WHL playoffs nearing . . . Krebs family reunion . . . New hockey team in Nanaimo

F Axel Blomqvist (Lethbridge, Victoria, Moose Jaw, 2012-15) has signed for the rest of this season with Kristianstad (Sweden, Division 1). He had been released Sunday at his request by Södertälje (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He was pointless in seven games there.

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All of the WHL’s 22 teams have either played two-thirds of their regular season or are within an outing or two of the 48-game mark.

So . . . let us pause for a look at the playoff picture.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

East Division: The Regina Pats are atop the division, four points ahead of the Moose Jaw Warriors and with four games in hand. Regina has six regulation-time losses; the Warriors have a dozen. Regina’s point percentage is .784; Moose Jaw’s is .677. Yes, it will be hard for the Warriors to reach the top. . . . The Swift Current Broncos are third, seven points behind Moose Jaw and seven ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings, who have three games in hand. The Wheat Kings are in possession of the conference’s first wild-card spot. They are five points in front of the Saskatoon Blades. . . . We could be looking at Moose Jaw and Swift Current in the first round, with the Wheat Kings crossing over to play the Central Division’s first-place finisher. . . . The Saskatoon Blades have won five in a row and are in position to get into the playoffs for the first time since the spring of 2013. If they stay in the conference’s second wild-card spot, they likely would meet up with Regina in the first round. Could that fire up what once was a tremendous rivalry?

Central Division: The Medicine Hat Tigers hold down first place, but are only four points ahead of the hard-charging Lethbridge Hurricanes. The Tigers are without D David Quenneville and D Ty Schultz, both of whom suffered broken bones while blocking shots. The Hurricanes have points in eight straight games (6-0-2), but the Tigers have one game in hand. They will meet each other three more times, including a home-and-home series on the regular-season’s final weekend. . . . The Red Deer Rebels, whose season has been a myriad of inconsistencies, are headed to a third-place finish. . . . Three of the division’s six teams end up on the outside looking in. The Calgary Hitmen are four points out of a playoff spot, while the Edmonton Oil Kings have trended the wrong way since the trade deadline, and the Kootenay Ice won’t make it. Again.

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WESTERN CONFERENCE

B.C. Division: The Prince George Cougars lead the division by 10 points over the Kamloops Blazers, who hold two games in hand. The Cougars, who beat the Vancouver Giants, 2-1 in a shootout, in Langley, B.C., on Monday night, will play three games in Alberta this weekend before going home for six in a row — doubleheaders with the Kelowna Rockets, Vancouver and the Spokane Chiefs. The Cougars and Blazers will meet five more times. Yes, they will go home-and-home to finish the regular season. . . . The Blazers are three points ahead of Kelowna, with the Victoria Royals two points in back of the Rockets. . . . Victoria holds the conference’s first wild-card spot at the moment, nine points ahead of the Portland Winterhawks. So it would seem that playoff spot will go to a B.C. Division team. . . . Vancouver is nine points out of a playoff spot.

U.S. Division: The Everett Silvertips lead the way by eight points and have five games in hand on the Tri-City Americans. The Silvertips have yet to experience their six-game East Division swing, one on which the Americans went 6-0-0. . . . Tri-City is seven points ahead of the Seattle Thunderbirds, who hold six games in hand even though their eastern trip is behind them. . . . Seattle is a comfortable seven points ahead of Portland and the Spokane Chiefs, who are tied for the conference’s second wild-card spot. It could well be that either Portland or Spokane won’t make it, with the survivor getting Everett or Prince George, whichever has the better record, in the first round.

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Peyton (left), Maddison and Dakota Krebs.
(Photo: Tri-City Americans)

It was a big night for the Krebs family on Friday when the Kootenay Ice paid a visit to the Tri-City Americans. . . . Peyton, the first overall selection in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft, was in the Ice’s lineup. Dakota, 17, is a defenceman with the Americans. . . . Sister Maddison, 19, an up-and-coming country singer, handled both anthems. . . . Their parents, Cindy and Greg, along with another son, 13-year-old Drew, were on hand to take it all in. . . . “That was the hardest game I have had to watch,” Cindy told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald. “I didn’t want Dakota to get scored on, but I wanted Peyton to score — just not against Dakota.” . . . Neither Peyton nor Dakota garnered a point but Dakota got bragging rights with a 7-4 victory. . . . Fowler’s story is right here.

The Ice returned Peyton to the midget AAA Foothills Bisons on Sunday, while also returning D Loeden Schaufler, 16, to the midget AAA Notre Dame Hounds of Wilcox Sask. . . . Still, the Ice has six players on the injury list, with F Barrett Sheen, D Nikita Radzivilyuk and D Sam Huston all out a week or more, with D Cale Fleury, F Vince Loschiavo and D Ryan Pouliot all day-to-day.

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There will be a new hockey team in Nanaimo when the 2017-18 season arrives. The Vancouver Island University Mariners will play out of the Ice Centre, which is near the school’s campus. The team will bring membership in the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League to six teams. Other teams play out of Selkirk College in Castlegar, B.C., Trinity Western U in Langley, Eastern Washington U in Cheney, Simon Fraser U in Burnaby and the U of Victoria. . . . Steven Paul is the Mariners’ volunteer general manager and head coach. . . . The Mariners will operate as a club team, meaning it will responsible for its own operating budget. . . . The team will hold a spring camp, April 7-9. . . . The original roster could include D Ryan Coghlan, 21, a student at VIU who has played in the WHL with the Saskatoon Blades and Prince Albert Raiders.

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The QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques have fired head coach Mario Duhamel, replacing him with assistant coach Éric Landry. Duhamel was in in his first season with the Olympiques, having replaced Benoit Groulx, who now is the head coach of Syracuse Crunch, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning. . . . Duhamel spent four seasons (2009-13) as the head coach of the Drummondville Voltigeurs and was an assistant coach with Canada’s national junior team at the 2013 World Junior Championship. He also worked with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche as the video coach for two seasons (2013-15). Last season, he was the assistant general manager with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. . . . Landry, who is from Gatineau, has been with the Olympiques since 2012 after he ended a pro career that included NHL stops with the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens. . . . The Olympiques, who have lost four straight games, are 19-24-4.

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MONDAY’S GAME:

At Langley, B.C., the Prince George Cougars scored three times in a shootout to beat the Vancouver Giants 2-1. . . . F Nikita Popugaev, F Radovan Bondra and F Jansen Harkins all scored for the Cougars in the shootout, with F James Malm and F Brayden Watts counting for the Giants. . . . F Jared Bethune (13) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 5:45 of the second period and they nursed that lead into the final five minutes of the third period. . . . The Giants tied it when F Dawson Holt scored his sixth goal, shorthanded, at 15:49 of the third period. . . . G Nick McBride made 30 saves for the Cougars, three fewer than Vancouver’s Ryan Kubic. . . . Each team was 0-5 on the PP. . . . Vancouver had D Bowen Byram, the third overall pick in the 2016 bantam draft, in its lineup. He has 16 points, including 14 assists, in 11 games with the Yale Hockey Academy’s prep team in the CSSHL. . . . The Giants had eight scratches, including F Tyler Benson, D Darian Skeoch, D Matt Barberis and F Ty Ronning. . . . The Cougars had D Sam Ruopp back in their lineup. . . . The Cougars lead the eight-game season series 5-1-0, while the Giants are 1-4-1. . . . Prince George (34-13-3) had lost its previous two games (0-1-1). The Cougars lead the overall standings by two points over the Everett Silvertips and Regina Pats. . . . Vancouver (17-27-4) had lost two in a row and is nine points from a playoff spot. . . . The Cougars next play Friday against the host Red Deer Rebels and will stop off in Banff for a couple of days en route. After Red Deer, the Cougars will play a Saturday-Sunday night-day doubleheader against the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Announced attendance: 2,964.

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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Kamloops at Portland, 7 p.m. (ppd. from Jan. 8)

Medicine Hat vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, 7 p.m.

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Nanaimo closing in on WHL franchise? ... Americans 4-0 on east swing ... Steenbergen shows off six-pack

Debrecen (Hungary, MOL Liga) has signed F Jesse Schultz (Tri-City, Prince Albert, Kelowna, 1999-2003) and D Jesse Dudas (Lethbridge, Prince George, Swift Current, Regina, 2003-09) to contracts for the rest of the season. . . . This season, with the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite), Schultz had eight goals and 11 assists in 23 games. He was released on Dec. 30. . . . Dudas had been with TPS Turku (Finland, Liiga), but was injured in the only game he played, a Champions League match in which he scored a goal. He was released on Nov. 28.

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The Kootenay Ice moving to Nanaimo? An expansion franchise? What will it be? Who knows, but it seems that talks are ongoing . . .

According to the Nanaimo News Bulletin, the City of Nanaimo and the WHL are involved in talks that could lead to a franchise landing in the Vancouver Island City.

Tamara Cummingham of the News Bulletin reports that, according to city staff, “negotiations” between the WHL and the city “leading to a memorandum of understanding for one of its teams (are) underway.”

Nanaimo has yet to hold a referendum on an $86.6-million event centre, something that likely will happen in March.

Despite that, Cunningham reports, the city has “hired a legal advisor, financial advisor and put out requests for qualifications for architects, project management and an operations manager.”

Cunningham’s story is right here.

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You may have read here yesterday that the Red Deer Rebels had dropped veteran F Matt Campese, 19, and that he was returning to the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors. It turns out that Campese, who has a goal and an assist with the Rebels, will stay in Red Deer for the remainder of this season.

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A number of players who weren’t involved in deals at Tuesday’s WHL trade deadline are on the move. Here’s a look . . .

F Dakota Odgers, 20, has joined the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. He was released by the Moose Jaw Warriors at the trade deadline. . . .

D Zach Wytinck, 17, has moved from the Brandon Wheat Kings to the midget AAA Southwest Cougars, while F Garrett Armour, 19, will play for the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues. . . .

D Ethan King, 17, who had been with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, has been added to the roster of the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials. The 6-foot-6, 225-pound King is from Vernon, B.C. . . .

F Ethan O’Rourke, 17, has moved from the Prince George Cougars to the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings. He is the son of Cougars’ associate coach Steve O’Rourke. . . .

The Regina Pats have brought in F Duncan Pierce, 16, from the midget AAA Winnipeg Thrashers, while dropping D Riley Bruce, 17, from their roster. Bruce is headed for the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons. Bruce had a goal and two assists in 18 games with the Pats. . . . Pierce has 10 goals and 13 assists in 25 games with the Thrashers. His arrival leaves the Pats with 13 forwards, to go with three goaltenders — Jordan Hollett is injured — and seven defencemen.

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The Vancouver Giants, fresh off an Alberta swing and having traded away F Radovan Bondra, F Thomas Foster and D Dmitry Osipov, are at home to the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday night. . . . Postmedia’s Steve Ewen reports that F Tyler Benson, who has missed the last three games with an undisclosed injury, skated Wednesday in a non-contact sweater, as did F Dawson Holt and F Johnny Wesley. . . . D Darian Skeoch, who has been out with an ankle injury, took part in the full practice so should play Friday.

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The Portland Winterhawks have rescheduled a pair of games that were postponed by inclement weather over the weekend. . . . The game with the Kamloops Blazers that was to have been played on Sunday now is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m., at the Moda Center. . . . The game with the Everett Silvertips that was to have been played on Saturday has been moved to Tuesday, Jan. 31, 7 p.m., at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

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The WHL hasn’t seen a sniper like Brian Propp since, well, Brian Propp. No one could score like Propp when he played for the Brandon Wheat Kings in the late 1970s, and he went on to an NHL career in which he totalled 1,004 points in 1,016 games. . . . Propp suffered a stroke more than a year ago, but has recovered to the point where he will be playing in a Philadelphia Flyers alumni game on Saturday. Adam Kimelman of nhl.com has more right here on Propp’s remarkable recovery and how he’s helping others.

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.@joachimblich and @BDeJong21 created their own snow den for their #WinterhawksSnowDay pic.twitter.com/t33ABG0J3J

— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) January 11, 2017

.@coltonveloso17, @Jones4Caleb, @iverke and @henrijokiharju have their fort ready for the neighborhood snowball fight! #WinterhawksSnowDay pic.twitter.com/kf0mdOJYRg

— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) January 11, 2017

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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:

@TCAmericans @M_14Geekie he put on a show for his first game in Manitoba #4assist pic.twitter.com/lkmi8Bvl0i

— Riley (@RileyBoles6) January 12, 2017

At Brandon, F Jordan Topping scored the game’s last three goals as the Tri-City Americans beat the

JORDAN TOPPING

Wheat Kings, 5-2. . . . The Wheat Kings took a 2-0 lead on goals from F Ty Lewis (22), at 1:43 of the first period, and F Baron Thompson (2), 38 seconds into the second period. . . . D Parker Wotherspoon got the Americans on the scoreboard, with his seventh goal, at 4:25 of the second. . . . F Parker AuCoin pulled Tri-City even with his 15th goal, his third shorthanded, at 9:21. . . . Topping, who has nine goals, gave the Americans the lead at 12:22, then added insurance at 5:17 and 19:44 of the third. His second goal came via a PP and the third was an empty-netter. . . . Tri-City F Morgan Geekie, who is from nearby Strathclair, Man., drew four assists and you can bet that his father, Craig, a former WHLer (Brandon, Spokane, 1991-94), was in attendance. . . . The Americans also got three assists from F Tyler Sandhu. . . . Geekie and Sandhu drew the assists on all three of Topping’s goals. . . . G Rylan Parenteau stopped 29 shots for the victory, while Brandon’s Logan Thompson also blocked 29. . . . The Americans were 1-5 on the PP; the Wheat Kings were 0-5. . . . The Wheat Kings lost F Reid Duke with a kneeing major and game misconduct at 2:41 of the third period. . . . Tri-City F Michael Rasmussen was scratched for a second straight game. . . . The Americans (26-17-3) have won four in a row, all on an East Division swing. They are second in the U.S. Division, four points behind the Everett Silvertips, who have eight games in hand. . . . The Wheat Kings (20-17-4) had won their previous two games. They hold down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Announced attendance: 3,233.

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At Edmonton, the Lethbridge Hurricanes scored twice before the game was three minutes old and went

ALEC BAER

on to a 7-4 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . F Zak Zborosky, in his first game with the Hurricanes after being acquired from the Kootenay Ice, scored on his first shot on his first, at 1:06 of the first period. . . . He’s got 29 goals. . . . F Jordy Bellerive made it 2-0 at 2:29. . . . Edmonton head coach Steve Hamilton changed goaltenders, sending Josh Dechaine in for Patrick Dea at 2:29. . . . The Hurricanes scored off a 2-on-0 break with F Egor Babenko getting his 14th goal at 4:10. . . . The visitors went up 4-0 when F Tyler Wong got No. 29, at 13:41. . . . The Oil Kings made a game of it with three goals in 35 seconds early in the second period. . . . F Ty Gerla scored tgwice, giving him four goals, at 2:58 and 3:06, and D Will Warm added his sixth goal, at 3:33. . . . But the Hurricanes regained control on two goals from F Alec Baer, in his first game since coming over from the Vancouver Giants. He counted at 5:40 and 12:14 of the second period, giving him five goals this season. . . . Bellerive’s second goal of the game, and 19th this season, added more insurance 36 seconds into the third period. . . . Edmonton D Conner McDonald (2) closed out the scoring with his first goal since being acquired last week from the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Hurricanes got two assists from each of D Brennan Menell, F Giorgio Estephan and D Igor Merezhko, and one each from Wong, Zborosky and Babenko. . . . F Brett Kemp, who was acquired from the Everett Silvertips, had three assists for Edmonton, with McDonald and Gerla each getting one. . . . G Stuart Skinner stopped 39 shots for Lethbridge. . . . At the other end, Dea gave up three goals on five shots, while Dechaine was beaten five times on 31 shots. . . . The Hurricanes were 1-4 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 0-2. . . . F Matt Alfaro, who came over from the Ice with Zborosky, was scratched with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Oil Kings are without F Riley Stadel, who was acquired from the Kelowna Rockets last week. He is out week-to-week with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Hurricanes (23-15-5) have won three straight and are a solid second in the Central Division. . . . The Oil Kings (18-21-4) have lost four in a row. They hold down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . Announced attendance: 5,442.

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At Everett, G Mario Petit and G Dorrin Luding combined for 23 saves in sharing the shutout as the

DORRIN LUDING

Silvertips beat the Spokane Chiefs, 5-0. . . . With Carter Hart yet to return to Everett’s lineup after playing for Canada at the World Junior Championship, Petit started and stopped 18 shots in 52:36. . . . Luding, a 17-year-old from Prince George, came on to make his WHL debut with 7:24 to play and stopped five shots. . . . F Brandson Hein scored his first goal, at 2:40 of the second period, and it stood up as the winner. . . . Hein, an 18-year-old from Winnipeg, scored in his 21st game. . . . F Connor Dewar (6) made it 2-0 at 11:57 of the second period and F Devon Skoleski (6) made it 3-0, while shorthanded, at 5:29 of the third. . . . F Jake Christiansen (3) and F Riley Sutter (13) added goals later in the third period. . . . Everett got two assists from F Bradly Goethals, while Skoleski added an assist to his goal. . . . Silvertips D Kevin Davis recorded one assist to run his point streak to 13 games, the longest active streak in the WHL at this point. . . . Spokane G Dawson Weatherill made 29 stops. . . . Everett was 1-3 on the PP; Spokane was 0-2. . . . The Silvertips were without D Aaron Irving and D Lucas Skrumeda. . . . Everett (26-5-7) had lost its previous two games (0-1-1). It is tied for third in the overall standings, two points behind the Regina Pats and one behind the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Chiefs (17-18-7) have lost three in a row (0-2-1) and remain two points out of a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 3,225.

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When I said I wanted it to feel like Florida I meant temperature, not attendance. #MHTigers

— Ryan McCracken (@MHNMcCracken) January 12, 2017

At Medicine Hat, the Prince George Cougars scored two third-period goals as they beat the Tigers, 4-3. .

JARED BETHUNE

. . F Radovan Bondra, who was acquired Tuesday from the Vancouver Giants, scored his 20th goal to tie the score just 37 seconds into the period. . . . F Jared Bethune broke the tie on a PP, at 7:06. He’s got 12 goals. . . . D Sam Ruopp (3) had given the visitors a 1-0 lead at 5:58 of the first period. . . . The Tigers took the lead on goals from F Steve Owre (15), at 10:05 of the first, and F Zach Fischer (23), on a PP, at 8:26 of the second period. . . . The Cougars tied it when F Jesse Gabrielle scored No. 20, at 9:26. . . . That lasted until 11:50 when F Matt Bradley’s 19th goal gave the home side a 3-2 lead. . . . Gabrielle and Bondra added an assist each, as did Fischer and Owre. . . . G Ty Edmonds stopped 29 shots in earning his 22nd victory of the season, one more than he put up last season and six fewer than in 2014-15. . . . Tigers G Nick Schneider, who leads the WHL with 26 victories, stopped 27 shots. . . . The Tigers were 1-4 on the PP; the Cougars were 1-5. . . . D Brendan Guhle was back in the Cougars’ lineup after missing one game due to illness. . . . The Cougars (29-12-2) moved past the Tigers (29-13-1) and into second place in the overall standings, two points behind the idle Regina Pats (27-4-7). . . . The Tigers had won their previous two games. . . . Announced attendance: 2,967.

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At Prince Albert, D Vladislav Yeryomenko scored at 2:11 of OT to give the Calgary Hitmen a 5-4 victory

VLADISLAV YERYOMENKO

over the Raiders. . . . It was Yeryomenko’s fourth goal this season. . . . The teams took turns scoring back-to-back goals in this one. . . . F Justyn Gurney (2) and F Andrei Grishakov (5) gave Calgary a 2-0 lead with goals at 9:21 and 11:51 of the first period. . . . The Raiders tied it on second-period goals from F Adam Kadlec (3) and D Kolten Olynek (9). . . . D Brady Reagan (2) gave Calgary a 3-2 lead at 13:22 of the second and F Jakob Stukel made it 4-1 just five seconds into the third period. . . . F Jordy Stallard, who was acquired from the Hitmen at the trade deadline, bot his ninth goal at 8:15 to get the Raiders to within one. . . . F Cavin Leth tied with his 11th goal, at 13:56. . . . F Parker Kelly had two assists for the Raiders, with Kadlec and Olynek getting one each. . . . G Trevor Martin, in his first appearance since joining the Hitmen this week, stopped 25 shots. . . . The Raiders got 27 stops from G Ian Scott. . . . Calgary was 0-1 on the PP; Prince Albert was 0-3. . . . The Hitmen lost 5-4 in OT to the Blades in Saskatoon on Tuesday night. . . . Calgary (15-19-6) had lost its previous five games (0-2-3). It is four points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Raiders (8-31-4) have lost seven in a row (0-5-2). . . . Announced attendance: 1,815.

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At Swift Current, F Tyler Steenbergen scored two goals and added four assists to lead the Broncos to an

TYLER STEENBERGEN

8-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Steenbergen has 12 points in his last four games and 21 in his last 10. In that 10-game stretch, he also has three two-point games, a three-pointer and a four-pointer. . . . The teams were tied 2-2 after the first period, but the Broncos took control with four goals in in 2:16 late in the second. . . . Steenbergen, who has 32 goals, scored at 15:14 and 16:41, with F Conner Chaulk getting his fifth goal at 17:20 and F Aleksi Heponiemi scoring No. 14 at 17:30. . . . Steenbergen, an 18-year-old from Sylvan Lake, Alta., has 55 points, including 32 goals, in 43 games. Last season, as a freshman, he finished with 20 goals and 26 assists in 67 games. His fifth point last night was No. 100 for his career. . . . Swift Current F Glenn Gawdin scored the game’s last two goals — he’s got 15 — and also had two assists, while Heponiemi also had two goals and two assists. Gawdin, Steenbergen and Heponiemi combined for 14 points. . . . Broncos D Max Lajoie had two assists, too. . . . F Vince Loschiavo scored his 14th goal and added an assist for the Ice. . . . The Broncos got 24 saves from G Taz Burman, while Kootenay’s Jakob Walter stopped 35 shots. . . . Kootenay was 2-3 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-3. . . . Swift Current (24-12-7) has won two in a row and is third in the East Division, two points behind the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Ice (10-25-8) had won its previous two games. . . . Announced attendance: 1,647.

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At Victoria, the Kelowna Rockets scored the game’s last two goals and beat the Royals, 4-3. . . . D Cal

CALVIN THURKAUF

Foote (4) pulled the Rockets into a 3-3 tie with a PP goal, at 14:36 of the third period. . . . Kelowna F Calvin Thurkauf broke the tie with his 18th goal, at 15:14 of the third period. . . . F Tomas Soustal had given the visitors a 1-0 lead at 12:43 of the first period. . . . Victoria F Vladimir Bobylev (3) tied it at 2:28 of the second period and F Ryan Peckford (13) gave the home side a 2-1 lead, on a PP, at 15:33. . . . F Dillon Dube’s third goal pulled the Rockets into a 2-2 tie at 8:32 of the third period. . . . F Matt Phillips scored No. 27 at 11:59, giving his guys a 3-2 lead. . . . The Rockets got three assists from F Kole Lind, with Dube and Foote adding one each. . . . Bobylev also had two assists for the Royals. . . . Kelowna G Michael Herringer stopped 19 shots, 13 fewer than Victoria’s Griffen Outhouse. . . . The Rockets were 1-4 on the PP; the Royals were 1-8. . . . Kelowna (25-15-3) has won two in a row and is tied with the idle Kamloops Blazers for second in the B.C. Division. . . . Victoria (22-17-4) has lost two straight and is five points behind Kamloops and Kelowna. . . . The teams will meet in Victoria again on Friday night. . . . Announced attendance: 3,783.

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THURSDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.

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FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Kootenay at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.

Everett at Kamloops, 7 p.m.

Prince George at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.

Swift Current at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.

Spokane at Portland, 7 p.m.

Red Deer at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.

Tri-City at Regina, 7 p.m.

Moose Jaw vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7:30 p.m.

Kelowna at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.

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Priestner: "We're absolutely not selling" . . . Two Portland games postponed . . . Warriors win in Regina

F Igor Valeev (Lethbridge, Saskatoon, Swift Current, 1998-2000) has signed for the rest of this season with Chelmet Chelyabinsk (Russia, Vysshaya Liga). Last season, with Kulager Petropavlovsk (Kazakhstan, Kazakh Vysshaya Liga), he had 10 goals and 17 assists in 45 games.

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3 years ago i got traded for @nikscherbak . He made his NHL debut last night, i ate a full bag of chips instead

— Nik Amundrud (@NikAmmer) January 7, 2017

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It sounds as though Colin Priestner, the general manager of the Saskatoon Blades, is tired of the rumours.

This one has Bruce Urban, the owner of the National Lacrosse League’s Bruce Urban working to

purchase the Blades from owner Mike Priestner and his family.

Colin Priestner told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that it is “the fakes rumour that’s ever got out there.”

The Priestner’s bought the Blades from Jack Brodsky for $9 million in 2013.

““The rumours are just stupid,” Priestner continued. “I didn’t move my family and (team president Steve) Hogle didn’t move his family and all of us, to sell a hockey team. That makes no sense. We’re invested in the community and this team. We bought houses here. We’re raising our families here. It’s just a fake rumour that got out, that somebody made up one day. I don’t know who made it up. You can make up anything. We’re absolutely not selling now or any time.

“We’re all fully committed in the long term. It’s a team that our family plans on owning for generations, not just years.”

The complete StarPhoenix story is right here.

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On Friday, the Kelowna Rockets acquired F Reid Gardiner, 20, from the Prince Albert Raiders in exchange for a conditional first-round selection in the 2017 or 2018 WHL bantam draft, a fifth-round pick

in 2017 and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2019. . . . Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Courier reports that the conditions on that first-round pick involve the Raiders having “to decide on the year at least 15 days in advance of this May’s draft.” . . .

This also was only the second time that Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ president and general manager, has surrendered a first-round bantam draft pick in a trade.

Two years ago, you’ll recall, the Rockets acquired F Leon Draisaitl from the Raiders for a 2015 first-round draft pick, a 2016 fourth-round pick, a conditional fourth-rounder in 2016 or 2017 and two players — F Kris Schmidli and D Dalton Yorke.

With Draisaitl in the lineup, the Rockets went on to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup and reach the Memorial Cup final.

The Raiders used that 2015 first-round draft pick on F Carson Miller, who had 107 points, including 49 goals, in 31 games with the bantam AA Yorkton Terriers. Miller, 16, has five goals and seven assists in 34 games as a freshman with the Raiders.

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Welcome to the world my babies Callum and Charlotte! January 6 will forever hold and brand new… https://t.co/xVMexrBKU9

— Kyle Gustafson (@MettaWorldGussy) January 8, 2017

The Portland Winterhawks were forced by inclement weather to postpone a pair of weekend home games. . . . The Everett Silvertips already were in Portland for Saturday’s game when the postponement was announced. Obviously, the WHL and the Winterhawks didn’t want to put fans in the position of having to travel to the game in such conditions. . . . Late Saturday night, immediately after Kamloops had dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Rockets in Kelowna, the Winterhawks announced that a game scheduled for today (Sunday) with the Blazers also had been postponed. The decision was made before the Blazers had left Kelowna for Portland. . . . The games will be played at a date yet to be decided upon. . . . As you can see from the above tweet, it could be that Winterhawks assistant coach Kyle Gustafson maybe didn’t mind the postponements.

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The U.S. hockey team that won the Junior Championships over Canada Thursday had three African-Americans. 2016 Baseball Tream USA? 3

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) January 7, 2017

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SATURDAY’S GAMES:

Too many men (and women and kids) on the ice? The Wheat Kings skate with fans after their 8-4 win. #bdnmb #whl #BWK pic.twitter.com/JAC7eSsV5v

— Perry Bergson (@PerryBergson) January 8, 2017

At Brandon, F Reid Duke scored three goals and added two assists to help the Wheat Kings to an 8-4 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Duke’s second goal was the 100th of his career. . . . It was Duke’s

REID DUKE

second hat trick this season — he scored four times in an 8-1 victory over the visiting Saskatoon Blades on Nov. 18. He has four career three-goal games and three games in which he has scored at least five points. . . . F Ty Lewis added a goal and three helpers for Brandon. . . . D Scheel Higson of the Wheat Kings was pointless but finished plus-6. . . . Duke scored his first two goals 12 seconds apart late in the first period to give the home side a 2-0 lead. . . . Calgary F Beck Malenstyn (17) got his guys on the scoreboard at 1:08 of the second period, with Brandon F Connor Gutenberg (8) getting that one back at 10:56. . . . D Vladislav Yeryomenko (3) got Calgary to within one, on a PP, at 16:27. . . . The Wheat Kings then outscored Calgary 5-2 in the third period. . . . Duke got his 23rd goal at 4:23, with F Stelio Mattheos scoring No. 14, on a PP, at 6:02 for a 5-2 lead. . . . The Hitmen scored the next two — F Matteo Gennaro (16), on a PP, at 8:24, and F Carsen Twarynski (10), shorthanded, at 10:37 — to get back to within one. . . . Brandon put it away with the last three goals, as Lewis got No. 21 at 14:31, F Tanner Kaspick scored his 14th at 15:52 and F Cole Reinhardt (3) finished the scoring at 19:40. . . . Kaspick has 34 points in 34 games; last season, he finished with career highs of 12 goals and 18 assists in 53 games. . . . Mattheos and Gutenberg each added an assist, as did Twarynski and Gennaro. . . . G Jordan Papirny stopped 18 shots for Brandon. . . . Calgary got 32 stops from G Kyle Dumba. . . . The Hitmen lost G Cody Porter to an apparent shoulder injury in the second period of Friday’s 6-2 loss to the Pats in Regina. . . . With Porter out, the Hitmen had G Cody Levesque, a sixth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft, on the bench. From Carnduff, Sask., he played for the midget AAA Swift Current Legionnaires. . . . The Hitmen were 2-2 on the PP; the Wheat Kings were 1-3. . . . Brandon had D Kale Clague back in the lineup after he played for Canada at the World Junior Championship. . . . Brandon F Zach Russell played after sitting out 13 games with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Wheat Kings (20-16-4) have won two in a row and hold down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . The Hitmen (14-19-5) have lost four straight (0-2-2). They are seven points out of a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 4,141.

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At Kelowna, F Kole Lind’s goal in the sixth round of a shootout gave the Rockets a 3-2 victory over the

KOLE LIND

Kamloops Blazers. . . . F Collin Shirley scored for Kamloops in the fourth round, but F Tomas Soustal countered with a goal to keep it going. . . . The Rockets forced OT when F Reid Gardiner scored while shorthanded at 12:31 of the third period. Gardiner, 20, was playing his first game with Kelowna after arriving Friday from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. The Rockets had acquired his rights from the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . F Nick Merkley gave Kelowna a 1-0 lead with his 10th goal, on a PP, at 2:42 of the first period. . . . The Blazers scored twice in the second period. F Rudolfs Balcers (22) tied the game at 4:09 and F Nick Chyzowski (12) gave Kamloops the lead when he scored on a penalty shot with .1 showing on the clock. . . . Kelowna got 26 saves from G Brodan Salmond. . . . G Dylan Ferguson stopped 34 shots in making his 13th straight start for Kamloops. Connor Ingram, who was with Canada at the World Junior Championship, was on the bench. . . . The Rockets were 1-4 on the PP; the Blazers were 0-3. . . . The Blazers beat the visiting Rockets 3-1 on Friday night. . . . The Rockets (24-15-3) had lost their previous four games (0-3-1). They are third in the B.C. Division, two points behind Kamloops. . . . The Blazers (25-15-3) have points in three straight (2-0-1). They are five points behind the division-leading Prince George Cougars, who hold two games in hand. . . . Kamloops was to have ridden the bus to Portland after the game for a Sunday date with the Winterhawks. However, that game has been postponed due to inclement weather. . . .  Announced attendance: 5,751.

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At Lethbridge, G Stuart Skinner stopped 44 shots and F Tyler Wong scored twice as the Hurricanes beat

STUART SKINNER

the Red Deer Rebels, 3-1. . . . F Jordy Bellerive gave Lethbridge a 1-0 lead with his 17th goal, at 10:34 of the first period. . . . Wong upped the lead to 2-0, on a PP, at 4:56 of the second period. . . . Red Deer D Ethan Sakowich (2) got the Rebels close at 7:18 of the second period. . . . Wong put it away with his 28th goal, an empty-netter, at 19:04 of the third period. . . . D Brennan Menell and F Giorgio Estephan each had two assists for the Rebels. . . . Skinner turned aside 17 shots in the second period and 19 in the third. . . . G Riley Lamb stopped 31 shots for Red Deer. . . . F Brandon Hagel (undisclosed injury) and F Michael Spacek (ill) were among Red Deer’s scratches. . . . Lethbridge was 1-4 on the PP; Red Deer was 0-4. . . . The Hurricanes (22-15-5) have won two in a row. They are second in the Central Division, seven points ahead of the Rebels (18-17-6). . . . Announced attendance: 3,547.

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At Medicine Hat, F Steve Owre scored his third goal of the game on a 2-on-0 shorthanded break late in the third period to give the Tigers a 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Owre’s 14th goal of the

STEVE OWRE

season came with seven seconds left in regulation time. . . . F James Malm (12) gave the Giants a 1-0 lead at 1:17 of the first period. . . . Medicine Hat F John Dahlstrom (18) tied the score at 18:30. . . . The Giants took a 3-1 lead on second-period goals from F Ty Ronning (16), at 8:33, and F Jack Flaman, at 11:14. . . . Flaman’s 11th goal was the Giants’ first shorthanded score of the season. . . . The Tigers got the next three goals to take a 4-3 lead. Owre scored twice, at 13:05 of the second and 1:07 of the third period. . . . F James Hamblin’s ninth goal, at 6:37, gave the Tigers the lead. . . . Malm’s second goal of the game, on a PP, at 17:55, tied it 4-4. . . . Owre, who recorded his first career hat trick, has 49 points, including 35 assists, in 40 games. That is a single-season career-high in assists. He finished with 52 points in 55 games in 2014-15. . . . Medicine Hat got three assists from F Chad Butcher and two from F Zach Fischer. . . . Malm and Ronning had one each for Vancouver. . . . G Michael Bullion stopped 27 shots for the Tigers. He was making his first start since being acquired from the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Giants got 35 saves from G Ryan Kubic. . . . Vancouver was 1-6 on the PP; Medicine Hat was 0-1. . . . Vancouver is 2-2-0 on an Alberta swing. . . . The Tigers (28-12-1) had lost their previous two games. They lead the Central Division by eight points over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Giants (16-22-3) have lost two in a row, both by one goal. They are eight points out of a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 3,583.

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Prince George's Ty Edmonds & Victoria's Griffin Outhouse (both game stars) giving each other a quick tap post-game. #TendyLove #GoalieUnion pic.twitter.com/p1xBl25NK8

— ShitGoaliesNeverSay (@GoaliesNeverSay) January 7, 2017

At Prince George, the Cougars erased a 1-0 deficit with four straight goals en route to a 4-2 victory over

JARED BETHUNE

the Victoria Royals. . . . One night earlier, the Royals had won, 2-1. . . . The Royals took a 1-0 lead when, according to a Victoria tweet, F Jansen Harkins of the Cougars “passes the puck into his own net on a delayed penalty call!” . . . That goal was credited to F Carter Folk (3) at 1:01 of the first period. . . . Harkins tied the score with his 10th goal at 5:42. . . . D Tate Olson (4) gave the Cougars the lead, on a PP, at 10:01 and F Colby McAuley added his 14th goal at 15:30. . . . F Nikita Popugaev (23) added insurance with his first goal since being acquired from the Moose Jaw Warriors on Thursday, at 1:28 of the second peroid. . . . Victoria F Tyler Soy (17) completed the scoring, on a PP, at 10:21 of the third period. . . . F Jared Bethune had two assists for the Cougars, with McAuley adding one. . . . G Ty Edmonds stopped 21 shots for the Cougars, while Victoria’s Griffen Outhouse turned aside 38 shots. . . . Victoria was 1-4 on the PP; Prince George was 1-5. . . . The Cougars improved to 28-11-2. They are second in the overall standings, three points behind the Regina Pats. . . . The Royals (22-16-4) had points in their previous six games (5-0-1). They hold down the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot and are fourth in the B.C. Division, three points out of third. . . . Announced attendance: 4,335.

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3-1 at the halfway point in the 3rd. Also the Moose Jaw Warriors fan bus has won the 50/50 in Regina!

— Moose Jaw Warriors (@MJWARRIORS) January 8, 2017

At Regina, G Zach Sawchenko stopped 39 shots and F Jayden Halbgewachs scored twice to lead the

JAYDEN HALBGEWACHS

Moose Jaw Warriors to a 4-1 victory over the Pats. . . . That left the Pats’ home record at 15-1-4. . . . Goals from F Tristin Langan (4) and Halbgewachs, at 2:17 and 3:10 of the first period, gave the visitors a 2-0 lead. . . . Regina F Sam Steel’s 31st goal cut the deficit to one at 12:12. . . . The Warriors regained the two-goal lead when F Brett Howden scored No. 20, on a PP, at 14:06 of the second period. . . . Halbgewachs scored his WHL-leading 37th into an empty net at 18:53 of the third period. . . . The Warriors got two assists from F Brayden Burke, while Howden had one. . . . Sawchenko improved his record to 17-4-5. . . . Regina G Tyler Brown blocked 34 shots. . . . Moose Jaw was 1-3 on the PP; Regina was 0-1. . . . This was the fourth of eight meetings between the teams this season — the Pats are 2-2-0; the Warriors are 2-1-1. . . . The Pats had D Sergey Zborovskiy (Russia) and F Filip Ahl (Sweden) in their lineup after both played at the World Junior Championship. . . . The Warriors (25-9-7) are 5-0-2 in their last seven games and have closed to within four points of the East Division-leading Pats. . . . Regina (27-4-7) had points in each of its previous seven games (6-0-1). It leads the overall standings by three points over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Announced attendance: 6,484, a sixth straight sellout.

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At Saskatoon, G Rylan Parenteau stopped 25 shots to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 2-0 victory over

RYLAN PARENTEAU

the Blades. . . . That is the first shutout this season for the Americans and came in Parenteau’s hometown. . . . He has four career shutouts, the first three last season with the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . F Morgan Geekie gave the Americans a 1-0 lead with his 22nd goal, at 17:29 of the first period. . . . F Nolan Yaremko’s fourth goal, on a PP, iced the victory at 19:54 of the third period. . . . The Blades got 33 saves from G Logan Flodell. . . . The Americans were 1-4 on the PP; the Blades were 0-4. . . . The Americans (24-17-3) have won two in a row to open their six-game East Division swing. They are second in the U.S. Division, six points behind the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Blades (15-22-6) have lost two in a row. They were blanked 4-0 by the Warriors in Moose Jaw on Friday. . . . Saskatoon is four points out of a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 3,274.

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At Spokane, F Reed Morison scored the only goal of a nine-round shootout to give the Kootenay Ice a 3-

REED MORISON

2 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Morrison, an 18-year-old freshman from Calgary, has yet to score in 33 games this season. He has one goal in 44 career games, that coming in one of the four games he played last season. . . . F Matt Alfaro (11) scored shorthanded to give the Ice a 1-0 lead at 19:35 of the first period. . . . F Keanu Yamamoto (16) pulled the Chiefs into a 1-1 tie, on a PP, at 18:15 of the second period. . . . The Ice took the lead 1:27 later when F Michael King scored his second goal of the season. . . . The Chiefs tied it again at 7:57 of the third period when F Jaret Anderson-Dolan scored No. 19. . . . Yamamoto and Anderson-Dolan each added an assist. . . . Spokane F Hudson Elynuik picked up one assist, giving him 45 points in 35 games. Last season, he finished with 44 points in 56 games. . . . G Jakob Walter stopped 45 shots through OT for the Ice. . . . Spokane G Jayden Sittler turned aside 21 shots. . . . Spokane was 1-6 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-6. . . . The Ice improved to 9-24-8. . . . The Chiefs (17-16-7) had won their previous two games. They are two points out of a wild-card spot. . . . On Friday night, the Chiefs beat the host Ice, 4-1. . . . Announced attendance: 5,373.

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At Swift Current, the Broncos erased a 1-0 deficit with three straight goals and went on to a 5-2 victory

TYLER STEENBERGEN

over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . D Kolten Olynek (8) gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead at 11:02 of the first period. . . . The Broncos took control with goals from F Calvin Spencer (10), at 13:54, F Arthur Miller (5), at 19:28, and F Ryan Graham (12), at 1:24 of the third period. . . . F Simon Stransky’s 13th goal, on a PP, pulled the Raiders to within one at 6:20. . . . Broncos F Tyler Steenbergen became the league’s third 30-goal man, at 12:51 of the third period, and F Aleksi Heponiemi wrapped it up with his 12th goal, at 16:56. . . . Steenbergen, Heponiemi and Spencer added an assist each. . . . Swift Current got 24 saves from G Taz Burman, while Ian Scott stopped 33 at the other end. . . . The Raiders were 1-3 on the PP; the Broncos were 0-4. . . . Swift Current (23-12-7) is third in the East Division, four points behind the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Raiders (8-31-3) have lost six in a row (0-5-1). . . . Announced attendance: 1,870.

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SUNDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Medicine Hat at Edmonton, 4 p.m.

Vancouver vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 4 p.m.

Kamloops at Portland, postponed, weather.

Seattle at Spokane, 5:05 p.m.

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Broncos lost $$ on hockey, but still show profit . . . Americans fighting that bug again . . . Bethune's hat trick sparks Cougars

D Tomáš Slovák (Kelowna, 2001-03) has signed a one-year contract with Plzeň (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, with Košice (Slovakia, Extraliga), he was pointless in five games. He also had two assists in 25 games with Třinec (Czech Republic, Extraliga).

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The Swift Current Broncos, one of the WHL’s four community-owned teams, showed a $140,000 profit for 2015-16 despite the fact that attendance was down by 7,000 over the previous season.

How does that work?

Well, the Broncos, who held their annual general meeting on Tuesday night, received what is known

as “extraordinary income” from the 2016 Women’s World Curling Championship that was held in Swift Current, and the 2016 Memorial Cup that was held in Red Deer.

During the curling event, according to a news release, the Broncos “took on the management of the box office, the concession and the suites, and shared in the management of the beer stands with the Swift Current Curling Club.”

As for the Memorial Cup, all of the WHL teams received a piece of the pie.

According to the Broncos, they would have lost $93,000 had it not been for the extraordinary income.

Do the math and you realize that the Broncos got about $230,000 from the curling and the Memorial Cup.

“Fortunately, through the great fan support and extraordinary efforts from our staff we were able to take a difficult on-ice season and turn it into a profitable year off the ice,” Liam Choo-Foo, the chairman of the Broncos’ board, said in a news release.

For 2014-15, the Broncos declared a profit of $133,465; it got a real boost from an adjustment of about $100,000 to the team’s education fund.

For 2013-14, the team announced a profit of $197,244.

Tuesday’s news release also noted that Broncos staff and players “contributed 795 hours to Swift Current and surrounding communities last (season), up 150 hours from the previous (season), and donated $5,700 worth of merchandise and tickets to various community fundraising events.”

The Lethbridge Hurricanes, Moose Jaw Warriors and Prince Albert Raiders are the WHL’s other community-owned franchises.

——

The Tri-City Americans will continue to carry three goaltenders for the next while as Evan Sarthou, their No. 1 guy last season, continues to recover from an undisclosed injury suffered while in camp with the U.S. national junior team in August. He is out week-to-week. Sarthou, from Black Diamond, Wash., played in 60 games with the Americans last season, going 26-28-2, 3.46, .888. . . . With Sarthou, 19, sidelined, the Americans are going with Beck Warm, 17, from Whistler, B.C., and Nicholas Sanders, 18, of Calgary. . . . Warm went into this season having played in one game, that in 2014-15. He has played both Tri-City games so far this season, going 1-1-0, 4.62, .857. . . . Playing behind Sarthou last season, Sanders got into 23 games, going 9-6-1, 2.99, .901. . . . The Americans also will be without F Jordan Topping for a few weeks after he was injured while in camp with the NHL’s Dallas Stars. Topping, 19, had 67 points, including 33 goals, in 72 games last season. . . . Tri-City lost sophomore D Kurtis Rutledge, 19, when he was injured on Sunday. He’ll be out for a month. . . . On top of those injuries, veteran F Austyn Playfair, 19, and freshman D Seth Bafaro, 16, have yet to play as they recover from off-season surgery. . . . The result of all this is that the Americans still are carrying 29 players.

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The WHL has yet to release information on how the Moose Jaw Warriors and host Brandon Wheat Kings will conclude the game that was suspended by fog on Saturday night. The Warriors had just scored to take a 2-1 second-period lead when a decision was made to suspend proceedings because of concerns about player safety. . . . Neil Thomson, the general manager of the Keystone Centre, which oversees Westman Place, has told Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun that the facility takes the blame for what happened. . . . "It was just really a combination of different factors coming into play that one time at the home opener to come together to do it," Thomson told Bergson. "It’s our responsibility. It’s the Keystone Centre’s responsibility and I know that. We certainly apologize to the city, to the fans, to the Wheat Kings organization, to the Moose Jaw Warriors. We’ll do what we can to have it hopefully never happen again but we can’t guarantee it." . . . Bergson’s complete story is right here.

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The latest players to return to the WHL from the NHL:

Calgary Hitmen — F Jakob Stukel, Vancouver Canucks; F Carsen Twarynski, Philadelphia Flyers.

Everett Silvertips — G Carter Hart, Philadelphia Flyers.

Lethbridge Hurricanes — D Brennan Menell, Philadelphia Flyers; F Tyler Wong, Toronto Maple Leafs.

Portland Winterhawks — D Caleb Jones, Edmonton Oilers.

Regina Pats — D Sergey Zborovskiy, New York Rangers.

Seattle Thunderbirds — D Ethan Bear, Edmonton Oilers.

Swift Current Broncos — F Glenn Gawdin, St. Louis Blues.

Vancouver Giants — F Ty Ronning, New York Rangers.

Victoria Royals — F Jack Walker, Toronto Maple Leafs.

——

The Lethbridge Hurricanes and Victoria Royals added 20-year-olds to their rosters on Tuesday. . . . The Hurricanes got F Tyler Wong back from the Toronto Maple Leafs, while F Jack Walker was returned to the Royals by the Maple Leafs. . . . Wong’s arrival leaves the Hurricanes with three 20-year-olds, as he joins F Ryley Lindgren and D Kord Pankewicz. Wong, the team captain, put up 89 points, including 43 goals, in 72 games last season. Wong also will sit out his first game back with Lethbridge, thanks to a one-game suspension left over from last season’s playoffs. . . . The Royals also have three 20-year-olds, with Walker joining F Carter Folk, who was acquired from Lethbridge earlier this month, and D Ryan Gagnon. Walker had 84 points, 36 of them goals, in 72 games last season.

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There may be more than meets the eye to the decision by the Brandon Wheat Kings to drop the Thompson brothers, Tyler and Baron, from their roster. The brothers, from Lakeville, Minn., had been acquired from the Victoria Royals on Sept. 1. . . . Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun reported that Grant Armstrong, Brandon’s general manager, “had no comment on the decision.” . . . Bergson also reported that “two sources told The Sun that it was a non-hockey related matter.” . . . Neither Thompson had dressed for Brandon’s first two regular-season games. . . . Armstrong, of course, spent the previous four seasons with Victoria before moving to the Wheat Kings last month. 

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JUST NOTES:

The New York Rangers made a number of roster moves on Tuesday and one of them included F Reid Duke of the Brandon Wheat Kings. Duke, 20, was reassigned to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. Duke, who has yet to sign a pro contract, had 61 points, including 33 goals, in 68 games with the Wheat Kings last season, his fourth in the WHL. He added 24 points, 16 of them assists, in 21 playoff games. . . . 

Andy Eide, who covers the Seattle Thunderbirds for 710 ESPN, reports that the teams says F Keegan Kolesar is week-to-week with an undisclosed injury suffered in training camp with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. If Kolesar, 19, is out for any length of time it will be a big loss for Seattle, especially if F Mathew Barzal earns a spot with the NHL’s New York Islanders. . . . Kolesar had 61 points, including 30 goals, in 64 regular-season games in 2015-16. In 16 playoff games, he added seven goals and eight assists. . . . 

The Calgary Hitmen have dropped D Jackson van de Leest from their roster. He will play for the midget prep team at the Okanagan Hockey Academy this season. Van de Leest, 15, is from Kelowna. He was a first-round selection by Calgary in the 2016 bantam draft. He got into Calgary’s first two games this season, but was pointless.

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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

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TUESDAY GAME (all times local):

At Langley, B.C., F Jared Bethune scored three goals, including the winner, as the Prince George Cougars ran their season-opening winning streak to three with a wild 7-6 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . The last time the Cougars opened a season with three straight victories was 2012-13. That also is the last time that they won their first three road games. That season, neither of those winning streaks reached four. . . . This edition of the Cougars goes for four in a row, all on the road, tonight against the Rockets in Kelowna. . . . Last night, the Cougars held leads of 3-0, 4-1, 5-4 and 6-4. . . . Goals by D Dylan Plouffe, F Brendan Semchuk and F Taden Rattie pulled the Giants (0-3-0) into a 4-4 tie in the second period. . . . However, Bethune scored his second goal, at 19:13 of the second, and F Colby McAuley added another at 5:02 of the third for a 6-4 lead. . . . The Giants came right back and tied it on goals from F Jack Flaman, at 11:05, and F Radovan Bondra, at 13:02. . . . Bethune finally won it with his third goal at 15:43. . . . Bethune went into last night with one two-goal game in 135 regular-season games. Last season, the Warroad, Minn., native finished with 16 goals and 21 assists in 72 games. In his freshman season, he recorded six goals and 14 assists in 61 games. . . . . McAuley and F Justin Almeida each had a goal and two assists for the Cougars, with D Tate Olson adding a goal and an assist. . . . Semchuk, Rattie and Bondra each added an assist to their goals, with F Dawson Holt and D Darian Skeoch each earning two assists for the Giants. . . . Vancouver D Alex Kannok-Leipert, a 16-year-old brought in from Regina to help during a back-end shortage, scored his first WHL goal. . . . Prince George G Nick McBride was beaten four times on 16 shots over 36:22. Ty Edmonds came on to finish up, stopping 10 of 12 shots. . . . G Ryan Kubic turned aside 25 shots for Vancouver. . . . The Cougars were 1-3 on the PP; the Giants were 1-6. . . . Announced attendance: 2,898.

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WEDNESDAY GAME (all times local):

Prince George at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.

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