Friday . . .

The USHL’s Lincoln Stars have named Chad Johnson as general manager and head coach, replacing Jimmy McGroarty, who has been named associate head coach. Johnson is the associate head coach of the USHL’s Fargo Force. He will assume his new position once the Force’s season is over. Johnston is a veteran of the USHL and NAHL coaching wars. McGroarty spent three seasons as the Stars’ head coach, going 92-80-21.
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It was only a couple of weeks ago when the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats announced that highly touted Russian F Kirill Kabanov had left the team. The reason? He was going to play for his country at the IIHF U-18 world championship. Well, the Russian Hockey Federation revealed the roster for the team it will send to the tournament next week in Belarus and -- you got it! -- Kabanov’s name is nowhere to be seen. “I removed him from the team because we thought Kabanov would help us, but he brought only confusion to the team,” head coach Mikhail Vasiliev told Sovietsky Sport. “Kabanov came and thought ‘Here I am, a star from Canada, who will save all.’ But it’s the team that wins rather than an individual player.” . . . Kabanov has had a troubling season. He was ranked 15th among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s midseason rankings, but fell to 31st in the final rankings that were released this week. . . . F Roman Berdnikov of the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack is the only player on the Russian roster who plays outside Russia. . . . The tournament opens Tuesday.
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Jon Calvano is the new director of hockey operations and head coach of the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express. Calvano has spent the last four seasons as head coach of the major midget Vancouver-North West Giants, who have won the last two B.C. championships and the 2010 Mac’s tournament in Calgary. . . . Calvano takes over from Darcy Rota, the part-owner and GM who went behind the bench in January after head coach Dave McLellan was fired. . . . The Express (18-36-6) finished last in the eight-team Coastal Conference.
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D Ryan Kerr, the first overall pick in the 2004 WHL bantam draft, has decided to begin attending York University in Toronto in the fall. Kerr, now with the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints, was selected by the Prince George Cougars in that 2004 draft. He also played for the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Portland Winterhawks and Calgary Hitmen. The 20-year-old Kerr put up 29 points and 184 penalty minutes in 51 regular-season games with the Saints. . . . The Saints beat the visiting Fort McMurray Oil Barons 7-5 on Friday to take a 3-2 lead in the AJHL’s best-of-seven championship final. Game 6 is in Fort McMurray on Sunday.
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F Chris Doyle of the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigers was found not guilty of assault in a Prince Edward Island court room on Friday. Doyle had been charged after he drunkenly punched a door that struck a woman in the face, resulting in a broken nose. According to the CBC, Judge John Douglas noted: "If he was charged with being a colossal asshole, I would find him guilty. Of assault causing bodily harm, I find him not guilty." . . . The CBC reported that Doyle did plead guilty to a mischief charge. He will be back in court June 7 for sentencing. . . . The CBC story is right here.
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Former NHL coach of the year Ted Nolan is enjoying a banner season as vice-president of hockey operations for the AHL’s Rochester Americans. But he says that if the OHL’s Peterborough Petes come calling, well, he just might listen. That story is right here.
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WHL PLAYOFFS
SECOND ROUND
(Best-of-7)
(x — if necessary)
(All times local)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Calgary (1) vs. Medicine Hat (5)
(Calgary leads series 3-2)
Friday: Medicine Hat 2 at Calgary 5 (8,431)
Sunday: Medicine Hat 0 at Calgary 4 (6,976)
Tuesday: Calgary 3 at Medicine Hat 4 (OT) (3,832)
Wednesday: Calgary 4 at Medicine Hat 1 (4,006)
Friday: Medicine Hat 5 at Calgary 4 (9,004)
Sunday: Calgary at Medicine Hat, 6 p.m.
x-Tuesday: Medicine Hat at Calgary, 7 p.m.
———
Brandon (2) vs. Saskatoon (3)
(Series tied 2-2)
Friday: Brandon 6 at Saskatoon 5 (6,418)
Saturday: Brandon 4 at Saskatoon 1 (5,353)
Wednesday: Saskatoon 5 at Brandon 4 (4,026)
Friday: Saskatoon 4 at Brandon 3 (4,765)
Saturday: Saskatoon at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Monday: Brandon at Saskatoon, 7 p.m.
x-Wednesday: Saskatoon at Brandon, 7 p.m.
———
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Tri-City (1) vs. Kelowna (6)
(Tri-City wins series 4-1)
Friday: Kelowna 3 at Tri-City 5 (3,977)
Saturday: Kelowna 4 at Tri-City 1 (3,812)
Tuesday: Tri-City 2 at Kelowna 0 (5,231)
Wednesday: Tri-City 3 at Kelowna 2 (5,368)
Friday: Kelowna 3 at Tri-City 4 (OT) (4,334)
———
Portland (5) vs. Vancouver (2)
(all Portland games at Memorial Coliseum)
(Vancouver leads series 3-1)
Saturday: Vancouver 9 at Portland 6 (5,849)
Sunday: Vancouver 7 at Portland 4 (3,757)
Wednesday: Portland 3 at Vancouver 2 (7,088)
Friday: Portland 3 at Vancouver 5 (8,828)
Saturday: Portland at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
x-Tuesday: Vancouver at Portland, 7 p.m.
x-Wednesday: Vancouver at Portland, 7 p.m.
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FRIDAY:
In Brandon, the Saskatoon Blades scored three straight third-period goals and beat the Wheat Kings, 4-3. . . . The series is tied 2-2 -- the road team has won all four games -- with Game 5 in Brandon on Saturday night. . . . The Blades’ victory guaranteed that the series will return to Saskatoon. Game 6 will be played there on Monday. . . . The Wheat Kings took a 2-1 lead into the third period. . . . Saskatoon captain Dan Hulak tied it at 5:34 and F Walker Wintoneak gave the Blades a 3-2 lead at 14:48. . . . F Jeremy Boyer upped that lead to 4-2 with an empty-netter at 19:18. . . . Brandon F Brayden Schenn scored nine seconds later. . . . Brandon was 1-for-3 on the PP; Saskatoon was 0-for-1. . . . Saskatoon G Steven Stanford stopped 31 shots. Brandon G Jacob DeSerres turned aside 26 shots. . . . Attendance was 4,765. . . . Saskatoon D Jyri Niemi was given a match penalty for having tape on a hand during a fight. The scrap, with Brandon D Alexander Urbom, occurred at the end of the first period. All match penalties are reviewed by the WHL office. . . . The Wheat Kings scored once on the five-minute PP. . . . With Niemi gone, the Blades moved Sena Acolatse back to defence. . . . Brandon F Jay Fehr completed a three-game suspension issued for a hit from behind on Saskatoon F Curtis Hamilton in Game 1. Hamilton suffered a shoulder injury and isn’t expected to play again this season. . . . Brandon D Darren Bestland (undisclosed) returned after missing the first three games of the series. . . . Saskatoon F Randy McNaught was back in action after serving a five-game suspension for his part in a line brawl in a first-round game against the Red Deer Rebels.
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In Calgary, the Medicine Hat Tigers fought off elimination with a 5-4 victory over the Hitmen. . . . Calgary takes a 3-2 series lead into Game 6 in Medicine Hat on Sunday. . . . Calgary appeared home free early in this one, especially after F Tyler Shattock and F Cody Sylvester, with his eighth goal of these playoffs, gave it a 3-1 lead seven minutes into the game. . . . However, the Tigers scored the game’s next four goals, tying the score on goals by F Matt MacKay, with his second of the game, at 16:00 of the second period and F Wacey Hamilton just three minutes later. . . . F Bretton Cameron game the home side its first lead at 7:16 of the third and D Thomas Carr added insurance with his first goal of the playoffs at 14:10. . . . Calgary D Giffen Nyren pulled his side to within one at 15:11. . . . Tigers F Kale Kessy had two assists, as did Calgary F Kris Foucault. . . . Medicine Hat F Cole Grbavac had an assist and was plus-3. . . . MacKay, who also was plus-3, added an assist to his two goals. . . . Medicine Hat T Tyler Bunz stopped 35 shots, all more than Calgary‘s Martin Jones. . . . Medicine Hat F Zdenek Okal came up empty on a penalty shot at 6:29 of the first period with the score at 1-1. . . . Medicine Hat was 1-for-4 on the PP; Calgary was 1-for-7. . . . Attendance was 9,004. . . . Among Calgary’s scratches was LW Tyler Fiddler (lower body).
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In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans advanced to the Western Conference final with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Americans won the series 4-1 when F Kruise Reddick scored at 5:37 of the first OT period. . . . The Rockets were the WHL’s defending champions. . . . The Americans had tied the game with two goals in the second half of the third period. F Sergei Drozd scored his second goal of the game, and seventh of the playoffs, at 12:44, and F Johnny Lazo got his fourth at 18:36, just 34 seconds after head coach Jim Hiller had used his timeout and with G Drew Owsley on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Reddick has six goals. . . . F Brandon McMillan gave Kelowna a 2-0 lead by scoring shorthanded at 8:55 of the first period and then getting an even-strength goal at 8:13 of the second. . . . Drozd pulled the Americans to within a goal at 5:00 of the third on the PP. . . . F Lucas Bloodoff restored Kelowna’s two-goal lead, with his fifth playoff goal, at 12:03. . . . Tri-City F Brooks Macek had two assists. . . . McMillan also earned an assist as he was in on all three Kelowna goals. . . . Owsley stopped 37 shots, one more than Kelowna’s Mark Guggenberger. . . . The Americans were 1-for-5 on the PP; the Rockets were 1-for-6. . . . Attendance was 4,334.
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In Vancouver, F Craig Cunningham and F James Wright each scored twice to help the Giants to a 5-3 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Giants take a 3-1 lead into Game 5 on home ice Saturday night. . . . Portland had won its first five road games in these playoffs. . . . Cunningham gave his side a 2-0 lead at 3:57 of the second period and a 5-2 edge at 7:59 of the third. He has 10 goals in these playoffs. . . . Wright scored at 18:57 of the first period. His second goal, and sixth of the playoffs, came on the PP at 7:04 of the second and gave Vancouver a 3-1 lead. . . . On Wright’s second goal, play actually continued for a while after he took a shot on goal. On the first stoppage following that play, video review officials communicated to the referees that the puck had entered the net. The Giants were on the PP at the time, although it had expired as play continued, so the goal was awarded retroactively as a PP goal. . . . F Oliver Gabriel cut into that lead at 8:21, but Vancouver F Tomas Vincour restored the two-goal edge at 16:23 on the PP. . . . Vancouver was 2-for-6 on the PP; Portland was 0-for-4. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 33 shots, while Portland’s Ian Curtis turned aside 24. . . . The teams combined for 98 penalty minutes, with 52 of those coming at the end of the third period when a couple of fights broke out. . . . Attendance was 8,828.