Thursday . . .

At the end of the day, it was Ron Toigo, the Vancouver Giants’ majority owner, who said what most WHL people are thinking.
“Nice partners,” Toigo told the Vancouver Sun.
Toigo’s remark came after news broke that the NHL’s Calgary Flames, who own the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen, plan to apply for permission to move their AHL affiliate, the Quad City Flames, from Moline, Ill., to Abbotsford, B.C.
“Putting an AHL team in Abbotsford would kill junior hockey in the Fraser Valley,” said Toigo. “Right away, (the WHL’s) Chilliwack (Bruins) can’t compete. Nor can the (BCHL’s) Langley Chiefs for that matter. If they had no ties to our league, it’s just business. But when you’re a partner in anything, the goal is to make your partners succeed. And that’s the issue I have.”
That story, written by the Sun’s Ian Walker, is right here.
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JUST NOTES: When the Tri-City Americans visit the Chiefs in Spokane on Friday night, the building will be sold out. The Chiefs announced Thursday that all 10,538 seats have been sold. The game also will be televised on Comcast Channel 78. . . . The last time the Americans were in Spokane was Feb. 28 when the teams engaged in one of those, uhh, multiple-fight situations. . . . The Kamloops Blazers have signed trainer Colin (Toledo) Robinson to a three-year contract extension. Robinson, who joined the Blazers from the Vancouver Giants, signed a four-year contract on June 16, 2005. . . . G Michael Salmon, 16, was to join the Prince George Cougars on Thursday in Chilliwack. Salmon, who was placed on the Cougars’ protected list in 2007, spent the season with the midget AAA Red Deer Optimist Rebels, who were eliminated in the second round of playoffs.
The Saskatoon Blades go into the weekend needing one point to wrap up first place in the East Division. That would give the franchise its first pennant since 1993-94 when the Blades went 49-22-1. (If you’re old enough, you will remember when the third category in the standings represtented ties.). . . . G Adam Morrison, who backs up Braden Holtby in Saskatoon, will be back on the Blades’ bench Friday in Prince Albert. Morrison has been out for six weeks with a shoulder injury. . . . A Saskatoon victory will give the Blades the WHL record for most road victories in a season. The Blades share that record (28) with the 1999-2000 Calgary Hitmen.
There will be a celebration in Portland on Friday as the Winter Hawks and the City honour the Portland Buckaroos of the old professional Western Hockey League. Mayor Sam Adams has signed a proclamation declaring the day as Buckaroo Day. A banner signing will be held downtown in Pioneer Square. That banner will go into the Memorial Coliseum rafters prior to the game. Reading and hearing some of the names – goaltender Don Head and forward Andy Hebenton to name two – brings back childhood memories of reading The Hockey News when the pictures all were black and white and there was magic in the WHL. . . . With the Kamloops Blazers having beaten the visiting Vancouver Giants 3-1 on Wednesday, the Calgary Hitmen can wrap up first place overall by winning out. The Hitmen have a one-point lead over the Giants and each team has two games remaining. The Hitmen are in Medicine Hat on Saturday and in Lethbridge on Sunday. The Giants are at home to Everett on Friday and to Prince George on Saturday.
Alf Pike, one of the head coaches from the WHL’s first season, has died. Pike was 91 when he passed away in Calgary on March 1. Pike coached the Calgary Buffaloes in 1966-67. Pike, who was from Winnipeg, also was a player of note during his career; he played 234 games with the New York Rangers. Pike, who at one time worked in a funeral home, was nicknamed The Embalmer during his playing days. . . . The Everett Silvertips hope to have LW Tyler Maxwell (cracked kneecap) and D Trevor Bauer (concussion) back this weekend, while RW Dale Hunt (concussion) practised Thursday. Hunt has been out three weeks, while Bauer has missed a couple of weeks and Maxwell has been watching for a month. . . . Everett also had two prospects – F Campbell Elynuik, 16, and D Evan Morden, 15 – at practice on Thursday, while D Ryan Murray, 15, the ninth overall pick in the 2008 bantam draft, should join the Silvertips this weekend. . . . Calgary Hitmen F Brett Sonne has signed a three-year contract with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. He was the 85th overall pick in the NHL’s 2007 draft. This season in the WHL, Sonne is second in goals (47) and third in points (97 heading into the final weekend of regular-season play. . . . Things are sure to be more than a little emotional Friday night in Lethbridge as the Hurricanes honour the memory of G Mike Maniago, who was killed in a car accident in Calgary on Nov. 29. Maniago, who would have turned 21 on March 23, was part of the Hurricane’s run to the WHL championship final last season. Prior to Friday’s game with the visiting Kootenay Ice, the Hurricanes will present his mother, Terri, with a cheque for the Michael Maniago Memorial Fund. His game-worn jersey also will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the memorial fund, which is used to provide opportunities in sport to underprivileged children.