Taking Note

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Björn Svensson (Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, 2003-06) signed a one-month contract with Sierre (Switzerland, NL B) and had one goal and two assists in his first game with the club on Saturday, a 6-3 victory over Lausanne. He went pointless in six exhibition games during a one month tryout with Eisbären Berlin (Germany, DEL) in August. Last season, Svensson has four goals and 14 assists in 55 games for Timrå (Sweden, Elitserien).
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A couple of thoughts after watching the Medicine Hat Tigers score a 5-4 victory over the Blazers in Kamloops on Monday:
1. If you have the opportunity to watch the Tigers, get to the game. Right-winger Emerson Etem of the Tigers is worth it. Period. Etem, who is from Long Beach, Calif., has 12 goals in seven games and, with his combination of size and speed, has an opportunity to have one of those magical seasons.
2. Have you ever been punched directly on a temple? If so, you know it can stun you. In the third period, Kamloops D Josh Caron punched Medicine Hat F Kellan Tochkin on the right temple following a bit of a skirmish at the Tigers’ blue line. Tochkin went down in a hurry. Caron was hit with a double roughing minor. One of the two referees signalled for Tochkin to get up and go to the penalty box. However, Tochkin appeared a bit woozy, so trainer Mikki Lanuk came out, helped him up and took him to the hallway behind the bench, if not to the dressing room. While the announcement was a roughing penalty to Tochkin — for what, I can’t imagine — the online scoresheet showed him with an embellishment minor. That, folks, is a pretty tough embellishment call! (I attempted on numerous occasions to get on the WHL website after midnight, in order to see if that call was changed, but it would appear that the site was experiencing server problems.)
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SOME MONDAY HIGHLIGHTS:
In  Moose Jaw, G Luke Siemens stopped 21 shots to lead the Warriors to a 6-0 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . It was his first shutout this season and the third of his career. . . . D Collin Bowman and F Torrin White each scored twice for Moose Jaw. . . . D Joshua Smith of the Cougars picked up a kneeing major early in the second period and can count on hearing from the WHL office. . . . The Warriors lost F Sebastian Svendsen on that play and Moose Jaw head coach Mike Stothers told Katie Brickman of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald that Svendsen “could be out for a while.” Svendsen, a 20-year-old from Denmark, will be re-evaluated today.
In Vancouver, F Brendan Gallagher scored his 100th WHL goal in the game’s first minute and the Giants went on to beat the Victoria Royals, 5-1. . . . Gallagher finished the first period with a goal and two assists, and finished the game with three goals and two helpers. . . . He has seven goals in four games. . . . Gallagher also is closing in on some Giants’ career marks. He now has 102 goals, third on the all-time list, behind Mitch Bartley (107) and Adam Courchaine (126). Gallagher also has 110 assists — 45 shy of Jon Blum’s franchise record. Gallagher’s 212 points is 61 behind Courchaine’s record. . . . James Henry and Marek Tvrdon, Gallagher’s linemates, each had a goal ad two assists. . . . The Giants continue to play without D Neil Manning (back) and he is expected to miss at least another week.
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JUST NOTES: The WHL’s board of governors will convene in Calgary this week and on Wednesday will announce the host city for the 2013 Memorial Cup. It’s down to Kelowna, Red Deer and Saskatoon. . . . The Spokane Chiefs have returned G Zach Rakochy, 18, to the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. He got into one game with the Chiefs. The move leaves the Chiefs with two goaltenders — Mac Engel and Luke Lee-Knight, who was acquired from the Prince Albert Raiders last month. . . . F Brett Connolly picked up his first NHL point, an assist, on Monday as his Tampa Bay Lightning dropped a 6-5 shootout decision to the host Washington Capitals. Connolly drew the secondary assist on F Dominic Moore’s goal 56 seconds into the second period. All told, Connolly, who has to be returned to the Prince George Cougars if the doesn’t stay with Tampa Bay, played 17 shifts for 12 minutes 46 seconds. That included a 57-second shift on a third-period penalty. . . . Meanwhile, in Columbus, the Blue Jackets made F Ryan Johansen of the Portland Winterhawks a healthy scratch for the second straight game.
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The always readable Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail takes a look at Kevin Cheveldayoff, the general manager of the Winnipeg Jets, and how he got to where he is today.
That piece is right here.
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For today’s good read, we go to grantland.com and Michael Weinreb, who writes about quarterback Anthony Cavillo of the Montreal Alouettes, who has passed for more yards than any quarterback in the history of pro football.
That story is right here. 

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
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