Showing posts with label Michael Herringer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Herringer. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Seattle head coach off to NHL ... Change the import draft? Why not? ... Portland got "a stud"


F Roman Tománek (Calgary, Seattle, 2004-06) has signed a one-year contract with Freiburg (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with Banská Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga), he had one goal and three assists in 17 games. He was loaned to Dukla Trenčín (same) on Jan. 3, and had a goal and three assists in nine games. . . .
F Jacob Doty (Seattle, Medicine Hat, 2009-14) has signed a one-year contract with the Braehead Clan Glasgow (Scotland, UK Elite). Last season, with the Chicago Wolves (AHL), he had one assist in four games; he also had five goals and six assists in 11 games with the Missouri Mavericks (ECHL).
———

STEVE KONOWALCHUK
The WHL-champion Seattle Thunderbirds are looking for a new head coach after the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks announced on Wednesday that they have signed Steve Konowalchuk as an assistant coach.
Konowalchuk, 44, was the Thunderbirds’ head coach for six seasons. The Thunderbirds reached the WHL final in 2016, where they lost to the Brandon Wheat Kings. In 2017, the Thunderbirds won the Ed Chynoweth Cup, beating the Regina Pats, 4-2, in the best-of-seven final. That was the Thunderbirds’ first WHL title.

Konowalchuk was 219-176-37 in regular-season games with Seattle. He joined the Thunderbirds on June 16, 2011, after spending two seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. He also played in the NHL, with the Washington Capitals and Colorado, after spending two seasons (1990-92) with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks.
Of the U.S. Division’s five teams, only Portland (Mike Johnston) and the Tri-City Americans (Mike Williamson) will return with the same head coach as last season.
The Everett Silvertips, who finished on top of the division, didn’t renew head coach Kevin Constantine’s contract. He will coach in South Korea next season. Dennis Williams is Everett’s new head coach.
The Spokane Chiefs have hired Dan Lambert, a former WHL star defenceman who coached in Kelowna, to replace Don Nachbaur, the head coach for the previous seven seasons. Nachbaur now is an assistant coach with the NHL’s Los Angeles.
The Kings also signed Dave Lowry, the head coach of the Victoria Royals for the previous five seasons, as an assistant coach. The Royals have since promoted assistant coach Dan Price to head coach.
At the moment, Seattle and the Calgary Hitmen are the only two of the WHL’s 22 teams without head coaches. The Hitmen are looking to replace Mark French, who left after three seasons to coach in Switzerland.
Meanwhile, the Ducks also added Mark Morrison to their staff as an assistant coach. Morrison, 54, is a former WHL player (Victoria Cougars, 1979-83). He spent four seasons (2007-11) as the GM/head coach of the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings. For the past six seasons, he has been assistant coach in the Winnipeg Jets’ organization, first with the St. John’s IceCaps and for the past two seasons with the Manitoba Moose.

——
The CHL’s 2017 import draft was held Wednesday and I posted a lengthy look at the WHL teams and their selections a short while after it ended.
Included in that report was a link to a Saskatoon StarPhoenix story in which Blades general manager Colin Priestner commented on the intricacies of this draft.
Shortly after I posted that piece, I heard from Jeff Hollick, a former long-time radio voice of the Kootenay Ice. Hollick sent me a link to a piece that he had written for dubnetwork.ca on how to provide teams with a more level playing field in the import draft. That piece is right here.
As the Ice’s play-by-play voice, Hollick would have spent a lot of time around Jeff Chynoweth, then the team’s general manager. While not necessarily opposed to the draft, Chynoweth wasn’t reluctant in voicing his objections to the way it is conducted.
In the WHL, most owners and general managers look upon it as a necessary evil. But few, if any, enjoy it.
So why not do away with it? Why not just pull the plug on it? Teams no longer are allowed to draft European goaltenders, so why not just dump the draft altogether?
(If you’re wondering, USHL teams are allowed to use import goaltenders, but each one counts as two imports. USHL teams are allowed six import players, but two of them must be Canadians.)
In place of the draft, why not allow teams to list players, just like they do with North American players? Why not allow teams to start listing European players at 16 years of age?
The only difference would be that each team would be allowed to list only a set number of Europeans, say three. There are a gazillion European skaters available, so numbers wouldn’t be an issue.
That would allow teams to scout players, list them and then try to sell them on the organization. If that doesn’t work, the team could simply drop the player from its list and move on.
That also might do away with the messy system now in place where teams can end up with three or four import skaters in their training camp, knowing full well that two of them will have to go.
Seriously, almost anything is better than the system now in place.
However, nothing will change. Why not?
Because, as one general manager told Taking Note, “The OHL and QMJHL would never agree. They like their dominance in that draft.”
——

IMPORT DRAFT NOTES:

The Portland Winterhawks selected one player, taking Swedish F Samuel Fagemo, 17, with the 28th pick. One WHL general manager told Taking Note that Fagemo is “a stud,” but that he doesn’t expect Portland to bring him over until 2018-19. That’s because Portland’s roster already includes two solid imports in Finnish D Henri Jokiharju and Danish F Joachim Blichfeld. . . . Jokiharju was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the NHL draft on Friday. . . . Blichfeld was taken by the San Jose Sharks in the seventh round of the 2016 draft. . . . Each WHL team is allowed to keep two import players. Were Portland to have Fagemo and Blichfeld in camp and then have Jokiharju come back, they would have two weeks from his return to trade one of the veterans or release Fagemo. “And,” said the GM, “they aren’t going to trade Blichfeld.” . . .
The Vancouver Giants selected Slovakian F Milos Roman with the fifth pick and are hoping that he slots into their top six forwards. They took German F Yannik Valenti in the second round, 56th overall, but Steve Ewen of Postmedia reports they don’t plan on having him here until 2018-19. “Their thinking,” Ewen writes, “is that they’ll need a boost offensively then, with (Brad) Morrison and (Ty) Ronning graduated and (Tyler) Benson likely playing in the Edmonton Oilers’ system as a 20-year-old. Valenti put up 20 goals and 23 assists in 40 games last season with Jungadler Mannheim, a team in the German Junior League.” . . . Ewen’s story is right here. . . .
A year ago, the Giants had the fourth overall pick and took Czech F Filip Zadina. As Ewen points out, Zadina chose not to report and the Giants dropped him. On Wednesday he was selected by the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads with the 10th pick and quickly tweeted that he is “really excited to be part of great organization.” . . . 
Meanwhile, the OHL’s Flint Firebirds and the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders both selected Nikita Alexandrov in the first round of the CHL import draft. . . . Flint took Russian D Nikita Alexandrov and, a few picks later, Charlottetown took F Nikita Alexandrov, who has played the past five seasons in Germany. . . . Flint’s Alexandrov, who apparently is 6-foot-5 and 155 pounds, is 18. The Islanders’ Alexandrov, who is 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds, will turn 17 on Sept. 16.  
——
G Michael Herringer, who played out his junior eligibility with the Kelowna Rockets last season, has decided to attend the U of Regina and play for the Cougars. . . . From Comox, B.C., Herringer began his WHL career by playing two games with the Victoria Royals in 2012-13. He played three seasons (2014-17) with the Royals and was their starter each of the past two seasons. In 115 career regular-season appearances, he was 71-29-5, 2.88, .904.
——
If you’re a regular here, and even if you aren’t, feel free to make a donation to the cause. You are able to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
BTW, if you want to contact me with some information or just feel like commenting on something, you may email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
I’m also on Twitter (@gdrinnan).
———
Coaching

 The KHL is only a few days from the opening of training camps for the 2017-18 season. Patrick Conway of Conway’s Russian Hockey Blog has been filling us in on the KHL’s coaches, and he’s back right here with a look at the Chernyshyov Division. This is where veteran coach Mike Keenan is hanging his hat this season.
——
Trent Cull is the new head coach of the Utica Comets, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. Cull takes over from Travis Green, who now is the Canucks’ head coach. . . . Cull, 43, had been an assistant coach with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. In fact, he spent eight of the previous 11 seasons with the Crunch. . . . He also spent three seasons (2010-13) as the head coach of the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves.
———



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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 11:17 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Mumps still hanging around WHL? . . . Tigers sweep defending champs . . . Polei OT hero in Red Deer


F Jamie Lundmark (Moose Jaw, Seattle, 1998-2001) has signed a one-year extension with Klagenfurt (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). This season, in 51 games, he had 26 goals and 25 assists. He led the team in goals and points, while serving as an alternate captain.
———

 The mumps may not yet be through with the WHL.
Jon Keen, the voice of the Kamloops Blazers on Radio NL, wasn’t available for Game 4 of a series with the Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday night.
Jeremy Bosch, who usually rides shotgun with Keen on home games, handled the play-by-play with Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week providing the analysis.
During the game, Taking Note was told by three sources that Keen has shown symptoms of mumps and has been placed in isolation awaiting test results.
Keen later told Taking Note that his situation is “very premature at this point.”
Keen is in his 14th season as a play-by-play voice in the WHL. Keen began his WHL career with the Swift Current Broncos before moving to Kamloops. He called his 1,000th game on March 8.
With the playoffs here, the Blazers, like other teams, have shut down the information highway, so it’s not known if there is anyone else in the organization with symptoms.
It could be that the Blazers are at least the sixth WHL team to be hit by the mumps, following the Brandon Wheat Kings, Medicine Hat Tigers, Seattle Thunderbirds, Swift Current Broncos and Victoria Royals.
——
The WHL’s defending champions bowed out last night in Dauphin, Man. The Medicine Hat Tigers beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-2, to sweep the holders of the Ed Chynoweth Cup from the first round. . . . The Wheat Kings played all four games without F Nolan Patrick, who was injured in the second-last game of the regular season. . . . Brandon also was without veteran F Tanner Kaspick. . . . Patrick ended up playing only 33 games this season, putting up 46 points, including 20 goals. He underwent sports hernia surgery in July and missed almost all of training camp. He returned for the season’s first five games, then didn’t play again until Jan. 14. . . . He has been projected as the consensus No. 1 selection for the NHL’s 2017 draft through the entire season. It will be interesting to see if that holds up on June 23 in Chicago.
——
The Tri-City Americans were without D Dalton Yorke, 20, for Game 3 of their series with the Seattle Thunderbirds on Wednesday night. Yorke drew a TBD suspension for a hit he delivered during the Game 2’s third period in Kent, Wash., on Saturday night. Yorke took a charging minor at 15:10 for a hit on F Ryan Gropp, who was scratched last night. The suspension came under supplemental discipline, meaning the Thunderbirds sent video to the league and asked for a review. When it comes to supplemental discipline, the injury factor carries a lot of weight. . . . While Yorke was scratched last night, F Vladislav Lukin returned to the Americans after missing Game 2. Tri-City also had F Nolan Yaremko back for this one. He missed the end of the regular season and the first two games of this series after being injured in practice.
——
The Thunderbirds, meanwhile, again were without F Mathew Barzal and G Rylan Toth as they took a 2-0 edge into Game 3 last night. Barzal (mumps) hasn’t played since March 7. Barzal, the Western Conference’s player of the year, took the warmup prior to a March 10 game, then left for the dressing room before the anthem. Barzal hasn’t played since then. . . . Toth, who led WHL goaltenders with 36 victories in the regular season, was taken out of a game in Portland on March 11. At the time, it was said to have been for precautionary reasons. He hasn’t played since then. . . . F Ryan Gropp, who apparently was injured in Game 2 on a hit from Tri-City D Dalton Yorke, led the Thunderbirds in goals (35) and points (84) in the regular season.
——
Regan Bartel, the play-by-play voice of the Kelowna Rockets, put this note on his blog Wednesday morning:
“The Rockets had their fair share of scoring chances in (Game 3 on Wednesday), but according to the Kelowna Rockets analytics team, the shot clock wasn't exactly true. The Rockets had 23 shots on net, not the 38 that were shining brightly on the Sandman Centre shot clock. If that indeed is true, 23 shots on net won't win you too many games against elite goaltending.”
Ahh, the games inside the playoff games!
——
If you enjoy stopping off here and would care to make a donation to the cause, please feel free to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
If interested, you also are able to follow me on Twitter at @gdrinnan.
——
The playoffs are here so when a coach says that an injured player is OK and “he’ll be fine,” well, you take it with a grain of salt. . . . On Sunday, F Giorgio Estephan of the host Lethbridge Hurricanes left in the second period after taking a high-stick from F Michael Spacek of the Red Deer Rebels. Lethbridge head coach Brent Kisio told Dale Woodard of the Lethbridge Herald: “He’s fine. He’s good to go.” . . . Estephan was scratched from Game 3 in Red Deer last night.
——
One player who was in the lineup last night in Red Deer was Rebels captain Adam Musil. He hadn’t played since March 4. The next day, he suffered an undisclosed injury in an off-ice incident — he later was seen with a walking boot on an ankle — and was listed as being out week-to-week.
——
The Vancouver Giants didn’t make the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t hard at work. On Wednesday, they announced the signing of F Cyle McNabb, a list player from Winnipeg. McNabb, who will turn 17 on Sept. 15, spent this season with the Rink Hockey Academy’s prep team, putting up nine goals and 16 assists in 29 games.
——
If you enjoy stopping off here and would care to make a donation to the cause, please feel free to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
If interested, you also are able to follow me on Twitter at @gdrinnan.
——
F Travis Jost has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche, which selected him 10th overall in the NHL’s 2016 draft. This means Jost, who played two seasons with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees, will leave the U of North Dakota Fighting Hawks after just one season. The Regina Pats hold his WHL rights, having acquired them from the Everett Silvertips. The Pats will be the host team for the 2018 Memorial Cup. Hmmm . . .
——
It was a tough day for hockey at North Dakota. Earlier in the day, word got out that the school is axing its women’s program. The team was practising at the time that word leaked. . . . Brad E. Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald, who covers UND hockey like sand covers a beach, reported that the women’s team had a recruit on campus at the time. Lauren Hennessey had left Boston at 5 a.m., for her UND visit. . . . The announcement came one day after USA Hockey reached an agreement with its women’s national team that averted a boycott of the IIHF World Championship that is to begin Friday in Plymouth, Mich. . . . UND also will be dropping men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams.
———
Coaching

 The junior B Mission City Outlaws of the 10-team Pacific Junior Hockey League announced Wednesday that co-coaches Mike Drouillard and Brad Veitch have retired. Veitch spent five years with the Outlaws; Drouillard was there for four seasons. . . . The Outlaws then named Mike Renner as their new head coach. Earlier in the day, the PJHL’s Port Moody Panthers had announced that Renner, the team’s interim head coach, wouldn’t be returning. That was announced by Peter Zerbinos, who took over as general manager on March 16. The Panthers finished 16-27-1 this season, putting them fifth in the five-team Tom Shaw Conference. . . . Mission was 18-22-4, which left it fourth in the Harold Brittain Conference.
———


———

WEDNESDAY GAMES:

In Red Deer, F Evan Polei scored 48 seconds into the second OT period to give the Rebels a 4-3 victory
EVAN POLEI
over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Rebels hold a 2-1 lead in the series with Game 4 scheduled for tonight in Red Deer. . . . The Rebels scored the game’s last three goals, winning it on Polei’s second of the series. This was the first OT game of these WHL playoffs. . . . F Lane Zablocki had given Red Deer a 1-0 lead with a PP goal at 2:44 of the first period. . . . The Hurricanes stormed back with three straight goals. . . . F Tyler Wong (2) scored on a PP at 8:51. . . . D Brennan Menell (1) gave the visitors the lead at 18:57 of the second period. . . . F Zak Zborosky (1) upped the lead to 3-1 at 3:10 of the third period. . . . F Brandon Hagel (2) scored on a PP at 16:53, getting the Rebels to within one goal. . . . Red Deer tied it when Zablocki scored his third goal of the series with 19.6 seconds left in the third period. . . . The Rebels got three assists from D Jared Freadrich and two from Polei. . . . Wong had two assists for Lethbridge, with Menell and Zborosky adding one each. . . . G Riley Lamb stopped 49 shots for the Rebels, four more than Lethbridge’s Stuart Skinner. . . . Red Deer was 2-5 on the PP. . . . The Hurricanes were 1-2 on the PP. They had been 0-12 before Wong scored. . . . Announced attendance: 5,017.
——

At Kennewick, Wash., D Ethan Bear and F Donovan Neuls each had five points as the Seattle Thunderbirds whipped the Tri-City Americans, 9-2. . . . The Thunderbirds hold a 3-0 lead in the series
DONOVAN NEULS
and can end it Friday in Kennewick. . . . The Americans switched goaltenders, going from Rylan Parenteau, who had started the first two games (0-2, 4.65, .875), and bringing Evan Sarthou off the bench. But Sarthou was lifted before the game was 11 minutes old, having allowed three goals on seven shots. . . . Bear, who finished with two goals and three assists, opened the scoring at 2:55. . . . F Scott Eansor (2) made it 2-0 at 7:48 and D Jarret Tyszka (1) upped it to 3-0 at 10:16. . . . Neuls, who scored his second goal and added four helpers, made it 4-0 at 12:03, with D Austin Strand (2) increasing the lead to 5-0 at 17:08. . . . Seattle also got goals from F Keegan Kolesar (3) and F Alexander True (1), with Bear later adding his second of the game and second of the series and Strand scoring his third. . . . F Austyn Playfair (2) and F Morgan Geekie (1) scored for the Americans. . . . True and Kolesar added three assists each. . . . Seattle G Carl Stankowski stopped 21 shots in running his record to 3-0 in relief of injured starter Rylan Toth. . . . Parenteau allowed six goals on 29 shots in 49:44. . . . Seattle was 3-7 on the PP; Tri-City was 0-4. . . . Announced attendance: 2,632.

——

At Portland, F Jansen Harkins scored once and added four assists to lead the Prince George Cougars to
JANSEN HARKINS
a 6-1 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . The Cougars lead the series, 2-1, with Game 4 scheduled for tonight in Portland. They’ll be back in Prince George for Game 5 on Saturday. . . . F Skyler McKenzie (2) gave the Winterhawks a 1-0 lead just 14 seconds into the first period. Who knew the home side wouldn’t score again? . . . Harkins (2) tied it at 8:26 and F Kody McDonald (1) put the Cougars out front, on a PP, at 12:36. . . . F Colby McAuley (1) scored at 17:42 for a 3-0 lead. . . . D Tate Olson (1), F Brogan O’Brien and McAuley (2) added Prince George’s other goals. . . . D Brendan Guhle and F Nikita Popugaev each had two assists for the winners, with McAuley getting one. . . . The Cougars got 37 stops from G Ty Edmonds. . . . Portland starter Cole Kehler allowed six goals on 38 shots in 47:35. Shane Farkas finished up by stopping all seven shots he faced in 12:25. . . . Prince George was 2-5 on the PP; Portland was 0-6. . . . Announced attendance: 4,585.
——
At Dauphin, Man., the Medicine Hat Tigers ended a goal-less game with two scores in the first two
DAVID QUENNEVILLE
minutes of the third period en route to a 3-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Tigers swept the best-of-seven series and eliminated the defending champions. . . . Medicine Hat had a 37-15 edge in shots through two periods but couldn’t get the puck past Brandon G Logan Thompson. . . . D Clayton Kirichenko finally solved Thompson, scoring his third goal of the series 24 seconds into the third period. . . . D David Quenneville made it 2-0 at 1:31. . . . F Reid Duke got Brandon to within a goal, on a PP, at 3:11. . . . Quenneville replied with his third goal of the series, on a PP, at 12:09. . . . The Wheat Kings got another PP goal, this one from D Kale Clague (1), at 15:48. . . . The Tigers got 23 saves from G Michael Bullion, who went the distance in all four games. . . . Thompson finished with 51 saves. . . . Brandon was 2-4 on the PP; Medicine Hat 1-5. . . . The Wheat Kings took their first-round home games to Credit Union Place in Dauphin because the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair has taken over the Keystone Centre complex. . . . Announced attendance: 1,825.
——

At Kamloops, G Michael Herringer stopped 24 shots to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 1-0 victory over
MICHAEL HERRINGER
the Blazers. . . . The Rockets lead the series, 3-1, with a chance to end it at home on Friday night. . . . Exactly on year earlier, on March 29, 2016, Herringer stopped 40 shots in a 1-0 victory in Kamloops. . . . Last night, Herringer saved the victory with a terrific push across save on Kamloops F Collin Shirley late in the third period. Herringer was trying to smother the puck on the right side of his crease, when it squirted loose. Shirley corralled it behind the net and came out the other side. Herringer somehow got his left pad to the post and stopped the stuff attempt. . . . Herringer now has two shutouts in this series — the Rockets won the opener, 4-0 — and four in his post-season career. . . . Dillon Dube, the best forward on the ice in this one, scored the game’s only goal, at 2:37 of the second period. He’s got three goals in the four games. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram put on quite a show, stopping 48 shots. The Rockets held a 40-14 edge in shots after two periods. . . . Steve Yzerman, the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, was in the house. The Lightning selected Ingram in the third round of the NHL’s 2016 draft. . . . Kelowna was 0-3 on the PP; Kamloops was 0-7. . . . The Blazers, who beat the visiting Rockets 4-1 on Tuesday night, now are 1-20 on the PP in the four games. . . . The Blazers remain without F Luc Smith, who was hurt in the second-last game of the regular season. . . . Announced attendance: 4,297.
——
At Victoria, G Griffen Outhouse turned aside 30 shots as the Royals beat the Everett Silvertips, 2-1. . . .
GRIFFEN OUTHOUSE
That series is 2-2 as it heads back to Everett for Game 5 on Friday. Game 6 is scheduled for Victoria on Sunday. . . . Last night, F Regan Nagy (1) gave Victoria a 1-0 lead at 5:03 of the first period and F Dante Hannoun (1) made it 2-0 at 19:16 of the second. . . . Everett got within a goal when F Patrick Bajkov scored his fourth goal of the series, on a PP, at 16:05 of the third period. . . . Everett held a 10-7 edge in shots in the first period and 11-7 in the second. . . . The Silvertips got 18 saves from G Carter Hart. . . . Everett was 1-4 on the PP; Victoria was 0-3. . . . The Royals again played without F Jack Walker and D Scott Walford, both of whom have undisclosed injuries. . . . The Silvertips continue to be without F Riley Sutter and F Devon Skolenski, who also have undisclosed injuries. Sutter is believed to be close to returning. . . . Announced attendance: 4,637.
——

At Swift Current, F Ryley Lindgren scored three times to lead the Broncos to a 5-2 victory over the Moose
RYLEY LINDGREN
Jaw Warriors. . . . The series is tied 2-2 as it heads back to Moose Jaw for Game 5 on Friday night. They’ll be back in Swift Current for Game 6 on Saturday. . . . The Broncos took control with three goals in the first nine minutes of the first period. . . . Lindgren scored twice, at 0:59 and 2:03, with F Tyler Steenbergen making it 3-0 at 8:57. . . . The Warriors made it interesting with a pair of early second-period PP goals, F Brett Howden (1) counting at 1:16 and D Josh Brook (1) finding the range at 2:25. . . . Steenbergen added his fourth goal of the series, on a PP, at 18:57 of the third period. . . . Lindgren iced it with his third goal of the game, and fourth of the series, on a PP, at 19:45. . . . The Warriors got two assists from each of F Jayden Halbgewachs and F Brayden Burke. . . . Swift Current got 30 stops from G Jordan Papirny, while Moose Jaw’s Zach Sawchenko turned aside 20. . . . The Broncos were 2-3 on the PP; the Warriors were 2-6. . . . Announced attendance: 2,890. . . . Darren Steinke, the travelling blogger, was on hand for this one. His blog is right here.

——

THURSDAY GAMES (all times local):

Lethbridge at Red Deer, 7 p.m. (Red Deer leads, 2-1)
Regina at Calgary, 7 p.m. (Regina leads, 3-0)
Prince George at Portland, 7 p.m. (Prince George leads, 2-1)

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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 12:16 AM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Hurricanes, Cougars tie up series . . . Things are Rocky in Windsor . . . Block story amazing




Steve Ewen of Postmedia continues to keep tabs on the Vancouver Giants while he kicks cancer’s butt for a second time. In his most recent piece, Ewen looks at five things the Giants need to address before another season gets here. That piece is right here.
——
Rocky Thompson, the head coach of the Windsor Spitfires, can expect a call from the OHL office early this week. Someone from the league office will be calling to lighten Thompson’s wallet.
Why?
Because Thompson officially got the playoffs underway on Sunday by ripping into the referees following a 5-2 loss to the defending Memorial Cup-champion Knights in London. The head officials were Mike Cairns, a veteran of eight OHL seasons, and Scott Oakman, an 18-year man.
Among the Thompson quotes in the Windsor Star:
“These are two veteran referees who are well respected around the league and it was just ridiculous. You’re not only playing a very tough and good opponent, you’re playing the referees as well.”
“It’s unreal to think of what happened on the ice. It’s obvious they didn’t want us to win this game and we played well enough after the first period to deserve it.”
“This is the worst I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen it this bad since I’ve been here.”
I’m thinking Thompson should get out front of this one and just send OHL commissioner David Branch a cheque for a grand to cover this one.
BTW, the series is 1-1 and the teams head to Windsor for games on Tuesday and Thursday.
——
Cam Hutchinson, in the Saskatoon Express: “Would homers in the Toronto media please quit comparing Matthews and Marner to Toews and Kane. You’re embarrassing yourselves by thinking Matthews will ever bring the intangibles to the rink that Toews does.”
——
Patrick O’Sullivan, a former NHLer, made the statement that Connor “McDavid is the most explosive and dynamic skater in the history of hockey. That’s not a stretch at this point, I think it’s a fact.” . . . To which Hutchinson added: “Of course everyone at TSN, especially knucklehead Jeff O’Neill, knows the greatest skater of all-time is Auston Matthews.”
——
The Prince George-based Cariboo Cougars won the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League championship on Sunday, riding G Marcus Allen to a 4-0 victory over the visiting Greater Vancouver Canadians. Allen stopped 22 shots in posting his second straight shutout. It was a best-of-three final, with the Canadians winning the opener Friday, 3-2 in 2OT, and the Cougars winning 2-0 on Saturday. . . . The Cougars will be the host team for the Telus Cup, which is scheduled for April 24-30. . . . In Saskatchewan, the Regina Pat Canadians, who enjoyed a 36-6-2 regular season, won the midget AAA title with a 7-0 playoff run.
——
Kieran Block played four seasons with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. At 22, he was soon to join the U of Alberta Golden Bears, when he was involved in a cliff-diving incident in which he shattered both legs. He would spend almost a year in a wheelchair and later played for Canada’s national sledge hockey team. Block is 31 years of age now and, after numerous surgical procedures, he played senior AAA hockey this season. What an amazing story this is and Jason Hills of the Edmotnton Journal has it all right here.
——
After the first weekend of WHL playoffs, a lot of people are talking about two goaltenders.
Carl Stankowski, a 16-year-old from Calgary, has stepped in for the Seattle Thunderbirds, taking over the starting role, at least on a short-term basis, for the injured Rylan Toth and has put up two victories over the Tri-City Americans.
“I can’t even imagine,” Seattle F Scott Eansor told Andy Eide of 710 ESPN Seattle after Stankowski stopped 28 shots in a 5-2 victory in Game 2 on Saturday.“My first year in playoffs I was a little starstruck. I can’t even imagine him, being alone in the net. He’s been mentally strong and you can tell right now that he’s continuing to do that on the ice, I’m really proud of him.”
Stankowski was a second-round pick by Seattle in the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. He got into seven regular-season games, going 3-0-1, 2.18, .910.
Meanwhile, Michael Herringer, a 20-year-old from Comox, B.C., followed a 4-0 shutout over the Kamloops Blazers on Friday with a 3-2 victory on Saturday. While Herringer faced only 15 shots in Game 1, he was a whole lot busier in Game 2 when he stopped 33 shots.
His night’s work included what may have been a game-saver off the stick of Kamloops F Collin Shirley.

——
If you enjoy stopping off here and would care to make a donation to the cause, please feel free to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
If interested, you also are able to follow me on Twitter at @gdrinnan.
———


———

SUNDAY GAMES:


At Lethbridge, F Egor Babenko scored three times to lead the Hurricanes to a 5-2 victory over the Red
EGOR BABENKO
Deer Rebels. . . . Red Deer had posted a 4-2 victory in Lethbridge on Saturday. . . . Games 3 and 4 are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in Red Deer. . . . Babenko, from Tyumen, Russia, is in his third season with Lethbridge. Last season, he had 69 points, including 29 goals, in 67 games. This season, he scored 24 goals and added 31 assists in 66 games. . . . He was scoreless in five games in last season’s playoffs, so these were his first post-season goals. . . . The Hurricanes took control by scoring the game’s first five goals. . . . F Ryan Bowen got things started at 6:56 of the first period. . . . Babenko made it 2-0 at 1:17 of the second period. . . . It moved to 3-0 as F Tanner Nagel scored, shorthanded, at 11:57. . . . Babenko added two more goals, at 17:17 of the second and 2:18 of the third. . . . Red Deer got two third-period PP goals, from F Michael Spacek, at 5:59, and F Evan Polei, at 11:46. . . . Lethbridge got two assists from each of Alec Baer and Jordy Bellerive. . . . F Lane Zablocki drew two assists for Red Deer, and Spacek had one. . . . The Hurricanes got 24 saves from G Stuart Skinner. . . . Red Deer starter Riley Lamb was beaten five times on 25 shots in 42:18. Lasse Petersen finished up, stopping the four shots he faced in 17:42. . . . Red Deer was 2-5 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-6. . . . The Hurricanes made one lineup change, inserting D Ty Prefontaine for D Kyle Yewchuk. . . . Announced attendance: 3,380.
——

At Prince George, the Cougars scored the game’s first five goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the
TY EDMONDS
Portland Winterhawks. . . . Portland had won Game 1, 4-2, in Prince George on Friday. . . . The series will resume in Portland with games on Wednesday and Thursday. . . . This series has a 2-2-1-1-1 format, so they’ll be back in Prince George for Game 5 on Saturday. . . . The Cougars had F Brad Morrison back in their lineup and he scored the game’s first goal, at 15:57 of the first period. Morrison, who has had three straight 20-goal seasons, hadn’t played since Feb. 24 — he missed 10 games — when he suffered an ankle injury during a fight. . . . F Aaron Boyd upped the lead to 3-0 with goals at 8:32 and 18:35 of the second period. . . . D Shane Collins made it 4-0 just 22 seconds into the third period and F Radovan Bondra added a PP goal 35 seconds later. . . . Portland got a PP goal from F Cody Glass at 12:53 of the third. . . . D Brendan Guhle had two assists for the Cougars. . . . The Cougars got a big game from G Ty Edmonds, who finished with 40 saves. This is his third playoff season; he had one victory in 10 decisions going into this game. . . . Cole Kehler started for Portland, and stopped 19 of 24 shots in 40:57. Shane Farkas came on in relief and stopped all 12 shots he faced in 19:03. . . . Each team was 1-4 on the PP. . . . Announced attendance: 4,141.
——

MONDAY GAMES (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.
——

TUESDAY GAMES (all times local):

Moose Jaw at Swift Current, 7 p.m. (Series tied, 1-1)
Medicine Hat vs. Brandon, at Dauphin, Man., 7:30 p.m. (Medicine Hat leads, 2-0)
Regina at Calgary, 7 p.m. (Regina leads, 2-0)
Kelowna at Kamloops, 7 p.m. (Kelowna leads, 2-0)
Everett at Victoria, 7:05 p.m. (Series tied, 1-1)

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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:46 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Holick enjoying Italy . . . Hitmen ice Ice again . . . Rockets end red-hot road trip


MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM TAKING NOTE

We are into the stretch drive with the big day less than a week away. Right here is Johnny Mathis, the man with the voice, with . . . When A Child Is Born.
——
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you. Safe travels if you are on the byways and highways, and please slow down and enjoy the season. Taking Note will be here through the holidays just in case you need shelter from the storm. Besides, there still are more Christmas tunes to be played.
———
F Tomáš Kopecký (Lethbridge, 2000-02) has been released by Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). He had one assist in 15 games. He had started season with Dukla Trenčín (Slovakia, Extraliga), recording two assists in five games.
-———
A year ago, Mark Holick was the head coach of the WHL’s Prince George Cougars. Today, he’s coaching a team in Italy that plays in an open-air arena -- well, it does have a roof -- and having the time of his life. . . . There is more with Holick right here from The Coaches Site.
——
F Tyler Ward of the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials has committed to the U of Denver where he will play for the Pioneers. Ward, 17, is from Kamloops. He was an 11th-round pick of the Blazers in the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. This season, he has 12 points, seven of them goals, in 16 games with the Centennials. Last season, he finished with 17 goals and 10 assists in 52 games.
———


———

SUNDAY’S GAMES:


At Calgary, F Jordy Stallard broke a 2-2 tie at 13:41 of the third period and the Hitmen went on to beat the
JORDY STALLARD
Kootenay Ice, 3-2. . . . Stallard has six goals. . . . D Ryan Pouliot had given the Ice a 1-0 lead with his first goal, at 1:07 of the first period. . . . The Hitmen tied it when F Andrei Grishakov (3) scored at 18:21. . . . F Jakob Stukel’s ninth goal gave the home side a 2-1 lead, at 8:18 of the second period. . . . F Austin Wellsby (2) pulled Kootenay into a 2-2 tie at 10:23 of the second. . . . Stallard also had an assist. . . . G Cody Porter had a big game with 33 saves to earn the victory. . . . G Payton Lee stopped 25 shots for the Ice. . . . Kootenay was 1-3 on the PP; Calgary was 0-1. . . . Calgary improved to 13-16-2, while the Ice (6-22-8) lists its sixth straight game (0-5-1). . . . This was an important victory for the Hitmen, who are six points behind the Brandon Wheat Kings, who hold down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot and hold two games in hand. . . . Announced attendance: 6,562.
——

At Edmonton, F Jake Kryski scored the only goal of a three-round shootout to give the Kelowna Rockets
MICHAEL HERRINGER
a 2-1 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Neither team was able to score through 40 minutes of regulation time. . . . F Nick Bowman gave the Oil Kings a 1-0 lead with his fifth goal, at 1:50 of the third period. . . . Kelowna tied it at 8:45 when F Jack Cowell scored his second goal of the season. . . . Rockets F Kole Lind had a 13-game point streak come to an end. . . . Edmonton held a 7-1 edge in shots in OT but wasn’t able to solve Rockets G Michael Herringer. He finished with 28 saves through OT, then was perfect on three shootout attempts. . . . Edmonton G Patrick Dea turned aside 29 shots. . . . Each team was 0-5 on the PP. . . . The Rockets (22-12-2) are 3-0-1 in their last four games and are second in the B.C. Division. They went 5-1-1 on a seven-game trek that started with a 3-2 OT victory over the Tri-City Americans on Dec. 9 and included six stops in the Central Division. All told, the Rockets played the seven games in 10 days. . . . The Oil Kings (16-15-4) have points in four straight games (2-0-2). They hold down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot, but are just two points behind the Red Deer Rebels, who are third in the Central Division. . . . The Rockets are 2-0-0 in Edmonton this season. They won 1-0 on Oct. 7. . . . Announced attendance: 8,657.
——

DEC. 19-26:

No Games Scheduled.
——

TEDDY BEAR, TOQUE AND MITTEN TOSS GAMES:

Saturday, Jan. 21: Vancouver vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Nov. 26: D Micheal Zipp, 19:47 1st period, Lethbridge 4 at Calgary 2.
Dec. 2: D Artyom Minulin, 13:24 1st period, Calgary 1 at Swift Current 5.
Dec. 2: F Jordy Bellerive, 14:00 1st period, Red Deer 3 at Lethbridge 5.
Dec. 3: F Adam Musil, 14:27 1st period, Lethbridge 2 at Red Deer 3 (OT).
Dec. 3: D Ondrej Vala, 10:38 1st period, Vancouver 2 at Kamloops 5.
Dec. 3: F Nick Merkley, 6:54 2nd period, Brandon 1 at Kelowna 3.
Dec. 9: F Austin Glover, 0:32 2nd period, Moose Jaw 7 at Prince Albert 3. 
Dec. 9: F Riley Woods, 11:45 1st period, Swift Current 1 at Regina 8.
Dec. 9: F Keanu Yamamoto, 4:01 1st period, Kootenay 3 at Spokane 4.
Dec. 10: D Josh Thrower, 12:13 1st period, Prince Albert 4 at Moose Jaw 5 (SO).
Dec. 10: F Nick Bowman, 13:38 2nd period, Kamloops 3 at Edmonton 2.
Dec. 10: D Troy Murray, 1:51 2nd, Kelowna 7 at Kootenay 3.
Dec. 10: F Max Gerlach, 5:26 1st period, Calgary 4 at Medicine Hat 7.
Dec. 10: F Skyler McKenzie 2:21 1st, Everett 2 at Portland 5.
Dec. 10: F Josh Curtis, 6:02 2nd period, Seattle 4 at Prince George 6.
Dec. 10: F Tyler Sandhu, 0:36 1st period, Victoria 3 at Tri-City 4.
Dec. 16: F Linden McCorrister, 17:47 1st period, Saskatoon 2 at Brandon 3 (SO).
Dec. 16: F James Malm, 3:34 1st period, Portland 4 vs. Vancouver 6, at Langley, B.C.
Dec. 17: F Braylon Shmyr, 2:13 2nd period, Brandon 3 at Saskatoon 2.
Dec. 17: F Eetu Tuulola, 19:29 2nd period, Portland 2 at Everett 4.
Dec. 17: F Eric Florchuk, 15:57 1st period, Vancouver 5 at Victoria 4 (OT).

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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 9:00 PM
Labels: , , , , , ,

Friday, October 7, 2016

WHL's Berlin Wall on move . . . Patrick bails out Wheaties . . . Cougars keep on rolling


It seems that G Matt Berlin is on the move. According to his Twitter account, he is joining the Seattle Thunderbirds after having been dropped by the Spokane Chiefs.
Late Friday night, the Chiefs tweeted that they have traded Berlin to Seattle for an undisclosed conditional selection in the 2018 WHL bantam draft.
Berlin got into six games with the Chiefs last season, going 1-1-2, 4.38, .851.
He started this season with them, too, but played just 10 minutes before being dropped from the roster. He apparently was going to join the AJHL’s Drayton Valley Thunder.
Now, however, it seems he will be with the Thunderbirds.
Berlin, 18, from Edmonton, was a seventh-round pick by the Chiefs in the 2013 WHL bantam draft.
In Seattle, Berlin will join two other goaltenders — Rylan Toth, 20, who was acquired from the Red Deer Rebels on Sept. 16, and Carl Stankowski, 16, who was a second-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft.
Toth went the distance on Friday night in a 3-1 victory over the visiting Victoria Royals.
——
Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
———


———

FRIDAY’S GAMES:

At Brandon, F Nolan Patrick forced OT and then scored the lone goal of a shootout as the Wheat Kings beat the Swift Current Broncos, 4-3. . . . Patrick tied the game 3-3 with his third goal of the season, at 19:13 of the third period. . . . F Aleksi Heponiemi had given the Broncos a 3-2 lead at 9:15 of the third. . . . F Riley Stottls scored twice for the Broncos, giving him three goals. From Winnipeg, he was the 10th overall pick in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . F Tanner Kaspick had a goal and an assist for Brandon (2-1-1), while F Ty Lewis had two assists. . . . The Broncos (4-2-1), who had won two straight, got two assists from D Sahvan Khaira. . . . Brandon G Logan Thompson stopped 21 shots, 10 fewer than Travis Child of the Broncos. . . . The Wheaties were 1-2 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-5. . . . Announced attendance: 3,650.
——
At Calgary, the Hitmen scored two third-period PP goals and beat the Kamloops Blazers, 2-1. . . . F Quinn Benjafield had given the visitors a 1-0 lead at 17:57 of the first period. . . . F Carsen Twarynski tied the score 27 seconds into the third period. . . . F Matteo Gennaro got the winner at 14:14. . . . The Calgary PP unit had been 0-19 before Twarynski’s goal. . . . Calgary G Cody Porter blocked 27 shots, while Connor Ingram of the Blazers turned aside 34. . . . Calgary (3-1-0) was 2-6 on the PP; Kamloops was 0-4. . . . The Blazers (2-5-0) have lost three in a row. After opening the season at home, with a 9-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets, they are nearing the end of a seven-game road swing that wraps up Saturday night in Medicine Hat. . . . Calgary had its full lineup in place for the first time as all eight of its NHL campers are back and played. D Jake Bean, who was with the Carolina Hurricanes for three weeks, drew one assist. . . . The Blazers had G Max Palaga of the major midget Thompson Blazers backing up Ingram. Dylan Ferguson hasn’t played since suffering an ankle injury in the first period of Game 2. Carter Phair took a shot to the head during practice on Thursday and was unavailable. . . . Kamloops lost F Garrett Pilon after he took a hard hit from Gennaro late in the second period. Pilon went to the dressing room and never returned. . . . Announced attendance: 5,745.
——
At Edmonton, G Michael Herringer earned the shutout and F Calvin Thurkauf scored the goal as the Kelowna Rockets beat the Oil Kings, 1-0. . . . Herringer, 20, stopped 38 shots in putting up his first shutout of this season and the fourth of his career. . . . Thurkauf broke the scoreless tie at 11:18 of the third period. He’s got three goals this season. . . . Edmonton G Liam Hughes turned aside 33 shots. . . . Kelowna (3-4-0), which has won two in a row, was 0-4 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-5. . . . The Oil Kings (2-3-1) have lost four in a row (0-3-1). . . . Announced attendance: 12,781.
——
At Everett, F Michael Rasmussen scored twice to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 4-1 victory over the Silvertips. . . . This was the third straight game between the teams; the Americans won two of them. . . . F Dominic Zwerger gave the hosts a 1-0 lead 30 seconds into the game. . . . Tri-City pulled even at 1:18 on F Dakota Krebs’ first WHL goal. . . . Rasmussen, who has a WHL-leading eight goals, broke the tie at 13:31. . . . F Max James provided insurance with a shorthanded goal at 4:27 of the third. . . . Rasmussen added a PP goal at 15:00. . . . F Morgan Geekie had three assists for the Americans (3-3-0). . . . G Nic Sanders stopped 29 shots for the victory. . . . The Silvertips (4-1-1) got 23 stops from Carter Hart. . . . The Americans were 2-3 on the PP; the Silvertips were 0-6. . . . Announced attendance: 3,908.
——
At Moose Jaw, the Portland Winterhawks scored the game’s last five goals and beat the Warriors, 5-2. . . . The Warriors led 2-0 on first-period goals by F Brett Howden, at 10:48, and F Ryan Bowen, on a PP, at 13:20. . . . F Lane Gilliss got Portland on the board at 13:49 and F Skyler McKenzie, on a PP, pulled the visitors even at 17:03. . . . McKenzie’s seventh goal of the season, at 4:13 of the second period, proved to be the winner. . . . F Cody Glass, who leads the WHL scoring derby, had Portland’s last two goals. He also had an assist. . . . Glass has 15 points in seven games, two more than F Chad Butcher of the Medicine Hat Tigers, who has played six games. . . . F Ryan Hughes had two assists for Portland (5-2-0), which is 2-1-0 on its East Division tour. . . . Hughes, 17, has 10 points in seven games. Last season, as a freshman, he put up 13 points in 71 games. . . . The Warriors (3-1-2) lost for the first time in regulation. . . . G Cole Kehler stopped 20 shots for Moose Jaw, while Brody Willms blocked 37 at the other end. . . . The Winterhawks held a 19-1 edge in shots in the second period. . . . Portland was 1-3 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 1-4. . . . The Winterhawks had Latvian F Rodrigo Abols, 20, in the lineup after a three-game absence. He had one assist. . . . Portland didn’t dress Danish F Joachim Blichfeld. . . . Announced attendance: 3,204.
——

At Prince George, the Cougars ran their season-opening winning streak to seven games as they beat the Vancouver Giants, 5-2. . . . The Cougars (7-0-0) are the CHL’s top-ranked team. . . . The Giants jumped to a quick 2-0 lead but weren’t able to score again. F Thomas Foster made it 1-0 just 57 seconds into the game and F Jack Flaman scored his fourth goal for a 2-0 lead at 2:53. . . . Cougars F Jesse Gabrielle, just back from the camp of the Boston Bruins, then figured in three quick goals as the home side took control. He drew the primary assist on a PP goal from F Kody McDonald at 11:17. Gabrielle then scored a PP goal at 12:31 and his shorthanded score at 14:00 gave the Cougars their first lead. . . . F Janson Harkins added two assists for the Cougars, while F Josh Curtis and F Yan Khomenko each had a goal and an assist. . . . Prince George G Ty Edmonds stopped 24 shots. The Giants (1-6-0) got 30 saves from Ryan Kubic. . . . The Cougars were 2-4 on the PP; the Giants were 0-3. . . . Announced attendance: 3,014.
——

At Red Deer, D David Quenneville scored three times to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 6-3 victory over the Rebels. . . . The Tigers overcame a 3-2 deficit with four third-period goals, two of them from Quenneville, who has four goals this season. . . . Last season, Quenneville had 14 goals — including two two-goal games — in 64 games. As a freshman, in 2014-15, he scored six times in 66 games. . . . Red Deer F Michael Spacek scored twice to give his guys a 2-1 lead early in the second period. . . . Tigers F Mark Rassell tied it at 10:39, only to have Red Deer F Evan Polei put the home side out front again, at 12:27. . . . The Tigers then scored three straight PP goals to take control. F Chad Butcher counted at 3:54 of the third period and Quenneville completed his hat trick with goals at 4:08 and 14:07. . . . Butcher added three assists to his goal, while F Steve Owre also had three helpers. Medicine Hat got a goal and two assists from F Mason Shaw. . . . Red Deer F Austin Pratt had two assists. . . . G Nick Schneider stopped 37 shots for the Tigers, 10 more than Red Deer’s Riley Lamb. . . . While the Tigers went 4-7 on the PP, the Rebels were 0-7. . . . The Tigers (5-1-0) have won five straight games. . . . The Rebels are 2-3-2. . . . F Adam Musil played his 200th regular-season game, all with Red Deer. . . . Announced attendance: 4,329.
——
At Regina, F Keenan Taphorn scored at 4:06 of OT to give the Kootenay Ice a 4-3 victory over the Pats. . . . Taphorn, a 16-year-old freshman from Yorkton, Sask., has two goals this season. . . . The Ice jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead on two goals from F Zak Zborosky, who is from Regina, and one from F Matt Alfaro. . . . Zborosky has six goals. . . . F Lane Zablocki got Regina’s first goal, at 1:10 of the second period and D Sergey Zborovskiy pulled the Pats to within a goal at 4:28. . . . This is believed to be the first game in WHL history in which players whose last names begin with ‘Z’ scored four of first five goals. . . . F Dawson Leedahl forced OT when he scored a PP goal at 2:43 of the third period. . . . F Vince Loschiavo had two assists for the Ice (1-3-2). . . . F Jake Leschyshyn had three helpers for Regina (3-0-2), while Zablock added one to his goal. . . . Each team was 1-5 on the PP. . . . Regina F Austin Wagner was ejected at 9:50 of the first period as he incurred a checking-from-behind major. . . . Announced attendance: 3,958.
——

At Kent, Wash., F Alexander True scored the game’s first two goals early in the second period and the Seattle Thunderbirds went on to a 3-1 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . True, who has four goals, scored at 1:33 and 5:36 and the Thunderbirds (2-2-0) took it from there. . . . F Sami Moilanen and F Cavin Leth drew the assists on both True goals, the second of which came via the PP. . . . F Nolan Volcan gave Seattle a 3-0 lead at 3:09 of the third period. . . . Victoria D Chaz Reddekopp scored a PP goal at 12:14. . . . G Rylan Toth stopped 28 shots for Seattle. . . . The Royals (2-4-0) got 24 stops from Dylan Myskiw. . . . The Thunderbirds were 1-4 on the PP; the Royals were 1-6. . . . Announced attendance: 4,346.
——
At Spokane, the Lethbridge Hurricanes struck for three first-period PP goals en re route to a 5-3 victory over the Chiefs. . . . F Tyler Wong scored PP goals at 2:59 and 17:01 of the first period and F Ryley Lindgren added another at 17:34. . . . Wong drew an assist on Lindgren’s goal, while F Giorgio Estephan had assists on two of the first three goals. . . . F Pavel Kousal got Spokane on the board at 19:44 of the first. . . . Lethbridge F Egor Babenko scored what proved to be the winner at 1:31 of the second period. . . . F Keanu Yamamoto had a goal and an assist for Spokane, while his brother, Kailer, had two assists. . . . Lethbridge (4-2-0) was 3-6 on the PP; Spokane (1-2-0) was 2-5. . . . G Stuart Skinner stopped 30 shots for the winners. Jayden Sittler, whom the Chiefs acquired from Lethbridge over the summer, gave up five goals on 13 shots. Dawson Weatherill made his Spokane debut in relief and stopped all five shots he saw. . . . Announced attendance: 4,610.
——

SATURDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Kamloops at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.
Kootenay at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Kelowna at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Regina, 7 p.m.
Portland at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Victoria at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.
Prince Albert at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

Lethbridge vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.

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.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Posted by Gregg Drinnan at 10:42 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

  © Design byThirteen Letter

Back to TOP