Tag: Samuel Honzek

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

BEDARD
CONNOR BEDARD

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

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

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

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

BarSign

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

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

If the WHL playoffs started today:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Calgary (8)

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

Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)

Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

Portland (3) vs. Everett (6)

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

——

WEDNESDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

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

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

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

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

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

Needle

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Package

Advertisement

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

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

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

Pecans

If the WHL playoffs started today:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

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

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

Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)

Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

Portland (3) vs. Everett (6)

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

——

SATURDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

——

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

Oreo

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Time

Bedard’s legend grows and grows . . . Silvertips rout Winterhawks . . . Thunderbirds run winning streak to 11

BEDARD
CONNOR BEDARD

THE BEDARD REPORT: So . . . what do you think? Is F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats one of those athletes who rises to the occasion, or what? . . . On Friday night, in a game being televised by TSN and with the highly touted F Zach Benson on the other side, Bedard scored four times and added an assist as the host Pats overcame a 3-0 deficit and posted a 5-3 victory. . . . Bedard has seven hat tricks this season — five three-goal outings and two four-goal games. . . . It was his second four-goal game this season and the third of his career. Last season, he had one three-goal game and one four-goal outing. . . . Bedard’s nine career hat tricks breaks the Pats’ record that he shared with F Jordan Eberle, who played four seasons. . . . Bedard now has 16 multi-goal games this season. . . . In his past eight games, he has 13 goals and 15 assists. . . . In 18 games since returning to the Pats from the World Junior Championship, where he led Canada to gold, Bedard has put up 31 goals and 24 assists. . . . In 123 career regular-season games, he now has 121 goals and 126 assists. . . . Bedard leads the WHL in goals (58) and points (119). And allow me to remind you once again that he won’t turn 18 until July 17. . . . Benson had two assists last night, giving him 61 this season. He is tied with Bedard and Ice D Ben Zloty for the league lead. . . . Next up for Bedard and the Pats? The Red Deer Rebels will be in Regina today with the Saskatoon Blades to visit on Sunday. . . .

And there’s more. . . . Chalk up at least two more sellouts to the Travellin’ Bedards. . . . The Lethbridge Hurricanes have said that their March 10 game against the Pats is sold out. . . . The Pats will go on to Medicine Hat the following night and the Tigers said Thursday that “a limited number of overflow tickets . . . are available now.” Overflow tickets? According to the tickets, overflow tickets “provide access into the venue but have no assigned seat or location.”

Grab

According to figures compiled by the WHL, the Saskatoon Blades’ average Saskatoonannounced attendance last season was 3,390. This season, through 28 home games, that average was at 3,876. . . . That number is going to go up simply because F Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats have two games left to play in Saskatoon. . . . Darren Zary of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix talked with Colin Priestner, the Blades’ president and general manager, about how things have gone this season. . . . That story is right here.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

The U of Calgary Dinos scored a 3-2 OT victory over the Alberta Golden Bears in Game 1 of Canada West’s best-of-three men’s hockey championship on Friday. . . . F Josh Maser, who played four seasons (2016-20) with the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, scored the winner at 5:41 of OT. . . . They are scheduled to play the second game tonight in Calgary. . . .

F Jaxsen Wiebe of the Prince George Cougars has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Wiebe was an undrafted free agent. . . . The contract calls for an NHL salary of US$775,000, with $80,000 in the minors. There also are signing bonuses of $80,000, $77,500 and $75,000. . . . Wiebe, 20, is from Moose Jaw. The Cougars acquired him from the Edmonton Oil Kings early in this season. He has 28 points, 11 of them goals, in 29 games with the Cougars. In six games with Edmonton, which he helped to a WHL title last season, he had three goals and an assist in six games. . . . In 159 career games — he also played 73 games with the Red Deer Rebels — he has 88 points, including 33 goals. The Rebels selected him in the seventh round of the WHL’s 2017 draft. . . .

D Christoffer Sedoff of the Red Deer Rebels has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. Sedoff, a 21-year-old from Helsinki, Finland, was an undrafted free agent. . . . The contract calls for a salary of US$870,000 in the NHL and $82,500 in the minors, with three $95,000 signing bonuses. . . . He is in his third season with the Rebels. This season, he has four goals and 42 assists in 54 games. Last season, he put up seven goals and 54 assists in 65 games. . . .

Brennan McConaghy has joined the Regina Pats as their interim athletic therapist. McConaghy, 29, has worked with the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos, the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves and the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . He takes over from Greg Mayer, who had been with the Pats for 19 years before joining the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders as their lead athletic therapist last week.

Stairs

If the WHL playoffs started today:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Winnipeg (1) vs. Swift Current (8)

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

Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)

Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

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

Prince George (4) vs. Everett (5)

——

FRIDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:
The Red Deer Rebels broke open a scoreless game with four second-period goals, the first two via the PP, en route to a 6-3 victory over the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . F Ben King (16) scored both PP goals, at 6:43 and 8:26. . . . D Mats Lindgren helped out with a goal (10) and four assists for Red Deer. His first career five-point game has him at 27 points in 55 games. Lindgren, who came over from Kamloops prior to the season, had had six three-point games, but had never reached four. . . . F Nate Danielson scored his 30th goal of the season for Brandon. . . . D Christian Sedoff, who signed with the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, was back in Red Deer’s lineup after serving a four-game suspension. . . . Red Deer (39-17-4) had lost its previous two games. The Rebels are headed to a Central Division title. . . . Brandon (23-27-8) is 10th in the Eastern Conference, three points from a playoff spot. . . .

In Everett, the Silvertips scored six times in the second period en route to a 10-3 victory over the Potland Winterhawks. . . . F Gabe Klassen (32), who had two Portland goals, got the Winterhawks to within one, at 2-1, at 9:53 of the first period. . . . Everett scored the next eight goals. . . . F Matthew Paszkiewicz scored his first goal for Everett and it proved to be the winner. A 17-year-old from Calgary, he scored in his 43rd game. . . . F Austin Roest (32) led Everett with a goal and three assists. D Dexter Whittle and F Ben Hammering each had three assists and F Raphael Pelletier (15) and F Caden Zaplitny (12) each scored twice. . . . F Jackson Berezowski scored his 40th of the season for the winners. . . . Everett (30-24-3) has won three in a row. It is fifth in the Western Conference, one point behind Prince George and two ahead of Tri-City. . . . Portland (36-17-5) has lost eight straight (0-7-1) and is headed to a second-place finish in the U.S. Division. . . .

The Kamloops Blazers unleashed a 53-shot attack in beating the visiting Kelowna Rockets, 8-1. . . . They’ll play again tonight, this time in Kelowna. . . . F Logan Stankoven’s 30th goal of the season, on a PP, got Kamloops started at 4:57 of the first period. The Blazers took a 4-0 lead into the second period, their fourth goal, at 14:17, off the stick of F Jakub Demek (1). . . . F Connor Levis (17) had a goal and two assists for Kamloops. . . . F Caedan Bankier (31) and F Ryan Hofer (37), both of whom signed NHL contracts this week, both scored for the Blazers. . . . F Ethan Neutens, a 17-year-old from Cochrane, Alta., scored his first WHL goal in his 53rd game for Kelowna. . . . Kamloops (39-11-6) will finish atop the B.C. Division. . . . Kelowna (23-32-3) had won its previous two games. It is eighth in the Western Conference, four points behind Vancouver and 12 ahead of Victoria. . . . The same two teams will do it again tonight, this time in Kelowna. . . .

The Medicine Hat Tigers built up a 5-0 second-period lead en route to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Tigers scored four times in the first period, two of them coming from F Brendan Lee (27). . . . F Tyler MacKenzie (17) had a goal and two assists in that outburst. . . . Edmonton D Rhys Pederson, a 16-year-old from Stettler, Alta., scored his first WHL goal; it came in his 28th game. . . . Medicine Hat (25-25-9) has won two straight. It is seventh in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Regina and four ahead of Swift Current. . . . Edmonton (8-47-3) has lost 10 in a row. . . .

G Bryan Thomson blocked 31 shots to lead the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 3-0 victory over the Raiders in Prince Albert. . . . Thomson has three shutouts this season and five in his career. He missed a lot of the early season due to injury, but now has made 16 appearances. He is 9-4-2, 2.14, .933. . . . The Hurricanes took control with second-period goals from F Tyson Laventure (20) and F Brayden Edwards (8). . . . Duane Bartley worked his 1,500 game as the Raiders’ athletic trainer/equipment manager. . . . Lethbridge (32-21-6) has won two in a row and has closed to within three points of fourth-place Moose Jaw in the Eastern Conference. . . . Prince Albert (25-30-3) is 11th, four points from a playoff spot. . . .

D Hudson Thornton scored twice to help the Prince George Cougars to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs. . . . Thornton, who has 20 goals this season, gave his guys a 1-0 lead at 3:43 of the first period and then snapped a 2-2 tie at 17:27 of the second. . . . Thornton is one of two defencemen with at least 20 goals; Olen Zellweger (22) of Kamloops is the other. . . . The Cougars scored once on the PP and twice while shorthanded. . . . F Carter Streek (15) had a goal and an assist for Spokane. . . . Prince George (30-24-4) is fourth in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Everett. . . . Spokane (13-38-7) has lost two in a row. . . . They’ll complete the doubleheader tonight in Prince George. . . .

In Regina, the Pats erased a 3-0 second-period deficit and beat the Winnipeg Ice, 5-3. . . . D Carson Lambos (11) gave Winnipeg a 3-0 lead at 6:29 of the second period. . . . F Connor Bedard got Regina to within a goal with scores at 7:12 and 12:07 of the second, and F Tanner Howe, who also had two assists, tied it with his 30th goal at 18:43. . . . Bedard gave his guys the lead at 1:35 of the third and added the empty-netter at 19:38. . . . D Stanislav Svozil had three assists for the winners. . . . F Zach Benson of the Ice, who is second to Bedard in the scoring race, had two assists. . . . According to Rob Vanstone, who used to cover the Pats for the Regina Leader-Post, the Pats last beat the Ice on Feb. 20, 2019. Back then the Ice was playing out of Cranbrook. Regina had been 0-18-2 against the Ice since the franchise moved to Winnipeg. . . . Regina (30-24-3) has won five in a row and is sixth in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Medicine Hat. . . . Winnipeg (48-9-1), which leads the Eastern Conference and the East Division, will wrap up a 10-game road swing with a game in Brandon tonight.  The trek started with seven straight victories, but the Ice now has lost two in a row. . . .

The Saskatoon Blades got to 40 victories for the 19th time in franchise history by beating the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors, 4-1. . . . F Egor Sidorov scored twice for Saskatoon, giving him 37 this season. . . . Saskatoon F Conner Roulette picked up one assist, the 100th of his career. It came in his 181st game, the first 131 of which were played with Seattle. . . . Saskatoon (40-13-5) has points in eight straight (7-0-1). It is second in the East Division, 10 points behind Winnipeg. . . . Moose Jaw (35-22-3) has lost three in a row. It is fourth in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of Lethbridge. . . .

The Seattle Thunderbirds scored the game’s last three goals to beat the Tri-City Americans, 4-1, in Kennewick, Wash. . . . F Gracyn Sawchyn (18) broke a 1-1 tie at 15:09 of the second period and F Lucas Ciona (26) added insurance at 17:55 of the third. . . . F Kyle Crnkovic had a goal (28) and an assist, running his career points total to 280 in 266 games, the first 210 with the Saskatoon Blades. . . . The Americans had D Jackson Smith, 15, the second overall selection in the WHL’s 2022 draft, in their lineup for the third time this season. He plays for the U18 prep team at the Edge School in Calgary. . . . Seattle (46-9-2) has won 11 straight and leads the Western Conference by 10 points over Kamloops. . . . Tri-City (27-24-7) has lost three in a row. It is sixth in the conference, two points behind Everett. . . .

The Vancouver Giants scored two goals 57 seconds apart early in the second period and went on to a 4-2 victory over the Victoria Royals in Langley, B.C. . . . They’ll finish their two-game weekend series tonight in Victoria. . . . F Karen Gronick (4) opened the scoring at 1:31 of the second period and F Ty Halaburda (17) made it 2-0 at 2:28. . . . Victoria twice came to within a goal but couldn’t equalize. . . . F Samuel Honzek (21) had Vancovuer’s other two goals. . . . Vancouver was without F Kyle Bochek, who drew a five-game suspension for a cross-checking major and game misconduct he incurred on Wednesday night in Prince George. He also is a repeat offender; this is his third suspension totalling 12 games this season. . . . Vancouver (23-28-7) has won two straight. It is seventh in the Western Conference, four points ahead of Kelowna. . . . Victoria (15-38-7) has lost seven in a row (0-6-1). It is 12 points from a playoff spot with eight games to play.

Bottle

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.

PinkFloyd

Report: Ice could be on last legs in Winnipeg . . . Big return for Cristall . . . Another shutout for Thomson

This hasn’t been a banner few days for the WHL.

First, it announced on Saturday that it had suspended four players off the Moose Jaw Warriors’ roster for “standard of conduct violation.”

For part of Wednesday, this was the dominant headline on the Winnipeg Sun’s WinnipegIcehome page — CRACK IN THE ICE: First-place WHL team could be on last legs in Winnipeg.

Sports columnist Paul Friesen pulled together all the off-ice noise that has been surrounding the Winnipeg Ice of late and, with the WHL’s board of governors meeting in Las Vegas, wrote:

“With still no arena deal in sight — a source confirms the WHL has already fined the franchise half a million dollars for failing to come through on that front — the league’s first-place team appears to be on its last legs in Winnipeg.”

Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press reported on Dec. 14 that the WHL had fined the Ice $500,000, something that was vehemently denied by the WHL and the team a few days later.

Friesen points out that if was on Jan. 29, 2019, when Greg Fettes, the chairman of 50 Below Sports + Entertainment, the Ice’s parent, told a news conference that “we’re building a 4,500 seat arena. We’re expecting it to be full.”

Today, more than four years later, a shovel has yet to be put into the ground.

Fettes, meanwhile, didn’t attend the WHL meetings in Vegas that ran through Tuesday. Matt Cockell, a former WHL goaltender who is Fettes’ partner and the Ice’s general manager, was in Vegas.

Without a new arena, one that meets WHL standards, the Ice is playing in the Wayne Fleming Arena on the U of Manitoba campus, a facility that seats around 1,600. As a result, the Ice, the top-ranked team in all of the CHL, is last in attendance in the 22-team WHL.

I was told on Thursday that the Ice’s situation was to be high on the agenda for WHLthe WHL meetings in Las Vegas, that the league was contemplating taking over the franchise and that it already was looking for a potential new home for the franchise.

I also was told that Chilliwack, B.C., and Wenatchee, Wash., were high on the list of possibles. Of course, the WHL had a franchise in Chilliwack not that long ago, but the Bruins were sold and left after five seasons, relocating to Victoria as the Royals in time for the 2011-12 season. The 5,000-seat Chilliwack Coliseum now is home to the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs.

Wenatchee, meanwhile, is home to the 4,300-seat Town Toyota Center, which is where the BCHL’s Wild plays. David White, the Wild’s owner, has long said he is quite content in the BCHL and hasn’t expressed interest in being involved in the WHL. According to figures compiled by hockeydb.com, the Wild’s average announced attendance this season is 2,534, behind only the Penticton Vees (3,069). Troy Mick, a former WHL player and coach, is with the Wild as hockey director and head coach of the 18U AAA Wolves and 16U AAA Wilderness.

(BTW, Chilliwack is third in the BCHL attendance chart, at 2,316, and the Cranbrook Bucks are fourth, at 2,296.)

Friesen also wrote that the WHL, after repeatedly being asked about the Ice situation, issued a brief statement saying that it and the Ice “continue to work closely to evaluate options for a facility that meets WHL minimum standards.” The WHL also took time in that brief statement to deny the Ice had been fined.

We can only imagine how frosted some WHL organizations are at the way the Ice has been able to circumvent those minimum standards. The WHL came up with minimum standards a number of years ago — they dealt with such things as seating, boards and glass systems, ice quality controls, arena lighting and broadcast standards — something that resulted in some cities and teams spending millions of dollars to upgrade facilities.

The establishment of those standards also helped lead to the construction of a new arena in Moose Jaw, with the 4,500-seat Mosaic Place opening on Aug. 19, 2011.

You also are free to wonder how other teams feel about the way the WHL, considering the Ice’s off-ice situation, allowed the team to deal away numerous draft picks as it loaded up this season’s roster.

Friesen wrote: “According to WHL blogger Alan Caldwell, who tracks these things, the Ice have traded away picks in the first, second and fourth rounds in this year’s draft, all their picks from Rounds 1 through 6 in 2024, their top four picks in ’25, and their first six picks in ’26.”

Oh, and let’s not forget that the WHL allowed the Ice to leave Cranbrook without settling its lease with the city. Trevor Crawley of the Cranbrook Townsman tweeted on Wednesday that “as far as I’m aware, the City of Cranbrook lawsuit against the WHL/Kootenay Ice/Winnipeg Ice for breach of contract related to the franchise relocation is still active.”

On the ice, the Ice is running away with the East Division and is atop the Eastern Conference. As mentioned, the Ice again is the CHL’s top-ranked team this week. All of which has people wondering whether the WHL will try to force the Ice out of the Wayne Fleming Arena and into a larger, more TV-friendly venue at some point during what could well be a deep playoff run.

What it all amounts to is that there is lots of meat on this bone, more than enough to keep us tuned in to this messy story.

Friesen’s column is right here and it is well worth your time.

On the COVID-19 front, we have this tweet from Cole Beasley, an anti-vaxxer Covidwho sometimes plays for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills: “Y’all I was trying to take my family to the beaches resort in Turks & Caicos but apparently it’s required to be vaccinated. Y’all still out here doing this? I thought we were done . . . lol.”

To which Chris Smith (@chrissmithnymag) responded: “3,500 Americans still out here dying each week, y’all.”

This is a good time to remind you that, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, the U.S. death toll as of Wednesday evening was at 1,114,990. The number of deaths for the past week: 2,716. . . . Johns Hopkins U shows Canada with 50,998 deaths in all, with 199 of those in the past week.

And we are entering into our fourth year of this pandemic. Isn’t that just lovely?

Job

F Zachary L’Heureux of the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads qmjhlnewhas been suspended for 10 games. The decision was announced on Wednesday, after he was suspended indefinitely on Friday. . . . His crime? He got into an altercation with a fan as he was exiting the ice surface following a Feb. 8 game against the host Gatineau Olympiques. . . . Interestingly, the league at first said there wouldn’t be any action taken because of a lack of evidence. However, a video of the incident surfaced on social media and the suspension came afterwards. . . . This isn’t L’Heureux’s first run-in with the QMJHL law. In fact, this is his ninth suspension, and when this one runs its course he will have sat out 37 games in total. . . . L’Heureux, 19, has 37 points in 24 games this season. He was a first-round selection by the Nashville Predators in the NHL’s 2021 draft. . . . Willy Palov has more right here.

The Travellin’ Bedards have done it again. Yes, they have sold out another road PrinceAlbertgame. The Prince Albert Raiders announced on Wednesday morning that the Pats’ visit to the Art Hauser Centre on Friday is “SOLD OUT.” . . . The Pats last appeared in Prince Albert on Dec. 30 when they beat the Raiders, 4-3 in OT. Bedard wasn’t with the Pats for that one; he was busy helping Canada win gold at the World Junior Championship. The announced attendance that night was 2,548. . . . Prince Albert’s largest crowd this season came on opening night when 2,798 fans watched the Saskatoon Blades beat the Raiders, 5-2. Second on the list is from Dec. 9 when the Pats, again without Bedard who had left for Canada’s selection camp, beat the Raiders, 3-2, in front of 2,781 fans.

Dogs

WEDNESDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

A five-goal second period carried the host Winnipeg Ice to a 5-3 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Trailing 1-0, the Ice took over on goals from F Owen Peterson (26), F Matt Savoie (23), D Ben Zloty (9), F Evan Friesen (9) and F Josh Medernach (3) in a span of 7:55. . . . F Connor Hvidston (16) scored twice — one on a PP and one SH — and added an assist for the Broncos. . . . G Daniel Hauser earned the victory with 28 saves. This season, he is 26-3-1, 2.44, .911. Hauser, who turned 19 on Jan. 29, is 67-6-3, 2.28, .911 in 79 career appearances. . . . Winnipeg (41-7-1) has won four in a row. It leads the overall standings by three points over the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Ice, which has clinched a playoff spot, leads the Eastern Conference by seven points over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Swift Current (25-23-3) is tied with the Regina Pats and Calgary Hitmen for sixth, just one point ahead of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . .

F Andrew Cristall, who hadn’t played since Jan. 7, struck for four goals to lead the host Kelowna Rockets to a 5-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . This was Cristall’s first WHL hat trick after 15 two-goal games. . . . Cristall missed 14 games but still returned as the team’s leader in goals and points. He now has 66 points, 30 of them goals, in 37 games. . . . Cristall scored Kelowna’s last four goals, the third one coming at 18:56 of the second period for a 4-0 lead. He got the fourth one into an empty net. . . . F Gabriel Szturc had a goal (18) and three assists for Kelowna. . . . F Jackson Berezowski (37) scored both of Everett’s goals. . . . Kelowna got 41 saves from G Jari Kykkanen, who is 9-9-2, 3.55, .899 this season. . . . The Rockets (18-30-3) had lost their previous four games. They are eighth in the Western Conference, three points ahead of the Victoria Royals. . . . Everett (27-23-2) had points in each of its past five games (4-0-1). It is tied with the Tri-City Americans for fourth in the conference. . . .

G Bryan Thomson turned aside 36 shots to lead the Hurricanes to a 3-0 victory over the Calgary Hitmen in Lethbridge. . . . Thomson, 20, has put up back-to-back shutouts; he beat the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers, 3-0, on Friday. He has two shutouts this season. This one was the fourth of his career and came in his 104th appearance over five seasons. . . . Injuries have limited Thomson to 11 games this season. He is 6-3-2, 1.81, .940. . . . The winners got PP goals from F Anton Astashevich (7) in the first period and F Logan Wormald (20) in the second. . . . F Cole Shepard (19) got the empty-netter. . . . Lethbridge (29-18-6) has points in three straight (2-0-1). It is a comfortable fifth in the Eastern Conference. . . . Calgary (23-23-7) has lost 10 in a row (0-7-3). It is tied for seventh in the conference with the Regina Pats and Swift Current Broncos, one point ahead of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . .

In Spokane, the Chiefs snapped a 1-1 tie with four second-period goals en route to a 6-2 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Chiefs scored four times in 6:34 early in that second period, with F Berkly Catton (16), F Grady Lane (4) and F Ty Cheveldayoff (18) getting the goals. . . . Catton, the first overall selection in the WHL’s 2021 draft, also had an assist. He turned 17 on Jan. 14. In his freshman season, he’s got 16 goals and 21 assists in 46 games. . . . G Dawson Cowan stopped 25 shots to earn the victory. . . . Portland (36-12-4) has lost two straight. It remains second in the Western Conference, four points behind the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Spokane (10-35-6) had lost its previous nine games (0-6-3).

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

Steve Ewen of Postmedia reports that F Samuel Honzek may be back in the Vancouver Giants’ lineup on Saturday for the first time since he left the team in December to play for Slovakia at the World Junior Championship. While there, he suffered a skate cut to one leg and has yet to return to action. . . . He could play Saturday against the visiting Saskatoon Blades. . . . Ewen’s story is right here.

TooLate

THINKING OUT LOUD: I have never been able to understand what it is that causes some players on a team to subject usually younger teammates to hazing. As Buck Showalter, the manager of the New York Mets, put it: “The guy’s got your uni on and he’s trying to help you. Why don’t you make his path a little easier?” . . . Just spitballin’ here, but do you think new head coach Rick Tocchet realizes that “what you see is what you get” with these Vancouver Canucks? . . . What a night for long-time favourite Connor Ingram, who blocked 47 shots to record his first NHL shutout as his Arizona Coyotes snuck past the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning, 1-0. . . . Michael Amato (@amato_mike) points out that Ingram has faced 47, 44, 45, 42, 39 and 40 shots in his past six starts. “And he has a .934 save percentage over that stretch. Incredible run.” . . . When I’m watching a hockey game, I really don’t need the play-by-play voice to keep telling me what a great game it is. Do you?.

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.

Costco

Taking Note’s pick as sportsmen of the year . . . Come on, folks, mask up . . . Rockets, Giants stung by WJC injuries

As another old year gives way to a new one, numerous organizations hand out end-of-year awards. That doesn’t happen at Taking Note, but if it did I would Brandonbe quick to salute Calder Anderson, Jake Chiasson, Nolan Ritchie and Ben Thornton of the Brandon Wheat Kings as this site’s sportsmen of the year. . . . In case you missed it, in the words of the Brandon Sun’s Perry Bergson, they “successfully interceded to help a distressed man who was contemplating suicide on the First Street Bridge” on the evening of Nov. 29. . . . “We’re very happy that we were able to save him and get him some help,” Thornton told Bergson, who added: “They also learned another lesson when 30 or 40 vehicles drove by without stopping in the short span they were trying to help the man. Yet they never considered leaving until the man was safe.” . . . Gentlemen, I salute you. . . . Bergson’s complete story is right here.

Let’s be honest. We are part of a society that is putting together an absolutely Covidabysmal record unless being selfish and uncaring is the objective. Really, had you told me four years ago that the time was coming when our children would by dying, when our children would be unable to get much-needed surgical procedures, when our hospital’s emergency rooms would be over-run and that society would refuse to help by doing something as simple as masking up, well, I would have told you that you were crazy. . . . But, well, here we are.

——

After avoiding COVID-19 for almost three years, it caught up with me almost five weeks ago. Ironically, I tested positive on a day when I was to have visited a pharmacy for my fifth shot. Thankfully, the boosters did what they were supposed to, leaving me with a bit of a cough and some fatigue. The strangest thing is that there have been good days followed by bad. Just when you think you’re over the rough road, it reappears. Kind of like city streets, if you know what I mean. . . . As for that fifth shot, well, it’ll have to wait until May. . . . In the meantime, I will be here as fatigue’s curtain allows.

——

André Picard wrote this in The Globe and Mail last week:

“In some ways, these more recent viral challenges have distracted us from the main event: COVID-19. While we largely returned to ‘pre-pandemic’ normalcy this year, this has actually been the deadliest year yet for COVID-19; in 2022, Canada will surpass 17,000 deaths, more than the 14,642 deaths we recorded in 2020 or the 16,489 in 2021. A fifth wave of Omicron is just beginning.

“We still don’t know if SARS-CoV-2 will mutate further. We do not know if it will become seasonal, like most respiratory viruses. And we definitely do not yet have a handle on what it will mean if we suffer repeated COVID-19 infections — but it certainly won’t be good news.

“Viruses are ubiquitous, and will continue to pose new threats. We can’t live a virus-free existence, nor can we place our children and seniors in a protective bubble.

“But we also cannot hang them out to dry on a viral firing range, without any protection. We need to use the mitigation tools (vaccinations and masks) we have while we develop new ones. That’s what ‘living with COVID’ really needs to mean, moving ahead into a new year.”

——

The Angus Reid Institute released results of an online survey early in December that showed of 5,013 participants 54 per cent would be prepared to mask up if it was made mandatory if COVID-19 levels increase. But only 31 per cent are wearing masks more than half the time when they are in indoor public places. Sheesh, people, that just doesn’t make any sense.

Get vaccinated and wear a mask when appropriate, like when shopping or anywhere in a crowded area. . . . Just because the politicians and health officers won’t do their part by mandating masks doesn’t mean you can’t do the right thing and be part of the solution.

Look, F Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is not the greatest goal scorer nhl2in NHL history. So stop trying to tell me that he is. He’s still 88 behind Wayne Gretzky. Have people already forgotten just how great Gretzky was? . . . Allow me to point out that Gretzky also scored 92 goals in the WHA, which was a better league than many of those same people seem to recall. As for Gordie Howe, well he scored 801 NHL goals and another 174 in the WHA. . . . But when Ovechkin puts in No. 895, then you can call him the greatest goal scorer in NHL history. OK?

——

While some hockey fans celebrate Ovechkin’s scoring accomplishments, there are those who don’t and never will go that way. Why? Because of Ovechkin’s long-time support of Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, who, of course, is responsible for the ongoing war on Ukraine. Luke Fox of Sportsnet took a look at the Ovechkin-Putin situation the other day and it really is an interesting read. That piece is right here.

——

BTW, did Gretzky really have to throw mud on his legacy by jumping on the gambling gravy train?

It is every general manager’s worst nightmare . . . a top player leaves for an international assignment and then suffers a serious injury. . . . That is what has happened with the Kelowna Rockets and Vancouver Giants, each team having had a player seriously injured at the 2023 World Junior Championship. Those injuries may well have an impact on the WHL’s Western Conference playoff race from which eight teams will qualify. . . .

F Colton Dach, the Rockets’ captain, initiated a hit during a Saturday game — KelownaCanada beat Sweden, 5-1 — and left the game in obvious discomfort thanks to an injury to his right shoulder area. Dach, who turns 20 on Wednesday, has 17 points, nine of them goals, in 14 games with the Rockets this season. Earlier, he missed some time with a concussion. . . . The Rockets (12-18-3), who have lost five in a row, are eighth in the conference, seven points ahead of the Victoria Royals (8-24-4). . . .

Meanwhile, freshman F Samuel Honzek, the Vancouver Giants’ leading scorer, Vancouversuffered a skate cut to the back of his left leg on Wednesday as his Slovakian side beat the U.S., 6-3. The 18-year-old Honzek, who is expected to be out as long as six weeks, leads the Giants in assists (26) and points (43) in 31 games. . . . Vancouver (14-16-6) is tied for fourth in the conference with the Tri-City Americans, who hold two games in hand. They are one point ahead of the Everett Silvertips. . . .

The WHL’s trade deadline arrives on Jan. 10.

The Everett Silvertips and Victoria Royals swapped 19-year-old goaltenders on Dec. 28. Tyler Palmer, who had left the Royals for what the team said was WHLpersonal reasons, was dealt to Everett in exchange for Braden Holt. . . . Palmer, from Fernie, B.C., was in his second season with Victoria. He left the Royals sometime after a 7-4 loss to the visiting Portland Winterhawks on Nov. 12. . . . Holt, from Bozeman, Mont., was in his fourth season with Everett. In his first start with Victoria, he stopped 35 shots in a 3-0 victory over the host Vancouver Giants. . . . Having acquired Holt, the Royals then traded G Logan Cunningham, a 17-year-old from Sherwood Park, Alta., to the Edmonton Oil Kings for a fifth-round pick in the 2025 WHL draft. . . . After adding Cunningham to their roster, the Oil Kings dropped G Ronin Geraghty, 18. From Burnaby, B.C., he was 0-5-0, 6.48, .819 in seven games with Edmonton. . . .

Still with goaltending, the Swift Current Broncos lost starter Gage Alexander on Dec. 30 when the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks signed him to an entry-level deal and assigned him to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. Alexander, 20, had played in 15 games for the Broncos this season, two more than Reid Dyck. Alexander was 8-5-1, 3.47, .898. . . . The Ducks had selected Alexander in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2021 draft. . . . The Broncos had acquired him from the Winnipeg Ice on July 28, giving up a third-round pick in the WHL’s 2025 draft in the exchange. . . . The move left the Broncos with Dyck, an 18-year-old from Winkler, Man., and Joey Rocha, 17, from Nanaimo, B.C., as their goaltenders. . . . Dyck, in his third season, was 4-10-0, 4.07, .880 at the time of the deal; Rocha, a freshman, had been in four games. . . .

And while we’re on the subject of goaltending, how about the run Scott Ratzlaff is on with the Seattle Thunderbirds while starter Thomas Milic is with Team Canada at the WJC? Thom Beuning, the veteran radio voice of the Thunderbirds, points out that Ratzlaff’s December looked like this: 8-0-1, 1.65, .941, with two shutouts. . . . Ratzlaff, 17, is from Irma, Alta. He was a second-round selection in the WHL’s 2020 draft. This season, the 6-foot-2, 170-pounder is 14-2-1, 2.04, .925. In 42 career appearances, he is 32-4-2, 2.31, .912. . . .

And let’s not forget about Daniel Hauser of the Winnipeg Ice. An 18-year-old from Chestermere, Alta., Hauser recorded his 20th victory of the season the other night. This season, in 22 games, he is 20-2-0, 2.36, .912. He has made 70 regular-season appearances over three seasons, going 61-5-2, 2.24, .911. Not at all shabby, eh?

The junior B Nelson Leafs and the visiting Beaver Valley Nitehawks of the kijhlKootenay International Junior Hockey League took time out from chasing a puck to exchange Happy New Year greetings as they began the second period on Saturday evening. . . . The Leafs are the team in white in the above video, and the video evidence would seem to indicate that they were first off the mark. . . . The puck now has been passed to Jeff Dubois, the KIJHL commissioner. . . . Happy New Year, Mr. Dubois.

MyWay

THINKING OUT LOUD — The best part of the World Junior Championship? That’s easy. Having the opportunity to listen to Dennis Beyak do play-by-play again. It says here that he is the best in his field even if he is semi-retired. . . . The other day, the choice was Beyak calling Slovakia and Switzerland from the WJC on TSN or Jack Edwards handling the Buffalo Sabres against his beloved Boston Bruins on Sportsnet. Sorry, Sportsnet. . . . The most annoying commercial on TV these days (pick one) — Clay Matthews for Tide, Rogers’ Wrapped in Red spots, the Subway ads featuring the Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes, or the Sobeys’ family of four. . . . If you enjoy your time on this site, and even if you don’t, you may want to consider clicking on the DONATE button over there on the right side. Thanks in advance. . . . Dan Russell, the now-retired host of the long-running Vancouver-based radio show Sportstalk, release his memoir — Pleasant Good Evening: A Memoir — My 30 Wild and Turbulent Years of Sportsnet — in 2022 and now is thinking of spinning off a podcast. “My plans,” he writes on his blog, “now are to add more content to this site, especially in the audio vault. And I will update this blog from time to time. I’m also considering a podcast as my 2023 project. One that will combine what is happening today with the large archive of Sportstalk audio I have saved over the years.” If you haven’t seen his blog, it’s right here.

Here’s Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, after the final game in soccer’s World Cup: “If you watched this game and came away from it with the idea that it was not a good expenditure of your time, then you simply do not like soccer and should make a note to yourself not to waste any more time trying to appreciate the sport.” . . . Hey, he is correct!

How many WHLers do you know of, past or present, who have put together and released an album? Yes, an album of their own music. . . . F London Hoilett of the Calgary Hitmen is quite a story, having made the team prior to this season despite never having been drafted. He also is something of a musician and has his first album — Can’t Sit Still — ready for release on Jan. 10. . . . Cami Kepke of Global Calgary has more right here.

Mitts

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

A few things of note that popped up while I was away from here . . .

D Ethan Samson, the captain of the Prince George Cougars, has signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Philadelphia Flyers, who selected him in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2021 draft. Samson, 19, is from Delta, B.C. He had two goals and an assist as the Cougars beat the visiting Kamloops Blazers, 10-6, on Saturday night. This season, Samson has 11 goals and 16 assists in 28 games. . . .

The Kelowna Rockets have added former player Curtis Hamilton, 31, to their front office as assistant general manager. Yes, his father, Bruce, is the Rockets’ owner, president and general manager. There is a news release right here. . . .

Gilles Courteau, who took over as the QMJHL’s president during the 1985-86 season, will retire at the end of this season. A replacement is expected to be named in May, with Courteau staying on into 2024 to help with the transition. . . . The league has changed the name of its championship trophy from the President’s Cup to the Gilles Courteau Trophy. . . . Courteau first worked in the QMJHL office in 1977 as a statistician. . . .

The junior B Spokane Braves of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League announced that they will ice a team for the 2023-24 season. The Braves have sat out the past two KIJHL seasons for reasons related to the pandemic. . . .

Another high-end WHL forward changed teams on Dec. 31 when the Winnipeg Ice acquired Carson Latimer, 19, from the Prince Albert Raiders for F Aiden Quiring, 17, and third-round selections in the 2024 and 2025 WHL drafts. . . . Latimer, a fourth-round selection by the Ottawa Senators in the NHL’s 2021 draft, had 22 goals and 38 assists in 75 regular-season games with the Raiders. This season, he had 10 goals and 18 assists in 31 games when he was dealt. . . . Quiring, a freshman who was a third-round pick in the 2020 WHL draft, had five goals and three assists in 26 games at the time of the trade. . . .

The Tri-City Americans revealed on Dec. 30 that D Ben Feenan “has left the team for personal reasons and will join the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs.” . . . Feenan, 18, is from Surrey, B.C. He had three assists in 22 games this season, after recording six helpers in 48 games in 2021-22. . . . The Americans selected him in the sixth round of the WHL’s 2019 draft. . . .

The Americans got past the visiting Spokane Chiefs, 7-6 in OT, on New Year’s Eve. And wouldn’t you know it . . . Americans D Lukas Dragicevic didn’t pick up so much as one point, thus ending his 27-game point streak. He put up seven goals and 30 assists during that stretch.

Grinch

Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press recently wrote a piece in a newsletter about things he would change if he ruled the hockey world for a day. Here’s one item with which I completely agree:

“Severely limit betting/gambling advertisements. Heck, I might just consider an outright ban. I could tolerate them when they first began, in small doses. But it’s to the point now of being completely obnoxious. Seemingly every second commercial is for some website, and now even hosts such as Ron MacLean are routinely shilling for these services. To be clear, I’ve got absolutely nothing against gambling. If you have the means and can do it responsibly, knock your socks off. It’s the idea of having it shoved down my throat everywhere I turn that I find so offensive.”

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.

Dinner

Punch hits 90! Happy Birthday!! . . . Aldridge: We have lost the impact of shame in our society . . . Svatos’ brain showed CTE

David Aldridge of The Athletic wrote a superb column on the latest imbroglio involving Kyrie Irving and the New York Nets. Here is just one paragraph:

“We have lost the impact of shame in our society. The notion that certain things shouldn’t be done, and certain things shouldn’t be said, because they would bring shame to us and embarrassment to our families. You didn’t steal candy from the store not just because you feared getting caught and arrested; you didn’t steal because it was wrong, and because if you got caught, you would be ashamed of what you did. So this isn’t just about Kyrie Irving. It’s about a team that, in the pursuit of a championship, seems incapable of self-reflection, of someone saying ‘Whoa. Maybe we shouldn’t do this.’ ”

And then along came the Boston Bruins on Friday to announce the signing of F Mitchell Miller, a player who was a fourth-round selection by the Arizona Coyotes in the NHL’s 2020 draft.

The Coyotes later did some due diligence and discovered an extremely unsavoury situation in Miller’s past, so they renounced his rights. As Sportsnet reported: “Miller . . . had assaulted, bullied and abused a Black classmate with a learning disability.” The victim has said that this went on for years.

No matter. The Bruins, without speaking with the victim’s family, signed Miller to a three-year entry-level deal. He will report to the AHL’s Providence Bruins.

“Marek Svatos, who played parts of eight NHL seasons and skated for Slovakia in the 2006 Olympics in Torino, had the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) at the time of his death in 2016,” writes Rick Westhead of TSN. “Svatos’ wife, Diana, confirmed his posthumous diagnosis in a series of recent interviews with TSN. Diana – who said the date of her husband’s death has been misreported on the Internet – wanted to speak publicly about Svatos’ life and death because she says it was more complicated than media reports have portrayed.

“Svatos died Nov. 4, 2016, at the age of 34 in his home in Lone Tree, Colo. A coroner reported Svatos had codeine, morphine and anti-anxiety medication in his system when he died, The Denver Post reported at the time. His official cause of death was an accidental overdose, Diana said.”

Svatos played two seasons (2000-02) with the WHL’s Kootenay Ice.

Westhead’s complete story — it’s a tough but important read — is right here.

Prince

“An upstart Okanagan hockey program is coming under fire by a parent who claims allegations of hazing and cyber bullying within the program are being dismissed,” Wayne Moore of castanet.net wrote earlier this week. “James Kellett levelled those accusations against Okanagan HC which operates three teams (U18, U15 and U14) within the new Junior Prospect Hockey League. The accusations are at this point unproven, but have triggered a public statement and investigation from the league.

“Accusations include hazing, what Kellett termed sexual misconduct involving cyber bullying and other off ice infractions involving the organization. Many came about during a road trip from Sept. 20 to 25 in Edmonton.”

Moore’s complete story is right here.

On Friday, Carli Berry of infotel.ca reported that the RCMP is investigating the situation after “receiving information about misconduct” within the Okanagan HC.

Berry wrote: “RCMP initiated the investigation after receiving information Nov. 3 about misconduct and it is being handled by the Kelowna Vulnerable Persons Section as it involves people under the age of 18, according to a RCMP media release.”

Friday in the WHL . . .

If you aren’t already following Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) on Twitter for WHL stats and info, you should be.

The Red Deer Rebels ran their season-opening record to 14-0-0 with a 4-1 victory over the host Swift Current Broncos. . . . The 1967-68 Estevan Bruins RedDeerhold the WHL record for longest season-opening winning streak, at 22 games. . . . The Rebels tied a franchise record with 14 straight victories; the 2001-02 team also won 14 in a row. . . . The Broncos had won their previous four games. . . . F Kai Uchacz scored twice, giving him 13, and added an assist. . . . Uchacz now is tied for the WHL goal-scoring lead, along with F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats, F Austin Roest of the Everett Silvertips and F Reid Schaefer of the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Rebels had a 41-20 edge in shots, including 20-8 in the third period. . . . Next up for the Rebels? Their nine-game road trip continues tonight with stop No. 3, a visit to the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . .

The Tri-City Americans overcame a 3-1 third-period deficit and beat the host Tri-CityBrandon Wheat Kings 4-3 on a goal by D Lukas Dragicevic at 3:11 of OT. . . . Dragicevic, 17, has three goals and nine assists in a nine-game point streak. On the season, he has five goals and 14 assists in 15 games. . . . Tri-City snapped a three-game losing skid; Brandon has lost five straight. . . . The Americans are 2-3-0 in a six-game swing into the East Division that will end with a game tonight against the Winnipeg Ice. . . . The Americans trailed 3-1 early in the third period, then tied it on goals from F Jake Sloan, at 7:47, on a PP, and F Ethan Ernst, at 15:16. . . . F Nate Danielson scored one of Brandon’s goals while it was two-men short. . . . F Cash Koch, the 24th overall selection in the 2022 WHL draft, made his Tri-City debut. Koch, 15, is from Calgary. . . .

F Rhett Melnyk’s fourth goal of the season, at 3:57 of OT, gave the host Edmonton Oil Kings a 4-3 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . F Carson Golder, a former Victoria player, gave Edmonton a 3-1 lead at 17:52 of the second period. . . . The Royals tied it on goals from F Alex Edwards, at 19:30, and F Anthony Wilson, at 3:56 of the third. . . . Victoria went 1-4-1 on its Central Division trip and now is 3-12-3. . . . The Oil Kings, who had lost nine in a row, are 2-12-1. . . .

The Calgary Hitmen ran their winning streak to five with a 5-1 victory over the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The game was played at the 2,000-seat Seven Chiefs Sportsplex on the Tsuut’ina First Nation. Announced attendance was 1,096. . . . F Riley Fiddler-Schultz had a goal and two assists for the Hitmen. . . . The Tigers have lost four straight (0-2-2). . . .

F Samuel Honzek and F Jaden Lipinski scored shootout goals to give the visiting VancouverVancouver Giants a 4-3 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Honzek and Lipinski also had regulation-time goals for the Giants, who completed their Central Division trip with a 3-2-1 record. . . . F Ty Thorpe had a goal and two assists for the Giants. . . . F Cole Shepherd scored once and drew two assists for Lethbridge, which acquired Shepherd, 20, from the Giants prior the start of the season for a third-round pick in the WHL’s 2023 draft. . . .

F Robbie Fromm-Delorme set up three goals, two of them on the PP, to lead the PortlandPortland Winterhawks to a 5-1 victory over the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Portland scored the game’s first four goals. . . . Seattle F Kyle Crnkovic had his point streak end at 11 games. Acquired from the Saskatoon Blades as the season was getting started, he had at least one point in each of Seattle’s first 11 games. He has seven goals and 10 assists in 12 games. . . . F Jared Davidson, Seattle’s leading scorer, was scratched with an undisclosed injury, while F Mekai Sanders played his first game this season. Sanders last played a game on March 18; he missed all of Seattle’s run to the 2022 WHL final thanks to a knee injury. . . . These two teams will meet 12 times this season, with a second meeting tonight, this time in Kent, Wash. . . .

The Moose Jaw Warriors scored the game’s final two goals to beat the host Prince Albert Raiders, 3-2. . . . F Riley Ginnell tied it at 4:19 and F Jagger Firkus snapped the deadlock with a shorthanded goal at 5:25. . . . The Warriors are without head coach Mark O’Leary, who is one of the Canadian coaches at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge ongoing in Langley, B.C. . . .

D Ty Gibson scored twice to help the Everett Silvertips to a 5-3 victory over the EverettBlades in Saskatoon. . . . Gibson, a 19-year-old from Victoria, went into the night with three goals in 98 career regular-season games. This season, he has three goals and an assist in 15 games. . . . F Austin Roest scored his 13th goal of the season and added an assist for Everett. This was his fourth straight game with a goal and an assist. . . . The Silvertips are 3-2-0 on a six-game East Division trip that concludes tonight against the Prince Albert Raiders. . . .

The Prince George Cougars got two goals from F Chase Wheatcroft in a 7-2 victory over the Chiefs in Spokane. . . . The Chiefs have lost six in a row. . . . The Cougars got three assists from Slovakian D Viliam Kmec. It was the sophomore’s first three-point game; he had four two-pointers last season, the final one on Dec. 10. . . . He has six points, all assists, in 15 games this season.

Grouchy

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

F Ben Thornton doesn’t have a timeline for returning to play with the Brandon BrandonWheat Kings, but has been cleared to fly so will be rejoining his teammates on Monday. He has been doing what his father, Erin, told Taking Note is “very light exercise this week” and is waiting to see how he responds to that. . . . Thornton was injured on Oct. 14 during a game against the Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C. He absorbed a nasty hit, was taken off the ice on a stretcher and then went via ambulance to Royal Columbia Hospital in New Westminster. He spent on night in hospital and since then has been at the family home in Chilliwack while dealing with concussion-related issues. . . .

The BCHL’s Penticton Vees are 15-0-0 after beating the visiting Prince George Spruce Kings, 4-0, on Friday night. . . . The Vees are scheduled to entertain the Wenatchee Wild tonight. . . . The Wild improved to 3-9-1 with a 5-4 OT victory over the visiting Merritt Centennials last night. . . .

The Prince George Cougars acquired F Cole Dubinsky, who is to turn 20 on Dec. 4, from the Regina Pats on Friday, giving up F Zackary Shantz, 17, and third-round selection in the 2023 WHL draft in the exchange. . . . The Cougars now have the maximum three 2002-born players on their roster, the others being F Noah Boyko and F Chase Wheatcroft. . . . Dubinsky, from Ardrossan, Alta., was a fourth-round pick by Regina in the 2017 WHL draft. He put up 38 goals and 65 assists in 203 regular-season games with Regina. This season, he had two goals and five assists in 11 games. . . . Shantz, from Sucker Creek, Alta., was a third-round pick by the Cougars in the 2020 WHL draft. A WHL freshman, he is pointless in four games this season. . . . Regina now is carrying three 20-year-olds — F Jakob Brook, D Luke Bateman and D Tanner Brown. . . .

The Kam River Fighting Walleye of the Superior International Junior Hockey League fired head coach Matt Valley on Friday. The Walleye, which plays out of the municipality of Oliver Paipoonge, Ont., was 49-12-2-1 in Valley’s two and a half seasons behind the bench, and he was the SIJHL’s coach of the year for 2021-22. . . . “It was a tough decision for our organization,” general manager Kevin McCallum said, “but we believed we had to make a decision on bringing in a full-time coach.” . . . McCallum and Vern Ray, the hockey operations advisor, will handle the coaching duties while a search for a replacement continues.

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.

Zeuss

Scattershooting on a Sunday night while remembering a dear, dear friend . . .

Scattershooting2

Norm, this one’s for you . . .

Norm Weseen, a dear, dear friend who was a huge fan of the Vancouver Giants, died Saturday night on the Lower Mainland.

Norm, who was in his 80s, lived a lot and saw a lot. He was a sportscaster on the Prairies in an earlier life, then moved to B.C., where he worked in various communities and covered enough curling that the B.C. Interior Curling Association honoured him as a life member in 1989. He also was a big, big hockey guy and, before his health began to catch up to him, he was a Giants’ season-ticket holder; in fact, I believe he held two of them. He loved nothing more than to attend a Giants’ practice and bump into the late Pat Quinn.

I came to know Norm about 20 years ago when he phoned out of the clear blue just wanting to talk hockey. It wasn’t long before we were having regular conversations during which we would solve a whole lot of problems. He knew his way around arenas in Estevan and Weyburn. He had worked in Smithers, B.C., and loved the Watson brothers.

With the Giants, he especially liked the lunch-bucket guys like Milan Lucic and Garet Hunt. And, of course, there was no one better in Norm’s mind than Brendan Gallagher.

Norm also introduced me to Dickson Liong, a courageous young man with cerebral palsy who has written for the Giants, as well as the Vancouver Canucks and their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. (There’s more on Dickson right here.)

One other thing . . . my wife, Dorothy, fell in love with Norm. She underwent a kidney transplant more than nine years ago, and whenever we talked he always started the conversation with: “How is Wonder Woman doing?” Of course, whenever he called and she answered the phone, I would have to wait 10 or 15 minutes for my turn. And it never was too early in a new year for him to start asking when he would be able to make a donation in support of Dorothy and her annual Kidney Walk fund-raiser.

Yes, Norm was a dear, dear friend. It is true, however, that time waits for no one and it caught up with Norm on Saturday.

RIP, old friend. Dorothy and I’ll be missing you.

After the excruciating way in which the Victoria Royals lost at home on Saturday night, one has to think they will be excited about hitting the road for their next six games.

The Royals dropped a 6-5 OT decision to the visiting Vancouver Giants on VictoriaRoyalsSaturday in a game that, if you’re a Victoria fan, ended in bizarre fashion. If you are a Giants’ supporter, well, you must have loved it.

Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist called it a “near-epic collapse.”

The Royals, who got three goals from F Jake Poole, held a 5-3 lead with 107 seconds left to play in the third period.

F Ty Thorpe got Vancouver to within a goal at 18:12.

Vancouver F Samuel Honzek tied it with 1.4 seconds remaining in the period.

F Zack Ostapchuk, the Giants’ captain, won it at 1:09 of extra time. (The Royals, in their recap, gave the game-winner to F Ty Halaburda, which, if a change is made, would really rub in some salt because he is from Victoria.)

Meanwhile, I am left to wonder what would constitute an epic collapse.

It all allowed the Giants to improve to 2-5-3 with the Royals falling to 2-8-2.

The Royals, who open a swing through the six-team Central Division on Wednesday against the Red Deer Rebels, will be hoping a change of scenery proves to be the cure for what ails them.

“It was a really tough loss and (the road swing) will be a good way to turn the page,” Dan Price, the Royals’ general manager and head coach, told Dheensaw. “Our players are disappointed but are very mature, confident and resilient.”

Of course, it should be mentioned that the Rebels have opened the season with a franchise-record 10-game winning streak.

The Vancouver Giants returned home — they play out of the Langley Events VancouverCentre — on Sunday and won their second game in a row for the first time this season, beating the Kamloops Blazers, 6-3. . . . Each team was playing for the third time in fewer than 48 hours; the Giants were playing their fourth game in fewer than 96 hours. . . . Vancouver (3-5-3) also is taking its show on the road. The Giants will play six games in the Central Division, starting Thursday night against the Edmonton Oil Kings — and two against the Prince George Cougars before next playing at home against Kamloops on Nov. 18.

Mistakes

My upcoming reading list includes three new releases, including the book referred to in the above tweet — Rising from the Deep: The Seattle Kraken, a Tenacious Push for Expansion, and the Emerald City’s Sports Revival. It is the work of Geoff Baker, a former Toronto Star and Montreal Gazette sports writer who now is on the Kraken beat at the Seattle Times. . . . Also on my list are The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson, written by the prolific Jeff Pearlman. His books always are great reads, but he asks that you not buy the one about Brett Favre. Seriously! . . . And, finally, I am looking forward to getting my hands on The Book of Joe: Trying Not to Suck at Baseball and Life, by former MLB manager Joe Maddon and Tom Verducci, a sports writer of note.

Lottery

The Prince Albert Raiders, playing their third game in fewer than 48 hours, weren’t any kind of match for F Riley Fiddler-Schultz and the host Calgary CalgaryHitmen on Sunday. Fiddler-Schultz, the team captain, struck for five goals, four of them in the first period, in leading the Hitmen to a 6-1 victory. . . . Fiddler-Schultz tied F Pavel Brendl’s franchise record for most goals in one game. Brendl scored five in an 8-2 victory over the visiting Raiders on Nov. 11, 2000. . . . Fiddler-Schultz’s four first-period goals tied Brendl and F Owen Fussey for most goals in a period. Brendl scored four third-period goals in a 5-2 victory over the Warriors in Moose Jaw on Oct. 18, 2000; Fussey had four in the third period of a 7-3 victory over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes on Feb. 6, 2002. . . . Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) also tweeted that Fiddler-Schultz, who had gone six games without a goal, now has had one three-goal game, a four-game and this five-goal effort during his career. Brandow also noted that Fiddler-Schultz set a franchise record for fastest three goals (2:43) — F Michael Bubnick held the previous record (6:48) from a 5-3 less to the visiting Red Deer Rebels on Jan. 13, 2002. . . .

According to the WHL, “The last five goal performance in the WHL was recorded by former Lethbridge F Justin Hall on Feb. 26, 2022. The last six goal performance was recorded on Feb. 27, 2009 by Tyler Ennis of the Medicine Hat Tigers.”

JUNIOR JOTTINGS: Don’t sleep on the Saskatoon Blades. They are 9-2-0 after winning their sixth straight game, 5-1 over the Oil Kings in Edmonton on Sunday. The Blades got two goals and an assist from F Trevor Wong in that one. . . . Freshman F Samuel Honzek put up six points — three goals, three assists — in the Vancouver Giants’ back-to-back victories. Honzek, who is to turn 18 on Nov. 12, is from Trencin, Slovakia. He has six goals and seven assists in his first 11 games. . . . It was a rather nice late autumn Sunday in Kamloops; it was anything but on the flatlands. In fact, things were so nasty that the WHL had to postpone a game that was to have had the Moose Jaw Warriors facing the Pats in Regina. That game now will be played on Wednesday night.

Juryduty

THINKING OUT LOUD — To the boss at the Vancouver Province: If you notice that your Sunday newsstand sales have shrunk by one, it’ll be because I bailed. You’ve gone from five crossword puzzles to one on Sundays? Thanks for the entertainment value over the past few years, but I’m out. . . . NFL observer Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) points out that the New Orleans Saints, Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos all are 5-2. The Saints’ first-round draft pick, he adds, belongs to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Browns’ first pick belongs to the Houston Texans. The Broncos’ first pick belongs to the Seattle Seahawks. . . . How would the Seahawks’ brass respond if the Broncos were to offer QB Russell Wilson to them for QB Geno Smith? Yeah, that’s what I thought? . . . There are 15 teams in baseball’s National League. The Philadelphia Phillies went 87-75 (.537) in the regular season. That was the NL’s sixth-best record, something that wouldn’t have got them into the playoffs in any other season but this one. Now they’re going to the World Series. Make of that what you will.

The NHL’s Vancouver Canucks played their home-opener on Saturday night and lost their sixth straight game, this one 5-1 to the Buffalo Sabres.

The Canucks’ fans aren’t taking it well.

After Saturday’s debacle, Thomas Drance of The Athletic wrote that the Canucks “finVancouverCanucksally . . . returned to the supposedly friendly confines of Rogers Arena. And this one had it all. It had the road team opening the scoring with a fluky power-play goal. A gentleman wearing a retro Canucks jersey and a paper bag on his head, posing for photos with other fans in his section. The fans booed during play as the game twisted away from Vancouver. They booed as the Sabres top line cycled the puck endlessly in the Vancouver end. They booed the Canucks on the power play. They even booed ‘Sweet Caroline.’ ”

If you subscribe to The Athletic, Drance’s piece is right here. If you don’t subscribe, you should give it some thought.

Newlyweds

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.

Fantasy

%d bloggers like this: