BCHL Bulletin, Coastal Conference, Interior Conference, NHL, U SPORTS

BCHL Today: Six score first BCHL goals, Sigalet hangs ’em up, and more

Written by Brian Wiebe on

Coquitlam vs. Surrey first career BCHL goals

Surrey left winger Rocco La Cara, who calls Vancouver home, tallied his first career BCHL goal and it was the Eagles’ first of the night in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Coquitlam Express on Wednesday.

The 2003-born forward’s landmark goal comes in his fifth career BCHL game. He had one assist heading into the game after putting up a helper in five exhibition games last fall.

Alberni Valley vs. Victoria first career BCHL goals

2002-born defenseman Nicholas O’Hanisain‘s first BCHL goal 5:54 into the third period helped spark a comeback for the Victoria Grizzlies in Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime win against Alberni Valley.

The native of Troy, Michigan was playing his third game with the Grizzlies after getting into six during the exhibition season, where he finished with one goal.

Chilliwack vs. Merritt first career BCHL goals

With 11:15 left in the third period against Merritt on Wednesday, Chilliwack forward Liam Tanner scored his first BCHL goal and Chiefs’ third of the game in a 5-4 loss to the Centennials.

The 2003-born product of Langley scored 23 goals and 48 points in 40 games last season with the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds U18 of the BC U18 League.

Salmon Arm vs. Vernon first career BCHL goals

Vernon Vipers forward and Brown University commit Zack Tonelli couldn’t have picked a better time to score his first career BCHL goal.

The 2002-born native of Armonk, New York notched the milestone goal 3:51 into three-on-three overtime as the Vipers edged Salmon Arm 6-5 on Wednesday afternoon. It came in his seventh BCHL game.

He is a veteran of 42 career BCHL games, but 2001-born Salmon Arm defenseman Kieran Ruscheinski hadn’t managed to score a goal until Wednesday’s game against Vernon.

The 2019 seventh-round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens found the back of the net 8:47 into the first period for his first goal in the BC Hockey League.

Silverbacks forward Danny Ciccarello managed to score five goals in 13 games during the exhibition season last fall but was scoreless through four games in the pod season heading into Wednesday’s game.

The 2001-born RPI commit changed that in a hurry as he posted back-to-back goals for Salmon Arm, the first at 15:36 of the first period and the second at the 7:03 mark of the second period.

Boivin parts ways with Swedish club MODO Hockey

Defenseman Michael Boivin (13 goals, 23 assists in 82 games with Penticton and Nanaimo from 2007-09) has left MODO of HockeyAllsvenskan, which is the second tier of pro hockey in Sweden.

Boivin, a 30-year-old from Delta, BC, had a goal and 13 points in 21 games with MODO this past season, his sixth full campaign in Europe.

Sigalet retires to start coaching career

Defenseman Jonathan Sigalet (13 goals, 39 assists in 52 games with Salmon Arm in 2002-03) has retired from Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League.

The 35-year-old from Vancouver played the last six-and-a-half seasons in Sweden, including parts of four seasons with Frölunda.

Sigalet plans to pursue a coaching career in hockey back in North America.

Hirose assigned from Detroit to Grand Rapids

Forward Taro Hirose (33 goals, 88 assists in 116 games with Salmon Arm from 2014-16) was assigned by the Detroit Red Wings to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.

Hirose, 24, has two assists in six games with the Red Wings this season. He also posted three goals and 14 points in 13 games with Grand Rapids.

Prowse heads east to McGill University this fall

Defenseman Mitchell Prowse (no points in one game with Penticton in 2015-16) has committed to play U SPORTS hockey at McGill University this fall.

The 2000-born blueliner spent the last five seasons in the Western Hockey League, including a dozen games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 2020-21.

He has nine goals and 84 points in 251 career WHL games with Victoria and Lethbridge.

Three stars of the night ⭐⭐⭐

First Star: Trail goaltender Logan Terness stopped 40 shots, including 18 in the second period, in a 3-2 win over Penticton.

Second Star: Vernon forward JoJo Tanaka-Campbell had two goals and an assist in a 6-5 overtime win against Salmon Arm.

Third Star: Coquitlam forward Keeton Oakley posted a pair of goals as well as an assist in the Express’s 4-3 overtime victory versus Surrey.

Honourable Mentions: Silverbacks forward Danny Ciccarello and Bulldogs forward Lukas Jirousek each potted a pair of goals.