Friday's over

THE MacBETH REPORT: Now that the WHL has settled down, we can look to Europe. . . . Sweden, Finland, Germany, and the UK have a Jan. 31 signing and transfer deadline. The deadline has passed for Denmark (Dec. 15), Norway (Dec. 31) and Italy (Dec. 31). The odd duck is Switzerland, whose deadline is 24 hours before the playoffs start. . . . D Burt Henderson (Tacoma/Kelowna) has signed with Newcastle (UK Elite League). Henderson joins F Paul Ferone (Seattle) in Newcastle.

NEWS AND NOTES: The Wednesday trade in which RW Brent Ottmann, 19, went from the Prince Albert Raiders to Kelowna Rockets for an undisclosed conditional draft pick is off. Ottmann has chosen to stay with the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks rather than join the Rockets. . . . After trading D Bretton Stamler to the Swift Current Broncos, the Edmonton Oil Kings needed a new captain. So the ‘C’ has been given to Matt Swaby, like Stamler a 20-year-old defenceman. . . . RW Josh Schappert, who left the Seattle Thunderbirds at Christmas and demanded a trade, has joined the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers. No, the Thunderbirds didn’t move Schappert at the deadline. . . . A group from Wenatchee, Wash., has applied for a franchise in the 17-team Texas-based North American Hockey League. Wenatchee, which is soon to have a new arena, was once believed on the verge of landing a BCHL franchise and has been rumoured as a potential home for a WHL team. Rick Brodsky, who owns the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, owns an NAHL franchise, the Wichita Falls Wildcats. . . .

FRIDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:

In Red Deer, G James Reimer stopped 46 shots to lead the Rebels to a 3-0 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Rebels (12-28-4-1) had lost two in a row and five of six. . . . They now are 5-15-0-0 at home. . . . The Warriors (21-13-4-4) have lost four straight on the road. . . . It was Reimer’s first shutout of the season and fourth of his career. . . . Moose Jaw head coach Dave Hunchak was of the opinion that his club was better in this one than it had been in beating the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings 5-2 on Wednesday. . . . Red Deer got goals from C Brandon Sutter, LW Troy Ofukany and C Carter Smith, the former Warrior. The latter scored into an empty net. . . .

In Regina, the new-look Pats built up a 5-0 lead and went on to a 5-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants in front of 6,055 fans at the Brandt Centre. . . . The Pats (26-15-3-1) have points in their last four games (2-0-2-0) . . . Regina remained one point ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings for the East Division lead and the second seed in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Giants (29-9-1-4) were opening an eastern swing. They had won three straight games and were 6-0 versus Regina over the previous five years. . . . Regina C Tim Kraus, the former Giant, had a goal and two assists with his mother and a brother in the stands. . . . Kraus had missed the previous three games after needing reconstructive surgery to repair the damage done when he took a puck to one ear. He is playing with a special protective piece on his helmet. . . . Regina head coach Curtis Hunt was back behind the Pats’ bench for the first time since serving as an assistant with Team Canada at the WJC. D Logan Pyett was back in the lineup after also being with Team Canada. . . . Regina G Linden Rowat stopped 27 shots to put up his 20^th victory of the season. He lost his shutout on two late 5-on-3 Vancouver goals. . . . The Pats acquired six players leading up to the trade deadline and five were in the lineup. . . . They got a goal from RW Ryan DePape, who was acquired from Prince Albert. . . . Regina had D Victor Bartley, acquired from the Kamloops Blazers last week, was scratched with a groin injury. He has returned to skating but isn’t yet game-ready. He won’t play Saturday against the visiting Swift Current Broncos but may be in the lineup Tuesday when the Brandon Wheat Kings are in Regina. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., LW Adam Hughesman had a goal and two assists to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 4-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Americans (29-10-1-2) had lost four straight, including a 3-2 setback one week earlier in Kamloops. . . . The Ams are 20-3-0-1 at home. They also won the season series with Kamloops, 3-1. . . . The Blazers (19-23-1-4) have lost four straight and been outscored 24-5 in those games. They also are four games under .500 for the first time this season. . . . LW Colton Yellow Horn had a goal and an assist for the winners. . . . D Nick Ross scored for Kamloops. He has one point in each of the four games he has played since coming over from the Regina Pats in a trade last weekend. . . . Kamloops G James Priestner stopped 36 shots as the Blazers gave up at least 32 shots for the ninth straight game. . . . Tri-City, with G Chet Pickard earning win No. 25 on the season, outshot Kamloops 18-4 in the first period and took a 3-0 lead. . . . Kamloops C C.J. Stretch didn’t return after taking a late second-period hit from Tri-City D Tyler Schmidt. . . . Tri-City C Shaun Vey and D Brett Plouffe, both of whom missed time with concussions, returned. C Taylor Procyshen (concussion) remains out. . . . The Americans play in Spokane on Saturday. The Chiefs, who lead the Western Conference by two points over Vancouver, are four points ahead of Tri-City. . . . Kamloops, eighth in the Western Conference, was without RW Juuso Puustinen (Finland) and LW Ivan Rohac (Slovakia), who played at the World Junior Championship. Both are expected to play at home Saturday against Chilliwack. . . .

In Brandon, C Sanfred King had a goal, his second, and an assist to lead the Wheat Kings to a 4-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Wheat Kings (27-14-0-1) are 4-1 versus Swift Current this season. . . . The Broncos (22-18-0-5) had won three in a row. . . . King, who is from Brandon, was the 17^th overall pick in the 2005 bantam draft. . . . Brandon D Matt McCue, acquired Thursday from the Chilliwack Bruins, drew an assist on the game’s first goal, from C Brayden Schenn, his 17^th. . . .

In Everett, G Riku Helenius, in his first game back after playing for Finland at the World Junior Championship, stopped 33 shots as the Seattle Thunderbirds dumped the Silvertips, 3-1. . . . Seattle (18-14-5-1) had lost two straight games, both against the Vancouver Giants. . . . Seattle is 5-0 versus Everett (23-20-0-2), which had won three straight. . . . Attendance was 8,414, not including an untold number of potato heads. . . . RW Dan Gendur assisted on Everett’s goal and has 14 points in his last seven games. . . . Neither of these teams made even one move at the trade deadline. . . . Seattle was 0-for-8 on the PP; Everett was 1-for-5. . . . Those numbers didn’t impress Everett head coach John Becanic, who may as well write a cheque and mail it to the WHL office. "We were on the wrong side of bad officiating," Becanic told the Everett Herald’s Nick Patterson. "(Dane) Crowley gets hit from behind, then as he's standing there jawing with (Benn) Olson gets cross-checked from behind to the ground. (Shane) Harper gets hit from behind into the boards. (Jonathan) Harty gets slashed on his hands and can barely hold his stick. Then they call Mickey Mouse stuff out there." . . . On this night, “they” were Matt Kirk and Colby Smith. . . . Becanic, who obviously found coal in his Christmas stocking, added:"Our power play sucked." . . . And, as for the opposing team, well, he told Patterson: "They're never entertaining games when you play (Seattle) because it's like skating through mud. They're good at slashing and obstructing and not taking penalties while they do it. And they get away with it." . . . Everett is fifth in the Western Conference, six points ahead of Seattle, which holds seven games in hand. The teams are scheduled to meet five more times, starting with Jan. 26 in Seattle. . . . C Zack Dailey, who had missed six games with a groin injury, scored for Everett. . . . Seattle was without RW Bud Holloway, its leading scorer, due to a concussion. . . .

In Cranbrook, the Medicine Hat Tigers struck for three second-period goals and went on to beat the Kootenay Ice, 4-1. . . . The Tigers (25-15-3-1) had lost their last two games. . . . The Ice (25-15-3-0) had won their last two outings and seven of nine. . . . The teams have evenly split four games this season. . . . D Brayden McNabb, 16, opened the game’s scoring with his first career goal for the Ice in the first period. . . . The Tigers took control on second-period goals by LW Tyler Ennis, his 24^th, C Brennan Bosch and C Bretton Cameron, who added an empty-netter late in the game. . . . Medicine Hat was 1-for-3 on the PP; the Ice was 0-for-7, including a lengthy 6-on-3 advantage late in the game. . . . According to Jeff Bromley of the Kootenay NewsAdvertiser, attendance was “announced at 3,029. Maybe they all wore Royal Blue – the color of the Rec Plex seats – because I couldn't see that many.” . . . Bromley also reports that D Eric Frere, whom the Ice acquired from the Calgary Hitmen, was solid, while Zach Sim, a defenceman acquired from the Prince Albert Raiders, was used as a fourth-line forward and also played on the back end. . . .

In Lethbridge, D Luca Sbisa broke a scoreless tie with 4:56 left in the third period and the Lethbridge Hurricanes went on to a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Hurricanes (27-14-1-2) are kind of unbeaten in four (3-0-0-1). . . . The Oil Kings are (15-21-2-6) and 11 points out of a playoff spot. . . . Edmonton G Alex Archibald gave up his first goal on the 35^th shot. . . . Lethbridge ended up outshooting the visitors, 39-14. . . . Archibald’s evening included stopping freshman LW Carter Bancks on a second-period penalty shot. . . . Lethbridge G Mike Maniago earned his third shutout of the season and fifth of his career. . . . Lethbridge D Jeff May, acquired Wednesday from the Prince Albert Raiders, played for the first time since he suffered a shoulder injury on Nov. 24. . . . Lethbridge C Zach Boychuk (Canada) and Sbisa (Switzerland) returned after playing at the World Junior Championship, but Edmonton went without RW Robin Figren (Sweden). . . . Edmonton actually had Figren dealt to the Regina Pats earlier in the week, but he was given the option of reporting and the New York Islanders draft pick chose to stay with the expansion team. . . .

In Portland, C Seth Compton scored two goals, set up two others and was plus-4 as the Spokane Chiefs dumped the Winter Hawks, 6-2. . . . The Chiefs (31-8-1-2) have won four straight. They are 5-0 against Portland this season. . . . The Winter Hawks are 8-32-0-1. . . . Spokane LW Drayson Bowman scored the game’s first goal, his 29^th, on a first-period power play. . . . LW Phil Gervais scored for Portland in his first game since being acquired from the Vancouver Giants. . . .

In Prince Albert, the Saskatoon Blades scored a 5-3 victory over the Raiders. The triumph pulled the Blades (15-24-3-2), who are 3-1 versus P.A., into a tie with the Raiders (14-25-3-2) for 10^th in the 12-team Eastern Conference. They are 16 points out of a playoff spot. . . . The teams meet Saturday in Saskatoon. . . . The Raiders actually held 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 leads but couldn’t hold them. . . . Freshman LW Curtis Hamilton broke a 3-3 tie at 19:41 of the second period. It was his fourth goal. He is 87 goals behind his father, Bruce, who played three seasons for the Blades (1975-77). . . . The Blades hadn’t scored five goals in a game since Oct. 12 when they beat the visiting Red Deer Rebels, 5-2. . . . C Matt Robertson drew an assist on each of the Raiders goals. . . . Raiders LW Jared Jagow, acquired Wednesday from the Regina Pats, told the Prince Albert Herald that he was shocked to be traded. “It was tough saying goodbye to those guys after being there for two years, but it could have been worse,” Jagow said. “At least it's not Prince George.” . . . Sorry, fans, the Raidersd and Cougars aren’t scheduled to play again this season. . . . Saskatoon was 3-for-7 on the PP; the Raiders were 1-for-6. . . .

In Prince George, the Kelowna Rockets scored six times in the first period and skated to an 11-1 victory over the Cougars. . . . The Rockets (26-13-2-4) have won six in a row and have allowed only five goals in that stretch. They are 4-1-0-0 against the Cougars. . . . Prince George (13-28-1-0) has lost five in a row. . . . C Dylan Hood led Kelowna with three goals, giving him nine on the season. He also had an assist. . . . LW Jamie Benn scored twice for the Rockets, giving him 24 on the season. . . . Kelowna held a 39-19 edge in shots. . . . Kelowna C Colin Long had two assists and took over the WHL scoring lead. He has 66 points, one more than Chilliwack Bruins C Mark Santorelli. The Bruins were idle Friday; they play in Kamloops on Saturday, while the Rockets are again in Prince George. . . . Cougars head coach Drew Schoneck said it was his worst loss as a junior coach. . . . Schoneck did show his sense of humour – good for him because there isn’t enough of that in the game today – by starting the game with Kalvin Sagert and the newly acquired Cody Hobbs on defence. . . . LW Brady Leavold had a goal and two assists for Kelowna, which didn’t make even one move at the trade deadline while the Cougars moved out a whack of veterans and became one of the WHL’s youngest teams. . . . The Rockets were 4-for-7 on the PP; P.G. was 0-for-4. . . . Kelowna D Luke Schenn didn’t make the trip north. He is resting after playing for Team Canada at the World Junior Championship. He is expected to play Tuesday in Kamloops. . . . Prince George G Ian Curtis, who came on in relief of Real Cyr, suffered an apparent shoulder injury in the game’s final minute. Curtis, who was being checked out after the game, was acquired from the Swift Current Broncos on Thursday.