Friday . . .

Looking ahead to the 2010-11 season, it seems thing will get rolling a week later than they did last fall. . . . Teams will be allowed to open training camps on Aug. 26 and the regular season will begin on Sept. 24. . . . The WHL has decided to start a week later in an attempt to allow more players to return from NHL camps in time for the start of the regular season.
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The chase for the Allan Cup is starting to heat up. The Fort St. John, B.C., Flyers have added F Kimbi Daniels (Seattle, Swift Current, Tri-City, 1988-93). . . . The Flyers also have added G Clayton Pool (Kamloops, Kootenay, 1996-99). Pool joins G Rod Branch (Kamloops, Calgary, 1992-96) on the Flyers’ roster. There’s more right here.
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Meanwhile, some former Saskatoon Blades are facing each other in the senior A provincials. That story is right here.
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The AHL’s Adirondack Phantoms have announced the names of the inaugural inductees into their Hall of Fame. The 2010 inductees will be Bill Dineen, Ned Harkness, Greg Joly (Regina Pats, 1971-74) and Glenn Merkosky (Kamloops, Seattle, Calgary, 1976-80). . . . Joly, selected by the Washington Capitals with the first pick in the 1974 NHL draft, played 396 games over seven seasons with Adirondack, finishing with 230 points. The Greg Joly Award has gone to the Red Wings’ top defenceman since 1986-87. . . . Merkosky won three Calder Cup titles as a player and one as an assistant coach and is the only player in Adirondack history to have had his number (15) retired. He played six seasons in Adirondack, totaling 416 points in 430 games. . . . Hall of Fame weekend is scheduled for March 12-14.
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G Tyler Weiman (Tri-City, 2000-04) picked up the victory Friday night as the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters scored a 5-4 shootout victory over the visiting Hamilton Bulldogs. . . . Big deal, you say? . . . It was a big deal because, you see, it was Tyler Weiman Bobblehead Night. . . . F Brock Bradford, a third-round pick of the Kamloops Blazers in the 2002 bantam draft, scored the shootout winner. Bradford attended one Blazers’ camp, but ultimately went to Boston College.
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Angelo Bumbacco, a familiar face in OHL circles for a long, long time, is in a Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., hospital after falling and breaking a hip on Sunday. That story is right here.
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G Luke Boechler of the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers was diagnosed with leukemia on Feb. 5 and now is in a Regina hospital as he begins to fight the disease. The Terriers are holding Luke Boechler Night on Sunday when they play host to the Kindersley Klippers. There’s a bit more on that right here.
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THE PLAYOFF CHASE
Teams in the running for playoff spots, showing games remaining (d — denotes division leaders, who are seeded one-two):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
d-Saskatoon (16) 38-12-3-3-82
d-Calgary (15) 39-16-1-1-80
Brandon (13) 39-16-1-3-82
Kootenay (14) 36-17-3-2-77
Medicine Hat (12) 33-19-3-5-74
Red Deer (15) 32-21-0-4-68
Moose Jaw (16) 27-21-4-4-62
Prince Albert (14) 28-24-3-2-61
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Swift Current (13) 28-27-0-4-60
Regina (13) 24-28-3-4-55
Friday: Swift Current 0 at Brandon 3; Prince Albert 1 at Calgary 3; Kootenay 5 at Edmonton 2; Saskatoon 5 at Medicine Hat 3; Regina 1 at Red Deer 3; Moose Jaw 3 at Seattle 1.
Saturday: Regina at Edmonton; Moose Jaw at Everett; Saskatoon at Lethbridge; Prince Albert at Red Deer; Medicine Hat at Swift Current.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Tri-City (16) 39-15-0-2-80
d-Vancouver (15) 33-20-1-3-70
x-Portland (13) 36-20-2-1-75
x-Everett (15) 35-19-2-1-73
x-Spokane (15) 33-20-3-1-70
Kelowna (13) 29-26-2-2-62
Kamloops (13) 26-27-2-4-58
Chilliwack (15) 25-26-1-5-56
x — clinched playoff spot.
Friday: Spokane 4 at Everett 3; Kelowna 5 at Kamloops 3; Portland 5 at Prince George 2; Chilliwack 6 at Tri-City 3.
Saturday: Vancouver at Chilliwack; Moose Jaw at Everett; Kamloops at Kelowna; Portland at Prince George; Tri-City at Spokane.
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FRIDAY:
In Everett, F Tyler Johnson had a goal and two assists to lead the Spokane Chiefs to a 4-3 victory over the Silvertips. . . . D Corbin Baldwin’s second goal of the season, with F Mitch Wahl assisting, gave Spokane a 4-1 lead at 9:35 of the second period. . . . Wahl finished with two assists, giving himm 10 points, nine of them helpers, in his last four games. . . . D Ryan Murray, with his second of the game, got Everett to within one at 12:33 of the second and F Byron Froese, with his 23rd, made it 4-3 on the PP at 14:26. . . . Froese has seven points over his last three games. . . . Everett had won its last 10 home games. . . . Spokane G Michael Tadjdeh stopped 23 shots for Spokane. . . . Everett starter Kent Simpson left 11 minutes into the first after stopping four of seven shots. Reliever Thomas Heemskerk stopped 24 of 25. . . . Each team was 2-for-4 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 6,031. . . . Everett F Dan Iwanski (knee) played his first game of 2010. . . . The victory pulled the Chiefs to within three points of the fourth-place Silvertips in the Western Conference.
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In Brandon, G Andrew Hayes stopped 30 shots to help the Wheat Kings to a 3-0 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Hayes has five shutouts this season and 11 in his career. . . . The Broncos have been blanked twice this season, both times by Hayes. . . . Brandon F Scott Glennie’s 25th goal, on the PP at 10:25 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . Glennie left 14 seconds into the third period with an elbowing major and a game misconduct. . . . Brandon F Brayden Schenn had two assists. . . . Brandon F Toni Rajala scored his 20th goal. . . . The Wheat Kings were 1-for-6 on the PP; the Broncos were 0-for-4. . . . Swift Current G Mark Friesen stopped 39 shots. . . . Brandon has won nine of 10, while the Broncos have lost three in a row.
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In Calgary, F Tyler Fiddler scored the game’s last two goals to give the Hitmen a 3-1 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Fiddler now has 25 goals. . . . The Hitmen have won seven in a row; the Raiders have lost three straight. . . . Calgary F Misha Fisenko had two helpers. . . . Calgary F Brandon Kozun scored once and now is one point off the lead in the WHL points race. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones, with six victories in his last six starts, came up with 31 saves, 13 more than Jamie Tucker of the Raiders. . . . Calgary was 1-for-5 on the PP; P.A. was 0-for-2. . . . Attendance was 7,610.
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In Edmonton, F Dustin Sylvester continued to tear it up, scoring one goal and setting up two as his Kootenay Ice beat the Oil Kings, 5-2. . . . Sylvester now has 81 points and is tied for the lead in the points derby with Vancouver Giants F Craig Cunningham. . . . Sylvester has 12 points in his last five games. . . . The Oil Kings led 2-1 late in the second period when Sylvester tied it with his 32nd goal. . . . F Drew Czerwonka broke the tie with his fourth goal at 1:35 of the third period. . . . F Kevin King got his 20th goal for the Ice, while F Steele Boomer got No. 22. . . . Referee Trevor Hanson handed out only two minor penalties in the game’s first 57:29. . . . The Ice ended up 0-for-2 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 0-for-1. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 25 shots, while Cam Lanigan of the Oil Kings blocked 35. . . . Attendance was 3,749. . . . The Oil Kings were without three injured defencemen — Drew Nichol, Mark Pysyk and Adrian Van de Mosselaer — and used forwards Cameron Abney and Robin Soudek on the back end.
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In Kamloops, the Kelowna Rockets scored the game’s last three goals, all in the third period, and beat the Blazers, 5-3. . . . F Mitchell Callahan broke a 3-3 tie at 15:46 with his 18th goal. He also drew assists on goals by F Geordie Wudrick, at 4:39 on the PP, and F Codey Ito, his second, at 16:55. . . . F Brendan Ranford had given Kamloops a 3-2 lead with his 24th at 3:01 of the the third. . . . Kelowna F Brandon McMillan had two first-period goals and was stopped on a penalty shot by G Kurtis Mucha. McMillan left in the second period with a leg injury. . . . Kamloops D Ryan Funk suffered ligament damage to his right ankle in a first-period scrap with Callahan. . . . Kamloops G Kurtis Mucha stopped 40 shots, 23 more than Kelowna’s Adam Brown. . . . The Rockets have won 10 of their last 11. . . . Attendance was 4,188.
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In Medicine Hat, the Blades scored four times in the second period and went on to beat the Tigers, 5-3. . . . The victory lifted the Blades into first place in the WHL’s overall standings. They actually are tied with the Brandon Wheat Kings, but hold three points in hand. Those two are two points ahead of the Calgary Hitmen and Tri-City Americans. . . . F Marek Viedensky scored twice for the Blades, who were 3-for-7 on the PP. . . . Saskatoon F Derek Hulak had a goal and two assists, while D Stefan Elliott had two assists. . . . The Tigers were 1-for-6 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 4,006.
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In Prince George, F Luke Walker had two goals to help the Portland Winterhawks to a 5-2 victory over the Cougars. . . . Walker scored the game’s last two goals, the last one on a shorthanded penalty shot at 12:17 of the third period. . . . The Cougars were 2-for-6 on the PP; the Winterhawks were 0-for-3. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 30 shots as he made his eighth straight start. . . . Attendance was 1,807. . . . The Winterhawks, now within five points of the Western Conference-leading Tri-City Americans, were without D Luca Sbisa, who has left to join the Swiss Olympic team.
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In Red Deer, the Rebels scored one goal in each period and beat the Regina Pats, 3-1. . . . F Andrej Kudrna, with nis 24th, and F Landon Ferraro, with his 13th, gave Red Deer a 2-0 lead. . . . Regina F Jordan Weal cut into the lead with a PP goal at 8:00 of the second. . . . Red Deer D Alex Petrovic provided the insurance with an empty-netter. . . . The Rebels have won 10 of their last 15. . . . Regina has lost three in a row and now is six points out of the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . Attendance was 4,781.
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In Kent, Wash., the Moose Jaw Warriors scored the game’s last three goals and beat the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 3-1. . . . F Lindsay Nielsen gave the Thunderbirds a 1-0 lead, with his 10th goal, at 2:20 of the first period. . . . Moose Jaw D Chad Suer tied it on the PP at 17:26 of the second. He has three goals this season. . . . F Danny Gayle, with his fourth goal, broke the tie at 11:13 of the third and F Jesse Paradis, with his 10th, iced it at 18:01. . . . Referees Colby Smith and Jeff Ingram handed out two minor penalties. . . . Moose Jaw was 1-for-1 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 0-for-1. . . . Attendance was 3,735. . . . The Warriors had lost four in a row. They also had lost eight straight on the road. . . . The Thunderbirds now have lost 13 in a row.
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In Kennewick, Wash., the Chilliwack Bruins scored four third-period goals and beat the Tri-City Americans, 6-3. . . . It was Chilliwack’s second victory in nine appearances at the Toyota Center. . . . The loss kept the Americans from maintaining a share of first place overall. . . . The Bruins, eighth in the Western Conference, moved to within two points of the seventh-place Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Americans now are 22-6-0-0 at home. They have been outscored 29-12 in the losses. . . . F Johnny Lazo scored twice for the Americans, his second goal pulling them into a 2-2 tie at 14:15 of the second period. Lazo has 33 goals. . . . F Ryan Howse broke that 2-2 tie at 1:16 of the third period and F Shayne Neigum made it 4-2 at 9:45. . . . Lazo completed his fourth hat trick of the season with a shorthanded goal at 16:57, but F Colton Grant got his fourth goal of the season, on the PP, at 18:14. . . . F Jamie Crooks added insurance on the PP at 19:15. . . . Howse has 38 goals, one off the league lead. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 30 shots, 10 more than Tri-City’s Alexander Pechurskiy. . . . The Bruins were 2-for-4 on the PP; the Americans were 1-for-4. . . . Attendance was 5,885. . . . Tri-City F Mike Brown left with a boarding major at 16:26 of the third period.