Saturday . . .

So there was big, tough Matt Cooke of the Pittsburgh Penguins challenging Evander Kane of the Atlanta Thrashers to a bout on Saturday night. One can only suppose that The Cooker has no clue as to after whom Kane is named. If you haven’t seen it, well, it wasn’t pretty. Kane drilled Cooke with an overhand right and it was over. Cooke narrowly avoided a stretcher ride off the ice. If you haven’t seen it, it’s right here. . . . And you have to think that Kane is wildly popular in NHL circles today.
---
F Lucas Bloodoff and G Mark Guggenberger of the Kelowna Rockets have joined the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. The Rockets were eliminated by the Tri-City Americans on Friday. “Losing out (to Tri-City) was painful,” Bloodoff told Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier. “And then I got a text from my agent (Kevin Epp on Saturday morning), saying give me a call after you talk to the Rockets about Manitoba. And I was like ‘What?’ So I went to the rink and they told me that the Moose wanted me to join them for the playoffs. This is a big opportunity for me, and something I have to take advantage of.” . . . The Winnipeg Sun reports that Portland Winterhawks D Luca Sbisa, whose NHL rights belong to the Anaheim Ducks, is expected to be assigned to the Moose should Portland’s season end in the near future. . . . The Moose will open a first-round playoff series against the Bulldogs in Hamilton on Thursday.
---
F Cam Dion, who was selected by the Seattle Thunderbirds with the 37th pick of the 2003 bantam draft, is off to the other side of the world to play a little hockey. Dion has signed with the Adelaide Adrenaline, who play in the Australian Ice Hockey League. He is due to arrive in Adelaide on Wednesday. Dion, now 22, never played in the WHL, as he ended up spending five seasons in the AJHL. . . . Dion played this season with the Hughenden Stampeders of the Battle River Hockey League, a senior men's league in Alberta, and was named the league's rookie of the year. However, he drew a seven-game suspension from the playoffs, in part, a source says, "for physical abuse of an official in his team's final playoff game." According to the source, "The length of suspension was determined in part because he had been suspended earlier in the season, although for a different reason. He has yet to serve any games of the suspension."
---
You can’t blame Don McGillivray for being a bit excited these days. McGillivray, a former head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders, is the GM and head coach of the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues. They used to be the Winnipeg South Blues, but now they‘ve changed their name because they’re moving into a new arena on the city’s west side. There’s more right here.
---
And now for something completely different. . . . When an athlete has talent, it doesn’t matter how troubled that athlete might be . . . there always seems to be an organization willing to roll the dice. Such is the case with outfielder Milton Bradley, who has managed to get into hot water everywhere he has played in the major leagues. . . . He did it again on Friday, this time . . . well, you can check it out right here.
---
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)
(Brandon leads series 3-2)
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 2 at Brandon 3 (4,026)
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)
(Vancouver leads series 3-2)
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 5 at Vancouver 4 (6,418)
Tuesday: Vancouver at Portland (Rose Garden), 7 p.m.
x-Wednesday: Vancouver at Portland, 7 p.m.
---
SATURDAY:
In Brandon, D Toni Rajala’s goal at 17:55 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie as the Wheat Kings beat the Saskatoon Blades, 3-2. . . . Brandon leads the series 3-2 and has a chance to wrap it up Monday in Saskatoon. . . . The teams simply exchanged goals in this one. . . . Brandon F Aaron Lewadniuk socred his fifth of these playoffs, on the PP, at 14:58 of the first period. . . . Saskatoon F Marek Viedensky, with his sixth, tied it at 19:47. . . . Brandon D Alexander Urbom got his third at 15:17 of the second period, with Saskatoon F Sena Acolatse getting his first goal of these playoffs, and the third postseason goal of his career, on the PP at 18:42. . . . Rajala has two goals in the playoffs. . . . F Jay Fehr, back in Brandon’s lineup after serving a three-game suspension, assisted on his club’s last two goals. . . . Each team was 1-for-3 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 4,026, which is the same as it was for Game 3, which was the first of three straight games in Brandon. . . . Saskatoon G Steven Stanford stopped 38 shots, while Brandon’s Jacob DeSerres turned aside 34 in running his record to 6-1. . . . Saskatoon D Jyri Niemi played, despite having taken a match penalty for having tape on a hand during a fight in Game 4.
---
In Vancouver, the Portland Winterhawks watched a 3-0 lead disappear and then came back to beat the Giants, 5-4. . . . Vancouver still leads this series 3-2, but it now heads for Portland and games on Tuesday and, if necessary, Wednesday. . . . Portland F Nino Niederreiter scored his sixth and seventh goals at 11:29, on the PP, and 18:36 of the first period. When F Luke Walker got his sixth at 2:22 of the second, the visitors had a 3-0 lead. . . . Vancouver tied it with three goals in a span of 1:53. F Tomas Vincour, at 11:21, D Kevin Connauton, on the PP at 12:27, and Vincour, again, at 13:14, also on the PP, got the home team even. . . . But Portland F Ryan Johansen scored his sixth just 1:13 after that and the Winterhawks didn’t trail again. . . . Portland F Stefan Schneider, who signed a free-agent deal with the Vancouver Canucks a couple of weeks ago, scored at 4:52 of the third. . . . The Giants got their final goal, from F Craig Cunningham, at 9:07. He has 11 goals in these playoffs. . . . Niederreiter also had one assist, while F Milan Kytnar set up two Vancouver goals. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth turned aside 36 shots, two more than Vancouver’s Mark Segal. . . . Vancouver was 2-for-7 on the PP; Portland was 1-for-2. . . . Attendance was 6,418. . . . Portland was without D Taylor Aronson, who is believed to have suffered a shoulder injury in Game 4 on Friday. . . . Originally, the Winterhawks had planned to play all of their games in this series in Memorial Coliseum. However, they now have moved Game 6 to the Rose Garden. The Winterhawks are 0-3 in the Rose Garden and 0-2 in Memorial Coliseum in these playoffs.