Monday . . .

There is an interesting comment, this one from leftybch, on the oregonlive.com blog that concerns itself mostly with the Portland Winter Hawks. And it, perhaps more than anything else I’ve read, seems to sum up the feeling of Winter Hawks’ fans:
“Well . . . is the next gut wrencher for the fans the threat of losing the franchise to Nanaimo??? I can't take this . . . Not at my age. My hope, I guess, is that the league seems to be big on having a franchise in Portland. The white board is already speculating about another "Toigo deal", with Portland winding up with an expansion franchise instead of the Hawks. If that happened it would be time for me to hang it up. Will there ever be any stability in Portland? .....To hell with all of this drama. Just sign me as disgusted!!”
Bill Gallacher, who is heading up the attempt to purchase the Winter Hawks, also is a senior partner in the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers, thus the comment about “losing the franchise to Nanaimo.” Fans need to be aware, however, that Vancouver Island is not the escape route for the WHL that it perhaps appeared to be not all that long ago. The WHL has been adamant that it would not go to Vancouver Island if it would only have one team there. That, of course, means it would need teams in Nanaimo and Victoria. For starters, despite lots of conversation over the last few years, Nanaimo doesn’t have a facility that would meet WHL requirements (of course, neither does Moose Jaw, but that’s another story, perhaps for another courtroom, isn’t it?). And, secondly, the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings appear to have done a decent job of establishing themselves in that marketplace. Last season, according to www.mib.org, the Salmon Kings averaged 4,871 fans per home regular-season game.
So it’s most unlikely that Gallacher, or anyone else for that matter, would purchase the Winter Hawks and then take them elsewhere. In the world of the WHL, you learn never to say never, but in this case . . .
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And then there was the comment left on one the entries on this blog . . .
“We have three season tickets, which we have not yet renewed, because we've been very disgusted with how the current owners are handling things. Also, we were not completely convinced that the Hawks would even play this year. We will call and renew all three the minute the official announcement that the sale is complete comes.”
You have to wonder if the rose bushes in Portland are full of hockey fans who feel like this?
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THE MacBETH REPORT: F Justin Mapletoft (Red Deer) signed with Villach (Austria Erste Bank
Liga). He was with Binghamton (AHL) last season. . . . F Ben Clymer (Seattle) signed with Dynamo Minsk (Continental Hockey League). He was with Hershey (AHL) last season.
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THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING: The 2008 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge will hit the WHL in late November. A touring Russian side will meet the WHL all-stars on Nov. 26 in Swift Current and Nov. 27 in Prince Albert. . . . The two QMJHL games will be played in Sydney, N.S. (Nov. 17) and Saint John, N.B. (Nov. 19), with the OHL games scheduled for Guelph (Nov. 20) and St. Catharines (Nov. 24). . . . From a Canadian perspective, the games are looked at as a scouting tool for the national junior team, which is why Hockey Canada head scout Al Murray is involved with CHL general managers in picking the teams. . . . Rogers Sportsnet will televise all six games. . . . CHL teams lost two of the six games last winter to watch their overall record in this series slip to 25-5.