1963 Memorial Cup

1963 MEMORIAL CUP
Edmonton Oil Kings vs. Niagara Falls Flyers
at Edmonton (Gardens)

The Edmonton Oil Kings were back in the national final for a fourth consecutive year. And coach Buster Brayshaw was all but guaranteeing victory over the Niagara Falls Flyers.
This, he said, was the best team he had brought to the championship. And furthermore, he said, this team had been taught to play "the eastern style of play.”
"This is the biggest club overall that I've taken to the final,” Brayshaw said. "It has more weight because I've found that our light clubs in past years have run out of oomph as the season wears on.
"The larger club may take more time getting started but they have the staying power.”
Considering the west had won but seven titles since 1940, the Oil Kings had their work cut out for them.
"In the past, (eastern clubs) have come out on top by clutching and grabbing, playing the man and shooting the puck a lot,” Brayshaw said. "We will play that way now, too. Any club that gets into a series with us now will know it as we can play as tough as anybody.”
The Oil Kings had made it to the final with a best-of-seven playoff victory over the SJHL-champion Estevan Bruins (six games) and a five-game victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Abbott Cup final.
Included on the Edmonton roster were Bert Marshall, Pat Quinn, Glen Sather, Max Mestinsek, Bob Falkenberg, Gregg Pilling, Dave Rochefort, Ron Anderson, Jim Eagle, Butch Paul, goaltender Russ Kirk and captain Roger Bourbonnais. Marshall, Quinn and Sather would go on to coach in the NHL.
The Flyers, managed by the legendary Hap Emms and coached by Bill Long, had eliminated the Neil McNeil Maroons and Espanola Eagles in Ontario playoffs and then dumped the Notre Dame de Grace Monarchs 8-2, 7-1 and 5-0 in the best-of-five eastern final. The Flyers were led by Bill Goldsworthy, Wayne Maxner, Ron Schock, Ted Snell, Gary Dornhoefer, Don Awrey, Terry Crisp and goaltender George Gardner.
The championship, with all games played at Edmonton Gardens, opened on May 2 with Niagara Falls roaring to an 8-0 victory before 6,785 fans.
Snell and Maxner, with two goals each, Dornhoefer, Goldsworthy, Gary Harmer and Ron Hergott scored for the Flyers. Gardner, 20, posted the shutout.
The game was physical and featured 25 penalties, 14 to the Flyers.
"They had an off night,” Emms said. "It's going to be a tough series yet.”
Brayshaw added: "They certainly aren't eight goals better than us.”
Crisp was the only casualty from Game 1. He was left nursing a charleyhorse.
The Oil Kings rebounded on May 5 to even the series with a 7-3 victory in front of 6,845 fans.
Paul, an 18-year-old from Red Willow, Alta., scored twice and set up three other goals for Edmonton. Bourbonnais, Mestinsek, Harold Fleming, Butch Barber and Falkenberg also scored for the Oilers. Bill Glashan, with two, and Schock replied for the Flyers.
Crisp was in the lineup, while the Oilers dropped forward Jim Chase, who had joined the team for the playoffs from the juvenile ranks, in favor of Rochefort.
Gardner stopped 37 shots in this one, while Kirk blocked 18.
On May 6, before 6,424 fans, the Oil Kings exploded for four second-period goals en route to a 5-2 victory.
Paul continued his superb play with two goals, while singles came from Mestinsek, Falkenberg and Bourbannais. Harmer and Glashan scored for the Flyers.
The teams played through a scoreless first period before Edmonton outscored the visitors 4-1 in the second.
Gardner was brilliant again in a losing cause, this time stopping 30 shots.
Dornhoefer was lost for the series when he suffered a broken leg when checked by Quinn, who was hit with a major penalty for charging.
This marked the first time in four years that the Oil Kings had a series lead during a Memorial Cup final.
The Oil Kings upped their edge to 3-1 on May 7 with a 3-2 victory before 6,300 fans.
Doug Fox's goal at 11:08 of the third period broke a 2-2 deadlock and gave Edmonton the victory. He was able to lift the rebound of a Falkenberg shot over Gardner for the winner.
The teams played to period ties of 1-1 and 2-2. Maxner scored both Niagara Falls' goals, with Edmonton getting its goals from Paul and Mestinsek.
Emms played the game under protest after his request to be allowed to select which end of the ice his team would first defend was denied. The start of the game was delayed 15 minutes while the request was considered.
As it turned out, Emms had filed an all-encompassing protest before the series started. This one was because he felt the CAHA rules dealing with the placing of goal nets out from the end boards was being violated.
The Flyers stayed alive on May 9 with a 5-2 victory in front of 6,746 fans.
According to The Canadian Press: "Flyers, showing much more drive than they have in any other game this series, took a physical beating from the hard-hitting and sometimes brutal Oil Kings.”
Crisp, with two, Harmer, Glashan and Awrey, who was having a superb series on defence, scored for the Flyers. Eagle and Fox scored for Edmonton.
More from CP: "The game almost turned into a donnybrook with less than two minutes to go. Greg Pilling of Oil Kings and defenceman Rich Morin of Flyers crashed against the boards and Morin, on the outside, bounced to the ice. As the play moved up to centre and with the referee watching the puck, Pilling brought his stick down across Morin's head. Morin was taken from the ice on a stretcher and it took five minutes to get play under way again.”
Earlier in the game, Barber had flattened Harmer at centre ice. Harmer was taken to hospital with what was believed to be a fractured right leg.
Gardner was excellent again, this time stopping 23 saves. Kirk blocked 19.
Emms, who came west with 19 players (17 skaters and two goaltenders), said before Game 6 that he had 10 players injured in the first five games, including Harmer and Dornhoefer, both of whom had broken legs.
The known injured: Rich Morin, 10-stitch cut to the head; Goldsworthy, torn stomach muscles; Crisp, charleyhorse; Glashan, 12-stitch cut to the chin; Hergott, 10-stitch facial cut; Awrey, concussion, forehead contusions, two black eyes; Gardner, mild concussion; and, Maxner, stretched muscles near the rib cage.
"I said if the Oil Kings lost the fifth game, they'd lose the series,” Emms stated. "Our boys appear more accustomed to the climate and the altitude and have regained their strength.”
But the Oil Kings wrapped it up on May 11, posting a thrilling 4-3 sixth-game victory before more than 6,700 fans.
The crowd swarmed on to the ice at the final siren and lifted Kirk, Quinn and Bourbonnais on to its collective shoulders.
The Oil Kings had this game in control until the last half of the third period.
Goals by Fox, Sather, Paul and Pilling gave the Oil Kings a 4-0 lead early in the third period. But Mestinsek took the game's only penalty shortly thereafter and seven seconds later Glashan put the Flyers on the board.
Niagara Falls swarmed around the Edmonton net for the rest of the game, getting goals from Schock and Crisp. But the Flyers weren't able to pull even.
Kirk made the game's biggest save on Maxner with about five minutes to play. Kirk stopped 27 shots, three fewer than Gardner.
Pilling scored what turned out to be the Memorial Cup-winning goal at 4:11 of the third period when he put a low backhander through Gardner's legs.
CAHA president Art Potter presented the Memorial Cup to Bourbonnais. That picture is one of the great photos in Canadian sporting history – Bourbonnais is pictured wearing a cape and a crown, both of which had been placed on him by adoring fans.
"I never thought anything could give me the thrill I got last year when a bunch of fuzzy-cheeked kids carried us to the Memorial Cup final,” Brayshaw said. "But this club did. It's a great feeling, a better thrill than I got from anything I ever did as a player or coach anywhere.”
Edmonton won the Memorial Cup for the first time in seven trips to the final. The only other Alberta team to win the Memorial Cup was the Calgary Canadians in 1926.
This was also the first time a team from one of the three western provinces had won it all since the Regina Pats were successful in 1930.
 

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Mike Barnett leaves hockey for family

MIKE BARNETT

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor

Mike Barnett, once the most-prominent agent in the hockey business and one of the most powerful people in the sport, has stepped away from the game.
Barnett, who was Wayne Gretzky’s agent for 21 years, has left the employ of the NHL’s New York Rangers in order to spend more time with his wife, Julianna, and four daughters in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“We just came back from four days of camping,” Barnett said, “and it was exactly what I had hoped it would be. It was a real pleasure. Making coffee for everyone over the open fire in the morning . . .”
Barnett, whose last role was senior advisor to the president and general manager and director of U.S. amateur scouting with the Rangers, said he made the decision over the Labour Day weekend. Barnett then informed Glen Sather, the Rangers’ president and general manager.
Sather and Barnett go way back, of course. Sather was running the Edmonton Oilers when Gretzky was hockey’s best player.
“Glen was really good about it,” Barnett said. “He said family comes first.”
Barnett had been with the Rangers since July 8, 2008. Prior to that, he had worked for almost six years as general manager, executive vice-president and alternate governor of the Phoenix Coyotes.
Barnett has six children, five of them under the age of 21. The four girls, ages 19, 17, 13 and 12, all are at home.
They also have two sons — J.T. is a winger with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers and presently is in camp with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, while Jesse, who played one season of junior B hockey with the Summerland Sting, is in law school.
“I missed a lot of time with the girls,” Mike said. “And I just didn’t want to do the hotel-airport thing again. It’s been 25 years . . .
“It’s time for catch-up time at home.”
Barnett refused to rule out a potential return to hockey at some point down the road. He said he simply feels that family time is awfully important right now.
Barnett, who is to turn 53 on Oct. 9, was born in Olds, Alta. He played hockey at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., and spent two seasons (1973-75) in the old North American league before an eye injury ended his career. He also attend the U of Calgary where he earned a bachelor of physical education.
Barnett began CorpSport International in Edmonton in 1980, selling it 10 years later to IMG and becoming president of IMG’s hockey operations. a position he filled for 12 years.
At one time, Barnett represented the likes of Gretzky, Joe Thornton, Jaromir Jagr, Paul Coffey, Sergei Fedorov, Brett Hull, Mats Sundin and Alexander Mogilny.
Barnett was Gretzky’s agent when The Great One was dealt by Edmonton to the Los Angeles Kings on Aug. 9, 1988. Barnett, until then a resident of Canada, relocated to Los Angeles with Gretzky and has been a U.S. resident ever since.

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

The saga of the Chilliwack Bruins — a chronology

What follows is something of a chronology of events leading up to the announcement of the sale and relocation of the Chilliwack Bruins, mostly gleaned from the work of Tyler Olsen of the Chilliwack Times and Eric Welsh of the Chilliwack Progress.
Cast of characters, in order of appearance:
Ron Robison: WHL commissioner.
Moray Keith: Minority owner of Chilliwack Bruins and co-owner of Chilliwack Development Group (CDG), which manages Prospera
Centre.
Jim Bond: Minority owner of Chilliwack Bruins and co-owner of Chilliwack Development Group (CDG), which manages Prospera
Centre.
Darryl Porter: One of the Bruins’ three majority owners; he was the franchise’s governor.
Dave Dakers: President of RG Properties’ sports and entertainment division. RG Properties manages Prospera Place in Kelowna and the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria; it also owns the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings. RG Properties bought the Bruins.
Brian Burke: President and general manager of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs; one of the Chilliwack Bruins’ majority owners.
Glen Sather: President and general manager of the NHL’s New York Rangers; one of the Chilliwack Bruins’ majority owners.
Jim Mullin: Manager of the sports department at CKNW, an AM radio station in Vancouver. He was fired by CKNW on April 20 and tweeted that his dismissal had "everything to do with" his reporting of the sale of the Bruins.
Glen Ringdal: A consultant who works with Moray Keith and Jim Bond.
———
2001: “Our interest in Victoria began in 2001 (and) intensified with the (2005) opening of the new facility (Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre).” — WHL commissioner Ron Robison, on The Hawk 89.5, April 20, 2011.
———
2009: “In 2009, Robison told the league’s board of governors that the WHL might try and move the next team up for sale to Victoria.” — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, April 21, 2011.
———
February 2009: “February of 2009, as part of its strategic plan, the Western Hockey League Board of Governors made a decision to actively pursue securing a WHL franchise for the Victoria market. At that time, the WHL Board of Governors were advised that should a franchise become available for sale, the WHL may elect to relocate the club to Victoria. Although expanding the league beyond 22 teams was not ruled out, the WHL Board of Governors preference was to relocate an existing team. Further expansion was not considered a viable alternative due to the demand it would place on the talent pool of players and the ability for WHL Clubs to remain competitive at the national level.” — WHL press release, April 20, 2011.
———
November 2010: “Keith told the Times that Bond came away (from a Jan. 13 conference call) not thinking that a decision had been made and that no vote was taken. He also said CDG had a standing offer to buy the club dating back to November 2010. Porter said that he knew of no such offer and that there was no ambiguity as to CDG's willingness to sell.” — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, April 21, 2011.
———
December 2010: Darryl Porter asks Chilliwack city council for $175,000 per year to prop up sagging revenues. The request is turned down.
———
Early January 2011: In early January, Keith says that Bruins president Darryl Porter met with Robison during the World Junior Championship in Buffalo, N.Y. According to Keith, “Robison told (Porter) point blank that if they wanted to sell, they had to sell to Victoria.” — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, April 21, 2011.
———
January 2011: “Dave Dakers, president of RG Properties sports and entertainment division, said the genesis of the deal was when he met Darryl Porter on a ferry in January.” — Cleve Dheensaw, Victoria Times Colonist, April 20, 2011.
———
Jan. 13, 2011: “Burke and Porter talked about a Jan. 13 conference call in which Jim Bond allegedly gave his and Keith’s approval to the pursuit of a sale, at the same time locking the group into exclusive negotiating rights with Victoria. . . . Keith wasn’t involved in that meeting, but he got a play-by-play from Bond. . . . ‘Burkie talked and he was the only guy that talked, and it was presented as a fait d’accompli that this was done,’ Keith said. ‘Jim is adamant that he didn’t concur in a unanimous way that it should be sold. Porter, Burke and Sather agreed to sell the team. That’s 75 per cent and that’s not unanimous.’ ” — Eric Welsh, Chilliwack Progress, April 20, 2011.
———
March 4, 2011: Western Hockey League commission Ron Robison says Chilliwack remains a viable market for major junior hockey. And with rumours flying about the possible sale of the Chilliwack Bruins, Robison told the Chilliwack Times . . . that the league office hasn't received any notice that a sale is imminent. Robison said "there is tremendous interest in purchasing franchises around the league . . . but right now there's been nothing filed with us to indicate that there's been anything material occurring." — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, March 4, 2011.
———
March 4, 2011: Asked if the league stresses keeping teams in their current markets, Robison said "absolutely." He continued: "It's clearly our desire to keep them where they are. From time to time we have to review relocation but that's been very rare. There hasn't been a relocation in our league for many, many years." — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, March 4, 2011.
———
March 4, 2011: When asked by the Progress whether the team would be playing in Chilliwack in 2011-12, the answer wasn't exactly a resounding yes. “I would be very surprised if the Western Hockey League isn't playing hockey in Chilliwack,” Porter replied. — Eric Welsh, Chilliwack Progress, March 4, 2011.
———
March 4, 2011: Asked whether the Bruins would be playing in Chilliwack in 2011-12, (Robison) offered this. “It is certainly our intent and we haven’t considered anything different at this point.” — Eric Welsh, Chilliwack Progress, April 21, 2011.
———
March 4, 2011: Asked about the league’s strong desire to get into Victoria, (Robison) offered this. “We are very interested in that possibility, and it’s just been a case of whether we can accommodate that. At this point, we’re not in a position to do that.” — Eric Welsh, Chilliwack Progress, April 21, 2011.
———
March 2011: “In March, Porter told the Times that the owners were weighing ‘multiple offers.’ The owners were, however, negotiating with only one other partner. On (April 20) he apologized for the misleading statements, saying that he was trying to respect a confidentiality agreement and that there was still a possibility that the team wouldn’t be sold to RG Properties. ‘I still had some belief that we would be enticing other offers,’ he said.” — Tyler Olsen, Chilliwack Times, April 21, 2011.
———
March 15, 2011: The Chilliwack Progress reports that Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, who “has ties to the area,” is interested in helping keep the Bruins in Chilliwack. "Justin has expressed his interest in being involved with us as an investor in hockey based in Chilliwack," Keith said in an e-mail to the Chilliwack Progress. "We would be honoured to have him involved. It is all predicated obviously in our successfully securing the team.” — Chilliwack Progress, March 15, 2011.
———
March 15, 2011: The Chilliwack Progress reports that “a news article this morning said there is pressure on Burke, Sather and Porter to accept a bid that would land the team in Victoria. That would fly in the face of commments WHL commisioner Ron Robison made in a Chilliwack Progress interview last week.” . . . “The league's position on ownership is always to look for local ownership,” he said. “That is always a priority. We have to make sure we have the right type of ownership, but if there is local interest, that is something we would want to explore.” — Chilliwack Progress, March 15, 2011.
———
March 17, 2011: “On March 17, the WHL Board of Governors granted conditional approval for the sale of the Chilliwack WHL franchise and final agreements were then signed.” — WHL news release, April 21, 2011.
———
March 31, 2011: “Darryl Porter not confirming sale of Chilliwack Bruins at 5:50pm. Says it's not done. Says no sale agreement signed despite speculation.” — Randy Merkley, the radio voice of the Bruins, via Twitter.
———
April 5, 2011: The WHL issues a news release saying it has granted conditional approval to the sale of the Chilliwack Bruins. The news release doesn’t identify a buyer.
———
April 4, 2011: Burke, in a letter through his lawyers to Jim Mullin earlier in the week, claimed that the WHL had “promised” a franchise to Graham Lee, the chief executive officer and president of RG Properties. . . . Burke also wrote that it was “. . . the WHL’s and Mr. Lee’s desire to have an established team in Victoria rather than an expansion team. This will not leave Chilliwack without a WHL team. The WHL is in the process of negotiating the movement of another WHL team to Chilliwack.”
———
April 11, 2011: “Keith cited an April 11 phone conversation between his right-hand man Glen Ringdal and Porter where Porter fingered Robison and the WHL executive as the masterminds behind the Chilliwack-to-Victoria plot.” — Eric Welsh, Chilliwack Progress, April 20.
———
April 18, 2011: The WHL announces that a news conference will be held April 20 in Victoria.
———
April 19, 2011: The deal between RG Properties and the Bruins owners closes.
———
April 20: 2011: The WHL announces the Bruins will be relocated to Victoria.

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

One domino falls . . .

Will moving fans, inside and out, at Prospera Centre 
be the final memory of the WHL in Chilliwack?

Well, the deed is done.
The WHL is in Victoria and the AHL isn’t.
And that’s the name of that game.
But two hockey teams had to be buried in order for the WHL to get across the Strait of Georgia.
The Chilliwack Bruins are dead. Long live the Bruins!
The ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings are soon to be dead! Long may they run in these playoffs!!
———
If you have been paying attention to this saga from the beginning, you didn’t learn a whole lot yesterday.
You learned that the deal closed on Tuesday. You learned that the Victoria franchise has a website and that it is running a name-the-team contest.
The most interesting stuff, however, came out of a news release, a copy of which arrived in my inbox from the Bruins.
In it, the WHL and the franchise’s former owners — at least, the majority owners — tried to explain the “multiple reasons that led to the decision” to sell the Bruins. What they did was lay the corpse at the feet of minority owners Moray Keith and Jim Bond.
To summarize that news release:
1. The WHL’s board of governors decided in February 2009 to “actively pursue securing a WHL franchise for the Victoria market.” The governors decided at that time “that should a franchise become available for sale, the WHL may elect to relocate the club to Victoria.”
2. The WHL chose not to sell an expansion franchise “due to the demand it would place on the talent pool of players.”
3. The Chilliwack market changed after arenas went up in Langley and Abbotsford and the NHL’s Calgary Flames relocated their AHL affiliate, the Heat, to Abbotsford. (What the WHL doesn’t mention is that the Calgary Flames own the Calgary Hitmen, so it seems an NHL team actually had a hand in the death of the Bruins.)
4. With the change in the market “it became obvious to the Bruins ownership group that the franchise needed to be restructured from a medium-size model to a small market-size model.”
5. With that in mind, according to the news release, the Bruins ownership group wanted to renegotiate its lease with the Chiefs Development Group, which holds the management contract for Prospera Centre. “What was requested was a lease concurrent to other small-market privately owned WHL teams,” the news release reads, without providing examples. What is interesting about this is that Keith is president of the Chiefs Development Group.
6. “This inability to secure a new lease contributed to the deterioration of our ownership group and their relationship with the Chiefs Development Group,” continues the release.
7. The Bruins’ ownership group — Brian Burke, Glen Sater, Darryl Porter, Keith and Bond — met on Jan. 13 and “agreed with the WHL to sell its franchise for the purpose of relocating the club to Victoria. Provided the terms of the sale met the conditions . . . the partners agreed no other offers would be considered.” . . . (In other words, the Bruins were sold without being placed on the open market. A source familiar with the situation has told me that RG Properties paid $5.5 million for the franchise.)
8. The WHL board of governors granted “conditional approval” for the sale on March 17. The deal closed Tuesday. According to the news release, “All conditions associated with the WHL's approval of the sale and relocation have been satisfied.”
———
All of this raises a couple of questions:
1. What kind of an arrangement is it that has the franchise’s minority owners controlling the building in which the team plays?
2. If the minority owners were part of the movement not to renegotiate the lease, why didn’t the majority owners simply sell the team to them?
3. How long until Keith and Bond tell their side of the story, including Keith‘s late attempt to purchase the franchise for $6.2 million?
———
Later, on Chilliwack radio station 89.5 The Hawk, Darryl Porter, the Bruins’ governor, pointed a finger at the Calgary Flames:
“There's a code in minor sports and especially in hockey. You don't do what Calgary did here. You don't do that and it's never happened. The fundamental bad break we got was when the city of Abbotsford built a building with no plan and they did that deal with the (AHL's Abbotsford Heat). At the end of the day, we're not contributing to that, we're a victim of that."
The Heat, of course, is the AHL affiliate of the Flames, who own the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen.
Brian Burke, one of the Bruins’ majority owners, added:
"The notion that somehow we changed our mind on Chilliwack, or somehow betrayed the fans there when in fact the American Hockey League moved a competing team in within a very close radius to our operating base . . . the notion that we had any control over that or that that's our fault is crazy. I've never taken a dime out of this team."
———
The afore-mentioned news release also contained this paragraph:
“It should be noted that the WHL Board of Governors govern all matters related to WHL franchises. This includes the right to approve franchise ownership and the relocation and sale of franchises in accordance with its bylaws, constitution and strategic plans.”
You wonder if this wasn’t, at least in part, a shot across the bow of the Regina Pats, who are owned by Diane and Russ Parker of Calgary. Russ was in Victoria for yesterday’s news conference. Their son, Darren, was recently named senior vice-president of sales and marketing with the Victoria Salmon Kings.
The Pats are again embroiled in lease negotiations with Evraz Place, the organization that controls the Brandt Centre, the building in which the WHL team plays.
I was told last weekend that Evraz Place had given the Pats a “take-it-or-leave-it” offer and that the Parkers were seriously considering leaving it.
Of course, the Pats and Evraz Place are no strangers to testy negotiations, and only time will tell how it plays out this time.
———
Marc Habscheid, the Bruins’ general manager and head coach, is two years into what is believed to be a five-year contract. I have been told but haven’t able to confirm that he has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave should the franchise be relocated.
When I contacted him via text on Tuesday and asked if he was able to talk, he responded: “Rather not rt now. Thx.”
———
There are stories to be told about what went on in the Bruins organization over the last year, but we may never hear them.
As one former employee wrote in an email to me on Wednesday:
“We are all holding on to the hopes that a team comes here so we don't want to burn any bridges, especially since this is our livelihood. We all invested so much time and energy to make this work and little did we know that we never had a chance.”
———
Paul J. Henderson of the Chilliwack Times reports that in December the owners of the Chilliwack Bruins asked city hall for $175,000 a year “to help with sagging revenues.”
That story is right here.
———
Cory Flett, the WHL’s director, communications, sometimes tweets a song of the day. An emailer has suggested some suggestions for him to send in the direction of Chilliwack fans.
“I would recommend ‘Not Ready to Go’ by the Trews or ‘I'll Keep Your Memory Vague’ by Finger Eleven.
“And, for the new owners and the people of Victoria, I would recommend ‘Bring Everything’ by Jason Plumb.”
The emailer also pointed out that “all songs are Cancon.”
———
SOME NOTES: Don’t forget that the City of Victoria promised to add 10 years to RG Properties’ management contract for SOFMC if it was able to land a WHL franchise. That agreement now runs until 2046. . . . By that time, the WHL may have a franchise in Nanaimo. . . . Former WHL F Josh Aspenlind scored 11 seconds into OT last night to give the host Victoria Salmon Kings a 3-2 victory over the Utah Grizzlies. The Salmon Kings lead the best-of-seven ECHL second-round series 3-0 with Game 4 scheduled for Victoria on Friday. Attendance in the 7,006-seat Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre was 3,691.

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

Wednesday . . .

THE CHILLIWACK-TO-VICTORIA SAGA, Chapter 44:
It’s official. Not that it really was ever in doubt.
The Prince George Cougars aren’t going anywhere.
WHL commissioner Ron Robison has told CKPG-TV in Prince George that “there’s never been any application made to the WHL for a move.”
Robison went on to say that “these rumours come up from time to time. I think any time you have a franchise that . . . is struggling with attendance, as Prince George has, for a lengthy period fo time, you’re going to see these types of rumours surface.  But the ownership is still committed to the Prince George market and hoping that things can turn around soon.”
This all started, of course, because the WHL has allowed the majority owners of the Chilliwack Bruins to sell their franchise for $5.5 million. Eventually, the WHL will announce that Vancouver-based RG Properties has purchased the franchise and will relocate it to Victoria.
Once the WHL confirmed that the Bruins had been sold, the speculation was immediate that the Cougars were likely to head south. That just isn't going to happen.
But what Robison didn’t mention to CKPG-TV — or, if he did, the TV station didn’t use it — is that Moray Keith, one of the Bruins’ minority owners, made an attempt to purchase the Cougars.
Keith first tried to buy the Bruins, but his offer of $6.2 million — not $7.75 million as was reported about a month ago — wasn’t even considered, apparently because majority owners Darryl Porter, Brian Burke and Glen Sather had already accepted RG Properties’ offer.
Keith found out that the Cougars aren’t for sale, at least not for what he was offering, and now the good people of Chilliwack appear likely to have a BCHL franchise moving into their city in the near future.
———
Bob Sales, the president of the BCHL’s Quesnel Millionaires, has confirmed to CKPG-TV that, yes, “the team is for sale.”
And, furthermore, there have been talks with . . .
“We haven’t had any firm offers from Chilliwck,” Sales told the TV station, “but we have talked to Chilliwack.”
———
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Byron Ritchie (Lethbridge, 1993-97) signed a two-year contract with Bern (Switzerland NL A). He had 23 goals and 21 assists in 53 games with MoDo Örnsköldsvik (Sweden Elitserien) this season, good for fifth in league scoring.
———
A tip of the cap to the American Hockey League for trimming four games from each team’s regular-season schedule.
Yes, the AHL announced Wednesday that each of its teams will play 76 games next season, down from 80.
At the same time, the AHL said it will lengthen the amount of time it takes to play its regular-season schedule by one week. And it will reduce its first-round playoff series to best-of-five from best-of-seven.
The regular-season scheduling changes will mean teams no longer will be required to play four games in five nights.
"As our league has grown in recent years, we have been working closely with the National Hockey League and the Professional Hockey Players' Association to seek a solution to what has become a very onerous playing schedule," David Andrews, the AHL president, said.
"As our league has grown and our game has become faster and more physical, the wear and tear on our players has begun to affect player development and at times the quality of competition.
“These steps are intended to provide a safer environment for our players through increased rest and recovery time, and also to provide our fans with an even higher calibre of play as a result of reduced player fatigue."
Hurrah for the AHL!
———
There is an interesting story developing in the OHL where the Soo Greyhounds are expected to introduce Kyle Dubas as their general manager today. Dubas, at 25 years of age, is a player agent. In fact, he is the youngest player agent to be certified by the NHLPA.
Peter Ruicci of the Sault Star has more right here.
———
The New York Islanders will make a coaching change with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, their AHL affiliate. Pat Bingham, an assistant coach who took over as head coach when Jack Capuono moved up to the Islanders in November, won’t be returning.
The Sound Tigers went 24-30-11 under Bingham, who is a former WHL player (Kamloops, New Westminster, 1985-89).
———
F Tyler Pitlick of the Medicine Hat Tigers, who hasn’t played in a month because of a broken ankle, has signed a three-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers, who selected him in the second round of the 2010 NHL draft.
Pitlick, 19, put up 62 points, including 27 goals, in 56 games in his first WHL season. He joined the Tigers from the NCAA’s Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks.
Pitlick wsa able to dump his crutches earlier this week, but isn’t expected back in the Tigers’ lineup in the near future.
———
ON THE ICE:
In Medicine Hat, the Red Deer Rebels stayed alive with a 1-0 victory over the Tigers. . . . G Dawson Guhle, starting in place of Darcy Kuemper (ankle), turned aside 21 shots for the shutout. . . . Guhle, an 18-year-old from Daysland, Alta., played in 15 games during the regular season — five with the Regina Pats and 10 with Red Deer. . . . Bolton Pouliot, a 16-year-old from Calgary, served as Guhle’s backup. . . . F Byron Froese scored the game’s only goal, his fourth, at 11:27 of the third period. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz turned aside 23 shots. . . . The Tigers had won six straight games. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . The Tigers take a 3-1 series lead into Game 5 in Red Deer on Saturday. . . . “(Guhle) made some key saves at key times, some big saves,” Jesse Wallin, the Rebels’ head coach, told Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate. “We know he has that capability and at times this season he’s played real well and shown us what he’s got. But talk about a tough situation to step into, because he hasn’t played a lot of games this season. Good for him. I’m real proud of him and I thought the boys battled real hard in front of him, keeping things to the outside and letting him see the puck and make the first stop. We did a good job of that and yet at playoff time you need big-time goaltending.” . . .
———
In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice erased a 1-0 deficit with four straight goals and finished off the Saskatoon Blades, 5-2. . . . The Ice, the Eastern Conference’s fourth seed, swept the Blades, who had finished with the WHL’s best regular-season record. . . . The Ice is the first team to advance to a conference final. . . . F Matt Fraser scored twice and added two assists for the Ice. He leads the playoffs with 10 goals and is third in points (15). . . . F Max Reinhart also scored twice for the Ice. He’s got seven in these playoffs. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 33 shots, five fewer than Saskatoon’s Steven Stanford. . . . Attendance was 3,021. . . . The Blades won a WHL-high 56 regular-season games. However, they scored only five goals in four games against the Ice. . . . The Los Angeles Kings, who open the NHL playoffs tonight against the Sharks in San Jose, are expected to recall Saskatoon F Brayden Schenn, who was the fifth overall pick in the 2009 draft. Schenn has played eight NHL games, so two more would result in him using up one year of his three-year contract. . . . Cody Nickolet, who provides colour on Blades’ radio broadcasts, tweeted late last night that “Schenn will speak to (Kings GM) Dean Lombardi on Thursday to learn where he is headed.” . . . Nickolet also tweeted that F Curtis Hamilton and D Stefan Elliott will be bound for AHL teams. Hamilton, a second-round NHL draft pick by the Edmonton Oilers in 2009, likely will sign an ATO with the Oklahoma City Barons, while Elliott, who has signed with the Colorado Avalanche, is to join the AHL’s Lake Eric Monsters.
———
In Kelowna, F Nino Niederreiter drew three assists to lead the Portland Winterhawks to a 4-2 victory over the Rockets. . . . The Winterhawks, having won three in a row, hold a 3-1 edge and get their first chance to end the series at home on Friday night. . . . The Winterhawks took a 2-0 on goals 39 seconds apart by F Ty Rattie, at 12:25 of the first, and F Taylor Peters and never trailed. . . . F Shane McColgan got his eighth goal on the PP at 17:39 of the first. . . . Portland D Joe Morrow got that one back on a PP at 2:30 of the third. . . . F Brett Bulmer pulled Kelowna to within one just over 10 minutes later, but the Rockets weren’t able to equalize. . . . Portland F Ryan Johansen, with his seventh point in the last three games, got his sixth goal at 16:11 to provide some insurance. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth, who is 7-1 in these playoffs, stopped 24 shots, while Kelowna’s Adam Brown turned aside 35. . . . Attendance was 4,763.
———
WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.

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

WHL confirms sale. but that's all

By GREGG DRINNAN

Daily News Sports Editor

The WHL has confirmed that the Chilliwack Bruins have been sold.
In a terse two-paragraph news release issued Tuesday afternoon, the league announced that “it has granted conditional approval to a request from ownership of the Chilliwack Bruins for the sale of their WHL franchise.”
Furthermore, the release stated, “Until such time (as) all of the conditions related to the sale have been satisfied the WHL is not in a position to make any further statement on this transaction.”
The announcement arrived one day before Bruins fans had scheduled a rally for the front entrance to the team’s home arena, Prospera Place. That rally is to take place this evening at the front entrance to the arena.
It is believed that the Bruins’ majority owners — Darryl Porter, Brian Burke and Glen Sather each owns 25 per cent — have sold the franchise to RG Properties, a Vancouver-based real estate development and operating company that manages the Save-On Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria and Prospera Place in Kelowna.
The arena in Victoria is home to the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings, a franchise that is owned by RG Properties. The City of Victoria has a contract with RG Properties to manage the arena. That deal is to expire in 2036 and the City has told RG Properties that the contract will be extended to 2046 if it is able to attract a WHL franchise.
At present, the Salmon Kings are involved in the ECHL playoffs, playing a best-of-five first-round series with the Bakersfield Condors. Once the Salmon King’s season is over, an announcement is expected on the transfer of the Bruins.
Early in March, as speculation on the sale of the franchise heated up, WHL commissioner Ron Robison told the Chilliwack Times: “It’s clearly our desire to keep them where they are. From time to time we have to review relocation but that’s been very rare. There hasn’t been a relocation in our league for many, many years.”
The last franchise to pick up and move was the Edmonton Ice, which relocated to Cranbrook after the 1997-98 season.
Moray Keith and Jim Bond own the remaining 25 per cent of the Chilliwack franchise; Keith also holds the management contract on Prospera Centre, the home to the Bruins for the past five seasons.
Keith and Bond attempted to purchase the Bruins from their partners, reportedly for $7.75 million, but the offer was rebuffed.
Keith later confirmed to Jim Mullin, the sports director at Vancouver radio station CKNW, that the Bruins had been sold.
Meanwhile, Burke, in a letter through his lawyers to Mullin earlier this week, claimed that the WHL had “promised” a franchise to Graham Lee, the chief executive officer and president of RG Properties.
Burke also wrote that it was “. . . the WHL’s and Mr. Lee’s desire to have an established team in Victoria rather than an expansion team. This will not leave Chilliwack without a WHL team. The WHL is in the process of negotiating the movement of another WHL team to Chilliwack.”
The league has since placed a gag order on all WHL and team officials, an order that carried with it the threat of a heavy fine should anyone discuss the situation with the media.
Victoria last was in the WHL in 1993-94, after which the Cougars packed up and moved to Prince George. The Cougars had been in Victoria since 1971-72.
At this point, it isn’t known which WHL franchise, if any, might relocate to Chilliwack.
Dallas Thompson, the general manager of the Cougars, told the Prince George Citizen earlier this week that that franchsie isn’t going anywhere.
“This team is not for sale, and we’ve made that abundantly clear about a hundred times,” Thompson told the Citizen. “We’re exploring a way to make our business work here and relocation is something we don’t want to have happen and it’s not an option.
“We want to make this thing work in Prince George and that’s what we’re trying to do. Chilliwack is not an option. We can’t comment about anything that’s going on there.”
The Cranbrook-based Kootenay Ice is another team that has been rumoured as perhaps being interested in moving.
However, Jeff Chynoweth, the Ice’s president and GM, told The Daily News last night, via text, that the club is “definitely not going to Chilliwack.”

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

Brian Burke weighs in on Victoria

Brian Burke obviously has too much time on his hands.
The man who runs the Toronto Maple Leafs has found time to write a letter to Jim Mullin, the sports director at radio station CKNW in Vancouver.
Actually, the letter came from Burke via his lawyers.
The letter has to do with Burke being unhappy over some comments Mullin made about Burke “seeking vengeance on the Canucks.”
More interesting than that, at least for WHL fans, are a couple of Burke comments pertaining to the impending move of the Chilliwack Bruins to Victoria.
If you came late to this story, Burke owns 25 per cent of the Bruins. He, Glen Sather and Darryl Porter, each of whom owns 25 per cent, have a deal to sell the franchise, but not to minority owners Moray Keith and Jim Bond, who own the other 25 per cent.
Rather, they will sell to Graham Lee’s RG Properties, which holds the management contract for the Save-On Food Memorial Centre in Victoria, the home of the ECHL’s Salmon Kings.
In his letter to Mullin, who has been on top of this story from the get-go, Burke writes:
“Graham Lee has been promised a WHL franchise in that city.”
Unfortunately, Burke doesn’t explain why Lee “has been promised” a team for Victoria. Of course, Dave Dakers, who is president of RG Properties sports and entertainment and also operates their ECHL franchise, is tight -- they are fishing pals -- with Bruce Hamilton, the president of the Kelowna Rockets and the chairman of the WHL’s board of governors. Maybe that has something to do with it.
Remember, too, that the City of Victoria, which owns the arena there, has told RG Properties that it will extend its management contract through 2046 if it is able to land a WHL franchise. That contract now is to expire in 2036.
But wait . . . there’s more.
Later, Burke writes that it was “. . . the WHL’s and Mr. Lee’s desire to have an established team in Victoria rather than an expansion team. This will not leave Chilliwack without a WHL team. The WHL is in the process of negotiating the movement of another WHL team to Chilliwack.”
So let’s really upset the apple cart, why don’t we?
Not only do fans of the Bruins have reason to be up in arms, but now fans in Prince George, Cranbrook, Swift Current, Lethbridge, Prince Albert and anywhere else where people might be feeling at all paranoid about the future of their WHL franchise are dragged into the fray.
What this letter from Burke does do is erase all doubt, if there was any remaining, about the fate of the Bruins. While no one in any official capacity with the league or the Bruins or RG Properties has been up front and transparent about any of this -- hey, there may have been tickets to sell to a Game 6 in Chilliwack between the Bruins and Spokane Chiefs -- Burke at least has come clean about part of this mess.
Now if only someone would explain why a franchise that was in its fifth year of existence and was showing signs of becoming competitive for the first time is being sold and moved on down the road.
And, by the way, is there a guarantee somewhere that says the WHL in Victoria will be a rip-roaring success? What if the team struggles for the better part of five years, as have the Bruins?
Mullin’s complete report is right here.

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

Thursday . . .

 Jim Mullin of Vancouver radio station CKNW tweeted late Thursday afternoon:
“Minority owner Moray Keith confirms to #CKNW that the Chilliwack Bruins have been sold to Victoria's RG Properties.”
———
Earlier, Eric Welsh of the Chilliwack Progress posted a piece right here on the impending departure of the Bruins to Victoria. And there are some interesting comments here from Clint Hames, a former Chilliwack mayor.
———
Meanwhile, Tyler Olsen of the Chilliwack Times also talked with Hames.
Here is part of what Olsen wrote:
Hames, who was instrumental in bringing the club to the Fraser Valley five years ago, had contacted WHL commissioner Ron Robison and several of the Bruins' owners to try to get to the bottom of rumours about the team's exit.
"I was told by (Bruins co-owner) Brian Burke that (Keith and Bond's) offer would not be considered and that the only offer they are considering is an offer from Victoria," Hames told Postmedia News.
Porter, however, claims the owners were carefully wading through multiple offers to buy the club. Porter also had told fans that the owners were doing what they could to keep the club where it is.
Robison has also said that moving a team is the last resort and that the league preferred to keep the Bruins in Chilliwack. He has refused any further comment on the issue.
A league spokesperson said the WHL will only comment "when there is news to report."
———
Obviously, there is a whole lot more going on between the WHL, RG Properties and who knows who else involving franchises on Vancouver Island.
But it doesn’t make any sense at all to have just one team on the Island, so we have questions, questions . . . we have questions:
1. With one team on its way to Vancouver Island, how long before a second one — expansion or otherwise — lands in Nanaimo?
2. Kelly Hrudey, who has ties to the WHL office as president of the WHL Alumni Association, became part-owner of the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers earlier this year. Does Hrudey’s sudden involvement mean anything in terms of a WHL franchise landing there?
3. Mike Vandekamp left the AJHL’s Grande Prairie Storm in March to take over the Clippers’ coaching reins. Let’s assume that Vandekamp, who did a turn as a WHL head coach with the Prince George Cougars a while back, aspires to coach in the WHL or at an even higher level. That brings us to this question: Why does a junior A coach leave one job for a similar position at that particular time of year? Or does Vandekamp know something that we don’t know about the WHL and Nanaimo?
4. Darren Parker, who had been running an independent league baseball franchise in Victoria until it folded over the winter, signed on with the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings on Wednesday. He is the club’s senior vice-president of sales and marketing. He also is the son of Russ Parker, who owns the WHL’s Regina Pats. Why does Darren Parker, whose baseball team folded a few months ago, suddenly surface in the front office of an ECHL team that is owned by RG Properties which is in the process of purchasing a WHL franchise?
Oh, what a tangled web is being weaved.
———
By the way, Philip Wolf of the Nanaimo Daily News chimes is on the goings-on with the Clippers right here. He says his “bovine excrement detector” has been going off.
———
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Eric Johansson (Tri-City, 1998-2002) signed a one-year (plus option) contract extension with Szekesfehervar (Hungary, plays in Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had 20 goals and 27 assists in 38 games this season. . . .
F Owen Fussey (Calgary, Moose Jaw, 1999-2003) signed a one-year contract extension with the Coventry Blaze (UK Elite). He had 24 goals and 15 assists in 34 games. Fussey had his season cut short when he tore his ACL and MCL in December.
———
The ugly side of the Internet has reared its face once again.
It is amazing what big ones some people have as they sit in momma’s basement and do stupid things with the aid of a computer and in the cloak of anonymity that is provided by the Internet.
This time it has struck in Saskatoon where the Blades were doing damage control Thursday thanks to comments that were made by a Brayden Schenn impostor on a Facebook page. Police have launched an investigation. There’s more right here from the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
Cory Wolfe, who covers the Blades for the StarPhoenix, blogged about the Schenn situation. Wolfe’s piece is right here.
———
Merle Haggard sings about White Line Fever. No one, at least not yet, is singing of 50/50 fever. However, Kevin Mitchell of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix takes a look at what went on at last weekend’s Saskatoon Blades’ home playoff games. That story is right here. And having witnessed 50/50 fever at the Memorial Cup in Brandon last spring, I can tell you it’s an amazing thing.
——— 
Ron Toigo, the majority owner of the Vancouver Giants, is in Buenos Aires this weekend. No, he’s not scouting. He’s there for the wedding of part-owner Michael Buble and Luisana Lopilato. . . . Toigo took time to chat with Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun about this season and what’s ahead for his WHL team. . . . That story is right here.
———
And if you’re into wedding photos, here you go. . . . Buble and Lopilato were married in a civil ceremony in Buenos Aires on Thursday and there are some photos right here.
———
JUST NOTES: Ryan Barrett is the new GM/head coach of the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks, having moved up from assistant coach to take over from Don Phelps, who, it seems, has been there since before ice was invented. Mark Astley and Craig Mohr will work as assistant coaches. . . . Adam Brown of the Kelowna Rockets is the WHL’s goaltender of the month for March. He was 6-2-0, 1.61, .944 for the month. . . . F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Red Deer Rebels is the player of the month, after putting up 19 points in eight games. . . . D Corey Fienhage of the Kamloops Blazers will be joining the AHL’s Portland Pirates. He was a third-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL’s 2008 draft. Fienhage, 20, joined the Blazers after playing 39 games over the previous two seasons with the U of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. . . . The BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings have signed Dave Dupas to a three-year contract as head coach. He took over in November after GM/head coach Ed Dempsey was fired. The Spruce Kings also promoted assistant GM Mike Hawes to GM, although he will work at it on a part-time basis.
———
THURSDAY’S PLAYOFF GAMES:
In Winnipeg, centre Linden Vey scored at 19:35 of the third period to give the Medicine Hat Tigers a 5-4 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The series is tied 2-2 with Game 5 scheduled for Medicine Hat on Saturday. . . . The Wheat Kings led 3-0 at 12:47 of the first period after F Matt MacKay scored his third goal of the series, this one via the PP. . . . Brandon led 4-1 at 17:45 of the first after F Shayne Wiebe got his third goal, also on the PP. . . . Medicine Hat F Kale Kessy scored at 18:13 of the first period. . . . The Tigers then counted three times in the third. . . . Vey, who led the WHL in scoring in the regular season, finished with two goals and two assists, while F Emerson Etem had a goal and two helpers. . . . Brandon held a 17-7 edge in first-period shots, but the Tigers outshot the Wheaties 31-12 over the last 40 minutes. . . . Attendance was 6,003. . . . The Wheat Kings are playing first-round home games in the MTS Centre in Winnipeg because the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair is in Westman Place in Brandon. . . . Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun was at the game last night. His story is right here. . . .

In Prince Albert, the Raiders came up with a gritty effort for the second game in a row and beat the Saskatoon Blades, 5-2. . . . The series is tied 2-2 with Game 5 in Saskatoon on Saturday. . . . Saskatoon won the first two games at home, outscoring the Raiders 13-3 in the process. . . . The Blades finished with the WHL’s best record, their 115 points leaving them 48 ahead of the eighth-place Raiders in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Blades scored first, getting a PP goal from F Curtis Hamilton at 2:32 of the first period, but the Raiders got the next three, the first two from F Todd Fiddler. . . . F T.J. Constant gave the Raiders a 4-2 lead in the third period with his first WHL point. Constant was added to the Raiders’ roster from the MJHL’s OCN Blizzard. . . . Attendance was 3,111. . . . D Duncan Siemens left the Blades’ bench in the second period and didn’t return. He is believed to have a leg injury . . .
In Edmonton, F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and an assist as the Rebels beat the Oil Kings 5-1 to win the series, 4-0. . . . Nugent-Hopkins, who will be an early pick in June’s NHL draft, had nine points over the four games. . . . F Brett Ferguson scored twice for Red Deer, the second into an empty net. . . . Edmonton’s lone goal came from F Curtis Lazar, the second overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft. It was his first WHL score. . . . Attendance was 5,938. . . . Red Deer scratched F Adam Kambeitz and D Aaron Borejko, both for undisclosed reasons. . . .
In Spokane, the Chiefs scored the game’s first three goals and went on to beat the Chilliwack Bruins, 4-2. . . . The Bruins closed to within 3-2 on F Roman Horak’s goal at 3:06 of the third but weren’t able to equalize. . . . Chilliwack F Ryan Howse left the game after the first period and didn’t return. . . . The Chiefs were without F Tyler Johnson, the WHL’s second-leading scorer. . . . The Bruins were without D Tyler Stahl, who got tossed from Game 3 with an elbowing major that knocked Johnson out of the game. Stahl is serving one of those tbd suspensions. . . . The Chiefs also were without F Anthony Bardaro, who drew a tbd sentence under supplemental discipline for a hit in overtime in Game 3. Bardaro wasn’t penalized on the play, but the Bruins asked the WHL to review the play. . . .
In Everett, F Sven Bartschi had a goal and two assists as the Portland Winterhawks beat the Silvertips 6-2 to sweep the first-round series. . . . F Jari Erricson gave the Silvertips a 1-0 lead at 5:22 of the first period, but Portland answered with five straight goals. . . . Attendance was 2,420. . . . Everett F Landon Ferraro was tossed with a cross-checking major as the second period ended. . . . This was the first time Portland has swept a playoff opponent since 1998 when it ousted the Brandon Wheat Kings in the championship final. . . . The Winterhawks had played 13 rounds since then. . . .
———
Three of the four Western Conference series ended in sweeps, leaving the Kelowna Rockets, Portland and the Tri-City Americans awaiting a winner in the Spokane-Chilliwack series. . . . Remember that teams are reseeded by regular-season points, so if Spokane wins, the second round will feature Portland vs. Kelowna and Spokane vs. Tri-City. . . . If the Bruins come back from a 3-1 deficit, it’ll be Portland against Chilliwack and Kelowna against Tri-City.
———
THURSDAY’S CFB COUNT:
Two minors:
Prince Albert D Harrison Ruopp
Chilliwack F Curt Gogol
———
It was Opening Day on Thursday. Yes, we’re talking baseball.
So . . . here’s your good read for the day. Yes, it’s a year old, but it’s by Peter Gammons and it involves baseball and the blues and it doesn’t get any better than that. So take a look right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca

     

gdrinnan.blogspot.com

     

Taking Note on Twitter