More time for James . . . Americans deal forward to 'Canes . . . Aasman signs with Bandits

F Chris Francis (Portland, 2006-10) signed a three-month tryout contract with Székesfehérvár (Hungary, Erste Bank Liga). Last season, with the Alaska Aces (ECHL), he had 26 goals and 36 assists in 69 games. . . .
D Mike Card (Kelowna, 2002-06) signed a one-year contract with Löwen Frankfurt (Germany, DEL2). He is a dual Canadian-German citizen. Last season, with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, DEL2), he had five goals and 30 assists in 50 games. The Löwen Frankfurt general manager is Rick Chernomaz (Saskatoon, Victoria Cougars, 1979-83), who has been the head coach of Hungary’s national team for three seasons. . . .
D Tomáš Kundrátek (Medicine Hat, 2008-10) signed a one-year contract with Dinamo Riga (Latvia, KHL). Last season, with the Hershey Bears (AHL), he had five goals and 22 assists in 59 games.
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Graham James, already in jail in Laval, Que., for sexually abusing hockey players, pleaded guilty to another charge on Friday and was sentenced to two more years. The latest victim, whose identity is being protected by a publication ban, was in a Swift Current courtroom on Friday, as were Sheldon Kennedy and Todd Holt, both of them victims of James when he was the general manager and head coach of the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos. . . . Holt and Kennedy were there to show support for the latest victim to come forward. . . . There is more on Friday’s happenings right here and right here.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have acquired F Justin Gutierrez, 20, from the Tri-City Americans for a fourth-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. . . . Gutierrez, from Anchorage, had 29 points, including 11 goals, in 67 games last season. In four seasons with the Americans, he had 59 points, 18 of them goals, in 186 games. At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, he brings size and experience to a young Lethbridge roster. . . . Gutierrez is the younger brother of former Kamloops Blazers and Everett Silvertips F Moises Gutierrez. . . . Justin Gutierrez joins F Cory Millette as the 20-year-olds on Lethbridge’s roster. Millette was acquired last month from the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Americans, as of now, likely are looking at F Parker Bowles, F Beau McCue and F Brian Williams as their 20-year-olds. They also have D Ty Morrison, who was acquired from the Vancouver Giants during last season, on their roster.
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F Logan Aasman, who spent three seasons with the Everett Silvertips, has signed with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits. Aasman is heading into his 20-year-old season. . . . Aasman’s 2014-15 season was interrupted by concussion issues that limited him to 40 games. He had 11 points, two of them goals. . . . Aasman is from Medicine Hat. . . . With Aasman no longer in the picture, Silvertips would appear to have five candidates for their three 20-year-old spots — D Cole MacDonald, F Remi Laurencelle, G Austin Lotz, F Jake Mykitiuk and F Carson Stadnyk.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Dwayne Gylywoychuk, a former Brandon Wheat Kings player and coach, has been named the head coach of Canada’s national women’s development team for 2015-16. . . . Gylywoychuk lives in Winnipeg. (If you are wondering, that was him and his two daughters in yesterday’s Tweet of the Day.) . . . Delaney Collins of Pilot Mound, a former national team player, will work as his assistant coach. . . . From a Hockey Canada news release: “Gylywoychuk is no stranger to the national program, having piloted the development team to gold at the 2014 Nations Cup. Gylywoychuk also won gold as an assistant coach with Canada’s National Women’s Team at the 2014 Four Nations Cup and gold again at the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Under-18 Championship in the same capacity.” . . . Collins played for 12 seasons with the national women’s team. She also is an assistant coach at Mercyhurst U. . . . The NDT will hold a selection camp in Calgary in August, before playing exhibition games against the U.S. U-22 team in Lake Placid, N.Y. . . . The Canadian women are preparing for the Nations Cup in Germany in January. . . . It’s worth noting that Collins’ father, Rod, is opening a hockey academy in Pilot Mound. Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Free Press has more on that story right here.
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Former NHLer Mike Van Ryn is the new head coach of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. Van Ryn spent the past two seasons with the Rangers, last season as associate coach. . . . He replaces Troy Smith, who was fired after last season. . . . The Rangers also announced that Jay McKee, like Van Ryn a former NHL defenceman, has been signed as associate coach. He had been an assistant with the Erie Otters. Also coming on board, as an assistant coach, is Daniel Tkaczuk, who was with the Owen Sound Attack for the past three seasons. . . . Meanwhile, Mike McKenzie has moved up from assistant coach to assistant GM, although he also will have some coaching duties.
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Roy Sommer will make the move to San Jose to coach the Barracuda, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. The franchise is moving west from Worcester, Mass. . . . Sommer (Calgary Centennials, 1975-77) is preparing for his 18th season as head coach of the Sharks’ AHL affiliate. A native of Oakland, Calif., he holds the AHL record for most games coached (1,344). He has 617 regular-season coaching victories, second only to Hockey Hall of Famer Fred (Bun) Cook’s 636. . . . The Sharks also announced that Ryan Mougenel will return as an assistant coach with the Barracuda and that Charlie Townsend will be back as video coach.
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Rich McKenna has left the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks to take over as head coach of the NAHL’s New Jersey Titans. He had been an assistant coach for two seasons with the Lumberjacks. . . . Former NHL G John Vanbiesbrouck is the Lumberjacks’ GM and director of hockey operations.
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The Grand Rapids Griffins, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, made it official on Friday — Todd Nelson is their head coach. Nelson, 46, takes over from Jeff Blashill, who moved up as the Red Wings’ head coach following the departure of Mike Babcock. . . . Nelson had finished last season as the interim head coach of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. He had joined the Oilers from the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons, where he was head coach. . . . Nelson, a former Grand Rapids player and assistant coach, signed a three-year deal with the Griffins. From Prince Albert, he played four seasons (1986-90) with the Raiders.
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The Hershey Bears, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Washington Capitals, have rewarded head coach Troy Mann and assistant coaches Bryan Helmer and Ryan Murphy with multi-year contracts, the length of which weren’t revealed. . . . The Bears finished atop the AHL’s East Division last season.
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Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News tweeted Friday night that “2016 draft prospect Tyson Jost (BCHL Penticton) has narrowed down his NCAA school choice to North Dakota and Denver.” . . . Jost, a 17-year-old forward, is from St. Albert, Alta. The Everett Silvertips selected him with the seventh overall pick in the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft. He will captain the BCHL’s Penticton Vees in 2015-16, his second season with the team. He had 45 points, including 23 goals, in 46 games last season.


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Hunchak: I was in the darkest place I'd ever been in

More than a year has gone by since Dave Hunchak left the Kamloops Blazers. They were in Spokane for a Jan. 10 game with the Chiefs when Hunchak, the Blazers’ head coach, left the team and returned home. The team announced that he was on a leave of absence; he never returned. Hunchak has told Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail that his nightmare began with an anxiety attack that ultimately was followed by depression. . . . “The best way I can describe it is: I was in the darkest place I’d ever been in,” Hunchak told Maki. “I was thinking it was possible I could do something I would regret.” . . . Maki’s complete story is right here, and it deals with a lot more than Hunchak, who, by the way, is back to where he was and wanting to get back to coaching. In the meantime, he is working in Kamloops as an electrician.
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“A Canadian lawyer has told Washington state legislators he opposes a bill that might allow Western Hockey League teams to circumvent laws on child labour and minimum wage, a change WHL team executives say is critical for them to stay in business,” writes Rick Westhead of TSN. “In a Feb. 17 letter that was sent to seven Washington state senators and obtained by TSN, Toronto lawyer Ted Charney wrote that he opposes Bill 1930 on behalf of his clients, Lukas Walter and Sam Berg, former major junior hockey players who are now suing the Ontario Hockey League, the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Charney hopes to have a lawsuit certified as a class action case.” . . . Westhead’s complete story is right here.
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WHL commissioner Ron Robison and the general managers of the four Washington-based teams appeared at a Senate hearing in the state capital of Olympia on Wednesday. Scott Sepich, a Portland-based freelancer, has that story right here.
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The sporting community in Kamloops is coming together to help Peter Friedel, who has done a lot of volunteer work with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, the junior B Kamloops Storm of the Kootenay International Junior league and the Kamloops Venom junior lacrosse team. . . . The Storm will donate a portion of the gate receipts from its Saturday playoff game to Friedel, and a dinner and dance to benefit him is scheduled for March 7. . . . Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week has more right here.
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F Trevor Cox of the Medicine Hat Tigers has had his suspension set at three games. He was suspended under supplemental discipline for a hit on Calgary F Kenton Helgesen during a game on Saturday. Cox, who already has missed two games, will complete the suspension on Sunday when the Tigers play in Edmonton. . . . Helgesen didn’t play in Calgary’s 2-1 victory over the visiting Tigers on Tuesday.
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F Logan Aasman of the Everett Silvertips doesn’t even know when he first was concussed. He just knows that recovering at home in Medicine Hat wasn’t a whole lot of fun. Aasman, who last played on Nov. 30, finally has been cleared to return and Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has the story right here.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

B.C. DIVISION: Kelowna won at home and now leads the overall standings by two points over idle Brandon. Each teams has 14 games remaining. . . . Vancouver won at home and remains third in the B.C. Division, but now is three points ahead of Kamloops, which lost on the road, and idle Prince George.
U.S. DIVISION: All five teams enjoyed the day off. You have to think players from the four Washington-based teams were watching goings-on in Olympia.
EAST DIVISION: Moose Jaw lost in OT on the road and the loser point lifted it to within seven points of a playoff spot.
CENTRAL DIVISION: Red Deer won on the road. It remains third in the division, four points behind second-place Calgary and nine points ahead of Kootenay, which holds down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot.

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In Vancouver, D Mason Geertsen’s second goal of the game, at 4:11 of OT, gave the Giants a 3-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Geertsen, who has 11 goals, had given the Giants a 2-1 lead at 19:28 of the second period. He also drew an assist on his side’s first goal. . . . D Spenser Jensen forced OT with his third goal at 6:06 of the third period. . . . F Jack Rodewald gave Moose Jaw a 1-0 lead with his 27th goal 59 secondsd into the second period. . . . F Thomas Foster scored his 10th at 14:22 of the second, on a PP, to pull the Giants even. . . . F Tyler Benson had three assists for Vancouver. . . . Vancouver was 1-for-2 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-for-3. . . . Moose Jaw G Brody Willms stopped 29 shots, six more than Vancouver’s Payton Lee. . . . It was a Hockey Hooky game, meaning a noon start. Moose Jaw had played in a Hockey Hooky game in Victoria the previous day and had come away with a 4-3 victory. . . . F Ty Ronning and D Arvin Atwal were among the Giants’ scratches. News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) tweeted that “Atwal hasn’t played since off-ice incident last week.” . . . The Giants (25-30-3) have won two in a row. . . . The Warriors (23-30-5) are 2-2-1 on a seven-game road swing that continues Friday in Kamloops. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has a game story right here. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has a game story right here. . . .

In Saskatoon, the Red Deer Rebels scored two third-period goals and beat the Blades, 4-3. . . . D Amil Krupic’s fifth goal of the season, at 13:41 of the second, had given the Blades a 3-2 lead. . . . D Josh Mahura scored his first WHL goal at 13:56 of the third to tie it and F Preston Kopeck got the winner, his 17th goal of the season, at 15:21. . . . Kopeck, F Riley Sheen and F Wyatt Johnson each had a goal and an assist for Red Deer. Sheen has 17 goals; Johnson has 22. . . . F Wyatt Sloboshan had two assists for the Blades, whose captain, F Brett Stovin, scored his 24th goal. . . . Red Deer G Trevor Martin, who was acquired from the Blades, stopped 30 shots in his first start since being added from the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. He now will return to Melville. . . . Saskatoon G Nik Amundrud turned aside 35 shots. . . . Saskatoon D Brycen Martin had his point streak snapped at 11 games. . . . The Rebels (30-18-9) are 2-0-1 in their last three. . . . The Blades now are 17-37-3. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story right here. . . .

In Kelowna, every skater on the roster but one picked up at least one point as the Rockets whipped the Kamloops Blazers, 11-4. . . . Only D Madison Bowey failed to get at least one point. . . . F Tomas Soustal led the way with two goals, giving him eight, and two assists, with F Rourke Chartier adding two goals and one assist. . . . Chartier now leads the WHL with 46 goals, one more than F Cole Sanford of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . D Josh Morrissey also scored twice for the Rockets, giving him 12. They got three assists from F Leon Draisaitl and two from each of F Nick Merkley, F Tate Coughlin and F Cole Linaker. . . . F Collin Shirley scored twice for Kamloops, giving him 20, and added an assist. F Matt Needham also scored his 20th goal this season. . . . Kamloops F Cole Ully had two assists. . . . According to a tweet from Kelowna play-by-play voice Regan Bartel: “Last time the @Kelowna_Rockets put up 11 goals on home ice prior to tonight was in an 11-2 win vs. Giants Jan 5/2002.” . . . The Rockets now have beaten the Blazers in 18 straight regular-season meetings. The Blazers last posted a regular-season victory over the Rockets on March 3, 2013, when G Cole Cheveldave stopped 25 shots in a 3-0 shutout in Kamloops. F JC Lipon scored all three Kamloops goals. F Cole Ully and D Ryan Rehill are the only two players off today’s Kamloops roster who played in that game. . . . The Rockets won the last two regular-season meetings that season, all eight last season and another eight this season. The teams will meet twice more this season. . . . The Rockets (45-9-4) have won three in a row. . . . The Blazers (22-31-6) have lost two straight.
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THURSDAY’S GAMES
(all times local)
No Games Scheduled
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FRIDAY’S GAMES
(all times local)
Red Deer at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Regina, 7 p.m.
Edmonton vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Portland, 7 p.m.
Calgary at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Kelowna at Victoria, 7:30 p.m.
Tri-City at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
Lethbridge vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:35 p.m.
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GM, Head Coach, & Bus Driver. @PeterAnholt guiding us the way for the 1st leg of our trip! #TripleThreat #CaneTrain pic.twitter.com/7gT2xhKXeW
— LethbridgeHurricanes (@WHLHurricanes) February 18, 2015

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Rimmer undergoes cancer surgery . . . Donaldson family remembers Ryan . . . Hitmen streak hits nine

F Štěpán Novotný (Kelowna, Swift Current, 2008-11) has signed for the rest of this season with Žilina (Slovakia, Extraliga). Novotný started this season with Žilina but moved to Nitra (Slovakia, Extraliga) in December. In 33 games with Žilina, he has 10 goals and seven assists. He had three goals in 13 games with Nitra.
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Further down, under Tweet of the Day, you will find four tweets from G Ty Rimmer (Brandon, Prince George, Tri-City, Lethbridge, 2009-13). Rimmer, 22, is the latest young hockey player to have been diagnosed with testicular cancer.
Among the former WHL players who have been faced with this disease are Cody Smuk, Brandon Davidson and Dylan Tait.
Rimmer has had surgery and all signs point to his making a complete recovery.
In his tweets, he encourages young men to get checked out and to be quick to see a doctor if anything irregular is noticed.
Let’s not forget that Cole Hamblin, a former WHLer, lost his battle with a rare form of cancer, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, early in November.
Please allow me to point out the importance of early diagnosis. I have twice been treated for basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. The first time, the dermatologist told me that if you were to get skin cancer, this was the one to get. That diagnosis involved a spot on one forearm.
The second time we dealt with spots on both hands that I had written off as nothing more than dry skin.
I now am more careful than ever before in terms of exposure to the elements, meaning I put on sun screen even on the cloudy days.
I also had a colon cancer test come back “mildly positive,” as my family doctor explained to me, late last fall. That led to a colonoscopy early in January. Thankfully, it didn’t find anything.
With the prevalence of cancers today, I would ask anyone with any suspicions to see a doctor. Early diagnosis is of the utmost importance.
Just ask Ty Rimmer.
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Want to get a look at the new arena in Medicine Hat — the Medicine Hat Regional Event Centre (aka The House that Bob Built)? It looks to be shaping up quite nicely. . . . Click right here and take a look at a video from CHAT-TV. (Tip of the hat to Kim Johnston for providing the link.)
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The Portland Winterhawks have signed D Jackson Caller, 15, who was a seventh-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. Caller, from Kamloops, plays for the midget prep team at the Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna. He has 13 points, including three goals, in 29 games. The academy shows him at 6-foot-1 and 167 pounds. . . .
Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reported Wednesday that F Logan Aasman, 19, is back skating with the Everett Silvertips. Aasman, who has been out since Nov. 30 because of a concussion, had been at home in Medicine Hat recovering. He returned to Everett last week and is practising in a no-contact jersey. If all goes well, Aasman might return to the Silvertips’ lineup around month’s end. . . . Aasman had eight points, two of them goals, in 25 games when he was injured. In 108 career games, he has 26 points, including seven goals. . . .
The Brandon Wheat Kings, who are one point out of first-place overall, are showing D Kale Clague as being out week-to-week. Clague returned from a wrist injury last week but was injured Sunday, in his third game back. . . . Brandon F John Quenneville (suspected concussion) practised Wednesday, while F Jayce Hawryluk (undisclosed injury) remains out, as is D Ivan Provorov (undisclosed injury) and G Alex Moodie (suspected concussion). . . .
F Quinn Benjafield of the Kamloops Blazers ended up with a four-game suspension for a headshot major and game misconduct he took Saturday against the visiting Kelowna Rockets. He hit F Tyson Baillie, who is listed by the Rockets as being out week-to-week. Benjafield has sat out one game so far. . . . The Blazers and Tri-City Americans each were fined $250 for warmup violations prior to Monday afternoon’s game in Kamloops. Tri-City D Riley Hillis came out of that with a one-game suspension for a game misconduct he incurred. Interestingly, there isn’t anything on the online game sheet that indicates that Hillis was ejected. He served the suspension last night as the Americans played in Everett. . . .
D Alec Capstick of Langley, B.C., has committed to the U of Notre Dame where he will play hockey for the Irish. . . . Capstick, who will turn 16 on Feb, 18, was selected by the Saskatoon Blades in the fourth round of the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. . . . He is playing at Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford, B.C. . . .
The Vancouver Giants are another WHL team to have gotten Hockey Hooky fever. They’ll play host to the Moose Jaw Warriors on Wednesday with the game starting at noon. The Warriors also will play a Hockey Hooky game in Victoria on Tuesday. That game is to start at 12:05 p.m.
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The Donaldson family — mother Dana, father Doug and sister Kirsten — are determined that the life of their son and brother, Ryan, won’t have been for naught.
They are convinced that concussions suffered while playing hockey led to his suicide last February at the age of 17.
Gary Ahuja of the Langley Times has an extensive piece right here on the Donaldson family.
“Concussions and even simple brain shaking cause changes in the brain that cause the sufferer to lose control over their impulses,” Dana told Ahuja. “Basically, they make impulsive decisions. That is what Ryan did, he made an impulsive life-ending decision.
“That was not him and all his many friends need to know it was the brain injury that caused his death.
“Anyone who knew him knows he was full of life and positive.”
The family’s goal is to make sure no one else goes through what they have experienced in the past year.
“One of the biggest things for us is that we have come to realize with concussions, if we could go back, we would change exactly how we dealt with Ryan,” Doug said.
“Once a player has had one concussion, they know what the questions are and how they are going to answer them so they can get back in the game,” he said.
“With the baseline test, you can take that away from a player.”
The Donaldsons are organizing the inaugural Ryan Donaldson Memorial Tournament. Individual players will register for the tournament, teams will be selected via a draft and fun will be had by all.
Proceeds will be used to provide access to baseline testing to any players who want it. There also are plans to set up a trust fund that will be used to aid families who are dealing with concussions.
It is worth noting, too, that the Donaldsons donated their son’s organs as they took him off life support.
“We figured he was such a giving kid, this is what he would have wanted to do,” Dana told Ahuja.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:

In Prince Albert, G Nick McBride stopped 24 shots to lead the Raiders to a 3-0 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . It was McBride’s second shutout of the season and second of his career. It was his first victory in 12 decisions, too. . . . Raiders F Tim Vanstone scored his eighth goal at 2:56 of the second period and it stood up as the winner. . . . The Raiders struck for three goals in 4:07, with F Colton Heffley getting his fifth at 6:41 and F Matteo Gennaro getting No. 9 at 7:03. . . . Chiefs G Garret Hughson stopped 27 shots. . . . F Craig Leverton had two assists. . . . Eleven of the 16 minor penalties called in the game were for roughing. . . . Each team was 0-for-4 on the PP. . . . Vanstone left in the second period with an undisclosed injury and didn’t return. . . . The Raiders (23-31-2) have won two in a row. They have 16 games remaining and are seven points out of a playoff spot. . . . Spokane (26-24-4), which has been shutout in five of its last 11 games, is 2-2-0 on its six-game East Division trip. The Chiefs, who are in Brandon on Friday, hold down the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Jeff D’Andrea of panow.com has a game story right here. . . .

In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice scored five second-period goals and went on to beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 6-3. . . . Ice F Levi Cable, who was playing his 250th game, got the game’s first goal, his 24th, just 59 seconds into the first period. . . . Ice F Jaedon Descheneau picked up his 150th career assist on Cable’s goal. . . . Tigers F Cole Sanford scored his WHL-leading 44th goal on a PP at 2:54 of the second. He’s riding a 12-game point streak. . . . Ice D Rinat Valiev broke the tie with his eighth goal at 11:07 and the Ice added four more before the period ended. . . . Cable and Valiev each had two assists, as did F Luke Philp. . . . Ice F Tim Bozon scored his 22nd goal and added his 150th career assist. . . . Descheneau added his 25th goal, while F Sam Reinhart got No. 13. . . . With head coach Ryan McGill ill and unavailable, assistant coach Jay Henderson ran the Kootenay bench. . . . The Ice had D Tanner Faith back on their bench, but he was in the role of an assistant coach. He is recovering from season-ending shoulder surgery. . . . The Tigers were without D Ty Stanton (ill), but had D Tyler Lewington, their captain, back from a one-game suspension. . . . The Ice (28-26-1) had lost its previous three games. It owns the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot, one point up on Edmonton. . . . The Tigers (36-16-3) lead the Central Division by six points over Calgary. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story right here. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Jamal Watson scored twice and set up another to lead the Hurricanes to a 6-3 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Watson has 20 goals. . . . The Hurricanes erased a 2-1 deficit with three straight goals. . . . F Jack Rodewald gave Moose Jaw a 2-1 lead with a shorthanded goal at 2:08 of the second. He’s got 25 goals. . . . Lethbridge F Mike Winther tied it with his ninth goal, on a PP, at 14:53. . . . F Johnny Wesley got his third goal at 18:30, on another PP, and Watson upped the lead to 4-2 at 2:48 of the third. . . . Moose Jaw F Jiri Smejkal, who had two assists, cut the deficit to one with his ninth goal at 12:57. . . . The Hurricanes iced it with a pair of shorthanded empty-netters, from Watson and D Andrew Nielsen, his seventh. Nielsen also had two assists. . . . Smejkal has 23 points in 54 games, with six of the points coming in two games against the Hurricanes. . . . Lethbridge G Stuart Skinner turned aside 38 shots, 16 more than Moose Jaw’s Zach Sawchenko. . . . D Reid Zalitach played his first game for the Warriors since Nov. 1. He had left the club for personal reasons. . . . The Hurricanes now are 16-32-6. . . . The Warriors (21-29-4), who are nine points out of a playoff spot with 18 games to play, have lost two in a row. This was the first of seven straight road games as the Canadian women’s curling championship has taken over their home arena. . . .

In Calgary, the Hitmen ran their winning streak to nine games with a 4-3 five-round shootout victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . F Brad Morrison scored for the Cougars in the first round of the shootout, with F Adam Tambellini countering for the Hitmen in the second round. . . . F Connor Rankin won it in the fifth round. . . . Cougars G Ty Edmonds stopped 49 shots through OT. . . . Morrison forced OT with his 20th goal at 12:00 of the third period. . . . The Hitmen led 2-0 in the second period, only to have the Cougars tie it on D Tate Olson’s fifth goal, on a PP, at 1:20 of the third. . . . F Jake Virtanen shot Calgary back into the lead with his 15th goal at 11:13. . . . Tambellini had two assists, while D Travis Sanheim scored his 11th goal and added an assist. . . . Calgary F Kenton Helgesen, the team captain, scored his 18th goal of the season in what was his 250th career game. . . . Morrison also had an assist, while F Zach Pochiro got his 10th goal and added an assist. . . . Calgary G Brendan Burke stopped 19 shots. . . . The Hitmen (32-17-5) are second in the Central Division, six points behind Medicine Hat. . . . The Cougars (21-32-4) are 0-1-2 in their last three games. They are fifth in the B.C. Division, but just three points behind third-place Vancouver. . . .

In Vancouver, F Carter Popoff scored twice to help the Giants to a 3-1 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Edmonton F Lane Bauer scored his 18th goal at 9:42 of the first period. . . . The Giants scored the game’s last three goals. . . . Popoff tied it at 7:33 of the second period and F Vladimir Bobylev got his third just 44 seconds later. . . . Popoff, who has 22 goals, iced it with an empty-netter at 19:34 of the third. . . . Vancouver G Cody Porter stopped 31 shots. . . . Giants G Payton Lee, who has been out with a hand injury, was on the bench backing up Porter. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry blocked 21 shots. He played in his 148th career game to set a franchise record. He had shared the mark with Laurent Brossoit. . . . Vancouver F Tyler Benson had two assists. . . . Vancouver D Arvin Atwal was eligible to return from a WHL suspension, but he was a healthy scratch. . . . Vancouver (23-29-3) has won two in a row and has moved into third place in the B.C. Division, one point ahead of idle Kamloops. The Giants have a game in hand. . . . Edmonton (25-26-6) has lost two straight; it went 1-3-0 on a trip into the B.C. Division, scoring only six goals in the process. The Oil Kings hold down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has a game story right here. . . .

In Everett, the Tri-City Americans erased 2-0 and 3-2 deficits as they beat the Silvertips 4-3 in a shootout. . . . F Vladislav Lukin scored the lone goal of the three-round shootout. Lukin, a freshman from Ufa, Russia, isn’t believed to be related to former Kamloops Blazers captain Jaret Lukin. . . . This really was a wild one. . . . Everett led 2-0 after one period — on goals from F Patrick Bajkov, his 20th, and Remi Laurencelle, his 15th — and took that lead into the third. . . . The Americans tied it on D Brendan O’Reilly’s first goal, at 7:23 of the third, and F Lucas Nickles’ 20th just 12 seconds later. . . . F Nikita Scherbak put Everett back out front with his 23rd goal at 12:05. . . . Tri-City pulled even on F Beau McCue’s 21st goal at 14:28. . . . D Brandon Carlo had two assists for the Americans. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz stopped 26 shots through OT, three more than Tri-City’s Eric Comrie. . . . F Parker Bowles was among the Americans’ scratches. Bowles, who leads the Americans in assists and points, left a 3-0 loss in Kamloops on Sunday with an apparent injury to his left arm or shoulder. . . . The Americans also scratched D Riley Hillis (suspended), D Tyler Morrison (undisclosed injury) and D Dylan Coghlan (undisclosed injury). Tri-City F Braden Purtill moved back to defence for this one. . . . The Americans (26-26-3) are fifth in the U.S. Division, but are in the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . Everett (34-16-5) leads the U.S. Division by seven points over idle Portland. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has a game story right here.
———

THURSDAY’S GAMES

No Games Scheduled.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

(all times local)
Swift Current at Regina, 7 p.m.
Spokane at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Saskatoon at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Lethbridge at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, 7 p.m.
Prince George at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
Tri-City at Portland, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Vancouver at Everett, 7:35 p.m.
———

(1/4) Two weeks ago I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. The tumor was surgically removed and I am on my way to a full recovery!
— Ty Rimmer (@Rimms35) February 12, 2015

(2/4) The more awareness we can raise about this the better! So I would like to encourage all young men to get themselves checked out.
— Ty Rimmer (@Rimms35) February 12, 2015

(3/4) This disease can manifest very quickly, and may advance rapidly. So please dont hesitate to talk to your doctor if you notice anything
— Ty Rimmer (@Rimms35) February 12, 2015

(4/4) Thankyou to my family, friends, doctors, and the entire @EdmontonOilers organization for being so supportive during this time!
— Ty Rimmer (@Rimms35) February 12, 2015

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
Dusseldorf (Germany, DEL) announced the signings of F Colin Long (Kelowna, 2005-09) and F Ashton Rome (Moose Jaw, Red Deer, Kamloops, 2002-06) to one-year contract extensions. Long had eight goals and nine assists in 15 games and Rome had 13 goals and 12 assists in 33 games with Dusseldorf this season. Long, who missed the first part of the season with a concussion, also serves as an assistant coach. . . .

G Dusan Salficky (Tri-City, 1990-91) signed a one-year contract extension with Pardubice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had a 3.02 GAA and a .909 save percentage in 34 games with Pardubice this season.


———
The Prince George Cougars have written an open letter that thanks “fans, volunteers, off-ice officials, billets, local media and corporate sponsors for their continued support in 2012-2013.”
More importantly, the letter, which is posted on the Cougars’ website, would seem to indicate that the franchise isn’t going anywhere.
“Our loyal season-ticket holders stuck with our team through thick and thin and we were so grateful to see your familiar faces at the CN Centre on a nightly basis,” the letter reads. “Your knowledge, and support of the Prince George Cougars has not gone un-noticed, and we can’t wait to welcome you back in September. You are a strong part of the fabric that holds our team together.”
There are numerous references to next season, including this as part of a thank you to sponsors: “We have some exciting plans for the 2013-2014 season, and we look forward to partnering up with the Prince George business community once again.”
The letter closes with: “ . . . we look forward to greater success both on and off the ice in 2013-2014 and beyond.”
Sorry, Chilliwack, but it looks like you will have to wait.
———
I kept reading and hearing that the Regina Pats won the WHL’s bantam draft lottery on Wednesday.
But, really, they didn’t.
I mean, do you phone your neighbours and tell them that you won the lottery when, really, you got the second prize?
So the truth is that the Vancouver Giants won the draft lottery, which means they will have the first selection on May 2 in Calgary. (What, you expected the draft to be held over two days on a weekend in, say, Moose Jaw or Portland?)
The Giants will select first — hello, there, Tyler Benson — followed in order by Regina, the Prince George Cougars, Brandon Wheat Kings, Moose Jaw Warriors and Lethbridge Hurricanes. Those are the WHL’s six non-playoff teams.
The first-round order of selection following those picks is:
7. Everett Silvertips; 8. Seattle Thunderbirds; 9. Kootenay Ice; 10. Medicine Hat Tigers; 11. Victoria Royals; 12. Swift Current Broncos; 13. Prince Albert Raiders; 14. Red Deer Rebels;
15. Tri-City Americans; 16. Spokane Chiefs; 17. Saskatoon Blades; 18. Calgary Hitmen; 19. Kamloops Blazers; 20. Edmonton Oil Kings; 21. Kelowna Rockets; 22. Portland Winterhawks.
Keep in mind that the draft lottery only impacts the first round. Here’s the draft order for all subsequent rounds:
1. Vancouver; 2. Prince George; 3. Brandon; 4. Everett; 5. Seattle; 6. Regina; 7. Moose Jaw;
8. Lethbridge; 9. Kootenay; 10. Medicine Hat; 11. Victoria; 12. Swift Current; 13. Prince Albert; 14. Red Deer;
15. Tri-City; 16. Spokane; 17. Saskatoon; 18. Calgary; 19. Kamloops; 20. Edmonton; 21. Kelowna; 22. Portland.
Also keep in mind that the afore-mentioned draft order doesn’t include any selections that already have been traded.
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The WHL handed out some Eastern Conference awards. If you haven’t yet seen who got what, you are able to check it out at whl.ca. . . . It’s the Western Conference’s turn today. Yes, Travis Green of the Portland Winterhawks should be the conference’s coach of the year. But will he?
———



Phil Andrews, the radio voice of the Regina Pats, reports via Twitter that F Chandler Stephenson “will join the AHL's Hershey Bears on Monday next week for the remainder of their season.” . . .
The Red Deer Rebels have added F Adam Musil and G Taz Burman to their roster. Musil, the brother of Edmonton Oil Kings D David Musil, was a first-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft, while Burman was taken in the second round. . . .
The Kamloops Blazers have added F Mitch Lipon, 16, to their roster for the remainder of the season. Lipon, a list player, is the brother of Kamloops F JC Lipon. Mitch played this season with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians, picking up 51 points in 44 games. . . .
F Colin Jacobs of the Prince George Cougars has joined the Rochester Americans, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. He was a fourth-round pick in the 2011 NHL draft, taken by the Sabres while he was with the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . .
Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that the Everett Silvertips are likely to be without veteran F Ryan Harrison for the start of the playoffs. Harrison hasn’t played or practised since March 8, thanks to an undisclosed injury. . . . Everett F Logan Aasman (undisclosed) also is likely to miss at least the first two games. . . .
Not that there really was any doubt, but the Portland Winterhawks are expecting to have Mac Carruth in goal when they open against visiting Everett on Friday night. Carruth left a March 12 game with an undisclosed injury but it was never believed to be serious. . . . However, as Nick Patterson points out, Brendan Burke, Portland’s other goaltender, is 7-0-0 against the Silvertips this season. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades are likely to be without  F Erik Benoit (undisclosed) when they open tonight against the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. He left a game on Friday and hasn’t practised. . . .
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The playoffs start tonight with the Medicine Hat Tigers in Saskatoon to play the Blades, and the Swift Current Broncos in Calgary to meet the Hitmen. . . . The other six series all open on Friday.
———

The WHL’s first-round playoff matchups:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Edmonton (1) vs. Kootenay (8)
Saskatoon (2) vs. Medicine Hat (7)
Calgary (3) vs. Swift Current (6)
Red Deer (4) vs Prince Albert (5)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Portland (1) vs. Everett (8)
Kelowna (2) vs. Seattle (7)
Kamloops (3) vs. Victoria (6)
Spokane (4) vs. Tri-City (5)
———


From BCHL watcher Brian Wiebe (@Brian_Wiebe): “Head Coach/GM Jon Calvano no longer listed on @BCHLExpress website, only assistants listed. No idea what's up with Calvano.”


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The Sports Curmudgeon celebrates (?) the end of 2012 with his Meathead of the Year posting. You won’t want to miss it and it’s right here.
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If you are at all concerned about concussions in sport, including the WHL, you should be paying attention to this website right here.
It is the sports page for the PBS-TV investigative program FRONTLINE. And there is some remarkable information available there.
For example, the site has been tracking concussions in the NFL this season. In the Week 16 Roundup, Jason M. Breslow begins:
“Through the first 15 weeks of the NFL season, roughly 10 players per week suffered a concussion. This past weekend, teams appeared to outdo that pace as at least 12 players — including three who have already had a concussion this year — left games due to possible head injuries.”
If you are paying attention, the number of head injuries being suffered by athletes, including WHL players, is absolutely mind-boggling.
———
Right here is another Frontline piece, this one written by Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada, who are writing a book on football and brain injuries that will be published in 2013.
This story details how “the NFL’s retirement board awarded disability payments to at least three former players after concluding that football caused their crippling brain injuries — even as the league’s top medical experts for years consistently denied any link between the sport and long-term brain damage.”
———
Fainaru and Fainaru-Wade have another piece right here in which they write:
“Three years after Congress pressured the NFL to overhaul its concussion program, the league effort remains marked by inconsistencies in how it tracks, manages and even describes serious head injuries, making it difficult to assess the league’s progress on the issue, an analysis by ESPN’s Outside the Lines and PBS FRONTLINE shows.
“The analysis found that NFL officials this season have released conflicting data about head injuries, and medical personnel have sent some injured players back into games — possibly in violation of new league guidelines.”
Check out that piece right here.
———
The gang at CBC Regina’s The Morning Edition set up a chat with Shelley Lipon, the mother of Team Canada forward JC Lipon, who also plays for the Kamloops Blazers, on Monday morning. Shelley and her husband, Jason, are in Ufa, Russia, taking in all the excitement of the World Junior Championship. That interview is right here.
———
F Adam Lowry of the Swift Current Broncos was credited with an assist in a postgame scoring decision following a 4-1 loss to the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Saturday night. That extended Lowry’s point streak to 14 games. . . . The Broncos are at home to the Lethbridge Hurricanes today at 2 p.m.
———
The Everett Silvertips have signed F Logan Aasman, 17, who made his WHL debut in Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Rockets in Kelowna. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound Aasman, from Medicine Hat, had 18 points, including 12 goals, with the midget Southeast Tigers. He is the younger brother of D Ryan Aasman, who played with five different WHL teams from 2008-12.
———
The OHL’s London Knights ran their win streak to 24 games on Monday, and that’s one shy of the league record that is held by the 1984-85 Kitchener Rangers. . . . On Monday, the Knights erased a 2-0 deficity and beat the host Sarnia Sting, 3-2. . . . The teams play today in London. . . . Should the Knights win today, they could set the record Friday when they play host to the Saginaw Spirit. . . . Kitchener and the QMJHL’s 1973-74 Sorel Eperviers share the CHL record. . . . On Monday, the Sting felt London should have been called for a check from behind just prior to the visitors scoring the tieing goal. . . . “It wasn’t hard to figure out who was bad and who wasn’t,” Sting head coach Jacques Beaulieu told Morris Dalla Costa of the London Free Press. “It wasn’t the London Knights or the Sarnia Sting tonight.” . . . The WHL record for longest winning streak in one season is 22 (Estevan Bruins, 1967-68).
———
If you read here the other day about Dwight McMillan’s decision to step down as head coach of the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings, you may be have been left wondering what really happened.
Well, McMillan has written a letter thanking a whole lot of people for their support over the last 37 years.
He also writes a bit more than that.
“Unfortunately,” McMillan writes, “my term as Head Coach is over.  Scott Sabados - Team President, and the Board of Directors terminated my employment as Head Coach I then offered to allow them to have me resign and they chose to communicate my dismissal as a resignation.”
McMillan’s complete letter is right here
———
MONDAY’S GAMES:
In Portland, G Mac Carruth stopped 31 shots to lead the Winterhawks to a 5-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . It was the 18th straight New Year’s Eve that these teams have played in Portland and the 22nd renewal of the battle overall. . . . The Winterhawks hold a 13-8-1 edge. . . . Carruth, now 18-2-0, won his 105th regular-season game to tie the franchise record held by Darrell May Sr. (1978-82). . . . Carruth has three shutouts this season and seven in his career. . . . On Dec. 31, 2011, Carruth stopped 18 shots as Portland beat visiting Seattle, 2-0. . . . The Winterhawks, who are playing as though on a mission or something, have won nine in a row and are 28-2 over their last 30 outings. . . . They lead the overall standings by nine points over the idle Kamloops Blazers and hold a 16-point edge over the Spokane Chiefs in the U.S. Division. . . . Portland has the WHL’s top offence (172 goals for) and defence (82 goals against). . . . F Paul Bittner’s fifth goal of the season, at 12:41 of the first, stood up as the winner. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic got his 24th, shorhanded, and had two assists, while F Nic Petan scored No. 26. . . . The Thunderbirds have lost eight in a row. . . . F Keegan Kolesar, the 20th overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft, made his debut with Seattle. From Winnipeg, Kolesar has 26 points, including 15 goals, in 25 games with the midget AAA Winnipeg Thrashers. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Levi Cable broke a 2-2 tie at 10:20 of the third period as the Kootenay Ice got past the Calgary Hitmen, 3-2. . . . F Brock Montgomery scored the Ice’s other two goals, giving him 14. . . . Cable has five goals. . . . Calgary is 13-2-1 on the road . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 30 shots. . . .

In Edmonton, F Henrik Samuelsson scored three times to lead the Oil Kings to a 6-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Samuelsson, who also had an assist, has 45 points, including 22 goals, in 38 games. He joined the Oil Kings a year ago and put up 23 points, seven of them goals, in 28 games. . . . This was Samuelsson’s first WHL hat trick. . . . Edmonton D Keegan Lowe scored twice, giving him eight goals this season — in this first three season, he scored two, two and three goals. It was his first two-goal game and came in his 243rd regular-season game. . . . The Oil Kings now lead the Eastern Conference by three points over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the Wheat Kings, tweeted this during the game: “Michael Ferland goes akwardly into the boards on an attempted hit in 2nd period & then immediately limped to the #BWK dressing room.” . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Spokane Chiefs, 6-3. . . . The Americans hold a 15-6-1 edge, with one tie, in the New Year’s Eve series. . . . Spokane took a 3-2 lead into the third period, only to have F Parker Bowles tie it at 2:06 and D Drydn Dow put the Americans out front for good at 7:41. . . . Bowles, who has 10 goals, finished with two scores and an assist. . . . Tri-City F Marcus Messier played for the first time since Nov. 30 and scored the game’s first goal, his ninth. He had missed nine games with an undisclosed injury. . . . Spokane D Brenden Kichton had a goal and an assist; he’s got 44 points in 37 games. . . . The Chiefs hold a 4-2-1 edge in the season series but have lost the last two.
———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None
———


Kelowna Rockets F Ryan Olsen (@rolsen94): “45 minutes to find a kiss . . . . Or its 3 years in a row #newyears #imgayiguess”



There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.