THE MacBETH REPORT:
The Krefeld Pinguine (Germany, DEL) announced that the club will not re-sign seven players, including F Duncan Milroy (Swift Current, Kootenay, 1998-2003), D Lawrence Nycholat (Swift Current, 1996-2000), and F Ben Ondrus (Swift Current, 1998-2003). Milroy had six goals and 22 assists in 45 games, Nycholat had one goal and five assists in 23 games, and Ondrus had three goals and seven assists in 47 games for the Penguins this season. . . .
F Petr Vala (Seattle, 1997-98) signed a one-year contract extension with Zell am See (Austria, Nationalliga). He had 13 goals and 23 assists in 26 games for Zell am See this season. . . .
F Brett McLean (Tacoma/Kelowna, Brandon, 1994-99) signed a one-year contract extension with Lugano (Switzerland, NL A). McLean started the season with the Rockford Ice Hogs (AHL), getting seven goals and 14 assists in 36 games. After clearing NHL unconditional waivers with Chicago on Jan. 19, McLean joined Lugano, where he had five goals and one assist in 10 games. From the Lugano press release: "The 33-year-old Canadian has proven to be a valuable player both defensively and offensively, and displays strong leadership skills."
———
F Sven Baertschi scored another goal Thursday night, helping the Calgary Flames to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Phoenix Coyotes. Baertschi, who was brought in from the Portland Winterhawks under emergency recall rules, has three goals in four games with the Flames. . . . Calgary head coach Brent Sutter said after last night’s game that he plans on playing Baertschi again tonight when the Flames meet the Oilers in Edmonton. . . . After last night’s game, Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald wrote: “Under the agreement between the NHL and Canadian Hockey League, the Flames must reassign Baertschi to his junior club the moment one of their injured forwards returns to the lineup. Lee Stempniak, Tim Jackman and Lance Bouma are all prime candidates to take Baertschi's spot.”
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Neate Sager, our pal at Yahoo! Sports, has put together in interesting look at some connections between junior hockey and Hollywood. That piece is right here. If you know of any more, email me at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca and we’ll start a list.
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The Kamloops Blazers have added G Taran Kozun, 17, to their roster. He joins Cole Cheveldave, 18, and Cam Lanigan, 19, as goaltenders on the Kamloops roster. Kozun opened the season with the Blazers before being assigned to the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks on Oct. 17. With Nipawin, he got into 16 games, going 5-10-0, 3.30, .904. . . . In Nipawin, Kozun found himself playing behind Davis Jones, 19, who went 26-12-0, 2.42, .920 and was named the SJHL’s goaltender of the year.
———
F Austin Bourhis of the Prince Albert Raiders has drawn a six-game suspension for what the WHL calls a “one-man fight” against the Blades in Saskatoon on Tuesdsay night. The suspension will carry over to next season when Bourhis will miss the first three games. . . . As well, Kelowna Rockets F Shane McColgan was hit with a one-game suspension for accumulation of embellishment penalties. He won’t play tonight against the host Vancouver Giants but will be eligible to return for Saturday’s rematch in Kelowna.
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The NHL’s Boston Bruins have signed G Adam Morrison, 20, of the Vancouver Giants to a three-year contract. Morrison was an unrestricted free agent. The Philadelphia Flyers didn’t sign him after selecing him in the third round of the NHL’s 2009 draft. The Giants acquired Morrison from the Saskatoon Blades earlier this season. He is 35-17-3, 2.80, .900 this season. . . .
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D Alex Petrovic of the Red Deer Rebels will join the San Antonio Rampage, the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers, on Tuesday. He will play his final WHL games tonight and Saturday against the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes and Edmonton Oil Kings. The Panthers selected him in the second round of the NHL’s 2010 draft.
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Before he wraps up his WHL career, F Taylor Vause, the 20-year-old captain of the Swift Current Broncos, took the time to write a letter to the editor of the Prairie Post.
That letter is right here, and you should take time to read it.
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The Kelowna Rockets said Thursday that D Myles Bell (leg) and D Madison Bowey (shoulder) both are day-to-day after being injured in a 4-2 victory over the visiting Everett Silvertips on Wednesday. . . . The Rockets are to play tonight in Vancouver. . . . Without Bell, Bowey and D Mitchell Chapman, who also is injured, the Rockets may use D Riley Stadel, a 2011 third-round bantam draft pick from Surrey, B.C., who spent the season at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Brian Curran, the AJHL’s coach of the year this season, has changed teams. Curran was named the coach of the year for his season with the Lloydminster Bobcats. On Thursday, however, he signed a five-year deal as GM and head coach of the Drumheller Dragons. . . . He replaces Barry Wolff, who had been general manager and interim head coach. Wolff had worked the bench for the season’s last four months.
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When the WHL playoffs approach and it gets close to the end of the regular season, I usually stay away from attempting to figure out all the possible permutations.
Why? Because I always screw it up and the mess always seem to sort itself out anyway.
But as the WHL heads into its final three days of the regular season, Garth MacBeth, who pens the MacBeth Report, has made some notes involving the Western Conference . . .
Standings now:
7. Victoria 53 (v. Portland tonight)
8. Everett 52 (at Tri-City tonight, at Seattle on Saturday)
9. Seattle 50 (at Spokane tonight, v. Everett on Saturday, at Portland on Sunday)
10. Prince George 48 (at Kamloops tonight, v. Kamloops on Saturday)
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If Victoria wins tonight, the Royals will clinch at least a tiebreaker game. That will give them 55 points after their final game. Everett and Seattle can both get to 56 points but not at the same time. One of them can only get to 55 since they play each other Saturday — by losing that game in OT. PG cannot catch Victoria, which has 53 points, so the best it can do is get into a tie for eighth place. For that tie to occur, here is what must happen:
1. PG wins both games against Kamloops. That would give it 52 points and 25 victories.
2. Everett must lose both of its games (at Tri-City and at Seattle) in regulation. Everett would then have 52 points and 21 victories.
3. Seattle, by virtue of its win over Everett on Saturday, would have 52 points and 25 victories. So it must lose in regulation tonight at Spokane and Sunday at Portland.
This is the only scenario for Prince George to make the playoffs. There is no other way. This would result in a three-way playoff for the eighth spot which, it seems, would result in two sudden-death playoff games.
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Neither Garth nor I could find anything with the rules for a three-team tie for a playoff spot. If two teams tie, they play a sudden-death game at the home of the team with the most overall victories. And that game would be played on the Tuesday before the playoffs begin.
Presumably, then, if three teams tied, there would be two sudden-death games in two different cities.
Prince George would get the bye on the basis of having the most victories. Seattle and Everett would play in the first game. It would be played in Kent, Wash., because the Thunderbirds would have the most victories.
Presumably, the winner of that game would then travel to Prince George.
And it all would have to be wrapped up in time for the teams to begin the first round of playoffs on Friday, March 23.
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Garth also pointed out that Victoria can still end up in a tiebreaker game and it could be a three-way affair, as well. If it's a tie with Everett, Victoria would have more victories than Everett and would play host to the tiebreaker. If it's a tie with Seattle, Seattle would have more victories than Victoria and would play host to the tiebreaker. If it's a three-way tie, Seattle would get seventh place with the most victories, and Victoria would play host to Everett in the tiebreaker.
Victoria could also miss the playoffs and a tiebreaker completely. If Victoria loses in regulation tonight, then Seattle needs three points and Everett two points to send Victoria to the sidelines. If Victoria loses in OT, Everett needs three points and Seattle four points. As I said earlier, if Victoria wins tonight, it gets at least a tiebreaker game. A Victoria victory and a Seattle or Everett loss in regulation tonight clinches a playoff spot for Victoria.
Whew . . .
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IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY:
Eastern Conference
Edmonton (1) vs. Brandon (8)
Moose Jaw (2) vs. Kootenay (7)
Medicine Hat (3) vs. Saskatoon (6)
Calgary (4) vs. Regina (5)
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Western Conference
Tri-City (1) vs. Everett (8)
Kamloops (2) vs. Victoria (7)
Portland (3) vs. Kelowna (6)
Vancouver (4) vs. Spokane (5)
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TODAY’S GAMES:
Calgary at Kootenay
Moose Jaw at Prince Albert
Brandon at Regina
Saskatoon at Swift Current
Edmonton at Medicine Hat
Lethbridge at Red Deer
Prince George at Kamloops
Seattle at Spokane
Everett at Tri-City
Portland at Victoria
Kelowna at Vancouver

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Troy Bourke of the Prince George Cougars, here getting tight coverage
from Patrick Holland (41) of the Tri-City Cougars, beat goaltender
Ty Rimmer twice on Tuesday night.
(Photo by John Allen / AridAcres.com)

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Zdenek Blatny (Seattle, Kootenay, 1998-2001) signed a one-year contract with the Vienna Capitals (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had 20 goals and 26 assists in 47 games this season with the Graz 99ers (Austria, Erste Bank Liga).
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The NHL in Saskatoon? Why not?
Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun spent 10 days in Saskatoon covering the Tim Hortons Brier (aka the Canadian men’s curling championship) and takes an extensive look at Toontown and the NHL right here.
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A note from a WHL fan who lives in Sudbury, Ont.:

JESSE WALLIN

“Is there any precedent in the WHL in giving coach of the year honours to someone whose team never made the playoffs?
“Because I think Jesse Wallin really deserves it.
“I can't think of any coach who's managed to keep his team together with all the injuries he's had to endure.
“The Rebels have won road games in tough buildings on a regular basis with 14 or 15 skaters.
“I don't know if coaches or media vote on this, but it would make a
real statement about the integrity of this league if he got the plaque.”
Can’t argue with that!
And as if to empasize the point, the Rebels, who won’t make the playoffs, went into Medicine Hat and beat the Tigers 4-2 last night.
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F Dylan Wruck of the Edmonton Oil Kings, who suffered a shoulder injury in a 7-4 victory over the visiting Red Deer Rebels, won’t play until at least the start of playoffs. Head coach Derek Laxdal has told Chris O’Leary of the Edmonton Journal: “He’s doing OK. . . . We’re hoping to have him back for Game 1 of the playoffs, but it’s a wait-and-see approach right now.” . . . The Oil Kings, who will finish atop the Eastern Conference, have three games remaining and are a point behind the Tri-City Americans, who lead the overall standings. Should the Oil Kings win out, they will finish first overall. The Oil Kings are on the road against the Kootenay Ice tonight, the Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday and Red Deer on Saturday.
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The Kelowna Rockets expect to have F Colton Sissons, their captain, back in their lineup on Friday night as they open a season-ending home-and-home series with the Vancouver Giants. They’ll play in Vancouver on Friday and in Kelowna on Saturday. . . . Sissons, who has been out with a concussion since Feb. 11, skated with contact on Tuesday. . . . Meanwhile, F Spencer Main, who also has been concussed, has skated, albeit without contact, and will see a doctor this week. Main hasn’t played since Oct. 23. . . . Neither will play tonight against the visiting Everett Silvertips. . . . Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier reports that D Mitchell Chapman is likely to miss the Rockets’ last three regular-season games with an undisclosed injury. He should be ready to go when the playoffs open.
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If you think there’s a war going on with Brian Burke, the man who runs the Toronto Maple Leafs, and anyone in the media, well, forget it. It’s nothing. Howard Berger, who has been around the Leafs for a long time, has a piece right here that is all about the way it used to be . . . when Harold Ballard was around.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The QMJHL’s Baie Comeau Drakkar have fired head coach Mario Pouliot. The axe fell with three games left in the regular season and the Drakkar 2-7-1 in its last 10 games and tumbling from ninth to 14th place. Pouliot spent 114 games as the head coach, winning just 37. . . . General manager Steve Ahern has taken over as head coach.
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F Sven Baertschi of the Portland Winterhawks scored his second goal in three games with the NHL’s Calgary Flames last night. He got the game’s second goal in the Flames’ 3-2 victory over the visiting San Jose Sharks. . . . Former Chilliwack Bruins F Roman Horak drew an assist on Baertschi’s goal. . . . Interestingly, the Flames returned F Krys Kolanos to the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat after the game, while keeping Baertschi on emergency recall. Kolanos was a healthy scratch last night. . . . Baertschi played 20 shifts, including two in OT, totaling 14:06. . . . Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald has the details of Baertschi’s latest game right here.
In Tampa Bay, G Dustin Tokarski, a product of the Spokane Chiefs (2006-09), stopped 33 shots as the Lightning beat the Stanley Cup-champion Boston Bruins, 6-1. That was Tokarski’s first NHL victory. He was named the game’s second star. . . . This was his fifth appearance with Tampa Bay, three of which have come this season. This season, he is 1-1-0, 2.64, .906. . . .
I got a phone call on Tuesday from a fan of the Chilliwack Bruins (remember them?), pointing out that I missed D Brandon Manning’s NHL debut with the Philadelphia Flyers last week. Manning played three games, finishing plus-2. He played 14:59, 14:01 and 13:57 against visiting Florida, in Toronto and in New Jersey, respectively. . . . With D Kimmo Timonen returning from injury and playing in last night’s 3-0 victory over the visiting New Jersey Devils, Manning was a healthy scratch. But he took part in the morning skate and is still with the Flyers, at least as of last night.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Saskatoon, F Matej Stransky had a goal and four assists as the Blades beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 11-5. . . . The game was televised by Shaw and featured a third-period line brawl. . . . Prince Albert D Josh Morrissey tied the game 5-5 on a PP just 37 seconds into the third period. . . . The Blades then scored six straight goals. . . . Stransky, 18, has 77 points, including 37 goals, in 68 games. Last season, he finished with 26 points, 14 of them goals, in 71 games. . . . Saskatoon got two goals from each of F Ryan Olsen, who has 15, Jake Trask, who has 22, and Travis McEvoy, who has six. . . . Prince Albert F Joey Santucci scored his first WHL goal while killing a penalty. Santucci, 17, is from Coquitlam, B.C. He was playing in his eighth game. . . . Saskatoon was 4-6 on the PP. . . . Referees Adam Byblow and Reagan Vetter gave the Raiders 86 of the game’s 165 penalty minutes. Ch-ch-ching! They handed out 85 minutes from a line dance at 14:37 of the third period. . . . Because of injuries, the Blades dressed only four defencemen. . . . The victory lifted the Blades one point ahead of Kootenay and Regina, into fifth in the Eastern Conference. . . .

In Medicine Hat, D Alex Petrovic scored twice to lead the Red Deer Rebels to a 4-2 victory over the Tigers. . . . Petrovic broke a 1-1 tie 39 seconds into the third period with PP goal. . . . F Tyson Ness upped the visitors’ lead to 3-1 with his 20th goal at 10:00. . . . Petrovic has 12 goals. . . . Medicine Hat D James Bettauer scored his 21st goal of the season. . . . Red Deer G Deven Dubyk stopped 28 shots. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz turned aside 31 shots but was unable to pick up his 40th victory of the season. . . . The Tigers had six players out with injuries; the Rebels, who had lost four in a row, scratched nine injured players. . . . Jesse Wallin, the Rebels’ general manager and head coach, watched the game from the press box. “I wanted to take in the game from a little different perspective,” Wallin told Greg Meachem, the sports editor of the Red Deer Advocate. “You kind of remove the emotion a bit when you’re sitting up top, it’s a different point of evaluation.” . . . The Tigers remained third in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Calgary. . . .

In Kent, Wash., G Calvin Pickard kicked out 41 shots to lead the host Seattle Thunderbirds to a 3-1 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Pickard stopped Spokane F Steve Kuhn on a first-period penalty shot with the game still scoreless. . . . F Connor Honey scored twice, giving him eight this season, and F Seth Swenson ran his goal streak to three games with his 10th. Swenson also drew two assists. . . . F Brendan Rouse also had two assists for Seattle. . . . All three Seattle goals came via the PP as it went 3-4 with the man advantage. . . . The Chiefs’ PP was 0-6. . . . A note from @WHLFacts: “It's now been 150 games since someone not named Calvin Pickard has won a @SeattleTbirds game.” . . . The Thunderbirds are ninth in the Western Conference but now are just one point behind the Victoria Royals. Seattle has three games remaining, while Victoria has two to play. . . . The Chiefs are fifth, two points behind Vancouver. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., D Jesse Forsberg scored at 1:02 of OT to give the Prince George Cougars a 5-4 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The goal was Forsberg’s fifth this season. . . . F Troy Bourke scored twice for the Cougars, giving him 18, while F Spencer Asuchak, who began his WHL career with the Americans, had his 16th goal and an assist. . . . Prince George also got two assists from F Caleb Belter. . . . The Cougars erased a 3-1 deficit and took a 4-3 lead on Bourke’s second goal at 12:42 of the second. . . . Tri-City F Adam Hughesman forced OT with his 48th goal at 3:52 of the third. . . . Cougars G Drew Owsley stopped 31 shots, 12 more than Tri-City’s Ty Rimmer. . . . Owsley has 98 career victories, 76 of them with the Americans, who dealt him to the Cougars for Rimmer over the summer. . . . Hughesman scored twice, giving him nine goals in his last five games, and added an assist. . . . Tri-City F Brendan Shinnimin scored his 58th goal and added an assist. The WHL’s leading scorer ran his point streak to 21 games and is the first WHLer to 130 points since F Pavel Brendl put up 134 with the Calgary Hitmen in 1998-99. . . . Tri-City F Patrick Holland had two assists, meaning he has at least one assist in 18 straight games. . . . Holland also finished minus-4. . . . The Cougars kept their playoff hopes alive. With two games remaining, they are three points behind eighth-place Victoria. . . . The Americans lead the overall standings by one point over Edmonton and are two points ahead of Portland atop the Western Conference. . . . Edmonton has three games left, while Tri-City has two to play. So if the Oil Kings run the table they would finish first overall.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Jesse Forsberg, Prince George.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
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IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY:
Eastern Conference
Edmonton (1) vs. Brandon (8)
Moose Jaw (2) vs. Regina (7)
Medicine Hat (3) vs. Kootenay (6)
Calgary (4) vs. Saskatoon (5)
———
Western Conference
Tri-City (1) vs. Victoria (8)
Kamloops (2) vs. Everett (7)
Portland (3) vs. Kelowna (6)
Vancouver (4) vs. Spokane (5)
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TODAY’S GAMES
Moose Jaw at Brandon
Lethbridge at Calgary
Edmonton at Kootenay
Prince Albert at Regina
Everett at Kelowna
Kamloops at Spokane
Portland at Victoria

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The sporting fraternity in Saskatchewan is mourning the loss of Bill Johnston, a long-time organizer who passed away in Moose Jaw on Thursday after a short illness. He was 76.
Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has more right here.
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The Memorial Cup hasn’t been decided in an American city since 1998, when the Portland Winterhawks won the championship in Spokane.
There are some people within WHL circles who wonder when one of the WHL’s five U.S. teams will get another chance to play host to the championship tournament.
Well, you fans in Everett, Kent, Kennewick, Pasco, Richland, Portland, Seattle and Spokane shouldn’t hold your breath.
“We’ll never see a cup down here again,” someone who is with a U.S. team told me. “Once again, too lazy to make it work across the border.
“To me, it’s just arrogance on the Canadian side, telling us we don’t deserve the sport. . . .”
The WHL next will play host to the Memorial Cup tournament in 2013 when it will be in Saskatoon. Next up will be 2016 and there already is speculation that the Vancouver Giants are interested in putting in a bid to play host to that one.
Of course, the hangup with taking the tournament south seems to be sponsorships.
“The league marketing deals just frost all of us here,” the person said. “Baseball, NHL and the NBA can cross the border on deals . . . but us? And don’t even get me started on the TV deals with Shaw and ROOT.”
The CHL may have taken at least one step towards holding a Memorial Cup in the U.S. this week when it signed a deal with Aaron’s, Inc., a home furniture and electronics operation that is based in Atlanta and has more than 1,940 outlets in 48 states and Canada.
Aaron’s has huge involvement with NASCAR — if you are watching today’s Daytona 500, you will see its logo on Mark Martin’s No. 55 Toyota. Aaron’s is signed as a sponsor with Michael Waltrip Racing through the 2013 Sprint Cup season.
Aaron’s also was involved in sponsoring the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers, before the franchise flew north to Winnipeg.
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The Concussion Report is working hard to keep track of the number of concussions in the NHL this season. On Friday, TCR reported: “As of today there is a 40 per cent increase in concussions versus last (season). The total number of 98 is the exact total of the entire regular season last (season).” . . .
TCR’s report also includes this:
“Speaking of (upper-body injuries) and undisclosed, I know I am beating a dead horse, but why the need to hide the injury? Why misinform the public and even the players about injuries that are inherent to hockey? Haven’t we learned from Chris Pronger, Colby Armstrong, even Sidney Crosby? I am not good enough to write an open letter or even where to send it, but Mr. Bettman there are some very small changes you can make before you should eliminate all head contact and take on the fighting issue in hockey: Do not allow your teams to hide the concussion/brain injury. You want to know what the real problem is, (then) stop placing your head in the sand, start there!”
If there is a 40 per cent increase in the number of concussions in the NHL this season over last, should we assume that the WHL, which also is hiding its injuries in the vast majority of instances, will report the same kind of increase?
The WHL’s latest weekly injury report lists 44 players as being out with upper-body injuries.
TCR’s report is right here.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes, who are to play the Oil Kings in Edmonton today, were living the life on Saturday.
Here’s an afternoon tweet from Pat Siedlecki, the radio voice of the Hurricanes:
“Well, still waiting to leave Lethbridge for Edmonton. The @WHLHurricanes bus broke down before it got to the rink to load up.” . . .
Later, F Nick Buonassisi tweeted:
“Our bus departs from lethbridge to edm 6 hours later then scheduled then finally get a bus that works and the tranny hits the ground #classic”
And then it was G Liam Liston’s turn:
“We had our bus replaced by one with a vhs player, no AC, smaller than normal number of seats, an awful transmission and a door that won’t close.”
One more from Buonassisi:
“Broken bus update: the door has just flew off. whats next? Place your bets.”
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F Brett Connolly played 15:21 on Saturday as his Tampa Bay Lightning lost 8-1 to the Penguins in Pittsburgh. He played 12:25 at even-strength and 2:56 on the power play. . . . Connolly had four shots on goal, took one minor penalty and was minus-1. . . . The Lightning has until Monday, the NHL’s trade deadline, to make a decision on whether to assign Connolly to the WHL’s Tri-City Americans.
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In the BCHL, the Penticton Vees ran their winning streak to 36 games by beating the Centennials 2-1 in OT in Merritt. . . . The Vees got the winner from F Travis St. Denis with 45 seconds left in the second OT period, which is played 3-on-3. . . . The Vees, who have seven regular-season games remaining, are at home to the Prince George Spruce Kings this afternoon.
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It isn’t the WHL but Nanaimo appears about to land another hockey team. Already the home to the BCHL’s Clippers, the Vancouver Island city is about to become home to a junior B team that will play out of the Nanaimo Ice Centre. Phil And Brenda Levesque are negotiating for ice with the city. The team will play in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League.
Tamara Cunningham of the Nanaimo Daily News has that story right here.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
(With a tip of the hat to @WHLFacts for some of the info that follows. If you are on Twitter and aren’t following, you should be.)
In Moose Jaw, the Warriors scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Swift Current Broncos, 5-2. . . . Warriors D Travis Brown tied the game 2-2 at 18:32 of the second and F James Henry, with his 13th, both the tie just 25 seconds later. . . . F Kenton Miller scored twice for Moose Jaw, giving him 30 this season. He has 11 goals in February; last season he finished with 10 goals in 55 games with the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Henry added two assists to his goal. He has 21 points, including seven goals, in 20 games with Moose Jaw since coming over from the Vancouver Giants at the trade deadline. . . . Swift Current G Jon Groenheyde stopped 43 shots, 26 more than Moose Jaw’s Luke Siemens. . . . The Warriors had lost three straight. . . . Moose Jaw is four points behind the Eastern Conference-leading Edmonton Oil Kings. Each team has 10 games remaining. . . .

In Prince Albert, F Sam Reinhart’s 26th goal of the game, 19 seconds into OT, gave the Kootenay Ice a 5-4 victory over the Raiders. . . . Prince Albert took a 3-1 lead into the second period but couldn’t hold it. . . . Ice F Max Reinhart tied the game 4-4 when he scored his 26th goal on a penalty shot at 14:46 of the third. He finished with two goals and two assists. He drew the lone assist on his younger brother’s winner. . . . F Mark McNeill, who had a goal and two assists, had given the Raiders the lead with his 28th goal at 8:21 of the third. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 25 shots in setting the franchise record for career victories (83). The previous record was held by Taylor Dakers (2003-06). . . . The Ice is fourth in the Eastern Conference, a point ahead of the Calgary Hitmen. . . .

In Saskatoon, D Alex Petrovic scored the only goal of the shootout as the Red Deer Rebels beat the Blades, 4-3. . . . With the Blades shooting first, Petrovic was the circus’s final shooter. . . . Red Deer F John Persson forced OT with his 21st goal at 18:45 of the third. . . . Persson finished with two goals and an assist. . . . F Jake Trask gave the Blades a 3-2 lead with his 18th goal, via the PP, at 2:45 of the third. . . . Saskatoon G Andrey Makarov stopped 44 shots, 12 more than Red Deer’s Deven Dubyk. . . . The Blades are 2-5-1 in their last eight. . . . This was the Blades’ last home game until March 13 as their home rink will be home to the Tim Hortons Brier — the Canadian men’s curling championship — from March 3-11. . . . The Blades are sixth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind Calgary. . . . The Rebels are 10 points out of a playoff spot with 11 games left. . . .

In Brandon, F Mark Stone scored the only goal of the circus as the Wheat Kings beat the Regina Pats, 2-1. . . . Brandon’s victory officially eliminated the Swift Current Broncos and Lethbridge Hurricanes from the playoff race. . . . The Broncos are out for just the third time in 26 seasons. . . . This was the third straight game in which Brandon went to OT. . . . Brandon has won nine of 11. . . . Stone, who had his 14-game point streak come to an end, was the first shooter of the circus. . . . F Jack Rodewald scored his sixth goal for Regina, at 1:51 of the first. . . . F Paul Ciarelli got the equalizer at 15:40 of the first. . . . Brandon G Corbin Boes stopped 23 shots, seven fewer than Regina’s Matt Hewitt. . . . The Wheat Kings had gone two years without a shootout victory when they beat the visiting Swift Current Broncos 3-2 on Friday. . . . Brandon holds down eighth place in the Eastern Conference but is just one point behind Regina and four points out of fourth. . . .

In Kent, Wash., G Calvin Pickard stopped 29 shots as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Everett Silvertips, 3-0. . . . Pickard has five shutouts this season and 12 in his career. . . . Pickard and Ty Rimmer of the Tri-City Americans are the WHL leaders, each with five. . . . WHLFacts points out that Seattle’s last 50 victories have been credited to Pickard. That’s right. It’s been more than two years since a goaltender other than Pickard has won a game for the Thunderbirds. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson stopped 42 shots. . . . Seattle F Dillon Wagner got his fifth goal, at 14:14 of the first, and it stood up as the winner. . . . D Brad Deagle drew two assists. . . . Seattle also got goals from F Connor Honey, his sixth, and F Jacob Doty, his second. . . . Everett has lost three in a row and now is three points behind Seattle, which holds down the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. . . .

In Medicine Hat, F Hunter Shinkaruk and F Curtis Valk scored in the circus to give the Tigers a 4-3 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Shinkaruk was returning after missing six games with an undisclosed injury. . . . Shinkaruk drew two assists. . . . Medicine Hat F Emerson Etem scored his WHL-leading 53rd goal. . . . F Brett Bulmer scored twice for Kelowna, giving him 28 goals. . . . Bulmer, who also had an assist, has 50 points in 44 games. Last season, he finished with 49 in 57. . . . Kelowna took a 3-2 lead into the second period. . . . Tigers F Trevor Cox tied it with his 10th goal at 8:00 of the second. . . . The Tigers were missing F Cole Grbavac, their captain, with an undisclosed injury, while G Tyler Bunz also wasn’t dressed. . . . Medicine Hat G Kenny Cameron stopped 35 shots. Dawson MacAuley of the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers backed him up. . . . After the game, Darren Steinke of the Medicine Hat News tweeted: “#Medhat Tigers lose import D Patrik Parkkonen, who was hit from behind by Kel. #Rockets LW Jessey Astles in second per. No pen. call.” . . . The Tigers are third in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of Kootenay. . . .

In Kamloops, the Vancouver Giants erased a 3-1 first-period deficit and beat the Blazers, 5-3. . . . A victory in regulation would have allowed the Blazers to clinch the B.C. Division’s regular-season pennant. . . . The Giants had lost their last three, including a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the visiting Blazers on Friday. . . . F Marek Tvrdon broke a 3-3 tie with a PP goal at 19:23 of the third period, just 20 seconds after Kamloops D Austin Madaisky was penalized for hooking Giants F Brendan Gallagher. . . . F Riley Kieser had three assists for Vancouver. . . . F Brendan Ranford had two goals, giving him 36, and an assist for Kamloops. He ran his point streak to 13 games. . . . F Chase Schaber had a goal and two assists for Kamloops. . . . The Blazers lead the overall standings, by a point over the Tri-City Americans and Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Giants now are five points ahead of the fifth-place Spokane Chiefs, who hold two games in hand. . . .
Gallagher had two goals, the second one into an empty net. The second one gave him 274 career points, one more than the franchise record that had been held by Adam Courchaine (2001-05). . . . Gallagher also holds the franchise record for career goals. . . . He has 141 assists and needs 14 to equal D Jon Blum’s franchise assist record. . . . “It’s pretty special to me,” Gallagher said of the franchise record for career points. “A lot of people have helped me. It’s not invidividual even though my name is on it. Starting with (head coach) Don (Hay). When you’re 16 and you come here you don’t really understand the game. He’s a really good teacher and you learn every time you come to the rink. Every player I’ve played with . . . I’ve had a lot of good veteran players when I was young to learn from and see how they act. I was put in a really good situation and I’m thankful for that.” . . .

In Prince George, the Victoria Royals completed a weekend doubleheader sweep with a 5-3 victory over the Cougars. . . . The Royals had won 4-2 on Friday night. . . . In this one, F Robin Soudek, who had two goals, broke a 1-1 tie at 5:40 of the second period. . . . The Royals went on to take a 4-1 on goals by F Brandon Magee, at 17:47 of the second, and Soudek, at 3:16 of the third. . . . The Cougars got third-period goals from F Daulton Siwak, shorthanded, and F Chase Witala, at 8:30, but weren’t able to equalize. . . . Royals G Jared Rathjen, a Prince George native, stopped 30 shots for his second career victory. He had earned his first one on Friday. . . . Cougars G Drew Owsley made 37 saves. . . . Each team was 0-6 on the PP. . . . The Royals are seventh in the Western Conference, two points ahead of Seattle. . . . The Cougars are four points out of eighth with 11 games left. . . .

In Spokane, F Brendan Shinnimin continued his amazing run with four points as the Tri-City Americans beat the Chiefs, 7-3. . . . Shinnimin, who was coming off back-to-back three-goal games, had a goal and three assists in this one. He has 14 points in his last three games. So let’s just announce the WHL and CHL player of the week right now. . . . He ran his goal-scoring streak to nine games. . . . Shinnimin now has 110 points and leads the WHL scoring derby by five points over F Mark Stone of the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Tri-City F Patrick Holland had two goals and two assists, giving him 92 points. He has three straight four-point games. Holland is on a nine-game point streak — he has 22 points, 19 of them assists, in that stretch. . . . F Adam Hughesman, the third member of that line, had a goal and an assist, giving him 96 points. . . . Holland broke a 2-2 tie at 11:11 of the second. . . . Americans F Justin Feser, with his second of the game and 31st of the season, made it 4-2 at 14:32. . . . Spokane F Blake Gal got his guys to within one at 9:46 of the third, but the Americans put it away with the last three goals. . . . F Dominik Uher had a goal and two assists for Spokane. . . . Tri-City G Ty Rimmer stopped 36 shots in earning his 25th victory. . . . The Americans have won five in a row. . . . The Chiefs have lost six of seven. . . . The Americans moved back into a tie with Portland atop the U.S. Division.
———
SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Tanner Muth, Kootenay.
F Tyrell Goulbourne, Kelowna.
———
SATURDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Jagger Dirk, Kootenay.
D Jared Hauf, Seattle.
———
The incomparable Roy MacGregor takes a look at Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin and what may be ailing him, and it’s right here.


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Pouliot backstops Rebels past Blazers

Tim Bozon of the Kamloops Blazers beat Red Deer goaltender Bolton
Pouliot here, but the Rebels had the last laugh with a 3-2 victory
on Friday night.
(Photo by Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor

It happens.
Every once in a while man bites dog, David beats Goliath, Buster Douglas takes out Mike Tyson.
On Friday night, it happened at the Interior Savings Centre as the Red Deer Rebels, with seven regulars out of the lineup and their starting goaltender on the limp, scored a 3-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers.
The Blazers, who lead the WHL’s overall standings at 41-13-4, had won nine in a row — and 15 of 16 — at home. They last lost at home on Dec. 30 when the Calgary Hitmen, who are here tonight, posted a 6-3 victory.
The Rebels, now 26-26-5, came in having lost two in a row. They are eight points out of the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot.
On top of that, Jesse Wallin, the Rebels’ general manager and head coach, was forced into using starting a goaltender who had yet to win in this league.
“I didn’t know I was playing until five minutes left in warmup,” offered Bolton Pouliot, a 17-year-old freshman from Calgary who got the start because Deven Dubyk, 20, is fighting a sore back and the flu. “Jesse said you’re going to go in. I took the opportunity . . . it was pretty exciting.”
(Dubyk actually is the Rebels’ second No. 1 goaltender this season. Patrik Bartosak, a Czech freshman, was having a terrific season when his season was ended by shoulder surgery. Dubyk was then brought in from the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos.)
Pouliot was making his third appearance of 2012 — he came on in relief on Jan. 6 and Feb. 4 — and his first start since Dec. 9, when the Rebels dropped a 5-3 decision to the Brandon Wheat Kings. He actually played more minutes last night (60) than he did in his previous three appearances combined (36).
Pouliot, who now is 1-4-2, didn’t face a whole lot of pressure from a Kamloops team that was clearly out of sync, but he held the fort in the third period when his guy were outshot, 16-3.
“That was to be expected, especially with the quality of team they have,” Pouliot said of the third-period onslaught.
His best stop came at 18:26, when he took what appeared to be a sure-fire score away from defenceman Austin Madaisky, who had taken a back-door pass from Colin Smith and thought he was looking at an open net. Pouliot, however, was able to get his glove on the shot.
Asked if any one save stood out, Pouliot shook his head.
“Just solid,” he said, after making 37 saves. “Just stop the puck.”
Pouliot did admit that there was a personal touch to this game as he dates Sierra Sterzer, a sister to Kamloops forward Aspen Sterzer, who was scratched last night.
“All summer we go at each other, chirping back and forth,” Pouliot said with a laugh.
While the Blazers didn’t have anything to laugh about after this one, they were in it right to the end.
The score was 2-2 late in the third period when centre Charles Inglis, whom the Rebels acquired from the Prince George Cougars on Dec. 29, beat forward Brandon Herrod off the right boards in the Kamloops zone.
“I was just trying to rag the puck . . . looking for guys coming in,” Inglis said, “because I saw our guys were changing. I was hoping for a trailer. I shoulder-checked and I had a lot more room than I thought. So I walked to the middle, threw it on net and luckily she went in.”
Just prior to the goal, which came at 17:37, Inglis said he and Kamloops winger Brendan Ranford were chirping at each other from their benches.
“He told me he was going to score next shift,” said Inglis, who has 17 goals. “I said, ‘Nah, I’m going to score.’ ”
Inglis now has scored two game-winners for two different teams at the ISC this season. He had the game’s only goal on Sept. 24 when the Cougars beat the Blazers 1-0 in Kamloops’ home-opener.
Ranford had scored his 33rd goal of the season to forge a 2-2 tie at 17:02 of the second.
“We didn’t rise to the challenge for 40 minutes,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said. “In the third period, they had one scoring chance. They scored. They only had three shots on goal. For the first 40 minutes, 5-on-5, they outplayed us.
“As well as (Pouliot) played, if we could have sustained the pressure that we did in the third period for 60 minutes, maybe we would have had a chance to make him collapse.”
Pouliot was quick to compliment Kamloops goaltender Cole Cheveldave, who finished with 31 saves, including two when he was down and out but still had pucks hit outstretched legs.
“Cheveldave was unbelievable in the second period,” Pouliot said “He deserved a better fate. He played incredibly well.”
Tim Bozon had the Blazers’ other goal, opening the scoring in the first period with his 28th of the season. The Rebels took the lead on goals by defencemen — Kevin Pochuk, in from the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild, got his first WHL goal three minutes after Bozon scored and Alex Petrovic, who always plays like he owns the building here, got his ninth midway through the second.
The Blazers, who lead the overall standings by three points over the Edmonton Oil Kings and hold a five-point lead over the Tri-City Americans and Portland Winterhawks in the Western Conference, could have their hands full again tonight. The Hitmen, who beat the Royals 5-3 in Victoria on Wednesday night, whipped the Rockets 7-1 in Kelowna last night.
“We are faced with another team that has had success against us and they’re playing well,” Charron said. “If we get the same kind of effort, we’ll probably face the same result.”
JUST NOTES: Attendance was 4,077. . . . Kamloops F Chase Schaber, the team captain, is questionable tonight with what the team says is a lower-body injury. He wasn’t on the bench for the third period. . . . The Rebels went 3-0 against Kamloops this season. . . . Kamloops G Cam Lanigan was ill and didn’t dress. G Ty Hamer-Jackson of the midget Tier 1 North Kamloops Lions was on the bench. . . . The Daily News’ Three Stars: 1. Pouliot: Full marks for first victory; 2. Petrovic: Big, physical and moves well; 3. Cheveldave: Gave his guys a chance to pull one out. 



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Not sure if these are available to the public,
but would you want a Tri-City Americans
bathrobe for Christmas?

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Lynn Loyns (Spokane, 1997-2001) signed a tryout contract with DEG Metro Stars Dusseldorf (Germany, DEL). He had one goal and one assist in nine games with Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) earlier this season. The Metro Stars did not release the length of the tryout.
———
Jack Brockest, who purchased control of the Brandon Wheat Kings during their great season of 1978-79, has died.
Brockest, a native of Onanole, Man., passed away Thursday. He was 84.
A celebration of his life will be held today (Tuesday), 2 p.m., at Central United Church in Brandon. It is located at 327 8th St. Interment will take place at a later date.
Before taking over the Wheat Kings, Brockest was one of the WHL franchise’s eight directors, having bought his way in during the mid-1970s. On Jan. 11, 1979, with the Wheat Kings having lost just once in 36 games, Bob Cornell, the team’s governor, announced that Brockest, who had been the general manager since April 24, 1975, had purchased control of the hockey team.
Brockest later bought out the remaining ‘B’ shareholders in 1980. Three years later, he sold the franchise to a community-based group.
The neat part of the Brockest story is that five years before he bought the team he had been the manager of the Keystone Centre, the Wheat Kings’ home arena. And so it was that he went from managing the arena in which they played to owning the team.
Brockest teamed with head coach Dunc McCallum and super-scout Ron Dietrich to put together three of the greatest teams in WHL history. Over a three-season stretch (1976-79), back when ties were part of the deal, Brandon went 158-27-31. That is an .803 winning percentage.
The 1978-79 Wheat Kings finished with a 58-5-9 record, good for a WHL record 125 points. They reached the Memorial Cup final, where they lost 2-1 to the OHL’s Peterborough Petes.
Brockest was predeceased by his wife Shirley. He is survived by daughter Cathie (she is married to a great sports fan, Nelson ‘Roger’ Strong) and son Bob (Doris).
———
JUST NOTES: D Colton Jobke of the Regina Pats has been added to the roster of the WHL team that will play the Russians in Regina on Wednesday. Jobke replaces D Mark Pysyk of the Edmonton Oil Kings, who suffered an undisclosed injury in Kamloops on Saturday. . . . D Alex Petrovic of the Red Deer Rebels is the WHL’s player of the week. He had nine points in four road games last week. . . . G Corbin Boes of the Brandon Wheat Kings is the WHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 2-0-0, 1.13, .965 last week. . . .
The NHL’s New York Islanders have recalled F Nino Niederreiter from the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Niederreiter was there on a conditioning assignment as he recovered from a lingering groin injury. He had four points in six games, including a goal in each of his last three games there. He’ll play for the Islanders tonight against the new York Rangers. . . . Niederreiter, 19, has to stick with the Islanders or be returned to the Portland Winterhawks. . . .
Turning Point Sports Management revealed Monday night that F Chase Witala of the Prince George Cougars “has been selected to play for Team (Pacific) in the prestigious U-17 World Junior Challenge.” The tournament is scheduled for London, Ont., Dec. 29 through Jan. 4. . . . Organizers are poised to announce the roster for Team Pacific today at 10 a.m. PT. . . . A quick Twitter tour on Monday night showed that among those selected for Team Pacific are F Anthony Ast (Vancouver Giants), D Mason Geertsen (Edmonton Oil Kings), G Tristan Jarry (Edmonton), F Curtis Lazar (Edmonton), F Greg Chase (Calgary Hitmen), F Tyson Baillie (Kelowna Rockets), F Torrin White (Moose Jaw Warriors), F Morgan Klimchuk (Regina Pats), D Kyle Burroughs (Regina), D Jesse Lees (Kelowna), D Macoy Erkamps (Lethbridge Hurricanes), F Jackson Houck (Vancouver) and F Nic Petan (Portland Winterhawks). . . . Team West berths apparently have gone to, among others, F Jon Martin (Kootenay Ice), F Jay Merkley (Lethbridge) and G Eric Comrie (Tri-City Americans).

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Brock Otten from ohlprospects.blogspot.com — there’s a link over there on the right — is beating the drum for an interesting suggestion.
“I can already hear you saying it. In fact, I'm prepared to read your comments that tell me just that,” he begins. “I'm going to try and convince you that the OHL (and CHL) should increase the number of Import players allowed on each team's roster.”
If you are interested in the rest of his argument, check out his blog.
But I, for one, would be all for that.
And I would go two steps further . . .
I would do away with the provision that a 20-year-old import player takes up two spots — one as an import and one as a 20-year-old. (Teams are allowed to list two imports and three 20-year-olds on their rosters; a 20-year-old import thus takes up two of those five spots.)
I also would allow teams to keep four or five 20-year-old players. I would push for five, but would settle for four.
“The question is,” Otten writes, “would the league not benefit from increasing the quality of its talent base?”
Oh, boy, would it ever.
I have never been able to understand how it is that teams in the CHL will spend money to develop players and then cut one of them loose when he turns 20, not because he isn’t good enough to play, but because they are only permitted to keep three players in his age group.
The same holds true for imports. With the money spent on recruiting imports, getting all the paperwork done, flying them back and forth . . . why cut one loose because he’s 20 years of age when he still has another season in him?
Of course, it is doubtful that the CHL ever will go to three import players or more than three 20-year-olds.
Why not?
Because the CHL and its teams will argue that they are in the business of developing players.
While I would certainly agree with that, I would argue that they also are in the entertainment business. And given a little more maturity the product that now is being presented to the paying customers could be a whole lot better than it is today.
———
JUST NOTES: F Ryan Johansen, who still is eligible to play for the Portland Winterhawks, scored twice as the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on Saturday night. Johansen has five goals, including all three of CBJ’s game-winners. That is one off the league lead, held by Vinny Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning. . . .
The Everett Silvertips have picked up F Teal Burns, 19, from the Prince Albert Raiders for a sixth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft. Burns, who is from Victoria, opened this season with the Vancouver Giants, before being dealt to the Raiders. He has eight assists and eight penalty minutes in 16 games. He also has played for the Portland Winterhawks, who selected him in the eighth round of the 2007 bantam draft. . . . With F Tyler Maxwell, 20, having asked for a trade and subsequently been sent home, Everett had an opening for a player with WHL experience. . . .
———
In Kamloops, the Blazers outshot the Edmonton Oil Kings 22-1 in the second period as they posted a 5-2 victory. . . . The Oil Kings were without D Griffin Reinhart and F Klarc Wilson, both of whom were injured in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Rockets in Kelowna on Friday. Edmonton D Mark Pysyk didn’t return after the first period in Kamloops. . . . According to Oil Kings head coach Derek Laxdal, Reinhart and Pysyk have upper body injuries — there is a real epidemic of those in the WHL this season — and Wilson has, uhh, a lower body owwie. . . . 

In Portland, F Sven Bartschi’s goal just 30 seconds into OT gave the Winterhawks a 4-3 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Winterhawks had beaten the visiting Chiefs 6-5 in a shootout on Friday. . . . Portland has won five straight. . . . Bartschi had a goal and two assists; he has 30 points, including 23 helpers, in 13 games. . . . Portland’s Ty Rattie, who plays on a line with Bartschi, had two goals and two assists. . . . Rattie has 14 points in five November games, picking up at least two points in each game. . . . Interestingly, the team’s 20-year-old captains — Portland D William Wrenn and Spokane F Darren Kramer — duked it out at 12:23 of the first period. It was Wrenn’s second fight in 51 games; Kramer has had 54 in 83 games. . . .

In Brandon, the Wheat Kings won their third straight game, beating the Prince Albert Raiders, 7-4. . . . The Wheat Kings had won 4-1 in Prince Albert on Wednesday night. . . . The victory lifted Brandon (14-6-2) into first place in the Eastern Conference. . . . Brandon F Mark Stone had two goals and two assists, moving back into the lead in the WHL points race, with 46. He is two ahead of Medicine Hat F Emerson Etem. . . . D Ryan Pulock, who is having an all-star season, had two goals and an assist. He has 28 points, tops among defencemen. . . . Brandon was 4-for-6 on the PP. . . .

In Swift Current, the Broncos built up a 3-0 lead and hung on to beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 3-2. . . . The Warriors had won seven in a row. . . . F Shea Howorko, a 17-year-old from Regina, scored his second goal of the season and it stood up as the winner. He has two goals in 22 games, both of them coming in his last two outings; last season, he had one in 61. . . .

In Cranbrook, D Joey Leach had two goals as the host Kootenay ice bounced the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-1. . . . Leach has four goals this season. . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 13 shots. . . . Seattle finished 2-4-0 on its swing through the Central Division. . . .


In Lethbridge, F Jordan Messier had two goals and an assist to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 7-3 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 13 shots for his fourth straight victory. . . . The Americans held an 18-0 edge in shots in the third period. . . . He was beaten by F Nick Buonassisi on a second-period penalty shot. . . . The Americans went 3-0 on their brief trip into the Central Division and six in a row overall on the road. . . .

In Medicine Hat, F Matej Stransky had two goals — he’s got 12 — as the Saskatoon Blades beat the Tigers, 5-1. . . . Medicine Hat F Emerson Etem was held pointless for the second time this season. . . . Saskatoon F Jake Trask broke a 1-1 tie at 14:09 of the first period as the Blades scored the game’s last four goals. . . . F Chris Collins was back in Saskatoon’s lineup after missing three weeks with a broken thumb. . . .

In Everett, the Silvertips scored two PP goals early in the second period and went on to beat the Prince George Cougars, 3-2. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz earned his first WHL victory as Everett ended a six-game losing streak. Lotz stopped 21 shots in his third start. . . . Prince George F Charles Inglis, the enigmatic one, took a charging major at 19:56 of the first period. Everett F Ryan Harrison scored PP goals at 3:28 and 4:48 of the second period. . . . Inglis is certain to hear from Richard Doerksen, who handles discipline for the WHL. Inglis served a 10-game suspension for a check to the head earlier this season. . . . Everett F Josh Birkholz left the game after the Inglis hit. . . . Everett F Jesse Mychan also can expect a phone call after taking a major for a check to the head at 14:08 of the second period. . . . Mychan also is a repeat offender, having served a two-game sentence for a check to the head in the exhibition season and another two-gamer late in October. . . . The Cougars lost F Brock Hirsche and D Jesse Forsberg to injuries during the game. . . .

In Vancouver, F Marek Tvrdon scored 56 seconds into OT to give the Giants a 3-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Vancouver D Neil Manning forced OT with a PP goal at 5:00 of the third period. . . . It was Manning’s first goal this season. . . . Tvrdon has 10. . . . The Giants are 9-1-1 at home. . . .

In Victoria, the Rebels got a goal and three assists from D Alex Petrovic as they won their third game in four nights, beating the Royals, 7-4. . . . The Rebels beat the Rockets 6-4 in Kelowna on Wednesday, then dumped the Blazers 5-3 in Kamloops on Friday. . . . Overall, Red Deer has won six straight. . . . Victoria was again without F Kevin Sundher (undisclosed). . . .
———
Could it be that while the WHL has been working on educating its players on the harm that can be caused by checks to the head, it has forgotten about the nastiness of hits from behind?
Well, there were a gawd-awful 10 checking-from-behind minors handed out on Saturday night, which means it’s time to bring back the nightly count.
SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (10):
Kenton Miller, Moose Jaw
Richard Nedomlel, Swift Current
Carter Proft, Spokane
Alessio Bertaggia, Brandon
Mitchell Moroz, Edmonton
Tyler Alos, Seattle
Mitch Topping, Tri-City (double minor)
Mason Burr, Red Deer
Austin Carroll, Victoria
———
Bryant Perrier, who no longer is the general manager and head coach of the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives, says he is being “hung out to dry” over a hazing incident that has enveloped that team.
Perrier has spoken with Dan Lett of the Winnipeg Free Press, and that story is right here.
———
Are you wondering how something like the Penn State sexual abuse scandal could happen? Ron Bracken, a former sports editor of the Centre Daily Times, writes about just that right here. And it has everything to do with transparency, or lack of same.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Rebels know Bartosak now

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
It wasn’t that long ago when defenceman Alex Petrovic and the Red Deer Rebels didn’t know Patrik Bartosak or anything about him.
That’s not the case these days.
Bartosak, an 18-year-old freshman goaltender from Koprivnice, Czech Republic, stopped 24 shots Friday afternoon to lead the Rebels to a 5-3 WHL victory over the Kamloops Blazers before 4,496 fans at Interior Savings Centre.
The Blazers (12-6-0) now have lost three of their last four games. They are back in action tonight, this time against the Edmonton Oil Kings. The puck drops at 7 o’clock.
Bartosak, now 13-3-0, had to be especially sharp in the first period because, although he faced only nine shots, the Blazers owned the puck for the first 14 minutes.
“Our goal was to come out hard because we knew they were going to come out hard,” said Petrovic, a 6-foot-4 veteran who was a horse on Red Deer’s back end. “We didn’t do that but we weathered the storm well and Patrik played unreal in net. He saved us.”
The Blazers opened the game with a relentless forecheck and dictated play from below the faceoff dots in the Red Deer zone. The home side got one goal, forward Logan McVeigh redirecting Josh Caron’s shot from the point at 8:38.
“That’s the kind of start we want . . . that’s the kind of game we want to establish for 60 minutes,” said Kamloops centre Chase Schaber.
“We needed one more goal,” offered Kamloops winger Dylan Willick. “If we had made it 2-0 . . .”
That wasn’t to be, though. And when the Blazers took two minor penalties — Schaber roughed up defenceman Aaron Borejko and Austin Madaisky kneed forward Daulton Siwak — in the opening period’s final five minutes, it allowed Red Deer to catch its breath.
“Our power play has been great all year,” Petrovic said. “We didn’t score on it but we had some chances. It gave us some momentum, some energy.”
The Rebels also got some energy at 3:18 of the second period when Schaber, who was being penalized for a check from behind on Adam Kambeitz, fought with Locke Muller, a 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from St. Paul, Alta.
Muller caught Schaber with a hard punch to the chin that left the Blazers captain more than a little wobbly.
“It was just a hockey fight,” Schaber said. “It was a good punch by him. He’s a big boy. He caught me with one. I got back up . . . just the way it goes sometimes.”
Schaber went to the dressing room before being cleared to return by Dr. Sven Kipp. But Schaber was nowhere near the player he had been in the first period, and the Blazers weren’t nearly the same team.
And it was Kambeitz who would score the winning goal, breaking a 3-3 tie at 13:32 of the third period, stuffing the puck between the post and goaltender Cole Cheveldave, who finished with 18 saves.
The teams had gone into the third period at 2-2, John Persson and Cory Millette having given Red Deer a 2-1 lead, only to have centre Colin Smith pull the Blazers even.
Daulton Siwak gave the Rebels a 3-2 lead at 9:34 of the third period. But it didn’t last as crowd favourite Ryan Hanes banged home a Chase Souto rebound just 15 seconds later.
But, as things turned out, that only set the stage for Kambeitz, who scored his ninth of the season. Winger Turner Elson put it away with an empty-netter.
“We’re a team that can bounce back,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said. “We work hard. We were coming back in the third period. I thought we played well.”
Then, alluding to a 4-2 loss in Red Deer on Oct. 19, he added: “We lost the same way we lost in Red Deer. We made mistakes at the wrong time. We expected (Cheveldave) to save us . . . he’s been playing so well.
“But he’s going to have a mediocre or average night and tonight was an average night.”
That wasn’t the case with Bartosak, who has stepped in nicely for Darcy Kuemper, who played in 62 games as a 20-year-old last season.
“You know,” Petrovic said of Bartosak, “I had no idea who he was. But he’s been unreal. He’s an amazing kid. He’s very competitive and fits in well with this group.”
If Bartosak keeps playing as well as this, one thing is for certain — he’ll never have to buy lunch in Red Deer, again.
JUST NOTES: The Rebels were 0-for-5 on the power play, while the Blazers went 0-for-2. . . . Kamloops RW J.T. Barnett raised his arms, thinking he had scored at 6:30 of the second period, but the puck apparently hit a post. “I thought it went in but I don’t know,” Barnett said. “I don;t know why they didn’t review it.” . . . Look for the Blazers to start G Cam Lanigan (5-3-0) tonight against Edmonton. . . . The Daily News’ Three Stars: 1. Petrovic: big-time player; 2. Persson: a real threat; 3. F Tim Bozon, Kamloops: Solid again. . . . With the Coquihalla closed at Merritt, the Rebels took No. 8 Highway across to the Trans-Canada Highway in order to get to Tsawwassen, where they will catch the ferry to Sidney by the Sea in the morning. The Rebels are to meet the Royals in Victoria tonight and Sunday. . . . F Ryan Gropp of Kamloops played his first BCHL game last night and scored once to help the Penticton Vees to a 7-1 victory over the host Trail Smoke Eaters. Gropp, 15, was selected sixth overall by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL’s 2011 bantam draft. He attends the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Trail and was recalled by the Vees for last night’s game.

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Wednesday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
Kevin Saurette (Regina, 1997-99) signed a one-year contract with Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven (Germany 2.Bundesliga). He had 16 goals and 33 assists in 48 games for Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany Oberliga) this season. . . .
F Robin Figren (Calgary, Edmonton, 2006-08) signed a two-year contract with Linköping (Sweden Elitserien). He had 14 goals and 17 assists in 76 games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) this season. Linköping GM Johan Hemlin: "It's great that Robin chose Linköping. He is an exciting forward who will be good for us."
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JUST NOTES: F Tyler Pitlick of the Medicine Hat Tigers, who hasn’t skated in six weeks, is due to return to the ice today. He has been out with a broken ankle. . . . The QMJHL has fined Patrick Roy, the GM and head coach of the Quebec Remparts, for “inappropriate comments.” This comes after Martin Mondou, the Shawinigan Cataractes’ GM, complained about security at the rink in Quebec City after fans dumped beer and assorted other stuff on his players. Roy responded by saying that Mondou “has a brain the size of a pea.” . . .
D Alex Petrovic signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Florida Panthers last week. Capgeek.com reports that his AHL salary will be US$67,500 per season, with NHL salaries of $760,000, $815,000 and $900,000. The signing bonus was $270,000, payable over three years. . . . Petrovic was the 36th overall pick in the 2010 NHL draft. . . . F Tyler Johnson of the Spokane Chiefs has been suspended by the WHL for the first game of the Western Conference final. That’s for a kneeing major he incurred in Game 6 of the conference semfinal against the Tri-City Americans on Tuesday. The Chiefs won that game 5-4 in OT. Johnson was ejected at 18:31 of the first period for a hit on Tri-City F Brendan Shinnimin, who returned to the bench but didn’t play again. The Chiefs open the conference final in Portland against the Winterhawks on Friday. Johnson, the WHL’s second-leading scorer in the regular season, has nine points in nine playoff games this spring. He missed the last two games of the Chiefs’ first-round 4-1 series victory over the Chilliwack Bruins with a concussion. . .
Kevin Dickie, who did a stint as head coach of the Saskatoon Blades (2000-03), is the new athletic director at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S. He had been the hockey coach at Acadia before joining the Blades. Most recently, Dickie was the athletic director at the U of New Brunswick in Fredericton. . . . Kris Mallette (Kelowna, Moose Jaw, 1996-2000) is the new head coach of the junior B North Okanagan Knights, who play in the Kootenay International junior league out of Armstrong, B.C. Mallette, 32, was an assistant coach and replaces Sylvan Leone. Mallette is a native of Kelowna. . . . Nathan Lieuwen of the Kootenay Ice is the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 2-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .965 save percentage last week.

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Taking Note on Twitter

Monday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Chris St. Jacques (Medicine Hat, 1999-2004) signed a one-year contract extension with the Nietigheim Steelers (Germany 2.Bundesliga). He started the season with the Edinburgh Capitals (UK Elite), getting 18 goals and 32 assists in 30 games, before finishing the season in Bietigheim. St. Jacques had seven goals and six assists in 13 games with the Steelers.
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THE VICTORIA TO CHILLIWACK SAGA, Chapter 66:
The ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings will take a 2-0 lead into Game 3 of their second-round series with the Utah Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
That game will be held at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria.
Earlier that day, the WHL will hold a news conference in that same facility at which it is expected to announce that Vancouver-based RG Properties, which manages the SOFMC and owns the Salmon Kings, has purchased the Chilliwack Bruins and is moving the franchise to Victoria.
Yes, the first of the dominoes officially will have fallen.
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Players with the Salmon Kings actually held a news conference in their dressing room on Monday.
Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist writes: “The Salmon Kings — the players as a collective and not the team officially — called a remarkable press conference Monday at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre exhorting Victorians to see ECHL playoff hockey off with a bang and full houses through the Kelly Cup playoffs this spring.”
Dheensaw’s story is right here.
And wouldn't it be a great story if the Salmon Kings were to win the ECHL championship in their last season in Victoria? Now that would be one for the ages!
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Just as president and GM Jeff Chynoweth said would happen, the Kootenay Ice sent out its season-ticket renewal notices on Monday, and prices remain unchanged for a third straight season.
An adult season ticket will cost $399 if purchased on or before May 31. A seniors ticket is $299, a student ticket is $249 and a youth ticket is $199, all if purchased on or before May 31.
So . . . you can forget about the Ice relocating to Chilliwack.
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JUST NOTES: Three more WHL players signed three-year NHL contracts on Monday — F Curtis Hamilton with the Edmonton Oilers, D Alex Petrovic with the Florida Panthers and F Jordan Weal with the Los Angeles Kings. . . . Hamilton, from the Saskatoon Blades, was a second-round selection of the Oilers in the 2010 NHL draft. He has joined the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons for the duration of this season. They are down 2-0 to the Hamilton Bulldogs in a first-round series. . . . Petrovic, from the Red Deer Rebels, was selected by Florida in the second round of the 2010 NHL draft. . . . Weal, taken in the third round of the 2010 draft, had 96 points in 72 games with the Regina Pats this season. . . . D Martin Marincin of the Prince George Cougars, a second-round pick by the Oilers in the 2010 NHL draft, also is with Oklahoma City. . . .
Kootenay Ice D Brayden McNabb is the WHL’s player of the week. He had a goal and five assists in two games. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen is the WHL’s nominee as the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 2-0, 1.00, .965 last week. . . . The Portland Winterhawks are 51-0 when scoring at least four goals this season. That includes 8-0 in these playoffs. . . . Portland is 40-0 when leading after two periods, including 8-0 in these playoffs. . . . So if you want to beat the Winterhawks, all you have to is hold them to three goals and make sure you’re leading after two. . . .
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Andrea Gordon of the Toronto Star has interviewed Peter Jaffe, a professor at the U of Western Ontario who has written to the NHL and its teams to protest against violence in hockey.
Check out her piece right here.
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Bob Duff of the Windsor Star calls Seth Jones “Canada’s worst nightmare.” Jones was selected by the Everett Silvertips with the 11th pick of the 2010 bantam draft. He has yet to commit to school or the WHL. Duff’s piece is right here.
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Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald writes about “a landmark University of Calgary study published today in the Canadian Medicial Association Journal” that deals with NHL players and concussions.
That story is right here.
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Derek Abma of Postmedia News writes:
“It's a no-brainer; eliminate bodychecking in all but the most elite levels of youth hockey, where players are at least 16 years old to reduce concussions and other serious injuries.
“That's the conclusion of a new academic review of existing research by Syd Johnson, a bioethicist from Dalhousie University in Halifax. Her report was published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.”
The complete story is right here.

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