Michael Dyck and Jason Labarbera, two of Team Canada’s assistant coaches, 
have been put into isolation for 14 days at the national junior team’s selection camp in Red Deer after being in close contact with someone who is infected with COVID-19. . . . Dyck is the head coach of the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, while Labarbera is the goaltending coach for the Calgary Hitmen. . . . According to a statement from Hockey Canada, a “non-core member” of the team’s staff tested positive on Saturday morning. “The staff member who tested positive, as well as a number of colleagues who have been in close contact with that person, were placed in quarantine at the team hotel in Red Deer,” the statement read. . . . The scheduled Red vs. White game went ahead as scheduled, with Team White putting up a 4-2 victory. . . . The camp opened in Red Deer on Monday and will run through Dec. 13 when the team will move into a bubble in Edmonton.
The QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads revealed Saturday that they had “recorded a 
positive COVID-19 test among the staff and are suspending in-person activities.” . . . According to the team, “the infected person didn’t have any contact with players or hockey staff.” However, players and staff have been “preventively isolated” and anyone in the organization who may have had contact with the infected person will be tested. . . . The Mooseheads were to have played host to the Charlottetown Islanders on Saturday night, but the game was postponed. . . . The Mooseheads’ Wednesday game against the visiting Cape Breton Eagles also has been postponed.
The SJHL posted a one-sentence news release on its website Saturday morning. This is it: “The La Ronge Ice Wolves at Melfort Mustangs game scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 21 has been postponed.” . . . The teams played Friday night in La Ronge with the Ice Wolves winning, 3-1. . . . If the Mustangs have been hit with a positive test, or tests, it will mark the second time in two months. They had a player test positive late in September.
COVID-19 CHRONICLES . . .
Ken Squier, 85, is best known for his work as an announcer on NASCAR coverage with CBS (1979-97) and TBS (1983-99). If you watched NASCAR in those days, you appreciated Squier.
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CBC News: 387 new COVID-19 cases, 10 more deaths announced in Manitoba Saturday.
CBC News: Saskatchewan is reporting 439 new cases of COVID-19 for a new daily case record. The province says today’s numbers reflect the single-day high of 4,580 tests that were processed Friday. The province has 2,537 active cases, including 93 people in hospital.
CBC News: (Saturday) marks the 4th time Alberta has reported more than 1,000 cases in a single day. 320 people are currently in hospital and 56 are in intensive care. A woman in her 20s was among the 9 deaths reported today. . . . Alberta is reporting a record 1,336 new cases of COVID-19, as well as 9 new deaths related to the virus. This is the 3rd day in a row that the province has seen a record number of new cases.
CTV News Edmonton: Arrest at Edmonton Costco after man refuses to wear mask.
In B.C., government and health officials, unlike in other jurisdictions in Canada, don’t supply updates on Saturdays or Sunday. Unfortunately, the virus doesn’t take the weekend off, so we’ll get some huge and ugly numbers on Monday afternoon.
CBC News: Ontario reports 1,588 COVID-19 cases and 21 deaths, breaking previous record for daily case count. . . . Ontario’s daily case counts on Saturday are the highest seen in the pandemic so far.
CBC News: Quebec is reporting 1,189 new cases of COVID-19. The province has added 32 deaths to its total, 5 of which occurred in the past 24 hours. . . . 646 people are in hospital, including 99 in intensive care. The latest major outbreak in the province is at a Quebec City convent, where 39 nuns and 43 workers have tested positive.
CBC News: 23 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in New Brunswick. It’s the province’s largest single-day case count since the start of the pandemic. 16 of the new cases are in the Saint John region. There are now 71 active cases in the province, including 1 person in hospital.
CBC News: Nova Scotia is reporting 8 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 33 known active cases. All 8 new cases are in the Central Zone. 2 are linked to previously reported cases; the other 6 cases are being investigated. No one is currently in hospital.
CBC News: 5 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Newfoundland and Labrador. All 5 are linked to previously reported cases. There are now 18 known active cases in the province, including 1 person in hospital. 58,601 people have been tested in N.L. to date.
CBC News: 25 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Nunavut. 22 of the cases are in Arviat and 3 are in Whale Cove. There are now 107 known active cases in the territory.
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So in this year of pandemic, it has come to this. . . . Florida State and visiting Clemson were to have played a football game on Saturday but, according to the ACC, it was postponed because the teams’ medical personnel couldn’t mutually agree on moving forward. . . . Andrea Adelson of ESPN reported: “Multiple sources told ESPN that a Clemson player tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday after practising with the Tigers during the week. That player was symptomatic but had tested negative twice during the week, according to sources. That led Florida State to say it was not comfortable playing Saturday’s game, the source said.” . . . The postponement came after the Tigers had flown into Tallahassee on Friday.
The season-opening series between the men’s hockey teams from Boston College and New Hampshire was postponed. The teams were to have played Friday and Saturday at BC. The decision was reached after a UNH player tested positive. . . .
The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that “more than 200 people” who live or work at Golden Gate Fields, a horse racing facility in the Bay Area, have become infected with COVID-19. The track was closed on Nov. 13 after 24 positive tests on track workers.
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.
JUST NOTES: The junior B Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League is on hold until further notice. The nine-team league had shut down its North Division on Nov. 10 after a positive test at Dover Bay Secondary School in Nanaimo, which is attended by some players. Then B.C. health officials implemented further restrictions on Nov. 19 that are to last until at least Dec. 7. . . . Bob Bartlett, a former WHL executive, has been honoured with a life membership from Hockey Alberta. Bartlett, now 79, was the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ general manager for five seasons (1990-95). He later spent five seasons working with the Moose Jaw Warriors before returning to the Hurricanes with whom he now is senior scout.
was their lone selection in the CHL’s 2019 import draft. . . . Last season, with Pirati Chomutiov’s U-19 team, he had 14 goals and 20 assists in 34 games. . . . He also had five goals and 13 assists in 25 games with the Czech U-17 side. . . . Gut is in camp with the Czech Republic’s U-18 team this week as it prepares for next month’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup (Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia, Aug. 5-10). As you can see from the above tweet, he scored the winning goal in a 4-1 victory over host Switzerland in Romanshorn on Wednesday. Gut also had an assist. . . . Everett’s second import is veteran F Martin Fasko-Rudas. A Slovakian, Fasko-Rudas, who turns 19 on Aug. 10, is preparing for his third WHL season. He had 15 goals and 16 assists in 60 games last season.
F Michal Teplý, 18, and German F Nino Kinder, 18. . . . Teplý, the fourth-overall selection, was a fourth-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL’s 2019 draft. He had four goals and six assists in 23 games with HC Benatky and Jizerou (Czech2) last season. He also had four goals and seven assists in 23 games split between two Billy Tygri Liberec sides. On top of that, he played 38 international games, with U-18, U-19 and U-20 sides, totalling 13 goals and 22 assists. . . . Kinder had 17 goals and 24 assists in 33 games with the U-20 Eisbären Juniors in his hometown of Berlin. He was pointless in five games with the DEL’s Eisbären. He also had seven goals and 11 assists in 16 games with German’s U-18 team. . . . Last season, the Ice used Swiss F Gillian Kohler (one game), D Valtteri Kakkonen and Slovakian D Martin Bodak as imports. . . . Kakkonen, from Finland, had one goal and nine assists in 52 games as a freshman. The 19-year-old has signed with JYP of Finland’s Liiga. . . . Bodak, in his second season, had 11 goals and 14 assists in 58 games as he played out his junior eligibility. Bodak has signed with HC Vitkovice of Czech Republic’s top pro league.
Kvasnica, 19, is from Ostrava, Czech Republic, and has signed a one-year deal with Třinec (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season with Portland Winterhawks (WHL) 66 GP, 8+12. . . .
has signed on with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads as their goaltending/video coach. . . . He replaces Marco Raimondo, who left after one season in order to return to Montreal where he will be closer to family. . . . Perricone, 32, worked with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (2014-17) and Moncton Wildcats (2017-19). . . . Perricone, from San Juan Capistrano, Calif., played five seasons (2003-08) with the Warriors. He holds their career records for victories (93), shutouts (10) and games played (211).
coach. He takes over from Dan Lambert, who left after two seasons to sign on as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Nashville Predators. . . . Viveiros, 53, spent last season as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oilers, but was released when Dave Tippett was hired as the NHL team’s new head coach. . . . Prior to that, Viveiros spent two seasons as the director of player personnel and head coach of the Swift Current Broncos, who won the WHL championship in 2017-18. . . . Viveiros will be introduced to Spokane at a news conference today.
Brandon Wheat Kings as the only one of the WHL’s 22 teams still looking for one. The Wheat Kings chose not to renew head coach David Anning’s contract after last season. . . . Anning had been with the Wheat Kings though seven seasons — four as an assistant coach and three as head coach. . . . 
import draft gets started. The Broncos, who had the WHL’s poorest record last season, cleared room for one pick by releasing Finnish D Roope Pynnonen, 18. . . . A freshman last season, Pynnonen was pointless in 44 games. . . . The Broncos’ other import is Finnish F Joona Kiviniemi, who will turn 18 on Dec. 17. Last season, his first in the WHL, he had 16 goals and nine assists in 25 games.
for a second season, but have chosen to keep him on their roster and make one selection in today’s import draft. . . . In his final 31 Thoughts of the season, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman wrote on Wednesday: “It was (Zaytsev’s) first season in North America, and while he petered out as the (season) continued, you could see the potential. Zaytsev went unselected last weekend, mainly because teams heard he will be signing an entry-level contract with the KHL. (Those contracts are also three years.) But, don’t be surprised if someone tries to get him as a free agent, therefore holding his rights until a return.” . . . Zaytsev’s play may have tailed off but he still put up 13 goals and 30 assists in 66 games as a 17-year-old freshman in a foreign country. . . . D Alex Alexeyev, who will turn 20 on Nov. 15, has played three seasons with the Rebels. A first-round pick by the Washington Capitals in 2018, has signed an NHL contract and is expected to at least start the season with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, if he doesn’t make the big club, that is.
Kelowna Rockets, won’t be returning to the WHL. Thomson was selected by the Ottawa Senators with the 19th overall pick of the NHL’s 2019 draft. This week, he is in Ottawa’s development camp. It seems that Thomson, 18, has two options — return to Kelowna or go home and play for Ilves, the pro team located in his hometown of Tampere. . . . On Wednesday, Thomson told Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch: “I think right now it’s back to Finland but you never know. We’ll see what they want. I think at this point it would be best for me to play against men.” . . . Trent Mann, Ottawa’s chief scout, said: “It’s a tough one because we’re told that he can play in the top pairing in the league in Finland. He’s going to get an opportunity to play with men in a pretty good league. Right now, that would probably be my guess of what he’ll end up doing. But a lot of things can change in the meantime.” . . . The Rockets will be permitted to pick twice in today’s import draft and keep Thomson on their roster, at least for now, because he was a first-round NHL draft pick. . . . Garrioch’s complete story is 
Tigers, who is in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ development camp, went down with an injury to his “left knee/leg.” She added: “Hamblin clearly in a lot of pain, covering his head with his hands.” . . . Hamblin, 20, was taken from the ice on a stretcher with the leg immobilized. . . . Bobby Fox, the Tigers’ director of player personnel, late told Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News that Hamblin underwent X-rays and that they came back negative. . . . Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun later reported that Hamblin suffered a “knee cap injury in an apparent skating mishap.” . . . Hamblin has played four seasons with the Tigers and was the team captain for the last two of them.
in exchange for a third-round selection in the 2021 WHL bantam draft. . . . Shepard, 19, is from North Vancouver. . . . The Kamloops Blazers selected him with the 22nd pick in the 2015 bantam draft. The Blazers dealt him to Lethbridge on July 31, getting back F Zane Franklin, 19 at the time, and a fourth-round pick in the 2020 bantam draft. . . . This season, Shepard had five goals and 17 assists in 66 games. In 181 regular-season games, he has 17 goals and 39 assists. . . . F Cole Shepard, Jackson’s younger brother, was selected by the Giants in the second round of the 2017 bantam draft. Cole, 17, just completed his first season with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. He has committed to attend Harvard and play for the Crimson in 2021-22.
meet in the final of the four-team Memorial Cup tournament on Sunday in Halifax. . . . The QMJHL-champion Huskies advanced to the final with a 6-4 victory over the OHL-champion Guelph Storm on Friday night. . . . The Mooseheads received a bye to the final following a 5-4 loss to the Huskies on Wednesday night. Those three teams all were 2-1 in the round-robin and the Mooseheads advanced via the tiebreaker formula. . . . The WHL-champion Prince Albert Raiders went home early after going 0-3. . . . It is perhaps only fitting that the Huskies and Mooseheads are in the final as the QMJHL is celebrating its 50th anniversary season. . . . This will be the second time in the Memorial Cup’s history that two QMJHL teams have met in the final. In 2006, the Quebec Remparts beat the host Moncton Wildcats, 6-2. . . . Last night, the Huskies and Storm were tied, 3-3, after the second period. F Felix Bibeau broke the tie, giving the Huskies a 4-3 lead at 5:20 of the third period, then made it 5-3 at 12:33. . . . Kyle Cicerella of The Canadian Press has a game story 
Memorial Cup and they celebrated.
Thunderbirds (2017), Swift Current Broncos (2018) and the Raiders all failed to win even one game at the CHL’s championship tournament.
Thunderbirds selected him with the eighth-overall pick in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft. . . . From Ardrossan, Alta., Gustafson had 31 goals and 39 assists in 33 games with the bantam AAA Fort Saskatchewan Rangers this season. . . .
. . . The Raiders lost all three of their round-robin games while being outscored 15-6. . . . The Storm (2-1) is guaranteed at least a spot in the semifinal game. . . . The round-robin portion of the four-team event concludes tonight (Wednesday) with the host Mooseheads (2-0) meeting the QMJHL-champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (1-1). The Huskies beat the Mooseheads, 4-2, in the QMJHL’s best-of-seven championship final. . . . Last night, the first period ended in a 2-2 draw, with Guelph scoring twice off the rush, and the Raiders getting two goals on redirections from in tight. . . . The Storm won it with a pair of second-period goals, from F Liam Hawel, at 1:21, on a PP, and F Nick Suzuki, at 5:02. . . . Suzuki, who also had an assist, put it away with another Suzuki goal at 6:42 of the third period. . . . The Storm got a goal and two assists from F Isaac Ratcliffe. . . . F Sean Montgomery, on a PP, and F Dante Hannoun had the Raiders’ goals. . . . The Raiders represented the WHL in the Memorial Cup for the second time in franchise history. In 1985, their third season in the WHL, they won the WHL title and the Memorial Cup. . . . Jeff D’Andrea of 
five, scoring two of them.
compensation.”
to a contract extension. . . . The Chiefs’ news release didn’t provide the length of the extension. However, Karthik Venkataraman of KREM-TV in Spokane reported: “The Chiefs have not disclosed details of the extension. However, previous extensions have been two years with a club option for a third year.” . . . Lambert has completed two seasons as the Chiefs’ head coach, going 81-46-13 in the process. The Chiefs reached the Western Conference final this season, where they were beaten by the Vancouver Giants. . . . Before joining the Chiefs, Lambert spent one season as head coach of the Rochester Americans, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. He also was an assistant coach with the Sabres for one season. . . . Prior to that, he spent five seasons (2009-14) as an assistant coach with the Kelowna Rockets, and one season as their head coach. . . . Lambert will be the head coach Team Canada at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August.
on Saturday at his home in Brinnon, Wash. The native of Kelowna was 57. He had battled ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) for a number of years. . . . “Thank you to everyone for your support through this difficult time,” his family posted on his Facebook page. “Mitch fought this battle the best he knew how and did so with courage.” . . . A rugged right winger, Wilson spent two seasons with the B.C. Junior Hockey League’s Kelowna Buckaroos before joining the Breakers. . . . In 1980-81, he had eight goals, 23 assists and 253 penalty minutes in 64 games. The next season, he finished with 18 goals, 17 assists and 436 penalty minutes in 60 games. . . .
with a 4-1 victory over the WHL-champion Prince Albert Raiders on Friday night. . . . The Mooseheads got a goal and an assist from F Samuel Asselin, with linemate Maxim Trépanier drawing three assists. . . . The Mooseheads took a 2-0 first-period lead as Asselin scored once, at 10:49, and set up the other by F Xavier Parent, at 18:44. . . . The game’s first goal came as referee Mario Maillet inadvertently set a pick on Raiders D Zack Hayes, allowing F Raphael Lavoie a passing lane to get the puck to Asselin at the crease. . . . Asselin spent last season with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, so was part of the team that won last season’s Memorial Cup in Regina. He had five goals in four games in that tournament. Traded to the Mooseheads, he led the QMJHL with 48 goals this season. . . . The Raiders were 0-3 on the PP in the first period. . . . F Noah Gregor got Prince Albert to within a goal, at 10:46 of the second period. . . . The Mooseheads got a PP goal from D Jake Ryczek, at 15:52, for a 3-1 lead, then iced it at 18:07 of the third period as F Antoine Morand got an empty-netter. . . . Halifax was 1-6 on the PP; Prince Albert was 0-4. . . . G Alexis Gravel stopped 23 shots to record the victory over Ian Scott, who turned aside 33. . . . The Raiders were outshot, 37-24, including 15-4 in the third period. . . . Prince Albert expended a lot of energy and emotion in winning a seven-game series from the Vancouver Giants — the Raiders won Game 7, 3-2 in OT, on Monday night — and then travelled to Halifax on Wednesday. All of that combined with a three-hour time change may have taken a lot out of the Raiders’ legs. They now have a couple of days off and that surely can’t hurt. . . . The OHL-champion Guelph Storm are to meet the QMJHL-champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies tonight, with Halifax playing Guelph on Sunday. The Raiders are off until Monday when they are to face the Huskies.
of Grant Armstrong, who had been their general manager through three seasons. . . . Kelly McCrimmon, the Wheat Kings’ owner, said in a news release that Armstrong “was responsible for many of the moves that will serve us well in the future. At the same time, I also felt a change was necessary as we look to return to a higher level as an organization.” . . . McCrimmon is the assistant GM with the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. He will be taking over as the Golden Knights’ GM on Sept 1. . . . Armstrong signed as Brandon’s general manager to take over from McCrimmon when he signed with Vegas. . . . The Wheat Kings were 102-87-23 with Armstrong as the general manager. This season, they finished 31-29-8, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2013. . . . Before joining Brandon, Armstrong was with the Victoria Royals for four seasons as director of player personnel and assistant GM. Prior to that, he worked with the Portland Winterhawks for five seasons, the last four as head scout. . . . The Wheat Kings’ news release is 
replacing Mark Ferner, who got the team into the BCHL final this season, his fifth season in his second stint with the organization. . . . Ferner, 53, was the Vipers’ head coach for four seasons (2007-11), getting them into three national finals and winning two of them, before spending time on the coaching staffs of the Everett Silvertips and Kamloops Blazers. This time, he had been the Vipers’ director of hockey operations and head coach since early in the 2014-15 season. . . . This season, the Vipers went 26-21-11 to finish fourth in the seven-team Interior Division. They reach the championship final where they were swept by the Prince George Spruce Kings. . . . McKee, 40, was the head coach of the Vancouver Giants for two seasons (2016-18). Prior to that, he was with the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints for 10 seasons, the last six as general manager and head coach. . . . Brothers John and Tom Glen purchased the Vipers in September from Libby Wray, whose husband, Dr. Duncan Wray, had owned the franchise from 1992 through his death on Jan. 11, 2018. . . . John Glen was quite involved with the Saints, although not at the ownership level. He also is a former scout with the Giants.
as they went on to an 8-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C. . . . The Raiders lead the WHL final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, 2-1, with Game 4 in Langley tonight. . . . Prince Albert had won Game 2, 4-0, so has outscored Vancouver, 12-2, over the last two games. . . . The visitors led 4-0 at 6:33 of the first period, 6-0 at 16:30 and 7-0 going into the second period. . . . The Giants took the game’s first four minor penalties, all of them in the opening 6:33. The Raiders responded with three PP goals. . . . F Parker Kelly (5,6) and F Brett Leason (8,9) each scored twice and added an assist for the victors, with F Dante Hannoun (12) scoring once and adding two assists. . . . F Ozzy Wiesblatt (5), F Cole Fonstad (2) and F Noah Gregor (10) added a goal each. . . . D Sergei Sapego, F Aliaksei Protas and F Sean Montgomery added two assists each for the Raiders. . . . F Brayden Watts (6) and F Yannik Valenti (3) scored PP goals for the Giants after they had fallen behind 8-0. . . . Prince Albert was 4-8 on the PP; Vancouver was 2-8. . . . G Ian Scott blocked 27 shots for the Raiders. . . . Vancouver starter David Tendeck gave up three goals on 13 shots. He allowed two goals on four shots in 2:27, then was relieved by Trent Miner for the remainder of the first period. Miner allowed five goals on 14 shots. Tendeck returned for the final two periods and stopped eight of nine shots. . . . The referees were Mike Campbell and Chris Crich, with Ron Dietterle and Michael Roberts the linesmen.
TAKING NOTE 