Saturday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: Rögle Ängelholm (Sweden Allsvenskan) announced that F Jeremy Colliton (Prince Albert, 2001-05) and nine other players won’t return to the club next season. Rögle, which finished the regular season in 12th
(last) place, finished third in the six-team Elitserien Qualifying series and was relegated to Allsvenskan. Colliton had 11 goals and 10 assists in 46 Elitserien regular-season games and three goals and three assists in 10 Qualifying series games.
---
F Matt Strueby, who played out his junior hockey eligibility with the Regina Pats this season, has committed to attend the U of Regina and play for the Cougars. Strueby, who played three seasons with the Pats, is from Regina and had 37 goals in his final WHL season. "They gave me a really good offer (in terms of a scholarship)," Strueby told Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post. "I like playing hockey in the city of Regina. Now I get to stay at home and play hockey and my family can keep watching me. "My uncle (goaltender Darren Wilcox) also went to the U of R. That helped make the decision easier for me, too." . . . Matt’s father, Todd, played for the Pats and Saskatoon Blades (1980-83).
---
The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s Nelson Leafs are in the market for a GM and head coach after Simon Wheeldon (Victoria, 1983-86) chose to step down. Wheeldon built the Leafs into one of the junior B league’s top clubs. They have won four divisional titles and a league championship under him. He has three times been named coach of the year.
---
WHL PLAYOFFS
THIRD ROUND
CONFERENCE FINALS
(Best-of-7)
(x — if necessary)
(All times local)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Calgary (1) vs. Brandon (2)
(Series tied 1-1)
April 16: Brandon 4 at Calgary 2 (8,669)
Saturday: Brandon 2 at Calgary 3 (OT) (8,697)
Tuesday: Calgary at Brandon, 7 p.m.
Wednesday: Calgary at Brandon, 7 p.m.
x-Friday: Brandon at Calgary, 7 p.m.
x-April 25: Calgary at Brandon, 6 p.m.
x-April 27: Brandon at Calgary, 7 p.m.
———
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Tri-City (1) vs. Vancouver (5)
(Series tied 1-1)
April 16: Vancouver 4 at Tri-City 2 (3,899)
Saturday: Vancouver 0 at Tri-City 4 (3,875)
Tuesday: Tri-City at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Thursday: Tri-City at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
x-Friday: Vancouver at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.
x-April 25: Tri-City at Vancouver, TBD
x-April 27: Vancouver at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.
---
SATURDAY:
In Calgary, the Hitmen presented with a 5-on-3 PP in overtime, got a goal from F Ian Schultz and beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-2. . . . That tied the Eastern Conference final 1-1 and sent the teams to Brandon for games Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . Brandon F Scott Glennie was penalized for checking from behind just 44 seconds into OT and D Alexander Urbom was hit with a high-sticking penalty at 1:13. . . . Schultz, the victim of Urbom’s high stick, ended it at 2:23 with his sixth goal of the playoffs. . . . The Hitmen were 1-for-4 on the PP; Brandon was 1-for-6. . . . The Hitmen took a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by F Tyler Fiddler, his second, at 8:23, and F Misha Fisenko, his third, at 18:51. . . . Brandon equalized in the second on goals by F Paul Ciarelli, his first, at 8:50, and D Travis Hamonic, his fourth, on the PP, at 14:36. . . . Calgary D Giffen Nyren had two assists. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones stopped 24 shots, while Brandon’s Jacob DeSerres turned aside 28. . . . Attendance was 8,697.
---
In Kennewick, Wash., G Drew Owsley stopped 26 shots to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 4-0 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Western Conference final is 1-1 as the teams head to Vancouver for games Tuesday and Thursday. . . . The Americans’ victory also means there will be a Game 5 in Kennewick on Friday, with the teams playing back-to-back games in two different venues. . . . Owsley has two shutouts in these playoffs. . . . Tri-City got what turned into the winning goal from F Jordan Messier, his third, at 7:50 of the first period. . . . F Brendan Shinnimin, with his seventh, made it 2-0 on the PP just 33 seconds into the second period. . . . F Johnny Lazo got his fifth goal four minutes later. . . . F Kruise Reddick rounded out the scoring with his seventh goal at 2:59 of the third. . . . The Americans were 1-for-7 on the PP; the Giants were 0-for-3. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 22 shots. . . . Attendance was 3,875. . . . The loss was Vancouver’s first in seven road games this playoff season. . . . Things really are heating up in this series. In fact, Vancouver captain Lance Bouma has accused Tri-City D Tyler Schmidt of trying to go knee-on-knee with Giants players on three different occasions in this series. For that story and more, check out Steve Ewen’s The Dub Hub blog over there on the left.