Taking Note

ALESSIO BERTAGGIA

It seems there is a second WHL team with a roster that doesn’t include even one player who was acquired via the trade route.
A note from Dave Trimmer of the Spokane Spoksman-Review points out that the Spokane Chiefs are carrying 23 players, with 12 of them acquired in the bantam draft, two in the CHL import draft and nine by being listed.
When the season began, D Bruin McDonald was on the Chiefs’ roster and he had been acquired from the Prince George Cougars. However, he was released early in the season and now is with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies.
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F C.J. Stretch (Kamloops, 2005-10) is with the ECHL’s Ontario Reign, waiting for the opportunity to get more playing time and working on his defensive play and playing without the puck. There’s more right here.

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Alessio Bertaggia is back in the news (thanks to @ukrainetzd for the tweet). . . . With the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation having released the names of the 28 players it is considering for its national junior team roster, I was interested only in forwards Sven Bartschi and Nino Niederreiter of the Portland Winterhawks. Yes, both of them are on that roster, as expected. . . . But I forgot all about Alessio Bertaggia, who was the subject of some attention in these parts about three months ago. . . . You may recall that it was Bertaggia who somehow, despite not having been selected in the CHL import draft, made his way to Portland and was on the ice during the Winterhawks’ training camp. . . . In the end, the WHL disciplined the Winterhawks, thus ending another colourful chapter in league history, The Saga of Red No. 23. . . . Anyway, Bertaggia is on that 28-player roster. . . .
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Some countries have released national junior team preliminary rosters that include WHL players. . . .
The Czech Republic roster includes Marek Hrbas (Edmonton Oil Kings) and David Musil (Vancouver Giants) among its 13 defencemen. The preliminary roster also features 21 forwards, including Antonin Honejsek (Moose Jaw Warriors), Roman Horak (Chilliwack Bruins) and Robin Soudek (Chilliwack). . . .
Slovakia will open a camp in Bratislava on Monday. The 23-player roster for this camp doesn’t include any WHL players. The Slovaks will trim that number to 15 and open another selection camp in Jamestown, N.Y., on Dec. 16. . . . The Slovaks will add eight CHL players to their roster for that camp, and then will play pre-tournament games against Norway (Dec. 21) and Russia (Dec. 23). . . .
Germany’s preliminary roster includes F Marcel Noebels (Seattle) and F Bernhard Keil (Kamloops). Germany will open a short camp in Fussen on Dec. 15 and then set up shop in Buffalo/Niagara Falls, on Dec. 18. . . .
Finland will open a camp in Vierumaki, Dec. 12-16, before moving to Toronto on Dec. 18. . . .
F Mark Mieritz of the Brandon Wheat Kings will play for Denmark at the IIHF Division 1, Group B U-20 championship in Slovenia, Dec. 12-18. Mieritz, who has six points in 27 games with the Wheat Kings, will play two games this weekend and then leave for home.
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The 2012 World Women’s curling championship will be played in Lethbridge, March 17-25. That will put the Hurricanes on the road as the WHL regular season winds down or early in the first round of the playoffs. You may recall that the World championship was decided in Swift Current last spring, with the Broncos playing first-round ‘home’ games in Regina. . . . The Vancouver Giants and Kamloops Blazers will meet in Whitehorse on Feb. 12. The Whitehorse Star reports that tickets for that game will go on sale Saturday. They’re priced at $30 a pop with a limit of two per customer. . . . Bogdan Rudenko, a former OHL player who bounced around the minor pro leagues for a few years, is facing a murder charge in North Carolina. That story is right here. . . . F Randy McNaught, 20, of the Vancouver Giants had surgery on an ankle Monday. He was injured Oct. 9 during a game in Kamloops. He isn’t expected back before February. He got into only eight games with the Giants, who acquired him from the Saskatoon Blades.
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CH-CH-CHING! Just about missed this one. Kelly Kisio, the general manager of the Calgary Hitmen, was dinged for $500 for “comments to officials following game at Edmonton on Nov. 24.” . . . Not sure what was said or two whom, but the Hitmen were on the short end of a 4-3 count with the Oil Kings.
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SOME TUESDAY GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
There were three games played, all in the homes of Western Conference teams, and Eastern Conference visitors won all three. . . .
In Vancouver, G Adam Morrison’s 23 saves sparked the Saskatoon Blades to a 2-1 victory over the Giants. . . . The Blades were opening a B.C. Division swing that continues tonight in Chilliwack. . . . F Chris Colins, at 18:53 of the first, and F Josh Nicholls, with his 12th on the PP at 6:17 of the second, gave the visitors a 2-0 lead. . . . Vancouver got closer when F Brendan Rowinski, while shorthanded, got his first goal with the Giants at 17:51 of the second. . . . Rowinski had been acquired from the Moose Jaw Warriors earlier in November. . . . The Giants have lost three in a row, meaning head coach Don Hay is stalled at 499 WHL coaching victories. . . . The Giants meet the visiting Calgary Hitmen on Friday night. . . . Attendance was 5,649. . . .
In Kent, Wash., the Medicine Hat Tigers ran their winning streak to eight games with a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Tigers, who meet the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash., tonight, took a 3-0 lead on F Emerson Etem’s 18th goal, shorthanded in the first, and third-period goals from F Hunter Shinkaruk and D Matthew Konan. . . . F Marcel Noebels of Seattle ruined Tyler Bunz’s shutout bid at 12:41 on a penalty shot. Bunz finished with 28 saves, 12 fewer than Calvin Pickard. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey had one assist. He leads the WHL with 48 points, four more than F Brendan Ranford of the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Attendance was 2,726. . . . The Thunderbirds meet the Rockets in Kelowna tonight and then head for Prince George and Friday and Saturday dates with the Cougars. . . .
In Everett, F Kevin King and F Steele Boomer each set up two goals as the Kootenay Ice beat the Silvertips, 3-1. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen made 26 saves. . . . Ice F Max Reinhart broke a 1-1 tie with his 10th goal just 28 seconds into the second period. . . . Ice F Jesse Ismond added insurance with his ninth at 1:15 of the third. . . . Everett F Landon Ferraro (concussion) was back in the lineup for the first time since Nov. 12. He had an assist. . . . Attendance was 3,663. . . .
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
One minor:
Everett D Rasmus Rissanen
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Jim Kelley lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on Tuesday.
Kelley, 61, is in the Hockey Hall of a Fame, mostly for his work with the Buffalo News. Of late, he wrote for sportsnet.ca and worked for Toronto all-sports radio station The Fan 590. There was a time when he often appeared on Hockey Night in Canada.
Kelley, who always had an opinion, filed a column to sportsnet.ca on Tuesday at 1:30 a.m. It would be his last one.
That column is right here.