Friday . . .

Bob Duff of the Windsor Star, who has been around hockey for a long, long time and, in fact, covered the Saskatoon Blades for the StarPhoenix more than a few years ago, has taken a look at the value of EKGs in terms of hockey players and, in particular, major junior players. It’s a story well worth reading and it’s right here.
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Kristen Odland of the Calgary Herald takes a look at what G Dan Spence is going through, now that he is a free agent. That story is right here.
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JUST NOTES: D Brent Regner of the Vancouver Giants didn’t play Wednesday against the Everett Silvertips thanks to a staph infection. The Giants don’t play this weekend and Regner is likely to be ready when they are in Edmonton to play the Oil Kings on Wednesday. . . . The Saskatoon Blades are without F Curtis Hamilton (knee). He was injured Wednesday in a game against the host Swift Current Broncos, returned home to Kelowna and had an MRI on Friday. The results of that MRI aren’t yet known. . . . If you’re interested in the 2010 Memorial Cup, you should know that the Brandon Wheat Kings, who will play host to the party, have released ticket details. The tournament will run May 14-23, 2010, and ticket packages will go for $399 plus GST. The first opportunity at these tickets goes to Wheat Kings’ season-ticket holders who renew for 2009-10. The Wheat Kings sold 24 season tickets on Friday. . . . Jeff Cristall, the regional managing partner of the Westman Region of Meyers Norris and Penny LLP, has been named tournament chairman of the 2010 Memorial Cup organizing committee. . . . C Chris Francis, a 19-year-old from Las Vegas, has left the Portland Winter Hawks. He had one assist in eight games after putting up 23 points in 72 games last season. According to the lineup on the WHL website, the Winter Hawks dressed nine forwards and nine defencemen for what was a 5-1 loss to the Wheat Kings in Brandon.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, the Swift Current Broncos scored three PP goals as they beat the Warriors, 5-2. . . . The Broncos (9-3-0-0) are 3-0 versus Moose Jaw this season. . . . Swift Current now is 4-1 on the road. . . . The Warriors (4-5-0-1) have lost three in a row and four of five. . . . The Broncos took a 3-1 lead on first-period goals by D Eric Doyle, who has five points in his last four games, F Jan Dalecky, who scored his first two goals of the season, and freshman F Jordan Peddle, who notched his fifth of the season.
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In Kennewick, Wash., the host Tri-City Americans won for the fourth time in five games, beating the Seattle Thunderbirds, 6-4. . . . The Americans (7-3-0-0) got off to a 4-0 lead, gave up three straight goals and then put it away on goals from veterans Johnny Lazo, his second, and Kruise Reddick, his first. . . . The Thunderbirds (2-7-0-1) have played nine of their 10 games on the road. After they move into their new home in Kent, Wash., late in December, their schedule will be heavily weighted with home games. . . . The clash of the Pickard brothers of Winnipeg didn’t take place quite as planned – but it did occur. And it is believed to be the first time in WHL history that brothers have faced each other from opposing goal creases. Veteran Chet Pickard, who turns 19 on Nov. 29, started in goal for the Americans, but Seattle head coach Rob Sumner chose to go with Jacob DeSerres rather than freshman Calvin Pickard, 16, the reigning CHL goaltender of the week. . . . However, DeSerres was gone after the first period, having surrendered four goals on 16 shots. Calvin Pickard game on to stop 11 of 13 shots. . . . At the other end, Chet turned aside 40 shots. . . . F Prab Rai had two goals for the Thunderbirds, his sixth and seventh of the season.
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In Spokane, LW Drayson Bowman scored twice and set up another to lead the Chiefs to a 5-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Chiefs, who presented members of the 2008 Memorial Cup-champion team with rings in a pregame ceremony, have won four straight and are 5-0 at home. Overall, they are 8-1-0-2. This was the fourth straight home game in which they have scored five goals. . . . The Blazers (4-7-0-1) have lost three in a row. . . . Bowman has 13 points, including eight goals, in eight games. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski stopped 23 shots and now is 7-1-0-0. . . . Referee Nathan Wieler hit the Chiefs with the game’s first six minors. . . . The Blazers ended up 1-for-8 on the PP; the Chiefs were 1-for-3. . . . Kamloops head coach Barry Smith’s wife, Carolyn, and two of their three boys met the team in Spokane on Thursday and took in the game. It was the first time Smith had seen his wife and sons, who live in Whitefish, Montana, in more than two months.
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In Red Deer, Jordan Eberle and Jordan Weale scored in the shootout to give the Regina Pats a 2-1 victory over the Rebels. . . . Red Deer (3-5-0-4) has lost seven in a row. . . . The Pats are 6-3-1-2. . . . F Matt Strueby, with his ninth of the season, scored for Regina on the PP at 19:12 of the second period. He scored seven goals in 65 games last season. . . . Red Deer F Landon Ferraro tied it with his seventh at 6:44 of the third. . . . Regina G Damien Ketlo stopped 37 shots. He is 3-0 with two victories over the Rebels. . . . The Pats also beat the Rebels 2-1 in a shootout on Oct. 5. Ketlo was in goal for Regina and Weale got the circus winner.
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In Medicine Hat, G Ryan Holfeld stopped 20 shots as the Medicine Hat Tigers shut out the Chilliwack Bruins, 3-0. . . . The Tigers (5-3-2-2) had lost two in a row and four of five. Still, they are 4-0-0-1 at home. . . . The Bruins fell to 5-4-1-1. . . . The shutout was the first of the season for Holfeld and the sixth of his career. . . . F Brennan Bosch got the eventual winner when he scored shorthanded at 19:08 of the first period. . . . F Zdenek Okal and F Wacey Hamilton put it away with goals in the first three minutes of the second period. . . . D Matt McCue, acquired Thursday from the Brandon Wheat Kings, didn’t dress for the Tigers. He didn’t arrive until 15 minutes before game time. . . . The Bruins remain without RW Ryan Howse (concussion).
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In Brandon, C Jay Fehr had two goals and two assists as the Wheat Kings dropped the Portland Winter Hawks, 5-1. . . . It was the first game for the Wheat Kings (6-4-1-0) since they were named host team for the 2010 Memorial Cup. Attendance was 3,680. . . . Portland (1-8-0-0) lost its seventh straight game. . . . Fehr has four goals and six assists in four games since returning from an injury. He has put together back-to-back four-point games. . . . F Brayden Schenn and F Scott Glennie each had a goal and two assists for Brandon and F Jesse Hall added his first WHL goal. . . . The game was the first of a seven-game road trip for Portland, which won’t play at home again until Nov. 5. . . . Portland G Kurtis Mucha stopped 41 shots, 20 more than Brandon’s James Priestner. . . . The Wheaties had a 42-13 edge in shots after two periods. . . . Brandon was 3-for-6 on the PP, with Fehr figuring in all three goals.
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In Edmonton, LW Dana Tyrell had two goals, one of them shorthanded, and an assist to lead the Prince George Cougars to a 6-3 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . The Cougars (7-4-0-0) had lost their last three games, all of them on the road. They now are 1-3 on a nine-game trip. . . . The Oil Kings (5-7-1-0) have lost five of six. . . . Tyrell, the team captain, now has six goals. His second goal came into an empty net. . . . The Cougars had a 4-1 lead, only to have Edmonton get to within 4-3. LW Brian Matte scored his fifth for the Cougars, at 2:45 of the third, and Tyrell put it away with the empty-netter. . . . G Joe Caligiuri, acquired earlier in the week by the Cougars from the Brandon Wheat Kings, stopped 34 shots. . . . Former Edmonton D Cameron Cepek set up two goals for the Cougars. Cepek, 20, went to P.G. in a Sept. 8 trade.
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In Everett, LW Daniel Bartek scored three times as the Silvertips came from behind to beat the Kelowna Rockets, 8-6. . . . The Silvertips (5-4-1-0) scored the game’s last four goals, the final one into an empty net, to win for the third time in four games. . . . The Rockets (6-6-0-0) had won their last two and three of four. They now are 2-6 on the road. . . . Bartek, 20, who was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings early in the season, has six goals this season. . . . The Rockets scored first but trailed 3-1 after the first period. The Rockets tied it 3-3 when F Kyle St. Denis scored on a penalty shot at 11:32 of the second period. But Everett ended up with a 4-3 lead after two. . . . The Rockets took a 6-4 lead on goals by D Tyson Barrie, his second of the game, LW Jamie Benn, his second also, and C Cody Almond by 10:13 of the third. . . . The Silvertips roared back on goals by Bartek (11:46), C Byron Froese, his first, at 16:28 on the PP, and Bartek, again, at 17:22. . . . RW Matt Ius put it away with the empty-netter. . . . RW Shane Harper had a goal and three helpers for Everett. . . . Everett had a 30-23 edge in shots but both goalies, Kelowna’s Kris Lazaruk and Everett’s Shayne Barrie, went the distance. . . . Everett LW Kyle Beach, who is from Kelowna, had four assists, was plus-3 and stayed out of the penalty box. . . . Kelowna was 3-for-8 on the PP; Everett was 2-for-5. . . . D Graham Potuer returned to Everett’s lineup after missing three games with a concussion.
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In Cranbrook, G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 18 shots as the Kootenay Ice blanked the Prince Albert Raiders, 3-0. . . . The Ice (5-5-1-3), which had lost three in a row at home, now has won three of four overall. . . . The Raiders (6-7-0-0) went 3-3-0-0 on a six-game road swing that took them through the B.C. Division and to Cranbrook. . . . The shutout was the first of Lieuwen’s WHL career and came in his 10th appearance, seven of which have been this season. . . . C Andrew Bailey’s third goal of the season, at 7:17 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . P.A. G Garrett Zemlak stopped 29 shots as his record fell to 5-1-0-0.