What a bizarre night!
Look, there’s a Twitter video showing Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations at the end of a Security Council meeting telling his Russian counterpart: “There is no purgatory for war criminals. They go straight to hell, Ambassador.”
And there’s a photo from Ukraine that shows people seated on the floor in an underground shelter.
Tweet after tweet after tweet providing information, some of it instantaneous, about what was happening in Ukraine.
All of them mixed in with so many other tweets as the sporting world continued on its merry way.
“Ghostriders even their series 1-1 with a 5-2 win in Invermere” reads a tweet from the junior B Fernie Ghostriders.
There’s the WHL’s highlight of the night. An OT winner by Chad Nychuk of the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Oh, there’s video of a goal by the Arizona Coyotes, who are entertaining the Los Angeles Kings.
Oh, look, it’s snowing in Surrey.
And all the while Dr. Evil’s troops are invading Ukraine in what almost appears to be one more step in an attempt to put the USSR back together. With a former U.S. president and a U.S. television network applauding all the while.
With all of this and a global pandemic and vehicle convoys and border blockades and all the rest . . . we really are living in troubled times.
Marc Habscheid moved into fifth place on the WHL’s list for all-time regular-
season coaching victories when his Prince Albert Raiders beat the host Calgary Hitmen, 1-0, on Wednesday night.
That was Habscheid’s 573rd victory as a WHL head coach, moving him past Mike Williamson and into fifth place. Habscheid now trails Don Hay (750), Ken Hodge (742), Don Nachbaur (692) and Lorne Molleken (626).
Habscheid also has been the head coach with the Kamloops Blazers (1997-99), Kelowna Rockets (1999-2004) and Chilliwack Bruins/Victoria Royals (2009-12). In Kelowna, he took over from Garth Malarchuk during the 1999-2000 season. He replaced Cory Clouston as the Raiders’ head coach during the 2014-15 season.
Here are the active WHL head coaches and their victory totals:
Shaun Clouston, Kamloops, 485; Mike Johnston, Portland, 445; Willie Desjardins, Medicine Hat, 397; Mark Lamb, Prince George, 272; Steve Konowalchuk, Red Deer, 250;
Michael Dyck, Vancouver, 242; Brent Kisio, Lethbridge, 223; Steve Hamilton, Calgary, 211; Dennis Williams, Everett, 182; John Paddock, Regina, 177;
Brad Lauer, Edmonton, 137; Matt O’Dette, Seattle, and James Patrick, Winnipeg, each 129; Dan Price, Victoria, 121;
Mark O’Leary, Moose Jaw, 63; Don McGillivray, Brandon, 44; Kris Mallette, Kelowna, 42; Brennan Sonne, Saskatoon 26; Devan Praught, Swift Current, 17; Stu Barnes, Tri-City, 14; Ryan Smith, Spokane, 1.
Louis Mass, the associate coach with Everett, has five victories as he ran the bench while Williams was with Canada’s national junior team in December.
Ryan Marsh, the associate coach with Saskatoon, recorded a pair of victories while Sonne was sidelined by COVID-19 in January.
Josh McNevin, an assistant coach with Kelowna, picked up two victories while Mallette was at the Capital City Challenge in Ottawa in late November.
Keith McCambridge, the associate coach with Vancouver, got one victory while Dyck was with Canada’s national junior team in December.
Brad Herauf, an assistant coach in Regina, posted one victory when Paddock missed a Feb. 11 game due to illness.
Please remember that these totals all are unofficial.
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WEDNESDAY IN THE WHL: G Tikhon Chaika posted the shutout as the visiting Prince Albert Raiders beat the Calgary Hitmen, 1-0. Chaika, an 18-year-old freshman from Minsk, Belarus, recorded his first WHL shutout. He is 13-14-2, 2.98, .900. F Evan Herman (19) scored the game’s only goal, at 12:45 of the first period. . . . In Regina, the Pats beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 2-0, behind 21 saves from G Kelton Pyne, a 16-year-old from White City, Sask. He is with the Pats because of injuries to other goaltenders. In three starts, Pyne has two WHL victories, both by shutout. D Ryker Evans (12) broke a scoreless tie at 13:31 of the third period and F Connor Bedard (32) got the empty-netter. . . .
The host Brandon Wheat Kings surrendered 2-0 and 4-2 leads before coming back to beat the Saskatoon Blades, 6-5, in OT. F Kyle Crnkovic (33), who leads the WHL with 74 points, gave the Blades a 5-4 lead at 19:17 of the second period. F Nolan Ritchie (20) got Brandon even at 18:31 of the third period with his second goal — he also had two assists — and F Chad Nychuk (15) won it at 4:55 of extra time. . . . The Winnipeg Ice opened up a 3-0 second-period lead and hung on to beat the Hurricanes, 3-2, in Lethbridge. F Matthew Savoie (22) got the goal that turned into the winner at 10:50 of the second. Goals from F Corson Hopwo (9) and D Kade Nolan (2) got Lethbridge to within a goal before the third period was 11 minutes old.
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JUNIOR JOTTINGS: The WHL has suspended D Trevor Thurston of the Prince Albert Raiders for five games after he incurred charging and cross-checking majors during the same stoppage in play on Monday night in a game against the host Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington state, has announced that a statewide indoor mask mandate will be lifted on March 21. At the same time, vaccine verifications or proof of a negative test won’t be required to attend indoor events after Feb. 28.
Derek Taylor, who revealed last week that he wouldn’t be returning for a fourth season as the play-by-play voice of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, is the new radio voice of the two-time Grey Cup-champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers on 680 CJOB. . . . In Winnipeg, Taylor will take over from the legendary Bob Irving, who retired following the 2021 season. . . . Taylor isn’t a stranger to Winnipeg as he spent nine years calling the play of U of Manitoba Bisons football games. He will make his Blue Bombers play-by-play debut on May 23 when Winnipeg meets, yes, the host Roughriders in an exhibition game. . . . Before moving to Regina, he spent almost five years with TSN. . . . “It’s just a better job opportunity for me,” Taylor told Murray McCormick of the Regina Leader-Post. “It’s a better family opportunity because my wife (CBC-TV weather specialist Fiona Odlum) is from Winnipeg and it’s the place that I’ve lived in the longest as an adult. It’s essentially home for me.”
If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:
Living Kidney Donor Program
St. Paul’s Hospital
6A Providence Building
1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-9027
Toll free: 1-877-922-9822
Fax: 604-806-9873
Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca
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Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney
Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre
Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9
604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182
kidneydonornurse@vch.ca
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Or, for more information, visit right here.
TAKING NOTE 