Tuesday notes . . .

The WHL’s hanging judge has been busy. . . . D Drew Nichol of the Edmonton Oil Kings drew a one-game suspension for an elbowing major and game misconduct against Sasaktoon on Saturday. . . . Portland F Viktor Sjodin got two games for a checking-from-behind incident against Vancouver on Sunday. . . . And — ho, ho, ho — the WHL coffers are $1,250 richer today, just in time for Christmas. Edmonton head coach Steve Pleau donated $500 after taking a game misconduct against Saskatoon on Saturday, while Greg Hawgood of the Kamloops Blazers also coughed up $500. He picked up a game misconduct with two seconds left in Saturday’s game against Chilliwack, meaning each of the two seconds he missed cost him $250. . . . Edmonton tossed an extra $250 into the pot for being involved in its second line brawl — the WHL office refers to them as, ahem, “multiple fights” — against Saskatoon on Saturday. . . . For the record, WHL general managers and coaches have kicked in $4,000 this season. Obviously, they are working hard to make up for the absence of Kevin Constantine. . . .

Don Hay, the head coach of the Vancouver Giants, has twice been fined $500 this season. He may hear from the WHL office again after telling the Vancouver Province’s Steve Ewen that he doesn’t like the fact Everett D Dane Crowley wasn’t suspended for hit on RW Michal Repik on Saturday. Repik spent two nights in hospital and is out indefinitely with a concussion. Crowley was given an interference major and game misconducts, penalties the WHL now has revoked. “I thought the league was trying to prevent hits to the head and late hits and that’s what we saw,” Hay told Ewen. . . . WHL vice-president Richard Doerksen told Ewen that Repik was injured because his helmet came off and his head hit the ice. . . .

The Chilliwack Bruins have assigned D Kevin Boutilier, 19, to the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits. Boutilier had five points and 30 penalty minutes in 28 games after recording five points in 38 games last season. . . . The acquisition of D Chris Vanduynhoven from the Prince George Cougars last week left the Bruins with eight defencemen so a move was imminent. . . .

Chilliwack C Oscar Moller and Edmonton F Robin Figren will play for Sweden at the World Junior Championship which opens Dec. 26 in Czech Republic. Moller, who will be making his first appearance with Sweden’s national junior team, likely will leave the Bruins after playing Dec. 14 and 15 against the Vancouver Giants. He likely would miss five games before returning upon the Jan. 5 conclusion of the WJC. . . . Figren has sat out four games with a wrist injury but he learned Tuesday that the wrist is neither broken nor sprained. He was a late cut from Sweden’s WJC team a year ago. . . .

Vancouver Giants D Jon Blum is the lone WHLer named to USA Hockey’s national junior team that will play in the WJC starting on Dec. 26. Blum is from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. He was the only WHL player at the U.S.’s summer camp in August. . . .

With the Everett Silvertips having lost their last five games and fallen to .500 (14-14-0-2), head coach John Becanic dumped the Mr. Nice Guy routine. "We had a little bit of a skate Sunday morning," Becanic told the Everett Herald’s Nick Patterson. "We took 21 penalties, so we did 21 bag skates. It wasn't for losing, it was just for being undisciplined. So we had a skate Sunday morning at 9 after getting in late the night before. . . “ Everett fell 7-0 to the Giants in Vancouver on Sunday, the first seven-goal loss in franchise history. . . . Everett LW Kyle Beach and RW Dan Gendur, who left the Vancouver game with injuries, are expected to play Wednesday against the visiting Tri-City Americans. But RW Matt Ius and LW Tyler Eskesen will sit out because of concussions. . . .

TUESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
In Regina, the Brandon Wheat Kings scored four first-period goals and led 5-0 in the second en route to a 5-2 victory over the Pats. . . . Brandon (20-9-0-1) and Regina (19-12-0-1) had been tied for first in the East Division. . . . Brandon has won six straight and is 13-3 in its last 15 games. . . . Brandon freshman C Brayden Schenn had two assists. He has 10 points in his last five games. . . . Regina GM Brent Parker visited his team’s dressing room after the game and had a few words for the troops. . . . Asked by the Regina Leader-Post’s Greg Harder about Parker’s chat, F Jared Jagow replied: “It was pretty bad.” And what was the message? “That we have to grow up, start playing like men every day. We’re supposed to be a good team in this league and we better start playing like it.” . . . Regina head coach Curtis Hunt then scheduled a Wednesday practice for 6:45 a.m. . . . Brandon got goals from Scott Glennie, Theran Yeo and Daniel Bartek on its first seven shots. . . . Glennie and Bartek each scored twice. Glennie, another fine rookie, has 12 goals; Bartek has 14. . . . Brandon lost LW Del Cowan (concussion) in the first period. . . .

In Saskatoon, the Blades halted a two-game slide with a 3-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Saskatoon (11-18-1-0) is 9-4-0-0 at home. . . . The Ice (18-11-3-0) had won four in a row and 11 of 12. In fact, the Ice was 11-0-1-0 in its last 12. . . . Kootenay C Steve Da Silva, who is from Saskatoon, had the game’s first goal to run his point streak to 15 games. . . . Saskatoon D Jyri Niemi and D Sam Klassen got the key goals, erasing a 1-0 deficit with goals 1:30 apart in the second period. . . . Kootenay’s last two regulation-time losses have been in Saskatoon. It fell 3-2 there on Oct. 31. . . . Niemi was back on the ice after missing 17 games with a wrist injury. . . . Saskatoon G Braden Holtby made 31 saves. . . . Saskatoon LW Curtis Hamilton, the youngest regular in the WHL, turned 16 on Tuesday. . . .

In Seattle, C Kruise Reddick was credited with a goal at 1:47 of OT as the Tri-City Americans beat the Thunderbirds, 3-2. . . . The Thunderbirds (11-10-5-1) lost 5-2 to the Americans in Kennewick, Wash., on Saturday. . . . The Americans (21-6-0-0) have won eight of nine. . . . Tri-City LW Colton Yellow Horn forced the OT with a 5-on-3 power-play goal three minutes into the third period. He has 13 goals and 11 assists on an 11-game point streak. . . . The winner came on the PP as D T.J. Fast’s shot hit Reddick in the shins and got past G Riku Helenius, who finished with 33 saves. . . . Fast also scored his club’s first goal. . . . The Thunderbirds actually led this one 2-0. . . . Seattle head coach Rob Sumner was handed a game misconduct by referee Andy Thiessen after the winning goal. Cha-ching! That’ll be worth $500. . . . Sumner didn’t like the boarding penalty handed D Benn Olson prior to the winning goal. . . . The Americans have been to OT six times and have four OT victories and two shootout victories. . . . Seattle is 0-5 in OT and 1-1 in shootouts. . . .

In Swift Current, the Broncos got out to a 3-0 lead and went on to beat the Red Deer Rebels, 4-1. . . . The Broncos (16-10-0-5) has lost their last two games. . . . The Rebels (8-20-4-1) are in the Eastern Conference cellar, two points behind the Saskatoon Blades. . . . RW Dale Weise, with his 16th goal of the season, and RW Keegan Dansereau, with his 12th, scored for Swift Current in the first period and LW Brad Hoban got his second goal on the PP at 2:25 of the second. . . . The Broncos, who got 20 saves from G Travis Yonkman, were 2-for-7 on the PP; the Rebels were 1-for-6. . . . C Brandon Sutter scored his 10th goal of the season for Red Deer. . . .

In Chilliwack, D Chris Vanduynhoven, who had four goals in about three seasons with Prince George, scored shorthanded for the Bruins as they beat the Cougars, 6-3. . . . The Bruins (17-12-3-0) have won four straight, and have won four of five games with P.G. . . . The Cougars (11-21-0-0) have lost three in a row. . . . Chilliwack LW Mark Santorelli had a goal and an assist. He now has 16 points in his last six games and leads the WHL with 56 points. . . . Bruins C Oscar Moller had four assists. He is second to Santorelli, with 49 points. . . . LW Evan Pighin, who plays on the Bruins’ big line, added two goals and an assist. He has 17 points in 14 games since joining the Bruins from the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks. . . . Chilliwack got off to a 3-0 lead and although the Cougars cut the deficit to one the Bruins never trailed. . . . Chilliwack started rookie G Mark Friesen but he left with an undisclosed injury and Matt Esposito played the last 10:37. . . . The Cougars now will play six straight games at home. . . . Chilliwack F Ryan Howse left in the first period with an undisclosed injury. . . . Prince George D Jesse Dudas (foot) and F Dana Tyrell (knee) sat this one out but could be ready for the weekend. . . .

In Edmonton, the Spokane Chiefs dumped the Oil Kings, 5-2. . . . Edmonton head coach Steve Pleau was an assistant coach with the Chiefs last season. . . . Edmonton (11-15-2-3) has lost four of five games. . . . Spokane (22-4-1-2) lead WHL in victories and is first overall. . . . The Chiefs, who outshot Edmonton 15-3 in the first period, are 11-3-1-0 on the road. . . . C David Rutherford scored his first goal for Spokane since returning from a groin injury. . . . LW Drayson Bowman, named the CHL’s player of the month earlier in the day, had his WHL-leading 26th goal for the Chiefs. . . . Spokane G Kevin Armstrong stopped 20 shots to improve to 10-3-1-1. His running mate, Dustin Tokarski, was named the CHL’s goatender of the week earlier in the day. . . . LW Braeden Admayk scored his first WHL goal for the Oil Kings. . . . The Chiefs are in Lethbridge to meet the red-hot Hurricanes on Wednesday night. . . .

In Kamloops, RW Tyler Shattock had two goals as the Blazers dumped the Portland Winter Hawks, 6-4. . . . The Blazers (14-13-1-1) had lost three in a row. . . . Kamloops is 4-0 against Portland this season. . . . Portland (5-23-0-0) held 2-0 and 3-1 leads before giving up five straight goals. . . . Portland G Kurtis Mucha made 38 saves. . . . With Mucha on the bench for the extra attacker, Shattock drilled the cross-bar or he would have had his first WHL hat trick. . . . C Brock Nixon had three assists for the Blazers. . . . Portland got two goals from F Matt Betker. . . . The Winter Hawks lost D Ryan Kerr (shoulder) and F Aaron McGill (suspected concussion). Kerr was injured in a fight with Kamloops D Ryan Bender right off the opening faceoff. . . .

G'night from Kamloops, where it's plus-6 at 12:30 a.m. Snow? What snow?