Tag: Prince Albert Mintos

Raiders make money in 2021-22 . . . Americans may not see Luypen until 2023 . . . Lazaruk back for 29th season in Saskatoon

The Prince Albert Raiders told shareholders at their annual general meeting on Wednesday night that they had a profit of $152,191 for their 2021-22 fiscal year.

That is a considerable increase from 2020-21, a season that was shortened PrinceAlbertconsiderably by the pandemic. That season, which for East Division clubs featured 24 games and was played entirely in Regina, the Raiders showed a profit of $25,891. However, that included $1,081,179 in government grants, $600,000 of that from the Saskatchewan government.

“From the start of the (2021-22) regular season,” the team said in a news release last night, “the Raiders saw a large number of ticket sales, with the primary reason being it was the first time that the team had played at the Art Hauser Centre since March 6, 2020. The organization also saw a large uptick in promotions, fundraising and advertising, thanks to the ability to host events inside the rink.”

The Raiders’ news release included only three paragraphs on the AGM.

In 2019-20, a season that was halted by the pandemic in March before the regular season was completed, the Raiders lost $331,895. That followed a 2018-19 season in which they won the WHL championship and showed a profit of $633,314.

Four of the WHL’s 22 teams are owned by local shareholders and as such are required to present profit-loss statements at annual general meetings.

The Lethbridge Hurricanes have scheduled their AGM for Sept. 19, with the Moose Jaw Warriors going on Sept. 20 and the Swift Current Broncos on Oct. 4.

The WHL’s other 18 teams all are privately owned.

The Tri-City Americans, looking to add some experience and some offence to their lineup, acquired F Jalen Luypen, 20, from the Edmonton Oil Kings on Aug. Tri-City9. The Americans also got two conditional WHL draft picks — a fifth-rounder in 2024 and a second in 2026 — while giving up F Rhett Melnyk, 18, D Bryson Andregg, 19, and a conditional 2023 second-round selection. . . . Luypen had been picked by the Chicago Blackhawks in the seventh round of the NHL’s 2021 draft and he signed a three-year entry-level deal earlier this summer. . . . But now comes the bad news. Luypen apparently suffered an injury to his left shoulder during last spring’s playoffs and tried to play through it as the Oil Kings made their run to the Memorial Cup. In the end, however, he needed more than offseason rehab, and he now has undergone rotator cuff surgery. The Blackhawks have said that he will be out for up to 18 weeks, which means he won’t be available to the Americans until after Christmas. . . . As a 20-year-old, Luypen is eligible to play in the AHL this season, but one would think the Blackhawks would much prefer him to play with the Americans once he has recovered from the surgery. . . .

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if the Americans and Oil Kings end up Edmontonrenegotiating any parts of what was an intricate deal. . . . As reported by Alan Caldwell shortly after the deal, here are the original conditions: Edmonton gets the 2023 second if Luypen comes back from the pros by Nov. 15. If he returns after Nov 15 but before Jan 10, it becomes a 2023 third-round pick instead. If he does not return to the WHL this year, Edmonton doesn’t get a 2023 pick at all, and Tri-City gets the Edmonton 2026 second-round pick. The 2024 pick is tied to the 2023 pick — if Edmonton gets Tri-City’s 2023 second, then Tri-City gets Edmonton’s 2024 fifth-round pick. If Edmonton gets the 2023 third-rounder instead, then Tri-City gets the 2024 sixth-rounder instead. . . .

Last season, Luypen put up 64 points, 29 of them goals, in 66 regular-season games. He added four goals and nine assist in nine playoff games as the Oil Kings won the WHL title. He followed that up with a goal and two assists in three Memorial Cup games.

Potholes

There was good — nay, great — news for fans of the WHL and, in particular, the SaskatoonSaskatoon Blades on Tuesday. That’s when Les Lazaruk revealed that he hasn’t retired, nor has he moved on to another job. Yes, he will be back for a 29th season of calling Blades’ games. . . . Lazaruk tweeted that he “did pursue a job opportunity,” but was told on Monday that he wasn’t going to be offered that position. . . . “I may be 63 years old,” he added, “but doing Blades hockey play-by-play makes me feel more like 36!” . . . You likely wouldn’t be wrong if you guessed that Lazaruk had interviewed for the play-by-play opening that TSN has on the TV crew that covers the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. There has yet to be an announcement on who will replace Dennis Beyak, who has retired from the spot he held since 2011.

The Regina Pats erased a 2-0 deficit and beat the Swift Broncos, 4-2, in an exhibition game played in Estevan, Sask., on Tuesday night. The Pats, who got two goals from F Connor Bedard, hung around after the game to sign some autographs and visit with the fans.

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THE COACHING GAME:

The Portland Winterhawks have hired Brendan Burke, one of their former goaltenders, as assistant goaltending coach. Burke, 32, will work with goaltending coach Andy Moog “to assist in the development of Winterhawks goalies and prospects,” according to a news release. . . . Burke, who is from Scottsdale, lives in the Phoenix area and also works as the goaltending director with the Jr. Coyotes program. . . . Burke spent four seasons (2011-15) with the Winterhawks, then played his 20-year-old season with the OHL’s London Knights. And think about this — he won a WHL title with the Winterhawks (2013), an OHL title and a Memorial Cup championship with the Knights (2016), and three Canada West titles and a national championship with the U of Alberta Golden Bears. . . .

The NHL’s Calgary Flames have added Rebecca Johnston, a three-time Olympic gold medal-winner with the Canadian women’s team, as a full-time member of their organization. According to the Flames, Johnston, 32, “will work within the player development team, assisting in prospect evaluations and on-ice instruction and work with (the Flames Foundation) in grassroots, growing (hockey) in our community.” . . . You may have heard of her uncle — Mike Johnston is the vice-president, general manager and head coach of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. . . .

The QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders have signed general manager and head coach Jim Hulton to a three-year contract. Hulton has been the QMJHL’s coach of the year each of the past two seasons; he was the CHL coach of the year last season. He is going into his eighth season as the Islanders’ head coach and his seventh as GM. . . . Guy Girouard, Charlottetown’s assistant GM and associate coach, signed a two-year deal, as did assistant coach Kevin Henderson, equipment manager Andrew (Spider) MacNeill and athletic therapist Devin Atkin. . . .

Former WHL F Dane Byers has joined the Prince Albert Mintos of the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League as an assistant coach. Byers, 36, is from Nipawin, Sask. He played four seasons (2002-06) with the Raiders before going on to a pro career that concluded after the 2018-19 season. He spent the last four seasons in Europe. . . . With the Mintos, he’ll be working alongside Tim Leonard, who is into his second season of his second stint as the Mintos’ head coach. another former WHLer, is the Mintos’ head coach. He was the head coach from 2002-12 before joining the Raiders for two seasons as an assistant coach. . . .

The junior B Kimberley Dynamiters of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League have signed Derek Stuart, their general manager and head coach, to a five-year contract extension that will take him through the 2026-27 season. . . . Stuart has been with the Dynamiters since May 9, 2016.

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.

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Ridley rocks broadcast No. 4,000; WHL’s first Ridley Award goes to broadcast legend . . . BCHL to gov’t: Let us play or we’re done

There isn’t any doubt but that the highlight of the opening weekend of WHL play occurred in Medicine Hat on Saturday night when Bob Ridley, the radio voice of the Tigers on CHAT, called his 4,000th game. . . . The hometown Tigers beat the Red Deer Rebels, 7-2, giving Ridley lots of goals to call. . . . Congratulations, Bob. The only thing missing was the fans, but had the house been packed the standing ovation would have delayed the start of the game by, oh, about an hour. . . . Ridley, 76, is the only play-by-play man the Tigers and their fans have known since they entered the league in time for the 1970-71 season. . . . Prior to Saturday’s game, the WHL introduced the Bob Ridley Award for Media Excellence and named Ridley as its first recipient. There is a news release right here. . . . I would suggest that Ridley should have been named the only recipient. I mean, how high is the bar? Don’t forget that Ridley also drove the team bus for 45 seasons. Who else has done that? . . . It’s only surprising that Ridley isn’t in the Coffee Drinkers Hall of Fame, assuming there is such an honour. . . . I used to wonder why there wasn’t a country tune about a bus-driving play-by-play man. . . . Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News has more on Ridley right here.

For quite a while during this pandemic, I would post a lot of virus-related statistics. But I stopped in recent times because it is apparent that the numbers don’t mean anything to so many people. . . . I came to the realization a few weeks ago that people had become numb or desensitized to them. Does it matter to anyone that as of Saturday at 4 p.m. PT, Canada had 30,864 active cases and had experienced 21,960 deaths? Or that, as of 9 p.m. PT, there had been 2,524,413 deaths worldwide, with the United States’ total at 524,669? . . . Perhaps you have to have a personal connection to COVID-19 before the scope of all the numbers really hits you. Maybe you have to have lost a friend to it, or maybe you need to known a kidney transplant recipient whose donor died of COVID-19. Maybe you need to have a granddaughter whose daycare was impacted by community transmission that began at a trivia night in a big city bar before you realize — really realize — what’s going on here. . . . BTW, that trivia night has been linked to at least 300 cases.

“On March 17, 2020, Ontario and Alberta declared states of emergency,” writes Brooke Taylor of CTVNews.ca. “By March 20, when B.C., Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Manitoba also declared states of emergency, Canada had a total of 215 new cases of COVID-19, with a seven-day average of 127 cases. Eleven months later, on Feb. 25, 2021, Canada added 3,094 cases with a seven-day average of 2,961.”

Taylor’s story on how Canadians have become desensitized to the numbers is right here and it’s well worth a read.

NBC News — New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, goes into lockdown after 1 new COVID-19 case found. . . . The lockdown will allow people to leave home only for essential shopping and essential work. . . . New Zealand, one of the most successful developed nations in controlling the spread of the pandemic, has seen just over 2,000 cases of the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.

Bruce Jenkins, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “The (Los Angeles) Dodgers did well to re-sign 36-year-old third baseman Justin Turner, described as ‘the heart and soul of this team’ by catcher Austin Barnes and many teammates. Turner wasn’t punished for his reckless display in the World Series — yanked from Game 6 after testing positive for the coronavirus, he showed up without a mask for much of the on-field celebration — but what’s the point? That is today’s America, jam-packed with folks who ridicule the pandemic and feel they’re quite above it all.”

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One more note from Jenkins: “Heed these words from old friend Dusty Baker, who got his second vaccination shot Feb. 5: ‘I’m still pretending like I didn’t get my shots. You just can’t let your guard down, because there’s still so much about it that we don’t know.’ ”

Brush

Government and medical officials in Nova Scotia have shut down sports games in the province for four weeks. The order went into effect on Saturday. At the same time, practices are allowed for groups up to 25. The move follows the announcement of eight new cases on Thursday and 10 on Friday. . . . The 12-team Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League, which played four games on Friday night, cancelled its season as of Saturday, 8 a.m., “due to the uncertainty of the future decisions of the N.S. government.”

Meanwhile, the QMJHL’s three New Brunswick-based teams — the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, Moncton Wildcats and Saint John Sea Dogs — have received clearance from health officials to return to play on March 8. According to a QMJHL news release, the three teams “will only play against each other in March with fans in the buildings.” . . . Those teams last played in late November. Moncton has played 13 games, with the other two each having played 15.

Bob Mackin of theBreaker.news reported Saturday that the 17-team BCHL “is on the cusp of cancelling its season” if provincial officials “do not approve an amended season proposal by March 3.” . . . That, of course, would be Wednesday. . . . In a Feb. 26 letter to officials, which was obtained by theBreaker.news, Chris Hebb, the league’s commissioner, wrote: “We are simply out of time and can’t make our players and their parents wait any longer. The clock has run out.” . . . Mackin reported: “If the BCHL does not get the go-ahead by March 3 for its return-to-play plan, Hebb wrote that a motion will be prepared for team owners to vote March 4 to cancel the season.” . . . The BCHL’s return-to-play plan includes having teams play in five hub communities. . . . Mackin’s story is right here.

Danton Danielson no longer is the head coach of the U18 AAA Prince Albert Mintos. He been in the position for two seasons. In making the announcement via Twitter, Danielson said that his decision was “based on family considerations. My wife and I will be moving our family back to Saskatoon so that she can return to her job . . . and so that we can be close to our family support system.”

ICYMI, Taran Kozun, a former WHL goaltender, has joined his sixth team of this season, the ECHL’s Allen Americans. . . . Before heading to Allen, Kozun, the WHL’s top goaltender in 2014-15 with the Seattle Thunderbirds, had gotten into one game with each of the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks, Indy Fuel, Rapid City Rush and Orlando Solar Bears, and the SPHL’s Pensacola Ice Flyers. . . . He already has played in four games with the Americans. . . . Kozun, 26, was the goaltender of the year in Canadian university hockey in each of the previous two seasons while with the U of Saskatchewan Huskies.

Stars

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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

——

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.

Kid

Blazers sign first of two early draft picks. . . . Giants, Pats make a deal. . . . Royals get Fahey from Ice

MacBeth

D Stefan Elliott (Saskatoon, 2006-11) has signed a one-year contract with Dinamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL). Last season, with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), he had one goal and seven assists in 20 games. He also had one assist in three games with the Ottawa Senators (NHL), and six goals and 14 assists in 44 games with the Belleville Senators (AHL).

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The Kamloops Blazers have signed D Mats Lindgren, who was the seventh overall Kamloops1selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft, to a WHL contract. . . . Lindgren, whose father, Mats, is a former NHLer, is from North Vancouver, B.C. Last season, he had four goals and 22 assists in 27 games with the bantam prep team at the Burnaby Winter Club. . . . Lindgren was the first of two first-round picks made by the Blazers in the 2019 bantam draft. With the 20th selection, they took F Connor Levis, who played for the bantam prep team at St. George’s School in Vancouver. . . . Lindgren and Levis, who are close friends, both had made verbal commitments to attend the U of Michigan and play for the Wolverines, starting with the 2022-23 season. . . .

The WHL’s teams now have signed 18 of the 22 first-round selections from the 2019 bantam draft.

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WHL 2019 FIRST-ROUNDERS

UNSIGNED:

3. Prince George — D Keaton Dowhaniuk

4. Prince George — F Koehn Ziemmer

20. Kamloops — F Connor Levis

21. Swift Current — D Tyson Jugnauth

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SIGNED:

1. Winnipeg — F Matthew Savoie

2. Winnipeg — F Conor Geekie

5. Brandon — F Nate Danielson

6. Brandon — F Tyson Zimmer

7. Kamloops — D Mats Lindgren

8. Seattle — F Jordan Gustafson

9. Saskatoon — F Brandon Lisowsky

10. Seattle — D Kevin Korchinski

11. Moose Jaw — D Denton Mateychuk

12. Medicine Hat — F Oasiz Wiesblatt

13. Calgary — D Grayden Siepmann

14. Swift Current — F Matthew Ward

15. Spokane — F Ben Thornton

16. Brandon — F Rylen Roersma

17. Regina — D Layton Feist

18. Edmonton — F Caleb Reimer

19. Victoria — D Jason Spizawka

22. Prince Albert — F Niall Crocker

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The Vancouver Giants have traded F Dawson Holt, 20, to the Regina Pats for Russian F VancouverSergei Alkhimov, 17. . . . Vancouver also received a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2022 WHL bantam draft, with Regina getting a conditional seventh-rounder in the same draft. . . . Holt, from Saskatoon, was the eighth-overall selection in the 2014 WHL bantam draft. . . . He had six goals and 13 assists in 53 regular-season games with the Giants last season, then put up seven goals and nine assists in 22 playoff games. . . . In 200 career regular-season games with the Giants, he had 25 goals and 51 assists. . . . Alkhimov had 13 goals and 14 assists in 66 games with the Pats last season. He joins Slovakian F Milos Roman, 20, as imports on the Giants’ roster. Roman was a fourth-round selection by the Calgary Flames in the NHL’s 2018 draft. He has yet to sign a pro contract. However, because he is a 20-year-old Patsdrafted player, he is eligible to play professionally, which allows the Giants to use their first pick in Thursday’s CHL import draft. . . . Regina also will be using one selection as it looks for an import to join sophomore D Nikita Sedov, 18, who is from Russia, on its roster. . . .

Going by the last available rosters on the WHL website, the Giants now contains seven 20-year-olds — F Owen Hardy, F Jadon Joseph, F Brayden Watts, Roman, D Landon Fuller, D Dylan Plouffe and D Bailey Dhaliwal — and the Pats have three — Holt, F Austin Pratt and F Sebastian Streu. . . .

Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post explains right here why Regina general manager John Paddock made this trade, even though he was really reluctant to part with Alkhimov.

The Victoria Royals have acquired F River Fahey, 18, from the Winnipeg Ice for a VictoriaRoyalsconditional eighth-round selection in the WHL’s 2021 bantam draft. . . . Fahey is from Campbell River, B.C. . . . He was a fourth-round selection by the Red Deer Rebels in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . In 2017-18, Fahey had one goal and two assists in 26 games with the Rebels. Last season, he had one assist in 21 games with Red Deer, then added two goals and three assists in 24 games with the Ice.

JUST NOTES:

The Edmonton Oil Kings have released Belarusian F Andrei Pavlenko, 19, so will be looking for an import in Thursday’s draft. He had three goals and one assist in 20 games with the Oil Kings in 2017-18, then added nine goals and 17 assists in 58 games last season. . . . The lone import on Edmonton’s roster is Belarusian F Vladimir Alistrov, 18, who had 12 goals and 26 assists in 62 games last season. . . .

The Kamloops Blazers have released Finnish D Joonas Sillanpaa, 18, after just one season. The 6-foot-6, 185-pounder had one goal and four assists in 61 regular-season games last season. . . . The Blazers are bringing back Czech F Martin Lang for a second season. Lang, who will turn 18 on Sept. 15, had 11 goals and 22 assists in 65 regular-season games last season. . . .

F Nolan Foote of the Kelowna Rockets has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, which selected him 27th overall in the NHL’s 2019 draft. He had 36 goals and 27 assists in 66 games last season while hampered by a wrist injury. In 168 regular-season games over three seasons, he has 68 goals and 70 assists. His brother, Cal, a defenceman who played with the Rockets, is in the Lightning’s organization after being drafted 14th overall in 2017. . . .

The WHL has said that it will release the complete 2019-20 regular-season schedule today. . . .

The midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos have added Tyson Dallman to their staff as an assistant coach. Dallman, from Prince Albert, played two seasons (2011-13) with the Tri-City Americans.

Tweetoftheday

A few odds, ends and numbers as WHL playoffs arrive. . . . Road to Ed Chynoweth Cup starts tonight. . . . Hofer, Mattheos get NHL deals

MacBeth

F James Wright (Vancouver, 2005-10) and Linköping (Sweden, SHL) have mutually agreed not to pick up the option year on his contract for next season. This season, he had five goals and six assists in 44 games.

ThisThat

EdChynowethCupSome odds and ends as we prepare for the opening of the run to the Ed Chynoweth Cup . . .

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Red Deer Rebels vs. Prince Albert Raiders — This one features the two most-recent members of the WHL’s 500 Club. Brent Sutter, the head coach of the Rebels, and Raiders’ head coach Marc Habscheid both reached the 500-victory mark this season. . . . Red Deer (33-29-6) will be without D Alex Alexeyev. With him in the lineup, the Rebels would be facing a tough task in the Raiders (54-10-4). Without him, Sutter will feel as though he has one hand tied behind his back. . . . These teams have faced each other once since the trade deadline, with the host Raiders winning 2-1 in a shootout on March 1. . . . They open with games in Prince Albert tonight and Saturday.

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Medicine Hat Tigers vs. Edmonton Oil Kings — In four games since the trade deadline, Edmonton (42-18-8) is 3-0-1 against the Tigers. . . . Edmonton G Dylan Myskiw is 5-0-1, 1.79, .940 against Medicine Hat this season. . . . Medicine Hat (35-27-6) will need a gigantic effort from 6-foot-7 G Mads Søgaard, who is 0-2-2, 3.47, .909 in games against the Oil Kings. . . . Edmonton put a bow on the regular season by winning its final 11 games. . . . They’ll play Saturday and Sunday in Edmonton.

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Moose Jaw Warriors vs. Saskatoon Blades — The Blades (45-15-8) last appeared in the playoffs in 2013, the season in which they went all-in as the host team for the Memorial Cup. Since then, they have undergone an ownership change and a massive rebuilding operation, and now, having clinched a playoff spot, the energy seems to be back in the city. . . . The Blades are 3-0-0 against the Warriors — including 4-2 and 5-3 victories this month — since the trade deadline, with a 15-6 edge in goals. . . . Saskatoon G Nolan Maier is 3-1-0, 2.26, .907 against Moose Jaw. . . . The Warriors (40-20-8) are the only team with two 100-point men — F Tristin Langan had 113, and F Justin Almeida 111. . . . The Blades outscored the Warriors, 259-234. . . . Games 1 and 2 are scheduled for Saskatoon tonight and Saturday.

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Calgary Hitmen vs. Lethbridge Hurricanes — These teams have met twice since the trade deadline, with the Hurricanes posting 7-4 and 6-2 home-ice victories. . . . Lethbridge (40-18-10) closed in a rush, winning nine of its last 10 games, and opens the playoffs on an eight-game winning streak. Calgary (36-26-6), which has lost four in a row, went 6-4-0 down the stretch. . . . The Hitmen need to find an answer for Lethbridge F Jordy Bellerive, who lit them up for seven goals and six assists in six games. . . . Lethbridge G Carl Tetachuk (24-9-2, 2.88, .909) took the reins and ran with them after G Liam Hughes left the club. . . . Only Prince Albert (307) scored more goals than Lethbridge (268). . . . Games 1 and 2 will be played in Lethbridge tonight and Saturday.

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WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle Thunderbirds vs. Vancouver Giants — They split the season series, 2-2-0, but have only met once since Jan. 10 — the visiting Giants won 5-1 on March 12. . . . The Giants (48-15-5) had the WHL’s second-best record; the Thunderbirds (31-29-8) were 17th. . . . Both teams closed well, the Giants going 8-1-1, the Thunderbirds 7-1-2. . . . No one WHL player had a bigger impact after Jan. 10 than Seattle G Roddy Ross, who went 16-5-3, 2.76, .919 after moving up from the AJHL’s Camrose Kodiaks. . . . As for the Giants, the doubters want to see how much they benefited from playing in a weak B.C. Division. . . . This series opens with games in Langley, B.C., tonight and Saturday.

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Tri-City Americans vs. Everett Silvertips — Is this the battle of the goaltenders? Dustin Wolf of the Silvertips went 41-15-4, 1.69, .936. The Americans’ Beck Warm was 32-23-5, 2.94, .916. Wolf played one more minute than Warm — 3,615-3,614 — but faced 607 fewer shots. That’s a huge disparity on a per-game basis. . . . These teams have met five times since the trade deadline, with Everett going 4-1-0, but the victories were by scores of 4-1, 2-0, 2-1 and 3-0. . . . The Silvertips (47-16-5) remain without F Riley Sutter, one of the league’s top faceoff men. . . . The Americans (34-28-6) are without freshman F Blake Stevenson, whose season was ended by an undisclosed injury. . . . They’ll play tonight and Saturday in Everett.

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Portland Winterhawks vs. Spokane Chiefs — Down the stretch, the Winterhawks missed D John Ludvig and F Cody Glass, both of whom were injured. Glass was limited to 38 games this season, missing a bunch because of a knee injury, finished with 15 goals and 54 assists. He and WHL scoring champion Joachim Blichfeld (68-53-61—114) form a deadly combination when they’re together. . . . Portland needs Ludvig and Glass back if it is to make a deep run. . . . Spokane has firepower with F Riley Woods, D Ty Smith, F Eli Zummack and F Jaret Anderson-Dolan all scoring at better than a point per game. Freshman F Adam Beckman put up 32 goals and 30 assists in playing all 68 games. . . . Spokane (40-21-7) finished second in the U.S. Division, one point ahead of Portland (40-22-6). Should we read anything into the fact that Portland was 1-0-0 against Kootenay, while Spokane was 5-0-0 against the Ice? . . . In three games since the trade deadline, Spokane went 2-1-0, outscoring Portland, 17-10. . . . They open with games tonight and Saturday in Spokane.

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Kamloops Blazers vs. Victoria Royals — The Blazers (28-32-8) are in because they beat the visiting Kelowna Rockets, 5-1, in a tiebreaker on Tuesday. . . . The Royals (34-30-4) ran into injuries and rested players down the stretch. F Kaid Oliver, who led them in goals (27) and points (49), had his season ended by a shoulder injury. F Kody McDonald (concussion) hasn’t played since March 2. . . . A lot of fans thought the Blazers were done when G Dylan Ferguson, 20, went down during a 5-0 loss to visiting Vancouver on March 6. But freshman Dylan Garand, a 16-year-old from Vancouver, stepped in and went 6-0-1, 1.54, .943. He has given up 11 goals in those seven starts, with five of them coming in a 5-4 OT loss to the visiting Prince George Cougars. . . . Ferguson, who is from Lantzville, which is on Vancouver Island, has been cleared to play again. . . . Victoria G Griffen Outhouse is 5-0-0, 2-10, .936 against Kamloops this season. . . . They’ve met four times since the trade deadline, with Kamloops going 3-1-0. The Blazers won the last three games, including an 8-0 home-ice victory on March 13 in which the Royals scratched nine players. . . . This series opens with games in Victoria tonight and Saturday.

Two more WHLers, both from Winnipeg, have signed three-year entry-level NHL NHLcontracts — G Joel Hofer of the Portland Winterhawks with the St. Louis Blues and F Stelio Mattheos of the Brandon Wheat Kings with the Carolina Hurricanes. . . .

The Blues selected Hofer in the fourth round of the NHL’s 2018 draft. . . . The Winterhawks acquired Hofer, 18, from the Swift Current Broncos on Jan. 9, giving up six bantam draft picks, including first-rounders in 2019 and 2021. With Portland, he is 9-8-0, .318, .911, with two shutouts, in 18 appearances. . . . In 30 games with the rebuilding Broncos, he was 6-21-3, 4.02, .904, with one shutout. . . . In 67 career regular-season games, Hofer is 23-32-5, 3.45, .908, with four shutouts. . . . The Winterhawks, who finished third in the U.S. Division, open a first-round playoff series against the second-place Chiefs in Spokane tonight. . . .

Mattheos, 19, was a third-round pick by Carolina in the 2017 NHL draft. This season, he had 44 goals and 52 assists in ?? games. In 253 career regular-season games, he has 278 points, including 127 goals. . . . The Wheat Kings selected Mattheos with the first-overall pick of the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. . . . With Brandon out of the WHL’s playoff picture, Mattheos, the Wheat Kings’ captain, had reported to the Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers.

The Calgary Hitmen have added F Sean Tschigerl to their roster. Tschigerl, who will turn 16 on April 11, spent the season with the prep team at OHA Edmonton. He had 21 goals and 26 assists in 28 games, and also had one goal in eight games with the Hitmen. . . . Calgary selected him with the fourth-overall pick of the 2018 bantam draft.

The Medicine Hat Tigers have added Cole Sillinger to their roster for the playoffs. He spent this season with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians, whose season came to an end this week. . . . Sillinger was saluted as the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League’s top forward, rookie of the year and most valuable player. Oh, he also led the league in scoring with 76 points, including 31 goals, in 39 games. . . . A son of former WHL/NHL F Mike Sillinger, Cole was selected with the 11th-overall pick of the 2018 bantam draft. He has two assists in four games with the Tigers.

The Spokane Chiefs have added D Michael Ladyman, 17, to their roster. The Regina Pats selected him in the fifth round of the 2016 bantam draft. . . . He already has played 22 games with the Chiefs this season, recording two assists. In 26 games with the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues, he put up four goals and 24 assists.

If you’re a regular here, you will be aware that the OHL has disciplined the Niagara ohlIceDogs for being in violation of recruitment regulations. The IceDogs have been fined $150,000 and lost a first-round draft pick. . . . This comes a few years after the Windsor Spitfires were fined $400,000 and lost five draft picks for, yes, being in violation of recruitment regulations. . . .

“Well, now, isn’t that interesting?” writes Ken Campbell of The Hockey News. “The OHL, along with its partners in the QMJHL and WHL, have been spending the past couple of years convincing the public that many of their teams are mom-and-pop operations that would not survive without the help of ‘student-athletes’ and that to pay them any more than poverty wages would put some of their teams in peril. They’re fighting a class action lawsuit with everything they have and in many cases have successfully lobbied lawmakers to accommodate their needs when it comes to rewriting labor laws. All the while, they’re waving the flag that this beautiful Canadian institution of junior hockey is threatened if its owners are forced to pay players.”

Campbell’s complete piece is right here.

Shawn Martin has signed on as general manager and head coach of the AJHL’s Whitecourt Wolverines. For the past two seasons, Martin, who is from Wainwright, Alta., has been the Wolverines’ assistant GM and assistant coach. . . . He also has worked with three other AJHL teams — the St. Albert Steel, Grande Prairie Storm and Sherwood Park Crusaders. He also spent four seasons as GM and head coach of the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves. . . . Martin had been the Wolverines’ interim GM/head coach since Feb. 8 when Gord Thibodeau left after three years with the organization.

Danton Danielson is the new head coach of the Prince Albert Mintos of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League. Danielson takes over from long-time coach Ken Morrison, who left the position after this season ended. . . . Danielson is coaching the bantam AA Saskatoon Outlaws, who are involved in playoffs at the moment.

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Tigers, Thunderbirds grab playoff spots. . . .Wheaties’ hopes rather dim. . . . Blazers now one point behind Rockets

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As was suggested might happen here earlier in the week, the Everett Silvertips have Everettadded F Lucas Cullen, 19, to their roster. . . . Cullen spent the season with the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors, putting up 50 points, including 26 goals, in 49 regular-season games, then adding seven goals and three assists in seven playoff games. . . . Cullen is from Kelowna. The Calgary Hitmen selected him in the fifth round of the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. He played 48 games with them over three seasons, scoring four times and adding five assists.

D Ty Mueller announced via Twitter that he has made a commitment to the U of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks starting with the 2021-22 season. Mueller, who turned 16 on Feb. 26, is from Cochrane, Alta. He played this season with the midget AAA Airdrie CFR Bisons, putting up 10 goals and 24 assists in 34 games. . . . He also had one goal in two games with the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers. . . . Mueller was selected by the Prince George Cougars in the third round of the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft.

D Tyler Bates of the Calgary-based Edge School midget prep team, has committed to the Colorado College Tigers for the 2021-22 season. . . . Bates, 16, was picked by the Medicine Hat Tigers in the 11th round of the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft. . . . This season, he had two goals and 26 assists in 35 games with Edge School. He also had three assists in four games with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits.

The MJHL’s Winkler Flyers are looking for a head coach after announcing that they won’t Winklerbe renewing Steve Mullin’s contract. Mullin spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the Flyers, then took over as head coach prior to this season when Ken Pearson stepped aside to focus on his general manager’s duties. The Flyers and Pearson parted company on Feb. 19, he since has been named GM and head coach of the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives. . . . This season, the Flyers finished 23-32-5 and missed the playoffs for the first time since the spring of 1981. . . . Jeff Jeanson has taken over the general manager’s duties.

The midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos are looking for a new head coach following the resignation of Ken Morrison. This season, Morrison drew a seven-game suspension following Game 1 of the playoffs. According to Jeff D’Andrea of panow.com, Morrison became involved in an argument with the on-ice officials after the game. “Morrison received two games for the argument itself against the officials,” D’Andrea wrote, “four games for being a repeat offender, and another game for the misconduct coming within the last 10 minutes of the game.” . . . The Mintos’ season ended on Sunday as they lost a best-of-five series in five games to the Saskatoon Blazers. . . . Assistant coach Bryan Swystun ran the Mintos’ bench in Morrison’s absence. . . . Morrison played four seasons (1982-86) in the WHL — the first three plus 15 games with the Prince Albert Raiders and the last 57 games with the Kamloops Blazers. In his final season, he scored 83 goals in 72 games, including 69 in 57 games with Kamloops. That season, he finished with 150 points.

A GoFundMe page has been launched in an attempt to help Lyle Frank and his mother.

Here’s what is on the page:

“Lyle came to the West Kootenays as a 19-year-old junior hockey player. He played his career for the junior B Beaver Valley Nitehawks of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, and loved the area and people so much that he made the Kootenays his home.

“He has coached minor hockey, plays commercial league hockey and got an apprenticeship at Curlew Refrigeration because of his tremendous work ethic. Just last week, Lyle, who will be 24 on April 8, donated a kidney. He initially hoped he would be a match for his Mom, but when he wasn’t he still decided to donate.

“Lyle and his Mom will be off work for the next few months recovering. If you can find it in your heart to help this extraordinary young man, please donate to or give a cash donation at the Smokies games and BV Nitehawks games.”

The GoFundMe page is right here.

Lyle played for the KIJHL-champion Nitehawks in 2013-14 and through 2015-16. He gave a kidney through the Kidney Paired Donation (KPD) program, where he donates one, but only if his mother gets one from someone else in the program.

Here’s wishing the best to both of them. And, yes, Lyle is a hero!

There’s more on the KPD program right here.

WEDNESDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

The Moose Jaw Warriors struck for the game’s first three goals en route to a 6-2 victory MooseJawWarriorsover the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . Moose Jaw (38-20-8) will finish third in the East Division and meet the Saskatoon Blades in a first-round series. . . . Brandon (30-28-8) has lost four in a row. It is four points from a playoff spot with only two games remaining. . . . Moose Jaw won the season series, 5-3-1; Brandon was 4-4-1. . . . Moose Jaw went ahead 3-0 on first-period goals from F Yegor Buyalski (6), at 3:46; F Brayden Tracey (36), at 12:56; and F Tristin Langan (51), on a PP, at 14:30. . . . The Wheat Kings got to within a goal as F Stelio Mattheos (44) scored, at 14:54 of the first period, and F Caiden Daley (9) counted at 1:41 of the third. . . . The Warriors put it away with the game’s last three goals, the final two into an empty net. . . . F Daemon Hunt (6), who is from Brandon, added insurance at 5:53. . . . D Dalton Hamaliuk and F Cameron Sterling (1) got the empty-netters. . . . Moose Jaw got 29 saves from G Adam Evanoff. . . . G Jiri Patera stopped 25 shots for Brandon. . . . Tracey was unsuccessful on a first-period penalty shot with his guys ahead, 2-0.

G Isaac Poulter stopped 33 shots to lead the Swift Current Broncos to a 2-0 victory over the Pats in Regina. . . . Swift Current (11-49-6) had lost its previous 18 games (0-15-3). This was the Broncos’ fifth regulation-time victory this season. . . . Regina (18-45-3) has lost six in a row. . . . The Pats’ loss means the bottom three teams in the final standings will be Regina, the Kootenay Ice and Swift Current. Those are the three teams that will have a shot at the first pick in the 2019 bantam draft, but the Prince George Cougars hold the Broncos’ pick and the Saskatoon Blades own Regina’s selection. When the draft lottery is held, it will feature the six non-playoff teams, but a team is only allowed to move up two spots. . . . Swift Current and Regina split the season series, 3-3-0. . . . Poulter, a 17-year-old freshman from Winnipeg, posted his first career shutout. He is 3-20-1, 4.25, .891. . . . F Joona Kiviniemi (6) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 12:38 of the first period, and F Ethan O’Rourke (11) iced it, on a PP, at 18:27 of the third period. . . . G Max Paddock stopped 31 shots for Regina. . . . Broncos F Tanner Nagel was in the lineup despite having been hit with a charging major and game misconduct during this club’s last game, a 6-0 loss to the visiting Prince Albert Raiders on Sunday. It would seem the WHL didn’t deem the infraction to have been all that serious. . . . D Alex Moar and F Owen Blocker won’t play again this season for the Broncos, who had F Dawson Springer in the lineup for his second WHL game. Springer played this season with the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos, whose season has ended. . . . Regina, which dressed only 16 skaters, was without F Duncan Pierce and F Logan Nijhoff, neither of whom is likely to play again this season. . . . If you keep track of such things, note that Swift Current head coach Dean Brockman wasn’t at this one. He was away on a scouting trip, so assistant coach Brandin Cote, a Swift Current native, recorded his first WHL coaching victory. (A tip of the Taking Note fedora to Shawn Mullin for that last note.)

F Brett Kemp scored three times and added an assist to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a Tigers Logo Official7-4 victory over the visiting Red Deer Rebels. . . . Medicine Hat (34-26-6) has won two in a row and has clinched a wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. . . . Red Deer (33-27-6) has lost two straight. It holds down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, two points behind Medicine Hat and four ahead of Brandon, which has two games remaining. . . . Medicine Hat won the season series, 6-0-0. . . . F Jeff de Wit (17) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 7:48 of the first period, only to have F James Hamblin (33) tie it at 8:04. . . . F Zak Smith (13) put Red Deer back out front 57 seconds into the second period. . . . The Tigers took control with the next three goals, in a span of 3:29, from F Ryan Chyzowski, at 3:19, and two from Kemp, on a PP at 4:20 and at 6:48. . . . F Josh Tarzwell (11) got the Rebels to within a goal at 11:35. . . . Chyzowski (26) restored the two-goal lead, on a PP, at 12:59, and Kemp (31) completed his first career WHL hat trick at 7:26 of the third period. . . . F Brandon Hagel (41), who also had two assists, got Red Deer’s fourth goal, at 9:03. . . . F Logan Christenssen (7) finished Medicine Hat’s scoring at 13:07. . . . Hamblin and Chyzowski added two assists apiece. . . . Medicine Hat F Elijah Brown, who was injured in a Feb. 28 practice, was back in the lineup. . . . Red Deer F Alex Morozov sat out as he completed a two-game suspension. . . . The Rebels, of course, are without D Alex Alexeyev (knee). . . . Medicine Hat scratched F Bryan Lockner (ill).

F Brodi Stuart scored once and added four assists as the host Kamloops Blazers coasted Kamloops1to an 8-0 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Kamloops (27-32-7) has won four in a row. The Blazers are fourth in the B.C. Division, one point behind the Kelowna Rockets, who got a loser point last night. Kamloops will play home-and-home with the fifth-place Prince George Cougars on Friday and Saturday, while the Rockets finish with a home-and-home set with the first-place Vancouver Giants. . . . The third-place finisher will open a first-round series in Victoria on March 22. . . . Victoria (33-29-4) has lost four straight. . . . Victoria won the season series, 5-3-1; Kamloops was 4-5-0. The Blazers won the last three games in the series. . . . Stuart went into the game with 19 goals and 14 assists in 65 games, then enjoyed his first career five-point outing. He now has 20 goals and 18 assists. . . . The Blazers took a 1-0 lead into the second period on Stuart’s goal at 12:51 of the first period. Kamloops then put it away with five second-period goals. . . . F Josh Pillar finished with his seventh goals and three assists, while F Zane Franklin had two goals, giving him 28. . . . F Jermaine Loewen (26), who also had two assists, F Connor Zary (28), F Kyrell Sopotyk (12) and F Ryley Appelt (4) also scored. . . . G Dylan Garand, 16, made his fourth straight start for the Blazers, who have won all four of those games. Garand, a freshman from Victoria, is starting because Dylan Ferguson was injured in a 6-0 loss the visiting Vancouver Giants on March 6. . . . On the season, Garand, who stopped 22 shots, is 10-7-2, 2.89, .904 with one shutout. . . . Victoria dressed 15 skaters, three under the maximum, and that included D Kaden Reinders and D Noah Lamb, both of whom are APs. The Royals scratched nine skaters — D Ralph Jarratt, D Jameson Murray, D Scott Walford, D Matt Smith, F Tyus Gent, F Sean Gulka, F Kody McDonald, D Jake Kustra and F Kaid Oliver.

F Owen Williams scored off a 2-on-1 at 1:32 of OT to give the Seattle Thunderbirds a 6-5 Seattlevictory over the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Seattle (29-29-8) has clinched the Western Conference’s second wild-card berth, meaning all five U.S. Division teams will be in the playoffs for a second straight season. The Thunderbirds will play the conference’s top seed, either the Vancouver Giants or Everett Silvertips, in the first round. Seattle will open that series on the road on March 22. . . . Tri-City (34-26-6) has lost two in a row (0-1-1). It will finish in the conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Seattle went 4-2-2 in the season series; Tri-City was 4-3-1. . . . The Thunderbirds held a 4-2 lead eight minutes into the third period, then watched as the Americans scored three times to take the lead. . . . Seattle forced OT at 16:04 when F Nolan Volcan completed a hat trick with his 26th goal. . . . F Nolan Yaremko had given the Americans a 1-0 lead 31 seconds into the second period. . . . Yes, the first period was scoreless. . . . Seattle took a 2-1 lead on goals from Volcan, at 3:53, and F Matthew Wedman, on a PP, at 13:09. . . . Tri-City tied it at 15:02 when F Krystof Hrabik got No. 20. . . . Seattle took the 4-2 lead as Wedman (39) scored, on a PP, at 0:28 of the third period, and Volcan counted at 4:59. . . . Tri-City went ahead 5-4 on goals from F Parker AuCoin (41), on a PP, at 8:18; F Sasha Mutala (20), at 9:15; and Yaremko (27), on a PP, at 15:23. . . . The Thunderbirds got four assists from F Henri Rybinski. He’s got seven goals and 24 assists in 31 games since being acquired from the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Wedman added one assist to his two goals. . . . The Americans got two assists from each of Hrabik and AuCoin, with Yaremko getting one.

F Jaret Anderson-Dolan, who has scored in nine straight games, snapped 34 seconds into SpokaneChiefsOT to give the Spokane Chiefs a 6-5 victory over the Rockets in Kelowna. . . . Spokane (38-21-7) is third in the U.S. Division, three points behind the Portland Winterhawks, each with two games remaining. . . . Spokane will finish home-and-home with the Tri-City Americans, while Portland goes home-and-home with the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Kelowna (26-32-8) has lost three in a row (0-1-2) and now is only one point ahead of the fourth-place Kamloops Blazers in the B.C. Division, each with two games remaining. . . . The Chiefs went 3-0-1 in the season series; the Rockets finished 1-2-1. . . . Spokane led this one 5-2 with fewer than 10 minutes left in the third period. . . . F Nolan Foote (36) got Kelowna to within two goals at 10:49. . . . The Rockets tied it on goals from D Kaedan Korczak (4), at 17:31, and F Kyle Topping (23), on a PP, at 19:20. . . . The Chiefs got the game’s first goal at 0:12 of the first period when F Jack Finley, who is from Kelowna, scored his ninth goal. . . . Foote tied it at 3:54. . . . Anderson-Dolan, who has 20 goals, gave Spokane a 2-1 lead at 8:39, and F Luke Toporowski (20) added to the lead at 17:26. . . . F Ethan McIndoe (15) made it 4-1 at 3:11 of the second period. . . . F Michael Farren (3) scored for Kelowna at 1:58 of the third, only to have D Nolan Reid (16) reply for the Chiefs at 10:03. . . . Anderson-Dolan now shares the club record for longest goal-scoring streak with F Adam Helewka (2014-15), F Marian Cesar (1997-98), F Brent Gilchrist (1986-87) and F Terry Perkins (1985-86). . . . Korczak added three assists to his goal, while Foote had an assist so finished with three points. . . . F Luc Smith and D Filip Kral were among Spokane’s scratches. . . . The Rockets are without D Lassi Thomson, who is in concussion protocol. He hasn’t played since taking a hit from Kamloops F Jermaine Loewen in the Blazers’ 2-1 shootout victory on home ice on Friday night. . . . Kelowna also was without F Mark Liwiski, as he completed a three-game suspension.

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