Sunday . . .

THE WENATCHEE WATCH: Some people continue to see Wenatchee, Wash., as a potential home for a future WHL franchise. At present, the junior A Wild, a North American Hockey League team, plays out of the 4,300-seat Town Toyota Center, which opened in the fall. In December, the Global Entertainment Corp. sold the facility to the city of Wenatchee for US$52.4 million. . . . Here’s an insider’s report from Wenatchee:
“The Wild are doing very well on the ice for an expansion team; they had a nine-game winning streak at home.
“Off the ice they have been averaging nearly 2,500 fans per game and had 3,700 for (Friday) night’s game. The interest really sparked after last week’s game against division-leading Fairbanks. The Wild won that one 7-5 after facing a 5-1 deficit in the third period.
“There were letters to the editor saying it was the best hockey game anyone in town had ever seen. The Wild is getting very good media coverage.
“They are very creative about in-game promotions and are everywhere in the community from schools and churches to car washes and Rotary meetings.
“They have what appears to be a strong ownership group that knows hockey and how to market it.”
All of which may be enough to make some WHL pooh-bahs go: “Hmmmmmm . . . .”
—————
THE MacBETH REPORT: F Steve Junker (Spokane) signed a one-year contract extension with Augsburg (Germany DEL). Junker has four goals and six assists in 30 games with the Panther this season, his 12th in Germany. He holds dual Canadian and German citizenship.
—————
Between Boxing Day and the trade deadline, the WHL’s 22 teams swapped 37 players and 21 bantam draft picks. That pales in comparison to the QMJHL, where 56 players, 62 draft picks and three import selections were involved in trades.
—————
JUST NOTES: The Regina Pats have assigned D Koltyn Miller, 17, to the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks. . . . It’s official The Calgary Flames assigned F Mikael Backlund, 19, to the Kelowna Rockets. The move was announced Sunday. Backlund was the 24th pick in the NHL’s 2007 draft and has signed with the Flames. He played one game for the Flames last week, going into the lineup in place of the injured Todd Bertuzzi. He was held pointless in a 5-2 victory over the visiting New York Islanders. . . . Backlund should make his Rockets’ debut on Wednesday against the visiting Tri-City Americans. . . . It turns out that Wayne Fleming, the head coach of Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, wasn’t fired last week when team management removed him after the second period of a game. It seems that he simply was benched for one period. In fact, he is expected to be back behind the bench for the team’s next game on Wednesday.
The Red Deer Rebels, having lost 5-3 to the visiting Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday, skated Sunday at 6 a.m. Then head coach Jesse Wallin sat down with the players and watched video of that game. “They got to watch their performance. It didn’t look any better this morning and it was good for them to see it,” Wallin told Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate. “The players left with their tails between their legs, and well they should have.”
G Linden Rowat stopped 31 shots Sunday as the host Regina Pats beat the Edmonton Oil Kings 3-0. That was Rowat’s 10th career shutout, breaking the franchise record of nine that had been held by Josh Harding. . . . F Joel Broda, acquired last week from the Moose Jaw Warriors, had a goal and three assists as the host Calgary Hitmen dumped the Swift Current Broncos, 7-3. . . . Calgary F Brandon Kozun had three assists. He has 67 points, two fewer than WHL leader Casey Pierro-Zabotel of the Vancouver Giants. Those teams meet Friday in Calgary. . . . Prince George Cougars LW Dana Tyrell will have surgery Jan. 20 in Calgary and is looking at five months of rehab. He suffered a knee injury in an exhibition game with Team Canada on Dec. 19.