Moose Jaw Warriors goalie Thomas Heemskerk left practice early Wednesday after taking a shot off of the top of the knee where he had no padding. It was just a precautionary move and he will start Friday in Regina.
With three games in three nights back-up goalie Brandon Stone may get a game this weekend, but it will likely depend on how the results play themselves out.
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On the injury front, Dave Hunchak said 20-year-old centre Brendan Rowinski could be available “possibly Saturday” for the first time this season. Joey Kornelsen was wearing a yellow jersey at practice against Thursday and is day-to-day but unlikely to play Friday in Regina.
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In case you were wondering . . . the Warriors have had a red third jersey for sale for weeks, but they have yet to wear them. The reason? The trades right before the regular season started began a series of number changes. The Warriors are waiting for a shipment of third jerseys with a couple of new numbers before they can wear them.
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Speaking of third jerseys, the Saskatoon Blades will wear a ‘denim’ third jersey on Nov. 12 against Portland to honour the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Canadian Finals.
You can see a rendering of them here: http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Pass-or-Fail-Saskatoon-Blades-rodeo-inspired-d?urn=nhl-281741
and judge for yourself.
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Moose Jaw General Bryden Serafini made his WHL debut a week ago with the Regina Pats. Serafini attended Warriors training camp this year, but was dropped from the Warriors list weeks into the midget AAA season. Serafini wasn’t out in the wildness long before the Pats scooped him up.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound 16-year-old left winger from Baldwinton, Sask. has
a goal and an assist in 10 games to go along with 20 penalty minutes with the Generals to date.
Speaking of former local midget AAAs, Dyson Stevenson of the Pats scored his first WHL goal in the Pats 11-1 drubbing at the hands of the Spokane Chiefs.
“From Day 1 I’ve been wanting to get that goal,” Stevenson told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post. “We were down 7-0 and it finally came. I couldn’t even really get excited for that. I know it’s my first goal but I’m not going to go out there and celebrate (under the circumstances). It would have been a lot better if we were winning, that’s for sure.”
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In news from around the league, Jeff Bosch has solidified his hold as the Kamloops Blazers’ starting goalie. The Blazers traded Jon Groenhyde,19, to the Edmonton Oil Kings for 18-year-old goalie Cam Lanigan Thursday.
Bosch had started five of the Blazers last six games after Groenhyde had earned a lot of action as Bosch got over the ankle injury he picked up during the pre-season in Moose Jaw.
Bosch is 7-3 with a .883 save percentage and a 3.88 goals-against-average so far.
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Also the defending league champions in Calgary may be overdue for a rebuilding season, but their brass don’t believe that junior hockey is necessary cyclical.
Hitmen general manager Kelly Kisio peeled some paint in the Saddledome after the Hitmen’s seventh straight loss Tuesday.
“We don’t lose here in Calgary,” Hitmen veteran Cody Beach told Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun when asked for the Cole’s Notes version of Kisio’s rant.
“We’re a winning team. This is not a rebuilding year. This team has to make the playoffs every year.
“And we’re not satisfied with anything but winning.”
At 4-11, the Hitmen own the worst record in the WHL.
