TUESDAY’S GAMES:
Petan started the the winner with end-to-end rush and chip, Koules won a battle with Bear on the boards to get it back to Petan at the dot.
— Scott Sepich (@SSepich) April 8, 2015
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Jack Nicolle, who once owned a piece of the Regina Pats, died in a Regina hospital on April 1. He was 79. Nicolle, who had suffered a stroke five days earlier, owned a piece of the Pats, along with Huddy Bell, Morley Gusway, Bill Hicke and Ted Knight. . . . Nicolle was one of a kind. Oh, how I loved to listen to the man laugh. At one time, Nicolle owned part of Mutt and Jeff’s Bar & Grill, along with then-Saskatchewan Roughriders stars Jeff Fairholm and Dave Ridgway, and I sometimes would stop by just to chat and to laugh. . . . Regina is much richer for having had Nicolle, but is much poorer now that he is gone.
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G Evan Sarthou of the Tri-City Americans will play for Team USA at the 2015 IIHF U-17 World championship in Switzerland, from April 16-26. Sarthou, 17, is from Black Diamond, Wash. He was 11-15-2 with seven shutouts with the Americans this season. He had a 3.10 GAA and a .906 save percentage. His six shutouts were one shy of the team’s single-season record that is held by Carey Price.
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D Josh Morrissey of the Kelowna Rockets, who has been out with a leg injury since Feb. 28, is back practising and he isn’t wearing a non-contact jersey. The Rockets won’t say whether he’ll play Friday when they open at home against the Victoria Royals. Initially, it was thought he might be out until at least April 20. . . . Warren Henderson of Kelowna Capital News also reports that Rockets F Tyrell Goulbourne will play Friday after sitting out two games with an undisclosed injury, while F Justin Kirkland is still out.
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F Reid Duke of the Brandon Wheat Kings, who hasn’t played since Feb. 13, is back practising, but it’s not known if he’ll play Friday in the series-opener against the visiting Regina Pats. . . . When Duke does return, the Wheat Kings’ lineup will be gaining a point-a-game forward, as he had 51 points in 52 games when he was injured.
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F Coda Gordon of the Swift Current Broncos has joined the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush. Gordon, 20, played 258 games with the Broncos. He put up 244 points, including 98 goals. He was a sixth-round pick of the Calgary Flames in the 2012 NHL draft, but was never signed. . . .
D Dillon Heatherington of the Swift Current Broncos has signed an amateur tryout deal with the Springfield Falcons, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. Heatherington, 19, had 15 points, including one goal, in 48 games with the Broncos this season. He also was a member of the Canadian team that won the World Junior Championship. In 247 career games with the Broncos, he has 87 points, 13 of them goals. The Blue Jackets selected him in the second round of the NHL’s 2013 draft.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The OHL’s Sarnia Sting has fired head coach Trevor Letowski and chosen not to renew the contract of assistant coach Andy Delmore. Former NHLer Derian Hatcher, who is one of the Sting’s new owners, is the team’s new head coach. . . . Hatcher and F David Legwand of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators purchased the Sting earlier this year. . . . The Sting lost a first-round playoff series in five games to F Connor McDavid and the Erie Otters.——
Jason Stephens is the new GM/head coach of the junior B Golden Rockets, who play in the Kootenay International Junior League. Stephens, from Red Deer, is a coaching veteran familiar in Alberta hockey circles. This season, he was the head coach of the Red Deer Aero Chiefs minor midget AAA team. He spent more than four years as head coach of the Sylvan Lake Admirals, a senior men’s AAA team. Stephens also is the head coach of the Canada’s national inline hockey team. . . . Stephens takes over from Ty Davidson, who resigned following the end of this season. Davidson later signed on as head coach of the KIJHL’s Sicamous Eagles.
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@petan19 !!!!! Yeah baby. Love beating the birds!!!
— Brendan Leipsic (@28LEIP) April 8, 2015
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In Regina, the Pats scored the games first four goals, three of them via the PP, as they beat the Red Deer Rebels, 4-1. . . . F Jesse Gabrielle got the game’s first goal, at 15:49 of the first period. He’s got 19. . . . Regina then scored three second-period PP goals. F Braden Christoffer got his 19th goal at 6:52. F Adam Brooks added No. 22 at 11:34. D Colby Williams scored his seventh at 13:41. . . . Regina G Tyler Brown, who stopped 23 shots, lost his shutout when D Haydn Fleury scored his fourth goal at 2:02 of the third. . . . Regina was 3-for-9 on the PP; Red Deer was 0-for-4. . . . The Pats (32-19-7) have won two in a row. . . . The Rebels (30-20-9) have lost two straight. . . . 
In Saskatoon, F Jayce Hawryluk and F Rihards Bukarts each had two goals and two assists to help the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 7-3 victory over the Blades. . . . F Ryan Graham gave the Blades a 1-0 lead with his 15th goal 23 seconds into the game. . . . Brandon scored four goals before the period ended to take control. . . . Hawryluk, who has 24 goals, has seven points in two games since returning from a 13-game absence. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauley scored twice, giving him 37, and added an assist. He is riding a 16-game point streak. One of his goals came on a second-period penalty shot. . . . Brandon’s Quenneville brothers, John and Peter, each had two assists. . . . D Nikita Soshnin and F Wyatt Sloboshan had two assists each for the Blades. . . . Saskatoon F Brett Stovin played in game No. 250, all with the Blades, while D Brycen Martin, who was acquired from Swift Current in January, played in his 200th regular-season game. . . . Already without D Ivan Provorov, F Nolan Patrick, D Kale Clague and F Reid Duke, Brandon scratched F Braylon Shmyr (ill) after the pre-game warmup. That left it with 16 skaters. . . . Without G Alex Moodie (concussion) and G Logan Thompson (pink eye), Brandon had Justin Holder backing up Jordan Papirny. Holder, a 19-year-old from Brandon, plays for the MJHL’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines. . . . Brandon improved to 44-10-6. . . . The Blades (17-39-3) have lost three straight. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story 
In Kent, Wash., G Taran Kozun stopped 15 shots for the shutout as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Everett Silvertips, 7-0. . . . Kozun has four shutouts this season, all in his last 10 appearances, and 10 shutouts in his career. . . . This was the first time this season that Everett was blanked. . . . F Keegan Kolesar’s 18th goal, at 8:23 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . F Roberts Lipsbergs scored twice, giving him nine, and added two assists, while F Scott Eansor scored his 11th goal and had two assists, and F Mathew Barzal had three assists. Barzal has seven assists in his last two games. . . . Each team was 0-for-3 on the PP. Seattle had scored at least one PP goal in 12 straight games. . . . The Thunderbirds (31-21-7) have won two in a row. . . . Everett (35-17-7) had been 2-0-3 in its last five but now is on its first three-game losing skid of the season. . . . 
In Portland, F Paul Bittner and F Oliver Bjorkstrand each scored two goals and added an assist to lead the Winterhawks to a 5-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Bittner has 26 goals. . . . Bjorkstrand has 43 goals. He’s got at least one goal in eight straight games. He has 12 goals in that stretch. . . . The Winterhawks scored the game’s first two goals and were never headed. . . . F Nic Petan drew three assists for Portland. . . . F Giorgio Estephan had Lethbridge’s goal. He’s got 17. . . . Portland G Aden Hill stopped 21 shots, 10 fewer than Lethbridge’s Jayden Sittler. . . . The Hurricanes were without F Mike Winther, who drew a one-game suspension for a spearing major and game misconduct that he took the previous night. . . . The Winterhawks (35-20-4) are 4-0-1 in their last five. . . . The Hurricanes (18-34-7) have lost three in a row (0-2-1). . . .
In Prince George, F Chase Witala scored two goals and added two assists to lead the Cougars to a 4-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Witala tied the game 1-1 at 4:09 of the first period and later closed out the scoring with his 30th goal, at 15:35 of the third. . . . After Witala’s first goal, Cougars D Josh Connolly scored twice, at 19:10 of the first and 1:20 of the second. He’s got 11 goals. . . . The Cougars got three assists from F Jansen Harkins and two from F Zach Pochiro. . . . F Brayden Point scored his 27th goal of the season for Moose Jaw. . . . Moose Jaw G Brody Willms stopped F Jari Erricson on a penalty shot with 49 seconds left in the second period. . . . Willms finished with 25 saves, seven fewer than Prince George’s Ty Edmonds. . . . The Warriors were 0-for-5 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-for-1. . . . The Cougars improved to 24-33-4. . . . The Warriors (24-31-5) went 3-3-1 on a seven-game road swing while the Canadian women’s curling championship was being decided in their home arena. . . . 
In Vancouver, G Payton Lee stopped 33 shots as the Giants got past the Kamloops Blazers, 1-0. . . . F Dakota Odgers scored the game’s only goal, his fourth, at 4:44 of the second period. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram stopped 21 shots. . . . Vancouver was 0-for-1 on the PP; Kamloops never had an opportunity. . . . Lee has three shutouts this season and five for his career. . . . The Giants improved to 26-31-3. . . . The Blazers (22-33-6) have lost four in a row. . . . After the game, Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province tweeted that Giants F “Dalton Sward left in the 2nd with a hand injury and was getting X-rays afterwards, according to coach Claude Noel.” . . . 
In Spokane, G Wyatt Hoflin turned aside 29 shots as the Kootenay Ice dumped the Chiefs, 5-0. . . . Hoflin has three shutouts this season. . . . F Jon Martin’s seventh goal, at 8:41 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . The Ice got two goals from each of F Luke Philp, who has 26, and F Jaedon Descheneau, who has 27. . . . Philp also had an assist. . . . F Austin Vetterl and F Sam Reinhart each had two assists. . . . The Ice roster now includes four 25-goal men. . . . The Ice (31-27-2), which won four of five from Spokane, is 3-0-1 in its last four. . . . The Chiefs (27-27-4), who have been blanked six times since Jan. 17, have lost three in a row. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., the Calgary Hitmen unleashed a season-high 55-shot attack as they beat the Tri-City Americans, 7-2. . . . The Americans scratched G Eric Comrie, who apparently was injured on Friday night, and G Evan Sarthou, so gave emergency backup Casey Kaiser, a 19-year-old from Richland, Wash., his first WHL start; in fact, it was his first WHL appearance. . . . Calgary had a 19-3 edge in first-period shots but didn’t score until F Jake Virtanen solved Kaiser with 7.2 seconds left. . . . The Hitmen opened the second period with three goals in 5:14. . . . Virtanen, who has 16 goals, also had two assists. . . . D Jake Bean scored his fourth goal and added two assists for Calgary, while D Travis Sanheim had three assists. . . . Calgary F Adam Tambellini scored his 41st goal and had an assist, while F Connor Rankin, who played the first 244 games of his WHL career with Tri-City, got his 28th goal and added an assist. . . . F Elliott Peterson also had a goal, his 10th, and an assist for the Hitmen. . . . The Hitmen (36-18-5) have won four in a row. They are 2-0-0 on an 11-game road trip. . . . The Americans are 27-30-3. . . . 
In Victoria, F Taylor Crunk scored twice and F Logan Fisher had four assists to help the Royals to a 5-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . One night earlier, the Rockets had beaten the host Royals 3-2, with F Leon Draisaitl breaking a 2-2 tie in the last minute of the third period. . . . Last night, the teams were 1-1 going into the third period. . . . F Brandon Magee broke the tie with his 17th goal at 6:39 and F Jack Walker got his 16th goal at 8:04. . . . Crunk provided more insurance with his second of the game and eighth of the season at 14:07. . . . Draisaitl scored his 11th goal, on a PP, at 17:00 to get the Rockets to within two, but Royals D Travis Brown got an empty-netter at 17:37. He’s got 17 goals. . . . Victoria G Justin Paulic stopped 31 shots, three fewer than Kelowna’s Michael Herringer. . . . The Royals (33-23-4) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Rockets (46-10-4) had a four-game winning streak snapped. . . . These teams will meet again Wednesday, this time in Kelowna.
In Prince Albert, F Austin Glover had two goals and an assist to help the Raiders to a 6-4 victory over the the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Raiders led 4-0 at 3:22 of the second period, only have Brandon tie it before the end of the period. . . . F Simon Stransky broke the tie with his 10th goal at 1:10 of the third. Glover got the empty-netter, his 11th goal this season, at 19:39. . . . F Reid Gardiner scored his 28th goal and added two assists for the Raiders, who got three assists from D Brendan Guhle. . . . F Jayce Hawryluk, who sat out the previous 13 games with an undisclosed injury, scored three times for Brandon. He’s got 22 goals and is the club’s sixth 20-goal man. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauley ran his point streak to 15 games when he scored his 35th goal of the season. . . . Prince Albert G Nick McBride stopped 31 shots. . . . The Raiders were 1-for-2 on the PP; the Wheaties were 0-for-4. . . . With G Alex Moodie (undisclosed injury) out, the Wheat Kings had brought in G Logan Thompson to back up G Jordan Papirny. However, Thompson was ill and a scratch last night. . . . Brandon continues to be without F Nolan Patrick, F Reid Duke, D Ivan Provorov and D Kale Clague, all out with undisclosed injuries. . . . The Raiders (24-32-3) had lost their last two games (0-1-1). . . . The Wheat Kings (43-10-6) suffered their first regulation-time loss since Jan. 10. They had been 14-0-2 in their previous 16 games and had won nine straight on the road. . . . 
In Regina, the Pats ran their winning streak over Saskatoon to 13 games with a 4-1 victory over the Blades. . . . Regina F Adam Brooks, who had missed eight games with a knee injury, scored his 21st goal and added an assist. The Pats also got a goal, his 18th, and an assist from Jesse Gabrielle. . . . Regina scored three times in the second period, the first, from F Braden Christoffer, coming 44 seconds in on a PP. he’s got 18 goals. . . . Regina F Patrick D’Amico had two assists. . . . F Ryan Graham, who had missed nine games with a back injury, scored his 14th goal, a shorthanded effort, for the Blades. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple made his 15th straight start. He stopped 32 shots, eight more than Brock Hamm of the Blades. . . . The Pats (31-19-7) had lost their previous three games (0-3-1). . . . The Blades (17-38-3) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Kamloops, F Brayden Point’s three goals led the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 4-3 victory over the Blazers. . . . Point scored the game’s first two goals, at 4:38 of the first, on a PP, and at 12:58. . . . Warriors F Jack Rodewald got his 28th at 9:00 of the second, on a PP, for a 3-0 lead. . . . F Cole Ully, with his 29th, and F Joel Hamilton, with his 12th, got the Blazers to within one but they weren’t able to tie it. . . . Point stretched the lead to 4-2 with his 26th goal at 15:34 of the second. . . . Hamilton got his second of the game, and 13th of the season, on a PP at 19:37 of the third period. . . . D Dustin Perillat and F Axel Blomqvist each had two assists for the visitors. . . . Moose Jaw G Zach Sawchenko stopped 31 shots, six more than Connor Ingram of the Blazers. . . . Moose Jaw was 2-for-6 on the PP; Kamloops was 1-for-4. . . . The Warriors (24-30-5) are 2-0-1 in their last three. They are 3-2-1 on a seven-game road trip that ends tonight in Prince George. . . . Kamloops (22-32-6) has lost three in a row. . . . 
In Victoria, F Leon Draisaitl broke a 2-2 tie at 19:17 of the third period as the Kelowna Rockets beat the Royals, 3-2. . . . Kelowna D Josh Morrissey had tied the game, with his 13th goal, on a PP, at 12:36 of the third. . . . Draisaitl, who also had two assists, has 10 goals. . . . F Austin Carroll scored his 34th goal for the Royals, giving them a 1-0 lead at 1:48 of the first. . . . Kelowna F Cole Linaker tied it with his 13th, on a PP, at 10:29. . . . F Greg Chase scored his 17th, on a PP, at 9:51 of the second to give the home side a 2-1 edge. . . . Kelowna was 2-for-6 on the PP; Victoria was 2-for-7. . . . Morrissey now is on a 10-game point streak. . . . Kelowna G Michael Herringer stopped 25 shots, four fewer than Coleman Vollrath of the Royals. . . . The minor penalties handed out includes seven for roughing, two for checking from behind and one for a headshot. . . . The Rockets (46-9-4) have won four straight. . . . The Royals (32-23-4) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Everett, F Tyler Sandhu scored the only goal of a three-round shootout as the Tri-City Americans beat the Silvertips, 2-1. . . . F Carson Stadnyk gave the home team a 1-0 lead with his 23rd goal at 14:24 of the first period. . . . D Parker Wotherspoon tied it with his ninth goal at 16:56 of the third. . . . Each team was 0-for-2 on the PP. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 30 shots through OT, while Austin Lotz of the Silvertips stopped 26. . . . Sandhu began this season with Everett, before being traded to the Red Deer Rebels and then to the Americans. . . . Everett F Logan Aasman (concussion) played in his first game since Nov. 30, but the Silvertips were without D Noah Juulsen (undisclosed injury). . . . Tri-City’s scratches included D Brandon Carlo, who took a puck to the head on Tuesday. . . . Tri-City has taken three of four games from Everett over the past two weeks. . . . The Americans (27-29-3) had lost three straight. . . . Everett (35-16-7) has points in five straight (2-0-3). . . . 
at this point in the season to last season’s final numbers.
have, for a second time, come up with Spokane Chiefs Wine -- aka Top Shelf Red.
In Red Deer, F Conner Bleackley scored twice to give the Rebels a 2-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . F Jack Rodewald provided the visitors with a 1-0 lead with his 14th goal at 13:22 of the first period. . . . Bleackley equalized at 13:58 of the first and it was the Toque Toss goal. . . . Bleackley got the winner, his 10th goal this season, on a PP, at 2:30 of the second. . . . Red Deer G Rylan Toth stopped 16 shots, 11 fewer than Moose Jaw's Justin Paulic. . . . The Rebels (15-11-4) travel to Lethbridge tonight. . . . For the Warriors (12-13-3), this was the first of three games in less than 48 hours in Alberta, with each of them a Teddy Bear game. They are in Edmonton tonight. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has more on last night's game right here. . . .
In Everett, F Trevor Cox scored three times and set up another to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 5-2 victory over the Silvertips. . . . Cox, who has eight goals, scored the game’s last two goals after Everett had gotten to within one, at 3-2. . . . F Remi Laurencelle scored twice for Everett, giving him six goals. Both came on second-period PPs. . . . D Tommy Vannelli and D Tyler Lewington each had two assists for the visitors. . . . Medicine Hat F Cole Sanford scored the game’s first goal, his 18th. It was shorthanded. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 29 shots, 18 more than Everett’s Austin Lotz. . . . Down 4-2, Everett head coach Kevin Constantine pulled Lotz for the extra attacker with 5:33 to play. Cox scored an empty-netter with 33.7 seconds left to play. . . . F Jake Mykitiuk was pointless in his debut with the Silvertips. He apparently didn't get to Everett in time for the game day skate, so the pregame warmup was his first time on the ice with his new teammates. . . . The Tigers (20-6-2), who have won four straight, will meet Seattle in Kent, Wash., tonight. . . . Everett (17-6-4) is in Portland tonight.
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