Tag: Prince George Cougars

Hitmen, Cougars even series with OT goals . . . Adaszynski, Wiebe are the heroes . . . Pats, Blades resume today

Before we take a look at what transpired on the second night of the WHL playoffs, here are a few tidbits left over from Friday night, all of them from the WHLTwitter account of Geoffrey Brandow. . . . If you’re not following him, you should because he has information like this after every single OHL, QMJHL and WHL game. . . . He’s at @GeoffreyBrandow. . . .

The Medicine Hat Tigers outshot the host Winnipeg Ice, 36-35, in losing Game 1, 5-3. That left the Ice at 17-1-0 this season when it is outshot. . . . Ice D Ben Zloty had four assists, the first defenceman in franchise history to do that. . . .

Seattle F Dylan Guenther had two goals and an assist in the Thunderbirds’ 3-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. That was his fourth career three-point playoff game. He won a WHL title with the Edmonton Oil Kings last season. . . .

F Marcus Nguyen had two goals in the Portland Winterhawks’ 4-3 victory over the Everett Silvertips. He scored once in 11 playoff games last season. . . .

Kamloops, which dumped the Vancouver Giants, 8-0, opened last season’s playoffs with a 9-0 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. F Logan Stankoven had three goals and two assists in each game. The latest was his fifth playoff hat trick. . . .

F Connor Bedard had two goals and an assist as the Regina Pats dumped the Sasdatoon Blades, 6-1. That was his 26th game this season with at least three points. . . .

Moose Jaw’s 2-1 double OT victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes was the Warriors’ longest game since April 14, 2018, when they beat the Swift Current Broncos, 3-2, in the third OT of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final. F Jayden Halbgewachs won that one on a PP at 1:14. The Broncos won that series in seven games, with Moose Jaw winning two of the three OT games.

FourWheel

Meanwhile, in Prince George, you can bet that the Cougars and their fans arose Saturday morning and were still fuming about a disallowed goal late in their 6-4 loss to the Tri-City Americans on Friday night. Had the goal stood, the game would have been 5-5 with 58 seconds remaining in the third period.

However, it appeared that Tri-City G Tomas Suchanek had inadvertently kicked the left goal post off its mooring, so the net wasn’t in proper position when the puck crossed the goal line.

Will Peters of myprincegeorge.com cited Rule 25 – Awarded goals:

“25.2 Infractions — When Goalkeeper is On the Ice – A goal will be awarded when an attacking player, in the act of shooting the puck into the goal (between the normal position of the posts and completely across the goal line), is prevented from scoring as a result of a defending player or goalkeeper displacing the goal post, either deliberately or accidentally.”

More from Peters:

“My PG Now reached out to the WHL for an official ruling on why the goal was overturned, and received nothing in response.

“To put it lightly, fans in the building were upset, and when the Americans hit the empty net a few moments later frustrations boiled over and at least 100 water bottles, cans, rally towels, and other items were thrown on the ice in protest.

“During this, Tri-City’s Jalen Luypen skated by the corner of his defensive end around section F, taunting fans from the ice.”

Playoff hockey . . . is there anything else like it?

Baby

On to the second night of WHL playoffs. . . . There were seven games played with only the Regina Pats and Saskatoon Blades not in action. They’ll play today (Sunday). As of Saturday afternoon, 4,687 of 14,786 tickets still were available. Game 3 is scheduled for Regina on Tuesday. As of Saturday afternoon, only 406 of 6,499 were available. . . . Why couldn’t the Pats and Blades play Saturday in Saskatoon? Because the NLL’s Saskatchewan Rush had SaskTel Centre booked for a game. . . . Remember that all WHL playoff series are best-of-seven affairs.

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SATURDAY NIGHT IN THE WHL PLAYOFFS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Medicine Hat (8) at Winnipeg (1) — F Connor McClennon scored two PP goals WinnipegIceto help the Winnipeg Ice to a 5-2 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Ice had won Game 1, 5-3. . . . The series will resume in Medicine Hat with games on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . McClennon’s first goal gave the Ice a 3-1 lead at 15:50 of the second period. He gave them a 4-2 lead at 13:49 of the third. . . . F Matt Savoie, who had three goals and an assist in the opener, had a goal and two assists for the Ice. . . . Tigers D Rhett Parsons left with a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct after a hit on F Josh Medernach at 12:09 of the second period. . . . The Ice remains without F Zach Benson, its leading scorer in the regular season. . . .

Calgary (7) at Red Deer (2) — F David Adaszynski scored in OT to give the CalgaryCalgary Hitmen a 2-1 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Rebels had opened with a 3-0 victory on Friday. . . . They’ll play the next two games in Calgary on Monday and Wednesday, then return to Red Deer for Game 5 on Friday. . . . D Christoffer Sedoff (1) gave Red Deer a 1-0 lead at 11:20 of the third period. . . . F Sean Tschigerl, who drew an assist on the winner, scored Calgary’s first goal of the series with 1:37 left in the third period to tie the game, 1-1. . . . Adaszynski, a 17-year-old sophomore from Coquitlam, B.C., won it at 16:42 of OT. He finished the regular season with 12 goals in 64 games. . . . F Carter MacAdams assisted on both Calgary goals. . . . The Hitmen got 38 saves from G Brayden Peters. . . . Red Deer G Kyle Kelsey turned aside 36 shots. In his last five starts, he has put up three shutouts and allowed three goals. . . . F Ben King, who led the WHL with 52 goals last season, remains out for Red Deer. . . . The Hitmen may have lost F Riley Fiddler-Schultz as he didn’t finish the third period. . . . Calgary F Maxim Muranov sat out as he served a one-game suspension after taking a slew-foot double minor in Game 1. . . . Red Deer F Craig Armstrong was hit with a two-game suspension for the same infraction. It was his second slew-footing penalty, so he got the extra game. . . . Calgary D Keagan Slaney missed this one, too, as he completed a three-game suspension for a charging major and game misconduct he incurred on March 25 at Edmonton. . . .

Lethbridge (5) at Moose Jaw (4) — The Moose Jaw Warriors scored the game’s WarriorsNewfirst three goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Warriors had won the opener, 2-1 in double OT, on Friday. . . . The teams now head to Lethbridge for games on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . F Atley Calvert (1) got Moose Jaw started on a PP at 13:06 of the first period. . . . F Ryder Korczak (1) upped it to 2-0 at 8:28 of the second period. . . . F Martin Tysavy (1) got it to 3-0 at 11:18 of the third period. . . . That was more than enough for G Connor Ungar, who earned the victory with 21 saves.

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WESTERN CONFERENCE

Kelowna (8) at Seattle (1) — F Jared Davidson scored once and added two Seattleassists as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Kelowna Rockets, 4-1. . . . Seattle won the opener, 3-2, on Friday. . . . The series picks up in Kelowna with games on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . Seattle Dylan Guenther (3) opened the scoring, on a PP, at 12:02 of the first period. . . . F Dylan Wightman (1) scored for Kelowna at 7:38 of the second. . . . F Lucas Ciona (1) broke the tie at 9:35 of the third and D Nolan Allan (1) added insurance at 15:35. . . . Davidson (1) put it away with the empty-netter. . . . Seattle held a 48-26 edge in shots on goal. . . . Things got interesting late in the game. As TBird Tidbits tweeted: “Maybe a little message sending here with Seattle’s top power-play unit out on a 5-on-3 with a 4-1 lead.” . . .

Vancouver (7) at Kamloops (2) — F Ryan Hofer and D Olen Zellweger, both of Kamloopswhom were acquired from the Everett Silvertips at the trade deadline, scored 19 seconds part in the first period and the Kamloops Blazers went on to beat the Vancouver Giants, 6-1. . . . The Blazers had won, 8-0, on Friday. . . . Games 3 and 4 will be played in Langley, B.C., on Tuesday and Thursday. . . . F Logan Stankoven and Zellweger combined for nine points in Game 1; they had six in Game 2. Stankoven had three goals and two assists in the opener, then added three helpers last night. Zellweger, who had four assists in Game 1, had a goal and two assists in Game 2. . . . F Samuel Honzek scored the Giants’ first goal of the series at 12:55 of the third period by which time Kamloops held a 5-0 lead. . . . The Blazers held a 55-26 edge in shots, meaning they have outshot the Giants 108-41 through two games. . . .

Everett (6) at Portland (3) — F Marcus Nguyen, who scored twice in Friday’s Portlandgame, had two first-period goals in Game 2 to send the Portland Winterhawks on their way to a 4-0 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Portland had won the opener, 4-3. . . . They’ll play Game 3 in Everett on Monday and Game 4 there on Friday. . . . Three days off between games? It seems Paw Patrol Live has the arena in Everett booked. . . . F Jack O’Brien (2) had Portland’s other two goals, the second one into an empty net. . . . The Winterhawks got 23 saves from G Jan Špunar, who earned his first WHL shutout. He is an 18-year-old freshman from Olomouc, Czechia. He was 17-7-3, 2.61, .908 in 31 regular-season appearances. . . .

Tri-City (5) at Prince George (4) — F Jaxsen Wiebe’s OT goal gave the Prince PrinceGeorgeGeorge Cougars a 2-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Americans had won Friday’s opener, 6-4. . . . The series will resume in Kennewick, Wash., with games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Remember that this series is being played under a 2-3-2 format in order to ease the travel. . . . The Cougars, who had a goal disallowed late in Game 1, thought they had opened the scoring early in Game 2, only to have that one disallowed on review, too. . . . F Adam Mechura (1) gave the Americans a 1-0 lead at 7:22 of the second period. . . . F Cole Dubinsky (1) tied it at 12:02. . . . Wiebe’s first goal of the series won it at 4:52 of extra time. . . . The Cougars outshot the Americans, 38-18.

My wife, Dorothy, will be taking part in the 2023 Kamloops Kidney Walk on June 4 and, for a 10th straight year, is fund-raising. In September, she will celebrate 10 years as a transplant recipient. . . . If you would like to make a donation and be part of Team Dorothy, you may do so right here.

——

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.

unnamed

Princeton mourns loss of assistant coach; Johnston was ‘well-loved local personality’ . . . It’s official! Scoring change gives Heidt 72nd assist

Morton (Mort) Johnston, an assistant coach with the junior B Princeton Posse of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, was killed in a car accident on Sunday afternoon. He was 25.

Johnston, who was from Princeton, played four seasons with the Posse (2014-18).

Posse
The Princeton Posse had a No. 18 sweater hanging at their bench during a Sunday playoff game in Revelstoke. (Photo: Revelstoke Review)

Johnston was driving to Revelstoke for a Sunday playoff game when his car, a Princeton2009 Toyota Corolla, left the highway and went down an embankment. Johnston, the lone occupant of the vehicle, was declared dead at the scene. Princeton RCMP are conducting an investigation into the crash.

Andrea DeMeer and Josh Piercey of the Similkameen Spotlight reported that RCMP Sgt. Rob Hughes told them police were informed of an accident at about 2 p.m.

“A car left the road and travelled down an embankment,” they wrote, “struck several trees, and flipped over. The driver was ejected from the car and while the airbag was deployed the seatbelt was found fully retracted, according to Hughes.”

From a KIJHL news release: “The Posse received the news around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday prior to their conference championship-clinching Game 6 win in Revelstoke and made the decision to play in Morton’s honour with the support and encouragement of his family.” . . . The Posse beat the Grizzlies, 2-1, to win the series, 4-2, and advance to the KIJHL final against the Kimberley Dynamiters.

The Posse played the game with a No. 18 sweater — Johnston wore No. 18 when he played with the Posse — hanging behind the bench. DeMeer and Piercey reported that Posse captain Jake McCulley carried a No. 18 sweater when he went to centre ice after the game to claim the conference’s championship banner.

According to the Spotlight story, “Johnston (was) a well-loved local personality on and off the ice.”

Besides being on the Posse coaching staff, Johnston was playing for the Penticton Silver Bullets, a senior team, this season. They were preparing to play in the Coy Cup tournament — for the B.C. senior AA title — but pulled out on Monday. The Coy Cup is to be played in Quesnel this weekend.

“He was a glue guy, he held everyone together,” Matt Fraser, the Silver Bullets’ manager, told the Penticton Herald. “He loved the locker room, loved being a Silver Bullet and always showed up with a smile on his face. He played hard-nosed hockey, worked hard and never backed down from anyone. He kept this locker room together.”

DeMeer had occasion to speak with Johnston almost five years ago following the April 6, 2018, crash involving the SJHL-Humboldt Broncos’ bus that claimed 16 lives.

Johnston was a player with the Posse on Feb. 4, 2018, when its bus left the road and went down an embankment as the team was returning to Princeton after a game in 100 Mile House.

After the Broncos tragedy and with Posse team members having escaped their accident with fairly minor injuries, Johnston said: “It just makes you realize how lucky you are.”

At the time, people in Princeton agreed many would wear sports-themed sweaters in memory of the Humboldt victims on April 12, 2018, something with which Johnston was in full agreement.

“I hope everyone can show their support,” Johnston said, adding that his family would be wearing sweaters. “It’s a really hard situation. I hope everyone sends their prayers and thoughts their way.”

Jared Picklyk, a goaltender who made WHL stops with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Tri-City Americans and now plays for the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos, was taken into custody by RCMP early Saturday after the truck he was driving left a road and struck a home in Humboldt. . . . Picklyk, who turned 20 on March 18, was arrested and charged with refusal to comply with a breath screening. He has a May 8 court date. . . . On Friday night, Picklyk and the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos had eliminated the Nipawin Hawks from the playoffs. Picklyk made 25 saves in a 6-2 victory over the visiting Hawks as the Broncos won the series, 4-1. . . . On Monday afternoon, the SJHL announced that Picklyk had been suspended indefinitely. . . . Picklyk played in 38 games with Lethbridge (2020-23) and two with Tri-City (2022-23). . . . With the Broncos this season, the Kelowna native went 11-1, 3.20, .908 in the regular season.

It’s official. . . . The WHL added an assist to F Riley Heidt of the Prince George Cougars on Monday. That was his 72nd assist of the season, moving him into a tie for the WHL lead with F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats. . . . The scoring change comes from a Friday night game in Kamloops in which the Cougars beat the Blazers, 7-2. Prince George’s fourth goal was scored by F Koehn Ziemmer and originally was unassisted. The change on Monday provided Heidt with the lone assist. And if you watch a video of the goal you will agree that the assist definitely was earned.

In the end, Bedard still won the WHL Triple Crown, as he led in goals (71), assists (72) and points (143); it’s just that he now must share part of it with Heidt, who finished with 97 points in 68 games.

(NOTE: Hey, WHL, you’ve got a story on your website headlined ‘Bedard claims Bob Clarke Trophy as WHL Scoring Champion for 2022-23.’ The story was posted there on Sunday. It contains this: “Bedard’s 72 assists were also first in the WHL, one ahead of the runner up. Fellow 2023 NHL Draft prospect Riley Heidt of the Prince George Cougars finished the season with 71 helpers.” . . . That now is factually incorrect; perhaps you can get in there and fix it for posterity’s sake.)

The Calgary Hitmen will be without D Keagan Slaney when they open the playoffs after he drew a three-game suspension for a charging major and game misconduct he incurred in Saturday’s 3-2 victory over the Oil Kings in Edmonton. Slaney sat out Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Oil Kings in Calgary. He will miss the first two games of Calgary’s series with the Red Deer Rebels. Those games are to be played in Red Deer on Friday and Saturday.

Headline at The Beaverton (@TheBeaverton) — NHL fan singing national anthem, honouring soldier with standing ovation thinks Pride Nights are too political.

Spring

My wife, Dorothy, will be taking part in the 2023 Kamloops Kidney Walk on June 4 and, for a 10th straight year, is fund-raising. In September, she will celebrate 10 years as a transplant recipient. . . . If you would like to make a donation and be part of Team Dorothy, you may do so right here.

——

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.

Fishing

Bedard to share WHL assists lead; scoring change to give Heidt 72nd helper . . . Oil Kings triumphant in season finale . . . Whitney Forum will be hopping on Tuesday

While F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats has won the WHL Triple Crown — he led the league in goals, assists and points — it seems that he is going to have to share the lead in one of those categories.

Some time today (Monday), the WHL website is expected to indicate a scoring change from a Friday night game.

That change will award an assist to Prince George F Riley Heidt on the Cougars’ fourth goal in a 7-2 victory over the Blazers in Kamloops. That goal was scored by F Koehn Ziemmer, giving the Cougars a 4-1 lead at 5:06 of the second period.

That assist means Ziemmer, a native of Saskatoon who turned 18 on Saturday, will finish with 97 points, 72 of them assists, in 68 games. He was the second overall selection in the WHL’s 2020 draft.

Bedard, who played in 57 games this season, had the outright lead in goals (71) and points (143). As the points leader, he will be awarded the Bob Clarke Trophy.

The WHL’s draft lottery is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, with teams in the lottery able to move up a maximum of two spots.

That’s it. Another WHL regular season is in the books. The Edmonton Oil Kings beat the host Calgary Hitmen, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the 2022-23 regular season. . . . The announced attendance of 7,905 lifted the WHL’s average per game to 3,877, an increase of 672 over last season. . . . Could it be that the WHL is on the way back at the gate after taking a two-season beating from the pandemic? . . . You will recall that the 2019-20 season was brought to a premature end by the pandemic. When it ended in March, each of the 22 teams had played between 30 and 34 games, and the average attendance was 4,154. The 2020-21 season was wiped out, although teams did play some games in what was a developmental situation. . . . In the 20 seasons from the turn of the century through 2019-20, the lowest average attendance was 4,115 in 2000-01. The other seasons all averaged between 4,251 (2001-02) and 4,817 (2012-13). . . .  So while this season’s average still was under 4,000, it just might be showing us that pre-pandemic crowds are on the way back. We certainly will hope that’s the case.

Pete

SUNDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

It took until the final game of the WHL’s 2022-23 regular season, but the defending-champion Edmonton Oil Kings finally got to double digits in victories as they beat the Hitmen, 2-1, in Calgary. . . . That lifted Edmonton’s record to 10-54-4 as it snapped a seven-game losing skid (0-6-1). Still, the Oil Kings, who went 50-14-4 last season, now hold the dubious distinction of having the poorest record in WHL history in the season after winning a championship. The 2018-19 Swift Current Broncos had held the record, having finished 11-51-6. . . . The Hitmen (31-29-8) had won their previous four games. . . . F Loick Daigle (9) broke a 1-1 tie at 19:33 of the third period to give the Oil Kings the victory. Daigle, who turned 21 on Jan. 31, was playing in his final junior game. . . . F Marshall Finnie (8) had given Edmonton a 1-0 lead at 12:45 of the first period. . . . F Sean Tschigerl (27) tied it, shorthanded, at 9:11 of the second period. . . . The Oil Kings got 32 saves from G Logan Cunningham. . . . Calgary lost F Ethan Moore to a boarding major and game misconduct at 6:08 of the second period.

——

OK . . . what’s next in the WHL?

All eight first-round best-of-seven playoff series are scheduled to open on Friday, which means that the rumours of TSN showing Game 1 between the Saskatoon Blades and Regina Pats on Thursday were just that — rumours.

THE PLAYOFF MATCHUPS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Medicine Hat (8) — Opens with games in Winnipeg on Friday and Saturday. . . . The Ice won the season series, 3-1-0, outscoring the Tigers, 20-12. . . . The Tigers beat the Ice, 6-4, in Medicine Hat on March 1.

Red Deer (2) vs. Calgary (7) — They’ll start with games in Red Deer on Friday and Saturday. . . . Red Deer was 6-1-1 in the season series; Calgary was 2-4-2. . . . In their most-recent meetings, the Hitmen won, 4-3, in Red Deer on March 10, with the Rebels winning, 9-0, in Calgary on March 11.

Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6) — Games 1 and 2 are set for Saskatoon on Friday and Sunday. The ice isn’t available on Saturday because of an NLL game. . . . The season series went to the Blades, 4-2-0. . . . Saskatoon is 15-4-2 versus Regina over the past five seasons. . . . This season, the Blades held a 25-18 edge in goals. . . . Regina F Connor Bedard had five goals and four assists in five games against the Blades, but he was blanked in two of those games. . . . The Pats’ last two visits to Saskatoon drew sellout crowds of 14,768.

Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5) — They are scheduled to open in Moose Jaw with games on Friday and Saturday. . . . The Warriors won the season series, 3-1-0, and held an 18-14 edge on the scoreboard. . . . The Warriors lost four players to suspension on Feb. 11; they went 9-8-0 since then, including 6-2-0 in their last eight games. Assuming those players — G Conner Ungar, D Max Wanner, D Marek Howell and F Lynden Lakovic — carried out the terms of their suspension, they will be eligible to play on Friday.

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WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8) — Games 1 and 2 are to be played in Kent, Wash., on Friday and Saturday. . . . The Thunderbirds swept the season series, 4-0, outscoring the Rockets, 15-7, but they haven’t played each other since Dec. 30 and 31. . . . After losing 1-0 in Everett on Feb. 4, the Thunderbirds closed by going 19-2-1. The two regulation losses — 6-5 in Kamloops and 3-1 to visiting Portland — occurred in their past three games.

Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7) — They’ll open in Kamloops on Friday and Saturday. . . . Kamloops dominated the season series, going 6-1-1; the Giants were 2-6-0. . . . The Blades outscored the Giants, 33-19. . . . In their last meeting, on March 11 in Kamloops, the Blazers won, 6-0.

Portland (3) vs. Everett (6) — It opens with games in Portland on Friday and Saturday. . . . The season series went to Portland, 6-1-1; Everett was 2-6-0. . . . The Winterhawks held a 34-25 edge in goals. . . . Everett won, 10-3, at home on March 3, but then lost, 3-1, in Portland on March 5.

Prince George (4) vs. Tri-City (5) — This series is the only one that will be played under a 2-3-2 format. The first two games are to be played in Prince George on Friday and Saturday before the scene shifts to Kennewick, Wash. . . . The Americans won the season series, 3-1-0; the Cougars were 1-2-1. . . . Tri-City led 17-14 on the scoreboard, but these teams last met on Dec. 9 and 10. . . . These were two of the hottest teams in the league as the regular season wound down. The Cougars closed on an 8-0-3 run; the Americans went 6-0-1.

(NOTE:There are excellent playoff previews available on the WHL’s website.)

UFO

Gardiner MacDougall, who coached teams to the 2022 Memorial Cup and 2023 Canadian university men’s hockey titles, has a lot of fans out there. One of them has reminded me that I shortchanged him here when I dropped a few sentences after his U of New Brunswick Reds won another championship. “I’d like to add to Mr. Gardiner MacDougall’s list of championships in the past several months,” the email read. “He guided the Canadian university all-star squad to a gold medal performance in the World University Games in January in Lake Placid, N.Y.” . . . Yes, he certainly did. It’s worth pointing out that it was his second Universiade championship; he also was head coach of the Canadian team that won in 2013 in Trentino, Italy. . . . At some point in the not too distant future, MacDougall should be an inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

THINKING OUT LOUD — The Penticton Vees concluded a 50-3-1 regular season on Sunday, setting a BCHL record for best points percentage (.935) in the process. So now they go into the playoffs with opponents knowing that if they are to advance they will have to beat the Vees four times in seven games, which would be as many losses as they suffered in the 54-game regular season. . . . BTW, in their last 109 games, including last spring’s 16-1 playoff run, the Vees are 109-12-3. . . . I’m not positive about the previous record, but the 2011-12 Vees went 54-4-2 and that’s a .917 points percentage. . . . If you need to contact me this week, please do so before Thursday. It’s Opening Day and I will be kind of busy all day and into the night. . . . There’s something wrong with the NHL’s Dept. of Discipline when a deliberate cross-check to the face that inflicts damage draws only a one-game suspension. F Blake Lizotte of the L.A. Kings got just that for taking his stick to the face of Winnipeg Jets D Josh Morrissey, who needed stitches inside his mouth and to his chin. Maybe one day the NHL will get serious about shots to the head, but it won’t be today or tomorrow. . . . Noticed some followers of the Vancouver Canucks celebrating the fact they their favourite team reached the .500 mark with Sunday’s 4-2 victory in Chicago. That lifted Vancouver’s record to  34-34-5. That tells me the Canucks have 34 wins and 39 losses, and that’s not .500 in my book. . . . Unfortunately, the Canucks still aren’t going to make the playoffs. . . . The place to be on Tuesday night? The Whitney Forum in Flin Flon. It’ll be the Bombers and Estevan Bruins in Game 7 of a first round SJHL series. Flin Flon forced the series to the limit with a 4-1 victory in Estevan on Sunday night.

——

My wife, Dorothy, will be taking part in the 2023 Kamloops Kidney Walk on June 4 and, for a 10th straight year, is fund-raising. In September, she will celebrate 10 years as a transplant recipient. . . . If you would like to make a donation and be part of Team Dorothy, you may do so right here.

——

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.

Bear

Oil Kings, Chiefs struggle on ice, not at gate . . . Bedard wins WHL Triple Crown . . . Tigers grab last playoff spot

The Edmonton Oil Kings and Spokane Chiefs had the two poorest records during this WHL regular season.

But that didn’t stop the fans from showing up.

The Oil Kings played their final regular-season home game on Saturday at EdmontonRogers Place before an announced crowd of 14,781, the largest gathering in Edmonton this season.

According to figures compiled by the WHL, that lifted the Oil Kings’ average attendance to 6,223, the highest in the 22-team league.

Yes, indeed, the Oil Kings may have been last in the standings — they won only nine of 68 games — but they were No. 1 at the gate.

The Chiefs, meanwhile, completed their home schedule on Saturday night Spokanebefore a sold-out crowd of 10,541. That increased their average attendance to 5,842 and allowed them to pass the Everett Silvertips (5,840) and move into the No. 2 slot.

The Chiefs finished 10th in the 10-team Western Conference, winning 15 games.

Last season, Everett was No. 1 in average attendance, at 5,341, with Edmonton (5,198) in second spot and Spokane (4,419) in fourth.

With one game left to be played this season — Edmonton is to visit the Calgary Hitmen this afternoon — the WHL’s average attendance is 3,872, up from 3,205 in 2021-22.

How much of that do you think is due to the presence of F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats, especially after he returned from the World Junior Championship?

THE BEDARD REPORT: F Connor Bedard scored his 71st goal of the season on Saturday night, but his Regina Pats dropped a 5-3 decision to the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 6,499. It was Regina’s sixth sellout of the season, all of them since Jan. 21. . . . Bedard won the WHL’s Triple Crown, leading in goals (71), assists (72) and points (143), all in 57 games. However, he finished with just one point, last night’s goal, over three games. . . . He won the points title by 36 over F Chase Wheatcroft of the Prince George Cougars, and finished 21 goals ahead of F Kai Uchacz of the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Prince George F Riley Heidt was one assist behind Bedard, with D Ben Zloty of the Winnipeg Ice three behind.

Microwave

If the WHL playoffs started today (x-locked in):

EASTERN CONFERENCE

x-Winnipeg (1) vs. Medicine Hat (8)

x-Red Deer (2) vs. Calgary (7)

x-Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)

x-Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

x-Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

x-Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

x-Portland (3) vs. Everett (6)

x-Prince George (4) vs. Tri-City (5)

(NOTE:There are excellent playoff previews available on the WHL’s website.)

——

SATURDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

The Medicine Hat Tigers grabbed the WHL’s last available playoff spot with a 4-3 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Broncos grabbed a 2-0 lead before the game was nine minutes old — on goals from F Connor Hvidston (21) and F Josh Davies (20), the latter on a PP — but the Tigers stormed back with the next four goals. . . . F Tyler McKenzie (18) got them on the scoreboard 14 seconds into the second period, and F Oasiz Wiesblatt (26) tied it, on a PP, at 7:52, . . . F Dallon Melin (16), celebrating his 21st birthday, gave the Tigers their first lead, on a PP, at 15:35. . . . D Cayden Lindstrom (19) upped the lead to 4-2 at 6:00 of the third period. . . . F Josh Filmon pulled the Broncos to within a goal with his 47th at 10:26. . . . F Gavin McKenna drew two primary assists for the Tigers. The 15-year-old — he won’t turn 16 until Dec. 20 — finished with 17 points, 13 of them assists, in 16 games. He was the first overall selection in the WHL’s 2022 draft. . . . Medicine Hat (30-29-9) will face the Winnipeg Ice, who finished atop the overall standings, in the first round. . . . Swift Current (31-33-4) will miss the playoffs for the third time since winning the 2017-18 championship. They didn’t qualify in 2019 or 2022, and there weren’t any playoffs in 2020 or 2021. . . .

F Carter Yakemchuk scored twice to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 3-2 victory over the Oil Kings in Edmonton. . . . With the victory, the Hitmen locked themselves into seventh place in the Eastern Conference. That means a first-round meeting with the No. 2 Red Deer Rebels. . . . Yakemchuk, with 19 goals, gave Calgary a 2-1 edge at 6:39 of the third period, then broke a 2-2 tie, on a PP, at 14:22. . . . The Hitmen lost D Keagan Slaney to a charging major and game misconduct at 9:05 of the third period. . . . Calgary (31-28-8) has won four straight games. It last met Red Deer in the playoffs in 2016, when the Rebels won in five games. . . . Edmonton (9-54-4) has lost seven in a row (0-6-1). The Oil Kings will set a dubious WHL record for the fewest victories by a defending champion. That record (11) had been held by the Swift Current Broncos, who won the 2017-18 WHL championship and then went 11-51-6 in 2018-19. . . . The Oil Kings and Hitmen will conclude the WHL’s regular season this afternoon in Calgary. . . .

F Conor Geekie scored three times and added two assists as the Winnipeg Ice beat the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings, 5-3. . . . Geekie finished with 35 goals, while F Connor McClennon, who scored the Ice’s other two goals, scored 46. . . . D Jonas Wood helped out with three assists for Winnipeg. . . . Winnipeg (57-10-1) finished atop the overall standings. . . . Brandon (26-33-9) went 18-17-7 after general manager Marty Murray replaced Don MacGillivray as head coach. . . . The Wheat Kings, the lone WHL team to make a coaching change during this season, finished 10th in the Eastern Conference. . . .

The Calvert brothers, who are from Moose Jaw, each scored as the Saskatoon Blades posted a 6-3 victory over the Warriors. . . . F Rowan Calvert scored his fourth goal for the Blades and it proved the winner. His brother, Atley, had two goals and an assist for the Warriors, giving him 40 scores on the season. Their father, Jeff, played five seasons as a goaltender in the WHL, two with the Warriors and three with the Tacoma Rockets. . . . You can bet that Rowan and Atlee’s grandfather, the late Bob Calvert, a longtime member of the Warriors’ board, was looking down and grinning from ear to ear. . . . On Feb. 11, the WHL announced that four Warriors — G Connor Ungar, D Max Wanner, D Marek Howell and F Lynden Lakovic — had been suspended pending an investigation into potential violations of WHL’s policies of conduct. Those players later were suspended for the duration of the regular season — they sat out 17 games — and now are eligible to return, assuming they completed personal conduct and respect training as requested by the league. . . . Saskatoon (48-15-5) enjoyed a 100-point season for the fifth time in franchise history, and the Blades have been in the league since the start (1966-67) . . . Moose Jaw (41-24-3) had won its previous two games. . . .

The Red Deer Rebels scored four second-period goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . G Koen Cleaver made his debut with the Hurricanes, managing to keep the game scoreless through a first period in which they were outshot, 19-1. . . . By game’s end, the shot advantage was 39-12. . . . F Kalan Lind (16) and D Hunter Mayo (18) each had a goal and an assist for the Rebels. . . . Red Deer (43-19-6) had lost its previous two games. . . . Lethbridge finished at 36-26-6. . . .

F Sloan Stanick scored three times to lead the Prince Albert Raiders to a 5-3 victory over the Pats in Regina. . . . Stanick (31) scored two second-period goals, the second one while shorthanded, as the Raiders took a 3-0 lead. . . . He completed his second career hat trick at 4:15 of the third period, giving the visitors a 4-1 edge. . . . Stanick, a 19-year-old from Rapid City, Man., ws acquired from the Pats early last season. He finished this season with 64 points in 67 games. . . . F Tanner Howe, who won’t turn 18 until Nov. 28, scored his 36th goal. He finished with 85 points in 67 games, and has 156 points in 139 career games. . . . Prince Albert (28-37-3) had lots its previous three games. . . . Regina (34-30-4) has lost two in a row. . . .

The Portland Winterhawks scored the game’s last three goals to beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 3-1, in Kent, Wash. . . . F Dylan Guenther (13) gave Seattle a 1-0 lead at 4:06 of the first period. . . . Portland got second-period goals from F Luke Schelter (8) and F Josh Zakreski (13) and a third-period empty-netter from D Ryan McCleary (13). . . . Portland (40-20-8) had lost its previous four games (0-3-1). . . . Seattle (54-11-3) finished atop the Western Conference. . . .

F Koehn Ziemmer and F Chase Wheatcroft scored shootout goals to give the host Prince George Cougars a 3-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Cougars D Hudson Thornton scored his 23rd goal, setting a franchise record for goals by a defenceman in one season. Dustin Byfuglien scored 22 times in 2004-05. . . . G Tyler Brennan stopped 43 shots as the Cougars were outshot, 45-17, including 6-0 in OT. . . . G Jesse Sanche, who turned 17 on March 19, made his WHL debut with the Blazers. He now lives in Kelowna, but grew up in Kamloops. Sanche was a second-round pick in the WHL’s 2021 draft. . . . Kamloops (48-13-7) has lost two in a row. . . . Prince George (37-24-7) goes into the playoffs having put up points in 11 straight (8-0-3). . . .

The Kelowna Rockets scored the game’s first four goals and then hung on for a 5-4 victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants. . . . F Gabriel Szturc (24) scored twice for Kelowna, the second one, at 13:11 of the second period, providing that 4-0 lead. . . . A pair of goals 26 seconds apart from F Skyler Bruce (15) and F Ty Halaburda (21) got the Giants to within a goal, at 4-3, at 14:25 of the third period. . . . F Turner McMillen (9) restored Kelowna’s two-goal lead at 18:23, with D Colton Roberts (3) getting the Giants back to within a goal at 19:20. . . . Kelowna (27-37-4) had lost its previous four games (0-3-1). . . . Vancouver (28-32-8) had won two in a row. . . .


D Lukas Dragicevic scored the only goal of a five-round shootout to give the Tri-City Americans a 2-1 victory over the Chiefs in Spokane. . . . F Kooper Gizowski (11) gave the Chiefs a 1-0 lead at 8:28 of the first period. . . . F Parker Bell (25) got the Americans even at 16:39 of the second. . . . Tri-City (34-26-8) has points in six straight (5-0-1). . . . Spokane finished at 15-42-10. Its 40 points is the lowest in franchise history, beneath the 47 earned by the 1998-99 club. . . .

F Raphael Pelletier scored the only goal of a shootout to give the Everett Silvertips a 4-3 victory over the Royals in Victoria. . . . The Royals had erased 2-1 and 3-2 deficits to force extra time on F Matthew Hodson’s 17th goal at 18:52 of the third period. . . . F Jackson Berezowski scored his 48th goal, shorthanded, to set an Everett single-season franchise record. F Josh Winquist had scored 17 goals in 2013-14. . . . Everett (33-32-3) had lost its previous two games. . . . Victoria (17-43-8) finished with points in three straight (2-0-1).

Mike

It’s that time of year again. Yes, the 2023 Kamloops Kidney Walk is almost upon us.

This year, we’re back to walking outdoors, and we’ll be hitting the trail at McDonald Park on June 4.

My wife, Dorothy, who in September will celebrate 10 years as a transplant recipient, is once again taking part. And, yes, she is fund-raising and would love for you to be part of her team.

If you are so inclined, you may make a donation right here. Thank you so much, in advance.

——

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.

Back

Here’s your chance to join Team Dorothy . . . Blades blank Bedard in front of another full house . . . Tigers, Broncos have playoff spot on line tonight

It’s that time of year again. Yes, the 2023 Kamloops Kidney Walk is almost upon us.

This year, we’re back to walking outdoors, and we’ll be hitting the trail at McDonald Park on June 4.

My wife, Dorothy, who in September will celebrate 10 years as a transplant recipient, is once again taking part. And, yes, she is fund-raising and would love for you to be part of her team.

If you are so inclined, you may make a donation right here. Thank you so much, in advance.

THE BEDARD REPORT: F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats was rather quiet on Friday night as his guys dropped a 3-2 decision to the Blades in Saskatoon. . . . Bedard, who had put up 17 points, including nine goals, in his previous four games, was blanked by the Blades for the fifth time in 56 games this season. . . . He still leads the WHL in goals (70), assists (72) and points (142). . . . Bedard has one game remaining in the regular season. He and the Pats will entertain the Prince Albert Raiders tonight.

——

What kind of an impact did F Connor Bedard and his Regina Pats have on the Saskatoon Blades’ final regular-season attendance figures this season? . . . Well, let us take a quick look. . . . The Travellin’ Bedards visited the Pats twice this week — putting 14,768 fans into the SaskTel Centre on Sunday and again on Friday night. Prior to those two dates, the Blades’ average attendance was 3,865. Afterwards, the number was 4,506. . . . The Blades drew 153,214 fans to 34 games. Last season, those numbers were 114,586 and 3,370. . . . This season’s average attendance, then, is up 1,136 over last season. . . . And that’s with the playoffs — yes, the Travellin’ Bedards will be playing the Blades in the first round — to come. . . . BTW, this season’s average attendance in Saskatoon is the highest it’s been since 2012-13, a season in which the Blades were the host team for the Memorial Cup tournament. That season, the Blades drew 217,447 fans to 36 games, an average of 6,040. . . . BTW, had the Blades paid Bedard 25 cents per seat filled for the Sunday and Friday games, he would have put $7,384 in his hockey bag.

Vic

I saw this photo on Facebook this week, along with this note: “I saw this car at the lights today — I think we all need to share share share — hope he finds a donor.”

The car belongs to Vic Morin, who is a friend through the Kamloops Kidney Support Group. His wife, Colleen Bruce, commented on the photo: “Thank you for taking the time and posting your picture. It is my husband that needs the kidney very desperately.”

And that is the absolute truth. So, please, “share share share” and also consider sharing a kidney.

If you are interested in at least checking out what is involved in donating a kidney, there is more info further down on this post.

Holes

Dan Tencer, the Saskatoon Blades’ director of scouting, escaped a serious car accident with only minor injuries on Wednesday night, according to Colin Priestner, the WHL team’s president and general manager.

Tencer, who is resting at home in Edmonton, was on a scouting assignment en route to a tournament when the accident occurred on Highway No. 2 in Alberta.

“Despite being hit at 120 km/h, he was pulled from the vehicle by a Good Samaritan with only minor bruises and cuts . . . a total miracle,” Priestner tweeted.

Both vehicles — Tencer’s truck and a car — were destroyed. The other driver apparently wasn’t injured, either.

“Let’s all send him our best wishes, and I know he’ll be back in the rinks before you know it because he loves it so much. He even asked me (Wednesday) night, in total shock, who was winning the Edmonton Oilers game.”

Priestner also took time to give a “shout out to all the amazing scouts who live on the road for the love of the game, their clubs and these kids trying to make it one day.”

He added: “We probably don’t tell you enough how much we appreciate what you do and the risks you take in these Canadian winters for us.”

If the WHL playoffs started today (x-locked in):

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Medicine Hat (8)

Red Deer (2) vs. Calgary (7)

x-Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)

x-Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

x-Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

x-Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

x-Portland (3) vs. Everett (6)

x-Prince George (4) vs. Tri-City (5)

(NOTE:There are excellent playoff previews available on the WHL’s website.)

——

FRIDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

F Zach Ostapchuk’s shootout goal gave the Winnipeg Ice a 3-2 victory over the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . F Dawson Pasternak (15) gave Brandon a 2-1 lead at 13:49 of the third period, but F Briley Wood (2) got Winnipeg back into a tie just five seconds later. . . . Winnipeg (56-10-1) will win the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for finishing atop the overall standings for a second straight season. That means the Ice will have home-ice advantage for as long as its playoff run goes. . . . Brandon (26-32-9) has lost five in a row (0-4-1) and won’t be in the playoffs. . . . These two teams will finish their regular-season schedules tonight in Winnipeg. . . .

F Trevor Wong broke a 2-2 tie at 11:10 of the third period as the Saskatoon Blades got past the visiting Regina Pats, 3-2. . . . Wong won it with his 25th goal of the season. . . . F Brandon Lisowsky (37) gave Saskatoon a 2-0 lead with goals at 17:53 of the first period and 5:19 of the second. . . . The Pats got third-period goals from F Tanner Howe (35), shorthanded, and F Sam Oremba (10). . . . Saskatoon (47-15-5) will be the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed when the playoffs open and will face No. 6 Regina (34-29-4). . . . The Blades won the season series, 4-2-0. . . . They will open with two games in Saskatoon, on March 31 and April 2. . . .

F Jagger Firkus scored twice to help the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors to a 5-3 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The Raiders came back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game with three PP goals, two of them from F Sloan Stanick (28). . . . F Ryder Korczak (28) broke the tie at 16:27 of the third period and Firkus added insurance with his 40th goal at 17:42, via the PP. . . . Moose Jaw (41-23-3) will finish fourth in the Eastern Conference and face No. 5 Lethbridge in the first round. The Warriors won the season series with the Hurricanes, 3-1-0. . . . Prince Albert (27-37-3) has lost three in a row. . . .

The Lethbridge Hurricanes built a 5-1 lead and hung on for a 6-4 victory over the visiting Red Deer Rebels. . . . D Tristen Doyle (4) gave the Hurricanes that 5-1 lead at 2:23 of the second period. . . . The Rebels got to within a goal, at 5-4, with third-period goals from F Talon Brigley (4), at 7:38, F Craig Armstrong (11), at 13:48, and F Jace Isley (30), at 14:12. . . . Lethbridge D Joe Arntsen (7) iced it with the empty-netter. . . . Earlier, Red Deer F Kai Uchacz scored his 50th goal of the season. . . . The winners got four assists from F Brayden Edwards. . . . Lethbridge (36-25-6) clinched fifth in the Eastern Conference and will meet No. 4 Moose Jaw in the first round. The Hurricanes and Warriors haven’t met in the playoffs since 1997. . . . Red Deer (42-19-6) will be the No. 2 seed but doesn’t yet know it will be playing Medicine Hat or Swift Current. . . . The Rebels and Hurricanes will meet again tonight, this time in Red Deer. . . .

The Swift Current Broncos kept alive their playoff hopes with a 3-1 victory over the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . F Caleb Wyrostok (24) scored twice, the second one coming on a shorthanded penalty shot at 12:16 of the third period for a 3-0 lead. . . . The Broncos ended up with three unassisted goals. . . . F Gavin McKenna (4) scored for the Tigers at 13:40 of the third. . . . Swift Current (31-32-4) has won three in a row. . . . Medicine Hat (29-29-9) had won its previous game. . . . They’ll play again tonight, this time in Medicine Hat. The Broncos go into the game in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, one points behind the Tigers. . . .

D Kevin Korchinski scored twice and added two assists to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 7-3 victory over the Winterhawks in Portland. . . . Korchinksi, who has 11 goals, figured in each of Seattle’s first four goals as it took a 4-1 lead in the second period. This was his third four-pointer of the season. Korchinski has 73 points, 62 of them assists, in 54 games. In his career, he now has 148 points in 145 games. . . . F Reid Schaefer (28) had a goal and two assists for Seattle. . . . F Brad Lambert scored his 17th goal. He’s got 38 points in 26 games with Seattle. . . . Seattle was 3-for-5 on the PP and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. . . . Kyle Gustafson, Portland’s associate coach, ran the bench with GM/head coach Mike Johnston away at a family wedding. . . . Seattle (54-10-3) will finish atop the Western Conference and meet up with Kelowna in the first round. . . . Portland (39-20-8) has lost four in a row (0-3-1). . . . The Thunderbirds and Winterhawks will wrap up their regular seasons tonight in Kent, Wash. . . .

F Carlin Dezainde scored once and added two assists to help the Prince George Cougars to a 7-2 victory over the Blazers in Kamloops. . . . After F Connor Levis (27) opened the scoring for the Blazers at 1:43 of the first period, the Cougars scored six straight goals. . . . F Zac Funk scored his 26th goal of the season for Prince George. He’s got eight goals over his past eight games. . . . Prince George (36-24-7) has points in 10 straight (7-0-3). . . . Kamloops (48-13-6) has lost two in a row. . . . These two will wrap up their regular seasons tonight in Prince George. . . .

F Teague Patton scored twice and added an assist as the Victoria Royals skated out of Everett with a 6-4victory over the Silvertips. . . . The Royals opened a 3-0 lead, and the Silvertips cut it to 3-2. That’s when Patton, who has 16 goals, scored at 13:52 of the second period and 4:38 of the third. . . . F Jackson Berezowski, who also had an assist, scored three times for Everett, giving him 47 this season. That equals the single-season franchise record that was set by F Josh Winquist (2013-14). . . . Everett also got a goal (17) and three assists from F Raphael Pelletier, with F Jesse Heslop adding three assists. . . . Victoria (17-43-7) has won two in a row. . . . Everett (32-32-3) has lost two in a row. . . . These teams will meet again tonight, this time in Victoria. . . . The Royals are likely to be without F Reggie Newman, who left at 5:03 of the third period with a headshot major and game misconduct. . . .

F Reese Belton and F Jalen Luypen each scored three times for their first WHL hat tricks as the Tri-City Americans skated to a 7-4 victory over the Spokane Chiefs in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Tri-City broke a 3-3 tie with four third-period goals — two from Luypen, who has 18 goals, and two from F Reese Belton, who also has 18. . . . Belton also had two assists, with Luypen getting one. . . . F Carter Streek scored twice for the Chiefs. He’s got — you guess it! — 18 goals this season. . . . Tri-City (33-26-8) has points in six straight (5-0-1) as it prepares to meet Prince George in the first round. . . . Spokane (15-43-9) won’t be in the playoffs this time around. . . . The Americans and Chiefs will finish up tonight in Spokane. . . .

F Samuel Honzek scored twice, including the winner, as the Vancouver Giants got past the Kelowna Rockets, 3-2, in Langley, B.C. . . . The Giants overcame a 2-0 deficit with Honzek equalizing at 4:44 of the third period and then winning it with 0.5 showing on the clock. He’s got 23 goals. . . . F Kayden Longley had given the Rockets a 2-1 edge with his first WHL goal at 11:52 of the second period. Longley, a 13th-round selection in the WHL’s 2021 draft, scored in his seventh game. . . . The Rockets lost F Ty Hurley to a charging major and game misconduct at 6:28 of the third period. . . . Vancouver (28-31-8) has won two in a row. . . . Kelowna (26-37-4) has lost four straight (0-3-1). . . . The Giants and Rockets will end their regular seasons tonight in Kelowna.

Dinner

JUNIOR JOTTINGS: The 2024 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game is to be played in Moncton on Jan. 24. This will be only the second time that the game will be played in Atlantic Canada (Halifax, 2013). . . .

Dave Liffiton has signed on as interim head coach of the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers. He will be working alongside associate coach Bob Beatty and assistant coach Tyler Gow. . . . Colin Birkas, the Clippers’ general manager and head coach, was suspended on March 17 while, according to the team, “a third-party investigation into complaints filed under Hockey Canada’s discipline and complaints policy” is undertaken. Beatty and Gow were running things until Liffiton was brought on board. . . . You may recall that Liffiton joined the Clippers as an assistant coach prior to the 2022 playoffs after then-head coach Darren Naylor and Birkas were suspended pending an investigation for alleged violations of the BCHL’s code of conduct. Birkas was reinstated, however, and coached during the playoffs. Naylor never did return, nor were results of the investigation ever released to the public. . . . The MJHL’s OCN Blizzard signed Naylor as GM/head coach in July, but he wasn’t reinstated from his suspension. So the Blizzard ended up hiring Doug Johnson, longtime GM/head coach of the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks, as head coach and assistant GM.

THINKING OUT LOUD: Hey, Regina, Friday was one of the big days of your year. Yes, it was opening day at the Milky Way. Enjoy! . . . So two of the Staal brothers chose not to wear Pride Night sweaters for the Florida Panthers’ pregame warmup on Thursday night. And then photographic evidence was found showing Eric wearing one with the Montreal Canadiens during the 2020-21 season. Whoops! Especially when he earlier had said: “I haven’t before. I never have . . . I haven’t worn a pride jersey before.” Double whoops! . . . Once again, the NHL proves that not everyone is welcome in its world. . . . Hey, Sportsnet, Friday night without NHL hockey on any of your channels. What’s up with that? . . . Hey, TSN, you and the WHL missed the boat by not taking the Regina Pats and Saskatoon Blades playing in front of a full house and putting them on one of your channels on Friday night. Yes, I know they were available on something called TSN+, but I already pay for half-a-dozen of your channels and that’s about four too many on most nights.

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.

Flush

Remembering Rob Brown’s two nine-point games 10 days apart . . . Had 29 points in five-game span . . . Bedard adds five more points to his legend

F Matt Seminoff of the Kamloops Blazers put up eight points — four goals and Kamloopsfour assists — on Wednesday night in an 11-1 victory over the visiting Victoria Royals.

The next day, the WHL tweeted that only two other players “in the Internet era” had had eight-point games — D Ty Smith of the Spokane Chiefs on Feb. 28, 2020, against the Seattle Thunderbirds, and F Peter Schaefer of the Brandon Wheat Kings on Dec. 6, 1996, against the Calgary Hitmen.

Smith scored three times and drew five assists in a 9-2 victory over the Thunderbirds in Spokane.

Schaefer had three goals and five assists as the host Wheat Kings dumped the Hitmen, 10-2.

But what of players who played in the WHL in the 30 years prior to “the Internet era”?

Once again, the WHL should be embarrassed by not being able to acknowledge the accomplishments of those who played back in the day. The time is long past for the WHL to remedy the situation so that the players from the league’s first 30 years can be given their due when necessary.

Players like Rob Brown. A prolific scorer with Kamloops, Brown, according to Blazers’ radio voice Jon Keen, had two nine-point games in 1986-87.

That was the season in which Brown totalled 212 points, including 136 assists, in 63 games.

It didn’t take long for me to learn that Brown enjoyed a pair of nine-point games just 10 days apart.

On Nov. 11, 1986, Brown struck for six goals and three assists in a 10-3 victory over the visiting Chiefs.

On Nov. 21, he had three goals and six assists in a 15-8 victory over the Victoria Cougars in Kamloops.

In between, he had a goal and an assist in a 5-3 victory in Spokane, two goals and four assists in a 10-5 victory in Spokane, and a goal and two assists in an 8-5 victory over visiting Seattle.

In those five games, Brown put up 29 points, including 16 assists.

He had missed the start of the season while in camp with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. But after that second nine-point outing, Brown had 64 points, 25 of them goals, in 14 games.

Without looking too hard, I also found two other nine-point games.

On Jan. 27, 1985, F Cliff Ronning of the New Westminster Bruins scored six times and added three assists in a 16-4 victory over the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors.

On Feb. 11, 1984, F Al Conroy of the Medicine Hat Tigers scored five times and had four assists in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Winnipeg Warriors.

Of course, the WHL record for points in one game is 10, something that has been accomplished on five occasions, most recently by F Brian Sakic of the Tri-City Americans. On Oct. 3, 1990, he had two goals and eight assists in a 19-3 victory in Seattle.

F Gerry Pinder of the Saskatoon Blades was the first to enjoy a 10-point game. He had six goals and four assists in a 17-5 victory over the visiting Calgary Buffaloes on March 12, 1967.

On Dec. 30, 1971, F Tom Lysiak of Medicine Hat had four goals and six assists in a 12-6 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings.

On Jan. 19, 1973, F Dennis Sobchuk of the Regina Pats scored six times and added four assists in an 11-3 victory over the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings.

On Jan. 9, 1983, F Kelly Glowa of the Wheat Kings had five goals and five assists in a 12-6 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders in Brandon.

I have a feeling that Bobby Clarke of the Flin Flon Bombers may have had a nine-point game or two, and there likely are three or four others from back in the ‘live puck’ era. But I’m only guessing.

Evel

BEDARD
CONNOR BEDARD

THE BEDARD REPORT: F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats recorded his eighth hat trick of the season but it went for naught as his club dropped a 9-5 decision to the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors before a sold-out crowd of 6,499. . . . Bedard also had two assists, meaning he figured in all five of the Pats’ goals. . . . Bedard, who has played 53 games this season, leads the WHL in goals (66) and points (134). He and F Riley Heidt of Prince George are tied for the lead in assists (68). . . This was the ninth time Bedard has scored at least five points in one game. He has seven five-pointers and one six-point outing. . . . He is the first WHLer with 66 goals since F Jayden Halbgewachs scored 70 with the Warriors in 2017-18. Halbgewachs was 20 that season; Bedard won’t turn 18 until July 17. . . . From Rob Vanstone (@robvanstone): “With 4:21 left in the second period, it is Moose Jaw Warriors 6, Connor Bedard 2. Bedard’s 65 goals are the most by someone who has played an entire season with the Pats since Tim Iannone scored 65 times in 1985-86.” . . . Bedard has nine points in his past two games; he had two goals and two assists in a 6-3 victory over visiting Brandon on Wednesday. . . . A note from a Regina friend on Thursday afternoon: “You should see the tickets from ‘verified resellers’ for the last two Regina Pats games. I looked today . . . and found one set for $750 per ticket.”

If the WHL playoffs started today:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Calgary (8)

Red Deer (2) vs. Medicine Hat (7)

Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)

Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

Portland (3) vs. Everett (6)

Prince George (4) vs. Tri-City (5)

——

FRIDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

F Sloan Stanick’s second goal of the game and 25th of the season, at 17:37 of the third period, gave Prince Albert a 4-2 lead and the Raiders went on to a 4-3 victory over the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . Prince Albert (27-34-3) is five points from a playoff spot with four games remaining. . . . Brandon (26-31-8) has lost three straight and is two points from a playoff spot. . . .

F Tyson Laventure had a goal and two assists to lead the Hurricanes to a 6-4 victory over the Calgary Hitmen in Lethbridge. . . . Laventure has 21 goals. . . . The Hurricanes erased a 3-2 deficit with three goals within 7:10 in the third period. . . . The Hitmen had beaten the visiting Hurricanes, 7-1, on Wednesday. . . . Lethbridge (34-24-6) is fifth in the Eastern Conference and appears headed for a first-round matchup with Moose Jaw. . . . Calgary (27-28-8) holds down eighth in the conference, two points ahead of Swift Current and Brandon. . . .

G Kyle Kelsey stopped 34 shots, 20 of them in the third period, as the host Red Deer Rebels beat the Swift Current Broncos, 2-0. . . . Kelsey has put up two straight shutouts. . . . Red Deer (42-17-6) has points in six straight (4-0-2) and will be the second seed in the Eastern Conference for the first round of playoffs. . . . Swift Current (28-32-4) has lost six in a row (0-5-1) and is two points out of the playoffs. . . .

F Jagger Firkus scored three times and added an assist to lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 9-5 victory over the Pats in Regina. . . . He’s got 36 goals this season. . . . Moose Jaw (39-22-3) has won four in a row. It is fourth in the Eastern Conference, seven points ahead of Lethbridge, which has four games remaining. . . . Regina (32-28-4) is sixth, three points ahead of Medicine Hat. . . .

D Dru Krebs scored three times, all in the third period, to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 7-2 victory over the Oil Kings in Edmonton. . . . Krebs, who has eight goals, recorded his first WHL hat trick. He scored once while shorthanded, once on the PP and once at even strength. . . . The Tigers (28-26-9) have won two in a row and are seventh in the Eastern Conference, three points behind Regina and three ahead of Calgary. . . . The Oil Kings (9-50-4) have lost three in a row (0-2-1). . . .

G Dylan Ernst stopped 24 shots for his WHL-leading 38th victory of the season as the Kamloops Blazers dumped the visiting Kelowna Rockets, 5-2. . . . Kamloops F Caedan Bankier, who had three goals and three assists in an 11-1 victory over the visiting Victoria Royals on Wednesday, had two assists. . . . The Blazers (46-11-6) have won eight in a row and 19 of 20. With five games remaining, they are seven points behind Western Conference-leading Seattle. . . . Kelowna (26-36-3) has lost two straight. With three games left, it is eighth in the conference, five points behind Vancouver. . . .

D Hudson Thornton, F Riley Heidt and F Chase Wheatcroft each had a goal and two assists to lead the host Prince George Cougars to a 7-1 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . The teams combined for 120 minutes in penalties, with the Cougars taking 68 of those. . . . Prince George (35-24-6) has points in eight straight (6-0-2) and is fourth in the Western Conference. . . . Victoria (15-43-7) has lost 12 in a row (0-11-1). . . .

F Dylan Guenther had a goal (8) and two assists to help the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 5-2 victory over the Portland Winterhawks in Kent, Wash. . . . Guenther has 23 points in 16 games since joining the Thunderbirds from the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes. . . . Seattle (51-9-3) has points in 17 straight (16-0-1). It is two points behind the idle Winnipeg Ice in the race for the WHL’s best record. Each team has five games remaining. . . . Portland (39-18-7) had points in each of its previous five games (3-0-2). The Winterhawks will be Western Conference’s No. 3 seed when the playoffs begin. . . .

G Tomas Suchanek stopped 23 shots to help the Tri-City Americans to a 3-1 victory over the Chiefs in Spokane. . . . Tri-City (30-26-8) has points in three straight (2-0-1). It is fifth in the Western Conference, three points ahead of Everett. . . . Spokane (14-41-9) has lost five in a row (0-3-2). . . .

G Jesper Vikman stopped 32 shots for his first shutout of the season as the Vancouver Giants beat the Everett Silvertips, 3-0, in Langley, B.C. . . . Vancouver (26-29-8) has won two in a row. It is seventh in the Western Conference, five points ahead of Kelowna. . . . Everett (31-30-3) is five points ahead of Vancouver.

Noah

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.

Stupid

Bedard, Howe spark Pats’ victory . . . Hitmen move into playoff spot . . . Seminoff, Bankier bury Royals

BEDARD
CONNOR BEDARD

THE BEDARD REPORT: After a brief respite it would appear that F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats is back on track. He had just two points, both goals, in his previous four games, but came up with two goals and two assists on Wednesday in a 6-3 victory over the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Bedard leads the WHL in goals (63) and points (129), all done in 52 games. . . . Bedard and F Riley Heidt of the Prince George Cougars are tied for the lead in assists (66). . . . According to Quant Hockey (@QuantHockey), only F Sidney Crosby scored more goals in one CHL season as a 17-year-old than Bedard. Crosby had 66 with the 2004-05 Rimouski Oceanic. . . . Bedard’s 63 goals are the most in one season for a Regina skater since 1997-98 when F Ronald Petrovicky scored 64. . . .

Up next for Bedard and the Pats? Three games in fewer than 48 hours — the Moose Jaw Warriors visit on Friday, and the teams play in Moose Jaw on Saturday, then it’s into Saskatoon for a Sunday date with the Blades. . . .

The Blades say they are expecting a crowd of “around 15,000” on Sunday, which would be their first-ever sellout crowd. Les Lazaruk, the Blades’ radio voice, tweeted: “Ticket sales for Sunday’s visit by Connor Bedard . . . have surpassed 14,000! Just a few hundred remain. Sales for the following Friday rematch are at 13,600!”

On Wednesday, the Blades issued a release informing fans exactly what they can expect in terms of doors opening, a park-and-ride service, transit availability, parking and a whole lot more. If you’re interested, it’s all right here.

BarSign

Le Journal de Quebec reported last week that the QMJHL is moving to ban qmjhlnewfighting from its games. Tony Ferrari of The Hockey News added to that story on Wednesday. A QMJHL spokesperson told Ferrari: “The QMJHL is planning to have a rule in place that will ban fighting, making it black and white that it is no longer a part of our game. The punishments have not been decided as of yet. We will be looking to have a rule in place in June when the next general annual assembly of the members of the board of governors takes place.” . . . The aim is to have these changes in place for the start of the 2023-24 season. . . . With all that is known about concussions and CTE, the time has come. You have to think it won’t be long before the OHL and WHL follow suit. . . . Ferrari’s story is right here.

The Vancouver Giants and Kelowna Rockets are involved in a scrap for seventh Vancouverplace in the Western Conference as the WHL’s regular season heads down the stretch. The prizes? The seventh seed gets the No. 2 Kamloops Blazers in the first round; the eighth seed draws the No. 1 Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Giants, though, are likely to be without F Samuel Honzek until at least Tuesday as he recovers from a headshot he absorbed from Kelowna F Carson Golder on Friday. Golder was later suspended for four games. . . . Honzek, who has 21 goals and 31 assists, isn’t expected to play this weekend as the Giants suit up three times in fewer than 48 hours. . . . The Giants are at home to the Portland Winterhawks on Tuesday. . . . Steve Ewen of Postmedia has more on the Giants and their injuries right here.

If the WHL playoffs started today:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Calgary (8)

Red Deer (2) vs. Medicine Hat (7)

Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)

Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

Portland (3) vs. Everett (6)

Prince George (4) vs. Tri-City (5)

——

WEDNESDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

F Matteo Danis scored four times to lead the host Calgary Hitmen to a 7-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Danis, 17, is from Calgary. A freshman, he now has 11 goals in 59 games. . . . His first goal, at 8:55 of the first period, turned into the winner. . . . Danis got his second goal on a PP at 1:00 of the second period, then got the game’s last two goals, at 8:45 and 15:40 of the third period. . . . F Maxim Muranov helped out with three assists. . . . G Koen Cleaver, 15, made his WHL debut with Lethbridge when he entered in the third period in relief of starter Bryan Thomson. Cleaver, from Port Alberni, B.C., gave up two goals on seven shots in 18:25. He was a third-round selection in the WHL’s 2022 draft. . . . Calgary (27-27-8) moved into eighth in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Swift Current and Brandon, both of whom lost last night. . . . Lethbridge (33-24-6) clinched a playoff spot despite the loss when Saskatoon beat host Swift Current. The Hurricanes are fifth in the conference, four points ahead of Regina. . . .

The Regina Pats scored the game’s first four goals, two of them by F Tanner Howe, en route to a 6-3 victory over the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Howe, who has 33 goals as a 17-year-old, made it 3-0 at 11:39 of the first period and 4-0, while shorthanded, at 10:42 of the second. . . . Brandon got to within 5-3 on F Nolan Ritchie’s 26th goal at 13:34 of the third period, but Regina F Connor Bedard got the empty-netter at 18:27. . . .  This season, Howe had 78 points in 62 games; last season, he finished with 69 points, including 42 assists, in 64 games. . . . Regina (32-27-4) had lost its previous four games (0-3-1). It remains sixth in the Eastern Conference, four points behind Lethbridge and five ahead of Medicine Hat. . . . Brandon (26-30-8) has lost two in a row and now is two points out of a playoff spot. . . .

F Trevor Wong had a goal and two assists to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 3-2 victory over the Broncos in Swift Current. . . . Wong got his guys into a 1-1 tie at 12:51 of the first period, then was in on goals from D Aidan De La Gorgendiere (12), at 2:49 of the second, and D Tanner Molendyk (9), at 19:54, for a 3-1 lead. . . . F Josh Filmon’s 44th goal got the Broncos to within one at 1:59 of the third but the home team wasn’t able to equalize. . . . Wong’s second assist was the 100th of his career. This season, he has 81 points, 57 of them assists, in 64 games. In 114 games with Saskatoon, since coming over from Kelowna, he has 123 points, 82 of them assists. . . . G Austin Elliott earned the victory with 29 saves. In his freshman season, he is 23-5-3, 2.15, .913. . . . Saskatoon (45-14-5) will be the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed for the first round of the playoffs. . . . Swift Current (28-31-4) has lost five straight (0-4-1) and is two points from a playoff spot. . . . 

The Kamloops Blazers scored five times in the first period and added five more in the second en route to an 11-1 victory over the visiting Victoria Royals. . . . F Matt Seminoff finished with eight points, including four goals, while F Caedan Bankier had three goals and three assists. . . . That was Seminoff’s first hat trick this season and the second of his career. This season, he has 79 points, including 31 goals, in 56 games. . . . The WHL record for points in one game is 10; it has been done five times. . . . Bankier put up his fourth career hat trick, the second this season. This season, he has 78 points, 35 of them goals, in 51 games. Bankier also is riding the WHL’s longest active point streak at 14 games. . . . At one point in the second period, Kamloops was leading 7-0 with a 34-4 edge in shots. At game’s end, it was 48-20. . . . G Dylan Ernst stopped 19 shots in earning his WHL-leading 37th victory. That is the most in one season by a Kamloops goaltender since Corey Hirsch put up 48 in 63 appearances in 1989-90. Hirsch and Grant Fuhr (Victoria Cougars, 1980-81) share the WHL single-season record. . . . The Blazers continue to be without injured forwards Logan Stankoven and Daylan Kueffler, who have combined for 62 goals and 89 assists. . . . Kamloops (45-11-6) has won seven in a row and 18 of 19. It is second in the Western Conference, seven points behind Seattle. Each team has six games remaining. . . . Victoria (15-42-7) has lost 11 in a row (0-10-1). . . .

F Chase Wheatcroft scored twice, added three assists and surpassed the 100-point mark to lead the host Prince George Cougars to a 6-3 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Wheatcroft, who has 46 goals, broke a 1-1 tie with goals at 16:26 of the first period and 0:38 of the second. . . . The Cougars were never headed after that point. . . . Wheatcroft, 20, went into the season with 82 points, including 31 goals, in 137 games. This season, he has 101 points in 64 games. He is the second WHL player to surpass 100 points this season. . . . F Koehn Ziemmer added a goal (37) and two assists for the Cougars. . . . Prince George (34-24-6) has points in seven straight (5-0-2). It is headed to a fourth-place finish in the Western Conference. . . . Kelowna (26-35-3) had won its previous three games. It is eighth in the conference, three points behind Vancouver, which has two games in hand.

Needle

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.

Package

WHL playoff picture coming into focus . . . Western Conference teams decided . . . Things heat up near bottom of East

If the WHL playoffs started today:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Swift Current/Calgary/Brandon (8)

Red Deer (2) vs. Medicine Hat (7)

Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)

Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

Portland (3) vs. Everett (6)

Prince George (4) vs. Tri-City (5)

——

With 10 game days remaining in the 2022-23 regular season, the WHL playoff picture is starting to sort itself out. We know which eight teams will be in the WHLWestern Conference playoffs, but there still are 11 teams in the hunt in the Eastern Conference.

In the Western Conference, the Seattle Thunderbirds are likely to be the top seed when the playoffs begin; they are nine points ahead of the Kamloops Blazers, who have seven games remaining. And both teams are burning it up — Seattle has points in 16 straight (15-0-1); the Blazers have won six straight and 17 of 18.

At this point, neither Seattle nor Kamloops knows who it will meet in the first round. The Vancouver Giants are seventh, three points ahead of the Kelowna Rockets. The Giants have six games remaining; the Rockets five. And they will finish the regular season by going home and home — in Langley, B.C., on March 24 and in Kelowna on March 25.

The Rockets also have to go to Prince George for a single game with the Cougars, and face the Blazers twice — in Kamloops on March 17 and in Kelowna the next night.

Before facing the Rockets, the Giants have two games left with the Everett Silvertips, one in Kennewick, Wash., with the Tri-City Americans and another in Portland with the Winterhawks.

The eighth-place team draws the first seed in the first round, with No. 7 facing No. 2.

While Portland has settled into third place in the conference and Prince George looks headed to a fourth-place finish, Tri-City and Everett are separated by one point as they scrap for fifth place. The fifth-place team will face the No. 4 seed, which at the moment is Prince George. So is it better to finish six and meet up with Portland in the first round, or get into fifth and ride the bus to Prince George to get things started?

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, the Winnipeg Ice will go in as the No. 1 seed, with the Red Deer Rebels in the No. 2 slot and the Saskatoon Blades the third seed. Saskatoon is likely to finish with more points than Red Deer, but the Rebels, as Central Division champions, will be the second seed. (Keep in mind that the WHL reseeds after the first round.)

The Moose Jaw Warriors and Lethbridge Hurricanes appear headed to a first-round clash as the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds. The Warriors are fourth, seven points ahead of the Hurricanes, who have six games remaining.

The Regina Pats, who have lost four in a row (0-3-1) and also have six games left, are six points behind Lethbridge. The Pats very well could meet up with Saskatoon in the first round.

After that, things are really heated with the seventh-place Medicine Hat Tigers holding a three-point edge on the Swift Current Broncos, Calgary Hitmen and Brandon Wheat Kings, who are tied for that eighth and final playoff spot.

Calgary, which is 3-6-1 in its last 10, has seven games remaining, with Swift Current (3-6-1) having six left, and Brandon (4-5-1) five.

The Prince Albert Raiders, who have six games remaining, have a slim chance of catching eighth, but they are five points out and would have to pass three teams to get there. Three of those remaining games are against Winnipeg, too.

The seventh-place finisher will face Red Deer in the opening round, with the eight-place club opening against the Ice in Winnipeg.

Deer

SUNDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

The Moose Jaw Warriors jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead and went to a 7-3 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos. . . . This game was to have been played on Saturday but was postponed because of nasty weather conditions in southern Saskatchewan. . . . D Denton Mateychuk had two goals and two assists. Mateychuk, who last scored a goal on Nov. 29, has 60 points, including 52 assists, this season. . . . Swift Current F Caleb Wyrostok likely can expect to hear from the WHL office after he took two majors (fighting and headshot) and two game misconducts at 13:12 of the third period. . . . Since losing four teammates to suspensions, the Warriors (38-22-3) are 6-6-0 and have won three in a row. They are settling nicely into fourth place in the Eastern Conference. . . . Swift Current (28-30-4) has lost four in a row (0-3-1) and is tied with Calgary and Brandon for the conference’s last playoff spot. . . .

In Saskatoon, the Prince Albert Raiders scored the game’s last six goals as they dumped the Blades, 7-1. . . . F Evan Herman (16) broke a 1-1 tie at 14:02 of the first period, and the Raiders took control with three second-period goals. . . . F Keaton Sorensen scored twice (25) and added an assist. . . . F Sloan Stanick, playing in his 200th regular-season game, had a goal, his 23rd, and an assist. He has career highs in goals, assists (32) and points (55). . . . Prince Albert (26-33-3) snapped a four-game skid. It is five points from an Eastern Conference playoff spot with six games remaining. . . . Saskatoon (44-14-5) had points in its previous 12 games (11-0-1). The Blades will be the conference’s No. 3 seed when the first-round begins. . . .

The Winnipeg Ice clinched its second straight Eastern Conference title with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Ice took a 4-0 lead into the third period. . . . F Zack Ostapchuk scored once (26) and added two assists. . . . F Owen Pederson got his 30th goal, giving the Ice five skaters with at least 30 scores. . . . G Daniel Hauser stopped 30 shots to earn the victory. This season, he is 34-4-1, 2.32, .915. He finished last season at 34-3-1, 2.00, .914. . . . Winnipeg (52-9-1) has won four straight. . . . Brandon (26-29-8) had won its previous three games. It is tied with Swift Current and Calgary for the last playoff spot in the conference. . . .

F Jackson Berezowski scored the lone goal of the shootout to give the host Everett Silvertips a 4-3 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Berezowski scored that goal to open the second round. . . . F Jesse Heslop scored twice (11) and added an assist in the first period as Everett took a 3-0 lead. . . . The Chiefs got to within one, at 3-2, only to have F Roan Woodward (6) restore Everett’s two-goal lead at 6:32 of the third period. . . . Spokane tied it with two goals in the period’s last minute — F Chase Bertholet (26), at 19:07, and F Tommaso De Luca (15), at 19:25. . . . Bertholet also had three assists. . . . F Raphael Pelletier had three assists for the Silvertips. . . . Everett (31-29-3) ended a five-game losing streak. It is sixth in the Western Conference, one point behind Tri-City. . . . Spokane (14-39-9) has lost three in a row (0-1-1). . . .

F Marcus Pacheco scored the only goal of a five-round shootout to give the Kelowna Rockets a 5-4 victory over the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash. . . . F Max Graham (12) scored two goals, 28 seconds apart, in the second period as Kelowna took a 3-1 lead. . . . Tri-City evened the score on goals from D Alex Serraglio (4), at 18:34 of the second, and F Tyson Greenway (26), at 4:34 of the third. . . . Greenway was playing his 200th regular-season game. . . . F Andrew Cristall (36) put Kelowna back out front at 8:56, but D Ethan Peters (3) tied it, on a PP, at 13:40. . . . The Americans got a goal (16) and two assists from F Deagan McMillan. . . . G Talyn Boyko stopped 37 shots in earning the victory against his former club. . . . The Rockets were without F Carson Golder, who missed his second game with a TBD suspension for a headshot major and game misconduct he took on Friday night. . . . Kelowna (26-34-3) has won three in a row. It is eighth in the Western Conference, three points behind Vancouver. . . . Tri-City (29-26-8) is fifth, one point ahead of Everett. . . .

F Ty Thorpe scored a PP goal in OT to give the Vancouver Giants a 3-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars in Langley, B.C. . . . F Julian Cull (4) gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 2:15 of the second period. . . . F Zac Funk (23) tied it at 5:28. . . . F Connor Dale (6) restored Vancouver’s lead at 7:13. . . . D Hudson Thornton (21) pulled the Cougars even again, on a PP, at 11:53. . . . Thorpe won it with his 34th goal at 1:10 of OT. . . . Thornton also had an assist as he set the Prince George franchise record for single-season points by a defenceman. He now has 69 points; the previous record was set by Christian Chartier in 2000-01. . . . Vancouver got 34 saves from G Brett Mirwald. . . . The Giants were without F Samuel Honzek, who left a Friday game in Kelowna after taking a high hit from Rockets F Carson Golder. . . . Vancouver (25-29-8) had lost its previous two games (0-1-1). It is seventh in the Western Conference, three points ahead of Kelowna. . . . Prince George (33-24-6) has points in six straight (4-0-2). It looks to be headed to a fourth-place finish in the conference.

Drugs

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.

Selfies

Broncos, Warriors clash postponed . . . Basha, Tigers bash Pats . . . T-Birds, Blazers rollin’, rollin’, rollin’

The Vancouver Giants were without F Samuel Honzek on Saturday night as they Vancouverlost 6-0 to the Blazers in Kamloops. Honzek, who has 42 points, including 21 goals, in 40 games, was injured in Friday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Rockets in Kelowna. . . . F Carson Golder was ejected with a headshot major for the hit on Honzek. . . . Steve Ewen of Postmedia reported late Friday that Honzek was returning to Giants’ headquarters in Ladner, B.C., “for evaluation” as the team went on to Kamloops. Ewen also reported “there have been 13 players receive suspensions this season resulting from checking-to-head majors.” . . . Honzek was playing in his ninth game since returning from a badly cut leg that he incurred while playing for Slovakia at the World Junior Championship. . . . He is expected to be a first-round selection in the NHL’s 2023 draft.

The Swift Current Broncos were to have met the Warriors in Moose Jaw on Saturday night. However, some nasty weather stormed across southern Saskatchewan and forced the game’s postponement. It is hoped that the teams will be able to play today in Moose Jaw. . . . On Friday night, in Swift Current, the Warriors erased a 3-0 deficit in beating the Broncos, 4-3 in a shootout. . . . The Warriors (37-22-3) go into tonight’s rematch having won two straight. . . . The Broncos (28-29-4) have lost three in a row (0-2-1) and are scrapping for a playoff spot.

Pecans

If the WHL playoffs started today:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Swift Current/Calgary/Brandon (8)

Red Deer (2) vs. Medicine Hat (7)

Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)

Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

Portland (3) vs. Everett (6)

Prince George (4) vs. Tri-City (5)

——

SATURDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

The Brandon Wheat Kings scored the game’s last six goals to skate away with a 10-2 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . F Noah Boyko (16) got Edmonton to within two, at 4-2, at 3:19 of the third period. . . . But the Wheat Kings scored two quick goals, from F Dawson Pasternak (14), at 3:51, and F Rylen Roersma (18), at 5:30, and school was out. . . . Pasternak and Roersma each scored twice and added an assist. . . . F Joby Baumuller, the 12th overall selection in the WHL’s 2022 draft, scored his first WHL goal for Brandon. A 15-year-old from Wilcox, Sask., he was playing in his fifth game. . . . The Oil Kings were without F Dawson Seitz, who drew a TBD suspension after taking a boarding major and game misconduct on Friday in Winnipeg. . . . Brandon (26-28-8) has won three in a row and is tied with Swift Current and Calgary for the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . Edmonton now is 9-49-4. . . .

F Andrew Basha scored four goals and G Beckett Langkow recorded the shutout as the host Medicine Hat Tigers dumped the Regina Pats, 7-0. . . . Langkow stopped 17 shots, including just one in the second period, as he posted his first career shutout in his 78th appearance. . . . Medicine Hat outshot Regina, 40-17, including 18-1 in the second period. . . . Basha, who has 19 goals, went into the game with a pair of two-goal games in 108 career games. Last season, the 17-year-old sophomore from Calgary, had five goals and nine assists in 48 games. This season, he has 55 points in 61 games. . . . The Tigers had a 1-0 lead going into the second period, and Basha scored the next three goals. He finished his four-goal night at 19:05 of the third period. . . . D Bogdans Hodass had three assists. . . . F Gavin McKenna, the first selection in the WHL’s 2022 draft, scored his first goal with the Tigers. He has a goal and eight assists in 12 games. . . . Medicine Hat (27-26-9) had lost its previous two games. It is seventh in the Eastern Conference, three points behind Regina and three ahead of Swift Current, Calgary and Brandon. . . . Regina (31-27-4) has lost four in a row (0-3-1). . . .

F Jhett Larson scored three times to lead the Red Deer Rebels to a 9-0 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary. . . . Larson ran his goal total to 18 with his first career hat trick. . . . G Kyle Kelsey stopped 25 shots to record the third shutout of his freshman season. Kelsey, who turned 19 on Jan. 22, is 19-11-5, 2.76, .904. . . . The Rebels, who held a 57-25 edge in shots, scored four times in the first period and five in the second. . . . Red Deer was 5-for-7 on the PP. . . . D Mats Lindgren added a goal (11) and two assists. . . . F Kai Uchacz scored his 49th at 3:34 of the first period and it stood up as the winner. . . . Red Deer (41-17-6) has points in five straight (3-0-2). It has clinched the Central Division title. . . . Calgary (26-27-8) had points in each of its previous three games (2-0-1). It is tied with Swift Current and Brandon for eight in the Eastern Conference. . . .

The Seattle Thunderbirds won their 50th game, the second time they have accomplished that in franchise history, beating the Everett Silvertips, 5-1, in Kent, Wash. . . . Seattle also reached the 50-victory plateau in 1989-90 when it finished 52-17-3 — that would be three ties, of course. . . . D Jeremy Hanzel (12) scored twice for Seattle, the first one, on a PP at 6:12 of the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie. . . . Hanzel also had an assist. . . . F Dylan Guenther (7) and F Brad Lambert (14) each had a goal and an assist. . . . F Jackson Berezowski (43) had Everett’s goal, a shorthanded tally. . . . Seattle G Thomas Milic earned the victory with 14 saves. He’s 24-3-2, 2.02, .928 this season. . . . Seattle held a 47-15 edge in shots. . . . Seattle (50-9-3) has points in 16 straight games (15-0-1). It also is tied with idle Winnipeg atop the overall standings, each with 103 points. . . . Everett (30-29-3) has lost five in a row. It is sixth in the Western Conference, two points behind Tri-City. . . .

G Matthew Kieper recorded the shutout as the host Kamloops Blazers dumped the Vancouver Giants, 6-0. . . . Kieper, who was acquired from Regina earlier this season, finished with 25 saves for his first shutout this season and the second of his career. . . . The game included two second-period penalty shots. Vancouver F Ethan Semeniuk came up short at 10:08. Kamloops F Connor Levis ran his goal streak to six games when he scored at 13:44 for a 4-0 lead. . . . Levis later scored again, giving him 23 this season. He also is riding a six-game goal-scoring streak, with seven goals in that time. . . . F Emmitt Finnie had a goal (6) and two assists. A 17-year-old from Lethbridge, he had six assists in 48 games last season. This season, he’s got 25 points in 57 games. . . . Kamloops held a 44-26 edge in shots, including 25-4 in the first period. . . . Kamloops (44-11-6) has won six in a row and 17 of 18. It has wrapped up the B.C. Division title. . . . Vancouver (24-29-8) had points in each of its previous four games (3-0-1). The Giants are seventh in the Western Conference, three points ahead of Kelowna. . . .

The Kelowna Rockets scored a PP goal in OT to beat the Chiefs, 5-4, in Spokane. . . . F Cade Hayes emerged from a scuffle at the end of the third period with the only major penalty and game misconduct. Kelowna F Gabriel Szturc (21) won the game at 2:24 of OT. . . . Before that, the Rockets had coughed up a 4-0 lead as the Chiefs forced extra time when F Berkly Catton (20) scored at 17:58 of the third period. . . . Szturc, the Rockets’ captain, finished with two goals and two assists. . . . The Rockets were without F Carson Golder, who has been hit with a TBD suspension after he took a headshot major and game misconduct against visiting Vancouver on Friday night. . . . Kelowna (25-34-3) has won two in a row and clinched a playoff spot in the process. It is eighth in the Western Conference, three points behind Vancouver. . . Spokane (14-39-8) has lost two straight. . . .

F Reece Belton’s penalty shot goal gave the Tri-City Americans a 3-2 OT victory over the Portland Winterhawks in Kennewick, Wash. . . . The Americans thought they had won seconds earlier, only to have the goal disallowed. As Pucklandia’s Chad Balcom (@hawkeyblog) tweeted: “Never seen that one before — the Winterhawks were down the tunnel & in the room, LONG huddle of refs, no replay, & the OT winner was overturned. We play on in Kennewick.” . . . According to Nick Marek, Portland’s play-by-play voice, the goal was disallowed because of a quick whistle. “The accidental whistle is what disallowed the initial goal by (Adam) Mechura. The ref whistle killed the play.” . . . Belton, who had been slashed from behind while on a breakaway, then won it with his 14th goal of the season at 1:08 of OT. . . . Tri-City had taken a 2-0 lead into the third period on goals from Belton, on a PP, and Mechura (23). D Lukas Dragicevic assisted on both goals. . . . Portland tied it on third-period goals from F Marcus Nguyen (22), shorthanded at 10:47, and F Luke Schelter (6), at 14:48. . . . The Americans got 47 saves from G Tomas Suchanek. . . . Tri-City (29-26-7) had lost its previous two games. It moved into fourth in the Western Conference, two points ahead of Everett. . . . Portland (38-17-7) has points in four straight (2-0-2) and will be the conference’s No. 3 seed when the playoffs begin. . . .

F Koehn Ziemmer and F Carlin Dezainde each scored twice as the Prince George Cougars doubled the Royals, 6-3, in Victoria. . . . The Cougars swept the doubleheader, having won 8-3 on Friday. . . . Ziemmer, who has 35 goals, got the Cougars started at 5:44 of the first period, and F Chase Wheatcroft (44) made it 2-0 at 11:48. . . . The Royals got a goal from F Riley Gannon (17) at 13:06, but the Cougars scored the next four. . . . Dezainde has seven goals this season. . . . Wheatcroft, 20, also had two assists. He is up to 96 points in 62 games. He went into this season with 82 points, including 31 goals, in 137 games split between Lethbridge and Winnipeg. . . . F Alex Thacker had a goal (8) and two assists for Victoria. . . . Prince George (33-24-5) has points in five straight (4-0-1). It is fourth in the Western Conference. . . . Victoria (15-41-7) has lost 10 in a row (0-9-1).

——

THINKING OUT LOUD: Has anyone been able to figure out what Hyundai is trying to accomplish with that WAH advertising campaign? And isn’t it about time for it to be retired? . . . Sheesh, Sportsnet, I hope NESN is paying you for the TV time those Bruins’ telecasts take up on your networks. I mean, if you’re paying for them, they’re stealing your money. . . . Would you like some good news? Old friend Roy MacGregor has a new book coming out on Aug. 1 — Paper Trails: From the Backwoods to the Front Page, a Life in Stories. I, for one, can’t wait. . . . If you’re like me, you’re wondering if F Connor Bedard of the Regina finally is running on empty. For all that he has accomplished this season, he won’t turn 18 until July 17.

Oreo

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.

Time

WHL settles Moose Jaw situation . . . Suspended Warriors could be back for playoffs . . . GM, head coach disciplined; team fined

The four players off the Moose Jaw Warriors’ roster who were suspended by the WHL last month will be eligible to return for this season’s playoffs.

The WHL announced on Friday that the four — G Connor Ungar, 21, D Max WHLWanner, 19, D Marek Howell, 16, and F Lynden Lakovic, 16 — “have been suspended for the balance” of the regular season.

As well, Jason Ripplinger, the Warriors’ general manager, and head coach Mark O’Leary each has been suspended for five games, and the Warriors have been fined $25,000.

In a news release, the WHL said the discipline follows “the completion of an independent investigation into violations of team rules and WHL Standard of Conduct policies.”

The WHL didn’t offer any specifics of the “independent investigation,” such as who conducted it or any of its parameters.

The WHL did allow that the players were suspended following an off-ice WarriorsNewincident that occurred in Edmonton where the Warriors beat the Oil Kings, 4-1, on Feb. 3. The four players were in the lineup again on Feb. 5 when the Warriors beat the Hitmen, 2-1, in Calgary. But all four were scratched from a Feb. 8 game against Edmonton in Moose Jaw.

On Feb. 11, the WHL announced that all four had been suspended “indefinitely pending an investigation . . .”

Somehow — and no one has said how it came about — the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) became involved. Earlier this week, an EPS spokesperson indicated it had determined that criminality wasn’t involved in the incident and said it wouldn’t comment further.

From the WHL’s Friday news release: “Though the conduct of the players was not found to be criminal in nature, the conduct was determined to be a violation of team and league rules including the WHL Standard of Conduct policies, as outlined in the WHL Personal Conduct Policy.”

The WHL’s Standard of Conduct covers such things as racial/derogatory comments; abuse, bullying, harassment and hazing; social media and networking; personal conduct; and diversity and inclusivity.

By the time the Warriors play their final regular-season game on March 25, the four players will have each missed 17 games.

The WHL said that before being reinstated, the players “will be required to complete further personal conduct and respect training.” Presumably that will happen before month’s end in order for them to be reinstated when the playoffs begin.

The WHL said that Ripplinger and O’Leary were disciplined because they failed “to provide the proper oversight and supervision required to ensure a safe and positive environment for players, in particular, while travelling.”

The news release didn’t state specifically why the Warriors organization had been fined $25,000.

That is believed to be the largest fine handed down by the WHL since Nov. 27, 2012, when the Portland Winterhawks were fined $200,000, stripped of a number of draft picks, and lost GM/head coach Mike Johnston to a suspension that covered the remainder of the regular season plus the playoffs for what the league called “multiple player benefit violations.”

The Warriors issued a news release on Friday, stating that the organization takes “full responsibility for the violations of team and league rules, and co-operated fully with the WHL investigation into this matter.

“With the support of the WHL, the Warriors are fully committed to learning from this incident and will take the necessary steps to improve security moving forward. Our organization will continue to support all of our players throughout this process.”

Contacted by Randy Palmer of moosejawtoday.com, Ripplinger said: “All comments or anything like that has to be directed to the Western Hockey League; we can’t comment on anything.”

The Warriors’ statement ended with: “Out of respect for the privacy of all of the parties involved, the Warriors cannot provide further details or comment on the matter.

The WHL, meanwhile, ended its news release with: “Out of respect for the privacy of all of the parties involved, the WHL cannot provide further details on the matter.”

——

So . . . you’re thinking that 17-game suspensions are rather lengthy. But you’re also wondering if there have been longer ones issued by the WHL.

Well, the longest suspension to a player that I can recall went to F Bryan Wells, then of the Regina Pats. On Jan. 27, 1985, Wells and D Mark Tinordi of the host Lethbridge Broncos became involved in a nasty stick-swinging incident. A few days later, Wells, a repeat offender, was suspended for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs, which turned out to be 31 games — 23 in the regular season and eight in the playoffs.

Tinordi, who came out of the duel with a broken finger, was a first-time offender and, as such, was suspended for nine games.

In 1970-71, F Blaine Stoughton of the Flin Flon Bombers was involved in a high-sticking incident in a game with the Medicine Hat Tigers. He later was suspended for 29 games.

If you included general managers and coaches, Portland’s Mike Johnston ended up sitting out 71 games in 2012-13 — 47 regular-season, 21 playoff and three Memorial Cup. The Winterhawks, with Travis Green running things in Johnston’s absence, won the WHL championship and got to the Memorial Cup final, where they lost 6-4 to the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads in Saskatoon.

On Oct. 14, 1981, Pat Ginnell, then the GM/head coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers, became involved with linesman Gary Patzer during a game in Lethbridge with the Broncos. Ginnell ended up serving a 36-game suspension. (The Canadian Press actually reported that the two “exchanged blows.”)

Ernie (Punch) McLean, the head coach of the New Westminster Bruins, sat out 25 games after that infamous 1977-78 brawl with visiting Portland.

I’m sure there have been other suspensions of some length, but those are the ones that came immediately to mind.

Follow

THE BEDARD REPORT:

BEDARD
CONNOR BEDARD

Make it 61 goals in 50 games. . . . F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats scored the game’s first goal, on a PP, at 3:50 of the the first period on Friday night, but his side ended up dropping a 5-5 OT decision to the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. . . . That goal was it for Bedard on this night as the Hurricanes and G Bryan Thomson kept him off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game. . . . The announced attendance was 5,378, for the Hurricanes’ second sellout this season. The other? On Feb. 3, when the Pats scored a 3-2 victory. . . . Bedard leads the WHL in goals (61), assists (64) and points (125). . . . The Pats will play in Medicine Hat tonight. . . .

Earlier Friday, Bedard, who is from North Vancouver, was honoured by BC Sport as its junior male athlete of the year for 2022. . . .

——

Meanwhile, the Medicine Hat Tigers have added F Gavin McKenna, who turned MedicineHat15 on Dec. 20, to their roster and he is expected to play tonight against Bedard and the Pats. . . . McKenna, who plays at the Southern Alberta Hockey Academy, is fresh off the Canada Winter Games, where he played for Yukon and set a tournament scoring record with 29 points in six games. . . . In 26 games with SAHA’s U18 prep team, he has 37 goals and 38 assists. . . . The first overall selection in the WHL’s 2022 draft, McKenna already has played 11 games with the Tigers. He has eight assists, four of them coming in his first game.

Smell

If the WHL playoffs started today:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Swift Current/Calgary (8)

Red Deer (2) vs. Medicine Hat (7)

Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)

Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

Portland (3) vs. Tri-City (6)

Prince George (4) vs. Everett (5)

——

FRIDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

D Olen Zellweger scored twice to help the host Kamloops Blazers to a 6-3 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Kamloops had beaten the Silvertips, 7-1, in Everett on Wednesday night. . . . Zellweger, who was acquired from Everett in January, leads all WHL defencemen with 27 goals. . . . F Matthew Seminoff had a goal (27) and two assists for Kamloops. His goal broke a 3-3 tie at 11:41 of the third period. . . . F Fraser Minten (29) had two goals and an assist for Kamloops, while F Jackson Berezowski (42) scored twice for Everett. . . . G Tyler Palmer made 47 saves for Everett, which was outshot 53-25. . . . Kamloops F Logan Stankoven missed his second straight game with an undisclosed injury, while F Daylan Kuefler remains sidelined. . . . Kamloops (43-11-6) has won four in a row and 16 of 17. . . . Everett (30-28-3) has lost four straight. It is tied with Tri-City for fifth in the Western Conference. . . .

In Kelowna, the Rockets erased a 3-1 third-period deficit and beat the Vancouver Giants, 4-3, in a shootout. . . . F Max Graham (10) got the Rockets to within 3-2 at 4:40 of the third period and F Andrew Cristall (35) tied it at 18:31 with G Jari Kykkanen on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . F Ty Thorpe (33) had put the visitors ahead 3-1 at 4:38 of the second period. . . . F Gabriel Szturc, the Rockets’ captain, was the first shooter in the circus and he scored the lone goal. . . . Kelowna F Carson Golder took a headshot major and game misconduct at 8:10 of the second period for a hit on F Samuel Honzek, who went straight to the dressing room and didn’t return. . . . Kelowna (24-34-3) had lost its previous three games. . . . Vancouver (24-28-8) had won its past three games. . . . The Rockets are eighth in the Western Conference, five points behind Vancouver. . . . Earlier Friday, the Rockets announced that F Logan Peskett had undergone season-ending shoulder surgery. Peskett, a 16-year-old freshman from North Vancouver, had three goals and two assists in 40 games. He was a sixth-round selection in the WHL’s 2021 draft. . . .

In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes forced OT with a late third-period goal and then got a goal from D Logan McCutcheon at 3:39 of extra time to beat the Regina Pats, 5-4. . . . McCutcheon’s winner was his third goal of the season. . . . D Joe Arntsen (7) forced OT with a goal at 17:38 of the third period. . . . G Bryan Thomson, who finished with 22 saves, stoned F Connor Bedard, who had scored his 61st goal to open the game, from in tight moments before McCutcheon won it. . . . Lethbridge (33-23-6) had lost its previous two games. It remains fifth in the Eastern Conference, six points ahead of Regna (31-26-4), which has lost three in a row (0-2-1). . . .

F Conner Roulette scored three times to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 6-2 victory over the Raiders in Prince Albert. . . . Roulette, who has 24 goals, opened the scoring at 1:32 of the first period, pulled the Blades into a 2-2 tie at 15:35 and stretched their lead to 5-2 at 16:31 of the second. . . . F Jake Chiasson added a goal, his 20th, and two assists. . . . Saskatoon F Misha Volotovskii (4) scored in his return from a 13-game absence. . . . Roulette, now with 59 points in 54 games, has two hat tricks this season. His other career hat trick came on Oct. 5, 2019, in a 5-3 victory over Victoria in Kent, Wash. . . . Last season, Roulette had 24 goals in 65 games with Seattle; this season he has 24 in 54 games. Interestingly, he was credited with 199 shots on goal last season; this season, he has 127. . . . G Austin Elliott earned the victory with 24 saves. He is 8-0-1 in his last nine appearances, and 23-5-3, 2.07, .916 on the season. . . . Saskatoon (44-13-5) has points in 12 straight (11-0-1) and will be the third seed when the Eastern Conference playoffs begin. . . . Prince Albert (24-33-3) has lost four straight and is seven points from a playoff spot with seven games remaining. . . . These teams will meet again Sunday afternoon in Saskatoon. . . . Darren Steinke, the travellin’ blogger, was in Prince Albert last night. His piece is right here. . . .

The Calgary Hitmen forced OT with less than a second remaining in the third period and then got the winner from F Riley Fiddler-Schultz to beat the Rebels, 4-3, in Red Deer. . . . Calgary F Carter Yakemchuk forced OT when he scored his 16th goal, on a PP, with 0.6 seconds left in the third period. . . . The game’s first five goals all came in the first period. . . . F Sean Tschigerl (23) scored twice and added an assist for Calgary. . . . Fiddler-Schultz added two assists to his 28th goal. . . . F Kai Uchacz notched No. 48 for the Rebels. . . . Calgary (26-26-8) has points in three straight (2-0-1) and is tied with Swift Current for the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . Red Deer (40-17-6) has points in four straight (2-0-2). It has clinched first place in the Central Division and will be the No. 2 seed when the first round begins. . . . The same two teams will meet up again this afternoon, this time in Calgary. . . .

The Seattle Thunderbirds scored the game’s last three goals, all in the last 8:11 of the third period, to beat the Tri-City Americans, 6-3, in Kent, Wash. . . . F Reese Belton (12) pulled the visitors into a 3-3 tie at 1:59 of the third period. . . . F Lucas Ciona (27) put Seattle back out front at 11:49 and F Jared Davidson completed a hat trick with two insurance goals, at 13:41 and 18:25, the last one into an empty net. . . . Davidson, who has 38 goals, also had an assist. . . . F Brad Lambert had a goal (13) and two assists for Seattle. . . . Seattle (49-9-3) has points in 15 straight games (14-0-1). It leads the Western Conference by nine points over Kamloops, which has eight games remaining. . . . Tri-City (28-26-7) has lost two in a row. . . .

In Spokane, the Portland Winterhawks scored the game’s last four goals to beat the Chiefs, 5-2. . . . F Cade Hayes (19) gave Spokane a 2-1 lead at 10:33 of the second period. . . . F Robbie Fromm-Delorme (30) got Portland even with his first of two goals at 16:08. . . . F Josh Zakreski (9) scored the eventual winner at 12:30. . . . The Winterhawks got 30 saves from G Jan Špunar, an 18-year-old Czechia freshman who now is 15-6-2, 2.71, .904. . . . . Portland (38-17-6) has points in three straight (2-0-1). It is a comfortable third in the Western Conference. . . . Spokane (14-39-7) won’t be in the playoffs this season. . . .

The Moose Jaw Warriors erased a 3-0 first-period deficit as they beat the host Swift Current Broncos, 4-3, in a game that featured a 12-round shootout. . . . The Warriors went into the game needing one point to clinch a playoff spot. . . . The Broncos held a 3-0 lead when F Clarke Caswell (9) scored at 17:19 of the first period. . . . The Warriors tied it on F Atley Calvert’s 36th goal at 19:36 of the second period. . . . F Josh Hoekstra won it for the Warriors in the shootout. . . . The Warriors got 40 stops from G Jackson Unger. . . . Moose Jaw (37-22-3) has won two in a row. It appears headed for a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference. . . . Swift Current (28-29-4) has lost three straight (0-2-1). It is tied with Calgary for the conference’s last playoff spot. . . . They Broncos and Warriors are scheduled to meet again tonight, this time in Moose Jaw. . . .

The Prince George Cougars got two goals from each of three players en route to an 8-3 victory over the Royals in Victoria. . . . The weekend doubleheader will conclude tonight in Victoria. . . . F Zac Funk (20), F Cayden Glover (5) and F Ondrej Becher (16) each scored twice. Funk also had an assist. . . . Prince George erased a 1-0 first-period deficit with three goals, the first two in the span of 46 seconds, as it took control. . . . Prince George (32-24-5) has points in four straight (3-0-1). It is fourth in the Eastern Conference, six points ahead of Everett and Tri-City. . . . Victoria (15-40-7) has lost nine in a row (0-8-1) and has been eliminated from playoff contention. . . .

F Ty Nash’s 20th goal of the season, at 3:08 of OT, gave the Winnipeg Ice a 5-4 victory over the Edmonton Ice. . . . F Zack Ostapchuk (25) scored twice for the Ice, which got a goal and two assists from F Matt Savoie (35) and three assists from F Connor McClennon. . . . F Josh Medernach (4) gave the Ice a 4-2 lead 35 seconds into the third period. . . . The Oil Kings tied it on goals from F Rilen Kovacevic (15), at 3:11, and F Mason Finley (11), at 10:08. . . . The Oil Kings lost F Dawson Seitz to a boarding major and game misconduct at 7:41 of the first period. . . . Edmonton F Treycen Wuttunee returned to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 28 when he had a fight with the 20-year-old Ostapchuk. . . . Winnipeg (51-9-1) has won three in a row. It leads the WHL in victories and points (101). . . . Edmonton (9-48-4) has points in two straight (1-0-1).

Piper

A note from Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon:

“Earlier this week, there was a headline on a report at CBSSports.com that read: ‘Katie Ledecky’s nine-year winning streak on US soil snapped by Summer McIntosh.’ . . .

“Katie Ledecky is a swimmer. She had a nine-year winning streak in US water but not on US soil.”

Nigerian

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

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Or, for more information, visit right here.

Burrito