Friday . . .

There is a piece on chirping (or, if you prefer, beaking) posted on the blog Hockeypolls (hockeypolls.com). It includes this gem . . .
Last season in the Western Hockey League, Los Angeles Kings prospect Thomas Hickey, while playing with the Seattle Thunderbirds, took a jab at the Tri-City Americans’ Eric Mestery.
With the teams locked up at 2-2, Mestery got a backdoor feed and shot it (into the) chest (of) the Thunderbirds netminder. As Hickey skated by the Tri-City bench, he said, “Hey Mestery, it's the third period. Goalies are warm, shoot to score!”
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World and Olympic 400-metre champion LaShawn Merritt has a problem. He is looking at a two-year suspension after testing positive for having used a performance enhancer. In his case, it seems he was taking a male enhancement pill and tests fund two steroids -- DHEA and pregnenolone -- in his system.
And you have to love the quote that was attributed to him in a prepared statement:
"To know that I've tested positive as a result of product that I used for personal reasons is extremely difficult to wrap my hands around," he said. "I hope my sponsors, family, friends and the sport itself will forgive me for making such a foolish, immature and egotistical mistake."
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F Colby Kulhanek, who played with the Chilliwack Bruins, Red Deer Rebels and Prince George Cougars, has decided to attend Simon Fraser U and play for the Clan in the B.C. Intercollegiate league. Kulhanek, 20, left the Cougars this season and finished his junior career with the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders and the BCHL’s Burnaby Express. . . . D David Boychuk (Tri-City, Spokane, 1997-2002) spent this season as a player/assistant coach with the BCIHL’s Kamloops-based Thompson Rivers University WolfPack. He is the older brother of Boston Bruins D Johnny Boychuk (Calgary, Moose Jaw, 1999-2004).
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The U.S. won the IIHF U-18 world championship in Minsk, Belarus, on Friday, beating Sweden, 3-1, in the championship final. The U.S. went 6-1 and outscored its opposition 33-7. . . . F Luke Moffatt, who was selected second overall by the Kelowna Rockets in the WHL’s 2007 bantam draft, scored the U.S.’s first goal. . . . According to a USA Hockey press release, G Jack Campbell and F Jason Zucker are the first two American men at any level to capture three IIHF gold medals after winning the top prize at the 2009 World Men's Under-18 Championship, the 2010 World Junior Championship and the 2010 World Under-18 Championship. . . . Zucker was selected by the Seattle Thunderbirds with the 84th selection in the 2007 bantam draft. . . . Zucker, who is from Las Vegas, has committed to attend Denver U and play for the Pioneers in the fall. . . . Moffatt, from Paradise Valley, Ariz., will attend the U of Michigan and play for the Wolverines.
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The Moncton Wildcats moved into the QMJHL final with a 4-2 victory over the host Drummondville Voltigeurs on Friday. The Wildcats won the series 4-1 and now await the winner of the other semifinal between the Saint John Sea Dogs and Victoriaville Tigres. The visiting Sea Dogs put up a 6-1 victory on Friday and hold a 3-1 series lead going into Game 5 on Saturday.
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In the OHL, the Windsor Spitfires dropped the host Kitchener Rangers 6-4 on Friday and that semifinal now is tied 3-3. The Rangers had won the first three games. Game 7 is Sunday in Windsor. . . . The Spitfires are the defending Memorial Cup champions. . . . The Barrie Colts await the winner.
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WHL PLAYOFFS
THIRD ROUND
CONFERENCE FINALS
(Best-of-7)
(x — if necessary)
(All times local)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Calgary (1) vs. Brandon (2)
(Calgary wins series 4-1)
April 16: Brandon 4 at Calgary 2 (8,669)
April 17: Brandon 2 at Calgary 3 (OT) (8,697)
April 20: Calgary 6 at Brandon 3 (4,251)
April 21: Calgary 4 at Brandon 3 (4,363)
Friday: Brandon 1 at Calgary 6 (11,222)
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
Tri-City (1) vs. Vancouver (5)
(Tri-City leads series 3-2)
April 16: Vancouver 4 at Tri-City 2 (3,899)
April 17: Vancouver 0 at Tri-City 4 (3,875)
April 20: Tri-City 2 at Vancouver 3 (OT) (6,178)
April 22: Tri-City 5 at Vancouver 2 (7,428)
Friday: Vancouver 1 at Tri-City 4 (4,351)
Sunday: Tri-City at Vancouver, 5 p.m.
x-Tuesday: Vancouver at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.
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FRIDAY:
In Calgary, the Hitmen advanced to the WHL’s championship final for the second straight year as they bounced the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-1 to take the Eastern Conference final in five games. . . . The Hitmen lost the first game of this series and then won four in a row. . . . Had the Wheat Kings, who are the host team for the Memorial Cup, won this series, the winner of the Western Conference final would have gotten the WHL berth in the national championship tournament. Now it will go to the winner of the WHL championship. . . . A year ago, the Hitmen lost the WHL final in six games to the Kelowna Rockets. . . . On Friday night, Calgary F Joel Broda got the game’s first goal, his 12th of the playoffs, at 10:40 of the first period. . . . F Misha Fisenko upped it to 2-0, with his fourth, at 18:27. . . . Calgary took a 3-0 lead when F Brandon Kozun scored his sixth goal, just 15 seconds into the second period. . . . Kozun finished with two goals and two assists. He leads the playoff scoring race, with 26 points, three more than F Craig Cunningham of the Vancouver Giants. . . . Broda’s 12 goals gives him the WHL lead by one over Cunningham and linemate Brendan Gallagher. . . . Calgary D Jaynen Rissling, who was goalless with eight assists in 36 regular-season games, scored once and drew two assists. . . . G Martin Jones stopped 20 shots for Calgary and was named the series MVP. . . . Brandon G Jacob DeSerres stopped 31 shots. . . . Calgary had F Tyler Shattock back in the lineup after a two-game absence. . . . Brandon remained without D Darren Bestland, who is believed to have a facial injury. . . . The Hitmen have home-ice advantage for the championship series by virtue of having finished first overall in the regular season. That series likely will open with games in Calgary on April 30 and May 1 (Friday and Saturday).
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Brendan Shinnimin had a goal and two assists and G Drew Owsley stopped 40 shots as the host Tri-City Americans beat the Vancouver Giants, 4-1. . . . The Americans beat the Giants twice in 24 hours to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference final. Tri-City had posted a 5-2 victory -- it scored two empty-net goals -- on Thursday night in Vancouver. . . . Game 6 will be played in Vancouver on Sunday, at 5 p.m. Interestingly, the starting time puts it right up against the NHL playoff game between the Canucks and the host Los Angeles Kings. They’ll play their Game 6 starting at 6 p.m. . . . D Zach Yuen, who had a goal and three assists in 42 regular-season games, got the Americans started with his first goal of these playoffs at 4:31 of the first period. Yuen, who is from Vancouver, was the 22nd overall pick in the 2008 bantam draft. He had one goal in nine playoff games with Tri-City last season. He has played 23 career playoff games and 46 regular-season games. . . . Vancouver F Lance Bouma tied the score at 5:13 of the second period. . . . D Tyler Schmidt, who had seven goals in 71 regular-season games, got his fifth of these playoffs at 9:56 of the second period on the PP. . . . F Brooks Macek added some insurance, okn the PP, at 12:27 of the second. . . . Shinnimin rounded out the scoring at 18:09 of the third, with his eighth goal. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 27 shots. . . . The Americans were 2-for-2 on the PP; the Giants were 0-for-1. . . . Attendance was 4,351. . . . The Giants now have lost two straight games for the first time in these playoffs. . . . This also was only Vancouver’s second loss on the road since the playoffs began. They are 6-2.
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The WHL has used 12 referees to work the first 10 games of its conference finals. . . . Not one referee has worked more than two games, with four of them having worked just once. . . . Here’s a look at who has worked in the two series, with E signifying an Eastern Conference game and W a Western Conference game: Trevor Hanson (W), Derek Herman (EW), Matt Kirk (EW), Devin Klein (EW), Brett Montsion (E), Steve Papp (W), Chris Savage (EE), Graham Skilliter (EW), Andy Thiessen (WE), Regan Vetter (E), Nathan Wieler (WE) and Derek Zalaski (EW). . . . I really hadn’t paid much attention to how many referees were working these series before I got a query from a WHL general manager. He wondered if I knew off the top of my head how many referees still were calling games. I didn’t. So I checked the online game sheets. I went in expecting to find out that the WHL had cut down to eight referees. I was shocked to find that they still were at a dozen. Officials are like players and like to get into a rhythm. Tough to do that when you aren‘t even working every second game. . . . It will be interesting to see who makes the cut for the final and then for the Memorial Cup.