Another former WHLer checks in . . . Wheat Kings have an import overload . . . Another shutout for Whistle

F Antonín Honejsek (Moose Jaw, 2009-11) has signed a one-year contract with Kometa Brno (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Honejsek started the season with the Espoo Blues (Finland, Liiga), scoring once in two games. He was loaned to Kiekko-Vantaa (Finland, Mestis), and had one assist in one game. He was released on Oct. 3.
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THE EMAIL BAG:

Following yesterday’s post that included some observations from a former WHL player, another emailed arrived from another former WHLer. Hopefully, this one also will provide some insight into life in the WHL.
Some excerpts, with team names changed to provide requested anonymity:
“Not to sound crazy, but looking at your post about how CHL teams pay their players, it seems there is a discrepancy in the payouts to players from each team. In (City A), I personally got $60 every two weeks, or $120 a month as a 16-year-old. So it outrages me when I hear people complain when they got more than me.
“In all, It was said that I made around $400-$500 as a player (according to tax records) every two weeks, but most of that went to my billets. It was included in my pay.
“There was a major difference between the teams in (City A) and (City B) when I played for them. The team in (City B) paid for gas and the team in (City A) did not. When I was 19 in (City B), I would make $185 or so plus gas, but in (City A) there would be no gas bonus.
“The league needs to hold each team accountable for fees to be paid to players, and not find loopholes or tax breaks in order to pay players less. Do you know how hard it is to fill up a car with gas to drive around your teammates when you make $60 every two weeks as a 16-year-old? Especially if your parents can't give you a MasterCard?
“The university promise has done wonders for me, but I wish there was more when I played hockey for my team, the team I bled and battled for.
“For a kid in the CHL, as a 16-year-old, $500 a month would be a lot, but logical. They would be able to not worry about those things when having to spend 40 to 50-plus hours a week at the rink or doing other things for the team. Players are not looking for millions, but fairness.
“Yes, the CHL does produce the most players and graduates more than any other league to high professional ranks, but this cannot be indicative or the main argument on why not to pay players more money. Make them feel like professionals and also like human beings.
“The best part about the ‘student-athlete’ part is that I graduated from high school at 17 years of age. For the two years after I graduated and still played in the WHL was I still considered a ‘student-athlete?’ Many players who I played with didn’t graduate high school, so how can they be all ‘student-athletes?’ This is all shady to me.
“Sorry for venting, but SOMETHING has to be done. Not for me, but for future, struggling players who do not have wealthy parents. Also, for what is most important, fairness.”
It also says something about the situation that this former WHL player twice asked for anonymity.
First, there was this: “I do not wish to be in the spotlight or even mentioned, as I have kids who will be participating in hockey in the upcoming years and I do not wish to impact their hockey careers.”
Later, this: “Please: Do not mention my name as mentioned before. My anonymity is important for my future and my children's future. Thank you.”
It would seem that intimidation, perceived or otherwise, still is a force in the game of hockey, on and off the ice. Of course, it has long been said that perception is reality in a lot of minds.
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Czech F Richard Nejezchleb, 20, has been returned to the Brandon Wheat Kings. A fifth-round pick by the New York Rangers in the 2014 NHL draft, he had been with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. . . . Nejezchleb suffered an undisclosed injury while with the Rangers team at the Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Mich., and hasn’t played since. However, he now is healthy. . . . Once he rejoins the Wheat Kings, they will have 14 days to get down to the maximum of two import players. Their roster also includes Latvian F Rihards Bukarts, who turns 19 on Dec. 31, and freshman D Ivan Provorov, a 17-year-old Russian. . . . Brandon will be faced with a tough choice as Bukarts went into Wednesday night with 17 points, five of them goals, in 11 games. Last season, he put up 54 points, including 28 goals, in 65 games. Provorov is an early candidate as the Eastern Conference’s rookie of the year, with 12 points, five of them goals, in 11 games. . . . In 101 regular-season games with Brandon, Nejezchleb has 81 points, including 43 goals. Last season, in 66 games, he put up 57 points, 32 of them goals. . . . Should Brandon keep Nejezchleb, he would become its third 20-year-old, joining F Peter Quenneville, who was named captain earlier in the week, and D Eric Roy, who turns 20 on Friday. . . . As well, Nejezchleb has a two-game suspension hanging over his head, something left over from last season’s playoffs. . . . If you are wondering who might have room for a 20-year-old import: Only the Prince Albert Raiders have fewer than three 20s, and that’s after they suspended F Dakota Conroy who left them earlier this week. Each of the other 21 teams has two imports on its roster.
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WEDNESDAY'S REPORT:

In Swift Current, F Colby Cave scored with 12.6 seconds left in the third period to give the Broncos a 5-4 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Cave has two goals this season. . . . F Paul Bittner scored twice for Portland, pulling it to within a goal, at 4-3, at 17:50 of the third and getting them even at 19:17. He's got five goals this season. . . . D Max Lajoie had two goals and an assist for the Broncos. . . . F Chase De Leo scored his eighth goal of the season for Portland, now 2-2 on an East Division swing. . . . The Winterhawks, with goaltenders Brendan Burke and Adin Hill injured, started Bolton Pouliot and had Chantz Vinck of the midget AAA Swift Current Legionnaires on the bench as the backup. Michael Bullion, who has been with the NAHL's Wenatchee, Wash., Wild, is expected to join the Winterhawks today. . . . Vinck, 17, is from Weyburn, Sask., the hometown of former Portland D Derrick Pouliot. . . .

In Saskatoon, F Alex Forsberg's two goals helped the Blades to a 5-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Forsberg's second goal, at 17:22 of the first period, broke a 2-2 tie. He has five goals over his last three games. . . . Blades G Nik Amundrud stopped 31 shots to earn his first WHL victory. . . . Ice F Jaedon Descheneau picked up his 200th regular-season point in his 203rd game when he scored his club's second goal, his sixth this season. . . . The Ice, which has lost three straight, is hoping that F Tim Bozon, who is out with an undisclosed injury, can make his season's debut on Friday against the visiting Calgary Hitmen. Calgary expects to have F Jake Virtanen play his first game of the season after off-season shoulder surgery. . . . In the NHL last night, F Sam Reinhart, who is eligible to be returned to Kootenay, played 9:51 for the Buffalo Sabres in a 4-1 loss to the host Anaheim Ducks. In faceoffs, he was 1-for-8. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story right here. Ice head coach Ryan McGill said: “Our performance was embarrassing.” . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a gamer right here. He reports that Blades D Ryan Coghlan suffered a shoulder injury in a second-period fight and will be re-evaluated today.

In Kamloops, the Blazers had 16 players get at least one point as they whipped the Vancouver Giants, 7-2. . . . The Blazers (8-5-1) moved into second place in the Western Conference. . . . The game turned early in the second period when the Blazers took a 3-0 lead by scoring twice in 12 seconds, F Jake Kryski getting his fifth at 3:09 and F Matt Needham his seventh at 3:21. . . . F Cole Ully had a goal, his ninth, and an assist for Kamloops. He's atop the WHL scoring race with 22 points, two more than Kelowna F Nick Merkley and Medicine Hat F Cole Sanford. . . . The Blazers put it away with four third-period goals. . . . Vancouver's PP was 0-for-7. . . . Kamloops G Cole Kehler stopped 28 shots in a solid outing. . . . The Giants were 8-0-0 against Kamloops last season and had won the only meeting this season, beating the visitors 3-0 on Friday. . . . These teams won't meet again until Dec. 30 in Vancouver. . . . Prior to the game, a moment of silence was held in memory and in honour of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo. . . .

In Prince George, the Brandon Wheat Kings opened a seven-game road swing with a 7-4 victory over the Cougars. . . . Freshman F Nolan Patrick and sophomore F Rihards Bukarts each had two goals and an assist for the Wheat Kings. . . . Bukarts has at least one assist in eight straight games. . . . Bukarts has seven goals; Patrick has four. . . . Brandon D Ivan Provorov scored his sixth goal. . . . The Cougars got to within 5-4 at 12:07 of the third, when F Chase Witala scored his seventh goal, but the Wheat Kings, who were 4-for-8 on the PP, put it away with two late ones, from Patrick on a PP and Bukarts into an empty net. . . . The Wheat Kings are in Kamloops on Friday. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story right here.

In Kelowna, G Jackson Whistle stopped 22 shots as the Rockets beat the Tri-City Americans, 4-0. . . . Whistle has two shutouts in 11 appearances this season and five in his career. . . . The Rockets had taken their 10-0-0 record into Kennewick, Wash., on Saturday night and lost 5-2 to the Americans. . . . F Tyrell Goulbourne scored twice for Kelowna. He's got four goals this season. . . .

In Everett, F Kailer Yamamoto broke a 4-4 tie with 12.1 seconds left as the Spokane Chiefs beat the Silvertips, 5-4. . . . Yamamoto, 16, is a native of Spokane. . . . Everett (6-1-3) is the last of the WHL's 22 teams to lose in regulation time. . . . That was Yamamoto's first WHL goal. . . . F Nikita Scherbak had forged a 4-4 tie with his fifth goal at 11:06 of the third. . . . The Chiefs are 5-0-2 inside the U.S. Division.
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The Victoria Royals have acquired G Jayden Sittler, 18, from the Kootenay Ice for a sixth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Sittler, who is from Red Deer, was with the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons, going 2-2-0/3.04/.903. His acquisition leaves the Royals with three goaltenders, the other two being veteran Coleman Vollrath, 19, and Evan Smith, 17. . . . General manager Cam Hope told Marlon Martens, the radio voice of the Royals, that Smith was injured in practice on Tuesday. “That sped up our need to solidify the goaltending position with a player who can come in and play for us right now,” Hope said.
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F Skylar McKenzie of the Portland Winterhawks was handed a charging major and game misconduct in the final minute of their 3-1 victory over the Pats in Regina on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, the WHL said it had “reviewed the charging major and GM . . . There will not be any further discipline.” . . .
In case you missed it, here’s Kootenay Ice head coach Ryan McGill, in conversation with Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman, after a 3-2 loss to the Raiders in Prince Albert on Tuesday: ““When you have a good game plan, you’ve got to execute. “Unfortunately, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him wear a bathing suit.” . . .
Don’t forget that WHL teams will have players leaving next week to compete at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge that runs Oct. 31 through Nov. 8 in the Sarnia, Ont., area. . . .
Another KHL head coach has bit the dust. Traktor Chelyabinsk fired Karri Kivi on Wednesday, replacing him with Andrei Nikolishin. Traktor was 7-13 under Kivi, leaving it ninth and out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. Kivi is the fourth KHL head coach to be fired this month.
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Hey @gdrinnan played in the whl 4 yrs never went to the parents for $ worked in the summer to cover the extra costs. Debt free education!!
— Steve Da Silva (@Svenner22) October 22, 2014

A little of this, a lot of that . . . getting caught up on WHL news

F Hampus Gustafsson (Regina, Brandon, 2010-11) signed a one-month tryout contract with Grenoble (France, Ligue Magnus). This season, with Pantern Malmö (Sweden, Division 1), he was pointless in three games. Last season, with Troja-Ljunbgy (Sweden, Allsvenskan), he had nine goals and 10 assists in 42 games. . . .
F Martin Tomášek (Red Deer, 1996-97) has signed a one-year contract with Neuilly-sur-Marne (France, Division 1). He played there two seasons ago. Last season, with Feldkirch (Austria, Inter-National-League), he led the league with 35 goals and also added 20 assists, all in 36 games.
F Antonín Honejsek (Moose Jaw, 2009-11) has been released by Espoo Blues (Finland, Liiga) by mutual agreement. This season, he had one goal in two games with the Blues. On loan to Kiekko-Vantaa (Finland, Mestis), he had one assist in one game.
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Bowie Kuhn was the commissioner of Major League Baseball back in the day when Charlie O. Finley owned the Oakland Athletics.
And it was Kuhn who invoked the "best interests of baseball" clause in 1976 when he voided deals in which Finley sold ace reliever Rollie Fingers and outfielder Joe Rudi to the Boston Red Sox for $2 million and left-hander Vida Blue to the New York Yankees for $1.5 million.
Today, Ron Robison is the commissioner of the WHL and there are people, some of them inside the WHL, who feel that he should invoke a "best interests of the WHL" rule that would prohibit Kelly McCrimmon, the owner, general manager and head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings, from communicating with Brad Robson, the general manager of the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Consider that:
1. On May 2, 2013, McCrimmon acquired the sixth-overall selection in the 2013 bantam draft by giving Lethbridge his first-round pick and G Corbin Boes. McCrimmon used that pick to take D Kale Clague. . . . Clague, the son of former WHL G Jason Clague, had put up 77 points, including 35 goals, in 33 games with the Alberta Major Bantam League's Lloydminster Universal Heat. That broke the AMBHL record for points by a defenceman that had been held by Dion Phaneuf.
2. On Nov. 16, 2013, McCrimmon acquired D Ryan Pilon and the WHL rights to F Colt Conrad from the Hurricanes for D Nick Walters, F Taylor Cooper and D Tanner Browne.
3. On Tuesday, McCrimmon acquired F Reid Duke, D Macoy Erkamps and F Tak Anholt from the Hurricanes for D Kord Pankewicz, F Brett Kitt and F Ryley Lindgren.
In summation, then, McCrimmon got Clague, Pilon, Duke and Erkamps for Boes, Walters, Cooper, Browne, Pankewicz, Kitt and Lindgren. Conrad and Anholt, a second-round pick in 2013 who is at Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford, B.C., have yet to report to Brandon.
While McCrimmon no doubt will talk about giving up quality to get quality, most observers are of the opinion that he gave up quantity to get quality.
It's worth noting that Pilon, who had left the Hurricanes and requested a trade, was the third overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft, while Duke, who showed his discontent by refusing to report to the start of training camp prior to this season, was taken with the fifth pick in that same draft. Yes, they were going to be the centre pieces in the rebuilding of the Hurricanes. (Erkamps, a second-round pick in 2010, had expressed his unhappiness by not reporting to the Hurricanes at all prior to the start of this season.)
To say that Lethbridge’s rebuilding project has been slow in building momentum would be something of an understatement.
Not only have the Hurricanes been a bust on the ice in recent seasons -- they have missed the playoffs for five straight seasons and eight of the past 12 -- but they continue to implode financially. At the organization's AGM on Tuesday night, the board of directors, which had budgeted for a profit of $74,000, announced a loss of $390,331. That means that the franchise has dropped a cool $1.65 million over the last five seasons.
Among last season's expenses was $75,000 spent on having a new logo designed by a firm in, uhh, New York City.
(Paul Kingsmith of Global has more on the meeting right here.)
And yet the board told shareholders at the AGM that it is budgeting for a $114,863 profit this season, never mind that season-ticket sales have slipped to fewer than 1,300, down from 1,795 last season.
Interestingly, the Hurricanes' board is looking at a motion that would allow a vote on whether to explore the sale of the franchise. That motion was made at Wednesday's meeting, meaning it will be put to shareholders for a vote at the 2015 AGM.
Unless, of course, McCrimmon acquires the entire roster before then.
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On Wednesday, the Wheat Kings made a couple of more moves as they got their roster down to 25, including nine defencemen and 14 forwards.
F Kirklan Lycar, 17, and D Michael Mylchreest, 19, were released from the roster. Lycar, a fourth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, played last season with the midget AAA Eastman Selects and will be reassigned. Mylchreest is a former member of the Prince George Cougars who played last season with the NAHL's Springfield Jr. Blues.
Neither Lycar nor Mylchreest had gotten into a regular-season game with the Wheat Kings.
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The Prince Albert Raiders held their annual general meeting last week and announced a loss of $262,280. That comes one year after the organization announced a profit of $78,896 for 2012-13.
Andrew Schopp of the Prince Albert Daily Herald has more right here.
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Spokane returned G Alex Moodie, 19, to Saskatoon on Wednesday, thus voiding a May deal in which the Chiefs gave the Blades a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft for the Winnipeg native. . . . The Chiefs have decided to go with veteran Garret Hughson, 19, as their starter, with Tyson Verhelst, 17, backing him up.
The Blades, meanwhile, have installed Moodie as their starting goaltender, a position he held for the first part of last season before he was laid low by injuries.
Nik Amundrud, who was acquired last month from the Everett Silvertips, will back up Moodie. Amundrud will turn 17 on Oct. 20. Trevor Martin, 18, who allowed 11 goals in three appearances with the Blades this season, is to join the SJHL's Melville Millionaires.
With the season still in its infancy, the Blades already have had five goaltenders on their roster. Troy Trombley, 20, and Michael Herringer, 18, both were released last month.
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The Chiefs have added F Jaret Anderson-Dolan to their roster at least through Oct. 10. Anderson-Dolan, from Calgary, was the 14th overall pick in the 2014 bantam draft. He won’t turn 15 until Dec. 9. "With our injury situation with our forwards, this will be a good opportunity for Jaret to join our team on a short-term basis," Tim Speltz, Spokane’s general manager, said in a news release. "It also helps our team as we are shorthanded, so it is a win-win situation. Jaret will benefit greatly from the experience." . . . On Thursday, the Chiefs released F Marcus Messier, 20. That leaves them with 25 players on their roster, including three 20-year-olds -- F Calder Brooks, F Connor Chartier and F Liam Stewart.
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The Swift Current Broncos took quite a hit during the week when it was revealed that they won’t be getting D Julius Honka, 18, back from the NHL’s Dallas Stars.
Honka was selected by the Stars in the first round of the NHL’s 2014 draft. Because he was drafted off a CHL roster, it was generally assumed that he had two options for 2014-15: Play in the NHL or with the Broncos.
It turns out, however, that there is a loophole in the NHL’s CBA with the NHLPA. Because Honka was on loan to the Broncos from his Finnish team -- most import players get a release in order to play in the CHL -- the rule doesn’t apply to him.
It turns out that Honka, one of the WHL’s most exciting players last season as a freshman, is able to play in Europe, the NHL, the CHL or the AHL. He now is with the AHL’s Texas Stars.
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Mike Sillinger, one of the most popular players in the history of the Regina Pats, is back with the WHL franchise. Sillinger, a Regina native, spent the past five seasons as the director of player development with the NHL's Edmonton Oilers. Now, he is a part-time hockey operations consultant with the Pats, while also serving as an assistant coach with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. With the Pats, he will answer to John Paddock, the club's first-year senior vice-president of hockey operations and head coach. . . . "This is where my career started," Sillinger told Greg Harder of the Regina Leade-Post. "I'm thrilled to be back as a Regina Pat and part of an organization I've always been passionate about. It was an easy decision." . . . Harder's complete story is right here.
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Boy on Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard is due to hit bookstores this month. Written by John Branch, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer with The New York Times, the book is based on his three-part story that appeared in the newspaper following Boogaard’s death. . . . Steve Almond has read the book and his NYT review is right here.
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With G Tyler Fuhr away for what is being called “personal business,”, the Regina Pats have added G Tyler Brown, 17, to their roster. He plays for the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues. . . . D Kyle Burroughs, who has been out with a concussions, has returned to Regina’s lineup. He is the team captain. . . . F Scott Cooke, 20, who left the Moose Jaw Warriors late last month, has joined the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs. . . . F Brandon Potomak, 19, who left the Warriors at the same time as Cooke, now is with the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs. . . .
The Prince George Cougars have acquired F Cal Babych, 17, from the Calgary Hitmen for a seventh-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft. A fourth-round selection in the 2012 draft, Babych, from North Vancouver, had three goals and three assists in 41 games last season. This season, he had played one game with Calgary, picking up three assists. . . . He is the son of Dave Babych, who played 1,195 regular-season NHL games after playing in the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks (1977-80). . . .
The Kelowna Rockets are carrying four 20-year-olds, with the return of F Tyrell Goulbourne from the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. Goulbourne, however, has an undisclosed injury and hasn’t played even one game this season. The Rockets’ other 20s are F Colton Heffley, D Cole Martin and F Carter Rigby. . . . The Rockets moved to 5-0-0 on Friday night with a 5-4 OT victory over the Silvertips in Evertt. Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that Kelowna D Mitchell Wheaton “went down after being hit into the boards by Everett's Logan Aasman on the game's first shift. He went off holding his left hand/wrist and did not return.” . . .
The Lethbridge Hurricanes got their roster down to 28, including nine defencemen and 17 forwards, by releasing F Zachary Goberis and D Thomas Lenchyshyn. . . . Both were selected in the 2012 bantam draft, Lenchyshyn with the 18th overall selection and Goberis in the fourth round. . . . Lenchyshyn, from Steinbach, Man., got into two regular-season games, while Goberis, who is from Arvada, Colo., played in two games. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades have released F Ty Mappin, who is off to join the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlies. The Everett Silvertips selected Mappin with the seventh overall pick of the 2011 bantam draft. They dealt him to the Blades in a conditional deal, meaning that his rights now have reverted to Everett. The Blades were to have given up a seventh-round pick, that could have been upgraded to a fifth, in the 2015 bantam draft. That pick now goes back to Saskatoon. . . . On Saturday, the Blades announced that they have claimed F Landon Welykholowa, 18, off waivers from the Calgary Hitmen. Welykholowa played last season with the Hitmen, Victoria Royals and the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks. He had one goal and four assists in 34 WHL games last season. He was a third-round pick by the Prince Albert Raiders in the 2011 bantam draft. . . .
F Tyler Benson, the first overall selection in the 2013 bantam draft, sat out a one-game suspension on Friday after he got tossed from Wednesday’s 7-5 loss in Kelowna. In that game, Benson was given a boarding major and game misconduct for a hit on Kelowna D Jesse Lees. Vancouver head coach Troy Ward didn’t agree with the call, telling Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province: ““I’ll tell him to hit him again; I didn’t think it was a penalty. I’ll tell him to keep playing hard. As soon as you take the lion out of him, you don’t have a lion king.” . . . Lees didn’t play in Kelowna’s 5-4 OT victory in Everett on Friday night. . . .
F Morgan Klimchuk, 19, has been returned by the NHL’s Calgary Flames to the Regina Pats, but he won’t play for another couple of weeks. He injured his left hand/wrist during an NHL exhibition game on Sept. 24. . . . The Brandon Wheat Kings have sold 2,387 season tickets, up from 2,357 last season.

WHL: Coaching news and player moves

As you may have guessed, I'm away for a bit. We have been celebrating the first anniversary of Dorothy's kidney transplant. Yes, a good time is being had by all. . . . I will be back on a regular basis late next week but, for now, here's an attempt at catching up on a few things:








F Lukáš Vantuch (Calgary, Lethbridge, 2005-07) signed a contract through Nov. 5 with Landshut (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with Landshut, he had 49 points, including 17 goals, in 53 games. He had been on a tryout with Dusseldorf (Germany, DEL) in August but didn't win a contract. . . .
F Antonín Honejsek (Moose Jaw, 2009-11) has been assigned on loan by the Espoo Blues (Finland, Liiga) to Kiekko-Vantaa (Finland, Mestis). This season, with the Blues, he had one goal in two games while averaging nine minutes of ice time per game. . . .
D Patrik Vrána (Moose Jaw, Prince George, 2006-07) was released by Cracovia Krakow (Poland, Ekstraliga) by mutual agreement. Last season, with Polonia Bytom (Poland, Ekstraliga), he had four goals and seven assists in 32 games.
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The Kamloops Blazers have added Mike Needham to their coaching staff, replacing associate coach Mark Ferner, who resigned this week and now is the general manager and head coach with the BCHL's Vernon Vipers. . . . Ferner was in his second season back with the Blazers. . . . Needham, who has been working at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton. For the past three seasons, he has been the head coach of OHA's bantam prep team. . . . At the same time, Needham has worked as the Blazers' skills coach. . . . Needham played three seasons (1987-90) with the Blazers and is the father of Blazers captain Matt Needham. . . . OHA commitments will keep Mike from joining the Blazers until Monday. . . . Ferner, meanwhile, is a familiar face in Vernon where he coached the Vipers to three straight BCHL titles and won the 2009 and 2010 RBC Cups as national champions. . . . Any chance of Ferner becoming the Blazers' head coach went by the wayside in January when the team brought back Guy Charron as head coach following the departure of Dave Hunchak. If there was any doubt after that, it disappeared when Don Hay returned to Kamloops as the Blazers' head coach over the summer. Hay had spent the past 10 seasons as head coach of the Vancouver Giants. . . . In Vernon, Ferner takes over from Jason Williamson, who resigned as GM/head coach citing personal reasons. . . .

The Kamloops Blazers' roster is at 26 after they released F Mitch Friesen, 18, on Wednesday. From Surrey, B.C., Friesen had a goal and two assists in 21 games last season. He has a goal and three assists in 68 regular-season games. . . . He was a fourth-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . Kamloops now is carrying three goaltenders, eight defencemen and 15 forwards. . . . That number includes F Mike Winther, 20, who was acquired from the Calgary Hitmen for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft and a sixth-rounder in 2017. Winther was selected by the Prince Albert Raiders with the sixth-overall pick of the 2009 bantam draft. He was later dealt to Calgary and now is into his fifth WHL season. . . . In 231 regular-season games, the native of Trochu, Alta., has 142 points, including 70 goals. Last season, injuries limited him to 31 games. He had 26 points, including seven goals. A second-round pick by the Dallas Stars in the NHL's 2012 draft, Winther didn't sign and now is a free agent. . . . The Blazers also have D Brady Gaudet and G Bolton Pouliot as 20s. They also own the WHL rights to veteran F Chase Souto, 20, but his career is in doubt because of concussion-related issues. . . .

The Everett Silvertips have traded F Zane Jones, 20, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. Jones, from Olds, Alta., was a fifth-round selection by the Chilliwack Bruins in the 2009 bantam draft. He has 104 points, including 48 goals, in 192 regular-season games split between Everett, the Calgary Hitmen, Victoria Royals and Chilliwack. Last season, he had 24 points, 11 of them goals, in 42 games with Calgary and two goals and two assists in 11 games with Everett. . . . The deal leaves Lethbridge with four 20-year-olds, the others being D Tyler Bell and D Nick Walters and F Riley Sheen, who turns 20 on Dec. 21. . . . WHL teams have to declare a maximum of three 20-year-olds by Oct. 15. . . . The Silvertips are down to three -- D Ben Betker, who turns 20 on Sept. 29, F Brayden Low and F Kohl Bauml, who will be 20 on Nov. 25. . . .

The Regina Pats acquired Ukrainian F Pavel Padakin, 20, from the Calgary Hitmen for a third-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. Padakin is a two-spotter -- a 20-year-old import. To make room for him, Regina released sophomore F Max Kammerer, who is from Germany. . . . Padakin was to have played in the KHL this season, but after he signed with HC Donbass Donetsk, it took a leave from the league due to the political situation there. . . . Last season, Padakin had 54 points, 27 of them goals, with the Hitmen. The previous season, as a freshman, he had 22 goals and 16 assists in 70 games. He scored in his only game with Calgary this season. . . . Regina also has four other 20s on its roster -- F Logan McVeigh, F Chandler Stephenson, F Braden Christoffer and F Patrick D'Amico. Stephenson is expected to play in the Washington Capitals' organization. . . . Regina's other import is Russian D Sergey Zborovskiy, a 17-year-old freshman. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has written a terrific feature on Padakin in which he talks about the situation in Ukraine. As this is written, the feature isn't on the newspaper's website, but it should be right here sometime Thursday morning. . . .

The Hitmen are left with three 20-year-olds -- F Connor Rankin, F Adam Tambellini and D Kenten Helgesen. . . . After the New York Rangers returned Tambellini, Alan Caldwell of Small Thoughts At Large tweeted: "If I'm not mistaken, the return of Adam Tambellini to the WHL means the Hitmen owe the Winterhawks a 2015 4th round pick." . . . Calgary also is down to two imports in sophomore Russian F Radel Fazleev, 18, and freshman Pavel Karnaukhov, a 17-year-old Belarussian. . . .

On Wednesday night, the Calgary Hitmen announced that they have dealt F Linden Penner, 19, to the Moose Jaw Warriors for a conditional sixth-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. From Sherwood Park, Alta., Penner was a 10th-round selection by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2010 bantam draft. He has four goals and four assists in 41 regular-season WHL games. All the points came in 39 games with Calgary last season. He also has played one game with the Everett Silvertips. He was pointless in one game with the Hitmen this season. . . .

The Warriors had two veteran players -- F Scott Cooke, 20, and F Brandon Potomak, 19 -- leave them after spending a lot of Saturday's home-opener on the team's fourth line. Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has that story right here. . . . Cooke's departure leaves the Warriors with three 20-year-olds -- F Tanner Eberle, F Jack Rodewald and F Jaimen Yakubowski. . . . Eberle still is in camp with the Montreal Canadiens. . . .

The Prince Albert Raiders are expected to announce the signing of a new assistant coach on Thursday. That moves follows the announcement on Wednesday that Tim Leonard has stepped down for personal reasons. He was into his third season with the Raiders. Leonard, who had a long and successful run as head coach of the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos, joined the Raiders in March 2012. He now has rejoined the Mintos' coaching staff. . . .

The Saskatoon Blades dealt Russian F Nikita Scherbak, their leading scorer from last season, to the Everett Silvertips for G Nik Amundrud, 17, and two conditional bantam draft picks -- a first-rounder in 2015 and a second-rounder in 2016. Scherbak is in camp with the Montreal Canadiens, who selected him with the ?? pick of the NHL's 2014 draft. If Scherbak doesn't end up in Everett, the Silvertips keep both draft picks. . . . Had Scherbak been returned to the Blades, it would have left them with three imports. They added Russian F Nikita Soshnin, 17, and Swedish D Amil Krupic, 19, in the 2014 CHL import draft. CHL rules allow each team to keep two import players, but a team is allowed to draft a third if one of their imports is a first-round NHL selection. However, those same rules don't allow the trading of freshmen imports, so in order to keep Scherbak, the Blades would have had to release Soshnin or Krupic. . . . The Silvertips may find themselves in the same kind of jam, as they also have D Marco Mueller, who is in camp with the San Jose Sharks. He was the 18th overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft. Right now, Russian F Ivan Nikolishin, an 18-year-old sophomore, is the only import in Everett. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here. . . . Should Scherbak end up in Everett, it would shed a whole different light on the Western Conference. The Silvertips have been wondering from where the goals will come; thus, they made the move on Scherbak. There's more right here from Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald.

If you missed it, Elliotte Friedman's latest blog posting, 30 Thoughts, is right here. The top is especially interesting because it deals with the fact that NHL teams are starting to wonder if players are spending too much off-season time working out.
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The Kootenay Ice will be without D Rinat Valiev for up to four weeks. He was in camp with the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs when he suffered an undisclosed injury and underwent surgery. Apparently, the injury isn't considered to be overly serious. . . . Three WHL teams have each been fined $500 for becoming involved in multiple-fight situations. The Seattle Thunderbirds and the Winterhawks went at it on Sept. 19 in Portland. The host Tri-City Americans drew a fine, while the Prince George Cougars didn't, for an incident in Kennewick Wash., on Sunday. . . . F Tyler Wong of the Lethbridge Hurricanes was hit with a three-game suspension for incurring a headshot major and game misconduct on Saturday in Medicine Hat. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades will be without F Ryan Graham, 18, after he was found to have mononucleosis while in camp with the NHL's Minnesota Wild. He won't play until sometime in October. . . . Matthew Liebenberg of the Prairie Post has an in-depth look right here at the financial picture presented by the Swift Current Broncos during the franchise's annual general meeting.

Hay faced with real challenge in Kamloops

Don Hay is about to become a familiar figure in Kamloops again.
(Photo by Christopher Mast / www.mastimages.com)

THE MacBETH REPORT:


D Lukáš Pulpán (Vancouver, 2003-04) has signed a three-year contract with Plzeň (Czech Republic, Extraliga). This season with Chomutov (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had 13 points, two of them goals, in 42 games. . . .



F Antonín Honejsek (Moose Jaw, 2009-11) has signed a one-year contract with the Espoo Blues (Finland, Liiga). This season with Zlin (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had 24 points, 15 of them goals, in 45 games. . . .

F Alex Leavitt (Swift Current, Everett, 2003-05) has signed a one-year contract with the Ravensburg Towerstars (Germany, DEL2). Leavitt started this season with Oskarshamn (Sweden, Allsvenskan), earning three points, including a goal, in 10 games. He signed with Aalborg (Denmakr, Metal Ligaen) on Oct. 22 and went on record 61 points, including 22 goals, in 32 games. He led the Metal Ligaen in scoring and was named to the second all-star team.
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For those who were wondering, there wasn’t a parade in Kamloops on Friday.
With the announcement by the Vancouver Giants on Thursday that Don Hay was leaving their organization after 10 years to return to coaching the Kamloops Blazers, perhaps you expected something of a celebration, say a party topped off with cake and fireworks at Riverside Park.
After all, Hay, one of the legendary figures in Kamloops’ history, is on his way home. He is a member of the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame and the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame.
If you missed it, the Giants have let Hay out of the last year of his contract, allowing him to return to his hometown and try to restore the lustre to a franchise that won three Memorial Cup titles with him on the coaching staff. Hay was an assistant coach, under Tom Renney, in 1992 and the head coach in 1994 and 1995.
(Interestingly, the Giants made the announcement on Thursday, at 5 p.m. The Blazers didn’t issue a news release until Friday morning and have yet to hold a news conference to re-introduce him to a city where he, Ken Hitchcock or Bob Brown could be mayor should any one of them choose to run.
(Exactly how is Hay looked upon in these parts? My wife and I had coffee with an old friend last night. She hasn’t been to any more than a handful of Blazers games in recent years, but now is talking about buying a season ticket. Why? “Because,” she said, “it was so much fun back then.”)
These days, however, the Blazers aren’t even a shadow of the Memorial Cup teams.
After making a run to the Western Conference final a year ago, the Blazers have just suffered through the worst season in franchise history. They went 10-29-5 with Dave Hunchak as head coach, 0-1-0 with Mark Ferner running the bench, and finished up 4-23-0 with Guy Charron in charge. Add it up and the Blazers were 14-53-5.
What it means is that Hay has stepped into a job that is going to offer him the biggest challenge of his career.
The first time Hay stepped in as the Blazers’ head coach, after six seasons as an assistant, he took over a team that had gone 51-17-4 before winning the WHL championship and the Memorial Cup.
In 1998-99, he moved in as head coach of the Tri-City Americans, a team that was 17-49-6 (that’s six ties) the previous season, and they went 43-23-6. That team was swept from the Western Conference final by a Blazers team under head coach Marc Habscheid.
In 2004-05, Hay was back in the WHL as head coach of the Vancouver Giants, a team that was 33-24-9-6 (nine ties and six overtime losses) the previous season. His first season there was the franchise’s fourth and the Giants finished 34-30-4-4 before losing a first-round series in six games to the Kelowna Rockets.
Now, Hay takes over a team that scored 175 goals, the second-poorest total in the 22-team league. Sheesh, his two Memorial Cup-championship teams scored 381 and 375 goals. Yes, that was then and this is now, but that’s a 200-goal differential.
This season’s Blazers also gave up 305 goals and only two teams were poorer defensively.
Still, Hay proved in his first season with the Americans that, yes, miracles do happen on ice. Perhaps he can pull off another one in Kamloops.
At the end of the day, though, Blazers’ fans, especially those who continue to revel in those Memorial Cup victories of the mid-1990s, are going to have to realize that this isn’t about next season. It’s a cliché but this about Hay having to change the culture, to get this team playing Hay hockey, which means a team that is incredibly hard to play against, and then taking it from there.
That’s something that seemed to disappear in Vancouver about the time that gritty and pesky Brendan Gallagher graduated to the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, and perhaps that wasn’t a coincidence.
Time will tell whether Hay, the winningest active coach in the WHL, still has that magic.
The great part of this story is that should this be the last stop of the 60-year-old Hay‘s coaching career, he will finish up among friends and family.
His mother, along with a brother and a sister, live in Kamloops, as do various relatives and in-laws. Hay and his wife, Vicki, have twin daughters -- Angela, who is married to former WHL goaltender Thomas Vicars, lives in Salmon Arm with their two daughters; Ashly lives in Kamloops with her fiancé. You bet that Grandpa is going to love being closer to his granddaughters.
Son Darrell, who played for his father in Tri-City, is 34 now and is a free agent, waiting to see whether there will another season in his career. After three seasons in Europe, he played this season in Japan, and will split the summer between Kamloops and Boise, Idaho.
Darrell is at the stage of his career where he is trying to look ahead. What about coaching?
“I would love to try it to see if I have the chops for it one day,” he told me yesterday.
Well, he played two seasons for his father with the Americans. Maybe the two could co-exist on the same coaching staff. It would be in their hometown and how neat would that be?
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1. Is it just me, or does it seem like a month has passed since the WHL’s conference finals came to an end? In other words, Game 1 of the final can’t come soon enough.

2. The OHL’s championship final is 1-1 after the visiting North Bay Battalion beat the Guelph Storm 4-3 in OT on Friday night. . . . F Barclay Goodrow won it at 2:30 of extra time with his 12th goal of these playoffs. . . . The Storm had won the opener, 3-2 in OT, on Thursday night. That one needed just 57 seconds of extra time. . . . Last night, the Storm held a 2-0 lead in the first period and was up 3-2 in the third. . . . F Robby Fabbri scored twice for the Storm. . . . The Battalion forced OT when F Nick Paul scored on the PP at 14:32 of the third period. . . . Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday in North Bay.

3. In the QMJHL final, G Philippe Cadorette stopped 19 shots and F Charles Hudon had two goals as the host Baie-Comeau Drakkar beat the Val-d’Or Foreurs 3-0 on Friday night in Game 1 of the final. . . . F Jeremy Gregoire helped out with a goal and two assists. . . . Game 2 is scheduled for tonight in Baie-Comeau.

4. How do you feel if you are a long-time fan of the Houston Rockets? . . . A tweet from ESPN Stats and Info after last night’s game in Portland: “The last 2 buzzer-beaters to win playoff series both came vs Rockets -- Damian Lillard tonight & John Stockton in 1997. @EliasSports”

5. Dan Russell and his son, Ben, were in the crowd for last night’s NBA game in Portland. What a way for Russell to spend his first night after signing off on a 30-year career as host of Sportstalk, his Vancouver-based radio show. . . . Russell will be calling the play tonight as the Edmonton Oil Kings and host Portland Winterhawks open the WHL’s championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup on Shaw TV.

6. Here’s an interesting Friday tweet from an interesting guy, Kyle Beach (@KBeachy12): “Congrats to all the players selected in the @TheWHL #BantamDraft! In particular the ones joining the @WHLsilvertips and @chiefs hockey.” . . . Beach also played for the Lethbridge Hurricanes, but perhaps he didn’t enjoy himself there as much as he did in Spokane and Everett.
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The Spokane Chiefs have acquired G Alex Moodie from the Saskatoon Blades for a fourth-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. Moodie was a fifth-round pick by the Blades in 2010. . . . Moodie, 19, is from Winnipeg. He got into 28 games with the Blades this season, going 7-18-2, 4.29, .894 on a team that didn’t come close to making the playoffs. . . . The Chiefs are looking to fill the vacancy created by the graduation of G Eric Williams. . . . "We feel Garret Hughson has earned the opportunity to be a starter in the WHL and if Alex Moodie can regain the form he showed as a young goaltender, we'll have two capable starting goaltenders,” Spokane GM Tim Speltz said in a news release. “We also expect Tyson Verhelst is ready to make the jump to the WHL, so we have good depth and competition for our goaltending position." . . . Verhelst, from Brandon, is prepping for his 17-year-old season. He was a third-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Moodie’s best stint with the Blades came in 2011-12 when he joined them from his midget AAA team in Winnipeg in December and went 9-3-0, 3.42, .895.
Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more on this trade right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The AJHL’s Grande Prairie Storm fired general manager and head coach Matt Hughes on Friday. The moves come after the Storm went 21-36-3-1 in his first season as GM/head coach and missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. . . . Logan Clow of the Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune has more right here.
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THE FOURTH ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
WHL final, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup
(x - if necessary)
(All games televised live by Shaw)
(All games televised by Root Sports -- Game 2 live, others on delayed basis)
PORTLAND (2, West) vs. Edmonton (1, East)
Season series: Portland, 0-0-1; Edmonton, 1-0-0.
Saturday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
Sunday: Edmonton at Portland, 5 p.m. (Moda Center)
Tuesday: Portland at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: Portland at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
x-Friday: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
x-Sunday, May 11: Portland at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
x-Monday, May 12: Edmonton at Portland, 7 p.m. (Moda Center)
INJURIES
Portland: None.
Edmonton: None.
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FRIDAY’S GAME:
No game scheduled.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Rhett Gordon (Regina, 1992-96) announced his retirement after helping the Nottingham Panthers (England, UK Elite) win the UK Elite championship. Gordon started the season with the Colorado Eagles (ECHL), getting one goal and four assists in 10 games. He joined the Panthers in January and had three goals and 16 assists in 19 games. Gordon, as quoted in Monday's online edition of the Sheffield Star: "This was a very difficult decision and I thought long and hard about it but I feel the time is right for me to retire." . . .
F Matt Pettinger (Calgary, 1999-2000) signed a two-year contract with the Hamburg Freezers (Germany, DEL). He had 14 goals and 23 assists in 52 games with Kölner Haie (Cologne Sharks) this season. Cologne GM Stephane Richer: "Matt will be a real asset to our team. He's agile, good on the road, strong and physical on the puck. He is also a reliable scorer and can bring his experience to our team also to enrich it off the ice. A player like Matt has been missing from our team." . . .
F Antonin Honejsek (Moose Jaw, 2009-11) signed a two-year contract extension with Zlin (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Honejsek had three goals and four assists in 34 games with Zlin, four goals and seven assists in six games with Zlin U20, and two assists in three games on loan to Horacka Slavia Trebic (Czech Republic, 1.Liga).
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There weren’t any WHL games on Monday night, but three series resume tonight.
The Medicine Hat Tigers will have F Emerson Etem back in their lineup for Game 3 as they play host to the Moose Jaw Warriors. Etem sat out Game 2 after taking a kneeing major early in Game 1. The Warriors hold a 2-0 lead. . . .
The Edmonton Oil Kings hold a 2-0 lead as they head into Brandon for two games with the Wheat Kings. . . . Brandon hasn’t played at home since March 17. It played its first-round games in Winnipeg as the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair had taken over Westman Place in Brandon. . . .
Portland LW Oliver Gabriel has served one game and is awaiting a final ruling on his suspension stemming from a Game 1 collision with Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave … Medicine Hat RW?Emerson Etem has had his suspension finalized at one game — which he has already served — after taking a kneeing major in Game 1 of the Tigers’ series against Moose Jaw. . . .
The Kamloops Blazers won’t have G Cole Cheveldave for a second straight game as they take on the visiting Portland Winterhawks. Cheveldave was injured — no one is saying but it would appear he has a concussion — late in Game 1 when Portland F Oliver Gabriel ran over him behind the net. . . . Gabriel sat out Game 2 with a suspension. The length of that suspension hadn’t been determined as of early, early this morning. . . . The Winterhawks hold a 2-0 lead in this series. . . .
The Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans, meanwhile, are tied 1-1 and will resume hostilities on Wednesday night in Spokane.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The USHL’s Indiana Ice fired general manager and head coach Kyle Wallack on Monday. Wallack had been an associate head coach at Yale U since 2006. He signed with the Ice on June 1, 2011, agreeing to a deal through 2013-14. Wallack replaced Charlie Skjodt, who at the time moved up to president. Skjodt was named interim head coach through the end of this season. . . . The Ice was 37-19-4 last season when it was ousted in the second round of playoffs. This season, the Ice is 34-15-9 and second in the Eastern Conference. . . . "There were a number of factors that led me to make this decision at this time of the year, but team unity, improvement in team play during the season and the development of the players who sign up for the Indiana Ice will never be compromised, " said Ice CEO Paul Skjodt in a news release. . . . There have been five coaching changes in the 16-team USHL this season. . . . The USHL is into the final week of its regular season. . . .
The midget AAA Brandon Wheat Kings will have Ken Schneider as their head coach again in 2012-13. Schneider, one of hockey’s good guys, played in the WHL with Brandon (1979-82), finishing up as the Wheat Kings’ captain. He is the father of former WHL D Mark Schneider (Kamloops, Brandon, Regina, 2006-11). Mark played this season with the U of Regina Cougars. . . .
The Kootenay Ice has an opening on its coaching staff after the U of Regina Cougars named Todd Johnson as their new head coach, effective immediately. Johnson, who played in the WHL with Moose Jaw, Kamloops and Red Deer (1990-93), has been an assistant with the Ice for the last two seasons. With the Cougars, he takes over from Blaine Sautner, who resigned in order to return to the family farm. . . . “I’m really happy for Todd as he is a classy young man who . . . will do a real good job for them,” Jeff Chynoweth, the Ice’s president and general manager, told me Monday evening. “Proud also to have another coach move on up.” . . .
Ryan Pollock, the associate coach and assistant GM of the AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs, has resigned, citing personal and family reasons. Pollock spent the last five seasons with the Pontiacs, starting as an assistant coach and moving to associate coach/assistant GM under Chad Mercier for this season. . . . The Pontiacs also are looking for a trainer after Kim Sydora left following the season.
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Marc Habscheid, the general manager and head coach of the Victoria Royals, and team president Dave Dakers have denied a rumbling in the Edmonton Journal from the weekend. Jim Matheson, in his weekly Hockey World report, had speculated that Habscheid might be looking to give up the GM’s role, which might open the door for Doug Soeteart, the former Everett Silvertips’ GM, to land in Victoria. According to Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist, Habscheid and Dakers responded identically: “There is nothing to it."

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By now, you may be aware that the San Jose Sharks had former WHL G Jordan White (Prince George, Portland, 2006-08) on their bench during a 2-1 shootout victory over the Canucks in Vancouver on Thursday night. White, who attends UBC and plays for the Thunderbirds, signed a one-game amateur tryout and backed up Antti Niemi after Antero Niittymaki suffered a groin injury. Matthew Sekeres of The Globe and Mail has a good piece right here on White and how his day went. . . . Note that the the Sharks have signed JP Anderson, 18, of the OHL’s Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors and he’ll backup Niemi tonight against the visiting Minnesota Wild.
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SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, F Tyler Fiddler scored two goals to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 6-2 victory over the Raiders. . . . Fiddler, who is from Prince Albert, was named the game’s first star. He has nine goals. . . . F Igor Revenko gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead in the first period, but the Hitmen scored the next six goals. . . . That included D Ben Wilson get his third of the season on a second-period penalty shot. . . . F Jonathan Parker scored his 28th of the season for the Raiders. . . . D Jaynen Rissling scored his fourth goal and was plus-4 for Calgary. . . . Attendance was 2,442. . . .
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In Swift Current, G Damien Ketlo stopped 47 shots to lead the Regina Pats to a 4-0 victory over the Broncos. . . . The Pats have 17 victories this season; they are 6-0-0 against the Broncos. The teams will meet two more times, both in Swift Current. . . . Ketlo has two shutouts this season and two in his career. He is 5-0-0 with two shutouts against Swift Current. . . . F Jordan Weal had a goal, his 21st, and two assists. . . . F Lyndon Martell notched his fifth goal in 10 games and was plus-3. . . . Attendance was 2,509. . . .
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In Brandon, F Matt MacKay scored one goal and set up three others as the Wheat Kings dropped the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-4. . . . MacKay, whose father Mark was born in Brandon, was acquired from the Vancouver Giants on Jan. 5. This was his first goal with the Wheat Kings. . . . F Scott Glennie and F Mark Stone each had a goal and two assists for Brandon, while F Michael Ferland scored twice. . . . The Wheat Kings scored the game’s last three goals, with MacKay pulling them into a 4-4 tie just 19 seconds into the third period. . . . Stone got his 23rd on the PP at 7:58 and Ferland got the empty-netter. . . . F Brody Sutter had two goals and an assist for the Hurricanes, while F Cam Braes had a goal and two helpers and F Austin Fyten had two assists. . . . Lethbridge F Ryan Moser scored his first goal of the season in his 31st game. He now has seven in 96 career games. . . . Attendance was 3,683. . . .
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In Edmonton, F Antonin Honejsek scored twice and set up two others to help the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 6-3 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Honejsek has 20 goals this season. . . . Moose Jaw D Collin Bowman got the game’s first two goals, in the first period, giving him 10. . . . The Warriors took control with two PP goals in the first, by Bowman at 17:38 and F Joey Kornelsen, at 18:57. . . . Moose Jaw G Thomas Heemskerk stopped 32 shots. . . . Attendance was 6,930. . . .
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In Medicine Hat, F Daulton Siwak broke a 3-3 tie at 8:00 of the third period and the Red Deer Rebels went on to beat the Tigers, 5-3. . . . Red Deer F Brett Ferguson added insurance at 15:02. . . . Red Deer D Matt Dumba had two assists. . . . The Rebels, who won their 30th game, got a shorthanded goal from F Turner Elson, who was plus-3. . . . F Emerson Etem scored twice for the Tigers. He has 27. . . . The Rebels led 3-1 going into the third when Etem scored at 1:46 and F Wacey Hamilto got his 13th at 2:49. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . Josh Aldrich of the Red Deer Advocate reports that the Rebels last won in Medicine Hat on Nov. 18, 2006. Red Deer had been 0-12-1 in The Hat since then. . . .
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In Kamloops, D Brandon Manning scored his 14th goal of the season on a PP in overtime to give the Chilliwack Bruins a 3-2 victory over the Blazers. . . . Manning loaded up from the middle point and fired a high shot past G Jeff Bosch just 21 seconds into extra time. . . . The Bruins forced OT on F Curt Gogol’s goal at 16:15 of the third period. . . . Chilliwack F Ryan Howse had a goal and an assist, and now holds the Bruins’ franchise record for career points. He has 184 career points, one more than Mark Santorelli (2006-08). . . . Attendance was 4,367. . . .
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In Spokane, the Chiefs broke a 3-3 tie with three third-period goals and beat the Kootenay Ice, 5-2. . . . F Dominik Uher broke a 2-2 tie with his second goal of the game and 14th of the season on the PP at 6:57 of the third. . . . F Tyler Johnson added his WHL-leading 35th at 16:20, on another PP, and F Steve Kuhn iced it with a shorthanded empty-netter at 19:00. . . . The game was played indoors at Veterans Memorial Arena. Attendance was 5,523. . . . Johnson also had two assists, while Uher had one. . . . The Chiefs have won four in a row, including two straight over the Ice. The season series now is 2-2. . . . F Cody Eakin, acquired from the Swift Current Broncos for three players and five draft picks on Jan. 9, made his debut with the Ice and scored his 19th goal of the season. He had been out with a hand injury since the end of the World Junior Championship on Jan. 5. . . . The Chiefs are at home to the Kelowna Rockets tonight and it’s Jon Klemm Bobblehead Night. Klemm, a two-time Stanley Cup winner, is an assistant coach with the Chiefs. . . .
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In Vancouver, D Darren Bestland got the winner and G Mark Segal the shutout as the Giants beat the Prince George Cougars, 3-0. . . . Bestland, who was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Jan. 5, scored his sixth goal of the season at 3:35 of the second period on the PP. . . . Bestland has five points, including two goals, in seven games with the Giants. . . . Vancouver G Spencer Bennett had an assist to run his point streak to 10 games. He has 15 points in that stretch. . . . Segal stopped 30 shots for his fourth shutout this season and the eighth of his career. He also had four last season. . . . The Giants have won seven of 10 and now lead the B.C. Division by a point over the Kelowna Rockets and four over Prince George. . . . Attendance was 7,116. . . .
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In Everett, F Riley Boychuk’s goal at 4:11 of overtime gave the Portland Winterhawks a 3-2 victory over the Silvertips. . . . Boychuk has 11 goals this season. . . . The Winterhawks, who won their 30th game, led 2-0 midway through the second period on goals by F Taylor Peters, his fourth, and D William Wrenn, his first. . . . Everett countered with second-period goals by Jari Erricson, his fifth, and F Clayton Cumiskey, his fifth. Cumiskey scored shorthanded at 18:17. . . . F Ty Rattie had two assists for Portland. . . . Attendance was 5,962. . . . Everett was without F Landon Ferraro, who has a sports hernia and is likely to have surgery. . . . With Ferraro gone, D Ryan Murray will serve as Everett’s captain. . . . If you’re in Portland, don’t forget that today’s game against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds begins at 2 p.m. . . .
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In Kent, Wash., the Kelowna Rockets scored two shorthanded empty-net goals to seal a 6-3 victory over the host Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . F Zach Franko broke a 2-2 tie with his second goal, and 11th of the season, at 8:59 of the second on the PP and F Evan Bloodoff made it 4-2 with his 11th at 19:19. . . . Seattle F Colin Jacobs cut the deficit to one, with his 17th, at 14:28 of the third on the PP, but Kelowna D Tyson Barrie netted two empty-netters to ice it. . . . Barrie has eight goals this season. . . . Franko, 17, is riding a nine-game point streak. He has 11 points, including five goals, over that stretch. . . . On the season, he’s got 35 points, 11 of them goals, in 45 games. . . . Attendance was 4,730.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
TWO MINORS:
Swift Current D Kyle Verdino
Edmonton F Cameron Abney

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