— Darren Steinke (@StanksSports) June 28, 2015
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According to a Saturday afternoon tweet from Jay Janower of Global B.C., the Vancouver Giants are “set to announce Lorne Molleken” as their latest head coach. . . . Molleken sat out last season after being bought out when Edmonton car dealer Mike Priestner bought the Saskatoon Blades. Molleken had been the Blades’ general manager and head coach. . . . Molleken also has coached the Moose Jaw Warriors and Regina Pats. He has 603 career WHL coaching victories, good for fourth spot on the WHL’s all-time list. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman, who has covered the Saskatoon Blades for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, reported that the Giants offered Molleken their head-coaching position on an interim basis in November. . . . With the Giants, Molleken will replace Claude Noel, who took over from Troy Ward early last season and wasn’t retained at season’s end. . . . The Giants have missed the playoffs in two of the last three seasons, including last season.
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The WHL says it had 35 players selected in the two-day NHL draft that wrapped up Saturday afternoon in Sunrise, Fla., the home of the Florida Panthers. That included five first-round selections.
First Round
7. D Ivan Provorov, Brandon Wheat Kings, Philadelphia Flyers.
14. F Jake DeBrusk, Swift Current Broncos, Boston Bruins.
16. F Mathew Barzal, Seattle Thunderbirds, New York Islanders.
26. D Noah Juulsen, Everett Silvertips, Montreal Canadiens.
30. F Nick Merkley, Kelowna Rockets, Arizona Coyotes.
Second Round
37. D Brandon Carlo, Tri-City Americans, Boston.
38. F Paul Bittner, Portland Winterhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets.
41. F Ryan Gropp, Seattle, New York Rangers.
47. F Jansen Harkins, Prince George Cougars, Winnipeg Jets.
51. D Brendan Guhle, Prince Albert Raiders, Buffalo Sabres.
Third Round
65. D Andrew Nielsen, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs.
69. F Keegan Kolesar, Seattle, Columbus.
76. G Adin Hill, Portland, Arizona.
79. D Sergei Zborovskiy, Regina Pats, New York Rangers.
84. F Deven Sideroff, Kamloops Blazers, Anaheim Ducks.
Fourth Round
94. F Adam Musil, Red Deer Rebels, St. Louis Blues.
99. F Austin Wagner, Regina, Los Angeles Kings.
105. F Jesse Gabrielle, Regina, Boston.
106. F Adam Helewka, Spokane Chiefs, San Jose Sharks.
112. D Parker Wotherspoon, Tri-City, New York Islanders.
113. F Brad Morrison, Prince George, New York Rangers.
116. F Glenn Gawdin, Swift Current, St. Louis.
Fifth Round
122. D Devante Stephens, Kelowna, Buffalo.
124. D Ethan Bear, Seattle, Edmonton Oilers.
129. D Sam Ruopp, Prince George, Columbus.
131. F Matt Bradley, Medicine Hat, Montreal.
136. F Pavel Karnaukhov, Calgary Hitmen, Calgary Flames.
143. D Connor Hobbs, Regina, Washington Capitals.
147. D Ryan Pilon, Brandon, New York Islanders.
Sixth Round
152. F Giorgio Estephan, Lethbridge, Buffalo.
173. D Colby Williams, Regina, Washington.
Seventh Round
187. D Chaz Reddekopp, Victoria Royals, Los Angeles.
203. F Matteo Gennaro, Prince Albert, Winnipeg.
205. G Evan Smith, Victoria, Nashville Predators.
210. D Tate Olson, Prince George, Vancouver Canucks.
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The Regina Pats led all WHL teams with five players selected off their roster. Here’s a team-by-team look:
5 -- Regina.
4 -- Prince George, Seattle.
3 -- None.
2 -- Brandon, Kelowna, Lethbridge, Portland, Prince Albert, Swift Current, Tri-City, Victoria.
1 -- Calgary, Everett, Kamloops, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, Spokane.
0 -- Edmonton, Kootenay, Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Vancouver.
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DRAFT NOTES: The OHL had 31 players selected, while 30 were taken out of the QMJHL. . . . There were 17 Russian-born players selected, the most in 11 years. . . . A year ago, there were 37 WHL players drafted. The record is 43 in 2010 and 2005. . . . There were 37 players drafted who played last season in the USHL. . . . The Prince George Cougars had four players selected Saturday after having had five players taken in the previous six drafts. . . . F Cameron Hughes, who will turn 19 on Oct. 9, was selected in the sixth round by the Boston Bruins. He has 13 points, including three goals, in 34 games as a freshman at Wisconsin last season. His WHL rights belong to the Swift Current Broncos. From Edmonton, the Broncos selected him in the ninth round of the 2011 bantam draft. . . . The Arizona Coyotes selected then-Portland G Brendan Burke in the sixth round of the 2013 draft, but then chose not to sign him. On Saturday, the Coyotes selected Portland G Adin Hill in the third round. Hill beat out Burke for the No. 1 job in Portland last season, and Burke was dealt to the Calgary Hitmen. . . . G Evan Smith of Parker, Colo.,, played four games with Victoria and finished the season with the NAHL’s Austin Bruins, playing 15 regular-season and six playoff games. Still, the WHL is including him in its 35-player total. . . . D Andrew Nielsen of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who went to Toronto in the third round, is a former Red Deer Rebels’ stick boy. . . . F Marcus Vela of the BCHL’s Langley Rivermen was the only player drafted from a junior A team. Vela, who is from Burnaby, B.C., was a seventh-round pick by Spokane in the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft. He has committed to the U of New Hampshire. . . .In the seventh round, the Columbus Blue Jackets selected Finnish D Markus Nutivaara, who is 21 years of age. He had four assists in 35 games with Karpat of the Finnish Liiga last season. Nutivaara was the oldest player to be selected in the 2015 draft. . . . You may have noticed that there were 31 selections in the second round on Saturday. The Chicago Blackhawks received the round’s 24th pick (54th overall) as compensation for not signing F Kevin Hayes, a 2010 first-round selection. . . . All told, 211 players were selected. . . . NHL draft picks by birthplace: Canada, 79; U.S., 55; Sweden, 19; Russia, 17; Finland, 13; Czech Republic, 11; Slovakia, 5; Switzerland, 4; Latvia, 3; and, Belarus, China, Germany, Netherlands, Ukraine, each 1. . . . The CHL has scheduled its 2015 import/goaltenders-not-welcome draft for Tuesday.
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Later Saturday, reports began indicating that various undrafted players had accepted invitations to NHL team development camps. . . . F Dryden Hunt of Medicine Hat will go to camp with Montreal. . . . D Turner Ottenbreit of Seattle is off to Washington’s camp. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz will go to Buffalo’s development camp.
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Chris Pronger hasn’t played an NHL game for more than two years. He now is an NHL employee. His name may be among the latest Hockey Hall of Fame inductees when the list is revealed on Monday. . . . None of that prevented his having been traded by the Philadelphia Flyers to the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. . . . Crazy? Welcome to the NHL’s salary cap world. . . . Adam Gretz of cbssports.com explains it all right here. . . . Ken Campbell of The Hockey News blogs about it right here.
If Coyotes can get deal with Glendale to stay in force, taxpayers helping pay $500,000 salary of a guy who's won't play and works for NHL.
— Ken Campbell (@THNKenCampbell) June 27, 2015
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, send an email to greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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There were reports on Saturday that Bob Boughner, the head coach of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, is headed to the NHL. Darren Dreger of TSN reported that Boughner is soon to sign on as an assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks. Peter DeBoer, hired earlier as the Sharks’ head coach, is putting together his coaching staff. . . . Boughner coached the Spitfires to Memorial Cup titles in 2009 and 2010. He then joined the Columbus Blue Jackets as an assistant coach for one season before returning to Windsor.
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Kim Dillabaugh has left the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and signed on with the Philadelphia Flyers. Dillabaugh, who is from Kelowna, spent nine seasons with the Kings, mostly as their director of goaltender development. He was part of two Stanley Cup championships and also helped the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs to a Calder Cup title in 2014-15. . . . With the Flyers, Dillabaugh, 37, will take over from the departed Jeff Reese as goaltending coach. . . . Dillabaugh also has worked with the Kelowna Rockets, serving as an assistant coach and goaltending coach. He helped them to a Memorial Cup title in 2004 and WHL championships in 2005 and 2009. . . . Former NHL G Bill Ranford is the Kings’ goaltending coach. . . . Tim Panaccio of CSN-Philadelphia was the first to report the Flyers had signed Dillabaugh.
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Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs have hired Steve Briere as their goaltending coach. Briere is the owner/head instructor of Canadian Professional Goalie Schools. He also works with four U.S. junior teams -- the Topeka Roadrunners (NAHL), Fargo Force and Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL), and Casper Coyotes (WSHL). . . . With Toronto, Briere will replace Rick St. Croix, who was dumped after last season.
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For the love of god people, stop writing articles on the winners and losers in the 2015 NHL Draft. It is pointless to evaluate a draft early
— Shane Malloy (@ShaneMalloy) June 27, 2015
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In Calgary, the Hitmen won their seventh Central Division banner with a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The same teams will open a first-round playoff series in Calgary on Friday night. . . . The Hitmen were 4-2-1 in the season series; the Ice was 3-4-0. . . . Calgary’s victory means the Medicine Hat Tigers finished second in the division. They draw the Red Deer Rebels in the opening round. That series opens Saturday in Medicine Hat. . . . On Sunday, Calgary D Travis Sanheim broke a 2-2 tie with his 15th goal at 15:43 of the third period. . . . F Levi Cable gave the Ice a 1-0 lead with his 28th goal at 3:15 of the second period. . . . Calgary F Kenton Helgesen got No. 21 at 12:41, on a PP. . . . Calgary took the lead on F Jody Stallard’s sixth goal at 1:43 of the third. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart tied it with his 19th goal at 9:16. . . . Calgary G Brendan Burke stopped 23 shots; two fewer than the Ice’s Wyatt Hoflin. . . . Calgary was 1-for-5 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-for-3. . . . Calgary (45-22-5) has won five in a row. . . . Kootenay (37-31-4) has lost two in a row, both against Calgary. . . . 
In Portland, F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored two goals and added an assist, leading the Winterhawks to a 5-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Bjorkstrand led the WHL in goals (63) and points (118). . . . Portland F Chase De Leo broke a 2-2 tie with his 39th goal at 12:06 of the third period. . . . F Nic Petan added his 15th, into an empty net, at 18:54. . . . Tri-City F Max James then scored his fifth, on a PP, at 19:17 to get the Americans to within one. . . . Bjorkstrand wrapped it up with an empty-netter at 19:41. . . . Tri-City F Richard Nejezchleb scored his 20th goal. . . . Portland G Evan Johnson stopped 18 shots, while Tri-City’s Evan Sarthou turned aside 49. . . . The Winterhawks (43-23-6) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Americans (31-38-3) had won their previous two games. . . . 
In Spokane, G Austin Lotz stopped 39 shots to help the Everett Silvertips to a 5-4 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . These two teams will open a first-round series in Everett on Friday. . . . The Silvertips snapped a 2-2 tie with three goals in the first 15:13 of the third period. . . . D Noah Juulsen got his ninth goal at 3:35. F Jake Mykitiuk got his fourth, on a PP, at 11:19. F Brayden Low scored No. 16 at 15:13. . . . The Chiefs got close with two late goals as F Riley Whittingham scored his 19th and F Adam Helewka got No. 44. . . . Everett F Gunnar Wegleitner scored his first WHL goal in his 43rd game. . . . F Logan Aasman, D Cole MacDonald and D Kevin Davis each had two assists for Everett. . . . Helewka finished with two goals and an assist for Spokane, while F Hudson Elyniuk had two assists. . . . Everett scratched F Kohl Bauml, D Ben Betker, F Nikita Scherbak and F Carson Stadnyk, while dressing D Alex Astasiewicz, 16, D Jantzen Leslie, 15, and F Bryce Kindopp, 15. . . . Astasiewicz made his WHL debut. Leslie played in his sixth game; Kindopp was in his third. . . . Among the Chiefs scratches were F Liam Stewart, D Jason Fram and F Calder Brooks. . . . Everett (43-20-9) has points in five straight (3-0-2). . . . The Chiefs (34-34-4) have lost five in a row.
In Prince Albert, the Medicine Hat Tigers scored three second-period goals and went on to beat the Raiders, 5-4. . . . Tigers F Dryden Hunt broke a 2-2 tie at 15:19 of the second period and F Chad Labelle got his sixth goal at 16:32. . . . Hunt’s 18th goal ran his point streak to 16 games. . . . Medicine Hat F Trevor Cox, who leads the WHL with 73 points, scored his 17th goal. . . . The Tigers had a 5-2 lead in the third period when the Raiders got goals from D Jesse Lees, his seventh, and F Matteo Gennaro, his sixth. . . . Tigers G Marek Langhamer stopped 35 shots, seven fewer than the Raiders’ Rylan Parenteau. . . . Tigers F Chad Butcher scored his 14th goal and added an assist, while F Cole Sanford scored No. 35 and also had an assist. Sanford now has 65 points, second only to Cox. . . . F Jayden Hart of the Raiders, who used to play for the Tigers, scored his 21st goal and added two assists. . . . Raiders F Kris Schmidli had two assists. . . . Medicine Hat has won 15 of the last 18 meetings between these teams. . . . The Tigers (30-12-2) have lost their previous two games. They lead the WHL with 18 road victories, one more than Brandon. . . . The Raiders (19-25-1) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Swift Current, F Braylon Shmyr scored two goals as the Brandon Wheat Kings dumped the Broncos, 5-3. . . . Shmyr has 10 goals this season, and is the 10th Brandon skater with at least that many goals. . . . Brandon F Nolan Patrick broke a 1-1 tie with his 18th goal 30 seconds into the second period. . . . Brandon F Duncan Campbell added his eighth at 5:59 and the Wheaties were never headed. . . . F Morgan Klimchuk, who scored his 100th and 101st regular-season goals one night earlier, and F Tim McGauley each had two assists. . . . McGauley had been credited with two goals and three assists in Friday’s 8-5 victory over visiting Lethbridge. One of those assists was later taken away. He now has 56 points in 46 games, good for a tie for sixth place in the scoring race. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 40 shots. . . . The Wheat Kings (33-9-4) have won four in a row and are just one point behind the idle Kelowna Rockets (34-8-3) in the race for first place overall. . . . Brandon has three victories from four trips to Swift Current this season. . . . The Broncos are 21-20-5. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story 
In Moose Jaw, G Zach Sawchenko turned aside 28 shots to lead the Warriors to a 5-0 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Sawchenko has three shutouts this season. . . . F Jiri Smejkal scored two goals and added an assist. He’s got eight goals. . . . F Jack Rodewald scored his 21st goal. . . . D Ryan Gardiner, F Tanner Eberle and F Brayden Point each drew two assists. . . . Lethbridge G Jayden Sittler stopped 43 shots. . . . It was the second time this season that the Hurricanes have been blanked. . . . The Warriors improved to 19-24-4 and now are just three points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Hurricanes (10-27-6) have lost four in a row. . . . 
In Saskatoon, F Wyatt Sloboshan scored with 10.8 seconds left in the third period to give the Blades a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart had scored his 10th goal at 17:09 of the third to pull his guys into a 2-2 tie. . . . A scoring change well after Friday’s action gave Reinhart an assist and a share of the Ice’s franchise career points record with F Jarret Stoll (286). Last night’s goal gave Reinhart the franchise record (287). . . . D Nolan Reid had given the Blades a 2-1 lead with his second goal in as many games, this one at 5:27 of the third. . . . Reid went into Friday play with one career goal. He now has three and is on a two-game scoring streak. . . . Sloboshan also had an assist. . . . Saskatoon G Brock Hamm stopped 26 shots, three fewer than the Ice’s Wyatt Hoflin. . . . Hamm, who joined the Blades from the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos, has two victories, both over the Ice. . . . The Blades (12-29-3) have won three in a row for the second time this season. They also moved out of the Eastern Conference basement and are one point ahead of Lethbridge. . . . The Ice, which has lost three times to the Blades this season, slipped to 22-22-1. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story 
In Calgary, G Austin Carroll, whose NHL rights belong to the Calgary Flames, scored twice to lead the Victoria Royals to a 4-1 victory over the Hitmen. . . . After the game, the Hitmen held a players-only meeting. . . . Carroll, who now has 28 goals, was a seventh-round selection by the Flames in the 2014 NHL draft. Carroll, 20, is from Calgary. . . . Carroll’s first goal, 30 seconds into the third period, on a PP, gave the Royals a 2-0 lead. . . . Victoria D Joe Hicketts scored the game’s first goal, his ninth, on a PP, at 14:42 of the first period. . . . Hicketts also had an assist. . . . Victoria F Brandon Magee had three assists, and now shares the Victoria/Chilliwack franchise career regular-season points record of 241 with former F Kevin Sundher. . . . Victoria D Travis Brown had three assists. . . . The Royals were 2-for-2 on the PP; the Hitmen were 0-for-1. . . . The Royals (24-19-3), who play in Edmonton this afternoon, have won four straight. . . . Calgary continues to be without F Jake Virtanen and D Travis Sanheim, both out with undisclosed injuries. . . . The Hitmen (23-17-5), who entertain Regina this afternoon, have lost three in a row (0-2-1). Calgary will make F Ryan Getzlaf the inaugural member of their Forever A Hitmen club during this afternoon’s game. . . . Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun has a game story 
In Red Deer, F Adam Musil scored in the ninth round of a shootout to give the Rebels a 4-3 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Musil was the only one of the 18 shooters to score. . . . The Pats erased a 3-1 deficit to force OT. . . . F Adam Brooks scored shorthanded at 10:01 of the second period. . . . He’s got 19 goals. . . . F Taylor Cooper tied it with his 18th goal at 8:44 of the third. . . . Cooper had scored the game’s first goal at 2:02 of the first. . . . The Rebels answered that goal with three of their own, from F Adam Musil, his 11th, D Colton Bobyk, his second, and F Presten Kopeck, his 14th. . . . The Rebels were 0-for-10 on the PP; the Pats were 0-for-3. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple stopped 32 shots, six more than Taz Burman of the Rebels. . . . Red Deer (26-14-6) is 6-0-1 in its last seven and trails Central Division-leading Medicine Hat by four points. . . . The Pats (26-15-4) have lost two straight. . . . The Pats play in Calgary this afternoon. . . . 
In Kamloops, G Connor Ingram stopped 36 shots as the Blazers blanked the Vancouver Giants, 1-0. . . . Ingram, a 17-year-old freshman from Imperial, Sask., has two shutouts in his freshman season. . . . Ingram has taken hold of the starter’s role in Kamloops and has started six of the team’s eight games since the Christmas break. . . . Kamloops F Logan McVeigh sealed the victory with a big block on Vancouver D Mason Geertsen with two seconds on the clock. . . . F Matt Needham scored the game’s only goal, finishing off a 2-on-1 with F Cole Ully for his 15th goal of the season at 16:33 of the second period. . . . Ully has 58 points, 38 of them assists, in 43 games. . . . Vancouver G Payton Lee turned aside 26 shots. . . . F Thomas Foster was among Vancouver’s scratches. He drew a ‘tbd’ suspension for a kneeing major he took on Friday night in a 3-0 loss to the visiting Tri-City Americans. . . . The Blazers (16-24-6) have won two in a row. They are fifth in the B.C. Division, but now are two points behind the fourth-place Giants, who begin a six-game Central Division swing in Cranbrook on Tuesday, and four points in arrears of third-place Prince George. . . . Vancouver (19-23-2), which was blanked 3-0 by visiting Tri-City on Friday, has lost three in a row. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., G Evan Sarthou blocked 25 shots to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 7-0 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Sarthou has four shutouts in his freshman season, with the last two coming on back-to-back nights. He beat the Giants 3-0 in Vancouver on Friday. . . . Sarthou was making his 16th straight start. G Eric Comrie is out with an undisclosed injury. . . . This was the first time this season that Spokane has been shut out. . . . On Dec. 31, the Chiefs beat the host Americans, 10-2. . . . F Lucas Nickles scored twice, giving him 16 goals, and added two assists, while D Brandon Carlo scored his third goal and had two assists. . . . Tri-City D Carter Cochrane, who was acquired last week from Everett, had two assists. . . . F Tyler Sandhu, an acquisition from Red Deer, got his 10th goal and also had an assist. . . . Besides Comrie, the Americans also scratched F Richard Nejezchleb (ill) and F Parker Bowles (undisclosed injury). . . . Spokane F Adam Helewka had his franchise record-tying nine-game goal-scoring streak snapped. . . . The Americans (22-21-2) have won two in a row. . . . The Chiefs (23-17-4) have lost three in a row (0-2-1).
The Medicine Hat Tigers are having a tough time getting to Victoria, so tonight’s game against the Royals has been postponed until Thursday, 7 p.m. . . . It will be televised by Shaw-TV. . . . The Interior of B.C. was hit hard by snow from Sunday morning through early Tuesday morning. Kamloops, for example, experienced the largest single-event snowfall since 1927. As a result, a number of highways have been closed, mostly for avalanche control. . . . The Tigers arrived in Revelstoke on Tuesday at 1 a.m., only to find the highway ahead of them closed for avalanche control. In late afternoon, they decided to spend the night in Revelstoke. . . . Shortly after that decision was made, it was revealed that the highway may not open until at least noon today, which wouldn’t leave the Tigers nearly enough time to get over the Coquihalla Highway to the ferry. . . . Instead of playing three games in four nights in the B.C. Division, the Tigers now will play three-in-three as they are scheduled to meet the Giants in Vancouver on Friday and the Rockets in Kelowna on Saturday. . . . BTW, on Tuesday, there was a lot of freezing rain in the Interior.
With Tanner Faith’s season over thanks to a shoulder injury, the Kootenay Ice are in the market for a veteran defenceman, but general manager Jeff Chynoweth isn’t about to trade away any of his aces. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has more 
In Prince George, the Cougars scored five times in the third period and beat the Tri-City Americans, 8-4. . . . The Americans took a 4-3 lead into the third period. . . . Cougars F Zach Pochiro tied it with his eighth goal at 2:57 of the third period and F Colby McAuley gave his guys the lead with his third of the season at 6:56. . . . F Brad Morrison had two goals, giving him 14, and two assists for the Cougars. He also was plus-5. . . . F Chase Witala, playing his 200th regular-season game with Prince George, got his 22nd goal. . . . Cougars F Jansens Harkins had three assists. . . . The Americans got two goals from F Beau McCue, giving him 16. . . . The Americans had D Mark Drohan in their lineup. A 16-year-old from Calgary, he plays for the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons. He is expected to return to Fort McMurray after the Americans and Cougars play in Prince George again tonight. The Cougars (20-21-0) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Americans (18-19-2) have lost four in a row (0-3-1).
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