F Petr Vala (Seattle, 1997-98) has signed a one-year extension with Zell am See (Austria, Inter-National-League). This season, he finished second in the league’s scoring race, with 72 points, including 27 goals, in 34 games. . . .
G Kevin Nastiuk (Medicine Hat, 2001-05) has signed a one-year extension with Dresdner Eislöwen (Germany, DEL2). In 52 games with Dresden this season, he had a 2.67 GAA. . . .
F Clinton Pettapiece (Tri-City, Medicine Hat, 2003-06) has signed a one-year contract with Tingsryd (Sweden, Allsvenskan). This season, with the Dordrecht Lions (Netherlands, Eredivisie), he had 61 points, including 22 goals, in 36 games. . . .
F Yegor Mikhailov (Spokane, 1996-97) has signed a one-year contract with Visp (Switzerland, NL B). The contract includes an out clause should Mikhailov sign with a KHL team. This season, with Red Ice Martigny (Switzerland, NL B), he had 43 points, 23 of them goals, in 45 games.
---
The WHL’s board of governors will meet in Calgary on April 30 to, according to the league, “review applications to transfer the ownership of the Prince George Cougars and Regina Pats.”
The meeting will be held at the Deerfoot Inn, prior to the WHL awards luncheon.From a WHL news release:
“The owner of the Prince George Cougars, Rick Brodsky has entered into an agreement with Mr. Greg Pocock of EDGEPRO Sports & Entertainment Ltd., to purchase the Prince George WHL franchise. Mr. Pocock is the head of a group consisting of local Prince George businessmen and former WHL players who formed EDGEPRO to purchase the Cougars franchise.
“It was also announced (Wednesday) the ownership of the Regina Pats franchise, Russ and Diane Parker, has agreed to sell the franchise to a group of Regina businessmen headed by Anthony Marquart. Mr. Marquart has formed Queen City Sports & Entertainment Group Ltd., to acquire the Pats franchise.
“Both franchise purchases are subject to the approval of the WHL Board of Governors. In order for the transfers of ownership to be approved, a two-thirds majority vote is required from the WHL Board of Governors at the April 30 meeting.
“Should the transfer of ownership applications be approved by the WHL Board of Governors, the sale transactions will close later in May, at which time the new ownership will be in position to take control of the franchises.”
---
The results of the 2013-14 WHL Popcorn Poll arrived via email on Wednesday and the Vancouver Giants are on top, once again.
The Corn Panelists, all from the Everett Silvertips, are medical trainer Marc Paquet, assistant coach Marc LeRose and equipment manager James Stucky.
While the panelists didn’t supply numbers, they did tell me that each arena’s popcorn “was graded on a 0-5 scale (5 being best) by each participant in the areas of flavor, texture and aroma/freshness." The Silvertips didn’t visit the East Division this season, so those arenas will be graded next season.
The panelists reported: “Vancouver keeps its title and is once again king of the popcorn hill for the WHL. The Giants were graded as having the best ‘Corn’ in the league in 2008-09 when we did our first popcorn poll. This time around, their ‘Corn’ was the only one to receive a perfect grade.”
In order, the results of the poll are:
1. Vancouver; 2. Prince George; 3 Medicine Hat; 4. Calgary; 5. Kamloops; 6. Edmonton; 7. Red Deer; 8. Kelowna; 9. Kootenay; 10. Portland (Memorial Coliseum); 11. Tri-City; 12. Spokane; 13. Portland (Moda Center); 14. Victoria; 15. Lethbridge; 16. Everett; 17. Seattle.
As an aside, the Corn Panelists noted that they “were appalled when testing the ‘Corn’ in Kent (Seattle). They continue to serve popcorn from their concession stands in plastic, tubular, air-sealed bags. The Showare Center completely takes the tradition and true enjoyment out of a good tub or paper bag filled with fresh popcorn.”
What? You thought a survey conducted by an Everett team wouldn’t include editorial comment involving their nearest rival?
---
1. Can’t anyone hold a two-goal lead in these Stanley Cup playoffs?
2. Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels hit the 500th home run of his career on Tuesday, and he did it with little fanfare. I was wondering where all the hype had gone, when I found this column right here by Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.
3. A tweet from former NHL referee Paul Stewart (@PaulStewart22): “I get emotional about those sorts of plays and players. I stand by that I would have given Cooke 50 games. Let the NHLPA gripe.” . . . That was after the NHL announced that Minnesota Wild F Matt Cooke had been given a seven-game suspension for that knee-on-knee hit on Colorado Avalance D Tyson Barrie.
4. If the NHL wanted to get stuff like knee-on-knee hits out of its games, it would hire OHL commissioner David Branch as its Minister of Justice.
5. Wondering why we’re paying so much for a litre of gasoline these days? . . . Well, we know we’re not being gouged, so it must by the situation in Ukraine and, according to one analyst, there’s an out-of-service pipeline in Iraq that is figuring into things, too.
6. Starter Michael Pineda of the New York Yankees was ejected from Wednesday night’s game in Fenway Park after Boston manager John Farrell asked the umpires to check for a foreign substance. Pineda had pine tar on his neck; in an earlier start, he appeared to have some on one hand. . . . The rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox just amped up a notch, if that’s possible.
7. Hitters are allowed to use pine tar (hello, there, George Brett), so why can’t pitchers use it, too?
8. Are young players over-coached? Do adults need to get out of the way and let them play? Of course, they do. Here’s Will Leitch of sportsonearth.com, with his take on a great quote from Jurgen Klinsmann, the head coach of the U.S. men’s soccer team.
9. While the Portland Winterhawks were beating the visiting Rockets on Wednesday night, the Portland Trail Blazers were beating the Rockets 112-105 in Houston to take a 2-0 lead in a first-round NBA playoff series. They’ll play Games 3 and 4 in Portland on Friday and Sunday. . . . Late in the game, TNT analyst Chris Webber said: “There’s some crazy people in Portland and I mean that as a compliment.” Sounds like he has been to a Winterhawks game or two.
10. I have saved the best for last, although it is closing in on 9 million views at youtube.com, so perhaps you already have seen it. It’s Darcy Oake, an illusionist, appearing on the British TV show Got Talent, and it is amazing. It is right here. . . . As an aside, he is the son of broadcaster Scott Oake.
---
JUST NOTES:
D Mitch Topping, who played five seasons in the WHL, has committed to attending the U of Alberta and playing for the CIS-champion Golden Bears. . . . Topping, who turned 21 on Feb. 19, spent the last three seasons with the Tri-City Americans. The Red Deer native played his first two seasons with the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . In 317 career regular-season games, Topping had 113 points, including 33 goals. He was the Americans’ captain.
---
THE THIRD ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
(x - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
EDMONTON (1) vs. MEDICINE HAT (4)
(Edmonton leads, 3-1)
Season series: Edmonton, 5-0-1; Medicine Hat, 1-5-0.
(All games on Shaw TV)
Friday: Medicine Hat 3 at Edmonton 8 (7,694)
Sunday: Medicine Hat 1 at Edmonton 3 (5,763)
Tuesday: Edmonton 1 at Medicine Hat 2 (3,189)
Wednesday: Edmonton 4 at Medicine Hat 1 (3,832)
Saturday: Medicine Hat at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
x-Monday: Edmonton at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
x-Tuesday: Medicine Hat at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Edmonton: D Blake Orban, day-to-day.
Medicine Hat: F Anthony Ast, day-to-day; F Gavin Broadhead, day-to-day; F Hunter Shinkaruk, indefinite.
---
WESTERN CONFERENCE
KELOWNA (1) vs. PORTLAND (2)
(Portland leads, 3-1)
Season series: Kelowna, 4-0-0; Portland, 0-4-0.
Friday: Portland 4 at Kelowna 5 (6,218)
Saturday: Portland 5 at Kelowna 3 (6,341)
Tuesday: Kelowna 3 at Portland 4 (OT) (9,259)
Wednesday: Kelowna 1 at Portland 5 (9,744)
Friday: Portland at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
x-Sunday: Kelowna at Portland, 2 p.m.
x-Tuesday: Portland at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Kelowna: F Myles Bell, week-to-week.
Portland: None.
---
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Medicine Hat, the Edmonton Oil Kings opened the scoring for a fourth straight game and went on to beat the Tigers, 4-1. . . . Edmonton leads the Eastern Conference final 3-1 and has its first chance to wrap it up on Saturday in Edmonton. . . . The Oil Kings are looking to play in their third straight WHL championship final. . . . D Griffin Reinhart scored the game’s first goal, his third, at 7:16 of the second period. It came with the teams playing 4-on-4. . . . Edmonton F Brett Pollock scored perhaps the game’s biggest goal, because it came on a 5-on-3 PP with just 7.2 seconds left in the second period. . . . Pollock, who also had an assist, closed out the game’s scoring with his eighth of these playoffs. . . . Edmonton F Riley Kieser got his side’s third goal, his fourth, at 6:52 of the third period. (On the Oil Kings’ website, they are giving the goal to F Luke Bertolucci so perhaps a change is on the way.) . . . The Tigers got their goal from F Cole Sanford, his ninth, at 18:42 of the third on a PP. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry turned aside 22 shots, four fewer than Medicine Hat’s Marek Langhamer. . . . Edmonton was 1-for-2 on the PP; Medicine Hat was 1-for-6. . . . F Trevor Cox, who leads the Tigers with 23 points in 17 playoff games, left in the second period after a collision with Edmonton F Edgars Kulda. Cox didn’t return.
In Portland, F Nic Petan scored three PP goals to help the Winterhawks to a 5-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Winterhawks lead the Western Conference final 3-1 with Game 5 scheduled for Kelowna on Friday night. . . . Going back to the regular season, the Winterhawks have won 39 of their last 42 games. . . . The Winterhawks were 3-for-8 on the PP, while the Rockets went 0-for-5. . . . Kelowna F Nick Merkley scored the game’s first goal, at 13:28 of the opening period. . . . Petan tied it at 18:48, then gave his side the lead at 10:15 of the second period. . . . F Oliver Bjorkstrand made it 3-1 with a shorthanded goal just 1:14 later. . . . Bjorkstrand leads the playoffs in goals (15) and is tied for the lead in points (25), with teammate F Brendan Leipsic. . . . Petan added insurance at 16:53 with his seventh goal of the playoffs. He tied a franchise record for PP goals in one game. F Dave McLay did it in a 9-6 victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs on March 28, 1986. . . . Portland F Paul Bittner ended the scoring with his second goal of the playoffs, an empty-netter, at 17:48. . . . Leipsic and D Derrick Pouliot each had three assists as they ran their playoff point streaks to 13 games. . . . Pouliot has 24 points, 20 of them assists, in that streak. . . . Portland G Corbin Boes turned aside 31 shots, as did Kelowna’s Jordon Cooke.
---
From WHL Facts (@WHLFacts): “13 - Getting a helper, @pdxwinterhawks Derrick Pouliot now has the WHL's longest playoff assist streak in at least 19 years (13 games).”
---
From Matthew Gourlie (@MattGourlie) of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald, after a Wednesday game at the Telus Cup national midget AAA championship: “PA-Okanagan finishes 1-1. Bad blood at the buzzer. Teams told not to shake hands by officials. They stand at blue lines and chirp b4 leaving.”
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.
The headline in the Prairie Post reads: 'Johann Sebastian' Black hitting all the right notes. . . . It's atop a story by Brad Brown on F Graham Black, a classical pianist who is having a terrific season with the Swift Current Broncos. That story is well worth reading and it's 
F Jagger Williamson, who was selected by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the sixth round of the 2013 bantam draft, has said he will play next season with the BCHL's Vernon Vipers. Williamson, a 15-year-old from Vernon, is playing for the midget Tier 1 team in Vernon. 
Chris Driedger of the Calgary Hitmen is the sixth goaltender in WHL history to score a goal. He was credited with a Kootenay Ice own goal on Saturday night in Cranbrook. Jefferson Hagen of the Calgary Herald caught up with Driedger and has the story 
The visiting Saskatoon Blades erased a 2-0 second-period deficit and beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-3. . . . Blades F Mitch Lipon gave his guys a 3-2 lead with his fifth goal at 1:37 of the third. . . . Saskatoon D Dylan Busenius played in his 300th regular-season game and scored his eighth goal of the season, a shorthanded marker at 9:21 of the third. It stood up as the winner. . . . F Jamal Watson scored twice for Lethbridge. He's got 15. . . . Saskatoon G Troy Trombley turned aside 50 shots. . . . Saskatoon F Austin Adamson scored his first goal and it came in his 37th game. Adamson, who turned 18 on Feb. 2, is from Vancouver. . . . The Hurricanes had won their previous two games. . . . Neither the Blades (15-37-4) nor Hurricanes (11-39-5) will make the playoffs. The Hurricanes continue to hold down last place in the overall standings, their .245 winning percentage slightly ahead of the Kamloops Blazers’ .250. . . . 
In Brandon, F Trevor Cox scored twice to help the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 3-2 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Cox broke a 1-1 tie at 10:47 of the second period and upped the lead to 3-1 just 19 seconds into the third. He's got 18 goals. . . . Tigers F Cole Sanford had a goal, his 25th, and two assists. . . . Medicine Hat F Curtis Valk ran his point streak to 12 games, the longest in the WHL at present, with two assists. . . . Tigers G Marek Langhamer stopped 23 shots, including one on Brandon F Ryley Lindgren on a second-period penalty shot with the visitors leading 2-1. . . . The Tigers (31-19-3) have won two in a row and are fourth in the Eastern Conference, seven points behind the Calgary Hitmen and five ahead of the Kootenay Ice. . . . Brandon (27-20-6) is tied with Kootenay (28-21-4) and the Swift Current Broncos (26-20-8) atop the East Division. . . .
In Kamloops, the Edmonton Oil Kings ran their winning streak to a season-high nine games as they got past the Blazers, 4-1. . . . Edmonton F Riley Kieser broke a 1-1 tie with his ninth goal at 2:05 of the third period. . . . Kieser finished with two goals, giving him 10, and an assist. He was the Oil Kings' best skater in this one. . . . The Oil Kings now have won 15 of their last 16 games and 24 of 28. . . . The Kamloops PP unit was 0-for-8 and gave up two shorthanded goals, the last one Kieser’s empty-netter. . . . Kamloops D Sam Grist drew an interference major and game misconduct at 10:12 of the first period for a hit on Edmonton F Reid Petryk, who needed help on the ice but was out on the PP shortly thereafter. . . . It was a dangerous hit and Grist can expect a call from the WHL office today. . . . The Blazers won't play in Edmonton this season, but the Oil Kings played twice in Kamloops. Edmonton won 5-0 on Nov. 8. . . . Edmonton G Tyler Santos, who posted that 5-0 shutout, stopped 31 shots last night. The Oil Kings needed him through the first two periods as they were outshot 27-17. Edmonton held a 21-6 edge in the third, though. . . . The Oil Kings will visit the Kelowna Rockets on Friday for a battle of the conference leaders. . . . The Blazers (11-38-5) have lost seven in a row; they are 1-9-1 since Guy Charron took over as head coach from Dave Hunchak on Jan. 11. The Blazers will play their next five games at home, after which they will hit the road for 10. . . . The Blazers were the better team through two periods but couldn’t get enough pucks past Santos to give them some breathing room. For the most part, Edmonton’s best players didn’t show up until the third period. Perhaps they were looking ahead to Friday. . . . The Oil Kings (38-13-1) are comfortably atop the Eastern Conference standings, five points ahead of Calgary with two games in hand. . . . 
In Kelowna, the Rockets scored four first-period goals and went on to beat the Red Deer Rebels, 4-3. . . . The Rockets had 11 players with one point each in that first period, and every skater but two was at least plus-1. . . . Red Deer G Taz Burman was gone 1:34 in to the first period after stopping one of three shots. G Patrik Bartosak came on and finished up. . . . Kelowna held a 22-8 edge in shots after one period. . . . The Rebels scored three times in the third period to make it interesting, the last one coming from F Aspen Sterzer, at 18:13. . . . Sterzer scored Red Deer's last two goals, giving him 24 in 52 games this season. . . . He had two goals in 31 games last season and five in 63 games in 2011-12. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle stopped 35 shots. . . . The Rockets (43-7-3) have a 12-point lead atop the overall standings. . . . The Kelowna franchise record for victories (52) was set last season. . . . The Rebels (27-23-4) are eighth in the Eastern Conference. . . . 
In Spokane, Seattle G Taran Kozun continued his magical run as the Thunderbirds blanked the Chiefs, 4-0. . . . Kozun stopped 29 shots in posting his third shutout in nine starts with Seattle. Two of the blank jobs have been against the Chiefs. . . . Kozun was acquired from the Kamloops Blazers at the trade deadline. . . . With Kamloops, the 19-year-old from Nipawin, Sask., was 5-19-3, 3.95, .897. With Seattle, he is 8-1-0, 1.31, .957. . . . Seattle F Justin Hickman had three goals for his first WHL hat trick. He has 18 goals this season, five of them coming over the last two games. . . . The Thunderbirds are 6-0 versus the Chiefs this season. The teams meet again Friday, this time in Kent, Wash. . . . Seattle (34-16-5) is fourth in the Western Conference, one point behind the Victoria Royals and six ahead of the Chiefs (31-17-5). . . . 
In Victoria, Calgary F Pavel Padakin scored on a breakaway at 1:26 of OT to give the Calgary Hitmen a 7-6 victory over the Royals. . . . The Royals looked to be in control after scoring three PP goals and taking a 3-0 lead into the second period. . . . The Royals had dumped the Hitmen 7-2 on Tuesday night. . . . This was the second time this season Victoria has given up seven goals. The Royals lost 7-4 to the visiting Vancouver Giants on Dec. 7. . . . The Hitmen took the first period's last three minors and the Royals scored on each of them. . . . The Hitmen forced OT on third-period goals by F Brady Brassart, at 5:03; F Adam Tambellini, at 6:36, via the PP; and F Mike Winther, at 12:23. . . . Padakin finished with two goals and an assist. He has 19 goals this season. . . . Brassart had a goal, his 24th and two assists. . . . Tambellini's goal was his fifth. . . . F Ben Walker had two goals, giving him 22, and an assist for Victoria. . . . F Logan Nelson was among Victoria's scratches. . . . Royals D Joe Hicketts had two assists. He's got a goal and five assists in four games since returning from an injury. He had last played on Oct. 26. . . . Hitmen head coach Mike Williamson was hired in Calgary when Dave Lowry, now the Royals’ head coach, left for an assistant coaching job with the NHL’s Calgary Flames. . . . The Royals were without G Patrik Polivka for both games. He has an undisclosed injury. Michael Herringer, a ninth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, backed up Coleman Vollrath. Herringer plays for the junior B Kerry Park Islanders who are coached by former WHL toughie Dale Purinton.
F Peter Mueller (Everett, 2005-07) and D Jim Vandermeer (Red Deer, 1997-2001) each signed a one-year contract with Kloten (Switzerland, NL A). Mueller had eight goals and nine assists in 43 games with the Florida Panthers (NHL) and Vandermeer had five goals and five assists in 34 games with the Chicago Wolves (AHL) last season. . . . The Swiss NL A opens its regular season on Thursday. . . .
Speculation has swirled that former Prince George Cougars head coach Dean Clark will take over as GM and/or behind the bench after this season.
In Prince George, the Cougars ran their record to 3-0 with a 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Edmonton took 68 of the game’s 132 penalty minutes. . . . F Jansen Harkins, 16, drew three assists and now leads the WHL exhibition scoring race with eight points in three games. From North Vancouver, he was the second overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft.
F Michael Sofillas, 20, has joined the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings after being released earlier in the week by the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Sofillas, from Morden, Man., had nine points in 42 games with Lethbridge last season. He missed all of the 2011-12 season with a brain injury. . . . In 2010-11, he had 17 points in 64 games with the Hurricanes.
In the QMJHL, the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles were unable to entice F Nicolas Roy, the first overall selection in the league’s 2013 draft, into their organization. . . . Now he ha been traded to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens for — are you ready? — three first-round draft picks (Baie-Comeau's in 2014, Chicoutimi’s in 2015 and 2016)/ As well, the Screaming Eagles receive the fifth overall pick and the last pick of the second round in the 2014 draft from the league as compensation for Roy not reporting. . . . Roy, 16, is from Amos, Que. He had 33 points in 27 games with a midget AAA team last season.
Posts
