D Nick Ross (Regina, Kamloops, Vancouver, 2004-09) has signed a one-year extension with Innsbruck (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). This season, he has eight goals and 26 assists in 54 games. . . .
F Mark Santorelli (Chilliwack, 2006-08) has signed a one-year extension with Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). In 40 games this season, he has eight goals and 24 assists.
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The WHL was featured in a story on the front page of Thursday’s Seattle Times. That would be the front page of the newspaper, not the front sports page.
The story, by Walker Orenstein of the Times, details the WHL’s dealings with Washington state politicians as it attempts to get an exemption from some labor laws, such as having to pay minimum wage to its players.
“In Olympia, discourse has been one-sided,” Orenstein writes. “House Bill 1930 and Senate Bill 5893 — backed by a bipartisan coalition that includes pro-labor Democrats — passed the House Labor Committee unanimously and the Senate’s Commerce and Labor Committee without any ‘no’ votes. No opponents testified at either committee hearing. SB 5893 won Senate approval Tuesday by a 47-0 vote.”
It would seem, then, that the WHL will end up getting the exemption it wants.
In an interview with Orenstein, WHL commissioner Ron Robison said: “The new bill will provide the clarity that will remove the uncertainty for our clubs moving forward.”
Orenstein added: “Robison had no estimate of how much paying minimum wage would cost the league. He said at a Senate hearing that before factoring in the cost of paying players, WHL teams are already ‘very challenged to be in a position to continue to operate.’ ”
Orenstein’s complete story is right here.
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WHL commissioner Ron Robison has told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that there isn’t much, if anything, wrong with the game the way it’s played in his league.
“We like our game the way it is,” Robison said in an interview. “It's very entertaining and great for the players' development. The quality of our on-ice product is outstanding and continues to get better each season.”
When asked by Nugent-Bowman about attendance being “down in most markets,” Robison replied: “There are markets where attendance is down. But we're pleased overall. All leagues, regardless of the sport, are challenged with attracting fans in-venue. Our teams have done an exceptional job under the circumstances.”
The interview, as it appeared on the newspaper’s website, is right here.
If you’re a stats geek, be forewarned. The WHL is in the dark ages in terms of feeding the modern fan even individual shots on goal and it seems unlikely to change in the near future.
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F Tim Traber, who played five full seasons in the WHL (Chilliwack, Victoria, Vancouver, 2009-14), played last season in Switzerland, even though he could have returned to the WHL as a 20-year-old. At the time, Traber says someone from the WHL told him that playing in Switzerland wouldn’t jeopardize his education package. Now, however, Traber has told Rick Westhead that something has changed because he has been told that he no longer is eligible for that education package. . . . Westhead’s story is right here.
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Not that long ago, the Vancouver Giants were third in the B.C. Division and it appeared as though they just might there, putting them into a first-round series with the second-place Victoria Royals. However, the Giants now have lost four straight games and have been blanked in three of those. . . . Vancouver has been shutout 12 times in 64 games. . . . Tonight, the Giants are at home to the Western Conference’s top team, the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The game is available via Shaw TV at 7:30 p.m.
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F Justin Hickman of the Seattle Thunderbirds has signed an entry-level contract with the NHL’s Boston Bruins. Hickman, 20, played more than four seasons with the Thunderbirds and was their captain this season and last. Hickman, from Kelowna, played only 31 games this season before shoulder problems resulted in his needing surgery. He had 28 points, including nine goals, this season. In 285 games, he had 132 points, 55 of them goals. . . . A free agent, his signing with the Bruins wasn’t a surprise as it was heavily rumoured to have happened in January. . . .
The buzz in the junior B Kootenay International Junior League has Ty Davidson as the next head coach of the Sicamous Eagles. Davidson announced in February that he would be leaving the KIJHL’s Golden Rockets after five seasons as general manager and head coach. At the time, Davidson said he wanted to work closer to his family in Salmon Arm. . . . The Eagles dropped long-time head coach Blair Davidson four games into what turned out to be a five-game first-round playoff loss to the Kamloops Storm. . . .
If the Kootenay Ice is to finish third in the Central Division, it will have to get past the Red Deer Rebels, who visit Cranbrook tonight. The Ice goes into the game seven points in arrears and time is running out. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has more right here. . . .
F Tim McGauley of the Brandon Wheat Kings takes a 20-game point streak into tonight’s game against the Raiders in Prince Albert. It’s the longest such streak in the WHL this season and the second-longest active streak in the CHL. F Connor McDavid of the Erie Otters is on a 25-game run. . . .
The U of Alberta Golden Bears opened the CIS Canada West’s best-of-three final with a 5-2 victory over the Calgary Dinos on Thursday night. It was Alberta’s 27th straight playoff victory over Calgary. . . . The game included 156 penalty minutes, 110 of those emanating from 11 misconducts. . . . According to the online game sheet, the Dinos had only nine shots on goal, with Golden Bears G Kurtis Mucha stopping seven of those. . . . Calgary starter Kris Lazaruk stopped 22 of 26 shots, with reliever Jacob DeSerres turning aside 12 of 13. . . . The rosters of both teams are full of ex-WHLers. . . . They’ll play again tonight in Edmonton.
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THE WHL PLAYOFF PICTURE:
EAST DIVISION: Brandon (8 games remaining) has clinched first place in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1995-96. The Wheat Kings are tied with Kelowna (8) in the race for first place overall. . . . Regina (9) will finish second in the division. . . . Swift Current (8) is third, six points ahead of Moose Jaw (8). . . . The Warriors also are eight points behind Edmonton (7), which holds down the conference’s second wild-card berth. . . . Prince Albert (9) is six points behind Moose Jaw and 12 points out of a playoff spot.CENTRAL DIVISION: Calgary (7) is atop the division, two points ahead of Medicine Hat (7). . . . Red Deer (8) is third, seven points behind Medicine Hat and seven ahead of Kootenay (8), which holds the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Edmonton (7) is two points behind Kootenay.
B.C. DIVISION: Kelowna (8) has clinched first place in the Western Conference. . . . Victoria (8) will finish second. . . . Prince George (8) is third, three points ahead of Vancouver (8) and Kamloops (8). . . . Vancouver and Kamloops are four points behind Tri-City (8), which holds down the conference’s second wild-card berth.
U.S. DIVISION: Everett (8) sits atop the division, four points ahead of Portland (10). . . . Seattle (8) is third, six points behind Portland and seven ahead of Spokane (10). . . . Spokane holds the conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Spokane is seven points ahead of Tri-City (8), which holds down the conference’s second wild-card spot.
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IF THE PLAYOFFS BEGAN TODAY:
Eastern ConferenceBrandon vs. Edmonton
Calgary vs. Kootenay
Regina vs. Swift Current
Medicine Hat vs. Red Deer
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Western Conference
Kelowna vs. Tri-City
Everett vs. Spokane
Victoria vs. Prince George
Portland vs. Seattle
(NOTE: Team with home-ice advantage shown first.)
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THURSDAY’S GAMES
(all times local)No Games Scheduled.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES
(all times local)Brandon at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Swift Current at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Lethbridge at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Red Deer vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, 7 p.m.
Regina at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Portland, 7 p.m.
Spokane at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Everett vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.
Kelowna at Vancouver, 7:30 p.m.
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In Regina, F Brandon Ralph broke a 1-1 tie at 16:55 of the second period and the Edmonton Oil Kings went on to a 4-1 victory over the Pats. . . . Ralph has three goals this season. . . . F Brandon Baddock and F Luke Bertolucci each had two assists for Edmonton, while Ralph added one assist. . . . The Oil Kings had F Mads Eller and F Edgars Kulda back in their lineup. Eller had been with Denmark at the WJC; Kulda missed 24 games with an undisclosed injury. . . . Oil Kings G Tristan Jarry made 36 saves, seven more than Regina’s Tyler Brown. . . . Regina was 0-for-9 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-for-5. . . . The Oil Kings have killed off 41 straight opposition power-play opportunities. . . .The Oil Kings (20-16-5) have won four in a row. . . . The Pats (25-13-3) had been 5-0-1 in their previous six games. . . . F Jake Leschyshyn made his WHL debut with the Pats and is expected to play again tonight against visiting Prince Albert. . . . The Oil Kings are in Moose Jaw tonight. . . . 
In Moose Jaw, F Dawson Leedahl had two goals and an assist as the Everett Silvertips dumped the Warriors, 6-2. . . . Leedahl has five goals this season. . . . Everett F Nikita Scherbak broke a 2-2 tie at 5:55 of the second period with his 20th goal. . . . Everett D Jordan Wharrie had tied it 2-2 with his first goal at 4:07. . . . F Tanner Eberle scored his 20th goal of the season for Moose Jaw. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz stopped 25 shots. . . . G Zach Sawchenko made his ninth straight start for the Warriors. He stopped 20 shots, but left with his side trailing 5-2 after Everett F Kohl Bauml notched his 18th goal at 5:47 of the third period. . . . The Silvertips (25-12-4) are 4-1-0 on a six-game East Division trip that concludes tonight in Swift Current. . . . The Warriors (16-23-4), who are at home to Edmonton tonight, have lost three in a row. They are 1-9-1 in their last 11 outings and now trail fourth-place Prince Albert by a point in the East Division. . . . After the game, Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald tweeted that Warriors head coach “Tim Hunter opened the Warriors room to media post-game. Unusual move and clearly a message about accountability being sent to the players.” Nothing like punishing your players by making them face the media. . . . Gourlie’s game story is 
In Prince Albert, F Reid Gardiner’s PP goal at 1:05 of OT gave the Raiders a 4-3 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Gardiner, who scored twice, now has 21 goals this sesaon. . . . The Broncos trailed by a goal three times and each time came back to tie it. . . . Swift Current F Calvin Leth forced OT with his second goal of the season at 14:36 of the third. . . . Broncos F Jake DeBrusk got his 23rd goal. . . . Raiders F Kris Schmidli scored his first goal for the Raiders, and sixth of the season, after coming over from the Kelowna Rockets. He also had two assists. . . . D Jordan Thomson scored his third goal of the season in his first game with the Broncos. He was acquired from the Saskatoon Blades earlier in the week. . . . Broncos G Landon Bow stopped 37 shots, six more than Prince Albert’s Rylan Parenteau. . . . Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Broncos, reported late Friday afternoon that the Broncos will be without F Coda Gordon for “likely a few weeks” with an undisclosed injury. He was injured Friday in a 5-4 OT victory over the visiting Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Raiders (18-23-1), who are in Regina tonight, have won two in a row. . . . The Broncos now are 20-17-5. They are at home to Everett tonight. . . . 
In Cranbrook, G Taz Burman turned aside 30 shots to help the Red Deer Rebels to a 3-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Rebels scored the game’s first three goals in winning their seventh straight game in Cranbrook. . . . F Jeff de Wit got it started with his second goal at 2:16 of the first period. . . . F Preston Kopeck added his 11th at 19:48 of the first and F Riley Sheen got his 10th, via a PP, at 13:26 of the third. . . . D Cale Fleury scored his first goal for the Ice at 15:40 of the third. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart, who played for Canada at the WJC, was back in the lineup. He missed a couple of third-period shifts after blocking a shot with a foot. He was being examined by medical staff after the game. . . . Among the Ice’s scratches was D Rinat Valiev (ill). . . . The Rebels (22-14-5) have won two in a row and are a point ahead of third-place Calgary in the Central Division. The Rebels are at home to Brandon tonight. . . . The Ice (21-19-1), which entertains Saskatoon tonight, has lost two straight and is two points behind fourth-place Edmonton in the Central Division. . . . Kootenay plays host to Saskatoon tonight. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story 
In Kamloops, F Dillon Dube ended a seven-round shootout with a goal that gave the Kelowna Rockets a 2-1 victory over the Blazers. . . . F Deven Sideroff, Kamloops’ third shooter, gave his side a 1-0 lead, only to have Kelowna F Nick Merkley tie it. . . . F Leon Draisaitl, in his second game with Kelowna, forced OT with a big-time goal at 16:22 of the third period. He went wide on Kamloops D Patrik Maier and whistled a quick shot just under the crossbar. . . . Other than that, though, Draisaitl was average, obviously lacking in familiarity with his teammates, and vice versa, and needing time to adjust to more playing time than he received with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. . . . F Luke Harrison gave Kamloops a 1-0 lead with his eighth goal at 9:07 of the second period. . . . Blazers G Connor Ingram was outstanding, with 38 saves. Including the shootout, he beat Kelowna F Rourke Chartier, the WHL’s leading sniper, on breakaways. . . . Kelowna G Jake Morrissey, who hadn’t started since Dec. 3, stopped 35 shots. . . . The Rockets, presented with a PP in OT, put Merkley, Chartier, Draisaitl and F Tyson Baillie on the ice and fired away. But the Blazers, with D Ryan Rehill and Sideroff blocking shots, and Ingram standing tall held the visitors at bay. Kelowna’s second PP unit comprised Draisaitl, F Gage Quinney, D Cole Martin and F Justin Kirkland. . . . Of course, the Rockets didn’t dress D Madison Bowey or D Josh Morrissey, both of whom played for Canada at the WJC. . . . The Rockets, who were 0-for-6 on the PP, have beaten the Blazers in 15 straight games, including an 8-0-0 run last season and 5-0-0 this season. . . . Kelowna (33-6-3) has won four in a row. The Rockets are at home to Medicine Hat tonight. . . . The Blazers, who play in Spokane tonight, are 14-23-6. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., F Richard Nejezchleb scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Tri-City Americans a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . D Shea Theodore, in his first game since playing for Canada at the WJC, had two goals, giving him four, and an assist for Seattle. . . . The Thunderbirds led 3-1 late in the third period. . . . Nejezchleb scored his 12th goal at 17:58 and F Brian Williams tied it with his 12th at 18:29. . . . The Americans gave G Eric Comrie the weekend off after his stint with Canada at the WJC. . . . Americans G Evan Sarthou stopped 21 shots through OT, while Seattle’s Taran Kozun turned aside 34. . . . The Americans (20-19-2) have won two straight and are within a point of the fourth-place Thunderbirds in the U.S. Division. . . . The Thunderbirds (19-16-5) have lost two straight. . . . Both teams are off tonight. They’ll play Sunday in Kent, Wash, in a game rescheduled from tonight to avoid a conflict with the NFL playoff game that has the Carolina Panthers in Seattle to play the Seahawks. . . .
In Victoria, F Tyler Soy scored at 1:03 of OT to give the Royals a 3-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Soy has 15 goals this season. He has goals in three straight and points in eight straight. . . . The Cougars got two first-period shorthanded goals, from F Chase Witala, his 23rd, and F Aaron Boyd, his third, to take a 2-1 lead. . . . Victoria F Brandon Magee scored his second of the game, and 13th of the season, at 3:39 of the second, on a PP, to tie it at 2. . . . D Travis Brown had two assists for Victoria, running his point streak to eight games. He leads WHL defencemen with 41 points. . . G Patrick Gora, who left the AJHL’s Camrose Kodiaks this week, was backing up for the Cougars, who got 33 saves from Ty Edmonds. . . . G Coleman Vollrath stopped 20 shots for the Royals. . . . Victoria improved to 21-19-3, while the Cougars are 20-22-1. Victoria is four points ahead of the third-place Cougars in the B.C. Division. . . . The same teams meet again tonight in Victoria. . . . 
In Spokane, F Paul Bittner scored three times to lead the Portland Winterhawks to a 5-3 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Bittner’s second goal, a shorthanded effort at 13:14 of the third period, broke a 3-3 tie. . . . He got his third of the night, and 18th of the season, in an empty net at 19:06. . . . The Winterhawks had been 0-3-0 against Spokane this season. . . . Portland F Chase De Leo had two assists, running his point streak to 16 games, the best in the WHL this season. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand enjoyed his first WHL four-point game with his 23rd goal and three assists. . . . Chiefs F Kailer Yamamoto had an assist to run his point streak to nine games. He’s got 18 points over that stretch. . . . Spokane F Adam Helewka scored twice, giving him goals in six straight games and 23 on the season. . . . Portland F Alex Schoenborn came up empty on a third-period penalty shot with his side ahead 4-3. . . . The Winterhawks are 22-18-3. . . . The Chiefs slipped to 22-15-3. . . . The teams are tied for second in the U.S. Division, although Spokane has three games in hand. . . . The Chiefs entertain Kamloops tonight, while Portland is at home to Vancouver. . . . Chris Derrick of the Spokane Spokesman-Review has a game story 
In Vancouver, the Giants scored three first-period goals and went on to beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 5-3. . . . Giants F Jesse Roach broke a 2-2 tie with his fifth goal at 17:48 of the first. . . . Vancouver F Carter Popoff scored his 17th, shorthanded at 4:52 of the second, and the Tigers weren’t able to equalize. . . . F Thomas Foster and F Tyler Benson each had two assists for the Giants. . . . Tigers F Cole Sanford scored his 32nd goal. . . . Vancouver was 2-for-3 on the PP; the Tigers were 1-for-5. . . . F Ty Ronning made his season debut with the Giants. He had been out since breaking a collarbone during the exhibition season. . . . Former Tigers GM/head coach Willie Desjardins was in attendance. He is now the head coach of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. . . . In a wonderful move, the Giants held a ceremony and retired the seat belonging to long-time NHL goaltender/scout Charlie Hodge. Well done! Hopefully, there were some Nanaimo bars there for him. . . . The Giants (19-20-2) are fourth in the B.C. Division, a point behind Prince George. . . . The Tigers (28-10-2) had a four-game winning streak snapped. . . . The Giants are in Portland tonight, while the Tigers visit Kelowna. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has more on the Giants 
tiebreaker with more victories. However, the Hitmen weren't able to get out of the first round of the playoffs, losing in six games to the Kootenay Ice. 
was dealt by the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives to the Dauphin Kings on Saturday. . . . Cuthbert, 19, was traded for F Michael Sofillas, 20, D Colton Magwood, 20, and a fifth-round selection in the MJHL’s 2014 bantam draft. . . . Cuthbert, who is from Brandon, put up 43 points, including 16 goals, in 63 games with the Natives. . . . Sofillas has played 119 WHL games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, including 52 last season.
In Swift Current, F Jay Merkley’s second goal of the game, at 10:56 of the third, broke a 3-3 tie as the Broncos got past the Red Deer Rebels, 4-3. . . . Merkley, who also had an assist, has 12 goals this season. . . . F Graham Black, who didn’t play Friday night, had two assists for the Broncos. . . . F Conner Bleackley had pulled Red Deer even at 3-3 just 31 seconds before Merkley’s score. . . . 
In Brandon, the Prince Albert Raiders scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Wheat Kings 5-4 in OT. . . . Raiders F Leon Draisaitl had two goals, giving him 15, and two assists. . . . He set up F Chance Braid’s tying goal with 11.1 seconds left in the third period and also had the primary assist on D Sawyer Lange’s winner just 18 seconds into extra time. . . . Draisaitl now has 100 regular-season points in 92 games. . . . The Raiders scored the game’s first two goals, then surrendered four in a row. . . . One night earlier, the Raiders erased a 5-0 lead in Regina and beat the Pats 7-6 in OT. Draisaitl, who has 42 points in 28 games, had two goals and an assist in that one. . . . Draisaitl has 11 points, five of them goals, in his last three games. . . . Brandon D Eric Roy finished minus-5, while partner Ryan Pulock was minus-4. . . . With G Curtis Honey injured, Brandon G Jordan Papirny made his 13th straight start. . . . This was the first appearance in Brandon for former Wheat Kings head coach Cory Clouston, who now is the Raiders’ head coach. He was fired in Brandon after th 2011-12 season. . . . 
In Regina, F Boston Leier had two goals and three assists to spark the Pats to a 6-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Leier has 29 points, including 17 goals, in 23 games since being acquired from the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Regina F Braden Christoffer added two goals — he went into the game with two in 21 games — and a pair of assists. . . . The Warriors had F Jayden Halbgewachs, 16, in the lineup. Earlier in the day, he had a goal and three assists in leading his Regina Pat Canadians to a 4-3 OT victory over the visiting Tisdale Trojans in a Saskatchewan Midget AAA League game. . . . Among the Warriors scratches were F Josh Uhrich and D Tanner Eberle. Uhrich served a one-game WHL suspension, while Eberle sat out the first of a two-game sentence. . . . Regina again was without F Morgan Klimchuk, who suffered an undisclosed injury in Thursday’s Subway Super Series game in Lethbridge. . . . The Warriors took 83 of 161 penalty minutes. . . . G Nick Schneider, 16, made his second career start for the Pats and stopped 13 shots in earning his first victory. . . . The Warriors went with G Zach Sawchenko, who is to turn 16 on Dec. 30. He stopped 29 shots. . . . 
In Cranbrook, F Curtis Lazar had a goal, his 17th, and two assists as the Edmonton Oil Kings dropped the Ice, 5-1. . . . The Oil Kings, who have won 11 of their last 14 games, built a 4-0 lead before F Sam Reinhart scored shorthanded for the Ice at 12:20 of the third. . . . He’s got 16 goals. . . . Reinhart, who went into the game having taken one minor penalty this season, was hit with a misconduct at 19:27 of the first period. . . . If you’re wondering why I rarely refer to a player’s accumulated penalty minutes here it’s because the WHL refuses to include misconducts and game misconducts. For example, Reinhart’s total shows him with two penalty minutes this season. That is wrong. He has 12. . . . Edmonton D Griffin Reinhart picked up one assist, giving him 100 points in 181 career games. . . . The Ice had D Tanner Faith back after he sat out 21 games with a shoulder injury. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., the host Seattle Thunderbirds broke a 2-2 tie with four second-period goals and went on to beat the Victoria Royals, 6-3. . . . It was Shea Theodore bobblehead night and the veteran defenceman responded with a goal, his 12th, and an assist. . . . Seattle F Branden Troock added his ninth goal and two assists, while F Roberts Lipsbergs had two goals, giving him 17, and an assist. . . . Victoria had won its previous five games. . . . 
In Prince George, F Tim Traber broke a 3-3 tie at 14:05 of the second period as the Vancouver Giants beat the Cougars, 5-3. . . . Traber, 20, has six goals in 26 games with the Giants after totalling 11 in 215 games over four seasons with the Chilliwack Bruins (remember them?) and Victoria Royals. . . . The Giants are 5-0-4 in their last nine games. . . . F Cain Franson had a goal, his eighth, and two assists for Vancouver. . . . Cougars G Ty Edmonds made his second start in two nights after Brett Zarowny was injured in Friday’s pregame warmup. G Matt Kustra, 16, was brought in from Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask., and backed up Edmonds. . . . Edmonds made 49 saves last night. . . .
In Everett, D Matt Pufahl, who played 83 games with Saskatoon over the previous two seasons, scored twice and added an assist as the Silvertips bounced the Blades, 5-1. . . . Everett scored all five of its goals on the PP, in seven opportunities. . . . The Blades are 0-2-0 on their U.S. Division tour. . . . Everett F Josh Winquist had three assists as he ran his point streak to 17 games. . . . Everett F Ivan Nikolishin had a goal, his seventh, and two helpers. . . . Pufahl has 11 goals. . . . 
In Kelowna, F Justin Kirkland scored the only goal of the skills competition (aka the shootout) to give the Rockets a 3-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Blazers captain Matt Needham forced OT with a PP goal at 4:14 of the third. He’s got five goals. . . . Kamloops now has lost 10 in a row. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle stopped 35 shots through OT and three more in the shootout. . . . Kamloops scratched F Aspen Sterzer with an undisclosed injury. He was injured in Friday’s 3-2 loss to the visiting Rockets. . . . F Carson Bolduc, acquired earlier in the week from the Prince George Cougars, was in the Blazers’ lineup. He missed Friday’s game due to illness. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., F Connor Rankin and F Phil Tot scored in the six-round shootout as the Tri-City Americans beat the Spokane Chiefs, 2-1. . . . F Riley Whittingham got Spokane’s goal, at 7:41 of the first period. . . . F Jessey Astles pulled the Americans even, on the PP, at 19:19 of the first. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 26 shots through OT, while Eric Williams of the Chiefs turned aside 23. . . . Astles has five goals this season. He went into the season with seven in 179 career games split between the Kelowna Rockets and Saskatoon Blades. . . . F Mitch Holmberg was the only Spokane shooter to find success in the shootout.
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