Thursday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: G Wade Flaherty (Seattle/Spokane/Victoria) has retired from the China Sharks (Asia Hockey League) to become the developmental goaltending coach for the Chicago Blackhawks. He played for Chicago’s AHL affiliate in Rockford last season. The Asia Hockey League completed its regular season on Friday and the Shanghai-based Sharks missed the playoffs, finishing in sixth place with a record of 7-25-1-3. Flaherty, who doubled as goaltending coach for the Sharks, finished the season with a 3.29 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage (third in the league) in 36 games. He played all but 20 minutes for the Sharks this season. . . . F Adam Taylor (Kootenay), who also was playing for the Sharks, has signed with the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings.
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THE MacBETH REPORT, Part 2: While we are in Asia, the Seibu Prince Rabbits (based in Tokyo) announced that they will fold at the end of this season. Prince Hotel and Resorts, the main sponsor of the Rabbits, announced that due to the “severe business environment” facing the company, it would stop funding the team. The estimated annual cost of funding the team is about 500 million Japanese yen (about $6.8 million Canadian) and Prince Hotels is undergoing drastic restructuring efforts, selling or closing about 40 business units which include hotels and golf courses. Prince is actively seeking a buyer of the team and hopes to find one before April. The Japan Ice Hockey Federation is concerned that the folding of the country’s “glamour team” could affect the fate of other teams. The Rabbits started in 1972 as the Kokudo Bunnies and have won the Japan League 13 times, the All Japan Championship 10 times and have been champions of the Asia Hockey League for both seasons of its existence. This season, they finished in second place with a record of 26-9-0-1. The playoffs begin in the Asia Hockey League on Feb. 17, after the national team break. . . . Former Tri-City/Saskatoon F Ryan Fujita (known in Japan by his Japanese name Kiyoshi) currently plays for the Rabbits and had already decided to retire at the end of this season after 15 years in Japan.
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JUST NOTES: Rogers Sportsnet Pacific is going to provide coverage of the 57th annual Beanpot tournament from Boston. Two games are set for Monday (Feb. 2), with Boston University playing Harvard at 2 p.m. (all times Pacific) and Boston College meeting Northeastern at 5 p.m. The tournament final is scheduled for Feb. 9 at 5 p.m. . . . If you don’t have access to Sportsnet Pacific, check the listings because I believe the Boston College-Northeastern game also will be on Sportsnet East, with the tournament final on East, Ontario and Pacific. . . . According to a Sportsnet release, “The rosters for all four of the New England-based college hockey teams include 24 Canadian-born players.”
The Everett Silvertips, 9-1 losers to the visiting Spokane Chiefs on Wednesday, are at home to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday. Everett goes into the game having lost seven in a row. Everett hopes to have C Paul Van de Velde (concussion) and D Chris de la Lande (groin) back in the lineup. . . . The Vancouver Giants will be without F Lance Bouma for a couple of weeks. He suffered a broken bone in one hand during a 4-3 victory over the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers on Wednesday. . . . The Giants, who have only four regulation-time losses, are in Prince George for a weekend doubleheader with the Cougars. . . . The Giants headed north without F Brendan Gallagher, F J.T. Barnett and D Bronson Maschmeyer. All three stayed home to do school work. . . . The Saskatoon Blades visit the Warriors in Moose Jaw on Friday night. And the Blades will be hunting for a record. They have 21 road victories and need one more for sole possession of a record they share with the 1982-83 and 2002-03 clubs. This edition of the Blades is 21-3-1-0 on the road. And who saw that coming after they were 8-23-2-3 on the road last season? The WHL record for road victories in a season was set at 28 by the 1999-2000 Calgary Hitmen. . . . If you keep track of such things, note that the Feb. 22 game in Chilliwack between the Bruins and Kelowna Rockets now has a 4 p.m. start time. This is to facilitate — oh, you already guessed — television. The game will be televised by Rogers Sportsnet.