Friday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: Most leagues in Europe operate on a promotion/relegation basis (the notable exceptions are the Russian KHL and Germany's DEL). In Sweden, the last round is called Kvalserien (The Qualify Series) and has four teams from Allsvenskan (the second league) and the last two teams from Elitserien (the top league). They play a double round-robin -- 10 games for each team. The top two in the standings at the end qualify for Elitserien for next season. The series has played three rounds and Leksand is 0-3 after losing to fellow Allsvenskan AIK Stockholm 5-1 Wednesday night. This loss put Leksand's board into crisis mode and on Thursday it fired head coach Tomas Kempe and assistant coach Tomas Jonsson, the former New York Islanders defenceman. They are being replaced by Leksand's junior coaches.
To give some sense of Leksand history, they played in Elitserien for 50 consecutive years until their relegation in 2001. Since then, they have bounced up and down, playing in Elitserien three seasons since then before their last relegation in 2006. Leksand is a small community, population just under 6,000 in the town and around 15,000 in the county, but the club is a popular one throughout Sweden. This coaching change really looks like a panic move . . . but it shows just how much money is at stake here. When Leksand was relegated three years ago, the team's board publicly said that it had the finances and sponsorship support to survive in Allsvenskan for two years but probably not any longer than that.
The amount of sponsorship money really drops off after Elitserien -- less national coverage, which translates into less advertising exposure for the sponsors, etc. So my thinking is that the board feels they must win promotion now or the sponsorship support will drop and it will never get back to Elitserien as it just won't have the funds to do it.
While Leksand has seven games left, it needs to start winning now, as it is eight points behind the second-place team (Sweden uses three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime or shootout win, one point for an overtime or shootout loss). Last season, the second-place team was 6-3-1 and Leksand, after finishing first in Allsvenskan with Ed Belfour in
goal, finished fifth at 4-5-0. Nothing like a little pressure . . .
Recognizable names on Leksand this season include former Tri-City players Eric Johansson and Marcus Jonasén and former NHLer Róbert Petrovický, the older brother of ex-WHL player Ronald Petrovický.
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Meanwhile, D Mark Ardelan (Brandon/Vancouver/Prince Albert) signed a one-year contract extension with Iserlohn (Germany DEL). Ardelan had seven goals and 15 assists in 34 games with Iserlohn this season after starting the season with Lukko Rauma (Finland SM-Liiga).
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GO GOLFING: The Brandon Wheat Kings’ Alumni Association has unveiled plans for its first golf tournament, Aug. 6 at Oak Island Golf Resort.
The tournament, which is open to the public, is the association’s major fundraiser for 2009, with proceeds going to the Wheat Kings’ scholarship fund. The Wheat Kings’ Alumni announced last summer that, after serving as one of the presenting sponsors of the Sly Open in recent years, it would assume operation of the tournament this summer. The Sly Open was held each of the last 10 years in honour of the late Chad Silver, a former Wheat Kings player.
The day-long event will begin with a breakfast at Four Seasons Island Resort, to be followed by the tournament and a banquet. The tournament will be chaired by Mark Kolesar, with the assistance of the executive and other members.
Entry fee is $150 and that covers green fees, golf cart rental, breakfast, dinner, a gift from the Alumni and a chance to win some terrific prizes.
To enter, or for more information on sponsorship opportunities call the Wheat Kings’ office at 204-726-3555 or go online to www.wheatkings.com and click on the Alumni logo on the home page.
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FRIDAY’S PLAYOFFS:
Here’s a look at Friday’s games. All were the first games in best-of-seven series and all resume in the same locations on Saturday. The other series picks up with Game 2 in Calgary on Sunday, with the Hitmen holding a 1-0 lead over the Edmonton Oil Kings.
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In Saskatoon, the Blades beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 5-1. . . . Lethbridge scored first but the Blades got the next five. . . . Lethbridge F Kyle Beach was tossed with a cross-checking major for a hit on Saskatoon D Jyri Niemi at 15:33 of the third period. The Blades didn’t make Niemi available for postgame interviews after the hit and it wasn’t know if he was injured. . . . Beach sat out two three-game suspensions after being acquired from Everett in January and this incident will be investigated by the WHL office. . . . Lethbridge G Juha Metsola, who suffered a concussion in Cranbrook on March 14, didn’t dress. The Hurricanes started G Brandon Anderson, a 16-year-old from Langley, over Michael Tadjdeh, 17. . . . Anderson, who faced 26 shots, got into five regular-season games with the Hurricanes. He started a Jan. 1 game in Saskatoon, which the Blades won 3-0. . . . Video review, in force for all playoff games, came into play when Lethbridge F Cam Braes, his side down 2-1, had an apparent goal disallowed when it was ruled he had made contact with the puck with a high stick. Referee Brett Montsion made the original call and video review upheld it. . . . Saskatoon was 2-for-4 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-for-4. . . . Attendance was 5,358.
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In Swift Current, RW Keegan Dansereau scored three times as the Broncos dumped the Medicine Hat Tigers, 4-2. . . . F Tyler Ennis scored twice for the Tigers, including the only goal of the first period. . . . Ennis’ second goal, at 1:04 of the third, gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead. . . . F Taylor Vause pulled Swift Current even at 7:46 and Dansereau got the winner at 13:05. He later added an empty-netter. . . . Medicine Hat had a 38-33 edge in shots. . . . The Broncos had F Jan Dalecky (thigh) back in their lineup. . . . The Broncos were 1-for-5 on the PP; the Tigers were 1-for-8. . . . Attendance was 2,431.
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In Kelowna, F Jamie Benn, the WHL’s fifth-leading goal scorer, had three assists as the Rockets beat the Kamloops Blazers, 4-2. . . . It was Kelowna’s 10th straight victory over the Blazers this season. . . . Kamloops led 1-0 after the first period on a goal by Kelowna native Scott Wasden. . . . The Rockets scored three times in the second period, two of them coming on the PP. . . . Kelowna outshot Kamloops, 34-22. . . . Kelowna was 2-for-7 on the PP; Kamloops was 1-for-6. . . . Attendance was 5,123, and that ended a streak of 174 consecutive sellouts (6,007) at Prospera Place. . . . The Rockets were without RW Kyle St. Denis (concussion) and F Mikael Backlund (upper body).
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In Brandon, F Brayden Schenn and F Nathan Green each scored twice as the Wheat Kings dropped the Kootenay Ice, 7-2. . . . Brandon got three assists each from F Matt Lowry, F Scott Glennie and F Jay Fehr. . . . Brandon outshot the visitors, 37-25. . . . Brandon was 4-for-10 on the PP; Kootenay was 1-for-3. . . . Brandon scored four PP goals in the third period. . . . Brandon had D Mark Schneider (shoulder) and D Keith Aulie (hand) back in the lineup. . . . Ice G Todd Mathews was replaced by Scott Orth after Brandon’s sixth goal. . . . Attendance was 3,273.
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In Spokane, LW Drayson Bowman scored twice as the Chiefs beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 2-1. . . . F Charles Wells gave Seattle a 1-0 lead in the first period. . . . Bowman tied it in the second and won it at 11:44 of the third. . . . RW Brady Calla drew assists on both Bowman goals. . . . Each team was 0-for-3 on the PP. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 36 shots. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski turned aside 31 shots. . . . F Prab Rai returned to the Seattle lineup after not playing since March 6. . . . The Chiefs didn’t get any of their injured/ill defencemen back. . . . Attendance was 5,426.
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Justin Feser, who scored 12 regular-season goals, scored at 11:13 of OT to give the Tri-City Americans a 6-5 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Everett, which was 0-7 in OT in the regular season, scored twice in the last 3:05 of the third period – Tyler Maxwell at 16:56 and Daniel Bartek at 19:38 – to force OT. . . . The Silvertips scored the game’s first two goals and then gave up four in a row. . . . G Chet Pickard returned to Tri-City’s lineup for the first time since he suffered a concussion in Spokane on Feb. 28. . . . D Ryan Murray, the ninth pick in the 2008 bantam draft, made his debut for Everett and took a fairly regular shift, while the Silvertips scratched 16-year-old Alex Theriau, the sixth overall pick in 2007 who was acquired from Lethbridge in January. . . . Everett F Kellan Tochkin left in the second period with an undisclosed injury. . . . Everett F Ryan White, who scored twice, left early in the OT with an apparent shoulder injury. . . . Bartek had a goal and two helpers. . . . F Adam Hughesman had two goals for the Americans and F Kruise Reddick had three assists. . . . Everett scratched D Mike Alexander (upper body). . . . Tri-City was without F Petr Stoklasa (shoulder) and D Brett Plouffe (leg). As well, F Spencer Asuchak completed a two-game WHL suspension. . . . Attendance was 3,385.
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In Vancouver, the Giants scored five second-period goals as they beat the Prince George Cougars, 8-2. . . . Vancouver had a 53-18 edge in shots, including 16-3 in the first and 22-3 in the second. . . . The Giants were 3-for-12 on the PP; the Cougars, who got both their goals while shorthanded, went 0-for-6. . . . D Craig Schira had two goals and an assist for Vancouver and D Jon Blum had a goal and two helpers. . . . The Giants had F Lance Bouma (hand) back in the lineup after a 23-game absence. He was a physical force and scored a goal. . . . The Cougars broke two panes of glass during their warmup. . . . Attendance was 8,643.