Saturday . . .

They’ll be celebrating Stu Barnes Day in Spruce Grove, Alta., on Oct. 7. Barnes, a former NHL and WHL player (New Westminster, Tri-City, 1987-90), is one of the owners of the Tri-City Americans. On Oct. 7, the City of Spruce Grove will rename an arena in honour of Barnes. The east venue at the Spruce Grove Agrena will be renamed Stu Barnes Arena. According to a release, “The Oct. 7 festivities will include the unveiling of a new sign, changing the name of the east venue at Spruce Grove Agrena to Stu Barnes Arena. A glass showcase of Barnes' own personal memorabilia in the entrance and a mural on the east wall of the building also will honour his accomplishments.”
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The Portland Winterhawks ended the exhibition season with a 5-1 record after beating the Lethbridge Hurricanes 8-5 at Tri-City’s Red Lions Hotel tournament on Saturday. Portland outshot the Hurricanes 21-3 in taking a 2-0 first-period lead and then scored five times in the second. The Winterhawks lost their first exhibition and now go into the regular season having won five in a row. . . . Portland got two goals from each of F Nino Niederreiter and Oliver Gabriel, while D Troy Rutkowski set up four goals. . . . Three third-period goals gave the host Tri-City Americans a 3-0 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Belarussian F Sergei Drozd, who had two assists in his first game a night earlier, scored his first goal with the Americans (2-3), while F Johnny Lazo and F Justin Feser also scored. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley made 27 saves for the shutout. . . . Spokane G James Reid, back from the Vancouver Canucks’ camp, stopped 41 shots.
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The NAHL’s Wenatchee, Wash., Wild opened its regular season with a 4-3 victory over the Fairbanks Ice Dogs on Friday night. The important figure for WHL watchers, however, is 3,707, which was the paid attendance. The Wild, coached by former WHL D Paul Baxter (Winnipeg, 1973-74), plays in the 4,300-seat Town Toyota Center.
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The QMJHL had 65 players attending NHL camps. Of those, 49 were selected by teams in the NHL draft and 16 were invited as free agents. . . If you were wondering, there were 138 WHL players invited to NHL camps. Of those, 85 were drafted players and 53 received free-agent tryouts.
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F Levi Nelson (Swift Current Broncos, 2004-09) suffered a broken collarbone while playing for the Boston Bruins’ rookie team in a tournament and is out of action indefinitely. Thus, he won’t be on the ice during the Bruins’ main camp. The Bruins selected him in the sixth round of the NHL’s 2006 draft.
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F Brett Leffler scored four goals Saturday to lead the host Regina Pats to a 6-5 OT victory over the Saskatoon Blades. Leffler’s fourth goal, 50 seconds into OT, won it. There were 20 power plays in the game, 12 to Regina. . . . It was Regina’s first victory after four losses. The Pats will meet the Raiders in Prince Albert on Sunday.
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F Jesse Paradis scored the game’s last two goals to give the host Moose Jaw Warriors a 4-3 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. Paradis tied the game at 9:33 of the third period and won it at 18:00. . . . Brandon D Brodie Melnychuk, just back from the San Jose Sharks’ rookie camp, was tossed for fighting just 45 seconds into the game. Moose Jaw D Ryan Stanton also was ejected.
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The Prince George Cougars scored the game’s last five goals and beat the visiting Kamloops Blazers, 4-1. . . . The Cougars had been beaten 8-3 in Kamloops on Friday. . . . F Parker Stanfield had two goals and an assist for the Cougars, who had a 46-16 edge in shots. F Alex Rodgers, who spent two-plus seasons with Kamloops, had a goal for the Cougars, while D Daniel Medland-Marchen, who was released by the Blazers prior to training camp, drew assists on both of Stanfield’s goals. . . . F Robbie Ciolfi had three assists for the Cougars. . . . Former Kamloops G James Priestner went the distance for Prince George, while Jon Groenheyde did the same for the Blazers. . . . The Cougars finished the exhibition season at 2-2-0-1, while the Blazers went 2-4-0-1.
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In Kent, Wash., F Shane Harper’s two goals led the Everett Silvertips to a 3-0 victory over the host Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . G Kent Simpson earned the shutout with 28 saves. . . . The Silvertips went 5-1 in the exhibition season. . . . Seattle G Calvin Picard made 36 saves as the Thunderbirds went 2-3. . . . The Thunderbirds are still waiting for the international paperwork to clear on Russian F Mikhail Sentyurin. . . . Everett got F Cameron Abney (Edmonton) and D Rasmus Rissanen (Carolina) back from NHL camps; Abney played while Rissanen is waiting for the international OK. . . . The Thunderbirds had F Brendan Dillon, who had been with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and F Sena Acolatse (Phoenix) in their lineup. . . . Also in Seattle’s lineup was D James Bettauer, 18, who had been released earlier by the Chilliwack Bruins.