Saturday . . .

A veteran minor league player has been charged with murder. The Charlotte Observer has that story right here.
---
F Mike Aviani, 16, has joined the Spokane Chiefs to help them fill out their roster into the New Year. Aviani, a fifth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft, has 30 points in 23 games with the junior B Grandview Steelers, who play in the Pacific International junior league. He will stay with the Chiefs through Jan. 5, and will play Sunday against the visiting Portland Winterhawks.
---
The ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors have acquired RW Ryan Menei (Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, 2003-06) from the Johnstown Chiefs. Menei, a third-year pro, had 21 points, including 17 assists, in 24 games.
---
Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald reports that the Tri-City Americans’ players who were on their way back from Winnipeg after the Christmas break ended up “stranded” in Denver on Saturday. . . . The Americans are to meet the Silvertips in Everett on Sunday. . . . According to Fowler, the first player to the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash., on Saturday, was Russian goaltender Alex Pechursky, who made the decision just before the break to leave his homeland and join the Americans. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley comes out of the Christmas break riding back-to-back shutouts. . . . The Americans, picked by some preseason prognosticators to miss the playoffs, are 26-9-0-0, which is only the best start in franchise history. They lead the Western Conference by five points over the Vancouver Giants.
---
The Vancouver Giants will have D Luke Fenske in their lineup Sunday when they meet the Rockets in Kelowna. Fenske, 16, was in training camp with the Giants but was assigned to the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs. He had 15 points in 37 games with the Bullodgs. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province points out that the Giants, who dealt D Mitch Spooner to the Regina Pats just before the break, “besides Spooner, Vancouver has dealt three other rearguards and also cut a WHL veteran blueliner since the start of training camp. They did lose five of their top six rearguards from last (season) to the pro ranks. It wouldn't be surprising to see them pick up another defenceman leading up to the Jan. 10 trade deadline, too.” . . . Ewen also points out that the Giants are about to play four home games over seven days, after which they won’t play in the Pacific Coliseum until March 12. They will play 27 games on the road, including ‘six’ home games at the 5,200-seat Langley Events Centre.
---
The Everett Silvertips have added D Paul Bonar, an 18-year-old from Brandon, to their roster. He had three points in 44 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors last season and has been with the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders, who play out of Swan River, Man. He had 33 points in 36 games with the Stampeders. . . . The Silvertips also will have D Rasmus Rissanen, 18, back with them. He was a late cut from Finland’s world junior team.
---
If you were wondering, the WHL’s Christmas trade moratorium runs through Sunday. Teams are able to start trading again on Monday at 12:01 a.m., Mountain time. . . . However, any players participating in the World Junior Championship or the U-17 World Hockey Challenge aren’t eligible to be dealt until after their particular event is over.
---
The Kelowna Rockets will be without F Kyle St. Denis on Sunday when they meet the visiting Vancouver Giants. St. Denis suffered at least his second concussion of the season while the Rockets were on their East Division swing earlier this month.
---
If you missed it, Regina Pats GM Brent Parker coughed up $500 for his comments after the Pats’ 3-1 loss to the Hitmen in Calgary on Dec. 18. Parker wasn’t impressed with the officiating that night.
---
Let's see . . . 16-0 . . . 10-1 . . . aren't you glad you didn't have to pay. . . . No, I didn't watch. Went out for coffee. Then watched Boston College and USC play football. . . . Again we see evidence of why the WJC should be five or six teams playing some kind of double round-robin tournament finishing with a Page playoff. Just like in curling. That way Hockey Canada's cash cow could run for about three weeks and there would be even more games and even more money. . . . Hey, I'm kidding. But, sheesh, it's time for the adults who run this thing to do something. I watched between five and 10 minutes total and I was embarrassed for the Czechs and the Latvians. The Canada-Latvian game was like one of those high school basketball mismatches you read about once in a while. . . . Makes you hunger for the next game, doesn't it? . . . That would be Kentucky and Clemson in the Music City Bowl. . . . Back to the WJC in the new year.