Tag: Atley Calvert

Oil Kings, Chiefs struggle on ice, not at gate . . . Bedard wins WHL Triple Crown . . . Tigers grab last playoff spot

The Edmonton Oil Kings and Spokane Chiefs had the two poorest records during this WHL regular season.

But that didn’t stop the fans from showing up.

The Oil Kings played their final regular-season home game on Saturday at EdmontonRogers Place before an announced crowd of 14,781, the largest gathering in Edmonton this season.

According to figures compiled by the WHL, that lifted the Oil Kings’ average attendance to 6,223, the highest in the 22-team league.

Yes, indeed, the Oil Kings may have been last in the standings — they won only nine of 68 games — but they were No. 1 at the gate.

The Chiefs, meanwhile, completed their home schedule on Saturday night Spokanebefore a sold-out crowd of 10,541. That increased their average attendance to 5,842 and allowed them to pass the Everett Silvertips (5,840) and move into the No. 2 slot.

The Chiefs finished 10th in the 10-team Western Conference, winning 15 games.

Last season, Everett was No. 1 in average attendance, at 5,341, with Edmonton (5,198) in second spot and Spokane (4,419) in fourth.

With one game left to be played this season — Edmonton is to visit the Calgary Hitmen this afternoon — the WHL’s average attendance is 3,872, up from 3,205 in 2021-22.

How much of that do you think is due to the presence of F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats, especially after he returned from the World Junior Championship?

THE BEDARD REPORT: F Connor Bedard scored his 71st goal of the season on Saturday night, but his Regina Pats dropped a 5-3 decision to the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 6,499. It was Regina’s sixth sellout of the season, all of them since Jan. 21. . . . Bedard won the WHL’s Triple Crown, leading in goals (71), assists (72) and points (143), all in 57 games. However, he finished with just one point, last night’s goal, over three games. . . . He won the points title by 36 over F Chase Wheatcroft of the Prince George Cougars, and finished 21 goals ahead of F Kai Uchacz of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Prince George F Riley Heidt was one assist behind Bedard, with D Ben Zloty of the Winnipeg Ice three behind.

Microwave

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

EASTERN CONFERENCE

x-Winnipeg (1) vs. Medicine Hat (8)

x-Red Deer (2) vs. Calgary (7)

x-Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)

x-Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

x-Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

x-Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

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

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

(NOTE:There are excellent playoff previews available on the WHL’s website.)

——

SATURDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

The Medicine Hat Tigers grabbed the WHL’s last available playoff spot with a 4-3 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Broncos grabbed a 2-0 lead before the game was nine minutes old — on goals from F Connor Hvidston (21) and F Josh Davies (20), the latter on a PP — but the Tigers stormed back with the next four goals. . . . F Tyler McKenzie (18) got them on the scoreboard 14 seconds into the second period, and F Oasiz Wiesblatt (26) tied it, on a PP, at 7:52, . . . F Dallon Melin (16), celebrating his 21st birthday, gave the Tigers their first lead, on a PP, at 15:35. . . . D Cayden Lindstrom (19) upped the lead to 4-2 at 6:00 of the third period. . . . F Josh Filmon pulled the Broncos to within a goal with his 47th at 10:26. . . . F Gavin McKenna drew two primary assists for the Tigers. The 15-year-old — he won’t turn 16 until Dec. 20 — finished with 17 points, 13 of them assists, in 16 games. He was the first overall selection in the WHL’s 2022 draft. . . . Medicine Hat (30-29-9) will face the Winnipeg Ice, who finished atop the overall standings, in the first round. . . . Swift Current (31-33-4) will miss the playoffs for the third time since winning the 2017-18 championship. They didn’t qualify in 2019 or 2022, and there weren’t any playoffs in 2020 or 2021. . . .

F Carter Yakemchuk scored twice to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 3-2 victory over the Oil Kings in Edmonton. . . . With the victory, the Hitmen locked themselves into seventh place in the Eastern Conference. That means a first-round meeting with the No. 2 Red Deer Rebels. . . . Yakemchuk, with 19 goals, gave Calgary a 2-1 edge at 6:39 of the third period, then broke a 2-2 tie, on a PP, at 14:22. . . . The Hitmen lost D Keagan Slaney to a charging major and game misconduct at 9:05 of the third period. . . . Calgary (31-28-8) has won four straight games. It last met Red Deer in the playoffs in 2016, when the Rebels won in five games. . . . Edmonton (9-54-4) has lost seven in a row (0-6-1). The Oil Kings will set a dubious WHL record for the fewest victories by a defending champion. That record (11) had been held by the Swift Current Broncos, who won the 2017-18 WHL championship and then went 11-51-6 in 2018-19. . . . The Oil Kings and Hitmen will conclude the WHL’s regular season this afternoon in Calgary. . . .

F Conor Geekie scored three times and added two assists as the Winnipeg Ice beat the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings, 5-3. . . . Geekie finished with 35 goals, while F Connor McClennon, who scored the Ice’s other two goals, scored 46. . . . D Jonas Wood helped out with three assists for Winnipeg. . . . Winnipeg (57-10-1) finished atop the overall standings. . . . Brandon (26-33-9) went 18-17-7 after general manager Marty Murray replaced Don MacGillivray as head coach. . . . The Wheat Kings, the lone WHL team to make a coaching change during this season, finished 10th in the Eastern Conference. . . .

The Calvert brothers, who are from Moose Jaw, each scored as the Saskatoon Blades posted a 6-3 victory over the Warriors. . . . F Rowan Calvert scored his fourth goal for the Blades and it proved the winner. His brother, Atley, had two goals and an assist for the Warriors, giving him 40 scores on the season. Their father, Jeff, played five seasons as a goaltender in the WHL, two with the Warriors and three with the Tacoma Rockets. . . . You can bet that Rowan and Atlee’s grandfather, the late Bob Calvert, a longtime member of the Warriors’ board, was looking down and grinning from ear to ear. . . . On Feb. 11, the WHL announced that four Warriors — G Connor Ungar, D Max Wanner, D Marek Howell and F Lynden Lakovic — had been suspended pending an investigation into potential violations of WHL’s policies of conduct. Those players later were suspended for the duration of the regular season — they sat out 17 games — and now are eligible to return, assuming they completed personal conduct and respect training as requested by the league. . . . Saskatoon (48-15-5) enjoyed a 100-point season for the fifth time in franchise history, and the Blades have been in the league since the start (1966-67) . . . Moose Jaw (41-24-3) had won its previous two games. . . .

The Red Deer Rebels scored four second-period goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . G Koen Cleaver made his debut with the Hurricanes, managing to keep the game scoreless through a first period in which they were outshot, 19-1. . . . By game’s end, the shot advantage was 39-12. . . . F Kalan Lind (16) and D Hunter Mayo (18) each had a goal and an assist for the Rebels. . . . Red Deer (43-19-6) had lost its previous two games. . . . Lethbridge finished at 36-26-6. . . .

F Sloan Stanick scored three times to lead the Prince Albert Raiders to a 5-3 victory over the Pats in Regina. . . . Stanick (31) scored two second-period goals, the second one while shorthanded, as the Raiders took a 3-0 lead. . . . He completed his second career hat trick at 4:15 of the third period, giving the visitors a 4-1 edge. . . . Stanick, a 19-year-old from Rapid City, Man., ws acquired from the Pats early last season. He finished this season with 64 points in 67 games. . . . F Tanner Howe, who won’t turn 18 until Nov. 28, scored his 36th goal. He finished with 85 points in 67 games, and has 156 points in 139 career games. . . . Prince Albert (28-37-3) had lots its previous three games. . . . Regina (34-30-4) has lost two in a row. . . .

The Portland Winterhawks scored the game’s last three goals to beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 3-1, in Kent, Wash. . . . F Dylan Guenther (13) gave Seattle a 1-0 lead at 4:06 of the first period. . . . Portland got second-period goals from F Luke Schelter (8) and F Josh Zakreski (13) and a third-period empty-netter from D Ryan McCleary (13). . . . Portland (40-20-8) had lost its previous four games (0-3-1). . . . Seattle (54-11-3) finished atop the Western Conference. . . .

F Koehn Ziemmer and F Chase Wheatcroft scored shootout goals to give the host Prince George Cougars a 3-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Cougars D Hudson Thornton scored his 23rd goal, setting a franchise record for goals by a defenceman in one season. Dustin Byfuglien scored 22 times in 2004-05. . . . G Tyler Brennan stopped 43 shots as the Cougars were outshot, 45-17, including 6-0 in OT. . . . G Jesse Sanche, who turned 17 on March 19, made his WHL debut with the Blazers. He now lives in Kelowna, but grew up in Kamloops. Sanche was a second-round pick in the WHL’s 2021 draft. . . . Kamloops (48-13-7) has lost two in a row. . . . Prince George (37-24-7) goes into the playoffs having put up points in 11 straight (8-0-3). . . .

The Kelowna Rockets scored the game’s first four goals and then hung on for a 5-4 victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants. . . . F Gabriel Szturc (24) scored twice for Kelowna, the second one, at 13:11 of the second period, providing that 4-0 lead. . . . A pair of goals 26 seconds apart from F Skyler Bruce (15) and F Ty Halaburda (21) got the Giants to within a goal, at 4-3, at 14:25 of the third period. . . . F Turner McMillen (9) restored Kelowna’s two-goal lead at 18:23, with D Colton Roberts (3) getting the Giants back to within a goal at 19:20. . . . Kelowna (27-37-4) had lost its previous four games (0-3-1). . . . Vancouver (28-32-8) had won two in a row. . . .


D Lukas Dragicevic scored the only goal of a five-round shootout to give the Tri-City Americans a 2-1 victory over the Chiefs in Spokane. . . . F Kooper Gizowski (11) gave the Chiefs a 1-0 lead at 8:28 of the first period. . . . F Parker Bell (25) got the Americans even at 16:39 of the second. . . . Tri-City (34-26-8) has points in six straight (5-0-1). . . . Spokane finished at 15-42-10. Its 40 points is the lowest in franchise history, beneath the 47 earned by the 1998-99 club. . . .

F Raphael Pelletier scored the only goal of a shootout to give the Everett Silvertips a 4-3 victory over the Royals in Victoria. . . . The Royals had erased 2-1 and 3-2 deficits to force extra time on F Matthew Hodson’s 17th goal at 18:52 of the third period. . . . F Jackson Berezowski scored his 48th goal, shorthanded, to set an Everett single-season franchise record. F Josh Winquist had scored 17 goals in 2013-14. . . . Everett (33-32-3) had lost its previous two games. . . . Victoria (17-43-8) finished with points in three straight (2-0-1).

Mike

It’s that time of year again. Yes, the 2023 Kamloops Kidney Walk is almost upon us.

This year, we’re back to walking outdoors, and we’ll be hitting the trail at McDonald Park on June 4.

My wife, Dorothy, who in September will celebrate 10 years as a transplant recipient, is once again taking part. And, yes, she is fund-raising and would love for you to be part of her team.

If you are so inclined, you may make a donation right here. Thank you so much, in advance.

——

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.

Back

Firkus fills his hat for Warriors . . . Wheatcroft rolling with Cougars . . . Zloty assists Ice to victory

Yes, LeBron James now is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, having passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Tuesday night. . . . And you’ve likely heard lots about it all by now. . . . But if you haven’t seen this already, give it a read. It’s a piece by the always literate Abdul-Jabbar and it’s titled: What I Think About LeBron Breaking My NBA Scoring Record. . . . Oh, and it’s beyond excellent. . . . At one point, Abdul-Jabbar writes: “If I had a choice of having my scoring record remain intact for another 100 years or spend one afternoon with my grandchildren, I’d be on the floor in seconds stacking Legos and eating Uncrustables.” . . . His essay is right here.

Blizzard

You may be aware that there is a football game of some note scheduled to be played on Sunday. In his Wednesday musings, Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, touched on a couple of things that are part and parcel of that game — advertising and gambling.

FOX-TV has sold out its commercial time slots at US$7 million per 30 seconds, which is why the network expects to show a profit of $500 million from the game.

The curmudgeonly one points out that the biggest advertiser on Sunday will be Anhueuser-Busch, which has bought three minutes worth of time. This year, though, one of last year’s prominent advertisers will be nowhere in sight.

“There will be a conspicuous product absence this year, too,” he writes. “If you recall, last year’s Super Bowl game featured a whole bunch of ads for cryptocurrency. This year there is no representation from that product segment for the game or for the pregame according to a statement released by FOX. I think I will miss crypto ads this year because I really want to know from Matt Damon what comes after: ‘Fortune favors the brave.’ ”

His complete Wednesday piece is right here, and he also touches on just how much money is expected to be wagered on Sunday’s game.

Old

WEDNESDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

F Jagger Firkus scored three times to help the host Moose Jaw Warriors to a 6-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Firkus, who has 28 goals, broke a 1-1 tie at 19:41 of the first period, then made it 3-1 at 15:41 of the second. His third goal, at 1:55 of the third, gave his guys a 4-2 lead and stood up as the winner. . . . F Ryder Korczak helped the winners with three assists. . . . F Atley Calvert, who is from Moose Jaw, scored his 31st goal of the season for the Warriors. He is three goals shy of the Warriors’ record for most goals in one season by a Moose Jaw native (F David Bararuk 2001-02). . . . The Warriors (33-16-3) have won three in a row. They are fourth in the Eastern Conference, once point behind the Saskatoon Blades, who will start a B.C. Division trek on Friday in Kamloops. . . . The Oil Kings now are 8-39-3. . . .

The Prince George Cougars jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of first-period PP goals just 36 seconds apart en route to a 7-2 victory over the visiting Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Cougars had beaten the Rockets, 5-1, on Tuesday night. . . . F Chase Wheatcroft led the winners with two goals and an assist. He has 32 goals and 37 assists in 48 games this season. He is on an 11-game point streak — nine goals and 12 assists. . . . F Koehn Ziemmer scored his 30th goal for the Cougars. That gives him back-to-back 30-goal seasons. . . . The Cougars, who are to visit Kelowna on Friday, held a 43-17 edge in shots. . . . Prince George (23-21-4) has won four in a row. The Cougars are sixth in the Western Conference, two points behind the Everett Silvertips. . . . Kelowna (17-28-3) is eighth, four points ahead of the Victoria Royals. . . .

D Ben Zloty drew three assists as the host Winnipeg Ice skated past the Calgary Hitmen, 8-2. . . . Zloty now is tied with F Riley Heidt of the Princee George Cougars for the WHL lead in assists, with 48, one more than D Denton Mateychuk of the Moose Jaw Warriors and two up on F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats. . . . Zloty has 56 points, one behind D Lukas Dragicevic of the Tri-City Americans, who is No. 1 among defencemen. . . . The Ice got two goals from F Connor Geekie (23) and a goal and two assists from each of F Zack Ostapchuk (16) and F Evan Friesen (8). . . . G Daniel Hauser got the victory with 22 saves. He is 25-3-1 this season, and 66-6-3 for his career. . . . D Wyatt Wilson made his debut with the Ice after having been acquired from the Victoria Royals on Dec. 5. He was injured in an Oct. 11 game. The Ice gave up two conditional fourth-round WHL draft picks, in 2023 and 2026, in that exchange. . . . The Hitmen and Ice will meet again tonight in Winnipeg. . . . Winnipeg (38-7-1) leads the Eastern Conference by three points over the Red Deer Rebels. The Ice has four games in hand. . . . Calgary (23-20-7) has lost seven in a row (0-4-3). It is sixth in the conference, two points ahead of the Regina Pats.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

Philippe Boucher has resigned as general manager of the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs, citing “personal reasons.” . . . He added: “In addition, my health has been fragile for a few weeks and I had to make this decision.” . . . He had been the GM since the start of the 2019-20 season and was under contract through 2025-26. . . . Stephan Leblanc, the vice-president of hockey, will take over that office on an interim basis, with help from assistant GM Steve Ahern and head scout Jean-Sébastien Perron. . . .

The QMJHL’s Val-d’Or Foreurs fired general manager Pascal Daoust on Wednesday. “We have determined that it would be in the best interests of the organization to take a new direction in terms of the management of our hockey operations . . .,” team president Dany Marchand said in a news release. . . . The Foreurs have the 15th-best record in the 18-team league. . . . Marchand said a replacement will be named “soon.” . . . Daoust had been the GM since 2016.

Grammar

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.

Options

Coyotes add to T-Birds’ arsenal; Canada’s Golden Boy on way to Seattle . . . Tigers move into playoff spot

OK . . . prior to Sunday you didn’t have the Seattle Thunderbirds as the favourites to win the WHL’s 2022-23 championship. You weren’t quite ready to go that far, were you?

But how about now that the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes have sent F Dylan Guenther Seattletheir way?

Yes, that’s the same Dylan Guenther who scored the golden goal at the 2023 World Junior Championship in Halifax just last month.

The Coyotes announced Sunday that Guenther, 19, has been assigned to the Thunderbirds, who had acquired his rights from the Edmonton Oil Kings on Jan. 10.

The Oil Kings, who beat Seattle in the 2021-22 championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, have spent the past few months unloading veteran player assets while loading up on draft picks to facilitate their rebuild. With an 8-37-3 record, they won’t make the playoffs this time around.

Edmonton had selected Guenther with the first overall pick in the WHL’s 2018 draft.

In order to land Guenther, F Jordan Ramsay, who turned 16 on Jan. 24, and an eighth-round pick in the WHL’s 2023 draft, the Thunderbirds gave up F Koji Gibson, who is to turn 16 on March 10, a first-round pick in 2026, a second in 2023, fourths in 2024, 2025 and 2026, a fifth in 2026 and a sixth in 2024.

Yes, the price was steep and now we will find out if it was worth it.

The Coyotes selected Guenther in the first round, ninth overall, of the NHL’s 2021 draft. He is the fifth first-round draft pick on the Seattle roster, joining D Kevin Korchinski (Chicago Blackhawks, seventh overall, 2022), D Nolan Allan (Chicago, 32, 2021), F Reid Schaefer (Edmonton Oilers, 32, 2022) and F Brad Lambert (Winnipeg, 30, 2022).

All told the Thunderirds now have 10 NHL draft picks on their roster, the others being F Jordan Gustafson (Vegas Golden Knights, 79, 2022), F Jared Davidson (Montreal Canadiens, 130, 2022), F Colton Dach (Chicago, 62, 2021), F Lucas Ciona (Calgary Flames, 173, 2021) and D Luke Prokop (Nashville Predators, 73, 2020).

The Thunderbirds acquired Allan from the Prince Albert Raiders on Nov. 16 in a deal that included five draft picks — first in 2023 and 2024, a third in 2024, a sixth in 2025 and a second in 2026 and a conditional pick (sixth in 2026) going the other way.

Seattle had picked up Lambert’s rights from the Saskatoon Blades on June 30, giving up a 2023 first-rounder, a second in 2024, and fourth- and sixth-rounders in 2023.

In the other deal that had people sitting up and paying attention, Seattle acquired Prokop from the Oil Kings on Oct. 25 in exchange for a third in 2023 and two 2025 picks (first and third).

The Thundebirds also added Dach and a 2024 fifth-rounder from the Kelowna Rockets in a Jan. 7 deal that included three conditional picks going the other way — a first in 2024, fourth in 2023 and second in 2025. Dach, who had been the Rockets’ captain, was injured (shoulder) while playing for Canada at the World Junior Championship and has yet to return to action.

And let’s not forget that on Aug. 30, Seattle sent F Connor Roulette and a third in 2026 to the Saskatoon Blades for F Kyle Crnkovic, who has put up 54 points, including 25 goals, in 47 games.

Last season, Guenther had 91 points, including 45 goals, during Edmonton’s regular season, then added 21 points, 13 of them goals, in the playoffs. He suffered a knee injury — in the WHL final against Seattle — and missed the Memorial Cup.

So why did Arizona decide to assign him to Seattle at this particular point in time? He has 15 points, including six goals, four on the PP, in 33 NHL games this season, but has been on the roster for 38 games. Once a player hits 40 he accrues one season toward unrestricted free agency. By sending him to Seattle now, the Coyotes shove Guenther’s potential UFA eligibility a further year down the road.

Late last month, Craig Morgan, who covers the Coyotes for The Athletic, wrote: “The key for Guenther was to see how he would perform on a nightly basis in the lineup. Since his return (from the WJC), it has been a mixed bag. There have been nights where he has looked strong, driven offense and even scored goals. There have been nights where he looks like he is swimming in water above his head.”

In Halifax, you may recall, Guenther scored at 6:22 of three-on-three OT to give Canada a 3-2 victory over Czechia in the WJC’s championship final. He finished that tournament with seven goals and three assists in seven games.

The Thunderbirds are hoping he will bring some of that magic to their lineup.

After beating the visiting Spokane Chiefs, 3-1, on Sunday, the Thunderbirds are 36-9-2 and lead the Western Conference by one point over the Portland Winterhawks (35-10-3).

The Thunderbirds have 21 games remaining and six of them will be against the Winterhawks. The first of those will be Saturday in Portland. Seattle also has three games remaining with the Kamloops Blazers, who will finish atop the B.C.Division.

Before then, the Thunderbirds will entertain the Red Deer Rebels on Friday. That game could mark Guenther’s debut with his new club.

Bag

Jack Todd, in the Montreal Gazette, and he’s not wrong:

“Why is the Canadian Olympic Committee so cowardly in the face of Russian brutality and war crimes? Why is craven Canadian Olympic Committee CEO David Shoemaker vowing to work with the IOC to help find a way for Russian athletes to compete at the Paris Olympics?

“Thugs like Vladimir Putin are always probing for weakness: If we invade Crimea and no one acts to stop us, then let’s take all of Ukraine. The IOC’s willingness to skirt the rules and let Russians compete despite systematic, state-sponsored doping helped give Putin the impression he can get away with anything, including mass murder. It’s time to draw a line in the sand. If Shoemaker won’t do it, find someone who will.”

——

Todd, again:

“As a measure of where the sports world is at any given time, Kyrie Irving will do as well as anyone.

“Spoiled, entitled, inclined to believe himself the centre of the universe and somehow able to convince team after team to throw tens of millions his way, World B. Flat is a symbol of everything that has gone wrong with the sports we love to watch.”

Todd’s complete column is right here.

Screwdriver

SUNDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

F Atley Calvert’s 30th goal snapped a 1-1 tie and gave the Moose Jaw Warriors a 2-1 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary. . . . The winner came at 16:17 of the third period. . . . F Ryder Korczak (21) had Moose Jaw’s other goal and drew an assist on Calvert’s winner. . . . Calvert, who is from Moose Jaw, has 30 goals and 25 assists in 51 games, after totalling 15 goals and 25 helpers in 65 games last season. . . . G Connor Ungar stopped 35 shots to earn his 26th victory of the season. He is 26-7-3, 2.58, .925 this season. . . . Moose Jaw (32-16-3) has won two straight. It is fourth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Calgary (23-19-7) has lost six in a row (0-3-3); it is sixth in the conference, two points ahead of the Regina Pats. . . .

In Everett, the Silvertips scored three times in the game’s second half and beat the Red Deer Rebels, 4-2. . . . D Aidan Sutter (4) got Everett into a 2-2 tie at 10:56 of the second period, and F Austin Roest (28) shot the home boys into the lead at 16:51. . . . F Jackson Berezowski (33) added the empty-netter at 18:39 of the third. . . . Red Deer F Ben King, who scored his 10th goal of the season, got tossed for a boarding major at 4:55 of the third. . . . Everett (25-22-2) is fifth in the Western Conference, three points behind the Tri-City Americans. . . . Red Deer (34-11-4) is second in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the Winnipeg Ice, which has four games in hand. . . .

The host Kamloops Blazers scored twice in the game’s final four minutes to beat the Victoria Royals, 4-3. . . . Kamloops, which clinched a playoff spot with the victory, trailed 3-1 midway through the game before tying it with two PP goals. . . . F Caedan Bankier (25) got the Blazers to within a goal at 14:23 of the second period, then tied it at 16:40 of the third. . . . D Olen Zellweger (16) won it at 19:37. He’s got 18 points, six of them goals, in 12 games since coming over from the Everett Silvertips at the trade deadline. . . . F Matthew Seminoff finished with three assists as he was in on each of the final three goals. . . . Kamloops outshot the visitors, 50-24. . . . The Blazers were without F Logan Stankoven, their scoring leader, as he served a one-game suspension after taking a checking-from-behind major in Saturday’s 3-2 victory over the host Vancouver Giants. . . . Kamloops (31-10-6) has won four in a row. . . . Victoria (14-32-5) has lost four in a row and is four points from a playoff spot. . . .

In Medicine Hat, the Tigers shrugged off an early goal by F Connor Bedard and skated to a 5-1 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Bedard scored his WHL-leading 45th goal at 1:13 of the first period. . . . D Pavel Bocharov (11) got the Tigers even at 4:32 and D Kurtis Smythe (2) gave them their first lead at 14:44. . . . F Gavin McKenna, the first pick in the WHL’s 2022 draft, had two assists for the Tigers. He now has played 11 games this season and has eight points, all assists. . . . The announced attendance was 6,178, the Tigers’ largest crowd in 7,000-seat Co-op Place. They had drawn 5,947 to their first game there, a 5-3 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Sept. 26, 2015. . . . With Sunday’s victory, the Tigers (21-21-8), with points in eight straight (6-0-2), moved past the Swift Current Broncos and into eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The Tigers now are one point behind Regina. . . .

The Saskatoon Blades scored the game’s last four goals and beat the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings, 4-2. . . . Saskatoon trailed 2-0 doing into the last two minutes of the second period. . . . D Charlie Wright (4) got the Blades started at 18:07 of the second period. . . . F Jordan Keller (8) pulled Saskatoon into a tie at 7:28 of the third, with Wright getting the primary assist. . . . The Blades took the lead at 11:58 on F Jake Chiasson’s 14th goal of the season, on a PP. Saskatoon had acquired Chiasson, who also had two assists, from the Wheat Kings at the trade deadline. . . . Keller added his ninth goal of the season at 13:41. . . . The Blades are 5-0-0 against the Wheat Kings this season. . . . Saskatoon (32-12-4) is third in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of Moose Jaw. . . . Brandon (19-22-7) now is five points out of a playoff spot. . . .

F Jared Davidson drew three assists as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Spokane Chiefs, 3-1, in Kent, Wash. . . . The Thunderbirds scored one goal in each period — D Jeremy Hanzel (8) in the first, F Brad Lambert (4), on a PP, in the second, and F Kyle Crnkovic (25) in the third. . . . F Lucas Ciona was back in Seattle’s lineup after a two-game absence. He picked up one assist. . . . Seattle held a 52-21 edge in shots, including 26-3 in the second period, as Chiefs G Cooper Michaluk was kept hopping. . . . The Chiefs lost F Carter Streek to a spearing major at 1:21 of the second period. . . . Seattle (36-9-2) moved back atop the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Spokane slipped to 9-34-5. . . .

The Vancouver Giants celebrated a Grammy victory by part-owner Michael Bublé with a 4-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans in Langley, B.C. . . . F Ethan Semeniuk (10) scored while shorthanded to break a 1-1 tie at 14:23 of the second period. . . . The Thorpe boys took it from there. D Tyler Thorpe (3) added insurance at 14:41 of the second and F Ty Thorpe (26) added the empty-netter at 18:44. . . . Vancouver G Jesper Vikman, who is from Sweden, stopped 24 shots. . . . Tri-City G Tomas Suchanek lost for the first time in 13 decisions. He last tasted defeat on Nov. 23 when the visiting Kamloops Blazers dumped the Americans, 6-1. . . . The Giants lost F Kyle Bochek to a checking-from-behind major at 18:38 of the second period. . . . Vancouver (19-24-6) is seventh in the Western Conference, two points behind the Prince George Cougars, who have three games in hand. . . . Tri-City (25-18-5) is fourth, three points ahead of Everett.

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.

Jogging

Hit by a positive test after almost three years . . . Sold out in Kelowna, or not? . . . Pats, Warriors both win in B.C.

I am going to try and explain what it’s like for someone who is Covidimmunocompromised to navigate through a society filled with politicians, health officials and fellow citizens who couldn’t care less about them, and, furthermore, don’t mind letting them know how they feel just by their inaction.

There are hundreds of thousands of people walking around today who are immunocompromised. Solid organ transplant recipients, cancer patients, people on various kinds of medication . . . the list goes on.

And you wouldn’t know it just by walking past one of them. There is no scarlet “I” on their foreheads. For the most part, they look just like ‘normal’ people.

If you think that number is an exaggeration, consider that the National Kidney Foundation, an American organization, tweeted on Monday that “24,670 people received a kidney transplant in 2021.”

If you do the math it works out to 68 such procedures carried out every single day in the U.S.

I don’t know what the number was for Canada, but I can tell you that, according to BC Transplant, there were 529 organ transplants carried out in this province in 2021, including 340 kidneys, 97 livers, 66 lungs and 22 hearts.

Through Oct. 31, the numbers for 2022 were 242 kidneys, 90 livers, 45 lungs and 20 hearts.

All of the recipients take anti-rejection drugs that prevent their systems from rejecting the foreign body that has been surgically implanted into their bodies. In order to do that, some of those medications work to suppress the immune system.

This is a round-about way to tell you that Dorothy, my wife of 50 years, tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday morning. It’s been more than nine years since she underwent a kidney transplant, so we knew to be careful from the moment COVID hit the fan. We had avoided the bullet for almost three years. She has had five vaccinations; I am to get my fifth this week. We have had our flu shots. We have had our first Shingrix vaccinations. We have been avoiding large crowds. We have been masking up when going for groceries or being anywhere with other people, most of whom, of course, now are unmasked.

For the first couple of years of this pandemic, we ordered our groceries online. We didn’t go into restaurants, choosing drive-thru or pickup instead. We didn’t have guests into our home. We didn’t travel.

Last spring, we loosened up a bit. We decided that we had to live at least a bit. So, on rare occasion, we went inside a couple of our favourite eateries, masking up to go in and unmasking to eat/drink. We brought the Kamloops Kidney Support Group back together for monthly gatherings. We went back to in-person grocery shopping, always wearing masks, of course. Dorothy went back to one of the loves of her life — playing the piano once a week for the residents of a care home.

But, still, it got her, and we haven’t any idea how or when.

Thankfully the scientific and medical communities are there for us. After an exchange of phone calls with staff at Royal Inland Hospital on Tuesday, Dorothy underwent her first infusion of anti-bodies via IV on Wednesday morning. She will be back for a second one on Thursday and a final one on Friday.

By Wednesday afternoon, she was feeling somewhat better. The pounding headache that was there on Tuesday was receding. But the coughing, sneezing and stuffiness still was hanging around.

After she is up and about, hopefully at some point after Friday, we’ll see how things go. We will have to decide whether we want to wade back into the great unmasked community. What about going back into restaurants? What about the much-discussed long COVID, something that is as real as the nose on your face?

As for the anti-vaxxers and the anti-maskers, here’s hoping that your immune systems never go away on you. Here’s hoping that you never need a solid organ transplant. Because if you do you are in for a horrible feeling of loneliness when it hits you that you are expendable to a whole of people out there.

You will find out what it feels like to hear politicians and medical officials “recommend’ the wearing of facemasks rather than mandating it. It will dawn on you that the almighty dollar is more important than the lives of a bunch of people with wonky immune systems or a whole lot of senior citizens.

Yes, you really will find out, and it will sting.

And all of this was/is so avoidable. Mask up. Get vaccinated. Wash your hands.

Please!

TUESDAY IN THE WHL:

It would appear that F Connor Bedard’s I Can Sell Out the B.C. Division Arenas ReginaTour experienced its first non-sellout in Kelowna. The Pats beat the Rockets, 6-5 in OT, before an announced crowd of 6,407. There were plenty of references on social media to it being a sellout crowd; however, Prospera Place, on its website, lists its capacity for hockey at 6,886. . . . The fans who were in attendance saw F Alexander Suzdalev win it for the Pats with a PP goal at 3:07 of Prospera 2OT. . . . The Pats (12-11-2) have won three in a row, all in the B.C. Division. . . . The Rockets (9-10-2) have lost two straight (0-1-1). . . Suzdalev, who has 14 goals, scored twice and added two assists. . . . Bedard kept his point streak alive with the primary assist on the winning goal. That ran his streak to 24 games. . . . Regina D Stanislav Svozil helped out with four assists. . . . The Rockets got two goals and two assists from F Andrew Cristall (18), who is riding a 12-game point streak. D Caden Price (3) had a goal and two assists, and F Gabriel Szturc had three assists. . . . D Tanner Brown, who is from Kelowna, gave Regina a 5-4 lead with his first goal of the season at 17:32 of the third period. . . . Cristall tied it on a 5-on-3 PP with the goaltender pulled for an extra attacker at 19:08. . . . The Rockets were without F Adam Kydd, 20, who is expected to miss up to six weeks with a fractured foot. He has 11 goals and 12 assists in 20 games this season. . . . The Pats are to face the Blazers in Kamloops tonight and then conclude their B.C. swing against the Prince George Cougars on Friday. . . .

D Denton Mateychuk enjoyed a five-point night as the Moose Jaw Warriors beat the Royals, 8-3, in Victoria. . . . The Warriors (16-9-0) have won three in a row. WarriorsNewThey are 3-1-0 on a B.C. Division swing that wraps up tonight with a game against the Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C. . . . The Royals (3-18-3) have lost nine straight (0-8-1). . . . F Brayden Schuurman (4) gave the Royals a 1-0 lead just 49 seconds into the first period. The Warriors scored the next seven goals. . . . Mateychuk scored his sixth goal and added four assists, leaving him with 25 points in 21 games. . . . F Atley Calvert (12) scored twice and D Max Wanner had three assists for Moose Jaw. . . . Warriors F Jagger Firkus scored his 15th goal as he ran his point streak to 18 games. . . . Victoria F Marcus Almquist has left to join Denmark’s team that is preparing for the IIHF Division I World Junior tournament in Asker, Norway, Dec. 11-17. . . . The Royals also are without veteran G Tyler Palmer, who is on personal leave with his family.

Lego

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

Ryan Kuwabara is the new head coach of the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs. . . . Jeff Angelidis had been serving as interim head coach since the firing of Daniel Fitzgerald on Nov. 14. Angelidis will stay on as an assistant coach under Kuwabara. . . . There is a news release 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.

Democracy

Scattershooting on a Sunday night while wondering if Monday will be a good day to rake . . .

Scattershooting

I haven’t watched Coach’s Corner in a long time. I stopped when the show became more of a noisy rant-and-rave affair than one that provided some insight into the NHL or even hockey in general.

But it is hard to ignore what happened on Saturday night, what with social media losing its mind over it for a lot of Sunday.

The surprising thing to me — although perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised considering the times in which we live — is the number of people who maintain there was nothing wrong with what went on with Don Cherry and his acquiescent sidekick, Ron MacLean.

After all, MacLean has apologized, writing in a tweet that what Cherry said was “hurtful and prejudiced . . .”

Also, the brass at Rogers Sportsnet has apologized, using “discriminatory,” “offensive” and “divisive” to describe the commentary.

As well, Hockey Canada condemned what was said: “The hockey community does not stand for the comments made (Saturday) night. Hockey is Canada’s game because it brings our country together, be it around the television or in local arenas. Belonging and inclusivity are an integral part of our game.”

And the NHL also issued a statement of condemnation: “Hockey is at its best when it brings people together. The comments made (Saturday) night were offensive and contrary to the values we believe in.”

Let’s agree, then, that what was said was all of those things.

Let’s also agree that this is a case of someone staying — or being allowed to stay — too long at the dance.

If you want more on Cherry, check out this column right here from Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star.

Or try this one right here by Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette.

Whether it’s the economy, the influence of TV and/or Netflix and the PVR, or whatever, there are a lot of sports teams out there that aren’t attracting as many fans as they once did and nowhere near as many as they would like to have in their home buildings.

One thing that often is cited as a reason for staying home is the prices at the concession stands. That being the case, perhaps it’s time more teams and facility operators took a look at happenings in Atlanta.

Prior to the 2017 NFL season, the concession prices at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (MBS), the home of the Atlanta Falcons, were slashed by 50 per cent. The result was a 16 per cent increase in average spending per fan over the 2016 season.

On top of that, according to a news release, the concessions also received “an NFL voice of the fan rating of No. 1 across all food and beverage categories.”

In 2018, the fans “spent on average the same amount as they did in 2017 and fans again rated the Falcons No. 1 in all food and beverage categories for the second consecutive year . . .”

In March, prior to the start of Major League Soccer’s 2019 season for Atlanta United, MBS cut the prices of five “top items” by 50 cents each:

Hot Dog: $1.50 (was $2)

Pretzel Bites: $4.50 (was $5)

ATL Bud Burger: $7.50 (was $8)

Ice Cream Waffle Cone: $4.50 (was $5)

Chips and Salsa: $2.50 (was $3)

Falconsmenu
A menu from one of the concessions at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Jacob Bogage of The Washington Post has more on the Atlanta situation right here.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to see what would happen if just one NHL team, or even one WHL team, cut ticket prices in conjunction with a trimming of concession prices?

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, a casino, “is suing San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane, claiming he failed to pay back $500,000 in gambling markers from April,” writes Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times. “Possible penalties range from a huge fine and restitution to two minutes for charging.”

Bob Calvert never played for the Moose Jaw Warriors, but there was a time when he was on the WHL team’s board of directors. His son, Jeff, was a goaltender of note with the Warriors (1989-91) and Tacoma Rockets (1991-94). On Friday night, Jeff’s son, Atley, made his WHL debut against the visiting Winnipeg Ice. . . . In other words, Friday was a big night for the Calvert family.

ANOTHER PET PEEVE: The Regina Pats were to have played the visiting Swift Current Broncos at the Brandt Centre on Friday night. However, a problem with the ice resulted in . . . Well, the Pats and Broncos, along with a few others, including some purporting to be members of the media, announced that the game had been cancelled. Actually, it had been postponed and will be rescheduled. . . . Please, people, there is a difference between cancelled and postponed.

Kevin Shaw is an avid follower of the Regina Pats, who has taken to tweeting stories from the team’s past. This included the story in the below tweet that involves the long-gone Spokane Flyers losing 9-4 to the host Pats on Nov. 8, 1981. One night earlier, the Flyers had been beaten 11-3 by the visiting Victoria Cougars. . . . Yes, Spokane played one night at home and 24 hours later in Regina. Oh, and the Flyers bus driver took a wrong turn somewhere that extended the trek to Regina by a couple of hours. . . . BTW, one night before losing to Victoria, the Flyers were to have played in Kamloops. However, that game wasn’t played because, as Dave Senick of the Regina Leader-Post wrote: “Their bus was about to be repossessed and there was no money for gasoline or meals. And, the team’s payroll has not been met for two weeks.” . . . Ahh, those were the days.

JUST NOTES: Watching the Vancouver Canucks and host Winnipeg Jets on Friday night. The visitors lose D Chris Tanev and D Tyler Myers on back-to-back shifts in the second period. What happened? Both players limped off after blocking shots (luckily for the Canucks, both soon were back in action). I have never understood the emphasis on blocking shots that goaltenders are equipped, trained and paid to stop. . . . The Winnipeg Blue Bombers at the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL’s West Division final. Yeah, I’ll take that for a Sunday afternoon’s entertainment. But will it be cold and snowy? . . . Did the Edmonton Eskimos save head coach Jason Maas’s job with their victory over the Alouettes in Montreal on Sunday. . . . The NFL and video review aren’t a match made in heaven. . . . As a sporting spectacle is there anything better than a big-time NCAA football matchup like Saturday’s game featuring LSU and Alabama?