Friday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: G Aleksandr Fomitchev (Calgary, Seattle, 1997-2000) has been released by Sibir Novosibirsk (Russia KHL). He had been reassigned to Sibir's farm club, Zauralie Kurgan (Russia High League), but after discussions between Sibir and himself, it was mutually agreed that Sibir would grant Fomitchev his release. He was 1-4-0-1 with a 2.81 GAA and a .885 save percentage in seven games for Sibir this season.
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Shawn Mullin, over on the left at his Trail Smoke Eaters blog, has a heart-warming story on F Steve Oursov, who is attempting to return to the game. Oursov, 18, has struggled with concussion problems for a while and there was a time when it was thought his career might be over. He had been with the Red Deer Rebels, who have released him in order to allow him to play for Trail. A lot of people are pulling for him as he joins the Smokies.
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It isn’t often that players get left over national team selection camp rosters and sound off about it. F Mitch Wahl of the Spokane Chiefs isn’t one of the quiet ones, not after being ignored by the U.S. team for which he played a year ago. “I heard a lot of different things,” Wahl told Dave Trimmer of the Spokane Spokesman-Review on Friday. “U.S. hockey called me, for the most part I think the head coach didn't like me so I think that's why I got screwed out of a spot there.
“It's frustrating but good luck to Johnny (Tyler Johnson) and hopefully he does well there.
"It's disappointing for me obviously, I should have been a returning guy but at the same time but it's not going to effect my career in the end. I think I deserve to be there and I deserve to be on the team. It makes me mad but I'm just trying to come out with a good second half of the season."
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Ever wonder what Igor Larionov’s daughters are up to these days? Check this out right here and see how many hockey people you can recognize.
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FRIDAY:
In Edmonton, F Dylan Wruck broke a 1-1 tie with a PP goal at 18:50 of the second period as the Oil Kings beat the Red Deer Rebels, 3-1. . . . D Lane Werbowski gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead with his first goal of the season, on the PP, at 10:50 of the first. . . . Red Deer F Willie Coetzee got his 16th at 16:10 of the second. . . . Wruck, with his third, gave Edmonton the lead and F Mark Raedeke, with his 17th, iced it early in the third. . . . The Oil Kings are 10-19-4-4. . . . The Rebels (17-15-0-2) were 4-0-0-2 in their previous six games. . . . Attendance was 4,760. . . . This was the first meeting of the season between these teams. They play again Saturday in Red Deer.
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In Calgary, two late third-period goals gave the Hitmen a 3-1 victory over the Regina Pats, who lost for the sixth straight game and whose general manager, Brent Parker, chose to make a donation to the WHL’s Christmas fund. . . . “The league should be embarrassed by that performance,” Parker told CKRM Radio’s Rod Pedersen on the postgame show. “It’s not up to the standard that our league expects. That was just not very good by them tonight at all.” . . . Uhh, Parker wasn’t referring to the Pats. No, he was referring to referees Chris Chrich and Nathan Wieler and linesmen Aidan Henderson and Jeff Jobson. . . . Calgary was 0-for-7 on the PP; Regina was 0-for-1. . . . “Phantom calls, it makes it tough,” Parker continued. “We just ran out of gas.” . . . Ka-ching! . . . Regina (16-20-3-0) is out of its home rink for nine games because of the World Junior Championship; it has lost the first five of those games. . . . Calgary (26-8-1-1) got late goals from F Joel Broda, at 17:03 of the third, and F Tyler Fidder, at 18:53, to break a 1-1 tie. . . . The Hitmen have won six of seven. . . . Calgary G Michael Snider stopped 21 shots, while Regina’s Dawson Guhle stopped 47. . . . Attendance was 7,317.
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In Everett, G Drew Owsley stopped 32 shots for the shutout and his WHL-best 24th victory as the Tri-City Americans beat the Silvertips, 3-0. . . . Owsley has three shutouts this season, two of them against Everett, and four in his career. . . . F Johnny Lazo had two Tri-City goals, including one into an empty net, as Tri-City (26-9-0-0) won its third straight game. . . . Lazo has 21 goals on the season. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson stopped 37 shots. . . . Everett, which has been shut out four times, is 18-13-2-1. . . . Attendance was 5,507.
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In Lethbridge, F Joe Antilla struck for three first-period goals, leading the Kootenay Ice to an 8-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The Ice (18-15-1-2) scored the game’s first three goals, two of them by Antilla, before F Mark Reners got the home team on the board. . . . However, Antilla completed his hat trick with a PP goal at 13:26. He has eight goals on the season. . . . Antilla’s second goal, at 12:38 of the first, sent Lethbridge G Ville Kolppanen to the bench, with Brandon Anderson coming on in relief. The combined for 24 saves. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 25 shots. . . . Kootenay was 3-for-8 on the PP; Lethbridge (10-19-3-1) was 0-for-4. . . . Attendance was 3,158. . . . The teams play again Saturday in Cranbrook.
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In Moose Jaw, the Brandon Wheat Kings ran their winning streak to seven games as they beat the Warriors, 4-1. . . . Brandon (24-11-0-2) scored the game’s last three goals after Moose Jaw F Antonin Honejsek scored the Teddy Bear goal late in the first period. . . . Brandon F Mark Stone scored 1:17 after the break. . . . Brandon F Shayne Wiebe scored his 15th goal of the season in his first game with his hometown team. Wiebe, 19, was acquired from the Kamloops Blazers on Sunday. . . . The Warriors (17-14-1-2) have lost nine of 11. . . . The Wheat Kings were without F Scott Glennie, who returned from the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp with a concussion. . . . F Matt Calvert had two assists for Brandon. . . . Brandon G Andrew Hayes stopped 15 shots, 11 fewer than Moose Jaw’s Jeff Bosch. . . . Attendance was 2,004. . . . The teams meet again Saturday in Brandon.
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In Portland, F Justin Dowling set up three goals as the Swift Current Broncos beat the Winterhawks, 6-3. . . . F Matt Tassone scored twice for the Broncos (18-17-0-2), who had lost their last two games. . . . F Nino Niederreiter had two goals, giving him 23, for the Winterhawks (22-14-0-1), who had won two in a row. . . . Swift Current G Mark Friesen stopped 32 shots. . . . The Broncos were 2-for-4 on the PP; Portland was 1-for-5. . . . Swift Current F Travis Bobbee had one goal and was minus-1. Portland D Eric Doyle had an assist and was plus-1. The two were traded for each other earlier in the season. . . . Attendance in the Rose Garden was 4,238
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In Prince Albert, F Craig McCallum had a goal and an assist to help the Raiders to a 4-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . McCallum iced this one with his 17th goal, an empty-netter, at 19:48 of the third period. . . . The Raiders (20-15-1-2) scored the game’s first three goals, with F Brandon Herrod getting the third one, his 23rd, at 6:30 of the third period. . . . The Blades (23-7-1-3), who had won their last two games, made it interesting on goals 13 seconds apart by F Randy McNaught and F Derek Hulak, the latter scoring his 14th at 14:16. . . . Attendance was 2,252. . . . Saskatoon G Adam Morrison stopped 43 shots, 13 more than P.A.’s Garrett Zemlak as the Raiders enjoyed a distinct advantage. . . . The Raiders are 15-7-1-2 since Oct. 20. . . . The teams meet Saturday in Saskatoon. . . . Saskatoon D Jyri Niemi (shoulder) sat out his seventh straight game.
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In Prince George, the Cougars scored seven second into the game but gave up the next six goals as they fell 7-2, to the Kamloops Blazers. . . . F Jordan DePape, acquired by Kamloops from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Sunday, scored three straight first-period goals. . . . Kamloops (14-16-2-3) was 5-for-12 on the PP; the Cougars (6-26-1-1) were 1-for-5. . . . F C.J. Stretch had a goal and two assists for Kamloops, with F Tyler Shattock setting up three goals. . . . Attendance was 1,878. . . . The Cougars are without F Brett Connolly (hip), who won’t play for at least a couple of weeks, and F Marek Viedensky, who is with the Slovakian team prepping for the world junior tournament.
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In Spokane, F Charles Wells scored with 23 seconds left in OT to give the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent a 3-2 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Spokane had forced OT when F Anthony Bardaro scored his first WHL goal in his 34th game -- 27th this season -- at 11:06 of the third period. . . . F Prab Rai got his 21st of the season for Seattle (13-19-1-3), which had lost its last two. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 23 shots, while Spokane’s James Reid turned aside 27. . . . The Chiefs (21-10-3-0) have lost three of four. . . . Attendance was 5,569. . . . The Chiefs had beaten the Thunderbirds 3-1 in Kent on Tuesday, their fourth victory over the Thunderbirds in as many tries this season. . . . Spokane F Kyle Beach wasn’t in the Chiefs’ lineup. The Spokane Spokesman-Review reported that Beach has a “mild concussion.”
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In Vancouver, F Kevin Sundher scored two PP goals in the second half of the third period to give the Chilliwack Bruins a 3-2 victory over the Giants. . . . Sundher forged a 2-2 tie at 10:13 and broke it at 14:09. . . . F Alexander Wiklund assisted on both goals. . . . D Brandon Manning also scored on the PP for the Bruins (15-17-1-4), who were 3-for-4 with the man advantage. . . . The Giants were 1-for-5. . . . Vancouver (22-12-1-2) had won three in a row. . . . The Giants are 15-9-0-0 at home. . . . Attendance on Gordie Howe Night was 8,536. . . . Yes, Mr. Hockey was greeted by a standing ovation as he should have been. . . . Chilliwack G Braden Gamble made 29 saves. He was backed up by Lucas Gore, who returned to the bench after sitting out with a shoulder injury. . . . Vancouver G Jamie Tucker stopped 24 shots.