THE DEADLINE IS GONE
(WHL trade deadline: Thursday, 3 p.m. MT)
Thursday’s action:
No. of trades: 11.
Players: 16.
Bantam draft picks: 10.
Conditional draft picks: 4.
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Total deals (since Nov. 26):
No. of trades: 44.
Players: 77.
Bantam draft picks: 63.
Conditional draft picks: 15.
(Note: On Nov. 30, Kelowna traded F Jack Cowell, 19, to Kootenay for a third-round selection in the 2020 bantam draft. Cowell chose not to report and the deal was voided, so isn’t included in these totals.)
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The Prince Albert Raiders did some last-minute shopping on Thursday as the WHL’s annual trade deadline passed us by.
The Raiders completed three deals, all before noon their time, after which management 
presumable went snow golfing.
In all, the Raiders added three depth players — a goaltender, a defenceman and a forward.
The Raiders added G Boston Bilous, 17, from the Edmonton Oil Kings, giving up a conditional sixth-round selection in the 2022 WHL bantam draft.
Bilous, from Langley, B.C., was a fourth-round pick by the Oil Kings in the 2016 bantam draft. At the time, he had committed to the U of Denver Pioneers, but later changed his mind and signed with the Oil Kings.
The 6-foot-3, 175-pounder appeared in 10 games for Edmonton this season, going 3-4-1, 3.56, .859. Last season, he was 0-10-1, 4.72, .838.
Bilous has been hampered by injuries, missing two weeks in early November. He returned to play two games, but now hasn’t been in a game since Nov. 24.
Last season, he also missed couple of weeks in November, returned for three games and then was out until late February.
Bilous is eligible for the NHL’s 2019 draft and, in fact, is on NHL Central Scouting’s watch list where he is projected as a potential late-round selection.
After making the deal, the Raiders had three goaltenders on their roster — Bilous, starter Ian Scott and Donovan Buskey, who was acquired from the Spokane Chiefs on Aug. 31 for a sixth-round pick in the 2020 bantam draft.
Later in the day, Prince Albert dropped Buskey from its roster. He is expected to join the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters.
Scott, 20, is 24-4-1, 1.73, .939. Buskey, who is to turn 19 on Jan. 29, had gotten into 11 games, going 9-1-0, 3.15, .870.
While the Raiders may be looking for some competition at the backup position, they also are looking to next season when Scott no longer will be part of their organization. It could be that a change in scenery will help Bilous kick the injury thing and get things back on track. After all, in his bantam draft season he was the CSSHL’s top goaltender while player at the Delta Hockey Academy.
Bilous’s departure leaves the Oil Kings with veterans Dylan Myskiw, 19, and Todd Scott, 18, as their goaltenders.
Earlier in the day, the Raiders acquired D Loeden Schaufler, 18, from the Seattle Thunderbirds for an eighth-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft.
From De Winton, Alta., Schaufler was a third-round selection by the Kootenay Ice in the 2015 bantam draft.
The Ice dealt him to Seattle on Oct. 9, along with a conditional ninth-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft, for F Eric Fawkes, 17, a Winnipegger who is with the MJHL’s Winkler Flyers and has committed to RPI (Rensselaer Polytech Institute) for 2020-21.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Schaufler has eight assists in 57 regular-season games, 37 of them with the Ice, including 32 last season. This season, he had two assists in 20 games with Seattle.
Schaufler only recently returned to action after being injured on Dec. 8 when he was on the receiving end of a hit by F Sean Richards, then of the Everett Silvertips. Richard drew a boarding major and game misconduct on the play and subsequently was suspended for eight games. While serving that suspension, he found himself traded to Seattle in a deal that had F Zack Andrusiak go to Everett. Schaufler returned to the lineup on Jan. 4 against the Wheat Kings in Brandon.
Later in the day, the Raiders dropped D Lane Kirk, 18, from their roster. Kirk, from Swan River, Man., was a fifth-round pick by the Raiders in the 2015 bantam draft. However, he has been injured and has yet to play this season. He now is expected to join the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders, who play out of Swan River.
The Raiders began the day by sending F Quinn Olson, 17, to the Calgary Hitmen for F Bryce Bader, 17. The teams also swapped conditional sixth-round bantam draft picks — the year wasn’t revealed — in the deal.
From Sherwood Park, Alta., Bader, 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, has played 14 games with 
the Hitmen over three seasons. This season, he has four goals in 10 games, with three of them coming over his past three games. Bader was injured in Calgary’s final exhibition game and didn’t get back into game action until Nov. 9. He played the previous two seasons with the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings, putting up 21 goals 23 assists in 58 games.
The Hitmen selected him in the second round of the 2016 bantam draft.
The Raiders selected Olson, who is from Calgary, in the sixth round of that same draft. The 5-foot-10, 155-pounder has committed to the U of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs for 2020-21, and has played the past two seasons with the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers. This season, he has 17 goals and 25 assists in 35 games; last season, he put up 14 goals and 39 assists in 53 games.
The Raiders are back on home ice, where they have lost three of their last four games, against the Portland Winterhawks tonight.
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The Tri-City Americans acquired F Samuel Huo, 17, from the Seattle Thunderbirds for a conditional fifth-round selection in the WHL’s 2020 bantam draft.
A 6-foot-4, 185-pounder from Richmond, B.C., was added to Seattle’s protected list in 2017.
This season, Huo has three goals and six assists in 34 games. Last season, as a freshman, he had three goals and three assists in 67 games.
“Samuel is a young, experienced forward with good upside,” Tri-City general manager Bob Tory said in a news release. “After the departure of Isaac Johnson and recent injuries we felt it was necessary to add another forward to our roster.”
Tory told Taking Note on Wednesday night that Johnson, who had been a point-a-game player this season, has retired for personal reasons.
Huo is expected to be in the Americans’ lineup on Friday night when they visit the Everett Silvertips.
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The Saskatoon Blades acquired F Ryan Hughes, 19, from the Saskatoon Blades for F Josh 
Paterson, 19, and two bantam draft picks — a second-rounder in 2020 and a fourth-rounder in 2021. . . . The second-round pick originally belonged to the Swift Current Broncos. They sent it and a fifth-rounder in 2019 to the Blades for G Logan Flodell on Sept. 20, 2017.
The 5-foot-8, 155-pound Hughes, who is from Edmonton and was listed by Portland, has played 223 regular-season games with the Winterhawks, putting up 64 goals and 87 assists. This season, Hughes has 17 goals and 23 assists in 36 games.
The Blades selected the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Paterson, who also is from Edmonton, in the second round of the 2014 bantam draft. He has played 246 regular-season games with Saskatoon, totalling 74 goals and 64 assists. This season, Paterson, an alternate captain, has 14 goals and 18 assists in 41 games.
The Winterhawks and Blades are in second place in their respective divisions, Portland 
trailing the Everett Silvertips by 11 points in the U.S. Division and Saskatoon 14 points in arrears of the Prince Albert Raiders in the East Division.
The Winterhawks obviously feel they need more size in order to get to Everett’s level, while Blades’ management is of the opinion that they must have more speed and offence in order to compete with Prince Albert.
Portland also is able to add a couple of bantam draft picks in this deal, one day after sending six selections to the Broncos for G Joel Hofer.
The Blades are to entertain the Calgary Hitmen on Friday night. On Saturday night, the Winterhawks, who play in Prince Albert on Friday, will visit Saskatoon.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have acquired F Carson Denomie, 18, from the Kamloops 
Blazers for a seventh-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft.
The 6-foot-0, 195-pound Denomie is from Regina. The Blazers selected him in the fifth round of the 2015 bantam draft.
This season, he has one goal and three assists in 36 games. Last season, he recorded six goals and 13 assists in 66 games.
In 2016-17, Denomie helped the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians to a league championship, putting up 16 goals and 30 assists in 44 regular-season games.
The trade was made while the Blazers were in Victoria, where they are to meet the Royals on Friday night after dropping a 5-3 decision on Wednesday.
Interestingly, the Warriors will be in Kamloops to meet the Blazers on Tuesday.
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Moose Jaw and Swift Current got together on a buzzer-beater, with the Warriors landing F Alec Zawatsky, 19, in exchange for F Tyler Smithies, 18, and two bantam draft picks — a fourth-rounder in 2020 and a fifth in 2021.
Zawatsky, from Yorkton, led the Broncos in goals (13) and points (26), in 39 games. Last season, he had three goals and five assists in 43 games with the Saskatoon Blades, under head coach Dean Brockman. After the Blades fired Brockman, he ended up joining the Broncos and he found a spot for Zawatsky on the roster.
Smithies, from Beaumont, Alta., has two goals and an assist in 19 games with the Warriors this season. Last season, he had a goal and four assists in 36 games.
The Warriors are at home to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday night, while the Broncos will entertain the Thunderbirds on Saturday.
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The Kootenay Ice have acquired D Chase Hartje, 19, from the Brandon Wheat Kings for a 
third-round selection in the 2019 WHL bantam draft. The pick originally belonged to the Red Deer Rebels.
Hartje, from Bemidji, Minn. has four goals and eight assists in 35 games with Brandon this season. Last season, he had 17 assists in 31 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors, then added three goals and five assists in 27 games with the Wheat Kings.
This was the second deadline day in a row on which Hartje changed teams. A year ago, Moose Jaw dealt him to Brandon as part of the trade in which the Warriors landed D Kale Clague and the Wheat Kings got F Luka Burzan.
The Ice next plays Saturday when it visits the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
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The Vancouver Giants added D Nic Draffin, 17, from the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for a seventh-round selection in the 2021 WHL bantam draft.
Michael Dyck, the Giants’ first-year head coach, is most familiar with Draffin, having 
coached him bantam AAA and midget AAA in Lethbridge. While there, Draffin also was teammates with D Bowen Byram, who now stars for Vancouver.
This season, Draffin has one goal and four assists in 35 games with the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs.
The Rebels selected Draffin in the third-round of the 2016 bantam draft.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Draffin, who is from Lethbridge, is expected to join the Giants in time for home games against the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday and Victoria Royals on Sunday.
After Alan Caldwell posted the above tweet, the Kelowna Rockets claimed D Matt Barberis, 20, on waivers from the Giants, then released F Lane Zablocki, 20, who has joined the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers.
Barberis, from Surrey, B.C., has played only nine games this season due to injury. This 
would have been his fourth full season with the Giants; in the previous three, he played 49, 48 and 56 games. In 168 regular-season games, he has 21 goals and 64 assists. The Giants selected him with the 20th overall pick of the 2013 bantam draft.
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Barberis joins D Dalton Gally and D Schael Higson as 20-year-olds on Kelowna’s roster.
Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ general manager, said in a news release that Barberis has medical clearance to play, but “he probably won’t play until next weekend.”
Zablocki had four goals and eight assists in 22 games with the Rockets, who acquired him from the Victoria Royals on Sept. 28, giving up a seventh-round bantam draft pick in 2019 and a fourth-rounder in 2021. He has 62 goals and 72 assists in 223 career regular-season WHL games.
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In a one-for-one exchange that was made right before the trading deadline, the Medicine 
Hat Tigers sent F Josh Williams, 17, to the Edmonton Oil Kings for F Brett Kemp, 18.
Williams, who has been selected to play in the Top Prospects Game in Red Deer on Jan. 23, has nine goals and
Williams, from Langley, B.C., was selected by the Tigers with the fifth-overall pick in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder has nine goals and 12 assists in 41 games this season, after putting up 11 goals and nine assists in 47 games last season. He had five goals and an 
assist in five games with Canada’s U-18 team at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Red Deer and Edmonton in August.
Kemp, from Yorkton, Sask., was selected by the Everett Silvertips in the second round of the 2015 bantam draft. The Oil Kings acquired Kemp and F Graham Millar, along with a 2018 first-round bantam draft pick from Everett on Jan. 4, 2017, for D Aaron Irving and a seventh-rounder in the 2017 draft.
The 6-foot-1, 160-pound Kemp has 43 goals and 46 assists in 146 regular-season games, all but 17 of them with Edmonton. This season, he has 22 goals and 17 assists in 40 games. He had been the Oil Kings’ second-leading point producer.
Kemp is expected to be in the Tigers’ lineup on Friday against the visiting Regina Pats, while Williams should be Edmonton’s lineup when it visits the Lethbridge Hurricanes. On Saturday, the Tigers are at home to the Oil Kings, meaning Kemp and Williams will be going up against their former teammates.
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The Everett Silvertips added size to their roster, and they hope they got some offence, 
too, with the acquisition of F Robbie Holmes, 19, from the Regina Pats.
In exchange for the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Holmes, from Sherwood Park, Alta., the Pats get F Sloan Stanick, 15, who hasn’t signed a WHL contract, and two WHL bantam draft picks — a second-rounder in 2020 and a sixth in 2022.
An 11th-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, Holmes has 29 goals and 27 assists in 148 regular-season games with Regina. This season, he has nine goals and seven assists in 24 games.
Stanick, from Rapid City, Man., was selected by Everett in the seventh round of the 2018 bantam draft.
This season, he has 12 goals and 12 assists in 31 games with the Yellowhead Chiefs of the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League. Last season, with the bantam AAA Chiefs, he finished with 28 goals and 31 assists in 36 games.
Stanick’s twin brother, Slade, also plays for the midget AAA Chiefs. Slade is on Everett’s protected list.
The Silvertips are at home to the Tri-City Americans on Friday night.
anticipated that the Ice will relocate to Winnipeg following this season; management has been adding Manitoba-born players in recent trades.)
The Giants now have four 20-year-olds on their roster, with Hines joining F Davis Koch, F Jared Dmytriw and D Matt Barberis. However, Barberis has played in only nine games this season, the last one on Nov. 18. Should he come back from injury, the Giants would have a week to get down to three 20s.
trades on Thursday, continue to stockpile draft picks.
home to Vancouver to wait. On Friday, the Tigers dealt him to the Seattle Thunderbirds for D Aidan Brook, 15, and two WHL bantam draft picks — a second-round selection in 2019 and a third in 2020.
James Hamblin or Ryan Chyzowski, the team’s top centres.
bantam draft, the Raiders surrendered F Carson Miller, 18, F Kody McDonald, 20, and a third-round pick in the 2020 bantam draft. (The fourth-round pick originated with the Brandon Wheat Kings; the eighth-rounder was Prince Albert’s originally, so goes back to the Raiders.)
points leaving him tied for fourth on the Royals’ all-time list. He also is fourth in assists, fifth in games played and seventh in goals.
one of them a third-rounder, for a pair of players and three picks, the earliest a fifth-rounder.
the 2016 bantam draft. Last season, he had one goal and one assist in four games with the Ice. This season, he has three assists in 31 games.
during a game against Russia at the World Junior Championship. F Marco Lehmann of Switzerland was hacked down on a breakaway, got up to continue the play, and was brought down again. While Lehmann took the first penalty shot, the Swiss had F Philipp Kurashev take the second one. Neither one was successful. . . . Kurashev, who is in his third season with the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts, is the son of Konstantin Kurashev, who played for Russia in the 1981 and 1982 WJC. Konstantin has been coaching in Switzerland since 1998.
taking a kneeing major and game misconduct during at 3:30 of the second period of an 8-6 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash., on Saturday night. Seattle F Dillon Hamaliuk was injured on the play and didn’t return to the game. . . . Quigley won’t be in Portland’s lineup when they play host to Seattle tonight. 
victory over the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . The Warriors (19-8-6) have points in four straight (3-0-1). They are third in the East Division, eight points ahead of Brandon. . . . The Wheat Kings (15-13-6) have lost three in a row, all since played resumed after Christmas, and six of seven. They now are tied with the Calgary Hitmen for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot. . . . The Warriors are scheduled to entertain the Wheat Kings tonight. This will be the fourth game in five nights for both teams. . . . F Justin Almeida scored twice for Moose Jaw, giving him 11 goals. He made it 1-0 just 23 seconds into the game. . . . Brandon F Nolan Ritchie tied it at 3:32 with his first WHL goal. . . . The visitors scored twice before the period ended — D Jett Woo (7) and F Tristin Langan (27) found the range — and then got later goals from F Kaeden Taphorn (4), Almeida, and F Tate Popple (8), who is from Brandon. . . . D Braden Schneider (4) had Brandon’s other goal, at 10:06 of the third period. . . . The Warriors held a 40-29 edge in shots, including 19-8 in the first period. In its three-game losing skid, Brandon had been outshot 46-16 and outscored 6-1 in first periods. . . . Brandon F Stelio Mattheos sat out the second of a three-game suspension.
Raiders in Prince Albert. . . . Regina (12-24-1) has won three in a row, but still is 11 points away from a playoff spot. . . . Prince Albert (33-3-1) had won its previous five games; it also had been 17-0-0 at home. . . . The Raiders lead the overall standings by seven points over the idle Everett Silvertips (29-7-2). . . . F Logan Nijhoff (3) gave Regina a 1-0 lead just 18 seconds after the opening faceoff. . . . D Liam Schioler (2) upped the lead to 2-0 at 8:01. . . . F Noah Gregor (24) scored for the Raiders at 12:37. . . . Gregor has 10 goals and four assists over his past six games. . . . This one was McNabb’s show, though, as the Raiders outshot the Pats 14-7, 13-4 and 17-2 by period. . . . The Raiders won 47 of the game’s 63 faceoffs. . . . The Pats had D Brady Pouteau and F Robbie Holmes back in the lineup after both served one-game WHL suspensions.
Blades dumped the Broncos 9-3 in Swift Current. . . . Saskatoon (22-11-5) had lost its previous three games (0-1-2). It is second in the East Division, five points ahead of Moose Jaw, which has five games in hand. . . . The Broncos had points in each of their previous two games (1-0-1). . . . These two teams hadn’t met since the season’s opening weekend, when the Blades won 2-1 in Swift Current and 8-0 in Saskatoon. They’ll meet again Tuesday afternoon, this time in Saskatoon. . . . The Blades had a 47-15 edge in shots — 16-4, 19-8 and 12-3 by period. . . . F Kristian Roykas Marthinsen (10) gave the Blades a 1-0 lead 11 seconds in, and F Max Gerlach (21) made it 2-0 at 5:43. . . . The Blades weren’t headed after that. . . . D Majid Kaddoura, a freshman from Chestermere, Alta., scored his first WHL goal for the Blades in his 17th game. . . . Dach, who has 15 goals, ran his career point total to 101, including 28 goals, in 109 games. . . . Wouters has six goals. . . . D Billy Sowa, a freshman from Calgary, scored his first career goal for Swift Current. It came in his 26th game. . . . Broncos F Matt Culling ran his goal streak to five games. He has seven goals on the season, with one in each of those five games. . . . Saskatoon D Brandon Schuldaus served a one-game suspension after he took a kneeing major a game misconduct on Friday in Prince Albert. . . . The game was played on the 32nd anniversary of a bus accident in which four Broncos were killed while on the way to Regina for a game with the Pats.
the Vancouver Giants. . . . Calgary (16-16-4) had lost its previous three games (0-2-1), but now is tied with the Brandon Wheat Kings for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . Vancouver (23-9-2) has won its previous two games. It now is 1-1-0 on a six-game swing through the Central Division. The Giants lead the B.C. Division by 11 points over the Kelowna Rockets, and Vancouver holds three games in hand. . . . F Riley Stotts opened the scoring at 3:30 of the first period, and F Jake Kryski made it 2-0, on a PP, at 6:44. . . . F Mark Kastelic (26) added more insurance at 5:29 of the second period. . . . Stotts, who has 12 goals, closed out the scoring at 4:48 of the third. . . . F James Malm, who was acquired by Calgary from Vancouver on Oct. 31, drew four assists. He has 23 points, including 17 assists, in 21 games with Calgary. He had put up nine goals and six assists in 13 games with Vancouver at the time of the trade. . . . With G Carl Stankowski sidelined, the Hitmen had brought in Matt Armitage from the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks to back up McNaughton, a 17-year-old freshman from Calgary. Armitage has since been returned to Salmon Arm, so the Hitmen had Brayden Peters of the midget AAA Lethbridge Hurricanes on the bench. Earlier in the day, he had stopped 14 shots to record the shutout as the Hurricanes scored a 7-0 victory over the Brampton, Ont., 45’s at the Mac’s tournament in Calgary.
Deer Rebels, 5-4. . . . Edmonton (20-12-7) has points in six straight (4-0-2) and now leads the Central Division by two points over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Red Deer (21-12-2) had beaten the Oil Kings, 2-1 in a shootout, on Saturday night at home. The Rebels are third in the division, one point behind Lethbridge. . . . Last night, it was the third game in fewer than 48 hours for both teams. Red Deer went (1-2-0); Edmonton was (2-0-1). . . . F Jake Neighbours (8) gave the Oil Kings a 1-0 lead at 2:21 of the first period. . . . Red Deer scored the only three goals of the second period, with F Oleg Zaytsev (6), D Dawson Barteaux (3) and F Reese Johnson, on a PP, finding the range. . . . F Andrei Pavlenko (7) got Edmonton to within a goal at 2:25 of the third period, but Johnson restored the two-goal lead with his 16th goal, at 3:20. . . . Edmonton pulled even on two goals from F Trey Fix-Wolansky, at 4:52 and 8:52. He’s got 23 goals. . . . He drew an assist on the winner, too which went to F Vince Loschiavo (17), on a PP, at 13:30. . . . Johnson also had an assist for Red Deer, giving him a three-point game. . . . Red Deer had a 17-4 edge in second-period shots, but Edmonton was ahead 17-8 in the third.
4 victory over the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. . . . Medicine Hat (20-15-3) has won three in a row. It is fourth in the Central Division, one point behind Red Deer, which has three games in hand. . . . Lethbridge (19-11-6) is second in the division, two points behind Edmonton and with three games in hand. . . . Medicine Hat and Lethbridge were playing for the third time in fewer than 48 hours. The Tigers went (3-0-0); the Hurricanes were (1-1-1). . . . The Hurricanes led 4-2 after third-period goals from F Dylan Cozens (21) at 2:07, and F Jake Leschyshyn (25), on a PP, at 2:54. . . . D Joel Craven (3) cut the Tigers’ deficit to one at 11:40, and F Elijah Brown (5) tied it, on a PP, at 17:58. . . . F Jordy Bellerive scored for Lethbridge in the first round of the shootout, but Medicine Hat tied it when F Josh Williams scored in the second round, and then won it on Jevne’s goal. . . . Craven scored twice for the Tigers. He has four goals in 53 career games, 20 of them this season.
visiting Prince George Cougars. . . . The Blazers (14-17-3) were playing for the third time in fewer than 48 hours, after splitting a home-and-home series with the Kelowna Rockets, winning 3-2 in a shootout and then dropping a 2-1 decision on the road. Kamloops is fourth in the B.C. Division, four points behind the Victoria Royals, who have two games in hand. The Blazers also hold down the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot, four points ahead of Prince George. . . . The Cougars (12-21-3) have lost two in a row; they are 1-7-0 on an 11-game road trip. . . . The Cougars were playing their third game in fewer than 48 hours after beating the host Seattle Thunderbirds 2-1 on Friday, then dropping a 6-1 decision to the Silvertips in Everett on Saturday. . . . The Cougars headed home after last night’s game, then will drive to Kelowna on Thursday for a Friday night engagement with the Rockets. They will hang out in the Okanagan for a couple of days after that, before heading to Kennewick, Wash., to play the Tri-City Americans on Jan. 8 and then it’s on to Spokane for a date with the Chiefs on Jan. 9. . . . The Cougars then will hustle home because they are to play host to the Rockets on Jan. 11 and 12, their first games in the CN Centre since Dec. 2. . . . D Montana Onyebuchi (3) gave Kamloops a 1-0 lead at 16:12 of the first period, and F Brodi Stuart (11) made it 2-0 at 8:53 of the second. . . . F Josh Maser (12) had the Cougars’ goal, on a PP, at 17:51 of the third. . . . Garand was especially strong in the third period when his guys were outshot 19-4. . . . The Blazers had D Joonas Sillanpaa back after a one-game injury-related absence. . . . The Cougars were able to dress only 19 players, including five defencemen. Then they lost F Ilijah Colina to an undisclosed injury during the game and G Taylor Gauthier left after becoming ill. He had stopped 20 of 22 shots through two periods. Isaiah DiLaura came on to play the third period and stopped four shots.
Prince George Cougars in exchange for a seventh-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft. . . . There also are a few conditions to this deal: Should the Winterhawks sign Brink, the Cougars will get a second-round pick in the 2021 bantam draft. If he is on Portland’s roster before Jan. 10, Prince George will get an additional pick, this one a fourth-rounder in 2021. As well, if Brink is on the Winterhawks’ roster on or before Oct. 10, the Cougars will also get a sixth-round pick in 2021. . . . Brink, from Excelsior, Minn., is playing with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. Going into Friday’s games, he was second in the USHL scoring race, with 33 points, including 15 goals, in 19 games. . . . He has been committed to the U of Denver Pioneers since Jan. 31, 2017.
Blades, 4-2. . . . Prince Albert (33-2-1) has won five in a row and is 17-0-0 at home. . . . Saskatoon (21-11-5) had points in each of its previous six games (4-0-2). . . . The Raiders are 4-1-0 in the season series. . . . On Thursday night, the Raiders won in Saskatoon, 4-3 in OT. . . . F Kristian Roykas Marthinsen (9) gave the Blades a 2-1 lead at 16:23 of the first period. . . . F Noah Gregor (23) tied it with his second goal of the game, and fourth in two nights, at 19:39 of the second period. . . . F Aliaksei Protas (7) snapped the tie at 10:33 of the third, and F Cole Fonstad (12) added insurance at 19:50 with the empty-netter. . . . Gregor also had an assist for his second straight three-point night. . . . The Raiders won 45 of 68 faceoffs. . . . Saskatoon D Brandon Schuldhaus was tossed at 8:51 of the first period with a kneeing major and game misconduct. D Max Martin, who absorbed the hit, returned for the second period and finished the game. . . . The Raiders are 5-0-0 without G Ian Scott and F Brett Leason, who are with Team Canada at the WJC.
Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Pats (11-24-1) have won two in a row, both of them over the Wheat Kings. One night earlier, Regina won, 3-2, in Brandon. . . . The Wheat Kings (15-12-6) have lost two straight. . . . F Garrett Wright (2), at 12:01 of the first period, and F Austin Pratt (14), at 9:09 of the second, staked Regina to a 2-0 lead. . . . Brandon D Cole Reinhardt (7) made it 2-1 at 13:56. . . . F Logan Nijhoff (2) restored Regina’s two-goal lead at 11:34 of the third. . . . F Luka Burzan (19) got Brandon back to within a goal at 17:19. . . . Regina held a 38-20 edge in shots and won 35 of 59 faceoffs. . . . Brandon was without F Stelio Mattheos, who leads it in goals, assists and points, after he was suspended for three games after taking a match penalty for intent to injury in Thursday’s game. Mattheos drew the penalty after retaliating against Pats D Brady Pouteau, who drew a TBD suspension under supplemental discipline. . . . Regina F Robbie Holmes sat out a one-game suspension. He was ejected from Thursday’s game with a cross-checking major and game misconduct for hit on F Connor Gutenberg, who wasn’t injured.
4-3 OT victory over the Broncos in Swift Current. . . . The Warriors (18-8-6) have points in three straight (2-0-1). . . . The Broncos (7-25-3) had beaten the Warriors, 4-3 in OT, in Moose Jaw on Thursday. . . . Last night, the Broncos held a 2-0 lead only to have the Warriors tie it on goals from F Daemon Hunt (4), at 19:41 of the first period, and F Justin Almeida (9), at 0:41 of the second. . . . F Matthew Culling (6) gave the Broncos a 3-2 lead at 10:31 of the second period. . . . Langan, who has 26 goals, tied it at 15:40 of the second, then won it, on a PP, at 2:36 of OT. . . . Culling has goals in four straight games and in five of his past six games. . . . Almeida added two assists to his goal, while Langan had one. . . . The Warriors won 41 of 69 faceoffs. . . . Broncos G Joel Hofer stopped 35 shots. . . . The Broncos had Finnish F Joona Kiviniemi back in the lineup, but Finnish D Roope Pynnonen was scratched. Both missed Thursday’s game due to travel delays.
to a 7-3 victory over the visiting Calgary Hitmen. . . . Edmonton (19-12-6) has points in four straight (3-0-1). The victory lifted the Oil Kings into first place in the Central Division, two points ahead of the Red Deer Rebels and Lethbridge Hurricanes, both of whom were beaten at home. . . . Calgary (15-16-4) has lost three in a row (0-2-1). . . . F Vladimir Alistrov (5), F Zach Russell (1), F Andrei Pavlenko (6) and F Andrew Fyten (10) scored for Edmonton between 1:58 and 9:12 of the second period. . . . Russell, a 19-year-old from Calgary, scored his first goal in his 11th game with Edmonton. He had played 40 games with the Brandon Wheat Kings in 2016-17 and one last season. . . . F Mark Kastelic scored twice for Calgary, giving him 25 goals. He had a career-high 23 last season.
visiting Kootenay Ice. . . . Medicine Hat improved to 18-15-3, while Kootenay now is 8-23-6. . . . F Ryan Jevne (17), at 7:03 of the first period, and Hamblin, on a PP, at 4:27 of the second, gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead. . . . D Martin Bodak (7) got the Ice’s goal at 19:15. . . . Hamblin upped the lead to 3-1 with his 19th goal, at 7:44 of the third, and F Ryan Chyzowski (12) got the empty-netter at 17:36. . . . The Ice won 36 of 60 faceoffs. . . . F Elijah Brown was back in Medicine Hat’s lineup for the first time since Nov. 13. . . . D Jonathan Smart, 19, who reportedly didn’t return to the Ice after the Christmas break, wasn’t in Kootenay’s lineup.
over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Vancouver (23-8-2) has won two straight. . . . Red Deer (20-11-2) has lost two in a row. . . . Tendeck stopped 25 shots through two periods, then the Giants outshot their hosts, 18-3, in the third. . . . The Giants scored twice in the second period and added four in the third. . . . F Tristen Nielsen had a goal, his fourth, and two assists, as did F Jared Legien, 20, who was playing his first game with Vancouver after joining the team from the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. . . . Vancouver also had D Landon Fuller, 18, of the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers in its lineup. . . . Tendeck has two shutouts this season and five in his career. . . . With the WJC in Vancouver, the B.C. Division-leading Giants are on a six-game Central Division trek. They will play six games in 10 nights. . . . F Brett Davis (ill) was among Red Deer’s scratches.
Portland Winterhawks. . . . Tri-City (18-12-2) has won four in a row, each of them in OT. . . . Portland (19-11-5) has points in four straight (1-0-3). . . . This was the third straight game between these teams and the Americans won each one in OT. . . . Before Christmas, the Americans won twice in OT — 3-2 in Kennewick, Wash., and 4-3 in Portland. . . . Tri-City won the first meeting of the season between the teams, 6-5 in a shootout, at home on Sept. 28. . . . After last night, they will meet four more times. . . . The Americans began their four-game OT winning streak by beating the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes, 8-7, on Dec. 8. . . . De Jong had given the Winterhawks a 1-0 lead with his fifth goal, on a PP, at 8:04 of the first period. . . . F Sasha Mutala (8) tied it, on a PP, at 17:27. . . . F Blake Stevenson (6) gave the Americans a 2-1 lead at 6:08 of the second. . . . The Winterhawks tied it when F Ryan Hughes (14) scored at 16:38. . . . AuCoin won it with his 18th goal, at 1:17 of OT. . . . Tri-City G Beck Warm stopped 33 shots. . . . Portland was left with four defencemen after Brendan De Jong left with an undisclosed injury in the first period, and John Ludvig was given a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct at 15:01 of the second.
2-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash. . . . Prince George (12-19-3) had lost its previous five games. The Cougars are six-games into an 11-game road trip from hell. They last played at home on Dec. 2, and won’t play there again until Jan. 11. They went 0-5-0 to open the trek, and will continue it tonight in Everett and Sunday in Kamloops. The Cougars will go home to do laundry, then play in Kelowna on Jan. 4. They then will spend a couple of days in the Okanagan before visiting the Tri-City Americans on Jan. 8 and the Spokane Chiefs on Jan. 9. . . . Seattle (11-17-4) has lost four straight (0-3-1). . . . F Vladislav Mikhalchuk (13) gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead at 1:04 of the second period. . . . F Josh Maser (11) made it 2-0 at 10:38 of the third. . . . F Payton Mount (3) got Seattle’s goal at 13:12. . . . G Taylor Gauthier stopped 29 shots to earn the victory.
the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Everett (28-7-2) has points in 15 straight (13-0-2). . . . Spokane (9-12-4) had won its previous three games. It also had won seven in a row at home. . . . F Jack Finley (5) gave the Chiefs a 1-0 lead at 18:19 of the first period. . . . F Gage Goncalves (1) got Everett even at 1:21 of the second. His first WHL goal came in his 37th game, 36 of them this season. . . . Dewar put the visitors out front, on a PP, at 14:01, and he put it away with an empty-netter at 18:21 of the third. . . . Dewar has 26 goals this season. . . . Everett held a 43-15 edge in shots, including 19-2 in the second and 12-3 in the third. . . . Everett remains without F Sean Richards, who is serving an eight-game suspension. After this one, he has three left — tonight (Saturday) against visiting Prince George, and a home-and home with the Tri-City Americans on Jan. 4 and 5. He will be eligible to return on Jan. 6 against the visiting Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Chiefs are without D Spokane Bobby Russell as he serves a two-game suspension. He also will sit tonight against the visiting Tri-City Americans. . . . The Chiefs also are missing F Jaret Anderson-Dolan and D Ty Smith, both of whom are with Team Canada at the WJC, and D Filip Kral, who is playing for Czech Republic.
Jared Legien, 20, to their roster. He had been playing with the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. . . . With D Matt Barberis out since Nov. 18 with an undisclosed injury, the Giants have been utilizing two 20s — F Davis Koch and F Jared Dmytriw. Should Barberis return at some date, they would have to make a decision and get back down to three. . . . Legien, from Pilot Butte, Sask., was selected by the Kootenay Ice with the ninth overall pick of the 2013 bantam draft. . . . In 84 games over three seasons (2014-17) with the Ice, he had four goals and five assists. Last season, he played 36 games with the Victoria Royals (13-20–33) and 25 with the Regina Pats (10-7—17). . . . This season, Legien had 28 goals and 24 assists in 32 games with the Terriers. . . . Legien is expected to be in Vancouver’s lineup tonight when they meet the Rebels in Red Deer.
from the Christmas break. . . . Jeff Bromley (@JeffBromley1), a former newspaper reporter who covered the Ice for 15 years and a long-time season-ticket holder, tweeted that Smart left for “personal and hockey reasons.” . . . Smart, who is from Kelowna, had three goals and eight assists in 36 games this season. . . . The Kelowna Rockets selected him in the first round of the 2014 bantam draft. In 216 regular-season WHL games — 68 with Kelowna, 64 with the Regina Pats and 84 with the Ice — he had 14 goals and 66 assists. . . . Smart is at least the fourth veteran WHLer to leave the Ice this season, following D Sam Huston, F Nick Bowman and F Brendan Semchuk. As well, F Jack Cowell refused to report after being acquired from the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Ice also has traded away four veterans — forwards Brett Davis, Cam Hausinger, Kaeden Taphorn and Keenan Taphorn — since the start of the season. . . . 
Americans won 6-5 in a shootout at home on Sept, 28. . . . Those two teams closed out the pre-Christmas schedule with back-to-back games — the host Americans won 3-2 in OT on Dec. 15, then won 4-3 in OT in Portland the next evening. So when those teams resume their schedules tonight it only makes sense that they should meet again. Right? . . . Yes, they’ll clash in Portland. . . . It’s also worth noting that the Americans will have faced the Winterhawks in three straight games with ace F Cody Glass out of the lineup. Glass, of course, is with Team Canada at the WJC. . . .
an impact the Kootenay Ice will have had on the outcome of the U.S. Division race. Yes, the Everett Silvertips (27-7-2) are well on their way to the division title, what with a 14-point lead over Portland and the Spokane Chiefs, both of whom are 19-11-4. . . . The Winterhawks were scheduled to meet the Ice (8-22-6) once this season — Portland beat the visiting Ice, 10-2, on Dec. 2. . . . The Chiefs, meanwhile, will face the Ice on five occasions. Spokane won 7-4 in Cranbrook on Sept. 28, and then beat the Ice 6-3 at home the next night. The Chiefs also won 4-3 in OT in Spokane on Dec. 8. They’ll meet again Jan. 5 in Cranbrook and Feb. 9 in Cranbrook. . . . Should the Chiefs win the last two meetings, they’ll have picked up 10 points in games with the Ice, while Portland will have claimed two.
Kings in Brandon. . . . Regina improved to 10-24-1, while Brandon slipped to 15-11-6. . . . The Pats took a 2-0 first-period lead on PP goals from F Robbie Holmes (7), at 3:29, and Alkhimov, at 11:30. . . . F Ridly Greig (8) got Brandon on the scoreboard with a PP goal at 5:07 of the second period. . . . Alkhimov gave the Pats a 3-1 lead with his ninth goal at 2:32 of the third period. . . . D Cole Reinhardt (6) scored Brandon’s second goal at 10:56. . . . Each team may have a player suspended before tonight’s rematch in Regina. . . . Brandon F Stelio Mattheos, who leads the Wheat Kings in goals, assists and points, was hit with a
in Moose Jaw. . . . Swift Current (7-24-2) had lost its previous two games. It now is 2-16-0 on the road. . . . Moose Jaw is 17-8-6. . . . The Warriors will get another shot at the Broncos tonight in Swift Current. . . . Last night’s winner came as Moar successfully completed a 2-on-1 break with F Matthew Culling at 1:58 of OT. . . . Goals from Culling (5) and D Matthew Stanley (1) at 14:29 and 17:07 of the third period had given Swift Current a 3-1 lead. . . . The Warriors scored twice with G Brodan Salmond on the bench for the extra attacker, with F Brayden Tracey (11) making it 3-2 at 18:51 and F Keenan Taphorn (9) tying it at 19:13. . . . Moar, who was acquired from the Everett Silvertips, won it with his first goal in 22 career games, 18 of them with the Broncos. . . . Moose Jaw held a 42-21 edge in shots, including 10-3 in the first period and 20-7 in the second, but Swift Current G Joel Hofer continued his fine season. Despite a 5-19-2 record, and a 4.15 GAA, he has a .900 save percentage. . . . The Warriors were 0-4 on the PP; the Broncos didn’t get even one opportunity. . . . The Broncos scratched both of their 17-year-old Finnish freshmen imports — F Joona Kiviniemi and D Roope Pynnonen — due to travel-related issues on their way back from the break. Both players are expected to be available tonight. . . . The Warriors were without F Luke Ormsby, who completed a two-game WHL-issued suspension. . . . Moose Jaw also is missing head coach Tim Hunter and D Josh Brook, both with Team Canada at the WJC. In Hunter’s absence, associate coach Mark O’Leary is in charge of the bench.
the Toronto Maple Leafs, who selected him in the fourth round of the NHL’s 2017 draft. . . . The announcement was made with Scott in Victoria in the selection camp of Canada’s national junior team. . . . Scott, from Calgary, is 23-2-1, 1.61, .943 with the Raiders this season. He has put up four shutouts. . . . Scott’s season also includes a goal, as he fired the puck the length of the ice and into an empty net in a 3-1 victory over the visiting Tri-City Americans on Nov. 16. . . . In 152 regular-season appearances, all with the Raiders, Scott is 72-58-12, 3.03, .903.
the pre-Christmas part of their schedule by going home-and-home with the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The WHL revealed on Friday that it has suspended Pachal for two games “under supplemental discipline” for something that happened in a 6-5 OT victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on Wednesday. . . . The WHL didn’t reveal what happened to warrant the suspension; however, Pachal was hit with a triple minor at 17:02 of the first period (double high-sticking and roughing) after a hit on Edmonton F Trey Fix-Wolansky, so perhaps it had something to do with it. . . . Pachal sat out last night’s game in Swift Current and won’t play in tonight’s rematch in Prince Albert. . . . He will be eligible to return on Dec. 27 when the Raiders visit the Saskatoon Blades.
to a 2-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Regina (9-23-1) snapped a nine-game losing skid (0-8-1). . . . Moose Jaw (16-8-5) has dropped two in a row. . . . The game’s three goals all came in the second period. . . . F Kaeden Taphorn (3) gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 4:00, and Regina F Riley Krane (6) tied it at 13:48. . . . Zonneveld, a 17-year-old freshman from Calgary, scored his first career goal at 18:47. It came in his 15th game. . . . The Warriors held a 27-18 edge in shots. . . . Regina G Dean McNabb stopped 26 shots. . . . F Eric Alarie, who was picked in the first round of the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft, made his debut with the Warriors. Alarie, 15, plays for the Rink Hockey Academy prep team in Winnipeg. . . . Head coach Tim Hunter of the Warriors and D Josh Brook are at the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp in Victoria. . . . Regina is without F Sebastian Streu, who is with Germany at the IIHF World Junior Championship (Division I Group A) in Fussen, Germany.
the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Saskatoon (21-10-3) has won four straight. . . . Brandon (14-10-6) has lost three in a row. . . . This was the first of six meetings between these teams. . . . The Blades took a 2-1 lead into the second period, goals by F Brandon Machado (2) and F Josh Paterson (10) following one by Brandon F Ridly Greig (7). . . . F Linden McCorrister (11) scored, shorthanded, to get the Wheat Kings into a 2-2 tie at 17:19 of the second period. . . . Haden scored his 13th goal of the season with 4.6 seconds left in the third period. . . . The Blades got 33 saves from G Nolan Maier, 18 of them in the third period. . . . With G Jiri Patera having left to attend the selection camp of the Czech Republic’s national junior team, the Wheat Kings started Ethan Kruger, who stopped 19 shots. . . . The Wheat Kings were without five injured players — F Jonny Hooker, D Vinny Iorio, D Jonny Lambos, F Lynden McCallum and D Braden Schneider. . . . D Jack Zayat, who signed a WHL deal on Thursday, made his Brandon debut. . . . Saskatoon is without F Kristian Roykas Marthinsen, who is with Norway at the IIHF World Junior Championship (Division I Group A) in Fussen, Germany. . . . Darren Steinke, the travellin’ blogger, was at home for this one and posted his piece 
in Swift Current. . . . The Raiders (30-2-1) have won two in a row, and are the first team in the CHL this season to reach 30 victories. . . . Swift Current slipped to 6-24-2. . . . These teams will play again tonight, this time in Prince Albert. . . . Prince Albert took a 3-0 lead on goals from F Carson Miller (10), F Noah Gregor (17) and F Eric Pearce (4). . . . F Joona Kiviniemi (8) got the Broncos on the scoreboard at 12:41 of the second period, on a PP. . . . F Sean Montgomery made it 4-1, shorthanded, at 17:32, and F Spence Moe (6) added another shorthanded score, at 9:46 of the third. . . . The Broncos made it interesting with late goals from F Alec Zawatsky (10), F Connor Horning (3) and F Matthew Culling (3), with Montgomery (15) adding an empty-netter for the Raiders. . . . The Raiders now have scored 17 shorthanded goals; they have allowed only 16 PP goals. . . . The Red Deer Rebels are second with eight shorthanded snipes. . . . Montgomery also had an assist for a three-point night. He has career highs in goals, assists (19) and points (34), all in 33 games. . . . The Raiders were 2-7 on the PP; the Broncos were 1-2. . . . The Broncos lost D Garrett Sambrook at 10:59 of the second period after he took a high hit from Raiders F Parker Kelly, who was given a headshot minor. Sambrook left and didn’t return. . . . The Raiders were without G Ian Scott and F Brett Leason, who are in camp with Canada’s national junior team; F Aliaksei Protas and D Sergei Sapego, both of whom are with Belarus at the IIHF World Junior Championship (Division I Group A) in Fussen, Germany; and D Brayden Pachal, who served Game 1 of a two-game suspension. . . . Leason left in the third period of a game between Canada and a USports side after taking a shot on one hand. After the game, Mark Masters (@markhmasters) of TSN tweeted that Team Canada head coach “Tim Hunter says he just shook hands with Leason and Brett is a little sore but it didn’t seem overly serious.”
went on to a 5-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Hitmen (15-14-3) have won five in a row. . . . The Rockets (15-17-2) have lost two straight. . . . Kelowna is 1-2-0 on a Central Division trip that wraps up tonight in Medicine Hat. . . . D Egor Zamula (8) gave Calgary a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 2:51 of the first period. . . . F Kyle Crosbie (5) got Kelowna into a 1-1 tie at 8:00. . . . Kryski broke the tie at 17:26. . . . F Riley Stotts (9) made it 3-1 at 2:01. . . . Kryski added his 16th goal, on a PP, at 13:30 and F Ryder Korczak (5), who was playing against his brother Kaedan, wrapped up the scoring at 19:23. . . . Kryski has tied his single-season career high in goals in 32 games; he had 16 in 71 games last season. . . . Zamula also had two assists. A Russian sophomore, he has eight goals and 19 assists in 32 games. Last season, in 70 games — 38 with Regina and 31 with Calgary — he totalled two goals and 16 assists. . . . Calgary won 35 of 58 faceoffs. . . . The Hitmen are missing D Vladislav Yeryomenko, who also is with Belarus in Fussen.
victory over the Kamloops Blazers in Cranbrook, B.C. . . . The Ice (8-21-6) had lost its previous 12 games (0-9-3). . . . The Blazers (12-15-3) have dropped five in a row (0-4-1), all on a six-game trek through the Central Division that concludes tonight in Lethbridge. . . . F Connor Zary (8) gave the Blazers a 1-0 lead 43 seconds into the first period. . . . Kootenay snapped right back to take a 2-1 lead on goals by F Davis Murray (5) at 2:23 — it was a Teddy Bear goal — and F Peyton Krebs (13), on a PP, at 4:37. . . . F Jakin Smallwood (3), on a PP, and F Jaeger White (13) added second-period goals for the Ice for a 4-1 lead. . . . The Blazers got to within a goal on two scores from D Quinn Schmiemann, at 11:37 of the second and 3:57 of the third. He’s got five goals. . . . F River Fahey (1) iced it for the Ice at 17:04. . . . Kootenay got 37 saves from G Jesse Makaj. . . . Kamloops F Jermaine Loewen completed a three-game WHL suspension by sitting out this one.
shots as the Medicine Hat Tigers beat the Rebels, 4-1, in Red Deer. . . . Medicine Hat (17-14-3) has won four straight. . . . Red Deer (20-10-2) had points in each of its previous four games (3-0-1). . . . The Tigers now are 4-0-0 versus the Rebels this season. . . . The Rebels lead the Central Division, and are five points ahead of the fourth-place Tigers. . . . Williams enjoyed the first four-point night of his WHL career. . . . The Tigers erased a 1-0 deficit with the game’s last four goals, the first three on the PP. D Linus Nassen earned an assist on each of the PP scores. . . . F Chris Douglas (10) gave the Rebels a 1-0 lead at 5:33 of the first period. . . . Williams tied it at 14:28, and F James Hamblin (16) put the visitors ahead at 10:00 of the second period. . . . Williams (8) added insurance at 16:22 and F Bryan Lockner (9) iced it at 19:17 of the third. . . . Medicine Hat is 8-15 on the PP in the four victories over Red Deer. . . . The Rebels held a 50-38 edge in shots, including 19-10 in the third period. . . . Søgaard and Williams were named to the Top Prospects Game on Thursday. . . . Red Deer D Alex Alexeyev was in the lineup after visiting hospital following a hit in a Tuesday night game against the visiting Kamloops Blazers. He leaves today to join the Russian national junior team in Victoria.
victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash. . . . Spokane (18-11-4) has won two in a row. . . . Seattle slipped to 11-15-3. . . . F Nolan Volcan gave Seattle a 1-0 lead, shorthanded, at 10:40 of the first period. . . . McGrew gave the Chiefs a 2-1 lead with goals, the first on the PP, at 19:00 of the first and 1:35 of the second. . . . Volcan (12) tied it at 8:15. . . . F Adam Beckman (15) put the Chiefs back in front at 9:36. He leads all WHL freshmen in goals. . . . F Payton Mount (3) pulled Seattle back into a tie at 17:32. . . . F Eli Zummack (10) broke the tie at 19:45. . . . McGrew, who has 11 goals, completed his second career hat trick into an empty net at 19:31 of the third period. . . . The Chiefs are without D Ty Smith, who is with Canada’s national junior team, and D Filip Kral, who is with the Czech Republic’s team. . . . Spokane F Jaret Anderson-Dolan, who hasn’t played since Oct. 27 because of a broken wrist, also is with Canada but has yet to take part in a full practice. He has been skating and lightly shooting but hasn’t been cleared for contact.
Silvertips to a 4-1 victory over the Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C. . . . Everett (26-7-2) has points in each of its past 13 games (11-0-2). . . . Vancouver (21-7-2) had won its previous seven games. . . . Everett leads the U.S. Divison; Vancouver is atop the B.C. Division. The Silvertips lead the Western Conference by 10 points over the Giants. Everett also leads the U.S. Division, by 14 points over the Portland Winterhawks and Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Silvertips broke open a scoreless game with four second-period goals. . . . Kindopp got it started, while shorthanded, at 10:36. . . . F Dawson Butt (6) made it 2-0 at 12:50, and F Reece Vitelli (4) upped it to 3-0 at 16:32. . . . Kindopp, who has 16 goals, seven of them over his past six games, made it 4-0 at 17:23. . . . G Dustin Wolf stopped 37 shots for Everett, losing his shutout bit at 17:44 of the third period when F Owen Hardy (6) scored. . . . Vancouver, which was 0-5 on the PP, held a 13-3 edge in shots in the third period. . . . Wolf also picked up an assist, his fourth of the season, on Everett’s third goal. . . . F Martin Fasko-Rudas was back in Everett’s lineup after a three-game absence. . . . F Zack Ostapchuk, a 15-year-old from St. Albert, Alta., made his debut with the Giants. Ostapchuk, who plays with the Northern Alberta X-Treme prep team, was a first-round selection in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft.
while working with the Brandon Wheat Kings.
host Seattle Thunderbirds.
Kings won’t play again this season due to an undisclosed injury. Alexander, 17, was a first-round selection by the Swift Current Broncos in the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. . . . The Oil Kings acquired him from the Broncos in a trade on Aug. 21. . . . Last season, Alexander had one goal and four assists in 32 regular-season games with the Broncos, then added one assist in 26 playoff games. This season, he had three goals and two assists in 15 games. He last played on Oct. 26.
assist to lead the host Saskatoon Blades to a 6-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Saskatoon (20-10-3) has won three in a row. . . . The last time the Blades won 20 games quicker during one season was 2011-12 when they were 20-11-1 after 32 games. (Thanks to Les Lazaruk, the Blades’ radio voice, for that gem.) . . . Edmonton (16-12-5) had points in each of its previous three games (2-0-1). . . . Haden enjoyed his first career hat trick and his first five-point game. . . . According to the WHL (@TheWHL), it was the first four-goal game for a Blades player since Oct. 6, 2013, when F Nathan Burns did it against the Regina Pats. . . . D Matthew Robertson (5) pulled the visitors into a 3-3 tie at 11:10 of the second period. . . . Haden, who has 12 goals, broke the tied at 8:11 of the third, added insurance at 12:04 and put it away at 12:25. . . . Haden, 19, has 11 goals and 10 assists in 20 games with the Blades, after opening the season with a goal and two assists in nine games with the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . F Brett Kemp scored his 20th goal of the season for the Oil Kings. He has 20 in 33 games; last season, he finished with 17 in 69.
Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Rebels (20-9-2) have points in four straight. . . . The Blazers (12-13-3) have lost three in a row (0-2-1), all of them on a Central Division trip. . . . F Reese Johnson (14) gave Red Deer a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 16:27 of the first period. . . . F Alex Morozoff (6) upped that to 2-0 at 15:06 of the second. . . . F Brodi Stuart (8) scored for Kamloops at 7:14 of the third. . . . Red Deer was 1-9 on the PP; Kamloops was 0-3. . . . G Dylan Ferguson stopped 41 shots for Kamloops, 10 more than Red Deer’s Ethan Anders. . . . The Blazers, already without F Jermaine Loewen who is two games into a three-game suspension, lost F Zane Franklin at 12:14 of the first period when he was given a boarding major and game misconduct for a hit on D Alex Alexeyev, who left the game and didn’t return. In fact, he was taken to hospital, but an update on his condition wasn’t available after the game. . . . Alexeyev also is on the selection-camp roster for the Russian team that is to play in the 2019 World Junior Championship.
goals, as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Prince George Cougars, 6-5, in Kent, Wash. . . . Seattle improved to 11-14-3. . . . The Cougars (11-17-3) have lost three in a row. . . . F Vladislav Mikhalchuk gave the Cougars a 3-1 lead at 16:34 of the first period. . . . The Thunderbirds scored the game’s next four goals. . . . Volcan’s first goal, at 17:39, got the Thunderbirds to within a goal. . . . D Jarret Tyszka (1) tied it 47 seconds into the second period. . . . Volcan gave Seattle the lead at 1:57, and Andrusiak, who has 21 goals, stretched the lead, on a PP, at 9:50. . . . Mikhalchuk (11), who also had an assist, cut Prince George’s deficit to one at 13:01, only to have Volcan complete his second career hat trick, on a PP, at 9:25. . . . F Josh Maser (10) got the Cougars’ last goal, at 18:00. . . . Andrusiak finished with two goals, giving him 21, and three assists for his first five-point game after four four-pointers. . . . Volcan’s night included his 200th regular-season point. He now has 203 points, including 83 goals, in 291 games.
victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Victoria (14-12-1) had lost four in a row (0-3-1). . . . Portland (18-11-2) had a four-game winning streak end. . . . F Cross Hanas and F Joachim Blichfeld (27) gave Portland a 2-0 lead before the first period was 11 minutes old. . . . The Royals scored three times before the period ended, with F Tarun Fizer, F Brandon Cutler (6) and D Ralph Jarratt (3) finding the range. . . . F Dante Hannoun and Fizer added goals early in the second period for a 5-2 lead. . . . F Mason Mannek (8) got the Winterhawks to within two at 15:49, only to have the Royals strike twice more. . . . Fizer, who scored twice in 45 games last season, completed his first career hat trick with his seventh goal at 17:48. . . . Hannoun later added his 12th goal, with Hanas (5) scoring again for Portland. . . . D Scott Walford drew four assists for the Royals, with Hannoun adding two assists for a four-point night, too. . . . They’ll do it all over again tonight in Victoria.
draft picks, I speculated as to what impact the WHL’s new trade regulations might have on the marketplace.
planned to recall G Matt Armitage from the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks at least for the weekend. . . . It turns out that Armitage was injured on Wednesday night in a 4-3 OT loss to the visiting Langley Rivermen. Armitage went the distance, stopping 45 shots in 63:34, but apparently was injured at some point. . . . The Hitmen now are bringing in Brayden Peters, 16, from the midget AAA Lethbridge Hurricanes. Calgary selected him in the fifth round of the 2017 WHL bantam draft. He is 8-2-0, 1.76, .929 with the Hurricanes. . . . With Stankowski out, the bulk of the goaltending load will fall to Jack McNaughton, a 17-year-old freshman from Calgary. To date, he has made 12 appearances, going 4-6-1, 3.35, .890. . . . The Hitmen will play three games in fewer than 48 hours this weekend. They are in Red Deer tonight before returning home to face Edmonton on Saturday and Moose Jaw on Sunday.
the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. On Dec. 11, the Warriors dealt F Noah Gregor and an eighth-round 2018 bantam draft pick to the Royals for Peckford and a fourth-rounder in 2018.
player with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting continues to grow legs. On Thursday, David Branch, the OHL commissioner, told CBC Sports that his league “failed” Carcillo and “the other players involved.” Branch called Carcillo’s revelations “shocking.” . . . “You know,” Branch said, “I don’t know how else to put it.” . . . This story isn’t likely to go away anytime soon as more and more former junior hockey players are revealing incidents from the past. . . . James Strashin of CBC Sports has the latest story 
by Regina in the 2013 bantam draft. In 270 regular-season WHL games, he has 47 goals and 53 assists. This season, he has eight goals and 11 assists in 22 games. Last season, he had career highs in goals (21) and assists (23) in 62 games.
bantam draft; that is the earliest selection they have made in the draft’s history. The 6-foot-0, 190-pounder is off to a fine start this season, with four goals and 16 assists in 22 games, after finishing last season with seven goals and 30 assists in 68 games.
220-pound Calgarian, he was a third-round pick by the Calgary Hitmen in the 2013 bantam draft. The Hitmen dealt him to the Seattle Thunderbirds, and he helped them win the Ed Chynoweth Cup in the spring of 2017. Seattle traded him to Regina last season and he played in the Memorial Cup with the Pats, who were the host team.
the 2013 bantam draft. In 163 regular-season games, he has nine goals and 21 assists.
TAKING NOTE 