Generals work OT to win Memorial Cup . . . Appleby stones Rockets . . . Cirelli next mayor of Oshawa?

The 2015 #MCMemorialCup Champion @Oshawa_Generals! pic.twitter.com/S4w9vwWEqV

— 2015 MC Memorial Cup (@MCMemorialCup) June 1, 2015

In the end, the Kelowna Rockets simply couldn’t score when they needed it the most. Oh, they had plenty of chances on Sunday, but they were only able to score once and that wasn’t enough as the Oshawa Generals skated to a 2-1 OT victory in the championship final of the Memorial Cup tournament in Quebec City. . . . Attendance was 10,391. . . . F Anthony Cirelli, a 17-year-old finishing up his freshman season, scored both Oshawa goals. The winner came off a rebound at 1:28 of extra time. . . . F Tomas Soustal gave the Rockets a 1-0 lead with his first goal of the tournament, at 15:08 of the first period. . . . Cirelli, an undrafted

free agent who walked on with the Generals and earned a spot on the roster, tied it with his first Memorial Cup goal at 13:50 of the second. . . . The star of the game was Oshawa G Ken Appleby, who turned aside 37 shots, making 13 more saves than Kelowna’s Jackson Whistle. . . . The Generals were 0-for-2 on the PP; the Rockets were 0-for-1. . . . The referees were the OHL’s Mike Cairns and the WHL’s Brett Iverson. . . . Kelowna F Leon Draisaitl, who was held pointless in Sunday’s game, was chosen the tournament’s MVP. . . . Not to take away from his performance, but Appleby was 4-0 in the tournament, including a terrific game yesterday. . . . Oshawa head coach DJ Smith now has won three Memorial Cups. He was an assistant coach with the Windsor Spitfires when they won in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, in Rimouski, Que., Windsor beat Kelowna 4-1 in the final. . . . In the regular season, Cirelli had 36 points, including 13 goals, in 68 games. He followed that up with six points, one of them a goal, in 16 OHL playoff games. . . . The Generals last won the Memorial Cup in 1990. . . . The tournament drew 79,930 fans, a per-game average of 8,881. . . . The 2016 Memorial Cup is scheduled to be played in Red Deer. The tournament last was played in Alberta in 1974 when the Regina Pats won it in Calgary.
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Here is the Memorial Cup schedule:
Friday, May 22: Kelowna 3 vs. Quebec 4 (9,497)
Saturday, May 23: Rimouski 3 vs. Oshawa 4 (8,409)
Sunday, May 24: Quebec 4 vs. Oshawa 5 (OT) (10,970)
Monday, May 25: Rimouski 3 vs. Kelowna 7 (6,981)
Tuesday, May 26: Oshawa 2 vs. Kelowna 1 (7,002)
Wednesday, May 27: Quebec 0 vs. Rimouski 4 (10,277)
Thursday, May 28 (tiebreaker): Quebec 5 vs. Rimouski 2 (6,533)
Friday, May 29 (semifinal): Kelowna 9 vs. Quebec 3 (9,870)
Sunday, May 31 (championship): Oshawa 2 vs. Kelowna 1 (OT) (10,391)
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Every time I hear it referred to as the "Mastercard" Memorial Cup, I die just a little inside.

— Ken Campbell (@THNKenCampbell) June 1, 2015

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Might Kelly McCrimmon, the owner, general manager and head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings, end up with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs? That’s just one of the things Elliotte Friedman touches on in his weekly 30 Thoughts. It’s right here.
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In the ECHL, F Sean Dolan broke a 3-3 tie with a shorthanded goal at 11:30 of the third period as the visiting South Carolina Stingrays opened the championship final with a 4-3 victory over the Allen Americans. . . . Attendance was 4,047. . . . F Spencer Asuchak of Kamloops scored once for Allen and was named the game’s third star. . . . The final is using a 3-3-1 format, with Game 2 in Allen on Tuesday.
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In the AHL, the Utica Comets scored three first-period goals and went on to beat the host Grand Rapids Griffins 3-2 in Game 5 of the Calder Cup final. . . . The Comets lead the Western Conference final 3-2 with Game 6 in Utica on Tuesday. . . . Former WHLers Wacey Hamilton and Hunter Shinkaruk had a goal each for the Comets. . . . Attendance was 7,415.
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No one has been a thorn in the side of organizations like FIFA and the IOC like Andrew Jennings. So if you would like some insight into what has been going on at FIFA, read Jennings’ first-person report right here. It is amazing.
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If you want still more on the FIFA mess, check out this piece right here by Jere Longman of The New York Times as he explains how the Cayman Islands came to be as powerful in the organization as any of the other member countries.
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Wenatchee Wild press conference tomorrow at 3 pm Town Toyota Center. This will be a game changer for the Wild. #wildfamily #boarderwars

— Bliss Littler (@BlissLittler) May 31, 2015

Might the Wild announce its much-speculated upon move to the BCHL at today's news conference?
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76% of favours in Canada are done for free beer

— Stats Canada (@stats_canada) May 31, 2015

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Trade rumours just that to healthy Shinkaruk

There hasn't been any stopping for Vancouver Canucks prospect Hunter Shinkaruk, a first-round selection in the NHL’s 2013 draft who has even been mentioned in recent trade talks.
Shinkaruk, who was in his fourth season with the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers, suffered a hip injury when they played host to the Portland Winterhawks on Oct. 23.
Although he had to fight through excruciating pain, he refused to come out of the lineup, in hopes of making Canada's world junior team. At 19 years of age, it was his last year of eligibility.
Shinkaruk finished with five goals and 11 assists in 18 games with the Tigers,
earning himself the opportunity to crack Canada's roster. But it was just too much, as it was apparent his game was affected significantly by the injury. Team Canada released him on Dec. 19 following a 4-2 victory over Finland.
Despite being disappointed after having done everything in his power to make the team, he didn’t have time to dwell on it.
The Tigers announced on Dec. 27 that Shinkaruk would undergo hip surgery to repair a slightly torn labrum and that he was done for the season.
This was the first time Shinkaruk had experienced something like hip surgery, but he was able to find one guy who would support him through the process -- Vancouver goaltender Eddie Lack.
While Lack was playing for the AHL’s Chicago Wolves in 2012-13, he was dealing with what was believed to be a groin injury, but what turned out to be a hip flexor problem that required surgery and ended his season.
Dr. Marc Phillipon did Lack’s procedure, and would work on Shinkaruk as well.
“I talked to (Eddie) kind of more leading up to the surgery,” Shinkaruk said. “(I talked to him about) what it was going to feel like and what the time was going to be like after. I haven't talked to him in a little bit, but I talked to him a lot leading up to the surgery.”
The surgery was successful, and then it was time to get back to work. There was no time to waste if he wanted to be ready for training camp in September.
“Rehab was pretty crazy,” Shinkaruk recalled. “From the time I had surgery, the only day I had off was Sunday. I trained hard, and I was in the pool a lot. I was doing things that rehab staff I had working around me told me to do, and it worked out. It's been a lot of hard work, it definitely hasn't been easy at all, but it's been worth it.”
After spending long hours in the gym, he finally was allowed to skate on March 11.
“I try not to focus too much (on worrying about my hip),” he stated. “Obviously, when you (have) hip surgery, there's always that little worry in the back of your mind, but I have the best doctors in the world looking after me and the best rehab people looking after me. I knew that I was going to be OK.
“It was definitely nice when I got back on the ice for the first time and I felt just like I have for the first 19 years of my life. I feel great right now, and I'm very blessed the surgery went well.”
However, he hasn't yet been cleared for contact.
“Doctors haven't really given me too much of a timeline,” Shinkaruk said. “They've just told me to keep working hard and to keep staying focused. I think that when I get down to Vancouver, they’re going to tell me when I can get hit. That's kind of the last timeline that I have left because I've passed everything else.
“I haven't seen a doctor in a little bit so I don't have clearance to get hit yet. I'm sure that if it doesn't come at training camp, it'll come shortly after. I feel great, I feel 100 per cent, and obviously from the medical side the doctors will be able to tell me what I can and can't do. (That being said), I don't think there's anything I can't do.”
Aside from the gym and the rink, the offseason is an opportunity for players to take some time to spend with their families and friends.
But because Shinkaruk has been busy and focused on rehabbing his hip so that he'd ready for the Canucks' training camp, he hasn't been able to do much of that. But there was one event that only happens once a year that he wasn't going to miss.
“I've been training for about six months now,” he explained. “So I figured if I could get away for a week and a little bit, it would be really nice. It was my parents, Roger and Patrisha's, 25th anniversary so they went on a cruise for two weeks but I only joined them for just a week. We were down in Italy and Greece, and it was great. As a hockey player at this level you don't get to travel and
see the world this much anymore so it was a lot of fun that I got to go down there.”
Shinkaruk returned home on June 15. Soon afterward, he was in the middle of trade rumours.
The 2014 NHL draft is scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Philadelphia.
The Florida Panthers have the No. 1 pick and have been open about the fact that they're looking to trade it. Vancouver, which has the No. 6 selection, has said it would like to move up.
Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada reported on Monday that the Canucks have offered the No. 6 pick and Shinkaruk for the Florida's first selection.
“It's something that I guess is part of the game,” Shinkaruk said, with a laugh. “It's the first time my name has ever popped up in any rumour. You know what, it is what it is. You get a lot of tweets about it on Twitter and sometimes you kind of get worried. But you know, at the end of the day, all it is, right now anyways, is a rumour.
“I've really enjoyed being a prospect of the Canucks this far and worked hard to make sure that I'll be a key player in that lineup this coming season. We'll see what happens, but it's part of the game and part of the life that I've chosen to live so I can't really complain.”
Despite having his name in the rumour mill, Shinkaruk remains focused.
“It's completely out of my control,” he said. “It's up to Vancouver and the other team. All I can control is making sure that when I'm in the gym and when I'm on the ice I'm improving my game. That's where my head is at right now, I just want to make sure that I'm ready to go and ready to have a great season in the NHL this coming season.”
Last year, the Canucks made a splash at the draft as they traded goaltender Cory Schneider to the New Jersey Devils for the ninth-overall pick, which they used to select London Knights forward Bo Horvat. Shinkaruk and Horvat just happen to be good friends.
“I've haven't talked to Bo too much about this new rumour,” Shinkaruk said. “I think it's more something that, at this point, is just a rumour and I'm trying to not spend too much time thinking about it and talking to people about it because I can't really do too much about it.
“If something happens, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.”

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Dustin Friesen (Swift Current, 2000-04) signed a one-year contract extension with Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven (Germany, 2.Bundesliga). He had 12 goals and 20 assists in 47 games for the Pinguins this season. . . .

Linköping (Sweden, Elitserien) announced that it won’t offer contracts for next season to F Robin Figren (Calgary, Edmonton, 2006-08) and F Lee Goren (Saskatoon, 1995-96). Figren had nine goals and four assists in 55 games and Goren had two goals and four assists in 24 games for Linköping this season. Goren started the season with Pelicans Lahti (Finland, SM-Liiga), getting four goals and eight assists in 13 games before joining Linköping.
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There is a move afoot to build a downtown arena in Fort McMurray, Alta.
MyMcMurray.com has listed the names “of the four companies that have been shortlisted to build Fort McMurray’s proposed downtown arena.”
According to MyMcMurray.com, “One of those companies, Global Entertainment Corporation and Western Asset Management made a joint submission — it specifically says it could immediately negotiate the establishment of a WHL team in Fort McMurray.”
Global Entertainment has an operating subsidiary in International Coliseums Company (ICC). Its president is Rick Kozuback, a former WHL coach (Tri-City Americans, 1989-91).
According to its website, ICC “develops first class multi-purpose event centers for mid-sized cities.”
Also from ICC’s website: “Since 2003, ICC has developed 10 Event Centers; no other entity has done more than 1 in that time frame.”
According to MyMcMurray.com, Global has said the window to acquire an existing WHL franchise “will close soon if there are delays in starting the project.”
“What we do know is that there is an immediate opportunity to negotiate for a WHL franchise,” reads part of its submission, according to MyMcMurray.com.
All of this is most interesting indeed, if only because at least one WHL owner, within the last few years, looked into moving his franchise to Fort McMurray.
This owner went so far as to begin putting together a private partnership — one that included at least two prominent hockey people — that would have financed the building of an arena.
This owner has told me that the WHL office quickly informed him that the league, citing geographic reasons, wasn’t the least bit interested in having a franchise in Fort McMurray.
Fort McMurray is a 440-kilometre (274-mile) drive from Edmonton.
UPDATE: In the wee hours of this morning, Tyler King, the radio voice of the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons, tweeted: “A defining moment in Fort McMurray’s history as (city) council approves expropriation for a downtown arena.”
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“Three days have been set aside in June to deal with six charges against Tom Gaglardi and his father, Robert, and one charge against the Gaglardi family business, Northland Properties Corporation,” writes Dale Bass of Kamloops This Week. "The charges stem from an incident last year on lakefront property Tom Gaglardi owns in Savona, where the Crown alleges the pair and their company contravened federal legislation by 'first clearing and then filling land, actions that resulted in the harmful alternation, disruption or destruction of fish habitat, the foreshore of Kamloops Lake.' "
Tom Gaglardi owns the NHL’s Dallas Stars and is the majority owner of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers.
That story is right here.
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F Hunter Shinkaruk of the Medicine Hat Tigers “is officially at his wits end about the officials,” writes Sean Rooney of the Medicine Hat News. . . . That story is right here. . . .
According to a source, Calgary Hitmen D Kenton Helgesen has undergone surgery to repair a broken finger that was injured in the first-round series against the Swift Current Broncos. He apparently won’t play again this season unless the Hitmen reach the Memorial Cup.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Tim Whitehead no longer is the head coach of the U of Maine Black Bears. The school announced Tuesday that Whitehead had been fired after 12 years as head coach. He had one year left on his contract, at $190,000. Maine was 11-19-8 overall this season, including 7-12-8 in Hockey East. The Black Bears were swept from a best-of-three quarterfinal by UMass Lowell. . . . Whitehead took over the Black Bears in 2001 after the death of Shawn Walsh. . . . Larry Mahoney of the Bangor Daily News has more right here.
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The WHL’s playoff situation:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
SECOND ROUND
Edmonton (1) vs. Medicine Hat (7)
(Edmonton leads, 3-0; Game 4, tonight, in Medicine Hat)
Calgary (3) vs. Red Deer (4)
(Calgary leads, 3-1; Game 5, Thursday, in Calgary)
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
SECOND ROUND
Portland (1) vs. Spokane (4)
(Portland leads 3-0; Game 4, tonight, in Spokane)
Kelowna (2) vs. Kamloops (3)
(Kamloops leads 3-0; Game 4, tonight, in Kamloops; all games on Shaw TV)
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Red Deer, F Cody Sylvester scored at 5:10 of OT to give the Calgary Hitmen a 3-2 victory over the Rebels. . . . Sylvester, Calgary’s captain, has four goals in these playoffs. . . . “We call him Captain Clutch in the dressing room,” Calgary G Chris Driedger told reporters, “and he definitely lived up to his name.” . . . Calgary F Jake Virtanen scored the game’s first goal and drew an assist on the winner. . . . The Hitmen have scored first in eight of their nine playoff games. . . . F Brooks Macek gave Calgary a 2-0 lead at 13:00 of the first. . . . Red Deer tied it on second-period PP goals by F Dominik Volek and F Conner Bleackley. . . . This was the fourth straight road game in which Calgary went to OT. . . . Driedger stopped 37 shots, nine more than Red Deer’s Patrik Bartosak. . . . Red Deer F Matt Bellerive has completed his two-game suspension for a kneeing major in Game 2. . . .

In Medicine Hat, F Henrik Samuelsson gave the Edmonton Oil Kings an early 2-0 lead and they went on to beat the Tigers, 9-2. . . . Samuelsson scored at 1:39 and 12:25 of the first, the latter on the PP. . . . D Martin Gernat added another PP goal, just 2:10 later, and Edmonton was never caught. . . . F Michael St. Croix and Gernat had two goals each. . . . D Cody Corbett added a goal and two assists for the Oil Kings, who have outscored their opponents 40-7 in eight games. . . . Edmonton D David Musil who turned 20 on Tuesday, had two assists and was plus-4. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit stopped 25 shots. In these playoffs, he is 7-1, 0.85, .966. He has three shutouts in eight games. . . . Edmonton was 3-for-7 on the PP. . . . Last season, the Tigers swept the Saskatoon Blades from the first round and then were swept by the Moose Jaw Warriors. This season, the Tigers swept the Blades again, and now are down 0-3 to the Oil Kings. . . .

In Kamloops, F JC Lipon scored at 3:43 of OT to give the Blazers a 5-4 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The teams combined for five goals in the first period and three in the second before playing a scoreless third. . . . Lipon, who leads all scorers with 19 points, is the only WHL player with at least a point in each of his team’s playoff games. . . . F Dylan Willick scored twice and added an assist for Kamloops. . . . Blazers F Brendan Ranford had a goal and an assist, giving him six points in the three games of this series. . . . F JT Barnett, who hadn’t played since Game 1 of the first round, had two goals for Kelowna. . . . Rockets F Nick Merkley, 15, had two assists in a strong outing. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave stopped 33 shots. . . . Blazers F Kale Kessy scored his ninth goal of these playoffs. . . . Kelowna F Ryan Olsen, a 32-goal man in the regular season, got his first goal in 10 playoff games. . . . The Blazers hadn’t won an OT game at home since April 6, 1996 when Jarome Iginla scored on the PP at 13:23 for a 4-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Between then and now, the Blazers had lost seven straight OT decisions on home ice. . . . Kelowna F Tyson Baillie sat out Game 2 of a two-game suspension. The Rockets’ leading playoff scorer is eligible to return for Game 4 tonight. . . .He was suspended for a hit on Kamloops F Colin Smith in Game 1. Smith (suspected concussion) and F Tim Bozon (hand) are both missing from the Blazers’ lineup. . . .

In Spokane, G Mac Carruth stopped 25 shots as the Portland Winterhawks beat the Chiefs, 3-1. . . . Carruth has a WHL-record 40 playoff victories. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie scored his WHL-leading 10th goal at 19:13 of the first. . . . F Nic Petan made it 2-0 at 8:01 of the second. . . . Spokane F Blake Gal scored at 16:24 of the second, on a PP. . . . Portland F Taylor Leier iced it with an empty-netter at 19:45 of the third. . . . Spokane G Eric Williams stopped 33 shots. . . . Paul Buker of The Oregonian was there and his story is right here.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (15):
None
CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (5):
None
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From Regan Bartel (@Reganrant), the radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets: “Ok, now I know where I sit in the pecking order. @DanRussellCKNW gets premium parking at ISC. I’m asked to park three blocks away. #bigdog”


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The matchups, if the WHL playoffs opened today:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Edmonton (1) vs. Kootenay (8)
Saskatoon (2) vs. Medicine Hat (7)
Calgary (3) vs. Swift Current (6)
Red Deer (4) vs Prince Albert (5)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Portland (1) vs. Everett (8)
Kelowna (2) vs. Seattle (7)
Kamloops (3) vs. Victoria (6)
Spokane (4) vs. Tri-City (5)
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, the Edmonton Oil Kings wrapped up their Brier road trip with a 4-1 victory over the Warriors. . . . With the Brier, the Canadian men’s curling championship in Rexall Place, the Oil Kings had to hit the road. They went 6-2-0 away from home. . . . Edmonton now has won six in a row. . . . Oil Kings F Trevor Cheek scored Edmonton‘s first two goals, giving him a career-high 31 goals. . . . Edmonton F Dylan Wruck set a franchise single-season record with his 61st assist. That broke the record set last season by F Michael St. Croix. . . . Wruck later got his 62nd assist. . . . St. Croix, who scored his 37th goal, also had an assist, his 52nd. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 27 shots. . . . The Warriors were without F Jordan Wyton, who left after a fight in a Friday night game and didn’t return. . . . Moose Jaw had F Ben Duperreault, a 10th-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, in its lineup. Duperreault, from Wilcox, Sask., played for the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals. . . .

In Prince Albert, F Hunter Shinkaruk scored with 23.5 seconds left in OT to give the Medicine Hat Tigers a 2-1 victory over the Raiders. . . . The Tigers clinched a playoff spot for the 11th straight season. . . . F Jonas Knutsen got his ninth goal for the Raiders just 25 seconds into the game. They wouldn’t score again. . . . Medicine Hat F Elgin Pearce tied it with his 29th at 14:06 of the second. . . . Tigers G Marek Langhamer stopped 37 shots. . . . The Raiders held a 13-0 edge in shots in the third period but weren’t able to beat Langhamer. . . . Prince Albert remains fifth in the Eastern Conference and now is two points ahead of Swift Current and four ahead of Medicine Hat. . . .

In Saskatoon, F Brenden Walker scored his 31st goal of the season at 4:14 of OT to give the Blades an 8-7 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . The Blades trailed 7-3 going into the second period. . . . F Matt Revel forced OT when he scored his seventh goal at 12:11 of the third period. . . . F Jessey Astles drew an assist on the goal. He was playing his first game following a 50-game absence after he suffered a nasty skate cut on one wrist. . . . Walker finished with two goals and two assists, while F Erik Benoit had three assists. . . . The Blades also got two goals, givin ghim 23, and an assist from Collin Valcourt. . . . F Lane Scheidl, a Saskatoon native, continued his terrific season for the Pats. He scored twice, giving him 39. . . . Regina F Connor Gay, who is from Saskatoon, scored his first WHL goal in his 33rd game. . . . The Blades were without F Michael Ferland and D Dalton Thrower for a second straight game. Both have undisclosed injuries. . . .

In Brandon, the Swift Current Broncos erased a 1-0 deficit with three second-period goals and beat the Wheat Kings, 3-2. . . . The Broncos earned 15 points from eight games with Brandon this season. . . . Swift Current D Reece Scarlett tied it 1-1 with his eighth goal at 3:31, D Dillon Heatherington added his fourth at 5:22 on the PP, and F Adam Lowry got the winner, his 44th, at 19:25. . . . Heatherington didn’t finish the game, leaving in the second period after taking a hit from Brandon F Jayce Hawryluk. . . . Brandon D Eric Roy scored his 17th goal. . . . The Broncos are sixth in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Prince Albert and two ahead of Medicine Hat. . . .

In Calgary, G Chris Driedger stopped 22 shots as the Hitmen whipped the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 9-0. . . . Driedger has five shutouts this season. . . . F Brooks Macek scored three times, giving him 31 goals this season. . . . The Hitmen got a goal and two assists from each of Jake Virtanen and Victor Rask. . . . F Cody Sylvester scored twice, giving him 37. . . . Calgary D Kenton Helgeson had two assists and was plus-5. . . . The Hurricanes are six points out of a playoff spot with four games remaining. . . .

In Vancouver, the Giants scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Victoria Royals, 3-1. . . . The Royals had beaten the visiting Giants 5-3 on Friday. . . . Vancouver F Jackson Houck broke a 1-1 tie at 8:20 of the third period and added an empty-netter at 19:42. . . . Houck has 22 goals. . . . The Giants have won five of their last seven games. . . . Victoria had D Keegan Kanzig back after he served a two-game suspension. . . . Vancouver had D Arvin Atwal back after a one-game absence. Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reported that Atwal sat out Friday’s game “due to academic issues.” . . . The Royals will finish sixth in the Western Conference and play Kamloops in the first round. . . .

In Kelowna, the Rockets clinched the B.C. Division pennant with a 2-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Kamloops went into the game five points behind the Rockets and with three games remaining. . . . F Tyrell Goulbourne gave the Rockets a 2-0 lead with his 14th goal at 15:48 of the second period. . . . The Rockets had won 3-2 in Kamloops on Friday night. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke stopped 31 shots, one fewer than Cole Cheveldave of the Blazers. . . . The Blazers will meet the Victoria Royals in the first round of playoffs, opening with games in Kamloops on March 22 and 23. . . .

In Kent, Wash., it was a ch-ch-ching kind of night as the Silvertips got past the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent), 4-3. . . . F Tyler Sandhu, who turned 17 on Jan. 7, scored twice for Everett, giving him 16. He tied the score 2-2 at 11:32 of the second and gave his side the lead at 12:39 of the third period, on the PP. . . . Seattle D Shea Theodore got his 18th goal just eight seconds later. . . . Everett F Dawson Leedahl broke that tie with his third goal at 17:03. . . . A late-game melee included battling goaltenders as Everett’s Austin Lotz and Brandon Glover of the Thunderbirds scrapped. . . . Everett is eighth in the Western Conference, one point behind Seattle. . . .

In Spokane, F Blake Gal scored twice to help the Chiefs to a 6-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Chiefs broke open a 2-2 game with four third-period goals. . . . The victory sets up a first-round meeting between the Chiefs and the Tri-City Americans. . . . Spokane D Brendan Kichton added his 22nd goal and two assists. . . . F Jaedon Descheneau had two goals and an assist for the Ice. He’s got 27 scores. . . . F Brock Montgomery got his 30th goal for the Ice. . . . The Chiefs and Tri-City Americans will meet in the first round. They are tied for fourth with 84 points. Each team has four games remaining. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., the Prince George Cougars got two goals in the circus and beat the Tri-City Americans, 3-2. . . . F Zach Pochiro and F Colin Jacobs had the shootout goals for the Cougars. . . . Cougars D Michal Plutnar forced Ot with his seventh goal, via the PP, at 14:10 of the third. . . . Tri-City F Justin Feser got his 42nd goal in the first period. . . . F Jari Erricson had a goal, his 13th, and an assist for the Cougars. . . . Prince George, which beat host Seattle in a shootout on Friday, is four points out of a playoff spot with five games remaining.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Carson Perreaux, Prince Albert
F Josh Derko, Lethbridge
D Marc McNulty, Prince George

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Victoria Royals prospect Matthew Campese (@MatthewCampese): “The cold side of a pillow is really under appreciated”

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Eric Schneider (Tri-City, 1995-96) signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Hamburg Freezers (Germany, DEL). He had two goals and 10 assists in 10 games with the Bentley Generals (Alberta, Chinook Senior) this season. Last season, Schneider had 16 goals and 30 assists in 52 games with Munich (Germany, DEL), where he was an alternate captain. . . .

F Eric Johansson (Tri-City, 1997-2002) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Västerås (Sweden, Allsvenskan) after being released a few days ago by Alba Volan Szekesfehervar (Hungary, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had six goals and 23 assists in 41 games with Alba Volan this season. Västerås GM Niklas Johansson (no relation): “He's a two-way centre with a good drive and lovely set-up skills who can also play wing. We need to lift our offensive game and therefore it feels good to be able to snag a player like Eric.” Johansson has dual Canadian and Swedish citizenship so he doesn’t count as an import.
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On my list of today’s best sports writers, two names are atop the list. There are Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post and Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail, and then there is everyone else.
They are essayists, wordsmiths . . . who regularly provide readers with the best they’ve got.
I mention this because Boswell spent a lot of time covering Earl Weaver when he really was the Earl of Baltimore. Weaver died Saturday at the age of 82, and Boswell came up with this piece right here.
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The headline reads: Las Vegas Hooker Rear Ended.
The story, involving a player from a Mountain West Hockey League team, is right here.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Edmonton, F Trevor Cheek and F Curtis Lazar each scored his 20th goal as the Oil Kings beat the Prince George Cougars, 6-1. . . . The Oil Kings erased a 1-0 first-period deficit with the game’s next three goals — they scored at even strength, on the power play and shorthanded — and took a 3-1 lead into the third period. . . . The first two periods included a combined 13 power-play opportunities. There was one minor penalty called in the third. . . . Edmonton F Edgars Kulda scored his fifth goal. His folks from Latvia were in the crowd. . . . F Henrik Samuelsson scored twice for Edmonton, giving him 24 goals. . . . Among the Cougars scratches was D Marc McNulty (undisclosed). . . . The Oil Kings, who had lost their previous two games, are back atop the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the idle Calgary Hitmen. . . .

In Vancouver, F Josh Winquist scored three times to lead the Everett Silvertips to a 4-0 victory over the Giants. . . . Winquist, who also had an assist, has 21 goals. . . . Everett G Daniel Cotton stopped 31 shots for his second shutout of the season, both against Vancouver. . . . The Silvertips swept a three-game weekend; earlier, they beat Seattle and Lethbridge at home. . . . Everett is 5-0-0 against Vancouver this season. . . . Everett F Manraj Hayer drew three assists. He’s from Vancouver and was celebrating his 19th birthday. . . .

In Kent, Wash., Lethbridge G Ty Rimmer stopped 54 shots through OT but gave up a goal in the circus and his Lethbridge Hurricanes dropped a 6-5 decision to the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent). . . . Seattle F Luke Lockhart, who shot first, scored the only goal of the shootout. . . . Seattle has won twice in as many nights after losing 15 in a row. . . . Lethbridge led 3-1 in the second period, only to have Seattle come back with four straight goals. . . . The Hurricanes trailed 5-3 in the third period. D Adam Henry got them to within one at 6:45. F Jaimon Yakubowski forced OT with his 26th goal at 16:18 of the third. . . . Seattle lost F Branden Troock late in the second period with an apparent shoulder injury after he went heavily into the boards. He didn’t return. . . . Lethbridge was playing its third game in as many nights and dressed only 16 skaters. It was missing six regulars. D Albin Blomqvist, D Dan Johnston, F Reid Duke, F Josh Derko and F Russell Maxwell all are hurt, while D Joel Topping was writing exams. . . .

In Medicine Hat, G Cam Lanigan stopped 26 shots as the Tigers beat the Red Deer Rebels, 3-0. . . . Lanigan, 20, has three career shutouts, all of them this season. He had one with Portland before joining the Tigers. . . . F Hunter Shinkaruk scored the game’s first goal, his 26th, at 10:51 of the second period. . . . Shinkaruk had sat out for a week with the flu. F Miles Koules now is ill and didn’t play. . . . F Curtis Valk, with his 27th, and F Logan McVeigh, with his 13th, also scored. . . .  The Tigers swept a three-game weekend, as they also won in Edmonton and beat visiting Calgary. The Tigers beat Edmonton 2-1 and Calgary 4-0. . . . Medicine Hat is seventh in the Eastern Conference, but just six points behind the fourth-place Rebels. . . . Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer are running 1-2-3 in the Central Division.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Martin Gernat, Edmonton
F Alex Delnov, Seattle
F Tyler Wong, Lethbridge

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Brandon Baddock, Edmonton
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From Portland F Brendan Leipsic (@leip28): “I eat because I’m unhappy, I’m unhappy because I eat.”


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Here is the photographic evidence: It was a game in Regina in the mid-1980s
when Theo Fleury of the Moose Jaw Warriors tucked his stick between his legs
and scored on goaltender Stacey Nickel, who tried to stop him with a pad stack.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D James Bettauer (Chilliwack, Prince Albert, Medicine Hat, 2008-09, 2010-12) signed a one-year contract extension with the Hamburg Freezers (Germany, DEL). He has three goals and five assists in 31 games with the Freezers this season. Bettauer now is under contract through the end of the 2013-2014 season.
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Bob Tory, the general manager of the Tri-City Americans, has advised me that F Marcus Messier, who returned to the lineup this week after a nine-game absence, wasn’t out with a concussion.
Messier was injured on Nov. 30 during the second period of a game against the host Kamloops Blazers when he was checked by F Aspen Sterzer. There wasn’t a penalty on the play.
Messier was shown as being out with an upper-body injury. I was wrong in assuming it was a concussion.
Apologies to all involved.
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If you haven’t seen it yet, the documentary Head Games should be on your ‘must-see’ list.
It is 95 minutes in length and is a great look from all angles at the problem of concussions in sports.
Here’s the blurb from imdb.com: “A documentary that follows football player and wrestler Chris Nowinski's quest to uncover the truth about the consequences of sports related head injuries.”
Nowinski is a graduate of Harvard who played football while in university. He later worked as a professional wrestler.
His athletic career was ended by post-concussion syndrome. He went on to write the book Head Games and now is co-director of the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University.
One segment of the documentary deals with Owen Thomas, a 21-year-old linebacker at the U of Pennsylvania, who committed suicide. His brain was found to contain CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in its early stages.
As Nowinski puts it: “Twenty-one-year-olds shouldn’t have this from playing a game.”
Find this documentary and watch it. You owe it to yourself, to your children, to your players . . .
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The Kamloops Blazers scored a 4-2 victory over the Giants in Vancouver on Wednesday night.
Immediately following the game, the Giants dealt F Kale Kessy, 20, to the Blazers for F Rob Trzonkowski, 18, and a fifth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft.
Kessy was pointless and minus-2 without any penalty minutes in his final game with Vancouver.
The Giants had acquired Kessy from the Medicine Hat Tigers for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft.
At the time, it was reported that the pick would be paid to the Tigers if Kessy was on the Giants’ roster on Jan. 10. However, Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province tweeted early this morning: “Conditional status of Giants trade with MH for Kessy was for suspension or AHL call-up. They still owe pick, even with Blazer trade.”
At the time Kessy was dealt to Vancouver, he was serving a 12-game suspension that was levied for a headshot he delivered to D Ryan Pilon of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. That was the seventh suspension of Kessy’s WHL career.
A fourth-round selection by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2011 NHL draft, Kessy has 18 points and 62 penalty minutes in 29 games this season. He had two goals in two games with the Tigers and seven goals and nine assists in 27 games with the Giants.
In 222 career regular-season games, the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder has 87 points, including 34 goals, and 467 penalty minutes.
The Blazers began the season with three 20-year-old forwards — Jordan DePape, Brendan Ranford and Dylan Willick. They lost DePape to shoulder problems in November and tried to fill the void by acquiring F Charles Inglis from the Red Deer Rebels.
That didn’t work out and Inglis was released following a game in Edmonton on Dec. 12. He now is with the AJHL’s Whitecourt Wolverines.
DePape has had shoulder surgery and said Tuesday that he should be ready to play again in mid-March. Because he’s 20, he would have to be on the Blazers’ roster on Jan. 10, the WHL trade and roster deadline, if he was to play for Kamloops again this season.
The Blazers obviously weren’t prepared to wait. They are believed to have placed DePape on 48-hour waivers. Should he clear, he will become a free agent. He also has expressed interest in returning to junior A, perhaps with a team primed for a run at the 2013 RBC Cup, which is to be played in Summerside, P.E.I.
The Blazers’ roster is at 23, including eight defencemen and 13 forwards.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Trzonkowski, who was acquired by Kamloops from the Calgary Hitmen during the summer, has five points and 45 penalty minutes in 41 games. The Blazers gave up a 2014 fourth-round bantam draft pick in that exchange.
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The NBA suspended Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat for one game without pay recently. I read somewhere that the suspension would cost Wade $154,764.
So I got to wondering: How much a one-game suspension would cost a 20-year-old WHL player?
Well, I understand a 20-year-old WHLer gets $600 per month, before taxes. So if we set the WHL regular-season on a six-month scale, that’s $3,600, again before taxes.
A team plays 72 games in a regular season, so a one-game suspension without pay would cost a 20-year-old WHL player $50, which would be $154,714 less than what it cost Wade.
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The AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats fired Ryan Parent, their director of hockey operations and head coach, on Wednesday. . . . Garry VanHereweghe, the director of player personnel, has taken over as general manager, with assistant coach Kyle Tapp now the interim head coach. . . . The Bobcats are 11-23-6 and in last place in the eight-team North Division. . . . Parent was in his first season.
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Another former NFL player has filed a concussion-related lawsuit against the NFL. Otis Taylor, now 70, was a two-time All-Pro receiver with the Kansas City Chiefs. According to the lawsuit obtained by NFLConcussionLitigation.com, Taylor requires “constant medical care and supervision. . . . He is currently bedridden, cannot verbally communicate, is unable to walk, and relies on a feeding tube for all his sustenance.”
There is more right here.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, F Hunter Shinkaruk had two goals and an assist to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 5-2 victory over the Raiders. . . . Shinkaruk has 22 goals. . . . The game was played a day after the teams swapped five skaters and a couple of draft picks. F Logan McVeigh was pointless and plus-1 for the Tigers, while D Zach Hodder was pointless and minus-1. Raiders F Jayden Hart scored a goal and was minus-1, while D Dylan Busenius had an assist and was plus-1. . . . The Tigers held a 36-15 edge in shots. . . . F Curtis Valk scored his 22nd goal for the Tigers. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Luke Philp scored twice as the Kootenay Ice got past the Red Deer Rebels, 4-1. . . . Philp has 11 goals. . . . He gave the Ice a 2-0 lead at 11:48 of the first and a 3-1 edge at 14:13 of the third on a PP. . . . F Rhyse Dieno scored his 10th of the season for the Rebels. . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski made 29 saves. . . . Ice F Jeff Hubic scored his first WHL goal into an empty net at 19:47 of the third. Hubic, an 18-year-old from Regina, was playing in his 93rd regular-season game. . . . The Rebels have lost three in a row. . . .

In Calgary, F Brooks Macek scored three times and set up another and D Alex Roach had four assists to lead the Hitmen to a 10-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . That was Macek’s second career hat trick. . . . His first three-goal game came on Jan. 25 in a 7-2 victory over visiting Brandon. . . . The Hitmen were 5-for-9 on the PP. . . . Calgary F Chase Lang, a 16-year-old from Nanaimo, B.C., had two goals and an assist for his first WHL points. They came in his 21st game. . . . Calgary F Austin Calladine, a 17-year-old from Saskatoon, also got his first goal. It came in his 22nd game. . . . With F Mike Ferland out with an undisclosed injury, F Nick Buonassisi get back in after twice being scratched. They are two of Brandon’s four 20-year-olds, one of whom will have to be moved. . . . F Braylon Shmyr, a first-round selection, 12th overall, in the 2012 bantam draft, made his WHL debut with the Wheat Kings and scored his first goal. Shmyr, who turned 16 on New Year’s Day, is playing with the midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes. . . . According to the Brandon Sun: “It was the first time the Wheat Kings have surrendered double-digits in a game since a 10-1 loss to the Hitmen in a playoff game on April 8, 2005.” . . .

In Kelowna, F Jordon Cooke stopped 30 shots as the Rockets beat the Victoria Royals, 4-2. . . . Kelowna has won 15 in a row on home ice. . . . F Alex Gogolev and F Logan Nelson, the Royals’ top two scorers, didn’t make the trip to Kelowna. Both are out with undisclosed injuries. . . . Kelowna was 3-for-6 on the PP; the Royals were 0-for-9. . . . The Rockets remain two points behind the Kamloops Blazers, who lead the B.C. Division. . . . Victoria F Ben Walker, who scored his 13th goal to conclude the game’s scoring at 5:29, was taken off the ice on a stretcher following a neutral zone collision. Walker was taken to hospital and later released. . . . From Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier: “One minute after closing out the scoring at 5:29 of the third period, Victoria’s Ben Walker got caught up in a massive collision at the Royals’ blue-line. Victoria’s Tyler Stahl lined up, then exploded into Kelowna’s Tyrell Goulbourne, who was carrying the puck. Walker was closely trailing Goulbourne and got caught in the hit. Walker fell to the ice and play was immediately stopped. Emergency personnel attended to Walker, slowly moving him onto a spine board, and then a stretcher before taking him to hospital” for precautionary measures.” . . .

In Vancouver, F Tim Bozon broke a 2-2 tie at 11:17 of the third period and the Kamloops Blazers beat the Giants, 4-2. . . . The Giants held a 2-1 lead before Kamloops F Dylan Willick scored a shorthanded goal with 51.7 seconds left in the second period. . . . Willick, 20, returned from a 21-game absence. He suffered a broken ankle on Nov. 2. He also was named teamp captain while he was injured, meaning last night was the first time this season that the Blazers had a player wearing the ‘C’ and in the lineup. . . . Bozon also had two assists. . . . Kamloops F Colin Smith, the WHL scoring leader, had two assists. He leads the league in assists (41) and points (68). . . . The Giants were without F Taylor Vickerman, who drew a five-game suspension for a kneeing major in a game against the visiting Prince George Cougars on Dec. 30. . . . Prince George D Joe Carvalho was injured on that play. Carvalho is out indefinitely and will be re-evaluated once the swelling in the knee goes down.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None
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An interesting exchange between Portland F Chase De Leo (@Dels) and Winterhawks D Seth Jones (@seth_jones04), who is with the U.S. team at the World Junior Championship:

De Leo: “What's a good TV series to start on Netflix? #Ideas #Help”
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Jones: “@Dels9 it's a really good one.. US vs. CAN”
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De Leo: “@seth_jones04 Fine ill just watch it to see your face. #MissYou”

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The WHL’s trade deadline arrives on Jan. 10. Here is a look at trades since the end of the WHL’s Christmas trade moratorium:

Jan. 1: Medicine Hat trades D Dylan Busenius, 19, F Jayden Hart, 18, and a 2014 sixth-round pick to Prince Albert for F Logan McVeigh, 18, D Zach Hodder, 19, F Connor Hobbs, 15, and a 2013 second-round pick.
Jan. 2: Vancouver trades F Kale Kessy, 20, to Kamloops for F Rob Trzonkowski, 18, and a 2015 fifth-round pick.

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The latest poll has closed and the Portland Winterhawks appear to be heavy favourites to finish atop the Western Conference.
Asked “which team will finish atop” the conference, 282 of you took the time to vote. Of that total, 189, or 67 per cent, selected the Winterhawks.
The Kamloops Blazers got 51 votes, or 18 per cent, with the Kelowna Rockets next at 29 votes, or 10 per cent. The Tri-City Americans got eight votes and the Spokane Chiefs got five.
Coming out of the weekend, Kamloops and Portland are tied atop the WHL’s overall standings, but the Winterhawks hold four games in hand.
There is a new poll up already. Feel free to vote.
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Bob Duff of the Windsor Star, who once covered the Saskatoon Blades for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, offers up some thoughts on the WHL-Portland situation right here.
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Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun tops a Monday column with a look at the WHL and the Winterhawks right here.
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There was a Dan Russell special in Mississauga, Ont., Sunday as the Steelheads and London Knights went 19 rounds in a shootout before the visitors recorded a 4-3 victory. . . . That was London’s 15th straight victory, a CHL high for this regular season. . . . London's Seth Griffith scored twice in the circus, including the winner.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, F Greg Chase had two PP goals as the Hitmen beat the Kootenay Ice, 4-1. . . . Chase broke open a 2-1 game with PP goals at 1:28 and 10:01 of the third period. . . . Calgary F Pavlo Padakin, a freshman from Ukraine, had the Teddy Bear goal. He’s got seven goals this season. . . . The 16,912 fans in attendance threw 21,453 stuffed toys onto the ice surface. . . . "Before the game, all the guys talk about who's going to score the goal," Padakin, 18, told Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun. "Everybody wants to score this goal. I was thinking ‘Oh yeah, I will score.' But I didn't believe it. They can't believe a Ukrainian guy who plays first year in Dub scored this goal." . . . F Brock Montgomery returned from a five-game absence to score the Ice’s goal. . . . The Ice has lost two straight and five of seven. . . .

In Edmonton, F Curtis Lazar had two goals and an assist to help the Oil Kings to a 4-3 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Oil Kings led 3-0 in the second period before the visitors came back to tie it. . . . Lazar, who went all of November without scoring, broke the 3-3 tie at 16:26 of the second period. He spent 14 games stuck at eight goals. His slump actually lasted 14 games — the last two of October and 12 in November. Still, he’s got 20 points, including 10 goals, in the first 28 games of his sophomore season. . . . F Jaimen Yakubowski scored twice for the Lethbridge, the second one on a shorthanded penalty shot. . . . The Oil Kings were without D Keegan Lowe (ankle) for a second game. . . . Edmonton F Travis Ewanyk (knee) may play Wednesday. He was injured in the Subway Super Series. . . .

In Regina, D Josh Morrissey scored twice and set up another as the Prince Albert Raiders dropped the short-staffed Pats, 8-2. . . . The victory was the Raiders’ 20th of the season. They won 21 all of last season. . . . The Pats were missing eight regulars due to injuries or illness. . . . Regina F Morgan Klimchuk didn’t get a point, ending his point streak at 11 games. . . . The Raiders had a 54-24 edge in shots. . . . “I’m not surprised by it,” Regina head coach Pat Conacher told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post. “Let’s face it, the dam was going to burst. You know what? No one feels sorry for you. It was a good lesson for our kids. You can’t ever go ‘woe is me.’ (The Raiders) were pounding us over there and the coach kept throwing out their No. 1 power play against us. Maybe I’m from a different school of thought or maybe a different era but I just said to them, ‘Remember that! Put that in your memory bank for the next time.’ They want to rub your face in it. No one should like it.” . . . The teams next meet Dec. 13 in Regina. . . .

In Medicine Hat, the Tigers got goals in the circus from F Hunter Shinkaruk and F Curtis Valk and beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 2-1. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 38 shots. He faced three skaters in the shootout and was beaten only by F Alessio Bertaggia. . . . Brandon D Eric Roy forced OT with a goal at 19:08 of  the third period and G Corbin Boes on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Brandon has lost six in a row and 10 of 11. . . . Brandon F Nick Buonassisi played his 300th regular-season game. The 20-year-old from Coquitlam played the first 211 of those with the Prince George Cougars. He also played 59 games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who dealt him to Brandon prior to this season.

In Kent, Wash., F Justin Hickman broke a 1-1 tie at 16:52 of the third period as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Kamloops Blazers, 3-1. . . . Kamloops F Joe Kornelsen had tied the score at 13:29 of the third period with his first goal this season. He was scoreless in 18 games when he joined Kamloops from the Calgary Hitmen; this was his seventh game with the Blazers. . . . Latvian F Robert Lipsbergs scored twice for Seattle, the second one into an empty net. He has 25 points, including 13 goals, in 28 games in his freshman season. . . . The Blazers (21-7-3) and Portland Winterhawks (22-4-1) are tied atop the WHL’s overall standings. However, Portland has four games in hand. The Winterhawks are at home to Everett on Tuesday, while the Blazers entertain Swift Current.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D David Musil, Edmonton

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Griffin Reinhart, Edmonton
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From Columbus Blue Jackets F Brandon Dubinsky, who played in the WHL for Portland (@BDubi17): “Sanctions against the Portland Winterhawks are a joke! @thewhl should encourage teams to fly families out for the kids.”
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More from Dubinsky: “Maybe even think about paying the WHL kids more then $200 a month to give up their NCAA eligibility at 15 years old... @thewhl”
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From Edmonton Oil Kings F Henrik Samuelsson (@Hsamuelsson1994): “Saw Santa driving a 1976 ford. Thought he drove a sled #dreamcrushed”
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From Prince Albert G Luke Siemens (@siems31), as the Raiders made their way home from Regina last night: “for the second time tonight and 3rd time in the last two road trips the boys are changing buses due to technical difficulties #woohoo”

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