Thursday's over . . .

So . . . what happened with Jesse Dudas?
The Regina Pats released the 20-year-old defenceman after losing 6-3 to the Hitmen in Calgary on Wednesday. GM Brent Parker told the Regina Leader-Post’s Rob Vanstone that it was a case of “addition by subtraction,” and that “it was our feeling that he wasn’t committed to being what we felt a Regina Pat should be in terms of his commitment to the team and his commitment to the organization.”
Parker told Vanstone it was “an accumulation of things.”
Parker also told Vanstone: “Pure talent-wise, he was our best defenceman. From his skill set, from his shot, from his size, he would be as good as anybody we’ve got. But it takes more than that. You have to have some drive and some determination and some pride to succeed at a high level. We just didn’t see enough of it. We didn’t want the negative aspects, which were outweighing the positive aspects, to rub off on our younger players.”
Regina also may be without D Colton Tuebert when it plays Friday in Cranbrook, B.C., against the Kootenay Ice. He has the dreaded lower body injury.
Regina F Brett Leffler also is questionable, again with the horrible lower body injury.
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Saskatoon D Teighan Zahn (hand) won’t play Friday and Saturday as the Blades meet the Wheat Kings in Brandon. Brendan Wall, who turned 19 on Thursday, will take Zahn’s spot in the lineup. . . . The Wheat Kings will be without D Mark Schneider, who went down with an arm injury Wednesday. . . . As expected, the Portland Winter Hawks have added F Ty Rattie, 15, to their roster now that his midget AAA UFA Strathmore Bisons have had their season end. He was the second overall pick in the 2008 bantam draft. He will be in Portland’s lineup Friday when it meets the Chiefs in Spokane. He had 54 points in 34 games with the Bisons after putting up five points in three WHL preseason games with the Winter Hawks.
Congratulations to Evan Hammond, whose blog you are able to get to from over there on the left, has been named the Team 1040/BCHL broadcaster of the year. He has been the radio voice of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs since 2003-04 on CJAV-The Peak. He is the son of former Flin Flon Bombers G Cal Hammond. . . . The Prince Albert Raiders will have F Cole Penner, the fourth overall pick in the 2006 bantam draft, in the lineup Friday when they meet the Tigers in Medicine Hat and Saturday against the Rebels in Red Deer. He has 21 points and 235 penalty minutes in 44 games with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits, who haven’t yet begun their playoffs.
The Vancouver Giants hope to have D Jon Blum (shoulder) back when they play the visiting Calgary Hitmen on March 6. He has missed six games since getting hurt Feb. 13. . . . Dave Archibald, an assistant coach with the WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins, has added the titles of community liaison and hockey operations advisor to his portfolio. Eric J. Welsh of the Chilliwack Progress has that story right here.
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You may have noticed a couple of new lines over there on the left.
CrashtheCrease.com is a mostly NHL-related blog that has some terrific links on it, including torontosportsmedia.com, which pretty much says it all. Some hilarious and entertaining reading right there. Check them out.
We also have added a link to That Thing Hammy Does. This is the blog of Regina Leader-Post writer Ian Hamilton, who is a longtime friend. If you like Keeping Score, the column that I do and post hear most weekends, then Hamilton’s blog is for you. (Yes, he is related to the Kelowna Hamiltons. No, he can’t tell us why Leader-Post is hyphenated and StarPhoenix isn’t.)
Enjoy!
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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 and Edmonton are tied, but P.A. has one more victory. A tie for the last playoff spot would result in a sudden-death playoff game. . . . Regina lost in Calgary, while Prince Albert won in Cranbrook and Edmonton won at home, so the Pats now are five points off the pace with eight games left. . . . Brandon is four points behind Saskatoon. The teams meet Friday and Saturday in Brandon and Tuesday in Saskatoon. . . . Swift Current is one piont behind Medicine Hat. . . . Lethbridge is a point behind Kootenay. . . . And to make things even more interesting, Prince Albert and Edmonton are only four points behind Lethbridge.
Thursday: No games scheduled.
Friday: Saskatoon at Brandon; Regina at Kootenay; Prince Albert at Medicine Hat; Lethbridge at Moose Jaw; Edmonton at Swift Current.
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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)
Spokane won 5-2 in Kamloops in what may have been a first-round preview. . . . Kelowna is one point behind Spokane, which is eight being Tri-City. . . .. Kamloops is two behind Seattle and three ahead of Everett.
Thursday: No games scheduled.
Friday: Tri-City at Everett; Kamloops at Prince George; Kelowna at Red Deer; Portland at Spokane; Chilliwack at Vancouver.
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THE GREAT RACE
Moose Jaw 63 17 43 1 2 37
Chilliwack 65 15 43 2 5 37
Portland 61 16 41 2 2 36
Moose Jaw and Chilliwack both lost Wednesday night.
Thursday: No games scheduled.
Friday: Lethbridge at Moose Jaw; Portland at Spokane; Chilliwack at Vancouver.