D Stefan Elliott (Saskatoon, 2006-11) has signed a one-year contract with Dinamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL). Last season, with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), he had one goal and seven assists in 20 games. He also had one assist in three games with the Ottawa Senators (NHL), and six goals and 14 assists in 44 games with the Belleville Senators (AHL).
The Kamloops Blazers have signed D Mats Lindgren, who was the seventh overall 
selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft, to a WHL contract. . . . Lindgren, whose father, Mats, is a former NHLer, is from North Vancouver, B.C. Last season, he had four goals and 22 assists in 27 games with the bantam prep team at the Burnaby Winter Club. . . . Lindgren was the first of two first-round picks made by the Blazers in the 2019 bantam draft. With the 20th selection, they took F Connor Levis, who played for the bantam prep team at St. George’s School in Vancouver. . . . Lindgren and Levis, who are close friends, both had made verbal commitments to attend the U of Michigan and play for the Wolverines, starting with the 2022-23 season. . . .
The WHL’s teams now have signed 18 of the 22 first-round selections from the 2019 bantam draft.
——
WHL 2019 FIRST-ROUNDERS
UNSIGNED:
3. Prince George — D Keaton Dowhaniuk
4. Prince George — F Koehn Ziemmer
20. Kamloops — F Connor Levis
21. Swift Current — D Tyson Jugnauth
——
SIGNED:
1. Winnipeg — F Matthew Savoie
2. Winnipeg — F Conor Geekie
5. Brandon — F Nate Danielson
6. Brandon — F Tyson Zimmer
7. Kamloops — D Mats Lindgren
8. Seattle — F Jordan Gustafson
9. Saskatoon — F Brandon Lisowsky
10. Seattle — D Kevin Korchinski
11. Moose Jaw — D Denton Mateychuk
12. Medicine Hat — F Oasiz Wiesblatt
13. Calgary — D Grayden Siepmann
14. Swift Current — F Matthew Ward
15. Spokane — F Ben Thornton
16. Brandon — F Rylen Roersma
17. Regina — D Layton Feist
18. Edmonton — F Caleb Reimer
19. Victoria — D Jason Spizawka
22. Prince Albert — F Niall Crocker
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The Vancouver Giants have traded F Dawson Holt, 20, to the Regina Pats for Russian F 
Sergei Alkhimov, 17. . . . Vancouver also received a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2022 WHL bantam draft, with Regina getting a conditional seventh-rounder in the same draft. . . . Holt, from Saskatoon, was the eighth-overall selection in the 2014 WHL bantam draft. . . . He had six goals and 13 assists in 53 regular-season games with the Giants last season, then put up seven goals and nine assists in 22 playoff games. . . . In 200 career regular-season games with the Giants, he had 25 goals and 51 assists. . . . Alkhimov had 13 goals and 14 assists in 66 games with the Pats last season. He joins Slovakian F Milos Roman, 20, as imports on the Giants’ roster. Roman was a fourth-round selection by the Calgary Flames in the NHL’s 2018 draft. He has yet to sign a pro contract. However, because he is a 20-year-old 
drafted player, he is eligible to play professionally, which allows the Giants to use their first pick in Thursday’s CHL import draft. . . . Regina also will be using one selection as it looks for an import to join sophomore D Nikita Sedov, 18, who is from Russia, on its roster. . . .
Going by the last available rosters on the WHL website, the Giants now contains seven 20-year-olds — F Owen Hardy, F Jadon Joseph, F Brayden Watts, Roman, D Landon Fuller, D Dylan Plouffe and D Bailey Dhaliwal — and the Pats have three — Holt, F Austin Pratt and F Sebastian Streu. . . .
Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post explains right here why Regina general manager John Paddock made this trade, even though he was really reluctant to part with Alkhimov.
The Victoria Royals have acquired F River Fahey, 18, from the Winnipeg Ice for a 
conditional eighth-round selection in the WHL’s 2021 bantam draft. . . . Fahey is from Campbell River, B.C. . . . He was a fourth-round selection by the Red Deer Rebels in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . In 2017-18, Fahey had one goal and two assists in 26 games with the Rebels. Last season, he had one assist in 21 games with Red Deer, then added two goals and three assists in 24 games with the Ice.
JUST NOTES:
The Edmonton Oil Kings have released Belarusian F Andrei Pavlenko, 19, so will be looking for an import in Thursday’s draft. He had three goals and one assist in 20 games with the Oil Kings in 2017-18, then added nine goals and 17 assists in 58 games last season. . . . The lone import on Edmonton’s roster is Belarusian F Vladimir Alistrov, 18, who had 12 goals and 26 assists in 62 games last season. . . .
The Kamloops Blazers have released Finnish D Joonas Sillanpaa, 18, after just one season. The 6-foot-6, 185-pounder had one goal and four assists in 61 regular-season games last season. . . . The Blazers are bringing back Czech F Martin Lang for a second season. Lang, who will turn 18 on Sept. 15, had 11 goals and 22 assists in 65 regular-season games last season. . . .
F Nolan Foote of the Kelowna Rockets has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, which selected him 27th overall in the NHL’s 2019 draft. He had 36 goals and 27 assists in 66 games last season while hampered by a wrist injury. In 168 regular-season games over three seasons, he has 68 goals and 70 assists. His brother, Cal, a defenceman who played with the Rockets, is in the Lightning’s organization after being drafted 14th overall in 2017. . . .
The WHL has said that it will release the complete 2019-20 regular-season schedule today. . . .
The midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos have added Tyson Dallman to their staff as an assistant coach. Dallman, from Prince Albert, played two seasons (2011-13) with the Tri-City Americans.
middle of their winter festival, and they will be taking time to rename the local arena in honour of the late Logan Schatz, who was the captain of the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. The Allan and District Communiplex is to be renamed the Logan Schatz Memorial Arena. . . . Allan is located about 60 km southeast of Saskatoon. . . . Schatz, a native of Allan, was finishing up his fourth season with the Broncos when he was killed in the April 6 bus crash. . . . The dedication ceremony also will involved the unveiling of signage inside and outside the arena. Angie Rolheiser of 
night, beating the Vancouver Island Mariners, 9-1, in Aldergrove, B.C., to sweep the best-of-three series. . . . The Spartans are the first team to successfully defend its BCIHL championship since the Castlegar, B.C.-based Selkirk College Saints won in 2014-15 and 2015-16. . . . TWU finished the regular season at 18-5-0, then went 4-0 in the playoffs. Over the past two seasons, the Spartans’ combined record is 47-8-1. . . . TWU has applied for admission to Canada West in time for the 2020-21 season. A decision is expected later this year.
5-4, by the host Regina Pats. . . . Regina (19-45-3) had lost its previous seven games. . . . Brandon (30-29-8) has lost five in a row. The Wheat Kings are four points away from a playoff spot but have only one game remaining. . . . The same teams will play again tonight, this time in Brandon. . . . Regina is 4-2-1 in the season series; Brandon is 3-4-0. . . . The Pats won this one with three goals in the span of 1:31 in the third period. . . . Regina D Liam Schioler (5) tied the score, 3-3, at 9:13 of the third period. . . . D Brett Clayton (5) broke the tie at 9:47. . . . F Sergei Alkhimov (13) upped Regina’s lead to 5-3 at 10:44. . . . F Luka Burzan (40) got the Wheaties to within a goal at 11:40 but they weren’t able to get even. . . . Brandon F Ben McCartney shot wide on a penalty shot at 15:43 of the third period. . . . F Cole Reinhardt (22) and Burzan had given Brandon a 2-0 first-period lead. . . . F Cole Dubinsky (5), on a PP, and Alkhimov got Regina even in the second period, and Brandon D Braydyn Chizen (2) gave his guys a 3-2 lead at 1:12 of the third. . . . G Dean McNabb stopped 34 shots for Regina. . . . The Wheat Kings got 39 stops from G Jiri Patera.
the Blazers in Kamloops. . . . Prince George (19-40-8) has won two in a row. . . . Kamloops (27-32-8) has points in five straight (4-0-1). It is tied with the Kelowna Rockets for third place in the B.C. Division. If they are tied after tonight’s games, they will meet in a sudden-death play-in game in Kamloops on Tuesday night. . . . They Blazers and Cougars will play again tonight, this time in Prince George. . . . Kamloops is 6-0-2 in the season series; Prince George is 2-5-1. . . . The Cougars erased a 2-1 deficit with three goals in the first half of the third period. Mikhalchuk tied the game at 1:11; F Josh Curtis (13) gave the Cougars the lead at 6:51; and F Mike MacLean came out of the penalty to score his fifth goal of the season on a breakaway at 9:50. . . . F Kyrell Sopotyk (13) got Kamloops to within a goal, on a PP, at 13:39, and F Connor Zary (23) tied it from a scramble at 19:04 with G Dylan Garand on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . The Blazers held possession for most of the OT, but got a bit too fancy in the offensive zone and gave up a 2-on-1 with Mikhalchuk and Curtis going the other way. Mikhalchuk ended it with his 24th goal of the season. . . . D Rhett Rhinehart (5) scored Prince George’s first goal, with F Kobe Mohr (8) and F Ryley Appelt (5) giving Kamloops a 2-1 lead. . . . Mikhalchuk finished with two goals and two assists, while Curtis added two assists to his goal. . . . Zary also had three points, as he, too, had two helpers. . . . The Cougars got 26 saves from G Taylor Gauthier. . . . Garand stopped 24 shots for Kamloops. . . . The Blazers scratched D Joonas Sillanpää, their Finnish freshman, for a third straight game.
victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Saskatoon (45-14-8) has won eight in a row, and 14 of 15. It also has won nine in a row on home ice. The Blades will finish second in the East Division. They open a first-round series against the Moose Jaw Warriors on March 22 in Saskatoon. . . . Prince Albert (53-10-4) had won its previous three games. The Raiders will finish atop the Eastern Conference and meet the Red Deer Rebels, the second wild-card team, in the first round. . . . Season series: Prince Albert, 5-2-0; Saskatoon, 2-4-1. . . . These two teams will play tonight in Prince Albert. . . . F Parker Kelly (35) gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead at 1:21 of the first period. . . . The Blades went ahead 2-1 on goals from D Brandon Schuldhaus (8), at 5:44, and F Ryan Hughes (30), on a PP, at 0:37 of the second period. . . . F Noah Gregor (41) got the visitors into a 2-2 tie, on a PP, at 4:49 of the third period. . . . Gerlach won it with his 41st goal, on a PP, at 7:17. . . . G Nolan Maier stopped 28 shots for the Blades. . . . Prince Albert G Ian Scott, who stopped 29 shots, went into the game riding three straight shutouts. His shutout streak ended at a franchise-record 185:44 when Schuldhaus scored. The Raiders’ previous record (128:32) had been set by G Craig Hordal in 1995-96. . . . Saskatoon D Dawson Davidson played in his 300th regular-season game. . . . The Raiders’ scratches included F Dante Hannoun.
over the host Red Deer Rebels. . . . Lethbridge (39-18-10) has won seven in a row. It is tied with the Edmonton Oil Kings for top spot in the Central Division. The Oil Kings will go home-and-home with the Calgary Hitmen this afternoon and Sunday afternoon. The Hurricanes will meet the Tigers in Medicine Hat tonight. . . . Red Deer (33-28-6) has lost three straight. Despite the loss, the Rebels clinched the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot when the Brandon Wheat Kings lost. Red Deer will meet the conference-champion Prince Albert Raiders in the first round. . . . Lethbridge won the season series, 4-1-1; Red Deer was 2-3-1. . . . F Dylan Cozens (34) and Leschyshyn, on a PP, gave the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead with goals 30 seconds apart in the first period. . . . The Rebels tied it on two goals from F Reese Johnson, at 9:13 of the first period and 5:18 of the second. . . . Leschyshyn put the Hurricanes back out front at 12:58. . . . Johnson completed his third hat trick of the season by scoring his 27th goal at 13:41. . . . Leschyshyn’s 40th goal, at 4:15 of the third period, stood up as the winner. He’s got three career hat tricks; this was his first with Lethbridge, which acquired him from the Regina Pats this season. . . . G Carl Tetachuk earned the victory with 27 saves, two fewer than Red Deer’s Ethan Anders.
6-1 victory over the Broncos in Swift Currrent. . . . Moose Jaw (39-20-8) has won two in a row. It will finish third in the East Division and meet the Saskatoon Blades in a first-round playoff series. . . . The Warriors won 24 road games this season, one more than last season’s team. . . . Swift Current (11-50-6) will travel to Moose Jaw tonight. . . . Season series: Moose Jaw, 4-0-1; Swift Current, 1-3-1. . . . The Warriors got two goals and two assists from F Justin Almeida, who now has 108 points, including 76 assists. Almeida, who has had 12 career games with at least four points, leads the WHL in assists and is third in points, four points behind Portland Winterhawks F Joachim Blichfeld and two behind teammate Tristin Langan, who had one assist. . . . The Warriors also got goals from F Carson Denomie (7), F Keenan Taphorn (15), F Daniil Stepanov (8) and D Josh Brook (16). . . . Almeida and Stepanov each scored while shorthanded. . . . F Brayden Tracey was among Moose Jaw’s scratches.
victory over the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook. . . . Medicine Hat (35-26-6) has won three in a row. With the victory, it clinched the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. The Tigers will play the Central Division champion, either the Edmonton Oil Kings or Lethbridge Hurricanes, in the first round. . . . Kootenay (12-45-10) has lost six in a row. . . . The Tigers won the season series, 5-1-0; the Ice was 1-4-1. . . . F Tyler Preziuso (21), Jevne (31) and F Ryan Chyzowski (27), on a PP, gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead in the first period. . . . D Linus Nassen (7) made it 4-0 at 12:58 of the second. . . . D Marco Creta (4) and F Holden Kodak (2) scored for the Ice in the third period, before F Brett Kemp (32) got an empty-netter for Medicine Hat. . . . Ice G Jesse Makaj stopped 51 shots, 22 more than the Tigers’ Mads Sogaard. . . . Kootenay F Austin Schellenberg left in the first period with an undisclosed injury and didn’t return. . . . The Ice brought in D Anson McMaster, 16, for the final two games of the season. A second-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft, he had been with the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers. . . . The Ice has one home game remaining, Sunday afternoon against the Red Deer Rebels, and its stay in Cranbrook will be over. The franchise is relocating to Winnipeg.
the visiting Everett Silvertips, 3-2. . . . Victoria (34-29-4) had lost its previous four games. It will finish second in the B.C. Division and meet with the Kamloops Blazers or Kelowna Rockets in the first round. . . . Everett (46-16-5) has lost three in a row (0-4-1). It will finish atop the U.S. Division, and will see the Tri-City Americans in the first round. . . . Victoria is 2-1-0 in the season series; Everett is 1-1-1. . . . These two teams will meet again tonight in Everett. . . . Last night, F Connor Dewar (36) gave Everett a 1-0 lead at 1:15 of the first period, only to have Victoria F Brandon Cutler tie it 17 seconds later. . . . Everett went ahead 2-1 as F Martin Fasko-Rudas (12) scored at 8:59 of the second period. . . . Cutler tied it with his 14th goal of the season, just 57 seconds later. . . . Victoria got shootout goals from D Ralph Jarratt and F Igor Martynov, with F Bryce Kindopp the only Everett shooter to score. . . . G Dustin Wolf stopped 28 shots for the Silvertips. . . . F Lucas Cullen, 19, who spent his season with the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors, made his Everett debut. . . . The Royals scratched D Mitchell Prowse, D Jameson Murray, D Matt Smith, F Tyus Gent, F Kody McDonald, D Jake Kustra and F Kaid Oliver. . . . They had 16 skaters dressed, including two APs — D Kaden Reinders and D Noah Lamb.
victory over the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Spokane (39-21-7) has won two in a row. It is third in the U.S. Division, one point behind the Portland Winterhawks. The Chiefs have one game remaining. The Winterhawks will play the Seattle Thunderbirds tonight and again Sunday. . . . Portland and Spokane will be first-round opponents. . . . Tri-City (34-27-6) has lost four straight (0-2-2). It will be the Western Conference’s first wild-card team and will meet the Everett Silvertips in the first round. . . . Season series: Tri-City, 6-4-1; Spokane, 5-5-1. . . . The Chiefs and Americans will play again tonight, this time in Spokane. . . . McGrew, on a PP, and D Roman Kalinichenko (2) gave the Chiefs an early 2-0 lead. . . . F Parker AuCoin, who scored 21 goals last season, got his 42nd of this season for the Americans at 13:34 of the opening period. He also had two assists in this one. . . . McGrew added his second goal at 19:15. . . . Chiefs F Luke Toporowski gave his guys a 3-2 lead at 13:18 of the second period. . . . Tri-City F Krystof Hrabik (21) tied it, on a PP, at 2:35 of the third. . . . Spokane D Filip Kral (10) broke the tie at 18:12, and McGrew completed his hat trick by scoring his 30th goal into an empty net at 19:03. . . . The Chiefs got 25 saves from G Reece Klassen, while Tri-City’s Talyn Boyko blocked 39 shots. . . . The Chiefs scratched F Jaret Anderson-Dolan, F Riley Woods, D Ty Smith and F Eli Zummack. F Bear Hughes, who played this season with the junior B Spokane Braves, made his WHL debut.
Kelowna Rockets in Langley, B.C. . . . Vancouver (48-15-4) has won three in a row. With the victory, the Giants clinched first place in the Western Conference and will meet the Seattle Thunderbirds in the first round. . . . Kelowna (27-32-8) has lost four in a row (0-2-2). It is tied for third with the Kamloops Blazers in the B.C. Division. Each team has one game remaining — the Rockets will entertain the Giants tonight, while the Blazers are playing the Cougars in Prince George. . . . Should the Blazers and Rockets end up tied for third place, a sudden-death play-in game will be held in Kamloops on Tuesday night. . . . Vancouver is 7-0-1 in the season series with Kelowna, which is 1-7-0. . . . D Alex Kannok Leipert (5) gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 3:36 of the second period. . . . Kelowna F Kyle Crosby (7) tied it at 11:01. . . . Plouffe won it with his eighth goal of the season, at 16:50 of the third period. . . . The Giants got 17 stops from G Trent Miner. . . . Kelowna G Roman Basran stopped 29 shots. . . . Vancouver was 1-1 on the PP; Kelowna was 0-1. . . . The Rockets continue to play without D Lassi Thomson (concussion).
Jared Legien, 20, to their roster. He had been playing with the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. . . . With D Matt Barberis out since Nov. 18 with an undisclosed injury, the Giants have been utilizing two 20s — F Davis Koch and F Jared Dmytriw. Should Barberis return at some date, they would have to make a decision and get back down to three. . . . Legien, from Pilot Butte, Sask., was selected by the Kootenay Ice with the ninth overall pick of the 2013 bantam draft. . . . In 84 games over three seasons (2014-17) with the Ice, he had four goals and five assists. Last season, he played 36 games with the Victoria Royals (13-20–33) and 25 with the Regina Pats (10-7—17). . . . This season, Legien had 28 goals and 24 assists in 32 games with the Terriers. . . . Legien is expected to be in Vancouver’s lineup tonight when they meet the Rebels in Red Deer.
from the Christmas break. . . . Jeff Bromley (@JeffBromley1), a former newspaper reporter who covered the Ice for 15 years and a long-time season-ticket holder, tweeted that Smart left for “personal and hockey reasons.” . . . Smart, who is from Kelowna, had three goals and eight assists in 36 games this season. . . . The Kelowna Rockets selected him in the first round of the 2014 bantam draft. In 216 regular-season WHL games — 68 with Kelowna, 64 with the Regina Pats and 84 with the Ice — he had 14 goals and 66 assists. . . . Smart is at least the fourth veteran WHLer to leave the Ice this season, following D Sam Huston, F Nick Bowman and F Brendan Semchuk. As well, F Jack Cowell refused to report after being acquired from the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Ice also has traded away four veterans — forwards Brett Davis, Cam Hausinger, Kaeden Taphorn and Keenan Taphorn — since the start of the season. . . . 
Americans won 6-5 in a shootout at home on Sept, 28. . . . Those two teams closed out the pre-Christmas schedule with back-to-back games — the host Americans won 3-2 in OT on Dec. 15, then won 4-3 in OT in Portland the next evening. So when those teams resume their schedules tonight it only makes sense that they should meet again. Right? . . . Yes, they’ll clash in Portland. . . . It’s also worth noting that the Americans will have faced the Winterhawks in three straight games with ace F Cody Glass out of the lineup. Glass, of course, is with Team Canada at the WJC. . . .
an impact the Kootenay Ice will have had on the outcome of the U.S. Division race. Yes, the Everett Silvertips (27-7-2) are well on their way to the division title, what with a 14-point lead over Portland and the Spokane Chiefs, both of whom are 19-11-4. . . . The Winterhawks were scheduled to meet the Ice (8-22-6) once this season — Portland beat the visiting Ice, 10-2, on Dec. 2. . . . The Chiefs, meanwhile, will face the Ice on five occasions. Spokane won 7-4 in Cranbrook on Sept. 28, and then beat the Ice 6-3 at home the next night. The Chiefs also won 4-3 in OT in Spokane on Dec. 8. They’ll meet again Jan. 5 in Cranbrook and Feb. 9 in Cranbrook. . . . Should the Chiefs win the last two meetings, they’ll have picked up 10 points in games with the Ice, while Portland will have claimed two.
Kings in Brandon. . . . Regina improved to 10-24-1, while Brandon slipped to 15-11-6. . . . The Pats took a 2-0 first-period lead on PP goals from F Robbie Holmes (7), at 3:29, and Alkhimov, at 11:30. . . . F Ridly Greig (8) got Brandon on the scoreboard with a PP goal at 5:07 of the second period. . . . Alkhimov gave the Pats a 3-1 lead with his ninth goal at 2:32 of the third period. . . . D Cole Reinhardt (6) scored Brandon’s second goal at 10:56. . . . Each team may have a player suspended before tonight’s rematch in Regina. . . . Brandon F Stelio Mattheos, who leads the Wheat Kings in goals, assists and points, was hit with a
in Moose Jaw. . . . Swift Current (7-24-2) had lost its previous two games. It now is 2-16-0 on the road. . . . Moose Jaw is 17-8-6. . . . The Warriors will get another shot at the Broncos tonight in Swift Current. . . . Last night’s winner came as Moar successfully completed a 2-on-1 break with F Matthew Culling at 1:58 of OT. . . . Goals from Culling (5) and D Matthew Stanley (1) at 14:29 and 17:07 of the third period had given Swift Current a 3-1 lead. . . . The Warriors scored twice with G Brodan Salmond on the bench for the extra attacker, with F Brayden Tracey (11) making it 3-2 at 18:51 and F Keenan Taphorn (9) tying it at 19:13. . . . Moar, who was acquired from the Everett Silvertips, won it with his first goal in 22 career games, 18 of them with the Broncos. . . . Moose Jaw held a 42-21 edge in shots, including 10-3 in the first period and 20-7 in the second, but Swift Current G Joel Hofer continued his fine season. Despite a 5-19-2 record, and a 4.15 GAA, he has a .900 save percentage. . . . The Warriors were 0-4 on the PP; the Broncos didn’t get even one opportunity. . . . The Broncos scratched both of their 17-year-old Finnish freshmen imports — F Joona Kiviniemi and D Roope Pynnonen — due to travel-related issues on their way back from the break. Both players are expected to be available tonight. . . . The Warriors were without F Luke Ormsby, who completed a two-game WHL-issued suspension. . . . Moose Jaw also is missing head coach Tim Hunter and D Josh Brook, both with Team Canada at the WJC. In Hunter’s absence, associate coach Mark O’Leary is in charge of the bench.
The Raiders (32-2-1) have won four in a row. . . . The Blades (21-10-5) have points in six straight (4-0-2). . . . They’ll play the rematch tonight in Prince Albert. . . . F Kyle Crnkovic (2) staked the Blades to a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 12:59 of the first period. . . . The visitors took a 2-1 lead on two goals from F Noah Gregor (21), at 13:37 of the first and 2:52 of the second. . . . Saskatoon went ahead 3-2 on second-period goals from F Eric Florchuk (10), at 4:28, and F Max Gerlach (20), on a PP, at 6:22. . . . Pachal tied it at 6:28 of the third and won it with his ninth goal of the season, banging home a rebound 33 seconds into OT. . . . Pachal has 20 goals in 206 career regular-season games. This was his second career two-goal game. . . . F Cole Fonstad drew three assists for the Raiders, the fourth straight game in which he had at least two points. He has a goal and nine assists in that stretch. . . . Gregor also had an assist for a three-point outing. . . . Gregor has seven goals and three assists in helping the Raiders go 4-0-0 without G Ian Scott and F Brett Leason, both of whom are with Team Canada at the WJC.
Firebirds. A post on the team’s website reads that Oulahen has left “due to personal and family reasons. He will be leaving the position effective immediately.” . . . Greg Stefan, the team’s goaltending coach, worked as the head coach on Friday night, with associate coach Darcy Findlay and assistant coach Garrett Rutledge staying in their roles. . . . The Firebirds were 0-7-0 going into Friday’s games, leaving them last in the 10-team Western Conference. Last night, they fell to 0-8-0 with a 5-3 loss to the visiting North Bay Battalion. . . . Oulahen, 33, was in his third season as Flint’s head coach. . . . Brendan Savage of 
Kamloops Blazers, 4-3, in Langley, B.C. . . . The Giants ran their winning streak to five games. . . . The Blazers have lost six in a row (5-0-1). . . . F Luc Smith’s second goal of the game, at 15:33 of the third period, gave Kamloops a 3-1 lead. . . . F Davis Koch got the Giants to within one at 17:33 and F Milos Roman tied it with 10.7 seconds left in the period. . . . The Giants won the shootout, 2-1, getting their other goal from D Bowen Byram in the third round, after F Connor Zary had scored for Kamloops to end the second round. . . . A pregame note from Steve Ewen of Postmedia: “Also of note with Friday’s game is the coaching matchup. Michael Dyck signed on as bench boss with the Giants in June, but not before talking to the Blazers about their open post, if you believe the rumour mill. The Blazers announced Serge Lajoie as their new coach three days ahead of the Dyck addition in Vancouver, but Lajoie had spoken to the Giants, according to scuttlebutt.”
Russian F Sergei Alkhimov and Russian D Nikita Sedov, both of whom played last season with the Colorado Evolution, a U-16 midget team that plays out of the Evolution Elite Hockey Academy in Denver. . . . Alkhimov, 17, recorded eight goals and 15 assists in 13 games, while Sedov, also 17, had three goals and eight assists in 11 games. . . . According to the Pats, both players are “in training camp with Team Russia, competing for spots at the 2018 Gretzky Hlinka Cup.” . . . Sergei Bautin, a Russian defenceman who played with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets (1992-94), is the head coach of the Evolution Elite midget team. John Paddock, the Pats’ general manager, was the Jets’ head coach when Bautin played in Winnipeg.
signed a tryout deal with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, a Russian team in the KHL. The MacBeth Report spells out the details of the agreement above. . . . Zaitsev is from Togliatti, Russia, and played for Metallurg’s youth teams, before coming over to the NAHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights for the 2015-16 season. . . . He had two goals and 18 assists in 70 games with Moose Jaw in 2016-17, then had six goals and 22 assists in 61 games last season. . . . The Warriors also had Russian D Oleg Sosunov on their roster last season. Sosunov, 20, is expected to play in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s organization in 2018-19. . . . The Warriors made two selections in the CHL’s 2018 import draft, taking F Daniil Stepanov, 17, from Belarus, and F Yegor Buyalsky, 17, who also is from Belarus.
CHL’s 2018 import draft. He played last season for CSKA Moskva’s U-17 club, scoring eight goals and adding five assists in 22 games. . . . Arbuzov owns sophomore D Filip Kral as the Chiefs’ two import players. Kral, from Czech Republic, was the club’s rookie of the year last season, after putting up nine goals and 26 assists in 54 games. The Toronto Maple Leafs selected him in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2018 draft.
the associate head coach. . . . According to the Winterhawks, Gustafson “will take on an increased role in player recruitment and scouting. Travis Green, now the head coach of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, was the last person to hold the combined position with the Winterhawks.”
the BCHL-champion Wenatchee Wild. Dorsey is from Wenatchee. . . . He had four goals and seven assists in 18 games with the Wild, then added two goals and an assist in 14 BCHL playoff games. . . . The Calgary Hitmen selected Dorsey in the third round of the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft after he had 32 goals and 20 assists in 30 games with the U-14 Arizona Bobcats. . . . The Americans selected him in the 11th round of the 2018 bantam draft. . . . In 2016-17, he had three goals and three assists in 34 games with the Hitmen. . . . He missed most of two seasons (2014-16) with knee problems.
TAKING NOTE 