Wednesday . . . early

So . . . are the Moose Jaw Warriors about to write some WHL history? The Warriors finished eighth in the Eastern Conference, 29 points in arrears of the Calgary Hitmen, who finished atop the WHL's overall standings. And the Warriors now hold a 3-1 lead on the Hitmen in a best-of-seven first-round playoff series. . . . In the spring of 1980, the Portland Winterhawks, having finished atop the West Division and first overall, with 107 points, entered into one of those goofy round-robin series with the Victoria Cougars, who had 105 points, and the Seattle Breakers, who finished with 60. Only the Cougars and Breakers survived. (My memory seems to recall at least one of the Cougars being suspended at some point in that round-robin for suggesting that if it got down to deciding another team’s fate by losing, well, the Cougars could add and subtract just fine, thank you.) . . . There was another upset that same spring in the east, when the second-place Calgary Wranglers, who had finished with 80 points, lost in seven games to the Brandon Wheat Kings (60 points). But the Wranglers were a second-place team that season. . . . In the spring of 1983, the Saskatoon Blades received a first-round bye after finishing first in the East Division with 105 points. When they finally got around to playing, the Blades lasted six games. The Lethbridge Broncos, who had finished with 26 fewer points, took them out, 4-2. . . . The Warriors will try to write some history in Calgary on Thursday night when the teams play Game 5.
---
A note from Jim Swanson, the sports editor of the Prince George Citizen, who points out that the Cougars of 1996-97 came up with quite a playoff upset:
"The Prince George Cougars in 1996-97 finished sixth in the seven-team West, and faced Portland in the first round (and) it still might be one of the most surprising upsets in WHL history. . . .
"It was a case of a 97-point team (Todd Robinson and crew, coach was Brent Peterson) against a 61-point team (and a team that badly underachieved all winter, coached by Stan Butler, GM was Dennis Polonich, with Zdeno Chara, Quinn Hancock, Chris Mason, Eric Brewer, Blair Betts as a 16-year-old, Ronald Petrovicky, Joel Kwiatkowski....) -- and the Cougars won in six games, then went on to sweep Spokane in the best-of-five 'sandwich series' before losing to Don Nachbaur, Patrick Marleau and the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . it's still referred to around here as the 'Cinderella Spring.' It was the first time the Cougars had been to the playoffs in their, to that point, three seasons in PG, so the place went a little nuts."
———
Bob Green, the general manager of the Edmonton Oil Kings, was suitably vague when asked Tuesday night if any decisions had been made regarding his coaching staff for next season. The Oil Kings, beset with illness and injuries this season, finished with the WHL’s second-poorest record, at 16-43-4-9. (Illness?
At one point, they had a van following the team bus on a road trip. The purpose of the van? To carry the players who were ill. They called it the ambulance.) They also got a lot younger as the season wore on, as they chose to trade away veteran players when it became apparent they weren’t even treading water. . . . Green said the entire organization is going through evaluations at the moment, and that includes head coach Steve Pleau, who remains under contract, and assistant Rocky Thompson. . . . Green also expressed some concern over the injury suffered by defenceman Mark Pysyk, who is projected as an early first-round selection in June’s NHL draft. Pysyk suffered a broken foot when he blocked a shot late in the season. Green compared the area of the injury to the scaphoid in your wrist -- it’s an area that doesn’t readily get ample circulation so can take longer to heal. Still, Pysyk should be ready for training camp.
---
F Prab Rai of the Seattle Thunderbirds has signed with the Vancouver Canucks, who selected him in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2008 draft. Rai, who was acquired by Seattle from Prince George in December 2006 after he had walked out on the Cougars, had 69 points, including 41 goals, for the Thunderbirds this season.
---
Former Brandon Wheat Kings G Glen Hanlon has signed on as head coach of the Slovakian national team. Hanlon has signed a contract that will take him through the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. . . . Hanlon, 53, started this season as the head coach of the Belarusian national team. But he left early in the season. With Slovakia, Hanlon replaces Jan Filc. . . . Slovkia finished fourth at the Vancouver Olympics. . . . Hanlon’s coaching resume also includes stints with the Washington Capitals, Jokerit, a Finnish club team, and the Russian side Dinamo Minsk. . . . Hanlon will run the Slovakian team at the world championship in Germany in May.
---
The OHL has suspended F Zac Rinaldo of the Barrie Colts for 12 games following a hit on F Marcus Foligno of the visiting Sudbury Wolves in a playoff game on Sunday. The OHL ruled that Foligno was in a vulnerable position when he was hit by Rinaldo. . . . Two other suspensions, both five games in duration and both to Sudbury players, came out of that same game. Jared Staal and Kain Allicock got whacked for what the OHL has called “bullying tactics.” . . . Gotta wonder if Gary Bettman and Colin Campbell are paying attention.
---
Hey, Kelowna, are you ready for some junior B hockey?
Yes, Fred Pittendreigh has told the good folks of Chase that he is taking his Chiefs elsewhere (i.e. Kelowna) before another Kootenay International Junior Hockey League season gets here.
I am told that the hockey society in Chase is working to put together enough funds to somehow get another team for their community. There apparently are at least 40 folks willing to cough up a grand each to get things started.
Gee, wasn’t it only last week when Pittendreigh was denying that he was going to pick up and move?
Of course, he still has to overcome the Hamilton hurdle before landing in Kelowna. Bruce Hamilton, the governor, president and general manager of the Kelowna Rockets, has said that his organization has the right to approve/refuse occupancy by any hockey team in any of that city’s arenas. That apparently includes the arena in Rutland, on the north side of Kelowna, which seems to have become a popular junior B destination of late.