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F Adam Courchaine (Medicine Hat, Vancouver, 2001-05) has signed a one-year contract with Dusseldorf (Germany, DEL). He had been released by Székesfehérvár (Hungary, Erste Bank Liga) by mutual agreement after scoring five goals and adding six assists in 16 games.
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Bob McKenzie of TSN, hockey’s ultimate insider, took time out from his busy schedule on Tuesday to post a good look at the prospects for the Canadian national junior team’s roster.
Hockey Canada is to issue selection camp invitations on Nov. 29, with the camp scheduled for Dec. 11-15 in Blainville, Que.
Of course, a lot of hockey fans are wondering about the status of C Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings, who hasn’t played since Oct. 11.
“Patrick isn't expected back for another two-to-three weeks,” McKenzie writes. “He had sports hernia surgery in the off-season. There were fears he would need the same procedure done on the other side, but the prognosis now is for some rest and rehab. It's expected he will be ready before Dec. 11, but how much hockey will he have played?”
As for the goaltending, McKenzie offers:
“Tampa Bay’s 19-year-old prospect Connor Ingram of Kamloops and Philadelphia’s 18-year-old prospect Carter Hart of Everett have been the best Canadian goalies in junior hockey this season. And it really hasn't been close either. Barring unforeseen developments, they are expected to be Team Canada's tandem.”
McKenzie’s complete piece, including all kinds of information, is right here.
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At Edmonton, F Tyler Benson of the Vancouver Giants had a goal and two assists to help Team WHL to a
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The Moose Jaw Warriors will be without F Jaxan Kaluski, 17, for an indefinite period that could stretch through the end of this season.
Kaluski suffered a fractured ankle during Saturday’s 5-1 loss to the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. He underwent surgery in Saskatoon on Monday.
According to the Warriors, “The surgery was a success and he’s expected to make a full recovery.”
The Warriors say Kaluski will be out indefinitely. He is unlikely to play again this season.
A freshman from Lloydminster, Alta., Kaluski had one assist in 16 games with the Warriors.
A tip of the cap to the Warriors for the update on Kaluski’s condition.
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Cody Nickolet, the Saskatoon Blades' analytics guy, now will spend some of his time working with the NHL's Florida Panthers. It isn’t that long ago when he was keeping track of WHL forward lines and defensive pairings and making them available to media and WHL fans. Yesterday, he tweeted: “Thrilled to be joining the Florida Panthers to track games and prospect data.” . . . He also will continue on as the Blades' director of analytics and one of their scouts.
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Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet posted his lastest 30 Thoughts on Tuesday. As usual, this is a must read for any hockey fan, and it’s right here.
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Well look at this birthday present @CZabby19 💍🎉 pic.twitter.com/OTnN9XX4XT— levi pierro-zabotel (@lmpierrozabotel) November 8, 2016
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LEADERS
POINTS: F Sam Steel, Regina, F Mason Shaw, Medicine Hat, each 28; F Kailer Yamamoto, Spokane, 26; F Chad Butcher, Medicine Hat, F Cody Glass, Portland, each 25.
GOALS: F Michael Rasmussen, Tri-City, 16; Steel, F Tyler Steenbergen, Swift Current, each 14; Yamamoto, F Zak Zborosky, Kootenay, each 13.
ASSISTS: Shaw, 23; F Brayden Burke, Moose Jaw, 19; Butcher, Glass, each 18; F Tyler Sandhu, Tri-City, 17.
VICTORIES: Nick Schneider, Medicine Hat, 11; Ty Edmonds, Prince George, Griffen Outhouse, Victoria, each 10; Carter Hart, Everett, Michael Herringer, Kelowna, each 9.
GAA: Hart, 1.89; Connor Ingram, Kamloops, 2.01; Ty Edmonds, Prince George, 2.29; Logan Flodell, Saskatoon, 2.34; Cody Porter, Calgary, 2.46.
SAVE %: Ingram, .937; Flodell, .932; Hart, .926; Edmonds, .921; Outhouse, Porter, Ian Scott, Prince Albert, each .920.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
No Games Scheduled.
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series, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, 2-0. . . . The next three games, if needed, are scheduled for Kelowna — on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. . . . As they did in Game 1 on Friday, the Rockets scored key goals late in one period and early in another. . . . Merkley broke a 1-1 tie at 19:57 of the first period and F Gage Quinney stretched the lead to 3-1 just 27 seconds into the second period. . . . Brandon tied it on two goals by F Peter Quenneville, at 2:49 and 6:37, in the third. He’s got 10 playoff goals. . . . Merkley got the winner, his fourth goal of these playoffs, at 10:16 while skating shorthanded. . . . Moments earlier, Brandon had come up empty on a 2-on-1 break. . . . Kelowna F Leon Draisaitl closed it out with an empty-netter at 19:39. . . . F Dillon Dube had two assists for Kelowna, with Draisaitl and F Rourke Chartier each with a goal and an assist. . . . F Morgan Klimchuk had two assists for Brandon. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle stopped 38 shots, 12 more than Brandon’s Jordan Papirny. . . . Brandon was 1-for-4 on the PP; Kelowna’s PP never got on the ice. . . . The referees were Jeff Ingram and Reagan Vetter. . . . At one point in the first period, the Wheat Kings had a 5-1 edge in shots on goal. At period’s end, the Rockets led, 16-8. . . . There weren’t any lineup changes from Game 1. . . . Attendance, for the second night in a row, was 5,502. . . . Bruce Luebke, who calls Wheat Kings games on CKLQ, has a game story 
F Auston Matthews isn’t eligible for the NHL draft until 2016, but there already is a lot of buzz around the phenom from Scottsdale, Ariz. As things now sit, he is considered by most observers to be the favourite as the top pick in that 2016 NHL draft. . . . Matthews is coming off a tremendous season in the U.S. National Team Development Program. . . . Now the $64,000 question is this: Where will Matthews play in 2015-16? . . . To date, the options have been seen as the NCAA (Boston College, Boston University, Denver, Michigan or North Dakota) and the WHL. The Everett Silvertips selected him in the third round of the 2012 bantam draft. . . . But perhaps there is another option. On Saturday, Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News reported that Matthews’ advisors have said he is “fielding offers from the Swiss League.” . . . Kennedy’s piece is 
F Dominic Turgeon of the Portland Winterhawks has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. Turgeon, the son of former NHLer Pierre Turgeon, turned 19 on Feb. 25. He was a third-round pick by the Red Wings in the NHL’s 2014 draft. . . . This season, he had 43 points, including 18 goals, in 67 games. In three seasons, he has 82 points., 31 of them goals, in 187 games. He scored eight times in Portland’s 17 playoff games this spring. . . . Turgeon has joined the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit’s AHL affiliate, for the remainder of the playoffs.
In the OHL, the host Oshawa Generals scored a 5-1 victory over the Erie Otters to take a 2-0 lead in the championship series. . . . F Matt Mistele scored twice for Oshawa, giving him 10 goals in these playoffs. . . . Erie F Connor McDavid had his 16-game playoff point streak snapped. He has 43 points, including 19 goals, in 17 games. . . . Attendance was 6,085. . . . They’ll play in Erie on Monday and Wednesday nights.
MacLachlan, who had been with the Warriors for 14 years, is under contract through next season. . . . “I felt in discussions and where we were at it was time to make a change for the hockey club to move forward," Warriors general manager Alan Millar told Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald."We thought it was fair to both Robert and the hockey club to make the decision and have the discussion now, as opposed to going through the next three-and-a-half months with the potential question mark in terms of what we were doing.” . . . McLachlan, who lives in Okotoks, Alta., told Gourlie: “"I'm proud of what we did. When I started with the organization I don't think we had a lot of respect out there. The work of everybody — the scouting staff, the people in the office and everyone else — has brought the level of respect up in the league to the point where we're one of the most respected teams in the league. . . . It's a weight lifted off of my shoulders and I feel somebody else can take a stab at it," 
In Regina, F Jack Rodewald scored at 3:44 of OT to give the Moose Jaw Warriors a 4-3 victory over the Pats. . . . Attendance was announced at 6,484 on a night when the Pats unveiled their new scoreclock/video screens. . . . Rodewald’s 22nd goal came via the PP. . . . Regina had won 11 straight games over the Warriors. . . . The Warriors led 3-1 with five minutes to play in the third period. . . . Regina F Taylor Cooper scored his 19th goal, on a PP, at 15:10 and F Pavel Padakin tied it, with his 14th, at 16:26. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple stopped 35 shots, 17 more than Moose Jaw’s Zach Sawchenko. . . . Moose Jaw D Dustin Perillat had two assists, while Rodewald, F Jaimen Yakubowski and Axel Blomqvist each had a goal and an assist. . . . Cooper also had an assist for the Pats, while D Chase Harrison had two assists. . . . The Warriors were 2-for-6 on the PP; the Pats were 1-for-5. . . . The Warriors (20-24-4) have won two in a row. They are to play in Saskatoon tonight. . . . The Pats (26-16-5) have lost four straight (0-2-2). They’ll play in Brandon tonight. . . . A post game tweet from Warren Woods of Regina radio station CJME: “Pats HC John Paddock says they were fortunate to get a point tonite but were " screwed by the officials" in OT. . . . Ch-ch-ching! . . . 
n Brandon, F Tanner Kaspick’s first goal of the season stood up as the winner as the Wheat Kings dumped the Prince Albert Raiders, 4-1. . . . Kaspick’s goal, at 16:45 of the first period, gave Brandon a 2-0 lead. . . . F Tim McGauley, in his 200th regular-season game, scored twice for Brandon, giving him 29 this season. He scored the game’s first and last goals. . . . The Wheat Kings opened a four-game homestand with this one. . . . Wheat Kings F John Quenneville and D Eric Roy each had two assists. . . . Brandon G Alex Moodie stopped 31 shots, one more than Prince Albert’s Rylan Parenteau. . . . Brandon F Braylon Shmyr came up short on a penalty shot 37 seconds into the game. . . . The Wheat Kings continue to play without F Jayce Hawryluk and D Kale Clague, while the Raiders scratched two of their leading scorers in D Craig Leverton and F Simon Stransky. . . . The Wheat Kings (34-9-4), who entertain Regina tonight, have won five straight. They continue to lead the Eastern Conference and are one point behind Kelowna, which leads the overall standings. . . . The Raiders (19-26-1), who won’t play tonight, have lost three straight. . . . 
In Calgary, G Mack Shields earned his first shutout of the season as the Hitmen beat the Swift Current Broncos, 8-0. . . . Shields stopped 24 shots. He also picked up his seventh assist of the season. He holds the franchise’s career record, with 13. . . . F Radel Fazleev scored his 14th goal 14 seconds into the game and the Hitmen were off to the races. . . . F Terrell Draude scored twice, giving him six goals, and added an assist. . . . F Kenton Helgesen got his 13th goal and had two assists, while F Adam Tambellini scored his 30th goal. . . . D Jake Bean scored his third goal and had an assist, and was plus-5. . . . D Travis Sanheim had one assist and also was plus-5. . . . Broncos D Dillon Heatherington left in the first period with an undisclosed injury. . . . Calgary D Colby Harmsworth returned after missing 19 games with a knee injury. . . . The Hitmen (25-17-5) have won two straight. They will travel to Edmonton tonight. . . . The Broncos ((21-21-5), who play in Cranbrook tonight, have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Lethbridge, G Cody Porter turned aside 20 shots to help the Vancouver Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Vancouver F Alex Baer broke a 1-1 tie with his 10th goal at 19:45 of the first period and F Carter Popoff upped the lead to 3-1 with his 18th goal, on a PP, at 16:26 of the second. . . . F Tyler Wong scored both goals for Lethbridge, giving him 18. . . . Both of Wong’s goals came via the PP as the home side went 2-for-6. . . . D Arvin Atwal had two assists for Vancouver. . . . F Zane Jones, acquired from Lethbridge at the trade deadline, scored for Vancouver. He’s got 21 goals, three of them with the Giants. . . . The Giants were 1-for-2. . . . Lethbridge G Stuart Skinner stopped 25 shots. . . . Lethbridge remains without F Jamal Watson, its captain, who is out with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Giants (20-25-2), who are in Red Deer tonight, had lost five in a row. They now are tied with Prince George and Kamloops for third place in the B.C. Division. . . . The Hurricanes (10-28-6) now have lost five straight. They are at home to Prince George tonight. . . . 
In Medicine Hat, F Curtis Sanford scored twice to lead the Tigers to a 5-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Sanford, who also had an assist, now has 39 goals, tying him with Kelowna F Rourke Chartier for the WHL lead. . . . Tigers F Trevor Cox, who leads the WHL points race, scored his 19th goal and added an assist. He has 78 points, eight more than Sanford. . . . Tigers F Dryden Hunt notched his 21st goal and also had an assist. He now is on an 18-game point streak, the longest in the WHL this season. . . . F Markus Eisenschmid scored his 13th goal and also had an assist for the winners. . . . Tigers D Kyle Burroughs took a headshot major and game misconduct at 4:19 of the third period for a hit on Cougars F Jari Erricson. . . . The Tigers (32-12-2) have won three in a row. They’re off tonight. . . . The Cougars (20-27-2) have lost eight in a row (0-6-2) and now are tied with Vancouver and Kamloops for third in the B.C. Division. . . . Prince George goes into Lethbridge tonight. . . . 
In Portland, F Chase De Leo scored twice to help the Winterhawks to a 4-1 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . De Leo, who has 20 goals, scored twice in the second period as Portland extended its lead to 4-0. . . . F Paul Bittner scored the game’s first goal, giving him 20 this season. He also had an assist. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand drew two assists. . . . Portland G Adin Hill stopped 33 shots. . . . Spokane G Garret Hughson made 27 saves before being ejected at 15:10 of the third period after becoming mixed up with Portland F Keegan Iverson. . . . The Winterhawks (26-19-3) have won three straight. . . . Spokane (23-18-4) has lost four in a row (0-3-1). . . . The Winterhawks will meet Seattle in Kent, Wash., tonight, while the Chiefs are at home to Tri-City. . . . 
In Kelowna, F Tyson Baillie scored twice as the Rockets got past the Everett Silvertips, 5-3, in a matchup between the Western Conference’s division leaders. . . . They’ll play again tonight in Kelowna. . . . Baillie has 29 goals this season. . . . Rockets F Rourke Chartier broke a 1-1 tie with his 39th goal, via the PP, at 6:49 of the second period. . . . Baillie stretched the lead to 3-1 at 1:19 of the third period. . . . F Leon Draisaitl had three assists for Kelowna, while D Josh Morrissey picked up two. . . . Kelowna F Tyrell Goulbourne scored his 15th goal and added an assist. . . . Everett F Ivan Nikolishin scored his 12th goal and had two assists, while F Patrick Bajkov picked up his 16th goal and had an assist. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle stopped 28 shots, seven more than Everett’s Austin Lotz. . . . Kelowna was 2-for-2 on the PP; Everett was 1-for-4. . . . The Rockets (35-8-3) lead the Western Conference and the B.C. Division. . . . The Silvertips (30-13-4), who had a six-game winning streak snapped, lead the U.S. Division. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., G Evan Sarthou stopped 25 shots to help the Tri-City Americans to a 4-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Sarthou, who was making his 18th straight start, has posted three shutouts in his last four starts. He has five shutouts this season. . . . Seattle has been blanked in each of its last two games. . . . F Parker Bowles scored twice, giving him 12, and added an assist, while F Richard Nejezchleb and D Parker Wotherspoon each had two assists. . . . Bowles was playing his third game since being out since Jan. 2 with an undisclosed injury. . . . F Beau McCue scored the game’s first goal, his 17th, at 11:35 of the first period and also had an assist. . . . Tri-City D Riley Hillis returned after being out since Jan. 2 with an undisclosed injury. . . . Seattle F Mathew Barzal played for the first time since Nov. 4. He had been out with a knee injury. . . . Seattle F Ryan Gropp and Tri-City D Brandon Carlo didn’t play as they weren’t able to get back from the Top Prospects game in time. That game was played in St. Catharines, Ont., on Thursday night. . . . The Americans (23-22-2) are fifth in the U.S. Division, one point behind Seattle and two in back of Spokane. . . . The Americans travel to Spokane tonight, while Seattle is at home to Portland. . . . 
In Victoria, D Ryan Rehill scored at 1:25 of OT to give the Kamloops Blazers a 4-3 victory over the Royals. . . . Rehill snapped a shot from the top of the left circle that got through G Coleman Vollrath. . . . After scoring four goals in 118 games over his first two sesaons, Rehill has six goals in 45 games this season. . . . Attendance was announced as 7,006. . . . F Quinn Benjafield, a 16-year-old freshman, had his first two-goal game for the Blazers. His third goal of the season, at 15:21 of the third period, forced OT. . . . F Matthew Phillips of the Royals, playing his first WHL game, gave his side a 3-2 lead at 13:55 of the third. Phillips, the 33rd overall pick in the 2013 bantam draft, is from Calgary where he plays for the midget AAA Buffaloes. . . . Vollrath stopped 41 shots, 13 more than Kamloops’ Connor Ingram, who has started seven of his club’s last 10 games. . . . Kamloops D Michael Fora suffered an undisclosed injury in the first period and didn’t play in the last two periods. . . . The Blazers (18-24-6) have won four in a row, the first time they have won more than two straight this season. The run has pulled them into a tie with Prince George and Vancouver for third place in the B.C. Division. . . . The Royals (25-19-4) had won their previous five games. . . . The Blazers and Royals will play in Victoria again tonight.
Bruins and Victoria Royals, and we’re counting that as one team. Jones also played for the Calgary Hitmen and Everett Silvertips.
Marshall, who was born in Brandon and raised in Virden, was a seventh-round selection (92nd overall) by the St. Louis Blues in the NHL’s 1970 draft. He was the Wheat Kings’ MVP for 1970-71.
In Lethbridge, the Red Deer Rebels outscored their hosts 4-2 in the third period en route to a 5-3 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . D Haydn Fleury came out of the penalty box and scored his second goal of the season on a breakaway, snapping a 1-1 tie at 2:08 of third period and the Rebels were never caught. . . . Fleury also had two assists. . . . Red Deer F Conner Bleackley scored twice, given him 21. . . . F Riley Sheen had two assists for Red Deer. . . . D Kord Pankewicz drew three assists for Lethbridge. . . . F Johnny Wesley, in his first game since being acquired from the Vancouver Giants and making the move from the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles, scored for the Hurricanes. . . . Lethbridge was 1-for-2 on the PP; the Rebels’ PP never got off the bench. . . . The Rebels (24-14-5), who play in Calgary tonight, have won four in a row. . . . The Hurricanes (10-26-6) have lost two straight. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., F Keegan Kolesar scored the only goal of a five-round shootout to give the host Seattle Thunderbirds a 5-4 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Kolesar scored his 14th goal of the season on a first-period PP. . . . Seattle F Nolan Volcan forced OT with his sixth goal at 5:30 of the third. . . . Spokane F Adam Helewka had given his side a 4-3 lead with his 25th goal at 16:46 of the second. He ran his goal-scoring streak to eight straight games, one shy of the franchise record. . . . Spokane F Kailer Yamamoto had one assist, and now is riding an 11-game point streak. . . . D Shea Theodore and D Ethan Bear each had two assists for Seattle. . . . F Ryan Gropp, in his second game since returning from an undisclosed injury, scored his 16th goal for Seattle. . . . Chiefs F Liam Stewart scored his 16th goal. In his fourth season, he has career highs in goals and points (30), all in 42 games. . . . The Thunderbirds (21-16-5) are 2-0-1 in their last three. . . . The Chiefs are 23-16-3.
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