Wednesday . . . early

The Prince George Cougars will play the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook on Friday. Despite both communities being in B.C., it will be the Cougars’ first visit to Cranbrook since Oct. 15, 2006. On that occasion, the Ice won, 2-1.
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On the subject of Cranbrook, Jeff Bromley of the Kootenay NewsAdvertiser is taking a long, hard look at the situation in that community. He is posting it all on his blog and it’s accessible from over there on the left.
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The WHL and its teams have said they are concerned about expenses and, in particular, about the price of fuel. Well, the Tri-City Americans traveled to Kamloops, played the Blazers on Tuesday and returned home. The Seattle Thunderbirds travel to Kamloops today, play the Blazers tonight, and return home. You have to think this league can do a better job of scheduling than that.
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Alan Maki of The Globe and Mail has more on D Tyler Sloan and his NHL debut with the Washington Capitals. It’s a good read and it’s right here.
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D Brent Regner (staph infection) could return to the Vancouver Giants’ lineup tonight for a game with the Oil Kings in Edmonton. He didn’t play in a 4-3 shootout loss to the visiting Everett Silvertips on Oct. 15 and didn’t skate until he practiced Tuesday in Edmonton. . . . Just a reminder that with Western Canada’s team playing in Edmonton tonight, the game will be televised by Shaw. Game time in Edmonton is 7 p.m.
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Holy mackerel, Pollman, what have you done with the Swift Current Broncos? . . . The CHL’s latest Mosaik MasterCard Top 10 rankings, as selected by an anonymous bunch of NHL scouts (showing rank, team, record, last week and number of weeks ranked):
1. Windsor Spitfires (12-1-0-0) 1 6
2. Quebec Remparts (11-1-0-0) 3 3
3. Moncton Wildcats (11-0-2-0) 4 5
4. Spokane Chiefs (8-1-0-3) 9 6
5. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (11-4-0-0) 2 6
6. Calgary Hitmen (10-3-0-0) - 1
7. Vancouver Giants (7-0-0-3) 6 4
8. London Knights (8-3-0-1) - 3
9. Shawinigan Cataractes (11-4-0-0) - 3
10. Guelph Storm (8-4-0-1) 7 4