Tuesday from Kelowna

Perched in the press box in Kelowna, looking at the replay screen-less scoreclock that Regan Bartel, the radio voice of the Rockets, loves so much . . .

Some news from earlier in the day. . . .

Nolan Toigo, a swingman who played defence and forward, appears to have ended his WHL career. Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that Toigo, 18, told Giants head coach Don Hay on Friday that he was “tired of the whole routine” and wanted to move on. Toigo is a nephew of Giants majority owner Ron Toigo. . . . "I had trouble getting myself to the rink, if that makes any sense," Nolan Toigo told Ewen. "It's nothing against Don. He's a great coach. It's nothing against the guys. They're a great team and I love all of them. Personally, I just didn't feel like I could do it anymore." . . . A 10th-round pick in the 2004 bantam draft, Toigo got into 33 games last season and had two assists and 29 penalty minutes. This season, he had one assist and two penalty minutes in 14 games. . . .

Former NHL coach Robbie Ftorek is back in the coaching game. Ftorek has replaced Peter Sidorkiewicz as head coach of the OHL’s Erie Otters, who, at 3-12-0-0, have the league’s worst record. Erie GM Sherry Bassin says he first approached Ftorek on Sunday and the deal got done in a hurry. Sidorkiewicz, a goaltender who played for Ftorek with the AHL’s Albany River Rats, associate head coach Mike Stapleton and assistant coach Mike Nelson all are expected to stay with the Otters. . . . . Sidorkiewicz spent last season and this as the Otters’ head coach. They went 18-62-1-2 under him. . . .

In the QMJHL, the P.E.I. Rocket has undergone more changes. Most of the club’s shares are owned by Marc Savard, who was the governor, and his brother, Serge Savard Jr., who was the GM. Marc has taken a position with the Quebec government, so Serge is taking over as governor. But the QMJHL has a rule that governors can’t be GMs. Guy Chouinard, the new head coach, has also taken over as director of hockey operations. . . .

A note from the Chilliwack Bruins: “Chilliwack Bruins Director of Broadcasting Robbie (The Grape Guy) Snooks will be making a return appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Tuesday, Oct. 30. Robbie, the current grape stuffing world record holder, will engage in a marshmellow stuffing battle with the reigning hamburger stuffing champion. Tune in to NBC on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 11:35pm.” That is, of course, Pacific time, and this doesn’t have anything to do with stuffing Don Cherry into a sack.