Wednesday . . .

F Jordan Knackstedt, who had 85 points in 72 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors last season, is with the AHL’s Providence Bruins. But he isn’t playing. “I can’t play without a contract,” Knackstedt told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix’s Cory Wolfe. Knackstedt, 20, could only watch as the Bruins beat the Lowell Lock Monsters in a 4-3 season-opening shootout Wednesday night. Knackstedt was assigned to Providence by the Boston Bruins, who selected him in the seventh round of the 2007 NHL draft.
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The City of Kent, Wash., has cut a deal for naming rights to the new facility that will be home to the Seattle Thunderbirds later this season. Kent announced Wednesday that it had agreed to terms with “ShoWare by VisionOne. ShoWare will also be the exclusive ticketing service for the new home of the Seattle Thunderbirds and the Puget Sound region's newest, and the nation's first ‘green’ entertainment venue.” . . . According to a press release: “The proposed agreement between the City and ShoWare is for 10 years, with a total value of $3.175 million.” . . . Again, according to the release: “Kent Council Members will review contract terms prior to approval later this month. The facility's name, logo, color scheme and more will be unveiled within the coming weeks.”
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Interested in a story on the Thunderbirds and their impending move? Check out this piece from the Tacoma News-Tribune. It's right here.


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The Kelowna Rockets, who earlier in the week learned that D Luke Schenn will open the season with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, found out Wednedsay that D Tysen Dowzak won’t be back, either. Dowzak, 20, has signed a contract and will open with the Hartford Wolfpack, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers. "I'm really happy for him," Kelowna GM Bruce Hamilton told Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province. "He's a guy, an American player, who worked hard to get here. He was never what everybody thought he was supposed to be, but he worked hard on his game. We heard all along that he was playing good at their camp. "He phoned today. He had mixed emotions. He was thankful for the opportunity we gave him."
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The Vancouver Giants, the only team in the WHL not to have suffered a regulation-time loss, had a couple of new defencemen at practice on Wednesday. Nathan McIver, who was claimed on waivers by the Anaheim Ducks from the Vancouver Canucks last weekend, skated with the Giants for the second day in a row. Lucas Krajicek, who was dealt by the Canucks to the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier in the week, was a first-time participant. McIver and Krajicek both are awaiting paperwork to come through to allow them to join their new teams.
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WEDNESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Prince George, F Dana Tyrell scored twice and set up another to lead the Cougars to a 3-2 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . The Cougars (6-1-0-0) have won four straight. . . . The Raiders (4-4-0-0) had won three of their last four. This was their first stop on a western swing. . . . F Brett Connolly, a freshman playing on a line with the veteran Tyrell, had three assists. . . . The Raiders took a 2-1 lead early in the second period, at which point P.G. head coach Drew Schoneck yanked G Ian Curtis, who stopped 12 of 14 shots in his first start this season, and sent in Kevin Armstrong. He pitched a shutout from there. . . . G Steven Stanford stopped 41 shots for the Raiders. . . . The Cougars open a nine-game road swing in Kamloops on Friday.
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In Regina, F Brett Leffler had two goals and an assist as the Pats edged the Kootenay Ice, 5-4. . . . The Pats (4-2-0-2) have won four in a row after opening 0-2-0-2. . . . The Ice (2-5-0-3) has lost five straight. . . . Leffler had missed his club’s previous three games with a concussion. . . . F Matt Strueby added a goal and two assists for Regina. . . . Regina led this one 3-0 when the Ice tied it with three PP goals late in the second period. At 13:30, Leffler was hit with holding and unsportsmanlike conduct minors and the Pats also took a bench minor. The Ice then got goals from F Andrew Bailey (13:47), F Steele Boomer (14:49) and F Kevin King (15:47). . . . Regina regained the lead on a PP goal by Strueby at 17:19. . . . The Ice was 3-for-6 on the PP; the Pats were 1-for-3. . . . Regina G Jeff Bosch stopped 38 shots to pick up his first victory of the season. . . . Regina D Mike Scarsborough, who was plus-3, was foiled on a third-period penalty shot by Ice G Thomas Heemskerk.
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In Moose Jaw, F Jarrett Toll had a goal and three assists to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 7-1 victory over the Warriors. . . . The Americans (5-2-0-0) are 3-2 on a seven-game eastern swing. . . . Moose Jaw (4-4-0-0) had won four of its last five. . . . It was Toll’s first four-point game in the WHL. He is in his fourth season with the Ams. . . . F Taylor Procyshen scored his first goal of the season and set up two others for the visitors. . . . Tri-City F Adam Hughesman, who had one goal, was plus-4. . . . G Kyle Birch stopped 36 shots for the Warriors. He began the season with the Americans but asked for a trade and ended up in Moose Jaw.
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In Medicine Hat, F Sean Ringrose broke a 4-4 tie with the only goal of the third period as the Tigers got past the Edmonton Oil Kings, 5-4. . . . The Tigers (4-2-2-1) had lost their last two games and three of their last four. . . . The Oil Kings (4-4-1-0) slid back to .500. . . . The Tigers are 10-0 in games with Edmonton, which is in its second WHL season.
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The CHL Mosaik MasterCard Top 10 rankings, as selected by a panel of anonymous NHL scouts, showing team’s record through Sunday, last week’s ranking and number of weeks in ranking:
1. Windsor Spitfires (6-1-0-0) 1 4
2. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (8-1-0-0) 3 4
3. Moncton Wildcats (7-0-1-0) 2 3
4. Swift Current Broncos (6-1-0-0) 4 3
5. Vancouver Giants (6-0-0-1) 8 2
6. Belleville Bulls (5-1-0-0) 9 4
7. Drummondville Voltigeurs (7-1-0-1) 7 3
8. Quebec Remparts (7-1-0-0) - 1
9. Guelph Storm (5-2-0-0) 5 2
10. Spokane Chiefs (4-1-0-2) 6 4
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One game of note in the QMMJHL on Wednesday. In Gatineau, the Olympiques edged the Val-d’Or Foreurs 2-1 in a game that was to have been played on Sept. 14. The Foreurs actually were leading 2-1 that night when the game was stopped because of fog; it later was ordered replayed in its entirety. The Foreurs now are 0-8-1-0 on the season.