Saturday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: F Jeff Friesen (Regina, 1991-95) has signed a one-year contract with Eisbären Berlin (Germany DEL) after a successful tryout. Friesen played five games for Lake Erie (AHL) in 2007-08 and didn’t play last season. Eisbären, the defending DEL champions, open their regular season Friday.
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Exhibition seasons usually pass by and leave very little in the way of memories. This WHL exhibition season, however, will be remembered for what happened Friday night in Ladner, B.C., during a game between the visiting Kamloops Blazers and the Vancouver Giants. . . . Here is how Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province described it on his blog:
“Giants coach Don Hay got tossed out of the game at the start of the third period. He was upset about referee Sean Raphael giving Vancouver winger Brendan Gallagher the only penalty during a skirmish. Hay banged a stick on the boards; he said later that he was trying to get Raphael's attention. Raphael obviously felt he was trying to show him up. Hay couldn't remember the last time he had been tossed out of a game; he said it hasn't happened during his previous five years with Vancouver.”
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Last season, a game misconduct to a coach was worth $500. It will be interesting to see whether the WHL makes any, uhh, hay from this one.
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The Saskatoon Blades have signed three players to WHL contracts – F Brett Stovin, F Steven Burzan and G Tyler Oswald.
Stovin, from Stony Mountain, Man., was a fifth-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. He had 144 points, including 87 goals, in 49 games with the bantam AA Interlake Lightning last season. He is expected to play this season with the midget AAA Interlake Lightning.
Burzan, from Surrey, B.C., was a sixth-round pick in the 2009 draft from the bantam AAA Surrey Thunder. He’ll play this season with the Valley West Hawks of the B.C. major midget league.
Oswald, from Sanford, Man., was a fifth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft. He put up a 1.94 GAA in 22 games with the midget AAA Pembina Valley Hawks in Manitoba last season. Oswald, 16, is competing for a spot on the Blades’ roster.
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EDMONTON OIL KINGS TOURNAMENT: D Matt Dumba scored twice as the Red Deer Rebels blanked the Moose Jaw Warriors 3-0 in St. Albert, Alta., on Saturday. . . . Red Deer goaltenders Darcy Kuemper (20) and Kraymer Barnstable (17) combined for 37 saves. . . . Dumba was the fourth overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft. . . . The Oil Kings beat the Swift Current Broncos, 4-1. One of Edmonton’s goals came from F Mitchell Moroz, 15, a second-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft who signed a contract late in the week. . . . The Broncos’ goal came from F Adam Lowry, a 2008 draft pick whom they signed during the week. . . . The Medicine Hat Tigers got two goals and an assist from F Emerson Etem and beat the Regina Pats, 4-3. The Tigers scored the game’s last three goals, the last two in the third period. . . . Etem, from Long Beach, Calif., was a sixth-round pick by the Tigers in the 2007 bantam draft.
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Despite being outshot 46-23, the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds posted a 4-2 victory over the Portland Winterhawks on Saturday. It was Portland’s first game since the franchise’s nickname was changed from Winter Hawks. . . . Seattle G Kyle Jahraus, a 19-year-old from Saskatoon, went the distance. . . . Chance Lund scored twice for Seattle, the second into an empty net. . . . In Aberdeen, Sask., the Blades dumped the Prince Albert Raiders, 6-2. On Thursday, the Blades beat the Raiders 5-1 in Prince Albert. . . . In Kamloops, the Blazers got 44 saves from G Jon Groenheyde and beat the Vancouver Giants, 3-2. . . . The Giants had beaten the Blazers 6-5 in a shootout one night earlier in Ladner, B.C. Kamloops, down 1-0, got second-period goals from F Jimmy Bubnick, F Cole Grbavac and F Dylan Willick. The first two came via the PP and the third was shorthanded. Kamloops head coach Barry Smith had been critical of Groenheyde, an 18-year-old sophomore, who hadn’t played well in camp.