WEDNESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Kamloops, the Blazers were badly outplayed in the early going — they were down 2-0 and outshot 13-0 at one point — before coming back to beat the Vancouver Giants, 4-3, in a shootout. . . . Attendance was announced at 4,114, the smallest regular-season crowd in Kamloops since Oct. 11, 1993, when 4,112 fans watched the Blazers beat the Spokane Chiefs, 8-1. In between, the Blazers played 572 home regular-season games. . . . G Tyson Sexsmith, who had been in camp with the San Jose Sharks, was dressed for Vancouver but didn’t play.
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In Prince Albert, the Moose Jaw Warriors won their first game in three starts, beating the Raiders, 4-3. . . . Moose Jaw F Jason Bast got the winner at 8:54 of the third period of a 2-on-1 break. . . . Moose Jaw F Jason Broda, who is from P.A. and had been in camp with the Washington Capitals, scored a shorthanded marker.
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In Calgary, G Dan Spence set a franchise record for regular-season victories as the Hitmen dumped the Edmonton Oil Kings, 4-1. . . . Spence has 75 victories, one more than former Calgary star Brent Krahn.
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The Vancouver Giants appear to have settled on their three 20-year-olds — C Casey Pierro-Zabotel, D Mike Berube and D Craig Schira. F Chris Cloud, who was their fourth 20-year-old, didn’t appear on any of three rosters included in the game notes prior to Wednesday’s game in Kamloops. . . . D Teigan Zahn, 18, was returned to the Saskatoon Blades by the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, while G Tyson Sexsmith, 19, is back with the Giants after being in camp with the San Jose Sharks. . . . The Blades also got back G Braden Holtby. He had been in camp with the Washington Capitals. . . . D Jyri Neimi (New York Islanders) is the lone Saskatoon player still in an NHL camp but is due back in ’Toontown on Sunday. . . . The Swift Current Broncos announced a profit of $89,500 for their last fiscal year at their annual meeting on Tuesday night. That was about half of the previous year’s profit. But the Broncos had to deal with an unfinished arena — the Credit Union i-plex was undergoing serious renovations when last season began — and WHL teams also didn’t get an influx of expansion, Memorial Cup or World Junior Championship money. . . . The Broncos also revealed that they have set a franchise record by selling more than 1,700 season tickets for this season. . . . Vancouver G Jamie Tucker is the ADT CHL goaltender of the week. He stopped 30 shots in shutting out the host Everett Silvertips on Saturday in his first WHL start. Tucker, 17, is from Victoria. . . . LW Dana Tyrell was returned to the Prince George Cougars by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday.
The Cougars have auctioned off some jerseys and raised $7,025 for the North Healthcare Foundation. Tyrell’s jersey went for a team-high $505 in the silent auction, while freshman F Brett Connolly’s jersey led the way at $1,075 in the live auction. Connolly is from Prince George. . . . The Everett Silvertips have reinstated F Jordan Mistelbacher, who was sent home during training camp after a curfew violation. He and D Tyler Kieffer both were sent home; Kieffer was later traded to Medicine Hat for D Shayne Brown, but hasn’t yet reported to the Tigers. Mistelbacher, 18, was shopped around but the Silvertips didn’t trade him. He arrived back in Everett on Tuesday night. Mistelbacher is expected to play Friday against visiting Portland. . . . Everett still is without LW Kyle Beach (Chicago Blackhawks) and D Taylor Ellington (Vancouver Canucks).
Medicine will be without C Bretton Cameron for up to six weeks with a fractured hand. He broke it during a fight with Red Deer D Tommi Kivisto on Saturday night. . . . The Carolina Hurricanes have returned F Justin McCrae to the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Chiefs still are without LW Drayson Bowman (Carolina), D Justin Falk (Minnesota Wild), D Jared Spurgeon (New York Islanders). . . . The Memorial Cup-champion Chiefs hold their home-opener Saturday against the Tri-City Americans. D Trevor Glass, 20, will miss that game as he has accepted an invitation to go to camp with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs of head coach Bill Peters, who was the Chiefs’ head coach last season. Also missing from Spokane is veteran F Ondrej Roman, who is still waiting for his international release.