Raiders make trio of depth moves on trade deadline day

Lucas Punkari
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Raiders make trio of depth moves on trade deadline day

Having made a splash last week by acquiring overage forward Dante Hannoun from the Victoria Royals, Prince Albert Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt went about addressing the team’s depth Thursday.

In a trio of transactions on trade deadline day in the Western Hockey League, the Raiders acquired 17-year-old forward Bryce Bader from the Calgary Hitmen, 18-year-old defenceman Loeden Schaufler from the Seattle Thunderbirds and 17-year-old goaltender Boston Bilous from the Edmonton Oil Kings.

“I think the deadline went as we expected it to,” Hunt said.

“We’ve had a phenomenal first half here and we were able to add some speed to our lineup with the trade on Jan. 4. Then today we got a little younger in net with the addition of a really good player, plus we added some grit and enthusiasm to our lineup with two new guys that are looking for a fresh start.”

In Bader, who is from Sherwood Park, Alta., the Raiders acquired a forward who was a second round pick in the 2016 WHL Draft and has four goals in 10 games so far his rookie campaign.

“He’s a physical player that plays heavy and he’s been on quite a little run here lately as we’ve gone through this process,” Hunt said. “He’s someone we’ve watched close over the last couple of weeks, especially as we looked to add a younger forward to our lineup after trading Carson Miller, and we feel he adds something a littlie different to our lineup to our skill set.”

In addition to swapping conditional sixth round picks, the Raiders also dealt away the rights to 17-year-old forward Quinn Olson.

A sixth round pick in the 2016 WHL Draft by the Raiders, the Calgary product has put up 95 points in 94 games with the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers over the last two years and has committed to the NCAA’s Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.

“We felt like we gave Quinn a fair opportunity to join our club,” Hunt said. “He’s a good young player and if Calgary can get him signed, all the power to them as that adds another talent to our league.

“What was key for us with the trades today is that we didn’t have to lose anyone out of our lineup, which was important as we want to keep our group of young guys together here.”

Schaufler, who was acquired for an eighth round pick in 2019, has recorded two assists in 21 games this year with the Thunderbirds and the Kootenay Ice.

The DeWinton, Alta. product had six assists in 32 contests last season during his first campaign in the WHL.

“He’s a guy that got caught in the numbers game in Kootenay and ended up being in a similar spot in Seattle,” Hunt said.

“He’s a bit of a wild card as he’s someone that was a third round pick a couple of years ago. We really liked what we saw out of him when we scouted him in a game against Kamloops recently. He’s a strong kid and can see the ice really well.”

Bilous, who was dealt by the Oil Kings for a conditional sixth round pick in 2022, has a 3-4-1 record this year with a 3.56 goals against average, an .859 save percentage and a shutout.

The Langley, B.C. product, who was once committed to the NCAA’s Denver Pioneers, is also a ‘C’ listed prospect by NHL Central Scouting and is projected by them to be a fourth to sixth round pick at the NHL Draft in Vancouver this June.

“That was a trade that was part now and part future,” Hunt said. “He had a tough season last year as a rookie and then he ended up being caught in a log jam in goal there with two older guys (Dylan Myskiw and Todd Scott) in front of him and a young guy (Sebastian Cossa) also on the team.

“He reminds me a lot of ‘Scotty’ (Ian Scott) when he was that age. He’s raw and has a lot of talent, and I think have the chance to work with (head coach) Marc (Habscheid), our goaltending coach Mike Brodeur and Ian will really help reach the potential that many have had him pegged for.”

In addition to the trades, the Raiders also parted ways with 18-year-old blueliner Lane Kirk and 18-year-old goaltender Donovan Buskey Thursday.

Kirk, who has missed the entire season due to injury, will now head back to the MJHL for his third campaign with the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders.

Buskey, who had a 9-1-0 record this year with a 3.15 goals against average and an .870 save percentage after being acquired from the Spokane Chiefs in the pre-season, has joined the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters.

It was a much different trade deadline across the league this year compared the arms race in 2018, especially as signed 15-year-old and 16-year-old players can no longer be traded.

As a result, many top veteran players such as Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Josh Brook and Brandon Wheat Kings forward Stelio Mattheos stayed with the clubs that they’ve been part of for their entire junior careers.

“I think you saw a little bit of what I call the Ontario (Hockey League) deal with a lot of picks being traded,” Hunt said.

“In the Red Deer and Kootenay trade (for Brett Davis and Cameron Hausinger) in November, you saw 11 pieces being dealt with six of them bring draft picks. Regina and Lethbridge had seven picks involved with their deal (for Jake Leschyshyn and Nick Henry) and Swift Current got six draft picks yesterday for (goaltender Joel) Hofer.

Two of the Raiders’ East Division rivals strengthened their forward cores on Thursday.

The Saskatoon Blades acquired 19-year-old Ryan Hughes (17-23-40) from the Portland Winterhawks for fellow 19-year-old Josh Paterson (14-18-32) and two draft picks.

Meanwhile, the Moose Jaw Warriors added 19-year-old Alec Zawatsky (13-13-26) from the Swift Current Broncos for 18-year-old Tyler Smithies (2-1-3) and a pair of picks.

The most eye-popping move of the day took place a half-hour after the deadline as the Medicine Hat Tigers dealt 17-year-old forward Josh Williams (9-12-21) to the Oil Kings for 18-year-old forward Brett Kemp (22-17-39).

Kemp was second to Trey Fix-Wolansky in the Oil Kings scoring chart at the time of the deal, while Williams is projected to be a possible first round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.   

Thunderbirds take care of Raiders

Lucas Punkari
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Thunderbirds take care of Raiders

After opening the season with a 17-0 record at the Art Hauser Centre, the Prince Albert Raiders have now lost three of their last four games on home ice.

The most recent setback came Wednesday evening as the 35-5-0-1 Raiders were upset by the 13-21-4-0 Seattle Thunderbirds by a score of 4-1.

“We weren’t very good,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said after the game. “They wanted it more and they were a lot more desperate than we were.

“Every time we got touched or hit, our guys looked at them like ‘What are you doing?” We’ve talked a lot this year about this group not having big shotitis, but I think we saw a little bit of that tonight. We got what we deserved.”

Although the Raiders carried the majority of the play in the opening frame, the Thunderbirds dominated the second stanza as they outshot the top ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League by a 21-11 margin.

“I thought we were okay in the first period, but then we got outworked and pushed around in the second,” Habscheid said.

“We didn’t responded well to that. The guys had a reaction like ‘You can’t hit us.” Well they did hit us and we didn’t do anything about it.”

Leading the charge for the Thunderbirds was 19-year-old forward Jaxan Kaluski.

The Lloydminster, Alta. product scored three times in the middle frame to record his first ever Western Hockey League hat trick in his 100th career game.

“I felt pretty good after that first goal (when he fired a top-corner shot past Ian Scott) and then I got a bit of a lucky bounce on the second,” Kaluski said. “That really started to get my confidence going, and then Noah Philp made an unbelievable play that allowed me to score that third goal.

“I think the game really started to turn in our favour during the first period. We were all over them and used the body to create space out there, which we took advantage of as the second period wore on.”

Matthew Wedman would round out the scoring for the Thunderbirds with an empty net goal in the final minute, while Meadow Lake’s Roddy Ross thrilled a busload of fans that came to watch their hometown hero in action as he made 32 saves for his second career win.

Wednesday’s triumph was a big one for the Thunderbirds, as they are battling it out with the Kamloops Blazers and the Prince George Cougars for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

“To get a win like this here in Prince Albert is something that we believe can be a real turning point for our season,” Kaluski said.

“We got ourselves in a hole to start the year, but we have a lot deeper roster now after the trades we’ve made lately and we’re all motivated to make that push into the playoffs.”

As for the Raiders, who got their lone goal from Jeremy Masella and received a 30-save showing from Scott, they will now gear up for a pair of home games with the Portland Winterhawks and the Calgary Hitmen on Friday and Saturday night.

“We’ve now lost three of our last four games at home, which isn’t a good thing,” Habscheid said. “Our record is good, but other teams are coming in here and treating this like it’s a big game for them.”

“They are pushing us around and we’re thinking like things will just happen for us right now. Well it ain’t happening. Hard work beats talent and the other teams are working harder than us at the moment.”

Post-Game Notes

The Thunderbirds have now won three straight games over the Raiders at the Art Hauser Centre, with their last loss coming in a 3-0 contest on Nov. 9, 2012.

Kaluski’s hat trick was the sixth by a Thunderbirds player this year. Zack Andrusiak had a trio of them before being traded to the Everett Silvertips this month, while Nolan Volcan and Philp have also recorded three-goal nights.

Sean Montgomery moved into second on the all-time Raiders games played list Wednesday as he suited up for his 319th career games and jumped ahead of defenceman Shane Zulyniak, who played for the team from 1990-95.

Barring injury or suspension, Montgomery would surpass Brett Novak’s record of 330 games on Feb. 8 during a road game against the Calgary Hitmen.

With goaltender Brett Balas being sent down to the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks earlier this week, blueliner Lane Kirk was the only scratch for the Raiders Wednesday.

The Thunderbirds did not dress blueliners Cade McNelly and Loeden Schaufler, along with forwards Dillon Hamaliuk, Cody Savey, Samuel Huo and Graeme Bryks.

Wednesday’s Scores

  • Calgary 3 Moose Jaw 2 (Josh Prokop Shootout Winner – Jack McNaughton – 33 Saves)
  • Portland 5 Regina 2 (Jake Gricius – One Goal and Two Assists)
  • Red Deer 3 Swift Current 2 (Isaac Poulter – 34 Saves)
  • Lethbridge 3 Kootenay 2 (Jesse Makaj – 51 Saves)
  • Everett 4 Kelowna 2 (Connor Dewar – One Goal and Two Assists)
  • Spokane 3 Prince George 2 (Ty Smith – One Goal and One Assist)
  • Victoria 5 Kamloops 3 (Kody McDonald – Two Goals)

Around the WHL

Business offically picked up on the trade market Wednesday in the Western Hockey League as the Portland Winterhawks acquired Swift Current Broncos starting netminder Joel Hofer for six draft picks, including a pair of first rounders.

Hofer, who is 18 years of age and was drafted by the St. Louis Blues last June, has a 6-21-3 record with a 4.02 goals against average, a .904 save percentage and a shutout in his first full season as a starter.

Shane Farkas, 19, has been the starter for the Winterhawks this year and has compiled a 24-9-5 mark with a 2.86 goals against average, a .901 save percentage and three shutouts.

The Broncos later signed former Red Deer Rebels netminder Riley Lamb, who had compiled a 10-15-3 record with a 3.43 goals against average, a .910 save percentage and three shutouts in his 20-year-old season in the SJHL with the Weyburn Red Wings and Yorkton Terriers, to join 17-year-old Isaac Poulter on the roster.

Meanwhile, former Prince Albert Raiders goaltender Curtis Meger has signed with the Kootenay Ice for the rest of the season.

The 20-year-old from Regina had a 4-13-0 record with a 4.19 goals against average and a .887 save percentage this year for the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats.

Tuesday’s other moves saw the Brandon Wheat Kings deal overage defenceman Sachel Higson (3-14-17) to the Kelowna Rockets for fellow 20-year-old blueliner Braydyn Chizen (1-2-3), while the Ice acquired 18-year-old Brenden Kwiatkowski (0-2-2) from the Moose Jaw Warriors for a draft pick.

Teams have until 3 p.m. mountain time (4 p.m. in Prince Albert) Thursday to make a trade.

Raiders return to winning ways against Blades

Lucas Punkari
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Raiders return to winning ways against Blades

Any rust that the Prince Albert Raiders showed in recent showings look to be in the rear-view mirror.

After consecutive losses at home, the Raiders turned in a solid performance Saturday at the Art Hauser Centre with a 5-2 win over the Saskatoon Blades.

“We were back to our old selves,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said. “We stood on the puck, we played fast, we were difficult to go up against and our structure was a lot better.

“I think getting a couple early goals got us in the groove and really got our confidence going, especially as we were looking to bounce back after losing two of our last three games.”

Although the Raiders don’t need a ton of motivation when they go up against their archrivals, Habscheid gave some extra fuel to the fire ahead of Saturday’s matchup following comments that were apparently made by Blades general manager Colin Preistner.

“Word got back to us that their general manager was talking after they added some players this week and he thinks they have a better team now,” Habscheid said.

“We passed that along to our guys and that certainly gave them some extra motivation, so thanks (to Preistner) for that.”

Linemates Noah Gregor and Cole Fonstad led the way for the Raiders on offence Saturday.

Gregor had two goals and an assist in the triumph, while Fonstad found the net once and recorded a pair of helpers.

“We got challenged by our coaching staff to be more like ourselves,” Gregor said. “The two main things was to compete harder and play with pace. That was in the back of our minds tonight and we did a good job of that.”

“We were a little scrambly last night with having Brett (Leason) and Ian (Scott) back from the World Juniors and Dante (Hannoun) making his debut for us,” Fonstad added. “Everyone was thinking different things out there, but we really got on the same page tonight and everyone was contributing throughout the lineup.”

Ozzy Wiesblatt, who is on the same line as Gregor and Fonstad, recorded an assist on Fonstad’s first period marker as he made a brilliant around-the-world rush before he slid the puck over to the Montreal Canadians draft pick.

Since he took part at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in November, the rookie forward has recorded 18 of his 22 points over the last 20 games.

“I’ve been able to get a lot of opportunities lately with the guys leaving to play for Canada (Scott and Leason) and Belarus (Aliaksei Protas and Sergei Sapego) at the World Juniors,” Wiesblatt said. “‘Habby’ has given me a chance to prove myself, and I’ve been fortunate enough to take advantage of that.”

“I know from experience that you have a lot of confidence when you come back to your club team from tournaments like that,” Fonstad added. “He’s been a totally different player since he returned here and he’s got a great future ahead of him.”

Leason had a pair of assists for 35-4-0-1 Raiders, who also got goals from Parker Kelly and Justin Nachbaur.

Hannoun recorded his first point in a Raiders uniform with a helper on Kelly’s third period marker, while Scott turned aside 19 shots.

Gary Haden had a goal and an assist for the 24-12-5-0 Blades, who saw their three game win streak come to an end Saturday.

Dawson Davidson also scored for the visitors, who received a 27-save performance from Dorrin Luding.

The Raiders will continue their five-game homestand Wednesday night as the Seattle Thunderbirds come to town for a 7 p.m. contest.

Post-Game Notes

Ian Scott matched his career high in wins by picking up his 24th victory of the season Saturday.

After taking 50 games to pick up that many wins last season, the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect needed just 28 games to reach that mark this year.

Blades forward Max Gerlach extend his point streak to seven games with an assist on Dawson Davidson’s third period goal, while teammate Gary Haden now has reached the scoresheet in six straight games following his two-point night.

Already without the services of Kirby Dach and Nolan Kneen due to lower body injuries, the Blades also lost Davidson late in the game after he collided with Brett Leason and was seeing favouring his shoulder as he left the ice.

Goaltender Brett Balas and blueliner Lane Kirk did not dress for the Raiders Saturday.

Saturday’s Scores

  • Calgary 4 Medicine Hat 3 (Egor Zamula – Two Assists)
  • Portland 6 Moose Jaw 0 (Nick Cicek – Three Assists – Shane Farkas – 23 Saves – Third Shutout This Season and Sixth Career)
  • Swift Current 1 Regina 0 (Joel Hofer – 46 Saves – First Shutout This Season and Second Career)
  • Victoria 3 Red Deer 2 (Kody McDonald Shootout Winner – Griffen Outhouse – 32 Saves)
  • Spokane 8 Kootenay 4 (Ty Smith – Four Assists)
  • Kamloops 4 Kelowna 3 (Orrin Centazzo – Two Goals)
  • Everett 4 Tri-City 1 (Bryce Kindopp – One Goal and One Assist)

World Junior Recap

Kaapo Kakko, who is widely expected to be the second overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, scored with 1:32 left in the third period as Finland picked up a 3-2 win over the United States to win the World Juniors in Vancouver.

Sudbury Wolves goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkoken turned aside 25 shots for the Finns, who have now three tournaments over the last six years.

Jesse Ylonen and Otto Latvala also scored in the victory, while Sasha Chmelevski and Josh Norris replied for the United States late in the third period.

Russia captured the bronze medal earlier in the day as Kirill Slepets had a hat trick in a 5-2 win over Switzerland.

Around the CHL

While there were no trades in the WHL Saturday, a number of major moves took place in the Ontario Hockey League.

The Guelph Storm went all-in with a trio of trades, as they acquired Chicago Blackhawks forward prospect MacKenzie Entwistle (15-12-27) from the Hamilton Bulldogs for five picks, picked up Los Angeles Kings defensive prospect Markus Phillips (2-8-10) from the Owen Sound Attack for six picks and dealt four picks to the Flint Firebirds for blueliner and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Fedor Gordeev (3-16-19).

Two days after acquiring Ryan McLeod from the Mississauga Steelheads, the Saginaw Spirit picked up his former teammate and Florida Panthers prospect Owen Tippett (19-14-33) in exchange for forward Aidan Prueter (6-13-19) and six draft picks.

The London Knights made their presence felt Friday as they added overage forward Kevin Hancock (31-31-62) from the Attack for defenceman Andrew Perrott (0-5-5) and the Sudbury Wolves’ third round pick in 2019.

Over in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the league-leading Rouyn-Noranda Huskies strengthened their squad Friday by picking up Montreal Canadiens forward prospect Joel Teasdale (19-19-38) from the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada for 16-year-old forward prospect Maximillien Ledoux and five draft picks.

Sunday’s Schedule

  • Lethbridge vs. Edmonton – 3 p.m.
  • Seattle vs. Regina – 4 p.m.
  • Brandon vs. Saskatoon – 4 p.m.
  • Vancouver vs. Kootenay – 5 p.m.
  • Kamloops vs. Everett – 6 p.m.

Rough final frame proves costly for Mintos

Lucas Punkari
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Rough final frame proves costly for Mintos

A close game at the Art Hauser Centre quickly turned lopsided Saturday afternoon.

The Moose Jaw Generals broke open the proceedings with three goals in an almost two-minute span in the early stages of the final frame as they came away with a 5-2 win over the Prince Albert Mintos.

“We got outworked for the majority of the game,” Mintos head coach Ken Morrison said. “We had a shorthanded breakaway early in the third period that we didn’t score on, and then we just seemed to sag after they went back the other way to take the lead and eventually pull away.

“We just didn’t work hard enough and didn’t create our own breaks. Moose Jaw played one of their best games of the year against us as they kept things simple and put a lot of pressure on our defence.”

While the 15-14-1-0 Mintos saw a three-game win streak come to an end Saturday, the 9-17-1-2 Generals picked up their second straight victory and are now seven points back of the Beardy’s Blackhawks and Saskatoon Contacts for the seventh playoff spot in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League.

“We know that we are in tough to make it in the post-season after our first half and this was one of the teams that we needed to beat in order to move up in the standings,” Generals head coach Ray Wareham said.

“I thought this was arguably one of our best games of the year. We were able to take away their time and space today, which allowed us to get some chances on offence.”

Evan Sare had three assists to lead the Generals on offence, while Steven Kesslering scored a pair of goals.

Jeron Kletzel, Cody Davis and Ben Wourms-Rowe also scored for the visitors, who received a 19-save performance from Jaxson Taupert.

Andrew Schaab and Cohner Saleski, who was playing in his first game since Nov. 18 due to an ankle injury, both found the back of the net for the Mintos.

Carter Woodside was busy throughout the contest, as the Regina Pats prospect stopped 31 shots.

“I thought he made a number of good saves, but we weren’t there to help him out as they scored two or three goals on tap-ins after he made the first save,” Morrison said.

The Mintos will return to action on Thursday, Jan. 10 as they’ll host the Battlefords Stars at 7 p.m.

That will be their last home contest until Feb. 2, as they’ll go on a five-game road trip while the 2019 New Holland Canadian Junior Curling Championship takes place at the Art Hauser Centre.

Raiders drop second straight at home

Lucas Punkari
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Raiders drop second straight at home

It was more of the same for the Prince Albert Raiders Friday, though it wasn’t in the usual positive sense that their performances have been for most of the season.

For the second consecutive home game, the Raiders were on the wrong end of the scoreboard at the Art Hauser Center as they dropped a 4-2 decision to the Moose Jaw Warriors.

“I thought our best players weren’t our best players and we got outworked tonight,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said. “That’s something that happened against Regina as well (in a 2-1 setback Sunday) and we can’t let that happen.

“It’s human nature to try and accomplish things the easier way, but that doesn’t always work and the guys are learning that right now. The shots (which were 40-31 in favour of the Raiders) are one thing, but we’re losing the puck battles and cheating a little bit out there.”

The Raiders had a slightly different look to their lineup Friday with Brett Leason and Ian Scott both back from the World Juniors, while Dante Hannoun made his debut for the team after being acquired from the Victoria Royals a day earlier for forwards Kody McDonald and Carson Miller.

“When you inject three new guys and lose two others, there’s obviously going to be a bit of an adjustment as everyone gets used to one another,” Habscheid said.

“Chemistry is one thing, but you still need to compete hard and put the work in out there.”

Meanwhile, the 21-8-5-1 Warriors turned in a solid performance Friday as they picked up their fourth straight win.

“I don’t think many people expected us to be doing as well as we have this year, so that’s something that we always keep in the back of our mind,” Warriors forward Tristin Langan said.

“We just came in here tonight and played a full 60 minutes. That was something that we talked about a lot coming into this game and we were able to stick to our plan.”

Langan recorded his third hat trick of the season Friday and reached the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career with a shot into an empty net with 9.9 seconds left on the clock.

“I think the biggest thing our line (which includes Justin Almeida and Brayden Tracey) is doing right now is just moving the puck around,” Langan said.

“We seem to be getting in the right spot when we make plays and it seems to be working out for us at the moment.”

Tracey moved his team out in front with a power play goal at the 7:31 mark of the final frame, while Almeida had an assist on Langan’s second period marker.

Josh Brook had three assists in his return to the Warriors lineup after playing with Leason and Scott on Team Canada at the World Juniors.

Jett Woo dished out a pair of helpers for the visitors, while Brodan Salmond turned aside 38 shots.

Ozzy Wiesblatt and Brayden Pachal both scored for the 34-4-0-1 Raiders, who received a 27-save performance from Scott.

The top ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League will continue their five-game homestand Saturday when the Saskatoon Blades come to town for a 7 p.m. contest.

Lucas Punkari/Daily Herald Dante Hannoun keeps an eye on the play while being shadowed by Moose Jaw Warriors forward Tristin Langan during his first game with the Prince Albert Raiders Friday.

Hannoun makes his Raiders debut

Although he was still getting accustomed to his new surroundings, Dante Hannoun showed Raiders fans a few glimpses of his talents Friday, especially with some dazzling rushes on offence.

“When I came here, everyone said that we have a fast-paced team, and that’s 100 percent true,” Hannoun said. “I thought it was a good game overall for us, but we need to battle for a full 60 minutes and capitalize on our chances.”

“Dante’s probably not used to our quickness yet so it will take a little bit of time for him to get used to that,” Habscheid added. “Obviously you can see the speed that he brings, but we know that he can play faster yet.”

After putting up 36 points in 28 games this season and 248 points over 286 games during his time with the Royals, it’s been a quick turnaround for the Delta, B.C. native as he gets used to his new home in Prince Albert.

“I found out about the trade a couple of days ago after a practice in Calgary,” Hannoun said. “The Royals let me know what was going on and I was heading to the airport a couple of hours later.

“It’s been great to have a few guys here that I know already from my time in Victoria with ‘Gregs’ (Noah Gregor), (Jeremy) Masella and Pachal. I’m excited to be here and I’m looking forward to the playoff run.”

Kody McDonald and Carson Miller both made their debuts with the Royals Friday, but were held off the scoresheet in a 3-2 road win over the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Post-Game Notes

With his snipe in the second period, Brayden Pachal moved into the outright lead for goals by a blueliner this season with 10, but he would later be matched in that feat by Bowen Byram of the Vancouver Giants.

Noah Gregor saw his seven game point streak come to an end Friday, while Warriors linemates Tristin Langan, Justin Almeida and Brayden Tracey all got on the scoresheet for the sixth straight game.

Lane Kirk was the only scratch for the Raiders, while Alek Sukunda, Drae Gardiner, Cameron Sterling and Tate Popple did not dress for the Warriors.

Associate coach Mark O’Leary was in charge behind the bench for the visitors, as head coach Tim Hunter did not make the trip to Prince Albert after leading the way for Canada at the World Juniors.

Friday’s Scores

  • Brandon 7 Seattle 3 (Luka Burzan – Three Goals and Two Assists – Second Hat Trick This Season)
  • Saskatoon 2 Regina 1 (Kyle Crnkovic Overtime Winner – Nolan Maier – 32 Saves)
  • Portland 5 Swift Current 3 (Joel Hofer – 43 Saves)
  • Victoria 3 Edmonton 2 (Brandon Cutler – One Goal and Two Assists)
  • Lethbridge 4 Vancouver 3 (Jake Elmer – Two Goals and One Assist)
  • Calgary 5 Red Deer 3 (Cael Zimmerman – Two Goals and One Assist)
  • Medicine Hat 5 Kootenay 3 (Tyler Preziuso – Two Goals)
  • Prince George 2 Kelowna 1 (Tyson Upper Shootout Winner – Taylor Gauthier – 26 Saves)
  • Spokane 4 Kamloops 1 (Luke Toporowski – One Goal and One Assist)
  • Tri-City 3 Everett 2 (Beck Warm – 37 Saves)

Wednesday’s Scores

  • Medicine Hat 4 Vancouver 3 (James Hamblin – Two Goals and One Assist)
  • Red Deer 5 Lethbridge 4 (Cameron Hausinger Shootout Winner – Brandon Hagel – One Goal and Two Assists)

Around the WHL

A day after making three trades, the Regina Pats made another move Friday as they dealt 19-year-old Jadon Joseph to the Vancouver Giants for a second round pick in 2019 and a sixth round pick in 2020.

Joseph, who was acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes last month along with Ty Kolle in exchange for Jake Leschyshyn and Nick Henry, has 25 points in 36 games this season.

The Giants would later pick up overage blueliner Dallas Hines (4-12-16) from the Kootenay Ice, with 18-year-old forward Cyle McNabb (1-2-3) going the other way.

Friday’s other deal saw the Seattle Thunderbirds acquire the rights to 17-year-old forward Henry Rybinski from the Medicine Hat Tigers in exchange for unsigned 15-year-old defensive prospect Aidan Brook, a second round pick in 2019 and a third round pick in 2020.

Rybinski, who had five points in 14 games with the Tigers before requesting a trade in November, is currently with the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express and has 12 points in nine games.

Brook, who is the younger brother of Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Josh and Prince Albert Raiders forward Jakob, has 20 points in 25 games this year for the Rink Hockey Academy’s Elite 15 program.

Pre-Game Notes

Saturday marks the sixth meeting of the season between the East Division rivals, as the Raiders hold a 5-1 advantage in the matchup following a 4-2 home win on Dec. 28.

The Blades, who have a 24-11-5-0 record, are currently on a three-game win streak after a 2-1 overtime triumph at home over the Regina Pats Friday.

Forwards Max Gerlach and Gary Haden have been helping their team find the back of the net lately, as they are currently on six and five game point streaks respectively.

Saturday’s Schedule

  • Medicine Hat vs. Calgary – 2:30 p.m. (Aired nationally on Sportsnet)
  • Portland vs. Moose Jaw – 7 p.m.
  • Saskatoon vs. Prince Albert – 7 p.m.
  • Regina vs. Swift Current – 7 p.m.
  • Victoria vs. Red Deer – 8 p.m.
  • Spokane vs. Kootenay – 8 p.m.
  • Kelowna vs. Kamloops – 9 p.m.
  • Tri-City vs. Everett – 9 p.m.

Mintos captain Ozar signs with the Blades

Lucas Punkari
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Mintos captain Ozar signs with the Blades

Having grown up watching his hometown Raiders play on a regular basis, Prince Albert’s Alex Ozar is one step closer to making it to the Western Hockey League.

The 16-year-old, who is a defenceman and the captain for the Prince Albert Mintos of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League, is now a signed prospect of the Saskatoon Blades after he inked a standard player agreement with the team on Thursday.

“When I was a kid, my family would come to Raider games at the Art Hauser Centre on a regular basis,” Ozar said. “As you grow older, you really start to see just what it takes in order to make it to the WHL.

“It’s pretty exciting to sign a contract with the Blades. It’s what you work towards through minor hockey and I’m just glad that they gave me an opportunity.”

A fifth round pick in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft, Ozar believes that his play during the team’s training camp last summer helped to put him on the Blades’ radar.

“I was able to limit my mistakes compared to the previous year and I was working hard the whole time,” Ozar said. “From what the Blades told me, they kept a close eye on me after the camp and they liked what they saw in the first half to offer me a contract.”

“Alex is able to quickly process the game and has the ability to execute plays at a high pace in all situations,” Blades director of scouting Dan Tencer added in a statement Thursday. “His mobility and play with the puck are both significant assets for him and he has shown substantial development over the last season and a half.”

After posting 31 points in 44 games in his rookie campaign, Ozar showing no signs of a sophomore slump.

He has five goals and 16 assists in 26 contests ahead of the Mintos’ meeting with the Moose Jaw Generals at the Art Hauser Centre Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

“I feel like I’ve been able to improve on everything this year,” Ozar said.

“As a second year player in Midget AAA, I’m able to see the game differently and things have slowed down quite a bit compared to last season.”

Like any player looking to make the jump to major junior, Ozar is focusing on getting bigger and stronger ahead of the 2019-20 campaign.

“The WHL is a big league with lots of strong guys,” said Ozar, who stands at 6’0″ and weighs 160 lbs.

“Being a rookie, you are going to be spending a lot of time in the weight room in the summer and putting in the work in order to be successful right away.

Raiders open 2019 on a winning note

Lucas Punkari
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Raiders open 2019 on a winning note

The Prince Albert Raiders’ first game of 2019 looked awfully similar to their last contest of 2018.

They once again outshot the Regina Pats by a considerable margin, but found themselves down 3-2 past the halfway point of the third period.

In the end though, the Raiders would score three goals in the final frame to pick up a 5-3 win at the Brandt Centre and gain a measure of revenge from their 2-1 loss to the Pats at the Art Hauser Centre Sunday.

“It was more of the same from our last game against them, except for a 10 minute stretch where it was a little more lopsided,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said.

“Their goalie (Max Paddock) was really good once again, and although there was a couple of goals that we wanted back, Brett (Balas) was able to make some stops for us when we needed him to.”

In addition to outshooting the Pats by a 56-23 margin, the Raiders were also able to cash in twice on the power play in the third period.

Cole Fonstad scored nine seconds into the man advantage early in the frame, while Sergei Sapego moved the visitors out in front for good as he wired a shot by Paddock with 4:21 to go.

“After we went 0-for-7 in our last game, the guys really wanted to come through on the power play, and we certainly needed them to do that today,” Habscheid said.

“I also thought the line of (Carson) Miller, (Eric) Pearce and (Jakob) Brook played really well. They were in their end on every shift and they ended up drawing a penalty that led to the winning goal.”

Balas, who picked up his first WHL win in a relief effort on Dec. 15 against the Swift Current Broncos, made his first career start Tuesday and turned aside 20 shots.

Two of his best saves came on Pats breakaways as he stopped Duncan Pierce’s shorthanded rush late in the second period and stymied a Jadon Joseph chance early in the third.

“I know that he would probably like to have the second and third goals back, but we don’t expect him to be Ian Scott,” Habscheid said.

“There were some ups and downs, but it was his first career start in front of a big crowd, and that’s a good experience for him as we move forward.”

Parker Kelly had two goals and an assist to lead the way for the 34-3-0-1 Raiders.

Noah Gregor dished out three helpers to extend his point streak to seven straight games, while fellow overager Sean Montgomery had a goal and two assists.

Riley Krane had a goal and an assist for the 12-25-0-1 Pats, who saw their three game win streak come to an end Tuesday.

Robbie Holmes and Liam Schioler also scored for the Pats, who received a 51 save performance from Paddock.

The Raiders will now prepare to open up a five-game home stand Friday at 7 p.m. as they’ll welcome the Moose Jaw Warriors to the Art Hauser Centre for the first time this season.

Post-Game Notes

The Raiders went 5-1 against the Pats this year, as they won the regular season series for the first time since they went 6-2 against their East Division rivals during the 2015-16 campaign.

Gregor, who saw his six-game goal scoring streak end Tuesday, was named the WHL’s player of the week Monday after posting seven points in a three game stretch after Christmas.

Pats netminder Dean McNabb received the goaltender of the week honours after he stopped 43 shots in a 2-1 win over the Raiders at the Art Hauser Centre Sunday.

Lane Kirk, Brett Leason and Ian Scott did not dress for the Raiders, while the Pats scratched Ryker Evans, Carter Massier, Sam McGinley, Koby Morriseau and Garrett Wright.

Tuesday’s Scores

  • Saskatoon 5 Swift Current 2 (Max Gerlach – One Goal and One Assist)
  • Edmonton 3 Vancouver 1 (Dylan Myskiw – 34 Saves)
  • Calgary 6 Victoria 3 (Carson Focht – Two Goals)

Monday’s Scores

  • Moose Jaw 3 Brandon 1 (Brayden Tracey – Three Goals – First Career Hat Trick)
  • Victoria 4 Kootenay 3 (D-Jay Jerome Overtime Winner – Jesse Makaj – 48 Saves)
  • Portland 6 Seattle 3 (Joachim Blichfeld – Two Goals and One Assist)
  • Tri-City 6 Spokane 1 (Parker AuCoin – Two Goals and One Assist)

Around the WHL

The Seattle Thunderbirds were busy on New Year’s Day as they made a pair of deals.

In their first trade Tuesday, they sent their top scorer Zack Andrusiak to the Everett Silvertips for fellow overager Sean Richards, unsigned prospect Brendan Williamson, a second round pick in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft, a third round pick in 2021 and a conditional fourth round pick in 2022.

Andrusiak, who grew up in Yorkton before moving to Armstrong, B.C., has 39 points in 34 games this year and is coming off a breakout 74-point campaign last season.

He played in eight games for the Prince Albert Raiders in 2016-17 before being traded for Calvin Leth and Kelowna’s 3rd round pick in the 2018 WHL Draft, which ended up in Calgary and was used on defenceman Rory Neill.

Richards, who is from St. Albert, Alta., has 18 points in 27 games this season and is currently in the middle of serving an eight-game suspension for a boarding major and game misconduct penalty for a hit on now teammate Loeden Schaufler on Dec. 8.

Williamson, a 16-year-old forward from Chilliwack, B.C., was a listed prospect by the Silvertips and has 36 points in 24 games for the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds midget program this year.

The Thunderbirds would then deal starting netminder Liam Hughes and an eighth round pick in 2019 to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for forward Keltie Jeri-Leon, signed prospect Michael Horon and a fourth round pick in 2019.

Hughes, a 19-year-old from Kelowna, has a 10-16-3 record this year with a 3.67 goals against average and a .899 save percentage.

He’ll be joining 19-year-old Reece Klassen and 17-year-old Carl Tetachuk on the goaltending depth chart in Lethbridge.

Jeri-Leon, a 17-year-old from Kelowna, has 14 points in 30 games this season after putting up 15 points in 54 games last year between the Tri-City Americans, Kamloops Blazers and Hurricanes.

Horon, a 17-year-old forward from Lethbridge, was a ninth round pick by the Silvertips in 2016 and was acquired by his hometown team for a sixth round pick in the 2019 draft last January.

He leads the Alberta Midget Hockey League in scoring this year with 50 points in 21 games for the Lethbridge Midget Hurricanes.

Prior to the trades, the Thunderbirds signed 18-year-old goaltender Roddy Ross to a standard player agreement.

The Meadow Lake product, who will join 17-year-old Cole Schwebius between the pipes in Seattle, had an 8-5-5 record in the AJHL with the Camrose Kodiaks this season in his first year of junior hockey.

He also posted a 2.93 goals against average, a .921 save percentage and had one shutout at the time of the deal.

Pre-Game Notes

Although Friday will mark the first time that the Warriors have visited the Raiders since last year’s seven-game battle in the first round of the playoffs, the East Divison clubs have squared off twice this season in Moose Jaw.

The Raiders erased a three-goal deficit to pick up a 5-4 overtime win at Mosaic Place on Sept. 29 and followed that up with a 4-2 victory on Oct. 24.

While top blueliner Josh Brook and head coach Tim Hunter are both away at the World Juniors with Team Canada, the 20-8-5-1 Warriors haven’t missed a beat as they have won their last three games and are 10 points ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings in the race for third place in the East Division.

Forwards Justin Almedia, Tristin Langan and rookie scoring leader Brayden Tracey are all on five-game point streaks, while freshman blueliner Daemon Hunt has recorded a point in his last four games.

Wednesday’s Schedule

  • Vancouver vs. Medicine Hat – 8 p.m.
  • Lethbridge vs. Red Deer – 8 p.m.

Friday’s Schedule

  • Moose Jaw vs. Prince Albert – 7 p.m.
  • Regina vs. Saskatoon – 7 p.m.
  • Portland vs. Swift Current – 7 p.m.
  • Seattle vs. Brandon – 7:30 p.m.
  • Victoria vs. Edmonton – 8 p.m.
  • Vancouver vs. Lethbridge – 8 p.m.
  • Red Deer vs. Calgary – 8 p.m.
  • Kootenay vs. Medicine Hat – 8:30 p.m.
  • Prince George vs. Kelowna – 9 p.m.
  • Kamloops vs. Spokane – 9 p.m.
  • Everett vs. Tri-City – 9 p.m.

Erickson and Ackerman rinks heading to Prince Albert

Lucas Punkari
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Erickson and Ackerman rinks heading to Prince Albert

Saskatchewan curling fans will have two rinks to cheer for during the women’s event at the 2019 New Holland Canadian Junior Curling Champions in Prince Albert next month.

Rachel Erickson’s rink from the Regina Callie will be wearing the green jacket from Jan. 19-27 at the Art Hauser Centre and the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club following a 5-3 win over Moose Jaw’s Skylar Ackerman in the junior provincial final
at the Saskatoon Sutherland Curling Club Monday.

“It’s still feels a little weird when you realize that you get to play for Saskatchewan in your home province,” Erickson said. “With it being so close to where we are from, there’s going to be a lot of support for us, which will be a bit of a different experience.”

The Ackerman squad will also be at the event as the “Host Team”, which will be replacing the Yukon at this year’s event as they were unable to field a team.

“I love this group of girls so much,” Ackerman said. “We’ve worked so hard to try and achieve our goals, and now we have a chance to go to the nationals.”

While Erickson, second Sarah Hoag and lead Jade Goebel will be heading to the Canadian Juniors for the first time, fourth stone thrower Sara England will be making her third straight trip to the event.

England, who is the daughter of the late Sandra Schmirler, was the third on Kaitlyn Jones’ rink in 2017 and skipped her own foursome last year.

“I was playing university curling in Regina when their coach (Jamie Schneider) let me know that they were looking for someone to join their team,” England said.

“This is my last year in juniors and I wanted to join an elite level rink that was going for the green jacket. Luckily enough, we were able to do that.”

While England was joining a squad that had won the U18 provincial title two years ago, it took them a little bit to get rolling this week.

They dropped their opening game by a score of 6-4 to Moosomin’s Elliot Martens Thursday night, but hit their stride after that with solid team play as they posted a 6-1 record on their way to the title.

“We missed some shots that we shouldn’t have in our first game and that gave us some extra motivation to play better throughout the week,” Erickson said.

“Being consistent is something that we are really going to focus on as we get ready to head to Prince Albert. We made a lot of the hard shots this weekend at the provincials, but now we need to make sure that we can make the easy ones.”

The road to the final was a long one for the Ackerman rink, which also includes third Madison Johnson, second Chantel Hoag and lead Samantha McLaren.

They topped Saskatoon Sutherland’s Ashley Thevenot in a 6-1 affair Friday, made a dramatic runback in the 10th end to beat Saskatoon Sutherland’s Madison Kleiter in an 8-7 battle in the quarter-final Saturday morning and followed that up with a 7-4 win over Emily Haupstein of Weyburn in the semifinal later in the day.

“There was a lot of pressure in every game,” Ackerman said. “There were a lot of great teams here this week and it was one of those competitions that anyone could have won.

“We just won the Canada Winter Games playdowns in North Battleford a couple of weeks ago and that gave us a lot of confidence. We’ve been trending up as the season has gone on and hopefully that continues for us in Prince Albert.”

Rylan Kleiter will be joining the Erickson and Ackerman rinks at the nationals, as his Saskatoon Sutherland foursome won their third straight provincial men’s junior title Monday in six ends over clubmate Tyler Camm by a score of 13-4.

Kleiter rink captures third straight junior men’s provincial title

Lucas Punkari
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Kleiter rink captures third straight junior men’s provincial title

Of the three Saskatchewan junior men’s provincial curling championships that Saskatoon’s Rylan Kleiter has won, Monday’s triumph has the most meaning to it.

The skip from the Sutherland Curling Club, who is joined on his rink by third Trevor Johnson, second Joshua Mattern and lead Matthieu Taillon, earned the right to represent his province at the 2019 New Holland Canadian Juniors in Prince Albert next month with a 13-4 triumph over clubmate Tyler Camm on their home ice.

“We’re really looking forward to being in Prince Albert in a few weeks,” Kleiter said. “There’s going to be a lot of fans out there and we’re excited to play in front of people that we know.

“All four of us have a better idea of what to expect at the nationals now . Our first year was a little shaky and we were learning the ropes a bit last year, but now we feel ready to go.”

Kleiter concluded a perfect tournament in style Monday as he picked up a seven-ender in the sixth end and forced Camm to concede the match.

“I certainly didn’t expect the game to end like that,” Kleiter said. “It was back and forth early on but we were just waiting to take our chances and try to take advantage of any mistakes they made.

“It was pretty similar to how the 1 vs. 2 Page playoff game went against them Sunday. We kept patient out there in order to get multiple points.”

Despite the tough result in the final, it was still a solid weekend for the Camm rink, who advanced to the championship contest with a 10-7 win over fellow Saskatoon Sutherland member Brayden Stewart in the semifinal Monday morning.

“We’re pretty happy with how we played through the entire event,” said Camm, who was joined on his team by third Gavin Steckler, second Caid Brossart and lead Andrew Derkesen.

“It was just one bad end that cost in the final. We were behind and we trying to catch up, so we ended up selling the farm a little bit.”

Having missed out on the championship pool in his last two trips to the nationals, the goal for the Kleiter rink in Prince Albert is to be in the mix for a playoff spot at the end of the round-robin.

“A lot of that comes down to our mental game,” Kleiter said. “If we have the same approach as we did here in our home club for the provincials, we should do have a good week.”

Before they compete at the Canadian Juniors, which will take place at the Art Hauser Centre and Prince Albert Golf & Curling Club from Jan. 19-29, the Kleiter foursome will have a chance to take part in the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling’s Meridian Canadian Open in North Battleford from Jan. 8-13.

Their first game in the triple knockout event will be against three-time Tim Hortons Brier champion Kevin Koe.

Pats hand Raiders their first home loss

Lucas Punkari
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0
Pats hand Raiders their first home loss

“Well, I didn’t see that coming.”

That quote from Regina Pats defenceman Steven Zonneveld as he exited the Art Hauser Centre probably summed up the reaction from many Western Hockey League observers as they checked out Sunday’s scoreboard.

Despite being outshot by a 44-13 margin, the Pats held on for a 2-1 win over the Prince Albert Raiders and handed the top team in the league their first loss at home this season after they had rattled off 17 straight triumphs to start off the campaign.

“We played well towards the end, but we didn’t get the start that we wanted and fell behind by a couple of goals, which certainly got Regina into the game,” Raiders defenceman and captain Brayden Pachal said.

“We turned things up as the game went on, which we needed to do, but weren’t able to comeback and they outworked us a little bit. That’s on us in the leadership group to get the guys excited for every game, or something like this will happen.”

From head coach Marc Habscheid’s perspective, Sunday’s loss was one where the bounces just didn’t go the Raiders way.

“Obviously we didn’t think we’d go undefeated at home all season,” Habscheid said. “You have to give Regina a lot of credit as they blocked a lot of shots, but it was one of those games where the puck deflects off a shin pad and goes wide, or their goalie doesn’t see the shot coming and it ends up going off of him.

“We started a little late and got down 2-0 on a couple of goals that I didn’t like. Once that happened, Regina got some confidence and we were on our heels a little bit. We battled back to get the shots in our favour, but sometimes you get those games where you can’t get anything going.”

Logan Nijhoff gave Regina the lead just 18 seconds into the opening frame when he took advantage of a Donovan Buskey rebound, with Liam Schioler doubling the visitors’ advantage on a blast from the point near the halfway mark of the period.

Noah Gregor would respond a couple of minutes later with his 24th goal of the campaign, but the Raiders were unable to solve Dean McNabb for the rest of the night.

“We were awesome in our end tonight,” McNabb said. “A lot of the shots that I faced were from the outside and our defencemen were doing a great job of boxing everyone out, so that made things pretty easy for me.

“Those last few minutes where we were trying to hold on to the lead was probably one of the most fun moments I’ve been a part of. To be part of something like that where you are competing hard and trying to get the win is what sports are all about.”

Although the Raiders had numerous chances to tie up the game, including a shot from Pachal that sailed just wide of an open net and an out of position McNabb in the final seconds of regulation, one aspect of their game that proved costly in Sunday’s setback was their power play as they went 0-for-7 on the man advantage.

“It was one of those nights where it just felt like the passes were off through the whole game,” Habscheid said. “I’ve been around long enough though to know that those things will happen and you’ll have those games where everything’s not in sync and you have to fight for your chances.”

While the 33-3-0-1 Raiders saw a five-game winning streak come to an end Sunday, the 12-24-0-1 Pats continued their strong run of formfollowing the Christmas break.

Although the team traded away top players Nick Henry, Aaron Hyman and Jake Leschyshyn earlier this month, they have now won three straight games and are nine points back of the Brandon Wheat Kings and the Calgary Hitmen for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

“As much as it’s been a fresh start for us after the holidays, we wanted to make sure that the guys learned as much as possible from the first half, both good and bad,” Pats head coach and assistant general manager Dave Struch said.

“One of the things that we like about our organization is that everyone from the ownership on down is focused on the big picture. When you see the guys carrying out the game plan on defence like we did tonight, it bodes well for our future, especially if you look at our position in the standings this year after hosting the Memorial Cup.”

McNabb turned aside 43 shots for his fourth win of the season, while Buskey made 11 saves and suffered his first setback of the campaign.

The East Division rivals will square off for the sixth and final time in the 2018-19 regular season on Tuesday in a 4 p.m. New Year’s Day meeting at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

The Raiders will be back at home Friday to face the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Post-Game Notes

Other than a pair of pre-season setbacks to the Saskatoon Blades earlier this year, the last time the Raiders lost at the Art Hauser Centre was a 2-0 setback in Game 4 of the 2018 WHL Eastern Conference quarter-finals to the Moose Jaw Warriors on March 28.

The last time the Raiders lost a game where they gave up less than 15 shots was on Feb. 17 of this year as they dropped a 4-3 road affair to the Brandon Wheat Kings despite holding a 42-13 shot advantage.

Meanwhile, the Pats’ most recent win where they only had 15 or less attempts on goal came in a 4-2 triumph at home over the Raiders on Jan. 23, 2016 where they were outshot by a 33-15 margin.

Noah Gregor kept his point streak intact by scoring in his sixth straight game Sunday, while his linemate Cole Fonstad saw his five game point streak come to an end.

Lane Kirk, Brett Leason and Ian Scott did not dress for the Raiders, while Ryker Evans, Carter Massier, Sam McGinley, Koby Morrisseau and Garrett Wright did not dress for the Pats.

Around the WHL

Saskatoon Blades defenceman Brandon Schuldhaus did not play for his team on Sunday against the Swift Current Broncos as he served a one-game suspension for his knee-on-knee hit with Raiders blueliner Max Martin Friday.

Schuldhaus, who received a five minute major for kneeing and a game misconduct on the play, was previously suspended for three games to start the 2018-19 season after he received a match penalty for hitting Swift Current Broncos forward Andrew Fyten in the head with his stick while playing for the Moose Jaw Warriors during Game 7 of the 2018 WHL Eastern Conference semifinals.

Sunday’s Scores

  • Moose Jaw 6 Brandon 2 (Justin Almeida – Two Goals)
  • Saskatoon 9 Swift Current 3 (Nolan Kneen – One Goal and Three Assists)
  • Calgary 4 Vancouver 0 (Jack McNaughton – 25 Saves – Second Shutout This Season – James Malm – Four Assists)
  • Edmonton 5 Red Deer 4 (Trey Fix-Wolansky – Two Goals and One Assist)
  • Medicine Hat 5 Lethbridge 4 (Ryan Jevne Shootout Winner – Joel Craven – Two Goals)
  • Kamloops 2 Prince George 1 (Dylan Garand – 35 Saves)

Saturday’s Scores

  • Medicine Hat 4 Victoria 2 (Ryan Chyzowski – One Goal and Two Assists)
  • Red Deer 2 Edmonton 1 (Cameron Hausinger Shootout Winner – Ethan Anders – 38 Saves)
  • Lethbridge 8 Kootenay 4 (Jake Leschyshyn – Two Goals and Three Assists)
  • Kelowna 2 Kamloops 1 (Roman Basran – 33 Saves)
  • Portland 8 Seattle 6 (Ryan Hughes – Two Goals and Two Assists – Zack Andrusiak – Four Goals – Third Hat Trick This Season and Fifth Career)
  • Spokane 2 Tri-City 1 (Jake McGrew – One Goal and One Assist)
  • Everett 6 Prince George 1 (Artyom Minulin – Three Assists)

Around the CHL

Although no big names have been moved in the WHL since the Christmas break, a pair of notable moves have taken place in the OHL and QMJHL.

On Thursday, the Charlottetown Islanders dealt Arizona Coyotes prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph to the Baie-Comeau Drakkar for New Jersey Devils draft pick Xavier Bernard, prospect William Trudeau and three draft picks.

Joseph, a 19-year-old defenceman that was the 23rd overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, was the captain for the Islanders for the last two seasons and had 25 points in 27 games for the team this year.

A day later, the Barrie Colts traded New York Rangers draft pick Joey Keane to the London Knights in exchange for forward Dalton Duhart and three draft picks.

The 19-year-old Keane, who was a third round pick in last year’s NHL Draft, had 20 points in 29 games at the time of Friday’s deal.

Monday’s Schedule

  • Victoria vs. Kootenay – 5 p.m.
  • Brandon vs. Moose Jaw – 7 p.m.
  • Seattle vs. Portland – 9 p.m.
  • Spokane vs. Tri-City – 9 p.m.

Tuesday’s Schedule

  • Swift Current vs. Saskatoon – 2 p.m.
  • Victoria vs. Calgary – 2 p.m.
  • Vancouver vs. Edmonton – 3 p.m.
  • Prince Albert vs. Regina – 4 p.m.
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