Showing posts with label Max James. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Max James. Show all posts

Friday, January 13, 2017

Len Boogaard fights the good fight ... Patrick solid in return ... Americans, Cougars roar back to win


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 F Björn Svensson (Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, 2003-06) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Ingolstadt (Germany, DEL). Svensson was released by Färjestad Karlstad (Sweden, SHL) on Thursday. He had three goals and three assists in 31 games.
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 The WHL has acknowledged that, yes, Don Hay’s first head-coaching victory occurred on Dec. 18, 1987, but, no, it isn’t going to count it.
If you’re late to this story, everyone thought that Hay had posted his 700th victory on Jan. 6 when his
Kamloops Blazers beat the visiting Kelowna Rockets, 3-1.
The WHL had said that Hay’s first coaching victory occurred on Dec. 13, 1991, when Hay, then an assistant coach with the Blazers, took over while head coach Tom Renney was with Canada’s national junior team. The Blazers went 6-5-0 under Hay during that stint.
But in conversation after the Jan. 6 game it became apparent that Hay also had taken over the Blazers from head coach Ken Hitchcock in December 1987 when the latter joined Team Canada’s coaching staff.
The Blazers went 2-4-0 with Hay as the head coach of record, twice beating the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-2 both times, giving him the first two WHL victories of his career.
That would mean, then, that when the Blazers beat the Giants on Jan. 6, it actually was Hay’s 702nd victory.
Understand that people other than WHL head coaches get credit for victories a number of times each season.
For example, Mark O’Leary, an assistant coach with the Moose Jaw Warriors, ran the bench from Dec. 9 through Jan. 4 when head coach Tim Hunter was with Team Canada. The Warriors went 7-3-2 with O’Leary in charge.
Earlier than that, Lethbridge Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt stepped in when head coach Brent Kisio was at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. The Hurricanes went 2-2-1 under Anholt.
Just this week, Dean Brockman, the head coach of the Saskatoon Blades, missed a 5-4 OT victory over the visiting Calgary Hitmen because he attended a funeral. Assistant coach Ryan Keller was the head coach of record and earned his first victory.
Last season, the Brandon Wheat Kings played 13 games without general manager and head coach Kelly McCrimmon — one while he was at meetings in Calgary and 12 while he was with Team Canada. David Anning, then an assistant coach, stepped up and was 9-3-1.
You would think, then, that it is obvious that Hay should be given credit for the two 1987 victories.
However, when Earl Seitz, the sports director at CFJC-TV in Kamloops, contacted the WHL office and asked for clarification, here is the response he received:
“Upon further review, Dec. 18, 1987, should serve as Don’s first game as the coach of record. It also happens to be a 5-2 Blazers win at Seattle. While this changes the first game/date on Don’s coaching record, it does not change the number of career victories. We maintain that (the Jan. 6) win versus Kelowna is his 700th career coaching victory.”
All of this is significant because Hay is only the second coach in WHL history to get to 700 victories and now has the career record within reach. Ken Hodge, who coached with the original Edmonton Oil Kings and Portland Winterhawks, is on top, at 742.
It is most likely that Hay, assuming he is back for a fourth season as head coach of his hometown Blazers, will get the opportunity at some point next season to break that record.
It’s up to the WHL to clarify things by crediting Hay with the two victories before then so that the situation isn’t any messier when that time arrives.
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The Edmonton Oil Kings have added D Matthew Robertson to their roster and he is expected to play tonight against the host Lethbridge Hurricanes. He had been playing with the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings. The 6-foot-1, 170-pounder was the seventh overall selection in the 2016 bantam draft. He has three goals and eight assists in 22 games with the Kings.
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Concussion Report

 Len Boogaard isn’t going away. The father of the late Derek Boogaard continues to work towards getting fighting out of hockey. His son was an enforcer — in the WHL, the AHL, the NHL — and Len knows the hell through which Derek lived.
In an epic piece in The Globe and Mail, Roy MacGregor writes: “Scientists say that the developing brain is most vulnerable and Len Boogaard wonders how, then, junior hockey can justify fighting on any level.”
“Why,” Boogaard wonders, “would you have a 16-year-old fighting a 20-year-old? It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Later, MacGregor writes: “If, as the (NHL) itself has said, fighting causes about 10 per cent of the concussions suffered in a season, why not reduce those concussion injuries by 10 per cent immediately by putting an end to fighting?”
Boogaard added: “How do you square the circle where they want to get rid of headshots but they allow fighting in the league?
“What am I missing?”
MacGregor’s complete essay is right here.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:


At Brandon, F Tyler Coulter scored three goals and added three assists but was overshadowed by the return of F Nolan Patrick as the Wheat Kings beat the Kootenay Ice, 8-5. . . . Patrick, who is likely to be
NOLAN PATRICK
the No. 1 selection in the NHL’s 2017 draft, had two goals and two assists in his first game since Oct. 11. . . . Patrick, who began the game on a line with Ty Lewis and Stelio Mattheos, now has 13 points, including six goals, in seven games this season. . . . The Ice took a 2-0 lead as F Colton Kroeker (3) and F Vince Loschiavo (15), on a PP, scored at 1:33 and 6:00 of the first period. . . . The Wheat Kings came back with three goals, from F Linden McCorrister (2), Patrick, on a PP, and Coulter, shorthanded. . . . D Dallas Hines pulled Kootenay into a 3-3 tie at 18:07 of the first, on a PP. . . . Brandon took control with the next three goals, as Patrick got another PP goal, at 6:24 of the second period, Coulter scored again at 8:42 and F Reid Duke (24) counted at 13:31. . . . Still, the Ice didn’t go away and got back to within one when F Brett Davis (8) scored 53 seconds into the third period and D Sam Huston got his first at 3:11. Huston is from Brandon scored his first goal in his 30th game. He was a ninth-round pick by the Ice in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . Mattheos added insurance with his 15th, at 8:09, and Coulter completed his hat trick with his 19th goal, on a PP, at 17:52. . . . Brandon got two assists each from D Kale Clague and F Tanner Kaspick, with Mattheos and Duke adding one each. . . . D Troy Murray had two helpers for the Ice and Kroeker had one. . . . G Logan Thompson started for Brandon and gave up three goals on 10 shots in the first period. Travis Child, acquired from the Swift Current at the Broncos, made his Brandon debut with 14 saves on 16 shots over the last two periods to earn the victory. . . . The Ice got 32 saves from Payton Lee. . . . The Wheat Kings were 3-6 on the PP; the Ice was 2-5. . . . The Wheat Kings had Duke in their lineup despite his having taken a kneeing major and game misconduct in a 5-2 loss to the visiting Tri-City Americans on Wednesday night. Obviously, the WHL office didn’t feel the hit was worthy of a suspension. . . . Brandon (21-17-4) holds down the Eastern Conference’s first playoff spot, six points ahead of the idle Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Ice (10-26-8) has lost two in a row. . . . The teams meet again tonight in Brandon. . . . Announced attendance: 3,671.
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At Kamloops, G Carter Hart returned to the Everett Silvertips’ lineup and blanked the Blazers, 4-0. . . .
CARTER HART
Hart, who hadn’t played since he was with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship, stopped 22 shots for his fifth shutout this season and the 15th of his career. He is in his third season with Everett. . . . Only 13 goaltenders in WHL history have more shutouts than does Hart. . . . F Patrick Bajkov (19) scored the game’s first goal, at 14:20 of the second period. . . . Everett put it away with three third-period goals, two from F Devon Skoleski, who has eight goals, and one from F Matt Fonteyne, who has a dozen. . . . F Dominic Zwerger and F Connor Dewar had two assists each, while Fonteyne and Bajkov each had one. . . . Everett D Kevin Davis, who is from Kamloops, had his 13-game point streak snapped. . . . Kamloops G Dylan Ferguson stopped 24 shots in his 14th straight start. Ferguson is on that run because G Connor Ingram, Hart’s partner with Team Canada, is getting some R&R with his family in Imperial, Sask. . . . Each team was 0-2 on the PP. . . . Everett also had D Noah Juulsen back after the WJC, while D Aaron Irving returned from an undisclosed injury. . . . The Blazers had F Garrett Pilon back after a three-game absence due to a concussion. D Chaz Reddekopp of the Victoria Royals served a two-game suspension under supplemental discipline for the unpenalized hit on which Pilon was injured. . . . Everett (27-5-7) has points in three straight (2-0-1) and is tied for second in the overall standings, one point behind the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Blazers (25-16-3) were 2-0-1 in their previous three games. They are third in the B.C. Division, two points behind the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Announced attendance: 3,575.
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At Lethbridge, F Nikita Popugaev scored the only goal of a shootout as the Prince George Cougars came
NIKITA POPUGAEV
back from a 5-1 deficit to beat the Hurricanes, 6-5. . . . Lethbridge led this one 5-1 with fewer than 15 minutes left in the third period. . . . Cougars F Jesse Gabrielle got things started with his 21st goal, on a PP, at 5:13 of the third period. . . . F Josh Curtis (7) scored shorthanded at 6:55, to get the visitors to within two. . . . F Brogan O’Brien’s sixth goal, at 10:23, cut the deficit to 5-4. . . . O’Brien then tied the score at 15:59. . . . The Hurricanes had taken a 2-0 lead on goals from F Jordy Bellerive (20), at 4:51 of the first period, and D Brennan Riddle (3), at 5:45. . . . Popugaev’s 24th goal got the Cougars on the scoreboard, at 6:33. . . . The Hurricanes then added three straight goals to seemingly take control. F Jadon Joseph (1) scored on a PP, at 16:01 of the first period, with D Brennan Menell (7) counting, shorthanded, at 4:58 of the second period and F Tyler Wong getting his 30th goal, at 11:53. . . . Popugaev also had two assists, while Gabrielle had one. . . . Wong and Menell each had an assist for the Hurricanes. . . . G Nick McBride stopped 37 shots for Prince George, three more than Lethbridge’s Stuart Skinner. . . . Each team was 1-4 on the PP. . . . The Cougars are three games into a trip on which they’ll play four games in five nights. . . . Prince George (30-12-2) has won two in a row and has moved back into first place in the overall standings. . . . Lethbridge (23-15-6) had won its previous three games. The Hurricanes are second in the Central Division, six points ahead of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Announced attendance: 3,675.
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At Medicine Hat, F Chad Butcher scored three times and added two assists to help the Tigers to a 7-3
CHAD BUTCHER
victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Tigers grabbed control early as they led 5-0 before the second period was five minutes old. . . . The home side got first-period goals from Butcher, on a PP, at 10:33; F Mark Rassell (18), at 11:54; F Zach Fischer (24), on a PP, at 14:54, and F Mason Shaw (14), at 15:51. . . . Butcher upped the lead to 5-0 at 4:08 of the second period. . . . F Riley Stotts (5) scored for the Broncos at 4:29 of the second period, but Butcher completed his hat trick, with his 20th goal, on a PP, at 17:45. . . . The Broncos then got goals from F Aleksi Heponiemi, his 15th, at 3:02 of the third period and F Lane Pederson, his 18th, at 15:17. . . . D Clayton Kirichenko, who also had three assists, scored his fifth goal, into an empty net, at 16:39. . . . F Steve Owre had two assists for the Tigers, with Fischer adding one. . . . Pederson had two helpers for the Broncos. . . . G Michael Bullion stopped 18 shots for Medicine Hat. . . . G Jordan Papirny, in his first start since coming over from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Tuesday, was beaten four times on nine shots in 15:51. Taz Burman came on to finish up and stopped 23 of 25 shots in 40:42. . . . Medicine Hat was 3-3 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-2. . . . F Ryan Graham was among Swift Current’s scratches. He is out with an undisclosed injury. . . . Swift Current F Glenn Gawdin didn’t finish the game. . . . The Tigers (30-13-1) are tied for second in the overall standings, one point behind the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Broncos (24-13-7) had won their previous two games. They are third in the East Division, four points behind the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Announced attendance: 3,568.
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At Portland, the Winterhawks built up a 5-1 lead and, unlike a couple of other teams on this night, hung
HENRI JOKIHARJU
on for a 5-4 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . F Ryan Hughes (15) gave Portland a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 5:03 of the first period. . . . The Chiefs tied it at 16:40 as F Ethan McIndoe got No. 9 on a PP. . . . Portland went back out front just 13 seconds later on F Brendan De Jong’s seventh goal. . . . Second-period goals from F Skyler McKenzie (26), F Colton Veloso (10) and D Caleb Jones (4), on a PP, gave Portland a 5-1 lead. . . . Jones, who has points in 10 straight games, was playing his first game since returning from winning gold with Team USA at the World Junior Championship. . . . Spokane F Kailer Yamamoto’s 26th goal, at 18:06 of the second period, got the Chiefs to within three goals. . . . McIndoe scored again, at 11:54, and D Nolan Reid’s first goal made it 5-4 at 13:19. . . . D Henri Jokiharju had three assists for Portland, while F Cody Glass added two. Jones and Hughes each had one. . . . Yamamoto added an assist to his goal. . . . G Cole Kehler turned aside 28 shots to earn the victory. . . . Spokane starter Jayden Sittler gave up five goals on 23 shots in 33:28. Dawson Weatherill came on in relief to stop the 10 shots he faced, in 25:09. . . . Portland was 2-2 on the PP; Spokane was 1-1. . . . F Hayden Ostir returned to Spokane’s lineup for the first time since Dec. 13. . . . The Winterhawks (22-18-1) hold down the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot and are one point out of third in the U.S. Division. . . . . The Chiefs (17-19-7) have lost four in a row (0-3-1) and are four points behind Portland. . . . Announced attendance: 4,338.
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At Prince Albert, the Red Deer Rebels scored the game’s last two goals and beat the Raiders, 4-3. . . .
ADAM MUSIL
The last two goals came from two players who skated for Czech Republic at the World Junior Championship. . . . F Michael Spacek tied the score, 3-3, at 7:01 of the third period, while shorthanded. He’s got 17 goals. . . . F Adam Musil’s PP goal, at 16:52, proved to be the winner. It was his 16th goal. . . . The Raiders had opened a 2-0 first-period lead on goals from F Parker Kelly (6) and F Tim Vanstone (7), on a PP. . . . The visitors tied it on two quick second-period goals from D Alexander Alexeyev (4), on a PP, at 2:24, and F Lane Zablocki (11), at 4:05. . . . F Curtis Miske gave the home side a 3-2 lead with his seventh goal 48 seconds into the third period. . . . Red Deer got two assists from D Colton Bobyk and one each from Alexeyev and Spacek. . . . G Riley Lamb stopped 33 shots for Red Deer, two more than the Raiders’ Ian Scott. . . . Red Deer was 2-5 on the PP; Prince Albert was 1-5. . . . The Rebels (20-17-6) have won two in a row and are third in the Central Division. . . . The Raiders (8-32-4) have lost eight straight (0-6-2). . . . Raiders F Simon Stransky didn’t play the last 10 minutes of the third period after taking a check from Red Deer D Brandon Schuldaus. . . . Announced attendance: 2,127.
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At Regina, the Tri-City Americans erased a 5-1 first-period deficit and beat the Pats, 6-5. . . . Regina scored four times in the game’s first 11 minutes but couldn’t hang on. . . . D Connor Hobbs (17), F Jake
MAX JAMES
Leschyshyn (16), F Bryan Lockner (2) and F Dawson Leedahl (17) had the home side out front 4-0 by 10:51 of the opening period. . . . F Michael Rasmussen, back in Tri-City’s lineup after a two-game absence, made it 4-1 with No. 30, on a PP, at 11:16. . . . Regina F Filip Ahl (19) got that one back at 17:12. . . . F Vladislav Lukin got the Americans’ comeback started with two goals — he’s got 18 — at 18:33 of the first period and 4:32 of the second. . . . F Jordan Topping (10) added a PP goal at 16:08 of the second and F Tyler Sandhu (12) tied it with another PP score, this one at 6:48 of the third. . . . The Americans won it on F Max James’ eighth goal, at 10:27 of the third period. . . . D Juuso Valimaki had three assists for the visitors, with Sandhu and Lukin adding one each. . . . Regina F Adam Brooks had three assists, with Leedahl and Hobbs each getting one. . . . Tri-City G Evan Sarthou gave up three goals on eight shots in 8:40. Rylan Parenteau came on stop 26 of 28 shots in 51:20 and also earn two assists. . . . The Pats started Tyler Brown, who was beaten four times on 17 shots through two periods before leaving with an undisclosed injury. Kurtis Chapman played the third period, giving up two goals on 12 shots. . . . Brown is expected to miss a Saturday-Sunday home-and-home with the Prince Albert Raiders. The Pats have been juggling backup goaltenders with Jordan Hollett (ankle) sidelined. Chapman is expected to start tonight against the visiting Raiders, with Max Paddock of the midget AAA Brandon Wheat Kings backing him up. . . . The Americans were 3-7 on the PP; The Pats were 1-3. . . . Tri-City (27-17-3) is 5-0-0 on an East Division swing that wraps up Saturday in Swift Current. The Americans are second in the U.S. Division, four points behind Everett, but the Silvertips hold eight games in hand. . . . The Pats (27-5-7) have lost two in a row and slipped into a tie for second in the overall standings. . . . Announced attendance: 5,313. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has a game story right here.
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At Langley, B.C., F Thomas Foster turned with a goal and an assist to help the Moose Jaw Warriors to a
THOMAS FOSTER
4-1 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Foster had been dealt to by the Giants to the Warriors earlier in the week. . . . Foster opened the scoring with his 11th goal, on a PP, at 7:19 of the first period. . . . Vancouver tied it at 12:22 when F Ty Ronning scored No. 17. . . . Moose Jaw F Jayden Halbgewachs, who leads the WHL with 38 goals, broke the tie, on a PP, at 18:25. He also had two assists and now has 70 points, tying him with forwards Adam Brooks and Sam Steel for the WHL scoring lead. . . . The Warriors got insurance from F Brayden Burke when he scored his 13th goal, on a PP, at 2:59 of the third period. Burke also had two assists. . . . Moose Jaw D Colin Paradis finished it with his first goal, shorthanded, at 11:03. . . . G Brody Willms stopped 25 shots for the Warriors, while Vancouver’s Ryan Kubic blocked 21. . . . Moose Jaw was 2-4 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-7. . . . The Giants were without F Tyler Benson with an undisclosed injury for a fifth straight game. . . . D Darian Skeoch (ankle) also was missing from Vancouver’s lineup. . . . The Warriors (26-10-7) were playing the first game of a B.C. Division tour. They have closed to within two points of the East Division-leading Regina Pats, who have four games in hand. . . . The Giants (16-24-4) have lost four in a row and are 10 points out of a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 4,461.
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At Victoria, F Dillon Dube scored three goals and added an assist as the Kelowna Rockets dumped the Royals, 9-2. . . . The Rockets had beaten the host Royals, 4-3, on Wednesday night. . . . D James
DILLON DUBE
Hilsendager gave Kelowna a 1-0 lead with his second goal, at 2:37 of the first period. . . . The Royals tied it on F Jack Walker’s 21st goal, at 5:06. . . . The Rockets followed that with the next seven goals, the first three from Dube, who has six goals this season. . . . Dube has six goals and 13 assists in 14 games. He missed the start of the season with a knee injury. . . . Dube’s last two goals came in the second period when the Rockets counted six times. . . . F Devante Stephens (8), F Tomas Soustal (14), F Reid Gardiner (2) and F Jack Cowell (3) had Kelowna’s other second-period goals. . . . F Ethan Price (4) scored for Victoria at 19:39. . . . Kelowna F Erik Gardiner, Reid’s younger brother, closed out the scoring with his second goal, at 12:58 of the third period. . . . D Cal Foote and F Carsen Twarynski each had two assists for the winners, Cowell, Soustal and the Gardiner boys added an assist each. . . . Walker added an assist to his goal, too. . . . G Michael Herringer stopped 19 shots for the winners. . . . Victoria starter Griffen Outhouse was beaten four times on 19 shots in 30:20. Dean McNabb then made his WHL debut and allowed two goals on four shots in 2:26. Outhouse then came back in and gave up three more goals on 20 shots in 27:14. . . . Kelowna was 2-4 on the PP; Victoria was 1-6. . . . The Rockets (26-15-3) have won three in a row and now are second in the B.C. Division, two points ahead of the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Royals (22-18-4) have lost three straight and are five points behind Kamloops. . . . Announced attendance: 7,006.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Kootenay at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Prince George at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Vancouver at Kamloops 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Spokane at Portland, 7 p.m.
Prince Albert at Regina, 7 p.m.
Red Deer at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Lethbridge at Calgary, 4 p.m.
Regina at Prince Albert, 4 p.m.
Spokane vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 5:05 p.m.
Red Deer at Swift Current, 4 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:59 PM
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Saturday, October 8, 2016

WHL suspends two veterans . . . Cougars run victory skein to eight . . . Blazers stop Tigers' win streak

Two veteran players sat out Saturday night WHL games with suspensions that were handed out by the WHL office following incidents on Friday night.
The Moose Jaw Warriors, playing at home against the Kootenay Ice, were without D Josh Thrower, who drew a one-game suspension for instigating a fight in the last five minutes of Friday’s 5-2 loss to the visiting Portland Winterhawks. Thrower instigated a fight with F Rodrigo Abols of the Winterhawks at 15:28 of the third period.
The Warriors also were fined $500.
Meanwhile, F Austin Wagner of the Regina Pats missed last night’s game against the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings. He drew a TBD suspension after taking a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct for a hit on F Kaeden Taphorn of the visiting Kootenay Ice at 9:50 of the first period on Friday.
Taphorn left the game, which the Ice won, 4-3, in OT, and didn’t return. According to Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post, Taphorn “was bloodied by the hit and sporting a large bandage on his swollen forehead after the game.”
Taphorn was scratched from Saturday’s nights game in Moose Jaw.
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The Spokane Chiefs and Seattle Thunderbirds announced a deal involving G Matt Berlin late on Friday night.
In that deal, Berlin, 18, moved from the Chiefs to the Thunderbirds for what both teams said was a conditional selection in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft.
For those of you keeping track, it turns out to be a conditional ninth-round selection.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:


At Medicine Hat, the Kamloops Blazers scored two shorthanded goals in the second period en route to a 5-1 victory over the Tigers. . . . The Blazers (3-5-0) snapped a three-game skid. They ended a seven-game road trip at 2-5. . . . The Tigers (5-2-0) had a five-game winning streak snapped. . . . The home side led 1-0 on a goal by F James Hamblin at 18:11 of the first period. . . . Kamloops F Quinn Benjafield tied it, on a PP, at 12:13 of the second period. . . . F Garrett Pilon, who left Friday’s 2-1 loss to the host Calgary Hitmen after taking a hard check in the second period, gave the Blazers a 2-1 lead with a shorthanded goal at 12:13 and F Matt Revel added another shorthanded snipe at 19:07. . . . Revel later added his fifth goal into an empty net. . . . Pilon added an assist to his goal, with D Ondrej Vala picking up two assists. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram was strong, with 39 saves. . . . The Tigers got 21 saves from G Duncan McGovern. . . . Kamloops was 1-7 on the PP; Medicine Hat was 0-5. . . . The Blazers were without D Dallas Valentine (undisclosed injury). . . . The game featured a brother act as F Nick Chyzowski of the Blazers, who is in his third season, and freshman F Ryan Chyzowski of the Tigers faced each other for the second time in their WHL careers. Nick had a goal and an assist; Ryan was blanked. . . . Announced attendance: 4,028.
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At Moose Jaw, the Warriors scored four goals in the second period and went on to a 6-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . F Brett Howden, who had a goal and three assists, gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead at 1:34 of the second period with his sixth goal and they were off to the races. . . . F Nikita Popugaev scored his fourth goal and also had three assists for Moose Jaw, while F Jayden Halbgewachs scored twice, giving him six, and added an assist. . . . Warriors D Josh Brook had a goal and an assist, and D Dmitri Zaitsev had two assists. . . . F Zak Zborosky had a goal, his seventh, and an assist for the Ice (1-4-2). . . . The Warriors (4-1-2) got 20 saves from G Zach Sawchenko. . . . Ice starter Declan Hobbs was beaten six times on 24 shots in 41:39, with reliever Payton Lee stopping all 14 shots he saw. . . . The Warriors were 3-7 on the PP; the Ice was 1-2. . . . Announced attendance: 3,223.
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At Prince George, F Brad Morrison scored the game’s last two goals to give the Cougars a 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Giants and their eight straight victory. . . . F Bartek Bison and F Kody McDonald gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead before the game was six minutes old. . . . However, the Giants took a 3-2 lead by scoring three times in a span of 50 seconds — F Radovan Bondra (6:21), F Ty Ronning (7:00) and F Jack Flaman (7:11) getting the goals. . . . Prince George pulled even when F Jesse Gabrielle scored at 12:00 of the first, only to have F Johnny Wesley give the Giants the lead again, at 18:51. . . . Morrison, who has four goals this season, tied it at 18:51 of the second and won it at 7:26 of the third. . . . While the Cougars improved to 8-0-0, the Giants fell to 1-7-0. . . . Prince George got two assists from F Jansen Harkins, while McDonald added two assists to his goal. Gabrielle also had an assist. . . . G Nick McBride stopped 22 shots for the winners, with David Tendeck turning aside 19 for the Giants. . . . Prince George was 2-4 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-2. . . . The Cougars next put their season-opening eight-game winning streak on the line on Tuesday and Wednesday against the visiting Everett Silvertips (4-1-1). . . . Announced attendance: 3,320.
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At Red Deer, freshman G Riley Lamb stopped 38 shots to post his first WHL shutout as the Rebels beat the Kelowna Rockets, 5-0. . . . Lamb, who turned 18 on Sept. 28, is from Rivers, Man. The blank job came in his sixth appearance this season. . . . The Rebels (3-3-2), who had lost six of their last seven games with the Rockets, took control with two second-period goals, F Michael Spacek scoring at 6:20 and F Dawson Martin at 19:02. . . . Spacek and Martin each scored twice, while D Colton Bobyk had a goal and two assists, and D Austin Strand and F Akash Baines each had two assists. D Josh Mahura had one assist, running his point streak to six games. . . . The Rockets (3-5-0) have been blanked twice this season. They had won their previous two games. . . . Kelowna G Brodan Salmond, who turned 18 on Saturday, stopped 24 shots. . . . Red Deer was 1-4 on the PP; Kelowna was 0-5. . . . Announced attendance: 4,515.
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At Regina, F Sam Steel had a goal and two assists to lead the Pats to a 5-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Regina (4-0-2) has yet to lose in regulation time. . . . The Wheat Kings are 2-2-1. . . . The Wheat Kings scratched F Nolan Patrick, the team captain, who forced OT with a late goal on Friday and then scored the shootout winner in a 4-3 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos. Brandon head coach David Anning told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that Patrick was scratched due to illness. . . . F Jake Leschyshyn scored his fourth goal, at 12:06 of the first period, giving Regina a 2-1 lead. . . . Regina D Connor Hobbs made it 3-1 at 1:48 of the second period. . . . F Ty Lewis got Brandon to within one at 16:36 but that was it for the visitors. . . . Steel added insurance at 3:00 of the third period and set up F Braydon Buziak for the empty-netter at 18:54. . . . Steel and Buziak each has five goals. . . . Leschyshyn and Hobbs each added an assist, while F Dawson Leedahl had two helpers. . . . Regina G Tyler Brown stopped 18 shots, while Brandon’s Jordan Papirny turned aside 30. . . . Brandon was 2-6 on the PP; Regina was 2-8. . . . Announced attendance: 4,131.
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Goaltender Logan Flodell backstopped the Saskatoon
Blades to a victory on Saturday night.(Photo: Darren Steinke)
Cody Glass of the Portland Winterhawks, who leads the
WHL points derby, was held off the board Saturday night.(Photo: Darren Steinke)
At Saskatoon, G Logan Flodell turned aside 34 shots to help the Blades to a 3-1 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Blades (4-2-0) have won three straight. . . . The Winterhawks (5-3-0) had won their previous two games. They are 2-2-0 on a six-game East Division tour. . . . F Braylon Shmyr broke a 1-1 tie at 17:16 of the second period and the Blades nursed the lead until F Josh Paterson got the empty-netter at 18:56 of the third. . . . F Jake Gricius, a Colorado Springs native who turns 17 on Oct. 13, had his first WHL goal for Portland. . . . The Winterhawks got 20 saves from G Cole Kehler, who lost for the first time in five decisions this season. . . . The Blades were 0-3 on the PP; the Winterhawks were 0-5. . . . The Winterhawks scratched Latvian F Rodrigo Abols, 20, for the fourth time in five games. . . . Announced attendance: 3,016.
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At Spokane, F Tyler Soy scored twice to help the Victoria Royals to a 4-1 victory over the Chiefs. . . . F Jared Dmytriw and Soy gave the Royals a 2-0 lead, the former scoring at 18:12 of the first period and the latter at 4:12 of the second. . . . Spokane F Ty Smith got his first WHL goal at 6:22 of the third. . . . Victoria F Matt Phillips stretched the lead at 14:44 and Soy got the empty-netter at 19:26, his third goal of the season. . . . D Ryan Gagnon had two assists for the Royals (3-4-0), who got 34 saves from G Griffen Outhouse. . . . The Chiefs (1-3-0) got 31 saves from Dawson Weatherill. . . . Each team was 0-3 on the PP. . . . Announced attendance: 4,918.
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At Swift Current, the Broncos scored the game’s last two goals and beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 4-3. . . . F Arthur Miller continued to write quite a first act to his career with the Broncos as he opened the scoring with his third goal of the season, at 2:42 of the first period. He’s got three goals. . . . The Raiders went in front when F Tim Vanstone scored at 17:26. . . . D Max Lajoie pulled the Broncos even at 6:38 of the second period. . . . F Luke Coleman, at 8:23 of the second, and F Austin Glover, on a PP, at 4:15 of the third, put the Raiders back out front. . . . The Broncos tied it when F Riley Stotts scored his fourth goal, on a PP, at 6:27 of the third and won it on F Calvin Spencer’s third goal at 16:36. . . . F Aleksi Heponiemi had three assists for the Broncos (5-2-1), who are 3-0-1 in their last four games. . . . The Raiders (2-5-0) have lost three in a row. . . . G Tax Burman made 29 saves for the Broncos. . . . Raiders G Ian Scott stopped 35 shots, 19 of them in the first period. . . . Announced attendance: 1,994.
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At Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans scored three times in a four-round shootout and beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-5. . . . Lethbridge’s first two shooters, F Giorgio Estephan and F Tyler Wong, both scored, but the Americans responded with goals from F Morgan Geekie, F Michael Rasmussen and F Parker AuCoin. . . . Tri-City F Nolan Yaremko forced OT with his first goal of the season, on a PP, at 18:03 of the third period. . . . Wong had given Lethbridge a 5-4 lead, on a PP, at 13:36 of the third. . . . The Hurricanes held leads of 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, 4-2 and 5-4. . . . Max James had two goals and an assist for the Americans. The 19-year-old James had 10 points, including three goals, in 64 games last season. He had five goals and five assists in 58 games as a freshman in 2014-15. This season, he has four goals and an assist in five games. . . . D Parker Wotherspoon had a goal and four assists for the winners, with D Dylan Coghlan adding two assists and AuCoin picking up a goal and an assist. . . . F Jesse Zaharichuk scored three goals and added an assist for Lethbridge. It was his first WHL hat trick. He went into the game with 16 goals in 113 regular-season games, including a pair of two-goal games. . . . Lethbridge got two assists from each of F Brayden burke and D Kord Pankewicz. . . . Tri-City starter Beck Warm gave up three goals on 10 shots in 24:20, with Nic Sanders coming on to stop 13 of 15. . . . Lethbridge G Ryan Gilchrist, in his first career start, stopped 31 shots. . . . Tri-City (4-3-0) was 3-7 on the PP; Lethbridge (4-2-1) was 2-7. . . . Announced attendance: 3,103.
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SUNDAY’S GAME (all times local):

Edmonton at Saskatoon, 2:05 p.m.
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MONDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Vancouver at Calgary, 4 p.m.

Kootenay at Swift Current, 2 p.m.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:32 PM
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Monday, September 5, 2016

Morrisseau out of hospital, more tests ahead . . . Wheaties sign second-rounder . . . Winterhawks now 3-0-0

D Nikolai Ladygin (Medicine Hat, Tri-City, 2001-02) has signed a one-year contract with Dunaújváros (Hungary, MOL Liga). Last season, with Beibarys Atyrau (Kazakhstan, Kazakh Vysshaya Liga), he had four goals and eight assists in 37 games.
-——
F Koby Morrisseau of the Spokane Chiefs has been released from hospital after being injured during an exhibition game in Everett on Saturday afternoon. . . . A WHL insider familiar with the situation told Taking Note late Monday afternoon that Morrisseau was released on Sunday morning and returned to Spokane. “He will undergo further testing this week, but it appears that everything should be fine after a recuperation period that may be a while,” Taking Note was told. . . . Morrisseau, the ninth overall selection in the 2015 bantam draft, was injured at 13:17 of the third period after being checked by F Brett Clayton of the Portland Winterhawks. After receiving medical attention on the ice, Morrisseau was placed on a backboard, then on a stretcher and taken to hospital. . . . Taking Note was told Saturday night that X-rays were negative. . . . Morrisseau, who is from Grandview, Man., will turn 16 on Oct. 18. He has signed with the Chiefs. . . . Clayton was handed a major for checking to the head — it later was changed to checking from behind — and a game misconduct.
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F Brett Clayton of the Portland Winterhawks has been served with a TBD suspension for the check that resulted in Spokane Chiefs’ F Koby Morrisseau leaving a game on a stretcher in Everett on Saturday. . . . The WHL also suspended D Dmitry Osipov of the Vancouver Giants for one game after he took a boarding major and game misconduct against the Chiefs on Friday. . . . A WHL player suspended during the preseason will serve the suspension by missing an exhibition game or games. However, if the suspension were to run past the end of the exhibition season, he would miss regular-season games. . . . There are two skaters who will miss the start of the regular season with suspensions left over from last season. F Max James of Tri-City will miss the Americans’ first two games, while F Tyler Wong of Lethbridge is to miss the Hurricanes’ opener.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings have signed F Ben McCartney, who was a second-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. From Portage la Prairie, Man., McCartney played last season with the Okanagan Hockey Academy’s bantam prep team, putting up 33 points, including 18 goals, in 23 games.
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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:

In Everett, the Portland Winterhawks scored four third-period goals and beat the Silvertips, 4-1. The Winterhawks ran their exhibition record to 3-0-0 after one weekend of play. F Ryan Hughes led the Winterhawks with two goals. . . . The Victoria Royals got two goals from F Jack Walker as they beat the Tri-City Americans, 4-2. . . . The Seattle Thunderbirds scored the game’s last two goals to beat the Spokane Chiefs, 4-3. F Brandon Schuldaus tied the score at 19:18 of the second period and F Scott Eansor won it at 1:04 of the third. Schuldaus drew an assist on the winner. F Alexander True and F Keegan Kolesar had two assists each for Seattle. F Eli Zummack scored twice and added an assist for Spokane, which got a goal and two assists from F Taylor Ross. . . . 
In Kamloops, F Quinn Benjafield had a goal and two assists, while D Luke Zazula drew three assists as the Blazers got past the Kelowna Rockets, 5-2.
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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 6:35 PM
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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Blazers' Blue-White game on tap tonight

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers are getting down to the nitty gritty.
And things will get nittier and grittier tonight as the WHL team holds its annual Blue-White intrasquad game, 7 p.m., at the Interior Savings Centre.
The Blazers have 39 players left in training camp. Most of them took part in a controlled scrimmage on Tuesday night, the exceptions being five veterans — forwards Tim Bozon, JC Lipon, Matt Needham and Colin Smith, along with goaltender Taran Kozun.
All hands are expected to be on deck tonight, however.
“The two games will tell the tale for some of the players,” head coach Dave Hunchak said. “It allows us to give a real good evaluation to those kids who are on the bubble.”
While the microscope is on everyone, it is especially on Cole Kehler of Altona, Man., Liam McLeod of Kamloops and Cameron Pateman of Regina, who are competing to back up starting goaltender Taran Kozun.
Each played two periods last night — Teams Black and Orange played 5-on-5 in the first, 4-on-4 in the second and alternated special teams in the third — and it is quite possible that Kehler, who doesn’t turn 16 until Dec. 17, has the edge on the two 17-year-olds going into tonight’s intrasquad game.
However, the highlight of training camp, at least to now, may well be the team’s 1998-born players.
As Hunchak said: “The ’98 group, the forwards we have, that’s a special group of kids.”
That group is headed up by two first-round selections from the 2013 bantam draft — Quinn Benjafield of North Vancouver, whom the Blazers took with the 19th overall pick, and Jake Kryski of Vancouver, the 11th overall pick who was acquired from the Prince Albert Raiders in the Cole Cheveldave exchange — and Jermaine Loewen of Arborg,  Man., who was a third-round selection.
“Benjafield is a strong power forward,” Hunchak said. “Kryski has a lot of skill and plays a great 200-foot game. And just look at Jermaine Lowewne and the package he brings. He’s going to be something special down the road, too.”
Hunchak also pointed to Garrett Pilon, another 1998-born forward. From Saskatoon, the son of former NHL defenceman Rich Pilon was taken in the seventh round.
“Pilon looks like he’s playing pond hockey all the time,” Hunchak said, “and I mean that in a good way. He always looks like he’s enjoying the game and having fun.”
After last night’s scrimmage, Pilon was assigned to the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts.
It’s not known what the forward lines will look like tonight, but Loewen, Kryski and Benjafield, left to right, were on the ice together a fair amount last night. It’s fair to say that they created some magic.
JUST NOTES: Team Orange beat Team Black 8-7 in a shootout last night. Nick Chyzowski had two goals, plus the shootout winner. Kryski and Joe Kornelsen also scored twice for Orange, while Nathan Looysen and Chase Souto each scored twice for Black. . . . The Blazers also assigned F Spencer Bast of Macklin, Sask., to the midget AAA Battlefords Stars and F Josh Stang, who also is from Macklin, to the midget AAA Swift Current Legionnaires. . . . The WHL’s exhibition season began last night with the host Swift Current Broncos beating the Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-4. . . . The Blazers meet the Rockets in Kelowna on Friday and then are at home to the Vancouver Giants on Sunday, 6 p.m. . . . D Connor Hamonic, 17, of Winnipeg, a seventh-round pick by the Blazers in 2011, was released by the Red Deer Rebels yesterday. . . .
F Max James, 16, of Kamloops has signed a WHL deal with the Tri-City Americans, who selected him in the sixth round of the 2012 bantam draft. James had 12 points in 40 games with the major midget Thompson Blazers last season. . . . Pat Mangold, who played for the WHL Blazers in 1984-85, was killed Saturday evening on Okanagan Lake near Kelowna when the personal watercraft on which he was riding struck a log boom near Traders Cove. Mangold, 47, was a native of Kelowna, who also played in the WHL with the Calgary Wranglers. With the Blazers, he had 20 points, nine of them goals, in 53 games.

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Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 12:33 AM
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