F Tomas Polak (Red Deer, 2007-09) was recalled from loan to Most (Czech Republic, 1.Liga) by Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga) and reassigned to Bernousti Medvedi (Czech Republic, 1.Liga). Polak had three assists in 11 games during his assignment to Most. . . .
Bernousti Medvedi has released F Radek Meidl (Seattle, Tri-City, 2006-08) from his try-out contract. Meidl had three goals and two assists in 14 games during his try-out.
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The book that is referenced over there on the right, Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos, has been popping up in various bookstores.
If you are at all interested in it, you may want to know something about Leesa Culp, who was instrumental in bringing this project to fruition.
There is a story on her and her involvement right here.
If you missed it (and one or two of you likely did), I appeared with Bob Stauffer on 630 CHED in Edmonton on Thursday to talk about the book. I was followed on air by former WHLer Peter Soberlak and Brian Costello of The Hockey News. If you visit CHED's website, you will find an archive where you are able to listen to back programming. We were on in the hour from noon to 1 p.m.
I also did an interview with Cam Moon, the radio voice of the Red Deer Rebels, and he plans on playing that during two intermissions of one game on the team’s current road trip.
On top of that, Dan Russell of Sportstalk, the nightly show on Vancouver radio station CKNW, has done a one-hour interview that is to be played one night next week and one more time before Christmas.
I also will be chatting with Pat Siedlecki, the radio voice of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, on his weekly show on Monday evening.
And there are regular appearances with Drew Wilson, the play-by-play voice of the Prince Albert Raiders on CKBI. The most recent of those was last Monday.
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The host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup and a team hoping to be the host in 2016 got together on a deal on Friday.
The Saskatoon Blades, who will play in the 2013 tournament as the host team, acquired F Nathan Burns, 19, from the Vancouver Giants for F Travis McEvoy, 18, a third-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft and a first-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. (The Brandon Wheat Kings have an option on that selection through a deal in which Saskatoon acquired F Brenden Walker over the summer. The Wheat Kings can flip picks in that first round.)Burns, from Edmonton, has nine points and 18 penalty minutes in 15 games with the
Giants this season. He was in the Blades’ lineup last night when they met the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook. Burns, a seventh-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft, is the younger brother of former Blades F Michael Burns.McEvoy, from Thorsby, Alta., had 11 points in 64 games last season and had four assists in 13 games with the Blades this season. He is expected to make his Giants debut tonight in Cranbrook against the Ice.
At 6-foot-0 and 210 pounds, McEvoy gives the Giants a big centre, something coveted by head coach Don Hay, especially on a team that began this season rather smallish up front.
The Giants, who lost 5-1 to the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Thursday to fall to 4-11-0, now hold seven selections in the first three rounds of the 2013 bantam draft -- two firsts, two seconds and three thirds — and, of course, two picks in the first-round of the 2014 draft.
While the Giants haven’t made an official announcement, they are expected to bid to play host to the 2016 Memorial Cup tournament. When that happens, you can expect them to be the favourites to win that right.
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The Kootenay Ice have added another veteran forward to its roster. On Friday, the ice acquired F Zach McPhee, 19, from the Everett Silvertips for a conditional seventh-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft. McPhee, who is from Vernon, B.C., had left the Silvertips earlier this season after going pointless in 11 games. Last season, he had 10 points in 34 games.———
Hey, before we look at Friday’s games, if you’re a stats person, zip on over to the QMJHL website and check out its online scoresheets. They include faceoff stats, shots by skaters, and hits. Well, WHL, what are you waiting for?
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Brandon G Corbin Boes stopped 40 shots to help the Wheat Kings to a 3-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . F Nick Buonassisi broke a 2-2 tie with his seventh goal at 15:10 of the third period. . . . This was Brandon’s first home game after a seven-game road trip that ended in Prince George on Saturday. . . . Moose Jaw is 1-6-1 on the road now. The Warriors have scored only 14 goals in those games, with 10 of them coming via the PP. . . . F Jordan Messier scored his first goal for the Warriors since being acquired from the Tri-City Americans. He showed up with an undisclosed injury and has played in only five games with Moose Jaw. This was his first game after a five-game absence. In this game, he also took a big hit from Brandon D Ryley Miller. . . . Moose Jaw D Kendall McFaull (flu) sat out and the Warriors lost F Justin Kirsch with an undisclosed injury in the first period. . . . F Ryley Lindgren, who co-leads the Manitoba midget AAA league in scoring with the Winnipeg Thrashers, was in Brandon’s lineup and earned an assist. Lindgren had quite a week. He had a goal and an assist on Wednesday as the Thrashers beat the visiting Kenora Thistles, 6-4. On Thursday night, Lindgren had an assist in helping the MJHL’s Selkirk Steelers to a 4-3 shootout victory over the host Virden Oil Capitals. . . . In three games in three nights in three leagues in three levels, Lindgren had a goal and three assists. . . . A fifth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, Lindgren has 18 points in 12 games with the Thrashers. . . .
In Cranbrook, F Shane McColgan’s OT goal gave the Saskatoon Blades a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . McColgan got his fourth goal of the season at 3:06 of extra time. . . . Ice F Erik Benoit forced OT with his third goal at 9:11 of the third period. . . . Saskatoon F Josh Nicholls had two goals, giving him 14, and an assist. . . . F Zach McPhee drew an assist and was plus-1 in his first game with the Ice. . . . . . . F Nathan Burns, acquired by Saskatoon earlier in the day from Vancouver, was pointless in his debut with the Blades. . . . The Blades, who got off to such a shaky start, are 2-0 since returning from a 10-day break in their schedule. . . .
In Lethbridge, F Jay Merkley scored twice as the Hurricanes scored the game’s first four goals and beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 5-2. . . . Merkley has seven goals. . . . Medicine Hat G Cam Lanigan, named the WHL’s goaltender of the month earlier in the week, was gone in the second period after giving up four goals on 28 shots. Marek Langhamer relieved him and stopped 24 of 25 shots. . . . The Hurricanes are 3-0-1 in their last four outings. . . .
The host Prince Albert Raiders erased a 2-0 deficit and beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 3-2. . . . Edmonton led 2-0 at 14:08 of the second period. . . . Raiders F Jonas Knutsen broke a 2-2 tie with his second goal at 12:33 of the third period. . . . Raiders G Luke Siemens stopped 37 shots. . . . D David Musil was pointless and plus-1 in his debut with the Oil Kings, who acquired him earlier in the week from the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Raiders have won three in a row and lead the East Division by five points over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Raiders also lead the Eastern Conference by three points over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Oil Kings began a six-game road swing that has them in Swift Current tonight and Kamloops on Tuesday. . . .
F Brooks Macek scored two empty net goals as the Calgary Hitmen beat the Pats 4-1 in Regina. . . . The Pats have lost four in a row. . . . Macek, whose goals both came in the final minute, also had an assist. . . . Calgary G Chris Driedger stopped 30 shots. . . . Macek has nine goals this season. . . .
The host Swift Current Broncos erased a 2-1 deficit with three goals early in the third period and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-3. . . . Swift Current F Graham Black, who scored twice, tied the game 17 seconds into the third and F Adam Lowry and F Chance Lund, who was acquired from Seattle over the summer, scored at 3:48 and 4:25, both goals coming shorthanded on the same Thunderbirds PP. . . . This was the start of Seattle’s six-game East Division swing. . . .
The Kamloops Blazers got shootout goals from F Brendan Ranford and F Cole Ully to beat the visiting Prince George Cougars, 2-1. . . . Kamloops F Matt Needham forced OT with his fourth goal at 1:36 of the third period. . . . D Marc McNulty scored for the Cougars in the second period. I checked and he isn’t related to The Wire’s Jimmy McNulty. . . . The Blazers went 5-1-0 as they played six games over an eight-day stretch. . . . Kamloops F Dylan Willick left in OT with an injury to his right leg after getting caught up in a mess of players during a scramble in the Blazers’ crease. . . . The Kamloops line of JC Lipon, Colin Smith and Tim Bozon have been held pointless for two straight games now. . . . 
F Ty Rattie had a goal and two assists to help the Portland Winterhawks beat the visiting Victoria Royals, 6-2. . . . Rattie is on a nine-game point streak, the longest in the WHL at the moment. . . . Rattie now has 22 points in 14 games. . . . F Nic Petan added two goals and an assist for the winners, while D Tyler Wotherspoon had three assists. . . . Petan has 24 points in 15 games. He has points in six straight and that includes five multi-point outings. . . . The Winterhawks have won seven in a row and are 7-0-1 in their last eight outings. . . . The Royals have lost three in a row. . . .
In Spokane, the Red Deer Rebels opened a five-game road trip with a 3-1 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Spokane remains without F Mitch Holmberg, who hasn’t played since taking a headshot on Oct. 26. . . . Red Deer F Turner Elson tied the game 1-1 at 6:19 of the second, via the PP, and F Wyatt Johnson got the winner at 9:35. . . . The goal was Johnson’s first in the WHL and came in his third game. Acquired from Vancouver earlier, he missed the start of the season with a concussion. . . . D Brady Gaudet, acquired from Kamloops last month, got Red Deer’s third goal. . . . Spokane had won its first seven home games. . . .
In Kennewick, Wash., F Marcus Strömwall got the winner as the Tri-City Americans beat the Everett Silvertips, 3-2. . . . Strömwall got his seventh goal, on the PP, at 6:59 of the third period to break a 2-2 tie. . . . The Americans, who are 4-0 against Everett this season, had lost their last three games. . . . Tri-City F Justin Feser drew two assists, giving him 150 in his career. That ties him with F Patrick Holland and F Ian McDonald for 12th on the Americans’ career list. . . . D Ryan Murray drew two assists for Everett.———
By the way, 17 of the WHL’s 22 teams are at .500 or better, thanks to the loser point.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Lukas Sutter, Saskatoon
D Macoy Erkamps, Lethbridge
D Cody Corbett, Edmonton
D Richard Nedomlel, Swift Current
F Joel Hamilton, Red Deer
CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Rinalds Rosinskis, Prince George
F JC Lipon, Kamloops
F Tanner Eberle, Moose Jaw
F Josh Uhrich, Moose Jaw
D Harrison Ruopp, Prince Albert
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Alan Caldwell (@smallatlarge), the proprietor of the Small Thoughts At Large blog that is linked over there on the right: “Am I the only one who doesn't care about the NHL cancelling the Winter Classic? Sick of these outdoor games. Done to death already.”
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