Scattershooting on a quiet Sunday . . . Jack’s a ‘BoLevier’ in Bo Levi . . . Sillinger assist one to remember . . . Portland hangs 10 on Ice

Scattershooting

Phone


Jack Finarelli, who posts at sportscurmudgeon.com, watched the Grey Cup game and mentioned something that had escaped me: “When I started viewing the game, I was confused for the first several minutes. The team wearing red and black uniforms was not the Redblacks; the team wearing the white uniforms was the Redblacks. Whatever . . .”

——

Here’s more from Finarelli on the CFL’s big game: “I have had fun in the past with the name of the Stampeders’ QB, Bo Levi Mitchell. (When I see his face, then I’m a BoLevier . . . Sorry about that.) After seeing him play a couple of times, I think that NFL teams that are “deficient at the QB position” might want to give this guy a chance. I do not think he is the next coming of Andrew Luck or anything like that, but I do “bo-lieve” that he can play QB better than some of the guys who hold those positions in the NFL this year.”



Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “According to one report, 28 per cent of shoppers are still in debt from their spending last Christmas.2018? How about 2013?’ said the Mariners, still on the hook for $120 million to Robinson Cano.”


Perry, again: “Ballybrack, an amateur Irish soccer team, got its upcoming match against Arklow Town canceled by incorrectly claiming that one of its players had been killed in a motorcycle accident. We’ve heard of faking soccer injuries before, guys, but . . . c’mon.”


John Daly once told the Charlotte Observer he played better golf back when he was a drunk,” writes RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “Presumably in those days he used a putter, a wedge and a designated driver.”



Pet peeve: Hearing or reading that a season is past the quarter-pole when it’s one-quarter over. Quarter-pole is a horse-racing term; the quarter-pole is a marker that is a quarter-mile from the finish line.


I really need someone to explain to me how we got to this point . . .


Note


Headline at TheOnion.com: Yankees avoid luxury tax by moving franchise to offshore location.


From Cam Hutchinson, at the Saskatoon Express: “Former NFLer David Diehl recently shared a story about highly-touted, but underachieving quarterback Jamarcus Russell. His coaches didn’t think he was studying tapes at night. One day he showed up at practice and said he had watched blitz packages. How did he do that? The coaches gave him blank tapes.”


ThisThat

COUNTDOWN TO DEADLINE

(WHL trade deadline: Jan. 10, 3 p.m. MT)

No. of trades: 6.

Players: 17.

Bantam draft picks: 15.

Conditional draft picks: 3.


If you stop off here and enjoy what you see — or even if you don’t — feel free to click on the DONATE button over there on the right and make a contribution. Thanks in advance.


SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

The Medicine Hat Tigers overcame an early 2-0 deficit to beat the Pats, 3-2, in Regina. . . . Tigers Logo OfficialMedicine Hat improved to 13-13-3. . . . Regina (8-20-0) has lost five in a row. . . . Regina went 0-3-0 and was outscored 13-5 in playing three games in fewer than 48 hours, one in Brandon and two at home. . . . On Sunday, F Sergei Alkhimov (5) and F Austin Pratt (11) gave the Pats a 2-0 lead before the game was eight minutes old. . . . F Bryan Lockner, who began his WHL career with Regina, got Medicine Hat’s first goal, his eighth, at 1:19 of the third period. . . . The Tigers tied it at 7:13 when F Josh Williams (6) scored off a pass from F Cole Sillinger, who recorded his first WHL point. . . . Sillinger, 15, is from Regina and is the son of former Pats star Mike Sillinger. Cole, the 11th overall selection in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft, plays for the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. . . . F James Hamblin snapped the tie with his 13th goal at 18:30. . . . Each team was 0-4 on the PP; each team won 36 faceoffs. . . . The Pats got 38 saves from G Max Paddock. . . . Tigers G Jordan Hollett, who also began his WHL career with the Pats, stopped 30 shots.


The Prince George Cougars jumped out to a 4-0 lead and went on to a 5-3 victory over the PrinceGeorgevisiting Victoria Royals. . . . Prince George (11-14-3) had lost its previous four games. With the victory, the Cougars moved back into possession of the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot, one point ahead of the Kamloops Blazers, who have four games in hand. . . . Victoria (13-10-0) had beaten the host Cougars, 5-1, on Saturday night. . . . The Cougars got two goals from F Vladislav Mikhalchuk, who has eight, and one each from D Rhett Rhinehart (2) and F Josh Maser (8) to lead 4-0 early in the second period. . . . The Royals got to within two on second-period goals from F Tarun Fizer (3) and F Dante Hannoun (10), on a PP. . . . But F Ilijah Colina (5) restored Prince George’s three-goal lead, on a PP, at 17:55. . . . Victoria D Matthew Smith’s first goal rounded out the scoring at 3:32 of the third period. . . . Maser and Colina added two assists each. . . . Mikhalchuk’s first goal, at 7:49 of the first period, was the Un-Teddy Bear goal. The Cougars have moved away from a Teddy Bear game, instead asking fans to bring scarves, toques, etc., and to throw them on the ice after their first goal. . . . The Cougars will play their next 11 games on the road, with eight of them in the U.S. Division on three separate junkets; their next home game is scheduled for Jan. 11.


F Kaden Elder and F James Malm each scored twice to lead the host Calgary Hitmen to a Calgary5-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Calgary (12-14-3) has won two in a row. . . . Moose Jaw (15-6-4) had points in each of its previous 10 games (9-0-1). . . . Both teams were playing their third game in fewer than 48 hours and each went 2-1-0. . . . In fact, Moose Jaw went 3-1-0 in playing four road games in five days. . . . Calgary scored once in the first period and three times in the second to take a 4-0 lead into the third. . . . Elder, who also had an assist, opened the scoring with two PP goals, at 9:04 of the first and 3:25 of the second. He’s got 11 goals. . . . Malm upped the lead to 3-0 at 16:25, and D Egor Zamula (4) made it 4-0 at 17:56. . . . F Justin Almeida (6) scored the Warriors’ goal, on a PP, at 4:43 of the third. . . . Malm finished the scoring, getting No. 14 into an empty net at 19:18. . . . The Hitmen got a big game from F Riley Stotts, who had four assists. . . . G Jack McNaughton stopped 33 shots for Calgary. . . . The Hitmen lost F Luke Coleman 22 seconds into the third period when he was hit with a boarding major and game misconduct.


D Nolan Jones scored in OT to give the Lethbridge Hurricanes a 5-4 victory over the Red LethbridgeDeer Rebels in a game that included three goals in the last 2:26 of the third period. . . . Lethbridge (14-8-5) is 5-0-1 in its last six games and has moved to within three points of the Central Division-leading Rebels. . . . Red Deer (17-9-2) has lost two in a row. . . . The Rebels were playing their fifth game in six nights — they went 1-4-0 — and their third game in fewer than 48 hours. They went 1-2-0. . . . Lethbridge went 3-0-0 in playing three games in fewer than 48 hours. . . . F Taylor Ross gave Lethbridge a 2-0 lead in the first period, the second goal coming via the PP. . . . Red Deer went ahead 3-2 on goals from F Chris Douglas (9), at 7:12 of the second; F Zak Smith (7), at 5:00 of the third; and F Brett Davis, shorthanded, at 11:35. . . . F Dylan Cozens (14) tied it for Lethbridge, at 17:34, only to have Ross (16) complete his first career hat trick at 18:43. . . . Davis (9), who was acquired from the Kootenay Ice on Friday, got Red Deer back into a tie at 19:42. . . . Jones won it at 1:50 of OT with his second goal of the season. . . . Jones went into this season without a goal in 12 games. This season, he now has two goals in 22 games. . . . Meanwhile, Ross, who also had an assist, had four previous two-goal games, three last season and one this season, but have never scored three times in one outing. . . . The Hurricanes got three assists from F Jake Elmer. . . . Davis added an assist to give him three points. . . . Douglas has nine goals and seven assists in 28 games; he finished last season with nine goals and seven assists in 72 games. . . . The Rebels won 40 of the game’s 66 faceoffs.


F Cody Glass, D Jared Freadrich and F Joachim Blichfeld combined for 14 points as the Portlandhost Portland Winterhawks dumped the Kootenay Ice, 10-2. . . . Portland (16-10-2) has won two in a row and has scored 18 goals in the process. . . . Kootenay (7-20-4) has lost nine straight (0-8-1). . . . The Ice played in three U.S. Division cities in fewer than 48 hours and lost (three) times, getting outscored 20-6 in the process. . . . This one was never in doubt as Blichfeld scored 28 seconds into the first period and Portland took a 4-0 lead into the second. . . . Glass had two goals, giving him 11, and three assists for the fourth four-point game of his career. . . . Freadrich drew five assists, giving him his first five-point game. He had four assists in an 8-6 victory over the Chiefs in Spokane on Nov. 4. . . . Blichfeld had three goals, giving him 25 this season. He also had an assist for the sixth four-point game of his career. . . . Blichfeld has 53 points in 28 games this season; Glass has 51 points in 24 games. . . . Portland was 4-6 on the PP. . . . F Peyton Krebs (11) had one of the Ice’s goals.


The Vancouver Giants overcame a 2-1 third-period deficit and beat the Tri-City VancouverAmericans, 4-2, in Langley B.C. . . . Vancouver (20-6-2) has won six straight. . . . Tri-City (14-11-1) has lost three in a row (0-2-1). . . . On Saturday night, the Giants had beaten the visiting Americans, 5-2. . . . F Blake Stevenson (5) scored shorthanded to give the Americans a 1-0 lead at 12:15 of the first period. . . . F Jared Dmytriw (6) tied it at 5:26 of the second, only to have F Isaac Johnson (11) score on a PP to give the Americans a 2-1 lead at 7:44. . . . Vancouver won it on third-period goals from F Aidan Barfoot (2), at 7:26; F Davis Koch (9), on a PP, at 13:49; and F Milos Roman (16) at 15:16. . . . Roman now has goals in six straight games.


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Leason streak hits 27; Raiders at 19 . . . Wheaties’ McCorrister fills his hat . . . Palaga posts first shutout for ‘Tips


MacBeth

F Justin Sigrist (Kamloops, 2017-18) has been reassigned by ZSC Zurich (Switzerland, NL A) to GC Küsnacht Lions (Switzerland, NL B). This was Sigrist’s second call up by ZSC this season. He was called up Sept. 21 for three games, during which he was pointless. In six games on the second recall, he also was pointless. . . . This season, he had four goals and two assists in 12 games with GC Küsnacht Lions. He also has played three games with GCK Lions Zurich U20 (Switzerland, Elite Junior A), scoring six times and adding two assists.


ThisThat

COUNTDOWN TO DEADLINE

(WHL trade deadline: Jan. 10, 3 p.m. MT)

No. of trades: 6.

Players: 17.

Bantam draft picks: 15.

Conditional draft picks: 3.


If you stop off here , feel free to click on the DONATE button over there on the right and make a contribution. Thanks in advance.


SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

F Brett Leason ran his point streak to 27 games as his Prince Albert Raiders beat the Pats, PrinceAlbert5-2, in Regina. . . . The Raiders (26-1-0) have won 19 in a row. . . . Prince Albert is next to play Tuesday against the Broncos in Swift Current. . . . The Pats (8-19-0) have lost four straight. . . . F Carter Massier ’s first WHL goal gave Regina a 1-0 lead at 9:14 of the first period. . . . Leason, who leads the WHL with 27 goals, tied it, on a PP, at 19:33. . . . F Kody McDonald (5) and D Brayden Pachal (6), in his 200th regular-season game, gave the visitors a 3-1 lead heading into the third period. . . . F Jadon Joseph (11) got his first goal for the Pats since coming over in a deal with the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Thursday. . . . F Ozzy Wiesblatt (5) and F Spencer Moe (5) added more late insurance for Prince Albert. . . . The Raiders got three assists from F Noah Gregor. . . . Leason leads the WHL with 60 points, three more than F Trey Fix-Wolansky of the Edmonton Oil Kings.


F Linden McCorrister scored three times to lead the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 5-2 BrandonWKregularvictory over the Broncos in Swift Current. . . . Brandon (13-7-6) has won three in a row to get to .500 in terms of wins and losses. . . . Swift Current (4-21-2) has lost three straight. . . . The Wheat Kings were 3-7 on the PP, with two of those coming from McCorrister. . . . His second goal broke a 2-2 tie at 12:15 of the third period. . . . F Ridly Greig (6) made it 4-2 at 13:01 and McCorrister, who has eight goals, completed his second career hat trick at 13:53. . . . F Stelio Mattheos scored No. 22 for Brandon. . . . F Joona Kiviniemi, a Finnish freshman, scored the Teddy Bear goal at 15:36 of the first period. He’s got five points, all goals, in 25 games. . . . The Wheat Kings got three assists from D Zach Wytinck. . . . G Joel Hofer stopped 30 shots in his third straight start for the Broncos.


D Jett Woo broke a 2-2 tie at 4:33 of the second period and the goal stood up as the MooseJawWarriorswinner as the Moose Jaw Warriors skated to a 3-2 victory over the Rebels in Red Deer. . . . The Warriors (15-5-4) have points in 10 straight (9-0-1). . . . The Rebels now are 17-9-1. . . . The Warriors got three assists from F Tristin Langan, who ran his point streak to 10 games. He has eight goals and 13 assists over that stretch. He also has a career-high 44 points, in 24 games. Last season, he put up 42 points in 70 games. . . . D Daemon Hunt (3) got Moose Jaw on the scoreboard first, at 7:18 of the first period. . . . Red Deer took a 2-1 lead on goals from F Brandon Hagel (18), at 7:57, and F Zak Smith (6), at 18:27. Hagel’s goal was a Teddy Bear score. . . . F Tate Popple (6) pulled Moose Jaw even at 1:55 of the second period. . . . Woo’s fourth goal of the season was the winner. . . . F Jeff de Wit, who didn’t finish Red Deer’s 6-2 victory over the visiting Calgary Hitmen on Friday, was in the Rebels’ lineup. . . . Red Deer won 33 of the game’s 50 faceoffs. . . . Moose Jaw was 0-3 on the PP; Red Deer didn’t get even one opportunity. . . . G Byron Fancy stopped 43 shots, 27 more than Moose Jaw’s Adam Evanoff. . . . F Brayden Tracey had an assist for the Warriors as he ran his point streak to 10 games. He has five goals and 12 assists over that stretch. . . . F Brett Davis, who was acquired Friday from the Kootenay Ice, travelled from Seattle and got into Red Deer in time to make his debut. . . . F Cam Hausinger, the other forward acquired from the Ice, is injured and expected to be out at least another week. . . . The Rebels will play their fifth game in six days tonight in Lethbridge.


F Kaden Elder scored in OT to give the host Calgary Hitmen a 4-3 victory over the CalgaryEdmonton Oil Kings. . . . Calgary (11-14-3) had lost its previous two games (0-1-1). . . . Edmonton (14-11-5) has lost five straight (0-3-2). . . . The Hitmen got first-period goals from F Bryce Bader, who notched his first WHL goal, and F Jake Kryski, on a PP, to take a 2-1 lead. . . . F Brett Kemp had opened the scoring for Edmonton. Kemp has 19 goals in 30 games; last season, he finished with 17 in 69. . . . F Quinn Benjafield (11) got Edmonton even at 11:10. . . . Kryski (13) put Calgary back out front 15 seconds into the second period. . . . F Trey Fix-Wolansky (19) got Edmonton into a 3-3 tie with his 200th career point at 5:51 of the third period. He’s got 200 points, including 75 goals, in 171 regular-season games. . . . Elder won it with his ninth goal at 2:30 of OT. . . . Kryski drew the primary assist on the winner, for a three-point night. . . . Calgary got 26 saves from G Jack McNaughton, who is the go-to guy with Carl Stankowski (ankle) on the shelf. . . . Edmonton G Todd Scott stopped 27 shots in his first start of the season.


F Jake Leschyshyn broke a 1-1 tie in the second period as the Lethbridge Hurricanes Lethbridgescored a 3-1 victory over the Tigers in Medicine Hat. . . . Lethbridge (13-8-5) has points in five straight (4-0-1). . . . Medicine Hat (12-13-3) had won its previous two games. . . . F James Hamblin (12) gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 14:38 of the first period. It was the Teddy Bear goal, and Mads Søgaard, the freshman Danish goaltender, picked up his first career assist on the score. . . . F Jordy Bellerive (11) tied it for Lethbridge at 9:40 of the second period, and Leschyshyn scored his 17th goal, on a PP, at 12:17. . . . That was Leschyshyn’s first goal with the Hurricanes since coming over from the Regina Pats on Thursday. . . . F Dylan Cozens (13) provided the Hurricanes with some insurance, on a PP, at 19:34 of the second. . . . Lethbridge was 2-3 on the PP. . . . G Reece Klassen stopped 31 shots for the Hurricanes, eight more than Søgaard.


F Orrin Centazzo broke a 3-3 tie in the second period to help the host Kamloops Blazers Kamloops1to a 6-3 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Kamloops (11-11-2) has won two in a row, both on home ice where it now is 4-6-1. The Blazers also moved into possession of the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot, one point ahead of the Prince George Cougars. . . . Seattle slipped to 9-13-3. . . . The Thunderbirds erased a 3-1 deficit on second-period goals from F Andrej Kukuca (7) and F Nolan Volcan (6). . . . Centazzo, who has eight goals, then scored twice on the PP. He snapped the tie at 15:28 and added an insurance goal at 18:25. . . . The Blazers were 3-5 on the PP. . . . F Kobe Mohr (3) got the empty-netter at 18:33 of the third period. . . . Kamloops F Zane Franklin (16) scored the Teddy Bear goal, at 11:02 of the first period. . . . Centazzo also had an assist for a three-point night. . . . The Blazers also got a goal, his third of the season and third in four games, and two assists from D Quinn Schmiemann, with F Connor Zary recording three assists. . . . Seattle F Zack Andrusiak had one assist, but his seven-game goal streak ended. He was coming off back-to-back hat tricks. . . . G Dylan Garand, the No. 1 guy in Kamloops with Dylan Ferguson hurt, stopped 26 shots. . . . D Luke Bateman, who is from Kamloops, was in Seattle’s lineup for the second time this season. He was a fourth-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. Bateman plays for the major midget Thompson Blazers, who are based in Kamloops.


D Dawson Davidson scored on a breakaway in OT to give the Saskatoon Blades a 5-4 Saskatoonvictory over the Rockets in Kelowna. . . . Saskatoon (17-9-3) has points in three straight (2-0-1). The Blades went 3-1-1 in playing five games in eight nights in the B.C. Division. . . . The Rockets now are 12-15-2. . . . Saskatoon led this one 3-0 on goals from F Gary Haden (7), at 11:27 of the first period; F Tristen Robins (4), at 12:31; and Davidson, on a PP, at 1:32 of the second. Davidson ended a 17-game drought with the goal. . . . F Mark Liwiski (2) got Kelowna on the scoreboard with the Teddy Bear goal, at 10:29, and F Leif Mattson (12) pulled Kelowna to within a goal at 3:30 of the third. . . . Saskatoon D Brandon Schuldhaus (3) restored the two-goal lead, on a PP, at 14:57. . . . Kelowna tied it on goals from D Braydyn Chizen (1), at 15:22, and F Kyle Topping (12), at 18:39. The tying goal came with G James Porter on the bench for an extra attacker. . . . Davidson won it with his sixth goal of the season, 23 seconds into OT.


The Portland Winterhawks scored the game’s first four goals and the last four en route to Portlandan 8-2 victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs. . . . Portland (15-10-2) had lost its previous two games. . . . Spokane (14-9-4) had been 3-0-1 in its previous four outings. . . . The Winterhawks took control with three goals in the game’s first 8:37. . . . It all started with F Lane Gillis (3) scored the Teddy Bear goal at 2:10. . . . F Joachim Blichfeld (22), who also had two assists, made it 2-0 at 3:43, and F Jake Gricius (13) added another, on a PP, at 8:37. . . . F Ryan Hughes upped the lead to 4-0 at 3:54 with the first of his two goals. He’s got nine. . . . The Chiefs got the next two goals, from D Filip Kral (3) and F Jake McGrew (7), but F Jaydon Dureau (4) and F Seth Jarvis (4) scored 1:00 apart for Portland late in the second for a 6-2 lead. . . . F Cody Glass, back after a one-game absence, had three assists for the Winterhawks. He has 26 points, including 21 assists, in a 13-game point streak. . . . Portland had a 44-20 edge in shots, including 15-6 and 16-4 over the first two periods.


The Victoria Royals exploded for four first-period goals and went on to a 5-2 victory over VictoriaRoyalsthe Cougars in Prince George. . . . Victoria (13-9-0) had lost its previous three games. . . . Prince George (10-14-3) has lost four in a row. . . . The teams will meet again this afternoon in Prince George in the Cougars’ final home game until Jan. 11. That is one day after the WHL trade deadline, meaning there may have been Cougars in this game who were playing their last home game in Prince George. . . . They will play their next 11 games on the road, a stretch that will include three separate trips into the U.S. Division. . . . F Dante Hannoun opened the scoring at 4:52 of the first period, on a PP, with F Igor Martynov following that with goals at 6:18 and 13:46. . . . Martynov has three goals. . . . F Tanner Sidaway (3) made it 4-0 at 18:17. . . . F Ilijah Colina (4) got Prince George’s goal at 8:28 of the second period. . . . Hannoun’s second goal, his ninth of the season, ended the scoring at 12:56 of the second. . . . The Royals were 2-4 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-3. . . . G Keegan Maddocks made his WHL debut for the Royals when he played the game’s last 1:10. He didn’t face a shot. Prior to that, Victoria G Brock Gould had stopped 18 shots.


The Vancouver Giants scored the game’s first two goals and never trailed as they went on Vancouverto beat the visiting Tri-City Americans, 5-2. . . . Vancouver (19-6-2) has won five in a row. . . . The Americans (14-10-1) had points in their previous three games (2-0-1). . . . F Milos Roman got Vancouver started with his 15th goal, on a PP, at 3:05 of the first period. . . . F Evan Patrician (1) made it 2-0 at 12:46. . . . F Isaac Johnson (10) scored, on a PP, for Tri-City at 8:25 of the second, only to have F Dawson Holt (5) counter at 14:26. . . . F Parker AuCoin (13) got a PP goal at 16:35 as the visitors got back to within a goal. . . . F Brayden Watts (5) restored Vancouver’s two-goal lead just 56 seconds later. . . . D Bowen Byram (8) iced it with a shorthanded empty-netter at 18:55 of the third period. . . . The announced attendance for this game, played in the Giants’ former home, Pacific Coliseum, was 6,156. The same teams will play again today, this time at the Langley Events Centre.


F Max Palaga posted his first career shutout as the Everett Silvertips beat the Kootenay EverettIce, 3-0. . . . Everett (22-7-1) has points in eight straight (7-0-1). . . . Kootenay (7-19-4) has lost eight in a row (0-7-1). . . . Palaga, who usually backs up Dustin Wolf, blocked 36 shots. . . . The Silvertips took a 1-0 lead when F Luke Ormsby (3) scored at 11:27 of the first period. . . . F Bryce Kindopp (10) made it 2-0, on a PP, at 19:59 of the second. . . . D Gianni Fairbrother (3) got the empty-netter at 19:48 of the third. . . . Everett F Connor Dewar had one assist as his streak of four-straight two-point games was halted. . . . G Jesse Makaj stopped 42 shots for the Ice.


Tweetoftheday

Scattershooting after CFL’s big day . . . Carcillo tweets a bullying story . . . Silvertips take care of Winterhawks

Scattershooting

Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times, with the details on one of 2018’s greatest sporting controversies: “Wesley Harms blamed his 10-2 semifinal loss to two-time world champion Gary Anderson at the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton, England, on Anderson fouling the air with flatulence, telling Dutch TV station RTL7L: ‘It’ll take me two nights to lose this smell from my nose.’ Anderson, however, vehemently denied his triumph was wind-aided.”



Mick McGeough, who suffered a stroke on Sunday and was taken off life support by his family later in the week, was one of a kind as a WHL/NHL referee. Had referees worn microphones when he was working, he may never have had his in the ‘off’ position. Yes, he was Wes McCauley before Wes McCauley. . . . Condolences to Mick’s family, friends and associates.


You may have heard the buzz recently about John Dorsey, the general manager of the Cleveland Browns, saying that he might think about Condoleezza Rice, the former U.S. secretary of state, as the NFL team’s next head coach. Here’s what old friend Jack Finarelli of SportsCurmudgeon.com thought of that: “If he said that as part of a stand-up comedy routine, maybe it would work in that context; in just about any other context, it is about as dumb as an inflatable dart board.”


Just wondering, but do stores in the U.S. have Black (whatever-day-of-the-week-it-is) sales on the day after Canadian Thanksgiving?



Yes, I ventured into a few stores on Friday afternoon. I was quickly reminded that we are into the time of year when many shoppers are in surly moods. It’s also the time of year when the number of phone-gazing shoppers clogging aisles seems to quadruple. So be careful out there.



Headline at The Onion (@TheOnion): 42 Million Dead in Bloodiest Black Friday Weekend on Record


Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors wasn’t injured in a car accident on Friday morning. “I think he has another car that can drive,” offered a joking Steve Kerr, the NBA team’s head coach. . . . That brought this tweet from Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle: “Bob (Butterbean) Love, former NBA great, once called to say he’d miss practice due to car trouble. A teammate said, ‘Must be an epidemic. Bean’s got six cars.’ ”



Is it just me or is Brian Burke working hard at becoming another Don Cherry, only without the wardrobe?


Blogger Tony Chong of Richmond, B.C., is back with us after a brief absence, and he is wondering “why doesn’t E. coli or listeria ever affect brussel sprouts?”


Beaters


Headline at SportsPickle.com: Steelers are clearly distracted by not having Le’Veon Bell as a distraction


When the gap in a football game is seven or eight points, why do announcers insist on calling it a one-score game? Excuse me, but the trailing team still needs a touchdown and a one- or two-point conversion to pull even. By my math that’s two scores.


Cartoon


ThisThat

Daniel Carcillo’s NHL career included 429 games and 1,233 penalty minutes, so you know what his role was with the teams for which he played — the Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers.

Before reaching the NHL, he played 161 regular-season games in the OHL (2002-05) — 141 with the Sarnia Sting and 20 with the Mississauga IceDogs.

These days, Carcillo, as he puts it on his Twitter page, is a “Mental Health/Concussion/TBI Advocate.”

On Saturday, in a series of 15 tweets that started with a hashtag — #BullyingAwarenessWeek — Carcillo detailed the treatment he received as a rookie with the Sting. As you read this, don’t think for a minute that players on other teams throughout junior hockey weren’t subjected to similar hazings back in the day.

I have taken Carcillo’s 15 tweets and strung them together. Here is Carcillo’s story . . .

The year is 2002-2003 I am 17 turning 18 yrs old & it’s my @NHL draft year

I moved away from home, family & friends, to play hockey in the @OHLHockey for the @StingHockey

I endured daily bullying/abuse at the hands of veteran players.

Below is my story . . .

Moving away from everyone you’ve ever known is hard

Living with strangers is, well, strange

Going to a new high school isn’t easy

Daily practices, workouts, long travel times for games are gruelling

Playing against 21 yr olds when you are 17 is intimidating

Having your teammates beat you on a daily basis with the sawed off paddle of a goaltender’s hockey stick, takes both a physical & mental toll on a teenager

I remember being so confused at the beginning of the yr

I remember thinking to myself, “If this is part of the process, just shut your mouth & bide your time”

Another thought that often came to mind is why

Why are my teammates demeaning the youngest players on the team?

Do they think this will create team unity?

What did we do?

You can only whip a horse so much before it quits on you, & that’s exactly what happened my rookie year in the #OHL

There were 12 of us who were rookies

Most of us held strong until the latter part of the year, when we had a game against the @GoLondonKnights in London

It’s a fairly short bus ride from London to Sarnia, about 45 min when you are sitting in a bus seat

If you are stuffed inside the bus washroom with 6-7 other rookies, while veterans hurl their spit from chewing tobacco through a vent in the door at you, 45 mins can feel like an eternity.

2 of us had had enough

We came out of the washroom swinging

Needless to say we never got the “hot box” treatment again

I can go on & speak about the other abuses many of us had to endure that year, but that will be in the book, along with names of those responsible

Since our coaches almost seemed to condone and encourage this kind of behaviour, & our GM hired the coaches, I didn’t know who I could trust.

So I sent a letter to the Commissioner of the league, David Branch, explaining exactly what 12 of us had to endure on a daily basis

I am speaking honestly about this story bc I want ppl to know that you do not have to accept what bullies tell u

The guys beating me on a daily basis & degrading me, were also the ones I hung out with at night at the movies

The abuse didn’t stop

It was constant

My abusers would say things like “don’t worry man, you’re going to be able to do this to the rookies next year!”
I can remember thinking at that exact moment…

‘Why would I ever want to make someone feel this way, let alone my teammate?’

How did I get through that year?

It was my draft year, & I was singularly focused on my goal of making something of myself

Nothing was going to get in my way

No opponent or bully

Everything happens for a reason

We finished in 1st place in the #OHL but we made a 1st round exit out of the playoffs, losing to the Guelph Storm

Remember what I said about the horse?

You guessed it

All the rookies had quit on the veterans

A conscious decision

I can remember the talk the over-ager gave, a desperate plea after the 1st. period of game 4

He was crying

It didn’t matter

Many of us were broken now

Damaged not only from the game, but from the constant bullying & physical & mental abuse

Emotional lacerations that aren’t easy to stitch up

Bc of our first round exit & the yr I had, I was invited to play for @TeamCanada at the U-18s in Yaroslavl, Russia

The tournament was packed with scouts

We won the Gold Medal

I ended up being drafted 73rd overall to the @penguins in the 2003 #NHL entry draft

Everything happens for a reason!

Don’t discredit times of suffering

Through pain, both emotional & physical, I have discovered who I am

If u r experiencing bullying/abuse of any kind & u don’t know what to do, confide in someone you trust for advice.


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SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

The Everett Silvertips snapped a 1-1 tie with three straight goals en route to a 5-3 victory Everettover the Winterhawks in Portland. . . . Everett (19-7-1) has points in five straight (4-0-1). . . . The Silvertips lead the Western Conference by five points over the Vancouver Giants (16-6-2) and the U.S. Division by nine points over the Winterhawks (14-9-2). . . . F Martin Fasko-Rudas gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 1:53 of the first period, only to have D Jared Freadrich (3) pull Portland even at 5:05. . . . Fasko-Rudas, who has six goals, broke the tie at 8:20, and F Reece Vitelli made it 3-1 at 16:11. . . . Everett went ahead 4-1 when F Luke Ormsby (2) counted at 17:34. . . . The Winterhawks made things interesting on goals from F Michal Kvasnica (2), at 18:01 of the second, and F Joachim Blichfeld (21), on a PP, at 9:27 of the third. . . . F Connor Dewar (21) wrapped it up for Everett with an empty-netter at 19:31. . . . Fasko-Rudas, a Slovakian sophomore, enjoyed the first two-goal game of his career. He has six goals and seven assists in 27 games this season, after putting up six goals and nine assists in 70 games last season. . . . Everett was awarded only two assists on its five goals and one of those went to G Dustin Wolf. . . . Glass ran his point streak to 12 games with one assist. In those 12 games, he has five goals and 18 helpers. . . . These teams will meet again Wednesday, this time in Everett.


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Hockey world mourns McGeough’s death . . . Raiders, Leason take aim at WHL records . . . Silvertips win on late goal


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Former WHL/NHL referee Mick McGeough died Friday night in a Regina hospital after his family had made the decision earlier to take him off life support. McGeough, who had suffered a stroke on Sunday, was 62.

McGeough brought a tremendous amount of personality, character and energy to every game in which he worked. And he worked a lot of games, including 1,146 in the NHL.

Kevin Muench, the WHL’s senior director of officiating, is from Moose Jaw and knew McGeough for a long time. Muench told the Regina Leader-Post:

“There will never be another Mick McGeough. He was one of a kind, on the ice and off the ice.

“Mick was an entertainer. He was like the Eddie Shack of officials. He was energized and flamboyant on the ice, and a great story-teller off the ice.

“Wherever you saw Mick, he was the centre of attention. Whether it was lunch at training camp or out for a beer after playing ball or golf, everybody wanted to sit at Mick’s table. You were guaranteed to hear some great stories.

“And he never told a story the same way twice. It got better and more embellished every time he told it! That was Mick.”

Muench told The Leader-Post that his last memory of McGeough was from the 2018 Memorial Cup in Regina.

“He invited a bunch of us old friends to his hotel room after a game one night,” Muench said. “We had a drink and ordered some pizza, and sat around and listened to Mick tell stories until tears were running down our cheeks with laughter. That is how it always was with Mick.

“His family, his friends, the hockey world, and the officiating world, we will all miss the enthusiasm he brought to life and to our great game of hockey.”

The Leader-Post’s story is right here.

Mark Spector of Sportsnet has a piece on McGeough right here.


OK, the onslaught on the WHL record book by the Prince Albert Raiders and F Brett Leason is getting serious.

The Raiders, now 24-1-0, got a goal and two assists from Leason in winning their 15th PrinceAlbertstraight game on Saturday night, beating the Kootenay Ice, 5-1, in Cranbrook, B.C.

In the process, the Raiders broke the franchise record for longest winning streak that had been set by the 1985-86 club. That edition of the Raiders, who were in their fourth season in the WHL, finished second in the Eastern Division (it was a two-division league then), at 52-17 with three ties.

If you’re wondering, the WHL record for longest winning streak in one season is 22 and is held by the 1967-78 Estevan Bruins. The Victoria Cougars actually won 24 straight from Feb. 6 1981, to Oct. 9, 1981, so that one was in overlapping seasons.

The 1978-79 Brandon Wheat Kings hold the record for longest unbeaten streak in one season, at 29 games. There were ties in those days. Remember? In overlapping the seasons, the Wheat Kings actually rattled off a 49-game unbeaten streak, from Feb. 11, 1978 through Dec. 7, 1978.

According to the Raiders’ website, they also tied the franchise record for consecutive road victories in a single season (6). They now share the record with that 1985-86 team.

Meanwhile, Leason extended his point streak to 24 games with the game’s first goal, at 13:34 of the first period. The WHL record for longest point streak was set at 56 by F Jeff Nelson of the Raiders in 1990-91.

Leason may have set a record for longest point streak to start a season, his 24-game heater breaking the mark that had been held by F Jeremy Reich of the Broncos to start the 1999-2000 season. Reich had the longest such streak since 1996-97, which is as far back as the WHL’s online statistics go.

The Raiders are next scheduled to play on Tuesday when they meet the Rebels in Red Deer. The Rebels beat the Raiders, 4-3, in Red Deer on Oct. 6.


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Brad Lukowich, a former WHL player and coach, is the new head coach of the Dallas Warriors. . . . The Warriors, according to their website, “were created to give our disabled U.S. military veterans a way to rehab through an amazing outlet. . . . The Warriors are highly active throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.” . . . A defenceman, Lukowich played three seasons with the Kamloops Blazers (1993-96) and was part of two Memorial Cup-championship teams. He also won two Stanley Cups in an NHL career that included 658 regular-season games. Lukowich also is a two-time Stanley Cup winner. He was an assistant coach with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 2013-14. . . . The Warriors’ website is right here.


SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

F Brayden Tracey took a penalty in OT and then he scored the winning goal, giving the MooseJawWarriorshost Moose Jaw Warriors a 3-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Moose Jaw (12-5-4) has points in seven straight (6-0-1). . . . Lethbridge (11-8-5) has points in three straight (2-0-1). . . . Both teams played the previous night, with the Hurricanes arriving in Moose from Brandon at around 3 a.m. This game started at 2:30 p.m. . . . Tracey, 17, was a first-round pick in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. . . . Tracey was penalized for tripping at 1:01 of OT, then scored his eighth goal of the season at 3:40 to end the game. He also had an assist, and now has eight goals and 14 helpers in 21 games. . . . The teams played through two scoreless periods. . . . F Tristin Langan (18), who also had two assists, gave the home side a 1-0 lead at 1:57 of the third period. . . . The visitors went ahead 2-1 on goals from F Taylor Ross (13), at 4:57, and F Keltie Jeri-Leon (5), at 9:53. . . . The Warriors tied it at 14:44 when D Josh Brook (7) scored on a PP. . . . Brook ran his point streak to seven games. He has two goals and 12 assists over that stretch. . . . Langan is riding an eight-game point streak, with eight goals and 11 assists over those games. . . . The Warriors won 40 of the game’s 64 faceoffs. . . . Lethbridge was without F Jadon Joseph, who drew a one-game suspension for a one-man fight in Friday’s 7-3 victory over the host Brandon Wheat Kings.


F Max Patterson scored at 12:26 of the second period and the goal stood up as the winner SCBroncosas the Swift Current Broncos got past the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings, 3-2. . . . The Broncos (4-18-2) had lost their previous five games (0-4-1). . . . The Oil Kings (14-9-4) had points in their previous two games (1-0-1). . . . The Broncos went into the game last in the Eastern Conference, 24 points behind the third-place Oil Kings. . . . The Broncos had taken a 2-0 lead on goals from F Andrew Fyten (5), at 19:46 of the first period, and F Ben King (5), on a PP, at 3:53 of the second. . . . The Oil Kings tied it with second-period goals 2:01 apart by F Brett Kemp (17) and D Ethan Cap (3), the latter on a PP. . . . Patterson, the son of former Seattle/Swift Current/Kamloops F Ed Patterson, scored his seventh goal at 12:26, just 15 seconds after Cap’s goal. . . . The Broncos got 29 saves, 14 of them in the third period, from G Isaac Poulter.


The Prince Albert Raiders set a franchise record with their 16th consecutive victory as PrinceAlbertthey bounced the Kootenay Ice, 5-1, in Cranbrook, B.C. . . . The Raiders (24-1-0) broke the franchise record for longest winning streak that had been set by the 1995-96 club. . . . The Ice (7-16-4) has lost five in a row (0-4-1). . . . Prince Albert held a 57-23 edge in shots. . . . Raiders F Brett Leason extended his point streak to 24 games with the game’s first goal, at 13:34 of the first period. Leason, who leads the WHL in goals (25), also had two assists. He also leads the WHL in points (54), two more than F Trey Fix-Wolansky of the Edmonton Oil Kings, who had one assist in a 3-2 loss to the Broncos in Swift Current. . . . F Ozzy Wiesblatt (4), F Parker Kelly (10), F Noah Gregor (11) and D Brayden Pachal (5) also scored for the Raiders, who built a 4-0 lead. . . . F Michael Milne scored his first WHL goal for the Ice. The 16-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., scored in his fifth career game, all of them this season. . . . G Donovan Buskey stopped 22 shots for the Raiders in his fourth appearance this season. . . . The Ice, already without F Peyton Krebs, lost F Cam Hausinger and F Connor McClennon. . . . Hausinger, while on his knees, appeared to take a punch to the back of the heat. He went straight to the dressing room and missed the final 47 minutes. . . . McClennon, the second-overall pick in the 2017 bantam draft, left in the second period after going awkwardly, left skate first, into the boards. He, too, went right to the room and didn’t play the final 23 minutes. . . . Without Krebs, Hausinger and McClennon, the Ice is down to nine healthy forwards.


F Bryan Lockner and F Tyler Preziuso each had two goals to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers Tigers Logo Officialto a 7-3 victory over the Rebels in Red Deer. . . . Medicine Hat (11-12-3) will play host to the Rebels on Wednesday night. . . . Red Deer (16-6-1) had won its previous five games. The Rebels are to entertain the Prince Albert Raiders on Tuesday. . . . The Tigers erased 2-0 and 3-2 deficits, and scored the game’s last five goals. . . . F Chris Douglas (6) gave the Rebels a 3-2 edge at 6:01 of the second period. . . . Preziuso, who has 10 goals, tied it at 14:13, and Lockner, who has seven, snapped the tie at 17:38. . . . F James Hamblin (10) added insurance, on a PP, at 18:46. . . . Third-period goals from Preziuso and D Trevor Longo (2) put it away. . . . Hamblin also had two assists, while Lockner added one for a three-point outing. . . . Lockner’s first career multi-goal game came in his 156th regular-season game.


The host Portland Winterhawks grabbed a 3-1 lead early in the second period and went Portlandon to a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Winterhawks (14-8-2) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Thunderbirds (8-12-3) have lost three in a row. . . . F Reece Newkirk (14) gave the Winterhawks a 1-0 lead, shorthanded, at 7:23 of the first period. . . . F Zack Andrusiak, who scored all three Seattle goals, tied it, on a PP, at 7:43. . . . The Winterhawks got two quick goals, albeit in different periods, to take that 3-1 lead. F Jaydon Dureau (3) counted at 18:58 of the first period and F Cody Glass (9) sniped, on a PP, just 28 seconds into the second. . . . Andrusiak got the Thunderbirds to within a goal at 5:05, but F Mason Mannek (7) got that one back for Portland at 18:43. . . . Andrusiak’s 15th goal of the season, at 19:15 of the third period, completed his third career hat trick. He also has goals in six straight games. . . . Glass ran his point streak to 11 games — he’s got five goals and 17 assists over that stretch. . . . Portland outshot Seattle, 45-18, including 22-6 in the first period. The Thunderbirds bot 41 stops from G Liam Hughes.


The Saskatoon Blades scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Cougars, 4-1, in SaskatoonPrince George. . . . Saskatoon (15-8-2) opened a B.C. Division tour with the game. . . . Prince George slipped to 10-11-3. . . . F Mike MacLean (3) gave Cougars a 1-0 lead at 2:04 of the first period. . . . Saskatoon F Max Gerlach (15) tied it, on a PP, at 3:45 and D Seth Bafaro (3) broke the tie at 19:37. . . . The Blades put it away with third-period goals from F Eric Florchuk (8) and F Kristian Roykas Marthinsen (7). . . . Saskatoon got 21 stops from G Nolan Maier. He now is 13-6-1, 2.68, .914. . . . The Blades will continue their B.C. Division tour in Langley, B.C., the home of the Vancouver Giants, on Tuesday and in Victoria on Wednesday.


Freshman F Adam Beckman scored twice to help the host Spokane Chiefs to a 3-1 victory SpokaneChiefsover the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Spokane (13-8-3) has won two in a row. . . . Kamloops now is 9-11-2. . . . The Blazers are 7-5-0 on the road — they went into this one having won six of their last seven away from home— but only 2-6-1 at home. They will entertain the Saskatoon Blades on Friday and the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday. . . . Beckman opened the scoring at 15:45 of the second period, with F Luke Toporowski (8) making it 2-0, shorthanded, at 18:26. . . . F Brodi Stuart (7) scored for Kamloops, on a PP, at 12:09 of the third period. . . . Beckman closed out the scoring with his 12th goal, into an empty net, at 18:58. He leads all first-year players in goals. . . . F Eli Zummack drew three assists for the Chiefs. . . . G Bailey Brkin stopped 17 shots for Spokane. . . . Kamloops starter Dylan Ferguson left after two periods, having turned aside 19 of 21 shots. Dylan Garand came on in relief and stopped all five shots he faced in 18:53. . . . F Jermaine Loewen, the Blazers’ captain, sat out his second straight game.


The Tri-City Americans scored twice in the shootout and beat the Calgary Hitmen, 3-2, in tri-cityKennewick, Wash. . . . The Americans (13-9-0) had lost three in a row. . . . The Hitmen (10-13-3) have points in three straight (2-0-1). They went 3-1-1 on their U.S. Division trek. . . . Calgary scored the game’s first two goals — F Riley Stotts (7), at 13:02 of the first period, and F Carson Focht (6), on a PP, at 4:12 of the second. . . . F Blake Stevenson (4) got the Americans to within a goal at 8:59 of the third period, and F Sasha Mutala (5) forced OT at 18:36. . . . The Americans got shootout goals from F Kyle Olson and F Isaac Johnson, while the Hitmen weren’t able to beat G Beck Warm, who stopped 38 shots through OT.


The Vancouver Giants built up a 4-0 lead en route to a 4-1 victory over the Victoria Royals Vancouverin Langley, B.C. . . . The Giants (16-6-2) have won two in a row. . . . The Royals (12-8-0) have lost two straight. . . . F Milos Roman (12), on a PP, F Davis Koch (6), F Jared Dmytriw (5), shorthanded, and F Justin Sourdif (6) have the Giants a 4-0 lead, the latter scoring at 11:09 of the third period. . . . F Tanner Sidaway (3) scored for the Royals at 16:17 of the third. . . . Koch, who has six goals and 17 assists in 24 games, has three goals and seven assists in a five-game point streak. . . . Koch’s goal was his 200th career regular-season point. It came in his 277th game. . . . G Trent Miner stopped 24 shots for the Giants. . . . G David Tendeck was on the Vancouver bench after a one-game absence.


F Connor Dewar scored twice, the second goal coming with 53.7 seconds left in the third Everettperiod, to give the host Everett Silvertips a 2-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Everett (18-7-1) has points in four straight (3-0-1). . . . Kelowna (11-14-1) had won its previous three games. . . . The Silvertips held a 42-18 edge in shots, including 16-5 in the first period and 19-7 in the third. The Rockets got 40 stops from G James Porter. . . . Dewar got the game’s first goal at 6:43 of the second period. . . . Kelowna F Kyle Topping (11) tied the score at 8:37 of the third period, on a PP. . . . Dewar won it with his 20th goal at 19:06. . . . Everett G Dustin Wolf stopped 17 shots, improving to 17-7-1, 1.84, .924. . . . The Silvertips lost D Gianni Fairbrother at 12:09 of the first period as he was hit with a headshot major and game misconduct. . . . Kelowna D Braydyn Chizen was back after a one-game absence. . . . Everett has won each of the past six games with Kelowna and is 10-0-3 in the last 13 meetings.


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Great Scott! Raiders goalie turns sniper as mates run win streak to 12 . . . Blichfeld, Glass (again) lead ‘Hawks . . . Giants romp past Pats

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Ian Scott of the Prince Albert Raiders became the eighth goaltender in WHL history to score a goal when he notched an empty-netter in a 3-1 victory over the visiting Tri-City Americans on Friday night.

On Wednesday, in a 2-0 victory over the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers, Scott had taken a shot at an empty net, only to have the puck hit the scoreclock in the Art Hauser Centre.

Given another opportunity two nights later, Scott made no mistake.

“He made a liar out of me. I thought it’d be tough in this building,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid told Jeff D’Andrea of panow.com. “He got good wood on that one, he hammered it and it went in. Last time it was a two-goal lead, and that time it was one, so I’m glad he hit the net or it would have been a faceoff in our end again. Good for him.”

Scott told D’Andrea: “I mentioned to Habby, maybe I not go so high, just kind of a bullet down the middle. I guess it worked out. I thought it was going to get picked off. It was a pretty congested middle . . . got lucky.”

D’Andrea’s complete story is right here.

——

Here’s a look at the other seven goaltenders who have WHL goals to their credit, in chronological order . . .

Nov. 29, 1989 — Olaf Kolzig, Tri-City Americans 5, Seattle Thunderbirds 2, at Kennewick, Wash. He grabbed a Seattle clearance behind his net and lofted a wrist shot the length of the ice and just inside the left post.

“That was the coolest thing, for sure,” Kolzig, who also had an assist, told Annie Fowler when she looked back six years ago.“Ron Hextall was my idol. He was the first to score. Up to that point, I hadn’t been having a good season. I got back from Washington (Capitals training camp) with a bad attitude. My save percentage and goals against weren’t worth anything at that point.

“They had pulled their goalie, and we were up 4-2. The puck went behind the net. I went back to get it, and I want to say I lifted it 20 feet in the air, but it was about three feet. By the time it was halfway down the ice, it started to curl, and it just went inside the post.”

——

Jan. 3, 1991 — Chris Osgood of the host Medicine Hat Tigers scored in a 4-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. Like Kolzig before him, Osgood fired the puck the length of the ice for his goal.
——

Dec. 29, 1992 — Jeff Calvert came on in relief for the Tacoma Rockets and scored a goal and added an assist as they erased a 4-0 deficit to beat the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors, 6-4.

Calvert, who is from Moose Jaw, had taken over for starter Todd MacDonald at 9:30 of the first period with Tacoma trailing, 3-0.

Former Tacoma defenceman Dallas Thompson once told me: “I would bet he was the only goalie in history to score in a game he never started.”

——

March 28, 1994 — Jason Clague of the Red Deer Rebels was credited with the winning goal in a 4-2 victory over the host Lethbridge Hurricanes. He is the only WHL goaltender to have scored a goal during a playoff game.

“It will likely get more humorous every time I tell the story, but I think the main thing for us tonight was winning the game,” Clague told Cameron Yoos of the Lethbridge Herald.

Yoos described the goal:

Clague’s historic marker came in the third period with Red Deer clinging to a 2-1 lead, its first lead in the series. On a delayed penalty call, Hurricanes goaltender Slan Matwijiw began skating to the bench for an extra attacker while teammate Dominic Pittis handled the puck behind the Rebels’ goal. Pittis spoiled Ivan Vologjaninov cruising through the slot and fed a pass lo the middle. Vologjaninov wound up for a one-time slapshot, but fanned on the puck, which then slid the length of the ice into the open goal.”

Matwijiw told Yoos: “It was kind of a sick feeling.”

——

March 5, 2004 — Jordan McLaughlin of the Prince George Cougars scored at 19:05 of the third period in a 4-1 victory over the host Vancouver Giants.

“This is definitely a career highlight for me,” McLaughlin said. “Every time a team pulls their goalie, the possibility of scoring is in the back of your mind. We had a two-goal lead and the puck was dumped perfectly into me, so I saw it as a perfect opportunity.”

——

Feb. 1, 2014 — Chris Driedger of the Calgary Hitmen was credited with a goal in a 5-2 loss to the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook, B.C.

Driedger was awarded the game’s first goal, at 5:45 of the first period, when, during a delayed penalty against Calgary F Jake Virtanen, Ice G Mackenzie Skapski headed to the bench for the extra attacker. Kootenay D Jagger Dirk whipped the puck around the boards to F Zach Franko, who attempted a pass to the point. However, the puck zipped past F Jaedon Descheneau, who had come of the bench as the extra attacker, and into the vacated net. Dreidger had made the save that led to Dirk getting the rebound. As the last Calgary player to touch the puck, Driedger was given the goal.

——

March 19, 2016 — Stuart Skinner of the Lethbridge Hurricanes gave his side an 8-3 lead in what would be a 9-3 victory over the host Medicine Hat Tigers.

“It was funny because before the period I (said) ‘If they pull their goalie, give me the puck,’ ” Skinner told Dale Woodard of the Lethbridge Herald. “Surprisingly enough, they dumped it in and I had an open chance. I got it over everyone and somehow it went it. So I’m pretty excited. I definitely felt good when it was in the air and when it went in it was a feeling I can’t really describe right now. It was a really exciting moment. I have shivers going through my whole body, so it’s really cool.”


“In moving on Thursday to free owners of the OHL from treating their employees as such ohlunder law,” writes Cathal Kelly of The Globe and Mail, “Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government congratulated itself on ‘protecting the long-term sustainability of local junior teams.’

“The government’s news release on the matter referred to its support of ‘the People Protecting Amateur Hockey,’ which would be a pretty good name for a secessionist group of Saskatchewan freedom fighters.

“The upshot here is that Ontario Hockey League players are excluded from the Employment Standards Act. They exist legally under the slippery formulation of ‘student athletics.’ ”

Kelly’s complete column is right here.


Byron Hackett of the Red Deer Advocate has joined the club advocating the death of the loser point, at least in the WHL. . . . The column that gained him admittance into the club is right here.


If you stop off here and enjoy what you see — or even if you don’t — feel free to click on the DONATE button over there on the right and make a contribution. Thanks in advance.


FRIDAY NIGHT HIGHLIGHTS:

F Ridley Greig had a goal and two assists to lead the host Brandon Wheat Kings to a 4-1 BrandonWKregularvictory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Brandon (10-4-6) has points in three straight (2-0-1). . . . Medicine Hat (9-11-3) has lost five in a row (0-4-1). . . . The home team took control with two first-period goals, from Greig (3) and F Linden McCorrister (4). . . . F Baxter Anderson (1) scored for the Tigers at 1:34 of the second period. . . . Brandon F Ben McCartney, who has four goals, put it away with a pair of third-period scores, Greig assisting on both of them. . . . Greig was playing his first game since returning from the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. Greig, 16, is from Lethbridge. He was the eighth-overall pick in the 2017 WHL bantam draft. This season, he has three goals and seven assists in 15 games. . . . G Ethan Kruger stopped 34 shots to earn the victory in his fourth appearance of the season. He is 2-0-2, 2.69, .915. . . . The Wheat Kings held a 53-35 edge in shots, including 26-7 in the first period. . . . G Jordan Hollett went the distance for the Tigers. . . . D Schael Higson, who hasn’t played for Brandon since Oct. 16, is back skating so could be nearing a return. He had 12 points, nine of them assists, in eight games when he went out.


G Ian Scott scored a goal and stopped 24 shots to help the Prince Albert Raiders to a 3-1 PrinceAlbertvictory over the visiting Tri-City Americans. . . . The Raiders (19-1-0) have won 12 in a row. . . . The Americans (12-7-0) are 7-3-0 on an 11-game road trip. They are 2-3-0 in the East Division. . . . On Wednesday night, Scott had taken a shot at an empty net, only to have the puck strike the scoreboard (see above tweet). In a similar play last night, Scott reached the promised land for goaltenders. . . . F Krystof Hrabik (6) gave the Americans a 1-0 lead at 1:11 of the third period. . . . D Sergei Sapego (6) tied it, on a PP, at 5:44. The Raiders claimed Sapego, who is from Belarus, on waivers from the Americans last season. . . . Raiders F Brett Leason drew an assist on Sapego’s goal to run his point streak to 20 games. . . . D Brayden Pachal (2) broke the tie at 7:06 and Scott added the insurance at 19:44. . . . This season, Scott is 16-1-0, 1.47, .947.


G Ethan Anders stopped 28 shots to lead the host Red Deer Rebels to a 7-0 victory over Red Deerthe Kelowna Rockets. . . . Red Deer (14-5-1) has won three in a row. . . . The Rockets (8-13-1) have lost four in a row (0-3-1) and are 1-3-1 on a six-game road trip. This was the third time they have been blanked this season and the second time in four games. . . . Anders has two shutouts this season and three in his career. This season, he is 12-4-1, 2.80, .922. . . . F Brandon Hagel (14) got the Rebels started with a shorthanded goal at 11:03 of the first period. Hagel also had two assists. . . . The Rebels got goals from seven different players, including F Dallon Melin (1) and F Jeff de Wit (13). . . . Red Deer was 2-4 on the PP and also scored twice while shorthanded.


G Jack McNaughton turned aside 19 shots as the Calgary Hitmen skated to a 5-0 victory Calgaryover the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook, B.C. . . . The Hitmen (7-12-2) have won two in a row. . . . The Ice is 7-13-3. . . . This was the Ice’s first home game since the Green Bay Committee, which had been struck in an attempt to sell tickets and sponsorships to aid the team, ceased operations on Tuesday. The committee cited a lack of engagement by the Ice’s ownership for the decision. . . . The announced attendance was 2,395 as they honoured the Cranbrook Colts, a team that started out in junior B and moved to junior A before folding when the Ice arrived in 1998. . . . McNaughton, a 17-year-old freshman from Calgary, posted his first WHL shutout in his 10th appearance. . . . F Ryder Korczak, who went into the game with two goals, scored twice for Calgary, opening the scoring at 6:26 of the first period and closing it at 19:49 of the third. . . . F Jake Kryski had a goal, his 10th, and an assist in his 299th regular-season game. . . . Calgary had a 42-19 edge in shots, including 19-5 in the third period.


F Taylor Ross scored in the fifth round of the shootout to give the host Lethbridge LethbridgeHurricanes a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Lethbridge improved to 9-6-4. . . . Edmonton (13-7-3) has points in 10 straight (8-0-2). . . . The Oil Kings thought they had won it at 1:38 of OT when they believed that F Trey Fix-Wolansky had scored. In fact, the Oil Kings left the Ice in celebration, but had to return when it was ruled no goal. . . . Edmonton took a 2-0 lead on second-period goals from F Vince Loschiavo (11), on a PP, and F Jalen Luypen (3). . . . F Jake Elmer got Lethbridge to within a goal at 4:32 of the third period, and Ross tied it at 18:52, with G Reece Klassen on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Klassen finished with 35 saves. . . . The Oil Kings gave G Dylan Myskiw his sixth straight start and he responded with 29 saves. They also have returned G Sebastian Cossa, who turns 16 on Nov. 21, to the midget AAA Fort Saskatchewan Rangers.


F Joachim Blickheld struck for three goals and added an assist to help the Portland PortlandWinterhawks to a 5-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Silvertips had beaten the visiting Winterhawks, 3-2 in a shootout, on Wednesday night. . . . Portland (13-6-2) has points in seven straight (6-0-1). . . . Everett (15-7-0) had won its previous five games. . . . F Jake Gricius (10) scored, on a PP, to give the Winterhawks a 1-0 lead at 3:40 of the first period. . . . F Jalen Price (3) tied it at 8:04. . . . Blichfeld scored the game’s next three goals, giving him a WHL-leading 20 snipes. He scored once in each period — at 10:09 of the first, 18:58 of the second and 3:05 of the third. . . . Blichfeld now has 43 points in 21 games and trails only Edmonton F Trey Fix-Wolansky in the scoring race. Fix-Wolansky has 46 points. . . . F Cody Glass had three assists for Portland. He has 38 points, 31 of them assists, in 18 games. . . . Glass is on an eight-game point streak, with 18 points, including 15 assists, in that stretch. . . . Everett F Connor Dewar had an 11-game point streak snapped. He put up 12 goals and nine assists over that time.


D Nolan Reid scored twice as the Spokane Chiefs doubled the visiting Seattle SpokaneChiefsThunderbirds, 4-2. . . . The Chiefs (11-7-3) have won three in a row. . . . The Thunderbirds ((7-9-2) have lost seven straight (0-6-1). . . . F Carter Chorney (8) got the Chiefs started at 11:13 of the first period, with F Zack Andrusiak (9) scoring shorthanded at 2:52 of the second for Seattle. . . . Reid, who has five goals, broke the tie at 1:26 of the third period and F Adam Beckman (9) provided the Chiefs with a 3-1 lead at 10:50. . . . Seattle F Tyler Carpendale (1) and Reid, with an empty-netter, traded goals down the stretch. . . . The Chiefs remain without injured F Jake McGrew.


F Milos Roman scored twice and added an assist, while F Davis Koch had three assists, Vancouverhelping the Vancouver Giants to a 10-4 victory over the Regina Pats in Langley, B.C. . . . Vancouver improved to 14-4-2, while the Pats (7-14-0) lost their second in a row. . . . The Giants took control with the game’s first four goals, all in the first 15 minutes. . . . Roman now has 10 goals. . . . F Tristen Nielsen scored twice for Vancouver his first goals since coming over from the Calgary Hitmen in a deal that had F James Malm go the other way. . . . F Yannik Valenti also had two Vancouver goals, giving him four. . . . F Nick Henry had three goals and an assist for Regina, with F Jake Leschyshyn getting a goal and two assists. Henry has 11 goals; Leschyshyn has 14. . . . Vancouver outshot Regina, 45-28, including 19-10 in the first period and 17-8 in the second. . . . The Pats were without F Logan Nijhoff, who served a one-game suspension after he took a boarding major and game misconduct during a 5-2 loss to the host Kootenay Ice on Tuesday.


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Silvertips ride bus to three wins . . . Blichfeld, Glass spark ‘Hawks. Again . . . DiLaura posts first shutout


MacBeth

F Matt Pufahl (Red Deer, Saskatoon, Everett, 2010-14) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Zvolen (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, he had one assist in six games with the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL), while on loan from the Colorado Eagles (AHL). He had been recalled and released by Colorado on Oct. 30. . . .

F Marek Tvrdoň (Vancouver, Kelowna, 2010-14) has been released by Klagenfurt II (Austria, Alps HL) after the end of a tryout contract. He had three goals and three assists in six games. Earlier this season, he had one goal in four games with Saryarka Karaganda (Kazakhstan, Russia Vysshaya Liga).


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SUNDAY NIGHT HIGHLIGHTS:

F Connor Bouchard scored in the seventh round of a shootout to give the Tri-City tri-cityAmericans a 3-2 victory over the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . The Americans improved to 11-5-0. This was Game 7 of an 11-game road trip for the Americans. They are 6-1-0, including 1-1-0 in the East Division. . . . The Wheat Kings are 9-4-6. . . F Stelio Mattheos gave Brandon a 1-0 lead with his WHL-leading 18th goal, at 18:51 of the first period. . . . The Americans took a 2-1 lead on second-period goals from F Riley Sawchuk (8) and F Blake Stevenson (3). . . . F Luka Burzan (13) got Brandon into a 2-2 tie, on a PP, at 3:18 of the third period. . . . F Isaac Johnson scored for the Americans in the third round of the shootout, but F Ben McCartney then tied it. . . . That left it for Bouchard, who had two assists, to win it.


F Reese Johnson scored in OT to give the visiting Red Deer Rebels a 3-2 victory over the Red DeerSwift Current Broncos. . . . Red Deer (13-5-1) has won two in a row. . . . The Broncos (3-16-2) has lost three in a row. . . . Swift Current grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals from F Ben King (4) and F Max Patterson (5), the latter at 0:40 of the second period. . . . F Zak Smith (11) got the Rebels on the scoreboard at 1:27 of the second period and F Josh Tarzwell (3) tied it at 19:34. . . . Johnson won it with his ninth goal at 1:00 of OT. . . . The teams had nine shots apiece in the first period; the Rebels held a 39-8 edge after that point, including 19-3 in the second period and 16-5 in the third. . . . Swift Current G Joel Hofer stopped 44 shots. Despite a 2-11-2 record and a 4.32 GAA, he has a .900 save percentage. . . . F Brandon Hagel, the Rebels’ leading scorer, didn’t play. He played Friday and Saturday games and may have tweaked something that had been bothering him, so was rested. . . . D Jacob Herauf, who was injured on Friday and sat out Saturday, played in this one. . . . Swift Current had F Owen Blocker and D Garrett Sambrook back after brief absences. . . . The Rebels played three road games in fewer than 48 hours and went 2-1-0. . . . The Broncos also played three games in fewer than 48 hours. They went 0-2-1.


F Carson Focht and F James Malm each had a goal and three assists to lead the Calgary CalgaryHitmen to a 7-3 victory over the visiting Kootenay Ice. . . . Calgary (6-12-2) had lost its previous three games. . . . Kootenay (6-12-3) has lost five in a row. . . . F Riley Stotts gave Calgary a 2-1 lead at 9:10 of the second period and the Hitmen took control with two more goals, from Malm (11), at 10:37 of the second and D Egor Zamula (3), on a PP, at 7:09 of the third. . . . The Ice got to within 4-3 on third-period goals from D Martin Bodak (4) and F Brett Davis (7), but Calgary F Tye Carriere (2) scored 15 seconds later and Calgary later got two more goals. . . . Stotts finished with two goals, giving him three, and an assist. . . . Focht has four goals. . . . Calgary outshot the Ice, 44-32, including 23-8 in the third period. . . . Kootenay went 0-3-0 in playing three games in fewer than 48 hours.


The Everett Silvertips scored the game’s last three goals to beat the host Kamloops EverettBlazers, 5-2. . . . Everett (14-6-0) has won four straight. . . . Kamloops (6-9-2) had lost four in a row (0-3-1). . . . Everett has won all three meetings with the Blazers this season outscoring them 18-5 in the process. . . . The Silvertips won 7-2 in Kamloops on Friday night, then beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-1, on Saturday, before getting back on the bus and returning to Kamloops for Sunday’s game. . . . The Silvertips now are 11-0-0 when they score the game’s first goal. . . . F Connor Dewar (15) broke a 2-2 tie at 4:59 of the third period and F Jackson Berezowski (4) added insurance at 14:31. . . . G Max Palaga, who is from Kamloops and spent last season with the Blazers, made his first start with the Silvertips, who acquired him in a trade last week. He stopped 26 shots to earn the victory. . . . G Dustin Wolf had started Everett’s first 19 games. Last season, while backing up Carter Hart, Wolf made 20 appearances. He finished 13-6-0 last season; this season, he is 13-6-0. . . . Kamloops G Dylan Ferguson started the game but left at 8:17 of the second period after somehow managing to cut a finger. He stopped 15 of 17 shots. He was replaced by Rayce Ramsay, who was beaten twice on 15 shots. With Dylan Garand set to return from the U-17 World Hockey Challenge, Ramsay will return today to the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. . . . In a couple of games that promise to be interesting this week, the Portland Winterhawks visit Everett on Wednesday and the Silvertips are in Portland on Friday. . . . The Silvertips lead the U.S. Division by three points over the Winterhawks.


F Joachim Blichfeld scored twice and F Cody Glass had three assists to lead the host PortlandPortland Winterhawks to a 4-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Portland (12-6-1) has won five in a row. . . . Kelowna (8-12-0) has lost two straight. . . . The Winterhawks had beaten the visiting Rockets, 3-0, on Saturday night. . . . The Rockets went 1-2-0 in playing three games in fewer than 48 hours. They had beaten host Seattle, 3-1, on Friday. . . . F Mason Mannek (5), at 15:10 of the first period, and Blichfeld, at 5:55 of the second, gave Portland a 2-0 lead. . . . F Kyle Crosby (2) scored for Kelowna at 9:46, but F Reece Newkirk (12) got that one back, while shorthanded, at 11:08. . . . F Mark Liwiski (1) pulled the visitors to within one at 16:01. . . . Blichfeld added insurance with his 17th goal, at 8:12 of the third period. . . . Blichfeld has 39 points, including 22 assists, in 19 games. . . . Glass now has 34 points, 27 of them assists, in 16 games.


G Isaiah DiLaura blocked 26 shots to lead the Prince George Cougars to a 1-0 victory over PrinceGeorgethe Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C. . . . The Cougars (8-8-3) had dropped a 2-1 decision to the Giants on Saturday. . . . Vancouver (13-4-2) had won its previous three games. . . . DiLaura, an 18-year-old from Lakeville, Minn., record his first career shutout. This was his sixth appearance of the season; he got into 14 games last season. This time around, he is 3-2-1, 2.38, .926. . . . F Ethan Browne (4) scored the game’s only goal, on a PP, at 8:00 of the first period. . . . G David Tendeck stopped 31 shots for the Giants.


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Leason, Raiders freeze out Ice . . . King gives Broncos an OT victory . . . Ams’ Warm too hot for Silvertips


ThisThat

The Edmonton Oil Kings announced Friday afternoon that F Ty Gerla “has left the team to pursue opportunities outside of hockey.” . . . Gerla, 19, is from Calgary. . . . He was pointless in seven games this season. . . . Last season, he had three goals and 15 assists in 59 games, after putting up five goals and six assists in 43 games as a freshman in 2016-17. . . .

Meanwhile, the Regina Pats announced earlier in the day that D Jonas Harkins “is no longer with the team and has gone home to B.C.” . . . Harkins, 18, had one assist in 10 games this season. In 34 career regular-season games, split evenly between the Prince George Cougars and the Pats, he has two assists. . . . The son of former Cougars GM Todd Harkins, Jonas was dealt to Regina on Jan. 5 in a deal that also included F Jesse Gabrielle.


Last week, Hartley Miller of 94.3 The Goat in Prince George posted another edition of Cat Scan, a podcast that deals with the Cougars. Miller provides colour on home game broadcasts, so follows the Cougars closely. In this edition, he chats with Eric Brewer, the former NHL/WHL defenceman who is one of the franchise’s six owners. It’s interesting and it’s all right here.


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FRIDAY NIGHT NOTES:

F Max Gerlach scored twice to help the Saskatoon Blades to a 5-2 victory over the Warriors in Moose Jaw. . . . Saskatoon improved to 10-6-2. . . . The Warriors (6-5-3) had points in each of their previous two games (1-0-1). . . . F Kirby Dach (11) gave the Blades a 2-1 lead at 12:57 of the second period and they weren’t caught after that. . . . Gerlach, who has 10 goals, gave the visitors a 3-1 lead at 15:16, then made it 4-2 at 17:01 of the third period. . . . Saskatoon had a 36-26 edge in shots. . . . Moose Jaw associate coach Mark O’Leary is at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge.


F Brett Leason scored twice and added two assists as the host Prince Albert Raiders PrinceAlbertbounced the Kootenay Ice, 7-2. . . . Prince Albert (16-1-0) has won nine in a row. Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) reports that the Raiders have trailed for only two minutes 44 seconds in those nine victories. . . . Kootenay (6-8-3) had won its previous two games. It is 2-1-0 on a four-game trip into Saskatchewan. . . . Leason leads the WHL in goals (17) and points (39). He has at least a point in each of his 17 games this season. Leason, 19, finished last season with 16 goals and 17 assists in 66 games. . . . The Raiders scored the game’s first three goals, two of them via the PP, to take control. Leason’s first goal, at 3:33 of the third period, gave them a 6-1 lead. . . . F Parker Kelly (7) scored a shorthanded goal for the Raiders at 16:32 of the second period. That was the Raiders’ 10 shorthanded goal of the season; they have allowed only six PP goals. . . . Kootenay D Dallas Hines and F Brett Davis each played in his 200th regular-season game. Hines, 20, who was a fifth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft, has played only with the Ice. Davis, 19, played 85 games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes before moving on to the Ice. The Hurricanes selected him in the fourth round of the 2014 bantam draft. . . .The Ice added D Anson McMaster, 16, to its roster for the game. From Siksika, Alta., he was a second-round pick in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft. The 6-foot-4, 175-pounder has one goal and six assists with the midget AAA Okotoks Oilers. . . . The Raiders had F Cohner Saleski, 16, and D Nolan Allan, 15, in their lineup. Saleski, a first-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft, had one assist in two games earlier this season. He has seven goals and 10 assists in 12 games with the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos. Allan was pointless in two earlier games with the Raiders. He has seven goals and eight assists in 15 games with the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers. . . . The Raiders were without D Kaiden Guhle and F Ozzy Wiesblatt, both of whom are at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. Thus the need to add Saleski and Allan. . . . Prince Albert had D Sergei Sapego back after a three-game absence due to illness.


The Edmonton Oil Kings scored the game’s first five goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the Pats in Regina. . . . The Oil Kings (10-7-1) have won five in a row. This was the opener of a six-game road trip. . . . The Pats fell to 4-12-0. They are 1-9-0 at home. . . . F Brett Kemp (10) scored twice for Edmonton, providing 2-0 and 3-0 leads, and added an assist. . . . Edmonton F Trey Fix-Wolansky had four assists. He has five goals and 13 assists in his last six games, and leads the WHL with 25 assists. . . . D Brady Pouteau was in Regina’s lineup for the first time this season after recovering from off-season shoulder surgery. . . . F Dylan Guenther, the first-overall selection in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft, made his debut with the Oil Kings. From Edmonton, Guenther has 15 goals and 10 assists in 12 games with the Northern Alberta X-Treme prep team.


F Noah King scored in OT to give the host Swift Current Broncos a 5-4 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Broncos (2-14-1) had lost their previous eight games (0-7-1). Both of their victories this season have come in extra time. They beat the Wheat Kings in Brandon, 3-2 in a shootout, on Oct. 13. . . . The Hurricanes (7-5-4) have lost two in a row (0-1-1). . . . F Ty Kolle (4) gave Lethbridge a 4-3 lead with a PP goal at 17:14 of the third period. . . . The Broncos tied it when D Connor Horning (3) scored on the PP at 19:24. . . . King won it at 2:59 of extra time with his second goal of the season. . . . D Alex Moar, who was acquired from the Everett Silvertips during the week, had the primary assist on the winner. . . . Lethbridge F Jadon Joseph ran his point streak to 10 games with his eighth goal, on a PP.


F James Malm, in his first game with his new club, broke a 5-5 tie at 18:42 of the third period as the Calgary Hitmen beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 7-5. . . . Calgary (5-9-2) had lost its previous three games. . . . Medicine Hat (8-7-2) had points in its previous three games (2-0-1). . . . F Jake Kryski (9), who also had two assists, had given Calgary a 5-4 lead at 10:11 of the third period. . . . D Cole Clayton (2) pulled the Tigers even at 13:04. . . . Malm snapped the tie at 18:42. He has 10 goals, nine of them with the Vancouver Giants, who dealt him to Calgary for F Tristen Nielsen during the week. . . . Calgary F Mark Kastelic (14) iced it with an empty-netter. He finished with two goals and an assist.


F Stelio Mattheos scored twice, including the OT winner, as the Brandon Wheat Kings BrandonWKregularbeat the Blazers, 3-2, in Kamloops. . . . Brandon (8-3-5) has points in three straight (2-0-1). It is 2-2-2 on a seven-game trip that ends tonight in Kelowna. The Wheat Kings are 2-1-1 in the B.C. Division portion of their road swing. . . . Kamloops (6-6-2) had won its previous four games. . . . Mattheos, who has 16 goals, pulled Brandon into a 1-1 tie at 19:51 in a goal that was counted after video review. Brandon crashed the net and the puck got across the goal line. Referee Steve Papp ruled ‘no goal’ because the net was off its moorings before the puck crossed the line. However, video review proved otherwise. . . . D Chase Hartje (2) gave Brandon a 2-1 lead at 7:05 of the third period. . . . Kamloops D Luke Zazula (2) tied it at 13:47. . . . The Wheat Kings won it when F Linden McCorrister hit Mattheos with a long pass and he went in to score at 3:34. . . . This game featured two goaltenders whose NHL rights belong to the Vegas Golden Knights. Brandon’s Jiri Patera, a 19-year-old from Czech Republic, was selected in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2017 draft. He has yet to sign an NHL deal. . . . Ferguson, 20, was taken by the Dallas Stars in the seventh round of that draft and later traded to Vegas. . . . Ferguson has signed with the Golden Knights. . . . Patera played last season with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders so isn’t a stranger to North America. . . . Both goaltenders were outstanding, too. Ferguson finished with 38 saves, while Patera turned aside 32.


F Cody Glass had a goal and three assists to help the host Portland Winterhawks to a 7-3 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Portland (8-6-1) had lost its previous three games. . . . Victoria slipped to 9-4-0. . . . The Winterhawks took a 3-1 lead into the second period, only to have the Royals tied it on second-period goals from F Kaid Oliver (11), at 3:11, and F D-Jay Jerome (8), at 8:31. . . . Portland replied with the game’s last four goals. . . . F Ryan Hughes (5) broke the tie at 15:04 of the second, and F Joachim Blichfeld (11) added insurance at 9:55 of the third period. . . . D Jared Freadrich (2), who was acquired from Victoria in May, had Portland’s first goal. . . . D Brendan De Jong (4), who is from Victoria, had the Winterhawks’ second goal. . . . Glass now has 250 career regular-season points, including 85 goals, in 214 games, all with Portland. This season, he has six goals and 21 assists in 13 games.


The host Prince George Cougars scored four times in the first period and went on to a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Cougars (6-7-3) had lost their previous four games (0-2-2). . . . Seattle (7-5-2) has lost two straight. . . . F Josh Maser (5) got the Cougars started just 41 seconds into the game. D Joel Lakusta (3), F Vladislav Mikhalchuk (3) and F Tyson Upper (2) added goals before the first period ended. . . . The home team held a 17-7 edge in first-period shots. . . . Seattle got its goal from F Samuel Huo (2) at 19:22 of the third period. . . . The Cougars got 21 stops from G Isaiah DiLaura.


G Beck Warm stopped 53 shots to lead the visiting Tri-City Americans to a 4-2 victory tri-cityover the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Americans (10-4-0) have won six in a row. . . . Everett (10-6-0) had won its previous three games. . . . The Silvertips held a 55-16 edge in shots, including 26-5 in the third period. . . . Tri-City F Sasha Mutala (4) broke a 1-1 tie at 7:06 of the second period, just 21 seconds after F Connor Dewar (11) had scored for the home team. . . . F Nolan Yaremko (11) gave the Americans a 3-1 lead at 19:24. That goal turned into the winner after F Riley Sutter (8) scored for Everett at 12:35 of the third. . . . F Parker AuCoin (10) got the empty-netter for Tri-City. . . . The Silvertips are without head coach Dennis Williams, who is at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in New Brunswick, through Nov. 10. In his absence, assistants Harry Mahood and Louis Mass are running things.


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Trumpeting Recchi in Kamloops . . . Winnipeg report has Ice ‘months away’ from possible move . . . Lots of notes from around the WHL


ThisThat

On Oct. 11, in this very space, I wrote a short piece about the Kamloops Blazers looking to put together a cheerleading team in the hopes of improving the atmosphere in their home arena, the Sandman Centre.

I ended the piece with this: “Might I be so bold as to suggest a trumpet player? If it was good enough for the Montreal Forum . . .”

I am pleased to report that on Friday at 6:17 p.m., while seated in the cozy confines of the press box, I heard a trumpeter — Jerome Lidster — break out the theme from Hockey Night in Canada.

Later, he played a darn fine O Canada!

Unfortunately, the man and his horn weren’t heard from again.

Please give us more.


The Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that “the Western Hockey League’s long-rumoured Kootenaynewreturn to Winnipeg could be only months away from coming to fruition.” . . . Veteran sports reporter Mike Sawatzky, who is familiar with the WHL having covered the Brandon Wheat Kings more than a few years ago, writes: “Owners of the WHL’s Kootenay Ice are believed to be considering a plan to move their franchise to Winnipeg in time for the start of the 2019-20 season, sources have told the Free Press.” . . . According to Sawatzky, the relocated Ice would play at the U of Manitoba’s Wayne Fleming Arena until a new 5,000-seat arena is built in conjunction with “the Rink Hockey Academy’s new training facility currently under construction at the west end of South Landing, just off McGillivray Boulevard.” . . . Sawatzky’s complete story is right here.


The Kelowna Rockets settled on their three 20-year-olds by adding F Lane Zablocki to their roster and releasing Ryan Bowen. . . . They had acquired Zablocki’s rights from the Victoria Royals on Sept. 29, giving up a conditional seventh-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft and a conditional fourth-rounder in 2021. Zablocki, who won’t turn 20 until Dec. 27, was injured at the time of the trade and didn’t get into a game until Friday night in Victoria. . . . Zablocki played for three teams last season. He had nine goals and 10 assist in 31 games with the Red Deer Rebels, two goals and four assists in nine games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and a goal and five assists in 25 games with Victoria. In 201 regular-season games,  he has 58 goals and 64 assists. . . . Bowen was pointless in seven games with the Rockets. He also has played with the Moose Jaw Warriors and Lethbridge. In 150 career games, he has 21 goals and 36 assists. . . . The Rockets also own the WHL rights to Bowen’s brother, Ethan, 16. Kelowna selected Ethan in the second round of the 2017 bantam draft. He has committed to the North Dakota Fighting Hawks for 2020-21 and presently is with the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs. . . . The Rockets’ other 20-year-olds are D Braydyn Chizen and D Dalton Gally.


At least three players have been released by their WHL teams. . . . The Seattle Thunderbirds have dropped D Payton McIsaac, who will turn 18 on Dec. 26, from their roster. From Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., he was pointless in four games this season. He was a second-round pick by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2015 bantam draft. He had one assist in 12 games over three seasons with the Blades. . . . The Moose Jaw Warriors have released F Brecon Wood, who is to turn 18 on Dec. 5. From Edmonton, he had one goal in seven games this season. In the previous two seasons, he had four goals and two assists in 84 games with the Warriors, who selected him in the seventh round of the 2015 bantam draft. . . . The Edmonton Oil Kings have dropped F Logan Moon, 18, from their roster. From Beaverlodge, Alta., he had yet to get into a game this season and was dropped after the team returned from its U.S. Division trip. He played last season with the AJHL’s Grande Prairie Storm. The Oil Kings selected him in the ninth round of the 2015 bantam draft.


F Lukas Sillinger, a sixth-round pick by the Regina Pats in the 2015 WHL bantam draft, has committed to attend North Dakota and play for the Fighting Hawks. From Regina, Sillinger, 18, is the son of former NHL/WHL F Mike Sillinger. . . . Lukas is in his second season with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. This season, he has one goal and one assist in one game. Last season, he finished with seven goals and 13 assists in 56 games.


The Prince George Cougars have released F Max Kryski, 18, and he has joined the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters. Kryski, from Kelowna, will remain on the Cougars’ protected list. This season, Kryski was pointless in four games with the Cougars. Last season, he had eight goals and two assists in 62 games. . . . He is a younger brother of Calgary Hitmen F Jake Kryski, 20.


The WHL’s Dept. of Discipline was busy again on Thursday as three more playes drew suspensions. . . . F Riley Bruce of the Tri-City Americans was hit with a four-game sentence under supplemental discipline for something that happened during a 5-4 loss to the host Seattle Thunderbirds on Tuesday. Unfortunately, the WHL doesn’t add explainers to suspensions such as these so fans are left to wonder what happened. . . . D Max Martin of the Prince Albert Raiders got a three-game suspension under supplemental discipline for something that happened during an 8-4 victory over the visiting Calgary Hitmen on Tuesday. Again, because the WHL doesn’t add explainers, you are free to guess at what happened. . . . F Brady Nicholas of the Saskatoon Blades has been suspended for two games after taking a kneeing major and game misconduct during a 5-4 OT loss to the visiting Hitmen on Wednesday night. He hit Calgary D Vladislav Yeryomenko, who missed a couple of shifts but came back to finish the game.


ICYMI, F Ryan Vandervlis has rejoined the Lethbridge Hurricanes as he continues to recover from horrendous burns he suffered on June 15 in a campfire explosion at a home near Calgary. Vandervlis, 20, has lost about 30 pounds and is a long ways from returning to game action, but he has come miles from when he was in a medically induced coma after the accident. . . . Lara Fominoff of lethbridgenewsnow.com has more right here.


The OHL’s Flint Firebirds introduced Eric Wellwood, 28, as their new head coach on ohlThursday. He takes over from Ryan Oulahen, who was in his third season when he resigned earlier this month. At that point, the Firebirds were 0-7-0. Then then lost two more games under interim head coach Greg Stefan. . . . Wellwood, whose NHL career was halted by injuries, was an associate coach with the Firebirds in 2016-17, under Oulahen. As a player with the Windsor Spitfires, Wellwood won two Memorial Cups. He won another as an assistant coach with the Oshawa Generals.


F Mackenzie Wight, 19, who left the Swift Current Broncos earlier this month, has joined the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs. Wight, who is from Burnaby, B.C., was pointless in two games with the Broncos this season, after recording a goal and three assists in 55 games last season. . . . In 74 regular-season games, six with the Seattle Thunderbirds and 68 with the Broncos, he has two goals and three assists. . . . This is his second stint with the Bulldogs; he had six goals and six assists in 27 games with them in 2016-17.


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FRIDAY NIGHT NOTES:

F Stelio Mattheos scored three times, the last one into an empty net, as the host Brandon BrandonWKregularWheat Kings dumped the Everett Silvertips, 5-2. . . . Everett (6-4-0), which had won three in a row, started its East Division swing with the game. . . . Mattheos now has 11 goals for Brandon (6-1-2). . . . G Jiri Patera continued his fine start for Brandon, this time with 36 stops. The Czech freshman is 6-1-1, 3.00, .919. . . . Everett F Connor Dewar was given a cross-checking major and game misconduct at 14:32 of the third period. . . . Jordin Tootoo, who played his major junior career with the Wheat Kings, announced his retirement from hockey at a pregame news conference, then took part in the ceremonial faceoff.


The Tri-City Americans erased a 2-0 deficit with four straight goals and beat the Seattle tri-cityThunderbirds, 4-2, in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Seattle (6-2-1) had points in five straight (4-0-1). . . . The Americans improved to 4-4-0. . . . F Parker AuCoin broke a 2-2 tie at 14:51 of the third period, then added the empty-netter for his sixth goal. . . . F Nolan Yaremko drew three assists for the winners. . . . The Americans will play their next 11 games on the road, starting tonight against the Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash. The road trip also includes a six-game swing through the East Division. They won’t play at home again until Nov. 23.


F Brandon Hagel scored four times to lead the visiting Red Deer Rebels to a 5-2 victory Red Deerover the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Hagel has eight goals this season. He gave the Rebels a 2-0 lead at 1:08 of the first period, made it 3-1 at 1:16 of the second, completed his fourth career hat trick at 8:04 of the second for a 4-2 lead, and rounded out the scoring with his fourth goal, at 7:25 of the third. . . . G Ethan Anders blocked 41 shots for Red Deer. . . . The Rebels (6-3-1) had lost their previous two games (0-1-1). . . . Edmonton (5-7-1) opened the season with five victories, but has gone 0-7-1 since then.


F Kirby Dach scored two goals, including the winner in OT, and added an assist to give Saskatoonthe Saskatoon Blades a 3-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Dach tied the game, 2-2, at 19:59 of the second period and won it with his seventh goal of the season just 37 seconds into extra time. . . . Dach, who almost certainly will be a top 10 pick in the NHL’s 2019 draft, has 22 points, including 15 assists, in 12 games. . . . The Blades (8-3-1) had lost their previous two games (0-1-1). . . . The Chiefs (6-2-3) are 3-1-1 on their East Division swing. . . . Saskatoon D Dawson Davidson ran his point streak to nine games with an assist. He has 19 points, including 15 assists, this season. . . . Saskatoon got 41 saves from G Nolan Maier.


The Portland Winterhawks scored the game’s last four goals and beat the visiting PortlandVancouver Giants, 5-3. . . . F Cody Glass (4) tied the score, 3-3, at 12:29 of the third period and F Reece Newkirk (7) have Portland its first lead at 13:39. . . . F Ryan Hughes (3) added the empty-netter. . . . Glass also added an assist, while linemate Joachim Blichfeld had two helpers. . . . F Jake Gricius scored two Portland goals in his 150th career game. . . . Portland (6-3-1) will meet the Giants again tonight, this time in Langley, B.C. . . . Vancouver (9-2-1) had points in eight straight (7-0-1). . . . The Winterhawks had D Matthew Quigley back for the first time since he was injured during a game in Kamloops on Oct. 5. Blazers F Jermaine Loewen drew a four-game suspension for the high hit, a suspension he completed Friday night.


The Calgary Hitmen opened up a 4-0 lead en route to a 5-1 victory over the Warriors in CalgaryMoose Jaw. . . . F Mark Kastelic (8) scored twice and added an assist for Calgary (3-6-2) which has won two in a row. . . . The Warriors (4-3-2) had points in each of their previous six games (4-0-2). . . . G Carl Stankowski stopped 30 shots for the Hitmen. . . . Calgary was 2-for-3 on the PP.


The Medicine Hat Tigers forced OT with two late third-period goals and then won it on a Tigers Logo Officialpenalty shot as they beat the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-3. . . . The Hurricanes had a 3-1 lead with less than two minutes left in the third period when F Tyler Preziuso (4) scored at 18:09 to get the Tigers to within a goal. . . . F Ryan Jevne (4) tied it at 19:06. . . . F James Hamblin (6) won it on a penalty shot at 4:08. . . . Tigers D Linus Nassen finished with a goal, his second, and two assists. . . . Medicine Hat (6-5-1) has won three in a row. . . . Lethbridge (4-4-3) has lost three straight (0-1-2). . . . They’ll play again tonight, this time in Lethbridge.


F Josh Pillar broke a 3-3 tie at 16:48 of the third period and the Kamloops Blazers went on Kamloops1to a 5-3 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos. . . . The 16-year-old Pillar, from Warman, Sask., was a first-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. . . . F Logan Stankoven, who is from Kamloops, drew an assist, his first WHL point in his first game, on the winner. Stankoven was the fifth-overall pick in the 2018 bantam draft. He will be back with the major midget Thompson Blazers, who play out of Kamloops, for a Saturday afternoon game. . . . Kamloops had lost its previous seven games (0-6-1) after opening the season with a pair of victories. . . . The Broncos (1-10-0) have lost three in a row, all on a B.C. Division swing. They have been outshot 146-52 over those three losses. . . . Broncos F Max Patterson, who is from Kamloops, had a goal and an assist. He pulled the visitors into a 3-3 tie at 6:38 of the third period, on a PP. . . . Kamloops D Luc Zazula left in the first period after taking a hard hit against the end boards that left him woozy. He didn’t return. . . . Blazers F Jermaine Loewen sat out as he completed a four-game suspension. . . . It was Mark Recchi Hall of Fame Night as the Blazers saluted the local star who went on to win three Stanley Cups during a lengthy NHL career. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November. Recchi now is an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins and is a co-owner of the Blazers. . . . Rick Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, was in attendance and presented Recchi with a WHL Alumni Achievement Award during a 30-minute pregame ceremony.


D Lassi Thomson and F Liam Kindree had four-point outings as the Kelowna Rockets KelownaRocketswhipped the Royals, 8-2, in Victoria. . . . F Dante Hannoun (6) gave the Royals a 2-1 lead at 10:47 of the second period but it was all Rockets after that. . . . Thomson finished with two goals, giving him six, and two assists, with Kindree adding his second goal and three assists. . . . Kelowna (3-9-0) was 4-for-6 on the PP and 6-for-6 on the PK. . . . The Royals (8-2-0) are 6-2-0 at home. . . . The Royals scratched G Griffen Outhouse, who had started eight of the team’s first nine games. With him out, Brock Gould made his second start, stopping 16 of 22 shots in 40:51. Joel Grzybowski was brought in from the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars to back him up and came on in the third period to stop eight of 10 shots. . . . A note from the Royals’ post-game news release points out that Gould “stopped Kelowna’s Leif Mattson on a penalty shot. Since their inaugural season in 2011-12, Victoria has had 19 penalty shots taken against it and has only allowed three goals.”


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Rockets add d-man from Tigers . . . Philp fills up in Kelowna . . . Glass, Blichfeld spark Winterhawks


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D Brenden Kichton (Spokane, 2008-13) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with SaiPa Lappeenranta (Finland, Liiga). Last season, he had four goals and 20 assists in 63 games with the Charlotte Checkers (AHL).


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The WHL’s 20-year-old deadline came and went on Wednesday and featured one trade.

The Medicine Hat Tigers got down to the maximum of three 20s by sending D Dalton Tigers Logo OfficialGally to the Kelowna Rockets for a 10th-round selection in the 2020 bantam draft.

Gally had been scratched from four straight games after D Dylan MacPherson and D Linus Nassen were returned by the NHL’s Florida Panthers. Both skaters had been in camp with the Panthers’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.

F Ryan Jevne is the Tigers’ third 20-year-old player.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Gally, from Eagle River, Alaska, played 135 regular-season games with the Tigers, totalling three goals and 18 assists. This season, he was pointless in five games. Last season, he put up two goals and 10 assists in 72 games.

Gally was a sixth-round pick by the Calgary Hitmen in the 2013 bantam draft.

The Tigers actually didn’t have to get down to three 20s on Wednesday; in fact, they had . MacPherson and Nassen returned on Oct. 2, and WHL teams are given 14 days in which to get down to the maximum in a situation where a player or players come back from a pro team.

With Gally in town, the Rockets will have four 20-year-olds on their roster, the others KelownaRocketsbeing F Ryan Bowen, D Braydyn Chizen and F Lane Zablocki.

Zablocki, who was acquired earlier from the Victoria Royals, has yet to play for the Rockets and is expected to be out at least another 10 days with an undisclosed injury.

The Rockets, who are off the to the poorest start in franchise history, are hoping Gally can bring some physical play to their game.

“We had an opportunity to add another defenceman and, with Zablocki out for at least 10 more days, it was an opportunity to get a player in here and have a look at him,” Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ president and general manager, said in a news release. “We currently have five right-handed defenceman and we needed to get a left-handed guy in here to help out with some of the young players that are playing on their off-side. That’s the main reason why we’ve looked at this.

“He’s going to come in and we’re going to give him a chance to show us what he can do. He is a big, heavy guy that isn’t afraid to get involved physically, which is something I think we need also.”

Meanwhile, the Swift Current Broncos and Tri-City Americans continue to carry four 20-year-olds, but injuries mean they don’t yet have to cut down to three.

Broncos D Artyom Minulin (shoulder) is injured and has yet to play this season. With him on the injury list, the Broncos don’t yet have to trim one 20-year-old. Minulin underwent off-season shoulder surgery and only recently rejoined the Broncos. However, he has yet to be cleared for a return to action.

The WHL’s reigning champions also are carrying F Andrew Fyten, F Tanner Nagel and D Matthew Stanley.

The Americans have F Parker AuCoin, D Anthony Bishop, F Brett Clayton and F Nolan Yaremko on their roster. However, Bishop is out with an undisclosed injury and may not return until December.


The Vancouver Giants may be without G Trent Miner for games this weekend.

Miner, the CHL’s reigning goaltender of the week, has returned to his family home in VancouverBrandon following the deaths of two grandfathers.

Last week, Miner, a freshman, made his first two appearances of the season, and went 2-0-0, 1.00, .964, with a shutout.

Miner was the 20th overall selection in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft.

With Miner gone, the Giants will look to veteran David Tendeck to carry the load. He is 4-1-0, 1.59, .940.

The Giants (6-1-0) are scheduled to play host to the Kamloops Blazers on Friday night, then head to Victoria for a Saturday-Sunday doubleheader against the Royals (6-0-0).


It will be Bronco Strong night on Nov. 2 when the Swift Current Broncos play host to the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

From a news release:

“The Humboldt and Swift Current Broncos share a name and, unfortunately, also share the heartache of tragic accidents in their respective histories. The 1986 Swift Current Broncos were involved in a bus crash on Dec. 30, 1986, which claimed the lives of four young hockey players. Tragedy struck again on April 6, 2018 when the Humboldt Broncos’ bus collided with a semi-trailer. This time, 16 lives were lost and many others were left with life-altering injuries. The members of each of these teams will be invited to attend the Nov. 2 game, along with family members.

Both Broncos teams have partnered to create a sweater that will represent the communities of Swift Current and Humboldt. These sweaters will be worn by the Swift Current Broncos on Nov. 2 and will be auctioned off with 100 per cent of the revenue going toward STARS Air Ambulance. The Humboldt Broncos will wear the uniforms as a third sweater for the remainder of the season. A generous donation by Scotia Wealth Management will cover the cost of both sets of uniforms.

“The Bronco Strong jersey design will be released at a later date.”

The complete news release is right here.


The Calgary Hitmen are going to play three February home games in the 6,450-seat Stampede Corral, which cost $1.25 million to build and opened on Dec. 15, 1950.

Games against the Brandon Wheat Kings (Feb. 1), Regina Pats (Feb. 6) and Prince Albert Raiders (Feb. 8) will be played in the Corral, which happens to be the building in which the Pats won the 1974 Memorial Cup.

From a news release:

“As a tribute to the city’s hockey history, the Hitmen will dedicate each game to a former elite team that once called the Stampede Corral home by wearing commemorative jerseys of the Calgary Centennials, Calgary Wranglers and Calgary Cowboys.”

The complete news release is right here.


WEDNESDAY NIGHT NOTES:

F Tristyn DeRoose, who was released by the Moose Jaw Warriors, has joined the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins. DeRoose, 19, is from Ceylon, Sask. He had five goals and eight assists in 108 regular-season WHL games, split between the Vancouver Giants and the Warriors. . . . DeRoose’s brother, Darcy, played 136 games with the Bruins over five seasons. Darcy also played 38 WHL games — three with the Warriors and 35 with the Everett Silvertips (2012-14).


F Ty Kolle scored twice to help the host Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 4-2 victory over the LethbridgeRegina Pats. . . . Kolle, who was acquired last week from the Portland Winterhawks, has two goals this season. . . . Lethbridge is 1-2-1 at home. . . . The Pats (1-6-0) are 0-4-0 on the road. . . . Regina was without F Sergei Alkhimov and and F Jake Leschyshyn, both of whom served one-game suspensions. . . . Regina also was without D Liam Schioler (leg) for a second game in a row. . . . The Pats did get back G Max Paddock after he sat out two games with an undisclosed injury.


F Noah Philip, who had never scored more than once in a WHL game, counted four times Seattleto lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 9-6 victory over the host Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Thunderbirds, who scored four PP goals in five opportunities, took control with five first-period goals, three of them from Philp, who got his first four goals of the season. His fourth goal came in the second period. . . . Philp went into Kelowna with 28 goals in 208 career regular-season games. . . . Seattle F Dillon Hamaliuk had his five-game goal-scoring streak end, but he drew three assists, as did D Jake Lee. . . . Seattle got a goal and two assists from each of F Zack Andrusiak and F Andrej Kukuca. . . . F Leif Mattson scored two goals  and added two assists for Kelowna, with F Kyle Topping earning four assists. . . . The Rockets continued the poorest start in franchise history. They now are 1-8-0 and have lost four in a row.


F Cody Glass, who was named Portland’s captain earlier in the day, scored two goals and Portlandadded two assists to lead the Winterhawks to an 8-2 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . F Joachim Blichfeld, the WHL’s leading scorer, had five assists. He has 22 points in eight games. . . . Glass has 17 points in six games. . . . F Reece Newkirk, the third member of that line, helped out with a goal and two assists. . . . Portland scored four times on the PP. . . . The Winterhawks have won five in a row. . . . Edmonton is 0-3-1 on a road trip that stops in Everett and Kent, Wash., on Friday and Saturday nights.


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WHL governors go with Kelowna, should have rewarded Lethbridge . . . Hay wins in return to Kamloops . . . Raiders remain perfect

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It will have come as no surprise to veteran observers on Wednesday when Ron Robison, the WHL commissioner, revealed that the league’s board of governors had voted to award the 2020 Memorial Cup to Kelowna.

The Rockets won out over competing bids from the Kamloops Blazers and Lethbridge Hurricanes. The three teams/cities presented their bids to the board earlier Wednesday in Calgary, following which the vote was held.

https://twitter.com/Doyle_Potenteau/status/1047689242380390400

The Rockets were the host team in 2004 and they, along with their city, did a bang-up job. You can bet that they will do the same in 2020; Bruce Hamilton, their president and general manager, wouldn’t have it any other way.

Robison was quoted by lethbridgenewsnow.com as saying, in reference to the Rockets: “Very strong fan base, always a very competitive team, championship calibre team. And really, when it comes down to it, when you’re hosting a Memorial Cup . . . you have to be sure that that team is capable of putting together a championship team. And I think the confidence in (Hamilton) and his leadership on the hockey side was a key consideration.”

Of course, Hamilton also is the chairman of the WHL’s board of governors. Having filled the position since 2008, he is the longest-serving chairman in the league’s history. He is widely recognized as the most powerful voice in the WHL, and that is something that will hang over the Kelowna victory, at least in the minds of some.

Someone who has sat in on similar Memorial Cup bid presentations — no, not this one — told Taking Note that at the end of the day, though, only one thing matters in these situations, and that would be the money.

If that was the case here that is really too bad because the WHL’s board of governors had an opportunity to reward a member team, its city and fans for a job well done, and the board blew it.

Assuming that the Hurricanes’ presentation didn’t bomb — and it’s hard to imagine that happening in this day and age — the governors needed to use this moment to thank the City of Lethbridge and all of the Hurricanes’ supporters, including businesses and fans, for their help in hauling the franchise out of the financial muck and mire in which it found itself after not making the playoffs for six straight seasons.

The Hurricanes were more than $700,000 in debt when the 2015-16 season started, the first one under general manager Peter Anholt. They showed a profit of $167,000 that season, then followed with two trips to the Eastern Conference final and profits of $737,710 and $422,443.

Now there’s money in the bank and no fear of not being able to make a $167,000 annual payment to the city as the team’s part of renovations to the ENMAX Centre.

Rather than reward that remarkable performance — sheesh, the commissioner went to Lethbridge in the summer of 2015 and recommended that the shareholders sell to private interests — the WHL’s governors chose to thank the Hurricanes for their time with a pat on the head and send them on their way.

And that’s really too bad.

Yes, the last four times the Memorial Cup has been held in the west it has been in an Eastern Conference city — Brandon, 2010; Saskatoon, 2013; Red Deer, 2016; and Regina, 2018. Not since it was held in Vancouver in 2007 has it been played in a Western Conference city.

However, that shouldn’t have mattered, not with the opportunity that presented itself to thank a member club and city for such a tremendous effort in recent seasons.

The 2020 Memorial Cup in Kelowna will run from May 22 through May 31. The 2019 tournament is scheduled for Halifax, May 16 through May 26.

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Meanwhile, the CHL also announced Wednesday that it has a five-year deal with Kia Canada as the Memorial Cup’s title sponsor.

Mastercard, the longtime title sponsor, wasn’t mentioned during the announcement; there wasn’t even a thank you for its time in that role.

From this point forward, at least for the immediate future, the tournament will be referred to by the CHL as the Memorial Cup presented by Kia.

——

Three online Twitter polls involving the 2020 Memorial Cup all closed with Lethbridge in the lead.

Guy Flaming, the host of The Pipeline Show, asked his followers “which team/city do you hope to see get the nod?” There were 446 respondents, with Lethbridge getting 47 per cent of the votes. Kelowna followed at 34, with Kamloops at 19.

Taking Note also posted one, asking in which city the tournament would be held. There were 445 responses, with Lethbridge leading the way at 37 per cent, following by Kelowna (34) and Kamloops (28).

Dub Network asked its followers “who should hold” the event? Lethbridge drew 39 per cent of the votes from the 431 respondents, with Kelowna next at 34 and Kamloops at 27.


WEDNESDAY NIGHT NOTES:

The Portland Winterhawks scored five second-period goals en route to a 7-3 victory over the Blazers in Kamloops. The game marked the return of Portland assistant coach Don Hay to Kamloops, where he spent the previous four seasons as head coach. Hay is the winningest head coach in WHL history. . . . Portland got a goal and two assists from F Cody Glass, who has nine points in three games. . . . The Winterhawks make their final appearance of this season in Kamloops on Friday. . . .

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The Vancouver Giants put a damper on celebrations in Kelowna by beating the host Rockets, 5-0. Earlier in the day, the Rockets had been named the host team for the 2020 Memorial Cup. . . . F James Malm scored three straight goals for the Giants, giving him a league-leading seven in five games, while G Trent Miner recorded his first WHL clean sheet with 21 saves. . . .

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F Noah Gregor had two assists in his first game with Prince Albert as the Raiders beat the Tigers, 5-1, in Medicine Hat. . . . The Raiders, who got two goals and an assist from F Max Martin, now are 6-0-0; the Tigers have lost five in a row. . . . F James Hamblin of the Tigers, playing in his 200th WHL game, came up short on a first-period penalty shot. . . .

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F Kirby Dach had three points, giving him 12 in six games, as the Saskatoon Blades scored a 5-3 victory over the host Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Oil Kings lost for the first time in six starts this season; the Blades (4-2-0) had lost their previous two games.


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