Tag: Colton Orr

Ice works OT to even series in Moose Jaw . . . Blades stayin’ alive . . . T-Birds use brooms in Prince George . . . Blazers in control in Portland

WHL

A few Twitter tidbits from Tuesday’s three-game night on the WHL playoff scene . . .

Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow): “Moose Jaw forces Winnipeg into allowing their most goals this season (8). Lynden Lakovic, who scored twice in the regular season, does so in one playoff game. Youngest (and first 16-year-old) with 2-goals in 1 playoff game with Warriors in Internet Era. . . . Brayden Yager, who sits 3rd on list behind Lakovic and Kendall McArdle, registers 4 assists matching career competitive best. Jagger Firkus extends point streak to 13 with a pair of tallies, 4th multigoal game in span. Ryder Korczak collects 1+2, 3rd straight multipoint effort.” . . .

Brandow, again: “Red Deer is a step away from a conference final appearance after a come-from-behind win. Frantisek Formanek finds a home for 3rd playoff goal while Dwayne Jean Jr. puts team ahead for good.  5 goals since joining the Rebels, all have come at home.” . . .

More from Brandow: “Seattle wins in a romp, most road goals in playoffs since March, 2017. Half of their eight markers come on man advantage. Brad Lambert leads charge with a goal and 5 assists. 11 assists, 13 points in series (PG has 6 — 3G, 3A — as a whole). . . . Dylan Guenther grabs another pair of goals, extending goal streak to 13. First since Giorgio Estephan to have 10+ goals in consecutive playoffs (11 w/ LET in 2017; 13 w/ SC in 2018).” . . .

From Troy Gillard (@Troy_Gillard): “Kyle Kelsey has set a Rebels record by winning six-straight playoff games, besting Shane Bendera’s record of five-straight in 2001.”

WHL PLAYOFF NOTES:

And then there were seven . . .

One more team bowed out of the WHL playoffs on a four-game Wednesday night, leaving six standing in the chase for the Ed Chynoweth Cup. BTW, the road team won each of the four games. . . .

In Prince George, the No. 1 Seattle Thunderbirds won their eighth straight game beating the No. 4 Cougars, 8-2, to sweep that Western Conference semifinal series.

The Thunderbirds now await a winner of the other semifinal between the No. 2 Kamloops Blazers and No. 3 Portland Winterhawks. Last night in Portland, the Blazers posted a 3-2 victory and lead the series, 3-0. They’ll play Game 4 tonight in Portland. That will be the WHL’s lone game of the night.

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, the No. 2 Saskatoon Blades avoided a sweep by beating the No. 3 Rebels, 4-2, in Red Deer. They’ll play Game 5 in Saskatoon on Friday, with the Rebels holding a 3-1 series lead.

And, in Moose Jaw, the No. 1 Winnipeg Ice tied the series with the No. 4 Warriors, posting a 3-2 OT victory. Those teams now head for Winnipeg and Game 5 on Friday, then return to Moose Jaw for Game 6 on Monday.

——

WEDNESDAY IN THE WHL PLAYOFFS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) at Moose Jaw (4) — F Zack Ostapchuk scored on a PP in OT to give WinnipegIcethe Winnipeg Ice a 3-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . That series is tied, 2-2, as the teams return to Winnipeg for Game 5 on Saturday night. . . . They are scheduled to play a sixth game in Moose Jaw on Monday night. . . . F Vladislav Shilo (2) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 8:22 of the first period. . . . The Warriors tied it at 12:57 as F Martin Rysavy (5) scored. . . . The Ice went back in front, 2-1, 50 seconds in to the second period on a goal from F Matt Savoie (8). . . . F Jagger Firkus (8) got the Warriors back even at 1:22 of the third period. . . . Ostapchuk scored his sixth goal of the playoffs at 11:56 of OT. . . . Winnipeg D Ben Zloty drew three assists. He has 13 points, all assists, in eight games. . . . The Ice was 1-for-2 on the PP; the Warriors were 0-for-1. . . . G Daniel Hauser earned the victory with 29 saves, nine fewer than Moose Jaw’s Connor Ungar. . . . The Warriors welcomed back F Robert Baco after he completed a three-game suspension for a goaltender interference major he took in Lethbridge on April 5. . . . The Ice was without F Evan Friesen, who completed a two-game suspension for a headshot on Moose Jaw D Matthew Gallant in Game 2. Gallant, who likely is in concussion protocol, hasn’t played since the hit. . . .

Saskatoon (2) at Red Deer (3) — The Saskatoon Blades erased a 2-0 first-Saskatoonperiod deficit en route to a 4-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Rebels still hold a 3-1 series lead as the series goes back to Saskatoon for Game 5 on Friday night. . . . F Kai Uchacz, without a point in the first three games of this series. scored twice to give the Rebels a 2-0 first-period lead. A 50-goal man in the regular season, he has six goals in these playoffs. . . . D Aidan De La Gorgendiere (1) got the Saskatoon comeback started, on a PP, at 12:09 of the second period. . . . F Jayden Wiens (5) tied it at 4:12 of the third period and F Brandon Lisowsky (3) gave Saskatoon the lead 43 seconds later. . . . D Tanner Molendyk (1) added insurance at 8:15. . . . The Blades got 34 saves from G Ethan Chadwick. . . . Saskatoon F Justin Lies was tossed with a headshot major and game misconduct for a hit on Red Deer F Kalan Lind at 3:24 of the first period. Lind was down for several minutes before being removed on a stretcher. Lind was taken to Red Deer Regional Hospital where he underwent an examination before being released.

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WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) at Prince George (4) — The Seattle Thunderbirds advanced to the SeattleWestern Conference final with an 8-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Thunderbirds swept their second straight series. They will meet either the Kamloops Blazers or Portland Winterhawks in the conference final. . . . The Thunderbirds outscored the Cougars, 25-5, in the four games. In eight playoffs games — they swept the Kelowna Rockets in the first round — the Thunderbirds have outscored the opposition, 39-8. Seattle has yet to allow more than two goals in a game in these playoffs. . . . Last night, four of Seattle’s first five goals came from skaters who scored for the first time in the eight-game run — F Sam Popowich, D Jeremy Hanzel, D Bryce Pickford and D Luke Prokop. . . . In all, the Thunderbirds got goals from eight different players, with F Colton Dach (2), F Mekei Sanders (2), F Reid Schaefer (3) and F Jared Davidson (5) also scoring. . . . Dach had two assists and was the only Seattle skater with three points. . . . Seattle F Brad Lambert, who put up six points in Game 3, had two assists in this one. He finished the four games with two goals and 12 helpers. . . . The Cougars had F Riley Heidt back from a one-game suspension, and he had two assists. . . . Prince George was without F Jaxsen Wiebe, who drew one of those TBD suspensions for a match penalty he incurred in Game 3. . . . F Zach Funk (5) and F Chase Wheatcroft (5) had the Cougars’ goals. . . . The Thunderbirds got 22 saves from G Thomas Milic, who now is 8-0, 1.13, .953. . . .

Kamloops (2) at Portland (3) — F Fraser Minten’s PP goal at 1:56 of the third Kamloopsperiod turned out to be the winner as the Kamloops Blazers beat the Portland Winterhawks, 3-2. . . . Kamloops leads the series, 3-0, and can finish it tonight in Portland. . . . The Blazers are 7-0 in these playoffs. . . . F Jakub Demek (3) gave Kamloops a 1-0 lead at 9:48 of the first period. . . . F Jack O’Brien (3) pulled Portland even, on a PP, at 11:23. . . . F Logan Stankoven (8) gave the visitors a 2-1 lead, on a PP, at 4:35 of the second period, with Minten getting his second goal of the playoffs at 1:56 of the third period. . . . D Luca Cagnoni (1) got Portland to within a goal at 14:02 of the third period, but the Winterhawks weren’t able to equalize. . . . Kamloops was 2-for-3 on the PP; Portland was 1-for-4. . . . G Dylan Ernst stopped 23 shots for Kamloops, 10 fewer than Portland’s Jan Spunar. . . . Stankoven also had an assist, and now has 18 points in seven games. . . . He and F Jagger Firkus of the Moose Jaw Warriors are two points behind F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats, who put up a WHL-leading 20 points in a seven-game loss to the Saskatoon Blades. . . . The Blazers drew a $250 fine from the WHL on Monday for a warmup violation prior to Game 1 on Friday in Kamloops. It was their second such fine in these playoffs; they also were fined $250 for a warmup violation prior to a first-round game against the host Vancouver Giants on April 4.

THE COACHING GAME:

The NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights announced on Wednesday that they and Manny Viveiros, the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, “have mutually agreed to part ways.” . . . Viveiros’s contract expires on June 30. He was the Silver Knights’ head coach through their first three seasons of existence. They went 89-79-11 over that stretch, and 3-4 in two playoff appearances. . . . This season, the Silver Knights finished 29-38-5, good for ninth in the 10-team Pacific Division. They didn’t qualify for the playoffs. . . . Viveiros is a former WHL player and coach. He played four seasons (1982-86) with the Prince Albert Raiders. He was the general manager and head coach of the Swift Current Broncos for two seasons (2016-18) and guided them to the 2018 WHL championship. He also was the head coach of the Spokane Chiefs for the 2019-20 season. . . . Kelly McCrimmon, the Golden Knights’ general manager, was quoted in the news release announcing Viveiros’s departure. Tim Speltz, once the longtime GM of the Spokane Chiefs, is the Silver Knights’ GM. There wasn’t any mention of Henderson assistant coach Jamie Heward or video coach Andrew Doty in the news release. Heward played and coached in the WHL, while Doty once worked with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . .

The Connecticut Whale of the Premier Hockey Federation has extended head coach Colton Orr’s contract through the 2024-25 season. In May 2022, his contract had been extended through the 2023-24 season. . . . Orr, who played four seasons in the WHL, has been the professional women’s team’s head coach through four seasons. . . . In the WHL, Orr played with the Swift Current Broncos, Kamloops Blazers and Regina Pats (1999-2003).

Onions

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

F Marcus Almquist of the Victoria Royals has turned pro, signing with the Rødovre Mighty Bulls of Metal Ligaen, the top league in his native Denmark. Almquist, who will turn 20 on Sept. 13, is from Rødovre, Denmark, and will join his new team for the 2023-24 season. He previously played 19 games for the Bulls in 2020-21, while on loan from the Royals, putting up five goals and an assist. In 82 games over two seasons with the Royals, he had 33 points, 19 of them goals. . . .

Three of the four QMJHL second-round series ended in sweeps, with only the Halifax Mooseheads and Moncton Wildcats still battling. . . . The Gatineau Olympiques swept the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, the Quebec Remparts quickly disposed of the Rimouski Oceanic, and the Sherbrooke Phoenix ousted the Drummondville Voltigeurs in four games. . . . The Mooseheads hold a 2-1 edge on the Wildcats going into Game 4 tonight in Moncton. The winner of this series will meet Quebec in the next round, with Gatineau and Sherbrooke facing off in the other semifinal. . . .

In the BCHL, the Penticton Vees advanced to the third round of the playoffs on Wednesday night with a 5-1 victory over the host Wenatchee, Wash., Wild. The Vees swept the best-of-seven series and now have won 24 straight playoff games. Last season, the Vees lost their first playoff game, then won 16 in a row en route to the championship. This post-season, they have opened with eight straight victories.

Film

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

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

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

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Equation

WHL’s U.S. teams gearing up to play . . . B.C. Division remains on hold . . . Iginla now coaching in Kelowna

The WHL announced on Jan. 28 that it’s five Alberta-based teams would begin a 24-game schedule on Feb. 26. The Swift Current Broncos, who under what once WHL2was normal circumstances, are in the Central Division, but they won’t be for these games. . . . On Friday, the WHL announced that its five U.S.-based teams will begin play on March 19, although it didn’t reveal how many games teams are hoping to play. According to the news release, the teams will “return to play in Washington state.” With Oregon not having yet approved a return to play, the Portland Winterhawks are expected to play ‘home’ games in Kent, while practising in Vancouver, Wash. . . . Washington Gov. Jay Inslee gave the WHL the OK to return earlier this week. . . . Details are sketchy, but what is known is that fans won’t be allowed at any of these games. . . .

Earlier Friday, it became apparent that the five B.C. Division teams won’t be playing games until perhaps the latter half of March. Pandemic-related restrictions that were to have expired in the province on Friday have been extended indefinitely and likely to be re-examined at month’s end.

With Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, giving her Friday update, Richard Zussman of Global B.C. tweeted: “On WHL hub city, Dr. Henry says they received a proposal in January that was rejected. Says they are buying time overall until the end of the month. Doesn’t look like anything will change until the end of February. ‘We want to work to salvage a spring season.’ “

There has been talk of having the Kelowna Rockets and Victoria Royals play out of a Kelowna bubble of some kind, with the Kamloops Blazers and Prince George Cougars doing the same in Kamloops. It isn’t known what would happen with the Vancouver Giants under that scenario.

And, please, let’s stop calling any upcoming games the 2020-21 regular season. Uhh, 2020 is in the rearview mirror and a maximum of 24 games does not a regular season make.

——

Meanwhile, the QMJHL isn’t likely to be playing games in New Brunswick for a qmjhlnewwhile after a public health spokesperson said Thursday that “it’s unlikely that restrictions for sports will be relaxed in the near future.” . . . With the Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Victoriaville Tigres on pause — the Tigres have had some positive tests among players; the Sagueneens were the last team to play the Tigres — the QMJHL has had to revise its schedule again. Victoriaville was to have played host to what the league is calling a ‘protected environment’ event, but that obviously won’t happen. So the next two such events are to be played in Quebec City and Shawinigan, from Feb. 12-18. There will be seven teams, including Chicoutimi, in Quebec City, with four teams playing in Shawinigan.

Former WHLer Colton Orr is the head coach of the NWHL’s Connecticut Whale, which pulled out of the league’s bubble format in Lake Placid N.Y., this week because of positive tests. Orr said that about two-thirds of the Whale’s players had tested positive. “We felt we had no choice,” Orr said, referring to a decision not play Monday against the Minnesota Whitecaps. “We had a choice to play that game, and our team chose not to play. We chose the safety of our players.” Orr added: “The team’s concerns and decision not to play were definitely validated and confirmed by the failure to maintain a controlled environment.” . . . The NWHL later cancelled the remaining games. That included the semifinals and final, both of which were to have been televised by NBCSN. . . . Orr was neither suspended nor fined for talking with the media about the virus attacking his team.

Ronnie

THE COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .

The Vegas Golden Knights returned to action on Friday night for the first time in 10 days, but the NHL still has four American teams on pause. . . . The Golden Knights, who had four games scratched, didn’t show much rust as they scored three first-period goals en route to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Kings. . . . Meanwhile, the New Jersey Devils won’t play again before Tuesday, while the Buffalo Sabres and Minnesota Wild will be idle until at least Thursday, and the Colorado Avalanche is on the shelf until at least Feb. 14. . . . The NHL has postponed 26 games since it opened its season on Jan. 13. None of those games involved any of the seven Canadian teams. . . .

Hockey Canada has cancelled the Esso Cup, Telus Cup, Centennial Cup and Allan Cup championships, all of which were scheduled to be played in the spring. . . . The Esso Cup, Canada’s national U18 AAA women’s championship, was to have been played in Prince Albert. . . . The Telus Cup, the national U18 AAA men’s championship, had been scheduled for Sydney, N.S., while the Centennial Cup, the junior A championship, would have been played in Penticton, B.C. . . . The Allan Cup goes to the national senior AAA men’s champions. It became evident in October that there wouldn’t be a champion declared for 2020-21 because there weren’t any teams playing. . . .

I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about what happened with Kevin Durant of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets while they were losing, 123-117, to the visiting Toronto Raptors on Friday night. Due to contact tracing, Durant was late getting into the game. He played 19 minutes, before he was taken out, again due to protocols. Durant, who tested positive in March, apparently was in contact yesterday with someone who was found to be positive during the game.

Politician

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

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

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

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

JUST NOTES: In recent days, the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings have signed general manager Mike Hawes to a three-year contract extension. He is in his 10th season as the team’s GM. The Spruce Kings also have signed head coach Alex Evin to a two-year extension, while signing associate coach Lukáš Lomicky, assistant coach Jason Garneau and trainer Joel Walkey to one-year deals. . . . Hey, Sportsnet, whenever you want to stop showing us games involving the Boston Bruins, at least with their homer-centric mouthpieces doing the yakking, it would be just fine. . . . Former WHL/NHL F Jarome Iginla is the new head coach of the RINK Hockey Academy’s U15 prep team in Kelowna. Iginla, who owns a piece of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, has been coaching minor hockey, and his sons, Tij and Joe, in Boston for the past four seasons. TJ is a highly ranked 2006-born forward.

Phones

Will we see baseball, football in 2020? . . . Jays fall to 0-2 as Devers homers again . . . BCHL team has new head coach

Had this pandemic not reared its ugly head, the MLB season would be heading into its third day. As it stands, though, there isn’t any baseball and now there are rumblings that perhaps the 2020 season may not get off the ground at all.

On Friday morning, Jeff Passan of ESPN tweeted that “the players and league agreed the 2020 MLB season won’t begin until:

“There are no bans on mass gatherings that limit the ability to play in front of fans;

“There are no travel restrictions;

“Medical experts determine games will not pose a risk to health of teams and fans.”

At the same time, he noted, there is a caveat to the first of those, that being that “they will consider playing games at neutral sites . . . and will consider the feasibility of playing in empty stadiums and just how proper a solution it may be for both sides and especially fans.”

If you have been paying attention, I think you will agree that New York City, for one, is a long, long way from being ready to play host to baseball games. And, on the West Coast, Los Angeles County closed its beaches on Friday.

I’m thinking it could be a year before anyone yells “Play Ball” again.

Our Thought for the Day, from Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, quotes H.L. Mencken: “The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.”

The Toronto Blue Jays are 0-2 after dropping an 8-6 decision to the visiting Boston Red Sox on Friday. . . . Boston got another home from 3B Rafael Devers, who has three in two games. . . . LF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had two hits and three RBI for the Blue Jays. . . . This game was part of the simulated season being played out by the gang at Strat-O-Matic. . . . There’s more on all of that, including standings and boxscores, right here.

Kirk Herbstreit, one of TV’s top college football analysts, is wondering if there will be college or pro football this year. In fact, he appeared on ESPN’s Freddie and Fitzsimmons show on Thursday night and offered up this:

“I’ll be shocked if we have NFL football this fall, if we have college football. I’ll be so surprised if that happens.

“Just because from what I understand, people that I listen to, you’re 12 to 18 months from a vaccine. I don’t know how you let these guys go into locker rooms and let stadiums be filled up and how you can play ball. I just don’t know how you can do it with the optics of it.”

The NCAA football season is scheduled to begin on Aug. 29. Players would have to be in training camps in late July to make that starting date.

Hook

If you are a follower of the WHL you will be aware that the league held its inaugural U.S. Challenge Cup — a bantam AAA tournament — in Kent, Wash., in late February.

The WHL followed that up by holding a two-round draft of U.S. prospects on Wednesday.

If you’re wondering “Why now?”, consider that the NCAA changed some of its recruiting rules in April. For starters, the NCAA no longer allows “recruiting conversations” between a coach and prospect prior to Jan. 1 of a prospect’s Grade 10 year. As well, coaches have to wait until Aug. 1 prior to a prospect’s Grade 11 year to make a verbal offer.

On Thursday, Darryl Wolski of 2112 Hockey Agency tweeted a couple of times in explaining this:

“High school students may not have recruiting conversations with college coaches prior to Jan. 1 of their sophomore (Grade 10) year. Students may hear from college coaches or reach out to them on their own. Schools may make verbal offers to prospects beginning (Grade 11).”

What this means, Wolski tweeted, is that “WHL teams should have roughly 8 months to attempt to sign players to WHL/CHL education agreements before NCAA teams can speak to any of those drafted or undrafted players.”

I was heading for bed on Thursday night when — Hot Damn! — I discovered that Bob Dylan had released a new song. . . . Murder Most Foul is almost 17 minutes in length, so is that still a song?

Anyway . . . if you haven’t heard it, you are able to give it a listen right here, where you also will find a neat story touching on 20 references Dylan makes in the song.

Noose

Three prominent sports broadcasters have tested positive for COVID-19 and are at one stage or another of dealing with it. . . .

Gord Wilson, a colour analyst on Ottawa Senators broadcasts on TSN 1200, learned Friday that he has the novel coronavirus. Wilson, 59, was in California with the Senators, from March 6-12, and started feeling ill upon his return home. He now is self-isolating at home. . . . Wilson is the third of 52 people who were on the Senator’s charter flight from L.A. to Ottawa on March 12 to have tested positive. The other two were Senators players. . . .

John Kelly, the TV play-by-play voice of the St. Louis Blues, has been in self-isolation since March 13. He tested positive but now is symptom-free and feeling well. . . .

Doris Burke, an ESPN analyst on NBA telecasts, is symptom-free after having been ill for several days. She learned on Wednesday that she had tested positive. She first felt ill on March 11 while in Dallas and was sick in bed three days later. . . .

In B.C., the City of Burnaby has cancelled its Canada Day plans. As Dustin Godfrey of Burnaby Now writes: “The move comes as part of an ongoing response to the COVID-19 outbreak and reinforces the notion that social distancing measures will be in place for months rather than weeks.” . . .

The 47th annual Kamloops International Baseball Tournament (KIBT) has been cancelled for 2020. The eight-team affair had been scheduled for July 9-12. . . .

After two seasons as general manager and head coach, Tyler Kuntz has left the BCHL’s Powell River Kings. . . . Brock Sawyer, who has been on staff for the past six seasons, has been named director of hockey operations and head coach. . . . For the past two seasons, Sawyer has been associate GM and associate head coach. . . . “I have decided I need to do what is best for my family,” Kuntz said in a news release. “These past couple of years have taken a toll and, as much as I love the organization, the players and the city of Powell River, it just isn’t feasible to continue to commute to see my young family.” . . .

The junior A Nepean, Ont., Raiders are looking for a head coach. If you’re interested, the details are right here.