What? You thought I’d take the night off? Hey, the big guy is working tonight, so I am, too. LOL!
As I sit here on Christmas Eve, drinking tea — well, there may have been a glass of wine earlier — and nibbling on shortbread, let me tell you about our Christmas.
We actually got our first gift a couple of Fridays ago, and what a gift it was!
Dorothy has to visit the renal clinic here — why don’t they rename it the kidney klinic? — three times a year. She has been going for bloodwork once a month for about as long as we can remember. It’s at her thrice yearly sessions at the clinic that the good people there interpret the numbers and let her know just how she’s doing.
So there she was two Fridays ago, handing out crocheted dishcloths and smiles, as she always does, then meeting with Dr. Conley, one of three nephrologists who look after her so well.
It took Dr. Conley a matter of moments to tell Dorothy how thrilled she was with the numbers and just how well she was doing, and then the two women moved on to Christmas chatter and chit-chat about life in general.
Oh, Dr. Conley also added that bloodwork now need be done every second month.
Now all of this may not seem like much to the unaffected, but let me tell you that it’s a big deal in our household. It means that more than five years after Dorothy underwent a kidney transplant, she continues to move forward.
Yes, it was a great, great start to our Christmas season.
Our wish to you, then, is that you don’t ever take your health for granted, and don’t ever hesitate to give those close to you a hug and let them know that you love them.
Merry Christmas to all, thanks for stopping off here, and please stay safe.
It also is the time of season to give thanks . . .
Thanks to Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, for all he does for this site over the course of a year. Not only do I steal lines from sportscurmudgeon.com, but I also take the odd graphic from the almost daily funnies that he sends along. . . .
Thanks, too, to Garth MacBeth, who has stuck with me from the start as he tracks former WHLers on their journeys through Europe, Asia, Australia, etc. . . .
Thanks also to Terry Massey. In another blog life, he designed a whole lot of graphics for me, many of which are still being used on this site.
And thanks to Dwight Perry, Janice Hough, Cam Hutchinson, RJ Currie, Torben Rolfsen, TC Chong and the other regular contributors to Scattershooting. I couldn’t do it without you.
One of the great Christmas columns has to do with fresh peaches and a youngster who was dying of leukemia. . . . If you haven’t already seen it, it’s right here. Enjoy!
If you’re looking for a real touch of Canadiana on this Christmas Eve, and if you’re on Twitter, check out the account operated by TSN’s Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger). . . . A lot of people send Dreger photos of outdoor rinks (past and present) and he passes them along via his account. Oh boy, there are a lot of memories and good feelings there.
When F Johan Franzen played in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings, his nickname was The Mule. That tells you what kind of game he played. . . . Now, almost four years since brain injuries ended his career, he struggles to get through his daily life. . . . “Sometimes my whole world falls apart and I can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Franzen told Expressen, a Swedish newspaper. . . . Click on the link in the above tweet for more on this story.
EHC Biel beat visiting Geneve Futur, 4-3, in a game in Switzerland’s top junior league on Friday night. There were 47 fans on hand; they witnessed a 25-round shootout. Yes, there were more shootout attempts than there were spectators. . . . Both goaltenders were beaten twice in the first five rounds of the shootout, then were perfect until the 49th shot. . . . According to the IIHF, this was the longest shootout “worldwide in male ice hockey.” The previous record was set two years ago when HC Ajoie beat HC La Chaux-de-Fonds, 3-2, in a game that was decided in a 23-round shootout in Switzerland’s second-tier pro league. . . . If ever there were two good reasons to dump the shootout . . .
The WHL, the Kootenay Ice and the Victoria Royals have clarified the terms of a deal made on Saturday. . . . When the deal was announced, it had F Carter Loney, 16, and a seventh-round selection in the 2019 bantam draft going to the Ice in exchange for sixth- and seventh-round picks in the 2019 draft and an undisclosed conditional pick in 2020. . . . Sometime after that, the news releases announcing the deal were changed. It seems that Victoria gets a sixth-round pick in the 2019 draft and a conditional fourth-round selection in 2020. . . . Loney, from Winnipeg, was taken by the Royals in 10th round of the 2017 bantam draft. He hasn’t yet signed a WHL contract and, in fact, has committed to the U of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs for 2021-22. . . . This season, he is playing in Winnipeg for the Rink Hockey Academy prep team.
If you feel so inclined, please click on the DONATE button over there on the right. Thanks in advance, and Merry Christmas.
over the visiting Raiders, handing Prince Albert, the CHL’s top-ranked team, its first regulation-time loss of this season.
making the East Division swing with its favourite team.
junior franchise is poised to move to Winnipeg.
host Saskatoon Blades beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 1-0. . . . The Blades (19-10-3) have won two straight. . . . The Raiders (28-2-1) had been 21-0-1 in their previous 22 games. This was their first regulation loss this season. . . . This was the third game in fewer than 48 hours for both of these teams and each went 2-1-0. . . . The Raiders had won the first two meetings with the Blades — 4-1 in Prince Albert and 6-2 in Saskatoon on Sept. 30 and Oct. 14, respectively. . . . Maier posted his second shutout of the season and the fourth of his career. This season, he is 15-8-2, 2.70, .912. . . . Robins’ goal, his fifth of the season, came at 5:14 of the second period and also was the Teddy Bear goal. . . . Raiders F Brett Leason had his 30-game point streak come to an end, despite having five shots on goal. . . . Leason and G Ian Scott, who stopped 26 shots, will be on the ice in Victoria on Tuesday as the selection camp opens for Canada’s national junior team. . . . When the Raiders next play, on Wednesday against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings, they will be missing Scott, Leason, F Aliaksei Protas and D Sergei Sapego. The latter two are with the Belarus national junior team at the IIHF World Junior Championship (Division I Group A) in Fussen, Germany. . . . Darren Steinke, the travellin’ blogger, was at home Sunday for his third game in fewer than 48 hours, too, and his post is 
route to a 6-3 victory over the visiting Kamloops Blazers. . . . Calgary (14-14-3) has won four straight. . . . The Blazers (12-12-3) had points in each of their previous four games (3-0-1). . . . Kamloops now is 0-1-1 on a six-game Central Division trek. . . . Calgary went ahead 1-0 at 4:18 of the first period when F Kaden Elder (12) scored the Teddy Bear goal. . . . F Martin Lang (6), who also had two assists, pulled Kamloops even at 1:42 of the second period, but F Jake Kryski (14) got that one back, on a PP, at 4:11. . . . F Kyrell Sopotyk (4) got the Blazers back into a tie, on a PP, at 10:31. . . . It was all Calgary after that, with F James Malm (15) counting at 10:47, F Tye Carriere (3) at 11:13, and D Egor Zamula scoring twice, at 12:34 and 13:49. . . . Zamula, who has seven goals, enjoyed the first multi-goal game of his WHL career. . . . Kamloops F Zane Franklin (17) closed out the scoring at 13:55 of the third period. . . . Zamula, who also had an assist, enjoyed the first multi-goal game of his career. . . . Calgary F Riley Stotts had three assists. He’s got a goal and seven assists over his past three games. . . . The Blazers were without F Jermaine Loewen and F Kobe Mohr, both of whom were suspended by the WHL earlier in the day. Loewen drew a TBD suspension after taking a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct in a 3-2 OT loss to the Oil Kings in Edmonton on Saturday, while Mohr got one game under supplemental discipline from the same game.
Spokane Chiefs. . . . Everett (25-7-1) now has points in 11 straight (10-0-1). . . . Spokane (16-11-4) had won its previous two games. . . . Everett leads the Western Conference by seven points over the idle Vancouver Giants (21-6-2), who have four games in hand. . . . Everett is atop the U.S. Division by 13 points over the Portland Winterhawks (18-10-2), who hold three games in hand. . . . This season, Wolf, a 17-year-old sophomore, is 23-7-1, 1.84, .928. He has three shutouts this season and seven in his career. . . . The shutout yesterday lowered his career GAA to 1.99 in 51 appearances, 31 of them this season. . . . F Bryce Kindopp scored both goals, at 14:34 and 19:48 of the third period. The second one was into an empty net. He’s got 13 goals. . . . Spokane got 38 saves from G Bailey Brkin. . . . The Chiefs were playing their third game in fewer than 48 hours. They went 2-1-0. They also were in their fourth game in five nights. They were 2-2-0 in those four games, with the other loss also at the hands of the Silvertips, 4-2 in Everett on Wednesday. . . . The Silvertips were without F Sean Richards, who drew a TBA suspension after he took a boarding major and game misconduct on Saturday night against the Seattle Thunderbirds. Richards hit D Loeden Schaufler at 10:10 of the second period; Schaufler left the game and didn’t return. . . . The Silvertips also were without F Martin Fasko-Rudas, who has missed two straight games.
Medicine Hat improved to 13-13-3. . . . Regina (8-20-0) has lost five in a row. . . . Regina went 0-3-0 and was outscored 13-5 in playing three games in fewer than 48 hours, one in Brandon and two at home. . . . On Sunday, F Sergei Alkhimov (5) and F Austin Pratt (11) gave the Pats a 2-0 lead before the game was eight minutes old. . . . F Bryan Lockner, who began his WHL career with Regina, got Medicine Hat’s first goal, his eighth, at 1:19 of the third period. . . . The Tigers tied it at 7:13 when F Josh Williams (6) scored off a pass from F Cole Sillinger, who recorded his first WHL point. . . . Sillinger, 15, is from Regina and is the son of former Pats star Mike Sillinger. Cole, the 11th overall selection in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft, plays for the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. . . . F James Hamblin snapped the tie with his 13th goal at 18:30. . . . Each team was 0-4 on the PP; each team won 36 faceoffs. . . . The Pats got 38 saves from G Max Paddock. . . . Tigers G Jordan Hollett, who also began his WHL career with the Pats, stopped 30 shots.
visiting Victoria Royals. . . . Prince George (11-14-3) had lost its previous four games. With the victory, the Cougars moved back into possession of the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot, one point ahead of the Kamloops Blazers, who have four games in hand. . . . Victoria (13-10-0) had beaten the host Cougars, 5-1, on Saturday night. . . . The Cougars got two goals from F Vladislav Mikhalchuk, who has eight, and one each from D Rhett Rhinehart (2) and F Josh Maser (8) to lead 4-0 early in the second period. . . . The Royals got to within two on second-period goals from F Tarun Fizer (3) and F Dante Hannoun (10), on a PP. . . . But F Ilijah Colina (5) restored Prince George’s three-goal lead, on a PP, at 17:55. . . . Victoria D Matthew Smith’s first goal rounded out the scoring at 3:32 of the third period. . . . Maser and Colina added two assists each. . . . Mikhalchuk’s first goal, at 7:49 of the first period, was the Un-Teddy Bear goal. The Cougars have moved away from a Teddy Bear game, instead asking fans to bring scarves, toques, etc., and to throw them on the ice after their first goal. . . . The Cougars will play their next 11 games on the road, with eight of them in the U.S. Division on three separate junkets; their next home game is scheduled for Jan. 11.
5-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Calgary (12-14-3) has won two in a row. . . . Moose Jaw (15-6-4) had points in each of its previous 10 games (9-0-1). . . . Both teams were playing their third game in fewer than 48 hours and each went 2-1-0. . . . In fact, Moose Jaw went 3-1-0 in playing four road games in five days. . . . Calgary scored once in the first period and three times in the second to take a 4-0 lead into the third. . . . Elder, who also had an assist, opened the scoring with two PP goals, at 9:04 of the first and 3:25 of the second. He’s got 11 goals. . . . Malm upped the lead to 3-0 at 16:25, and D Egor Zamula (4) made it 4-0 at 17:56. . . . F Justin Almeida (6) scored the Warriors’ goal, on a PP, at 4:43 of the third. . . . Malm finished the scoring, getting No. 14 into an empty net at 19:18. . . . The Hitmen got a big game from F Riley Stotts, who had four assists. . . . G Jack McNaughton stopped 33 shots for Calgary. . . . The Hitmen lost F Luke Coleman 22 seconds into the third period when he was hit with a boarding major and game misconduct.
Deer Rebels in a game that included three goals in the last 2:26 of the third period. . . . Lethbridge (14-8-5) is 5-0-1 in its last six games and has moved to within three points of the Central Division-leading Rebels. . . . Red Deer (17-9-2) has lost two in a row. . . . The Rebels were playing their fifth game in six nights — they went 1-4-0 — and their third game in fewer than 48 hours. They went 1-2-0. . . . Lethbridge went 3-0-0 in playing three games in fewer than 48 hours. . . . F Taylor Ross gave Lethbridge a 2-0 lead in the first period, the second goal coming via the PP. . . . Red Deer went ahead 3-2 on goals from F Chris Douglas (9), at 7:12 of the second; F Zak Smith (7), at 5:00 of the third; and F Brett Davis, shorthanded, at 11:35. . . . F Dylan Cozens (14) tied it for Lethbridge, at 17:34, only to have Ross (16) complete his first career hat trick at 18:43. . . . Davis (9), who was acquired from the Kootenay Ice on Friday, got Red Deer back into a tie at 19:42. . . . Jones won it at 1:50 of OT with his second goal of the season. . . . Jones went into this season without a goal in 12 games. This season, he now has two goals in 22 games. . . . Meanwhile, Ross, who also had an assist, had four previous two-goal games, three last season and one this season, but have never scored three times in one outing. . . . The Hurricanes got three assists from F Jake Elmer. . . . Davis added an assist to give him three points. . . . Douglas has nine goals and seven assists in 28 games; he finished last season with nine goals and seven assists in 72 games. . . . The Rebels won 40 of the game’s 66 faceoffs.
Americans, 4-2, in Langley B.C. . . . Vancouver (20-6-2) has won six straight. . . . Tri-City (14-11-1) has lost three in a row (0-2-1). . . . On Saturday night, the Giants had beaten the visiting Americans, 5-2. . . . F Blake Stevenson (5) scored shorthanded to give the Americans a 1-0 lead at 12:15 of the first period. . . . F Jared Dmytriw (6) tied it at 5:26 of the second, only to have F Isaac Johnson (11) score on a PP to give the Americans a 2-1 lead at 7:44. . . . Vancouver won it on third-period goals from F Aidan Barfoot (2), at 7:26; F Davis Koch (9), on a PP, at 13:49; and F Milos Roman (16) at 15:16. . . . Roman now has goals in six straight games.
5-4 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Tigers (9-7-2) had lost their previous two games (0-1-1). . . . The Hitmen (5-11-2) have lost two in a row. . . . Calgary was playing its third game in as many nights. It beat the visiting Tigers 7-5 on Friday, then dropped a 1-0 home-ice decision to the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday. . . . F Kaden Elder got the Hitmen to within a goal, at 3-2, at 6:16 of the second period. . . . Nassen, who has four goals, then stretch the lead to 5-2 with goals at 14:43 and 18:01, the latter on a PP. . . . The Hitmen got close on goals from F Luke Coleman (4), at 18:33 of the second, and Elder (8), at 17:55 of the third. . . . Nassen, a 20-year-old Swedish sophomore, has three three-point outings this season after enjoying two of them last season. . . . Medicine Hat was 2-4 on the PP. . . . Calgary held a 44-33 edge in shots, including 16-1 in the third period. . . . The Tigers got 40 saves from G Jordan Hollett.
1 
victory over the Hitmen in Calgary. . . . Saskatoon (9-5-1) had lost its previous three games (0-2-1). . . . Calgary (4-9-2) has lost three in a row. . . . Dach has 27 points, 10 of them goals, in 16 games. . . . The Blades had 2-1 and 3-2 leads. . . . Calgary tied it, 3-3, at 4:02 of the third period when F Zach Huber (4) scored. . . . F Kristian Røykås Marthinsen (5), a freshman from Norway, snapped the tie at 12:43 and Dach added the empty-netter at 19:50. . . . Saskatoon D Brandon Schuldaus played in his 200th regular-season game. A 20-year-old from Calgary, he has played 90 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds, 71 with the Red Deer Rebels, 28 with the Moose Jaw Warriors and 11 with the Blades. . . . Saskatoon was playing its third game in fewer than 48 hours. It went 1-1-1.
doubled the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-3. . . . Edmonton (9-7-1) has won four in a row. . . . Lethbridge (7-5-3) had points in its previous six games (4-0-2). . . . The Oil Kings went 3-0-0 in playing three times in fewer than 48 hours. . . . Fix-Wolansky finished with a goal, his 11th, and three assists. In 17 games, he has put up 32 points, including a WHL-leading 21 assists. He is second in the scoring race, three points behind F Brett Leason of the idle Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Edmonton F David Kope (2) broke a 1-1 tie at 8:05 of the first period. That was the first of five straight goals for the Oil Kings as they took control. . . . F Quinn Benjafield (7) scored twice — once while shorthanded and once on the PP — while F Jake Neighbours (5) scored twice and added an assist.
and went on to an 8-5 victory over the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook, B.C. . . . The Rebels (10-4-1) have won two in a row. . . . The Ice (4-7-3) has lost two straight. . . . Red Deer F Reese Johnson scored twice early in the first period — at 1:11 and 2:29 — for a 2-0 lead. . . . The Ice pulled even when F Brad Ginnell (3), at 4:06, and F Cam Hausinger (5), at 4:42, quickly replied. . . . F Blake Sydlowski (1) put Red Deer ahead at 7:59, and the visitors took control with three second-period goals. . . . The Ice got to within 6-5 early in the third period, scoring three PP goals, but F Jeff de Wit (9) upped Red Deer’s lead to 7-5 at 10:59 and Johnson (8) completed his hat trick with an empty-netter at 19:58. . . . D Alex Alexeyev had a goal (7) and two assists for Red Deer, with F Brandon Hagel drawing three assists. . . . Ginnell added two assists to his goal. . . . The Ice had a 41-26 edge in shots. . . . The Ice has played two home games since a committee hoping to keep the franchise from moving to Winnipeg held a town hall meeting on Thursday. The announced attendance at those games was 2,208, for a 7-2 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings, and 2,094 yesterday. . . . The Ice’s next home game is scheduled for Friday when the Oil Kings make their third and final visit of the season.
Vancouver Giants beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-2, in Langley, B.C. . . . The Giants improved to 11-3-2. . . . Brandon (6-3-5) has lost five straight (0-2-3). The Wheat Kings are 0-2-2 on a seven-game road trip that continues Tuesday in Prince George. . . . Miner is from Souris, Man., and played one season with the bantam AAA Wheat Kings and two with the midget AAA Wheat Kings. . . . This season, Miner is 4-0-1, 1.41, .953. . . . Vancouver F Brayden Watts, the last shooter in the third round, scored the only goal of the shootout. . . . Three of the game’s four ‘real’ goals came via the PP, with Vancouver getting two of those. . . . F Connor Gutenberg (5) gave Brandon a 1-0 lead at 9:01 of the first period; Vancouver F Milos Roman (7) tied it at 13:26. . . . Brandon went ahead 2-1 at 12:29 of the second as F Caiden Daley (2) scored the game’s only even-strength goal. . . . Watts
Portland Winterhawks. . . . Kamloops (6-6-1) has won four in a row. . . . Portland (7-6-1) has lost three straight. . . . This was the final game of the season series with each team winning twice on the road. . . . The Blazers beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 7-2 in Kent, Wash., on Friday, then won 6-2 in Portland on Saturday. . . . The Winterhawks also played three games in fewer than 48 hours, but they went 0-3-0. They lost 4-1 in Spokane on Friday. . . . Kamloops G Dylan Garand stopped 32 shots and then, like a number of other WHL players, left for the U-17 World Hockey Challenge that runs from Nov. 3 through Nov. 10 in Quispamsis and Saint, John, N.B. . . . Garand, who backs up Dylan Ferguson, is 1-1-1, 2.52, .916 in five appearances. . . . The Blazers took control with the game’s first three goals — two in the second period and one in the third. F Josh Pillar and F Kobe Mohr each had a goal and an assist. . . . The Winterhawks were without D Jared Freadrich, who drew a one-game suspension for a cross-checking major and game misconduct in Saturday’s game. He hit D Luke Zazula on the play in question.
Thursday, and that the Tigers sent him home on Friday.
Sunday, the DoD issued three suspensions resulting from incidents in Saturday night games. . . . F Ryley Appelt of the Kamloops Blazers was given a two-game suspension after taking a charging major and game misconduct during a 7-2 loss to the Silvertips in Everett. Originally, Appelt was penalized for a headshot, but was changed to charging. . . . D Josh Brook of the Moose Jaw Warriors got one game after being hit with a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct during a 4-3 victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs. . . . F Mike MacLean of the Prince George Cougars also got one game, this one for a boarding major and game misconduct during a 6-5 shootout victory over the host Lethbridge Hurricanes. MacLean sat out the Cougars’ 2-1 OT victory over the host Kootenay Ice on Sunday.
Portland. . . . The Silvertips (6-3-0) were playing their third game in fewer than 48 hours, having beaten the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings, 5-3, on Friday, and the Kamloops Blazers, 7-2, on Saturday. . . . The Winterhawks (5-3-1), who had been 5-0-1 in their previous six games, hadn’t played since Wednesday. . . . Everett got 30 saves from Dustin Wolf, who is the only goaltender the Silvertips have used to this point in the season. Wolf is 6-3-0, 1.90, .922. . . . The Winterhawks were 0-10 on the PP. . . . F Connor Dewar had two assists for Everett, giving him 14 points, including seven helpers, in nine games.
victory over the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook, B.C. . . . The Ice held a 46-27 edge in shots, including 21-5 in the third period. . . . Each team was playing its third game in fewer than 48 hours. . . . The Cougars lost 4-1 to the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Friday, then beat the host Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-5 in a shootout, on Saturday. . . . The Ice lost 3-2 to the visiting Regina Pats on Friday night, then dropped a 4-3 shootout decision to the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Saturday. . . . On Sunday, F Jackson Leppard (1) gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead at 13:32 of the second period. . . . The Ice pulled even at 3:39 of the third on a goal by F Peyton Krebs (3). . . . F Ilijah Colina (3) won it 33 seconds into extra time. . . . The Ice (3-4-1) has lost three in a row (0-1-2). . . . The Cougars improved to 4-5-1. . . . Prince George was without F Josh Maser and F Mike MacLean, both of whom were serving WHL-issued suspensions.
the Calgary Hitmen. . . . D Aaron Hyman (3) had pulled the Pats (3-6-0) into a 3-3 tie, on a PP, at 11:06 of the third period. . . . Henry, who also had two assists, won it with his second goal of the season. . . . The Hitmen slipped to 1-5-2. . . . F Jake Leschyshyn (4) had a goal and two assists for Regina. . . . F Cole Dubinsky, who won’t turn 16 until Dec. 4, scored his first goal for the Pats. From Ardrossan, Alta., he was a fourth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft. . . . F Tristen Nielsen was back in Calgary’s lineup after serving a three-game suspension.
I referred to as “old-fashioned news releases.”
TAKING NOTE 