Dorothy’s Kidney Walk page has started to pick up speed, thanks in large part to hockey people like an NHL head coach whose team clinched a playoff spot on Sunday. He took time out from whatever celebrating they were doing to help out. Like a former WHL play-by-play voice who was quick to climb on board. Like a long-time acquaintance who once worked in the front office of a WHL team and who might still hold that job had the team not picked up and moved east. . . . If you’re new here, Dorothy, my wife of going on 51 years, is preparing to take part in her 10th Kamloops Kidney Walk on June 4. She underwent a kidney transplant in September 2013 and it’s an understatement to say it was a life-changing experience. . . . Since then, she has worked hard to give back, including co-founding the Kamloops Kidney Support Group that gathers for breakfast twice a month. . . . If you have been impacted by kidney disease and would like to join us, shoot me an email at greggdrinnan@gmail. com. . . . If you would like to support Dorothy’s Kidney Walk fund-raising, you are able to do that right here.
The WHL heads into a fifth straight night of playoff hockey tonight (Tuesday) 
after a two-game Monday.
Last night, the Red Deer Rebels posted a 4-2 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary to take a 2-1 lead in that series. And, in Everett, the Portland Winterhawks won their third straight game over the Silvertips, taking this one 6-1.
Tonight, the top-seeded Winnipeg Ice will be trying to go up 3-0 over the No. 8 Tigers when they meet in Medicine Hat. The Tigers will be without D Rhett Parsons as he serves a one-game suspension for a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct he took in Game 2 in Winnipeg on Saturday.
In Regina, the No. 6 Pats will be looking for a third straight victory over the No. 3 Saskatoon Blades, following 6-1 and 6-5 (OT) triumphs on the road. The Blades will be trying, again, to slow down F Connor Bedard, who has eight points in the first two games. Heard from a friend who is taking his son, the latter having been pleading for the opportunity to watch Bedard. So the friend coughed up $100 for two tickets.
In Lethbridge, the No. 4 Moose Jaw Warriors take a 2-0 lead into Game 3 with the No. 5 Hurricanes. If they are to prolong this series, the Hurricanes are going to have to find a way to solve G Connor Ungar, who came back from a 17-game suspension to go 2-0, 0.75, .973.
There also are three games in the Pacific Time Zone.
In Kelowna, the Seattle Thunderbirds, the Western Conference’s top seed, hold a 2-0 lead over the No. 8 Rockets going into Game 3 in Kelowna. G Jari Kykkanen kept the Rockets in each of the first two games, stopping 80 of 86 shots, but they were outscored 5-0 in third periods as they dropped 3-2 and 4-1 decisions.
The No. 2 Kamloops Blazers, the host team for the 2023 Memorial Cup, have dominated the No. 7 Vancouver Giants through two games and will be looking for a third straight victory in Langley, B.C. Through two games, the Blazers, with F Logan Stankoven putting up eight points, have outscored the Giants, 14-1.
And, in Kennewick, Wash., the No. 4 Prince George Cougars and No. 5 Tri-City Americans are 1-1 going into a third game. They’re using a 2-3-2 format to cut back on possible travel, so will be staying put for games on Wednesday and Friday.
——
MONDAY IN THE WHL PLAYOFFS:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Red Deer (2) at Calgary (7) — F Kai Uchacz scored twice and added an assist to help the Red Deer Rebels to a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The 
Rebels hold a 2-1 lead with Game 4 on Wednesday in Calgary. A fifth game is scheduled for Red Deer on Friday. . . . F Carson Wetsch (1) opened the scoring for Calgary at 13:42 of the first period. . . . The Rebels scored the next three goals. D Matteo Fabrizi (1) tied it at 16:07 and Uchacz gave Red Deer the lead just 49 seconds later. . . . F Frantisek Formanek (2) made it 3-1 at 0:46 of the second. . . . F Carter MacAdams (1) pulled Calgary to within a goal, on a PP, at 3:56. . . . Uchacz scored his third goal of the series into an empty net at 19:23 of the third period. . . . G Kyle Kelsey earned the victory with 36 saves, six fewer than Calgary’s Brayden Peters. . . . F Ben King, who led the WHL with 52 goals in 2021-22, was back in Red Deer’s lineup after being out since March 18. . . . The Hitmen were without F Riley Fiddler-Schultz, who didn’t finish Game 2 because of an undisclosed injury. . . . D Keagan Slaney and F Maxim Muranov returned to Calgary’s lineup after serving suspensions, while F Craig Armstrong of Red Deer completed two-game suspension by sitting out Game 3.
——
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Portland (3) at Everett (6) — The Portland Winterhawks scored three second-
period goals en route to a 6-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Winterhawks lead the series, 3-0. . . . These teams get three days off now — a Paw Patrol show has the Angel Of The Winds Arena booked — so Game 4 is scheduled for Friday. . . . F Kyle Chyzowski (2) and F James Stefan (3) each scored twice for Portland, which led 1-0 and 4-0 at the intermissions. . . . Portland F Josh Zakreski had two assists for the second time in the three games. He has had three two-point outings in his past four games; he had three in 67 regular-season games. . . . Portland G Jan Špunar stopped 38 shots. He had his shutout streak snapped at 120:18 when F Jackson Berezowski (2) scored at 17:07 of the third period. . . . Everett F Caden Zaplitny was ejected with a major for interference at 3:22 of the first period following a hit on Portland F Jack O’Brien, who wasn’t injured.
JUNIOR JOTTINGS:
The SJHL’s Melville Millionaires announced Monday that assistant coach Daven Smith “will be parting ways” with the organization “and will not return for the 2023-24 season.” . . . Smith spent the past two seasons on Melville’s coaching staff. . . .
Trevor Georgie, the president and general manager of the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs, has been named president and CEO of JSM Sports Entertainment. JSMSE is an investment and holding company, and owns the Sea Dogs. . . . Georgie will continue as the Sea Dog’s president, with a new general manager to be named in the near future. He had been the Sea Dogs’ GM since 2016.
THINKING OUT LOUD — The Baltimore Orioles beat the Texas Rangers, 2-0, in two hours 18 minutes on Monday. With game times like that it won’t be long before the beer vendors are crying, well, in their beer. . . . Going into Monday games, the average MLB game had lasted 2:38, down from 3:09 a year ago. . . . The NCAA women’s basketball final on Sunday averaged 9.9 million TV viewers on ABC and ESPN2, peaking at 12.6 million. From Sports Media Watch: “Sunday’s audience exceeded every game of last year’s NBA playoffs except for the NBA Finals, every game of last year’s Major League Baseball postseason except for the World Series, every NASCAR race since 2017 (including the Daytona 500) and every NHL game in more than 50 years (including the Stanley Cup final).” . . . In Seattle, the Kraken have played 75 games this season without losing four in a row. The Mariners are five games into their season and have lost the last four.
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.
Tuesday. “We’re building a 4,500-seat arena. We’re expecting it to be full.” . . . 
18 on May 30, is from Post Falls, Idaho, and plays for the junior B Spokane Braves of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. In fact, he leads all KIJHL freshmen with 59 points, including 39 goals, in 38 games. A list player, he actually is fourth in the KIJHL’s scoring race.
who is from Kamloops, played two earlier games with the Blazers, earning one assist.
the driver of the truck that was involved in the crash of the Humboldt Broncos’ bus on April 6. . . . Laurie and Scott Thomas,
victory over the Pats in Regina. . . . Calgary (24-19-4) has won three in a row. . . . Regina (13-34-3) had points in each of its previous two games (1-0-1). . . . The Hitmen held a 17-3 edge in shots in the first period but could only get two pucks behind Regina G Max Paddock, who had missed the previous six games due to illness. . . . Kastelic opened the scoring at 5:03, with Regina F Austin Pratt (19) scoring, on a PP, at 9:22. . . . Kastelic, who has 32 goals, put Calgary back in front at 17:11. . . . F Sergei Akhimov (10) pulled Regina back into a tie, on a PP, at 7:28 of the second period. . . . Focht broke the tie at 15:37, then gave the Hitmen some insurance with his 14th goal, on a PP, at 19:33. . . . Calgary F James Malm (18) added another PP goal, at 13:04 of the third period. . . . Regina was 2-3 on the PP; Calgary was 2-6. . . . Kastelic also had an assist, giving him a three-point outing. . . . The Hitmen got three assists from F Kaden Elder. . . . Paddock finished with 33 saves, 12 more than Calgary’s Jack McNaughton, who made his 22nd consecutive start. . . . Regina lost F Cole Dubinsky to a kneeing major and game misconduct at 15:11 of the second period.
Wheat Kings, 4-3 in a shootout. . . . Edmonton (27-15-8) has won two in a row. . . . Brandon (20-19-7) has points in two straight (1-0-1). . . . The Wheat Kings took a 3-0 lead on a first-period goal from F Ridly Greig (10), at 1:01, and second-period goals from F Ben McCartney (13), at 1:05, and F Luka Burzan (27), at 6:44. . . . F Vladimir Alistrov (7) started Edmonton’s comeback at 9:51 of the second. . . . F Josh Williams (12) got the Oil Kings to within at goal at 12:53 of the third period, and F Andrew Fyten (12) tied it, on a PP, at 17:38. . . . Brandon D Braydyn Chizen was hit with a headshot major and game misconduct at 14:39 of the third period. Fyten scored on the ensuing PP. . . . Edmonton was 1-4 on the PP; Brandon was 0-1. . . . The Oil Kings won it on a shootout goal by F Trey Fix-Wolansky, who was the first shooter of the third round. . . . Brandon G Ethan Kruger stopped 46 shots through OT, 25 more than Edmonton’s Todd Scott. . . . F Jake Chiasson made his WHL debut with the Wheat Kings. Chiasson, 15, was the 15th-overall selection in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft. He plays for the Yale Hockey Academy prep team in his hometown of Abbotsford, B.C.
is about to begin his fourth season as the club’s head coach. He will miss part of this season while working as an assistant coach with Team Canada at the 2019 World Junior Championship in Vancouver and Victoria. . . . Hansen, 36, is returning for a second season after working for four years as the video coach with Kisio’s former team, the Calgary Hitmen. He will be the video coach with Canada at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in November. . . . The Hurricanes also announced that Josh McNiven will be back for a fourth season as an assistant coach, with Andrew Doty, the assistant to the general manager and video coach, returning for a fifth season. He worked with Team Canada as it won gold at the recently completed Hlinka Gretzky Cup event . . . . The Hurricanes also have hired Matt Anholt, 24, as skills and development coach. The son of Lethbridge GM Peter Anholt, Matt played four seasons with the U of Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves. He was the team captain the past two seasons. . . . 
Roughriders, going 3.24, .901 in 34 games. . . . He was a sixth-round pick by the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL’s 2017 draft. . . . Kelly McCrimmon, the Wheat Kings’ owner, is the Golden Knights’ assistant general manager. . . . The Wheat Kings finished last season with two goaltenders — Dylan Myskiw and Ethan Kruger — on their roster who are eligible to return. Myskiw, 19, is from Winnipeg, while Kruger, who turns 17 on Sept. 27, is from Sherwood Park. Myskiw was 11-5-2, 3.41, .887 in 22 appearances while backing up Logan Thompson, who played out his junior eligibility. Kruger played last season with the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings. . . . Patera is the first European goaltender to have been drafted by the Wheat Kings. . . . Brandon also holds the WHL rights to Swedish D Erik Brannstrom, who was taken by Vegas with the 15th overall selection in the NHL’s 2017 draft, and Czech F Martin Kaut, who was a first-round pick by the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL’s 2018 draft. The Wheat Kings selected Brannstrom in the CHL’s 2018 import draft. He will turn 19 on Sept. 2 and is eligible to play with the Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. . . . Brandon picked Kaut, who turns 19 on Oct. 2, in 2017. He played professionally at home last season, and is eligible to play this season in the AHL, where the Colorado Eagles are affiliated with the Avalanche.
Porter, who is from Edmonton, had been with the Swift Current Broncos for 14 seasons, most recently as assistant general manager and director of player personnel. Porter also worked for the Broncos as an area scout, the head scout and the director of scouting and player personnel. . . . He left the organization after Dean Brockman was named director of hockey operations and head coach. . . . In Edmonton, Porter will be working with Kirt Hill, the Oil Kings’ first-year president of hockey operations and director of scouting.
Winnipeg, as their scouting director. A retired police officer, Anning spent 20 seasons with the Swift Current Broncos before leaving, along with all of the other scouts, when the front office underwent a massive overhaul. As a travelling scout, you can bet Anning played a major role in the Bronco’s 2018 WHL championship.
Lethbridge Hurricanes, Everett Silvertips and Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Last season, the Medicine Hat native had 10 goals and 24 assists in 68 games with the Tigers. In 152 regular-season WHL games, he has 15 goals and 39 assists. . . . He was a fourth-round selection by the Hurricanes in the 2013 WHL bantam draft. . . . White is a stepson to Shaun Clouston, the Tigers’ general manager and head coach. . . . 
Erie Otters. . . . In Everett, Jensen will work with head coach Dennis Williams, who is into his second season, and first-year assistants Harry Mahood and Louis Mass. . . . According to a Silvertips news release, Jensen has more than “20 years as a professional goaltending coach” and has worked in private training with goaltenders “currently playing at the NHL, minor professional, WHL and youth levels.” . . . Jensen is on staff at NET360, an annual goaltending camp in West Kelowna, B.C.
TAKING NOTE 