Tuesday notes . . .

TUESDAY’S NOTES: Obviously, it was a slow news day. How else would burgers and fries top today’s items? . . . According to a press release issued early Tuesday: “The long-awaited arrival of burgers and french fries at Swift Current Broncos’ home games is finally here. As of Wednesday, the west-end concession will be fully operational.” . . . The arena in Swift Current has been undergoing renovations, thus the shortage of arena food from the west-end concession. . . . With the return of burgers and fries, Broncos GM/head coach Dean Chynoweth will have to hang onto those water bottles so that he can wash down his food. . . . What better time to have burgers and fries back on the menu than the night the Calgary Hitmen pay a visit? The Hitmen, who coasted in Medicine Hat on Tuesday, will be attempting to derail the red-hot Broncos who have won 10 in a row, the longest such streak in the WHL this season? . . . It’s the Broncos’ longest winning streak since 1993-94. . . . The Broncos, of course, went into Calgary and beat the Hitmen 2-0 on Sunday. . . . Jon Keen, the radio voice of the Broncos, points out that their penalty kill is on quite a streak, too, having given up one goal in the last 51 power plays it has faced . . .

D Scott Gabriel of the Portland Winter Hawks drew a five-game suspension, as a repeat offender, for a match penalty he incurred Saturday in Seattle. . . . Far too often, WHL fans forget that the players they are watching are teenagers who go through all the highs and lows associated with growing up — except that, in most cases, they are doing it away from home. Ryan Boulton of the Prince Albert Daily Herald has done a terrific story on one of the Raiders and what he has gone through over the last year or two. You can read it here. . . . The Schenn family is gearing up for a clash of epic proportions. The Brandon Wheat Kings, featuring C Brayden, who is the odd’s-on favourite to win the rookie of the year award, will meet the Rockets in Kelowna on Wednesday. The Rockets’ roster includes D Luke Schenn, who is certain to be a top five pick in the NHL’s 2008 draft. This will be the first time the brothers have played against each other in a WHL game.

The Moose Jaw Warriors have brought in LW Quinton Howden, who turned 16 on Jan. 12, for the second time this season. Howden, the first overall pick in the 2007 bantam draft, was pointless in three games on a U.S. Division swing in January. The Oak Bank, Man., native plays for the midget AAA Eastman Selects, for whom he has 46 points in 35 games. Last season, Howden had 197 points, including 121 goals, in 51 games with the bantam Springfield Ice Hawks. He should play Wednesday against the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The Everett Silvertips expect to have D Graham Potuer (flu) back in the lineup this weekend, so have returned D Brendeen Stephen to the junior B Princeton, B.C., Posse. Stephen, 6-foot-7 and 190 pounds, played in three games last weekend and you can bet he only helped his chances of making the team next season. While watching Stephen during a 2-1 overtime victory in Kamloops, Everett GM Doug Soetaert said the team plans on getting Stephen on an offseason training program to help him add some weight. Soetaert said he has been especially pleased with Stephen’s mobility. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald points out that the Silvertips, who have just finished a stretch in which they played 23 games in 46 days, have just six games over the next 20 days.

TUESDAY IN THE WHL:
In Medicine Hat, the Calgary Hitmen scored three shorthanded goals as they dumped the Tigers, 6-1. . . . Calgary (40-15-1-3) had lost its last two games. . . . The Hitmen are 4-0-0-0 versus the Tigers and have outscored them 17-4. . . . The Tigers (33-19-5-2) are 7-2-1-1 in their last 11 games but both losses were at home to the Hitmen. . . . C Brock Nixon scored the game’s first goal, a shorthanded effort at 1:39 of the first period. . . . F. T.J. Galiardi’s shorthanded goal at 19:06 of the first gave the visitors a 3-0 lead and a Kyle Bortis shorthanded at 5:43 of the second made it 4-0. . . . F Ian Duval got his 20th of the season for the Hitmen in the first period. He finished with two goals. . . . Bortis got his 29th, C Ryan White got his 26th and Nixon, who also had two assists and was plus-4, scored his 23rd. . . . Nixon has 21 points and is plus-18 in 16 games since the Hitmen acquired him from the Kamloops B lazers on Jan. 4. . . .

In Lethbridge, D Jeff May set up for goals to help the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 7-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Hurricanes (37-16-2-3) clinched a playoff spot with the victory. . . . The Ice (33-19-4-2) had won its last three games, all on the road. . . . Kootenay went into the game 4-0 versus Lethbridge, with three of the victories coming by one goal. . . . Lethbridge F Zach Boychuk had a goal and three helpers. He has 13 points, including six goals, in his last five games. . . . May has 11 points, 10 of them assists, in 14 games since coming over from the Prince Albert Raiders at the trade deadline. . . . C Mitch Fadden added his 27th and 28th goals of the season for Lethbridge. . . . The game, which was sold out (5,335), featured 136 penalty minutes, 71 of them to Lethbridge, and, yes, a line brawl. . . . No fans are thought to have left the game early. . . . Yes, there is some bad blood here. . . . Lethbridge head coach Michael Dyck called a timeout while leading 5-0 and enjoying a 5-on-3 advantage. "We've got a lot of speed and we've got some skill and when teams start taking liberties on us, and I felt at times they were pinpointing who they took runs at, the only way that we're going to hurt them is on our power play," Dyck told Trevor Kenney of the Lethbridge Herald. "So I gave our No. 1 unit a rest and the opportunity to go back out and try and make it 6-0." . . . The Ice played without C Steve Da Silva, its leading scorer. He has a leg injury. . . . The Hurricanes have drawn two straight sellout crowds, one shy of the franchise record. The Calgary Hitmen visit on Friday.