THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Matt Strueby (Regina, 2006-10) signed a contract for this season with the Perth Thunder (Australia, AIHL). He had five goals and seven assists in 16 games with the University of Regina Cougars (CIS) and two goals and four assists in 23 games with the Colorado Eagles (ECHL) this season. The Australia regular season started May 4 and ends Sept. 1.
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A little of this and some of that:
1. The Halifax Mooseheads’ white sweaters are much better for the TV viewer than the ones they wore Saturday.
2. The person whose decision it was to hand out those noisemakers for Sunday’s Memorial Cup game should have his/her pass revoked. Watching on TV, it often sounded as though the building was in the throes of a mosquito infestation.
3. The Sportsnet telecast on Sunday began with an ode to Halifax F Nathan MacKinnon and his three-goal opener. What the talking heads forgot to mention is that MacKinnon was the beneficiary of some leaky goaltending by Mac Carruth of the Portland Winterhawks. Of Halifax’s seven goals in the opener, Carruth likely would want five of them back and three of those were scored by MacKinnon.
4. If Carruth had turned in many efforts like that in the WHL regular season or playoffs, the Winterhawks would have been on the beach long before now. BTW, anyone expecting Portland head coach Travis Green to change goaltending horses in midstream hasn’t been paying attention. . . . And how did Carruth handle things when he met the media on Sunday? He said his club didn’t get the goaltending. Check out this piece right here by Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports.
5. Let’s thank the Saskatoon Blades for turning this into a tournament. Gee, you mean there’s more to this thing than Drouin, MacKinnon and Jones? . . . The Blades’ 5-2 victory over Halifax on Sunday means that if Portland beats the London Knights tonight, everyone is 1-1 and the fun really begins.
6. Saskatoon G Andrey Makarov won the goaltending battle last night, and the Blades won the game. That’s what can happen when your goaltender plays extremely well. . . . Of course, it helps when you're a bigger and more physical team that scores five times.
7. The Sunday game had its nasty moments. There were at least three really ugly knee-on-knee hits and that’s three too many.
8. The Blades went into Sunday having lost 13 straight postseason games. . . . Saskatoon F Josh Nicholls may be sore today, especially one knee, while F Lukas Sutter is likely going to need treatment on a shoulder.
9. The attendance on Sunday was 8,934, and there are people wondering why the Credit Union Centre, with a capacity of 15,195, isn’t full. Maybe it’s the ticket prices, the game being televised, summer-like weather. Or maybe it is what it is and this is what the major junior tournament is going to draw in Saskatoon. . . . You’ve gotta wonder what it would draw in Spokane or, say, Portland?
10. Alexis Normand is scheduled to sing O Canada prior to Tuesday’s Memorial Cup game. Yes, Normand is the singer who botched the The Star Spangled Banner on Saturday. Kevin Mitchell of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a story right here that details how she has dealt with that moment and all that has followed.
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If you are wondering what is happening with the film rights to that book over there on the right — Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1989 Swift Current Broncos — you’ve come to the right place. . . . Shayne Putzlocher and Holly Baird are in attendance at the Cannes International Film Festival as they work to spread the good word and canvas potential investors. . . . If you’re in Saskatoon at the Memorial Cup, there are copies of the book available at any of the three Coles stores (Midtown Plaza, Sask. Market Mall, Lawson Heights) or the Indigo store in The Centre.
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The AJHL-champion Brooks Bandits beat the host Summerside Western Capitals 3-1 on Sunday to win the RBC Cup, the national junior A championship. . . . This was the first time the Bandits have won the title. . . . F Cam Maclise, a ninth-round selection by the Edmonton Oil Kings in the 2007 WHL bantam draft, had an empty-net goal and an assist for Brooks. He was named the CJHL’s player of the year on Friday. . . . The final game drew a tournament record crowd of 4,211. . . . Brooks was the CJHL’s top-ranked team for the final 22 weeks of the regular season. . . . The Bandits are the first AJHL team to win the title since 2001 when the Camrose Kodiaks did it. . . . The 2014 RBC Cup is scheduled to be held in Vernon, B.C.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Adrian Dater of the Denver Post is reporting that Patrick Roy, the co-owner, general manager and head coach of the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts, is a “strong candidate” to be the next head coach of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. Dater’s report is right here.
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From Neate Sager (@neatebuzzthenet) of Yahoo! Sports): “Watching from the media room again b/c the wireless doesn't work on press row. Great Memorial Cup, Saskatoon.”
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One more from Sager: “This is what the #memorialcup is becoming, host team sits out for weeks, wears down a legitimate skilled team. All about the money, though”
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One more from Sager: “Alright, no more tweets about the Credit Union Centre wifi, kvetching gets old. Saskatoon's made it a tournament. #positives.”
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From Saskatoon Express editor Cam Hutchinson (@camhutchinson): “@neatebuzzthenet Enjoy your stay in our city and may you find a hotspot or a dial up connection ... #didsomebodyshitinyourcornflakes”
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From Matthew Gourlie (@MattGourlie) of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald: “Per twitter former MJ Warrior Jordan Henry is engaged to season 14 Bachelor contestant Jessie Sulidis. Henry is playing in Finland.”


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A little of this and some of that:
1. For the sake of the television viewers, those Halifax Mooseheads sweaters that have green numbers on red have got to go.
2. That was an all-world meltdown by Portland Winterhawks G Mac Carruth on Saturday in Saskatoon. His history shows that it won’t bother him, though, so he’ll be ready for the London Knights come Monday evening. At least the Winterhawks hope so.
3. In this day and age, when the jackals of the Internet are poised to tear you to shreds for any little misstep, you don’t want to forget the words to a national anthem when you’re on national TV.
4. I had a coach tell me recently that Portland’s Taylor Peters is the best faceoff man in the Canadian Hockey League. Watch for him to make a difference before the week is out.
5. It was just one game, so don’t let anyone tell you that Halifax F Nathan MacKinnon beat Portland D Seth Jones. It’s a team game and Halifax won, thus MacKinnon won.
6. Just wondering, but are there any WHL people pulling for Portland? Other than those folks with the Winterhawks, of course?
7. The NHL has fined the San Jose Sharks $100,000 after general manager Doug Wilson publicly disagreed with the decision to suspend F Raffi Torres. When told of that fine, Portland GM Mike Johnston said: “A hundred grand? Pffft! That’s chump change.”
8. If you are still watching the NHL playoffs, do you have any idea what is – and what isn’t – a penalty?
9. The Mooseheads have played 86 games this season. They have won 75 of them. Yes, they’re that good.
10. When December arrives and we look for the best story in hockey in 2013, we won’t have to look past the Swiss national men’s team. That’s some story that it is writing at the world championship, even if it loses to Sweden in today’s final.
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Morris Dalla Costa of the London Free Press reports that the London Knights, the host team for the 2014 Memorial Cup, appear likely to partner with Rogers Sportsnet on a TV series similar to On The Edge, the all-access show that followed the Saskatoon Blades on the road to the 2013 Memorial Cup. That story is right here. . . . Something tells me that the next such series, no matter which team it involves, will be a whole lot tamer than the one that has featured Lorne Molleken and his Blades. . . . BTW, when Kamloops Blazers head coach Dave Hunchak was asked on Saskatoon radio station The Bull’s pregame show on Friday if he would OK such a show were his club the host team, he issued a resounding: “NO!” Simply put, he said, and I’m paraphrasing, something like that is too much of a distraction and the players are too young to be under such scrutiny.
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Toby Gorman of the Nanaimo News Bulletin has more right here on the situation involving the Vancouver Island city and a potential new multiplex. But here’s what Mayor John Ruttan told Gorman: “In the absence of having strong support for it, when Coun. Bill Bestwick, who is still in hockey today, is on record and pooh-poohs the idea of a multiplex, I would think we’ll be hard pressed to find somebody else on council to lobby aggressively for it. I’d need to see more of a business case to support it, though I’m interested.”
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The Brooks, Alta., Bandits and the host Summerside Western Capitals are to clash today in the final of the 2013 RBC Cup, which goes to the national junior A champion. . . . On Saturday, the Bandits, the AJHL champions, beat the Minnesota Wilderness 5-4 in OT in one semifinal, while the Western Capitals of the Maritime Hockey League took out the BCHL-champion Surrey Eagles 3-2 in OT. . . . Brooks F Mark Reners, who has played in the WHL with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Vancouver Giants and Edmonton Oil Kings, scored at 8:30 of extra time. The Bandits actually trailed 4-2 after two periods and 4-3 with less than a minute to play. F Dakota Mason forced OT when he scored from behind the Wilderness net. . . . The AJHL hasn’t won the RBC Cup since 2001 when the Camrose Kodiaks turned the trick.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The OHL’s Saginaw Spirit added on year to head coach Greg Gilbert’s contract earlier this week, meaning he is signed through 2015-16. Gilbert has been with the Spirit since December 2011. He was the OHL’s coach of the year for 2011-12 after going 20-10-6. The Spirit has lost out in the playoffs to the London Knights in each of the last two seasons, first in the second round and then in the first round.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Portland freelancer Scott Sepich (@SSepich), who is covering the Memorial Cup for The Oregonian: “When Mike Johnston does arrive, he can’t interact with the team.”
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From Steve Ewen (@Steve Ewen) of the Vancouver Province: “Is there a Mike Johnston cop, making sure he behaves?”

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This is what the Memorial Cup is all about . . . a fan travels from Oshawa to Saskatoon because he wants to be there for Thursday's ceremony in which the trophy arrived at the city’s Vimy Memorial.
Kevin Menz of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has that story right here. . . . And, please, while the tournament is being played, let's not forget why it's called the Memorial Cup.
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I’m not going to post a lot about the Memorial Cup, simply because I’m not there, and those who are will provide you with lots of great information.
But if I see something or hear something, I’ll put it up here.
Like this . . .
The Saskatoon radio station that handles the Saskatoon Blades’ games (92.9 The Bull) is carrying every game in the Memorial Cup, with Les Lazaruk calling the play and Cody Nickolet providing the analysis.
With apologies to those two, who were solid in Game 1 on Friday, the highlight of The Bull’s coverage was the 90-minute pregame show and the postgame show.
And the star of both those shows, at least on Friday, was Dave Hunchak, the newly named head coach of the Kamloops Blazers. The pregame show also features Peter Loubardias, Dave Thomas of CJWW and Lazaruk. Hunchak wasn’t afraid to disagree with points being made by any of the others, such as when it was suggested that Friday’s game might be the biggest game in the history of the Blades.
Hunchak also provided terrific insight from a coach’s perspective. For example, in touching on each of the four teams, he talked about the gap played by the Portland Winterhawks’ defenceman, and how they are able to play a “soft gap” because that team’s forwards do such a good job of coming back as a group.
He also talked about how teams are able to go with four defencemen because of the TV timeouts.
In the postgame show, Hunchak was quick to point out that the Blades, who dropped a 3-2 decision to the OHL-champion London Knights, had to build on the positives but that, because of the format of this tournament, they couldn’t afford to be patient.
The pregame show will be on the air today at 3:30 p.m. CT to set up the much-anticipated game between the Halifax Mooseheads and the Winterhawks.
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Outfielder Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals thundered face-first into the wall at Dodger Stadium on Monday. Did he come out of it with a concussion? . . . Stefan Fatsis at slate.com takes a look right here.
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The Everett Silvertips have released F Stathis Soumelidis, 19, a move that will allow them to use the 10th overall selection in the CHL’s import draft, likely on a potential high-end forward. That draft is scheduled for July 3. . . . Soumelidis, from Brno, Czech Republic, was a second-round pick in the 2012 import draft. He had 11 points and 119 penalty minutes in 67 regular-season games. His penalty total included 17 fighting majors. . . . Everett’s roster now includes one import — D Mirco Mueller of Switzerland, 1n 18-year-old who is expected to be selected in the first two rounds of the NHL’s draft on June 30.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Mark French won’t be back as head coach of the AHL’s Hershey Bears. The Bears and the parent Washington Capitals made the announcement on Friday. French had been the head coach since July 13, 2009. . . . In speculating on a potential replacement, Tim Leone at pennlive.com had this: “Mike Stothers, 51, head coach of the WHL's Moose Jaw Warriors, is a former Bears assistant and the club's all-time leader in penalty minutes (1,519). He was head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2007-08 and has served NHL assistant coaching stints with the Philadelphia Flyers and Atlanta Thrashers, along with an AHL stint with the Philadelphia Phantoms.”

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The way things used to be

A neighbour, knowing that I am a newspaper junkie, presented me with a real blast from the past the other day.
During his move west, the former resident of Winnipeg had discovered a copy of The Weekly Telegraph that is dated Wednesday, January 6, 1909. Yes, it is yellowed and cracked and worn. But, really, it's in terrific shape for a 104-year-old. (The Telegram began publishing in 1894.)
For the past couple of weeks, this newspaper has been sitting on a table in our kitchen as I have perused it. To say it is an interesting read is something of an understatement.
For starters, the subscription rate was $1 per year in Canada or Great Britain; $2 in the United States. If you wanted to contact the newspaper, you wrote to: The Editor, The Telegram, Winnipeg.
The lead story on the front page is headlined: CORRESPONDENT RETURNS FROM MESSINA BRINGING STORY OF HORROR. It is a first-person account of a devastating earthquake in Italy and area. In fact, the earthquake all but wiped out Catania, Sicily. A grainy photo shows Catania with what appears to be a smoking Mount Etna in the background.
On the Manitoba front, a Jan. 4 fire in Brandon had destroyed "the large Codville company's warehouse on Pacific Avenue." There is some nifty writing here, too: "The building was . . . in the grip of the fire fiend and do whatever they would the firemen were unable for the next two hours to make any impression whatever on the object of their attack."
On Page 3, which carries the slug "News and Gossip of Sport," there is news from Montreal where "the Edmonton seven sprang one of the biggest surprises of years when they defeated the Wanderers in the second game of the Stanley Cup series tonight by seven goals to six."
The story, which was dated Dec. 30, later noted: "With a little more time to play together the westerners showed that they would have stood a good chance to carry west with them the trophy emblematic of the hockey championship of the world. Unfortunately for western hopes the four goal lead scored by Wanderers on the opening night's play proved too great to overcome and the cup remains in Montreal."
Imagine that! The Stanley Cup decided late in December, as opposed to sometime in June.
In a story dated Jan. 3 and datelined Ottawa, the Edmonton "hockey team clashed with the Senators, the new 'pro' hockey team in the capital here Saturday night in an exhibition match, and the western team won out by a score of four to two." The game was played in front of "about 4,000 people."
The Senators' lineup included Harry Smith, who had helped the Wanderers beat Edmonton and win the Stanley Cup a few days earlier. According to this story, the Senators "expect to win the Federal league series and challenge for the Stanley Cup." (The Federal League was new on the scene and, in fact, a few of the Edmonton players would stay in the east to play in it.)
In Brandon, meanwhile, the host Shamrocks beat Portage 10-7 in a Manitoba and North-western Hockey Association game. "Currie, playing centre for Brandon," reads a story that is devoid of first names, "was the fastest man on the ice, his individual rushes being all that could be desired." Currie had a fine night, finishing with five goals.
In boxing, H.M. Walker filed this lead from Los Angeles: "James J. Jeffries, the retired and undefeated heayweight champion of the world, is the only hope of the white race now.
"The well meant offers of Jim Corbett, Tom Sharkey and Bob Fitzsimmons to give battle to Jack Johnson, the negro champion, are appreciated to the full extent of their true worth, but it is to the mighty Jeffries who has never known the sting of defeat, that the American sporting public is now looking to for succor from an embarrassing position."
An advertisement on the sports page blared: To earn the big salary learn railroading. The ad suggested that you could advance to Engineer or Conductor in two to three years "and earn from $90 to $185 per month."
"There is no line of work today that pays the princely salaries as does that of Railroading," the Dominion Railway School ad boasts.
Meanwhile, another ad brags that Black Knight stove polish is "the shine that won't come off."
The Universal Remedy Co., based in Winnipeg, was offering "a family doctor for $1." Actually, it was a "handy and useful medicine cabinet containing remedies for Diarrhoea, Dysentery, Colic, etc." The kit was guaranteed to contain no poisoin.
On Page 5, the Manor Hotel on Main Street in Winnipeg was offering rooms for $1 per day. Those rooms, according to the ad, were "thoroughly repaired, newly furnished, equal in every respect to any $2 hotel in the country."
The classified ads also were on Page 5, where William Tough of Bassano, Alta., was looking for a "Widow with boy eight or nine years old; woman for general housework and boy to look after cows. Reasonable wages."
For $600 cash, you could purchase near Swan River, Man. "160 acres good black loam, clay subsoil, 25 acres under cultivation, log house and stable, 30 acres tamarac swamp, 100 acres scrub land, good homestead adjoining, on which 300 tons of hay can be cut each year."
In big bold letters at the top of Page 9 is "A MESSAGE FOR PILE SUFFERERS, from one who has been cured of an unusually severe case by Dr. Chase's Ointment." That ointment would set you back 60 cents a box.
At the bottom of that page is an ad for a Columbia Graphophone. For $39.50, you got the graphophone and 12 selections. That would be a record player and 12 recordings. The Winnipeg Piano Co. would sell you the package for "$9.50 cash and $5 monthly -- no interest."
Buried on Page 9 is a story dated Dec. 31 and datelined Gull Lake, Sask.: "The Pacific Express, due here at 17.45 last night, was wrecked four miles west, a broken rail the cause. The diner and tourist cars were thrown down a twenty-five foot embankment on a new division completed a month ago. One passenger was killed and three injured." Charles Tanby, 40, of Omaha, Neb., "travelling home by way of the coast, was thrown through window" and killed.
On Page 10, Dr. T. Claye Shaw debates the issue: "Is woman the inferior of man?" Of course, I'm not going to get into that here, but Dr. Shaw ends his piece with: "Woman has a much superior religious instinct than man. But she may be expected to do so. Church-going is a regular occupation with middle-aged women of the upper-middle class, and hence they find an outlet for their emotionalism. The same may be said of other fads."
An ad on Page 12 really caught my eye. The Central Okanagan Land and Orchard Co. Ltd. was offering "Kelowna fruit lands ready to plant, in 10 and 20 acre lots" for $200 per acre. The terms were "cash deposit $250, $250 in 60 days, balance in one, two and three years."
Over on Page 13, The Arnott Institute of Berlin, Ont., was promoting "The Arnott Method . . . the only logical method for the cure of Stammering."
On Page 14, which is the one-section broadsheet newspaper's back page, there are ads for charcoal that can purify any breath and something that is guaranteed to cure dandruff and "stop falling hair." That stuff would have set you back 50 cents for a large bottle.
And if you were wondering, there were political scandals.
A story on the front page told of Abraham Ruef, a "former political leader" in San Francisco, having been sentenced to 14 years at San Quentin. His crime? He had offered a bribe of $4,000 "to supervisors in the overhead trolley franchise matter."
Closer to home, the Ontario communities of Brantford and Guelph were embroiled in scandals related to their city councils. There apparently were hints of bribery in Brantford, where a proposed by-law of some sort had been killed. In Guelph, there were reports "of graft in council."
It's worth pointing out, too, that The Weekly Telegram was far, far ahead of the curve. When USA TODAY launched, it contained one page that included a dollop of news from each state in the union. Well, The Weekly Telegram, on its last page, featured 51 news items from all across the Dominion.
That included news that William D. Jones, who had broken out of a Toronto jail, had been captured in West Virginia. Why was Jones in that Toronto jail? He had been captured in Toronto after escaping from a jail in Newcastle, Penn., of course.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Brock Nixon (Kamloops, Calgary, 2003-08) signed a one-year contract with Kallinge/Ronneby (Sweden, Division 1). He had nine goals and 16 assists in 28 games as captain of University of Calgary (CIS) this season before joining the Colorado Eagles (ECHL), where he had two goals in five games. Nixon reports to Kallinge/Ronneby on Aug. 1. . . .
F Danis Zaripov (Swift Current, 1998-99) signed a two-year contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Russia, KHL). He had 19 goals and 17 assists in 46 games with Ak Bars Kazan (Russia, KHL) this season. . . .
F Marcel Hossa (Portland, 1998-2001) signed a one-year contract with Dinamo Riga (Latvia, KHL). He had eight goals and 11 assists in 50 games with Lev Prague (Czech Republic, KHL) this season. . . .
D Rory Rawlyk (Medicine Hat, Vancouver, Prince Albert, Red Deer, 2000-03) was one of nine players who were not offered contracts for next season by Corona Brasov (Romania, MOL Liga). He had 11 goals and 31 assists in 37 games in MOL Liga play this season and four goals and 19 assists in seven games in the Romania National League; Corona participated in both competitions. Rawlyk was second in penalty minutes in MOL Liga with 211.
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Don’t hold your breath waiting for the City of Nanaimo to build a new arena that would be home to a WHL franchise.
“Some Nanaimo officials feel lukewarm about looking further into a multiplex facility in the city despite recent interest from the Western Hockey League, which hopes to relocate a franchise to the harbour city,” writes Spencer Anderson of the Nanaimo Daily News.
“A report from Nanaimo city staff members says a feasibility study would be the best way to determine the economic impact such a facility might have on the city.
“The cost of the study would be in the neighbourhood of $150,000, city staff estimate. Such a study could also include where the facility could be located, market potential and design and operation.”
Anderson’s complete story is right here, and it would seem, as Coun. Bill Bestwick said:
“There's not an appetite to pursue a sports and entertainment centre multiplex in the near future.”
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The Prince Albert Raiders will have a new look when a new season arrives. The Raiders unveiled what they are calling the ‘Green Movement’ on Thursday.
According to a news release, this is the third uniform change in the team’s 43-year history.
For a look at the new look, go right here.
Dave Leaderhouse of the Prince Albert Daily Herald has a story that explains the entire process. The newspaper’s website was down late last night, but when it’s up that story should be available right here.
There also are a number of photos from the unveiling right here.
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The Red Deer Rebels will have Brent Sutter back behind their bench in 2013-14. Sutter, the franchise’s president and general manager, took over as head coach on Nov. 12, replacing Jesse Wallin. Sutter said Thursday that he’ll be back as head coach. . . . At the same time, the Rebels announced that associate coach Jeff Truitt, who joined the team on Nov. 12, has signed a multi-year contract. . . . Steve O’Rourke (Tri-City, Moose Jaw, 1991-94) has been signed as an assistant coach. He was an assistant coach with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat (2009-11). . . . Veteran equipment manager Dave (Radar) Horning, who has been with Red Deer since 1995 and in the WHL since 1991, also signed a multi-year deal. . . . The Rebels have added Jordan Aube to their staff as athletic therapist. He has worked with the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. . . . Also returning are Al Parada (strength and conditioning), Brent BeleckI (goaltending consultant), Craig Kinney (video co-ordinator), Derek Robinson (mental performance consultant), Davis Claffey (assistant to the general manager) and Mikel McIver (dressing room attendant).
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F Cody Fowlie, who played out his junior eligibility this season with the Kelowna Rockets, will attend the U of Regina and play for the Cougars. Fowlie, from Airdrie, Alta., played three WHL seasons, splitting time between the Everett Silvertips and the Rockets. He had 40 points in 59 games this season.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Bryce Thoma is the new head coach of the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings. Thoma had been an assistant coach with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels since 2008, but left the club following the end of its season. Thoma, a 31-year-old native of Saskatoon, played with the Rebels (1999-2003) and was on the team that won the 2001 Memorial Cup. . . . The Red Wings have been without a full-time head coach since December when long-time coach Dwight McMillan left the organization.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Steve McCarthy (Edmonton/Kootenay, 1996-2000) signed a one-year contract extension with ZSC Zurich (Switzerland, NL A). He started the season with Abbotsford Heat (AHL), getting two goals and eight assists in 30 games. McCarthy then signed with ZSC in late January and had one assist in eight games.
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Lester Munson, who is a legal analyst at espn.com, has taken a look at the wrongful death lawsuit filed against the NHL by the family of the late Derek Boogaard. He provides some insight into what all is going on. That piece is right here.
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The WHL got some pub at SI.com this week. Of course, the story is about the Portland Winterhawks having won the WHL championship and, yes, it mentions the little matter of those sanctions. That piece is right here. (BTW, the same story got some play from the Washington Post.)
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The Tri-City Americans have signed F Nolan Yaremko, who was a second-round pick (29th overall) in the 2013 WHL bantam draft. The 5-foot-11, 178-pound Yaremko, who is from Spirit River, Alta., played for the Edmonton-based Southside Athletic Club Southgate Lions, putting up 69 points, including 28 goals, in 33 regular-season games. He added 25 points, 11 of them goals, in 11 playoff games. . . . The Americans signed F Parker AuCoin earlier in the week, meaning they have signed their first two selections from the 2013 bantam draft.
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Travis Green, the acting GM and head coach of the Portland Winterhawks, is the flavour of the day in the coaching game. He has done a terrific job since the WHL suspended Mike Johnston, the club’s GM and head coach, for the remainder of the season on Nov. 28. But what’s next for Green? Paul Buker of The Oregonian tackles that question right here.
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Glen Gulutzan, who was fired this week as the head coach of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, now is on staff with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. Gulutzan will work with the Blades through the end of the Memorial Cup. . . . Gulutzan was with the Blades on Wednesday. . . . "We’re happy to have another set of eyes to help us out," Lorne Molleken, the Blades’ general manager and head coach, told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. "He’ll be the eye in the sky. As we go through the different games his input will be real, real important." . . . What’s the connection between Gulutzan and the Blades. As Nugent-Bowman explains: "Gulutzan played for the Blades in 1992, captaining the team to Game 7 of the WHL final before losing to the Kamloops Blazers. Molleken was the coach that season and current associate coach David Struch was the alternate captain."
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Now here's an interesting story.
Jon Kuiperij of the Metroland Media Group has a story right here about a junior A league in Ontario that is about to begin charging players to play. In fact, one general manager said his club may charge between $3,000 and $4,000. . . . Players already pay to play, but the ceiling is being removed. . . . That story is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Dave Hunchak is the new head coach of the Kamloops Blazers. Hunchak, the team’s associate coach for the past two seasons, replaces Guy Charron, who now is the advisor to hockey operations. . . . The Blazers now will hire a full-time assistant coach. . . . Before joining the Blazers, Hunchak spent four seasons as head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors and three as an assistant coach with the Swift Current Broncos. . . . According to a Blazers news release: "Charron’s new role with the hockey club will include attending practices and home games while assisting the general manager, coaching and scouting staff on all hockey related matters. Charron will also aid in on-ice skill development and represent the Blazers at local community events." . . . Charron went 144-97-20 in 3½ seasons as the Blazers head coach. He is tied with Don Hay, behind only Ken Hitchcock (291) in terms of coaching victories with the Blazers. . . . The Blazers also have re-signed Colin (Toledo) Robinson, their athletic trainer/equipment manager. Robinson, who is preparing for his 18th WHL season, joined the Blazers from the Vancouver Giants over the summer of 2005. . . . Hunchak and Robinson signed multi-year contracts. No other details were provided by the Blazers. . . . Hunchak will attend the Memorial Cup in Saskatoon, where he also is to be involved in a daily radio show during the tournament.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From ESPN's Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons), who is a huge NBA fan and follower: "Between tonight's playoff games, David Stern is going to ram a knife into the back of a giant Seattle SuperSonics piñata."

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Hunchak steps up as Blazers' head coach

By MARK HUNTER

Daily News Sports Reporter
For Dave Hunchak, “a title’s just a title.”
He certainly got a bigger one Wednesday when he was named head coach of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers.
Hunchak had spent the past two seasons as an associate coach with the club. He takes over from Guy Charron, who stepped down to take on a new role as the team’s advisor to hockey operations.
According to a Blazers news release, Hunchak signed a “multi-year contract.” Details weren’t made available.
As the right-hand man to Charron, who went 144-97-20 over three-plus seasons as head coach, Hunchak was a big part of the coaching staff. That’s why he’s not exactly worried about the transition to head coach.
“A title’s just a title — it doesn’t mean a whole lot,” Hunchak said. “This team has a good group of people, the best I’ve worked with.
“Behind closed doors, everyone has a voice. It’s important to make sure we keep on doing that.”
This isn’t Hunchak’s first turn as a head coach. He spent four seasons as head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors. His contract wasn’t renewed after he led the team to a 40-26-6 record in 2010-11, good for fifth in the Eastern Conference.
Considered one of the league’s top young coaches, Hunchak was hired by the Blazers in June 2011, and helped Charron lead the team to back-to-back 47-20-5 records. In each of those seasons, the Blazers won at least one playoff round, and made it into Round 3 last month, before losing to the eventual WHL-champion Portland Winterhawks.
A lot of the credit for the turnaround — the Blazers had missed the playoffs in 2010-11 — went to Hunchak’s work with the defencemen. But Hunchak doesn’t consider himself a defence-first kind of coach.
“Defence is one of the critical parts of the game,” he said. “Every team that wins usually is a good defensive team. Look at Portland — everyone thinks they’re offence, offence, offence. But they have the best defence in the league.”
When the Blazers hired Hunchak to be their associate coach, it was assumed he would eventually take over the head-coaching position. The opportunity arose after the Blazers lost the Western Conference final to the Winterhawks.
Charron chose to step back, opening the door for Hunchak.
“We had some discussions right after the season was done,” Hunchak said. “Then (general manager) Craig (Bonner) was away so they slowed down. But everyone knew where we were at by that point.”
The Blazers should be a contender again in 2013-14. Although the team is losing, among others, captain Dylan Willick, five-year forward Brendan Ranford and defenceman Tyler Hansen, who is headed to South America for a mission with his church, it should return an excellent group of players.
Up front, Colin Smith, JC Lipon and Tim Bozon are eligible to return, as are budding forwards Matt Needham, Cole Ully and Chase Souto. Six defencemen can return as well, along with goaltender Cole Cheveldave, one of the league’s best.
And, in case Hunchak needs any help on the bench, Charron will be available in his advisor role.
“We’ve talked about (Charron’s role) a little bit,” Hunchak said. “He has a wealth of knowledge and experience, and it’s great to have that around.”
Charron will be in the arena at home games and will help out in practices.
“He’ll be more involved in the player development side of things,” Hunchak said.
Hunchak’s first order of business will be finding a full-time assistant coach. He’s scheduled to leave today for the Memorial Cup in Saskatoon, where he’s going to talk with a couple of possible candidates.
He also figures he’ll receive “quite a few emails” from coaches looking for work, before starting the day-to-day grind that goes with his new title.
“I have to communicate with the guys on the roster and our list players, including the newly drafted guys,” Hunchak said. “At this stage of the year, it’s about continuing to build relationships with the players.”
The Blazers also announced Wednesday that athletic trainer/equipment manager Colin (Toledo) Robinson has signed a “multi-year contract extension.” Robinson, who is preparing for his 18thWHL season, has been in his role with the Blazers since 2005-06.

mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca

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Charron bids adieu to bench, bus

By MARK HUNTER

Daily News Sports Reporter
Guy Charron no longer is the head coach of the Kamloops Blazers, but he couldn’t be happier that he’s still a part of the organization.
General manager Craig Bonner announced Wednesday that Dave Hunchak had signed a contract to be head coach of the WHL club, with Charron serving as an advisor to hockey operations. Hunchak had served as an associate coach under Charron for the past two seasons, during which the Blazers went 94-40-10.
Charron said he stepped back because he felt “the timing was right.”
“If I was going to take a step back,” he said, “I wanted it to be at a time when I felt the organization was in the right place.”
That it is, thanks in large part to Charron’s work over the past three-plus seasons.
Charron, a 64-year-old native of Verdun, Que., was hired by the Blazers on Nov. 23, 2009, replacing interim head coach Scott Ferguson, who served in that role for about a month after the firing of Barry Smith on Oct. 26, 2009. Charron was 144-97-20 during his time as head coach, and is tied with Don Hay for second on the franchise’s all-time list of coaching victories. Only Ken Hitchcock (291) has won more regular-season games as a Blazers head coach.
More importantly, though, Charron helped bring the franchise back to relevance in the community and respectability in the league.
Under his watch, the Blazers won the B.C. Division title in 2011-12, the first time that had happened since 2002, and also won a playoff series in 2012 — that hadn’t happened since 1999.
This season, the Blazers made it to the Western Conference final before bowing out to the Portland Winterhawks, who would go on to win the WHL title.
Unfortunately for Charron, who played 734 career NHL games and previously had served as head coach of the NHL’s Calgary Flames and Anaheim Mighty Ducks, time was starting to catch up with him. He admitted that the bus trips, which often would end at a cold arena at around 5 or 6 a.m., began wearing him down.
“Throughout the year, I was talking with my wife (Michele) and expressed that maybe it was time to start considering taking a step back,” he said. “I hoped that perhaps I could stay on and fulfill a role with the organization. I expressed this to Craig and they were very comfortable with that idea.”
With Hunchak, a former Moose Jaw Warriors head coach, waiting in the wings, the Blazers had no trouble finding a replacement. The Charron-Hunchak team hasn’t exactly been broken up — it’s more of a Hunchak-Charron pairing now.
In his new role, Charron will continue to attend practices and work with players, and also will be at home games. He will be involved in community events — he just won’t be traveling with the team anymore.
“I’ll still be busy,” he said, “just not on the road.
“I’ll be doing a lot of the same things,” he added.
What this means is that Charron still will get a chance to work in the game he loves, all while staying in the city he and Michele love.
“To fulfill a role in player development is something I always wanted to do,” he said. “Dave and I have worked together for a couple of years. We have a special relationship.
“To get to keep working with him and the players . . . it’s a win-win situation for me.”


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Really, it's only common sense

The game of hockey that you - that we - have loved for so long is gone.
The days of trains colliding at a blue-line during a junior or professional game are over. No more will one player be permitted to prey on a defenceless and vulnerable opponent. No, it doesn't matter if the victim has his head down as he searches for a puck in his feet.
Those days are done. Kaput!
In the NHL, they don't want defenceman Eric Gryba of the Ottawa Senators drilling Montreal Canadiens forward Lars Eller as he looks back for a pass. Yes, it was a major-league collision. Yes, it was like a car wreck and we just couldn't look away. But the NHL has lost too many good players to career-ending brain injuries and it wants badly to slow down that train.
Meanwhile, the days of bodychecking for hockey players below bantam are soon to end, too.
The people who run hockey, the ones who make the rules, have come to the realization that things have to change. Declining registration numbers and an increasing number of injuries, mostly brain injuries, have dictated that the status quo no longer is an option.
This is all about player safety, and nothing else.
There simply are too many players suffering brain injuries and the more we learn about brain injuries, the more we come to the realization that they aren't like knee injuries. A surgeon and his scalpel can repair a knee injury; brain injuries are forever.
Hockey Alberta announced Wednesday that it is removing all bodychecking from peewee hockey effective with the 2013-14 season. Hockey Nova Scotia followed suit over the weekend. In fact, Hockey Nova Scotia went even further as it banned bodychecking at the bantam B and C and midget B and C levels.
The Greater Toronto Hockey League, with 30,000 players the largest hockey league in the world, is likely to implement a ban in peewee. Hockey BC may well reach the same conclusion during its annual meeting in Sun Peaks next month.
It likely won't be long before Hockey Canada implements a country-wide prohibition on bodychecking in all peewee levels and below.
Really, when you take emotion out of the equation, this is the only decision that can be made.
For too long, minor hockey has been coached and played as though its sole purpose is to develop professional players. In truth, the percentage of minor hockey players who go on to play professionally is minute and the percentage who reach the NHL is miniscule.
Minor hockey, then, should be for everyone.
But some children, it turns out, are fearful of being injured, and for good reason. Various studies carried out by people in and around the medical community have revealed that children under the age of 15 who play where bodychecking is allowed are three times more susceptible to brain injuries than those who don't.
It is numbers like these that are causing young players to leave the game. Yes, there always will be brain injuries in sports, no matter whether it's soccer, hockey, basketball, football, whatever. But steps must be taken in hockey to reduce their frequency.
It also is hoped that the move to prohibit bodychecking will keep at least some of those young people in the game, thus allowing the registration numbers to stabilize or maybe even increase.
As well, this move should mean coaches will spend more time teaching the basics of the game - skating, passing, shooting, puckhandling. You need only watch a few minutes of a junior hockey practice, especially early in a season, to realize that the Canadian game could use some help in that department.
Meanwhile, the elephant in the room is litigation.
As Stephen Hume of the Vancouver Sun noted earlier this month:
"A nightmare awaits Canadian minor hockey if officials, volunteers and organizations don't deal effectively with bodychecking and head injuries.
"In the United States there's a growing propensity among sports head-injury victims to launch and win huge liability cases that compensate them for brain trauma suffered while playing."
Let's not forget, too, that more than 4,000 former players are suing the NFL, claiming negligence in regards to concussions.
As that situation proceeds, you can bet that organizers and managers in all areas of the North American sporting world will be paying close attention.
All of this also is going to lead to the end of fighting in hockey.
Sooner or later, the people who run major junior and professional hockey are going to come to the realization that you can't move to stop open-ice, predatorial hits and take headshots out of the game, while you are condoning fighting.
Ridding the game of fighting, like removing bodychecking from some divisions of minor hockey, isn't a matter of doing what's right or what's wrong.
Rather, it's a matter of common sense.

(Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca, gdrinnan.blogspot.ca and twitter.com/gdrinnan.)

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Michal Psurny (Medicine Hat, Kootenay, 2005-06) signed a one-year contract extension with Manchester Phoenix (England, Premier). He had 43 goals and 46 assists in 52 games to lead the Phoenix in scoring this season. Psurny was fifth in league scoring and was named to the
Premier League's second all-star team. . . .
F Vitali Karamnov (Everett, 2007-08) signed a two-year contract with Sibir Novosibirsk (Russia, KHL). He had two goals and two assists in 37 games with Lev Prague (Czech Republic, KHL) this season. . . .
F Zdenek Blatny (Seattle, Kootenay, 1998-2001) signed a one-year contract with Orli Znojmo (Czech Republic, Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had eight goals and eight assists in 33 games for Vienna Capitals (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) this season.
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"If you are reading this, I am dead." . . . Peter Worthington, one of the greats of Canadian journalism, wrote his own obituary. It’s right here and it’s worth a read.
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There was a shakeup in the office of the Regina Pats on Tuesday as owner Russ Parker announced that his son, Brent, is stepping down as governor and president. . . . General manager Chad Lang, who joined the Pats over the summer of 2010, has had the titles of governor and senior vice-president added to his portfolio. . . . Cliff Mapes remains as vice-president of business operations. . . . Brent Parker had been in the Pats' front office for 18 years, ever since Russ and Diane Parker purchased the franchise in 1995. According to a Pats news release: "(Brent) Parker will assist in the transition with respect to organizational structure over the next few weeks with an anticipated full departure from the organization being early in June."
Why is Parker leaving?
"It has been an accumulation of many, many things," he told a news conference. "The last five years have been the hardest for me personally, from my diagnosis of cancer five years ago to illnesses, accidents and deaths of some of our former players and close friends. That was on top of the daily - and yes I do mean daily - battles that we have with our building partner." The building partner? That would be Evraz Place, which runs the Brandt Centre, the facility the Pats call home."
Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has more right here.
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Russ Parker says he and his wife, Diane, aren't yet ready to sell the Regina Pats. However, he admits that the day will come when that will happen. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has that story right here.
When that day does arrive, you have to wonder if the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders might be a potential buyer? Hey, why not? NHL teams already own WHL franchises in Edmonton and Calgary, and one day the Winnipeg Jets' owners are likely to own one, too. So why not have the country's most-popular CFL team involved in the WHL at the ownership level? And just think of the outdoor games they could play host to once the new football stadium has been built.
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The Prince Albert Raiders have re-signed general manager Bruno Campese and Dale Derkatch, the director of player personnel, to new contracts, each one calling for two years plus an option. . . . Campese has been with the Raiders since 2007, first as head coach, then as general manager and head coach, then as general manager. . . . Derkatch, a former WHL star with the Regina Pats, has been with the Raiders through three bantam drafts.
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The Prince George Cougars have signed F Kody McDonald, the 24th overall selection in the 2013 bantam draft, to a WHL contract. Playing for the bantam AAA team at the Pursuit Of Excellence in Kelowna, he had 124 points, including 45 goals, in 47 games. McDonald, from Lethbridge, is the third player from Turning Point Sports Management’s stable to sign since the draft.
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So much for the Wenatchee Wild moving to the BCHL. The Wild, which has been embroiled in a battle for a new lease in Wenatchee, is on the move, but not to the BCHL. Instead, the NAHL franchise is relocating to Hidalgo, Texas, where it will operate as the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees starting next season. . . . In a news release, team president Bill Stewart said he expects head coach Bliss Littler and his staff to be part of the relocation. . . . The Wild will play out of State Farm Arena, a facility that seats 5,500 for hockey. . . . According to the Wild news release, "A presentation to and final approval by the USA Hockey junior council is expected in June."
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The Vancouver Giants announced Tuesday that Bruce Allen, a well-known manager in the entertainment business, has bought into the ownership group. As well, the Giants announced that they have signed three 2013 bantam draft picks – F Tyler Benson, F Matt Barberis and D Ryley McKinstry. . . . Benson was the first overall pick in the draft after putting up 146 points, including 57 goals, in 33 games with the Alberta Major Bantam League’s Edmonton South Side Athletic Club Southgate Lions. . . . Barberis, from Surrey, B.C., was another first-round pick, taken 20th overall. He had 48 points in 58 games with the Burnaby Winter Club Bruins. . . . McKinstry, from Calgary, was selected with the 23rd pick. He had 36 points in 29 games with the bantam AAA Calgary Bisons. . . . Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun has more on all of this right here. He also touches on how the Giants aren't interested in having Benson apply for exceptional status, but majority owner Ron Toigo wants to see the five-game rule bumped to 10 games. As things now stand, a 15-year-olds is only allowed to play five games before his club team has its season end.
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Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province starts a dispatch on Bruce Allen joining the Vancouver Giants ownership group with:
Bruce Allen is a minority owner with the Vancouver Giants now. He’s certainly not a silent partner, though.
"I just think there’s been an alienation for a lot of hockey fans from that organization up the street," Allen said at the official announcement Tuesday.
There’s more right here.
It’s interesting that Allen talks about team owners being in the entertainment business and how he feels he can make a difference from that angle. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in terms of the Giants as an entertainment vehicle.
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The Tri-City Americans have dealt D Clint Filbrandt, 18, to the Kootenay Ice for a fifth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. From Calgary, Filbrandt was a 10th-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft. The 5-foot-11, 175-pounder had three points and 17 penalty minutes in 31 games as a freshman this season. . . . "With an abundance of defencemen signed for the upcoming season, I wanted to give Clint an opportunity to continue to play in the WHL," Tri-City general manager Bob Tory said in a news release. . . . "With the uncertain future of Tanner Muth and whether he will able to return to our club next year we felt it was important to add another defenceman with WHL experience," Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth said in a news release. "Defencemen are tough to come by at all levels and this trade will give Clint an opportunity to be an everyday player with our club."
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The Augusta RiverHawks of the Southern Professional Hockey League have ceased operations. "We, as an organization, have not received any positive information concerning the replacement of the ice system at the James Brown Arena," the team said in a news released. "A May 12th deadline was communicated to the building manager back at the end of March or the beginning of April. We also have not received any information concerning monetary compensation for the loss of the Arena for the eight games that were to be played in the James Brown Arena in March of this year. We are taking a leave from League play with the approval from the League's governors for one season. Hopefully, something can be done in the greater CSRA to bring hockey back the following year. We will retain our franchise."
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The OHL’s London Knights have been selected as the host team for the 2014 Memorial Cup. The OHL’s selection committee chose London over the Barrie Colts and Windsor Spitfires. . . . The 2014 tournament will run May 16-25 at Budweiser Gardens. . . . The Knights won the Memorial Cup as the host team in 2005. . . . The decision means that the Knights will appear in three straight Memorial Cup tournaments. They lost in the final of the 2012 tournament, will compete in the 2013 affair in Saskatoon and now will be the host team in 2014.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The MJHL's Swan Valley Stampeders have signed Erik Peterson as their new general manager and head coach. Peterson, who is from Dauphin, Man., has spent the past 10 seasons coaching in Denmark. As a player, he won MJHL titles with the Dauphin Kings and Winnipeg South Blues. He replaces Dwayne Kirkup, who left the Stampeders to take over as GM and head coach of the MJHL's Neepawa Natives. . . .
Chad Kletzel is leaving the Kootenay Ice after one season as an assistant coach under head coach Ryan McGill. . . . "With the impending birth of their first child, Chad has decided to return to Lethbridge to resume his teaching career," Jeff Chynoweth, the Ice’s president, governor and general manager, said in a news release.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Kenndal McArdle (Moose Jaw, Vancouver, 2002-07) signed a one-year contract with Västerås (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had seven goals and 15 assists in 31 games with the Greenville Road Warriors (ECHL) and three goals and two assists in 30 games with the Rockford Ice Hogs (AHL) this
season.
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In a piece headlined Might and Right, Charles Pierce writes that with another season on the horizon "this is a perilous time for the NFL." That piece is right here, and hockey people should read this with interest.
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The Portland Winterhawks won the WHL championship in Edmonton on Sunday evening, and arrived home later that night. Paul Buker of The Oregonian has a piece right here that details the arrival and the beginning of Memorial Cup preparations.
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"Even without him at games, the Hawks didn't get there without Mike Johnston," writes Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune. His column is right here.
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The Vancouver Giants will make it official today – Bruce Allen, who manages some big names in the world of entertainment, has purchased a chunk of the WHL franchise. Among Allen’s clients if Michael Buble, who also owns a piece of the Giants. . . . Ron Toigo remains the franchise’s majority owner.
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The Kamloops Blazers have re-signed Craig Bonner, the organization’s executive vice-president and general manager. Bonner’s original five-year contract was to expire this offseason. . . . The Blazers didn’t announce any details, except for it being "a multi-year contract extension." . . . Kamloops is 188-143-29 with Bonner as GM, thanks to a pair of back-to-back 47-20-5 seasons in 2011-12 and 2012-13. The Blazers finished atop the B.C. Division in 2011-12 and were eliminated by the Portland Winterhawks in the second round of playoffs. This season, they were ousted by Portland in the Western Conference final. . . . Head coach Guy Charron and associate head coach Dave Hunchak, who have worked together for two seasons, are on contracts that expire this offseason. Don’t be surprised if Hunchak ends up as the head coach before another season gets here, with Charron, should he choose to stay on, remaining on the coaching staff in a secondary role. . . . Of course, there has been speculation that Dean Chynoweth could end up as the next head coach of the NHL's Colorado Avalanche. Should that happen, might he make an offer to Hunchak to join him as an assistant coach? The two spent three seasons with the Swift Current Broncos, with Chynoweth as head coach and Hunchak as assistant coach.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed F Scott Eansor, 17, of Denver to a WHL contract. Eansor played for the minor midget Colorado Thunderbirds Tier 1 team in 2012-13. Seattle G Danny Mumaugh and D Griffin Foulk both came through that same Colorado program.
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The Tri-City Americans made it official on Monday – they have signed F Parker AuCoin, their first-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft, to a WHL contract. AuCoin, from Calgary, was the 15th player taken in the draft. Playing with the Calgary Northstar Sabres, he scored 63 goals in 33 games last season, the second-highest total in Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League history. F Ty Rattie scored 75 for the Airdrie Xtreme in 2007-08. . . . Including playoffs and tournaments, AuCoin had 135 points, including 91 goals, in 56 games.
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Three members of the Edmonton Oil Kings – F Travis Ewanyk, D Martin Gernat and D David Musil – have joined the AHL`s Oklahoma City Barons. . . . All three were selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL`s 2011 entry draft – Musil in the second round, Ewanyk in the third and Gernat in the fifth. . . . The Oil Barons are in an AHL playoff series with the Texas Stars. Last night, the Oil Barons beat the visiting Stars 4-0 to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Game 4 will be played in OKC on Wednesday night.
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A note from an avid fan of the Portland Winterhawks:
Here is an excerpt from an article I found on the official Memorial Cup website . . .
The Hawks will be making their fourth trip to the Memorial Cup tournament, having won the Memorial Cup in 1998 as WHL Champions and in 1982 as the host team. Portland opens their Memorial Cup round robin schedule versus Halifax on May 18th.
WRONG ... WRONG ... WRONG - This will be the Hawks FIFTH trip to the Memorial Cup:
1982 - WHL Champs
1983 - Host Team
1986 - Host Team
1998 - WHL Champs
2013 - WHL Champs
And finally – how many times will we hear the "talking heads" on Rogers refer to the upcoming Memorial Cup – as the "national championship" . . . (or something like that) – despite the fact a team based in Portland, Oregon, is competing?
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THE COACHING GAME:
Al Sims, the director of player personnel and head coach of the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets, has retired. Sims had been the Komets’ head coach for 10 seasons, including the last six in a row. This also was his 38th season in professional hockey, since he was a freshman defenceman with the NHL’s Boston Bruins in 1973-74.
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The Memorial Cup field is set after the host London Knights scored a 3-2 victory over the Barrie Colts in Game 7 of the OHL final las night. . . . This one ended in thrilling fashion as London F Bo Horvat broke a 2-2 tie with less than one second remaining in the third period. In fact, the clock showed 0.1 when Horvat scored. . . . It was his 16th goal of the playoffs. He had three winners in the final series. . . . Barrie was without F Mark Scheifele, who was injured during Game 6. . . .The Knights are the third team in OHL history to win a series after trailing 3-1 in games. The 1979 Peterborough Petes and 1990 Oshawa Generals also did it. . . . London is the 10th team in OHL history to win back-to-back championships. . . . The Knights will open the Memorial Cup on Friday against the host Saskatoon Blades. . . . The WHL-champion Portland Winterhawks meet the QMJHL-champion Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday. . . . Ryan Pyette of the London Free Press has more on Horvat's winning goal right here.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Passive Voice (@ZKlineWHRB): "How the hell does Hadfield let that happen? Does he know nothing about hockey? If you're in space and your team is winning YOU STAY IN SPACE"
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From Steve Murray (@NPsteve): "Well, if @cmdr_hadfield landed and the Leafs had won he wouldn't believe he was on earth."

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