Sunday . . .

This really has been a lost season for F Brett Connolly of the Prince George Cougars.
The CHL’s reigning rookie of the year hasn’t played since Dec. 5 when he
aggravated or re-aggravated or re-re-aggravated a hip injury while facing the Blazers in Kamloops.
But he is preparing to return to the ice on Tuesday when the Cougars play
host to the Chilliwack Bruins.
Connolly, who originally was injured in August while playing for Canada's U-18 team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament in Europe, has 13 points in 12 games with the Cougars.
When he takes to the ice on Tuesday, he just might have a 15-year-old
linemate.
The Cougars are bringing in F Troy Bourke, who was a second-round pick (26th overall) in the 2009 bantam draft. From Spruce Grove, Alta., he won the Alberta bantam AAA scoring title last season, putting up 83 points in 33 games with his hometown Timberwolves.
This season, playing with the midget AAA St. Albert Raiders, he finished
second in the scoring race, earning 53 points in 34 games. As a 15-year-old, he did lead the league in goals, with 27.
Bourke actually made his WHL debut on Feb. 20 when the Cougars met the Oil Kings in Edmonton.
The Cougars already have D Josh Smith in their lineup. From Lacombe, Alta., he was the 19th overall selection in the 2009 bantam draft.
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Referee Brett Iverson, who is from Vancouver, had a tough go of it in
Prince George on Saturday night during the Everett Silvertips’ 7-2 victory over the Cougars.
Iverson took a stick to the face and needed a few stitches to repair some of the damage. He also spent some time in a dentist’s chair in Prince George and will be visiting with a dentist in Vancouver again today.
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You may recall reading here about Jesse Wallin, the Red Deer Rebels’ head coach, being fined $500 for ripping into the officials on Friday night.
Well, it seems that Wallin’s performance may have resulted in the birth of a new phrase, at least within the cozy confines of the WHL.
One WHL general manager told me after one of his team’s weekend games, which it won, that he almost had to “go Wallin” on the officiating.
That same GM told me that he was quite pleased to read Wallin’s comments because he has many of the same feelings and that he almost would consider paying half of Wallin’s fine.
Jesse, you will note that he said "almost."
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THE PLAYOFF CHASE
Teams in the running for playoff spots, showing games remaining (d — division leaders, who are seeded one-two; y — clinched division championship; x — clinched playoff spot):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
y-Calgary (3) 49-17-1-2-101
dx-Brandon (3) 47-18-1-3-98
x-Saskatoon (4) 44-17-3-4-95
x-Medicine Hat (2) 39-23-3-5-86
x-Kootenay (3) 40-24-3-2-85
x-Red Deer (4) 39-24-0-5-83
x-Moose Jaw (4) 33-25-4-6-76
Swift Current (3) 34-30-1-4-73
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Prince Albert (3) 31-33-3-2-67
Sunday: Saskatoon 1 at Calgary 6; Edmonton 2 at Medicine Hat 5; Brandon 4 at Prince Albert 2.
Monday: No games scheduled.
Tuesday: Moose Jaw at Saskatoon; Red Deer at Lethbridge.
Wednesday: Moose Jaw at Brandon; Swift Current at Prince Albert; Regina at Saskatoon; Calgary at Edmonton; Red Deer at Kootenay.
Thursday: No games scheduled.
Friday: Brandon at Regina; Prince Albert at Saskatoon; Edmonton at Calgary; Medicine at Lethbridge; Kootenay at Red Deer.
Saturday: Saskatoon at Prince Albert; Regina at Brandon; Moose Jaw at Swift Current; Edmonton at Kootenay; Lethbridge at Medicine Hat.
Sunday: Red Deer at Calgary.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Tri-City (3) 45-21-1-2-93
y-Vancouver (3) 40-24-2-3-85
x-Everett (4) 44-19-3-2-93
x-Spokane (4) 42-21-3-2-89
x-Portland (3) 41-25-2-1-85
x-Kelowna (3) 33-30-2-4-72
x-Kamloops (2) 32-32-2-4-70
x-Chilliwack (4) 30-32-1-5-66
Sunday: Vancouver 6 at Chilliwack 0; Prince George 3 at Kamloops 4; Tri-City 3 at Seattle 4.
Monday: No games scheduled.
Tuesday: Everett at Portland; Chilliwack at Prince George; Kelowna at Spokane.
Wednesday: Chilliwack at Prince George; Seattle at Tri-City.
Thursday: No games scheduled.
Friday: Portland at Chilliwack; Prince George at Kamloops; Tri-City at Spokane; Kelowna at Vancouver; Seattle at Everett.
Saturday: Prince George at Kelowna; Kamloops at Vancouver; Chilliwack at Everett; Portland at Seattle; Spokane at Tri-City.
Sunday: Vancouver at Seattle; Swift Current at Moose Jaw; Everett at Spokane.
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SUNDAY:
In Calgary, the Hitmen scored six — yes, SIX! — power-play goals and dropped the Saskatoon Blades, 6-1. . . . Calgary tied a franchise single-game record with the six PP goals. . . . The Hitmen now have 101 points — they are the first WHL team to 100 points this season — and a three-point lead over the Brandon Wheat Kings in the race for first place overall. . . . It is the fifth time in franchise history that the Hitmen have recorded at least 100 points. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones went into the game having put up three straight shutouts. But he was beaten by F Sean Acolatse on the PP at 2:21 of the first period. . . . That was it for Saskatoon, though, as Jones finished with 27 saves. . . . Calgary F Tyler Shattock pulled his side even at 4:43 of the first and F Brandon Kozun gave the Hitmen their first lead at 11:10. . . . Shattock, who has 29 goals, also had an assist. . . . Kozun had a goal and two assists, while F Michael Stone had two goals, giving him 18, and an assist. . . . Calgary F Joel Broda also scored twice, giving him 37. . . . Calgary F Misha Fisenko had three assists. . . . The Hitmen now have won six in a row. . . . The teams split the season series, 2-2. . . . Attendance was 10,861. . . . Referees Derek Herman and Matt Kirk hit the Blades with 47 of the game’s 75 penalty minutes.
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In Prince Albert, In Prince Albert, Brandon F Mark Ferland broke a 2-2 tie in the second period and the Wheat Kings went on to a 4-2 victory over the Raiders. . . . Ferland scored his ninth goal at 18:12 of the second period. . . . The Raiders, who missed the playoffs each of the last two seasons, now are six points out of a playoff spot with only three games remaining. They need three victories and three regulation-time losses by the Swift Current Broncos just to force a sudden-death tiebreaker. . . . The Wheat Kings, who have won five in a row, led 2-0 after one period, on goals by F Brayden Schenn, his 31st, and F Jay Fehr, his 26th. . . . The Raiders tied it in the second period when F Craig McCallum scored his 25th and F Ryan Harrison got his 14th, shorthanded, at 16:36. . . . Brandon F Aaron Lewadniuk got his 34th on the PP early in the third. . . . Brandon G Andrew Hayes stopped 21 shots, 10 fewer than Prince Albert’s Garrett Zemlak. . . . Attendance was 2,070.
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In Chilliwack, G Mark Segal stopped 24 shots and F James Henry had four
points as the Vancouver Giants blanked the Bruins, 6-0. . . . SegaL, a
freshman, put up his fourth shutout; it was his second against Chilliwack. . . . The Giants had lost four straight games; they haven’t lost five in a row since the spring of 2005. . . . The victory was Vancouver’s 40th of the season, the fifth straight season in which it has reached that plateau. . . . Henry, who has 22 goals, scored the game’s first two goals, shorthanded at 15:22 of the first period and even-strength at 5:32 of the second. . . . He also drew two assists as he figured in four of his club’s first five goals. . . . Vancouver D Kevin Connauton had one assist and was plus-5. He now has 67 points, tying the franchise’s single-season record for points by a defenceman (Brent Regner, 2008-09). . . . Vancouver F Milan Kytnar had a goal and two assists. . . . Attendance was 3,777.
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In Kamloops, F Matej Bene scored two shorthanded goals to help the Blazers to a 4-3 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Bene, who has five goals in his freshman season, scored at 8:17 of the first period, to forge a 1-1 tie, and gave his side a 4-2 lead at 10:05 of the third. . . . Kamloops C Chase Schaber broke a 2-2 with his 18th goal at 8:34 of the third. . . . F Mark Hall also scored for Kamloops, extending his goal streak to four games. Hall had gone 34 games without scoring before starting this run. . . . F Alex Rodgers had a goal and an assist for Prince George, which has lost 13 straight games. Rodgers, a former Blazers forward, has 13 points in nine games against Kamloops this season. . . . Attendance was 5,542, the largest announced crowd in Kamloops this season. . . . The Blazers now are 20-11-1-3 at home.
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In Medicine Hat, the Tigers scored the game’s first four goals and went on
to beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 5-2. . . . The Tigers got goals from five
different players, with freshman F Emerson Etem scoring his 36th on the PP. . . . Medicine Hat F Bretton Cameron also got his 36th. . . . Edmonton F TJ Foster had a goal, his 10th, and an assist. . . . The Tigers were 2-for-4 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 1-for-4. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 23 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,006.
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In Kent, Wash., the host Seattle Thunderbirds jumped out to a 2-0 lead
before the game was five minutes old and went on to beat the Tri-City
Americans, 4-3. . . . F Burke Gallimore, with his 18th, and F Tyler Alos,
with his sixth, got the home team rolling at 1:49 and 4:47 of the first
period. . . . Tri-City head coach Jim Hiller called his timeout at that
point. . . . Tri-City F Neal Prokop scored his 20th goal, on the PP, at
6:34, but Seattle, which had lost four straight, got two more in the second period to take control. . . . Gallimore and F Charles Wells, with his 19th, scored the goals. . . . The Americans, who now have lost three in a row, got third-period scores from F Johnny Lazo, his 39th, and F Justin Feser, his 33rd), but couldn’t get the equalizer. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 39 shots. . . . Tri-City’s Alex Pechurskiy turned aside 24. . . . The Americans remain without G Drew Owsley (concussion). . . . The Thunderbirds were 2-for-6 on the PP; the Americans were 2-for-5. . . . Attendance was 3,215.