Tag: Darren Steinke

Warriors win in Winnipeg, but pay a price . . . Lambert leads Thunderbirds to victory . . . Stankoven, Ernst too much for Winterhawks

GrandmaGirls031823
Dorothy, with her two sweethearts — Averi, behind the hat, and the always smiling Kara.

With the 10th anniversary of her kidney transplant in sight, Dorothy is taking part in her 10th straight Kamloops Kidney Walk. So, yes, she is fund-raising. . . . It’s worth noting that she has been No. 1 in Kamloops for nine straight years, too, and, yes, things are cookin’ again. . . . In recent days, she has received support from the wife of a gentleman who is a general manager/head coach in the WHL. She also heard from another WHL head coach, and from an avid follower of the Victoria Royals, and from a former WHL scout. . . . As a result of these people and more, her 10-year total has surpassed $30,000. . . . Yes, hockey people are awesome. . . . The 2023 Walk is scheduled for June 4. . . . If you would like to be part of her team, you are able to donate right here. . . . And thank you in advance.

Pi

A few Twitter tidbits from Friday’s opening second-round WHL playoff games . . .

Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow): “After seeing a 3-0 lead dissipate, the Winnipeg Ice score twice in the third for a Game 1 win. Connor McClennon combines for 23rd career game-winning goal recording 30th playoff point in process. Graham Sward secures third goal since calendar changed to March.”

Brandow, again: “Red Deer only fires 20 shots on goal, but scores three times and takes a 1-0 series lead. Kyle Kelsey gets to within 1:54 of a shutout cutting off 23 of 24. Jhett Larson opens scoring with only goal of first 40, Jace Isley pots first of postseason.”

Brandow, once more: “Kamloops goes up 1-0 fending off a late Winterhawks charge. Jakub Demek delivers first playoff goal(s) since the Ed Chynoweth Cup winner with the Oil Kings last season. Potted four in 15 tries in regular campaign. Hits 25 career playoff points. . . . Portland’s James Stefan beats the final buzzer securing a hat trick and pots 10 playoff goals in 17 career efforts. First career combined hat trick in 204 games. 44 points (27 assists) at home, 29 points on road with a -13 rating. . . . Kamloops’ Dylan Ernst sees name everywhere on scoresheet with an assist, a delay of game penalty, and 28 saves on 32 shots. Improves to 5-0 in playoffs and has dropped goals against average by a full goal. 1.96 GAA, .927 SV% in combined 43 wins; 4.82 GAA, .854 SV% in 13 non-wins.”

From Winterhawks historian Andy Kemper (@AndyKemper): “Scoring change for Portland in Game 1 vs. Kamloops. 3rd goal — 72 Nguyen from 11 Fromm-Delorme and 19 Chyzowski. 2nd career 3 assist playoff game for Chyzowski.”

More from Brandow: “Seattle soars to a Game 1 win with help from a couple of midseason acquisitions. Dylan Guenther doubles up again in goal column reaching 20 (and 30 points) in 24 career playoff games. Brad Lambert returns and helps out on three, most this (season).”

Mayor

WHL PLAYOFF NOTES:

Six of the eight teams remaining in the WHL’s title chase now have played two WHLgames in the second round of playoffs. The other teams involved — the Red Deer Rebels and Saskatoon Blades — are scheduled to play their second game today. They’ll meet in Saskatoon’s SaskTel Centre, where the Rebels opened the series with a 3-1 victory on Friday night. . . . They weren’t able to play there on Saturday night because lacrosse’s Saskatchewan Rush had the facility booked for a NLL game.

There aren’t any games scheduled for Monday.

On Saturday night, the Moose Jaw Warriors evened their series with the Eastern Conference’s top-ranked Winnipeg Ice, but may have lost two veteran defencemen in the process. . . .

There weren’t any surprises in the Western Conference as the No. 1 Seattle Thunderbirds and No. 2 Kamloops Blazers each took 2-0 leads in their series. . . . The Prince George Cougars, down 2-0 to Seattle, may be looking at playing a game or two without a 97-point man who took a headshot major late in Game 2.

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SATURDAY IN THE WHL PLAYOFFS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Moose Jaw (4) at Winnipeg (1) — The Moose Jaw Warriors struck for four goals WarriorsNewin the game’s first 10 minutes, three of them in a span of 1:24 via the PP, en route to a 5-3 victory over the Winnipeg Ice. . . . The Ice’s first loss of these playoffs left the series tied, 1-1, as the scene shifts to Moose Jaw for games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Game 5 is to be played in Winnipeg on Saturday. . . . The Ice had won the opener, 5-3, on Friday. . . . Last night, F Ryder Korczak (2) gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead at 1:02 of the first period. . . . Ice F Evan Friesen was ejected at 7:45 for a headshot on Moose Jaw D Matthew Gallant, who left the game and didn’t return. . . . F Brayden Yager (4) made it 2-0 at 8:07. . . . Ice F Zach Benson went off for high-sticking at 8:22, and Yager (5) upped the lead to 3-0 at 9:11 on the 5-on-3 PP. . . . The Warriors made it 4-0 when F Martin Rysavy (3) added another PP goal just 20 seconds later. . . . The Ice managed to get to within a goal, at 4-3, on third-period scores from F Zack Ostapchuk (4), on a PP, at 1:07, F Connor McClennon (5), at 13:09, and F Carson Latimer (1), at 16:10. . . . Moose Jaw F Josh Hoekstra got the empty-netter with 2.4 seconds left to play. . . . Ostapchuk was back after sitting out Game 1 with a WHL-issued suspension. . . . Latimer was playing in his first game since Feb. 26. . . . The Warriors were 3-for-5 on the PP; the Ice was 1-for-9. . . . G Connor Ungar earned the victory with 33 saves. . . . Warriors F Atley Calvert, who had two assists, was given a slew-footing double minor at 15:07 of the first period. Those penalties often are met with a suspension. . . . Besides losing Gallant, the Warriors also played the third period without D Logan Dowhaniuk, who was hit from behind by F Owen Pederson in the second period.

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WESTERN CONFERENCE

Prince George (4) at Seattle (1) — F Brad Lambert was in on each of Seattle’s Seattlefirst three goals as the Thunderbirds beat the Prince George Cougars, 5-1, in Kent, Wash. . . . Seattle holds a 2-0 lead in the series with the next two games in Prince George on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . Lambert, who had a goal and three assists in this one, had recorded three assists on Friday as the Thunderbirds opened the series with a 4-1 victory. . . . He missed two games in Seattle’s first-round sweep of the Kelowna Rockets, and now has a goal and eight assists in four playoff games. . . . Last night, Seattle scored the game’s first three goals. . . . F Jared Davidson (2) got it started, on a PP, at 13:12 of the first period. . . . Lambert (1) got it to 2-0 at 9:23 of the second, and F Dylan Guenther (8) made it 3-0 at 13:43. . . . Guenther has goals in each of Seattle’s six playoff games, and is riding a 12-game point streak. . . . F Ondrej Becher (1) got the Cougars on the board 14 seconds into the third period, but F Kyle Crnkovic (2) got that one back for Seattle at 4:33. . . . Davidson (3) closed out the scoring on a PP at 19:16. . . . Seattle was 3-for-4 on the PP; Prince George was 0-for-5. . . . G Thomas Milic stopped 26 shots for Seattle. In these playoffs, he is 6-0, 1.00, .959. . . . The Cougars lost F Riley Heidt to a headshot major a game misconduct at 18:03 of the third period. He was a 97-point man in the regular season so a suspension of any length could be truly devastating to the Cougars. . . .

Portland (3) at Kamloops (4) — F Logan Stankoven had two goals and threee Kamloopsassists to lead the Kamloops Blazers to a 5-0 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Blazers had posted a 6-4 victory on Friday, so take a 2-0 series lead into games in Portland on Wednesday and Thursday. . . . Stankoven, who led last season’s playoffs in goals (17) and points (31), has 16 points, including seven goals, in six games in these playoffs. . . . Stankoven now has had three five-point playoff games — one last season and two this time around. . . . He is the WHL’s leading playoff scorer not named Connor Bedard, who had 20 points in seven games when his Regina Pats were eliminated. . . . The Blazers opened the scoring at 11:44 of the first period when F Caedan Bankier (5) counted on a PP. . . . D Olen Zellweger (4) made it 2-0 at 17:35 of the second period and Stankoven (6) upped it to 3-0 at 19:05 on another PP. . . . Stankoven (7) and F Daylan Kuefler (2), the latter on a PP, added third-period scores. . . . While the Blazers struck for five goals, they had only six players register points. . . . Bankier added two assists to his goal, while Seminoff also had two assists. . . . G Dylan Ernst stopped 28 shots in posting his third shutout in six starts. He is 6-0, 1.42, .942 in these playoffs. . . . Kamloops was 3-for-4 on the PP; Portland was 0-for-2.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

Eight WHL players have been named to Team Canada that will play in the IIHF U18 World championship in Basel and Porrentruy, Switzerland, from Thursday through April 30. Those players are G Carson Bjarnason, Brandon Wheat Kings; D Lukas Dragicevic, Tri-City Americans; D Caden Price, Kelowna Rockets; D Carter Yakemchuk, Calgary Hitmen; F Berkly Catton, Spokane Chiefs; F Andrew Cristall, Kelowna; F Ty Halaburda, Vancouver Giants; and F Tanner Howe, Regina Pats. . . . The head coach is Jeff Truitt of the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Canada opens the tournament with a game against Sweden on Thursday. . . .

The NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned D Stanislav Svozil of the Regina Pats to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Svozil played two NHL games earlier in the week, picking up an assist in his debut. He played in his first AHL game last night, recording two assists and being name third star in a 4-3 victory over the host Rochester Americans. . . . Meanwhile, the NHL’s Washington Capitals have assigned Regina F Alexander Suzdalev to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. He was a third-round pick by the Capitals in the NHL’s 2021 draft. This season, he led all WHL freshmen in goals (38), assists (48) and points (86). . . .

F Ty Thorpe (Vancouver Giants) had a goal on Saturday night as the host South Carolina Stingrays scored a 5-4 shootout victory over the Jacksonville Icemen. No, he didn’t take part in the shootout. . . . F Carson Golder (Kelowna Rockets) drew the primary assist on the winning goal as the visiting Manitoba Moose got past the Rockford IceHogs, 3-2. . . . F Parker Bell (Tri-City Americans) picked up an assist on the game-winner at 19:44 of the third period as the Calgary Wranglers beat the host Abbotsford Canucks, 3-2. With the victory, the Wranglers, under head coach Mitch Love, a former WHL player and coach, clinched first place in the AHL’s overall standings (51-17-4).

OutOfOrder

THE COACHING GAME:

Roy Sommer, once an assistant coach with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders, coached his 1,814th and final AHL game on Saturday night as his San Diego Gulls dropped a 3-1 decision to the host Colorado Eagles. Sommer, 66, has announced his retirement after 25 years in the AHL. For the first 24 of this seasons, he was head coach of the San Jose Sharks’ affiliate in Kentucky, Cleveland, Worcester and San Jose. He spent this season with the Anaheim Ducks’ AHL affiliate. . . . Sommer has coached in more AHL games and posted more victories (828) than anyone in history. . . . Sommer was with Prince Albert in 1988-89, before moving on to the ECHL’s Roanoke Valley Rebels. . . . As a player, Sommer, who is from Oakland, Calif., played one game with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings (1974-75) and then two seasons (1975-77) with the Calgary Centennials. . . .

Zack Dailey has been named the head coach of the MacEwan U Griffins, who play in Canada West. Dailey, an assistant coach with the Edmonton-based team since 2017, had been the team’s interim head coach as he filled in for Michael Ringrose, who was on parental leave. Ringrose announced in February that he wouldn’t be returning. Dailey, a 33-year-old native of Healey, Alaska, played with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips for five seasons (2005-10), before going on to spend five seasons with the U of Alberta Golden Bears.

Delivery

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.

Bacon

Blades win Game 7 . . . No miracle for Bedard, Pats . . . WHL’s second-round matchups set, series open Friday

WHL

A few Twitter tidbits from Sunday’s lone WHL playoff game in which the host Prince George Cougars scored a 5-4 OT victory over the Tri-City Americans to move into the second round for the first time since 2007 . . .

Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow): “Riley Heidt doubles point output in series after recording a goal and 2 assists. 12th game of at least three points this season, 7th this side of 2023. Ty Young stops series high 34 of 38, becomes first Cougars goalie with 3+ wins in playoffs since Real Cyr in 2007 (8).” . . .

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WHL PLAYOFF NOTES:

The stage now is set for the second round of the playoffs, with all four series scheduled to open on Friday. There weren’t any upsets in the first round, as each of the top four seeds in each conference advanced for the first time since 2015. . . .

In the Eastern Conference, the pennant-winning Winnipeg Ice, which swept the Medicine Hat Tigers, will be at home to the No. 4 Moose Jaw Warriors, while the No. 2 Saskatoon Blades entertain the No. 3 Red Deer Rebels. . . .

In the Western Conference, the No. 1 Seattle Thunderbirds and No. 4 Prince George Cougars will open in Kent, Wash., with the No. 2 Kamloops Blazers entertaining the No. 3 Portland Winterhawks. . . .

Shaun Clouston, the Blazers’ general manager and head coach, told Radio NL on Monday that F Fraser Minten should be back in the lineup for Friday’s opener against Portland. Minten, a 31-goal man in the regular season, hasn’t played since March 22. . . . At the same time, F Daylan Kuefler, who missed the last game of the four-game sweep of the Vancouver Giants, is day-to-day. He also scored 31 times in the regular season.

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MONDAY IN THE WHL PLAYOFFS:

BEDARD
CONNOR BEDARD

THE BEDARD REPORT — F Connor Bedard ran out of miracles for the Regina Pats last night in Saskatoon as the Blades posted a 4-1 victory in Game 7 of a first-round series. . . . Yes, he drew an assist on Regina’s lone goal. . . . Bedard finished the series with 10 goals and 10 assists; he was in on 20 of his side’s 26 goals in the seven games. . . . BTW, at some point on Monday there was a scoring change made that impacted Bedard. Prior to Game 7, Bedard was shown with 11 goals and eight assists. He picked up an assist in Game 7, and after the game was shown with 10 goals and 10 assists. . . . On Monday, Bedard was named the WHL’s player of the week for a second straight week. . . . Most points in a WHL playoff series? Who knows? But Lucas Punkari of the Brandon Sun pointed out earlier that F Jamie Black of the Tacoma Rockets had 22 points, including 15 assists, in a seven-game first-round loss to the Spokane Chiefs in 1993. . . . Bedard was blanked in five of 57 regular-season games; he had at least one point in each of the seven playoff games. . . . In 64 regular-season and playoff games this season, Bedard had 163 points, including 81 goals. . . . Including his performance at the World Junior Championship, he had 186 points, including 90 goals, in 71 games. . . . In his WHL career, he totalled 291 points, including 144 goals, in 141 regular-season and playoff games. . . . What’s next for Bedard? Well, Les Lazaruk, the Blades’ well-connected play-by-play voice, said last night that he has heard that Bedard won’t play for Canada at the IIHF World Championship that is scheduled for  Tampere, Finland, and Riga, Latvia, from May 12-28. . . . Bedard almost certainly will be the first overall selection in the NHL draft that is to run in Nashville on June 28 and 29. . . . All this and he won’t turn 18 until July 17. Amazing!

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EASTERN CONFERENCE

Regina (6) at Saskatoon (3) — The Saskatoon Blades scored three third-period Saskatoongoals as they beat the Regina Pats, 4-1, in Game 7 of their first round series. . . . The Blades will open the second round at home to the Red Deer Rebels on Friday night. . . . This game was goalless until Saskatoon D Spencer Shugrue scored on a redirection off a 3-on-2 break with 13.3 seconds left in the second period. The 19-year-old Vancouver native had one goal and six assists in 55 regular-season games. He was pointless in the first six games of the series. . . . The Blades went ahead 2-0 at 7:56 of the third period when F Jake Chiasson (2) scored. . . . F Stanislav Svozil (4) got the Pats to within a goal at 13:10. . . . The Blades put it away on goals from F Vaughn Watterodt (3), at 17:50, and F Trevor Wong (3), into an empty net, at 18:11. . . . Wong finished the series with 10 points, as did Saskatoon F Egor Sidorov, who had five goals. . . . Saskatoon got 25 stops from G Austin Elliott, while Regina’s Drew Sim blocked 36. . . . Saskatoon was 0-for-2 on the PP to finish 5-for-18. Regina’s PP didn’t get on the ice in Game 7 and finished 5-for-14. . . . If you were wondering who was the WHL Supervisor for this game, it was Kevin Muench, the league’s veteran senior director of officiating. . . . The announced attendance at Monday’s game was 14,768. The four playoff games in Saskatoon drew 47,729 fans. The seven-game series finished with a total attendance of 67,226. . . . The Pats’ last six trips to Saskatoon drew 77,265 fans to SaskTel Centre.

Carts

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

G Jesper Vikman of the Vancouver Giants has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights and has joined their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, on an ATO. . . . From Stockholm, Sweden, Vikman, 21, was 19-21-1, 3.29, .903 with the Giants this season. . . . Vegas selected him in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2020 draft. . . .

D Dru Krebs of the Medicine Hat Tigers has joined the AHL’s Hershey Bears on an ATO. Krebs, who turned 20 on Feb. 16, had eight goals and 33 assists in 67 regular-season games this season. He was a sixth-round selection by the Washington Capitals, the Bears’ parent club, in the 2021 NHL draft. . . . 

F Jett Jones of the Lethbridge Hurricanes has joined the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates. He is coming off a regular season in which he finished with 50 points, 21 of them goals, in 67 games. . . . Jones, 20, is an NHL free agent. . . .

The NHL’s New York Rangers have assigned G Talyn Boyko of the Kelowna Rockets to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. . . . Boyko, who played out his junior eligibility this season, was 13-24-1, 3.55, .898 with Kelowna this season. . . . The Rangers selected him in the fourth round of the NHL’s 2021 draft. . . .

The SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers have signed Clayton Jardine as their general manager and head coach. He spent the past four seasons as head coach of the AJHL’s Camrose Kodiaks. . . . Jardine, 32, was the Klippers’ head coach in 2018-19 when he was honoured as the SJHL’s coach of the year. . . . When the 2022-23 season began, Ken Plaquin was the Klippers’ GM/head coach. He was fired on Feb. 22 with assistant coach Tyler Traptow finishing up on an interim basis. . . . The Klippers went 13-34-9 this season and didn’t qualify for the playoffs. . . . 

F Justin Sommer scored in OT to give the Kimberley Dynamiters a 3-2 victory over the host Princeton Posse in Game 7 of the junior B Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s championship final. . . . Sommer, who is from Kimberley, had three goals and three assists in 37 regular-season games. He scored his third goal of these playoffs at 14:36 of OT. . . . Princeton F Brayden Bablitz scored his 12th goal of the playoffs to tie the score at 18:42 of the third period. G Peyton Trzaska was on the bench for the extra attacker at the time. . . . The Posse had been playing with heavy hearts since assistant coach Mort Johnston was killed in a single-vehicle auto accident on March 26.

THINKING OUT LOUD — Whenever I listen to Les Lazaruk call a Saskatoon Blades games, I get bothered. Why? Because someone like Jack Edwards gets to call NHL games and Les doesn’t. It’s true that there are times when life just isn’t fair. . . . A quick note to WHL head coaches . . . Kevin Dudley of the Mankato, Minn., News reports that Minnesota State men’s hockey coach Luke Strand, who just signed a five-year deal, will be paid US$340,000 annually. . . . The Mavericks played 39 games this season.

Kongs

With the 10th anniversary of her kidney transplant within in sight, Dorothy is taking part in her 10th straight Kamloops Kidney Walk. So, yes, she is fund-raising. . . . The 2023 Walk is scheduled for June 4. . . . If you would like to donate to her cause, you are able to do so right here.

——

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

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

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

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

LeafBlower

Bedard legend gets even better . . . Four points lead Pats past Blades; series goes to Saskatoon for Game 7 . . . Winterhawks on to Kamloops

WHL

Some Twitter tidbits from Geoffrey Brandow after Friday night’s WHL games . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., the Prince George Cougars beat the Tri-City Americans, 6-2, to take a 3-2 series lead. “The Cougars are first in series to win consecutive tilts and take the series lead for first time. Four goals 10-and-a-half minutes apart in third help run away. Zac Funk brings ‘da 2 goals as does Bauer Dumanski, who matches regular-season total with his 2Gs.” . . .

In Everett, the Silvertips beat the Portland Winterhawks, 5-0, but still trailed, 3-1. “Silvertips get back to do what they do best, win via shutout. Tyler Palmer puts out 22 for 2nd clean sheet with ‘Tips. Caden Zaplitny, Beau Courtney and Roan Woodward all notch first markers of playoffs; Jackson Berezowski, Austin Roest rack up 3rd.” . . .

In Saskatoon, the Blades beat the Regina Pats, 4-2, to take a 3-2 series lead. “Blades reverse a 2-0 series deficit to a 3-2 lead. Egor Sidorov is back to a goal-per-game in the series after doubling up for 2nd time in 3 games.  Aidan De La Gorgendiere, Tanner Molendyk and Trevor Wong all assist on a pair.” . . .

In Red Deer, the Rebels beat the Calgary Hitmen, 6-5 in OT, to win the series, 4-1. “Rebels turn around a 5-3 deficit with 5 minutes to play in regulation before Ben King caps a 4-point affair striking in overtime five minutes in. Mats Lindgren is beneficiary of 2 of King’s passes with power play tallies. Had 8 (of 11) in season. . . . Jayden Grubbe gets grubby hands on five goals. All nine assists in series come in last three games and sets new personal best in category. No player had more points than he did assists in series. Sets Internet Era record for team for assists in a playoff game.”

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There were two WHL playoff games on Saturday night; there will be one on Easter Sunday. . . .

Last night, the Regina Pats posted a 5-3 victory over the visiting Saskatoon Blades to even that series, 3-3. They’ll decide things in Saskatoon on Monday night. . . .

And, in Portland, the Winterhawks won, 3-2 in OT, over the Everett Silvertips to win that series, 4-1. . . . The Winterhawks, the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed, will meet the No. 2 Kamloops Blazers in the second round. Games 1 and 2 are to be played in Kamloops on Friday and Saturday. . . .

Tonight, the Tri-City Americans will be looking to stay alive as they face the Cougars in Prince George. The Cougars, who won two of three games in Kennewick, Wash., this week, haven’t been out of the first round since 2007. . . . If they need a Game 7, it is to be played in Prince George on Tuesday. . . . The winner of this series will meet up with the No. 1 Seattle Thunderbirds in the second round.

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What do you do with your time on a Saturday night if you’re a WHL team that swept its first-round series and now is awaiting a second-round opponent? Well, if you’re the Seattle Thunderbirds you take in an NHL game . . .

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SATURDAY IN THE WHL PLAYOFFS:

THE BEDARD REPORT — The day will come when fathers will tell their children about this one player in this one particular playoff series that took place in the spring of 2023. . . . Yes, that player is F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats. . . . The legend grew even more last night as Bedard figured in each of his club’s first four goals, scoring once and drawing three primary assists, as the Pats beat the visiting Saskatoon Blades, 5-3, in Game 6 of their first-round series. . . . They’ll play Game 7 in Saskatoon on Monday night. . . . Bedard now has 11 goals and eight assists in the series. He has been in on 19 of Regina’s 25 goals in the six games. . . . In 63 regular-season and playoff games this season, Bedard has 162 points, including 82 goals. . . . Including his performance at the World Junior Championship, he has 185 points, including 91 goals, in 70 games. . . . You’re wondering, as am I, what the WHL record is for most points in one playoff series. Who knows? But here’s a tidbit from Lucas Punkari (@lpunkari) of the Brandon Sun: “I have no idea what the record is for most points in a WHL playoff series, but I can tell you that Jamie Black had 22 points in seven games for Tacoma in their opening-round loss to Spokane in 1993.” Indeed, Black had seven goals and 15 assists in that series.

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EASTERN CONFERENCE

Saskatoon (3) at Regina (6) — F Connor Bedard broke a 3-3 tie at 1:59 of the Reginathird period and the Regina Pats went on to beat the visiting Saskatoon Blades, 5-3, to tie their series, 3-3. . . . Game 7 is scheduled to be played in Saskatoon on Monday night. . . . F Trevor Wong’s second straight goal, at 1:04 of the third, had gotten the Blades into the 3-3 tie. . . . Bedard’s 11th goal of the series came just 55 seconds later. It came as the Pats caught the Blades on a shaky line change. D Stanislav Svozil made a big-league pass from the Regina blue line to Bedard at the Saskatoon line, and he went in to score. . . . Svozil finished with three assists; he’s got three goal and nine assists in the six games. . . . Bedard also had three assists. . . . There was controversy at 11:24 of the third period as F Zackary Shantz appeared to score his second goal of the series. However, he was in the blue paint and the puck may have gone in off a skate. After a lengthy video review, the goal was disallowed. But after referee Mark Pearce spoke with Regina general manager/head coach John Paddock, there was a second lengthy review after which the goal was allowed to stand. Unfortunately, there wasn’t an explanation offered by the WHL. Yes, the WHL really needs to find a way to post explanations on social media. You know, just to keep fans informed. . . . Saskatoon F Jayden Wiens (4) opened the scoring at 9:42 of the first period. . . . Regina pulled even on a goal from F Alexander Suzdalev  at 14:53. . . . Suzdalev (3) gave the Pats their first lead of the game, on a PP, at 5:04 of the second period, and F Tanner Howe (2) upped the lead to 3-1 at 12:45. . . . Wong tied it with his first two goals of the series. . . . Regina got 27 saves from G Drew Sim. . . . Saskatoon G Ethan Chadwick stopped 15 shots. . . . The Blades had won 11 straight road games going into this one, and they were 4-1-0 in Regina this season. . . . The Brandt Centre was sold out (6,499) once again.

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Everett (6) at Portland (3) — The Portland Winterhawks moved on to the Portlandsecond round with a 3-2 OT victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Portland will open the next round with games against the Blazers in Kamloops on Friday and Saturday. . . . In four regular-season meetings, Portland was 3-1-0, while Kamloops was 1-1-2. . . . Last night, F Robbie Fromm-Delorme (2) won it, on a PP, at 9:45 of OT. . . . F Gabe Klassen (2) had given Portland a 1-0 lead at 16:39 of the first period. . . . Everett went ahead with two late second-period PP goals, from F Austin Roest (4), at 16:51, and F Jackson Berezowski (4), at 18:36. . . . The Winterhawks tied it when F James Stefan (4) scored, on a PP, at 8:29 of the third. . . . Each team was 2-for-5 on the PP. . . . G Jan Špunar earned the victory with 19 saves, 21 fewer than Everett’s Tyler Palmer. . . . Everett was dogged by injuries in this series; it had seven injured players on the sidelines.

Rear

With the 10th anniversary of her kidney transplant within in sight, Dorothy is taking part in her 10th straight Kamloops Kidney Walk. So, yes, she is fund-raising. . . . The 2023 Walk is scheduled for June 4. . . . If you would like to donate to her cause, you are able to do so right here.

——

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

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

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

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Blades, Pats runnin’ back to Saskatoon all even . . . Three WHL teams have seasons end . . . Cougars tie it up in Kennewick

Some Twitter tidbits from Tuesday’s WHL playoff games, thanks to Geoffrey WHLBrandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) . . .

F Parker Bell had a goal and two assists in the Tri-City Americans’ 4-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars in Kennewick, Wash. It was his “sixth 3-point game of season, 3 in Dec., 3 since.”

The Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Rockets, 4-1, in Kelowna. The Thunderbirds “claim a 2nd straight 4-1 win and 3-0 series lead. 2nd win in series when trailing after 2, after 4 in season. . . . F Jordan Gustafson scores in return after missing 11 (and 29 of 31).”

The Kamloops Blazers beat the host Vancouver Giants 5-0 as they rolled “to 2nd shutout of the series with Dylan Ernst matching clean sheet number from regular season. F Caedan Banker closes with final two goals . . . is up to 22 points vs. Vancouver this season.”

The Saskatoon Blades beat the host Regina Pats, 4-3 in OT. “F Egor Sidorov kickstarts comeback and finishes with winner 5 minutes in. Struck twice in OT during the regular season.”

In Medicine Hat, the Winnipeg Ice beat the Tigers, 7-2. “The Ice is scoring at nearly a 21 per cent rate through three games. . . . D Ben Zloty adds another three helpers to total, up to combined 76 this season.”

The visiting Moose Jaw Warriors beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-2. “F Jagger Firkus figures in four goals, including a natural hat trick to outscore Lethbridge. Up to 10 goals, 20 points in playoff career. Team’s first natural hat trick in Internet area, 4th total.”

Office

The Thursday WHL schedule features only one game. It has the Kamloops KamloopsBlazers, with a 3-0 series lead, in Langley, B.C., for Game 4 with the Vancouver Giants. . . . All you really need to know is that Kamloops G Dylan Ernst is 3-0, 0.33, .983. . . . On Wednesday, Chad Klassen of CFJC-TV in Kamloops tweeted: “Just checked with the WHL and since 2006 the lowest goals-against in a series is two (Vancouver vs. Everett, 2006 Western Conference final). The Kamloops Blazers have a chance to tie or break that mark in Game 4 on Thursday.” . . . Yes, the Blazers have outscored the Giants, 19-1, in the three games. . . . Remember, though, that the WHL doesn’t seem to have any records handy from the 30 years prior to 2006. So who knows what the league record might be.

——

WEDNESDAY IN THE WHL PLAYOFFS:

THE BEDARD REPORT — F Connor Bedard continued his terrific playoff run as he scored two goals. . . . However, his Regina Pats dropped a 4-3 OT decision to the visiting Saskatoon Blades. . . . Bedard got his guys into a 1-1 tie at 19:35 of the second period, then gave them a 2-1 lead 13 seconds into the third. . . . But for the second night in a row the Pats weren’t able to hold a third-period lead. . . . Through two periods, Bedard had six of Regina’s 12 shots on goal. He finished with 10 of his team’s 26 shots. . . . The Pats have scored 18 goals in the four games; Bedard has eight goals and five assists. . . . He leads the WHL playoffs in goals and points (13). . . . The game drew a second straight sellout crowd (6,499) to Regina’s Brandt Centre.

——

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) at Medicine Hat (8) — F Ty Nash broke a 2-2 tie in the third period as the Winnipeg Ice beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 3-2. . . . The Ice, winners of the Eastern Conference title, swept the first-round series against the No. 8 Tigers. . . . Nash scored his second goal of the series at 1:10 of the third period. . . . F Matt Savoie’s sixth goal of the series, shorthanded, gave the Ice a 1-0 lead at 1:14 of the first period. . . . D Dru Krebs (1) of the Tigers tied it just 16 seconds later while on a PP. . . . F Owen Pederson (1) put Winnipeg back out front at 10:50 of the second period. . . . Medicine Hat tied it at 14:59 when F Hunter St. Martin (1) scored. . . . The Tigers outshot the Ice in each game of the series, including 32-21 in Game 4. . . . Winnipeg G Daniel Hauser was 2.25, .925 in the four games. In 90 regular-season appearances over last season and this, he is 90-9-3. . . . Winnipeg lost F Zack Ostapchuk to a cross-checking major and game misconduct just 55 seconds into the game. . . .

Red Deer (2) at Calgary (7) — The Red Deer Rebels scored twice while shorthanded and three times on the PP en route to a 6-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Rebels lead the series, 3-1. They’ll now head for Red Deer and Game 5 on Friday. . . . Red Deer broke a 1-1 tie with shorthanded goals from F Ollie Josephson (1), at 9:07 of the second period, and F Jhett Larson (1), at 18:31. . . . F Ben King scored his first two goals of these playoffs for the Rebels, both on the PP, and added an assist. . . . D Mats Lindgren earned four assists; F Jayden Grubbe had three. . . . F Kai Uchacz got his fourth goal of the series on a third-period PP. . . . The teams combined to take 23 minor penalties, 13 of them to Red Deer. . . . Red Deer was 3-for-7 on the PP; Calgary was 1-for-11. . . . Rebels G Kyle Kelsey continued his stellar play with 36 saves. . . . The Rebels had F Craig Armstrong back after he served a two-game suspension for slew-footing. . . . The Hitmen continued to be without F Riley Fiddler-Schultz, who didn’t finish the second game of the series. They also scratched F Sean Tschigerl, who didn’t finish Game 3. . . . Fiddler-Schultz, with 75 points in 64 games, and Tschigerl, with 57 in 60, were two of Calgary’s top three scorers in the regular season. . . .

Saskatoon (3) at Regina (6) — F Jake Chiasson’s OT goal gave the Saskatoon Blades a 4-3 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . The series is tied, 2-2, with Game 5 in Saskatoon on Friday and Game 6 back in Regina on Saturday. . . . The road team has won all four games in this series. . . . This was the third straight game in the series to go to OT. The Blades won Games 3 and 4 in Regina by erasing 3-1 third-period deficits. . . . Last night, Saskatoon F Egor Sidorov, who scored the OT winner in Game 3, opened the scoring, on a PP, at 7:18 of the second period. . . . Regina took a 3-1 lead with three goals 1:18 apart. F Connor Bedard (8) scored twice — at 19:35 of the second period and 13 seconds into the third — and F Tanner Howe got his first of the series at 0:53. . . . The Blades pulled even on goals from F Jayden Wiens (3), at 2:42, and D Charlie Wright (1), at 10:01. . . . Chiasson, who was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings in January, won it at 7:20 of extra time. . . . The Blades got 23 saves from G Ethan Chadwick, with G Drew Sim stopping 33 shots for the Pats. . . . Who wins on Friday? Including the regular season, the road team has won seven of 10 games between these teams. . . .

Moose Jaw (4) at Lethbridge (5) — The Moose Jaw Warriors struck for three third-period goals as they beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 5-2. . . . The Warriors swept the first-round series. . . . F Tyson Zimmer (1) gave Lethbridge a 1-0 lead at 8:50 of the first period. . . . F Brayden Yager (1), at 13:56 of the first, and D Max Wanner (1), at 5:15 of the second, gave the Warriors the lead. . . . F Hayden Smith (1) pulled the hosts even at 19:00 of the second. . . . The Warriors put it away with third-period goals from F Lynden Lakovic (1), D Denton Mateychuk (2) and Yager (2), the latter into an empty net. . . . Yager also had an assist for a three-point night. . . . G Connor Ungar stopped 28 shots for Moose Jaw. . . . Interestingly, three of the four Warriors who served 17-game WHL-issued suspensions to end the season got on the scoresheet in this one. Wanner had a goal and two assists, Lakovic scored once, and Ungar again was solid in goal. In the four games, Ungar was 4-0, 1.29, .953. . . . The Warriors lost F Robert Baco with a major and game misconduct for goaltender interference at 7:35 of the second period.

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) at Kelowna (8) — G Thomas Milic stopped 19 shots as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Kelowna Rockets, 3-0. . . . The Thunderbirds, who finished atop the Western Conference, swept the series, outscoring the Rockets, 17-4. . . . F Lucas Ciona (3) scored Seattle’s first goal, at 8:42 of the second period, and that’s all Milic would need. . . . F Dylan Guenther (5) and F Jordan Gustafson (2) added third-period goals. . . . Milic went 4-0, 1.00, .958 in the series. . . . After G Jari Kykkanen played the first three games, the Rockets turned to Talyn Boyko for Game 4. Boyko, a fourth-round pick by the New York Rangers in the NHL’s 2021 draft who is signed, stopped 35 shots. For the fourth straight game, the Rockets were very much in the game in the third period but just couldn’t close it out. . . .

Prince George (4) at Tri-City (5) — F Koehn Ziemmer and F Jaxsen Wiebe each scored twice as the Prince George Cougars beat the Tri-City Americans, 6-2, in Kennewisk, Wash. . . . The series is tied, 2-2. This is the lone first-round series to be using a 2-3-2 format, which is why Game 5 will be played in Kennewick on Friday, with Game 6 scheduled for Prince George on Sunday. A seventh game, if needed, would be played in Prince George on Tuesday. . . . Ziemmer’s second goal of the game and the series gave the Cougars a 3-0 lead at 1:50 of the second period and they were never headed. . . . Wiebe has three goals. . . . G Ty Young got the start for the Cougars after Tyler Brennan left Game 3 with an undisclosed injury. Young made 26 stops. . . . Brennan wasn’t dressed, so the Cougars had Madden Mulawka on the bench in support of Young. Mulawka, who turned 17 on March 8, is from Edmonton. He was a fifth-round pick by the Cougars in the WHL’s 2021 draft. He got into three games with Prince George earlier in the season.

Cow

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

Lee Stone is the new general manager and head coach of the junior B Nanaimo Buccaneers of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. . . . He spent the previous 10 seasons with the VIJHL’s Campbell River Storm. . . . Stone takes over from Andy Hellweger, whose mother, Nicole Brandbenburg, purchased the Buccaneers in April 2022. . . . This season, Nanaimo finished 5-41-2. . . .

The BCHL’s Penticton Vees beat the Smoke Eaters, 5-1, in Trail on Wednesday night to sweep their best-of-seven first-round playoff series. Penticton, the BCHL’s defending champion, has won 20 straight playoff games going back to last season.

——

With the 10th anniversary of her kidney transplant within in sight, Dorothy is taking part in her 10th straight Kamloops Kidney Walk. So, yes, she is fund-raising. . . . The 2023 Walk is scheduled for June 4. . . . If you would like to donate to her cause, you are able to do so right here.

——

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

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

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

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Phone

$idorov’$ OT $core get$ Blade$ back in $erie$ . . . Ice, Warriors, Thunderbirds, Blazers in command . . . Green Shirt Day almost here

There were six WHL playoff games on Tuesday night and there will be six more tonight. The difference is that we could have as many as three teams come to WHLthe end of their seasons tonight. . . .

In Medicine Hat, the Eastern Conference’s top seed, the Winnipeg Ice, holds a 3-0 edge on the No. 8 Medicine Hat Tigers. . . .

In Lethbridge, the No. 4 Moose Jaw Warriors take a 3-0 series lead into their game against the Hurricanes. . . .

In Kelowna, the Western Conference’s No. 8 seeded Rockets need a victory in order to stay alive against the No. 1 Seattle Thunderbirds. . . .

Three other series resume tonight, too.

The No. 4 Prince George Cougars are in Kennewick, Wash., to face the No. 5 Tri-City Americans. . . . Tri-City holds a 2-1 lead. . . . Game 5 will be played Friday in Kennewick. . . .

In Calgary, the Red Deer Rebels are to meet the Hitmen. Red Deer, the east’s No. 2 seed, took a 2-1 lead with a 4-2 victory over the No. 7 Hitmen in Calgary on Monday night. They’ll play a fifth game in Red Deer on Friday. . . .

And, in Regina, the Pats, the Eastern Conference’s No. 6 seed, hold a 2-1 lead over the No. 3 Saskatoon Blades. No matter tonight’s outcome, they’ll play a fifth game in Saskatoon on Friday.

——

TUESDAY IN THE WHL PLAYOFFS:

THE BEDARD REPORT — Three more points! . . . F Connor Bedard has played three playoff games during his WHL career. He has 11 points, six of them goals, after scoring once and drawing two assists in a 4-3 OT loss to the visiting Saskatoon Blades on Tuesday night. . . . Bedard also had a goal disallowed in the first period. . . . The Pats now have scored 15 goals in the three games; Bedard has been in on 11 of them, with six goals and five assists. . . . The WHL’s regular-season scoring king, Bedard leads the playoffs in goals and points. . . . Including the regular season, this was the 28th time in 60 games that he has scored at least three points. . . . And please allow me to remind you one more time that Bedard won’t turn 18 until July 17.

——

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) at Medicine Hat (8) — The Winnipeg Ice struck three times before WinnipegIcethe game was six minutes old and went on to drop the Medicine Hat Tigers, 7-2. . . . The Ice, which finished atop the overall standings, leads the series, 3-0, with Game 4 in Medicine Hat tonight. . . . D Ben Zloty had three assists for Winnipeg, which got goals from seven different players, including F Matt Savoie, who scored his fifth of the series. . . . Zloty has seven helpers in the three games. . . .

Saskatoon (3) at Regina (6) — F Egor Sidorov’s second goal of the game in OT Saskatoongave the Saskatoon Blades a 4-3 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . The Pats still lead the series, 2-1, with Game 4 in Regina tonight. . . . They’ll be back in Saskatoon for Game 5 on Friday. You can bet there’ll be more than 10,000 fans in the SaskTel Centre on Good Friday, so how much do you think Sidorov’s goal was worth? . . . This was the second straight OT game in the series; Regina had won, 6-5, in Saskatoon on Sunday. . . . Sidorov’s second goal of the series — he drove to the net off the right boards and beat G Drew Sim — came at 5:19 of OT. . . . F Brandon Lisowsky (1) had forced extra time when he scored on a PP with 27.2 seconds left in the third period. . . . Leading 2-1 in the first period, the Pats thought they had made it 3-1 on a goal by F Connor Bedard, only to have the goal disallowed because one goal post was off its mooring before the puck crossed the goal line. . . . The sold-out crowd of 6,499 didn’t take the decision well. . . . Bedard’s sixth goal had given the Pats a 3-1 lead at 9:39 of the third period. . . . Sidorov got the Blades to within one, on a PP, at 10:32. . . . Saskatoon was 3-for-4 on the PP after going 0-for-6 over the first two games. . . . F Trevor Wong had three assists, all on the PP, for Saskatoon. . . .

Moose Jaw (4) at Lethbridge (5) — F Jagger Firkus broke a 1-1 tie with three WarriorsNewstraight goals to lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 6-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Warriors lead the series, 3-0, and can end it tonight in Lethbridge. . . . Firkus got his first goal at 18:52 of the first period, for a 2-1 lead. He scored again at 8:16 and 11:28 of the second period. . . . Firkus also added an assist for a four-point outing. He has four goals and four assists in the three games. . . . G Connor Ungar stopped 24 shots for the Warriors. He is 3-0, 1.09, .960 in this series.

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) at Kelowna (8) — The Seattle Thunderbirds scored the last four goals Seattleas they beat the Kelowna Rockets, 4-1. . . . Seattle now holds a 3-0 lead in the series and gets its first opportunity to end it tonight in Kelowna. . . . F Jordan Gustafson (1), playing in his first game of the series, snapped a 1-1 tie at 11:07 of the third period and F Lucas Ciona (2) added insurance at 13:05. . . . F Dylan Guenther scored his fourth goal of the series for Seattle. . . .  G Thomas Milic stopped 24 shots for Seattle. TBird Tidbits informs us that “Milic now stands alone at the top of the list of Seattle goaltender playoff wins. This was his 17th career playoff victory, surpassing Carl Stankowski, who had 16.” . . . The Rockets have been in all three games — they led 2-1 in the third period of Game 1 and were 1-1 in the third period of Game 2 — but haven’t been able to win. . . . G Jari Kykkanen gave the Rockets 29 saves in his third straight complete game. . . .

Kamloops (2) at Vancouver (7) — F Caedan Bankier scored twice and added an Kamloopsassist as the Kamloops Blazers beat the Vancouver Giants, 5-0, to take a 3-0 lead in the series. . . . They’ll play Game 4 on Thursday in Langley, B.C. . . . G Dylan Ernst stopped 17 shots in earning his second shutout of the series. . . . Ernst had two shutouts in each of the past two regular seasons, in 53 appearances this season and 24 last season. In these playoffs, he is 3-0, 0.33, .983. . . . The Blazers, who had a 46-17 edge in shots, have outshot the Giants, 154-58, in the three games. . . . Bankier has four goals in the series. . . . F Matthew Seminoff helped out with three assists. . . .

Prince George (4) at Tri-City (5) — F Parker Bell broke a 2-2 tie at 5:31 of the Tri-Citythird period as the Tri-City Americans beat the Prince George Cougars, 4-2, in Kennewick, Wash. . . . The Americans hold a 2-1 series lead with Game 4 in Kennewick tonight. This series is going 2-3-2, so they’ll play Game 5 there on Friday. . . . The Americans took a 2-0 first-period lead on goals from D Marc Lajoie (1) and F Tyson Greenway (3). . . . The Cougars tied it on goals from F Chase Wheatcroft (1), at 3:59 of the second period, and D Hudson Thornton (2), at 1:22 of the third. . . . Bell’s second goal of the series came via the PP. . . . F Jalen Luypen (2), who had the primary assist on Bell’s goal, added insurance with the empty-netter at 19:09. . . . G Tomas Suchanek earned the victory with 28 saves. . . . Cougars G Tyler Brennan left with an undisclosed injury at 16:59 of the second period after stopping 16 of 18 shots. Ty Young finished up with eight saves on nine shots.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

In the OHL, the Windsor Spitfires, who went all-in and acquired F Shane Wright during the season, lost, 6-3, to the host Kitchener Rangers on Tuesday and now trail the series, 3-0. The Spitfires finished atop the Western Division, at 44-18-6; the Rangers were eighth, at 33-29-6. A No. 8 seed has never swept a No. 1 in OHL playoffs. . . .

David Carle, the head coach of the U of Denver Pioneers, has been named head coach of Team USA for the 2024 World Junior Championship. . . . Carle, from Anchorage, has been Denver’s head coach for five seasons. . . . The 2024 WJC is scheduled to be held in Gothenburg, Sweden, from Dec. 26, 2023 through Jan. 5, 2024.

ColdCase

A note from baseball fan supreme Joe Posnanski of JoeBlogs: “Thirteen of Monday’s 15 games were less than three hours — the only two games that went more than three hours also went extra innings. So far this year, 51 of 66 games — 77 per cent — have lasted less than three hours. The average time of game is 2 hours 40 minutes, which takes us ALL THE WAY BACK to 1983, when the No. 1 song was the Police’s stalker song ‘Every Breath You Take,’ and the No. 1 movie was ‘Return of the Jedi,’ and your MVPs in baseball were Cal Ripken Jr. and Dale Murphy.”

——

With the 10th anniversary of her kidney transplant within in sight, Dorothy is taking part in her 10th straight Kamloops Kidney Walk. So, yes, she is fund-raising. . . . The 2023 Walk is scheduled for June 4. . . . If you would like to donate to her cause, you are able to do so right here.

——

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

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

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

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Bacon

Seattle reporter felled by stroke, needs our help . . . Bedard has $$$ impact off the ice . . . Pats back in Saskatoon on Friday

Andy Eide spent many an hour covering the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds prior to the arrival of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken. But even while covering the Kraken, he found time to attend the odd Thunderbirds’ game. . . . On Saturday, as he was preparing to cover another Kraken game, he suffered a stroke. . . . Please keep a really good guy in your thoughts and prayers, and if you are in a position to give, please do. There’s a GoFundMe page right here.

THE BEDARD REPORT, Part 1: Everyone is well aware of the numbers that F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats has put up on the ice. How about some off-ice numbers that also are related to Bedard’s on-ice production? . . . Bedard and the Pats were in Saskatoon where they beat the Blades, 4-2, on Sunday. The game drew a single-game record 14,768 fans to SaskTel Centre. . . . Scott Ford, the facility’s executive director, told Keenan Sorokan of CTV News-Saskatoon that the fans purchased 2,200 boxes of popcorn, 2,500 sodas and somewhere around 1,500 hot dogs. Ford estimated that about $221,500 was spent at concessions. . . . Ford also explained that the financial impact was even greater. “We had a lot of people that were coming from all over Saskatchewan to this game,” Ford told Sorokan. “Lots of people booking in hotel rooms, lots of people shopping in Saskatoon stores prior to the game, after (the) game staying in Saskatoon hotels, so our tourism economy and the spin-off economic benefits of a big event like this really are tremendous.” . . . Sorokan’s complete story is right here. . . . Someone from Regina putting lots of money into the jeans of folks in Saskatoon . . . never thought I’d see the day. LOL!

——

It also took more than 600 SaskTel Centre staff members and volunteers to keep things running smoothly with almost 15,000 people in the house on Sunday. And they’ll get to do it all over again on Friday as F Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats return for another visit. And, yes, another huge crowd is expected to show up. . . . The Blades hold a 3-2-0 edge in the season series, having outscored the Pats, 22-16. . . . And as if that isn’t enough, it really is looking as though the Pats and Blades will meet up in the first round of the playoffs that are scheduled to open on March 31. . . . The Blades will be the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed, meaning they will play the sixth-place team. The Pats are sixth with two games remaining. They are four points behind the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who have three games left, and six ahead of the Calgary Hitmen, who also have three games to play. . . . In other words, it’s sure looking like the Pats and Blades will meet in the first round. It will be the first playoff meeting between these two distinguished franchises since the Blades beat the Pats, 4-2, in a first-round series in 2005-06. Of course, as hard as it may be to comprehend, the only time since then that the Blades and Pats both qualified for the playoffs in the same season was in 2011-12. . . . You are free to wonder how much a seven-game series between the Blades and Pats would be worth this time around.

——

Did you know that Metallica holds the attendance record for the building that now is known as the SaskTel Centre and is home to the Saskatoon Blades? . . . Darren Steinke, the travellin’ blogger, has more right here.

——

THE BEDARD REPORT, Part 2: As expected, a scoring change on a goal in a Saturday game has given F Connor Bedard one more assist. After the fact, Bedard was credited with the lone assist on the first goal of the Pats’ 7-3 victory over the Warriors in Moose Jaw. That goal, a shorthanded effort, was scored by D Parker Berge (3). . . . The assist gave Bedard his second six-point game of the season. He finished with three goals and three assists. . . . He also has nine five-point outings. . . . Yes, he has 57 points in those 11 games. . . . Bedard, of course, followed Saturday’s six-pack with a goal and an assist in a 4-2 victory over the Blades in Saskatoon. . . . So he now leads the WHL in goals (70), assists (72) and points (142). . . . Bedard and the Pats have two games remaining — in Saskatoon on Friday and at home to the Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday. . . . Bedard goes into those games with nine goals and eight assists over his past four games.

Jack Todd, in the Montreal Gazette: “If NHL teams are not going to get serious about involving players in their Pride Night warmups, they might as well scrap the whole idea. Right now, all they’re accomplishing is to provide a platform for homophobic athletes like James Reimer.”

G Dylan Ferguson stopped 48 shots in his first NHL start on Monday night, as he carried the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 victory over the Penguins in Pittsburgh. . . . Only Laurent Brossoit of the Edmonton Oilers, on April 9, 2015, and Manny Legace of the Los Angeles Kings, on Oct. 21, 1998, stopped more shots (49) in their first NHL starts. Ken Wregget of the Toronto Maple Leafs (March 8, 1983) and Bill Oleschuk of the Kansas City Scouts (Jan. 23, 1976) also stopped 48. . . . Ferguson, a 24-year-old from Lantzville, B.C., made his first NHL appearance on Nov. 14, 2017, playing nine minutes for the Vegas Golden Knights in a 7-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Ferguson, then 19, gave up one goal on two shots that night. He was playing for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers at the time. Vegas, which owned his NHL rights, had three goaltenders injured at the time, so Ferguson spent a couple of weeks backing up Maxime Lagace. . . . Selected by the Dallas Stars in the seventh round of the 2017 NHL draft, he was dealt to Vegas. He since has played for the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets and Wichita Thunder, and the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, Henderson Silver Knights, Toronto Marlies and Belleville Senators.

Fish

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

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Medicine Hat (8)

Red Deer (2) vs. Calgary (7)

Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)

Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

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

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

——

MONDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

No Games Scheduled.

——

JUNIOR JOTTINGS: The WHL first-round playoff series between the Prince George Cougars and Tri-City Americans will follow a 2-3-2 format. The Cougars, who will finish fourth in the Western Conference, will play host to the first two games on March 31 and April 1. Then it will south to Kennewick, Wash, for Games 3, 4 and, if necessary, 5 on April 4, 5 and 7. Games 6 and 7 would be played in Prince George on April 9 and 11. . . .

The only other series that is set in stone going into tonight’s games has the Portland Winterhawks, the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed, meeting the No. 6 Everett Silvertips. They will open in Portland on March 31. . . .

In the Eastern Conference, the Winnipeg Ice, Red Deer Rebels, and Saskatoon Blades, the top three seeds, all will open at home on March 31. However, they don’t yet know who will provide the opposition.

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.

Feta

Another five-point night for Bedard; he’s got 14 in three games . . . Two WHLers get NHL deals . . . Ice hangs on to lead atop overall standings

BEDARD
CONNOR BEDARD

THE BEDARD REPORT: It was only a few short days ago that I was wondering if fatigue was catching up to F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats. After all, he had had a four-game stretch during which he had only two points, both goals. . . . Since then? Well, he had another five-point outing — three goals and two assists — on Saturday night as the Pats beat the Warriors, 7-3, in Moose Jaw. One night earlier, in Regina, Bedard also had three goals and two assists, but the Warriors won that one, 9-5. . . . Prior to the back-to-back five-pointers, he had a four-point outing, so he now has 14 points in a three-game stretch. . . . He also now has nine hat tricks this season — seven three-goal games and two four-goal outings. Of the WHL’s 21 other teams, only the Saskatoon Blades have as many hat tricks. . . . Bedard leads the WHL in goals (69) and points (139). He and F Riley Heidt of the Prince George Cougars are tied for the lead in assists, with 70. . . . The last WHLer to score 70 goals in a season was F Jayden Halbgewachs of the Moose Jaw Warriors in 2017-18. . . . Up next? The Pats are in Saskatoon to play the Blades today and somewhere around 15,000 are expected to show up for that one. Yes, that will a single-game attendance record for Saskatoon.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

The NHL’s Dallas Stars have signed F Chase Wheatcroft of the Prince George Cougars to a three-year entry-level contract. Wheatcroft, 20, was an NHL free agent. . . . Wheatcroft, from Calgary, is second in the WHL scoring race, his 105 points trailing only F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats, who has 139. Wheatcroft has 47 goals and 58 assists. . . . He went into this season with 82 points, 31 of them goals, in 137 games split between the Lethbridge Hurricanes (104) and Winnipeg Ice (33). . . .

The Edmonton Oilers have signed F Jake Chiasson of the Saskatoon Blades to a three-year entry-level contract. The Oilers selected Chiasson in the fourth round of the NHL’s 2021 draft. . . . Chiasson, an 18-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., was picked by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the first round, 15th overall, of the WHL’s 2018 draft. . . . The Wheat Kings dealt him to Saskatoon in January. He has 10 goals and 18 assists in 30 games with the Blades this season, after putting up 10 goals and 18 assists in 37 games with Brandon. In 170 career regular-season games, he has 40 goals and 67 assists.

Fire

If the WHL playoffs started today:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Calgary (8)

Red Deer (2) vs. Medicine Hat (7)

Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)

Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

Portland (3) vs. Everett (6)

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

——

SATURDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

F Matt Savoie drew three assists to lead the host Winnipeg Ice to a 4-1 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . G Daniel Hauser recorded the victory with 19 saves. This season, he 36-4-1, 2.31, .915. In 89 career appearances, he is 77-7-3, 2.24, .913. . . . Winnipeg (54-9-1) has won six straight and leads the overall standings by two points over Seattle. Each team has four games remaining. . . . Prince Albert (27-35-3) was eliminated from the playoff chase after Saturday’s games. . . .

The Lethbridge Hurricanes scored the game’s last four goals as they beat the Oil Kings, 6-1, in Edmonton. . . . F Tyson Laventure had a goal (22) and an assist. . . . Lethbridge (35-24-6) is fifth in the Eastern Conference and headed to a first-round clash with Moose Jaw. . . . Edmonton (9-51-4) has lost four in a row (0-3-1). . . .

G Brayden Peters stopped 23 shots to help the Calgary Hitmen to a 2-0 victory over the Tigers in Medicine Hat. . . . Peters, a 20-year-old from Taber, Alta., has three shutouts this season and seven in his career. This season, he is 16-14-6, 2.88, .908, pretty good numbers for a Calgary team that had something of a roller-coaster season. . . . F Carter Yakemchuk (17) gave Calgary a 1-0 lead with a PP goal at 16:14 of the second period, and the Hitmen nursed that until F Sean Tschigerl (24) got the empty-netter at 19:26 of the third. . . . Calgary (28-28-8) is eighth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind Medicine Hat and two ahead of Swift Current. . . . Medicine Hat (28-27-9) had won its previous two games. . . .

G Drew Sim stopped 45 shots as the Regina Pats beat the Warriors, 7-3, in Moose Jaw. . . . F Connor Bedard had three goals (69) and two assists, while F Braxton Whitehead added a goal (10) and two assists. . . . Attendance was announced at 4,965, the largest crowd in Moose Jaw this season, well above the 4,011 fans who watched the Pats win 6-3 there on opening night. According to its website, the Moose Jaw Events Centre seats 4,465 for hockey. . . . Regina (33-28-4) clinched a playoff spot with the victory. It is sixth in the Eastern Conference and likely to face Saskatoon in the opening round. . . . Moose Jaw (39-23-3) had won its previous four games and will finish fourth in the conference. . . .

G Reid Dyck turned aside 31 shots as his Swift Current Broncos came out of Red Deer with a 3-1 victory over the Rebels. . . . F Josh Filmon scored his 45th goal of the season for the Broncos. . . . The Broncos led 2-1 after the first period and it stayed that way until F Mat Ward (25) scored into an empty net at 19:18 of the third. . . . Red Deer lost F Frantisek Formanek to a cross-checking major and game misconduct at 15:33 of the first period. . . . Swift Current (29-32-4) snapped a six-game losing skid (0-5-1). It is ninth in the Eastern Conference, two points from a playoff spot with three games remaining. . . Red Deer (42-18-6) had points in each of its previous six games (4-0-2). It will be the No. 2 seed in the conference and is awaiting an opponent. . . .

F Justin Lies broke a 2-2 tie at 16:04 of the second period as the Saskatoon Blades beat the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-2. . . . Lies has eight goals. . . . F Jake Chiasson, whom the Blades acquired from Brandon in January, had two assists on the day he signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. . . . Saskatoon (46-14-5) has won two straight and will be Eastern Conference’s third seed when the playoffs open. . . . Brandon (26-32-8) has lost four in a row and is four points from the conference’s last playoff spot with only two games remaining. . . .

D Aidan Sutter had a goal and two assists to help the host Everett Silvertips to a 4-1 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . He’s got six goals. . . . The Silvertips scored the first two and the last two goals. . . . Sutter’s PP marker, at 18:20 of the first period proved to be the winner. . . . Everett (32-30-3) is sixth in the Western Conference, three points behind Tri-City. . . . Vancouver (26-30-8) had won its previous two games. It is seventh in the conference, four points ahead of Kelowna but with two games in hand. . . .

F Kyle Crnkovic broke a 2-2 tie with two late third-period goals as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Winterhawks, 4-2, in Portland. . . . Crnkovic scored his 29th goal of the season at 16:46, then added No. 30 into an empty net at 18:31. . . . It was Seattle’s club-record 24th road victory of the season, breaking a record that was set last season. . . . Seattle (52-9-3) has points in 18 straight games (17-0-1), but trails Winnipeg by two points atop the overall standings. . . . Portland (39-19-7) has lost two in a row. It will be the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed when the playoffs begin. . . .

F Logan Stankoven’s goal at 2:19 of OT gave the Kamloops Blazers a 5-4 victory over the Rockets in Kelowna. . . . Stankoven, playing in his second game since returning from an undisclosed injury, also had an assist. He’s got 33 goals. . . . F Ryan Hofer of the Blazers forced OT with his 40th goal, at 15:55 of the third period. . . . Kamloops D Olen Zellweger scored his 29th goal of the season, tops among WHL defencemen. . . . Kamloops got two goals and an assist from F Connor Levis, who now has 26 goals. . . . F Carson Golder had a goal (30) and two assists for the Rockets, as did F Dylan Wightman (15). They also got two goals from F Andrew Cristall (38). . . . Kamloops (47-11-6) has won nine in a row and 20 of 21, but is seven points behind Seattle atop the Western Conference standings. Each team has four games remaining. . . . Kelowna (26-36-4) has lost three in a row (0-2-1). It is eighth in the conference and appears headed to a first-round meeting with Seattle. . . .

F Brayden Schuurman scored in the second-round of a shootout to give the Victoria Royals a 7-6 victory over the Cougars in Prince George. . . . The Royals had tied the game with two PP goals in the final minute of the third period. F Teague Patton (14) scored at 19:15 and Schuurman got his second of the game and 15th of the season at 19:54. . . . F Koehn Ziemmer reached the 40-goal plateau with a pair for the Cougars. . . . Victoria (16-43-7) has lost its previous 12 games (0-11-1). . . . Prince George (35-24-7) has points in nine straight (6-0-3) and will finish fourth in the Western Conference. . . . 

F Jordan Gavin and F Parker Bell each had two goals and an assist to help the Tri-City Americans to an 8-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Gavin, the second overall selection in the WHL’s 2021 draft, has 22 goals and 30 assists in 59 games. He won’t turn 17 until Nov. 13. . . . Bell, 18, has 24 goals and 39 assists in 53 games. Last season, in 64 games, he finished with 18 goals and 31 assists. . . . Tri-City (31-26-8) has points in four straight (3-0-1). It is fifth in the Western Conference, three points ahead of Everett with each team have three games remaining. . . . Spokane (14-42-9) has lost six in a row (0-4-2).

OldAge

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.

Boss

WHL, Ice not taking questions . . . Why Winnipeg, but not Nanaimo? . . . Bedard now 50-50–100 but Pats lose

Earlier this week, Paul Friesen, a sports columnist with the Winnipeg Sun, wrote about how and why the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice might be on its last legs in the Manitoba capital.

Well . . . he had another column on Friday, this one digging a little more into WinnipegIcewhether the Ice ownership will be building an arena in the Rural Municipality of Macdonald.

The key points, at least from where I sit, are these:

1. On the subject of that possible construction project, Reeve Randy Erb said: “I haven’t heard a darn thing about it.”

2. “On Friday,” Friesen wrote, “team brass again wouldn’t take questions, choosing instead to issue a statement saying they’ve made some progress with the RM regarding development of their parcel of land, but making no mention of a new arena.”

3. “A request for follow-up questions was denied,” Friesen wrote.

4. Friesen added “the league also won’t take questions . . .”

There certainly seem to be a lot of folks not wanting to answer questions, isn’t there? Why is that?

Gee, I wonder what the folks of Cranbrook are thinking about now? And, yes, the hockey fans in Chilliwack, too.

Friesen’s complete column is right here and, again, it’s well worth a read.

——

The Victoria Royals began life as the Chilliwack Bruins, as I’m sure you will remember, but after a sale left for Vancouver Island following the 2010-11 season.

At the time, the WHL desperately wanted into Victoria and felt it had to act before the AHL got there, perhaps by having the Manitoba Moose relocate from Winnipeg.

You also may recall that Victoria had been home to the ECHL’s Salmon Kings until the franchise folded after that 2010-11 season.

Thus, the WHL hustled to get into Victoria.

And once it was there its pooh-bahs realized that it would be terrific if there WHLwas a second team on Vancouver Island. After all, it was turning out to be rather costly to ride a ferry there and back from the mainland to, in most instances, play one game. The logical place for another team would be Nanaimo, which had a population of about 90,500 in 2016. (That population grew to around 103,500 by 2022.)

The problem with Nanaimo, at least in the eyes of the WHL, was that it didn’t like the arena. The Frank Crane Arena, with its 2,400 seats, opened on Jan. 3, 1976. It is the home of the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers. For one season (1982-83), it had been home to a WHL franchise — the Nanaimo Islanders. (In 1981-82, the Islanders had been the Billings Bighorns; in 1983-84, they would be the New Westminster Bruins. Today, they are the Tri-City Americans.)

The Clippers’ lease was to end after the 2016-17 season, and a WHL franchise in Nanaimo would have led to that franchise’s demise.

All of this led to reports like this one, from CTV News on March 7, 2017:

“The Western Hockey League has raised the stakes in Nanaimo’s event centre debate.

“The league vowed Monday to bring a WHL club to the Harbour City if residents vote ‘yes’ this weekend on the proposed sports and entertainment complex, which could cost taxpayers close to $80-million.

“It’s the first time the WHL has outright committed to bringing a franchise to Nanaimo.”

Furthermore, the WHL said in a statement that a memorandum of understanding was in place between it and the City of Nanaimo, that a ‘yes’ vote would result in a team playing out of Nanaimo in time for the 2017-18 season and that there would be a 20-year lease in place if the new facility met WHL standards.

Ron Robison, the WHL commissioner, said in a statement: “The WHL remains fully committed to delivering a WHL franchise to Nanaimo, either through relocation or expansion, and will move forward to obtain the necessary final approvals should the residents of the City of Nanaimo vote in favour of a new events centre.”

On March 11, the day of the referendum, CBC reported that Jeff Chynoweth, then the general manager of the Cranbrook-based Kootenay Ice, had confirmed that a move by his team to Nanaimo “is under discussion.”

And so it was that Nanaimo voters went to the polls to vote on whether to borrow $80 million to build an events centre that would seat 5,700 for hockey and 7,100 for concerts.

The outcome was never in doubt. Voter turnout was 35.3 per cent, higher than the 2014 general election (34.1). All told, 23,885 ballots were cast and 80.3 per cent of those voted against borrowing the money.

About a month after the referendum, Chynoweth and his family sold the Ice to Greg Fettes, a Winnipeg businessman, and Matt Cockell, a former WHL goaltender who had been working with True North Sports + Entertainment, which owns the NHL’s Winnpeg Jets.

The Ice played two more seasons in Cranbrook but it became evident early that the franchise’s days there were numbered.

Indeed, on Jan. 29, 2019, the WHL confirmed hockey’s worst-kept secret — the Ice would relocate to Winnipeg after the 2018-19 season.

It didn’t seem to matter to the WHL that there wasn’t a suitable arena available in which the Ice could play its home games. It didn’t matter, perhaps, because Fettes was promising to build a 4,700-seat arena for his team.

So . . . here we are with the 2022-23 WHL regular season heading into the home stretch. The Ice is playing its third season in Winnipeg; it would be four but the abbreviated 2020-21 season ended up being played in a Regina bubble because of the pandemic.

And where does the Ice play its home games?

In Wayne Fleming Arena, on the campus of the University of Manitoba, a facility that also is home to Canada West’s U of Manitoba Bisons. It opened in 1981, about five years after Frank Crane Arena in Nanaimo. The Ice’s home seats about 1,600, and there have been improvements made over the past couple of years, with, among other things, a new ice plant having been installed in 2021.

As for Fettes’s promise to build a new arena. Well, there has yet to be even one shovel hit the ground. And now there are rumblings about the WHL possibly taking over the franchise . . . and perhaps having fined the Ice $500,000 for reneging on the arena promise, something the WHL and Ice both have denied . . . and a Paul Friesen column in the Winnipeg Sun this week detailed how it is that the Ice may be on its last legs in Winnipeg.

So . . . out of all this . . . can anyone explain why the WHL didn’t just move a team to Nanaimo and have it play in a 2,400-seat arena while waiting for someone to build a new facility.

No, the Frank Crane Arena doesn’t meet WHL standards, but neither does the Wayne Fleming Arena.

That didn’t seem to matter when putting a team into Winnipeg, so why was it a big deal when it came to Nanaimo?

You are free to play “What if . . .?”

Tacos

Tim McCarver, who made his name as an MLB catcher before becoming a prominent TV analyst, died on Thursday at the age of 81. . . . As Joe Posnanski points out, McCarver had one moment that stood out among all the rest. It was Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. Diamondbacks versus Yankees. Luis Gonzales against Mariano Rivera. Bottom of the ninth. 2-2. One out. Bases loaded.

Posnanski writes:

“Here’s what (McCarver) said while Gonzalez dug into the box and Rivera took the ball and readied for the next pitch. . . .

“ ‘The one problem is Rivera throws inside to lefthanders, so lefthanders get a lot of broken bat hits into . . . the shallow part of the outfield. That’s the danger of bringing the infield in with a guy like Rivera on the mound.’

“On the next pitch, Gonzalez hit a broken bat single over the drawn-in infield. The ball landed in the shallow outfield.

“Incredible. That might have been the greatest broadcasting prophecy in any sport.

“And, funny, you never really hear people talk about it. Tony Romo predicts a screen play correctly and people are ready to give him the Nobel Prize. McCarver perfectly called one of the most iconic hits in baseball history before it happened and . . . nothing.”

Headline at The Beaverton (@TheBeaverton) — Stabbed man who got hit by 3 cars then thrown off bridge probably died from the vaccine

Apps

FRIDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

THE BEDARD WATCH: F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats, playing in his 40th game of this season, ran his totals to 50 goals and 50 assists in a 6-5 loss to the host Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Bedard, who won’t turn 18 until July 17, finished with two goals and two assists, giving him his 10th game with at least four points. . . . Bedard is the first Regina player with back-to-back 50-goal seasons since F Mike Sillinger, who did it three seasons in a row (1988-91). . . . Bedard is the second-fastest skater in Pats history to reach 50 goals behind only F Jock Callander who did it in 39 games in 1981-82. In 1982-83, F Dale Derkatch got his 50th goal in his 41st game. . . . “The difference,” Callander told Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post this week, “is that I was 20 and he’s 17. . . . Bedard has scored 31 times in his past 17 games. . . . He leads the WHL in goals and points. . . . Oh yes, his presence also sold out another WHL arena, this time the Art Hauser Centre.

——

In Prince Albert, the Raiders scored the game’s last two goals to beat the Regina Pats, 6-5. . . . The home boys overcame deficits of 2-0, 3-1 and 5-4 in earning the victory. . . . F Grady Martin’s first WHL goal, in his 37th game, tied it 5-5 at 5:19 of the third period. Martin, 16, is from Oyen, Alta., and was a second-round pick in the WHL’s 2021 draft. . . . F Aiden Quiring (9) broke the tie at 9:19. . . . F Alexander Suzdalev got his 30th goal for Regina. He is the third Regina freshman in recent years with 30 goals, behind F Nick Henry (2016-17) and F Petr Kalus (2005-06). . . . Regina F Tanner Howe, who is from Prince Albert, scored his 25th goal. . . . The announced attendance was 3,299, a sellout and the largest crowd in the Art Hauser Centre this season, well ahead of the 2,798 who watched the Saskatoon Blades post a 5-2 victory on opening night. . . . Of course, the fans were there to watch Regina F Connor Bedard and he didn’t disappoint — he scored twice, becoming the first WHLer to 50 goals this season, and added two assists. . . . Prince Albert (21-28-3) is eight points out of a playoff spot. . . . Regina (25-23-3) is tied with Swift Current and Calgary for sixth in the Eastern Conference. . . .

The Spokane Chiefs scored four times in a shootout as they beat the host Everett Silvertips, 4-3. . . . The teams combined for seven goals in the five-round shootout. . . . Everett held a 3-0 lead halfway through the third period, only to have Spokane strike three times in 4:46 in the second half. . . . F Berkly Catton (16) keyed the comeback with a goal and two assists. The first overall selection in the 2021 WHL draft has 40 points in 47 games. . . . F Cade Hayes (16) had two goals for Spokane, forcing OT at 15:22. . . . Spokane (11-35-6) has points in three straight (2-0-1). . . . Everett (27-23-3) is tied for fourth with Tri-City. . . .

F Blake Swetlikoff scored two second-period goals to help the host Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 3-1 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Swetlikoff, who has 11 goals, broke a 1-1 tie at 1:29 and added insurance at 10:40. . . . Hurricanes G Bryan Thomson, coming off back-to-back shutouts, stopped 30 shots. . . . Lethbridge (30-18-6) has points in four straight (3-0-1) and is fifth in the Eastern Conference, three points behind Moose Jaw. . . . Brandon (21-24-7) is 10th, four points from a playoff spot. . . .

The Winnipeg Ice struck five times in the first period en route to a 7-1 victory over the Warriors in Moose Jaw. . . . The Ice got goals from five different players in that period, the scores coming in a span of 11:38. . . . Winnipeg got points from 15 players but no one had more than two. . . . Ice D Ben Zloty, a sixth-round pick in the WHL’s 2017 draft, scored his 10th goal. He now has 63 points in 49 games. He finished last season with 64 points, eight of them goals, in 62 games. . . . The Warriors lost F Robert Baco to a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct at 8:17 of the third period. . . . Winnipeg (42-7-1) now leads the Eastern Conference by nine points over Red Deer and Saskatoon. Red Deer leads the Central Division so would be the No. 2 seed. . . . Moose Jaw (33-18-3) is fourth in the conference, three points ahead of Lethbridge. . . .

The Kamloops Blazers coughed up 3-0 and 4-1 leads before coming back to beat the Rebels, 7-4, in Red Deer. . . . Kamloops has won seven in a row. . . . With the Scotties Tournament of Hearts — aka the Canadian women’s curling championship — in their home arena, the Blazers won’t play in Kamloops again until March 3. The Scotties began Friday and runs through Feb. 26. . . . The Blazers broke a 4-4 tie with a pair of PP goals early in the third period. . . . D Kyle Masters, who was acquired along with a first-round WHL draft pick from Red Deer in a deal that had D Mats Lindgren go the other way, got his ninth goal at 2:38 and F Daylan Kuefler (27) added insurance at 4:26. . . . D Olen Zellweger had a goal (18) and three assists for the winners, with F Connor Levis adding a goal (14) and two helpers. . . . Kamloops was 4-for-5 on the PP; Red Deer was 1-for-2. . . . Blazers F Logan Stankoven had three assists as he ran his point streak to 35 games, tying F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats for the longest point streak this season. Stankoven, with 79 points in 35 games, has at least a point in every game he has played this season. . . . The Blazers held a 42-27 edge in shots, including 21-4 in the first period after which they led 3-0. . . . Kamloops (34-10-6) leads the B.C. Division by 22 points over Prince George. . . . Red Deer (36-13-4) leads the Central Division by 10 points over Lethbridge. . . .

F Dylan Guenther opened and closed the scoring as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Tri-City Americans, 4-3 in OT, in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Guenther won it with his third goal of the season at 4:10 of OT. . . . He also had an assist, giving him a three-point outing. He’s got seven points in four games since being assigned by the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes. . . . Seattle got a goal (8) and an assist from F Brad Lambert, who has 16 points in 10 games since the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets sent him to the Thunderbirds. He has a goal in five straight games. . . . Tri-City F Jordan Gavin, who won’t turn 17 until Nov. 13, had a goal and two assists. He’s got 42 points, 15 of them goals, in 46 games. . . . D Lukas Dragicevic had two PP assists for the Americans. . . . Seattle (40-9-2) has won five in a row. It leads the Western Conference by six points over Portland. . . . Tri-City (25-20-7) has lost six in a row (0-4-2). It is tied with Everett for fourth in the conference. . . .

The Saskatoon Blades opened a 5-0 first-period lead en route to a 6-4 victory over the Royals in Victoria. . . . The Blades are 3-1-0 on their tour through the B.C. Division. They’ll head for home after facing the Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C., tonight. . . . F Trevor Wong (20) scored two of those early goals — one on the PP and one while shorthanded — as the Blades struck five times in a span of 12:48. . . . F Egor Sidorov (33) had two goals and two assists for the Blades, with F Conner Roulette adding a goal (20) and two helpers. . . . F Jake Poole, the Royals’ leading scorer, had two goals (29) after not having played since Feb. 3. . . . Saskatoon (36-13-4) is second in the East Division, nine points behind Winnipeg. . . . Victoria (15-33-6) is ninth in the Western Conference. The Royals are three points out of a playoff spot and their next three games are against the conference-leading Seattle Thunderbirds. In their only meeting to date, Seattle put up a 3-0 shutout.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

F Josh Pillar of the Saskatoon Blades had his NHL rights dealt from the Minnesota Wild to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night. Pillar, who turned 21 on Feb. 14, is from Warman, Sask. He was a fourth-round pick by the Wild in the NHL’s 2021 draft. This season, he has four goals and eight assists in 12 games, but only returned to game action last night after being out since Nov. 26 with an undisclosed injury. . . .

The Moose Jaw Warriors honoured two former defencemen — Paul Dyck and Kevin Masters — this week by inducting them into the organizations Hall of Fame. . . . Dyck played from 1989-91; Masters from 1988-92. . . . They were saluted at a dinner on Thursday night and then were honoured Friday night as the Warriors played host to the Winnipeg Ice. . . . Brent Parker, who as the general manager of the Regina Pats may have tossed more than a little gasoline onto what was a fierce rivalry back in the day, was in attendance. In fact, he won the 50-50 draw and immediately gave half of it to the Warriors’ education fund. . . . I have it on good authority that there more than a few laughs were heard when Parker was announced as the winner. . . .

The Portland Winterhawks will add F Randy Heath, F Cam Neely, F Grant Sasser and F Ken Yaremchuk to their Hall of Fame on March 18. All four played on the 1983-champion Winterhawks. . . . Portland also will retire Neely’s No. 21. That will be the first number to have been retired by the Winterhawks. . . . The Seattle Thunderbirds are scheduled to provide the opposition on March 18.

Jelly

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.

Water

Judge quashes class-action bid, but story not over . . . Saturday in WHL includes two 1-0 games . . . Stankoven keeps streak going

If you are one of those folks who believe that the pandemic is over, you should know a few things:

CovidAs of Saturday, 9 p.m. PT, the Coronavirus Resource Centre at Johns Hopkins University reports that 3,894 people died from COVID-19 in the U.S. in the past week, including 629 in the past day. . . . The total number of deaths in the U.S. is 1,111,485. . . .

In Canada, there were 201 deaths from COVID-19 in the past week, with 15 of those in the past day. That brought the total number of deaths in Canada to 50,704.

Over? Uhh, maybe not.

Rick Westhead of TSN reported on Saturday:

“Rather than approving a request from several former Canadian Hockey League CHLplayers to certify a hazing, bullying and abuse lawsuit filed three years ago against the CHL, its three major junior hockey leagues, and its teams as a class action, an Ontario judge has proposed an alternate potential path to justice.

“In a 103-page decision released late Friday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Paul Perell applauded the bravery of former CHL players, including Dan Carcillo, Garrett Taylor and Stephen Quirk, for sharing their stories in a public forum but said the case was not suitable to proceed as a class-action lawsuit. . . .

“An abused hockey player has only individual causes of action against his own team and his own leagues . . .”

According to Westhead, Perell also wrote that “bullying, harassment, hazing, and criminal conduct is pervasive amongst the teams of the WHL, the teams of the OHL, the teams of the QMJHL, and the teams of the CHL. . . . Discrete wrongdoing by the defendants was pervasive, and to the shame of the perpetrators and their enablers discrete wrongdoing has been pervasive for decades.”

The judge also wrote: “The evidence establishes that some unknown number of . . . players in the WHL, OHL, or QMJHL were hazed, bullied, assaulted, threatened, stigmatized, mocked, demeaned, derided, ridiculed, slandered, and humiliated by their teammates team staff, agents, employees, and servants of the WHL, OHL, or QMJHL.”

Westhead’s complete story is right here.

Smokey1

Smokey2There is more on the late Don (Smokey) McLeod, the WHA/NHLer from Trail, B.C., who was among the first goaltenders to use a curved stick. . . . Back in the day, Doug Soetaert, the former general manager of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips, was tending goal for the Edmonton Oil Kings, At the same time, he recalls, the WHA’s Edmonton Oilers were playing out of the Edmonton Gardens. . . . McLeod would have been playing with the Houston Aeros or Vancouver Blazers at the time. . . . “I would go over after practice and help WHA visitors as stick boy,” Soetaert tells Taking Note. “He gave me one for helping him out.” . . . Soetaert sent me photos of that particular stick. You have to admit that’s some kind of curve. . . . Soetaert played four seasons (1971-75) with the Oil Kings before going on to a pro career that included 284 regular-season NHL games.

Headline from The Beaverton (@TheBeaverton) — Financial advisors recommend buying grocery stock instead of groceries.

Shapes

SATURDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

F Luca Hauf scored twice and added two assists to lead the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 5-1 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary. . . . The Oil Kings (8-37-3) had lost their previous two games. . . . Calgary (23-18-7) has lost five in a row (0-2-3). . . . Hauf, from Krefeld, Germany, turned 19 on Jan. 11. A freshman, he has 21 points, including five goals, in 40 games. This was his first four-point game and first multi-goal outing. . . . D Jacob Hoffrogge, who went into the game with two goals and two assists, all with the Everett Silvertips, this season, had three assists for Edmonton. It was his ninth game with the Oil Kings. . . . Attendance at the afternoon game in the Saddledome was announced at 9,843, meaning the Hitmen has played in front of 27,066 in its past two home games. . . . Calgary is sixth in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Regina Pats. . . .

G Tyler Palmer stopped 35 shots and F Beau Courtney scored the only goal as the host Everett Silvertips got past the Seattle Thunderbirds, 1-0. . . . It was Palmer’s fourth career shutout; the first three came with the Victoria Royals. This was his 16th appearance since being acquired by Everett. . . . Courtney’s seventh goal of the season came at 18:04 of the first period. . . . Seattle was without D Jordan Gustafson and F Lucas Ciona, both with undisclosed injuries. . . . Seattle had beaten the Silvertips, 6-5 in OT, in Kent, Wash., on Friday. . . . The announced attendance of 8,249 was the Silvertips’ largest this season. . . . Everett (24-22-2) is fifth in the Western Conference, five points behind the Tri-City Americans. . . . Seattle (35-9-2) slipped back to second, one point behind the Portland Winterhawks. . . .

G Talyn Boyko stopped 51 shots to lead the host Kelowna Rockets to a 4-0 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Boyko stopped 17, 13 and 21 shots by period. He has four career shutouts, two this season. . . . D Elias Carmichael scored Kelowna’s last two goals. Carmichael, a 19-year-old from Langley, B.C., has five goals in 40 games this season. He went into the season with seven goals in 130 games. . . . With five players out with undisclosed injuries, the Rockets dressed 10 forwards and five defencemen. . . . The injured Rockets: D John Babcock, F Andrew Cristall, F Max Graham, F Ty Hurley and D Marek Rocak. . . . The Rockets (17-26-3) have won three in a row for the first time this season. They are eighth in the Western Conference, four points ahead of the Victoria Royals. . . . The Raiders (19-27-3) went 3-2-0 on their B.C. Division trek. They go home eight points out of a playoff spot. . . .

The Medicine Hat Tigers erased a 2-0 first-period deficit as they beat the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-2. . . . F Oasiz Wiesblatt (19) scored twice for theTigers, getting them on the scoreboard at 15:24 of the first period and breaking a 2-2 tie at 2:46 of the second. . . . The teams combined for five goals in the game’s first 22:46, then didn’t score again until F Tyler MacKenzie (13) got an empty-netter at 19:16 of the third. . . . The Tigers got 35 stops from G Evan May, who posted his second WHL victory in his 16th appearance. . . . The announced attendance was 2,276. They are expecting about 7,000 fans today for a visit by F Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats. . . . Medicine Hat (20-21-8) has points in seven straight games (5-0-2) and has closed to within one point of the eighth-place Swift Current Broncos in the Eastern Conference. . . . Lethbridge (27-18-5) is fifth in the conference. . . .

The Portland Winterhawks scored the game’s last three goals to beat the visiting Tri-City Americans, 4-1. . . . It was a bounce-back victory of the Winterhawks, who had been beaten, 6-1, by the Americans in Kennewick, Wash., on Friday night. . . . G Gabe Klassen (28) snapped a 1-1 tie at 13:30 of the second period and F Aidan Litke (12) added insurance at 19:16. . . . G Dante Giannuzzi stopped 25 shots in running his numbers this season to 22-6-2, 2.94, .905. . . .  The Winterhawks remain without F Chaz Lucius and also scratched F Robbie Fromm-Delorme, both with undisclosed injuries. . . . Portland (35-10-3), which has clinched a playoff spot, had lost its previous two games. This victory moved it back atop the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Americans (25-17-5) hadn’t lost in regulation time since dropping a 2-1 decision to the Chiefs in Spokane on Dec. 30. The Americans went on a 10-0-3 run after that loss. . . . Tri-City is fourth in the Western Conference. . . .

F Koehn Ziemmer scored twice and F Chase Wheatcroft set a club record as the host Prince George Cougars beat the Victoria Royals, 4-2. . . . The Cougars had won 8-1 in the first game of the weekend doubleheader on Friday night. . . . Ziemmer, who has 29 goals, gave his guys a 3-1 lead at 5:14 of the third period, then made it 4-2 at 19:50 with the empty-netter. . . . Wheatcroft scored his 30th goal of the season for a 1-0 lead at 5:13 of the first period. It was his 19th on the PP and that’s a club single-season record. He had shared the record with F Berkeley Buchko (2000-01). . . . Prince George (21-21-4) is sixth in the Western Conference, four points behind the Everett Silvertips. . . . Victoria (14-31-5) is ninth, four points behind the eighth-place Kelowna Rockets. . . . In Friday’s game, the Royals lost F Jamie Poole, their leading scorer, and F Matthew Hodson with undisclosed injuries. They already were without D  Gannon Laroque, F Brayden Schuurman and D Austin Zemlak. . . . Things don’t get any easier for the Royals as they are to play their third game in fewer than 48 hours in Kamloops today. . . .

G Ethan Chadwick stopped 34 shots to lead the host Saskatoon Blades to a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Ice. . . . Chadwick, who turned 19 on Jan. 27, is from Saskatoon. He is 14-7-2, 2.67, .898 in his sophomore season. . . . F Jake Chiasson (13) broke a 2-2 tie at 3:21 of the third period. . . . F Connor McClennon scored both Winnipeg goals, giving him 30 this season. He has 250 career points, including 122 goals, in 220 regular-season games. . . . Saskatoon was 2-for-2 on the PP; Winnipeg was 1-for-2. . . . The Blades scratched G Austin Elliott, F Justin Liens, F Tyler Parr, F Josh Pillar, F Conner Roulette and F Jayden Wiens, all with undisclosed injuries, and D Blake Gustafson, who was ill. . . . Saskatoon plays at home today (Brandon) and Tuesday (Edmonton) before heading out on a B.C. Division tour that begins Friday in Kamloops. . . . The Blades (31-12-4) are third in the Eastern Conference, nine points behind Winnipeg (37-7-1), which had won four in a row, and four points behind the Red Deer Rebels. . . .

F Ben King scored the only goal of a shootout to give the Red Deer Rebels a 1-0 victory over the Chiefs in Spokane. . . . It was the first game in the Rebels’ U.S. Division tour. . . . The Rebels got 26 saves from G Kyle Kelsey. . . . G Dawson Cowan stopped 45 shots at the other end. . . . Red Deer (34-10-4) leads the Central Division and is three points behind the Eastern Conference-leading Winnipeg Ice. . . . The Chiefs now are 9-33-5 and have lost six in a row (0-4-2). . . .

F Logan Stankoven had a goal and two assists in running his point streak to 32 games as the Kamloops Blazers skated past the Vancouver Giants, 4-2, in Langley, B.C. . . . Stankoven was late in starting this WHL season because he was in camp with the NHL’s Dallas Stars, and he later missed some games while winning gold with Canada at the World Junior Championship. He has played in 32 games now, and has at least one point in each of them. He has 71 points, including 27 goals, in what now is the WHL’s longest active point streak. . . . F Matthew Seminoff (19) scored twice for the Blazers. . . . F Ryan Hofer got his 31st goal and added an assist for Kamloops, giving him six points in two games. He had three goals and an assist on Friday in a 6-4 victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Kamloops (30-10-6) has won three in a row. The Blazers will finish atop the B.C. Division. . . . Vancouver (18-24-6) has lost four in a row. It is seventh in the conference, five points ahead of the Kelowna Rockets.

Flatearthers

The U of Calgary Dinos men’s hockey team extended its Canada West-record winning streak to 21 games with a 5-3 victory over the visiting Manitoba Bisons on Saturday. . . . The Dinos had beaten the Bisons, 5-1, on Friday.

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.

Soup

Long-time Tigers’ mic man, bus driver brings down curtain . . . Two ex-WHLers in coaching news

Prior to the start of the 2021-22 season, Bob Ridley had, with one exception, called every single game the Medicine Hat Tigers had played since entering the WHL for the 1970-71 season.

Darren Steinke, a former Medicine Hat News sports writer, is the go-to guy when it comes to stats involving Ridley.

“Over the course of his career,” Steinke tweeted on Tuesday, “Bob Ridley has called 4,022 games as the play-by-play voice of the Medicine Hat Tigers — 3,590 regular-season games, one standings tiebreaker game, 411 games in the WHL playoffs and 20 contests in the Memorial Cup tournament.”

Ridley, 78, who has announced his retirement, missed almost all of last season as he underwent cancer treatment. But he was there in Co-op Place’s broadcast booth — yes, it’s named after him, as it should be — for the Tigers’ last game of a playoff-less season on April 15 and, as it turns out, that was to be Ridley’s final appearance as the club’s play-by-play voice.

Let’s not forget, too, that he also drove the bus during the vast majority of his seasons calling Tigers’ games. Oh, and he also did play-by-play for baseball’s Medicine Hat Blue Jays for about eight seasons when they were in the Pioneer League. And, yes, he drove their bus, too.

By now the fact that he missed one Tigers game has become the stuff of legend. It was in the spring of 1972 and Ridley’s boss sent him to Saskatoon to cover the Canadian women’s curling championship. It seems the boss’s wife was on the Alberta rink.

As the schedule would have it, the Tigers only played one game that week. (Trivia answer: Larry Plante, who was Ridley’s analyst for many seasons, called the play for that one game. Plante died on Aug. 20, 2019.)

But, sheesh, what if Ridley had fallen in love with curling and had abandoned hockey back in the day?

All the best in retirement, Bob. Here’s hoping it’s kind to you.

Hello, Hockey Hall of Fame . . .

ridley
Bob Ridley was back in the broadcast booth for the final game of the Medicine Hat Tigers’ 2021-22 season. It turns out that also was the final game of Ridley’s play-by-play career as he announced his retirement on Tuesday. (Photo: Scott Roblin/CHAT-TV)

Club

COVID-19 SAYS HELLO . . . AGAIN: With Seattle having dealt Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, the opportunity is there for someone to land the starting quarterback’s job with the Seahawks. Well, Drew Lock was to have started Thursday against the visiting Chicago Bears, but COVID-19 chose to have a say in things. Yes, Lock has tested positive so he won’t be playing. Instead, the start will go to Geno Smith. . . . Simon Fraser U, which is headquartered in Burnaby, B.C., but plays football in the NCAA Division II, has moved four of its home games to Blaine, Wash. It would seem that four of its American opponents can’t guarantee all in the travelling parties will be vaccinated, thus they won’t be allowed to cross the border. Of course, the same restriction holds true going into the U.S., so the SFU team must be totally vaccinated.

Ex

THE COACHING GAME:

Joel Martin, a former WHL goaltender, is the new head coach of the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings. He also becomes the Wings’ director of hockey operations. Martin, 39, takes over from Nick Bootland, who now is an assistant coach with the AHL’s Hershey Bears. . . . Martin, the second Black head coach working in pro hockey today, spent the past three seasons as an assistant under Bootland with the Wings. The other Black head coach is Jason Payne of the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones. . . . Martin played 126 games over three seasons (2000-03) in the WHL, making stops with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Tri-City Americans, Vancouver Giants and Calgary Hitmen. . . .

Former WHL D Luca Sbisa has joined the NHL’s San Jose Sharks as a player development coach. After retiring in 2021, Sbisa, now 32, had been with the Anaheim Ducks as a development coach. . . . Sbisa, who was born in Italy, played 109 regular-season WHL games over three seasons (2007-10). He played 62 games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 2007-08 and 18 more in 2008-09. In 2009-10, he was with Lethbridge for 17 games and finished up by playing 12 games with the Portland Winterhawks. He totalled 14 goals and 52 assists. . . . Sbisa is fluent in English, French, German and Italian, something that no doubt will help him in his coaching role.

Ken Wright, who played 41 games in the WHL in 1971-72, died in Vancouver on Aug. 2. He was two weeks past his 70th birthday when cancer took him. Wright, who was from Vancouver, got into seven games with the Vancouver Nats in 1971-72 and 34 more with the Flin Flon Bombers. A defenceman, he had two assists with the Nats, then added five goals and 19 assists with the Bombers. Wright went on to play four seasons in the IHL before retiring. . . . There is a complete obituary right here.

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

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

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

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

CBrown