Game called because of . . . fog!

A bear peeks over a ridge just off Shuswap Road east of Kamloops on Saturday evening.
Unfortunately, all I had with me was my BlackBerry Bold.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Robin Kovar (Vancouver, Regina, 2001-04) signed a one-year contract with the Manchester Phoenix (England, Premier). He had 26 goals and 17 assists in 49 games with Slovan Ustecti Lvi (Czech Republic, 1. Liga) last season. The English Premier League opens their regular season Saturday, Sept. 14.
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The Regina Pats are down to two goaltenders after releasing Adam Beukeboom, 19, on Saturday. . . . Beukeboom, from Sundre, Alta., played 19 games with Regina in 2011-12 and spent last season with the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons. . . . His release leaves Regina with Teagan Sacher and Dawson MacAuley, both 1994-born players, as its two goaltenders.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers were leading the visiting Swift Current Broncos 3-2 after one period on Saturday night when officials chose to call the game for, according to the WHL website, “player safety (fog).” . . .  The game was being played at the Kinplex in Medicine Hat. This was the only home game the Tigers scheduled for this exhibition season.
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F Adam Rossignol had three assists Saturday as the Portland Winterhawks, the WHL’s defending champions, wrapped up their exhibition season with a 4-2 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds at the Tri-City Americans’ tournament in Kennewick, Wash. . . . The Winterhawks finished the preseason at 3-2; the Thunderbirds are 4-1. . . . Portland opens its regular season at home on Sept. 20 when it hoists its championship banners before a game against the Prince George Cougars.
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F Rourke Chartier, who took a headshot from Kamloops Blazers F Devin Oakes on Friday night, had a goal and two assists Saturday as the host Kelowna Rockets beat the Vancouver Giants, 6-1. . . . Oakes drew one of those TBA suspensions from the WHL office so, for starters, he won’t play Sunday against the Giants in Burnaby’s Bill Copeland Arena. . . . Chartier played with a full cage to protect a small cut near his right eye. . . . Kelowna F Tyson Baillie also had a goal and two helpers. He’s got eight points in four games. . . . The Rockets finished the preseason at 3-1.
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In Prince George, the Cougars improved to 4-0 with a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. Freshman F Jansen Harkins had an assist for the Cougars; he’s got nine points in four games and is tied with Everett F Manraj Hayer atop the preseason scoring leaderboard.
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In another game in Kennewick, the Everett Silvertips got past the Kootenay Ice 8-6 to improve to 5-0. . . . F Manraj Hayer had two goals and an assist for Everett. . . . The Silvertips have outscored the opposition, 27-15.
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Kevin Oklobzija of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports that Barry Smith, who played more than four seasons (1975-80) for the AHL’s Rochester Americans “died on Saturday of an apparent heart attack in Tennessee, where he had made his home for two decades. He was 58.” . . . Smith was from Surrey, B.C., and played five seasons (1970-75) in the WHL, when it was the Western Canada Hockey League. He played one season with the Estevan Bruins, 71 games over two seasons with the Vancouver Nats, and 162 with the New Westminster Bruins over three seasons. . . . Oklobzija has more right here.
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From Elliott Pap (@ElliottPap) of the Vancouver Sun: “Jackson Houck, Oiler prospect and VanGiant, appears ok after being hit from behind and leaving prospects game vs Jets. Has 3 facial cuts.”
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From Regan Bartel (@Reganrant), the radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets: “Some fans here at Prospera Place in mid season form by leaving early. That ten minute trip back home is a killer.”
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From Medicine Hat Tigers F Chad Labelle (@chad_labelle): “Broken glass in warmy, o canada sung by the crowd, game fogged out after first #SeriesOfUnfortunateEvents”


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Stop the presses! Stop the presses!!
That party to honour the WHL’s Mr. 3,000? Put it on hold. At least for a few days.
The Medicine Hat News reports that Bob Ridley, the radio voice of the Medicine Hat Tigers, won’t be broadcasting his 3,000th game tonight with the Kootenay Ice in town.
That, according to The News, will be No. 2,998.
Which means that Ridley will call No. 3,000 on Saturday night when the Tigers are in Lethbridge. (No. 2,999 will come on Friday when the Tigers meet the Ice in Cranbrook.)
No matter. They are going to go ahead and salute the play-calling bus driver tonight, as well they should.
Besides, as pointed out here the other day, when you throw in playoff and Memorial Cup games, Ridley long ago went past 3,000.
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I don’t know the process involved in nominating someone for the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award. But should someone who is involved in that process happen to read this, I would suggest that Bob Ridley would be a worthy recipient.
According to the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award page on Facebook, the award is “presented by the Hockey Hall of Fame to members of the radio and television industry who make outstanding contributions to their profession and the game of ice hockey during their broadcasting career. The award winners are selected by the NHL Broadcasters' Association.”
I would suggest that Ridley more than meets that criteria.
Failing that, he should be nominated for the Bus Drivers’ Hall of Fame.
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Peter Maher, the radio voice of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, recently called his 3,000th game. So he knows what that is all about.
But he can’t comprehend what Bob Ridley has done and continues to do.
"It's a real tribute to his stamina and his abilities to be able to travel as much as they do and broadcast all those games," Maher, who is a Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winner, told Kristen Odland of the Calgary Herald.
"And driving the bus on top of all that? I can't comprehend doing what he's done.
"Pretty incredible."
Odland’s complete story is right here.
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The Portland Winterhawks have welcomed back Dean (Scooter) Vrooman as their director of corporate sponsorships. Vrooman was the radio voice of the Winterhawks for 25 seasons (1982-2007) before leaving the organization during its dog days prior the franchise being purchased by Bill Gallacher. Since then, Vrooman had been working with First Independent Bank in Vancouver, Wash. According to a news release, “In his new role, Vrooman will work with Rich Franklin and Garrett McFall to develop strong corporate partnerships for the organization.” . . . Vrooman is expected to make the occasional appearance on radio broadcasts; after all, his son, Todd, is the club play-by-play voice and broadcast communications manager.
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Medicine Hat Tigers G Tyler Bunz has had his impaired driving case move to Morinville, Alta., and put over to March 22. Bunz, whose NHL rights belong to the Edmonton Oilers, was to have been in court Monday in St. Albert, Alta., after being charged there in May 2011. Bunz, 21, was a fifth-round selection by the Oilers in the NHL’s 2010 draft.
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F Jordan Messier of the Tri-City Americans has been suspended for three games under supplemental discipline. He wasn’t penalized for whatever happened during a Saturday game against the Silvertips in Everett. Sometime after the game, the Silvertips requested supplemental discipline from the WHL office. . . . Messier began his suspension by sitting out Sunday’s 4-3 victory over the Winterhawks in Portland.
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The Everett Silvertips have signed D Michael Zipp to a WHL contract. Zipp, a fourth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, is in Everett working out with the team . . . A native of Edmonton, Zipp played for the midget AAA Canadian Athletic Club team. He had eight assists and 32 penalty minutes in 34 games.
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The 2013 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game will be played at the Halifax Metro Centre, home of the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, on January 16.
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From Elliotte Friedman’s highly popular weekly notes package, 30 Thoughts:
27. The Ontario Hockey League is going to have some kind of additional fighting penalty next season, but elimination of fisticuffs isn't going to happen. "I'm 99 per cent in favour of abolishing it, but I'm worried about 'the rat' taking over junior hockey," said one GM. Said another: "I don't hate fighting, I hate the bull (bleep) that comes with it." He's referring to staged fights, players taunting via social media and guys who can't do anything else.
28, The other thing they want to eliminate is fisticuffs after clean hits. Limiting the number of fighting majors a player can get during the season should cut down those kinds of brawls. Let's say the maximum is 10. Fight number 11 gets two games. Fight number 12 is four, and so on. You'd probably cut down on a lot of that.
29. Will the OHL do this on its own? Yes, if necessary. The WHL has little interest and the QMJHL is a tossup.
Friedman’s complete piece is right here.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings have added D Colton Waltz, 16, to their roster. He spent the season with the AJHL's Bonnyville Pontiacs. A third-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft, Waltz had 12 points, three of them goals, in 41 games with the Pontiacs. In five playoff games, he had a goal and an assist.
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According to the WHL’s weekly roster report, the Portland Winterhawks have added F Dominic Turgeon to their roster. The son of former NHLer Pierre Turgeon, Dominic was a third-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft and has signed a WHL contract. He is out of the Colorado Thunderbirds’ program.
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According to that same roster report, the Brandon Wheat Kings are without veteran G Brandon Anderson. The reason he is out is shown as “personal.” No further details are available although, as I understand it, Anderson is expected back within 10 days. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun reports that the Wheat Kings, who meet the Pats in Regina tonight, had F Tyrel Seaman (concussion) back at practice on Tuesday. Seaman was hurt Nov. 25, came back for one game after Christmas and hasn’t played since then. . . . Brandon F Kevin Sundher (concussion) has played one game since Feb. 14 and didn’t practise yesterday.
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In the BCHL, the Penticton Vees whipped the visiting Trail Smoke Eaters 10-0 on Tuesday for their 41st consecutive victory. That broke the Canadian junior record that had been shared by the Sudbury Wolves (1989-90) and the now-defunct Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (1999-2000). . . . The victory also was the Vees’ 53rd of the season and that’s a BCHL record. . . . As the hockey gods would have it, last night’s victory came on the 57th anniversary of the biggest victory in Penticton hockey history. On the afternoon of March 6, 1955, the Vees beat Russia 5-0 in Krefeld, Germany, to win the world amateur championship.
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D Mike Hellyer (Prince Albert, 2003-07) has signed with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads. Hellyer, a 25-year-old from Brandon, has spent the last four seasons with the U of Manitoba Bisons, whose season ended last weekend. Hellyer had 18 points in 26 games with the Bisons this season. In four seasons there, he had 82 points in 110 games.
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The Saskatoon Blades are scheduled to get their captain back tonight. D Duncan Siemens, who has missed 13 games with a concussion, should be in the lineup tonight as the Blades meet the Raiders in Prince Albert. . . . Siemens was injured on Feb. 4 on a hit from Medicine Hat Tigers F Brendan Hurley, who later drew a six-game suspension. . . . The Blades, who have lost four in a row and eight of 10, won just four of 13 games with Siemens sidelined.
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F Taylor Peters of the Portland Winterhawks, who knows his way around a keyboard, has seen the movie Goon and he offers up a player’s view right here.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Swift Current, F Adam Rossignol broke a 3-3 tie at 15:10 of the third period as the Broncos beat the Kootenay Ice, 4-3. . . . Rossignol, 18, played the first 39 games of this season with the Ice, before being traded to the Broncos. . . . He has eight goals this season, two in 28 games with Swift Current. . . . F Christian Magnus had two goals, giving him nine, and an assist and also was plus-4 for the Broncos. Magnus’s second goal gave the Broncos a 3-2 lead at 19:38 of the second. . . .. F Joe Antilla, with his 13th, tied it for the Ice at 12:04 of the third. . . . Broncos G Jon Groenheyde, named the CHL’s goaltender of the week earlier in the day, stopped 32 shots, two more than the Ice’s Nathan Lieuwen. . . . The Ice is fifth in the Eastern Conference, five points behind Calgary and just one up on Regina. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Phil Tot snapped a 1-1 tie at 11:19 of the third period to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 decision over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Lethbridge G Damien Ketlo turned aside 37 shots, 22 more than Moose Jaw’s Luke Siemens. . . . Tot has 14 goals this season. . . . F Russ Maxwell gave Lethbridge a 1-0 lead at 19:28 of the second. . . . Moose Jaw F Cody Beach equalized at 4:04 of the third. . . . The result prevented Moose Jaw from clinching first place in the East Division. . . . The Warriors hold a 12-point lead over second-place Regina in the division. . . . Moose Jaw is six points behind the Eastern Conference-leading Edmonton Oil Kings. Each team has six games remaining. They are scheduled to meet tonight in Edmonton. . . .

In Red Deer, the Calgary Hitmen escaped with a 3-2 victory over the Rebels. . . . F Brady Brassart scored his 22nd goal at 9:53 of the second period to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. . . . F Chase Clayton stretched the lead with his 12th at 17::32 of the third. . . . D Mathew Dumba got his 19th at 19:55 of the third. . . . Calgary G Brandon Glover stopped 33 shots, seven fewer than Red Deer’s Deven Dubyk. . . . The Hitmen, who won for the 40th time this season, are fourth in the Eastern Conference and now are five points clear of Kootenay and just two behind Medicine Hat. . . . The Rebels are eight points out of the conference’s final playoff spot but have just six games left. . . . Red Deer got F Cory Millette back from injury but are still missing seven regular contributors. . . .

In Prince George, the Seattle Thunderbirds scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Cougars, 3-1. . . . F Austin Daae got the Cougars on the board with his second goal at 3:27 of the second. . . . The Thunderbirds then got second-period goals from D Brad Deagle, his third, and F Luke Lockhart, his 13th. . . . F Connor Sanvido finished it off with his seventh at 11:01 of the third. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 21 shots. . . . G Drew Owsley of the Cougars turned aside 23 shots. . . . Prince George F Alex Forsberg reteurned after an 11-game absence with an injury. . . . Cougars D Cody Carlson will play in his 300th game as the teams meet again tonight. . . . The Thunderbirds are ninth in the Western Conference, just one point behind Everett, which holds down the last playoff spot. . . . The loss hurts the Cougars’ chances. They are 10th, five points out of a playoff spot with six games remaining.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Eastern Conference:
Moose Jaw at Edmonton: The top two teams in the Eastern Conference meet. The Oil Kings have won five in a row.
Kootenay at Medicine Hat: The Ice is fifth, one point ahead of Regina. The Tigers are third, two points ahead of Calgary.
Saskatoon at Prince Albert: The Blades, who have lost four in a row and eight of 10, are one point ahead of Brandon.
Brandon at Regina: The Wheat Kings were in Regina on Saturday when the Pats erased a 4-0 deficit with the game’s last six goals. Brandon is eighth, three points behind Regina and one in back of Saskatoon. Regina F Jordan Weal has 109 points, the most by a Pats skater since Ronald Petrovicky put up 113 in 1997-98.
Western Conference:
Portland at Kamloops: The Winterhawks lead the overall standings by one point over Edmonton and Tri-City, and three on Kamloops, which has clinched the B.C. Division title.
Tri-City at Vancouver: The Americans are coming off a 4-3 victory in Portland on Sunday. The Giants are tied with Spokane for fourth; they will meet in the first round but don’t yet know who has home-ice advantage.,
Kelowna at Spokane: The Rockets took two from Kamloops on the weekend and know they will finish sixth. The Chiefs are 3-0-1 in their last four.
Victoria at Everett: The Royals, who are starting a four-game road trip with this one, are seventh, one point ahead of the Silvertips.
Seattle at Prince George: The Thunderbirds beat the Cougars 3-1 last night. Seattle is ninth, one point behind Everett and four up on Prince George.

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It was the third annual CH2M HILL Nuclear Night at the Toyota Center in
Kennewick, Wash., so Patrick Holland (41) and the Tri-City Americans wore
what the team calls "nuclear-inspired" sweaters. Those jerseys are available
via on-line auction right here. As you will see by reading Friday's report, Holland
is hotter than nuclear fusion these days.
(Photo by John Allen / AridAcres.com)

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Micki DuPont (Kamloops, 1996-2000) signed a three-year contract extension with Kloten (Switzerland, NL A). The extension runs through the 2014-15 season. DuPont has four goals and a league-leading 31 assists in 36 games for Kloten this season, good for seventh in league scoring.
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It appears that the Portland Winterhawks are adding F Alex Schoenborn, a 16-year-old from Minot., N.D., to their roster. Ryan Clark of the Fargo, N.D., Forum noted Friday night that Schoenborn had confirmed the move on his Facebook page. . . . The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Schoenborn, who turned 16 on Dec. 12, had 45 points in 27 games for Minot High School last season. . . . This season, he was pointless in three games with the USHL’s Lincoln Stars. He was the 12th overall selection in the USHL’s 2011 futures draft. . . . He is a list player with Portland. . . . Schoenborn also has played with the midget AAA Omaha Lancers this season, picking up 41 points and 118 penalty minutes in 26 games. In North American Prospects Hockeky League games, he has 11 points in six games.
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Marlon Martens, the radio voice of the Victoria Royals, explains the Jesse Pauls situation on his blog.
After speaking with Pauls, Martens explained, “With a plate and nine screws in (a) leg after breaking both bones last (season) he’s been playing with ‘chronic pain’ as he put it, ‘and have decided to look after my health.’ ”
Pauls also told Martens: “It’s affected my game and haven’t been able to play up to my potential . . . it sucks knowing you’ve got more and can’t do it.”
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G Tyler Bunz of the Medicine Hat Tigers is scheduled to appear in a St. Albert, Alta., court on March 5 after entering not guilty pleas to what the Medicine Hat News reports are “two drunk-driving related allegations.”
According to The News, Bunz, 19, was charged “after an incident in his hometown of St. Albert in May.”
Brad McEwen, the Tigers’ general manager, told The News that the team won’t comment on the situation.
The Edmonton Oilers selected Bunz with the 121st pick of the NHL’s 2010 draft.
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In the BCHL on Friday night, the Penticton Vees won their 20th game in a row, beating the Chiefs 6-2 in Chilliwack. . . . The Vees will play the SilverBacks in Salmon Arm tonight.
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WHL TRADE TRACKER (trades made since Dec. 27):
Trades made: 6
Players: 14
Draft picks: 5
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In the OHL, the teams have moved 25 players and 29 draft picks since Jan. 1.
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The Vancouver Giants have dealt D Luke Fenske, 18, to the Regina Pats for a third-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft.
Fenske, from Penticton, has six assists and 40 penalty minutes in 31 games with the Giants this season. He played 30 games with them in 2009-10 and 55 last season. In 116 games, he has four goals and 17 assists. . . . He was selected by the Giants in the third round of the 2008 bantam draft. . . .
The Kootenay Ice has traded F Adam Rossignol, 18, to the Swift Current Broncos for D Tanner Muth, 18. . . . Rossignol, from Surrey, B.C., had 13 points in 39 games. He was a seventh-round pick by the Ice in the 2008 bantam draft. . . . Muth, from Calgary, had four points in 38 games with the Broncos. He was selected 36th overall by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2008 bantam draft.
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F Daniel Broussard of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s has been suspended for eight games for an anti-doping rule violation. The CHL and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport made the announcement on Friday. According to a news release, “The violation resulted from a urine sample collected during in-competition doping control in November 2011 which revealed the presence of methylhexaneamine, a prohibited stimulant.”
In a news release, CHL president David Branch stated that Broussard, who turns 21 on on Monday, and the 67’s were “extremely co-operative throughout the process.”
“We are completely satisfied,” Branch continued, “that the player used a supplement which he had purchased over the counter at a local retail outlet and had no knowledge that it contained a prohibited substance.”
Methylhexaneamine is on the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List which is recognized by the CHL.
I said it last season and I’ll say it again . . . this automatic eight-game suspension for a first-time offender is ridiculous. Once again, we have a player who in no way was trying to cheat, but he has been labelled a drug cheat, just like the first-timers who were suspended last season.
Because of the number of major junior players using supplements, if the positive test turns out to be from inadvertent use and that can be proved, then why not issue a warning, and hand out an eight-game suspension for a second positive test?
A player makes a mistake like this and gets a longer suspension than some headshots and stickwork carry. And that’s just not right.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, the Raiders ran their home-ice winning streak to seven games as they dumped the Brandon Wheat Kings, 4-1. . . . F Justin Maylan had a goal and two assists for the Raiders. . . . Maylan has 19 goals. . . . Prince Albert sophomore F Mike Winther had a goal, his 21st, and an assist. . . . F Logan McVeigh, acquired a week ago from Kamloops, had two assists. . . . The Wheat Kings have lost three in a row and 10 of their last 15, meaning the next few days, leading up to the Jan. 10 trading deadline, will be interesting. . . . Brandon G Curtis Honey stopped 33 shots in his first start. . . . Raiders G Cole Holowenko turned aside 29 shots. . . . F Mark Stone had one assist for Brandon in his first game after playing for Canada at the World Junior Championship. It was his 200th regular-season game. . . . Swiss F Alessio Bertaggia, also back in the Brandon lineup after playing at the WJC, was held off the scoresheet. . . . The teams meet again tonight in P.A. . . .

In Regina, G Matt Hewitt stopped 33 shots to lead the Pats to a 3-0 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Hewitt has two shutouts this season. . . . The victory was Regina’s 23rd this season, which matches their total for all of last season. . . .  The Pats have won four in a row — they have at least a point in six straight — going into a rematch tonight in Saskatoon. . . . The Blades had won their last two games, scoring 17 goals in the process. . . . Regina F Morgan Klimchuk’s 10th goal, at 13:2 of the second, stood up as the winner. . . . Regina F Jordan Weal had a goal and an assist. He has 67 points, four off the league lead. . . . In the second period, Regina D Colton Jobke wound up and fired a shot . . . and the puck split in two. . . . Les Lazaruk, the radio voice of the Blades, described it this way in a tweet: “OK, I've seen it all...Pats' Colton Jobke shoots puck and it breaks in two when it hits the back boards at the Brandt centre. Crazy!!” . . . G Andrey Makarov, who was so terrific for Russia in the WJC final on Thursday night, wasn’t with the Blades. He didn’t get into Saskatoon in time to make the trip south. . . .

In Lethbridge, D Daniel Johnston broke a 1-1 tie with a PP goal at 6:30 of the third period as the Hurricanes beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 3-1. . . . Johnston has two goals this season. . . . F Emerson Etem got No. 31 for the Tigers in his first game back after playing for Team USA at the WJC. . . . Lethbridge G Damien Ketlo stopped 31 shots. . . .

In Red Deer, F Taylor Vause had a goal and two assists to lead the Swift Current Broncos to a 3-2 victory over the Rebels. . . . The Broncos took a 3-0 lead early in the second period and then hung on behind 38 saves from G Jon Groenheyde. . . . Vause, who was reportedly feeling under the weather, has 23 goals. . . . He has 49 points in 41 games. Last season, in 62 games, Vause, 20, had career highs of 18 goals, 28 assists and 47 points. . . . The Broncos had lost six straight on the road. . . . Referee Derek Zalaski handed out only three minors, two to Red Deer. . . .

In Portland, F Brad Ross scored three times to lead the Winterhawks to a 3-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Winterhawks have won 14 in a row at home. . . . Ross has 28 goals. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson set a single-game franchise record with 55 saves. The previous record (53) was held by Leland Irving from a game against the Spokane Chiefs four years ago. . . . Portland G Brendan Burke stopped 30 shots. Everett F Josh Birkholz was unsuccessful on a late second-period penalty shot with the score 1-1. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie, the WHL scoring leader, had two assists. He now has 71 points. . . . Everett D Ryan Murray was back from a stint with the Canadian team at the WJC. . . . Portland F Sven Bartschi sat this one out. He played for Switzerland at the WJC and suffered a concussion. . . . Everett was without D Brennan Yadlowski, who sat out a one-game suspension for a match penalty he incurred on Wednesday night. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., F Patrick Holland had two goals and two assists, while F Adam Hughesman had two goals and an assist, as the Tri-City Americans beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 7-3. . . . The Americans have won 12 in a row. . . . Holland has three straight four-point games. On the season, he has 55 points in 38 games. . . . In fact, in his last six games, he has gone 3, 3, 1, 4, 4, 4. That’s 19 points over six games. . . . Since Dec. 2, Holland has 28 points in 12 games. He has been blanked once, has one oe-point game, three two-pointers and three three-pointers. . . . Interestingly, he went 2-2-0-2-3-0-3-3-1-4-4-4. . . . And we should mention that Holland turns 19 today. . . . Hughesman has 65 points, including 25 goals, in 38 games this season. He has 299 points in 304 career games. . . . The Americans led 5-0 when Holland got his first goal, his 16th, at 8:34 of the second. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 20 shots. He wasn’t able to stop F Colin Jacobs on a second-period penalty shot that put Seattle on the board. . . . Comrie is 13-3-0. . . . Seattle G Daniel Cotton stopped 38 shots in his fourth career start. . . . F Brendan Shinnimin added a goal and two helpers for the Americans, while F Brian Williams had three assists. . . . Seattle has lost 19 in a row at the Toyota Center. . . . This one drew 6,064 fans, the third-largest crowd in the facility’s history. . . . There was an interesting moment in this one. It came with the Americans leading 5-2. From Dan Mulhausen’s Americans news release: “Early into the third period, Seattle thought it had pulled to within two, but rookie Connor Honey had his goal erased following a video review of a shot by Holland.  Nearly a minute earlier, Holland had ripped a shot from the point that appeared to go in the net, but the puck hit the back boards and went into the far corner.  After Honey’s goal finally stopped the clock, the video goal judge determined that Holland’s shot in fact had gone through the net, negating the goal by Honey and putting Tri-City on top 6-2.” . . . Hey, when you’re hot, you’re hot! And when you’re not, you’re not. . . .

In Prince George, G Cole Cheveldave stopped 32 shots as the Kamloops Blazers beat the Cougars, 2-0. . . . Cheveldave, an 18-year-old freshman from Calgary, has three shutouts, all of them against the Cougars. He blanked them 5-0 on Sunday, which was the last game for both teams prior to last night. They will play again tonight in P.G. . . . Cheveldave is 19-5-3. . . . Kamloops D Bronson Maschmeyer got the winner at 1:01 of the second period. F Colin Smith added his 20th at 13:16 of the third. . . . Prince George G Drew Owsley stopped 41 shots. . . . Kamloops D Marek Hrbas (Czech Republic) and Prince George D Martin Marincin (Slovakia) both played after performing at the WJC. . . .

In Spokane, the Chiefs erased a 1-0 deficit with four straight goals and went on to beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-2. . . . D Corbin Baldwin had a goal and an assist and was plus-4 for the Chiefs. . . . Spokane G Mac Engel stopped 24 shots, 11 fewer than Moose Jaw’s Spencer Tremblay. . . . The Warriors went 1-3-1 in their U.S. Division swing. They wrap up the road swing tonight against the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Chiefs are 6-0 against East Division teams. . . . F Dominik Uher, in his return from playing for the Czech Republic at the WJC, scored for the Chiefs. . . . Spokane head coach Don Nachbaur now has 497 WHL victories. . . . Moose Jaw F Quinton Howden rejoined his club after playing for Canada at the WJC. . . .

In Victoria, D Myles Bell had two goals and an assist to help the Kelowna Rockets to a 5-2 victory over the Royals. . . . Bell has seven goals this season. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 36 shots. . . . Bell broke a 2-2 tie at 1:04 of the third period. . . . The Royals hae lost eight in a row. . . . The teams play in Victoria again tonight.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Jamie Crooks, Victoria.

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