Taking Note

2012-01-27T02:18:00.000-08:00

VIN SCULLY

Every once in a while, you find a real nugget on the Internet.
I mean, a really big chunk of gold.
In this instance, the link arrived via email, sent by Cam Moon, the former WHL goaltender who is the radio voice of the Red Deer Rebels.
Moon, believe it or not, may be a bigger fan of baseball than he is of hockey. Seriously!
Anyway . . . he sent me a link that I am going to share with you. But I am warning you. To enjoy this one, you will need at least three cups of coffee and a headset.
Written and prepared by Daniel Riley, this piece appeared in the October 2011 issue of GQ magazine. It is an interactive story about and with Vin Scully, the greatest play-by-play voice of them all.
There are links to Scully’s actual call of Sandy Koufax’s perfect game on Sept. 9, 1965, Henry Aaron’s 715th home run on April 8, 1974, Kirk Gibson’s home run on Oct. 15, 1988, and Bill Buckner’s boot on Oct. 25, 1986.
More than that, though, there are conversations with Scully as he reminisces and it doesn’t get any better than that. Chances are you will do what I did — give it all a read and a listen and then file it away for later enjoyment.
Check it all out right here. And you can thank Cam Moon later.
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There is a story in Friday’s Globe and Mail that is headlined: Americans consider ban on fighting in junior ranks, hope Canada follows suit.
Written by Allan Maki, it contains this quote from Jim Johannson, USA Hockey’s assistant executive director of hockey operations:
“Whatever we do there’ll be a fight in junior hockey next season. But if kids are in this level of hockey and fighting x amount of times, then what’s going on? We have a responsibility to safeguard the game at the minor levels. This is not the NHL, and that’s not a criticism of the NHL. These are kids under 20 playing hockey.”
Hallelujah! Someone with some authority understands that it is the responsibility of the adults who are in charge of hockey at this level to safeguard the players.
It seems that during the World Junior Championship there were meetings held that involved USA Hockey, Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League and the Canadian Junior Hockey League.
According to Maki, USA Hockey has since held winter meetings and “recommended that fighting be eliminated at the Tier I, II and III levels.”
If the recommendation is adopted — there will be a vote in June — the ban could be in place for next season.
Unfortunately, this isn’t likely to happen in Canada. Well, it isn't going to happen this season or next. But it is going to happen. The writing is on the wall and sooner or later it is going to happen.
Maki quotes Bob Nicholson, the president of Hockey Canada, as saying: “We want to remove fighting from the game, but we don’t want to create other violent acts that may occur. We’ll work hand in hand with USA Hockey.”
Ahh, yes, the creation of “other violent acts” excuse, the thinking being that if players aren’t allowed to punch themselves in the face they’ll hack themselves to death with their sticks.
And then there’s WHL commissioner Ron Robison, who fell back on the old excuse that his league is developing players for the NHL “and we have an understanding to mirror their rules.”
Which, of course, is so much bunkum. For starters, the WHL has no-touch icing; the NHL doesn’t.
“From a WHL/CHL perspective,” Robison told Maki, “we feel strongly our role is to prepare players for the next level and as long as fighting is an element of that, we need to prepare the players so they can protect themselves.”
That ignores the fact that if major junior hockey outlawed fighting, players wouldn’t need to fight to protect themselves.
It also seems that a whole lot of European and NCAA players who have advanced to the NHL are having success while not having done a whole bunch of fighting. Pavel Datsyuk and Jonathan Toews seem to be making out OK, don’t they?
Of course, Robison has yet to explain how a league that cracked down on headshots as this season started continues to allow its players to punch each other silly.
In Maki’s story, Robison makes the claim that fighting in the WHL is down 10 per cent over a year ago. Maki doesn’t cite any statistics.
But using figures available at hockeyfights.com, it is easy to calculate that fighting in the WHL is on pace to be down less than six per cent.
There were 1,713 fights in 792 games last season. This season, in 529 games, there have been 1,079 fights. That computes to 1,616 fights over an entire season. That would be a reduction of 5.7 per cent.
With the flood of information that has come to light involving brain trauma and concussions and CTE, any hockey league that employs teenagers and continues to allow fighting — and features more than 1,600 fights in a season — should be embarrassed by such numbers.
Let us not forget that there were more than 100 concussions in the WHL last season, a number that resulted in the WHL taking injuries under cover this season and announcing player absences as being due to upper- and lower-body injuries. NHL teams, meanwhile, now are reporting when players are out with concussions.
The WHL’s latest injury report, released Tuesday, lists 49 players as being out with upper-body injuries.
Maki’s complete story is right here.
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Meanwhile, in a story at cbc.ca, Gov. Gen. David Johnston says that fighting shouldn’t be part of the game.
"What other sports say (fighting) is a part of the game?” said Johnston, who played hockey at Harvard. “Least of all in this game, because the essence of this game is the speed and the skill and playmaking. . . .
"If we want our children, both our boys and girls, to be playing this game we don't want them to be subjecting themselves to concussions and so on."
That story is right here.
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Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos on The Eagle 94.1 FM, reported Thursday that D Jordan Evans, 19, won’t play again this season.
Evans, from Drumheller, Alta., hasn’t played since Oct. 1.
“At the time,” Mullin reported, “(Evans) apparently took the concussion test and didn’t seem to have one. They thought maybe he had a virus. Since that time he has continued to have concussion-like symptoms and there is apparently not much improvement.
“Evans now is back home in Alberta and his season is apparently done. Given his age and history of concussions this could also mark the end of his WHL career if not his hockey career.”
Evans was in his fourth season in Swift Current. He was pointless in five games this season, but had seven minutes in penalties, five of those coming from a fight with F Dyson Stevenson of the Regina Pats on Sept. 23.
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The Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association is taking body checking out of the game in the rec levels starting next season.
Paul Woods, the executive director of Hockey Winnipeg, has told Doug Lunney of the Winnipeg Sun that “it’s probably long overdue.”
Here’s more from Woods:
“I would like to see it personally. If it’s going to advance the safety of the game and allow some kids to participate in the game a little bit longer, then I would say it would have to be a positive.
“Some of those (negative) comments are coming from traditionalists who don’t want to let the sport go. They feel it’s a man’s game. They grew up in that environment and they’re still holding on to that.”
Woods points out that there are players who leave the game as youngsters and return to recreational leagues in their 20s. So why not make the environment safer in an attempt to keep the children safe and in the game?
Lunney’s story is right here.
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Sharp-eyed hockey fans may recognize Doug Lunney’s name. A goaltender, he played in the WHL with the Prince Albert Raiders, Kelowna Wings and Winnipeg Warriors (1982-84).
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Canalta Cup

The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League has cut a 10-year deal with Canalta Hotels that has resulted in the junior A league renaming its championship trophy.
The SJHL champion now will win the Canalta Cup.
According to a news release, the deal calls for the hotel chain to “contribute more than $600,000 in partnership revenue” over the 10 years.
Established in 1979, Canalta Hotels has six hotels in five Saskatchewan markets — Humboldt, Melfort, Moosomin, Tisdale and Weyburn — with construction underway in Esterhazy and Shaunavon.
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The OHL has suspended Stan Butler, the head coach of the Brampton Battalion, for eight games. Butler’s crime? He picked up a double game misconduct for abuse of an official after a 2-1 victory over the visiting Sudbury Wolves on Sunday.
Butler is said to have berated referee Mike Marley on the ice and in a corridor in the arena. Butler felt that an instigating penalty should have been given to a Sudbury player following a fight in the third period.
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The Prince Albert Raiders will induct ex-players Robin Bartel and Dean McAmmond, along with builder Gerry Bergen, into their Wall of Honour this season. They will be honoured prior to a Feb. 25 game against the visiting Kootenay Ice. . . . Bartel played three seasons (1979-82) with the Raiders, playing in three Centennial Cup championship games and winning two of them. (The Centennial Cup now is the RBC Cup, which goes to the junior A champion.). . . . Dean McAmmond played 217 games with the Raiders over three-plus seasons (1989-93). A wonderful skater, he left Prince Albert as part of a seven-player trade with the Swift Current Broncos in January 1993. Before leaving, he was the Raiders rookie of the year (1989-90) and playoff MVP (1992). . . . Bergen, a long-time volunteer, has worked as a goal judge, penalty box attendant, spotter, timekeeper and scorekeeper. He also has been the off-ice co-ordinator, managing 14 volunteers. . . . Bartel and McAmmond will be the 13th and 14th former players to be inducted, while Bergen is to be the ninth volunteer. The Wall of Honour is located in the History and Heroes section of the Art Hauser Centre by the Raiders dressing room.
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JUST NOTES: The Portland Winterhawks have signed F Adam De Champlain, a 10th-round selection in the 2009 bantam draft, who is with the AJHL’s Camrose Kodiaks. De Champlain, 17, has 14 points, including eight goals, in 38 games. . . . Regina Pats F Chandler Stephenson, who has missed 14 games with a sprained knee, is expected to return tonight against the visiting Swift Current Broncos. . . .
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If you have followed the BCHL over the years, you may want to go on over to bchl.ca and vote on the players of the decades.
There’s a link on the right-hand side, near the top of the website. Click on there and have some fun

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

No sponsorship, no tournament for Kamloops

2012-01-26T01:51:00.000-08:00

Roger Sloan, with the Western Championship trophy.
(Kamloops Daily News file photo)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
It appears that the inaugural Western Championship golf tournament also was the last one.
The inability to procure sponsorship has resulted in the tournament being dropped from the Canadian Tour’s schedule.
Terry Grimm, who chaired the 2011 Western Championship, said Tuesday that he informed Rick Janes, the Tour’s commissioner and CEO, in December, “offering our regrets.”
“We were unable to (raise) sufficient sponsorship dollars to carry on with the Western here,” Grimm said.
The Western Championship was held June 9-12 at Rivershore Estates and Golf Links. It provided a great story line as Roger Sloan of Merritt won the tournament, firing a four-round total of 23-under 265 at Rivershore Estates and Golf Links. Sloan took home $20,000 for the first victory of his professional career.
“I heard the unfortunate news,” Sloan said Wednesday from Houston, where is preparing for a new season. “It’s disappointing.
“The Canadian Tour is struggling and the more tournaments the better. Having a tournament so close to home on a course that I really enjoy playing and found so much local suport on . . . it’s a total bummer not to be going back.”
Hoping to gain a foothold in B.C.’s Interior, the Tour sponsored the 2011 Western Championship, including the $125,000 purse. In order to stay on the schedule, sponsorship would have had to cover a $300,000 budget.
“They’re recommending from the tour office,” Grimm said, “and I don’t disagree with them, I think they’re pretty close . . . they recommend a $300,000 budget to run the event.”
That $300,000 sponsorship would cover a $150,000 purse and all expenses associated with playing host to the event.
Grimm said local organizers were never close to finding a title sponsor.
“We had a nibble,” he said, “but only for a portion of it. We were never in the ballpark for ($300,000).”
When he informed Janes that Kamloops wouldn’t be able to play host to a second Western Championship, Grimm did ask that the door be left open.
“We really enjoyed it,” Grimm said of the 2011 event. “We’ve asked them to keep us in mind and if the economy turns out here and we (find) somebody who’s interested (in sponsoring it) we’ll look at it down the road.”
The Canadian leg of the 2012 Tour will begin with the Times Colonist Islands Savings Open in Victoria, June 7-10, but now there is a one-week gap before it resumes with with the ATB Financial Classic in Edmonton, June 21-24.
“The Canadian Tour is struggling to fill a lot of gaps and they’re doing the best job they can,” Sloan said. “But it’s the economy and all the whirlwind things that come together.
“It’s unfortunate.”

2012-01-26T01:50:00.000-08:00

By DOYLE POTENTEAU
Kelowna Daily Courier
KELOWNA — Zach Franko is proving to be money in the shootout bank for the Kelowna Rockets.
Franko scored the game-winning goal in the shootout as the
Rockets doused the red-hot Kamloops Blazers 3-2 in WHL action on Wednesday night. The Blazers entered the game riding a nine-game winning streak, but failed to hold a pair of one-goal leads.
Franko, meanwhile, scored his seventh consecutive shootout goal, and is 7-for-8 this season. Franko also netted the winner in Kelowna’s last game, a 4-3 shootout victory over Vancouver on Saturday. In both games, he was Kelowna’s first shooter, and twice gave the Rockets early 1-0 leads.
Against Kamloops, as they were against Vancouver, the Rockets were 2-for-2 in the shootout, with Myles Bell again converting, while the Blazers were 0-for-2.
“It feels good that I can contribute any way that I can,” said Franko. “Right now, it’s the shootout. I got a couple (shootout goals) early on in the year and my confidence started building. I’ve been working on it in practice, and that’s really key. I’m trying new moves and getting my confidence up in practice really works (in games). Just keep shooting; that’s my two cents’ worth.”
Goaltender Adam brown, who made 23 saves, said it’s invaluable to have Franko’s clutch performance right now as the Rockets
try to right their up-and-down season.
“He’s got a great shot and he’s money in the shootout,” Brown said. “It’s huge when you know someone is going to go out there and score, and all you have to do is (stop) two of three (opposing shooters) or one of two. It’s a huge confidence boost, because all you have to make is one save and we’re good to go.”
Shane McColgan, with his 13th goal of the season, and Brett Bulmer, with his 20th, scored in regulation time for Kelowna (21-23-2-3), which is 1-3 in its eight-game season series against its nearest geographical rival.
Brendan Ranford, with his team-leading 25th goal of the season, and Austin Madaisky scored in regulation time for Kamloops (34-10-1-3), which, after a scoreless first period, led 2-1 after 40 minutes. Ranford opened the scoring, then Madaisky made it 2-1 late in the second with a power-play goal. Cole Cheveldave made 34 stops for the Blazers.
From a Kelowna standpoint, standing up to the B.C. Division-leading Blazers instead of getting steamrolled was just as important, if not moreso, than the victory.
“I liked the way we played,” said Rockets head coach Ryan Huska. “I thought we had a good game where we limited a lot of their offensive opportunities so, defensively, we were pretty good. We had compete from our forwards for the most part, moving themselves up the ice. So, yes, I was happy with our game.”
His counterpart, understandably, wasn’t pleased with the result.
“Our first period was fine,” said Blazers head coach Guy Charron. “But we didn’t play that well in the second period, and, fortunately for us, we didn’t have a big deficit. We found a way to get a lead, but we didn’t sustain the effort that we needed to have to be successful. Credit to Kelowna because they did the things that we were hoping to do a little bit more to their defence. They played the puck deep, they worked our defence.
“Our core group for us did their job tonight. Unfortunately, we had
passengers up front, and when you do that and play a team like Kelowna, you’re liable to get yourself in trouble.”
Bailing out the Blazers was Cheveldave, who was well deserving of the third star. The loss pushed his record to 25-5-4.
“He’s excellent,” said Charron. “He’s a very dynamic young man and he plays with a lot of confidence. We’re very fortunate to have a young goaltender like him with the season he’s having.”
Ranford made it 1-0 just 57 seconds into the second period with a great individual effort. After taking a pass near the timekeeper’s box, Ranford circled back, then zipped into Kelowna’s zone on a 1-on-2 rush. There, he slipped the puck through Rockets defenceman Mackenzie Johnston, then went wide around him, regained control of the puck and, from the right faceoff circle, picked the far corner, beating Brown high-blocker side for his 25th goal of the season.
The goal stunned Kelowna’s crowd, though it wouldn’t stay silent for long.
Just two minutes later, McColgan levelled the score with an in-close
one-timer at 3:29. Defenceman Damon Severson spotted an open McColgan to the right of Cheveldave, then fed him a slap pass from the blue-line that his teammate converted, going top shelf.
Madaisky restored Kamloops’ lead at 15:37 with a power-play goal from the right blue-line boards. With Colin Smith as a partial screen, Madaisky put a simple wrist shot on net that squeezed inside the
near post. The goal came just 14 seconds into Carter Rigby’s penalty for cross-checking.
In the third, the Rockets made it 2-2 when Bulmer slapped home a loose puck from the left side. The goal, scored at 11:10, came after Bulmer put together a near coast-to-coast rush that eventually resulted in a McColgan rebound popping out near the left half-wall.
Rockets defenceman Mitchell Chapman almost ended the game late in the third, with a slapshot from the right blue-line boards, but his shot clanged off the far post and the buzzer sounded just a second later.
In overtime, nothing was solved, with both teams clamming up defensively and surrendering just one shot each.
In the shootout, Franko snapped home a quick wrist shot, while Bell went five-hole. At the other end, Madaisky had a slapshot stopped by Brown, while Ranford lost the handle on the puck and could only watch as the puck skittered away and into the left corner.

(Thanks to Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier for permission to post his game lead here.)

2012-01-26T01:47:00.000-08:00

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Kirill Starkov (Red Deer, 2006-07) was released by Rögle Ängelholm (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had three goals and 12 assists in 39 games for Rögle this season. . . .
F Petr Kalus (Regina, 2005-06) signed a contract for the rest of this season with MoDo Örnsköldsvik (Sweden, Elitserien). He had three goals and four assists in 30 games with Slavia Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga) this season.
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The Regina Pats will honour the memory of the late Rick Rypien on Friday night as they play host to the Swift Current Broncos.
It will be Rick Rypien Bobblehead Night, with a limited quantity of bobbleheads available for fans to purchase with a minimum donation of $2. All proceeds will go to KidSport, and there is a limit of one bobblehead per customer.
Rypien spent his entire WHL career with the Pats, serving as captain in 2004-05.
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The Saskatoon Blades have signed D Nelson Nogier, a hometown boy who was a fourth-round selection in the 2011 WHL bantam draft. Nogier, the son of former WHL G Pat Nogier, has 14 points in 35 games with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts this season. . . .
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D Tyler Stahl, who suffered a concussion on Oct. 1, is back on skates, although there is no timetable for his return to the Victoria Royals’ lineup. Stahl was injured on a hit from F Charles Inglis, then with the Prince George Cougars. Inglis drew a 10-game suspension for the hit. . . . Stahl, who turns 21 on Sunday, was back on the ice Tuesday, although he isn’t yet ready for contact. . . . He won’t play Friday and Saturday against the visiting Kamloops Blazers. . . .
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In the BCHL, the Penticton Vees ran their winning streak to 26 games with a 9-0 victory over the Centennials in Merritt. The Vees are 38-3-2; the Centennials have the BCHL’s second-best record, at 26-13-7. Penticton G Michael Garteig (32-4, 1.97, .929) has put up three shutouts over his last four starts. . . . The Vees next play Friday against the visiting Salmon Arm SilverBacks.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, F Brooks Macek scored three straight goals to help the Hitmen to a 7-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Macek, who also had an assist, has 14 goals. His first career hat trick came in his 238th game. . . . The Hitmen have won nine of 10 and are tiede with the Saskatoon Blades for fifth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Kootenay Ice. . . . Calgary F Victor Rask had a goal, his 21st, and two assists. . . . Brandon G Corbin Boes made his first start since breaking a hand in a 7-3 loss to the host Edmonton Oil Kings on Dec. 8. . . . Boes was gone at 12:18 of the second, having given up five goals on 21 shots. . . . Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the Wheat Kings on CKLQ, notes that it was “Brandon’s fifth loss by four or more goals in the last month.” . . . The Wheat Kings had beaten the Kootenay Ice 1-0 in Cranbrook on Tuesday night. . . .

In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Kootenay Ice, 5-4. . . . Ice F Jesse Ismond scored shorthanded to give his side a 4-2 lead at 15:11 of the second period. . . . Lethbridge F Jaimen Yakubowski got the home side to within one at 17:47 of the second. . . . F Brody Sutter, with his 21st, tied it at 7:34 of the third and F Phil Tot won it, with his 10th, at 15:02. . . . The last two goals came via the PP as Lethbridge went 2-for-6. . . . Lethbridge G Liam Liston stopped 23 shots. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart scored his 17th goal, which was his 41st point and set a franchise single-season record for a 16-year-old. The previous record had been held by D Steve McCarthy (1997-98). . . . The Ice was without F Max Reinhart, who blocked a shot Tuesday night against Brandon and is expected to be out at least a week. . . .

In Medicine Hat, F Hunter Shinkaruk struck for three goals to help the Tigers to a 6-5 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Shinkaruk, who has 35 goals, also had an assist. . . . The Tigers were without F Emerson Etem, who is at home in California. He hadn’t had any time off since playing for the U.S. in the World Junior Championship. Etem left Sunday and should be back for a Friday game against the host Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . F Mark McNeill had four goals and an assist for the Raiders. He’s got 22 goals. . . . Prince Albert F Justin Maylan drew four assists, while F Logan McVeigh had three. . . . The Raiders have lost six straight. . . .

In Edmonton, F Brendan Shinnimin scored with 32.2 seconds left in OT to give the Tri-City Americans a 5-4 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . The goal was the second of the game for Shinnimin, who has 29 this season. . . . The outcome left the Americans second in the overall standings, one point ahead of the Oil Kings and one behind the Kamloops Blazers. Kamloops dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Rockets in Kelowna, but the loser point kept them in top spot. . . . The Oil Kings, who had won three straight, took a 3-2 lead into the third period. . . . The Americans then got goals from Shinnimin and F Malte Stromwall in the period’s first five minutes. . . . D Martin Gernat of Edmonton forced OT with his eighth goal at 7:35. . . . Edmonton took three of the game’s five minor penalties. . . . The Americans were 1-for-3 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-for-2. . . . Oil Kings D Griffin Reinhart was back after having been out since Jan. 8 with an undisclosed injury. He scored back-to-back second-period goals, giving him 11. . . . Americans G Ty Rimmer stopped 42 shots, including 18 of 19 in the first period. Rimmer just happens to be from Edmonton. . . . Oil Kings G Laurent Brossoit stopped 39 shots. . . .

In Red Deer, F Charles Inglis had a goal and two assists as the Rebels doubled the Vancouver Giants, 4-2. . . . D Mathew Dumba added two assists for Red Deer. . . . Inglis broke a 2-2 tie at 9:22 of the second period. . . . Red Deer G Deven Dubyk stopped 29 shots. . . . Vancouver started Payton Lee, a 15-year-old from Cranbrook who had won his last two starts. But he gave up four goals on 30 shots through two periods and was replaced by Jackson Whistle, who stopped all 11 shots in faced in the third. . . . The Giants had F Brendan Gallagher (shoulder) and D David Musil (wrist) back after 10-day absences. . . .

In Everett, F Steven Kuhn had two goals and an assist as the Spokane Chiefs beat the Silvertips, 4-2. . . . F Josh Birkholz got Everett to within one at 3-2 at 15:58 of the third period. He’s got 21 goals. . . . Kuhn provided insurance with his 12th goal into an empty net at 19:59. . . . Spokane was 2-for-7 on the PP; Everett was 0-for-2. . . . The Chiefs have won four in a row to close to within a point of fourth-place Vancouver in the Western Conference. . . . Spokane and Everett have completed their season series, with the Chiefs holding an 8-1-1 edge. . . . The Silvertips now head for Prince George and a Friday-Saturday doubleheader with the Cougars. . . .

In Kelowna, the Rockets scored a 3-2 shootout victory over Kamloops, ending the Blazers’ nine-game winning streak. . . . F Brett Bulmer pulled the Rockets even at 11:10 of the third period. . . . F Zach Franko and D Myles Bell scored for Kelowna in the shootout. . . . Kamloops F Brandon Ranford scored his 25th goal of the season and the 100th of his career in the second period. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave stopped 34 shots, 11 more than Kelowna’s Adam Brown.
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WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Jordyn Boyd, Everett (double minor).
FCurtis Lazar, Edmonton.
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The Under-20 Emirates Hockey League has dropped the puck on its first season. There are four teams, including the Dubai Mighty Camels. There’s more right here.

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2012-01-25T00:56:00.000-08:00

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jakub Sindel (Brandon, 2004-05) was released from his tryout contract with Kärpät Oulu (Finland, SM-Liiga) after Kärpät signed ex-NHL F Jozef Stumpel. Sindel had three assists in 11 games with Kärpät during his tryout. Sindel had agreed to extend his tryout contract one more week earlier Tuesday but, when Kärpät signed Stumpel Tuesday evening, Sindel was released.
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Mac Engel, meet Mac Engel. Yes, the Spokane Chiefs’ goaltender has a big, big fan named, uhh, Mac Engel. Same name, same spelling. Check it out right here.
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Kevin Allen of USA TODAY takes a look at the NHL and the state of concussions. This is a thorough overview of what is going on in the NHL, including the number of concussions this season, the number of games players have missed because of concussions, and the cost. That story is right here, and it’s a good one.
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A Tuesday afternoon tweet from TSN hockey analyst Bob McKenzie: “No decision req'd until trade deadline but my sense is TBL more inclined to keep Brett Connoly in NHL than return him to Tri City (WHL).”
McKenzie, Part 2: “If Connolly finishes NHL season with TBL, and Bolts miss playoffs (as expected), he can be assigned to Norfolk for AHL playoffs.”
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In the last while, the weather in various parts of B.C. has been dicey, at best. As a result, we have heard stories of teams, including the Kootenay Ice and Lethbridge Hurricanes, having faced lengthy delays as they attempted to bus from one place to another.
And now we can add the Victoria Royals to the list.
The Royals completed their East Division swing on Saturday night with a 9-6 loss to the Saskatoon Blades. Naturally, the Royals left for home right after the game, which would have been around 10:30 p.m. CT, or 8:30 p.m. PT.
The Royals arrived home Monday afternoon, two weeks after the trek to the eastern hinterlands had begun. You may recall that as the Royals were about to start the trip, F Kevin Sundher was informed that he had been traded to the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Anyway, it seems the Royals arrived at Tsawwassen to catch the ferry to Schwartz Bay near Sydney By The Sea only to discover that high winds had cancelled a number of sailings. So the team spent Sunday night at Tsawwassen, waiting and hoping for the winds to decrease.
The Royals, who went 2-4 on their swing, are back in action Friday and Saturday against the visiting Kamloops Blazers. The Blazers, who take a nine-game winning streak into Kelowna tonight, are 5-0-0 against Victoria this season.
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Don’t look now, but there is an interesting race going on for the last couple of playoff spots in the WHL’s Western Conference.
And it could be that loser points will play a rather large role in settling the issue.
The Everett Silvertips, who lost 7-4 last night in Portland, are last in the 10-team conference in which eight teams will qualify for the postseason.
But the Silvertips have picked up seven points over their last seven games and are just six points behind the eighth-place Victoria Royals (15-28-5), who are one point behind the Seattle Thunderbirds (17-26-2). The Prince George Cougars (15-29-2) are ninth, three points behind Victoria and three in front of Everett.
Keep in mind, too, that Victoria is 2-7-1 in its last 10 games, although six of those (2-4-0) came in the East Division. Prince George is 2-8-0 in its last 10. Seattle, meanwhile, is 1-8-1.
That has allowed Everett, which is in its ninth season and has never missed the playoffs, to sneak back into the picture.
Everett (10-28-9) may end up holding something of an edge, too, because of its nine loser points to this point in the season.
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The Portland Winterhawks have signed F Presten Kopeck, a 16-year-old third-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft. Kopeck, who is from Medicine Hat, has 19 points, including seven goals, in 45 games with the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats. Last season, with the midget AAA Medicine Hat Tigers, he had 19 points in 34 games. Kopeck, who was in training camp with the Winterhawks prior to this season, will finish this season with the Bobcats.
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There is a neat story in Tuesday’s Edmonton Sun about the Edmonton Oil Kings, who have become involved in a snow-shovelling program that benefits needy homeowners. That story is right here.

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D Daniel Gibb of the Prince George Cougars took part in a program called Breakfast Idol at P.G. radio station The River 101.3 on Tuesday. No, he didn't sing Stayin' Alive. . . . You can catch it all right here — he’s a wizard with the Cube. You also should go over there and vote for Gibb, who needs all the help we can provide.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Swift Current, G Luke Siemens stopped 32 shots to help the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 3-0 victory over the Broncos. . . . Siemens had sat out his club’s last three games due to what head coach Mike Stothers had said was a need to re-focus. . . .. F Kenton Miller scored the game’s opening goal, on the PP, at 18:37 of the first period. . . . Moose Jaw F Cam Braes, who missed Monday’s practice because he was ill, got his 28th goal of the season. . . . The Warriors had lost their first two games in Swift Current this season. . . . G Jon Groenheyde made his 20th straight start for the Broncos. He stopped 39 shots. . . . Moose Jaw D Joel Edmundson had two assists. . . . The Warriors have put up four shutouts this season, three by Siemens. . . . The Broncos have been shut out twice. . . .

In Cranbrook, G Curtis Honey stopped 34 shots for his first WHLshutout as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the host Kootenay Ice, 1-0. . . . Brandon had G Corbin Boes in the lineup for the first time since he suffered a broken hand on Dec. 7. G Brandon Anderson was a healthy scratch. . . . This was Brandon’s second shutout of the season; Boes has the other one. . . . It was the first time this season the Ice has been blanked. . . . F Kevin Sundher scored the game’s only goal, his 23rd of the season and his first with the Wheat Kings since he was acquired from the Victoria Royals on Jan. 9. That came at 16:28 of the first period. . . . Brandon is 7-3-1 in its last 11 trips to Cranbrook. . . . Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the Wheat Kings, reports that it’s Brandon’s first 1-0 victory since Feb. 20, 2008, when Joe Caligiuri stopped 30 shots and F Jay Fehr scored the lone goal in beating the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. . . .

In Portland, the Winterhawks ran their franchise-record home-ice winning streak to 18 games with a 7-4 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Winterhawks got two goals from each of D Joe Morrow and F Marcel Noebels. . . . Portland G Brendan Burke, the son of former NHL G Sean Burke, stopped 29 shots to earn his third victory of the season. . . . Everett, trailing 4-2, tied it with goals from F Ryan Harrison and F Reid Petryk 48 seconds apart midway in the second period. . . . Portland F Taylor Peters broke the 4-4 tie with his 10th goal at 14:51 of the seocnd. . . . Harrison had two goals for Everett, giving him 13, while D Ryan Murray had two assists. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie had two assists, giving him a WHL-leading 83 points, two more than Regina Pats F Jordan Weal. . . . The Winterhawks were without D William Wrenn, their captain, who was suspended by the WHL “for actions at Spokane on Jan. 22.” According to Jim Beseda of the Oregonian, Wrenn was suspended “for an altercation as he was leaving the ice after Sunday’s 6-1 loss at Spokane.” . . .
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Graeme Craig, Swift Current.
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After reading here about the sportsmanship shown by Seattle Thunderbirds G Calvin Pickard the other night, another WHL fan has sent me a note, this one involving Everett Silvertips D Ryan Murray:
“When Everett was last (in Kamloops) . . . when they were announcing the three stars, Ryan Murray came out for his star and took time to pose with kids who were giving out the (goods). Then, on his way off the ice, he went out of his way to tap the Blazers star on the shin pads.
“It’s nice to see something like that and then read the story about Pickard.”
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For today’s good ready, here is Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe with a terrific look at Tim Thomas and how he screwed up by not visiting the White House with his Boston Bruins teammates on Monday. That piece is right here.

To those of you who have taken the time to help out the cause, thank you so much. Your generosity really is appreciated. . . . There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

2012-01-24T00:58:00.000-08:00

THE MacBETH REPORT:
G Brett Jaeger (Medicine Hat, Vancouver, Saskatoon, 2001-04) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven (Germany, 2.Bundesliga). He had a 3.12 GAA and a .908 save percentage in 27 games with CPH Hockey/Hvidovre Copenhagen (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga) this season. CPH Hockey/Hvidovre has had some financial difficulties and has now moved to an all-Danish lineup. . . .
F Juraj Gracik (Try-City, 2004-06) was released by the Milton Keynes Lightning (England, Premier). He had 14 goals and 24 assists in 32 games for the Lightning this season.
———

CALVIN PICKARD

G Calvin Pickard of the Seattle Thunderbirds has made a new fan after Sunday’s game in which he set the WHL career record for saves while opposing Payton Lee, the Vancouver Giants’ 15-year-old goaltender.
That fan sent me an email that reads, in part . . .
“Calvin Pickard, who is truly a great goaltender, stopped another Sunday night to become the all-time puck-stopper in the WHL. But he truly must be acknowledged for his sportsmanship.
“During the second period of Sunday’s game as is custom there was a timeout called around the 10-minute mark. During this timeout, as the players were skating towards their respective benches, the two goaltenders, Pickard and Payton Lee from the Giants, had to cross one another’s path to get to their benches. Pickard passed Lee quite close by and, in something I haven't seen in many a day, Pickard tapped Lee on the pads with his stick and skated to his bench.
“When the timeout was over, Pickard and Lee came together again and both tapped each other on the pads as they headed back to their respective goals.
It was quite a showing and it renews your faith in the true sportsmanship of the game.
“Also during the second period, after play had resumed, Lee made quite a spectacular glove save and I noticed that Pickard was slapping his stick on the ice as a kind of ‘Nice save, kid’ gesture.
“In this day and age, you just don't see that happening and I thought it should be acknowledged.
“In the third period, when Pickard had made the save that got him the record, the fans gave him quite an ovation when it was announced by the in-house public address announcer.
“Pickard also was given quite an ovation when he was selected one of the three stars and deservedly so.
“I have seen a lot of hockey in my day but Sunday’s game really brought me back to a place that I hadn't been to in a long, long time. It was most refreshing to see.”
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DEPT. OF DISCIPLINE:
Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s hanging judge, has been busy over the last few days.
D Alex Roach of the Calgary Hitmen got three games for a Friday night check to the head that has left Prince George Cougars F Greg Fraser with a concussion.
Prince George F Campbell Elynuik came out of that game with five games in suspensions — an automatic one game for receiving his third game misconduct and four more for being involved in what the WHL calls a “one man fight.” In other words, Elynuik jumped a Calgary player.
F Austin Bourhis of the Prince Albert Raiders got hit was a three-game sentence for a charging major in a Friday game against the visiting Victoria Royals.
As well, F Dryden Hunt of the Regina Pats is out ‘tbd’ for a checking to the head of Moose Jaw Warriors F Andrew Johnson. The Warriors say Johnson isn’t concussed, but he isn’t expected to play tonight in Swift Current against the Broncos.
———
Luke Siemens will be back in goal for the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight when they go up against the host Swift Current Broncos. Siemens, who is 22-9-4, 2.59, .909, wasn’t dressed for two games and spent the Warriors’ last game on the bench as Spencer Tremblay went the distance three times. When Siemens sat out the first game, head coach Mike Stothers told Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald that Siemens needed to re-focus. On Monday, Stothers told Gourlie: “The re-focusing seems to have worked.” . . . Gourlie also reports that Moose Jaw F Andrew Johnson is out after taking a check to the head from Regina Pats F Dryden Hunt on Saturday. . . . Warriors D Dylan McIlrath, with six games left in an eight-game suspension, is in New York with the Rangers for a few days. They took him 10th overall in the NHL’s 2010 draft.
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The Saskatoon Blades have returned G Alex Moodie, 16, to the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild. With G Andrey Makarov (concussion) due to return this week, the Blades were able to complete the move they started early in January. But Makarov suffered a concussion on Jan. 7, so Moodie was kept on the roster. During his stay with the Blades, Moodie, who joined them on Dec. 27, won nine of 12 starts, going 9-3-0, 3.42, .895. . . . The Blades are expected to have Makarov in goal on Friday when they meet the Warriors in Moose Jaw.
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The WHL career of Prince Albert Raiders F Kellan Tochkin, 20, would appear to be over. The Raiders revealed Monday that Tochkin has a broken wrist that will keep him sidelined for up to five months. He is scheduled to see a specialist in Vancouver and is likely to have surgery next week. . . . The Raiders acquired Tochkin, who is from Abbotsford, B.C., from the Medicine Hat Tigers earlier this season. He had 29 points in 29 games with the Raiders, and also was a plus-7. He is under contract to the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. . . . Tochkin began his WHL career with the Everett Silvertips. . . . In 256 regular-season games, he put up 243 points, including 91 goals.
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JUST NOTES: The Portland Winterhawks are at home to the Everett Silvertipts tonight. Portland will be looking to extend its franchise-record home-ice winning streak to 18 games. The WHL record belongs to the 1993-94 Kamloops Blazers (29). . . . The Winterhawks haven’t had a skater finish in the top five in the scoring race since F Josef Balej, who was fifth with 92 points in 2001-02. They haven’t had a play win the scoring race since F Todd Robinson did it with 134 points in 1996-97. F Ty Rattie leads the WHL in goals (42) and is tied with Regina Pats F Jordan Weal in points (81) at the moment. . . .
F Brett Boehm, a Calgary Hitmen list player, has made an oral commitment to the U of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. Boehm has 70 points in 33 games with the Saskatchewan midget AAA league’s Beardy’s Blackhawks. Boehm expects to play next season with the SJHL’s Flin Flon Bombers. . . . Boehm’s father, Brad, played in the WHL with the Prince Albert Raiders and Moose Jaw Warriors (1988-90). . . .
The AHL’s Connecticut Whale has signed F Randy McNaught. McNaught, 21, is from Nanaimo, B.C. He joins the Whale after starting the season with the U of Calgary Dinos. He had 24 penalty minutes but no points in 12 games. Last season, an ankle injury limited him to eight games with the Vancouver Giants, who had acquired him from the Saskatoon Blades. He also played for the Chilliwack Bruins. In 154 regular-season WHL games, he had 27 points and 321 penalty minutes. . . . McNaught was a seventh-round selection by the New York Rangers in the NHL’s 2010 draft.
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David La Vaque of the Minneapolis Star Tribune takes a look at the options facing high school players in Minnesota as they decide between the major junior and NCAA routes. That story is right here.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

2012-01-23T22:41:00.000-08:00


Bronson Maschmeyer and the Kamloops Blazers have owned the Seattle Thunderbirds and a few other teams this season. (Photo by Chris Mast / Mastimages.com)

Were Guy Charron and Dave Hunchak a pair of evangelists, by now there would be a steady stream of former non-believers heading towards the stage.
“We believe,” they would be chanting. “We believe.”
Charron, the head coach of the Kamloops Blazers, and Hunchak, the WHL team’s associate coach, have done everything this season but turn the ice into wine.
And after beating the Tri-City Americans, who have been atop the 10-team Western Conference seemingly forever, twice in 10 days – 3-2 here on Jan. 11 and 4-3 in a shootout there on Saturday – Blazers fans are talking like Al Michaels: “Do you believe in miracles?”
There are some people who don’t like hearing about the Blazers’ 2010-11 season, but it is important to use it as a point of reference when looking at all that has transpired this season.
Last season, of course, was a nightmare. Everything, it seemed, pointed to discipline. There wasn’t any. As a result, there was little in the way of on-ice structure. The Blazers were the fourth most-penalized team in the WHL. Only two teams had more fights than did the Blazers, who scrapped 96 times. The Kamloops power play was powerless; the penalty killers couldn’t kill a mosquito.
And, in the end, the Blazers went home when the regular season concluded.
Which brings us to this season. If last season was Lindsay Lohan, this season is Pollyanna.
Structure? The Blazers have it in spades. Defencemen are able to press in the offensive zone because they know there will be a forward high to help out.
Penalties? The Blazers are the fourth least-penalized team in the 22-team league. Why, Charron was even praising the referees after Saturday’s game in Kennewick, Wash.
The Americans fans, he noted, “were on the referees.”
“Every call that was not made I think they booed the referees,” Charron continued. “It’s an intimidating place for the referees. I give them credit for calling a good game under tough circumstances.”
The result is that the officials have come to realize these aren’t the Blazers of the recent past. And, yes, that counts for a lot with the men in stripes.
Fights? The Blazers don’t. They have been involved in two fights over their last eight games, 12 in their last 25 outings. And five of those were in one game when there was a cream-puff line brawl with the Prince George Cougars. Charron and Hunchak have shown their players that a willingness to fight doesn’t equate to toughness, nor is there a link between fighting and winning.
Winning, as the Blazers have discovered, is all about structure and discipline, about belief in what you’re doing and trust in each other.
Defenceman Bronson Maschmeyer is in his fourth WHL season, his third with the Blazers. He is 20 and mature beyond his years. He could be the grandfather in the dressing room and is a good place to start to take this team’s temperature.
He admits that, while they would like to, the players haven’t forgotten about last season.
“Obviously, there is a huge turnaround from last season to this season and we’re excited about that,” he says. “We kind of look back at it and think, ‘OK, we went through the hard times; now it’s time for some good times.’ ”
The players also are aware that they can’t take anything for granted, especially when playing against those teams that are where they were last season.
“These teams that we play might be lower in the standings . . . we were there last season and we know what it’s like . . . you want to beat anybody just to try to get into a playoff spot,” Maschmeyer says.
If you look at the Western Conference standings and pick out the teams the Blazers should beat, you find the Kelowna Rockets, Prince George Cougars, Victoria Royals, Seattle Thunderbirds and Everett Silvertips. They represent the conference’s bottom half, each with a record below .500.
The Blazers are 20-2-0 against them, with both losses at the hands of the Cougars.
“People wondered how we would react when playing teams that statistically we should have success against,” Maschmeyer says. “I’m glad we have been able to respond in a positive way.”
The Blazers almost certainly will finish atop the B.C. Division. Why? Because they are 16-2-1 inside the division, including 2-0-1 against the Vancouver Giants.
Kamloops also is in the hunt for the Western Conference title. Why? Because it is 27-3-2 in games played inside the conference, and think about that for a moment.
With 25 games left in the regular season, the Blazers lead the WHL’s overall standings by two points over the Americans and the Edmonton Oil Kings.
The Blazers are the hottest team in all of the CHL right now, having won their last nine games.
They will try to make it 10 on Wednesday in Kelowna, before going on to Victoria for a weekend doubleheader with the Royals. Kamloops is 3-0-0 against the Rockets and 5-0-0 versus the Royals.
“We do believe in what we’ve got going here,” Maschmeyer says. “We believe in our system and what we’ve done so far.
“But we’re not satisfied.”
They believe. Do you?

(Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News)

2012-01-23T01:02:00.000-08:00

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Ned Lukacevic (Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Sundsvall (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had two goals and eight assists in 13 games with the Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL) this season. . . .
F Brett McLean (Tacoma/Kelowna, Brandon, 1994-99) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Lugano (Switzerland, NL A). He had seven goals and 14 assists in 36 games for the Rockford IceHogs (AHL) . McLean also played for Canada at this season's Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland, where he had one goal in three games. . . .
F Ladislav Kohn (Brandon, Swift Current, 1993-95) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Ambri-Piotta (Switzerland, NL A). He had five goals and 14 assists in 37 games for Trinec (Czech Republic, Extraliga) this season. . . .
D Justin Kurtz (Brandon, 1993-97) was released by Linz (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had six assists in 33 games for Linz this season. . . .
D Ross Lupaschuk (Lethbridge, Prince Albert, Red Deer, 1996-2001) was released by the Vienna Capitals (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had 10 goals and 17 assists in 38 games for the Capitals this season. . . .
F Bernhard Keil (Kamloops, 2010-11) signed a one-year contract extension with the Straubing Tigers, (Germany, DEL). He has one goal and five assists in 32 games for Straubing and one goal and one assist in two games on loan to Regensburg (Germany, Oberliga) this season. Keil also played for the German national team at the Division 1 world junior championship in December. He had two goals and five assists in five games. . . .
F Rhett Gordon (Regina, 1992-96) signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Nottingham Panthers (England, UK Elite). He had one goal and four assists in t0 games with the Colorado Eagles (ECHL) this season.
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In the BCHL on Sunday, the Penticton Vees ran their winning streak to 25 games with a 3-1 victory over the visiting Prince George Spruce Kings. The Vees broke a 1-1 tie with two third-period goals. . . . The Vees next play Wednesday when they visit the Merritt Centennials.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, F Chase Clayton scored twice to help the Hitmen to a 4-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Clayton scored the game’s first two goals, one shorthanded and the other on the PP. He has 10 goals this season. . . . D Mathew Dumba got the Rebels to within one 40 seconds into the third, but F Jimmy Bubnick answered, with his 21st, less than six minutes later. . . . Bubnick has 21 goals. . . . Calgary G Chris Driedger stopped 41 shots. . . . Calgary has won 10 of its last 11 games. . . . The Hitmen are seventh in the Eastern Conference, one point out of sixth and just three out of third. . . . The Rebels are ninth, four points out of eighth. . . .

In Vancouver, F Marek Tvrdon’s third-period goal stood up as the winner as the Giants beat the Seattle Thunderbird, 3-2. . . . Tvrdon’s 18th goal, on the PP, came at 10:47 of the third and gave the home side a 3-1 lead. . . . Seattle F Chance Lund got his second of the game and 12th of the season, on the PP, at 17:12. . . . The Giants outshot the visitors 14-0 in the first period. . . . The victory lifted Vancouver to within four points of the third-place Portland Winterhawks in the Western Conference. . . . Seattle is seventh, a point ahead of the Victoria Royals. . . . Tvrdon is riding an eight-game point streak during which time he has 14 points. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard made 42 saves, and the last one gave him the WHL record for most career saves. He now has stopped 9,659 pucks, one more than the previous record that was held by Danny Lorenz (Seattle, 1986-90). . . . Vancouver G Payton Lee, a 15-year-old from Cranbrook, stopped 24 shots for his second victory in three nights. . . . The Giants continue to be without F Brendan Gallagher (shoulder), F Dalton Sward (shoulder), D David Musil (wrist) and G Adam Morrison (concussion). The Giants are headed into Alberta for three games, and Gallagher, Morrison and Musil apparently are to make the trip. . . . Pickard has appeared in 217 regular-season games, averaging 32 saves per 60 minutes. . . . Last night, Pickard also set a franchise record for most career minutes played by a goaltender (12,639). That is five minutes more than Lorenz played for Seattle. . . . Pickard is third in the WHL record book, behind Kurtis Mucha (13,708) and Kyle Moir (12,774). Mucha played for Portland and Kamloops (2005-10) and Moir played for Swift Current (2002-07). . . .

In Spokane, the Chiefs completed a doubleheader sweep of Portland, beating the Winterhawks, 6-1. . . . Spokane, which is 8-1-1 in its last 10, had won 5-2 at home on Saturday night. . . . F Mitch Holmberg, with two goals and an assist, and F Mike Aviani, with two goals, led the Spokane offence. Holmberg has 19 goals; Aviani has nine. . . . The Chiefs scored the game’s first five goals. . . . Chiefs F Dominik Uher continued his impressive play with three assists. . . . Spokane F Darren Kramer had two assists for the second straight game. He also got tossed for his part in a late second-period dustup. . . . The Chiefs took 61 of the game’s 114 penalty minutes. . . . Spokane won three games on the weekend, all over the two teams ahead of it in the U.S. Division. The Chiefs began the weekend with a victory over the host Tri-City Americans on Friday. . . . The Chiefs remain fifth in the Western Conference, three points behind Vancouver and 11 ahead of the Kelowna Rockets.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
It comes courtesy of KingMaxymus23 (aka Tyler Maxwell of the Edmonton Oil Kings: “Why do I try to do so many things in between the time I start a microwave to the time it goes off?”
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Jeff Z. Klein of The New York Times offers up his take on the situation involving F Marc Savard of the Boston Bruins, who continues his recovery from post-concussion syndrome.
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Your good read today comes from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. Matty’s Hockey World is right here.

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Blazers win shootout at Kennewick corral

2012-01-22T22:32:00.000-08:00

Chase Schaber (10) of the Kamloops Blazers goes upstairs on Tri-City
goaltender Ty Rimmer during Saturday's game in Kennewick, Wash.
(Photo by John Allen / AridAcres.com)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor

It’s not like Bronson Maschmeyer was standing at the bench, yelling “Put me in coach.”
But with the Kamloops Blazers and the host Tri-City Americans ensconced in a Saturday night shootout, the veteran defenceman got the call from associate coach Dave Hunchak.
So Maschmeyer, 20, went out and scored the goal that gave the Blazers a 4-3 victory in the WHL’s first clash of the titans this season.
“When a shootout comes, there are the certain guys they go to,” Maschmeyer said on Sunday. “The thought didn’t really come through that I’m going to be in. But you always have in the back of your mind, ‘If I go in, what would I do?’ ”
Head coach Guy Charron said he turned the decision over to Hunchak.
“The last few times, I have called upon guys we had success with last season,” Charron said. “This time, I thought, ‘I’ve got a competent guy with me,’ so I said, ‘Here, Hunch, you call them. You’ll probably have better luck than I will.’
“And he did. So I said, ‘From now on I won’t be calling the guys for the shootout.’ ”
Hunchak then walked over and told Maschmeyer to “get ready.”
“I felt like, ‘For what?’” Maschmeyer said with a chuckle, pointing out that it was the first time in his entire career that he has been an active participant in a shootout.
Forward Chase Schaber shot first in the shootout, and gave the Blazers a 1-0 lead. Tri-City forward Adam Hughesman followed with a miss, and that brought up Maschmeyer.
“I was a little bit nervous, which is kind of neat,” said Maschmeyer, who had scored the winning goal in Friday’s 5-3 victory over the host Seattle Thunderbirds. “I went out there and went down and did a move and scored.”
And then what?
“It was kind of weird because I didn’t know how to react,” he said. “You go out and hope . . . you’re going out there and thinking for the best. But when it actually goes in and it’s your first one, you’re thinking, ‘OK, that went in.’
“You start skating by their bench and you’re thinking, ‘That went in!’ And then you go by your bench and you see everyone excited and then you’re all pumped up, ‘THAT WENT IN!’
“It was kind of neat. I don’t know how the decision came about but I’m glad it worked out.”
When Tri-City forward Patrick Holland followed with a miss, the Blazers had the victory.
It also meant that when the Blazers (34-10-3) boarded their bus and headed for home, they were riding high atop the WHL’s overall standings, two points ahead of the Americans (34-11-1) and the Eastern Conference-leading Edmonton Oil Kings (32-11-5).
While the Blazers now go to Kelowna for a date with the Rockets on Wednesday, the Americans are heading into Alberta for three games. They will start in Edmonton on Wednesday.
The Blazers, who haven’t lost this month, have won nine straight games. They are 6-0-2 in their last eight road games. In their last 15 games, they are 12-1-2, the only regulation loss by a 6-3 score to the visiting Calgary Hitmen on Dec. 30.
On Saturday, the Americans took a 1-0 lead on forward Justin Feser’s 23rd goal just 4:10 into the game.
However, Schaber pulled the Blazers even just 45 seconds later and winger Brendan Ranford gave them the lead with a power-play goal seven minutes after that.
Schaber added his second of the game, and fourth in two games, at 5:28 of the second period to give the Blazers a 3-1 lead.
“It was a huge game,” said Maschmeyer, who was playing in his 191st consecutive game with Kamloops. “But we went into it saying, ‘We understand this is for first place,’ but we didn’t want to play it up . . . we wanted to focus on what Blazers hockey is. I think we did that for the most part but there was a span of abut three minutes in the second period . . .”
That was in the period’s last five minutes when Shinnimin and Adam Hughesman scored 35 seconds apart to forge a tie.
Kamloops goaltender Cole Cheveldave finished with 27 saves, two fewer than Tri-City’s Ty Rimmer.
“When Cole Cheveldave plays,” Charron said, “I always feel he is going to give us a chance to win. As poor as the first goal was, he’s one of those young men who inspires confidence in the coaching staff and his teammames. He finished very well . . . and allowed us to find a way to win.”
Cheveldave improved to 25-5-3 on the season; he has won his last nine decisions. It also was his first victory in three shootouts.
“A great game between two of the top teams,” Shinnimin told the Tri-City Herald. “I thought we had a chance to win. We had a lot of opportunities in the third. Their goalie stood on his head, and they beat us in the shootout.
“It hurts. This is tough to swallow.”
JUST NOTES: The Blazers are 11-1-1 against U.S. Division teams. . . . Ranford had a goal and two assists. He has points in 21 of his last 24 games, putting up 36 points, 12 of them goals, in that time. . . . Kamloops F Tim Bozon had his nine-game point streak snapped by the Americans. He put up 14 points, including seven goals, over the nine gmes. . . . The Blazers scratched F Jordan DePape (shoulder), D Brady Gaudet (concussion), F Ryan Hanes (concussion) and F Brandon Herrod (knee). Gaudet, who has missed eight games, and Hanes, who has sat out 12, are skating. Gaudet may return Wednesday in Kelowna. . . . Herrod is to see a doctor today. It he doesn’t play in Kelowna, he may get back in when the Blazers play the Royals in Victoria on Friday and Saturday.

2012-01-22T01:46:00.000-08:00

If you don’t read anything else today, read this story by Scott Burnside of ESPN.com. It’s the latest on Marc Savard, the former Boston Bruins centre, and how he is dealing with post-concussion syndrome. And after you have read it, stop and think about the number of concussions we are seeing in hockey today.
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Of course, on the same that Marc Savard met with the media in Boston, D Andrew Ference of the Bruins tried to run D Ryan McDonagh of the New York Rangers through then end boards from behind. If you haven’t yet seen the play, Ference rushes the puck up the ice, dumps it into the Rangers zone and then follows it in. McDonagh turns, Ference follows him over the icing line and then shoves him from behind.
Joe Michelleti, who was on the telecast crew, summed it up: “One of these days someboyd’s not going to get up and then maybe some of these players will wake up. . . . it’s ridiculous . . . it’s ridiculous.”
Unfortunately, Michelleti is right. It is ridiculous.
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While all of this was happening, the Winnipeg Jets revealed that their leading scorer, former Vancouver Giants star Evander Kane, is sidelined with a concussion.
The Philadelphia Flyers revealed that F Daniel Briere has joined the list of concussed NHLers. He left Saturday’s 4-1 victory over the visiting New Jersey Devils.
And, in Pittsburgh, it was revealed that Penguins F Sidney Crosby had a session with a specialist in chiropractic neurology earlier in the week and that he now is in California for a few sessions with a neurological spine specialist.
What is especially interesting is that NHL teams now are publicly declaring which players have concussions, while continue to refer to other injuries as upper- or lower-body.
In the WHL, however, there are no concussions, only upper-body injuries. There were more than 100 concussions in the WHL last season. Prior to the start of this season, the WHL chose to go to the upper- and lower-body system of reporting injuries.
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And here’s a good read, by Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen. It deals with Ottawa Senators F Brad Winchester who hasn’t played since Dec. 20. Yes. Concussion. Here, he details what his life has been like since he was injured.
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As the WHL heads into the last two months of its regular season, there are going to be a couple of interesting individual races worth watching.
Regina F Jordan Weal moved into the lead for the point title on Friday night, his two points giving him 79 in 47 games, one more than F Ty Rattie of the Portland Winterhawks, who had played 43 games.
Weal and Rattie each picked up two more points last night, leaving the Regina veteran with an 81-80 lead.
Rattie went into last night with 40 goals, which had him tied for the lead with F Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers, who got there with a deuce on Friday night.
Last night, it was Rattie scoring twice and Etem once, leaving the Portland sniper with a 42-41 edge.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes are the latest team to encounter weather-related travel problems.
The Hurricanes were excited to get on the bus and head for home after beating the Rockets 6-3 in Kelowna on Saturday night.
But what normally is about an eight-hour jaunt turned into much more than that as the Trans-Canada Highway was closed so they overnighted in Revelstoke.
G Liam Liston tweeted: “Never seen roads this bad. Stuck in Revelstoke for the night.”
Team captain Brody Sutter followed with: “Stuck in Revelstoke for the night... All I want to do is go home. #Rattled”
On Saturday, Sutter added: “Left Kelowna over 14 hours ago, the 8 hour bus trip has turned into a 18+ hour bus trip. Get me back to Lethy. #LightAtTheEndOfTheTunnel”
The Hurricanes reached Calgary at about 1 p.m. MT.
Meanwhile, the Portland Winterhawks had some problems of their own as they worked to get to Spokane late Friday.
The Winterhawks didn’t play Friday and were headed for Spokane for a Saturday night engagement with the Chiefs when their bus experienced a flat tire. A problem with the spare meant the Winterhawks had to wait for another bus to come to their rescue.
These problems pale compared to what the Kootenay Ice went through earlier in the week when it took the club 28 hours to get to Regina for a Wednesday night game with the Pats.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, F Michael St. Croix scored three goals and added two assists as the Edmonton Oil Kings dropped the Raiders, 9-2. . . . St. Croix has 77 points, including 31 goals, in 48 games. He has three hat tricks this season. . . . F Tyler Maxwell had opened the scoring in each of Edmonton’s previous four games, but didn’t get it done this time. Instead, he scored the game’s fifth and sixth goals, giving him 29. . . . He also had two assists. He has 38 points, including 18 goals, in 24 games since moving from Everett to Edmonton in a trade. . . . F Dylan Wruck added a goal and two assists for the Oil Kings, who now are tied with the Tri-City Americans for second in the overall standings. . . .

In Regina, F Jordan Weal scored in OT to give the Pats a 3-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Weal scored his 30th goal of the season at 30 seconds of OT. . . . He also had an assist and now has a WHL-leading 81 points. He also leads the WHL in assists (51). . . . Regina F Lane Scheidl forced OT when he scored his 17th goal on a penalty shot at 11:29 of the third period. . . . Regina F Dryden Hunt got tossed at 2:16 of the first period with a checking to the head major. . . .

In Saskatoon, the Blades scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Victoria Royals, 9-6. . . . Victoria gave up the game’s first two goals, then held 4-2 and 5-3 leads. . . . The Blades tied it 5-5, only to have Victoria F Jamie Crooks scored his 25th goal at 2:01 of the third period. . . . Saskatoon D Dalton Thrower got his second goal of the game at 8:38, D Kyle Schmidt added his second of the season and second in two nights at 10:26 and Thrower completed his hat trick at 19:02. . . . Thrower has 12 goals this season. . . . Thrower’s last goal was shorthanded and into an empty net, as was Michael Burns’ 20th of the season at 19:32. . . . Burns also had two assists and finished plus-6. . . . Saskatoon F Lukas Sutter, who had one goal, also was plus-6. . . . Victoria went 2-4-0 in its swing through the East Division. . . .

In Brandon, G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 33 shots to help the Kootenay Ice to a 7-3 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Brandon has lost five in a row at home. . . . Skapski was making his first start since Jan. 2. . . . The Ice broke open a scoreless game with goals 1:16 apart late in the first period, D Jagger Dirk sniping at 17:38 on the PP and F Joe Antilla following up at 18:54. . . . The visitors went on to a 5-0 lead. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart picked up a first-period assist which tied him for the franchise single-season record for most points by a 16-year-old. It was his 40th point, tying D Steve McCarthy. . . . F Max Reinhart had three assists for the Ice. . . . F Levi Cable had two goals for the Ice, giving him three on the season, while F Jesse Ismond also scored twice. He’s got 13. . . . These same teams meet Tuesday in Cranbrook. . . .

In Medicine Hat, the Tigers erased an early 1-0 deficit and beat the Swift Current Broncos, 2-1. . . . F Christian Magnus scored for the Broncos at 12:05 of the first period. . . . The Tigers then got two first-period PP goals, from F Emerson Etem, at 13:10, and F Jayden Hart, at 14:34. . . . Etem has 41 goals, which is second in the WHL. . . . He also has scored at least one goal in each of his last 10 games, the longest such streak in all of the CHL since F Nigel Dawes of the Kootenay Ice in 2004-05. . . . F Hunter Shinkaruk had two assists for the Tigers. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 35 shots, one fewer than Swift Current’s Jon Groenheyde. . . .

In Red Deer, F Turner Elson had two goals and two assists to lead the Rebels to a 5-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . D Mathew Dumba added his 13th goal and two assists. The goal was shorthanded and opened the scoring at 18:24 of the first. . . . Red Deer G Deven Dubyk stopped 32 shots. . . . Red Deer, down to 11 healthy forwards, had F Connor Bleackley, a first-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, in the lineup. . . . The Cougars were without F Greg Fraser, who was concussed by a hit to head from Calgary D Alex Roach on Friday night. . . .

In Everett, the Silvertips got three goals from F Kohl Bauml and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-4, in overtime. . . . Bauml, who has 12 goals, got the winner at 3:21 of OT to complete his first WHL hat trick. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald points out that Bauml has 18 points over his last 16 games after he had just seven points in 30 games. . . . Everett overcame deficits of 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3. . . . Everett F Josh Birkholz forced extra time with his 20th goal at 19:14 of the third. . . . Birkholz finished with two goals and two assists. . . .

In Kelowna, the Rockets came from behind a 3-0 second-period deficit and beat the Vancouver Giants 4-3 in a shootout. . . . Vancouver led this one 3-0 with a minute left in the second. . . . Kelowna F Cody Chikie scored at 19:23 of the second and the Rockets were on their way. . . . F Tanner Moar got his third of the season at 10:36 of the third, on the PP, to tie it at 3-3. . . . Kelowna D MacKenzie Johnston drew two assists. . . . Vancouver G Jackson Whistle, who is from Kelowna, stopped 38 shots, nine more than Kelowna’s Adam Brown. . . . In the shootout, Kelowna got goals from F Zach Franko and D Myles Bell, while Vancouver forwards Marek Tvrdon and Cain Franson were blanked. . . .

In Spokane, F Steven Kuhn’s two goals led the Chiefs to a 5-2 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Kuhn has 10 goals. . . . F Dominik Uher and D Brenden Kichton each had a goal and two assists for the Chiefs. . . . Uher has 14 points in nine games since playing for the Czech Republic at the World Junior Championship. . . . F Ty Rattie scored both Portland goals and both came via the PP. He has a WHL-leading 42 goals. He also leads the WHL in PP goals, with 21. . . . Spokane G Eric Williams stopped 24 shots. . . . The teams meet again tonight in Spokane. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., the Kamloops Blazers maintained their position atop the WHL’s overall standings with a 4-3 shootout victory over the host Tri-City Americans. . . . The Blazers (34-10-3), who have won nine straight games, have 71 points, two more than the Americans (34-11-1) and the Eastern Conference-leading Edmonton Oil Kings (32-11-5). . . . The Americans, who play in Edmonton on Wednesday, now have lost two in a row at home after rattling of a 13-game home-ice win streak. . . . This also is the first time this season that Tri-City lost back-to-back games this season. . . . Kamloops F Chase Schaber scored twice for the second straight game. His second goal, and 19th of the season, gave his side a 3-1 lead at 5:28 of the second. . . . Tri-City tied it on goals by F Brendan Shinnimin, his 27th this season and the 100th of his career, at 15:30 of the second and F Adam Hughesman, his 29th, at 16:05. . . . The Blazers won the shootout 2-0 on goals by Schaber and D Bronson Maschmeyer. . . . The Americans had a great chance to win when Kamloops D Austin Madaisky was penalized for delay of game at 19:46 of the third period. . . . When the Blazers dropped the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-3 in Kent, Wash., on Friday, Schaber and Maschmeyer both reached career highs in goals. Schaber has 17 in 42 games; last season, he had 16 in 46. Maschmeyer has nine in 46 games. Two seasons ago, he had seven in 72 games. Last season, he had eight in 72 games. Maschmeyer, acquired from Vancouver prior to the start of the 2009-10 season, hasn’t missed a game with Kamloops. Last night, he played in his 191st straight. . . . The Blazers are 11-1-1 against the U.S. Division.
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Sawyer Lange, Prince Albert.
F Torrin White, Moose Jaw.
F Colton Sissons, Kelowna.
D Joe Morrow, Portland.
D Mitch Topping, Tri-City.

2012-01-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

After Denver stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers in an NFL playoff game, a poll reported that 43 per cent of Americans were of the opinion that divine intervention has had something to do with Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow’s success. “Does that mean,” wrote Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post, “that (the) result was just God paying back James Harrison and Ben Roethlisberger?” . . . CBS-TV apparently tried to get Tebow to work as an analyst for tomorrow’s AFC championship game. Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald reports that CBS “is pulling out all stops. I just saw the CBS eye, and it was wearing eye black.” . . .
When the pooh-bahs who run the NHL and the NHLPA have time, perhaps they can explain why it isn’t mandatory that players wear their helmets in pregame warmups. That, folks, is called a no-brainer. . . . Greg Cote of the Miami Herald knows who the winners will be when the Australian Open ends. “Novak Djokovic,” he writes, “and the last woman who doesn’t drop out with an injury.” . . . In case you missed it, Cleveland Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona was arrested this week in the Dominican Republic. It turns out the Indians didn’t know much about this guy. They thought he was 28; he actually is 31. Oh, and his name? It’s actually Roberto Hernandez Heredia. . . . You may not be surprised to hear that he was charged with using a fake identity. . . .
When the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame holds its 2012 induction dinner on Sept. 20, the 1945-46 Vancouver Canucks will be among those being toasted. The leading scorer on that club was none other than Kamloops’ own Andy Clovechok, who turns 88 on April 10. Clovechok finished that season with 103 points, including a team-high 56 goals, in 54 games. . . . The Canucks were in their first season in the Pacific Coast league, and they beat the Hollywood Wolves for the championship. Vancouver then won the U.S. amateur championship from the Boston Olympics of the Eastern league. The Canucks overcame a 3-1 deficit and won the series, 4-3. . . . Also on that Canucks team were Bernie Bathgate, who spent three seasons (1950-53) with the Kamloops Elks of the Okanagan senior league, and Don Campbell, who was with the Elks for two seasons (1949-51). . . .
Running back Trent Richardson and the Alabama Crimson Tide had a grand time in New Orleans before winning the BCS Championship game and the NCAA football title. When someone from The New York Times asked Richardson what he learned in New Orleans, he replied: “Don’t walk and text because horses are everywhere doing their business.” . . . Bill Cowher, one of CBS-TV’s NFL analysts, hasn’t coached since resigning from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Jan. 5, 2007. So why do his pals on the CBS panel, and so many others, continue to call him Coach Cowher? . . . A tip of the hat to the TRU athletic department which will have 118 athletes involved at Wendy’s Dreamlift Day on Wednesday. Now that’s performance! . . .
Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “The (Oakland) Raiders are looking for a head coach. Is there another Harbaugh brother? Actually, no. However, Jim and John have a sister named Joani. And the Raiders have not been afraid to break new ground.” . . . Ostler feels that an NFC championship game between the 49ers and the Green Bay Packers would have been great. “But visiting Green Bay in late January? You can’t even get there,” he writes. “Did you see the story last week where a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker had to clear a path for a Russian fuel tanker to reach an iced-in Nome, Alaska? That’s how you get to Green Bay in January.” . . . Rick DiPietro, the New York Islanders’ oft-injured goaltender, has played 47 games over the last four seasons and been paid US$18 million. He now is scheduled for back surgery. Oh, the Islanders still owe him nine years and $40.5 million. . . .
RJ Currie, of SportsDeke.com: “Ken Dryden told Sportsnet 590 that hockey needs to do more to cut down on brain damage. The NHL has responded by asking Dryden to stay off the radio.” . . . A doe apparently went through a closed glass door at a Goodwill store in New Jersey. After which Currie noted: “She might have been looking to save a buck.” . . . Perhaps you have heard the rumours about the NHL apparently having targeted Seattle for a franchise at some point in the not-too-distant future. Not so fast says Russ Farwell, the GM of the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent). “There’s no rink,” Farwell has been quoted as saying. “There’s no one to build a rink. And the (big money guys) have been approached before and always say no.” . . .
Ron Judd, in the Seattle Times: “Bad news for Broncos fans — In a terse, single-line written statement, God clarified that Tim Tebow is completely on his own.” . . . So there now are TV sets available that will change channels by voice command. “I’m not sure it works,” notes NBC-TV’s Jimmy Fallon. “When I yelled ‘Crap!’ during a football game, the TV put on Jersey Shore.” . . . Word in the society pages is that A-Rod and Torrie Wilson of WWE fame are an item. “A sad sign of the times: A wrestler and a baseball player are dating,” scribbled the afore-mentioned Dickson, “and it’s the baseball player who’s been linked to steroids.” . . . A-Rod dating someone from the WWE? Hmm. Who does he think he is? George Clooney?

2012-01-21T00:37:00.000-08:00

DEPT. OF CH-CH-CHING:
Pat Conacher, the head coach of the Regina Pats, has been fined $500 for comments he made to the Regina Leader-Post’s Greg Harder after a 3-2 OT loss to the visiting Kootenay Ice on Wednesday.
It always is interesting when someone associated with a team is critical of the officials because it hardly ever happens in the vanilla world of the WHL.
In the interests of clarity, here’s what happened. . . . The Pats lost 3-2 on a PP goal by Sam Reinhart scored on a back-door play at 3:32 of exta time. Regina D Brandon Davidson was in the penalty box at the time.
Anyway, here’s what Harder wrote (that applause you hear is coming from other WHL coaches, none of whom are likely to help Conacher pay the fine despite their feelings):
Afterwards, Pats head coach Pat Conacher was less-than impressed with the work of referees Chris Crich and Cole Hamm.
“Those guys don’t work hard enough to get down the ice and they’re definitely not together. They’re lazy getting up the ice,” said Conacher, who referred to the penalty against Davidson as a “very bad call both ways.”
“There should have been an interference call on Jordan Weal (late in the third) and there could have been a holding call on Dyson Stevenson at the blue line. Then they come down and call that on Brandon. I’m going, ‘Come on guys, give us a break.’ ”
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DEPT. OF JUSTICE:
Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, hit D Dylan McIlrath of the Moose Jaw Warriors with an eight-game suspension on Friday, the result of a check to the head of Victoria Royals D Jesse Zgraggen on Wednesday.
As a result, McIlrath sat out the Warriors’ 6-5 OT victory over the visiting Kootenay Ice on Friday night. Zgraggen, who is concussed, sat out the Royals’ 6-4 victory over the Raiders in Prince Albert.
The WHL doesn’t do video explanations, but here is what was posted: “Primary contact was made to the head of the opponent. The hit resulted in an injury to the opponent. This is the second suspension the player has received this season.”
Doerksen is going to be busy for the next day or two, as well.
Three players left games last night with major penalties and game misconducts.
In Swift Current, Broncos D Colby Cave took a charging major and game misconduct for a hit on Edmonton Oil Kings F Mason Geertsen, who left the ice on a stretcher and was taken to hospital.
In Prince Albert, Raiders F Austin Bourhis was given a charging major and a game misconduct.
In Calgary, D Alex Roach of the Hitmen took a major and game misconduct for a check to the head.
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You often hear WHL players say something about “Living the life.” Oftentimes it is said with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
Like this Friday afternoon tweet from Edmonton Oil Kings D Mark Pysyk before a game in Swift Current against the Broncos:
“If you absolutely love pasta I challenge you to join a hockey team for a year, and see if you still feel the same. #breakfast #lunch #dinner”
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And then there was this Twitter exchange between Regina D Brandon Davidson and Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz, both of whom are Edmonton Oilers’ draft picks . . . It went like this:
Bunz: “Game in Regina tonight against @bdavy3 . Keep your head up kid;) #throwingbows”
Davidson: “@tylerbunz wondering where to shoot tonight? Ill see if u got a quick chest first and go from there #cheese?;)”
Bunz: “@bdavy3 last time you went Chee it didn't go to well;) maybe if you shoot through screens like you always do you'll bury again #shothaseyes”
Davidson: “@tylerbunz ahhh true...true. Don't remind me :s #seeyaafter”
So what happened later? Well, Davidson had one assist and Bunz stopped 32 shots. And the Tigers won 3-2 in OT.
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JUST NOTES:
In the OHL, F Brody Silk of the Sudbury Wolves drew a 12-game suspension for a “blow to the head of an unsuspecting player.” Silk punched F Ryan Strome of the Niagara IceDogs in the head during a scrum on Jan. 13. Strome, selected fifth overall by the New York Islanders in the NHL’s 2011 draft, ended up with multiple facial fractures and a broken nose. He has undergone surgery. Strome played for Canada at the recently completed World Junior Championship. . . . In the BCHL last night, the Penticton Vees ran their winning streak to 24 games with a 4-0 victory over the visiting Westside Warriors. The Vees next play Sunday when they are at home to the Prince George Spruce Kings. . . .
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F Brett Connolly of the Tampa Bay Lightning played six minutes 28 seconds over 11 shifts in a 2-1 victory over the host Dallas Stars last night. He played six shifts in the first period, three in the second and two in the third. He didn’t have any shots on goal, but took two tripping minors. . . . Hello, Steve, this is Bob Tory calling. Yeah, Tri-City Americans. . . .
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Regina, F Cole Grbavac’s OT goal gave the Medicine Hat Tigers a 3-2 victory over the Pats. . . . Grbavac, the team captain, scored his seventh goal of the season at 2:07 of extra time. . . . Regina F Lane Scheidl forced OT with his 16th goal at 8:18 of the third. . . . F Emerson Etem got his 40th goal of the season for the Tigers. . . . Emerson now has at least one goal in nine straight games, the longest such streak in all of the CHL this season. . . . The Tigers are at home to the Swift Current Broncos tonight. . . . F Jordan Weal had a goal, his 29th, and an assist for Regina. . . . The Pats have lost three in a row. . . .

In Swift Current, D Mark Pysyk scored twice and added an assist to help the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 6-1 victory over the Broncos. . . . The victory was Edmonton’s 31st of the season, tying the modern franchise record that was set last season. . . . Pysyk has five goals this season. . . . The Oil Kings scored the game’s first six goals and took a 5-0 lead into the second period. . . . Edmonton F Tyler Maxwell opened the scoring for the fourth straight game. He finished with two goals, giving him 27. . . . Edmonton F Mason Geertsen was injured late in the game when he took a hit from D Colby Cave in front of the Oil Kings’ bench. Geertsen received attention from both trainers, a doctor and EMT personnel before leaving the ice on a stretcher. . . . Cave was given a charging major and game misconduct, so almost certainly is looking at a suspension. . . . The Broncos took 93 of the game’s 151 penalty minutes as handed out by referee Nathan Wieler. . . . There were eight fighting majors. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry, getting into his eighth game of the season, stopped 21 shots. Jarry, 16, is 5-2-0, 2.60, .906 . . . Shortly after the game had ended, the Oil Kings tweeted: “Mason Geertsen has gone to the hospital, hes conscious and alert the early indications seem positive.” . . . That was followed shortly after by: “Word from the Trainers is everything is OK with Mason Geertsen will remain in observation over night. #GetWellSoonMase” . . .

In Moose Jaw, F Andrew Johnson scored twice, including the OT winner, as the Warriors dumped the Kootenay Ice, 6-5. . . . Johnson, who has 13 goals, got the winner at 2:27 of OT. . . . Moose Jaw D Joel Edmundson tied the game with 51 seconds left in the third period. That was his first goal of the season. . . . F Brock Montgomery, who is from Moose Jaw, had given the Ice a 5-4 lead on the PP at 18:53 of the third. . . . F Jonathon Martin of the Ice had two goals, giving him four. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart scored his 16th goal of the season, setting a franchise record for 16-year-old skaters. F Nigel Dawes had scored 15 in 2001-02. . . . The Ice was 2-3 on the PP; the Warriors were 2-4. . . . For a second straight game, the Warriors went without G Luke Siemens. After he sat out Wednesday’s game, head coach Mike Stothers said Siemens needed to get “re-focussed.” . . . Hmmmm. . . . G Spencer Tremblay is expected to make his third straight start for the Warriors tonight in Regina, with Siemens backing him up. . . .

In Prince Albert, the Victoria Royals scored the game’s last two goals and beat the Raiders, 6-4. . . . F Austin Carroll broke a 4-4 tie at 7:48 of the third period and F Logan Nelson added insurance at 12:30 with his 19th score this season. . . . The Raiders had pulled into a 4-4 tie with two goals early in the third period, F Anthony Bardaro getting his 21st goal 40 seconds in and D Tyler Yaworski equalizing at 1:27. . . . Nelson and F Jamie Crooks each had a goal and two assists for the Royals, who are 2-3-0 on an East Division swing that wraps up tonight in Saskatoon. . . . Raiders F Justin Maylan celebrated his 21st birthday with three assists. He has 59 points, including 40 helpers, in 46 games. . . . The Royals were without F Tim Traber, who was injured in a fight on Wednesday in Moose Jaw, and D Jesse Zgraggen, who was injured on that hit from Moose Jaw D Dylan McIlrath. But D Zach Habscheid, who also left Wednesday’s game early, was back in the lineup. . . . Raiders F Austin Bourhis was given a charging major and game misconduct nine minutes into the second period. . . .

In Saskatoon, D Kyle Schmidt’s first goal of the season stood up as the winner as the Blades edged the Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-2. . . . The teams split a doubleheader, as Brandon had won 6-4 there on Wednesday. . . . That was Schmidt’s first goal in 36 games this season. He had three goals in 65 games with the Calgary Hitmen last season. Oh, he turned 19 on Friday. . . . Brandon G Brandon Anderson stopped 43 shots. . . . Brandon F Mark Stone got his 31st goal. . . . The Blades had a 20-8 edge in shots in the second period. . . . Saskatoon had F Josh Nicholls (knee) back in the lineup, but G Andrey Makarov (concussion) remains out. . . . G Alex Moodie stopped 33 shots for the Blades and was named the game’s first star. He is expected to rejoin the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild next week when Makarov returns to game action. . . . Moodie has beaten Brandon twice in three starts while filling in for Makarov. . . .

In Calgary, F Victor Rask scored twice to help the Hitmen to a 5-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Rask has 19 goals this season. . . . Prince George F Jordan Tkatch got his side to within one at 2:55 of the second period, but F Alex Gogolev scored his 19th at 8:46 on the PP and the Hitmen were on their way. . . . The game featured two former Tri-City Americans goaltenders, with Chris Driedger stopping 18 shots for the Hitmen and Drew Owsley making 39 saves for the Cougars. . . . The Cougars took 62 of 105 penalty minutes. . . . Calgary D Alex Roach took a major and game misconduct for a check to the head at 6:57 of the third period. . . . According to the online game sheet, Calgary F Rob Trzonkowski took a fighting major by himself at 16:11 of the first period, while Prince George F Campbell Elynuik took a fighting major and game misconduct by himself at 17:36 of the third period. Interesting. . . .

In Kelowna, F Brody Sutter scored twice to lead his Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 6-3 victory over the Rockets. . . . Sutter now has 20 goals on the season. . . . He also had an assist. . . . Lethbridge D Landon Oslanski set up two goals as the Hurricanes finished a B.C. Division swing at 2-3. . . . The Hurricanes scored the game’s first five goals. . . . The Rockets cut the deficit to 5-3 before Lethbridge F Graham Hood iced it with an empty-netter. . . . F Colton Sissons got his 25th goal of the season for the Rockets. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., D Brenden Kitchton broke a 1-1 tie at 10:56 of the third period and the Spokane Chiefs went on to a 3-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The loss was only the third of the season for the Americans on home ice. . . . F Brian Williams gave the hosts a 1-0 lead at 7:19 of the first period. . . . Spokane G Mac Engel, who finished with 37 saves, shut the door after that goal. . . . F Dominik Uher added insurance with a shorthanded goal at 17:20 of the third period. . . . G Eric Comrie stopped 20 shots for the Americans. . . . F Connor Rankin returned to the Americans’ lineup for the first time since Dec. 17. . . .

In Kent, Wash., the Kamloops Blazers ran their winning streak to eight games as they beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-3. . . . The victory lifted the Blazers into first place overall, one point ahead of the Tri-City Americans. Those two will meet tonight in Kennewick, Wash. . . . They have played twice before this season — the Americans won 3-2 in OT at home on Nov. 19; the Blazers won 3-2 at home in regulation on Jan. 11. . . . F Chase Schaber scored twice for Kamloops, the second one into an empty net after Seattle had closed to within one, at 4-3, on F Seth Swenson‘s goal at 17:07 of the third. . . . F Colin Smith and D Bronson Maschmeyer each had a goal and an assist for Kamloops. . . . G Cam Lanigan stopped 30 shots for Kamloops. It was Lanigan’s 11th start this season, but just his first since Dec. 30 and his third over the Blazers’ last 27 games. . . . F Chance Lund scored twice for Seattle, which got 36 saves from G Daniel Cotton. . . . Seattle was 0-for-6 on the PP, including a 5-on-3 that took up the last 40 seconds of the second and the first 1:20 of the third. . . .

In Vancouver, G Payton Lee made 19 saves in his WHL debut as the Giants beat the Everett Silvertips, 4-3. . . . Lee was a second-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft by the Giants, who are without G Adam Morrison (concussion). . . . D Brett Kulak scored twice for the Giants, giving him six on the season. His second goal, at 16:50 of the second on a PP, gave the Giants a 4-2 lead. . . . Down 2-0 in the first period, the Silvertips took advantage of a 5-on-3 PP to score twice. . . . In an interesting piece of numerology, the scorers bagged goals No. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 in this game. . . . Vancouver F Riley Kieser got his third, Giants F Anthony Ast got his fourth, Kulak looked after five and six, Everett F Cody Fowlie got his seventh and eighth, and Everett F Kohl Bauml got his ninth. . . . The Giants continue to be without F Brendan Gallagher (shoulder), F Dalton Sward (shoulder), D David Musil (wrist) and Morrison. . . . During the game, the Giants’ twitter account carried this: “Big Brett Kulak with the HOWITZER from the point! Puts in his 5th on the PP. Giants lead 2-0, 12:18 into the 1st.” . . . Dear Mr. Giant: Please look up howitzer in your dictionary. Thank you. . . .
———
Dylan Bumbarger, who blogs on all things Portland Winterhawks with a lot of WHL-related sidebars, has plotted the Western Conference race through games of Feb. 6. . . . His figurings make for an interesting read. Check it out right here.
———
The NFL has been hit with another class action law suit with former players claiming long-term problems associated with post-concussion syndrome. This news release goes so far as the provide the symptoms with which some of the former players are suffering.
———
If you’re looking for a good read, try this right here. It’s from Gene Pereira and the Barrie Examiner, and it’s all about the return of Bill Stewart, a coach who had been away from the OHL for 10 years. Why? Well, you could start with his twice putting a Ukrainian player in the luggage hold under the bus to get him over the U.S. border. . . . And it gets better from there.

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2012-01-20T01:44:00.000-08:00

Rick Brodsky, the owner of the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, appeared on CKNW’s SportsTalk with Dan Russell on Thursday night. The three-hour talk show is based in Vancouver.
Brodsky, who has been involved at the ownership level in three cities and also did a lengthy stint as chairman of the WHL’s board of governors, displayed an honesty that really was a breath of fresh air in this day of upper- and lower-body injuries.
He told Russell that the Cougars’ problems in Prince George are, to a large degree, self-inflicted because the team hasn’t been the team management has wanted it to be. He also pointed out that the sinking lumber-based in that city economy has been a major factor in the dropoff in attendance.
Brodsky also admitted to Russell that he talked with Chilliwack interests last spring after the Bruins were sold and in the process of relocating to Victoria.
Furthermore, Brodsky said that the Cougars are solidly in Prince George and that he has absolutely zero interest in selling the franchise. But, he told Russell, he would look into any situation that might arise should there be anything viable out there.
Without that, Brodsky said, the Cougars are rolling up their sleeves and working hard.
Brodsky also talked about Winnipeg, Fort McMurray, Nanaimo . . . from his and the league’s perspective.
As mentioned, this was an interesting interview simply because Brodsky didn’t try to duck and run from any of Russell’s questions.
You are able to listen to the interview right here. It’s in Hour 3 of the Thursday, Jan. 19 program.
———
Goodness knows there are enough stories out there about concussions and hazing and headshots and fighting and all the rest.
So how about one about how three players from the Prince Albert Raiders — Shane Danyluk, Josh Morrissey and Carson Perreaux — saved the life of a six-week-old puppy?
Hey, nothing like a warm-puppy story to warm the cockles of your heart on a cold January day.
The complete story is right here.
———
WHL players have taken part in 1,004 fights to this point in the season. At the end of the 2010-11 regular season, there had been 1,713 scraps.
What this means is that fighting in the WHL is down marginally, from 2.16 fights per game last season to 2.02 this time around.
In last season’s 70 playoff games, there were 45 fights, an average of 0.64 per game.
Darren Kramer of the Spokane Chiefs led the WHL with 46 bouts last season and is the leader again this season, with 18.
The Chiefs will hold a bobblehead night in his honour on Saturday. Not only will the doll’s head bobble, but so will the gloves.
This is progress?
———
JUST NOTES:
F Josh Nicholls is expected to return to the Saskatoon Blades’ lineup tonight as they play host to the Brandon Wheat Kings. Nicholls had 35 points, including 20 goals, in 30 games when he left a Dec. 3 game with a knee injury. Nicholls missed 16 games. . . . He has spent a few games helping the coaches run the Blades’ bench. On Thursday, Nicholls tweeted: “I have decided to step down from my duties as Assistant Coach with the Blades. I will remain with the team in another capacity #reggiedunlop” . . . Nicholls is expected to go right back onto the Blades’ top offensive line, alongside Matej Stransky and Brent Benson. . . . Meanwhile, G Andrey Makarov (concussion) has returned to practice but isn’t expected to play until next week. . . . Alex Moodie, 16, is expected to start for the Blades tonight and perhaps again Saturday against the visiting Victoria Royals. He has made 11 appearances since Dec. 29. . . .
The Regina Pats may have D Brandon Underwood back in the lineup tonight when they meet the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. Underwood has missed 18 games with a fracture ankle. He was injured Dec. 4 when he blocked a shot in a game against the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . .
An interesting tidbit from Dave (Crash) Cameron of the Edmonton Sun, on the Oil Kings line that has Tyler Maxwell with Michael St. Croix and Dylan Wruck: “Since acquiring Maxwell from the Everett Silvertips, the line combo of the Californian with St. Croix and Wruck wracked up 104 points in the 21 games together. Maxwell had 30 points (13G, 17A), Wruck 35 (13G, 22A) and St. Croix 39 (15G, 24A).”
———
F Rocco Grimaldi, a second-round selection by the Florida Panthers in the NHL’s 2011 draft, has been shut down by the U of North Dakota hockey team. Grimaldi, who is to turn 19 on Feb. 8, is to have surgery to repair damage to a knee. Grimaldi’s WHL rights belong to the Portland Winterhawks.
The Grand Forks Herald has more on Grimaldi right here.
———
D Dougie Hamilton of the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs has been suspended for 10 games for a check to the head of F Michael MacDonald of the Sudbury Wolves on Jan. 13. MacDonald came out of it with a concussion. Hamilton, who has 50 points in 34 games, was taken ninth overall by the Boston Bruins in the NHL’s 2011 entry draft. He played for the Canadian junior team at the recently completed World Junior Championship. . . . He will be eligible to return to the lineup on Feb. 12. . . .
Meanwhile, the QMJHL has suspended D Alex Filiatrault of the Val d'Or Foreurs for seven games after a knee-on-knee hit on F Anthony Duclair of the Quebec Remparts on Saturday. Filiatrault ended up with an automatic one-game suspension and the league added six more on Thursday. Duclair is expected to sit for more than a week with a bruised knee.
By the way, Patrick Roy, the Remparts’ GM and head coach, drew a $2,500 fine for referring to the on-ice officials as a “disgrace” after a Jan. 4 loss to the Victoriaville Tigres. Roy now has been fined three times this season for a total of $7,000.
Meanwhile, the Moose Jaw Warriors await word from the WHL office as to the length of suspension to D Dylan McIlrath, who took out Victoria Royals D Jesse Zgraggen with an elbow to the head on Wednesday night.
“I know my thought process coming in wasn’t to hit him up high,” McIlrath told Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald on Thursday. “I wanted to ride him into the boards and make a routine hip check, like I’ve done so many times before,” McIlrath said. “It was just a bang-bang play. It’s unfortunate.
“I saw him on the ice. Obviously, I didn’t want to see anyone to get injured. I felt bad right after it happened. He went down pretty hard. It’s tough to see.”
McIlrath is a repeat offender, having sat out three games after a charging major he incurred on Nov. 23 for a hit on F Trevor Cheek of the Calgary Hitmen.
Prior to this season, McIlrath, a first-round selection by the New York Rangers in the 2010 NHL draft, had never been suspended.
———
There was some tremendously interesting news out of the BCHL on Thursday after the board of governors held its semi-annual meeting in Richmond.
For starters, the governors voted to trim the number of regular-season games from 60 to 56.
That will cut down on the number of mid-week games, allowing teams to schedule the bulk of their games on Friday and Saturday nights.
The BCHL also will hold a massive showcase event on Sept. 7-9 in which each team will play twice. Those games will count as regular-season games, with the season beginning in earnest on Sept. 14. It will end on March 10, 2013.
What that means is that each team, with the exception of the team that plays host to the showcase, will play 27 home games.
For more, including a new conference alignment and more, check right here.
———
David Shoalts of The Globe and Mail is reporting that “the results of an RCMP investigation into Len Barrie’s financial dealings with his former Bear Mountain golf resort and real-estate development” near Victoria have been turned over to the B.C. Attorney General’s office.
That story is right here.

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2012-01-19T22:28:00.000-08:00

Ross Jardine of Kamloops with a photo of the 1962-63 Kamloops Chiefs,
who won the Coy Cup as provincial senior AA champions. The photo
was taken two years ago.
(Kamloops Daily News file photo by Murray Mitchell)

By GREGG DRINNAN

Daily News Sports Editor

Another long day, one in a seemingly never-ending series, was just two hours from its dark conclusion.
Arline Jardine’s voice had more than a tinge of weariness to it. There was sadness, too. But overwhelming all of that was joy.
If you have never heard bittersweet, this was it.
Her husband, Ross, one of this city’s finest-ever sportsmen, turned 78 on Tuesday. He just didn’t know it.
On Monday, he had been the recipient of quite an honour when the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) Canada saluted him with its annual Hall of Fame Award.
This award, according to the NMMA, “is a top honour, recognizing an individual who shows extraordinary achievements in the recreational boating industry. The award acknowledges individuals who over the years have made lasting contributions to the betterment of the Canadian marine Industry.”
Those who are selected for this honour are “true icons in our industry,” according to Rick Layzell, chairman of NMMA Canada’s board of directors.
Yes, it should have been quite a week for Ross Jardine. A birthday and induction into a Hall of Fame. That just doesn’t happen every week.
But he doesn’t know about the birthday or the award. Nor will he.
Ross Jardine has Alzheimer’s disease.
After working so hard to care for her husband of more than 50 years, for the father of their five children, for the love of her life, for her best friend, Arline could only watch earlier this month as Ross was moved into the Kamloops Senior Village, an assisted living care home.
“He has had a terrible downfall,” says Arline, who, with nursing help, tended to her husband’s growing needs for the last year.
“This is such a terrible thing for a man of his knowledge and brains and enthusiasm for life and everything. It just all has been stripped. . . .”
Two years ago, with his health beginning to fail, Ross was one of the runners when the Olympic torch relay took our city by storm. Watched and cheered by family, friends and former hockey-playing teammates, he ran with the torch on First Avenue toward Columbia Street.
It was an honour that was most deserved.
Jardine has been a resident of our city since 1944 and has given to the sports community in one way or another for many of those years. He played high school football here, and he played hockey. He was one of the Chiefs who won the Coy Cup as the province’s senior AA hockey champions in the spring of 1963. Later, he would serve on the Kamloops Blazers’ board of directors. He donated money, all kinds of it, to various athletic teams and organizations. He also gave vocal support and smiles and chuckles, and you can’t put a value on that.
He had owned the Jardine Sport Shop and later Jardine’s on Victoria Street. Ross Campion Jardine — that’s his full name — started up Kam Sport Marine which morphed into Campion Marine Inc., a Kelowna-based boat building business he co-founded with Gordon Elliott.
On Monday, while Jardine was being honoured during the Toronto International Boat Show, Campion issued a news release trumpeting the introduction of six new models.
According to an NMMA news release, “Campion Marine has been building high-performance sport boats and cruisers for 37 years. . . . Campion Marine manufactures 55 models of boats ranging from 9 to 30 feet in length and market and sell their boats through their dealer network in over 30 countries.”
We’re talking big stuff — iconic stuff — here.
Arline and Ross’ son Rex was in Toronto to receive the Hall of Fame award, along with Brock Elliott, the general manager of Campion Boats.
“I can’t think of somebody who deserved something like this more,” says Rex, who is in Kelowna. Then he adds: “There were mixed emotions.”
And they may do it all over again next month at the Vancouver International Boat Show.
Once again, though, Ross won’t be aware of it.
Alzheimer’s plays no favourites. It strikes seemingly wherever it wants. Nothing matters. Neither sex nor race. It hits and it takes what it wants and it never leaves. There is no cure.
It also takes a huge toll on family members who often take on the role of caregiver and can only watch in bewilderment as people like Ross Jardine, not that long ago so alive and vibrant, become less than shadows of their former selves.
“It’s a terrible disease, to take someone so strong and . . .,” says Rex, 48, who has four sisters — Nancy is younger, Terry-Jo, Arlana and Jody are older. Nancy lives in Langley, the other three are in Kamloops.
“It’s tough . . . it’s tough,” Arline says, her voice cracking. “It’s really, really tough to come home after visiting him to an empty house.”
It wasn’t that long ago when Arline and Ross left their home on the turf farm just east of Rivershore Estates for a condo in the city.
She does find comfort, however, in knowing that neither she nor Ross is alone.
Rex says there is a positive side to it all, in that it has brought the family closer together.
“It’s really great,” Arline says, her voice striking a cheerful note. “We have a lot of family and they’re wonderful. He’s got company nearly all the time. There’s always somebody up there.”
And, yes, her husband now is a Hall of Famer.
“This is such an honour . . . for Canada . . . and he will never know he has won it,” Arline says, her voice cracking.
“But what a nice finality to his life. It is . . . really.”

2012-01-19T01:24:00.000-08:00

As fans file in for Friday’s game in Vancouver between the Giants and the Everett Silvertips, they will be given scratch cards. By game’s end, 500 fans will have ended up with a Don Hay bobblehead. Yes, that’s a picture of it there on the right and, hey, who wouldn't want one of those. Right?
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The Vancouver Giants have signed F Thomas Foster, their first-round selection, 20th overall, in the 20-11 bantam draft. Foster, who is from Slave Lake, Alta., is the younger brother of Edmonton Oil Kings F T.J. Foster. . . . Thomas Foster has 17 points, including seven goals, and 10 penalty minutes in 22 games with the Alberta midget league’s St. Albert Raiders. He is expected to join the Giants on Monday on a three-game swing into Alberta. According to the Giants, he “is expected to play at least the game in Edmonton against the Oil Kings and his older brother.” . . .
———
The Prince George Cougars have signed G Ty Edmonds of Winnipeg, who was a ninth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. Playing with the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild, Edmonds is 15-1-0, 1.87, .908. He also has two shutouts. . . . The Wild’s other goaltender is Alex Moodie, who presently is having a pretty good run with the Saskatoon Blades. . . .
———
Three WHL forwards have been added as injury replacements to the Top Prospects Game that is to be played in Kelowna on Feb. 1. Tim Bozon of the Kamloops Blazers, Mike Winther of the Prince Albert Raiders and Branden Troock of the Seattle Thunderbirds will replace three injured OHL players -- Nail Yakupov of the Sarnia Sting, Jarrod Maidens of the Owen Sound Attack and Matia Marcantuoni of the Kitchener Rangers. . . . NHL Central Scouting rated Winther at No. 26, Bozon at No. 39 and Troock at No. 90 in its mid-season rankings of North American skaters who are eligible for the NHL’s 2012 draft. . . .
———
The report on the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives has been completed but won’t be made public. MJHL commissioner Kim Davis has commented on it and, oh boy, what a can of worms this is.
It is quite obvious from a story by Paul Waldie of The Globe and Mail that Davis has no idea as to what constitutes hazing.
At one point, Davis tells Waldie: “Dressing up as a woman and going to mall, I don’t like it, but what’s the harm? I don’t know.”
I would suggest that dressing up young players in women’s lingerie, as happened with one WHL team this season, is hazing and also demeaning.
Furthermore, why does stuff like this have to happen? Have we not progressed past this kind of outright stupidity? Do adults who are in control of junior hockey teams not understand that some players live in absolute fear of being subjected to this kind of treatment?
Waldie’s story is right here and it is an eye-opener.
———
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, G Spencer Tremblay stopped 23 shots to lead the Warriors to a 2-0 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . F James Henry scored his eighth goal, and his second with Moose Jaw, at 9:20 of the first and it stood up as the winner. . . . F Cam Braes, the other major acquisition by Moose Jaw at the trade deadline, had the other goal, his 27th. . . . Braes also had an assist. . . . The Warriors scratched G Luke Siemens, and brought in G Daniel Wapple, 16, from the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers to serve as the backup. Wapple was a fourth-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . Warriors head coach Mike Stothers told Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald that Siemens “needed to be re-focused.”
Siemens, who was acquired from Everett early in the season, is 22-9-4, 2.59, .909 with the Warriors. However, he has given up 14 goals (5, 2, 5, 2) in his last four starts. . . . Victoria is 1-3-0 on its East Division swing. . . . This was the first time this season the Royals have been shut out. . . . The Royals lost three players to injury during the game. . . . D Zach Habscheid left in the first period after taking a hit from F Quinton Howden. . . . F Tim Traber left after a second-period fight with Dallas Ehrhardt. . . . Moose Jaw D Dylan McIlrath was tossed with a checking-to-the-head major at 19:08 of the second period. That came for a hit on D Jesse Zgraggen. . . .

In Regina, the Kootenay Ice scored three PP goals and beat the Pats 3-2 in OT. . . . F Sam Reinhart got the winner at 3:32 of extra time. . . . He finished with two goals, giving him 15, and an assist. . . . His other goal tied the game 2-2 at 7:26 of the third. . . . His brother, Max, drew three assists. . . . F Morgan Klimchuk scored both Regina goals. He has a dozen. . . . The Ice was 3-7 on the PP. . . . The Ice had spent about 26 hours on the bus as it worked to get to Regina for the game. The team left Cranbrook on Monday, spent 11 hours in Sparwood in hopes that No. 3 highway would open, eventually returned to Cranbrook and then took another route, arriving in Regina on Wednesday at 3 a.m. . . .

In Saskatoon, F Brenden Walker scored three times and added an assist to lead the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 6-4 victory over the Blades, who had won their last five. . . . The Wheat Kings, who had lost four in a row, erased a 2-1 deficit with four straight goals to open the third period. . . . Walker has 18 goals. . . . G Alex Moodie, 16, stopped 29 shots in his fifth straight start for Saskatoon. He has started nine of the club’s 11 games since the Christmas break. . . . Blades D Duncan Siemens was scratched from the lineup for, according to the team, “violation of team rules.” That allowed D Tommy Stipancik to get back into a game. . . . It turns out that Siemens missed a team meeting. . . . The teams will meet again Friday in Saskatoon. . . .

In Edmonton, F Michael St. Croix scored three times and G Laurent Brossoit got the shutout as the Oil Kings beat the Prince George Cougars, 5-0. . . . St. Croix, who scored three straight goals, picked up his second hat trick of the season and the third of his career. He has 28 goals. . . . The Oil Kings, who had a 52-26 edge in shots, now are 20-3-1 at home. . . . Edmonton F Tyler Maxwell scored the game’s first goal, the third straight game in which he has done that. . . . Brossoit, who stopped 26 shots, posted his second shutout of the season and the fourth of his career. He stopped F Greg Fraser on a first-period penalty shot. . . . Edmonton D Martin Gernat drew three assists. . . . The Cougars have been blanked a WHL-high eight times. . . .

In Calgary, F Emerson Etem scored twice to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 5-1 victory over the Hitmen. . . . The Hitmen, who were opening a five-game homestand, had won eight in a row. . . . The Tigers now are 3-0 against Calgary this season. . . . Etem, who has 39 goals in 40 games, has scored in eight straight games for the third time this season. . . . F Jimmy Bubnick scored his 20th goal of the season for Calgary. . . . The Hitmen took control with two goals in the first minute of the second period. Already leading 1-0, Etem scored shorthanded just 11 seconds into the period and F Curtis Valk added his 15th at 0:54. . . . Tigers G Tyler Bunz stopped 29 shots. . . . The Hitmen took 64 of 114 penalty minutes. . . . The Tigers were 0-9 on the PP; the Hitmen were 0-7. . . . The Tigers had a 45-30 edge in shots, including 19-2 in the third period. . . .

In Kamloops, G Cole Cheveldave stopped 24 shots to help the Blazers blank the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 3-0. . . . Cheveldave, an 18-year-old freshman from Calgary, has four shutouts. His first three all were against Prince George. . . . The Hurricanes have been shut out three times. . . . The Blazers have won seven in a row — with Calgary’s loss, this is the longest active streak in the WHL now — and are just one point behind the Tri-City Americans, who lead the WHL’s overall standings. The teams meet Saturday in Kennewick, Wash. . . . F Brendan Ranford and F Tim Bozon each scored his 23rd goal of the season. . . . Lethbridge is 1-3 on its B.C. Division tour. . . .

In Kelowna, Everett G Kent Simpson stopped 34 shots as the Silvertips beat the Rockets, 3-2. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 20 shots. That included a save on a second-period penalty shot attempt by F Josh Winquist. . . . The Silvertips had lost 13 straight on the road. They hadn’t won away from home since Oct. 28. . . . D Nick Walters scored at 2:05 of the third to give the visitors a 3-1 lead. . . . F Shane McColgan got the Rockets to within one at 10:08.
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WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Matthew Konan, Medicine Hat.
F Hunter Shinkaruk, Medicine Hat.
D Macoy Erkamps, Lethbridge.
D Tyler Kizuik, Lethbridge.
F Ryan Harrison, Everett.
D Nick Walters, Everett.

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Blazers run streak to seven games

2012-01-19T01:15:00.000-08:00


Kamloops goaltender Cole Cheveldave stopped 24 shots Wednesday as the Blazers blanked the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes, 3-0. (Photo by Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN

Daily News Sports Editor

The Kamloops Blazers, just like the song says, took care of business Wednesday night at Interior Savings Centre.
The Blazers ran their winning streak to seven games with a workmanlike 3-0 WHL victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who had beaten the Giants 6-3 in Vancouver on Tuesday night.
Brendan Ranford, Chase Souto and Tim Bozon scored the goals — and goaltender Cole Cheveldave turned aside 24 shots — as the Blazers (32-10-3) again closed to within one point of the Tri-City Americans (34-10-0), who lead the WHL’s overall standings.
The Blazers will play their next five games on the road, starting Friday in Kent, Wash., against the Seattle Thunderbirds. They then will hook up with the Americans in Kennewick, Wash., on Saturday.
Last night, the Blazers’ structure was as good as it has been. They were in the shooting lanes all night and they had active sticks. And they almost always had a forward high in the offensive zone, which resulted in Lethbridge getting very few clean breaks through the neutral zone.
Cheveldave, who record the fourth shutout of his freshman season, but the first against someone not named Prince George Cougars, was rarely tested. His best save may have come late in the third period when he blockered away a 15-foot shot by Phil Tot, who was coming off a five-point night in Vancouver.
The 18-year-old freshman from Calgary was making his seventh straight start. In those seven games, he is 7-0-0 and has allowed only six goals while posting three shutouts. He has a 0.86 goals-against average with a .966 save percentage.
On the season, Cheveldave is 24-5-3, 2.32, .918.
In the early going, the visitors held a 6-1 edge in shots. But at one point late in the second period, the Blazers held a 22-8 edge, meaning they had outshot the Hurricanes 20-2 during that stretch.
Ranford got the Blazers’ train rolling at 12:38 of the first period, firing a puck past goaltender Damien Ketlo after Chase Schaber capitalized on a turnover and got it to the front of the crease.
The Blazers nursed that lead into the second period when Souto hacked a loose puck off a Tyler Hansen shot under Ketlo at 5:25. Then, at 15:54, Bozon scored off the rush — Colin Smith to Marek Hrbas to Bozon — and school was out.
Bozon and Ranford both scored their 23rd goals of the season, which pulled them into a share of the team lead with Smith.
Smith’s assist ran his point streak to eight games — he has 14 points, including four goals, over that stretch. Bozon, meanwhile, also is on an eight-game tear, with 13 points, seven of them goals, in that time.
Ranford provided something of a scare early in the first period when he appeared to stumble over the back of the Lethbridge goal and tweak his right knee. He and trainer Colin Robinson spent some time in the tunnel behind the Kamloops bench, and Ranford soon was back on the ice.
The score could have been a whole lot worse were it not for some errant shooting by the Blazers, whose power play again was silent, and the play of Ketlo, who finished with 32 saves, none better than a pad stop off Ranford in the third period.
If there was an area of concern for Kamloops it may have been with that power play. The Blazers, who for the most part over-passed with the man advantage, went 0-for-5 and now are 2-for-20 in their last four games.
The Hurricanes started the season 2-13-1 and are paying for that now. They actually lost 13 in a row after opening 2-1-0. Since that abysmal start, they are 15-17-0. But, with a record of 17-30-1, they now are 14 points out of an Eastern Conference playoff spot as they head for Kelowna and a Friday night engagement with the Rockets.
Lethbridge’s chances also have been hurt by a lack of loser points. The Hurricanes have only one point from an overtime or shootout loss; the Everett Silvertips have a league-high nine.
JUST NOTES: Attendance was 3,578, but there were fewer than that many people in the stands as the weather no doubt kept some folks at home. . . . The Hurricanes were 0-for-3 on the PP. . . . Among the Blazers scratches was F Brandon Herrod, who suffered an undisclosed injury in practice on Monday. That injury meant the Blazers dressed 17 skaters, one under the maximum. . . . Herrod isn’t expected to play Friday or Saturday. . . . The Daily News’ Three Stars: 1. D Marek Hrbas, Kamloops: More involved; 2. Cheveldave: Solid; 3. Schaber: Two assists and solid defensively. . . . The Blazers jumped from seventh to fourth in the CHL rankings that were released yesterday. . . . Bozon has been added as an injury replacement to the Top Prospects Game that is to be played in Kelowna on Feb. 1. . . . Bozon will miss the Blazers’ next home game, which is scheduled for Feb. 1 when the Spokane Chiefs are here. . . . Gordie Howe will be in attendance at that game.

2012-01-18T01:59:00.000-08:00

Goaltender Eric Comrie of the Tri-City Americans comes up with the save off
Luke Lockhart of the Seattle Thunderbirds on Tuesday at the Toyota Center
in Kennewick, Wash. Comrie shut out the T-Birds, 4-0.
(Photo courtesy Doug Love / Tri-City Americans)

The Kootenay Ice is scheduled to play in Regina tonight, which normally means leaving Cranbrook and riding the bus for 10 hours.
However, this time it was just a little bit different.
This time, the Ice got to Sparwood and discovered that No. 3 Highway through Crowsnest Pass was closed due to snow and blowing snow.
With no indication as to when it would re-open, the Ice sat in a Sparwood parking lot for about 11 hours.
Still with no idea when the highway would re-open — in fact, there was talk that it might remain closed for another 24 hours — the Ice had breakfast and then chose to return to Cranbrook.
“We have back-tracked to Cranbrook,” reported G Mackenzie Skapski, “and are taking the Invermere route through Banff and then through Calgary. So, all-in-all, at the end of the day it’ll probably be a 15-hour bus ride.”
It should be pointed out that Skapski was more than gracious in keeping in touch with Keeping Score during this not-so-excellent adventure.
At one point, he noted that the movie selection on the bus was “very good. . . . It was almost (as though this was) meant to be.”
By the time the Ice arrived in Regina, at about 3 a.m. CT, what normally is a 10-hour ride had taken about 26.
“It’s funny,” Ice head coach Kris Knoblauch told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post from the bus, “all the games that I’ve been with Kootenay, we only had one cancelled and that was when we were on a road trip in Saskatchewan (two seasons ago). We played in Prince Albert and the highway closed from Saskatoon to Regina. We had to postpone that game. Now we’re coming from B.C. and we’re in the same situation but we should be able to play (tonight).”
Ahh, life in the Dub. To steal a line from an Armed Forces commercial, “There’s no life like it.”
The Ice arrived in Regina about 3 a.m. CT. When they arrived in the Saskatchewan capital, No. 3 highway still was closed at Sparwood.
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Hey, if you like what you find here, why not think about donating to the cause. It's easy to do. Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
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F Brett Connolly played 6:45 over nine shifts on Tuesday night as his Tampa Bay Lightning beat the visiting Boston Bruins, 5-3. He had three shifts in the first period, four in the second, and two in the third. Of that 6:45, 1:31 came with his club on the PP. . . . Connolly also had two shots on goal. . . . Hello, Steve, this is Bob Tory calling from the Tri-City Americans. . . .
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The Brandon Wheat Kings welcomed G Corbin Boes back to practice on Tuesday. He has been out since suffering a broken hand on Dec. 8 in a 7-3 loss to the Oil Kings in Edmonton. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon reports that Wheat Kings D Ryley Miller and D Ryan Pulock, both of whom were injured during an 8-2 loss to the Warriors in Moose Jaw on Sunday, were on the ice Tuesday. D Rene Hunter, who missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury, also practised. However, D Eric Roy is listed as being out two weeks with an undisclosed injury. . . .
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F Ty Rattie of the Portland Winterhawks is the only player in all of the CHL to have scored 40 goals. He got there in Monday’s 5-1 victory over the visiting Tri-City Americans. F Nino Niederreiter scored 41 for the Winterhawks last season, the most since F Josef Balej notched 51 in 2001-02. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth leads the WHL with 28 victories. The Winterhawks have 27 games remaining and he is within reach of Brent Belecki’s franchise single-season record of 35, set in 1997-98. Also in franchise history, only Darrell May Sr. (105) and BeleckI (79) have more career victories than Carruth (73). . . .
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F Jarid Hauptman, 17, has left the Spokane Chiefs. Hauptmann, from Morinville, Alta., had 11 points, including four goals, in 32 games. With the Jan. 10 signing deadline having passed, Hauptmann can’t be reassigned to another team, nor is he able to play for another team in any league.
“For us, he was doing well,” Chiefs GM Tim Speltz told Jess Brown of the Spokane Spokesman-Review. “It’s a process and it’s not easy and he had a bright hockey future ahead of him — but it isn’t what he wants and there’s no way he could pretend that it was. It’s a huge commitment, and his decision was kind of consistent with what we’d already experienced with him.
“It doesn’t seem to be a good move timing-wise, but he has to do what he thinks is right for him.”
Hauptman started training camp with the Chiefs, but left the team, only to return six weeks later. So obviously this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision.
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The Regina Pats have agreed to serve as the lead sponsor for Hockey Regina’s annual peewee tournament. The event now will be known as the Regina Pats Peewee Classic. . . . This year’s tournament is scheduled for Jan. 26-29. . . . The tournament’s eight divisions have been named after former Pats players — Jordan Eberle, Josh Harding, Mike Sillinger, Rick Rypien, Derek Boogaard, Jamie Heward, Dale Derkatch and Derek Morris. . . . By the way, it’s Wiener Wednesday in Regina tonight as the Pats play host to the Kootenay Ice. That means it’s 2-for-1 hotdogs, and it doesn’t get any better than that. . . .
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Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reported Tuesday afternoon that Silvertips F J.T. Barnett has had his season ended by “a torn lateral collateral ligament in his knee. Freak injury prior to Saturday's game in Kamloops.” . . . Barnett, 19, was a healthy scratch on Friday night when the Silvertips beat the visiting Spokane Chiefs 4-3 in overtime. On Saturday in Kamloops, he tweaked a knee during pregame scratching, took the warmup, got taped up and played. He had a goal and an assist in a 5-2 loss to the Blazers, and then didn’t play in Sunday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the visiting Kelowna Rockets. . . . Barnett started the season with Kamloops but was dealt to Everett on Nov. 14. . . . He had 12 points in 20 games with Everett. . . .
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There are reports — I believe Chris Dilks of the Western College Hockey blog was first with the news — that F Luke Voltin has been dropped by the U.S. National Team Development Program. Voltin, who will turn 17 on April 13, is from Blaine, Minn. He has committed to North Dakota; his WHL rights are held by the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Voltin has been playing for the U.S. U-17 team and has 12 points, including five goals, in 25 games. He played in the recent U-17 World Hockey Challenge, scoring once and adding one assist.
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TWEET OF THE NIGHT:
From Steve Ewen, who covers the Vancouver Giants for the Vancouver Province: “Elevator is out of service at the Pacific Coliseum. Vancouver Giants listing it as week to week, upper body injury.”
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Swift Current, G Jon Groenheyde stopped 38 shots as the Broncos dumped the Victoria Royals, 3-1. . . . F Taylor Vause had a goal, his 24th, and an assist for the Broncos. . . . Vause broke a 1-1 tie at 18:22 of the second period. . . . D Reece Scarlett provided insurance with a PP goal at 11:55 of the third. . . . The Broncos have won two in a row, while the Royals are 1-2-0 on their East Division swing. . . .

In Red Deer, F Alex Gogolev scored twice as the Calgary Hitmen dumped the Rebels, 5-1. . . . The Hitmen now have won eight in a row. . . . D Mathew Dumba gave the Rebels a 1-0 lead with his 12th goal of the season at 4:09 of the second period. . . . The Hitmen then scored two second-period goals tto take the lead. . . . Gogolev has 18 goals this season. . . . Calgary F Greg Chase scored his second goal of the season, in his 33rd game, and added two assists. . . . Calgary has won five straight road games and opens a five-game homestand tonight against the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., G Eric Comrie stopped 16 shots as the Tri-City Americans beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-0. . . . Comrie, in his first WHL season, has three shutouts. He is 15-3-0. . . . The Thunderbirds have lost their last 20 games in the Toyota Center. . . . The Americans, who had lost two straight, now have won 14 straight games on home ice. . . . F Patrick Holland ran his point streak to 13 games with a goal and an assist. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard, winless in 14 starts in Kennewick, stopped 36 shots. . . . F Adam Hughesman had two assists, moving him to 305 points and past Terry Degner (304) and into fourth place on the Tri-City career points list. . . . F Brendan Shinnimin also had two assists to get to 272 points, moving past Bill Lindsay (271) and into ninth place. . . . Comrie and Ty Rimmer have combined for eight shutouts, one shy of the franchise record set in 2009-10. . . . F Jesse Mychan, who was acquired by Tri-City from Everett last week, scored his third goal in five games with the Americans. . . .

In Vancouver, F Philip Tot had two goals and three assists as the Lethbridge Hurricanes got past the Giants, 5-3. . . . Lethbridge was coming off a doubleheader loss to the Cougars in Prince George last weekend. The Hurricanes are in Kamloops tonight. . . . F Jay Merkley scored twice for the Hurricanes, who three times took leads and had the Giants come back to tie them. . . . F Jaimen Yakubowski broke a 3-3 tie at 1:20 of the third period. . . . Tot, an 18-year-old from Calgary, has 26 points, including eight goals, in 36 games. Last season, as a sophomore, he had 21 points, six of them goals, in 58 games. . . . F Nick Buonassisi had a goal and two helpers for Lethbridge. . . . Vancouver D Blake Orban had a goal and an assist. He went into the game without a point in 25 games. . . . Lethbridge G Liam Liston, making his first start since Dec. 9, stopped 38 shots. . . . The Hurricanes have won five road games this season — two in Vancouver, two in Medicine Hat and one in Red Deer. . . . The Giants, who gave up 15 shots in a 4-3 loss to the visiting Kelowna Rockets on Saturday, surrendered 18 shots in the first period against Lethbridge.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Spencer Humphries, Calgary.
F Jaimen Yakubowski, Lethbridge
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In a piece headlined ‘Are ice hockey enforcers the toughest guys in sport?’ Alex Capstick of BBC World Service brings Jim Thomson’s story to another part of the world.
That piece is right here.

Hurricane warning for ISC tonight

2012-01-17T22:40:00.000-08:00

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor

It is time to clean out the notebook as the Kamloops Blazers get ready to entertain the Lethbridge Hurricanes tonight at Interior Savings Centre . . .
THE SCHEDULE: The Hurricanes are 17-29-1 and struggling to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture. They are 12 points out of a playoff spot, so it’s unlikely that they will get there, especially in the loser-point era.
The Blazers (31-10-3) go in having won six in a row, including the first three on this four-game homestand. They are three points behind the Tri-City Americans (34-10-0), who lead the overall standings. The Blazers lead the B.C. Division by 11 points over the Vancouver Giants, who lost 6-3 to the visiting Hurricanes last night.
The Hurricanes, who got two goals and three assists from F Philip Tot last night, are the fourth of the WHL’s weak sisters to face the Blazers since Jan. 1. Kamloops beat the Prince George Cougars three times, and also dumped the Seattle Thunderbirds and Everett Silvertips in that stretch.
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THE MASSEY RATINGS: If you are interested in a statistical analysis of the WHL and its teams, visit www.masseyratings.com.
This website rates the WHL’s 22 teams, taking into account such things as estimated team strength, offence, defence, home-ice advantage and strength of schedule.
The Blazers went into last night’s game ranked No. 2, behind the Americans. Kamloops is ranked highly in all categories except home-ice advantage (11th) and strength of schedule (20th).
The Blazers are 17-6-0 at home. And, as mentioned earlier, they have played some of the poorer teams of late, which has resulted in the strength of schedule ranking.
Interestingly, the Americans are ranked 21st in strength of schedule, with the Portland Winterhawks, who are third overall in the Massey Ratings, at No. 19.
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ROAD, SWEET ROAD: The Blazers are making their points on the road, where they are 14-4-3, for a WHL-best .738 winning percentage. And that is easily the league’s top road record, with the Tri-City Americans next at .652. . . . There are five teams with better home winning percentages than Kamloops (17-6-0, .739). The Americans (19-2-0, .905) are No. 1. . . . After tonight’s game, Kamloops will have 12 home games remaining on its schedule and 15 away from home. . . . This is the Blazers’ last home game in January. They will play five road games before returning home to meet the Spokane Chiefs on Feb. 1.
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POWERING UP: The Blazers are 2-for-15 on the power play over their last three games. So what’s up? “I don’t think we shoot enough,” head coach Guy Charron said after Saturday’s 5-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips at ISC. “We have good puck movement. Our timing is off as far as when to shoot and when not to shoot. When we should shoot we pass and when we should pass we shoot.”
Charron said the recent lack of success isn’t a “big concern” because “I think we have the players to make it a successful power play.”
Left-winger Tim Bozon, who scored twice against Everett, including once on a power-play unit that went 1-for-5, also is of the opinion that more shots are needed.
“We need more one-two passes and shoot,” Bozon said, adding that the Blazers also need to do a better job of getting bodies to the front of the opposition’s net in those situations.
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THE GOALTENDER: Cole Cheveldave is scheduled to start in goal for the Blazers tonight. This will be his seventh straight start and his 23rd in the last 25 games.
Since being a healthy scratch four times in the season’s first seven games, Cheveldave, 18, has started 30 of the club’s 37 games. He is 23-5-3, 2.39, .916.
Cheveldave has played 1,905 minutes, which is closing in on the 2,521 minutes he played last season with the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons. He was the AJHL’s rookie of the year after going 16-20 with six ties, 2.90, .917.
Cam Lanigan, who backs up Cheveldave, hasn’t played since Dec. 30 when he started a 6-3 loss to the visiting Calgary Hitmen. Lanigan is 7-4-0, 3.26, .882.
After tonight, the Blazers go to Kent, Wash., for a Friday night engagement with the Thunderbirds. You have to wonder if Lanigan will get that start, with Cheveldave going Saturday against the host Americans.
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MR. MOM: Lethbridge F Max Moline, who turns 19 on Jan. 30, and his fiancee, Kaylee Lyon, became parents on Sunday when Ronald James Winston Moline was born at 1:05 a.m. . . . Moline, who was acquired from the Tri-City Americans for a conditional 2012 fifth-round draft pick, is from Lethbridge. He has played three games this season but hasn’t played since Sept. 30 and the WHL’s latest injury report lists him as being out for at least another month with a lower body injury.
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JUST NOTES: Game time is 7 p.m. . . . Lethbridge G Damien Ketlo made his 13th straight start Saturday as the Hurricanes lost 4-2 in Prince George. Last night, the Hurricanes gave Liam Liston his first start since Dec. 6 and he made 38 saves in winning in Vancouver. . . . Kamloops F Chase Schaber has scored six game-winning goals, leaving him one off the WHL lead held by F Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . F Brendan Ranford, Schaber’s long-time linemate, has five winners. . . . Bozon is on a seven-game point streak, with 12 points, six of them goals, in that stretch. . . . Colin Smith, who centres Bozon and J.C. Lipon, is the WHL’s player of the week. He had seven points, including three goals, and was plus-6 as the Blazers went 3-0-0 last week. . . . F J.T. Barnett, whom the Blazers dealt to Everett on Nov. 14, has had his season ended by a knee injury. Barnett, 19, played here Saturday despite tweaking a knee while doing some pregame stretching. It turns out that he tore a lateral collateral ligament in one knee. . . . D Brad Lukowich, who spent three seasons (1993-96) with the Blazers, played in his 1,000th professional game Monday as his Texas Stars dropped a 2-0 AHL decision to the host Rockford IceHogs. . . . G Braden Krogfoss of the Vancouver North West Giants is the B.C. Major Midget league’s player of the month for December. Krogfoss, a seventh-round selection by the Blazers in the 2010 bantam draft, was 3-0-0 with a 0.33 GAA and two shutouts last month. He is from Cloverdale.

Pursuit of pro job takes Ferner to Everett

2012-01-17T22:36:00.000-08:00

MARK FERNER

He’s still the same Mark Ferner. Down home. Folksy. Old school. Hey, he could pass for a Sutter if you didn’t know him.
Neither life in the big American city nor all of that success in Vernon, where he spent four seasons coaching the junior A Vipers, has changed the man who now is the head coach of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips.
He’s still the same Mark Ferner, one of our city’s favourite sons, albeit adopted, whose stint as head coach of the then-your Kamloops Blazers ended the way so many of these relationships do.
Yes, he was fired.
“Was I ready to coach here?” he asks, before adding: “I don’t know if I was or not.”
The tone of his voice, however, tells you the answer.
He continues: “Being honest . . . with what the situation was . . . we all understand and all know that situation when Dean (Clark) had stepped down and just wanted to be the GM.”
To take you back, it was the 2004-05 season. The Blazers were owned by a group of community shareholders and the organization was trying to overcome, among other things, the disappearance of about $1 million, the eventual jailing of the office manager, the resignation of the franchise’s long-time president and on and on.
Twenty games into 2004-05, Clark stepped aside and Ferner moved up from associate coach to head coach.
The next season, with the Blazers 16-16-0 and playing mostly uninspired hockey, Clark pulled the pin on Ferner. It was a bitter experience that opened an abyss between the former teammates.
“I talk to Hitch a lot,” Ferner says, referencing former Blazers head coach Ken Hitchcock, “and he said, ‘You really don’t become a coach, a real coach, until you’ve been fired.’ ”
Until you have felt the pain?
“Yeah . . . yeah,” Ferner says and more scar tissue breaks free.
If that doesn’t make you a coach, winning championships will.
Under Ferner, the Vipers experienced only 51 regulation-time losses in 240 regular-season games. They won the last three BCHL championships. They won two straight RBC national titles before losing in the final last spring.
Clearly, Ferner could have stayed in Vernon indefinitely. Just as clearly, it was time to move.
“I want to give myself an opportunity to coach pro hockey,” Ferner says. “I don’t know if I could get to the pro level from junior A.”
During his stint in Vernon, he heard from pro teams. They loved the success he had had but, at day’s end, it still was junior A. Which is how it came to pass that Doug Soetaert, the general manager of the Silvertips, on July 6 introduced Ferner as the fourth head coach in franchise history.
The Silvertips, who are in their ninth WHL season, have had an uncommon amount of success in their early life. But it started to come apart last season and Soetaert has undertaken a full-scale rebuild.
As Ferner stands and talks, his Silvertips are 8-26-8. Two nights later, they are 8-27-9. They aren’t likely to make the playoffs, something that will feel strange to Ferner, considering his last three seasons with the Vipers.
The U.S. Division also is a tough place in which to live when you are working on your foundation. It is home to the Tri-City Americans, perhaps the CHL’s model franchise these days, as well as the Portland Winterhawks and Spokane Chiefs, who aren’t far behind.
Ferner knows that, but he feels his young charges can only learn from those three teams.
“The culture has to change,” he says, repeating something that was a mantra during his days on the Blazers’ coaching staff.
He now sees a big part of his job as “making sure that the kids understand what the expectations are and that there is no substitute for hard work. Regardless of the talent level that we have, the one thing that has to stay consistent is our work ethic . . . and that’s non-negotiable.”
These days, he says, it’s all about work ethic and trust.
“Confidence is a huge thing in this game,” he notes, “and they’re a fragile group right now. There has to be a lot of teaching, not babying, but at the same time the message has been sent if you’re not going to work, you’re not going to play.”
That message was delivered via ex-Blazers winger J.T. Barnett, who was a healthy scratch Friday against the visiting Chiefs.
That is the Ferner way, something some players will learn the hard way.
In a conversation last week, Kamloops defenceman Bronson Maschmeyer talked about how structured play and trust in each other have played roles in the Blazers’ success to this point. That is exactly what Ferner is trying to establish with the Silvertips.
“We need to trust what we’re doing; we need to trust each other,” Ferner says.
He tells his players to “go out and believe you’re good enough to be here. You’re here because you’re a good player. You’re not here because of things you can’t do; you’re here because of things you can do.”
Yes, he feels he is making progress, but sometimes it is slow going.
He says the process hasn’t been hard on him personally, but admits that “it’s humbling . . . no question.”
But, he adds, “it’s hockey and I understand where we’re at, where we just consistently can’t do it for 60 minutes right now. We see flashes of it . . . if the game was 27 minutes long, some nights we’d be OK. It’s getting them to understand it’s not a sometime thing, it’s an all-the-time thing.”
In other words, Ferner, as usual, is all-in. He wants to make sure his players are, too.

(Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca, gdrinnan.blogspot.com and twitter.com/gdrinnan.)

2012-01-17T01:51:00.000-08:00

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Mike Wirll (Brandon, Prince Albert, Prince George, Lethbridge, 1997-2003) signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Braehead Clan (Scotland, UK Elite). He had two assists in six games for the Carstairs Redhawks (Alberta, Chinook Senior) this season. . . .
G Todd Ford (Swift Current, Prince George, Vancouver, 2000-04) was released at his request for personal reasons by the Heilbronner Falken (Germany, 2.Bundesliga). He had a 2.76 GAA in 31 games for the Falcons this season. Ford went out in style, getting the shutout in Heilbronn's 4-0 victory over Ravensburg on Sunday evening. . . .
F Jakub Sindel (Brandon, 2004-05) agreed to extend his tryout contract with Kärpät Oulu (Finland, SM-Liiga) for another week, which includes three games. It was set to expire Sunday. He has three assists in eight games with Kärpät. Earlier this season, Sindel had two assists in five games with Kloten (Switzerland, NL A) before breaking his jaw, and one goal in 21 games with Dinamo Riga (Latvia, KHL). Sindel has some roots in Finland. He has played in Finland two of the past three seasons and he spent five years as a child in Finland while his father, G Jaromir Sindel, played in SM-Liiga.
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The Kootenay Ice left Cranbrook on Monday, headed for Regina and a Wednesday night engagement with the Pats.
As of late Monday night/early Tuesday morning, the Ice was sitting in the parking lot of a grocery store in Sparwood, B.C., waiting for Highway 3 to reopen.
Such is life in the WHL.
“Exactly,” tweeted Ice G Mackenzie Skapski. “Anything can happen. They are obstacles you have to overcome.”
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Three players from the UBC Thunderbirds, each with ties to the WHL, will join assistant coach Tyler Kuntz and assorted other UBC hockey alumni in the Ride to Conquer Cancer.
That ride will take them from Vancouver to Seattle on June 16 and 17.
Each of the riders is hoping to raise $2,500 for the cause.
F Scott Wasden (Medicine Hat, Kamloops, 2004-09), F Justin McCrae (Saskatoon, Spokane, 2003-09) and F Wyatt Hamilton, whose brother Wacey played in the WHL, will take part in the ride.
Wasden and Hamilton are in their third years at UBC and both are in the Sauder School of Business. McCrae also is in his third year; he is enrolled in kinesiology. When he done his undergraduate degree, he plans to attend law school.
If you are interested in more info on the Thunderbirds, who are coached by old friend Milan Dragicevic, check out Kuntz’s blog right here.
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Brent Stecker of the Wenatchee World reports that USA Hockey has blocked a proposed move by the NAHL’s Wenatchee Wild to the BCHL. Stecker’s story is right here.
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Ryan Johansen could still be with the Portland Winterhawks. Instead, he is with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, who are hoping he will become the franchise centre they have long needed..
Corey Masisak of NHL.com has more right here.
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MONDAY’S GAMES:
In Spokane, F Seth Swenson scored twice as the Seattle Thunderbirds stunned the Chiefs, 3-2. . . . Seattle ended a seven-game losing streak. . . . Swenson was in the penalty box when F Justin Hickman scored shorthanded at 14:36 of the third period, breaking a 2-2 tie. . . . Swenson, who has three goals this season, had tied the game at 11:35 of the third. . . . Swenson was acquired a week ago from the Portland Winterhawks in a deal that had F Marcel Noebels and two first-round bantam draft picks to the other way. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 31 shots, 10 more than Spokane’s Mac Engel. . . . The season series now is 1-1 with six games remaining. . . .

In Portland, the Winterhawks set a franchise record as they beat the Tri-City Americans, 5-1. . . . This was the Winterhawks’ 17th straight victory on home ice, erasing the record set in 1993-94. . . . Portland F Oliver Gabriel enjoyed the first three-goal game of his career, In fact, he broke a 1-1 tie with the game’s next three goals. . . . The Winterhawks won their 30th game of the season. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie scored his WHL-leading 40th goal of the season. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth leads the WHL with 28 victories. He has won nine straight starts. . . . Tri-City leads the season series, 5-1-0. . . . Portland had F Sven Baertschi back in the lineup for the first time since Dec. 16. He picked up a concussion while playing for Switzerland at the World Junior Championship. He had one assist in his first game back. He was back with Rattie and they had Cam Reid at centre. . . . The Americans were without F Brendan Shinnimin, who served a one-game suspension for an accumulation of embellishment penalties. . . . You don’t get suspended for an accumulation of charging penalties or high-sticking penalties or tripping penalties or interference penalties. But you get suspended for too many embellishment penalties? What is wrong with this picture? . . . The Americans will play their fifth game in seven days when they are at home tonight to the Seattle Thunderbirds, who have lost 19 in a row at the Toyota Center. . . . The Americans have won their last 13 home games.
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MONDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Tyler Wotherspoon, Portland.

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2012-01-16T22:07:00.000-08:00

The Super Bowl at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis is scheduled for Feb. 5, and that is so close we can taste the biscuits and gravy.
The Circle City will welcome two teams, and last weekend the field was narrowed to four. It will be the New York Giants or the San Francisco 49ers versus the Baltimore Ravens or New England Patriots.
Two of the teams in the final four this year used to be somebody else. The Colts used to be the home team in Baltimore; the Ravens used to be the home team in Cleveland.
The New York Giants play their home games in New Jersey. The 49ers, meanwhile, have been in San Francisco since Day 1.
In honor of the migratory nature of some teams, please enjoy Jim Murray's column from Nov. 12, 1995.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1995, SPORTS
Copyright 1995/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY

JIM MURRAY

Back Up the Truck, Nothing's Changed

    So the Cleveland Browns become the Baltimore Browns. So what? What's the big deal?
    This all began 75 years ago when the Decatur, Ill., Staleys became the Chicago Bears. That was 1920. The Portsmouth, Ohio, Spartans became the Detroit Lions.

    The Washington Redskins were the Boston Redskins when they won their first league championship in 1936 and played the title game in the Polo Grounds in New York that year because their owner, George Preston Marshall, was in the process of moving the team to Washington. He was angry at the lack of support he got in Boston. Sound familiar? That was 60 years ago. What's changed?
    Teams not only moved, they sometimes tried to split the loyalty, cover two towns at once. The Pittsburgh Steelers merged with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1943 to become the "Steagles." The next year, they joined with Chicago and became the Card-Pitts.
    The Cleveland Rams became the Los Angeles Rams in 1946 and the St. Louis Rams in 1994.
    The Kansas City Chiefs were the Dallas Texans. The originals were a nomadic group of happy-go-lucky characters who roamed the professional football trail, dropping their luggage wherever they could collect a crowd and pass a hat.
    The original Dallas Texans became the Baltimore Colts. Actually, the Baltimore Colts were a little bit of everything. Originally, they had been the Miami Seahawks who went broke in Miami in 1946 and hit the highway for Baltimore. Even the Dallas Texans' franchise absorbed by Baltimore in 1953 had originally been the New York Yanks, who had previously been the Boston Yanks.
    And then, the Baltimore Colts became the Indianapolis Colts in 1984.
    The Phoenix Cardinals were the St. Louis Cardinals who had been the Chicago Cardinals till 1960. They stayed in St. Louis for 28 years, then moved to Arizona.
    The San Diego Chargers were the Los Angeles Chargers. The Raiders, like the 1943 Steagles, couldn't seem to make up their minds where they wanted to drop their hats. They waffled from Oakland to L.A., then back again.
    Now, the Browns want to move to Baltimore, the Houston Oilers want to move to Nashville, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers want to move to Orlando, and the Arizona Cardinals will take any direction, including straight up.
    The NFL is the only league in history that is double-parked with the motor running. It's the football version of Nathan Detroit's "permanent, established, floating crap game."
    That Los Angeles is without a franchise is the joke of the century. You have to think that, if any two things put pro football on the map, it was 1, the signing of Red Grange, "the Galloping Ghost," in the 20s' and 2, the Rams' move to Los Angeles in the '40s.
    I mean, what are they going to do with all those "Beat L.A." banners around the league? Who wants to hold up a "Beat Nashville" sign?
    The Left Coast is under-represented. Having franchises in Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco and Oakland and not one in L.A. is like having one in Boston, Newark, Philadelphia and Scranton and not New York.
    Franchises pass each other in the night. Teams are like hired guns, available to the highest bidder. They should advertise in the Yellow Pages, "Have Team, Will Travel. Call 1 (800) YUR TEAM."
    It can all trace back to the lawyers. Most things can.
    It happened back in 1983 in L.A. when the courts brought back a verdict that the NFL couldn't block the move of the Raiders from Oakland to the City of the Angels.
    No one cheered louder than L.A. at the time but that ruling was to lead to the Southland's losing all its pro football franchises before the smoke cleared.
    The league had sued to enforce its right to dictate the movement of franchises and to block any it deemed unsuitable for the future of the game. It provided that a move required a unanimous vote of the other owners — since amended to require 23 of 30 owners concurring.
    The trial in L.A. resulted, not surprisingly, is an ignominious defeat for the league, which not only lost the right to block moves but millions of dollars in damages.
   The legal message was clear: "Move at will. If they try to stop you, get a lawyer." It was not long before the trucks were starting up all over the league and passing each other on the freeways.
    A reality the law conveniently overlooks is that a team that posits itself as the Los Angeles Whozits or the Pottstown Parrots or whatever takes on an all-important identification with, not to say, obligation to, the community it attaches to itself.
    Teams pay nothing for this right to spray a city logo across their uniforms or helmets or letterheads. There is no plebiscite or referendum giving them that right, or no requirement that they pay for the right.
    In fact, quite the opposite. They require the community to pay for the privilege of their company, build them a stadium, put in luxury boxes. They are kind of complicated gigolos.
    They also expect the community to buy pennants, pompons, shirts with the team logo on them, jackets, wristwatches, hot dogs, programs, beer and parking, anything that means revenue for these carpetbaggers.
    That community identification, that emotional attachment, is as important to them as a football. It's an essential of sports competition. My-team-can-beat-your-lousy-team kind of thing. Joy in Mudville. We're No. 1! Hooray for our side! Boola-boola! Hold that line! And all that jazz.
    I don't know when professional businesses, even though they are "teams," first arrogated the right to represent communities. But I can find no instance when it ever petitioned for, or paid for, or otherwise won the right to do it. Whenever I heard an announcer shout through the PA system "And now! Your Los Angles Rams!" I always wanted to shout back, "Wait just a minute! Whaddya mean my Los Angeles Rams? I don't get a penny here!"
    They were no more "our" Los Angeles Rams than the New York Giants — they play in New Jersey — are "our" New York Giants.
    As you find out when they move to St. Louis.
    These birds have got it all wrong. They think they're doing us a favor when they move a team in here and put our name (and our endorsement tacitly) on the product. They charge us. We should charge them. Or at least hold an election to see if we want them.
    If they don't want that, let them have their Nashville-Orlando Super Bowl some year. And if they keep moving long enough, who knows? Some day they may find themselves back in Decatur.

*Reprinted with the permission of the Los Angeles Times.

Jim Murray Memorial Foundation | P.O. Box 995 | La Quinta | CA | 92247

2012-01-16T02:00:00.000-08:00

JUST NOTES:
The Vancouver Giants will be busy today getting the injuries of at least three players re-evaluated. G Adam Morrison, F Brendan Gallagher and F Dalton Sward all were injured on Friday, either prior to or during an 11-4 loss to the visiting Tri-City Americans. Those three, along with D David Musil (wrist), sat out Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the visiting Kelowna Rockets.
I’m told that Morrison actually was injured before Friday’s game, when he was struck on the chin by a soccer ball that players kick around as part of their pregame warming-up process. Morrison was yanked in the second period after giving up five goals in 10:04 and then wasn’t on the bench for the third period. . . . He is believed to have a concussion. . . . The Giants had Alexander Ahnert, 18, from the junior B Delta Ice Hawks backing up Jackson Whistle, 16, on Saturday. The Giants are expected to bring in G Payton Lee, 15, from Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna today. Lee was a second-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft. . . .
Gallagher, meanwhile, is believed to have suffered a separated shoulder when he slid hard into the end boards during Friday’s first period. He had one arm in a sling while he watched Saturday’s game. He is expected to be out for up to six weeks. . . . Sward also is believed to have a separated shoulder. He, too, was sporting a sling and is looking at being out for up to six weeks. . . .
———
F Brett Connolly played 7:08 as the Tampa Bay Lightning dropped a 6-3 decision to the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday afternoon. . . . Connolly played 10 shifts — three in each of the first two periods (2:43 and 1:54), four in the third (2:31). . . . All of his playing time was at even strength. . . . It was the Lightning’s seventh straight loss, the first time that has happened since 2008-09. . . . Hello, Steve, this is Bob Tory calling . . .
———
SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, F Cody Sylvester broke a 3-3 tie at 11:27 of the third period to give the Hitmen a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Hitmen have won seven in a row. . . . It was Calgary’s first victory over Edmonton in four tries this season. . . . Sylvester has 17 goals. . . . F Jimmy Bubnick scored twice for Calgary, giving him 19. . . . Oil Kings F Henrik Saumuelsson, playing in his third game, was ejected with a charging major at 2:51 of the second period. . . . The Hitmen struck for one PP goal on the Samuelsson goal, but weren’t able to score on a 5-on-3 that lasted 1:24. . . . Edmonton F Curtis Lazar later scored his 12th goal on a 5-on-3 PP early in the third period to forge a 3-3 tie. . . .

In Regina, the Saskatoon Blades scored the game’s first five goals and went onto a 7-4 victory over the Pats. . . . The Blades scored four times on 10 first-period shots. . . . Saskatoon, which has won five in a row, won for the third time in as many nights. . . . F Nick Zajac scored his first WHL goal, in his 38th game, in the opening period, with F Lukas Sutter getting his 20th of the season. . . . F Matej Stransky scored Saskatoon’s last two goals, giving him 25. . . . Saskatoon G Alex Moodie, who would have been returned to the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild had starter Andrey Makarov not ended up concussed on Jan. 7, made his fourth straight start for the Blades and stopped 34 shots. He has started eight of their last 10 games and is 7-2-0. Yes, he started Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. . . . Les Lazaruk, the radio voice of the Blades, reports that Makarov is expected to be out at least another, and also that F Josh Nicholls, who has missed 15 games with a knee injury, may return this weekend. . . .

In Moose Jaw, the Warriors scored five times in the third period and beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 8-2. . . . The Warriors took a 3-2 lead into the third period. . . . F Justin Kirsch had two goals and an assist for Moose Jaw, which got a goal and two assists from F James Henry and a goal and two assists from F Cam Braes. The latter two were acquired earlier in the week prior to the trade deadline. . . . F Quinton Howden chipped in three assists for the Warriors. . . . Brandon has lost four in a row and seven of its last eight. . . . Moose Jaw was 3-for-4 on the PP, ending an 0-for-20 stretch. . . . This was Moose Jaw’s first home gme since Dec. 28. . . . Brandon D Ryley Miller left in the first period with an apparent leg injury. . . .

In Everett, F Zach Franko scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Kelowna Rockets a 3-2 victory over the Silvertips. . . . It was the third game in three nights for both teams. . . . Everett F Reid Petryk forced OT with his eighth goal of the season at 6:18 of the third period. . . . F Brett Bulmer had two assists for Kelowna. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke stopped 39 shots.
———
SUNDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Ryan Olsen, Saskatoon.

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2012-01-15T20:05:00.000-08:00

Tim Bozon of the Kamloops Blazers scores one of his two goals on Everett
goaltender Kent Simpson on Saturday night.
(Photo by Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN

Daily News Sports Editor

A fighter on Friday night, Tim Bozon reverted to his scoring ways 24 hours later to help the Kamloops Blazers to a rather workmanlike 5-2 WHL victory over the Everett Silvertips at Interior Savings Centre.
One night after scoring four goals in the first 6:02 of a 7-1 victory over the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds, the Blazers scored two first-period goals and never trailed against Everett.
The victory allowed the Blazers (31-10-3) to close ground on the Western Conference-leading Tri-City Americans (33-9-0), who were beaten 5-3 by the Chiefs in Spokane. Kamloops now trails the Americans, who also lead the WHL’s overall standings, by just one point. The Americans next play this afternoon when they meet the Winterhawks in Portland.
The Blazers, having won six straight games, are at home again Wednesday, 7 p.m. This time the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who are 16-29-1 and coming off 6-3 and 4-2 losses to the Cougars in Prince George, will provide the opposition.
The Blazers also have stretched their B.C. Division-lead to 11 points over the Vancouver Giants, who were beaten 4-3 by the visiting Kelowna Rockets on Saturday. The Giants were without forwards Brendan Gallagher and Dalton Sward, defenceman David Musil (wrist) and goaltender Adam Morrison. Gallagher, Sward and Morrison were injured during an 11-4 loss to the visiting Americans on Friday and are to be re-evaluated today.
On Saturday, the Blazers took control on first-period goals by forwards Brandon Herrod, his 20th, and Bozon, his 21st, while outshooting the Silvertips, 14-4.
“We tried to have the same start as (Friday),” said Bozon, his right eyelid bearing a souvenir from his Friday night fight with Seattle defenceman Dave Sutter, a pal from Switzerland. “First 10 minutes . . . I think we got a good start.”
When forward Chase Schaber counted the Blazers’ WHL-leading 14th shorthanded goal at 2:25 of the second period, they held a 3-0 lead and the writing was on the wall.
Give the Silvertips credit, though, because the Western Conference’s 10th place team didn’t go away. But while the visitors would get to within 3-1 and 4-2, they couldn’t get any closer.
“We needed one more goal there,” offered Everett winger J.T. Barnett, who was acquired from the Blazers on Nov. 14. Barnett had a goal and an assist for Everett, with defenceman Ryan Murray scoring its other goal.
Bozon and Brock Balson, with his first goal in 23 games with the Blazers, added third-period goals.
Bozon, the son of former NHLer Philippe Bozon, has 22 goals in 44 games. Bozon said he went into this season aiming for 35 goals. That came after numerous conversations with Swiss forward Nino Niederreiter, who put in 36 with the Portland Winterhawks in his freshman season (2009-10) and told Bozon what he could expect in the WHL. Niederreiter now is with the NHL’s New York Islanders.
“We talk a lot,” Bozon said. “He is a good experience for me. I speak a lot with him on how he did here.”
One of the keys to the Blazers’ victory was the way in which they mostly took Everett defenceman Ryan Murray out of the game. Murray, as good as any defender in the WHL, did score a power-play goal, but that was about the only noise he made.
“When he’s on the ice you have to recognize who you’re playing against,” stated Kamloops forward Dylan Willick. “Give him a lane and he’ll take it.”
Willick twice blocked Murray point shots and was feeling it.
“I took one on shin pad, and that’s always the best place to take it,” he said. “The other one got me above pad and below pants. Arghhhh!”
As solidly as the Blazers played, a niggling loose thread appeared late when they took the game’s last four minor penalties. It only resulted in one Everett power-play goal, but . . .
“There’s a need to correct that,” Willick said. “It wears the guys down who are (killing penalties). We have to learn to sit back a little bit and watch our sticks.”
Kamloops head coach Guy Charron admitted he was “pleased overall.”
He especially liked the way his side was able to roll four lines against a team that had played Friday night and then travelled through the night to get here.
“They had a long night and we knew that,” he said. “Our work ethic makes it harder for teams that have a little bit of fatigue. The way we play, rolling everybody, it allowed us to fatigue them even more.”
At the same time, Charron admitted at least some concern with the late penalties.
“We have to learn that we can’t put ourselves in those positions,” he said. “Penalties will cost you when they’re one after another after another. If you spread them out, your penalty killers are fresh. When you keep getting them one after the other you are asking for trouble.”
JUST NOTES: Attendance was 3,899. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave, making his sixth straight start and 23rd in the last 25 games, stopped 24 shots in improving to 23-5-3. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson made 30 saves. . . . Balson had one goal in 48 games with the Prince Albert Raiders last season. He has a goal and three helpers with the Blazers. . . . The Daily News’ Three Stars: 1. Bozon: Two goals, no pugilistic activity; 2. D Austin Madaisky, Kamloops: Controlled things, finished plus-4; 3. Willick: Big shot blocks on Murray. . . . Barnett tweaked a knee while stretching Saturday but was able to play. However, he was scratched from Sunday’s game against visiting Kelowna. . . . Everett D Josh Caron, who had been scratched Friday because he was ill, played Saturday. The Silvertips acquired him from the Blazers on Nov. 29.

2012-01-15T01:47:00.000-08:00

SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Swift Current, G Jon Groenheyde picked up his first career shutout as the Broncos got past the Red Deer Rebels, 4-0. . . . Greonheyde, 20, was playing in his 133rd game. . . . He made 25 saves as the Broncos blanked an opponent for the first time this season. . . . Groenheyde played the first 60 games of his career with the Kamloops Blazers, then was with the Edmonton Oil Kings for 35 appearances. This was his 38th game with Swift Current. . . . F Andy Blanke’s second goal of the season, at 1:02 of the first, stood up as the winner. . . .

In Saskatoon, F Lukas Sutter had two goals and two assists to help the Blades to an 8-6 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Sutter has 19 goals. . . . The Raiders took a 3-2 lead into the secod period when the Blades scored three times on four shots. The Raiders twice got back to within a goal but couldn’t equalize. . . . Saskatoon G Alex Moodie stopped 40 shots and picked up his first WHL assist. . . . Prince Albert F Anthony Bardaro and F Justin Maylan each scored his 20th goal. . . . Saskatoon D Duncan Siemens scored his sixth goal of the season, one more than he counted last season. . . . Raiders D Josh Morrissey, who is 16 and having a terrific season, had a goal and three assists. He has 24 points, including five goals, in 41 games. . . . The Blades have won four in a row. . . .

In Brandon, F Ben Walker’s shootout goal gave the Victoria Royals a 4-3 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Walker had two assists in regulation time as Victoria snapped a 10-game losing skid. . . . The Wheat Kings, who are 0-2-1 in their last three home games, have lost 10 straight shootouts. . . . Brandon is 1-5-1 in its last seven games. . . . The Royals erased a 3-1 deficit when F Jamie Crooks scored at 16:56 of the second and F Brandon Magee tied it at 13:43 of the third. . . . The Royals held a 20-8 edge in shots in the third. . . . F Mark Stone got his 30th of the season for Brandon. . . . Victoria F Dakota Conroy scored his first goal for the Royals, and it came against the team that traded him away on Monday. . . . F Kevin Sundher, who went to Brandon in that exchange, had two assists. . . . Brandon G Curtis Honey, in his first start at home, stopped 46 shots, seven more than Victoria’s Keith Hamilton. . . .

In Edmonton, F Jordan Peddle’s goal at 3:06 of OT gave the Oil Kings a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Oil Kings now lead the Eastern Conference by eight points over Kootenay and the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Edmonton F Henrik Samuelsson had forced OT with his first WHL goal at 8:30 of the third. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart scored his 13th goal, giving him 34 points in 38 games. Jeff Hollick, the Ice’s radio voice, reports that Reinhart has tied F Jarret Stoll and F Nigel Dawes for the franchise record for points in a season by a 16-year-old forward. D Steve McCarthy holds the record, with 40 points at 16 years of age. . . . Kootenay F Drew Czerwonka, the team captain, left the game in the first period and didn’t return. . . .

In Medicine Hat, the Tigers scored the game’s last three goals, two into an empty net, as they beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 6-3. . . . F Emerson Etem had two goals, giving him 37 this season. He has goals in seven straight games, totalling nine goals in that span. . . . Etem broke a 3-3 tie at 10:48 of the third. . . . F Curtis Valk also scored twice for Medicine Hat. . . . Tigers G Tyler Bunz stopped 35 shots in posting his 100th regular-season victory. . . . Moose Jaw F Cam Braes, acquired Monday from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, scored his 100th career goal. He has played in 322 games. . . . Tigers D Patrik Parkkonen had three assists. . . .

In Kamloops, F Tim Bozon scored twice to help the Blazers to a 5-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Bozon, a Swiss freshman, was 39th in the NHL Central Scouting midseason rankings of draft-eligible North American skaters that came out earlier in the week. But he wasn’t named to the CHL Top Prospects Game. . . . Go figure! . . . Bozon has 22 goals. . . . Bozon is riding a seven-game point streak during which time he has 12 points, including six goals. . . . Kamloops F Brandon Herrod scored his 20th goal of the season, 18 of which came with the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Kamloops now has five 20-goal men on its roster. . . . The Blazers have won six in a row and now are just one point the Tri-City Americans, who lead the overall standings and the Western Conference. . . . Kamloops D Austin Madaisky didn’t pick up even one point but he was plus-4. . . . Everett D Ryan Murray, who was third in those same Central Scouting rankings, scored his sixth goal of the season. He has 12 points in 17 games. . . . The Silvertips had planned on heading to Kamloops immediately following a 4-3 overtime victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs on Friday night. However, their departure was delayed for an hour when one of their players was selected for a drug test and, uhh, wasn’t able to go. As a result, they didn’t arrive here until 5 a.m. . . .

In Prince George, the Cougars broke a 1-1 tie with three straight third-period goals and beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-2. . . . The Cougars had beaten the Hurricanes 6-3 on Friday. . . . Prince George F Jordan Tkatch snapped a 1-1 tie at 4:47 of the third. . . . Prince George F Troy Bourke had two assists, giving him five in the two-game series. . . . Cougars G Drew Owsley stopped 39 shots. . . . Lethbridge F Brady Ramsay scored his 16th goal in his 43rd game. Last season, he scored once in 57 games. . . . The Cougars are ninth in the Western Conference, but now are just one point behind the Seattle Thunderbirds and Victoria Royals, who are tied for seventh. . . .

In Vancouver, G Adam Brown turned aside 36 shots as the Kelowna Rockets edged the Giants, 4-3. . . . The Giants overcame a 3-1 third-period deficit, tying the game with two goals 29 seconds apart. F Riley Kieser scored his second goal in as many games, at 6:17, and D Tyler Vanscourt tied it on the PP at 6:46. . . . Kelowna F Carter Rigby got the winner at 7:32. He’s got 13 this season. . . . The Giants were without F Brendan Gallagher and F Dalton Sward, both of whom were injured in Friday’s 11-4 loss to the visiting Tri-City Americans. . . . Gallagher took a big hit from Tri-City F Patrick Holland in the first period and, later on the same shift, took a hard fall into the end boards, possibly injuring his right shoulder. . . . Tweeting about Gallagher’s injury, Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province wrote: “They are saying nothing, which, to me, says a lot. I think it is serious.” . . . Vancouver also was without G Adam Morrison. He got the hook in that loss and wasn’t on the bench in the third period, although head coach Don Hay said later that “there’s nothing wrong with Mo.” . . . With Morrison out, Alexander Ahnert, 18, came in from the junior B Delta Ice Hawks and backed up Jackson Whistle, 16. . . . Ewen reports that the Giants are believed to be bringing in G Payton Lee, 15, from Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna. . . .Vancouver D David Musil (wrist), who didn’t play Friday, also sat out. . . . The Giants are saying that Gallagher, Morrison and Sward are day-to-day and will be re-evaluated on Monday. . . .

In Kent, Wash., G Mac Carruth stopped 25 shots as the Portland Winterhawks blanked the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-0. . . . Carruth has two shutouts this season — both against Seattle — and four in his career. He blanked the Thunderbirds 2-0 on Dec. 31. . . . Portland has won three straight games. . . . The Thunderbirds have lost six in a row. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie scored his WHL-leading 39th goal of the season. . . . The Winterhawks also got a goal from F Marcel Noebels, who was acquired Tuesday from Seattle. . . . Portland D Joe Morrow had an assist to run his points streak to six games. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 48 shots. . . .

In Spokane, F Dominik Uher had two goals and an assist to lead the Chiefs to a 5-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Uher has 14 goals. . . . Spokane F Dylan Walchuk broke a 3-3 tie with a PP goal at 7:05 of the third. He has two goals in two games since joining the Chiefs this week. . . . Tri-City D Sam Grist had tied the game 3-3 with his first WHL goal in 96 games at 11:28 of the second. . . . F Todd Fiddler scored for Spokane. He had 10 points in 35 games with the Prince Albert Raiders. Since joining the Chiefs, he has 10 points, five of them goals, in nine games. . . . Spokane G Mac Engel stopped 31 shots. He is 6-0-0 in his last six starts.
———
SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Manraj Hayer, Everett.
F Tim Bozon, Kamloops.
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———

In the BCHL on Saturday night, the Penticton Vees ran their winning streak to 23 games with a 4-0 victory over the visiting Prince George Spruce Kings. . . . The Vees next play Friday when they are at home to the Westside Warriors.
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If you watched last spring’s Memorial Cup, you may have seen D Brayden McNabb’s hit on Owen Sound Attack F Joey Hishon. You may even recall that McNabb ended up with a one-game suspension for a hit that left Hishon with a concussion. Well, McNabb now is with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, while Hishon continues his recovery and hasn’t skated since that incident. (McNabb may have suffered a concussion in Buffalo’s 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.)
Sean Fitz-Gerald of the National Post has more right here.
———
Congratulations to old friend Dennis Pottage and all of those who have been named to the first induction class for the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame.
Also to be inducted are players Sid Abel, Doug Bentley, Max Bentley, Johnny Bower, Glenn Hall, Gordie Howe, Elmer Lach, Metro Prystai, Fred Sasakamoose and Bryan Trottier; builders Ed Chynoweth, Bill Hunter, Gordon Juckes, Father Athol Murray and Doc Seaman; grassroots contributor Bill Ford; and, Pottage as an official.
As well, five teams will be inducted — the 1989 Swift Current Broncos, the 1974 Regina Pats, the 1985 Prince Albert Raiders, the 1982-83 U of Saskatchewan Huskies and the 1955-64 Semans Wheat Kings.
The Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame is to be located in the Credit Union iplex, the home of the Broncos. The induction banquet is scheduled for July 28.
All I know is that I’m glad I wasn’t on the selection committee. With all of the great hockey players and contributors to the game who came out of Saskatchewan, I can’t imagine the angst that must have gone into picking the first inductees.
And when you look at those names, one thing is for certain — that induction dinner is going to be a storyteller’s delight.
———
Brent Peterson, a former player and coach with the Portland Winterhawks, will be inducted into the WHL team’s Hall of Fame in a ceremony prior to a Feb. 3 game with the visiting Everett Silvertips.
He will join former owner Brian Shaw, former owner, GM and coach Ken Hodge and former player Dennis Holland in the club’s Hall of Fame.
“Brent is deserving,” Winterhawks president Doug Piper told Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune. “He was our first captain, a very good player, and he coached us to a Memorial Cup title. He is one of the most popular members the organization has ever had. And his contributions to hockey are outstanding at all levels.”
Peterson couldn’t be more thrilled.
“It’s awesome,” Peterson told Eggers. “What an honor. I know it’s not (former Hawk) Cam Neely being in the NHL Hall of Fame, but it probably means as much to me.
“The Winterhawks are my favorite team in the world. Every time I see a (former) Winterhawk in the NHL, even if I didn’t coach him, I always make sure to say hello. We all have that bond, that special relationship. You are proud to be a part of an organization that has done so well for so long.”
Peterson, 53, now works with the NHL’s Nashville Predators. He was on the coaching staff until Parkinson’s disease forced him to step back.
The Winterhawks also have said they will hold and auction and fund-raiser to benefit the Peterson Foundation for Parkinson’s.
———
The Minnesota State High School Hockey League will activate new rules Monday aimed at cracking down on tough hits. A check from behind, boarding or head contact will carry with it at least a major penalty. It is the first time the league has implemented such rule changes in midseason. The move comes after Jack Jablosnki, a player with Benilde-St. Margaret’s, was hit from behind and left paralyzed.
David La Vaque of the Minneapolis Star Tribune has more right here.
———
Today’s good read comes from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. It’s his weekly notes package and it is topped with an item on a former WHL player box who now is an NHL referee.
Pour yourself a cuppa and enjoy this right here.

2012-01-14T12:47:00.000-08:00

The new year actually begins on Monday. Well, Sunday night here. That’s when the Australian Open swings into action. . . . “I have never liked sports,” says Serena Williams. To which Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle notes: “With her game and personality, Williams should be the shining light of American tennis, but she keeps Plaxico-ing herself.” . . . Dan Daly, in the Washington Times: “Fenway opened the same week the Titanic sank. For the 100th anniversary, the Red Sox should get Celine Dion to sing the national anthem.” . . .
Florida State footballer Arrington Jenkins was arrested for stealing a motorcycle last month and apparently told police: “Anybody who leaves a motorcycle out in the open deserves to have it stolen.” . . . To which Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel responded: “When this guy grows up, he’ll be the one who takes your sandwich out of the office refrigerator.” . . . Following the death of bowling legend Don Carter, Bianchi brought out one of his favourite bowling-related quotes, attributed to Anonymous: “One advantage of bowling over golf is that you never lose a bowling ball.” . . . If you missed it, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish showed up for the Champs Sports Bowl with neon gold helmets. “I’m not saying they were ugly,” writes Bianchi, “but if the Irish had worn them back in the day, the Four Horsemen would have looked more like the Four Village People.” . . .
Best wishes to Cam Thompson, who has left Radio NL for a job with CBS Radio in Washington, D.C. Does this mean we now call him Morley or Dan? . . . Someone from the Los Angeles Times asked the PGA’s Bubba Watson about his relationship with Phil Mickelson. His response: “You learn a lot from guys like Phil. I really like him now. I wouldn’t take a bullet for him, you know, but I’d help him out.” . . .
More than 16 years ago a woman in Sweden lost her wedding ring. She recently found it in her garden, wrapped around a carrot. RJ Currie of sportsdeke.com wonders: “Would that make it a one-carrot diamond?” . . . And here’s Currie after Canadian golfer Andrew Parr finished two strokes away from a European Tour card: “I can’t help thinking Parr will never be more than a scratch golfer.” . . . David Thomas of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has retired after writing 928 Fan Insider columns. He says he wants to spent more time with his family. “You know what that means — next year, I’ll be coaching football at Ohio State,” he wrote. . . .
There has never been a more painful football viewing experience than the BCS Championship game on Monday night. The two head coaches, Alabama’s Nick Saban and LSU’s Les Miles, should be dismissed for the abysmal performance of their offences. . . . Talk about no imagination. . . . This may have been the best thing ever to happen to college football because, in time, we may look back at this game as the final straw that produced a playoff system. . . . Happy 37th anniversary to Freda and Howard Brown, two of our city’s really good people. . . . Ron Judd, in the Seattle Times: “The Smithsonian Channel has proudly announced that its documentary ‘Air Disasters, Season 1’ now is available on iTunes. Excellent entertainment fare for your next long flight.” . . .
After Detroit lost to the New Orleans in an NFL playoff game last weekend, the Lions heard the usual stuff from the nattering nabobs of negativity. Cornerback Aaron Berry answered the negative tweets with this: “Y’all can go back to being Broke & Miserable . . . now back to regular scheduled programming.” . . . If you are in a fantasy league, you may be painfully aware that in the 2011 calendar year, centre Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins played in 10 NHL games. . . . He totalled 13 points, including two goals. . . . And who knows when — or even if — he will play again? . . .
I now am a fan of the San Francisco 49ers. Why? Here’s safety Donte Whitner on head coach Jim Harbaugh: “He said that we can do anything in the world and we can come and talk to him and he’ll forgive us, except put our hands on women. If you put your hand on a woman, then you’re done in his book.” . . . Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post, after the Montreal Canadiens dealt Mike Cammalleri to the Calgary Flames for Rene Bourque: “Folks in both cities could be upset: Bourque doesn’t speak French and Cammalleri doesn’t speak redneck.” . . .
Former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin was the only player to get enough votes for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame this time around. We can only imagine the circus a year from now when Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa get to appear on the ballot for the first time. . . . Sorry, but I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to anyone’s rankings of NHL draft-eligible junior hockey players. Why? Because far too often something silly happens. Like this week when NHL Central Scouting released its mid-season rankings and Cole Cheveldave of the Kamloops Blazers wasn’t among the top 36 North American goaltenders. . . . Why wasn’t he on the list? Likely because he is 5-foot-10. Only four of the chosen 36 are shorter than 6-foot-0. Thirty-five are taller than 5-foot-10. . . . Hey, all Cheveldave does is work hard and stop pucks. Isn’t that what it’s all about? . . .
Next month at Dolphins Stadium in Miami, two teams, one from Colombia and the other from Mexico, are going to play a game of something. “Not sure,” scribbled the Miami Herald’s Greg Cote. “It’s either a soccer match, or the finals of the International Drug-Cartels Championship.” . . . Here’s one from Janice Hough, the Left Coast Sports Babe, from early in January: “We’re coming to the end of Capital One Bowl Week, which started about Dec. 17. And they wonder why football players are bad at math.” . . . Last weekend’s victory by Denver allowed Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow to claim a US$250,000 contract bonus. “Another reason many men don’t like the guy. He probably won’t spend any of that money on beer and women,” writes Hough.

(Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. Email him at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca, follow him at twitter.com/gdrinnan, or visit his blog at gdrinnan.blogspot.com. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.)