Monday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: The Kassel Huskies (Germany DEL) have confirmed that F Alex Leavitt (Swift Current, Everett, 2003-05) and D Mike Card (Kelowna, 2002-06) won’t return to the team next season. Some German reports indicate that Card already has reached an agreement with another DEL team for next season. Leavitt had 10 goals and 29 assists in 54 games and Card had six goals and 19 assists in 53 games for the Huskies this season.
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Former NHL player and coach Ron Low continues to recover after being mugged in Calgary on March 17. I haven’t been able to find an updated story, but there’s some news on the incident right here. My memories of Ron Low go back a long ways. It was in the 1970s when he was a pro goaltender who would spend his summers playing first base for the Binscarth Orioles of the Manitoba Senior Baseball League. How many first-basemen do you recall playing while breaking in a goaltenders' catching mitt? It was because of him that MSBL umpires started carrying tape measures because, invariably, the other team would protest something about the glove.
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It’s old news by almost two weeks now but the junior B Golden, B.C., Rockets have hired Ty Davidson as their general manager and head coach. The move was made March 17. . . . Davidson replaces Rockie Zinger, whose contract wasn’t renewed. . . . Davidson is the son of Garry Davidson, a former BCHL owner, GM and head coach who now is the director of player personnel for the Portland Winterhawks.
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MONDAY . . .
FIRST ROUND
(Best-of-7)
(All times local)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Calgary (1) vs. Moose Jaw (8)
(Calgary wins series 4-3)
Monday: Moose Jaw 2 at Calgary 6
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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 wins series 4-2)
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
Tri-City (1) vs. Chilliwack (8)
(Tri-City wins series 4-2)
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Vancouver (2) vs. Kamloops (7)
(Vancouver wins series 4-0)
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Everett (3) vs. Kelowna (6)
(Kelowna wins series 4-3)
Monday: Kelowna 2 at Everett 1
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Spokane (4) vs. Portland (5)
(Series tied 3-3)
Monday: Spokane 4 at Portland 3
Wednesday: Portland at Spokane, 7 p.m.
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SECOND ROUND
(Best-of-7)
(All times local)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Calgary (1) vs. Medicine Hat (5)
Friday: Medicine Hat at Calgary, 7 pm., Shaw TV
Sunday: Medicine Hat at Calgary, 5 p.m.
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Brandon (2) vs. Saskatoon (3)
Friday: Brandon at Saskatoon
Saturday: Brandon at Saskatoon
April 7: Saskatoon at Brandon
April 9: Saskatoon at Brandon
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
Tri-City (1) vs. Kelowna (6)
Friday: Kelowna at Tri-City
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Vancouver (2) vs. Spokane (4)/Portland (5) winner
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PLAYOFF NOTES: The Brandon Wheat Kings, the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed, won’t be able to open the second round at home on Friday and Saturday. That’s because the annual Royal Manitoba Winter Fair is in progress at the Keystone Centre. The second round will feature the Wheat Kings against the Saskatoon Blades, and they’ll open with games Friday and Saturday at Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon. The series then will head for Brandon and three straight games, if necessary. . . . The Wheat Kings had two new faces at practice on Monday. G Liam Liston, 16, and D Jordan Fransoo, 16, are skating with the Wheat Kings. Liston likely will stay with the Wheaties for the balance of the season, while Fransoo will be with them through the weekend. Liston, a third-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft, was 16-3-0 with a 2.23 GAA and a .898 save percentage with the midget AAA St. Albert Raiders. Fransoo, a fourth-round pick in the 2008 draft, had 31 points in 42 games with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts. . . . Shaw TV will show Game 1 of the Medicine Hat-Calgary series on Friday.
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MONDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, F Jimmy Bubnick scored his first two playoff goals to help the Hitmen to a 6-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Hitmen won the series 4-3 — they won the last three games — and will meet the Medicine Hat Tigers in the second round. That series will open Friday in Calgary. . . . Bubnick, who was acquired from Kamloops on Jan. 10, was scoreless in eight playoff games with the Blazers. He had four assists through six games with the Warriors. Bubnick had been bothered by a shoulder injury as the regular season drew to a close. . . . F Tyler Shattock, who also was involved in that deal with Kamloops, had his second goal of the series and added an assist. . . . F Cody Sylvester, who also scored twice, opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the series, at 3:56 of the first period. . . . Moose Jaw F Jason Bast, with his seventh goal, on the PP, pulled his side even at 10:17. . . . Bubnick restored the home team’s lead at 12:11 and Shattock scored on the PP at 14:42, thus Calgary took a 3-1 lead into the second. . . . F Brandon Kozun, on the PP, and Bubnick added second-period goals. . . . Bubnick’s goal, coming at 19:46, may have been the final nail. . . . Kozun also had two assists. . . . Sylvester had five goals in the series after scoring 10 in 68 regular-season games. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones made 25 saves, three fewer than Moose Jaw’s Jeff Bosch. . . . Calgary was 2-for-3 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 1-for-4. . . . Attendance was 10,557.
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In Portland, the Spokane Chiefs scored two first-period goals and never trailed as they scored a 4-3 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . The series is tied 3-3 and the road team has won each of the first six games. . . . They’ll play Game 7 in Spokane on Wednesday night. . . . These teams have met 14 times this season, with the home team winning just once. . . . F Levko Koper led the Chiefs with his first two goals of the series. . . . F Kyle Beach, on the PP at 5:54 of the first, and Koper, at 11:11, gave the Chiefs a 2-0 lead. . . . Portland D Troy Rutkowski got Portland on the board on the PP at 4:21 of the second. His goal caused at least some confusion as he was able to whip the puck right through the net in behind G James Reid. After video review, the goal stood. . . . Spokane F Kenton Miller got that goal back at 6:01, with Portland F Luke Walker pulling his guys to within one, at 3-2, at 10:36. . . . Koper restored the two-goal margin two minutes later. . . . Portland F Nino Niederreiter got his third goal of the series at 6:36 of the third to make things interesting. . . . Spokane G James Reid, who made 40 saves, preserved the tie with a huge glove save on Walker with 1:48 left in the third period. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth turned aside 33 shots. . . . The highlight of the Portland radio broadcast? The work of Scooter Vrooman, from between the benches. . . . The crowd of 6,101 included Portland owner Bill Gallacher.
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In Everett, F Lucas Bloodoff broke a 1-1 tie in the second period and the Kelowna Rockets held on for a 2-1 victory over the Silvertips in Game 7 of that series. . . . The Rockets took a 2-1 lead into the third period. . . . G Geordie Wudrick, with his eighth goal of the series, scored on the PP at 1:36 of the first. . . . Everett F Chris Langkow got that one back at 4:52 of the second, also on the PP. . . . Bloodoff restored Kelowna’s lead at 12:23 of the second. . . . Kelowna G Mark Guggenberger stopped 40 shots, while Kent Simpson of Everett stopped 20. . . . The Rockets were 1-for-2 on the PP; the Silvertips were 1-for-6. . . . Kelowna won four of the series’ last five games. . . . Attendance was 4,784. . . . Everett had D Radko Gudas back in the lineup after he sat out four games with a shoulder injury. D Chris de la Lande (upper body) didn’t return, though. . . . Gudas took the game’s first penalty, at 1:30 of the first, with Wudrick scoring six seconds later.