Tuesday . . .

Paul Kelly, the executive director of College Hockey Inc., continues to lob hand grenades in the direction of the Canadian Hockey League.
"I think college hockey and major junior hockey in Canada have to coexist," Kelly told A.J. Perez, a national reporter for the website FanHouse. "I am not pleased with some of their recruiting tactics, when it comes to recruiting American kids and some of the information they provide."
Then there was this . . .
"As long as we're honest with kids and they're honest with kids, than they ought to have that choice. For most kids, college hockey is the way to go. Some kids it may be major junior is the way to go."
And this. . . .
Kelly said it's gotten back to him that junior teams are touting an education program to prospective players and their parents that in most cases doesn't measure up to what NCAA member schools can provide.
"That's one area where I get a little bit annoyed," Kelly said. "I don't think they're telling the full story. There are a lot of loopholes. They need to be more open and candid with kids and not leave it up to them to realize the shortcoming of that program."
The entire story is right here.
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D Brett Ponich, 19, of the Portland Winterhawks has signed a three-year deal with the St. Louis Blues. Ponich was a second-round pick in the NHL’s 2009 entry draft. The 6-foot-7 Ponich, who captains the Winterhawks, had 14 points this season.
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F Landon Ferraro and F Willie Coetzee, both of the Red Deer Rebels, have joined the Grand Rapids Griffins, the AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings. Ferraro, a second-round pick in the NHL’s 2009 draft, and Coetzee, a free-agent signing by the Red Wings, may not play with the Griffins; they might just practice with the club.
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F Mark Derlago of the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads set a franchise record Tuesday when he scored his 40th goal of the season in a 2-0 victory over the host Anchorage Aces. Derlago got No. 40 into an empty net at 19:17 of the third period. He broke the mark that had been shared by F D’Arcy McConvey (2005-06) and F Marty Flichel (2006-07). Derlago (Brandon, 2003-06) and Flichel (Tacoma, Kelowna, 1992-96) are former WHL players.
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The Colorado Avalanche has signed F Mark Olver, 22, to a three-year NHL contract. Olver, who just completed his junior season at Northern Michigan, is to report to the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters. He won the CCHA’s scoring title, with 35 points in 27 games, and was all-conference first team. He was a fourth-round pick in the 2008 NHL draft. Mark’s father, John, is a former WHL coach.
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Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that the Vancouver Giants’ next series, against either the Spokane Chiefs or Portland Winterhawks, will follow a 2-3-2 format. . . . “Portland and Spokane are playing Game 7 of their Western Conference quarterfinal (Wednesday night) in Spokane,” Ewen reports, “but both clubs have apparently agreed to a schedule with the Giants already.” . . . The series, according to Ewen, will open with games Saturday and Sunday in Spokane or Portland. The next three games would be in Vancouver on April 7, April 9 and, if necessary, April 10. . . . Ewen also reports that Vancouver F Tomas Vincour is questionable for the start of Round 2. Vincour didn’t play in Game 4 of the Giants’ sweep of the Kamloops Blazers but a reason for his absence never was provided. . . . Vancouver F Nathan Burns, 16, is done for the season after having knee surgery. He played in two games of the four-game series with Kamloops.
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The roster hasn’t been announced yet but Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald has D Ryan Murray and G Kent Simpson of the Silvertips being selected to the Canadian team that will play in the IIHF U-18 world championship tournament in Belarus, April 13-20. . . . Everett F Shane Harper, 20, who signed with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers late in the regular season, has joined the AHL’s Adirondack Phantoms.
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The other day, there was video making the rounds of Abbotsford Heat head coach Jim Playfair. Today we bring you, yes, a good, old-fashioned bench-clearing brawl. It’s from a Southern Professional Hockey League game involving Fayetteville and Knoxville and, in the end, the game was forfeited when one of the teams ran out of players. There was no sign of Reg Dunlop in the video; at least, none that I could see.
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GAME 7 NOTES: It’s Portland at Spokane on Wednesday night in Game 7 of their first-round series. . . . The road team has won each of the first six games. . . . Portland is 7-0 in Spokane this season, including 4-0 in the regular season. . . . Portland has scored first in five of the six games in the series. The only exception was Game 6 when the Chiefs got the first goal and went on to a 4-3 victory. . . . These teams have met in a sudden-death game on nine other occasions -- the Chiefs are 5-4. . . . This is the fourth time in the last five series between these teams that Spokane has won Game 6 to force a final game. . . . Dean (Scooter) Vrooman passes along this note: “Portland is now 0-9 in home Game 6s in best-of-7 series going back to the 1979 WHL final with Brandon. All but one of those games has been a cliffhanger loss like Monday night, with Portland at least marginally, and sometimes overwhelmingly, outplaying the opponent. Strange.” . . . Strange, but, hey, isn’t that junior hockey? . . . The teams announced Tuesday that the game “will be carried live on SWX in Spokane and on a taped delay basis regionally on FSN Northwest. Jay Stewart and Kevin Sawyer will have the call beginning at 7 p.m. on SWX. The taped delay broadcast on FSN Northwest is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.”