Friday . . .

The Spokane Chiefs have dropped F Mike Betz, 17, from their roster. He had gotten into just one game this season. . . . Betz was the 12th overall pick in the 2007 bantam draft. . . . He is at home in Summerland, B.C., awaiting reassignment. . . . The Chiefs now are carrying 27 players, including two injured 20-year-olds -- F Ryan Letts (foot) and D Jared Spurgeon (shoulder) -- who have yet to play this season. Both are believed to be at least three weeks away from playing.
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If you’ve been following the debate this week on whether Quebec hockey players have been snubbed by Hockey Canada when it comes to picking the national junior team, here’s some good reading right here.
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FRIDAY:
In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans made it eight straight home-ice regular-season victories over Kelowna as they beat the Rockets, 5-1. . . . The Americans also have won eight straight games and now are 10-2-0-0 and the proud owners of the WHL’s top winning percentage (.833). . . . Attendance was 4,125. . . . G Drew Owsley, who has started all 12 games this season for the Ams, had 31 saves. This was the third time he has beaten the Rockets this season. . . The Americans are 6-0-0-0 at home and are the only team in the league not have lost at least once on home ice. . . . Tri-City visit’s the Spokane Chiefs on Saturday. . . . The Rockets (6-5-1-0), who are at home to Vancouver tonight, have lost three in a row. . . . Kelowna D Tyson Barrie (knee, shoulder) returned to the Rockets’ lineup. He had missed eight games since being injured on Sept. 25.
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In Vancouver, F Brendan Gallagher scored two PP goals to help the Giants double the Everett Silvertips, 4-2. . . . Attendance was 7,318. . . . Everett (6-3-0-0) had beaten Vancouver (9-3-0-2) twice this season, including once in a shootout. . . . Vancouver led this one 2-0 after the second period, with Everett twice closing to within a goal before an empty-netter by F James Henry sealed the deal. . . . Three former Giants -- D Mark Fistic (Dallas), D Cody Franson (Nashville) and F James Wright -- each scored his first career NHL goal on Thursday night.
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In Kent, Wash., G Jacob De Serres came up with 28 saves as the Brandon Wheat Kings dumped the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent, 4-1. . . . The Wheat Kings acquired De Serres last week from Seattle, for whom he was 0-3 this season. Yes, he was chosen as the game‘s first star. . . . Brandon (7-6-0-1) got two goals from F Matt Calvert, one on the PP and the other, his eighth this season, into an empty net. . . . Brandon is 1-1 on a seven-game road trip. . . . Attendance was 3,066. . . . "This game really meant a lot to me," De Serres told Jim Riley in a story for the Seattle Times. "Other than the championship I won in midget, this is the second best win I've ever had." . . . Seattle slipped to 3-8-0-1.
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In Swift Current, F Cody Eakin celebrated his NHL contract by scoring three times to lead the Broncos to a 6-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Eakin signed a three-year deal with the Washington Capitals earlier in the week. He now has 12 goals this season. . . . Two of his goals on Friday came shorthanded. . . . Broncos G Morgan Clark stopped 37 shots. . . . The Broncos, who have won eight of nine at home, are 8-5-1-0, while the Blades, who had a six-game winning streak snapped, are 8-3-0-2. . . . Attendance was 2,141. . . . Saskatoon and the idle Moose Jaw Warriors (9-4-0-0) are tied atop the East Division, one point ahead of the Broncos. . . . Swift Current D Derek Claffey was pointless but still was plus-4.
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In Edmonton, the Calgary Hitmen scored five PP goals and beat the Oil Kings, 5-2. . . . Calgary was 5-for-6 with the man advantage. . . . The Hitmen now are 24-for-67 on the PP, which works out to 35.8 per cent. . . . The Oil Kings were 0-for-3 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 5,427. . . . Edmonton got two goals and an assist from F Joel Broda and a goal and two helpers from F Brandon Kozun.
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In Prince Albert, the Raiders got off 57 shots en route to a 5-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . It was the Raiders’ second straight victory, a season high, while Kamloops fell to 1-4 on a six-game East Division swing that wraps up in Saskatoon on Saturday. . . . The Blazers were without F Tyler Shattuck (charley horse) and F C.J. Stretch (WHL suspension). . . . F Brandon Herrod and F Igor Revenko each scored twice for the Raiders (7-8-0-0). . . . Revenko has 10 goals this season. . . . Attendance was 2,455. . . . F Justin Maylan had three assists for the Raiders. . . . Kamloops G Justin Leclerc stopped 52 shots. . . . The Blazers are 8-6-2-0.
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In Medicine Hat, the Tigers roared past the Red Deer Rebels, 9-2. . . . F Bretton Cameron, F Emerson Etem and F Matt MacKay each scored twice for the winners, who are 7-3-2-2. . . . The Rebels are 6-8-0-0. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey had a goal and three assists. . . . Etem, a 17-year-old freshman, and Cameron, 20, each has 11 goals.
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In Cranbrook, the Portland Winterhawks dumped the Kootenay Ice 5-1 to finish a six-game Central Division swing at 4-2-0-0. . . . That was Portland’s longest road trip of this season. . . . The Winterhawks have won three in a row and are 11-5. They lead the U.S. Division by two points over the Tri-City Americans, who have played four fewer games. . . . Attendance was 2,567. . . . F Luke Walker scored twice for Portland, giving him 10 this season. . . . Portland F Nino Niederreitter had an assist to run his point streak to 10 games. He has 12 points, including five goals, over that stretch. . . . Portland didn’t win its 11th game last season until Jan. 3.
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In Prince George, G Lucas Gore stopped 32 shots to lead the Chilliwack Bruins to a 4-2 victory over the Cougars. . . . Attendance was 2,202. . . . F Ryan Howse, a Prince George native, opened the scoring for the Bruins at 3:50 of the first period on the PP. . . . The Cougars tied the game 2-2 when D Kurt Torbohm, who was acquired from Kamloops earlier in the season, scored on a PP late in the second period. That was Torbohm’s first career goal and came in his 111th game. . . . The Bruins won it on third-period goals by F Roman Horak, at 15:20, and F Kevin Sundher, into an empty net.