Chiefs’ Sawyer Suspended
The toughest part of the Spokane Chiefs’ February schedule got tougher Tuesday when the Western Hockey League suspended Kevin Sawyer for three games.
Sawyer, the Chiefs’ left wing and captain, was suspended for “conduct unacceptable to an official” stemming from an incident in Sunday night’s 6-1 loss to the Prince Albert Raiders.
The announcement out of the WHL office in Calgary did not specify what the conduct was. Chiefs coach Mike Babcock would not elaborate.
Sawyer’s suspension starts with tonight’s Coliseum date with the Tacoma Rockets and includes Friday night’s game at Kamloops and the Saturday night rematch with Kamloops at home.
The Chiefs are also without John Shockey, who suffered a hand injury in Sunday night’s game.
Shockey peppered the helmet of a Prince Albert player during a fight, suffering cuts and a possible fractured hand.
The Chiefs are expected to recall defenseman Rob Sandrock to fill the vacancy.
Let’s be just like the …
Ottawa Senators?
When the Prince George Cougars move into their new building next fall, they’ll introduce a new look.
Their colors will be patterned after the color scheme of the Ottawa Senators.
If that seems like a strange step in tradition building, at least it’s a realistic fit. Ottawa, at 2-9-2, owns the NHL’s worst record. The Prince George Cougars (14-42-3) are the Ottawa Senators of the WHL.
And he left the 7-10 split …
The shoulder injury that shelved Chiefs rookie defenseman Ryan Berry for the year a couple of weeks ago came out of a Sponsor’s Night activity at the Coliseum.
Berry was injured while participating in Human Bowling, a promotional event where the participant slides along the ice and uses his body to knock down plastic pins.
It’s a between-period feature with fans at Chiefs games.
“Was it controllable? Probably,” Babcock said. “Should we have controlled it? I don’t know.”
There are lots of ways to get hurt. Almost every activity carries a remote potential for injury.
Still, it’s a safe bet that if Human Bowling is part of next year’s Sponsor’s Night, it won’t include players.
Chiefs check …
Sawyer signed with the St. Louis Blues Saturday for what his Calgary agent Art Breeze said was a three-year deal with an upside value of $1.3 million (Canadian). Breeze said the deal includes a “hefty” signing bonus and provisions for Sawyer’s education. Sawyer, who turned 21 Saturday, set the club record for penalty minutes last week, passing Kerry Toporowski, who served 889 minutes in two seasons. This is Sawyer’s third season … Next for Jason Podollan in his trip up the Chiefs’ all-time goalscoring ladder is the No. 6 spot shared by Steve Junker and Ryan Duthie , who scored 106 goals. Podollan is at 103. Pat Falloon is the club’s career goal-scoring leader with 146 … Podollan is on a seven-game scoring streak … The Chiefs finished 9-9 against teams from the WHL East Division … Jared Hope took a slash to the throat Sunday at the Canada Winter Games in Grande Prairie, Alberta. The rookie center missed Monday’s game in the under-17 competition but hoped to rejoin the Alberta team Tuesday night … Asked what the Chiefs have to do to beat Tacoma tonight, Babcock said, “Everything we didn’t do against Prince Albert.” … The Chiefs have 13 regular-season games left, including four with Prince George and three with Kamloops.
Around the WHL …
Portland Winter Hawks coach Brent Peterson was suspended four games and fined $1,000 for a confrontation with referee Steve Lemay in Tacoma on Feb. 11. Peterson confronted the referee as he made his way to the dressing room and had to be restrained by security guards. The Winter Hawks were also instructed to post a $2,500 bond to ensure that a similar incident does not occur during the remainder of the season or in 1995-96.