Wednesday . . .

The Moose Jaw Warriors have added C Matt MacKay, 18, to their roster. He was in his second season with the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks for whom he had 34 points in 33 games this season. He is the son of former Warriors C Mark MacKay, who remains the only player in WHL history to win the league’s rookie-of-the-year aweard, which he did after putting up 140 points in 1984-85. Mark now works as a player agent.
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Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that the Pats are believed to be talking with Swift Current about D Jesse Dudas, 20, who chose not to report to the Broncos after missing all of the season to date with a knee injury.
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D Jon Blum of the Vancouver Giants, who captained the U.S. team at the World Junior Championship, isn’t expected to play Friday against the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook. He is scheduled to have dental surgery today to repair damage done to his bottom front teeth when he took a cross-check to the face in a game against Kazakhstan. He hopes to be back for a Saturday game in Lethbridge against the Hurricanes. . . . Also missing from the Giants’ bus when it left Vancouver was F Evander Kane, who played for Team Canada. But he is expected to fly into Cranbrook and play Friday night.
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The Prince George Citizen reports that the Cougars are working hard in an attempt to acquire the services of C Jerome Flaake, an 18-year-old who played for Germany at the World Junior Championship in Ottawa. His NHL rights belong to the Toronto Maple Leafs; the Cougars took him with the ninth pick of the CHL’s 2008 import draft. “We’ve talked to his agent and we’re in the same spot we’ve been in — trying to get his (German pro team) to release him to come over here,” Cougars GM Dallas Thompson told Citizen sports editor Jim Swanson. “There have been a couple of days when I’ve gotten pretty excited (about Flaake coming over), and then nothing happens. He’s in a situation over there where he’s not playing a whole bunch. Talking to Jerome himself, he says he’d like to be here and he thinks he should be here, but the team that has him signed to a contract doesn’t want to see that.” . . . Thompson realizes the Cougars aren’t likely to land Flaake by Saturday, which is the WHL’s roster deadline, but hopes to have him here next season. . . . The Cougars have returned D Jesse Forsberg, 15, and D David Greyeyes, 17, to the midget AAA Beardy’s Blackhawks in Saskatchewan.
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The Kamloops Blazers got goals from eight players in dumping the visiting Portland Winter Hawks 8-6 on Wednesday. . . . RW Brady Calla, 20, scored the Blazers’ final goal and shortly after found out he had been traded to the Spokane Chiefs. . . . A Portland-related question: When Winter Hawks director of player personnel Garry Davidson played football for the Brandon University Bobcats, who was the quarterback? . . . The answer is Andy Murray, today the head coach of the NHL's St. Louis Blues.
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F Cody Almond and F Lucas Bloodoff each had a goal and two assists as the host Kelowna Rockets beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-2. . . . Prior to the game, the Rockets presented D Tyler Myers, LW Jamie Benn, athletic therapist Jeff Thorburn, all members of Team Canada, and F Stepan Novotny, who played for Czech Republic, with custom-made golf clubs. Yes, it is moves like this that put the Rockets atop major junior hockey's heap. . . . The Rockets have won four of six games since the Christmas break. . . . The Rockets are still waiting for official word on the status of Swedish F Mikael Backlund. D Tyler Myers, who played for Team Canada, would love to have Backlund as a teammate. “It’d be great for us to get a guy like him because he’s an amazing player,” Myers told Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier. “He’s unbelievable, and if he comes here, that’d be
great for us. He’s very fast and he’s a very gifted player. He’s hard to
handle, so if he does come, I’m sure he’ll fit in well.”
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It took the Tri-City Americans more than eight hours to get from Kennewick, Wash., to Everett and the game with the Silvertips was 90 minutes late in starting. Because of closed passes in the Cascades, the Americans had to take the long way which, in this case, was through Portland. . . . In the end, G Thomas Heemskerk, making his second start, turned aside 30 shots as the Silvertips posted a 3-1 victory. . . . Tri-City had won three in a row. . . . The Americans have assigned F Jason Gardiner, 17, to the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers. He had played in three games since returning from a broken ankle suffered in October. . . . Everett D Alex Theriau and F Dan Iwanski, acquired Tuesday from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, were at the game but didn’t play. . . . Tri-City was without C Kruise Reddick (concussion) and D Jarrett Toll (hand).
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In Red Deer, Medicine Hat D Mark Isherwood scored in a shootout to give the Tigers a 4-3 victory over the Rebels. . . . Red Deer led this one 3-2 with seven minutes left in the third period only to have Medicine Hat F Sean Ringrose score to force OT. . . . Red Deer F Landon Ferraro, playing in his 100th game, scored twice, giving him 25 on the season. . . . Red Deer held a 30-18 edge in shots from the second period through OT. . . .
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In Calgary, the Hitmen ran their winning streak to 12 games, celebrating their ascension to the top of the CHL rankings with a 7-1 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones, who was looking for his fourth straight shutout on home ice, was beaten with 25 seconds left in the third period. His home-ice shutout streak lasted a franchise record 242 minutes even. The previous record (223:47) was held by Justin Pogge. . . . It was Calgary’s franchise-record 16th straight victory at home where they are 22-1-0-0.
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In Spokane, the Chiefs got two goals from D Stefan Ulmer as they beat the Chilliwack Bruins, 4-1. . . . All five goals came via the PP. The Chiefs were 4-for-5; the Bruins were 1-for-5. . . . C Tyler Johnson helped out with a goal and two assists, while D Jared Cowen and C Seth Compton each had two assists. . . . After the game, Compton was dealt to the Kamloops Blazers.
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WHL trades since Dec. 26:
Dec. 30: Kootenay trades G Thomas Heemskerk, 18, to Everett for a 2010 third-round bantam draft pick.
Jan. 5: Saskatoon trades F Brody Sutter, 17, to Lethbridge for a 2009 fifth-round bantam draft pick.
Jan. 6: Prince Albert trades F Robbie Ciolfi, 17, to Prince George for RW Ryan Kowalski, 17.
Jan. 6: Prince Albert trades F Matt Robertson, 20, to Regina for F Michael MacAngus, 20, and a 2009 fourth-round bantam draft pick.
Jan. 6: Everett trades LW Kyle Beach, 18, and D Mike Alexander, 19, to Lethbridge for D Alex Theriau, 16, LW Daniel Iwanski, 18, and a 2009 first-round bantam draft pick.
Jan. 7: Kamloops trades RW Brady Calla, 20, to Spokane for C Seth Compton, 20, and a 2010 third-round bantam draft pick.