Friday . . . and Happy New Year!

A WHL CHRISTMAS STORY:
Drew Wilson, the radio voice of the Prince Albert Raiders, and his wife were to have flown out of Castlegar, B.C., on Dec. 28.
Wilson had to be in Moose Jaw to call the Raiders game there with the Warriors on Dec. 29.
Well, wouldn’t you know it! The flight out of Castlegar was cancelled due to low cloud cover.
So . . . the Wilsons boarded a late-night bus from Trail to Kelowna. The goal was to catch a flight out of Kelowna on Dec. 29 at 7:35 a.m. Yes, that flight was 30 minutes late departing the Little Apple. Sheesh, no one ever wants to leave there, do they?
The plane, after stops in Vancouver and Calgary, arrived in Saskatoon late in the afternoon. The Wilsons were on the road to Moose Jaw at 4:15 p.m.
Of course, they ran into snow and blowing snow en route. As he put it: “I'm still practically picking (my wife’s) fingernails out of the dash of the car . . . she didn't like my driving to say the least.”
They arrived at the Crushed Can at 6:40 p.m. Which gave Drew lots of time -- about 20 minutes -- to get on the air.
Rather than drive to Prince Albert after the game, Drew, having already treated his wife to an evening in the Crushed Can, went all out and they spent the night at the Heritage Inn.
It was back to Prince Albert the next morning and they arrived there in lots of time for him to handle the rematch that night.
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William Houston used to cover the sports media for The Globe and Mail. Now, after taking a package and leaving the newspaper, he blogs about the media and other things close to the media. Earlier in the week, he took Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson and his wife, Lorna Schultz Nicholson, to task for the writing she has done in various Hockey Canada-related books. You are able to read that right here, where it is the second item.
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Don Atchison, who once played for Saskatoon Blades, now is the mayor of ’Toontown. Oh, and he also played in the minor leagues where, at one time, a teammate was Ned Dowd. Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail has that story right here. . . . The really good news for sports fans is that MacGregor, one of this country’s best essayists, is moving into the Globe’s sports department, so we can look for more of this kind of thing.
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The Everett Silvertips expect to be without F Dan Iwanski (knee) for up to four weeks. He has a sprained MCL. . . . Everett has D Nicholas Walters of St. Albert, Alta., in camp. He was the team’s first pick, eighth overall, in the 2009 bantam draft.
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G Linden Rowat is expected to be back on the bench Saturday when the Lethbridge Hurricanes play host to the Regina Pats. Rowat, 20, has been out for more than two months with a wonky ankle. He returned to the ice on Dec. 26, but isn’t yet ready to start. Which means the Hurricanes will open with Brandon Anderson against the Pats. . . . Regina is expected to start G Brett Martyniuk for a second straight game. Damien Ketlo (shoulder) will watch for another two or three weeks, while Dawson Guhle (hip flexor) was injured in Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Hitmen in Calgary and is listed as week-to-week. Joel Danyluk of the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves will back up Martyniuk.
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FRIDAY:
In Swift Current, G Mark Friesen stopped 32 shots to help the Broncos to a 3-2 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . F Brad Hoban’s 14th goal of the season, on the PP at 14:44 of the third period, broke a 2-2 tie. . . . The Broncos (21-17-0-2) were 2-for-8 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-for-5. . . . F Jordan Peddle gave the Broncos, who have won four in a row, a 2-1 lead with his first goal of the season late in the first period. It was his first goal in 37 games. Last season, he had 11 in 55. . . . The Tigers (23-12-3-4) took five minors in less than 11 minutes in the first period but gave up just one PP goal. . . . F Joe Frazer scored both Tigers’ goals, giving him eight this season. . . . Attendance was 2,299. . . . This was the only New Year’s Day game in the WHL. . . . The start of the game was delayed two hours 21 minutes as poor driving conditions meant a late arrival for the Tigers.