October 1999

Marquette hopes to turn Mills around
by Kevin Parnell
October 3, 1999
When Dale Marquette stepped behind the bench of the Quesnel Millionaires this weekend, it wasn't his first time coaching in the Twin Ice Arenas.
Marquette made regular trips here as coach of the Prince George Spruce Kings, but took to the home side bench for the first time, fittingly, against those same Kings.
Marquette has the chore of turning around a Millionaire team that entered the weekend with just a single win against seven losses.
"The biggest thing I can say is the players, up to this point, have been very committed to hard work and they've all indicated they want to win and they are prepared to take on the challenge," said Marquette following three solid workouts this week.
Marquette can no doubt relate to the junior players he now coaches. He has been there himself.
At 15, Marquette played for Lethbridge of the WHL, after playing his minor hockey in Prince George. After two years with Lethbridge, the team moved to Swift Current where Marquette was traded to the Brandon Wheat Kings. Remarkably, he was traded by then coach and general manager, and now convicted pedophile Graham James, for Sheldon Kennedy, the player who put a face on sexual abuse in junior hockey.
Meanwhile, Marquette was putting up big numbers with Brandon. He had 41 and 52 goal seasons and had one 100 point year, good enough to get him drafted by Chicago. After three years in the Blackhawks' system, Marquette had had enough and headed back to Prince George.
"Two years later, I made a decision I was going to go back and play so I trained all summer," said Marquette. "but when it came right down to it, I had more things on the go, I was married with a house, so I took an assistant coaching job with the Spruce Kings. After the first game of the season, I was named head coach."
Marquette immediately had an impact, winning back-to-back coach of the year awards with the Spruce Kings in the RMJHL.
In 1995-96, he moved on to the WHL's Prince George Cougars as an assistant and took over as head man after 17 games. A new general manager brought in a new coach after that season, and Marquette was out of a job.
An off-year was followed by last year's stint back behind the Spruce Kings bench. He opted not to return to that team in the off-season.
Since taking over the Mills, Marquette has been focussing on getting his players in better game condition. Along with intense practices, players will begin hitting the gym twice a week to work on conditioning. "I like to have a team that's going to compete for 60 minutes and a team that's well known for its conditioning level. You can win a lot of hockey games just being conditioned. And it just doesn't go as far as your heart rate, when you're in good shape, your mind works better too."
Twenty year old forward Rob Simnor says the change has been excellent. "He's an awesome coach. This is the best thing that Quesnel has done in the BCHL," Simnor said. "The practices are intense but it will carry over into the game. We're going to love to hate practices. It's going to be like a reward to step on the ice for a game."
Getting the players to buy into his system is key to Marquette's plan. If they do, this team should get better and better as the season goes on.

Mills cut Reid, Wilson
by Kevin Parnell
October 03, 1999
The Quesnel Millionaires have released forward Brian Reid and defenseman John Wilson to make room for two defenseman.
Veteran Craig Tresierra is now injury free and has been signed while offensive defenseman Colin Lloyd, aquired from Nanaimo (Powell River), was also signed.
The team still has three goalies as newcomer Bill Dick remains unsigned after practicing with the team this week.

BCHL player, coaches suspended
by Kevin Parnell
October 07, 1999
The BC Amateur Hockey Association had handed down three hefty suspensions to two BCHL coaches and one player.
The suspensions came following a line brawl between Surrey and Langley on September 18th.
Langley General Manager and head coach Rick Lanz was given a five game suspension, while Langley player Ryan Hollweg was suspended six games.
Surrey coach Mark Hollick was given a four game suspension.
"The player [Hollweg] pushed away an official after the official broke up a fight he was in," said BCHL president Ron Boileau. "The two coaching combatants were verbally abusing each other and the linesman got in between abd was pushed around a bit."
The BCAHA handed down the suspensions because the incident involved officials. They were the first suspensions in the BCHL this year.

Millionaires gain single point from weekend
by Kevin Parnell
October 07, 1999
The effort was there, but the results didn't show up for the Quesnel Millionaires on the weekend, as they dropped a pair of games, and fell to 1-8-and-1 in the BCHL.
The Mills lost a heartbreaker Saturday night to Merritt, dropping a 3-2 decision in a shoot-out after tying the game with just nine seconds to play.
The tie in regulation gave the club its lone point of the weekend, but their play may have done more than the point.
"I thought we definitely played well enough to win against a tough Merritt team," said head coach Dale Marquette. "Merritt came in 5 and 2 and coming off a win against Vernon. It gave us an indication of what we're capable of."
On Friday, the Mills jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Prince George, but couldn't get the second goal, and squandered the early lead, eventually losing 5-2.
"We started all right, but we seemed to play a little tight," said Marquette. "We worked hard but didn't get a whole lot accomplished. We spent a lot of the night chasing, instead of being chased."
Following the Prince George game, Marquette closed the dressing room and met with his players.
Although he wouldn't comment on what was said, the new coach did say he wants more out of his veterans.
"I think it's important that our older players lead the way and I thought some of our older guys were waiting for someone else to take charge," he said.
The biggest problem facing the Millionaires is goal scoring. In 10 games, they've scored just 27 goals, worst in the BCHL.
"I thought we missed a lot of scoring opportunities," Marquette said. "We missed the net a ton. The mist we've scored since I've been here is three goals."
Much of the scoring is expected to be coming from the veterans. Nick Udovicic (5G) has been solid most of the season and Rob Simnor (3G) is playing the best hockey of the year under Marquette.
But Adrian Paolinelli is still looking for his first goal of the season as is highly touted 20-year-old Kelly Riou.
Injuries to Paul Kelley (just four games) and newcomer Reid Litster have also hampered the Mills' offensive output.
Quesnel will host South Surrey Friday night and Trail Saturday.

Mills release Schultz; local tender to try out for Prince George
by Kevin Parnell
October 10, 1999
The Quesnel Millionaires have shuffled the deck as Coach and General Manager Dale Marquette continues to try and turn the club's season around, and one of the players on the way out is local goaltender Dean Schultz.
The Mills released Schultz, along with forward Craig Reid on a tumultuous Thursday for the Junior Hockey Club.
Schultz's release followed the young goalies' trade demand last month.
Schultz asked to be dealt after goaltender Bill Dick arrived in Quesnel from the Kamoops Blazers of the WHL.
Dick's arrival meant the team had three goalies in camp, and Schultz felt it was better for him to play elsewhere.
Schultz, who declined to comment when reached on Thursday, is expected to work out for Prince George this week.
The Spruce Kings are having goalie problems of their own, as 20-year-old Joe Gallant walked out on the team Wednesday, for what Kings' coach Glen Watson termed "personal problems."
Watson said Schultz will be given the opportunity to make the Kings. "I think he has the potential," Watson said Thursday. "I'm not sure what the circumstances were (in Quesnel), but we told the kid we'd give him a look."
Along with Dick, the Millionaires signed Travis Jeck from Sicamous of the junior B circuit.
The six-foot-two, 195 pound Jeck was a late cut from the Spruce Kings this season after playing midget in Prince George last season. He was Sicamous' leading scorer and adds much needed size to the line-up.
Weak goaltending plagued the Mills earlier this season, but both Schultz and Jason Montgomery had picked up their play of late as the team concentrated on lowering their goals against.
The 18-year old Dick, who had a strong training camp in Kamloops, will likely get the opportunity to grab the number one job.
"Billy is a good stand up goalie, he's a good kid who's very solid mentally," said Blazers manager Mike Moore. "We believe Billy is a guy that could play in this league (WHL), but depth wise he got shuffled. He certainly has the ability to play in our league and going to Quesnel is a good step in that quest."
The release of Craig Reid means the Reid cousins, who were impressive in the preseason but have had trouble adapting to the faster and bigger players of the BCHL, are both gone.
Both Bryan and Craig played in the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League last season, and Ken and Brad Gassoff were high on the tandem in training camp.
Some within the Mills organization felt Craig, last year's rookie of the year in the RMJHL, and the more talented of the cousins, may not have been given enough time to adapt to the BCHL, but with the team earning only one win in its first ten games, Marquette decided to cut the speedy player loose.
The Millionaires will head out on the road this week with a Thursday night game in Prince George before hosting the Victoria Salsa on Saturday evening.

Mills 1-and-1 on roller coaster weeekend Quesnel blown out Friday; win in overtime Saturday
by Kevin Parnell
October 13, 1999
The Quesnel Millionaires escaped from the weekend with two out of a possible four points, but it could have, and in fact, should have been worse.
The Mills pulled off a remarkable come-from-behind-win Saturday night, beating a tired Trail team 6-5 in Overtime, in a game in which they needed a tying goal with just 0.1 seconds remaining in the third period to force the extra session.
Quesnel minor hockey product Kevin Nelson, one of the Mills' bright spots on a bleak weekend, tied the game at 5 after a mad scramble in the dying seconds of the game.
With time winding down and the Mills pressuring with the extra attacker, Nelson swept the puck into an open net after a scramble to the right of Trail goalie Rob McVicar.
"It was right in fron t of the net and I put it in," said Nelson, admitting it was probably the biggest goal he's scored as a Millionaire. "I patted my players and patted the goalie and then looked up at the clock.....it was quite a shock."
The unlikely comeback was completed just 48 seconds into overtime when the Mills won the game on a goal by Williams Lake's Ryan Bremner. Forward Brent Heaven fired the puck around the end boards and it took a lucky bounce right to Bremner who fired a low wrist shot past a stunned McVicar.
Despite pulling out the win, Quesnel played poorly against a Smoke Eaters team that had played in Trail on Friday night, travelled all night, and arrived in Quesnel at 10:30 am Saturday.
"I thought we let a tired hockey team set the pace in the final 40 minutes," said a frustrated head coach Dale Marquette. "We didn't really set the pace until we were behind."
Quesnel played well in the first, leading 3-1 after one before Trail tied it at 3 in the second period.
A horrendous giveaway by struggling defenseman Devin Walshe led to a shorthanded marker and a 5-4 Trail lead prior to the comeback.
"We were definitely lucky," said team captain Nick Udovicic. "We go in spurts. We show Dale what we're capable of for a few shifts, but then we sit back and wait for someone else to do it. It drives me crazy, and its driving Dale through the roof."
The game was delayed for about 25 minutes when Trail defenseman Rhett Nevill was slammed heavily into the boards, losing consciousness and suffering a severe concussion. Nevill spent the night in Quesnel hospital before returning to Trail with the team on Sunday.
If the Millionaires played poorly in Saturday's win, they were horrible Friday night, playing what was likely their worst game of the season in a 9-2 trouncing at the hands of the South Surrey Eagles.
It was 4-1 Surrey heading into the third period when Quesnel folded like a tent, giving up 5 goals in the first 10:18 of the third.
"It was a combination of a lot of things," said Marquette following Friday's debacle. "Probably five goals were a result of mental mistakes on the back-check and we couldn't get a save. We knew we had to be physical but we let them skate."
Marquette laid the blame for the loss at the feet of his veterans. "Some of our older players got out-worked by 16 and 17-year-olds. We all should be taking some embarrassment in our own rink. I saw some good things from time to time, but collectively, we didn;t go to war."
Udovicic, the team's leading scorer, said Friday's loss was a disgrace. "It was embarrassing and shameful. A 9-2 loss at home was about the biggest kick in the pants. It was terrible, we showed a lack of pride and no heart at all."
The Mills hit the road for an important game against rival Prince George Thursday night before hosting Victoria on Saturday.

Schultz gets win for Spruce Kings
Goalie bites former team while Mills hit hard by injuries
by Kevin Parnell
October 17, 1999
Former Quesnel Millionaire goalie Dean Schultz got back at the organization that cut him loose Thursday night, earning the victory for the Prince George Spruce Kings in a 6-5 overtime win over Quesnel.
Schultz, who signed with the Spruce Kings just hours before Thursday's game at the Prince George Coliseum, played a solid game for the Kings, making numerous big saves.
But his lone blunder was a big one, allowing a soft wrist shot from outside the blueline past him with just 6 seconds to play, giving the Mills a valuable point on the road for the tie in regulation.
"I thought he was going to dump it in the corner," said Schultz of the Nick Udovicic floater that caught the corner of the net. "Nick cuaght me off guard."
Spruce Kings defenseman David Keough let Schultz off the hook just 17 seconds into overtime however, when his slapshot bounced off a Millionaire stick and under the crossbar to give Prince George the win.
Schultz, cut by Quesnel last week, said he was anxious before the game against his old team. "I felt a little shaky," he said. "I was a little nervous. It was different, very different. It's a good feeling (to get the win). It gives me a lot of confidence."
The game would have been much different if not for a five minute match penalty taken by Quesnel forward Paul Kelley. With Quesnel leading 2-0 and in control of the game, Kelley retaliated against Kings' defenseman Tylor Valin, crosschecking him in the face and being assessed a five minute match penalty for attempt to injure at the same time a delayed penalty was being called on Kevin Nelson.
The Kings scored three goals on the extended powerplay and the complexion of the game changed entirely.
The match penalty for Kelley means he receives an automatic three game suspension and the BCHL will rule if the suspension should be longer. At press time no decision had been made.
Millionaire coach Dale Marquette, returning to Prince George as a visiting coach for the first time, was pleased with his team's effort.
"I'm really happy with the way we played," said Marquette. "Even though we gave up four powerplay goals, we gave them up to probably the top offensive players around." Indeed, Keough (1-4), Mike Lalonde (3-1), and Derek Dinelle (1-4) feasted on the Mills all night long.
Despite the loss, Marquette said he was happy with what he saw, and feels the team is getting close to turning the corner. "Tonight I was happy because everybody worked hard and competed," he said. "There was no pressure on the bench the last five minutes when guys could have been biting each others head's off. But every guy was up. It's a great point for us."
The loss of Kelley for the next three games wasn't the only loss the Mills suffered.
Colin Lloyd (knee ligament damage - 3 to 4 weeks), and Craig Tresierra (sprained knee - 2 weeks) join forward Brent Heaven (broken hand - 3 to 4 weeks) on the injured list.

Mills trade Paolinelli for size and youth
by Kevin Parnell
October 17, 1999
The Quesnel Millionaires have gotten younger and bigger as coach and general manager Dale Marquette has engineered his first trade since taking over the team.
Marquette has sent 20-year-old forward Adrian Paolinelli to Crowsnest Pass.
In return, the Millionaires recieve hulking 19-year-old forward Chad Shiel, who at six-foot-four and 235 pounds will add much needed size and toughness to the lineup.
The other piece of the trade is 18-year-old forward Brent McMann who is five-foot-eleven and 180 pounds.
Shiel arrived in Prince George on Thursday to meet his new team as they took on the Spruce Kings and both he and McMann are expected to be in the lineup Saturday as the Mills host Victoria.
Paolinelli was one of six 20-year-olds the Millionaires were carrying, the maximum a BCHL team is allowed to carry, and had struggled offensively, scoring just one goal and adding six assists in 12 games so far this season.
"The bottom line is I want to get us bigger and younger and we accomplished that with this deal," said marquette. "We added a huge amount of size on the front end, and a young guy who will hopefully develop over the season."
Marquette also hinted he may not be done wheeling and dealing. "We need to make more decisions on getting ourselves younger and bigger," he said.

Rookie goalies sparkle early
by Doyle Potenteau
October 17, 1999
A strange and very rare trend is taking place early in this BCHL season.
Veteran goaltenders, expected to lead almost every catagory, have been supplanted by rookies, currently dominating the 14-team loop.
With the graduation of several experienced netminders last year, like South Surrey's Peter Wishloff, Vernon's Derek Gustafson, and Wade Dubielewicz of Trail/Chilliwack, many first year players are finding the roles of starter being handed to them - an occurence that happens maybe once a decade.
In fact, as of last weekend, 15 out of the 20 top save leaders - including 8 in the top 10 alone - are asterixed as rookies.
"This is a rarity, no doubt about it," says BCHL president Ron Boileau, who also doubles as league statistician. "From early indications, we're going to see a lot of new names and faces this year."
Leading the rush was rookie Ryan Cyr, who had a save percentage of 92.6 and a goals against average 2.50 last week.
"There's always a year where usually a couple of first year players have better showings than some veterans," he adds, "but it's still early in the season, and the jury is still out on whether we can give accolades to any specific young goaltenders."
The Quesnel Millionaires have a rookie goalie of their own as highly touted Bill Dick is currently battling for the number one job.
There is, however, an asterix beside many rookies who really aren't greenhorns. Vernon's Chris King played more than capable backup to Gustafson last year, while Cam McCormack of Cowichan Valley played in 29 contests over 1998-99.
According to new league rules though, they are still rookies. Over the summer, the BCHL adopted legislation stating those who hadn't played in over 30 games were still viewed as first-year players.
"As a league, we thought 10 games was too few," said Trail general manager Garry Davidson. "Everybody thought 10 wasn't enough to warrant not being a rookie."
"We've had affiliated players with 10 games," he notes. "I'm not sure if 30 is the right number, but we'll see how it shakes out."
No matter who is in net however, the BCHL as a whole won't be experiencing any shortage of goals, no matter how good netminders may be, said Boileau.
"Junior Hockey has always been an offence-dominated game," he says. "It's unlike the NHL, with its defense-oriented game, which isn't fun to watch."
Keeping good goaltenders is tough thanks to hard-recruiting American colleges and universities.
Smaller and lesser colleges can't go head to head with their larger counterparts due to funding disparities, and are being forced to sign younger and younger players.
"We find small schools are not willing to roll the dice and risk the chance of losing a skilled goalie to a bigger school," says Boileau.

Mills limp onto road trip
by Kevin Parnell
October 20, 1999
The Quesnel Millionaires will head out on the road this weekend, trying to right a ship that appears to be sinking.
The Mills lost their second game in a row on Saturday night, a 6-2 decision to the Victoria Salsa at the Quesnel Twin Ice Arenas, dropping their record to 2-10-and-2, ahead of only Trail in the entire BCHL.
Despite managing just six shots on goal in the first period against Victoria, Quesnel was playing relatively well and entered the second in a scoreless tie but the wheels quickly fell off as the Salsa scored twice in the first three minutes of the period.
The lone highlight for the local squad came midway through the second period when forwrad Kevin Nelson made it 3-1 witha an outstanding effort. Nelson undressed a salsa defenseman and slipped a neat backhander past goalie Jordan Sigalet to bring the crowd to its feet.
But Victoria put the game out of reach with two goals in the first four minutes of the third.
"I thought we worked hard, but we gave them a lot of opportunities on mistakes we made at their blueline," said Dale marquette of his team's tenth loss of the season.
Goaltender Bill Dick got the loss, his first as a Millionaire, but was left alone with little defensive help, as the club continues to committ too many turnovers in their own end.
Injuries have hit the team hard at a particularly tough time. Regulars Brent Heaven, Craig Tresierra, and Collin Lloyd are all out indefinitely and speedy forward Paul Kelley will have to miss at least two more games for his match penalty.
The Mills play road games this weekend in Trail, Penticton, and Vernon.

Nelson heats up in front of home fans
by Kevin Parnell
October 24, 1999
It's hard not to notice Kevin Nelson when you watch a Quesnel Millionaires hockey game. He works hard, plays smart, and lately has begun to chip in more and more offensively.
Nelson, one of three local players to don the Quesnel jersey this season, along with forward Ian Ferster and veteran defenseman Craig Tresierra, is in his second season with the Mills.
Last season, Nelson scored four goals and added 11 assists, not bad numbers for a 16-year-old relegated to checking duty.
"Last year, I didn't put up that many points," Nelson said following a brisk workout Thursday. "I was more of a grinder, more likely to try and set up plays. This year has been quite a change."
Quite a change indeed. On most nights, Nelson can be considered among the teams' top players. His work ethic has earned him plenty of ice time on one of the club's top two lines and his hard work is beginning to pay off.
"I feel I have more speed," he said. "My defensive game was pretty good last year, but my offensive game is coming around. I feel I can start to rack up the points."
Among Nelson's accomplishments this year was the game tying goal with one-tenth of a second left in a Millionaire win against Trail as well as a highlight reel goal in a losing cause against Victoria.
"For 17-years-old, he's a big part of our team," said Mills coach and general manager Dale marquette. "He brings good speed to our line-up and a good work ethic. He still has lots to learn, but he's an impact guy. Kevin has a bright future ahead of him."
Nelson is hoping that future is in the American College Ranks, where teams offer full-ride scholarships and a chance to get a university degree while also furthering their hockey careers.
While many players aren't offered a scholarship until they are finishing their BCHL career, Nelson is aiming for one following this year, and will write his SAT exams this year.
"I'm trying to go for a scholarship this year," he said. "It's been done before, I just feel I need to get enough points on the board and play as hard as I can."
Many players Nelson's age prefer to play junior hockey away from their home towns, but Nelson enjoys the spotlight. "It's great. All my friends come and watch. I like playing in front of the hometown crowd,"
It's tougher with Quesnel off to a slow start (2-10-and-2 heading into a three game road trip this weekend), but Nelson feels the team is getting close to turning their season around.
"We're definitely improving. We just need to catch a few bounces. We'll get back into it for sure."

Mills struggle on the road
by Kevin Parnell
October 27, 1999
The Quesnel Millionaires returned from a disappointing road trip with just one out of a possible six points on the weekend, dropping their record to a league worst 2-12-and-3.
The point came in a 3-2 overtime loss in Trail Friday night and by the time the weekend was out, Quesnel had two more losses, 7-3 in Penticton on Saturday night and 5-3 in Vernon on Sunday afternoon.
"Overall we played well enough to win in two of the three games, but we're having a tough time scoring," said coach Dale Marquette before practice on Tuesday. "We played a heck of a game in Vernon. We were all over them in the third period."
In Vernon, Quesnel trailed 2-1 after the first period, and 4-3 after the second on goals by Rob Lommer, Kevin Nelson, and Kelly Riou.
But, despite outshooting the Vipers in the third, Quesnel couldn't get the equalizer and the Vipers scored into an empty net to cement the win.
"We didn't have a terrible weekend," said Marquette. "Our conditioning was good. I think the boys are starting to recognize what conditioning can do for us. In all three games, we had more energy that the other teams."
Before the roadtrip, Marquette signed 17-year-old Troy White, a scrappy five-foot-nine-inch forward who dropped the gloves more than once on the road.
"He's very aggressive and very feisty. He's not scared of anything," said Marquette. "He's a little fireball who's going to be a good player for now and in the future."
Big newcomer Chad Shiel also got in his first scrap for the Mills, earning a decisive win over Penticton tough guy Jason Wild.
Quesnel will have to start hitting the win column soon, or the playoffs may slip out of reach. They have two chances to make gains with two division games this weekend, hosting Prince George on Friday and playing in Merritt Saturday.

Schultz making his mark in Prince George
by Kevin Parnell
October 31st. 1999
DEAN SCHULTZ appears to have found a home.
Schultz, a former Quesnel Minor Hockey product and former Millionaire, has not only made the Prince George Spruce Kings, he's been impressive since joining the team.
The 18 year old Schultz played all three games on the road trip for Prince George last weekend, earning wins over Vernon and Trail and losing in Penticton.
"He's played really well for us," said Kings' coach Glen Watson. "I think we've got a real good tandem and we'll probably get into a rotation with them."
Schultz was released from the Millionaires earlier this season after a goaltending backlog made him the odd man out and he requested to be moved.
But since that time, he has beat out another goaltender in Prince George, earned an overtime win against the Mills, and was expected to get the nod against Quesnel again on Friday night.
"I felt I've played really well," said Schultz, before heading for Quesnel for a Friday night match-up against the Millionaires. "I have a lot more confidence now and my defense has helped me out."
Schultz, who has yet to return to Quesnel since being released, says there is less pressure playing in Prince George.
"There was pressure in Quesnel from playing in front of family and friends," he said. "it seems as though I always wanted to play well and if I didn't I would put more pressure on myself the next time. Here, I just go out and play."
Heading into the weekend, Schultz and the Spruce Kings had climbed two games over 500 and just eight points out of first place in the BCHL's Interior division.
The young goalie admits it's a change playing in Prince George.
"It's different. The city in nice, it's bigger town and I don't know as many people. The team has great fan support and everything has been great."

Frame leaves Millionaires
by Kevin Parnell
October 31st. 1999
THERE WAS another shake-up to the Quesnel Millionaires line-up this week, but this time it wasn't a new player coming the camp.
The Mills hae shipped 19-year old defenseman Dustin Frame to a junior B club on Vancouver Island, receiving cash in return.
The move came after Frame requested a trade and left the team following the Mills' three game road trip last weekend.
Frame, who was benched by coach and general manager Dale Marquette for the third period of a 5-3 loss in Vernon, wasn't happy with his role on the team.
"He came in and asked to be traded," said Marquette. "We don't want to hold anybody back."
The loss of Frame likely won't hurt the struggling Mills.
The six-foot-one inch, 195 pound Frame was off to a slow start. He had just two assists and olnly six penalty minutes and also lacked a physical presence.
Forward Rob Simnor, himself struggling to get on track offensively this season, filled in on the blueline in Vernon and will likely play there until the defense gets healthier.
Regular defenseman Craig Tresierra and Colin Lloyd still remain out with injuries.
The departure of Frame and recent acquisitions of forwards Troy White, Chad Shiel and Brent McMann leaves Quesnel with four cards remaining.
While Marquette says he would like to pick up an impact player that would make the difference immediately, he will likely hold onto at least a few cards in case the team continues to struggle and needs to unload veterans at the January 10th trade deadline.
"You always want to keep your eyes open," he said. "Everyone is always looking, but there's nothing on the go right now."
Since Marquette took over the reins of the squad, the team has gotten younger, now featuring three 17-year-olds, five 18's, nine 19's, and five 20-year olds.
After opening with more home than road games, Quesnel is now on the road for the next four games. Tuesday they travel to Prince George, before playing in Merritt, Penticton and Vernon next weekend.