Western Conference, at a glance

From The Daily News of Thursday, Oct. 4, 2007 . . .

Four zeroes disappeared from the WHL’s Western Conference standings Wednesday night as the Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans lost and the Everett Silvertips and Prince George Cougars won.
The Chiefs, who hadn’t lost in nine pre- and regular-season games, fell 4-0 in Everett as the Silvertips won for the first time in five games.
And, in Prince George, the Cougars, who hadn’t even played with a lead in opening 0-4, dumped the previously unbeaten Americans, 5-2.
The Americans, who play nine of their first 10 games on the road, had won 5-2 in Prince George on Tuesay night.
Head coach Don Nachbaur’s Americans, according to the pundits, were going to struggle this season, what with something of a young team and without goaltender Carey Price. So much for that.
The Silvertips, meanwhile, were supposed to be one of the WHL’s top teams, despite losing head coach Kevin Constantine to the AHL’s Houston Aeros. Well, so much for that, too, at least in the early going.
Anyway, in what will become a regular feature in these pages, here’s a look at the Western Conference teams, as they now are positioned in the standings:
1. TRI-CITY AMERICANS (5-1-0-0): Amazingly, the Americans won their first five games despite the fact they have yet to play a home game. They will play nine of their first 10 on the road — the circus has been in their home rink — before playing 15 of 16 on home ice from Oct. 16 through Dec. 1. . . . C Kruise Reddick, a 5-foot-9, 165-pounder whose family manor is in Manor, Sask., leads the WHL with 13 points. Last season, he had 22 in 60 games. . . . The Americans go home-and-home with Spokane on Friday and Saturday as both teams finally play their home-openers.
2. VANCOUVER GIANTS (4-0-0-1): The defending Memorial Cup champions (who aren’t the WHL’s defending champions) got a huge addition this week when the Vancouver Canucks returned C Mario Bliznak, a 20-year-old Slovak who is one of the WHL’s top faceoff men and a terrific defensive player. But he needs to work on his offence. . . . They didn’t get back captain Milan Lucic, the 18-year-old who captained Team Canada in its thrashing of a Russian side last month. He will open the season with the NHL’s Boston Bruins, which is good news for him and bad news for the fans in Beantown. . . . With Lucic gone, at least for now, the Giants have chosen RW Spencer Machacek as their captain. . . . The Giants are at home to Chilliwack on Friday and Kelowna on Monday.
3. CHILLIWACK BRUINS (4-1-0-0): The Bruins have allowed only 10 goals in five games and have beaten B.C. Division rivals Kamloops, Prince George and Vancouver. They have four players with at least a point per game in C Mark Santorelli (8), LW Colby Kulhanek (6), D Nick Holden (6) and RW Oscar Moller (5). . . . There isn’t a defenceman in the league playing better than Holden right now. . . . The Bruins added RW Brandon Campos, 20, on Wednesday, after he had been placed on waivers by Everett. Campos, from Port Coquitlam, replaces RW Ken Petkau, 20, who has decided to retire rather than play on the Bruins’ third line. . . . The Bruins are in Vancouver on Friday, at home to Kamloops on Saturday and at home to Spokane on Monday.
4. SPOKANE CHIEFS (3-1-0-0): The Chiefs, who went 6-0 in the preseason, opened 3-0 for the fifth time in franchise history and the first time since 2001-02. Only once, in 1992-93, has Spokane opened 4-0. . . . The Chiefs also have yet to play at home. . . . They are on the road against Tri-City on Friday before finally staging their home-opener Saturday against those same Americans. The Chiefs are in Chilliwack on Monday.
5. KAMLOOPS BLAZERS (2-1-0-0): After an early schedule loaded with off days, the Blazers play three games in four nights over the Thanksgiving weekend. . . . C Brock Nixon is slumping. After figuring in each of the team’s first six goals this season, he missed out on their last two. . . . The Blazers are at home to Swift Current on Friday, in Chilliwack on Saturday and face the visiting Calgary Hitmen, the CHL’s top-ranked team this week, on Monday.
6. SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS (1-0-1-0): Yes, the Thunderbirds still are in the league. It’s just that they only have played two games. They’ll play Friday in Kelowna and return home to face the Rockets on Saturday. Then they’ll be off until Oct. 12. . . . Seattle should have C Jim O’Brien, the Ottawa Senators’ first-round pick in the NHL’s 2007 draft, in their lineup this weekend. He has been rehabbing after offseason shoulder surgery.
7. KELOWNA ROCKETS (1-2-1-0): The Rockets were outshot 16-0 in the first period of a 5-0 loss to host Vancouver on Saturday. Since then, C Brady Leavold has arrived from the Swift Current Broncos and LW Jamie Benn joined the club from the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies. Benn was the BCHL’s rookie of the year last season. The Rockets cut C Jason MacDonald, 18, yesterday. . . . Leavold’s arrival has left them with four 20-year-olds, meaning one must go. G Kris Westblom and LW James McEwan, the team captain, would seem safe, meaning D Lyon Messier, the son of you know who, would appear to be on the bubble. . . . The Rockets go home-and-home with Seattle on Friday and Saturday, then play in Vancouver on Monday.
8. EVERETT SILVERTIPS (1-4-0-0): The Silvertips have issues with 20-year-olds and imports, as in they have too many of both. They still are carrying five 20-year-olds and three imports. And, just to confuse matters, one of the imports, LW Ondrej Fiala, is a 20-year-old. . . . On the ice, the Silvertips appear to be having discipline problems. Last night’s victory over Spokane included 131 penalty minutes. Last season, the ‘Tips averaged 20.8 penalty minutes per game; this season, that figure is 34.0.
9. PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS (1-4-0-0): The Cougars finally won last night as D Dana Tyrell set up three goals and G Real Cyr, who had been hooked in two of his previous three starts, stopped 31 shots. . . . They are hoping G Tommy Tartaglione, a 19-year-old Californian who has had stops in Vancouver, Regina and Edmonton, can provide support for Ryan Cyr, 20. . . . The Cougars are at home to Swift Current on Saturday and Calgary on Sunday before heading out on a six-game East Division road trip.
10. PORTLAND WINTER HAWKS (0-4-0-0): There still are 28 bodies on the roster and that’s about five too many. So you know changes are coming. . . . It hasn’t been pretty to date as the Winter Hawks have been outscored 15-3 — they’ve been blanked twice — and outshot 143-65. And one of the league’s most-penalized teams is 1-for-25 on the power play, while giving up six power-play goals on 25 opportunities. . . . Perhaps the braintrust is waiting to see how the Hawks fare this weekend — they are in Everett on Friday with the Silvertips visiting Portland on Saturday — before doing anything.