The WHL and Jay Leno . . .

When is the last time the WHL or one of its teams got a mention from NBC-TV’s Jay Leno?
Well, congratulations to the Vancouver Province for getting the WHL a little exposure, if you will.
The Feb. 18 edition of the Province included a story in its sports pages written by Steve Ewen, who is on the Giants’ beat.
The headline on the story read: Hay not pleased with slumping PP.
So . . . part of Leno’s Monday night monologue included his regular riff on newspaper headlines.
And one of the headlines he used was the one from the Province.
Hey, you wouldn’t be pleased either.
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THE MacBETH REPORT: D Jason Holland (Kamloops) signed a two-year contract with Düsseldorf (Germany DEL). He had six goals and 19 assists in 51 games for Ingolstadt this season.
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It seems that Lethbridge Hurricanes F Kyle Beach didn’t finish the season with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. . . . From Patrick Kissane’s Chitown Daily News Chicago Hockey Blog: “News flash, noticeably absent from (Sunday) night's game was Blackhawks prospects Akim Aliu and Kyle Beach. Apparently both received disciplinary actions from the IceHogs front office. There is a code of conduct that is expected of the players by both the IceHogs and the Blackhawks. The IceHogs sent Beach and Aliu home for the remainder of the Milwaukee series. It is unknown if they will be returning this post season, should the IceHogs move on in the playoffs." . . . The Milwaukee Admirals beat the IceHogs 4-1 on Tuesday night to sweep their first-round playoff series.
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JUST NOTES: The AHL’s Providence Bruins released D Victor Bartley, who joined them following the end of the Regina Pats‚ season. Bartley, who played as a 20-year-old with Regina, was pointless in 10 games. . . . Vancouver Giants G Tyson Sexsmith is the CHL goaltender of the week. He was 2-1 with a 1.80 GAA and .931 save percentage. . . . F Mikael Backlund of the Kelowna Rockets was named the CHL’s player of the week. He had a goal and four assists in two games.
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TUESDAY’S PLAYOFF REPORT: The Calgary Hitmen ran their playoff winning streak to 11 games, one short of the WHL’s record. Calgary can tie that record with a victory in Brandon on Wednesday night. . . . The Vancouver Giants took a 2-1 edge in the Western Conference final and this series is starting to look as though it won’t end in a hurry. It also shows some signs of nastiness, what with Kelowna F Ryley Grantham and Vancouver G Tyson Sexsmith involved in something of a feud. Lots of chatter going on between those two in this one. But, then, as Vancouver head coach Don Hay told reporters after this one: “It’s not the Goodwill Games; it’s playoffs.”
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In Brandon, the Wheat Kings got out to a 2-0 but couldn’t hold it and ended up losing 4-3 in OT to the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Calgary has a 3-0 series lead and can end it Wednesday night in Brandon. . . . F Ian Schultz got the winner 1:04 into the first OT period. . . . The Wheat Kings led 2-0 before the game was nine minutes old. . . . Calgary got two goals from red-hot F Kris Foucault, who now leads the WHL with 10 playoff goals. . . . Foucault, who also had an assist, gave Calgary a 3-2 lead just 12 seconds into the third period. . . . Brandon F Matt Calvert forced OT with a PP goal at 6:26. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones stopped 24 shots. Brandon’s Andrew Hayes turned aside 28. . . . Calgary was 0-for-3 on the PP; Brandon was 2-for-5. . . . Attendance was 4,636.
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In Kelowna, G Tyson Sexsmith stopped 33 shots as the Vancouver Giants edged the Rockets, 3-2. . . . The Giants hold a 2-1 lead in the series, with Game 4 in Kelowna on Thursday. . . . F Lance Bouma got the game-winning goal, his seventh, breaking a 2-2 tie at 18:52 of the third period. . . . Kelowna LW Jamie Benn forced OT with a PP goal at 1:03 of the third period. It was his ninth goal of the playoffs. . . . Kelowna G Mark Guggenberger stopped 21 shots. . . . Attendance was 6,021. . . . Sexsmith was especially sharp in the third period when the Giants took minor penalties 18 seconds apart. The Rockets weren’t able to score. . . . The Rockets had F Kyle St. Denis back in the lineup. He missed 37 early-season games with a hand injury, came back and suffered a concussion.
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How big is the rivalry between Kelowna and Vancouver? Dave Sheldon, the Giants’ director of broadcasting and media relations, reported on his pregame show that he entered a Kelowna restaurant Tuesday while wearing Giants gear and was refused service unless he ditched the apparel. Did he peel? Uh, no. He said he went elsewhere.
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THIRD ROUND
Conference Finals
(Best-of-7, all times local)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Calgary (1) vs. Brandon (3)
(Calgary leads series 3-0)
Friday: Brandon 3 at Calgary 9
Sunday: Brandon 4 at Calgary 5
Tuesday: Calgary 4 at Brandon 3 (OT)
Wednesday: Calgary at Brandon, 7 p.m.
x-Friday: Brandon at Calgary, 7 p.m.
x-Sunday: Calgary at Brandon, 6 p.m.
x-Tuesday, April 28: Brandon at Calgary, 7 p.m.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
Vancouver (1) vs. Kelowna (3)
(Vancouver leads series 2-1)
Saturday: Kelowna 4 at Vancouver 2
Sunday: Kelowna 3 at Vancouver 4 (OT)
Tuesday: Vancouver 3 at Kelowna 2
Thursday: Vancouver at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
Saturday: Kelowna at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
x-Monday: Vancouver at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
x-Tuesday, April 28: Kelowna at Vancouver, 7 p.m.

x — if necessary.