A huge thank you to all of those who stop by here and chose to donate to Dorothy’s fund-raising effort on behalf of the Kidney Foundation. You proved once again that hockey people really are the best. The 2023 Kamloops Kidney Walk was held on Sunday and Dorothy was there for a 10th straight year. At the time of the walk, she had raised $4,810, which was her highest total yet. So, once again, thank you all so much. She is nearing the 10th anniversary of her kidney transplant and she really looks at the Kidney Walk as a way to give something back. Those of you who donated are part of all that so please reach around give yourselves a pat on the back. . . . As of this writing, she is fifth in all of B.C. Kamloops, meanwhile, surpassed its goal of $20,000 and is second only to Vancouver. . . . Again, thank you all so much!
Here we go again . . . those rumours about the Winnipeg Ice relocating to 
Chilliwack before another season gets here are flying, again. . . . Here’s Rick Dhaliwal, a co-host of the Donnie & Dhali Show that is on Victoria’s CHEK-TV, on Monday: “Out of the blue (Sunday), a lot of people reached out to me, hearing rumours again about Winnipeg moving to Chilliwack. A lot of people feel the Aquilini family may be behind this — involved, anyway. Sources in the Western Hockey League and the BC Hockey League have heard the same.” . . . The Aquilinis, of course, own the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks and the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. . . . In February, when the WHL was rumoured to be searching for a new home for the Ice, management with the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs, said that wasn’t’ going to happen. As Brian Maloney, the Chiefs’ general manager and head coach, said at the time: “We’ve tried that song and dance before . . . it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.” . . . The WHL did have a WHL franchise at one time, but it allowed the Bruins to be sold and moved to Victoria where it now is the Royals. . . . The difference now is that there wasn’t any mention of the Aquilinis earlier in the year. Dhaliwal even suggested that the Chilliwack Coliseum “could also be part of the deal, as in selling it — buying it.” . . . Daniel Wagner of Vancouver Is Awesome sums it all up right here.
Best wishes in retirement to John Chapman, one of the colourful characters who used to inhabit the WHL. Chapman spent six seasons (1980-86) as the head coach of the Lethbridge Broncos and one (1986-87) as general manager of the Calgary Wranglers. He spent one season as director of scouting with the NHL’s Florida Panthers and two with the Florida Panthers as director of player personnel. He has been with the Philadelphia Flyers since 1995-96, 14 seasons as an amateur scout and past 14 as a pro scout. . . . Before joining the Broncos, he was the head coach of the AJHL’s Red Deer Rustlers. Through those organizations, he had a long history with the Sutter family.
The BCHL has been operating independent of Hockey Canada since June 1. On 
May 31, the league issued a news release covering its rules pertaining to the 18 teams’ rosters. . . . While each team will be allowed to have two players from outside North American on its roster, “Russian and Belarusian players are temporarily not allowed due to the political situation in Russia.” . . . Of interest, too, is that players from the CSSHL, BCEHL and B.C.’s junior B leagues no longer are allowed to associate with BCHL teams as affiliate players. . . . That news release is right here.
The Cowichan Capitals and West Kelowna Warrriors haven’t wasted time time in adding European players. The Capitals have received a commitment from Norwegian F Lars Petter Eckholm, 19, for 2022-23. He has been in the Rogle BK program in Sweden for the past four seasons. . . . The Warriors have commitments from Swedish F Viggo Nordström, who will turn 20 on Sept. 11, and Norwegian F Johannes Løkkeberg, 19. . . . There have been some other interesting moves, too. The Penticton Vees, for instance, have signed G Andrew Ness off the roster of the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons. . . . And then there’s the case of G Ethan Morrow, who apparently is the property of two teams — Cowichan and the AJHL’s Blackfalds Bulldogs. . . . No one watches the BCHL closer than does Brian Wiebe, and he rounds up the latest BCHL-related developments right here. This is interesting stuff and it’s worth checking his stuff on a near-daily basis because of all that is happening.
Here is a chronological look at some items of note that occurred while I was sitting on our deck for the past few days . . .
May 22: The junior B Nanaimo Buccaneers of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League announced that Tali Campbell will be their general manager and that they have signed Troy Newans as head coach. . . . Both spots were vacant after Lee Stone, who had signed on in April, left to join the junior A Red Lake, Ont., Miners of the Superior International Hockey League. . . . Newans started 2021-22 as the head coach of the VIJHL’s Kerry Park Islanders but stepped down in January. . . . Campbell is a co-owner of the Buccaneers and also is the chief operating officer and general manager of the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express. As soon as the Buccaneers made their announcement, I received a text from a hockey coach wondering: “So Tali Campbell is GM of Coquitlam Express of the now unsanctioned BCHL. How can he also be GM of the Nanaimo Buccaneers of the sanctioned VIJHL” . . . How indeed?
May 23: The QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques announced that they and Louis Robitaille, their general manager and head coach, “have mutually agreed to part ways.” Robitaille signed with them in April 2020 and helped the team to a 104-38-25 regular-season record. They were 12-12 in 24 playoff games under Robitaille, and reached the league’s final four this season. . . . Jean-François Fortin, the assistant GM for three years, stepped in as interim GM, but he chose to leave the organization on June 2, just a week before the QMJHL draft.
May 24: The SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings signed Cody Mapes, their general manager and head coach, to a multi-year contract extension. Mapes is preparing for his third season as the team’s head coach. He spent two seasons as an assistant coach before taking over as head coach. The team’s news release didn’t specify the length of the multi-year extension.
May 24: The BCHL’s Merritt Centennials signed Brian Passmore to a three-year contract as head coach and assistant general manager. Passmore, 43, hired on as the GM/head coach of the BCHL’s Cowichan Capitals prior to the 2020-21 season. He was fired on Nov. 16, 2022. . . . In Merritt, he replaces Curtis Toneff as head coach. Toneff, who also was the GM, was fired following this season. He had been with the Centennials since Dec. 22, 2021. . . . I don’t believe that the Centennials have yet signed a new general manager.
May 25: Matt Dagenais, an assistant coach with the Ottawa 67’s, left the OHL team to take over as head coach of the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. . . . Dagenais had been with the 67’s since August 2021. He also was the governor and director of hockey operations for the Ottawa Junior Senators of the CCHL. . . . With the Huskies, he replaces Brad Yetman, the head coach for the past two seasons.
May 26: The Spokane Chiefs acquired a fifth-round pick in the WHL’s 2026 draft from the Kelowna Rockets for 2004-born F Michael Cicek. . . . The Rockets announced it as a conditional fifth-round pick but didn’t outline the conditions. . . . This season, Cicek had four goals and eight assists in 41 games with the Chiefs. . . . From Winnipeg, he was the Chiefs’ sixth-round pick in the WHL’s 2019 draft. He is the younger brother of D Nick Cicek, who played with the Portland Winterhawks and now is on the roster of the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.
May 26: The Summerside Capitals of the junior A Maritimes Hockey League signed head coach Billy McGuigan through the 2023-24 season. Under McGuigan’s guidance, the Capitals are 338-133-29 in the regular season, with a 51-32 playoff record, and two MHL championships. . . . McGuigan, 47, is a former WHL assistant coach (Regina Pats, 2013-14). Other than that one season, he has been a fixture with Summerside since 2011-12.
May 26: Devon Fordyce, a former WHL goaltender, has joined the MJHL’s Neepawa Titans as their goaltending coach. Last season, Fordyce was the goaltending coach with the Yellowhead Chiefs of the Manitoba AAA U18 League. . . . Fordyce played for Ken Pearson, the Titans’ general manager and head coach, with the 2014-15 Winkler Flyers. . . . Fordyce, 29, played 18 games with the Prince George Cougars (2011-13).
May 29: The Vancouver Giants announced that Jamison Derksen, their director of media relations and video coach, has left the organization in order “to pursue other opportunities.” . . . He had been with the Giants since 2017-18 when he was a volunteer intern as their game-day operations co-ordinator.
May 29: The Swift Current Broncos acquired F Tyson Laventure, 20, from the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a fourth-round selection in the WHL’s 2026 draft. Laventure, from Lloydminster, Alta., was taken 31st overall by the Prince Albert Raiders in the 2018 draft. The Hurricanes acquired him on Jan. 1, 2022. . . . He had 22 goals and 26 assists in 62 games in 2022-23. In 195 career regular-season games, he has 43 goals and 56 assists.
May 30: The Moose Jaw Warriors announced that Rose Mary Hartney, their long-time education advisor, died. She was 73 when she died on May 25. She had been their education advisor since 1984 when the franchise moved to Moose Jaw from Winnipeg. She spent 38 years as a teacher at Vanier Collegiate in Moose Jaw, then stayed on with the Warriors following her retirement. She was inducted into the Warriors and Legends Hall of Fame in 2012.
May 30: The AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons signed Carter Duffin as an assistant coach. From a news release: “Duffin previously worked as assistant coach/assistant general manager of the Lloydminster Bobcats (AJHL) from 2021-2023. Prior to his time in Lloydminster, Duffin served as head coach/general manager of the Castlegar Rebels (KIJHL) from 2018-2021, and was the assistant coach/director of operations of the Estevan Bruins from 2017-2018 where he helped lead the club to the SJHL final.”
May 31: The Kelowna Rockets signed F Hiroki Gojsic, 17, after acquiring him from the Victoria Royals for two WHL draft picks — a second-rounder in 2025 and a fifth in 2027. Gojsic was a second-round selection by the Royals in the 2021 WHL draft. He spent 2022-23 with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees, putting up 10 goals and 11 assists in 36 games. From Langley, B.C., Hiroki is the brother of Kanjyu Gojsic, 15, a third-round pick by the Rockets in the 2023 draft who also has signed a WHL contract.
May 31: The Spokane Chiefs acquired F Conner Roulette, 20, from the Saskatoon Blades for two WHL draft picks — a second-rounder in 2024 and a third in 2027. . . . Roulette had 24 goals and 38 assists in 60 games with the Blades, who had acquired him and a third-round pick in the 2026 draft from the Seattle Thunderbirds for F Kyle Crnkovic on Aug. 30. . . . In 191 regular-season games, Roulette has 73 goals and 106 assists.
May 31: The Saskatoon Blades signed associate coach Dan DaSilva to a two-year extension. DaSilva, 38, is from Saskatoon. He has been with the Blades through two seasons.
May 31: The BCHL’s Penticton Vees added Mark McMillan to their staff as an assistant coach. He had been the general manager and head coach of the junior B Summerland Steam of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League since October 2021.
May 31: The Edmonton Oilers acquired F Jayden Grubbe, the 20-year-old captain of the Red Deer Rebels, from the New York Rangers and signed him to a three-year entry-level NHL contract. He has 39 goals and 95 assists in 194 regular-season WHL games with the Rebels. . . . The Oilers gave up a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NHL draft for Grubbe, whom the Rangers had selected in the third round of the 2021 draft.
May 31: The Vancouver Giants hired Nathan Kanter as their director of media relations and broadcasting. He will be the radio voice of the Giants, replacing Eddie Gregory. . . . Kanter has been with the Regina Pats for the past two seasons, working as their manager of digital media, fan and community engagement. He had been the play-by-play voice of the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks for two seasons (2019-21) and the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars for two seasons prior to heading west.
June 1: The SJHL’s Estevan Bruins added Drew Kocur to their staff as an assistant coach. He had been the Prairie Junior Hockey League’s coach of the year for 2022-23, a season during which he guided the Pilot Butte Storm to to the provincial junior B title.
June 2: The Victoria Royals acquired F Justin Lies from the Saskatoon Blades for what they said in a news release is a “conditional third-round pick in 2026.” . . . The word “conditional” doesn’t appear in the Blades’ news release. . . . Lies will turn 20 on Nov. 24. . . . Lies, from Flin Flon, had nine goals and 14 assists in 56 games with the Blades in 2022-23. He added three goals and an assist in 15 playoff games. . . . In 176 career regular-season games — he also has played with the Vancouver Giants — Lies has 21 goals and 32 assists.
June 2: The AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs signed head coach Mario Pouliot to a two-year extension. Pouliot has been with the Pontiacs since September when he took over after the departure of Brad Flynn. Despite getting a late start, Pouliot guided the Pontiacs to the North Division final, the first time they have been there since 2015.
June 6: The SJHL’s Melville Millionaires signed Doug Johnson as their new general manager and head coach. He spent the past season as the head coach and assistant GM of the MJHL’s OCN Blizzard, getting it into the playoffs and being a finalist for coach of the year. . . . Earlier, Johnson spent 11-plus seasons (2010-22) with the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks, three times being named coach of the year. . . . In Melville, Johnson will take over from Mike Rooney, who left in April after three seasons with the organization.
The biggest holes to fill in the WHL next season may well be in the officiating crew because referees Chris Crich and Steve Papp worked their final games on June 4 when they did the Memorial Cup final in Kamloops.
JUNIOR JOTTINGS:
Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press has reported that Gord Burnett, who spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the Moose Jaw Warriors, is expected to be the new head coach of the U of Manitoba Bisons. Burnett, 42, takes over from Mike Sirant, who has retired after 27 seasons as the Bisons’ head coach. . . . Sawatzky also reported that Don MacGillivray, who was fired as head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings early in 2022-23, “was considered an obvious candidate for the U of M job but did not apply.” MacGillivray ran the Bisons for three seasons (2006-09) while Sirant coached the Danish national men’s team.
Former WHLer Marc Habscheid has signed on as head coach of the Vienna Capitals of the ICE Hockey League. He takes over from Dave Barr, who left the club after two seasons that included a 24-17-7 record this season. Habscheid, 60, spent this season as head coach of that league’s Berner Pioneers Vorarlberg, who play out of Feldkirch, Austria. They went 11-34-3 and Habscheid took his leave shortly after season’s end. . . . Thanks to Darren Steinke for bringing this one to my attention as it obviously had fallen through the cracks. . . .
Dan Lambert, a former WHL player and coach, lost his job as an assistant coach on May 30 when the NHL’s Nashville Predators fired him and head coach John Hynes. Both had one year left on their contracts. . . . Lambert spent four seasons with the Predators. . . . Lambert, 53, played four seasons (1986-90) with the Swift Current Broncos. He was on the Kelowna Rockets’ staff for six seasons — five as an assistant coach and the last one (2014-15) as head coach. He also spent two seasons (2017-19) as the head coach of the Spokane Chiefs before going to Nashville. . . .
F Owen Pederson, who played out his junior eligibility this season with the Winnipeg Ice, has signed a two-year contract with the AHL’s Providence Bruins. Pederson, 21, had 32 goals and 42 assists in 65 games with the Ice this season. In 237 games over five seasons, he put up 205 points, including 94 goals. . . .
F Connor McClennon, who played five seasons with the Kootenay/Winnipeg Ice, has signed a two-year deal with the Chicago Wolves, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. He was a sixth-round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL’s 2020 draft. . . . He had 46 goals and 46 assists in 64 games with the Ice in 2022-23. . . .
Yanick Lemay, who had been on the scouting staff of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets for 12 seasons, is the new general manager of the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs. He replaces Philippe Boucher, who left the organization in February. . . . On June 2, the Voltigeurs announced that Éric Bélanger, their interim head coach, won’t be returning. According to a team-issued news release, the decision was reached “by mutual agreement.” He took over as the interim head coach in November, winning 18 of 45 regular-season games and four of eight playoff assignments. . . .
Brett McLean, who played with the WHL’s Tacoma/Kelowna Rockets and Brandon Wheat Kings, is the new head coach of the Iowa Wild, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. McLean played five WHL seasons (1994-99), finishing up with the Wheat Kings. . . . He was an assistant coach in Iowa for three seasons (2017-20) and has been an assistant in Minnesota for the past three seasons. . . .
Jamie Lundmark, who played three seasons in the WHL (Moose Jaw Warriors, Seattle Thunderbirds, 1998-2001) has joined the Princeton women’s hockey program as the director of player development and assistant coach. Lundmark, who retired as a player in 2018, is the founder of Method Hockey. It is based in West Chester, Pa., and works with elite players.
Please take five minutes out of your day and read the story in the tweet below. You’ll learn a whole lot about the Boulets, their son, Logan, and the role that Ric Suggitt played in their story. Wonderful stuff!
——
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.
Blazers beating the Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-1, on Tuesday night, an outcome that tightened the series. Seattle now leads, 2-1, with Game 4 in Kamloops tonight.
Saskatoon’s playoff run, beating the host Blades, 3-2, to sweep the conference final. . . . The Blades had reached the conference final by winning two seven-game series — the first after losing the first two games at home, the second after opening with two home-ice losses and one on the road. They became the third team in WHL history to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first three games. . . . The Ice outscored the Blades, 17-5, in the four games. . . . Last night, D Aidan De La Gorgendiere (3) gave the Blades their first lead of the series when he opened the scoring at 15:08 of the first period on a delayed penalty situation. . . . F Connor McClennon followed with two goals, at 18:40 on a PP, and at 13:30 of the second period, for a 2-1 Ice lead. . . . McClennon, who scored six times in the last three games, leads the WHL playoffs with 13 goals. . . . F Trevor Wong (3) got the Blades even at 2:45 of the third period, only to have F Briley Wood (3) break the tie at 6:19. . . . Wood, who turned 20 on Jan. 15, is from Rivers, Man. He had two goals in 13 regular-season games with the Ice this season. In 91 career regular-season games, the first 78 with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, he put up four goals. He has three in 14 games in these playoffs. In his career, he has one regular-season game-winner and now one playoff winner. . . . A note from Lucas Punkari (@lpunkari): “Prior to coming back to the Ice in mid-March, Wood was with the MJHL’s Neepawa Titans. The 20-year-old Rivers product recorded 57 points (19 goals and 38 assists) in 39 games.” . . . The Blades took the game’s only four minor penalties; the Ice was 1-for-4 on the PP. . . . The Ice got 16 saves from G Daniel Hauser. . . . Saskatoon G Austin Elliott stopped 36 shots. . . . The Ice again was without D Wyatt Wilson, while the Blades remained without D Ben Saunderson and D Blake Gustafson.
major junior, 17 junior A and 43 junior B. As of this moment, those teams all play under Hockey Canada’s umbrella. However, the BCHL — with 17 teams in B.C. and one in Washington state — has said it plans on leaving Hockey Canada when this month is up. . . . What will that mean for junior hockey in B.C.? Well, Cam Hope, the former Victoria Royals’ general manager who now is the CEO of BC Hockey, has told Steve Ewen of Postmedia that it may result in a new junior A league starting up. In fact, Hope told Ewen that such a move was “probable,” adding that no one is in a rush to get it done because “I’d much rather make sure we do it right than do it fast.” . . . Presumably, a new junior A league could include a number of junior B teams moving on up, along with any organizations that might decide to leave the BCHL. Ewen reported that “several sources” had told him the vote to leave Hockey Canada was 14-2 with two abstentions.
goals, three of them in the first 11 minutes, en route to a 5-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . The Ice now holds a 3-0 lead in the conference final and gets its first chance to wrap it up tonight in Saskatoon. . . . F Matt Savoie (11), on a PP at 2:46, F Zach Benson (4), at 9:48, and F Evan Friesen (4), at 10:33, had those first-period goals. . . . F Connor McClennon (11) made it 4-0, on another PP, at 1:13 of the second period. . . . F Justin Lies (3) got the Blades on the scoreboard at 5:40. . . . That was as close as the Blades were to get. . . . Ice F Owen Pederson (4) closed out the scoring with a PP goal at 19:26 of the third period. . . . Winnipeg was 3-for-6 on the PP; Saskatoon was 0-for-2. . . . The Ice held a 34-18 edge in shots, including 10-4 in the third period. . . . Winnipeg got three assists from D Ben Zloty, and Savoie added two helpers to his goal. . . . Zloty has a WHL-leading 19 assists. . . . G Daniel Hauser earned the victory with 17 saves. His career record, including regular season games, now is 97-10-3. . . . The Blades continue to be without injured defencemen Blake Gustafson and Ben Saunderson, and they also scratched F Egor Sidorov from this one with an undisclosed injury. . . . Winnipeg remains without D Wyatt Wilson, who was injured in Game 5 of the first round.
added an assist as the Winnipeg Ice beat the Saskatoon Blades, 6-2. . . . The Ice, having won Friday’s opener, 3-0, leads the series, 2-0, with Games 3 and 4 in Saskatoon on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. . . . McClennon, who has 10 goals, completed his hat trick at 1:08 of the third period, giving the Ice a 5-0 lead. . . . He had scored the game’s first two goals, at 6:09 and 17:31, the latter via the PP, of the first period. . . . F Zach Benson (3) and F Owen Pederson (3) added second-period goals. . . . F Justin Lies (2) and F Jayden Wiens (8), on a PP, scored for the Blades in the third period. . . . Ice F Matt Savoie (10) closed the scoring with an empty-netter at 16:27. . . . Benson and Savoie added two assists each. . . . McClennon recorded his first hat trick of these playoffs; he had two in the regular season. . . . Winnipeg was 1-for-3 on the PP; Saskatoon was 1-for-5. . . . G Daniel Hauser stopped 27 shots for the Ice. . . . G Austin Elliott turned aside 27 shots for the Blades. . . . Saskatoon continues to play without injured defencemen Blake Gustafson and Ben Saunderson. The Blades also scratched F Jordan Keller and inserted F Misha Volotovski.
5-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers in Kent, Wash. . . . They’ll play Game 2 today in Kent, then head for Kamloops and games on Tuesday and Thursday. . . . Seattle held period leads of 1-0 and 2-1, then put it away with three goals in the second half of the third period. . . . F Jared Davidson (6) scored at 17:00 of the first period and F Nico Myatovic (2) got the 2-0 goal at 13:44 of the second. . . . D Olen Zellweger (8) got the Blazers’ goal at 16:11. . . . Seattle’s third-period goals came from F Dylan Guenther (11), Davidson (7) and F Gracyn Sawchyn (2), on a PP. . . . Davidson also had an assist, for a three-point night. . . . Seattle was 1-for-3 on the PP; Kamloops was 0-for-2. . . . G Thomas Milic stopped 24 shots for the Thunderbirds, while G Dylan Ernst, at the other end, blocked 30. . . . Milic is 9-0, 1.11, .953 in the playoffs. In 34 appearances over the past two seasons, he is 23-11, 1.98, .931. . . . Kamloops lost D Logan Bairos to an undisclosed injury and he isn’t likely to play in Game 2, which means Ryan Michael will play. . . . The Thunderbirds are 9-0 in the playoffs. They also opened the 2017 playoffs with nine victories before dropping a 4-3 OT decision to the visiting Kelowna Rockets.
Twitter account of Geoffrey Brandow. . . . If you’re not following him, you should because he has information like this after every single OHL, QMJHL and WHL game. . . . He’s at @GeoffreyBrandow. . . .
to help the Winnipeg Ice to a 5-2 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Ice had won Game 1, 5-3. . . . The series will resume in Medicine Hat with games on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . McClennon’s first goal gave the Ice a 3-1 lead at 15:50 of the second period. He gave them a 4-2 lead at 13:49 of the third. . . . F Matt Savoie, who had three goals and an assist in the opener, had a goal and two assists for the Ice. . . . Tigers D Rhett Parsons left with a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct after a hit on F Josh Medernach at 12:09 of the second period. . . . The Ice remains without F Zach Benson, its leading scorer in the regular season. . . .
Calgary Hitmen a 2-1 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Rebels had opened with a 3-0 victory on Friday. . . . They’ll play the next two games in Calgary on Monday and Wednesday, then return to Red Deer for Game 5 on Friday. . . . D Christoffer Sedoff (1) gave Red Deer a 1-0 lead at 11:20 of the third period. . . . F Sean Tschigerl, who drew an assist on the winner, scored Calgary’s first goal of the series with 1:37 left in the third period to tie the game, 1-1. . . . Adaszynski, a 17-year-old sophomore from Coquitlam, B.C., won it at 16:42 of OT. He finished the regular season with 12 goals in 64 games. . . . F Carter MacAdams assisted on both Calgary goals. . . . The Hitmen got 38 saves from G Brayden Peters. . . . Red Deer G Kyle Kelsey turned aside 36 shots. In his last five starts, he has put up three shutouts and allowed three goals. . . . F Ben King, who led the WHL with 52 goals last season, remains out for Red Deer. . . . The Hitmen may have lost F Riley Fiddler-Schultz as he didn’t finish the third period. . . . Calgary F Maxim Muranov sat out as he served a one-game suspension after taking a slew-foot double minor in Game 1. . . . Red Deer F Craig Armstrong was hit with a two-game suspension for the same infraction. It was his second slew-footing penalty, so he got the extra game. . . . Calgary D Keagan Slaney missed this one, too, as he completed a three-game suspension for a charging major and game misconduct he incurred on March 25 at Edmonton. . . . 
first three goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Warriors had won the opener, 2-1 in double OT, on Friday. . . . The teams now head to Lethbridge for games on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . F Atley Calvert (1) got Moose Jaw started on a PP at 13:06 of the first period. . . . F Ryder Korczak (1) upped it to 2-0 at 8:28 of the second period. . . . F Martin Tysavy (1) got it to 3-0 at 11:18 of the third period. . . . That was more than enough for G Connor Ungar, who earned the victory with 21 saves.
assists as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Kelowna Rockets, 4-1. . . . Seattle won the opener, 3-2, on Friday. . . . The series picks up in Kelowna with games on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . Seattle Dylan Guenther (3) opened the scoring, on a PP, at 12:02 of the first period. . . . F Dylan Wightman (1) scored for Kelowna at 7:38 of the second. . . . F Lucas Ciona (1) broke the tie at 9:35 of the third and D Nolan Allan (1) added insurance at 15:35. . . . Davidson (1) put it away with the empty-netter. . . . Seattle held a 48-26 edge in shots on goal. . . . Things got interesting late in the game. As TBird Tidbits tweeted: “Maybe a little message sending here with Seattle’s top power-play unit out on a 5-on-3 with a 4-1 lead.” . . .
game, had two first-period goals in Game 2 to send the Portland Winterhawks on their way to a 4-0 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Portland had won the opener, 4-3. . . . They’ll play Game 3 in Everett on Monday and Game 4 there on Friday. . . . Three days off between games? It seems Paw Patrol Live has the arena in Everett booked. . . . F Jack O’Brien (2) had Portland’s other two goals, the second one into an empty net. . . . The Winterhawks got 23 saves from G Jan Špunar, who earned his first WHL shutout. He is an 18-year-old freshman from Olomouc, Czechia. He was 17-7-3, 2.61, .908 in 31 regular-season appearances. . . . 
George Cougars a 2-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Americans had won Friday’s opener, 6-4. . . . The series will resume in Kennewick, Wash., with games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Remember that this series is being played under a 2-3-2 format in order to ease the travel. . . . The Cougars, who had a goal disallowed late in Game 1, thought they had opened the scoring early in Game 2, only to have that one disallowed on review, too. . . . F Adam Mechura (1) gave the Americans a 1-0 lead at 7:22 of the second period. . . . F Cole Dubinsky (1) tied it at 12:02. . . . Wiebe’s first goal of the series won it at 4:52 of extra time. . . . The Cougars outshot the Americans, 38-18.
March 19 and 24. On Thursday, the Blades posted on social media: “We’ve surpassed 10,000 tickets sold for our game against the Regina Pats on March 19 and more than 9,000 tickets sold for our final game of the regular season on March 24.” . . . Those are the Blades’ last two home games of the regular season. . . . The Pats and Blades played in front of 7,868 fans on Nov. 13, with Saskatoon winning, 5-2. That is the Blades’ largest home crowd of this season. . . . Meanwhile, Regina will entertain the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight and the Pats announced on Friday afternoon that the game is “officially SOLD OUT!” . . . The ticket-buying public, of course, is wanting to see Regina F Connor Bedard, who leads the WHL in goals (45) and points (91).
Yes, it was 50 years ago — Jan. 19, 1973 — when F Dennis Sobchuk had one of the greatest offensive nights in WHL history. That night, Sobchuk struck for 10 points, six of them goals, in an 11-3 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings before 2,284 fans at Regina’s Exhibition Stadium.
TAKING NOTE 