Tag: Andy Eide

Blades, Rebels ready for Game 6 . . . Ice takes 3-2 series lead to Moose Jaw . . . Cougars’ Heidt joins Team Canada

The 2023 Kamloops Kidney Walk is scheduled for June 4, and Dorothy is taking part once again. She will celebrate 10 years as a kidney-transplant recipient in September, so the annual Kidney Walk is a big deal for her. In fact, she is participating for a 10th straight year. Yes, that means she is fund-raising, with all donations going to the Kidney Foundation. . . . Things are rolling right along, too, as she surpassed $3,000 on Saturday. . . . If you are interested in helping, you are able to do so on her home page, which is right here.

WHL PLAYOFF NOTES:

The host Red Deer Rebels take a 3-2 lead into Game 6 of an Eastern Conference semifinal this afternoon (Sunday). The Blades, who have won the last two games, are hoping to force a Game 7 back in Saskatoon on Tuesday night.

“The Blades,” blogger Darren Steinke wrote after the Blades won, 6-3, on Friday night in Saskatoon, “are trying to become the third team in WHL history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series to win it 4-3.

“Dating back to the WHL’s start in 1966-67, only two teams have rallied to win a best-of-seven series having trailed the set 3-0. The Spokane Chiefs, who were guided by Mike Babcock as head coach, trailed the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 before rallying to take a first-round series 4-3 in 1996. The Kelowna Rockets fell behind the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0 in 2013 before rallying to claim that first-round series 4-3.” . . .

The WHL office updated its discipline page sometime Saturday evening and the Rebels and Blades each will be without a player due to suspension in Game 6. . . . Red Deer F Frantisek Formanek was given a one-game suspension “under supplemental discipline” for something that happened in Game 5 on Friday night. . . . Saskatoon F Justin Lies had his suspension finalized at three games for the headshot on Red Deer F Kalan Lind in Game 4. That means Lies will miss the remainder of the series should it go seven games. . . . According to Troy Gillard, the Rebels’ radio voice, Formanek’s suspension is related to a boarding penalty he picked up at 7:21 of the first period in Game 5.

——

SATURDAY IN THE WHL PLAYOFFS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Moose Jaw (4) at Winnipeg (1) — The Winnipeg Ice erased a 2-0 first-period WinnipegIcedeficit and went on to beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-2. . . . The Ice holds a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal, with Game 6 in Moose Jaw on Monday night. . . . If they need a seventh game, it would be played in Winnipeg on Wednesday. . . . Last night, the Warriors jumped out to a 2-0 first-period leads on goals from F Jagger Firkus (9), at 13:35, and F Brayden Yager (6), at 15:03. . . . Winnipeg equalized in the second period on two goals from F Conor Geekie (3), at 2:27 and 11:32. . . . F Matt Savoie (9) broke the tie at 15:06 of the third period. . . . Geekie had a chance at the hat trick when he was awarded a penalty shot with his side ahead 3-2 and 4:21 left to play in the third period. But he wasn’t able to beat Moose Jaw G Connor Ungar. . . . Geekie did get a third goal, this one into an empty net, at 17:50. . . . F Zach Benson (2) added another empty-netter, at 19:01. . . . Each team was 0-for-1 on the PP. . . . The Ice got 26 saves from G Daniel Hauser, while Ungar turned aside 33 shots. . . . F Evan Friesen returned to Winnipeg’s lineup after serving a two-game suspension for a headshot on Moose Jaw D Matthew Gallant in Game 2. . . . Gallant hasn’t played since absorbing that hit.

Vegan

You may recall that Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, fined the Dallas Mavericks US$740,000 the other day because of an obvious tank job in the final game of their regular season. . . . Meanwhile, Jack Finarelli (aka The Sports Curmudgeon) points out that Yao Ming, the former NBA star who runs the Chinese Basketball Association, had to deal with something similar after a game that featured the Shanghai Sharks and Jiangsu Dragons. . . .

Finarelli writes: “There would be a benefit to both teams if the Dragons lost. In the second half of the game, the Dragons committed five consecutive turnovers in the final two minutes to assure a victory for the Sharks.” . . .

While this kind of thing is called “tanking” in the NBA (or the NHL, for that matter), Yao Ming referred to it as “game-fixing.”

According to Finarelli, Yao fined each team “the equivalent of $727,000, banned the Sharks’ general manager and coach for five years each; and banned the Dragons’ general manager and coach for three years each.

“Silver is never going to use the term ‘game-fixing’ lest the gambling interests that provide lots of funding for the league get very antsy,” Finarelli added. “People hate to lose money gambling, but they will hate it a whole lot more if they find out — or even suspect — that the game was ‘fixed,’ and they were not ‘in on the fix.’ But this is an issue that sports leagues must deal with when they dip their beak into the fountain of cash that can come from the myriad gambling sites out there today.”

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

The Battlefords North Stars beat the Bombers, 7-4, in Flin Flon on Saturday night to sweep the SJHL’s championship series. . . . The North Stars lost their first game of these playoffs, dropping a 3-2 decision to the visiting Weyburn Red Wings, then rolled to 12 straight victories. . . . The North Stars were the SJHL’s top regular-season club, finishing with a record of 48-5-3. . . .

F Riley Heidt of the Prince George Cougars has joined Team Canada at the IIHF U18 World Championship that is being played in Porrentruy and Basel, Switzerland. . . . Canada is 1-1 after losing 8-0 to Sweden on Thursday and beating Germany 7-0 on Friday. . . . Canada is to play Slovakia today (4 a.m. PT) and Czechia on Tuesday. . . . Heidt, who turned 18 on March 25, is from Saskatoon. He finished tied for fourth in the WHL’s regular-season points derby, with 97 points, including 72 assists.

Pyramid

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Dam

Rebels complete two-game sweep in Saskatoon; King’s four points provide spark . . . Cougars goalie inks NHL deal

WHL

A few Twitter tidbits from Saturday night’s three WHL playoff games . . .

Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow): “Moose Jaw capitalizes on a major power play striking thrice within 90 seconds and holds off a third- period charge to tie series. Brayden Yager racks up first PP markers of playoffs and scores in 3rd straight. Fifth multigoal game of year, 3rd vs. Ice.” . . .

Brandow, again: “Seattle uses three power-play goals to down Cougars and take a 2-0 lead. Jared Davidson opens and closes scoring on man advantage, had one goal in postseason coming in — Game 2 against Kelowna. Brad Lambert turns in 7 points in 2 games after 4 more.” . . .

More from Brandow: “Kamloops, which had league’s best power play in regular season, is back on top in playoffs after tacking on three more in a shutout win. Logan Stankoven is in on all five markers, scoring twice and adding 3 assists. Next point will be 50th of career. . . . It’s a 29-save shutout for Dylan Ernst who earns third goose-egg of postseason, one more than in original 68. All other WHL goaltenders in these playoffs have combined for 4. Joins Dylan Garand from last season as Blazers’ most in Internet Era (team had 4 total between 1996-2019).” . . .

Lucas Punkari (@lpunkari): “Stankoven’s 50th playoff point will tie him with Mark Recchi for 15th on the Blazers scoring chart. . . . Stankoven’s 1.69 PPG mark (49 in 29) is tied with Rob Brown (86 in 51) for second among those who played in more than one playoff run for Kamloops. . . . Dean Evason leads with 2.00 (56 in 28).”

Monopoly

WHL PLAYOFF NOTES:

There was one game played on Sunday — in Saskatoon, the Red Deer Rebels beat the Blades, 5-2, to take a 2-0 lead in that series. . . . They will resume with games in Red Deer on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . You will recall that this is the second straight series in which the Blades lost the first two games on home ice; they came back against the Regina Pats, winning Games 3 and 4 on the road and eventually winning the series in seven games. Will history repeat itself?

There aren’t any games scheduled for tonight.

On Tuesday, three series will resume — the Seattle Thunderbirds hold a 2-0 lead on the Cougars as they play Game 3 in Prince George; the Winnipeg Ice and the Warriors are 1-1 as they play in Moose Jaw; and, of course, Saskatoon will play in Red Deer.

The other series, between the Portland Winterhawks and Kamloops Blazers, picks up on Wednesday in the Oregon city. The Blazers hold a 2-0 lead.

Seattle and Kamloops, the Western Conference’s top seeds, both are 6-0 in these playoffs.

——

SUNDAY IN THE WHL PLAYOFFS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Red Deer (3) at Saskatoon (2) — The Red Deer Rebels scored three second-RedDeerperiod goals in a span of 4:17 — F Ben King was in on all of them — en route to a 5-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . The Rebels, who won 3-1 in Saskatoon on Friday, lead the series, 2-0. . . . The series now heads to Red Deer for games on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . King (4) opened the scoring, on a PP, at 7:53 of the second period, with D Christoffer Sedoff (4) and F Jhett Larson (3) adding goals at 9:42 and 12:10. . . . King assisted on both of those goals and added another helper on a third-period goal from F Jayden Grubbe (2). . . . F Carson Birnie (1) also scored for Red Deer. . . . F Brandon Lisowsky (2) and D Charlie Wright (2) had third-period PP goals for Saskatoon. . . . Grubbe and Larson had a pair of assists each. . . . Red Deer had a 20-16 edge in shots, including 11-4 in the second period. . . . Saskatoon F Tyler Parr played in his second straight game after missing 48 with an undisclosed injury. . . . Blades F Josh Pillar, who turned 21 on Feb. 14, was back after missing Game 1, but D Blake Gustafson, another 2002-born player, was scratched again. . . . Red Deer’s scratches included D Marek Schneider, who turned 20 on Feb. 5, for a second straight game.

Could it be that there are officials in the OHL who take things a little too seriously?

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

G Tyler Brennan of the Prince George Cougars has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. He was a fourth-round selection in the 2022 NHL draft. . . . Brennan, who will turn 20 on Sept. 27, was 21-10-3, 2.86, .898 with the Cougars this season. In the playoffs, he is 1-1, 2.98, .882; however, he hasn’t played since suffering an undisclosed injury in Game 3 of a first-round series with the Tri-City Americans on April 4.

JUST NOTES:

Luc Tardif, the president of the IIHF, told reporters at the world women’s championship in Brampton, Ont., on Sunday that Russia and Belarus will be ineligible to compete in the organization’s tournaments as long as the attacks on Ukraine continue. . . . “I hope Russia and Belarus will come back as soon as possible, because it will mean the war is over,” Tardif told reporters. “It’s a question of security for fans, our teams. Anyway, no visa, cannot travel. And nobody knows how long it’s going to take.” . . . Both countries have already been told that they’re out through 2024, and Tardif said a decision on 2025 will be made in March 2024.

Ugly

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Eggs

Warriors win in Winnipeg, but pay a price . . . Lambert leads Thunderbirds to victory . . . Stankoven, Ernst too much for Winterhawks

GrandmaGirls031823
Dorothy, with her two sweethearts — Averi, behind the hat, and the always smiling Kara.

With the 10th anniversary of her kidney transplant in sight, Dorothy is taking part in her 10th straight Kamloops Kidney Walk. So, yes, she is fund-raising. . . . It’s worth noting that she has been No. 1 in Kamloops for nine straight years, too, and, yes, things are cookin’ again. . . . In recent days, she has received support from the wife of a gentleman who is a general manager/head coach in the WHL. She also heard from another WHL head coach, and from an avid follower of the Victoria Royals, and from a former WHL scout. . . . As a result of these people and more, her 10-year total has surpassed $30,000. . . . Yes, hockey people are awesome. . . . The 2023 Walk is scheduled for June 4. . . . If you would like to be part of her team, you are able to donate right here. . . . And thank you in advance.

Pi

A few Twitter tidbits from Friday’s opening second-round WHL playoff games . . .

Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow): “After seeing a 3-0 lead dissipate, the Winnipeg Ice score twice in the third for a Game 1 win. Connor McClennon combines for 23rd career game-winning goal recording 30th playoff point in process. Graham Sward secures third goal since calendar changed to March.”

Brandow, again: “Red Deer only fires 20 shots on goal, but scores three times and takes a 1-0 series lead. Kyle Kelsey gets to within 1:54 of a shutout cutting off 23 of 24. Jhett Larson opens scoring with only goal of first 40, Jace Isley pots first of postseason.”

Brandow, once more: “Kamloops goes up 1-0 fending off a late Winterhawks charge. Jakub Demek delivers first playoff goal(s) since the Ed Chynoweth Cup winner with the Oil Kings last season. Potted four in 15 tries in regular campaign. Hits 25 career playoff points. . . . Portland’s James Stefan beats the final buzzer securing a hat trick and pots 10 playoff goals in 17 career efforts. First career combined hat trick in 204 games. 44 points (27 assists) at home, 29 points on road with a -13 rating. . . . Kamloops’ Dylan Ernst sees name everywhere on scoresheet with an assist, a delay of game penalty, and 28 saves on 32 shots. Improves to 5-0 in playoffs and has dropped goals against average by a full goal. 1.96 GAA, .927 SV% in combined 43 wins; 4.82 GAA, .854 SV% in 13 non-wins.”

From Winterhawks historian Andy Kemper (@AndyKemper): “Scoring change for Portland in Game 1 vs. Kamloops. 3rd goal — 72 Nguyen from 11 Fromm-Delorme and 19 Chyzowski. 2nd career 3 assist playoff game for Chyzowski.”

More from Brandow: “Seattle soars to a Game 1 win with help from a couple of midseason acquisitions. Dylan Guenther doubles up again in goal column reaching 20 (and 30 points) in 24 career playoff games. Brad Lambert returns and helps out on three, most this (season).”

Mayor

WHL PLAYOFF NOTES:

Six of the eight teams remaining in the WHL’s title chase now have played two WHLgames in the second round of playoffs. The other teams involved — the Red Deer Rebels and Saskatoon Blades — are scheduled to play their second game today. They’ll meet in Saskatoon’s SaskTel Centre, where the Rebels opened the series with a 3-1 victory on Friday night. . . . They weren’t able to play there on Saturday night because lacrosse’s Saskatchewan Rush had the facility booked for a NLL game.

There aren’t any games scheduled for Monday.

On Saturday night, the Moose Jaw Warriors evened their series with the Eastern Conference’s top-ranked Winnipeg Ice, but may have lost two veteran defencemen in the process. . . .

There weren’t any surprises in the Western Conference as the No. 1 Seattle Thunderbirds and No. 2 Kamloops Blazers each took 2-0 leads in their series. . . . The Prince George Cougars, down 2-0 to Seattle, may be looking at playing a game or two without a 97-point man who took a headshot major late in Game 2.

——

SATURDAY IN THE WHL PLAYOFFS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Moose Jaw (4) at Winnipeg (1) — The Moose Jaw Warriors struck for four goals WarriorsNewin the game’s first 10 minutes, three of them in a span of 1:24 via the PP, en route to a 5-3 victory over the Winnipeg Ice. . . . The Ice’s first loss of these playoffs left the series tied, 1-1, as the scene shifts to Moose Jaw for games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Game 5 is to be played in Winnipeg on Saturday. . . . The Ice had won the opener, 5-3, on Friday. . . . Last night, F Ryder Korczak (2) gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead at 1:02 of the first period. . . . Ice F Evan Friesen was ejected at 7:45 for a headshot on Moose Jaw D Matthew Gallant, who left the game and didn’t return. . . . F Brayden Yager (4) made it 2-0 at 8:07. . . . Ice F Zach Benson went off for high-sticking at 8:22, and Yager (5) upped the lead to 3-0 at 9:11 on the 5-on-3 PP. . . . The Warriors made it 4-0 when F Martin Rysavy (3) added another PP goal just 20 seconds later. . . . The Ice managed to get to within a goal, at 4-3, on third-period scores from F Zack Ostapchuk (4), on a PP, at 1:07, F Connor McClennon (5), at 13:09, and F Carson Latimer (1), at 16:10. . . . Moose Jaw F Josh Hoekstra got the empty-netter with 2.4 seconds left to play. . . . Ostapchuk was back after sitting out Game 1 with a WHL-issued suspension. . . . Latimer was playing in his first game since Feb. 26. . . . The Warriors were 3-for-5 on the PP; the Ice was 1-for-9. . . . G Connor Ungar earned the victory with 33 saves. . . . Warriors F Atley Calvert, who had two assists, was given a slew-footing double minor at 15:07 of the first period. Those penalties often are met with a suspension. . . . Besides losing Gallant, the Warriors also played the third period without D Logan Dowhaniuk, who was hit from behind by F Owen Pederson in the second period.

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Prince George (4) at Seattle (1) — F Brad Lambert was in on each of Seattle’s Seattlefirst three goals as the Thunderbirds beat the Prince George Cougars, 5-1, in Kent, Wash. . . . Seattle holds a 2-0 lead in the series with the next two games in Prince George on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . Lambert, who had a goal and three assists in this one, had recorded three assists on Friday as the Thunderbirds opened the series with a 4-1 victory. . . . He missed two games in Seattle’s first-round sweep of the Kelowna Rockets, and now has a goal and eight assists in four playoff games. . . . Last night, Seattle scored the game’s first three goals. . . . F Jared Davidson (2) got it started, on a PP, at 13:12 of the first period. . . . Lambert (1) got it to 2-0 at 9:23 of the second, and F Dylan Guenther (8) made it 3-0 at 13:43. . . . Guenther has goals in each of Seattle’s six playoff games, and is riding a 12-game point streak. . . . F Ondrej Becher (1) got the Cougars on the board 14 seconds into the third period, but F Kyle Crnkovic (2) got that one back for Seattle at 4:33. . . . Davidson (3) closed out the scoring on a PP at 19:16. . . . Seattle was 3-for-4 on the PP; Prince George was 0-for-5. . . . G Thomas Milic stopped 26 shots for Seattle. In these playoffs, he is 6-0, 1.00, .959. . . . The Cougars lost F Riley Heidt to a headshot major a game misconduct at 18:03 of the third period. He was a 97-point man in the regular season so a suspension of any length could be truly devastating to the Cougars. . . .

Portland (3) at Kamloops (4) — F Logan Stankoven had two goals and threee Kamloopsassists to lead the Kamloops Blazers to a 5-0 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Blazers had posted a 6-4 victory on Friday, so take a 2-0 series lead into games in Portland on Wednesday and Thursday. . . . Stankoven, who led last season’s playoffs in goals (17) and points (31), has 16 points, including seven goals, in six games in these playoffs. . . . Stankoven now has had three five-point playoff games — one last season and two this time around. . . . He is the WHL’s leading playoff scorer not named Connor Bedard, who had 20 points in seven games when his Regina Pats were eliminated. . . . The Blazers opened the scoring at 11:44 of the first period when F Caedan Bankier (5) counted on a PP. . . . D Olen Zellweger (4) made it 2-0 at 17:35 of the second period and Stankoven (6) upped it to 3-0 at 19:05 on another PP. . . . Stankoven (7) and F Daylan Kuefler (2), the latter on a PP, added third-period scores. . . . While the Blazers struck for five goals, they had only six players register points. . . . Bankier added two assists to his goal, while Seminoff also had two assists. . . . G Dylan Ernst stopped 28 shots in posting his third shutout in six starts. He is 6-0, 1.42, .942 in these playoffs. . . . Kamloops was 3-for-4 on the PP; Portland was 0-for-2.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

Eight WHL players have been named to Team Canada that will play in the IIHF U18 World championship in Basel and Porrentruy, Switzerland, from Thursday through April 30. Those players are G Carson Bjarnason, Brandon Wheat Kings; D Lukas Dragicevic, Tri-City Americans; D Caden Price, Kelowna Rockets; D Carter Yakemchuk, Calgary Hitmen; F Berkly Catton, Spokane Chiefs; F Andrew Cristall, Kelowna; F Ty Halaburda, Vancouver Giants; and F Tanner Howe, Regina Pats. . . . The head coach is Jeff Truitt of the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Canada opens the tournament with a game against Sweden on Thursday. . . .

The NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned D Stanislav Svozil of the Regina Pats to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Svozil played two NHL games earlier in the week, picking up an assist in his debut. He played in his first AHL game last night, recording two assists and being name third star in a 4-3 victory over the host Rochester Americans. . . . Meanwhile, the NHL’s Washington Capitals have assigned Regina F Alexander Suzdalev to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. He was a third-round pick by the Capitals in the NHL’s 2021 draft. This season, he led all WHL freshmen in goals (38), assists (48) and points (86). . . .

F Ty Thorpe (Vancouver Giants) had a goal on Saturday night as the host South Carolina Stingrays scored a 5-4 shootout victory over the Jacksonville Icemen. No, he didn’t take part in the shootout. . . . F Carson Golder (Kelowna Rockets) drew the primary assist on the winning goal as the visiting Manitoba Moose got past the Rockford IceHogs, 3-2. . . . F Parker Bell (Tri-City Americans) picked up an assist on the game-winner at 19:44 of the third period as the Calgary Wranglers beat the host Abbotsford Canucks, 3-2. With the victory, the Wranglers, under head coach Mitch Love, a former WHL player and coach, clinched first place in the AHL’s overall standings (51-17-4).

OutOfOrder

THE COACHING GAME:

Roy Sommer, once an assistant coach with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders, coached his 1,814th and final AHL game on Saturday night as his San Diego Gulls dropped a 3-1 decision to the host Colorado Eagles. Sommer, 66, has announced his retirement after 25 years in the AHL. For the first 24 of this seasons, he was head coach of the San Jose Sharks’ affiliate in Kentucky, Cleveland, Worcester and San Jose. He spent this season with the Anaheim Ducks’ AHL affiliate. . . . Sommer has coached in more AHL games and posted more victories (828) than anyone in history. . . . Sommer was with Prince Albert in 1988-89, before moving on to the ECHL’s Roanoke Valley Rebels. . . . As a player, Sommer, who is from Oakland, Calif., played one game with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings (1974-75) and then two seasons (1975-77) with the Calgary Centennials. . . .

Zack Dailey has been named the head coach of the MacEwan U Griffins, who play in Canada West. Dailey, an assistant coach with the Edmonton-based team since 2017, had been the team’s interim head coach as he filled in for Michael Ringrose, who was on parental leave. Ringrose announced in February that he wouldn’t be returning. Dailey, a 33-year-old native of Healey, Alaska, played with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips for five seasons (2005-10), before going on to spend five seasons with the U of Alberta Golden Bears.

Delivery

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Bacon

Hockey loses a friend in Seattle . . . Three top seeds open WHL’s second round with victories. . . . Rebels start with win on road

I never had the privilege of meeting Andy Eide, but we certainly communicated on occasion via email and Twitter. I can tell you that no one loved hockey — and hockey in the Pacific Northwest, in particular — more than did Andy. He absolutely loved covering the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds and it was more of his dream come true when he came to be involved in coverage of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken. . . . If you aren’t aware, Andy had a stroke on March 18, just prior to a Kraken game against the visiting Edmonton Oilers. He died on Friday. . . . The tributes that flowed  on social media like so many tears revealed what kind of impact he had.

WHL PLAYOFF NOTES:

The second round of the WHL playoffs opened with four series — conference semifinals — on Friday night.

In Winnipeg, the Eastern Conference’s top seed, the Winnipeg Ice, will take a 1-0 series lead into tonight’s Game 2 against the No. 4 Moose Jaw Warriors.

In Saskatoon, the No. 3 Rebels have a 1-0 lead against the No. 2 Blades. They won’t play a second game until Sunday, because lacrosse’s Saskatchewan Rush has a game in the SaskTel Centre tonight. If you’re confused as to how the Rebels were the second seed and the Blades No. 3 in the first round but now those seeds are reversed, here’s the deal: The Rebels were the No. 2 seed because they finished atop the Central Division in the regular season. The Blades had more points than did the Rebels, but finished second in the East Division. In the first round, a division title gets you the first or second seed. The WHL reseeds for the second round, so the Blades became the No. 2 seed, ahead of the Rebels.

Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, the No. 1 Seattle Thunderbirds have a 1-0 lead over the Prince George Cougars going into tonight’s second game.

And, in Kamloops, the No. 2 Blazers hold a 1-0 lead over the Portland Winterhawks as they prepared for a second game tonight.

——

FRIDAY IN THE WHL PLAYOFFS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Moose Jaw (4) at Winnipeg (1) — F Matt Savoie had a goal and two assists to WinnipegIcehelp the Winnipeg Ice to a 5-3 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Ice is 5-0 in these playoffs; the Warriors are 4-1. . . . The Ice jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead on goals from F Owen Pederson (2), on a PP, at 1:04, F Zach Benson (1), at 7:57, and Savoie (7), at 16:42. . . . However, the Warriors scored the next three goals to pull even. F Brayden Yager (3) got it started at 19:38 of the first period, with D Max Wanner (2) scoring at 4:09 of the second and F Jagger Firkus (5) tying it at 13:21, on a PP. . . . F Connor McClennon (4) snapped the tie at 2:59 of the third period, with D Graham Sward (1) adding insurance at 6:04. . . . Benson, who had 36 goals and 62 assists in the regular season, played in his first game March 10. . . . Winnipeg G Daniel Hauser stopped 26 shots, six fewer than Moose Jaw’s Connor Ungar. . . . Each team was 1-for-2 on the PP. . . . The Ice remains without F Carson Latimer, a trade-deadline acquisition from the Prince Albert Raiders, who last played on Feb. 26. . . . Moose Jaw F Robert Baco sat out as he is serving a three-game suspension after taking a goalie interference major and game misconduct in Game 4 against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Baco will be eligible to return for Game 4 against the Ice. . . .

Red Deer (3) at Saskatoon (2) — D Christoffer Sedoff had a goal and an assist as RedDeerthe Red Deer Rebels beat the Saskatoon Blades, 3-1. . . . F Jhett Larson (2) gave the Rebels a 1-0 lead at 4:28 of the second period, and they nursed that until 14:19 of the third when F Jace Isley (1) scored the eventual game-winner. . . . F Jake Chiasson (3) got Saskatoon on the board at 18:08 with G Austin Elliott on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Sedoff put it away with the empty-netter, his third goal of these playoffs. . . . Each team was 0-for-3 on the PP. . . . G Kyle Kelsey earned the victory with 23 saves, six more than Elliott.

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Prince George (4) at Seattle (1) — F Dylan Guenther’s two first-period goals Seattlegot the Seattle Thunderbirds started to a 4-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars in Kent, Wash. . . . Guenther, who has seven goals in five games, scored at 1:50 and 15:23, the second one coming on a PP. . . . F Koehn Ziemmer (3) got the Cougars’ goal, on a PP, at 18:14. . . . F Lucas Ciona (4) added insurance for Seattle at 2:48 of the third period, and F Nico Myatovic (1) got the empty-netter at 19:36. . . . F Brad Lambert finished with three assists. . . . Prince George was 1-for-5 on the PP; Seattle was 1-for-3. . . . G Thomas Milic celebrated his 20th birthday by stopping 23 shots for Seattle, which is 5-0 in these playoffs. . . . The Cougars got 40 saves from G Ty Young. . . .

Portland (3) at Kamloops (2) — F Jakub Demek scored his first two goals of Kamloopsthese playoffs as the Kamloops Blazers skated to a 6-4 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Demek went into the game with six assists and 26 shots on goal through four games, but nothing in the way of goals. Off-season shoulder surgery limited him to 15 regular-season games this season, and he finished with four goals and seven assists. . . . F Emmitt Finnie (4) ran his point streak to 15 games as he gave the Blazers a 1-0 lead at 8:30 of the first period. . . . F James Stefan’s first of three goals tied it at 9:50. . . . Demek put Kamloops back in front at 13:45 of the second period and F Fraser Minten, in his first game of these playoffs, upped the lead to 3-1 at 15:22. Minten hadn’t played since March 22. . . . Those two goals, coming 1:37 apart, were scored with Portland D Luca Cagnoni in the dressing room getting checked out. . . . Stefan got Portland back to within a goal at 17:04; this was his third multi-goal effort of these playoffs. . . . Demek scored his second goal at 19:36. . . . The Blazers put it away with third-period goals from F Matthew Seminoff (1) and F Logan Stankoven (5), the latter via the PP. . . . F Marcus Nguyen (5), on a PP, at 16:48 and Stefan (7), on another PP, at 19:58 completed the scoring. . . . Portland was 2-for-5 on the PP; Kamloops was 1-for-2. . . . G Dylan Ernst earned the victory with 28 stops, four fewer than Jan Spunar of Portland. . . . The Blazers are 5-0 in the playoffs; the Winterhawks are 4-2.

Freedom

When the conversation turns to the best player in the history of the Kootenay/Winnipeg Ice, F Nigel Dawes has to get an early mention. A 38-year-old native of Winnipeg, Dawes apparently has decided to retire after a pro career that began in 2005-06 and which included 12 seasons in Europe. . . . He was with the Kootenay Ice for four seasons (2001-05) and finished with 272 points, 159 of them goals, in 245 regular-season games. He also had 45 points, including 19 goals, in 49 playoff games. . . . He got into 212 NHL games over five seasons, scoring 39 goals and adding 45 assists; in the AHL, he had 233 points, 117 of them goals, in 232 games. . . . He went on to play 10 seasons in the KHL, totalling 267 goals and 238 assists in 543 games. . . . Dawes played the past two seasons with Adler Mannheim of the DEL, totalling 32 goals and 34 assists in 90 games. . . . At 5-foot-8 and 200 pounds, he wasn’t the tallest player on the ice, but he was as gritty as they came, and he was a whole lot of fun to watch.

D Stanislav Svozil of the Regina Pats made his NHL debut with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night, earning one assist in a 3-2 OT victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. He played 19 minutes 13 seconds. . . . Last night was a bit of a different story, as he was minus-3 in 21:01 during a 5-2 loss to the visiting Buffalo Sabres. . . . Svozil, who turned 20 on Jan. 17, is from Prerov, Czechia. The Blue Jackets selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2021 draft.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

F Parker Bell of the Tri-City Americans has joined the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers for their playoff run. Bell, 19, was a fifth-round selection by the parent Calgary Flames in the NHL’s 2022 draft. . . . This season, he had 25 goals and 39 assists in 55 regular-season games with the Americans. . . .

F Carson Golder of the Kelowna Rockets has signed an ATO with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Golder, who played out his junior eligibility this season, was acquired by the Rockets from the Edmonton Oil Kings. This season, he put up 31 goals and 24 assists in 64 games. . . . He had been a defenceman until Edmonton’s championship playoff run last season, when he moved to the forward ranks.

JUST NOTES:

The U of Alaska-Fairbanks has signed head coach Erik Largen to a five-year contract worth US$200,000 per season. . . . Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks, N.D., Herald reports: “Largen’s deal spells out several investments into the hockey program — increased salaries for support staff like the strength and conditioning coaches, equipment manager and operations director, an increased recruiting budget, game guarantees for opponents traveling to Fairbanks and, perhaps most notably, salaries for three assistant coaches. . . . Largen’s contract calls for his associate coach to make $120,000 per year. The other two assistants will make $90,000 and $40,000.”

Snowmen

With the 10th anniversary of her kidney transplant within in sight, Dorothy is taking part in her 10th straight Kamloops Kidney Walk. So, yes, she is fund-raising. . . . The 2023 Walk is scheduled for June 4. . . . If you would like to donate to her cause, you are able to do so right here.

——

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Train

Seattle reporter felled by stroke, needs our help . . . Bedard has $$$ impact off the ice . . . Pats back in Saskatoon on Friday

Andy Eide spent many an hour covering the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds prior to the arrival of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken. But even while covering the Kraken, he found time to attend the odd Thunderbirds’ game. . . . On Saturday, as he was preparing to cover another Kraken game, he suffered a stroke. . . . Please keep a really good guy in your thoughts and prayers, and if you are in a position to give, please do. There’s a GoFundMe page right here.

THE BEDARD REPORT, Part 1: Everyone is well aware of the numbers that F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats has put up on the ice. How about some off-ice numbers that also are related to Bedard’s on-ice production? . . . Bedard and the Pats were in Saskatoon where they beat the Blades, 4-2, on Sunday. The game drew a single-game record 14,768 fans to SaskTel Centre. . . . Scott Ford, the facility’s executive director, told Keenan Sorokan of CTV News-Saskatoon that the fans purchased 2,200 boxes of popcorn, 2,500 sodas and somewhere around 1,500 hot dogs. Ford estimated that about $221,500 was spent at concessions. . . . Ford also explained that the financial impact was even greater. “We had a lot of people that were coming from all over Saskatchewan to this game,” Ford told Sorokan. “Lots of people booking in hotel rooms, lots of people shopping in Saskatoon stores prior to the game, after (the) game staying in Saskatoon hotels, so our tourism economy and the spin-off economic benefits of a big event like this really are tremendous.” . . . Sorokan’s complete story is right here. . . . Someone from Regina putting lots of money into the jeans of folks in Saskatoon . . . never thought I’d see the day. LOL!

——

It also took more than 600 SaskTel Centre staff members and volunteers to keep things running smoothly with almost 15,000 people in the house on Sunday. And they’ll get to do it all over again on Friday as F Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats return for another visit. And, yes, another huge crowd is expected to show up. . . . The Blades hold a 3-2-0 edge in the season series, having outscored the Pats, 22-16. . . . And as if that isn’t enough, it really is looking as though the Pats and Blades will meet up in the first round of the playoffs that are scheduled to open on March 31. . . . The Blades will be the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed, meaning they will play the sixth-place team. The Pats are sixth with two games remaining. They are four points behind the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who have three games left, and six ahead of the Calgary Hitmen, who also have three games to play. . . . In other words, it’s sure looking like the Pats and Blades will meet in the first round. It will be the first playoff meeting between these two distinguished franchises since the Blades beat the Pats, 4-2, in a first-round series in 2005-06. Of course, as hard as it may be to comprehend, the only time since then that the Blades and Pats both qualified for the playoffs in the same season was in 2011-12. . . . You are free to wonder how much a seven-game series between the Blades and Pats would be worth this time around.

——

Did you know that Metallica holds the attendance record for the building that now is known as the SaskTel Centre and is home to the Saskatoon Blades? . . . Darren Steinke, the travellin’ blogger, has more right here.

——

THE BEDARD REPORT, Part 2: As expected, a scoring change on a goal in a Saturday game has given F Connor Bedard one more assist. After the fact, Bedard was credited with the lone assist on the first goal of the Pats’ 7-3 victory over the Warriors in Moose Jaw. That goal, a shorthanded effort, was scored by D Parker Berge (3). . . . The assist gave Bedard his second six-point game of the season. He finished with three goals and three assists. . . . He also has nine five-point outings. . . . Yes, he has 57 points in those 11 games. . . . Bedard, of course, followed Saturday’s six-pack with a goal and an assist in a 4-2 victory over the Blades in Saskatoon. . . . So he now leads the WHL in goals (70), assists (72) and points (142). . . . Bedard and the Pats have two games remaining — in Saskatoon on Friday and at home to the Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday. . . . Bedard goes into those games with nine goals and eight assists over his past four games.

Jack Todd, in the Montreal Gazette: “If NHL teams are not going to get serious about involving players in their Pride Night warmups, they might as well scrap the whole idea. Right now, all they’re accomplishing is to provide a platform for homophobic athletes like James Reimer.”

G Dylan Ferguson stopped 48 shots in his first NHL start on Monday night, as he carried the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 victory over the Penguins in Pittsburgh. . . . Only Laurent Brossoit of the Edmonton Oilers, on April 9, 2015, and Manny Legace of the Los Angeles Kings, on Oct. 21, 1998, stopped more shots (49) in their first NHL starts. Ken Wregget of the Toronto Maple Leafs (March 8, 1983) and Bill Oleschuk of the Kansas City Scouts (Jan. 23, 1976) also stopped 48. . . . Ferguson, a 24-year-old from Lantzville, B.C., made his first NHL appearance on Nov. 14, 2017, playing nine minutes for the Vegas Golden Knights in a 7-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Ferguson, then 19, gave up one goal on two shots that night. He was playing for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers at the time. Vegas, which owned his NHL rights, had three goaltenders injured at the time, so Ferguson spent a couple of weeks backing up Maxime Lagace. . . . Selected by the Dallas Stars in the seventh round of the 2017 NHL draft, he was dealt to Vegas. He since has played for the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets and Wichita Thunder, and the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, Henderson Silver Knights, Toronto Marlies and Belleville Senators.

Fish

If the WHL playoffs started today (x-locked in):

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Medicine Hat (8)

Red Deer (2) vs. Calgary (7)

Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)

Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

x-Portland (3) vs. Everett (6)

x-Prince George (4) vs. Tri-City (5)

——

MONDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

No Games Scheduled.

——

JUNIOR JOTTINGS: The WHL first-round playoff series between the Prince George Cougars and Tri-City Americans will follow a 2-3-2 format. The Cougars, who will finish fourth in the Western Conference, will play host to the first two games on March 31 and April 1. Then it will south to Kennewick, Wash, for Games 3, 4 and, if necessary, 5 on April 4, 5 and 7. Games 6 and 7 would be played in Prince George on April 9 and 11. . . .

The only other series that is set in stone going into tonight’s games has the Portland Winterhawks, the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed, meeting the No. 6 Everett Silvertips. They will open in Portland on March 31. . . .

In the Eastern Conference, the Winnipeg Ice, Red Deer Rebels, and Saskatoon Blades, the top three seeds, all will open at home on March 31. However, they don’t yet know who will provide the opposition.

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Feta

As we enjoy Bedard’s season, let’s not forget about Goodall . . . NHL’s Oilers to honour Prokop today . . . 2022 WJC to be played in Edmonton in August

There was lots of chatter after Regina Pats F Connor Bedard scored his 40th goal of the season on Wednesday night.

“Bedard became just the second 16-year-old in the past 30 years, and sixth in WHLWHL history, to reach the 40-goal mark during a regular season,” reads a piece posted on the league’s website.

“As far as the elite company is concerned, Bedard joins longtime NHLer Jeff Friesen (himself a former Pat) as 16-year-olds to score 40 or more goals in the past three decades. Friesen put up 45 markers with Regina during the 1992-93 season,” the story continues. “Bedard is the sixth 16-year-old to do it in league history, joining the likes of Glen Goodall, who fired in 63 goals in his 16-year-old season with the Seattle Thunderbirds in 1986-87, and a trio of Memorial Cup champions in Kimbi Daniels (43 goal with Swift Current in 1989-90), Mark Pederson (42 goals with Medicine Hat in 1984-85) and Dave Pasin (40 goals with Prince Albert in 1982-83).”

Yes, Glen Goodall, who had one of the most remarkable stints in WHL history, struck for 63 goals as a 16-year-old. He really did. Think about that for a few moments . . . that’s a whole lot of goals at any age. But to do it at 16. Yikes!

Of course, Goodall had scored 13 goals in 65 games as a 15-year-old. Oh, and he had five goals in 59 games as a 14-year-old. Yes, the pride of Thompson, Man., got into 59 games at 14. He had been on Seattle’s protected listed since he was 12.

Before he was done, Goodall had played six full seasons in the WHL, totalling 399 regular-season games. Now that’s one WHL career record that won’t ever be broken.

For the record, Goodall finished with 573 points, including 262 goals, in those 399 games. He holds the WHL regular-season career records for games played and goals. He is fifth in assists (311) and second in points (573).

The Detroit Red Wings selected Goodall in the 10th round of the 1988 NHL draft, but he never did get to play in the big league. He went on to a pro career that included a 100-point season with the ECHL’s Erie Panthers and five 100-point seasons in Europe. But the NHL never did beckon, likely because he went about 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds.

Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has a piece right here from June 2020 about the connection between Goodall and Bedard.

Andy Eide had another good piece on Goodall on the nhltoseattle.com site and that story is right here.

G Ève Gascon, 18, is scheduled to make her first start for the QMJHL’s  Gatineau Olympqiques today(Saturday) against the visiting Rimouski Oceanic. Gascon qmjhlnewwas been 9-5-0 with the CÉGEP St-Laurent Patriotes in the Quebec Collegiate Hockey League (Division 1). . . . She will become the third woman to play in the QMJHL, after Manon Rheaume and Charline Labonté, who got into 26 games with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in 1999-2000 and two in 2000-01. Rheaume played one game with the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs on 1991-92. . . . G Shannon Szabados got into four exhibition games with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans prior to the 2002-03 season. In her debut, on Sept. 4, 2002, she stopped 24 shots in a 6-4 victory over the Spokane Chiefs in a game that was played in Ladner, B.C. On Sept. 22, in a regular-season game at Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum, she played 50 seconds early in the third period but wasn’t tested — presumably starter Tyler Weiman had an equipment issue — as the Americans dropped a 5-3 decision to the Giants. The game included 192 penalty minutes.

My wife, Dorothy, who underwent a kidney transplant on Sept. 23, 2013, is taking part in her ninth kidney walk, albeit virtually, on June 5. She has been involved in every walk since she had her transplant. If you would like to sponsor her, you are able to do that right here.

My, how time does fly! . . . On May 13, 2019, F Noah Gregor scored two goals and added an assist on the winner as the host Prince Albert Raiders beat the Vancouver Giants, 3-2 in OT, in Game 7 of the WHL’s championship final. . . . Because of the pandemic that is the last WHL playoff game to have been played. Yes, the Raiders have been the defending champions for almost three years now. . . . As for Gregor, well, he played in his 100th NHL game on Thursday night as his San Jose Sharks dropped a 3-0 decision to the Los Angeles Kings. Gregor, 23, has 22 points, including 11 goals, in his first 100 games.

FRIDAY NIGHT IN THE WHL:

F Dylan Guenther scored twice, giving him 40 goals this season, to lead the EdmontonEdmonton Oil Kings to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Calgary Hitmen. . . . Guenther scored his first goal on a penalty shot at 18:05 of the third period, then added an empty-netter at 19:28. . . . The Oil Kings (45-12-3) lead the Eastern Conference by four points over the Winnipeg Ice. . . . The Hitmen (21-30-8) are 10th, but just one point out of the last playoff spot. . . . Edmonton D Luke Prokop scored his 11th goal at 11:53 of the second and it stood up as the winner against his former club. Prokop will be back in the arena this afternoon (Saturday) as the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers honour him as part of their Pride Night as they entertain the New Jersey Devils. Prokop, who has signed with the Nashville Predators, came out as gay in July. He is the first active player under NHL contract to have done so. . . .

The host Lethbridge Hurricanes scored the game’s first three goals, all in the Lethbridgefirst period, en route to a 5-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . D Chase Pauls scored twice for the winners, giving him four this season. It was his first two-goal game in 83 regular-season games. He now has 18 points, including five goals, in those 83 games. . . . F Ben King, the WHL’s leading goal scorer, got No. 47 for Red Deer. . . . These teams will meet again tonight, this time in Red Deer. . . . The Hurricanes (25-28-4) are seventh in the Eastern Conference, just three points ahead of the Regina Pats and Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Rebels (39-17-3) are a comfortable third in the conference. . . .

In Winnipeg, the Ice opened up a 4-1 second-period lead and hung on for a 4-3 WinnipegIcevictory over the Brandon Wheat Kings, who have lost five straight. . . . F Conor Geekie’s 19th goal, at 19:34 of the second period, stood up as the winner. He needs one more goal to become the Ice’s sixth 20-goal man. As well, F Jack Finley has 18. . . . G Daniel Hauser earned the victory with 19 saves. This season, he is 23-2-1, 2.15, .911. . . . The Ice was coming off four straight home-ice shutouts. It ended up going 325 minutes 17 seconds without giving up a goal at home before F Tyson Zimmer scored his first of two goals for Brandon. . . . F Hayden Chaloner had two assists in his first career game with the Wheat Kings. Chaloner, who will turn 17 on Monday, was a seventh-round pick in the WHL’s 2020 draft. . . . The Ice leads the season series 7-1-1 with the final game tonight in Brandon. . . . Winnipeg (42-9-5) is second in the Eastern Conference and is 8-0-2 in its last 10 games. It is four points behind Edmonton and holds four games in hand. . . . Brandon (28-23-5) is sixth, nine points behind the fifth-place Saskatoon Blades and seven ahead of Lethbridge. . . .

D Sam McGinley scored twice and added an assist to lead the Swift Current SwiftCurrentBroncos to a 5-1 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . McGinley has six goals this season. . . . He gave the Broncos a 3-0 lead at 6:03 of the second period and made it 4-1 at 18:08. . . . They’re back it tonight in Medicine Hat. . . . The Broncos (22-30-7) are tied with the Regina Pats, who hold four games in hand, for eighth in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of Calgary. . . . The Tigers (11-42-4) won’t be in the playoffs this time around. . . .

F Lukas Svejkovsky broke a 1-1 tie with his 25th goal as the Seattle SeattleThunderbirds beat the Tri-City Americans, 3-1, in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Svejkovsky, a midseason acquisition from the Medicine Hat Tigers, struck at 14:44 of the second period. . . . F Tanner Gould had pulled the Americans even with his first WHL goal at 10:02. . . . F Conner Roulette notched his 20th goal of the season and now has scored in four straight road games. . . . Seattle (36-15-6) is fourth in the Western Conference, three points behind the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Americans (16-37-5) are 10th, six points out of the last playoff spot. . . .

D Devin Aubin scored his first two goals of the season, doubling his career VictoriaRoyalsoutput in the process, and added an assist as the host Victoria Royals beat the Prince George Cougars, 6-2. . . . Aubin, who turned 19 on Thursday, went into the game with one goal in 46 games over two seasons. He now has five points in 26 games this season, one more than he scored in 21 games with the Swift Current Broncos in the 2021 development season. . . .  F Tanner Scott had a goal, his 13th, and two assists for Victoria, which was outshot 42-24, including 14-2 in the third period. . . . G Tyler Palmer got the victory with 40 saves. . . . The teams will complete the doubleheader tonight in Victoria. . . . The Royals (18-34-6) are ninth in the Western Conference, one point behind the Spokane Chiefs and the Cougars (20-33-3), who are tied for seventh. . . .

F Adam Hall scored twice to help the Vancouver Giants to a 5-3 victory over the VancouverEverett Silvertips in Langley, B.C. . . . Hall has 16 goals. He scored twice in a four-goal outburst as the Giants erased a 1-0 deficit. . . . F Jackson Berezowski scored twice for Everett, giving him 40 this season. . . . Vancouver D Nicco Camazzola scored his third goal this season on his 19th birthday. He’s got three goals in 71 career games. . . . The same teams will hit the highway and play tonight in Everett. . . . Vancouver (23-29-4) holds down sixth place in the Western Conference, seven points ahead of Spokane and Prince George. . . . The Silvertips (39-10-8) are tied with the Kamloops Blazers atop the conference. . . .

F Matthew Seminoff scored the only goal of the shootout to give the visiting KamloopsKamloops Blazers a 3-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Seminoff led off the third round of the circus with its lone goal. . . . The Blazers have won seven in a row, four of them over the Rockets, who still lead the season series, 7-2-2. Kamloops is 4-6-1. . . . The same teams will play in Kamloops tonight. . . . F Connor Levis had pulled Kamloops into a 2-2 tie with his 14th goal at 13:38 of the second period. . . . F Colton Dach, who has 21 goals, scored both of Kelowna’s goals. He has three two-goal games this season, all against the Blazers. . . . F Andrew Cristall had two assists for Kelowna. Cristall, who turned 17 on Feb. 4, has 54 points, including 33 assists, in 49 games. . . . Kamloops G Dylan Garand had 37 saves, one more than Kelowna’s Talyn Boyko. Both are draft picks of the NHL’s New York Rangers. . . . The Blazers (42-14-2) are tied with Everett atop the Western Conference, with Kamloops holding one game in hand. . . . The Rockets (34-15-6) are fifth, four points behind Seattle.

Pizza

JUST NOTES: TSN’s Darren Dreger tweeted that the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship will be played in its entirety in Edmonton this summer. The IIHF said Friday that the tournament will be played in August. You will recall that the tournament got started in Red Deer and Edmonton in late December before being brought down by positive tests to players and on-ice officials. . . . The IIHF also announced on Friday that Latvia will be the 10th team in the tournament, replacing Russia. . . . With the IIHF having barred Belarus and Russia from various competitions, it has made adjustments to some tournaments. For example, Austria and France have replaced those two in the 2022 men’s world championship. There’s more on that and other changes right here.

Eating

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

iPad

Paying tribute to ex-Wheat Kings d-man Dietrich . . . WHL planning B.C. bubbles . . . QMJHL has positive test in “protected environment”

NoGuaranteesDon Dietrich, who played three seasons (1978-81) with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He and his wife, Nadine, have three sons, and the family has set up a Facebook page that is titled Don Dietrich — Tribute Page. The page includes this note:

“For those that don’t know, Don has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. We have had so many people reach out to us to share stories of Don and the impact that he has had on their lives. He has thoroughly enjoyed hearing from everyone, so we wanted to give people the opportunity to share some of their own stories and experiences that they have shared with him. Please feel free to share your stories, photos, videos, memories and kind words with us on this page so he can see them all!”

The tributes that are pouring in include this one, from Norm Harris:

“Back in the ’80s the hockey fans in southern Maine had an AHL team, the Maine Mariners. We considered the players royalty.

“Our local high school team wasn’t very good. In 10 years they never had a winning season. It was just a bunch of country kids who grew up on the ponds who could now play in an arena. The winter of 1992-93, Don started to show up to our hockey board meetings as he had decided to settle in the area after his career was winding down. He convinced us to start a learn-to-skate program for the elementary kids so we would have a feeder system.

“The following year we needed a head coach for our high school team. Don stepped up to the plate. The players were so used to coaches who did more yelling and boasting about their own achievements than actually coaching. Don came in and started to teach not only the players but us other coaches from the learn-to-skate program, middle school and the high school assistant. Don would break down why you do certain things that past coaches never brought up.

“Each year that he coached the team’s record improved. Then he got sick and moved back home. The year after he left, the team made the playoffs for the first time and had won three-quarters of its games. It was all a because of Don’s vision.

“He showed us why we treated those pro players as royalty. He knew what it took to get the best not only out of a single player but an organization as well.

“We hold a school alumni game every year. Don graciously came to one a few years back which was a long trip for him. He came down and spent time in the locker room with his old players and worked a few games back on the bench. Before he left he gave back once again to the Bonny Eagle hockey program by donating a few of his books (No Guarantees)

“That year we not only had the most alumni come out to play but we packed the stands with fans as well. Many just to see Don.

“Thank you, sir, for all you have done.”

If you’re on Facebook, take a few minutes and check out this page. You will be blown away by the number of lives that have been touched by Don. If you have a memory or two or even a photo please feel free to post before leaving.

Drumsticks

The GoFundMe page that was set up to benefit the Sopotyk family remains open and has gone past $190,000. Tyrell Sopotyk, who played the past two seasons with the Kamloops Blazers, was injured in a snowboarding accident in January and remains in a Saskatoon hospital. . . . The page was set up by Kathleen Zary, the mother of Blazers F Connor Zary, who has been friends with Sopotyk since childhood. . . . If you haven’t yet contributed to the fund and would like to, the page is right here.

The WHL hasn’t yet released a schedule for games to be played by its five Alberta-based teams starting later this month or early in March. And it appears that it is gearing up to approach health officials in B.C. and Washington state in the hopes of getting the OK to get more teams back on the ice. . . . The B.C. plan is to include bubble-type situations in Kamloops and Kelowna. It will be interesting to see how a plan for games in Kamloops might be welcomed by provincial health officials because the virus has found us in a big way in 2021. . . . There have been 81 cases reported in Royal Inland Hospital, with 51 of those being staff. On top of that, one of the high schools — Sa-Hali secondary — has experienced exposures with at least 12 positives — nine staff and three staff. The school has at least 200 students and 18 staff now in self-isolation. . . . Kamloops This Week has more right here. . . . Marty Hastings of KTW has more on the WHL’s B.C. Division plan right here.

——

Meanwhile, in the QMJHL, the Victoriaville Tigers, who have been playing in what the league calls a “protected environment” in Chicoutimi, have had a player test positive. All players and staff will isolate for 14 days and the team has left the protected environment. . . . The league is awaiting more results before releasing an updated schedule.

A report on harassment and bullying in major junior hockey is now in the hands of the president of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL),” report Nicolas Steinbach and Francois Le Blanc of Radio-Canada. “Dan MacKenzie confirmed to Radio-Canada that he had received the document, which has not yet been made public. The independent committee led by former Premier of New Brunswick, Camille Thériault, submitted its report at the end of December.” . . . McKenzie, in an email, told Radio-Canada: “We are in the process of reviewing and determining the next steps. This is an important issue, but we also need to manage the impacts of the pandemic and we are focused on getting our players, CHL staff and community back to safe play. It’s hard to put an exact date, but we’re hopeful that we can answer questions this spring.” . . . Three independent commissioners, including former WHLer Sheldon Kennedy, were appointed to looking into the situation after a class-action lawsuit was filed on June 19. Daniel Carcillo, who played in the OHL, and Taylor Garrett, who played in the WHL, filed the suit. . . . The Radio-Canada story is right here.

Curve

THE COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

CBC News: As of 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Canada had reported 786,419 cases of COVID-19 — with 49,562 considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 20,215.

CNN, Tuesday, 2 p.m. PT — 26.4 million people in the United States have tested positive for coronavirus.

CNN, Tuesday, 1:59 p.m. PT — 446,000 people in the United States have died from coronavirus.

——

The New Jersey Devils had 14 players on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list on Tuesday — F Jesper Bratt, D Connor Carrick, G Aaron Dell, F Jack Hughes, F Andreas Johnsson, F Janne Kuokkanen, F Michael McLeod, F Kyle Palmieri, D Damon Severson, D Ty Smith, D Matt Tennyson, D Sami Vatanen, G Pavel Zacha and F Travis Zajac. . . . G Mackenzie Blackwood came off the list earlier in the day. . . . The NHL has said that the Devils won’t play again until at least Saturday. . . . The Buffalo Sabres, who played the Devils on Saturday and Sunday, put F Taylor Hall and D Rasmus Ristolainen in the protocol list on Tuesday. The Sabres, who won’t play again until Monday at the earliest, are reported to be unhappy with the NHL, which allowed Sunday’s game to go ahead despite Palmieri having gone on the list after playing in Saturday’s contest.

The Detroit Pistons were back in action on Tuesday, after having a Monday game against the host Denver Nuggets postponed. Last night, the Pistons went into Salt Lake City and played the Utah Jazz. . . . The Monday game was scratched because of contact tracing in the Detroit organization. . . .

Hockey Alberta announced on Tuesday that it has ended its 2020-21 season, meaning its all over for tiered, AAA and AA hockey in that province. However, the association hasn’t given up on having some kind of spring development season should government clearance come at some point. . . .

The Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association has cancelled all provincial basketball championships for this school year.

——

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Disk

Ice’s Savoie joins USHL team; will Geekie follow his lead? . . . ‘Canes lose assistant to AHL . . . Flockhart, former WHLer, dies at 64

F Matt Savoie of the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice has joined the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints. Savoie, 16, was denied exceptional status by Hockey Canada prior to the 2019-20 season, something that would have allowed him play full-time with the Ice. As it was, the Ice still got him into 22 games — he had seven assists. . . . The Ice selected him with the first overall pick of the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft. . . . This season, he had three goals and three assists in four games with the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders. . . . From a Fighting Saints news release: “Savoie is expected to join the Saints shortly. The team is in action again on Friday and Saturday in Youngstown as they take on the Phantoms.” . . . Savoie will be eligible for the NHL’s 2022 draft. . . . Prior to the 2019-20 season, Savoie, who is from St. Albert, Alta., was in training camp with Dubuque, as was his older brother, Carter, who now is a freshman at Denver U. In fact, Carter was named the NCHC’s rookie of the month for December after putting up 12 points, including seven goals, in 11 games. . . . Dubuque is 5-11-0 and in fifth place in the six-team Eastern Conference. . . .

Interestingly, F Cole Sillinger of the Medicine Hat Tigers had made plans to join the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede to at least start their season. However, it didn’t work out. Here’s what Sillinger told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post:

“I’m a dual citizen so that was a decision I had made to go down there in early October. Long story short, my transfer from Hockey Canada to USA Hockey wasn’t accepted. I couldn’t play any games so I had to come home. I was down there for about 2 ½ weeks just skating and practising, which was still very good. I was able to get into a routine and got to be a part of an actual team again.”

Sillinger, the son of former WHL/NHL F Mike Sillinger, had 53 points, including 22 goals, in 48 games with Medicine Hat last season. He is eligible for the NHL’s 2021 draft.

——

Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press reported that F Conor Geekie of the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice, the No. 2 pick in the 2019 bantam draft, “is considering offers from USHL and NAHL teams.” . . . Sawatzky quoted Craig Geekie, a former WHLer and Conor’s father: “I’m not going to say that missing a year is going to hurt him but it will, to me, just set him back in a minor way. (It will help) if he can just play, even if it’s for two or three months.”

——

The USHL’s Lincoln Stars have four players off the Portland Winterhawks’ roster on their list. However, Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks’ GM and head coach, has told Joshua Critzer that the WHL hasn’t released any of the four players and that won’t happen unless the WHL season is cancelled.

——

Meanwhile, according to a tweet from the Tri-City Americans, D Andrej Golian “has arrived after competing with Slovakia” at the World Junior Championship in Edmonton.

At the same time, Seattle-based hockey writer Andy Eide tweeted that F Simon Kubicek of the Seattle Thunderbirds, who played for Czech Republic at the WJC, has headed home “for the time being.” . . . Steve Ewen of Postmedia reported that D Marko Stacha, who played for Slovakia at the WJC, “is in Vancouver and the Giants say the plan is for him to stay.” . . . And according to Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week, D Inaki Baragano, who played for Switzerland at the WJC, is in Kamloops in anticipation of playing for the Blazers.

Men

With the three major junior leagues not operating at the moment, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet had an interesting item in his first 31 Thoughts posting of 2021:

“The NHL’s biggest priority right now is starting the season, but, at some point, teams are wondering if there will be any changes to the draft. Selecting 18-year-olds is already a crapshoot. Now it’s going to be even harder with so few opportunities to scout them. Hopefully, the CHL finds a way (more for the kids’ sake than anything), but, if not, I wonder if regional combines featuring scrimmages are created a few months down the road to give everyone an opportunity to see and be seen.” . . . The entire column is right here.

Three of the AHL’s 31 teams have opted out of playing this season, which the league hopes to get started on Feb. 5. The Charlotte Checkers, who are affiliated with the NHL’s Florida Panthers, Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville Predators) and Springfield Thunderbirds (St. Louis Blues) won’t participate in a new season. . . . John Greenberg, the Admirals’ president, said: “Right now, we’d be able to have 10 fans at the game watching our teams play, and that’s really no way to run a business.” . . . And here’s Michael Kahn, the Checkers’ owner: “There are several travel, safety and player supply challenges to consider. Those, coupled with the increasing number of new (COVID-19) cases in our area, make it very unlikely that we will be able to host fans at our games in the near future.” . . . As things now stand, the AHL will operate with five divisions of three, four, six, seven and eight teams. The Canadian Division will feature the Belleville Senators, Laval Rocket, Manitoba Moose and Toronto Marlies.

Andrew Doty, an assistant coach with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, has left to join the coaching staff of the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. . . . Doty, 30, was the Hurricanes’ video coach and will fill that same role with the Silver Knights. He had been with the Hurricanes, in one role or another, since the start of the 2014-15 season. In Henderson, Doty will be working with two former WHL coaches — Manny Viveiros is the Silver Knights’ head coach, while Jamie Heward is an assistant coach.

Rob Flockhart, a former WHL player who went on to play 55 NHL games, died on Saturday of an apparent heart attack. He was 64. . . . A native of Sicamous, B.C., he spent three seasons (1973-76) with the Kamloops Chiefs. In his third season, he totalled 51 goals and 47 assists in 72 games. . . . He played 55 NHL games over five seasons, split between the Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota North Stars. He retired after playing two games with the AHL’s New Haven Nighthawks and 14 with that league’s Springfield Indians in 1984-85. . . . The Canucks selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 1976 draft. He also was selected by the Cleveland Crusaders in the sixth round of the WHA’s 1976 draft. . . . Rob was the older brother, by four years, of former NHLer Ron Flockhart.

NotAboutYou

THE COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

CBC News: Quebec gov’t mulling harsher restrictions, including a curfew and extending school closures, amid soaring COVID-19 cases.

Public Health Agency of Canada, Tuesday, 4 p.m. PT: Canada has 78,849 active cases, with 523,564 recoveries. There have been 16,233 deaths.

CNN, Tuesday, 1:30 p.m. PT: 356,000 people in the United States have died from coronavirus.

CNN, Tuesday, 5:20 p.m. PT: 357,000 people in the United States have died from coronavirus.

——

BC Hockey announced Tuesday that it has cancelled the 2021 Cyclone Taylor Cup and 2021 Coy Cup events. . . . The Cyclone Taylor Cup is the junior B provincial championship that features three league champions and a host team. . . . The Coy Cup is the province’s senior men’s AA championship. . . . There is a news release right here. . . .

The Cleveland Browns will be without three coaches, including head coach Kevin Stefanski, and at least two players when they face the host Pittsburgh Steelers in a playoff game on Sunday. . . . Pro Bowl G Joel Bitonio and WR KhaDarel Hodge tested positive, as did defensive backs coach Jeff Howard and tight ends coach Drew Petzing. . . . It meant that the Brown were forced to shut down their facility on Tuesday for the fifth time in 10 days. . . . Cleveland was without six starters and three coaches due to COVID-19 protocols when it beat the Steelers on Sunday.

There are reports that the Ohio State Buckeyes football team is dealing with COVID-19 issues but as of Tuesday evening it didn’t appear that the NCAA championship game was in jeopardy. The Buckeyes are to meet the Alabama Crimson Tide in Miami on Monday. . . .

The 2021 Canadian National Taekwon-Do championships have been cancelled. They were to have been held in Vernon, B.C., April 24 and 25. . . .

Bentley U, which is located in Waltham, Mass., has paused its hockey program because of positive tests within the program. All team activities have been halted until further notice. . . . Bentley plays in the Atlantic Hockey Association.

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

JUST NOTES: Of the sporting events I have watched on TV over the past few months, none missed fans as much as the IIHF’s World Junior Championship. Not having flag-waving, hyped-up fans in attendance really cooled off that event. . . . I didn’t watch a lot of the WJC, but Tuesday night’s championship game was a terrific advertisement for the best that hockey has to offer. . . . If you missed it, there are rumours that the NBA will offer up a couple of expansion franchises and use the fees to help overcome losses caused by the pandemic. The whispers have Louisville and Seattle in line, with the price tag somewhere around US$2.5 billion per franchise.

Blizzard

Scattershooting on a Thursday night while watching Ovie shoot for 700 . . .

Scattershooting

A lot of what follows was to have been up here earlier in the week, but I got caught up in the Trevor Weisgerber story that you may have read here. If you haven’t seen it, just scroll down a bit and ready about the hockey coach who is fresh off a kidney transplant . . . Apologies, then, if some of what follows is a touch dated . . .

Followers of the WHL should be looking to the Pacific Northwest and thanking the Everett Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds for having breathed some life into the 2019-20 season.

Considering that their home arenas are located a few slapshots apart — of course, with SeattleSeattle-area traffic that can turn into a long drive in terms of time — we should expect this to be a healthy rivalry.

Now, however, I think it’s fair to say that this is the WHL’s top rivalry.

On Saturday night, the Silvertips hung a 5-2 beating on the host Thunderbirds, who actually play in Kent, Wash.

There was some nastiness, of course, a lot of it stemming from a second-period incident in which Everett F Justyn Gurney delivered an unpenalized shoulder to the head of Seattle D Cade McNelly. Less than 24 hours later, the WHL suspended Gurney for two games.

It was after the game when things really heated up.

Dennis Williams, the Silvertips’ head coach, told Josh Horton of the Everett Herald: “I Everettdon’t know what (Seattle’s) mindset is. Do they not want to play hockey? The game of hockey is skilled. It’s making plays, it’s going up the ice. From the midway to the second on, we knew we had them beat.”

Williams also told Horton that he lifted No. 1 G Dustin Wolf in the third period because “I just don’t trust them.”

On Sunday afternoon, Thunderbirds general manager Bil La Forge responded, telling Andy Eide of ESPN radio in Seattle: “Their comments post-game got me riled up. We always are portrayed as the big bad Thunderbirds. We do play hard and I’m not apologizing for that nor will I ever. But I think them yelling down at us from their high horse has to stop.”

La Forge, who obviously had done some research, also told Eide: “I think the numbers speak for themselves. They’ve been suspended 52 games in the last three seasons, we’ve been suspended 40. Twenty-six of their (game) suspensions have been against us and only eight of our game suspensions have been against them. That tells me that we’re playing hard, I’m not going to deny that. But, we’re trying to play within the rules as much as possible.”

Meanwhile, Thom Beuning, the veteran play-by-play voice of the Thunderbirds, was tweeting:

The Silvertips and Thunderbirds are scheduled to face each other three more times this season, starting tonight (Friday) in Everett. Happy Valentine’s Day!

And the U.S. Division-leading Portland Winterhawks are sitting back, enjoying every second of this, and saying: “Have at ’er boys!”

(Eide’s complete story, with lots of great quotes from La Forge, who used to work for the Silvertips, is right here.)

A couple of days later, Tom Gaglardi, the majority owner of the Kamloops Blazers, did his best to stimulate the rivalry not only between his team and the Kelowna Rockets, but also Kamloops1between the cities. . . . Gaglardi didn’t just throw some fuel on the fire; he opened the gas bowser and left it running. . . . When Gaglardi chatted with Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week, the Blazers (32-16-4), who had lost five in a row (0-4-1), were leading the B.C. Division, with the Rockets (23-25-3) 19 points back in fourth spot. . . . In the fall of 2018, you may recall, the WHL’s board of governors heard bids from Kamloops, Kelowna and the Lethbridge Hurricanes, each of whom wanted to play host to the 2020 Memorial Cup. . . . In the end, the governors chose the Rockets whose big boss, Bruce Hamilton, is the chairman of that board of governors. . . . “I think you know how I feel,” Gaglardi told Hastings. “Yeah, it was our turn. It should have been ours. It was the wrong thing. The league did the wrong thing. . . . Yeah, I’m sour, for sure. I’m disappointed.” . . . Hastings’ complete story is right here. . . . The Hurricanes (33-12-7), meanwhile, are second in the Central Division, six points behind the Edmonton Oil Kings (35-8-9).

Annoying

There is ample speculation that quarterback Tom Brady won’t be returning to the New England Patriots. However, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel doesn’t see him landing with the Buccaneers. Bianchi explained: “Not to be mean, but putting Tom Brady on the Bucs would be like putting the Mona Lisa in Room 217 of the Red Roof Inn.”

The San Francisco Giants have a manager (Gabe Kapler) and 13 coaches, none of whom chews tobacco. As Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle writes: “The new day in baseball has been coming for a long time now, and with the Giants, it’s here. In the old days, not that long ago, everybody chewed and dipped, and drank. Including the batboy.” . . . If you aren’t aware, using smokeless tobacco is against MLB’s rules, but it’s against the law like speeding and not using turn signals are against the law. . . . “The Giants, though, might have the first tabacky-free MLB coaching staff in history. That’s a guess,” Ostler adds.

A recent gem from the readerboard at the El Arroyo restaurant in Austin, Texas: “Did anyone catch the football game at the J-Lo and Shakira concert?”

Here’s Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times after an incident during a college basketball game: “Houston guard DeJon Jarreau bit Cincinnati’s Keith Williams on the calf during a loose-ball scrum, so he was ejected from the game. Or more precisely, extracted.”

——

One more from Perry: “Who says there’s too much time between the NFL’s conference-championship games and the Super Bowl? Pamela Anderson and Jon Peters managed to get married — and separated — in that two-week span this year.”

A tip of the fedora to the Spokane Chiefs for honouring the Spokane Jets, who won the 1970 Allan Cup, a trophy that once was among the most famous in all of hockey. . . . Dan Thompson wrote a terrific story about the Jets and some of the men who returned to Spokane for Sunday’s game, and it’s all right here, from the pages of the Spokesman-Review.

Baseball

After a Saturday hockey game in which the Calgary Flames physically abused F Elias Pettersson of the host Vancouver Canucks, Ken Campbell of The Hockey News points out that the NHL has allowed its best players to be subjected to this kind of treatment for years and years. Hey, remember when Bobby Hull complained of it? . . . Campbell has more right here. . . . Could it be that the NHL is starting to realize that cross-checking is a problem? Maybe if the NHL does something about that, the WHL will, too.

Former Swift Current Broncos F Sheldon Kennedy has been named to the Order of Hockey In Canada, as well he should have been. He, along with Ken Dryden and Dr. Charles Tator, will be saluted at the Hockey Canada Foundation annual affair in Niagara Falls in June. . . . The WHL posted a story on its website announcing the honour and pointing out that Kennedy roller-bladed “across Canada to raise awareness and funds for sexual assault victims. Kennedy devoted his post-hockey career to child-abuse prevention and education.” . . . Unfortunately, the WHL didn’t bother to explain why Kennedy headed down this career path after bringing an end to his professional hockey career. It was, of course, because he — along with a number of teammates — was sexually abused on hundreds of occasions by Graham James, who then was the Broncos’ general manager and head coach. . . . I have written it before and here it is again: It is long past time for the WHL to unveil an award in Kennedy’s honour, one that should go to anyone who has been involved with the WHL at any level and has gone on to do outstanding work outside the walls of the league.

According to Forbes Magazine, the New York Knicks, who are one of the NBA’s poorest-run operations, carry the highest valuation of the Association’s 30 teams, at $4.6 billion. . . . Here’s Pete Blackburn of CBS Sports reacting to that: “The Knicks should serve as a true inspiration to anyone who dares to dream of being super rich despite sucking at pretty much everything. That’s the real American Dream.”

JUST NOTES: Congrats to Brent Kisio, who became the winningest head coach in the history of the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Saturday night, when he put up victory No. 189. That put him one ahead of Bryan Maxwell. It’s believed that Kisio also has more friends among the zebras than Maxie did. . . . The Everett Silvertips have signed head coach Dennis Williams to a two-year contract extension. A tip of the fedora to Everett GM Garry Davidson for announcing the length of the extension — through the 2022-23 season. The 40-year-old Williams is in his third season with the Silvertips. His regular-season record is a rather solid 127-48-14, and he is 19-13 in the playoffs. . . . Earlier in the week, the Winnipeg Ice signed head coach James Patrick to a three-year extension. Patrick is in his third season with the Ice, which will make the playoffs this go-round for the first time on Patrick’s watch. . . .

Hey, Sportsnet, I think it’s time to suggest to your hockey analysts — hello there Garry Galley; hi Louie DeBrusk — that they stop talking when the play resumes. There’s a time for analysis/nattering and a time for play-by-play; when the puck is in the area of a goal, it’s play-by-play time. And we won’t even get into the fact that Galley talks far too much. . . . Nick Taylor, who calls Abbotsford, B.C., home, went wire-to-wire in winning the Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the weekend, even starting down Phil Mickelson in the final round on Sunday. Here’s hoping that Taylor’s accomplishment isn’t forgotten by all of the year-end award voters come the closing weeks of 2020. . . .

The best part of a Major League Baseball game is the strategy involved; it’s why you don’t have to be a fan of one of the two teams involved in a game to enjoy it. That’s why I absolutely despise the rule announced this week involving a relief pitcher having to face at least three batters if he doesn’t end an inning. It also could spell the end to the left-handed specialist. . . . And a big happy birthday to Brad Hornung, a friend who turned 51 on Thursday.

Scattershooting after dozing through Stupor Bowl . . . Brodsky family gets Hall call . . . Seattle’s O’Dette voices some displeasure

Scattershooting

Greg Cote, in the Miami Herald: “Tiger opens season at Torrey Pines: Justin Rose carries a three-shot lead into Sunday’s final round of the Farmers Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Tiger Woods, in his first event of the new season, made the cut but is 13 off the lead. Except on the attention leaderboard, where he remains on top.”

Prior to this season, the WHL cut its regular-season from 72 to 68 games, and there still are far too many instances of teams having to play three games in fewer than 48 hours. Maybe it’s time to cut back to 64 games, or even 60, and get rid of even more of those dastardly mid-week games.

Itch

How excited was Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, to see the Super Bowl halftime show? “This year’s performance will feature Maroon 5 as the headliner,” he wrote, “In the event that Maroon 5 were to pull out of the performance at the last minute and be replaced by Chartreuse 7.5, I would not know the difference.”

Dwight Perry, in the Seattle Times: “There’s rumblings out of L.A. that the Lakers are itching to swing a three-city trade to land Pelicans big man Anthony Davis. In return, the Lakers would send Lonzo Ball to New Orleans, and LaVar Ball to Flin Flon.”

——

Perry, again: “Whacky ex-slugger Jose Canseco tweeted that aliens have been trying to teach mankind the fine art of time travel but, alas, our species has just been too reluctant ‘to change our body composition.’ Which raises the question: Is there a concussion-protocol statute of limitations for home-run balls off the top of the noggin?

chicken

The group that owns the Victoria HarbourCats of baseball’s West Coast League has announced that if all goes well it will field a team in Nanaimo’s Serauxmen Stadium in time for the 2020 or 2021 season. It would be the third Canadian team in a league that also includes the Kelowna Falcons. The 12-team WCL has expressed interest in Kamloops and NorBrock Stadium in the past but hasn’t been able to find anyone interested in bankrolling the project.

The NBA has fined Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans the grand sum of $50,000 because his agent went public with a trade request. As RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com points out: “Tsk. There’s seven minutes salary he’ll never get back.”

When it came to watching the NFL Pro Bowl on TV, Hampton Roads, Va., was third in the ratings, behind only Kansas City and Pittsburgh. “Hey, neighbors,” wrote Bob Molinaro of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, “maybe it’s time we got out of the house more often.”

olddays

The best part of that Super Bowl game is that it’s over, which means it’s now baseball season. . . . Although I have to admit that the NFL’s showcase game did one thing good — it put me to sleep. Not once, but twice.

“Perhaps the highlight of the Super Bowl for most average Americans,” notes Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe.com, “was the realization that 70,000 members of 1% paid thousands of dollars to be inside where they couldn’t change the channel.”

Former UCLA star Bill Walton, now a TV analyst, has suggested that Barack Obama should replace the fired Steve Alford as the men’s basketball coach at UCLA. To which Brad Rock of Salt Lake City’s Desert News asked: “What? Gene Hackman was busy?”

ThisThat

The Brodsky family, a major contributor to the WHL over the years, is among the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame’s 2019 inductees. The announcement was made on Saturday, with the saskhallinduction ceremony scheduled for July 6 at Saskatoon’s Prairieland Park.

“As probably everybody in the room will tell you, you come into these things and you just go to work every day and you do the things you want to be doing and enjoy doing,” Jack Brodsky said. “To be recognized, I’m especially appreciative of the fact that it’s the entire family going in. My dad (Nate) and my brothers (Rick and Bob) and sister (Debbie) were so supportive. To be here, for us to be recognized for this, is a wonderful thing. It’s humbling.”

Nate was a long-time owner of the Saskatoon Blades, which stayed in the Brodsky family until the franchise was sold to Mike Priestner of Edmonton after the 2012-13 season. . . . Rick Brodsky purchased the Victoria Cougars, moved them to Prince George in 1994 and and was involved until selling the franchise to local interests after the 2013-14 season. . . . Jack and Rick Brodsky both were heavily involved in the WHL at the administrative level, as well.

Also in the class of 2019 — Players: Bert Olmstead, Fernie Flaman, Keith Magnuson, Curtis Leschyshyn, Brian Skrudland and Ed Van Impe; Grassroots: Jim McIntyre and Joe Bloski; Builders: Murray Armstrong, Max McNab, Bill Thon and the Brodsky family; Official: Brad Watson; Teams: 2004-05 Saskatoon Contacts and 1966-67 Saskatoon Centennials. . . . The SHHOF is located at the Credit Union I-Plex, the Swift Current Broncos’ home arena.

Darren Zary of the SaskatoonStarPhoenix has more right here.

Officials of WHL teams and the folks who run their home arenas need to read this piece right here from CBS News. It details how the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons cut their concession prices, some by as much as 50 per cent, and had revenues rise by 16 per cent. Other teams have since followed suit and have experienced similar results. . . . “We talk about lifetime value of customers … and the lifetime value of the customer, for the Atlanta sports fan is, I think, quite higher now because people want to go there,” Scott Rosner, director of Columbia University’s sports management program, told CBS. “They don’t feel like they’re being taken advantage of. It’s an affordable experience.”

You are free to wonder if Matt O’Dette, the head coach of the Seattle Thunderbirds, will Seattlebe hearing from Kevin Acheson, the WHL’s sheriff, after expressing some disgruntlement after a 7-2 loss to the host Everett Silvertips on Saturday night.

For starters, O’Dette wasn’t happy with the fact that Everett F Connor Dewar, who finished with four goals and two assists, wasn’t given a kneeing penalty for a hit on Seattle F Matthew Wedman.

“They saw everything that we did obviously,” O’Dette told Andy Eide, who covers the Thunderbirds of 710 ESPN in Seattle. “We know what knees can do and we’re pretty sensitive about that. They continue not to call them. I don’t know why, but they continue to not call them.”

The Thunderbirds are sensitive because F Dillon Hamaliuk had his season ended by a knee-on-knee hit agains the visiting Portland Winterhawks on Dec. 29. D Matthew Quigley was suspended for four games after that hit.

On Saturday, Everett finished with nine power-play opportunities, while Seattle had two, none after the early part of the second period.

O’Dette was so frustrated that when referees Tyler Adair and Fraser Lawrence awarded Seattle a PP at 19:56 of the third period, he ended up with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

“A typical referee move to give us a call with two seconds left,” O’Dette said. “No, no, no, no, we’re not taking that. We’re not making it look good on the boxscore. Typical cowardly ref move to do that. We didn’t want that power play.”

Eide’s complete story is right here.

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