The OHL final is going to a seventh game. The Belleville Bulls, who once trailed the best-of-seven series 3-0, beat the visiting Kitchener Rangers 6-3 on Saturday night to pull even. Game 7 will be played Monday night in Kitchener. . . . The Rangers are the host team for the Memorial Cup, which opens Friday. . . . Two OHL teams have come back from 3-0 deficit to win series — the 2005 Windsor Spitfires and 1988 Ottawa 67’s. . . . The WHL-champion Spokane Chiefs were back on the ice Saturday morning after being given a couple of days off following their sweep of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The Chiefs are scheduled to fly east on Wednesday morning. . . .
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It turns out there is one really fierce rivalry being played out in the NHL’s Western Conference final, one that has received little, if any, publicity. It features Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland and his brother, Dennis, who is a western scout for the Dallas Stars. A source familiar with the situation has told me that the two have made a “big wager” but no one is talking in terms of what exactly is on the line. . . .
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The USHL lost a franchise this weekend when it announced that the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets are finished after two seasons in Columbus. Veteran players have been transferred to the expansion Fargo, N.D., Force. Before ending up in Ohio, the franchise had been in Ontario as the Thunder Bay Flyers (1984-2000). . . . Subtract the Blue Jackets and add the Force, and the USHL remains at 12 teams for 2008-09.
