Late Saturday WHL deal: Mr. Bean heads to Americans . . . Hitmen get two players, three picks in return

WHEELING AND DEALING …

NUMBER OF TRADES (since Nov. 13): 25

PLAYERS: 48

BANTAM DRAFT PICKS: 32

CONDITONAL BANTAM DRAFT PICKS: 5

DEADLINE: Wednesday, Jan. 10.


THE DEAL: The Tri-City Americans acquired F Jake Bean, 19, from the Calgary Hitmen for F Carson Focht, 17, D Dakota Krebs, 18, a first-round selection in the 2019 bantam draft, a second-round pick in 2018 and a second-round pick in 2020.

THE NUMBERS: Bean, who was taken 13th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the TriCity302016 NHL draft, has five goals and 22 assists in 25 games with the Hitmen this season. He has signed with Carolina. In his fourth season, he has 42 goals and 133 assists in 187 career games. . . . Focht, 6-foot-0 and 180 pounds, has nine goals and 15 assists in 101 career games with Tri-City. This season, he has six goals and 10 assists in 37 games. . . . Krebs, 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, has been on Tri-City’s protected list since Sept. 28, 2014. In 151 games over three seasons, he has two goals and 10 assists. This season, he has eight assists in 37 games.

THE INFO: From Calgary, Bean was one of the big chips thought to be available with the Hitmen rebuilding and the Jan. 10 trade deadline approaching. . . . The deal was Calgaryannounced after the Hitmen had beaten the Hurricanes 6-1 in Lethbridge last night, and while the Americans were playing in Prince George. Bean, who won gold with Canada at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo and silver in the tournament last year, wasn’t in Calgary’s lineup. Neither Focht nor Krebs played for Tri-City. . . . Bean is expected to make his Tri-City debut on Friday against the visiting Portland Winterhawks. The Americans are scheduled to play in Kamloops today and in Everett on Wednesday. . . . Focht, from Regina, was a first-round pick by Tri-City in the 2015 bantam draft. He will turn 18 on Feb. 4, so is eligible for the NHL’s 2018 draft. . . . Krebs, from Okotoks, Alta., was ranked No. 153 among North Americans skaters eligible for the NHL’s 2017 draft, but he wasn’t selected. His younger brother, Peyton, plays for the Kootenay Ice.

WHY: “Jake Bean is an elite offensive defenceman and was the best player available,” Bob Tory, the Americans’ GM, said in a news release, which pretty much explains things from his club’s perspective. . . . When Juuso Valimaki returns from an undisclosed injury in what is hoped to be a couple of weeks, the Americans will have three high-end defencemen in him, Bean and Dylan Coghlan. . . . The Americans are in the case for top spot in the Western Conference and this trade will only help them. . . . The Hitmen signalled a rebuilding mode when they dealt F Matteo Gennaro and F Beck Malenstyn to Swift Current on Nov. 25. The Bean deal “provides us with another skilled 2000-born forward in Carson and a three-year veteran in Dakota, who will bring depth and experience to our defensive core,” GM Jeff Chynoweth said in a news release. In other words, the Hitmen, who are 11 points out of a playoff spot, are all-in on the rebuild.

Saturday’s WHL trades: Cougars get first-rounder, more from Raiders for McDonald . . . Pats add forward from Rebels

WHEELING AND DEALING …

NUMBER OF TRADES (since Nov. 13): 24

PLAYERS: 45

BANTAM DRAFT PICKS: 29

CONDITONAL BANTAM DRAFT PICKS: 5


THE DEAL: Prince Albert acquired F Kody McDonald, 19, and a conditional fourth-round pick in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft for D Rhett Rhinehart, who turned 16 on Nov. 27, D PrinceAlbertAustin Crossley, 18, and the Raiders’ first-round selection in the 2018 bantam draft.

THE NUMBERS: McDonald was the Cougars’ leading goal scorer, with a single-season career-high of 19. He also had 17 assists in 35 games. . . . In 232 regular-season games, all with the Cougars, he had 60 goals and 66 assists. . . . The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Rhinehart had one assist in 31 games with the Raiders this season. . . . Crossley, 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, had four assists in 19 games with the Raiders this season, after recording a goal PrinceGeorgeand an assist in 30 games last season.

THE INFO: McDonald is from Lethbridge and was in his fourth season with the Cougars, who selected him in the second round of the 2013 bantam draft. It was evident on Friday evening that something was up as McDonald was scratched from the lineup just moments before the Cougars met the visiting Tri-City Americans. . . . Rhinehart, a right-hand shot from Lloydminster, Alta., was a first-round pick, 12th overall, by the Raiders in the 2016 gantam draft. He played last season for the midget prep team at the Yale Hockey Academy, putting up 30 points, nine of them goals, in 25 games. . . . Crossley, from Fort St. John, B.C., signed with the Raiders last season after playing 25 games with the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers.

WHY: Despite being seven points out of a playoff spot at the time of the trade and playing in the toughest division in major junior hockey, the Raiders continue to work at strengthening this season’s roster. They are looking for McDonald to bring goals and grit. . . . The Cougars also were seven points out of a playoff spot at the time of the trade, which is all about looking down the road. This deal gets them back into the first round of the 2018 bantam draft after they dealt their pick to the Raiders on Nov. 18, 2016, in a deal that had D Brendan Guhle go to Prince George. The Raiders also got D Max Martin, F Kolby Johnson and a third-rounder in 2019 in that exchange. Apparently, the Raiders keep the Cougars’ first-round pick in 2018, while sending their pick to Prince George.


THE DEAL: The Regina Pats acquired F Austin Pratt, 18, from the Red Deer Rebels for a third-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft.

THE NUMBERS: The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Pratt was in his third season with Red Deer. ReginaPats100This season, he had seven goals and nine assists in 39 games. In 165 career games, he has 62 points, including 31 goals.

THE INFO: Pratt, from Lakeville, Minn., was a fourth-round selection by the Rebels in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . NHL Central Scouting had him ranked 103rd among North American skaters eligible for the NHL’s 2017 draft, but he wasn’t selected. . . . The trade came the morning after Pratt was victimized on the game-winning goal in a 3-2 loss to the host Saskatoon Blades. “You have to be able to pick your guy up in your own zone,” Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ GM and head coach, told Greg Meachem of reddeerrebels.com. “It’s a back door play and Pratter lets his guy go. He’s puck watching, not watching his man. The guy drives the net and scores.”

WHY: Pratt adds more depth to the Pats’ forward ranks, while the Rebels add another chip for what is an obvious rebuild.

O Canada! Steenbergen is our hero . . . Blades’ winning streak reaches six . . . Giants keep rolling on the road

MacBeth

F Pavel Brendl (Calgary, 1998-2001) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Wings Arlanda (Sweden, Division 1). Brendl didn’t play last season. In 2015-16, he had 19 goals and 10 assists in 46 games with Skalica (Slovakia, Extraliga), and three goals and three assists in six games with Zvolen (Slovakia, Extraliga) 6.


A LITTLE OF THIS …

With D Linus Nassen on the shelf, the Medicine Hat Tigers had D Eric Van Impe make his WHL debut on Friday night against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings.

Van Impe is the son of former WHL D Darren Van Impe (Prince Albert, Red Deer, 1990-Tigers Logo Official94).

The Tigers acquired Eric from Spokane, along with F Hayden Ostir, and a second-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft, on Oct. 19, sending F Zach Fischer to the Chiefs.

Van Impe, a second-round pick by the Chiefs in the 2016 bantam draft, has eight goals and 13 assists in 21 games with the midget AAA Calgary Northstars. Last season, he had five goals and 10 assists in 34 games with the Northstars.

CHAT News Today reports that Nassen, a freshman from Sweden, will miss up to eight weeks with a broken radial bone near one wrist. CHAT also reports that Ostir is week-to-week with a broken hand.

The Tigers are still waiting to get F Mason Shaw back after he suffered a knee injury that required surgery while with the NHL-Minnesota Wild’s entry in a preseason tournament.

F Josh Williams, who suffered a broken collarbone at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge, returned to the Medicine Hat lineup last night.


The Red Deer Rebels, who likely aren’t going to be in the playoffs in the spring, continued Red Deerto get younger on Friday when they added F Alex Morozoff, 16, to their roster. . . . Morozoff, from Saskatoon, was a seventh-round selection by the Rebels in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . This season, he had 15 goals and 10 assists in 27 games with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts. Last season, he finished with five goals and 11 assists in 44 games with the Contacts. . . . Morozoff made his WHL debut in his hometown last night, scoring once in a 3-2 loss to the Blades.


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Tyler Steenbergen of the Swift Current Broncos, Canada’s 13th forward for most of the World Junior Championship, broke a 1-1 tie at 18:20 of the third period as his guys won Canadagold with a 3-1 victory over Sweden on Friday night in Buffalo. . . . Steenbergen’s winner came as he skated to the left side of the Swedish goal with his stick on the ice and redirected a hard pass from D Conor Timmins past G Filip Gustavsson. . . . When Steenbergen left for Team Canada’s selection camp early in December, he had 35 goals in 27 games with the Broncos. . . . G Carter Hart stopped 35 shots in posting his eighth WJC career victory. He now shares the Team Canada record for career victories with Jimmy Waite and Stephane Fiset. . . . Team Canada included eight WHL players — D Jake Bean (Calgary), D Kale Clague (Brandon), F Dillon Dube (Kelowna), D Cal Foote (Kelowna), Hart, F Brett Howden (Moose Jaw), F Sam Steel (Regina) and Steenbergen — along with assistant coach Tim Hunter (Moose Jaw), athletic therapist Brian Cheeseman (Edmonton) and video coach Tim O’Donovan (Kamloops). . . . Brad McEwen, a familiar face in WHL arenas for a lot of years, played a key part, too, as Hockey Canada’s head scout. . . . In the video above, that’s Clague celebrating with this family. That’s his father, Jason, to the left. He is a former WHL goaltender. . . .

D Cale Makar, who is in his first season at UMass-Amherst, may have been Canada’s top defenceman in the tournament. He finished with three goals and five assists in the seven games. . . . A 19-year-old from Calgary, Makar was selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the fourth round of the NHL’s 2017 draft. . . . The Medicine Hat Tigers picked Makar in the eighth round of the WHL’s 2013 bantam draft, but he chose to play for the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits and then take the NCAA route. . . . It’s interesting that Brad McEwen, now Hockey Canada’s head scout, was Medicine Hat’s assistant GM and director of scouting when the Tigers drafted Makar. . . . A former Tigers scout told Taking Note last night that “Makar being on the Canadian team has Brad McEwen’s fingerprints all over it. . . . We had hoped he would come over to the WHL, but it never happened. . . . Brad has spent many years scouting in the Dub and obviously drew on some of that knowledge in putting the different pieces together on this team.” . . .

F Kieffer Bellows of the Portland Winterhawks scoredtwice as the U.S. beat Czech Republic, 9-3, in the third-place game at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo on Friday. That left Bellows with nine goals in the tournament — one of them came in a shootout, and the IIHF credits scorers with those goals. That is the most goals scored by an American in any one WJC, breaking the record that had been set by Jeremy Roenick at the 1989 tournament in Anchorage. In that event, Roenick had eight goals and eight assists in seven games as the U.S. finished fifth.

It’s worth noting that F Kailer Yamamoto of the Spokane Chiefs played in Friday’s game, despite having to be helped off the ice near the end of Thursday’s 4-2 loss to Sweden in a semifinal game. In the dying seconds, Swedish F Oskar Steen slashed Yamamoto behind the right knee. Yamamoto went down in a heap and teammates had to help him to the dressing room. In Friday’s pregame warmup, Yamamoto appeared to be favouring the leg, but as time went on — and he got warmed up — he looked to be playing at top speed.

Steen received a warning from the IIHF disciplinary committee and played in the championship game later in the evening.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that F Joachim Blichfeld of the Winterhawks, who played for Denmark at the WJC, wasn’t seriously injured when he was checked into the boards and struck his head. Blichfeld, who missed some games earlier in the season with a concussion, was stretchered off the ice and taken to hospital for tests.

Kevin Kurz, who covers the NHL’s San Jose Sharks for @TheAthleticSF, tweeted that a Sharks spokesman had told him there was “nothing serious” and that Blichfeld would “rest for a bit” and be back with Portland soon.

Blichfeld was selected by the Sharks in the seventh round of the NHL’s 2016 draft and signed an NHL contract on Dec. 28.


THE COACHING GAME …

The OHL’s Peterborough Petes fired head coach Jody Hull on Friday and replaced him with assistant Andrew Verner, at least on an interim basis. . . . At the time of the move, the Petes were 16-20-3, good for fourth place in the East Division and sixth place in the Eastern Conference. . . . Hull took over as interim head coach on Dec. 20, 2012, and had the interim tag removed on Feb. 14, 2013. His regular-season record with the Petes is 167-147-30. . . . Hull played for the Petes (1985-88) before going on to a 16-year pro career. . . . Verner is in his third season as an assistant coach with the Petes. He had been the team’s goaltending coach for two seasons (2013-15), and also played for the Petes (1989-92).


Scoreboard

FRIDAY:

At Prince Albert, F Regan Nagy, in his first game with the Raiders, scored twice in a 7-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Nagy, who hadn’t played since Nov. 28 because of a PrinceAlbertfinger injury, was acquired from the Victoria Royals earlier in the week. . . . The Raiders (14-17-8) had lost their previous five games (0-4-1). They are seven points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Ice (18-20-3) has lost four in a row (0-3-1). It finishes a stretch of five games in six nights tonight in Saskatoon. Kootenay is second in the Central Division, eight points behind Medicine Hat. . . . F Jordy Stallard (27) gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead 34 seconds into the first period. . . . Ice F Colton Veloso tied it at 1:25. . . . The Raiders took control with the next four goals. . . . D Brayden Pachal broke the tie at 9:36, with F Brett Leason (7) scoring, shorthanded, at 7:30 of the second period. . . . F Parker Kelly (17) upped the lead to 4-1 at 1:05 of the third period. . . . Pachal (4) got his second goal of the game at 2:37. He has three of his four goals in his past two games. . . . Veloso (14), on a PP, and D Jonathan Smart (5), shorthanded, added third-period goals for the Ice. . . . Nagy got the game’s last two goals, at 14:59 and 19:57. . . . Stallard added an assist to his goal. . . . The Ice got two assists from F Peyton Krebs. . . . The Ice was 1-5 on the PP; the Raiders were 0-1. . . . G Ian Scott earned the victory with 21 saves. . . . Kootenay starter Duncan McGovern was beaten three times on 14 shots in 11:14. Bailey Brkin came on to finish up and stopped 12 of 16 shots. . . . D Jeremy Masella, acquired by the Raiders from Victoria on Thursday, had one assist. . . . Announced attendance: 1,882.


At Saskatoon, D Jake Kustra broke a 2-2 tie at 10:35 of the third period as Blades beat the Red Deer Rebels, 3-2. . . . Saskatoon (20-17-3) has won six straight games and is tied with SaskatoonRegina for the Eastern Conference’s two wild-card spots. . . . The Rebels (10-21-8) have lost six in a row (0-3-3). . . . F Braylon Shmyr (20) put the home side ahead 1-0 at 19:19 of the first period. Shmyr, who drew the primary assist on the winner, has goals in five straight games. He also is on a six-game multi-point tear during which time he has six goals and 11 assists. . . . The Rebels took a 2-1 lead on second-period goals from F Reese Johnson (12), at 8:44, and F Alex Morozoff (1), on a PP, at 13:51. From Saskatoon, Morozoff was making his WHL debut. . . . F Bradly Goethals (9) pulled the Blades even at 16:42. . . . Kustra won it with his second goal of the season. It was his fourth goal in 128 career games. . . . Red Deer was 1-2 on the PP; Saskatoon was 0-1. . . . G Nolan Maier stopped 22 shots for the Blades, two fewer than Red Deer’s Riley Lamb. . . . F Mason McCarty (ill) was among Red Deer’s scratches. . . . Announced attendance: 3,169.


At Brandon, F Ty Lewis scored in OT to give the Wheat Kings a 3-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Brandon (26-12-1) had lost its previous four games. . . . Swift Current BrandonWKregular(27-11-2) is second in the overall standings, four points ahead of Brandon. . . . F Matteo Gennaro scored twice for the visitors, giving him 24 goals. He gave his guys a 1-0 lead at 16:53 of the first period. . . . After Brandon F Baron Thompson (11) tied it, at 6:27 of the second period, Gennaro put his boys out front again, at 7:10 of the third. . . . F Evan Weinger (19), on a PP, tied it for Brandon at 9:31. . . . Lewis won it with his 21st goal of the season at 3:32 of extra time. . . . Weinger had the lone assist on the winner. . . . F Max Patterson had two assists for the Broncos. . . . Brandon was 1-4 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-1. . . . The Wheat Kings got 24 saves from G Logan Thompson. . . . Logan Flodell stopped 32 shots for the Broncos. . . . Announced attendance: 3,351.


At Calgary, the Moose Jaw Warriors jumped out to a 4-0 lead and went on to a 5-3 victory over the Hitmen. . . . Moose Jaw (32-6-3) has points in seven straight games (6-0-1) and MooseJawWarriorsleads the overall standings by 10 points over Swift Current. . . . Calgary (12-21-6) is 13 points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Warriors scored two goals in each of the first two periods. . . . F Jayden Halbgewachs (42) got it started while shorthanded, at 9:35 of the first and F Tanner Jeannot upped it to 2-0 at 17:47. . . . D Dmitri Zaitsev (3) scored on a PP at 7:33 of the second and Jeannot (30) made it 4-0 at 15:17. . . . F Riley Stotts got Calgary’s first goal, on a PP, at 11:58 of the third period. . . . Moose Jaw F Vince Loschiavo (13) got that one back at 14:33. . . . Stotts (8) and D Layne Toder, with his first WHL goal, scored for Calgary before the period ended. . . . The Warriors got two assists from F Tristin Langan and one each from Loschiavo, Zaitsev, Jeannot and Halbgewachs. . . . Moose Jaw F Brayden Burke, the WHL scoring leader, was held pointless. . . . Toder also had an assist for Calgary. . . . Calgary was 1-4 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 1-5. . . . G Adam Evanoff started and stopped all 18 shots he faced in 45:53 for Moose Jaw, before giving way to Brady Willms, who was beaten three times on five shots in 14:07. Evanoff went to the dressing room with trainer Brooke Kosolofski after taking a blow to the head. . . . Calgary starter Nick Schneider was beaten four times on 31 shots through two periods. Matthew Armitage stopped 10 of 11 shots in the third period. . . . Announced attendance: 5,435.


At Lethbridge, F Tyler Benson scored twice to help the Vancouver Giants to a 5-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The Giants (22-14-5) are 4-0-1 in their past five games. They also Vancouverhave won five straight on the road. They are second in the B.C. Division, two points behind Kelowna. . . . Lethbridge (17-18-3) had points in its previous three games (2-0-1). It is third in the Central Division, two points behind Kootenay. . . . F Jordy Bellerive (23) gave Lethbridge a 1-0 lead at 8:02 of the first period. . . . D Alex Kannok Leipert (2) tied it at 15:56. . . . Benson gave the visitors their first lead at 4:30 of the second period. . . . G Giorgio Estephan (18) tied it at 5:50. . . . Benson (17) snapped that tie at 6:29, with F Ty Ronning (35) adding insurance at 3:39 of the third period, on a PP. . . . F Jared Dmytriw (11) got the empty-netter, on a  PP, at 17:31. . . . Ronning, D Darian Skeoch and F Brayden Watts each had two assists for the winners. . . . Bellerive also had an assist for Lethbridge. . . . Vancouver was 2-6 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-5. . . . The Giants got 33 saves from G David Tendeck. . . . G Stuart Skinner blocked 21 shots for the Hurricanes. . . . F Cole Shepard, a second-round pick by the Giants in the 2017 bantam draft, made his BCHL debut with the Penticton Vees last night. From West Vancouver, B.C., has has 10 goals and 25 assists in 23 games with the Delta Hockey Academy’s CSSHL prep team. . . . Announced attendance: 3,475.


At Medicine Hat, F Max Gerlach had two goals and an assist to help the Tigers to a 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Medicine Hat (22-15-3) has points in four Tigers Logo Officialstraight games (3-0-1). It leads the Central Division by eight points over Kootenay. . . . Edmonton (10-23-6) had points in each of its previous six games (3-0-3). . . . Gerlach opened the scoring, on a PP, at 8:28 of the first period, and F Baxter Anderson (1) made it 2-0 at 5:05 of the second. Anderson, 17, had one goal in six games last season. He’s got a goal and three assists in 27 games this season. . . . D David Quenneville (17) made it 3-0, on a PP, 46 seconds into the third period. . . . F David Kope (6) scored while shorthanded for Edmonton, at 2:57 of the third period. . . . F Mark Rassell (34) and Gerlach (16) scored for the Tigers before the period ended. . . . D Kristians Rubins had two assists for the winners, with Gerlach, Rassell and Quenneville adding one apiece. . . . The Tigers were 2-8 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 0-6. . . . G Michael Bullion earned the victory with 19 saves, two fewer than Edmonton’s Josh Dechaine. . . . The Oil Kings lost F Colton Kehler at 18:45 of the second period with a match penalty for attempt to injury after he slew-footed D Dylan MacPherson of the Tigers. . . . Freshman F Josh Williams, 16, was back in Medicine Hat’s lineup for the first time since Oct. 28. He had four goals in 14 games when he suffered a broken collarbone at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. He was the fifth-overall selection in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . D Logan Dowhaniuk, 15, made his WHL debut for the Oil Kings. From Sherwood Park, Alta., he was a second-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft. . . . Announced attendance: 3,059.


At Prince George, F Jared Bethune scored three times to lead the Cougars to a 4-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Cougars (15-18-6) have points in three straight (2-0-PrinceGeorge1). They are tied with Kamloops for fourth in the B.C. Division, seven points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Americans (20-12-5) have lost two in a row. They are third in the U.S. Division, two points behind Portland. . . . Bethune, who has 12 goals, gave the home side a 2-0 first-period lead with goals at 14:42, on a PP, at 16:51. . . . F Nolan Yaremko (13) pulled the Americans to within a goal at 1:41 of the second period. . . . F Josh Maser (16) got that one back for Prince George at 11:58. . . . Bethune completed the hat trick, his second in the WHL, with a PP goal at 6:40 of the third period. . . . The Americans made it interesting with goals from F Sasha Mutala (4), on a PP, at 9:46, and F Riley Sawchuk (5), at 19:00. . . . Maser, D Dennis Cholowski and D Joel Lakusta each had two assists for Prince George. . . . Mutala added an assist to his goal. . . . The Cougars were 2-3 on the PP; the Americans were 1-5. . . . G Tavin Grant stopped 34 shots for the Cougars. . . . The Americans got 16 saves from G Patrick Dea. . . . F Kody McDonald was among Prince George’s scratches. He was in the lineup but then was a late scratch. . . . Announced attendance: 2,855.


At Kelowna, the Seattle Thunderbirds scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Rockets, 6-4. . . . Seattle (19-14-5) has points in seven straight games (6-0-1). It holds down Seattlethe Western Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . Kelowna (24-12-3) had won its previous six games. It has also won 13 in a row at home. The Rockets lead the Western Conference by two points over Vancouver. . . . Seattle D Aaron Hyman, back after being out since Dec. 1 with an undisclosed injury, scored his first goal of the season — and fourth in 134 career games — at 1:36 of the opening period. . . . F Dillon Hamaliuk (7) made it 2-0 at 13:52. . . . F Leif Mattson (11) got Kelowna on the scoreboard at 16:11. . . . Seattle got that one back when F Donovan Neuls scored, on a PP, at 7:23 of the second period. . . . The Rockets took a 4-3 lead on second-period goals from D Gordie Ballhorn (3), on a PP, at 8:25; F Kyle Topping (15), at 10:10; and F Carsen Twarynski (27), at 17:16. . . . Seattle pulled even as Neuls (11) got his second goal of the game, at 18:19. . . . F Nolan Volcan scored his 17th goal at 8:59 of the third period to give Seattle a 5-4 lead. . . . D Austin Strand (13) upped it to 6-4 at 12:09. . . . Volcan, in his fourth season with Seattle, had 16 goals in each of his previous two seasons. . . . Seattle got two assists from each of D Jarret Tyszka, F Zack Andrusiak and F Matthew Wedman. . . . F Nolan Foote had two helpers for Kelowna. . . . F Sami Moilanen had an assist in his return to Seattle’s lineup. He hadn’t played since leaving in December to try and crack the roster of Finland’s national junior team. . . . Seattle was 1-1 on the PP; Kelowna was 1-7. . . . G Liam Hughes earned the victory with 26 saves, five more than Kelowna’s James Porter Jr. . . . Announced attendance: 5,230.


At Spokane, F Hudson Elynuik and F Jaret Anderson-Dolan each had two goals as the Chiefs whipped the Portland Winterhawks, 9-3. . . . Spokane (21-15-3) is tied with Tri-City SpokaneChiefsfor third in the U.S. Division, but the Americans hold four games in hand. . . . Portland (22-13-3) had been 1-0-2 in its previous three games. It is second in the U.S. Division, one point behind Everett. . . . The Chiefs took control of this one with three first-period goals, from F Ethan McIndoe (10), on a PP, at 5:55; D Tyson Helgesen (5), at 9:11; and Anderson-Dolan, at 19:07. . . . F Jake Gricius (7) scored Portland’s first goal, at 4:26 of the second period. . . . Spokane F Zach Fischer (18) restored the three-goal lead, on a PP, at 8:32. . . . Portland F Cody Glass (23) scored at 11:23. . . . The Chiefs put it away with the next three goals, from F Jake McGrew (7) and two from Elynuik, who now has 21 goals. . . . F Skyler McKenzie (28) had Portland’s last goal. . . . Anderson-Dolan (21), on a PP, and D Luke Gallagher (1) rounded out Spokane’s scoring. . . . The Chiefs got three assists from F Eli Zummack, two from each of D Nolan Reid and D Ty Smith, and one each from Helgesen, McGrew and Elynuik. . . . Spokane was 3-4 on the PP; Portland was 0-2. . . . G Dawson Weatherill made 16 saves for the Chiefs, while Portland’s Cole Kehler stopped 41 shots. . . . Announced attendance: 5,042.


At Victoria, G Griffen Outhouse tied a franchise record as the Royals blanked the Everett Silvertips, 5-0. . . . Outhouse had 10 career shutouts, tying the Chilliwack/Victoria VictoriaRoyalsfranchise record that he now shares with Lucas Gore. . . . Victoria (22-15-4) had lost its previous two games (0-1-1). It is third in the B.C. Division, one point behind Vancouver. . . . Everett (23-15-2) leads the U.S. Division, by one point over Portland. . . . Outhouse stopped 38 shots in recording his second shutout of this season. . . . The Royals got goals from three recently acquired players. . . . F Braydon Buziak (3), who came over from Regina, made it 1-0 at 16:05 of the second period. . . . F Jeff de Wit (5), acquired from Kootenay, increased the lead to 2-0 just 17 seconds into the third period. . . . F Andrei Grishakov (12), who was acquired from Calgary, scored the game’s last goal, at 17:40. . . . F Dante Hannoun (14) and F Matthew Phillips (29) also scored. . . . F Kaid Oliver had two assists, with Buziak, Phillips and Hannoun each getting one. . . . Victoria was 0-2 on the PP; Everett was 0-3 on the PP. . . . Everett starter Dustin Wolf allowed four goals on 22 shots in 51:18, beefier Danton Belluk came on to stop two of three shots in 8:42. . . . Announced attendance: 5,207.


SATURDAY (all times local):

Red Deer at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.

Regina at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

Kootenay at Saskatoon 7:05 p.m.

Moose Jaw at Edmonton 7 p.m.

Calgary at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.

Vancouver at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.

Victoria at Kamloops, 7 p.m.

Tri-City at Prince George, 7 p.m.

Portland at Everett, 7:05 p.m.

Spokane vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash. 7:05 p.m.


TWEET OF THE DAY

 

Friday’s WHL deals: Pats bring back familiar face . . . Warriors, Rebels swap d-men, picks

WHEELING AND DEALING …

NUMBER OF TRADES (since Nov. 13): 22

PLAYERS: 41

BANTAM DRAFT PICKS: 26

CONDITONAL BANTAM DRAFT PICKS: 4


THE DEAL: The Regina Pats acquired D Jesse Gabrielle, 20, and D Jonas Harkins, who turned 17 on Dec. 26, from the Prince George Cougars for F Kjell Kjemhus, 16, D Ethan ReginaPats100McColm, 15, and third- and fifth-round selections in the 2018 bantam draft.

THE NUMBERS: Gabrielle is a first-year pro, who has a goal and three assists — and only four penalty minutes — in 21 games with the AHL’s Providence Bruins. He was a healthy scratch last night in Providence. He played the previous two seasons with Prince George putting up 75 goals and 64 assists in 133 games. . . . Gabrielle played 33 games with the Pats in the last half of 2014-15, scoring 10 goals and adding nine assists. In 250 regular-season WHL games, he has 110 goals an 99 assists. . . . Harkins has one assist in 14 games with the Cougars this season. . . . Kjemhus is pointless in three games with the Pats this season. He has been playing at the Pursuit of PrinceGeorgeExcellence, where he has four goals and three assists in 18 games with the prep team in the CSSHL, and four goals in 12 games with the U-18 side.

THE INFO: The 5-foot-11, 205-pound Gabrielle is expected to be in Regina in time to play Sunday against the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. He is from Moosomin, Sask. He was selected by the Boston Bruins in the fourth round of the NHL’s 2015 draft. Gabrielle was a fifth-round pick by the Brandon Whet Kings in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Harkins, 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, is the son of Cougars general manager Todd Harkins. Jonas was a second-round pick by the Cougars in the 2015 bantam draft. Last week, the Cougars dealt F Ethan O’Rourke to the Everett Silvertips. He is the son of Prince George associate coach Steve O’Rourke. . . . Kjemhus, from Grande Prairie, Alta., was a fourth-round selection by Regina in the 2016 bantam draft. He is in his fourth season at PoE. . . . McColm, from Oakbank, Man., plays for the midget AAA Eastman Selects. He has six goals and 14 assists in 21 games.

WHY: The Pats are the host team for the 2018 Memorial Cup; however, they have been playing like anything but a contender. Gabrielle will bring some sting to their lineup, as well as some offence. The Pats will be hoping that he brings a lot of energy, after not getting much in the way of playing time in Providence. . . . Regina had room for a 20-year-old, having parted company with F Wyatt Sloboshan over the Christmas break. . . . The Cougars, after going all-in last season, are looking to the future as they acquire youth and draft picks.


THE DEAL: The Moose Jaw Warriors acquired D Brandon Schuldhaus, 19, and a fourth-round selection in the 2020 bantam draft from the Red Deer Rebels for D Colin Paradis, MooseJawWarriors19, and two second-round draft picks, one in 2019 and one in 2020.

THE NUMBERS: The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Schuldhaus had 12 assists in 37 games with the Rebels this season. In 161 career regular-season games, split between the Rebels and Seattle Thunderbirds, he has four goals and 28 assists. . . . Paradis, 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, had a goal and three assists in 37 games with the the Warriors this season. In 165 career games, he has a goal and 17 assists.

THE INFO: Schuldhaus was born in Houston but now lists Calgary as his home. He was Red Deerselected by Seattle in the fifth round of the 2013 bantam draft, then went on to play two seasons at Shattuck St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn. . . . Paradis, from Sherwood Park, Alta., was a fourth-round pick by the Warriors in the 2013 bantam draft. He has one career goal and was a game-winner as the Warriors beat the host Swift Current Broncos, 7-4, on Nov. 14.

WHY: The Warriors, who lead the overall standings, get bigger on the back end and get a guy who will help on the penalty kill. . . . The Rebels, looking to the future, don’t lose anything in the experience department and gain two early draft picks.

Blichfeld leaves WJC game on stretcher . . . Organizers declare WJC a success . . . Royals add import from Hitmen, make deal with Raiders

A LITTLE OF THIS . . .

The Portland Winterhawks boarded their bus Thursday afternoon and headed for Spokane where they will play the Chiefs tonight.

But you can bet the Winterhawks’ thoughts weren’t on the road in front of them. Rather, Portlandthey will have been wondering about the condition of F Joachim Blichfeld, a teammate who was stretchered off the ice midway through the second period of a relegation-round game at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo earlier in the day.

Blichfeld hit his head on the boards after taking a high hit from behind from D Dmitri Deryabin of Belarus, who was assessed a match penalty on the play.

Blichfeld did flash a thumbs-up signal as he was carried from the ice surface. He was taken to hospital for further examination.

Blichfeld, 19, is from Frederikshavn, Denmark. He was selected by San Jose in the seventh round of the NHL’s 2016 draft and signed with the Sharks on on Dec. 28 while in Buffalo.

In Game 1 of the best-of-three relegation series on Wednesday, Blichfeld had two goals and an assist as Denmark won the opener, 5-4.

On Thursday, Blichfeld had two primary assists as Denmark opened up a 2-0 lead. Belarus came back to tie it before Denmark won it, 3-2, in a shootout. The victory means Denmark stays in the top group for the 2019 WJC, with Belarus sliding back to Division 1A. (If you’re wondering, Kazakhstan won promotion to the big group, so will be in Victoria/Vancouver for the next tournament.)

This season with Portland, Blichfeld has 13 goals and 17 assists in 26 games. He missed a handful of games early in October with what is believed to have been a concussion.

This latest injury, then, depending on the diagnosis, might be his second brain injury of the season, meaning the Winterhawks will be extra careful with a player who is key part of their roster.


Officials from the IIHF and organizers of the 2018 World Junior Championship held a Buffalostate-of-the-event news conference in Buffalo on Thursday afternoon. Michael Traikos of the National Post was there and, as he wrote, “With noses growing, they called it a success.” . . . During the news conference, Traikos continued, “Organizers bragged that more than 200,000 tickets had been sold, ignoring that a quarter-final between the U.S. and Russia on Tuesday night had only 6,242 fans in a building that seats more than 19,000. They highlighted the record-setting crowd that braved the snow to watch an outdoor game that ‘was a little bit of magic,’  but then blamed the same weather for driving away fans at the other indoor games. . . . His complete column is right here.

Ken Campbell of The Hockey News also was at the news conference, and his take is right here.

Interestingly, Campbell reported that Rene Fasel, the IIHF president, said that 50 per cent of the tickets already have been sold for the 2019 WJC that is to be held in Victoria and Vancouver.

That, Campbell wrote, “is quite a feat considering the 18-game pack (and one pre-tournament game) for Vancouver ranges in price from $650 ($34 per game) to $2,250 ($118 per game).”

Ron Toigo, the majority owner of the Vancouver Giants, told Vancouver sportscaster Rick Dhaliwal of NEWS 1130 and Sportsnet 650 on Dec. 28 that tickets are “well over 60 per cent sold.”


The Portland Winterhawks lost F Lane Gilliss to an undisclosed injury on Sunday during a 4-3 shootout loss to the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. As a result, they have brought back F Jaydon Dureau from the midget AAA Regina Pats Canadians. He had been with the Winterhawks but was returned to the Pat Canadians following the Christmas break. The Pat Canadians won the Mac’s tournament in Calgary on Monday. Dureau had two goals and two assists in the championship game, a 4-0 victory over the Red Deer Optimist Chiefs. . . . Dureau, 16, was an eighth-round pick by Portland in the 2016 bantam draft. This season, he has 56 points, including 27 goals, in 26 games with the Pat Canadians. . . . Portland also returned D Nick Cicek to junior A, in his case to the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues, but quickly brought him back when D Keoni Texeira went down with an undisclosed injury.


The Edmonton Oil Kings have brought in F Jake Neighbours for a look-see. From Airdrie, Alta., Neighbours was the fourth overall selection in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft. He made his WHL debut with the Oil Kings earlier this season. . . . In 23 games with the midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes, Neighbours has 17 goals and 25 assists. . . . If you’re interested in the return of D Brayden Gorda to the Oil Kings, there is more right here.


The Red Deer Rebels have dropped F Lukus MacKenzie, 18, from their roster and he is expected to join the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers. . . . MacKenzie had four assists in 17 games with the Rebels after being acquired from the Saskatoon Blades, with whom he had four assists in 13 games. . . . From Calgary, MacKenzie was a third-round pick by the Blades in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . In 138 games, he has eight goals and 28 assists.


WHEELING AND DEALING …

NUMBER OF TRADES (since Nov. 13): 20

PLAYERS: 35

BANTAM DRAFT PICKS: 21

CONDITONAL BANTAM DRAFT PICKS: 4


THE DEAL: The Victoria Royals acquired F Andrei Grishakov, 18, from the Calgary Hitmen for a third-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft.

THE NUMBERS: Grishakov, from Chelyabinsk, Russia, has 22 goals and 39 assists in 107 VictoriaRoyalsgames with the Hitmen. This season, the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder has 11 goals and 15 assists in 37 games. . . . The Hitmen selected him in the CHL import draft after he put up 21 goals and 24 assists in 32 games with Traktor Chelyabinski’s U-17 team in 2015-16. He also played four games with the U-18 side that season, recording four goals and five assists.

THE INFO: Grishakov should be in Victoria’s lineup tonight (Friday) against the visiting Everett Silvertips. If he doesn’t play then, he will get another opportunity on Saturday when the Royals visit Kamloops. Yes, it’s a quick turn-around for Victoria.

WHY: The Royals have had room for an import since F Yan Khomenko returned to Russia and signed with Ak Bars Kazan, a KHL team. He is pointless in three games with Irbis Kazan, a junior team. . . . The Royals are hoping that putting Grishakov into their top six will ignite his offence. . . . Grishakov joins F Igor Martynov, who turns 19 on Jan. 19, as the Royals’ import players. Martynov is from Belarus and has been representing his country at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo. . . . The Hitmen, who aren’t likely to make the playoffs, have been in sell mode since Nov. 25 when they dealt top-flight forwards Matteo Gennaro and Beck Malenstyn to the Swift Current Broncos. Now it’s all about freeing up ice time for younger players.


THE DEAL: The Victoria Royals have acquired F D-Jay Jerome, 18, from the Prince Albert Raiders for D Jeremy Masella, 18.

THE NUMBERS: From Lethbridge, Jerome has one assist in 31 games with the Raiders. PrinceAlbertHe split last season between the Red Deer Rebels and the Raiders, recording eight goals and eight assists in 55 games. . . . Masella had three goals and four assists in 35 games with the Royals. In 63 career games, all with Victoria, he has three goals and five assists.

THE INFO: Red Deer placed the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Jerome on their protected list in 2016. The Rebels dealt him to Prince Albert on Dec. 28, 2016, along with a 2017 third-round bantam draft pick, for F Austin Glover. . . . The 6-foot-5, 214-pound Masella is from Phoenix. He had been on Victoria’s protected list since 2015. . . . This is the second deal between these teams this week. On Tuesday, the Royals dealt F Regan Nagy, 20, to the Raiders for the rights to F Hunter Strand, 15, sixth- and 10th-round picks in the 2018 bantam draft and a third-rounder in 2019. . . . Cam Hope, the Royals’ general manager, has made seven trades since Dec. 1.

WHY: For starters, both players get fresh starts and a chance to earn more ice time with new teams. . . . The Royals had been carrying eight defencemen so it seemed that someone would go before the Jan. 10 trade deadline. Victoria also adds another bigger forward as it continues to alter the size of its forward ranks. . . . The Raiders add size to their back end. Their roster shows nine defencemen, but Sergei Sapego is injured, Vojtech Budik is at the WJC in Buffalo, and Kaiden Guhle, the first overall selection in the 2017 bantam draft, is only 15 so will have to go back to his club team at some point.


Scoreboard

THURSDAY:

No Games Scheduled.


FRIDAY (all times local):

Kootenay at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.

Red Deer at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.

Swift Current at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.

Moose Jaw at Calgary, 7 p.m.

Vancouver at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.

Edmonton at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.

Tri-City at Prince George, 7 p.m.

Seattle at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.

Portland at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.

Everett at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.

Pats take outdoor games inside . . . Moose Jaw, Regina shoot, shoot and shoot some more . . . Giants into second in B.C.

A LITTLE OF THIS . . .

Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reported Wednesday evening that the Regina Pats have moved two scheduled outdoor games from Mosaic Stadium and put them inside the Brandt Centre.

Shortly after Harder’s story hit the Internet, the Pats issued a news release confirming it.

An NHL alumni game is scheduled to be played on Feb. 17, with the Pats to meet the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors on Feb. 18.

“Only 10,000-plus ticket packages have been sold for the two games at Regina’s new stadium, which holds over 33,000,” Harder reported. “Many of those seats were purchased by corporate sponsors.

“Local fans have given the mid-winter event a cold shoulder since two-game packages were released to the general public in late November ($75, $149.15, $198.72 and $275.22, including taxes and surcharges).”

Harder’s story is right here.


The Kootenay Ice was without Swiss F Gilian Kohler for a second straight game on KootenaynewWednesday night, Kohler is shown on the WHL’s latest roster report as being out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

Kohler was injured on a hit by Medicine Hat F Ryan Jevne on Monday night in a game the visiting Tigers won, 5-4 ion OT. Jevne was given a minor penalty for checking to the head. On Wednesday, Jevne was hit with a three-game suspension under supplemental discipline.

Keep in mind that Kohler suffered a concussion while playing for Switzerland at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament in August. With the Ice, he has three goals and six assists in 32 games.


The Edmonton Oil Kings revealed Thursday via Twitter that D Brayden Gorda has EdmontonOilKingsreturned to the fold. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Gorda, an 18-year-old from Edmonton, didn’t report to training camp with the team saying that he was absent “due to personal reasons.” . . . A third-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, Gorda had played two full seasons with Edmonton. Last season, he had four goals and 12 assists in 56 games. . . . Gorda was eligible for the NHL’s 2017 draft, but wasn’t selected after NHL Central Scouting ranked him No. 147 among North American skaters. . . . On Thursday, the Oil Kings didn’t indicate a timetable for Goyda to return to game action. As of last night, Edmonton’s roster included nine defencemen without Goyda.


The Everett Silvertips have signed F Gage Goncalves, a list player from Mission, B.C. Goncalves, 16, is playing with the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League and has 47 points, including 17 goals, in 24 games. He also gotten into four games with the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs, scoring once and adding an assist.


First, we had Christian Wohlwend, the head coach of Switzerland’s national junior team, speaking honestly with the media at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo. . . . Now we’ve got Frank Serratore, the head coach of the Air Force Falcons, doing the same thing. If you haven’t seen this video, it’s well worth your time.


Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet filed his latest edition of 31 Thoughts on Wednesday, and it’s all right here.


Scoreboard

WEDNESDAY:

At Regina, the Pats unleashed a 61-shot barrage and beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-2. . . . The Pats (20-18-3) have won four in a row. They hold down the Eastern Conference’s ReginaPats100first wild-card spot. Regina is fourth in the East Division, eight points behind Brandon. . . . The Wheat Kings (25-12-1) have lost four in a row. They are third in the overall standings, five points behind Swift Current. . . . F Jared Legien, acquired last week from the Victoria Royals in the hopes that he would bring some offence to the Regina lineup, had two goals and an assist. . . . D Zach Wytinck (3) gave Brandon a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 7:38 of the first period. . . . Regina took a 2-1 lead on goals from F Matt Bradley (25), at 6:46 of the second period, and Legien, on a PP, at 1:58 of the third. . . . F Ty Lewis (20) got Brandon even at 5:32. . . . Legien snapped the tie with his 16th goal of the season at 10:20. . . . Bradley, playing in his 250th regular-season WHL game, added an assist on the winner to his goal. . . . Brandon was 1-2 on the PP; Regina was 1-4. . . . The Pats got 28 saves from G Tyler Brown. . . . G Logan Thompson stopped 58 shots — yes, 58 — for Brandon. . . . Announced attendance: 5,624.


At Swift Current, the Broncos scored three times in the third period en route to a 5-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Broncos (27-10-2) had lost their previous three SCBroncosgames. They are 2-3-0 in a stretch of playing eight games in 12 nights. They’ll wrap it up this weekend with a game in Brandon on Friday and home games, against Regina and Red Deer, on Saturday and Sunday. . . . The Broncos are second in the overall standings, nine pints behind Moose Jaw. . . . The Ice (18-19-3) has lost three in a row (0-2-1). Kootenay is 0-2-1 in the first three games of a stretch in which it will play five games in six nights. The Ice is off tonight (Thursday) and then will play in Prince Albert and Saskatoon on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Kootenay is second in the Central Division, six points behind Medicine Hat. . . . Last night, the Ice took an early 2-0 first-period lead on goals from F Brad Ginnell (6), at 1:19, and F Alec Baer (17), at 4:45. . . . It’s worth noting that Ginnell scored in the same arena where his father, Erin, played in the second half of the 1986-87 season. Erin moved from the Regina Pats to Swift Current to help the Broncos finish the season after the tragic bus crash of Dec. 30, 1986. . . . D Sahvan Khaira (6) scored, while shorthanded, for the Broncos at 19:24. . . . F Kaden Elder pulled the Broncos even at 8:32 of the second period and F Max Patterson (5) put them ahead at 1:40 of the third. . . . The Ice got back into tie at 10:54 as F Cam Hausinger (13) scored. . . . Swift Current F Matteo Gennaro snapped the tie with his 22nd goal, at 13:51. . . . Elder (9) got the empty-netter, at 18:01. . . . The Broncos got three assists form F Kole Gable and two from Gennaro. F Glenn Gawdin had one assist as he returned after missing a game while ill. . . . Baer added an assist to his goal for Kootenay. . . . The Broncos were 0-1 on the PP; the Ice was 0-4. . . . G Logan Flodell earned the victory with 30 stops, six fewer than the Ice’s Bailey Brkin. . . . Announced attendance: 2,096.


At Calgary, F Riley Stotts scored 47 seconds into OT to give the Hitmen a 4-3 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Medicine Hat (21-15-3) has points in three straight (2-0-1) Calgaryand leads the Central Division by six points over Kootenay. . . . The Hitmen (12-20-6) are 11 points out of a playoff spot. They are 10th in the Eastern Conference, four points behind Prince Albert. . . . D David Quenneville (16) gave the Tigers the lead, on a PP, at 13:25 of the first period, with Calgary F Mark Kastelic (13) tying it, on a PP, at 16:51. . . . F Mark Rassell (33) put the visitors back out front at 1:37 of the second period, with Calgary F Jacob Stukel (18) tying it at 8:20. . . . The Tigers went out front again, at 10:02, as F Max Gerlach (14) scored on a PP. . . . F Hunter Campbell (3) got Calgary back on even ground, again, at 12:56. . . . The third period was scoreless before Stotts won it with his sixth goal of the season. . . . The Hitmen got two assists from Kastelic and Stukel added one. . . . Medicine Hat was 2-7 on the PP; Calgary was 1-8. . . . The Hitmen got 23 saves from G Nick Schneider, while Medicine Hat’s Jordan Hollett stopped 28 shots. . . . F Bryce Bader, who played one game with the Hitmen last season, was in the Calgary lineup for the first time this season. He has 22 points, including 10 goals, in 25 games with the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings. He was a second-round pick by Calgary in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . F Jake Kryski (ill) was among Calgary’s scratches. . . . The Tigers will be without Swedish D Linus Nassen for up to eight weeks with an undisclosed injury. Nassen has one goal and 21 assists in 38 games in his freshman season. He was a third-round pick by the Florida Panthers in the NHL’s 2016 draft. . . . Medicine Hat F Ryan Jevne served the first game of a three-game suspension. . . . Announced attendance: 5,505.


At Edmonton, F Tyler Ho, a freshman with one goal in 29 games this season, scored in the seventh round of a shootout to give the Vancouver Giants a 4-3 victory over the Oil Kings. Vancouver. . . The Giants (21-14-5), who went to extra time for a third straight game, have points in four straight (3-0-1). Out of the playoffs for three straight season, Vancouver now is second in the B.C. Division, one point ahead of Victoria. . . . The Oil Kings (10-22-6) have points in six in a row (3-0-3). They are last in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Red Deer. . . . Vancouver F Tyler Benson (15) put the visitors out front at 7:27 of the first period. He is from Edmonton and has signed with the NHL’s Oilers. . . . F Aidan Barefoot (4) made it 2-0 at 8:44. . . . F Brett Kemp (9) scored Edmonton’s first goal, at 6:01 of the second period, only to have Vancouver restore its two-goal lead as D Dylan Plouffe (7) scored at 12:04. . . . F Tomas Soustal (11) pulled the home side to within a goal at 5:26 of the third period, and D Conner McDonald (4) tied it at 10:34. . . . McDonald, who also had an assist, has two goals and nine assists in his last six games. . . . Kemp also added an assist to his goal. . . . Ho, who didn’t score in seven games last season, had two assists for Vancouver, giving him seven this season. . . . Plouffe added an assist to his goal. . . . Vancouver was 0-1 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-3. . . . G David Tendeck stopped 37 shots for Vancouver. At the other end, Josh Dechaine made 31 saves. . . . Only three of the 14 shooters in OT were able to score. Benson and Edmonton F Colton Kehler each scored in the second round. . . . Vancouver F Brad Morrison played in his 300th regular-season game. He went pointless. . . . D Aidan Lawson, a 16-year-old from the U16 Colorado Thunderbirds, made his WHL debut with Edmonton. . . . The Giants continue to play with F Brendan Semchuk, 18, who hasn’t been in a game since Dec. 15. He reportedly has left the team and asked to be traded. From Kamloops, he had eight goals and 11 assists in 33 games. . . . Announced attendance: 6,290.


At Red Deer, the Moose Jaw Warriors had a 69-shot game as they doubled the Rebels, 6-3. . . . The Warriors (31-6-3) have points in six straight (5-0-1). They lead the overall MooseJawWarriorsstandings by nine points over Swift Current. . . . The Rebels (10-20-8) have lost five straight (0-2-3). They are 13 points out of a playoff spot. . . . Moose Jaw got two goals and an assist from F Brayden Burke, and three assists from F Justin Almeida. Burke leads the WHL scoring race with 80 points, seven more than F Glenn Gawdin of Swift Current. . . . F Mason McCarty (19), on a PP, gave the home side a 1-0 lead at 11:51 of the first period. . . . The Warriors took a 2-1 lead on goals from F Vince Loschiavo (12), at 14:28, and Burke, at 17:11. . . . F Chris Douglas (3) got Red Deer even at 5:09 of the second period. . . . The Warriors got the game’s next four goals, the first two in the second period. F Tristyn DeRoose (2) scored at 7:37 and F Jayden Halbgewachs (41) counted on a PP at 17:55. . . . After two periods, the Warriors were ahead 4-2 on the scoreboard and 55-13 on the shot clock. . . . Moose Jaw stretched its lead in the third period as Burke (21) scored, shorthanded, at 5:50, and F Ryan Peckford (16) added another at 13:22. . . . D Dawson Barteaux (2) got Red Deer’s third goal, on a PP, at 14:41. . . . Peckford also had an assist. . . . The Rebels got two assists from D Alex Alexeyev and one each from Barteaux and McCarty. . . . Red Deer was 2-6 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 1-5. . . . G Brody Willms made 18 saves for the visitors. . . . At the other end, Riley Lamb turned aside 63 shots. . . . Announced attendance: 4,034.


At Kelowna, the Rockets scored the game’s last two goals as they beat the Tri-City Americans, 5-4, and ran their home-ice winning streak to 13 games. . . . The Rockets (24-KelownaRockets11-3) have won six in a row and lead the Western Conference by three points over Everett. The Rockets also lead the B.C. Division, by four points over Vancouver. . . . The Americans (20-11-5) had points in each of their previous seven games (5-0-2). They are third in the U.S. Division, two points behind Portland. . . . F Nolan Foote (11) got Kelowna into a 4-4 tie, at 3:42 of the third period, and F Conner Bruggen-Cate snapped the tie with his second goal of the game and eighth of the season, at 4:36. . . . Bruggen-Cate had opened the scoring at 6:29, with F Carsen Twarynski upping it to 2-0 at 14:46. . . . F Nolan Yaremko (12) got the Americans on the scoreboard at 15:51, only to have Twarynski (26) get it back, on a PP, at 18:21. . . . The Americans scored the game’s next three goal, with F Jordan Topping (19) scoring, on a PP, at 3:39 of the second period; F Parker AuCoin (8) counting, while shorthanded, 20 seconds into the third period; and F Brett Clayton (3) providing a 4-3 lead at 2:55. . . . The Rockets got two assists from each of Foote, F Kole Lind and F Kyle Topping, with Twarynski adding one. . . . Yaremko had two assists for the the Americans, with AuCoin getting one. . . . Each of the teams was 1-3 on the PP. . . . G James Porter Jr. stopped 24 shots to earn the victory. . . . Each of Tri-City’s goaltenders made two appearances. Tri-City starter Beck Warm and reliever Patrick Dea combined to stop 31 shots. . . . Announced attendance: 5,187.


THURSDAY (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.


FRIDAY (all times local):

Kootenay at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.

Red Deer at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.

Swift Current at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.

Moose Jaw at Calgary, 7 p.m.

Vancouver at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.

Edmonton at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.

Tri-City at Prince George, 7 p.m.

Seattle at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.

Portland at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.

Everett at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.


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Royals, Raiders make a deal . . . OHL swap includes 5-year-old . . . Skinner returns with record shutout

Scattershooting

Come on, folks. Lighten up. Anyone piling on Christian Wohlwend, the Swiss junior team’s head coach, for his comments on Sunday needs to stop drinking so much coffee. He’s a funny man, and his team had zero chance of beating Canada. You can bet his players knew it, too, so how be we cut him some slack.


Canada dumped Switzerland, 8-2, on Tuesday, as Wohlwend had pretty much predicted. Did I watch? No, because I took Wohlwend at his word.


However, I did watch Sweden and Slovakia, with Dennis Beyak and Craig Button doing their usual excellent job. Earlier in the day, Beyak and Button called a thriller between Finland and Czech Republic. Later, I went in and out of the game between Russia and the U.S. The host team playing the Russians and the arena was devoid of people and atmosphere.



Let’s be honest. We all want to see Canada and the U.S. on a real ice surface in Friday’s championship final. We’ll watch then, unless the poohbahs take the game and move it outside.



Willie Desjardins, the head coach of Canada’s Olympic team, is in Buffalo now, having conquered Europe — they won the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland, last week. Also there are assorted other Team Canada officials, including GM Sean Burke, as they continue to look for those who would be Canadian Olympians.


This morning at 11 o’clock, Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops is expected to introduce Curtis Atkinson as its new athletic director. He will take over from Ken Olynyk, who is retiring after 14 years in charge. Atkinson, who has been working for Canada West, is a former interim AD at the U of Regina. Former WHLer Peter Soberlak, who is on staff at TRU, was the other candidate who received serious consideration.


BTW, America, can’t you do something about President Tweet? If you aren’t aware, he has become something of an embarrassment.


After President Tweet’s big button shot at North Korea on Tuesday, how comfortable are you if you’re preparing to head for South Korea and the Olympic Winter Games? Yeah, that’s what I thought.


A reader sends this note . . .

Before their loss in Kamloops on Monday, the Victoria Royals were listed as 1-0-0-1 in the ‘Streak’ column in the standings on the WHL website. That was for a win on Thursday against Prince George and a shootout loss Saturday in Kelowna. After Monday’s regulation loss to the Blazers, the Royals’ streak now is listed as 0-1-0-1. So I guess that a shootout loss can be part of both a winning streak and a losing streak.


MacBeth

F Rodrigo Ābols (Portland, 2015-17) has been assigned on loan by Örebro (Sweden, SHL) to Karlskoga (Sweden, Allsvenskan). The length of the loan wasn’t specified. He had one assist in 26 games, while averaging 7:34 time on ice per game with Örebro this season.


A LITTLE OF THIS . . .

There have been a number of trades in the OHL over the past few days, but only one of them included a five-year-old who, as Scott Radley of the Hamilton Spectator points out, “is somewhere in Ontario currently enjoying his Christmas break from the grinding rigours of kindergarten.” . . . Yes, a deal made Monday between the Windsor Spitfires and Kingston Frontenacs included a selection in the OHL’s 2028 draft. No one trades picks like OHL teams, and this deal was no different. Windsor traded away two veterans for a 16-year-old centre and draft picks from 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2027 and, yes, 2028. . . . Radley has more right here and it’s an entertaining read.


The Seattle Thunderbirds are down to three 20-year-olds with the news that F Tyler Adams has joined the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks. . . . A native of Regina, Adams got into only one game with Seattle this season, thanks to an undisclosed injury. He was acquired last season from the Swift Current Broncos, and had three goals and five assists in 41 games with the WHL-champion Thunderbirds. . . . His departure leaves Seattle with F Donovan Neuls, D Turner Ottenbreit and D Austin Strand as its 20-year-olds.


The Calgary Hitmen have added F Bryce Bader, 16, to their roster. From Sherwood Park, Alta., he was a second-round selection by the Hitmen in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . This season, he has 10 goals and 12 assists in 25 games with the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings. . . . He got into one game with the Hitmen last season, but was pointless.


WHEELING AND DEALING . . .

NUMBER OF TRADES (since Nov. 13): 18

PLAYERS: 32

BANTAM DRAFT PICKS: 20

CONDITONAL BANTAM DRAFT PICKS: 4


TUESDAY:

THE DEAL: The Victoria Royals have acquired the WHL rights to F Hunter Strand, 15, a third-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft, and sixth-and 10th-round picks in 2018 from the Prince Albert Raiders for F Regan Nagy, 20.

THE INFO: Strand was selected by the Raiders in the sixth round of the 2017 bantam draft. He hasn’t yet committed to the WHL. In fact, on Nov. 30, he made a verbal commitment to attend Notre Dame and play for the Fighting Irish, starting with the 2021-22 season. Of course, verbal commitments are non-binding, so the Royals have plenty of time to deliver their pitch. . . . Strand, who is in Grade 9, has a late birthday; he turned 15 on Nov. 13. . . . Nagy had  been a part of the Victoria organization since being a second-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft.

THE NUMBERS: The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Strand, who is from Anchorage, is playing for the U-16 Alaska Oilers, a midget AAA team in the Alaska State Hockey Association. In his first 21 games this season, through Nov. 5, he had 26 goals and 16 assists in 21 games. The Oilers’ website doesn’t include stats past that date. . . . The Royals got a good look at Strand in December 2016, when he put up 10 goals and eight assists in five games at the Rick LaPointe Memorial bantam tournament in Victoria. . . . Nagy, who is from Ogema, Sask., has 18 goals and six assists in 26 games this season. He hasn’t played since Nov. 28 due to a finger injury. Last season, the 6-foot-0, 195-pound Nagy had 18 goals and 23 assist in 69 games. In 253 career games, he has 50 goals and 47 assists.

WHY: The Royals are hoping they can convince a young player with high-end offensive skills to sign with them. They also added three bantam draft selections and those always are useful. . . . Moving Nagy also gets the Royals back to three 20-year-olds — D Kade Jensen, D Chaz Reddekopp and F Tyler Soy. . . . With the trade deadline arriving on Jan. 10, the Raiders, despite being seven points out of a playoff spot, appear to have signalled that they aren’t in a selling mode. Acquiring Nagy gives them four 20-year-olds, one over the maximum, meaning they will have to move one over the next week. The others, all forwards, are Curtis Miske, Devon Skoleski and Jordy Stallard.


Scoreboard

TUESDAY:

At Lethbridge, G Stuart Skinner, who had been in sick bay, stopped 20 shots to help the Hurricanes to a 7-0 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Hurricanes (17-17-3) have Lethbridgepoints in three straight games (2-0-1). . . . The Ice (18-18-3) have points in each of its previous seven games (5-0-2). . . . Kootenay is 0-1-1 to being a stretch of five games in six nights. The Ice will be in Swift Current tonight. . . . Lethbridge is third in the Central Division, two points behind Kootenay, which is five points back of Medicine Hat. . . . Skinner was back in goal after not having played since Dec. 16. He became ill after the Christmas break. He posted his fourth shutout this season and the 10th of his career. He now holds the franchise’s career record with one more than Logan Koopmans (1999-2004). . . . It may have been key that the Hurricanes scored in the last minute of each of the first two periods. . . . F Jordy Bellerive opened the scoring, on a PP, with five seconds left in the first period. . . . F Giorgio Estephan, who also had three assists, scored his 17th goal, on a PP, at 8:43 of the second period. . . . F Jadon Joseph (4) made it 3-0 at 19:08. . . . The home side put it away with four third-period goals, from Bellerive (22), at 3:43; F Taylor Ross (10), at 4:36; F Zachary Cox (1), at 5:42; and F Lane Zablocki (11), at 10:50. . . . Lethbridge got two assists from each of D Calen Addison, F Dylan Cozens and D Igor Merezhko, with Zablocki and Joseph adding one each. . . . Lethbridge was 2-4 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-4. . . . G Duncan McGovern stopped 34 shots for the Ice, which was outshot 34-13 over the final two periods. . . . D Nolan Jones, 16, a second-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft, was in Lethbridge’s lineup, as was D Alex Cotton, 16, who was a fifth-round pick in that draft. Jones, who was pointless in three games last season, is from Moose Jaw and has four goals and 11 assists in 28 games with the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals. Cotton, who made his WHL debut, is from Langley, B.C. He has four goals and 32 assists in 24 games with the CSSHL’s Yale Hockey Academy prep team. . . . F Holden Kodak, 16, who is from Cloverdale, B.C., made his WHL debut with the Ice. An 11th-round selection by the Portland Winterhawks in the 2016 bantam draft, he was placed on Kootenay’s protected list in October and signed on Dec. 19. Kodak has been playing with the Yale Hockey Academy’s prep team in the CSSHL. He has 60 points, 36 of them goals, in 26 games. . . . Announced attendance: 2,973.


WEDNESDAY (all times local):

Brandon at Regina, 7 p.m.

Kootenay at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

Medicine Hat at Calgary, 7 p.m.

Vancouver at Edmonton, 7 p.m.

Moose Jaw at Red Deer, 7 p.m.

Tri-City at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.


THURSDAY (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.


TWEET OF THE DAY

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Monday’s With Murray: Comes the Resolution

MONDAY JANUARY 1, 1962, SPORTS

Copyright 1962/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY

 JIM MURRAY

Comes the Resolution

   First off, does anyone know where the Alka-Seltzer is? Also why that cat has to stamp his feet like that?

   If you think I’m going to try to write a column with this noise in my head, you have just lost. My brain feels like a window shade somebody has just snapped up and it’s rolling around on the roller.

   I know it was New Year’s Eve and all that, but if I ever drink any of that bottled liver mondaysmurray2solvent again, they should throw a net over me.

    On the other hand, I need something to drown those butterflies putting on an air show in my stomach. The swelling in my head is going down but only when I keep the ice bag on straight.

   I don’t know why it is we start every New Year out like this. I guess because things have nowhere to go but up from there.

   The year got off on a pretty good note. Some people from Alabama invited me down for a New Year barbecue. But they didn’t say whose. And I’m not going down till I find out whether I’m the guest-of-honor or the entrée.

   One thing that makes me sore as the New Year starts is here all these years I was reading Tarzan and I never caught on. I mean, I thought maybe they had gotten married by Dr. Livingstone. I presume, or Dr. Schweitzer. Who’d ever have thought the Apeman would turn out to be a Playboy? Just goes to show you. It’s more fun going ape than you think.

   I guess the classic thing to do this day is dredge up a lot of hokey resolutions you have no intention of keeping. I have vowed to be nicer to people and one of the reasons is I got a Christmas card from my friend Charlie Maher and his wife addressed “to our favorite calumnist.” Actually, I’m a base calumnist — a third-base calumnist.

   But that’s going to change. And while I’m at it, I think I’ll make some resolutions for others, too.

   Like, Sonny Liston should contribute to police hospitalization instead of causing it.

   The Mafia should take orphans not make them.

   Harry Wismer should take his foot out of his mouth long enough to close it.

  Floyd Patterson should join the Kennedy Peace Corps.

   Someone should enter an Edsel in next year’s Indianapolis 500.

   The Rams should rebel against their trainer for rubbing them the wrong way.

   The Cubs should hire nine more managers and fire the players.

   Jackie Robinson should make the Hall of Fame unanimously or Baseball should blush.

   The Polo Grounds should be fun again with Casey Stengel abroad in it, but he’ll have to go some to be funnier than his team.

   Bob Waterfield should smile. On second thought, I can’t think why.

   The Dodgers should win the pennant. Or they should call in the cops and evict THEM from Chavez Ravine.

   The Alabama football team should beat some team you never heard of 66-0. They should be ashamed of themselves but won’t be.

   The USC Trojans should go to the Rose Bowl.

   They should match the Major and the Chief of Police and let Polly Adler referee.

   Roger Maris should hit 50 home runs and the papers describe it as a “slump.” Anyone else hitting 40 will get the MVP award and a parade up Broadway.

   Sandy Koufax should win 30 games.

   The government should make the Washington Redskins hire a Redskin.

   Charlie Dressen should be back in baseball, a one-man community sing. The cast of characters is dull enough without benching live ones like Casey and Charlie. The trouble with guys who don’t speak their minds is they don’t have any to speak of.

   The Phillies should lose 23 more in a row to show the last time was no fluke.

   Alejandro Lavorante should get an apology from me.

   San Diego should get a professional football team. Some colleges I know should get an amateur one.

   I should shut up. And you should all have the happiest and most prosperous New Year ever.

Reprinted with the permission of the Los Angeles Times

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

———

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

Cougars, ‘Tips swap Ethans . . . Blades’ win streak now at five . . . Mahura helps Pats to victory in return


MacBeth

D Cody Carlson (Medicine Hat, Regina, Prince George, 2006-12) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Dundee Stars (Scotland, UK Elite). This season, he had a goal and three assists with the Atlanta Gladiators (ECHL) 28 GP, 1+3. . . .

F Curtis Hamilton (Saskatoon, 2006-11) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Tappara Tampere (Finland, Liiga). Last season, he had 14 goals and 13 assists in 43 games with SaiPa Lappeenranta (Finland, Liiga), and one goal in two games with TPS Turku (Finland, Liiga) 2 GP, 1+0. . . . Last week, he played with Team Canada as it won the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland.


A LITTLE OF THIS . . .

There was an interesting occurrence on my Twitter timeline on Monday afternoon.

Two tweets arrived back-to-back and each one dealt with a goal scored by a Chyzowski in a WHL game. The brothers — Ryan and Nick — must have been close to scoring at precisely the same time.

The first tweet came from Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News, at 4:03 p.m.: “A beautiful set play on the PP makes it 1-0 Tigers out in Cranbrook. Chyzowski finished off a feed from Quenneville.”

A nano second later this tweet — it is time-stamped 4:04 p.m. — arrived from Earl Seitz of CFJC-TV in Kamloops: “Chyzowski on power play gives Blazers 2-1 lead with 11:10 left in the third.”

McCracken’s tweet referred to F Ryan Chyzowski, a sophomore with the Medicine Hat Tigers, who scored his 13th goal of the season for a 1-0 lead at 7:02 of the second period. The Tigers went on to beat the Kootenay Ice, 5-4 in OT.

Seitz was watching as F Nick Chyzowski, Ryan’s older brother, scored his 12th goal of the season to break a 1-1 tie at 8:50 of the third period in the Blazers’ 4-1 victory over the visiting Victoria Royals.

The Chyzowski brothers are the sons of former Blazers F Dave Chyzowski, who now is the team’s marketing director.


When D Alex Petrovic played for the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels, his name was pronounced just as it is spelled — Pet-ra-vick. These days, he is with the NHL’s Florida Panthers and he has decided to change the pronunciation of his surname. Why? Because he wants to honour his 96-year-old grandfather. . . . Matthew DeFranks of the Sun Sentinel has more on this neat story right here.


WHEELING AND DEALING:

NUMBER OF TRADES (since Nov. 13): 17

PLAYERS: 31

BANTAM DRAFT PICKS: 17

CONDITONAL BANTAM DRAFT PICKS: 4

MONDAY:

THE DEAL: The Prince George Cougars dealt F Ethan O’Rourke, 18, to the Everett Silvertips for F Ethan Browne, 16. . . . Browne had been on Everett’s suspended list since leaving the team early in November. At the time, general manager Garry Davidson said that Browne “has been placed on suspension as he has clarified his wishes to return home to the Edmonton area.”

THE NUMBERS: This season, the 6-foot-5, 200-pound O’Rourke has five goals and nine assists in 37 games. In 57 career regular-season games, he has six goals and 10 assists. In his draft season, O’Rourke had 18 goals and 17 assists in 58 games with the Okanagan Hockey Academy bantam prep team. . . . The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Browne was pointless in one game with Everett last season and had one assist in eight games earlier this season. He has been with the AJHL’s Drayton Valley Thunder, where he had three goals and two assists in nine games. In his draft season, he had 77 points, 39 of them goals, with the bantam AAA Sherwood Park Flyers.

THE INFO: While O’Rourke was a third-round pick by the Cougars in the 2014 WHL bantam draft, the Silvertips selected Browne in the first round, 13th overall, in 2016. . . . O’Rourke, from Penticton, B.C., is the son of Cougars associate coach Steve O’Rourke. . . . There is an O’Rourke family connection with Everett. Steve played one season (1993-94) with the BCJHL’s Penticton Panthers when Davidson was the team’s head coach.

WHY: O’Rourke provides Everett with size and depth up front. . . . The Cougars, who are looking to the future, are hoping that Browne can recapture the offensive ability he showed in bantam. In 2014-15, he had 114 points in 32 games with the bantam AA Sherwood Park Flyers.


Scoreboard

MONDAY:

At Saskatoon, F Josh Paterson broke a 2-2 tie in the third period as the Blades beat the Swift Current Broncos, 4-2. . . . Saskatoon (19-17-3) has won five in a row and eight of Saskatoonnine. It is tied with Regina for the Eastern Conference’s two wild-card spots. . . . Swift Current (26-10-2) has lost three straight, but remains second in the overall standings. However, it now is nine points behind Moose Jaw. . . . F Dryden Michaud (2) gave the home side a 1-0 lead at 9:42 of the first period. . . . F Ethan Regnier (2) tied it at 14:11. . . . The Blades went back on top, 2-1, at 7:49 of the second period when D Evan Fiala scored his fourth goal of the season. . . . The Broncos tied it when F Kole Gable (4) scored at 8:38. . . . Paterson broke the tie, on a PP, at 5:36 of the third period. He’s got 19 goals in 39 games, and that’s two more than he scored in 72 games last season. An 18-year-old from Edmonton, Paterson has eight goals in a five-game streak. . . . F Braylon Shmyr (19), who also had an assist, got the empty-netter for Saskatoon, at 18:16. . . . The Blades were 1-4 on the PP; the Broncos were 0-3. . . . Saskatoon G Nolan Maier stopped 20 shots in earning his eighth straight victory. . . . The Broncos got 38 saves from G Logan Flodell. . . . For much of the season’s first half, the Broncos’ top line of Glenn Gawdin, Aleksi Heponiemi and Tyler Steenbergen terrorized opponents. On Monday, all three were out of the lineup. Gawdin was ill, while Heponiemi (Finland) and Steenbergen (Canada) are in Buffalo at the World Junior Championship. Those three have combined for 204 points, including 86 goals. . . . Starting on Wednesday, Swift Current, which also is without D Artyom Minulin (Russia), will play four games in five nights before the WJC comes to an end. . . . G Ryan Kubic, who has played one game for the Blades since Nov. 18, was dressed in a backup role. . . . Announced attendance: 3,760.


At Edmonton, F Davis Koch, who also had three assists, scored late in the third period to give the Oil Kings a 5-4 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Edmonton (10-22-5) has EdmontonOilKingspoints in five straight (3-0-2). The Oil Kings are 14 points away from a playoff spot. . . . Calgary (11-20-6) is 10th in the Eastern Conference, 11 points from a playoff spot. . . . The Oil Kings opened up a 3-0 first-period leads on goals from F Trey Fix-Wolansky, at 4:15; F Colton Kehler (14), on a PP, at 15:10; and Fix-Wolansky (16) again, at 18:20. . . . F Andrei Grishakov (11) got Calgary on the scoreboard, on a PP, at 6:16 of the second period. . . . Edmonton got that one back as F David Kope (5) scored at 18:43. . . . The Hitmen tied the game with three third-period goals, from F Mark Kastelic, at 4:09; F Jakob Stukel, at 11:39; and Kastelic (12), on a PP, at 15:36. . . . That set the stage for Koch (17) to get the winner at 16:26. . . . Edmonton got two assists from each of F Tomas Soustal, Fix-Wolansky and D Conner McDonald. . . . Grishakov and Stukel each had two assists for Calgary, with Kastelic getting one. . . . Calgary was 2-7 on the PP; Edmonton was 1-7. . . . The Oil Kings held a 35-19 edge in shots, including 16-1 in the first period. . . . G Josh Dechaine stopped 15 shots for the Oil Kings. . . . Calgary starter Nick Schneider surrendered four goals on 23 shots through the first two periods. Matthew Armitage came on in relief to stop seven of eight shots in 20 minutes. . . . Announced attendance: 9,821.


At Kamloops, the Blazers scored the game’s last four goals to beat the Victoria Royals, 4-1. . . . The Blazers (17-19-2) had lost their previous four games (0-3-1) and had been shut out Kamloops1in each of their last two home games. They are ninth in the Western Conference, five points out of a wild-card spot. . . . The Royals (21-15-4) had been 1-0-1 in their previous two games. They are second in the B.C. Division, three points behind Kelowna, which holds three games in hand. . . . F Tyler Soy (17) gave the Royals a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 1:09 of the second period. . . . Kamloops pulled even when F Carson Denomie (5) scored at 6:25. . . . F Nick Chyzowski (12) broke the tie, on a PP, at 8:50 of the third period, and F Brodi Stuart (11) added insurance at 13:25. . . . F Quinn Benjafield, who also had two assists, got the empty-netter, at 19:42. . . . Kamloops was 1-3 on the PP; Victoria was 1-5. . . . G Dylan Ferguson earned the victory with 23 saves. . . . At the other end, Griffen Outhouse stopped 43 shots. . . . Including this game, Kamloops will play Victoria in four of six straight games. The Royals will be back in Kamloops on Saturday. The Blazers are to visit Victoria on Jan. 12-13. . . . Don Hay of the Blazers now has 737 regular-season coaching victories, five short of the career record held by the retired Ken Hodge. . . . Announced attendance: 3,732.


At Langley, B.C., F James Malm scored at 2:00 of OT to give the Vancouver Giants a 4-3 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Giants (20-14-5) are 2-0-1 in their past Vancouverthree games. They now have as many victories as they had all of last season when they finished 20-46-6 and out of the playoffs for a third straight season. . . . The Giants are third in the B.C. Division, one point behind Victoria and nine ahead of Kamloops. . . . The Cougars (14-18-6) got a victory and an OTL from the doubleheader in Langley. They had won a wild one, 7-6 in OT, on Saturday. . . . Prince George is fifth in the B.C. Division, two points behind Kamloops. . . . Yesterday, the Cougars had a 2-0 lead early in the first period as D Dennis Cholowski (11) scored at 6:19 and F Kody McDonald got his 19th at 6:33. . . . F Brayden Watts (11) got the Giants to within a goal, on a PP, at 8:21, and F Jared Dmytriw tied the score, at 13:26. . . . Dmytriw (10), who had two goals and two assists, gave the Giants their first lead at 9:05 of the second. . . . Cholowski forced OT when he scored his 12th goal at 12:44 of the third period. Cholowski, who is from Langley, had scored two goals and added two assists in Saturday’s game. He now has 35 points in 35 games. . . . F Owen Hardy had two assists for Vancouver, with Watts getting one. . . . Vancouver was 1-5 on the PP; Prince George was 0-3. . . . G David Tendeck started for the Giants but lasted just 6:33 as he allowed two goals on six shots. Todd Scott came on to earn the victory, stopped 12 of 13 shots in 55:27. . . . The Cougars got 34 stops from Tavin Grant. . . . Ethan Browne, acquired earlier in the day from the Everett Silvertips, wasn’t in the Cougars’ lineup as they went with 11 forwards. . . . Announced attendance: 3,776.


At Cranbrook, B.C., D Kristians Rubins scored at 1:54 of OT to give the Medicine Hat Tigers a 5-4 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Medicine Hat (21-15-2) has won two in a Tigers Logo Officialrow. . . . The Tigers are atop the Central Division, five points ahead of Kootenay. . . . Kootenay (18-17-3) has points in seven straight (5-0-2). . . . With this game, the Ice started a stretch of five games in six nights. It starts with three games in three nights as it visits Lethbridge tonight and Swift Current on Wednesday. . . . The Tigers looked to have this one under wraps with a 4-1 lead early in the third period. . . . After a scoreless first period, F Ryan Chyzowski (13) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 7:02 of the second. . . . F Mark Rassell (32), who also had two assists, upped it to 2-0 at 13:26. . . . Ice F Brett Davis halved the deficit at 1:18 of the third period, but Medicine Hat went ahead 4-1 on a pair of shorthanded goals by F James Hamblin, at 6:20 and 6:55. He’s got 13 goals. . . . The Ice got even by scoring three times in 6:25. . . . F Alec Baer got it started, on a PP, at 7:18. . . . F Cameron Hausinger (12) pulled the home boys to within a goal at 7:56. . . . Baer forced OT with his 16th goal, at 13:43. . . . Rubins won it with his third goal of the season. . . . Davis added an assist to his goal for the Ice. . . . Each team was 1-2 on the PP. . . . G Jordan Hollett made 35 saves for the Tigers, four more than the Ice’s Bailey Brkin. . . . Announced attendance: 2,426.


At Regina, F Matt Bradley scored the OT winner and added two assists as the Pats got past the Prince Albert Raiders, 5-4. . . . Regina (19-18-3) has won three straight games and ReginaPats100remains tied with Saskatoon for the Eastern Conference’s two wild-card spots. . . . Prince Albert (13-17-8) has lost five in a row (0-4-1) and is 1-6-1 in its past eight. It now trails Regina and Saskatoon by eight points. . . . D Dawson Davidson (7) gave the Pats a 1-0 lead when he scored shorthanded at 7:41 of the first period. . . . The Raiders then took a 3-1 lead on second-period goals from D Brayden Pachal (2), at 7:27; F Cole Fonstad (12), on a PP, at 13:27; and F Parker Kelly (16), at 16:54. . . . Regina erased that deficit and took a 4-3 lead by scoring three times in 2:38 of the third period. . . . D Josh Mahura (12) pulled the home boys to within a goal at 4:46. . . . F Nick Henry (6) tied the game at 7:14. . . . F Jake Leschyshyn gave Regina its first lead at 7:24. . . . The Raiders pulled even when F Jordy Stallard (26) scored, on a PP, at 13:01. . . . Bradley won it with his 24th goal of the season. . . . Mahura, in his first game since being released by the Canadian national junior team on Dec. 26, also had two assists, including the primary helper on the winner. . . . F Robbie Holmes also had two assists for Regina. . . . The Raiders got two assists from each of Pachal and F Spencer Moe, with Fonstad and Stallard each getting one. . . . Prince Albert was 2-5 on the PP; Regina was 0-3. . . . G Tyler Brown blocked 27 shots for Regina, while the Raiders’ Curtis Meger, who is from Regina, stopped 34. . . . Announced attendance: 6,243.


TUESDAY (all times local):

Kootenay at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.


TWEET OF THE DAY


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Goodbye 2017; hello 2018 . . . Royals’ Phillips get NHL deal . . . Red-hot Halbgewachs helps Warriors sweep Wheaties

HappyNewYear

Happy New Year to everyone who stops by to visit this site. May you and yours have a tremendous 2018 full of good food, good friends and safe travels.


Happy New Year to all of those members of the Vegas Golden Knights’ front office and coaching staff with ties to the WHL. Enjoy your run as part of what is perhaps the biggest story in hockey today. . . . That would be folks like Kelly McCrimmon, Murray Craven, Vaughn Karpan, Bob Lowes, Kelly Kisio, Ryan McGill, Mike Kelly, Ryan Craig, Jim McKenzie, Erin Ginnell and Bruno Campese. . . . Gentlemen, I don’t know what you will do for an encore, but here’s to a 2018 that is better for you than 2017, if that’s possible. . . .


Happy New Year to Willie Desjardins, Dave King and the rest of Team Canada as the program continues preparations for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Feb. 9-25. . . . Canada won the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland, taking the championship game 3-0 over Switzerland on New Year’s Eve. . . . The Canadian roster included ex-WHL players like F Curtis Hamilton, F Zach Boychuk, D Jeff Schultz, D Victor Bartley and G Barry Brust, along with video coach Tyler Dietrich and therapist Jeff Thorburn. . . . Canada will open the Winter Games against Switzerland on Feb. 15. . . . Canada is likely to announce its Olympic roster on or about Jan. 11. . . .


Happy New Year to Derek Holloway and the many bus drivers throughout junior hockey. The highways in B.C. have been a mess for much of the past two weeks, and have been no treat across the Prairies, either. No one in any profession does a better job than these drivers, who do so much to keep the teams safe.


Happy New Year to the WHL’s on-ice officials. A lot of people forget that you often are driving the same highways and byways as the afore-mentioned bus drivers. Safe travels and be careful out there. Oh, and remember that despite what your ears sometimes tell you, the fans really do love you.


A LITTLE OF THIS . . .

F Matthew Phillips of the Victoria Royals signed a three-year entry-level contract with VictoriaRoyalsthe NHL’s Calgary Flames on Sunday. . . . The Royals’ captain, Phillips, 19, is from Calgary. He was selected by the Flames in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2016 draft. . . . This season, he has 28 goals and 31 assists in 39 games. . . . In 183 regular-season games, all with the Royals, the 5-foot-7, 155-pounder has 228 points, including 116 goals. That includes last season, when he finished with 50 goals and 40 assists in 70 games. . . . How did Phillips celebrate his good news? He and his teammates were in Kamloops, where they are to meet the Blazers in a New Year’s Day matinee.


Shaun Clouston, the general manager and head coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers, set a franchise record on Saturday night in a 4-3 OT victory over the visiting Red Deer Rebels.

Clouston now has 324 regular-season coaching victories with the Tigers, one more than Willie Desjardins.

Here’s a look at the 22 WHL head coaches who have more than 300 regular-season victories to their credit (includes games of Dec. 31):

1. Ken Hodge (Edmonton, Portland), 742

2. Don Hay (Kamloops, Tri-City, Vancouver) 736

3. Don Nachbaur (Seattle, Tri-City, Spokane) 692

4. Lorne Molleken (Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Regina) 626

5. Mike Williamson (Portland, Calgary, Tri-City) 554

6. Ernie McLean (Estevan, New Westminster) 548

7. Pat Ginnell (Flin Flon, Victoria, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, New Westminster) 518

8. Peter Anholt (Prince Albert, Seattle, Red Deer, Kelowna, Lethbridge) 466

    Jack Shupe (Medicine Hat, Victoria) 466

10. Dean Clark (Calgary, Brandon, Kamloops, Prince George) 465

11. Kelly McCrimmon (Brandon) 456

12. Bob Lowes (Seattle, Brandon, Regina) 453

13. Brent Sutter (Red Deer) 451

14. Marc Habscheid (Kamloops, Kelowna, Chilliwack, Victoria, Prince Albert) 437

15. Doug Sauter (Calgary, Medicine Hat, Regina, Brandon) 417

16. Marcel Comeau (Calgary, Saskatoon, Tacoma, Kelowna) 411

17. Bryan Maxwell (Medicine Hat, Spokane, Lethbridge) 397

18. Graham James (Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Calgary) 349

19. Shaun Clouston (Tri-City, Medicine Hat) 340

      Bob Loucks (Lethbridge, Tri-City, Medicine Hat) 340

21. Willie Desjardins (Saskatoon, Medicine Hat) 333

22. Kevin Constantine (Everett) 326


NanaimoNewsNOW has been taking a look back at the top stories in that Vancouver Island city from 2016. The staff has decided that No. 3 on the list belongs to the referendum that was held on whether the city would be allowed to borrow $80 million for a waterfront events centre. That facility was to include an arena that would be home to a WHL franchise. . . . Voter turnout was 35.3 per cent and 80 per cent of those voted against the proposal. . . . According to this piece right here, “At the meeting following referendum day, several councillors offered apologies. Coun. Jerry Hong apologized for heated social media exchanges. Others said it was the Western Hockey League applying pressure (that) led to a rushed process.” . . . Whatever the reason, this has to have been one of the biggest stories involving the WHL in 2016, if only because it delivered a crushing blow to the league’s dream of having a second franchise on Vancouver Island.


For your reading enjoyment, right here is Dave Barry of the Miami Herald with a look at the year that was 2017, especially in the American political arena. America, I don’t know how you got here from there, but, well, who better than Barry to sum it all up. Prepare two cups of copy and enjoy!


Scoreboard

SUNDAY:

At Moose Jaw, the Warriors scored three times on the PP, needing only 24 seconds to do it, en route to a 6-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Warriors (30-6-3) have MooseJawWarriorspoints in five straight games (4-0-1). . . . The Wheat Kings (25-11-1) have lost three in a row. . . . The Warriors had beaten the host Wheat Kings, 7-4, on Saturday afternoon. . . . Moose Jaw is atop the overall standings, nine points ahead of Swift Current and 12 ahead of Brandon. . . . F Jayden Halbgewachs led the Warriors with two goals and three assists. He’s got a CHL-leading 40 goals in 39 games. F Aaron Luchuk of the Barrie Colts leads the OHL with 31 goals in 36 games, while F Alex Barre-Boulet of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada is tops in the QMJHL with 31 in 34. . . . F Brayden Burke of the Warriors had a goal and two assists, giving him a WHL-leading 77 points. . . . Burke went over 300 regular-season points during the game and now has 302 points, including 229 assists, in 214 games. . . . Halbgewachs, who has seven goals and seven assists in his past five games, gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 15:04 of the first period. . . . F Stelio Mattheos (28) pulled Brandon even at 17:56. . . . Halbgewachs put the Warriors back out front, on another PP, at 10:47 of the second period. . . . The home team went ahead 4-1 on goals from Burke (19), on a PP, at 13:39, and F Tristin Langan, shorthanded, at 1:59 of the third period. . . . F Evan Weinger (18) scored for Brandon at 5:07, but the Warriors put it away on goals from Langan (8), at 6:59, and F Tanner Jeannot (28), at 15:16. . . . F Justin Almeida had two assists for Moose Jaw, giving him six helpers in the two-game series. . . . Jeannot added an assist to his goal. . . . The Warriors were 3-6 on the PP; the Wheat Kings were 0-5. . . . Halbgewachs’ goals came 10 and six seconds into PP opportunities, and Burke’s goal took eight seconds. . . . The Warriors got 25 saves from G Brody Willms, while Brandon’s Logan Thompson stopped 38 shots. . . . Announced attendance: 4,021.


At Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans erased a 3-1 deficit with three second-period goals, en route to a 4-3 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Americans (20-10-TriCity305) have points in seven straight (5-0-2). They are tied for third in the U.S. Division, two points behind Portland with two games in hand. . . . The Chiefs (20-15-3) are two points behind the Americans. . . . The Chiefs had beaten the visiting Americans, 4-3 in OT, on Saturday night. . . . F Isaac Johnson’s ninth goal of the season, on a PP, broke a 3-3 tie at 12:44 of the second period. . . . F Riley Sawchuk had given the Americans a 1-0 lead at 12:07 of the first period. . . . The visitors moved out front 3-1 on goals from F Jake McGrew (6), at 13:09, F Eli Zummack (10), on a PP, at 13:55, and F Zach Fischer (17), at 19:03. . . . D Dylan Coghlan (12) got Tri-City to within one, on a PP, at 5:19 of the second period. . . . F Nolan Yaremko (11) tied the game at 9:30. . . . F Jordan Topping recorded three assists for the winners, with F Kyle Olson getting two. Coghlan and Johnson added one each. . . . Tri-City was 2-4 on the PP; Spokane was 1-4. . . . The Americans got 43 saves from G Patrick Dea. . . . Spokane starter Dawson Weatherill allowed four goals on 13 shots in 32:44. Donovan Buskey came on in relief to stop all 13 shots he faced in 24:40. . . . Announced attendance: 6,011.


At Portland, F Noah Philp scored the WHL’s final goal of 2017. It came in a shootout and gave the Seattle Thunderbirds a 4-3 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . Seattle, the WHL’s Seattlereigning champion, improved to 18-14-5 and has points in six straight games (5-0-1). Seattle holds down the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot, two points behind Tri-City and Spokane. . . . The Winterhawks (22-12-3) have points in three straight (1-0-2) and are second in the U.S. Division, one point behind Everett with two games in hand. . . . On Saturday night, the host Thunderbirds beat the Winterhawks, 4-3 in OT. . . . In the season series, Seattle is 2-2-0; Portland is 2-0-2. . . . These two teams will meet each other eight more times this season. . . . Last night, F Skyler McKenzie (27) gave the home side a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 2:22 of the second period. . . . Seattle took a 2-1 lead on goals 37 seconds apart from D Reece Harsch (8), at 7:31, and F Nikita Malukhin (4), at 8:08. . . . F Reece Newkirk (2) got Portland into a 2-2 tie at 14:05. . . . F Matthew Wedman gave Seattle a 3-2 lead at 16:57 of the third period. . . . Portland F Ryan Hughes (5) forced OT at 19:02. . . . Philp, Seattle’s first shooter, won it with the only goal of the shootout. . . . D Turner Ottenbreit had two assists for Seattle. . . . Portland got two assists from F Cody Glass, who returned from a one-game absence due to a leg injury. . . . Seattle was 1-3 on the PP; Portland was 1-4. . . . Seattle G Liam Hughes stopped 33 shots, six more than Portland’s Cole Kehler. . . . Announced attendance: 10,568.


MONDAY (all times local):

Swift Current at Saskatoon, 2 p.m.

Calgary at Edmonton, 2 p.m.

Victoria at Kamloops, 2 p.m.

Prince George vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 2 p.m.

Medicine Hat vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 4 p.m.

Prince Albert at Regina, 7 p.m.


TWEET OF THE DAY


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