By now you’ve likely seen the ugly video of the fight in which F Kale Kessy, a former WHL scrapper now with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, was KO’d. . . . If you haven’t seen it, find it, watch it and then tell me why fighting needs to be a part of hockey. . . . If you’re wondering, Kessy spent Tuesday night in hospital and was released on Wednesday. . . . According to the Bears, Kessy now is sidelined with an “upper-body injury.” Yeah, I bet.
——
Headline at The Onion: Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Horrified To Learn Madison Bumgarner Risking Health as Baseball Pitcher.
You don’t see something like this happen every day in the world of hockey. . . . Jeff Dubois, the general manager and head coach of the junior B Comox Valley Glacier Kings of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League, is leaving to take over as commissioner of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. The KIJHL is a 22-team junior B circuit in the interior of B.C. . . . Dubois stepped in as the Glacier Kings’ head coach during an October shuffle. . . . He will move into the commissioner’s chair, replacing Larry Martel, on May 1. . . . Dubois spent three seasons as GM/head coach the KIJHL’s Creston Valley Thunder Cats, and was the league’s coach of the year for 2016-17. . . . Martel had been commissioner since June 2018 when he took over on an interim basis from longtime president Bill Ohlhausen. . . . The KIJHL’s news release is right here.
Former WHLer Jake Toporowski is to make his head-coaching debut tonight (Friday) with the Quad City Storm meeting the host Evansville Thunderbolts in a Southern Professional Hockey League game. . . . Head coach Dave Pszenyczny, the Storm’s head coach, drew a one-game suspension for the actions of his players late in a game against the Fayetteville Marksmen on Feb. 16. . . . BTW, Toporowski is to turn 22 on Friday. . . . “I always wanted to have a head coaching job,” Toporowski told Bobby Metcalf of the Quad-City Times,”so there’s got to be a first game at some point.” . . . Toporowski played three seasons (2014-17) with the Chiefs, then retired after playing one game in 2017-18. Injuries had limited him to 36 games in 2016-17,
The New York Yankees owe OF Giancarlo Stanton more than US$200 million through 2027. Stanton, who rooms with the injury bug, has been on the injury list six times in his career. In nine seasons, he has played fewer than 125 games five times. That includes last season when he got into 17 regular-season games. . . . You guessed it. He’s hurt again, this time with a Grade 1 calf strain that likely will have him on the shelf when this season starts.
The SJHL’s Melville Millionaires didn’t waste any time putting this season behind them as they fired Kyle Adams, the general manager and head coach, on Tuesday. . . . Jarett Waldbauer, the assistant coach and assistant GM, now is the interim GM and head coach. . . . With three games remaining in the regular season, the Millionaires are 15-34-6, good for fourth in the four-team Viterra Division. . . . Adams was in his first full season as GM/head coach after signing a two-year contract in April. He had joined the club as an assistant coach early in 2018-19, then moved up to interim GM/head coach in December 2018.
In a column suggesting that it’s time for a “de-escalation of in-game technology” in Major League Baseball, Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle writes:
“The aim of my campaign is not to stop analytics. That ship has sailed and it can’t be squeezed back into the toothpaste tube. Let the numbers jockeys have their fun, but once the game starts, let’s mix in a little baseball with our video-gamery, shall we?”
Ostler says he is on a crusade “to inject some baseball back into baseball.”
Ostler also took time to add this:
“While I’m at it, I also advocate a ban on cell-phone use by fans seated in the first five rows behind home plate. Hello, you rich, cool people! Many of us watching the game on TV cling to a romantic fantasy that a fan blessed with amazing seats that the rest of us would kill to sit in is actually, you know, watching the freaking baseball game.”
Bingo!
JUST NOTES: Craig MacTavish is back in the coaching game, this time has head coach of Lausanne HC, which dumped Ville Peltonen. MacTavish began this season as the head coach of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL, but was fired eight games into the season. Lausanne HC plays in the National League, Switzerland’s top pro league. . . . Brantt Myhres, a former WHL enforcer who totalled 137 points and 1,025 penalty minutes in 241 games, has a book in the works, and that’s one I will be sure to read. He has battled alcohol and drug addiction, and now has been sober for more than 11 years. . . . The BCHL’s Penticton Vees opened the playoffs Thursday night with a 7-1 victory over the visiting West Kelowna Warriors. What was different about this one? F Tyler Ho, who had 13 goals in 42 regular-season games, scored three times, each one of them with his side shorthanded. . . .
I have access to six TSN channels. On Thursday evening, five of them were blacked out because Canadian NHL teams were playing and only folks in each region are permitted to watch. One Sportsnet channel, featuring the Calgary Flames, also was blacked out. But, hey, we could watch the Dallas Stars and the Bruins play in Boston. . . . I need someone to explain to me how keeping Canadian teams off Canadian TV screens helps grow the game. . . . On Wednesday night, the Edmonton Oilers played the host Vegas Golden Knights. You will be aware that Edmonton’s lineup includes Connor McDavid, perhaps the best player in the game today, and Leon Draisaitl, who is right up there, too. But — you guessed it! — the game was blacked out too.
and one in the sixth round.
by Regina in the 2013 bantam draft. In 270 regular-season WHL games, he has 47 goals and 53 assists. This season, he has eight goals and 11 assists in 22 games. Last season, he had career highs in goals (21) and assists (23) in 62 games.
bantam draft; that is the earliest selection they have made in the draft’s history. The 6-foot-0, 190-pounder is off to a fine start this season, with four goals and 16 assists in 22 games, after finishing last season with seven goals and 30 assists in 68 games.
220-pound Calgarian, he was a third-round pick by the Calgary Hitmen in the 2013 bantam draft. The Hitmen dealt him to the Seattle Thunderbirds, and he helped them win the Ed Chynoweth Cup in the spring of 2017. Seattle traded him to Regina last season and he played in the Memorial Cup with the Pats, who were the host team.
the 2013 bantam draft. In 163 regular-season games, he has nine goals and 21 assists.
Wednesday night, Kohler is shown on the WHL’s latest roster report as being out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
returned to the fold. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Gorda, an 18-year-old from Edmonton, didn’t report to training camp with the team saying that he was absent “due to personal reasons.” . . . A third-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft, Gorda had played two full seasons with Edmonton. Last season, he had four goals and 12 assists in 56 games. . . . Gorda was eligible for the NHL’s 2017 draft, but wasn’t selected after NHL Central Scouting ranked him No. 147 among North American skaters. . . . On Thursday, the Oil Kings didn’t indicate a timetable for Goyda to return to game action. As of last night, Edmonton’s roster included nine defencemen without Goyda.
first wild-card spot. Regina is fourth in the East Division, eight points behind Brandon. . . . The Wheat Kings (25-12-1) have lost four in a row. They are third in the overall standings, five points behind Swift Current. . . . F Jared Legien, acquired last week from the Victoria Royals in the hopes that he would bring some offence to the Regina lineup, had two goals and an assist. . . . D Zach Wytinck (3) gave Brandon a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 7:38 of the first period. . . . Regina took a 2-1 lead on goals from F Matt Bradley (25), at 6:46 of the second period, and Legien, on a PP, at 1:58 of the third. . . . F Ty Lewis (20) got Brandon even at 5:32. . . . Legien snapped the tie with his 16th goal of the season at 10:20. . . . Bradley, playing in his 250th regular-season WHL game, added an assist on the winner to his goal. . . . Brandon was 1-2 on the PP; Regina was 1-4. . . . The Pats got 28 saves from G Tyler Brown. . . . G Logan Thompson stopped 58 shots — yes, 58 — for Brandon. . . . Announced attendance: 5,624.
games. They are 2-3-0 in a stretch of playing eight games in 12 nights. They’ll wrap it up this weekend with a game in Brandon on Friday and home games, against Regina and Red Deer, on Saturday and Sunday. . . . The Broncos are second in the overall standings, nine pints behind Moose Jaw. . . . The Ice (18-19-3) has lost three in a row (0-2-1). Kootenay is 0-2-1 in the first three games of a stretch in which it will play five games in six nights. The Ice is off tonight (Thursday) and then will play in Prince Albert and Saskatoon on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Kootenay is second in the Central Division, six points behind Medicine Hat. . . . Last night, the Ice took an early 2-0 first-period lead on goals from F Brad Ginnell (6), at 1:19, and F Alec Baer (17), at 4:45. . . . It’s worth noting that Ginnell scored in the same arena where his father, Erin, played in the second half of the 1986-87 season. Erin moved from the Regina Pats to Swift Current to help the Broncos finish the season after the tragic bus crash of Dec. 30, 1986. . . . D Sahvan Khaira (6) scored, while shorthanded, for the Broncos at 19:24. . . . F Kaden Elder pulled the Broncos even at 8:32 of the second period and F Max Patterson (5) put them ahead at 1:40 of the third. . . . The Ice got back into tie at 10:54 as F Cam Hausinger (13) scored. . . . Swift Current F Matteo Gennaro snapped the tie with his 22nd goal, at 13:51. . . . Elder (9) got the empty-netter, at 18:01. . . . The Broncos got three assists form F Kole Gable and two from Gennaro. F Glenn Gawdin had one assist as he returned after missing a game while ill. . . . Baer added an assist to his goal for Kootenay. . . . The Broncos were 0-1 on the PP; the Ice was 0-4. . . . G Logan Flodell earned the victory with 30 stops, six fewer than the Ice’s Bailey Brkin. . . . Announced attendance: 2,096.
and leads the Central Division by six points over Kootenay. . . . The Hitmen (12-20-6) are 11 points out of a playoff spot. They are 10th in the Eastern Conference, four points behind Prince Albert. . . . D David Quenneville (16) gave the Tigers the lead, on a PP, at 13:25 of the first period, with Calgary F Mark Kastelic (13) tying it, on a PP, at 16:51. . . . F Mark Rassell (33) put the visitors back out front at 1:37 of the second period, with Calgary F Jacob Stukel (18) tying it at 8:20. . . . The Tigers went out front again, at 10:02, as F Max Gerlach (14) scored on a PP. . . . F Hunter Campbell (3) got Calgary back on even ground, again, at 12:56. . . . The third period was scoreless before Stotts won it with his sixth goal of the season. . . . The Hitmen got two assists from Kastelic and Stukel added one. . . . Medicine Hat was 2-7 on the PP; Calgary was 1-8. . . . The Hitmen got 23 saves from G Nick Schneider, while Medicine Hat’s Jordan Hollett stopped 28 shots. . . . F Bryce Bader, who played one game with the Hitmen last season, was in the Calgary lineup for the first time this season. He has 22 points, including 10 goals, in 25 games with the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings. He was a second-round pick by Calgary in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . F Jake Kryski (ill) was among Calgary’s scratches. . . . The Tigers will be without Swedish D Linus Nassen for up to eight weeks with an undisclosed injury. Nassen has one goal and 21 assists in 38 games in his freshman season. He was a third-round pick by the Florida Panthers in the NHL’s 2016 draft. . . . Medicine Hat F Ryan Jevne served the first game of a three-game suspension. . . . Announced attendance: 5,505.
. . . The Giants (21-14-5), who went to extra time for a third straight game, have points in four straight (3-0-1). Out of the playoffs for three straight season, Vancouver now is second in the B.C. Division, one point ahead of Victoria. . . . The Oil Kings (10-22-6) have points in six in a row (3-0-3). They are last in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Red Deer. . . . Vancouver F Tyler Benson (15) put the visitors out front at 7:27 of the first period. He is from Edmonton and has signed with the NHL’s Oilers. . . . F Aidan Barefoot (4) made it 2-0 at 8:44. . . . F Brett Kemp (9) scored Edmonton’s first goal, at 6:01 of the second period, only to have Vancouver restore its two-goal lead as D Dylan Plouffe (7) scored at 12:04. . . . F Tomas Soustal (11) pulled the home side to within a goal at 5:26 of the third period, and D Conner McDonald (4) tied it at 10:34. . . . McDonald, who also had an assist, has two goals and nine assists in his last six games. . . . Kemp also added an assist to his goal. . . . Ho, who didn’t score in seven games last season, had two assists for Vancouver, giving him seven this season. . . . Plouffe added an assist to his goal. . . . Vancouver was 0-1 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-3. . . . G David Tendeck stopped 37 shots for Vancouver. At the other end, Josh Dechaine made 31 saves. . . . Only three of the 14 shooters in OT were able to score. Benson and Edmonton F Colton Kehler each scored in the second round. . . . Vancouver F Brad Morrison played in his 300th regular-season game. He went pointless. . . . D Aidan Lawson, a 16-year-old from the U16 Colorado Thunderbirds, made his WHL debut with Edmonton. . . . The Giants continue to play with F Brendan Semchuk, 18, who hasn’t been in a game since Dec. 15. He reportedly has left the team and asked to be traded. From Kamloops, he had eight goals and 11 assists in 33 games. . . . Announced attendance: 6,290.
standings by nine points over Swift Current. . . . The Rebels (10-20-8) have lost five straight (0-2-3). They are 13 points out of a playoff spot. . . . Moose Jaw got two goals and an assist from F Brayden Burke, and three assists from F Justin Almeida. Burke leads the WHL scoring race with 80 points, seven more than F Glenn Gawdin of Swift Current. . . . F Mason McCarty (19), on a PP, gave the home side a 1-0 lead at 11:51 of the first period. . . . The Warriors took a 2-1 lead on goals from F Vince Loschiavo (12), at 14:28, and Burke, at 17:11. . . . F Chris Douglas (3) got Red Deer even at 5:09 of the second period. . . . The Warriors got the game’s next four goals, the first two in the second period. F Tristyn DeRoose (2) scored at 7:37 and F Jayden Halbgewachs (41) counted on a PP at 17:55. . . . After two periods, the Warriors were ahead 4-2 on the scoreboard and 55-13 on the shot clock. . . . Moose Jaw stretched its lead in the third period as Burke (21) scored, shorthanded, at 5:50, and F Ryan Peckford (16) added another at 13:22. . . . D Dawson Barteaux (2) got Red Deer’s third goal, on a PP, at 14:41. . . . Peckford also had an assist. . . . The Rebels got two assists from D Alex Alexeyev and one each from Barteaux and McCarty. . . . Red Deer was 2-6 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 1-5. . . . G Brody Willms made 18 saves for the visitors. . . . At the other end, Riley Lamb turned aside 63 shots. . . . Announced attendance: 4,034.
11-3) have won six in a row and lead the Western Conference by three points over Everett. The Rockets also lead the B.C. Division, by four points over Vancouver. . . . The Americans (20-11-5) had points in each of their previous seven games (5-0-2). They are third in the U.S. Division, two points behind Portland. . . . F Nolan Foote (11) got Kelowna into a 4-4 tie, at 3:42 of the third period, and F Conner Bruggen-Cate snapped the tie with his second goal of the game and eighth of the season, at 4:36. . . . Bruggen-Cate had opened the scoring at 6:29, with F Carsen Twarynski upping it to 2-0 at 14:46. . . . F Nolan Yaremko (12) got the Americans on the scoreboard at 15:51, only to have Twarynski (26) get it back, on a PP, at 18:21. . . . The Americans scored the game’s next three goal, with F Jordan Topping (19) scoring, on a PP, at 3:39 of the second period; F Parker AuCoin (8) counting, while shorthanded, 20 seconds into the third period; and F Brett Clayton (3) providing a 4-3 lead at 2:55. . . . The Rockets got two assists from each of Foote, F Kole Lind and F Kyle Topping, with Twarynski adding one. . . . Yaremko had two assists for the the Americans, with AuCoin getting one. . . . Each of the teams was 1-3 on the PP. . . . G James Porter Jr. stopped 24 shots to earn the victory. . . . Each of Tri-City’s goaltenders made two appearances. Tri-City starter Beck Warm and reliever Patrick Dea combined to stop 31 shots. . . . Announced attendance: 5,187.
TAKING NOTE 