Wednesday . . .

Well, that takes care of that . . . at least for now.
There has been a lot of buzz about the possibility of the Philadelphia Flyers, who it was thought would need to create salary cap space for the return of injured C Danny Briere, might return D Luca Sbisa to the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
But it turns out that Briere will under a surgical procedure on his groin Thursday, which means speculation about his return will have to wait. Briere has played only nine NHL games this season and now it’s felt he will be out for at least another two weeks.
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You have to love stories like this. . . . The Portland Winter Hawks are going to Enterprise, Ore., on Tuesday. The community is home to an outdoor rink, so the Winter Hawks, who play the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash., on Wednesday, are going to spend some time there. They will meet local students in the morning and spend the afternoon playing hockey on the Wallowa Valley Community Ice Rink. On the ice, the Winter Hawks will hold a practice that is open to the public and then will take paret in an open skating session.
"This will be a special day for both our team and the city of Enterprise, a great hockey town that will get to see elite hockey in person in their own neighborhood," Mike Johnston, the Winter Hawks' GM and head coach, said in a press release. "Many of our players come from small Canadian towns where they'd spend their winters practising on backyard rinks, and they will feel right at home on the outdoor rink."
According to the Winter Hawks' release: "The Wallowa Valley Community Ice Rink is a 78x152 temporary structure erected and taken down every year, and is situated in the centre of Enterprise at the city park. The rink is in its eighth year of operation, and continues to exist because of the creativity and devotion of a group of former pond hockey players who take the lead in building it every year. Numerous local volunteers also help with rink construction days, and local communities and businesses provide the bulk of the financial support for the rink. Adult teams scrimmage in night games under the stars and morning games with the mountains in view, while the rink also hosts youth league games."
Hey, is that what hockey is all about, or what?
And wouldn't you love to be there?
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JUST NOTES: Big news in Cranbrook on Wednesday as the city and the Kootenay Ice announced that they have agreed on a 15-year lease. And unlike the previous lease, this one doesn’t include an exit clause. . . . G Jeff Bosch of the Moose Jaw Warriors is scheduled to play Friday in Brandon against the Wheat Kings. A hip injury has cost him the last 14 games. . . . However, Moose Jaw D Travis Hamonic (knee) is listed as questionable for the weekend. . . . F Brayden Schenn of the Brandon Wheat Kings is the Boston Pizza CHL player of the week. He had seven points, including six helpers, as Brandon won the two games it played last week. He also had an assist in the Top Prospects Game in Oshawa.
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The Saskatoon Blades are in the CHL Mosaik MasterCard Top 10 this week. Here’s a look at the rankings, as selected by a panel of NHL scouts, showing team, record, last week’s ranking and weeks in rankings:
1. Windsor Spitfires (39-5-0-1) 2 18
2. Calgary Hitmen (40-7-2-1) 1 1
3. Shawinigan Cataractes (37-9-2-0) 3 15
4. Vancouver Giants (37-4-0-3) 4 16
5. London Knights (34-8-0-2) 5 15
6. Moncton Wildcats (34-6-2-3) 7 17
7. Quebec Remparts (35-8-0-3) 8 13
8. Belleville Bulls (29-13-2-2) 10 10
9. Drummondville Voltigeurs (35-8-0-3) 6 14
10. Saskatoon Blades (32-11-3-1) - 2
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With a WHL team now in its backyard, the Kent, Wash., Reporter is find different things to write about concerning that team — the Seattle Thunderbirds. The other day, Ian Henry, the Thunderbirds’ director of public relations, had a shadow. No it wasn’t the groundhog. . . . The story is right here.
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In Saskatoon, the Blades dumped the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-2. . . . The Blades now enjoy an eight-point lead over Brandon atop the East Division. . . . G Braden Holtby stopped 30 shots for the Blades as he won his 26th game. . . . F Jay Fehr continued to hold a hot hand for Brandon as he scored both its goals. . . . Freshman F Burke Gallimore, 16, scored his 20th goal of the season for the Blades, who led this one 5-0 before Fehr scored twice. . . . Saskatoon LW Adam Chorneyko had the Gordie Howe hat trick, all in the second period. . . . Brandon had gone into the game 12-0-2-0 in its last 14 outings. . . . Saskatoon wsa 2-for-2 on the PP; Brandon was 1-for-6. . . . These two teams will play each other three more times this season, all of them in a five-day stretch as February turns into March.
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In Prince Albert, fresman D Hayden Rintoul scored three times and set up two others as the Kootenay Ice came from behind for a 5-4 overtime victory over the Raiders. . . . The Raiders took a 4-1 lead into the third period. . . . The Ice got three assists from F Andrew Bailey.
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In Edmonton, the Prince George Cougars scored two third-period goals and beat the Oil Kings, 4-3, and run its winning streak to three games. . . . The Cougars got 26 saves from G Kevin Armstrong. . . . F Marcus Watson, who rejoined the Cougars from the BCHL after the Christmas break, got the winner at 13:58. . . . RW Caleb Belter, 15, was in the Cougars’ lineup and playing in his hometown. He was the 25th pick in the 2008 bantam draft. He earned one assist in his first game. . . . Prince George has picked up five points from its last four road games.
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In Kent, Wash., G Justin Leclerc stopped 44 shots to lead the Kamloops Blazers to a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Leclerc lost his shutout bid when C Jeremy Boyer scored at 18:11 of the third period. . . . Leclerc was acquired by the Blazers from the Lethbridge Hurricanes prior to the 2007-08 season. He has yet to record a shutout with Kamloops. . . . Kamloops C C.J. Stretch had a goal and an assist as he ran his point streak to 11 games. . . . Seattle had been 5-0-0-1 in the ShoWare Centre, which it moved into earlier this month. . . . Attendance was 2,427.
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In Everett, the Spokane Chiefs ran their winning streak to six games by beating the Silvertips, 5-1. . . . G James Reid stopped 27 shots for Spokane. . . . Everett has lost three straight. . . . Spokane F Brady Calla, who began his career with Everett before moving on to the Moose Jaw Warriors and Kamloops Blazers, had a goal and an assist. . . . Everett C Paul Van de Velde took a high hit from Spokane F Blake Gal in the last minute of the third period. Gal was hit with a charging major and game misconduct. . . . Spokane was without RW Justin McCrae (foot), D Mike Reddington (thigh) and D Jared Spurgeon (concussion).
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In Kelowna, F Evander Kane scored three times and F Casey Pierro-Zabotel had a goal and three assists to lead the Vancouver Giants to a 6-4 victory over the Rockets. . . . The Rockets held a 3-2 lead after two periods only to give up four third-period goals. . . . Kane has 30 goals this season. . . . Pierro-Zabotel leads the WHL in assists (57) and points (82). . . . F Mikael Backlund scored his first goal for the Rockets. It was his fourth game with the Rockets, who have lost four of five.
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In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes scored four third-period goals and beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 7-5. . . . In its last five games, Medicine Hat has been outscored 16-3 in the third periods. . . . F Dwight King had two goals for the Hurricanes. . . . Lethbridge F Kyle Beach scored into an empty net in the game’s last minute after which a line brawl broke out. Medicine Hat D Matt McCue was hit with two fighting majors and a double game misconduct after tangling with King and F Colton Sceviour. . . . King took a major and double game.