D Giffen Nyren (Moose Jaw, Kamloops, Calgary, 2006-10) has been released by Amiens (France, Ligue Magnus) by mutual agreement. He was pointless in seven games.
The Kamloops Blazers, beset by suspensions, injuries and a seven-game losing skid, will have F Logan Stankoven in their lineup on Friday night against the visiting Swift Current Broncos.
The 5-foot-7, 160-pound Stankoven, 15, is from Kamloops. He was the Blazers’ first-round 
pick, fifth overall, in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft.
Last season, with the bantam prep team at Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford, B.C., Stankoven finished with 57 goals and 33 assists in 30 games. This season, with the major midget Thompson Blazers, who play out of Kamloops, he has 10 goals and six assists in eight games.
After making his WHL debut on Friday night, Stankoven will rejoin his major midget teammates on Saturday for a 12:15 p.m. date with the visiting Cariboo Cougars.
F Jermaine Loewen, the Blazers’ captain, will complete a four-game suspension on Friday, while F Ryley Appelt begins a two-game sentence. At the same time, F Kyrell Sopotyk and F Travis Walton are out with undisclosed injuries. Walton, in fact, has yet to play this season, although he may be ready on Friday.
The Blazers will be celebrating Mark Recchi Hall of Fame Night on Friday as Stankoven makes his debut. Recchi, a Kamloops native with three Stanley Cup rings in his possession, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame a year ago. Recchi, one of the Blazers’ five owners, now is an assistant coach with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Blazers opened this season by sweeping a home-and-home set from the Kelowna Rockets. Since then, the Blazers have gone 0-6-1, including 0-3-0 at home.
Last season, the Blazers began the season with a nine-game losing streak and never did recover as they missed the playoffs.
For the second time in less than a week, a veteran forward has asked a WHL team for a 
trade. . . . The Calgary Hitmen opened a five-game road swing in Prince Albert on Tuesday night, but F Tristen Nielsen, 18, wasn’t with them. Prior to the game, the Hitmen revealed via Twitter that Nielsen, who is from Fort St. John, B.C., has requested a trade. . . . Nielsen was a first-round selection by Calgary in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. . . . In 106 career regular-season games, he has 23 goals and 20 assists. This season, he is pointless in five games. Last season, he finished with 19 goals and 16 assists in 49 games. . . .
Late last week, veteran F Gary Haden, 19, asked the Medicine Hat Tigers for a trade. He is at home in Airdrie, Alta., as he awaits a move. . . . Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News has the latest the Haden situation right here.
On Oct. 8, F Michael Farren, 18, asked the Saskatoon Blades for a trade. On Oct. 11, the Blades dealt him to the Kelowna Rockets.
G Blake Lyda won’t be on the bus as the Everett Silvertips head out on their tour of the 
East Division. Josh Horton of the Everett Herald reported that Lyda, 16, who has yet to get into a game this season, suffered an undisclosed injury during a pregame skate on Friday and is listed as being out three-to-six weeks. . . . G Danton Belluk, who plays for the midget AAA Eastman Selects, is expected to join the Silvertips on Thursday and stay with them through the six-game trip. . . . Belluk, 17, is from Lorette, Man. Everett picked him in the 10th round of the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. With the Silvertips, he’ll be backing up Dustin Wolf. . . . The Silvertips also head east without F Bronson Sharp, who is week-to-week with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Silvertips open the trip against the Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday.
The Medicine Hat Tigers are carrying 22 players after they dropped D Ryan Watson, 16, from their roster. Watson, from Delta., B.C., was a third-round selection in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft. This season, he was pointless in four games. He played last season for the Delta Hockey Academy prep team, recording four goals and 15 assists in 32 games. . . . The Tigers are carrying two goaltenders, seven defencemen and 13 forwards, not including veteran F Gary Haden, who is at home in Airdrie, Alta., after asking to be traded.
Tim Hunter of the Moose Jaw Warriors will be the head coach of Team WHL when it 
opens the CIBC Canada-Russia series in Kamloops (Nov. 5) and Vancouver (Nov. 6). . . . Hunter, in his fifth season as the Warriors’ head coach, also is the head coach of Canada’s national junior team. . . . In the Canada-Russia series, he will be assisted by Brent Kisio, the head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and Jason Smith, the head coach of the Kelowna Rockets. Kisio also is an assistant coach with Canada’s national junior team. . . . Athletic trainer Mike Burnstein of the Vancouver Giants will work both games, with help from Colin Robinson of the Kamloops Blazers on Nov. 5 and Khore Elliott of the Victoria Royals on Nov. 6. . . . Shingo Sasaki, the Giants’ equipment manager, also will work the game in Vancouver.
A home in Scottsdale, Ariz., that is owned by Bill Gallacher, the owner of the Portland 
Winterhawks, can be had for US$26 million. . . . According to Brinkwire, it is the “priciest home for sale in Arizona.” . . . More from Brinkwire: “The 14,350-square-foot house on four acres in the Silverleaf neighborhood of DC Ranch comes with an elevator, two guest houses,10-foot solid slab fireplaces, swimming pools on both sides of the property, a 1,000-bottle wine room and five laundry rooms. . . . The Mediterranean, contemporary-style mansion also has nine bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, 10-foot-tall automated doors leading to numerous marble terraces, a commercial walk-in freezer and a master bathroom done entirely in Statuario marble with grey and gold veining.” . . . Gallacher and Joanne Stansfield bought the joint for US$11.1 million in cash in 2016. . . . There’s more right here.
Garry VanHereweghe has resigned as general manager and associate coach of the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlys. He will work through Friday and then take his leave. . . . The Grizzlys have started the season at 0-12-1.
TUESDAY NIGHT NOTES:
The Vancouver Giants unleashed a 71-shot attack as they beat the Swift Current Broncos, 
6-2, in Langley, B.C. The game was the first in the Broncos’ five-game B.C. Division tour. . . . By period, the Giants outshot the visitors 26-4, 20-7 and 25-4. . . . The Broncos, who beat the host Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-2 in a shootout, on Saturday, now are 1-8-0. . . . The Giants (9-1-1) are off to their best start since 2008-09 when they opened 7-0-3. . . . Vancouver has points in eight straight (7-0-1). . . . The Giants scored twice in the first period as they outshot the Broncos, 26-4. . . . G Joel Hofer blocked 65 shots for Swift Current. . . . D Bowen Byram (4) scored twice and added an assist for Vancouver, with F James Malm drawing three assists. . . . According to the online scoresheet, Broncos D Matthew Stanley took a fighting major and game misconduct at 11:13 of the third period. Perhaps it was one of those one-man fights? . . . Broncos F Alec Zawatsky was hit with a cross-checking major and game misconduct at 11:54 of the third period. . . . G Trent Miner, who missed three weekend games after returning home to Brandon following the deaths of two grandfathers, was back with the Giants. On this night, he backed up David Tendeck.
F Jack Finley scored two goals to help the Spokane Chiefs to a 6-4 victory over the host 
Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The loss was the first of the season in regulation time for Brandon (5-1-2). The Wheat Kings were the last of the WHL’s 22 teams to suffer such a loss. . . . The Chiefs (5-2-2) are 2-1-0 on their East Division swing. . . . Finley, 16, has three goals this season. From Kelowna, he was the sixth overall selection in the 2017 WHL bantam draft. He is the son of former NHL D Jeff Finley, who now is the Detroit Red Wings’ chief amateur scout. . . . The Wheat Kings surrendered 2-0 and 4-3 leads as the Chiefs scored the game’s last three goals. . . . F Eli Zummack (5) pulled Spokane even, 4-4, with his second goal of the game, at 11:34 of the third period. . . . Finley’s second of the night broke the tie at 17:23. . . . Brandon G Jiri Patera, a freshman from Czech Republic, picked up his third assist of the young season.
The Lethbridge Hurricanes erased a 1-0 deficit with four straight goals en route to a 6-3 victory over the visiting Kootenay Ice. . . . The Hurricanes (4-4-2) had points in four straight (2-0-2). . . . The Ice (3-4-2) has lost four in a row (0-2-2). . . . Letthbridge’s four-goal outburst included two from F Jordy Bellerive (6) and one from F Jake Elmer (8), who played with the Ice in 2016-17. . . . The Ice lost D Dallas Hines to a cross-checking major and game misconduct at 16:21 of the third period.
F Brett Leason continued his red-hot start, scoring two goals and adding two assists as his 
Prince Albert Raiders dumped the visiting Calgary Hitmen, 8-4. . . . The Raiders improved to 11-1-0 with their fourth straight victory. . . . The Hitmen, who had points in their previous two games (1-0-1), fell to 1-6-2. . . . Leason, 19, leads the WHL in goals (11) and points (26) and is tied for the lead in assists (15). . . . He finished last season with career highs in goals (16), assists (17) and points (32), in 66 games. He had one goal in 12 games with Tri-City when the Americans traded him to Prince Albert. . . . F Sean Montgomery (4) added a goal and two assists for the Raiders. . . . The Raiders had F Cohner Saleski, 16, in their lineup for the first time this season, and he assisted on Leason’s first goal for his first WHL point. Saleski, a first-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft, plays for the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos. He was pointless in one game with the Raiders last season.
The Seattle Thunderbirds scored the game’s last two goals and beat the Tri-City 
Americans, 5-4, in Kent, Wash. . . . The Thunderbirds (6-1-1) have points in five straight (4-0-1). . . . The Americans are 4-4-0. . . . F Nolan Yaremko (8) scored back-to-back second-period goals, the second one at 15:30, to give the Americans a 4-3 lead. . . . Seattle tied it when D Reece Harsch (1) scored, on a PP, at 18:36 of the second. . . . F Nolan Volcan (4) broke the tie at 1:29 of the third period and that one stood up as the winner. . . . Volcan finished with two goals and two assists. . . . F Andrej Kukuca (3) had a goal and two assists for Seattle.
Winterhawks are seeking an exemption from the state’s minimum wage legislation. At a hearing on that subject, former WHL players Tyler Maxwell and James McEwan argued, according to Westhead, that “the WHL is a professional league and its teams are for-profit businesses.” . . . Maxwell played four seasons (2008-12) in the WHL, the first three-plus with the Everett Silvertips and the last 47 games with the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Maxwell, Westhead wrote, told the committee “that he was given excellent school grades in exchange for autographed pucks, and was refused an X-ray for days and forced to play in games after breaking a kneecap.” . . . Maxwell said he played with the injury for seven games. “I was still scoring so they didn’t care what shape I was in,” he said. . . . As for McEwan, according to Westhead, he testified “that he has navigated bankruptcy and battled depression without the support of his former teams or the WHL.” McEwan played two seasons each with the Kelowna Rockets and Seattle Thunderbirds, fighting at least 72 times over four seasons (2004-08). . . . Ron Robison, the WHL commissioner, informed the Oregon State Senate via letter that it is reviewing “the statements with the WHL clubs concerned.”
down in both directions due to an accident.
Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, two points ahead of Saskatoon. . . . Swift Current (45-14-6) has points in three straight (2-0-1). It is second in the overall standings, one point behind Moose Jaw. . . . The Broncos actually led this one 4-1 midway through the second period. . . . The home side took a 2-0 first-period lead on goals from F Kaden Elder (14), on a PP, at 3:49, and F Giorgio Estephan, at 14:45. . . . D Sergio Sapego (3) got the visitors on the scoreboard at 4:07 of the second period. . . . The Broncos took a 4-1 lead right after that, on goals from F Matteo Gennaro (39), at 5:38, and Estephan (30) at 6:52. . . . D Brayden Pachal (5) cut the Prince Albert deficit to a pair at 13:36. . . . The Raiders tied it on third-period goals from D Vojtech Budik (12), on a PP, at 16:29, and F Jordy Stallard (41), at 18:54, with the extra attacker on the ice. . . . Gennaro scored in the shootout to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead, but the Raiders won it on goals from F Regan Nagy and F Parker Kelly. . . . Stallard added two assists to his goal for the Raiders, with F Cole Fonstad also getting two assists and Sapego one. . . . F Aleksi Heponiemi had two assists for the Broncos, with Gennaro getting one. . . . Prince Albert was 2-6 on the PP; Swift Current was 1-5. . . . G Ian Scott started for the Raiders, but he left after giving up three goals on 13 shots in 25:38. Curtis Meger finished up by stopping 22 of 23 shots in 38:21. . . . G Stuart Skinner made 34 saves for the Broncos. . . . Announced attendance: 2,890.
Central Division, two points behind Medicine Hat. . . . Saskatoon (31-30-3) has lost three in a row. It is two points from a playoff spot. . . . F Braylon Shmyr (34) gave the Blades a 1-0 lead at 9:58 of the first period. . . . F Taylor Ross, who now has 20 goals, scored two second-period goals, at 0:49 and 2:11, to give Lethbridge a 2-1 edge. . . . F Bradly Goethals (15) got Saskatoon back even at 9:42. . . . F Jordy Bellerive (44) scored shorthanded at 7:32 of the third period to put the Hurricanes ahead. . . . F Eric Florchuk (14) got the Blades back into a tie at 10:26. . . . Elmer snapped the tie at 14:11, then added an empty-netter at 18:51. He now has 17 goals. . . . The Hurricanes got two assists from D Calen Addison, with Elmer and Bellerive adding one each. . . . Goethals added an assist to his goal. . . . Lethbridge was 1-3 on the PP; Saskatoon was 0-6. . . . G Logan Flodell stopped 43 shots to earn the victory. . . . The Blades got 27 stops from G Nolan Maier. . . . D Dawson Davidson was back in Saskatoon’s lineup after a brief absence. . . . Announced attendance: 3,988.
point ahead of Regina. . . . Moose Jaw (47-14-3) leads the overall standings, by one point over Swift Current. . . . Lewis opened the scoring, on a PP, at 7:48 of the first period. . . . F Stelio Mattheos (38), who assisted on that first goal, made it 2-0 at 11:33. . . . Lewis added his second goal at 14:51. . . . F Barrett Sheen (5) scored for Moose Jaw at 15:30 of the first and F Justin Almeida (37) got the visitors to within a goal, on a PP, at 9:35 of the third. . . . Lewis completed his hat trick at 12:49. He’s got 39 goals. He also has seven goals over his past three games. . . . Brandon was 1-2 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 1-5. . . . G Logan Thompson was outstanding for Brandon, with 41 saves. . . . G Brody Willms was beaten twice on six shots in 11:33, before he was replaced by Adam Evanoff, who went 46:39 and turned aside 13 of 15 shots. . . . Announced attendance: 3,656.
in the Central Division and now leads Kootenay (25-37-4) by seven points. The Ice, with six games left, has lost seven in a row (0-6-1). . . . Red Deer took a 1-0 lead when F Alex Morozoff (6) scored, on a PP, at 8:30 of the first period. . . . F Colton Kroeker (13) tied it at 10:59. . . . Red Deer took a 3-1 lead on second-period goals from McCarty (35), at 3:52, and F Reese Johnson (21), at 14:16. . . . The Ice tied it as F Michael King (8) scored at 16:23 of the second and F Colton Veloso (24) found the range any 15:29 of the third. . . . F Chris Douglas (9) put Red Deer out front, 4-3, at 16:43, only to have F Brett Davis (24) pull Kootenay even at 19:02. . . . The Rebels got two assists from F Brandon Hagel and one from McCarty. . . . F Peyton Krebs had two assists for the Ice. . . . Red Deer was 1-3 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-2. . . . G Riley Lamb recorded the victory with 27 saves. . . . Kootenay got 13 stops from Matt Berlin. . . . Red Deer was credited with two shots in the third period and three in OT. . . . The Rebels were without D Alex Alexeyev (hand), who left in the third period of their previous game and didn’t return. He could be gone for up to six weeks. . . . Announced attendance: 4,324.
Winterhawks. . . . Seattle (30-24-9) has won two in a row to remain six points ahead of Kamloops in the chase for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot. The Thunderbirds hold three games in hand. . . . Portland (38-20-5) has points in four straight (3-0-1). It is second in the U.S. Division, two points ahead of Spokane. . . . Andrusiak gave Seattle a 1-0 lead at 14:27 of the first period, but Portland F Ty Kolle (6) tied it at 17:17. . . . Seattle took a 3-1 lead with the only goals of the second period, from Andrusiak (29), at 2:13, and F Donovan Neuls (21), at 8:19. . . . The Winterhawks grabbed a 4-3 third-period leads on goals from F Cody Glass (31), on a PP, at 9:47; F Joachim Blichfeld (22), at 9:53; and F Ryan Hughes (15), at 12:31. . . . Seattle forced OT when F Noah Philp (13) scored at 15:58. . . . Andrusiak and Philp scored shootout goals for Seattle, with Glass scoring for Portland. . . . Philp also had two assists, with Neuls getting one. . . . Philp has 45 points, including 13 goals, in 63 games with Seattle this season. In 132 games with Kootenay, prior to this season, he had 41 points, 14 of them goals. . . . Andrusiak has 63 points, including 29 goals, in 63 games. He went into this season with six goals and five assists in 67 games — 52 with Seattle, eight with Prince Albert and seven with Tri-City. . . . Portland got two assists from D Henri Jokiharju and one from Glass. . . . The Winterhawks were 1-1 on the PP; Seattle was 0-3. . . . G Liam Hughes stopped 36 shots through OT for Seattle. . . . The Winterhawks got 29 saves from G Cole Kehler. He started after watching G Shane Farkas go the distance in the previous three games. . . . Seattle had F Sami Moilanen back in the lineup after a 14-game absence. . . . Announced attendance: 6,124.
24-6) has lost four in a row (0-3-1), but the loser point was enough for it to clinch a playoff spot for the seventh consecutive season — or each season since the franchise relocated from Chilliwack. It is second in the B.C. Division, six points behind Kelowna. . . . Prince George D Joel Lakusta (8) scored the game’s first goal, on a PP, at 5:00 of the third period. . . . Victoria tied it at 8:07 when F Noah Gregor scored his 26th goal, on a PP. . . . Schoettler won it with his seventh goal of the season, at 4:04 of extra time. . . . Victoria had F Tyler Soy and F Matthew Phillips back in the lineup, after both sat out Wednesday’s 5-1 loss in Kamloops. . . . Phillips drew an assist on Gregor’s goal, giving him 101 points this season. That ties the Chilliwack/Victoria franchise record that was set by F Mark Santorelli in 2007-08. . . . Victoria was 1-4 on the PP; Prince George was 1-9. . . . The Cougars got 32 saves from G Taylor Gauthier. . . . At the other end, G Griffen Outhouse, who also sat out the game in Kamloops, stopped 36 shots. . . . Announced attendance: 4,035.
third in the U.S. Division, six points ahead of Tri-City. . . . Tri-City (32-22-9) has lost two straight (0-1-1). . . . Spokane jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals from F Ethan McIndoe (21), on a PP, at 9:03 of the first period. . . . D Dalton Hamaliuk (4) upped it to 2-0 just 36 seconds later. . . . The Americans scored the next three goals, with F Jordan Topping (36) counting at 12:29, F Morgan Geekie (24) scoring at 19:10, and D Dylan Coghlan (17) adding the third goal at 5:00 of the second period. . . . The Chiefs tied it on D Filip Kral’s seventh goal, on a PP, at 17:24. . . . Tri-City F Morgan Geekie (25) gave his guys the lead 50 seconds into the third period. . . . Spokane F Jake McGrew (17) tied it at 5:35. . . . Anderson-Dolan won it with his 35th goal at 3:51 of OT. . . . D Nolan Reid and F Hudson Elynuik each had two assists for the Chiefs, with Anderson-Dolan adding one. . . . Topping added an assist to his goal. . . . Spokane was 2-5 on the PP; Tri-City was 0-2. . . . G Dawson Weatherill stopped 36 shots for the Chiefs, three more than Tai-City’s Patrick Dea. . . . Announced attendance: 4,345.
Kelowna. . . . Kelowna (38-21-6) has lost three in a row. . . . The Rockets led 2-0 on goals from F Carsen Twarynski (39), at 12:51 of the first period, and F Kole Lind (36), at 5:17 of the second. . . . F Matt Fonteyne (32) scored Everett’s first goal at 18:41. . . . The Silvertips tied it on F Patrick Bajkov’s 29th goal at 11:39 of the third period. . . . Everett F Connor Dewar broke the tie at 16:51, then added insurance with his 34th goal, on a PP, at 19:11. . . . F Garrett Pilon drew two assists for Everett, with Fonteyne getting one. . . . Bajkov’s goal was the 108th of his career and gave him the franchise record. That’s one more than F Tyler Maxwell scored with Everett. . . . The Silvertips were 1-4 on the PP; the Rockets were 0-1. . . . G Carter Hart recorded a 22-save victory. . . . G Brodan Salmond stopped 36 shots for the Rockets. . . . Announced attendance: 5,778.
TAKING NOTE 