WHL Announces Suspensions and Fine
RUSSELL LIGHTING IT UP FOR ICE – At the start of the 2004-05 Western Hockey League season, nobody thought the Kootenay Ice had the personnel to be one of the league’s elite teams. In fact, many though the Ice would struggle to make the playoffs in a highly competitive B.C. division.
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rHowever, the Ice have proved everyone wrong by being one of the most dominant teams in the league through the first three-and-a-half months season. Much of Kootenay’s success can be credited to the strength of their youth – including sophomore forward Ryan Russell.
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r”We have a great group of guys and knew we could be a contender,” said Russell, a product of Caroline, AB. “We used (pre-season predictions) as motivation and, so far, it’s been going good, so we have to keep it up.”
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rThe 17-year-old Russell has been a key cog in the Ice juggernaut. Russell, a gifted goal-scorer, has already lit the lamp 21 times in 46 games this season after netting just three goals in 67 games as a rookie last year.
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r”I think I’ve come along over the last year,” said Russell, who also credits teammate Nigel Dawes as an inspiration by showing him that a player of smaller stature can be a force in the WHL.
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r”I’ve got a lot more confidence being in my second year,” he said. “I’m playing a bit bigger of a role on the team which has helped me put up more points.
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r”But, there’s always room for improvement,” he added.
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rHis contributions to the Ice are evident in the fact that he became this season’s first two-time winner of the WHL Player of the Week award, earning the award for his performance last weekend as well as receiving the honor back in mid-November.
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r”It’s really special,” he said about the honor. “Especially since we were winning, too.”
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rWhile his Kootenay teammates certainly know his worth, Russell, who is eligible for the 2005 NHL entry draft, is hoping his strong play this season will get the attention of NHL scouts.
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r”You always want to be able to put up numbers,” said Russell. “But, the numbers will come as a result of the team playing well.
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r”I think if we can continue playing solid, hopefully my stock will go up a bit,” said the 5’9, 160-pound center.
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rOf course, Ryan isn’t the only Russell sibling enjoying a breakout, WHL campaign. His twin brother Kris, a sophomore rearguard with the Medicine Hat Tigers, is also enjoying a stellar season and currently leads all Western Hockey League defencemen with 20 goals and is tied for the lead with 47 points.
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rThe two can’t help but have a bit of a friendly rivalry when it comes to putting pucks in the net.
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r”Kris gave it to me pretty good at the start of the season when he was ahead of me,” said Russell. “Maybe I’ll have to give it to him a bit more now that I’ve caught up to him and passed him.”
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rWith Russell and his Kootenay cohorts currently battling for first overall, and with his brother’s Medicine Hat team being the defending WHL champions and a strong contender again this season, it’s not entirely out of the question that the two teams could possibly meet in this year’s finals.
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r”Yeah, that would be pretty neat,” he said of the prospect of the two battling it out for WHL supremacy. “Except, we’d have to win because Kris already has his championship.”
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rJesse Watts
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rWHL KEY PERFORMERS
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rRyan Russell, Kootenay Ice – Russell has scored five goals and seven points in his last two games – both wins for Kootenay. He netted a hat trick versus Tri-City last Saturday. Click here to view goal-scoring leaders.
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rJonathan Filewich, Lethbridge Hurricanes – Filewich has scored six goals and seven points in his last three games, helping the âCanes to a 1-1-1 record. He netted four goals in a win over Brandon on Wednesday. Click here to view scoring leaders.
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rRoman Wick, Red Deer Rebels – He has scored two goals and 10 points in his last five games. Wick leads all WHL rookies in scoring. Click here for rookie scoring leaders.
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rBrent Seabrook, Lethbridge Hurricanes – Seabrook has six assists and a plus-six rating in his last three games. He currently ranks fifth among WHL defencemen in scoring. Click here for defencemen leaders.
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rMatt Keetley, Medicine Hat Tigers – Keetley is 2-0 with a 0.5 GAA and one shutout in his last two starts. He has allowed only one goal on 48 shots during that span. Click here for goaltending leaders.
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rTHE PLAYER’S PERSPECTIVE
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rThe 2004-05 Western Hockey League season has just passed the halfway point and the Red Deer Rebels find themselves right in the thick of the battle in an incredibly tough Central division.
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rOne of the key contributors to the Rebels’ continued success has been the outstanding offensive play of 20-year-old forward Ty Morris. Morris, a native of Millet, Alberta, came to the Rebels at the end of October from the Vancouver Giants and has been one of the most consistent Rebels skaters since.
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rThe 6’0, 200-pound winger will be an important factor for the Rebels as they try and secure a playoff spot down the stretch.
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rTy Morris’ Perspective
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rOn becoming a Red Deer Rebelâ¦
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râIt’s been a good opportunity for me to move closer to home and work under a coach with the credentials of Mr. Sutter. The guys on the team are great, and they’ve welcomed me. So far, it’s paying off.â?
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rOn his stellar play with line mates Roman Wick and Colin Fraserâ¦
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râWhenever you get to play with the caliber of players like those two guys, obviously you’re going to start producing. I was just fortunate enough to get put on a line with them, and it’s been greatâ?
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rOn moving back to Alberta from B.Câ¦
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râIt’s great. I love the townâ¦they always support us. It’s pretty much like being home for me so it gives you a good feeling of security.â?
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rOn the Rebels’ drive for the playoffs in a tough Central divisionâ¦
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râI think we need to make sure we’re really buckling down on defence. We also need to capitalize on our opportunities, and also get our power play back on track. If we can shore up these areas, we should be successful.â?
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rNACHBAUER NOTCHES 250th WIN
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rSEATTLE (CP) _ Tri-City coach Don Nachbaur won his 250th game as a head coach in the Western Hockey League when the Tri-City Americans scored four straight second period goals to rout the Seattle Thunderbirds 8-1 on Wednesday.
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rIt was fitting that Nachbaur won get the milestone in Seattle. Nachbaur, 250-222-55 in his WHL career, won 201 of those games as the Seattle head coach from 1994-2000.
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rTri-City had eight different players score in the game to beat Seattle for the first time in eight tries this season.
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rIan McDonald, Dylan Stanley, Luke Hewitt, Logan Stephenson, Andy Thompson, Jason Beeman, Shaun Vey and Aaron Boogaard all scored goals for the Americans.
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rChris Durand had the lone goal for Seattle, a short-handed goal that tied the score at 1 in the first period.
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rTri-City outshot Seattle 36-30 in the game and Carey Price made 29 saves for the Americans.
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rThe loss is the third straight for Seattle at home and drops the U.S. Division-leading T-birds to 32-14-0-1 on the season. Tri-City improves to 15-21-5-2 and ties Spokane for fourth place in the division.
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r Swift Current Big Brothers/Big Sisters Honor the Broncos
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rFor the second year in a row The Swift Current Broncos are honored to announce that the Swift Current Big Brothers/Big Sisters selected the Broncos as one of four recipients’ of the Darrell Weber Award for 2004. Broncos Public Relations Coordinator, Garrett Zimmerman was on hand last night at the Swift Current Big Brothers/Big Sisters Annual General Meeting to accept the award on behalf of the team.
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rThe Darrell Weber Award recognizes outstanding contribution by individuals/and or businesses to the promotion and well being of Swift Current Big Brothers/Big Sisters. The Broncos have been actively involved for the past 4 years with a number of players participating in the Big Bunch Friendship Program. The program involves various activities for Little Brothers and Sisters as they wait to be paired with a Big Brother or Sister. A group of Bronco players volunteer their time 2-3 times every month during the WHL season to participate in the program and act as positive role models for the children. This season Jason Fransoo, Michael Hengen, Donny Lloyd, Michael Szczachor, Brady Leavold, and Trevor Peeters have all donated their time to the program.
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râThe Swift Current Broncos are very honored to have been chosen as a recipient of the Darrell Weber Award. As an organization, we feel it is important to help make a difference in our community. It is rewarding to see the positive impact that is made through our players taking part in the Big Bunch Program,â? Public Relations Coordinator Garrett Zimmerman added, âThe Broncos have worked closely with Big Brothers/Big Sisters for several years, and the organization, along with the players are honored to have been recognized for our efforts.â?
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rThe Broncos were the sole recipients of the Darrell Weber award for 2003.
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rWHL THIS WEEK – RADIO EDITION
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rThe 17th episode of the “THE WHL THIS WEEK, RADIO EDITION”, is now available in the downloads section of the league media site at www.whl.ca/media or by clicking on “THE WEEK THIS WEEK, RADIO EDITION” icon on the right side of the www.whl.ca homepage.
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r “THE WHL THIS WEEK, RADIO EDITION” is a weekly look around the Western Hockey League with host Terry Doyle. The broadcast version is a CD quality .mp3 file that is roughly 3 MB.
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r On this week’s show, Terry talks to Kelowna Rockets’ Captain Brett Palin on the team success this season. Terry also talks to Lethbridge forward Jonathan Filewich about the Hurricanes season to date with the team leading the tough WHL Central Division. In our feature interview, Terry talks to former WHL Calgary Centennial and former New York Ranger goaltender John Davidson on Coaching at the 2005 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and his days in the Western Hockey League.
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