Monday, October 27, 2014

Sentencing date set for Blazers' majority owner . . . Konowalchuk's wallet lightened . . . Rockets to be without coach



Tom Gaglardi, the owner of the NHL’s Dallas Stars and the majority owner of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, will be sentenced on federal environmental-related charges on Dec. 12. Gaglardi and his family’s company, Northland Properties, were convicted on charges of harmful alteration of a fish habitat. . . . Tim Petruk of Kamloops This Week has more right here.
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Steve Konowalchuk, the head coach of the Seattle Thunderbirds, wasn’t happy with the officiating in a 2-1 OT loss to the host Everett Embellishers, er, Silvertips on Saturday night. Thom Beuning, the radio voice of the Thunderbirds, explains right here that the frustration has been building all season and that the explosion finally came. . . . On Monday, Konowalchuk was fined $750 by the WHL office.
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Trevor Bast, the founder of Revive TRU Hockey, a group with the goal of bringing university hockey back to Kamloops, said Saturday the program could run on an annual budget of $90,000. “That was the approximate cost to run the team in 2013-14,” Bast, who lives in Victoria, said. “That number isn’t cast in stone but it’s a starting point.” . . . Bast’s group also is working on restructuring the cost to each potential player. “We are working with a couple of players and they suggest that a player fee of $1,800 is fair and manageable,” Bast said. Based on a 25-player roster, that would give the program $45,000 right off the bat. . . . “You could then say that hockey can exist at a CIS school, where the players pay $1,800 each and don’t receive any academic or athletic financial assistance, for an additional $45,000 per season,” Bast said. . . . At the same time, Bast has started up a petition aimed at reviving the program. That petition is right here. . . . For more information, contact Bast at revivetruhockey@gmail.com or Cam Weir, a TRU student and hockey player, at cweir19@yahoo.ca.
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A lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis claims the NCAA and its Division 1 schools should be paying the federal minimum wage to student athletes. Unlike other pending lawsuits of this nature filed against the NCAA, this one includes each Division 1 school. . . . Steve Berkowitz of USA TODAY has more right here.
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Every newspaper editor should aspire to be Ben Bradlee, the legendary editor of the Washington Post, who died a week ago at the age of 93. If you click right here you will find a remarkable essay that he wrote dealing with lying and how it has become so popular in today’s culture.
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F Tim Bozon of the Kootenay Ice is on the limp. Bozon, 20, made his season debut by playing in two games on the weekend. But the Ice’s weekly report has him out again, day-to-day, with an undisclosed injury. . . .
The Kelowna Rockets head for Portland and two games with the Winterhawks this week, but the B.C. bunch won’t have head coach Dan Lambert behind the bench. He’s headed for the U-17 World Hockey Challenge, where he’ll be the head coach of one of three Canadian entries. In his absence, first-year assistant coaches Kris Mallette and Travis Crickard will run the Rockets for six games, including Thursday and Saturday in Portland. . . . The Rockets and Winterhawks met in last season’s Western Conference final, with Portland winning in five games. . . . On Sunday, the Winterhawks will play host to the Edmonton Oil Kings in a one-game rematch of last season’s championship final. The Oil Kings won that series in seven games and went on to win the Memorial Cup. . . .
The Winterhawks will be without F Alex Schoenborn, as he sits out a four-game suspension for a  headshot on F Reid Gardiner of the Prince Albert Raiders. See Monday’s Tweet of the Day for the visual evidence. . . . 
A news release from the Brandon Wheat Kings, who play the Royals in Victoria tonight, points out that their average attendance through six games is 4,018. Last season, the Wheat Kings averaged 3,529 through 36 games. “Brandon is a respectable 12th in league attendance and drawing better than six teams in larger locales -- Kamloops, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Prince George, Regina and Tri-City,” the news release reads. “Wheat Kings season-ticket sales are also ahead of pace, with 2,398 sold, up from last year's final tally of 2,357.” . . .
The NHL’s Anaheim Ducks recalled D Josh Manson from their AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, on Monday. Manson, a sixth-round selection by the Ducks in the NHL’s 2011 draft, played two seasons at Northeastern U. He is the son of former NHL/WHL D Dave Manson, now an associate coach with the Prince Albert Raiders. . . .
The Vancouver Giants have released F Jack McClelland, an 18-year-old from Wichita, Kansas. He was pointless in five games. . . . McClelland, who was born in Oshawa, Ont., is the son of former NHL F Kevin McClelland.
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THE NUMBERS GAME:

The Prince George Cougars are the WHL’s most-penalized team, with 375 minutes. The least-penalized team? That would be the Everett Silvertips, a team accused by Seattle Thunderbirds head coach Steve Konowalchuk of embellishing, with 99 minutes. The Cougars are taking 23.4 minutes per game, the Silvertips 8.25. . . . The Thunderbirds? A total of 212 minutes, for an average of 16.3. . . . Second to the Cougars in this dubious category are the Regina Pats, and they are 98 minutes behind in one fewer game. . . .
The team that leads the WHL in penalty minutes also has the poorest penalty killing, and that’s not a good combination. . . . The Cougars have been shorthanded a league-high 92 times and have given up 31 goals, 11 more than Regina. Swift Current has the league’s best PK unit (88.5 per cent) and has given up only seven goals. In four fewer games, Medicine Hat (88.2) has allowed only six PP goals. . . . I’m thinking the Cougars (8-8-0) are talking discipline these days. . . .
On the other side of the coin, the Cougars have had 78 PP opportunities (only the Medicine Hat Tigers, with 79, in three fewer games, have more), but are 19th in PP efficiency, at 14.1 per cent. . . . The Kelowna Rockets (24-for-73, 32.9) are first. . . . Everett is 11th (13-for-61, 21.3), with Seattle 13th (10-for-54, 18.5). . . . BTW, the Tigers are the only team in the league not to have scored a shorthanded goal. . . . The Brandon Wheat Kings, with the third-ranked PK unit, and the Moose Jaw Warriors (20th) have four apiece.

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