Friday . . .

G Kurtis Mucha, who has spent four seasons with the Portland Winter Hawks, has joined the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads. . . . The ECHL team ran out of goaltenders as Rejean Beauchemin, a product of the Prince Albert Raiders, was moved up to the AHL’s Houston Aeros and Matt Climie’s, who had been Idaho’s starter, was recalled by the NHL’s Dallas Stars. . . . For now, Mucha and Andy Pate, who is from Spokane, played at Eastern Washington U and is the head coach at On Target goaltending school, are the Idaho goaltenders. . . . The Steelheads’ head coach is former Brandon Wheat Kings sniper Derek Laxdal. . . . Mucha stopped 25 shots Friday night in a 3-2 loss to the visiting Phoenix RoadRunners. F Mitch Carefoot, who once was highly recruited by the Brandon Wheat Kings but went the NCAA route, scored the winner on the PP at 14:36 of the third period.
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Michael Dyck, the head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, has been named head coach of Team Pacific, which will compete at the 2010 World U-17 Hockey Challenge in Timmins, Ont., Dec. 28 to Jan. 4. Dyck has coach in the WHL, as an assistant coach or head coach, for 10 years. He also has ample experience with Hockey Alberta as a coach and instructor. Kevin Hasselberg, presently the director of hockey operations and head coach of the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlys, has been named assistant coach. . . . Team Pacific will feature the best 16-year—old hockey players from B.C. and Alberta.
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D John Negrin of the Swift Current Broncos didn’t spend much time with the AHL’s Quad City Flames. The Broncos were eliminated from WHL playoffs by the Medicine Hat Tigers on Tuesday and Negrin, who has signed with the NHL’s Calgary Flames, was assigned to Quad City. Calgary then lost D Robyn Regehr to a lower body injury on Thursday and the Flames recalled Negrin on Friday. Negrin, a third-round selection by the Flames in the 2007 NHL draft, went up to Calgary along with D Matt Pelech. They both played in a 4-0 loss to the host Minnesota Wild on Friday. Pelech was minus-2 in 17:49; Negrin had one shot of goal in 4:22.
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F Greg Scott of the Seattle Thunderbirds has joined the AHL's Toronto Marlies.
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Russ Parker, who with his wife, Diane, owns the Regina Pats, has spoken out about the season the WHL team and about the future. And, no, it doesn’t sound as though the franchise is for sale. And, no, it doesn’t sound as though the GM is going anywhere. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has the story right here.
www.leaderpost.com/sports/Parker+asks+Pats+fans+patience/1462573/story.html
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FRIDAY’S PLAYOFF GAMES: The second round opened on three fronts. Each game was the first in a best-of-seven series. . . . The fourth series, with the Brandon Wheat Kings facing the Medicine Hat Tigers, opens Saturday in The Hat. . . .
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Taylor Procyshen’s PP goal with 1:53 left in the third period gave the host Tri-City Americans a 4-3 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Game 2 is Saturday in Kennewick. . . . The Rockets got the game’s first goal, from F Evan Bloodoff in the second period, but gave up three straight, only to come back and tie it before Procyshen got the winner. . . . Tri-City had a 39-23 edge in shots. . . . F Kruise Reddick had a goal and two assists for the Americans. . . . Tri-City was 2-for-5 on the PP; Kelowna was 1-for-3. . . . The Rockets had won their previous 12 games. . . . Attendance was 3,737. . . . Tri-City F Jason Reese left with an apparent leg injury in the third period. His status for Game 2 isn’t known. . . . The Rockets were without speedy Swedish F Mikael Backlund, who suffered a lower body injury in Game 4 against the host Kamloops Blazers on March 25. “It's something I have to deal with,” Backlund told Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier. “It's tough, but I'm trying to deal with it the best that I can. I'm trying to have as much fun as I can away from the rink and not focus too much on my injury. I'm doing what I can, and getting treatments." . . . Backlund did take the morning skate with the Rockets prior to Game 1.
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In Calgary, the Hitmen didn’t show much rust as they beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 7-1. . . . Game 2 is Sunday afternoon in Calgary. . . . The Hitmen were coming off an eight-day break. . . . D Paul Postma, F Brandon Kozun and F Joel Broda had two goals each for Calgary, which scored twice in the first period and four times in the third. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones stopped 15 shots. He’s 5-0 in these playoffs, as are the Hitmen, who swept the Edmonton Oil Kings while the Hurricanes got past the Saskatoon Blades in a seven-game series that wrapped up Wednesday. . . . Calgary D Michael Stone had three assists. . . . Attendance was 9,263. . . . D Mitch Versteeg scored for Lethbridge early in the third period to cut Calgary’s lead to 3-1. . . . Postma’s second goal, just 33 seconds later, pretty much ended any Lethbridge hopes of a comeback. . . . Calgary’s PP, which had been on a 0-for-15 skid, was 2-for-5. . . . Among the scratches were Calgary F Brett Sonne and Lethbridge F Carter Bancks, both out with upper body injuries. . . . The Hitmen now have won seven straight games from Lethbridge this season.
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In Vancouver, F Garry Nunn, who had sat out the last two games of the previous series for disciplinary reasons, broke a 1-1 tie in the third period and the Giants went on to a 3-1 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Game 2 is Saturday night in Vancouver. . . . Nunn’s winner came on the PP as he tipped in a point shot by D Jon Blum. . . . Nunn missed the last two games of a four-game sweep of the Prince George Cougars after he broke an unspecified team rule. . . . Attendance was 8.920. . . . Vancouver F Mike Piluso got the game’s first goal, at 16:56 of the first period. . . . Spokane C Mitch Wahl tied it a couple of minutes before Nunn scored. . . . Vancouver F Craig Cunningham put it away with an empty-netter. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski made 35 saves, 17 more than Vancouver’s Tyson Sexsmith.