Monday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Milan Bartovic (Tri-City, Brandon, 1999-2001) signed a one-year contract with Atlant Mytischi (Russia KHL). He had 20 goals and 15 ssists in 45 games for Liberec (Czech Republic Extraliga) this season. . . .
And while we are talking about the KHL, a little look into the finances of one club, Avtomobilist Yekatarinberg. Avtomobilist has been given until June 10 to pay 40 million rubles (Cdn$1.35 million) in back salaries from last season. This represents about 20 per cent of total player salaries for the season. If the club fails to meet this deadline, Avtomobilist won’t be allowed to participate in the KHL next season. The original deadline was June 1 but the KHL gave the club a 10-day extension on Friday. It is unlikely that there will be any further extensions as the schedule for next season will be determined on June 15. Avtomobilist gave some details of its troubles in a press release. The club was supposed to receive 125 million rubles (Cdn$4.2 million) from the regional government but, instead, the club received only 97.5 million (Cdn$3.3 million). The club earned 145.8 million rubles (Cdn$4.9 million) from ticket sales and sponsors to give it total revenue of 243.3 million rubles (Cdn$8.2 million). Note that the regional government originally was to provide the club with almost half of its total revenue. Its expenses were 310.8 million rubles (Cdn$10.5 million), resulting in a loss of 67.5 million rubles (Cdn$2.3 million).
---
As expected, the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs have signed Marty Williamson as their general manager and head coach. Williamson signed a five-year deal, which seems to be more and more the norm these days. Williamson resigned last week as head coach of the Barrie Colts. He had been with the Colts for six years. . . . Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Sports has the story right here.
---
The Saskatoon Blades have signed F Tim McGauley, their first selection in the 2010 bantam draft. McGauley signed following the conclusion of the Blades’ spring camp on the weekend. He had 103 points, including 57 goals, in 26 games with the Lumsden/Bethune Contacts of the South Saskatchewan bantam league. McGauley is expected to play next season with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians.
---
Tony Marinaro of the Team 990, a Montreal radio station, reported Monday that the Montreal Canadiens have fired six scouts. According to Marinaro, that included five amateur scouts -- Pelle Eklund (Sweden), Dave Mayville, Denis Morel (QMJHL), Antonin Routa (Europe) and Nikolai Varoutov (Russia) -- and pro scout Gordie Roberts. . . . It isn’t unusual for NHL teams to move scouts in and out after a season, but they usually wait until after the draft, which is scheduled for later this month in Los Angeles. . . . The Canadiens also made the move just before holding their own development camp.
---
Finnish F Teemu Pulkkinen attended the NHL combine in Toronto on the weekend. He was selected by the Kelowna Rockets in the CHL’s 2009 import draft, but doesn’t know where he will play next season. There is more right here.
---
Benoit Groulx is back with the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques. He was named the club’s head coach on Monday. Groulx, 42, was the head coach in 2007-08 when the Olympiques won the QMJHL title and played in the Memorial Cup. He then signed with the NHL’s Florida Panthers and was the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. The Panthers let him out of his contract on Sunday. . . . Groulx won three QMJHL titles in six seasons as the Olympiques’ head coach. . . . He replaces John Chabot, who came on as head coach during this season.
---
Last week, I was told that F Mitch Czibere (Vancouver, Regina, 2005-09) had signed with the Central league’s Laredo Bucks. . . . Now comes word that Czibere, who spent this season with the MJHL-champion Dauphin Kings, has chosen to attend the U of Alberta and play for the Golden Bears. He had 51 points in 46 regular-season games with Dauphin.

Sunday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: D Filip Novak (Regina, 1999-2002) and D Aleksandr Boikov (Victoria/Prince George, Tri-City, 1993-96) each signed a one-year contract with OHK Dynamo Moscow (Russia KHL). Novak had two goals and 22 assists in 52 games and Boikov had one goal and nine assists in 44 games with HC MVD Balashikha (Russia KHL) this season. MVD and Dynamo Moscow merged to form OHK Dynamo last month. . . .
F Matt Ellison (Red Deer, 2002-03) signed a one-year contract with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Russia KHL). He had 16 goals and 18 assists in 52 games for HC MVD Balashikha (Russia KHL) this season.
---
The Regina Pats have signed F Morgan Klimchuk, the fifth overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft. Klimchuk captained the Calgary Bisons this season as they placed second at the Western Canadian bantam championship. He had 52 points, including 33 goals, in 28 games with the Bisons. . . . Klimchuk signed after attending the Pats’ spring camp that wrapped up on Sunday. He is the first player to sign since Chad Lang was named general manager on Friday.
---
Ken Andrusiak, a former assistant coach with the Prince Albert Raiders, is the new head coach of the junior B Kelowna Chiefs of the Kootenay International junior league. The Chiefs have relocated to Kelowna from Chase, B.C., and will play out of the Rutland Arena. . . . For the last two seasons, Andrusiak was head coach with the Kelowna Minor Hockey Association, working primarily with the bantam and midget teams. . . . Grant Sheridan, a veteran minor hockey coach in the Kelowna area, will be the assistant coach. . . . The two bought the team from Fred Pittendreigh, who is staying on as general manager. . . . The Chiefs couldn’t move into the Kelowna area without the permission of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. In exchange for that, the Rockets will be able to place two 16-year-olds on the Chiefs’ roster. KIJHL teams have to carry two 16-year-old players.
---
F Brett Leffler (Regina, 2004-10) has decided to attend the U of Regina and play for the Cougars. A fifth-round pick by the Washington Capitals in the NHL’s 2007 draft, Leffler never signed. He had 151 points in 309 regular-season games with the Pats with whom he completed his junior eligibility this season. . . . F Cody Esposito (Spokane, Red Deer, 2006-09) also has committed to the U of Regina. He played this season with the MJHL-champion Dauphin Kings.
---
If you enjoy stories about the trials and tribulations of championship trophies, you’ll like this one right here.

Saturday . . .

Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has written a piece on the Regina Pats’ spring camp, and it included a bit on how management plans on speaking to prospects about the WHL and its education program.
"Our product and our education programs and the things we do for the kids, we'll put that up against anybody," Brent Parker, the Pats’ president, told Harder. "We just need to make sure the kids have the opportunity to see what we're all about.
"There's people out there who still believe the Western League isn't about education. You have people with this College Hockey, Inc. (led by former NHLPA boss Paul Kelly) who are smearing fallacies and mistruths all over the place about major-junior hockey. And you still have some junior A operators that don't want to stand on what they do well. They would rather run down or try to discredit other programs.
"It's a constant battle. But once you get the kids here and once they see what you're all about and once they see what the Western League and the CHL and our program are all about, the facts don't lie. Just look at the number of kids that are coming out of here and scholarships that kids are activating coming out of here. But it's a matter of getting to them so they can be properly educated. It allows them to make the proper decisions for their families."
---
With the Windsor Spitfires having become the eighth team to win back-to-back Memorial Cup championships, the debate began -- where do the Spitfires rank in the list of the best-ever teams to have done that. Well, who better than veteran junior hockey observer Bob Duff of the Windsor Star to tackle the subject. His column, in which he rates those eight double winners, is right here, and it‘s pretty tough to argue with him.
---
Charlie Henry, one of the QMJHL’s greatest-ever supporters, has left the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques. Henry, a fixture with the Olympiques franchise for at least 25 years, had been the franchise’s president before he resigned Friday. . . . The resignation came to light in a press release -- it would appear from it that there were differences of opinion within the organization -- issued by the Olympiques. According to a story in Saturday’s Le Droit, a Gatineau newspaper, Henry was unhappy over ownership’s decision not to re-sign head coach John Chabot, the former NHLer who moved in as head coach midway through this season.

Friday . . .

As expected, Chad Lang is the new general manager of the Regina Pats. Brent Parker, who stepped aside as GM and now is the club’s governor and president, made the announcement Friday. Lang, a former Moose Jaw Warriors’ GM, signed a three-year contract that is effective immediately. . . . Lang started with the Warriors in 2003 as director of marketing and corporate sales and took over as GM during the 2004-05 season. . . . I get the feeling that Parker is looking for someone to contribute in all areas of the organization, including public relations, marketing and promotions, so Lang’s background is going to come in handy there.
---
It was reported here on March 26 that F Tyler Pitlick was considering moving from Minnesota State-Mankato to the Medicine Hat Tigers. Pitlick, in Toronto for the NHL scouting combine, has confirmed that he will play for the Tigers next season. Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports has more right here.
---
THE COACHING GAME:
Mark Morrison has signed an extension as GM and head coach of the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings. Morrison (Victoria, 1979-83) was signed through 2010-11 and this extension now takes him through 2011-12. He has been head coach for three full seasons and GM for two. . . . The OHL’s Niagara IceDogs are expected to name their GM and head coach on Monday. Speculation for the last 10 days or so has Marty Williamson, who has resigned as the Barrie Colts’ head coach, signing with the Ice Dogs, who did not retain GM Dave Brown or head coach Mike McCourt. Williamson’s contract in Barrie was to have expired this summer.
---
Seth Frankel, who was part of the Seattle Thunderbirds’ off-ice crew at the ShoWare Arena in Kent, Wash., was found dead in his home in Auburn, Wash. Frankel’s body was discovered on May 21 and police have ruled the death a homicide. There is more right here.
---
One man is more responsible than anyone for making Jarome Iginla into the person and the hockey player he is today. That man was Rick Schuchard, who was Iginla’s grandfather. Schuchard, 88, died earlier this week and was buried Friday. Iginla delivered the eulogy. There’s more on the relationship between Iginla and his beloved grandfather right here.
Larry Mitchell, a longtime friend of Schuchard’s, dropped me this note:
“Rick was very important to Jarome, having raised him from the time he was one-year-old until he played for Kamloops. Rick drove Jarome to almost every ball park and hockey arena in Northern Alberta and many, including myself, feel that is one of the main reasons’ Jarome made it to the NHL. Rick was also involved with St. Albert Minor baseball when Jarome played. Rick also wrote a weekly column for the St. Albert Gazette.”
Iginla, the captain and face of the Calgary Flames, played for the Kamloops Blazers (1993-96). He now is one of four ex-Blazers, all of whom are NHL players, who are involved with the Blazers at the ownership level.
---
The Anaheim Ducks have signed F Brandon McMillan of the Kelowna Rockets to a three-year deal. McMillan was a third-round pick in the 2008 NHL draft.
---
The MJHL’s Winnipeg Saints will play out of St. Adolphe, Man., in 2010-11. The move comes after the Saints were told by the board of directors of the Dakota Community Centre, the team’s home for 10 seasons, that ice would no longer be made available for them. Apparently, the board felt it needed all available ice time for its own programs. . . . The Saints reached the MJHL final this season, where they lost to the Dauphin Kings.

Friday night thoughts . . .

Some thoughts and observations that cross one’s mind while driving, driving, driving . . . from Kamloops to Brandon and back:

1. There is a lot of buzz in Saskatchewan about the possibility of building a $400-million domed stadium in Regina. Is there any chance that could be trimmed to $350 million with the savings used to repair the highway between Moose Jaw and Regina?

2. As we were leaving Brandon on Monday morning, with the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup over and the Wheat Kings left to lick their wounds, it really did look as though the sky wanted to weep. Was it because of the outcome of the final or was it because the event was over?

3. Thanks to Ken Buchy and Larry Gillis for being such good company on the press bench. I covered some of their athletic exploits in the Westman area and that was so long ago that we won’t mention more than that.

4. There are some unhappy people in Brandon and it all has to do with increased property taxes. Perhaps the city could use some of that money on sensors for the traffic lights, or at least some of them. In this day and age, there isn’t any need to be sitting, sitting, sitting and idling, idling, idling at a red light at 11 p.m., when yours is the lone vehicle on the road.

5. The price of a litre of regular gasoline: Kamloops, May 11, $1.08.9; Golden, May 12, $1.10.9; Medicine Hat, May 13, 97.9; Regina, May 13, $1.07.9; Brandon, May 20, 96.9; Regina, May 24, $1.01.9; Medicine Hat, May 25, 94.9; Cochrane, May 26, 90.9; Kamloops, May 27, $1.04.4.

6. There was a lineup in the drive-thru lane of every Tim Hortons we drove past in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. We were in an outlet in Airdrie on Tuesday that featured 10 or 12 vehicles waiting on drive-thru and two workers inside who were anything but busy.

7. I can only recall seeing one Tim Hortons in the entire trip that didn’t have a lineup at drive-thru, and that was in Sicamous, B.C., on Wednesday. Perhaps there is a Tim Hortons outlet on the water there with a drive-thru for houseboats.

8. I’ve been around long enough to know that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And there sure is a lot of smoke coming out of Calgary, all of it having to do with Hitmen GM Kelly Kisio moving into the Flames’ front office. . . . I would suggest it isn’t so much a matter of if as when.

9. Just once, on one of those TV cooking shows, I would love to hear someone say: “Sheesh! It doesn’t smell very good in here. Must have made a mistake.”

10. During the Memorial Cup, the CHL announced that before next season arrives, all associated websites -- CHL, QMJHL, OHL, WHL and all 60 teams -- will be done up using the same template. . . . This, I‘m telling you, is a horrible mistake. What is wrong with allowing teams to use some originality, and then providing help to those who lag behind? It is going to be awfully boring going from one website to another if they all look the same. Of course, could this decision have more to do with having a standard size for national ads than anything else? . . . As well, you have to wonder how this is going to play out in the WHL, with its various market sizes. I mean, how are the Vancouver Giants going to like playing on the same template as, say, the Swift Current Broncos? . . . I also wonder how all of this relates to a decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court on May 24. The Supreme Court, ruling in American Needle, Inc., v. National Football League, held unanimously (9-0) that the NFL’s 32 teams, according to lexology.com, “do not enjoy ‘single entity’ status under the Sherman Antitrust Act in the context of licensing their intellectual property.” . . . Now I realize that the CHL is light years from the NFL, but the CHL does include American franchises. And I’m told that after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in January, the WHL was paying particularly close attention to the situation.

11. If you‘re waiting for the WHL’s 2010-11 schedule, don‘t hold your breath. When the WHL and the managers of facilities that house teams met in Calgary in April, the only team that didn‘t have any home dates was the Portland Winter hawks -- and that is because it shares space with the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. . . . During that meeting, virtually everyone agreed that the schedule should be done and released to the fans by now. . . . Instead, the Eastern Conference will hold a scheduling meeting in Saskatoon on June 21, although a lot of the eastern team schedules already are done, with the Western Conference meeting some time after that. . . . By the way, the WHL’s annual meeting is scheduled for Calgary, June 15-16. Maybe they will address this scheduling situation during that annual meeting. Perhaps the WHL should go to the same system as the OHL, where the choice for dates is based on seniority.

Pats get their man

The Regina Pats have scheduled a news conference for this afternoon at which they are expected to announce the signing of Chad Lang as general manager.
Lang, a former GM with the Moose Jaw Warriors, would replace Brent Parker, who has moved upstairs and now is president and governor.
Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that the Pats negotiated with Hockey Canada head scout Al Murray but weren't able to reach agreement on a deal.
Lang also had talks with the Swift Current Broncos, who are looking to bring in some help for GM/head coach Mark Lamb.
Lang has spent the last while working for the Canadian Hockey League as the director of hockey operations for the MasterCard Memorial Cup. As such, he was front and centre at the tournament that wrapped up Sunday in Brandon.

Thursday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: D Kevin Young (Medicine Hat, Portland, Kelowna, 1998-2002) signed a one-year contract with Eindhoven Kemphanen (Netherlands Eredivisie). He had five goals and 16 assists in 38 games with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany 2.Bundesliga) this season. . . .
G Tomas Vosvrda (Medicine Hat, 2007-08) signed a three-year contract with Liberec (Czech Republic Extraliga). He was under contract to Vitkovice (Czech Republic Extraliga) but was loaned out to Havirov (Czech Republic 2.Liga) to start the season (nine games, 3.26 GAA, .898 save percentage). He then was recalled for three games with Vitkovice (40.00 GAA, .600 save percentage) before being loaned to Vitkovice U20 (Czech Republic U20 Extraliga; five games, 2.81 GAA, .904 save percentage; one playoff game, two goals allowed, .926 save percentage). For the playoffs, he was loaned out to Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic 2.Liga; eight games 3.33 GAA, .919 save percentage).
---
F Mitch Czibere (Vancouver, Regina, 2005-09) has signed with the Central league’s Laredo Bucks. Czibere played out his 20-year-old season with the MJHL-champion Dauphin Kings, who were the host team for the RBC Cup, the national junior A tournament. . . . Terry Ruskowski, a former WHL player and coach, has been running the Bucks for eight seasons now.
---
D Travis Hamonic of the Brandon Wheat Kings has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s New York Islanders. Hamonic, 19, played four seasons in the WHL, mostly with the Moose Jaw Warriors. He was dealt to Brandon, the host team for the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup, at the WHL trade deadline. He was named to the Memorial Cup all-star team. He was selected by the Islanders in the second round of the NHL’s 2008 draft. . . . Hamonic is the fourth player off Brandon’s roster to sign with an NHL team. He joins F Matt Calvert (Columbus Blue Jackets), D Colby Robak (Florida Panthers) and F Brayden Schenn (Los Angeles Kings).
---
Robert Dirk (Regina, 1982-88) has been named head coach Team Pacific, the team that will represent Alberta and B.C., at the 2011 U-17 World Hockey Challenge in Winnipeg, Dec. 28 to Jan. 4. Dirk is a head coach at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton. . . . Glen Carrier of Maple Ridge, B.C., who scouts for the Chilliwack Bruins, will serve as director of operations. . . . Kris Knoblauch (Red Deer, Edmonton, Kootenay, Lethbridge, 1995-99) will serve as Team Pacific’s assistant coach. He is an assistant coach with the Kootenay Ice. . . . Troy Clifford of Kamloops is the equipment manager. He was the senior trainer for the TRU WolfPack, who play in the B.C. Intercollegiate league, this season.
---
More on the NCAA-CHL thing . . .
I’m told that “the big difference between an unofficial visit and an official visit is who pays for it. Basically, Zulinick had to pay for his own airfare to Madison and his lodging once he was there.”
I received that explanation after wondering Wednesday about the difference between an official and unofficial visit to a campus by a NCAA recruit.
In this instance, Morgan Zulinick, a 15-year-old hockey player from Kamloops, spent some time on the U of Wisconsin campus before committing to the school, which is home to the Badgers.
---
Tim Fragle is the new general manager and head coach of the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders. Fragle was an assistant coach with the Crusaders, whose board of directors chose not to renew the contract of Ross Kenny following the season. Kenny had been GM and head coach for four seasons.

Memorial Cup format . . . here to stay

With the conclusion of the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup came the usual blathering from the nattering nabobs of negativity.
The format sucks and has to go, they say.
But they offer little, if anything, in the way of preferred options.
I am not a fan of the present four-team, round-robin tournament.
Why?
Mainly because I would much rather have the CHL championship decided the same way the three leagues decide their champions -- through best-of-seven series.
But with three major junior leagues competing for the Memorial Cup, that is impractical.
So what we are left with is the present system -- with four teams, three league champions and a host team, playing through a single round-robin to decide two semifinalists, with the winner of that game advancing to meet the top team in the round-robin in the tournament.
You may not have enjoyed this year’s final game, what with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires whipping the host Brandon Wheat Kings, 9-1, but you have to admit that the best team won. And isn’t that what it’s all about?
Besides . . . the present format is meant to do more than simply find a champion.
It is meant to help grow the game, to reward the host community and, in most instances, to help host teams get upgraded facilities.
All of which happened in Brandon.
The hockey may not have been the best, but the event took over the Wheat City and all of southern Manitoba. Both Winnipeg daily newspapers, the Free Press and the Sun, staffed the event, as did various electronic media outlets from the capital city.
When all is said and done, the host community will find that the event injected upwards of $13 million into its economy.
And the Wheat Kings are rewarded by having much-needed upgrades made to Westman Place, including the addition of private boxes and a score clock with a great video system.
It also is worth mentioning that the awarding of the MasterCard Memorial Cup to a community does something to the pride of the citizenry that is not achievable in a whole lot of other ways.
So while you may not like the present Memorial Cup format, you might as well get used to it because it isn’t going away any time soon.
---
Here’s part of what Neate Sager, over at Yahoo! Sports, wrote:
“The Memorial Cup is the only one among three major sports events that hold sway in Canada's heartland that hasn't left smaller cities behind -- the world junior hockey championship and curling's Tim Hortons Brier, which was held in Brandon in 1982, have gone for the bright lights and bigger arenas.
“The days when the world junior could be held in Red Deer are long gone. Hockey Canada and the IIHF have had a taste of what can be had by taking that tourney to a NHL city such as Ottawa or Vancouver. With regard to the Brier, a few Brandonites noted last week that despite the city being a curling hotbed, the chance of a Brier coming to town is next to zilch.”
---
If you missed it, a hockey fan posted this here:
As a former Brandonite who returned for the week for the hockey, I also enjoyed your good words about the city. It’s a shame that some media people who weren't there (including one from Regina) have labelled it as the worst tournament ever.
Hockey-wise, it was disappointing, but that is a credit to the Windsor Spitfires and how good they are. The tournament as a whole was incredible, and the Keystone Centre is such a unique facility with the ability to hold:
1. Hockey House, with a capacity of 1,700 that was amazing after the games (and during from what I've heard).
2. HHOF - really enjoyed walking around it.
3. The souvenirs and school kids’ projects on each team in the CHL/military exhibits in the Brandon Curling Club.
4. The extra sheet(s) of ice available for teams to practice on.
5. A couple of restaurants, a bar and a pub.
6. Hotel.
7. All the stuff set up in the concourse.
All under one roof!
The crowds were amazing at every game but Windsor-Moncton, but even that was exciting.
The roar after Jay Fehr’s winning goal was absolutely incredible! Never seen anything like that.
With regards to the 50/50, it was 1 for $5, 3 for $10 and 10 for $20 and in Brandon they were available in the arena (at the game) and in Hockey House.
Amazing week, would have been nice to see some more competitive hockey, but don't blame Brandon (team or organizers), blame Windsor for being so good!
As for the profit guarantee, the City of Brandon and I believe the province provided the financial backing in case the host committee couldn't cover it. Even if there had been a loss, the good PR and extra dollars it brings into the businesses and city is well worth it.
I had a chance to talk to Jeff Cristall who was the head of the host committee. He couldn't speak enough to the fact that Brandon has played host to so many national and world stage events, and all of the organizers of those hopped on board, and they made the event what it was. A city like Saskatoon, Lethbridge, etc., that have also played host to a lot of those events, would be a great host.

Wednesday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: F Brad Voth (Medicine Hat, 1996-2002) signed a one-year contract extension with the Cardiff Devils (UK Elite). He had 12 goals and 21 assists in 50 games for the Devils this season, in addition to leading the league in penalty minutes, with 347. . . .
D Victor Bartley (Kamloops, Regina, 2003-09) signed a one-year contract with Rögle Ängelholm (Sweden Allsvenskan). He had two goals and 11 assists in 21 games with Utah (ECHL) and two goals in eight games with Bridgeport (AHL) this season.
---
Mention the NCAA and the CHL and the feelings between the two organizations, and then sit back and watch the sparks fly.
There aren't too many things that get some people’s blood boiling so quickly.
Late last week, WHL commissioner Ron Robison, speaking as a CHL vice-president, had a few things to say about Paul Kelly, the executive director of College Hockey, Inc.
A couple of days later, Kelly fired back via a College Hockey press release.
Robison’s statements and the College Hockey release both were reported on this blog.
While I was chugging along the Trans-Canada Highway, on my way home from the MasterCard Memorial Cup, one player agent took the time to send me this text:
“Just read Paul Kelly statement. Hypocrisy. No mention or concern of last week’s USHL draft in which several 14-year-olds were drafted.
“The difference? USHL is a farm system for NCAA.
“What’s sauce for the goose is not sauce for the gander.”
---
I also heard from a WHL exec who recently spoke with a Division 1 assistant coach who has worked as a head coach.
“It is his understanding that the professionalism tag comes from playing with players who have signed professional contracts,” the exec writes. “His interpretation is that WHL contracts and pay are not the deciding factor.”
The response came after the exec asked “what the key difference was between the USHL being NCAA eligible and CHL being ineligible?”
---
I’m not going to get into the whole NCAA-CHL thing because it all resembles a spinning wheel -- it just goes round and round.
But I have always found it kind of goofy the way NCAA recruits are allowed to have advisors but not agents. However, in most instances, the chosen advisor ends up as the player’s agent, does he/she not?
As well, Paul Kelly has lambasted the CHL for its drafting and recruiting of 14 year olds.
But what of someone like F Morgan Zulinick of Kamloops, who was a third-round selection of the Edmonton Oil Kings in the 2009 bantam draft?
Zulinick, now 15 years of age, already has committed to attend the U of Wisconsin and play for the Badgers, beginning in 2012-13. Zulinick made the decision after what he called an unofficial visit to the campus in Madison. Zulinick also said North Dakota and Colorado College were recruiting him, too.
On this so-called unofficial visit, Zulinick and his father, Mitch, had dinner in the home of Badgers head coach Mike Eaves. “He spent every second with us when we were there . . . When we were in the weight room, he left us -- that was the only time he left us,” Morgan told Mark Hunter of the Kamloops Daily News.
If this was an unofficial visit, I’ve just got to ask -- what constitutes an official visit?
---
That the Kamloops Blazers were interested in D Corey Fienhage, 20, was first reported on this blog on March 29.
On Wednesday, the Blazers announced that they have signed Fienhage, who played the last two seasons with the U of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. He was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the third round of the NHL’s 2008 draft.
“Corey is a big physical defenceman who felt that the WHL was the best route for him in order to prepare himself to play pro hockey,” Kamloops GM Craig Bonner said in a press release. “He is a mobile defenceman (who) will have an opportunity to play an important role with our hockey club.”
Fienhage, who is from Apple Valley, Minn., also has played for the USHL’s Indiana Ice.
He was placed on the Blazers’ protected list earlier this year.
Fienhage is the second player to leave the Fighting Sioux in the last while. F David Toews, the younger brother of Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, has said he wants to play his 20-year-old season in the WHL. His rights are held by the Brandon Wheat Kings, who selected him in the sixth round of the 2005 bantam draft.
---
The Blazers also have signed D Tyson Harvey, a second-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft. Harvey, who is from Nanaimo, played for the bantam AAA Nanaimo Clippers. He is expected to play next season for the major midget North Island Silvertips.
---
G Joe Caligiuri (Brandon, Prince George, 2006-09) has committed to attend the U of Manitoba and play for the Bisons next season. Caligiuri, who helped the Dauphin Kings to the MJHL championship this season, is from Winnipeg.
---
Kevin MacKay, the GM and head coach of the Kootenay International junior league’s Kimberley Dynamiters, has joined the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks as assistant GM and associate head coach. He will work under GM/head coach Rylan Ferster.
---
Serge Lajoie is the new head coach of the Edmonton-based NAIT Ooks. Lajoie had been an assistant coach through five seasons with the U of Alberta Golden Bears. Lajoie replaces Terry Ballard, who was dropped after more than 12 seasons with the Ooks.

Monday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: D David Turon (Portland, 2002-03) signed a two-year contract with Dukla Trencin (Slovakia Extraliga). He had four goals and 11 assists in 45 games with Zilina (Slovakia Extraliga) this season. . . .
F Tomas Plihal (Kootenay, 2001-03) signed a one-year contract extension with TPS Turku (Finland SM-Liiga). He had 19 goals and 18 assists in 52 games for the Finnish champions this season.
———
D Ryan Kerr, who was the first overall selection in the WHL’s 2004 bantam draft, will attend York University in Toronto and play for the Lions in 2010-11. Kerr, who was drafted by the Prince George Cougars, also played in the WHL for the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Portland Winterhawks and Calgary Hitmen. He had 29 points and 184 penalty minutes in 51 games as he played out his junior eligibility with the AJHL-champion Spruce Grove Saints this season.
———
Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post posted an interesting entry on his blog on Monday involving the Pats’ search for a new general manager. According to Harder, Chad Lang continues to be the favourite, but a couple of NHL people may have shown interest. Check out Harder’s blog, Slap Shot, over there on the left.
———
F Aaron Gagnon scored at 18:32 of OT on Monday to give the visiting Texas Stars a 3-2 victory over the Hamilton Bulldogs to force a seventh game in their AHL Western Conference final. Gagnon (Seattle, 2001-07) took a pss from F Jamie Benn (Kelowna, 2007-09) and scored the winner. Benn had two assists and now has 23 points in these playoffs, good for a tie with F Chris Bourque of the Hershey Bears for top spot in the scoring race. . . . The Stars’ three victories in this series all have been in OT. . . . Game 7 will be played Wednesday in Hamilton.
———
Regular readers here will be aware that WHL commissioner Ron Robison, who also is a CHL vice-president, spoke out Friday against strategies being employed by Paul Kelly, the executive director of College Hockey, Inc., which has become far more aggressive of late in attempts to keep U.S. players at home.
College Hockey, Inc., released this statement on Monday:
Late last week, Ron Robison, Commissioner of the Western Hockey League in Canada, held a press conference in which he leveled criticism at Paul Kelly. Specifically, Mr. Robison criticized a message that appeared on the College Hockey, Inc. website (www.collegehockeyinc.com) in which young players were warned that if they signed a contract agreeing to play for a WHL team in the future, that they would be considered “professionals” in the eyes of the NCAA and would forfeit any opportunity they might have to receive a college scholarship or play NCAA college hockey. In the web message, kids that were recently drafted by WHL teams (at age 14) were informed about the NCAA rule and advised to “not close any doors that may be open” to them at this point in their young careers — especially since they cannot play for the WHL team that drafted them for at least another 18 months.
Mr. Robison made the following remarks: “I don’t believe any . . . hockey association or authority . . . should restrict the movement of a player and his desire to play in the best development league in the world.” He went on to say that “we are disappointed in Mr. Kelly’s approach to the Canadian Hockey League. We are more concerned about the information being provided to families that, quite frankly, is not accurate whatsoever.”
Everything in the web message to young players is factually accurate. The same is true of the information being communicated by College Hockey, Inc. to young players in the United States and Canada. There are many benefits to playing NCAA college hockey, both in terms of obtaining an education and a foundation for life, and developing as a player and athlete with a proven and available path to the National Hockey League. College Hockey, Inc. is in the business of educating players and their families so that they fully understand the options and life choices ahead of them.
Contrary to Mr. Robison’s view, it is not College Hockey, Inc. that is attempting to restrict player movement. Drafting kids at age of 14, and then seeking to have them sign contracts forecloses options for these young players. These actions by the WHL are restrictive, and families of drafted players need to understand the consequences of signing contracts, playing games or attending try-out camps hosted by WHL teams.
Paul Kelly offered the following in response to Mr. Robison’s comments: “I believe in players’ rights and providing relevant information to young players and their families so that they may make informed decisions about their future. I don’t think it is healthy for our sport, or the families involved, that we are drafting players at such a young age and then asking them to take actions that will impact the rest of their lives. Unless and until we adopt a more sensible approach to recruiting, all of us involved in the sport bear a responsibility to educate young players in a respectful way and insure that they understand all options and career paths that are open to them. That is what College Hockey, Inc. has done and will continue to do. I certainly hope that the Canadian Hockey League shares this view.”
———
It continues to be my understanding that the CHL will have more to say about College Hockey, Inc., during the summer hockey summit that is scheduled for Toronto in August.

It's all over!

DAY 10 AT THE 2010 MASTERCARD MEMORIAL CUP . . .

POSTGAME:
A lot of fans stayed at their seats for the award presentations, which made for some nice rounds of applause . . . Windsor is the first team to go back-to-back at the Memorial Cup since the Kamloops Blazers did it in 1994 and 1995. . . . It was after the 1995 title that Blazers management decided to go in a different direction and fired GM Bob Brown, and we all know how that worked out. Somehow you have to think Windsor won't be heading off in a different direction. . . .
The MVP is Windsor F Taylor Hall, and he’s the first two-time winner of the Memorial Cup MVP award in the 35 years that they have been giving out the Stafford Smythe Award. . . .
Hall also takes home the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as the top scorer. . . .
F Toni Rajala of Brandon gets the George Parsons Trophy as the most sportsmanlike player. . . .
Martin Jones of Calgary takes the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy as the outstanding goaltender. . . .
The all-star team has Jones in goal, Travis Hamonic of Brandon and Cam Fowler of Windsor on defence, and Hall, Jimmy Bubnick of Calgary and Matt Calvert of Brandon on the forward line. . . .
Hard to quibble with any of the choices, but I would have had Windsor's Philipp Grubauer on my all-star team. Windsor was the best team, by a country mile, and it all starts in goal. The Spitfires went 4-0 and he didn't have a bad game. . . . Jones was good, but he had a poor first period against Windsor in the round-robin, and I would give Grubauer the edge on that.
———
It’s over, so we’re emptying the notebook . . .
Jim Mullin of CKNW, a Vancouver radio station, reported late last week that the Edmonton Oilers had interviewed Gavin Hamilton of the Kelowna Rockets for their vacant assistant GM position. Hamilton, however, tells me that hasn’t happened. “I haven't heard from them and doubt I would,” Hamilton told me. “Thanks for creating some interesting emails though!” . . .
Spotted Brent Parker, the governor and president of the Regina Pats, before the final game. He was at the CHL awards ceremony on Saturday, accepting the player-of-the-year award on behalf of F Jordan Eberle, who hadn’t yet returned from the world championship in Germany where he played for Canada. . . . Parker told me that he hasn’t hired a new play-by-play voice. He said he certainly will give Dan Plaster, the club’s director of communications, some thought, but that they also have heard from some good people. But, as Parker said, this isn’t his first priority right now. He is busy conducting a search for a general manager. . . .
There were a couple of proud big brothers in Westman Place for the final. D Luke Schenn of the Toronto Maple Leafs was here, as was F Kyle Wellwood of the Vancouver Canucks. . . .
There are changes coming with the Saskatoon Blades. Amy Moats, the manager of game day and public relations, is gone, and I’m told that Trent Coghill, the director of business operations also is leaving. Coghill will depart later this summer. . . . The Blades also have yet to re-sign assistant coach Dave Struch, whose contract is up. . . .
Before the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup was awarded to Brandon, it was feared that it might never again be awarded to a ‘small-market’ community. Now that the tournament in Brandon is over, you can bet that it will go back to other small markets. The tournament simply takes over the entire community and that can only be good for the WHL, the host team, the CHL and the game. . . . The WHL next will play host to the tournament in 2013. Already, the Kelowna Rockets, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Saskatoon Blades have expressed interest. . . . One WHL governor told me Sunday that he thinks the 2013 tournament should be held in Lethbridge. As he put it, the folks there have put a lot of money into the building and the franchise needs a boost. . . . Hey, why not Lethbridge?
———
I was told that the fellow from Summerside, P.E.I., who came up with this 50/50 package that has become so popular gets six per cent of ever dollar sold. There was about $500,000 in sales at the World Junior Championship in Saskatoon alone and more than $200,000 here. . . . A source told me that “the building/team pays for all the infrastructure and equipment and in perpetuity pay him six per cent until they terminate the contract. He also dictates the ticket prices . . . so teams get the backlash of moving away from what they used to sell tickets at.” . . . I think tickets here were one for $2, three for $5 and 10 for $20.
———
I’m told that there has been another innovation on display here. I haven’t been to a beer concession, but I’m told they are using six-second beer taps. A tap pours an 18-ounce beer from a warm keg in six seconds, I’m told, and it comes out without foam and is ice cold. . . . I know, I know. You want one in your basement.
———
That’s it folks. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
---
And a big thank you to the folks who kept us all happy in the Media Centre. Well done! We'll see you down the road.

The final . . . third period

THIRD PERIOD:
Some folks are going to shoot some pucks and try to win a whole bunch of pucks here in the second intermission. . . . The first guy shoots for 100 grand. He gets five pucks into the net from the far blue line and goes home to Nova Scotia with $5,000. . . . A guy from Ontario shoots for $250,000. . . . He should have had Taylor Hall come out and shoot for him. He was wife left a whole bunch of times. . . . And now a gal from Rocky Mountain House, Alta., will shoot for a cool $1 million. . . . Ah, no, she didn’t win. . . . Not sure what all those folks took home. . . . Old Dutch was involved so perhaps they got a bag of chips or two. . . . Well, here we go. The last 20 minutes of the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup. . . . By the way, it was good to see David Branch, the head guy with the CHL and the OHL, back in town. He was at centre ice before the game. He had to leave for home late in the week to tend to a family matter. Best wishes, Dave, and here’s hoping all is well. . . . Windsor G Philipp Grubauer, who is from Germany, gets a shoulder on a shot by F Brent Raedeke. . . . It’s too bad that this tournament won’t be remembered for the hockey. The scores were 9-3, 5-4, 4-0, 6-2, 4-3 (OT), 5-1, 5-4 (OT) and whatever this one ends up at. . . . Brandon’s semifinal victory over Calgary was a wonderful game, but the rest? Not so much. . . . Still, it has been a treat watching the Spitfires. This is a very good team. It does a lot of things really, really well, and was easily the best team here when it came to getting the puck out of its zone. . . . It also has a remarkable number of players who have very high panic points. Very rarely do you see a Windsor player just throwing away the puck. . . . And now it’s 7-1 with 14:18 left and Windsor with a 47-18 edge in shots. . . . It was Kassian all alone on the left side and he puts it, yes, under the cross-bar. . . . The attendance is 5,609. . . . Sounds like the gendarmes are escorting one unhappy fan from the premises. . . . I’m sure fans will start leaving once the 50/50 number is announced. . . . There isn’t any intensity out there now and that’s understandable with the score what it is. . . . Now would be a good time to go to straight time. . . . Windsor has outscored Brandon 16-4 in this tournament. . . . Hall over to Henrique and it’s 8-1. . . . The 50/50 winner went home with $26,830. No, it wasn’t me. . . . Hall has nine points, one more than Calgary F Jimmy Bubnick. . . . Raedeke and Young are off for roughing, so it’ll be 4-on-4. . . . No, Young got the extra minor so Brandon is on the PP. . . . There was no middle ground with Brandon in this tournament. The Wheaties played two really good games but, on the other side of the coin, they laid three giant eggs. . . . Grubauer with a save on Ciarelli and the shots are 50-23. . . . Some fans are starting to head for the exits. . . . Awfully windy here and if they’re heading east they won’t use much gasoline. . . . Both teams have their fourth lines out there now. . . . Windsor goes tic, tac, toe all the way up the ice and it’s 9-1. . . . Give the goal to F Dale Mitchell, he of the best moustache here. . . . Gotta wonder if he shaves it or keeps it when this is over? . . . In hindsight, that fourth goal, the one that needed video review, seemed to finish the Wheat Kings. They had made it 3-1 not too long before and that goal seemed to take the wind right out of their sails. I’m not saying they would have come all the way back but perhaps they could have stayed in it a while longer. . . . There’s Glennie and Hall exchanging whacks and some chatter, and Hall gets the only penalty. . . . And now there’s a scrum in front of the Windsor net. Where was that feistiness from Brandon earlier? . . . It’s over. Mitchell chases down the puck and grabs it. He’s got the souvenir. . . . It ends 9-1 and the shotgs are 52-28. . . . I might be inclined to give Grubauer the MVP because he has been awfully good and it all starts in goal. But it likely will go to Hall.

The final . . . second period

SECOND PERIOD:
If you weren’t aware, the starting time of this game was moved from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. . . . Of course, Rogers Sportsnet, which has exclusivity to this event, the CHL and the organizing committee said it was moved in order t allow fans to watch the gold medal-game from the world championship and the NHL playoff game that were on this afternoon. . . . I’m thinking it had more to do with Sportsnet not wanting to risk fragmenting its audience by going up against those events. . . . Hmmm. Wonder why they didn't move the game until even later tonight in case fans wanted to stay home and watch the NBA playoff game? . . . Just once I would love to see a newspaper writer walk behind a team’s bench during a stoppage in play and ask a question or two of the head coach. . . . The 50/50 pool is more than $37,000 and climbing fast and the second period has yet to start. . . . Brandon opens on the PP for 1:46 with D Ryan Ellis in stir. . . . F Adam Henrique blocks D Travis Hamonic’s point shot on the PP. Windsor has come up with a lot of blocks today. . . . Brandon didn’t get much out of the PP. Only good possession came late. . . . Brandon F Brent Raedeke flips the puck into the middle, turns it over and takes a penalty. . . . Here comes Windsor’s first PP chance. . . . Is it over if Windsor goes up 3-0? . . . DeSerres with a stop on Henrique’s backhand attempt. . . . Brandon has to pay more attention to the Windsor points or else do a better job in the shooting lanes. . . . There’s a block by Wiebe on Ellis, but there’s Hall putting one over DeSerres’ left shoulder. . . . it’s a goal scorer’s goal, but if the goalie stands up the puck hits him. . . . Hall leads the tournament with five goals and is tied with Calgary F Jimmy Bubnick, with eight points. . . . Windsor leads 24-9 in shots with 13:50 to play. . . . There’s G Philipp Grubauer with a save on a big shot by D Alexander Urbom and now Brandon’s going on the PP. . . . It’s Ellis off again, this time for hooking. . . . Brandon gains the Windsor zone with some speed as Glennie takes the puck down the right side and Calvert puts in a rebound. . . . Brandon is on the board. . . . Windsor head coach Bob Boughner is steamed at the officials for that call on Ellis and they’re hearing about it. . . . There’s life in the building again. . . . Brandon head coach Kelly McCrimmon has moved Glennie back onto his top line with Schenn and Calvert. . . . Windsor F Greg Nemisz tries to jam one between DeSerres and his left post. . . . Now it’s under video review. . . . video review . . . video review . . . video review . . . video review . . . video review . . . video review . . . video review . . . video review . . . video review . . . video review . . . video review . . . video review . . . video review . . . video review . . . video review . . . video review . . . video review . . . video review . . . Video review has taken the life back out of the building. . . . And it’s a goal for Windsor. That one really hurts Brandon’s chances. . . . The goal goes to Nemisz. . . . Not many people, if any, who are in the building saw that one go in the net. . . . DeSerres has the puck covered and it looks like Burchell, the OHL ref, can’t find his whistle. . . . Because he’s late with the whistle, now there’s a scrum. . . . The Wheat Kings are going to watch replays of Windsor’s fourth goal and claim that Burchell was slow on the whistle there, too. . . . There is 9:33 left in the second and Windsor is up 31-13 on the shot clock. . . . Brandon’s game is coming apart. They really are out of sync and even having trouble going tape-to-tape with the puck. . . . Wellwood sidesteps a check, creates a 3-on-1 deep and fires high and wide. . . . They’re playing 4-on-4 and Brandon gets caught on a line change and D Marc Cantin blows one past DeSerres’ catching mitt. . . . It’s 5-1 and this one is over with more than eight minutes left in the second period. . . . There’s Kassian with a shot from the left side. DeSerres has it but he’s looking behind him. . . . Shots now are 22-5 in the second and 38-13 on the game. . . . Fehr turns it over at the Windsor line and it’s a 4-on-2 coming this way. DeSerres makes a shoulder save. . . . Every Windsor shot is going upstairs. . . . Windsor wins another faceoff after Brandon is called for icing and a point shot gets through traffic, hits a defender and it’s in. . . . That’s 6-1 with 3:08 left. . . . D Cam Fowler gets the goal and he’s been good today. . . . Those clicks you hear? Those aren’t crickets. It’s the Sportsnet audience looking for the NBA game. . . . Second period is over. Windsor is up 6-1 in goals and 43-15 in shots. . . . The Lakers are leading Phoenix by a point late in the first period.

The final . . . first period

FIRST PERIOD:
Hard to miss the buzz in this building today. . . . It has been there since at least 3:30 p.m., which is when I arrived on the scene. . . . By that time, a party — they were calling it a tailgate party — was roaring in the Manitoba Room, which is where at least 1,400 people watched Tom Cochrane perform on Saturday. . . . The Spitfires have 12 players in their lineup who were part of last season’s championship club. . . . The prevailing feeling is that G Jacob DeSerres is going to have to have the game of his life if the Wheat Kings are to have a chance at game’s end. . . . And, if you’re wondering, it’s DeSerres (not De Serres). One of the WHL beat writers (I wish I could remember which one, but I’m drawing a blank) asked DeSerres during the season and he clarified the matter. . . . Here come the Spitfires. . . . As they get to the entrance, Sportsnet is showing the hit by Brandon D Travis Hamonic on Windsor star Taylor Hall early in Game 1. . . . The officials are on the ice. . . . The Spitfires skate onto the ice as the fans chant Go Wheaties Go. . . . And here come the Wheat Kings. . . . The fans are out of their seats, roaring and waving their gold towels. . . . Brandon has to break down the start of this game into, at most, five-minute segments. Get through the first five and then the next five and take it from there. . . . It looks like former Wheat Kings G Trevor Kidd and F Eric Fehr, now of the Washinton Capitals, will be in on the ceremonial faceoff. . . . They get a rousing standing ovation when they are introduced. . . . Also on the carpet is Greg Selinger, the premier of Manitoba, decked out in a Wheat Kings jersey. . . . I know you're shocked, absolutely shocked, that a premier would show up and be at centre ice for an event like this. . . . Hall is on for the game’s second shift and Hamonic runs at him in the neutral zone. And now the two are jousting abit — Hall is the aggressor — just inside the Windsor line. . . . Schenn grabs a turnover and it’s Grubauer with a a shoulder save. . . . Schenn then separates Marc Cantin from his lid. . . . And Brandon’s Hamonic rings one of the cross-bar. . . . Shots are 3-0 for Brandon early. . . . Now Brandon turns it over and F Zack Kassian is stopped as he tries to tuck it five-hole on DeSerres. . . . Shots are 3-3 after that flurry. . . . There’s Hamonic crunching Hall again and you wonder how long before one of the Windsor players delivers a message to Hamonic? . . . Windsor has last change and puts Hall’s line out against Schenn and Co. . . . And it’s Windsor ahead 1-0 on that matchup, at 6:24. . . . F Adam Henrique found enough time and space in the slot to get off a shot that got through DeSerres. . . . Shots now are 8-5 for Windsor. . . . Henrique came open between the hashmarks and that has been a problem for Brandon’s defensive coverage in much of this tournament. . . . Brandon had a lot of jump early but is in a lull right now. . . . Windsor head coach Bob Boughner comes back with the Hall line against Schenn. . . . Windsor changes out of it at the next stoppage. . . . Now it’s Hall against Glennie. . . . The fans are well-behaved. They chant Go Wheaties Go when instructed to by the scoreclock. And isn’t that the case with so many of our crowds these days? . . . Big shot block by Kenny Ryan on Calvert. That’s three or four blocks by Windsor. . . . Hamonic gives it up at the Windsor line and DeSerres bails him out with a solid save on Timmins’ backhand attempt. . . . Glennie drills Ellis into the end boards. . . . They’ve made a scoring change and now Hall has an assist on Windsor’s goal. So he’s one point off the scoring lead that is held by Calgary F Jimmy Bubnick, with eight. . . . Windsor has come on as time has gone on here. Brandon is going to have to step it up and try to get back to where it was in the first five minutes. . . . the 50/50 pool is approaching 30 grand and the first period isn’t over yet. . . . Windsor is getting some chances off transition and there’s F Dale Mitchell shooting wide of what looked to be an open side. . . . There’s DeSerres with a couple of saves but on both of them he looked like he wasn’t sure where the puck was. . . . Shots are 15-8 for Windsor with 48.6 seconds left. . . . Brandon lost the faceoff but twice had a chance to get the puck out and didn’t. And now it’s 2-0 as F Eric Wellwood — yes, he’s a brother to Kyle of the Vancouver Canucks — snaps home a shot. . . . I think it was D Cam Fowler who made a good play at the Brandon line to keep the puck in the zone. . . . Ellis goes off for hooking and Brandon gets the first PP. . . . There is F Shayne Wiebe tipping a Glennie just wide at the buzzer. . . . It’s 2-0 Windsor and the Spitfires have a 16-8 in edge in shots. Remember that the shots were 3-0 for Brandon in the early going.

The final . . . pregame

DAY 10 AT THE 2010 MASTERCARD MEMORIAL CUP . . .

No surprises on the lineup sheets.
Brandon, the visiting team, has scratched F Jesse Sinatyski, D Jordan Hale and Ryley Miller. . . . Jacob DeSerres is the starting goaltender. . . . As in the semifinal, F Mark Stone is on the right side, with C Brayden Schenn and LW Matt Calvert. RW Scott Glennie, who started the tournament on the Schenn line, now is with C Brent Raedeke and LW Shayne Wiebe. . . . Brandon’s best line has had Jay Fehr between LW Toni Rajala and RW Aaron Lewadniuk. . . . Brandon’s other line has Paul Ciarelli between LW Michael Ferland and RW Brenden Walker. . . .
Windsor, the home team, has scratched D Saverio Posa and F James Woodcroft. . . . Philipp Grubauer will start in goal, as he has for all games here. . . . Windsor’s lines, left to right: Zack Kassian, Greg Nemisz and Kenny Ryan; Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique and Justin Shugg; Eric Wellwood, Scott Timmins and Dale Mitchell; and, Adam Wallace, Stephen Johnston and Derek Lanoue. . . .
The referees are Matt Kirk (WHL) and Darcy Burchell (OHL), with WHLers Chris Carlson and Kiel Muchison on the lines. Kirk, a lawyer in Vancouver in his other job, is from Brandon, so this has to be a real thrill for him. . . .
About 45 minutes before the game, Hall was hanging out the gate the Spitfires will use to enter and exit the ice surface. As he looked out onto the ice surface, he seemed most oblivious to the fans who were busy snapping pictures of him. . . .
The teams are on the ice for the warmup. . . . The Wheat Kings get a huge welcome from the 2,000 fans who are in their seats. . . .
If you’re wondering, the Wheat Kings spent at least last night in a hotel here. They moved into the rooms at the Canad Inns, the hotel that adjoins Westman Place, that had been vacated by the Moncton Wildcats. . . .
When I walked into Westman Place, the SOLD OUT signs were up on the front doors, the first time that has happened in this tournament. I wasn’t able to find tickets being sold (scalped?) anywhere, meaning it was happening well off the beaten path or everyone who had bought a ticket wanted to be here in the worst way. . . .

Day 10 . . . it has started!

DAY 10 AT THE 2010 MASTERCARD MEMORIAL CUP . . .

You don’t think the city of Brandon has waited a long, long time for this?
Consider that Brandon is the only city in the world to have had teams play for the Stanley Cup, Allan Cup and Memorial Cup and to never have won even once.
In 1904, the Brandon Wheat Cities challenged Ottawa, which held the Stanley Cup. Brandon had won the Manitoba and Northwestern Hockey Association. The teams met in Ottawa, March 9-11, with the home side winning, 6-3 and 9-3.
In 1921, the Brandon Wheat Cities reached the Allan Cup final — the Allan Cup goes to Canada’s senior men’s champion — and met the U of Toronto in Winnipeg in a two-game, total-goal series. Brandon won 2-0 and then was beaten 8-1, to lose the series 8-3.
This will be the Wheat Kings’ third time in the Memorial Cup final.
In 1949, the Wheat Kings and Montreal Royals played a best-of-seven final for the Memorial Cup that actually went eight games because the third game ended in a 3-3 draw. They played five games in Brandon (Games 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7), with the Wheat Kings going 3-1-1 at home. Montreal won all three games played in Winnipeg, including a 6-4 victory in the eighth and final game.
In 1979, the Wheat Kings, coached by Dunc McCallum, were in a three-team round-robin, along with Gary Green’s Peterbrough Petes and Michel Bergeron’s Trois-Rivieres Draveurs. In the final, the Petes scored a 2-1 OT victory over the Wheat Kings. (Kelly McCrimmon, today the Wheat Kings’ owner, GM and head coach, was a player on the 1978-79 Wheat Kings, but sat out the Memorial Cup with a broken arm.)
Since then, Brandon reached the Memorial Cup in 1995 and 1996 but wasn’t able to get to the final.
———
The Windsor Spitfires go into today’s final having won 11 straight games. They fell behind the Kitchener Rangers 0-3 in an OHL semifinal before roaring back to win four straight games. Windsor then swept the Barrie Colts and won its first three games here — 9-3 over Brandon, 6-2 over Calgary and 5-4 in OT over the Moncton Wildcats.
Going back to last year’s tournament, the Spitfires have won seven straight Memorial Cup games. That is the second-longest winning streak in tournament history, behind only the 12 games won by the Kamloops Blazers over the 1992, 1994 and 1995 events.
———
This is Windsor’s third trip to a Memorial Cup final.
The Spitfires won it all a year ago in Rimouski, Que., beating the Kelowna Rockets 4-1 in the final.
In 1988, as the Windsor Compuware Spitfires, they lost 7-6 to the Barry Melrose-coached Medicine Hat Tigers in the final in Quebec City.
———
The Kelowna Rockets and Vancouver Giants, the last two WHL teams in the Memorial Cup as host teams, won it. The Rockets skated to victory at home in 2004 and the Giants replicated that in 2007.
Each of the last seven times that the Memorial Cup has been played in a WHL city, a WHL team has won. That goes back to 1986 when the OHL’s Guelph Platers won in Portland in 1986.
Windsor is looking to become the first team to successfully defend its championship since the 1995 Kamloops Blazers won the championship . . . in Kamloops.
———
The Spitfires are 3-0 here but haven’t played since Tuesday. They opened the tournament on May 14 with a 9-3 victory over the Wheat Kings.
Brandon is 2-2 and coming off a 5-4 overtime victory over the Calgary Hitmen in Friday night’s semifinal game. Yes, the Wheat City woke up with a smile yesterday and again today.
So . . . who wins tonight?
Prior to Friday’s game, the only people who gave the Wheat Kings even a puncher’s chance were those wearing gold-coloured glasses. And had you know going into that game that Calgary G Martin Jones would be on top of his game, well, you wouldn’t have given the Wheat Kings any chance at all.
But in the immortal words of Herm Edwards, then the head coach of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs:
“This is what's great about sports. This is what the greatest thing about sports is. You play to win the game. Hello? You play to win the game. You don't play it to just play it. That's the great thing about sports: you play to win, and I don't care if you don't have any wins. You go play to win. When you start tellin' me it doesn't matter, then retire. Get out! 'Cause it matters."
It mattered to the Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday night. How much will it matter tonight.
———
Might this game be decided in the first period? Brandon has allowed 18 goals in its four games here, and 12 of them have come in the first period. . . . In fact, Brandon beat Moncton 4-0 in the round-robin, meaning the Wheat Kings gave up 18 goals in three games. They have twice have allowed five goals in the first period.
———
JUST NOTES: One of the highlights of the final should be the opportunity to watch Brandon C Brayden Schenn, who was selected by the Los Angeles Kings with the fifth pick of the 2009 NHL draft, against Windsor LW Taylor Hall, who has been lights out here and is expected to be the first or second selection in next month’s NHL draft in Los Angeles. . . . Schenn was the best player on the ice in Friday’s semifinal when Brandon edged the Calgary Hitmen 5-4 in OT. . . . Hall has the opportunity to become the first player to win the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as tournament MVP in back-to-back seasons in the award’s 35 years. He was named MVP after the tournament in Rimouski a year ago. . . . Windsor F Scott Timmins is playing in his third straight Memorial Cup tournament. He was with the Kitchener Rangers when they were the host team in 2008. They lost the final 4-1 to the Spokane Chiefs. (Ah, yes, you’re thinking. The year the trophy broke!) . . . Timmins was dealt to the Spitfires and was with them at last season’s tournament. . . .
If believe in omens . . . F Dustin Byfuglien of the Chicago Blackhawks played for the Wheat Kings — 11 games over the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons. On Friday night, he scored the OT winner for the Blackawks as they beat the San Jose Sharks in an NHL playoff game. In real time, he scored in close proximity to the time that Brandon F Jay Fehr was sniping in OT to beat the Calgary Hitmen in the semifinal game here. . . . On Sunday afternoon, Byfuglien broke a 2-2 tie late in the third period as the Blackhawks eliminated the Sharks. . . .

Saturday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: The KHL has announced two new clubs will join the league for next season -- Budivelnik Kiev (Ukraine) and Ugra Khanty-Mansiysk. These two
teams replace Dynamo Moscow (folded) and Lada Togliatti (inadequate financing). One other team, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, has until Tuesday to provide the KHL with financial guarantees which meet league requirements or they may be "excluded from participation" in the league. KHL training camps open July 23 and the regular season starts Sept. 8. . . .
D Tomas Kudelka (Lethbridge 2005-07) signed a one-year contract with Budivelnik Kiev (Ukraine KHL). He had three goals and 17 assists in 55 games with Binghamton (AHL) this season. . . .
D Darcy Werenka (Lethbridge, Brandon, 1989-93) signed a one-year contract with Graz 99ers (Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had eight goals and 22 assists in 37 games for Vienna Capitals (Austria Erste Bank Liga) this season. He finished the season by helping Austria win the World Championship in Division 1 A with two goals and four
assists in five games. Austria will play in the Championship Group next year. . . .
---
THE COACHING GAME:
Derek Laxdal, the director of hockey operations and head coach of the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads, wouldn’t comment when asked by the Idaho Statesman about an Edmonton Journal report that he is the leading candidate for the vacant head-coaching position with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Laxdal’s Steelheads were beaten 2-1 by the host Cincinnati Cylcones on Friday night. The Cyclones won the ECHL final for the Kelly Cup in five games. . . . With the Steelheads’ season over, we should find out rather quickly if Laxdal is the leading candidate with the Oil Kings, because it is believed that Edmonton GM Bob Green would like to have his head coach in place by month’s end. . . .
You should add Dallas Gaume’s name to the list of potential head coaches, or at least to the list of candidates. Gaume resigned earlier this month after 11 seasons on the Red Deer Rebels’ coaching staff. For whatever reason, he was bypassed on more than one occasion when that club needed a head coach.
---
The weather in Brandon has turned from the high 20s Celsius to the mid-teens with rain. The high for Saturday is forecast at 19C, with rain all day. The forecast for Sunday is a high of 15C with a 30 per cent chance of precipitation.

Day 8 . . . is over!

DAY 8 AT THE 2010 MASTERCARD MEMORIAL CUP . . .

FACES IN THE CROWD: A person walking the concourse prior to Friday’s game could have chatted with former Wheat Kings star Kelly Glowa. He shares the WHL record for most points in one regular-season game, having picked up 10 (five goals, five assists) in a 12-6 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders on Jan. 9, 1983. . . . He is one of only five players to have had 10-point outings in the WHL. . . . Also on the concourse was former Wheat Kings captain Ken Schneider, the father of Brandon D Mark Schneider, who was acquired from the Kamloops Blazers last season. . . . Ken recently signed on as head coach of the midget AAA Wheat Kings. He was an assistant coach this season. . . . I ran into former Moose Jaw Warriors GM Chad Lang again. He says he is not the next play-by-play voice of the Regina Pats. . . . After the game, there was Ken King, the president and CEO of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, who own the Hitmen, in a hallway behind the Hitmen dressing room, looking as though he wasn’t sure what had happened. There were a lot of people in these parts who were like that.
———
JUST NOTES: Thanks to the gang running the Media Centre for having coffee on hand after Friday's game was over. Now it's a Media Centre again. . . . Alan Maki of The Globe and Mail, who is based in Calgary, has speculated that Calgary GM Kelly Kisio may be ticketed for the front office of the NHL’s Flames, perhaps as assistant GM. Remember that the Flames own the Hitmen. Remember, too, that under Kisio the Hitmen have developed a habit of playing into the early summer, something that seems to have escaped the Flames of late. . . . Headline in Friday’s Winnipeg Sun: Get ready, mosquitoes are coming. . . . So it must be about time to head for home. . . . It seems the recent heat wave has sped up this season’s first crop of the midget dive bombers. . . . The Windsor Spitfires last played Tuesday, meaning they have had ample time off as they prepare for Sunday’s final. And what have they been up to? Well, head coach Bob Boughner suggested that they stay off the waterslides that are so prevalent in hotels here. So, of course, the players got into the water and, yes, they had fun on a waterslide, at one point forming what they called a 16-man luge. . . . On Thursday, the Spitfires spent part of the morning with the Grade 5 and 6 classes at a local school. School children in Brandon had done projects on each of the CHL’s 60 teams, and those two had done theirs on the Spitfires.
The QMJHL released its 2010-11 regular-season schedule — albeit a tentative one — on Friday. I don’t know about the OHL, but that’s almost three months before we are likely see a WHL schedule. . . . Saturday is an off-day at the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup. The CHL awards ceremony will be in the spotlight.
———
F Morgan Zulinick, an Edmonton Oil Kings’ draft pick, has committed to attend the U of Wisconsin and play for the Badgers. Zulinick, from Kamloops, was a third-round selection by Edmonton in 2009. He played his draft season with Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna and this season was with the major midget Thompson Blazers, who play out of Kamloops.
———
The NAHL’s board of governors has approved the sale of the Texas Tornado to a group led by Bill Yuill, who is the president of Consolidated Sports Holdings USA, Inc. Yuill used to own the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL, and now owns the WHL’s Everett Silvertips.
———
THE COACHING GAME: While we are going to hear a lot of names over the next while — Steve Hamilton, Perry Pearn, Eric Thurston et al — there are a few that may fly under the radar for a bit. . . . Someone may want to take another look at Troy Mick, for example. Mick last coached in the WHL with the Kamloops Blazers, but cut it short for health reasons. He is hale and hearty these days and led the Revelstoke Grizzlies to the Western Canadian junior B title. . . . There is noise the Rylan Ferster, the GM and head coach of the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks, may be a candidate for a position or two. . . . And someone has whispered to me that Terry Ballard, out as head coach of the Edmonton-based NAIT Ooks after something like 12 seasons, may be worth a look. . . . Kris Knoblauch, the assistant coach with the Kootenay Ice, was one of the applicants for the Edmonton Oil Kings’ head-coaching spot and may get an interview. He almost certainly will be interviewed by Ice GM Jeff Chynoweth, who is looking to replace Mark Holick, now the head coach of the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. With the high level of coaching in the WHL these days, though, Knoblauch and other young assistants may be a season or two away from getting to the top of the ladder. However, it won’t hurt the portfolio to go through an interview process or two.

Game 7 . . . postgame

Jay Fehr, the guy who shot the Brandon Wheat Kings into Sunday’s Memorial Cup final, looked like he still was in a state of shock when he met with the media 15 or 20 minutes later.
It was Fehr’s goal at 3:16 of OT that gave the Wheat Kings a 5-4 victory over the Calgary Hitmen in the semifinal game of the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup.
He said the Wheat Kings were “upbeat and positive” going into the extra period, even though Calgary had forced the OT with a goal by F Misha Fisenko at 14:48 of the third period.
When the Wheat Kings were getting down to the limit of three 20-year-olds early in the season, it came down to Fehr or F Del Cowan. In the end, Brandon dealt Cowan to the Prince George Cougars who, in turn, sent him to the Hitmen.
Fehr, from Winkler, Man., which is about three hours south-east of Brandon, said he and his mates felt they had a “lot of momentum” and noted that “the crowd was great.”
“We were confident,” he said, “in how we played all night.”
The Wheat Kings had lost five straight games to the Hitmen, four of them in the WHL Eastern Conference final and one here. Calgary posted a 5-1 victory in the last game of the round-robin on Wednesday night.
“We definitely owed them,” Fehr said.
After Wednesday’s 5-1 loss to Calgary, Fehr said, the Wheat Kings “just focussed on playing a simpler game. We had far too many turnovers on Wednesday. We just knew we had to chip pucks and get in on the forecheck.”
The Wheat Kings were away from the game for three weeks after losing to Calgary in the conference final, and it appears to have taken them this long to find some simplicity and some consistency with their game.
“Last Friday,” Fehr said, “we were really off. Other than that, when we’ve played good, we’ve played good, and when we haven’t played good, we’ve been awful. On Wednesday night, we were awful.
“The main thing for us is to keep it simple and chip pucks.”
As for the winning goal, Fehr, who started the play from just inside his own line, recalled:
“I just passed it up to Rajala and he cut across just inside the blue line and dropped it between his legs and I just put it on the net and luckily it went in.
“It felt great. It was a relief.”
Fehr admitted to being “a little bit scared” knowing that, as a 20-year-old, this could have been his last game.
Now, he said, “we get to play another game.”
———
Calgary head coach Mike Williamson didn’t feel his club played nearly well enough.
“We were very fortunate to have the lead that we did in the hockey game,” he said of Calgary taking a 2-0 lead in the first period. “(Goaltender Martin Jones) was fantastic for us once again and gave us a chance.
“I’m really proud of what our guys have accomplished and where our team got to this season. I’m disappointed tonight. I thought we had a lot of guys who didn’t play the way we needed to or, for whatever reason, didn’t do what they needed to get done.
“But, with that said, I don’t want to take anything away from Brandon because they obvioiusly were the better hockey team tonight.”
Williamson admitted he was surprised that his guys didn’t come out sharper.
“I am. I am surprised,” he said. “We talked about it a little bit after our first game in here. We have fierce competitors who want to win . . . but I think we seized up a little bit at times tonight.
“It certainly wasn’t a matter of not wanting to work hard and do the right things. We just had a lot of guys standing around and watching a little bit and maybe having a false sense of security with where the score was.”
That was in the first period when the Hitmen, who have had Brandon’s number of late, scored two goals and benefited from some super-human saves from Jones.
“Brandon came on strong and . . . we’ve done a good job on a lot of things all season, our defensive game, the penalty kill . . . and some of those things just weren’t very sharp tonight,” Williamson said.
The Hitmen gave up two PP goals on four chances, while going 0-for-1 themselves.
———
Brandon owner/GM/head coach Kelly McCrimmon said he was thrilled for the city and for the local organizing committee.
“For the franchise,” he said, “it’s no more than an opportunity to play in the final, not to sell that opportunity short because, of course, that’s what we’re all here for.
“I’m happy for the city and for the organizing committee because, to me, everything you hear from all the stakeholders of the event is how great it’s been. Obviously, the home team being successful gives energy to those people. It’s no different than any building. When the home team wins, people appreciate it and enjoy it.”
McCrimmon also took time to give credit to a crowd that was really alive.
“Our crowd has been tremendous,” he said. “We’ve had an odd tournament in some respects, because we’ve had two games where our crowd has really played a huge (role) in our victory and we’ve had two games weere we really didn’t give our crowd a chance to get into the game.”
That, he said, was a topic of conversation in his dressing room before the game.
“We talked about getting out of the gate well, having a good start, and giving our crowd a chance to get into the game and help us,” he said. “We were discouraged that we gave up the first two goals but I think our crowd really appreciated how hard their team was playing.
“That’s the one advantage we have as the host . . . and I think that the crowds have been tremendous, not just for games that involve our team but all week with the quality of hockey that has been played.”
———
So it’ll be Brandon and the Windsor Spitfires on Sunday. Brandon last appeared in a Memorial Cup final, when it lost to the Peterborough Petes, 2-1 in overtime, in 1979 in Verdun, Que.
The Spitfires are the defending champions, having beaten the Kelowna Rockets 4-1 in last year’s final in Rimouski, Que.

Game 7 . . . it's over!

FIRST OVERTIME:
The fans are getting their money’s worth tonight. This has been a terrific hockey game. . . . The winning team will end up getting a bit more rest than originally scheduled, what with Sunday’s final moved to 6 p.m. local time (from 2 p.m.). . . . Of course, it’s a day off Saturday. . . . The Hitmen are outside their room and here come the officials. . . . Calgary G Martin Jones is the reason his guys are 4-4. So he’s the first star. . . . F Brayden Schenn has been the best of the Wheat Kings. The Los Angeles Kings took him fifth overall in the 2009 NHL draft and he has played like a No. 5 pick tonight. . . . I really wonder if this hasn’t been a case of Brandon needing this much time to shake off the rust. I believe they were eliminated on April 23. They took a week off and then practised for two weeks. But it’s got to be tough to be away for three weeks and then return at this level of competition, especially in your own community, and have success. . . . We’ll see how it goes from here. . . . Let’s drop the puck. . . . Calgary ices it. Faceoff to right of Jones. Schenn to Robak and it’s blocked in front. They scored off that play earlier. . . . Brandon F Toni Rajala cuts across the line to the wall, then curls back through the high slot. He drops the puck and it’s over as F Jay Fehr, a 20-year-old from Winkler, puts the Wheat Kings into Sunday’s final. And the Wheat Kings celebrate along the glass right in front of the Calgary fans. . . . It’s 3:16 of OT. Brandon outshoots Calgary 48-29. . . . Brandon couldn’t have picked a better time to beat Calgary. . . . The beauty of junior hockey as the underdog bites back in a big, big way. . . . This place will be a zoo come Sunday evening. . . . The flag-waving crowd is standing and waving and roaring. . . . No one will want to go home. . . . Don’t forget that Brandon, a team that twice surrendered five goals in first periods here, was down 2-0 in the first period in this one. . . . Give the stars to Jones, Schenn and Fehr. . . . Why Fehr? Because my wife is a Fehr, although they’re not related. . . . Wheat Kings go to centre ice and salute their fans. More noise. . . . There is joy in Mudville tonight. . . . This was a wonderful, wonderful junior hockey game. It seems the fans don't want to leave. They are standing and waving the towels. . . . Back with postgame and some notes in a bit.

Game 7 . . . third period

THIRD PERIOD:
The Wheat Kings have to be feeling good about themselves going into this period. They finally got to Jones, outscoring Calgary 3-1 in the second period. . . . It’s warm and muggy in here, so the ice may be a factor in the second half. . . . Brandon outshot Calgary 20-5 in the second period. . . . They run one of those slingshot bowling promotions in the intermission tonight. And they do it after the flood. A young fellow piled into the end boards — there is some padding there but it looks a bit skimpy — and he limps off. Looks like he banged a knee into the boards. . . . The 50/50 pool is over 30 grand. Biggest one of the week. . . . Crowd is ready for the third. As loud as it’s been in here all week. . . . Lots of gold towels being waved. . . . The Wheat Kings have lost five straight games to Calgary. The Wheat Kings are 1-2 here. They’ve been beaten 9-3 and 5-1, but they are one period and one goal from the Memorial Cup final. . . . Brandon is all over Calgary in the first minute. . . . One shot from the high slot hits a body and goes wide. . . . Brandon had two great chances after some Calgary pressure and D Michael Stone stopped the last one or the Wheat Kings are up 4-3. . . . There’s a high-stick and Pat Smith, the WHL referee, puts Calgary D Ben Wilson in the box. . . . Brandon is on the PP at 5:04 and three seconds later the puck is in the net. It’s off a faceoff win by F Brayden Schenn and D Colby Robak slaps it home. . . . Calgary F Brandon Kozun goes end-to-end and that’s what the Hitmen need from him. They’re sagging and need a lift. . . . Schenn has three assists tonight. He has been a real force, even in the first period when Brandon trailed 2-0. . . . With 14:01 left, the crowd can sense a berth in the final. There’s a real buzz in here. . . . Jones stones F Brent Raedeke on the back end of a 2-on-1 and that could have ended this one. . . . If that doesn’t give Calgary a lift, nothing will. . . . Kozun coughs it up to F Jay Fehr in the neutral zone and he’s in alone. Jones makes a blocker save. . . . 11:41 to play. . . . Brandon F Scott Glennie is in tight and Jones makes another save. . . . Shots are 41-24 with 10:40 to play. . . . Calgary ices it and the crowd is on its feet. . . . This is easily the best Brandon has played. Could it be that it has taken this long to get rid of three weeks worth of rust? . . . DeSerres stops a Stone slapshot. . . . TV timeout coming up. . . . Calgary’s Stone and Glennie are going off after a small skirmish. . . . The 50/50 is worth $16, 168. . . . The attendance is 5,235. . . . Brandon has a 30-11 edge in shots since the end of the first period. . . . DeSerres comes across and makes a game-saving blocker save on Kozun. . . . That’s his best stop of this tournament. . . . Calgary is back with pressure and Fisenko is at the net. The light went on. It was in. Calgary has tied it. . . . Fisenko went to the net and may have put in a rebound. But it looks on the replay as though maybe it hit the post and didn’t cross the line. . . . The video review crew looks at every goal so they will look at this one. . . . And it’s a goal. With 5:12 to play and Brandon up 44-27 on the shot clock. . . . TV timeout. Should be the last one of the third period. There is 4:37 left in the period. . . . The referees are, uhh, letting them play. . . . That was an ugly cross-check by Nyren. . . . Down to 3:09. . . . Calgary has more hop than it has had in a while. . . . Inside two minutes. . . . Broda didn’t clear the zone, MacKenzie turned it over and Jones had to make a big save. . . . One minute even. . . . DeSerres freezes it. Faceoff to his right. . . . Nyren tried to hit Bubnick with the long pass and it’s icing against Calgary. . . . There are 25.6 seconds left. Faceoff to the left of Jones. . . . We’re going to OT. . . . It’s 4-4. Shots are 46-29 for Brandon. . . . Gotta think the big winner tonight will be the Windsor Spitfires. They have to be loving this.

Game 7 . . . second period

SECOND PERIOD:
If Calgary G Martin Jones isn’t in Brandon’s heads by now, he never will be. . . . The goaltending display he put on in the first period is the talk of the crowd. . . . It’s F Brayden Schenn in from the blue line and G Martin Jones makes the save. . . . More Brandon pressure and there’s a long rebound that D Alexander Urbom is able to put behind Jones on the short side. . . . It’s 2-1 with 18 minutes to play and the crowd is back in it. . . . Schenn is having another good period. He has made a lot of plays and doesn’t have much to show for it. . . . Calgary F Del Cowan is off for hooking and Brandon gets its first PP opportunity. A chance to tie it. . . . They call it interference. . . . Calgary’s Misha Fisenko is going off for hooking. No, it’s Del Cowan and it’s for tripping. Brandon will be back on the PP after TV does some selling. . . . There’s the replay and it was Fisenko on the hook. The zebras missed that one. . . . Brandon has Glennie on one point on the PP. . . . What a disaster for Brandon? There is a Brandon player down in the Calgary zone, so they can’t go into the zone. Then they try a change and while they’re doing that Calgary F Tyler Fiddler gets loose on the right side and blows a shot past G Jacob DeSerres for a shorthanded goal. . . . That play about sums up Brandon’s Memorial Cup. . . . Brandon has a 25-17 edge in shots. . . . Brandon turns it over in the Calgary zone and the Hitmen give it right back. And there’s a shot from the right side that may have hit a stick and gone upstairs on Jones. Schenn was right in front, too. . . . It’s 3-2 with 8:02 left. . . . Give the goal to F Matt Calvert. . . . This has turned into a good, hard-hitting hockey game. . . . Best game of the tournament to date. . . . Brandon has a 27-18 edge in shots with 5:40 to play. . . . Urbom pinches at the Calgary line, goes in deep, and ends up hurting his right leg. He limps off. . . . The 50/50 pool is at $24,330. Yes, I’m in it. . . . Something happened in front of the Calgary bench and someone is going off. Brandon goes to the PP with 1:18 left. . . . It’s F Cody Sylvester going off for high-sticking. . . . Broda is on the PK and he’s been a threat tonight. Brandon better be aware of him. . . . D Travis Hamonic drives one through traffic and just inside his left post. Jones doesn’t even move. . . . There are 10.6 seconds lefts and it’s even at 3. . . . Brandon has a 34-19 edge in shots as the period ends and the crowd really is back in this one. . . . There’s a skirmish at the Calgary net as the period ends but nothing comes of it.

Game 7 . . . first period

FIRST PERIOD:
The winner of this one moves into Sunday’s final against the Windsor Spitfires, who are 3-0 but haven’t played since Tuesday. . . . Calgary is the home team tonight, meaning it gets last change. It also means Brandon will defend the north end in the first and third periods, and that is where most of the goofy bounces have occurred. . . . Hey, that looks like Brad McCrimmon on the red carpet tonight. The Detroit Red Wings assistant coach was a defenceman with the Wheat Kings in the late 1970s and is the older brother of Kelly McCrimmon, the Wheat Kings’ owner/GM and head coach. . . . McCrimmon is afforded a raucous standing ovation that is cut short by the public address voice. . . . Hey, you’re free to join us for a live chat over at ca.sports.yahoo.com. . . . Calgary has F Brandon Kozun back in the lineup but the pregame sheet shows him on the fourth line, alongside Cody Beach and MacKenzie Royer. . . . Might that be an attempt by Calgary head coach Mike Williamson not to show all his cards? . . . Of course, Brandon’s lineup has Scott Glennie on what would be a third line, while Mark Stone is shown with Matt Calvert and Brayden Schenn. . . . Stone is in the starting lineup with those two. . . . Brandon opens with two 30-second shifts and a look as though they will forecheck with two skaters. . . . Wheat Kings are more aggressive in the offensive zone and the shifts are shorter than in any of their previous three games. . . . Kozun’s first shift comes with Misha Fisenko and Del Cowan. . . . Kozun looked fine on his first shift. . . . Calgary is getting great mileage out of the Foucault-Bubnick-Shattock line. Brandon can’t seem to handle those three. . . . Kozun runs at D Mark Schneider, falls down and gets up, and looks to be moving just fine. . . . Calgary D Kyle Aschim rings one off a post. . . . First TV timeout. Brandon had the edge early, but the first shift by the Bubnick line seized the momentum. . . . Brandon F Brent Raedeke has a great chance from in tight and Jones gets a shoulder on it. . . . There’s Jones with his blocker on a short-side attempt by Schenn. . . . Brandon D Darren Bestland is going off for intereference — they call it boarding. He hit F Cody Beach before the puck got there. . . . Kozun is out there on the PP. . . . Jones robs Calvert. Best save of the tournament. Fans had that one on the board. . . . Schenn gave him the open net and Jones got across and got his right leg on the shot. . . . Jones is well out of the paint on a Schenn attempt, then Calgary goes down, F Joel Broda is by himself on top of the crease, gets two attempts and it’s 1-0. . . . Broda is a pure sniper and you have to be aware of him at all times. . . . Gotta have better defensive zone coverage than that. . . . And now it’s 2-0 as Hitmen captain Ian Schultz scores with 4:17 to play. . . . The crowd doesn’t know what to do. . . . Jones kicks out another Schenn attempt. . . . And Jones makes two more saves on Schenn. . . . Glennie takes a hit and it looks like his left arm is hanging a bit. . . . Calgary scores twice in nine seconds to take a 2-0 lead and you can chalk it up to Jones. He has made three or four magnificent saves. . . . Brandon F Toni Rajala has the puck in close and hits Jones in the logo. . . . It’s 2-0 after one. Calgary has a 14-13 edge in shots.

Semifinal Friday . . . more pregame

DAY 8 AT THE 2010 MASTERCARD MEMORIAL CUP . . .

UPDATE: The Brandon Wheat Kings have scratched F Jesse Sinatynski, D Jordan Hale and D Ryley Miller. . . F Scott Glennie, who left Wednesday’s game in the second period, is in the lineup. . . . They are starting Jacob DeSerres in goal. . . . The Calgary Hitmen have scratched D Peter Kosterman, D Jaynen Rissling, who was injured in the first period of Game 1 here, F Justin Kirsch and F Rigby Burgart. . . . Kirsch played in Wednesday’s 5-1 victory over Brandon, taking the spot of F Cody Sylvester, who was ill. With F Brandon Kozun (ankle) back in tonight, Burgart comes out. . . . G Martin Jones, who has won five straight starts against Brandon, is in goal for Calgary, as he has been through all of this tournament. . . . The referees are Nicolas Dutil (QMJHL) and Pat Smith (WHL). . . . The linesmen are Justin Hull and Trent Knorr.
———
SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT: A victory over Calgary would send Brandon into the Memorial Cup final for the first time since 1979, when it lost 2-1 in OT to the Peterborough Petes in Verdun, Que. . . . The Wheat Kings lost in the Memorial Cup semifinal in 1995 (Kamloops) and 1996 (Peterborough). . . . Kelly McCrimmon, the Wheat Kings’ owner/GM and head coach, played on that 1978-79 Wheat Kings but had a broken arm and sat out the 1979 Memorial Cup. . . . This semifinal marks the 11th time this season that Brandon and Calgary have faced each other. The Wheat Kings won the regular-season series 3-0-0-1. Calgary won the Eastern Conference final, 4-1. . . . And, of course, Calgary won 5-1 here on Wednesday to earn home-team designation in the semifinal. . . . Brandon had the WHL’s best regular-season home record (28-6-0-2), but has lost six of its last eight games at Westman Place. . . . This season, the Hitmen are 4-1 against the Wheat Kings in Westman Place.

Semifinal Friday . . . pregame

DAY 8 AT THE 2010 MASTERCARD MEMORIAL CUP . . .

It’s semifinal Friday, which means it’s the Calgary Hitmen against the host Brandon Wheat Kings.
The Hitmen, the WHL champions, will be designated as the home team, thanks to a 5-1 victory over Brandon Wednesday in the final round-robin game of what started as a four-team tournament.
Let’s take a look at some numbers . . .
13-3: That is Calgary’s record against Brandon in WHL playoff and Memorial Cup games over the last four seasons. The Hitmen swept the Wheat Kings from the WHL Eastern Conference final last season and took them out in five games this season.
11-2: That is the combined scored of the last two games between these teams. Calgary won Game 5 of the WHL final 6-1 and dropped the Wheat Kings 5-1 here Wednesday.
5-1: That was the score, in Calgary’s favour, after the first period on Wednesday.
10: The Calgary line that features Jimmy Bubnick between Kris Foucault and Tyler Shattock had 10 points in the first period of Wednesday’s game.
12: Bubnick, Foucault and Shattock were a combined plus-12 in that first period.
8: Bubnick leads the Memorial Cup scoring race with eight points, two more than Windsor Spitfires LW Taylor Hall. Foucault and Shattock each has six points.
6: Bubnick was a sixth-round pick of the Atlanta Thrashers in the NHL’s 2009 draft. He has yet to sign with them.
1: Hall will be a first-round selection in the 2010 NHL draft and may very well go first overall to the Edmonton Oilers.
5: The Wheat Kings have played three games here and are 1-2. In each of their losses, they gave up five goals in the first period.
17: The combined points of Bubnick, Shattock, D Giffen Nyren and D Zak Stebner, four players the Hitmen acquired from the Kamloops Blazers during the season.
1: The number of defending champions waiting in the wings. The winner will play the defending-champion Windsor Spitfires in Sunday’s final. The Spitfires are 3-0 and easily have been the best team here. A stumble on Sunday, however, and all of that is forgotten.
39: The number of shots on goal the Wheat Kings had in Wednesday’s loss to Calgary. However, after Brandon tied the game 1-1 early in the first period, G Martin Jones slammed the door.
———
The Hitmen will have F Brandon Kozun back in the lineup for this semifinal game. How effective he will re remains to be seen.
Kozun was injured in Game 5 of the WHL final, a series in which the Hitmen beat the Tri-City Americans in five games. He was hurt when he went heavily — feet-first — into the boards. That occurred on May 7. He was off skates until May 13 when he took a brief spin around the ice here.
Kozun then sat out Calgary’s first game here, before trying to play in what turned into a 6-2 loss to the Windsor Spitfires on Monday. He was completely ineffective and really labouring in the few shifts he saw, and he wasn’t dressed for Wednesday’s 5-1 victory over Brandon.
However, he skated Thursday, which was an off-day here. Reports are that he looked a whole lot better, and he said he felt a lot better.
Kozun led the WHL in regular-season scoring, with 107 points. He also led the playoff scoring race, with 22 points.
Calgary head coach Mike Williamson told me shortly after Wednesday’s game that Kozun would play in the semifinal.
Perhaps Kozun’s presence will help the Calgary power play, which is 1-for-9 through three games.
———
F Ian Schultz, Calgary’s captain, didn’t skate Thursday but will play tonight. He took a shot by Brandon D Travis Hamonic off a hand Wednesday and chose to rest the arm.
Calgary also should have F Cody Sylvester back in the lineup tonight. He missed Wednesday’s game with the flu, something that allowed F Justin Kirsch to get into the lineup.
And the CHL’s discipline committee chose not to suspend Calgary F Rigby Burgart for the cross-checking major and game misconduct he incurred late in Wednesday’s game. So he will be available tonight, as well.
———
And what of Scott Glennie?
Glennie, who plays on Brandon’s top line alongside Brayden Schenn and Matt Calvert, left that Wednesday game in the second period and didn’t return.
Brandon GM/head coach Kelly McCrimmon said after the game that he didn’t think whatever was wrong with Glennie was serious, but that doctors didn’t want him going back into the game at the time.
The way McCrimmon spoke, I wondered at the time if Glennie might have a concussion; however, McCrimmon indicated Thursday that Glennie appeared to twisted his body awkwardly while attempting to make a check.
We may not find out until the pregame warmup whether Glennie is to play. He didn’t skate Thursday and wasn’t made available to the media.
Glennie had 89 points in 66 regular-season games, before adding 10 in 15 playoff assignments. He has one assist in three games here.
In fact, his line has combined for just five points, with Schenn and Calvert each having a goal and an assist.

Of Paul Kelly, expansion and all the rest . . .

Ron Robison, the WHL commissioner, and QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau addressed the media Friday before the semifinal game at the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup.
David Branch, the CHL president and OHL commissioner, wasn’t able to attend, after having to return to Toronto to deal with a personal matter.
Robison used the occasion, following a question from the floor, to fire a volley at Paul Kelly, the former NHLPA executive director who has taken to sniping at the CHL from his post as the boss of College Hockey Inc.
“Our view is that I don’t believe any . . . hockey association or authority . . . should restrict the movement of a player and his desire to play in the best development league in the world,” Robison said. “Whether you’re American, Canadian or otherwise, I think the players have recognized . . . that this is the best league in the world to develop as a junior-aged player.
“As leagues, we’re responsible to promote our programs. Our scholarship program in our view is second to none in North American, and it has been recognized by families who are committing to our league.
“Our position is simply that we will continue to promote our programs and not attack others.
“We are disappointed in Mr. Kelly’s approach to the Canadian Hockey League. We are more concerned about the information being provided to families that, quite frankly, is not accurate whatsoever.”
———
Robison, as WHL commissioner, has been wearing a smile for most of this week, simply because the league’s decision to give the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup to Brandon has paid off.
In fact, Brandon has done such a terrific job this week that it may well open the door for smaller markets to get in on the bidding to play host to this event.
Brandon, “a traditional smaller-size junior hockey market, with a 5,000-capacity (arena) has demonstrated . . . centres of this size are more than capable of hosting an event of this nature,” Robison said. “We’re looking forward to that interest being expressed in future bids.”
Robison said he already has heard expressions of interest from “many franchises that we never envisioned would come forward to indicate they have an interest in hosting a MasterCard Memorial Cup in the future.”
While there is nothing official, I’ve been told that the Kelowna Rockets, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Saskatoon Blades all are interested in playing host to the 2013 tournament.
———
For 2010-11 season, all 60 CHL team websites will be converted to a standard templated, along with all three league websites and the CHL website.
“This redesign and integration will mark the largest ever Canadian sports online network launch,” Robison said, promising more exciting content, more video and “streamlined design that will help fans, media and other interest parties in following the Canadian Hockey League and its members clubs throughout the course of the regular season.”
———
Robison was asked whether the WHL, now at 22 teams, continues to look at expanding to Vancouver Island.
“My position is the same as it has been,” he said. “We never envisioned getting beyond 20 teams . . . let alone 22. We are at a more significant number than we would ideally like to be. But there is great demand for our product.
“We have a great supply of talent that we rely on, but I think we’ve pushed that to a level . . . we’re really monitoring the quality of the play of the game in our league.
“As far as future expansion, we’re not ruling it out at this point in time, but we don’t see it in the foreseeable future.”
———
And it sounds very much as though there will be an outdoor game in the WHL's immediate future.
"We continue to look at the feasibility," Robison said. "We’ve had four or five markets in contact ith us. We took a very close look at in partnership with Hockey Canada as part of the World Junior Championship in Saskatchewan. That didn’t come together for a variety of reasons.
"We are continuing to pursue it in a number of markets. We hope to have an announcement . . . we’re even looking at it as early as next season . . .”