A LITTLE OF THIS . . .
The above tweet came from the Saskatoon Blades’ Twitter account as their game with the host Kootenay Ice was about to begin.
If this report is accurate, it also is scary, and it is to be hoped that the WHL commissioner’s office will be looking into the situation.
You would think that there would be a doctor in the house whenever two teams start their pregame warmup, wouldn’t you?
The NFL playoff game between the visiting New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings is why we play/watch sports. It is being shown again tonight (Sunday) at midnight on the NFL Network. It will be worth PVRing (is that a word?) and watching again, just to see if it really happened.
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SUNDAY:
At Moose Jaw, the Warriors gave up 3-0 and 4-1 leads before beating the Medicine Hat Tigers, 5-4 in OT, on a goal from F Brett Howden. . . . The Warriors (36-7-3) lead the 
overall standings by 10 points over Swift Current. . . . The Tigers (24-17-4) are atop the Central Division, nine points ahead of Lethbridge. . . . The Warriors got out to a 2-0 lead as D Brandon Schuldaus scored his first two goals of the season, at 6:16 of the first period and 1:26 of the second. . . . Schuldaus is in his third WHL season; he had two goals in each of his first two seasons. He started this season with 12 assists in 37 games with Red Deer. Since being acquired by the Warriors, he had two goals and two assists in five games. . . . D Dmitri Zaitsev (4) upped the lead to to 3-0 at 2:40 of the second. . . . D Kristians Rubins (4) got the Tigers started at 4:44. . . . The Warriors went ahead 4-1 when F Jayden Halbgewachs, the WHL’s leading sniper, got No. 48 at 6:41 of the third period. . . . The Tigers tied it on goals from F Jaeger White (6), at 10:26; F Bryan Lockner (9), on a PP, at 16:18; and F Mark Rassell (37), at 19:21. . . . Howden won it with his 17th goal at 3:06 of extra time. . . . Howden, who also had two assists, has four goals and six assists in three games since returning from the WJC where he won gold with Canada. . . . Halbgewachs also had two assists, as did F Ryan Peckford. . . . Warriors F Brayden Burke had one assist. He leads the WHL with 88 points, one more than Halbgewachs. . . . White added an assist to his goal for the Tigers. . . . Burke also had the distinction of taking the game’s only penalty, a minor for tripping at 15:34 of the third period. . . . Lockner scored with him in stir. . . . The Warriors got 37 saves from G Brody Willms. At the other end, Jordan Hollett stopped 35 shots. . . . Both teams were playing their third game in fewer than 48 hours, with the Tigers on the road for all three. . . . James Gallo (@jamesgallo2) tweeted that this was Moose Jaw head coach Tim Hunter’s “129th win on the Warriors bench, which ties him with Dave Hunchak for second on the Warriors’ all-time win list.” . . . Who is No. 1? Al Tuer, with 137 victories. . . . Announced attendance: 3,306.
At Cranbrook, B.C., the Kootenay Ice scored four goals before the game was 11 minutes old and went on to beat the Saskatoon Blades, 8-2. . . . Kootenay (19-22-3) had lost its 
previous six games (0-5-1). The Ice is third in the Central Division, two points behind Lethbridge. . . . The Blades (22-20-3) hold down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, seven points ahead of Prince Albert, which has two games in hand. . . . The above tweet came out of the Blades’ Twitter account after the first period. Yes, it was an afternoon game. . . . F Brett Davis, who had two goals, scored twice in that early onslaught, giving him 13. F Alec Baer (18) and F Colton Kroeker (10) added the others. . . . F Max Gerlach (19) got the Blades on the scoreboard at 18:17, but F Colton Veloso (15) got that one back just 63 seconds later. . . . F Keenan Taphorn (5) and D Sam Huston (2) added second-period goals for the winners. . . . D Jake Kustra (3) had Saskatoon’s last goal. . . . The Ice was 2-8 on the PP; the Blades were 0-6. . . . G Duncan McGovern stopped 28 shots for the Ice, while the Blades’ Tyler Brown turned aside 25 shots. . . . Kootenay D Ryan Pouliot came up short on a penalty shot at 19:50 of the third period. . . . (NOTE: I later heard from an observer of this game who points out that Pouliot, “who received a minor 10 seconds earlier, did not take the penalty shot, was not on the ice at the end of the game, nor did he get in a fight from the dressing room as the WHL website summary claims. I maintain that Martin Bodak had the penalty shot credited to Pouliot and Brad Ginnell had the fight credit to Pouliot at the end of the game.”) . . . Presumably, changes are coming to the online game sheet. . . . The Ice had Jesse Makaj backing up McGovern as Matt Berlin suffered an undisclosed injury on Saturday. Makaj, 16, was a second-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. He plays for the major midget Greater Vancouver Canadians. . . . There were two fights at the final buzzer, which may result in fines. . . . Announced attendance: 2,535.
At Portland, F Matt Fonteyne scored in the fourth round of a shootout to give the Everett Silvertips a 4-3 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . The Silvertips (27-16-2) have won four 
in a row. . . . The Winterhawks (26-13-4) have points in five straight (4-0-1). . . . The two teams are tied atop the U.S. Division, with Portland holding two games in hand. . . . F Skyler McKenzie (32) gave the home side a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 13:48 of the first period. . . . Everett tied it at 13:33 of the second period when Fonteyne (25) scored. . . . The visitors took the lead 1:16 later as F Martin Fasko-Rudas scored his second goal of the season. . . . Portland F Kieffer Bellows (22) tied it at 1:18 of the the third period. . . . F Connor Dewar (19) put Everett back out front, on a PP, at 7:18. . . . Portland forced OT when McKenzie (33) scored his second goal of the game, at 15:26. . . . F Patrick Bajkov scored for Everett in the second round, with Portland tying it in Round 3 when Bellows scored. . . . Bajkov had two assists for Everett, with Fonteyne adding one. . . . Bellows added an assist to his goal. . . . Everett was 2-6 on the PP; Portland was 1-5. . . . G Carter Hart stopped 24 shots to earn the victory over Cole Kehler, who made 39 saves. . . . The Winterhawks went 2-0-1 in in playing three games in fewer than 48 hours. . . . Everett will make it three games in fewer than 48 hours when it plays host to the Tri-City Americans today (Monday), at 4:05 p.m. . . . Announced attendance: 4,266.
MONDAY (all times local):
Tri-City at Everett, 4:05 p.m.
home game since the franchise moved from Pacific Coliseum to the Langley Events Centre prior to last season. . . . Malm, who also had an assist, has 17 goals. . . . F Ty Ronning scored his 40th goal of the season for Vancouver, which has points in nine straight (7-0-2). . . . The Rockets had won their previous three games. . . . The victory lifted the Giants to within one point of the Western Conference-leading Rockets. . . . Announced attendance: 4,753.
a multi-player deal this week, you may have wondered how that all went down. Well, it seems that Cougars GM Todd Harkins, who happens to be Jonas’s father, was under pressure from his wife, Kirsten, and from Newport Sports at the time. In a revealing interview, Harkins, who is in the last year of a four-year contract, also talked about what it was like having sons on his team’s roster. Hint: It wasn’t easy. . . . There’s lots more from Hartley Miller 
also got three goals and two assists from F Jayden Halbgewachs. . . . The Warriors (35-6-3) have points in 10 straight (9-0-1). They continue to lead the overall standings by 10 points over Swift Current. . . . The Oil Kings (12-25-6) were coming off OT victories in Brandon and Regina. . . . Howden, in his first game since winning gold with Team Canada at the WJC in Buffalo, opened the scoring at 13:27 of the first period. . . . F Branden Klatt (2) made it 2-0 at 15:37, with Howden upping it to 3-0 at 16:21. . . . Halbgewachs scored his first of three 34 seconds into the second period. . . . Edmonton got its first goal from F Colton Kehler at 1:36. . . . Moose Jaw responded with the next three goals — from F Justin Almeida (26), Howden, who has 16 goals, and Halbgewachs. That goal was the 100th of Howden’s career. He has played 220 games, and also has 227 assists. . . . Kehler, who has 18 goals, scored again for Edmonton in the third period, before Halbgewachs completed his hat trick with his WHL-leading 47th goal at 4:38. He’s played 44 games. Last season, he finished with 50 goals in 71 games. . . . Halbgewachs now has 84 points, one fewer than teammate Brayden Burke, who leads the WHL scoring derby. Burke had one assist in this game. . . . Moose Jaw got three assists from F Ryan Peckford. . . . F Brett Kemp had two assists for Edmonton. . . . Moose Jaw was 0-2 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-3. . . . G Adam Evanoff stopped 17 shots for the Warriors. . . . Edmonton starter Josch Dechaine was beaten five times on 12 shots in 24:35. Todd Scott came on in relief, making his Oil Kings debut by stopping 24 of 27 shots in 35:25. He had been acquired from the Vancouver Giants. . . . Howden and Halbgewachs each was plus-6. D Kale Clague, in his first game with the Warriors, had one assist and was plus-4. He came over from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Wednesday. . . . Announced attendance: 3,639.
that could be returned for free tickets to tonight’s game against the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Broncos (30-10-3) have points in five straight (4-0-1). They are second in the overall standings. . . . The Raiders (15-19-8) have lost two in a row and are seven points out of a playoff spot. . . . G Stuart Skinner, who was acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes this week, stopped 29 shots in his Broncos debut. He has four shutouts this season and 11 in his career. . . . F Glenn Gawdin had two goals and an assist for the Broncos. He opened the scoring at 8:03 of the first period and closed it out with his 34th goal at 17:26 of the third period. . . . F Kaden Elder (12) and D Colby Sissons (9) also scored. . . . F Tyler Steenbergen had one assist in his first game back after he scored Canada’s gold medal-winning goal at the WJC. . . . The Raiders got 21 stops from G Ian Scott. . . . Swift Current was 0-2 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-4. . . . Announced attendance: 1,916.
guys to a 3-1 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Kubic was acquired from the Saskatoon Blades at the trade deadline. . . . Regina (22-19-4) has points in three straight (2-0-1). It holds down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot, three points ahead of Saskatoon. . . . The Tigers (23-17-3) lead the Central Division by eight points over Lethbridge. . . . D Josh Mahura gave Regina a 1-0 lead at 12:03 of the first period. . . . The forwards tied it at 6:37 of the second period on F Mark Rassell’s 35th goal. . . . F Cam Hebig (31), who came over from the Blades with Kubic, scored at 3:48 of the third period and that goal stood up as the winner. . . . F Sam Steel (15) got the empty-netter at 19:53 of the third period. . . . Mahura and Bradley each had an assist. . . . The Tigers got 28 saves from G Jordan Hollett. . . . Announced attendance: 6,033.
over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Wheat Kings (28-12-2) have points in four straight (3-0-1). They are third in the overall standings, five points behind Swift Current. . . . The Hitmen (13-24-6) have lost three in a row. . . . The Wheat Kings took a 2-0 lead on first-period goals from D Zach Wytinck (4), at 3:59, and F Caiden Daley (5), at 7:27. . . . F Connor Gutenberg (13) made it 3-0 at 6:03 of the third period. . . . Calgary F Vladislav Yeryomenko (9) scored Calgary’s goal, on a PP, at 8:28. . . . F Linden McCorrister (13) got Brandon’s last goal at 13:29. . . . Dailey and Wytinck added an assist each. . . . G Nick Schneider stopped 36 shots for the Hitmen. . . . D Chase Hartje and F Luka Burzan made their Brandon debuts after being acquired from Moose Jaw. Burzan had an assist. . . . Calgary was 1-3 on the PP; Brandon was 0-6. . . . Announced attendance: 3,825.
row. It is second in the Central Division, two points ahead of Kootenay. . . . The Rebels (10-23-10) have lost 10 straight (0-5-5). . . . Barlage had one goal in 38 games with the Swift Current Broncos this season. The fourth-overall selection in the 2016 bantam draft, he was part of a multi-player swap on Tuesday. That night, Barlage scored the shootout winner as the Hurricanes beat the visiting Rebels, 5-4. . . . Last night, D Colin Paradis (2) gave Red Deer the lead 26 seconds into the game. . . . F Brad Morrison (14) tied it at 2:57. . . . The Rebels took a 3-1 lead before the period ended, on goals from F Grayson Pawlenchuk (14), at 16:27, and F Reese Johnson (16), at 17:48. . . . The Hurricanes tied it on two second-period PP goals, from F Jordy Bellerive (25), at 11:56, and F Taylor Ross (11), at 16:51. . . . Earlier in the day, Bellerive was name the Hurricanes’ new captain, taking over from Giorgio Estephan, who now is with the Broncos. . . . Barlage snapped the tie with goals at 8:54 and 12:02 of the third. . . . F Mason McCarty (21) got Red Deer to within a goal at 13:23, but F Dylan Cozens (13) got it back at 18:51. . . . Bellerive and Morrision also had two assists each, with Ross and Cozens each adding one. . . . Lethbridge was 2-5 on the PP; Red Deer was 0-3. . . . F Kristian Reichel had two assists for Red Deer, with Pawlenchuk, McCarty and Paradis getting one each. . . . Red Deer F Brandon Hagel had one assist in his first game since Dec. 1. . . . G Logan Flodell earned the victory with 23 saves, two fewer than Riley Lamb of the Rebels. . . . Announced attendance: 4,179.
down the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . Prince George (16-20-7) is seven points out of a playoff spot. . . . Brkin was acquired from the Kootenay Ice on Tuesday, although the Chiefs said at the time he was “expected to report to the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits.” . . . Spokane F Kailer Yamamoto, in his return from a stint with the U.S. at the WJC, opened the scoring at 1:11 of the first period. . . . The Chiefs went ahead 3-0 on goals from F Jake McGrew, at 4:39,a nd F Riley Woods (19), at 9:27. . . . F Liam Ryan (1) got the visitors on the scoreboard at 14:10 and F Aaron Boyd (8) pulled them to within a goal, while shorthanded, at 0:26 of the second period. . . . But the Chiefs took back control with two second-period goals, from McGrew (8), on a PP, at 5:11, and F Jaret Anderson-Dolan (24), while shorthanded, at 17:49. . . . F Ethan McIndoe (11) added a third-period goal for the Chiefs. . . . Anderson-Dolan added two assists to his goal, with Elynuik also getting two, and McIndoe and Yamamoto one each. . . . F Ilijah Colina had an assist for the Cougars in his first game since moving over from Portland. . . . Spokane was 1-5 on the PP; Prince George was 0-7. . . . G Taylor Gauthier stopped 22 shots for the Cougars. . . . Announced attendance: 4,354.
back atop the U.S. Division, one point ahead of Everett. . . . Tri-City (22-14-5) has lost two in a row. It is third in the U.S. Division, three points behind Everett. . . . The Winterhawks welcomed back F Kieffer Bellows, D Henri Jokiharju and F Joachim Blichfeld, all of whom had played in the WJC. They also had D Dennis Cholowski in the lineup after the was acquired from the Prince George Cougars on Wednesday. As well, D Keoni Texeira, the captain, returned after last playing on Dec. 12. . . . The Americans had D Jake Bean in their lineup for the first time since getting him from the Calgary Hitmen, But the Americans are without D Juuso Valimaki, F Michael Rasmussen, F Morgan Geekie and F Kyle Olson, all of whom are injured. . . . The Winterhawks scored the game’s first five goals, three of them coming in the second period after a scoreless opening 20 minutes. . . . Bellows, who has 21 goals, scored twice, with F Alex Overhardt (10), Jokiharju (8) and F Lukus MacKenzie (1) adding one each. . . . MacKenzie was acquired Wednesday from the Red Deer Rebels. He had been scoreless in 30 games split between Red Deer and the Saskatoon Blades this season. . . . Tri-City got its goal from F Isaac Johnson (10) on a third-period PP. . . . D Matthew Quigley, F Skyler McKenzie and Blichfeld each had two assists for Portland, with Overhardt getting one. . . . Portland was 1-4 on the PP; Tri-City was 1-5. . . . G Cole Kehler stopped 28 shots for Portland. . . . Tri-City starter Beck Warm allowed three goals on 27 shots in 34:56. Patrick Dea finished up by stopping 11 of 13 shots in 25:04. . . . Announced attendance: 3,911.
is third in the B.C. Division, two points behind Vancouver. . . . Kamloops (18-21-3) is seven points out of a playoff spot. . . . Hannoun, who has 16 goals, scored at 1:21 and 2:32 of the first period. . . . F Jermaine Loewen got Kamloops started at 5:39. . . . F Igor Martynov (13) restored Victoria’s two-goal lead at 14:37. . . . The Blazers tied it on second-period goals from F Orrin Centazzo (7), at 4:13, and F Carson Denomie (6), at 10:36. . . . D Mitchell Prowse (2) gave Victoria a 4-3 lead 57 seconds into the third period, and F Jeff de Wit (6) scored, on a PP, at 2:30. . . . F Luc Smith (10) got Kamloops back to within a goal, on a PP, at 12:00, only to have F Tanner Kaspick (13) get it back at 19:16. . . . Loewen (17) added his second goal of the game, on another PP, at 19:40. . . . The Royals got two assists from F Matthew Phillips, with Kaspick adding one to his goal in his first game since moving over from the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . F Tyler Soy had one assist to set the Chilliwack/Victoria franchise record for career assists, with 152. He had shared the record with F Brandon Magee. . . . D Joe Gatenby had two assists for Kamloops, with Loewen and Smith adding one each. . . . Kamloops was 2-4 on the PP; Victoria was 2-5. . . . G Griffen Outhouse made 23 saves for Victoria, while Dylan Ferguson stopped 40 shots at the other end. . . . Victoria F Lane Zablocki left at 7:39 of the first period with a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct. . . . D Luke Zazula was among the Blazers’ scratches. He was attending a family funeral, but should be back for tonight’s rematch. . . . Announced attendance: 4,790.
Division by three points over Vancovuer. . . . Seattle (20-15-6) had points in each of its previous nine games (7-0-2). It holds down the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . The Rockets scored the game’s first five goals to lead 5-0 before the third period was half over. . . . They got first-period PP goals from F Carsen Twarynski and Jack Cowell (8), then added second-period scores from F Colum McGauley (2) and F Leif Mattson (12). . . . Twarynski (29) scored again in the third period, before F Dillon Hamaliuk (8) and D Austin Strand (14) scored for Seattle. . . . Mattson (13) got the empty-netter at 18:12 of the third period. Actually, he was awarded a goal after Strand threw his stick at the puck while trying to thwart a breakaway on the open net. . . . The Rockets got three assists from D Cal Foote, two from F Kyle Topping, and one from Mattson. . . . Hamaliuk added an assist to his goal. . . . Kelowna was 4-8 on the PP; Seattle was 0-5. . . . G James Porter Jr. earned the victory with 21 saves. . . . Liam Hughes stopped 37 shots for the Thunderbirds. . . . Kelowna F Dillon Dube (ill) didn’t play. . . . Announced attendance: 4,259.
Jan. 5 game against the visiting Vancouver Giants, who won that contest, 5-2.
WHL’s overall standings, have guaranteed a victory over the No. 2 Broncos.
Sunday, and Calgary on Tuesday. . . . Robins, who turned 16 on Nov. 15, is from Brandon and plays at the Rink Hockey Academy in Winnipeg. He is the son of former Blades G Trevor Robins. Tristen was acquired from the Regina Pats earlier in the week. They had selected him in the fourth round of the 2016 bantam draft. . . . Crnkovic, the Blades’ first-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft, played two WHL games earlier this season. He is playing for the Northern Alberta X-Treme prep team in the CSSHL. . . . The Blades won’t have F Kirby Dach on this trip. Dach, who is to turn 17 on Jan. 21, has four goals and 19 assists in 23 games. However, he hasn’t played since Dec. 27 and is sidelined on a weekly basis with an undisclosed injury.
Hockey have signed Derek Stuart, their general manager and head coach, to a two-season contract extension that contains an option on a third season. . . . Stuart is a former Dynamiters player. From Calgary, he is in his second season on the bench. This season, the Dynamiters are 27-6-1-1 (one OTL and one tie) and lead the overall standings by a point over the Nelson Leafs.
6-3) has points in nine straight games (8-0-1) and leads the overall standings by 10 points over Swift Current. . . . Calgary (13-23-6) had lost two in a row. . . . F Jakob Stukel gave the Hitmen a 1-0 lead at 4:22 of the first period. . . . The Warriors scored the next six goals. . . . Langan, who has 12 goals, scored at 7:42, 14:12 and 19:36 of the first period. His fourth goal, at 8:08 of the second period, gave the home side a 6-1 lead. . . . F Justin Almeida (25), F Brecon Wood (2), F Tyler Smithies, with his first WHL goal, and F Tate Popple (5) also scored for Moose Jaw. . . . Stukel, who has 20 goals, scored twice, the second one coming on a third-period penalty shot. . . . F Carson Focht also scored for Calgary. . . . The Warriors got three assists from each of F Tanner Jeannot and Jayden Halbgewachs, with D Dmitri Zaitsev getting two and Smithies one. . . . The Warriors were 2-4 on the PP; the Hitmen were 1-3. . . . The Warriors got 17 saves from G Adam Evanoff. . . . Calgary starter Nick Schneider gave up six goals on 22 shots in 28:08. Matthew Armitage came on to stop 10 of 12 shots in 31:52. . . . Announced attendance: 3,048.
have points in two straight (1-0-1) and hold down the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot, one point ahead of Saskatoon. . . . One night earlier, Kemp, who has 11 goals, scored at 2:06 of OT to give Edmonton a 3-2 victory in Brandon. . . . Last night, F Robbie Holmes gave Regina a 2-0 lead before the first period was half over. Holmes, who has 12 goals, scored at 4:37 and 9:59. . . . F Trey Fix-Wolansky (18) got Edmonton’s first goal, at 12:12. . . . The Oil Kings took a 3-2 lead on two goals from F Colton Kehler, at 1:07 of the second period and 1:13 of the third. . . . The Pats forced OT when F Matt Bradley (26) scored at 14:25. . . . Fix-Wolansky also had an assist. . . . F Austin Pratt drew two assists for Regina and Bradley had one. . . . The Pats were 0-2 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 0-3. . . . G Josh Dechaine stopped 33 shots for Edmonton, four more than Regina’s Ryan Kubic, who was acquired earlier in the day from the Saskatoon Blades. . . . F Cam Hebig, who went to Regina in the same deal, didn’t play. . . . D Libor Hajek, who came over from Saskatoon on Tuesday, made his Regina debut. F Jesse Gabrielle, who was acquired from Prince George, also was in Regina’s lineup. . . . Announced attendance: 5,372.
Lethbridge and Kootenay. . . . Saskatoon (22-18-3) has lost two in a row and now holds the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, seven points ahead of Prince Albert.. . . . The Blades actually acquired Lockner from the Regina Pats on Wednesday morning, then flipped him to Medicine Hat in a deal that brought F Max Gerlach to Saskatoon. Gerlach made his Saskatoon debut and had an assist. . . . The Tigers opened up a 2-0 first-period lead on goals from F Gary Haden (11), at 1:57, and Lockner (8), at 6:00. . . . F Braylon Shmyr (22) pulled the Blades to within a goal at 17:39. . . . D David Quenneville (18) gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead at 12:31 of the third period. . . . The Blades got to within a goal when F Chase Wouters (11) scored at 19:45. . . . Quenneville also had an assist, as did F Elijah Brown, who was acquired from the Seattle Thunderbirds on Tuesday. . . . Wouters had an assist for Saskatoon. . . . The Blades were 0-2 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-4. . . . G Jordan Hollett earned the victory with 31 saves, 12 fewer than Saskatoon’s Nolan Maier. . . . Maier was backed up by Tyler Brown, who was acquired from Regina earlier in the day. . . . F Ryan Jevne was back in Medicine Hat’s lineup after serving a three-game suspension. . . . Announced attendance: 2,709.
two games (0-1-1). The Cougars are tied with Kamloops, six points out of a wild-card spot. . . . Vancouver (24-14-6) is 7-0-1 in its past eight games. It went 4-0-1 on a five-game road trip that ended with this game. The Giants are second in the Western Conference, one point behind Kelowna. . . . One night earlier, the Giants had beaten the host Cougars, 5-1. . . . Last night, seven goals were scored and they all came from two players, as F Ty Ronning had all three Vancouver goals. . . . Ronning, who has 39 goals, scored the game’s first two goals, at 10:16 of the first period and 7:53 of the second. . . . Maser, who now has 20 goals, gave the Cougars a 3-2 lead with goals at 9:17 of the second and 0:08 and 17:35 of the third. . . . The Giants forced OT when Ronning completed his hat trick with 29.9 seconds left in the third. . . . Master won it at 2:49 of OT. . . . The Cougars got two assists from F Josh Curtis. . . . Vancouver was 0-2 on the PP; Prince George was 0-3. . . . G Taylor Gauthier stopped 27 shots for the Cougars. . . . The Giants got 33 saves from G David Tendeck. . . . 
Division by a point over Portland. . . . Tri-City (22-13-5) had won its previous two games. It is third in the U.S. Division, two points behind Portland and three ahead of Seattle. . . Wolf, 16, has been starting for Everett in the absence of Carter Hart, who won gold with Team Canada at the WJC in Buffalo. Wolf now is 9-5-0, 2.17, .933, with three shutouts. . . . Hart is expected to return Saturday in Spokane. . . . The Silvertips got two goals from each of F Connor Dewar and D Kevin Davis. . . . Dewar, who has 18 goals, scored the game’s first and fourth goals, at 5:27 of the first period and 8:35 of the third, on a PP. . . . Davis made it 2-0 while shorthanded at 10:41 of the second period, then added his sixth goal at 4:35 of the third. . . . F Matt Fonteyne had two assists, and Davis had one. . . . Everett was 1-4 on the PP; Tri-City was 0-3. . . . G Patrick Dea started for Tri-City and allowed four goals on 51 shots in 50:05. Beck Warm finished up by stopping all six shots he faced in 9:55. . . . Tri-City F Max James was handed a charging major and game
signed with the Red Wings. The Cougars selected him in the 10th round of the 2013 bantam draft. . . . The Winterhawks selected Taylor’s brother Trey in the ninth-round of the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft. Neither Taylor has signed a WHL contract. . . . Colina, from Delta, B.C., was an eighth-round pick by Portland in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Bowie, from Fort St. John, B.C., was a seventh-round pick by Portland in the 2016 bantam draft.
on Dec. 17, first-round selections in the WHL’s 2019 and 2021 bantam drafts, and a second-round pick in 2018.
Canada at the WJC in Buffalo; he won silver with Team Canada at the previous year. The Wheat Kings selected him in the first round, sixth overall, of the 2013 bantam draft. Clague was picked by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round of the NHL’s 2016 draft and he has signed with them. . . . Moose Jaw selected Burzan, who is from Surrey, B.C., with the sixth overall pick of the 2015 bantam draft. In his draft season, he had 80 goals and 51 assists in 62 games with a bantam A1-T1 team at the North Shore Winter Club. . . . Hartje was listed by the Warriors. Last season, he also played in 16 games with Great Plains of a U.S. high school league and had two goals and four assists in nine games with the NAHL’s Bismarck Bobcats.
Kamloops Blazers for a seventh-round pick in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft.
for a seventh-round selection in the 2019 WHL bantam draft.
Warriors for a sixth-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft.
and second-round selections in the WHL’s 2020 draft, and third-round picks in the 2019 and 2021 bantam drafts.
round pick in 2018, a fourth- and two fifth-rounders in 2019, and a fourth- and a fifth-rounder in 2020. . . .
and 15 assists in 72 games. Last season, he recorded 34 goals and 28 assists in 72 games. This season, he has 16 goals and 19 assists in 35 games. . . . Add it all up and Gerlach has 80 goals and 62 assists in 179 career games. . . . For Lockner’s numbers, see the previous trade.
Hitmen for a conditional sixth-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 or 2020 bantam draft.
Vancouver Giants for a conditional fifth-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft.
Semchuk, 18, G Todd Scott, 17, and a third-round selection in the 2018 bantam draft.
second-round pick by Edmonton in the 2013 bantam draft and was an alternate captain this season. . . . Semchuk, from Kamloops, was on Vancouver’s suspended list after leaving the team in a dispute over playing time. He was a first-round selection, 10th overall, in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Scott, from Albertville, Minn., joins Boston Bilous, 16, Josh Dechaine, 19, and Travis Child, 20, as goaltenders on Edmonton’s roster. However, Child is injured and hasn’t played since Dec. 15. . . . With Scott gone, Vancouver added G Trent Miner, 16, to their roster for the remainder of the season. From Souris, Man., Miner was a first-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. This season, he was 17-3-0, 1.64, .941 in 30 games with the midget AAA Brandon Wheat Kings.
that four teams had inquired about Hebig and the Blades didn’t want to risk an injury in case something could be worked out. Hebig missed all of last season with an injury.
3-3 in its last 10. . . . Brandon (27-12-2) had won its last two outings. The Wheat Kings are third in the overall standings, five points behind Swift Current. . . . F Ty Lewis (24) gave the Wheat Kings a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 16:03 of the first period. . . . D Jayden Platz (1) pulled the visitors even at 2:26 of the second period. . . . Brandon went back out front when F Baron Thompson (12) scored at 11:38 of the third period. . . . F Scott Atkinson (2) tied it for Edmonton at 14:53. . . . Kemp won it with his 10th goal at 2:06 of OT. . . . D Brayden Gorda had an assist and was plus-2 in his first game back with the Oil Kings. He returned to the Oil Kings last week after missing the first half of the season for personal reasons. . . . Brandon was 1-4 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-3. . . . G Josh Dechaine earned the victory with 34 saves, 12 more than Brandon’s Dylan Myskiw. . . . Brandon D Kale Clague has yet to return to the lineup after playing for Canada at the WJC. . . . Announced attendance: 3,225.
Deer Rebels. . . . The Hurricanes (18-19-3) had lost their previous two games. They moved into a second-place tie with Kootenay in the Central Division, eight points in arrears of Medicine Hat. . . . The Rebels (10-22-10) have lost nine in a row (0-4-5). . . . G Logan Flodell, who came over with Barlage in that swap with the Swift Current Broncos, got the victory with 29 saves through OT. He also stopped the last five Red Deer shooters in the shootout. . . . F Brad Morrison, acquired earlier from the Vancouver Giants, scored Lethbridge’s first two goals, both on the PP, at 6:26 and 17:53 of the first period. He’s got 13 goals. . . . In between, Red Deer D Alex Alexeyev (5) got his guys on the scoreboard. . . . F B Brendan Stafford (1) gave Lethbridge a 3-1 lead at 3:17 of the second period. . . . Red Deer took the lead on three second-period goals, two PP scores from Reese Johnson, who has 15 goals, at 7:16 and 8:52, and a goal from F Mason McCarty (20), at 10:19. . . . F Dylan Cozens (12) tied it again at 15:22. . . . The third period was scoreless. . . . Lethbridge got two assists from each of F Jordy Bellerive and F Taylor Ross, with Cozens adding one. . . . F Kristian Reichel and Alexeyev each had two assists for Red Deer, and McCarty had one. . . . Lethbridge was 2-2 on the PP; Red Deer was 2-4. . . . Red Deer G Ethan Anders allowed four goals on 27 shots through two periods. Riley Lamb came on for the third period and OT, stopping all 14 shots he faced. . . . Lethbridge acquired four players from Swift Current in the morning and all four played last night — Flodell, Barlage, D Matthew Stanley and F Owen Blocker. . . . F Jacob Boucher, a ninth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft, made his WHL debut with the Hurricanes. He’s from St. Albert, Alta. . . . After the game, Lethbridge general manager Peter Anholt played host to a town hall as he explained to fans the deal he made with the Swift Current Broncos earlier in the day. . . . Announced attendance: 2,696.
the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Kamloops (18-20-3) had lost its previous two games (0-1-1). It is six points behind Spokane, which holds down the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . Spokane (21-17-3) has lost two in a row. . . . The Blazers got first-period goals from F Quinn Benjafield (12), at 2:49, and F Luc Smith (9), at 19:09. . . . F Riley Woods (18) got the Chiefs to within a goal at 1:10 of the third period. . . . D Joe Gatenby had two assists for Kamloops. . . . F Orrin Centazzo, acquired Sunday from Everett, had an assist in his Kamloops debut. D Montana Onyebuchi, who also came over in that deal, sat out with the flu. . . . Kamloops was 0-3 on the PP; Spokane was 0-7. . . . G Donovan Buskey stopped 26 shots for the Chiefs. . . . Spokane F Kailer Yamamoto, who played for the U.S. at the WJC, sat out, and he won’t play tonight in Kelowna against the Rockets, either. . . . Announced attendance: 3,289.
games. The victory lifted the Giants into a tie with Kelowna for the Western Conference lead. However, Kelowna has three games in hand. . . . Prince George (15-19-7) had points in each of its previous four games (2-0-2). . . . Vancouver took a 3-0 first-period lead on goals from F Dawson Holt (7), at 7:27, F James Malm (16), at 9:00, and D Matt Barberis (4), on a PP, at 16:04. . . . The Cougars’ goal came from F Jared Bethune (14), at 16:17. . . . D Kaleb Bulych (1) added more insurance for the Giants at 2:21 of the second period and F Jared Dmytriw (12) finished the scoring at 12:04. . . . The third period was scoreless. . . . Malm and Holt added two assists each. . . . Vancouver was 1-2 on the PP; Prince George was 0-2. . . . G David Tendeck made 21 saves for the Giants. . . . Cougars starter Tavin Grant allowed five goals on 21 shots in 32:04. Taylor Gauthier finished up by stopping all 10 shots he faced in 27:56. . . . D Brennan Riddle made his Vancouver debut after being acquired Monday from the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Cougars had recent acquisitions D Austin Crossley and F Ethan Browne in the lineup for the first time. . . . The same teams will meet in Prince George again tonight. . . . Announced attendance: 2,477.
on their roster — D Josh Anderson (Prince George), F Tyler Steenbergen (their own pick), Skinner, F Beck Malenstyn (Calgary) and F Kaden Elder (Seattle). However, the Broncos have traded away all of their first-rounders from 2014 through 2020 — D Dominic Schmiemann, 2014 (Calgary), F Riley Stotts, 2015 (Calgary), Barlage, and D Joel Sexsmith, 2017 (Vancouver). . . . The Broncos did get a 2019 first-round pick from Vancouver for the rights to Sexsmith. . . . Estephan, from Edmonton, was the fourth-overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft. He was a sixth-round pick by the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL’s 2015 draft, but was never signed. . . . Nagel, who turns 20 on Jan. 27, is from Mossbank, Sask., but pretty much grew up in Swift Current. He was an alternate captain with the Hurricanes. . . . Lethbridge selected Skinner in the first round of the 2013 bantam draft. The Edmonton Oilers picked him in the third round of the NHL’s 2017 draft. He has yet to sign a pro contract. . . . 
season. In 155 career games, all with Calgary, the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder has 14 goals and 21 assists. . . . Martini is in his second BCHL season with his hometown Trail Smoke Eaters after playing at the Edge School in Calgary. He has six assists in 40 games this season. Last season, he had a goal and four assists in 58 games.
and a conditional third-round pick in 2019.
Medicine Hat Tigers for a seventh-round pick in the 2018 WHL bantam draft.
the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft.
assists in 29 games with the midget AAA Yorkton Maulers.
TAKING NOTE 