Great Scott! Raiders goalie turns sniper as mates run win streak to 12 . . . Blichfeld, Glass (again) lead ‘Hawks . . . Giants romp past Pats

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Ian Scott of the Prince Albert Raiders became the eighth goaltender in WHL history to score a goal when he notched an empty-netter in a 3-1 victory over the visiting Tri-City Americans on Friday night.

On Wednesday, in a 2-0 victory over the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers, Scott had taken a shot at an empty net, only to have the puck hit the scoreclock in the Art Hauser Centre.

Given another opportunity two nights later, Scott made no mistake.

“He made a liar out of me. I thought it’d be tough in this building,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid told Jeff D’Andrea of panow.com. “He got good wood on that one, he hammered it and it went in. Last time it was a two-goal lead, and that time it was one, so I’m glad he hit the net or it would have been a faceoff in our end again. Good for him.”

Scott told D’Andrea: “I mentioned to Habby, maybe I not go so high, just kind of a bullet down the middle. I guess it worked out. I thought it was going to get picked off. It was a pretty congested middle . . . got lucky.”

D’Andrea’s complete story is right here.

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Here’s a look at the other seven goaltenders who have WHL goals to their credit, in chronological order . . .

Nov. 29, 1989 — Olaf Kolzig, Tri-City Americans 5, Seattle Thunderbirds 2, at Kennewick, Wash. He grabbed a Seattle clearance behind his net and lofted a wrist shot the length of the ice and just inside the left post.

“That was the coolest thing, for sure,” Kolzig, who also had an assist, told Annie Fowler when she looked back six years ago.“Ron Hextall was my idol. He was the first to score. Up to that point, I hadn’t been having a good season. I got back from Washington (Capitals training camp) with a bad attitude. My save percentage and goals against weren’t worth anything at that point.

“They had pulled their goalie, and we were up 4-2. The puck went behind the net. I went back to get it, and I want to say I lifted it 20 feet in the air, but it was about three feet. By the time it was halfway down the ice, it started to curl, and it just went inside the post.”

——

Jan. 3, 1991 — Chris Osgood of the host Medicine Hat Tigers scored in a 4-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. Like Kolzig before him, Osgood fired the puck the length of the ice for his goal.
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Dec. 29, 1992 — Jeff Calvert came on in relief for the Tacoma Rockets and scored a goal and added an assist as they erased a 4-0 deficit to beat the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors, 6-4.

Calvert, who is from Moose Jaw, had taken over for starter Todd MacDonald at 9:30 of the first period with Tacoma trailing, 3-0.

Former Tacoma defenceman Dallas Thompson once told me: “I would bet he was the only goalie in history to score in a game he never started.”

——

March 28, 1994 — Jason Clague of the Red Deer Rebels was credited with the winning goal in a 4-2 victory over the host Lethbridge Hurricanes. He is the only WHL goaltender to have scored a goal during a playoff game.

“It will likely get more humorous every time I tell the story, but I think the main thing for us tonight was winning the game,” Clague told Cameron Yoos of the Lethbridge Herald.

Yoos described the goal:

Clague’s historic marker came in the third period with Red Deer clinging to a 2-1 lead, its first lead in the series. On a delayed penalty call, Hurricanes goaltender Slan Matwijiw began skating to the bench for an extra attacker while teammate Dominic Pittis handled the puck behind the Rebels’ goal. Pittis spoiled Ivan Vologjaninov cruising through the slot and fed a pass lo the middle. Vologjaninov wound up for a one-time slapshot, but fanned on the puck, which then slid the length of the ice into the open goal.”

Matwijiw told Yoos: “It was kind of a sick feeling.”

——

March 5, 2004 — Jordan McLaughlin of the Prince George Cougars scored at 19:05 of the third period in a 4-1 victory over the host Vancouver Giants.

“This is definitely a career highlight for me,” McLaughlin said. “Every time a team pulls their goalie, the possibility of scoring is in the back of your mind. We had a two-goal lead and the puck was dumped perfectly into me, so I saw it as a perfect opportunity.”

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Feb. 1, 2014 — Chris Driedger of the Calgary Hitmen was credited with a goal in a 5-2 loss to the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook, B.C.

Driedger was awarded the game’s first goal, at 5:45 of the first period, when, during a delayed penalty against Calgary F Jake Virtanen, Ice G Mackenzie Skapski headed to the bench for the extra attacker. Kootenay D Jagger Dirk whipped the puck around the boards to F Zach Franko, who attempted a pass to the point. However, the puck zipped past F Jaedon Descheneau, who had come of the bench as the extra attacker, and into the vacated net. Dreidger had made the save that led to Dirk getting the rebound. As the last Calgary player to touch the puck, Driedger was given the goal.

——

March 19, 2016 — Stuart Skinner of the Lethbridge Hurricanes gave his side an 8-3 lead in what would be a 9-3 victory over the host Medicine Hat Tigers.

“It was funny because before the period I (said) ‘If they pull their goalie, give me the puck,’ ” Skinner told Dale Woodard of the Lethbridge Herald. “Surprisingly enough, they dumped it in and I had an open chance. I got it over everyone and somehow it went it. So I’m pretty excited. I definitely felt good when it was in the air and when it went in it was a feeling I can’t really describe right now. It was a really exciting moment. I have shivers going through my whole body, so it’s really cool.”


“In moving on Thursday to free owners of the OHL from treating their employees as such ohlunder law,” writes Cathal Kelly of The Globe and Mail, “Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government congratulated itself on ‘protecting the long-term sustainability of local junior teams.’

“The government’s news release on the matter referred to its support of ‘the People Protecting Amateur Hockey,’ which would be a pretty good name for a secessionist group of Saskatchewan freedom fighters.

“The upshot here is that Ontario Hockey League players are excluded from the Employment Standards Act. They exist legally under the slippery formulation of ‘student athletics.’ ”

Kelly’s complete column is right here.


Byron Hackett of the Red Deer Advocate has joined the club advocating the death of the loser point, at least in the WHL. . . . The column that gained him admittance into the club is right here.


If you stop off here and enjoy what you see — or even if you don’t — feel free to click on the DONATE button over there on the right and make a contribution. Thanks in advance.


FRIDAY NIGHT HIGHLIGHTS:

F Ridley Greig had a goal and two assists to lead the host Brandon Wheat Kings to a 4-1 BrandonWKregularvictory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Brandon (10-4-6) has points in three straight (2-0-1). . . . Medicine Hat (9-11-3) has lost five in a row (0-4-1). . . . The home team took control with two first-period goals, from Greig (3) and F Linden McCorrister (4). . . . F Baxter Anderson (1) scored for the Tigers at 1:34 of the second period. . . . Brandon F Ben McCartney, who has four goals, put it away with a pair of third-period scores, Greig assisting on both of them. . . . Greig was playing his first game since returning from the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. Greig, 16, is from Lethbridge. He was the eighth-overall pick in the 2017 WHL bantam draft. This season, he has three goals and seven assists in 15 games. . . . G Ethan Kruger stopped 34 shots to earn the victory in his fourth appearance of the season. He is 2-0-2, 2.69, .915. . . . The Wheat Kings held a 53-35 edge in shots, including 26-7 in the first period. . . . G Jordan Hollett went the distance for the Tigers. . . . D Schael Higson, who hasn’t played for Brandon since Oct. 16, is back skating so could be nearing a return. He had 12 points, nine of them assists, in eight games when he went out.


G Ian Scott scored a goal and stopped 24 shots to help the Prince Albert Raiders to a 3-1 PrinceAlbertvictory over the visiting Tri-City Americans. . . . The Raiders (19-1-0) have won 12 in a row. . . . The Americans (12-7-0) are 7-3-0 on an 11-game road trip. They are 2-3-0 in the East Division. . . . On Wednesday night, Scott had taken a shot at an empty net, only to have the puck strike the scoreboard (see above tweet). In a similar play last night, Scott reached the promised land for goaltenders. . . . F Krystof Hrabik (6) gave the Americans a 1-0 lead at 1:11 of the third period. . . . D Sergei Sapego (6) tied it, on a PP, at 5:44. The Raiders claimed Sapego, who is from Belarus, on waivers from the Americans last season. . . . Raiders F Brett Leason drew an assist on Sapego’s goal to run his point streak to 20 games. . . . D Brayden Pachal (2) broke the tie at 7:06 and Scott added the insurance at 19:44. . . . This season, Scott is 16-1-0, 1.47, .947.


G Ethan Anders stopped 28 shots to lead the host Red Deer Rebels to a 7-0 victory over Red Deerthe Kelowna Rockets. . . . Red Deer (14-5-1) has won three in a row. . . . The Rockets (8-13-1) have lost four in a row (0-3-1) and are 1-3-1 on a six-game road trip. This was the third time they have been blanked this season and the second time in four games. . . . Anders has two shutouts this season and three in his career. This season, he is 12-4-1, 2.80, .922. . . . F Brandon Hagel (14) got the Rebels started with a shorthanded goal at 11:03 of the first period. Hagel also had two assists. . . . The Rebels got goals from seven different players, including F Dallon Melin (1) and F Jeff de Wit (13). . . . Red Deer was 2-4 on the PP and also scored twice while shorthanded.


G Jack McNaughton turned aside 19 shots as the Calgary Hitmen skated to a 5-0 victory Calgaryover the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook, B.C. . . . The Hitmen (7-12-2) have won two in a row. . . . The Ice is 7-13-3. . . . This was the Ice’s first home game since the Green Bay Committee, which had been struck in an attempt to sell tickets and sponsorships to aid the team, ceased operations on Tuesday. The committee cited a lack of engagement by the Ice’s ownership for the decision. . . . The announced attendance was 2,395 as they honoured the Cranbrook Colts, a team that started out in junior B and moved to junior A before folding when the Ice arrived in 1998. . . . McNaughton, a 17-year-old freshman from Calgary, posted his first WHL shutout in his 10th appearance. . . . F Ryder Korczak, who went into the game with two goals, scored twice for Calgary, opening the scoring at 6:26 of the first period and closing it at 19:49 of the third. . . . F Jake Kryski had a goal, his 10th, and an assist in his 299th regular-season game. . . . Calgary had a 42-19 edge in shots, including 19-5 in the third period.


F Taylor Ross scored in the fifth round of the shootout to give the host Lethbridge LethbridgeHurricanes a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Lethbridge improved to 9-6-4. . . . Edmonton (13-7-3) has points in 10 straight (8-0-2). . . . The Oil Kings thought they had won it at 1:38 of OT when they believed that F Trey Fix-Wolansky had scored. In fact, the Oil Kings left the Ice in celebration, but had to return when it was ruled no goal. . . . Edmonton took a 2-0 lead on second-period goals from F Vince Loschiavo (11), on a PP, and F Jalen Luypen (3). . . . F Jake Elmer got Lethbridge to within a goal at 4:32 of the third period, and Ross tied it at 18:52, with G Reece Klassen on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Klassen finished with 35 saves. . . . The Oil Kings gave G Dylan Myskiw his sixth straight start and he responded with 29 saves. They also have returned G Sebastian Cossa, who turns 16 on Nov. 21, to the midget AAA Fort Saskatchewan Rangers.


F Joachim Blickheld struck for three goals and added an assist to help the Portland PortlandWinterhawks to a 5-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Silvertips had beaten the visiting Winterhawks, 3-2 in a shootout, on Wednesday night. . . . Portland (13-6-2) has points in seven straight (6-0-1). . . . Everett (15-7-0) had won its previous five games. . . . F Jake Gricius (10) scored, on a PP, to give the Winterhawks a 1-0 lead at 3:40 of the first period. . . . F Jalen Price (3) tied it at 8:04. . . . Blichfeld scored the game’s next three goals, giving him a WHL-leading 20 snipes. He scored once in each period — at 10:09 of the first, 18:58 of the second and 3:05 of the third. . . . Blichfeld now has 43 points in 21 games and trails only Edmonton F Trey Fix-Wolansky in the scoring race. Fix-Wolansky has 46 points. . . . F Cody Glass had three assists for Portland. He has 38 points, 31 of them assists, in 18 games. . . . Glass is on an eight-game point streak, with 18 points, including 15 assists, in that stretch. . . . Everett F Connor Dewar had an 11-game point streak snapped. He put up 12 goals and nine assists over that time.


D Nolan Reid scored twice as the Spokane Chiefs doubled the visiting Seattle SpokaneChiefsThunderbirds, 4-2. . . . The Chiefs (11-7-3) have won three in a row. . . . The Thunderbirds ((7-9-2) have lost seven straight (0-6-1). . . . F Carter Chorney (8) got the Chiefs started at 11:13 of the first period, with F Zack Andrusiak (9) scoring shorthanded at 2:52 of the second for Seattle. . . . Reid, who has five goals, broke the tie at 1:26 of the third period and F Adam Beckman (9) provided the Chiefs with a 3-1 lead at 10:50. . . . Seattle F Tyler Carpendale (1) and Reid, with an empty-netter, traded goals down the stretch. . . . The Chiefs remain without injured F Jake McGrew.


F Milos Roman scored twice and added an assist, while F Davis Koch had three assists, Vancouverhelping the Vancouver Giants to a 10-4 victory over the Regina Pats in Langley, B.C. . . . Vancouver improved to 14-4-2, while the Pats (7-14-0) lost their second in a row. . . . The Giants took control with the game’s first four goals, all in the first 15 minutes. . . . Roman now has 10 goals. . . . F Tristen Nielsen scored twice for Vancouver his first goals since coming over from the Calgary Hitmen in a deal that had F James Malm go the other way. . . . F Yannik Valenti also had two Vancouver goals, giving him four. . . . F Nick Henry had three goals and an assist for Regina, with F Jake Leschyshyn getting a goal and two assists. Henry has 11 goals; Leschyshyn has 14. . . . Vancouver outshot Regina, 45-28, including 19-10 in the first period and 17-8 in the second. . . . The Pats were without F Logan Nijhoff, who served a one-game suspension after he took a boarding major and game misconduct during a 5-2 loss to the host Kootenay Ice on Tuesday.


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All quiet on the Kootenay front . . . Raiders roll to another victory . . . ‘Tips win battle of U.S. Division leaders


MacBeth

D Jonathon Blum (Vancouver, 2005-09) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Dinamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL). Last season, as an alternate captain with Admiral Vladivostok (Russia, KHL), he had one goal and 10 assists in 43 games. He also had three assists in 10 games with Sochi (Russia, KHL). . . .

F Zach Boychuk (Lethbridge, 2005-09) has been released by mutual agreement by Severstal Cherepovets (Russia, KHL). He had two goals and two assists in 25 games. . . .

F Marek Tvrdoň (Vancouver, Kelowna, 2010-14) has signed a contract for the rest of the season with the Nottingham Panthers (England, UK Elite). He had been released by Klagenfurt II (Austria, Alps HL) after the end of a tryout contract on Nov. 11. He had three goals and three assists in six games. . . . Tvrdoň started the season with Saryarka Karaganda (Kazakhstan, Russia Vysshaya Liga), scoring once in four games.


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As readers stopped by here late Tuesday night and on through Wednesday, they learned that the Green Bay Committee had shut it down in Cranbrook, B.C., having started to whlbelieve that the Kootenay Ice, the WHL franchise its members had been working to save, is in its final season there.

The committee had been selling tickets and raising money through sponsorships for the Ice in the hopes of keeping the team in the 4,264-seat Western Financial Place.

With all signs pointing to a departure at season’s end, readers started to suggest possible landing spots, other than Winnipeg. Among those mentioned, in no particular order, were New Westminster, Billings, Chilliwack, Anchorage, Wenatchee, Penticton and Vernon.

None of those will be a destination, of course, as it seems the Ice is destined to end up in Winnipeg playing out of the East Division, while the Swift Current Broncos would slide back into the Central Division.

When that happens, Cranbrook will be home to an arena that meets WHL standards — including new lighting, boards and glass, and with plans for a new scoreboard with video boards to be installed in time for 2019-20.

Perhaps the one thing missing would be a team.

But there already are people in Cranbrook who are wondering if there might be another WHL team interested in relocating.

For starters, you can forget about the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders and Swift Current Broncos. These are the four remaining community-owned franchises and they aren’t going anywhere.

But . . .

New owners took over the Prince George Cougars in time for the 2014-15 season and admit that they have been bleeding money. This season, the announced average attendance in Prince George is 2,521 through 11 games. Last season, the final figure was 3,024.

Might the Cougars’ ownership be interested in at least kicking some tires?

Meanwhile, the Tri-City Americans averaged 3,053 fans for seven playoff games last spring after a regular season in which that figure was 3,649. But the Toyota Center, which opened in 1988, needs help

A year ago, the Tri-City Herald published a story that centred on the needed improvements and included this:

“Neither (WHL commissioner Ron) Robison nor (Americans general manager Bob) Tory suggested the Americans might leave Kennewick. But they didn’t deny the possibility either.

“Tory said team expenses have doubled under current ownership while revenue has been flat.

“ ‘There comes a time when that doesn’t make sense any more,’ Tory said.”

Voters in Kennewick, Wash., have twice rejected a sales tax that would have had money directed to Toyota Center improvements.

A year ago, there really wasn’t another option for teams like the Cougars or Americans. That changes if/when the Ice heads for the Manitoba capital.

Interestingly, Tory is quite familiar with Cranbrook, having worked as Kootenay’s general manager for two seasons (1998-2000).


All was quiet on the Kootenay Ice front on Wednesday, the day after a local committee that was working towards ensuring that the WHL franchise stays in Cranbrook, B.C., chose to cease operations.

In a letter to Matt Cockell, the Ice’s president and general manager, as well as one of its Kootenaynewtwo owners, the Green Bay Committee cited a lack of support from the Ice’s owners, Greg Fettes and Cockell, in its decision.

Fettes and Cockell, both with ties to Winnipeg, purchased the franchise prior to last season. This season has been loaded with speculation that the franchise will be relocated to Winnipeg before another season arrives.

Of late, however, there has only been silence from the Ice.

“The silence is deafening,” John Hudak, the committee’s marketing director, told the Cranbrook Daily Townsman. “I can’t speak for the owners of the team, I’m not a mind-reader and I don’t know what they are planning on doing, but it’s just highly unusual that people who have been in town for a very short period of time are not making that comment. If they have attendance problems (and) then they aren’t making any comments here to us and (aren’t) willing to engage with us . . . It’s disturbing.”

Hudak’s committee had invited Cockell to attend meetings. Hudak told Taking Note on Wednesday that Cockell’s refusal to attend “surprised” the committee.

Hudak said there was a “representative of the Ice, but not a decision-maker” at the committee’s first meeting on Oct. 25.

Hudak told Global News-Winnipeg on Wednesday that the Ice’s lack of engagement is “probably the single biggest thing that has impacted our ability to lock up some ticket sales.

“Why should we support this if these people aren’t going to remain in the community.

“(We) haven’t heard from the Ice ownership if it will remain . . . their silence on the subject has become deafening.”

Global News reported that “Fettes has also partnered with Brad Rice, who opened Winnipeg’s The Rink Training Facility in 2009, and is building a new facility south of the city. Sources have told Global News a new 5,000-seat arena is planned to be developed on the site to accommodate the WHL team.”

In September, Fettes told Global: “As a fan, parent, and owner, I am passionate about hockey development in Winnipeg and across Canada. Because of this passion, I am involved with The Rink Player Development and their new facility at McGillivray and Loudon, including their expansion and development in the surrounding area.”

Kootenay’s next home game is scheduled for Friday night when the Calgary Hitmen are in town. Jeff Chynoweth is Calgary’s general manager. Fettes and Cockell purchased the Ice from Chynoweth, his brother, Dean, and their mother, Linda.


The B.C. Sports Hall of Fame revealed Wednesday that Ron Toigo, the majority owner of the Vancouver Giants, will received the 2019 W.A.C. Bennett Award for contribution to sport in the province. . . . The award will be presented during the Hall of Fame’s induction gala on May 23 in Vancouver. . . . Toigo has owned the Giants since purchasing an expansion franchise that began play in the 2000-01 season. He has been instrumental in having the 2006 and 2019 World Junior Championships played in Vancouver, as well as the 2007 Memorial Cup. . . . Toigo already is in the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame and the Delta, B.C., Sports Hall of Fame.


G Gavin McHale, who made 45 WHL appearances over two seasons (2004-06), got to watch an NHL game while wearing the uniform of the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night. With starter Braden Holtby a late scratch due to an undisclosed injury that is believed to be minor, the Capitals started Pheonix Copley against the host Winnipeg Jets and brought in McHale, a 31-year-old from Winnipeg, as the emergency backup. . . . The Jets won the game, 3-1. . . . McHale, who made 33 appearances with the Seattle Thunderbirds and 12 with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, is the goaltender coach for the women’s hockey team at the U of Manitoba. . . . The 6-foot-7 McHale had been in the backup role once before. In February, he spent the third period on the Colorado Avalanche’s bench in support of Semyon Varlamov, who went in to replace the injured Jonathan Bernier.


The BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings have signed Alex Evin, their director of player personnel and associate coach, to a two-year extension that runs through the 2020-21 season. . . . Evin is in his second season with the Spruce Kings. . . . Adam Maglio, the Spruce Kings’ head coach, also is signed through 2020-21, as is general manager Mike Hawes.


If you stop off here and enjoy what you see — or even if you don’t — feel free to click on the DONATE button over there on the right and make a contribution. Thanks in advance.


WEDNESDAY NIGHT HIGHLIGHTS:

G Ian Scott blocked 43 shots to lead the host Prince Albert Raiders to their 11th straight PrinceAlbertvictory, this time beating the Medicine Hat Tigers, 2-0. . . . The Raiders (18-1-0) now lead the overall standings by six points over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Tigers (9-10-3) have lost four in a row (0-3-1). . . . Scott even took a shot at an empty-net goal, only to have the scoreboard in the Art Hauser Centre get in the way. “He thought he was Marty Brodeur at the end there with the shot,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid told Jeff D’Andrea of panow.com. “I thought it had a pretty good chance. He got some good weight on it and she was going. But then the clock obviously got in the way. That was the end of that.” . . . F Brett Leason (18) scored the game’s first goal, while shorthanded, at 8:58 of the second period. . . . F Noah Gregor (9) added insurance at 11:16 of the third. . . . Leason has at least one point in all 19 Prince Albert games this season. He and F Stelio Mattheos of the Brandon Wheat Kings are tied for the WHL lead in goals. . . . Scott has three shutouts this season and six in his career. On the season, he is 15-1-0, 1.50, .946. . . . BTW, the Raiders now have scored 11 times while shorthanded; their WHL-leading penalty-killers have surrendered only seven goals. . . . D’Andrea’s story is right here.

G Beck Warm turned aside 24 shots to help the Tri-City Americans to a 3-0 victory over tri-citythe Broncos in Swift Current. . . . The Americans now are 12-6-0. This was Game 9 of an 11-game road trip on which they are 7-2-0, including 2-2-0 in the East Division. . . . The Broncos (4-16-2) have lost four in a row (0-3-1). . . . Warm had one shutout this season and two in his career. . . . F Kyle Olson (4) opened the scoring at 4:20 of the first period, with F Krystof Hrabik (5) made it 2-0 at 19:15. . . . F Isaac Johnson scored his seventh goal into an empty net at 19:56 of the third period. . . . The Broncos remain without D Matthew Stanley, while F Eric Houk now has missed two games since being injured in a fight with F Carter Massier during a 2-0 loss to the Pats in Regina on Saturday.


F Josh Maser scored the winner in OT and also had two assists to lead the Prince George PrinceGeorgeCougars to a 4-3 victory over the visiting Kelowna Rockets. . . . Prince George (9-8-3) has won two in a row. . . . Kelowna (8-12-1) has lost three straight (0-2-1). . . . F Matej Toman (3) gave the Cougars a 2-1 lead, on a PP, at 10:05 of the second period. . . . Kelowna took a 3-2 lead on third-period goals from F Lane Zablocki (2), at 0:55, and F Kyle Topping (9), shorthanded, at 12:07. . . . F Vladislav Mikhalchuk (4) pulled the Cougars even at 19:43. . . . Maser won it with his sixth goal of the season with six seconds left in extra time.


F Riley Sutter’s shootout goal gave the host Everett Silvertips a 3-2 victory over the EverettPortland Winterhawks. . . . The Silvertips (15-6-0) have won five straight. . . . The Winterhawks (12-6-2) had their five-game winning streak snapped. . . . Everett leads the U.S. Division, by four points over Portland, which holds a game in hand. . . . The Silvertips led this one 2-0 in the first period on PP goals from F Connor Dewar (16), at 2:27, and F Bryce Kindopp (8), at 12:25. . . . The Winterhawks got third-period goals from F Reece Newkirk (13), at 3:14, and F Ryan Hughes (7), at 3:55. . . . Dewar and Portland F Joachim Blichfeld each scored in the first round of the shootout. Sutter, the first shooter in the third round, got the winner. . . . The Silvertips got 39 saves from G Dustin Wolf, while Portland’s Shane Farkas blocked 41.


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https://twitter.com/edz1/status/1062854440355454976

WJC in Everett/Seattle? Why not in 2025? . . . Paddock, Farkas put up clean sheets . . . Silvertips roll past Thunderbirds


MacBeth

F Johannes Salmonsson (Spokane, 2005-06) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Timrå (Sweden, SHL). Last season, he had five goals and seven assists in 52 games with the Iserlohn Roosters (Germany, DEL).


ThisThat

As was reported earlier in the week, Team USA will stop off in Everett and Kamloops before starting play in the 2019 World Junior Championship that opens in Vancouver and 2019wjcVictoria on Dec. 26.

Team USA will hold its selection camp at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett from Dec. 14-18, and then will go to Kamloops for its pre-tournament camp from Dec. 19-23.

While this is big news for Kamloops, it is huge news for the Pacific Northwest. In fact, I would suggest that the World Junior Championship will be held in Everett and Seattle in 2025, that is if everything goes according to plan and Seattle has an NHL franchise at the time.

Why 2025? Because that’s the next time the tournament is scheduled to be held in the U.S.

The Silvertips are owned by Consolidated Sports Holding (CSH).

“That’s the whole underlying thing,” Zoran Rajcic, the COO of CSH, told Josh Horton of the Everett Herald, “to not only help them out in a close location to where they’re going to be for this year’s World Juniors, (but get) a chance for us to sit down with USA Hockey (to find out) if they’d consider us hosting a future World Juniors in Everettt.”

John Vanbiesbrouck, the former NHL goaltender who is in his first go-round as general manager of USA Hockey’s national junior team, told Horton:

“We’re still a ways out. But we’re also looking at the impact that Seattle is going to have on the NHL and, between Seattle and Everett, it’s certainly a possibility and something that we haven’t had on the West Coast for some time, if ever. It’s lining up to be a decent fit and hopefully we can take (a look) as it gets closer at it becoming a reality.”

Gord Miller of TSN tweeted on Feb. 12 that the IIHF has reportedly picked these host countries for the next 14 WJCs:

2019: Vancouver and Victoria.

2020: Czech Republic

2021: Canada

2022: Sweden

2023: Russia

2024: Canada

2025: U.S.

2026: Canada

2027: Finland

2028: Czech Republic

2029: Canada

2030: USA

2031: Russa

2032: Canada


There has been ample speculation that an arena will be built in Winnipeg and that it Kootenaynewwould eventually be home to the Kootenay Ice, a WHL team that presently plays in Cranbrook, B.C. . . . The Ice’s owners, Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell, both were in Winnipeg when they purchased the franchise prior to the 2016-17 season. Cockell relocated to Cranbrook, with his family, as president and general manager. . . . The Winnipeg Free Press reported recently that the Ice would move to Winnipeg, likely in time for next season, and that the team would play out of an arena on the campus of the U of Manitoba until a 5,000-seat arena, built in conjunction to the Rink Hockey Academy, was ready for use. . . . Mike Sawatzky, who has been covering this story for the Free Press, reported Saturday:

“Reeve Brad Erb, who was recently re-elected, told the Free Press this week he has not been approached by representatives of the WHL’s Kootenay Ice for approval to build an arena adjacent to the Rink Hockey Academy (RHA) on the west end of South Landing and just off McGillivray Boulevard.

“A new facility for the RHA, which is currently under construction, lies within the municipality’s boundries.”

Erb told Sawatzky: “I’ve not officially had any introduction or conversation with anyone regarding a Western Hockey League team. I’m more curious than anything about some of the rumours that are out there and whether there’s any truth to them or not. That’s kinda where we stand.”

Sawatzky’s story is right here.


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SATURDAY NIGHT HIGHLIGHTS:

F Reese Johnson’s shootout goal gave the visiting Red Deer Rebels a 4-3 victory over the Red DeerMoose Jaw Warriors. . . . Red Deer improved to 12-5-1, while Moose Jaw now is 7-5-4. . . . The Warriors erased a 3-1 deficit in the final 2:04 of the third period. . . . F Ryan Peckford (4) got Moose Jaw to within a goal at 17:56, with his second goal of the game, and F Daniil Stepanov (3) tied it at 18:26. . . . Johnson was the first shooter in the fourth round of the shootout. F Oleg Zaytsev had scored for Red Deer in the second round, with F Peckford quickly replying for the Warriors. . . . F Jeff de Wit scored his 12th goal for Red Deer as he ran his goal streak to six games. He has 12 goals in 18 games; he went into this season with 30 goals in 247 career regular-season games. Last season, de Wit finished with 11 goals in 43 games — one goal in seven games with the Regina Pats, two in 15 with the Kootenay Ice and eight in 21 with the Victoria Royals. He also had an assist last night, and now has 21 points, two shy of his career high, in 70 games, with Red Deer in 2015-16. . . . The Rebels were without D Jacob Herauf, who was injured during a 6-3 loss to the Wheat Kings in Brandon on Friday. . . . F Justin Almeida was among Moose Jaw’s scratches. He suffered an undisclosed injury while playing for Team WHL in the CIBC Canada Russia Series in Kamloops on Monday. . . . The Rebels will meet the Broncos in Swift Current this afternoon in what will be the third game in fewer than 48 hours for both teams.


G Max Paddock stopped 20 shots to record his first WHL shutout as the host Regina Pats Patsgot past the Swift Current Broncos, 2-0. . . . The Pats (7-12-0) have won three in a row and four of five. . . . The Broncos (3-16-0) had lost two in a row. They have been blanked three times this season. . . . These teams have met three times this season and the Pats have won all three. . . . F Jake Leschyshyn (13) gave Regina a 1-0 lead at 19:22 of the first period, and F Scott Mahovlich (3) got the insurance marker at 2:03 of the second. . . . Paddock’s first shutout came in his 54th regular-season appearance. This season, he is 5-10-0, 3.82, .883. . . . Among the Broncos scratches were F Owen Blocker and D Garrett Sambrook, with undisclosed injuries, and D Matthew Stanley, who is ill and missed a second straight game. . . . The Pats will play their next six games on the road; they next play at home on Dec. 1.


The Saskatoon Blades got 31 saves from G Nolan Maier as they beat the Kootenay Ice, 2-1, Saskatoonin Cranbrook, B.C. . . . The Blades (12-7-2) have won two in a row. . . . The Ice (6-11-3) has lost four straight. . . . F Gary Haden (6) opened the scoring, giving Saskatoon the lead at 8:41 of the first period. That was his fifth goal in eight games since being acquired from the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Ice tied it when F Cole Muir (4) scored at 18:59. . . . Saskatoon D Seth Bafaro (2) broke the tie at 4:29 of the second period. . . . Maier was named the game’s first star for the second night in a row. On Friday, he turned aside 35 shots in a 3-1 victory over the Tigers in Medicine Hat. . . . This season, Maier is 10-5-1, 2.84, .910. . . . Kootenay D Jonathan Smart played in his 200th regular-season game. A 19-year-old from Kelowna, he also has played with the Rockets (68 games) and Regina Pats (64 games).


F Brett Kemp started the scoring and he ended it as the Edmonton Oil Kings beat the host EdmontonOilKingsMedicine Hat Tigers, 4-3, in OT. . . . Edmonton (12-7-2) has points in eight straight (7-0-1). . . . Medicine Hat (9-8-3) has lost two in a row. . . . Kemp, who has 14 goals, gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 9:20 of the second period and he won it at 1:11 of extra time. . . . These teams went into the third period tied 1-1. . . . D Trevor Longo’s first WHL goal gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead at 5:50. . . . The Oil Kings went ahead 3-2 on PP goals from F Vince Loschiavo (9), at 8:21, and F Andrei Pavlenko (5), at 11:19. . . . Medicine Hat forced OT when F Hayden Ostir (7) scored, on a PP, at 13:50. . . . F Trey Fix-Wolansky of the Oil Kings had two assists and moved into the lead in the WHL scoring race, He has 42 points, two more than F Brett Leason of the Prince Albert Raiders, who didn’t play last night. Fix-Wolansky has a WHL-high 30 assists.


G Shane Farkas blocked 26 shots in earning his first shutout of the season as the Portland PortlandWinterhawks beat the visiting Kelowna Rockets, 3-0. . . . Portland (11-6-1) has won four straight. . . . Kelowna (8-11-0) had won its previous four games. . . . This was the Rockets’ first loss under head coach Adam Foote, who had been 4-0-0 since replacing Jason Smith. . . . Farkas had three shutouts last season. . . . F Joachim Blickfeld (15), who was credited with 10 shots on goal, gave Portland a 1-0 lead at 3:20 of the first period. He also had two assists. . . . F Cody Glass (7) made it 2-0 at 6:43 of the second period, with F Reece Newkirk (11) putting it away at 11:04 of the third. . . . Portland finished with a 50-26 edge in shots. . . . Blichfeld has 38 points in 18 games. . . . Glass has 31 points in 15 games. . . . The same teams meet again today in Portland.


F Connor Dewar scored twice to lead the Everett Silvertips to a 5-1 victory over the EverettSeattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash. . . . Everett (13-6-0) has won three straight and leads the U.S. Division. . . . The Silvertips, who now have won six straight on the road, have won both meetings with the Thunderbirds this season. . . . Seattle (7-8-2) has lost five in a row. . . . Everett took control of this game in the first period, when it outshot Seattle, 18-1, and emerged with a 3-0 lead. . . . Dewar, who has 14 goals, got it started at 2:57, with F Jalen Price (1) scoring at 7:44, and D Wyatte Wylie (3) making it 3-0 at 18:19. . . . Dewar made it 4-0 at 5:59 of the third period. . . .  Everett F Akash Bains was among the scratches. He scored twice in Kamloops on Friday night before leaving with an apparent knee injury. . . . The Silvertips, 6-1 victors over the Blazers in Kamloops on Friday night, are back in Kamloops today for a 5 p.m. start.


G Trent Miner turned aside 32 shots to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 2-1 victory over Vancouverthe Prince George Cougars in Langley, B.C. . . . Vancouver (13-3-2) has won three in a row. . . . Prince George (7-8-3) had won its previous two games. . . . These teams will play again this afternoon in Langley. . . . Miner’s evening included 17 saves in the third period. . . . F Connor Bowie (1) have the Cougars a 1-0 lead at 6:10 of the first period. . . . The Giants won it with second-period goals from F Tyler Ho (1), at 11:44, and F Cyle McNabb (1), at 15:07.


D Filip Kral had a goal and two assists to help the Spokane Chiefs to a 7-2 victory over the SpokaneChiefsRoyals in Victoria. . . . The Chiefs (9-7-3) had lost three in a row. . . . The Royals (10-6-0) had beaten the visiting Chiefs, 7-5, on Friday night. . . . F Luke Toporowski (6) of the Chiefs broke a 1-1 tie on a PP, at 13:38 of the first period. . . . Kral got his first goal of the season at 18:53. . . . F Eli Zummack (7) made it 3-1 just nine seconds into the second period as the Chiefs took control. . . . Kral drew assists on the goals by Toporowski and Zummack. . . . The Chiefs finished with two empty-net goals. . . . F Jake McGrew, who played for the Chiefs on Friday, was scratched from this one. He’s got six goals and nine assists in 16 games.


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Humboldt mourns loss of legend . . . Goaltenders shine in WHL games . . . Broncos win second OT in row


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SATURDAY NIGHT NOTES:

G Ethan Anders stopped 34 shots to lead the visiting Red Deer Rebels to a 1-0 victory over Red Deerthe Calgary Hitmen in an afternoon affair. . . . Red Deer (11-4-1) has won three in a row. . . . Calgary (5-10-2) is 0-3-1 against Red Deer this season, having lost three of those games by one goal. . . . Anders was especially busy in the third period when the Hitmen, helped by three straight PP opportunities, held a 16-1 edge in shots. He has one shutout this season and two in his career. . . . F Jeff de Wit (10) scored the game’s only goal, on a PP, at 17:34 of the first period, redirecting a point shot by D Dawson Barteaux past G Jack McNaughton. . . . D Alex Alexeyev had an assist to run his point streak to seven games. He has four goals and seven assists over that stretch. For the season, he has 21 points, 14 of them assists, in 16 games. Alexeyev is the only WHLer on the Russian roster for the first two games of the CIBC Canada-Russia series in Kamloops and Langley, B.C., on Monday and Tuesday nights. . . . G Cam Ward of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, who played with Red Deer, was in the Saddledome and stopped by to see the Rebels before the game. The Blackhawks played the host Flames last night.


F Keenan Taphorn scored two goals to help his new team, the host Moose Jaw Warriors, MooseJawWarriorsbeat his old team, the Kootenay Ice, 5-1. . . . The Warriors improved to 7-5-3. . . . The Ice (6-9-3) has lost two in a row. . . . Taphorn’s fourth goal, at 7:14 of the second period, gave the home team a 2-0 lead, and his fifth goal of the season, on a PP, handed Moose Jaw a 4-1 edge. . . . This was the first matchup between these teams since a mid-October trade in which F Nick Bowman joined the Ice and twins Kaeden and Keenan Taphorm moved to the Warriors. Kaeden, however, is out with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Warriors had a 43-18 edge in shots, including 21-7 in the second period and 14-4 in the third. . . . Warriors D Josh Brook had two assists. He’s got 15 points, including 10 assists, in 12 games.


The Regina Pats scored the game’s last two goals and beat the visiting Saskatoon Blades, Pats6-5. . . . The Pats improved to 5-12-0, while the Blades slipped to 10-7-2. Saskatoon was 1-2-0 in playing three games in as many nights. . . . The Blades erased a 4-2 deficit and took a 5-4 lead with three second-period goals in a span of 3:14, the scores coming from D Seth Bafaro (1), F Max Gerlach (12) and F Chase Wouters (2). The latter two came via the PP. . . . The Pats tied it when F Jake Leschyshyn (9) scored at 9:03 of the third period, and F Nick Henry (8) won it, on a PP, at 15:48. . . . The Pats were 2-for-2 on the PP; the Blades were 3-for-6. . . . D Aaron Hyman had three assists for Regina, with Leschyshyn and Henry each scoring twice and adding an assist. . . . The Blades got three assists from F Kirby Dach. . . . Regina F Scott Mahovlich was awarded a penalty shot at 12:27 of the third period, with the score 5-5, but wasn’t able to beat G Dorrin Luding. . . . Gerlach scored twice for Saskatoon, giving him 198 career regular-season points, including 111 goals. . . . The Pats had F Logan Nijhoff back for a second straight game after he recovered from a concussion, but F Korby Morrisseau (concussion) and F Robbie Holmes (knee) remain out. . . . Darren Steinke, the travellin’ blogger, was on hand and his post is right here.


F Andrew Fyten, playing in his 200th regular-season game, scored in OT to give the Swift SCBroncosCurrent Broncos a 4-3 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Broncos (3-14-1) have points in three straight (2-0-1). They have won two OT games in as many nights. Their other victory came in a shootout. . . . The Oil Kings (10-7-2) have points in six straight (5-0-1). . . . Fyten’s fourth goal of the season came 41 seconds into OT. He was playing in his 45th game with the Broncos, after spending 155 with the Calgary Hitmen. . . . F Alec Zawatsky (7) gave Swift Current a 3-1 lead at 17:53 of the second period. . . . F Brett Kemp (11) pulled Edmonton to within a goal at 19:26, and D Matthew Robertson (2) tied it at 6:18 of the third. . . . Swift Current was outshot, 45-20, including 21-2 in the third period. . . . The Broncos got 42 saves from G Isaac Poulter, who recorded his first WHL victory. . . . F Trey Fix-Wolansky had three assists for the Oil Kings. In his last three games, he’s got one goal and 10 assists. He has at least a point in seven straight games and has moved into a tie for the WHL scoring lead. Fix-Wolansky and F Brett Leason of the Prince Albert Raiders, who had the night off, are tied, with 39 points. Fix-Wolansky has a WHL-leading 28 assists.


F Nolan Foote and F Kyle Topping scored third-period PP goals to give the host Kelowna KelownaRocketsRockets a 4-3 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Rockets (7-10-0) are 3-0-0 under new head coach Adam Foote and have won five of six. . . . The Wheat Kings (8-4-5) went 2-3-2 on a seven-game road swing. That includes a 2-2-1 record in the B.C.Division. . . . Brandon, which was 3-for-6 on the PP, went ahead 3-2 when D Braden Schneider (3) scored at 11:55 of the second period. . . . Foote (10) tied it with his second goal of the game, at 3:46 of the third. . . . Brandon lost F Connor Gutenberg to a charging major and game misconduct at 15:57, and Topping broke the 3-3 tie with his seventh goal at 18:50. . . . F Luka Burzan (11) scored Brandon’s first two goals.


G Shane Farkas stopped 34 shots to lead the Portland Winterhawks to a 2-1 victory over Portlandthe visiting Victoria Royals. . . . The Winterhawks, who had beaten the Royals 7-3 in Portland on Friday, are 9-6-1. . . . The Royals now are 9-5-0. . . . The Winterhawks took a 2-0 lead on second-period goals from F Cross Hanas (2), at 2:10, and F Joachim Blichfeld (12), on a PP, at 8:46. . . . F Dino Kambeitz (3) got Victoria’s goal, on a PP, at 5:31 of the third period. . . . G Griffen Outhouse stopped 36 shots for Victoria. . . . F Cody Glass had two assists for Portland. He’s got 29 points, including 23 assists, in 14 games. . . . The Royals, already without F Dante Hannoun due to an undisclosed injury,  scratched F Kaid Oliver and D Ralph Jarratt, both of whom played on Friday. . . . F Ryan Hughes of the Winterhawks left in the first period after absorbing a hard hit. He didn’t return.


G Taylor Gauthier stopped 37 shots to lead the Prince George Cougars to a 2-0 victor over PrinceGeorgethe visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Cougars (7-7-3) had beaten the Thunderbirds, 4-1, on Friday night. . . . Seattle (7-6-2) has lost three in a row. . . . D Cole Moberg (5) opened the scoring at 6:19 of the first period, and F Jackson Leppard (4) added insurance, on a PP, at 6:57 of the second. . . . Gauthier was especially sharp in the third period when his guys were outshot 17-5. That was his first career shutout and came in his 45th appearance, 13 of them this season. He is 5-5-2, 2.90, .909 this season.


The visiting Everett Silvertips opened up a 5-0 second-period lead and cruised to a 6-2 Everettvictory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Everett now is 11-6-0. . . . The Chiefs are 8-5-3. . . . The Silvertips scored only two goals on 55 shots in a 4-2 loss to the visiting Tri-City Americans on Friday night. Last night, Everett scored six times on 23 shots. . . . F Connor Dewar (12) got Everett started at 12:36 of the first period and F Jackson Berezowski (2) made it 2-0 at 13:56. . . . F Sean Richards (2) upped the lead to 3-0, on a PP, at 7:35 and the Silvertips were in clear control. . . . D Sahvan Khaira had three assists for the Silvertips. . . . Everett G Dustin Wolf stopped 23 shots. He is 11-6-0, 1.84, .924. . . . The Chiefs remain without F Jaret Anderson-Dolan, who has an undisclosed injury. . . . Spokane D Filip Kral played his second game since returning from an undisclosed injury that kept him out of the early part of the season.


G David Tendeck stopped 30 shots to help the Vancouver Giants to a 2-1 victory over the VancouverKamloops Blazers in Langley, B.C. . . . The Giants (12-3-2) have won two in a row. . . . The Blazers (6-7-2) had points in five straight (4-0-1). . . . F Milos Roman (8) gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 19:18 of the first period as he ran his goal streak to three games. . . . F Yannik Valenti (2) made it 2-0 at 12:49 of the second period. . . . F Tristen Nielsen, acquired from the Calgary Hitmen in a swap for F James Malm earlier in the week, played his first game with Vancouver and drew an assist on Valenti’s goal. . . . The Blazers got to within a goal when F Zane Franklin (12) scored, on a PP, at 17:20 of the second. He’s got 12 goals in 15 games this season, after totalling 14 in 67 with the Lethbridge Hurricanes last season. . . . Tendeck, who is on the roster of the WHL team that will play against a Russian side on Monday and Tuesday in Kamloops and Langley, is 8-3-1, 2.33, .907. . . . The Giants, with three defencemen out with injuries, have added D Landon Fuller, 19, to their roster, at least for the short term. From 100 Mile House, B.C., he played 16 games with the Tri-City Americans over the previous three seasons. This season, he had one assist in eight games with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers. . . . Vancouver GM Barclay Parneta was with the Americans when they selected Fuller in the WHL bantam draft. . . . The Giants remain without D Dylan Plouffe, Matt Barberis and D Joel Sexsmith.


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Silvertips add to defence corps . . . Giants and Hitmen swap veteran forwards . . . Ice trims two from roster


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The Everett Silvertips, it’s safe to say, are all in this season. Any doubt one may have had about that was erased on Wednesday when the Silvertips acquired Russian D Artyom EverettMinulin, 20, from the Swift Current Broncos.

The Silvertips gave up D Alex Moar, 17, in the exchange, while also getting back an eight-round selection in the WHL’s 2021 bantam draft.

The Silvertips had room on their roster for a 20-year-old and an import, so Minulin fills both of those spots. The import spot was available because F Peter Melcher, a freshman from Slovakian, is, as general manager Garry Davidson put it, “currently unavailable to play.” Melcher was listed on this week’s WHL roster report as being out indefinitely with an upper-body injury.

Minulin has yet to play this season after having had off-season shoulder surgery. The Broncos’ roster report listed him as day-to-day.

In 206 career regular-season games, all with the Broncos, Minulin put up 126 points. Last season, he had 13 goals and 30 assists in 64 regular-season games, then added a goal and seven assists in 20 playoff games as the Broncos won the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

“Artyom Minulin is a special talent who elevates the play of his teammates,” Davidson said in a news release. “The role he’s excelled in as a high-impact defenceman played a big piece in helping Swift Current win the WHL championship last season . . .

“He carries a tremendous reputation as a defenceman with an extremely hard shot, deft touch with the puck, and acumen to excel in all three zones.”

F Sean Richards and D Sahvan Khaira, a teammate of Minulin’s for the previous two seasons with the Broncos, are Everett’s other 20s. The other import on Everett’s roster is sophomore F Martin Fasko-Rudas, a Slovakian.

Moar was pointless in four games with the Silvertips. From Prince Albert, he was a fifth-round selection by the Silvertips in the 2016 bantam draft.

Last season, with the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos, Moar had six goals and 23 assists.

The defending-champion Broncos, who have the 22-team WHL’s poorest record (1-14-1), SCBroncosstill are carrying nine defencemen. They are next scheduled to play Friday against the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes.

The Silvertips (10-5-0) lead the U.S. Division, by one point over the Spokane Chiefs (8-4-3) and two on the Tri-City Americans (9-4-0). Everett entertains Tri-City on Friday, but Minulin isn’t expect to play until sometime next week, once immigration issues get sorted out.

Meanwhile, G Max Palaga, 18, who was acquired by the Silvertips from the Kamloops Blazers earlier in the week, has arrived in Everett and practised with his new team on Wednesday. He joins Dustin Wolf as healthy goaltenders on the Silvertips’ roster.


The Calgary Hitmen and Vancouver Giants got together on Wednesday and swapped a Calgarypair of disgruntled forwards.

The Hitmen acquired F James Malm, 19, and an undisclosed conditional selection in the 2020 WHL bantam draft in exchange for F Tristen Nielsen, 18.

Malm, from Langley, B.C., led the Giants in goals (9) and points (15) in 13 games. He hasn’t played since suffering an undisclosed injury in a game against the visiting Portland Winterhawks on Oct. 20. The Giants’ weekly roster report lists Malm as being out day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

On Sunday, however, Malm asked Vancouver general manager Barclay Parneta to trade him.

A fourth-round selection by the Giants in the 2014 bantam draft, he has 134 points, including 48 goals, in 179 career regular-season games.

Malm could make his Calgary debut on Friday against the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers.

Nielsen, from Fort St. John, B.C., was selected by Calgary in the first round of the 2015 Vancouverbantam draft. He was in third season with the Hitmen when he chose to leave the team and ask for a trade.

This season, he was pointless in five games; he didn’t play in seven games after asking to be moved. Last season, he put up 19 goals and 16 assists in 49 games in a season that was partially derailed by a wrist injury. In 2016-17, as a freshman, he had three goals and four assists in seven games.

Nielsen arrived in Ladner, B.C., on Wednesday afternoon and is to practise with his new team today.

Nielsen is expected to be in Vancouver’s lineup on Saturday when they meet the Kamloops Blazers in Langley, B.C.

Steve Ewen of Postmedia has speculated that the Giants, under new head coach Michael Dyck, are playing a more structured game, one that Malm felt didn’t suit his game. . . . Ewen has more right here on this trade.


The Kootenay Ice apparently has released two veteran players. According to the WHL’s Kootenaynewweekly roster report, D Sam Huston and F Brendan Semchuk no longer are with the team, and both have been dropped from the team’s official roster. . . . Huston, 19, is from Brandon. He was in his third season with the Ice, and had scored once in 12 games. In two previous seasons, he totalled three goals and 13 assists in 107 games. The Ice selected him in the ninth round of the 2014 WHL bantam draft. . . . Semchuk, from Kamloops, was the 10th overall selection by the Vancouver Giants in the 2014 bantam draft. They later dealt him to Edmonton and the Ice acquired him from the Oil Kings on Sept 27, giving up a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2020 bantam draft. Semchuk, 19, had two goals and three assists in 14 games with the Ice. In 159 career regular-regular-season games, he has 23 goals and 30 assists. . . . Huston last played on Friday, while Semchuk is shown on the scoresheet as having played Tuesday night against the Broncos in Swift Current. Interstingly, that game will have been played well after the weekly roster report was posted on the WHL’s website.


Patti Dawn Swanson covered WHL teams in Winnipeg for the Tribune back in the day, and now blogs at pattitherivercityrenegade.wordpress.com.

On Thursday, she offered up these thoughts on a possible move by the Kootenay Ice to Winnipeg . . .

I have fond memories of riding the iron lung with Gerry Brisson, Muzz MacPherson and the Winnipeg Clubs/Monarchs in the 1970s, so the prospect of the Western Hockey League returning to Good Ol’ Hometown is intriguing.

I’m skeptical about it working, though.

If you missed it, Mike Sawatzky reported in the Winnipeg Free Press that the Kootenay Ice are having a rough go of it in Cranbrook, B.C. Average attendance is 2,307, lowest in the WHL, and the town’s mayor, Lee Pratt, told the Cranbrook Daily Townsman this: “With the fan support they are getting right now it’s not a viable operation.”

The Green Bay Committee held a town hall meeting in support of the Ice (on Oct. 24), and they’ll gather again tomorrow night (Thursday) in the hope they can corral 500-600 new season-ticket subscribers to save the franchise. Failing that, team owners Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell might be inclined to pull up stakes and head east.

That begs questions, though. To wit:

Would they be better off in River City?
Would a WHL franchise operating out of the University of Manitoba attract 2,000 or more customers?
If an average head count of 2,307 can’t work in Cranbrook, how can it possibly work in Winnipeg?
Would the arrival of a WHL outfit strike the death knell for Winnipeg Blues of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League?

Remove the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League and I’d say Fettes and Cockell might have a chance in Good Ol’ Hometown. As it is, I don’t see it happening. But I hope I’m wrong.


David Michaud, who has been a familiar face in B.C. arenas for a number of years, has been named president of Keycorp Sports and Entertainment Ltd., the owners of lacrosse’s legendary Victoria Shamrocks. . . . According to a news release, Michaud will be “responsible for growing the division of the Keycorp group of companies by working with new and existing sports teams, entertainment venues, concert promoters, and more to bring professional-level promotion, ticketing, and event-day production to Victoria, and across British Columbia. He also will be working with the Victoria Shamrocks to continue the excellence in promotion and entertainment that the club has provided in the Greater Victoria area for the last 70 years.” . . . Prior to this move, Michaud spent three years with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees as director of corporate partnerships. He also was the team’s alternate governor. He also has worked with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and with the major midget Okanagan Rockets. . . . Michaud won’t be too far removed from the BCHL in his new position. The Shamrocks play out of the Q Centre in Colwood, which has a capacity of 2,780 and also is home to the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies.


The Fort Sask Chiefs, a senior AAA men’s hockey team that played out of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., has folded, at least for the remainder of this season. . . . According to a team-issued news release: “Various factors led to the tough decision that it would no longer be sustainable for our organization to continue to operate this year. With that being said, we are hopeful our hockey club be back playing senior again in the coming years.” . . . The Chiefs were 0-6-1 and in last place in the five-team Allan Cup Hockey West. Their demise leaves the league with teams in Rosetown, Sask., and the Alberta communities of Stony Plain, Lacombe and Innisfail.


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Stephen Peat was as tough as they come during a four-season career in the WHL (Red Deer, Tri-City Calgary, 1996-2000), and he maintained that reputation in a pro career that included 130 NHL games. Now he’s living in his truck or couch surfing with friends on the Lower Mainland of B.C. Jeremy Allingham of CBC News has more right here.


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Scattershooting on Sunday, after a flat World Series . . . Will you pay to watch Phil vs. Tiger? . . . Blazers complete dominating weekend sweep

Scattershooting

Jack Finarelli, who writes daily at sportscurmudgeon.com, with a tip for all of us: “The latest news related to the Tiger Woods/Phil Mickelson challenge match that will be on pay-per-view is that the only way you will be able to see it is on pay-per-view.  The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that no tickets will be available for the event; the only folks on the course with Woods and Mickelson will be those who are there to provide the TV coverage, sponsors and guests of the sponsors.  So, just in case you were thinking of heading out to Las Vegas over Thanksgiving weekend and trying to score tix to the event at Shadow Creek Golf Club, stay home.”



The neatest statistic from this season’s World Series is this one and it isn’t close. . . . Game 3 between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Kings went 18 innings and took seven hours 20 minutes to complete on Friday night. It took longer to play that one game than it did to play the entire 1939 World Series when the New York Yankees swept the Cincinnati Reds with the four games taking a combined 7:05.



Cam Hutchinson, in the Saskatoon Express: Toronto-based Postmedia columnist Steve Simmons is at it again. “Where does Auston Matthews fit in with this question: Best wrist shot in Leafs history? I’m figuring Wendel Clark and Lanny McDonald are 1-2. Matthews has the most deceptive shot. Over time he may wind up ahead of Clark and McDonald.” Please give us a break from this crap.


Hutchinson also passes along this one . . . From the Twitter account of @wrestlingbubble: “A woman at the grocery store asked me what self-checkup meant, so I told her grocery stores are on the honour system now, and she should just pay what she thinks is fair.”



“Now,” comedy writer Alex Kaseberg says of Boston pitcher Chris Sale, “I don’t want to say Sale is skinny, but if the Red Sox wore pinstripes, he would wear a pinstripe.”


From Vancouver comedy writer Torben Rolfsen: “John Tortorella says he misses ‘the hate’ in today’s NHL. He should go on Twitter.”


The readerboard at Beerhaus Las Vegas recently carried this message: “Marty, I just got back from 2078. Canucks still haven’t won a Cup.”



RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com has a question: “With hurricanes being named after both genders, shouldn’t we call them himicanes and hericanes?”


“SI.com reports Jon Gruden is on a three-year rebuild so the Raiders win the Super Bowl in 2020,” Currie writes. “Why not use his old formula? Have Tony Dungy build the team, then take over.”



Well, that World Series was definitely a letdown. I really expected more out of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were clearly inferior to the Boston Red Sox in all areas of the game. . . . Who knew the Dodgers wouldn’t seem to get any kind of lift from the 18-inning victory in Game 3? . . . But it was only fitting that Manny (The Hustler) Machado should make the series’ last out.


SUNDAY NIGHT NOTES:

D Aaron Hyman set up three goals and was plus-4 as the host Regina Pats skated to a 7-Patsvictory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Regina (4-11-0) had lost five in a row. This was the Pats’ first victory on home ice in nine starts — yes, they are 1-8-0. . . . The Broncos (1-14-0) have lost seven in a row. They are scheduled to entertain the Kootenay Ice on Tuesday. At 0-4-0, Swift Current is the only one of the WHL’s 22 teams not to have won at home. . . . In Regina, the Pats took a 1-0 lead in the first period and stretched it to 4-0 before the second was seven minutes old. . . . F Austin Pratt and F Sergei Alkhimov each scored twice for Regina. Pratt has seven goals; Alkhimov has four. . . . Regina held a 40-22 edge in shots. . . . The Broncos are 13 points out of a playoff spot, while the Pats are seven points back. . . . Regina went 1-2-0 as it played three games in fewer than 48 hours.


F Kirby Dach scored twice and added an assist to help the Saskatoon Blades to a 5-3 Saskatoonvictory over the Hitmen in Calgary. . . . Saskatoon (9-5-1) had lost its previous three games (0-2-1). . . . Calgary (4-9-2) has lost three in a row. . . . Dach has 27 points, 10 of them goals, in 16 games. . . . The Blades had 2-1 and 3-2 leads. . . . Calgary tied it, 3-3, at 4:02 of the third period when F Zach Huber (4) scored. . . . F Kristian Røykås Marthinsen (5), a freshman from Norway, snapped the tie at 12:43 and Dach added the empty-netter at 19:50. . . . Saskatoon D Brandon Schuldaus played in his 200th regular-season game. A 20-year-old from Calgary, he has played 90 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds, 71 with the Red Deer Rebels, 28 with the Moose Jaw Warriors and 11 with the Blades. . . . Saskatoon was playing its third game in fewer than 48 hours. It went 1-1-1.


F Trey Fix-Wolansky continued to pile up the points as the host Edmonton Oil Kings EdmontonOilKingsdoubled the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-3. . . . Edmonton (9-7-1) has won four in a row. . . . Lethbridge (7-5-3) had points in its previous six games (4-0-2). . . . The Oil Kings went 3-0-0 in playing three times in fewer than 48 hours. . . . Fix-Wolansky finished with a goal, his 11th, and three assists. In 17 games, he has put up 32 points, including a WHL-leading 21 assists. He is second in the scoring race, three points behind F Brett Leason of the idle Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Edmonton F David Kope (2) broke a 1-1 tie at 8:05 of the first period. That was the first of five straight goals for the Oil Kings as they took control. . . . F Quinn Benjafield (7) scored twice — once while shorthanded and once on the PP — while F Jake Neighbours (5) scored twice and added an assist.


The Red Deer Rebels got out to a 6-2 lead before the second period was 12 minutes old Red Deerand went on to an 8-5 victory over the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook, B.C. . . . The Rebels (10-4-1) have won two in a row. . . . The Ice (4-7-3) has lost two straight. . . . Red Deer F Reese Johnson scored twice early in the first period — at 1:11 and 2:29 — for a 2-0 lead. . . . The Ice pulled even when F Brad Ginnell (3), at 4:06, and F Cam Hausinger (5), at 4:42, quickly replied. . . . F Blake Sydlowski (1) put Red Deer ahead at 7:59, and the visitors took control with three second-period goals. . . . The Ice got to within 6-5 early in the third period, scoring three PP goals, but F Jeff de Wit (9) upped Red Deer’s lead to 7-5 at 10:59 and Johnson (8) completed his hat trick with an empty-netter at 19:58. . . . D Alex Alexeyev had a goal (7) and two assists for Red Deer, with F Brandon Hagel drawing three assists. . . . Ginnell added two assists to his goal. . . . The Ice had a 41-26 edge in shots. . . . The Ice has played two home games since a committee hoping to keep the franchise from moving to Winnipeg held a town hall meeting on Thursday. The announced attendance at those games was 2,208, for a 7-2 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings, and 2,094 yesterday. . . . The Ice’s next home game is scheduled for Friday when the Oil Kings make their third and final visit of the season.


G Trent Miner stopped 37 shots through OT and wasn’t beaten in the shootout as the VancouverVancouver Giants beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-2, in Langley, B.C. . . . The Giants improved to 11-3-2. . . . Brandon (6-3-5) has lost five straight (0-2-3). The Wheat Kings are 0-2-2 on a seven-game road trip that continues Tuesday in Prince George. . . . Miner is from Souris, Man., and played one season with the bantam AAA Wheat Kings and two with the midget AAA Wheat Kings. . . . This season, Miner is 4-0-1, 1.41, .953. . . . Vancouver F Brayden Watts, the last shooter in the third round, scored the only goal of the shootout. . . . Three of the game’s four ‘real’ goals came via the PP, with Vancouver getting two of those. . . . F Connor Gutenberg (5) gave Brandon a 1-0 lead at 9:01 of the first period; Vancouver F Milos Roman (7) tied it at 13:26. . . . Brandon went ahead 2-1 at 12:29 of the second as F Caiden Daley (2) scored the game’s only even-strength goal. . . . Watts  (4) tied it at 10:30 of the third. . . . The Giants won 42 of the game’s 63 faceoffs. . . . Vancouver continues to play without D Bailey Dhaliwal, D Dylan Plouffe, D Matt Barberis, D Joel Sexsmith and F James Malm, all of whom are out with injuries. The Giants play once between now and Nov. 10, so hope to have some bodies back before then.


The Kamloops Blazers completed a weekend sweep with a 5-2 victory over the host Kamloops1Portland Winterhawks. . . . Kamloops (6-6-1) has won four in a row. . . . Portland (7-6-1) has lost three straight. . . . This was the final game of the season series with each team winning twice on the road. . . . The Blazers beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 7-2 in Kent, Wash., on Friday, then won 6-2 in Portland on Saturday. . . . The Winterhawks also played three games in fewer than 48 hours, but they went 0-3-0. They lost 4-1 in Spokane on Friday. . . . Kamloops G Dylan Garand stopped 32 shots and then, like a number of other WHL players, left for the U-17 World Hockey Challenge that runs from Nov. 3 through Nov. 10 in Quispamsis and Saint, John, N.B. . . . Garand, who backs up Dylan Ferguson, is 1-1-1, 2.52, .916 in five appearances. . . . The Blazers took control with the game’s first three goals — two in the second period and one in the third. F Josh Pillar and F Kobe Mohr each had a goal and an assist. . . . The Winterhawks were without D Jared Freadrich, who drew a one-game suspension for a cross-checking major and game misconduct in Saturday’s game. He hit D Luke Zazula on the play in question.


Tweetoftheday

Scattershooting while wondering what happened to the Astros . . . Sports Curmudgeon is unique . . . President Pateman answers questions

Scattershooting

After the New York Giants were drubbed by the visiting Philadelphia Eagles last weekend to fall to 1-5, the New York Post headline: From Bad To Hearse.


Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, with a most valid point:

“Pardon me, but I need to vent here.  We are only about a third of the way through the football season and I have reached my limit on something that TV announcers say far too often.  There is no such thing as a ‘very unique’ offense or defense; in fact, nothing in the universe is ‘very unique.’ Everything and anything are either ‘unique,’ or they are ‘not unique.’ There are no gradations there.”

He finishes up with this:

“Memo to TV announcers —  Please replace ‘very unique’ in your vocabulary with something that makes sense such as ‘highly unusual’ or ‘very different.’ ”

——

Also . . . please look up the definition of “howitzer” before using it to describe a slapshot from the blue line or a high fastball. . . . Oh, and hockey players don’t play “years.” They play seasons. There is a difference.



So . . . what happens to the WHL’s divisional alignment should the Kootenay Ice be the Winnipeg Ice before another season arrives? Obviously, the Ice would have to play in the East Division. That being the case, one would think that the Swift Current Broncos would then shift into the Central Division. That would keep six teams in each of the divisions.


Col1


Headline at TheOnion.com: Manny Machado Denies Playing Dirty After Late Slide into Pitcher’s Mound

——

Headline at Fark.com: Manny Machado called up to the bush leagues.


Yes, MLB has a pace-of-play problem. If you don’t believe it, consider this note that Taking Note received from a Victoria-based reader late Wednesday:

“If anyone wonders why baseball’s TV ratings have declined, here’s what I was able to do tonight:

Watch the first hour of the Red Sox—Astros.

Drive downtown, watch a hockey game, drive home.

Watch the last half hour of the baseball game.

Four hours 40 minutes for nine innings is inexcusable.”

He’s right!

——

Col2


Lee Merkel, a fan of the Buffalo Bills, died recently at the age of 83. His obit in the Utica, N.C., Observer Dispatch included: “Lee has requested six Bufffalo Bills players as pallbearers so they can let him down one last time.”


Gerry James, a former head coach of the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, played for the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. He was a tremendous athlete, whose nickname was Kid Dynamite. His son is having some health issues and a GoFundMe page has been set up to help the James family with travel-related costs. . . . You will find that page right here.


Just wondering: Is the United States of America the first country in the world to be governed via Twitter?


MacBeth

F T.J. Foster (Edmonton, 2008-13) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Guildford Flames (England, UK Elite). This season, he was pointless in one game with Sport Vaasa (Finland, Liiga). He was released from a tryout contract by Sport on Sept. 26.


ThisThat

John Pateman, one of the Prince George Cougars’ six co-owners, is the franchise’s president and has been for almost a year now. He recently sat down with Hartley Miller of 94.3 The Goat, the analyst on home game broadcasts, and talked all things Cougars for last week’s Cat Scan podcast. . . . If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to own a WHL team, give this a listen. . . . At one point, Pateman offered: “When we got into this, we would hope to not lose money. We managed to lose quite a bit and we’ll lose quite a bit this year. Until we can have a bit of a playoff run, I think we will continue to lose money. . . . we would obviously like to break even but I think we have to hit the second round of the playoffs to do that.” . . . Asked by Miller if the six owners are in it for the long run, Pateman chuckled and replied: “I don’t think we have a choice . . . we’re in. It is what it is.” . . . The podcast runs almost 36 minutes and it’s all right here.


You may recall the schmozzle that arose in January after the final game of the World Junior Championship when three Swedish coaches — Tomas Monten, Nizze Landen and Henrik Stridh — removed their silver medals immediately after receiving them and chose not to wear them for the rest of the post-game ceremony. Shortly thereafter, Monten was hit with a three-game suspension, with Landen and Stridh drawing two-game bans. Those suspensions were to have been served at the beginning of the 2019 event. However, they appealed and won as the Court of Arbitration for Sport tossed out the suspensions. . . . At the same time, the suspensions to the five players who removed their medals are still in place. . . . There is more on this story right here.


SUNDAY NIGHT NOTES:

F Jackson Leppard snapped a 1-1 tie at 2:40 of the third period and the Prince George PrinceGeorgeCougars went on to beat the visiting Swift Current Broncos, 3-1. . . . The Cougars (5-5-1) have won three in a row. . . . The Broncos (1-11-0) have lost four in a row, with all losses coming on a B.C. Division tour that wraps up Tuesday in Kelowna. . . . Leppard also had two assists as he figured in all three Prince George goals. It was the third three-point night of his 116-game career. This season, he has two goals and four assists in 11 games. . . . Broncos G Joel Hofer stopped 37 shots. He has started four of the Broncos’ past five games, stopping 192 of 205 shots (.937). . . . The start of the game was delayed 45 minutes as the on-ice officials were late getting to the arena.


The Everett Silvertips scored the game’s last five goals and beat the host Regina Pats, 5-1. Everett. . . Everett (7-4-0) is 1-1-0 on its East Division trek. . . . Regina (3-9-0) has lost three in a row. . . . Everett got F Sean Richards back after he served a five-game suspension, and he scored his club’s first goal, his first of the season. . . . F Reece Vitelli (1) broke the tie at 1:06 of the second period. . . . The Silvertips were without their captain, F Connor Dewar, after he drew a four-game suspension for a cross-checking major and game misconduct in a 5-2 loss in Brandon on Friday night. He also will miss games in Prince Albert (Tuesday), Saskatoon (Wednesday) and Moose Jaw (Friday). He will be eligible to return on Saturday in Swift Current, the last game of the Everett’s East Division swing.


F Trey Fix-Wolansky scored twice and added an assist, leading the Edmonton Oil Kings to EdmontonOilKingsa 6-3 victory over the visiting Kootenay Ice. . . . The Oil Kings (6-7-1) had lost their previous eight games (0-7-1) after opening the season with five straight victories. . . . Kootenay (3-5-3) has lost six in a row (0-3-3). . . . Fix-Wolansky, who has nine goals, broke a 1-1 tie at 17:56 of the first period, on a PP, and the Ice was left to chase the game for its remainder. He now has 23 points in 14 games. . . . F Peyton Krebs (4) got Kootenay to within a goal, at 4-3, at 13:09 of the second period, on a PP. However, Edmonton F Jake Neighbours (3) upped his club’s lead to 5-3, on a PP, at 19:46. . . . Fix-Wolansky iced it at 18:06 of the third period. . . . The Oil Kings also got two goals from F Andrei Pavlenko (4). A sophomore from Belarus, he has four goals and two assists in 14 games; last season, he finished with three goals and one assist in 20 games.


F Owen Hardy scored twice to help the Vancouver Giants to a 3-1 victory over the VancouverKelowna Rockets in Langley, B.C. . . . Vancouver (10-2-2) was playing its third game in fewer than 48 hours, having gone 0-1-1 in a home-and-home with the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Kelowna (4-10-0) also was playing its third game in fewer than 48 hours. It had swept two games in Victoria before travelling to Langley. . . . Hardy gave the Giants a 1-0 lead at 15:26 of the first period and provided them with a 3-1 edge at 11:48 of the third period. He’s got four goals this season. . . . D Bowen Byram had two assists for the Giants. He has five goals and seven assists in 14 games. . . . Kelowna gave G Roman Basran his third start of the weekend. He stopped 21 shots. . . . At the other end, Trent Miner blocked 28 shots. His 1.24 GAA and .958 save percentage are the best in the WHL. . . . The Giants were without F James Malm, who suffered an undisclosed injury on Saturday night. . . . The Rockets scratched F Lane Zablocki for a second straight game after he had made his season debut on Friday.


Tweetoftheday

Blazers’ top pick to get a look . . . Veteran Hitmen forward wants out . . . Leason, Raiders continue hot start


MacBeth

D Giffen Nyren (Moose Jaw, Kamloops, Calgary, 2006-10) has been released by Amiens (France, Ligue Magnus) by mutual agreement. He was pointless in seven games.


ThisThat

The Kamloops Blazers, beset by suspensions, injuries and a seven-game losing skid, will have F Logan Stankoven in their lineup on Friday night against the visiting Swift Current Broncos.

The 5-foot-7, 160-pound Stankoven, 15, is from Kamloops. He was the Blazers’ first-round Kamloops1pick, fifth overall, in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft.

Last season, with the bantam prep team at Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford, B.C., Stankoven finished with 57 goals and 33 assists in 30 games. This season, with the major midget Thompson Blazers, who play out of Kamloops, he has 10 goals and six assists in eight games.

After making his WHL debut on Friday night, Stankoven will rejoin his major midget teammates on Saturday for a 12:15 p.m. date with the visiting Cariboo Cougars.

F Jermaine Loewen, the Blazers’ captain, will complete a four-game suspension on Friday, while F Ryley Appelt begins a two-game sentence. At the same time, F Kyrell Sopotyk and F Travis Walton are out with undisclosed injuries. Walton, in fact, has yet to play this season, although he may be ready on Friday.

The Blazers will be celebrating Mark Recchi Hall of Fame Night on Friday as Stankoven makes his debut. Recchi, a Kamloops native with three Stanley Cup rings in his possession, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame a year ago. Recchi, one of the Blazers’ five owners, now is an assistant coach with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Blazers opened this season by sweeping a home-and-home set from the Kelowna Rockets. Since then, the Blazers have gone 0-6-1, including 0-3-0 at home.

Last season, the Blazers began the season with a nine-game losing streak and never did recover as they missed the playoffs.


For the second time in less than a week, a veteran forward has asked a WHL team for a Calgarytrade. . . . The Calgary Hitmen opened a five-game road swing in Prince Albert on Tuesday night, but F Tristen Nielsen, 18, wasn’t with them. Prior to the game, the Hitmen revealed via Twitter that Nielsen, who is from Fort St. John, B.C., has requested a trade. . . . Nielsen was a first-round selection by Calgary in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. . . . In 106 career regular-season games, he has 23 goals and 20 assists. This season, he is pointless in five games. Last season, he finished with 19 goals and 16 assists in 49 games. . . .

Late last week, veteran F Gary Haden, 19, asked the Medicine Hat Tigers for a trade. He is at home in Airdrie, Alta., as he awaits a move. . . . Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News has the latest the Haden situation right here.

On Oct. 8, F Michael Farren, 18, asked the Saskatoon Blades for a trade. On Oct. 11, the Blades dealt him to the Kelowna Rockets.


G Blake Lyda won’t be on the bus as the Everett Silvertips head out on their tour of the EverettEast Division. Josh Horton of the Everett Herald reported that Lyda, 16, who has yet to get into a game this season, suffered an undisclosed injury during a pregame skate on Friday and is listed as being out three-to-six weeks. . . . G Danton Belluk, who plays for the midget AAA Eastman Selects, is expected to join the Silvertips on Thursday and stay with them through the six-game trip.  . . . Belluk, 17, is from Lorette, Man. Everett picked him in the 10th round of the WHL’s 2016 bantam draft. With the Silvertips, he’ll be backing up Dustin Wolf. . . . The Silvertips also head east without F Bronson Sharp, who is week-to-week with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Silvertips open the trip against the Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday.


The Medicine Hat Tigers are carrying 22 players after they dropped D Ryan Watson, 16, from their roster. Watson, from Delta., B.C., was a third-round selection in the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft. This season, he was pointless in four games. He played last season for the Delta Hockey Academy prep team, recording four goals and 15 assists in 32 games. . . . The Tigers are carrying two goaltenders, seven defencemen and 13 forwards, not including veteran F Gary Haden, who is at home in Airdrie, Alta., after asking to be traded.


Tim Hunter of the Moose Jaw Warriors will be the head coach of Team WHL when it whlopens the CIBC Canada-Russia series in Kamloops (Nov. 5) and Vancouver (Nov. 6). . . . Hunter, in his fifth season as the Warriors’ head coach, also is the head coach of Canada’s national junior team. . . . In the Canada-Russia series, he will be assisted by Brent Kisio, the head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and Jason Smith, the head coach of the Kelowna Rockets. Kisio also is an assistant coach with Canada’s national junior team. . . . Athletic trainer Mike Burnstein of the Vancouver Giants will work both games, with help from Colin Robinson of the Kamloops Blazers on Nov. 5 and Khore Elliott of the Victoria Royals on Nov. 6. . . . Shingo Sasaki, the Giants’ equipment manager, also will work the game in Vancouver.


A home in Scottsdale, Ariz., that is owned by Bill Gallacher, the owner of the Portland PortlandWinterhawks, can be had for US$26 million. . . . According to Brinkwire, it is the “priciest home for sale in Arizona.” . . . More from Brinkwire: “The 14,350-square-foot house on four acres in the Silverleaf neighborhood of DC Ranch comes with an elevator, two guest houses,10-foot solid slab fireplaces, swimming pools on both sides of the property, a 1,000-bottle wine room and five laundry rooms. . . . The Mediterranean, contemporary-style mansion also has nine bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, 10-foot-tall automated doors leading to numerous marble terraces, a commercial walk-in freezer and a master bathroom done entirely in Statuario marble with grey and gold veining.” . . . Gallacher and Joanne Stansfield bought the joint for US$11.1 million in cash in 2016. . . . There’s more right here.


Garry VanHereweghe has resigned as general manager and associate coach of the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlys. He will work through Friday and then take his leave. . . . The Grizzlys have started the season at 0-12-1.


TUESDAY NIGHT NOTES:

The Vancouver Giants unleashed a 71-shot attack as they beat the Swift Current Broncos, Vancouver6-2, in Langley, B.C. The game was the first in the Broncos’ five-game B.C. Division tour. . . . By period, the Giants outshot the visitors 26-4, 20-7 and 25-4. . . . The Broncos, who beat the host Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-2 in a shootout, on Saturday, now are 1-8-0. . . . The Giants (9-1-1) are off to their best start since 2008-09 when they opened 7-0-3. . . . Vancouver has points in eight straight (7-0-1). . . . The Giants scored twice in the first period as they outshot the Broncos, 26-4. . . . G Joel Hofer blocked 65 shots for Swift Current. . . . D Bowen Byram (4) scored twice and added an assist for Vancouver, with F James Malm drawing three assists. . . . According to the online scoresheet, Broncos D Matthew Stanley took a fighting major and game misconduct at 11:13 of the third period. Perhaps it was one of those one-man fights? . . . Broncos F Alec Zawatsky was hit with a cross-checking major and game misconduct at 11:54 of the third period. . . . G Trent Miner, who missed three weekend games after returning home to Brandon following the deaths of two grandfathers, was back with the Giants. On this night, he backed up David Tendeck.


F Jack Finley scored two goals to help the Spokane Chiefs to a 6-4 victory over the host SpokaneChiefsBrandon Wheat Kings. . . . The loss was the first of the season in regulation time for Brandon (5-1-2). The Wheat Kings were the last of the WHL’s 22 teams to suffer such a loss. . . . The Chiefs (5-2-2) are 2-1-0 on their East Division swing. . . . Finley, 16, has three goals this season. From Kelowna, he was the sixth overall selection in the 2017 WHL bantam draft. He is the son of former NHL D Jeff Finley, who now is the Detroit Red Wings’ chief amateur scout. . . . The Wheat Kings surrendered 2-0 and 4-3 leads as the Chiefs scored the game’s last three goals. . . . F Eli Zummack (5) pulled Spokane even, 4-4, with his second goal of the game, at 11:34 of the third period. . . . Finley’s second of the night broke the tie at 17:23. . . . Brandon G Jiri Patera, a freshman from Czech Republic, picked up his third assist of the young season.


The Lethbridge Hurricanes erased a 1-0 deficit with four straight goals en route to a 6-3 victory over the visiting Kootenay Ice. . . . The Hurricanes (4-4-2) had points in four straight (2-0-2). . . . The Ice (3-4-2) has lost four in a row (0-2-2). . . . Letthbridge’s four-goal outburst included two from F Jordy Bellerive (6) and one from F Jake Elmer (8), who played with the Ice in 2016-17. . . . The Ice lost D Dallas Hines to a cross-checking major and game misconduct at 16:21 of the third period.


F Brett Leason continued his red-hot start, scoring two goals and adding two assists as his PrinceAlbertPrince Albert Raiders dumped the visiting Calgary Hitmen, 8-4. . . . The Raiders improved to 11-1-0 with their fourth straight victory. . . . The Hitmen, who had points in their previous two games (1-0-1), fell to 1-6-2. . . . Leason, 19, leads the WHL in goals (11) and points (26) and is tied for the lead in assists (15). . . . He finished last season with career highs in goals (16), assists (17) and points (32), in 66 games. He had one goal in 12 games with Tri-City when the Americans traded him to Prince Albert. . . . F Sean Montgomery (4) added a goal and two assists for the Raiders. . . . The Raiders had F Cohner Saleski, 16, in their lineup for the first time this season, and he assisted on Leason’s first goal for his first WHL point. Saleski, a first-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft, plays for the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos. He was pointless in one game with the Raiders last season.


The Seattle Thunderbirds scored the game’s last two goals and beat the Tri-City SeattleAmericans, 5-4, in Kent, Wash. . . . The Thunderbirds (6-1-1) have points in five straight (4-0-1). . . . The Americans are 4-4-0. . . . F Nolan Yaremko (8) scored back-to-back second-period goals, the second one at 15:30, to give the Americans a 4-3 lead. . . . Seattle tied it when D Reece Harsch (1) scored, on a PP, at 18:36 of the second. . . . F Nolan Volcan (4) broke the tie at 1:29 of the third period and that one stood up as the winner. . . . Volcan finished with two goals and two assists. . . . F Andrej Kukuca (3) had a goal and two assists for Seattle.


Tweetoftheday

Scattershooting while watching Brady vs. The Kid . . . Haden wants a trade . . .Giants hand Royals first loss . . . Weekend sweep for ‘Tips

Scattershooting

Bob Molinaro of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, with a good question: “Idle thought: Was Orioles manager Buck Showalter fired? Or was he granted clemency?”


Another question, this one from me: Do the New York Yankees bring back Buck Showalter or Joe Girardi to replace Aaron Boone, whose handling of his pitching staff oftentimes was mystifying?



A note from humourist Brad Dickson: “It hasn’t been easy to resist the siren call of fantasy football. Indeed in 2018 playing fantasy sports has become America’s new pastime, having supplanted the erstwhile, laudable pursuits of Fidget-spinning, dabbing and searching for Pokemon.”


With the NBA season almost upon us, it’s worth noting that the sports books in Las Vegas have taken more bets on the L.A. Lakers winning the title than on any other team. As Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports  Babe, noted: “If anyone wondered how they got the money to build all those big hotels.”


When you’re watching an NFL game on CTV, don’t you get the feeling that the network could squeeze in at least one more promo for an upcoming show if it really tried?


Just last week, with the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations having announced that she is leaving the post, Donald Trump suggested he might appoint his daughter, Ivanka, if not for the likelihood that he would be accused of nepotism. Here’s Hough: “Well that and it would interfere with her current duties as his real VP and First Lady.”


“The Nashville Predators, knocked out in Round 2 of the 2018 playoffs, raised three banners commemorating last season,” writes RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com. “I think one of them was for participation.”


Currie, again: “I heard on Sportsnet that the first requirement of a top-notch NHL goalie is a short memory. Hand me some goalie pads; I’m going to be an all-star!”


How naive am I? I had no idea that junior hockey players are using match-making apps like Tinder to meet up with young women while on the road.


Some scores for you to digest: 41-7, 59-1, 38-8, 79-7, 48-24, 36-16, 53-0, 48-7. . . . Those are the scores that carried junior football’s Saskatoon Hilltops to an 8-0 regular-season record.



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F Gary Haden has asked the Medicine Hat Tigers to trade him.

Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat News reports that Haden, 19, made the request on Tigers Logo OfficialThursday, and that the Tigers sent him home on Friday.

This season, Haden had a goal and two assists in nine games. Last season, he had 17 goals and 25 assists in 70 games.

A ninth-round selection by the Regina Pats in the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft, the native of Airdrie, Alta., has 53 points, including 25 goals, in 115 regular-season games, all with Medicine Hat.

The Tigers acquired Haden on Jan. 10, 2016, when they sent F Cole Sanford to the Pats and also got back F Brian Williams, a third-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft, a fifth-round pick in 2017 and a second-round pick in 2018.


The WHL’s Department of Discipline is just like New York City — it never sleeps. . . . On whlSunday, the DoD issued three suspensions resulting from incidents in Saturday night games. . . . F Ryley Appelt of the Kamloops Blazers was given a two-game suspension after taking a charging major and game misconduct during a 7-2 loss to the Silvertips in Everett. Originally, Appelt was penalized for a headshot, but was changed to charging. . . . D Josh Brook of the Moose Jaw Warriors got one game after being hit with a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct during a 4-3 victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs. . . . F Mike MacLean of the Prince George Cougars also got one game, this one for a boarding major and game misconduct during a 6-5 shootout victory over the host Lethbridge Hurricanes. MacLean sat out the Cougars’ 2-1 OT victory over the host Kootenay Ice on Sunday.


F Brad Goethals, 20, who left the Saskatoon Blades earlier this month, now is with the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders. . . . They acquired his rights from the Selkirk Steelers over the weekend, giving up F Noah Basarab, 19, a 2019 sixth-round draft pick and future considerations in the exchange. . . . Goethals had 16 goals and 17 assists in 72 games with the Blades last season. . . . Goethals had a goal on Sunday, helping the Stampeders to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Steinbach Pistons.


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SUNDAY NIGHT NOTES:

The Vancouver Giants handed the host Victoria Royals their first loss of this regular-Vancouverseason, beating them, 3-2. . . . The Royals (7-1-0) had beaten the visiting Giants, 3-2 in OT, on Saturday night. . . . The Royals now are 5-1-0 at home. All eight of their games to this point have been against B.C. Division opponents. . . . At 7-0-0, the Royals had tied the franchise record for best start to a season. Last season, they also opened with seven straight victories. . . . The Brandon Wheat Kings now are the only one of the WHL’s 22 teams not to have lost in regulation time. The Wheat Kings (5-0-2) are scheduled to entertain the Spokane Chiefs on Tuesday. . . . Vancouver has points in seven straight (6-0-1). . . . The Giants were playing their third game in fewer than 48 hours, having beaten the Kamloops Blazers, 4-3 in a shootout, in Langley, B.C., on Friday night. . . . F Milos Roman (5) scored twice for Vancouver; he’s got goals in four straight games. . . . F Brayden Watts (3) got the winner when he broke a 2-2 tie at 16:21 of the second period. . . . The Giants held a 40-20 edge in shots. . . . Vancouver G David Tendeck stopped 18 shots in his third straight start. . . . Trent Miner, Vancouver’s other goaltender, missed all three games as he travelled home to Brandon after the deaths of both of his grandfathers. . . . According to the online scoresheets, the Giants didn’t dress a backup goaltender for any of the three weekend games.


The Prince Albert Raiders scored the game’s last four goals to beat the Blades, 6-2, in PrinceAlbertSaskatoon. . . . The Raiders (10-1-0) are the first WHL team to 10 victories this season. They have won three in a row and now led the overall standings by three points over the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Blades (7-3-0) had won four in a row. . . . F Brett Leason (9) led the Raiders with two goals and an assist. He’s got at least a point in each of the Raiders’ 11 games. . . . Leason broke a 2-2 tie at 17:12 of the second period. . . . D Brayden Pachal (1) added a goal and two assists for Prince Albert. . . . Leason now is tied for the lead in the WHL’s points race. He and F Joachim Blichfeld of the Portland Winterhawks have 22 points apiece. . . . Leason leads the WHL in goals with nine.


The Everett Silvertips completed a weekend sweep by beating the Winterhawks, 4-2, in EverettPortland. . . . The Silvertips (6-3-0) were playing their third game in fewer than 48 hours, having beaten the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings, 5-3, on Friday, and the Kamloops Blazers, 7-2, on Saturday. . . . The Winterhawks (5-3-1), who had been 5-0-1 in their previous six games, hadn’t played since Wednesday. . . . Everett got 30 saves from Dustin Wolf, who is the only goaltender the Silvertips have used to this point in the season. Wolf is 6-3-0, 1.90, .922. . . . The Winterhawks were 0-10 on the PP. . . . F Connor Dewar had two assists for Everett, giving him 14 points, including seven helpers, in nine games.


G Taylor Gauthier turned aside 45 shots to help the Prince George Cougars to a 2-1 OT PrinceGeorgevictory over the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook, B.C. . . . The Ice held a 46-27 edge in shots, including 21-5 in the third period. . . . Each team was playing its third game in fewer than 48 hours. . . . The Cougars lost 4-1 to the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Friday, then beat the host Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-5 in a shootout, on Saturday. . . . The Ice lost 3-2 to the visiting Regina Pats on Friday night, then dropped a 4-3 shootout decision to the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Saturday. . . . On Sunday, F Jackson Leppard (1) gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead at 13:32 of the second period. . . . The Ice pulled even at 3:39 of the third on a goal by F Peyton Krebs (3). . . . F Ilijah Colina (3) won it 33 seconds into extra time. . . . The Ice (3-4-1) has lost three in a row (0-1-2). . . . The Cougars improved to 4-5-1. . . . Prince George was without F Josh Maser and F Mike MacLean, both of whom were serving WHL-issued suspensions.


F Nick Henry scored 14 seconds into OT to give the visiting Regina Pats a 4-3 victory over Patsthe Calgary Hitmen. . . . D Aaron Hyman (3) had pulled the Pats (3-6-0) into a 3-3 tie, on a PP, at 11:06 of the third period. . . . Henry, who also had two assists, won it with his second goal of the season. . . . The Hitmen slipped to 1-5-2. . . . F Jake Leschyshyn (4) had a goal and two assists for Regina. . . . F Cole Dubinsky, who won’t turn 16 until Dec. 4, scored his first goal for the Pats. From Ardrossan, Alta., he was a fourth-round pick in the 2017 bantam draft. . . . F Tristen Nielsen was back in Calgary’s lineup after serving a three-game suspension.


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Broncos add d-man, release forward . . . Giants win 13-round shootout . . . Lambert a winner in return to Swift Current


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F Marek Tvrdoň (Vancouver, Kelowna, 2010-14) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Klagenfurt II (Switzerland, Alps HL). This season, he had one goal in four games with Saryarka Karaganda (Kazakhstan, Russian Vysshaya Liga). The contract with Klagrenfurt II has a one-month “probationary” period. . . .

G Barry Brust (Spokane, Calgary, 2000-04) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Kunlun Red Star Beijing (China, KHL). Last season, with Fribourg-Gottéron (Switzerland, NL A), he was 2.29, .926 in 38 games. . . . Side note on Kunlun Red Star: The KHL schedule states that Kunlun has played or will play all of its home games in Shanghai until Christmas Day, when they will move their home games to Beijing. . . .

D Brett Carson (Moose Jaw, Calgary, 2001-06) has signed a contract with KooKoo Kouvola (Finland, Liiga). The contract is for the rest of this season, but there is an unspecified “probationary” period. Last season, he had two goals and five assists in 56 games with SaiPa Lappeenranta (Finland, Liiga). He was an alternate captain. . . .

F/D Curt Gogol (Kelowna, Saskatoon, Chilliwack, 2007-11) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Manglerud (Norway, GET-Ligaen). This season, with Kalmar (Sweden, Division 1), he had one assist in four games.


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The Swift Current Broncos have acquired D Garrett Sambrook from the Brandon Wheat SCBroncosKings for a conditional ninth-round selection in the WHL’s 2020 bantam draft. . . . From Medora, Man., Sambrook, 18, was a sixth-round pick by Brandon in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . The Wheat Kings released him earlier this season and he has been playing with the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals, recording three assists in seven games. . . . In 70 games with the Wheat Kings over three seasons, he put up one goal and nine assists. . . . Sambrook didn’t play in the Broncos’ 4-1 loss to the visiting Spokane Chiefs on Friday night.

Later Friday, the Broncos announced that they had released F Colum McGauley. The 18-year-old, from Wilcox, Sask., was pointless in two games with the Broncos this season. . . . Last season, he had two goals in 47 games with the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Spokane Chiefs selected him in the fourth round of the 2015 WHL bantam draft. . . . The Rockets dealt F Tanner Wishnowski to Spokane for McGauley, on Oct. 27, 2016. On July 10, Kelowna dealt him to the Broncos for an eighth-round selection in the 2021 bantam draft.


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The Kamloops Blazers have released D Tylor Ludwar, 19, and he is expected to join the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers. Ludwar, from Regina, had gotten into only one game with the Blazers this season. . . . Ludwar had one goal and two assists in 53 games last season, after recording two assists in 19 games in 2016-17.


Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette has more on Lyle Odelein and what he has been through right here. Odelein, 50, is from Quill Lake, Sask. He played three seasons (1985-88) with the Moose Jaw Warriors. Odelein was tough, but he also put up 163 points in 189 regular-season games.


The Moose Jaw Warriors have signed F Josh Hoekstra to a WHL contract. From Edmonton, he was a fourth-round pick in the 2018 bantam draft. . . . This season, he is played with OHA-Edmonton’s Elite 15s. In five games, he has three assists. Last season, he had eight goals and 18 assists in 30 games with the OHA-Edmonton bantam prep team.


Ryan Oulahen has stepped aside from his position as head coach of the OHL’s Flint ohlFirebirds. 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 mlive.com has more right here.


FRIDAY NIGHT NOTES:

D Kaleb Bulych scored in the 13th round of a shootout as the Vancouver Giants beat the VancouverKamloops 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.”


F Max Gerlach scored three times, including the OT winner, as the Saskatoon Blades beat the visiting Red Deer Rebels, 3-2. . . . Gerlach, who has seven goals, tied the game, 2-2, at 19:44 of the third period and won it at 3:44 of OT. . . . Saskatoon G Nolan Maier stopped 23 shots. F Alex Morozoff of the Rebels came up short on a penalty shot at 16:41 of the third period with his guys ahead 2-1. . . . The Blades have won four in a row; the Rebels are 4-0-1 in their past five. . . . D Jackson Caller was back in Saskatoon’s lineup after missing four games with an undisclosed injury.


F Bryce Kindopp broke a 3-3 tie with 2:57 left in the third period as the host Everett Silvertips got past the Edmonton Oil Kings, 5-3. . . . Kindopp’s third goal of the season came via the PP. . . . F Connor Dewar had two goals — giving him six — and two assists for Everett, for his second career four-point game. . . . The Oil Kings have lost six in a row (0-5-1); they are 0-4-0 in the U.S. Division. They wrap up this six-game road trip tonight in Kent, Wash., against the Seattle Thunderbirds.


G Bailey Brkin stopped 28 shots to help the Spokane Chiefs to a 4-1 victory over the Broncos in Swift Current. . . . The Broncos, the WHL’s reigning champions, now are 0-7 to open the season. . . . Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) notes that this is the Broncos’ first seven-game losing streak “since an 11-game winless stretch in November and December of 2015.” Brandow adds that the Broncos are the “first defending title holder in Internet Era to lose first six the following season.” . . . The Chiefs have points in six straight (4-0-2). . . . This game marked the return of Dan Lambert to Swift Current for the first time as head coach of the Chiefs. Lambert was an all-star defenceman with the Broncos and helped them win the 1989 Memorial Cup. He is in his second season as the Chiefs’ head coach; they didn’t play in Swift Current last season.


D Linus Nassen had a goal and two assists, his first goal of the season coming 28 seconds into the game, to help the host Medicine Hat Tigers to a 4-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Tigers improved to 4-5-1. . . . Prince George (2-5-1) has lost four in a row. . . . After the game, Ryan McCracken of the Medicine Hat Tigers tweeted: “Tigers not commenting on the status of Gary Haden, who was scratched from tonight’s game.” . . . McCracken also tweeted that Tigers skaters “Joel Craven and Trevor Longo both left tonight’s game and are questionable” for Saturday’s game.


D Schael Higson had five points, including two goals, as the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings scored a 5-4 OT victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . F Connor Gutenberg (3) won it 25 seconds into extra time. . . . Higson, 20, has three goals and eight assists in six games. Last season, he had career highs of five goals and 23 assists in 71 games. . . . The Warriors got four assists from F Justin Almeida, with F Tristin Langan adding two goals and an assist. . . . The Wheat Kings (5-0-1) have yet to lose in regulation time. . . . The Warriors are 3-0-2 in their last five. . . . This was the fourth meeting in three weeks between these teams — Brandon is 3-0-1; Moose Jaw is 1-2-1.


In Cranbrook, B.C., the Regina Pats built up a 3-0 lead and hung on for a 2-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Pats (2-6-0) had lost their previous two games; the Ice had won its previous two games. . . . Freshman F Sergei Alkhimov gave the visitors a 2-0 lead when he scored his second goal of the season on a penalty shot at 7:46 of the second period. . . . According to the online scoresheet, Regina was 46-for-65 on faceoffs. That’s 71 per cent.


The Kelowna Rockets snapped a four-game losing skid with a 3-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash. The Rockets improved to 2-8-0. . . . F Kyle Topping (3) gave the Rockets a 3-1 lead at 5:30 of the third period. . . . F Michael Farren, acquired Thursday from the Saskatoon Blades, wasn’t in Kelowna’s lineup. The Rockets also scratched two 20-year-olds — F Lane Zablocki, who has yet to play, and F Ryan Bowen. . . . The two head coaches — Jason Smith of Kelowna and Tri-City’s Kelly Buchberger — both are former captains of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. . . . The Rockets and Americans will play again tonight, this time in Kelowna.


The Calgary Hitmen won for the first time in seven games, beating the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-5. . . . Calgary (1-5-1) built up a 6-2 lead, then allowed three goals, two of them by F Logan Barlage (4), in the game’s last 6:05. . . . The Hitmen got two goals and an assist from F Mark Kastelic (5), a goal and two helpers from F Jake Kryski (5), and three assists from D Vladislav Yeryomenko. . . . G Jack McNaughton stopped 34 shots to earn his first WHL victory.


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