Tuesday's done

THE MacBETH REPORT: D Dan Mercer (Red Deer/Moose Jaw/Spokane/Calgary) has decided to leave White Caps Turnhout (Belgium). . . . F Chad Hinz (Moose Jaw) has been released from his try-out contract with Innsbruck (Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had one goal and four assists in 10 games for Innsbruck.
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MORE FROM MacBETH: Canada's roster for the Deutschland Cup features these former WHL players — D Chris Armstrong (Moose Jaw; Frankfurt Germany DEL), D Richie Regehr (Kelowna/Portland; Berlin Germany DEL), F Chris Herperger (Swift Current/Seattle; Hannover Germany DEL), F Adam Courchaine (Medicine Hat/Vancouver; Cologne Germany DEL), F Duncan Milroy (Swift Current/Kootenay; Ingolstadt Germany DEL), F Scott King (Kelowna; Nuremburg Germany DEL), F Tyler Beechey (Edmonton/Kootenay/Calgary; Iserlohn Germany DEL; injured, unable to play). . . . The head coach is Rick Chernomaz (Saskatoon/Victoria; Frankfurt Germany DEL). The assistant coach is Dave Babych (Portland). . . . F Marian Kolusz (Vancouver; Poprad Slovakia Extraliga) is on Poland's roster for their Olympic Qualification tournament.
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ELECTION DAY: Bob Tory, the general manager of the Tri-City Americans, is a Canadian citizen so couldn’t vote in Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election. He told Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier that this election was a watershed moment. “I can’t vote,” Tory told Potenteau, “but I certainly do respect the electoral process, and this is an important time in U.S. history. We’re in tough economic times right now, and political decisions are important to us all. Elections bring new hopes for people, as well as business.” . . . With it being election night, Tory was hoping 3,000 fans would show up for the Americans’ game with the visiting Kelowna Rockets. Attendance was announced as 2,963. . . . “The election is a pretty big event,” Tory said, “but it’s unfortunate for us that we’re up against it. If we draw 3,000, we’d be happy, and 3,500 would be nice. But, hey, that’s the WHL. We have 72 games and sometimes you run out of dates.” . . . The WHL also chose to play in Seattle on election night, and the Thunderbirds drew 2,791 fans for their game against the Edmonton Oil Kings.
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SOME NEWS FROM THE Q: The QMJHL has announced the names of four new inductees to its hall of fame — former players Lucien DeBlois, Marc Fortier and Jean Gagnon and on-ice official Richard Trottier. . . . DeBlois totaled 409 points in 270 games over four seasons (1973-77) with the Sorel Eperviers. . . . (If you can believe it, the Eperviers scored 620 goals in 1973-74). . . . Fortier had 478 points in four seasons with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. . . . Gagnon, a defenceman, played three seasons in the 1970s with the Quebec Remparts. . . . Trottier was an on-ice official for 13 seasons, seven of them as a referee. . . . Meanwhile, Mario Richer stepped down Monday as head coach of the Gatineau Olympiques and was replaced by Jerome Dupont. The Olympiques, who have lost 10 in a row, are 5-13-1-1. Dupont coached the junior A Aurora, Ont., Tigers to the 2007 Royal Bank Cup. A former QMJHL player, he played 214 NHL games. . . . Benoit Groulx was the Olympiques head coach last season and got them to the Memorial Cup. He left for the AHL’s Rochester Americans late in the summer.
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Officials in Saskatoon announced Tuesday that Credit Union Centre will be expanded to more than 14,000 seats between now and the start of the 2010 World Junior Championship. When it’s all done, CUC, the home of the Saskatoon Blades, will seat 14,705 for hockey — according to the WHL Guide, it now seats 10,998. The project will cost $6.7 million, with the province in for $3 million, the City loaning $2 million, a chunk coming from Hockey Canada and the rest from CUC’s reserve fund. Work is scheduled to begin once this hockey season is over, with a completion date sometime in November 2009.
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The Red Deer Rebels headed west on Tuesday but three players weren’t on the bus. D Luke Egener (knee) was injured Saturday during a 2-1 loss to the Raiders in Prince Albert and is to have an MRI. But he is expected to be out at least a month. D Justin Weller (wrist) and F Steve Oursov (hand) also stayed home. D Colin Archer (shoulder) is listed as day-to-day. . . . The Rebels meet the Chiefs in Spokane on Wednesday, then play the Thunderbirds in Seattle on Friday, the Winter Hawks in Portland on Saturday, the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash., on Sunday, and the Cougars in Prince George on Tuesday, in an afternoon engagement.
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Rather than risk further injury, Tri-City Americans D Scott Maetche, 19, has
decided to retire from hockey. Maetche, who was acquired Oct. 29 from the Calgary Hitmen, suffered a concussion in his first game with the Americans, against the Vancouver Giants. The Americans had given up a 2009 seventh-round bantam draft pick but that pick has been returned to them.
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Brandon Wheat Kings D Keith Aulie, their captain, suffered a ruptured ear drum on the club’s recent western swing. However, he isn’t expected to miss any playing time, meaning he plans on suiting up Friday against the visiting Swift Current Broncos.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans beat the Kelowna Rockets 4-1 to move into first place in the U.S. Division, two points ahead of the idle Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Americans (12-5-0-1) are 7-1 at home. . . . The Rockets (12-8-0-0) had won three in a row. . . . The victory was No. 395 in the WHL for Tri-City head coach Don Nachbaur. . . . The Rockets may have gotten something of an omen just 25 seconds into the game when LW Jamie Benn, the league’s leading sniper, was stopped on a breakaway by G Chet Pickard. . . . Tri-City C Taylor Procyshen scored his team’s second goal. It was his 150th career point. He is the 25th Tri-City player to accomplish that. . . . Kelowna G Kris Lazaruk injured his left shoulder on Procyshen’s goal and left the game. “His shoulder popped in and out,” Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald. “It will take about a week or so to heal.” . . . Tri-City C Kruise Reddick, playing his his 150th regular-season game, had a goal and an assist.
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In Seattle, C Jim O’Brien had two goals and an assist and LW Prab Rai had a goal and two assists to spark the Seattle Thunderbirds to an 8-2 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . The Thunderbirds (5-10-1-1) had lost two in a row. This was just their fourth home game of the season — they are 3-1-0-0 — as they prepare to move to Kent, Wash., late next month. . . . The Oil Kings (8-11-1-1) are 1-2 on a five-game swing, having won in Everett and lost in Kelowna. . . . That’s right — the Oil Kings opened the trip in Everett, then went back to Canada to play the Rockets and then headed back into the U.S. No, the Oil Kings do not play in Kamloops before going to Portland. Edmonton actually is in Portland on Wednesday night and finishes the trip in, uhhh, Chilliwack on Friday. . . . Seattle LW Greg Scott scored twice, including one on a third-period penalty shot. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 25 shots on a night when both Pickard brothers posted victories.
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In Kamloops, LW Shayne Wiebe had two goals and an assist to lead the Blazers to a 6-3 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . The Blazers (9-9-0-2) have won five of their last six. . . . The Bruins (5-11-1-1) have lost nine straight. The franchise record is 11 in a row. . . . Wiebe has seven goals in four games against the Bruins this season.