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| Shane McColgan (Steve Hiscock) |
Shane McColgan (NYR 2011 5th) and his Saskatoon Blades were looking to tie a franchise record when they hosted the Moose Jaw Warriors on Wednesday night. With the Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper looking on; the Blades went after their 13th straight win which would tie the franchise record set back during the 1987-1988 season.
It wasn't easy as Moose Jaw played a strong game holding the Blades to just 1 goal over the 1st two periods. In the 3rd, it wasn't until the middle of the period before the Blades broke through scoring 2 even strength goals 33 seconds apart to go up 3-1.
The Blades would add an empty net goal to make it 4-1 but then things sadly turned ugly on the next shift. One of the Moose Jaw players went after Josh Nicholls and that meant time for a scrum.
McColgan got tangled up with one of the Moose Jaw players which earned him a 10 minute misconduct ending his evening a little early. McColgan was scoreless as he had gotten into a pattern of fight, very good game, somewhat fight and hopefully it means a big game again.
The 5-1 win also helped keep Saskatoon's lead over Prince Albert at 4 as Prince Albert also won on Wednesday evening.
In Edmonton, the Oil Kings who have the best power play as well as the best penalty kill in the WHL saw both fail them in a 3-2 loss to the Regina Pats. The Pats scored 2 power play goals while shutting out the Oil Kings on 4 power play attempts.
Michael St. Croix (NYR 2011 4th) was held scoreless while Griffin Reinhart (NYI 2012 1st) had a secondary assist on Edmonton's 2nd goal for his 16th assist of the season and 22nd point.
The Oil Kings jumped on a bus after the game to start a 5 game road trip that will include a stop in Portland Oregon next Wednesday which depending on your point of view will be a rematch of the 2012 WHL Finals or a preview of the 2013 WHL Finals.
Playoff Bound
While most of the teams in the CHL had the night off, Wednesday wound being the day where several teams clinched a spot in their league playoffs. Here is the updated list of prospects and their teams.
QMJHL
Baie-Comeau Drakkar- Samuel Noreau (NYR 2011 5th)
OHL
Barrie Colts- Mitchell Theoret (NYI 2011 7th)
WHL
Edmonton Oil Kings- Michael St. Croix (NYR 2011 4th) Griffin Reinhart (NYI 2012 1st)
Spokane Chiefs- Brenden Kichton (NYI 2011 5th)
Still Waiting
Adam Pelech (NYI 2012 3rd) is still waiting to find out if he will be suspended for the 2nd time this season by the OHL league office. Pelech was called for a cross-checking major during Monday's game against the London Knights.
Pelech was suspended for 4 games after being called for a kneeing major in a game against Saginaw on January 23rd. Considering that less than a month has gone by since returning to the Erie lineup; it would be a major surprise if Pelech is not suspended.
Take a read PLEASE
Remember the Spring/Summer of 2011? You know when Derek Boogaard, Wade Belak and Rick Rypien all died and for a brief few moments the subject of Depression came out and the world at least stopped long enough to notice the word before going back whatever else was going on.
A young tennis player by the name of Rebecca Marino is at age 22 walking away from the sport for the 2nd time because of her battles with the disorder. This is a talented young lady who Venus Williams once said about her "Now I know what it’s like to play myself.”
Yet can anyone say what the hockey world has done differently since that horrible hat trick? I know I can't and I really doubt you can either. Yet we all know someone who is suffering from depression whether it is a close friend or a family member.
Did you see the list of top athletes who acknowledged that they too have suffered from depression? Some may not have surprised you but I know others sure did. Isn't it time we stop hiding from a problem that causes a lot of pain for the individual who is suffering from depression as well as their loved ones?
I am no tennis fan but I do hope Rebecca Marino can find happiness in her life away from the tennis world.
And in the same article there was something that really bother me and that was the ugly head of racism/cyberbullying. If you are not white in the hockey world then it opens the door for those cowards who hide behind their computers and type their trash.
One of the people mentioned was Sunaya Sapurji who covers junior hockey for Yahoo. I had the privilege of meeting her at the 2010 draft in Los Angeles and she happens to be one of the smartest people I have met in hockey.
But cowards see her name or the color of her skin and think it is license to trash her. I call them cowards because 95% of them don't have the courage to say to someone's face.
Wonderful world we live in where with a flip of a switch, the keys on a keyboard and all of a sudden it is like watching a Popeye cartoon right after he eats his spinach. That is what I call "Internet Courage" because take away that power and watch how quickly these types crawl back under the same sewers.
(Huge S/T to my friend Neate Sager for sharing this on Facebook)
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