Tuesday . . .

The verdict is in and the sentence has been handed down.
F Todd Kennedy of the Tri-City Americans has been suspended for seven games for his high hit on Portland Winterhawks D Eric Doyle on Feb. 23.
Kennedy, who already has sat out four games, was given a charging major on the play.
Doyle has a concussion and is out indefinitely. In fact, there is some question as to whether he will play again this season.
This is the harshest suspension delivered by Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s
vice-president, hockey, this season.
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The Saskatoon Blades have added F Levi Bews, 15, F Lukas Sutter, 16, and D Darren Dietez, 16, to their roster for the rest of this season.
Bews, from Longview, Alta., joined the Blades last month after the midget AAA UFA Bisons had their season end. The 42nd overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft, he is pointless in six games with Saskatoon.
Sutter was with his hometown midget AAA Lethbridge Y’s Men’s Titans. He was the 42nd pick in the 2008 bantam draft.
Dietz, from Medicine Hat, also played for the Titans. He was placed on the Blades’ protected list earlier this season.
The Blades meet the Wheat Kings in Brandon on Wednesday night.
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F Mikael Backlund (Kelowna, 2008-09) was recalled Tuesday by the NHL’s Calgary Flames from the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat. Backlund had just been named the AHL’s player of the week when he got the call.
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The Red Deer Rebels hope to welcome back D Aaron Borejko on Wednesday night as they play host to the Prince Albert Raiders. Borejko, who has been out with a shoulder injury, last played on Feb. 12. . . . Red Deer C Nathan Green, out since Nov. 22 with a broken leg, was on the ice with teammates Monday for the first time since undergoing surgery. The Rebels are hoping that he’ll play on the final weekend of the regular season. . . . Red Deer D Simon Witt (groin) remains sidelined.
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The University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds, who went 27-1-0 in the regular season, were eliminated from Atlantic conference playoffs Tuesday when they lost 3-2 to the St. Francis Xavier X-Men. . . . The V-Reds, whose roster includes a number of former WHL players, lost the best-of-five series in three straight. The score in each game was 3-2. . . . The V-Reds were Canadian university hockey’s top-ranked team for the first 15 weeks of the season; the Alberta Golden Bears were ranked No. 1 in the season’s final poll.
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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-Calgary (6) 46-17-1-2-95
dx-Saskatoon (7) 43-15-3-4-93
x-Brandon (6) 44-18-1-3-92
x-Kootenay (6) 39-22-3-2-83
x-Red Deer (7) 38-23-0-4-80
x-Medicine Hat (6) 35-23-3-5-78
Moose Jaw (7) 32-24-4-5-73
Swift Current (5) 34-29-0-4-72
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Prince Albert (6) 30-31-3-2-65
x — clinched playoff spot.
Tuesday: Prince Albert 0 at Calgary 5; Moose Jaw 4 at Lethbridge 0; Regina 2 at Swift Current 5.
Wednesday: Saskatoon at Brandon; Kootenay at Edmonton; Moose Jaw at Medicine Hat; Prince Albert at Red Deer.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Tri-City (7) 45-18-1-2-93
dx-Vancouver (6) 39-22-2-3-83
x-Everett (6) 42-19-3-2-89
x-Spokane (7) 40-21-3-1-84
x-Portland (5) 40-24-2-1-83
x-Kelowna (6) 30-30-2-4-66
x-Kamloops (4) 30-32-2-4-66
x-Chilliwack (6) 29-31-1-5-64
x — clinched playoff spot.
Tuesday: Everett 5 at Kamloops 2; Tri-City 5 at Portland 1.
Wednesday: Spokane at Kelowna.
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TUESDAY:
In Swift Current, the Broncos dumped Regina 5-2, dealing the Pats’ playoff
chances a fatal blow. . . . The Regina loss combined with a Moose Jaw Warriors’ victory in Lethbridge means the Pats will miss the playoffs for a second straight season. . . . After a scoreless first period, the Broncos erupted for three goals in 2:54, with F Justin Dowling getting his 28th, D Travis Bobbee his eighth and F Taylor Vause his 14th. . . . Broncos F Cody Eakin scored his 45th of the season into an empty net. He has goals in four straight games. . . . Regina F Jordan Eberle had a goal, his 46th, and an assist, while F Jordan Weal had two assists. . . . Eberle leads the WHL points race with 97, three more than Weal and Calgary Hitmen F Brandon Kozun. . . . Regina was 2-for-7 on the PP; Swift Current was 2-for-6. . . . Attendance was 2,202.
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In Calgary, G Martin Jones stopped 25 shots for the shutout as the Hitmen dropped the Prince Albert Raiders, 5-0. . . . Jones and Moose Jaw Warriors G Jeff Bosch lead the WHL with six shutouts each. . . . Jones has 14 career shutouts and that’s a franchise record, one more than Justin Pogge recorded during his days with the Hitmen. Jones also set a franchise record for minutes played by a goaltender (8,404), surpassing the mark that had been held by Dan Spence. . . . The Hitmen have clinched their third straight Central Division pennant. . . . Calgary F Joel Broda opened the scoring with his 34th, at 13:19 of the first period. . . . D Zak Stebner had two assists for Calgary, which was 3-for-10 on the PP. . . . The Raiders were 0-for-5. . . . The Hitmen have won three in a row and six of seven. . . . The Raiders, now seven points out of a playoff spot with six games remaining, have lost four in a row. . . . Attendance was 6,951. . . . The loss by Prince Albert allowed the Medicine Hat Tigers to clinch a playoff spot for an eighth straight season. Prior to that, the Tigers missed the playoffs for five consecutive seasons.
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In Kamloops, F Shayne Harper set a franchise record for goals in a single season as his Everett Silvertips dumped the Blazers, 5-2. . . . Harper opened the scoring in the first period with his 39th goal of the season, breaking the Everett record set by F John Lammers in 2005-06. . . . “It’s definitely pretty cool to have that record,” Harper said. “Being my last seaosn, I’ll definitely cherish that, for sure.” . . . Harper and Lammers were teammates for one season, which makes it that much more special. “I played with him when I was 16. I really looked up to those kinds of guys,” Harper said. “I didn’t really see myself scoring as many goals as he did. He had an unbelieveable shot and it’s kind of neat to see myself up there with those guys.” . . . Second-period goals by F Clayton Cumiskey, Zack Dailey and Dan Iwanski broke a 1-1 tie and sent the Silvertips on to victory. . . . Everett is 7-0-1-1 in its last nine and 24-3-1-1 in 2010. . . . Everett G Thomas Heemskerk stopped 38 shots, 14 more than Kamloops’ Jon Groenheyde.
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In Lethbridge, G Jeff Bosch stopped 31 shots to help the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 4-0 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Bosch has six shutouts this season — he and Calgary’s Martin Jones lead the WHL — and has eight in his career. . . . F Graham Hood, with his 21st, opened the scoring just 36 seconds into the game. . . . Hood also had an assist. . . . Attendance was 2,853. . . . The Warriors have won three in a row. . . . Lethbridge F Cam Braes left the game in the third period with an apparent shoulder injury. He didn’t return.
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In Portland, G Alex Pechurskiy stopped 52 shots to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 5-1 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . Portland had 18, 20 and 15 shots by period, but scored only the game’s first goal — by F Nino Niederreiter on the PP at 19:13 of the first. . . . Niederreiter has 35 goals in his freshman season. . . . The Americans scored three second-period goals and added two more in the third. . . . F Brooks Macek scored twice, giving him 20, while F Jordan Messier got his 20th. . . . D Brett Plouffe and F Patrick Holland each added two assists. . . . The Americans have won four of five as they strive to finish first in the Western Conference. . . . Tri-City was 2-for-5 on the PP; Portland was 1-for-2. . . . The Americans have won eight of nine from the Winterhawks this season. . . . Attendance in the Rose Garden was 3,932. . . . Portland was without D Eric Doyle (concussion), but D Luca Sbisa, who suffered a broken finger while playing for Switzerland at the Olympic Winter Games, was in the lineup.