Tag: Geoffrey Brandow

Bedard to share WHL assists lead; scoring change to give Heidt 72nd helper . . . Oil Kings triumphant in season finale . . . Whitney Forum will be hopping on Tuesday

While F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats has won the WHL Triple Crown — he led the league in goals, assists and points — it seems that he is going to have to share the lead in one of those categories.

Some time today (Monday), the WHL website is expected to indicate a scoring change from a Friday night game.

That change will award an assist to Prince George F Riley Heidt on the Cougars’ fourth goal in a 7-2 victory over the Blazers in Kamloops. That goal was scored by F Koehn Ziemmer, giving the Cougars a 4-1 lead at 5:06 of the second period.

That assist means Ziemmer, a native of Saskatoon who turned 18 on Saturday, will finish with 97 points, 72 of them assists, in 68 games. He was the second overall selection in the WHL’s 2020 draft.

Bedard, who played in 57 games this season, had the outright lead in goals (71) and points (143). As the points leader, he will be awarded the Bob Clarke Trophy.

The WHL’s draft lottery is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, with teams in the lottery able to move up a maximum of two spots.

That’s it. Another WHL regular season is in the books. The Edmonton Oil Kings beat the host Calgary Hitmen, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the 2022-23 regular season. . . . The announced attendance of 7,905 lifted the WHL’s average per game to 3,877, an increase of 672 over last season. . . . Could it be that the WHL is on the way back at the gate after taking a two-season beating from the pandemic? . . . You will recall that the 2019-20 season was brought to a premature end by the pandemic. When it ended in March, each of the 22 teams had played between 30 and 34 games, and the average attendance was 4,154. The 2020-21 season was wiped out, although teams did play some games in what was a developmental situation. . . . In the 20 seasons from the turn of the century through 2019-20, the lowest average attendance was 4,115 in 2000-01. The other seasons all averaged between 4,251 (2001-02) and 4,817 (2012-13). . . .  So while this season’s average still was under 4,000, it just might be showing us that pre-pandemic crowds are on the way back. We certainly will hope that’s the case.

Pete

SUNDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

It took until the final game of the WHL’s 2022-23 regular season, but the defending-champion Edmonton Oil Kings finally got to double digits in victories as they beat the Hitmen, 2-1, in Calgary. . . . That lifted Edmonton’s record to 10-54-4 as it snapped a seven-game losing skid (0-6-1). Still, the Oil Kings, who went 50-14-4 last season, now hold the dubious distinction of having the poorest record in WHL history in the season after winning a championship. The 2018-19 Swift Current Broncos had held the record, having finished 11-51-6. . . . The Hitmen (31-29-8) had won their previous four games. . . . F Loick Daigle (9) broke a 1-1 tie at 19:33 of the third period to give the Oil Kings the victory. Daigle, who turned 21 on Jan. 31, was playing in his final junior game. . . . F Marshall Finnie (8) had given Edmonton a 1-0 lead at 12:45 of the first period. . . . F Sean Tschigerl (27) tied it, shorthanded, at 9:11 of the second period. . . . The Oil Kings got 32 saves from G Logan Cunningham. . . . Calgary lost F Ethan Moore to a boarding major and game misconduct at 6:08 of the second period.

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OK . . . what’s next in the WHL?

All eight first-round best-of-seven playoff series are scheduled to open on Friday, which means that the rumours of TSN showing Game 1 between the Saskatoon Blades and Regina Pats on Thursday were just that — rumours.

THE PLAYOFF MATCHUPS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Medicine Hat (8) — Opens with games in Winnipeg on Friday and Saturday. . . . The Ice won the season series, 3-1-0, outscoring the Tigers, 20-12. . . . The Tigers beat the Ice, 6-4, in Medicine Hat on March 1.

Red Deer (2) vs. Calgary (7) — They’ll start with games in Red Deer on Friday and Saturday. . . . Red Deer was 6-1-1 in the season series; Calgary was 2-4-2. . . . In their most-recent meetings, the Hitmen won, 4-3, in Red Deer on March 10, with the Rebels winning, 9-0, in Calgary on March 11.

Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6) — Games 1 and 2 are set for Saskatoon on Friday and Sunday. The ice isn’t available on Saturday because of an NLL game. . . . The season series went to the Blades, 4-2-0. . . . Saskatoon is 15-4-2 versus Regina over the past five seasons. . . . This season, the Blades held a 25-18 edge in goals. . . . Regina F Connor Bedard had five goals and four assists in five games against the Blades, but he was blanked in two of those games. . . . The Pats’ last two visits to Saskatoon drew sellout crowds of 14,768.

Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5) — They are scheduled to open in Moose Jaw with games on Friday and Saturday. . . . The Warriors won the season series, 3-1-0, and held an 18-14 edge on the scoreboard. . . . The Warriors lost four players to suspension on Feb. 11; they went 9-8-0 since then, including 6-2-0 in their last eight games. Assuming those players — G Conner Ungar, D Max Wanner, D Marek Howell and F Lynden Lakovic — carried out the terms of their suspension, they will be eligible to play on Friday.

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WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8) — Games 1 and 2 are to be played in Kent, Wash., on Friday and Saturday. . . . The Thunderbirds swept the season series, 4-0, outscoring the Rockets, 15-7, but they haven’t played each other since Dec. 30 and 31. . . . After losing 1-0 in Everett on Feb. 4, the Thunderbirds closed by going 19-2-1. The two regulation losses — 6-5 in Kamloops and 3-1 to visiting Portland — occurred in their past three games.

Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7) — They’ll open in Kamloops on Friday and Saturday. . . . Kamloops dominated the season series, going 6-1-1; the Giants were 2-6-0. . . . The Blades outscored the Giants, 33-19. . . . In their last meeting, on March 11 in Kamloops, the Blazers won, 6-0.

Portland (3) vs. Everett (6) — It opens with games in Portland on Friday and Saturday. . . . The season series went to Portland, 6-1-1; Everett was 2-6-0. . . . The Winterhawks held a 34-25 edge in goals. . . . Everett won, 10-3, at home on March 3, but then lost, 3-1, in Portland on March 5.

Prince George (4) vs. Tri-City (5) — This series is the only one that will be played under a 2-3-2 format. The first two games are to be played in Prince George on Friday and Saturday before the scene shifts to Kennewick, Wash. . . . The Americans won the season series, 3-1-0; the Cougars were 1-2-1. . . . Tri-City led 17-14 on the scoreboard, but these teams last met on Dec. 9 and 10. . . . These were two of the hottest teams in the league as the regular season wound down. The Cougars closed on an 8-0-3 run; the Americans went 6-0-1.

(NOTE:There are excellent playoff previews available on the WHL’s website.)

UFO

Gardiner MacDougall, who coached teams to the 2022 Memorial Cup and 2023 Canadian university men’s hockey titles, has a lot of fans out there. One of them has reminded me that I shortchanged him here when I dropped a few sentences after his U of New Brunswick Reds won another championship. “I’d like to add to Mr. Gardiner MacDougall’s list of championships in the past several months,” the email read. “He guided the Canadian university all-star squad to a gold medal performance in the World University Games in January in Lake Placid, N.Y.” . . . Yes, he certainly did. It’s worth pointing out that it was his second Universiade championship; he also was head coach of the Canadian team that won in 2013 in Trentino, Italy. . . . At some point in the not too distant future, MacDougall should be an inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

THINKING OUT LOUD — The Penticton Vees concluded a 50-3-1 regular season on Sunday, setting a BCHL record for best points percentage (.935) in the process. So now they go into the playoffs with opponents knowing that if they are to advance they will have to beat the Vees four times in seven games, which would be as many losses as they suffered in the 54-game regular season. . . . BTW, in their last 109 games, including last spring’s 16-1 playoff run, the Vees are 109-12-3. . . . I’m not positive about the previous record, but the 2011-12 Vees went 54-4-2 and that’s a .917 points percentage. . . . If you need to contact me this week, please do so before Thursday. It’s Opening Day and I will be kind of busy all day and into the night. . . . There’s something wrong with the NHL’s Dept. of Discipline when a deliberate cross-check to the face that inflicts damage draws only a one-game suspension. F Blake Lizotte of the L.A. Kings got just that for taking his stick to the face of Winnipeg Jets D Josh Morrissey, who needed stitches inside his mouth and to his chin. Maybe one day the NHL will get serious about shots to the head, but it won’t be today or tomorrow. . . . Noticed some followers of the Vancouver Canucks celebrating the fact they their favourite team reached the .500 mark with Sunday’s 4-2 victory in Chicago. That lifted Vancouver’s record to  34-34-5. That tells me the Canucks have 34 wins and 39 losses, and that’s not .500 in my book. . . . Unfortunately, the Canucks still aren’t going to make the playoffs. . . . The place to be on Tuesday night? The Whitney Forum in Flin Flon. It’ll be the Bombers and Estevan Bruins in Game 7 of a first round SJHL series. Flin Flon forced the series to the limit with a 4-1 victory in Estevan on Sunday night.

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My wife, Dorothy, will be taking part in the 2023 Kamloops Kidney Walk on June 4 and, for a 10th straight year, is fund-raising. In September, she will celebrate 10 years as a transplant recipient. . . . If you would like to make a donation and be part of Team Dorothy, you may do so right here.

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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.

Bear

Advertisement

IIHF keeps Russia and Belarus on suspended list . . . Blazers’ Stankoven delivers for nurses . . . Lee fills hat for Tigers

The International Ice Hockey Federation has barred Russia and Belarusian teams from its competitions. The decision was made at an IIHF Council meeting on Tuesday. . . . “Based on a detailed risk assessment from a renowned company that specializes in assessing risks due to various global challenges,” the IIHF said in a news release, “the IIHF Council determined that it is not yet safe to reincorporate the Russian and Belarusian teams back into IIHF competitions, and that it will not be safe for the upcoming 2023-24 IIHF championship season. Therefore, the IIHF will move forward with the 2023-24 IIHF championship season without the Russian and Belarusian teams.” . . . You may recall that the IIHF dumped Russia and Belarus from international play in February 2022 because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia was to have played host to the 2023 men’s Worlds and the 2023 World Junior Championship. . . . The  men’s Worlds will be played in Tampere, Finland, and Riga, Latvia, in May. . . . The WJC was to have been played in Novosibirsk and Omsk, Russia, but was moved to Halifax and Moncton.

Hockey Canada has named Peter Anholt, the general manager of the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, as part of its Program of Excellence management group for 2023-24. Anholt, according to a news release, “will advise the under-20 program and Canada’s national junior team through the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship.” . . . Anholt, who has led the U-18 program for the past two seasons, takes over from James Boyd of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s. . . . Canada’s national junior team has won back-to-back gold medals. . . .  The 2024 WJC is scheduled to be played in Gothenburg Sweden, from Dec. 26, 2023, through Jan. 5, 2004. . . . There is a Hockey Canada news release right here.

Cheese

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

x-Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

x-Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

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

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

(NOTE:There are excellent playoff previews available on the WHL’s website.)

——

WEDNESDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

The Kamloops Blazers coughed up 4-0 and 5-1 leads before getting past the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds, 6-5. . . . The Thunderbirds had beaten the Blazers, 6-3, in Kent, Wash., on Tuesday night. It was Pride Night in Seattle for that one, and the Blazers wore Pride Night sweaters last night. . . . The Blazers scored four times in the first period, only to surrender five goals in the second. . . . F Caedan Bankier (36) scored the only goal of the third period, breaking a 5-5 tie at 13:43, scoring off a feed from F Logan Stankoven, who had pilfered the puck in the Seattle zone. . . . Stankoven, a Kamloops native, also scored his 34th goal. As you can see from the above tweet, he had some fans from Royal Inland Hospital in the house. In the end, he answered their request. . . . Blazers D Olen Zellweger scored his 32nd goal of the season. He has 22 goals and 30 assists in 30 games since coming over from the Everett Silvertips on Jan. 8. For the season, he has 80 points in 53 games. . . . F Colton Dach (11), in his second game after being out since March 4, had a goal and two assists for Seattle, as did D Jeremy Hanzel (13), who tied the game, 5-5, with 8.7 seconds left in the second period. . . . Kamloops (48-12-6) will be the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed and play No. 7 Vancouver in the first round. . . . Seattle (53-10-3) had a 19-game point streak (18-0-1) come to an end. The Thunderbirds, No. 1 in the Western Conference, will meet No. 8 Kelowna in the first round. . . .

The Calgary Hitmen scored the game’s last three goals to beat the host Lethbridge Hurricanes, 3-2. . . . F Hayden Smith (13) scored two first-period goals to give the Hurricanes the lead. . . . Calgary tied it before period’s end on goals from F Oliver Tulk (24) and F Sean Tschigerl (26). . . . D Keagan Slaney (5) broke the tie at 8:44 of the third period. . . . Calgary (30-28-8) has won three in a row. It is seventh in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of Medicine Hat. . . . Lethbridge (35-25-6) had won its previous two games. It is fifth in the conference, four points ahead of Regina. Each team has two games remaining. If Regina (34-28-4) wins out and Lethbridge loses both its game, the Pats would finish fifth with more victories. . . .

F Brendan Lee scored three times to help the Medicine Hat Tigers to an 8-2 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Lee, 20, who also had an assist, enjoyed his first career hat trick after five two-goal outings, four of them this season. He has 32 goals in 55 games. Last season, he scored five in 30 games with the Saskatoon Blades and five more in 22 games with the Tigers. . . . Medicine Hat, which scored the first five goals, got a goal (3) and two assists from F Gavin McKenna, the first overall selection in the WHL’s 2022 draft. McKenna, who won’t turn 16 until Dec. 20, He has 15 points, 12 of them assists, in 14 games. . . . Medicine Hat (29-28-9) is eighth in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of Swift Current (30-32-4). Each team has two games remaining. . . . Edmonton (9-53-4) has lost six in a row (0-5-1). . . .

The Moose Jaw Warriors erased a 3-1 deficit with four straight goals, two from F Brayden Yager, en route to a 6-4 victory over the Ice in Winnipeg. . . . Moose Jaw won the season series, 3-2-1; the Ice was 3-3-0. . . . Yager, who has 28 goals, tied the game with second-period goals at 3:49 and 9:01. . . . F Atley Calvert (38) broke the tie, on a PP, at 10:40, and F Ryder Korczak (27) made it 5-3 at 11:32 of the third period. . . . Korczak also had two assists, with F Jagger Firkus (38) getting the empty-netter, on a PP, and also picking up two assists. . . . F Zack Ostapchuk (31) scored twice for the Ice. . . . Moose Jaw got 34 saves from G Jackson Unger. . . . Moose Jaw (40-23-3) has won 40 games for the eighth time in franchise history. The Warriors will finish fourth in the Eastern Conference, and will face either Lethbridge or Regina in the first roiund. . . . Winnipeg (55-10-1) had won its previous seven games. The Ice leads the overall standings by two points over Seattle with each team having two games remaining.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

The junior B Delisle Chiefs of the Prairie Junior Hockey League had hired Mike Zambon as their head coach. He replaces Eric Ditto, who stepped down after 11 seasons with the Chiefs. . . . Zambon has extensive coaching experience, including NCAA, U-18, junior B in Saskatchewan and B.C., SJHL and the PJHL. His most-recent head-coaching job was with the U18 AAA Saskatoon Westleys. He left that position in 2016 to become the PJHL’s president, and now is leaving that post to take over as the Chiefs’ head coach. . . . At the same time, the Chiefs have added former WHL player/coach Randy Smith to their organization as a senior advisor. Smith played for the Saskatoon Blades and was an assistant coach and head coach with the Swift Current Broncos.

THINKING OUT LOUD: I’m old enough to remember when the “blue paint” in hockey was simply called the crease. . . . Would you agree that it appears the NHL really isn’t for everyone? . . . Gotta admit that it would be fun to be living in Regina or Saskatoon if the Pats and Blades end up meeting in the first round of the WHL playoffs. . . . It’s time for organizers to put together a World Cup of Hockey and to do it without Russia and Belarus. Get it done before it’s too late for Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid,  Nathan McKinnon, Cale Makar et al to play together on a big stage even if it means the likes of Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin wouldn’t be there.

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.

WashHands

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!

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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.

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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.

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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

WHL playoff picture coming into focus . . . Western Conference teams decided . . . Things heat up near bottom of East

If the WHL playoffs started today:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Swift Current/Calgary/Brandon (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)

——

With 10 game days remaining in the 2022-23 regular season, the WHL playoff picture is starting to sort itself out. We know which eight teams will be in the WHLWestern Conference playoffs, but there still are 11 teams in the hunt in the Eastern Conference.

In the Western Conference, the Seattle Thunderbirds are likely to be the top seed when the playoffs begin; they are nine points ahead of the Kamloops Blazers, who have seven games remaining. And both teams are burning it up — Seattle has points in 16 straight (15-0-1); the Blazers have won six straight and 17 of 18.

At this point, neither Seattle nor Kamloops knows who it will meet in the first round. The Vancouver Giants are seventh, three points ahead of the Kelowna Rockets. The Giants have six games remaining; the Rockets five. And they will finish the regular season by going home and home — in Langley, B.C., on March 24 and in Kelowna on March 25.

The Rockets also have to go to Prince George for a single game with the Cougars, and face the Blazers twice — in Kamloops on March 17 and in Kelowna the next night.

Before facing the Rockets, the Giants have two games left with the Everett Silvertips, one in Kennewick, Wash., with the Tri-City Americans and another in Portland with the Winterhawks.

The eighth-place team draws the first seed in the first round, with No. 7 facing No. 2.

While Portland has settled into third place in the conference and Prince George looks headed to a fourth-place finish, Tri-City and Everett are separated by one point as they scrap for fifth place. The fifth-place team will face the No. 4 seed, which at the moment is Prince George. So is it better to finish six and meet up with Portland in the first round, or get into fifth and ride the bus to Prince George to get things started?

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, the Winnipeg Ice will go in as the No. 1 seed, with the Red Deer Rebels in the No. 2 slot and the Saskatoon Blades the third seed. Saskatoon is likely to finish with more points than Red Deer, but the Rebels, as Central Division champions, will be the second seed. (Keep in mind that the WHL reseeds after the first round.)

The Moose Jaw Warriors and Lethbridge Hurricanes appear headed to a first-round clash as the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds. The Warriors are fourth, seven points ahead of the Hurricanes, who have six games remaining.

The Regina Pats, who have lost four in a row (0-3-1) and also have six games left, are six points behind Lethbridge. The Pats very well could meet up with Saskatoon in the first round.

After that, things are really heated with the seventh-place Medicine Hat Tigers holding a three-point edge on the Swift Current Broncos, Calgary Hitmen and Brandon Wheat Kings, who are tied for that eighth and final playoff spot.

Calgary, which is 3-6-1 in its last 10, has seven games remaining, with Swift Current (3-6-1) having six left, and Brandon (4-5-1) five.

The Prince Albert Raiders, who have six games remaining, have a slim chance of catching eighth, but they are five points out and would have to pass three teams to get there. Three of those remaining games are against Winnipeg, too.

The seventh-place finisher will face Red Deer in the opening round, with the eight-place club opening against the Ice in Winnipeg.

Deer

SUNDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

The Moose Jaw Warriors jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead and went to a 7-3 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos. . . . This game was to have been played on Saturday but was postponed because of nasty weather conditions in southern Saskatchewan. . . . D Denton Mateychuk had two goals and two assists. Mateychuk, who last scored a goal on Nov. 29, has 60 points, including 52 assists, this season. . . . Swift Current F Caleb Wyrostok likely can expect to hear from the WHL office after he took two majors (fighting and headshot) and two game misconducts at 13:12 of the third period. . . . Since losing four teammates to suspensions, the Warriors (38-22-3) are 6-6-0 and have won three in a row. They are settling nicely into fourth place in the Eastern Conference. . . . Swift Current (28-30-4) has lost four in a row (0-3-1) and is tied with Calgary and Brandon for the conference’s last playoff spot. . . .

In Saskatoon, the Prince Albert Raiders scored the game’s last six goals as they dumped the Blades, 7-1. . . . F Evan Herman (16) broke a 1-1 tie at 14:02 of the first period, and the Raiders took control with three second-period goals. . . . F Keaton Sorensen scored twice (25) and added an assist. . . . F Sloan Stanick, playing in his 200th regular-season game, had a goal, his 23rd, and an assist. He has career highs in goals, assists (32) and points (55). . . . Prince Albert (26-33-3) snapped a four-game skid. It is five points from an Eastern Conference playoff spot with six games remaining. . . . Saskatoon (44-14-5) had points in its previous 12 games (11-0-1). The Blades will be the conference’s No. 3 seed when the first-round begins. . . .

The Winnipeg Ice clinched its second straight Eastern Conference title with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Ice took a 4-0 lead into the third period. . . . F Zack Ostapchuk scored once (26) and added two assists. . . . F Owen Pederson got his 30th goal, giving the Ice five skaters with at least 30 scores. . . . G Daniel Hauser stopped 30 shots to earn the victory. This season, he is 34-4-1, 2.32, .915. He finished last season at 34-3-1, 2.00, .914. . . . Winnipeg (52-9-1) has won four straight. . . . Brandon (26-29-8) had won its previous three games. It is tied with Swift Current and Calgary for the last playoff spot in the conference. . . .

F Jackson Berezowski scored the lone goal of the shootout to give the host Everett Silvertips a 4-3 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Berezowski scored that goal to open the second round. . . . F Jesse Heslop scored twice (11) and added an assist in the first period as Everett took a 3-0 lead. . . . The Chiefs got to within one, at 3-2, only to have F Roan Woodward (6) restore Everett’s two-goal lead at 6:32 of the third period. . . . Spokane tied it with two goals in the period’s last minute — F Chase Bertholet (26), at 19:07, and F Tommaso De Luca (15), at 19:25. . . . Bertholet also had three assists. . . . F Raphael Pelletier had three assists for the Silvertips. . . . Everett (31-29-3) ended a five-game losing streak. It is sixth in the Western Conference, one point behind Tri-City. . . . Spokane (14-39-9) has lost three in a row (0-1-1). . . .

F Marcus Pacheco scored the only goal of a five-round shootout to give the Kelowna Rockets a 5-4 victory over the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash. . . . F Max Graham (12) scored two goals, 28 seconds apart, in the second period as Kelowna took a 3-1 lead. . . . Tri-City evened the score on goals from D Alex Serraglio (4), at 18:34 of the second, and F Tyson Greenway (26), at 4:34 of the third. . . . Greenway was playing his 200th regular-season game. . . . F Andrew Cristall (36) put Kelowna back out front at 8:56, but D Ethan Peters (3) tied it, on a PP, at 13:40. . . . The Americans got a goal (16) and two assists from F Deagan McMillan. . . . G Talyn Boyko stopped 37 shots in earning the victory against his former club. . . . The Rockets were without F Carson Golder, who missed his second game with a TBD suspension for a headshot major and game misconduct he took on Friday night. . . . Kelowna (26-34-3) has won three in a row. It is eighth in the Western Conference, three points behind Vancouver. . . . Tri-City (29-26-8) is fifth, one point ahead of Everett. . . .

F Ty Thorpe scored a PP goal in OT to give the Vancouver Giants a 3-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars in Langley, B.C. . . . F Julian Cull (4) gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 2:15 of the second period. . . . F Zac Funk (23) tied it at 5:28. . . . F Connor Dale (6) restored Vancouver’s lead at 7:13. . . . D Hudson Thornton (21) pulled the Cougars even again, on a PP, at 11:53. . . . Thorpe won it with his 34th goal at 1:10 of OT. . . . Thornton also had an assist as he set the Prince George franchise record for single-season points by a defenceman. He now has 69 points; the previous record was set by Christian Chartier in 2000-01. . . . Vancouver got 34 saves from G Brett Mirwald. . . . The Giants were without F Samuel Honzek, who left a Friday game in Kelowna after taking a high hit from Rockets F Carson Golder. . . . Vancouver (25-29-8) had lost its previous two games (0-1-1). It is seventh in the Western Conference, three points ahead of Kelowna. . . . Prince George (33-24-6) has points in six straight (4-0-2). It looks to be headed to a fourth-place finish in the conference.

Drugs

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.

Selfies

That’s 60 for Bedard, but Pats stunned by Oil Kings . . . Coward a winner in return to Rebels . . . BCHL taking Showcase to Seattle

THE BEDARD REPORT: F Connor Bedard scored his 60th goal of the season on Wednesday night but it didn’t mean a whole lot as his Regina Pats dropped a 3-2 decision to the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Bedard, who was playing in his 49th game of the season, is the first WHLer with 60 goals since 2017-18 when F Jayden Halbgewachs of the Moose Jaw Warriors finished with 70 in 72 games. . . . The last Regina skater to get to 60 goals was F Ronald Petrovicky, who finished the 1997-98 season with 64 in 71 games. . . . Bedard leads the WHL in goals (60), assists (64) and points (124). However, he has only one point in his past two games. . . . Next up? The Pats, with eight games remaining in the regular season, venture into Alberta for two games — Friday in Lethbridge and Saturday in Medicine Hat.

If the WHL playoffs started today:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Swift Current (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. Tri-City (6)

Prince George (4) vs. Everett (5)

——

WEDNESDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

In Red Deer, the Rebels clinched the Central Division title with a 2-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Red Deer last finished on top of the division in 2010-11. . . . F Kai Uchacz got his 47th goal for Red Deer in the first period, but it was F Jhett Larson’s 15th, shorthanded, at 14:04 of the second that was the winner. . . . D Chase Pauls (6) scored for Lethbridge with 17 seconds left in the third period. . . . G Chase Coward, in his first appearance this season, stopped 20 shots to earn the victory. The Rebels had announced prior to training camp that Coward, who turned 20 on Jan. 19, would be out for a while as he dealt with a medical situation. Last season, as a freshman, he was 22-10-2, 2.51, .906. . . . Red Deer (40-17-5) has points in three straight (2-0-1). It is 15 points ahead of the second-place Hurricanes (32-23-6), who have seven games remaining. . . .

Here’s more on Coward, this from Elliotte Friedman’s latest 32 Thoughts, which is right here:

“(I) wanted to recognize 20-year-old Chase Coward of WHL Red Deer. Coward is scheduled to start for the Rebels Wednesday night against Lethbridge. Last summer, Coward, not drafted by an NHL team, was invited to the Canadian World Junior Team’s summer camp, and also to Buffalo’s development camp. However, he failed his physical due to hip injuries, although the Sabres kindly allowed him to stay.

“In August, Rebels uberboss Brent Sutter announced Coward ‘underwent testing and discovered a congenital defect to his lower body. At this time Chase has decided he will not attend training camp or be a part of the Rebels roster to start the season, and we support him as he navigates through the process.’ There was concern Coward’s hockey career was over at waaaaaaaaaay too young an age. As I write this, I’m not 100 per cent sure of the procedures he went through, but it was a gruelling process and recovery against big odds. Wishing Chase good luck as he returns to action.” . . .

F Josh Pillar scored twice to help the Saskatoon Blades to a 5-3 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos. . . . Pillar, who turned 21 on Feb. 14, missed a good chunk of the season with an undisclosed injury. He has six goals in 21 games. He didn’t play between Nov. 26 and Feb. 17; these were his first two goals in nine games since returning to the lineup. . . . The Blades got out to a 3-0 lead — D Tanner Molendyk (8) made it 3-0 at 7:33 of the second period — and were never headed. . . . The Broncos twice got to within a goal but weren’t able to equalize. . . . F Brandon Lisowsky (32) iced it with the empty-netter. . . . F Josh Filmon (43) scored twice for the Broncos. . . . The Blades got 36 stops from G Ethan Chadwick (21-8-2, 2.53, .903). . . . Saskatoon (43-13-5) has points in 11 straight (10-0-1). . . . Swift Current (28-29-3) has lost two in a row and is clinging to the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot, one point ahead of Calgary and Brandon. . . .

The Edmonton Oil Kings, owners of the poorest record in the WHL, snapped an 11-game losing skid with a 3-2 victory over the Pats in Regina. . . . F Marshall Finnie (7) snapped a 1-1 tie at 15:36 of the first period and F Gavin Hodnett (12) made it 3-1, on a PP, at 12:20 of the second. . . . G Kolby Hay earned his sixth victory of the season with 31 saves. . . . Edmonton (9-48-3) won’t be in the playoffs this season after winning the championship last season. . . . Regina (31-26-3) has lost two straight. It is sixth in the Eastern Conference, four points ahead of Medicine Hat. . . .

G Nick Jones earned his first WHL shutout with 26 saves as the host Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 2-0. . . . F Zakhar Polshakov (7) gave Brandon a 1-0 lead at 5:19 of the second period and that’s all the offence that Jones needed. . . . Jones, an 18-year-old from Calgary, was a fifth-round pick in the WHL’s 2019 draft. This season, he is 4-12-3, 4.17, .865. . . . Brandon (25-28-8) has won two in a row and is only one point from a playoff spot. . . . Medicine Hat (26-26-9) has lost two straight and is seventh in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Swift Current. . . .

The Kamloops Blazers scored the game’s first four goals and went on to a 7-1 victory over the Silvertips in Everett. . . . D Owen Zellweger, who was acquired from Everett in January, had a goal (25) and two assists. He leads all WHL defencemen in goals. . . . F Jakub Demek also had a goal (2) and two assists. . . . The Blazers were without F Logan Stankoven, who left a 3-2 shootout victory over the host Seattle Thunderbirds in the second period on Tuesday with an undisclosed injury and didn’t return. The team is listing him as being out day-to-day. . . . Kamloops (42-11-6) has won four in a row and will finish atop the B.C. Division. . . . Everett (30-27-3) has lost three straight. It is tied with Tri-City for fifth in the Western Conference. . . .

The Prince George Cougars scored four times on the PP en route to a 6-2 victory over the Rockets in Kelowna. . . . The Cougars broke a 2-2 tie with four third-period goals, three of them on the PP. . . . F Riley Heidt recorded three assists, giving him 60 and Prince George’s single-season record for most assists. The previous record (59) was held by F Jansen Harkins 2014-15). . . . D Hudson Thornton also had three assists for the Cougars. . . . The visitors were 4-for-7 on the PP; the home side was 0-for-5. . . . Prince George had a 47-18 edge in shots. . . . The Rockets were without G Talyn Boyko (undisclosed injury) for a second straight game. . . . Prince George (31-24-5) has points in three straight (2-0-1). It is fourth in the Western Conference, four points ahead of Everett and Tri-City. . . . Kelowna (23-34-3) has lost three in a row. It is eighth in the conference and appears headed for a first-round meeting with Seattle. The Thunderbirds will open at home with games on March 31 and April 1. They announced last night that tickets for those two games will go on sale on March 15.

Orbit

JUST NOTES:

D Chloe Primerano, 16, led the Canada Winter Games women’s hockey tournament in scoring, with 14 points, including nine assists, in six games as her U-18 B.C. team won gold. You may recall that the Vancouver Giants selected her in the 13th round of the 2022 WHL draft and she attended their training camp. . . . This season, the North Vancouver native is playing for the U-18 female team at the Rink Hockey Academy in Kelowna, and the Giants are contemplating bringing her back to camp prior to next season. . . . In the meantime, she will be getting advice on her hockey-playing future from the Creative Artists Agency (CAA). The chances are far greater of her playing NCAA hockey than in the WHL and CAA will provide her with guidance. . . . Steve Ewen of Postmedia has more right here. . . .

The BCHL has announced that it will hold its annual Showcase featuring all 18 teams in Seattle next season. This will be the first time since the inaugural event was held in 2012 that it hasn’t been held in Chilliwack. . . . The 2023 Showcase will be held in the Kraken Community Iceplex, the practice facility for the NHL’s Seattle Kraken. The facility includes three rinks and 12 dressing rooms. . . . Each BCHL team will play two regular-season games during four days in October. The precise dates have yet to be announced. . . .

The Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) is in Penticton for the long haul. From a Wednesday news release: “The CSSHL and its partners Okanagan Hockey Group, OVG360, Travel Penticton and the City of Penticton has reached an agreement for a 10-year agreement (five years, with an additional five-year renewal clause) to host the Western Championships beginning in March 2024.” . . . Also from that news release: “This month’s tournament features 86 teams and roughly 1,900 players and staff who are competing in the CSSHL Western Championships over a period of two weeks. Roughly 4,000 spectators are expected to attend the event. The sponsorship agreement, worth $100,000 per year, will see the number of participants increase to 95 Western Division teams next season as Penticton becomes host of the CSSHL’s Western championships.” . . .

Nela Lopušanová, the Slovakian Sensation, will leave home next season to play for the U-19 Bishop Kearney Selects, a program that is based in Rochester, N.Y. Lopušanová, who turned 15 on Feb. 26, is from Zilina. She perhaps first came to prominence earlier this season when, as a 14-year-old, she put up 12 points, nine of them goals, at the World Women’s U-18 tournament. She has 43 points, 18 of them goals, in 14 games with Zilina’s U-16 team, and has 28 goals and 21 assists in eight games with a Zilina club in a Slovakian women’s league.

Pyramids

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.

Idiots

Courteau out as QMJHL boss . . . Blades shut down Bedard, Pats . . . Seattle makes it lucky 13 in a row

Gilles Courteau resigned as the QMJHL’s commissioner on Sunday. In a statement posted to social media, Courteau wrote: “Today, I contacted Mr. Richard Létourneau, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, to announce my resignation, effective immediately. I am no longer the commissioner of the QMJHL.” . . . Courteau 65, added that “recent events have taken on such proportions that my family members have suffered. To persist would have been stubbornness.” . . .

Courteau had been involved with the QMJHL since 1975. He took over as league president during the 1985-86 season; the title of president was changed to commissioner in 2000. . . . The league had announced on Dec. 16 that he would be retiring in 2024 and that its championship trophy, the Presidents Cup, had been renamed the Gilles Courteau Trophy. . . . The QMJHL said Sunday that Martin Lavallée, the assistant commissioner, would take over on an interim basis until a replacement is hired. However, there were immediate reports by Le Soleil and the Journal de Québec that Mario Cecchini would be named commissioner in the immediate future. Cecchini most recently was the president of the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes. . . .

Courteau had been under the gun of late because of allegations of hazing and abusive initiations in the QMJHL. His appearance before a legislative committee didn’t go particularly well, with Premier François Legault saying that he had concerns about Courteau’s testimony, some of which the premier referred to as “contradictory statements.” . . . On Thursday, Isabelle Charet, the province’s sport minister, had said that her government would be recalling Courteau for further testimony. . . .

The Canadian Press reported that Vincent Marissal, who is responsible for sports and leisure with the political party Québec solidaire, said in a news release: “It had become very clear after his appearance in the parliamentary committee that Gilles Courteau no longer had the legitimacy or the room for manoeuvre to remain in office. I salute his decision to pass the torch immediately. As for us parliamentarians, the work has barely begun with this parliamentary commission and we must continue this work in order to ensure that we find solutions to protect the integrity of young people who practice sports in Quebec.” . . .

In the WHL, Ron Robison, 68, is in his 23rd season as commissioner. The board of governors extended his contract through the 2023-24 season on June 18, 2021. . . .

In the OHL, David Branch, 74, has been commissioner since 1979.

Tea

CANADA WEST UPDATE: The U of Calgary Dinos men’s hockey team won its first Canada West title since 1996 on Sunday, beating the visiting Alberta Golden Bears, 2-1, in the third game of the best-of-three final. . . . F Josh Maser broke a 1-1 tie at 16:45 of the third period. . . . Both teams will be going to the national championship tournament that runs in Charlottetown, March 16-19.

If the WHL playoffs started today:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Swift Current (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. Tri-City (6)

Prince George (4) vs. Everett (5)

——

SUNDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

F Trevor Wong scored three times and added an assist to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 5-2 victory over the Pats in Regina. . . . This may well have been a first-round playoff preview. . . . Wong, who has 23 goals, tied the game 1-1 at 8:23 of the second period and 2-2 at 11:56. . . . He completed his hat trick with the emtpy-netter. . . . Saskatoon F Egor Sidorov scored twice, giving him 40 this season. He broke a 2-2 tie at 2:17 of the third period and added insurance at 6:39. . . . Regina D Stanislav Svozil continued his superb season with two assists. He has 73 points, including 63 assists, in 47 games. . . . F Connor Bedard of the Pats, who leads the WHL in goals (59), assists (64) and points (123), was blanked for just the third time in 48 games this season. He also was on the ice for all of Saskatoon’s goals. . . . Saskatoon (42-13-5) went 4-0-0 and outscored its opposition 19-6 in playing four games over five nights. It has points in 10 straight (9-0-1) and is 10 points behind the Eastern Conference-leading Winnipeg Ice. . . . Regina (31-25-3) had a six-game winning streak snapped. It is sixth in the conference, five points behind Lethbridge and four ahead of Medicine Hat. . . .

In Calgary, the Hitmen overcame an early 2-0 deficit to beat the Swift Current Broncos, 4-3. . . . F Owen Pickering (10) and D Grayson Burzynski (5) scored for the Broncos before the game was eight minutes old. . . . F Sean Tschigerl (20) got Calgary to within a goal at 3:26 of the second period and F Riley Fiddler-Schultz (27) tied it 42 seconds into the third. . . . Tschigerl (21), on a PP, gave his guys the lead at 3:39 and F Carter Yakemchuk (15) made it 4-2, on another PP, at 9:13. . . . F Mat Ward (22) pulled the Broncos to within one at 14:10. . . . Tschigerl also had an assist, while Fiddler-Schultz had two. . . . Calgary (25-26-8) had lost its previous four games (0-3-1). It is ninth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind Swift Current (28-28-3), which had had won its previous three games. . . .

The Portland Winterhawks ended a nine-game losing skid with a 3-1 victory over the visiting Everett Silvertips. . . . Portland had been 0-7-2 in its previous nine games. . . . D Ty Gibson (6) gave Everett a 1-0 lead at 10:04 of the first period. . . . F Gabe Klassen (34) tied it at 18:49, with F Luca Cagnoni (15) breaking the tie, on a PP, at 18:13. . . . F Robbie Fromm-Delorme (28) added the empty-netter. . . . Portland had a 44-28 edge in shots, including 22-8 in the first period. . . . Portland was without F James Stefan, who drew a TBD suspension for a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct he took on Saturday night against Tri-City. F Ethan Ernst, who on the receiving end of the hit by Stefan, wasn’t in the Americans’ lineup Sunday night against Seattle. . . . Portland (37-17-6) is third in the Western Conference and is going to finish there. . . . Everett (30-26-3) has lost two in a row and is tied with Tri-City for fifth in the conference. . . .

The Seattle Thunderbirds ran their winning streak to 13 games with a 4-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans in Kent, Wash. . . . D Jeremy Hanzel (10) of the Thunderbirds broke a 2-2 tie at 4:41 of the third period. . . . F Reese Belton (11) had a goal and an assist for Tri-City. . . . F Brad Lambert drew three assists and now has 28 points, 16 of them assists, in 18 games since joining Seattle. . . . Seattle (48-9-2) leads the Western Conference and is one point behind Winnipeg for first place overall. . . . Tri-City (28-25-7) is tied with Everett for fifth in the conference. . . . The Thunderbirds will entertain the Kamloops Blazers on Tuesday night in a battle of the conference’s top two teams.

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.

Backpat

Broncos move into playoff spot . . . Raiders continue late-season push . . . Cougars leap into fourth spot in West

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

You may recall that the Regina Pats and Wheat Kings had something of a brouhaha in the immediate aftermath of a game in Brandon on Friday night. Well, the verdicts are in. . . . Each team has been fined $1,000 for “actions by player” after the game. . . . As well, Regina F Jaxsin Vaughan was given a three-game suspension for the match penalty he incurred, and Brandon F Matt Henry got five games for leaving the bench. . . .

F Reid Schaefer of the Seattle Thunderbirds was involved in an NHL deal on Tuesday as his rights moved from the Edmonton Oilers to the Nashville Predators. Nashville sent D Mattias Ekholm and a sixth-round pick in the NHL’s 2024 draft to the Oilers in exchange for D Tyson Barrie, who played in the WHL with the Kelowna Rockets, Schaefer, a 2023 first-round draft pick and a fourth-rounder in 2024. . . . Schaefer was the 32nd overall selection in the 2022 NHL draft and signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Oilers. Schaefer, 19, has 47 points, including 23 goals, in 44 games with Seattle this season. . . .

The Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame and the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame have announced their 2023 inductees. . . . The Alberta announcement, which includes former WHL coaches Earl Ingarfield Sr. and Tim Hunter, is right here. . . . And right here is a story on the B.C. hall’s latest class, which includes former WHLers Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, and former on-ice official Lonnie Cameron.

Joggers

If the WHL playoffs started today:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Medicine Hat (8)

Red Deer (2) vs. Swift Current (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. Tri-City (6)

Prince George (4) vs. Everett (5)

——

TUESDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

F Conor Geekie and F Matt Savoie enjoyed four-point games as the Winnipeg Ice drubbed the Oil Kings, 10-1, in Edmonton. . . . Savoie scored twice, giving him 31, and added two assists, while Geekie scored No. 29 and had three assists. . . . The Ice also got two goals (12) and an assist from F Vladislav Shilo, and a goal (39) and two assists from F Connor McClennon. . . . F Ty Fraser, a 17-year-old from Raymond, Alta., scored his first two WHL goals in his 44th game over two seasons. . . . G Daniel Hauser stopped 26 shots in earning the victory. He now is 32-3-1, 2.35, .914 this season, and 73-6-3, 2-26, .912 for his career. . . . The Ice (48-7-1), which has won 11 straight, will finish atop the East Division and the Eastern Conference. . . . The defending-champion Oil Kings (8-46-3) now have lost 10 in a row. With 11 games remaining, they are getting closer to setting a WHL record for fewest victories in a season by the defending champions. The 2017-18 Swift Current Broncos won the championship and then went 11-51-6 in 2018-19. . . .

D Owen Pickering scored once and added three assists to lead the Swift Current Broncos to a 5-2 victory over the Tigers in Medicine Hat. . . . Pickering has nine goals this season. . . . The Broncos led this one 4-0 late in the second period. . . . F Josh Filmon had two goals for the Broncos, giving him 39 this season. . . . F Mat Ward helped out with three assists. . . . The Broncos were 3-for-6 on the PP. . . . Swift Current (27-27-3) has won two in a row, and now is tied with Medicine Hat (24-24-9) for seventh in the Eastern Conference. They are one point ahead of the Calgary Hitmen. . . .

F Niall Crocker gave the host Prince Albert Raiders a 2-0 first-period lead and they went on to beat the Red Deer Rebels, 5-2. . . . Crocker, who has 15 goals, scored PP goals at 5:22 and 14:18 of the opening period to get the Raiders started. . . . D Landon Kosior added his 17th goal before the period ended. . . . F Keaton Sorensen (21) had a goal and two assists for the winners, with F Ryder Ritchie earning three assists. . . . The Raiders (25-29-3) are four points from a playoff spot. . . . The Rebels (38-16-4) are headed for a first-place finish in the Central Division so will be the No. 2 seed when the Eastern Conference playoffs begin. . . .

F Chase Wheatcroft enjoyed a four-point game as the Prince George Cougars dumped the visiting Vancouver Giants, 6-0. . . . Wheatcroft, 20, scored his 40th goal of the season and added three assists. He went into this season with 82 points, including 31 goals, in 137 games split between the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Winnipeg. This season, in 56 games with the Cougars, he has 86 points. . . . F Riley Heidt helped out with his 22nd goal and two assists. . . . The Cougars were 3-for-5 on the PP. . . . G Tyler Brennan stopped 22 shots to record his second shutout of the season and the seventh of his career. . . . Prince George (29-23-4) has won five in a row. It now is fourth in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Everett Silvertips and Tri-City Americans. . . . Vancouver (21-28-7) had lost three in a row (0-2-1). It is seventh in the conference, two points ahead of the Kelowna Rockets. The Giants and Rockets will play each other three more times before this season ends. . . . Meanwhile, the Giants and Cougars will play in Prince George again tonight.

Fox

THINKING OUT LOUD:

I don’t know what kind of a pay raise you got in 2022, but the average salary in MLB went up 14.8 per cent to US$4.22 million. That is according to numbers compiled by the players’ association. . . . Just when you’ve gotten over the gong show that was the WHL trade deadline along comes the NHL and one-ups it. I mean, who knew that F Tanner Jeannot, the former Moose Jaw Warriors banger, would be worth D Cal Foote, another former WHL player, and five draft picks? . . . And just before the lights go out on another day comes word that the Los Angeles Kings have dealt G Jonathan Quick to the Columbus Blue Jackets. And who didn’t think Quick would finish his career with the Kings, a team he helped win two Stanley Cups?

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

Chilliwack GM: ‘We’re not going anywhere,’ but he expects Ice to move . . . Remembering Mickey Mouse Night in Moose Jaw

If you haven’t already done so, you can stroke Chilliwack, B.C., off the list of potential landing spots for the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice.

Brian Maloney, the general manager and head coach of the BCHL’s Chilliwack ChilliwackChiefs, says his club isn’t going anywhere and the WHL isn’t moving into the Chilliwack Coliseum.

He should know, too, because he also is the building’s GM.

“I’ll clear the air right now,” Maloney said in a post-game interview on Friday after a 4-3 OT loss to the visiting Nanaimo Clippers. “I’ll clear the air right now. The Chilliwack Chiefs aren’t going anywhere. The WHL’s not coming here. We’ve tried that song and dance before.

“Our owners are invested into this community. They’ve been here for years. They did try it for a few years as everyone knows. It rubbed a lot of people the wrong way . . . I think it was handled poorly to be honest with you.”

The WHL had a franchise — the Chilliwack Bruins — for five seasons (2006-2011) before it was sold, moved to Victoria and became the Royals.

At the same time, Maloney said he thinks “Winnipeg should move to be honest with you. Anytime you’re pulling in 1,000 fans at the major junior level it’s probably time to move.”

The Ice plays in the Wayne Fleming Arena on the campus of the U of Manitoba. The building seats about 1,600. According to figures compiled by the WHL, the Ice’s average announced attendance is 1,634, the poorest in the 22-team league.

All of this speculation surrounding the Ice has been in the air for weeks now, but it turned into more than that following a Feb. 15 column by Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun that suggested the franchise’s days in the Manitoba capital may be numbered. If you haven’t seen it yet that column is right here.

(Friesen followed up that column with this one right here.)

“I’ve made the calls to our ownership group; they’re laughing and saying they’re not going anywhere,” Maloney said. “I’ve even heard rumours that they’ve contacted the building and secured a lease agreement and booked all the ice and everything for next year.

“They forget I hold the title as the general manager of the building as well. I’m the guy receiving those phone calls and I haven’t received anything yet. It’s quite comical to be honest with you.”

At the same time, Maloney said he fully realizes social media drives a lot of the rumours and speculation these days.

“It’s the way society is going right now,” he said. “Everyone can have a voice and they can sit in front of their computer or phone and make stories up . . . just to kind of get some attention.”

Still, Maloney is of the opinion that something is going on with the Ice.

“I think Winnipeg is probably moving,” he reiterated. “It’s not going to Penticton; it’s not going to Chilliwack. Who knows where they’re going?

“They’re just desperately trying to stir up stuff to try and go somewhere.”

It is hard to believe that it’s been 37 years since Mickey Mouse Night took place in the Crushed Can in Moose Jaw. Yes, that was the night that Kevin Gallant, the play-by-play voice of the Regina Pats, wore the Donald Duck suit as he called the game against the Warriors. . . . These days, Gallant may be the Warriors’ biggest fan. His son, Matthew, is a sophomore defenceman with the Warriors. Yes, life does take funny turns on occasion.

You may have heard that tennis star Novak Djokovic is trying to get into the U.S., despite not being vaccinated against COVID-19. Of course, the U.S. isn’t Covidallowing unvaccinated foreigners into the country. Despite all that, Djokovic wants in so that he can play tournaments in in California and Florida in March.

Here’s Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle:

“The U.S. government’s vaccinations requirement for entry by foreign travellers has been extended to at least April 10, so a waiver for a tennis player would seem unlikely, unless someone in authority recognizes that a rich man’s quest for more money and fame is worth the risk of sickness and death it might cause, directly and by way of trivializing science-based COVID-fighting measures.

“As Djokovic made his appeal, California hit the milestone of 100,000 COVID deaths, with an average of 22 Californians daily dying from the disease that is now well under control unless it happens to be currently killing you.”

——

According to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, there were 1,936 deaths from COVID-19 over the past week in the U.S. For the past month, the number is 11,829.

In Canada, there were 241 deaths over the past week and 872 for the past month.

Just in case you thought we were all done with this virus.

GoHome

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. Prince George (6)

Everett (4) vs. Tri-City (5)

——

SUNDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

F Andrew Cristall’s goal in the second round of a shootout gave the Kelowna Rockets a 3-2 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary. . . . The Rockets had a 2-0 lead on first-period goals from F Carson Golder (25), on a PP, and F Dylan Wightman (10). . . . F Brandon Whynott (4) pulled Calgary to within a goal at 1:12 of the second period and F Riley Fiddler-Schultz (26) tied it at 9:20 of the third. . . . This was Kelowna’s first shootout appearance this season. . . . The Rockets (22-31-3) are eighth in the Western Conference, two points behind the Vancouver Giants, who hold a game in hand. . . . The Hitmen (24-26-8) have lost four in a row. . . . Calgary is eighth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Medicine Hat Tigers and one ahead of the Swift Current Broncos. The Tigers and Broncos both hold two games in hand. . . .

F Zach Benson and F Conor Geekie each scored three times as the Winnipeg Ice cruised to an 8-1 victory over the Oil Kings in Edmonton. . . . Benson also had three assists for a six-point outing, while Geekie had one assist. . . . Benson now has 33 goals; Geekie has 28. . . . Benson has 92 points in 54 games this season. In 136 career regular-season games, he’s got 175 points, including 68 goals. He’s riding a nine-game point streak, with 20 points over that stretch. . . . F Miles Cooper, a third-round pick in the WHL’s 2021 draft, got Winnipeg’s final goal. It was his first WHL score and came in his second game. Cooper was brought in from the U18 prep team at Edge School in Calgary; he was returned to his team on Monday. . . . Winnipeg (47-7-1) has won 10 in a row and is running away with the Eastern Conference and the East Division. . . . Edmonton (8-45-3) has lost eight straight. . . .

F Austin Roest and F Jackson Berezowski had two goals each to lead the Everett Silvertips to a 5-2 victory over the Royals in Victoria. . . . Roest now has 31 goals; Berezowski is up to 39. . . . Roest broke a 1-1 tie at 10:37 of the second period; Berezowski made it 3-1 at 12:47 of the third. . . . Roest got it to 4-2 at 18:10, before Berezowski ended the scoring with a shorthanded empty-netter. . . . F Ben Hemmerling (21) had a goal and two assists for Everett. . . . The game featured two goaltenders who were traded for each other earlier this season. Tyler Palmer earned the victory with 23 saves, six fewer than Braden Holt. . . . Everett (29-24-3) has won two in a row. It is tied with the Tri-City Americans for fourth in the Western Conference. . . . Victoria (15-37-7) has lost six straight (0-5-1) and is 10 points from a playoff spot with nine games remaining.

Elevator

JUST NOTES:

Mark Weninger has written a book about the Lethbridge Broncos and their stay in the Alberta city. He also has started a blog — lethbridgebroncosblog.webador.com/ — where he will “share additional information about the Broncos.” . . . He says former players continue to share memories with him and he is passing them along on the blog. . . . He starts with Stan Jensen, who scored the first goal in the Broncos’ Lethbridge history. . . .

The best-of-three Canada West men’s hockey final will be played in Calgary starting on Friday. It will feature the U of Calgary Dinos and the Alberta Golden Bears, who eliminated the UBC Thunderbirds in Edmonton on Sunday. Alberta won Game 3 of the semifinal, 6-3, to advance. Calgary took out the Saskatchewan Huskies, also in three games, in a series that ended Saturday in Calgary.

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.

Club

Warriors double Hurricanes . . . Cougars complete doubleheader sweep . . . Myatovic fills hat for Thunderbirds

——

The Seattle Thunderbirds ran their winning streak to eight games on Tuesday Seattlenight, beating the Royals, 8-0, in Victoria. That victory followed on the heels of a 7-0 triumph in Victoria on Monday afternoon.

After Monday’s game, Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist wrote:

“Too fast, too big, too good. Basically, too everything.

“The Seattle Thunderbirds are all that with 10 NHL draft picks, including five first-rounders, and another five players ranked for this year’s NHL draft. “The Thunderbirds are on another planet than most Western Hockey League teams, and in another solar system entirely, than also-rans like the Victoria Royals.”

BankErr

If the WHL playoffs started today:

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)

Portland (3) vs. Prince George (6)

Tri-City (4) vs. Everett (5)

——

TUESDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

The Moose Jaw Warriors struck for the game’s first five goals en route to an 8-4 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . F Eric Alarie (17) got it started 17 seconds into the first period and the Warriors, who had lost three in a row, went on from there. . . . The Warriors got a goal and three assists from each of F Ryder Korczak (22) and Jagger Firkus (29), with F Atley Calvert scoring twice (33) and adding one assist. F Martin Rysavy helped out with a goal (7) and two assists. . . . F Blake Swetlikoff scored twice (13) and added an assist for Lethbridge. . . . Chances are this was a playoff preview because Moose Jaw (34-19-3) and Lethbridge (30-20-6) are comfortably settled into fourth and fifth in the Eastern Conference, each with 12 games remaining. . . .

In Prince George, the Cougars completed a doubleheader sweep by beating the Portland Winterhawks, 3-1. . . . The Cougars had won, 1-0 in a shootout, on Monday. . . . The home boys got second-period goals from F Jaxsen Wiebe (13), at 4:32, and F Carlin Dezainde (4), at 14:09. . . . F Cole Dubinsky (16) made it 3-0 at 12:39 of the third. . . . F Luca Cagnoni (14) got Portland on the board at 16:54 of the third. . . . The Cougars got 34 saves from G Tyler Brennan, while G Dante Giannuzzi stopped 29 shots at the other end. . . . These two teams could well meet up in the first round of the playoffs. . . . Prince George (26-23-4) is sixth in the Western Conference, two points behind the Everett Silvertips. . . . Portland (36-14-5) is third in the conference, but is 0-4-1 in its last five games. . . .

The Seattle Thunderbirds completed a three-game sweep of a series with the Victoria Royals, winning 8-0 on Vancouver Island. . . . The Thunderbirds had won, 7-0, in Victoria on Monday and 8-1 in Kent, Wash., on Saturday. . . . Last night, Seattle took a 3-0 lead in the first period, getting the first one from F Brad Lambert at 8:02 and later scores from D Nolan Allan (9) and F Mekai Sanders (4) just six seconds apart. . . . F Nico Myatovic, who turned 18 on Dec. 1, enjoyed this one with his first career three-goal game. Last season, he had four goals in 67 games. This season, he has 23 in 54 outings. . . . Allan also added three assists. . . . Lambert finished with two goals. He’s got 11 goals and 10 assists in 13 games. . . . F Reid Schaefer had a goal (20) and two assists. . . . G Scott Ratzlaff blocked 21 shots to post his fifth shutout of the season. He is 20-6-1, 2.07, .922. . . . Seattle lost F Kyle Crnkovic to a headshot major and game misconduct at 9:21 of the first period. . . . Seattle’s victory allowed the idle Tri-City Americans to clinch a playoff spot. They are fourth in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Everett Silvertips. . . . Seattle (43-9-2) has won eight in a row. It leads the Western Conference by 10 points over the Kamloops Blazers and is 11 points ahead of Portland atop the U.S. Division. . . . Victoria (15-36-6) has lost four in a row. It is seven points from a playoff spot with 11 games remaining.

Coffee

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

F Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 WHL draft by the Medicine Hat Tigers, had four points on Tuesday as Yukon beat host P.E.I., 5-3, at the Canada Winter Games. McKenna has put up 21 points in three games. . . . McKenna, who plays at the South Alberta Hockey Academy, turned 15 on Dec. 20. From Whitehorse, he has played in 11 games with the Tigers, earning eight assists. . . .

G Rhett Stoesser of the Red Deer Rebels will miss the remainder of this season. The Rebels announced on Tuesday that he suffered an undisclosed injury “last week in practice that will require season-ending surgery.” . . . Stoesser, 17, is from Cremona, Alta. A freshman, he went 19-6-0, 2.35, .910 and put up two shutouts. . . . The Rebels have added G Chase Wutzke, 17, from the U18AAA Saskatoon Contacts to their roster for the remainder of the season. He was a second-round selection in the WHL’s 2021 draft. . . . Wutzke will team with G Kyle Kelsey, who turned 19 on Jan. 22 and is is 17-8-4, 2.68, .908 as a freshman. . . .

Former NHL and OHL star Bobby Smith has sold his 85 per cent share in the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads to Sam Simon, a Detroit-based businessman. Smith was the majority owner for 20 years. . . . “I wasn’t going to own the team forever,” Smith explained, “and none of my kids who have their own lives . . . was interested so when a good buyer presented himself and he saw the Mooseheads as the team he wanted to buy and this guy was going to be a real asset to the team, there was a deal to be made. We put one together and here we are.” . . . Willy Palov has the complete story 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.

WTF

Demek returns in Kamloops win . . . Playoff preview in Prince George? . . . Seattle really rolling now

Happy birthday to Brian Pellerin, an assistant coach with the Portland Winterhawks. He not only knows where Old Drinnan Town is, he likely has been there.

Jack Todd, in the Montreal Gazette: “It’s been 73 years since a Canadian won alpine world championships gold in the women’s slalom. Quebec City’s Laurence St-Germain did it Saturday, beating the great Mikaela Shiffrin in the process — and chances are you didn’t hear about it because our sports networks were busy fawning over Tiger Woods or the Maple Leafs.”

——

Two more notes from Todd, whose complete column is right here:

“At least it’s not hard to locate Theo Fleury. You can find him at the corner of Ignorance and Misinformation pretty much any day of the week. . . .

“We need more of Cheryl Pounder between periods on the TSN Canadiens telecasts. Pounder is superb. Unlike most broadcasters of the ‘unbelievable’ school, Pounder actually tells you things you didn’t know and avoids belabouring the obvious.”

THINKING OUT LOUD:

Might the Winnipeg Ice be forced by the WHL to vacate their home arena, which seats about 1,600, for a larger venue, perhaps in Brandon or Regina, should it make a deep playoff run? All in the interests of TV and atmosphere, of course. . . . Why are WHL pooh-bahs and the Ice owners so reluctant to sit down in front of media folks and answer a few questions? . . . If the WHL was to get a team into Penticton how great would the rivalry be between the Kelowna Rockets and the Peaches? . . . With all of these junior hockey teams wearing ‘special’ sweaters at various times during a season and then making them available at auction, I’m wondering how many are purchased by Mom and Dad? . . . Sign of the times: The Regina Pats had 20 players in uniform on Sunday afternoon with only four of them wearing sweaters with numbers below 20. . . . Just wondering but is Darryl Sutter’s best-before-date almost here with the Calgary Flames?

Fireplace

If the WHL playoffs started today:

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)

Portland (3) vs. Prince George (6)

Tri-City (4) vs. Everett (5)

MONDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

F Sloan Stanick scored one of those between-the-legs goals at 1:05 of OT to give the Prince Albert Raiders a 4-3 victory over the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . Stanick, who has 18 goals, is from Rapid City, which is about three slap shots north of Brandon. . . . The Raiders overcame 2-0 and 3-1 deficits. . . . F Keaton Sorensen had three assists for the winners. . . . F Evan Herman (14) scored twice, the second goal pulling the Raiders into a 3-3 tie at 11:54 of the third period. Herman, a 20-year-old from The Pas, Man., was playing in his 200th regular-season game, all with the Raiders. . . . F Nolan Ritchie scored his 20th goal and added an assist for Brandon. . . . Prince Albert (23-28-3) has won four straight and is 11th in the Eastern Conference, six points from a playoff spot. . . . Brandon (22-24-8) is 10th, three points out of eighth. . . . Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun points out that “Brandon is 0-8 in games decided in OT; this could be the first season in the Internet era (it doesn’t) win an overtime game.” . . .

The Kamloops Blazers, playing their third game in four days, unleashed a 60-shot attack in beating the Oil Kings, 7-3, in Edmonton. . . . The winners got two goals from each of F Dylan Sydor (10) and F Daylan Kuefler (30). . . . Kamloops scored the game’s last three goals. . . . D Olen Zellweger had a goal and two assists for the winners. He has nine goals and 22 assists in 16 games since being acquired from Everett. . . . F Noah Boyko (15) had two PP goals for the Oil Kings. . . . Kamloops F Logan Stankoven, who had a 35-game point streak snapped in Sunday’s 4-1 victory over the host Calgary Hitmen, was blanked for a second straight game. . . . F Jakub Demek, 19, made his Kamloops debut. He hadn’t played since undergoing shoulder surgery after he played for Slovakia in the World Junior Championship that was held in Edmonton in August. Last season, he had 54 points, including 20 goals, in 55 games with the WHL-champion Oil Kings. In trading him to Kamloops on Nov. 14, Edmonton acquired a first-round 2023 WHL draft pick that originated with Regina, a conditional 2024 second-round pick, a conditional third-rounder in 2026 and a fourth-rounder in 2026. . . . F Shea Van Olm, another player Kamloops acquired from Edmonton, was scratched after apparently being injured in Calgary. . . . Kamloops (36-10-6) has won nine in row and will finish atop the B.C. Division. . . . Edmonton (8-43-3) has lost six straight games. . . .

F Adam Kydd scored once and drew two assists to lead the host Kelowna Rockets to a 3-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Kydd’s 17th goal, at 17:02 of the second period, broke a 1-1 tie and stood up as the winner. . . . D Marek Rocak, a 16-year-old freshman from Czechia, scored his first WHL goal 45 seconds later to provide insurance. He has one goal and one assist in nine games. . . . Kelowna (20-30-3) has won three in a row. It is eighth in the Western Conference, five points behind Vancouver. . . . Tri-City (26-21-7) is fourth, two points ahead of Everett. . . .

F Zac Funk scored in the seventh round of a shootout to give the Prince George Cougars a 1-0 victory over the visiting Portland Winterhawks in what may well have been a first-round playoff preview. . . . Funk was one of three skaters to score in the shootout. . . . Through OT, the Cougars got 31 saves from G Tyler Brennan, while G Dante Giannuzzi stopped 30 for Portland. This was Brennan’s first shutout this season and the sixth of his career. Giannuzzi has two this season and five in his career. . . These teams will meet in Prince George again tonight. . . . Prince George (25-23-4) had lost its previous two games. It is sixth, three points behind Everett. . . . Portland (36-13-5) has lost four in a row (0-3-1) and now trials U.S. Division-leading Seattle by nine points. . . .

F Brendan Lee’s two goals helped the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 4-1 victory over the Rebels in Red Deer. . . . Lee, who has 24 goals, gave his guys a 1-0 lead just 45 seconds into the game. He added an empty-netter at 19:02 of the third period. . . . The Tigers outshot the Rebels, 27-17, including 13-5 in the first period when they scored twice. . . . Red Deer lost D Christoffer Sedoff to a headshot major and game misconduct at 7:24 of the first period. . . . Medicine Hat (23-22-9) has points in three straight (2-0-1). It is tied with Regina and Calgary for sixth in the Eastern Conference. . . . Red Deer (37-14-4) lead the Central Division by 12 points over Lethbridge. . . .

In Regina, the Pats scored the game’s last three goals as they beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-2. . . . F Braxton Whitehead (8) got Regina into a 2-2 tie with a PP goal at 18:42 of the second period. . . . F Tanner Howe (26) snapped the tie just 16 seconds into the third period and F Zane Rowan (4) added insurance at 10:26. . . . D Stanislav Svozil (7) had a goal and an assist for the Pats in his 100th regular-season game. The sophomore from Czechia has 57 points in 41 games this season. In those 100 games, he has earned 98 points, including 81 helpers. . . . The announced attendance was 6,499, the fourth time in the Pats’ past five games that it has been a sellout crowd. . . . BTW, F Connor Bedard had two assists for the Pats. . . . Regina (26-24-3) is tied with Calgary and Medicine Hat for sixth in the Eastern Conference. . . . Lethbridge (30-19-6) had points in its previous four games (3-0-1). It is fifth in the conference, three points behind Moose Jaw. . . .

F Owen Pederson broke a 2-2 tie at 12:29 of the third period and the Winnipeg Ice sent on to a 4-2 victory over the host Swift Current Broncos. . . . Pederson’s PP goal stood up as the winner, and he added insurance at 19:03 with an empty-netter, his 29th goal of the season. Pederson, 20, also had an assist. He has 64 points in 50 games this season, after putting up 43 points, 17 of them goals in 50 games last season. . . . Winnipeg (44-7-1) has won seven straight games and leads the Eastern Conference by 11 points over Red Deer and Saskatoon. . . . Swift Current (25-25-3) has lost three in a row and is two points out of the playoffs. . . .

F Ty Thorpe scored had a goal and two assists as the Vancouver Giants beat the Spokane Chiefs, 4-3 in OT, in Langley, B.C. . . . Thorpe’s 28th goal won it at 4:16 of OT. . . . F Samuel Honzek, in his second game after returning from an injury suffered at the World Junior Championship, scored twice for Vancouver. He’s got 19 goals this season. . . . Honzek’s second goal, at 19:41 of the second period, gave the Giants a 3-2 lead. . . . Spokane tied it at 10:41 of the third when D Mac Gross scored his eighth goal, this one while shorthanded. . . . Vancouver (21-26-6) had lost its previous two games. It is settling into seventh in the Western Conference, now six points behind Prince George and five ahead of Kelowna. . . . Spokane (11-36-7) has lost two in a row (0-1-1). . . .

T Tomas Milic stopped 26 shots for his third shutout of the season as the Seattle Thunderbirds dumped the Royals, 7-0, in Victoria. . . . The Thunderbirds had beaten the Royals, 8-1, in Kent, Wash., on Saturday night. And they’ll meet each other again tonight in Victoria. . . . Milic has seven career shutouts in 84 appearances over parts of four seasons. This season, he is 21-3-1, 2.18, .922. . . . F Gracyn Sawchyn (17) led Seatte’s offence with two goals and an assist. . . . F Brad Lambert had two assists. He’s got 19 points, 10 of them assists, in 12 games with Seattle. . . . D Kevin Korchinski also had two assists, pushing him over the point-per-game mark for his career. He now has 132 points, 121 of them assists, in 131 regular-season games. . . . F Colton Dach added a goal and an assist, and now has four points in two games since making his Seattle debut on Saturday. . . . F Jared Davidson scored his 32nd goal as he reached the 200-point mark, including 93 goals, in his 243rd regular-season game over five seasons. . . . Seattle (42-9-2) has won seven in a row and is pulling away atop the Western Conference. . . . Victoria (15-35-6) has lost three straight and now is seven points from a playoff spot.

Memories are made of this . . .

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

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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

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Or, for more information, visit right here.

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