JUST NOTES: The Portland Winter Hawks have released F Cody Rainaldi, 19. The Winter Hawks acquired him Oct. 6 from the Prince George Cougars in exchange for LW Future Considerations. Rainaldi, from Campbell River, B.C., had one assist in three games with the Cougars but didn’t get into a game with Portland. . . . There will be a ring presentation prior to Friday’s game between the Kamloops Blazers and the Chiefs in Spokane. Members of the Chiefs who were part of the 2008 Memorial Cup championship team will get their rings in a pregame ceremony. . . . D Devon Kalinski, 18, has left the Kamloops Blazers and has returned to his home in Alberta. Kalinski was pointless in eight games this season and had been a healthy scratch twice. . . . The Red Deer Rebels had six players — Cody Esposito, Cody Gross, Cullen Morin, Tyler Penny, Carter Smith and Brennen Wray — touring the east side of Vancouver on Wednesday as part of their Keep Straight Program. . . . Red Deer D Justin Weller (leg) has been cleared for contact but likely won’t play until next week. He has been out for six weeks. F Josh Cowen (concussion) has been out three weeks, but has gotten the OK to skate without contact. . . . The Tri-City Americans have lost F Jason Gardiner for perhaps two months. He suffered a broken leg in practice on Wednesday.
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The CHL Mosaik MasterCard Top 10 rankings, as selected by a panel of anonymous NHL scouts (team, record, ranking last week, weeks in rankings):
1. Windsor Spitfires (8-1-0-0) 1 5
2. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (10-2-0-0) 2 5
3. Quebec Remparts (9-1-0-0) 8 2
4. Moncton Wildcats (8-0-2-0) 3 4
5. Swift Current Broncos (8-2-0-0) 4 4
6. Vancouver Giants (7-0-0-2) 5 3
7. Guelph Storm (7-2-0-1) 9 3
8. Drummondville Voltigeurs (8-1-0-2) 7 4
9. Spokane Chiefs (6-1-0-2) 10 5
10. Belleville Bulls (6-3-0-0) 6 5
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WEDNESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Swift Current, freshman F Burke Gallimore’s eighth goal of the season helped the Saskatoon Blades to a 3-1 victory over the Broncos. . . . The Blades (8-4-0-0) won their seventh straight game. They also have won five straight on the road. . . . The Broncos (8-3-0-0) had won their last two games and were 5-1-0-0 at home. . . . Saskatoon G Braden Holtby made 28 saves, 10 fewer than Swift Current’s Mark Guggenberger, who had been 5-0 against Saskatoon in his career. . . . The Blades went into this one having lost nine straight games to the Broncos. . . . Gallimore, who was acquired from the Spokane Chiefs last season while he was playing midget AAA in Edmonton, has a team-high eight goals. . . . Saskatoon LW Curtis Hamilton (knee) left in the first period and didn’t return. . . . The Broncos lost F Cody Eakin in the second period after a crushing check by Gallimore. . . . The Blades were without assistant coach David Struch. His father, Arnold, died Tuesday after a lengthy illness.
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In Vancouver, RW Matt Ius scored in the shootout to give the Everett Silvertips a 4-3 victory over the Giants. . . . The Silvertips (4-4-1-0) had lost three of their last four games. . . . The Giants (7-0-0-3) still are the only WHL team not have lost in regulation time; they have lost each of their last two games in the circus. . . . Ius was Everett’s ninth shooter in the circus; he was the third one to score. . . . The Giants led this one 3-1 with just over three minutes left to play in the third period. But Everett tied it on two goals by freshman F Kellan Tochkin, at 16:59 and 18:37. He has three goals on the season. . . . Last season, the Giants were 37-0-0-0 when leading after the second period. . . . Vancouver had a 40-25 edge in shots. . . . Everett was 0-for-3 on the PP; the home team was 2-for-3. . . . Vancouver was without D Brent Regner (undisclosed).
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In Calgary, F Carson McMillan had two goals as the Hitmen dumped the Prince George Cougars, 7-2. . . . The Hitmen (8-3-0-0) are 7-1-0-0 at home. . . . The Cougars (6-4-0-0) are 0-3 on a nine-game road trip. . . . Included among Calgary G Martin Jones’ 14 saves was a stop on F Brett Connolly on a third-period penalty shot. . . . Prince George G Kevin Armstrong stopped 25 shots before newly acquired Joe Caligiuri came on to stop five shots over the game’s last 13:06. . . . Freshman D Austin Madaisky, the 14th overall pick in the 2007 bantam draft, scored his first WHL goal for the Hitmen. . . . Calgary was 3-for-6 on the PP; Prince George was 0-for-3. . . . Prince George has been outscored 19-4 in its last three games. . . .
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In Edmonton, the Regina Pats broke a 5-5 tie with two goals nine seconds apart as they beat the Oil Kings, 7-5. . . . Regina (5-3-1-2) had lost two straight. . . . The Oil Kings slipped to 5-6-1-0. . . . LW Tomas Hrcina, who had two goals, scored at 16:55 of the third period and RW Garrett Mitchell got his first of the season at 17:04. . . . Edmonton LW Brett Breitkreuz had two goals and an assist. He has seven goals over his last five games. . . . Freshman C Jordan Weal had a goal and two assists for the Pats. He has 14 points in 11 games. . . . Regina D Matt Delahey set up four goals.
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In Kelowna, the Rockets got third-period goals from F Jamie Benn and F Kyle St. Denis as they beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 3-1. . . . The Rockets (6-5-0-0) have won three of their last four and are 4-0 at home. . . . The Raiders (6-6-0-0) had won two straight. They are 2-3-0-0 on a six-game road swing. . . . Each of P.A.’s last 10 games had been a one-goal decision. . . . P.A. had a 1-0 lead after the first period. . . . Kelowna had a 34-15 edge in shots.
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In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes struck for three third-period goals and beat the Chilliwack Bruins, 3-1. . . . The Hurricanes (7-3-0-0) have won four of five. . . . The Bruins (5-3-1-1) had won three in a row. . . . This was the first of three in a row in the Central Division for the Bruins. . . . Lethbridge G Michael Tadjdeh stopped 14 shots for his first WHL victory.
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In Spokane, the Chiefs scored three power-play goals as they beat the Portland Winter Hawks, 5-2. . . . The Chiefs (7-1-0-2) have won three in a row and have allowed only 16 goals in 10 games. . . . The Winter Hawks (1-7-0-0) have lost six in a row and have scored just seven goals in eight games. . . . Spokane was 3-for-5 on the PP; Portland was 2-for-7. . . . Spokane G James Reid stopped 30 shots for his first WHL victory.