SRO in Brandon . . . Another shutout for Whistle . . . New coach in Prince George

FRIDAY’S GAMES:

pic.twitter.com/4YOHI7OkyD
— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) April 11, 2015

In Brandon, the Wheat Kings, playing before a sold-out crowd, opened with a 5-1 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . They’ll play Game 2 tonight in Brandon. . . . The Wheat Kings scored the game’s first two goals, with F Duncan Campbell getting his first at 9:48 of the first and F Tim McGauley getting his fourth at 1:56 of the second. . . . F Taylor Cooper, a former Wheat Kings skater, got Regina’s goal at 9:12 of the second. . . . F John Quenneville got his fourth goal for Brandon at 13:50 of the second. . . . The Wheat Kings put it away with two third-period goals — D Ivan Provorov scored his first at 10:41 and F Jayce Hawryluk got No. 4 at 14:04. . . . F Tyler Coulter had two assists for Brandon. . . . Brandon has scored the first goal in each of its past five games and has won each of those games. . . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny celebrated his 19th birthday by stopping 21 shots, five fewer than Regina’s Daniel Wapple. . . . Regina was 0-for-4 on the PP; Brandon was 0-for-3. . . . F Reid Duke was back in Brandon’s lineup after a 21-game absence with an undisclosed injury. He hadn’t played since Feb. 13. . . . Brandon F Morgan Klimchuk remains sidelined. . . . Attendance was 5,130. . . . A Friday tweet from Phil Andrews, the radio voice of the Pats: “Pats HC John Paddock will be inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in October. Official announcement coming Monday.”

In Medicine Hat, F Chase Lang had a goal and two assists to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 3-1 victory over the Tigers. . . . The series now heads for Calgary and games on Sunday and Monday. A fourth game will be played in Medicine Hat on Wednesday. The remainder of the schedule, if necessary, has yet to be announced. . . . Last night, Calgary led 2-1 after two periods, despite being outshot 24-8. . . . With the Tigers leading 6-0 on the shot clock, F Connor Rankin scored his eighth goal of these playoffs on Calgary’s first shot, at 7:57 of the first period. . . . F Jake Virtanen scored his first goal at 16:30 of the first, for a 2-0 lead. . . . The Tigers got their goal from F Dryden Hunt at 19:50 of the first. . . . Lang scored his fourth goal at 6:30 of the third. . . . Calgary G Mack Shields turned aside 33 shots. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer stopped 11 shots. . . . The Tigers were 0-for-3 on the PP; the Hitmen were 0-for-1. . . . Calgary continues to play without D Jake Bean, while F Beck Malensytn was back after  a 10-game absence. . . . Attendance was 4,006.

In Kelowna, G Jackson Whistle stopped 20 shots to help the Rockets to a 5-0 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . They’ll play Game 2 in Kelowna tonight. . . . Whistle has put up three shutouts in his first five playoff starts. He opened the first round with 6-0 and 3-0 shutouts over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Rockets are 5-0 in these playoffs. . . . F Tyson Baillie’s third goal, at 5:40 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . The Rockets had a 14-1 edge in shots in a scoreless first period. . . . Victoria’s one shot came on a breakaway by F Alex Forsberg, who was stymied by Whistle. . . . D Josh Morrissey, out since Feb. 28, was back in the Kelowna lineup and drew three assists. . . . F Leon Draisaitl had two assists. . . . Victoria G Coleman Vollrath stopped 39 shots. . . . The Rockets’ last two goals came via the PP as they went 2-for-5. . . . Victoria was 0-for-4. . . . F Tyrell Goulbourne, who missed two games, returned to the Rockets’ lineup. . . . F Justin Kirkland, F Chance Braid (WHL suspension) and D Devante Stephens were among Kelowna’s scratches. . . . There were at least 21 NHL scouts on hand for this one. . . . Attendance was 5,481. . . . Larry Fisher of the Kelowna Daily Courier has a game story right here.

In Everett, the Silvertips scored the game’s first three goals and went on to a 5-3 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The teams will be back at it tonight in Everett. . . . F Kohl Bauml opened the scoring at 5:25 of the first period and F Remi Laurencelle made it 2-0 just 3:04 later. . . . Laurencelle added his second of the game, and second of these playoffs, at 4:42 of the second. . . . Portland F Miles Koules cut the deficit to 3-1 with 22.3 seconds left in the second period. . . . However, Everett F Jake Mykitiuk got that one back with 2.2 seconds left in the period with what likely was the biggest goal of the game. . . . After F Patrick Bajkov gave Everett a 5-1 lead at 7:58 of the third, via a PP, the visitors got goals from F Dominic Turgeon, his fifth, and F Alex Schoenborn. . . . Silvertips D Cole MacDonald had three assists, while F Ivan Nikolishin had two. . . . Portland F Keegan Iverson had two assists. . . . Everett G Carter Hart stopped 27 shots, 11 more than Portland’s Adin Hill. . . . Everett was 1-for-2 on the PP; Portland was 0-for-1. . . . D Noah Juulsen, D Tristen Pfeifer and F Dawson Leedahl were scratched by Everett, each with an undisclosed injury. . . . With two defencemen out, Everett had D Jantzen Leslie, 15, in the lineup for his second playoff game. . . . Attendance was 3,481.

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An interesting tidbit from the Hodge’s Heroes blog, where Brandon Rivers writes: “D-man Caleb Jones (1996) was ranked No. 115 overall among North American skaters in Central Scouting's final rankings. Jones, who is playing with the USNTDP, has reportedly signed with Portland, though this has not been announced by the Winterhawks. There could be some reason why this has not been announced as of yet, but I do not know exactly why.” . . . This speculation goes back to a report by Corbett Smith and his High School Sports Blog for The Dallas Morning News. Smith reported on April 2 that Jones, the younger brother of former Winterhawks D Seth Jones, has opted to join the Winterhawks, who selected him in the third round of the 2012 WHL bantam draft. Smith wrote: “According to local youth hockey expert Tanner Wilson, Caleb says he’s 100 percent committed to the Winterhawks for next season; Caleb had been courted by several top NCAA programs, most recently Wisconsin. He also had offers from Boston College, Boston University (currently in the NCAA’s Frozen Four) and Umass.” . . . Caleb Jones, 17, spent the past two seasons in the U.S. National Team Development Program.
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David Levin, who was born in Tel Aviv, will be selected by the Sudbury Wolves with the No. 1 pick in today’s OHL draft. . . . Levin, now 15, was 12 when he left his parents and brother behind to come to Canada in order to focus on hockey. . . . He played this season with the AAA minor midget Don Mills Flyers. Their head coach is Lindsay Hofford, who once did a stint as head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes (2003-06). Hofford also is the director of scouting for the OHL’s London Knights. . . . John Matisz of QMI Agency has more on Levin right here.
——F Sam Reinhart’s debut with the AHL’s Rochester Americans has been delayed. Reinhart suffered an undisclosed injury as his Kootenay Ice dropped a seven-game series to the Calgary Hitmen last week, so the Americans, the AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres, have chosen to hold out Reinhart until next weekend. . . . The Americans will conclude their regular season with three games next weekend. The last game, on Sunday, April 19, will be against the host Adirondack Flames, whose roster includes F Max Reinhart, Sam’s older brother.
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The AHL’s Adirondack Flames have signed G Taran Kozun of the Seattle Thunderbirds to an amateur tryout deal. Kozun, who played out his junior eligibility this season, was in a development camp with the Washington Capitals in 2014. Adirondack is the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames. This season, Kozun was 33-19-8, .915, 2.41. . . . Former Kelowna Rockets head coach Ryan Huska is in his first season as Adirondack’s head coach. . . . The Flames are at home to Dean Chynoweth and the Lake Erie Monsters on Saturday and Sunday. . . . Seattle D Evan Wardley, who also used up his junior eligibility, has joined the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers. . . . Seattle D Shea Theodore, 19, is playing with the Norfolk Admirals, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Theodore was selected by the Ducks in the first round of the NHL’s 2013 draft.
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The BCHL has made a move to get older players onto its teams’ rosters. Here’s a note from Brian Wiebe, over at Brian’s Banter:
“The BCHL has re-introduced the roster rule stating that each team must have a minimum of two players 17-years-old or younger on its active roster in 2015-16. This is a change from this season when teams were required to have a minimum of four rookie players, which was defined as those entering the season with less than 30 games of junior A experience. The 17-years-old-and-under rule was in place for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons after teams were required to carry a minimum of one 16-year-old and one 17-year-old on their rosters during the 2011-12 season.”
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The Red Deer Rebels have signed F Austin Pratt, a native of Lakeville, Minn., who was a fourth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. Pratt, who attended a Rebels’ prospect camp last summer and was in their training camp prior to this season, played the past two seasons at Shattuck St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn. This season, with the school’s U-16 team, he had 52 points, 20 of them goals, in 55 games. . . . Pratt may be the only 16-year-old on the Rebels’ roster next season as it prepares to play host to the 2016 Memorial Cup. . . .
It is expected that F Connor McDavid of the OHL’s Erie Otters or F Jack Eichel of Boston U will be first pick in June’s NHL draft. On Friday afternoon, Eichel was named winner of the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s top player; later in the day, McDavid became the first Erie player to score five goals in a regular-season or playoff game as the Otters dropped the visiting London Knights 7-3 in a second-round game. . . . The Otters lead the series, 2-0. . . . Erie D Kurtis MacDermid has been suspended for eight games for a headshot that has taken London F Max Domi out of the series. . . . Erie F Mason Marchment has been hit with an indefinite suspension for a hit on London F Mitch Marner. . . .
G Eric Comrie of the Tri-City Americans started for the AHL’s St. John’s Ice Caps last night. He made 28 saves in a 3-2 loss to the visiting Hershey Bears. . . . F Brayden Point of the Moose Jaw Warriors scored his first AHL goal last night, as he and the host Syracuse Crunch beat the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 4-3, in OT. Point forced OT with a PP goal at 3:43 of the third period.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Chad van Diemen is the new head coach of the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings. Van Diemen, 33, spent the past six seasons with the BCHL’s Powell River Kings, as assistant GM and associate head coach. . . . Van Diemen, who signed a two-year contract, replaces Dave Dupas, who resigned following the season. Dupas, who is from Kelowna, cited family reasons in resigning. . . . Van Diemen is from Kamloops. He played four seasons (1998-2002)in the BCHL, with the Nanaimo Clippers, Powell River and Quesnel Millionaires before going on to play four seasons of NCAA hockey -- one at Iona and three at Manhattanville. . . . His father, Case, was the president of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers for a while when the franchise was community-owned.
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The Hamilton Bulldogs, who will begin play in the OHL next season, have signed George Burnett as their first general manager/head coach. Burnett, a 26-year veteran of the coaching wars, spent the past 11 seasons as the GM/head coach of the Belleville Bulls. That franchise is relocating to Hamilton. Burnett, 53, is a long-time OHL coach, having also worked with the Oshawa Generals, Niagara Falls Thunder, Oshawa Generals and Belleville. He also has coached in the NHL and AHL. He has 611 OHL coaching victories, ranking him second among active coaches and leaving him fifth on the all-time list.
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Victoria Cougars vs New Westminster Bruins, #WHL playoff game April 7, 1979 at the Victoria Memorial Arena. pic.twitter.com/3R6UISrkNV
— Victoria Cougars (@victoriacougars) April 10, 2015

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Cougars looking for buskers . . . Skinner skins Oil Kings . . . Silvertips edge short-staffed Chiefs

As I write this, more than 48 hours has passed since the end of Super Bowl XLIX in which the New England Patriots scored a 28-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
Like many observers, I remain in a state of shock over the way it ended. But, at the same time, I will admit that I wasn’t surprised. If being shocked but not surprised is even possible . . .
The vast majority of football coaches, and not just in the NFL, are as predictable as the sun coming up in the east. It’s why they carry those colour-coded laminated sheets on the sidelines — if it’s first-and-10 from wherever, here are the options.
It’s why they spend so much time watching video — they are watching the next opponent and looking for tendencies.
Football, especially at the professional level, is about matchups. Teams work hard to get preferable matchups and then to exploit it when it happens in their favour.
So in the moments before the biggest play of the NFL season, with the Seahawks second-and-goal from inside the Patriots’ one, New England trotted out its goal-line defensive elephants. The Seahawks had three receivers on the field and, because of the Patriots’ personnel, knew they would see man-to-man coverage.
What the Seahawks didn’t count on was a perfect storm . . . receiver Jermaine Kearse got a piece of defensive back Brandon Browner but didn’t impede Malcolm Butler’s progress. Butler, who obviously had done his video homework, knew what was coming and let his instincts take over. Seattle’s Ricardo Lockette, quarterback Russell Wilson’s intended target, didn’t anticipate Butler being there, so the New England DB was able to go right through him to the ball.
Game over.
A TV camera happened to be on New England quarterback Tom Brady, who simply couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. (Brady was named the game’s MVP, but the award should have gone to Butler, even if only for his impact on that one play.)
It is surprising that so many people who watch a lot of football were amazed that the Seahawks tried to throw the ball, rather than hand it off to running back Marshawn Lynch. But the matchups simply didn’t favour the  Seahawks in that situation and their coaching staff knew it.
In hindsight, though, I wonder why the Seahawks didn’t fake a handoff to Lynch to their left side and then have Wilson run a naked bootleg the other way. Wilson runs as well as any quarterback in the game today, and he would have been lined up under centre, rather than back in the shotgun.
They didn’t, though, and the rest is history.
Don’t forget, too, that professional football coaches are akin to generals. Every game is a war and the two leaders are the smartest men in the room. They don’t care what you or I think; all they know is that if you aren’t “for” them, then you’re “against” them.
And if you’re waiting for one of them to admit to a mistake, you will wait a long, long time.
BTW, it is games like that one that provide all the evidence needed to prove that sports is the ultimate reality TV.
If you don’t believe it, well, the Buffalo Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night to end a 14-game losing skid. So there’s that, too.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings list F John Quenneville and G Alex Moodie as being out week-to-week. Both players suffered concussions as the Wheaties swept a weekend home-and-home series with the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Rob Henderson reports that G Justin Holder, “a 19-year-old former member of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines and Virden Oil Capitals and of the Brandon Midget AAA Wheat Kings, practised with the Wheat Kings on Tuesday.” . . . D Kale Clague (wrist) is close to returning to Brandon’s lineup. He hasn’t played for Brandon since Oct. 28 after being injured at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in November. . . . Brandon leads the Eastern Conference and is three points behind the Kelowna Rockets, who lead the overall standings. The Wheat Kings are in Medicine Hat tonight as they open a stretch of four games in five nights.
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The OHL now has five head coaches who have put up at least 600 victories, with Stan Butler of the North Bay Battalion having joined the club on Sunday.
Butler, who turned 59 on Monday, trails Brian Kilrea (1,194), Bert Templeton (907), Larry Mavety (658) and George Burnett (604). . . . Burnett, the head coach of the Belleville Bulls, leads all OHL active coaches in victories.
Butler was the head coach of the Oshawa Generals for two seasons (1994-96) before joining the Battalion in 1998. He was the head coach in Prince George in 1996-97 as the Cougars went 28-39-5, with the five representing ties. Ties? Oh, those were the days!
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It has been almost a year since Cody Smuk was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Smuk, who played with the WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Moose Jaw Warriors (2006-10) before spending four seasons with the U of Saskatchewan Huskies, now is undergoing chemotherapy. Darren Zary of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here.
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The Prince George Cougars are in the process of unveiling a Buskers’ Corner stage at home games. Andy Beesley, the Cougars’ vice-president of business, says there won’t be any charge for buskers to perform and it will give the performers a chance to “earn some change from appreciative fans.” If you are interested, call Beesley at 250-561-0783. . . .
F Troy Brouwer (Moose Jaw, 2001-06) scored twice last night to help the Washington Capitals to a 4-0 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Kings. That turned Brouwer’s 500th regular-season NHL game into a memorable one. . . . Interestingly, Washington assistant coach Lane Lambert was on the Warriors’ coaching staff for two of Brouwer’s seasons in Moose Jaw. . . .
A tip of the hat to friend Dan Russell, who will be saluted on Friday when the Paul Carson Awards are handed out at the Lamplighter Pub in Gastown in Vancouver. Russell, who spent 30 of his 35 years in media as the host of Sportstalk, will receive the Milestone Award. . . . Tickets to the event, presented by The Stadnyk Foundation and supported by Morguard and Steamworks Brewery, are available for $30, with all proceeds going to the Canadian Cancer Society and KidSport. Tickets can be reserved by emailing friendsofpaulcarson@gmail.com.
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The WHL has suspended five players for infractions in Friday and Saturday games. . . . D Josh Connolly of the Prince George Cougars drew a one-game sentence for a slashing major and game misconduct against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday night. He served the suspension on Saturday. . . . Cougars D Josh Anderson got two games for a headshot major and game misconduct on Friday. He didn’t play Saturday, so has one game remaining. The Cougars are at home to the Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday. . . . D Mackenze Stewart of the Prince Albert Raiders got a two-game suspension for a cross-checking major and game misconduct in Calgary on Friday night. He didn’t play Saturday in Red Deer, so has one game remaining. He will serve that tonight when the Raiders play in Moose Jaw. . . .
Two other players are sitting with ‘tbd’ suspensions. F Jesse Shynkaruk of the Moose Jaw Warriors took an interference major and game misconduct for a hit on F John Quenneville of the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday. Quenneville is believed to have a concussion. The Warriors next play Wednesday when they entertain the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . F Jacob Cardiff of the Spokane Chiefs was hit with a headshot major and game misconduct against the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday. Cardiff didn’t play last night against the visiting Everett Silvertips.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:

In Regina, G Daniel Wapple stopped 25 shots to help the Pats to a 4-2 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . F Pavel Padakin scored his 17th goal just 17 seconds into the second period to give Regina a 2-0 lead. He also had an assist. . . . Raiders F Reid Gardiner got his 25th goal, on a PP with the extra attacker on, at 17:56 of the third period. . . . That got the Raiders to within one, at 3-2. . . . Regina F Sam Steel scored his 13th goal at 19:59 of the third. . . . Pats F Luc Smith, who turned 17 on Jan. 20, scored his first WHL goal in his 48th game. . . . Regina D Colby Williams had an assist and was plus-4. . . . The Pats (28-17-6) have points in three straight (2-0-1). . . . The Raiders (21-29-1) are in Moose Jaw tonight. . . .

In Edmonton, G Stuart Skinner turned aside 49 shots to lead the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 4-3 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Skinner, who turned 16 on Nov. 1, stopped 23 shots in the second period when Edmonton scored twice. . . . F Ryley Lindgren scored twice for Lethbridge, giving him four goals this season. . . . After a scoreless first period, the Hurricanes scored twice in the first two minutes of the second period, with F Carter Folk getting his seventh at 0:51 and Lindgren scoring at 1:46. . . . The Oil Kings tied it on goals by F Edgars Kulda, his first since Oct. 26, and F Brandon Baddock, his 13th, on a PP at 17:22. . . . Kulda, who has seven goals this season, scored for the first time since Oct. 26. Plagued by injuries, he was out from Nov. 2 until Jan. 9. The Latvian 20-year-old had played 15 straight games without scoring. . . . Lethbridge F Ryan Vandervlis, a 16-year-old from Red Deer, scored his first WHL goal in his fifth game this season. It came at 3:14 of the third and gave his side a 3-2 lead. . . . Vandervlis plays for his hometown midget AAA Red Deer Optimist Chiefs. . . . Assists on Vandervlis’ goal went to F Zane Franklin, who turned 16 on Jan. 5 and was playing in his third game, and F Mike Winther, 20, who was in his 281st regular-season game. . . . Lindgren got his second of the game at 5;47 of the third. . . . F Brett Pollock scored his 25th, shorthanded at 18:30, to make things interesting at the end. . . . Winther finished with two assists. . . . D Dysin Mayo had two assists for Edmonton, which got 17 saves from G Tristan Jarry. . . . “The offence wasn’t what concerned me tonight. It was our defence that concerned me,” Oil Kings head coach Steve Hamilton said on the team’s website. “Four or five times, we go off the grid, and that’s the end of the game. I think everybody’s disappointed tonight. You’d think 52 (shots) would get it done, but obviously it didn’t.” . . . The Hurricanes dressed 17 skaters, one under the limit. Among their scratches were D Nick Walter and F Tyler Wong. . . . The Hurricanes (13-31-6), who had lost their previous two games, won 12 games all of last season. . . . The Oil Kings (24-23-6) have lost two in a row. . . .

In Spokane, F Remi Laurencelle broke a 2-2 tie in the second period and the Everett Silvertips beat the Chiefs, 3-2. . . . Laurencelle, who has 13 goals, scored at 11:27, with F Nikita Scherbak drawing his second assist of the game. . . . Earlier, the teams combined for four goals in the first period. . . . F Keanu Yamamoto got the Chiefs on the board first, scoring his ninth goal, on a PP, at 5:07. . . . The visitors equalized when F Ivan Nikolishin got his 15th goal, at 8:00. F Brayden Low got his 12th at 10:10 to give Everett the lead. . . . Spokane F Dominic Zwerger tied it with his 11th goal at 12:30. . . . After two periods, Everett had a 10-7 edge in shots. . . . Early in the third period, Cody Nickolet (@DubFromAbove) tweeted: “The shots in this Everett-Spokane game right now are 13-9. There is 14 minutes left in the 3rd period. How is that even possible?” . . . The Chiefs scratched nine players, including G Tyson Verhelst (ill). Spokane didn’t list a backup goaltender on the game sheet, something that regularly happens throughout the WHL these days. . . . The Chiefs dressed 16 skaters, two under the maximum. That included 10 forwards. . . . Spokane was 1-for-2 on the PP, but couldn’t score on a late one after Low was penalized for checking from behind at 17:28 of the third. . . . The Silvertips (32-15-4), who have won three in a row in Spokane, lead the U.S. Division by three points over the idle Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Chiefs (24-22-4) open an East Division swing in Moose Jaw on Friday.
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NHL logic: #shots edition @wyshynski pic.twitter.com/EamToJONLs
— ZoSo (@ZoSoNuck) February 4, 2015

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Some Christmas viewing . . . Blades' boss talking changes . . . Happy Noel in Vancouver

In the spirit of the season, some WHL teams are getting out the video equipment and having some fun, all for the viewing pleasure of their fans.
The Tri-City Americans provide us with some Christmas Cheer right here.
Meanwhile, the Calgary Hitmen do some Jingle Bell rocking right here.
Enjoy!
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:

In Moose Jaw, the Red Deer Rebels scored three first-period goals en route to a 4-1 victory over the Warriors. . . . F Meyer Nell, with his seventh, F Riley Sheen, with No. 6, and D Brett Cote, with his seventh, got the Rebels off to that lead. . . . Red Deer (18-11-4) has won four straight and plays in Brandon this afternoon. . . . The Warriors (15-15-3) had won their previous two games. . . .

In Saskatoon, F Braden Christoffer scored with 3.3 seconds left in the third period to give the Regina Pats a 5-4 victory over the Blades. . . . F Cameron Hebig’s seventh goal, 18 seconds into the third period, gave Saskatoon a 4-3 lead. . . . Regina F Carter Harrison scored his second goal of the season at 6:02 to tie the game. . . . Christoffer won it with his 11th goal. . . . F Sam Steel had a goal, his ninth, and two assists for the Pats. The goal was a shorthanded effort. . . . Blades F Brett Stovin scored the Teddy Bear goal, his 10th, at 2:21 of the first period. . . . Saskatoon D Jordan Thomson was back in the lineup after missing 16 games with a concussion. . . . Regina improved to 19-11-1, while the Blades (7-24-3) lost their 10th straight (0-8-2). . . . After the game, Bob Woods, the Blades’ GM and head coach, was talking change. “There are going to be changes. End of story. I don’t care,” Woods told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. “I’ll play with 16- and 17-year-olds because they’re supposed to make those types of mistakes. Eighteen, 19-, 20-year-olds aren’t supposed to make those types of mistakes. They’re not setting a good example right now. That just says that they’re not the right types of leaders.” . . . Nugent-Bowman’s game story is right here. . . .

In Calgary, the Hitmen erased a 1-0 deficit with three straight goals en route to a 5-3 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . F Cole Ully gave the Blazers a 1-0 lead when he scored his 15th goal at 8:29 of the first period. . . . Calgary F Connor Rankin tied it with his 15th at 10:25, via the PP, and the Hitmen took the lead on second-period goals by D Loch Morrison, his third, and F Chase Lang, his 14th, also via the PP. . . . F Adam Tambellini later got his 18th goal for Calgary. . . . The Blazers had D Nolan Kneen, the third overall pick in the 2014 bantam draft, in their lineup. . . . Calgary D Keegan Kanzig was a healthy scratch -- Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun tweeted that it was for “team discipline” -- by a team that was missing three other defencemen. Travis Sanheim is at the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp, while Ben Thomas and Colby Harmsworth have undisclosed injuries. . . . Attendance was 10,012. . . . The Hitmen (18-11-3) have won four in a row. . . . The Blazers (12-18-5) have lost five straight and now are in the basement of the 10-team Western Conference, one point behind the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Hitmen entertain the Kelowna Rockets this afternoon, while the Blazers are in Lethbridge where Peter Anholt makes his debut as the Hurricanes’ head coach. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Matt Alfaro broke a 3-3 tie in the third period and the Kootenay Ice went on to a 6-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Alfaro scored his fifth goal at 8:01. . . . The Ice took a 3-1 lead into the third period, only to have the Oil Kings tie it on goals from D Blake Orban, his sixth, 25 seconds in, and F Brandon Ralph, his second, at 5:46. . . . The Ice later got insurance from D Bryan Albee, his third, at 16:27, and F Ryan Chynoweth, his first, an empty-netter at 19:25. . . . The Ice (17-17-0) has won two in a row. . . . The Oil Kings now are 15-13-5. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has more right here. . . .

In Medicine Hat, F Cole Sanford and F Trevor Cox each had two goals and three assists to help the Tigers to a 7-4 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . F Steve Owre, the third member of that line, had a goal and an assist. . . . Owre and Cox were plus-5; Sanford was plus-4. . . . Sanford is up to 23 goals, while Cox and Owre each has 11. . . . The Tigers improved to 23-8-2. . . . The Raiders (15-18-1) have lost five in a row (0-4-1). . . .

In Vancouver, G Cody Porter stopped 27 shots to lead the Giants to a 4-0 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Porter has two shutouts in his freshman season. . . . D Mason Geertsen scored twice, giving him four, and added an assist. . . . Vancouver was 3-for-5 on the PP; Victoria was 0-for-5. . . . The Giants, who are 5-0-0 under head coach Claude Noel, held a 51-27 edge in shots. . . . Victoria scratched F Brandon Magee with an undisclosed injury. . . . Vancouver (15-18-0) has won six in a row and vacated the Western Conference basement in the process. The Giants now are ninth, one point ahead of the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Royals (17-16-2) have lost two in a row. They were beaten 6-3 at home by the Giants on Friday night. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has more right here. . . .

In Spokane, F Liam Stewart broke a 3-3 tie late in the third period as the Chiefs beat the Prince George Cougars, 3-2. . . . Stewart scored his 11th goal at 15:56. . . . The Chiefs took a 2-0 lead in the first period. . . . F Hudson Elynuik scored his first goal, a Teddy Bear goal, at 9:16 and F Adam Helewka got No. 16 at 14:22. . . . D Marc McNulty scored both Prince George goals, at 18:45 of the first and 7:18 of the second. . . . He’s got six goals this season. . . . Attendance was 8,038. . . . The Chiefs (16-12-3), who visit Prince George on Tuesday and Wednesday, have won two in a row. . . . The Cougars (17-16-0) had a four-game winning streak end. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Miles Koules broke a 1-1 tie at 12:39 of the third period to give the Portland Winterhawks a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Koules has 13 goals. . . . D Blake Heinrich drew assists on both Portland goals. . . . F Chase De Leo scored his 17th goal for Portland at 3:30 of the second, on a PP. . . . Seattle tied it on F Keegan Kolesar’s 10th goal at 6:15 of the second. . . . Portland G Brendan Burke stopped 34 shots, 11 more than Seattle’s Taran Kozun. . . . The Winterhawks now are 18-14-3, while Seattle slipped to 13-15-4. . . . Portland is in Kennewick, Wash., for a game with the Tri-City Americans tonight. . . .

In Everett, F Remi Laurencelle broke a 2-2 tie in the second period and that goal stood up as the winner as the Silvertips got past the Tri-City Americans, 4-2. . . . Laurencelle, who has seven goals, scored at 10:36 of the second. . . . F Kohl Bauml added insurance with his 12th at 13:45. . . . The third period was scoreless. . . . Each team scored twice on the PP. . . . Everett G Carter Hart turned aside 21 shots, 14 fewer than Tri-City’s Evan Sarthou. . . . D Noah Juulsen drew two assists for Everett (19-8-4). . . . D Brandon Carlo had two assists for the Americans (17-14-1), who are at home to Portland tonight. . . . Everett F Nikita Scherbak returned after a one-game absence due to the flu. But F Jake Mykitiuk (flu) sat this one out. Everett continues to be without D Ben Betker (concussion).

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