Tag: Joe Mahon

Benson lifts Ice past Silvertips . . . Crnkovic, Schaefer rolling with Thunderbirds . . . Bucks, Donald agree to six-year deal

F Zach Benson’s eighth goal, at 13:31 of the third period, broke a 4-4 tie as the host Winnipeg Ice beat the Everett Silvertips, 5-4, on Tuesday night. . . . F WinnipegIceConnor McLennon had two goals — he’s got 10 — and two assists for Winnipeg. . . . F Austin Roest scored his 11th for the visitors. . . . G Daniel Hauser stopped 37 shots for the Ice as he posted his 11th straight victory. His career regular-season record now is 52-3-2. . . . Everett has two Winnipeggers on its roster — F Ryan Hofer and F Caden Zaplitny — and they each scored once. . . . The Ice (14-1-0) has won nine in a row, with its next eight games on home ice where it is 2-0. . . . F Connor Geekie and D Graham Sward, who was acquired on the weekend from the Spokane Chiefs, were among Winnipeg’s scratches. Geekie was serving a one-game suspension after being penalized for slew-footing in a game against the Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday. . . .

F Jaden Lipinski’s OT goal gave the Vancouver Giants a 3-2 victory over the VancouverTigers in Medicine Hat. . . . F Zack Ostapchuk, the Giants’ captain, pulled his guys into a 2-2 with 5.4 seconds left in the third period. . . . Lipinski won it at 3:28 of OT. . . . F Gavin McKenna, 14, the first pick in the WHL’s 2022 draft, played his second game with the Tigers. He was in the lineup on Sept. 24 and had four assists in a 9-1 victory over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes. He was held off the scoresheet last night. . . .

In Prince Albert, the Raiders coughed up a 4-0 lead before beating the Tri-City PrinceAlbertAmericans, 5-4. . . . F Landon Kosior broke a 4-4 tie on a PP at 1:09 of the third period. . . . Kosior finished with two goals and two assists. F Carson Latimer had three assists for the winners. . . . F Luke Moroz, a first-round selection in the WHL’s 2022 draft, made his debut with the Raiders. He was added to the roster after F Cole Peardon and F Ryder Ritchie headed to Langley, B.C., and the U-17 World Hockey Challenge that is to begin on Thursday. Moroz, 15, is playing with the Regina Pat Canadians of the SMAAAHL. . . . The Raiders began the game with nine forwards, then lost F Zach Wilson after a couple of scraps 12 minutes into the first period. . . .

In Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds led 2-0 at 1:11 of the first period en Seattleroute to a 5-3 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Thunderbirds, now 10-1-0, got a goal and two assists from F Kyle Crnkovic, who has points in 11 straight games. Yes, he has a point in every game this season. . . . F Reid Schaefer had his second three-goal game this season for Seattle, giving him 13. He is tied for the WHL lead with F Connor Bedard of the idle Regina Pats. . . . F Kevin Korchinski added three assists for Seattle. . . . This completed a tripleheader between these teams. They split on Friday and Saturday in Prince George, with the Thunderbirds winning 5-4 and the Cougars winning 4-1. . . . Seattle F Jared Davidson had two assists but his five-game goal streak was halted. . . .

D Nolan Bentham scored two goals to help the host Lethbridge Hurricanes to a Lethbridge5-1 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . The Hurricanes scored the game’s last four goals. . . . F Deegan Kinniburgh, who is from Taber, Alta., made his WHL debut with the Royals. Kinniburgh, who plays for the U18AAA Hurricanes, was a ninth-round pick in the WHL’s 2021 draft.

Myth

A long-time WHL fan from the Portland area has what he says is a “pet peeve” that he asked me to pass along . . .

“Dear WHL announcers based in Canada:

“Portland, Ore., and Seattle, Wash., are NOT part of Canada . . . they are NOT part of the nation of Canada.

“Yes, their WHL teams both are ranked in the Top 10 of the CHL poll . . . but that does NOT make them the ‘nation’s third-ranked’ team or ‘the nation’s seventh-ranked’ team, etc., etc.

“Thank you for your understanding.”

Space

Before Everett played the Pats in Regina on Sunday, Casey Bryant, the radio voice of the Silvertips, walked fans from the bottom level of the Brandt Centre to the press box. Yes, it’s quite a hike. It’s interesting that the Brandt Centre crew didn’t show him to the freight elevator, though.

BTW, just kidding about the freight elevator.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

D Corbin Vaughan of the Regina Pats has been suspended for four games after he was hit with a headshot major and game misconduct against the visiting Tri-City Americans on Sunday. He was playing his second game after having served a four-game suspension that was a issued under supplemental discipline after a game against the Prince Albert Raiders on Oct. 12. . . .

The BCHL’s Cranbrook Bucks and Ryan Donald, their general manager and head coach, have agreed on a six-year contract extension. The Bucks are 39-41-7 since Donald was named head coach in March 2020. He is the only coach the team has known since it entered the BCHL. . . . The news release didn’t indicate when the extension would expire, but Donald signed a four-year contract on March 24, 2020. That deal started with the beginning of the 2020-21 season, so would have gone through 2023-24. Six seasons on top of that would take the Bucks and Donald through 2029-30. . . . If you were wondering, hockeydb.com shows the Bucks’ announced average attendance at 2,341, third-best in the BCHL. The Penticton Vees (2,710) and Chilliwack Chiefs (2,585) are ahead of them.

Cornea

THINKING OUT LOUD — The NBA’s Brooklyn Nets won a game on Monday, improving to 2-5, and head coach Steve Nash was gone the next morning. Gotta think Nash is relieved about no longer having to deal with Dr. Kyrie Irving on a daily basis. . . . The Nets dropped a 108-99 decision to the visiting Chicago Bulls last night. . . . The NFL’s trade deadline came and went on Monday. Perhaps the most interesting deal had the Atlanta Falcons trade WR Calvin Ridley to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Uhh, Ridley is serving an indefinite suspension — he can apply for reinstatement in February — for betting on games. At one point last season, he bet on the Falcons to beat the Jaguars. . . . Houston Astros 0 at Philadelphia Phillies 7. The Phillies lead 2-1 and are in a position to win the World Series at home. Five homers in each of the next two games will do 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.

Body

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Blades and Raiders help Big River celebrate special occasion . . . First Nation opens complex in honour of ex-NHLer Jim Neilson . . . Rangers were there, too

Hey, folks, this is what it’s all about . . .

The Prince Albert Raiders and Saskatoon Blades joined the people of the Big River First Nation on Tuesday to take part in the grand opening of the Jim Neilson Sports Complex, a multi-use facility that includes a 1,500-seat arena. It is named in honour of Neilson, the late NHL defenceman who was from Big River.

Joel Willick of MBC Radio has more on the opening right here.

Meanwhile, Dan Tencer, the Blades’ scouting director, posted four tweets later Tuesday, and here they are, in order:

  1. I’m in the hotel elevator last week in downtown Saskatoon and a mother and daughter get in. I ask about the very yummy plate of food they have and the daughter smiles. They tell me they’ve come from a barbecue for a gender reveal.
  2. Mom sees the logo on my shirt and asks if I work for the Blades. I say yes, I lead the group that scouts players for them. She excitedly says “you’re coming to Big River! We’re all coming out to watch.” I tell her I can’t wait to be there and they should find me and say hi.
  3. Game today ends, I’m outside by the team bus. Same mother and daughter walk up with the little girl imploring her mom to find the “scout leader.” It made my week. I was so touched that she had remembered our 25-second meeting.
  4. I was so proud that we were there to play at the opening of the new rink in their community. Hockey is a wonderful game and can facilitate so many connections in so many ways. Small as it might be, I’m so glad they found me again today.

Music

More than a few followers of the Kamloops Blazers were surprised (shocked?) when D Mats Lindgren, 18, was traded to the Red Deer Rebels on Aug. 29. Those Kamloopssame people were even more surprised to find out that Lindgren, a fourth-round selection of the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL’s 2022 draft, had asked out of Kamloops. . . . So what happened? . . . “It was the best thing for me for personal reasons and I’m just excited for this new opportunity,” Lindgren told Greg Meachem of reddeerrebels.com. . . . Shaun Clouston, the Blazers’ general manager and head coach, told Marty Hastings of Kelowna This Week: “Sometimes, players are looking for a different opportunity. Sometimes, things aren’t a perfect fit. This is a scenario where both teams are able to give their players an opportunity with another team.” . . . The Blazers, who open their exhibition season at home to the Kelowna Rockets on Friday, acquired D Kyle Masters, 19, and a lottery-protected 2025 first-round draft pick in the deal. If the Rebels miss the 2024-25 playoffs and thus are in the draft lottery, the pick will move to the 2026 draft. . . . Lindgren would have eaten up a lot of minutes for the Blazers this season, and would have been on the No. 1 power-play unit on a team that will play host to the 2023 Memorial Cup tournament. So to find out that he had asked for a trade immediately after the NHL draft left a lot of people wondering what had gone wrong in Kamloops. . . . The Blazers, then under general manager Matt Bardsley, selected Lindgren with the seventh pick of the WHL’s 2019 draft. Bardsley was able to get Lindgren signed a couple of months later, but two years later the GM resigned for what he said were family reasons. . . . Just spit-balling here, but you wonder if Bardsley’s departure, followed by that of associate coaches Cory Clouston, after the 2020-21 development season, and Mark Holick, after last season, had anything to do with Lindgren’s unhappiness?

Meanwhile, Holick is back at Yale Academy in Abbotsford, B.C., where he will coach the U17 men’s prep team. He had spent three seasons as the head coach of Yale’s U18 prep team before joining the Blazers. That lasted one season before he resigned citing “personal reasons.”

Yogi

You could make the case that a penalty taken by an inactive player cost the Saskatchewan Roughriders a victory in what ended up being a 20-18 loss to the CFLlogoWinnipeg Blue Bombers in Regina on Sunday. . . . With the game tied 17-17 in the fourth quarter, and neither team having yet scored in the second half, the Roughriders had moved into field goal range when a schmozzle developed at the Saskatchewan bench. WR Duke Williams of the Roughriders, not dressed because of an ankle injury, was flagged for yapping with fewer than 11 minutes to play. Saskatchewan took a holding penalty on the next play and, because the penalty had pushed them out of field goal ranger, was forced to punt.

According to freelancer Jeff DeDekker, who covers Saskatchewan home games for The Canadian Press, Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson had this to say about the Williams penalty:

“I can tell you this much, moving forward there will be no players on the bench area that aren’t either playing or thoroughly involved in coaching because that was very disappointing. That hurt us and it hurt us bad.

“It was a stupid penalty and Duke feels bad about it and he should. Hopefully he’s expressed that to his teammates.

“He’s an emotional guy and his emotions got the best of him. I think they called it pretty tight. I don’t know what he said to the guy but it wasn’t complimentary. I’ll talk to (Roughriders general manager) Jeremy O’Day and see what we can do. That hurt our team. He feels bad about it and he should.”

On Tuesday, the Roughriders released an American, but it wasn’t Williams. Instead, it was DL Garrett Marino, who also has been more than a handful in the discipline department. Already having served a four-game suspension for, among other things, a hit that took out Ottawa Redblacks’ QB Jeremiah Masoli, Marino got away with a late hit on Winnipeg QB Zach Collaros late in Sunday’s game.

Headline at The Beaverton (@TheBeaverton) — Hockey Canada insists it can change its culture without replacing leadership, changing culture.

THINKING OUT LOUD — I don’t know what it means, but think about this for a moment: The NHL’s Vancouver Canucks signed F J.T. Miller to a contract the other day that will pay him US$56 million over seven seasons; the NFL’s Denver Broncos signed QB Russell Wilson to a five-year, US$242,588,236 deal that included a $50-million signing bonus. . . . Miller is 29 years of age; Wilson is 33. . . . Summer is over. How do I know? Because the junior B Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League opened its regular season with one game on Wednesday night. There are two more on tonight’s schedule and four on Friday. . . . I also know that summer is over because the NFL season gets started tonight (Thursday). I’m riding with the host Buffalo Bills over the Los Angeles Rams. Could it be a Super Bowl preview?

LittleLeague

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

Vincent Tremblay, the play-by-play voice of the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, tweeted Tuesday that the club “will have a sponsor on the helmet.  Real estate company Trilogies Inc.” . . . Hmm, corporate logos on helmets. Can other junior teams be far behind? Not if there’s sponsorship money involved. . . .

Joe Mahon, who played in the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks and Calgary Hitmen, will be in the NHL this season . . . as a linesman. Mahon, 28, is from Calgary. He has been officiating since 2019. Last season, he worked in the WHL and the AHL; this season, he’ll see action in the AHL and NHL. And he’ll be wearing No. 89. . . . Mahon played two seasons in the WHL. He had two goals and an assist in 41 games with Portland in 2012-13, then put up nine goals and nine assists in 56 games with the Hitmen in 2013-14. . . .

Eddie Gregory is the new play-by-play voice of the Vancouver Giants, having joined them after spending 18 seasons calling games for the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express. Gregory, 40, takes over from Dan O’Connor, who left for the athletic department at UBC where he now is sports information co-ordinator. . . .

Damon Pugerude has signed on as the Everett Silvertips’ head equipment manager. He had been with the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles, as head trainer and equipment manager, for the past six seasons. He also has worked with the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs and the AJHL’s Drayton Valley Thunder and Sherwood Park Crusaders.

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.

Babymaking

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