Wednesday . . .

OK, here’s the deal on that Seattle-Lethbridge trade that was made Tuesday. It turns out that WHL bylaws allow the trading of any non-roster player(s) or bantam draft pick(s) after the trade deadline. However, a non-roster player involved in such a transaction isn’t eligible to play for the WHL team for the remainder of that regular season or the playoffs.
I am told that this bylaw has been in place for many years but such trades seldom happen.
———
The rumour mill is swirling in Regina, again. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post takes a look at what has become an annual event in Regina — are the Pats’ owners selling and are former players buying? That piece is right here.
———
Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald takes a look at the Americans’ attendance and touches on the crowd counts around some other franchises. That story is right here.
———
Spokane D Jared Cowen has signed a three-year contract with the Ottawa Senators, who selected him with the ninth pick of the 2009 NHL draft. Cowen is in his third season with the Chiefs.
———
The OHL played its all-star game on Wednesday night in Kingston. The Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference, 17-10. The teams combined for 14 goals in third period. No more need be said.
———
The big news out of the OHL came in this press release:
“The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Ken Miller has been named as the League's OHL Enforcement Officer / Director of Security.
“Miller's duties will include ensuring compliance of the policies established by the League in the area of player recruitment, player benefits, player environment and assisting in the coordination and support of security of League special events.”
Miller spend 32 years wiht the Ontario Provincial Police. He also has been involved with the OHL’s on-ice officials for the last 27 years.
———
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-Brandon (17) 36-16-0-3-75
d-Kootenay (18) 34-16-2-2-72
Saskatoon (20) 34-12-3-3-74
Medicine Hat (16) 32-16-3-5-72
Calgary (20) 34-16-1-1-70
Red Deer (19) 29-20-0-4-62
Prince Albert (17) 28-23-2-2-60
Moose Jaw (20) 26-19-4-3-59
Swift Current (18) 26-25-0-3-55
Regina (18) 23-25-3-3-52
Thursday’s game: Calgary at Medicine Hat.
———
WESTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
d-Tri-City (20) 37-13-0-2-76
d-Vancouver (17) 32-20-1-2-67
Everett (19) 33-17-2-1-69
Portland (17) 32-20-2-1-67
Spokane (19) 30-19-3-1-64
Kelowna (17) 26-25-2-2-56
Kamloops (17) 25-24-2-4-56
Chilliwack (17) 24-25-1-4-54
———
WEDNESDAY:
In Prince Albert, the Raiders broke a 3-3 tie with four third-period goals as they beat the Saskatoon Blades, 7-3. . . . The Raiders scored the game’s first two goals — by F Dustin Cameron, his 26th, on the PP at 4:16 of the first period and F Justin Maylan at 10:35. . . . The Blades got two of their own before the period ended, from F Dan Hulak, his 23rd, and D Stefan Elliott, his 19th. . . . With the score 3-3 in the third, the Raiders got a goal from Maylan at 1:54, another from F Craig McCallum, his 22nd, at 5:02 and a third from F Brandon Herrod, his 33rd, at 5:58. . . . D Brandon Wall finished the scoring at 18:40. . . . Prince Albert G Garrett Zemlak stopped 32 shots, three fewer than Saskatoon’s Steven Stanford. . . . Saskatoon F Josh Nicholls had three assists. . . . Attendance was 2,268. . . . The home team has won each of the first five games in the season series between these teams. . . . The Raiders are 22-6-0-1 at home. . . . The Blades slid from first to third in the Eastern Conference and now trail the East Division-leading Brandon Wheat Kings by a point.
———
In Spokane, F Kyle Beach broke a 1-1 tie at 10:37 of the third period to give the Chiefs a 2-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Beach’s goal, his 35th of this season, came on the PP. . . . Beach spent the first two-plus seasons of his WHL career with Everett. . . . The loss ended Everett’s franchise-record winning streak at 14. . . . The Chiefs, who had lost six of seven at home, were 1-for-4 on the PP; Everett was 0-for-1. . . . Spokane F Tyler Johnson got his 22nd goal at 6:59 of the first period. . . . Everett F Kellan Tochkin got that one back, scoring his 19th, at 12:50 of the first. . . . Spokane G James Reid stopped 19 shots, while Everett’s Kent Simpson turned aside 31. . . . Spokane F Blake Gal wasn’t able to score on a penalty shot at 13:45 of the third. . . . Attendance was 3,419.
———
In Swift Current, the Calgary Hitmen overcame an early 1-0 deficit and beat the Broncos, 2-1. . . . D Derek Claffey, with his sixth, gave the home side a 1-0 lead at 7:36 of the first period. . . . Calgary F Cody Beach tied it with his second goal of the season at 15:47 of the first. . . . F Justin Kirsch got the winner, his first WHL goal in his 27th game this season, at 2:24 of the third. . . . The Hitmen were 0-for-7 on the PP; the Broncos were 0-for-1. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones stopped 23 shots, while Swift Current’s Morgan Clark turned aside 34. . . . Attendance was 2,054. . . . The Broncos have lost six in a row at home. . . . The Hitmen have won five of six.
———
In Langley, B.C., F James Henry scored three times to help the Vancouver Giants to an 11-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . The Hurricanes are 0-2 in the B.C. Division. They were beaten 9-2 by the Bruins in Chilliwack on Tuesday. . . . Vancouver F James Wright added a goal and three assists, while F Craig Cunningham, who leads the WHL points derby, had two goals. . . . Wright’s goal was his first of the season — he played 48 games with the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning before being returned to Vancouver — and his 100th WHL point. . . . The Giants, who are out of the Pacific Coliseum because of the approaching Olympic Winter Games, are 2-1-0-0 at the Langley Events Centre. . . . The Hurricanes have lost six in a row.
———
In Brandon, F Brayden Schenn had two goals and an assist to lead the Wheat Kings to a 5-3 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Brandon held a 4-1 lead late in the second period before the Rebels got goals from F Turner Elson, his seventh, at 19:32 of the second, and F Willie Coetzee, his 25th, at 14:19 of the third. . . . Schenn iced it with an empty-netter for his 22nd goal of the season. . . . Red Deer was 0-for-3 on the PP and gave up a shorthanded goal to Brandon F Shayne Wiebe in the second period. . . . Brandon was 1-for-3 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 3,908. . . . Brandon F Scott Glennie had two assists and now has 17 points, including 11 helpers, in his last seven games. . . . The Wheat Kings have won six in a row and moved into top spot in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Rebels had won their last five games.
———
In Kelowna, F Geordie Wudrick scored two regulation-time goals and added the lone goal of the shootout, giving the Rockets a 5-4 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Wudrick has 19 goals this season. . . . His second goal, at 12:49 of the third period, forced the OT. . . . Edmonton F Sebastian Svendsen had given the Oil Kings a 4-3 lead at 9:17 of the third period. . . . F Garry Nunn scored twice for Edmonton. He has 12 goals. . . . Freshman F Shane McColgan got his 22nd for the Rockets. . . . Kelowna F Brandon McMillan drew three assists. . . . The Oil Kings got a goal and two assists from F Michael St. Croix. . . . The Rockets have won seven in a row. . . . Attendance was 6,041. . . . Edmonton G Cam Lanigan stopped 35 shots, including five in overtime when his mates were outshot 5-0. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown turned aside 24 shots. . . . The game was delayed in OT when a stretcher was needed to remove referee Graham Skilliter following a collision with McMillan. According to The Canadian Press: “Skilliter was moving his legs at first, but remained down for more than 10 minutes, (and was) said to be in and out of consciousness, before being removed from the playing surface.” . . . A WHL official told me late last night that Skilliter was “conscious and being checked out” at a Kelowna hospital. . . . Linesmen Matt Thurston and Nathan Van Oosten finished the game using the two-man system. . . . The Oil Kings have points in two straight games after ending a 16-game losing streak.
———
In Moose Jaw, G Todd Mathews stopped 37 shots to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 2-1 victory over the Warriors. . . . F Dustin Sylvester’s 28th goal gave the Ice a 1-0 lead in the first period and D Hayden Rintoul upped that to 2-0 with his sixth midway in the second. . . . Warriors F Thomas Frazee got his 18th at 8:05 of the third. . . . Ice F Kevin King had two assists. . . . Moose Jaw G Jeff Bosch stopped 30 shots. . . . Attendance was 2,161. . . . The Ice has won four in a row and has only one regulation loss in its last 20 games.
———
In Portland, F C.J. Stretch stole the puck and scored in OT to give the Kamloops Blazers a 4-3 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . Kamloops G Kurtis Mucha, who played four-plus seasons in Portland, stopped 45 shots, including six in OT. . . . Stretch’s 22nd goal came at 2:01 of extra time. . . . Stretch was playing in his 324th regular-season game, trying former D Aaron Gionet for the Kamloops franchise career record. . . . Mucha was making his 233rd appearance, trying Kyle Moir (Swift Current, 2002-07) for the most career games played by a goaltender. . . . The Blazers will meet the Chiefs in Spokane on Friday and Mucha is expected to start. He has opened 15 of the Blazers’ last 20 games. . . . Kamloops was 0-for-4 on the PP and now is 1-for-38 in its last eight games. . . . F Brendan Ranford gave the Blazers a 3-2 lead with his 23rd goal at 19:09 of the second period. . . . Portland F Oliver Gabriel forced OT with his seventh goal at 3:30 of the third. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 23 shots. He was making his fourth straight start as Ian Curtis nurses a shoulder problem. Curtis, however, was on the bench in a backup role. . . . Attendance was 1,733.