It was March 11. The Victoria Royals and host Kelowna Rockets were tied, 2-2, in the third period of a WHL game.
F Brayden Tracey of the Royals broke the tie, banking a shot off G Roman Basran and into the Kelowna net. The goal would give the Royals a 3-2 victory and would be the last score of the WHL’s 2019-20 season.
The last goal of the CHL’s 2019-20 season was to have been scored in Kelowna, but it should have happened in the Memorial Cup in May. That tournament, like so many other things, was cancelled.
With the world in the early stages of what has turned into a full-blown pandemic, the WHL put things on hold after March 11, a pause that will end tonight (Friday) with two games featuring four Alberta teams.
In Red Deer, the Rebels will play the Medicine Hat Tigers, while the Lethbridge Hurricanes meet the Oil Kings in Edmonton. The same teams will play again Saturday, only they will switch venues. The Calgary Hitmen, the fifth of the league’s five Alberta teams, have the bye.
In Red Deer, Troy Gillard will make his debut as the interim play-by-play voice of the Rebels, replacing Cam Moon, now the radio voice of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. Down the way from Gillard, Bob Ridley will be calling his 3,999th game as the only voice the Tigers have known.
If the excitement of tonight’s game doesn’t get to him, Ridley will do No. 4,000 in Medicine Hat on Saturday night. If you haven’t heard, he has called every game in Tigers history — except for one. It’s an oft-told story, but back in the day — way, way back — his then-boss’s wife was playing in the Canadian women’s curling championship in Saskatoon and, well, Ridley missed a Tigers game while covering curling. Yes, that’s a true story!
Meanwhile, the Oil Kings game won’t be heard on an Edmonton radio station, but will be available, with Andrew Peard on the call, on the team’s website.
(I had written here that G Lukáš Pařík of the Spokane Chiefs had scored the last goal of the season. That was in error.)
——
JUST NOTES: You may not have been aware of it, but the WHL’s trade deadline came and went on Thursday at 1 p.m. PT. For the first time in league history, there wasn’t even one trade. . . . The league released a U.S. Division schedule this week. The five American teams will open their season on March 18 with the Portland Winterhawks and Tri-City Americans meeting in Kennewick, Wash. With the Winterhawks not having clearance to play in Oregon, they will play their two March home games at the accesso ShoWare Centre in Kent, Wash. (aka the home of the Seattle Thunderbirds). The Portland home games April 2 through May 7 have TBD as the home arena. . . .
A schedule hasn’t yet been announced, but the seven-team Regina hub is expected to begin play on March 12. The hub will feature the five Saskatchewan-based teams, along with the two from Manitoba. . . . The five B.C. Division teams have yet to receive clearance to return to play from government and health officials. . . . Earlier this week, on the subject of 15-year-olds, the afore-mentioned Gillard tweeted: “So I confirmed that Alberta players are good to go since the U18AAA season here is cancelled, but Sask players are limited to 5 WHL games for now as they’ve yet to officially cancel league play in that province.” . . .
The Oil Kings have added three people to their front office — Shaun Mahe as video coach and hockey operations co-ordinator, the afore-mentioned Andrew Peard to handle hockey broadcasting and media, and Erin Klatt in charge of game-day operations. Mahe has been with the Oilers Entertainment Group for eight years, most recently in statistical analysis with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Peard’s duties include play-by-play, taking over from Corey Graham who somehow lost his job during recent Bell Media cuts. Klatt has been with OEG for two years, working as a hockey engagement co-ordinator. . . .
The Kamloops Blazers have added Brodi Stuart, 20, to their coaching staff. Stuart, from Langley, B.C., played three seasons with the Blazers. His WHL career came to an end when he had knee surgery on Jan. 20. In 204 regular-season games, he had 115 points, including 45 goals. . . . The Prince Albert Raiders have added Ryan McDonald as an assistant coach. He will work with the team during its time in the Regina hub. A Prince Albert native, McDonald, 33, played four plus seasons in the WHL (Regina Pats, Raiders, 2004-09). He was the head coach for the U18 AAA Warman Wildcats in 2020-21. . . .
Josh Green, the general manager and head coach of the MJHL’s Winnipeg Freeze, has moved to the Winnipeg Ice as an assistant coach. The Ice and Freeze are owned by 50 Below Sports + Entertainment Inc. Green, who played five WHL seasons in the WHL (Medicine Hat, Swift Current, Portland, 1993-98), was an assistant coach with the Ice in 2019-20. . . . Ryan Guenter, who had been on the Ice’s scouting staff, also will be on the team’s coaching staff in the Regina hub. When that stint is over, he will step in as the Ice’s manager of scouting and hockey operations. . . . The Ice also has added Byron Spriggs as goaltending consultant. He has been the U of Manitoba Bisons’ goaltending coach for the past two seasons and is expected to work with both clubs. . . . Cole Hillier, a former head equipment manager with the ECHL’s Jacksonville IceMen, now is in that role with the Ice. Darcy Ewanchuk, who made the move to Winnipeg from Cranbrook with the franchise, now is on staff as a consultant.
Questions, there are questions . . .
We have been hearing for a while now that the WHL’s return to play is all about giving players development opportunities. If that’s the case, and considering the special circumstances, why not allow teams to carry five or six 20-year-olds, even if they only are allowed to dress three per game? Had the league done that, teams wouldn’t have had to cut 20-year-olds over the past few days. . . .
F Seth Jarvis of the Chicago Wolves is tied for the AHL lead in goals (6) and points (9). He has played seven games. Jarvis, who turned 19 on Feb. 1, was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes with the 13th pick of the NHL’s 2020 draft. The rules call for him to be returned to the Portland Winterhawks, but if this odd-ball season, with no fans allowed, is all about development why not leave him in the AHL? . . .
If you are a hockey fan who lives in Canada, does your NHL include only your country’s seven teams? And would you be content with a seven-team NHL and having those teams play an 84-game regular season? . . .
If you get vaccinated in the next month or six are you going to want to go back into an arena next fall not knowing how many unvaccinated people are in the same facility? Is that same thing going to be an issue in some work places? . . .
If you are paying attention to the coronavirus-related numbers in B.C., with variants showing up in schools and teachers in at least one city having marched in protest, will you be surprised if the province’s five WHL teams have to wait a while longer before getting the OK to return to play? . . .
What’s wrong with this picture? . . . On March 21, B.C. announced 76 new positives, raising the number of confirmed cases to 424. There were 27 people in hospital and 12 in intensive care. There was one new death, for a total of 10. So health officials closed all personal service establishments — remember when you couldn’t get a haircut? — and ordered all restaurants to go to takeout and delivery only. . . . On Feb. 25, B.C. reported 395 new cases — down from 559 two days earlier — for a confirmed total of 78,673, with 4,489 of those active. Ten new deaths raised the grim total to 1,348. But, hey, you can get a haircut and eat in a restaurant.
On Feb. 12, Brendan Batchelor, the play-by-play voice of the Vancouver Canucks on Sportsnet 650, revealed via Twitter that he had been “exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19” and was going into self-isolation. . . . All is well and Batchelor, whose resume includes calling Vancouver Giants games, returned to action on Thursday night as the Canucks lost, 3-0, to the visiting Edmonton Oilers.
The Lloydminster Bobcats are the second team to opt out of the AJHL’s return 
to play. According to a news release from the team, it was “denied participation . . . due to public health restrictions of the Saskatchewan government.” . . . More from that news release: “The organization exhausted all efforts to resolve barriers to meet the requirements of the Saskatchewan government. So far the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League has also been unable to meet requirements, while the Western Hockey League has been approved by forming a bubble in Regina, SK. Attempts were made to establish a bubble in Lloydminster, but the team was shut out by circumstance.” . . . While they play in the AJHL, the Bobcats’ home arena, the Centennial Civic Centre, is in Lloydminster, Sask. . . . Earlier, the Canmore Eagles announced that they were opting out of a return to play.
For the last while we regularly have heard from junior hockey pooh-bahs about 
how some teams may not survive the pandemic. To date, they’re all still alive, but that’s more than can be said for the Brampton Beast, a seven-year-old ECHL franchise.
The Beast called it quits last week, another victim of COVID-19, but one that won’t show up in death totals.
Cary Kaplan, the Beast’s president, general manager and minority owner of Brampton Beast, said that the pandemic simply made the hurdles too huge to continue.
Here’s part of what he told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, and all of this will be applicable to junior hockey teams, as well . . .
“What we realized recently is that next season is compromised. Normally at this time of year, you sell a lot of season tickets, you renew your season tickets, you make group sales, you do a lot of sponsorship. There’s so much nervousness out there, we realized for the upcoming season . . . that revenues would be greatly depleted. You’re losing revenues in three distinct hockey seasons. As a business, it’s not sustainable. We came to that realization probably since Christmas, (and) for us that was just too much.”
And now we wait to see if more teams meet the same fate.
If you haven’t already seen it, Friedman’s weekly 31 Thoughts is right here.
THE COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .
The City of Toronto has cancelled outdoor events and parades through July 1. That includes Canada Day celebrations and its Pride Parade. . . .
The Prince Albert Minor Hockey Association has cancelled any games for the remainder of its 2020-21 season. The provincial government has extended restrictions until at least March 19, so the association decided it was time to move on from this season. Teams are still able to practice with eight mask-wearing, social-distancing players on the ice at a time. . . .
The San Jose Sharks had F Thomas Hertl enter COVID-19 protocol on Wednesday, so their Thursday game against the visiting Vegas Golden Knights has been postponed. The Sharks didn’t hold any practice or training sessions on Wednesday. . . . San Jose next is scheduled to play on Saturday against the visiting St. Louis Blues. . . . Also on Wednesday, the New York Rangers placed F K’Andre Miller on the COVID-19 protocol list, but they still played that night, losing 4-3 to the Flyers in Philly. . . .
Dan Ralph of The Canadian Press reports that the CFL, which didn’t play in 2020, is looking at holding training camps in May with the first exhibition game on May 23. He also writes that an 18-game regular season would open on June 10 without fans in the stands. . . . That story is right here. . . .
The 10-team Winnipeg-based Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League announced on Tuesday that it has cancelled the remainder of its 2020-21 season. “These are unprecedented times,” Kerry Lines, the league president, said in a news release, “and the events around COVID have impacted so many lives and families. Our priority as a league is to be compliant with the health orders and respect and support the decisions that are made to keep our communities safe and reduce the risk.” . . . The MMJHL last played on Oct. 29.
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.
night, each team was missing one player after a hit in Game 3. Victoria won the game, 3-2, to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Albert Raiders to a 4-1 victory over the host Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Raiders won the series, 4-0, giving the organization its first series sweep and series victory since the spring of 2005. That year, the Raiders swept the Saskatoon Blades in a first-round series, then beat the Medicine Hat Tigers in six, before losing in seven to the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Eastern Conference final. . . . The Rebels were swept for the first time since losing to the Blades in 2010. . . . Last night, F Jeff de Wit gave the Rebels their first lead of the series when he scored with 9.7 seconds in the first period. . . . F Ozzy Wiesblatt (3) tied it at 9:08 of the second period and Leason (1) gave his guys the lead 58 seconds into the third period. . . . Leason (2) added a PP goal at 11:27, and F Cole Fonstad (1), who also had two assists, got the empty-netter at 16:26. . . . F Brandon Hagel drew an assist on Red Deer’s goal, meaning he was in on six of the seven goals the Rebels scored in the four games. . . . Prince Albert was 1-2 on the PP; Red Deer was 0-3. . . . The Raiders got 21 saves from G Ian Scott. . . . G Ethan Anders topped 31 shots for Red Deer.
victory over the Warriors in Moose Jaw. . . . Saskatoon won the series, 4-0. . . . This was the first time the Blazers have swept a series since the spring of 2010 when they took out the Red Deer Rebels. . . . F Max Gerlach (5) put the Blades on top at 7:37 of the first period. . . . The Warriors took a 2-1 lead on goals from F Luke Ormsby (1), at 18:03, and D Matthew Benson (1), at 2:06 of the second period. . . . F Tristen Robins (1) tied it at 9:40. . . . The Blades took a 3-2 lead when F Kirby Dach (3) scored, shorthanded, at 15:35 of the third period. . . . Moose Jaw forced OT when F Tristin Langan (1) scored, shorthanded, at 17:43. . . . Roykas Marthinsen won it with his first playoff goal. A freshman from Norway, he had 13 goals and 16 assists in 62 regular-season games. . . . Gerlach has goals in seven straight games. . . . Saskatoon was 0-6 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-3. . . . The Blades got 23 stops from G Nolan Maier, while Moose Jaw G Adam Evanoff blocked 44 shots. . . . F Yegor Buyalski was among the Warriors’ scratches. According to a tweet from Marc Smith (@MarcSmith18), Buyalski was out “after taking a high hit” in Game 3.
Loschiavo, to beat the host Medicine Hat Tigers, 5-1. . . . The series is tied, 2-2, with Game 5 scheduled to be played in Edmonton on Friday night. Game 6 is in Medicine on Sunday. . . . F Ryan Jevne (1) gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 9:34 of the first period. . . . Edmonton F Quinn Benjafield (2) tied it, on a PP, at 15:32, and F Andrew Fyten (1) put the visitors out front at 16:45. . . . Loschiavo (2) upped the lead to 3-1 at 17:28. . . . Loschiavo (3), who also had an assist, added his second goal at 7:31 of the third period, and D Matthew Robertson (1) closed it out at 11:19. . . . Edmonton was 2-5 on the PP; Medicine Hat was 1-5. . . . The Oil Kings held a 36-15 edge in shots, including 14-5 in the first period and 13-5 in the third. . . . Edmonton got 14 saves from G Todd Scott, while Medicine Hat’s Mads Søgaard turned aside 31 shots. . . . The Oil Kings had F Dylan Guenther, the first overall pick in the 2018 bantam draft, make his playoff debut. He played eight games with them during the regular season, scoring three times and adding an assist. In 28 games with the Northern Alberta X-Treme prep team, he had 32 goals and 26 assists.
Silvertips in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Everett leads the series, 2-1. They’ll play Game 4 tonight in Kennewick, with Game 5 in Everett on Saturday. . . . F Martin Fasko-Rudas (3) gave Everett a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 17:35 of the first period. He has scored in each game of this series and in five straight overall. . . . D Samuel Stewart (1) got Tri-City even, on a PP, at 16:54 of the second period. . . . Everett went back out front at 19:51 as F Bryce Kindopp (1) scored, on a PP. . . . Tri-City F Nolan Yaremko (3) forced OT when he scored at 2:16 of the third period. . . . AuCoin’s first goal of the playoffs won it, on a PP, at 7:52 of extra time. . . . Tri-City was 2-3 on the PP; Everett was 2-5. . . . G Beck Warm stopped 39 shots for the Americans, 11 more than Everett’s Dustin Wolf. . . . The Silvertips had F Connor Dewar back in their lineup after he missed Game 2. . . . D Marc Lajoie made his debut with the Americans. From Sherwood Park, Alta., he was the 14th-overall selection in the 2018 bantam draft. He also is the son of Kamloops Blazers head coach Serge Lajoie. This season, in 35 games with the Northern Alberta X-Treme prep team, Marc had 11 goals and 24 assists.
beat the Vancouver Giants, 4-3, in Kent, Wash. . . . The series is tied, 2-2, with Game 5 scheduled for Friday night in Langley, B.C. They’ll be back in Kent for Game 6 on Saturday. . . . D Dylan Plouffe (3) got Vancouver into a 1-0 lead at 10:33 of the first period, and F Brayden Watts (2) made it 2-0 at 17:00. . . . The Giants took a 3-0 lead when F Davis Koch (1) scored at 2:19 of the second period. . . . Seattle F Keltie Jeri-Leon (1) started the comeback, on a PP, at 5:18 of the second period. . . . The Thunderbirds won it with third-period goals from F Noah Philp (1), at 7:11; F Andrej Kukuca (3), on a PP, at 11:13; and F Matthew Wedman (2), at 15:46. . . . Seattle was 2-4 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-2. . . . The Thunderbirds got 26 saves from G Roddy Ross. . . . Giants G David Tendeck stopped 30 shots. . . . Seattle F Sean Richards took a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct for a hit on Vancouver F Aidan Barefoot at 4:16 of the first period. . . . Seattle D Jake Lee returned after serving a two-game suspension for a cross-checking major and game misconduct in Game 1. F Justin Sourdif, who absorbed that hit, has yet to return to action.
Winterhawks in Portland. . . . The Chiefs hold a 3-1 lead in the series with Game 5 set for Saturday night in Spokane. . . . The Chiefs took a 1-0 lead when D Ty Smith (1) scored 31 seconds into the first period. . . . Portland came back with the next three goals — from D Brendan De Jong (1), at 9:51; F Josh Paterson (3), at 18:30; and Paterson (4), again, at 7:46 of the second period. . . . Spokane got third-period goals from F Luke Toporowski (2), at 3:25, and F Eli Zummack (1), at 19:00. . . . Beckman (3) won it at 4:39 of OT. . . . Spokane was 1-3 on the PP. The Winterhawks didn’t get even one PP opportunity. . . . G Bailey Brkin earned the victory with 35 saves, two more than Portland’s Joel Hofer. . . . Spokane, which had the No. 1 PP in the regular season, is 5-for-9 with the man advantage in this series. . . . No, F Cody Glass (knee) wasn’t in Portland’s lineup.
Victoria Royals, 6-3, in a game that was highly emotional with a whole lot of nastiness. . . . The series is tied, 2-2, with Game Game 5 in Victoria on Saturday night. . . . They’ll return to Kamloops for Game 6 on Monday night. . . . F Kyrell Sopotyk (3) gave the Blazers a 1-0 lead with a 45-footer at 6:52 of the first period. . . . Two goals from F Dino Kambeitz gave the Royals a 2-1 lead. The first one came shorthanded when two Blazers bumped a bit as they chased a soft dump-in and G Dylan Ferguson fell down as he left the crease to chase the puck. F Tarun Fizer got their first and slid the puck to Kambeitz for the two-foot tap-in at 10:37. . . . At 13:48, the Royals, on the PP, were able to take advantage of a poor Kamloops change to get another Kambeitz goal, his fourth of the series. . . . The Blazers tied it with 20.5 seconds left in the period, as F Connor Zary (2) scored off a rebound from a blocked shot on a 4-on-3 PP. . . . F Zane Franklin (1) gave the Blazers a 3-2 lead at 8:11 of the second period, only to have Victoria tie it on a bad-angle goal by F Igor Martynov (1) at 15:09. . . . The game turned early in the third period as Victoria F Kody McDonald was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct at 5:34. The Royals killed the penalty, only to have McDonald take a match penalty for attempt to injure at 7:58. Franklin was given an unsportsmanlike minor on the play. . . . At 8:19, with the teams playing 4-on-4, Zary gave the Blazers a 4-3 lead with his third goal in two games. . . . Kamloops D Luke Zazula (1), who also had two assists, added a PP goal at 10:52, and F Martin Lang (1) iced it, with another PP goal, at 15:11. . . . Kamloops was 3-6 on the PP; Victoria was 1-6. . . . The Blazers got 15 stops from G Dylan Ferguson, while G Griffen Outhouse blocked 41 shots for the Royals. . . . Kamloops held a 17-5 edge in shots in the first period and 20-2 in the third. . . . Blazers F Kobe Mohr returned after serving a two-game suspension.
Jeff Faith. Zary pulled the face-off win back to F Kyrell Sopotyk on the point. He ripped a wrist shot past Basran’s blocker, off a post and in. . . . The officials went to video review at 7:38 after the Blazers crashed the Kelowna net, but whatever had happened was ruled no goal. . . . The Rockets tied it at 7:56 when D Kaedan Korczak got to a shoot-in along the right boards, and slipped a pass to F Mark Liwiski. His quick backhand seemed to surprise Garand and got past him for the equalizer. . . . The Blazers thought they might have scored at 13:14 when the puck bounced off the back boards, over top of the net and into the Kelowna crease area. However, it was ruled that Kamloops F Logan Stankoven had come in contact with the puck with a high stick. . . . Kelowna got its first PP at 15:26 after Faith was hit with an interference penalty for a hit on F Nolan Foote. Other than Foote hitting a post early, the Rockets really didn’t threaten. . . . Kelowna outshot Kamloops, 13-7, in that period. . . . 
fined $250,000 and also had two first-round draft picks taken away for recruiting violations. . . . Rick Westhead of TSN reported Tuesday that all of this had to do with a player emailing David Branch, the OHL commissioner, to say that the IceDogs had promised to pay him $10,000 for each season he played with them, and then reneged on the deal. . . . As Westhead reported: “A law firm hired by the Ontario Hockey League concluded that the Niagara IceDogs breached the league’s player recruitment rules by entering into a secret ‘side deal’ with a former player, according to a court decision obtained by TSN.” . . . Westhead’s story is 
added F Lucas Cullen, 19, to their roster. . . . Cullen spent the season with the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors, putting up 50 points, including 26 goals, in 49 regular-season games, then adding seven goals and three assists in seven playoff games. . . . Cullen is from Kelowna. The Calgary Hitmen selected him in the fifth round of the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. He played 48 games with them over three seasons, scoring four times and adding five assists.
be renewing Steve Mullin’s contract. Mullin spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the Flyers, then took over as head coach prior to this season when Ken Pearson stepped aside to focus on his general manager’s duties. The Flyers and Pearson parted company on Feb. 19, he since has been named GM and head coach of the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives. . . . This season, the Flyers finished 23-32-5 and missed the playoffs for the first time since the spring of 1981. . . . Jeff Jeanson has taken over the general manager’s duties.
over the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . Moose Jaw (38-20-8) will finish third in the East Division and meet the Saskatoon Blades in a first-round series. . . . Brandon (30-28-8) has lost four in a row. It is four points from a playoff spot with only two games remaining. . . . Moose Jaw won the season series, 5-3-1; Brandon was 4-4-1. . . . Moose Jaw went ahead 3-0 on first-period goals from F Yegor Buyalski (6), at 3:46; F Brayden Tracey (36), at 12:56; and F Tristin Langan (51), on a PP, at 14:30. . . . The Wheat Kings got to within a goal as F Stelio Mattheos (44) scored, at 14:54 of the first period, and F Caiden Daley (9) counted at 1:41 of the third. . . . The Warriors put it away with the game’s last three goals, the final two into an empty net. . . . F Daemon Hunt (6), who is from Brandon, added insurance at 5:53. . . . D Dalton Hamaliuk and F Cameron Sterling (1) got the empty-netters. . . . Moose Jaw got 29 saves from G Adam Evanoff. . . . G Jiri Patera stopped 25 shots for Brandon. . . . Tracey was unsuccessful on a first-period penalty shot with his guys ahead, 2-0.
7-4 victory over the visiting Red Deer Rebels. . . . Medicine Hat (34-26-6) has won two in a row and has clinched a wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. . . . Red Deer (33-27-6) has lost two straight. It holds down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, two points behind Medicine Hat and four ahead of Brandon, which has two games remaining. . . . Medicine Hat won the season series, 6-0-0. . . . F Jeff de Wit (17) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 7:48 of the first period, only to have F James Hamblin (33) tie it at 8:04. . . . F Zak Smith (13) put Red Deer back out front 57 seconds into the second period. . . . The Tigers took control with the next three goals, in a span of 3:29, from F Ryan Chyzowski, at 3:19, and two from Kemp, on a PP at 4:20 and at 6:48. . . . F Josh Tarzwell (11) got the Rebels to within a goal at 11:35. . . . Chyzowski (26) restored the two-goal lead, on a PP, at 12:59, and Kemp (31) completed his first career WHL hat trick at 7:26 of the third period. . . . F Brandon Hagel (41), who also had two assists, got Red Deer’s fourth goal, at 9:03. . . . F Logan Christenssen (7) finished Medicine Hat’s scoring at 13:07. . . . Hamblin and Chyzowski added two assists apiece. . . . Medicine Hat F Elijah Brown, who was injured in a Feb. 28 practice, was back in the lineup. . . . Red Deer F Alex Morozov sat out as he completed a two-game suspension. . . . The Rebels, of course, are without D Alex Alexeyev (knee). . . . Medicine Hat scratched F Bryan Lockner (ill).
OT to give the Spokane Chiefs a 6-5 victory over the Rockets in Kelowna. . . . Spokane (38-21-7) is third in the U.S. Division, three points behind the Portland Winterhawks, each with two games remaining. . . . Spokane will finish home-and-home with the Tri-City Americans, while Portland goes home-and-home with the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Kelowna (26-32-8) has lost three in a row (0-1-2) and now is only one point ahead of the fourth-place Kamloops Blazers in the B.C. Division, each with two games remaining. . . . The Chiefs went 3-0-1 in the season series; the Rockets finished 1-2-1. . . . Spokane led this one 5-2 with fewer than 10 minutes left in the third period. . . . F Nolan Foote (36) got Kelowna to within two goals at 10:49. . . . The Rockets tied it on goals from D Kaedan Korczak (4), at 17:31, and F Kyle Topping (23), on a PP, at 19:20. . . . The Chiefs got the game’s first goal at 0:12 of the first period when F Jack Finley, who is from Kelowna, scored his ninth goal. . . . Foote tied it at 3:54. . . . Anderson-Dolan, who has 20 goals, gave Spokane a 2-1 lead at 8:39, and F Luke Toporowski (20) added to the lead at 17:26. . . . F Ethan McIndoe (15) made it 4-1 at 3:11 of the second period. . . . F Michael Farren (3) scored for Kelowna at 1:58 of the third, only to have D Nolan Reid (16) reply for the Chiefs at 10:03. . . . Anderson-Dolan now shares the club record for longest goal-scoring streak with F Adam Helewka (2014-15), F Marian Cesar (1997-98), F Brent Gilchrist (1986-87) and F Terry Perkins (1985-86). . . . Korczak added three assists to his goal, while Foote had an assist so finished with three points. . . . F Luc Smith and D Filip Kral were among Spokane’s scratches. . . . The Rockets are without D Lassi Thomson, who is in concussion protocol. He hasn’t played since taking a hit from Kamloops F Jermaine Loewen in the Blazers’ 2-1 shootout victory on home ice on Friday night. . . . Kelowna also was without F Mark Liwiski, as he completed a three-game suspension.
TAKING NOTE 