F Dan DaSilva (Portland, 2002-05) has signed a one-year contract extension with the Linz Black Wings (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He led his club in scoring this season, putting up 47 points, 22 of them goals, in 52 games. . . .
D Drydn Dow (Tri-City, 2009-13) has signed a one-year contract extension with the Dundee Stars (Scotland, UK Elite) and will receive a scholarship from the University of Dundee. In 58 games, he had nine goals and 29 assists. He was second on the team in assists. . . .
F Reid Gardiner (Prince Albert, Kelowna, 2012-17) has signed a one-year contract with Düsseldorf (Germany, DEL). This season, with the Utica Comets (AHL), he had two goals and one assist in 21 games, and 26 goals and 27 assists in 36 games with the Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL). He led Kalamazoo in plus/minus at +26. . . .
F Garry Nunn (Vancouver, Edmonton, 2007-10) has signed a one-year plus option contract with Olten (Switzerland, Swiss League). This season, with AIK Stockholm (Sweden, Allsvenskan), he had 15 goals and 15 assists in 37 games.
With the WHL’s bantam draft scheduled for Thursday in Red Deer, the Kelowna Rockets 
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 castanet.net earlier this week, “and probably more than one.” . . . The WHL features 22 teams. The Rockets were 19th in goals for this season and 18th in goals against. So there is ample room for improvement. . . . Hamilton also served up something of a warning to the WHL’s other 21 teams, telling Moore that “if someone wants to deal with us, they’re going to have to start dealing with us this weekend. Once we hit (Thursday) morning, we won’t be making the trade if it hasn’t happened by then. Strategically, teams would love to catch us on the morning of the draft and get us to make a decision that’s in haste.” That, Hamilton said, isn’t going to happen. . . . Moore’s story is right here.
Dan Kordic’s stint as an assistant coach with the Kamloops Blazers is over after one 
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.
The Brandon Wheat Kings have signed F Jaxon Dube, who was a fifth-round pick in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft. From St. Albert, Alta., he turned 16 on April 24. . . . This season, he had five goals and seven assists in 30 games with the midget AAA St. Albert Raiders.
I should have known better than to trust the number on the news release that announced Bob Ridley, the radio voice of the Medicine Hat Tigers, was to be inducted into the Western Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. . . . That news release claimed that Ridley had called 3,931 games in which the Tigers have played. . . . It turns out that number is 3,935. . . . Darren Steinke, the travellin’ blogger, has been chronicling Ridley’s broadcasting feats for a number of years now, going back to his days in the sports department at the Medicine Hat News. Steinke says the number is 3,935, and that’s more than good enough for me. . . . By the way, kudos to Steinke for continuing to follow the WHL playoffs on his own hook. He lives in Saskatoon but that hasn’t stopped him from being a regular visitor to other cities for playoff action. He was in Prince Albert last night, so now has been there in person for all five games in the WHL’s Eastern Conference final. . . . You are able to check out his stuff at his blog, Stanks’ Sermon, that is right here.
NOTES: The Prince Albert Raiders are one victory away from advancing to the WHL final for the first time since the spring of 1985 when they went on to win the Memorial Cup. . . . The Raiders, playing at home on Friday night, dumped the Edmonton Oil Kings, 4-0, to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference final. . . . They’ll play Game 6 in Edmonton on Sunday afternoon. . . . How big is this in Prince Albert? The Raiders last appeared in the conference final in 2005. In the 13 seasons between then and now, they lost six times in the first round and missed the playoffs in the other seven seasons. . . . Since the turn of the century, the Raiders, prior to this season, had missed the playoffs 10 times, were ousted in the first round on eight occasions and lost in the conference final once. . . .
Meanwhile, in Langley, B.C., the Vancouver Giants beat the Spokane Chiefs, 3-2, to win the Western Conference final, 4-1. . . . That moves the Giants into the WHL final. The Giants last appeared in the championship series in 2007 when they lost Game 7 to the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Memorial Cup was played in Vancouver that year and the Giants won it as the host team, beating the Tigers, 3-1, in the final.
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FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS:
F Aliaksei Protas scored three goals and set up another to lead the Prince Albert Raiders 
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).
The Vancouver Giants advanced to the WHL final with a 3-2 victory over the Spokane 
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.
to coach in the 2020 Memorial Cup, what with Kelowna being the host team.
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.
April 24. The tournament is to be held in Ostrava and Trinec, Czech Republic, opening on Dec. 26 and concluding on Jan. 5. . . . Ticket prices for the gold-medal game will start at €17.50 — on Friday, Cdn$1 equalled 0.66 Euro; it also equalled 17.07 Czech Koruna. . . . Games will be played in the Ostravar Arena, which has a capacity of 7,800, and the Week Arena in Trinec, with a capacity of 4,200. . . . Ticket prices are the same in both facilities. . . .
selection camp next week prior to the 2019 IIHF U18 World Championship. . . . That tournament will be held in Örnsköldsvik and Umeå, Sweden, from April 18 through April 28. . . . The 23 Canadian players will gather in Kisakallio, Finland, next week for a training camp prior to two pre-tournament games. The camp will run from Monday through Friday, with exhibition games set for April 14 (Belarus, in Umeå) and April 15 (Russia, in Örnsköldsvik). . . . 
to its U-17 team on Friday. These players, all born in 2003, are expected to join USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program and compete as the national U-17 team. The NTDP is a two-year residency program based in Plymouth, Mich. . . . The roster includes two players whose WHL rights belong to the Portland Winterhawks, and one who was drafted by the Prince George Cougars. . . . D Ty Murchison of Corona, Calif., played for the Los Angeles Jr. Kings U-16 team. The Winterhawks selected him in the third round of the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft. He hasn’t signed with them, nor has he made an NCAA commitment. F Chaz Lucius of Grant, Minn., has committed to the U of Minnesota for 2021-22. The Winterhawks selected him in the fourth round of the 2018 bantam draft. This season, Lucius had 39 goals and 23 assists in 13 games with the U-15 team at Gentry Academy in St. Paul, Minn. . . . Prince George selected D Aidan Hreschuk of Long Beach, Calif., in the fifth round of the 2018 bantam draft. He also played for the U16 Los Angeles Jr. Kings. Hreschuk has committed to Boston College for 2021-22. . . . 
early going as the Raiders beat the visiting Saskatoon Blades in Game 1 of their second-round series. . . . They’ll play Game 2 in Prince Albert on Sunday, then head to Saskatoon for games on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . Montgomery and Leason were in on the Raiders’ first three goals. Montgomery scoring twice, with Leason getting a goal and two helpers. Montgomery later completed his first career WHL hat trick. . . . Montgomery (2) gave the home boys a 1-0 lead at 3:47 of the first period. . . . Saskatoon F Chase Wouters (2) tied it at 5:24. . . . Leason (3) broke the tie at 12:07, and Montgomery (3) upped the lead to 3-1 at 11:39 of the second period. . . . The Raiders went ahead 4-1 when F Parker Kelly (2) scored at 17:42. . . . Montgomery (4) completed his hat trick at 5:51 of the third period, on a PP. . . . Montgomery’s first hat trick came in his 362nd career game — 345 in the regular season and 17 playoff games. . . . It also was Prince Albert’s first three-goal playoff game since F Milan Kraft did it on March 30, 2000. On that night, Kraft scored the game’s last three goals, two of them via the PP, as the Raiders won, 3-2, in Swift Current. F Layne Ulmer had both Swift Current goals. That was Game 1 in a first-round series that the Broncos won, 4-2. . . . Kelly (3) gave the Raiders a 6-1 lead on a PP at 13:40, with Leason earning his third assist, and fourth point, of the night. . . . The Raiders were 2-6 on the PP; the Blades were 0-2. . . . G Ian Scott stopped 23 shots for Prince Albert. He is 5-0, 1.60, .925 in these playoffs. . . . Saskatoon G Nolan Maier was beaten five times on 36 shots in 47:04. Koen MacInnes came on in relief to make his WHL debut with the Blades trailing, 5-1. He gave up one goal on three shots. . . . G Dorrin Luding (undisclosed) was among Saskatoon’s scratches. MacInnes, 17, was dressed as Maier’s backup. MacInnes, from Burnaby, B.C., was a second-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft. He played this season for the Burnaby Winter Club’s prep team.
the Victoria Royals in Langley, B.C. . . . They’ll play Game 2 tonight in Langley. . . . Games 3 and 4 are scheduled for Victoria on Tuesday and Thursday. . . . F Davis Koch (2) gave the Giants a 1-0 lead at 13:44 of the first period, on a PP. . . . Koch, who had a goal and nine assists in the first round, now leads the WHL’s playoff points race, with 11. . . . The Giants went ahead 2-0 at 5:50 of the third period as F Jared Dmytriw (2) scored. . . . F Dawson Holt (2) made it 3-0 with an empty-netter at 18:12. . . . Dmytriw also had an assist, while D Bowen Byram had two. . . . Vancouver was 1-3 on the PP; Victoria was 0-3. . . . Miner, who turned 18 on Feb. 5, was 24-5-2, 1.98, .924, with three shutouts, in the regular season. In the playoffs, he is 3-1, 1.51, .938 as he shares time with David Tendeck. . . . The Royals got 25 saves from G Griffen Outhouse. . . . Vancouver F Justin Sourdif played for the first time since he was injured late in Game 1 of a first-round series with the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . As expected, the Giants scratched F Aidan Barfoot. He was injured in Game 4 against Seattle. . . . F Kody McDonald (suspended) and F Kade Oliver (shoulder) were among Victoria’s scratches. Oliver’s season is over.
conditional second- and third-round picks — the year or years undisclosed.
Kootenay Ice — did a question-and-answer session with the Winnipeg Sun’s Ted Wyman the other day. . . . Patti Dawn Swansson, who blogs as The River City Renegade, spent a goodly number of years covering junior and pro hockey in Winnipeg so is quite familiar with the puck scene in the Manitoba capital. She responded to one of Cockell’s answers at her blog.
tournament, beat the visiting Quebec Remparts, 3-1, on Tuesday night in Game 7 of a first-round series. . . . The Remparts went into Game 6 in Halifax on Monday with a 3-2 lead in the series. The Mooseheads tied the series with a 6-1 victory. . . . The Mooseheads (49-15-4) had finished first in the Eastern Conference; the Remparts (27-28-13) were eighth. . . . Next up for the Mooseheads will be the Moncton Wildcats, who beat the Baie-Comeau Drakkars, 3-2, in Game 7 last night.
Focht, en route to a 4-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Calgary won the series, 4-3. It was the only one of the eight first-round series to go the distance. . . . The Hitmen will move on to play the Edmonton Oil Kings in the second round. That series is to open in Edmonton on Saturday. . . . Focht (3) got the Hitmen on the scoreboard, on a PP, at 3:30. . . . F Riley Fiddler-Schultz (1) made it 2-0 at 15:23. . . . Focht (4) upped it to 3-0 at 16:19. . . . The Hurricanes cut into the deficit at 2:49 of the second period as F Zachary Cox (2) scored, then got to within a goal at 12:52 on a goal from D Alex Cotton (1). . . . Calgary wasn’t able to put it away until F Mark Kastelic (5) scored an empty-netter at 19:41 of the third period. . . . Calgary was 1-4 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-2. . . . G Jack McNaughton stopped 25 shots for the Hitmen, two more than Lethbridge’s Carl Tetachuk. . . . Lethbridge F Logan Barlage was given a slashing major and game misconduct after he hacked Focht off a game-ending faceoff. Should Barlage be suspended, he will serve it at the beginning of the 2019-20 regular season. . . . 
nine games including a possible tiebreaker on May 28.
remember seeing F Justin Almeida of the Moose Jaw Warriors leave after his first shift. It turns out that he suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder, something that would plague through the remainder of the season. . . . Almeida, 19, chose not to undergo surgery, which likely would have ended his season, and went on to lead the WHL in assists (78) and finish third in the scoring race, with 111 points. . . . He also signed an NHL contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. . . . Marc Smith of 
victory over the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Oil Kings lead the series, 3-2, with Game 6 in Medicine Hat on Sunday. . . . F Andrei Pavlenko (1) got Edmonton started just 16 seconds into the game. . . . D Linus Nassen (3) tied it for the Tigers, on a PP, only 23 seconds later. . . . F Andrew Fyten (2) gave the Oil Kings a 2-1 lead at 5:08. . . . The home team went up 3-1 at 7:57 when F Trey Fix-Wolansky (1) scored, then made it 4-1 at 18:49 on a goal by F Scott Atkinson (1). . . . F Ryan Chyzowski (2) scored for the Tigers 41 seconds into the second period, but Fix-Wolansky (2) got that one back at 12:31. . . . At that point, Edmonton held a 5-2 lead. . . . F James Hamblin (3) pulled the Tigers to within two goals at 8:12 of the third period, and Chyzowski (3) made it 5-4 at 11:22. . . . But that was as close as the Tigers would get. . . . The Oil Kings got 27 saves from G Dylan Myskiw. . . . G Mads Søgaard stopped 34 shots for the Tigers. . . . Medicine Hat was 1-5 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-4. . . . F Josh Williams was scratched by the Oil Kings, meaning that F Dylan Guenther, the first-overall pick in the 2018 bantam draft, was in the lineup for a second game. . . . If it comes down to Game 7, it would be played in Edmonton on Tuesday night.
to a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds in Langley, B.C. . . . The Giants lead the series, 3-2, with Game 6 scheduled for tonight in Kent, Wash. . . . Last night, Vancouver opened up a 2-0 first-period lead on goals from D Dylan Plouffe (4), at 7:06, and F Jadon Joseph (4), on a PP, at 12:58. . . . Seattle F Matthew Wedman (3) cut the deficit to one, on a PP, at 14:14, and F Noah Philp (2) tied it, on another PP, at 3:57 of the second period. . . . Hines, a mid-season acquisition from the Kootenay Ice, scored his second goal of the series at 4:43 of the third period, and it stood up as the winner. D Bowen Byram took the puck to the net on the right side. Hines skated in from the left point and got there in time to bang in the rebound of Byram’s shot. . . . Seattle was 2-5 on the PP; Vancouver was 1-4. . . . Vancouver G Trent Miner stopped 25 shots, five fewer than Seattle’s Roddy Ross. . . . Seattle F Nolan Volcan played in his 54th playoff game to set a franchise record. He had shared the record with F Scott Eansor (2013-17). . . . The Thunderbirds were without D Cade McNelly, who completed a two-game suspension, and F Sean Richards, who is under indefinite suspension. . . . F Aidan Barfoot and F Justin Sourdif were among the Giants’ scratches. Sourdif was injured in Game 1, while Barfoot was hut in Game 4 on a hit from behind by Richards. . . . If these teams need a Game 7 to settle things, it would be played in Langley on Tuesday night.
fined $250,000 and also had two first-round draft picks taken away for recruiting violations. . . . Rick Westhead of TSN reported Tuesday that all of this had to do with a player emailing David Branch, the OHL commissioner, to say that the IceDogs had promised to pay him $10,000 for each season he played with them, and then reneged on the deal. . . . As Westhead reported: “A law firm hired by the Ontario Hockey League concluded that the Niagara IceDogs breached the league’s player recruitment rules by entering into a secret ‘side deal’ with a former player, according to a court decision obtained by TSN.” . . . Westhead’s story is 
victory over the visiting Calgary Hitmen. . . . Edmonton (41-18-8) has won 10 in a row. . . . Calgary (36-25-6) has lost three straight. . . . The outcome set in stone two more playoff series. The Oil Kings, who clinched the Central Division title, will face the Medicine Hat Tigers, the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card team, in the first round. At the same time, the Hitmen, third-place finishers in the division, will go up against the second-place Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Edmonton is 6-0-1 in the season series; Calgary is 1-5-1. . . . They’ll meet again this afternoon in Calgary. . . . F Mark Kastelic (47) gave the Hitmen a 1-0 lead at 7:30 of the first period. . . . However, the Oil Kings took over in the second period, getting goals from F Vince Loschiavo (35), on a PP, at 1:00; F Josh Williams (14), at 7:51; F Scott Atkinson, at 8:49; and F Jake Neighbours (10), at 19:44. . . . D Conner McDonald (19) and Atkinson (15) added third-period goals. . . . Edmonton G Dylan Myskiw stopped 21 shots. He now is 28-11-5, 2.53, .914.
Thunderbirds to a 5-2 victory over the Portland Winterhawks in Kent, Wash. . . . Seattle (30-29-8), which will meet the Vancouver Giants in the first round, has won two in a row. . . . Portland (40-21-6) has slipped to third in the U.S. Division, one point behind the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Portland is 8-3-0 in the season series; Seattle is 3-6-2. . . . They’ll wrap it up today in Portland. . . . Philp gave Seattle a 1-0 lead at 4:38 of the first period. . . . F Noah Volcan (27) made it 2-0 with his 100th career goal 14 seconds into the second period. . . . Seattle went ahead 3-0 when F Matthew Wedman (40) scored, on a PP, 32 seconds into the third. . . . Portland got to within a goal as D Jared Freadrich (14) struck, on a PP, at 5:47, and F Josh Paterson (24) scored at 11:09. . . . Philp, who also had an assist, added his 26th goal at 15:12 and D Owen Williams (6) got an empty-netter at 18:37. . . . F Joachim Blichfeld of the Winterhawks had 11 shots on goal, but couldn’t score. He finished with one assist, giving him 113 points. With one game to play, he is tied with F Tristin Langan of the Moose Jaw Warriors for the WHL scoring lead. . . . Portland F Reece Newkirk had a busy night with two assists, five shots on goal, a minor penalty, a misconduct and a game misconduct. . . . Ross, a January addition to Seattle’s roster, is 16-5-3, 2.76, .919. . . . G Shane Farkas blocked 33 shots for Portland. . . . The Winterhawks had F Seth Jarvis and D Matt Quigley back in uniform, but F Cody Glass and D John Ludvig remain out.
Moose Jaw Warriors beat the Swift Current Broncos, 6-0. . . . Moose Jaw (40-20-8) has won three in a row. It will meet the Blades in a first-round series that opens Friday in Saskatoon. . . . Swift Current (11-51-6), the WHL’s defending champion, finished with the league’s poorest record. The Broncos were blanked four times in their last seven games. All told, they were shut out 10 times in 68 games. . . . Salmond, who finished with 22 saves, has two shutouts this season and five in his career. . . . Langan finished with two goals, giving him 53, and an assist. . . . The Warriors also got goals from F Carson Denomie (8), F Justin Almeida (33), F Kjell Kjemhus (3) and D Daemon Hunt (7). . . . Almeida also had two assists. . . . Langan finished with 113 points and is tied with F Joachim Blichfeld of the Portland Winterhawks for the WHL scoring lead. Blichfeld and the Winterhawks are at home to the Seattle Thunderbirds today. . . . Blichfeld and Langan lead the league in goals (53). . . . Almeida is third in the scoring race, with 111 points. He is No. 1 in assists, with 78. . . . The Warriors were without F Brayden Tracey, who is likely to be named the WHL’s top rookie, for a second straight game. . . . Dean Brockman, the Broncos’ head coach, missed his club’s last three games as he was on a scouting junket. Assistant coach Brandin Cote went 1-2-0 in his absence.
the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Prince Albert (54-10-4) finished with the WHL’s best record. It will meet the Red Deer Rebels in the first round of playoffs. . . . Saskatoon (45-15-8) had won its previous eight games. It will face the Moose Jaw Warriors in the first round. . . . F Sean Montgomery, playing in his franchise-record 345th regular-season game with the Raiders, gave his guys a 1-0 lead with his 29th goal, at 8:05 of the first period. . . . Gregor, who has 43 goals, upped that to 3-0 at 10:23 of the first, on a PP, and 17:12 of the second, while shorthanded. . . . F Max Gerlach (42) scored for Saskatoon at 16:04 of the third period. . . . G Ian Scott stopped 24 shots to earn the victory. He finished 38-8-3, 1.83, .932. . . . G Dorrin Luding stopped 29 shots for the Blades. . . . Prince Albert was 1-8 on the PP; Saskatoon was 0-6. . . . D Alex Ozar, who is from Prince Albert, took the warmup with the Blades but was scratched. A fifth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft, he played for the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos. . . . At the same time, the Raiders had F Cohner Saleski, who is from Saskatoon in their lineup. The 17th overall pick in the 2017 draft, he also played for the Mintos. . . . The Raiders scratched F Dante Hannoun for a second straight game, along with F Justin Nachbaur.
dumped the Tri-City Americans, 10-1. . . . Spokane (40-21-7) has won three in a row. It moved past Portland and into second in the U.S. Division, one point ahead of the Winterhawks. Portland has one game remaining; it is at home to the Seattle Thunderbirds today. . . . Spokane and Portland will play in the first round of playoffs, but home-ice advantage won’t be decided until today’s game. . . . Tri-City (34-28-6) has lost five straight (0-3-2). It will meet the Everett Silvertips in the first round of the playoffs. . . . In the Spokane/Tri-City season series, each team was 6-5-1. . . . Beckman, a 17-year-old freshman from Saskatoon, finished with 62 points, including 32 goals, in 68 games. . . . F Bear Hughes, playing in his second WHL game, scored his first two goals fro the Chiefs. Hughes, who is from Post Falls, Idaho, had made his WHL debut on Friday night. He spent this season with the junior B Spokane Braves. . . . Spokane also got goals from D Nolan Reid (17), F Ethan McIndoe (16), F Luc Smith (28), F Cordel Larson (7) and F Jake McGrew (31). . . . F Nolan Yaremko (28) scored for Tri-City, while shorthanded, in the first period. . . . Spokane F Eli Zummack had three assists, while McIndoe added two assists to his goal. . . . G Bailey Brkin stopped 19 shots for the Chiefs. . . . Freshman Talyn Boyko went the distance for the Americans, allowing 10 goals on 47 shots.
victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Everett (47-16-5) had lost three in a row (0-2-1). It finished atop the U.S. Division and will face the Tri-City Americans in the first round of the playoffs. . . . Victoria (34-30-4) will face the Kamloops Blazers or Kelowna Rockets in the first round. . . . Everett went 2-1-1 in the season series; Victoria was 2-2-0. . . . Fasko-Rudas, who finished with 15 goals, scored his first career hat trick as Everett opened up a 5-0 lead. . . . F Dawson Butt (9) and F Jalen Price (7) also scored for the Silvertips. . . . F D-Day Jerome (23) had Victoria’s only goal. . . . G Max Palaga stopped 18 shots for Everett. . . . Victoria got 39 stops from G Brock Gould. . . . Victoria dressed 16 skaters after scratching D Mitchell Prowse, D Jameson Murray, D Scott Walford, D Matt Smith, F Sean Gulka, F Kody McDonald, D Jake Kustra and F Kaid Oliver. . . . F Connor Dewar, F Bryce Kindopp, F Zack Andrusiak and D Wyatte Wylie were among Everett’s scratches. The Silvertips went with 17 skaters.
visiting Regina Pats in a game between two teams that won’t be in the playoffs. . . . Brandon (31-29-8) had lost its previous five games. . . . Regina (19-45-4) won the season series, 4-2-2; Brandon was 4-4-0. . . . The Wheat Kings took a 2-0 lead on goals from D Braydyn Chizen (3), at 0:19 of the first period, and F Linden McCorrister (14), shorthanded, at 5:58. . . . F Carter Massier (5) got Regina’s first
Tigers in Medicine Hat. . . . Lethbridge (40-18-10) has won eight in a row. . . . Medicine Hat (35-27-6) had won its previous three games. . . . Lethbridge will face the Calgary Hitmen in the first round of the playoffs, while Medicine Hat is to meet the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Lethbridge won the season series, 7-1-2; Medicine Hat was 3-7-0. . . . F Brett Kemp (33) gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 17:48 of the first period. . . . Lethbridge scored the next three goals. . . . Henry, who finished with 29 goals, scored at 19:39 of the first and 5:58 of the second. . . . F Jake Elmer’s 39th goal, shorthanded, gave the Hurricanes a 3-1 lead at 10:55. . . . F Ryan Jevne (32) got the Tigers to within a goal at 14:24 of the third period. . . . G Bryan Thomson made 29 saves for the Hurricanes. . . . The Tigers got 29 saves from G Jordan Hollett. . . . Medicine Hat scratched D Dylan MacPherson and F James Hamblin. . . . D Igor Merezhko was among Lethbridge’s scratches.
TAKING NOTE 