Tag: Rhett Stoesser

Warriors double Hurricanes . . . Cougars complete doubleheader sweep . . . Myatovic fills hat for Thunderbirds

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The Seattle Thunderbirds ran their winning streak to eight games on Tuesday Seattlenight, beating the Royals, 8-0, in Victoria. That victory followed on the heels of a 7-0 triumph in Victoria on Monday afternoon.

After Monday’s game, Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist wrote:

“Too fast, too big, too good. Basically, too everything.

“The Seattle Thunderbirds are all that with 10 NHL draft picks, including five first-rounders, and another five players ranked for this year’s NHL draft. “The Thunderbirds are on another planet than most Western Hockey League teams, and in another solar system entirely, than also-rans like the Victoria Royals.”

BankErr

If the WHL playoffs started today:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Medicine Hat (8)

Red Deer (2) vs. Calgary (7)

Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)

Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)

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WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

Portland (3) vs. Prince George (6)

Tri-City (4) vs. Everett (5)

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TUESDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

The Moose Jaw Warriors struck for the game’s first five goals en route to an 8-4 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . F Eric Alarie (17) got it started 17 seconds into the first period and the Warriors, who had lost three in a row, went on from there. . . . The Warriors got a goal and three assists from each of F Ryder Korczak (22) and Jagger Firkus (29), with F Atley Calvert scoring twice (33) and adding one assist. F Martin Rysavy helped out with a goal (7) and two assists. . . . F Blake Swetlikoff scored twice (13) and added an assist for Lethbridge. . . . Chances are this was a playoff preview because Moose Jaw (34-19-3) and Lethbridge (30-20-6) are comfortably settled into fourth and fifth in the Eastern Conference, each with 12 games remaining. . . .

In Prince George, the Cougars completed a doubleheader sweep by beating the Portland Winterhawks, 3-1. . . . The Cougars had won, 1-0 in a shootout, on Monday. . . . The home boys got second-period goals from F Jaxsen Wiebe (13), at 4:32, and F Carlin Dezainde (4), at 14:09. . . . F Cole Dubinsky (16) made it 3-0 at 12:39 of the third. . . . F Luca Cagnoni (14) got Portland on the board at 16:54 of the third. . . . The Cougars got 34 saves from G Tyler Brennan, while G Dante Giannuzzi stopped 29 shots at the other end. . . . These two teams could well meet up in the first round of the playoffs. . . . Prince George (26-23-4) is sixth in the Western Conference, two points behind the Everett Silvertips. . . . Portland (36-14-5) is third in the conference, but is 0-4-1 in its last five games. . . .

The Seattle Thunderbirds completed a three-game sweep of a series with the Victoria Royals, winning 8-0 on Vancouver Island. . . . The Thunderbirds had won, 7-0, in Victoria on Monday and 8-1 in Kent, Wash., on Saturday. . . . Last night, Seattle took a 3-0 lead in the first period, getting the first one from F Brad Lambert at 8:02 and later scores from D Nolan Allan (9) and F Mekai Sanders (4) just six seconds apart. . . . F Nico Myatovic, who turned 18 on Dec. 1, enjoyed this one with his first career three-goal game. Last season, he had four goals in 67 games. This season, he has 23 in 54 outings. . . . Allan also added three assists. . . . Lambert finished with two goals. He’s got 11 goals and 10 assists in 13 games. . . . F Reid Schaefer had a goal (20) and two assists. . . . G Scott Ratzlaff blocked 21 shots to post his fifth shutout of the season. He is 20-6-1, 2.07, .922. . . . Seattle lost F Kyle Crnkovic to a headshot major and game misconduct at 9:21 of the first period. . . . Seattle’s victory allowed the idle Tri-City Americans to clinch a playoff spot. They are fourth in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Everett Silvertips. . . . Seattle (43-9-2) has won eight in a row. It leads the Western Conference by 10 points over the Kamloops Blazers and is 11 points ahead of Portland atop the U.S. Division. . . . Victoria (15-36-6) has lost four in a row. It is seven points from a playoff spot with 11 games remaining.

Coffee

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

F Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 WHL draft by the Medicine Hat Tigers, had four points on Tuesday as Yukon beat host P.E.I., 5-3, at the Canada Winter Games. McKenna has put up 21 points in three games. . . . McKenna, who plays at the South Alberta Hockey Academy, turned 15 on Dec. 20. From Whitehorse, he has played in 11 games with the Tigers, earning eight assists. . . .

G Rhett Stoesser of the Red Deer Rebels will miss the remainder of this season. The Rebels announced on Tuesday that he suffered an undisclosed injury “last week in practice that will require season-ending surgery.” . . . Stoesser, 17, is from Cremona, Alta. A freshman, he went 19-6-0, 2.35, .910 and put up two shutouts. . . . The Rebels have added G Chase Wutzke, 17, from the U18AAA Saskatoon Contacts to their roster for the remainder of the season. He was a second-round selection in the WHL’s 2021 draft. . . . Wutzke will team with G Kyle Kelsey, who turned 19 on Jan. 22 and is is 17-8-4, 2.68, .908 as a freshman. . . .

Former NHL and OHL star Bobby Smith has sold his 85 per cent share in the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads to Sam Simon, a Detroit-based businessman. Smith was the majority owner for 20 years. . . . “I wasn’t going to own the team forever,” Smith explained, “and none of my kids who have their own lives . . . was interested so when a good buyer presented himself and he saw the Mooseheads as the team he wanted to buy and this guy was going to be a real asset to the team, there was a deal to be made. We put one together and here we are.” . . . Willy Palov has the complete story 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.

WTF

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Bedard keeps adding to legend, has 11 points in two games . . . Lambert scores in Seattle debut . . . Rebels complete sweep of Oil Kings

Like Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill, the legend of Connor Bedard continues to grow.

On Friday night in Regina, Bedard ran his two-game total to 11 points as the ReginaPats beat the Saskatoon Blades, 7-4.

On Sunday, in his first game back after helping Canada win gold at the World Junior Championship, Bedard had four goals and two assists as the Pats beat the visiting Calgary Hitmen, 6-2.

Last night, he struck for three goals — his sixth WHL hat trick — and two assists to lead Regina past Saskatoon.

Bedard, the No. 1-ranked North American skater on NHL Central Scouting’s rating that were released Friday, also went over 200 career points. He now has 203 points — 87 goals and 106 assists — in 107 career regular-season games.

Keep in mind that he won’t turn 18 until July 17.

(Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post was at Friday’s game and filed this story.)

This season, Bedard has 75 points, 34 of them goals, in 30 games. He is tied for the WHL lead in goals, with F Kai Uchacz of the Red Deer Rebels, and leads the league in assists and points. All this despite having missed 11 games while with the Canadian national junior team.

Oh, he also ran his point streak to 29 games. He actually was blanked in his first game of the season, but has at least a point in every game since then.

With 11 points in his two most-recent games, Bedard now will prepare to face the Portland Winterhawks in Regina tonight.

You would like to think that referee Kyle Rehman — yes, a product of the WHL’s officiating ranks — ended up on whatever kind of carpet the NHL has for its officials after his decision to flat-out ignore a sucker-punch to the head during a game on Thursday night.

Look, the Vancouver Canucks bring enough on themselves without getting stiffed by the stripes.

In this one, the Canucks were visiting the Tampa Bay Lightning. The home team had a 5-3 lead late in the third period. But the Canucks closed to within one at 17:52 while on a PP and with their goaltender on the bench.

Then, during a stoppage with 41 seconds remaining in the period, there was a gathering at the Tampa Bay net. After play had been halted, Lightning defenceman Mikhail Sergachev clearly drilled an unsuspecting Vancouver F Connor Garland on the chin. Tampa Bay players were upset that Garland had tried to poke free a puck being held by G Andrei Vasilevskiy.

If you watch the video, you will see Rehman enter from the left. He was right there and didn’t make a call. Thus, the Canucks didn’t get a PP and ended up losing, 5-4.

On Friday, Sergachev, in the first season of an eight-year, US$68-million, was fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA.

As for Rehman, well, the NHL — a league that pretends to be serious about eliminating head shots from its games — isn’t at all transparent when it comes to its officials so we may never know if he was disciplined.

Santa

John Matisz has taken a look at the trade deadlines that the three major junior hockey leagues recently manoeuvred their way through. There is lots here, including the WHL not allowing teams to trade draft picks that are more than four years away. . . . Give the piece a read right here.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

The SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars still haven’t been beaten in regulation time. They ran their record to 33-0-3 with a 6-1 victory over the host Weyburn Red Wings on Friday night, after beating the Notre Dame Hounds 9-6 in Wilcox, Sask., on Thursday. The North Stars are to meet the Bruins in Estevan tonight.

NoSee

FRIDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

F Brad Lambert scored in his debut with Seattle and was named the game’s first star as the Thunderbirds skated to a 3-2 victory over the Raiders in Prince Albert. Lambert, who had been with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, was assigned to Seattle by the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday. He started on the right side with LW Reid Schaefer and C Jared Davidson. . . . In Moose Jaw, G Connor Ungar won his 20th game this season by stopping 42 shots to lead the Warriors to a 4-2 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Seattle is 3-2-0 on an East Division trip that winds up tonight in Saskatoon. . . . Portland is 2-3-0 on its eastern swing and will wrap it up tonight in Regina. . . .

D Stanislav Svozil returned to Regina’s lineup and had four assists in a 7-4 victory over the visiting Saskatoon Blades. He was playing his first game after having captained Czechia to a silver medal at the World Junior Championship. . . . G Rhett Stoesser blocked 34 shots to lead the host Red Deer Rebels to a 4-1 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. The season series is over now, and Red Deer won all nine games. . . . Andrew Peard, the Oil Kings’ radio voice, notes that F Loick Daigle, 20, who was claimed off CHL waivers this week, became the first Quebec born-and-raised player to play for the team in modern franchise history. Daigle scored Edmonton’s lone goal. . . .

F Tyson Laventure’s 13th goal of the season, just 47 seconds into OT, gave the Lethbridge Hurricanes a 4-3 victory over the visiting Prince George Cougars. F Blake Swetlikoff, who was acquired from Spokane prior to the trade deadline, had four assists. . . . F Carter MacAdams had a goal (7) and an assist in his game with Calgary after coming over from Prince George at the deadline and the Hitmen beat the visiting Swift Current Broncos, 6-3. The Broncos had three Wards — D Mason Ward, D Sam Ward and F Matt Ward in their lineup. “With all three of them in the lineup tonight, I may have to go strictly with first names for the Wards,” tweeted Craig Beauchemin, the Broncos’ radio voice. . . .

D Olen Zellweger (12) and F Ryan Hofer (24), both whom were acquired by Kamloops from Everett on Tuesday, scored in the first period and the Blazers went on to beat the host Silvertips, 6-3. . . . Everett got two goals (26) and an assist from F Jackson Berezowski, who had four goals and two assists in a 9-3 victory over host Spokane on Wednesday. . . . G Braden Holt turned aside 29 shots to lead the host Victoria Royals to a 4-0 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. Holt is 4-0-1, 1.57, .951 since coming over from Everett on Dec. 27. . . . F Robin Sapoušek, an 18-year-old Czech, made his WHL debut with the Royals. . . .

F Hunter St. Martin had a goal (3) and two late assists as the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 4-3. F Dallon Mellon (10) tied the game at 12:45 of the third period and F Cayden Lindstrom (10) got the winner at 16:59. . . . F Chase Bertholet scored twice (18), one on the PP and the other while shorthanded, to help the Spokane Chiefs to a 4-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C. F Ty Thorpe, the Giants’ new captain, scored twice (23). He was named captain after F Zach Ostapchuk was dealt to the Winnipeg Ice.

Canary

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.

Wednesday

Crusaders, Rebels loving their bus drivers . . . Red Deer, Winnipeg set for Manitoba doubleheader . . . Winterhawks, Chiefs share 15 goals

Players and personnel with the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders are crediting their bus driver with keeping them out of harm’s way when they were involved SherwoodParkin a multi-vehicle accident on Saturday afternoon.

The Crusaders had played in Olds on Friday night and were en route to Blackfalds for a Saturday night date with the Bulldogs.

The Crusaders didn’t make it as they ended up among numerous vehicles involved in accidents on No. 2 Highway south of Edmonton.

Things were fine until visibly turned sour south of Ponoka and the road iced up.

“We rolled up on a massive pile-up where our bus driver just told everyone to hold on,” Evan McFeeters, the Crusaders’ associate general manager and head coach, told Adam Lachacz of CTV News Edmonton. “He did an incredible job of keeping us safe and upright, weaving through the mayhem in front of us.

“We saw it all . . . cars doing 360s smashing into each other, semis jackknifing, but our bus driver is the hero of the day for us.

“Keeping us upright when we hit the ditch and avoiding collisions along the way till we finally came to a stop.”

(Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to learn the bus driver’s name, just that his first name is Robert. So, Robert, well done!)

There weren’t any injuries to anyone on the Crusaders’ bus.

Eventually, school buses were sent from Ponoka and the team ended up spending the night in the Ponoka Centennial Centre. They returned to Sherwood Park on a different bus on Sunday afternoon.

Lachacz’s complete story is right here.

Inclement weather resulting in horrendous driving conditions prevented two WHL teams from getting home following Saturday night games. . . . The Saskatoon Blades beat the host Brandon Wheat Kings, 4-1, and then headed for home along the Trans-Canada Highway. They got as far as Moosomin, before pulling in for the night. The Blades finally arrived home on Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

At the same time, the Swift Current Broncos, who had beaten the Pats, 5-2, in Regina, chose not to even try to get home after the game, hunkering down in a local hotel instead.

Boss

The junior B Castlegar Rebels of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey CastlegarLeague were in the middle of it all, too, because driving conditions in B.C.’s Interior have been horrendous for a few days now. After playing in Kamloops on Friday night and 100 Mile House on Saturday night, the Rebels arrived home on Sunday and tweeted: “Special thanks to our bus driver Craig Luke for his great work in snowy road conditions.”

How poor were driving conditions in the Regina area. Kevin Gallant made the 45-minute drive from Regina to Moose Jaw for the Saturday night game between the Warriors and Red Deer Rebels. His son, Matthew, is a sophomore defenceman with the Warriors.

When Kevin arrived home after the game, here’s what he wrote on Facebook:

“Made it home, drove 40 kilometres an hour sometimes 30 kilometres an hour. About a 90-minute drive. . . . I will never do another drive like that again, not used to it. Got behind a vehicle and did the slow drive, sometimes no visibility, looked like a few cars in ditch.”

Been there, done that! But I only did it once. When I was with the Regina Leader-Post, I once headed for Moose Jaw for a Saturday night game. Things were fine on the way there. But it was ugly going back with snow and more snow and wind and more wind. I was fortunate to tuck in behind a big rig and follow the taillights all the way to Regina.

Yes, that was a lesson learned.

Bass

Meanwhile, in Kamloops and area, we had a dump of snow late Thursday and into Friday. But it didn’t stick around too long. Then it snowed some more and, yes, there is more in the forecast. People here like to giggle about what goes on in Vancouver on the odd occasion when it snows there. But, truth be told, things are no better in Kamloops on the occasion of that first snowfall. The Sahali and Aberdeen areas have some steep hills that always seem to turn messy when things get slippery. And this time it wasn’t any different. Then, of course, there is the Coquihalla Highway that always seems to end up being shut down a time or three in one or both directions. Such has been the case for the past two or three days, and we now are left to see what Monday brings.

This weekend, however, seems to have brought some ugliness with it.

There is a twitter account — Kamscan (@Kamscan) — whose operator monitors road conditions. On Sunday, the account featured these tweets:

“And the entitled are showing their colours . . . just passed a plow truck on the right and gave the operator the finger.”

“Operator was mentioning vehicles were right on his ass. Guess some can lose the time and deductible on their windshields.”

“And a second one just passed him and probably touched the tip of the plow.”

“Yesterday a plow operator had stuff thrown at him as he was passing a trucker who had hit the ditch.”

ProduceBag

The WHL has eight mid-week games on its upcoming schedule and two stand WHLout among all the rest. Those two games will feature the Red Deer Rebels in Winnipeg to face the Ice on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. . . . The Rebels are on a franchise-record 15-game winning streak. Yes, they have won their first 15 games — the WHL record of 22 is held by the 1967-68 Estevan Bruins. . . . Meanwhile, all the Ice, which has won 10 straight, has done is go 15-1-0, despite opening with 13 consecutive road games. . . . Red Deer’s freshman goaltenders have some pretty fine numbers — Rhett Stoesser is 5-0-0, 1.40, .934, while Kyle Kelsey is 10-0-0, 1.80, .935. . . . Veteran Daniel Hauser of the Ice goes into the doubleheader at 11-0-0, 2.35, .920. His running mate, freshman Dawson Cowan, is 3-1-0, 2.52, .901.

SUNDAY IN THE WHL:

The Portland Winterhawks opened an early 4-0 lead — thanks to three PP goals — and then had to go to a shootout to beat the visiting Spokane Chiefs, 8-7. . . . PortlandF Jack O’Brien’s second goal of the game gave Portland that 4-0 lead at 13:28 of the first period. . . . Spokane F Ty Cheveldayoff tied it, 7-7, at 19:25 of the third period. It was his third goal of the game and seventh of the season. It also was the second multi-goal game of his 92-game WHL career; he had a two-goal outing last season. . . . Portland got shootout goals from F Marcus Nguyen and D Luca Cagnoni, with F Raegan Wiles counting for Spokane. . . . F Gabe Klassen had a goal and three assists for Portland. . . . The Chiefs got two goals and two assists from Wiles and a goal and three helpers from F Blake Swetlikoff. . . . The Winterhawks (11-1-2) moved into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Everett Silvertips (11-5-0). Portland has points in six straight games (4-0-2). . . . The Chiefs (3-10-1) have lost eight in a row (0-7-1).

THINKING OUT LOUD — If you were watching the CFL game from Vancouver on Sunday, were you wondering how much pride Dave Dickenson, the Calgary Stampeders’ head coach, had to swallow before getting QB Bo Levi Mitchell into the game? And if Dickenson was going to send him in to open the fourth quarter, why didn’t he make the change at halftime? . . . One other thing about Mitchell: How do you think he’ll look in Saskatchewan Roughriders’ colours? . . . The Boston Bruins tried to right a wrong on Sunday night. We are left to wonder how long it will be before the stink goes away and they are able to patch the giant hole that has been left in their credibility. . . . The Prince George Cougars (9-7-0) have won three in a row and woke up Sunday morning atop the B.C. Division. They will visit the Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday, then head home for a Saturday-Sunday doubleheader with the Vancouver Giants. Have to wonder if this early success will create some interest in Cougartown?

Call

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.

Fish

Rebels still perfect, tie WHL record . . . Thunderbirds unbeaten, too . . . What happened in the JPHL?

The Red Deer Rebels ran their record to 12-0-0 with a 4-0 victory over the RedDeervisiting Vancouver Giants on Friday. . . . G Rhett Stoesser, a 17-year-old freshman from Carstairs, Alta., stopped 18 shots as he recorded his first WHL shutout in his fourth start. He is 4-0-0, 1.25, .938. . . . The Rebels have tied the WHL record for most victories to open a season. The 1988-89 Swift Current Broncos opened 12-0-0 before dropping a 2-1 decision to the Blades in Saskatoon on Oct. 30, 1988. . . . The Rebels are scheduled to visit the Edmonton Oil Kings (1-11-1) on Sunday. . . .

Meanwhile, in Prince George, the Seattle Thunderbirds stayed perfect (9-0-0) Seattlewith a 5-4 victory over the Cougars. They’ll play there again tonight and resume the triple-dip in Kent, Wash., on Tuesday. . . . Last night, Seattle got two goals from each of Jared Davidson and Jordan Gustafson as they got out to a 5-2 lead. The Cougars scored twice in the game’s last two minutes.

The Brandon Wheat Kings drew their largest crowd (5,141) of the young season Brandonon Friday with the Winnipeg Ice in town. According to the Wheat Kings, it also was equipment manager Scott Hlady’s 500th game with the organization. . . . According to Lucas Punkari of the Brandon Sun, it was the first crowd of more than 5,000 “since 5,621 fans were in the building for a 5-4 shootout win over Moose Jaw on March 17, 2018.” . . . The Ice skated home with a 4-1 victory, ending its season-opening road schedule with a 12-1 record. The same two teams will meet in Winnipeg tonight as the Ice stages its home-opener.

Starbucks

Headline at The Onion (@TheOnion) — Jose Altuve Still Can’t Get Over How Small He Looks Out There.

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Here’s Ken Campbell of Hockey Unfiltered addressing rumblings that the Toronto Maple Leafs may be in line for a coaching change, perhaps with Barry Trotz replacing Sheldon Keefe: “It’s interesting to note though, that (general manager) Kyle Dubas has been a GM for three teams in three leagues — the Soo Greyhounds (OHL), the Toronto Marlies (American Hockey League) and the Leafs. In all that time, he has hired only one person to coach his teams, and that’s Keefe.”
You are able to check out Hockey Unfiltered with Ken Campbell right here.

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One more from Campbell: “The (OHL’s) Mississauga Steelheads, who are off to a great start this season, are once again struggling to attract fans. Their lease with the city-run Paramount Foods Centre expires after this season. Steelheads president Elliott Kerr would prefer to stay, but it’s a situation that bears watching. When Kerr bought the team, he said he would give it three years and this is his 11th. He’s lost seven figures easily.”

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

The Edmonton Oil Kings are down to the maximum of three 20-year-olds after releasing F Cole Carrier on Friday. Carrier, who is from Strathcona, Alta., was a fourth-round pick by the Kelowna Rockets in the WHL’s 2017 draft. He had four assists in seven gams with Edmonton after coming over from the Lethbridge Hurricanes early in the season. In 117 regular-season games, 101 of them with the Regina Pats, he totalled 19 goals and 21 assists. . . . That move leaves Edmonton with D Logan Dowhaniuk, F Carson Golder and F Jaxsen Wiebe as its 20-year-olds. Wiebe is serving a four-game suspension under supplemental discipline after going knee-on-knee with F Josh Pillar of the Saskatoon Blades on Oct. 23. The Blades say Pillar is out week-to-week. Wiebe was given a tripping minor on the play in question. . . . Later in the day, the Oil Kings were beaten, 5-0, by the visiting Calgary Hitmen, who got 18 saves from G Brayden Peters. The defending-champion Oil Kings now are 1-11-1. . . .

In Portland, the Kelowna Rockets lost D Noah Dorey to a slew-footing major and game misconduct at 9:41 of the first period. Chances are good that Dorey will miss Game 2 of the weekend double-dip tonight. . . . The Winterhawks weren’t able to score on the five-minute power play, and it came back to haunt them when F Andrew Cristall scored in OT to give the visitors a 4-3 victory. . . . The Rockets scored the game’s last three goals, with Cristall getting them within one at 16:46 of the third period and F Nolan Flamand tying it with 5.6 seconds left. . . .

Prior to meeting the visiting Spokane Chiefs last night, the Kamloops Blazers announced that they had release F Kobe Verbicky, 19. From Victoria, he was a second-round selection by the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL’s 2018 draft. He had one assist in six games this season. In 64 career regular-season games, 38 with Kamloops, he scored three times and added five assists. . . . Later that night, the Blazers, who had lost three straight, scored four first-period goals while outshooting the Chiefs, 24-4, en route to a 5-1 victory. F Logan Stankoven had two goals for the Blazers, who finished with a 62-23 edge in shots. The teams will meet again tonight, this time in Spokane. . . . Stankoven now has 17 points, including eight goals, in seven games since returning from the camp of the NHL’s Dallas Stars. . . .

The Saskatoon Blades ran their winning streak to seven games as they beat the Tigers, 2-1, in Medicine Hat. . . . F Tyler Parr scored both of Saskatoon’s goals and they came via the PP. . . . Parr, a 17-year-old sophomore from La Salle, Man., has three goals in 12 games this season. Last season, he scored three times in 58 games. . . . The game was scoreless until Parr struck at 9:52 of the third period. . . .

The host Moose Jaw Warriors got 46 stops from G Connor Ungar in beating the Everett Silvertips, 4-1. F Jagger Firkus scored twice. . . . The Silvertips opened an East Division trip with the loss. . . . The Warriors have won four in a row. . . .

The Victoria Royals’ starting lineup featured five Saskatchewan-born skaters as they met the host Swift Current Broncos last night. The lone exception was G Logan Cunningham of Sherwood Park, Alta., who was making his WHL debut. The starting skaters were forwards Carter Briltz of Regina, Cole Reschny of Macklin and Anthony Wilson of Swift Current, along with defencemen Nate Misskey of Melfort and Kalem Parker of Clavet. Reschny, the Royals’ top pick in the WHL’s 2022 draft, third overall, was playing his second WHL game. . . . Things didn’t go well for the Royals, though, as the Broncos struck for two shorthanded goals and one on the PP in a 6-1 victory. . . . F Raphael Pelletier scored twice for the Broncos. . . .

The Ottawa 67’s, the OHL’s last unbeaten team, dropped a 5-3 decision to the host Peterborough Petes on Friday night. The 67’s had opened with nine straight victories. The Petes now are 8-3-1. . . .

In the BCHL, the Penticton Vees now are 13-0-0 after scoring a 4-1 victory over the host West Kelowna Warriors. . . . Next up for the Vees? The Trail Smoke Eaters (6-5-1) are to visit Penticton tonight.

Paper

THINKING OUT LOUD — Now that was a terrific opener for the World Series. It would have been a whole lot better if Fox’s broadcast crew — Joe Davis and John Smoltz — stopped talking on occasion and just let the game breathe. Please, guys, why not allow the viewers to experience the atmosphere a bit. Baseball is a game that sometimes doesn’t need chatter. . . . Late in Game 1, writer Joe Posnanski tweeted: “Nobody in baseball can hit any reliever.” He’s not wrong. . . . What could be more fitting than having Shane Doan and his son, Josh, drop the ceremonial first puck as the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes played their first game at Arizona State U’s Mullett Arena last night? While Shane, who owns a chunk of the Kamloops Blazers, played for the Coyotes, Josh, 20, captains the ASU Sun Devils. . . . The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are 28-2 at home over the last two CFL seasons. The Edmonton Elks have lost 17 straight home games. Hmmm.

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.

Drawer

Ice storms through B.C. Division . . . How are WHL’s six Saskatchewan teams handling ticket prices? . . . Two unbeaten teams still standing in WHL

In their last WHL season (1983-84) in Winnipeg, before relocating to Moose Jaw, the Warriors finished with a 9-63-0 record.

The Winnipeg Ice of 2022-23 already have won more than nine games and they WinnipegIcehave yet to play a home game.

With repairs ongoing in the Wayne Fleming Arena, the Ice has been forced to open this WHL season with 13 straight road games. It played the 11th and 12th of those games this weekend, beating the Kamloops Blazers, 5-3, on Friday and the Kelowna Rockets, 5-4, on Saturday. The victory in Kelowna meant that the Ice ran the table in B.C., going 5-0 in Lotusland.

So with one game remaining on that trek, the Ice leads the Eastern Conference at 11-1-0. The Ice’s lone loss to this point occurred on Oct. 8 when it lost, 4-1, yes, in Moose Jaw.

The Ice will conclude the road trip on Friday when it meets the Brandon Wheat Kings. Then, on Oct. 29, the Ice finally will play its home-opener with another game against the Wheat Kings.

Last night, in Kelowna, the Rockets pulled into a 4-4 tie on a goal from F Adam Kydd with 30.2 seconds left in the third period. The Ice won it just seven seconds later when F Conor Geekie scored his second goal of the game.

Winnipeg F Owen Pederson, who had a goal and two assists in Kamloops, was blanked in Kelowna so his 11-game point streak is over.

How much are Saskatchewan’s six WHL teams charging for tickets this season? WHLWhich one of those teams doesn’t have child pricing available? The answers to those questions and a whole lot more are right here in a story by Stefanie Davis of CTV News in Regina. . . . It turns out that the Saskatoon Blades have chosen, again, not to increase ticket prices. Tyler Wawryk, the Blades’ director of business operations, told Davis: “This would be our fifth season without any price increases.” Part of the reason for that, he explained, is that the Blades took into account that the provincial government made tickets liable to a PST as of Oct. 1. . . . This really is an interesting read and it shows what WHL teams are up against as they fight to get fans back into their buildings.

Rick Bowness finally got to work the bench with his new NHL team, the Winnipeg Jets. Bowness signed with the Jets over the summer, but wasn’t on their season-opening four-game road swing after he tested positive for COVID-19. In his absence, associate coach Scott Arniel — along with Brad Lauer, the capable assistant coach — ran things. Bowness is healthy again and was on the bench Saturday for the Jets’ home-opener, as they dropped a 4-1 decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

OCD

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

A tip of the Taking Note fedora to Jeff Truitt, the head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders. Truitt and his guys met the Rebels in Red Deer on Saturday night. Three of the Raiders — F Keaton Sorensen, F Harrison Lodewyk and D Justice Christensen — are from Red Deer and all three were in the starting lineup. . . . Well done! . . .

And then there were two. . . . The Tri-City Americans were beaten 11-3 by the Medicine Hat Tigers and 7-1 by the Kamloops Blazers, both in Kennewick, Wash., on Oct. 12 and 14, respectively. It figures, then, that the host Americans knocked the Portland Winterhawks from the ranks of the unbeaten by beating them, 7-3, on Saturday night behind three goals and two assists from F Tyson Greenway. The Winterhawks now are 7-1-1, while the Americans are on a three-game winning streak. . . . Still unbeaten are the Red Deer Rebels (10-0-0) and Seattle Thunderbirds (8-0-0). . . . The Rebels continued their franchise-record season-opening run with a 3-0 blanking of the visiting Prince Albert Raiders as G Rhett Stoesser earned his first WHL shutout with 23 saves. . . . The Rebels had posted a 4-2 victory over the host Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday. . . . Last night, in Kent, Wash., the Thunderbirds bounced the Spokane Chiefs, 8-3. . . . F Reid Schaefer scored his ninth and 10th goals for Seattle, which counted the game’s last six goals. . . . The Rebels next play Wednesday when they are at home to the Victoria Royals (2-8-2). The Thunderbirds are off to Prince George for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader with the Cougars (5-5-0). . . .

The Cougars got to .500 with an interesting 4-3 OT victory in Kamloops last night. . . . F Logan Stankoven scored all of the Blazers’ goal, the third one giving them a 3-2 lead at 18:12 of the third period. . . . F Chase Wheatcroft pulled the Cougars even at 19:19 and F Koehn Ziemmer, who also had two assists, won it at 1:39 of extra time. . . . D Ethan Samson, who had two goals in a 5-1 victory over the host Giants on Friday, drew three assists in Kamloops. . . .

BTW, Prince Albert will play its third road game in fewer than 48 hours when it meets the Calgary Hitmen this afternoon. The Hitmen, 3-0 losers to the visiting Saskatoon Blades on Friday, were idle last night. . . . Also playing three games in fewer than 48 hours this weekend: Kamloops (home to Winnipeg and Prince George, at Vancouver); and the Vancouver Giants (home to Prince George, at Victoria, home to Kamloops.) . . . Sorry, but three games in fewer than 48 hours at this level just shouldn’t happen. . . .

G Max Hildebrand of the Prince Albert Raiders recorded his first WHL victory on Friday, stopping 26 shots in a 2-1 victory over the host Edmonton Oil Kings. His father, Steve, is the Saskatoon Blades’ associate general manager. . . . Max was a 13th-round selection by the Raiders in the WHL’s 2019 draft. . . .

When G Talyn Boyko, 20, was returned by the NHL’s New York Rangers, it left the Kelowna Rockets with three goaltenders on their roster. On Friday, they dropped Nicholas Cristiano, an 18-year-old from Langley, B.C. He is expected to join the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors. In three appearances, Cristiano was 0-1-0, 2.61, .879. . . . All of this means the Rockets, at least for now, will go with Boyko, who is from Drumheller, Alta., and Jari Kykkanen, 18, of Lloydminster, Alta. . . .

The Ottawa 67’s got past the Soo Greyhounds, 2-1, in a Friday night OHL game that needed 15 shootout rounds to decide. Only one of the 30 circus shooters was able to score. D Gavin Ewles’ goal allowed the 67’s to run their season-opening record to a franchise-record 8-0-0. . . . Ottawa G Collin MacKenzie set an OHL record with 15 shootout saves as he improved his career record to 6-0-0. . . . BTW, it was the second-longest shootout in OHL history. The longest? The London Knights went 19 rounds in beating the Mississauga Steelheads, 4-3, on Dec. 2, 2012.

Lawyer

THINKING OUT LOUD — Got home from a breakfast gathering of the Kamloops Kidney Support Group late Saturday morning. Turned on TV. Minnesota Wild at Boston Bruins. Ewwww! I had forgotten just how unlistenable the NESN broadcast crew of Cheerleadin’ Jack and the Brick really is. I lasted until Cheerleadin’ Jack referred to the Boston goaltender as being “calm as a cucumber.” . . . D Arber Xhekaj of the Montreal Canadiens scored his first NHL goal on Saturday. He has become a favourite because of his nickname. Hockey players love to add a ‘y’ or an ‘ie’ to a name and make that a nickname. So how do you do that to Xhekaj? Instead, his nickname is ‘Wifi’ because his surname looks like a computer password. Gotta love that! . . . I don’t know if you’re ready for this, but the various TV networks and streaming outfits have more than 140 new Christmas-themed movies poised for release. In fact, some of them showed up on TV this weekend. Merry Christmas! . . . The one good thing about those Christmas-themed movies is that they don’t include any gambling commercials. Do they?

The Saskatchewan Roughriders won’t be playing in the 2022 Grey Cup game, Riderswhich is to be played in Regina. Their playoff hopes ended on Saturday with a 32-21 loss to the visiting Calgary Stampeders. Here’s Rob Vanstone in the Regina Leader-Post: “A paid/pained attendance — 27,192 — that wasn’t even remotely reflective of the actual turnout. . . . One meaningless game remains in this miserable season. At this stage of the game, the Roughriders’ toughest opponent is not the Stampeders — but, instead, indifference.” . . . Too bad the CFL wouldn’t let the Roughriders take a knee on the entire game that is to be played in Calgary on Saturday. . . . Vanstone’s complete column is 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.

Bodies

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