F Riley Holzapfel (Moose Jaw, 2004-08) has signed a one-year contract extension with the Vienna Capitals (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). This season, in 53 games, he had 19 goals and a team-leading 34 assists. . . .
F Spencer Edwards (Red Deer, Seattle, Moose Jaw, 2006-11) has signed a one-year contract extension with Amiens (France, Ligue Magnus). This season, he had nine goals and 17 assists in 44 games. . . .
D Tomáš Slovák (Kelowna, 2001-03) has signed a one-year contract extension with Košice (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, he had four assists in eight games. He started this season with Jegesmedvék Miscolc (Hungary, Slovakia Extraliga), putting up one goal and three assists in 39 games. . . .
F Tomáš Hričina (Regina, 2008-10) has signed a one-year contract extension with Košice (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, he had eight goals and seven assists in 49 games. . . .
F Oliver Jokeľ (Swift Current, 2008-09) has signed a one-year contract extension with Košice (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, he had three goals in 15 games. On loan to Humenné (Slovakia, 1. Liga), he had 12 goals and 14 assists in 31 games. . . .
F Keegan Dansereau (Calgary, Swift Current, 2003-09) has signed a one-year contract with Dunaújváros (Hungary, Erste Liga). This season, with MAC Újbuda Budapest (Hungary, Slovakia Extraliga), he had nine goals and 30 assists in 56 games. He was second on the team in assists. . . .
F Zach McPhee (Tri-City, Everett, Kootenay, 2010-14) has signed a one-year contract with Trollhättan (Sweden, Division 2). This season, with U of Regina (USports, Canada West), he had four goals and three assists in 27 games. . . .
F Rihards Bukarts (Brandon, Portland, 2013-16) has signed a one-year contract with Düsseldorf (Germany, DEL). This season, with the Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, DEL), he had nine goals and 13 assists in 42 games. . . .
F Mike Aviani (Spokane, 2009-14) has signed a one-year contract with Nice (France, Ligue Magnus). This season, with Medveščak Zagreb (Croatia, Erste Bank Liga), he had four goals and seven assists in 23 games. He also had three goals and four assists in 15 games with the Herning Blue Fox (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). . . .
F Cain Franson (Vancouver, 2010-14) has signed a one-year contract with Amiens (France, Ligue Magnus). This season, with U of Calgary (USports, Canada West), he had six goals and seven assists in 15 games. . . .
D Craig Schira (Regina, Vancouver, 2003-09) has signed a two-year contract extension with Rögle Ängelholm (Sweden, SHL). This season, he was the team captain, and had two goals and 12 assists in 41 games.
It wasn’t the running of the bulls in Prince Albert, but . . .
The Prince Albert Raiders won the Ed Chynoweth Cup on Monday night, beating the 
visiting Vancouver Giants, 3-2 in OT, in Game 7 of the WHL’s championship series. . . . It’s the second time in league history that the title has been won in an overtime period in Game 7. . . . F Noah Gregor, with two goals in regulation time, and F Dante Hannoun, with the winner in OT, scored for the Raiders. Both players are 20, meaning they are in their final seasons of junior hockey. . . . Both players were acquired from the Victoria Royals. . . . The Raiders acquired Hannoun, along with fourth- and eighth-round selections in the 2019 bantam draft, on Jan. 3, giving up F Kody McDonald, F Carson Miller and a third-round pick in the 2020 draft in the exchange. . . . Gregor, who has signed with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, was acquired on July 25 for “conditional compensation,” whatever that is. . . .
As for the first time that Game 7 was decided in OT, it happened in 2007 and, yes, it involved the Giants. Vancouver had taken a 3-2 lead in the series with the Medicine Hat Tigers as G Tyson Sexsmith put up three shutouts — 1-0, 4-0 and 3-0. . . . The last two games were played in Medicine Hat. The Tigers won Game 6, 4-3, then took Game 7, 3-2, when F Brennan Bosch scored at 7:26 of the second OT period. . . . The Giants were the host team for the 2007 Memorial Cup and — wouldn’t you know it — they beat the Tigers, 3-1, in the final.
The Prince Albert Raiders, who won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions on 
Monday night, will open the Memorial Cup on Friday night in Halifax.
The Raiders will meet the host Mooseheads, who lost the QMJHL final in six games to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
The Huskies will play their first Memorial Cup game on Saturday against the OHL-champion Guelph Storm. Guelph took out the Ottawa 67’s in six games in the OHL final.
The Mooseheads and Storm will meet on Sunday, with the Huskies and Raiders playing on Monday.
The Storm and Raiders are scheduled to play on May 21, with the round-robin concluding on May 22 with the Mooseheads meeting the Huskies.
If a tiebreaker is necessary, it will be played on May 23, and the semifinal is scheduled for May 24.
The tournament wraps up with the championship game on May 26.
The WHL has won the Memorial Cup once in the past 10 tournaments. That was in 2014 when the Edmonton Oil Kings won the championship. Prior to that, the WHL had won five the previous eight tournaments.
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NOTES: The Prince Albert Raiders have won their first WHL championship since 1985 when, in just their third season in the league, they went on to win the Memorial Cup under head coach Terry Simpson. . . . Curtis Hunt, the Raiders’ general manager, was a defenceman on that championship team. . . .
This was the third straight season in which the Ed Chynoweth Cup was won in Saskatchewan. Two seasons ago, the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Regina Pats in six games, winning Game 6 in Regina. Last season, the Swift Current Broncos won it at home, beating the visiting Everett Silvertips in Game 6. . . . This is the second season in a row that the champion of the 22-team WHL is a community-owned team. There are four of those in the WHL, the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Moose Jaw Warriors being the other two. . . .
The captains of the Raiders and Giants both are from Saskatchewan and were teammates with the Victoria Royals. Raiders D Brayden Pachal, 19, is from Estevan. He was a freshman with the Royals in 2015-16, then was dealt to the Raiders the next season. Giants F Jared Dmytriw, 20, is from Craven. He was with the Royals for two full seasons (2014-16) before being dealt to the Red Deer Rebels and then to Vancouver last season. . . .
Marc Habscheid, the Raiders’ head coach, now has posted 74 WHL playoff victories during his career behind the bench. That is seventh in WHL history, behind Don Hay (108), Ken Hodge (101), Ernie McLean (87), Kelly McCrimmon and Pat Ginnell (80), and Brent Sutter (79). . . . During the regular season, Habscheid became the eighth WHL head coach to get to 500 victories. . . . Habscheid now has won two titles as a head coach; he also won with the 2002-03 Kelowna Rockets. . . .
The Raiders, who were 28-4-2 at home in the regular season, finished the playoffs at 9-3. . . . The Giants, who were 22-9-3 on the road in the regular season, were 7-4 in the playoffs. . . .
Bowen Byram of the Giants became the first defenceman in WHL history to win the playoff scoring race. He finished with 26 points, one more than F Brett Leason of the Raiders. Prince Albert forwards Dante Hannoun and Noah Gregor, who combined on the winning goal in OT of Game 7, each had 24. . . . Hannoun led in goals (14), one more than Gregor, while Byram was tops in assists (18), two more than teammate Davis Koch. . . .
Hannoun had five goals and four assists in the seven-game final. After three games, he had three goals and four assists. So the Giants held him to two goals over the final four games, but he still was able to score the biggest goal of the season. . . .
This was the 12th time that the WHL championship has been decided in Game 7, and the road team has only won one of those games. That was in 2014 when the Edmonton Oil Kings beat the Winterhawks, 4-2, in Portland to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
——
MONDAY HIGHLIGHTS:
F Dante Hannoun’s OT goal gave the Prince Albert Raiders a 3-2 victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants in Game 7 of the WHL final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup. . . . The Raiders, 
who hadn’t lost three straight games all season, had led the series 3-1 before dropping two straight games. . . . Hannoun, a mid-season acquisition from the Victoria Royals, won it with 1:35 left in the first OT period. F Noah Gregor, who had the Raiders’ two goals in regulation, had the puck on the left side and sent a terrific pass to Hannoun, who was open off the right side of the Vancouver net. He didn’t miss the open side. . . . Vancouver F Milos Roman, who had gone 12 games without a goal, opened the scoring at 4:45 of the second period. D Bowen Byram skated down the left side of the offensive zone and hit Roman with a great pass for Roman’s third goal of the playoffs. . . . Gregor (12) pulled the Raiders even at 14:57, beating G David Tendeck through a screen from the slot. . . . Gregor (13) gave the Raiders a 2-1 lead at 4:25 of the third period, scoring from the left side. . . . F Parker Kelly drew an assist on each of Gregor’s goals. Kelly had five two-point games in the final — twice scoring two goals and three times setting up a pair. . . . Roman got the Giants back even at 8:30, scoring on a rebound while on the PP. . . . Raiders F Brett Leason was penalized for delay of game — the dreaded puck-over-glass penalty — at 14:27 of OT, but the Raiders were able to kill it off. That set the stage for Hannoun. . . . The Raiders got 24 saves from G Ian Scott. He led all playoff goaltenders in victories (16), GAA (1.96), save percentage (.925) and shutouts (5). He was named the playoff MVP. . . . G David Tendeck stopped 37 shots for Vancouver. He finished the playoffs at 11-5, 2.38, .918. . . . The Giants were 1-4 on the PP; the Raiders were 0-1. . . . The referees were Chris Crich and Jeff Ingram, with Chad Huseby and Tarrington Wyonzek on the lines.
67’s, 8-3, to win the series, 4-2. . . . This is the fourth time the Storm has won the J. Ross Robertson Cup. . . . The 67’s had gone into the series with a 12-0 record in these playoffs and had won the first two games. . . . The Storm trailed, 2-0, after one period, then scored five times in the second period to take control. . . . Guelph got two goals and two assists from each of F Isaac Ratcliffe, the team captain, and D Dmitri Samorkov. . . . F Nick Suzuki of the Storm was the playoff MVP. He led all scorers with a franchise record 42 points, including 16 goals, in 24 games. . . . The Storm has had quite a run. It is the only team in OHL history to have trailed three series, 2-0, and come back to win them all. . . . Guelph trailed the London Knights, 3-0, in the first round before coming back to win the series. Then, in a semifinal, the Storm was down 3-1 to the Saginaw Spirit before winning the last three games. . . . The Storm will be in the Memorial Cup for the sixth time. . . .
Giants skated to a 4-2 victory over the Raiders in Prince Albert. . . . The WHL final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup is tied, 3-3, with the winner of tonight’s Game 7 going home with the big bauble. . . . The Giants last won the title in 2006; the Raiders haven’t won it since 1985. . . . Vancouver, down 3-1 in the series, had won Game 5, 4-3, in Langley, B.C., on Friday night. . . . Last night, F Parker Kelly (7) gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead just 53 seconds into the first period when he put his own rebound in behind Tendeck. Kelly had scored 41 seconds into Game 3, which the Raiders went on to win, 8-2, in Langley, B.C. . . . Koch (4) pulled the Giants even at 6:58, getting a nifty backhand shot past Raiders G Ian Scott. . . . Vancouver went ahead 2-1 at 15:17 when F Owen Hardy scored his fifth goal of the playoffs. . . . Kelly (8) pulled the Raiders even with 32.2 seconds left in the period, taking a pass from F Aliaksei Protas and scoring. . . . After a scoreless second period, the Giants went ahead 3-2 at 3:40 of the third as F Jared Dmytriw, their captain, scored his ninth goal, coming free in front of Scott and putting in a rebound off a shot by F Lukas Svejkovsky. . . . Dmytriw had the primary assist on Hardy’s goal, too. . . . The Raiders had a glorious chance to pull even when Vancouver F Jadon Joseph went off for tripping at 11:30. However, Tendeck closed the door and Prince Albert was penalized for too many men at 13:23. The Giants weren’t able to score on their PP, either. . . . Koch (5) put it away with an empty-netter with 14.2 seconds left to play. . . . Each team finished 0-2 on the PP. . . . The Raiders had a 38-27 edge in shots, including 16-10 in the first period and 11-7 in the third. . . . Scott finished with 23 saves. . . . The referees were Mike Campbell and Steve Papp, with Sean Dufour and Michael Roberts on the lines.
67’s, 4-3, to take a 3-2 lead in the OHL’s championship series. . . . They’ll play Game 6 in Guelph on Sunday. . . . Last night, the Storm got a goal and an assist from F Alexey Toropchenko, who has seven goals in his past four games. He has 13 goals in these playoffs. . . . F Tye Felhaber scored twice for Ottawa. He now leads the OHL playoffs, with 17 goals. . . . The 67’s opened the playoffs with 14 straight victories, but now have lost three in a row — for the first time this season — and are facing elimination on Sunday.
Vancouver Giants and Prince George Cougars, has signed on with the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters. . . . Murray, a coach for more than 20 years, spent five seasons (2006-11) with the Giants, and was part of their Memorial Cup title in 2007. . . . He also pent three-plus seasons with the Winterhawks and two working with the Cougars. . . . The Smoke Eaters also have hired Jeff Urekar, who had been the head coach of the major midget North East Chiefs, as assistant GM.
with Tom Keca, who had been their general manager and head coach through four seasons. . . . In a news release, David Fitzgerald, the organization’s president, said: “Unfortunately, we were unable to agree on terms with Tom to extend his contract beyond this season. In light of this, we decided that it was best for the organization to move in a different direction next season.” . . . Before taking over as GM/head coach, Keca had been an assistant coach with the Oil Barons for four-plus seasons. He also spent five seasons (2000-05) on the staff as an assistant before taking over as head coach of the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats. . . . Dave Dupas has stepped in as general manager and head coach “until further notice.” . . . Dupas has been an assistant coach with Fort McMurray for the past three seasons. Prior to that, he was the head coach of the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings for four seasons. . . . This season, the Oil Barons went 32-19-9 to finish fourth in the Viterra AJHL North. They beat the Grande Prairie Storm, 3-1, in a best-of-five first-round series, then lost a best-of-seven affair to the Sherwood Park Crusaders, 4-2.
3 victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The Raiders lead the WHL final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, 3-2, with Game 6 to be played in Prince Albert on Sunday. . . . Game 7, if necessary, would be played on Monday. . . . Last night, the Giants got the game’s first goal, at 7:42 of the first period, when F Brayden Watts (7) deposited a rebound off a shot by F Tristen Nielsen into an empty side. . . . The team scoring first now is 5-0 in this series. . . . The Raiders tied it at 10:44 as F Aliaksei Protas (12) scored from the slot off a rebound from a shot by F Sean Montgomery. . . . The teams then combined for five goals in the second period. . . . The visitors took their only lead at 2:45, just nine seconds after killing off a penalty. F Dante Hannoun came free in front of the Giants’ net and beat G David Tendeck for his WHL-leading 13th goal of these playoffs. . . . Vancouver tied it 50 seconds later as D Bowen Byram (8) skated into the left side of the slot and beat G Ian Scott for his first goal of the series. . . . F Davis Koch (3) put the home boys back out front, putting home a rebound at 9:24. He had gone 12 games without a goal. . . . D Dylan Plouffe (6) upped Vancouver’s lead to 4-2 at 11:13 with a shot from the top of the left circle off a play by F Dawson Holt, who gained possession of the puck with some good work along the boards and then threw out a terrific pass. . . . The Raiders got back to within a goal at 15:54 as F Noah Gregor (11) got a backhand shot through Tendeck after the Giants failed to clear their zone. . . . F Jadon Joseph had two assists for Giants, while Byram added an assist to his goal, as did Watts. . . . The Raiders got two assists from F Brett Leason. . . . Leason and Byram remain tied for the playoff points lead, each with 25, two ahead of Hannoun. . . . Tendeck finished with 37 saves, including 16 in the third period as he helped keep the Raiders off the scoreboard. . . . Scott stopped 26 shots. . . . The Giants were 0-1 on the PP; the Raiders were 0-2. . . . The Raiders had D Max Martin back in the lineup after he missed Games 3 and 4. He was injured in the second period of Game 2 after crashing awkwardly into the end boards. With Martin back in, D Loeden Schaufler came out. . . . The referees were Chris Crich and Fraser Lawrence, with Ron Dietterle and Brett Mackey working the lines.
Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C. . . . The Raiders now lead the WHL final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, 3-1, and get their first chance to wrap it up on Friday in Langley. . . . This was Scott’s fifth shutout of these playoffs, one shy of the WHL’s single-season record that is shared by Dustin Slade (Vancouver, 2006, 18 games) and Stuart Skinner, who did it in 26 games with the Swift Current Broncos a year ago. . . . Scott blanked the Giants, 4-0, in Game 2 on Saturday in Prince Albert. . . . The Raiders have outscored the Giants, 13-2, over the past three games. . . . F Brett Leason scored the game’s lone goal, going in alone to beat Vancouver G David Tendeck at 4:21 of the third period. . . . Just moments earlier, the Giants had hit a post behind Scott. . . . Vancouver had two earlier breakaways — F Davis Koch late in the first period and F Milos Roman early in the second period — but couldn’t solve Scott. . . . D Sergei Sapego had a breakaway for the Raiders late in the second period but wasn’t able to score. . . . Tendeck finished with 25 saves. . . . Prince Albert was 0-2 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-1. . . . The Giants held a 15-9 edge in first-period shots and 11-5 in the third. . . . The Raiders scratched D Max Martin for a second straight game. Unlike Tuesday night, Martin didn’t take the pregame warmup before being scratch from Game 4. . . . The referees were Jeff Ingram and Mark Pearce. Nick Bilko and Brett Mackey worked the lines.
Prince Albert Raiders.
a 4-0 victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants in Game 2 of the WHL final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup. . . . Scott now is one of 13 goaltenders to have put up at least four shutouts in one playoff season. The record of six is shared by Dustin Slade of Vancouver, who did it in only 18 games in 2006, and Stuart Skinner, who managed to do that in 26 games with the Swift Current Broncos last season.
visiting Guelph Storm in Game 2 of the championship final on Saturday afternoon. . . . Ottawa, which swept its way through the first three series, leads the final, 2-0. . . . However, the 67’s lost G Mikey DiPietro at 14:50 of the first period when he went down with an injured right leg after appearing to catch it on the goal post. After the game, he was using crutches and has his right foot and ankle in a boot. It’s believed that he suffered a high ankle sprain. . . . At that time, Ottawa was trailing, 2-0. G Cedrick Andree came on to replace DiPietro and stopped 26 shots to key the victory. . . . The series will continue on Monday with Game 3 in Guelph. Game 4 is to be played there on Wednesday. . . . DiPietro, 20, was a third-round pick by the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL’s 2017 draft. He has signed with them and, in fact, played one game with them this season.
organization revealed on Saturday that it had applied to the AJHL for the OK to move to Strathmore before a new season gets here. However, the AJHL denied the request and an appeal also was denied. . . . “Over the past two seasons our off-ice product has not equaled the success we had on the ice,” Mike Cartney, the Mustangs’ president, wrote in a letter. “Low ticket sales, decreasing advertising revenue and a lengthy playoff absence have left the franchise in a difficult position, financially. The board of the directors . . . (has) had lengthy discussions about all of our options and ultimately (has) voted in favour of taking a leave of absence from the AJHL for the upcoming 2019-20 season.” . . . The Mustangs were one of eight teams in the 16-team league’s South Division. This season, they finished fifth, at 29-22-9, then lost a best-of-five first-round playoff series to the Camrose Kodiaks, 3-2. . . . Ty Drader, who had been the Mustangs’ general manager and head coach, was named Friday as the head coach of the ACAC’s Calgary-based SAIT Trojans.
victory in Game 2 of the WHL’s championship series for the Ed Chynoweth Cup. . . . The series is 1-1 with the next three games in the Langley, B.C., Events Centre — Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. . . . G Ian Scott of the Raiders stopped all 15 shots he faced to record his fourth shutout of these playoffs. That leads the CHL. . . . Prince Albert held a 27-10 edge in shots through two periods. . . . Raiders F Dante Hannoun (11), who is from Delta, B.C., opened the scoring when he beat the coverage to the front of the Vancouver net and was able to rap a pass in behind G David Tendeck at 10:17 of the first period. . . . Hannoun, 20, scored nine times through the first two rounds, then was blanked for six games in the third round. This was his second goal in two games in the final. . . . Hannoun, who faced the Giants often while he was with the Victoria Royals, also had two assists, and now has 56 points in 52 career games, regular-season and playoffs, against Vancouver. He has two goals and three assists in the first two games of this series. . . . The home boys went ahead 2-0 as D Sergei Sapego (3) scored off a pass from F Parker Kelly at 7:43 of the second period. . . . F Noah Gregor (9) added to the lead with a PP goal at 10:39. . . . F Brett Leason (7) closed out the scoring with an empty-netter at 18:39. . . . The Giants had Tendeck on the bench for the extra attacker with four minutes still to play. . . . Tendeck finished with 30 saves. . . . Raiders F Parker Kelly had two assists for a second straight game. . . . The Raiders were 1-5 on the PP; the Giants were 0-2. . . . D Max Martin of Prince Albert left the game at 11:30 of the second period after falling awkwardly into the end boards. He immediately went to the dressing room and didn’t return. Head coach Marc Habscheid didn’t indicate whether Martin would travel to Vancouver, saying only that the veteran defenceman would be “re-evaluated” on Sunday. . . . The referees were Fraser Lawrence and Steve Papp, with Deion Foster and Chad Huseby on the lines.
with the winner taking home the Ed Chynoweth Cup, is to follow a 2-3-2 format, with Games 1 and 2 in Prince Albert on Friday and Saturday nights. . . . The Raiders won the Eastern Conference title on Sunday, beating the Oil Kings, 4-2, in Edmonton to take the series, 4-2. . . . The Giants took out the Spokane Chiefs in five games, finishing that series in Langley, B.C., on Friday night with a 3-2 victory. . . . 
Mooseheads and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, who are to play for the QMJHL championship, both will play in the four-team tournament. The Mooseheads are in as the host team, so the QMJHL’s other finalist gets an automatic berth. . . . Halifax scored a 2-1 OT decision over the Drummondville Voltigeurs to win that series, 4-2, and get to its first final since 2013. . . . The QMJHL final opens with Games 1 and 2 in Rouyn-Noranda on Thursday and Friday nights. . . . The Memorial Cup is scheduled to run from May 17-26 in Halifax.
will go to either the Guelph Storm or Saginaw Spirit. . . . The 67’s are 12-0 in the playoffs, having swept the Hamilton Bulldogs, Sudbury Wolves and Oshawa Generals, having outscored the opposition to the tune of 82-29. . . . The Spirit won three of the first four games in the other semifinal, only to have the Storm roar back with 4-0 and 5-1 victories to tie it, 3-3. . . . They’ll play Game 7 in Saginaw tonight (Monday). The Storm won, 4-0, in Saginaw on Friday, then skated to a 5-1 victory on home-ice on Sunday.
4-3 victory over Russia in the championship game at the IIHF’s U-18 World Championship on Sunday before 5,602 fans in Ornskoldsvik. . . . It’s the first time that Sweden has won the tournament that started in 1999. Russia won silver for the fourth time. . . . Raymond won it with a wrist shot from just above the hash marks, beating G Yaroslav Askarov at 5:44 of the extra period. . . . Sweden had taken a 2-0 lead, only to have Russia come back and take a 3-2 lead. Raymond, who finished the tournament with four goals, tied the game, 3-3, at 10:47 of the third period, just 25 seconds after F Maxim Groshev gave Russia its only lead. . . . 
Raiders beat the Oil Kings, 4-2, in Edmonton. . . . The Raiders won the Eastern Conference final, 4-2, and advanced to the WHL’s championship series for the first time since 1985 when they won the franchise’s only Memorial Cup title. . . . The Raiders will open the WHL final at home against the Vancouver Giants with games on Friday and Saturday nights. . . . F Trey Fix-Wolansky (5) gave the Oil Kings a 1-0 lead on Sunday, at 11:49 of the first period. . . . Protas, a freshman from Belarus, tied it with his ninth goal of the playoffs, on a PP, at 14:05. . . . The visitors went ahead just 16 seconds later when Protas got his 10th goal. . . . F Noah Gregor (7) upped the lead to 3-1, on a PP, at 17:58. . . . Fix-Wolansky (6) cut into the lead, shorthanded, at 10:41 of the second period, only to have Protas complete his hat trick with his 11th goal at 16:40. . . . The teams played a scoreless third period. . . . Protas, who turned 18 on Jan. 6, had 11 goals in 61 regular-season games. He now leads the WHL playoffs with 11 goals in 16 games. He holds a two-goal lead over teammate Dante Hannoun, who didn’t score in the six games with Edmonton after finishing the second-round series with three goals in the sixth game with the Saskatoon Blades. . . . F Sean Montgomery drew two assists for the Raiders. . . . F Quinn Benjafield had two assists for Edmonton. . . . G Ian Scott stopped 32 shots for the Raiders. In these playoffs, he now is 12-4, 1.84, .930. . . . The Oil Kings got 20 stops from G Dylan Myskiw, who finished 7-6, 2.15, .914. . . . The Raiders were 2-5 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 0-4. . . . On Saturday night, the WHL had revealed that Edmonton head coach Brad Lauer had been fined $1,500 for comments he made about the Game 5 officiating in a post-game scrum with reporters.
are open for business. . . . The Rockets didn’t qualify for the playoffs this season. They are the host team for the 2020 Memorial Cup. If you’re a hockey fan, you know that’s not a good combination. . . . Therefore, Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ president and general manager, knows he has some work to do to put together a roster that will be capable of competing for a championship. . . . With that in mind, he has said he is more than willing to trade away the fifth-overall selection in the bantam draft. . . . “I want at least one high-end guy for that pick,” Hamilton told Wayne Moore of 
season. The team issued a two-sentence news release on Friday morning stating that Kordic “has decided not to return to the hockey club for the 2019-20 season.” . . . Kordic, 48, is from Edmonton. He played four seasons (1987-91) with the Medicine Hat Tigers before going on to a pro career that included 197 regular-season NHL games, all with the Philadelphia Flyers. . . . He spent two seasons on the coaching staff of the U of Alberta Golden Bears, working with head coach Serge Lajoie. . . . When Lajoie signed on as the Blazers’ head coach last summer, Kordic accompanied him. . . . The Blazers and Lajoie went their separate ways on April 11, so one supposes that it’s no surprise that Kordic also has moved on. . . . Earlier this week, Lajoie was named the head coach of the midget prep team at OHA Edmonton.
to a 4-0 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Raiders hold a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference final. They’ll play Game 6 in Edmonton on Sunday afternoon. . . . Game 7, if needed, would be played in Prince Albert on Tuesday. . . . Protas, a freshman from Vitebsk, Belarus, who turned 18 on Jan. 6, had 11 goals and 29 assists in 61 regular-season games. He now has eight goals and four assists in 15 playoff outings. . . . Protas never once scored two or more goals in a game during the regular season; he has done it twice in the playoffs. . . . Protas scored his first goal, on a PP, at 11:31, then made it 2-0 at 17:03. . . . F Brett Leason (5) gave his guys a 3-0 lead at 5:22 of the third period. . . . Portas completed his hat trick at 19:35, one second after the expiration of an Edmonton minor penaltys. . . . D Sergei Sapego and D Kaiden Guhle each had two assists, while Leason added one to his goal. . . . The Raiders were 1-3 on the PP; the Oil Kings didn’t have even one opportunity. . . . G Ian Scott earned the shutout, his third of these playoffs, with 24 saves. . . . In these playoffs, Scott now is 11-4, 1.83, .929. He finished the regular season at 38-8-3, 1.83, .932. . . . The Oil Kings got 26 stops from G Dylan Myskiw. . . . The Oil Kings inserted F Carter Souch into the lineup and took out F Zach Russell. . . . Edmonton has lost back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 4 and 6 when they lost at home to the Victoria Royals (3-2) and Lethbridge Hurricanes (5-2).
Chiefs in Langley, B.C. . . . The Giants won the series, 4-1, and will meet either the Edmonton Oil Kings or Prince Albert Raiders in the series for the Ed Chynoweth Cup. The Raiders lead that series, 3-2. . . . The Giants were shorthanded when D Bowen Byram (7) gave them a 1-0 lead at 16:42 of the first period. . . . F Justin Sourdif (2) made it 2-0, on a PP, at 19:22. . . . The Chiefs halved the deficit at 4:22 of the third period when F Jaret Anderson-Dolan (5) scored, on a PP. . . . But the Giants got that one back just 21 seconds later on a goal from F Brayden Watts (5). . . . F Ethan McIndoe (6) pulled the Chiefs to within one at 18:13 with G Bailey Brkin on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Sourdif and Byram added an assist apiece, while F Eli Zummack had two helpers for Spokane. . . . Each team was 1-4 on the PP. . . . G David Tendeck stopped 27 shots for the Giants. In the playoffs, he is 7-2, 2.04, .925. He went the distance in all five games with Spokane. . . . The Chiefs got 27 saves from Brkin. . . . The Chiefs again scratched two veterans — F Luc Smith, who didn’t play after being injured a couple of minutes into Game 1, and D Filip Kral, who has missed two straight games. . . . The key to Vancouver’s series victory may have come in its holding Anderson-Dolan to two goals and an assist, and D Ty Smith to one assist in the five games.
over the Oil Kings in Edmonton. . . . That tied the Eastern Conference final at 2-2 with Game 5 in Prince Albert on Friday night. . . . F Brett Leason (4) gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead with his first goal of the series at 13:01 of the second period. . . . F Noah Gregor (6), off a nifty pass from F Ozzy Wiesblatt, made it 2-0 at 2:13 of the third period. . . . D Wyatt McLeod (4) got the Oil Kings to within a goal at 13:54 of the third period, but they weren’t able to equalize. . . . G Ian Scott stopped 25 shots for the Raiders. In these playoffs, he now is 10-4, 1.96, .924. . . . G Dylan Myskiw stopped 25 shots for Edmonton. . . . To refresh, the Raiders won 1-0 at home in Game 1, with the Oil Kings winning Game 2, 4-3 in OT. In Edmonton, the Oil Kings won 5-1 and then dropped a 2-1 decision last night. . . . Had the Raiders lost Game 4 it would have marked their first three-game losing skid of the season.
Spokane and a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference final. . . . The Giants get their first chance to wrap it up on Friday in Langley B.C. . . . Last night, the Chiefs skated to a 2-0 lead on a pair of goals from F Adam Beckman (7, 8), at 18:38 of the first period and 10:06 of the second. . . . The Giants, outshot 26-13 through two periods, began the comeback when F Jadon Joseph (7) scored on a delayed penalty at 4:26 of the third period. . . . D Bowen Byram (6) tied it, on a PP, at 9:11, and F Brayden Watts (4) gave the Giants the lead at 10:04. . . . Chiefs F Riley Woods (7) forced OT when he scored at 16:25. . . . Holt won it with his fifth goal of the playoffs at 7:07 of OT. . . . F Davis Koch and F Milos Roman each had two assists for Vancouver, and Byram added one assist to his goal. Byram and his defence partner, Alex Kannok Leipert, drew the assists on the winner. . . . Vancouver was 1-2 on the PP; Spokane was 0-1. . . . The Giants got 28 saves from G David Tendeck, while Spokane G Bailey Brkin blocked 26 shots. . . . The Chiefs were without F Luc Smith, who hasn’t played since the early moments of Game 1. Last night, he was behind the bench in a coaching role. . . . Spokane also scratched D Filip Kral, who left Game 3 after taking a hit from Giants F Justin Sourdif in the first period. Kral returned in the second period and finished the game, but obviously wasn’t able to play last night. . . . With Kral out, D Egor Arbuzov got into the lineup. . . . Vancouver remains without F Adian Barfoot, who hasn’t played since being injured in Game 4 of a first-round series with the Seattle Thunderbirds.
to help Canada to a 7-4 victory over Switzerland at the IIHF U-18 World Championship in Umea, Sweden. . . . The tournament, which runs through April 28, also is being played in Ornskoldsvik. . . . Tracey had scored twice on Thursday as Canada skated to a 5-3 victory over Finland as the tournament began. . . . On Friday, Canada got a goal and an assist from each of F Peyton Krebs (Winnipeg Ice) and F Connor Zary (Kamloops Blazers). F Dylan Cozens (Lethbridge Hurricanes) also scored for Canada. . . . G Taylor Gauthier (Prince George Cougars) stopped 17 shots in his second straight start. . . . Canada led 3-0 and 4-3 by period. . . . Canada will next play on Sunday when it is to meet Belarus.
Prince Albert Raiders opened the Eastern Conference final with a 1-0 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . They’ll play Game 2 in Prince Albert tonight. . . . Wiesblatt (4) scored at 1:48 of the second period, his backhand shot bouncing past G Dylan Myskiw after hitting the stick belonging to Edmonton D Wyatt McLeod. . . . Wiesblatt had scored three goals in the Raiders’ first four games of these playoffs; this goal ended a six-game drought. . . . Scott blocked 26 shots, and was superb in a third period in which his guys were outshot 11-3. . . . In these playoffs, Scott is 9-2, 1.64, .934 with two shutouts. . . . Myskiw finished with 23 saves. . . . Edmonton was 0-2 on the PP; Prince Albert was 0-4. . . . The Raiders are 6-0 at home in the playoffs. . . . The Oil Kings went into the game having won their previous four road games. . . . F Cole Fonstad was back in the Raiders’ lineup after missing the last two games of their six-game series victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . F Justin Nachbaur of the Raiders sat out as he completed a two-game suspension.
victory over the Spokane Chiefs in Langley, B.C. . . . It was Game 1 of the Western Conference final. Game 2 will be played tonight in Langley. . . . The Giants took control with two goals 2:12 apart early in the first period. . . . F Lukas Svejkovsky (4) opened the scoring, on a PP, at 6:25, and F Dawson Holt (3) made it 2-0 at 8:37. . . . Hardy (4) upped the lead to 3-0 just 57 seconds into the second period. . . . The Chiefs got their goal at 5:30 as F Adam Beckman (6) scored. . . . D Bowen Byram (5) put it away for the Giants with an empty-netter at 18:06 of the third period. . . . Vancouver was 1-2 on the PP; Spokane was 0-2. . . . G David Tendeck earned the victory with 30 saves, four more than Spokane’s Bailey Brkin. . . . The Giants continued to play without F Aidan Barfoot, who is out with an undisclosed injury. . . . Spokane F Luc Smith left the game early in the first period after falling into the boards. He didn’t return. If he has to miss any time it will be a big loss for the Chiefs. At 6-foot-4, he’s a big body and as a 20-year-old he brings a lot of experience to their lineup. After being acquired from the Kamloops Blazers this season, he had 20 goals and 14 assists in 42 games. He went into this series with four goals and an assist in 10 games.
TAKING NOTE 