F Blair Jones (Red Deer, Moose Jaw, 2002-06) has been released by the Iserlohn Roosters (Germany, DEL). He had seven goals and 12 assists in 30 games.
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Brevin Gervais, a fourth-round selection by the Calgary Hitmen in the 2015 bantam draft, underwent
BREVIN GERVAIS
emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops on Friday.
Gervais, a defenceman who also is a terrific baseball player, turned 17 on Jan. 15. From Prince George, he was playing with the junior B 100 Mile House Wranglers of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. The 6-foot-2, 17-pounder had two goals and eight assists in 36 games.
According to a Facebook posting that included a link to a gofundme site, Gervais underwent a nine-hour operation. The posting indicated that he “has shown great signs since then but still faces a long road to recovery.”
His family indicated that he “has opened eyes for a longer period of time and responded on both sides of body moving both legs and both hands.”
If you would like to help out the family cover travel expenses, the gofundme site is right here.
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D Cale Fleury of the Kootenay Ice was named Saturday as an injury replacement for the Top Prospects Game that is scheduled for Monday in Quebec City. From Calgary, Fleury is in his third season with the Ice. He has eight goals and 22 assists in 49 games. . . . Fleury replaces D Jarret Tyszka of the Seattle Thunderbirds, who was injured in a game on Tuesday and hasn’t played since then.
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If you enjoy stopping off here and would care to make a donation to the cause, please feel free to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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The WHL didn’t schedule any games for Wednesday and Thursday of last week, but is playing right through the Top Prospects Game that is scheduled for Monday in Quebec City.
So if one of your favourite players isn’t in the lineup for the next day or three, it may have nothing to do with an injury.
The WHLers who are scheduled to play in the TPG: D Cale Fleury, Kootenay Ice; D Cal Foote, Kelowna Rockets; F Cody Glass, Portland Winterhawks; D Henri Jokiharju, Portland; F Jake Leschyshyn, Regina Pats; F Kole Lind, Kelowna; F Stelio Mattheos, Brandon Wheat Kings; D Artyom Minulin, Swift Current Broncos; F Nolan Patrick, Brandon; F Nikita Popugaev, Prince George Cougars; F Michael Rasmussen, Tri-City Americans; G Ian Scott, Prince Albert Raiders; G Stuart Skinner, Lethbridge Hurricanes; D Juuso Valimaki, Tri-City; and F Kailer Yamamoto, Spokane Chiefs.
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I stopped being a typical fan a long time ago. That’s what more than 40 years in sports journalism does to you. I can sit at home and watch a game and talk to the TV screen. But I can’t go to a game and watch live with anything but a critical eye. . . . In a piece right here at seattlepi.com, Jim Moore explains all of that and more.
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If you enjoy stopping off here and would care to make a donation to the cause, please feel free to do so by clicking on the DONATE button and going from there.
If you have some information you would like to share or just a general comment, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.
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I'm officially going by Dan at all Starbucks now....happens way too many times pic.twitter.com/aIW202hwt8
— dennis holland (@denholland7) January 28, 2017
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
@PGCougars @PGCougarfanclub Fan club loud enough to hear all the way up here!! Keep it going!! pic.twitter.com/XnhQwJisfH
— Andy Beesley (@Andy_Beesley) January 29, 2017
At Edmonton, F Jansen Harkins wrote his name in the Prince George Cougars’ record book during an 11-3 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Harkins drew three assists, the first of which allowed him to become
JANSEN HARKINS
Prince George’s all-time assists leader with No. 153. The previous record had been held by F Troy Bourke (2009-14). . . . F Radovan Bondra gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 1:16 of the first period. . . . The Oil Kings tied it on D Will Warm’s eighth goal at 2:28. . . . The Cougars went back out front at 6:15 when F Jesse Gabrielle (23) scored, on a PP, at 6:15. . . . Edmonton tied it again, this time on a goal from F Tyler Robertson (12) at 14:14. . . . The Cougars then scored the next seven goals, including three more in the first period. . . . Bondra added another goal, giving him 25, while F Colby McAuley also scored twice. He’s got 18. D Tate Olson (6), F Brad Morrison (20), F Brogan O’Brien (9), F Kody McDonald (11) and D Josh Anderson (1) also scored. . . . The Cougars got two assists from each of D Sam Ruopp, McAuley, O’Brien, McDonald and F Jared Bethune. . . . Morrison picked up one assist, the 100th of his career. . . . F Graham Millar had two assists for Edmonton. . . . G Nick McBride blocked 19 shots in earning the victory. . . . The Oil Kings started G Patrick Dea, who was beaten eight times on 29 shots in two periods. Josh Dechaine gave up three goals on 15 shots in one period. . . . The Cougars went 4-4 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 1-3. . . . According to Corey Graham, the radio voice of the Oil Kings, it was the third time in franchise history that they have allowed 11 goals in one game. . . . The Cougars (35-14-3) are tied with Regina atop the overall standings, but the Pats have six games in hand. . . . The Oil Kings (18-27-4) have lost 10 in a row and haven’t won since the Jan. 10 trade deadline. They are six points out of a wld-card spot. . . . These same teams will meet again this afternoon in Edmonton. That may have had something to do with the teams combining for 106 penalty minutes, 65 to the Oil Kings. . . . Announced attendance: 9,321.
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"I don't think we deserved to be up 4-1, the way we were playing" - Jason Smith, Kelowna Rockets #WHL
— Chad Balcom (@hawkeyblog) January 29, 2017
At Kelowna, F Joachim Blichfeld scored at 19:56 of the third period to give the Portland Winterhawks a 5-4 victory over the Rockets. . . . Blichfeld, a freshman from Frederikshavn, Denmark, also had two assists.
JOACHIM BLICHFELD
The 18-year-old has 38 points, 16 of them goals, in 40 games. . . . The Rockets held a 4-1 lead early in the second period before Portland roared back. . . . F Nick Merkley (12) gave Kelowna a 1-0 lead at 2:53 of the first period, only to have F Colton Veloso tie it with his 12th goal, on a PP, at 3:58. . . . The Rockets got the next three goals, with D Gordie Ballhorn (2) scoring at 13:45 and F Kyle Topping (10) counting at 14:34. F Reid Gardiner got his third goal at 4:29 of the second period. . . . Merkley assisted on the last two of those goals. . . . F Skyler McKenzie started the comeback with his 31st goal, on a PP, at 8:34 of the second. . . . F Ryan Hughes (22) cut the deficit to one at 9:25 of the third period and F Jake Gricius (4) tied it at 12:51 of the third period. . . . McKenzie also had two assists, including one on the game-winner. The second one was his 100th career point. . . . McKenzie, who turned 19 on Jan. 20, has 59 points in 49 games. He went into this season with 41 points, including 12 goals, in 138 games. . . . G Shane Farkas, who turned 18 on Jan. 12, stopped 31 shots. The Penticton, B.C., native is 2-2-0. . . . The Rockets got 31 saves from G Michael Herringer. . . . Portland was 2-6 on the PP; Kelowna was 1-5. . . . The Winterhawks (25-21-3) have won three in a row. They hold down the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot, five points ahead of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Rockets (27-19-4) have lost two straight and have fallen to fourth in the B.C. Division, two points behind the Victoria Royals. Kelowna does hold down the conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Announced attendance: 5,318.
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At Cranbrook, B.C., F Jakob Stukel and D Jake Bean enjoyed four-point nights as the Calgary Hitmen
JAKOB STUKEL
dumped the Kootenay Ice, 8-3. . . . Stukel scored once, his 16th, and added three assists, while Bean recorded four assists. . . . The Hitmen actually fell behind 2-1 in the first period before opening the second period with four straight goals. . . . Calgary took a 1-0 lead when F Matteo Gennaro scored, on a PP, at 1:01. . . . F Vince Loschiavo and F Brett Davis (12) scored PP goals, at 9:20 and 11:18, to give the Ice that 2-1 edge. . . . Stukel tied it with another PP goal, at 1:19 of the second period and F Luke Coleman (10) gave Calgary the lead at 3:41. . . . Goals from F Andrew Fyten (5) at 4:23 and F Tyler Mrkonjic (5) at 10:50 put the visitors in control. . . . Loschiavo added another goal, his 18th, and also had an assist. . . . Gennaro ended up with two goals, giving him 31 this season. He has 21 goals in January. Last season, he totalled a career-high 18 goals in 42 games with the Prince Albert Raiders and 28 with Calgary. . . . F Beck Malenstyn (20) and F Mark Kastelic (9) also scored for the Hitmen. . . . Calgary got three assists from D Vladislav Yeryomenko, two from F Andrei Grishakov, and one each from Coleman and Mrkonjic. . . . F Colton Kroeker had two assists for the Ice, giving him five points in two games, while D Dallas Hines had two and Davis added one. . . . G Trevor Martin stopped 15 shots for Calgary. . . . Ice starter Jakob Walter allowed seven goals on 27 shots over 50:06, with Payton Lee stopping five of six shots over 9:54. . . . The Hitmen were 3-4 on the PP; the Ice was 3-6. . . . Calgary (18-21-9) had lost four in a row (0-1-3). It now is one point out of a wild-card spot. . . . The Ice slipped to 12-31-8. . . . Announced attendance: 1,783.
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Here’s @MasonShaw18 taking that skate up high from Brandon’s Dmitry Osipov. @tigershockey #MHTigers pic.twitter.com/CCQdQut8e8
— Ryan McCracken (@MHNMcCracken) January 29, 2017
At Medicine Hat, F Matt Bradley had a goal and two assists to help the Tigers to a 6-4 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Tigers had to overcome a 2-1 deficit in the latter part of the second p
MATT BRADLEY
eriod. . . . Medicine Hat took a 1-0 lead on F Mason Shaw’s 18th goal, at 2:13 of the first period. . . . Brandon took a 2-1 lead on goals from F Connor Gutenberg (11), on a PP, at 1:58 of the second and F Ty Lewis (23) at 13:05. . . . The Tigers tied it at 13:49 when F James Hamblin scored his 12th goal and took the lead at 19:33 on F Ryan Jevne’s goal. . . . Bradley upped the lead to 4-2 with his 21st goal, on a PP, at 3:46 of the third. . . . F Tanner Kaspick’s 16th goal, at 4:00, got Brandon to within a goal, but the Tigers put it away with goals from F Chad Butcher, his 22nd, at 16:50 and an empty-netter from Jevne, his second goal of the game and eighth of the season. . . . F Zach Russell (3) scored for Brandon at 19:08. . . . The Tigers got two assists from D Kristans Rubins. . . . The Tigers lost Hamblin and Shaw in the first period, both leaving while bleeding from facial injuries. . . . Hamblin, who was injured when he was checked and fell into the boards, returned. Shaw didn’t return after taking a skate to the face. . . . G Michael Bullion stopped 18 shots for the Tigers, while Brandon’s Logan Thompson turned aside 29. . . . The Wheat Kings were 1-3 on the PP; the Tigers were 1-4. . . . Medicine Hat (34-15-1) has won three in a row and is tied with the Everett Silvertips for third place in the overall standings. . . . The Wheat Kings (23-19-5), who play their third game in fewer than 48 hours today in Calgary, have lost two in a row. They are in the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. . . . Announced attendance: 3,732.
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At Prince Albert, F Cavin Leth tied the game and then set up the winning goal as the Raiders beat the Moose Jar Warriors, 5-4. . . . Moose Jaw overcame a 3-1 deficit to take a 4-3 lead, only to have Leth tie
CAVIN LETH
the score with his 15th goal, shorthanded, at 4:12 of the third period. . . . The Raiders won it when Leth set up F Cole Fonstand for his ninth goal, on a PP, at 13:35. . . . F Justin Almeida had given Moose Jaw a 1-0 lead at 4:12 of the first period. . . . Prince Albert responded with three straight goals. . . . F Parker Kelly (9) scored at 7:34 of the first period, with F Curtis Miske getting his 10th at 8:15. F Simon Stransky’s 14th goal, on a PP, 15 seconds into the second period gave the home said a 3-1 lead. . . . The Warriors skated to a 4-3 lead with goals from F Brayden Burke, his 16th, on a PP, at 4:03; Almeida, with his second of the game and sixth of the season, at 4:47, and F Thomas Foster (13), at 1:18 of the third period. . . . Stransky also had an assist. . . . Foster and Burke each had an assist for the Warriors. . . . The Raiders got 27 saves from G Nic Sanders. . . . Moose Jaw starter Brody Willms allowed three goals on 11 shots in 20:15. Zach Sawchenko finished up by stopping 12 of 14 shots in 38:26. . . . Prince Albert was 2-2 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 1-5. . . . The Raiders improved to 12-35-5. . . . The Warriors (30-13-7) had a four-game winning streak come to an end. They are second in the East Division. . . . Announced attendance: 2,023.
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Everybody, I'm taking the night off. The legend has this one. @Rebelshockey #mooner #WHL pic.twitter.com/3oPEKVGPH8
— Phil Andrews (@Phil_Andrews_) January 29, 2017
At Red Deer, G Tyler Brown stopped 31 shots in leading the Pats to a 4-1 victory over the Rebels. . . . Brown earned his 20th victory — he is 20-4-6 — in his first appearance since Jan. 13. . . . The Pats
TYLER BROWN
scored the game’s first three goals. . . . F Filip Ahl got it started with No. 22, on a PP, at 7:40 of the first period. . . . F Adam Brooks made it 2-0 with another PP goal, this one at 19:43. . . . Regina had a 17-4 edge in first-period shots. . . . Brooks scored again, giving him 28, at 3:17 of the second period. . . . Red Deer’s goal game from F Adam Musil, his 18th, on a PP, at 5:49 of the second. . . . F Wyatt Sloboshan got Regina’s last goal, his fifth, at 3:18 of the third. That was Sloboshan’s first goal in 11 games with the Pats since being acquired from the Spokane Chiefs on Jan. 2. . . . Sloboshan also had an assist. . . . The Rebels got 34 stops from G Lasse Petersen. . . . Regina was 2-3 on the PP; Red Deer was 1-5. . . . The Rebels lost D Alexander Alexeyev with an injury to his right leg in the third period. Later, Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ general manager and head coach, told reporters that “he’s in quite a bit of pain right now. I’m not sure exactly what it is. It doesn’t look good, though.” . . . Regina (33-6-7) has won four in a row and remains tied with the Prince George Cougars atop the overall standings. . . . The Rebels (22-21-7) had won their previous two games. They are third in the Central Division, six points ahead of the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Announced attendance: 5,505.
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At Saskatoon, F Jordy Bellerive scored two goals to help the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 3-1 victory over
JORDY BELLERIVE
the Blades. . . . The Hurricanes now have points in 10 straight games (8-0-2). . . . F Zak Zborosky’s 32nd goal gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 16:21 of the second period. . . . Bellerive made it 2-0 at 17:49. . . . The Blades got to within a goal when D Jake Kustra scored his first goal at 18:14. . . . That was Kustra’s second career goal and came in his 85th game. . . . Bellerive put it away with a shorthanded goal at 12:14 of the third period. He’s got 23 goals. . . . G Ryan Gilchrist stopped 27 shots for the Hurricanes as he improved to 4-2-2 this season. With G Stuart Skinner away at the Top Prospects Game, the Hurricanes didn’t list a backup goaltender on the online game sheet. . . . The Blades got 27 saves from G Logan Flodell. . . . Lethbridge was 0-4 on the PP; Saskatoon was 0-7. . . . The Hurricanes (28-15-7) are a comfortable second in the Central Division. . . . The Blades (20-24-6) have lost two straight after winning five in a row. They are in the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot but hold only a one-point lead over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Announced attendance: 4,124.
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At Kent, Wash., D Ethan Bear scored at 18:51 of the third period to break a 2-2 tie and give the Seattle Thunderbirds a 3-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Everett, the league’s least-penalized team,
ETHAN BEAR
surrendered a 2-1 lead on two PP goals in the second half of the third period. . . . The Silvertips took a 1-0 lead when F Dominic Zwerger scored his 21st goal at 16:00 of the first period. . . . Seattle F Keegan Kolesar tied it at 3:56 of the second period. . . . Everett went back out front when F Patrick Bajkov got No. 21 at 15:20. . . . That lead held until 12:54 of the third period when Kolesar got his second goal of the game, and 10th of the season, tipping in a Bear shot on a PP. . . . Bear then won it with his 16th goal of the season. . . . F Mathew Barzal had three assists, while Kolesar had one. . . . Bajkov also had an assist. . . . Seattle G Matt Berlin, in his first start since Dec. 28, stopped 21 shots. . . . The Silvertips got 27 saves from G Carter Hart. . . . Seattle was 2-3 on the PP; Everett was 0-2. . . . The Thunderbirds (28-15-4) have won four straight. They are third in the U.S. Division, three points behind the Tri-City Americans and with five games in hand. . . . The Silvertips (30-8-9) have lost three in a row (0-2-1). They are tied for third in the overall standings, four points from the top rung. . . . F Dawson Butt, a 16-year-old from Buckley, Wash., played his second game with the Everett. He was a sixth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. Dawson is the son of Jamie Butt, who played four seasons (1992-96) with the Tacoma/Kelowna Rockets. . . . Announced attendance: 5,075.
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At Kennewick, Wash., D Dylan Coghlan and F Kyle Olson each had a goal and three assists as the Tri-City Americans skated to an 8-3 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Tri-City took control of this one with
TYLER SANDHU
three goals before the game was five minutes old. . . . Olson scored his 13th goal at 1:27 of the first period, with Coghlan getting No. 8 at 2:16 and D Parker Wotherspoon counting his eighth, while shorthanded, at 4:26. . . . F Jaret Anderson-Dolan’s 24th goal got Spokane on the scoreboard at 5:59, but the Americans got that one back when F Vladislav Lukin scored his 20th goal at 9:36. . . . F Hudson Elynuik (18) pulled the Chiefs to within two at 9:00 of the second period, but F Jordan Topping restored the three-goal margin with his 14th just three minutes later. . . . Spokane F Eli Zummack (7) made it 5-3 at 16:44. . . . The Americans put it away with three third-period goals. . . . F Tyler Sandhu got his 13th goal, and his 200th career point, at 13:25. He has split 298 regular season games between Tri-City, the Everett Silvertips and Red Deer Rebels. . . . F Morgan Geekie (27) and F Vladislav Lukin (21) added goals before the period ended. . . . Geekie also had two assists, with Topping, Lukin and Wotherspoon picking up one apiece. . . . Wotherspoon’s assist was No. 132 in his career, tying him for first in the franchise’s record book with Tyler Schmidt (2006-11). . . . Anderson-Dolan and Elynuik had an assist each for Spokane. . . . G Rylan Parenteau blocked 35 shots for the Americans. . . . G Dawson Weatherill gave up six goals on 19 shots in 42:16 for the Chiefs, with Jayden Sittler stopping two of four shots in 17:44. . . . The Americans were 0-1 on the PP; the Chiefs were 0-4. . . . Tri-City (30-19-3) had lost its previous two games. It is second in the U.S. Division, six points behind the Everett Silvertips, who have five games in hand. . . . Spokane (20-22-8) has lost three in a row (0-2-1) and is five points from a playoff spot. . . . Announced attendance: 5,015.
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Congrats to Royals' GM Cameron Hope & HC Dave Lowry, as the franchise recorded its 200th win since they were hired in the summer of 2012! pic.twitter.com/H1PWwPm7D9
— Victoria Royals (@victoriaroyals) January 29, 2017
At Victoria, F Dante Hannoun and F Matt Phillips had two goals each to help the Royals to a 7-1 victory
DANTE HANNOUN
over the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Royals had beaten the Giants, 3-1, in Langley, B.C., on Friday night. . . . They’ll play again today, 5:05 p.m., in Victoria. . . . F Jordan Borstmayer’s fourth goal gave the Giants a 1-0 lead at 12:58 of the first period. . . . Victoria scored the next seven goals. . . . Phillips tied it with No. 36 at 17:52 and Hannoun gave the home team a 2-1 lead with his 16th at 6:03 of the second period. . . . Phillips later got No. 37. He’s second in the WHL, one behind F Jayden Halbgewachs of the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Royals also got goals from D Scott Walford (4), F Ethan Price (6) and F Carter Folk (4). . . . Victoria got two assists from each of D Chaz Reddekopp and F Regan Nagy, with Walford and Phillips adding one apiece. . . . G Griffen Outhouse stopped 25 shots to pick up his WHL-leading 28th victory, one more than Nick Schneider of the Medicine Hat Tigers. He has started a franchise record 23 straight games. He broke the previous record (21), that had been held by Lucas Gore (Chilliwack Bruins, 2010-11). . . . Vancouver G David Tendeck turned aside 26 shots. . . . Victoria was 1-4 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-3. . . . The Royals (28-19-4) have won two straight and have moved into third in the B.C. Division, three points behind the Kamloops Blazers and two ahead of the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Giants (17-29-4) have lost four in a row (0-3-1) and seven of eight since the trade deadline. . . . Announced attendance: 5,604.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES (all times local):
Brandon at Calgary, 4 p.m.
Prince George at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Kamloops at Everett, 4:05 p.m.
Tri-City vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 5:05 p.m.
Prince Albert at Swift Current, 4 p.m.
Vancouver at Victoria, 5:05 p.m.
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The Alex New York