D Keaton Ellerby (Kamloops, Moose Jaw, 2004-08) has signed a one-year contract with Lukko Rauma (Finland, Liiga). Last season, he had two goals and seven assists in 42 games with Barys Astana (Kazakhstan, KHL), and a goal and five assists in 13 games with Fribourg-Gottéron (Switzerland, NL A). . . .
F Tyler Mosienko (Kelowna, 2000-05) has been released by the Sheffield Steelers (England, UK Elite) at his request. He had five goals and 10 assists in 13 games.
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The potential class-action lawsuit faced by the CHL, WHL and OHL and the 42 teams in the OHL and WHL got a lot more interesting on Friday when Justice R.J. Hall of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench in Calgary ordered the CHL and those teams, according to TSN’s Rick Westhead, “to hand over their tax returns and financial statements dating back to 2011 to establish whether those franchises are profitable or lose money.” . . . Justice Hall also wants to see all CHL contracts “that funnel revenue to teams” in the WHL and OHL, Westhead reports. . . . The QMJHL and its 18 teams? They weren’t named as defendants in the lawsuit, so aren’t part of the court order. . . . This is part of a potential class-action lawsuit that asks that teams be forced to pay players at least minimum wage. . . . Governments in B.C., Saskatchewan, Washington state and Nova Scotia have exempted teams in those jurisdictions from minimum-wage legislation. Those governments did so without seeing any financial statements from the teams involved. . . . Westhead’s complete story is right here.
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According to Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks, N.D., Herald, F Brayden Gelsinger should have had to sit out one complete season and 12 games of another before being allowed to play for the Lake Superior State U Lakers, an NCAA Division I team.
Gelsinger, who has four goals and three assists in the 4-0-0 Lakers’ first four games, played 12 regular-season games with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers in 2012-13.
“Normally,” Schlossman writes, “that would mean he would have to sit out one year (for signing in WHL) and 12 games the following year (for playing 12 WHL games) before having his eligibility re-instated.”
According to Schlossman, “The NCAA just missed it.”
“When his paperwork was sent into the NCAA, they missed that Gelsinger had played in the WHL and ruled him eligible immediately,” Schlossman writes. “Upon learning about their mistake, the NCAA decided to own it and not punish the kid or the team for their mistake.
“So, the NCAA’s stance hasn’t changed or softened on ruling those who play in the CHL ineligible. In this extremely rare case, the NCAA just missed it.”
As bizarre as it sounds, it seems that’s exactly what happened.
Chris Dilks, a long-time observer of the U.S. college hockey scene and the managing editor of SBN College Hockey (sbncollegehockey.com), later tweeted: “The Gelsinger story still seems crazy to a me, but I've heard the same story as Brad's from a couple different sources now.”
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have acquired D Ty Prefontaine, 17, from the Calgary Hitmen for a seventh-round selection in the 2017 WHL bantam draft. . . . Prefontaine, from Saskatoon, was a fifth-round pick by the Prince Albert Raiders in the 2014 bantam draft. He played three games with the Raiders and eight with Calgary. This season, he had one assist in seven games with the Hitmen. . . . The Hitmen acquired Prefontaine and F Matteo Gennaro in January for F Layne Bensmiller and D Loch Morrison.
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JUST NOTES:
The Calgary Hitmen have signed D Jameson Murray, 17, who was placed on their protected list a year ago. From Kelowna, he is playing with the Okanagan Rockets of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. He has three assists in six games. . . . Having dealt D Ty Prefontaine, 17, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes earlier in the day, the Hitmen added Murray to their roster on Friday. . . .
The Lethbridge Hurricanes have suspended D Brady Reagan, 19, “for violating team rules.” According to the team, the length of the suspension has yet to be decided. Reagan is into his second full season with the Hurricanes, who acquired him from the Regina Pats midway through the 2014-15 season. This season, he has a goal and two assists in 12 games.
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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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The SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs have signed general manager/head coach Trevor Blevins to a three-year extension. Blevins, who is from Melfort, played for the Mustangs and has been the head coach since December 2013. He was working on a three-year deal that was to expire after this season. . . . Melfort went into Friday’s games with a 5-9-2 record, good for third place in the four-team Sherwood Division.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
At Edmonton, F Carsen Twarynski’s two goals helped the Calgary Hitmen to a 5-2 victory over the Oil
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| CARSEN TWARYNSKI |
Kings. . . . The visitors took a 2-0 first-period lead and never trailed. F Lucas Cullen’s first goal, on a PP, gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 1:47, with F Jordy Stallard’s second goal upping it to 2-0 at 8:53. . . . Edmonton F Lane Bauer’s sixth goal cut into the lead, on a PP, at 9:30 of the second. . . . Twarynski’s first goal of the night, at 12:33, restored the two-goal lead. . . . The Oil Kings got back to within one when F Nicholas Bowman got his first goal, at 6:24 of the third period. . . . However, Calgary F Taylor Sanheim got that one back 26 seconds later. He’s got two goals. . . . Twarynski got the empty-netter at 19:31. . . . Calgary got two assists from each of D Micheal Zipp, F Andrei Grishakov and F Matteo Gennaro, while Sanheim added one to his goal. . . . G Cody Porter stopped 38 shots for the Hitmen, with Patrick Dea making 26 stops at the other end. . . . Calgary was 2-7 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-2. . . . The Hitmen (4-5-1) had lost their previous five games (0-4-1). . . . The Oil Kings (4-7-2) have lost two in a row. . . . D Jakob LaPointe was back in Calgary’s lineup after missing nine games with an undisclosed injury. . . . Announced attendance: 7,774.
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| CONNOR INGRAM |
At Kamloops, G Connor Ingram stopped 30 shots for his first shutout this season, leading the Blazers to a 3-0 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . It was Ingram’s eighth career shutout. He is a candidate for Canada's national junior team and has been playing like it. . . . F Nick Chyzowski’s sixth goal, at 6:33 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . F Garrett Pilon’s second goal, on a PP, at 10:54 of the third period added insurance. . . . F Rudolfs Balcers got his sixth goal into an empty net at 18:57. . . . Pilon also had an assist. . . . Vancouver G Ryan Kubic also was terrific. He finished with 40 saves. . . . Kamloops was 1-2 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-4. . . . The Blazers improved to 8-7-0. . . . The Giants (6-10-0) have lost two in a row. . . . The teams meet again tonight (Saturday) in Langley, B.C. . . . Announced attendance: 3,208.
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At Cranbrook, B.C., F Zak Zborosky broke a 1-1 tie at 10:07 of the third period and the Kootenay Ice went
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| ZAK ZBOROSKY |
on to a 2-1 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Zborosky has 11 goals in 14 games this season. He is one goal behind Tri-City F Michael Rasmussen, who leads the WHL. . . . Brandon took a 1-0 lead on a PP goal by F Stelio Mattheos at 6:02 of the second period. He’s got six goals. . . . The Ice tied it at 5:512 of the third when F Vince Loschiavo scored his second goal. Zborosky drew the secondary assist. . . . G Payton Lee blocked 32 shots for the victory. . . . Brandon’s Jordan Papirny turned aside 29 shots. . . . The Ice was 1-2 on the PP; the Wheat Kings were 1-3. . . . The Ice (2-8-4) had lost seven in a row (0-5-2). . . . Brandon (6-5-2) has lost two straight. . . . F Reid Duke returned to Brandon's lineup after missing two games while tending to a personal matter. However, the Wheat Kings continue to play without injured F Nolan Patrick. . . . The Wheat Kings will play in Cranbrook again on Sunday afternoon. . . . Announced attendance: 1,736.
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At Lethbridge, F Bartek Bison broke a 1-1 tie at 18:23 of the first period as the Prince George Cougars beat the Hurricanes, 2-1. . . . F Jansen Harkins’ fourth goal, at 3:51, gave the visitors the lead. . . . The Hurricanes tied it on a PP goal from F Giorgio Estephan at 9:21. He’s got four goals. . . . Bison’s third goal of the season stood up as the winner. . . . G Ty Edmonds stopped 28 shots for the Cougars, two more than Lethbridge’s Stuart Skinner. . . . Lethbridge was 1-8 on the PP; Prince George was 0-4. . . . The Cougars (13-2-1) have points in six straight (5-0-1). . . . The Hurricanes (5-7-2) have dropped six in a row (0-5-1). . . . Announced attendance: 3,694.
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At Moose Jaw, F Noah Gregor scored twice to help the Warriors to a 4-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . F Dakota Odgers, with his first goal, at 6:35 of the first period, and Gregor, with his fourth, at 13:46 gave the home side a 2-0 edge. . . . F Mason McCarty’s ninth goal, on a PP at 6:50 of the second period, cut the lead in half. . . . Gregor got that one back at 4:46 of the third period. . . . F Luke Gingras got Saskatoon back to within one at 14:21 of the third. . . . Moose Jaw F Tanner Jeannot put it away at 19:58. . . . F Nikita Popugaev had two assists for the Warriors, with Odgers getting one. . . . Moose Jaw got 32 saves from G Brody Willms, while Saskatoon’s Logan Flodell stopped 35 shots. . . . Saskatoon was 1-2 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-4. . . . The Warriors now are 8-3-2. . . . The Blades (6-7-1) have lost four in a row. . . . The Blades have lost eight straight games in Moose Jaw. . . . F Brett Howden (undisclosed injury) was among Moose Jaw’s scratches. . . . Announced attendance: 3,162.
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| JAYDEN SITTLER |
At Prince Albert, the Spokane Chiefs ran their winning streak to three games as they beat the Raiders, 4-2. . . . The Chiefs (6-6-2) are 3-2-0 on their six-game East Division swing. They won three times in the past four nights, outscoring the opposition, 16-6, in the process. . . . The Raiders are 4-8-1. . . . The Chiefs scored the game’s first three goals, with F Ethan McIndoe getting his third goal at 3:06 of the second period, D Jeff Faith scoring his second at 5:25, and F Jaret Anderson-Dolan getting his fifth, at 10:34. . . . F Cavin Leth got his first goal for the Raiders at 11:08 of the third period, but Spokane F Hudson Elynuik got it back just 14 seconds later. . . . D Brendan Guhle scored for the Raiders at 19:46 of the third, on a PP. That was the first goal this season by a Prince Albert defenceman. . . . G Jayden Sittler stopped 22 shots for the Chiefs. . . . Raiders starter Ian Scott gave up three goals on 19 shots. Nick Sanders came on in relief to stop 10 of 11 shots in 29:26. . . . The Raiders were 2-4 on the PP; the Chiefs were 0-4. . . . Spokane wraps up its East Division swing tonight in Swift Current. . . . Announced attendance: 2,114.
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At Red Deer, the Medicine Hat Tigers scored three times in the game’s first nine minutes en route to a 5-
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| MASON SHAW |
2 victory over the Rebels. . . . F Max Gerlach got the visitors rolling with his seventh goal, on a PP, at 5:57. . . . F Mark Rassell scored his 10th goal at 8:32, and D David Quenneville’s seventh, at 8:52, made it a three-goal difference. . . . Red Deer F Michael Spacek stretch his point streak to 10 games with his eighth goal at 12:55. . . . Tigers F Mason Shaw, the WHL’s leading scorer, made it 4-1 with a shorthanded goal at 7:49 of the second period. He leads the WHL, with 24 points. . . . D Josh Mahura’s fifth goal, at 8:07, cut the deficit in half, but the Tigers iced it with F Max Gerlach getting No. 8, on a PP, at 18:33. . . . Spacek, who also had an assist, has eight goals and nine assists over his past 10 games. . . . Medicine Hat G Nick Schneider stopped 38 shots. . . . Red Deer starter Lasse Petersen allowed three goals on 12 shots in 8:52. Riley Lamb played the final 51:08, stopped 25 of 27 shots. . . . The Tigers were 2-4 on the PP; the Rebels were 0-7. . . . Medicine Hat improved to 9-4-1. . . . The Rebels (8-4-2) had a six-game winning streak end. . . . Announced attendance: 4,581.
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At Swift Current, D Ethan Bear’s PP goal at 3:39 of the third period stood up as the winner as the Seattle
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| ETHAN BEAR |
Thunderbirds opened an East Division swing with a 2-1 victory over the Broncos. . . . Bear has two goals this season. . . . F Calvin Spencer gave the Broncos a 1-0 lead, with his sixth goal, at 8:05 of the first period. . . . Seattle F Ryan Gropp’s first goal, with Bear getting the primary assist, tied it at 11:38 of the first. . . . Gropp was back in the Thunderbirds’ lineup after not playing since Oct. 15 because of an undisclosed injury. He has a goal and an assist in four games since returning from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. . . . The two goaltenders — Seattle’s Rylan Toth and Swift Current’s Taz Burman — were teammates with the Red Deer Rebels at one time. Both were traded by Red Deer to Seattle. . . . Toth finished with 29 saves, three more than Burman. . . . Seattle was 1-3 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-5. . . . The Thunderbirds improved to 4-5-1. . . . The Broncos (8-5-2) have lost four in a row (0-3-1). . . . Announced attendance: 1,988.
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At Kennewick, Wash., F Kyle Olson’s second goal of the game, at 2:12 of OT, gave the Tri-City
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| KYLE OLSON |
Americans a 5-4 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Olson has five goals. . . . F Tyler Soy scored three times for the Royals, his third career hat trick giving him eight goals this season. . . . Soy gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 14:17 of the second period. . . . The Americans then took a 2-1 lead on goals 33 seconds apart by F Parker AuCoin, shorthanded, at 17:09, and Olson. . . . The Royals started the third period by moving back out front on goals from F Dante Hannoun, his seventh, at 1:06, and Soy, shorthanded, at 3:15. . . . The Americans went back in front on PP goals from F Michael Rasmussen, his WHL-leading 12th, at 4:03, and F Morgan Geekie, his sixth, at 6:24. . . . Soy forced OT with a PP goal at 18:55. . . . D Juuso Valimaki and Rasmussen each had two assists, while Geekie added one to his goal. . . . Victoria F Jack Walker had three helpers, with D Chaz Reddekopp earning two. . . . G Rylan Parenteau turned aside 24 shots for the Americans, as did Dylan Myskiw of the Americans. . . . Tri-City (9-6-1) was 2-7 on the PP; the Royals (8-7-1) were 1-8. . . . Announced attendance: 3,435.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
Prince George at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Red Deer at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Kelowna at Portland, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Spokane at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Kamloops vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7 p.m.
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