Late Friday or early Saturday . . .

FRIDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
F Brett Sonne, fresh off a stint with the St. Louis Blues, had a goal and two assists to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 5-3 victory over the visiting Red Deer Rebels. . . . The Hitmen scored four PP goals in erasing 2-0 and 3-1 deficits. . . . Calgary G Dan Spence recorded his 74th regular-season victory. He now shares the franchise record with Brent Krahn. . . . Calgary C Ian Duval is out with mononucleosis. . . . Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun reports that “Hitmen assistant coach Brent Kisio appeared behind the bench in the Saddledome for the first time.” Brent is the son of Hitmen GM Kelly Kisio.
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The Prince Albert Raiders went into Saskatoon and whipped the Blades, 8-2. . . . The Blades were 1-for-8 on the PP, while the Raiders were 2-for-3. . . . P.A. got three goals from C Andy Smith, who turned the trick for the first time. Smith, in his third WHL season, scored seven times in 43 games last season. . . . “The Prince Albert Raiders were a superior team. That’s the bottom line,” Saskatoon GM/head coach Lorne Molleken told Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. “They deserve full marks for their effort and from our standpoint, it was very disappointing.”
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F Cody Eakin, who had 11 goals as a rookie last season, filled his hat as the Swift Current Broncos beat the Warriors 6-1 in Moose Jaw. Eakin, who finished last season with 17 points, also added an assist. . . . Moose Jaw C Neal Prokop left with a leg injury and his status is uncertain for tonight’s rematch in Swift Current.
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In Brandon, the Wheat Kings struck for three goals in the last five minutes of the third period and beat the Regina Pats, 5-3. . . . Regina has five players at NHL camps — D Matt Delahey (New Jersey), F Jordan Eberle (Regina), F Brett Leffler (Washington), G Linden Rowat (Los Angeles) and D Colten Teubert (Los Angeles). . . . F Andrew Clark scored twice for Brandon, which got the winner, shorthanded, from F Brayden Schenn with 3:36 left in the third. . . . F Jay Fehr had a goal and three assists for Brandon. . . . The Wheat Kings dressed D Chad Erb, Clark and F Matt Lowry as their three 20-year-olds, meaning D Matt McCue sat this one out.
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In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes beat the Kootenay Ice 4-3 in a shootout as F Ashton Carter scored the only goal of the circus. . . . Lethbridge G Juha Metsola stopped Ice F Michael Stickland, who had scored four times one night earlier, to preserve the victory. . . . Lethbridge held 2-0 and 3-1 leads before the Ice’s Dominic Pacovsky tied it at 15:58 of the third period.
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F Brian Matte, 20, made his WHL debut in his hometown and drew two assists to help the Prince George Cougars to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Matte had 20 goals with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals last season. . . . F Brett Connolly, who also is from Prince George and was the Cougars’ first-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft, scored his first WHL goal and added two assists. . . . Seattle was without D Thomas Hickey (Los Angeles), C Jim O’Brien (Ottawa) and Swedish D Stefan Warg (Anaheim). And with G Jacob DeSerres with the Philadelphia Flyers, Seattle started G Calvin Pickard, the younger brother of Tri-City G Chet Pickard, and he faced 37 shots. . . . Attendance was 3,324, the lowest opening night crowd since the Cougars moved into their present home.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers ruined Edmonton’s home opener, beating the Oil Kings 5-1 before 7,662 fans at Rexall Place. . . . The Tigers took at 2-1 lead into the third period thanks to G Ryan Holfeld who stopped 21 shots through 40 minutes. . . . Medicine Hat now is 9-0 against the second-year Oil Kings.
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The Chilliwack Bruins have reassigned F Chris Collins, 16, to the midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes. Collins was a fourth-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft. . . . Chilliwack has 24 players on its roster as it prepares to play host to the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday night. . . . D Tyler Kieffer has yet to report to the Medicine Hat Tigers. Kieffer, 19, started camp with the Everett Silvertips but was sent home after missing curfew and subsequently traded to the Tigers for D Shayne Brown, 19. The Tigers had hoped Kieffer would join them Thursday but he has yet to show. . . . The Buffalo News is reporting that former NHL tough cookie Matthew Barnaby will replace Barry Melrose as ESPN’s top hockey analyst. Melrose was in that chair for 13 seasons before returning to the coaching game with the Tampa Bay Lightning. . . . The New York Rangers have signed F Dale Weise, 20, of the Swift Current Broncos. That means he is unlikely to be returned to the Broncos. . . . The Pittsburgh Penguins have returned C Casey Pierro-Zabotel, 20, to the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Edmonton Oil Kings named forwards Brenden Dowd and Jeff Lee as their co-captains. Dowd will captain the team on road games, with Lee wearing the ‘C’ at home. Both are 20 years of age. F Shayne Neigum and D Drew Nichol are the alternate captains.