You likely are aware of the terrific work that has been done by Bernadine and Toby Boulet to promote organ donation after their son, Logan, an organ donor, was killed in the crash involving the Humboldt Broncos’ bus. What you may not be aware of is work being done by the likes of Carol Brons to promote safe driving by those who drive the big rigs on our nation’s highways. Brons’ daughter, Dayna, was the Broncos’ athletic therapist; she died as a result of the crash. . . . Carol and her husband, Lyle, are members of Safer Roads Canada and were involved in the production of a couple of videos aimed at truck safety. . . .
Kevin Mitchell of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix writes: “Safer Roads Canada formed as a non-profit in the aftermath of the Broncos’ bus crash, with the involvement of some Broncos families and other people who had lost loved ones on the highways.
“Carol says it’s been ‘frustrating’ to try to effect change; transportation is federally regulated but a provincial responsibility, and governments move slowly.
“ ‘This is a way of making a difference a little faster,’ she says of the videos.”
This really is an important subject. Mitchell’s story is right here.
WHL PLAYOFF NOTES:
The No. 1 Winnipeg Ice and No. 2 Saskatoon Blades will enjoy a couple of days off before resuming their Eastern Conference final in the Bridge City on Tuesday. The Ice takes a 2-0 series lead into Game 3, with Game 4 scheduled for Saskatoon on Wednesday. . . . The Ice won the first two games at home — 3-0 on Friday and 6-2 on Saturday. . . . The Blades now have played 16 games in these playoffs, while the Ice has been in 11. So you can guess who needs the time off the most. . . .
Meanwhile, the Western Conference final opened last night in Kent, Wash., with the No. 1 Seattle Thunderbirds skating to a 5-1 victory over the No. 2 Kamloops Blazers. . . . Seattle now is 9-0 in the playoffs; Kamloops is 8-1. . . . They will play Game 2 in Kent tonight, then head for Kamloops and games on Tuesday and Thursday. . . .
Note that the starting time for today’s game has changed. With the NHL’s Seattle Kraken to meet the host Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 of a first-round series tonight, Game 2 between the Blazers and Thunderbirds now will begin at 4:05 p.m. PT — it had been scheduled to start at 5:05. . . .
When Saturday’s games were over, F Logan Stankoven of Kamloops, F Matt Savoie of Winnipeg and Blazers D Olen Zellweger were leading the playoff scoring race, each with 22 points. . . . Seattle’s Dylan Guenther has a WHL-leading 11 goals and Winnipeg D Ben Zloty leads in assists (16). . . . Winnipeg’s Daniel Hauser has the lead in goaltending victories (10), with Seattle’s Thomas Milic leading in GAA (1.11) and save percentage (.953).
The 2023 Kamloops Kidney Walk is scheduled for June 4, and Dorothy is taking part once again. She will celebrate 10 years as a kidney-transplant recipient in September, so the annual Kidney Walk is a big deal for her. In fact, she is participating for a 10th straight year. Yes, that means she is fund-raising, with all donations going to the Kidney Foundation. . . . With the help of a former WHL franchise owner she shot past $3,600 on Saturday. . . . If you are interested in helping, you are able to do so on her home page, which is right here.
SATURDAY IN THE WHL PLAYOFFS:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Saskatoon (2) at Winnipeg (1) — F Connor McClennon scored three times and 
added an assist as the Winnipeg Ice beat the Saskatoon Blades, 6-2. . . . The Ice, having won Friday’s opener, 3-0, leads the series, 2-0, with Games 3 and 4 in Saskatoon on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. . . . McClennon, who has 10 goals, completed his hat trick at 1:08 of the third period, giving the Ice a 5-0 lead. . . . He had scored the game’s first two goals, at 6:09 and 17:31, the latter via the PP, of the first period. . . . F Zach Benson (3) and F Owen Pederson (3) added second-period goals. . . . F Justin Lies (2) and F Jayden Wiens (8), on a PP, scored for the Blades in the third period. . . . Ice F Matt Savoie (10) closed the scoring with an empty-netter at 16:27. . . . Benson and Savoie added two assists each. . . . McClennon recorded his first hat trick of these playoffs; he had two in the regular season. . . . Winnipeg was 1-for-3 on the PP; Saskatoon was 1-for-5. . . . G Daniel Hauser stopped 27 shots for the Ice. . . . G Austin Elliott turned aside 27 shots for the Blades. . . . Saskatoon continues to play without injured defencemen Blake Gustafson and Ben Saunderson. The Blades also scratched F Jordan Keller and inserted F Misha Volotovski.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
Kamloops (2) at Seattle (1) — The Seattle Thunderbirds drew first blood with a 
5-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers in Kent, Wash. . . . They’ll play Game 2 today in Kent, then head for Kamloops and games on Tuesday and Thursday. . . . Seattle held period leads of 1-0 and 2-1, then put it away with three goals in the second half of the third period. . . . F Jared Davidson (6) scored at 17:00 of the first period and F Nico Myatovic (2) got the 2-0 goal at 13:44 of the second. . . . D Olen Zellweger (8) got the Blazers’ goal at 16:11. . . . Seattle’s third-period goals came from F Dylan Guenther (11), Davidson (7) and F Gracyn Sawchyn (2), on a PP. . . . Davidson also had an assist, for a three-point night. . . . Seattle was 1-for-3 on the PP; Kamloops was 0-for-2. . . . G Thomas Milic stopped 24 shots for the Thunderbirds, while G Dylan Ernst, at the other end, blocked 30. . . . Milic is 9-0, 1.11, .953 in the playoffs. In 34 appearances over the past two seasons, he is 23-11, 1.98, .931. . . . Kamloops lost D Logan Bairos to an undisclosed injury and he isn’t likely to play in Game 2, which means Ryan Michael will play. . . . The Thunderbirds are 9-0 in the playoffs. They also opened the 2017 playoffs with nine victories before dropping a 4-3 OT decision to the visiting Kelowna Rockets.
JUNIOR JOTTINGS:
F Dante Hannoun, who played five seasons in the WHL, is playing for Italy in the six-team IIHF World Men’s Hockey Championship (Division 1 Group A) that opened Friday and is to run through Ma 5 in Great Britain (Nottingham). . . . He was pointless as Italy opened with a 6-2 victory over Romania on Saturday. . . . Hannoun, 24, is from Delta, B.C. He played four-plus seasons with the Victoria Royals before finishing his WHL career by playing 28 games with the Prince Albert Raiders in 2018-19. On May 13, 2019, Hannoun scored at 18:25 of OT to give the Raiders a 3-2 victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants in Game 7 of the WHL’s championship final. He has played the past two seasons with the Val Pusteria Wolves of Bruneck, Italy, who play in the Austrian-based ICE Hockey League. . . .
In the MJHL, the Steinbach Pistons won their third Turnbull Cup, beating the visiting Virden Oil Capitals, 3-0. The Pistons won the series, 4-1. . . . G Dominik Wasik recorded a 24-save shutout. . . . Paul Dyck, the Pistons’ general manager and head, is from Steinbach. Dyck, 52, played two seasons (1989-91) with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, and now is completing his 11th season with the Pistons. . . . Steinbach will be in the Centennial Cup for the first time since 2018. The tournament is to be played in Portage la Prairie, Man., from May 11-21. . . .
In the BCHL, the Penticton Vees won their 26th consecutive playoff game on Saturday, beating the visiting Salmon Arm Silverbacks, 6-2, in Game 2 of their conference final. . . . In the other conference final, the Alberni Valley Bulldogs got past the Chilliwack Chiefs, 2-1, to assume a 2-0 series lead. . . . Both series will resume on Tuesday night in Chilliwack and Salmon Arm.
THE COACHING GAME:
Tyler Stanton is the new general manager and head coach of the junior B Peninsula Panthers of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. Stanton, who will turn 27 on Thursday, is a former VIJHL player, having skated with the Westshore Wolves and Saanich Braves. From a Panthers news release: Stanton “has been coaching at the U18 level for the past seven years with JDF Minor Hockey, winning two Island championships and a silver medal at BC provincials this past season. The Club also won the Richmond International Tournament this past season.” . . . Pete Zubersky, who had been the general manager, stepped in as head coach after Chris Driebergen was fired in January. He had been in his first season with the Panthers. Zubersky is the organization’s governor.
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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
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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
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Or, for more information, visit right here.
having paused activities because of COVID-19, three of the 10 games scheduled for that night have been postponed. So far . . .
Climate Pledge Arena, home of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken. The game originally was scheduled as a Thunderbirds’ home game to be played in the accesso ShoWare Centre in Kent, Wash. . . . Before being gutted and rebuilt as the home of the Kraken, what now is Climate Pledge Arena was KeyArena and was home to the Thunderbirds. They played their final game there on Dec. 30, 2008, beating the Chilliwack Bruins (hey, remember them?), 2-0. . . . The Feb. 26 game will be the ninth meeting of the season between the teams; the Silvertips hold a 5-1-0 edge at the moment.
TAKING NOTE 