#RedWings employee Al Sobotka swings an octopus prior to Game 4 agst #Lightning. (@GettySport) http://t.co/1OzMil4KTM pic.twitter.com/k0VLYrIaeC
— Sports Photos (@sportsphotos) April 24, 2015
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THURSDAY’S GAMES:
No Games Scheduled.———
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I made a return appearance on the Pucklandia podcast on Thursday evening. If you’ve got some time, feel free to give it a listen. It’s just two guys sitting around and talking all things WHL. . . . It’s right here.
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The WHL announced its conference nominees for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as its outstanding player this season. It’ll be either F Oliver Bjorkstrand of the Portland Winterhawks or F Tim McGauley of the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Bjorkstrand, who turned 20 on April 10, led the WHL in goals (63) and points (118). He was a third-round selection by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL’s 2013 draft. . . . McGauley, who will be 20 on July 23, finished third in the scoring race with 105 points, including 42 goals. . . . McGauley is eligible for the NHL’s 2015 draft. . . . We’ll find out who wins the award when the WHL holds its awards ceremony in Calgary on May 6.
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The Prince Albert Raiders announced the signing of head coach Marc Habscheid to a four-year contract this week. But they have yet to announce whether general manager Bruno Campese will be back. What’s up with that? . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has that story right here.
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Dennis Coates, a longtime Kamloops lawyer who helped keep junior hockey in Kamloops back in the day, is involved in a lawsuit over a 1926 Model T. . . . Coates was a shareholder when the Junior Oilers/Blazers were community-owned and today is a director with the Kamloops Blazers Sports Society’s sports legacy fund. He received the WHL’s Distinguished Service Award in 2014. . . . Tim Petruk of Kamloops This Week has more on the lawsuit right here.
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“Depression and anxiety are the worst kept secrets in professional sports,” writes Hayley Wickenheiser, perhaps the greatest female hockey player in history, at The Players’ Tribune. “In every locker room across the NHL, there are guys who are struggling with the fear of everything — the fear of a bad shift, the fear of pissing off their coach, the fear of getting traded or cut and letting down their family. What also happens in every locker room is that there are teammates, trainers and staff who stay silent too long when a guy struggles.” . . . Wickenheiser was friends with the late Steve Montador and she pours out her heart in this piece right here. . . . At one point, she writes: “We need to do more. The entire hockey community, including league officials, teammates, coaches, trainers, the NHLPA, and the hundreds of former players out there, need to come together and solidify a comprehensive support system for those struggling with depression, anxiety and the aimlessness that comes with finding a second life after hockey. Not in the future. Not next season. Right now.” . . . She’s right!
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F Owen Hardy has decided to play next season with the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers. Hardy, who is from Nanaimo, was selected by the Vancouver Giants with the 42nd overall pick in the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. . . . "I knew the coach (Mike Vandekamp) and I liked him very much," Hardy told Scott McKenzie of the Nanaimo Daily News. "I didn't really know who the Giants coach was going to be, so it just seemed like the safer place to go, and it seemed like a very good place to go just from practicing and being with the team all year.” . . . Hardy played this season with Nanaimo’s major midget team. . . . McKenzie’s story is right here.
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From the Prince Albert Daily Herald: “Former Prince Albert Raiders goalie Travis Laycock has been honoured for saving two lives. Brad Wall presented Laycock and seven others with the Saskatchewan Premier’s Commendation Award in Regina on Tuesday to honour the individuals’ various courageous actions. Last July, Laycock jumped into a slough near Bruno to save a couple whose car had gone into the water. Laycock, 43, was a goalie with the Raiders from 1989-92.”
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The SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings held their AGM on Wednesday. Earlier this season, they had announced that they were close to $200,000 in debut and in danger of not answering the bell for 2015-16. At the AGM, it was revealed that the debut has been reduced to about $70,000. Ticket sales increased by about $80,000 after the team went public with its problems in January.
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If you threw your hat on the ice for the @Cavemn10 Hat-Trick we have them signed by Colby at @SC_Stable. Come claim yours!
— SC Broncos (@SCBroncos) April 23, 2015
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.
In Regina, the Pats scored the games first four goals, three of them via the PP, as they beat the Red Deer Rebels, 4-1. . . . F Jesse Gabrielle got the game’s first goal, at 15:49 of the first period. He’s got 19. . . . Regina then scored three second-period PP goals. F Braden Christoffer got his 19th goal at 6:52. F Adam Brooks added No. 22 at 11:34. D Colby Williams scored his seventh at 13:41. . . . Regina G Tyler Brown, who stopped 23 shots, lost his shutout when D Haydn Fleury scored his fourth goal at 2:02 of the third. . . . Regina was 3-for-9 on the PP; Red Deer was 0-for-4. . . . The Pats (32-19-7) have won two in a row. . . . The Rebels (30-20-9) have lost two straight. . . . 
In Saskatoon, F Jayce Hawryluk and F Rihards Bukarts each had two goals and two assists to help the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 7-3 victory over the Blades. . . . F Ryan Graham gave the Blades a 1-0 lead with his 15th goal 23 seconds into the game. . . . Brandon scored four goals before the period ended to take control. . . . Hawryluk, who has 24 goals, has seven points in two games since returning from a 13-game absence. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauley scored twice, giving him 37, and added an assist. He is riding a 16-game point streak. One of his goals came on a second-period penalty shot. . . . Brandon’s Quenneville brothers, John and Peter, each had two assists. . . . D Nikita Soshnin and F Wyatt Sloboshan had two assists each for the Blades. . . . Saskatoon F Brett Stovin played in game No. 250, all with the Blades, while D Brycen Martin, who was acquired from Swift Current in January, played in his 200th regular-season game. . . . Already without D Ivan Provorov, F Nolan Patrick, D Kale Clague and F Reid Duke, Brandon scratched F Braylon Shmyr (ill) after the pre-game warmup. That left it with 16 skaters. . . . Without G Alex Moodie (concussion) and G Logan Thompson (pink eye), Brandon had Justin Holder backing up Jordan Papirny. Holder, a 19-year-old from Brandon, plays for the MJHL’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines. . . . Brandon improved to 44-10-6. . . . The Blades (17-39-3) have lost three straight. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story 
In Kent, Wash., G Taran Kozun stopped 15 shots for the shutout as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Everett Silvertips, 7-0. . . . Kozun has four shutouts this season, all in his last 10 appearances, and 10 shutouts in his career. . . . This was the first time this season that Everett was blanked. . . . F Keegan Kolesar’s 18th goal, at 8:23 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . F Roberts Lipsbergs scored twice, giving him nine, and added two assists, while F Scott Eansor scored his 11th goal and had two assists, and F Mathew Barzal had three assists. Barzal has seven assists in his last two games. . . . Each team was 0-for-3 on the PP. Seattle had scored at least one PP goal in 12 straight games. . . . The Thunderbirds (31-21-7) have won two in a row. . . . Everett (35-17-7) had been 2-0-3 in its last five but now is on its first three-game losing skid of the season. . . . 
In Portland, F Paul Bittner and F Oliver Bjorkstrand each scored two goals and added an assist to lead the Winterhawks to a 5-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Bittner has 26 goals. . . . Bjorkstrand has 43 goals. He’s got at least one goal in eight straight games. He has 12 goals in that stretch. . . . The Winterhawks scored the game’s first two goals and were never headed. . . . F Nic Petan drew three assists for Portland. . . . F Giorgio Estephan had Lethbridge’s goal. He’s got 17. . . . Portland G Aden Hill stopped 21 shots, 10 fewer than Lethbridge’s Jayden Sittler. . . . The Hurricanes were without F Mike Winther, who drew a one-game suspension for a spearing major and game misconduct that he took the previous night. . . . The Winterhawks (35-20-4) are 4-0-1 in their last five. . . . The Hurricanes (18-34-7) have lost three in a row (0-2-1). . . .
In Prince George, F Chase Witala scored two goals and added two assists to lead the Cougars to a 4-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Witala tied the game 1-1 at 4:09 of the first period and later closed out the scoring with his 30th goal, at 15:35 of the third. . . . After Witala’s first goal, Cougars D Josh Connolly scored twice, at 19:10 of the first and 1:20 of the second. He’s got 11 goals. . . . The Cougars got three assists from F Jansen Harkins and two from F Zach Pochiro. . . . F Brayden Point scored his 27th goal of the season for Moose Jaw. . . . Moose Jaw G Brody Willms stopped F Jari Erricson on a penalty shot with 49 seconds left in the second period. . . . Willms finished with 25 saves, seven fewer than Prince George’s Ty Edmonds. . . . The Warriors were 0-for-5 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-for-1. . . . The Cougars improved to 24-33-4. . . . The Warriors (24-31-5) went 3-3-1 on a seven-game road swing while the Canadian women’s curling championship was being decided in their home arena. . . . 
In Vancouver, G Payton Lee stopped 33 shots as the Giants got past the Kamloops Blazers, 1-0. . . . F Dakota Odgers scored the game’s only goal, his fourth, at 4:44 of the second period. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram stopped 21 shots. . . . Vancouver was 0-for-1 on the PP; Kamloops never had an opportunity. . . . Lee has three shutouts this season and five for his career. . . . The Giants improved to 26-31-3. . . . The Blazers (22-33-6) have lost four in a row. . . . After the game, Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province tweeted that Giants F “Dalton Sward left in the 2nd with a hand injury and was getting X-rays afterwards, according to coach Claude Noel.” . . . 
In Spokane, G Wyatt Hoflin turned aside 29 shots as the Kootenay Ice dumped the Chiefs, 5-0. . . . Hoflin has three shutouts this season. . . . F Jon Martin’s seventh goal, at 8:41 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . The Ice got two goals from each of F Luke Philp, who has 26, and F Jaedon Descheneau, who has 27. . . . Philp also had an assist. . . . F Austin Vetterl and F Sam Reinhart each had two assists. . . . The Ice roster now includes four 25-goal men. . . . The Ice (31-27-2), which won four of five from Spokane, is 3-0-1 in its last four. . . . The Chiefs (27-27-4), who have been blanked six times since Jan. 17, have lost three in a row. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., the Calgary Hitmen unleashed a season-high 55-shot attack as they beat the Tri-City Americans, 7-2. . . . The Americans scratched G Eric Comrie, who apparently was injured on Friday night, and G Evan Sarthou, so gave emergency backup Casey Kaiser, a 19-year-old from Richland, Wash., his first WHL start; in fact, it was his first WHL appearance. . . . Calgary had a 19-3 edge in first-period shots but didn’t score until F Jake Virtanen solved Kaiser with 7.2 seconds left. . . . The Hitmen opened the second period with three goals in 5:14. . . . Virtanen, who has 16 goals, also had two assists. . . . D Jake Bean scored his fourth goal and added two assists for Calgary, while D Travis Sanheim had three assists. . . . Calgary F Adam Tambellini scored his 41st goal and had an assist, while F Connor Rankin, who played the first 244 games of his WHL career with Tri-City, got his 28th goal and added an assist. . . . F Elliott Peterson also had a goal, his 10th, and an assist for the Hitmen. . . . The Hitmen (36-18-5) have won four in a row. They are 2-0-0 on an 11-game road trip. . . . The Americans are 27-30-3. . . . 
In Victoria, F Taylor Crunk scored twice and F Logan Fisher had four assists to help the Royals to a 5-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . One night earlier, the Rockets had beaten the host Royals 3-2, with F Leon Draisaitl breaking a 2-2 tie in the last minute of the third period. . . . Last night, the teams were 1-1 going into the third period. . . . F Brandon Magee broke the tie with his 17th goal at 6:39 and F Jack Walker got his 16th goal at 8:04. . . . Crunk provided more insurance with his second of the game and eighth of the season at 14:07. . . . Draisaitl scored his 11th goal, on a PP, at 17:00 to get the Rockets to within two, but Royals D Travis Brown got an empty-netter at 17:37. He’s got 17 goals. . . . Victoria G Justin Paulic stopped 31 shots, three fewer than Kelowna’s Michael Herringer. . . . The Royals (33-23-4) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Rockets (46-10-4) had a four-game winning streak snapped. . . . These teams will meet again Wednesday, this time in Kelowna.
In Everett, F Carson Stadnyk scored the OT winner and had two assists as the Silvertips beat the Portland Winterhawks, 4-3. . . . Everett, the U.S. Division leader, went into the game with a five-point lead over Portland. That lead now is six. . . . Stadnyk, who scored at 1:34 of extra time, has 21 goals. . . . Portland F Chase De Leo forced OT when he scored his 27th goal with 31.3 seconds left in the third period and G Adin Hill on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . With the score 2-2 in the third, Portland defencemen Blake Heinrich and Layne Viveiros took delay of game penalties 30 seconds apart. . . . Everett F Kohl Bauml scored his second goal of the game 40 seconds after the 5-on-3 began. . . . Bauml, who also had an assist, has 27 goals this season. . . . Everett took a 2-0 lead into the second period on goals by F Dawson Leedahl, his 10th, and Bauml, the latter scoring at 19:17. . . . Everett had a 19-9 edge in first-period shots despite giving up the period’s only two PP opportunities. . . . Portland scored twice in the second period, with F Oliver Bjorsktrand getting his 37th at 8:13 and F Paul Bittner getting No. 22 on a PP at 10:53. . . . Everett D Noah Juulsen and F Patrick Bajkov each had two assists. . . . D Adam Henry had two assists for Portland. . . . Hill finished with 45 saves, 15 more than Everett G Carter Hart. . . . Portland D Josh Hanson, a 20-year-old from Eagle River, Alaska, played in his 300th regular-season game. . . . Everett improved to 34-16-4, while Portland now is 31-20-4. . . . 
In Moose Jaw, the Warriors erased a 2-0 deficit with four straight goals as they skated to a 4-3 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . F Kris Schmidli, with his 11th, and F Reid Gardiner, with No. 26, gave the visitors a 2-0 lead early in the second period. . . . The Warriors tied it before period’s end on PP goals from F Jack Rodewald, his 24th, and F Axel Blomqvist, his 19th. . . . F Brett Howden gave Moose Jaw its first lead with his 14th goal, on a PP, at 6:48 of the second. . . . D Austin Adam added insurance with his second goal of the season, a shorthanded empty-netter, at 18:21. . . . Gardiner got the Raiders to within one at 18:47, on a PP. . . . The Warriors were 3-for-3 on the PP, despite going into the game with the WHL’s poorest PP; the Raiders were 1-for-3. . . . Warriors G Brody Wilms stopped 27 shots to earn his second career WHL victory. That was 12 more saves than Prince Albert’s Rylan Parenteau. . . . Gardiner also had an assist, while F Craig Leverton and F Matteo Gennaro each had two assists for the Raiders. . . . F Brayden Point had two assists for the Warriors, while Rodewald, Howden and Blomqvist each had an assist to go with their goals. . . . The Warriors were without F Jesse Shynkaruk, who has been suspended for three games after taking an interference major and game misconduct for a hit on Brandon F John Quenneville on Saturday. Quenneville is sidelined with a concussion. . . . Moose Jaw also is without F Jamien Yakubowski, who may miss a couple of weeks with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Warriors (21-27-4), who are at home to Spokane on Friday when they retire Ryan Smyth’s No. 28, had lost their previous three games. The victory moved Moose Jaw to within five points of third-place Swift Current in the East Division. . . . The Raiders (21-30-1) have lost two in a row and are three points behind the Warriors. . . . Prince Albert will entertain Swift Current on Friday. . . . 
In Kamloops, G Rylan Toth stopped 38 shots to help the Red Deer Rebels to a 3-2 victory over the Blazers. . . . The Blazers held a 20-10 edge in second-period shots and it was 13-3 in the third. . . . “Our goalie won us a game here tonight. He played outstanding,” Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ general manager and head coach, told the Red Deer Advocate. . . . Toth is believed to be the best goaltender with that surname to play in Alberta since Mike Toth minded the twine for the Drumheller Falcons back in the day. . . . Rebels F Conner Bleackley scored twice, giving him 26. He got his guys on the board at 6:57 of the first and F Riley Sheen, with his 16th, made it 2-0 at 10:01. . . . The Blazers, who got both their goals from F Cole Ully, would never get even. . . . Ully got them to within one at 13:21 of the first. . . . Bleackley stretched the lead to 3-1 at 9:27 of the second, on a PP. . . . Ully got Kamloops back to within one with his 27th goal, at 6:37 of the third. . . . Sheen also had an assist. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram stopped 20 shots. . . . Toth was the beneficiary of some big shot blocks, with Sheen and Cote both making key ones in the first period and F Preston Kopeck blocking one with 1.2 seconds left in the third period. . . . Kamloops was 0-for-4 on the PP. It finished the game on the power play and with Ingram on the bench for the extra attacker but wasn’t able to score. . . . The Blazers remain without injured import defencemen Michael Fora and Patrik Maier, both of whom may be ready for the weekend when Kamloops goes home-and-home with Kelowna. . . . The Rebels (28-15-8), who snapped a three-game losing skid (0-1-2), moved into second in the Central Division, a point ahead of Calgary. Red Deer is to play at Vancouver on Friday. . . . The Blazers (20-27-6) remain third in the B.C. Division, three points ahead of Vancouver and four ahead of Prince George. . . . Kamloops will play in Kelowna on Friday. 
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