Wednesday . . .

The website russianhockeyfans.com has chatted with G Alexander Pechurskiy of the Tri-City Americans about his stint Saturday with the Pittsburgh Penguins. A translated version of that interview is right here.
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And now for something completely different? Ever wonder just how many minutes of real action there are in a football game. The Wall Street Journal answers that question and a whole lot more right here.
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If you’ve been thinking that the Prince George Cougars are the WHL franchise, or one of them, that may be in the talk of relocating to Vancouver Island, well, forget about it.
That’s because the Cougars announced Wednesday that they have signed a 10-year lease with the City of Prince George that will keep them in the CN Centre until 2018. The lease is retroactive to 2008.
This season is the Cougars’ 15th in the facility.
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The Prince George Cougars have changed captains, with D Garrett Thiessen, 20, taking over from D Art Bidlevskii, 18, who stays among the leadership group as an alternate. The other alternates are F Alex Rodgers, 20, and Brett Connolly, 17. . . . Thiessen, who is from Prince George, is in his third season with the Cougars. . . . “Garrett has shown us throughout the year his ability to be great leader for the team on and off the ice and is respected by everyone in the room,” said Cougars head coach Dean Clark in a press release.  “Art approached the coaches about making the change and he felt moving forward this season that Garrett is best suited to be the team's captain.”
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The Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent will hold their annual Teddy Bear Toss on Saturday as they play host to the Portland Winterhawks in the ShoWare Center. The stuffed toys will be passed along to the WARM 106.9 Teddy Bear Patrol for distribution to children in the community.
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Former WHL D A.J. Thelen (Prince Albert, Vancouver, 2005-07) won out in the ECHL’s Reebok 8.0.8 Hardest Shot competition during the all-star festivities in Ontario, Calif. Thelen, who is from Savage, Minn., topped out at 101.9 miles per hour, just .03 off the ECHL record that was set by D Jon Awe, then with the Gwinnett Gladiators, in 2007.
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WEDNESDAY:
In Everett, the Silvertips ran their winning streak to 10 games with a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . F Shane Harper gave the Silvertips a 3-1 lead with his 19th goal at 17:18 of the second period. . . . Vancouver D Kevin Connauton got his 21st score at 18:25 of the second on the PP. . . . Connauton also had an assist. He leads all WHL defencemen in goals and points (56). . . . Vancouver F Craig Cunningham had two assists. He leads the WHL with 73 points, three more than Calgary Hitmen F Brandon Kozun. . . . Harper’s goal was his 87th with Everett, tying the franchise career record held by F Zach Hamill. . . . The Silvertips (29-16-2-1), who haven’t lost in 2010, moved into a tie with Vancouver (29-17-1-2) for second in the Western Conference. . . . The Giants are 4-3-0-0 on a 10-game road trip. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson stopped 28 shots. Vancouver F Lance Bouma was unable to score on a first-period penalty shot. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 29 shots. . . . Vancouver was 2-for-3 on the PP; Everett was 0-for-6. . . . The Giants were without head coach Don Hay, who sat out a one-game suspension. He was planning on spending the game in the Giants’ bus, watching the game on a laptop computer. He was suspended after his club was involved in its third line brawl of the season Saturday in Prince George. . . . Attendance was 4,425.
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In Swift Current, F Dustin Sylvester scored once and set up four others as the Kootenay Ice dumped the Broncos, 8-6. . . . The Ice has won a franchise-record 13 straight games. They haven’t lost since Dec. 13 when they were beaten 3-2 in a shootout by the host Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Ice opened this game with five first-period goals, with Sylvester drawing assists on the first four. When F Steele Boomer scored at 11:25 of the first period, the Ice held a 4-2 lead and Sylvester already had four helpers. . . . F Kevin King added four assists for the Ice, while Boomer finished with three goals, giving him 19 on the season. . . . Ice F Jesse Ismond continued to roll, with a goal and two helpers. He has 10 points, including four goals, in his last four games. . . . F Matt Fraser also had a goal and two assists for the winners. . . . Sylvester has 65 points, three shy of his career high from two seasons ago. . . . F Cody Eakin led the Broncos with a goal, his 34th, and three assists. . . . The Ice (29-15-1-2) is fifth in the Eastern Conference, but is right in the mix. It has 61 points, while Calgary and Medicine Hat have 62 and Brandon has 63. The Saskatoon Blades are first, with 69. . . . Attendance was 2,250.
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In Kelowna, D Jesse Craige scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Chilliwack Bruins a 2-1 victory over the Rockets. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 38 shots and three more in the shootout. . . . The Bruins had been 0-5 in shootouts this season. . . . Kelowna F Cody Chikie scored on the PP for the Rockets at 19:17 of the first period. . . . Chilliwack got its goal from D Brandon Manning, h is 10th, at 19:07 of the second on the PP. . . . The Bruins (22-22-1-5) moved into sixth in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Kamloops Blazers. Those teams go home-and-home this weekend, playing Friday in Kamloops and Saturday in Chilliwack. . . . The Rockets (19-25-2-2) have lost seven in a row. They have dropped eight of their last nine home games. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown turned aside 21 shots. . . . Attendance was 6,051.
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In Portland, Kamloops G Kurtis Mucha set the WHL record for minutes played but his Blazers dropped a 5-2 decision to the Winterhawks. . . . Mucha spent four-plus seasons with the Winterhawks, who dealt him to Kamloops on Nov. 22 for a 2010 fourth-round draft pick. He got a warm welcome from the crowd of 1,807 prior to the game. . . . Mucha has played 12,775 minutes, one more than Kyle Moir (Swift Current, 2002-07). . . . F Taylor Peters had a goal and two assists for Portland. Those are the first WHL points this season for Peters, who joined the Winterhawks this month from the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. . . . The teams were tied 2-2 when RW Luke Walker’s centring pass bounced off a skate belonging to F Ty Rattie and past Mucha for what turned out to be the winner. Mucha and Rattie, by the way, are the best of friends. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 25 shots. . . . Mucha made 35 saves, 17 of them in the third period. . . . The Winterhawks (27-18-1-1) are fourth in the Western Conference, three points behind Vancouver and Everett and one ahead of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Blazers (22-22-2-3) are seventh, one point behind Chilliwack. . . . The Winterhawks had four players — F Brad Ross, F Ryan Johansen, F Nino Niederreiter and D Troy Rutkowski — at the Top Prospects Game in Windsor, Ont. Kamloops D Austin Madaisky also was there. . . . Portland had D Derrick Pouliot, the first overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft, in their lineup.
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In Prince Albert, the Raiders lost G Garrett Zemlak in a goalmouth collision as they beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 4-1. . . . Zemlak left the building on a stretch early in the second period. According to John MacNeil of the Prince Albert Daily Herald: “Trainers and attendants tended to Zemlak during a 20-minute stoppage, and his neck was secured before he was wheeled off the ice. Fans gave the 22-game winner a standing ovation, and he tipped his hand to them in appreciation.” . . . G Jamie Tucker came on to make 24 saves in relief of Zemlak. . . . The Raiders got two PP goals from D Ryan Button. . . . The first of Button’s goals came during the major penalty for charging assessed to Brandon F Shayne Wiebe. . . . Wiebe crashed into Zemlak, who had lost his footing as Brandon F Michael Ferland slid into him. . . . “The first guy just kind of slipped and slid into (Zemlak),” Prince Albert GM and head coach Bruno Campese told MacNeil. “But the second guy, Wiebe, earmarked the goalie and he went right after him. He made absolutely zero intention of stopping. He had every intention of running right through him, and that’s what he did.” . . . Brandon GM/head coach Kelly McCrimmon told MacNeil: “That’s not my place to comment on the call by the (referee Nathan Wieler). He made his call, and both teams live with it, and we go from there. Hopefully, (Zemlak’s) injury is not serious. He’s a big part of their hockey club.” . . . The Raiders are in Brandon on Friday. . . . Brandon G Andrew Hayes stopped 34 shots. . . . Attendance was 2,056. . . . The victory lifted the Raiders (25-21-1-2) into seventh in the Eastern Conference, a point ahead of the Red Deer Rebels and two behind the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Wheat Kings (30-16-0-3) have lost five of their last six road games.