Mondays with Murray

Luc Robitaille, a good friend of the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday. Robitaille, today the president of business operations for the Los Angeles Kings, received the foundation’s Great Ones Award in 2007.
In March of 1988, Jim Murray wrote a column about Robitaille, and we present it here for your reading enjoyment as our weekly installment in Mondays with Murray . . .

SUNDAY, MARCH 6, 1988 SPORTS
Copyright 1988/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY
 
JIM MURRAY
 
So Far, He's Kept His Teeth, and Also His Cool

You could tell right away Luc Robitaille couldn't be a very successful hockey player. First of all, he has all his teeth. In other sports, the legs may be first to go. Or the eyes. With hockey, it's the teeth.
   Next, his face didn't look like a wall motto. Hockey players look, in poor light, as if they have "There's No Place Like Home" stitched on their physiognomies. Some guys have so many stitches they look like quilts with skates. Why football players wear face masks and hockey players don't, nobody has ever been able to figure. First of all, football players don't carry sticks. Second, they are not slapping a three-inch hard-rubber projectile around the ice at 100 m.p.h., often at eye level.
     Hockey players never even wore helmets until the skull fractures reached epidemic levels. There is no other sport except auto racing in which head-on collisions occur at closing speeds of 40 m.p.h. and over. It is the only game in which attempted homicide is labeled "misconduct."
   It is a game best played in a terrible temper. Luc Robitaille doesn't have any discernible temper. Luc Robitaille not only has all his hair and teeth and eyes, he has and keeps his cool. He actually has a working sense of humor
   He'd have to have. He plays for the Kings.
   Luc Robitaille was not the kind of player you nicknamed "The Rocket" or "Boom Boom" when he first came on the ice. He was slow. He was small. He was polite. He could skate some, but he looked like a better prospect for the Ice Follies than the Broad Street Bullies.
      He was perfect for the Kings. The Kings are in the National Hockey League but they manage not to let that spoil their day. The Kings play their own game, which is kind of a combination of ice dancing and roller derby. They are the Fricks and Fracks of pro hockey. They have exactly 10,297 fans who come to every game and they never get in the Stanley Cup playoffs or at least past the first round.
     Luc Robitaille always wanted to play for the Kings, which should give you an idea how lightly his skills were evaluated. Even the Kings didn't pick him until 171st, and when you wait around that long, it's either the Kings or the post office.
     Luc (rhymes with "luck" in the French original but is most often pronounced by American fans "Luke" as in Cool Hand) was born and raised in Montreal, where there was a real body-checking, go-in-the-corners, stick-in-the-face team known to the world as  "Les Canadiens" but to its own fans as  "Habitants" or "Home Boys." But Luc wanted to play in the Alpine fastnesses of Hollywood and on the Kings. He thought they needed more help than the Home Boys. He was right.
  Hockey players usually look like something the Mounties are after. Luc looks like something the movies are after. He could make a nice living teaching the tango. When he first came to town, they didn't know whether to direct him to the King line or Chorus Line. He didn't look as if he should play any game that couldn't be played in a tuxedo.
     On ice, he was almost like an Eddie Stanky. He couldn't skate, he couldn't shoot, all he could do was beat you. Every time he came to camp, he lost out to a flashier player. Then, he would go back to junior hockey and set scoring and assist records. His first year at Hull, he ripped in 32 goals and 53 assists. Sent back, he got 155 goals and 94 assists. Back-checked again, he rapped in 68 goals and 123 assists.
    Suddenly, someone remembered that Bobby Orr showed up looking like a lost choirboy. They gave Robitaille a major league uniform — and he went out and became rookie of the year. Nobody on the Kings had ever done that. He slammed in 45 goals and 39 assists.
     Luc Jeanmarie Robitaille could skate almost before he could walk. He ate with his skates on, he slept with his skates on, he went to school with his skates on. He was on more ice than a polar bear. Wayne Gretzky may have fallen out of bed with the ability to score three goals a game, Luc Robitaille had to work at it.
     People think the National Hockey League consists of Wayne Gretzky and 200 guys named Jean-Claude and 150 goons called "Tiger." But the future of the game may belong more to the unassuming young (22) stickhandler who plays left wing for the Kings. Luc Robitaille sees a hockey rink the way John Unitas used to see a football field. He can spot the open man or the defense out of position two blue lines away. "He's got a great instinct for the flow of the game," one of his ex-coaches once said. "It's not instinct, it's hard work," Robitaille says.
  His balance on ice is the envy of a lot of players. "You can't knock him off the puck," his mentor, Marcel Dionne, one of the first to spot Luc's luck around the net, has said.
     Someone once said, it's what you learn after you think you know it all that counts. Last year, the team sent four players to a lady skating coach in New York. Three of them went through the motions, ridiculed the whole program. Luc Robitaille practised as if he were getting ready for the gold dance pairs. "She had me skating on one leg, skating on one edge, then the other, practicing jumps, turns. I did it for four months. The guys would laugh at me. But it's marvelous what it can do to your timing and balance."
      He may be able to eat corn-on-the-cob and sleep with his teeth in his mouth instead of a glass, his face may not look as if it's been zippered on, he may not be too proud to take ice ballet lessons but when he's got the puck Luc Robitaille doesn't look like a matinee idol to goalies. He looks like something that would eat the net. With them in it.
 
Reprinted with permission by the Los Angeles Times

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

Monday . . .

There will be some teams on quick turnarounds over the next couple of days. . . . The Red Deer Rebels, for example, play the Blazers in Kamloops on Tuesday night and then face the Rockets in Kelowna on Wednedsay at 2 p.m. . . . The Prince George Cougars meet the Pats in Regina on Tuesday night and then have to get to Brandon to play the Wheat Kings on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. . . . The Calgary Hitmen meet the Hurricanes in Lethbridge on Tuesday, 7 p.m., and are at home to the Kootenay Ice on Wednesday at 2 p.m. This is the second time the Hitmen have played in this situation. They beat the Giants 2-0 in Vancouver on the night of Oct. 30 and then dropped a 4-2 decision to the Bruins in Chilliwack on Halloween afternoon. Of course, the Bruins were on the road on Oct. 30, too. They won 7-1 in Kamloops.
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D Brendon Wall of the Prince Albert Raiders sat out three weekend games with a groin injury. He originally suffered the injury in training camp and aggravated it during a game last week. The 19-year-old, who was acquired from the Saskatoon Blades on Oct. 5, hopes to return Wednesday in Swift Current against the Broncos.
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The anatomy of a hockey fight.
John MacNeil of the Prince Albert Daily Herald has a notebook item involving a scrap between Raiders D Tyler Yaworski and D Duncan Siemens of the Blades, who grew up together and were teammates last season with the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings.
The two ended up in a fight in Saturday’s game.
“The scrap was a good one,” Siemens told MacNeil. “We both took some momentum out of it.
“Yaworski is a tough kid. I kind of called him out and he accepted the challenge. On the bench, actually, I asked him if he wanted to go. I think he thought I was kidding a little bit, because I’ve known him for a while. And then we went out (on the ice) and I said, ‘No, seriously, do you want to go?’ And he was, like, ‘Oh, OK.’ And the puck dropped and off the mitts came.”
Yaworski told MacNeil “it was a little unexpected.
“I honestly didn’t think he was serious, but I’m not going to back down from anyone. I mean, we’re buddies but, on the ice, it’s a little different. That’s kind of my role. I’ve got to battle for my ice time, and I’m OK with fighting once in a while, and sticking up for the boys a bit.”
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A couple of notes from Graham Kendrick of the Portland Winterhawks’ front office:
With 29 saves against Seattle on Sunday, Kurtis Mucha now is just 21 stops away from 6,000 for his career. He leads the Winterhawks in career saves, and is currently seventh among all-time WHL leaders, 979 saves behind career leader Danny Lorenz. . . . Mucha also is tied for seventh in WHL history for games played by a goalie (211), and is ninth in minutes played by a goaltender (11,845).
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Lorne Sanders, a scout for the Chilliwack Bruins, is now part-owner of a hockey team. That story is right here.
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Bob Duff of the Windsor Star, who has been around hockey for a long time and, in fact, once covered the Saskatoon Blades for the StarPhoenix, has a column right here on the situation surrounding the Michael Liambas hit on Ben Fanelli.

Changes? Leclerc has seen a few

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Goaltender Justin Leclerc is in his fifth season in the WHL.
He has played with two teams, the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Kamloops Blazers.
General managers? He has known a few.
Head coaches? Yes, he has known a few of them, too.
Goaltender coaches? Ditto.
“As a goalie, it’s probably a little bit different because you don’t have to adjust to systems or anything,” says Leclerc, who will lead the Blazers against the visiting Red Deer Rebels tonight at Interior Savings Centre. Game time is 7 o’clock. “It is interesting to see changes come and go. You see a lot of the same things, though.
“But it’s up to the players to get things back on track.”
The 20-year-old Saskatoon native was selected by Lethbridge with the 46th pick in the 2004 bantam draft. He made the Hurricanes’ roster out of training camp in 2005 and fell right into a team in turmoil.
During his two seasons in Lethbridge, he played under three general managers (Darren Stocker, Brad McEwen and Roy Stasiuk), three head coaches (Lindsay Hofford, Luc Theoret and Michael Dyck) and one goaltending coach (Jeff Battah). Granted, McEwen and Theoret were in interim positions, but still . . .
During training camp in 2007, Leclerc was traded to the Kamloops Blazers.
Guess what? Yes, he found himself with Team Turmoil one more time.
Shortly before he arrived here, the Blazers were sold to majority owner Tom Gaglardi and NHL players Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla, Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor. Six weeks into the season, they fired Dean Clark, the general manager and head coach, who had traded for Leclerc.
Brian Fortin took over as GM on an interim basis, and the team later signed Craig Bonner to a five-year deal.
Greg Hawgood took over from Clark as head coach, but was replaced by Barry Smith over the summer of 2008. Smith, in turn, was fired on Oct. 26 and Scott Ferguson now is the interim head coach, the Blazers’ fourth head coach in less than two years.
When Clark was dropped, goaltender coach Larry Robinson also got his walking papers. The Blazers later hired Steve Passmore, who stepped aside prior to this season and has been replaced by Dan DePalma.
Add them up and Leclerc’s resume includes six general managers, seven head coaches and four goaltending coaches. And we won’t even start counting assistant coaches.
Yes, Leclerc has had a ringside seat at a circus . . . or two.
Leclerc has been through enough regime changes that you might think he has heard just about everything. But it is his experience that the new message is pretty much the same as the last one.
“Oh, yes. It’s the same,” he says. “The only thing that changes from coach to coach is how they deliver the message.”
The message, he says, is about “building a culture that promotes all the messages like working hard, discipline, execution.”
As an experienced observer in such situations, however, he can’t explain know why players buy into some coaches’ programs and not others.
“That is something I haven’t figured out quite yet,” he states. “I’ve seen a lot of coaches but at the same time I haven’t been part of a really successful hockey club. I’ve seen a lot of the same things. I don’t expect it would be too much different if I was on a winning team.
“I think you just have to have the right chemistry and the players have to buy in. The players are the ones who have to do it.”
Leclerc is adamant about that last sentence. He says that no matter what happens the onus is on the players to get it together and produce.
“Sometimes change is for the better but at the end of the day it’s the players who play the game,” he says. “As long as there is structure the players have to go out and execute.”
Leclerc, whose Blazers are looking for a third straight victory tonight, hasn’t developed his spidey senses to where he can forecast change.
Asked if he can sense change coming, he replied: “To be honest, no.”
In fact, he said, the latest change, the firing of Smith, caught him by surprise.
“But once it happened, looking back, it shouldn’t have been a huge surprise,” he says. “We had to change something. We weren’t headed in the right direction.
“Even after the change, we didn’t turn it around right away. It took a little bit of work to get out of it. Now things look like they’re headed on the right path but there’s a long ways to go. We’re not out of the woods yet.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com

Jessi, this one's for you!

It was in mid-February of 2008 that I posted a piece here about the Tri-City Americans and their relationship with a young lady by the name of Jessi.
Jessi is a huge fan of the Americans who has Down Syndrome. She helped out with the three-star presentation following a game on Feb. 1, 2008, and got a real thrill when Tri-City F Taylor Procyshen gave her his stick.
Just three days later, Jessi had a massive pulmonary embolism and we just about lost her.
At that time, Dawn Johnson, Jessi’s teacher, told us that Jessi “also suffered a stroke and is now blind.”
Procyshen, Kruise Reddick and Jarrett Toll, three veterans, found the time to visit Jessi in hospital and help get her started on the road to recovery.
Well, the Americans were back with Jessi and others on Sunday at a Bowling with the Ams function played host to by the booster club.
And it was F Adam Hughesman who chose to take Jessi under his wing.
“Just had to let you know how great Adam was at the bowling,” Dawn wrote to Hughesman’s billets. “I'm sure you remember my special friend Jessi. . . . Anyway, Adam bowled with her and totally made her day.
“The other kids were all good and nice with her but Adam was exceptional, cheering her on after every turn. Jessi isn't known for big smiles, yet Adam was able to elicit several out of her.
“I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know but it sure was appreciated by her family and me.”
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Upon hearing this, I quickly sent Dawn a note, asking about Jessi.
Dawn was quick to reply:
Thanks for your continued interest with Jessi and the "hockey boys" as she calls them. . . . these boys continue to amaze me.
Taylor Procyshen kept up a regular visiting schedule with Jessi right until he moved to New Brunswick. He still keeps in touch with her family by email. We haven't told Jessi he's not on the team anymore — we think she's patiently waiting for him to show up.
Jessi has graduated high school and works three days a week at a workshop shredding documents. The two heart attacks and the stroke she experienced have left her blind but she can see shadows and some strong contrasts.
She was fully paralyzed on her left side but with physical therapy and hard work, she has recovered most of her physical abilities. But her balance is still a little shaky. She was in a wheelchair but now she walks with a white cane — which she named Taylor, so he named his hockey stick Jessi.
She participates in Special Olympics bowling every Friday. She has a special bowling shirt and a bowling ball that is striped white and black, so she can follow its progression.
Sunday was our booster club "Bowling with the Ams" day.
When I arrived, Kruise Reddick and Jarrett Toll were speaking with Jessi and her family. I billet Cody Castro and asked him to come over and meet her and he spoke with her a little while.
For the bowling, a player is assigned with booster members and Tyler Schmidt was the first assigned to Jessi's lane. He was friendly and encouraging to her, which was appreciated.
Zach Yuen was next and he was also friendly and encouraging and sweet with Jessi.
Adam Hughesman was the third player and he was simply AMAZING with her!!! He cheered her every ball. Every time she was heading back after her turn was over, he would tell her her score from that frame, along with some praise or encouragement.
About her sixth or seventh frame she got a strike. He stood up and led the cheering section and had everyone around cheering with enthusiastic high fives all around.
It is so hard to catch Jessi smiling (I've tried many times) but her smile had been building with Adam's support and encouragement, and I caught her just all lit up. 
In the photo, she is high-fiving Adam. She knows exactly where he is even though she is blind.
Adam really made her day, as well as mine and her family's. Her mom Tracy, her step-dad Bill, and her sister Caylee were all there.
What a special guy he is . . . truly very special.

Sunday . . .

Oh my, how I wish I had been in Portland on Saturday night!
In case you missed it, the Winterhawks scored with less than a second left in the third period — after some time had been put back on the clock — to forge a 3-3 tie, and then they beat the Seattle Thunderbirds in a shootout.
It all began with a faceoff in the Seattle zone. . . . .
“First, we asked for more time on the clock because there was clearly 2.2 seconds when the ref blew the whistle,” Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks’ GM and head coach, told me in an email Sunday. “They checked the time and reset the clock to 2.0 seconds from 1.7.”
The Winterhawks called a timeout somewhere in all of this.
“We set up a direct play to the net where the centre would shoot it or leave it for (Chris) Francis,” Johnston continued.
Spencer Bennett took the draw for Portland, the puck ended up free and Francis scored his third goal of the game. He then would score the game-winner in the shootout.
“I have coached for a long time and rarely do those plays work as planned, especially with so little time left . . . but this one did,” Johnston wrote. “The crowd and atmosphere were incredible.”
There were 8,753 fans in the Rose Garden.
It will be interesting to look back when this season is over and see if this game and the buzz it created will have had any impact at the gate.
If you haven’t done it already, go to Dylan Bumbarger’s blog right here and listen to both team’s radio broadcasts of the last seconds of the third period. Both are highly entertaining.
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THE MacBETH REPORT: D Burke Henry (Brandon, 1995-99) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia, plays in Austria Erste Bank Liga). Henry started the season with Flint (IHL), getting one goal and three assists in seven games for the Generals. Last season, Henry had five goals and 18 assists in 44 games with Aalborg (Denmark AL-Bank Ligaen).
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The Tri-City Americans are getting some publicity these days. And well they should after their fine start. Ted Wyman, the Winnipeg Sun’s sports editor, has a piece right here on F Brendan Shinnimin.
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SATURDAY LEFTOVERS: Moose Jaw freshman forward Antonin Honejsek, a Czech, took a puck in the face during the Warriors‚ 5-4 OT victory over the Prince George Cougars and didn‚t finish. . . . The Brandon Wheat Kings had D Alexander Urbom back for their 5-1 victory over the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. He missed Friday‚s 4-0 loss to the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. Urbom had been in Montreal with the Swedish national junior team, which was playing exhibition games against Canadian university teams. It all was part of an evaluation camp used by the Swedes to get used to the small ice surfaces over here. . . . While F Chris Francis of the Portland Winterhawks was torching the Seattle Thunderbirds, another young gun was doing pretty much the same thing in the OHL. The Belleville Bulls were losing 2-0 to the visiting Brampton Battalion late in the third period when C Andy Bathgate, the grandson of NHL Hall of Famer Andy Bathgate, decided enough was enough. Bathgate scored three goals in 2:23, the last one with 81 seconds left to play, and the Bulls won, 3-2.
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SUNDAY:
In Vancouver, the Giants, who had lost twice earlier in the weekend, got a late goal from F James Henry and beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 4-2. . . . Henry broke a 2-2 tie at 16:48of the third period. . . . Vancouver F Lance Bouma put it away with an empty-netter at 19:59. . . . The Giants (13-6-1-2) had been beaten 8-2 by the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash., on Friday and 2-1 by the Chiefs in Spokane on Saturday. . . . Vancouver didn’t experience a three-game losing streak all of last season. . . . G Torrie Jung, who sat out four games with the flu, was back in goal for Edmonton (7-11-2-3). He made 27 saves. . . . The Oil Kings are 0-3-2-1 in their last six games. . . . F Michael St. Croix scored one Edmonton goal. He has a five-game point streak going and has a goal in four of those games. . . . Vancouver G Jamie Tucker stopped F Rhett Rachinski on a first-period penalty shot. . . . The Giants went into the game having shut out the Oil Kings in three straight games, two of those last season. . . . Attendance was 7,023. . . . Edmonton now returns home, does its laundry and then opens a three-game trip in Saskatchewan when it meets the Raiders in Prince Albert on Saturday.
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In Chilliwack, the Seattle Thunderbirds got two goals from F Prab Rai as they beat the Bruins, 4-1. . . . Rai also had an assist for the Thunderbirds (5-12-1-3), who got a goal and two assists from D Jeremy Schappert and two assists from F Brendan Rouse. . . . The Bruins, who were playing their eighth game in 12 days, are 8-10-1-3. . . . Attendance was 3,069.
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In Regina, F Jordan Eberle’s two goals helped the Pats to a 6-2 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The Pats (9-9-2-0) have won three in a row to get to .500 for the first time since Oct. 3. . . . The Raiders (10-9-0-2) lost for the second time in two nights. . . . Eberle has 30 points, including 15 goals, in 15 games. . . . F Fredrik Cedergren, a Swede, got his first WHL goal for the Raiders. . . . F Garrett Mitchell drew a career-high three assists for Regina. . . . Attendance was 3,510. . . . The Raiders were playing their third road game in as many nights. They beat the Wheat Kings 4-0 in Brandon on Friday and then lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Blades in Saskatoon on Saturday.
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In Calgary, the Hitmen got second-period goals 16 seconds apart to erase a 2-1 deficit and went on to a 4-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . F Kris Foucault scored a PP goal at 13:32 of the second and F Tyler Fiddler added an even-strength score at 13:48. . . . The Hitmen (16-5-0-0) went 3-0 on a homestand. They have won six in a row at home. . . . Calgary F Brandon Kozun had two assists. He leads the WHL with 38 points and is riding a 14-game point streak. He has 27 points in those 14 games. . . . Kozun also went over the 200-point career mark. He has 201 points in 173 games. . . . The Broncos (10-10-0-2) are 0-8-0-2 on the road. . . . Attendance was 8,881.

A chat with the chairman . . .

Bruce Hamilton, the president and general manager of the Kelowna Rockets and the chairman of the WHL’s board of governors, was in Kamloops on Saturday and watched his club drop a 5-3 decision to the Blazers.
Hamilton is always candid and we had time for a brief chat during the second intermission. We didn’t have a lot of time, but we touched on attendance, the resurgence of the Portland Winterhawks and his own hockey team, which just happens to be the WHL’s defending champion.
So here is Bruce Hamilton . . .
On attendance in the WHL: “You don’t get a true test until that run from Dec. 25 to Jan. 20 . . . kind of in that range. But I think we have some teams certainly that are way behind right now. And I know there are two or three that it has really been a big hit. On the other side, there’s some teams . . . I think Tri-City is up. But there is concern. The commissioner for sure is zeroing in on it. The marketing people meet in another week or two and the guest speaker will be a ticket guy.”
On whether it’s entirely the economy: “I think our people have to get out and work harder to sell tickets probably, and I think the economy is a bit of it. But I think we have to really be careful on our price point. We may all be at an area where you have to stand still for a while and let things catch up.”
On the WHL as family entertainment: “I think that it’s really important that we have kids in the building. We’re a team that needs kids in the building. They have a lot to do with the atmosphere and we are supposed to be family entertainment.”
On what is happening in Portland: “We’re really happy with what’s happened with the team. We just need to see some people coming. If they can stay on the pace they’re on, once they get through Christmas it’ll be interesting. They play 18 games in the Rose Garden and they probably decided that’s where they’re going to market this hockey club this season. I know one thing about Portland . . . if you’re winning they’ll come. . . . It’s a signal to all of us how far things can go the wrong way. There’s no magic wand. Once you turn them off it isn’t just winning alone. They have to be comfortable that the product is going to be good for a while.”
On his own team: “I like our goalie (Adam Brown). I think he’s coming along real well. Obviously, young (Shane) McGolgan is going to be a real firepot for our league. He’s a great acquisition. Our defence is all young, with what we lost two years in a row (Luke Schenn to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tyler Myers to the Buffalo Sabres) it’s difficult to maintain that. Up front, Kyle St. Denis has gotten off to a good start. Brandon McMillan will get going now that he’s back healthy again. We need some mileage out of Lucas Bloodoff, other than just grinding it out. He’s a 20-year-old, really our only 20-year-old, so he’s got to give us more.
On the injuries that hit his club hard: “We were a lot of games without 19 or 20 guys in our lineup. On the other side of it, that opened up an opportunity for some other guys to get some time here. (Forward Cody) Chikie, for example . . . all he’s done is play hard enough to stay here. There were many days early on when we were trying to send him home and we can’t. He has earned himself a longer look now. We’re very inexperienced on the back end and Tyson Barrie can only do so much.”

Blazers full marks for victory over Rockets

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The satisfied smiles told you this victory was special.
The Kamloops Blazers, not far removed from a seven-game WHL losing streak, broke open a 2-2 game late in the second period Saturday night and went on to a 5-3 victory over the Kelowna Rockets before 4,648 mostly appreciative fans at Interior Savings Centre.
And now the Blazers (10-9-2-0), who squeaked past the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings 6-5 in overtime on Friday, will take a two-game winning streak into Tuesday’s game against the Red Deer Rebels. Game time at the ISC is 7 p.m.
The latest victory lifted the Blazers into fourth place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Everett Silvertips (10-5-1-0), Spokane Chiefs (10-6-1-0) and Kelowna (10-8-1-0). The Rockets entertain Red Deer in a Remembrance Day matinee on Wednesday.
“They’re a good team,” Kamloops goaltender Justin Leclerc, who made 39 saves in a marvellous performance, said of the Rockets. “To play that way against a good team says a lot. I think we played a pretty good game against Edmonton but this definitely is a step up against a better club.”
The Blazers, who played their best game in at least four weeks, had more structure in their game than they have shown in recent outings. And when the opposition pushed them, there was little in the way of panic in the Kamloops game.
“The first couple of games we were trying to get used to new things,” offered team captain Tyler Shattock, alluding to the Oct. 26 coaching change in which assistant Scott Ferguson took over for the fired Barry Smith. “The guys are buying in. The guys like playing for Fergy and I think there are better things to come.”
Shattock, who is playing with renewed vigour alongside centre Colin Smith and left-winger Brendan Ranford, broke the 2-2 tie Saturday, scoring his club’s third and fourth goals, giving him a team-high 12 scores.
The teams had exchanged goals, with the Rockets erasing 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, until Shattock first pushed in a Colin Smith shot that had deflected off a Kelowna skate at 17:48 of the second period and then sniped on the power play at 14:42 of the third.
Jimmy Bubnick, who ended a nine-game goal drought with the overtime score Friday, also scored twice, the last one into an empty net, while Dylan Willick had the other Kamloops goal.
The Rockets got goals from Cody Chikie, Kyle St. Denis and Brandon McMillan, the latter scoring shorthanded at 15:42 of the third period to give the hometown fans brief cause for concern.
On this occasion, though, there wasn’t any panic on the ice.
“They got that one on the (penalty kill) but it was good to see no one panicked,” Shattock said. “We just went out and got right back at it. The confidence in our team that we can win one-goal games is good.”
Leclerc added: “(The game against) Edmonton and tonight were real good examples of keeping your composure. It’s almost like we flipped the switch and all of a sudden we’re a composed team. That’s nice to see.”
Leclerc was especially composed against a Kelowna team that was coming off a 3-0 shutout of the visiting Chilliwack Bruins on Friday. And there were times when the Rockets, especially the line of Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan, Lucas Bloodoff and Brandon McMillan, gave the home boys everything they could handle and then some.
“That was the hardest we’ve work for the last four games,” Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska offered. “We didn’t capitalize on our opportunities. I thought (Leclerc) was good tonight . . . he was very good for them.”
The Rockets, who outshot the Blazers 15-7 in the first period, ended up with a 42-25 edge that at one point was 34-17.
“We’ve had nights where the game has been close and we need to be more determined to get in tight,” Huska said. “We had (42 shots) . . . it’s not good enough unless you are putting five or six of those in.
“What did we have? Four or five breakaways? We had one post. We have to bear down on our chances.”
Leclerc was beaten by Chikie on a breakaway after a neutral zone turnover. But, other than that, he was solid one-on-one, proving again that he is as good as any goaltender in the league in that situation.
“It’s nice to finally win,” Leclerc said. “Even though we probably didn’t play the best game of the season against Edmonton, we did do a lot of the right things and saw how that gave us success at different times in the game.
“Coming into tonight, everyone knew what they needed to do and had confidence they could do it.
“We also started to get pucks deep and go on the forecheck. That’s our strength. If we play in our end the whole night we’re not going to have much success.”
This victory also was special for Ferguson, because he and Huska are close friends. They were teammates on two Memorial Cup winners with the Blazers and have been tight ever since.
Ferguson and Huska passed each other in a hallway after the game, but only exchanged a brief greeting. There will be time for more in-depth conversations in the offseason.
JUST NOTES: Referee Derek Herman gave each team six minors and one major. . . . Kelowna D Curt Gogol (hand) didn’t return after going toe-to-toe with Kamloops D Josh Caron at 3:40 of the first period. Yes, Gogol injured his hand on Caron’s helmet. . . . The Blazers lost LW Shayne Wiebe (hip) in the first period after he partially missed a check and went heavily into the boards. He will be re-evaluated before a decision is made on whether he plays Tuesday. . . . The Blazers are 2-1 against Kelowna this season after losing 13 times to the Rockets last season. . . . Kamloops G Jon Groenheyde, after a two-game absence with a sore wrist, backed up Leclerc. . . . C C.J. Stretch drew two assists for the Blazers; he has a goal and three helpers since returning from a four-game WHL suspension. . . . Kamloops D Giffen Nyren also had two assists. . . . The Blazers complete this five-game homestand when they meet the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday, 7 p.m.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com

Saturday . . .

If you were wondering, and I know you were, WHL goaltenders went into Saturday’s games on pace to put up 94 shutouts this season. That would be the fifth-highest total in WHL history, behind 2004-05 (141), 2006-07 (120), 2003-04 (107) and 2005-06 (103). . . . Last season, the goaltenders put up 92 blank jobs.
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This is a day or two late, but Damien Cox of the Toronto Star talked with Mike Liambas, the Erie Otters forward who was suspended by the OHL for the remainder of this season for the hit that put Kitchener Rangers defenceman Ben Fanelli in hospital. That piece is right here.
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FRIDAY LEFTOVERS: When Tri-City dropped visiting Vancouver 8-2 on Friday, it was the Giants’ worst loss of the season and the first time they had given up eight goals since an 8-2 loss to the host Americans on Nov. 2, 2007. . . . It was Tri-City’s second victory over the Giants this season. The Ams won 5-3 in Vancouver on Oct. 17. . . . When C Brendan Shinnimin scored at 4:36 of the second period, it gave Tri-City a 5-0 lead that was worth a free burger from Burger Ranch to every fan in attendance. Meanwhile, in Kamloops, the Blazers beat the Edmonton Oil Kings 6-5 in overtime to win free A&W Teen Burgers for the fans. The Blazers needed to score at least four goals and win the game in order for that promotion to kick in. . . . Thirty minutes after the game, a couple of the Blazers were seen wandering the empty stands. Were they getting exercise, helping the cleanup crew or looking for ticket stubs?
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According to a story in the Lethbridge Herald, the WHL office has instructed its teams to have all queries regarding H1N1 vaccines forward to commissioner Ron Robison. . . . The story, by Dave Mabell, reads, in part: “Hurricanes spokesperson Ryan Ohashi said this city’s WHL team hasn’t had the benefit of an H1N1 flu clinic. But he declined further comment, referring news media questions to league officials. In Calgary, a WHL spokesperson said league commissioner Ron Robison — the only person who could speak about WHL teams’ transgressions — was unavailable until next week.”
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The San Francisco Examiner takes a look right here at a Prince George Cougars’ prospect named Mattia Bortolotto.
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SATURDAY:
In Portland, F Chris Francis scored three times in regulation time and then
added the shootout winner as the Winterhawks got past the Seattle
Thunderbirds of Kent, 4-3. . . . Francis forced OT when he scored with 0.9
seconds left in the third period. There was a faceoff in the Seattle zone
with 1.7 seconds left. Spencer Bennett got the puck back to Francis who got
a wrist shot past Seattle G Calvin Pickard. . . . Pickard was brilliant,
though, and finished with 45 saves. . . . Attendance at the Rose Garden was
8,753. . . . The Winterhawks are 14-8-0-0, while Seattle slipped to
4-12-1-3. . . . Portland had been shutout in its two previous games and
trailed 3-1 in the third period in this one. . . . Francis scored two PP
goals. . . . Portland G Kurtis Mucha stopped 29 shots through OT and two
more in the shootout. . . . F Luke Walker drew assists on the two Portland
PP goals.
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In Kamloops, RW Tyler Shattock broke a 2-2 with a pair of goals and the Blazers went on to a 5-3 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Shattock scored at 17:48 of the second period and again at 14:42 of the third. . . . He has 12 goals this season. . . . The Blazers (10-9-2-0) moved into fourth place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Everett Silvertips (10-5-1-0), Spokane Chiefs (10-6-1-0) and Kelowna (10-8-1-0). . . . RW Jimmy Bubnick, who ended a nine-game goal drought on Friday, also scored twice for Kamloops which has followed up a seven-game losing streak with two straight victories. . . . Kamloops G Justin Leclerc stopped 39 shots. . . . Kelowna D Curt Gogol (hand) left at 3:09 of the first period after a bout with Kamloops D Josh Caron. . . . The Blazers lost LW Shayne Wiebe (hip) in the first period. . . . Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska and Kamloops interim head coach Scott Ferguson are close friends and were teammates on two Memorial Cup championship teams in Kamloops.
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In Saskatoon, G Steven Stanford stopped two shots in the shootout as the Blades beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 4-3. . . . The Blades (16-3-0-3) won on shootout goals from F Burke Gallimore and F Jeremy Boyer. . . . Saskatoon completed a stretch of seven games in nine nights, during which it picked up 13 points. . . . Stanford was acquired from Prince Albert on Oct. 5 and, in fact, continues to use the gloves and pads he wore with the Raiders. . . . Stanford, 19, is 7-0-0-0 with Saskatoon. . . . Prince Albert G Dalyn Flette stopped 44 shots and that included a stop on F Josh Nicholls on a second-period penalty shot. . . . The Raiders led 3-1 in the middle of the second period. . . . Saskatoon D Duncan Siemens scored his first WHL goal at 12:33 of the third period to force OT. . . . The Raiders scratched D Brendon Wall (groin), who went the other way in the Stanford deal. . . . Attendance was 4,227. . . . Saskatoon next plays Friday when it meets the Wheat Kings in Brandon in what should be a game-of-the-week clash.
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In Brandon, the Wheat Kings got a goal and two assists from F Brayden Schenn as they skated to a 5-1 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Brandon (11-8-0-2) was coming off a 4-0 shutout at the hands of visiting Prince Albert on Friday. The Wheat Kings hadn’t been blanked since Jan. 1, 2007, a span of 194 games. . . . The victory lifted Brandon into a tie with Medicine Hat (10-9-2-2) for fourth in the Eastern Conference. . . . Schenn’s line accounted for three goals, with Scott Glennie and Matt Calvert each scoring once. . . . Calvert’s goal was a shorthanded effort. He leads the WHL with five such goals. . . . Brandon G Andrew Hayes stopped 29 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,527. . . . In one of the great mysteries of this season, the Wheat Kings are 2-6 on Fridays and 7-0 on Saturdays. . . . Brandon was without D Mark Schneider (leg). He was injured Friday and is listed as day-to-day.
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In Cranbrook, Red Deer D Colin Archer’s second goal of the season, at 2:54 of overtime, gave the Rebels a 4-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Red Deer F Willie Coetzee, who had been pointless for two games after an 11-game point streak was halted, had two goals and an assist on the winner. . . . The Ice (8-11-1-0) got two goals and an assist from F Dustin Sylvester. . . . F Kevin King’s shorthanded goal for the Ice forced OT at 16:41 of the third period. . . . Attendance was 2,713. . . . The Ice had won 4-1 in Red Deer on Friday. . . . It has been determined that Kootenay G Nathan Lieuwen didn’t suffer a concussion on Oct. 23 against the visiting Portland Winterhawks. He apparently has been suffering migraines, and is to resume skating Monday. . . . Kevin Jacyna, a 16-year-old from Calgary who plays for that city’s midget AA Royals, backed up Ice G Todd Mathews in the two games.
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In Spokane, the Chiefs ran their winning streak to four with a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . C Mitch Wahl had a goal and an assist for the Chiefs, who also have won five of six. . . . Spokane’s first goal came from F Levko Koper, on a 4-on-4 breakaway with 49 seconds left in the first period. . . . Wahl gave the Chiefs (10-6-1-0) a 2-0 lead at 10:31 of the second when his shot deflected off a Vancouver defenceman and past G Jamie Tucker. . . . F Brendan Gallagher got Vancouver (12-6-1-2) close with a PP score at 15:21 of the second. . . . Spokane has surrendered just four goals over its last three games. . . . G James Reid stopped 24 shots for Spokane, while Tucker turned also turned aside 24. . . . Attendance was 8,358. . . . The Giants, who lost 8-2 to the host Tri-City Americans on Friday, are at home to the Edmonton Oil Kings on Sunday.
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In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes blew a 6-2 second-period lead before coming back to beat the Swift Current Broncos 7-6 in a shootout. . . . Lethbridge (7-11-2-0) got shootout goals from Mitch Maxwell and Cam Braes, while the Broncos were blanked. . . . The Broncos got goals from F Justin Dowling, at 16:36 of the second period, and F Taylor Vause 16 seconds later to get close. . . . And the visitors tied it on third-period goals by F Adam Lowry at 8:13, on the PP, and D Eric Doyle, shorthanded at 18:22. . . . Dowling finished with two goals and two helpers, while F Brad Hoban had three assists. . . . Broncos F Cody Eakin had his WHL-leading 21st goal. . . . The Hurricanes got two goals from each of F Carter Bancks and F Austin Fyten. . . . G Brandon Anderson stopped 31 shots through OT for Lethbridge. . . . G Ville Kolppanen, who suffered a concussion during a Lethbridge practice late in October, was back on the ice Friday. He was dressed in a backup role on Saturday. . . . The Broncos (10-9-0-2) are 0-7-0-2 on the road.
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In Moose Jaw, F Brendan Rowinski’s third goal of the game, just 12 seconds into overtime, gave the Warriors a 5-4 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Rowinski, who has 14 goals, had two goals in the first period. . . . Brock Hirsche of the Cougars forced OT with his third goal of the season at 2:06 of the third period. . . . The Cougars (3-13-1-1) are 0-1-1-1 on a seven-game road trip that opened with a 5-4 shootout loss in Kelowna on Wednesday. . . . Prince George G Hudson Stremmel stopped 29 of 31 shots after relieving Alex Wright at 15:56 of the first period with the Warriors (13-8-0-0) ahead 3-1. . . . Moose Jaw G Brandon Glover stopped 22 shots. . . . Attendance was 2,123.
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In Chilliwack, F Ryan Howse’s PP goal at 3:03 of overtime gave the Bruins a 5-4 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Howse scored three goals on the night and now has 15. . . . The Oil Kings (7-10-2-3) had been beaten 6-5 on Friday night in Kamloops. In that one, Edmonton forced OT with a goal in the last minute of the third period. In Chilliwack, Edmonton F Brett Breitkreuz scored at 18:12 of the third period to force extra time. . . . G Lucas Gore stopped 26 shots for the Bruins (8-9-1-3). . . . G Cam Lanigan, making his fourth straight start as Torrie Jung recovers from the flu, stopped 24 shots. . . . Attendance was 3,321. . . . Edmonton got two goals from F Brent Raedeke and three assists from F Clayton Cumiskey.

Fanelli out of hospital

A press release issued Saturday by the OHL's Kitchener Rangers:
The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club has been informed that Ben Fanelli was released from Hamilton General Hospital late (Friday) night.
"This is obviously an emotional day for the Fanelli family, our organization and community and really for the entire Ontario Hockey League's players and fans. It is still very early in Ben's recovery that will include out-patient treatments at the hospital along with additional supporting treatments at home," stated Rangers C.O.O., Steve Bienkowski.
Ben's mother, Susan Fanelli, conveyed the following: "The support from the Kitchener Rangers organization has been wonderful. We are so appreciative it is hard to express."
Restrictions on visiting will remain in effect.
The Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club and the Fanelli family ask that the family's past requests for privacy continue to be honoured.
Any future information will continue to be released through the Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club.
We again thank everyone for their support to both Ben and his family.

Keeping Score

Yes, The Daily News Christmas Cheer Fund will be back for an eighth festive season. Are we excited? You bet. Over the previous seven years, you have given us $246,515.96, every cent of which has been distributed to local charities. . . . Watch for the campaign to get rolling in these pages on Nov. 14. . . . Yes, Sensei Jim Doan and the gang at the Western Karate Academy, who are among your fund’s grandest supporters, already have launched their Kick-A-Thon, with all proceeds coming this way. . . . There isn’t a sport out there today, including that new four-team pro football league, that is as badly run as baseball. Do you need more evidence than late night World Series games in November? In Game 4, Johnny Damon of the New York Yankees stole two bases on the same pitch. How bizarre was that? Here is Yankees bench coach Tony Pena, in conversation with ESPN.com: “You know how people always tell you that they’ve been in baseball for 40 years, 50 years, and things happen every game that they never saw? Well, I’ve never seen that before. I never saw that before in my life.”
After Broadcast Music, Inc., reported that Queen’s We Will Rock You was the most-played song at NFL, MLB and NHL games over a 12-month period, Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times suggested that the Los Angeles Dodgers might begin playing She Got the Gold Mine, I Got the Shaft next season. . . . Mike Lupica, in the New York Daily News: “I hardly ever envy anything that happens in another city in sports. But I sure wish that McCourt divorce were happening here. There’d be front pages every day the way we got with Donald and Marla in the old days.”
Cam Hutchinson, in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix: “The list of media personalities that will carry the Olympic torch includes Jennifer Hedger, James Duthie, Michael Landsberg and Dave Randorf. Among TSN staffers not selected were: 3. Vic Rauter, because he wanted to bring Ray and Linda; 2. Pierre McGuire, because his hot air might extinguish the flame; 1. Darren Dreger, because he doesn’t have sources in the torch world.” . . . As for all those media people, including the Count, Lloyd Robertson, carrying the torch, whatever became of the media not putting themselves into the story? . . . How would you feel if you were a Tampa Bay Buccaneers season-ticket holder? It was a Bucs home game on Oct. 25 when they played the New England Patriots in London. Tom Brady’s Patriots last played in Tampa in 1997 and won’t play there again until 2017.
A political note from the Sports Deke blog: “Former professional snowboarder and Winter Olympics gold medalist Ross Rebagliati is the new federal Liberal candidate for Okanagan-Coquihalla. The Liberals say they are excited about his political potential. It might be because they think he’s great at snow jobs.” . . . The Toronto Maple Leafs went into last night with one victory and 12 losses. But they have seven points. That’s what loser points do for you. . . . Belated congratulations to Kelly Moore, the program director over at Country 103. The former radio voice of the Kamloops Blazers was honoured last month at the B.C. Country Music Association awards celebration. . . . Former Blazers defenceman Micki DuPont is playing this season with Kloten of the Swiss NL A. And he already has signed a contract with Zug of the same league for the following two seasons. . . . Isn’t that kind of like an NHLer playing with one team this season and signing in midseason to play the next two seasons with another team? . . . You’re right. Only in Europe.
Mike Bianchi, in the Orlando Sentinel: “And why is Congress holding hearings on why there are so many concussions in the NFL? You think maybe it’s because 300-pound men are banging their heads together at high speed? Coming soon: Congressional inquiry into why there is so much frostbite in the Iditarod.” . . . If you’re running the New York Yankees, how do you not bring back DH Hideki Matsui after the World Series he had? But he also would go over big in Seattle with the Mariners, wouldn’t he? . . . You may have noticed that the St. Louis Rams (0-7) visited the Detroit Lions (1-5) last weekend. It was Fox-TV’s Jimmy Johnston who noted: “The greatest thing is it’s a skim-milk game — it’s only available in two per cent of the country.” . . . Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Mark McGwire as hitting coach: OK, try closing your stance just a bit and gaining 50 pounds of rock-hard muscle.”
Greg Cote, in the Miami Herald: “Shaq has applied to be a deputy sheriff in Cleveland. Man, you know times are tough when even the superstars are getting second jobs.” . . . The Saskatchewan Roughriders go into this final weekend of the CFL regular season with a 9-7-1 record, which means they will finish above .500 for a third consecutive season. Big deal, you say. Well, the Green ’Riders haven’t done that in a long time. In 1976 they did it for a fourth straight season. . . . Is that Olympic fever you’ve got, or is it H1N1?

Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca and gdrinnan.blogspot.com. Keeping Score appears Saturdays.

Blazers work OT for victory

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers’ seven-game losing streak flu away Friday night.
The Blazers erased a 4-1 second-period deficit and beat the Edmonton Oil Kings 6-5 in overtime before 4,295 fans at Interior Savings Centre.
The Blazers (9-9-2-0), who also had lost three straight at home, play here again tonight, this time against the Kelowna Rockets.
Right-winger Jimmy Bubnick, who had gone nine games without a goal, scored the winner at 2:05 of extra time, taking a pass from left-winger Brendan Ranford and cleanly beating Edmonton goaltender Cam Lanigan.
The 17-year-old Lanigan, who finished with 31 saves, was making a third straight start for the first time in the WHL. That’s because starter Torrie Jung, 20, is recovering from the flu.
For the Oil Kings’ previous two games, Jung worked out of a separate dressing room than his teammates but didn’t take the warmup.
Jung and forwards Robin Soudek and Cameron Maclise, who also have been ill, flew into Kamloops yesterday rather than ride the bus. Maclise, however, didn’t dress.
As well, the Oil Kings (7-11-0-3) left their leading sniper, right-winger Tomas Vincour, who has 10 goals, and equipment manager Rogan Dean at home.
But head coach Steve Pleau refused to use any of that as an excuse.
“No. I don’t think so. Not at all,” Pleau said. “If you put that gear on you have to be ready to go.
“I give (the Blazers) credit.”
In the end, the Oil Kings were done in by Edmonton natives Colin Smith, who was playing his first game this season, and Ranford.
Smith, who suffered a broken arm during an Aug. 26 practice, and Ranford, who had a goal and two assists for the first three-point night of his career, lined up alongside right-winger Tyler Shattock, who also had a goal and two helpers. They were too much for the visitors to handle for most of the night.
“I thought we were exposed wide all night,” Pleau said. “They did a good job off the rush of taking the puck wide and doing smarter things with it than we did.”
Smith, who finished with two assists, said any weariness he may have felt was taken care of by the excitement of playing in a game. He and Ranford were teammates in bantam hockey and live together, along with freshman forward JC Lipon.
“Obviously, (Edmonton) is our hometown team and it gets us pumped up more,” Ranford said. “But it was (Smith’s) first game . . . he was back and we were all pumped up in the house.”
On the ice, Ranford said, “We sort of play similar. We’re both hard-working and really shifty. He’s maybe got a little bit better hands than I do but I think my finish is a little bit better than his. But we work well together.”
As Smith, who had two assists and hit a post, put it: “It’s pretty easy to play with those two guys.”
Still, the home boys fell behind 4-1 when Edmonton defenceman Mark Pysyk scored on the power play at 1:09 of the second period.
“We got behind the 8-ball early and the guys showed some resiliency,” Blazers interim head coach Scott Ferguson said. “They could have gotten down on themselves but they pulled through. They get the credit tonight. They put forth a solid effort.”
Defenceman Bronson Maschmeyer and centre C.J. Stretch scored PP goals — the Blazers were 3-for-4 with the man advantage — to get the locals to within a goal going into the third period.
Left-winger Shayne Wiebe tied it at 2:06 of the third and Ranford, on the PP, shot the Blazers into the lead at 6:29.
But the Oil Kings, with Lanigan on the bench, forced OT when centre Brent Raedeke, who hit the cross-bar with 3:40 to play, redirected a Pysyk point shot with 36.1 seconds left.
Devin Balness, Michael St. Croix and Soudek also scored for Edmonton, which got three assists from defenceman Tyler Hlookoff.
Kamloops goaltender Justin Leclerc stopped 27 shots and didn’t get a whole lot of help in the early going as his mates struggled to clear traffic.
“The first three goals . . . I don’t know how much he saw of two of them for sure,” Ferguson said. “Defencemen have to do a good job of clearing guys out in front so he can see the puck.”
None of Leclerc’s stops was bigger than the sprawling pad save he made off Edmonton’s Brett Breitkreuz with 20 seconds left in the second period. A goal there may have killed the Blazers’ momentum while giving the visitors quite a lift.
“He made some big saves in the second period or it could have been ugly for us,” Ferguson said. “He battled through like everybody else.”
JUST NOTES: Referee Derek Zalaski gave each team seven minors. . . . Edmonton was 2-for-4 on the power play. . . . The Daily News Three Stars: 1. Ranford — a real Energizer Bunny in this one; 2. Smith — the Blazers’ magic man is back; 3. Pysyk — a horse back there. . . . With a sore wrist keeping G Jon Groenheyde from dressing, the Blazers had Jacob Mattes, 16, of the major midget Thompson Blazers backing up Leclerc. . . . The Blazers’ third goal in Tuesday’s 8-3 loss to the visiting Tri-City Americans has been changed. Originally credited to Jake Trask, with assists to Ranford and Maschmeyer, it has been given to Ranford with assists to Dylan Willick and Maschmeyer.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com

Friday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT, Part 1: F Dustin Johner (Seattle, 1999-2004) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Heilbronner Falken (Germany 2.Bundesliga). He had an unsuccessful tryout with Ilves Tampere (Finland SM-Liiga) in September, where he had no points and was plus-2 in two games.
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THE MacBETH REPORT, Part 2: This is the time for the autumn national team tournaments. Here are the ex-WHL players who are participating in them.
KARJALA CUP (Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden) — Helsinki,
Finland. . . . Czech Republic: Marek Schwarz, Josef Melichar, Tomas Mojzis, Jakub Cutta, Pavel Brendl. . . . Russia: Oleg Tverdovsky, Oleg Saprykin.
DEUTSCHLAND CUP (Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, USA) — Munich, Germany. . . . Germany: Jason Holland, Chris Schmidt, T.J. Mulock, Yannic Seidenberg. . . . Slovakia: Ivan Baranka, Milan Bartovic, Tomas Slovak, Marcel Hossa. . . . Switzerland: Hnat Domenichelli.
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Bob Green, the Edmonton Oil Kings’ general manager, was parked outside his club’s dressing room in Kamloops on Friday night, proud to show off his New York Yankees’ tie.
“He’s just pulling my chain,” offered Oil Kings head coach Steve Pleau, “because I’m a Red Sox fan.”
Green didn’t say a word. He didn't have to. His smile said it all.
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By the way, Pleau’s mother, Wendy, is back on her feet after battling two different types of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Her husband, Larry, is the general manager of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues.
Wendy’s cancer is in remission and she is strong enough to be in arenas.
Steve is excited because his mother, who has never seen the Oil Kings play, has a week-long trip to Edmonton planned for later this season.
There’s a story right here on his mother’s battle.
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Ernie (Punch) McLean and some of his former New Westminster Bruins players will be in Chilliwack to watch the Bruins play the Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday. That story is right here.
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Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun takes a look at the Tri-City Americans, who have won at least 47 games each of the last three seasons and appear headed that way again. That story is right here.
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Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix chats with Regina Pats sniper Jordan Eberle and discovers, among other things, that he cheats at golf. That piece is right here.
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The AHL’s San Antonio Rampage has recalled D Nick Ross (Lethbridge, Kamloops, Vancouver, 2004-09) from the ECHL’s Las Vegas Wranglers. Ross, 20, had one assist in seven games with Las Vegas. The Phoenix Coyotes selected Ross with the 30th selection of the NHL’s 2007 draft. . . . The Coyotes have recalled D Shaun Heshka (Everett, 2003-05) from San Antonio. He had four points in 13 games with the Rampage.
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FRIDAY:
In Brandon, G Garrett Zemlak stopped 42 shots to help the Prince Albert Raiders to a 4-0 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . F Dustin Cameron scored the game’s first two goals, at 12:27 of the first period and 4:48 of the second, and Zemlak took it from there. . . . Brandon held a 17-7 edge in shots in the third period. . . . Brandon (10-8-0-2) was 0-for-8 on the PP. . . . Zemlak, the reigning CHL goaltender of the week, is 10-5-0-1. It was his second shutout this season and the third of his career. . . . The Raiders (10-8-0-1) were 2-for-5 on the PP. . . . Prince Albert has picked up 11 points out of its last six games. . . . Attendance was 4,333. . . . Brandon G Jacob De Serres stopped 18 shots. . . . Brandon C Jay Fehr had his 13-game point streak and a nine-game assist streak snapped. . . . This was Brandon’s first home game since it went 4-2-0-1 on a western road swing. . . . It was the first time Brandon has been shut out since Jan. 1, 2007, when G Linden Rowat stopped 34 shots as the Pats won 3-0 in Regina. Brandon played 194 games between shutouts.
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In Moose Jaw, the Medicine Hat Tigers erased a 2-0 first-period lead and edged the Warriors, 3-2. . . . F Linden Vey broke a 2-2 tie at 12:30 of the third period. . . . F Emerson Etem scored his 16th goal for the Tigers (10-8-2-2), while F Jason Bast got his 17th for the Warriors (12-8-0-0). . . . Medicine Hat G Deven Dubyk, who was acquired from Moose Jaw earlier in the season, stopped 28 shots for his first victory over the season. . . . The Tigers had lost five of their previous six games. . . . Attendance was 2,143. . . . With G Jeff Bosch out of action with an injury, Moose Jaw had G Warren Shymko, 17, backing up Dubyk. He had been with the junior B Saskatoon Royals. Earlier, he was dealt by the Tri-City Americans to the Kelowna Rockets and then assigned to the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that three Warriors — F Dylan Hood, F Riley Reinbolt and D Chad Suer — sat out with the flu, and so did the Warriors’ mascot, Mortimer J. Moose. G Brandon Glover, F Spencer Edwards, F Joey Kornelsen and F Cody Smuk played despite being under the weather.
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In Calgary, F Joel Broda’s PP goal 57 seconds into overtime gave the Hitmen a 3-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Everett F Tyler Maxwell forced OT with his ninth goal at 19:12 of the second period. . . . Broda has nine goals this season. . . . Attendance was 6,836. . . . Calgary F Brandon Kozun, whose pass set up Broda for the winner, had two assists to run his point streak to 13 games — he has 25 points in that stretch — and his assist streak to nine games (13 helpers). . . . Calgary (15-5-0-0) was 2-for-5 on the PP; Everett (10-6-0-0) was 0-for-4.
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In Regina, F Jordan Eberle scored the only goal of a shootout as the Pats edged the Saskatoon Blades, 4-3. . . . F Jason Gardiner scored his first two goals this season for the Pats. . . . Attendance was 5,110. . . . Saskatoon () had won seven in a row. . . . Saskatoon took a 3-1 lead into the third period only to Gardiner tie it with goals 1:13 apart, at 14:31 and 15:44. . . . Regina has won four in a row at home. . . . Eberle was the shootout’s first shooter. . . . Regina lost F Matt Strueby 31 seconds into the game when he was given a boarding major for a hit on Saskatoon D Sam Klassen. . . . Saskatoon G Adam Morrison stopped 34 shots. . . . Eberle didn’t get a point in regulation or OT so his eight-game assist streak ended.
———
In Kent, Wash., the Spokane Chiefs scored the game’s last three goals and beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 3-1. . . . F Blake Gal broke a 1-1 tie at 11:24 of the third period. . . . F Sena Acolatse gave Seattle a 1-0 lead at 17:13 of the second period on the PP. . . . Spokane F Kyle Beach, with goal No. 14, tied it at 18:06. . . . Spokane C Mitch Wahl, who set up Gal’s goal, added an empty-netter. . . . The Chiefs improved to 9-6-1-0, while Seattle slipped to 4-12-1-2. . . . Attendance was 4,025.
———
In Red Deer, the Kootenay Ice jumped out to a 4-0 lead as they beat the Rebels, 4-1. . . . G Todd Mathews stopped 34 shots for the Ice (8-11-0-1. . . . The Rebels are 8-10-0-0. . . . Ice D Petr Senkeric scored his third goal and set up two others. . . . Attendance was 4,673. . . . The Rebels and Ice meet Saturday night in Cranbrook. . . . That is the first of five in a row on the road for the Rebels, who also will play in Kamloops, Kelowna, Vancouver and Chilliwack.
———
In Kelowna, G Adam Brown stopped 23 saves to help the Kelowna Rockets to a 3-0 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . It was Brown’s second shutout this season and the fourth of his career. . . . The Rockets (10-7-1-0) got goals from F Brandon McMillan, F Kyle St. Denis, his 10th, and F Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan. . . . Kelowna scored once in each period, with the first two goals coming via the PP. . . . Callahan scored an empty-netter. . . . Chilliwack (7-9-1-3) has lost three in a row. . . . Bruins G Mark Friesen stopped 31 shots. . . . Attendance was 6,119.
———
In Kamloops, the Blazers erased a 4-1 second-period deficit and beat the Edmonton Oil Kings 6-5 in overtime. . . . The Blazers (9-9-2-0) had lost their previous seven games. . . . RW Jimmy Bubnick, scoreless in nine games, got the winner at 2:05 of OT. . . . The Blazers had been 0-2-0-0 since head coach Barry Smith was fired on Oct. 26 so this was victory No. 1 for interim head coach Scott Ferguson. . . . The Oil Kings (7-10-1-3) forced OT on F Brent Raedeke’s goal with 36.1 seconds left in the third period. . . . Garry Davidson, the Portland Winterhawks’ director of player personnel, took in his second straight game in Kamloops. He watched the Tri-City Americans beat the Blazers 8-3 on Tuesday, as well. This time, he said he was in Kamloops to watch the Randy Lindros Memorial bantam tournament, so took advantage of the situation to watch the WHLgame. . . . Attendance was 4,295.
———
In Swift Current, F Cody Eakin became the WHL’s first 20-goal scorer this season as the Broncos beat the Prince George Cougars, 4-1. . . . The Broncos had lost four in a row. . . . F Taylor Makin gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 10:49 of the first period but Eakin got No. 19 at 12:55 and No. 20 at 14:55, on the PP, and the Broncos (10-9-0-1) never looked back as they improved to 10-2-0-0 at home. . . . F Justin Dowling also scored twice for the home side. He has eight this season. . . . The game was the first of six in the East Division for the Cougars (3-13-0-1). . . . Attendance was 2,337.
———
In Kennewick, Wash., F Brendan Shinnimin scored two goals and set up two others as the Tri-City Americans whipped the Vancouver Giants, 8-2. . . . Shinnimin, with 34 points, is two points behind WHL leader Brandon Kozun of the Calgary Hitmen. Last season, Shinnimin finished with 25 points in 64 games. . . . F Adam Hughesman added a goal and two assists for the Americans. . . . Tri-City D Brock Sutherland had two helpers and was plus-4. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley stopped 37 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,805. . . . Vancouver G Jamie Tucker was replaced by Brendan Jensen at 5:05 of the first period after giving up two goals on five shots. . . . The Americans led 5-0 early in the second period before Vancouver D Zach Hodder scored his first WHL goal. . . . The Americans are 15-3-0-0 and hold a three-point lead over the Giants (12-5-1-2) atop the Western Conference.

Thursday . . .

An update issued earlier Thursday by the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers:
“Kitchener Rangers defenceman Ben Fanelli has been moved from I.C.U. to a private room in Hamilton General Hospital. His medical status remains unchanged. Medical testing continues and a no visitor policy is in effect.
“The Fanelli family and the Rangers organization again thank the many people who have expressed their concerns and wishes for Ben's recovery. If you wish to send cards or messages, those may be dropped off to the Kitchener Rangers office or emailed to info@kitchenerrnagers.com.
“Further updates will be made by the Kitchener Rangers when they become available.”
Fanelli, who was injured on Oct. 30, was upgraded from critical but stable condition to serious condition on Wednesday.
---
F Ryan Kinasewich (Medicine Hat, Tri-City, 1998-2004) of the Utah Grizzlies is the ECHL’s Reebok player of the month for October. He led the ECHL with nine goals, three of them game-winners, in five games. He totalled 14 points in those five games. He had three or more points in four of the games. . . . In 229 ECHL games over six seasons, he has 307 points. That includes 269 points in 187 games with Utah. He also became Utah’s all-time leading scorer when he notched his 112th goal on Oct. 24. . . . And he is nine points shy of Chris Taylor’s franchise record for career points (278).
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F Randall Gelech (Kelowna, 2000-04) has signed with the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings. Gelech, who has played in 75 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins over the previous two seasons, played 56 games for the AHL’s Rochester Americans last season. . . . The Salmon Kings placed him on the three-day injury list Thursday.
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And now for something completely different. . . . Right here is a look into the love life of Ottawa Senators F Mike Fisher.
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The Prince Albert Raiders will play three road games in as many nights this weekend. Which isn’t all that unusual. But consider the Raiders’ weekend travel schedule. . . . They left Prince Albert on Thursday and headed to Regina where they checked into a hotel that will be their home away from home until Sunday. . . . The Raiders will travel to Brandon on Friday and play the Wheat Kings, then bus back to the Regina hotel. . . . On Saturday, they will head for Saskatoon -- which, now that you mention it, is just down the road from Prince Albert -- for a game with the Blades. Then it’s back to the hotel in Regina. . . . On Sunday, the Raiders will vacate the hotel, play the Pats and then return home. . . . The Raiders (9-8-0-1) earned nine points on a five-game homestand and now play eight of 10 on the road where they are 1-6-0-0.
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The Prince George Cougars open a six-game East Division tour Friday night against the Broncos (9-9-0-1) in Swift Current. . . . The Cougars (3-12-0-1) are without sniper Brett Connolly (hip flexor), who didn’t make the trip and will be out at least another two weeks.
---
A note from TSN on Thursday, informing us that it “will be the exclusive Canadian home to ESPN’s critically acclaimed 30 FOR 30 film project - featuring some of Hollywood’s finest filmmakers creating documentaries centered on the last 30 years in sports.” . . . According to TSN, “Highlighting the 30 FOR 30 documentaries on TSN is filmmaker Peter Berg’s KINGS RANSOM. The one-hour documentary explores the effects of the shocking trade of Wayne Gretzky from Edmonton to Los Angeles in 1988.” . . . You can watch for Kings Ransom on Nov. 18, at 4:30 p.m. Pacific (7:30 p.m. Eastern), prior to the telecast of a game between the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche.
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The Central league’s Amarillo Gorillas have signed F Jason Beeman (Tri-City, 2001-06). Beeman, 24, played for the China Sharks of the Asian league last season.
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The NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes have recalled F Zach Boychuk (Lethbridge, 2005-09) from the AHL’s Albany River Rats. He could play Friday against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs. Boychuk, 20, had nine points, four of them goals, in 12 games with Albany. . . . Boychuk, the 14th overall pick in the 2008 NHL draft, actually made his NHL debut last season when he played two games in October before being returned to Lethbridge.
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The Saskatoon Blades (15-3-0-2) put their seven-game winning streak on the line Friday night when they meet the Pats in Regina. The Blades, who are 9-1-0-0 in their last 10 outings and are 3-0-0-1 against the Pats this season, will start G Adam Morrison in that one. Regina has won three in a row at home. . . . Saskatoon G Steven Stanford will get the start Saturday against the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. The Blades acquired Stanford from the Raiders last month.
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Eleven players off the Chilliwack Bruins received H1N1 vaccinations on Monday. But the team’s doctor denies that the players jumped the queue. Eric Welsh of the Chilliwack Progress has that story right here.
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The AJHL’s Brooks Bandits have named Ryan Papaioannou as general manager and head coach. The club’s assistant GM/assistant coach when the season started, he replaces Brian Curran, who was fired Oct. 16.
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The Phoenix Coyotes recalled D David Schlemko (Medicine Hat, 2004-07) from the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage on Thursday. He played, and picked up an assist, in the Coyotes’ 3-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday. He got into three games and earned an assist with the Coyotes last season.
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So much for F Moises Gutierrez playing for his hometown team. Gutierrez (Kamloops, Everett, 2002-07) was claimed by the ECHL’s Johnston Chiefs off waivers from his hometown Alaska Aces. Gutierrez signed with the Aces last week, played almost 10 minutes on Friday night against the Idaho Steelheads, was hit with a major penalty and game misconduct for interference, and was suspended for the next two games. He is expected to play for the Chiefs when they visit Cincinnati on Friday.
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Attendance in the QMJHL is down 3.9 per cent, to this point in the season. The QMJHL press release on that is right here.
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And here’s a belated Happy, Happy Birthday to Ernie (Punch) McLean, who turned 77 on Tuesday. This one had to be special after his excellent adventure over the summer. Well done, Punch, and may you have many more!

Bonner not looking for coach . . . now

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Craig Bonner, the general manager of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, laughed Thursday night when asked if he would be meeting with a potential head coach this weekend.
According to Dean Millard of The Team 1260, an Edmonton radio station, Dean Brockman, who has won three straight SJHL titles as general manager and head coach of the Humboldt Broncos, is to be in Kamloops this weekend “to meet with management.”
Asked about the report Thursday night, a chuckling Bonner replied: “Coming in here? . . . Uhh, no. I won’t be here this weekend.”
Bonner then laughed again and said it was the second rumour he heard yesterday.
“Someone told me that (Michael Dyck) was the new coach,” Bonner said.
Dyck, who was on the Vancouver Giants’ coaching staff with Bonner for a couple of recent seasons, is the former head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. His contract wasn’t renewed after last season and he now is helping the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns.
Bonner said he hasn’t spoken to anyone about the position since firing head coach Barry Smith on Oct. 26 and promoting assistant Scott Ferguson to interim head coach. And furthermore, Bonner said, he doesn’t plan on talking to anyone, at least not in the immediate future.
“I haven’t talked with anyone,” Bonner said. “I have emailed a few people back telling them we’re going to give these guys a chance here for a bit and see how it goes.”
Which means that Ferguson and assistant coach Geoff Smith will continue to run the Blazers on the ice.
The Blazers, who have lost seven games in a row, are at home to the Edmonton Oil Kings tonight. Bonner said he isn’t distressed about the way things are going, but admitted to being “disappointed.”
“I think the hard part now is staying patient,” he said. “In saying that, there could be some adjustments made. We won’t really know until we get all our guys back. It will be an interesting time with more of a full lineup starting (tonight).”
The Blazers will welcome centre Colin Smith into the lineup for the first time this season, and also get centre C.J. Stretch back from suspension. This means there will be healthy scratches and Bonner feels this will provide competition for spots and should result in some improvement.
As for impending player moves, he said: “I’m always looking. . . . If something is going to help us improve, yeah.”

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com

Finally, Smith gets to play for Blazers

By MARK HUNTER
Daily News Sports Reporter
Colin Smith will have a couple of pretty good linemates when he suits up for the first time this WHL season.
Smith, a rookie with the Kamloops Blazers, is to make his return from injury tonight, 7 o’clock, against the Edmonton Oil Kings at Interior Savings Centre. The 5-foot-10 centre broke his right humerus in an Aug. 26 practice, and has been working to get back in the lineup since.
Being the Blazers’ first-round pick — seventh overall — in the 2008 bantam draft immediately puts pressure on the 16-year-old Smith. But having a pair of good linemates should help — Smith will line up between captain Tyler Shattock, who is in his fourth WHL season, and second-year winger Brendan Ranford, who, like Smith, is an Edmonton native.
“With those guys on a line, we’re expected to contribute,” said Smith, who had 55 points in 34 games for the midget AAA Edmonton CAC Canadians last season. “I have no problem with that.
“Tyler’s a great player — I’ll just try to get him the puck — and Ranford, we work well together. I think it will be a pretty good line.”
Smith’s return is good news for the Blazers, who are on a seven-game losing streak. Kamloops is 8-9-0-2 and tied for sixth in the Western Conference, while Edmonton is 7-10-0-3 and eighth in the Eastern Conference.
Tonight’s game also will mark the return of centre C.J. Stretch, who has finished serving a four-game WHL suspension he received for an unpenalized hit on Swift Current Broncos defenceman Eric Doyle on Oct. 21.
Blazers interim head coach Scott Ferguson said that he doesn’t want Smith to try to take the world on his shoulders in his first game of the season, but, since he is playing with Shattock and Ranford, he will have a chance to contribute.
“Those three guys work well together,” Ferguson said. “(Ranford) and Smith have played together in the past — they’re good friends, they’re roommates. We’re hoping there will be some chemistry.
“Shattock’s a big body, he’s going to be banging and crashing and creating some room for them.”
Smith played eight regular-season games in 2008-09, picking up four assists. He also played all four games in the playoffs — scoring one goal — when Kamloops was swept by the Kelowna Rockets.
He was hoping to come into Kamloops in August and really turn some heads.
“It’s definitely been a lot different than I expected,” Smith said. “I didn’t see myself getting hurt but, if anything, it just made me more eager to get into my first game. Hopefully it goes well.”
Smith resumed skating in mid-October, when the Blazers went on their East Division swing, and has been champing at the bit to get into a game.
His chance has finally come.
“I’m always a little nervous,” Smith said. “But playing with two really good players makes me a lot more confident.”
JUST NOTES: The Blazers will start Justin Leclerc in goal tonight, as Jon Groenheyde is day-by-day with a sore wrist. . . . G Jacob Mattes of the major-midget Thompson Blazers suited up at practice on Thursday, but Ferguson didn’t say who will serve as an emergency backup tonight. . . . If you were wondering, GM Craig Bonner said Thursday that the Blazers have yet to get their H1N1 vaccinations. . . . Blazers F Ryan Hanes (head) has been cleared to play, and has been practising, meaning Dalibor Bortnak (spleen) is the lone Kamloops player on the injury list.

EDMONTON OIL KINGS at KAMLOOPS BLAZERS
Today, 7 p.m., Interior Savings Centre (Radio NL 610)
EDMONTON (7-10-0-3): The Oil Kings gave up two goals in the last couple of minutes and lost 3-2 to the Hitmen in Calgary on Wednesday. . . . A 2-7-0-1 skid in its last 10 games has left Edmonton in eighth spot in the 12-team Western Conference. . . . The Oil Kings have scored only 48 goals in 19 games. Only the Prince George Cougars and Seattle Thunderbirds have been less offensive. . . . Edmonton last was here on Feb. 15, 2008, when it won 4-0 behind two goals form F Tomas Vincour and 23 saves from G Dalyn Flette, who now is with the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Vincour, one of Edmonton’s top players, sat out Wednesday with the flu. . . . G Torrie Jung, likely Edmonton’s MVP, was in the building if needed Wednesday, but the flu kept him off the bench. . . . G Cam Lanigan went the distance in Calgary, the first time this season he has started back-to-back games. . . . D Mark Pysyk, the third overall pick in the 2007 bantam draft, is a potential top 10 NHL selection in the 2010 draft. . . . Injuries: F Devin Balness (finger, questionable), F Michael Burns (shoulder, questionable).
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KAMLOOPS (8-9-2-0): The Blazers, who once were 7-1-2-0, are 1-8-0-0 in their last nine outings and have lost seven straight games, including an 8-3 loss to the visiting Tri-City Americans on Tuesday. . . . In their last three home games, the Blazers are 0-3 and have been outscored 27-9. . . . The Blazers have allowed 84 goals, more than any other team in the WHL aside from the Medicine Hat Tigers (85), who have played two more games and lead the league in goals for (93). Kamloops' 60 goals for is 14th of 22 teams. . . . Kamloops, which led the WHL in penalty minutes last season, is No. 1 again this season, with 436 minutes. . . . RW Jimmy Bubnick centred LW Shayne Wiebe and RW Tyler Shattock on Tuesday and was quite effective. But he likely will be back on the wing tonight as centres C.J. Stretch (suspension) and C Colin Smith (broken arm) return. . . . Still, Bubnick has only three goals in 19 games and hasn’t scored in nine. . . . C Jake Trask, who scored 10 goals in 65 games last season, leads the Blazers with 10 goals, in 18 games. . . . Injuries: C Dalibor Bortnak (spleen, out); G Jon Groenheyde (wrist, out); C Colin Smith (broken arm, probable).
-- GREGG DRINNAN

Going to the Games

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
When Dan Courneyea decided he wanted to volunteer for service during the
2010 Olympic Winter Games, he wasn’t going to be picky.
He just wanted to be a part of the Olympic experience.
Sheesh, he would have swept floors in the media centre had they asked.
A member of the Kamloops Blazers’ off-ice officiating crew, Courneyea had
hoped his computer experience as an on-line scorekeeper would hold him in
good stead.
Instead, the 48 year-old Courneyea was informed in mid-October that he would
be anything but a typical off-ice official.
Courneyea, an assistant manager at Wesco Distribution-Canada Inc., was in
the middle of taking inventory Oct. 16 when his phone rang.
It was Dr. Jim Potts, the Chief of Competition for Ice Hockey at the Games,
which run Feb. 12-28 in Vancouver and Whistler.
“Got a minute?” Potts asked Courneyea who, truth be told, would have given
him all day.
Potts was calling to inform Courneyea that there had been a change in plans
and now, rather than being responsible for one of the three off-ice
officiating crews, he was being named Assistant Chief of Competition.
The powers that be, working with Barb Byrne, the venue results manager for
ice hockey, had decided that with Potts unable to be in two places at once
and with a staff of at least 78, it would be a good move to name an
assistant.
“Now,” Courneyea says, “I’m overseeing three crews and one building.”
Indeed, Courneyea will be responsible for UBC Thunderbird Arena, one of two
venues in which the hockey competition will be played.
In a perfect world, Courneyea won’t have anything to do but he knows that
isn’t going to happen. He knows there will be fires to put out as he
oversees the facility and the competition there through the round-robin.
“Then I’ll move over to Canada Hockey Place,” he says, referring to what now
is known as GM Place, “and hopefully be able to give my two cents worth to
choose the appropriate people for the medal games.”
Courneyea is one of eight members of the Blazers’ off-ice officiating staff
who will be working the Games.
Fred Nicolson will be a penalty box attendant/goal judge on Crew 1, while
Kevin Rhodes (faceoffs) will work on Crew 2. Crew 3 includes Pat Rozek
(scorekeeper), Gerry Bond and Matt Webb (penalty box attendants/goal
judges), Steve Taylor (Gemini) and Jen Konice (faceoffs).
All of these people are doing this simply because they want to be part of
the Olympic experience. They have had to take vacation time from work and are
responsible for all transportation and living arrangements and expenses.
Rozek, 57, is in his 20th season on the Blazers’ off-ice crew. He worked the
1995 Memorial Cup here -- in fact, the final-game scoresheet he completed is on
display in the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame -- referred to it as the chance
of a lifetime.
“This is a feather in my hat for all the years I’ve put in,” says Rozek, who
works in construction.
Taylor, who turns 30 on Monday, will be involved with inputting data into the
Gemini information system or keeping track of icetime, faceoffs, shots on
goal, assists, etc.
Excited?
“Big time,” says Taylor, a benefits officer with Service Canada, noting that
the crew will work 16 round-robin games and will be in both venues.
Webb, 30, can hardly wait for the Games to arrive.
“I’m pretty stoked . . . pretty excited,” says Webb, who is an RN at Royal
Inland Hospital. “It’s pretty cool . . . the experience of a lifetime.”
Courneyea, like most of the crew, will head for Vancouver on Feb. 9.
“I just wanted to be an off-ice official . . . anything. I just wanted the
Olympic experience,” Courneyea says, more than a touch of bewilderment in
his voice. “I would never have thought that would have happened. Never.
“I am excited about this opportunity. I really am.”
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At present, the core group of off-ice officials who will work the ice hockey competition at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games is 78 names deep.
Of those 78 names, 24 are regulars on WHL off-ice crews.
The Kamloops Blazers’ crew is supplying eight people, while the Vancouver Giants will have six of their officials working. The Seattle Thunderbirds (four), Chilliwack Bruins (three), Calgary Hitmen (two) and Prince George Cougars (one) also are represented.
Of course, the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks are No. 1 on this list, with 17 people off their crew involved in the Games. There are three from the Calgary Flames, two from the Edmonton Oilers and one each from the Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Yes, there is one member of the Tampa Bay crew -- Michael Rees -- who has volunteered and is on the officiating crew. He is on Crew 1 and will be keeping tabs on faceoffs.
One of the volunteers worked for the Phoenix Roadrunners, who disappeared after the 2008-09 ECHL season, while the Manitoba Moose also will be represented.
As well, the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves have two members of their off-ice staff on the list.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com

Wednesday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: F Vaclav Varada (Tacoma-Kelowna, 1994-96) has been loaned by Vitkovice (Czech Extraliga) to Brno (Czech Extraliga) for the rest of this season. He had two goals and eight assists in 19 games with Vitkovice this season.
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In Regina, Pats general manager Brent Parker is trying to figure out where the fans have gone. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has that story right here.
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The Calgary Hitmen again have an opening for a 20-year-old. The Hitmen acquired F Del Cowan from the Prince George Cougars on Tuesday and that got them up to the maximum of three, the other two being F Joel Broda and F Cody Gross. . . . On Wednesday, however, the Hitmen released Gross, who had three points in 16 games. Gross also has played for the Prince Albert Raiders, Regina Pats and Red Deer Rebels.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings have designated C Jesse Hall, 18, for assignment. Hall, a sophomore from Winnipeg, had three assists in 17 games with Brandon. The Wheat Kings are looking to move him within the WHL. Failing that, he is likely to play in the SJHL or the MJHL. . . . The Wheat Kings are without D Alexander Urbom, 19, who has eight points in 15 games. The freshman is in Montreal taking part in a week-long session with Sweden’s national junior team. Urbom is expected to rejoin the Wheat Kings in time to play home games Friday against the Prince Albert Raiders and Saturday against the Medicine Hat Tigers.
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D Alex Petrovic, 17, is ready to return to the Red Deer Rebels’ lineup. Petrovic, out for more than a month with a high ankle sprain incurred in a practice, has played in two games this season. He should be back in the lineup Friday when the Rebels entertain the Kootenay Ice. He was a member of the Canadian team that won the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament in August. . . . The Rebels remain without D Nick Bell (ankle surgery), who isn’t expect back for another three months.
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Paul Danzer of the Columbian has a look at Portland Winterhawks F Chris Francis right here.
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Former WHLer Mark Derlago (Brandon, 2003-06), who has scored at every level at which he has played, has joined the AHL’s Providence Bruins on a tryout deal. He has been with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads. He had 10 points in eight games with Idaho. You may recall that Derlago missed the 2004-05 WHL season with a broken neck suffered in an exhibition game.
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So far, the Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Marlies, Toronto Raptors and Abbotsford Heat have admitted to receiving H1N1 vaccinations ahead of many members of the general public. And yes, there has been considerable uproar. . . . But, folks, you really shouldn’t be surprised. These teams, from junior A through the pro ranks, all have their own medical staffs. And you can bet that those medical people were far better prepared for this than the politicians who have so badly bungled this whole situation. . . . So let’s just sit back and wait to see how many more teams were able to jump the queue because their medical teams did exactly what they are supposed to do -- provide their teams with the best possible medical care. . . . Hey, I’m not saying it’s the right thing to do, but . . .
The Globe and Mail has an all-encompassing story right here.
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WEDNESDAY:
In Saskatoon, F Charles Inglis broke a 1-1 tie at 4:27 of the third period as the Blades, playing and winning their fifth game in six nights, edged the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The winner came with the teams playing 4-on-4. . . . F Cody Eakin scored his 18th goal for the Broncos late in the first period. Eakin and Medicine Hat Tigers F Bretton Cameron share the WHL lead in goals. . . . F Curtis Hamilton tied it with his seventh at 8:25 of the second. . . . Attendance was 3,418. . . . Broncos G Morgan Clark stopped 30 shots, while Saskatoon’s Steven Stanford turned aside 22. . . . The Blades (15-3-0-2) lead the Eastern Conference and have won seven in a row. . . . The Broncos (9-9-0-1) have lost four in a row and are winless on the road (0-7-0-1) this season. . . . The Blades won 3-1 in Swift Current on Sunday. . . .
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In Lethbridge, F Mitch Maxwell’s two goals helped the Hurricanes to a 3-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Maxwell, with 11 goals in his freshman season, has scored five times in his last two games and has at least one goal in five straight games. . . . The Hurricanes (6-11-2-0) had lost their last two games. . . . Everett (10-5-0-0) had won four in a row on its Central Division swing. . . . Lethbridge G Brandon Anderson stopped 22 shots in improving his record to 1-2-0-0. The Hurricanes have two goaltenders -- Linden Rowat (leg) and Ville Kolpannen (concussion) -- out with injuries. . . . Maxwell’s second goal, at 2:39 of the third period, gave the home side a 3-1 lead. . . . F Carter Ashton had two assists for the winners. . . . Attendance was 2,937.
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In Calgary, the Hitmen scored two third-period goals and beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 3-2. . . . Calgary (14-5-0-0) is 4-0 against Edmonton this season; the Hitmen are 15-3 in the all-time series. . . . Goals by F Rhett Rachinski in the first period and F Michael St. Croix in the second gave the visitors a 2-1 lead. . . . F Joel Broda, with his eighth, at 18:26 of the third on the PP and D Michael Stone, his seventh, at 19:10, gave Calgary the victory. . . . Calgary F Brandon Kozun had a goal and two assists as he extended his point streak to 12 games. He leads the WHL with 34 points. . . . Attendance was 6,471. . . . Edmonton G Cam Lanigan stopped 27 shots, while Calgary’s Martin Jones turned aside 20. . . . Because of the flu and injuries, Edmonton dressed only 17 skaters. G Torrie Jung was in the building but not on the bench due to the flu. . . . The Oil Kings The Oil Kings, who now head into B.C., are 7-10-0-3.
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In Regina, the Pats struck for three goals in the third period and beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 7-4. . . . On a day when Regina GM Brent Parker wondered where the fans were, attendance was announced at 3,626. . . . The Tigers (9-8-2-2) never held a lead but three times they forged ties, at 2-2, 3-3 and 4-4. . . . The Pats improved to 7-9-2-0. . . . Regina F Brett Leffler, with his eighth, broke the 4-4 tie at 4:01 of the third period. It was his second goal of the game. . . . F Jordan Eberle got his 13th at 11:48 on the PP and F Garth Mitchell, with his first, put it on ice at 14:13. . . . F Matt Strueby, who was back after sitting out three games with a concussion, had Regina’s first two goals, PP scores at 10:01 and 11:12 of the first period. He has 10 goals in 15 games. . . . Regina D Brandon Davidson, back after missing three games with a knee injury, had assists on the game’s last two goals. . . . F Linden Vey had two goals and a helper for the Tigers. . . . Regina F Jordan Weal drew four assists. . . . Regina D Cody Carlson, acquired earlier in the season from Medicine Hat, scored his first goal of the season. . . . Regina D Myles Bell and F Graham Hood both sat out with the flu, while Eberle played despite fighting the bug. . . . Medicine Hat had F Colin Mospanchuk, a fifth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft, in the lineup in place of F Reid Petryk (bruised ribs). Mospanchuk plays for the MJHL’s Winnipeg South Blues. . . . Medicine Hat F Bretton Cameron, who shares the WHL goal-scoring lead and is three points off the points lead, left the game after Regina’s final goal and didn’t return.
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In Prince Albert, F Brendan Rowinski and F Quinton Howden scored shootout goals to give the Moose Jaw Warriors a 6-5 victory over the Raiders. . . . The Raiders (9-8-0-1) held three leads in this one -- 2-0, 3-2, 5-4 -- but F Thomas Frazee scored for the Warriors (12-7-0-0) at 6:35 of the third period to force OT. The goal was his second of the game and seventh of the season. . . . F Jason Bast had two goals and three assists for the Warriors, while Howden had a goal and three helpers. D Travis Hamonic set up three goals. . . . The Raiders got two goals and an assist from F Igor Revenko and three assists from D Jordan Rowley. . . . The Warriors were 3-for-3 on the PP; the Raiders were 1-for-5. . . . Attendance was 1,810. . . . Moose Jaw head coach Dave Hunchak told John MacNeil of the Prince Albert Daily Herald that the Warriors had a dozen players in the lineup despite their feeling ill and that they scratched four players with the flu.
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In Spokane, F Kyle Beach scored the Chiefs’ first two goals, erasing a 1-0 deficit, and they went on to a 5-1 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . Beach has eight goals in his last five games and 13 on the season. . . . F Kevin Sundher gave the Bruins (7-8-1-3) the lead at 12:48 of the first period. . . . The Chiefs (8-6-1-0) scored the game’s last five goals. . . . Spokane, which had lost three straight at home, got a a goal and two assists from each of F Tyler Johnson and F Levko Koper. . . . Attendance was 3,519. . . . Spokane had a 40-25 edge in shots.
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In Portland, F Craig Cunningham scored twice and G Jamie Tucker stopped 24 shots to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 4-0 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . It was Portland’s first game this season in the Rose Garden. Attendance was 3,387. . . . The Winterhawks been blanked in two straight games. They lost 3-0 to the visiting Spokane Chiefs on Sunday. . . . Portland G Kurtis Mucha stopped 36 shots. . . . It was Vancouver’s second shutout of the season and the second time Portland has been blanked. . . . It was Tucker’s first shutout of the season and the seventh of his career. . . . Vancouver was 1-for-7 on the PP; Portland was 0-for-5. . . . Cunningham has 12 goals this season. . . . Vancouver F J.T. Barnett had two assists. He has 19 points in 19 games, after putting up five points in 38 games as a freshman last season. . . . Vancouver’s second goal, by F Milan Kytnar, came while the Giants were shorthanded. . . . The Giants are 12-4-1-2 and one point behind the Western Conference-leading Tri-City Americans (14-3-0-0). . . . Portland is 13-7-0-0 and two points behind the Americans, who hold three games in hand.
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In Kelowna, D Tyson Barrie scored the only goal of the shootout as the Rockets edged the Prince George Cougars, 5-4. . . . Barrie was the Rockets’ first shooter. . . . The Cougars (3-12-0-1) erased a 2-0 early first-period deficit with three goals, two of them from F James Dobrowolski, who is from Vernon, B.C., and a single from F Nick Buonassisi. . . . The Rockets (9-7-0-1) regained the lead on goals from F Kyle St. Denis and F Spencer Main. . . . Prince George F Robbie Ciolfi forced OT with a goal at 2:46 of the third period. . . . Attendance was 6,051. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown turned aside 27 shots and faced down three shooters in the circus. . . . Cougars G Alex Wright stopped 30 shots and two more in the shootout. . . . The Cougars now head into the East Division for six games. . . . Prince George was without D Dallas Jackson, who served a one-game WHL suspension.
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We conclude with a timely rant from a WHL fan, who sent me this on Wednesday:
“When is the league going to do something about all of these delay-and-stall tactics after a team is called for icing the puck from the defensive zone?
“Almost every time a team is caught with some tired players on the ice -- one of about three or four things happen. The coach of the icing team decides to get into a debate with the refs over who was on the ice (funny how all the coaches suddenly get amnesia when trying to remember which five players were on the ice); the defensive ‘stooge’ creates chaos in the faceoff circle and after a few tries . . . gets thrown out of the circle (bonus points if he can engage the linesman in some chat); the defensive team encroaches on the faceoff so badly that they eventually toss the ‘stooge’ player who was ‘set to take the draw.’
“These delay tactics are embarrassing, slow down the game and are simply a disgrace IMHO!!
“The solution is so simple: If the offending team (the team that iced the puck) does ANYTHING to delay the ensuing faceoff, it should be given a minor for delay of game or unsportsmanlike conduct. Simple enough IMO!”

Spokane, Lethbridge dealing

Following Wednesday night’s games, the Spokane Chiefs announced that they have dealt F Dustin Donaghy, 20, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a 2010 sixth-round bantam draft pick. . . . Donaghy, who was part of the Chiefs’ 2008 Memorial Cup championship team, had one assist in 13 games this season. All told, he played in 123 games for the Chiefs. . . . Spokane has three 20-year-olds on its roster in D Brett Bartman, D Jared Spurgeon and F Ryan Letts. However, Spurgeon (shoulder) and Letts (ankle) have yet to play this season and are listed as week-to-week. . . . The deal leaves Lethbridge with Donaghy, F Carter Bancks and G Linden Rowat as its 20-year-olds. F Radim Valchar, 20, also is on the Lethbridge roster but the Hurricanes are trying to find a place for him to play. . . . Donaghy and Bancks were teammates with the junior B Kimberley Dynamiters in 2004-05. They were two of three 15-year-olds on that team. The third one was LW Drayson Bowman, who went on to a pretty decent career with the Chiefs.

Time for a debate?

OK . . . let the debate begin.
The OHL has suspended F Michael Liambas, 20, of the Erie Otters for the remainder of this season and the playoffs for a Friday night hit that left D Ben Fanelli, 16, of the Kitchener Rangers in hospital with, among other things, a fractured skull.
This means that Liambas’s junior hockey career is over.
“Players must understand they shall be held accountable for their actions,” OHL commissioner David Branch said in a statement. “We must all work towards improving the level of respect players have towards opposing players and the game in general.”
Liambas was given a match penalty for boarding on the play in question.
Fanelli, who was airlifted to a hospital in Hamilton, has been upgraded from critical condition to serious but stable.
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Here is some of what I received from one veteran hockey coach:
“I don't agree at all with the OHL suspending the guy for the rest of the season.
“We tell players all the time to protect the puck and that means your back is facing the ice and your face is looking at the wall. Then we tell guys to finish off checks -- make sure you finish off your checks or you don't play.
“We are giving guys (mixed) messages and when someone gets hurt we get out the whip and punish the guy.
“Don't like the call and really don't like the way the game is being called. Way too many guys who are struggling with the body contact of the game and maybe -- just maybe -- someone is going to see that there are too many teams in the leagues. (Fewer teams might mean) there wouldn’t be 16-year-olds against 20-year-olds.
“We all wear helmets but looking at this guy, his chin strap was way too lose -- I just don't get it!
“There are a lot of guys who I know used to go to the rink and now they don't; they don’t even watch the game on TV. They have moved on to other things.
“Maybe we should play hockey the way the girls do, then we won’t have any hits and life will go on.”
That same coach got back to me again later in the day with this:
“I just watched the hit again and again.
“The play was coming around the net, the hitter -- feet on the ground -- did not charge him -- elbows down, stick down -- and the guy that got hit just moved the puck. The hitter was in good position -- too bad for the player who got hit but, again, a 16-year-old against a 20-year-old.
“I hope the kid is OK but in my mind it was a good hit.
“We will have no contact in the game soon.”

Tuesday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: F Adrian Foster (Saskatoon, Brandon, 1999-2002) was released from his tryout contract by Dinamo Riga (Latvia, KHL). He had two goals and one assist in nine games for Dinamo this season. . . . F Brady Leavold (Swift Current, Kelowna, 2003-08) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with the Tilburg Trappers (Netherlands). He had nine goals and four assists in 31 games with Victoria (ECHL) and no points in four games with Norfolk (AHL) last season.
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The Brandon Sun is reporting that Jim Wilton, a former defenceman with the Wheat Kings, has been killed in a plane crash after taking off from Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport in Michigan. . . . Wilton, 60, was killed Oct. 27. . . . According to The Sun, Wilton died after “his single-engine plane suffered mechanical failure, crashing and catching on fire immediately after taking off. . . . Wilton had just had mechanical repairs done in Kalamazoo.” . . . Wilton was the son of former long-time Brandon mayor Bill Wilton. . . . Jim played for the Wheat Kings in its first season (1967-68) in the WCHL. . . . “It’s very sad because he was an indestructible, larger-than-life, life-of-the-party kind of guy,” Bruce Bonk, who grew up playing hockey with Wilton, told The Sun’s Rob Henderson. “He was a leader in the dressing room in every sense of the word and a great natural athlete.” . . . Wilton also played football at Brandon University. . . . The Sun reported that “at the time of his death, Wilton was operating a resort at Lake Muskoka in Ontario.”
p p p
TUESDAY:
In Kamloops, D Drydn Dow scored his first two WHL goals to help the Tri-City Americans to an 8-3 victory over the Blazers. . . . The Americans (14-3-0-0), with the WHL’s best winning percentage (.824), have won three in a row, all on the road. They went 4-1 on this five-game swing. . . . The Blazers have lost seven straight. . . . Dow, a list player from Calgary, also had an assist. . . . Attendance was 3,897. . . . Tri-City was 4-for-9 on the PP and also scored a shorthanded goal. . . . The Americans are home to the Vancouver Giants on Friday, then go into the Central Division for three games. Tri-City then returns home for a six-game homestand.
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In Saskatoon, F Walker Wintoneak broke a 1-1 tie at 10:37 of the third period to give the Blades a 2-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Warriors scored first, when F Brendan Rowinski netted his 11th goal of the season at 12:29 of the first period. . . . Saskatoon F Burke Gallimore tied it on a penalty shot at 12:29 of the second. . . . Saskatoon G Adam Morrison stopped 33 shots, six more than Moose Jaw’s Jeff Bosch. . . . Attendance was 4,954. . . . Saskatoon (14-3-0-2), which has won six straight, now holds a four-point lead over the idle Calgary Hitmen (13-5-0-0) atop the Eastern Conference. . . . The Warriors (11-7-0-0) slipped eight points back of the Blades, who won 4-3 in Moose Jaw on Saturday. . . . Moose Jaw was without D Ryan Stanton (groin), while F Dylan Hood and F Joey Kornelsen sat out with the flu. Warriors head coach Dave Hunchak told the Moose Jaw Times-Herald that eight to 10 players are fighting the flu.
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In Medicine Hat, F Byron Froese scored at 2:20 of the third period to break a 1-1 tie and send the Everett Silvertips on their way to a 3-1 victory over the Tigers. . . . F Scott MacDonald, who joined the Silvertips this week from the BCHL’s Westside Warriors, had a goal and an assist. . . . Everett (10-4-0-0) has won four straight games. . . . The Tigers are 9-7-2-2. . . . The Silvertips are 4-0 on their longest road trip — seven games — of the season.

Americans hand Blazers seventh straight loss

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
As the Tri-City Americans celebrated their final goal Tuesday night, The McCoys’ 1965 hit Hang On Sloopy blared over the Interior Savings Centre sound system.
But it was too late for the Kamloops Blazers to do any hangin’ on.
That goal put the exclamation mark on the Americans’ 8-3 WHL victory in front of 3,897 sometimes disgruntled fans.
The Blazers, who are in need of something positive the way a thirsty man needs water, have lost seven straight games. They are 0-3 and have been outscored 27-9 in their last three appearances here.
A team that opened 7-1-2-0 now is 8-9-2-0 and wondering what hit it. The Blazers are 1-8-0-0 since falling 12-5 to the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers on Oct. 12.
The Edmonton Oil Kings (7-9-0-3) are here Friday night.
“Obviously there aren’t any easy answers,” offered Blazers interim head coach Scott Ferguson. “We came out hard at the start of the game. . . . We just seemed to implode for five to seven minutes in each period. We have to play a full 60-minute game.”
Indeed, the home boys played fairly well in the first period. They got in on the forecheck, forced some turnovers, generated a few chances and outshot the Americans, 17-15. (By game’s end, however, the Americans owned a 49-28 advantage.)
The Blazers came out of that first period trailing 2-1, thanks to a last-minute goal by right-winger Tyler Shattock.
Tri-City got its goals from freshman defenceman Drydn Dow, his first WHL score, and veteran forward Kruise Reddick. The latter goal summed up the Blazers’ night, with Reddick getting a breakaway off a Giffen Nyren turnover at the Tri-City line. Nyren chased Reddick into the Kamloops zone and ended up kicking the puck past goaltender Justin Leclerc.
But it all came undone in the opening minutes of the second period as the Americans got three quick goals from Neal Prokop, Dow and Brendan Shinnimin to take a 5-1 lead. This one was over, except for the 50-50 draw.
“We played a great second period,” said Dow, a freshman from Calgary, “and that’s when we took over the game.”
Dow, 17, went into the game with one assist in nine games, then scored twice and set up another.
“It was great,” Dow said. “I’m not getting many this season so it’s nice to get the first couple.”
And what of his first name — Drydn?
“My parents decided to name me without the ‘e’ because they wanted to be original,” explained Dow, adding that he was named after former Montreal Canadiens’ goaltender Ken Dryden.
Defenceman Tyler Schmidt and forwards Adam Hughesman and Jordan Messier rounded out the scoring for the Americans (14-3-0-0) who lead the Western Conference and have the WHL’s best winning percentage (.824).
Winger Brett Lyon, with his first WHL goal in 52 games, 17 of them this season, and centre Jake Trask also scored for the Blazers.
“If you look at the scoreboard,” Ferguson said, “I want to hang myself with my tie. The guys have to stick with it. It’s not 15 minutes a period, it’s 20 minutes . . . for 60 minutes.
“These guys have to look inside themselves now and try to get through this.”
JUST NOTES: Referee Steve Papp, who gave out more warnings than a traffic cop, flew solo in this one. He gave the Blazers 11 of 18 minors, two of four majors and the lone misconduct. . . . Leclerc stopped 41 shots, while Tri-City’s Drew Owsley turned aside 25. . . . The Daily News’ three stars: 1. Dowd — looked like a veteran on the back end; 2. LW Spencer Asuchak, Tri-City — local boy is a big body who made some things happen and drew two assists for his first career two-point game; 3. RW Brooks Macek, Tri-City — perhaps the most creative player out there. . . . Kamloops G Jon Groenheyde (bruised wrist) didn’t dress. G Will Frolek of the junior B Kamloops Storm backed up Leclerc. . . . Kamloops LW Ryan Hanes, who has missed seven games with a concussion, was a healthy scratch after being cleared to play. C Dalibor Bortnak (spleen) is to have a CAT scan on Nov. 23. If all goes well, he could play Nov. 27 against the visiting Kootenay Ice. . . . C Colin Smith (broken arm) is scheduled to play for the first time this season on Friday.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan@blogspot.com

Tuesday . . . early

THE MacBETH REPORT: D Ross Lupaschuk (Lethbridge, Prince Albert, Red Deer, 1996-2001) signed a contract for the rest of this season with HIFK Helsinki (Finland SM-Liiga). He had no goals and three assists in 22 games with Sibir Novosibirsk (Russia, KHL) and two goals and eight assists in nine games with Mora (Sweden Allsvenskan) last season.
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An update issued this afternoon by the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers:
“The condition of Kitchener Rangers defenseman Ben Fanelli has been upgraded to serious but stable.
“The Fanelli family and the Rangers organization again thank the many people who have expressed their concerns and wishes for Ben's recovery.
“Further updates will be made by the Kitchener Rangers when they become available.”
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The Prince George Cougars have traded F Del Cowan, 20, to the Calgary Hitmen for a conditional eighth-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft. The Cougars had acquired Cowan from the Brandon Wheat Kings in the 20-year-old waiver draft in October. He had four points in six games with Prince George. . . . The Cougars had five 20-year-olds, two of whom have been injured, on their roster so had to make a move when D Dallas Jackson returned. They still have D Garrett Thiessen, 20, on the injured list. . . . Their active 20-year-olds now are Jackson, F Tyler Halliday and F Alex Rodgers.
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The Cougars also added F Taylor Orser, 19, to their roster. Orser, who is from Langley, B.C., had 12 points and 121 penalty minutes in 43 games with the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs last season. . . . The Cougars open a seven-game road swing Wednesday in Kelowna against the Rockets. After that game, the Cougars will head east for a six-game swing through the East Division.
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Cowan joins F Joel Broda and F Cody Gross as the 20-year-olds on Calgary’s roster. Cowan is expected to be in Calgary’s lineup Wednesday when they entertain the Edmonton Oil Kings.
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Mark Larabee of The Oregonian has the latest on what the Portland Trail Blazers hope to do with Memorial Coliseum. That story is right here.
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If Greg and Barb happen to read this, please email me at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca.

Monday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: D Micki DuPont (Kamloops, 1996-2000) signed a two-year contract starting next season with Kloten (Swiss NL A). He has five goals and nine assists in 20 games this season with Zug (Swiss NL A).
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F Brayden Metz has moved from the Regina Pats to the SJHL’s Melville Millionaries. Metz, 19, requested the move. He had six points in 15 games with the Pats. “Brayden’s decision to return to (junior A) is disappointing to us but he just felt that his heart was not in it anymore to try to play at the highest level,” Pats general manager Brent Parker said in a statement. “The sacrifice and commitment to play in the WHL is far greater than at the (junior A) level and sometimes kids just are not willing to do what is needed. Brayden is a good kid and we wish him all the best.” . . . The Pats are carrying 23 players, including 13 forwards and eight defencemen. . . . Regina is at home to the Medicine Hat Tigers on Wednesday.
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Glen Hanlon, a former WHL goaltender (Brandon, 1974-77), has resigned as head coach of the Belarussian national team. There is a story right here.
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If you were wondering, Kamloops Blazers general manager Craig Bonner told me Monday that he has received at least 20 resumes since head coach Barry Smith was dismissed on Oct. 26. Bonner said virtually all came from men who aren’t presently employed in the coaching game.
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The stuff hit the fan during an IHL game on Saturday night and there were a few former WHLers involved. That story is right here.
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Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate was in Blackfalds, Alta., for the final of the U-16 Challenge Cup on Sunday. His story is right here.
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The Kootenay Ice reported Monday that D Brayden McNabb, who was injured in Sunday’s 1-0 victory over the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds, “will be out of the lineup four to six weeks with a knee injury.” . . . At the same time, the Ice is without G Nathan Lieuwen (concussion, indefinite), D Luke Paulsen (ankle, two to four weeks), F Matt Fraser (knee, on to two weeks), F Christian Magnus (finger, week to week), D Cason Machacek (concussion, day-to-day) and F Drew Czerwonka (leg laceration, day-to-day).
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There have been a number of headshots delivered in NHL games to this point in the season and there has been ample discussion of the problem. Stu Hackel visits the issue at his Slap Shot blog right here. . . . For a real treat, scroll to the end of that piece and give a listen/watch to the great Robert Cray and Shemekia Copeland with Pity The Fool. . . . Now that's a great finish to a good day!

Some thoughts on earlier post . . .

Thanks to those who posted comments to the piece — Thoughts on a young goaltender — that I put up here earlier Monday (Nov. 2).
While I wasn’t at all surprised at some of the comments that followed, my mind continues to be boggled by some of them . . . even though they were expected.
Do some of you not read what you write before you post to a public forum? Or does the cloak of anonymity simply make you feel 10-feet tall and bullet-proof?
Allow me to point out that the first post, which came from the parent of a WHL player, and the one from Jess Rubenstein should be required reading by all WHL fans.
And take a close look at the posting from Marty Aalto, who touches on something that may be turning into one of those dirty, little secrets — the number of players who are leaving junior hockey before their time. How big a problem is this?
In closing, while I understand that the inane comments do not in anyway reflect the opinion or thoughts of the vast majority of hockey fans and people in general, I really find it sad that someone granted anonymity would take advantage of the situation to attack a young man . . . or any young person, for that matter.

Blazers have another mountain to climb

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers went mountain climbing on Sunday.
Tonight, they hope to climb over the Tri-City Americans, who bring the WHL’s best winning percentage (.812) to Interior Savings Centre.
“We took them to Mount Paul,” Scott Ferguson, the Blazers’ interim head coach, said after Monday’s practice. “It was good for them. It was something different. It was a good day in general.”
The Blazers have had a traumatic last couple of weeks. They dropped the last five games of a six-game East Division swing that cost head coach Barry Smith his job. Then, in their first home appearance since a 12-5 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers on Oct. 12, the Blazers were flattened 7-1 by the Chilliwack Bruins on Friday night.
That means the home boys take a six-game losing skid into tonight’s game, which starts at 7 o’clock.
“They’re looking at the scoreboard and hoping they’re going to win, instead of focusing on what their next shift is, what their next job is,” Ferguson said. “When you focus on your next shift and what you’re going to do, the scoreboard takes care of itself.
“We’ve got a group of guys here who are hoping right now and that’s a tough mindset to try and break.”
Which was reason enough to go looking for a breath of fresh air on Sunday.
“That was good,” said defenceman Bronson Maschmeyer.
And, as you might expect, Ferguson found a way to relate what happened to Blazers hockey.
“We started going up,” Maschmeyer explained, “and at first we were going straight up. We were trying to go through and blaze our own path.”
Upon reaching the top, Ferguson talked about the difference between traveling the beaten track and the path less travelled.
“That relates to us,” Maschmeyer said, “where there are people before us who have done it and how we can’t go on our own. We have to follow what they have done with the winning tradition here.
“I thought that was pretty cool; it brought the whole thing together.”
As Ferguson put it: “It had some hockey similarities. We live in a beautiful area. Why not get outside and do some of that? it was good to do something different.”
They were back from the mountain and on the ice Monday, looking to improve their game and improve their fortunes.
And despite a six-goal deficit Friday, Ferguson did find some positives.
“It’s tough to take positives from a 7-1 loss,” he said. “But we kept them under 40 shots, which is a plus for us. They had 14 chances, which is still too high, but we were giving up 18 to 20 before.
“We’re on the right path. Now it’s just a matter of being committed for a full 60 minutes.”
Maschmeyer, an 18-year-old who was acquired from the Vancouver Giants on Sept. 3, felt the Blazers were ready to play Friday. But in their present fragile state, an early goal proved their undoing.
“We were going to come out and try to get something going,” Maschmeyer said. “We had a lot of energy in the dressing room and we wanted to build off that. We started pretty strong on the first couple of shifts and then a couple of things went wrong and it turned into a real negative.”
That negative was the Bruins’ first goal, just 3:54 into the first period, and things pretty much snowballed from there.
“We have to try to get away from that,” Maschmeyer stated. “The mindset sometimes changes where you’re out there and something bad happens and all of a sudden you’re thinking, ‘Here we go again.’
“We can’t look at the score. We have to stay positive . . . keep going. (We have to) say up on the bench and work our way through it.”
Tonight’s game is the second in a six-game homestand that continues Friday against the Edmonton Oil Kings and Saturday against the Kelowna Rockets.

SCOUTINGREPORT
TRI-CITY AMERICANS at KAMLOOPS BLAZERS
Today, 7 p.m., Interior Savings Centre (Radio NL 610)
TRI-CITY (13-3-0-0): The Americans, who lead the Western Conference and have the WHL’s best winning percentage (.812), are coming off a weekend sweep of the Cougars in Prince George. . . . The Americans won 3-2 on Friday and 4-0 on Saturday. . . . The Americans are 7-3-0-0 on the road. . . . Sophomore C Brendan Shinnimin, who had 25 points, including 12 goals, in 64 games last season, has 28 points, 12 of them goals, in 16 games this time around. . . . G Drew Owsley, who got into 17 games as a freshman last season, started the club’s first 15 games this season. He is 12-3-0-0, with a 2.42 GAA and a .916 save percentage. . . . G Brett Martyniuk’s only appearance this season was that shutout in Prince George on Saturday. . . . Sophomore LW Spencer Asuchak, who is from Kamloops, has two goals in eight games. . . . Tri-City practised here Monday at 8:30 a.m. . . . The Americans don’t have any imports on their roster at present. F Sergei Drozd, a freshman from Belarus, is playing for that country’s team at the World Junior A Challenge in Summerside, P.E.I. Meanwhile, Russian G Alex Pechurski, a fifth-round selection by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL’s 2008 draft, but he is on the roster of Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Continental league. . . . Injuries: D Brock Sutherland (shoulder, questionable).
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KAMLOOPS (8-8-2-0): The Blazers, who last led the Western Conference on Oct. 20, have lost six in a row, including a 7-1 defeat at the hands of the visiting Chilliwack Bruins on Friday. . . . The Blazers are 6-2-1-0 at home, but in their last two home games Kamloops is 0-2 and has been outscored 19-6. . . . The Blazers went 4-7-2-0 in October. . . . They will play 11 games in November, six of them at home. . . . D Linden Saip (knee) is expected to play tonight after missing one game, while LW Shayne Wiebe (collarbone) returns after sitting out two games. . . . LW Ryan Hanes, who suffered a concussion on Oct. 12, has resumed skating but won’t play. . . . C C.J. Stretch will sit out as he completes a four-game WHL suspension. . . . G Justin Leclerc will get the start. . . . Injuries: C Colin Smith (broken arm, out); C Dalibor Bortnak (spleen, out); LW Ryan Hanes (concussion, out).
— GREGG DRINNAN

Mondays with Murray

Here is this week's edition of Mondays with Murray . . . our tribute to the memory of the late Jim Murray. He was a legend in his time and this column is evidence of that. . . . Enjoy! . . . And, if you feel like it, visit www.jimmurrayfoundation.org . . .
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The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball, one each for the American League and National League. Former Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick first introduced the award in 1956  in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955.  Members of the Baseball Writers Association of America vote for each League's award.
Greg Maddux was the first pitcher in major league history to win the Cy Young Award for four consecutive years (1992-1995).

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1996, SPORTS
Copyright 1996/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY
 
BY JIM MURRAY
 
He's Grounded in Greatness

NEW YORK — Maybe it's time to tell the Yankees "Say good night, Gracie." Tell the fat lady to warm up.
   It was the whole book on pitching.
   You know, anybody can get guys out with a 98 mph fastball or a hellacious curve, but to get them out on pitches you could catch with your teeth takes some doing.
   Gregory Alan Maddux reminds you of a guy crawling through enemy territory under barbed wire with a screwdriver and a flashlight. The batter's like a guy trying to figure out which shell the pea's under.
   It was masterful. A surgeon in his operating room. He should scrub up before taking the mound. A mechanic, not a pitcher. A gambler with his own deck. A magician with a mirror. The ball's never where you think it is. Before the game, Yankee Manager Joe Torre knew what he was in for. "Maddux will make a ball look like a strike and a strike look like a ball," he said. His hitters spent the night trying to hit pitches that looked like strikes and laying off pitches that were.
   Many years ago, 1934 in fact, a pitcher named Carl Hubbell faced the flower of the American League in an All-Star game. After futilely trying to outguess him — he struck out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Dickey, Foxx and Al Simmons in a row — Gehrig returned to the dugout with a word of advice for his colleagues. "You might as well swing," he said disgustedly, "it ain't gonna get any higher."
   Greg Maddux is the Carl Hubbell of his day. Like Hubbell, his best pitch is the double-play ball. He threw 19 ground-ball outs out of the 24 outs the Yankees had against him Monday night. You can't hit (safely) what you can't get in the air. These guys looked like they had pool cues, not bats. They looked more like they were putting than batting. "A typical Maddux game," said his manager, Bobby Cox, after the game. "Masterful," echoed Torre.
   He doesn't rush it. He has the patience of an insurance salesman. A Bob Gibson may impatiently signal for his catcher to get the ball back to him quickly so he can throw it in a hurry past a hitter, a "Here, hit this, sucker!" pitcher. Maddux acts more as if he has all day.
   It's kind of unfair. A man who has won four consecutive Cy Young Awards, who is being mentioned in the same breath with the Christy Mathewsons, Grover Cleveland Alexanders and other hurlers whose forte was keeping batters off balance, he should look the part, act the part, swagger a little, refuse autographs, play the star.
   Maddux looks like your basic cost accountant. Off the mound he wears these old-fashioned glasses a high school teacher might affect and not wraparound sunglasses. He lives in Las Vegas but don't look for him in the casinos.
   After the game, if you didn't know better you would think he was a pitcher who got knocked out of the box in the third. He answers questions in a whisper. "I just try to keep the ball down. I try to throw pitches they will chase and hopefully hit weakly to the infield."
   In other words, merely another day at the lathe.
   He doesn't really get hitters out, he implies, he lets them get themselves out. "I'm not overpowering, you know that," he says softly.
   He has no margin for error. He admitted to only one mistake Monday night. "A pitch I threw to Jeter. (He hit the Yankee shortstop with it). I wasn't ready to throw that pitch. I don't throw pitches if I'm not ready."
   He's like Jack Nicklaus over a four-foot putt to win the Masters. He doesn't release until he has marshaled all his forces and has a definite strategy in mind.
   He takes hits personally. Maddux's eyes glitter, his mouth narrows and his forehead wrinkles on the rare occasions when a ball even goes to the outfield. He's insulted.
   It's almost as if he were a computer out there. Of the 82 pitches he threw Monday night, 81 were as programmed as a missile launch. The hit batsman was the only one not downloaded.
   Before the game, Cecil Fielder knew what to expect. "He'll give you cutters, sliders away and down. He'll keep the ball down.”
   Maddux kept the hit balls down, too. In a World Series game last year, the Cleveland Indians got only four balls out of the infield.
   He should have a blue-black beard, snarl a lot, boast. Instead, he comes off in a locker room like a guy who is going to tie a smock on to take the cover off the drill press. He's as matter-of-fact as a banker. He's about as extroverted as Calvin Coolidge. And he's as conscientious as a butler. You'd like to have someone like him working for you.
   Pitching is serious business to Maddux. Life is serious business to Maddux. When a writer, alluding to the swarm of runaway trespassers who ran amok on the stadium infield, asked him "Don't you find it surprising that the only ones reaching second base on you were fans?" Maddux didn't even smile. "It's kind of scary," he said, missing the joke. "They should do something about the fans running on the field."
   Maddux doesn't like anybody getting to second base on him. He's not too crazy about their even getting to first.
  
Reprinted with permission by the Los Angles Times.
Jim Murray Memorial Foundation | P.O. Box 995 | La Quinta | CA | 92247

Thoughts on a young goaltender . . .

The amount of vitriol that oftentimes is spewed in the direction of teenage hockey players by anonymous people never ceases to amaze me.
Presumably the vast majority, if not all, of the venomous set are adults, which makes matters just that much worse.
One morning last week, I posted to this blog a short piece involving the decision by James Priestner, an 18-year-old goaltender, to leave the Prince George Cougars. Priestner referred to it as retiring. Hopefully, a few months away from the game will rekindle the fire. But only time will tell.
In the meantime, anonymous knuckleheads emerged from the woodwork, like a bunch of Halloween zombies, and hacked away at the kid. Some of the comments were nothing short of character assassination by those who will never have met Priestner and who would know next to nothing about his situation.
Sheesh, people, take a deep breath and consider that this is an 18-year-old who just two years ago was considered to be among the elite 16-year-old goaltenders in Western Canada. And now, today, he is out of hockey, confused and no doubt wondering what happened to what once was a promising career.
Priestner, from Edmonton, was a second-round selection by the Kamloops Blazers in the 2006 bantam draft. He was the 31st player taken in that draft. He stuck with the Blazers as a 16-year-old, going 6-12-1, with a 3.41 GAA and a .873 save percentage on a team that went 27-41-4.
Unfortunately, he was collateral damage to all that went on in Kamloops during the summer of 2007 and the season of 2007-08. While Tom Gaglardi, Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla, Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor were in the process of buying the Kamloops franchise from the non-profit Kamloops Blazers Sports Society and taking it private, Priestner’s father, Mike, made an ill-fated attempt at purchasing part of the organization.
Early in the 2008-09 season, James Priestner left Kamloops and returned home to Edmonton. He subsequently was traded to the Brandon Wheat Kings, where he went 17-7-2, 3.08, .883 while backing up Andrew Hayes.
The Wheat Kings, the host team for the 2010 Memorial Cup, turned around in August and traded him to the Prince George Cougars, who have the WHL’s worst record. With them, Priestner was 2-8-0, 4.76, .872.
As it turns out, he had spent the summer trying to rediscover his passion for the game. By early in the season, though, he realized it wasn’t there and that it was time to go, time to get away from the game.
In mid-October, Priestner told Dean Clark, the Cougars‘ head coach, that he was finished, that he would be leaving as soon as the team could find a replacement. Clark, who had been the general manager and head coach in Kamloops when Priestner was drafted, tried to talk the kid out of it.
But once the Cougars landed Hudson Stremmel, 18, who left the NCAA Division 1 Colorado College Tigers to join them, Priestner was out of there. He left Prince George early last week and headed for Edmonton.
Here is a young man with a sunny disposition who is always quick to say "Hello," and even quicker with a smile. He went from a mediocre team to a Memorial Cup team to the poorest team in the league. Once seen as a fine, young goaltender, he wasn’t selected in the NHL draft.
And now he feels, at least today, that his career is over.
Maybe one day he will be able to put it all together and figure out what happened, what, if anything, went wrong.
In the meantime, here’s an email I received on this very subject:
“I read your article on James Priestner and think it’s really unfortunate to see a person like that walk away from the game at such a young age. There must have been some strong inner compulsion on his part to abandon the game and I really do wish him well in his future endeavours because I¹m sure he’ll be successful in whatever he chooses to do.
“I’m really disappointed in the comments left by some of the readers who fail to see the larger picture and simply toss insults in his direction. He is an 18-year-old young man who made a very difficult life decision. It would have been nice to see more encouraging comments.
“I think people forget these are kids for all intents and purposes . . . people think nothing of throwing them under the bus from a distance and I think it’s just awful.”