Tag: Saskatoon Blades

Blades get help from Bedard in setting attendance record . . . Tigers skate past Ice . . . Ex-WHLer Lee dead at 37

The Travellin’ Bedards will play in Saskatoon on March 19 and the Blades announced Wednesday that they will be setting a single-game attendance Saskatoonrecord that evening. . . . The record for now is 12,588 from Feb. 9, 2013, when the Blades beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 5-2. . . . As of Wednesday afternoon, tickets sales for the March 19 game had exceeded the record. . . . The Pats will provide the opposition for the Blades’ final home game of this season, too, on March 24, and more than 11,500 tickets already have been sold for that one. . . . The reason, of course, is Regina F Connor Bedard, who almost certainly will be the No. 1 selection in the NHL’s 2023 draft. . . . “Connor is an incredible player (who) comes along once every generation,” Colin Priestner, the Blades’ president and general manager, said in a news release. “As a league, we’re extremely fortunate Connor chose the WHL as his path because his star power has brought thousands of new fans to come see our product from across the country, and he’s been an outstanding ambassador for our game.”

It’s worth noting that the Blades and Pats could wind up as first-round opponents when the playoffs get here. And the Blades again are selling a $99 playoff pass. As the news release states: “This will guarantee your seat through the entire postseason, meaning you could enjoy as many as 16 playoff games for under $100!”

The Pats have made only one visit to Saskatoon to this point in the season; the Blades posted a 5-2 victory on Nov. 13 before 7,868 fans. That, to date, is the Blades’ largest home crowd this season.

Perhaps during the March 24 the Blades could thank Bedard for making all this possible by presenting him with a lifetime pass.

Two forwards with the Kamloops Blazers signed three-year entry-level NHL Kamloopscontracts on Wednesday. . . .

F Ryan Hofer signed with the Washington Capitals, who selected him in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2022 draft. He was with the Everett Silvertips at the time. His contract carries an AAV of US$851,666.67 in the NHL and $82,500 in the AHL. . . . There also is an annual signing bonus of $80,000, $80,000 and $70,000. . . . Hofer, 20, is from Winnipeg. He has 13 goals and nine assists in 22 games with the Blazers since being acquired from Everett. He had 23 goals and 13 assists in 36 games before being traded. In 142 career regular-season games, he has 67 goals and 58 assists. . . .

F Caedan Bankier signed with the Minnesota Wild, which selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2021 draft. Bankier, who turned 20 on Jan. 26, had 62 points, including 30 goals, in 44 games with the Blazers this season. . . . His contract carries an AAV of US$867,500 in the NHL with an $80,000 salary in the minors. There also is an annual $92,500 signing bonus. . . . From White Rock, B.C., he has 165 points, 69 of them goals, in 189 career regular-season games with the Blazers. . . . Bankier also played for the gold medal-winning Canadian team at the 2023 World Junior Championship. . . .

There now are five players on the Blazers’ roster who have signed NHL contracts, the others being F Fraser Minten (Toronto Maple Leafs), F Logan Stankoven (Dallas Stars) and D Olen Zellweger (Anaheim Ducks).

Of all that I witnessed during more than 40 years of writing about sports the few seconds in time during which F Brad Hornung of the Regina Pats was injured is the only one that really, really stayed with me. Even now, all these years later, whenever I see a player get hit from behind and take a tumble into the boards, I cringe. . . . And, yes, there still is far too much checking from behind in the game of hockey. . . . We lost Brad more than a year ago — on Feb. 8, 2022. In the end, just to show that life really can be cruel, cancer took him from us. . . . He was five days from turning 53 when he died, meaning he spent almost 35 years as a quadriplegic. Courage, thy name was Brad Hornung.

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)

——

WEDNESDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

The Medicine Hat Tigers erased an early 2-0 deficit and beat the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers, 6-4. . . . The Ice had an 11-game winning streak come to an end. . . . This was the Tigers’ second victory over one of the WHL’s top teams in recent times. They beat the visiting Kamloops Blazers, 7-3, on Friday. . . . Last night, the Tigers got two goals and two assists from F Oasiz Wiesblatt (24). His first goal tied the score, 2-2, at 14:22 of the first period. His second, at 8:03 of the third period, stood up as the winner. . . . F Cru Hanas, a 17-year-old from Highland Village, Texas, scored his first goal for the Tigers, breaking a 3-3 tie. It came in his 39th career game. . . . D Reid Andresen (7) had a goal and two assists for Medicine Hat. . . . The Ice got a goal (32) and two assists from F Matt Savoie and three assists from D Ben Zloty. . . . G Evan May earned the victory with 40 saves. May, an 18-year-old freshman from Nanaimo, B.C., got his fourth victory in his 17th appearance of the season. . . . Medicine Hat (25-24-9) is seventh in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the Regina Pats and two ahead of the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Winnipeg (48-8-1) will finish atop the East Division and the Eastern Conference. . . .

F Rylen Roersma scored three times to lead the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 7-3 victory over the Warriors in Moose Jaw. . . . Roersma, who has 15 goals, notched his first hat trick in his 139th regular-season game, all with the Wheat Kings. . . . F Jagger Firkus scored twice for Moose Jaw, giving him 31 goals. He gave his guys a 1-0 lead at 1:04 of the first period, but Brandon erased the deficit with three goals, two from Roersma, in 4:28 before the period ended. . . . F Tony Wilson had a goal (7) and two assists for Brandon. His first career three-point game came in his 114th game. . . . Brandon F Ben Thornton had a goal (2) and an assist as he returned to the lineup for the first time since Oct. 14 when he was stretchered off the ice during a 4-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C. He spent two nights in hospital and then recovered at home in Chilliwack. He was left with concussion-related issues (headache and dizziness) and also had a hip injury. . . . Brandon (23-26-8) had lost three in a row (0-2-1). It now is three points from a playoff spot. . . . Moose Jaw (35-21-3) has lost two straight. It is fourth in the Eastern Conference, five points ahead of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . .

D Mazden Leslie scored three goals to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 6-2 victory over the Cougars in Prince George. . . . The Cougars had beaten the visiting Giants, 6-0, on Tuesday night. . . . Last night, Leslie enjoyed the third multi-goal game of his career in his 138th game; the first two — both two-goal outings — came in the first and sixth games he played in his freshman season (2020-21). . . . Leslie’s second goal broke a 2-2 tie at 2:30 of the third period. His third goal, No 11 for the season, made it 5-2 at 11:04. . . . F Skyler Bruce (11) had a goal and two assists for the winners. . . . D Hudson Thornton (18) had both Prince George goals. . . . The Giants lost F Kyle Bochek to a cross-checking major and game misconduct at 10:02 of the second period. He served a three-game suspension last month after taking a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct, and a four-game suspension in October for a charging major and game misconduct. . . . Vancouver (22-28-7) had lost its previous three games (0-2-1). It is seventh in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Prince George (29-24-4) had a five-game winning streak end. It is fourth in the conference, one point ahead of the Everett Silvertips and Tri-City Americans. . . .

F Egor Sidorov and F Brandon Lisowsky each scored twice and added an assist to spark the host Saskatoon Blades to a 5-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Blades outshot the visitors 13-0 in the first period and came out of it with a 1-0 lead on Sidorov’s first goal. . . . Saskatoon ended with a 38-10 edge in shots. . . . Sidorov’s 35th goal made it 2-0 at 1:21 of the second period. . . . Lisowsky’s two goals — he’s got 31 — gave the Blades 3-1 and 4-1 leads late in the second and early in the third. . . . F Trevor Wong earned three assists for Saskatoon. . . . The Blades were 3-for-9 on the PP; the Rebels were 0-for-2. . . . A brouhaha at 7:59 of the third period resulted in 87 penalty minutes being handed out, including five majors and six game misconducts. The WHL’s Dept. of Discipline is certain to spend the morning looking at the video. . . . Saskatoon (39-13-5) has points in seven straight (6-0-1). . . . Red Deer (38-17-4) has lost two in a row. . . . So here’s the deal: The Blades have three more points — 83-80 — than do the Rebels. But Saskatoon, which also has two games in hand, is second in the East Division, while Red Deer is atop the Central Division. So it is looking like the Rebels will be the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed and the Blades No. 3 for the first round of the playoffs.

F Andrew Cristall and F Carson Golder each scored three times to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 7-4 victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs. . . . F Chase Bertholet (24) pulled the Chiefs to within a goal, at 3-2, at 2:51 of the third period. . . . The Rockets then struck three times in 4:43 to take control. Golder, who has 28 goals, scored the first two of those goals to complete his second hat trick this season. . . . Golder, 20, was a defenceman prior to this season. He went into this season with three goals in 100 regular-season games, split between the Victoria Royals and Edmonton Oil Kings. This season, he has 28 goals in 57 games; with Kelowna, he has 20 goals in 33 games. . . . Golder also had an assist. . . . The Rockets got three assists from each of D Elias Carmichael and F Gabriel Szturc. . . . Cristall had 75 points, 33 of them goals, in 43 games. He had a four-goal game earlier in the season. . . . The Rockets got 41 saves from G Jari Kykkanen. . . . Kelowna (23-31-3) is eighth in the Western Conference, 12 points ahead of the Victoria Royals, who have nine games remaining. . . . Spokane (13-37-7) had points in each of its previous three games (2-0-1).

Casey Lee, who played five seasons in the WHL, has died. The native of Kindersley, Sask., was 37. . . . Lee was killed early Sunday morning in a single-vehicle accident in Calgary. . . . Lee played with the Kamloops Blazers and Kootenay Ice (2001-06). He totalled 127 points, including 40 goals, in 285 regular-season games. In 32 playoff games, he added a goal and three assists. . . . There is an obituary right here.

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

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

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

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

BakingSoda

Bedard adds three more points in victory . . . Tigers slow streaking Blazers . . . Thunderbirds drop Winterhawks

BEDARD
CONNOR BEDARD

THE BEDARD REPORT: F Connor Bedard, who is on track to win the Bobby Clarke Trophy as the WHL’s leading scorer, had a goal and two assists on Saturday night as the host Regina Pats doubled the Brandon Wheat Kings, 6-3. . . . Bedard drew assists on two PP goals that allowed his guys to erase a 3-1 deficit in the second period. . . . He later added his 54th goal of the season into an empty net. . . . Barring any scoring changes, Bedard leads the WHL in goals (54), assists (60) and points (114) in 45 games. He now is averaging 2.53 points per game this season. . . . Regina has 12 regular-season games remaining. . . . Since having a 35-game point streak snapped, Bedard has put up 24 points, including 10 goals, in eight games. . . . Bedard now will enjoy a few days off before the Pats play three home games in fewer than 48 hours next weekend. They’ll face the Winnipeg Ice on Friday, the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday and the Saskatoon Blades on Sunday. . . .

BTW, that attendance record that was set in Brandon on Friday night. Uhh . . . Brandonforget it. . . . You may recall that the Travellin’ Bedards were in Brandon and the attendance was announced as 5,954 and that was said to be a single-game attendance record for the Wheat Kings in Westoba Place. . . . Well, upon further review. . . . it turns out that there was an announced attendance of 6,042 for a March 13, 2010 game in which the Wheat Kings beat the Pats, 3-1. And, on March 10, 2010, there was an announced attendance of 6,022 as the Wheat Kings beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 8-2. . . . Here’s hoping the printer hadn’t started running off copies of a new record book. . . . BTW, according to the Keystone Centre’s website, Westoba Place has 5,102 seats. So I’m guessing that the higher attendance figures include standing room and seating in private suites.

SteelWool

With MLB teams having started playing exhibition games, here’s a note from Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News: “Rangers-Royals and Padres-Mariners were both played at right around two-and-a-half hours on Friday, in case you were wondering about the new pitch clock.” . . . Which, I’m thinking, is all well and good, but how do the TV people get in all of the commercials if the games are going to be that much shorter? . . . BTW, there were 17 games played Saturday in spring training; the average time was two hours 37 minutes.

——

One more from Lupica: “I keep asking this question about Aaron Rodgers coming out of that darkness retreat: If he saw his shadow, did that mean six more weeks of winter?”

CANADA WEST UPDATE: The U of Calgary Dinos advanced to the Canada West men’s hockey final with a 6-1 victory over the visiting Saskatchewan Huskies on Saturday night. The Dinos won the best—of-three series, 2-1. Last night, F Max Patterson scored twice for the winners. . . . In the other semifinal, the Alberta Golden Bears tied the series, 1-1, with a 4-3 victory over the UBC Thunderbirds in Edmonton. F Jakin Smallwood got the winner on a PP at 18:21 of the third period. The Thunderbirds had won their previous 18 games. They’ll decide things tonight in Edmonton.

The Edmonton Oil Kings announced Saturday that three players — F Luca Hauf, EdmontonF Nathan Pilling and D Vojtech Port — will miss the remainder of this season due to undisclosed injuries. . . . Hauf, who turned 19 on Jan. 11, is from Krefeld, Germany. He had 21 points, including five goals, in 45 games. . . . Pilling, 18, is from Calgary and in his second WHL season. He was acquired from the Moose Jaw Warriors, for whom he had 10 points, including seven goals, in 23 games. With Edmonton, he recorded 13 points, 10 of them goals, in 35 games. He is the grandson of former Oil Kings player/coach Gregg Pilling, who played for the 1963 Memorial Cup champions. . . . Port, 17, is from Jilhlava, Czechia. He had 17 points, four of them goals, in 48 games after coming over from the Red Deer Rebels early in the season. . . . The Oil Kings, the WHL’s defending champions, are 8-44-3, which is the 22-team league’s poorest record. With Hauf and Port, both freshmen, out for the duration the Oil Kings will finish the season without any import players. They have 13 games remaining, including a date with the visiting Winnipeg Ice today.

Headline at The Beaverton (@TheBeaverton): Vancouver considers buying a second snowplow

Clint

If the WHL playoffs started today:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

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

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

Saskatoon (3) vs. Regina (6)

Moose Jaw (4) vs. Lethbridge (5)

——

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle (1) vs. Kelowna (8)

Kamloops (2) vs. Vancouver (7)

Portland (3) vs. Everett (6)

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

——

SATURDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

F Logan Wormald broke a 3-3 tie late in the third period to give the Lethbridge Hurricanes a 4-3 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary. . . . Wormald’s 21st goal came at 17:48 of the third period. . . . The Hitmen had overcome a 3-1 deficit to tie the game on goals from F Sean Tschigerl (19), shorthanded, at 18:39 of the second period and F Carter Yakemchuk (14), at 5:07 of the third. . . . That was Yakemchuk’s second goal of the day. . . . Lethbridge (31-21-6) had lost its previous three games. It is fifth in the Eastern Conference and appears headed for a first-round showdown with Moose Jaw. . . . Calgary (24-26-7) has lost three in a row and is tied with Swift Current for eighth in the conference, two points out of seventh and four from sixth. . . .

The Medicine Hat Tigers erased a 1-0 deficit with four straight goals en route to a 7-3 victory over the visiting Kamloops Blazers, who came in riding an 11-game winning streak. . . . The game marked a return to Medicine Hat for Shaun Clouston, the Blazers’ general manager and head coach. Before signing with Kamloops, he spent 16 seasons with the Tigers. . . . F Andrew Basha led the Tigers with two goals (14) and an assist. . . . Tigers F Brett Calhoon scored his first WHL goal in his eighth game. A native of Oliver, B.C., he turned 18 on Jan. 10. . . . D Olen Zellweger scored twice (22) and added an assist for Kamloops. . . . F Caedan Banker scored his 30th goal of the season for the Blazers. . . . Medicine Hat (24-23-9) is seventh in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Regina and two in front of Swift Current and Calgary. . . . Kamloops (38-11-6) went 5-1-0 in a swing through the Central Division. . . .

The Saskatoon Blades scored the game’s first three goals, all in the first period, and went on to beat the Raiders, 3-1, in Prince Albert. . . . The Blades had clinched a playoff spot earlier in the day when the Lethbridge Hurricanes beat the host Calgary Hitmen, 4-3. . . . The Raiders had beaten the Blades, 6-5 in OT, in Saskatoon on Friday night. . . . Last night, the Blades got three goals in 7:58 as they took control in the opening period. F Jayden Wiens (13), at 11:23, F Brandon Lisowsky (29), at 14:01, and F Jake Chiasson (18), at 18:21, supplied the offence. The first and third goals came via the PP. . . . The Raiders are without G Tikhon Chaika, who has an undisclosed injury. G Cooper Anderson, 15, is in from the U17AAA South Island Royals from Victoria to back up Max Hildebrand. . . . Saskatoon (38-13-5) has points in six straight (5-0-1) and is third in the Eastern Conference, eight points ahead of Moose Jaw. . . . Prince Albert (24-29-3) had won its previous five games. It is four points from a playoff spot with 12 games remaining. . . . Darren Steinke was at this game and has a recap right here. . . .

G Kyle Kelsey turned aside 29 shots to help the Red Deer Rebels to a 5-1 victory over the visiting Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Rebels clinched a playoff spot while their game was being played; they got in when the Brandon Wheat Kings were beaten by the Pats in Regina. . . . The Rebels took control with three first-period goals before F Jace Isley made it 4-0 with his 26th goal at 3:31 of the second. . . . Kelsey, a freshman from Maple Ridge, B.C., who turned 19 on Jan. 22, is 18-9-4, 2.61, .911 this season. . . . Red Deer (38-15-4) had lost two in a row. It leads the Central Division by 12 points over Lethbridge. . . . Kelowna (21-31-3) had a four-game winning streak snapped. It is eighth in the Western Conference, four points behind Vancouver and eight ahead of Victoria. . . .

F Alexander Suzdalev scored three times and added an assist to lead the Regina Pats to a 6-3 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Pats had beaten the Wheat Kings, 4-3, in Brandon on Friday night. . . . Suzdalev, who has 34 goals, opened the scoring last night at 5:18 of the first period. . . . His second goal gave the Pats a 4-3 lead at 16:37 of the second period, then he made it 5-3 at 8:20 of the third. That was his first WHL hat trick. This season, the freshman from Khabarovsk, Russia, has 75 points in 54 games. . . . D Stanislav Svozil added a goal (9) and two assists for Regina, as did F Connor Bedard (54). . . . Each team was without one player thanks to suspensions issued after a post-game melee in Brandon on Friday night. Brandon F Matt Henry and Regina F Jaxsin Vaughan both drew TBD suspensions. . . . Regina (29-24-3) has won four in a row and is sixth in the Eastern Conference. . . . Brandon (22-26-8) has lost three straight (0-2-1). It is three points from a playoff spot. . . .

The Seattle Thunderbirds scored the game’s last four goals to beat the Portland Winterhawks, 4-1, in Kent, Wash. . . . F Marcus Nguyen (19) scored while shorthanded to give Portland a 1-0 lead at 3:56 of the first period. . . . F Reid Schaefer (23) tied it on a PP at 6:12 of the second period. . . . D Jeremy Hanzel (9) gave Seattle the lead at 2:12 of the third and F Tij Iginla (6) added insurance just 44 seconds later. . . . Iginla has goals in three of his last four games. . . . Seattle got 29 saves from G Thomas Milic, who is 22-3-1, 2.14, .924 this season. . . . Seattle (45-9-2) has won 10 straight and leads the U.S. Division by 15 points over Portland (36-16-5), which has lost seven in a row (0-6-1). . . .

D Raegan Wiles broke a 2-2 tie early in the third period to help the host Spokane Chiefs to a 4-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Wiles scored his eighth goal of the season just 55 seconds into the final period. . . . F Jalen Luypen (11) had pulled the Americans into a 2-2 tie at 8:28 of the second period. . . . F Cade Hayes (17) got the empty-netter for Spokane. . . . Spokane (13-36-7) has points in three straight (2-0-1). . . . Tri-City (27-23-7) has lost two in a row. It is fourth in the Western Conference, but just one point ahead of Prince George, which holds two games in hand. . . .

G Reid Dyck stopped 31 shots to lead the Broncos to a 4-0 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors in Swift Current. . . . Dyck, who turned 19 on Jan. 20, is from Winkler, Man. He has two career shutouts, both this season. Last night’s shutout came in his 61st career appearance. . . . F Caleb Wyrostok (20) scored the Broncos’ first two goals and added an assist. . . . The other two goals, both empty-netters, came from F Josh Filmon, who now has 37. . . . Swift Current (26-27-3) had lost its previous five games. It is tied with Calgary for eighth in the Eastern Conference. . . . Moose Jaw (35-20-3) had won its past two outings. It is settling into fourth in the conference. . . .

F Jesse Heslop scored the winner as the Everett Silvertips got past the Vancouver Giants, 3-1, in Langley, B.C. . . . The victory allowed the Silvertips to clinch a playoff spot. They joined the WHL for the 2003-04 season and have never missed the playoffs. . . . Heslop’s eighth goal of the season, at 17:53 of the third period, broke a 1-1 tie. . . . D Aidan Sutter (5) added the empty-netter. . . . F Caden Zaplitny (10) gave Everett a 1-0 lead at 6:38 of the second period, with F Ty Thorpe’s 30th goal getting the Giants even at 11:16. . . . Everett (28-24-3) had lost its previous three games (0-2-1). It is sixth in the Western Conference, one point behind Prince George and two in back of Tri-City. . . . Vancouver (21-27-7) is seventh, four points ahead of Kelowna. . . .

F Chase Wheatcroft’s third goal of the game gave the Prince George Cougars a 6-5 OT victory over the Royals in Victoria. . . . Wheatcroft, who has 39 goals, scored his side’s last three goals. He got the Cougars into a 4-4 tie, on a PP, at 11:11 of the third period, then tied it 5-5 at 16:28. He won it at 3:13 of OT. . . . Wheatcroft, 20, went into this season with 82 points, including 31 goals, in 137 games split between the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Winnipeg Ice. This season, he has 82 points, 39 of them goals, in 55 games. . . . After eight two-goal games this season, this was Wheatcroft’s first three-goal outing. He has five goals and two assists in his past two games. . . . D Ethan Samson (14) and D Hudson Thornton (15) each had a goal and two assists for the winners, who trailed 4-1 11 minutes into the second period. . . . D Justin Kupke (7) scored twice for the Royals. . . . Prince George (28-23-4), which has clinched a playoff spot, has won four in a row and is fifth in the Western Conference, one point behind Tri-City. . . . Victoria (15-36-7) has lost five straight and is eight points from a playoff spot with nine games remaining.

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.

LOL

Vanstone walking away from Leader-Post . . . Three more points for Bedard in another loss . . . Korchinski special for Thunderbirds

The social media hills were alive with the sound of accolades on Saturday as word circulated that Rob Vanstone has chosen to leave the Regina Leader-Post after almost 36 years of chronicling everything there is to know about the sporting scene in Regina and, indeed, all over Saskatchewan. . . . Accolades, it must be said, that are certainly well-deserved. . . . But what’s next for someone who is not yet old enough to walk off into the sunset? . . . “A new opportunity, the details of which are to be divulged soon, is to begin on Tuesday,” he wrote in one final column. . . . There aren’t words to describe the size of the hole his departure from the printed page and the newspaper’s website will leave in that area’s sporting community. Yes, he is perhaps best known for his writings on the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. But his most important work has resulted from his love for high school sports, junior football, university sports, the so-called amateur sports, his love for all the “little people” of the sporting world. He loved nothing better than to stumble on a story in a far corner of a gymnasium and take it from there. That was Vanstone at his best. . . .

With Vanstone’s departure, you are free to wonder what’s next for what once was a wonderful sports department, one that in the 1990s featured an editor, a columnist, six reporters, three copy editor/layout people, and an agate clerk. It was nothing for coverage of a Roughriders’ home game to involve five writers. . . . Now there is one — ONE! — person left in the department. That would be Murray McCormick, who is going to be a whole lot busier than the Maytag repairman. . . .

Of course, The Leader-Post is owned by Postmedia, which seems to be sending people to the high jump almost every day. So . . . who knows? Perhaps that once terrific sports department soon is to be nothing but a memory.

And the thought of that is enough to make a grown man cry.

JUST NOTES:
Sparked by the play of F Diego Cuglietta of Kamloops, SG Cortina won the Italian Hockey League Series A last weekend with a 2-1 victory over Ritten Sport. It was a four-team round-robin series and Cortina went 3-0 to win its 17th national title, but first since 2007. . . . Cuglietta scored Cortina’s first goal in the final victory. Cortina also beat HC Meran (3-0) and the Unterland Cavaliers (3-1). . . . In Alps League play, Cuglietta put up 41 points, including 15 goals, in 30 games to lead the team. . . . Cuglietta played three seasons with the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials before going on to spend four seasons at Lake Superior State. He did time in the AHL and ECHL before joining Cortina prior to this season. . . .

From the better-late-than-never department, the WHL’s 2022-23 Guide and Record Book is available for download at whl.ca. Perhaps someone in the Calgary office will put up a link on the home page. Otherwise, go to MORE on the menu near the top of the home page, then to MEDIA INFORMATION and click on the encircled plus sign. You’ll find the link right there. Happy downloading!

Doctors

SATURDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

BEDARD
CONNOR BEDARD

THE BEDARD REPORT: F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats added a goal and two assists to his eye-popping numbers, but his side dropped a 7-4 decision to the visiting Winnipeg Ice. . . . The goal came with the Pats shorhanded. It was his fifth shortie of the season and sixth of his career. . . . This was Bedard’s 41st game of the season; he has put up multiple points in 29 of them. . . . He now has a WHL-leading 103 points, including 51 goals. He finished last season with 100 points, 50 of them goals. . . . Since returning to the Pats after leading Canada to gold at the World Junior Championship, Bedard has scored 24 goals and added 15 assists in 13 games. . . . In 118 regular-season WHL games, he now has 231 points, including 114 goals. . . . When Bedard struck for his 50th goal of the season in his 40th game on Friday night, I forgot to mention that the WHL record for quickest to 50 is held by F Bill Derlago, who did it in 27 games — YES, 27!!! — with the Brandon Wheat Kings in 1977-78. . . .

——

In Regina, the Ice erased a 3-1 deficit with five straight goals en route to a 7-4 victory over the Pats. . . . F Evan Friesen (10) got the Ice into a 3-3 tie at 1:27 of the third period and F Matt Savoie (25) gave the visitors their first lead at 8:06. . . . F Connor Geekie (25) and F Zack Ostapchuk (19) stretched the lead to 6-3. That was Ostapchuk’s second goal; he also had an assist. . . . Savoie later put his 25th into an empty net. . . . Winnipeg (43-7-1) has won six in a row and leads the Eastern Conference by nine points. . . . Regina (25-24-3) has lost its past two and is tied with Swift Current and Medicine Hat for seventh in the conference. . . .

The Calgary Hitmen struck four times on the PP en route to a 7-2 victory over the Oil Kings in Edmonton. . . . The Hitmen finished 4-for-6 on the PP; Edmonton was 1-for-5 and gave up a shorthanded goal. . . . F Gavin Hodnett (11) gave Edmonton a 2-1 lead at 11:29 of the first period. . . . Calgary scored the last five goals. . . . F Sean Tschigerl (18) tied it on a PP at 13:07. . . . D Vojtech Husinecky’s first WHL goal, at 2:47 of the second period, stood up as the winner. Husinecky, a 17-year-old freshman from Czechia, has a goal and two assists in 28 games. . . . D Carter Yakemchuk (11) and F David Adaszynski (11) each had two goals for Calgary, with F Riley Fiddler-Schultz getting three assists. . . . Calgary (24-23-7) had lost its previous 10 games (0-7-3) and now is alone in sixth in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Regina, Swift Current and Medicine Hat. . . . Edmonton (8-42-3) has lost five straight. . . .

The Kelowna Rockets, outshot 46-15, were able to hang on and beat the visiting Portland Winterhawks, 3-1. . . . Kelowna G Talyn Boyko was the difference. He finished with 45 saves, 16 of them in the second period when the Rockets were outshot, 16-1. . . . The Rockets scored the last three goals. . . . F Game Klassen’s 30th goal gave Portland a 1-0 lead at 13:25 of the first period. . . . F Marcus Pacheco (9) got Kelowna even with a shorthanded score at 17:29 of the second. . . . The Rockets won it on third-period goals from F Turner McMillen (7) and F Adam Kydd (16). . . . The teams combined to take 11 minors — five to Kelowna F Andrew Cristall. . . .  Kelowna (19-30-3) has won two in a row. It is eighth in the Western Conference but now is five points ahead of Victoria. . . . Portland (36-13-4) is on a three-game losing skid and now trails first-place Seattle by eight points in the conference. . . . .

F Kai Uchacz scored twice, including the winner, as the Red Deer Rebels beat the Tigers, 5-4 in OT, in Medicine Hat. . . . Red Deer has needed extra time for each of its past five victories — two in OT, three in shootouts. . . . Uchacz, who is second to F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats in the goal department, got his 43rd goal at 3:34 of OT. . . . F Shane Smith (18) had pulled the Tigers into a 4-4 tie at 3:37 of the third period. . . . The Tigers led 3-1 midway through the second period, but surrendered the next three goals, all via the PP. . . . Red Deer was 4-for-6 on the PP; Medicine Hat was 2-for-3. . . . Red Deer (37-13-4) leads the Central Division by 12 points over Lethbridge. . . . Medicine Hat (22-22-9) is tied with Regina and Swift Current for the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. . . .

F Niall Crocker scored twice to help the host Prince Albert Raiders to a 5-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Crocker, who has 11 goals, gave his guys a 1-0 lead at 14:19 of the first period and closed out the scoring, on a PP, at 17:32 of the third. . . . F Ryder Ritchie helped the winners with three assists. Ritchie, a 16-year-old from Calgary, was a first-round pick in the WHL’s 2021 draft. He has 37 points, including 22 assists, in 46 games as a freshman. This was his first three-assist outing and his second three-point game. . . . Crocker’s first career two-goal game came in his 138th regular-season game. A first-rounder from 2019, the native of Delta, B.C., has 23 points in 51 games this season, after recording three goals and three assists in 64 games last season. . . . Prince Albert (22-28-3) has won three in a row and is six points from a playoff spot. . . . Moose Jaw (33-19-3) has lost three straight. It is fourth in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of Lethbridge. . . .

The Seattle Thunderbirds scored six times in the game’s first half as they skated to an 8-1 victory over the Victoria Royals in Kent, Wash. . . . D Kevin Korchinski finished with four assists; he had three of them just 8:20 into the first period. . . . It was Korchinski’s second four-point game this season and the fourth of his career. Korchinski was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks with the seventh overall pick of the NHL’s 2022 draft. This season, he has 55 points, including 48 assists, in 39 games. He now is a point-a-game player for his career, with 130 points in 130 regular-season games. . . . F Jared Davidson (31) and F Kyle Crnkovic (27) each scored twice for Seattle. . . . F Colton Dach, who last played a WHL game on Dec. 4, made his Seattle debut and had two assists. He suffered a shoulder injury while playing for Canada at the World Junior Championship, then was traded by the Kelowna Rockets — he had been their captain — to the Thunderbirds. . . . Seattle G Scott Ratzlaff stopped 24 shots for the victory. He now is 19-6-1, 2.15, .920 this season. . . . Seattle (41-9-2) has won six straight and looks headed to a first-place finish in the Western Conference. . . . Victoria (15-34-6) has lost two in a row and is five points from a playoff spot. . . . This was the first of three straight between these teams; they’ll play again Monday and Tuesday in Victoria. . . .

The Brandon Wheat Kings scored two first-period goals and went on to a 3-1 victory over the Broncos in Swift Current. . . . F Nolan Ritchie drew assists on the first-period scores from F Nate Danielson (26) and F Calder Anderson (13). . . . Brandon was 2-for-4 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-for-4. . . . Brandon (22-24-7) had lost its previous two games. It is 10th in the Eastern Conference, but just two points from a playoff spot. . . . Swift Current (25-24-3) has lost two in a row and is tied with Regina and Medicine Hat for the conference’s last playoff spot, two points ahead of Brandon. . . .

G Tomas Suchanek blocked 39 shots to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 3-0 victory over the Spokane Chiefs in Kennewick, Wash. . . . That was Suchanek’s first shutout this season and the second of his career. This season, he is 21-11-2, 3.16, .912. . . . F Deegan McMillan’s 13th goal, at 4:45 of the first period, was all the offence Suchanek would need. . . . Tri-City (26-20-7) had lost its previous six games (0-4-2). It is fourth in the Western Conference, two points ahead of Everett. . . . Spokane (11-36-6) had points in each of its previous three games (2-0-1). . . .

Blanked for almost 50 minutes, the Saskatoon Blades scored twice late to beat the Vancouver Giants, 2-1, in Langley, B.C. . . . The Blades went 4-1-0 in the B.C. Division, the lone loss coming by a 5-2 count in Kamloops on Feb. 10. . . . F Ty Thorpe (27) returned after sitting out a week with an undisclosed injury to give the Giants a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 13:51 of the second period. . . . F Jayden Wiens (12) got the Blades even, on a PP, at 9:43 of the third and F Conner Roulette (21) won it at 13:30. . . . The Blades got 19 stops from freshman G Austin Elliott. The 18-year-old from Strathmore, Alta., who was a 12th-round pick in the WHL’s 2019 draft, is 20-5-2, 1.97, .919. . . . The Giants also had Samuel Honzek back for the first time since he left for the World Junior Championship. He suffered a skate cut to one leg while playing for Slovakia in the WJC. Honzek has 43 points, 17 of them goals, in 31 games, so his offence will help the Giants. . . . Saskatoon (37-13-4) has four straight victories. It is tied with Red Deer for second in the Eastern Conference. But the Rebels are likely to win the Central Division so will be the second seed with the Blades third, both of them behind Winnipeg. . . . Vancouver (20-26-6) is seventh in the Western Conference, six points behind Prince George and five ahead of Kelowna.

Cats

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.

Snoopy2

WHL, Ice not taking questions . . . Why Winnipeg, but not Nanaimo? . . . Bedard now 50-50–100 but Pats lose

Earlier this week, Paul Friesen, a sports columnist with the Winnipeg Sun, wrote about how and why the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice might be on its last legs in the Manitoba capital.

Well . . . he had another column on Friday, this one digging a little more into WinnipegIcewhether the Ice ownership will be building an arena in the Rural Municipality of Macdonald.

The key points, at least from where I sit, are these:

1. On the subject of that possible construction project, Reeve Randy Erb said: “I haven’t heard a darn thing about it.”

2. “On Friday,” Friesen wrote, “team brass again wouldn’t take questions, choosing instead to issue a statement saying they’ve made some progress with the RM regarding development of their parcel of land, but making no mention of a new arena.”

3. “A request for follow-up questions was denied,” Friesen wrote.

4. Friesen added “the league also won’t take questions . . .”

There certainly seem to be a lot of folks not wanting to answer questions, isn’t there? Why is that?

Gee, I wonder what the folks of Cranbrook are thinking about now? And, yes, the hockey fans in Chilliwack, too.

Friesen’s complete column is right here and, again, it’s well worth a read.

——

The Victoria Royals began life as the Chilliwack Bruins, as I’m sure you will remember, but after a sale left for Vancouver Island following the 2010-11 season.

At the time, the WHL desperately wanted into Victoria and felt it had to act before the AHL got there, perhaps by having the Manitoba Moose relocate from Winnipeg.

You also may recall that Victoria had been home to the ECHL’s Salmon Kings until the franchise folded after that 2010-11 season.

Thus, the WHL hustled to get into Victoria.

And once it was there its pooh-bahs realized that it would be terrific if there WHLwas a second team on Vancouver Island. After all, it was turning out to be rather costly to ride a ferry there and back from the mainland to, in most instances, play one game. The logical place for another team would be Nanaimo, which had a population of about 90,500 in 2016. (That population grew to around 103,500 by 2022.)

The problem with Nanaimo, at least in the eyes of the WHL, was that it didn’t like the arena. The Frank Crane Arena, with its 2,400 seats, opened on Jan. 3, 1976. It is the home of the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers. For one season (1982-83), it had been home to a WHL franchise — the Nanaimo Islanders. (In 1981-82, the Islanders had been the Billings Bighorns; in 1983-84, they would be the New Westminster Bruins. Today, they are the Tri-City Americans.)

The Clippers’ lease was to end after the 2016-17 season, and a WHL franchise in Nanaimo would have led to that franchise’s demise.

All of this led to reports like this one, from CTV News on March 7, 2017:

“The Western Hockey League has raised the stakes in Nanaimo’s event centre debate.

“The league vowed Monday to bring a WHL club to the Harbour City if residents vote ‘yes’ this weekend on the proposed sports and entertainment complex, which could cost taxpayers close to $80-million.

“It’s the first time the WHL has outright committed to bringing a franchise to Nanaimo.”

Furthermore, the WHL said in a statement that a memorandum of understanding was in place between it and the City of Nanaimo, that a ‘yes’ vote would result in a team playing out of Nanaimo in time for the 2017-18 season and that there would be a 20-year lease in place if the new facility met WHL standards.

Ron Robison, the WHL commissioner, said in a statement: “The WHL remains fully committed to delivering a WHL franchise to Nanaimo, either through relocation or expansion, and will move forward to obtain the necessary final approvals should the residents of the City of Nanaimo vote in favour of a new events centre.”

On March 11, the day of the referendum, CBC reported that Jeff Chynoweth, then the general manager of the Cranbrook-based Kootenay Ice, had confirmed that a move by his team to Nanaimo “is under discussion.”

And so it was that Nanaimo voters went to the polls to vote on whether to borrow $80 million to build an events centre that would seat 5,700 for hockey and 7,100 for concerts.

The outcome was never in doubt. Voter turnout was 35.3 per cent, higher than the 2014 general election (34.1). All told, 23,885 ballots were cast and 80.3 per cent of those voted against borrowing the money.

About a month after the referendum, Chynoweth and his family sold the Ice to Greg Fettes, a Winnipeg businessman, and Matt Cockell, a former WHL goaltender who had been working with True North Sports + Entertainment, which owns the NHL’s Winnpeg Jets.

The Ice played two more seasons in Cranbrook but it became evident early that the franchise’s days there were numbered.

Indeed, on Jan. 29, 2019, the WHL confirmed hockey’s worst-kept secret — the Ice would relocate to Winnipeg after the 2018-19 season.

It didn’t seem to matter to the WHL that there wasn’t a suitable arena available in which the Ice could play its home games. It didn’t matter, perhaps, because Fettes was promising to build a 4,700-seat arena for his team.

So . . . here we are with the 2022-23 WHL regular season heading into the home stretch. The Ice is playing its third season in Winnipeg; it would be four but the abbreviated 2020-21 season ended up being played in a Regina bubble because of the pandemic.

And where does the Ice play its home games?

In Wayne Fleming Arena, on the campus of the University of Manitoba, a facility that also is home to Canada West’s U of Manitoba Bisons. It opened in 1981, about five years after Frank Crane Arena in Nanaimo. The Ice’s home seats about 1,600, and there have been improvements made over the past couple of years, with, among other things, a new ice plant having been installed in 2021.

As for Fettes’s promise to build a new arena. Well, there has yet to be even one shovel hit the ground. And now there are rumblings about the WHL possibly taking over the franchise . . . and perhaps having fined the Ice $500,000 for reneging on the arena promise, something the WHL and Ice both have denied . . . and a Paul Friesen column in the Winnipeg Sun this week detailed how it is that the Ice may be on its last legs in Winnipeg.

So . . . out of all this . . . can anyone explain why the WHL didn’t just move a team to Nanaimo and have it play in a 2,400-seat arena while waiting for someone to build a new facility.

No, the Frank Crane Arena doesn’t meet WHL standards, but neither does the Wayne Fleming Arena.

That didn’t seem to matter when putting a team into Winnipeg, so why was it a big deal when it came to Nanaimo?

You are free to play “What if . . .?”

Tacos

Tim McCarver, who made his name as an MLB catcher before becoming a prominent TV analyst, died on Thursday at the age of 81. . . . As Joe Posnanski points out, McCarver had one moment that stood out among all the rest. It was Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. Diamondbacks versus Yankees. Luis Gonzales against Mariano Rivera. Bottom of the ninth. 2-2. One out. Bases loaded.

Posnanski writes:

“Here’s what (McCarver) said while Gonzalez dug into the box and Rivera took the ball and readied for the next pitch. . . .

“ ‘The one problem is Rivera throws inside to lefthanders, so lefthanders get a lot of broken bat hits into . . . the shallow part of the outfield. That’s the danger of bringing the infield in with a guy like Rivera on the mound.’

“On the next pitch, Gonzalez hit a broken bat single over the drawn-in infield. The ball landed in the shallow outfield.

“Incredible. That might have been the greatest broadcasting prophecy in any sport.

“And, funny, you never really hear people talk about it. Tony Romo predicts a screen play correctly and people are ready to give him the Nobel Prize. McCarver perfectly called one of the most iconic hits in baseball history before it happened and . . . nothing.”

Headline at The Beaverton (@TheBeaverton) — Stabbed man who got hit by 3 cars then thrown off bridge probably died from the vaccine

Apps

FRIDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

THE BEDARD WATCH: F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats, playing in his 40th game of this season, ran his totals to 50 goals and 50 assists in a 6-5 loss to the host Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Bedard, who won’t turn 18 until July 17, finished with two goals and two assists, giving him his 10th game with at least four points. . . . Bedard is the first Regina player with back-to-back 50-goal seasons since F Mike Sillinger, who did it three seasons in a row (1988-91). . . . Bedard is the second-fastest skater in Pats history to reach 50 goals behind only F Jock Callander who did it in 39 games in 1981-82. In 1982-83, F Dale Derkatch got his 50th goal in his 41st game. . . . “The difference,” Callander told Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post this week, “is that I was 20 and he’s 17. . . . Bedard has scored 31 times in his past 17 games. . . . He leads the WHL in goals and points. . . . Oh yes, his presence also sold out another WHL arena, this time the Art Hauser Centre.

——

In Prince Albert, the Raiders scored the game’s last two goals to beat the Regina Pats, 6-5. . . . The home boys overcame deficits of 2-0, 3-1 and 5-4 in earning the victory. . . . F Grady Martin’s first WHL goal, in his 37th game, tied it 5-5 at 5:19 of the third period. Martin, 16, is from Oyen, Alta., and was a second-round pick in the WHL’s 2021 draft. . . . F Aiden Quiring (9) broke the tie at 9:19. . . . F Alexander Suzdalev got his 30th goal for Regina. He is the third Regina freshman in recent years with 30 goals, behind F Nick Henry (2016-17) and F Petr Kalus (2005-06). . . . Regina F Tanner Howe, who is from Prince Albert, scored his 25th goal. . . . The announced attendance was 3,299, a sellout and the largest crowd in the Art Hauser Centre this season, well ahead of the 2,798 who watched the Saskatoon Blades post a 5-2 victory on opening night. . . . Of course, the fans were there to watch Regina F Connor Bedard and he didn’t disappoint — he scored twice, becoming the first WHLer to 50 goals this season, and added two assists. . . . Prince Albert (21-28-3) is eight points out of a playoff spot. . . . Regina (25-23-3) is tied with Swift Current and Calgary for sixth in the Eastern Conference. . . .

The Spokane Chiefs scored four times in a shootout as they beat the host Everett Silvertips, 4-3. . . . The teams combined for seven goals in the five-round shootout. . . . Everett held a 3-0 lead halfway through the third period, only to have Spokane strike three times in 4:46 in the second half. . . . F Berkly Catton (16) keyed the comeback with a goal and two assists. The first overall selection in the 2021 WHL draft has 40 points in 47 games. . . . F Cade Hayes (16) had two goals for Spokane, forcing OT at 15:22. . . . Spokane (11-35-6) has points in three straight (2-0-1). . . . Everett (27-23-3) is tied for fourth with Tri-City. . . .

F Blake Swetlikoff scored two second-period goals to help the host Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 3-1 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Swetlikoff, who has 11 goals, broke a 1-1 tie at 1:29 and added insurance at 10:40. . . . Hurricanes G Bryan Thomson, coming off back-to-back shutouts, stopped 30 shots. . . . Lethbridge (30-18-6) has points in four straight (3-0-1) and is fifth in the Eastern Conference, three points behind Moose Jaw. . . . Brandon (21-24-7) is 10th, four points from a playoff spot. . . .

The Winnipeg Ice struck five times in the first period en route to a 7-1 victory over the Warriors in Moose Jaw. . . . The Ice got goals from five different players in that period, the scores coming in a span of 11:38. . . . Winnipeg got points from 15 players but no one had more than two. . . . Ice D Ben Zloty, a sixth-round pick in the WHL’s 2017 draft, scored his 10th goal. He now has 63 points in 49 games. He finished last season with 64 points, eight of them goals, in 62 games. . . . The Warriors lost F Robert Baco to a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct at 8:17 of the third period. . . . Winnipeg (42-7-1) now leads the Eastern Conference by nine points over Red Deer and Saskatoon. Red Deer leads the Central Division so would be the No. 2 seed. . . . Moose Jaw (33-18-3) is fourth in the conference, three points ahead of Lethbridge. . . .

The Kamloops Blazers coughed up 3-0 and 4-1 leads before coming back to beat the Rebels, 7-4, in Red Deer. . . . Kamloops has won seven in a row. . . . With the Scotties Tournament of Hearts — aka the Canadian women’s curling championship — in their home arena, the Blazers won’t play in Kamloops again until March 3. The Scotties began Friday and runs through Feb. 26. . . . The Blazers broke a 4-4 tie with a pair of PP goals early in the third period. . . . D Kyle Masters, who was acquired along with a first-round WHL draft pick from Red Deer in a deal that had D Mats Lindgren go the other way, got his ninth goal at 2:38 and F Daylan Kuefler (27) added insurance at 4:26. . . . D Olen Zellweger had a goal (18) and three assists for the winners, with F Connor Levis adding a goal (14) and two helpers. . . . Kamloops was 4-for-5 on the PP; Red Deer was 1-for-2. . . . Blazers F Logan Stankoven had three assists as he ran his point streak to 35 games, tying F Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats for the longest point streak this season. Stankoven, with 79 points in 35 games, has at least a point in every game he has played this season. . . . The Blazers held a 42-27 edge in shots, including 21-4 in the first period after which they led 3-0. . . . Kamloops (34-10-6) leads the B.C. Division by 22 points over Prince George. . . . Red Deer (36-13-4) leads the Central Division by 10 points over Lethbridge. . . .

F Dylan Guenther opened and closed the scoring as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Tri-City Americans, 4-3 in OT, in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Guenther won it with his third goal of the season at 4:10 of OT. . . . He also had an assist, giving him a three-point outing. He’s got seven points in four games since being assigned by the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes. . . . Seattle got a goal (8) and an assist from F Brad Lambert, who has 16 points in 10 games since the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets sent him to the Thunderbirds. He has a goal in five straight games. . . . Tri-City F Jordan Gavin, who won’t turn 17 until Nov. 13, had a goal and two assists. He’s got 42 points, 15 of them goals, in 46 games. . . . D Lukas Dragicevic had two PP assists for the Americans. . . . Seattle (40-9-2) has won five in a row. It leads the Western Conference by six points over Portland. . . . Tri-City (25-20-7) has lost six in a row (0-4-2). It is tied with Everett for fourth in the conference. . . .

The Saskatoon Blades opened a 5-0 first-period lead en route to a 6-4 victory over the Royals in Victoria. . . . The Blades are 3-1-0 on their tour through the B.C. Division. They’ll head for home after facing the Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C., tonight. . . . F Trevor Wong (20) scored two of those early goals — one on the PP and one while shorthanded — as the Blades struck five times in a span of 12:48. . . . F Egor Sidorov (33) had two goals and two assists for the Blades, with F Conner Roulette adding a goal (20) and two helpers. . . . F Jake Poole, the Royals’ leading scorer, had two goals (29) after not having played since Feb. 3. . . . Saskatoon (36-13-4) is second in the East Division, nine points behind Winnipeg. . . . Victoria (15-33-6) is ninth in the Western Conference. The Royals are three points out of a playoff spot and their next three games are against the conference-leading Seattle Thunderbirds. In their only meeting to date, Seattle put up a 3-0 shutout.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

F Josh Pillar of the Saskatoon Blades had his NHL rights dealt from the Minnesota Wild to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night. Pillar, who turned 21 on Feb. 14, is from Warman, Sask. He was a fourth-round pick by the Wild in the NHL’s 2021 draft. This season, he has four goals and eight assists in 12 games, but only returned to game action last night after being out since Nov. 26 with an undisclosed injury. . . .

The Moose Jaw Warriors honoured two former defencemen — Paul Dyck and Kevin Masters — this week by inducting them into the organizations Hall of Fame. . . . Dyck played from 1989-91; Masters from 1988-92. . . . They were saluted at a dinner on Thursday night and then were honoured Friday night as the Warriors played host to the Winnipeg Ice. . . . Brent Parker, who as the general manager of the Regina Pats may have tossed more than a little gasoline onto what was a fierce rivalry back in the day, was in attendance. In fact, he won the 50-50 draw and immediately gave half of it to the Warriors’ education fund. . . . I have it on good authority that there more than a few laughs were heard when Parker was announced as the winner. . . .

The Portland Winterhawks will add F Randy Heath, F Cam Neely, F Grant Sasser and F Ken Yaremchuk to their Hall of Fame on March 18. All four played on the 1983-champion Winterhawks. . . . Portland also will retire Neely’s No. 21. That will be the first number to have been retired by the Winterhawks. . . . The Seattle Thunderbirds are scheduled to provide the opposition on March 18.

Jelly

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.

Water

All is quiet in Moose Jaw; police are unable to comment . . . Keller maintains hot hand for Blades . . . Lambert sparks Thunderbirds

There doesn’t appear to be anything new — at least, nothing for public consumption — in the situation involving the four players off the Moose Jaw WarriorsNewWarriors’ roster who have been suspended indefinitely by the WHL.

The four players — D Marek Howell, 16; F Lynden Lakovic, who turned 16 on Dec. 12; D Maximus Wanner, 19; and G Connor Ungar, 21 — are shown on the WHL’s discipline page as having been suspended “tbd for standard of conduct violation.”

When the WHL announced the suspensions on Saturday, via a one-sentence news release. It stated that the players were suspended “pending an investigation into possible violations of team rules and the WHL Standard of Conduct policies.”

The WHL didn’t indicate who would be conducting such an investigation, whether an investigation is underway, or whether there was a time element involved.

Nor did the league indicate whether there is any police involvement.

Katie Strang of The Athletic reported on Monday that a Moose Jaw Police Service spokesperson confirmed they “have been made aware” of a situation involving players with the team but aren’t able to comment further at this time.

The four players all played in a 2-1 victory over the host Calgary Hitmen on Feb. 5, then were scratched on Wednesday as the Warriors beat the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings, 6-3. The night the suspensions were announced, the Warriors dropped an 8-4 decision to the Pats in Regina.

The Warriors next are scheduled to play on Friday against the visiting Winnipeg Ice.

Moose Jaw (33-17-3) is fourth in the Eastern Conference, five points behind the Saskatoon Blades and seven ahead of the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

——

While enjoying their annual Super Bowl retreat in Las Vegas, the WHL’s board WHLof governors honoured Kelly McCrimmon by presenting him with a Governors Award. From a news release: The award “is presented annually to an individual who, through their outstanding hockey and overall contributions to the game, has impacted on the growth and development of the WHL.” McCrimmon, now the general manager of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, was a long-time owner, general manager and head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The governors also took time out from their time at the slot machines to honour former Spokane Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz. Speltz was named as the recipient of last year’s Governors Award. However, scheduling issues due primarily to the pandemic prevented the award from being presented to Speltz prior to Monday. Speltz, the Chiefs’ GM for 26 seasons, now is the GM of the Henderson Silver Knights, the Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate.

Monopoly

TUESDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

The Swift Current struck four times in the third period en route to posting a 7-5 victory over the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . The Wheat Kings took a 4-3 lead into the third period, but the Broncos took a 5-4 lead on two goals from F Brad Birnie (14), at 0:32 and 3:47. . . . F Connor Hvidston (14), who also had two assists, and F Josh Filmon (33) stretched the lead at 8:33 and 12:34. . . . Swift Current was 2-for-2 on the PP and had a shorthanded goal. . . . Brandon was 3-for-6 on the PP. . . . Brandon got two goals from F Brett Hyland (26) and a goal (25) and two assists from F Nate Danielson. . . . Swift Current (25-22-3) is tied with the Regina Pats (25-22-3) and Calgary Hitmen (23-22-7) for sixth in the Eastern Conference. . . . Brandon (21-23-7) is 10th, four points from a playoff spot. . . .

The Saskatoon Blades snapped a 1-1 tie with three goals early in the third period as they skated to a ?? victory over the Cougars in Prince George. . . . F Jordan Keller pulled the Blades into a 1-1 tie with a PP goal at 17:23 of the second period, then snapped the tie with his 13th goal at 2:26 of the third period. . . . D Spencer Shugrue’s first goal of the season and third in 140 games increased the lead at 2:51, and D Charlie Wright (5) added another at 4:35. . . . Keller also had an assist for the first three-point game of his freshman season. He has three two-goal games in his last five outings. . . . F Egor Sidorov scored his 31st goal — giving the Blades four goals in 5:46 — and also had two assists. . . . F Chase Wheatcroft of the Cougars drew one assist to run his point streak to 14 games. . . . The Blades are 2-1-0 in a B.C. Division tour that continues Friday night in Victoria. Interestingly, Saskatoon is the only East Division team that made its Prince George visit in the middle of the road trip; the others either began or ended their trip against the Cougars. . . . Saskatoon (35-13-4) is third in the Eastern Conference, five points ahead of the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Prince George (24-23-4) is sixth in the Western Conference, four points behind the Tri-City Americans. . . . BTW, McBride has a population of about 600 people, so that’s an awfully good showing in support of Blades D Tanner Molendyk. . . .

F Brad Lambert had a goal and two assists as the Seattle Thunderbirds dumped the Tri-City Americans, 4-2, in Kent, Wash. . . . In nine games since joining the Thunderbirds from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, Lambert has seven goals and seven assists. He has a goal in each of his last four games. . . . F Lucas Ciona (23) scored Seattle’s last two goals, proving a 3-0 lead at 14:18 of the second period and making it 4-2 with an empty-netter at 19:44 of the third. . . . F Ethan Ernst (30) and F Adam Mechura (18) got the Americans to within a goal by scoring at 16:30 and 18:51 of the third. . . . Seattle (39-9-2) has won four in a row. It now leads the Western Conference by four points over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Tri-City (25-20-6) has lost five straight (0-4-1). It is tied with the Everett Silvertips (27-22-2) for fourth in the conference.

Lions

From the Ghostrider News blog that follows the junior B Kootenay International Junior Hockey League:

“With an amusing 1,350 penalty minutes the Kelowna Chiefs won the coveted KIJHL colouring books; they also finished dead last with 16 points. Clearly in a large city where there are almost as many players as protesters recruiting should be easy; there might even be a ‘convoy’ of players to choose from . . . but the owner, Jason Tansem, made himself the GM . . . What does that tell you?

“Tansem joins a long list of owners who have dabbled in the occult or whatever it is coaches do. Friend of the blog Lee Stone, who coached the Campbell River Storm to Cyclone Taylor and Keystone Cups along with three VIJHL championships, lost his coaching job recently when a new owner came in and meddled as GM.”

——

The junior B Campbell River Storm of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League announced Monday that it has “parted ways” with Lee Stone, its general manager and head coach. . . . “He has been an integral part of every success this team has experienced from 2013-23,” the team said in a social media post. According to the team, Stone had a 373-113-32 record over nine seasons. . . . This season, the Storm is 31-11-2, good for second place in the six-team North Division. . . . On Tuesday, Stone posted on social media that “the timing of this decision by a new ownership interest was unfortunate and reflects ongoing changes to the club’s direction that I could no longer support.”

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.

VanGogh

WHL hits four Warriors with indefinite suspensions; investigation begins . . . Bedard rolls to five-point night . . . Seattle goes into Portland and posts shutout

The WHL announced Saturday afternoon that four players off the Moose Jaw WHLWarriors’ roster “have been suspended indefinitely pending an investigation into possible violations of team rules and the WHL Standard of Conduct policies.”

The WHL made the announcement in a one-paragraph statement posted on its website.

The suspended players are D Marek Howell, 16, of Calgary; F Lynden Lakovic, 16, of West Kelowna, B.C.; G Connor Ungar, 21, of Calgary; and D Maximus Wanner, 19, of Estevan, Sask.

All four played in the Warriors’ 2-1 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary on Feb. 5. WarriorsNewAll four were scratched from a 6-3 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on Wednesday. Those were the Warriors’ last games before Saturday night when they met the Pats in Regina.

The announcement from the WHL comes with the WHL’s board of governors holding its annual Super Bowl meeting in Las Vegas. Every year, rather than hold the meeting in a WHL city, the governors choose to gather in Las Vegas. Such was the case again this weekend.

When asked about the situation by Randy Palmer of moosejawtoday.com on Saturday afternoon, Jason Ripplinger, the Warriors’ general manager, chose not to comment, saying “the WHL has advised us and we’re not making a comment at this time.”

Palmer added:

“The WHL Standard of Conduct covers a number of issues that have been a concern for the league in recent years, including racial and derogatory comments, bullying and harassment, social media and networking conduct, personal conduct detrimental to the WHL and diversity and inclusion so participants are respected, valued and welcomed at all times.

“The Standard of Conduct states that all participants are obligated to report violations, and all participants are required to co-operate with investigations initiated by the WHL.”

Howell, the 16th overall selection in the WHL’s 2021 draft, had one goal and three assists in 44 games. He got into five games last season, picking up a goal and an assist.

Lakovic, a freshman, was a second-round selection in the WHL’s 2021 draft. He had two goals and five assists in 37 games.

Ungar, who was acquired from the Red Deer Rebels on May 19, was having a terrific season. In 38 appearances, he was 26-7-3, 2.58, .925. He is tied for second in victories and leads the WHL in save percentage.

Wanner was a seventh-round selection by the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL’s 2021 draft. He signed a three-year entry-level contract in September. This season, he had eight goals and 22 assists in 44 games. In 121 career regular-season games, all with Moose Jaw, he had 14 goals and 44 assists.

The Warriors had three new faces in their lineup for a Saturday game in Regina — F Owen Berge of the U18 Northern Alberta Xtreme; G Justen Maric from the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars; and D Brady Ness of the U18AAA Edmonton Jr. Oilers. The Pats won the game, 8-4.

Biology

Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, with some pertinent thoughts on today’s Super Bowl:

“Yes, this game will be the culmination of the 2022 NFL season and indeed the NFL season is the biggest deal of all in US sports. But the coverage is once again hugely overblown and obfuscates for some people that this is still at its core a freaking football game. It is not a cataclysmic event; it is not the rapture anticipated by many of the folks who will put the imminence of said rapture on hold for about four hours while they watch the game; it is a football game. It is a big deal in the world of professional football in the US to be sure; simultaneously, it is an event of no consequence in the world of people trying to dig their way out of devastating earthquakes in the Middle East today. As we all get ready to enjoy the biggest game of the season, please remember to keep it in perspective: It’s a football game, Folks!”

More of his observations are right here.

The Regina Pats played in front of the third straight sellout crowd (6,499) at the Brandt Centre on Saturday night. There isn’t any doubt that Pats F Connor ReginaBedard is the attraction, especially since he returned from the World Junior Championship where he led Team Canada to the gold medal. . . . But exactly what has he been worth to the WHL? . . . From a story by Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post: “Cliff Mander, a Vancouver-based agent with CKM Sports Management, told CJME/CKOM that Bedard’s estimated value to the league is $1.5 million. . . . Interviewed by CTV Saskatoon’s Tyler Barrow, Edwards School of Business dean Keith Willoughby said that Bedard’s financial impact ‘is in the millions of dollars.’ ” . . . Gotta think some of the WHL pooh-bahs had some Beard-related funds in their jeans as they enjoy Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas. . . . Vanstone’s latest Beard-related story is right here.

Olives

SATURDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

Playing in front of a third straight sellout crowd (6,499), the host Regina Pats got three goals and two assists from F Connor Bedard en route to an 8-4 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . F Martin Rysavy (6) got Moose Jaw into a 4-4 tie at 15:15 of the second period. . . . Regina F Borya Valis (18) put the Pats back in the lead at 18:08. Valis also had two assists. . . . Bedard completed his hat trick with goals at 3:56 and 11:17, and F Tanner Howe (24) finished the scoring at 17:42. . . . Bedard now has a WHL-leading 48 goals. He has five three-goal games and a four-goal outing this season. He has scored five points in a game on five occasions and also has a six-pointer to his credit. . . . Bedard leads the WHL with 96 points in 39 games. He finished last season with 51 goals and 49 assists in 62 games. Bedard won’t turn 18 until July 17. . . . F Brayden Yager had a goal (22) and an assist for Moose Jaw, the goal, at 14:50 of the first period, opening the scoring. . . . Regina (25-22-3) is tied with the Calgary Hitmen for sixth in the Eastern Conference. . . . Moose Jaw (33-17-3) had won its past three games. The Warriors are fourth in the conference, three points behind the Saskatoon Blades. . . .

In Brandon, the Wheat Kings scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Calgary Hitmen, 3-2. . . . F Brett Hyland (24) got Brandon into a 2-2 tie at 2:23 of the third period and F Dawson Pasternak (9) got what proved to be the winner at 4:56. . . . Hyland and Pasternak each had an assist. . . . F Chase Valliant scored his first WHL goal for the Hitmen, opening the scoring at 3:39 of the first period. A 16-year-old from Surrey, B.C., he was playing in his seventh game this season. . . . Brandon (21-22-7) has won two in a row. The Wheat Kings are 10th in the Eastern Conference, three points from a playoff spot. . . . Calgary (23-22-7) has lost nine straight (0-6-3). The Hitmen and Regina Pats are tied for sixth in the conference. . . .

F Austin Roest scored the only goal of a shootout to give the Everett Silvertips a 2-1 victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs. . . . Roest was the fifth shooter in the circus. . . . D Brayden Crampton (2) gave Spokane a 1-0 lead at 7:11 of the first period. . . . F Jackson Berezowski (35) tied it at 7:08 of the third. . . . G Tim Metzger stopped 32 shots through OT for the Silvertips, while Spokane’s Cooper Michaluk blocked 36. . . . Everett (27-22-2) has points in five straight (4-0-1). It is tied with the Tri-City Americans for fourth in the Western Conference. . . . Spokane (9-35-6) has lost nine in a row (0-6-3). . . .

F Matthew Seminoff opened and closed the scoring as his Kamloops Blazers got past the visiting Prince George Cougars, 5-4. . . . Seminoff, who also had an assist, got his 21st goal at 4:39 of the first period, for a 1-0 lead. He snapped a 4-4 tie at 19:52 of the third period. . . . F Koehn Ziemmer (31) had pulled the visitors into that tie at 12:22 of the third period. . . . Kamloops F Logan Stankoven ran his point streak to 34 games with three assists. He now has 76 points, 49 of them assists, in 34 games. Yes, he has at least one point in each game he has played this season. . . . The Blazers also got three assists from D Olen Zellweger. He has seven goals and 16 assists in 13 games since the Blazers acquired him from the Everett  Silvertips. . . . F Ryan Hofer, who also came to Kamloops in that deal, gave the Blazers a 4-3 lead with his 33rd goal, on a PP, at 8:22 of the third period. However, he got tossed with a headshot major and game misconduct at 12:39 of the third period. . . . F Ondrej Becher (11) had two goals and an assist for the Cougars. . . . G Matthew Kieper earned the victory with 39 saves. . . . F Jakob Demek took the pregame warmup with the Blazers, but didn’t play in the game. He was acquired from the Edmonton Oil Kings earlier this season, but has yet to play after undergoing shoulder surgery after last summer’s World Junior Championship. . . . Kamloops (33-10-6) has won six straight. It will finish atop the B.C. Division. . . . The Cougars (24-22-4) had a five-game winning streak snapped. They are sixth in the Western Conference. . . .

F Jordan Keller scored twice to help the visiting Saskatoon Blades to a 4-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Keller, the son of Kamloops Blazers assistant coach Aaron Keller, enjoyed the third two-goal game of his freshman season. . . . F Jayden Wiens, in his second game since Dec. 10, scored once and added two assists. . . . Wiens (11) broke a 2-2 tie with a PP goal at 8:36 of the third period. . . . Keller (11) added insurance, on a PP, at 14:15. . . . F Trevor Wong, who began his WHL career with the Rockets, drew two assists for the Blades. . . . F Gabriel Szturc (17), a native of Czechia, scored twice with his parents in the stands. . . . Saskatoon finished with a 39-18 shot advantage. . . . After Kelowna was beaten, 9-2, by the visiting Prince George Cougars on Friday, Regan Bartel, the Rockets’ radio voice, updated the injury situation, noting that freshman F Logan Peskett didn’t return after a first-period fight and F Will Munro, another freshman, left after absorbing an early hit. As well, “Andrew Cristall missed his 13th straight game with injury (and) Ty Hurley missed his 12th, while Max Graham is still no less than three weeks away from getting back in the lineup.” All five sat out Saturday’s game, too, as did D John Babcock and D Marek Rocak, both of whom also are injured. . . . The Blades remain without injured forwards Josh Pillar, Justin Lies, Tyler Parr and Misha Volotovskii. . . . Pillar is on the B.C. trek and skating with the Blades so would seem close to a return. . . . Saskatoon (34-13-4) is 1-1-0 in the B.C. Division. The Blades are third in the Eastern Conference, four points behind the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Kelowna (17-30-3) has lost four in a row. It holds down eight in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Victoris Royals. . . .

F Shane Smith scored in a shootout to give the Tigers a 3-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes in Medicine Hat. . . . The Hurricanes had beaten the Tigers, 3-0, in Lethbridge on Friday night. . . . The Tigers took a 2-1 lead into the second period. . . . F Joe Arntsen (9) got Lethbridge into a 2-2 tie with a PP goal at 13:07 of the second. . . . Arntsen also drew an assist on F Jett Jones’ 18th goal of the season in the first period. . . . D Rhett Parsons (4) and F Brendan Lee (21) also scored for the Tigers. . . . Medicine Hat (22-22-8) moved into eighth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Regina Pats and Calgary Hitmen, and one ahead of the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Lethbridge (28-18-6) is fifth in the conference. . . .

G Tomas Milic stopped 36 shots to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 3-0 victory over the Winterhawks in Portland. . . . The battle of Western Conference leaders drew an announced attendance of 8,057, the second- largest crowd in Portland this season. The same two teams drew 9,863 fans on Dec. 10. The Winterhawks won that one, 4-3 in a shootout. . . . Milic has two shutouts this season and six in his career. . . . D Kevin Korchinski’s seventh goal, on a PP at 11:58 of the second period, stood up as the winner. . . . F Brad Lambert had a goal (6) and an assist. . . . Seattle (38-9-2) has won three in a row and now leads the conference by two points over Portland (36-11-4). . . . Portland is 4-3-0 in the season series; Seattle is 3-3-1. . . .

The Prince Albert Raiders surrendered a goal 34 seconds into the game, then scored the last four goals to beat the visiting Swift Current Broncos, 4-1. . . . One night earlier, the Broncos had beaten the Raiders, 4-0, in Swift  Current. . . . Last night, F Harrison Lodewyk (6) pulled the Raiders even at 10:13 of the first period. . . . F Ryder Ritchie (14) got the eventual winner at 4:04 of the second. . . . The Raiders got a goal (18) and two assists from F Keaton Sorensen. . . . G Max Hildebrand got the victory with 33 stops. . . . Prince Albert lost F Hayden Pakkala to a boarding major and game misconduct at 18:09 of the first period. . . . Prince Albert (20-28-3) had lost its previous three games. It is nine points from a playoff spot. . . . Swift Current (24-22-3) had won two straight. It is ninth in the Eastern Conference, one point out of eighth. . . .

F Frantisek Formanek scored in the fifth round of a shootout to give the Red Deer Rebels a 2-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash. . . . F Adam Mechura put Tri-City ahead in the shootout’s second round, but Red Deer F Ben King quickly tied it. . . . The Rebels had taken a 1-0 lead on F Jace Isley’s 24th goal, shorthanded, just 44 seconds into the second period. . . . Mechura (17) tied it at 9:02 of the second. . . . Red Deer (36-12-4) went 3-2-0 on its U.S. Division swing. It leads the Central Division by 14 points. . . . Tri-City (25-19-6) has lost three in a row (0-2-1), but has moved into a tie with the Everett Silvertips for fourth in the Western Conference. . . .

The Victoria Royals counted the game’s last four goals to beat the Vancouver Giants, 6-2, in Langley, B.C. . . . F Teydon Trembecky (8) gave the visitors a 3-2 lead at 18:34 of the second period. . . . D Justin Kipkie (5) added insurance at 4:49 of the third. . . . Victoria F Tanner Scott (10) scored the game’s first and last goals. He also had an assist. . . . The Royals lost F Luke Rybinski to a headshot major and game misconduct at 9:43 of the second period. . . . The Giants lost F Jaden Lipinski to a spearing major and game misconduct at 10:11 of the third. . . . F Ty Thorpe, the Giants’ leading scorer, was among their scratches. . . . The Royals remains without F Jake Poole, their top scorer, and D Gannon Laroque. . . . Victoria (15-32-6) had lost its previous five games (0-4-1). It is ninth in the Western Conference, one point behind the Kelowna Rockets, who hold three games in hand. . . . The seventh-place Giants (20-25-6) had won their previous two games. . . .

The Winnipeg Ice struck for five first-period goals and went on to defeat the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings, 7-1. . . . F Owen Pederson (24) scored twice for the Ice, with D Carson Lambos adding a goal (8) and two assists. . . . This was the first time these teams met since last spring’s Eastern Conference final. The Oil Kings won that series en route to winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup. . . . The Ice (40-7-1) has won three straight. It leads the Eastern Conference by five points over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Edmonton (8-41-3) has lost four in a row.

Latte

JUST NOTES:

Brad Lauer, a former WHL player and coach, now is an assistant coach with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. But he has had to step back from his role a bit as he deals with a herniated disc in his back. Rick Bowness, the Jets’ head coach, told reporters on Saturday that Lauer “is on IR from a coaching perspective.” . . . Lauer was the head coach of the Edmonton Oil Kings last season as they won the WHL championship. . . .

The U of Calgary Dinos men’s hockey team will go into the playoffs on a 23-game winning streak after completing the regular season with a 6-3 victory over the MacEwan Griffins in Calgary on Saturday. . . . The Dinos finished 25-3, setting program records for victories (25) and points (50).

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.

Vegan

Winterhawks lose Lucius, drop shootout decision at home . . . Chadwick blanks Oil Kings again . . . Baumgartner a Hall of Famer

F Chaz Lucius of the Portland Winterhawks underwent shoulder surgery on PortlandMonday and his season is over. The team made the announcement on Monday afternoon. . . . “Lucius surgery was successful and he is expected to make a full recovery,” the team said in a news release. . . . Lucius, 19, put up 15 points, including five goals, in six games with the Winterhawks after having been assigned to them by the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. He had been with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose before joining Team USA at the World Junior Championship. . . . Lucius, a first-round pick by the Jets in the NHL’s 2021 draft, scored three goals, including the OT winner, in the third-place game at the WJC as Team USA beat Sweden, 8-7. . . . Lucius was the WHL’s player of the week for Jan. 23-29, then was injured in a 4-3 OT victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs on Jan. 29. Lucius had a goal and an assist, his goal at 19:43 of the third period forcing OT.

Here’s a look at the WHL draft picks traded away by the Seattle Thunderbirds in recent times . . .

2023: First (to Prince Albert), first (Saskatoon), second (Edmonton), third (Edmonton), fourth (Saskatoon), fourth (Kelowna, conditional), sixth (Saskatoon).

2024: First (Kelowna, conditional), second (Saskatoon), third (Prince Albert), fourth (Edmonton), sixth (Edmonton).

2025: First (Edmonton), second (Kelowna, conditional), third (Edmonton), Fourth (Edmonton), sixth (Prince Albert).

2026: First (Edmonton), second (Prince Albert), third (Saskatoon), fourth (Edmonton), fifth (Edmonton), sixth (Prince Albert, conditional).

Of course, the Thunderbirds acquired F Dylan Guenther, D Nolan Allan, F Brad Lambert, D Luke Prokop, F Colton Dach and F Kyle Crnkovic in the deals that included those picks.

Green

TUESDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

G Ethan Chadwick blocked 21 shots to lead the host Saskatoon Blades to a 4-0 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . It was Chadwick’s second shutout this season and the second of his two-season career. This season, he is 16-7-2, 2.53, .902. . . . Chadwick also shut out the Oil Kings on Nov. 12, making 21 saves in a 5-0 victory. . . . The Oil Kings have been blanked six times this season. . . . F Brandon Lisowsky (27) scored the game’s first goal and that’s all Chadwick needed. . . . F Egor Sidorov’s 30th goal, at 18:09 of the second, gave the Blades a 3-0 lead. He has 53 points in 38 games this season, after finishing last season with 35, including 23 goals, in 58 games. . . . F Conner Roulette returned to Saskatoon’s lineup after a four-game absence and drew two assists. . . . The Blades swept the four-game season series from the Oil Kings, outscoring them 19-2 in the process. . . . Saskatoon (33-12-4), which is third in the Eastern Conference, has won three in a row. . . . The Blades are to begin a tour of the B.C. Division in Kamloops on Friday night. . . .

It’s worth noting that the Oil Kings need four victories in their remaining games to avoid setting one of those records that you’d rather not be anywhere near. . . . Last season, the Oil Kings went 50-14-4 in the regular season before going on to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as playoff champions. This season, they are 8-38-3 and are perilously close to establishing a record for the fewest victories by the defending champions. That mark belongs to the Swift Current Broncos who won the 2017-18 WHL championship and followed that up by going 11-51-6 in 2018-19. . . . The Oil Kings have 19 games remaining in their season. . . .

The Red Deer Rebels scored on their first two shootout attempts to beat the Winterhawks, 5-4, in Portland. . . . Red Deer is 2-1-0 in the U.S. Division on this trip. . . . The Winterhawks scored twice in the last four minutes of the third period to get it to OT. . . . F Kai Uchacz and F Ben King had the shootout goals. . . . Earlier, King notched his 11th and 12th goals this season; the first one was the 100th regular-season goal of his career. King, who led the WHL with 52 goals last season, scored the first five with the Swift Current Broncos and the rest with the Rebels. . . . King’s first goal tied it, 2-2, at 11:45 of the second period. His second goal, at 10:10 of the third period, gave the visitors a 4-2 lead. . . . F Josh Zakreski (8) got the Winterhawks to within a goal at 16:08, and F Kyle Chyzowski (13) tied it at 18:59 with G Dante Giannuzzi on the bench for an extra attacker. . . . F Jack O’Brien drew three assists for Portland. . . . Red Deer (35-11-4) closed to within one point of the Eastern Conference-leading Winnipeg Ice, which holds five games in hand. . . . Portland (35-10-4) is tied with the Seattle Thunderbirds atop the Western Conference. . . .

With his mother in the stands, F Ondrej Becher scored twice and added an assist as the Prince George Cougars got past the visiting Kelowna Rockets, 5-1. . . . Becher, an 18-year-old freshman from Czechia, has nine goals and 16 assists in 44 games. . . . F Chase Wheatcroft recorded three assists. . . . The Cougars scored the game’s last five goals. . . . Prince George (22-21-4) has won three in a row. It is sixth in the Western Conference, four points behind the Everett Silvertips with two games in hand. . . . Kelowna (17-27-3) had won its previous three games. It is eighth in the conference, seven points behind the Vancouver Giants and four ahead of the Victoria Royals. . . . The Cougars and Rockets will play again tonight in Prince George and make it three in a row on Friday in Kelowna.

Dad

Former WHL D Nolan Baumgartner was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame this week. Now an assistant coach with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, Baumgartner twice was named WHL defenceman of the year while with the Kamloops Blazers (1992-96). He also was selected as the CHL’s top defenceman for 1994-95, and helped Kamloops with two Memorial Cup titles. . . . He played in the AHL with the Portland Pirates, Norfolk Admirals, Manitoba, Philadelphia Phantoms, Iowa Stars and Chicago Wolves. He has been as assistant coach with Chicago, the Utica Comets and the Moose.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS:

The OHL’s Ottawa 67’s will be moving to Gatineau for a handful of playoff games. With The Arena at TD Place, their normal home, busy with the World men’s curling championship, from April 1-9, the 67’s will play as many as three first-round playoff games at the Slush Puppie Centre in Gatineau, Que. The 6,700-seat Slush Puppy Centre is the home of the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques. . . . Interestingly, the 67’s and Olympiques are to play a home-and-home series this week, opening Thursday in Ottawa and concluding Saturday in Gatineau.

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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.

Nap

Coyotes add to T-Birds’ arsenal; Canada’s Golden Boy on way to Seattle . . . Tigers move into playoff spot

OK . . . prior to Sunday you didn’t have the Seattle Thunderbirds as the favourites to win the WHL’s 2022-23 championship. You weren’t quite ready to go that far, were you?

But how about now that the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes have sent F Dylan Guenther Seattletheir way?

Yes, that’s the same Dylan Guenther who scored the golden goal at the 2023 World Junior Championship in Halifax just last month.

The Coyotes announced Sunday that Guenther, 19, has been assigned to the Thunderbirds, who had acquired his rights from the Edmonton Oil Kings on Jan. 10.

The Oil Kings, who beat Seattle in the 2021-22 championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, have spent the past few months unloading veteran player assets while loading up on draft picks to facilitate their rebuild. With an 8-37-3 record, they won’t make the playoffs this time around.

Edmonton had selected Guenther with the first overall pick in the WHL’s 2018 draft.

In order to land Guenther, F Jordan Ramsay, who turned 16 on Jan. 24, and an eighth-round pick in the WHL’s 2023 draft, the Thunderbirds gave up F Koji Gibson, who is to turn 16 on March 10, a first-round pick in 2026, a second in 2023, fourths in 2024, 2025 and 2026, a fifth in 2026 and a sixth in 2024.

Yes, the price was steep and now we will find out if it was worth it.

The Coyotes selected Guenther in the first round, ninth overall, of the NHL’s 2021 draft. He is the fifth first-round draft pick on the Seattle roster, joining D Kevin Korchinski (Chicago Blackhawks, seventh overall, 2022), D Nolan Allan (Chicago, 32, 2021), F Reid Schaefer (Edmonton Oilers, 32, 2022) and F Brad Lambert (Winnipeg, 30, 2022).

All told the Thunderirds now have 10 NHL draft picks on their roster, the others being F Jordan Gustafson (Vegas Golden Knights, 79, 2022), F Jared Davidson (Montreal Canadiens, 130, 2022), F Colton Dach (Chicago, 62, 2021), F Lucas Ciona (Calgary Flames, 173, 2021) and D Luke Prokop (Nashville Predators, 73, 2020).

The Thunderbirds acquired Allan from the Prince Albert Raiders on Nov. 16 in a deal that included five draft picks — first in 2023 and 2024, a third in 2024, a sixth in 2025 and a second in 2026 and a conditional pick (sixth in 2026) going the other way.

Seattle had picked up Lambert’s rights from the Saskatoon Blades on June 30, giving up a 2023 first-rounder, a second in 2024, and fourth- and sixth-rounders in 2023.

In the other deal that had people sitting up and paying attention, Seattle acquired Prokop from the Oil Kings on Oct. 25 in exchange for a third in 2023 and two 2025 picks (first and third).

The Thundebirds also added Dach and a 2024 fifth-rounder from the Kelowna Rockets in a Jan. 7 deal that included three conditional picks going the other way — a first in 2024, fourth in 2023 and second in 2025. Dach, who had been the Rockets’ captain, was injured (shoulder) while playing for Canada at the World Junior Championship and has yet to return to action.

And let’s not forget that on Aug. 30, Seattle sent F Connor Roulette and a third in 2026 to the Saskatoon Blades for F Kyle Crnkovic, who has put up 54 points, including 25 goals, in 47 games.

Last season, Guenther had 91 points, including 45 goals, during Edmonton’s regular season, then added 21 points, 13 of them goals, in the playoffs. He suffered a knee injury — in the WHL final against Seattle — and missed the Memorial Cup.

So why did Arizona decide to assign him to Seattle at this particular point in time? He has 15 points, including six goals, four on the PP, in 33 NHL games this season, but has been on the roster for 38 games. Once a player hits 40 he accrues one season toward unrestricted free agency. By sending him to Seattle now, the Coyotes shove Guenther’s potential UFA eligibility a further year down the road.

Late last month, Craig Morgan, who covers the Coyotes for The Athletic, wrote: “The key for Guenther was to see how he would perform on a nightly basis in the lineup. Since his return (from the WJC), it has been a mixed bag. There have been nights where he has looked strong, driven offense and even scored goals. There have been nights where he looks like he is swimming in water above his head.”

In Halifax, you may recall, Guenther scored at 6:22 of three-on-three OT to give Canada a 3-2 victory over Czechia in the WJC’s championship final. He finished that tournament with seven goals and three assists in seven games.

The Thunderbirds are hoping he will bring some of that magic to their lineup.

After beating the visiting Spokane Chiefs, 3-1, on Sunday, the Thunderbirds are 36-9-2 and lead the Western Conference by one point over the Portland Winterhawks (35-10-3).

The Thunderbirds have 21 games remaining and six of them will be against the Winterhawks. The first of those will be Saturday in Portland. Seattle also has three games remaining with the Kamloops Blazers, who will finish atop the B.C.Division.

Before then, the Thunderbirds will entertain the Red Deer Rebels on Friday. That game could mark Guenther’s debut with his new club.

Bag

Jack Todd, in the Montreal Gazette, and he’s not wrong:

“Why is the Canadian Olympic Committee so cowardly in the face of Russian brutality and war crimes? Why is craven Canadian Olympic Committee CEO David Shoemaker vowing to work with the IOC to help find a way for Russian athletes to compete at the Paris Olympics?

“Thugs like Vladimir Putin are always probing for weakness: If we invade Crimea and no one acts to stop us, then let’s take all of Ukraine. The IOC’s willingness to skirt the rules and let Russians compete despite systematic, state-sponsored doping helped give Putin the impression he can get away with anything, including mass murder. It’s time to draw a line in the sand. If Shoemaker won’t do it, find someone who will.”

——

Todd, again:

“As a measure of where the sports world is at any given time, Kyrie Irving will do as well as anyone.

“Spoiled, entitled, inclined to believe himself the centre of the universe and somehow able to convince team after team to throw tens of millions his way, World B. Flat is a symbol of everything that has gone wrong with the sports we love to watch.”

Todd’s complete column is right here.

Screwdriver

SUNDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

F Atley Calvert’s 30th goal snapped a 1-1 tie and gave the Moose Jaw Warriors a 2-1 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary. . . . The winner came at 16:17 of the third period. . . . F Ryder Korczak (21) had Moose Jaw’s other goal and drew an assist on Calvert’s winner. . . . Calvert, who is from Moose Jaw, has 30 goals and 25 assists in 51 games, after totalling 15 goals and 25 helpers in 65 games last season. . . . G Connor Ungar stopped 35 shots to earn his 26th victory of the season. He is 26-7-3, 2.58, .925 this season. . . . Moose Jaw (32-16-3) has won two straight. It is fourth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Calgary (23-19-7) has lost six in a row (0-3-3); it is sixth in the conference, two points ahead of the Regina Pats. . . .

In Everett, the Silvertips scored three times in the game’s second half and beat the Red Deer Rebels, 4-2. . . . D Aidan Sutter (4) got Everett into a 2-2 tie at 10:56 of the second period, and F Austin Roest (28) shot the home boys into the lead at 16:51. . . . F Jackson Berezowski (33) added the empty-netter at 18:39 of the third. . . . Red Deer F Ben King, who scored his 10th goal of the season, got tossed for a boarding major at 4:55 of the third. . . . Everett (25-22-2) is fifth in the Western Conference, three points behind the Tri-City Americans. . . . Red Deer (34-11-4) is second in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the Winnipeg Ice, which has four games in hand. . . .

The host Kamloops Blazers scored twice in the game’s final four minutes to beat the Victoria Royals, 4-3. . . . Kamloops, which clinched a playoff spot with the victory, trailed 3-1 midway through the game before tying it with two PP goals. . . . F Caedan Bankier (25) got the Blazers to within a goal at 14:23 of the second period, then tied it at 16:40 of the third. . . . D Olen Zellweger (16) won it at 19:37. He’s got 18 points, six of them goals, in 12 games since coming over from the Everett Silvertips at the trade deadline. . . . F Matthew Seminoff finished with three assists as he was in on each of the final three goals. . . . Kamloops outshot the visitors, 50-24. . . . The Blazers were without F Logan Stankoven, their scoring leader, as he served a one-game suspension after taking a checking-from-behind major in Saturday’s 3-2 victory over the host Vancouver Giants. . . . Kamloops (31-10-6) has won four in a row. . . . Victoria (14-32-5) has lost four in a row and is four points from a playoff spot. . . .

In Medicine Hat, the Tigers shrugged off an early goal by F Connor Bedard and skated to a 5-1 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Bedard scored his WHL-leading 45th goal at 1:13 of the first period. . . . D Pavel Bocharov (11) got the Tigers even at 4:32 and D Kurtis Smythe (2) gave them their first lead at 14:44. . . . F Gavin McKenna, the first pick in the WHL’s 2022 draft, had two assists for the Tigers. He now has played 11 games this season and has eight points, all assists. . . . The announced attendance was 6,178, the Tigers’ largest crowd in 7,000-seat Co-op Place. They had drawn 5,947 to their first game there, a 5-3 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Sept. 26, 2015. . . . With Sunday’s victory, the Tigers (21-21-8), with points in eight straight (6-0-2), moved past the Swift Current Broncos and into eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The Tigers now are one point behind Regina. . . .

The Saskatoon Blades scored the game’s last four goals and beat the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings, 4-2. . . . Saskatoon trailed 2-0 doing into the last two minutes of the second period. . . . D Charlie Wright (4) got the Blades started at 18:07 of the second period. . . . F Jordan Keller (8) pulled Saskatoon into a tie at 7:28 of the third, with Wright getting the primary assist. . . . The Blades took the lead at 11:58 on F Jake Chiasson’s 14th goal of the season, on a PP. Saskatoon had acquired Chiasson, who also had two assists, from the Wheat Kings at the trade deadline. . . . Keller added his ninth goal of the season at 13:41. . . . The Blades are 5-0-0 against the Wheat Kings this season. . . . Saskatoon (32-12-4) is third in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of Moose Jaw. . . . Brandon (19-22-7) now is five points out of a playoff spot. . . .

F Jared Davidson drew three assists as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Spokane Chiefs, 3-1, in Kent, Wash. . . . The Thunderbirds scored one goal in each period — D Jeremy Hanzel (8) in the first, F Brad Lambert (4), on a PP, in the second, and F Kyle Crnkovic (25) in the third. . . . F Lucas Ciona was back in Seattle’s lineup after a two-game absence. He picked up one assist. . . . Seattle held a 52-21 edge in shots, including 26-3 in the second period, as Chiefs G Cooper Michaluk was kept hopping. . . . The Chiefs lost F Carter Streek to a spearing major at 1:21 of the second period. . . . Seattle (36-9-2) moved back atop the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Spokane slipped to 9-34-5. . . .

The Vancouver Giants celebrated a Grammy victory by part-owner Michael Bublé with a 4-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans in Langley, B.C. . . . F Ethan Semeniuk (10) scored while shorthanded to break a 1-1 tie at 14:23 of the second period. . . . The Thorpe boys took it from there. D Tyler Thorpe (3) added insurance at 14:41 of the second and F Ty Thorpe (26) added the empty-netter at 18:44. . . . Vancouver G Jesper Vikman, who is from Sweden, stopped 24 shots. . . . Tri-City G Tomas Suchanek lost for the first time in 13 decisions. He last tasted defeat on Nov. 23 when the visiting Kamloops Blazers dumped the Americans, 6-1. . . . The Giants lost F Kyle Bochek to a checking-from-behind major at 18:38 of the second period. . . . Vancouver (19-24-6) is seventh in the Western Conference, two points behind the Prince George Cougars, who have three games in hand. . . . Tri-City (25-18-5) is fourth, three points ahead of Everett.

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.

Jogging

Judge quashes class-action bid, but story not over . . . Saturday in WHL includes two 1-0 games . . . Stankoven keeps streak going

If you are one of those folks who believe that the pandemic is over, you should know a few things:

CovidAs of Saturday, 9 p.m. PT, the Coronavirus Resource Centre at Johns Hopkins University reports that 3,894 people died from COVID-19 in the U.S. in the past week, including 629 in the past day. . . . The total number of deaths in the U.S. is 1,111,485. . . .

In Canada, there were 201 deaths from COVID-19 in the past week, with 15 of those in the past day. That brought the total number of deaths in Canada to 50,704.

Over? Uhh, maybe not.

Rick Westhead of TSN reported on Saturday:

“Rather than approving a request from several former Canadian Hockey League CHLplayers to certify a hazing, bullying and abuse lawsuit filed three years ago against the CHL, its three major junior hockey leagues, and its teams as a class action, an Ontario judge has proposed an alternate potential path to justice.

“In a 103-page decision released late Friday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Paul Perell applauded the bravery of former CHL players, including Dan Carcillo, Garrett Taylor and Stephen Quirk, for sharing their stories in a public forum but said the case was not suitable to proceed as a class-action lawsuit. . . .

“An abused hockey player has only individual causes of action against his own team and his own leagues . . .”

According to Westhead, Perell also wrote that “bullying, harassment, hazing, and criminal conduct is pervasive amongst the teams of the WHL, the teams of the OHL, the teams of the QMJHL, and the teams of the CHL. . . . Discrete wrongdoing by the defendants was pervasive, and to the shame of the perpetrators and their enablers discrete wrongdoing has been pervasive for decades.”

The judge also wrote: “The evidence establishes that some unknown number of . . . players in the WHL, OHL, or QMJHL were hazed, bullied, assaulted, threatened, stigmatized, mocked, demeaned, derided, ridiculed, slandered, and humiliated by their teammates team staff, agents, employees, and servants of the WHL, OHL, or QMJHL.”

Westhead’s complete story is right here.

Smokey1

Smokey2There is more on the late Don (Smokey) McLeod, the WHA/NHLer from Trail, B.C., who was among the first goaltenders to use a curved stick. . . . Back in the day, Doug Soetaert, the former general manager of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips, was tending goal for the Edmonton Oil Kings, At the same time, he recalls, the WHA’s Edmonton Oilers were playing out of the Edmonton Gardens. . . . McLeod would have been playing with the Houston Aeros or Vancouver Blazers at the time. . . . “I would go over after practice and help WHA visitors as stick boy,” Soetaert tells Taking Note. “He gave me one for helping him out.” . . . Soetaert sent me photos of that particular stick. You have to admit that’s some kind of curve. . . . Soetaert played four seasons (1971-75) with the Oil Kings before going on to a pro career that included 284 regular-season NHL games.

Headline from The Beaverton (@TheBeaverton) — Financial advisors recommend buying grocery stock instead of groceries.

Shapes

SATURDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

F Luca Hauf scored twice and added two assists to lead the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 5-1 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary. . . . The Oil Kings (8-37-3) had lost their previous two games. . . . Calgary (23-18-7) has lost five in a row (0-2-3). . . . Hauf, from Krefeld, Germany, turned 19 on Jan. 11. A freshman, he has 21 points, including five goals, in 40 games. This was his first four-point game and first multi-goal outing. . . . D Jacob Hoffrogge, who went into the game with two goals and two assists, all with the Everett Silvertips, this season, had three assists for Edmonton. It was his ninth game with the Oil Kings. . . . Attendance at the afternoon game in the Saddledome was announced at 9,843, meaning the Hitmen has played in front of 27,066 in its past two home games. . . . Calgary is sixth in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Regina Pats. . . .

G Tyler Palmer stopped 35 shots and F Beau Courtney scored the only goal as the host Everett Silvertips got past the Seattle Thunderbirds, 1-0. . . . It was Palmer’s fourth career shutout; the first three came with the Victoria Royals. This was his 16th appearance since being acquired by Everett. . . . Courtney’s seventh goal of the season came at 18:04 of the first period. . . . Seattle was without D Jordan Gustafson and F Lucas Ciona, both with undisclosed injuries. . . . Seattle had beaten the Silvertips, 6-5 in OT, in Kent, Wash., on Friday. . . . The announced attendance of 8,249 was the Silvertips’ largest this season. . . . Everett (24-22-2) is fifth in the Western Conference, five points behind the Tri-City Americans. . . . Seattle (35-9-2) slipped back to second, one point behind the Portland Winterhawks. . . .

G Talyn Boyko stopped 51 shots to lead the host Kelowna Rockets to a 4-0 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Boyko stopped 17, 13 and 21 shots by period. He has four career shutouts, two this season. . . . D Elias Carmichael scored Kelowna’s last two goals. Carmichael, a 19-year-old from Langley, B.C., has five goals in 40 games this season. He went into the season with seven goals in 130 games. . . . With five players out with undisclosed injuries, the Rockets dressed 10 forwards and five defencemen. . . . The injured Rockets: D John Babcock, F Andrew Cristall, F Max Graham, F Ty Hurley and D Marek Rocak. . . . The Rockets (17-26-3) have won three in a row for the first time this season. They are eighth in the Western Conference, four points ahead of the Victoria Royals. . . . The Raiders (19-27-3) went 3-2-0 on their B.C. Division trek. They go home eight points out of a playoff spot. . . .

The Medicine Hat Tigers erased a 2-0 first-period deficit as they beat the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-2. . . . F Oasiz Wiesblatt (19) scored twice for theTigers, getting them on the scoreboard at 15:24 of the first period and breaking a 2-2 tie at 2:46 of the second. . . . The teams combined for five goals in the game’s first 22:46, then didn’t score again until F Tyler MacKenzie (13) got an empty-netter at 19:16 of the third. . . . The Tigers got 35 stops from G Evan May, who posted his second WHL victory in his 16th appearance. . . . The announced attendance was 2,276. They are expecting about 7,000 fans today for a visit by F Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats. . . . Medicine Hat (20-21-8) has points in seven straight games (5-0-2) and has closed to within one point of the eighth-place Swift Current Broncos in the Eastern Conference. . . . Lethbridge (27-18-5) is fifth in the conference. . . .

The Portland Winterhawks scored the game’s last three goals to beat the visiting Tri-City Americans, 4-1. . . . It was a bounce-back victory of the Winterhawks, who had been beaten, 6-1, by the Americans in Kennewick, Wash., on Friday night. . . . G Gabe Klassen (28) snapped a 1-1 tie at 13:30 of the second period and F Aidan Litke (12) added insurance at 19:16. . . . G Dante Giannuzzi stopped 25 shots in running his numbers this season to 22-6-2, 2.94, .905. . . .  The Winterhawks remain without F Chaz Lucius and also scratched F Robbie Fromm-Delorme, both with undisclosed injuries. . . . Portland (35-10-3), which has clinched a playoff spot, had lost its previous two games. This victory moved it back atop the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Americans (25-17-5) hadn’t lost in regulation time since dropping a 2-1 decision to the Chiefs in Spokane on Dec. 30. The Americans went on a 10-0-3 run after that loss. . . . Tri-City is fourth in the Western Conference. . . .

F Koehn Ziemmer scored twice and F Chase Wheatcroft set a club record as the host Prince George Cougars beat the Victoria Royals, 4-2. . . . The Cougars had won 8-1 in the first game of the weekend doubleheader on Friday night. . . . Ziemmer, who has 29 goals, gave his guys a 3-1 lead at 5:14 of the third period, then made it 4-2 at 19:50 with the empty-netter. . . . Wheatcroft scored his 30th goal of the season for a 1-0 lead at 5:13 of the first period. It was his 19th on the PP and that’s a club single-season record. He had shared the record with F Berkeley Buchko (2000-01). . . . Prince George (21-21-4) is sixth in the Western Conference, four points behind the Everett Silvertips. . . . Victoria (14-31-5) is ninth, four points behind the eighth-place Kelowna Rockets. . . . In Friday’s game, the Royals lost F Jamie Poole, their leading scorer, and F Matthew Hodson with undisclosed injuries. They already were without D  Gannon Laroque, F Brayden Schuurman and D Austin Zemlak. . . . Things don’t get any easier for the Royals as they are to play their third game in fewer than 48 hours in Kamloops today. . . .

G Ethan Chadwick stopped 34 shots to lead the host Saskatoon Blades to a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Ice. . . . Chadwick, who turned 19 on Jan. 27, is from Saskatoon. He is 14-7-2, 2.67, .898 in his sophomore season. . . . F Jake Chiasson (13) broke a 2-2 tie at 3:21 of the third period. . . . F Connor McClennon scored both Winnipeg goals, giving him 30 this season. He has 250 career points, including 122 goals, in 220 regular-season games. . . . Saskatoon was 2-for-2 on the PP; Winnipeg was 1-for-2. . . . The Blades scratched G Austin Elliott, F Justin Liens, F Tyler Parr, F Josh Pillar, F Conner Roulette and F Jayden Wiens, all with undisclosed injuries, and D Blake Gustafson, who was ill. . . . Saskatoon plays at home today (Brandon) and Tuesday (Edmonton) before heading out on a B.C. Division tour that begins Friday in Kamloops. . . . The Blades (31-12-4) are third in the Eastern Conference, nine points behind Winnipeg (37-7-1), which had won four in a row, and four points behind the Red Deer Rebels. . . .

F Ben King scored the only goal of a shootout to give the Red Deer Rebels a 1-0 victory over the Chiefs in Spokane. . . . It was the first game in the Rebels’ U.S. Division tour. . . . The Rebels got 26 saves from G Kyle Kelsey. . . . G Dawson Cowan stopped 45 shots at the other end. . . . Red Deer (34-10-4) leads the Central Division and is three points behind the Eastern Conference-leading Winnipeg Ice. . . . The Chiefs now are 9-33-5 and have lost six in a row (0-4-2). . . .

F Logan Stankoven had a goal and two assists in running his point streak to 32 games as the Kamloops Blazers skated past the Vancouver Giants, 4-2, in Langley, B.C. . . . Stankoven was late in starting this WHL season because he was in camp with the NHL’s Dallas Stars, and he later missed some games while winning gold with Canada at the World Junior Championship. He has played in 32 games now, and has at least one point in each of them. He has 71 points, including 27 goals, in what now is the WHL’s longest active point streak. . . . F Matthew Seminoff (19) scored twice for the Blazers. . . . F Ryan Hofer got his 31st goal and added an assist for Kamloops, giving him six points in two games. He had three goals and an assist on Friday in a 6-4 victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Kamloops (30-10-6) has won three in a row. The Blazers will finish atop the B.C. Division. . . . Vancouver (18-24-6) has lost four in a row. It is seventh in the conference, five points ahead of the Kelowna Rockets.

Flatearthers

The U of Calgary Dinos men’s hockey team extended its Canada West-record winning streak to 21 games with a 5-3 victory over the visiting Manitoba Bisons on Saturday. . . . The Dinos had beaten the Bisons, 5-1, on Friday.

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.

Soup

Ex-WHL goalie up for a Juno . . . Blades win with Wright stuff . . . Bedard draws record crowd in Red Deer; Rebels win in OT

Name the former WHL goaltender who was among the Juno Award nominees that were announced on Tuesday? . . . That would be James Priestner, who played four seasons (2007-2010) in the WHL, doing time with the Kamloops Blazers, Brandon Wheat Kings and Prince George Cougars. . . . These days, Priestner is the leader of the Vancouver-based Rare Americans, a quartet that includes guitarists Lubo Ivan and Jan Cajka, and drummer Duran Ritz. . . . The Rare Americans are one of five Juno nominees as the Breakthrough Group of the Year. If you’re not aware, these are Canada’s music awards. . . . From the Rare Americans’ website: “Since their debut in 2018, the band has amassed over 500M global streams, 2+M social media followers, 1.3M Spotify monthly listeners and 800k YT subscribers, a 2020 Juno for their song ‘Brittle Bones Nicky’, a song featured in Warner’s Scoob! The Movie soundtrack, and a spot on Billboard Top 100 charts for their album RA2. They completely sold out their Spring 2022 US tour and nearly sold out their first Europe tour in June 2022, including performing at one of Europe’s premier festivals — PINK POP, headlined by Imagine Dragons, Metallica, Twenty one Pilots.”

Straight ahead for the Rare Americans is their Milk and Honey Tour. It opens on March 3 in Edmonton and runs through April 30 in Dublin, Ireland. They’ll make six stops in Canada and 20 overseas. They’ll be between Calgary (March 4) and Vancouver (March 18) dates when the Junos are handed out in Vancouver on March 13.

Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, with some NFL-related numbers: “NFL regular season games accounted for 47 of the Top 50 telecasts from September 2022 — the start of the NFL regular season — through the end of 2022. And what were the other three TV shows that cracked that Top 50 List? . . . Ohio St./Georgia in the CFP Semi-Finals (ranked 26th); Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (ranked 27th); and Michigan/TCU in the CFP semifinals (ranked 30th).”

He added this, too: “In the first round of the playoffs, the Giants/Vikes game drew 33 million viewers while the smallest audience for one of those wild-card games was the Jags/Chargers game with a mere 22 million viewers.  Last weekend, the Eagles/Niners audience was 47.5 million and the Chiefs/Bengals audience was 53.1 million viewers.”

Yes, the NFL is a TV juggernaut.

Hiking

JUST NOTES — Wanting to go to Scottsdale, Ariz., for the Super Bowl? The average price per ticket on Stub Hub as of Tuesday morning was US$7,573. . . . The Montreal Canadiens wore those horrible baby blues last night as they entertained the Ottawa Senators. The Habs lost, 5-4, and now are 0-6-1 in those uniforms, while being outscored 31-14.

JUNIOR JOTTINGS — The OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs are going to play out of a 3,000-seat arena in Brantford for at least the next two seasons (2023-25). That’s because the 19,000-seat FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton will be undergoing some serious renovations. The OHL last had a team in Brantford with the Alexanders from 1978-84. . . .

The Spokane Chiefs are holding Mike Babcock Bobblehead Night when they entertain the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday. The first 2,000 fans through the gates will get a bobblehead. Babcock was the Chiefs’ head coach for six seasons (1994-2000). He is second in franchise history in regular-season games coached (425) and victories (223). Don Nachbaur is No. 1 in both — 496 and 261.

Piper

TUESDAY’S WHL HIGHLIGHTS:

D Charlie Wright’s third goal of the season, just 15 seconds into OT, gave the Saskatoon Blades a 2-1 victory over the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . Wright, 19, is in his fourth season with the Blades. He went into the game with four goals — none of them game-winners — in 164 regular-season games. . . . Wright made a rink-length dash down the left wing, cut around a defender and stuffed home the winner. . . . F Rylen Roersma (12) gave Brandon a 1-0 lead at 0:56 of the second period. . . . Saskatoon F Brandon Lisowsky (25) tied it on a PP at 12:17 of the third. . . . F Trevor Wong had two assists. . . . Saskatoon (30-11-4) moved into third in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the idle Moose Jaw Warriors. The Blades have three games in hand. . . . Brandon (19-21-6) is 10th, four points from a playoff spot. . . . The Wheat Kings were 8-15-2 when they fired head coach Don MacGillivray on Nov. 28. They are 11-6-4 since general manager Marty Murray went behind the bench. . . .

The Travellin’ Bedards stopped off in Red Deer long enough to help the Rebels set a single-game franchise attendance record and the 7,287 fans in attendance saw quite a game. . . . The Rebels, who led 2-0 before the game was three minutes old, had to come back with the game’s last two goals before they were able to beat the Regina Pats, 6-5, in OT. . . . F Ben King (9) scored twice for the Rebels, his second goal tying the game, 5-5, at 6:50 of the third period. . . . F Jhett Larson (12) won it at 2:16 of OT. . . . F Connor Bedard didn’t disappoint the fans as he scored once and added two assists. He ran his goal-scoring streak to 10 games (he has 21 in that stretch) and his point streak to 34. He leads the WHL in goals (43), assists (45) and points (88). . . . Regina also got four assists from F Tanner Howe, who has 53 points, 30 of them assists, in 44 games. He turned 17 on Nov. 28. . . . The Rebels (33-10-4) are second in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Winnipeg Ice. However, the Ice now has five games in hand. . . . Regina (22-21-3) is tied for seventh with the Swift Current Broncos, five points behind the Calgary Hitmen and one ahead of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Rebels’ single-game attendance record had been 7,208 from a March 19, 2016 game in which the Rebels beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 7-2. That was the final game of the 2015-16 regular season. . . . The Travellin’ Bedards journey on to Calgary for a clash with the Hitmen tonight. The Saddledome’s capacity is 19,289. There were 90 unsold tickets as of Tuesday evening. . . . According to the 2021-22 WHL Guide and Record Book, the WHL’s single-game attendance record for an indoor game is 19,305. It was set on March 16, 2008 as the host Hitmen beat the Kootenay Ice (hey, remember them?), 6-1. . . . You may recall that the Pats and Hitmen drew 20,888 to McMahon Stadium in Calgary on Feb. 21, 2011, a game that Regina won, 3-2. . . .

F Luca Ciona, named team captain earlier in the day, scored twice to help the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 4-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos in Kent, Wash. . . . Ciona, who has 21 goals, gave his guys a 2-1 lead at 19:11 of the first period and upped that to 3-1 at 9:04 of the second. . . . F Jared Davidson (27) had Seattle’s other two goals, including an empty-netter. He also had an assist. . . . Seattle (34-8-2) closed to within a point of the Western Conference-leading Portland Winterhawks. . . . Swift Current, which is 0-2-1 in the U.S., is tied with the Regina Pats for seventh in the Eastern Conference. . . . F Brad Lambert had one assist in his return to Seattle’s lineup after not playing since Jan. 14. He was sorting out some visa-related issues after being assigned to the Thunderbirds by the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. He had been with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. This was Lambert’s third game with Seattle; he missed four games. . . .

The Prince Albert Raiders erased an early 1-0 deficit with five straight goals en route to a 6-3 victor over the Royals in Victoria. . . . F Jake Poole, who also had an assist, gave the home side a 1-0 lead with his 27th goal at 2:38 of the first period. . . . The Raiders, now 2-0-0 on their B.C. tour, responded with two goals before the period ended and three more in the second. . . . D Landon Kosior led the visitors with a goal, his 13th coming shorthanded, and three assists. . . . F Evan Herman (11) had two goals for the Raiders, including the empty-netter. . . . The Raiders (18-25-3) have won three in a row and are seven points from a playoff spot. . . . The Royals (14-29-5) are tied with the Kelowna Rockets for the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. Kelowna holds four games in hand.

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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

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Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

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

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

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Monument