F Jannik Hansen (Portland, 2005-06) signed a lockout contract with Tappara Tampere (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had 16 goals and 23 assists in 82 games with the Vancouver Canucks last season. Hansen arrived in Finland on Tuesday and will be in Tappara's lineup Thursday against KalPa Kuopio. . . .
D Brendan Mikkelson (Portland, Vancouver, 2003-07) signed a lockout contract with Västerås (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had three goals and 12 assists in 33 games with the Abbotsford Heat (AHL) and one goal and two assists with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. Mikkelson is expected to join the club, which includes fellow NHL locked-out players F Mikael Backlund (Kelowna, 2008-09) and F Patrik Berglund in time for Thursday's game against Mora. Mikkelson's signing puts Västerås one over the limit of two non-EU players allowed per team, the other two being Brady Leisenring and David Lundbohm, both Americans. Västerås GM Niklas Johansson says: "We are fully aware and have a plan we will follow. It's no secret that our great need right now is on the back end." Leisenring and Lundbohm are both forwards, with Leisenring having eight goals and seven assists in 13 games to lead the team in scoring so far this season. Lundbohm just returned from a loan to TuTo Turku (Finland, Mestis), where he had five goals and five assists in 15 games, and has yet to play a game for Västerås this season. . . .
F Joffrey Lupul (Medicine Hat, 2000-03) signed a lockout contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (Russia, KHL). He had 25 goals and 42 assists in 66 games with Toronto Maple Leafs last season. . . .
F Brett McLean (Tacoma/Kelowna, Brandon, 1994-99) signed a one-year contract extension with Lugano (Switzerland, NL A). He has four goals and seven assists in 17 games with Lugano this season. McLean signed a one-year extension with Lugano in March after joining the club in January from the Rockford Ice Hogs (AHL). The current extension now ties McLean to Lugano through the end of next season.
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Here’s a little extra from The MacBeth Report, who writes that he “came across this little bit from Greg Wyshynski (Puck Daddy). A fan went after Benn Olson after the game between Coventry and Cardiff in Cardiff on Sunday. Olson and Mike Egener, both with Coventery, are involved.”
Olson and Egener are former WHLers.
The video is right here.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
F Shane McColgan scored on the PP to break a 2-2 tie and give the visiting Saskatoon Blades a 3-2 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Regina F Lane Scheidl pulled the Pats even at 12:10, only to have McColgan score his third goal of the season 53 seconds later. . . . Scheidl also scored a first-period PP goal that ended a Blades’ run of 22 consecutive successful kills. . . . Saskatoon G Andrew Makarov made his ninth straight start. . . . The Blades had a 10-day layoff prior to this game. . . . Regina has lost three straight games now. . . . The Pats lost freshman D Colby Williams in the first period after he took a hit to the head and suffered a deep cut. . . .
In Prince Albert, F Leon Draisaitl scored the only goal of the circus as the Raiders beat the Swift Current Broncos, 2-1. . . . Draisaitl scored his third goal of the season, at 2:47 of the third, via the PP, to tie the score 1-1. . . . A 17-year-old from Cologne, Germany, Draisaitl had three assists in a 5-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday. His mother and sister have been in attendance at his last two games. . . . Prince Albert G Luke Siemens improved to 9-3-2 with a 30-save effort . . . The Broncos have played 11 games against East Division and have lost six of them. However, they got loser points in five of those so are 5-1-5, which is a .682 winning percentage. . . . Dave Leaderhouse of the Prince Albert Herald reports that the Raiders scratched F Dakota Conroy, D Shayne Gwinner and F Davis Vandane, all of whom were “suspended for violating team rules.” . . . 
F Nathan Burns scored the only goal of the circus as the Vancouver Giants beat the Hurricanes 4-3 in Lethbridge. . . . Burns was the only one of eight shooters to score. . . . Vancouver F Dalton Sward forced OT with his third goal of the season at 19:10 of the third. . . . F Marek Tvrdon had two assists as he ran his point streak to a career-best nine games. . . . Vancouver G Liam Liston, who played 24 games with the Hurricanes last season, stopped 26 shots for his first victory this season. He’s 1-6-0. . . . F Russell Maxwell had his 11th goal and two assists for Lethbridge. He has 19 points after totalling 31 points, including 15 goals, in 72 games last season. . . .
F Colin Smith scored the only goal of the circus to give the Kamloops Blazers a 3-2 victory over the Silvertips in Everett. . . . The victory allowed the Blazers to set a franchise record for consecutive victories (14). . . . The Blazers are 16-0-1 and remain the CHL’s only team not have been beaten in regulation time. . . . Everett F Ryan Harrison scored his club’s first goal and it was his 200th career regular-season point. . . . The last WHL team to win 14 in a row? Everett and the Kootenay Ice did it in 2009-10. The Edmonton Oil Kings went on a 22-game run last season that overlapped with the playoffs.
D Mike Aviani had two goals and two assists to lead the host Spokane Chiefs to an 8-2 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Aviani has 10 goals this season. . . . Chiefs D Brenden Kichton scored his club’s seventh goal — it was his 50th career goal and 200th point. . . . Spokane D Tyler King had a goal and two assists. . . . Spokane F Todd Fiddler scored his ninth and 10th goals. . . . The Chiefs are 7-0-0 at home and 11-5-0 overall.———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Sam Grist, Kamloops
CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Tanner Moar, Vancouver.
F Jackson Houck, Vancouver.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From WHL fan Terry Massey (@TerryMassey): “Dear @whl why do the pucks keep breaking? #cheap #noslapshotsrestofthegame #rubberpuckshereonin”
This was after two pucks broke just seconds apart during the first period of last night’s game in Regina.
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From Dan Russell (@DanRussellCKNW): “Can a WHL win in October be classified as ‘huge’??? If so, that was a huge win for Saskatoon tonight in Regina.”
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