The QMJHL has revealed that six teams have submitted letters of intent to play host to the 2009 Memorial Cup tournament. The Chicoutimi SaguenĂ©ens, Halifax Mooseheads, Lewiston MAINEiacs, Rimouski OcĂ©anic, Shawinigan Cataractes and St. John’s Fog Devils all are interested. . . . Commissioner Gilles Courteau now will strike a committee to oversee the site selection. . . .
Our European correspondent reports that F Travis Green (Spokane) has signed with Zug of the Swiss National League A for the rest of the season. Recognizable names on the Zug roster are ex-NHLers Paul Di Pietro and Michal Grosek (Tacoma). . . .
The Prince Albert Raiders were down to 11 forwards when they acquired C Justin Bernhardt, 19, from the Prince Albert Raiders on Thursday. C Bryce Lamb (wrist) is out for up to six weeks, while C Andy Smith (knee) is gone indefinitely. D Kyle Aschim (concussion) is shown as day-to-day. . . .
FRIDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans got two goals from Johnny Lazo and 31 saves from Chet Pickard as they whipped the Vancouver Giants 8-2. . . . The last time the Giants gave up close to that many goals on the road was Nov. 12, 2004, when they were beaten 7-5 in Portland. . . . Tri-City (13-4-0-0) is 7-1 at home where it has outscored its opposition 35-19. . . . The Giants (11-4-1-2), who have lost two in a row and been outscored 11-2 in the process, had beaten the visiting Americans 4-1 on Oct. 13. . . . Red-hot Jason Reese had a goal and three helpers for the Americans, while Kruise Reddick added three assists. . . .
In Brandon, the Wheat Kings broke a 3-3 tie with a late second-period goal and went on to beat the Swift Current Broncos, 5-3. . . . F Daniel Bartek’s goal with 21 seconds left in the second period stood up as the winner. . . . Andrew Clark upped the lead to 53 just 23 seconds into the third period. . . . The Wheat Kings (10-6-0-1), who have won three in a row, had lost two straight at home. . . . The Broncos (11-5-0-2) had a three-game winning streak halted. . . . Because Clark’s goal came in the first 30 seconds of the third period, a lucky season-ticket holder — Jason Earl — won $5,000 in a Keg Steakhouse promotion. . . . Clark somehow was left off the WHL rosters for the ADT Challenge games later this month. "I saw the roster and it just made me want to play that much harder to prove those guys wrong." Clark told the Brandon Sun. . . . Point made. . . .
In Kamloops, LW Dana Tyrell, a 30-goal man last season, had his first WHL
hat trick as the Prince George Cougars whipped the Blazers 8-3. . . . Tyrell
has eight goals and four assists in his last six games. . . . The Blazers
(6-9-1-0) have lost three in a row and four of five. . . . Prince George,
which was coming off a 3-0 beating of visiting Vancouver on Monday, has won four of five. . . . Alex Poulter, a preseason acquisition from Red Deer, had his ninth and 10th goals, both on the PP. . . . The Cougars were 4-for-8 on the PP, with three of those coming in the first period. . . . The Cougars
took a 5-0 lead into the third period. . . .
In Kelowna, F Jamie Benn had two goals, including the winner a minute into OT, as the Rockets edged the Chilliwack Bruins, 3-2. . . . RW Oscar Moller scored his 16th of the season for the Bruins (10-4-2-0). . . . The Rockets (7-7-1-1) have won two in a row. . . . Moller gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead in the second period, with Benn tying the score before the period ended. . . . The teams meet Saturday in Chilliwack. . . . C Cody Almond, who had five points in a 6-1 victory over visiting Kamloops on Tuesday, set up Benn’s winning goal with a strong forecheck. Almond finished with two assists. . . .
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In Cranbrook, D Chad Greenan broke a 2-2 tie with a power-play goal at 10:33 of the third period as the Kootenay Ice dumped the Calgary Hitmen, 4-2. . . . Greenan also had an assist for the Ice (8-10-2-0). . . . Ice C Steve Da Silva, who had six goals in his previous seven games, was held to one assist. . . . The Hitmen (11-6-0-1) has lost three in a row. . . . Calgary LW Bostjan Golicic scored his first WHL goal and he did it in front of his parents who are visiting from Slovakia. . . . Calgary C Brett Sonne left early in the first period with an apparent knee injury after a hit from Ice D Ian Barteaux. . . . D Paul MacDonald has left the team for what the Ice is calling personal reasons. . . .
In Medicine Hat, the Portland Winter Hawks took a 4-3 lead after the first period and hung on for — yes — a 4-3 victory over the Tigers. . . . The Tigers (12-4-2-0) went in 8-1-1-0 in their last 10 games. They now are 9-2 at home. . . . The Winter Hawks (3-13-0-0) had lost three in a row, including a 9-1 loss to visiting Spokane on Sunday. . . . The Winter Hawks actually led 4-1 in the first period before the Tigers scored twice to narrow the deficit. . . . The Tigers outshot the visitors 19-7 in the third period but couldn’t beat G Kurtis Mucha, who finished with 41 saves. . . .
In Red Deer, Kyle Beach scored the game-winner with just more than seven minutes left in the third period as the Everett Silvertips beat the Rebels, 3-1. . . . The Rebels (4-13-3-0) took a 1-0 lead into the third period where they were outshot 8-2 and outscored 3-0. . . . Everett D Taylor Ellington tied the game early in the third period on the Silvertips’ ninth power play of the game. . . . Red Deer has lost nine in a row and six in a row at home. . . . The Silvertips (9-7-0-0) had lost 4-1 in Edmonton on Thursday to halt a three-game losing streak. . . . Red Deer F Cass Mappin completed a three-game suspension. . . . The Rebels open a five-game road swing Sunday in Prince George. . . . According to the Red Deer Advocate, attendance was announced as 6,010 but it was “a gathering that was actually closer to 5,000.” . . . The Advocate also reports that “the Rebels have suspended forward Luke Betts indefinitely for apparently refusing a trade to the Prince Albert Raiders for a pair of non-roster prospects.” . . .
In Regina, captain Riley Holzapfel returned from a six-game absence to score twice and set up another as the Moose Jaw Warriors dumped the Pats 5-2. . . . Holzapfel, who is from Regina, had been out with a concussion after a hit from Regina D Colten Teubert. . . . The Pats (12-7-0-0) have followed a five-game winning streak by losing three in a row. . . . The Warriors (9-3-3-1-) have won nine of 11 and have at least a point in each of their last 11 games. . . . Jason Bast had two goals from Moose Jaw. He has 16 points, including six goals, on an eight-game point streak. . . . The game draw a season-high crowd (6,003). . . . Moose Jaw G Joey Perricone stopped 37 shots. . . . The Warriors lost LW Riley Grantham (hip) in the second period, while LW Terrance Delaronde left late in the third with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Warriors are in Brandon on Saturday night. . . .
In Spokane, G Dustin Tokarski stopped 21 shots to lead the Chiefs to a 3-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Tokarski had earned this start with a 2-0 blanking of visiting Seattle on Saturday. . . . The Chiefs (12-2-1-1) have won nine straight, while the Thunderbirds (6-4-2-1) have lost three straight. . . . Seattle G Riku Helenius stopped 37 shots. . . . D Jared Spurgeon’s first-period goal stood up as the winner. . . . Spokane’s winning streak is the second-longest in franchise history. . . . Kevin Armstrong is expected to get the start tonight as Spokane plays host to Vancouver. That’s because he beat the Giants 2-0 in Vancouver on Oct. 21.