Mils Take Game 1 / Wayway Falls Short in Portage

Three first period goals led the Melville Millionaires to a 4-1 win over the Yorkton Terriers in Game 1 of the SJHL Sherwood Conference Semi-Final on Friday.

Brayden Metz (pictured) scored twice, while Levi Lind and Tyson Melnychuk added goals. Jordan Reeve chipped in with two assists.

The Mils out-shot the Terriers 39-26. Travis Bosch was 4:02 away from a shutout when Derek Serdachny got the Terriers on the board. Bosch stopped 25 shots in the win. Yorkton's Devin Peters made 35 saves in the loss.

Melville's powerplay went 1-for-6... Yorkton was 0-for-5. Game 2 Sunday in Yorkton (5:45/6:00 on GX94).

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In Portage, all 5 goals were scored in the second period as the Wayway Wolverines fell 3-2 in Game 1 against the defending champion Terriers.

Drew Ellement opened the scoring early in the second on the powerplay, before Cory More made it 2-0. Ryan Regal cut the lead in half on a Wayway man advantage, but 3 minutes later, Kajon McKay jumped a funny bounce to beat Wayway's Jayme Janzen. Jason Bowles then got the Wolverines back to within one just 37 seconds later... but they couldn't find the tying goal, and played to a scoreless third period.

Both teams went 1-for-4 on the powerplay, while Janzen made 35 saves in a losing cause. Bryan Mountain got the win, stopping 26.

Game 2 of the series shifts to Wayway tomorrow (SUN) at 7:30.

Playoffs Are Here!

SJHL Playoffs (3)
Conference Semi-Finals
Yorkton Terriers @ Melville Millionaires 7:30
(Game 1 of the Best-of-Seven series)
Battlefords North Stars @ Humboldt Broncos 7:30
(Game 1 of the Best-of-Seven series)
Melfort Mustangs @ Flin Flon Bombers 7:30
(Game 1 of the Best-of-Seven series)

MJHL (4)
Division Semi-Finals
Wayway Wolverines @ Portage Terriers 7:45/8:00 GX94
(Game 1 of the Best-of-Seven series)
OCN Blizzard @ Dauphin Kings 7:30
(Game 1 of the Best-of-Seven series)
Neepawa Natives @ Wininpeg Saints 7:30
(Game 1 of the Best-of-Seven series)
Winkler Flyers @ Selkirk Steelers 7:30
(Game 1 of the Best-of-Seven series)

Prairie Junior Hockey League Playoffs (3)
Division Semi-Finals
Regina Capitals @ Fort Knox 8:00
(Game 1 of the Best-of-Seven series)
Assiniboia Southern Rebels @ Pilot Butte Storm 7:45
(Game 1 of the Best-of-Seven series)
Saskatoon Royals @ Tri-Town Thunder 7:30
(Game 1 of the Best-of-Seven series)

Fishing Lake Hockey League Playoffs (2)
Semi-FinalsCanora Cobras @ Kelvington Wheat Kings 8:30
(Kelvington leads the Best-of-Five series 2-0)
Wadena Wildcats @ Theodore Buffaloes 8:30
(Wadena leads the Best-of-Five series 2-0)

Senior 'A' Provincials
Shellbrook Elks @ Leroy Braves 8:00
(Shellbrook leads the Best-of-Three series 1-0)
Balgonie Bisons @ Raymore Rockets 8:00
(Balgonie leads the Best-of-Three series 1-0)

Major Hockey League
Bantam 'B' Playoffs
Swan River Broncos @ Preeceville Pats 7:30
(Best-of-Three series tied 1-1)

Senior Men's & Women's Curling Provincials
in Melville
http://www.saskcurl.com/

Men's
8:30 am Draw
Peter Thiele vs Eugene Hritzuk
Ken Petruic vs Bill Knight
Richard Sydorko vs Gary Bryden
Brad Heidt vs Kerry Bullock

3:30 Draw
Ken Petruic vs Richard Sydorko
Kerry Bullock vs Eugene Hritzuk
Peter Thiele vs Brad Heidt
Bill Knight vs Gary Bryden

Women's
12:00 Draw
Delores Syrota (Wadena) vs Kay Montgomery
Nancy Kerr vs Debbie Thierman
Sharon White vs Merle Kopach
Dorenda Bailey vs Deb Aadland

Preeceville Pee Wee Pats Pic

Our second Dairy Queen Minor Hockey was this past Monday in Foam Lake, as the Flyers hosted the Preeceville Pee Wee Pats, the winners of the contest. Dylan Smorodin had his name drawn at Dairy Queen. Dylan's wearing the black toque and glasses. To the right of his is goaltender Greg Dutchak. I'm not positive on all the names, but I'm pretty sure to your left of Dylan is Kholten Shewchuk, the Coach's son. Preeceville won 8-5 that night to advance to the Major Hockey League 'B' Final against Whitewood or Esterhazy.

GX94 Playoff Preview: Yorkton Terriers (3) vs Melville Millionaires (2)

Yorkton (30-18-1-7) 68 pts @ Melville (37-16-3) 77 pts

Regular Season

Yorkton's Leaders
Points: Greg Coburn (47), Derek Serdachny (45), Jordan Menke (38)
Goals: Torey Stott (18), Serdachny (17), Menke (15), Bryan Hull (13 in 34GP)
Assists: Coburn (34), Serdachny (28), Menke (23)
Defenseman Points: Coburn (47), Kirk Byczynski (32), Derek Derkach (15)

Melville's Leaders
Points: Daniel Hope (63), Levi Lind (60), Kale Dolinski/Logan Herauf (50)
Goals: Hope (28), Lind (24), Dolinski (22), Herauf/Shane Stanicky (19)
Assists: Lind (36), Hope (35), Herauf (31), Tyler Murray (30)
Defenseman Points: Jordan Reeve/Casey Dion (21), Austin Krahenbil/Curtis Beech (16)

Season Series
Breaking down these 8 games is like splitting hairs. There's no odds-on favourite this year. The Terriers snapped a streak of 12 straight losses to Melville when they swept the second home and home of the season in November. The two teams split the season series, and Melville was awarded the Parks Cup based on goals for and against, which was also nearly tied. It's also worth noting despite how close all 8 games were, none of them went to overtime. Games 1 and 2 of the Sherwood Semi last season both needed the extra frame, infact Game 2 went to a fifth period in Yorkton. The Mils won both games 2-1.

Oct/10 in Yorkton: 4-3 Mils
Oct/11 in Melville: 6-4 Mils (en)
Nov/21 in Yorkton: 3-1 Terriers
Nov/22 in Melville: 2-1 Terriers
Jan/1 in Melville: 4-1 Mils
Jan/3 in Yorkton: 4-3 Terriers
Jan/30 in Melville: 2-1 Terriers
Jan/31 in Yorkton: 4-1 Mils

Melville: 4-4 (24 goals for... one empty-netter)

Yorkton: 4-4 (20 goals for)

Both teams were 2-2 at home, and 2-2 on the road.

How's this for a stat? The team with more shots on goal LOST EVERY GAME!

Head-to-Head Numbers
A "defense-first" season series, only one player from each team managed a point per game through 8 games. Three other Mils who missed some action against the Terriers also had a point per game.

Yorkton
Greg Coburn 3G-5A-8P
Kirk Byczynski 2G-4A-6P
Cody Zubko 3G-2A-5P (in 6 GP)
Bryan Hull 1G-3A-4P (in 5 GP)

Melville
Logan Herauf 2G-6A-8P
Tyler Murray 2G-4A-6P
Jordan Reeve 1G-5A-6P (in 6 GP)
Kale Dolinski 4G-2A-6P (in 6 GP)
Aaron Decorby 3G-1A-4P (in 4 GP)

Between the Pipes
This matchup's gonna be a beauty. The SJHL's First Team All-Star Goalie Travis Bosch up against Devin Peters, the SJHL's All-Rookie Team Goalie.

Yorkton
#29 Devin Peters: 19-8-1-4, 2.53 GAA, .918%
#35 Joel Danyluk: 6-5-0-1, 2.76 GAA, .908%, 2 SO

Melville
#34 Travis Bosch: 29-16-3, 2.36 GAA, .928%, 1 SO
#35 Brady Wilyman: 3-0, 3.41, .882%, 1 SO
(Wilyman was in for 10 goals in the 14-0 loss in EST. That game aside, he's 3-0, 1.00, .962, SO)

Peters vs Melville
4-3, 2.72, .923

Bosch vs Yorkton
4-4, 2.61, .922

Offense From Their Defense
Here's an area that's REALLY in Yorkton's favour.

Terrier D-Men
Coburn: 13-34-47
K. Byczynski: 11-21-32
Derkach: 2-13-15
C. Byczynski: 5-8-13
Giesbrecht: 4-4-8
Shackleton: 1-6-7
Decker: 2-3-5
___________
38G-89A-127P

Millionaire D-Men
Dion: 6-15-21
Reeve: 1-20-21
Krahenbil: 7-9-16
Beech: 1-15-16
Mastad: 0-11-11
Houde: 1-3-4
Karius/Hollinger: 0-2-2
__________
16G-75A-91P

Melville defense and goaltenders did give up the second fewest goals in the league (142). Yorkton was third at (155). Humboldt (130) gave up the fewest in the SJHL.

Home Ice... Advantage?
As mentioned, home ice, road ice... it was all the same for both teams in the regular season. Both barns will be full, and both will have a lot of their own fans on the road making the 41km trek down, or up Hwy 10. But, I couldn't ignore these two home ice stats for Melville.

Goaltender Travis Bosch on home ice
1.84 GAA, .943%, 1 SO

Captain & Leader in Goals/Points Daniel Hope
21 of Hope's 28 goals came at home, and 40 of his 63 points. In other words, 75% of his goals and 63% of his points.

Can't wait for this one!

Stampeders' Year in Review

Check out the Coach's Show link for a season-ending chat I had with Swan Valley Stampeders' Coach and GM Guy Vestby today (THU). We looked back on the season, talked about Guy's contract with club, and looked ahead to tomorrow night's (FRI) banquet and awards night at the Legion.

Fort Knox Playoff Info / Timmerman Named PJHL MVP

Fort Knox finished the regular season in first place in the PJHL's South Division (30-10-0-2), and earned a first round playoff date with the Regina Capitals. The Best-of-Seven opens up Friday (Feb/27) in Fort Qu'Appelle at 8:00.

Game 2: Sun/Mar/1 @ Regina 1:45

Game 3: Wed/Mar/4: 8:00 @ Fort

Game 4: Fri/Mar/6: 8:00 @ Regina

Game 5*: Sat/Mar/7: @ Fort

Game 6*: Tue/Mar/10: @ Regina

Game 7*: Wed/Mar/11: @ Fort

The Prairie Junior Hockey League also released its award winners this week.

Four awards went to the Knox, including 2 to goaltender Curtis Timmerman (pictured). Timmerman (from Melville) posted a record of 24-9, a GAA of 2.33, .917%, and 2 shutouts, en route to being named the league's MVP and Top Goaltender.

Dane Bonish led Fort Knox in points (38-24-31-55), and was named the PJHL's Rookie of the Year (Graham Christie Memorial Trophy).

Knox Captain Jarrett Waldbauer (41-22-30-52) picked up the award for Most Sportsmanlike Player. Waldbauer was assessed just 4 minutes in penalties during the regular season.

Stay tuned, as we'll try to fit in some Fort Knox playoff broadcast, as the Junior 'A' Playoff schedule allows.

Convo With Collins in Cornell

20-year-old Sean Collins is winding down his Freshman regular season with the Cornell Big Red. Last season, the Saskatoon product led the Wolverines with 51-goals and 115-points, and followed that up with 9-goals and 13-points, also team highs, in 7 playoff games. He's got 4-points in 24 games as a rookie in Cornell.



You can also hear the interview during Game 1 of the Wolverines' playoff series in Portage this Friday night. Either the whole thing in the second intermission, or half in the first INT, half in the second.

GX94 Playoff Preview: Wayway Wolverines (4) vs Portage Terriers (1)

Wayway (26-27-3-6) 61 pts @ Portage (46-13-3) 95 pts

Regular Season

Wayway's Leaders
Points: Jason Bowles (79), Paul Marcoux (65), Logan Dew (38)
Goals: Marcoux (35), Bowles (27), Dew (18)
Assists: Bowles (52), Marcoux (30), Cody Danychuk (28)
Defenseman Points: Danychuk (37), Jordan Holovach (21)

Portage Leaders
Points: Riley Nixdorf (103), Eric Delong (93 in just 49 GP), Carson Rowat (68), Brenden Walker (64), Ryan Audino/Tyler Moore (62), Donnie Glennie (49 in 44 GP)
Goals: Delong (46), Nixdorf (37), Audino (28)
Assists: Nixdorf (66), Rowat (38), Delong (47)
Defenseman Points: Drew Ellement (41), Kyle Fisher (34), Eddie Friesen (32)

Season Series:
All 8 games were decided in regulation and the series was controlled by the Terriers for the most part.

Portage: 7-1
Wayway: 1-7

The Terriers shutout Wayway twice, and scored 5 goals or more three times, their most lop-sided win was the first meeting of the season when the Terriers won 6-1 on November 2nd.

Portage out-scored Wayway 37-16, an average of 4.6-2 per game.

Head-to-Head Numbers
When healthy, the Terriers' Eric Delong, Riley Nixdorf and Donnie Glennie usually play together, and despite both Delong and Glennie missing 2 games against Wayway, the trio combined for 18-goals and 41-points against the Wolverines.

Portage
Eric Delong: 7G-8A-15P (in 6 GP)
Riley Nixdorf: 6G-9A-15P
Donnie Glennie: 5G-6A-11P (in 6 GP)
Brenden Walker: 3G-6A-9P

For Wayway, it's worth pointing out their leading scorer Jason Bowles managed just a goal and an assist in 7 games against Portage. However all Wolverine players were held under a point per game in the season series.

Wayway
Paul Marcoux 3G-3A-6P
Logan Dew 2G-3A-5P
Ryan Regal 1G-3A-4P

Between The Pipes

Wayway
#29 Jayme Janzen: 19-19-1-5, 2.98 GAA, .902%, 1SO
#30 Carey Dyck: 5-7-1-1, 3.63 GAA, .886%, 1SO

Portage
#33 Bryan Mountain: 32-9-1, 2.66 GAA, .911%, 3SO
#35 Matt Krahn: 12-3-2, 3.37 GAA, .885%, 1SO
(Mountain started the first 4 games, Krahn played the last 4)

Here's the BIGGEST stat that stands out to me as far as head-to-head goes.

Bryan Mountain vs Wayway
4-0, 0.75 GAA, .974%, 2SO

Jayme Janzen vs Portage
1-6, 4.50, .865%

Analysis
There's no question, the Terriers are favoured in this one, and the word HEAVILY could even be thrown in there and I don't think you'd get too many arguments. The Wolverines, who are making their 3rd consecutive playoff appearance, have yet to win a round in their franchise's history, following Game 7 losses to Dauphin in each of the last two seasons. But, this is the playoffs. I watched the Swan Valley Stampeders come within one win (more like a grossly waved-off overtime goal) of upsetting the first place Terriers a year ago. And Wayway's very rarely been healthy this season, and it looks like they could have a full lineup come Friday, providing Niko Grose, who had 17-points in 17-games since coming over from Estevan, is ready to go for the weekend. When he was in the lineup he was playing with Logan Dew and Ryan Regal and they were outstanding. That still leaves their leading point man Jason Bowles, top goal scorer Paul Marcoux, Preston Mcleod, Chad Loewen, Shane Gray, Jerrett Bicknell, Evan Durnin, Richard Little, Ryan Duhaime and Am Sidhu. It's too bad Dave Lamouche left the team due to personal reasons after just 21 games. He had 27-points, including 14-goals during that stretch, and is still the team's 6th highest point-getter, and 5th highest goal scorer. There's no doubt those numbers would help out on left wing of any one of those lines. While the Terriers are more dangerous as a whole, I really believe the Wolverines have the ability to roll 4 lines as much, or even more than Portage, which could be a factor if it's a long series. For Portage, if Don Glennie hadn't missed 19 games, he would have easily surpassed 20 goals and 50 points, which would have given the Terriers 7 forwards with more than 20G and 50 pts.

Portage is much older on the backend, with veterans like Drew Ellement, Kyle Fisher, Darren Miller and former Wolverine Eddie Friesen. The Wolverines are extremely young on the backend, but in watching them play a dozen or so times this season, it's unreal how far they've come, and how scary they'll be if they all stick in Wolverine threads for 3, or in some cases, FIVE years. Zach Sweet (who's mother is an avid reader in Winnipeg! Thanks!), has really emerged as a 16-year-old, and plays plenty of powerplay time. Ryan Breen is also 16, while 17 year olds David McKelvey-Gunson and Steven Duda are also playing beyond their years. 18 year old Jordan Holovach, a local kid from Russell had a break-out season, adding some offense with 3-goals and 21-points. 20 year olds Cody Danychuk and Brenden Bradbury will be counted on for the leadership and experience they possess, and Danychuk in particular adds a lot of offense from the point, mainly with his shot on the powerplay.

There's no doubt the Yorkton/Melville series will hog a lot of attention around these parts, but we're treating the two series equally on the radio and I'm condifent the Wolverines and Terriers will be a lot closer than many are predicting.

Swan Valley @ Neepawa CANCELLED!

Just got off the phone with Coach and GM of the Swan Valley Stampeders Guy Vestby, and they're experiencing bus & weather troubles on the way to Neepawa and have turned around, back towards Swan.

With playoffs beginning just 3 days from now, Guy said the game likely will not be made up.

It's probably especially tough to take for graduating captain Devin Reinhardt (from Leroy, SK), and fellow 20 year olds Garrett Lasko and Vincein Scott, who won't get to play in their final scheduled Junior 'A' hockey game.

There's public skating at the Swan River Centennial Arena tonight, and fans can have a chance to skate with the Stampeders.

Hedley Coach of the Year in the MJHL / Terrier Pep Rally / Some Down Time

I've gotta give a quick shout out to MJHL Coach of the Year Doug Hedley of the OCN Blizzard. Hedder was the first coach I worked with as a radio guy in 2005-06 in Dauphin when I was a Capital-G, Capital-H GREEN HORN. He was patient with me, occassionally shot back after a stupid question, which I think made me better. That season though, the Kings saw a 3-1 series lead slip away in the Sherwood Final against a Drew Schoeneck-led OCN squad, as the Blizzard won in 7. Marlin Murray was Doug's Assistant in Dauphin back then, and now he's the Head Coach, going up against Hedley and the Blizzard in Round One of the 2008-09 playoffs... that's gonna be a GREAT series. I'm expecting 6 or 7 games, and going either way. The winner meets the winner of the Portage/Wayway series. Congrats, Doug!

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Here's a release from the Yorkton Terriers.

THE YORKTON TERRIERS ARE INVITING EVERYONE TO JOIN THEM FOR A NOON PEP RALLY TOMORROW (WED) AT THE ARMY & NAVY ON BROADWAY STREET.

THERE WILL BE A PEROGY AND SAUSAGE LUNCH FOR ONLY $3.

ALL THE PLAYERS, COACHES AND EXECUTIVE ALONG WITH MAYOR CHRIS WYATT WILL BE INATTENDANCE.

IT'S A CHANCE FOR FANS TO WISH THE TERRIERS WELL AS THEY BEGIN THEIR SEMI-FINAL PLAYOFF SERIES FRIDAY NIGHT IN MELVILLE.

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Doing a quick scan of the broadcast schedule, I think the last time I had 3 straight weeknights with no games, aside from the Christmas break, was mid-October. And, I've got Tue-Wed-Thu off (as far as games go) to rest the ol' vocal chords and prep like a crazy man. I have no excuse for NOT knowing these matchups inside and out now! The plan is to only spend as much time at work as I have to, and taking the laptop home to do my game prep. I figure that'll feel more leisurely. As of last night, I did 63 games of play-by-play, I think it worked out to 55 Junior 'A', 5 Junior 'B', 1 Senior and 2 Dairy Queen Minor Hockey Broadcasts. When dates allow, we'll also be mixing in some Fort Knox playoff games with the broadcast sked, and probably some Senior Playoffs too.

Expect some Yorkton/Melville and Wayway/Portage series previews in the next couple days.

Stars Advance To Face Broncos / Wayway Ends Regular Season With Win

The Battlefords North Stars completed the shocking upset on Monday with a 6-4 win in Nipawin, sweeping the Hawks 3-0 in the Itech Conference Survivor Series.

The Stars were 23 points behind the Hawks in the standings.

Dane Muench scored twice, while Kyle Birch was key again getting his third straight win in goal.

I'm especially pumped for my buddy Dan O'Connor from 1050 CJNB in Battleford. He was there for the 5-win season last year and he's gotta be just bouncin' off the walls right about now thinking about going to Humboldt on Friday. He was still "bringin' it" during the 5-win season, and Dan-O, like the rest of the North Stars, deserve it.

CK750's Darryl Skender and Kenny Trenton will still be plenty busy next round with Melfort and Humboldt involved in separate series.

750's signal was fading on my way back from our Dairy Queen Minor Hockey Broadcast in Foam Lake, but I caught their post game show, and wow... what a classy guy Hawks' Coach/GM Colin O'Hara is. Darryl did what must have been at least a 25 minute post game interview, and Colin was so sincere and thankful, and was still able to draw so many positives out of the season.

In the Sherwood Survivor Series, Estevan beat Kindersley 4-1 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 goes in Estevan on Tuesday. With a win, the Bruins would advance to face Weyburn. Could you imagine? Yorkton/Melville, AND Weyburn/Estevan in the Sherwood Semis??? On the other hand I wouldn't mind seeing Weyburn forced to travel to Kindersley with the winner facing Yorkton or Melville for the right to move on to the final. Kindersley trips are zero fun. I love the rink, but that cross-province bus trip never seems to end. And unless the Klippers win on the road in Game 4 and then back at home in Game 5, followed by an upset over Weyburn... I won't be making the 5-hour jaunt again this season.

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Rookie goaltender Carey Dyck saved his best for last, stopping all 39 shots he faced as the Wayway Wolverines blanked the OCN Blizzard 1-0.

Word of advice to the Wolverines: Take Tuesday OFF!

Due to a backed-up schedule with make-up games, the Wolverines played 7 games in 8 days to finish the season, and went a respectable 3-and-4 during the stretch. They're in Portage for Game 1 of the playoffs on Friday (7:45/8:00 on GX94).

Richard Little scored Wayway's only goal, his 10th of the season. Not bad for a 17-year-old rook. Paul Marcoux had one of the assists, finishing a banner regular season with 35-goals and 30-helpers for 65-points.

Do the Wolves have an upset in them vs the defending champs?

Skagen Returning to Terriers?

It may hinge on how far the Yorkton Terriers go in the playoffs, but Coach/GM Ed Zawatsky confirmed on today's Coach's Show that David Skagen will rejoin the team for practice this week, but a time table for him being back in the lineup remains up in the air.

Skagen scored a goal in the first game of the season against Weyburn, before Red Wing forward Eric Calibaba hit him from behind, giving him a season-ending (at least regular season-ending) shoulder injury.

The 19-year-old had 27-goals and 56-points in 48-games last season with the Revelstoke Grizzlies of the KIJHL (Jr 'B' in B.C.).

GX94 Playoff Broadcast Schedule (So Far)

Decisions are in.

As usual in the playoffs, any night there is a game, we'll be doing a game, and just like the regular season, our focus will be on road games. When there are two games per night (and there usually is with Yor/Mvl and Way/Por), we'll try to have a second announcer in that rink calling in with updates, and possibly play-by-play during intermissions if time allows. It sounds like Randy Atkinson will be doing that for sure this Friday, and on Tuesday. Here's what we're doing. Games listed first are our featured games, which we'll have from start to finish.

Friday, February 27
Wayway @ Portage 7:45/8:00 Game 1
(Yorkton @ Melville 7:30 Game 1)

Sunday, March 1
Melville @ Yorkton 5:45/6:00 Game 2
(Portage @ Wayway 7:30 Game 2)

Tuesday, March 3
Wayway @ Portage 7:15/7:30 Game 3
(Yorkton @ Melville 7:30 Game 3)

Thursday, March 5
Melville @ Yorkton 7:15/7:30 Game 4
(Portage @ Wayway 7:30 Game 4)

We're taking a "wait-and-see" approach for the rest of the two series, depending where each of them are at... but here are the rest of those schedules.

Saturday, March 7
Yorkton @ Melville 7:30 Game 5 *if nec
Wayway @ Portage 7:30 Game 5 *if nec

Sunday, March 8
Melville @ Yorkton 6:00 Game 6 *if nec

Monday, March 9
Portage @ Wayway 7:30 Game 6 *if nec

Tuesday, March 10
Yorkton @ Melville 7:30 Game 7 *if nec

Wednesday, March 11
Wayway @ Portage 7:30 Game 7 *if nec

It's Official: Wayway vs Portage in Round 1 *Now With Dates*

Despite last night's 7-0 loss to the Saints, the Wayway Wolverines clinched 4th in the Sherwood Division, thanks to the Swan Valley Stampeders, who beat the Neepawa Natives 5-3. Wayway faces the defending champion Terriers, while Neepawa crosses over to face the 1st place Saints in the Addison Division. All matchups are now set. OCN @ Dauphin in the 2-3 series in the Sherwood, Selkirk vs Winkler in the Addison. No word on when the Wayway/Portage series starts yet. Either Friday or Saturday.

WAYWAYSEECAPPO WOLVERINES vs PORTAGE TERRIERS
Feb 27 Wayway @ Portage 8:00
Mar 01 Portage @ Wayway 7:30
March 03 Wayway @ Portage 7:30
March 05 Portage @ Wayway 7:30
March 07 Wayway @ Portage (if nec) 7:30
March 09 Portage @ Wayway (if nec) 7:30
March 11 Wayway @ Portage (if nec) 7:30

I Want My Turn!

This is how nerdy I am. On Friday night, I sat infront of my SaskTel Max with a pizza and flipped between Blaine Weyland on CJ1280 Estevan and Dan O'Connor on CJNB Battleford on opening night of the SJHL Survivor Series. My two broadcasting bro's did outstanding jobs, and their two teams, the Bruins and North Stars pulled out road wins in game one, over the Klippers and Hawks. And tonight, I caught double OT on the net as the Klippers evened the series with the Bruins with a 2-1 win. What a game that must have been, sounded like Ryan Neiszner of the Klippers and Estevan's Tommy Legault put on a goaltending clinic. Last year I called a ridiculous amount of OT in the playoffs, and man is that fun! Between the two leagues, I believe I had 7 games go to OT on the radio, plus Wayway and Dauphin went to the extra frame 2 or 3 times and it just worked out that none of those were on the air. At one point it was 4 nights in a row. Melville beat Yorkton 2-1 in Game 1 on Friday, Portage beat Swan Valley 5-4 in double overtime in Game 5 on Saturday, Melville beat Yorkton 2-1 in double overtime on Sunday, then Swan beat Portage 6-5 in overtime on Monday.

Not much else to talk about today other than to say I can't wait for MY , that's right MY playoff series (Melville-Yorkton, Wayway-Portage/or/Winnipeg) to start.

Overtime heroes on GX94 in 2008:

Stephan Vigier (Swan Valley) over Portage in Game 1 (2OT/SH)
Kale Dolinski (Melville) over Yorkton in Game 1
Mike Audino (Portage) over Swan Valley in Game 5 (2OT)
Jordan Wilson (Melville) over Yorkton (2OT)
Stephan Vigier (Swan Valley) over Portage in Game 6
Brett Leedahl (Kindersley) over Melville in Game 2 (with 0.1 sec left!)
Kirk Pearce (Kindersley) over Melville in Game 6 (2/OT)

Yorkton/Melville Series Dates

Had these emailed to me yesterday.
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Game 1: Fri/Feb/27 Yorkton @ Melville 7:30

Game 2: Sun/Mar/1 Melville @ Yorkton 6:00

Game 3: Tue/Mar/3 Yorkton @ Melville 7:30

Game 4: Thu/Mar/5 Melville @ Yorkton 7:30

Game 5: Sat/Mar/7 Yorkton @ Melville 7:30 *if necessary

Game 6: Sun/Mar/8 Melville @ Yorkton 6:00 *if necessary

Game 7: Tue/Mar/10 Yorkton @ Melville 7:30 *if necessary

Terrier Jersey Auction / SJ/MJ League All-Stars Announced

First things first, I'm very happy with the response my "Radio Hurts Attendance?" post is getting. Record-setting comments for this little blog! Lots of votes in the poll too, and I think it's obvious what people think now. I hope I don't have to answer that question again. Plus there are people above myself at the radio station who make the calls about what games and how many games we broadcast.

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The Yorkton Terriers are auctioning off their 3rd jersies online. Bidding started today (FRI), and continues until April 15th.

Here's the link where you can place your bids, at the Terriers' website.

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SJHL & MJHL All-Star Teams

In the SJHL, Melville's Travis Bosch and Daniel Hope, and Yorkton's Greg Coburn and Devin Peters all found their names on either the SJHL's 1st, 2nd, or All-Rookie teams.

1ST TEAM

GOAL:
Travis Bosch, Melville (29-16-3, 2.36, .928)

DEFENSE: Brady Wacker, Humboldt (54-17-65-82)
DEFENSE: Greg Coburn, Yorkton (56-13-34-47)

RIGHT WING: Scott Schroeder, Humboldt (54-27-39-66)
CENTRE: Brett Leedahl, Kindersley (56-28-56-84)
LEFT WING: Rylan Schwartz, Notre Dame (48-39-49-88)

2ND TEAM

GOAL: Andrew Bodnarchuk, Humboldt (25-5-0-2, 2.23, .916)
DEFENSE: Taylor Thiessen, Nipawin (56-10-34-44)
DEFENSE: Michael Young, Flin Flon (42-20-29-49)

RIGHT WING: Daniel Hope, Melville (55-28-35-63)
CENTRE: Matthew Kirzinger, Humboldt (39-29-23-52)
LEFT WING: Preston Shupe, Weyburn (56-36-44-80)

SJHL ALL ROOKIE TEAM

GOAL: Devin Peters, Yorkton (19-8-1-4, 2.53, .918)

DEFENSE: Rhys Thomas, Weyburn (37-8-19-27)
DEFENSE: Tanner Korchinski, Flin Flon (56-4-7-11)

RIGHT WING: Deven Stillar, Melfort (56-32-20-52)
CENTRE: Spencer Braaten, Humboldt (45-21-18-39)
LEFT WING: Jaden Schwartz, Notre Dame (46-34-42-76)

As for the MJHL, Wayway's Jason Bowles cracked the second team.

First All-Star team

Goal: Alan Armour, Selkirk Steelers

Defense: Scott Macaulay, Winnipeg Saints
Defense: Drew Ellement, Portage Terriers

Forward: Eric Delong, Portage Terriers
Forward: Dan Watt, Winnipeg Saints
Forward: Russ Payne, Selkirk Steelers

Second All-Star team

Goal: David Aime, OCN Blizzard

Defense: Kevin Falloon, Dauphin Kings
Defense: Steven Shamanski, Dauphin Kings

Forward: Adam Pleskach, Selkirk Steelers
Forward: Zeanan Buternowski, OCN Blizzard
Forward: Jason Bowles, Waywayseecappo Wolverines

Rookie All-Star team

Goal: Joey Rewucki, Selkirk Steelers

Defense: Peter Stoykewych, Winnipeg South Blues
Defense: Dylan Heide, Selkirk Steelers

Forward: Jordan DePape, Winnipeg Saints
Forward: Brenden Walker, Portage Terriers
Forward: Derek Gingera, Selkirk Steelers

Wolves Fall in OCN

The Wayway Wolverines dropped a 3-1 decision in OCN on last night (THU). Without their leading scorer Jason Bowles, top defenseman Cody Danychuk and skilled forward Niko Grose, the Wolverines got out to an early 1-0 lead on a goal from Shane Gray, assisted by linemated Jerrett Bicknell and Evan Durnin. From there, Blizzard goalie Michael Dizgun shut the door, making 35 saves on 36 shots. Jordan Sinclair scored twice for OCN, and added one assistwhile Dale Warkentin had the other. Carey Dyck took the loss, making 23 saves. Wayway's powerplay went 0-for-5, and the loss means the Wolverines have yet to clinch 4th in the Sherwood Division.

From my perch

Some of OCN's glory days. Lotsa history here! The Tootoo brothers, et al.

Wolves (25-24-3-6) @ Blizzard (31-20-5-3)

The Wayway Wolverines play an unheard of 4th game in as many nights tonight as they travel to OCN.

The Wolverines are a point away from clinching 4th place in the MJHL Sherwood Division standings. The Neepawa Natives kept their chance for 4th alive last night with a 5-3 win over the Winnipeg Saints (the same team they'd play in the cross over if they finish 5th), along with the Wolverines' 6-3 loss at home against Winkler.

Paul Marcoux's riding an 11-game point streak into tonight's game, with 9-goals and 18-points during that stretch. Linemate Jason Bowles has 4-goals and 10-points in his last 6 games.

Catch the Pre Game Show tonight at 7:20 on GX94... puck drop from the Gordon Lathlin Memorial Centre in OCN is 7:30.

No Life-Threating Injuries After AHL Bus Rolls

Three members of the American Hockey League's Albany River Rats were taken to hospital with "serious" injuries after their team's bus rolled at about 3:25 am local time this (THU) morning. No names were released, but the attached story from the Canadian Press says none of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening, and has quotes from Head Coach Jeff Daniels.

Canadian Press Story

Pictured is Whitewood product Brett Carson, a 23-year-old defenseman with the River Rats. His dad, Gary, is the Head Scout for the Yorkton Terriers.

The Great Debate: Radio Hurts Attendance?

Please comment and vote on the poll in the top corner.

I was told rather sternly last night by a Melville executive member that in the playoffs, we better not be doing Melville/Yorkton games in Melville unless we're doing an equal amount in Yorkton. The reasoning was that the fans don't come if the game's on the radio. I have no beef with this particular person, infact I like him a lot. So if you're reading this, I intend absolutely zero offense, but I have the numbers to back up my argument.

First of all, we were perfectly equal during the regular season. We broadcasted two games in Yorkton (Oct/10 and Nov/21), and two in Melville (Jan/1 and Jan/30). We did every non-Saturday game in the season series. Attendance varied in both rinks in the 8 head-to-head matchups, and it was interesting to find in both rinks, the largest and smallest crowds were games not on the radio, but the second and third highest crowds were in broadcasted games. Here are the numbers, sorted from largest to smallest crowds.

Farrell Agencies Arena, Yorkton

Feb/1: 1496 fans, NOT on the radio.
Nov/21: 1451 fans, ON the radio.
Oct/10: 1314 fans, ON the radio.
Jan/3: 1002 fans, NOT on the radio.

Averaged 1249 when not on the radio, and 1383 for games we broadcasted.

Melville Stadium
Oct/11: 1061 fans, NOT on the radio.
Jan/1: 964 fans, ON the radio.
Jan/30: 922 fans, ON the radio.
Nov/22: 889 fans, NOT on the radio.

Averaged 975 fans when not on the radio, and it was, infact, 943... an average of 32 fewer fans for games we had on the air.

Overall, in both places, here's what attedance averaged.

In the four games NOT on the radio: 1112 fans

In the four games ON the radio: 1163 fans

And those numbers WILL increase come playoff time, whether we broadcast seven games or zero. My point of doing this wasn't to prove that radio puts MORE people in the seats, I'm just trying to say it doesn't KEEP people away. The numbers are so close each way that other factors could certainly contribute.

Plus, in this day and age, virtually every game in the league can be heard somewhere. The visiting teams have almost all their games on the air, and they're all online, and plus webcasting is coming, and is already here in some centres, meaning fans can sit at home and WATCH the games rather than paying their $12 at the door... yet no one seems to be fighting that. This might sound arrogant but as a radio station we do a lot more for our local teams than any webcasting crew does, in terms of promoting games, airing interviews, travelling with the team for road games, yet we're the ones at fault for hurting attendance? Come on now.

I can also assure that this year we aired less home games on GX94 than any other year. I saw last year's schedule, which was made before I got here, and they included 10 road and 5 home games for each team. This year for Yorkton, it worked out that we were able to do 15 road and 0 home. (The two Melville games count as Mils broadcasts). While in Melville, we wound up doing 13 road and 2 home. And it was supposed to just be 1 home, but a scheduling error on Feb 4th vs Estevan orginally had them going to Estevan.

I want to see the Mils, Terriers, Stamps, Wolverines, and every Junior Hockey team excel on and off the ice, and that means their bottom lines ($$$) as well, but frankly it's insulting when I personally get blamed for attendance when I put the amount of time in that I do to get these games on the air. Yes it's my job, but I could mail it in and just show up and do the games instead of getting to each game 2 hours ahead of time and going to bed at 3:00 am about 3 nights a week for half the year. That part I do because I love covering the teams and get as excited as anyone for them this time of year.

Get out, support your home team this playoff season, and if you can't make it, we'll have the games.

Mils 4 - Broncos 1

The Melville Millionaires were the only team in the league to win the season series against the Humboldt Broncos thanks to last night's (TUE) 4-1 win at the Stadium.

The win was Melville's 8th in a row to finish the season, and their 3rd straight 'W' against the Broncos, as the Mils went 3-and-1 against the top-ranked team in the nation.

Levi Lind, Michael Jordan and Casey Dion scored within the first 6 and a half minutes of the game. Tanner Vandesype scored for Humboldt in the second, before Melville's Shane Stanicky finished things off in the third.

Brady Wilyman won his third straight game, making 26 saves in the win, and the Mils finished the regular season with a record of 37-16-and-3, one point back of first place Weyburn.

The Millionaires and Yorkton Terriers square off in round one of the playoffs beginning next Friday in Melville.

As for Bronco defenseman Tanner Vandesype firing the puck into the crowd, like I said on the broadcast I'm not inside the guy's head, but there's no way he was just trying to clear the zone. If that's off the glass and out it's an easy icing, and the Broncos were on the powerplay. Granted, the fans over there were chirping, but you could kill a person doing that. He absolutely ripped a wrister right at the fans, and was issued a 10-minute misconduct, and beaked the Mils bench on the way by (when he knew they couldn't do anything because the linesman was seperating them). Good on Captain Daniel Hope for answering the bell... those are HIS fans and he let him know.

I think Vandesype's got word class skill, and on the .01% chance he wasn't actually trying to seriously injure a fan (and most likely he didn't hit the fan or fans yelling at him), I'll give him that much of a benefit of the doubt, but that should seriously be looked at by the league.

I don't make a habit of being controversial and I'm not attacking the guy, but there's no place for that.

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One other SJHL note:

Congrats to Notre Dame Hounds' forward Rylan Schwartz, who scored two goals in a 3-2 (OT) win in Kindersley to capture the SJHL scoring title. The 18-year-old finished with 39-goals, 48-assists for 87-points. His 16-year-old brother Jaden scored the overtime winner, and finished 5th in league scoring (34-42-76).

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MJHL

Swan Valley 0 @ Wayway 4

Jerrett Bicknell and Paul Marcoux scored two goals each and Jayme Janzen made 20 saves to record his first shutout. Josh Hohn was peppered in the Swan Valley net, stopping 49 of the 53 shots he faced. The Wolverines are home again tonight (WED) against Winkler, and then go to OCN tomorrow (THU) in a game we'll have on GX94, to round out their stretch of 4 games in 4 nights.

Broncos (45-7-1-2) @ Mils (36-16-3)

SJHL (4)
Humboldt Broncos @ Melville Millionaires 7:20/7:30 GX94
(Scouting Report)
Notre Dame Hounds @ Kindersley Klippers 7:00
Battlefords North Stars @ Nipawin Hawks 7:30
Melfort Mustangs @ Flin Flon Bombers 7:30

MJHL (2)
Swan Valley Stampeders @ Wayway Wolverines 7:30
Beausejour Blades @ Winnipeg South Blues 7:30

Major Hockey League Playoffs
Bantam Division
Swan River Broncos @ Preeceville Pats 7:30
(Game one of the Best-of-3 series)

Qu'Appelle Valley Hockey League Playoffs
Montmartre/Glenavon Rivals @ Gordon's Golden Hawks 8:00
(Rivals lead the Best-of-5 series 1-0)

Prairie Junior Hockey League (1)
Prince Albert Ice Hawks @ Tri-Town Thunder 7:30

Saskatchewan Midget "AAA" Hockey League (1)
Prince Albert Mintos @ Battlefords Stars 7:30

WHL (3)
Brandon Wheat Kings @ Swift Current Broncos 7:30
Saskatoon Blades @ Red Deer Rebels 8:00
Prince George Cougars @ Tri-City Americans 9:05

Wolves Double Blizz

The OCN Blizzard started the scoring and finished it, but the Wayway Wolverines sandwiched 4 goals in between for a 4-2 win.

Paul Marcoux got the first two, his 31st and 32nd of the season to lead the team in that department. Then the Blizzard gave the Wolverines a full 2-minute 5-on-3, and two defensemen made 'em pay. Zach Sweet scored his 2nd, and Cody Danychuk his 9th. Wayway's 3 second period goals all came a minute and a half apart.

The two points put the Wolverines back above .500 (24-23-3-6), and 3 points up on the Neepawa Natives for 4th in the Sherwood Division. Neepawa's got just 3 games left, while Wayway's got 6 left, and they're all in the next 7 nights, beginning tonight (TUE) at home against the Swan Valley Stampeders at 7:30.

Stamps Lose in Neepawa / Terriers, Mils Win... Set to Lock Horns in Playoffs

The Yellowhead Centre in Neepawa. Not the most glamorous rink (or broadcast location) in the world... but it does the trick.

The Swan Valley Stampeders fell 6-2 in Neepawa on Friday night, and on GX94.
Graham Fast scored two first period, unassisted goals for Neepawa. Blair Holmes added two goals and an assist, while Cody Mapes and Jesse Enns also scored.

For the Stamps, Chris Reimer and Kyle Stephansson scored back to back goals in the third period.

Josh Hohn took the loss, making 33 saves on 39 shots.

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The Yorkton Terriers and Melville Millionaires WILL meet up in round one of the SJHL Playoffs!

It's now official, the Mils will finish second in the Sherwood Conference, while the Terriers are guaranteed third. Although Melville shutout Melfort 4-0 on Friday, the Weyburn Red Wings also beat Notre Dame 5-4 to clinch the top seed. Meanwhile, the Yorkton Terriers wrapped up third with a 5-1 win over Battleford on home ice. And just for good measure, the Kindersley Klippers lost 5-0 for a second straight night, this time in Estevan, assuring the Klippers fourth place.

Melville 4 @ Melfort 0
- Brady Wilyman stopped all 24 shots he faced for his first SJHL shutout in his first start.
- Curtis Beech, Tyson Melnychuk, Matt Kinnunen and Aaron Decorby scored for the Mils. Logan Herauf added 2 assists.

Battleford 1 @ Yorkton 5
- Jordan Menke, Clarke Breitkreuz, Kevin Stringfellow, Derek Serdachny and Jordan Zalba scored for the Terriers, who won their 6th straight game to finish off the regular season.

Game 1 of the Yorkton/Melville Sherwood semi-final will most likely be Friday, February 27th in Melville.

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Actually, ALL SJHL playoff seeds are set as of now.

SHERWOOD CONFERENCE

Survivor Series
Kindersley Klippers (4) vs Estevan Bruins (5)

Conference Semis
Melville Millionaires (2) vs Yorkton Terriers (3)
Weyburn Red Wings (1) vs (Winner of Survivor Series)

ITECH CONFERENCE

Survivor Series
Nipawin Hawks (4) vs Battlefords North Stars (5)

Conference Semis
Flin Flon Bombers (2) vs Melfort Mustangs (3)
Humboldt Broncos (1) vs (Winner of Survivor series)

Excited yet?

Playoff Positions Could Be Set Tonight

All 12 teams hit the ice in the SJHL tonight.

Battlefords North Stars @ Yorkton Terriers
Melville Millionaires @ Melfort Mustangs
Kindersley Klippers @ Estevan Bruins
Notre Dame Hounds @ Weyburn Red Wings
Humboldt Broncos @ Nipawin Hawks
La Ronge Ice Wolves @ Flin Flon Bombers

The playoff seeds could all be decided by 10:00 tonight. Here's how:

Sherwood Conference

- A Weyburn win vs Notre Dame OR a Melville loss @ Melfort would clinch Weyburn 1st and Melville 2nd.

- A Yorkton win vs Battleford OR a Kindersley loss @ Estevan would clinch Yorkton 3rd and Kindersley 4th.

- Estevan's already 5th and Notre Dame will finish 6th, out of the playoffs.

Itech Conference

- Humboldt's had 1st clinched for a month, they lead Flin Flon by 39 points.

- A Flin Flon win vs La Ronge, OR a Melfort loss vs Melville would clinch Flin Flon 2nd.

- A Melfort win vs Melville OR a Nipawin loss vs Humboldt would clinch Melfort 3rd (at least), and Nipawin 4th.

- Battleford will finish 5th. La Ronge 6th.

==================

I'll be in Neepawa tonight with the Swan Valley Stampeders. It'll be our final Stamps' broadcast of the season, so I'm hoping to have some fun. I'll chat with former Stampeder Dustin Kimber in the second intermission. Kimber's got 26-points in 26-games with the Mount Royal College Cougars in Calgary. He was a 30+ goal scorer with the Stampeders as a 20 year old last season. First intermission, seeing how it's our final broadcast with the Stamps, I'll get graduating captain Devin Reinhardt on, and hopefully fellow 20 year olds Vinny Scott and Garrett Lasko too. 7:20 Pre Game Show tonight on GX94.

Here's Kimber's Interview



FRIDAY SKED
===========

SJHL (6)
Battlefords North Stars @ Yorkton Terriers 7:30
Melville Millionaires @ Melfort Mustangs 7:30
Kindersley Klippers @ Estevan Bruins 7:30
Notre Dame Hounds @ Weyburn Red Wings 7:30
Humboldt Broncos @ Nipawin Hawks 7:30
La Ronge Ice Wolves @ Flin Flon Bombers 7:30

MJHL (3)
Swan Valley Stampeders @ Neepawa Natives 7:20 / 7:30 GX94
Selkirk Steelers @ OCN Blizzard 7:30
Beausejour Blades @ Winkler Flyers 7:30

Saskatchewan Midget "AAA" Hockey League (2)
Yorkton Harvest @ Notre Dame Argos 8:00
Saskatoon Contacts @ Saskatoon Blazers 7:15

Senior 'A' Hockey Provincials
Cupar Canucks @ Raymore Rockets 8:00
(Raymore leads the Best-of-3 series 1-0)

Senior 'C' Provincials
Kelliher Komets @ Redvers Rockets 8:00
(Game one of the two-game total-goal series)
Wadena Wildcats @ Nokomis Chiefs 8:00
(Nokomis leads the two-game total-goal series 6-3)

Triangle Hockey League Playoffs (1)
Whitewood Orioles @ Bredenbury Cougars 8:00
(Game one of the Best-of-3 series)
Rocanville Tigers @ Moosomin Rangers 8:00
(Rocanville leads the Best-of-3 series 1-0)

Qu'Appelle Valley Hockey League Playoffs (3)
Balcarres Broncs @ Balgonie Bisons 8:30
(Game one of the Best-of-5 series)
Rouleau Ramblers @ Indian Head Chiefs 8:00
(Game one of the Best-of-5 series)
Gordon's Golden Hawks @ Montmartre/Glenavon Rivals 8:00
(Game one of the Best-of-5 series)

Highway Hockey League (1)
Wynyard Monarchs @ Southey Marlins 8:00

KK's Lose in ND, Terriers Can Clinch 3rd With Win Friday

Kramer Barnstable stopped all 36 shots he faced and the Notre Dame Hounds did the Yorkton Terriers a big favour with a 5-0 win over the visiting Kindersley Klippers on Thursday.

Rylan Schwartz had 2-goals and 1-assist in the win.

Ryan Neiszner made 33 saves on 38 Notre Dame shots in the Klippers' net.

Kindersley now has 4 games left, and trail the Terriers by 6 points for third spot in the Sherwood.

The Terriers host Battleford tonight (FRI), while Kindersley's in Estevan, then in Weyburn tomorrow, before hosting the Hounds for a pair Monday and Tuesday.

A Yorkton win, OR a Kindersley loss in any of their final four games will lock up 3rd for the Terriers, which will most likely mean a date in the first round with the Melville Millionaires.

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MJHL AWARD NOMINEES

The Swan Valley Wolverines and Wayway Wolverines were left off the list of MJHL Award Nominees.

MVP - Steve “Boomer” Hawrysh Award

Eric Delong - Portage Terriers
Dan Watt – Winnipeg Saints
Russ Payne – Selkirk Steelers

Rookie of the Year – Vince Leah Trophy

Brenden Walker – Portage Terriers
Jordan DePape - Winnipeg Saints
Peter Stoykewych – Winnipeg South Blues

Hockey Ability & Sportsmanship – Lorne “Windy” Lyndon Trophy

Shane Luke – Dauphin Kings
Eric Delong - Portage Terriers
Wes Pawluk – Selkirk Steelers

Top Goaltender Trophy

Alan Armour - Selkirk Steelers
David Aime – OCN Blizzard
Adrian Rubeniuk- Dauphin Kings

Top Defenseman – Brian Kozak Trophy

Scott Macaulay - Winnipeg Saints
Steven Shamanski – Dauphin Kings
Drew Ellement – Portage Terriers

Coach of the Year – Portage Terriers “ Muzz McPherson” Award

Doug Hedley - OCN Blizzard
Doug Stokes – Winnipeg Saints
Blake Spiller – Portage Terriers

Prystai Gets His Ring

81-year-old Metro Prystai from Yorkton received a strange package in the mail from the Detroit Red Wings recently, and in it, was a massive Stanley Cup ring.

Prystai scored 151 goals and 330 points in the NHL, mostly with Detroit, where he also helped the Wings win two Stanley Cups, with the likes of Howe, Lindsay, Abel, Delvecchio, Pronovost and Sawchuk.

Current Red Wings' Owners Mike and Marian Ilitch rewarded their Wings' Alumni members from who won Cups during the days when Stanley Cup Rings weren't a tradition, and now Prystai has his.

Click to listen!

SJHL Award Nominees

(Yorkton Terrier defenseman Greg Coburn is up for two awards, while Melville captain Daniel Hope's up for one.)

From http://www.sjhl.ca/

GREG COBURN, Yorkton Terriers

Defenseman of the Year
1988 D Greg Coburn (Saskatoon SK) watched his game blossom this season, culminating with a scholarship to Union, which was announced in January. Coburn has been Yorkton’s leading scorer for most of the season and ranks in the top three in scoring amongst all SJHL blueliners. Coburn plays in all situations and often logs upwards of 30+ minutes a game. He’s as strong defensively as he is offensively, often playing a steady 1-on-1 style that can go unnoticed until he makes a nice play further up the ice.

Other Nominees: Brady Wacker, HUM; Taylor Thiessen, NIP

Kresse-Kruger-Mantyka Award
Given to the player who shows a high degree of hockey proficiency combined with showing evidence of attending school, maintaining above average academics. The winner receives scholarship of $500.

Coburn is a strong two-way defenseman, who skates well and is a leader on his hockey club. Coburn always matches up against opposing teams’ top lines and maintains excellent poise and composure. Coburn has earned SJHL Defenseman Of The Week and SJHL Defenseman Of The Month awards this season and is also the top +/- player on the Terriers. He has received a scholarship to Union for next year, indicating he maintains an excellent academic grade.

Other nominees: Torrey Lindsay, WEY

DANIEL HOPE, Melville Millionaires

Graham Christie Memorial Award
Given to the player who provides inspirational leadership and dedication to teammates both on and off the ice. The award carries a $500 bursary from the Christie family.

Hope (Kelvington SK) possesses tremendous leadership skills, serving as an Assistant Captain last season, his first as a Millionaire. This year, he’s the Captain and the team’s leading scorer. He is the first one to volunteer for team functions and has been involved with Big Brothers and Big Sisters with School Mentoring for each of the past two seasons as well.

Other Nominees: Scott Schroeder, HUM; Preston Shupe, WEY

MVP/Player of the Year
Brett Leedahl, KIN
Rylan Schwartz, ND
Preston Shupe, WEY
Brady Wacker, HUM

Rookie of the Year
Dane Muench, BAT
Jaden Schwartz, ND
Deven Stillar, MFT

====================
THURSDAY HAPPENINGS
====================

Senior Men's Southern Curling Playdowns
in Gravelbourg
3:00 Draw - 'A' Event
Larry Kreklewich (Melville) vs Dean James (Swift Current)

8:00 Draw - 'A' Event
Brian Waldbauer (Melville) vs Bob Stephenson (Outlook)
Gord Garratt (Abernethy) vs Robert Lindsay (Assiniboia)

Senior Men's Northern Curling Playdowns
in Battleford
3:00 Draw - 'A' Event
Andrew Kazakoff (Kamsack) vs Gerald Shymko (Calder)

SJHL (1)
Kindersley Klippers @ Notre Dame Hounds 8:00

MJHL (2)
OCN Blizzard @ Portage Terriers 8:00
Neepawa Natives @ Winnipeg South Blues 7:30

Midget 'AA' Provinicials
Estevan @ Pipestone Valley Jets 7:30
(Game one of a two-game total-goal series)

Midget 'A' Provincials
Porcupine Plain Blues @ Canora Cobras 8:00
(Porcupine leads the two-game total-goal series 5-3)

Bantam 'C' Provincials
Foam Lake Flyers @ Southey/Cupar Marlins 8:00
(Foam Lake leads the two-game total goal series 13-7)

South Sask Midget "AA" Hockey League
Yorkton Kinsmen Terriers @ Regina Flames 8:00

South Sask Bantam "AA" Hockey League
Melville Millionaires @ Bethune 7:30

Saskatchewan Midget "AAA" Hockey League (1)
Tisdale Trojans @ Prince Albert Mintos 7:30

Prairie Junior Hockey League (1)
Tri-Town Thunder @ Saskatoon Quakers 7:45

Wild Second Period as Terriers Down Hounds

(Terrier goalie Joel Danyluk takes a few shots in the warm up)


A total of 10 second period goals Wednesday as the Yorkton Terriers went on to beat the Notre Dame Hounds 11-4, giving them a 6 point lead over the Kindersley Klippers for third in the SJHL Sherwood.

Evan Neibrandt scored the lone goal of the first period for Yorkton... but the two teams combined for 10 in the second... 6 for the Terriers, 4 for the Hounds.

Notre Dame scored the first two just 81 seconds into the period, when Mitchell Stretch scored on a powerplay :47 in, and Austin Lauder gave the Hounds the 2-1 lead at the 1:21 mark. I looked down to write down the goal, and looked by and saw Kevin Stringfellow rip a wrist shot top shelf to tie the game only 8 seconds later. 1:19 later, Jordan Menke gave the Terriers the lead, and this time, they wouldn't let it slip. Jordan Zalba made it 4-2 just 48 seconds later. Menke scored his second, the eventual game-winner at 6:42 of the second, for the 6th goal of the period. Justin Giesbrecht scored on a hard one-timer on a 5-on-3 to make it 6-2. From there, Jaden and Rylan Schwartz both scored for the Hounds :29 apart to make it 6-4, before Cody Zubko scored his 10th of a year to make it 7-4 Terriers after two periods.

Torey Stott, Bryan Hull, Giesbrecht (2nd), and Nick Dietrich added third period goals to make the final 11-4 Terriers.

Joel Danyluk made 5 saves on 7 shots, and Devin Peters went the rest of the way, registering the win, stopping 15 of 17 shots.

The Terriers now have 66 points in the standings (29-18-1-7), to Kindersley's 60. The Klippers are in Notre Dame tonight (THU), Estevan Friday, Weyburn Saturday, before hosting the Hounds Monday and Tuesday.

Yorkton wraps up their regular season tomorrow (FRI) when they host Battleford.

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The Melville Millionaires had to come from behind a couple times in a 5-3 win in Estevan.

The Bruins led 2-0 early in the second, and 3-1 late in the second. Austin Krahenbil got the Mils on the board 8:45 into the middle frame. It was Krahenbil's 3rd straight game with a goal, and 5th straight with a point. Then, 45 seconds after the Bruins made it 3-1, Daniel Hope scored his team-leading 27th of the year with 35 seconds left in the period.

The third period was the story, as the Mils were out-shot 17-5, but out-scored Estevan 3-0.

Kelly Friesen, Cody Hanson and Logan Herauf got the goals.

Travis Bosch made 34 saves on 37 shots.

With the win, the Mils clinched home ice in the first round (likely 2nd place). The Mils are 5 points back of first place Weyburn with one game in hand. A second place finish will mean a first round date with either the Yorkton Terriers or Kindersley Klippers, whoever finishes third.

---------------------

In the MJHL, the Swan Valley Stampeders stole a valuable extra point from the Wayway Wolverines in a 3-2 shootout win.

The Stamps are eliminated from playoff contention, but the Wolverines are trying to stay ahead of fifth place Neepawa. They're now 3 points up with 2 games in hand.

Jason Bowles scored both goals for Wayway, and Darcy Riddell potted both for Swan Valley... with stay-at-home defenseman Garrett Lasko sealed it in the shootout.

The Wolverines out-shot the Stamps 40-27. Chris Ward made 38 saves in the win.

Millionaires Want New Vault!

GX94's Craig Read was at the Communiplex Forum in Melville last night, and one of his guests was Millionaires' Coach/GM Jamie Fiesel.

Winkler @ Wayway PPD!

The Flyers and Wolverines are postponing tonight's MJHL game due to travel conditions.

A makeup date is not yet firm, but a tentative date appears to be Tuesday, February 25th.

Lots of Local P.O.W.'s

The SJHL announced its Players of the Week today, and Yorkton Terrier goaltender Devin Peters was named Goalie of the Week. Peters (left), led the Terriers to two 2-1 wins over the Kindersley Klippers on Friday and Sunday. He made 57 saves on 59 shots in the process, for a save percentage of .966%. The rookie from St. Andrews, MB has 17 wins on the season.

Austin Krahenbil (right) of the Melville Millionaires was named Defenseman of the Week. The hometown Melville product's proving his selection to the Sherwood Confernce starting lineup at the All-Star Game last month was no fluke, as he put up 2-goals and 5-points in 3 games last week. Both the Mils and Terriers are 4-0 in February.

Swan Valley Stampeders' forward Myles Stevens (left) was named Player of the Week in the MJHL on Monday. Stevens had 5-points in an 8-3 win over Beausejour on Saturday, and in total, put up 9-points in 3-games this past week. The Stampeders are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but are eligible to bring back nine 20-year-olds next season, including Stevens.

The Norway House, MB product leads the Stamps with 23-goals, 43-assists, 66-points, 10-poweplay goals, and 17-powerplay assists in 50 games.

Broadcast Sked Revised

Well, we weren't able to round up a second announcer, so we had to do some picking, and it was decided we'll still do Wednesday's game between the Yorkton Terriers and Notre Dame Hounds starting at 5:00. We originally had a Wayway @ Swan Valley game that night, so instead, we'll be doing OCN @ Wayway on Monday, February 16th. It's not that we favoured Yorkton over Wayway, but that was the last regular season date for the Terriers that worked for us, so we gotta do it.

An updated Broadcast Schedule is posted at the link in the top right corner.

Terriers @ Hounds PPD!!!

Tonight's game has been postponed due to travel conditions.

Game will be made up this Wednesday, February 11th at 5:00.

We're already broadcasting Wayway @ Swan Valley on Wednesday, but we're working on getting two announcers and doing a double header.

Keep ya posted.

CS

Monday Sked

SJHL
Yorkton Terriers @ Notre Dame Hounds PPD until Monday @ 5:00!

Senior 'B' Provinicals
Balcarres Broncs @ Esterhazy Flyers 8:00
(Game one of a two-game total-goal series)

Midget 'AA' Provincials
Pipestone Valley Jets @ Yorkton Kinsmen Terriers PPD
(Second game of a two-game total-goal series. Pipestone won the first game 3-2)

Bantam 'B' Provincials
Balgonie Prairie Storm @ Kamsack Flyers PPD until Wednesday
(Kamsack leads the two-game total goal series 3-1)

Long Lake Hockey League
Nokomis Chiefs @ Leroy Braves 8:00

North Central Hockey League (1)
Roblin North Stars @ Shoal Lake Eagles 8:30

Terriers Win in Shootout Over Kindersley *Now With Video*

For the second time this weekend, the Yorkton Terriers went to extra time and got the win over the Kindersley Klippers.

After Friday's 2-1 (OT) win, the Terriers won by that same 2-1 score in the a shootout on Sunday.

Kendall Holmes scored 2:02 into the game for Kindersley, but Torey Stott tied the game late on a delayed penalty to force overtime. Kevin Stringfellow and Rylan McDonnell scored in the shootout, while Devin Peters, who made 30 saves on 31 shots through regulation and overtime, stopped both Brett Leedahl and Kirk Pearce. Here's the game-clinching save, with Voice of the Klippers Ryan Tunall in the background.

Here's some post game comments with winning goaltender Devin Peters.

Mils Win Fourth Straight

A slightly grainy picture of the final score of last night's Kindersley-Melville game at the Stadium.

If Friday's 5-3 win in Humboldt wasn't the official slump-buster, maybe the 4-1 win over the Kinderlsey Klippers the next night at home was.

Austin Krahenbil got the party started with a laser-beam slapshot from the point on the powerplay, and then Daniel Hope snapped a wrist shot top shelf on Ryan Neiszner, again on the man-advantage, making it 2-0 Mils after the first. All the rest of the scoring was done in the second period, started on another Mils powerplay when Matt Kinnunen put home a rebound. The Klippers got one back just after one of their powerplays ended, when Jordan Braid potted a rebound for his 22nd from linemates Brett Leedahl and Jordan Braid. Michael Jordan rounded out the scoring for Melville at even strength on a great wrist shot top shelf.

Travis Bosch made 32 saves on 33 shots in his league-leading 28th win. Ryan Neiszner also stopped 32 in the loss for the Klippers. Austin Krahenbil led all scorers with 3 points (1-2-3). Melville's off until Wednesday when they visit Estevan, the home of the 14-0 game from just a couple weeks ago. But, I'm quite sure that's a distant memory now.

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Tonight, it's the biggest game of the year for both teams as the Yorkton Terriers host the Klippers. Kindersley's been busy, with this being the end of a 3-in-3 on the road, which has seen them pick up just one point of a possible four so far, and the Klippers are without a win on the road in over a month.

Here's the scenario. Yorkton's third, with a 3-point lead on Kindersley. The Klippers have 3 games in hand. If tonight's game's decided in regulation, the lead for Yorkton could be 5 if they win, or trimmed to just one if the Klippers win. And, of course, the Klippers would still have those 3 games in hand. This might be going out on a limb, but I did the same when Melville hosted Weyburn a few weeks ago and I said, 'the winner of this game will finish first,' and for once I was right. So, I'll say today, 'whoever wins tongiht's game will finish third.' Take it to the bank. After tonight, the Terriers go to Notre Dame and host Battleford... and if they win both of those games, it would force Kindersley to win all five of their remaining games, and they've got another 3-in-3 roadie next week (ND-WEY-EST). They then finish with 2 at home against ND. If the Klippers win tonight, even if the Terriers win their last 2, Kindersley would need 5 pts in their last 5 games to tie... Clear as mud?

Here's what else we know after Friday/Saturday.

- Weyburn's magic number to clinch the Sherwood is down to 2. (2 wins, 2 Melville losses, or a Weyburn win paired with a Melville loss). The Mils can finish with 77 pts if they run the table. Weyburn's currently at 74, and they'd have to finish ahead of Melville, since the Mils have the tie-breaker.

- Melville's pretty much got second locked up. It's not likely they'll catch Weyburn, and they've ALMOST clinched no worse than second. Yorkton can't catch them (7 back with 3 games left), and Kindersley's 10 points back 6 games left. A Kindersley loss tonight would clinch Melville second place.

- I already explained the 3rd-4th race.

- With Estevan's loss to Weyburn on Saturday, the best they can do is tie Kindersley, which means, in all likelihood, they're finishing right where they are in 5th, going to either Kindersley or Yorkton for Game 1 of the Survivor Series on Feb/20.

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In the MJHL, the Wayway Wolverines went 0-for-2 on their weekend trip, falling 5-2 in Winkler last night after a 6-3 loss in Portage the night before. Jason Bowles and Logan Dew got their goals.

And the night after being officially elminated from playoff contention, the Swan Valley Stampeders exploded for 8 goals in an 8-3 win over Beausejour. Myles Stevens led the way with 5 points (2-3-5).

Oh, P.S.... for everyone who thinks the Wayway players who were involved in that 2-vehicle crash are just a bunch of punk hockey players who were "drag-racing," give this a read.

From www.mjhlhockey.ca

Wayway safety policy effective
Saturday, February 07, 2009

The recent crash of two vehicles full of Waywayseecappo Wolverines once again reminded everyone within the Manitoba Junior Hockey League that safety while traveling cannot be taken for granted.

Fortunately, there were no serious injuries, says Wolverines GM/Coach Barry Butler.
“Several of the players have neck stiffness, sore backs, shoulder issues. They're getting treatment in Russell and basically a couple of them are day to day in terms of when they'll return to playing.”

Several of the players have returned to skating, but can only return to game action after receiving a clean bill of health.

Junior hockey is a sport where traveling long distances is the norm, rather than the exception. Due to safety concerns, a number of games in the MJHL had to be postponed due to severe cold temperatures and poor road conditions.

Wayway Wolverines is one organization which focuses heavily on road safety.

“We take safety very, very seriously,” says Butler. “We have a safety policy for our players when they're driving back to Russell from our hockey rink in Wayway.”

While the drive from the two communities is only 15 minutes, winter road conditions can make the drive challenging - as evidenced early Wednesday morning when one vehicle lost control on icy roads and rolled in the ditch. A second vehicle, which had been closely following, lost control and ended up in deep snow off the road.

The Wolverines had played in Dauphin on Tuesday and had arrived back in Wayway in the early hours of Wednesday. As per club policy, all players are required to hang up their equipment and participate in a team meeting: on this night the meeting involved road conditions and the importance of driving to those conditions.

“After traveling on the bus for a long time, players are sleeping they're drowsy ... we want to make sure they're mentally awake before they just jump in their cars and head home.”
As per policy, players must leave in teams of two vehicles. Once all the players' vehicles have departed, either Butler or Jim Fuyarchuk (assistant coach), will follow the entire convoy back to Russell.

“I've had this policy since I've been in Wayway,” said Butler. “It's another safety measure while traveling.”

If not for Butler's safety policy, the situation in Wayway could have been much worse, considering the strong winds and blowing snow. On Wednesday, Fuyarchuk was trailing the group and came upon the crash scene. He quickly assessed the scene and was informed by all the players that no one had suffered a serious injury.

Fuyarchuk then called Butler, who was traveling in another direction taking the bus driver home.

“By this time, some of the guys in the other cars got calls on their cell phones and they were making their way back to help their teammates,” explained Butler. “I was really, really proud of my guys as to how they reacted to the whole situation.”

Credit Union Cup In Melville

I was on location at Melville Stadium from 4:00 - 6:00 with the SJHL President's Tour today. The newly named Credit Union Cup was there. Here are a few pics.

What they're all playing for.

Where I hung out for a couple hours.

Klippers @ Millionaires tonight at 7:30. Kindersley in Yorkton tomorrow (SUN) at 6:00.

Mils, Terriers Post Big W's

(Pre Game Warm Up. Humboldt's top two in the league for broadcast locations for sure)

The Melville Millionaires handed the Humboldt Broncos their first regulation loss in nearly two months, as they went to EPA last night and beat the Broncos 5-3.

The Broncos hadn't lost in regulation since December 9th when they were beaten again by the Millionaires 9-1. They'd gone 17-0-2 since.

It was 5-1 at one point... with Levi Lind scoring twice, and Casey Dion, Austin Krahenbil and Aaron Decorby scoring the others.

Special teams were the story, with the Mils going 4-for-6 on the powerplay, while Humboldt was 2-for-9.

Travis Bosch made 32 saves on 35 Humboldt shots... while the Mils chased Andrew Bodnarchuk, scoring on him 5 times on 18 shots. Mathieu Larochelle stopped all 12 he faced in relief.

The Mils return home tonight for a big Sherwood Conference matchup against the Kindersley Klippers. Puck drops at 7:30 at the vault.

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Travis Coghill scored 46 seconds into overtime to give the Yorkton Terriers the extra point in a 2-1 (OT) win over Kindersley. The win puts the Terriers 3 points up on the Klippers for third spot.

Jordan Zalba also scored for Yorkton, and Devin Peters made 27 saves in the win.

The Terriers are off tonight, but host the Klippers again tomorrow (SUN) at 6:00. Kindersley's in Melville tonight.

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In the MJHL, the Swan Valley Stampeders are now officially eliminated from playoff contention after a 5-3 home ice loss to Beausejour. Kyle Harty had the hat trick for the Blades, while Myles Stevens, Carter Selinger and Darcy Riddell tallied for Swan.

The Wayway Wolverines fell 6-3 in Portage. The big positive for the Wolves was Paul Marcoux, who just days after being involved in a vehicle rollover, scored his 30th of the season in the loss. Preston McLeod and Ryan Regel also scored.

BIG Weekend For All

First off... just got an email from the league that Melville's Jamie Fiesel is up for SJHL Coach of the Year, along with Humboldt's Dean Brockman.

"Well I think my chances are pretty obvious, there is none! Dean's done an outstanding job there, and I think people should know the voting was done before we went on our slide. I went from Coach of the Year Finalist to almost Coach On His Ear a week ago. I think I'll be the perennial runner up again."

All four of our local Junior 'A' teams have big games tonight, and all for different reasons. Melville's trying to close in on clinching second... Yorkton wants third... and in the MJ, Swan Valley's trying to stay mathematically alive, and Wayway's got a possible first round playoff preview in Portage.

Men's Provincial Curling Tankard
in Meadow Lake
8:30 - 'B' Event
Dean Moulding (Regina) 8 vs Warren Hassall (Turtleford) 2
Mark Herbert (Moose Jaw) 8 vs Brent Gedak (Estevan) 3
'C' Event
Darrell McKee (Saskatoon) 8 vs Doug Harcourt (Humboldt) 5
Brian Humble (Saskatoon) 1 vs Jason Ackerman (Regina) 7

12:00 - 'A' Final
Pat Simmons (Davidson) vs Joel Jordison (Moose Jaw)
'B' Event
Brad Heidt (Kerrobert) vs Randy Bryden (Regina)
Brad Law (Regina) vs Al Schick (Regina)
'C' Event
Glen Despins (Yorkton) vs Corey Martens

SJHL (4)
Melville Millionaires @ Humboldt Broncos 7:20/7:30 GX94
Kindersley Klippers @ Yorkton Terriers 7:30
Melfort Mustangs @ Nipawin Hawks 7:30
Flin Flon Bombers @ Battlefords North Stars 7:30

MJHL (5)
Wayway Wolverines @ Portage Terriers 7:30
Beausejour Blades @ Swan Valley Stampeders 7:30
Dauphin Kings @ OCN Blizzard 7:30
Winkler Flyers @ Neepawa Natives 7:30
Winnipeg South Blues @ Selkirk Steelers 7:30

Prairie Junior Hockey League (1)
Regina Capitals @ Ochapowace Thunder 7:30

Saskatchewan Midget "AAA" Hockey League (1)
Regina Pat Canadians @ Saskatoon Blazers 7:15

South Sask Midget "AA" Hockey League
Balgonie @ Pipestone Valley Jets 7:30 in Whitewood

Senior 'A' Hockey Provincials
Wynyard Monarchs @ Leroy Braves 8:00
(Game one of the Best-of-3 series)

Fishing Lake Hockey League (1)
Canora Cobras @ Foam Lake Flyers 8:30
Theodore Bufflaoes @ Kelvington Wheat Kings PPD until tomorrow (SAT).

Qu'Appelle Valley Hockey League (2)
Indian Head Chiefs @ Balcarres Broncs 8:00
Rouleau Ramblers @ Ogema Colts 8:00

Highway Hockey League (1)
Raymore Rockets @ Lumsden Monarchs 8:00

WHL (10)
Edmonton Oil Kings @ Regina Pats 7:00
Red Deer Rebels @ Saskatoon Blades 7:05
Prince Albert Raiders @ Brandon Wheat Kings 7:30
Calgary Hitmen @ Swift Current Broncos 7:30
Moose Jaw Warriors @ Kootenay Ice 8:00
Everett Silvertips @ Kelowna Rockets 9:00
Chilliwack Bruins @ Prince George Cougars 9:00
Vancouver Giants @ Spokane Chiefs 9:00
Tri-City Americans @ Portland Winter Hawks 9:30
Lethbridge Hurricanes @ Seattle Thunderbirds 9:35

Barry Butler Talks About Accident

First of all... the two-car accident involving a total of 9 Wayway Wolverine players is no where near as bad or serious as some people made it out to be. It was certainly scary for everyone involved, but from what I hear some reports were blowing it up a little. Details were sketchy until today... so I tried to clear the air by calling Russell RCMP Sgt. Matt Lavalee, who responded to the crash, and Wayway Coach/GM Barry Butler.

Here's what they had to say.

Sgt. Matt Lavalee

"(Wednesday) at approximately 12:00 noon, we responded to the report of a collision approximately 3 miles east of Russell on Highway 45. Two east-bound vehicles, both driven by Wolverine players were heading towards Russell at approximately 1:30 a.m. As a result of weather conditions and road conditions, one vehicle did leave the roadway, and rolled in the north ditch on Highway 45. From what I understand, the driver of the driver of that vehicle was taken into Russell hospital for check-up and as a precautionary measure. At this point in time I'm not aware of any other injuries as a result of the accident. We're treating this as a basic motor vehicle collision, and we're very fortunate that there were no injuries."

Wayway Coach/GM Barry Butler

"We had come back from the Dauphin game and we all were leaving the rink. The boys travel in groups of two and (Assistant Coach) Jim (Fuyarchuk) follows along behind when we come back late at night to make sure all the boys get back to Russell. And about halfway between the Russell Golf Course and Russell they hit kind of a slippery spot and one car hit the brakes and the car started to swerve and they ended up bumping eachother into the ditch. They went into the ditch, one of the cars got spun backwards, ended up flipping and landing on the roof and side, popping all the windows out, and then rolled back onto its wheels, so that's what happened there."

"It could have been a lot worse when you look at the car. It's just one of those things in the game of hockey, people are travelling all the time. The way the accident was, the boys weren't speeding or anything because Jim was right behind them. It was okay, it's scary, they're shook up, and there was no way we could proceed with the game (Wednesday) night in OCN, we had to take care of that situation and go from there."

"We wanted to make sure our team doctor could check the boys over. Once your adrenaline's gone after an accident like that, the muscles are starting to get sore. We've got a couple of them back at the chiropractor and back at the doctor this (Thursday) morning."

"We're planning to proceed with our regular schedule Friday in Portage. We'll have an opportunity to use a couple AP's if we have to, to get us through a couple of days. We'll see how things are today. Everyone with the exception of a couple of guys skated yesterday (WED), just to get everyone's minds back on the game of hockey."

Butler said Paul Marcoux is the only Wolverine who might miss a game or two. He was the driver of the car that flipped, and his passengers were Cody Danychuk, Zach Sweet and Carey Dyck. Jordan Holovach was driving the other vehicle, and he had 4 others with him.

All I can say is I'm glad these young men are all okay. I know some players better than others, and Paul's a great kid who always says hi, and hopefully he can get back in the lineup as soon as possible and be able to carry on normally with hockey. Marcoux also leads the team with 29-goals and is second with 51-points.

The sad truth is if it were a group of "every-day" 18-20 year olds who rolled a car and no one was seriously hurt, it may not have even made the news... but hockey players are put under the microscope a little more, even at the junior level. It's releiving to know speeding, alcohol, etc, weren't involved, which I'm sure makes it a little easier to deal with.

All the best to the players involved, their families, and the Waywayseecappo organization.

MJHL Commissioner Comments on Crash

Thanks to my laptop I was able to call MJHL Commissioner Kim Davis right from the rink in Melville last night and record a conversation with him about the 2-car accident which injured 5 members of the Wayway Wolverines in the early hours of Wednesday morning after Tuesday's 3-2 win in Dauphin. I'll do my best to track down more details with Wolverines' Coach/GM Barry Butler this morning.

**Bruce Luebke of CKLQ radio in Brandon reports on his blog (www.luberslounge.blogspot.com) that the 5 injured players were Paul Marcoux, Zach Sweet, Cody Danychuk, Carey Dyck and Jordan Holovach. A car carrying Marcoux, Sweet, Danychuk and Dyck passed a car driven by Holovach and the car with the first four players mentioned was the one that rolled. The players have all been released from hospital with what is regarded as minor injuries (scrapes, bumps, bruises and cuts).

Here is one of Commissioner Davis' clips.

Wins All Around For Mils, Terriers, Stamps

The powerplay converted early and often as the Melville Millionaires avenged last Friday's 14-0 loss in Estevan with a 5-2 win over the Bruins on home ice.

The Mils went 3-for-4 with the man advantage, while they kept Estevan's powerplay to 0-for-2.

Aaron Decorby scored two powerplay goals, his 12th and 13th of the season... Logan Herauf got his 18th and Matt Kinnunen notched his 8th. Kyle Stroh and Liam Brennan tallied for Estevan.

Travis Bosch made 35 saves on 37 Bruin shots, while Shayne Barrie was in the net for the Bruins, allowing 5 goals on 47 shots.

Melville's now 5 points up on Yorkton, who now enjoys sole possession of third... they're also 7 ahead of Kinderlsley.

We're on the road with the Mils tomorrow (FRI) as they visit they travel to Humboldt.

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The Yorkton Terriers made brought up their goals-per-game average with a 9-2 loss over the Notre Dame Hounds.

Clarke Breitkreuz had 3 points on Yorkton's first 4 goals, and finished the game with 2-goals and 1-assist. Derek Serdachny had the same numbers as Breitkreuz, while Bryan Hull had 1-goal and 2-assists. Corey Silverson scored twice, while Justin Giesbrecht and Derek Derkach rounded out the goal scoring. Greg Coburn had 4-assists, lifting his team-leading point total to 45 in 52 games. Kevin Stringfellow, Jordan Menke and Torey Stott each added a pair of helpers. The Stott-Menke-Breitkreuz line combined for 2-goals and 7-points, while the Serdachny-Hull-Stringfellow were even a little more productive, racking up 3-goals and 8-points.

Joel Danyluk posted got his second straight win with a 24 save performance.

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The Swan Valley Stampeders are still mathematically alive for a playoff spot.

The Stamps beat the Neepawa Natives 3-1 to get to within 20 points of the Natives, with 10 games remaining.

Rookie Josh Hohn was strong in goal making 36 saves on 37 shots for his second win of the season.

Darcy Riddell, Carter Selinger and Ryan Marshall scored for Swan Valley, while Myles Stevens added two assists.