Having lived just east of Kamloops — in Campbell Creek — since the spring of 2000, we have lived through smoky skies in past years. But we haven’t lived through anything like we are seeing these days, and there isn’t an end in sight.
How bad is it?
Where we live, visibility has been down to about one km for two or three days now. We have air-conditioning, thankfully, but it brings some smoke into the house, and our air-purifier has been working overtime. It signals air quality with a light that is blue (for clean), purple or red. We are seeing red rather frequently these days.
One map I saw on Tuesday showed eight fires burning within 20 or 30 km of Kamloops. The one that is sending so much of this smoke in the direction of Campbell Creek is the White Rock Lake fire, which is burning to the south of here. As of Wednesday evening, it was believed to be somewhere around 20,000 hectares in size (that’s 49,422 acres). It has shown extreme behaviour, preventing firefighters from really getting at it, and heavy smoke has prevented accurate mapping and a sustained air attack. As well, the plus-30 C temperatures and winds aren’t helping.
Meanwhile, the CFL’s B.C. Lions have been training in Kamloops, but they cut their stay short and headed for Surrey on Wednesday.
Here’s J.J. Adams in the Vancouver Province:
“The CFL team has cut short its training camp in Kamloops after cancelling practice for the second straight day because of air quality concerns. There are four separate large fires burning near the Interior city, blanketing the area with a layer of smoke that’s made it impossible to practise.”
The Lions open the season against the host Saskatchewan Roughriders on Aug. 6. The Roughriders are welcoming all fans, including the unvaccinated, to that game.
A couple of headlines, both from Wednesday:
CBC News — COVID-19 spreading faster in Alberta than during peak of 3rd wave.
CBC News — Alberta to remove most COVID-19 isolation, testing requirements by mid-August.
QB Lamar Jackson of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday before the team’s first practice session of training camp. . . . From Jason La Confora of CBS Sports: “Jackson . . . has declined to offer his vaccination status in the past, but (head coach John) Harbaugh indicated he has taken multiple tests in the past week — many of them negative — which, given the NFL’s testing protocols, is indicative of a player who has not been vaccinated. Those players, when testing positive, are precluded from practicing for 10 days, which takes Baltimore up to the week of its first preseason game, Aug. 14 against New Orleans.” . . . Jackson also missed time last season after a positive test. At that time, he struggled with some of the symptoms.
ICYMI, Geoff Molson, the Montreal Canadiens’ owner, president and CEO, threw some gasoline on the blaze that was started when his team made F Logan Mailloux its first-round selection in the NHL draft on Friday.
Molson released an open letter that was posted on the team’s website, then held 
a Zoom call for invited media members. Interestingly, the English-speaking Montreal Gazette was among those outlets not invited to participate.
“I understand that you expect more from us and we let you down,” Molson wrote. “The Montreal Canadiens are more than a hockey team. Logan’s actions do not reflect the values of our organization and I apologize for the pain this selection has caused.”
Except that the Canadiens made this kid their first-round selection after he tried to withdraw his name from the draft after being charged with invasion of privacy and defamation in a sex-related case in Sweden and paying a fine of about $1,700.
Molson chose to make his statement and hold the Zoom call as NHL teams were handing out bushels of cash to free-agent players. You don’t suppose that the Canadiens picked Wednesday afternoon knowing (hoping?) that their effort would got lost in all the transactions, do you? You know, like governments so often dump the bad news on us late on Friday afternoons?
Anyway . . . Molson needs to realize that despite what he says publicly this is what the Canadiens now stand for, and this does reflect the values of his organization.
Ken Campbell of Hockey Unfiltered says that it’s time for the Canadiens to stop with the lip service and for them to renounce the pick. That piece is right here.
The Minnesota Twins are having an abysmal season. How abysmal, you ask? . . . On Wednesday, the Twins entertained the Detroit Tigers. The Twins hit seven home runs; the Tigers didn’t hit any. . . . The Twins lost, 17-14. . . . That is the first time in MLB history that one team has outhomered the other team by seven and lost. . . . LHP J.A. Happ started for the Twins. He didn’t give up any homers — he has allowed 21 in 98 innings — but was touched for nine earned runs on 10 hits and four walks in three innings. The Twins are paying him $8 million on a one-year contract. . . . Each of the Detroit players who went to the plate in Wednesday’s game had at least one hit, one run and one RBI. According to ESPN Stats & Info, that’s the first time that has happened since the then-California Angels did it on Sept. 14, 1978.
No one brightened up a scouts/media room at a WHL game more than Charlie Hodge. . . . And, oh boy, did he love Nanaimo bars. . . . Oh, he also could tell a story or two. . . . Yes, we miss him.
You will recall that the Washington Senators pulled SS Trea Turner during the first inning of a Tuesday night game with the Phillies in Philadelphia because of a positive test. Well, Wednesday’s game didn’t even get to the first inning. It was postponed with the Nationals now having at least 12 positive tests, four of them players. . . . The majority reportedly were fully vaccinated, with a number of them having been given the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. . . . They will try to get in a doubleheader today (Thursday). Presumably, the Nationals will be bringing in a few players.
Don’t look now but the 2021-22 hockey season hit the ice on Wednesday; at 
least it did in the KHL where Admiral Vladivostok scored a 4-3 shootout victory over Dinamo Minsk in an exhibition game. . . . It was return to the KHL for the winners, who sat out last season after, as Andy Potts wrote at en.khl,ru, “local authorities diverted funds away from the sport to help fight the pandemic.” . . . D Sergei Sapego, who played two seasons in the WHL, made his debut with Dinamo Minsk. Sapego started his WHL stint with three games with the Tri-City Americans to start the 2017-18 season. He finished that season by playing 41 games with the Prince Albert Raiders, whom he helped to a WHL title in the spring of 2019.
The Guardian — ‘Disinfo kills’: protesters demand Facebook act to stop vaccine falsehoods.
The Washington Post — Analysis: People are more anti-vaccine if they get their covid news from Facebook than from Fox News, data shows.
The NCAA has granted eligibility to F Austen Swankler, who had 18 goals and 27 assists in 59 games with the OHL’s Erie Otters in 2019-20, and has committed to the Bowling Green U Falcons. With the OHL not playing in 2020-21 because of the pandemic, Swankler sat out. . . . Swankler, from North Huntington, Penn., will turn 20 on Aug. 21. . . . USCHO.com reported that “according to a CCHA news release, Swankler and his family applied directly to the NCAA for eligibility prior to expressing interest to the Falcons.”
The Victoria Royals have signed Austria G Sebastian Wraneschitz to a WHL 
contract. The Royals selected his rights in the CHL’s 2021 import draft. . . . Wraneschitz, 19, played for the Vienna Capitals in the ICE Hockey League in 2020-21. In the pro league, he was 5-7-0, 3.18, .886 in 12 games. He also played for Austria at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton, going 0-3-0, 7.45, .892 in three appearances. . . . The Royals had one import — Swiss F Keanu Derungs — on the roster that finished the 2021 development season. . . . They also have one goaltender who is eligible to return remaining on that roster — Connor Martin, who will turn 19 on Dec. 17.
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St. Paul’s Hospital
6A Providence Building
1081 Burrard Street
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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
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——
Or, for more information, visit right here.
JUST NOTES: Ashley Chase is the new director of operations and play-by-play voice of the NAHL’s St. Cloud Norsemen. From the team’s news release: “Chase becomes the first female team play-by-play broadcaster across junior hockey in the United States, including the North American Hockey League (NAHL).”
coach since it relocated from Victoria for the 1994-95 season. Lamb also is their general manager.
20 on July 22, from the Everett Silvertips in exchange for two 2020 bantam draft selections — a fifth- and a sixth-round pick. . . . Holmes, who is from Sherwood Park, Alta., had played 148 regular-season games with the Pats before he was dealt to Everett on Jan. 10 for F Sloan Stanick, a second-round pick in the 2020 bantam draft and a sixth-rounder in 2022. . . . Last season, he had three goals and seven assists in 26 games with Everett, after putting up nine goals and seven assists in 16 games with Regina. . . . In 174 career games, he had 32 goals and 34 assists. . . . The Pats’ roster now includes four 20-year-olds — Holmes, F Austin Pratt, F Dawson Holt, who was acquired from the Vancouver Giants last month, and F Sebastian Streu. . . . Everett now has five 20s on its roster — F Lucas Cullen, F Max Patterson, F Bryce Kindopp, D Jake Christiansen, D Wyatte Wylie.
Sergei Sapego of the WHL-champion Prince Albert Raiders. Sapego, from Belarus, had 10 goals and 33 assists in 58 regular-season games last season, then added three goals and 10 assists in 23 playoff games. . . . The signing came after Sapego attended the Maple Leafs’ development camp. . . . Sapego will turn 20 on Oct. 8. . . . The Raiders also have Belarusian F Aliaksei Protas, who was a third-round pick by the Washington Capitals in the NHL’s 2019 draft, on their roster, and they selected Russian F Ivan Kechkin in the 2019 import draft. . . . The Raiders have yet to post a pre-season roster on the WHL website, but the 20s on their playoff roster were G Ian Scott, Sapego, D Max Martin, D Brayden Pachal, D Zack Hayes, D Jeremy Masella, F Parker Kelly, F Brett Leason and F Brian Harris. . . . Scott (Toronto), Kelly (Ottawa Senators) and Leason (Washington Capitals) are expected to begin their pro careers with the start of the upcoming season.
import draft gets started. The Broncos, who had the WHL’s poorest record last season, cleared room for one pick by releasing Finnish D Roope Pynnonen, 18. . . . A freshman last season, Pynnonen was pointless in 44 games. . . . The Broncos’ other import is Finnish F Joona Kiviniemi, who will turn 18 on Dec. 17. Last season, his first in the WHL, he had 16 goals and nine assists in 25 games.
for a second season, but have chosen to keep him on their roster and make one selection in today’s import draft. . . . In his final 31 Thoughts of the season, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman wrote on Wednesday: “It was (Zaytsev’s) first season in North America, and while he petered out as the (season) continued, you could see the potential. Zaytsev went unselected last weekend, mainly because teams heard he will be signing an entry-level contract with the KHL. (Those contracts are also three years.) But, don’t be surprised if someone tries to get him as a free agent, therefore holding his rights until a return.” . . . Zaytsev’s play may have tailed off but he still put up 13 goals and 30 assists in 66 games as a 17-year-old freshman in a foreign country. . . . D Alex Alexeyev, who will turn 20 on Nov. 15, has played three seasons with the Rebels. A first-round pick by the Washington Capitals in 2018, has signed an NHL contract and is expected to at least start the season with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, if he doesn’t make the big club, that is.
Kelowna Rockets, won’t be returning to the WHL. Thomson was selected by the Ottawa Senators with the 19th overall pick of the NHL’s 2019 draft. This week, he is in Ottawa’s development camp. It seems that Thomson, 18, has two options — return to Kelowna or go home and play for Ilves, the pro team located in his hometown of Tampere. . . . On Wednesday, Thomson told Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch: “I think right now it’s back to Finland but you never know. We’ll see what they want. I think at this point it would be best for me to play against men.” . . . Trent Mann, Ottawa’s chief scout, said: “It’s a tough one because we’re told that he can play in the top pairing in the league in Finland. He’s going to get an opportunity to play with men in a pretty good league. Right now, that would probably be my guess of what he’ll end up doing. But a lot of things can change in the meantime.” . . . The Rockets will be permitted to pick twice in today’s import draft and keep Thomson on their roster, at least for now, because he was a first-round NHL draft pick. . . . Garrioch’s complete story is 
and associate coach, and assistant coach Don Hay to contract extensions. No contract details were revealed. . . . Gustafson is heading into his 17th season with the Winterhawks. He recently turned down a four-year contract offer to work as head coach of the Kamloops Blazers. Taking Note has been told that one of the things that figured into Gustafson’s decision to stay in Portland was that the Winterhawks “did a lot” to keep him. . . . Hay, who is the winningest head coach in WHL history, is going into his second season as an assistant coach alongside Mike Johnston, Portland’s vice-president, GM and head coach. Hay spent four seasons as the Blazers’ head coach before being ousted following the 2017-18 season.
Tigers, who is in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ development camp, went down with an injury to his “left knee/leg.” She added: “Hamblin clearly in a lot of pain, covering his head with his hands.” . . . Hamblin, 20, was taken from the ice on a stretcher with the leg immobilized. . . . Bobby Fox, the Tigers’ director of player personnel, late told Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News that Hamblin underwent X-rays and that they came back negative. . . . Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun later reported that Hamblin suffered a “knee cap injury in an apparent skating mishap.” . . . Hamblin has played four seasons with the Tigers and was the team captain for the last two of them.
Yannik Valenti won’t be back for another season. . . . As you will have read in The MacBeth Report, Valenti was with the Giants last season on loan from Adler Mannheim of the DEL, and now has been assigned to Heilbronner Falken (Germany, DEL2). . . . Valenti had four goals and five assists in 52 regular-season games, then turned into something of a power-play force in the playoffs, scoring three times, each one with the man advantage, in 22 games as the Giants got to Game 7 of the WHL’s championship final. . . . Slovakian F Milos Roman, the Giants’ other import last season, could return for a third season. However, he would be a two-spotter as a 20-year-old import. He put up 27 goals and 33 assists in 59 games last season. . . . A fourth-round pick by the Calgary Flames in the NHL’s 2018 draft, Roman has yet to sign a pro contract. . . . The 2019 CHL import draft is scheduled for Thursday.
has signed to play with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings in 2019-20. . . . Thompson, who is heading into his 20-year-old season, had eight goals and nine assists in 65 games with the Wheat Kings last season. In 172 career regular-season games, the 6-foot-5, 250-pounder put up 24 goals and 26 assists. . . . From Lakeville, Minn., Thompson was selected by the Victoria Royals in the third round of the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft and later traded to the Wheat Kings. . . . Without Thompson, the Wheat Kings have three 20-year-olds on their roster — F Connor Gutenberg, D Zach Wytinck and Czech G Jiri Patera.
Unable to reach a broadcast agreement with Golden West Broadcasting, which had carried games on the Eagle 94.1, the Broncos are going it alone, with their games to be available via the Internet. . . . Beauchemin will handle the Living Sky Casino Broncos Hockey game broadcasts, and also will prepare podcasts and serve as the manager of community relations. . . . He spent the past two seasons as the director of communications and broadcasting with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. . . . Beauchemin replaces Shawn Mullin, who is headed east where he will be the radio voice of the OHL’s Peterborough Petes.
Express to complete a June transaction in which the Vees got F Alex DiPaolo, 19. . . . Rizzo, 18, is from Burnaby, B.C., and has committed to the U of North Dakota Fighting Hawks for 2020-21. . . . Last season, he had 11 goals and 29 assists in 37 regular-season games. In 2017-18, He had 13 goals and 26 assists in 39 games. . . . The Carolina Hurricanes selected him in the seventh round of the NHL draft in Vancouver on Saturday. . . . Rizzo was selected by the Kamloops Blazers with the 15th-overall pick of the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. He was beset with injury problems over his two seasons in Penticton. . . . “The past two seasons have been trying for Massimo, dealing with significant injuries which forced him to start the seasons late and miss substantial stretches of games,” Fred Harbinson, the Vees’ president, general manager and head coach, said in a news release. “We felt that with Massimo’s recent surgery, it would be best for him to rehab at home next season. Fortunately, we were able to make a hockey trade with Coquitlam that helped our team in the process.”
season. The team issued a two-sentence news release on Friday morning stating that Kordic “has decided not to return to the hockey club for the 2019-20 season.” . . . Kordic, 48, is from Edmonton. He played four seasons (1987-91) with the Medicine Hat Tigers before going on to a pro career that included 197 regular-season NHL games, all with the Philadelphia Flyers. . . . He spent two seasons on the coaching staff of the U of Alberta Golden Bears, working with head coach Serge Lajoie. . . . When Lajoie signed on as the Blazers’ head coach last summer, Kordic accompanied him. . . . The Blazers and Lajoie went their separate ways on April 11, so one supposes that it’s no surprise that Kordic also has moved on. . . . Earlier this week, Lajoie was named the head coach of the midget prep team at OHA Edmonton.
to a 4-0 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Raiders hold a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference final. They’ll play Game 6 in Edmonton on Sunday afternoon. . . . Game 7, if needed, would be played in Prince Albert on Tuesday. . . . Protas, a freshman from Vitebsk, Belarus, who turned 18 on Jan. 6, had 11 goals and 29 assists in 61 regular-season games. He now has eight goals and four assists in 15 playoff outings. . . . Protas never once scored two or more goals in a game during the regular season; he has done it twice in the playoffs. . . . Protas scored his first goal, on a PP, at 11:31, then made it 2-0 at 17:03. . . . F Brett Leason (5) gave his guys a 3-0 lead at 5:22 of the third period. . . . Portas completed his hat trick at 19:35, one second after the expiration of an Edmonton minor penaltys. . . . D Sergei Sapego and D Kaiden Guhle each had two assists, while Leason added one to his goal. . . . The Raiders were 1-3 on the PP; the Oil Kings didn’t have even one opportunity. . . . G Ian Scott earned the shutout, his third of these playoffs, with 24 saves. . . . In these playoffs, Scott now is 11-4, 1.83, .929. He finished the regular season at 38-8-3, 1.83, .932. . . . The Oil Kings got 26 stops from G Dylan Myskiw. . . . The Oil Kings inserted F Carter Souch into the lineup and took out F Zach Russell. . . . Edmonton has lost back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 4 and 6 when they lost at home to the Victoria Royals (3-2) and Lethbridge Hurricanes (5-2).
Chiefs in Langley, B.C. . . . The Giants won the series, 4-1, and will meet either the Edmonton Oil Kings or Prince Albert Raiders in the series for the Ed Chynoweth Cup. The Raiders lead that series, 3-2. . . . The Giants were shorthanded when D Bowen Byram (7) gave them a 1-0 lead at 16:42 of the first period. . . . F Justin Sourdif (2) made it 2-0, on a PP, at 19:22. . . . The Chiefs halved the deficit at 4:22 of the third period when F Jaret Anderson-Dolan (5) scored, on a PP. . . . But the Giants got that one back just 21 seconds later on a goal from F Brayden Watts (5). . . . F Ethan McIndoe (6) pulled the Chiefs to within one at 18:13 with G Bailey Brkin on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Sourdif and Byram added an assist apiece, while F Eli Zummack had two helpers for Spokane. . . . Each team was 1-4 on the PP. . . . G David Tendeck stopped 27 shots for the Giants. In the playoffs, he is 7-2, 2.04, .925. He went the distance in all five games with Spokane. . . . The Chiefs got 27 saves from Brkin. . . . The Chiefs again scratched two veterans — F Luc Smith, who didn’t play after being injured a couple of minutes into Game 1, and D Filip Kral, who has missed two straight games. . . . The key to Vancouver’s series victory may have come in its holding Anderson-Dolan to two goals and an assist, and D Ty Smith to one assist in the five games.
last season now on Everett’s roster, along with D Artyom Minulin and D Sahvan Khaira, both of whom are 20 years of age.
George Cougars.
sidelined with a broken wrist and may not have medical clearance in time for the selection camp.
enough for each general manager to have a pretty good idea how things are shaping up — with his team and how it stacks up against the competition.
night in a 5-1 loss to the visiting Prince Albert Raiders, didn’t practice with the Kootenay Ice on Tuesday, indicating they won’t play tonight against the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . However, F Peyton Krebs, who has missed four games, and D Valtteri Kakkonen, a Finnish freshman who has sat out five games, were on the ice Tuesday. . . . On the WHL’s weekly roster report, McClennon is listed as being out four-to-six weeks, with Hausinger out week-to-week. . . . Also on Tuesday, the Ice brought in F Skyler Bruce and F James Form. If both players make their WHL debuts tonight that will give the Ice 12 available forwards. . . . Bruce, 15, has 16 goals and 18 assists in 19 games with the Winnipeg-based Rink Hockey Academy Elite 15s. He was a second-round pick in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft. . . . Form, 16, is from Saskatoon where he plays for the midget AAA Blazers. He has seven goals and four assists in seven games. The Ice selected him in the third round of the 2017 bantam draft. . . . If Bruce and Form play tonight, they will become the 34th and 35th players to have suited up for the Ice this season. The Ice (7-16-4) is seven points away from the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.
lower-body injury. . . . As you no doubt are aware, Stankowski, then 16, came off the bench to backstop the Seattle Thunderbirds to the WHL title in the spring of 2017. He didn’t play at all last season due to injuries, including hip-related woes, and illness, then was acquired by the Hitmen during the off-season. . . . Stankowski went the distance in Calgary’s second-last game, stopping 24 shots in a 5-2 victory over the Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash., on Friday night. . . . This season, Stankowski is 6-6-2, 3.72, .879. . . . With Stankowski out, freshman Jack McNaughton will take over the starter’s role. In 12 appearances, he is 4-6-1, 3.35, .890. . . . G Matt Armitage, who was with the Hitmen earlier in the season and has been playing with the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks, will join Calgary for three weekend games. . . . The Hitmen, who just came off a U.S. Division trip on which they went 3-1-1, are next scheduled to play on Friday when they visit the Red Deer Rebels.
Rebels in Red Deer. . . . The Raiders (24-1-0) are 2-1-0 against the Rebels, having lost 4-3 in Red Deer on Oct. 6 and won 2-1 at home on Oct. 13. . . . Prince Albert set a franchise record with its seventh straight road victory. It had shared the record with the 1985-86 team. . . . The Rebels (16-7-1) have lost two in a row. . . . The visitors jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals from F Spencer Moe (4), at 2:59 of the first period, and F Parker Kelly (11), at 4:11. . . . D Ethan Sakowich (1) scored for Red Deer at 5:27, but F Cole Fonstad (7) got that one back for the Raiders at 9:07. . . . F Zak Smith (4) pulled the Rebels to with a goal at 9:43 of the second period. . . . F Brett Leason scored his WHL-leading 26th goal, on a PP, at 14:27, to restore Prince Albert’s two-goal lead. . . . F Jeff de Wit (16) counted on a PP, with G Byron Fancy on the bench for the extra attacker, at 19:01 of the third period for Red Deer’s third goal. . . . D Sergei Sapego had three assists for the winners. . . . Leason ran his point streak to 25 games — yes, every game this season — with an assist on Kelly’s goal. . . . Leason leads the WHL in goals and points (56). . . . Leason went into this season with 24 goals and 27 assists in 135 regular-season games. . . . The Raiders were 1-2 on the PP; the Rebels were 1-7. . . . Sakowich’s goal was his fourth in 161 career regular-season games. He didn’t score in 72 games last season; in fact, his last goal came in a 6-1 victory over the visiting Kootenay Ice on March 11, 2017. . . . The Rebels were without their best defenceman, Russian Alex Alexeyev, who is out with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Raiders are back at it tonight when they meet the Oil Kings in Edmonton. This will be the first meeting of the season between these teams.
Prince George Cougars, 5-2, in Kennewick, Wash. . . . Tri-City (14-9-0) has won two in a row. . . . Prince George (10-12-3) has lost two straight. . . . F Vladislav Mikhalchuk (6) scored his second goal of the game, on a PP, at 4:09 of the second period to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. . . . F Isaac Johnson (9) tied the score, on a PP, at 9:51, and F Krystof Hrabik (7) snapped the tie at 18:42. . . . Tri-City put it away with third-period goals from F Sasha Mutala (6), at 6:00, and D Mitchell Brown (3), into an empty net, at 18:02. . . . G Beck Warm stopped 39 shots for the Americans. . . . D Aaron Hyman, who was acquired Monday from the Regina Pats, was in Tri-City’s starting lineup. He had one assist and it came on a PP. . . . The Americans lost F Kyle Olson to a cross-checking major and game misconduct at 19:19 of the first period.
a 5-3 victory over the Saskatoon Blades in Langley, B.C. . . . The Giants (17-6-2) have won three straight. . . . The Blades are 1-1-0 on a B.C. Division tour that continues tonight in Victoria. . . . Saskatoon scored all three of its goals in the game’s first 10 minutes, F Max Gerlach (16) giving it a 3-1 lead at 9:56. . . . Koch scored, on a PP, at 1:49 of the second period to get the Giants to within a goal. . . . F Aidan Barfoot (1), playing in his third game of the season and first since Sept. 22, tied it at 3:51. . . . F Milos Roman (13) gave Vancouver a 4-3 lead, on a PP, at 3:21 of the third period. . . . Koch scored his eighth goal into an empty net at 19:46. . . . Koch has 13 points, including five goals, in a six-game point streak. . . . D Nolan Kneen, who was acquired Monday from the Kamloops Blazers, made his Saskatoon debut.
TAKING NOTE 