Roy Antal, the Regina Leader-Post photographer who took the above photo on Nov. 18, 1994, has died. He passed away Saturday in Regina after a bout with cancer. He would have turned 67 in November.
Antal, who retired in 2010 after working at The Leader-Post for 41 years, was one of the good guys, quick to laugh and with an infectious smile. He had something of a unique golf swing, too; at least, I doubt that there is another one like it anywhere out there.
During my 17 years at The Leader-Post, we shared some breakfasts and more than a few Chinese food buffets. Mostly, though, we shared a lot of stories and more than our share of laughter.
That's Norm Johnston, then of the Regina Pats, on the left in the above photo, and Al Tuer, then with the Moose Jaw Warriors, bringing a bit of WWE to the WHL, which, it seems, was a lot more fun back in the day. That is Antal’s left hand in the bottom right corner of the photo. We can only imagine Antal's surprise when the two coaches brought their act right to him as he stood, camera in hand, between the team's benches in what was then the Regina Agridome.
If you would like to see some of Antal's best work, click right here.
(The flash bounce in the above photo is all mine. It happened when I attempted to make a copy of the photo that I have in my home.)
2. There is controversy brewing on the campus of the U of British Columbia and among the school's many alumni, many of whom donate money to the athletic department. . . . Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun has a terrific piece right here, as he delves into what has all the signs of turning into something really messy in the not-too-distant future.
3. If you've been following the mess that is the saga involving Senator Mike Duffy and haven't seen the story that appeared in Maclean's in September, well, you should pour a cuppa and click right here. Jonathon Gatehouse does a great job of explaining Duffy's past and present situations.
JUST NOTES:
The BCHL's Penticton Vees have signed former WHL D Clint Filbrandt. An 18-year-old from Calgary, Filbrandt was released earlier by the Kootenay Ice, who had acquired him from the Tri-City Americans over the summer. The Americans had selected him in the 10th round of the 2010 bantam draft. He was to make his debut with the Vees last night. . . . The OHL's Erie Otters ran their winning streak to 10 on Saturday, beating the visiting Peterborough Petes, 4-0. Kris Knoblauch, Erie's head coach, is a former WHL player and coach.
SATURDAY NIGHT:
In Medicine Hat, F Curtis Valk had two goals and an assist to help the Tigers to a 6-4 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Medicine Hat snapped a three-game losing skid. . . . Among the Tigers' scratches was veteran F Hunter Shinkaruk (hip). . . . Saskatoon F Collin Valcourt played, and drew two assists, despite taking a charging major for running into Rebels G Patrik Bartosak in Red Deer on Friday night. Valcourt actually scored on the play and the Blades went on to a 4-3 victory. . . .
In Swift Current, the Broncos beat Edmonton 3-1, snapping the Oil Kings' winning streak at three. . . . F Connor Sanvido had an empty-net goal and two assists for the Broncos. . . . Edmonton F Curtis Lazar didn't finish, as he left the game with an undisclosed injury. . . .
In Prince Albert, the Raiders got 27 saves from G Cole Cheveldave as they got past the Regina Pats, 3-1. . . . Raiders F Tim Vanstone, 17, scored his first WHL goal in his 55th game, 15 of which are from this season. . . . Veteran F Shane Danyluk scored his first goal of the season, in game No. 15, for the Raiders. . . . Regina G Dawson MacAuley, who is from Prince Albert, started in his hometown for the first time. . . . The Raiders have won three of four, while the Pats have lost three in a row. . . .
In Cranbrook, F Jaedon Descheneau scored twice as the Kootenay Ice beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-4. . . . The Ice had Mike Dyck helping its coaching staff on the weekend. The former WHL defenceman who has coaching experience with Lethbridge and Vancouver, will help assistant Jay Henderson when head coach Ryan McGill joins Canada's national junior team in December. . . . Among the Moose Jaw scratches was F Brandon Potomak, who injured a shoulder during Thursday's 4-3 OT victory over the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. . . .
In Prince George, F Pavel Padakin got the shootout winner as the Hitmen got past the Cougars, 4-3. . . . The Hitmen are 7-0-3 in their last 10 games and hold a four-point lead atop the Eastern Conference. . . . F Greg Chase had his first WHL hat trick to give the Hitmen a 3-1 lead in the first period. He's got 13 goals this season. . . . F David Soltes, a Czech freshman, missed 12 games with a leg injury. He returned Friday night and scored the shootout winner and added his second career goal last night. . . . F Chase Witala forced OT with his ninth goal at 12:21 of the third. . . .
In Kamloops, F Josh Winquist scored in overtime as the Everett Silvertips beat the Blazers, 7-6. . . . Winquist got his ninth goal on the PP at 3:32 of extra time. . . . Everett was 4-9 on the PP. . . . Winquist also had three assists for the second straight game. . . . Remember when Everett head coach Kevin Constantine was a defensive guru? Well, his Silvertips have given up 13 goals in their last two games and won them both. . . . Blazers F Cole Ully forced OT when he scored with 6.9 seconds left in the third period. . . . The Blazers led 2-0, 3-1, 4-2 and 5-4, before trailing 6-5 in the third period. . . . The Blazers took the game's last seven minor penalties. . . . Three of the four on-ice officials were from Kamloops. . . . The Silvertips (10-2-2) have won four in a row and are just a point back of the Western Conference-leading Portland Winterhawks. . . . Everett goaltender Austin Lotz made his 11th straight start. . . .
In Kent, Wash., F Seth Swenson scored twice, the second into an empty net, as the host Thunderbirds beat the Vancouver Giants, 5-3. . . . F Jaimen Yakubowski, acquired this week from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, made his Seattle debut. F Sam Mckechnie, who also came over in that swap, didn't play. . . . Seattle F Branden Troock, who has an injury-filled WHL career, needed help off the ice in the second period with an undisclosed injury. . . .
In Spokane, Portland ran its winning streak to eight games with a 4-3 victory over the Chiefs. The Winterhawks went 5-0 on a road trip that ended last night. . . . Portland (11-3-1) also moved into top spot in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Chiefs (11-4-0). . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic scored his 100th regular-season goal and also had two assists. Leipsic has 226 points in 211 career games. . . . Spokane F Mitch Holmberg had two assists. He leads the WHL with 37 points. He holds a seven-point lead on Portland forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand and Nic Petan. . . .
In Kennewick, Wash., the host Tri-City Americans dumped the Brandon Wheat Kings, 4-1. . . . The Americans, who have won three in a row, won four of five games on the homestand. . . . The Wheat Kings are 0-2 in the U.S. Division and have been outscored 11-2. . . .
In Victoria, F Myles Bell scored in the shootout to give the Kelowna Rockets a 2-1 victory over the Royals. . . . Kelowna had opened the weekend doubleheader with a 4-1 victory on Friday. . . . The Royals went into the weekend leading the B.C. Division by two points over the Rockets. . . . Kelowna (9-2-2) now holds a one-point edge on Victoria (9-7-1).
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