Friday . . . NHL deal for Stefan Schneider

THE MacBETH REPORT: D Mark Ardelan (Brandon, Vancouver, Prince Albert, 1999-2004) signed a two-year contract extension with the Iserlohn Roosters (Germany DEL). Ardelan has eight goals and 23 assists in 56 games for the Roosters this season. . . .
Eisbären Berlin (Germany DEL) has announced that F Denis Pederson (Prince Albert, 1991-95) will retire at the end of this season. Pederson, who is in his seventh season with Eisbären, is quoted on the team website: "The decision is not easy for me but it was primarily a family decision." He led the team in scoring during the regular season with 19 goals and 33 assists in 54 games. The first-place Eisbären open their quarterfinal against Augsburg on Tuesday.
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A source has told me that F Stefan Schneider of the Portland Winterhawks has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. The undrafted Schneider is a 20-year-old from Vernon, B.C. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Schneider had 23 points, including 12 goals, and 42 penalty minutes in 72 games in the regular season. He has one goal in four playoff games this season.
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Fred Pittendreigh, the owner of the junior B Chase, B.C., Chiefs, had said he would make an announcement Friday regarding the future of his Kootenay International Junior Hockey League franchise. . . . Well, Friday came and Friday went and there wasn’t any news. . . . The Chiefs, who have been members of the 17-team junior B league since 2007, have been rumoured to be on their way to Kelowna’s Rutland district. Pittendreigh, who owns the Chiefs, said Wednesday that an announcement would be made Friday. No press release was sent out Friday, and Pittendreigh didn’t return multiple phone messages left by the Kamloops Daily News. . . . If Pittendreigh did want to sell or relocate the franchise, he would have to get it OK’d by the rest of the member franchises. The next league meeting is scheduled for April 11.
Mark Hunter of the Kamloops Daily News also reported:
According to the KIJHL constitution, “applications for relocation are accepted up to November 1,” meaning Pittendreigh would have had to have put the wheels in motion for a move months ago.
KIJHL president Bill Ohlhausen refused to talk about whether Pittendreigh filed the paperwork before Nov. 1.
“That’s confidential information between him and I,” Ohlhausen said Friday. “I could have that information as of Nov. 1.”
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The Federal Hockey League now is up to six teams with the addition of the Brooklyn Aviators. There is more right here.
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It’s business as usual for the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies, despite the financial woes of former WHL/NHL player Len Barrie, who owns 51 per cent of the junior A team. Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist has more right here.
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WHL PLAYOFF NOTES: The Moose Jaw Warriors will have a second chance to upset the Calgary Hitmen on Saturday night in the Crushed Can. The Warriors, the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed, hold a 3-2 series edge on the Hitmen, who finished atop the overall standings. The Warriors have gotten this far without F Quinton Howden, their leading scorer, who is out with a broken collarbone. He is skating with the team but no one is saying when he will return. . . . D Ryan Funk, whose WHL career ended Wednesday when his Kamloops Blazers were swept by the Vancouver Giants, was in uniform with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads on Friday night. He was pointless as the Steelheads lost 1-0 to the visiting Victoria Salmon Kings before 4,796 fans. . . . D Jordan Hale of the Brandon Wheat Kings has been suspended for three games for a charging major he took in Game 3 of their sweep of the Swift Current Broncos. Hale will sit out the first two games of Brandon’s next series.
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FRIDAY . . .
FIRST ROUND
(Best-of-7)
(All times local)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Calgary (1) vs. Moose Jaw (8)
(Moose Jaw leads series 3-2)
Saturday: Calgary at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
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Brandon (2) vs. Swift Current (7)
(Brandon wins series 4-0)
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Saskatoon (3) vs. Red Deer (6)
(Saskatoon wins series 4-0)
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Kootenay (4) vs. Medicine Hat (5)
(Medicine Hat leads series 3-2)
Friday: Medicine Hat 5 at Kootenay 2
Sunday: Kootenay at Medicine Hat, 6 p.m.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
Tri-City (1) vs. Chilliwack (8)
(Tri-City leads series 3-2)
Friday: Chilliwack 4 at Tri-City 3 (OT)
Sunday: Tri-City at Chilliwack, 5 p.m.
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Vancouver (2) vs. Kamloops (7)
(Vancouver wins series 4-0)
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Everett (3) vs. Kelowna (6)
(Everett leads series 3-2)
Friday: Kelowna 0 at Everett 4
Saturday: Everett at Kelowna, 7 p.m.
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Spokane (4) vs. Portland (5)
(Series tied 2-2)
Friday: Portland 4 at Spokane 2
Saturday: Portland at Spokane, 7 p.m.
Monday: Spokane at Portland, 7 p.m. (Rose Garden)
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In Cranbrook, the Medicine Hat Tigers erased a 1-0 deficit and went on to beat the host Kootenay Ice, 5-2. . . . The Tigers lead the series 3-2 and can wrap it up at home on Sunday. . . . F Kevin King scored his fourth goal of the series to give the Ice a 1-0 lead at 1:22 of the first period. . . . The Tigers took control with four goals before the period ended, as D Matt Konan, D Jace Coyle and F Kale Kessy all found the range. . . . F Dominik Pacovsky got the Ice back to within one with a PP goal at 4:32 of the second. . . . The Tigers put it away with third-period goals by F Linden Vey and F Bretton Cameron, the latter into an empty net. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 31 shots, including 17 in the second period. . . . The Ice started G Todd Mathews but he left after one, having stopped 11 of 14 shots. Nathan Lieuwen came on to play the last two periods, stopping seven of nine. . . . The Ice was 1-for-2 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-for-4. . . . Attendance was 2,598. . . . Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman reports that the Ice plans on sending video to the WHL office of an elbow by Medicine Hat F Cole Grbavac to the face of Kootenay F Matt Fraser. Ice head coach Mark Holick told Bromley that Fraser appears to have a cracked cheekbone below his right ear. He returned to the game wearing a full shield.
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In Spokane, F Chris Francis scored twice as the Portland Winterhawks doubled the Chiefs, 4-2. . . . The series is tied with Game 5 in Spokane on Saturday night. . . . Portland has played six times in Spokane this season and has won them all. . . . Spokane actually opened this series by winning twice in Portland. . . . The Winterhawks scored the game’s first three goals, two of them in the first period. F Luke Walker (6:15) and Francis (12:26) both scored their first goals of the series. . . . Francis added a PP score at 7:26 of the second. . . . F Tyler Johnson scored for the Chiefs on the PP at 11:19 of the second, but Portland got that one back when F Nino Niederreiter got his second of the series at 4:09 of the third. . . . F Kyle Beach scored on the PP 32 seconds later but that was as close as the Chiefs could get. . . . Beach has four goals in the series. . . . Beach’s goal came six seconds after Portland F Tayler Jordan was hit with a major for charging. . . . D Eric Doyle had two assists for Portland. . . . Spokane was 2-for-4 on the PP; Portland was 1-for-4. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth, who is turning into a real story in this series, stopped 29 shots. Carruth, who turned 18 on Thursday, has a 2.76 GAA and a .913 save percentage in going the distance in each of the first four games. . . . Spokane G James Reid stopped 24 of 28 shots, although he spent some time on the bench after Portland’s second goal. Michael Tadjdeh played the last 7:34 of the first period, stopping the only shot he faced. . . . Attendance was 5,718.
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In Kennewick, Wash., the Chilliwack Bruins, down 3-1 heading into the third period, rebounded for a 4-3 overtime victory over the host Tri-City Americans. . . . F Roman Horak got the winner at 7:16 of the first OT period. Horak, who also had two assists, has two goals in the series. . . . The Americans lead the series 3-2 with Game 6 in Chilliwack on Sunday. . . . Tri-City got two goals from F Brooks Macek as it took a 3-1 through two periods. . . . F Alexander Wiklund, with his second of the game at 2:30 of the third, on the PP, and F Ryan Howse, with his fifth goal of the series, at 18:26 forced OT. . . . F Sergei Drozd and D Tyler Schmidt each drew two assists for the Americans. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 44 shots, 14 more than Tri-City’s Drew Owsley. . . . The Bruins were 1-for-2 on the PP; the Americans were 1-for-8. . . . Attendance was 3,667.
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In Everett, G Kent Simpson stopped 21 shots to lead the Silvertips to a 4-0 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Everett takes a 3-2 edge into Game 6 in Kelowna on Saturday. . . . Everett F Tyler Maxwell scored his first two goals of the series, opening the scoring at 1:00 of the first period and giving his mates a 3-0 lead with a shorthanded score at 11:00 of the second. . . . F Shane Harper added his fifth goal of the series and F Dan Iwanski got his second. . . . Kelowna G Mark Guggenberger stopped 29 shots. . . . Everett was 1-for-5 on the PP; Kelowna was 0-for-3. . . . Attendance was 4,361. . . . Everett continues to play without D Radko Gudas (upper body) and now D Chris de la Lande (upper body) has joined him on the sideline.