Wednesday is over

WHL TRADE DEADLINE: Thursday, 3 p.m. Calgary time.

ON THE MOVE (since Jan. 1):
Trades made: 14
Players: 32
Bantam draft picks: 13
Conditional bantam draft picks: 3

WEDNESDAY’S NOTES: LW Luke Betts, 18, has joined the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks. He was reassigned recently by the Spokane Chiefs, who had acquired him from the Red Deer Rebels. . . . D Victor Bartley, acquired by Regina from the Kamloops Blazers, is to skate today. He has been out with a groin injury suffered in practice on Jan. 2. . . . The Pats, with six new faces, meet the visiting Vancouver Giants on Friday. That means Regina RW J.D. Watt, 20, one of those new faces, will face a whole lot of former teammates. Watt played for the Giants last season as they won the Memorial Cup. . . . Regina is expected to reassign RW Cody Hanson, perhaps to the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. . . .

TOP PROSPECTS: There will be 14 WHLers in the Home Hardware CHL-NHL Top Prospects festivities — hey, is that a handle, or what? — at Rexall Place in Edmonton on Jan. 22 (skills competition) and Jan. 23 (game). If you’re wondering, rosters were selected by NHL general managers and NHL Central Scouting. The WHL players selected are forwards James Wright, Vancouver Giants; Geordie Wudrick, Swift Current Broncos; Jordan Eberle, Regina Pats; Kyle Beach, Everett Silvertips; Mitch Wahl, Spokane Chiefs; Zack Boychuk, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Tyler Ennis, Medicine Hat Tigers; defencemen Colten Teubert, Regina Pats; Luca Sbisa, Lethbridge Hurricanes; Jyri Niemi, Saskatoon Blades; Colby Robak, Brandon Wheat Kings; Tyler Myers, Kelowna Rockets; and Luke Schenn, Kelowna Rockets; and, goaltender G Chet Pickard, Tri City Americans. . . . Coaches for the Top Prospects game will include Don Nachbaur of the Tri-City Americans, who will have help from former Edmonton Oilers greats Grant Fuhr and Glenn Anderson, and Kelly Kisio of the Calgary Hitmen, who will have former Calgary Flames greats Lanny McDonald and Mike Vernon with him. . . .

THE CHL’s TOP 10:
The CHL’s Mosaik MasterCard top 10 rankings for Week 15, as selected by a panel of anonymous NHL scouts, showing rank, team, record, last week’s ranking and weeks in rankings:
1. Kitchener Rangers (32-5-1-2) 1 13
2. Spokane Chiefs (29-8-1-2) 2 10
3. Vancouver Giants (29-8-1-4) 3 12
4. Calgary Hitmen (30-12-1-2) 9 11
5. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (27-10-1-2) 5 15
6. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (29-13-2-1) 7 10
7. Tri-City Americans (28-10-1-1) 4 15
8. Gatineau Olympiques (28-13-2-2) 6 6
9. Belleville Bulls (25-9-3-2) - 2
10. Baie Comeau Drakkar (28-12-1-3) - 8

WEDNESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Red Deer, G Garrett Zemlak stopped 21 shots as the Saskatoon Blades blanked the Rebels, 2-0. . . . .The Rebels (11-28-4-1) have lost five of six and are 4-15-0-0 at home. . . . The Blades (14-25-2-1) halted a four-game losing skid. They now are 4-19-1-0 on the road. . . . Saskatoon D Jyri Niemi got the game-winner on a first-period power play. . . . It was Zemlak’s first shutout of the season and of his career. . . . It was Saskatoon’s first shutout of the season; Red Deer has been blanked four times. . . . The Rebels have been blanked 2-0 in two of their last three home outings. . . .

In Kelowna, RW Kyle St. Denis had two goals to lead the Rockets to a 3-1 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . The Rockets (25-13-2-4) have won five in a row. They are 4-1 against the Bruins. . . . Chilliwack (20-18-3-1) had won its last two games. . . . Chilliwack RW Oscar Moller, who played for Sweden at the World Junior Championship, didn’t play. He has a mild case of bronchitis. . . . The Bruins had only five shots on goal through two periods. . . . Kelowna D Luke Schenn, who played for the gold medal-winning Canadians in the WJC, wore his Team Canada jersey during the warmup and then was honoured by the Rockets in a pregame ceremony. They presented him with a laptop computer. . . . The Rockets also saluted Moller for his play for Sweden. . . . Schenn likely will be given some time off and won’t play this weekend in a doubleheader against the Cougars in Prince George. . . .
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In Moose Jaw, D Ty Wishart, who was acquired Monday from the Prince George Cougars, had three assists to lead the Warriors to a 5-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Warriors (21-12-4-4) halted a three-game losing skid. . . . Brandon (26-14-0-1) had won three of its last four. It also had been 2-0 against Moose Jaw. . . . C Jason Bast had two goals for Moose Jaw, his 19th going into an empty net with 20 seconds left in the third period. . . . RW Jordan Knackstedt scored his 22nd goal for the Warriors, who were outshot 26-18 including 4-2 — yes, 4-2 — in the second period. Moose Jaw scored on both those shots, though. . . . Brandon was 1-for-6 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 1-for-2. . . . Brandon C Jay Fehr (concussion) returned after missing five games and scored his eighth goal. . . . LW Daniel Bartek returned to Brandon’s lineup after playing for Czech Republic in the World Junior Championship. . . . The Warriors have given C Riley Holzapfel a week off after he played for Team Canada at the WJC. . . .

In Spokane, C Justin McCrae, acquired Monday from Saskatoon, had two goals to help the Chiefs beat the Kamloops Blazers, 6-2. . . . The Chiefs (30-8-1-2) have won three in a row. . . . The Blazers (19-22-1-1) have lost three in a row and been outscored 20-4 in the process. . . . LW Ondrej Roman had two goals and an assist for the Chiefs, with the first goal, the game’s first, coming on a penalty shot. . . . The Chiefs built a 3-0 lead before the Blazers trimmed it to 3-2. But the Chiefs put it away with three third-period goals. . . . C Jimmy Bubnick had a goal and an assist for Kamloops. . . . C Mitch Wahl had three helpers for the Chiefs. . . . With C Chris Bruton serving a three-game WHL suspension, McCrae played on Spokane’s top line with Drayson Bowman and Wahl. . . . Spokane moved into a tie with the idle Vancouver Giants atop the Western Conference. Vancouver opens an eastern swing in Regina on Friday. . . .

In Everett, RW Dan Gendur had two goals as the Silvertips dumped the Tri-City Americans 3-2 in a shootout. . . . Everett C Kyle Beach was the only one of six shooters to score in the circus. . . . C Zach Hamill had two assists for Everett (23-19-0-2) which has won three straight. . . . Gendur has 12 points in his last six games. . . . The Americans (28-10-1-2) have lost four straight. . . . The Silvertips beat the Ams 4-3 in a shootout Saturday in Kennewick, Wash. . . . LW Colton Yellow Horn of the Ams tied the game 2-2 at 2:05 of the third period. . . . Everett lost LW Clayton Bauer with a boarding major and game misconduct for a hit on D Jarrett Toll late in the second period. . . . Everett D Graham Potuer (bruised sternum) was scratched for the first time this season. . . . Tri-City was without C Shaun Vey, C Taylor Procyshen and D Brett Plouffe. All three are out with concussions.