Thursday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: One signing, one firing, one player turned referee, and one financial story . . .
The signing: D Kevin Young (Medicine Hat, Portland, Kelowna,1998-2002) has signed for the rest of this season with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany 2.Bundesliga). He had seven goals and 17 assists in 41 games for Lausitser Füchse Weisswasser (Germany 2.Bundesliga) last season.
The firing: Dinamo Minsk (Belarus KHL) has fired head coach Glen Hanlon (Brandon, 1974-1977). Dinamo Minsk is currently in ninth place in the Western Conference of the KHL, one spot out of the playoffs, with a record of 7-8-0. Hanlon also is head coach of the Belarus Olympic team. The Belarus Ice Hockey Federation would like Hanlon to continue as head coach but reports from Belarus say it is uncertain if he will agree
to remain with the Olympic team.
The player turned referee: Former Kamloops D Antti Boman (1991-92) is the first foreign referee to work a KHL game this season. He was one of the two referees in the CSKA-Spartak game Oct. 11 and Atlant-Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk on Oct. 12. Boman ended his playing career with Frisk Asker (Norway Get Ligaen) in 2004-05. Boman is in his third season as a referee in Finland’s SM-Liiga.
And now to the financial pages: The KHL has come to the rescue of Lada Togliatti, the team of former Kamloops F Konstantin Panov. On Wednesday, the league transferred over 17 million Russian Rubles (approx. Cdn$614,000) directly into the bank accounts of players and coaches to cover unpaid salaries. The players had contemplated going on strike but decided not to. Automaker AvtoVAZ, the maker of Lada automobiles and main sponsor of the team, has said that it only can fund the team until November. AvtoVAZ has been struggling as sales of Lada autos have plummeted and the company announced last month that it will lay off 27,600 of its 102,000 employees in Togliatti in mid-
December. Local city and municipality officials are worried about the future of the city, as the layoffs account for over 25 per cent of a workforce that directly employs one out of every seven residents of the city.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers have dealt F Josh Koper, 19, to the Edmonton Oil Kings for D Austin Bourhis, 17. Koper, who is from Edmonton, has seven points in 12 games this season after putting up seven points in 46 games last season. He was a sixth-round pick in the 2005 bantam draft. . . . Bourhis is with the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers. He has seven points in 12 games. . . . F Curtis Valk, 16, who played in the Tigers’ season-opener and then joined the midget AAA Tigers, practised with the WHL team on Thursday.
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Having added G Alex Wright, 19, to their roster, the Prince George Cougars have assigned G Michael Salmon, 17, to the Red Deer midget AAA team. . . . The Cougars are at home for a doubleheader with the Chilliwack Bruins this weekend. That, of course, means that Chilliwack sniper Ryan Howse and D Brandon Manning get to play in front of friends and family. . . . G James Priestner, 18, will start for the Cougars on Friday, with Wright on the bench backing him up. . . . The Cougars also hope to have D Dallas Jackson, 20, in their lineup for the first time this season. Jackson, arguably their top defenceman, suffered a shoulder injury during a scrap in training camp. . . . The Cougars now have four healthy 20-year-olds and have two weeks from Oct. 21 to get that down to three. F Del Cowan, F Tyler Halliday and F Alex Rodgers are healthy, while D Garrett Thiessen (shoulder) remains out. . . . The Cougars remain without star F Brett Connolly (hip).
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If you haven’t seen the jerseys the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs wore Thursday, check it out right here.
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F Milan Kytnar, acquired last week from the Saskatoon Blades, is expected to make his Vancouver Giants’ debut Friday against the visiting Everett Silvertips. . . . This should be an interesting clash, what with the Silvertips at 6-2-0-0 and the Giants at 8-3-0-2. As well, Everett has two victories over the Giants this season, including one in a shootout. . . . Craig Cunningham, who centres Vancouver’s top line, was ill and didn’t practise Thursday but is expected to play Friday.
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The Tri-City Americans, who are the WHL’s hottest team, are at home to the Kelowna Rockets on Friday. The Rockets are oh-for-7 in their last seven trips to the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash. This season, the Americans are 9-2-0-0, including 5-0-0-0 at home. Overall, the Americans are on a seven-game winning streak. The Rockets are 6-4-1-0. . . . The Americans will have to guard against looking ahead as they meet the Chiefs in Spokane on Saturday. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley has started all 11 of his club’s games. He has a 2.38 GAA with a .914 save percentage.
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If you’re a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the fun started when the season ended. Sheesh, the guy fired his wife! Read about it right here.