Sunday . . .

JUST NOTES: F Andrew Bailey of the Kootenay Ice suffered a shoulder injury Friday and missed Saturday’s 5-3 loss to the Blades in Saskatoon. He had played in 276 consecutive regular-season games, 13 shy of Adam Taylor’s franchise record. . . . Here is Calgary Hitmen head coach Dave Lowry, in conversation with John Down of the Calgary Herald, on the injury suffered by D Paul Postma on Saturday night: “We’re coming up to the playoffs, so it’s an upper body injury. I think he is day to day . . . I think he has a bruise, that is my belief.” . . . In other words, it may be a bruise or they may be amputating in the morning. . . . Yes, we are into that time of the year when it’s tough to separate the lies from the fiction. . . . The BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs announced Sunday that GM/head coach Bryant Perrier’s contract won’t be renewed. The Bulldogs finished their season by winning three in a row but didn’t make the playoffs. . . . In the SJHL, the Nipawin Hawks have extended the contract of head coach Colin O’Hara through 2011-12. . . . In the MJHL, the Dauphin Kings have hired Mark Johnston as head scout and director of player development. Johnston, who also scouts for the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, is a former WHL player. And if you can remember him as a 15-year-old defenceman under head coach Rudy Pilous with the Brandon Wheat Kings, well, you’ve been around for a long time. . . . In the OHL, F Cory Tanaka of the Belleville Bulls set a league record Sunday when he played in his 329th regular-season game. That broke the record that had been held by Cody Thornton, who also played for the Bulls. . . . The WHL record for career games played is 399. It is held by C Glen Goodall, who played for the Seattle Thunderbirds (1984-90). Goodall played as a 14-year-old, something that now is against WHL rules.
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There was a nifty exchange the other day in a story by Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun.
Goaltender James Priestner of the Wheat Kings was telling Henderson about a conversation with team captain Keith Aulie that kind of welcomed him to Brandon. The Wheat Kings acquired Priestner from the Kamloops Blazers early this season.
“One of the first days I got here I was hanging out with (Wheat Kings captain) Keith Aulie,” a chuckling Priestner told Henderson, “and he was like ‘(GM/head coach Kelly McCrimmon) has never made a bad trade before, ever. Let’s hope you’re not a bad trade.’
“I mean, that’s not much pressure to put on a 17-year-old goalie in his first week here.”
Geez, never mind about the pressure on a young goaltender. Never made a bad trade? What kind of pressure does that put on the general manager?
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If the playoffs started today:
Eastern Conference
Calgary (1) vs. Prince Albert (8)
Saskatoon (2) vs. Lethbridge (7)
Brandon (3) vs. Kootenay (6)
Medicine Hat (4) vs. Swift Current (5)
Prince Albert picked up a loser point with an OT loss to Kootenay and moved into a tie for eighth with idle Edmonton. The Raiders are eighth because they have one more victory than the Oil Kings. But if they were to finish the season tied for the last playoff spot a sudden-death game would be held. . . . Kootenay’s victory lifted it into sixth, one point ahead of idle Lethbridge. . . . Medicine Hat is three points ahead of Swift Current, with both having played 63 games. . . . Regina is ninth, three points behind Prince Albert and Edmonton. The Pats won in Moose Jaw but only gained one point on Prince Albert because the Raiders picked up that loser point.
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Western Conference
Vancouver (1) vs. Prince George (8)
Tri-City (2) vs. Everett (7)
Spokane (3) vs. Kamloops (6)
Kelowna (4) vs.Seattle (5)
Seattle’s victory over Vancouver lifted it into sole possession of fifth place, two points ahead of idle Kamloops. . . . Tri-City beat Portland and now holds an eight-point lead on Spokane, which has two games in hand. . . . Kelowna, having won in Chilliwack, is one point behind Spokane, with the Chiefs holding two games in hand. . . . Everett is three points behind Kamloops. . . . Prince George has a 14-point lead on Chilliwack, with the Bruins having nine games left.
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SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Chilliwack, the Rockets won for the third time in as many nights, this time beating the Bruins, 4-1. . . . F Mikael Backlund had two assists for the Rockets, who scored the game’s first four goals. . . . G Adam Brown stopped 29 shots, losing his shutout with 1:01 left in the third period when F Scott MacDonald scored on the PP. . . . Kelowna D Tyler Myers scored the eventual game-winner, his eighth, with the Rockets shorthanded early in the third. . . . Chilliwack is without F David Robinson (concussion) and F Ryan Howse (shoulder).
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In Prince Albert, F Dominik Pacovsky scored at 3:51 of OT to give the Kootenay Ice a 3-2 victory over the Raiders. . . . Pacovsky, who has seven goals, scored twice, his first one breaking a 1-1 tie at 17:30 of the second period. . . . F Ryan McDonald’s 32nd goal, on the PP at 16:06 of the third, forced OT. . . . D Brayden McNabb drew three assists on the night for the Ice. . . . Kootenay G Todd Mathews made 41 saves.
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In Moose Jaw, RW Jordan Eberle scored one goal and set up three others as the Regina Pats dumped the Warriors, 4-1. . . . C Jordan Weal had three assists. . . . F Mitch Czibere scored his ninth and 10th goals for Regina, which beat the visiting Warriors 5-2 on Friday. . . . Moose Jaw F Martin Filo (knee) is listed as day-to-day.
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In Portland, F Johnny Lazo broke a 1-1 tie at 14:18 of the second period and the Tri-City Americans went on to beat the Winter Hawks, 4-1. . . . Tri-City G Chet Pickard stopped 26 shots. . . . F Mitch Fadden and F Kruise Reddick each had a goal and an assist for the Americans. Fadden has 30 goals this season; Reddick has 16.
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In Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds erased a 2-1 deficit and beat the Vancouver Giants, 3-2. . . . F Evander Kane gave the Giants a 2-1 lead with a PP goal at 18:15 of the second period. . . . Seattle F Jeremy Boyer tied it on a penalty shot at 4:02 of the third period and C Jim O’Brien, who scored in the first period, won it with his 23rd at 11:58 on the PP. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 40 shots in winning for the 19th time. . . . The Giants had a 19-6 edge in shots in the third period. . . . Vancouver’s Jamie Tucker lost for the first time in regulation time. He stopped 26 shots in falling to 15-1-0-1. . . . The Giants were 2-for-5 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 1-for-7. . . . Seattle has won its last two meetings with the Giants. . . . Seattle is 13-3-0-0 in the ShoWare Center, which it moved into early in January. The Thunderbirds have won three in a row and nine of 12.
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In anticipation of some invoices being sent out by the WHL office after weekend action, here are the Money Standings . . .
The WHL’s unofficial team standings, showing number of incidents and amount fined:
Chilliwack 2/$750
Lethbridge 2/$750
Prince George 2/$500
Regina 1/$500
Vancouver 1/$250
Prince Albert 1/$250
Saskatoon 1/$250
Edmonton 1/$250
Kamloops 1/$250
Spokane 1/$250
Red Deer 1/$250
Seattle 1/$250
Portland 1$250
TOTALS 16/$4,750
(NOTE: All fines for being involved in multi-fight situations.)
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The WHL’s unofficial individual standings, showing number of fines and total amount fined:
Steve Pleau, Edmonton 2/$1,500
Michael Dyck, Lethbridge 1/$500
Brent Parker, Regina 1/$500
Roy Stasiuk, Lethbridge 1/$500
Rob Sumner, Seattle 1/$500
TOTALS 6/$3,500