Tag: Hockey50Yearsago

Sillinger gets first goal as pursuit of his father begins . . . Canada West series postponed by COVID-19 . . . Royals add goalie from Chiefs

F Cole Sillinger, 18, scored his first NHL goal last night in his fourth game with the Columbus Blue Jackets, who selected him 12th overall in the 2021 draft.

Sillinger now has two points in his four games.

He is 239 goals and 1,045 games behind his father, Mike, the former Regina Pats star who played with an NHL-record 12 different teams — he was traded a record-tying nine times. Mike was the 11th overall selection, taken by the Detroit Red Wings, in the NHL’s 1989 draft. Cole was born in Columbus while Mike was playing with the Blue Jackets.

Mike scored his first NHL goal in his eighth regular-season game. He was pointless in three games in 1992-93 before scoring Detroit’s third goal in a 5-3 loss to the visiting Dallas Stars on Oct. 25, 1993. That was Sillinger’s fifth game of the season. (Dean Evason, now the head coach of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, scored twice for Dallas.)

Cole had 53 points, 22 of them goals, with the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2019-20. Then, with the WHL stalled, he spent 2020-21 with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede, finishing with 46 points, including 24 goals, in 31 games.

Because he was drafted off the Stampede roster, he is eligible to play this season in the AHL, according to the CBA that governs the NHL-NHLPA relationship. A move to the AHL isn’t possible for an 18-year-old selected off the roster of a WHL team.

There weren’t any games in the WHL on Thursday night, but there was one on Wednesday night . . .

In Winnipeg, the Ice scored seven — count ’em, seven — goals in the third Winnipegperiod en route to a 10-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Yes, the Ice led 3-2 going into the third period. . . . Winnipeg (8-0-0) was 4-for-9 on the PP. . . . F Cole Muir (3) scored twice and added two assists, with D Nolan Orzeck (1) helping out with a goal and two assists. . . . The Ice has outscored its oppostion, 53-13. . . . The Warriors (3-4-0) lost D Daemon Hunt, their captain, to a headshot major and game misconduct at 14:19 of the third period.

I got to know Bob Turner, a former head coach with the Regina Pats, during my 17 years at The Leader-Post. In fact, he was our realtor. He also was a greater teller of tales, but I don’t ever remember him telling me this one. . . . I can, however, easily see him turning down that particular NHL head-coaching job. . . . It was a sad day when Turner, who coached the Pats to the 1974 Memorial Cup title, died on Feb. 7, 2005.

Knives

JUST NOTES: The host MacEwan Griffins and Calgary Dinos were to have played a Canada West hockey series tonight and Saturday. But it has been postponed after what Canada West said in a new release is “multiple positive cases of COVID-19” within the Griffins. . . . The Winnipeg Jets played their home-opener last night — they beat the Anaheim Ducks, 5-1— without F Blake Wheeler and F Mark Scheifele, both of whom have had positive tests and are in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. . . . F Jeff Carter of the Pittsburgh Penguins has tested positive and is in COVID protocol. G Tristan Jarry also is in the protocol, but it isn’t know if he tested positive or is a close contact of someone who did.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS: The Victoria Royals have acquired G Campbell Arnold, 19, and a ninth-round pick in the WHL’s 2021 draft from the Spokane Chiefs for a third-rounder in 2023. Arnold was 13-15-4, 3.17, .889 in 37 games over five seasons with the Cheifs. He became the fourth goaltender on the Royals’ roster, joining Austrian Sebastian Wraneschitz, 19; Connor Martin, 19; and Tyler Palmer, 18. That number will become three when Martin is dropped from the roster. . . . The trade leaves the Chiefs with Mason Beaupit, 18, and Manny Panghli, 17, as their goaltenders. . . .

Jake Wagman is leaving the Kelowna Rockets to join the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. He had been the Rockets’ director of video/hockey operations since January 2019. Tucson has hired him as director of hockey operations/video.

Gifts

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.

Unsinkable

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Brockman resigns from Broncos, says it was his decision . . . Silvertips have new radio voice . . . Rockets drop a goaltender

The winds of change blew through Swift Current on Thursday afternoon as the Broncos announced the resignation of Dean Brockman, who was in his fourth Scurrentseason as the community-owned organization’s general manager and head coach.

Chad Leslie, the Broncos’ assistant general manager, now is the interim GM, with assistant coach Devan Praught stepping in as interim head coach.

Leslie, 44, was the Broncos’ director of scouting each of the past three seasons.

Praught, 34, is from Summerside, P.E.I. He is in his first season with the Broncos after spending eight seasons at the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask. He was the head coach of the U-18 Hounds for the past five seasons.

Matt Keillor, also in his first season, now is the lone assistant on the Broncos’ staff.

The Broncos (2-3-0) have lost three straight games after opening the season with a pair of victories — 2-0 and 3-2 — over the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Swift Current is scheduled to play the Wheat Kings in Brandon on Saturday night and the Ice in Winnipeg on Sunday. The Broncos then will meet the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Tuesday, before returning home for a Friday night date with the Calgary Hitmen.

Brockman, 54, didn’t really explain why he was resigning, telling a news conference: “I want to reiterate this was my decision. It’s a personal decision on my behalf. It had nothing to do with the board of directors. In fact, the board of directors have supported me from Day 1. They took a chance and that chance was me.”

Before joining the Broncos, Brockman spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the Saskatoon Blades, under Bob Woods, followed by two seasons as their head coach. The Blades fired him immediately after the conclusion of the 2017-18 regular season.

Brockman had spent 17 seasons with the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos, seven as GM/assistant coach and 10 as GM/head coach. Under Brockman, the Broncos won five league championships and two national titles. He was honoured as the SJHL’s coach of the year on four occasions.

Three months after being fired by the Blades, the Broncos hired him to replace Manny Viveiros, who had been named the WHL’s coach of the year after leading Swift Current to the WHL’s 2018 playoff championship. That was the Broncos’ first title since 1993. Viveiros joined the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers two days after the Broncos finished an 0-3 run at the Memorial Cup in Regina.

The Broncos paid a steep price for going all-in to win that championship, especially in trades with the Calgary Hitmen and Lethbridge Hurricanes. Swift Current sent five players — F Conner Chaulk, F Riley Stotts, D Dom Schmiemann, F Josh Prokop and G Ethan Hein — along with a second-round pick in the 2018 draft to the Hitmen, for F Matteo Gennaro, F Beck Malenstyn and a fifth-rounder in 2018.

Then, at the trade deadline, Swift Current dealt G Logan Flodell, F Logan Barlage, F Owen Blocker, D Matthew Stanley, first- and third-rounders in 2020 and a conditional second-rounder in 2021 to the Hurricanes for G Stuart Skinner, F Giorgio Estephan and F Tanner Nagel.

The rebuild hasn’t been especially rapid, with the Broncos going 11-51-6 and 10-48-5 in the two seasons after the championship. They were 6-16-2 in the 2021 development season.

At the moment, the Broncos hold the sixth and seventh selections in December’s WHL draft.

But just how tough has the rebuild been? The WHL’s final four in the spring of 2018 featured the Broncos, Hurricanes, Everett Silvertips and Tri-City Americans. Brad Brown (@saskawhat) pointed out via Twitter that Everett has won 114 regular-season games since then, with Lethbridge at 89; Tri-City, 60; and Swift Current, 29.

Financially, the team’s board of directors told shareholders that it had made a $561,500 profit in the 2017-18 championship season. However, a $38,196 profit for 2018-19 was followed by a loss of $791,000 for the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season.

Late last month, at the organization’s annual general meeting, shareholders were told there was a loss of $129,968 — including a $600,000 grant from the provincial government — for that 2021 development season in which the Broncos played 24 games in the Regina hub.

The Everett Silvertips have hired Casey Bryant as their broadcasting and media Everettrelations manager, replacing Mike Benton, who left to join Seattle radio station KJR where he plays host to Seattle Kraken pre-game, intermission and post-game shows. Benton had been with the Silvertips through six seasons. . . . From a Silvertips news release: “Bryant is an award-winning play-by-play broadcaster whose prior credits include the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks (NAHL), Sacred Heart University Pioneers (NCAA D1), Jersey Hitmen (NCDC) and New York Apple Core (EHL). A 2017 graduate of Marist College, Bryant also worked as a production assistant for MSG Networks for four years, editing on-air promotions for the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and other MSG flagship teams.” . . . The Silvertips are scheduled to visit Kent, Wash., for a game with the Seattle Thunderbirds tonight.

Cremation

JUST NOTES: F Patrick Brown of the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers wasn’t able to play last night after being placed on the COVID-19 protocol list. . . . The NFL’s Arizona Cardinals have had three positive tests within their organization this week. OLB Chandler Jones is on the COVID list, while two unidentified staff members also have tested positive. The Cardinals have had 18 players on that list since July 23, with three of them landing there twice each. . . . The Atlanta Braves aren’t planning to have OF Jorge Soler on their roster when they play host to Game 1 of the NLCS on Saturday. Soler tested positive earlier this week and didn’t play in Game 4 of the NLDS as the Braves clinched the series with a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. OF Christian Pache was added to the roster in Soler’s place.

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.

Pedlars

JUNIOR JOTTINGS: The junior B Saanich Predators of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League named Cody Carlson, a former WHL player, as general manager and head coach on Thursday. He replaces Brent Polischuk, who was relieved of his duties “effective immediately.” Polischuk had been with Saanich since July 28, 2019. The Predators (5-9-1) are fourth in the five-team South Division. Carlson, 30, had joined the Kerry Park Islanders as assistant GM and associate coach prior in July. He split 305 regular-season WHL games between the Medicine Hat Tigers, Regina Pats and Prince George Cougars (2006-12). He played the past three seasons in Europe, mostly in Romania. . . . The NHL’s Calgary Flames have hired Connor Rankin, who played five seasons in the WHL, on a full-time basis as their video analyst. He had done part-time work for the Flames over the past five years. Rankin played 339 WHL regular-season games (2010-15), split between the Tri-City Americans and Calgary Hitmen. . . .

The Kelowna Rockets have released G Cole Schwebius, 20. He has cleared waivers so now is a free agent. He went 17-23-2 in 48 regular-season games split between the Rockets and Seattle Thunderbirds over parts of four seasons. . . . D Jackson van de Leest, 20, has returned to the Calgary Hitmen from the camp of the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He is expected to be in Calgary’s lineup tonight against the visiting Red Deer Rebels. . . . Ian Furness, who has done his share of play-by-play on Seattle Thunderbirds’ games during his career, was at the KJR radio microphone on Thursday night as the NHL’s Seattle Kraken played the Predators in Nashville. Furness was filling in for Everett Fitzhugh, who remains in Seattle after testing positive.

Day

Raiders to hit road early for TV appearance . . . Bedard opens with a pair . . . Three hat-tricks, one shutout on WHL’s opening night

The CHL is back on TV this (Saturday) afternoon as the Regina Pats play host to CHLthe Prince Albert Raiders in a game that is to be shown on CBC. . . . If you tune in, you’re going to get Victor Findlay doing the play-by-play with analysis by Sam Cosentino, who is hardly a stranger to major junior hockey. . . . Findlay has a whole lot of play-by-play experience, having called a lot of Canadian university games, as well as a couple of Champions Hockey League finals, some Ottawa Senators games and an IIHF U-18 World championship. . . . It’ll be a quick turnaround for the teams after Regina won, 3-1, in Prince Albert on Friday night. The Raiders’ bus is to hit the road at 6:15 a.m. . . . You may recall that CHL climbed into bed with Sportsnet in 1998 and then the two parties signed a 12-year “partnership extension” on Feb. 18, 2014, that was to run through the 2025-26 season. . . . Their relationship ended this summer, with Sportsnet bailing and the CHL signing on with TSN, RDS and CBC on what the hockey people called “multi-platform, multi-year broadcast partnerships.” . . . It all starts today at 1 p.m. Regina time — that’s noon PT — and you can bet the spotlight will be on Regina F Connor Bedard, who, at 16, comes with all the adjectives you might imagine. He scored the game’s first and last goals on Friday in Prince Albert and, yes, he was named first star. . . . Blogger Darren Steinke was in Prince Albert on Friday night and his report is right here.

——

Elsewhere in the WHL on Friday night . . .

G Isaac Poulter stopped 20 shots to record the first shutout of the season as the host Swift Current Broncos got past the Medicine Hat Tigers, 2-0. That was Poulter’s second career shutout. His first came on March 13, 2019, when he stopped 33 shots as the Broncos beat the host Regina Pats, 2-0. . . .

In Moose Jaw, F Brayden Yager, 16, who is from Saskatoon, struck for three goals as the Warriors beat the Blades, 7-1. Alex Clarke of Weyburn, Sask., became the first woman to work as an on-ice official in a WHL regular-season game when she partnered with Ryan Lundquist on the lines. . . .

The Edmonton Oil Kings got three goals from F Josh Williams and three assists from F Jakub Demek as they defeated the visiting Red Deer Rebels, 4-1. Byron Hackett of the Red Deer Advocate points out that the Oil Kings have won 18 of their last 19 meetings with the Rebels. Yes, that’s domination. . . .

F Noah Boyko scored three times and F Justin Hall had a goal and four assists as the host Lethbridge Hurricanes dropped the Calgary Hitmen, 9-2. . . .

In Brandon, the Winnipeg Ice thrashed the Wheat Kings, 10-2. Winnipeg got two goals from each of F Skyler Bruce and F Mikey Milne. Ice G Daniel Hauser stopped 20 shots, including a pair of penalty shots. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans scored twice in a five-round shootout to beat the Portland Winterhawks, 5-4. Dwayne Jean Jr., a 17-year-old freshman from Edmonton, got the shootout winner.

Hygiene

In case you missed it, this from Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle: “The Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a ball completely out of Dodger Stadium on Thursday night, a shot that landed on top of the left-field pavilion and disappeared into the night. According to the Dodgers’ website, only five other players have done that since the park opened in 1962: Willie Stargell (1969 Pirates), Stargell again (1973 Pirates), Mike Piazza (1997 Dodgers), McGwire (1999 Cardinals) and Giancarlo Stanton (2015 Marlins).”

F Zac Rinaldo refuses to get vaccinated against COVID-19 so it would seem the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets are through with him. Earlier, the team told Rinaldo to stay away from their training camp. On Friday, Rinaldo, 31, cleared NHL waivers and the Blue Jackets told him not to bother reporting to camp with the Cleveland Monsters, their AHL affiliate, when it opens on Tuesday. . . . Rinaldo signed a one-year, two-way contract in August. He won’t be getting his NHL salary (US$750,000), but will draw his AHL salary ($300,000) while he doesn’t play. . . . The Blue Jackets have told Rinaldo that he is free to look for other opportunities.

AuntEdna

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.

Fur

Scattershooting on a Sunday night while remembering the writings of Jim Coleman . . .

Scattershooting2Behave

Don’t think for a minute that we are done with COVID-19, because we’re not . . . not even close.

On Sunday, the NBA’s Orlando Magic revealed that head coach Steve Clifford has tested positive and will miss at least five games. He actually tested positive twice in a three-day span. . . . Clifford also has had two vaccinations, having received his second Moderna dose on Thursday. But because two weeks haven’t elapsed, he isn’t considered fully vaccinated. . . . Assistant coach Tyrone Corbin ran things for Sunday’s game against the Indiana Pacers. . . .

And then there’s Canadian tennis star Bianca Andreescu, who tested negative twice before heading to Spain for the Madrid Open, only to test positive upon her arrival. . . . So she won’t be playing in the tournament. . . . “I am feeling good, I’m resting and continuing to follow the health protocols and safety guidelines,” she said in a statement.

If MLB is really serious about shortening the time it takes to play its games, it needs to take a long, hard look at its replay system. Oh boy, does it ever!

Here’s Bob Molinaro of the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot:

“Two months after the Super Bowl, NFL draft palaver engulfs sports TV and radio. Two weeks into its season, what you mostly hear about Major League Baseball is that its replay system is a farce. Therein lies a problem for the National Past-its-time.”

And one more fro Molinaro, who thinks it might be time for all sports to do away with replay reviews:

“Don’t know about others, but I could live out my life perfectly well without official replays. Just as I lived a perfectly happy childhood absorbed by sports long before reviewing calls became a thing. I just wish all leagues and sports could keep things moving. Replay rules prevent that from happening.”

You know what? It’s hard to disagree.

——

Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, chose to focus on replay reviews in one of his rants last week. Here’s part of it . . .

“We got to where we are with ‘instant replay’ because we looked at technological wizardry through rose-colored glasses and imagined that it would lead us to a land flowing with milk and honey. The premise sounded irrefutable — replay would always ‘get it right.’ The problem is that it does not always ‘get it right’ and that its scope has been expanded to too many aspects of the games such that it is an intrusion and not a godsend.

“Perhaps we should not be so surprised to come to such a realization.  Technology has been welcomed as a glorious blessing in many parts of our lives only to let us recognize down the line that it may not be all it was cracked up to be. Social media platforms would be one such technological encroachment in society that we now recognize is ‘less than a perfect addition’ to our lives. Just because technology can do something doesn’t mean that we need to put up with technology’s baggage as it does that something . . . sometimes less is better.”

That rant in whole is right here.

——

I watched the Miami Marlins and San Francisco Giants on Saturday night, simply because there isn’t anything better than listening to Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper call a game. . . . When it ended, I switched over to the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers. After four video reviews, I went to the PVR and watched two episodes of Hogan’s Heroes. Seriously! . . . The Sunday game between the Padres and Dodgers was a whole lot better, especially with the sound turned down to blot out some of the ESPN crew’s endless nattering and the infatuation with numbers, numbers and more numbers.

Here’s Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle:

“The Oakland A’s unveiled plans to spend $12 billion on their Howard Terminal development, which will include a ballpark. A’s owner John Fisher, who can’t afford to pay his baseball team anywhere near a major-league average payroll, must have found some money under his mattress.

“A $12-billion development, including a $1 billion ballpark? The line of skeptics starts with Bay Area sports management and marketing genius Andy Dolich, who says, “I’ll believe it when I see Gov. Caitlyn (Jenner) throwing out the first pitch.”

Apostrophe

It would appear that the Portland Winterhawks are in the process of replacing their longtime logo. At least, all signs seem to point in that direction. For a whole lot more, check out this story right here from Jason Cohen that appeared in Portland Monthly.

Meanwhile, the Winterhawks were involved in one of the WHL’s six games on Sunday, but the night belonged to F Lynden McCallum of the Brandon Wheat Kings as he came within a handful of seconds of breaking a record that has stood since 1972. . . .

F Cole Nagy scored the Swift Current Broncos’ last three goals in a 4-2 victory Scurrentover the Moose Jaw Warriors in the Regina hub. . . . The Broncos (6-16-1) have won two in a row. . . . The Warriors (8-13-2) have lost three straight (0-2-1). . . . Swift Current led 1-0 after the first period on a PP goal by F Raphael Pelletier (3). . . . F Riley Krane (5) pulled Moose Jaw even at 1:17 of the second, only to have Nagy put the Broncos back in front at 6:19. . . . D Cole Jordan (3) got the Warriors back into a tie at 9:21. . . . Nagy snapped the tie at 11:29 of the third period, on a PP, then completed his hat trick with an empty-netter at 19:21. . . . Nagy now has six goals. He went into this season with five goals in 59 games. . . . The Broncos were 2-for-4 on the PP; the Warriors were 0-for-3. . . . Swift Current got 36 saves from G Isaac Poulter. . . .

F Lynden McCallum scored four PP goals as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the BrandonRegina Pats, 5-1. . . . The victory guaranteed that the Wheat Kings (18-3-2) will finish atop the Regina hub standings. . . . Brandon has won seven in a row. . . . The Pats now are 9-11-3. . . . McCallum struck four times in two minutes 58 seconds, just off the WHL record. The WHL record book has F Boyd Anderson scoring four times in 2:35 (or was it 2:39?) during the third period as his Medicine Hat Tigers beat the host Flin Flon Bombers, 10-1, on Oct. 7, 1972. According to the record book, he scored at 10:08, 10:17, 11:50 and 12:47, which would be 2:39. . . . F Ridley Greig (10) of Brandon scored the game’s first goal, at 7:53 of the first period. It came while shorthanded. He leads the WHL with four such goals and Brandon leads with seven. . . . F Tanner Howe scored his first WHL goal for Regina to tie the game at 3:47 of the second period. A fourth-round pick in the 2020 bantam draft, Howe was playing in his seventh game. . . . McCallum, who counted his first WHL hat trick, broke the tie at 18:10 and scored again at 18:41. He then added goals at 0:27 and 1:08 of the third. . . . McCallum has 19 goals and six assists in 21 games. . . . Brandon was 4-for-5 on the PP. . . . Regina was 0-for-6. . . . The Wheat Kings got four assists from each of D Braden Schneider and F Ben McCartney. . . . G Ethan Kurger stopped 34 shots for Brandon. . . .

F Jalen Luypen broke a 2-2 tie at 14:20 of the third period as the host Edmonton EdmontonOil Kings scored a 3-2 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Oil Kings (17-1-1) have points in nine straight (8-0-1) and will finish atop the Central Division (minus the Swift Current Broncos) this season. . . . Medicine Hat (12-6-1) has lost three in a row — all three were to the Oil Kings this weekend. . . . Edmonton is 14-2-1 against Medicine Hat over the past three seasons. . . . Luypen, who has 14 goals, opened the scoring at 4:04 of the first period and F Josh Williams (12) made it 2-0 at 6:29 of the second. . . . The Tigers tied it on goals from F Nick McCarry (6), at 9:34 of the second, and F Lukas Svejkovsky (10), on a PP, at 3:54 of the third. . . . F Cole Clayton had two assists for Medicine Hat. . . . Edmonton F Jake Neighbours had one assist, running his point streak to 19 games. Yes, he has at least a point in every Edmonton game this season. . . . The Oil Kings held a 37-19 edge in shots, including 16-5 in the second period. . . .

F Logan Barlage scored twice as the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes beat the LethCalgary Hitmen, 4-1. . . . Lethbridge (8-10-2) had lost its previous three games, including two to Calgary. . . . The Hitmen (8-7-2) had points in each of their previous four games (3-0-1). . . . F Sean Tschigerl (10), who had three goals in Saturday’s 7-2 victory over Lethbridge, gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 2:43 of the first period. . . . D Logan McCutcheon tied it with his first WHL goal at 13:47. . . . A third-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft, McCutcheon was playing in his 23rd game, 19 of them this season. . . . Barlage, who has seven goals, scored the next two goals, both via the PP, at 17:41 of the second and 3:14 of the third. . . . F Noah Boyko (10) completed the scoring at 16:27. . . . The Hurricanes got 40 saves from G Carl Tetachuk. . . .

The Portland Winterhawks scored the game’s last four goals as they beat the PortlandAlternatevisiting Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-1. . . . Portland (8-5-3) has won two in a row, having beaten the Thunderbirds, 6-3, in Kent, Wash., on Saturday. . . . The Thunderbirds (7-9-0) have lost four in a row. . . . On Sunday, F Keltie Jeri-Leon (11) gave Seattle a 1-0 lead just 22 seconds into the game. . . . The lead held into the second period when F Gabe Klassen, who has four goals, scored twice, at 9:10, on a PP, and 15:24. . . . Portland got third-period insurance goals from F Simon Knak (10), who also had two assists, and F Mason Mannek, who got the empty-netter. . . . Portland had a 30-18 edge in shots. . . . G Dante Gianuzzi stopped 17 shots for the victory. He is 5-5-3, 2.71, .908. . . . Joshua Critzer of PNW Hockey Talk tweeted after the game that the four Portland players who had been with the USHL’s Lincoln Stars could play this week. F Jack O’Brien has completed his quarantine and could play on Tuesday and Friday against the visiting Everett Silvertips, while F Cross Hanas, D Clay Hanus and F James Stefan are in quarantine and could play Saturday against visiting Tri-City depending on the Americans’ status in regards to COVID-19 protocol. . . . Critzer also reported that Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks’ GM and head coach, is going to Texas for the U18 IIHF World Championship, so associate coach Kyle Gustafson will be in charge in his absence. . . . If you’re wondering, Stefan had 28 points, 10 of them goals, in 41 games with Lincoln, while Hanus had seven goals and 20 assists in 36 games, Hanas had three goals and 13 assists in 27 games, and O’Brien had a goal and six assists in 23 games. . . .

G Dylan Garand stopped 18 shots to earn the shutout as the Kamloops Blazers Kamloopsbeat the Vancouver Giants, 2-0. . . . The game was played in Kamloops, with the Giants as the home team. . . . Kamloops (11-2-0) has won four in a row. . . . Vancouver (9-5-0) has lost three straight. . . . Garand has two shutouts this season and seven in his career. . . . G Trent Miner had blanked the Blazers twice, both by 4-0 counts, this season. He stopped 28 shots in this one. . . . F Daylan Kueffler (2) scored the game’s first goal, at 11:36 of the second period, and F Connor Zary (6) got the other one, at 10:28 of the third. . . . F Josh Pillar had two assists.

Spell

Hey, want to be part of a team? Dorothy, my wife of almost 49 years, had a kidney transplant on Sept. 23, 2013, and now is preparing to take part in her eighth straight Kamloops Kidney Walk. It happens virtually on June 6. You are able to join her team with a donation right here. . . . Thanks to your generosity, she has surpassed her original goal, so she has gone ahead and raised it.

——

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.

JUST NOTES: Darren Dupont of Dupont Media tweeted on Sunday that he has been told “Brandin Cote will be announced as assistant coach (and Mike Babcock’s successor)” with the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team. Babcock has volunteered to work as the Huskies’ head coach for the next two seasons. He was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 20, 2019, but remains under contract to the NHL team. Cote spent five seasons with the Spokane Chiefs (1997-02); Babcock was the head coach for three of those (1997-2000). Cote, 40, is in his third season as an assistant coach with the Swift Current Broncos.

Commas

B.C.’s WHL, BCHL teams are looking for $9.5 million from gov’t . . . We remember Mickey Mouse Night at the Crushed Can . . . Hey, whatever happened to Doyle Potenteau?

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Walter Gretzky would have loved this little guy’s approach to the game . . .

As the sun set on Thursday, there didn’t seem to be anything new to report on bchlthe BCHL, its 17 teams and a potential return to play. . . . During Question Period on Wednesday in Victoria, Shirley Bond, the interim leader of the B.C. Liberals and the MLA for Prince George-Valemount, asked: “Simple question, hopefully a very simple answer: Will the premier provide B.C.’s local hockey teams with the $9.5 million in funding they need to survive the hockey season? They are asking for $9.5 million so that WHL teams and B.C. Hockey League teams, like the premier’s own Victoria Grizzlies and my Prince George Spruce Kings, can survive.” . . . Premier John Horgan, the MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca on Vancouver Island, replied: “There’s going to be more news about both hockey leagues. They provide an economic benefit. Certainly the WHL restart will be a bonus for Kamloops and Kelowna. But it will also be a difficult time for those teams, because outside of those two cities, they will not be having revenue coming in. We understand the issue. We’ve been working on it for a number of months. I regrettably have to say, ‘Stay tuned’ at this point.” . . . Bob Mackin of theBreaker.news obtained a letter written last week by Chris Hebb, the BCHL’s commissioner, to government and health officials. In his report, Mackin wrote: “If (the) BCHL does not get the go-ahead by March 3 for the its return-to-play plan, Hebb wrote that a motion will be prepared for team owners to vote March 4 to cancel the season.” . . . Apparently, that didn’t happen on Thursday. . . .  Jay Janower of Global tweeted on Wednesday afternoon that “it’s my understanding that as of right now, league will continue to hold its vote on cancelling the season on Friday.” . . . That, of course, would be today. The waiting game continues.

Trees

It was on Feb. 25 when I wrote this:

“We have been hearing for a while now that the WHL’s return to play is all about giving players development opportunities. If that’s the case, and considering the special circumstances, why not allow teams to carry five or six 20-year-olds, even if they only are allowed to dress three per game? Had the league done that, teams wouldn’t have had to cut 20-year-olds over the past few days.”

It turns out I wasn’t alone with that thought.

Steve Ewen, who covers junior hockey, the Vancouver Giants in particular, for Postmedia, wrote this on Wednesday:

“The WHL fanned on a glorious opportunity to show they believe intentions outweigh outcomes. . . .

“No one official has ruled it out, but playoffs aren’t likely. This is going to be an exhibition season. At its very best, it’s giving players something to grasp onto in the midst of this pandemic chaos. For some, it’s also a chance to show their wares for NHL teams or minor-pro clubs, or even Canadian universities moving forward.

“So why did the WHL stick to the traditional roster construction and only allow three 20-year-olds per team? Why not give teams a fourth or even a fifth 20-year-old so they can bolster the resume of some older players who have been loyal to the league in this very tricky time?”

Ewen’s complete piece is right here.

What ever happened to . . . Doyle Potenteau?

Potenteau spent a lot of years at the Kelowna Daily Courier and was a regular on the WHL beat as he wrote and wrote and wrote, mostly about the Kelowna Rockets.

At one point, he started up an on-line publication — DubNation — that was all WHL all the time, and really was ahead of its time.

He left print journalism a while back — he had left sports and was the Daily Courier’s managing editor — and now is in TV with Global Okanagan out of Kelowna. That’s him in the above photo — top row, second from right.

The 2022 Arctic Winter Games have been postponed. They were to have been held in Wood Buffalo, Alta., from March 6-12, 2022. The Games that attract about 2,000 international participants normally are held every two years. The 2020 Games were to have been held in Whitehorse but were cancelled a week before opening. Organizers didn’t want a repeat of that so made the decision well in advance.

It is readily apparent that the medical profession continues to learn new things about COVID-19 as we move through this pandemic. On Thursday, there were reports about a peer-reviewed study of pro athletes returning to play after dealing with the coronavirus that found few cases of myocarditis or pericarditis. . . . Thomas Ketko of Sportsnet reported that “several professional North American sports leagues collaborated on the effort, including the NHL, MLB, NBA, NFL, WNBA and MLS. A total of 789 athletes who had COVID-19 participated in the study, which took place between May and October 2020 and sought to gauge how often the leagues’ return-to-play cardiac screening techniques found instances of inflammatory heart disease.” . . . Only five of those athletes were found to have inflammation of the heart. . . . Ketko also reported that “prior studies on the risk COVID-19 poses to the heart drew more uncertain conclusions, too.” For example, one earlier study found that 60 of 100 people who had tested positive had at least some signs of myocarditis. . . . Yes, the learning continues. . . . Ketko’s complete story is right here.

Bernie Lynch, a former WHL coach (Regina Pats, 1988-89), has been suspended by the junior A Fort Frances Lakers of the Superior International Junior Hockey League. According to a report from CBC News, Lynch was suspended on Jan. 2 via a letter that referenced “inappropriate” emails and conduct. He also was ordered to have no further contact with the players. . . . The CBC report also notes that “more than two months later, neither the team nor the league has publicly disclosed this.” . . . According to the CBC story, “Hockey Canada says it has launched an investigation, under the guidance of Glen McCurdie, its vice-president of insurance and risk management. Yet neither the player nor his parents have been contacted. Nor, apparently, has Lynch.” . . . The entire CBC story is right here.

Hello there, ESPN. It’s been a long winter so I really have been looking forward to watching some baseball. But I have tried to watch two of your telecasts in the last few days — Cubs and Mariners, then Nationals and Mets — but have bailed on both of them. I want to watch baseball with the accompanying play-by-play and commentary, and not be subjected to a bunch of interviews over top of the play. Please stop trying to re-invent the wheel. . . . Thank you for listening!

Bacon

The IIHF’s nine-team 2021 women’s world championship that is scheduled to be held in Halifax and Truro, N.S., has been moved to May 6-16. It had been scheduled for April 7-17 in those communities. . . . The 2020 tournament was to have been held there but was cancelled. . . . The IIHF is hoping that a limited number of fans will be allowed to attend games.

Some NCAA hockey teams are dealing with virus-related issues. . . . Mike McMahon (@MikeMcMahonCHN) reported via Twitter on Thursday: “Merrimack won’t be able to continue with its season. Games vs. UVM (the U of Vermont) this weekend are canceled and per a source, Merrimack won’t compete in the HEA playoffs, which is scheduled to begin with the first round on Wednesday.” . . . St. Lawrence U cancelled its last four regular-season games, all of which were to have been against Clarkson. . . . Earlier, Colorado College had cancelled its final two games, both against Denver, that had been scheduled for last night (Thursday) and Saturday. . . . College Hockey News has more right here.

Restrictions are being loosened in Nova Scotia, meaning the province’s three QMJHL teams will be allowed to play home games again. The Halifax Mooseheads are scheduled to play at home three times in the next 10 days, while the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles have one home game scheduled.

DrGoogle

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.

JUST NOTES: Phil Andrews is returning as the radio voice of the Regina Pats on 620 CKRM. He had been the play-by-play voice since 2011, and took over as director of media and communications in 2016. He left that post in July and the position was filled by the hiring of Evan Daum, who will serve as the analyst on Pats’ broadcasts. CKRM will carry 19 of the club’s 24 games in the upcoming developmental season, with five weekdays games available on the station’s website. . . . The MJHL’s Winkler Flyers have signed Justin Falk as assistant general manager/assistant coach. A 32-year-old native of Snowflake, Man., Falk will work alongside GM Jeff Jeanson and head coach Kelvin Cech. Falk played in the WHL (2005-08) with the Calgary Hitmen and Spokane Chiefs before going on to a pro career that included stints with five NHL teams. He last played in 2018-19, when he spent time with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles and Belleville Senators and the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. . . . The Flyers also announced that Mike McAulay has added the director of player personnel duties to his previous job as head scout.

Pizza

Scattershooting on a Wednesday night while thinking about how much I don’t miss Prairie blizzards . . .

Scattershooting2

As you likely are aware, the City of Cranbrook has filed a lawsuit against the wpgiceWHL and the owners of the Winnipeg Ice, claiming that a lease was broken when the franchise, then the Kootenay Ice, picked up and moved to the Manitoba capital after the 2018-19 season. . . . A Winnipeg-based company, 50 Below Sports and Entertainment, which is headed up by chairman Greg Fettes, had purchased the franchise from the Chynoweth family in 2017. . . . It turns out that the lawsuit was filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Dec. 24. Merry Christmas! . . . “The lawsuit,” writes Trevor Crawley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman, “. . . seeks a few different types of financial relief stemming from lost income due to the relocation of the Kootenay Ice from Cranbrook to Winnipeg, a move (that) broke a license of occupation agreement with Western Financial Place that had four additional years left in the terms of the contract.” . . . Crawley’s complete story is right here. . . .

Bradley Jones of myeastkootenaynow.com writes: “As per their claim, the City of Cranbrook is seeking general damages, damages for lost income for the remainder of the License Agreement to 2023, special damages of the $15,167 one-time expense, pre-judgment interest on damages, costs, and any other relief the court deems justifiable.” . . . His complete story is right here.

Sleep

Apologies to members of the Cam Moon Fan Club. I mentioned here the other day that he would be making his NHL play-calling debut on Wednesday when the Edmonton Oilers played host to the Vancouver Canucks. That actually was a national telecast for Sportsnet — Harnaryan Singh made his Hockey Night in Canada national debut — which meant that Jack Michaels was back doing the Oilers’ play-by-play on radio. . . . The Oilers’ game on Thursday will be a regional telecast, so Moon will be at the radio microphone as he calls an NHL game for the first time. Game time against those same Canucks on 630 CHED will be 7 p.m. MT.

The Medicine Hat Tigers have released F Cole Sillinger to play for the USHL’s ushlSioux Falls Stampede. Sillinger, the 17-year-old son of former WHL/NHL F Mike Sillinger, is a potential first-round selection in the NHL’s 2021 draft. . . . Sillinger, who has dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship, will be joined in Sioux Falls by F Luke Toporowski, 19, who was released by the Spokane Chiefs on Wednesday and will be playing with the Stampede. Toporowski is a native of Bettendorf, Iowa. . . . On Tuesday, the Chiefs freed up F Bear Hughes to join the USHL’s Fargo Force. Hughes, 19, is from Post Falls, Idaho, . . . “Our league and USA Hockey reached a unique agreement regarding American players from (WHL) U.S. Division clubs,” Scott Carter, the Chiefs’ general manager, said in a news release. “Despite the WHL’s commitment to play this season, there are still uncertainties, and this opportunity will provide Luke and Bear the chance to play right away.” . . . WHL players who are moving to the USHL will stay with those teams until their seasons end, after which their playing rights will revert back to their WHL teams.

The NHL began is 2021 regular season with five games on Wednesday night. If all goes well, it was the first of 116 straight days when at least one NHL game will be played. . . . The tweet below is the first of a series in what is sure to garner nightly interest . . .

Eating

In the period from Jan. 6-12, the NBA ran 497 COVID-19 tests and had 16 players come up positive. . . . It postponed three games that had been scheduled for Wednesday — Utah Jazz at Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics, and Atlanta Hawks at Phoenix Suns. . . . With the Suns and Washington Wizards having contact tracing issues, the NBA also has postponed a pair of games scheduled for Friday — Washington at the Detroit Pistons and the Golden State Warriors at Phoenix. . . . The NBA now has had to postpone nine games, eight of them since Jan. 10.

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Bruce Jenkins, in the San Francisco Chronicle:

“At a time when a complete shutdown seemed appropriate, even for a month or less, the NBA has chosen the fast lane, the one labeled Take the Money, once again. Whether it’s stay-at-home orders, eliminating visitors to hotel rooms or the clampdown on simple things, like dropping into a bar, Tuesday’s mandate suggests a player nightmare over the next two weeks — and probably beyond.

“No, this cruel new world hardly resembles a military boot camp, but some serious change is at hand. The NBA now expects a complete halt on lengthy pregame meetings, postgame hugs with opposing players and the comically reckless usage of masks, among other highly detailed restrictions. (Somehow, coaches worldwide have come to believe that when you really need to shout at somebody — thus putting yourself at the highest pandemic risk — that’s when you take off the mask.)

Taxes

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.

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