Tuesday . . .

Hardy Sauter, the head coach of the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, is thrilled that professional hockey is coming back to Oklahoma City.
Sauter played nine seasons with the Central league’s Oklahoma City Blazers. During that stretch, he established himself as arguably the best defenceman in CHL history. In each of his first three seasons, he put 100 points on the board.
He joined the Chiefs as an assistant coach prior to 2007-08 and now is in his second season as the team’s head coach. He took over from Bill Peters, who now is the head coach of the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs.
But back to Oklahoma City . . .
The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers announced earlier this month that they will allow their affiliation agreement with the Springfield, Mass., Falcons to expire after this season. Instead, the Oilers will revive the AHL franchise which they own -- it last operated as the Edmonton Roadrunners during the lockout season of 2004-05 -- and set up shop in Oklahoma City.
The Blazers ceased operations after last season and there had long been speculation that something would happen involving an AHL franchise.
Asked if he feels the city is capable of surviving at an AHL level, Sauter replied: “Yes, I believe so.”
“I think they have an excellent fan base for hockey at any level,” he continued. “I don’t know exactly what an American league team needs as far as numbers. But I would think they’d get anywhere from 5,000 to 8,000 people on a nightly basis.
“The people there love their hockey.”
When Sauter played there, from 1996-2005, it wasn’t unusual to see 9,000 fans in what now is the Cox Convention Centre, a facility that is in the process of being renovated.
“My first three years, they were really hot and I think we averaged more than 9,000,” Sauter said. “My last four or five years, it was somewhere between 8,600 and 8,900.
“And they are moving back to the old building where the hockey atmosphere is way better than the new building (Ford Center).”
Last season, the Blazers averaged 6,508 fans for 32 home games.
As for a leap to the NHL . . .
“If they want to be a big-time city with big-time sports, obviously the NBA is outstanding,” Sauter said. “For myself, again, not knowing the numbers you need to be generating, I think they can well support an American league team.
“Anything more than that . . . I don’t know.”
Sauter is the son of Mike Sauter, a former WHL player and coach, and the nephew of Doug Sauter, a long-time WHL player and coach who had been the Blazers’ head coach since 1995.
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The QMJHL has announced changes to its divisions and to its playoff format, effective with the 2010-11 season. The press release is right here.
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If you’re up early Wednesday, you may want to flip your TV to NBC, where, at some point in time on NBC Today, you’ll see host Matt Lauer, along with former Giants star Evander Kane, now of the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers, present Giants G Greg Lamoureux and singer Michael Buble, one of the WHL team’s owners, zipping around the Ladner Leisure Centre. . . . By the way, the Giants will without F Lance Bouma, their captain, for up to six weeks with a knee injury. He apparently will stay home as the Giants head into the East Division for a swing that opens Friday against the Blades in Saskatoon.
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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)
dx-Brandon (11) 41-16-1-3-86
d-Calgary (13) 40-17-1-1-82
Saskatoon (14) 39-13-3-3-84
Kootenay (12) 37-18-3-2-79
Medicine Hat (10) 33-21-3-5-74
Red Deer (13) 34-21-0-4-72
Moose Jaw (13) 28-23-4-4-64
Swift Current (11) 30-27-0-4-64
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Prince Albert (12) 28-27-3-2-61
Regina (12) 25-28-3-4-57
Tuesday: Swift Current 2 at Kootenay 1; Red Deer 3 at Prince Albert 1; Moose Jaw 1 at Tri-City 3.
Wednesday: Prince George at Calgary; Swift Current at Lethbridge; Red Deer at Saskatoon.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Tri-City (14) 41-15-1-2-85
dx-Vancouver (12) 36-20-1-3-76
x-Portland (11) 37-21-2-1-77
x-Everett (13) 36-19-3-1-76
x-Spokane (13) 35-20-3-1-74
Kelowna (12) 29-26-2-3-63
Kamloops (11) 27-28-2-4-60
Chilliwack (12) 26-28-1-5-58
x — clinched playoff spot.
Tuesday: Seattle 0 at Chilliwack 1 (OT); Moose Jaw 1 at Tri-City 3.
Wednesday: Portland at Everett; Spokane at Kamloops;
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TUESDAY:
In Prince Albert, the Red Deer Rebels built up a 3-0 second-period lead and went on to a 4-1 victory over the Raiders. . . . The Rebels have closed to within two points of the fifth-place Medicine Hat Tigers in the Eastern Conference. Red Deer holds three games in hand on Medicine Hat. . . . The loss, combined with a victory by the Swift Current Broncos in Cranbrook, left the Raiders three points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Rebels, who are 21-7-0-4 in their last 32 games, have won four straight. . . . Red Deer G Darcy Kuemper stopped 26 shots. . . . Red Deer F Turner Elson opened the scoring with his eighth goal, shorthanded, at 5:48 of the first period. . . . Red Deer F Brett Ferguson got the eventual winner, scoring his 10th on the PP at 14:20 of the first. . . . Prince Albert G Garrett Zemlak stopped 11 of 15 shots before leaving at 7:30 of the second. Jamie Tucker came on to stop all 10 shots he faced. . . . Attendance was 2,032. . . . The Raiders, who lost 3-1 in Red Deer on Saturday, are 22-7-1-1 at home. . . . Red Deer played without D Aaron Borejko (shoulder) and D Simon Witt (groin).
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Johnny Lazo broke a 1-1 tie with a PP goal at 14:17 of the second period and the Tri-City Americans went on to a 3-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The victory lifted the Western Conference-leading Americans to within one point of the Brandon Wheat Kings, who are first overall. . . . .Lazo also added an assist. . . . He has 36 goals. . . . Attendance was 4,092. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley stopped 34 shots, seven more than Moose Jaw’s Jeff Bosch. . . . The Warriors went 2-3 in their U.S. Division tour. . . . The Americans are 25-6-0-0 in the cozy confines of the Toyota Center.
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In Chilliwack, F Shayne Neigum scored 37 seconds into overtime to give the Bruins a 1-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent. . . . Bruins G Lucas Gore stopped 28 shots but shares the shutout with Braden Gamble who played 13 seconds without facing a shot. . . . Gore broke his stick during the second period and went to the Bruins’ bench to get a replacement. But it seems that he forgot to ask referee Matt Kirk for permission, so he had to leave play for one stoppage. . . . Gore has three shutouts this season; one more would have given him the single-season franchise record. . . . The Thunderbirds were 0-for-2 on the PP; the Bruins were 0-for-3. . . . The Thunderbirds have lost 15 straight games. . . . G Calvin Pickard stopped 26 shots for the visitors. . . . Attendance was 2,761, the second-smallest crowd of the season in Chilliwack.
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In Cranbrook, D Travis Bobbee broke a 1-1 tie with a second-period PP goal as the Swift Current Broncos beat the host Kootenay Ice, 2-1. . . . The victory lifted the Broncos into a tie with the Moose Jaw Warriors for seventh in the Eastern Conference. . . . Bobbee scored his sixth goal at 12:01 of the second with the Broncos enjoying a 5-on-3 advantage. . . . F Justin Dowling had a goal, his 26th, and an assist for the Broncos. . . . Ice D James Martin tied the score 1-1 at 3:38 of the second on the PP. . . . Broncos G Morgan Clark stopped 31 shots. . . . The Ice’s Todd Mathews made 18 save. . . . The Ice had won its previous three games. . . . Attendance was 2,530. . . . The Broncos are without F Matt Tassone (hernia).