THE MacBETH REPORT:
Brothers D Logan (Tri-City, 2001-06) and F Shay (Red Deer, 2000-04) Stephenson have been released from their tryout contracts by Jesenice (Slovenia, Austria Erste Bank Liga).
———
JUST NOTES: The U of Alberta Golden Bears have added eight WHL products for the 2011-12 season. According to a U of A news release: “Forwards Levko Koper (Spokane 2006-11), Kruise Reddick (Tri-City 2006-11), Brett Ferguson (Red Deer 2008-11), Jordan Hickmott (Medicine Hat/Prince Albert/Edmonton 2005-11), James Dobrowolski (Prince Albert/Prince George 2007-11) and Travis Toomey (Saskatoon/Seattle 2005-11) will bolster the Golden Bears attack, while defencemen Jordan Rowley (Kamloops/Prince Albert 2005-11), Thomas Carr (Medicine Hat 2008-11), and Barron Smith (London/Peterborough 2008-2011) bulk up the blue-line.” . . . The Golden Bears, the defending Canada West champions, open camp on Sept. 1 under interim head coach Stan Marple. . . . The U of Regina Cougars have added three more former WHLers to their roster. G Lucas Gore (Chilliwack, 2008-11), D Joel Kot (Red Deer, 2007-09) and D Blaine Tendler (Prince Albert, 2006-09). . . . C C.J. Stretch, who holds the Kamloops Blazers’ career games played record (341), has signed on for a second season with the ECHL’s Ontario Reign. Stretch, who is from Irvine, Calif., had 21 points in 46 games last season.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Showing posts with label Levko Koper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Levko Koper. Show all posts
Friday, April 29, 2011
Friday . . .
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Petr Kalus (Regina, 2005-06) signed a tryout contract with Jokerit Helsinki (Finland SM-Liiga). He had seven goals and two assists in 45 games split between the Houston Aeros and Springfield Falcons (both AHL) this season. Jokerit GM Jarmo Kekäläinen: "Kalus is an interesting player, who looked like an NHL player when he was 18. He had a good start to his professional career in Boston. Now with us he has the opportunity to rebound." Kalus's tryout contract goes until Aug. 30. . . .
F Brett Lysak (Regina, 1996-2001) signed a one-year contract with the Graz 99ers (Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had 20 goals and 19 assists in 36 games with Jesenice (Slovenia, playes in Austria Erste Bank Liga) and two goals in three games with SönderjyskE Vojens (Denmark AL-Bank Ligaen) this season. 99ers head coach Mario Richer: "Brett represents strong offensive hockey, the style we will play in Graz next season. He has great experience and that will help our young team." . . .
D Tim Wedderburn (Prince George, 1998-2002) signed a one-year contract extension with the Braehead Clan (UK Elite). He had one goal and 16 assists in 54 games for the Glasgow-based Clan this season. Clan head coach Bruce Richardson: "Tim is one of those guys that every team needs. He's dependable, focused, a true leader, very motivational, and he knows his position well. He's a true professional on the ice and off and in the dressing room, he is just a great guy to be around.”
———
It would seem that the hockey fans in Chilliwack can forget about a WHL franchise, at least for this season. The Chilliwack Times reported Friday that the WHL and the Chiefs Development Group, which manages Prospera Centre, haven’t spoken in two weeks. In the meantime, CDG and the owners of the BCHL’s Quesnel Millionaires have chatted. That story is right here.
chilliwacktimes.com/sports/trying+cash+Millionaires/4696079/story.html
———
Every spring, the QMJHL holds a prospects luncheon before its annual draft. This year, however, the QMJHL has cancelled the luncheon. Willy Palov of the Halifax Chronicle Herald explains things right here, in an interesting piece on players manipulating the system, not that there is anything wrong with that.
———
Mike Ozanian of Forbes takes a look at the latest news involving Tom Gaglardi, the majority owner of the Kamloops Blazers, and his pursuit of the NHL’s Dallas Stars right here. The headline is interesting: Tom Gaglardi makes offer to buy Dallas Stars without cash.
———
ON THE ICE FRIDAY:
In Spokane, F Levko Koper scored three goals and set up another as the Chiefs dumped the Portland Winterhawks, 8-3. . . . That ties the Western Conference final, 2-2, with Game 5 at the Rose Garden in Portland tonight. . . . The winner will meet the Kootenay Ice in the WHL championship series. . . . The first three games of this series were one-goal games with Portland winning two of them. . . . The Chiefs held period leads of 2-1 and 5-2. . . . Koper has eight goals in these playoffs. He scored three times in 7:55 as the Chiefs stretched a 4-2 lead to 7-2. . . . Spokane F Collin Valcourt, who went into the game with five points in 14 games, had his first goal and three assists. Yes, it was the first four-point game in the WHL for the Red Deer native, who turned 18 on March 18. . . . Portland got a goal and two assists from F Ryan Johansen. . . . Johansen has 20 points, including 10 goals, in 14 games. . . . Koper’s second goal, at 3:43 of the third, sent Portland G Mac Carruth to the bench, with Keith Hamilton coming on in relief. Carruth gave up six goals on 28 shots. . . . Hamilton stopped 11 of 13 shots. . . . Spokane G James Reid made 27 saves. Mac Engel came on for the last 5;37 and stopped seven of eight shots. . . . Spokane was 1-for-10 on the PP; Portland was 2-for-7. . . . The Winterhawks took 60 of 94 penalty minutes. . . . Attendance was 8,412. . . . Game 6 is scheduled for Spokane on Monday, with a seventh game, if necessary, to be played in Portland on Tuesday. . . . That means that if the series goes seven games the teams will finish by having played four games in five nights.
———
FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Two minors:
F Brendan Leipsic, Portland
F Nino Niederreiter, Portland
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
F Petr Kalus (Regina, 2005-06) signed a tryout contract with Jokerit Helsinki (Finland SM-Liiga). He had seven goals and two assists in 45 games split between the Houston Aeros and Springfield Falcons (both AHL) this season. Jokerit GM Jarmo Kekäläinen: "Kalus is an interesting player, who looked like an NHL player when he was 18. He had a good start to his professional career in Boston. Now with us he has the opportunity to rebound." Kalus's tryout contract goes until Aug. 30. . . .
F Brett Lysak (Regina, 1996-2001) signed a one-year contract with the Graz 99ers (Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had 20 goals and 19 assists in 36 games with Jesenice (Slovenia, playes in Austria Erste Bank Liga) and two goals in three games with SönderjyskE Vojens (Denmark AL-Bank Ligaen) this season. 99ers head coach Mario Richer: "Brett represents strong offensive hockey, the style we will play in Graz next season. He has great experience and that will help our young team." . . .
D Tim Wedderburn (Prince George, 1998-2002) signed a one-year contract extension with the Braehead Clan (UK Elite). He had one goal and 16 assists in 54 games for the Glasgow-based Clan this season. Clan head coach Bruce Richardson: "Tim is one of those guys that every team needs. He's dependable, focused, a true leader, very motivational, and he knows his position well. He's a true professional on the ice and off and in the dressing room, he is just a great guy to be around.”
———
It would seem that the hockey fans in Chilliwack can forget about a WHL franchise, at least for this season. The Chilliwack Times reported Friday that the WHL and the Chiefs Development Group, which manages Prospera Centre, haven’t spoken in two weeks. In the meantime, CDG and the owners of the BCHL’s Quesnel Millionaires have chatted. That story is right here.
chilliwacktimes.com/sports/trying+cash+Millionaires/4696079/story.html
———
Every spring, the QMJHL holds a prospects luncheon before its annual draft. This year, however, the QMJHL has cancelled the luncheon. Willy Palov of the Halifax Chronicle Herald explains things right here, in an interesting piece on players manipulating the system, not that there is anything wrong with that.
———
Mike Ozanian of Forbes takes a look at the latest news involving Tom Gaglardi, the majority owner of the Kamloops Blazers, and his pursuit of the NHL’s Dallas Stars right here. The headline is interesting: Tom Gaglardi makes offer to buy Dallas Stars without cash.
———
ON THE ICE FRIDAY:
 |
| LEVKO KOPER |
———
FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Two minors:
F Brendan Leipsic, Portland
F Nino Niederreiter, Portland
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Good Friday . . .
 |
| ADAM TAYLOR |
second-round ECHL series and now will meet the Alaska Aces in the Western Conference final. . . . F Simon Ferguson gave Utah a 1-0 lead at 2:44 of the first period on a PP. . . . F Keil McLeod pulled Victoria into a tie at 18:55 of the second period. . . . Victoria G David Shantz stopped 40 shots, 10 fewer than Utah’s Jean-Philippe Lamoureux. . . . Attendance was 6,095. . . . The Salmon Kings went into these playoffs as the Western Conference’s seventh seed. The top-seeded Aces beat the host Idaho Steelheads 4-0 on Friday to sweep that series. . . . The Salmon Kings, of course, are in their final season, at least in Victoria, after the WHL made it official this week that the Chilliwack Bruins are on their way to the B.C. capital.———
Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist started his game story:
“It took seven years, news of their demise and even comparisons to the movie Slap Shot, for the Victoria Salmon Kings to finally capture the imagination of the city.
“A season-high crowd of 6,295, attracted by cheap tickets, a Marty the Marmot mascot bobblehead giveaway, and the playoff success of the Salmon Kings, was electric with excitement during Friday night's tension-laden ECHL playoff game at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. The Salmon Kings won 2-1 in overtime.”
Dheensaw’s story is right here.
———
The Nashville Predators beat the host Anaheim Ducks 4-3 in an NHL playoff game Friday night. And you can bet that the winning goal brought a smile to the face of Prince George Cougars head coach Dean Clark. . . . The winner came off the stick of
F Jerred Smithson after a nifty pass from F Jordin Tootoo. . . . Smithson was a member of the 1998-99 WHL-champion Calgary Hitmen, with Clark as the head coach. Tootoo played four seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings and Clark was the head coach for two of those (2001-03).Clark just happened to be in Anaheim on Friday, too. The WHL is holding its annual California camp and Clark is there as one of the coaches. He did see the winning goal, but it wasn’t live. Rather, he was at the ESPN Zone. . . . The other coaches at the Anaheim camp are Bruno Campese (Prince Albert Raiders), Don Hay (Vancouver Giants) and Derek Laxdal (Edmonton Oil Kings).
———
Paul Kelly, the executive director of College Hockey Inc., brought a few NCAA Division I coaches to Spruce Grove, Alta., recently. While there, there were presentations to players and their families. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal has the story right here.
———
THE COACHING GAME: Paul Baxter has joined the NAHL’s Wichita Falls Wildcats as head coach, general manager of hockey operations and partner. The deal is effective May 1. Baxter had been with the NAHL’s Wenatchee Wild from 2008 until he was released midway through this season. That position later was filled by former WHL coach John Becanic, who left his spot as assistant coach with the Vancouver Giants to join the Wild. With the Wildcats, Baxter replaces Mark LeRose whose contract wasn’t renewed. LeRose was an assistant coach with the Everett Silvertips in 2009-10. . . . Rick Brodsky, who owns the Prince George Cougars, is the president/owner of the Wildcats. . . . Nate Leaman is the new head coach of the Providence College Friars. Leaman, who was the head coach at Union College, was named the NCAA Division 1 coach of the year by the American Hockey Coaches Association last week. He replaces Tim Army, who resigned after six seasons with the Friars. Rick Bennett, associate head coach under Leaman, has been named the head coach at Union. . . .
———
Capgeek.com reports that Kelowna Rockets F Brett Bulmer, who has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, will get US$67,500 as an AHL salary, with NHL salaries of $740,000, $790,000 and $900,000.
His signing bonus is $270,000 over three years. . . . Bulmer has joined the AHL’s Houston Aeros for the duration of the season. . . . The Aeros, meanwhile, signed Kelowna D Colton Jobke to an amateur tryout. . . . Houston swept the Peoria Rivermen from the first round of playoffs and is waiting for the winner of a series between the Milwaukee Admirals and Texas Stars. Milwaukee won 2-1 in overtime on the road Friday and takes a 3-2 series lead back home for Game 6 on Monday.———
An interesting email hit the inbox today, and here it is, in its entirety:
Conspiracy theory — Were the owners of the Calgary Hitmen "encouraged" by the WHL
executive to place their AHL farm team within a 30-minute drive of Chilliwack, so that there would be "plausible cause" to move the Bruins to Victoria? I have always wondered why one of the league's members would do such a thing. Remember that the WHL said in February 2009 that it was looking to move an established team into Victoria. Sixteen months later, there is a building in Abbotsford and an AHL team playing in it. . . .”Hmmm . . .
———
FRIDAY’S PLAYOFF GAMES:
In Medicine Hat, F Cody Eakin scored in OT to give the Kootenay Ice a 6-5 victory over the Tigers. . . . It was the first game of the Eastern Conference final, with Game 2 set for tonight in Medicine Hat. . . . Eakin scored his fourth goal of these playoffs at 5:59. . . . This was a wild one, with the Ice leading 2-0 at 11:01 of the first period and 3-1 after one. . . . The Tigers then scored the next three goals, two of them by F Emerson Etem. . . . Ice F Matt Fraser tied it at 7:13 of the third. . . . Medicine Hat F Wacey Hamilton gave his side a 5-4 lead on the PP at 10:03. . . . Fraser forced OT with a PP goal at 18:05. . . . Fraser now has 12 goals. He had two goals and two assists on this night. . . . Ice F Max Reinhart had a goal, his eighth, and two helpers. . . . The Tigers got two goals and an assist from F Linden Vey. . . . Vey has a WHL-leading 24 points. He and Fraser lead in goals, each with 12. . . . Ice D Brayden McNabb had one assist. He leads the WHL with 13. . . . The Ice now is 8-0 in these playoffs when it scores the game’s first goal. . . . It’s worth noting, too, that Ice F Drew Czerwonka and F Erik Benoit each scored his first goal of these playoffs. . . . Injuries have limited Czerwonka, who had 14 regular-season goals among his 43 points, to six playoff games. Benoit had four goals in 52 regular-season games. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 30 shots, one fewer than Medicine Hat’s Tyler Bunz. . . . The Tigers were 2-for-6 on the PP; the Ice was 1-for-5. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . You can bet that this was one to remember for Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth. It was the third anniversary of the death of his father, former WHL commissioner Ed Chynoweth.
———
In Portland, F Levko Koper’s second-period goal stood up as the winner as the Spokane Chiefs opened the Western Conference final with a 2-1 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . The second game will be played Sunday in Portland. . . . Spokane F Brady Brassart, who had eight goals in 65 regular-season games, scored his first of the playoffs at 2:11 of the first period. . . . Brassart scored off a rebound of a shot by F Marek Kalus. Brassart hadn’t played since the first game of the Chiefs’ series against the Tri-City Americans; Kalus last played in Game 5 of a first-round series against the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . Koper made it 2-0 at 4:25 of the second on the PP. . . . Portland F Ryan Johansen got his side to wthin one at 19:36 of the third period. . . . Spokane G James Reid stopped 27 shots, 14 fewer than Portland’s Mac Carruth. . . . Spokane was 1-for-4 on the PP; Portland was 0-for-3. . . . Attendance was 7,642. . . . The Chiefs played without F Tyler Johnson, the WHL’s second-leading regular-season scorer. He sat out a one-game suspension for a kneeing major in Game 6 of their series with the Americans. . . . With Johnston out, Spokane head coach Don Nachbaur also scratched F Mitch Holmberg, and went with Brassart and Kalus.
———
FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tuesday . . .
Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News reported Tuesday that “Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi has emerged as the ledaing candidate to buy the Stars, according to two sources close to the sale.”
Gaglardi, of course, is the majority owner of the Kamloops Blazers.
Heika’s piece is right here.
———
F Brayden Schenn had a goal, his first, and an assist and F Bud Holloway (Seattle, 2003-08) set up three goals on Tuesday, leading the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs to a 6-3 playoff victory over the host Binghamton Senators. Manchester holds a 3-1 lead in the Atlantic Division semifinal with Game 5 in Binghamton tonight.
———
The Coaches Site is playing host to a hockey coaches conference at the Delta Hotel and Conference Centre in Burnaby, B.C., July 29-30.
Included among the speakers are WHL head coaches Don Hay of the Vancouver Giants, Ryan Huska of the Kelowna Rockets and Mike Johnston of the Portland Winterhawks. Also on hand will be former WHL head coaches Mark Holick (Kootenay Ice) and Kevin Constantine (Everett Silvertips).
According to news release:
“The goal of the conference is to share the experience and insight of professional coaches and experts in human performance with coaches at the grassroots levels. The two-day event will cover various topics, including tactical strategies, individual skill development and off-ice conditioning. It will also feature a charity reception for H.E.R.O.S (Hockey Education Reaching Out Society).”
For more info, visit thecoachessite.com or send an email to info@thecoachessite.com.
———
ON THE ICE TUESDAY NIGHT:
In Spokane, the Chiefs erased a 3-0 third-period deficit and beat the Tri-City Americans 5-4 in overtime to advance to the Western Conference final. . . . The Chiefs won the series 4-2 and will open against the Winterhawks in Portland on Friday. . . . F Levko Koper scored his third goal of these playoffs at 6:39 of OT. . . . The last three games in this series went to OT, with the Chiefs winning the last two. . . . The Chiefs got a goal and an assist from F Darren Kramer, who now has six points, five of them goals, in the playoffs. . . . He had 14 points, including seven goals, and 306 penalty minutes in 68 regular-season games. He has just six penalty minutes in the playoffs. . . . With the Americans leading 3-0 in the third period, the Chiefs struck for three goals in 1:57 and four in 7:41 to take the lead. Karmer got it started at 1:16, D Tanner Mort continued it at 2:35 with his first goal of the playoffs, and F Blake Gal, who scored in OT to win Game 5, tied it at 3:13. . . . Here is how Dan Mulhausen, the Americans’ media guru, described all that was involved with Gal’s goal: “In a heavily scrutinized play, (Tri-City G Drew) Owsley kicked out Kenton Miller’s shot, where it appeared to ricochet off of (Tri-City F Kruise) Reddick’s skate and into the slot. Blake Gal then crashed the net, poking the puck on goal before it was cleared by Tri-City. Play continued for almost two minutes before a stoppage allowed the video goal judge and the on-ice officials to review the play. After a lengthy discussion, video evidence showed Gal’s attempt crossed the goal line before being kicked out, overruling the original no-goal call on the ice and tying the game at 3.” . . . F Kenton Miller put the Chiefs out front at 8:57, only to have Tri-City F Adam Hughesman tie it at 12:39 on the PP. That was Hughesman’s second goal of the game. F Patrick Holland also scored twice for the Ams. . . . The Americans were 2-for-5 on the PP; the Chiefs were 0-for-1. . . . Spokane F Tyler Johnson was tossed with a kneeing major at 18:31 of the first period for a hit on F Brendan Shinnimin, who returned to the Tri-City bench but didn’t play again. . . . Johnson could be facing a suspension as the WHL will conduct its usual investigation into such a penalty. . . . Spokane G James Reid stopped 26 shots, seven fewer than Tri-City’s Drew Owsley. . . . Attendance was 6,083.
———
TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
———
This will be the ninth time that Spokane and Portland have met in the playoffs. Last season, the Winterhawks took the Chiefs out in a seven-game first-round series in which neither team could win on home ice. . . . These times have gone the distance five times in those seven meetings. . . . They have met twice before in Western Conference finals (1998 and 2001), with the Winterhawks winning both times. . . . Portland finished with 103 points this regular season, one more than the Chiefs. . . . However, Spokane won the season series, 5-3-1.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Gaglardi, of course, is the majority owner of the Kamloops Blazers.
Heika’s piece is right here.
———
F Brayden Schenn had a goal, his first, and an assist and F Bud Holloway (Seattle, 2003-08) set up three goals on Tuesday, leading the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs to a 6-3 playoff victory over the host Binghamton Senators. Manchester holds a 3-1 lead in the Atlantic Division semifinal with Game 5 in Binghamton tonight.
———
The Coaches Site is playing host to a hockey coaches conference at the Delta Hotel and Conference Centre in Burnaby, B.C., July 29-30.
Included among the speakers are WHL head coaches Don Hay of the Vancouver Giants, Ryan Huska of the Kelowna Rockets and Mike Johnston of the Portland Winterhawks. Also on hand will be former WHL head coaches Mark Holick (Kootenay Ice) and Kevin Constantine (Everett Silvertips).
According to news release:
“The goal of the conference is to share the experience and insight of professional coaches and experts in human performance with coaches at the grassroots levels. The two-day event will cover various topics, including tactical strategies, individual skill development and off-ice conditioning. It will also feature a charity reception for H.E.R.O.S (Hockey Education Reaching Out Society).”
For more info, visit thecoachessite.com or send an email to info@thecoachessite.com.
———
ON THE ICE TUESDAY NIGHT:
In Spokane, the Chiefs erased a 3-0 third-period deficit and beat the Tri-City Americans 5-4 in overtime to advance to the Western Conference final. . . . The Chiefs won the series 4-2 and will open against the Winterhawks in Portland on Friday. . . . F Levko Koper scored his third goal of these playoffs at 6:39 of OT. . . . The last three games in this series went to OT, with the Chiefs winning the last two. . . . The Chiefs got a goal and an assist from F Darren Kramer, who now has six points, five of them goals, in the playoffs. . . . He had 14 points, including seven goals, and 306 penalty minutes in 68 regular-season games. He has just six penalty minutes in the playoffs. . . . With the Americans leading 3-0 in the third period, the Chiefs struck for three goals in 1:57 and four in 7:41 to take the lead. Karmer got it started at 1:16, D Tanner Mort continued it at 2:35 with his first goal of the playoffs, and F Blake Gal, who scored in OT to win Game 5, tied it at 3:13. . . . Here is how Dan Mulhausen, the Americans’ media guru, described all that was involved with Gal’s goal: “In a heavily scrutinized play, (Tri-City G Drew) Owsley kicked out Kenton Miller’s shot, where it appeared to ricochet off of (Tri-City F Kruise) Reddick’s skate and into the slot. Blake Gal then crashed the net, poking the puck on goal before it was cleared by Tri-City. Play continued for almost two minutes before a stoppage allowed the video goal judge and the on-ice officials to review the play. After a lengthy discussion, video evidence showed Gal’s attempt crossed the goal line before being kicked out, overruling the original no-goal call on the ice and tying the game at 3.” . . . F Kenton Miller put the Chiefs out front at 8:57, only to have Tri-City F Adam Hughesman tie it at 12:39 on the PP. That was Hughesman’s second goal of the game. F Patrick Holland also scored twice for the Ams. . . . The Americans were 2-for-5 on the PP; the Chiefs were 0-for-1. . . . Spokane F Tyler Johnson was tossed with a kneeing major at 18:31 of the first period for a hit on F Brendan Shinnimin, who returned to the Tri-City bench but didn’t play again. . . . Johnson could be facing a suspension as the WHL will conduct its usual investigation into such a penalty. . . . Spokane G James Reid stopped 26 shots, seven fewer than Tri-City’s Drew Owsley. . . . Attendance was 6,083.
———
TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
———
This will be the ninth time that Spokane and Portland have met in the playoffs. Last season, the Winterhawks took the Chiefs out in a seven-game first-round series in which neither team could win on home ice. . . . These times have gone the distance five times in those seven meetings. . . . They have met twice before in Western Conference finals (1998 and 2001), with the Winterhawks winning both times. . . . Portland finished with 103 points this regular season, one more than the Chiefs. . . . However, Spokane won the season series, 5-3-1.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Saturday . . .
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Justin Keller (Kelowna, 2003-06) signed a one-year contract
extension with Linz (Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had 21 goals and 12 assists in 34 games for Linz this season.
———
If you read one thing today, make it this piece from Saturday’s Globe and Mail. Written by Ken Dryden, the former Montreal Canadiens goaltender, the headline on the piece is -- Ken Dryden on hockey violence: How could we be so stupid?
The piece is right here.
———
In Everett, F Nino Niederreiter ran his goal-scoring streak to seven games as his Portland Winterhawks beat the Silvertips, 2-1. . . . Portland G Keith Hamilton, starting again in place of the injured Mac Carruth, made 36 saves. . . . Hamilton is 15-5-2. . . . Niederreiter, who has 38 goals, has 11 goals over that seven-game run. . . . Everett has lost seven in a row, including a 6-3 loss to visiting Portland on Friday. . . . Attendance was 8,423, the Silvertips’ largest crowd this season. . . . The Winterhawks remain atop the Western Conference, one point up on the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Everett slipped into eighth, one point behind Prince George and two ahead of Kamloops. . . .
In Kelowna, shootout goals by F Geordie Wudrick and D Tyson Barrie gave the Rockets a 1-0 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 33 shots, seven fewer than Jeff Bosch, who made his 22nd straight start for Kamloops. . . . F Thoms Frazee had a shootout goal for Kamloops. . . . The Blazers, who lost 5-1 to the visiting Rockets on Friday night, now have lost five in a row. . . . Kamloops was without F Brendan Ranford, who is under WHL suspension after he was hit with a game misconduct for cross-checking linesman Kris Hartley on Friday night. . . . The Rockets are in Chilliwack today. . . .
In Kent, Wash., the Prince George Cougars scored four times in the latter half of the third period and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-1. . . . F Spencer Asuchak broke a 1-1 tie at 11:02 of the third. . . . The victory lifted the Cougars into seventh place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Everett. . . . The Thunderbirds, with four games left, are four points behind Everett. . . . The Cougars will be in Kennewick, Wash., today to play the Tri-City Americans. . . .
In Spokane, the Chiefs got a shootout goal from F Levko Koper to beat the Kootenay Ice, 4-3. . . . Koper was the ninth shooter in what was a five-round event. . . . Spokane F Tyler Johnson had a goal, his WHL-leading 51st, and an assist. . . . The Chiefs have won seven in a row but continue to trail Western Conference-leading Portland by a point. . . . The Ice is fourth in the Eastern Conference, five points behind Medicine Hat with three games left. . . .
In Lethbridge, F Kellan Tochkin had two goals to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 5-1 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The Tigers were without F Linden Vey (neck), who leads the WHL’s points derby. . . . The Tigers are two points behind the Central Division-leading Red Deer Rebels. Each team has three games left. . . . The Hurricanes are ninth, two points behind Prince Albert, with each team having three games left. . . .
In Moose Jaw, the final meeting in the Crushed Can between the Warriors and the Regina Pats went to a shootout before the home team won, 2-1. . . . The game drew 2,945 fans, which is a couple of hundred more than capacity. Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that fans “stood five-deep to watch the game.” . . . How much did the game mean to Moose Jaw? Here’s Warriors head coach Dave Hunchak talking to Gourlie: “Our whole focus was to try to win the game for the city of Moose Jaw and our supportive fans. Coaches come and go. Players come and go. But the fans have been supportive and consistent and behind this team for 26 years. It’s not that it didn’t mean a lot to us — because it did — it was focus of ours. To be able to pick up that puck in our building meant an awful lot to the fans that support our hockey team year in and year out.” . . . One more note from Gourlie: “Warriors left-winger Cody Beach left the game in the third period after Neigum ducked out of the way of a hit and Beach landed awkwardly after being undercut. Beach left the ice favouring his left leg and was taken to hospital post-game for further evaluation.” . . . The Warriors will finish fifth and look to be headed to a first-round matchup with Kootenay. . . . The Pats are six points out of a playoff spot with three games left. . . .
In Brandon, F Mark Stone picked up two assists, giving him 101 points, as the Wheat Kings dumped the Prince Albert Raiders, 7-3. . . . Stone is the first Brandon skater to surpass 100 points since F Eric Fehr (2004-05), who now is with the NHL’s Washington Capitals. . . . Brandon F Scott Glennie had a goal and three assists to get to 90 points for the first time in his career. . . . Prince Albert F Jonathan Parker left in the second period with an elbowing major and the accompanying game misconduct. . . . The Wheat Kings now are sixth in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of Edmonton. . . . Prince Albert continues to cling to the conference’s last playoff spot, two points up on Lethbridge. . . .
In Saskatoon, the Blades blanked the Edmonton Oil Kings 4-0 to set a franchise record with their 53rd victory of the season. . . . G Steven Stanford stopped 35 shots to earn the shutout, his third this season and the fifth of his career. . . . D Stefan Elliott had a goal and an assist, giving him the franchise record for career points by a defenceman. He has 240. The previous record had been held by Pat Price (1970-74). . . . The Oil Kings still were able to clinch a playoff spot. They are seventh in the conference. . . . The Blades will finish first overall. . . .
In Red Deer, G Darcy Kuemper stopped 31 shots as the Rebels blanked the Swift Current Broncos, 5-0. . . . Kuemper has 13 shutouts this season and that ties the WHL’s single-season record. He now shares it with Bryan Bridges (Seattle, 2004-05) and Kelly Guard (Kelowna, 2003-04). . . . The Rebels have three games remaining. . . . F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had three goals and two assists, to get to 101 points. The last Red Deer skaters to get to 100 were F Justin Mapletoft and F Kyle Wanvig, both of whom did it in 2000-01. . . . The Rebels, who meet the Hitmen in Calgary today, are the conference’s second seed, two points up o Medicine Hat. . . . The Broncos won’t be in the playoffs. In Chilliwack last night, the Bruins got two goals from F Ryan Howse as they dumped the Vancouver Giants, 8-5. . . . Attendance was 4,193. . . . Howse has 50 goals, the second WHLer, behind Spokane F Tyler Johnson, to get there this season. . . . Vancouver, which still was able to clinch a playoff spot, has lost six straight for the first time this season and has been outscored 28-6 in the process. . . . The Bruins had beaten the Giants 6-2 in Vancouver on Wednesday. . . . F Spencer Bennett scored four times for the Giants, giving him 34 on the season. . . . The Bruins, who clinched a playoff spot with the victory, have closed to within a point of the Giants, who are fifth in the Western Conference. Each team has four games remaining. . . . The Bruins are at home to the Kelowna Rockets today. . . .
F Justin Keller (Kelowna, 2003-06) signed a one-year contract
extension with Linz (Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had 21 goals and 12 assists in 34 games for Linz this season.
———
If you read one thing today, make it this piece from Saturday’s Globe and Mail. Written by Ken Dryden, the former Montreal Canadiens goaltender, the headline on the piece is -- Ken Dryden on hockey violence: How could we be so stupid?
The piece is right here.
———
In Everett, F Nino Niederreiter ran his goal-scoring streak to seven games as his Portland Winterhawks beat the Silvertips, 2-1. . . . Portland G Keith Hamilton, starting again in place of the injured Mac Carruth, made 36 saves. . . . Hamilton is 15-5-2. . . . Niederreiter, who has 38 goals, has 11 goals over that seven-game run. . . . Everett has lost seven in a row, including a 6-3 loss to visiting Portland on Friday. . . . Attendance was 8,423, the Silvertips’ largest crowd this season. . . . The Winterhawks remain atop the Western Conference, one point up on the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Everett slipped into eighth, one point behind Prince George and two ahead of Kamloops. . . .
In Kelowna, shootout goals by F Geordie Wudrick and D Tyson Barrie gave the Rockets a 1-0 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 33 shots, seven fewer than Jeff Bosch, who made his 22nd straight start for Kamloops. . . . F Thoms Frazee had a shootout goal for Kamloops. . . . The Blazers, who lost 5-1 to the visiting Rockets on Friday night, now have lost five in a row. . . . Kamloops was without F Brendan Ranford, who is under WHL suspension after he was hit with a game misconduct for cross-checking linesman Kris Hartley on Friday night. . . . The Rockets are in Chilliwack today. . . .
In Kent, Wash., the Prince George Cougars scored four times in the latter half of the third period and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-1. . . . F Spencer Asuchak broke a 1-1 tie at 11:02 of the third. . . . The victory lifted the Cougars into seventh place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Everett. . . . The Thunderbirds, with four games left, are four points behind Everett. . . . The Cougars will be in Kennewick, Wash., today to play the Tri-City Americans. . . .
In Spokane, the Chiefs got a shootout goal from F Levko Koper to beat the Kootenay Ice, 4-3. . . . Koper was the ninth shooter in what was a five-round event. . . . Spokane F Tyler Johnson had a goal, his WHL-leading 51st, and an assist. . . . The Chiefs have won seven in a row but continue to trail Western Conference-leading Portland by a point. . . . The Ice is fourth in the Eastern Conference, five points behind Medicine Hat with three games left. . . .
In Lethbridge, F Kellan Tochkin had two goals to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 5-1 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The Tigers were without F Linden Vey (neck), who leads the WHL’s points derby. . . . The Tigers are two points behind the Central Division-leading Red Deer Rebels. Each team has three games left. . . . The Hurricanes are ninth, two points behind Prince Albert, with each team having three games left. . . .
In Moose Jaw, the final meeting in the Crushed Can between the Warriors and the Regina Pats went to a shootout before the home team won, 2-1. . . . The game drew 2,945 fans, which is a couple of hundred more than capacity. Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that fans “stood five-deep to watch the game.” . . . How much did the game mean to Moose Jaw? Here’s Warriors head coach Dave Hunchak talking to Gourlie: “Our whole focus was to try to win the game for the city of Moose Jaw and our supportive fans. Coaches come and go. Players come and go. But the fans have been supportive and consistent and behind this team for 26 years. It’s not that it didn’t mean a lot to us — because it did — it was focus of ours. To be able to pick up that puck in our building meant an awful lot to the fans that support our hockey team year in and year out.” . . . One more note from Gourlie: “Warriors left-winger Cody Beach left the game in the third period after Neigum ducked out of the way of a hit and Beach landed awkwardly after being undercut. Beach left the ice favouring his left leg and was taken to hospital post-game for further evaluation.” . . . The Warriors will finish fifth and look to be headed to a first-round matchup with Kootenay. . . . The Pats are six points out of a playoff spot with three games left. . . .
In Brandon, F Mark Stone picked up two assists, giving him 101 points, as the Wheat Kings dumped the Prince Albert Raiders, 7-3. . . . Stone is the first Brandon skater to surpass 100 points since F Eric Fehr (2004-05), who now is with the NHL’s Washington Capitals. . . . Brandon F Scott Glennie had a goal and three assists to get to 90 points for the first time in his career. . . . Prince Albert F Jonathan Parker left in the second period with an elbowing major and the accompanying game misconduct. . . . The Wheat Kings now are sixth in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of Edmonton. . . . Prince Albert continues to cling to the conference’s last playoff spot, two points up on Lethbridge. . . .
In Saskatoon, the Blades blanked the Edmonton Oil Kings 4-0 to set a franchise record with their 53rd victory of the season. . . . G Steven Stanford stopped 35 shots to earn the shutout, his third this season and the fifth of his career. . . . D Stefan Elliott had a goal and an assist, giving him the franchise record for career points by a defenceman. He has 240. The previous record had been held by Pat Price (1970-74). . . . The Oil Kings still were able to clinch a playoff spot. They are seventh in the conference. . . . The Blades will finish first overall. . . .
In Red Deer, G Darcy Kuemper stopped 31 shots as the Rebels blanked the Swift Current Broncos, 5-0. . . . Kuemper has 13 shutouts this season and that ties the WHL’s single-season record. He now shares it with Bryan Bridges (Seattle, 2004-05) and Kelly Guard (Kelowna, 2003-04). . . . The Rebels have three games remaining. . . . F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had three goals and two assists, to get to 101 points. The last Red Deer skaters to get to 100 were F Justin Mapletoft and F Kyle Wanvig, both of whom did it in 2000-01. . . . The Rebels, who meet the Hitmen in Calgary today, are the conference’s second seed, two points up o Medicine Hat. . . . The Broncos won’t be in the playoffs. In Chilliwack last night, the Bruins got two goals from F Ryan Howse as they dumped the Vancouver Giants, 8-5. . . . Attendance was 4,193. . . . Howse has 50 goals, the second WHLer, behind Spokane F Tyler Johnson, to get there this season. . . . Vancouver, which still was able to clinch a playoff spot, has lost six straight for the first time this season and has been outscored 28-6 in the process. . . . The Bruins had beaten the Giants 6-2 in Vancouver on Wednesday. . . . F Spencer Bennett scored four times for the Giants, giving him 34 on the season. . . . The Bruins, who clinched a playoff spot with the victory, have closed to within a point of the Giants, who are fifth in the Western Conference. Each team has four games remaining. . . . The Bruins are at home to the Kelowna Rockets today. . . .
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that Everett Silvertips trainer Chris Walker made a huge save following a WHL game on Feb. 4. Walker helped save the life of a recreation league player who had had a heart attack. That story is right here.
———
Far too often we watch those who play in the WHL and forget that they are young men trying to find their way in this difficult and sometimes ugly world.
David Searle is an 18-year-old defenceman who played with the OHL’s Guelph Storm. At 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, he is an impressive looking player.
But, in January, Searle asked the Storm for a leave of absence. He wasn’t injured. He wasn’t ill. He simply doesn’t know if he he wants to continue playing hockey.
Todd Vandonk of kawartha.com has Searle’s story right here.
———
F Stephen Peat, one of the toughest players ever to skate in the WHL, has signed with the senior AAA Penticton Vees. Peat, 31, signed at the Feb. 10 deadline. Peat (Red Deer, Tri-City, Calgary, 1995-2000) was selected by the Anaheim Ducks with the 32nd pick of the NHL’s 1998 draft. His pro career was halted by a broken leg. He now lives in Vancouver. . . . The Vees and Prince George Mohawks will play Feb. 26, 8 p.m., in Summerland, B.C., and Feb. 27, 2 p.m., at Memorial Arena in Kamloops.
———
HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Saskatoon, F Brayden Schenn scored at 1:04 of OT as the Blades got past the Medicine Hat Tigers, 5-4. . . . Schenn also had an assist. . . . Schenn has 29 points in 13 games with Saskatoon. Of his 11 goals with the Blades, two are OT snipes. . . . Linemate Curtis Hamilton added a goal, his 19th, and two helpers. . . . Saskatoon F Jake Trask, the third member of that line, goit his 24th goal. He has points in nine straight games and at least one goal in eight of those. . . . The Tigers forced OT with two late third-period goals. . . . D Thomas Carr scored his sixth goal on a PP at 17:15. . . . F Emerson Etem tied it shorthanded at 18:45. . . . Etem, who had two goals, has 32 on the season. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey had three assists. He now leads the WHL with 95 points, two more than Spokane F Tyler Johnson. . . . Tigers F Wacey Hamilton had two assists, as did Saskatoon D Duncan Siemens. . . . The Blades, down 1-0 midway in the second period, went ahead 3-1 with three goals in 3:10. . . . Attendance was 4,838. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 34 shots, eight more than Saskatoon’s Stephen Stanford. . . . Saskatoon G Adam Morrison (mononucleosis) is back on the ice, so the Blades have returned G Tyler Oswald to the midget AAA Pembina Valley Hawks, who play out of Morden, Man. . . . The Tigers were without F Sam Dezman, F Tyler Pitlick, D Matthew Konan and D Scott Ramsay, all of whom are out with concussions. According to Sean Rooney of the Medicine Hat News, “Pitlick is listed as day-to-day, Ramsay as seven to 10 days, and Konan week-to-week. Konan was hurt Friday in Brandon, Ramsay last week in Moose Jaw, and Pitlick took a hit to the jaw (on Feb. 9) against Prince George.” . . . Rooney also reported that Dezman, who hasn’t played since Dec. 14, may be finished. Dezman, a 19-year-old from Edmonton, has a history of concussion-related problems. . . . Saskatoon, the first WHL team to 45 victories, has 92 points, eight more than the Red Deer Rebels in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Tigers, who clinched a playoff spot with the loser point, are tied with the Kootenay Ice for third. . . . As luck would have it, the Ice will play host to the Tigers on Friday night. . . . And, as more luck would have it, the Blades will visit the Ice on Saturday night. . . . And, as even more luck would have it, the Blades will be in Medicine Hat on Sunday. . . .
———
In Moose Jaw, the Calgary Hitmen showed that they will continue to fight the good fight, as they dumped the Warriors, 3-1. . . . Defending-champion Calgary, with the WHL’s poorest record, scored the game’s first three goals. . . . F Jimmy Bubnick got it started with his 17th, at 1:07 of the first period. . . . F Kris Foucault had a goal, his 19th, and an assist, while F Trevor Cheek got his eighth. . . . F Andrew Johnson got his fourth for Moose Jaw, at 17:26 of the second. . . . Calgary G Mike Snider stopped 31 shots. . . . Moose Jaw G Brandon Stone turned aside 26. . . . Attendance was 2,512. . . . The Warriors, with 14 games left, appear headed for a fifth-place finish. They are nine points behind Kootenay and The Hat, and 11 points ahead of Edmonton. . . . A first-round matchup appears likely to have Moose Jaw meeting Kootenay or Medicine Hat, with the latter having home-ice advantage. . . . The Hitmen are 13 points behind eighth-place Prince Albert so will have to be content with playing the role of spoiler over their final 14 games. . . . The Warriors are in Prince Albert on Friday, while Calgary drops in on Regina. . . .
———
In Regina, F Mark McNeill, a player the scouts are falling in love with, had two goals as the Prince Albert Raiders edged the Pats, 4-3. . . . The Raiders erased a 3-2 deficit with the game’s last two goals. . . . McNeill got his second, and 24th of the season, at 10:27 of the second on a PP. . . . F Justin Maylan scored the winner, his 13th, just 54 seconds later. . . . D Antoine Corbin and D Jordan Rowley each had two assists for the Raiders. . . . F Jonathan Parker got his 38th goal for the Raiders. . . . Regina got a goal and two assists from F Garrett Mitchell, who has 17 goals, and three assists from D Brandon Davidson. . . . Mitchell came up dry on a first-period peanlty shot. . . . Each team scored two PP goals. . . . Raiders G Eric Williams stopped 37 shots, eight more than Regina’s Matt Hewitt. . . . Attendance was 3,966. . . . This loss really hurt Regina, which is tied for 10th with Lethbridge and now is six points behind the Raiders, who hold down the conference’s final playoff spot. . . .
———
In Vancouver, G Adam Brown kicked out 42 shots and F Colton Sissons scored three times and set up another to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 4-2 victory over the Giants. . . . Vancouver got on the board first, when F Spencer Bennett got his 28th just 34 seconds into the game. . . . The Rockets came back with the next three, with Sissons getting two and F Geordie Wudrick getting his 31st. . . . Vancouver F Andrej Stastny got his mates to within one at 16:56 of the second, only to have Sissons complete his hat trick at 17:33. . . . Sissons has 14 goals. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 18 shots. . . . Kelowna F Zach Franko had two assists, on PP goals by Wudrick and Sissons. . . . Kelowna was 2-for-3 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-for-2. . . . Attendance was 5,877. . . . Kelowna still is without F Mitchell Callahan (head). Also missing were D Mitchell Chapman (head), F Jason Siebert (wrist), F Brett Bulmer (leg) and F Jessey Astles (shoulder). As well, F Colton Jobke served the third game of a seven-game suspension. . . . The Giants remain without D Joel Rogers (concussion) and F James Henry (knee). . . . The Rockets moved atop the B.C. Division with the victory. Actually, they and the Giants are tied, each with 65 points. But Kelowna, with a game in hand, has a .580 winning percentage; the Giants are at .570. . . . They are six points ahead of Prince George. . . . Spokane visits Kelowna on Friday, while the Giants are at home to Seattle. . . .
———
In Everett, D Brendon Kichton scored two goals and was plus-5 as the Spokane Chiefs dumped the Silvertips, 7-2. . . . Spokane D Jared Cowen had two assists and was plus-6. . . . Spokane F Levko Koper scored three times, giving him 29. . . . Koper, 20, had a career-high 27 goals last season. . . . Chiefs F Anthony Bardaro had three assists. . . . Spokane F Tyler Johnson, who is second in the WHL scoring race, had one assist. . . . F Tyler Maxwell scored his 37th goal for Everett. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson, making his 12th straight start, stopped 46 shots. . . . G Mac Engel made 21 saves for Spokane, which had veteran James Reid back on the bench. He has been out with a hip injury. . . . Everett D Ryan Murray was unable to score on a first-period penalty shot. . . . Attendance was 4,723. . . . The Chiefs are second in the U.S. Division, three points behind Portland with each having played 57 games. The Tri-City Americans, with three games in hand, are two points behind Spokane. . . . Spokane is in Kelowna on Friday, while the Americans are at home to Chilliwack. Portland is idle Friday but will play visiting Chilliwack on Saturday. . . . The Silvertips, who are two points ahead of eighth-place Kamloops, are on their way to Prince George for a weekend double dip. . . . Kamloops opens a five-game Central Division swing in Edmonton on Friday.
———
WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
———
Far too often we watch those who play in the WHL and forget that they are young men trying to find their way in this difficult and sometimes ugly world.David Searle is an 18-year-old defenceman who played with the OHL’s Guelph Storm. At 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, he is an impressive looking player.
But, in January, Searle asked the Storm for a leave of absence. He wasn’t injured. He wasn’t ill. He simply doesn’t know if he he wants to continue playing hockey.
Todd Vandonk of kawartha.com has Searle’s story right here.
———
F Stephen Peat, one of the toughest players ever to skate in the WHL, has signed with the senior AAA Penticton Vees. Peat, 31, signed at the Feb. 10 deadline. Peat (Red Deer, Tri-City, Calgary, 1995-2000) was selected by the Anaheim Ducks with the 32nd pick of the NHL’s 1998 draft. His pro career was halted by a broken leg. He now lives in Vancouver. . . . The Vees and Prince George Mohawks will play Feb. 26, 8 p.m., in Summerland, B.C., and Feb. 27, 2 p.m., at Memorial Arena in Kamloops.
———
HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Saskatoon, F Brayden Schenn scored at 1:04 of OT as the Blades got past the Medicine Hat Tigers, 5-4. . . . Schenn also had an assist. . . . Schenn has 29 points in 13 games with Saskatoon. Of his 11 goals with the Blades, two are OT snipes. . . . Linemate Curtis Hamilton added a goal, his 19th, and two helpers. . . . Saskatoon F Jake Trask, the third member of that line, goit his 24th goal. He has points in nine straight games and at least one goal in eight of those. . . . The Tigers forced OT with two late third-period goals. . . . D Thomas Carr scored his sixth goal on a PP at 17:15. . . . F Emerson Etem tied it shorthanded at 18:45. . . . Etem, who had two goals, has 32 on the season. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey had three assists. He now leads the WHL with 95 points, two more than Spokane F Tyler Johnson. . . . Tigers F Wacey Hamilton had two assists, as did Saskatoon D Duncan Siemens. . . . The Blades, down 1-0 midway in the second period, went ahead 3-1 with three goals in 3:10. . . . Attendance was 4,838. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 34 shots, eight more than Saskatoon’s Stephen Stanford. . . . Saskatoon G Adam Morrison (mononucleosis) is back on the ice, so the Blades have returned G Tyler Oswald to the midget AAA Pembina Valley Hawks, who play out of Morden, Man. . . . The Tigers were without F Sam Dezman, F Tyler Pitlick, D Matthew Konan and D Scott Ramsay, all of whom are out with concussions. According to Sean Rooney of the Medicine Hat News, “Pitlick is listed as day-to-day, Ramsay as seven to 10 days, and Konan week-to-week. Konan was hurt Friday in Brandon, Ramsay last week in Moose Jaw, and Pitlick took a hit to the jaw (on Feb. 9) against Prince George.” . . . Rooney also reported that Dezman, who hasn’t played since Dec. 14, may be finished. Dezman, a 19-year-old from Edmonton, has a history of concussion-related problems. . . . Saskatoon, the first WHL team to 45 victories, has 92 points, eight more than the Red Deer Rebels in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Tigers, who clinched a playoff spot with the loser point, are tied with the Kootenay Ice for third. . . . As luck would have it, the Ice will play host to the Tigers on Friday night. . . . And, as more luck would have it, the Blades will visit the Ice on Saturday night. . . . And, as even more luck would have it, the Blades will be in Medicine Hat on Sunday. . . .———
In Moose Jaw, the Calgary Hitmen showed that they will continue to fight the good fight, as they dumped the Warriors, 3-1. . . . Defending-champion Calgary, with the WHL’s poorest record, scored the game’s first three goals. . . . F Jimmy Bubnick got it started with his 17th, at 1:07 of the first period. . . . F Kris Foucault had a goal, his 19th, and an assist, while F Trevor Cheek got his eighth. . . . F Andrew Johnson got his fourth for Moose Jaw, at 17:26 of the second. . . . Calgary G Mike Snider stopped 31 shots. . . . Moose Jaw G Brandon Stone turned aside 26. . . . Attendance was 2,512. . . . The Warriors, with 14 games left, appear headed for a fifth-place finish. They are nine points behind Kootenay and The Hat, and 11 points ahead of Edmonton. . . . A first-round matchup appears likely to have Moose Jaw meeting Kootenay or Medicine Hat, with the latter having home-ice advantage. . . . The Hitmen are 13 points behind eighth-place Prince Albert so will have to be content with playing the role of spoiler over their final 14 games. . . . The Warriors are in Prince Albert on Friday, while Calgary drops in on Regina. . . .———
In Regina, F Mark McNeill, a player the scouts are falling in love with, had two goals as the Prince Albert Raiders edged the Pats, 4-3. . . . The Raiders erased a 3-2 deficit with the game’s last two goals. . . . McNeill got his second, and 24th of the season, at 10:27 of the second on a PP. . . . F Justin Maylan scored the winner, his 13th, just 54 seconds later. . . . D Antoine Corbin and D Jordan Rowley each had two assists for the Raiders. . . . F Jonathan Parker got his 38th goal for the Raiders. . . . Regina got a goal and two assists from F Garrett Mitchell, who has 17 goals, and three assists from D Brandon Davidson. . . . Mitchell came up dry on a first-period peanlty shot. . . . Each team scored two PP goals. . . . Raiders G Eric Williams stopped 37 shots, eight more than Regina’s Matt Hewitt. . . . Attendance was 3,966. . . . This loss really hurt Regina, which is tied for 10th with Lethbridge and now is six points behind the Raiders, who hold down the conference’s final playoff spot. . . . ———
In Vancouver, G Adam Brown kicked out 42 shots and F Colton Sissons scored three times and set up another to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 4-2 victory over the Giants. . . . Vancouver got on the board first, when F Spencer Bennett got his 28th just 34 seconds into the game. . . . The Rockets came back with the next three, with Sissons getting two and F Geordie Wudrick getting his 31st. . . . Vancouver F Andrej Stastny got his mates to within one at 16:56 of the second, only to have Sissons complete his hat trick at 17:33. . . . Sissons has 14 goals. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 18 shots. . . . Kelowna F Zach Franko had two assists, on PP goals by Wudrick and Sissons. . . . Kelowna was 2-for-3 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-for-2. . . . Attendance was 5,877. . . . Kelowna still is without F Mitchell Callahan (head). Also missing were D Mitchell Chapman (head), F Jason Siebert (wrist), F Brett Bulmer (leg) and F Jessey Astles (shoulder). As well, F Colton Jobke served the third game of a seven-game suspension. . . . The Giants remain without D Joel Rogers (concussion) and F James Henry (knee). . . . The Rockets moved atop the B.C. Division with the victory. Actually, they and the Giants are tied, each with 65 points. But Kelowna, with a game in hand, has a .580 winning percentage; the Giants are at .570. . . . They are six points ahead of Prince George. . . . Spokane visits Kelowna on Friday, while the Giants are at home to Seattle. . . .———
In Everett, D Brendon Kichton scored two goals and was plus-5 as the Spokane Chiefs dumped the Silvertips, 7-2. . . . Spokane D Jared Cowen had two assists and was plus-6. . . . Spokane F Levko Koper scored three times, giving him 29. . . . Koper, 20, had a career-high 27 goals last season. . . . Chiefs F Anthony Bardaro had three assists. . . . Spokane F Tyler Johnson, who is second in the WHL scoring race, had one assist. . . . F Tyler Maxwell scored his 37th goal for Everett. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson, making his 12th straight start, stopped 46 shots. . . . G Mac Engel made 21 saves for Spokane, which had veteran James Reid back on the bench. He has been out with a hip injury. . . . Everett D Ryan Murray was unable to score on a first-period penalty shot. . . . Attendance was 4,723. . . . The Chiefs are second in the U.S. Division, three points behind Portland with each having played 57 games. The Tri-City Americans, with three games in hand, are two points behind Spokane. . . . Spokane is in Kelowna on Friday, while the Americans are at home to Chilliwack. Portland is idle Friday but will play visiting Chilliwack on Saturday. . . . The Silvertips, who are two points ahead of eighth-place Kamloops, are on their way to Prince George for a weekend double dip. . . . Kamloops opens a five-game Central Division swing in Edmonton on Friday.———
WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail is the best essayist/sports columnist in Canada today.
His column in Saturday’s paper carries this headline: How to break Neanderthals’ grip on hockey?
It starts with this sentence:
“If hockey is truly ‘a man’s game,’ then why are the games brought to us by Cialis and Viagra?”
As he writes later in the piece: “It is a great game, but it surely needs some work.”
This is your must-read piece for today and it is right here.
———
Interestingly, MacGregor wrote and filed his column before the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders staged that embarrassing exhibition on Friday evening.The NHL had quite a week, didn’t it?
———
While enjoying some time off this week, I heard someone -- it may have been Bob McCown on The Fan 590 out of Toronto -- mention that there were, at that particular time, 43 NHL players out with concussions.
I don’t know where that number came from, but I went on TSN’s website late Friday night and started counting. I found 23 players listed as being out with a concussion, concussion symptoms or a head injury. There are a bunch of players on the list with undisclosed injuries, so perhaps there is another list out there somewhere that showed 43 concussed NHLers.
Regardless, it got me to wondering: How many WHL players have suffered concussions this season?
So I spent some time perusing the WHL injury/transaction update that is posted on the league’s website early each week.
Interestingly, six of the WHL’s 22 teams have reported a number of head injuries but not even one concussion. On the other hand, 10 teams have reported concussions but no head injuries.
Including the injury report of Feb. 8, WHL teams have listed a total of 78 players as having suffered head injuries or concussions. Of those, 43 have suffered concussions and 35 are listed as having had head injuries.
(Another five players are shown to have incurred neck injuries.)
Of course, there is nothing here to indicate how these injuries happened. For example, there are goaltenders on the list who were concussed when struck on the mask by a shot or a stick.
But there also are two players on the list who suffered season-ending concussions and one other who hasn’t played since Dec. 10.
As of the Feb. 8 list, there were 13 players out with concussions or head injuries.
No matter how you look at it, there are far too many head injuries, certainly at this level of hockey and in the NHL.
The message, whatever it is, isn’t getting through.
Consider, too, that Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier is reporting: “Last season, the WHL handed out 110 games in suspensions; this season, it’s already at 135.”
That doesn’t include an impending suspension to Kelowna Rockets F Colton Jobke. He was hit with an interference major on Friday night for a hit that ended the season of Chilliwack Bruins F Tim Traber, who suffered a broken leg.
Here’s what Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska, speaking after the game, told Potenteau: “I didn’t think it was a good hit. Traber didn’t have the puck, and, from what I saw originally — and I haven’t looked at since — I thought it wasn’t a very good hit. Even though he’s our player, it’s one of the hits where I wouldn’t want to see one of our guys get hit that way.”
———
A look at WHL teams and the number of concussion and head injuries each has reported through Feb. 8 (first number is concussions; second number is head injuries):
Brandon 0-0
Calgary 0-6
Chilliwack 5-0
Edmonton 2-4
Everett 8-0
Kamloops 5-0
Kelowna 0-5
Kootenay 1-2
Lethbridge 0-4
Medicine Hat 3-0
Moose Jaw 2-1
Portland 0-0
Prince Albert 0-3
Prince George 1-0
Red Deer 3-0
Regina 3-0
Saskatoon 5-0
Seattle 2-0
Spokane 0-4
Swift Current 2-1
Tri-City 3-0
Vancouver 3-0
———
SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Whitehorse, F Brendan Gallagher scored twice to help the Vancouver Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The game was played in a soldout Takhini Arena, which has 1,535 seats. . . . This was the first WHL regular-season game to be played in the Yukon, although the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Kootenay Ice played two exhibition games in Yellowknife, North West Territories, in 2005. . . . The arena didn’t include glass that meets WHL standards so both teams agreed to have the officials ignore what would have been delay-of-game penalties in WHL arenas. . . . The victory was No. 516 in the WHL for Vancouver head coach Don Hay, who is fourth on the all-time list. Pat Ginnell is No. 3, at 518. . . . The Giants have won 14 of their last 18 games. . . . Gallagher broke a 2-2 tie when he tipped a shot by F Spencer Bennett past G Jeff Bosch. . . . Gallagher has 38 goals. . . . Bennett set up both of Gallagher’s goals. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 26 shots, two fewer than Bosch. . . . Vancouver remains atop the B.C. Division, meaning it is the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed. It now is four points ahead of Kelowna. . . . The Blazers slipped into ninth, one point behind Chilliwack. . . .
———
In Chilliwack, the Bruins, without three veteran defencemen, beat the Kelowna Rockets, 4-1. . . . F Ryan Howse scored twice, giving him 39 goals, and added an assist. . . . F Max Adolph gave Kelowna a 1-0 lead with his second goal of the season in the first period. . . . F Brandon Magee tied it for the Bruins at 3:25 of the second and F Kevin Sundher, with his 18th, gave them the lead at 17:20. . . . Howse added two third-period goals. . . . The Bruins were without veteran defencemen Brandon Manning, who is serving a seven-game suspension, and the injured Jeff Einhorn and Zach Habscheid. . . . F Curt Gogol dropped back to the blue line and Turner Popoff, 16, was brought in from the junior B Richmond Sockeyes and made his WHL debut. . . . The Bruins also were without F Tim Traber, who will miss the rest of this season with a broken right leg suffered in Friday’s 5-4 shootout victory in Kelowna. Rockets F Colton Jobke was hit with an interference major on the play in which Traber was injured. Jobke has been suspended, although the length of that suspension isn’t yet known. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 26 shots. . . . The Rockets were 0-for-2 on the PP; the Bruins were 0-for-1. . . . Attendance was 2,909. . . . The victory lifted the Bruins into eighth in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Kamloops. Chilliwack holds four games in hand on Kamloops. . . . The Bruins are at home to Tri-City tonight. . . . The Rockets travel to Everett to face the Silvertips tonight. . . .
———
In Kent, Wash., F Ryan Johansen had his first WHL three-goal game, leading the Portland Winterhawks to an 8-2 victory over the host Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Winterhawks, who lead the Western Conference, are one victory away from clinching a playoff spot. . . . Portland scored its first five goals on the PP as it went 6-for-7 with the man advantage. . . . Johansen has 30 goals. . . . Portland D Joe Morrow had a goal and three assists. . . . Seattle had a 17-5 edge in first-period shots but went into the second period trailing 1-0. . . . The Winterhawks outshot Seattle 20-7 in the second and emerged with a 5-1 lead. . . . Portland G Keith Hamilton stopped 35 shots. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard was beaten seven times on 35 shots before Michael Salmon came on. He was beaten once on two shots. . . . Attendance was 4,771. . . . The Winterhawks lead the Western Conference and hold a five-point lead over Spokane in the U.S. Division. . . . Seattle, with one victory in 10 games, is 10th in the conference and now is five points out of a playoff spot. . . . Spokane visits the Thunderbirds tonight. . . .
———
In Brandon, F Matt MacKay scored three times to lead the Wheat Kings to a 6-4 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . MacKay’s third goal, his 21st of the season, came into an empty net with 11.6 seconds left in the third period. . . . F T.J. Foster scored three times for Edmonton, while F Dylan Wruck earned four assists and set the franchise’s modern day record for points (64) in a season. . . . Brandon has won six straight home games. . . . Foster has 23 goals. . . . D Ryan Pulock and F Brenden Walker each had two assists for Brandon. . . . Pulock, a 16-year-old from Grandview, Man., has 27 points in 49 games and certainly is in the conversation when the discussion is about the Eastern Conference’s top rookie. . . . Attendance was 4,120. . . . Brandon is back in action Tuesday when the Saskatoon Blades and F Brayden Schenn come calling. The Wheat Kings dealt Schenn to Saskatoon on Jan. 10. . . . The Wheat Kings, seventh in the Eastern Conference, closed to within three points of the sixth-place Oil Kings. Edmonton has one game in hand. . . . The Oil Kings move on to Swift Current tonight. . . .
———
In Moose Jaw, F Marek Viedensky and F Jake Trask each scored twice for Saskatoon as the Blades beat the Warriors, 5-3. . . . The Blades have won 11 in a row. . . . Viedensky has 27 goals. . . . Trask, whose second goal was into an empty net, now has 21 goals. . . . F Cody Beach had a goal and two assists for the Warriors. . . . Moose Jaw G Thomas Heemskerk stopped 43 shots. . . . Saskatoon G Steven Stanford stopped 26 shots and now is 32-3-0. I’m thinking he has the Cy Young Award locked up. . . . After Beach gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead, the Blades scored three times, twice on the PP, to take a 3-1 lead into the second. . . . The Warriors tied it before Viedensky broke the 3-3 deadlock at 18:22 of the third. . . . Referees Derek Zalaski and Cole Hamm handed out nine roughing minors and six for unsportsmanlike conduct. There were only two scraps, though. . . . Attendance was 2,730. . . . The Blades lead the WHL in victories (44), points (90) and winning percentage (.804). In fact, only one other team (Red Deer, .716) is over .700. . . .The Warriors are fifth and appear likely to finish there. . . .
———
In Regina, the Pats got two shootout goals and beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 3-2. . . . The Pats led 2-0 in the second period, on goals by D Brandon Davidson and F Lane Scheidl, only to have the Tigers come back and tie it. D Jace Coyle scored at 13:40 of the second and F Kellan Tochkin tied it at 6:52 of the third. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey had two assists and now has 92 points. He is tied for the scoring lead with Spokane F Tyler Johnson. . . . F Shayne Neigum and Scheidl scored for Regina in the SO, while only F Wacey Hamilton was able to beat G Matt Hewitt for the Tigers. . . . Hewitt stopped 32 shots through OT and three more in the SO. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz made 34 saves. Regina D Myles Bell was unable to beat him on a second period penalty shot. . . . Attendance was 3,996. . . . The Pats are tied for 10th with Lethbridge, just two points behind Prince Albert and Swift Current, who are tied for eighth. . . . Medicine Hat is fourth, one point behind Kootenay. . . .
———
In Swift Current, F Max Reinhart scored two goals 34 seconds apart as the Kootenay Ice beat the Broncos, 6-4. . . . The Ice, which has clinched a playoff spot, led 3-0 after one period and 4-1 late in the second, only to have the Broncos tie it 4-4 on F Andy Blanke’s fifth goal of the season at 6:59 of the third. . . . F Joe Antilla got the winner at 14:42 and D James Martin nailed the empty-netter at 19:44. . . . F Cody Eakin, traded to the Ice by the Broncos on Jan. 9 for five players and three draft picks, had one assist in his return to Swift Current. . . . F Drew Czerwonka had three assists for the Ice. . . . Reinhart, who scored the game’s first two goals, has 29 this season. . . . Attendance was 2,525. . . . The Ice is third in the Eastern Conference, six points behind Red Deer and one up on Medicine Hat. . . . The Broncos, with one victory in 10 games, are tied with Prince Albert for the conference’s last playoff spot. . . . The Broncos are at home again tonight, this time to Edmonton. . . .
———
In Calgary, G Brandon Glover stopped 32 shots to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 4-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Hitmen scored three times in the first period, with F Justin Kirsch getting his 22nd at 4:12. . . . F Kris Foucault, with his 17th, and F Misha Fisenko, with his seventh, also scored in that first period. . . . F Brett Connolly got his 33rd on the PP at 7:44 of the second. . . . Foucault later added his 18th into an empty net. He also had an assist. . . . Calgary F Brendan Santini had two helpers. . . . Cougars G Ty Rimmer stopped 18 shots. . . . Attendance was 9,385. . . . The Hitmen are 12th in the Eastern Conference and, barring a miracle, won’t make the playoffs. . . . The Cougars are sixth in the Western Conference, four points behind Kelowna and three ahead of Everett. . . . The Cougars have a game in Red Deer tonight. . . .
———
In Lethbridge, G Darcy Kuemper stopped 27 shots as the Red Deer Rebels beat the Hurricanes, 3-0. . . . Kuemper, a 20-year-old from Saskatoon, leads all of the CHL with 11 shutouts. He has 17 in his career. . . . He had three in each of his previous two seasons. . . . F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his 20th goal, while F Byron Froese had a goal, his 34th, and an assist, and F Andrej Kudrna got his 25th goal. . . . With Red Deer short on the back end, Froese dropped back and played a lot on defence. . . . Lethbridge G Brandon Anderson stopped 39 shots. . . . Red Deer F Brett Ferguson had an assist to run his point streak to 13 games, the longest active streak in the league today. He has 21 points over that stretch. . . . Attendance was 3,790. . . . Lethbridge is tied with Regina for 10th in the Eastern Conference, two points out of a playoff spot. . . . Red Deer leads the Central Division and is seven points behind conference-leading Saskatoon. . . . Red Deer is at home to Prince George tonight. . . .
———
In Spokane, F Levko Koper drew four assists as the Chiefs dumped the Tri-City Americans, 7-2. . . . The Chiefs were 4-for-7 on the PP, while the Americans were 0-for-6. . . . F Tyler Johnson had two goals and an assist for the Chiefs. He leads the WHL with 43 goals and his 92 points have on the top rung alongside Medicine Hat F Linden Vey. . . . Spokane D Brenden Kichton had a goal and two assists. . . . Spokane G Mac Engel stopped 22 shots. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley left early in the second period with an apparent knee injury. . . . Attendance was 10,475. . . . The Chiefs are second in the U.S. Division, five points behind Portland with two games in hand. . . . The Americans are three points in back of Spokane. Tri-City holds three games in hand on Spokane and five on Portland. . . . The Americans play in Chilliwack tonight, while the Chiefs are in Kent, Wash., to face Seattle.
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Three minors:
Medicine Hat F Kale Kessy
Kelowna F Evan Bloodoff
Tri-City D Sam Grist
His column in Saturday’s paper carries this headline: How to break Neanderthals’ grip on hockey?
It starts with this sentence:
“If hockey is truly ‘a man’s game,’ then why are the games brought to us by Cialis and Viagra?”
As he writes later in the piece: “It is a great game, but it surely needs some work.”
This is your must-read piece for today and it is right here.
———
Interestingly, MacGregor wrote and filed his column before the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders staged that embarrassing exhibition on Friday evening.The NHL had quite a week, didn’t it?
———
While enjoying some time off this week, I heard someone -- it may have been Bob McCown on The Fan 590 out of Toronto -- mention that there were, at that particular time, 43 NHL players out with concussions.
I don’t know where that number came from, but I went on TSN’s website late Friday night and started counting. I found 23 players listed as being out with a concussion, concussion symptoms or a head injury. There are a bunch of players on the list with undisclosed injuries, so perhaps there is another list out there somewhere that showed 43 concussed NHLers.
Regardless, it got me to wondering: How many WHL players have suffered concussions this season?
So I spent some time perusing the WHL injury/transaction update that is posted on the league’s website early each week.
Interestingly, six of the WHL’s 22 teams have reported a number of head injuries but not even one concussion. On the other hand, 10 teams have reported concussions but no head injuries.
Including the injury report of Feb. 8, WHL teams have listed a total of 78 players as having suffered head injuries or concussions. Of those, 43 have suffered concussions and 35 are listed as having had head injuries.
(Another five players are shown to have incurred neck injuries.)
Of course, there is nothing here to indicate how these injuries happened. For example, there are goaltenders on the list who were concussed when struck on the mask by a shot or a stick.
But there also are two players on the list who suffered season-ending concussions and one other who hasn’t played since Dec. 10.
As of the Feb. 8 list, there were 13 players out with concussions or head injuries.
No matter how you look at it, there are far too many head injuries, certainly at this level of hockey and in the NHL.
The message, whatever it is, isn’t getting through.
Consider, too, that Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier is reporting: “Last season, the WHL handed out 110 games in suspensions; this season, it’s already at 135.”
That doesn’t include an impending suspension to Kelowna Rockets F Colton Jobke. He was hit with an interference major on Friday night for a hit that ended the season of Chilliwack Bruins F Tim Traber, who suffered a broken leg.
Here’s what Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska, speaking after the game, told Potenteau: “I didn’t think it was a good hit. Traber didn’t have the puck, and, from what I saw originally — and I haven’t looked at since — I thought it wasn’t a very good hit. Even though he’s our player, it’s one of the hits where I wouldn’t want to see one of our guys get hit that way.”
———
A look at WHL teams and the number of concussion and head injuries each has reported through Feb. 8 (first number is concussions; second number is head injuries):
Brandon 0-0
Calgary 0-6
Chilliwack 5-0
Edmonton 2-4
Everett 8-0
Kamloops 5-0
Kelowna 0-5
Kootenay 1-2
Lethbridge 0-4
Medicine Hat 3-0
Moose Jaw 2-1
Portland 0-0
Prince Albert 0-3
Prince George 1-0
Red Deer 3-0
Regina 3-0
Saskatoon 5-0
Seattle 2-0
Spokane 0-4
Swift Current 2-1
Tri-City 3-0
Vancouver 3-0
———
SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Whitehorse, F Brendan Gallagher scored twice to help the Vancouver Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The game was played in a soldout Takhini Arena, which has 1,535 seats. . . . This was the first WHL regular-season game to be played in the Yukon, although the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Kootenay Ice played two exhibition games in Yellowknife, North West Territories, in 2005. . . . The arena didn’t include glass that meets WHL standards so both teams agreed to have the officials ignore what would have been delay-of-game penalties in WHL arenas. . . . The victory was No. 516 in the WHL for Vancouver head coach Don Hay, who is fourth on the all-time list. Pat Ginnell is No. 3, at 518. . . . The Giants have won 14 of their last 18 games. . . . Gallagher broke a 2-2 tie when he tipped a shot by F Spencer Bennett past G Jeff Bosch. . . . Gallagher has 38 goals. . . . Bennett set up both of Gallagher’s goals. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 26 shots, two fewer than Bosch. . . . Vancouver remains atop the B.C. Division, meaning it is the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed. It now is four points ahead of Kelowna. . . . The Blazers slipped into ninth, one point behind Chilliwack. . . .
———
In Chilliwack, the Bruins, without three veteran defencemen, beat the Kelowna Rockets, 4-1. . . . F Ryan Howse scored twice, giving him 39 goals, and added an assist. . . . F Max Adolph gave Kelowna a 1-0 lead with his second goal of the season in the first period. . . . F Brandon Magee tied it for the Bruins at 3:25 of the second and F Kevin Sundher, with his 18th, gave them the lead at 17:20. . . . Howse added two third-period goals. . . . The Bruins were without veteran defencemen Brandon Manning, who is serving a seven-game suspension, and the injured Jeff Einhorn and Zach Habscheid. . . . F Curt Gogol dropped back to the blue line and Turner Popoff, 16, was brought in from the junior B Richmond Sockeyes and made his WHL debut. . . . The Bruins also were without F Tim Traber, who will miss the rest of this season with a broken right leg suffered in Friday’s 5-4 shootout victory in Kelowna. Rockets F Colton Jobke was hit with an interference major on the play in which Traber was injured. Jobke has been suspended, although the length of that suspension isn’t yet known. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 26 shots. . . . The Rockets were 0-for-2 on the PP; the Bruins were 0-for-1. . . . Attendance was 2,909. . . . The victory lifted the Bruins into eighth in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Kamloops. Chilliwack holds four games in hand on Kamloops. . . . The Bruins are at home to Tri-City tonight. . . . The Rockets travel to Everett to face the Silvertips tonight. . . .
———
In Kent, Wash., F Ryan Johansen had his first WHL three-goal game, leading the Portland Winterhawks to an 8-2 victory over the host Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Winterhawks, who lead the Western Conference, are one victory away from clinching a playoff spot. . . . Portland scored its first five goals on the PP as it went 6-for-7 with the man advantage. . . . Johansen has 30 goals. . . . Portland D Joe Morrow had a goal and three assists. . . . Seattle had a 17-5 edge in first-period shots but went into the second period trailing 1-0. . . . The Winterhawks outshot Seattle 20-7 in the second and emerged with a 5-1 lead. . . . Portland G Keith Hamilton stopped 35 shots. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard was beaten seven times on 35 shots before Michael Salmon came on. He was beaten once on two shots. . . . Attendance was 4,771. . . . The Winterhawks lead the Western Conference and hold a five-point lead over Spokane in the U.S. Division. . . . Seattle, with one victory in 10 games, is 10th in the conference and now is five points out of a playoff spot. . . . Spokane visits the Thunderbirds tonight. . . .
———
In Brandon, F Matt MacKay scored three times to lead the Wheat Kings to a 6-4 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . MacKay’s third goal, his 21st of the season, came into an empty net with 11.6 seconds left in the third period. . . . F T.J. Foster scored three times for Edmonton, while F Dylan Wruck earned four assists and set the franchise’s modern day record for points (64) in a season. . . . Brandon has won six straight home games. . . . Foster has 23 goals. . . . D Ryan Pulock and F Brenden Walker each had two assists for Brandon. . . . Pulock, a 16-year-old from Grandview, Man., has 27 points in 49 games and certainly is in the conversation when the discussion is about the Eastern Conference’s top rookie. . . . Attendance was 4,120. . . . Brandon is back in action Tuesday when the Saskatoon Blades and F Brayden Schenn come calling. The Wheat Kings dealt Schenn to Saskatoon on Jan. 10. . . . The Wheat Kings, seventh in the Eastern Conference, closed to within three points of the sixth-place Oil Kings. Edmonton has one game in hand. . . . The Oil Kings move on to Swift Current tonight. . . .
———
In Moose Jaw, F Marek Viedensky and F Jake Trask each scored twice for Saskatoon as the Blades beat the Warriors, 5-3. . . . The Blades have won 11 in a row. . . . Viedensky has 27 goals. . . . Trask, whose second goal was into an empty net, now has 21 goals. . . . F Cody Beach had a goal and two assists for the Warriors. . . . Moose Jaw G Thomas Heemskerk stopped 43 shots. . . . Saskatoon G Steven Stanford stopped 26 shots and now is 32-3-0. I’m thinking he has the Cy Young Award locked up. . . . After Beach gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead, the Blades scored three times, twice on the PP, to take a 3-1 lead into the second. . . . The Warriors tied it before Viedensky broke the 3-3 deadlock at 18:22 of the third. . . . Referees Derek Zalaski and Cole Hamm handed out nine roughing minors and six for unsportsmanlike conduct. There were only two scraps, though. . . . Attendance was 2,730. . . . The Blades lead the WHL in victories (44), points (90) and winning percentage (.804). In fact, only one other team (Red Deer, .716) is over .700. . . .The Warriors are fifth and appear likely to finish there. . . .
———
In Regina, the Pats got two shootout goals and beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 3-2. . . . The Pats led 2-0 in the second period, on goals by D Brandon Davidson and F Lane Scheidl, only to have the Tigers come back and tie it. D Jace Coyle scored at 13:40 of the second and F Kellan Tochkin tied it at 6:52 of the third. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey had two assists and now has 92 points. He is tied for the scoring lead with Spokane F Tyler Johnson. . . . F Shayne Neigum and Scheidl scored for Regina in the SO, while only F Wacey Hamilton was able to beat G Matt Hewitt for the Tigers. . . . Hewitt stopped 32 shots through OT and three more in the SO. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz made 34 saves. Regina D Myles Bell was unable to beat him on a second period penalty shot. . . . Attendance was 3,996. . . . The Pats are tied for 10th with Lethbridge, just two points behind Prince Albert and Swift Current, who are tied for eighth. . . . Medicine Hat is fourth, one point behind Kootenay. . . .
———
In Swift Current, F Max Reinhart scored two goals 34 seconds apart as the Kootenay Ice beat the Broncos, 6-4. . . . The Ice, which has clinched a playoff spot, led 3-0 after one period and 4-1 late in the second, only to have the Broncos tie it 4-4 on F Andy Blanke’s fifth goal of the season at 6:59 of the third. . . . F Joe Antilla got the winner at 14:42 and D James Martin nailed the empty-netter at 19:44. . . . F Cody Eakin, traded to the Ice by the Broncos on Jan. 9 for five players and three draft picks, had one assist in his return to Swift Current. . . . F Drew Czerwonka had three assists for the Ice. . . . Reinhart, who scored the game’s first two goals, has 29 this season. . . . Attendance was 2,525. . . . The Ice is third in the Eastern Conference, six points behind Red Deer and one up on Medicine Hat. . . . The Broncos, with one victory in 10 games, are tied with Prince Albert for the conference’s last playoff spot. . . . The Broncos are at home again tonight, this time to Edmonton. . . .
———
In Calgary, G Brandon Glover stopped 32 shots to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 4-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Hitmen scored three times in the first period, with F Justin Kirsch getting his 22nd at 4:12. . . . F Kris Foucault, with his 17th, and F Misha Fisenko, with his seventh, also scored in that first period. . . . F Brett Connolly got his 33rd on the PP at 7:44 of the second. . . . Foucault later added his 18th into an empty net. He also had an assist. . . . Calgary F Brendan Santini had two helpers. . . . Cougars G Ty Rimmer stopped 18 shots. . . . Attendance was 9,385. . . . The Hitmen are 12th in the Eastern Conference and, barring a miracle, won’t make the playoffs. . . . The Cougars are sixth in the Western Conference, four points behind Kelowna and three ahead of Everett. . . . The Cougars have a game in Red Deer tonight. . . .
———
In Lethbridge, G Darcy Kuemper stopped 27 shots as the Red Deer Rebels beat the Hurricanes, 3-0. . . . Kuemper, a 20-year-old from Saskatoon, leads all of the CHL with 11 shutouts. He has 17 in his career. . . . He had three in each of his previous two seasons. . . . F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his 20th goal, while F Byron Froese had a goal, his 34th, and an assist, and F Andrej Kudrna got his 25th goal. . . . With Red Deer short on the back end, Froese dropped back and played a lot on defence. . . . Lethbridge G Brandon Anderson stopped 39 shots. . . . Red Deer F Brett Ferguson had an assist to run his point streak to 13 games, the longest active streak in the league today. He has 21 points over that stretch. . . . Attendance was 3,790. . . . Lethbridge is tied with Regina for 10th in the Eastern Conference, two points out of a playoff spot. . . . Red Deer leads the Central Division and is seven points behind conference-leading Saskatoon. . . . Red Deer is at home to Prince George tonight. . . .
———
In Spokane, F Levko Koper drew four assists as the Chiefs dumped the Tri-City Americans, 7-2. . . . The Chiefs were 4-for-7 on the PP, while the Americans were 0-for-6. . . . F Tyler Johnson had two goals and an assist for the Chiefs. He leads the WHL with 43 goals and his 92 points have on the top rung alongside Medicine Hat F Linden Vey. . . . Spokane D Brenden Kichton had a goal and two assists. . . . Spokane G Mac Engel stopped 22 shots. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley left early in the second period with an apparent knee injury. . . . Attendance was 10,475. . . . The Chiefs are second in the U.S. Division, five points behind Portland with two games in hand. . . . The Americans are three points in back of Spokane. Tri-City holds three games in hand on Spokane and five on Portland. . . . The Americans play in Chilliwack tonight, while the Chiefs are in Kent, Wash., to face Seattle.
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Three minors:
Medicine Hat F Kale Kessy
Kelowna F Evan Bloodoff
Tri-City D Sam Grist
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