More from Wednesday . . .

The Prince Albert Raiders have signed two of their 2008 bantam draft picks — D Harrison Ruopp of Zehner, Sask., and LW Brock Balson of Kamloops. Ruopp, the 31st pick, spent this season with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. Balson played for the major midget Thompson Blazers, who play out of Kamloops. Both players will be in Prince Albert this weekend for the Raiders’ spring camp.
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Congratulations to old friend Norm Fong on the news that he — along with quarterback Tom Burgess and slotback Dan Farthing — will be inducted into the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Plaza of Honor on Sept. 18. Fong spent 34 seasons as the CFL team’s equipment manager. Before joining the football team, he worked with the Regina Pats and was part of their Memorial Cup title in 1974. Oh, the stories he can tell! If you ever run into him, ask him about Bob Poley, who went on to a fine career as a CFL offensive lineman, and his WHL career.
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I got my hockey fix Wednesday night by hunting up Winnipeg radio station CJOB and tuning in to the Manitoba Moose and Houston Aeros in Game 4 of their AHL Western Conference final series. If you want to hear the names of a whole bunch of former WHLers, this is the series for you. And if you listen to CJOB you’ll hear Brian Munz calling the play. Munz, a former radio voice of the Prince Albert Raiders, is yet another terrific play caller. He doesn’t have a shtick; he just calls the play and that should be what it’s all about. . . . Houston won the game, 5-4 in OT, to stay alive in the series. Manitoba leads 3-1 with Game 5 in Houston on Friday night. . . . Manitoba got two goals from Mike Keane, while Tony Hrkac broke a 3-3 tie for Houston late in the third period. . . . Geez, didn’t Noah make Keane and Hrkac his two draft picks when he was loading up his boat? . . . Mario Bliznak, formerly of the Vancouver Giants, tied it for Manitoba on a wrap-around, beating G Anton Khudobin, a product of the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Matt Beaudoin, who had two goals and two assists, got the winner at 2:01 of OT. . . . Former WHLer John Lammers set up three Houston goals. . . . Khudobin wasn’t around for the OT. He finished the third period but may have been injured on Bliznak’s goal. Nolan Schaefer was in goal for Houston for the OT. He touched the puck once — behind his net — and didn’t have to make a save. For all that, he gets the victory.
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THE MEMORIAL CUP: In Rimouski, Que., the Drummondville Voltigeurs scored a 3-2 OT victory over the host Oceanic on Wednesday. . . . The victory puts Drummondville into Saturday’s semifinal game. . . . Rimouski will meet the OHL-champion Windsor Spitfires on Thursday in a tiebreaker game. The winner moves into the semifinal. . . . The winner of the semifinal will meet the Kelowna Rockets — remember them? — in Sunday’s final. . . . Gabriel Dumont scored the winner at 13:23 of OT. . . . Kelowna and Drummondville both went 2-1 in the round-robin, but the Rockets got the edge because of their victory over the Voltigeurs. . . . The Oceanic outshot the Voltigeurs 41-20 but Drummondville G Marco Cousineau was at his best. . . . The Voltigeurs lost C Maxime Frenette to a broken ankle. He was injured while blocking a shot but played all of the third period on the injured limb.. . . . The Rockets spent Wednesday trying to get away from the Memorial Cup excitement. So they spent part of their goofing around on a zipline, and also stopped at a diner for poutine and hamburgers. No word on whether they ordered the plain ’burger or the Guggenberger. . . . In the evening, the Rockets gathered in their hotel and held a “thank you” dinner for parents who have made the trek to Rimouski. Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ president and GM, picked up the tab, even, an observer said, “paying for the chocolate-covered strawberries.”
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The Portland Winterhawks have formed an Alumni Association which will, according to a press release, honour the team’s past and reach out to former players and coaches “to get them involved in the team’s promotional and charitable events. Along with former Winterhawks players and coaches, former Portland Buckaroos will also play a big role in the Alumni Association. Many of the Alumni Association’s fundraising efforts will benefit the Winterhawks Amateur Hockey Association (WAHA), whose mission is to grow and develop amateur hockey for all ages in the Portland/Vancouver area.” . . . Mike Williamson, a former player and coach, and former broadcaster Dean (Scooter) Vrooman are heading up the association and anything that gets two of hockey’s good guys involved in the game is a good thing. . . . First on the association’s calendar is the inaugural Portland Winterhawks Alumni Association golf tournament on Aug. 10.