, to Vancouver for a 2013 eighth-round draft pick.
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
