 | |
| Tim Bozon (left) meets with Kootenay Ice athletic therapist Cory Cameron prior to Saturday night's game in Cranbrook. Bozon"s father, Philippe, credits Cameron with having saved Tim's life. (Photo from Cory Cameron's Twitter feed) |
 | |||
| Tim Bozon waves to the fans in Cranbrook as he takes part in a ceremonial faceoff prior to Saturday's WHL playoff game. (Photo from the WHL's Twitter feed) |
 |
| Players from the Calgary Hitmen come off their bench to shake hands with Tim Bozon during Saturday's night's ceremonial faceoff in Cranbrook. (Photo by Trevor Crawley / Cranbrook Daily Townsman) |
You are able to make a donation at any BMO Bank of Montreal branch in Western Canada.
Should you live outside of that area and want to donate, please mail donations to:
Western Hockey League
c/o Tim Bozon
Father David Bauer Arena
2424 University Drive NW
Calgary AB
T2N 3Y9
---
According to Carlos Sosa of Turning Point Sports Management, F Mike Aviani of the Spokane Chiefs has signed an ATO with the Utica Comets, the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks. Aviani is a free agent. . . .
The Calgary Flames announced Saturday that D Brett Kulak of the Vancouver Giants has been assigned to the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat. Kulak, a fourth-round pick in the 2012 NHL draft, has signed with the Flames. . . .
F Morgan Klimchuk of the Regina Pats also has been assigned to Abbotsford. Klimchuk was a first-round selection by the Flames in the 2013 NHL draft. . . . Meanwhile, D Kyle Burroughs, the Pats’ captain, is to finish up with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers. He was a seventh-round selection by the New York Islanders in the 2013 NHL draft.
---
If you are a subscriber to Shaw-TV, you will be able to watch the second-round series between the Portland Winterhawks and Victoria Royals. In the first round, Shaw televised all six games of the series between the Calgary Hitmen and Kootenay Ice. . . . The Winterhawks and Royals will open with games in Portland on Friday and Saturday nights. During the regular season, these teams met four times -- Portland went 1-1-2; Victoria was 3-1-0. . . . The Winterhawks are the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed; the Royals are No. 3.
---
THE FIRST ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
(x - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
EDMONTON (1) vs. PRINCE ALBERT (8)(Edmonton wins, 4-0)
Season series: Edmonton, 2-1-1; Prince Albert, 2-2-0.
Saturday: Prince Albert 3 at Edmonton 5 (6,534)
Sunday: Prince Albert 1 at Edmonton 3 (6,584)
Tuesday: Edmonton 4 at Prince Albert 3 (2,881)
Wednesday: Edmonton 6 at Prince Albert 2 (2,727)
---
REGINA (2) vs. BRANDON (7)
(Brandon wins, 4-0)
Season series: Brandon, 5-3-0; Regina, 3-3-2.
Saturday: Brandon 6 at Regina 3 (6,200)
Sunday: Brandon 8 at Regina 4 (5,014)
Wednesday: Regina 4 at Brandon 5 (3,547)
Friday: Regina 1 at Brandon 5 (4,705)
---
CALGARY (3) vs. KOOTENAY (6)
(Kootenay wins, 4-2)
Season series: Calgary, 4-4-0; Kootenay, 4-2-2.
Thursday: Kootenay 5 at Calgary 2 (6,649)
Saturday: Kootenay 0 at Calgary 5 (9,019)
Monday: Calgary 7 at Kootenay 6 (OT) (1,992)
Tuesday: Calgary 4 at Kootenay 5 (2,102)
Thursday: Kootenay 6 at Calgary 5 (6,826)
Saturday: Calgary 3 at Kootenay 5 (3,916)
INJURIES
Calgary: F Cal Babych, day-to-day; F Connor Rankin, day-to-day.
Kootenay: F Tim Bozon, indefinite; F Ryan Chynoweth, indefinite; D Tyler King, day-to-day; D Tanner Faith, 3-5 months.
---
MEDICINE HAT (4) vs. SWIFT CURRENT (5)
(Medicine Hat leads, 3-2)
Season series: Medicine Hat, 2-2-0; Swift Current, 2-2-0.
Friday: Swift Current 1 at Medicine Hat 2 (3,512)
Saturday: Swift Current 2 at Medicine Hat 4 (3743)
Tuesday: Medicine Hat 1 at Swift Current 3 (2,840)
Wednesday: Medicine Hat 2 at Swift Current 3 (OT) (2,890)
Saturday: Swift Current 1 at Medicine Hat 4 (4,006)
Sunday: Medicine Hat at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
x-Tuesday: Swift Current at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Medicine Hat: F Anthony Ast, indefinite; F Gavin Broadhead, day-to-day; F Hunter Shinkaruk, indefinite.
Swift Current: None.
---
WESTERN CONFERENCE
KELOWNA (1) vs. TRI-CITY (8)
(Kelowna wins, 4-1)
Season series: Kelowna, 4-4-0; Tri-City, 0-3-1.
Saturday: Tri-City 1 at Kelowna 3 (5,827)
Sunday: Tri-City 1 at Kelowna 3 (5,041)
Tuesday: Kelowna 3 at Tri-City 4 (2,010)
Wednesday: Kelowna 5 at Tri-City 3 (2,189)
Friday: Tri-City 1 at Kelowna 4 (4,875)
(NOTE: Tri-City plays home games in Kennewick, Wash.)
---
PORTLAND (2) vs. VANCOUVER (7)
(Portland wins, 4-0)
Season series: Portland, 4-0-0; Vancouver, 0-3-1.
Friday: Vancouver 3 at Portland 4 (9,756)
Saturday: Vancouver 0 at Portland 3 (10,947)
Tuesday: Portland 6 at Vancouver 3 (5,680)
Wednesday: Portland 6 at Vancouver 1 (5,142)
---
VICTORIA (3) vs. SPOKANE (6)
(Victoria wins, 4-0)
Season series: Victoria, 1-3-0; Spokane, 3-1-0.
Saturday: Spokane 1 at Victoria 2 (OT) (6,615)
Sunday: Spokane 3 at Victoria 4 (OT) (4,629)
Wednesday: Victoria 6 at Spokane 1 (3,412)
Thursday: Victoria 4 at Spokane 2 (3,711)
---
SEATTLE (4) vs. EVERETT (5)
(Seattle wins, 4-1)
Season series: Seattle, 5-4-1; Everett, 5-4-1.
Saturday: Everett 1 at Seattle 2 (4,650)
Sunday: Seattle 3 at Everett 1 (4,150)
Tuesday: Everett 3 at Seattle 4 (OT) (5,176)
Friday: Seattle 1 at Everett 6 (4,908)
Saturday: Everett 0 at Seattle 4 (3,526)
(NOTE: Seattle plays home games in Kent, Wash.)
INJURIES
Seattle: F Connor Honey, indefinite.
Everett: F Kohl Baum, indefinite; D Noah Juulsen, day-to-day; D Cole MacDonald, day-to-day; F Tyler Sandhu, day-to-day.
---
THE SECOND ROUND (best-of-seven; all times local):
(x - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
EDMONTON (1) vs. BRANDON (7)
Season series: Edmonton, 3-1-0; Brandon, 1-2-1.
Thursday: Brandon at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Saturday: Brandon at Edmonton, noon
Tuesday, April 8: Edmonton at Brandon, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9: Edmonton at Brandon, 7 p.m.
x-Friday, April 11: Brandon at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
x-Monday, April 14: Edmonton at Brandon, 7 p.m.
x-Wednesday, April 16: Brandon at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Edmonton: F Brandon Baddock, 3-5 weeks; D Blake Orban, indefinite; F Reid Petryk, day-to-day.
Brandon: None.
---
MEDICINE HAT (4)/SWIFT CURRENT (5) vs. KOOTENAY (6)
Season series: Medicine Hat, 3-3-0; Kootenay, 3-3-0.
Season series: Swift Current, 1-2-1; Kootenay, 3-1-0.
Dates to be announced.
INJURIES
Kootenay: F Tim Bozon, indefinite; F Ryan Chynoweth, indefinite; D Tyler King, day-to-day; D Tanner Faith, 3-5 months.
---
WESTERN CONFERENCE
KELOWNA 1 vs. SEATTLE (4)
Season series: Kelowna, 2-1-1; Seattle, 2-1-1.
Thursday: Seattle at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday: Seattle at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Tuesday, April 8: Kelowna at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9: Kelowna at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
x-Friday, April 11: Seattle at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
x-Sunday, April 13: Kelowna at Seattle, 5:05 p.m.
x-Tuesday, April 15: Seattle at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
(NOTE: Seattle plays home games in Kent, Wash.)
INJURIES
Kelowna: F Myles Bell, day-to-day; D Jesse Lees, indefinite.
Seattle: F Connor Honey, indefinite.
---
PORTLAND (2) vs. VICTORIA (3)
(Series televised by Shaw-TV)
Season series: Portland, 1-1-2; Victoria, 3-1-0.
Friday: Victoria at Portland (Veterans Memorial Coliseum), 7 p.m.
Saturday: Victoria at Portland (Moda Center), 7 p.m.
Monday, April 7: Portland at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
Tuesday, April 8: Portland at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
x-Thursday, April 10: Victoria at Portland (Moda Center), 7, p.m.
x-Saturday, April 12: Portland at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
x-Monday, April 14: Victoria at Portland (Veterans Memorial Coliseum), 7 p.m.
INJURIES
Portland: None.
Victoria: None.
---
SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Medicine Hat, F Chad Butcher scored his third goal of the series, and his third game-winner, as the Tigers dropped the Swift Current Broncos, 4-1. . . . The Tigers lead the series 3-2 -- yes, Butcher has all three of his club’s game-winners -- and can wrap it up tonight in Swift Current. . . . Butcher, who is from Kamloops, went into these playoffs with eight goals in 101 regular-season games, including six goals in 63 games this season. . . . Butcher and F Jaedon Descheneau of the Kootenay Ice lead the playoffs, each with three GWG. . . . After a scoreless first period, the Tigers got a second-period goal from F Trevor Cox, who finished with two goals and an assist. . . . Medicine Hat then took control with goals 64 seconds apart early in the third period by Butcher (2:26) and Cox (3:30). . . . F Nate Burns scored for the Broncos at 10:18, on the PP. . . . The Tigers got an empty-netter from Cole Sanford as time ran out. . . . Sanford also had two assists, as did teammate Dylan Bredo. . . . The battle of the European goaltenders continued, as Medicine Hat’s Marek Langhamer stopped 45 shots, five more than Eetu Laurikainen of the Broncos. . . . The Broncos were 1-for-2 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-for-2.
In Cranbrook, the Calgary Hitmen simply couldn’t contain the Kootenay forward duo of Jaedon Descheneau and Sam Reinhart again, as the Ice scored a 4-1 victory and won the first-round series in six games. . . . The Hitmen had finished the regular-season with 103 points, 20 more than the Ice. Calgary went in as the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed; the Ice were No. 6. . . . Descheneau and Reinhart each scored 17 points in the six games. They are tied for the lead in the WHL postseason scoring race. . . . Last night, Descheneau scored three times, giving him a WHL-leading seven goals, and added an assist, while Reinhart had three assists. . . . The Ice scored the game’s first three goals, before F Brady Brassart got Calgary on the board at 4:28 of the third period. . . . Descheneau got that one back, on the PP, at 11:02. . . . Calgary head coach Mike Williamson pulled G Chris Driedger for the extra attacker with about four minutes to play. Descheneau promptly hit a post, and the Hitmen went down the ice and got a goal from F Adam Tambellini, his fifth, to get to within two. . . . Just 1:12 later, Calgary F Radel Fazleev scored to cut the deficit to 4-3. . . . However, Descheneau got his third goal of the night into an empty net with 36.9 seconds left. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin stopped 36 shots, five more than Driedger. . . . Kootenay was 1-for-5 on the PP; Calgary was 0-for-4. . . . Ice F Tim Bozon, who spent the last month in Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon battling meningitis, took part in a ceremonial faceoff. The Calgary players came off the bench to shake Bozon’s hand. . . . Attendance was announced at 3,917, the largest crowd in Cranbrook since April 4, 2007, when the Hitmen beat the Ice 3-2 in Game 7 of a first-round series. The attendance that night was 4,654.
In Kent, Wash., F Branden Troock scored twice and G Taran Kozun stopped 24 shots to lead the host Seattle Thunderbirds to a 5-0 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The Thunderbirds, the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference, next will meet the No. 1 Kelowna Rockets. Last season, these teams met in a first-round series that Kelowna won in seven games, with five of the games needing OT. The Rockets won the first three games of that series, only to have the Thunderbirds come back to win the next three. . . . F Scott Eansor scored the game’s first goal last night, his third of the series, at 12:59 of the second period. He scored three goals in 52 games in the regular season. . . . Kozun is seeing his first career playoff action in this series. This was his first shutout. He went 2.27, .927 in the five games. . . . The Thunderbirds hadn’t won a playoff series since the spring of 2008. They lost in the first round last season, missed the playoffs each of the three seasons before that, and were ousted in the first round in 2009. . . . Seattle F Mitch Eliot, 20, had a goal and an assist, his first career playoff points in 12 games. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz stopped 26 shots. . . . The Silvertips were without two of their top four defencemen, as Noah Juulsen and Cole MacDonald both were out with undisclosed injuries. Juulsen was injured in Game 3, while MacDonald went down in Game 4. . . . By the way, it’s worth listening to Seattle play-by-play man Thom Beuning, just to hear his line -- “You can’t handle the Troock!” -- on the occasions when Troock scores.
---
From Kootenay Ice F Tim Bozon(@timbozon94): “Unforgettable night at the ice game tonite! Thank you so much everyone for great support was good to see everyone! Great win #goice”
---
From Kootenay Ice F Jaedon Descheneau (@jdescheneau14): “Unforgettable night watching Timmy walk onto the ice. Brought a tear to my eye knowing how far he came since that night Love ya @timbozon94”
---
From WHL Facts (@WHLFacts): “4 - In the 7 years since the WHL began the 1-8 format, the 7 has upset the 2 four times in the East. The 7s won a total of 4 games out West.”
There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
Posts
