Author: greggdrinnan

Mondays With Murray: On Bull Throwing

Jim Murray used to say that you can’t write about golf and horse racing every week or you’ll lose the truck drivers. So, this week is for the blue-collar working folks out there. Those with dirt on their jeans and callouses on their hands. The ones who root for the guy on the back of the bull, not the bull. We’re going to the rodeo!

This week concludes the 60th Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. The Super Bowl of ropin’ and ridin’. Where eight seconds is an eternity and being able to walk away is considered a victory. Today we take you back to November of 1962 when Jim Murray wrote about the animals that the rodeo competitors are up against. That was the first year the NFR was held in Los Angeles. LA played host to the event until 1964 when it was moved to Oklahoma City. It stayed there until 1985 when it was moved to its current home, Las Vegas.

The 2018 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas runs through Saturday.

from Thursday, December 6 through Saturday, December 15.

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1962, SPORTS

Copyright 1962/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY

JIM MURRAY

On Bull Throwing

   The next time you go to a game and get to your feet to cheer a tiny safety man who brings down Jim Taylor in the open field, try to imagine what would happen if Taylor weighed twice as much and had horns and two more hooves.

  And if you ever have to face Sonny Liston in the ring, take comfort in the fact, at least mondaysmurray2that after he knocks you down, he probably won’t try to bite and kick you. At least, I hope he won’t.

  Rodeo cowboys aren’t so lucky. They’re the first guys since the Roman Christians who have to fight wild animals for a living.

  And these are not just ordinary wild animals. These are the Mafia of the animal world — four-footed rubout artists. They should show up wearing pin-stripe suits and pearl fedoras. If they were human, they’d get the electric chair.

   Rodeo stock is drafted as carefully as NFL players. Scouts comb the country for the national finals looking for the meanest, orneriest cayuses they can find. Any animal that missed a chance to step on a baby carriage or push an old lay’s wheelchair down a cliff is automatically rejected. Any sign of sentimentality is fatal. These are horses you can’t feed a lump of sugar to — or they’d take your hand with it. Brahma bulls which would use you for silage if you didn’t get out of their way.

  Some of the bucking horses picked for the National Finals that opens at the Sports Arena next week have killed more cowboys than Billy the Kid. The calves get YOUR liver for a change.

  It has been said a rodeo is unique in that the bull throws the man for a change but the nationals are unique in that it is a contest of pure champions. Both man and beast are the best at their specialties that can be found. No third-round draft choices need apply. You have to be one of the 15 top cowboys in your event to qualify. And this is not left to a sportswriters poll. To prove you belong you have to have won more money at rodeo than No. 16.

  There are six events in the finals: Bull-riding, Bareback Bronc Riding, Calf Roping, Team Roping and Steer Wrestling (better known as “Bulldogging”).

  Now, high among the things I never expect to do is ride a bull. Those dagger-horned cross-bred Brahmas might be the answer to a cow’s prayer but the cowboy on his back offers up a prayer of another sort. He is one ton of hate – a 4-H club of his own, head, hooves, hate and heave. You’re on him only eight seconds but if you play it right, that’s enough.

  You don’t have to rowel a bull to get him sore. But you’re expected to do this to a bucking bronc. This is a little like being asked to spit in the eye of an opponent at the introductions or telling him you think his wife’s pretty ugly and so are his kids; but a cowboy on the scent of first money would rather find a rattler under his saddle than a sweet-tempered horse.

  Some of these critters are so long in the teeth that they might have got mustered out of the army by General Grant himself but their claim to fame is they have been ridden by men for years but these guys’ total elapsed time on horseback wouldn’t be enough to hard-boil an egg. These equine octogenarians are to rodeo what Man O War was to racing.

  They give these brutes names like “Midnight,” “Homicide,” “War Paint” and “Sidewinder” because, compared to them, Jack the Ripper loved people. If all the human bones they broke were laid end-to-end it would look like an explosion in a paleontology museum but at that, they’re not a patch on the Brahmas. A superannuated bull rider named Freckles Brown was far in the lead in his specialty this year with $18,675 won to Nov. 1 when he got aboard a freight-car-sized bull named Black Smoke.

  When he got off, his vertebrae were rearranged, and his yearly take might just be enough to pay for the six weeks in traction. At 41, Freckles is the oldest living bull-rider in captivity but the bulls sometimes seem determined he not get any older.

  On bull or bronc, the cowboys spend their time in the spotlight somewhere between the animal’s back and the sky. Also, they have to be careful with their spurs that they rake the animal’s neck and not their own.

  I come from a long line of horse-haters. My people followed the horses either with a scratch sheet or a broom and shovel. Either way, you find out what double-crossers they are. And bulls, I can take or leave alone — preferably the latter.

  When I wrestle, I prefer an opponent you can tap on the shoulder and say, “OK, I give up. You’re hurting me.” But to win the All-Around Cowboy which is the Most Valuable Horse and Cow Fighter Award, you have to be good at two or more of these events. Also, of course, you have to survive them. The Rodeo Cowboys Association frowns on posthumous awards. Gives the game a bad name. Its proper name, of course, but a bad one.

  But I wouldn’t miss this horse-and-bull Olympics at the Sports Arena Dec. 4 to 10. Ninety of the best cowboys against a couple hundred of the worst outlaws on four feet has to make the Rose Bowl look like a spelling bee.

  I’ll tell you something else: It’s nice to go to a wrestling match that isn’t fixed for a change. If these are fixed, I have to say those steers are awful good actors when, in truth, they’re bad actors.

  I also want to see the year’s leading All-Around Cowboy. Dean Oliver, go legit. Dean, you may remember, is the Idaho boy who used to hide in the ditches and ambush the cows going home to milking to practise his bulldogging. Things went all right till they started to give buttermilk. So next week it’ll be nice to see Dean getting paid to do something he used to get shot at for.

  So, fetch me my Stetson and shootin’ arn, son, I’m going into town to see thet thar “row-dee-oh” and I’m laying 8-5 on the bull. At least, I know he’s trying.

Reprinted with the permission of the Los Angeles Times

Jim Murray Memorial Foundation, P.O. Box 60753, Pasadena, CA 91116

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What is the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation? 

  The Jim Murray Memorial Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, established in 1999 to perpetuate the Jim Murray legacy, and his love for and dedication to his extraordinary career in journalism. Since 1999, JMMF has granted 104 $5,000 scholarships to outstanding journalism students. Success of the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation’s efforts depends heavily on the contributions from generous individuals, organizations, corporations, and volunteers who align themselves with the mission and values of the JMMF.

Like us on Facebook, and visit the JMMF website, www.jimmurrayfoundation.org.

The Bookshelf . . . Part 1 of 3

Bookshelf

It’s back, by popular demand (well, Dan Russell always asks for it) . . . For the past few years, I have compiled lists of books that I have read over the previous 12 months, and posted them here. With any luck, you may find an idea or two to help you get through your Christmas shopping.

So . . . here is Part 1 of 3 of the books that I have read so far in 2018.

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All-American Murder: The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez, the Superstar Whose Life Ended on Murderers’ Row — This book chronicles, as the title suggests, the rise and fall — an amazingly quick fall at that — of Aaron Hernandez, who was a tight end with the NFL’s New England Patriots when it all came crashing down. By book’s end, the reader knows that there can only be one outcome. But what leads to that outcome is mind-numbing; it is absolutely incredible how much badness one person of such high visibility was able to cram into his young life. James Patterson, one of the biggest-selling authors of this generation, had a hand in the writing, along with Alex Abramovich, with Mike Harvkey.

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American Gods — If you choose to read Neil Gaiman’s work, suspend all your beliefs and open your imagination wider than it has ever been. This is science fiction and fantasy and everything in between; it is a horror story and reality. It is about gods and non-gods and war and our culture. And it’s likely different than anything else you have ever read. After you have finished it, you will look at the people next to you somewhat differently, whether you are shopping, dining, at a hockey game . . .

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Beartown — Beartown is a town, presumably in Sweden, that loves its junior hockey team. In fact, if there is a word stronger than love, well, that’s what it would be. Written by Swedish author Fredrik Backman (and translated by Neil Smith), Beartown is one of the best works of fiction that I have encountered. It explores the relationship between a team and a hockey-obsessed community, including the parents and sponsors to whom winning is the only thing. This is a dark, dark novel and, if you know anything at all about junior hockey, it is absolutely full of truisms. It often will have you shaking your head, nodding your head and raising an eyebrow — often at the same time.

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Beneath a Scarlet Sky — At the age of 18, Pino Lella finds himself as the personal driver for General Hans Leyers, a man of great power within the Nazi party. It’s late in the Second World War and Leyers is working in the area of war-torn Milan, Italy. Oh yes, the teenager also is a spy for the resistance. Written by Mark Sullivan, this one is based on the story as related to him by Lella, and as you read you have to keep reminding yourself that this is non-fiction.

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The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created — Jane Leavy wrote two earlier baseball classics, The Last Boy and Sandy Koufax, and you can put The Big Fella right there, too. While The Last Boy was about Mickey Mantle, The Big Fella details the life and times of Babe Ruth. Meticulously researched, Leavy writes not only about Ruth but about the impact he had on the people around him and, indeed, society at the time. This is a wonderful, wonderful look at America in Ruth’s time.

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Bottom of the 33rd — Darn, but this is a great book. . . . The Rochester Red Wings visited the Pawtucket Red Sox for an International League baseball game on April 18, 1981. It turned into the longest game in pro baseball history, lasting 33 innings and taking 8 hours 25 minutes to play. The game was suspended on April 19, around 4 a.m., with 19 fans still in the stands at McCoy Stadium. The final inning, the 33rd, was played on June 23 and lasted only 18 minutes. Author Dan Barry magically explores the game, all of its nuances and oh, so many sidebars. Like the pitcher who went home at 1 a.m., but whose wife wouldn’t let him in because she thought he and teammates had been out drinking and carousing. . . . If you haven’t already read this one, find a copy and prepare to be entertained.

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Camino Island — This work from prolific author John Grisham is somewhat different from the legal thrillers that he has written. There aren’t any lawyers involved in what is a book drafted around the world of rare books. The pace is leisurely as it follows Bruce Cable, who owns a bookstore on Florida’s Camino Island, and Mercer Mann, a would-be writer who is trying to find her way into a second novel.

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Clandestine — This cop book, written by James Ellroy, has been around since 1982. Ellroy, of course, also wrote the Black Dahlia and LA Confidential, among other works. He is a master of the noir detective novel and Clandestine is no exception. It follows Fred Underhill, who is an LAPD detective when the book opens but, well, you’ll have to follow the twists and turns to see if he still has a badge at book’s end. If you like the noir genre, you’ll love this one.

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Court Justice: The Inside Story of My Battle Against the NCAA — Ed O’Bannon, a former basketball star at NCAA, and lawyer Michael McCann explain in plain terms how and why the former chose to be the frontman in a lawsuit aimed at allowing so-called student-athletes to control the use of their names and likenesses. It all started after O’Bannon’s college basketball career was over when he saw his image playing in an EA Sports video game. Through it all, the NCAA comes out looking like a plantation owner.

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Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought England Back from the Brink — Using archived material, author Anthony McCarten provides us with a play-by-play of the days leading up to Britain’s official involvement in the Second World War. Hitler is moving west through Europe and, surely, Britain will be next. At the same time, the political arena in Britain is a mess, with Churchill only days into his run as Prime Minister. There are those who would negotiate with “Herr” Hitler and “Signor” Mussolini. Churchill, though, isn’t so sure. But will he or won’t he?

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Dark Sacred Night — The latest from author Michael Connelly has Harry Bosch, who is officially retired from police work but just can’t give it up, and LAPD detective Renée Ballard teaming up. Bosch is kind of freelancing with the San Fernando PD, and is investigating a cold case, while Ballard works the late show (night shift) with the LAPD. Connelly is a master at writing this kind of fiction, and Dark Sacred Night is another fine addition to the library that includes Bosch.

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Father Bauer and the Great Experiment: The Genesis of Canadian Olympic Hockey — This book, from author Greg Oliver, deserves a prominent spot on the shelf with others that detail important stories in Canada’s hockey history. There was a time when senior hockey teams, most of them having had to fund-raise, represented Canada at Olympic Games and World championships. Then along came Father David Bauer, whose dream changed the face of Canadian hockey. It wasn’t that easy, though, and Oliver has all the stories right here. If you care about Canada’s hockey history, don’t miss this one.

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Finnegan’s Week — Fin Finnegan is a cop in San Diego but he would rather be an actor. He really doesn’t have a whole lot of luck at either. Finnegan, with three ex-wives behind him, is the main character in author Joseph Wambaugh’s book from 1995. It’s full of lots of great dialogue and some truly off-the-wall characters.

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TOMORROW: Part 2 of 3.

Scattershooting on a Sunday with thoughts of Lennon and Breslin . . . Maier, Blades stop Leason and Raiders . . . Wolf howls against Chiefs

Scattershooting

The Edmonton Oilers’ roster may include the player some observers consider to be the best in the world, Connor McDavid, but they still are offensively challenged. When the visiting Calgary Flames beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 9-6, on Tuesday, they scored as many goals in one game as the Oilers had scored in their previous five outings. . . . Of course, the Oilers beat the visiting Flames, 1-0, on Sunday night. If you don’t give up any goals, chances are you’ll win every time.

While it’s great to see Seattle be awarded an NHL franchise — yes, for US $650 million — you really have to wonder why the NHL won’t go into Quebec City, don’t you?

John Lennon was murdered on Dec. 8, 1980. If you haven’t read the column written by the late Jimmy Breslin, you have cheated yourself. It’s a classic and it’s right here.

F Tyler Steenbergen scored the Teddy Bear goal for the Swift Current Broncos last season, then later scored the goal that won gold for Team Canada at the 2018 World Junior Championship. This season, he’s with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. He scored their Teddy Bear goal on Saturday night.

Headline at TheOnion.com: Should the NFL prohibit players from appearing in hotel security footage?

“The U.S. Postal Service, in honor of former President George H.W. Bush’s funeral, suspended regular mail deliveries Wednesday,” writes Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times. “The Pistons apparently forgot and mailed it in anyway, getting outscored in every quarter in a 115-92 loss to the Bucks.”

A note from RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com: “Head coach Jay Gruden said exiled QB Colin Kaepernick wasn’t a good option for Washington. I’ll say! The poster boy for minority injustice in America playing for a team called the Redskins?”

Here’s a groaner from Currie: “Barbara Streisand’s two Coton de Tulear pooches are both clones of her previous pet, Samantha. If Elvis were alive, he’d say “You ain’t nothing but a cloned dog.”

ThisThat.

Maybe F Brett Leason and the Prince Albert Raiders are human after all.

G Nolan Maier stopped 32 shots on Sunday to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 1-0 victory PrinceAlbertover the visiting Raiders, handing Prince Albert, the CHL’s top-ranked team, its first regulation-time loss of this season.

The Raiders (28-2-1) went into the game with one other regulation loss; they were beaten 4-3 by the Rebels in Red Deer on Oct. 6. They also suffered a 3-2 shootout setback at the hands of the Broncos in Swift Current on Dec. 4.

When Sunday’s game ended, the Raiders still led the East Division by 16 points over the Blades. Still, the Saskatoon players had reason to like their performance.

 “This is huge,” Maier told blogger Darren Steinke. “We were talking about it before in the room saying that this was a statement game to be heard around the whole league.

The 17-year-old goaltender also helped bring an end to Leason’s 30-game point streak. Yes, Leason had recorded at least one point in each of his club’s first 30 games. He put up 28 goals — he leads the league in goals — and 36 assists during that stretch, and his 64 points have him atop the WHL scoring race, by two points over F Trey Fix-Wolansky of the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Leason’s lead isn’t likely to last, though, as he now is on his way to Victoria and the selection camp for Canada’s national junior team. Should he earn a spot on that team, he would miss at least nine of the Raiders’ games.

You can’t accuse the Portland Winterhawks Booster Club of not thinking big.

The club already is planning for the 2020-21 season when all signs point towards it Portlandmaking the East Division swing with its favourite team.

How avid are club members? Even with barely any planning done, the bus was already two-thirds full.

No, fans aren’t going to ride a bus all the way to the Prairies. Rather, they will fly to Regina, stay in the Saskatchewan capital and take a bus from there to games in other cities.

“The cost is estimated to be $2,400 to $3,500, including flight, bus, game ticket(s) and hotel,” Stuart Kemp, the club’s president, told Taking Note in an email. “There is no other WHL booster club that can do this . . .

“So far, enough have committed to go on the swing based on current costs, that the planning for the trip is in full-swing mode. Currently, we are close to having a waiting list as the trip is nearly sold out!”

“It was a sham all along,” writes Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun. “That’s the bitter conclusion supporters of the Western Hockey League’s Kootenay Ice have come to as the Kootenaynewjunior franchise is poised to move to Winnipeg.

“At first, John Hudak wanted to believe in Winnipeggers Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell, who purchased the Ice a year and a half ago.

“But Hudak, a retired RCMP officer who spearheaded a local drive to save the team, says it turns out he was banging his head against the wall.”

Friesen’s complete column — it carries the headline: WHL move to Winnipeg ‘a done deal’ — is right here.

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Meanwhile, Ian Cobb, the owner/editor of e-KNOW.ca, has provided an overview of things from the perspective of a hockey fan in the Kootenays. He suggests that it’s time for the fans in the area to start attending games in large numbers. . . . Cobb’s piece is right here.

Let’s be honest. The WHL’s playoff format stinks to high heaven. So, too, does the NHL’s, which is identical.

Here’s Larry Brooks of the New York Post:

“Imagine Wimbledon every year matching up the top two seeds in each half of the draw in the second round. Imagine the World Cup placing the four most powerful squads in the same group. Imagine March Madness placing the top four seeds in the country in the same region.

While you’re at it, you may as well imagine there’s no heaven, because it’s easy if you try to imagine the NHL cutting off its own knees by matching up its best teams in the first or second round of the playoffs in a made-for-marketing scheme, because that is exactly what Sixth Avenue and its band of clueless co-conspirators on the Board do year after year after year.”

As you read this, just substitute NHL with WHL and go from there.

The complete column is right here.

G Kyle Dumba got his first taste of junior hockey in 2013-14 when he played one game with each of the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen and the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers.

Since then he has had stints with the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs, the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, Everett Silvertips and Regina Pats, and the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks, Surrey Eagles and Victoria Grizzlies.

The 20-year-old Calgarian made his 106th junior appearance on Saturday night and recorded his first shutout. He’s with the Grizzlies now, sparked by his 43 saves, they beat one of his former teams, Salmon Arm, 2-0.

COUNTDOWN TO DEADLINE

(WHL trade deadline: Jan. 10, 3 p.m. MT)

Sunday’s action:

No. of trades: 0.

Players: 0.

Bantam draft picks: 0.

Conditional draft picks: 0.

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Total deals (since Nov. 26):

No. of trades: 10.

Players: 31.

Bantam draft picks: 18.

Conditional draft picks: 4.

(Note: On Nov. 30, Kelowna traded F Jack Cowell, 19, to Kootenay for a third-round selection in the 2020 bantam draft. Cowell chose not to report and the deal was voided, so isn’t included in these totals.)

If you stop off here and enjoy what you see — or even if you don’t — feel free to click on the DONATE button over there on the right and make a contribution. Thanks in advance.

SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

G Nolan Maier stopped 32 shots and F Tristen Robins scored the game’s only goal as the Saskatoonhost Saskatoon Blades beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 1-0. . . . The Blades (19-10-3) have won two straight. . . . The Raiders (28-2-1) had been 21-0-1 in their previous 22 games. This was their first regulation loss this season. . . . This was the third game in fewer than 48 hours for both of these teams and each went 2-1-0. . . . The Raiders had won the first two meetings with the Blades — 4-1 in Prince Albert and 6-2 in Saskatoon on Sept. 30 and Oct. 14, respectively. . . . Maier posted his second shutout of the season and the fourth of his career. This season, he is 15-8-2, 2.70, .912. . . . Robins’ goal, his fifth of the season, came at 5:14 of the second period and also was the Teddy Bear goal. . . . Raiders F Brett Leason had his 30-game point streak come to an end, despite having five shots on goal. . . . Leason and G Ian Scott, who stopped 26 shots, will be on the ice in Victoria on Tuesday as the selection camp opens for Canada’s national junior team. . . . When the Raiders next play, on Wednesday against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings, they will be missing Scott, Leason, F Aliaksei Protas and D Sergei Sapego. The latter two are with the Belarus national junior team at the IIHF World Junior Championship (Division I Group A) in Fussen, Germany. . . . Darren Steinke, the travellin’ blogger, was at home Sunday for his third game in fewer than 48 hours, too, and his post is right here.

The Calgary Hitmen broke a 2-2 second-period tie with four goals in a span of 4:02 en Calgaryroute to a 6-3 victory over the visiting Kamloops Blazers. . . . Calgary (14-14-3) has won four straight. . . . The Blazers (12-12-3) had points in each of their previous four games (3-0-1). . . . Kamloops now is 0-1-1 on a six-game Central Division trek. . . . Calgary went ahead 1-0 at 4:18 of the first period when F Kaden Elder (12) scored the Teddy Bear goal. . . . F Martin Lang (6), who also had two assists, pulled Kamloops even at 1:42 of the second period, but F Jake Kryski (14) got that one back, on a PP, at 4:11. . . . F Kyrell Sopotyk (4) got the Blazers back into a tie, on a PP, at 10:31. . . . It was all Calgary after that, with F James Malm (15) counting at 10:47, F Tye Carriere (3) at 11:13, and D Egor Zamula scoring twice, at 12:34 and 13:49. . . . Zamula, who has seven goals, enjoyed the first multi-goal game of his WHL career. . . . Kamloops F Zane Franklin (17) closed out the scoring at 13:55 of the third period. . . . Zamula, who also had an assist, enjoyed the first multi-goal game of his career. . . . Calgary F Riley Stotts had three assists. He’s got a goal and seven assists over his past three games. . . . The Blazers were without F Jermaine Loewen and F Kobe Mohr, both of whom were suspended by the WHL earlier in the day. Loewen drew a TBD suspension after taking a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct in a 3-2 OT loss to the Oil Kings in Edmonton on Saturday, while Mohr got one game under supplemental discipline from the same game.

G Dustin Wolf stopped 21 shots to help the host Everett Silvertips to a 2-0 victory over the EverettSpokane Chiefs. . . . Everett (25-7-1) now has points in 11 straight (10-0-1). . . . Spokane (16-11-4) had won its previous two games. . . . Everett leads the Western Conference by seven points over the idle Vancouver Giants (21-6-2), who have four games in hand. . . . Everett is atop the U.S. Division by 13 points over the Portland Winterhawks (18-10-2), who hold three games in hand. . . . This season, Wolf, a 17-year-old sophomore, is 23-7-1, 1.84, .928. He has three shutouts this season and seven in his career. . . . The shutout yesterday lowered his career GAA to 1.99 in 51 appearances, 31 of them this season. . . . F Bryce Kindopp scored both goals, at 14:34 and 19:48 of the third period. The second one was into an empty net. He’s got 13 goals. . . . Spokane got 38 saves from G Bailey Brkin. . . . The Chiefs were playing their third game in fewer than 48 hours. They went 2-1-0. They also were in their fourth game in five nights. They were 2-2-0 in those four games, with the other loss also at the hands of the Silvertips, 4-2 in Everett on Wednesday. . . . The Silvertips were without F Sean Richards, who drew a TBA suspension after he took a boarding major and game misconduct on Saturday night against the Seattle Thunderbirds. Richards hit D Loeden Schaufler at 10:10 of the second period; Schaufler left the game and didn’t return. . . . The Silvertips also were without F Martin Fasko-Rudas, who has missed two straight games.

Rockets, Crickard part company . . . Raiders complete sweep of Wheaties . . . Americans beat ‘Canes in wild one

ThisThat

The Kelowna Rockets and assistant coach Travis Crickard “have mutually parted ways,” KelownaRocketsaccording to a news release issued by the team late Saturday afternoon. . . . Crickard was in his fifth season with the Rockets. In his first season (2014-15) as an assistant coach and goaltending coach, the Rockets won the Ed Chynoweth Cup. . . . Kris Mallette, the Rockets’ other assistant coach, also is in his fifth season. . . . The Rockets didn’t refer to hiring another assistant, but perhaps Adam Foote, who took over as head coach on Oct. 23, will be looking for someone with whom he is familiar.

COUNTDOWN TO DEADLINE

(WHL trade deadline: Jan. 10, 3 p.m. MT)

Saturday’s action:

No. of trades: 0.

Players: 0.

Bantam draft picks: 0.

Conditional draft picks: 0.

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Total deals (since Nov. 26):

No. of trades: 10.

Players: 31.

Bantam draft picks: 18.

Conditional draft picks: 4.

(Note: On Nov. 30, Kelowna traded F Jack Cowell, 19, to Kootenay for a third-round selection in the 2020 bantam draft. Cowell chose not to report and the deal was voided, so isn’t included in these totals.)

If you stop off here and enjoy what you see — or even if you don’t — feel free to click on the DONATE button over there on the right and make a contribution. Thanks in advance.

SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

The Saskatoon Blades scored four times in the second period en route to a 5-2 victory Saskatoonover the Warriors in Moose Jaw. . . . Saskatoon (18-10-3) had lost 3-2 to the visiting Warriors on Friday. . . . Moose Jaw (16-7-5) had points in its previous two games (1-0-1). . . . The teams had been tied for second in the East Division going in, although Moose Jaw does have three games in hand. . . . F Keenan Taphorn (8) gave the Warriors at 2-1 lead at 17:34 of the first period. . . . The Blades responded with four second-period goals, from F Zach Huber (6), at 8:24; D Brandon Schuldhaus (4), at 10:58; F Gary Haden (8), at 11:14; and F Josh Paterson (9), at 15:57. . . . F Tristin Langan (21) scored Moose Jaw’s last goal, on a PP, at 6:36 of the third. . . . F Riley McKay scored his fifth goal for Saskatoon in his 31st game. Last seaosn, he finished with four goals in 62 games for the Spokane Chiefs. . . . G Dorrin Luding blocked 28 shots to record the victory. He is 4-2-1, 2.57, .927, with two victories in Moose Jaw. He had 24 saves in a 5-2 victory on Nov. 2. . . . Saskatoon took the game’s only minor penalty. . . . Tim Hunter, the Warriors’ head coach, now is off to join Canada’s national junior team, along with D Josh Brook. Hunter is Canada’s head coach. On-ice work begins Tuesday in Victoria. . . . The Blades are at home to the East Division-leading Raiders today in what will be the third game in fewer than 48 hours for both teams.

F Brett Leason ran his point streak to 30 games as the host Prince Albert Raiders beat the PrinceAlbertBrandon Wheat Kings, 5-2. . . . Prince Albert (28-1-1) now has points in 22 straight games (21-0-1). The Raiders are 14-0-0 at home. . . . Brandon (14-9-6) has lost two in a row. . . . The Raiders had won, 5-2, in Brandon on Friday night. . . . Leason drew an assist on the Raiders’ third goal, a PP score, and another one on their final goal, and now has at least one point in each game the team has played this season. The WHL record (56 games) was set by Raiders F Jeff Nelson in 1990-91. . . . The Raiders erased a 1-0 deficit with three goals on 24 second-period shots. . . . F Cole Fonstad tied it at 14:31, F Kody McDonald (6) gave the home side a 2-1 lead at 15:11 and F Sean Montgomery, on a PP, provided a 3-1 lead. . . . Montgomery has 13 goals in 30 games. He had 12 goals in 2015-16, 13 in 2016-17, and 12 last season. . . . F Luka Burzan (18) pulled Brandon to within a goal at 16:50 of the second. . . . Fonstad (10) got that one back at 1:56 of the third and F Noah Gregor, who also had two assists, made it 5-2 with his 14th goal at 14:30. That was the 100th regular-season goal of his career. . . . Brandon G Jiri Patera stopped 42 shots, three more than the Raiders’ Ian Scott. . . . The Wheat Kings were without F Cole Reinhardt as he served a one-game suspension for a boarding major and game misconduct that he incurred on Friday night. . . . F Bode Hagan, a 16-year-old from Alsike, Alta., made his Brandon debut. He was an eighth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft. This season, he has five goals and 27 assists in 18 games with the Edmonton-OHA prep team. . . . Darren Steinke, the travellin’ blogger, was at the game and filed this piece right here.

F Trey Fix-Wolansky scored 30 seconds into OT to give the Edmonton Oil Kings a 3-2 EdmontonOilKingsvictory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Oil Kings (16-11-5) have points in three straight (2-0-1). . . . The Blazers have points in four straight (4-0-1). . . . F Jalen Luypen gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead with the Teddy Bear goal at 13:28 of the second period. The goal came on Edmonton’s 29th shot as the Oil Kings struggled to solve Kamloops G Dylan Ferguson, who was back after a three-game absence. . . . F Orrin Centazzo (9) tied it 1-1 at 18:41. . . . F Carter Souch gave Edmonton a 2-1 lead at 15:50 of the third period, only to have the Blazers tie it when F Martin Lang (5) scored with 12.7 seconds left in the period. . . . Fix-Wolansky won it with his 21st goal. . . . Ferguson finished with 37 saves. . . . Kamloops F Jermaine Loewen was ejected with a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct at 8:07 of the second period. Earlier this season, he served a four-game suspension for a headshot on Portland Winterhawks D Matthew Quigley in an Oct. 5 game.

F Ryan Jevne scored twice to help the host Medicine Hat Tigers to a 4-2 victory over the Tigers Logo OfficialRegina Pats. . . . Medicine Hat (15-14-3) has won two in a row. . . . The Pats (8-22-1) have lost eight straight (0-7-1). . . . F Jadon Joseph (12) gave Regina a 1-0 lead at 1:33 of the first period. . . . The Tigers went ahead 2-1 on goals from F James Hamblin (15), shorthanded, at 19:11 of the second and Jevne at 1:50 of the third. . . . F Sergei Alkhimov (7) tied it at 8:25. . . . The Tigers won it with goals 1:16 apart. F Logan Christensen (3) broke the tie at 13:38 and Jevne (14) added insurance at 14:54. . . . The Pats got 42 saves from G Dean McNabb. . . . Medicine Hat G Mads Sogaard stopped 23 shots and earned his second WHL assist in three games. . . . Regina F Riley Krane was unsuccessful on a second-period penalty shot with his side leading, 1-0.

The line of Brandon Hagel, Cam Hausinger and Brett Davis combined for 11 points in Red Deerleading the Red Deer Rebels to a 6-2 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Rebels (19-9-2) have points in three straight (2-0-1). . . . The Broncos (5-23-2) have lost two in a row. . . . The Rebels held a 40-23 edge in shots, including 20-4 in the third period. . . . Hagel, who has 21 goals, scored twice and added two assists for the 12th four-point game of his career. . . . Davis scored his 10th goal and added three assists, and Hausinger scored twice, giving him 11, and added an assist. . . . Davis and Hausinger were acquired on Nov. 30 from the Kootenay Ice. . . . Red Deer grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period before F Alec Zawatsky (9) scored, on a PP, for the Broncos. . . . The Rebels promptly put it away with the next three goals — two from Hausinger and one from Davis. . . . Davis has three goals and five assists in four games with Red Deer, while Hausinger has three goals and an assist in two games.

G Shane Farkas stopped 22 shots to help the host Portland Winterhawks to a 3-0 victory Portlandover the Prince George Cougars. . . . Portland (18-10-2) has won four in a row, outscoring opponents 26-6 in the process. . . . Prince George (11-16-3) has lost two straight. . . . On Friday, the Winterhawks beat the visiting Cougars, 5-2. . . . Farkas has two shutouts this season and five in his career. . . . F Jake Gricius (14) opened the scoring at 16:38 of the first period. . . . F Ryan Hughes (10), on a PP, made it 2-0 at 13:40 of the second and F Jaydon Dureau (6) finished the scoring at 19:35. . . . Portland F Cody Glass had an assist to run his point streak to 16 games. He has eight goals and 26 assists over that stretch. . . . The Cougars were 0-6 on the PP. . . . The Winterhawks were without D Brendan De Jong, who didn’t finish Friday’s game. . . . F Jackson Leppard was back in the Cougars’ lineup after serving a one-game suspension.

G Dustin Wolf blocked 43 shots to lead the Everett Silvertips to a 2-1 victory over the EverettSeattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash. . . . Everett (24-7-1) has points in 10 straight (9-0-1). . . . The Thunderbirds now are 10-14-3. . . . The Silvertips are 3-0-0 in the season series. . . . This season, Wolf is 22-7-1, 1.90, .926. . . . F Sean Richards, who later was tossed from the game, opened the scoring at 16:25 of the first period. He’s got 10 goals. . . . F Nolan Volcan (7) pulled Seattle into a tie at 3:59 of the second. . . . F Max Patterson (9) won it when he scored on a breakaway at 7:46 of the third. That was Patterson’s first goal in his second game since being acquired from the Swift Current Broncos on Dec. 3. . . . Seattle was 0-2 on the PP; Everett was 0-1. . . . Richards was hit with a boarding major and game misconduct at 10:10 of the second period after a hit on D Loeden Schaufler. . . . This season, Richards already has served a five-game suspension for a headshot major against Seattle on Oct. 5. Last season, he drew a four-game sentence for a checking-from-behind major against Seattle on Feb. 16, two games after he took a match penalty against Swift Current on Jan. 21, and one game for a headshot major against Regina on Nov. 19.

F Eli Zummack scored in OT to give the host Spokane Chiefs a 4-3 victory over the SpokaneChiefsKootenay Ice. . . . The Chiefs (16-10-4) have won two in a row. . . . The Ice (7-20-6) has lost 11 straight (0-8-3). . . . F Peyton Krebs (12) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 10:23 of the first period. Krebs also had two assists. He now has 35 points in 29 games. . . . Spokane D Bobby Russell, who was acquired from the Ice on June 25, scored the Teddy Bear goal at 2:05 of the second period. It was his third goal of the season. . . . F Jaeger White (12), who also had two assists, gave the Ice a 2-1 lead, on a PP, at 11:06. . . . Spokane went ahead 3-2 on third-period goals from F Luc Smith (12), at 0:31 of the third period, and F Cordel Larson (5), at 3:13. . . . Kootenay tied it when F Brad Ginnell (6) struck with 8.6 seconds left in the third period. . . . Zummack won it with his ninth goal at 2:35 of extra time. He’s got a goal and five assists over his past two games.

F Isaac Johnson’s OT goal ended a wild affair and gave the Tri-City Americans an 8-7 tri-cityvictory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Tri-City (15-12-2) had lost its previous five games (0-3-2). . . . Lethbridge (15-9-6) has lost two in a row (0-1-1). . . . The Americans ended up in OT despite having scored five second-period goals, three of them on the PP. . . . The teams combined for 15 goals on 87 shots, with 44 of those from the Americans, who went 3-6 on the PP. . . . Tri-City held a 7-4 lead after F Parker AuCoin (16) scored at 13:54 of the third period. . . . F Jake Elmer cut Lethbridge’s deficit to two at 14:22, and F Taylor Ross (17) made it a one-goal game just 37 seconds later. . . . Elmer completed a hat trick with his 15th goal at 17:49 to force OT. . . . Johnson won it with his 12th goal, at 1:10 of OT. . . . The Americans got for assists from F Krystof Hrabik, with F Nolan Yaremko scoring twice, giving him 15, and adding an assist. F Kyle Olson (6), AuCoin and D Aaron Hyman (7) each had a goal and two assists. . . . Olson’s score, on a PP at 1:39 of the second, was the Teddy Bear goal. . . . Elmer also had two assists, for a five-point night, while Ross added three assists to his goal, and F Dylan Cozens scored his 16th goal and had two assists. . . . Interestingly, both starting goaltenders went the distance. . . . Tri-City’s Beck Warm finished with 36 saves, one fewer than Lethbridge’s Reece Klassen. . . . There were 59 faceoffs in the game, with 14 of those following goals.

F Jared Dmytriw’s OT goal gave the Vancouver Giants a 2-1 victory over the visiting VancouverVictoria Royals. . . . Vancouver (21-6-2) has won seven straight. . . . Victoria (13-12-1) has lost four in a row (0-3-1). . . . The Giants, who normally play in the Langley Events Centre, moved this one to their former home, Pacific Coliseum, for the Teddy Bear toss. . . . F Tarun Fizer (4) gave the Royals a 1-0 lead at 13:29 of the third period. . . . Just when it looked like the Giants might get blanked in a Teddy Bear game, D Bowen Byram (9) tied the game at 18:41. . . . It was Byram’s second straight Teddy Bear goal. . . . Dmytriw, the Giants captain and a former Royals skater, won it with his seventh goal at 3:02 of OT. Dmytriw also had the primary assist on Byram’s goal. . . . The Giants got 25 saves from G David Tendeck. . . . Victoria G Griffen Outhouse stopped 36 shots. . . . The Royals went 1-3-1 on a five-game road trip that ended with this game. They were outscored 13-11 in the five games. . . . D Ralph Jarratt was back for a second straight game with the Royals. . . . With F Dawson Holt injured, the Giants had F Krz Plummer in the lineup. Plummer, 16, is from Whitecourt, Alta., and has nine goals and 15 assists in 21 games at the Delta, B.C., Hockey Academy. A third-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft, Plummer was pointless in one game with the Giants last season.

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Fettes: No announcement pending . . . Raiders get back on winning track . . . Tyszka returns to Seattle lineup

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While Thursday was the day for speculation, Friday was for denials.

On Thursday, you’ll recall, the Winnipeg Free Press reported that, according to its sources, Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell, the owners of the WHL’s Cranbrook-based KootenaynewKootenay Ice, would announce on Monday that the franchise is to be relocated to the Manitoba capital in time for next season.

On Friday, Fettes and the WHL issued denials.

According to a story by Bradley Jones and David Opinko of Cranbrook radio station Summit 107FM, Fettes said: “I’m saying there’s no announcement on Monday or anything pending.”

The Free Press also was able to reach Fettes.

“I’m saying there’s no announcement on Monday or anything pending,” Fettes told the newspaper, which added that “Fettes was not willing to discuss his plans for the team . . .”

Meanwhile, the WHL emailed a statement to Summit 107 that was identical to one that was issued in October:

“The WHL is very pleased with the commitment Greg Fettes and his ownership group has made to Cranbrook and the Kootenay region since acquiring the ICE franchise in 2017.

“The WHL is looking forward to the Kootenay ICE continuing to operate this season in Cranbrook.

“The WHL Commissioner continues to monitor the situation in Kootenay very closely and reports to the Board of Governors as required on any new developments. The discussions which take place on WHL franchises are internal and will remain confidential. With respect to the Kootenay ICE franchise, there is nothing new to report at this time.”

While it appears that nothing is imminent in terms of a relocation announcement, the Ice is expected to move to Winnipeg and play out of an arena at the U of Manitoba until a new facility is completed on the southwest side of Winnipeg.

Speculation about a move intensified a month ago when the Green Bay Committee called it quits, citing a lack of co-operation from the Ice’s ownership. The Green Bay Committee had hoped to help the Ice through the selling of sponsorships and tickets.

In a Nov. 13 email to Cockell, the committee wrote that “the absence of active engagement by you and Greg with our committee has become a major issue in our community. We believe that this failure has become the biggest obstacle in our ability to achieve a highly successful sales campaign and to create an effective steering committee.

“As a result, we are terminating our Green Bay Committee effective immediately. However, we will consider re-activating our committee if you provide us with a real commitment that you and Greg are prepared to immediately join us and work with us, as partners, and have no plans to move ‘Our ICE’ from Cranbrook.”

COUNTDOWN TO DEADLINE

(WHL trade deadline: Jan. 10, 3 p.m. MT)

Friday’s action:

No. of trades: 0.

Players: 0.

Bantam draft picks: 0.

Conditional draft picks: 0.

——

Total deals (since Nov. 26):

No. of trades: 10.

Players: 31.

Bantam draft picks: 18.

Conditional draft picks: 4.

(Note: On Nov. 30, Kelowna traded F Jack Cowell, 19, to Kootenay for a third-round selection in the 2020 bantam draft. Cowell chose not to report and the deal was voided, so isn’t included in these totals.)

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D Anthony Bishop, 20, has joined the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors. Bishop split 174 regular-season WHL games among the Saskatoon Blades, Victoria Royals, Seattle Thunderbirds and Tri-City Americans. Bishop, from Kelowna, lost out when the Americans acquired D Aaron Hyman from the Regina Pats, a move that left Tri-City with four 20s, one over the maximum. . . . Bishop was placed on waivers and there weren’t any takers. . . . Last season, he had one assist in four games with Victoria and 15 assists in 62 games with Tri-City. . . . Injuries limited him to only two games with the Americans this season.

FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

The Prince Albert Raiders scored the game’s first five goals and went on to a 5-2 victory PrinceAlbertover the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . Prince Albert (27-1-1) has points in 21 straight games (20-0-1). The Raiders were coming off a 3-2 shootout loss in Swift Current on Tuesday. . . . Brandon (14-8-6) had won its previous four games. . . . F Eric Pearce (3) got the Raiders started at 3:35 of the first period. . . . The Raiders outshot their hosts 22-7 in the second period and scored four more times, with F Sean Montgomery (12), F Cole Fonstad (8), F Noah Gregor (13) and F Ozzy Wiesblatt (6) finding the range. Fonstad, Gregor and Wiesblatt are linemates. . . . F Connor Gutenberg (8) got Brandon on the scoreboard at 19:47 of the second, and F Ben McCartney (7) added a shorthanded score at 18:14 of the third. . . . Brandon lost F Cole Reinhardt to a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct for a hit on D Brayden Pachal at 16:47 of the third period. . . .  Montgomery’s goal gave him 30 points in 29 games; last season, he finished with 29 in 72. . . . F Brett Leason of the Raiders was held to one assist, but that was enough for him to run his point streak to 29 games. . . . He also moved back into the WHL scoring lead, his 62 points one more than F Trey Fix-Wolansky of the idle Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Raiders G Donovan Buskey, who normally backs up Ian Scott, stopped 24 shots and now is 5-0-0. . . . The same teams will meet again tonight in Prince Albert.

The Moose Jaw Warriors erased a 2-0 first-period deficit to beat the Blades, 3-2, in MooseJawWarriorsSaskatoon. . . . Moose Jaw (16-6-5) had lost its previous two games (0-1-1). . . . Saskatoon (17-10-3) had points in each of its previous three games (2-0-1). . . . The Warriors pulled into a second-place tie with the Blades in the East Division. Moose Jaw holds three games in hand. . . . F Eric Florchuk (9), at 4:31, and F Josh Paterson (8), at 9:29, gave the Blades the first-period lead. . . . F Luke Ormsby (5) pulled the Warriors to within a goal at 12:28 of the first period. . . . F Tristin Langan (20) tied it, on a PP, at 15:41 of the second. . . . F Brayden Tracey (10) broke the tie, on another PP, at 9:37 of the third. . . . Moose Jaw was 2-3 on the PP; Saskatoon was 0-5. . . . The Blades had a 35-25 edge in shots, including 14-5 in the third period. . . . Langan also had two assists, as did Moose Jaw D Jett Woo, who has six points over his past two games. . . . G Brodan Salmond, in his first appearance since Nov. 23, stopped 33 shots to earn the victory. . . . Ormsby has goals in three straight games — one with the Everett Silvertips and two since being dealt to the Warriors. . . . The same teams will play again tonight in Moose Jaw. . . . Darren Steinke, the travellin’ blogger, was at Friday’s game and his piece is right here.

F Josh Prokop broke a 2-2 tie at 19:37 of the third period to give the host Calgary Hitmen Calgarya 3-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Calgary (13-14-3) has won three in a row. . . . The Broncos (5-22-2) were coming off a 3-2 shootout victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders on Tuesday. . . . Last night, Calgary led in shots, 45-13, including 14-2 in the second period and 20-7 in the third. G Isaac Poulter stopped 42 shots for Swift Current. . . . F Ethan O’Rourke (1) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 14:39 of the second period. . . . F Riley Stotts (8) tied it for Calgary at 16:01. . . . The Broncos went back out front when F Joona Kiviniemi (6) scored at 8:01 of the third. . . . Calgary D Egor Zamula (5) tied it at 8:42, and Prokop won it with his sixth goal.

F Brett Davis scored the lone goal of a shootout as the host Red Deer Rebels beat the Red DeerRegina Pats, 4-3. . . . Red Deer (18-9-2) had lost its previous two games (0-1-1). . . . Regina (8-21-1) has lost seven in a row. . . . The Rebels overcame a 3-1 deficit with two goals in the last half of the third period. . . . F Brandon Hagel (19) had given the Rebels a 1-0 lead at 18:26 of the first period. . . . The Pats roared back with the next three goals. . . . F Austin Pratt (12) and F Sergei Alkhimov (6) scored in the second period, and F Scott Mahovlich (4) made it 3-1 at 1:12 of the third period. . . . F Cam Hausinger (9), in his first game since coming over with Davis in a deal with the Kootenay Ice, cut Red Deer’s deficit to one goal, at 11:49. . . . F Alex Morozoff (5) tied it at 17:07. . . . Red Deer won 48 of the game’s 71 faceoffs. . . . Davis was the first shooter in the shootout’s second round.

 

G Roman Basran stopped 16 shots to help the Kelowna Rockets to a 2-0 victory over the KelownaRocketsvisiting Victoria Royals. . . . Kelowna (14-15-2) has points in four straight (3-0-1). The Rockets are second in the B.C. Division, four points ahead of Victoria and the idle Kamloops Blazers. . . . Victoria (13-12-0), which has six games in hand on Kelowna, has lost three in a row. . . . F Lane Zablocki, a 20-year-old who was acquired from Victoria prior to the season, scored his third goal of the season at 8:31 of the third period. . . . The Rockets gave up a seventh-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft and a fourth-rounder in 2021 to get Zablocki from the Royals on Sept. 28. . . . F Nolan Foote (18) added an empty-netter, on a PP, at 19:00. . . . Basran posted his first shutout of the season and the second of his career. . . . G Griffen Outhouse, Victoria’s workhorse, returned from a three-game absence to stop 30 shots. . . . Royals F Tanner Sidaway, who didn’t finish a 3-2 loss to the Blazers in Kamloops on Wednesday, was in Victoria’s lineup. . . . If you’re wondering, the Rockets are 10-5-2 under head coach Adam Foote, who replaced Jason Smith (4-10-0) on Oct. 23.

F Jake Gricius drew three assists in leading the host Portland Winterhawks to a 5-2 Portlandvictory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Winterhawks (17-10-2) have won three in a row. . . . The Cougars (11-15-3) are back in Portland again tonight. . . . Gricius enjoyed the first three-assist game of his career. He has three three-point games, two of them this season. . . . The Winterhawks took control with the game’s first three goals. . . . F Joachim Blickheld (26) got it started on a PP at 14:52 of the first period. . . . F Seth Jarvis (5), on another PP, made it 2-0 at 16:51. . . . F Robbie Fromm-Delorme (2) upped it to 3-0 at 2:58 of the second. . . . F Josh Maser (9) pulled the Cougars to within two goals, on a PP, at 8:54. . . . F Cody Glass (12) restored the three-goal lead while Portland was two-men short, at 11:06, and D John Ludvig (2) made it 5-1 at 17:34. . . . F Vladislav Mikhalchuk (9) got Prince George’s other goal, at 18:09 of the third. . . . Portland was 2-2 on the PP; Prince George was 2-8. . . . The Cougars were without F Jackson Leppard, who served a one-game WHL-issued suspension for a game misconduct he incurred at the end of a 5-3 victory over the visiting Victoria Royals on Dec. 2. . . . Portland D Brendan De Jong left late in the second period and didn’t return.

F Luc Smith and F Riley Woods each scored twice and added an assist to lead the host SpokaneChiefsSpokane Chiefs to a 6-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Chiefs (15-10-4) had lost their previous three games (0-2-1). . . . The Hurricanes (15-9-5) had points in seven straight (6-0-1). . . . F Eli Zummack had a career-high four assists for the Chiefs. It also was the first four-point game of his career, and it came in his 137th game. . . . Zummack was in on the game’s first three goals — two of them by Smith, who has 11 goals, and one from F Jake McGrew (8). . . . Woods, who has 23 goals, made it 4-0 at 4:05 of the second period. . . . Lethbridge cut the deficit in half on second-period goals by D Igor Merezhko (1) and F Jackson Shepard (2). . . . Spokane put it was on goals from Woods and F Cordel Larson (3) in the latter half of the third period. . . . The Chiefs were 3-4 on the PP; the Hurricanes were 1-3.

The Seattle Thunderbirds outshot their hosts 43-22 in skating to a 4-1 victory over the Tri-SeattleCity Americans in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Seattle (10-13-3) is fifth in the U.S. Division, seven points behind Tri-City (14-12-2). . . . Seattle G Cole Schwebius stopped 21 shots in recording his first WHL victory. In five appearances, the 17-year-old from Kelowna is 1-2-1, 2.62, .915. . . . F Zack Andrusiak (19) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead just 14 seconds into the game. . . . F Nolan Yaremko (13) tied it, on a PP, at 9:55 of the second. . . . The Thunderbirds won it with three third-period goals, from F Dillon Hamaliuk (9), at 1:42; D Simon Kubicek (7), at 11:24; and F Matthew Wedman (9), into an empty net, at 17:39. . . . D Jarret Tyszka was in Seattle’s lineup for the first time this season. Tyszka, 19, is one of the WHL’s best defenders, but hadn’t played since suffering a concussion while in camp with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens on Sept. 9.

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Report: Ice announcement coming Monday . . . Rockets, Hurricanes make deal . . . Søgaard, Alexeyev get WJC opportunities

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The Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that the worst fears of Kootenay-based WHL fans will be made official on Monday.

In a story carrying the bylines of Jeff Hamilton and Mike Sawatzky, the newspaper is Kootenaynewreporting that “the owners of the Kootenay Ice are preparing to announce Monday they are moving their Western Hockey League franchise to Winnipeg in time for the 2019-20 season, league sources have told the Free Press.”

The WHL franchise will play out of the Wayne Fleming Arena on the U of Manitoba campus for likely two seasons while a new arena is being built in the Manitoba capital’s southwest corner.

The Free Press also reports that Ice owners Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell, who is the president and general manager, “have not commented publicly on news reports and WHL commissioner Rob Robison has not made himself available for an interview on the subject.”

The Free Press story is right here.

COUNTDOWN TO DEADLINE

(WHL trade deadline: Jan. 10, 3 p.m. MT)

Thursday’s action:

No. of trades: 1.

Players: 1.

Bantam draft picks: 1.

Conditional draft picks: 0.

——

Total deals (since Nov. 26):

No. of trades: 10.

Players: 31.

Bantam draft picks: 18.

Conditional draft picks: 4.

(Note: On Nov. 30, Kelowna traded F Jack Cowell, 19, to Kootenay for a third-round selection in the 2020 bantam draft. Cowell chose not to report and the deal was voided, so isn’t included in these totals.)

——

The Kelowna Rockets have acquired the WHL rights to F Alex Swetlikoff from the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a fourth-round selection in the 2022 bantam draft.

Swetlikoff, a 17-year-old from Kelowna, has committed to the U of Denver for the 2020-21 KelownaRocketsseason. He was a third-round pick by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2016 bantam draft. Seattle traded his rights to Lethbridge on May 3, getting back D Kirby Proctor, who is from Okotoks, Alta. He is with the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers, and has committed to attend the U of Nebraska-Omaha for 2020-21.

This season, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Swetlikoff is playing with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers, with whom he has eight goals and 12 assists in 27 games. He will play for Canada West at the World Junior Challenge that opens this weekend in Bonnyville, Alta.

The Rockets will be the host team for the 2020 Memorial Cup, so you can bet that will be a major selling point as the organization works to recruit Swetlikoff.

The Medicine Hat Tigers have dropped F Dawson Heathcote from their roster. He is expected to join the junior B Nanaimo Buccaneers of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. . . . Heathcote, 18, is from Nanaimo. . . . Last season, as a freshman with the Tigers, he had six goals and three assists in 47 games. This season, he had two assists in 27 games. . . . Heathcote was a seventh-round pick by the Tigers in the 2015 WHL bantam draft.

Two more WHLers are on national junior team selection-camp rosters. . . . G Mads Søgaard of the Medicine Hat Tigers will attend Denmark’s selection camp, while D Alex Alexeyev will be in camp with the Russian national junior team. . . . Søgaard is to join the Danish team after the Tigers game against the visiting Kelowna Rockets on Dec. 15. Should he make the Danish team, he could miss as many as six of the Tigers’ games after the Christmas break. . . . The 2019 World Junior Championship is to open in Vancouver and Victoria on Dec. 26.

F Spencer Gerth of the Trinity Western Spartans is on the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League’s Young Stars’ roster that will play against Kazakhstan’s national junior team on Dec. 17. . . . Gerth, 20, played the previous three seasons in the WHL, with the Everett Silvertips and Victoria Royals. . . . This season, he has two goals and five assists in 11 games. . . .  The Young Stars will be part of a College Hockey Showcase that also is to include U of Victoria, with the three games at the Langley Events Centre. . . . Kazakhstan is scheduled to meet the Victoria on Dec. 11 and Trinity Western on Dec. 13, then will play the Young Stars on Dec. 17. All three games are to start at 7 p.m., and will be streamed at hockeytv.com. . . . Kazakhstan opens the 2019 World Junior Championship against Finland in Victoria on Dec. 27.

As part of the Kazakhstan visit, organizers are holding Hockey Day in Langley on Dec. 10. From a news release: “The Kazakhstan . . . team will be partnering with BC Hockey to host a Hockey Day in Langley event that will allow local minor hockey teams and academies an opportunity to meet the Kazakhstan team and take part in a skills competition. Coaches will also have a chance to meet and learn from some international-level coaches.” . . . For more info, email Barret Kropf at barret.kropf@twu.ca.

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Deal between Ice, Rockets voided . . . Fix-Wolansky, Woo trying to prove point? . . . Silvertips double up on Chiefs

MacBeth

G Barry Brust (Spokane, Calgary, 2000-04) has been released by Kunlun Red Star Beijing (China, KHL). In nine games, he was 4-3-1, 3.11, .895. . . .

D Tomáš Kundrátek (Medicine Hat, 2008-10) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Třinec (Czech Republic, Extraliga) after requesting and receiving his release from Kunlun Red Star Beijing (China, KHL). He had three assists in 25 games while averaging 20:05 TOI. . . .

D Marek Hrbas (Edmonton, Kamloops, 2010-13) a signed contract for the rest of this season with Amur Khabarovsk (Russia, KHL) after obtaining his release from Vítkovice Ostrava (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had one goal and three assists in 22 games with Vítkovice this season.

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Taking Note has been told that a Nov. 30 trade between the Kelowna Rockets and Kootenay Ice has been stamped null and void.

On Nov. 30, the Rockets traded F Jack Cowell, a 19-year-old from Winnipeg, to the Ice for Kootenaynewa third-round pick in the 2020 WHL bantam draft.

Cowell, however, chose not to report. Rather, Taking Note was told Wednesday night that he has gone home to Winnipeg.

As a result, although nothing has been announced by the league or either team, the trade has been voided and, in fact, has been removed from the transaction page on the WHL’s website.

The Ice was at home to the Lethbridge Hurricanes last night. There was no mention of Cowell anywhere in the Ice’s digital pre-game notes package.

This season, Cowell had two goals and three assists in 26 games. In 182 career games with Kelowna, he had 18 goals and 38 assists.

In the lead up to Hockey Canada naming the selection-camp roster for its national junior team, many observers of the WHL anticipated that F Trey Fix-Wolansky of the Edmonton Oil Kings and D Jett Woo of the Moose Jaw Warriors would be on the list.

However, their names were conspicuous by their absence when the camp roster was revealed on Monday.

Judging by their performances on Wednesday night, both players are using the snubs for motivation.

Fix-Wolansky had a goal and three assists to lead the host Oil Kings to a 6-1 victory over the Regina Pats. Meanwhile, in Moose Jaw, Woo had a goal and three assists in the Warriors’ 6-5 OT loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Fix-Wolansky, who has six four-point games to his credit, moved back into a tie for the WHL scoring lead. He and F Brett Leason of the Prince Albert Raiders have 61 points apiece. Leason leads the WHL in goals (28); Fix-Wolansky has a WHL-leading 41 assists in 31 games.

This was Woo’s first career four-point outing. He’s got five goals and 15 assists in 22 games.

Woo was a second-round pick by the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL’s 2018 draft. The Columbus Blue-Jackets took Fix-Wolansky in the seventh round.

COUNTDOWN TO DEADLINE

(WHL trade deadline: Jan. 10, 3 p.m. MT)

Wednesday’s action

No. of trades: 0.

Players: 0.

Bantam draft picks: 0.

Conditional draft picks: 0.

——

Total deals (since Nov. 26):

No. of trades: 9.

Players: 30.

Bantam draft picks: 17.

Conditional draft picks: 4.

(Note: On Nov. 30, Kelowna traded F Jack Cowell, 19, to Kootenay for a third-round selection in the 2020 bantam draft. Cowell chose not to report and the deal was voided.)

Jeremy Fraser of the Cape Breton Post wrote an interesting piece this week about American players in the CHL. . . . It seems that QMJHL teams are struggling to attract Americans, especially from the New England area. . . . Using rosters as of Monday afternoon, Fraser reported that the QMJHL’s 18 teams had only seven American players on rosters. . . . The 20-team OHL, Don Cherry’s favourite junior league, was home to 52 American players at that point, while the WHL’s 22 teams had 37 on rosters as of Monday. . . . Fraser’s complete story is right here.

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WEDNESDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

F Ryan Jevne’s second goal of the game gave the Medicine Hat Tigers a 6-5 OT victory Tigers Logo Officialover the Warriors in Moose Jaw. . . . Medicine Hat improved to 14-14-3. . . . Moose Jaw (15-7-4) has lost two in a row. . . . D Jett Woo had a goal, his fifth, and three assists for the Warriors. . . . D Joel Craven, playing only his third game after being out since Oct. 19, scored his first goal of the season for the Tigers. . . . F James Hamblin (14) gave the Tigers a 5-3 lead, on a PP, at 16:10 of the second period. . . . D Josh Brook (9) got Moose Jaw to within a goal, on a PP, at 18:08. . . . F Keennan Taphorn (7) pulled the Warriors into a tie at 4:01 of the third. . . . Jevne, who has 12 goals, won it on a PP at 1:16 of OT. He also had an assist. . . . D Daniel Baker scored his first career goal and added two assists for the Tigers. A 17-year-old freshman from Edmonton, Baker’s first goal and first multi-point night came in his 42nd game, 31 of them this season. . . . F Ryan Chyzowski had three assists for Medicine Hat. . . . Warriors F Tristin Langan scored his 19th goal and added an assist as he played his 200th regular-season game. . . . F Kjell Kjemhus, who was acquired this week from the Prince George Cougars, and F Luke Ormsby, who came over from the Everett Silvertips, both made their Moose Jaw debuts. . . . They started on a line with F Tate Popple, who was back after a one-game absence. . . . Ormsby’s fourth goal of the season, at 19:44 of the first period, cut into the Tigers’ 3-1 lead. . . . Medicine Hat, which held a 46-45 edge in shots, was 2-3 on the PP. The Warriors were 3-4.

The host Edmonton Oil Kings scored the game’s last six goals as they beat the Regina Pats, EdmontonOilKings6-1. . . . Edmonton (15-11-5) had lost its previous five games (0-3-2). . . . Regina (8-21-0) has lost six in a row. . . . F Riley Krane (4) gave the Pats a 1-0 lead at 8:00 of the first period. . . . But it was all Oil Kings after that point. . . . F Trey Fix Wolansky, who also had three assists, tied it with his 20th goal at 19:47. . . . F Dylan Guenther, the first overall selection in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft, broke the tie with his first career goal at 5:47, on a PP. Guenther scored in his third game; he also played on Nov. 2 and 3. . . . Guenther, from Edmonton, has 20 goals and 18 assists in 18 games with the Northern Alberta X-Treme prep team. . . . The Oil Kings were 3-5 on the PP. . . . F Vince Loschiavo scored his 13th goal and added two assists. . . . The Oil Kings were without F Vladimir Alistrov and F Andrei Pavlenko, both of whom are with the Belarusian team at the IIHF World Junior Championship (Division 1 Group A) that opens Sunday in Fussen, Germany. . . . Regina F Sebastian Streu also is there as he hopes to crack Germany’s roster.

F Dylan Cozens scored in OT to give the Lethbridge Hurricanes a 3-2 victory over the LethbridgeKootenay Ice in Cranbrook, B.C. . . . Lethbridge (15-8-5) has points in seven straight (6-0-1). . . . Kootenay (7-20-5) has lost 10 in a row (0-8-2). . . . The visitors took a 1-0 lead when D Alex Cotton (2) scored at 8:24 of the first period. . . . The Ice went in front on second-period goals from F Cole Muir (6) and F Jakin Smallwood (2). . . . F Jake Leschyshyn (18) got Lethbridge into a tie at 16:28 of the second. . . . Cozens won it with his 15th goal at 1:17 of extra time. . . . Leschyshyn also drew the primary assist on the winner. . . . The Hurricanes got 28 saves from G Reece Klassen, eight fewer than the Ice’s Jesse Makaj. . . . The Ice is without F Connor McClennon, who has one foot in a walking boot.

F Josh Pillar broke a 2-2 tie at 8:53 of the third period as the host Kamloops Blazers beat Kamloops1the Victoria Royals, 3-2. . . . Kamloops (12-11-2) has won three in a row, all at home where it is 5-6-1 after starting 2-6-1. . . . Victoria (13-11-0) has lost two in a row. . . . The Blazers overcame a 2-0 deficit to win this one. . . . Victoria led 2-0 on first-period goals from F D-Jay Jerome (12) and F Phillip Schultz (5). . . . F Kyrell Sopotyk (3) got the Blazers on the scoreboard at 7:07 of the second period. . . . F Jermaine Loewen (11) tied it, on a PP, at 8:53 of the third period. . . . Sopotyk set up the winner with a pass off a spin-o-rama in tight that Pillar was able to tuck into the net. . . . Kamloops lost F Jeff Faith to a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct for a hit on Victoria F Dante Hannoun after Pillar’s goal. . . . Moments after Pillar scored, Hannoun shoved him into the boards. Faith then came in and hit Hannoun from behind. . . . Kamloops was 1-6 on the PP; Victoria was 0-5, including a two-man advantage for 1:51. . . . The game featured a battle of two young goaltenders. With starters Griffen Outhouse (Victoria) and Dylan Ferguson (Kamloops) injured, Brock Gould, who turns 17 on Dec. 11, and Dylan Garand, 16, were the starters. . . . Garand, who is from Victoria, stopped 19 shots, while Gould turned aside 26. . . . Ferguson sat out a third straight game since being injured during a 3-1 loss to the Chiefs in Spokane on Nov. 24, while Outhouse also has missed three in a row. . . . Garand has won five straight starts and now is 5-1-1, 2.41, .912. . . . After the game, the Blazers returned G Rayce Ramsay to the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos, signalling that Ferguson is ready to return. . . . The Royals also continue to play without D Ralph Jarratt, who has gotten into only 11 games. For this one, they also scratched F Igor Martynov, who is in Fussen, Germany, with the Belarussian team that will play in the IIHF World Junior Championship (Division I Group) that begins Sunday in Fussen, Germany. Martynov snapped an 18-game goal-less drought in a 5-1 victory over the Cougars in Prince George on Saturday, then was blanked in a 5-3 loss on Sunday. . . . Victoria F Tanner Sidaway left the game in the last minute of the second period after falling awkwardly into the boards while killing a penalty. He looked to injury his left shoulder and crawled off the ice. . . . The Blazers won’t play at home again until Dec. 28. In the meantime, they’ll play six games in eight days on a Central Division trip that opens in Edmonton on Saturday.

The Kelowna Rockets scored the only two goals of a shootout to beat the visiting Tri-City KelownaRocketsAmericans, 4-3. . . . Kelowna (13-15-2) has points in three straight (2-0-1). . . . Tri-City has lost four in a row (0-2-2). . . . The Rockets held a 3-0 lead late in the second period on goals from F Erik Gardiner (5) and F Liam Kindree (6) in the first period, and F Nolan Foote (17), at 1:54 of the second. . . . The Americans got back into it with two PP goals from F Parker AuCoin, at 19:56 of the second and 8:53 of the third. He’s got 15 goals. . . . D Aaron Hyman (6) forced OT with a goal at 17:24. . . . That was Hyman’s first goal with the Americans, who acquired him from the Regina Pats. . . . Kelowna held a 3-1 edge in OT shots. . . . Kelowna shot first in the shootout and got goals from Foote and F Leif Mattson, their second and third shooters. . . . Tri-City was 2-7 on the PP; Kelowna was 0-2. . . .The Rockets got 28 saves from G James Porter. . . . G Talyn Boyko, who turned 16 on Nov. 16, made his second career start for the Americans. He made 24 saves. Boyko was a third-round selection in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft.

In Everett, the Silvertips built a 3-0 lead en route to a 4-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. Everett. . . Everett (23-7-1) has points in nine straight (8-0-1) and has closed to within six points of the Prince Albert Raiders (26-1-1), who lead the overall standings. The Raiders do hold three games in hand. . . . Spokane (14-10-4) has lost three straight (0-2-1). . . . The Silvertips grabbed a 3-0 lead on goals from F Jackson Berezowski (5), at 17:33 of the first period, and F Bryce Kindopp (11), at 1:47 of the second, and D Jake Christiansen (7), on a PP, at 14:48. . . . The Chiefs made it interesting with third-period PP goals from Ethan McIndoe (8), at 0:48, and F Riley Woods (21), at 9:26. . . . F Sean Richards (9) gave Everett some breathing room with an empty-netter, at 18:25. . . . F Max Patterson, acquired this week from the Swift Current Broncos, made his Everett debut and drew an assist on Berezowski’s goal. . . . G Dustin Wolf stopped 25 shots for Everett. He now is 21-7-1, 1.93, .923. . . . The Silvertips lost F Martin Fasko-Rudas aat 15:31 of the first period after he was hit in the neutral zone by Spokane F Egor Arbuzov, who was penalized for interference. . . . Former NHL D Kevin Bieksa took part in the ceremonial faceoff. He has been skating with the Silvertips as he prepares to play for Canada at the Spengler Cup that begins on Dec. 26 in Davos, Switzerland.

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Dorothy, friends say thank you . . . Broncos trade with Chiefs, then shock Raiders . . . Another big OHL trade

ICU
Dorothy was among four transplant recipients and a kidney donor who stopped by the ICU at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops on Tuesday to say thanks. The organs on the black t-shirts indicate who got what. Included in the photo are Mike Grandbois, who was a single-lung recipient 21 years ago; Abby Farnsworth, 17, who received a heart when she was four; and Tony Maidment, who received a new liver last year. You all know Dorothy, who got a kidney on Sept. 23, 2013. Glenn Ferro, back row at far right, is a kidney donor.

Allow me to interrupt the hockey stuff to tell you how Dorothy and I spent part of our Tuesday afternoon.

BC Transplant, according to its website, “oversees all aspects of organ donation and transplant across BC and manages the BC Organ Donor Registry.”

It also helps folks who have been involved in transplants say thanks to a whole lot of

Ambulance
The Fab Five finished their Thank You Tour with a stop at the B.C. Ambulance Service depot in Kamloops.

people who are awfully important to us, and that’s what we did yesterday afternoon.

There were four transplant recipients (heart, kidney, liver and single lung) and a kidney donor in the group that said thank you to the good people of the ER, ICU and OR at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, and with the B.C. Ambulance Service.

BC Transplant calls it Operation Popcorn, as our Fab Five presented those good people with boxes full of bags of tasty popcorn, just in time for the Christmas season.

While we were at RIH, one of the department managers shared a letter from BC Transplant that had arrived earlier in the day. Things got a bit misty as he read the letter, informing us and staff that after a recent death at RIH, two patients had each received a kidney.

I can tell you that the many friends who have supported Dorothy when she takes part in the annual Kamloops Kidney Walk were in our thoughts today.

Thank you for being there. You, too, are a big part of our journey.

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COUNTDOWN TO DEADLINE

(WHL trade deadline: Jan. 10, 3 p.m. MT)

Tuesday’s action

No. of trades: 1.

Players: 5.

Bantam draft picks: 0.

Conditional draft picks: 1.

——

Totals since Nov. 26:

No. of trades: 10.

Players: 31.

Bantam draft picks: 18.

Conditional draft picks: 4.

The Spokane Chiefs and Swift Current Broncos shuffled five players and a conditional bantam draft pick in Tuesday’s only trade.

The Chiefs acquired veteran D Noah King, 19, G Matthew Davis, 17, and a conditional SpokaneChiefsfifth-round selection in the WHL’s 2021 bantam draft from the Broncos for F Carter Chorney, 17, F Kye Buchanan, 17, and D Devin Aubin, 15.

Neither Davis, Buchanan nor Aubin has signed a WHL contract.

King, a Winnipegger, was in his second season with the Broncos, who selected him in the 10th round of the 2014 bantam draft. The 6-foot-4, 200-pounder played on three championship-winning teams in minor hockey in Winnipeg, then helped the Broncos to the WHL title last spring. This season, he has two goals and four assists in 25 games. Last year, he totalled five assists in 65 games, then added one goal in 26 playoff games.

The Chiefs are about to lose D Ty Smith (Canada) and D Filip Kral (Czech Republic), with both on selection camp rosters for national junior teams. King, who size and a heavy presence in their zone, and his experience will help the Chiefs get through this part of the schedule.

Davis, a list player from Calgary, is playing with the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints. In 17 appearances this season, he is 1.70 and .925.

Chorney, from Sherwood Park, Alta., waived his no-trade clause, which is how he could SCBroncosbe included in this deal. He was a second-round pick by the Chiefs in the 2016 bantam draft. He had eight goals and four assists in 27 games with the Chiefs this season. Last season, as a freshman, he had two goals in 41 games.

Buchanan, a list player from Lethbridge, has a late-2001 birth date. He has four goals and three assists in 12 games with the midget AAA St. Albert, Alta., Raiders, He also has played four games with the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats, earning one assist.

Aubin, 15, is from Falher, Alta. The Chiefs grabbed him in the fourth round of the 2018 bantam draft. This season, he has two goals and one assist with the midget AAA Grande Prairie Storm. Last season, he was named the Alberta Major Bantam League’s top defenceman when he had nine goals and two assists in 19 games with the bantam AAA Storm.

Let’s be honest. The WHL still has some catching up to do because when it comes to monster trades the OHL rules.

On Tuesday, the Windsor Spitfires and Ottawa 67’s got together and swapped what could ohlturn out to be 11 pieces, including Michael DiPietro, who is likely to be the starting goaltender for Canada’s national junior team at the 2019 World Junior Championship.

The 67’s have a 22-3-4 record, the best mark in the OHL. They lead the Eastern Conference by 12 points over the Sudbury Wolves. DiPietro, who is from Amherstburg, which is near Windsor, is 2.32, .920 this season, both career bests. He was a third-round pick by Vancouver in the NHL’s 2017 draft and has signed with Vancouver.

Here’s the deal in its entirety . . .

To Ottawa:

G Michael DiPietro.

Windsor’s fourth-round pick in 2020.

Kingston’s second-round pick in 2024.

To Windsor:

F Egor Afanasyev, a 17-year-old Russian who is eligible for the NHL’s 2019 draft. He has 11 goals and 15 assists in 19 games with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks and has committed to Michigan State for next season.

Ottawa’s second-round pick in 2019.

London’s second-round pick in 2021.

Ottawa’s second-round pick in 2022.

Ottawa’s second-round pick in 2023.

Ottawa’s second-round pick in 2021 (conditional).

Ottawa’s third-round pick in 2021 (conditional).

Ottawa’s third-round pick in 2022 (conditional).

The conditional picks all are tied into whether Afanasyev ever plays for the Spitfires.

It’s worth pointing out that F Jack Cowell, who was acquired by Kootenay from the KootenaynewKelowna Rockets on Friday, apparently has yet to join the Ice.

Cowell, 19, is from Winnipeg. The Ice gave up a third-round selection in the 2020 bantam draft in trading for him.

But while Cowell has been removed from the Rockets’ roster, his name is nowhere to be found on the Ice’s roster.

Cowell, a list player, was in his third season with the Rockets. This season, he had two goals and three assists in 26 games. In 182 career games, all with Kelowna, he had 18 goals and 38 assists.

Geoffrey Brandow, the man with all the numbers when it comes to major junior hockey, posted a tweet the other day that compared this season’s Prince Albert Raiders with the 2003-04 London Knights, each after 27 games.

The Raiders were 26-1-0; the Knights were 26-0-1 (the 1 was a tie).

The Raiders GF/GA: 134-48; the Knights, 124-51.

The Raiders’ top scorer was Brett Leason, 27-33—60; the Knights had Corey Perry, 20-38—58.

Brandow had the Raiders’ top defenceman as Sergie Sapego; the Knights’ as Danny Syvret.

Just for purposes of discussion, I took a look at the 1978-79 Brandon Wheat Kings, who lost only five games during the 72-game regular season.

After 27 games, they were 23-0-4. I wasn’t able to find their GF/GA totals, but TBird Tidbits came through for us with this: “After 27 games, the 1978-79 Wheat Kings were 23-0-4 with a ridiculous 212 goals for to just 73 against.”

F Brian Propp was 42-48—90. The team’s best defenceman was Brad McCrimmon.

BTW, you are able to follow Brandow on Twitter: @GeoffreyBrandow.

The Kamloops Blazers have dropped D Devan Harrison, 18, from their roster and he is Kamloops1expected to join the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins. Harrison, from Dysart, Sask., was selected by the Blazers in the second round of the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. . . . In 62 career games, he has one goal and four assists. This season, he has one assist in eight games, and has been a healthy scratch on a regular basis of late. . . . This move leaves the Blazers with six defencemen on their roster. However, Jeff Faith, who was acquired last week from the Spokane Chiefs in a deal that had F Luc Smith go the other way, is a defenceman by trade who has been playing up front this season.

File this one under a picture being worth 1,000 words . . .

Further to the note that appeared here yesterday involving WHL players at the IIHF World Junior Championship (Division I Group A) that opens Sunday in Fussen, Germany . . . The Edmonton Oil Kings have two forwards — Vladimir Alistrov and Andrei Pavlenko — on the selection-camp roster of the Belarussian national junior team. They weren’t included in the note here yesterday that also had F Aliaksei Protas of the Prince Albert Raiders and D Sergei Sapego of the Prince Albert Raiders on that same roster. Both players obviously are on the way to Germany as neither played for the Raiders last night in Swift Current. . . . Also missing from yesterday’s note was F Sebastian Streu of the Regina Pats. He is on Germany’s selection-camp roster. . . . The tournament runs from Sunday through Dec. 15. . . . F Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen of the Saskatoon Blades is on Norway’s roster. . . . The tournament features the national junior teams from Austria, Belarus, France, Germany, Latvia and Norway.

If you stop off here and enjoy what you see — or even if you don’t — feel free to click on the DONATE button over there on the right and make a contribution. Thanks in advance.

TUESDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

G Jiri Patera turned aside 40 shots to lead the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 4-1 victory over BrandonWKregularthe visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Brandon (14-7-6) has won four in a row, outscoring the opposition 19-5 in the process. . . . Medicine Hat slipped to 13-14-3. . . . F Luka Burzan (17) gave Brandon a 1-0 lead at 18:47 of the first period. . . . F Ryan Chyzowski (11) pulled the Tigers into a tie at 14:03 of the second. . . . Brandon F Stelio Mattheos (23) broke the tie at 16:41. . . . The Wheat Kings put it away with third-period goals from F Linden McCorrister (9) and F Ben McCartney (6), the latter into an empty net. . . . The Tigers got 42 saves from G Mads Søgaard. . . . Brandon won 41 of the game’s 65 faceoffs.

In a game that proved why they play the game, the host Swift Current Broncos, with the SCBroncosWHL’s poorest record, scored a 3-2 shootout victory over the Prince Albert Raiders, who boast the best record. . . . The Broncos (5-22-2), had lost their previous three games. . . . The Raiders (26-1-1) had won 19 in a row. . . . The Broncos now are 2-1 in shootouts. This was only the second time this season the Raiders had gone to OT, and their first time in a shootout. . . . Swift Current, as you might expect, got a huge game from G Josh Hofer, who blocked 52 shots through OT and was perfect in the shootout. . . . The Raiders outshot the Broncos 12-10, 17-6, 21-6 and 4-1 by period. . . . F Tanner Nagel (4) gave the hosts a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 7:01 of the first period. . . . F Brett Leason scored his WHL-leading 28th goal at 9:59 for a 1-1 tie. He ran his point streak to 28 games with the goal. . . . D Brayden Pachal (7) put the Raiders ahead, 201, at 11:05 of the third period. . . . Broncos F Ethan Regnier (5), who is from Prince Albert, forced OT with a goal at 18:16. . . . Regnier, the first shooter of the third round, scored the shootout’s only goal. . . . Regnier also had an assist on Leason’s goal. . . . Broncos D Matthew Stanley left and didn’t return following a first-period collision with Regnier. . . . The Raiders were without F Aliaksei Protas and D Sergei Sapego, both of whom are on the selection-camp roster for the Belarusian national junior team that will play in the World Junior Championship (Division I Group A) that opens Sunday in Fussen, Germany.

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‘Tips get Patterson from Broncos . . . Warriors add two forwards . . . WHL has seven on camp roster

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COUNTDOWN TO DEADLINE

(WHL trade deadline: Jan. 10, 3 p.m. MT)

Monday’s action

No. of trades: 3.

Players: 4.

Bantam draft picks: 3.

Conditional draft picks: 0.

——

Total deals (since Nov. 26):

No. of trades: 8.

Players: 21.

Bantam draft picks: 18.

Conditional draft picks: 3.

The Everett Silvertips have acquired F Max Patterson from the Swift Current Broncos for F Dawson Springer, 16, and a fourth-round selection in the 2020 WHL bantam draft.

Patterson, from Kamloops, is the third member of the Broncos’ championship team from Everettlast season now on Everett’s roster, along with D Artyom Minulin and D Sahvan Khaira, both of whom are 20 years of age.

The Broncos beat the Silvertips in six games in last spring’s WHL final. This season, the  Broncos have the 22-team WHL’s poorest record (4-21-2), while the Silvertips lead the U.S. Division, at 22-7-1.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Patterson will turn 19 on Dec. 27. He is the son of former WHL/NHL F Ed Patterson.

Max was selected by the Kootenay Ice in the fourth round of the 2014 bantam draft. He had 15 goals and 10 assists in 127 games with the Ice, before being dealt to the Broncos on Sept. 10, 2017, for G Bailey Brkin and a fifth-rounder in the 2018 bantam draft.

Last season, Patterson had nine goals and 15 assists in 72 games. He had five goals and SCBroncostwo assists in 26 playoff games. This season, he had eight goals and 11 assists in 27 games.

With his size, Patterson will give the Silvertips more grit along the boards and on the forecheck, and more net-front presence in the offensive zone.

Springer, from Yorkton, Sask., was listed by Everett last month. He was in the Brandon Wheat Kings’ training camp prior to the 2017-18 season.

Springer is playing for the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos and is tied for the league lead with 18 goals. In 21 games, he has put up 25 points

Last season, Springer had 35 goals and 16 assists in 36 games with the midget AA Melville Millionaires.

The Moose Jaw Warriors were involved in two trades on Monday, acquiring F Luke Ormsby, 19, from the Everett Silvertips and getting F Kjell Kjemhus, 17, from the Prince MooseJawWarriorsGeorge Cougars.

In exchange for Ormsby, who is from Everett, the Warriors gave up a sixth-round selection in the 2022 bantam draft.

The Warriors gave up a seventh-round pick in the 2020 bantam draft for Kjemhus. The pick originally belonged to the Seattle Thunderbirds.

This season, Ormsby has three goals and three assists in 25 games. In 150 regular-season games, he has 11 goals and 13 assists. He was a ninth-round selection by Seattle in the 2014 bantam draft. The Silvertips acquired him from the Thunderbirds on Nov. 2, 2017, for a ninth-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft.

Kjemhus, from Grande Prairie, Alta., was a fourth-round selection by the Regina Pats in the 2016 bantam draft. He was dealt to Prince George in January in a deal that had F Jesse Gabrielle, then 20, join the Pats.

This season, Kjemhus had two assists in five games with the Cougars and had been a frequent healthy scratch. In 36 career games, six of them with Regina, had has two goals and four assists.

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Seven WHL players were among the 34 invitees by Hockey Canada to the selection camp for the country’s national junior team.

The WHL contingent includes F Jaret Anderson-Dolan of the Spokane Chiefs, who is Canadasidelined with a broken wrist and may not have medical clearance in time for the selection camp.

Also on the camp roster are G Ian Scott and F Brett Leason of the Prince Albert Raiders, D Calen Addison of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, D Josh Brook of the Moose Jaw Warriors, Spokane D Ty Smith and F Cody Glass of the Portland Winterhawks.

The roster, which is right here, includes 14 players from the OHL, eight from the QMJHL, seven from NCAA teams and one from the NHL. F Gabe Vilardi is with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings but is expected to be assigned to the camp.

The roster features three goaltenders, 12 defenceman and 19 forwards.

The selection camp is to run Dec. 11-14 at the Q Centre, the home of the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies.

The 2019 World Junior Championship runs from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Victoria and Vancouver.

NOTES: Finland’s selection camp roster includes D Lassi Thomson of the Kelowna Rockets. He is one of 10 defencemen on the roster. . . . Finland’s roster also includes F Aleksi Heponiemi, who played the past two seasons with the Swift Current Broncos but now is with Kärpät in Finland’s top pro league. Heponiemi, 19, put up 204 points, including 148 assists, over two seasons with the Broncos. He has six goals and 16 assists in 25 games with Kärpät. . . . Jiri Patera of the Brandon Wheat Kings is one of three goaltenders on Czech Republic’s selection camp roster. Also listed are D Filip Kral of Spokane, D Libor Zabransky of Kelowna and F Krystof Hrabik of the Tri-City Americans. D Daniel Bukac also is on the roster. He played two seasons with Brandon, and now is with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs.

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At least three WHL players will be playing in the IIHF World Junior Championship (Division 1 Group A) that begins Sunday and runs through Dec. 15 in Fussen Germany.

F Aliaksei Protas and D Sergei Sapego of the Prince Albert Raiders will play for Belarus, while F Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen of the Saskatoon Blades is to be in Norway’s lineup.

The Division I Group A tournament features the national junior teams from Austria, Belarus, France, Germany, Latvia and Norway. The winner of the tournament will be promoted to play with the big boys in the 2020 World Junior Championship.

All three players are expected to miss six games, but should be back by Dec. 27 when both teams return from the Christmas break for a game in Saskatoon.

Veteran NHL assistant coach Rick Wilson, who spent eight seasons on the coaching staff of the Prince Albert Raiders, is joining the Philadelphia Flyers. Wilson, 68, is from Prince Albert. . . . He was an assistant coach with the Raiders for six seasons (1980-86) and the head coach for two seasons. . . . He then went on to an NHL career that has included stints with the New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues. He actually had two stints with Dallas — 1993-2009 and last season. . . . With the Flyers, he will fill the void created by last week’s firing of Gord Murphy. Wilson be working under head coach Dave Hakstol, a former U of North Dakota head coach. Wilson played at UND and also spent two seasons (1978-80) there as an assistant coach. . . . The Wilson signing was first reported by Brad E. Schlossman of the Grand Forks, N.D., Herald.

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Mondays With Murray: He Could Have Had More Than Garden of Roses

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1989, SPORTS

Copyright 1989/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY

JIM MURRAY

He Could Have Had More Than Garden of Roses

   For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: “It might have been!” — JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER

  I was reminded anew of the poet’s lament the other day. I was interviewing this fellow for whom it all went a-glimmering years ago.

  You remember that scene in ‘On the Waterfront,’ where Marlon Brando takes his mondaysmurray2brother’s hand reproachfully off his arm, looks at him with these big sad eyes and says “I coulda been a contendah! I coulda been somebody!”

  Well, that’s kind of what it was like. Sad. Heart-rending.

  Years ago, this fellow — I will call him George, although I think his nickname was Slick back in those days — was the silkiest-fielding first baseman you ever saw. He could go to his right, he could go to his left. You couldn’t throw the ball over him or under him. He Bushhad a gun for an arm. He wore the latest thing in equipment, a George McQuinn-model mitt called the Claw.

  He played for Yale but the scouts came around by the score. They hadn’t seen anything this slick around the bag since Hal Chase, Joe Judge, Joe Kuhel. His own idol was Lou Gehrig.

   He had missed a couple of years as a fighter pilot in the Second World War but that only meant he was more mature, steadier, more reliable, not given to anxiety. He could have been great.

 Around first base, he was a combination of Frank Merriwell and Dink Stover. Flawless, graceful, sure-handed. He was left-handed, which is what a first baseman should be.

  At the bat, for some unaccountable reason, he hit right. Maybe it was ideological.

  Whatever it was, he couldn’t hit the curveball.

  Well, look. That can be learned, right? Not everybody rolls out of bed with the ability to hit .350. Not everybody is Ty Cobb. George batted .264 his senior year and helped Yale get to the College World Series, no less.

 Everyone figured a few seasons at Binghamton and Newark and it would be Yankee-Stadium-here-we-come! I mean, the good life. Old Dependable. The new Iron Horse.

  Well, we all know how those things work out. Wife, child. You need a job. You put the dreams on hold.

   Then they want you to go into the family business. Well, in this case, the family business was politics. George’s father was a U.S. Senator. Duty called.

  There was no time to iron out the kinks in the swing, spend the hours in the batting cage, go for the brass ring. It was the salt mines for him. He never got to wear the Yankee pinstripes; he wore the three-piece kind. With the old school tie.

  It was speeches on the hustings, handshakes from the backs of trains, smoke-filled rooms, a stint in the oil business. He had to put away the old uni, hang up the George McQuinn glove, put the old lineup cards in a trunk. Just another guy who never made it to the bigs.

  Oh, he’s not starving, or hanging around bars, telling guys how he went 4-for-5 off Hubbell or took Allie Reynolds downtown.

  He lives in this big white house on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. He has a chauffeur. He has his own airplane. In fact, he has his own air force.

  But, he makes — what? $200,000 a year? Something like that. You think Don Mattingly would play for that? Will Clark makes that in a month.

  In case the guys he used to rob of hits down the line or help make the 3-6-3 double play have lost track of him, he has done all right. I mean, it’s not like being the All-Star first baseman or having a locker in Yankee Stadium or your own bubble-gum card, but George found work all right.

  He’s the President of the United States.

  Now, that’s an OK job for a guy who was the president of the debating club, or the campus wheeler-dealer. But, George Herbert Walker Bush could have been somebody. He could have been in a lineup with Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Billy Martin.

  Casey Stengel could have been yelling at him: “Hey, Bush! Is that a name or a description? Don’t the Yales throw curveballs?”

  Life could have been a blast.

  You know, when the President of the United States calls, you drop everything and go. I mean, you never know. He may need you. It’s well known that I know exactly what to do about Noriega, the Middle East, the balance of trade. I could handle the Soviets in my sleep.

  I know he’d want to keep my visit a secret. So I slept at the J.W. Marriott instead of the Lincoln bedroom. No use letting Sam Donaldson get wind of it.

  I like it that people don’t know that I’m an expert on international relations.

  They even did a good job of pretending not to know who I was at the White House’s northwest gate, as usual. It was roped off when I got there. The president of Egypt was just leaving.

  There were about 10 of us sportswriter-sportscaster types on hand. I was pretty sure I was the only one who knew what to do about Angola, though.

  With Presidents, you try the oblique approach, though. I cleared my throat. “Mr. President, what did you bat at Yale?” I didn’t want to rush things. Plenty of time to get into Lebanon.

  Well, when I tell you the next 40 minutes were spent in discussing baseball, you have to know our President is a master of camouflage — don’t forget, he used to be head of the CIA — or, and here is the conclusion I came to, he still thinks wistfully of what might have been. He’d rather be running the World Series than the world.

  There have been lots of football players in the White House — Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford. Even a tennis player, Woodrow Wilson, a rail-splitting champion, Abe Lincoln, and a horseback rider-boxer, Teddy Roosevelt. But, there has never been a baseball player.

  It suddenly occurred to me, the President enjoyed the sensation of being asked by a lot of guys with notebooks things like, “What kind of a pitch did you hit?” “Why didn’t you swing at that fastball?”

  He was just like a guy sitting in front of his locker with a beer meeting the sporting press after a game in which he’d just gone 4-for-4 — or popped up ball four to lose the game.

  So if you’re stuck in a 9-to-5 job you hate, if you have to run the family business when you would rather run the Dodgers, take heart. George Bush, who was one of the best there ever was at digging out low throws and taking the cutoff to throw the guy out at the plate, spends all day talking to people who never even heard of Lou Gehrig.

  Nicaragua never came up. When someone wanted to know if the government should step into baseball expansion, the President gave the idea short shrift. There are a lot of things wrong with the country, but the Chicago Cubs ain’t one of them, seemed to be his notion.

  And the prisoner of Pennsylvania Avenue was hustled off to talk about the bustout in East Germany. You had the feeling he’d rather stay and talk about the 1953 Yankees. After all, if it were’t for a lousy break here and there, he could have been one of them. He could have been a star.

Reprinted with the permission of the Los Angeles Times

Jim Murray Memorial Foundation, P.O. Box 60753, Pasadena, CA 91116

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What is the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation? 

  The Jim Murray Memorial Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, established in 1999 to perpetuate the Jim Murray legacy, and his love for and dedication to his extraordinary career in journalism. Since 1999, JMMF has granted 104 $5,000 scholarships to outstanding journalism students. Success of the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation’s efforts depends heavily on the contributions from generous individuals, organizations, corporations, and volunteers who align themselves with the mission and values of the JMMF.

Like us on Facebook, and visit the JMMF website, www.jimmurrayfoundation.org.