Monday . . .

The Prince Albert Raiders have dealt disgruntled F Marc Mackenzie to the Chilliwack Bruins for a 12th-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. MacKenzie,  who turns 17 on Nov. 5, left the Raiders and returned to his Kelowna home on the weekend in a dispute over playing time and alleged broken promises. “There was never any promises made to Marc, or his dad, concerning that he would never be scratched (from the lineup),” Raiders GM/head coach Bruno Campese told John MacNeil of the Prince Albert Daily Herald. “It’s just not something that you do, for obvious reasons. . . . We’ve never made promises of the sort to our first-round draft picks, or any of our high-end draft picks.”
Check out MacNeil's story right here.
The Raiders are carrying 24 players now, including two goaltenders and nine defencemen.
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Congratulations to Kelly McCrimmon, the owner/GM/head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings. When his side beat the Pats 3-1 in Regina on Sunday, it was McCrimmon’s 300th WHL head-coaching victory. He is the 17th coach in WHL history to reach that milestone. . . . McCrimmon is second on Brandon’s all-time list, behind Bob Lowes (363). . . . Next up? Marc Habscheid of the Chilliwack Bruins is at 285. Of course, he also coached with the Kamloops Blazers and Kelowna Rockets.
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If you are a fan of the Seattle Thunderbirds — or even if you aren’t — you will be able to chat with G Calvin Pickard and head coach Rob Sumner today (Tuesday, Sept. 28) from noon to 1 p.m. (Pacific time). . . . The Seattle Times sports department does weekly live chats with people from that area’s sports scene, and Sumner and Pickard are up today. . . . So if you’ve got a question, you may log on right here and fire away.
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ON THE MOVE: The Tri-City Americans have released D Cody Castro, an 18-year-old from Pasadena, Calif. He had one assist in 19 games with the Americans last season, after earning three points in 49 games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 2008-09. Lethbridge selected him in the 11th round of the 2007 bantam draft. . . . The Portland Winterhawks welcomed back F Riley Boychuk (Buffalo), D Brett Ponich (St. Louis) and F Brad Ross (Toronto) from NHL camps. They were back in time to play in the home-opener against the Vancouver Giants on Monday. The Winterhawks then reassigned D Stephane Robidoux and D David Watt. . . . Portland players still away: F Ryan Johansen (Columbus), F Nino Niederreiter (New York Islanders) and F Luke Walker (Lake Erie, AHL). . . . The Edmonton Oil Kings got D Mark Pysyk back from the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.
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Junior Hockey’s Royal Franchise: The Regina Pats, a book written by Darrell Davis and Ron Johnston, has won an award in the International Sports Heritage Association’s (ISHA) 2010 Communication Awards.
According to a news release, the book, “published under the auspices of the (Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and Museum’s) Sport History Project, won in the category of Books or Exhibit Catalogues for an institution with an operating budget exceeding $250,000.” . . . The book was co-published by the Regina Leader-Post Foundation. . . . If you’re a hockey fan and don’t have a copy, well, Christmas is coming.
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F Tyler Maxwell of the Everett Silvertips is the first Boston Pizza player of the week. He had five points in two season-opening victories. Maxwell, 19, is from Manhattan Beach, Calif. . . . G Nathan Lieuwen of the Kootenay Ice is the WHL’s nominee as CHL goaltender of the week. He stopped 25 shots in a 4-0 victory over the visiting Calgary Hitmen on Saturday.
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Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News has a thorough update on the situation involving the impending sale of the NHL’s Dallas Stars. If you’ve been following it, you’ll find it interesting. It’s right here.
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The SJHL has lowered the boom on F Justin Ducharme of the La Ronge Ice Wolves. He drew a 16-game suspension for a hit on Andrew Dommett, the captain of the Kindersley Klippers on Sept. 19. The league called it a “late and blind-side hit.” . . . According to the Regina Leader-Post, “Dommett suffered a broken jaw on both sides and also lost several teeth. The injuries could cause him to miss up to two months.” . . . Ducharme will be eligible to return on Nov. 19.
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Last season, F James Wright opened with the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning before eventually — having played in 48 games — being returned to the Vancouver Giants. Now, he is with the Lightning’s AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals. That story is right here.
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MONDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
VANCOUVER 2 AT PORTLAND 7: F Spencer Bennett scored twice to lead the Winterhawks (1-1-0-0) in their home-opener. . . . Portland G Keith Hamilton stopped 30 shots. . . . The Giants (1-2-0-0) went with Derek Tendler, who made 33 saves. . . . Portland D Joe Morrow earned three assists. . . . Vancouver D Neil Manning had a tough night and was minus-4. . . . .It should be pointed out that Red No. 23 (aka Seth Swenson) scored one of Portland’s goals. . . . Portland, outshot 27-17 but leading 4-2 through two periods, had a 23-5 edge in shots in the third period. . . . Attendance was 4,068. . . . The teams meet again Wednesday in Vancouver.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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