Tuesday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: F Kirill Starkov (Red Deer, 2006-07) won’t be re-signed by Timrå (Sweden Elitserien). He had two goals and two assists in 55 games this season.
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F Nino Niederreiter of the Portland Winterhawks will attempt to score an international double. Already having played for his native Switzerland at the world junior championship, he now has been invited to try out for the Swiss team that will play in the world championship. That tournament is scheduled for Germany, May 7-23. . . . Niederreiter is eligible for the 2010 NHL draft and was ranked 12th among North American draft-eligible skaters in Central Scouting’s final rankings. He also has been invited to the NHL scouting combine in Toronto, May 24-29.
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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 leads series 2-1)
April 16: Brandon 4 at Calgary 2 (8,669)
April 17: Brandon 2 at Calgary 3 (OT) (8,697)
Tuesday: Calgary 6 at Brandon 3 (4,251)
Wednesday: Calgary at Brandon, 7 p.m.
x-Friday: Brandon at Calgary, 7 p.m.
x-Sunday: Calgary at Brandon, 6 p.m.
x-Tuesday: Brandon at Calgary, 7 p.m.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
Tri-City (1) vs. Vancouver (5)
(Vancouver leads series 2-1)
April 16: Vancouver 4 at Tri-City 2 (3,899)
April 17: Vancouver 0 at Tri-City 4 (3,875)
Tuesday: Tri-City 2 at Vancouver 3 (OT) (6,178)
Thursday: Tri-City at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
x-Friday: Vancouver at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.
x-Sunday: Tri-City at Vancouver, TBD
x-Tuesday: Vancouver at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.
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TUESDAY:
In Brandon, the Calgary Hitmen scored the game’s first four goals and then hung on for a 6-3 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . The Hitmen lead the Eastern Conference final 2-1. . . . Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday night in Brandon. . . . The Hitmen opened this one with four goals in the first 15:08, as F Cody Sylvester (5:00), D Michael Stone (6:36), F Joel Broda (14:02, PP) and D Matt MacKenzie (15:18) put pucks behind Brandon G Jacob DeSerres. . . . Broda has 10 goals, while Sylvester has nine. Sylvester had 10 goals in 68 regular-season games. . . . The Wheat Kings got back into this one when F Matt Calvert scored three shorthanded goals in a span of 6:45 in the second period. Yes, he picked up a natural shorthanded hat trick — scoring at 9:09, 12:52 and 15:54 — and that’s not something you see every day. . . . Calvert, who led the WHL in the regular season with nine shorthanded goals, has nine playoff goals. . . . The Hitmen finally put it away when F Tyler Fiddler scored two third-period goals, at 18:10 and 18:29, the latter into an empty net. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones stopped 40 shots, while DeSerres turned aside 15. . . . Calgary was 1-for-4 on the PP; Brandon was 0-for-3. . . . Former Brandon F Del Cowan had two assists for Calgary, as did F Brandon Kozun and F Jimmy Bubnick. . . . Attendance was 4,251. . . . The Hitmen were without F Tyler Shattock, who was injured when hit from behind by Brandon F Scott Glennie in Game 2.
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In Vancouver, F Tomas Vincour scored at 3:49 of overtime to give the Giants a 3-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Giants hold a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference final, with Game 4 in Vancouver on Thursday. . . . Why the day off? Because the Giants didn’t want to put their home game up against the NHL playoff game in Los Angeles between the Kings and the Vancouver Canucks. . . . Ahh, the power of television. . . . The Giants led this one 2-0 at 11:49 of the first period, thanks to goals from F James Wright, at 4:33, and D Neil Manning, at 11:49, on the PP. . . . Manning’s goal was his first of the playoffs; he scored 17 in the regular season. . . . The Americans got PP goals from F Brooks Macek, at 14:50 of the second, and F Jordan Messier, at 9:03 of the third. . . . The Americans went 2-for-3 on the PP; the Giants were 1-for-4. . . . The Americans lost F Sergei Drozd at 5:55 of the second period when he took a checking-from-behind major and automatic game misconduct for a hit on F James Henry. . . . Henry suffered facial cuts and returned to the game wearing a full shield. . . . The Giants came up empty on the five-minute PP. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 33 shots. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley blocked 24 shots. . . . F Justin Feser had two assists for the Americans. . . . Attendance was 6,178. . . . Vancouver F Brett Breikreuz left the game in the second period with an undisclosed injury. . . . The victory was No. 101 in the playoffs for Vancouver head coach Don Hay. That ties the WHL record held by Ken Hodge, who coached the original Edmonton Oil Kings and Portland Winterhawks.
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PLAYOFF NOTES: When the Tri-City Americans and the Giants meet in Game 4 on Thursday in Vancouver, the game will be televised by Rogers Sportsnet. . . . The Giants, by the way, have three listed players on the roster of the AJHL-champion Spruce Grove Saints, who are embroiled in the Doyle Cup series with the BCHL-champion Vernon Vipers. The three, all 1992-born players, are forwards Carson Cooper and Tim Nolte and D Tyler Hart. Cooper, from Bow Island, Alta., has committed to Yale for 2011-12. Nolte is from Morinville, Alta., and Hart is from Spruce Grove. . . . The Vipers lead that series 2-1 going into Game 4 in Vernon on Wednesday night.