Showing posts with label Kaden Elder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kaden Elder. Show all posts

Friday, December 30, 2016

Cougars, 'Tips tied on top ... 'Canes win old-fashioned shootout ... Ferguson great for Blazers


FRIDAY’S GAMES:


At Brandon, F Reid Duke scored at 4:31 of OT to give the Wheat Kings a 4-3 victory over the Moose Jaw
REID DUKE
Warriors. . . . Duke, who drew the primary assist on the goal that forced OT, now has 20 goals in 28 games. He finished last season with 33 in 68. . . . Brandon forced OT when F Tyler Coulter scored his second goal of the game, and 15th of the season, at 6:33 of the third period. . . . F Connor Gutenberg (6) gave the Wheat Kings a 1-0 lead 47 seconds into the first period . . . Warriors F Nikita Popugaev (22) tied it at 16:57 of the first period. . . . Coulter’s shorthanded goal gave the home side a 2-1 lead at 10:17 of the second period. Coulter also drew the lone assist on the winner. . . . The Warriors took a 3-2 lead on goals from F Tristin Langan (3), at 14:03 of the second period, and F Jayden Halbgewachs, at 4:42 of the third period. Halbgewachs leads the WHL with 31 goals. . . . Brandon F Ty Lewis had two assists. He also was awarded a penalty shot after being hauled down by Moose Jaw D Josh Thrower at 17:20 of the third period with the score 3-3. Lewis wasn’t able to solve G Brody Willms. . . . Willms finished with 38 saves, while Brandon’s Logan Thompson earned the victory with 24 stops. . . . The Warriors were 0-3 on the PP; the Wheat Kings were 0-4. . . . The Wheat Kings (17-15-4) have won two in a row. They are fourth in the East Division, nine points out of third, but hold down a wild-card spot. . . . The Warriors now are 21-9-6 and sit second in the division, one point ahead of the third-place Swift Current Broncos. . . . The rematch is scheduled for tonight in Moose Jaw. . . . The Wheat Kings lost two forwards — Gutenberg and Meyer Nell — to undisclosed injuries in the first period. . . . F Ben McCartney, a second-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft, made his WHL debut with the Wheat Kings. From Portage la Praire, Man., McCartney plays at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, B.C. . . . Announced attendance: 3,625.
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At Calgary, G Cody Porter stopped 31 shots to lead the Hitmen to a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oil
CODY PORTER
Kings. . . . D Aaron Irving’s 14th goal put the Oil Kings ahead 1-0 at 5:23 of the first period. . . . Calgary then scored the next three goals. . . . F Andrei Grishakov (4) tied it on a PP at 9:28. . . . F Beck Malenstyn got his 14th goal, and fourth in the past three games, at 5:27 of the second period. . . . F Andrew Fyten (4) increased the lead to 3-1 at 16:25. . . . Edmonton D Will Warm scored his fifth goal with 5.5 seconds left in the third period to get the visitors to within a goal. . . . Irving also had an assist. . . . The Oil Kings got 29 saves from G Patrick Dea. . . . F Liam Keeler, who was a first-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft, was in Edmonton’s lineup. He plays for the midget AAA team at the Edmonton Southside Athletic Club (AMHL). He has 10 goals and 18 assists in 22 games with the Lions. . . . The Hitmen (14-17-3) had lost their previous two games (0-1-1). They are seven points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Oil Kings slipped to 17-17-4, but still hold down a wild-card spot. . . . They’ll clash again Sunday afternoon in Edmonton. . . . Announced attendance: 8,754.
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At Everett, F Josh Curtis broke a 3-3 tie at 14:16 of the third period as the Prince George Cougars beat
JOSH CURTIS
the Silvertips, 4-3. . . . The victory lifted the Cougars (27-10-2) into a tie with the Silvertips (25-5-6) atop the overall standings. They are one point ahead of the Regina Pats (24-3-7) and Medicine Hat Tigers (27-11-1). . . . F Jansen Harkins had given the Cougars a 2-0 lead with goals at 1:02 of the first period and 1:04 of the second. He’s got nine goals. . . . Everett scored the next three goals, with D Kevin Davis drawing an assist on each of them. . . . F Matt Fonteyne scored at 9:19 of the second, and F Dominic Zwerger (17) tied it, on a PP, at 13:48. Fonteyne gave Everett the lead with his 10th goal, on a PP, at 2:26 of the third period. . . . That lead stood less than two minutes as Cougars D Brendan Guhle tied it with No. 9, at 4:15. . . . Harkins added an assist to his brace of goals, while F Brad Morrison and F Kody McDonald each had two assists. Guhle added one. . . . F Patrick Bajkov had two assists for Everett. . . . Prince George got 17 stops from G Ty Edmonds, while Mario Petit stopped 21 shots for Everett. . . . The Silvertips were 2-7 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-3. . . . Mike Benton, the Silvertips’ radio voice, reports that Everett’s record (25-5-6, 56 points) is the second-best through 36 games in franchise history, behind the 2006-07 team that was 30-5-1. . . . Announced attendance: 5,323.
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GRIFFEN OUTHOUSE
At Kelowna, G Griffen Outhouse stopped 26 shots to lead the Victoria Royals to a 2-1 victory over the Rockets. . . . Outhouse stopped four shots in the first period and then turned aside 15 in the second. . . . F Jack Walker gave the Royals a 1-0 lead with his 19th goal at 4:12 of the first period. . . . F Kaid Oliver increased that to 2-0 with his second goal, at 8:17 of the third period. . . . Outhouse lost his shutout bid when Rockets freshman F Nolan Foote scored No. 10, on a PP, at 15:39. . . . The Rockets got 26 saves from G Michael Herringer. . . . Kelowna was 1-5 on the PP; Victoria was 0-4. . . . The Royals (20-15-4) are 3-0-1 in their past four games. They are fourth in the B.C. Division, four points behind the second-place Rockets and Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Rockets (23-14-2) have lost two in a row. . . . Announced attendance: 5,839.
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At Medicine Hat, F Brett Davis broke a 7-7 tie — yes, 7-7 — at 16:23 of the third period as the Lethbridge
BRETT DAVIS
Hurricanes beat the Tigers, 9-7. . . . Davis has 10 points, including six goals, in 25 games. Four of his goals have come over his past three games. Last season, he finished with five goals and four assists in 53 games. . . . F Giorgio Estephan put this one away with the empty-net goal. He’s got 19 goals. . . . The Hurricanes scored three goals in the second-half of the second period to take a 6-3 lead. Estephan and F Tyler Wong scored PP goals, at 10:54 and 14:22, with F Egor Babenko (11) counting at 19:06. . . . The Tigers tied it by scoring three times in 2:17 in the third period. F Mason Shaw got it started at 9:46, with F Chad Butcher (17) scoring at 11:35. Shaw’s 13th goal tied it 6-6 at 12:03. . . . Wong, with his 25th, gave Lethbridge the lead at 12:25. . . . Tigers F Zach Fischer tied it, again, with his 20th goal, at 15:15. . . . Wong finished with two goals and three assists, while Estephan had two goals and two assists, and F Ryley Lindgren had a goal (13) and two helpers. D Brennan Menell and F Colton Kroeker had two assists each, while Davis and Bellerive each had a goal and an assist. Bellerive has 15 goals. . . . F Matt Bradley scored twice, giving him 17, and added three assists for Medicine Hat, while Shaw added two assist to his two goals. F John Dahlstrom drew three assists and D David Quenneville had two. . . . Lethbridge G Stuart Skinner stopped 43 shots, while Medicine Hat’s Nick Schneider blocked 22. . . . The Hurricanes were 3-5 on the PP; the Tigers were 1-5. . . . Lethbridge (20-13-5) has won two in a row and is second in the Central Division, 10 points behind the Tigers and five points ahead of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Medicine Hat (27-11-1) had a six-game winning streak snapped, but still leads the Central Division by 10 points. . . . Announced attendance: 3,803.
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At Prince Albert, G Tyler Brown stopped 24 shots to help the Regina Pats to an 8-0 victory over the
LANE SCHIOLER
Raiders. . . . Brown has two shutouts this season and four in his career. . . . D Lane Schioler got the winning goal, his first WHL score coming at 8:48 of the first period. The goal came in his 69th regular-season game. . . . F Nick Henry (17) and F Lane Zablocki (10) each scored twice for Regina, while F Sam Steel scored his 25th goal and added two assists. F Austin Wagner also had a goal, his 16th, and two helpers. . . . The Pats got two assists from each of D Chase Harrison and D Jonathan Smart. . . . Steel’s goal came while the Pats were shorthanded. That was their WHL-leading 17th shorthanded score. . . . Prince Albert G Ian Scott gave up three goals on 13 shots in 22:46. Nic Sanders came on to finish up, allowing five goals on 19 shots in 37:14. . . . Regina was 3-5 on the PP; the Raiders were 0-3. . . . Regina (24-3-7) has points in four straight (3-0-1) and leads the East Division by seven points over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Raiders (8-28-2) have lost two in a row. . . . The teams will meet again on Sunday in Regina. . . . Announced attendance: 2,137.
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At Red Deer, D Troy Murray broke a 1-1 tie at 5:31 of the third period and the Kootenay Ice went on to a
ZAK ZBOROSKY
4-1 victory over the Rebels. . . . Murray has three goals this season. . . . F Zak Zborosky led the Ice with a goal, his 27th, and two assists. . . . F Matt Alfaro (12) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 2:00 of the first period. . . . F Brandon Hagel’s 18th goal tied the score 41 seconds into the second period. . . . Zborosky’s 27th goal, in his 39th game, upped the Ice lead to 3-1 at 9:32 of the third period. Last season, Zborosky finished with 32 goals in 58 games. . . . Ice F Vince Loschiavo (13) iced it with an empty-netter, at 19:40. . . . F Noah Philp had two assists for Kootenay. . . . Ice G Payton Lee was outstanding, with 41 saves, 20 more than Red Deer’s Riley Lamb. . . . The Ice was 1-3 on the PP; the Rebels were 0-4. . . . By game’s end, Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ GM and head coach, had his top line — Evan Polei, Austin Glover and Hagel — firmly planted on the bench. “In the third period tonight,” Sutter told reporters later, “our best players were terrible. That’s why they sat for the last 11 minutes.” . . . The Ice improved to 8-23-8. . . . The Rebels (17-16-6) have lost two in a row and remain third in the Central Division. . . . Announced attendance: 5,104.
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At Kent, Wash., the Portland Winterhawks got 40 saves from G Cole Kehler as they beat the Seattle
COLE KEHLER
Thunderbirds, 2-1. . . . Kehler, an off-season pickup from the Kamloops Blazers, is 16-12-0, 3.04, .911 with Portland. . . . The Winterhawks won this one when F Skyler McKenzie scored his 25th goal, unassisted, to break a 1-1 tie at 15:42 of the third period. . . . He has 47 points in 39 games, after going into this season with 12 goals and 29 assists in 138 regular-season games. . . . F Keegan Iverson (14) gave the Winterhawks a 1-0 lead at 8:29 of the first period. . . . Seattle tied it when D Aaron Hyman (2) scored his first goal with the Thunderbirds, on a PP, at 6:01 of the second period. He was acquired on Tuesday from the Calgary Hitmen. . . . G Rylan Toth stopped 34 shots for the Thunderbirds. . . . Seattle was 1-2 on the PP; Portland was 0-2. . . . Seattle F Scott Eansor was back after a one-game absence. . . . The Winterhawks (21-17-1) have won two in a row. They are third in the U.S. Division, two points behind the Tri-City Americans and three ahead of the Thunderbirds. . . Seattle (18-14-4) had points in each of its previous three games (2-0-1) and holds down a wild-card spot. . . . Announced attendance: 5,019.
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At Spokane, the Tri-City Americans rode a pair of three-goal outbursts to a 6-3 victory over the Chiefs. . .
PARKER AuCOIN
. D Ty Smith (3) got Spokane on the scoreboard first, at 4:37 of the first period. . . . The Americans scored the next three goals, with D Parker Wotherspoon (6) counting at 9:42, F Parker AuCoin scoring at 18:59, and F Morgan Geekie (21) making it 3-1 at 15:46 of the second period. . . . F Kailer Yamamoto’s 22nd goal, shorthanded, at 0:37 of the third period got the home side to within a goal. . . . The Americans then scored three straight, with F Michael Rasmussen (27) counting shorthanded, at 10:37, AuCoin getting his 14th, at 16:05, and F Max James (6) finding the range at 18:33. . . . F Keanu Yamamoto (15) scored for the Chiefs, at 18:49. . . . AuCoin has four goals in three games after not scoring for 14 in a row. . . . James, who hadn’t played since Oct. 22, now has six goals in 11 games. . . . Tri-City F Nolan Yaremko had two assists. . . . G Rylan Parenteau stopped 25 shots to earn the victory over Dawson Weatherill, who made 24 saves. . . . Each team was 0-4 on the PP. . . . The Americans (21-16-3) are second in the U.S. Division, two points ahead of Portland. . . . The Chiefs (15-15-6) are four points out of a playoff spot. . . . The same teams will meet again tonight in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Announced attendance: 7,740.
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At Swift Current, F Kaden Elder scored off a pass from F Aleksi Heponiemi at 2:11 of OT to give the
KADEN ELDER
Broncos a 3-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Elder has eight goals this season. . . . The Broncos won on a night when families of the four players killed in a Dec. 30, 1986 bus crash were recognized in a pre-game ceremony. . . . The Blades took a 2-0 lead on goals from F Josh Paterson (9), on a PP, at 10:31 of the first period, and F Lukus MacKenzie (5), at 7:29 of the second period. . . . Paterson was playing in his 100th regular-season game. . . . D Max Lajoie (6) pulled the Broncos to within a goal, on a PP, at 8:25 of the second period. . . . F Kole Gable tied the score with his fifth goal, at 10:14 of the second. . . . The Broncos got 21 saves from G Travis Child. . . . G Brock Hamm turned aside 32 shots for the Blades. . . . Saskatoon was 1-2 on the PP; Swift Current was 1-4. . . . With four forwards out with injuries, the Blades dressed eight defencemen. . . . The Broncos (20-11-7) are third in the East Division, on point behind the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Blades (14-20-5) are five points out of a playoff spot. . . . The same teams will go at it again on Sunday in Saskatoon. . . . Announced attendance: 2,234.
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At Langley, B.C., G Dylan Ferguson stopped 39 shots to lead the Kamloops Blazers to a 4-2 victory over
DYLAN FERGUSON
the Vancouver Giants. . . . Ferguson, an 18-year-old from Lantzville, B.C., started on Nov. 18, in a 6-5 victory over the host Tri-City Americans, then didn’t play until Dec. 10. With G Connor Ingram with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship, Ferguson now has made nine straight starts, and the Blazers are 6-2-1 in those games. . . . D Dallas Valentine’s first goal of the season gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 14:39 of the first period. . . . The Blazers went up 2-0 on second-period goals from F Garrett Pilon (9), at 1:06, and F Quinn Benjafield (10), on a PP, at 19:47. . . . Benjafield also had an assist. . . . The Giants made it interesting on third-period goals from F James Malm (10), on a PP, at 16:27, and F Ty Ronning (13), at 18:31. . . . The Blazers put it away when F Collin Shirley scored his 16th, into an empty net, at 19:21. . . .  Vancouver G Ryan Kubic turned aside 26 shots. . . . Each team was 1-5 on the PP. . . . The Blazers (23-14-2) have won two in a row. They are tied with the Kelowna Rockets for second in the B.C. Division. . . . The Giants (14-20-3) have lost two straight and are nine points from a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 4,446.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Victoria at Kamloops, 5 p.m.
Brandon at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Portland, 7:30 p.m.
Spokane vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:55 PM
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Monday, October 10, 2016

All eyes on P.G. on Tuesday . . . Three veteran 20s headed back . . . Oil Kings goalie done for season

This was our company for Thanksgiving dinner on Monday evening.

F Michal Řepík (Vancouver, 2005-08) has been released by Traktor Chelyabinsk (Russia, KHL) by mutual agreement. He was pointless in two games.
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The Everett Silvertips made their annual stop in Quesnel, B.C., on Monday, as they rode the bus to Prince George for a Tuesday/Wednesday doubleheader with the Cougars.
Why Quesnel? Well, it has a rink in which the Silvertips are able to skate. More importantly, though, Silvertips assistant coach Mitch Love is one of Quesnel’s hometown heroes.
While it’s too early — way too early — to pin the ‘IMPORTANT’ label on these two games, they should be viewed with a great deal of interest.
The Cougars, after all, go in with an 8-0-0 record — they’ve won four on the road and four at home — and were No. 1 in the CHL rankings when they were released last week.
In eight games, the Cougars have scored 34 goals and surrendered 16.
Everett, meanwhile, is 4-1-1 and has allowed only 13 goals in its six games. It has scored 19 times.
Interestingly, the paths of the two head coaches — Everett’s Kevin Constantine and Prince George’s Richard Matvichuk — haven’t crossed prior to tonight.
While Constantine was skating in Quesnel on Monday, Matvichuk was spending Thanksgiving Day in Canada for the first time since 2008. That was the first Thanksgiving Day following his retirement as a player and he hadn’t yet gotten into coaching.
BTW, Hartley Miller, the sports director at Prince George radio station 94.3 The Goat, says the Cougars’ club record for longest winning streak is 10 games.
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F Adam Brooks, the reigning WHL scoring champion, is on his way back to the Regina Pats. Brooks, a 20-year-old Winnipegger, won the WHL scoring title last season, with 120 points, including 38 goals, in 72 games. He also led the league in assists (82).
He was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fourth round of the NHL’s 2016 draft. He went to camp with the Maple Leafs and recently had been moved to the camp of their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. The Maple Leafs announced Monday that he was being returned to Regina.
Brooks was a second-round pick by the Pats’ previous regime under GM Brent Parker in the 2011 bantam draft. Brooks is going into his fifth WHL season, all with Regina. He has 205 points, 76 of them goals, in 251 regular-season games.
Brooks’ return will leave the Pats with three 20-year-olds, which is the CHL-mandated maximum. The others are F Dawson Leedahl, an off-season acquisition from the Everett Silvertips, and D Chase Harrison.
Brooks is expected to be in the Pats’ lineup on Wednesday when they play host to the Portland Winterhawks.
Meanwhile, the Pats have dropped D Owen Williams, 16, from their roster. He was a ninth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. From Delta, B.C., he is expected to play for the Greater Vancouver Canadians of the B.C. Major Midget League. Williams was pointless in one game with the Pats.
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The New York Rangers, presumably wanting F Ryan Gropp to get more playing time in more situations than he would in the AHL or ECHL, returned the veteran 20-year-old to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Monday.
Gropp was a second-round selection by the Rangers in the 2015 NHL draft. His birthday falls on Sept. 16; had he been born one day earlier, he would have been eligible for the 2014 draft.
Gropp had been in camp with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, after being assigned there following a stint with the Rangers.
The Kamloops native played one season (2012-13) with the Penticton Vees and had committed to attend the U of North Dakota. However, he changed his mind and joined the Thunderbirds early in 2014-15.
He had 58 points, 30 of them goals, in 67 games as a freshman, then put up 70 points, including 34 goals, in 66 games last season during which he signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Rangers.
It could be, too, that the Rangers would like to see what Gropp can do without F Mathew Barzal around. It appears that Barzal, 19, will stick with the New York Islanders, who selected him with the ?? selection in the ?? NHL draft. Last season, the Seattle line that had Barzal between Gropp and Keegan Kolesar was as good as it got in the WHL. (Kolesar came back from the camp of the Columbus Blue Jackets having undergone surgery for a supraumbilical hernia and is likely to miss at least another four weeks.)
Gropp’s return will leave the Thunderbirds with four 20-year-olds and that’s one over the maximum. F Scott Eansor, the team captain, F Cavin Leth and G Rylan Toth, who was acquired from the Red Deer Rebels last month, are the others.
Toth is one of three goaltenders on Seattle’s roster, along with Carl Stankowski, a 16-year-old freshman, and Matt Berlin, 18, who was acquired last week from the Spokane Chiefs.
The WHL’s deadline for each team to declare as many as three 20s is Saturday (Oct. 15). However, in situations where a player returns from the professional ranks, a team has two weeks from his arrival to get back down to three such players.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings also welcomed back a 20-year-old as F Reid Duke was returned by the NHL’s New York Rangers. He had been in camp with their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Duke, from Calgary, had 62 points, including 33 goals, in 68 regular-season games last season, his fourth in the WHL. He added 24 points, eight of them goals, in 21 playoff games as the Wheat Kings won the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
In 252 regular-season games, he has 183 points, including 78 goals. He began his career with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who selected him with the fifth overall pick of the 2011 bantam draft. The Wheat Kings acquired him early in 2014-15.
With Duke on the roster, the Wheat Kings have four 20-year-olds, meaning they will have to make a move with one of them. The others are F Tyler Coulter, F Duncan Campbell, both of whom are from Brandon, and G Jordan Papirny. All three were on last season’s championship roster.
Brandon will have two weeks from Duke’s arrival to make a move.
The Wheat Kings also learned Monday that, as they had expected, D Ivan Provorov, 19, will open the season with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. Provorov, the seventh overall pick in the 2015 NHL draft, played two seasons with the Wheaties, putting up 134 points, including 36 goals, in 122 regular-season games. Last season, he led WHL defencemen in points (73).
After last season, he was named the CHL’s top defenceman.
The Flyers also are keeping F Travis Konecny, who is eligible to be returned to the OHL’s Sarnia Sting.
"Those kids, they made this team on their own," Flyers GM Ron Hextall told Brian Smith of PhiladelphiaFlyers.com. "They're not on the team because anyone felt like politically or anything else. . . . Our whole thing with Travis and Ivan is, 'Are they ready to be here the whole (season)?’ We feel like they are."
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The Edmonton Oil Kings announced on Monday that G Alec Dillon, 20, won’t play again this season.
In fact, it sounds as though Dillon, who underwent hip surgery last season, may be forced into retirement.
“It is an unfortunate situation for Alec,” Oil Kings GM Randy Hansch said in a news release. “He put a lot of time into his rehabilitation this past year after his hip surgeries. We will certainly be there supporting him in whatever direction he takes. He has represented our team very well both on and off the ice and has been a valuable contributor to our community.”
Dillon, a 6-foot-5, 186-pounder from Victoria, was acquired by the Oil Kings from the Swift Current Broncos in November 2013. Swift Current had selected him in the fifth round of the 2011 bantam draft. He also was a fifth-round pick by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2014 NHL draft.
Dillon got into seven games with the Oil Kings last season, going 2-2-1, 3.81, .871 before suffering the season-ending hip injury that required surgery.
The Oil Kings have two other goaltenders — veteran Patrick Dea, 19, and freshman Liam Hughes, 17 — on their roster.
They also are left with three 20-year-olds — F Tyler Robertson, F Lane Bauer and D Aaron Irving.
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The Vancouver Giants announced Monday that Czech F Filip Zadina has “chosen to sign a two-year deal to play in Sweden.” . . . Zadina is scheduled to turn 17 on Nov. 27. . . . The Giants selected him fourth overall in the CHL’s 2016 import draft. He is projected as an early selection in the NHL’s 2018 draft. . . . Zadina now is on CHL waivers. Should he clear, he will be available to be selected in the 2017 import draft. . . . He has played five games with the Czech U-20 team this season, putting up four goals and two assists. But he was pointless in seven games with Dynamo Pardubice of the Czech Extraliga.
Zadina’s decision leaves the Giants with Slovakian F Radovan Bondra, 19, and Russian D Dmitry Osipov, 20, as their imports.
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JUST NOTES:

The Red Deer Rebels have dropped D Austin Shmoorkoff, 19, from their roster. From Edmonton, he is expected to join the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders. . . . He had three assists in 64 games with the Rebels last season. . . .
F Austin Wagner of the Regina Pats has had his suspension set at two games by the WHL office. Wagner was suspended after taking a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct for a hit on F Kaeden Taphorn of the Kootenay Ice on Friday in Regina. . . . Taphorn didn’t return to that game and has since missed two other games. . . . Wagner sat out the Pats’ 5-2 victory over the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday and will miss a visit by the Portland Winterhawks on Wednesday.
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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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MONDAY’S GAMES:


At Calgary, F Tyler Benson scored once and added three assists to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 5-3 victory over the Hitmen. . . . Vancouver F Ty Ronning broke a 2-2 tie at 13:11 of the second period and F Jack Flaman scored twice in the third period to provide some breathing room. . . . Flaman has six goals this season; Ronning has three. . . . The Hitmen got to within two when F Matteo Gennaro scored at 18:09 of the third. . . . Vancouver F Radovan Bondra had a goal and an assist, while Ronning also had an assist. . . . The Hitmen got a goal and an assist from F Jordy Stallard. . . . Benson, who has had problems staying healthy, has a goal and four assists in four games. . . . Vancouver G Ryan Kubic stopped 31 shots, 17 more than Calgary’s Kyle Dumba. . . . The Giants were 2-3 on the PP; the Hitmen were 0-6. . . . The Giants (2-8-0) had lost their previous three games. . . . The Hitmen are 3-2-0. . . . Announced attendance: 5,396.
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The Swift Current Broncos celebrate a goal against the Kootenay Ice
on Monday, which was Pink in the Rink day.(Photo: Darwin Knelsen)
At Swift Currrent, F Kaden Elder and F Conner Chaulk each scored his first goal of the season as the Broncos got past the Kootenay Ice, 4-3. . . . Elder opened the scoring at 2:02 of the first period. . . . Ice D Nikita Radzivilyuk tied it with his first goal, at 9:55 of the second. . . . Chaulk broke the tie at 3:23 of the third period. . . . Broncos F Arthur Miller, who continues to write a fine freshman act, scored his fourth goal, at 6:06, and veteran F Glenn Gawdin, with his fifth goal, made it 4-1 at 11:30. . . . The Ice got two late goals, from F Michael King, at 18:26, and D Dallas Hines, at 19:32, both scoring their first goals. . . . Chaulk and Elder added an assist each as they and linemate Cole Johnson, who also had an assist, led the way. . . . The Broncos (6-2-1) got 23 saves from G Taz Burman as they ran their point streak to five games (3-0-1). . . . The Ice (1-5-2) got 26 saves from G Jakob Walter. . . . Kootenay was 1-2 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-3. . . . Announced attendance: 1,836.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Portland at Brandon, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
Everett at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Spokane vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 8:41 PM
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Sunday, September 11, 2016

Kryski a good fit with Rockets . . . Silvertips waive veteran . . . Winterhawks, Broncos win again

It was only an exhibition game but, still, it was the first four-point game of F Jake Kryski’s WHL career.
The 18-year-old Vancouver native had two goals and two assists on Saturday night, helping the visiting Kelowna Rockets to a 6-3 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. One night earlier, he set up the
JAKE KRYSKI
game’s only goal as the host Rockets beat the Blazers, 1-0.
Kryski is preparing for his third WHL season, the first two of which were with the Blazers, who traded him to the Rockets on Aug. 18 in a deal that had the Gatenby brothers, Joe and Danny, both defencemen, come to Kamloops.
While Kryski spent most of his time with the Blazers patrolling left wing, the Rockets’ coaching staff has him playing centre, at least for now.
“We’re trying stuff,” said Kryski, noting that he last played centre with the Burnaby Winter Club bantam AAA side in 2012-13. “We’ll see how it goes. I’ll play wherever I’m needed.”
Of the difference between playing centre or on the wing, Kryski said: “There is more responsibility on the defensive side of things. Taking draws . . . I have to work on that to play centre and play well. But I like the challenge and I like having the responsibility. And I feel I have the puck more playing centre.”
Last season, he had 39 points, including 12 goals, in 67 games with the Blazers. In this preseason, he has seven points, including four goals, in four games.
“They’re coming,” he said of the points, “a bit more than last season, so that’s good.”
Some of that, he feels, is simply due to his having 132 regular-season games of experience in the WHL.
“I’m more confident holding onto the puck now,” he said. “And I’ve learned that I have to shoot the puck when I’m in scoring areas.”
That, of course, is something that head coach Don Hay and the Blazers’ staff tired to get him to do while he was in Kamloops.
“Yeah,” Kryski said with a smile. “Every coach (has tried that).”
The Rockets, who are down to 24 players, dressed only 17 skaters, including 11 forwards, in Kamloops on Saturday. As a result, Kryski is seeing a regular shift, as well as power-play and penalty-killing time.
“I don’t mind that at all,” he said. “I love getting out there.”
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The Everett Silvertips have waived veteran F Brandon Ralph, 20. A native of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., he had five goals and three assists in 55 games with the Silvertips last season. He had spent the previous two seasons with the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Ralph’s departure leaves Everett with two 20-year-olds — F Graham Millar and D Lucas Skrumeda, who turns 20 on Oct. 7.
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F Carter Folk of the Lethbridge Hurricanes has drawn a TBD suspension after he was hit with a headshot major and a game misconduct during a game against the visiting Swift Current Broncos on Friday night.
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While a lot of attention has been focussed on the final days of the career of Vin Scully, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ iconic play-by-play voice, another wonderful broadcaster is preparing to sign off for the final time. Dick Enberg, these days the voice of the San Diego Padres, will end his broadcasting career when this MLB season ends. . . . Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times has more on Enberg right here.
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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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SATURDAY’S GAMES:

In Kennewick, Wash., the Portland Winterhawks finished their exhibition schedule with a 6-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. The Winterhawks went 5-0-1. F Alex Overhardt scored twice for Portland, which got two assists from each of D Brendan De Jong and D Keoni Texeira. F Peyton Krebs and F Zak Zboroski had a goal and an assist each for the Ice (0-2-1). . . . F Brandon Hagel scored twice, giving him four in the preseason, to lead the Red Deer Rebels to a 4-1 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. D Josh Mahura had two assists for the Rebels (3-1-0). G Riley Lamb stopped 29 shots for Red Deer. Czech freshman F Pavel Kousal scored for the Chiefs (2-3-0). He has two goals and two assists in five games. . . . The Tri-City Americans scored the game’s last two goals to beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-2. D Parker Wotherspoon, who also had an assist, broke a 2-2 tie at 8:33 of the third period and F Morgan Geekie added insurance with his second goal of the game at 13:07. F Jordan Topping had two assists for the Americans (3-3-0). The Thunderbirds are 3-2-0. . . . 

In Victoria, F Gunnar Wegleitner and F Jack Walker scored shootout goals to give the Royals a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . F James Malm scored for Vancouver (0-2-1), at 1:21 of the first period. . . . F Ethan Price got Victoria’s goal at 9:08 of the second. . . . The Royals are 3-1-0. . . . G Griffen Outhouse stopped 39 shots for the Royals, while the Giants got 31 saves from G Ryan Kubic. . . . The teams meet again this afternoon, this time at the Ladner Leisure Centre. . . .

In Calgary, the Edmonton Oil Kings built up a 4-1 lead and hung on to beat the Hitmen, 4-3. . . . F Davis Murray had a goal and an assist for Edmonton (2-2-0). . . . Calgary (2-2-0) got a goal and an assist from D Jake Bean. . . . Announced attendance was 10,435. . . . 

In Kamloops, F Jake Kryski had two goals and two assists as the Kelowna Rockets beat the Blazers, 6-3. . . . The Rockets (3-1-0) acquired Kryski from the Blazers (1-3-0) last month. . . . F Kole Lind added a goal and two assists for Kelowna. . . . D Dawson Davidson had three assists for Kamloops (1-3-0). . . . There is a complete game story right here. . . . 

In Moose Jaw, F Tanner Jeannot, F Ryan Bowen and B Brett Howden each had a goal and an assist as the Warriors beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 4-1. . . . Moose Jaw G Zach Sawchenko stopped 32 shots, while Brandon’s Hunter Arps made 35 saves. . . . Warriors F Brayden Watts broke a 1-1 tie at 16:22 of the second period. . . . The Warriors improved to 3-2-0, while Brandon slipped to 0-2-0. . . .

In Regina, F Sam Steel’s second goal of the game, at 3:20 of OT, gave the Pats a 5-4 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Steel scored the game’s first goal, at 13:17 of the first period, and the team’s alternated goals right through game’s end. . . . F Austin Wagner also scored twice for Regina (3-2-0), while F Adam Brooks and F Riley Woods each had two assists. D Chase Harrison chipped in a goal and an assist. . . . The Tigers (2-2-0) got a goal and an assist from each of F Matt Bradley and F John Dahlstrom, with D Ty Schultz recording two assists. . . . 

In Warman, Sask., F Parker Kelly had a goal and two assists to help the Prince Albert Raiders to a 7-5 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . F Kirby Dach had two goals and an assist for the Blades. The second overall pick in the 2016 bantam draft, Dach gave the Blades a 5-4 lead at 9:34 of the third period. . . . The Raiders tied it on F Spencer Moe’s third goal of the preseason at 11:46 and went ahead when F Kolten OIynek scored on a PP at 14:03. . . . The Raiders (2-1-0) got a goal and an assist from each of F Luke Coleman, F Tim Vanstone and F Sean Montgomery. . . . F Lukus MacKenzie and F Jesse Shynkaruk each had two assists for the Blades (2-3-0). . . . Raiders F Drew Warkentine drew a cross-checking major at 13:25 of the second period. . . . 

In Swift Current, F Kaden Elder had two goals and an assist to lead the Broncos to a 5-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . F Aleksi Heponiemi had two assists for the Broncos (5-1-1) and F Tyler Steenbergen added a goal and an assist for the Broncos (4-1-1). . . . Heponiemi has a WHL-leading 12 points this preseason, including five goals. . . . F Tyler Wong had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes (1-3-0).
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This is a week old but is just too good . . .


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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 12:25 AM
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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Two WHL first-rounders opt for BCHL; Hunter up first for Giants



BCHL1. The WHL took a hit on Wednesday as the BCHL’s Penticton Vees announced that they have received commitments from F Tyson Jost and D Dante Fabbro, both of whom were first-round selections in the 2013 bantam draft.
Jost, from Leduc, Alta., was selected by the Everett Silvertips with the seventh overall pick in the 2013 bantam draft. He played last season with the Kelowna-based Okanagan Rockets, who won the B.C. Major Midget League championship. He won the league scoring title with 88 points, including 44 goals, in 36 games.
Fabbro, from Whistler, B.C., was picked by the Seattle Thunderbirds with the eighth overall selection of that 2013 bantam draft. He played last season with the major midget Vancouver-Northwest Giants. He led the league’s defencemen in scoring, with 61 points, 22 of them goals, in 38 games. That was 22 points more than the second-highest scoring defenceman and placed him sixth in the scoring race. In 2012-13, after playing with the bantam AAA team at Burnaby Winter Club, Fabbro was named Hockey Now’s B.C. Minor Hockey Player of the Year.
News 1130 Sports of Vancouver reported via Twitter on Wednesday: “Agent J.P. Barry places 2 very high #WHL draft picks in Penticton of BCHL - Tyson Jost & Dante Fabbro.”
Of course, that should be 'advisor' J.P. Barry, because we all know -- Wink! Wink! -- that the hiring of an agent will cost a player his NCAA eligibility. Right?

2. "Dante told us that he needed more time to make a decision and so he was going to play this year in the BCHL," Seattle general manager Russ Farwell told Andrew Eide of 730sports.com in Seattle.

3. This week, the Vees also announced having received commitments from D Mike Lee of Hamden, Conn., who has committed to the U of Vermont; D Connor Russell of Guelph; F Josh Laframboise of Regina (Minnesota-Duluth); D Miles Gendron of Shrewsbury, Mass. (Connecticut), F Lewis Zerter of Montreal (Harvard); F Neil Robinson of Montreal; G Brendan Barry of Kelowna; and D Gabe Bast of Red Deer. . . . Barry is on the Kelowna Rockets' 50-player list.

4. Seattle actually had two first-round picks in the 2013 bantam draft. The Thunderbirds used the 22nd overall selection on F Kaden Elder, who is from Saskatoon. Elder signed with the Thunderbirds on Aug. 29. . . . Last season, he played for the midget AAA Notre Dame Argos, putting up 38 points, including 13 goals, in 38 games.

5. It looks like only three first-round selections from that 2013 bantam draft haven’t committed to a WHL team. Jost and Fabbro, of course, have shunned the Everett Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds, at least for now, in favour of the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. . . . The other player who hasn’t committed to the WHL is F Jared Legien, who was selected ninth overall by the Kootenay Ice. From White City, Sask., he played last season with the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals, earning 30 points, 13 of the goals, in 40 games. Legien has practised with the Ice, and is expected to sign before training camp starts in late August. "He will be close to making our team in the fall," Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth told me yesterday. Chynoweth also pointed out that the Ice "doesn't sign every drafted player . . . you earn your scholarship at camp."

6. The Tri-City Americans have added Nathan MacMaster to their scouting staff. From Calgary, MacMaster will be scouting southern Alberta, including Calgary, for the Americans. MacMaster, 21, played in the WHL with Moose Jaw, Calgary and the Americans. He finished up his career with the Americans in 2011-12. . . . MacMaster’s younger brother, Tanner, was a first-round selection, 19th overall, by the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL’s 2011 bantam draft. MacMaster has played the last two seasons with the AJHL’s Camrose Kodiaks, and has committed to play next season at Quinnipiac U.

7. According to a Wednesday afternoon tweet from Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, the Saskatoon Blades “are down to 3 candidates for GM/coaching vacancies, according to managing partner Colin Priestner. All 3 are outside of WHL.” . . . The Blades are holding their spring prospects camp this weekend, with former players Tim Cheveldae, Jerome Engele and Ryan Keller running things. Cheveldae and Engele also are former Blades assistant coaches.

USHL8. The Everett Silvertips are looking for an assistant coach, having lost Mark LeRose, who has signed with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers as their general manager. Jay Varady, a former Everett associate coach, is Sioux City’s head coach. . . . Varady and LeRose spent two seasons (2007-09) together with the Silvertips. . . .

9. Another Wednesday tweet from Vancouver radio station News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports): “Tim Hunter gets the 1st interview Friday for the #WHLGiants coaching vacancy.” . . . The Giants are looking for a replacement for Don Hay, who left for the Kamloops Blazers after 10 seasons in Vancouver. . . . Hunter is a former NHL player who has NHL assistant-coaching experience with the Washington Capitals, San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs.

NHL10. There was another headshot in the NHL on Tuesday night, with F John Moore of the New York Rangers drilling an unsuspecting F Dale Weise of the Montreal Canadiens. Moore later was hit with a two-game suspension. . . . The problem, as James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail writes, is that “historically, hitting in hockey has been about separating an opponent from the puck so that a player could get said puck. But somewhere along the way, it became more than that, and players who no longer had the puck were – briefly anyway – fair game.”
Later, Mirtle adds: “The problem, however, is in what hitting is. As long as players are allowed to hammer opponents who no longer have the puck, they’re going to make these split-second mistakes in a game that moves as fast as this one does.
“They’ve learned some important lessons, but this one won’t get through, not when the message from coaches to their role players is to use their 10 to 12 minutes a night to punish those with skill and not when the rulebook’s wishy-washy language protects rather than prohibits the late hit.”
He’s right. And it won’t stop until coaches quit talking about “finishing your check.”
Mirtle’s complete piece is right here.

11. If you caught Wednesday night's Stanley Cup game between the Los Angeles Kings and host Chicago Blackhawks . . . WOW! . . . Now that was a game, especially the first OT period that took 26 minutes of real time to play. . . . And what can you say about the legendary Bob Cole? As his lengthy play-by-play career winds down, he definitely warrants a spot on the pedestal alongside Danny Gallivan and Foster Hewitt.
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THE COACHING GAME:
ECHLThe ECHL’s Reading Royals have extended Larry Courville’s contract through 2016-17. Courville, 39, is the club’s director of hockey operations and head coach. He took over as head coach on Jan. 6, 2009, and is the winningest coach in franchise history.
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From Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) of Sportsnet: “Per @murraylp, in 2013 #Riders generated $43.8 million in revenue, $10.4 mil profit. Info comes just in time for #CFL and CFLPA negotiations.”
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From former CFL defensive lineman Doug Brown (@DougBrown97): “CFL must B thrilled that on a day of negotiation with the #CFLPA, the Riders announce revenues of $43.8 million & profit of $10.4. Oops.”
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From Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) of Sports Illustrated/@SINow: “Was told today by someone in the know that roughly 50 ESPN employees (talent + execs) make more than $1 million annually.”
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From sports columnist Cathal Kelly (@cathalkelly) of The Globe and Mail: “God love him, but Don Cherry is no longer speaking what I recognize as English.”


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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:45 PM
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