The Kamloops International Bantam Ice Hockey Tournament wraps up today in Kamloops.
In 2016, Adam Herold, then of the Balgonie, Sask., Prairie Storm, was the tournament’s top defenceman and a first-team all-star. Later that year, he was selected by the Prince Albert Raiders in the second round of the WHL bantam draft.
Herold spent last season with the midget AAA Regina Pats Canadians — he was the team captain — then was added to the roster of the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos in the playoffs.
Herold was one of those killed on April 6 in the bus crash involving the Broncos. He was six days from his 17th birthday.
On Saturday night, prior to a WHL game between the Kelowna Rockets and host Kamloops Blazers, KIBIHT introduced an award in Herold’s honour. The award is to go annually to a player who overcomes adversity with leadership and dedication to the game of hockey.
The first recipient, Rylan Davis of the NorthEast BC Bantam Zone Trackers, was presented with the award and took part in a ceremonial faceoff.
The U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team held its 11th annual Play for a Cure game on Friday night as they played host to the Calgary Dinos. . . . G Jessica Vance stopped 11 shots in posting her 13th career shutout as the Huskies won, 3-0. . . . But this one was special . . . really special. . . . You see, the Huskies were honouring Jessica’s mother, Liane, who is taking treatment for cancer. . . . Liane, of course, is married to Bruce Vance, who also is a cancer survivor. Bruce, one of the good guys, worked for the Prince Albert Raiders for a few years not that long ago. . . . Darren Steinke was there on Friday night and posted this piece right here on his blog.
The Swift Current Broncos have signed F Kye Buchanan, 17, to a WHL contract and immediately added him to their roster for the remainder of this season. Buchanan is fresh off helping the midget AAA St. Albert Raiders to a championship at the Mac’s tournament in Calgary. . . . From Lethbridge, Buchanan had seven goals and four assists in 16 games with the Raiders. He also had one assist in four games with the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats. . . . The Broncos acquired him from the Spokane Chiefs on Dec. 4, along with F Carter Chorney and D Devin Aubin. Going the other way were D Noah King, G Matthew Davis and a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2021 WHL bantam draft.
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SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS:
The Calgary Hitmen erased a 2-1 second-period deficit en route to a 4-3 victory over the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Calgary (19-16-4) has won four straight, all on home ice. It holds down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, four points ahead of the idle Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Medicine Hat (22-16-3) had won its previous five games. It is tied for third in the Central Division with the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Tigers and Hitmen both played Friday night, then were back on the ice for this one, which started at 1:30 p.m. MT, as it was televised by Sportsnet. . . . F Jake Kryski (19) gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 4:12 of the first period. . . . The Tigers took a 2-1 lead on goals from F Logan Christensen (4), at 7:52 of the first, and F Tyler Preziuso (16), at 6:40 of the second. . . . The Hitmen took over with three straight goals, from F Bryce Bader (4), at 12:34; F Luke Coleman (11), at 12:45; and F Carson Focht (10), at 11:02 of the third. . . . F Ryan Jevne (20) got the Tigers to within a goal at 18:45. . . . Jevne has 20 goals in 41 games this season; last season, he totalled 20 goals in 69 games. . . . Calgary got 33 stops from G Jack McNaughton, who now is 13-9-2, 3.24, .889. The 17-year-old freshman has won his last four starts and nine of his past 12. . . . Medicine Hat F James Hamblin had two assists as he ran his point streak to 11 games. He has 10 goals and seven assists over that stretch. . . . The Tigers lost F Ryan Chyzowski to an undisclosed injury in the first period. They already were without F Bryan Lockner (concussion) and F Hayden Ostir (knee). . . . Earlier in the day, the Tigers added F Nick McCarry to their roster as an AP. He was in the lineup for this one. McCarry, 17, is a list player from Calgary who was pointless in two games with the Tigers last season. This season, he has seven goals and seven assists in 30 games with the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons.
G Shane Farkas stopped 23 shots to help the Portland Winterhawks to a 6-0 victory over the Warriors in Moose Jaw. . . . Portland (23-11-5) has points in eight straight (5-0-3) and is second in the U.S. Division, three points ahead of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Winterhawks are 2-0-0 on their East Division swing. . . . Moose Jaw (21-9-6) had points in each of its previous six games (5-0-1). The Warriors are third in the East Division, five points behind Saskatoon but with five games in hand on the Blades. . . . The Warriors were blanked for the first time this season. . . . Portland held a 38-23 edge in shots. . . . Portland took control with four first-period goals, from F Reece Newkirk (18), who is from Moose Jaw, F Jake Gricius (17), F Lane Gilliss (9) and D Clay Hanus (4). . . . F Seth Jarvis (9) and F Joachim Blichfeld (36) also scored for Portland. . . . Blichfeld leads the WHL in goals and points (75). . . . The Winterhawks got three assists from D Nick Cicek. . . . Farkas has three shutouts this season and six in his career. . . . The Warriors lost D Matthew Benson to a kneeing major and game misconduct for a hit on Portland F Ryan Hughes at 6:46 of the second period. . . . G Evan Fradette was on Portland’s bench, backing up Farkas. Fradette was added to the roster earlier in the week from the midget AAA St. Albert Raiders. . . . The Winterhawks were without D Matthew Quigley, who served Game 3 of a four-game suspension; D Brendan De Jong (concussion); and F Cody Glass, who has yet to return after playing for Canada at the WJC. . . . Glass is expected to play Tuesday when the Winterhawks are in Brandon. . . . F Ryan Poehling of Team USA was named the WJC’s most valuable player even though his side dropped a 3-2 decision to Finland in Saturday’s final in Vancouver. Poehling, who turned 20 on Thursday, attends St. Cloud State and is on Portland’s protected list. He was a first-round selection by the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL’s 2017 draft.
F Noah Gregor scored twice and added an assist as the Prince Albert Raiders beat the visiting Saskatoon Blades, 5-2. . . . Prince Albert (35-4-1) had lost its previous two home games. It now is 18-2-0 on home ice. . . . The Raiders lead the East Division by 18 points over Saskatoon (24-12-5), which had a three-game winning streak halted. . . . F Cole Fonstad (14) and F Justin Nachbaur (10) gave the Raiders a 2-0 lead before the first period was eight minutes old. . . . F Gary Haden (15) got the Blades on the scoreboard at 4:27 of the second period. . . . The Raiders stretched their lead to 4-1 on goals from Gregor, on a PP, at 12:25 of the second, and F Parker Kelly (18), at 11:55 of the third. . . . D Dawson Davidson (8) got Saskatoon to within two goals at 17:28. . . . Gregor (26) iced it at 18:28. He now has 56 points, including 30 assists, in 35 games. . . . Fonstad added two assists to his goal. . . . G Ian Scott stopped 19 shots to earn the victory. . . . The Blades scratched F Kirby Dach and D Nolan Kneen with undisclosed injuries.
G Joel Hofer came up with 46 saves to lead the host Swift Current Broncos to a 1-0 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Swift Current (8-28-3) had lost its previous four games (0-3-1). . . . Regina (12-26-2) has lost three straight (0-2-1). . . . The Broncos have had the WHL’s poorest record from the get-go. They now are four points behind the Kootenay Ice and seven in back of Regina and the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . F Carter Chorney (10) scored the game’s lone goal, finding the mark at 10:31 of the first period, on a PP. . . . Despite his won-loss record (6-21-3), Hofer is having a tremendous season with a 4.02 GAA and a .904 save percentage. . . . Hofer, who has two career shutouts, has faced 1,257 shots this season, and that’s 150 more than any other WHL goaltender. . . . The St. Louis Blues have to love what they’re seeing from Hofer this season. They selected the 18-year-old Winnipegger in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL draft. . . . G Max Paddock stopped 23 shots for Regina. . . . The Broncos finished the game with nine forwards after Tanner Nagel and Ben King left with undisclosed injuries.
F Kody McDonald’s shootout goal gave the Victoria Royals a 3-2 victory over the Rebels in Red Deer. . . . Victoria (20-15-1) has won two in a row. It went 4-2-0 on its Central Division trip. It is second in the B.C. Division, seven points behind the Vancouver Giants and three ahead of the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Red Deer (22-13-3) has lost two in a row and is tied for third with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Central Division. . . . The Rebels took a 1-0 lead into the second period on a goal from F Oleg Zaytsev (7), at 14:13. . . . The Royals got second-period goals from F Jameson Murray (1), at 7:12, and F Kaid Oliver (18), shorthanded, at 9:56, to take a 2-1 lead. . . . F Brett Davis (12) got Red Deer into a 2-2 tie just 19 seconds into the third period. . . . F Igor Martynov gave Victoria a 1-0 lead in the first round of the shootout, with F Brandon Hagel tying it in the second round. McDonald, who was acquired from the Prince Albert Raiders in a trade on Thursday, won it in the fifth round. . . . The Royals got 32 saves from G Griffen Outhouse, while Byron Fancy stopped 34 for Red Deer. . . . Veteran D Ralph Jarratt was back in Victoria’s lineup and played in his 250th regular-season game. After not playing since Nov. 2, he got into games on Dec. 7 and 11, but hadn’t played since then. He now has played 14 games this season.
D Ty Smith drew four assists as the Spokane Chiefs skated to an 8-4 victory over the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook, B.C. . . . Spokane (22-13-4) has won two straight and remains third in the U.S. Division, three points behind the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Kootenay (8-26-7) has lost six in a row (0-5-1). . . . The Chiefs took a 2-0 lead on goals from D Noah King (4), at 7:02 of the first period, and F Luke Toporowski (13), at 8:24. . . . The Ice cut the deficit in half when F Cole Muir (10) scored at 14:50. . . . The Chiefs put it away by scoring the next four goals — by F Jake McGrew, F Jaret Anderson-Dolan (3), F Ethan McIndoe (9) and F Luc Smith (6). . . . Smith was in on four the Chiefs’ first five goals. . . . F Graham Sward, the 17th overall selection in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft, scored his first WHL goal in his first game for Spokane. . . . McGrew added a second goal, his 16th. . . . F Peyton Krebs (14), F Owen Pederson (3) and D Zach Patrick (2) also scored for the Ice, who got to within 7-4 late in the third period. . . . F Riley Woods, who had an assist in a 4-1 victory over the visiting Kamloops Blazers on Friday night, was among the Chiefs’ scratches.
F Orrin Centazzo scored on a penalty shot with 1:20 left in the third period to give the Kamloops Blazers a 4-3 victory over the visiting Kelowna Rockets. . . . Kamloops (15-18-3) is fourth in the B.C. Division, five point behind Kelowna but with three games in hand. . . . Kelowna (17-18-4) had points in each of its previous four games (2-0-2). . . . Centazzo was hooked on a breakaway, so was awarded a penalty shot. . . . It was his second goal of the game. . . . The Rockets held leads of 1-0 and 3-2 but weren’t able to put it away. They were 2-6 on the PP, including two 5-on-3s; Kamloops was 2-4. . . . F Kyle Topping (15) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead 47 seconds after the opening faceoff. . . . Centazzo, at 19:37, and F Martin Lang (7), on a PP at 2:26 of the second period, gave Kamloops a 2-1 lead. . . . The Rockets went in front on goals from F Nolan Foote (20), at 8:55, on a PP, and F Leif Mattson (17), at 17:42. . . . Blazers F Josh Pillar (5) tied it at 10:07 of the third period, on a PP, and Centazzo won it with his 11th goal of the season, going forehand-backhand and upstairs to beat G Roman Basran, who was stellar with 28 saves, five more than Dylan Ferguson of Kamloops. . . . Kelowna now is 13-1-2 when leading after two periods. . . . The Blazers, who lost 4-1 in Spokane on Friday night, left immediately after the game for Everett, where they are to meet the Silvertips today in a game that is to start at 4 p.m.
The Everett Silvertips scored the game’s last three goals to beat the visiting Tri-City Americans, 4-1. . . . Everett (30-8-2), which has won 10 straight at home, leads the U.S. Division by 11 points over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Tri-City (20-14-2) had won its previous two games. It is fourth in the U.S. Division, six points behind the Spokane Chiefs. The Americans hold down the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot, nine points ahead of the Kamloops Blazers. . . . F Jalen Price (4) gave Everett a 1-0 lead at 5:46 of the first period. . . . Tri-City pulled even at 4:13 of the second period when F Sasha Mutala (9) scored. . . . Everett F Connor Dewar (27) snapped the tie at 18:11, and F Max Patterson (11) added insurance at 8:35 of the third period. . . . F Bryce Kindopp (19) rounded out the scoring at 19:19 with an empty-netter while on a PP. . . . F Justyn Gurney, who was added to Everett’s roster from the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles earlier in the week, had two assists. He now has three of them in three games. . . . Everett outshot the Americans, 39-22, including 18-4 in the first period.