Tuesday, May 14, 2013

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Kenndal McArdle (Moose Jaw, Vancouver, 2002-07) signed a one-year contract with Västerås (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had seven goals and 15 assists in 31 games with the Greenville Road Warriors (ECHL) and three goals and two assists in 30 games with the Rockford Ice Hogs (AHL) this
season.
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In a piece headlined Might and Right, Charles Pierce writes that with another season on the horizon "this is a perilous time for the NFL." That piece is right here, and hockey people should read this with interest.
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The Portland Winterhawks won the WHL championship in Edmonton on Sunday evening, and arrived home later that night. Paul Buker of The Oregonian has a piece right here that details the arrival and the beginning of Memorial Cup preparations.
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"Even without him at games, the Hawks didn't get there without Mike Johnston," writes Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune. His column is right here.
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The Vancouver Giants will make it official today – Bruce Allen, who manages some big names in the world of entertainment, has purchased a chunk of the WHL franchise. Among Allen’s clients if Michael Buble, who also owns a piece of the Giants. . . . Ron Toigo remains the franchise’s majority owner.
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The Kamloops Blazers have re-signed Craig Bonner, the organization’s executive vice-president and general manager. Bonner’s original five-year contract was to expire this offseason. . . . The Blazers didn’t announce any details, except for it being "a multi-year contract extension." . . . Kamloops is 188-143-29 with Bonner as GM, thanks to a pair of back-to-back 47-20-5 seasons in 2011-12 and 2012-13. The Blazers finished atop the B.C. Division in 2011-12 and were eliminated by the Portland Winterhawks in the second round of playoffs. This season, they were ousted by Portland in the Western Conference final. . . . Head coach Guy Charron and associate head coach Dave Hunchak, who have worked together for two seasons, are on contracts that expire this offseason. Don’t be surprised if Hunchak ends up as the head coach before another season gets here, with Charron, should he choose to stay on, remaining on the coaching staff in a secondary role. . . . Of course, there has been speculation that Dean Chynoweth could end up as the next head coach of the NHL's Colorado Avalanche. Should that happen, might he make an offer to Hunchak to join him as an assistant coach? The two spent three seasons with the Swift Current Broncos, with Chynoweth as head coach and Hunchak as assistant coach.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed F Scott Eansor, 17, of Denver to a WHL contract. Eansor played for the minor midget Colorado Thunderbirds Tier 1 team in 2012-13. Seattle G Danny Mumaugh and D Griffin Foulk both came through that same Colorado program.
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The Tri-City Americans made it official on Monday – they have signed F Parker AuCoin, their first-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft, to a WHL contract. AuCoin, from Calgary, was the 15th player taken in the draft. Playing with the Calgary Northstar Sabres, he scored 63 goals in 33 games last season, the second-highest total in Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League history. F Ty Rattie scored 75 for the Airdrie Xtreme in 2007-08. . . . Including playoffs and tournaments, AuCoin had 135 points, including 91 goals, in 56 games.
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Three members of the Edmonton Oil Kings – F Travis Ewanyk, D Martin Gernat and D David Musil – have joined the AHL`s Oklahoma City Barons. . . . All three were selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL`s 2011 entry draft – Musil in the second round, Ewanyk in the third and Gernat in the fifth. . . . The Oil Barons are in an AHL playoff series with the Texas Stars. Last night, the Oil Barons beat the visiting Stars 4-0 to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Game 4 will be played in OKC on Wednesday night.
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A note from an avid fan of the Portland Winterhawks:
Here is an excerpt from an article I found on the official Memorial Cup website . . .
The Hawks will be making their fourth trip to the Memorial Cup tournament, having won the Memorial Cup in 1998 as WHL Champions and in 1982 as the host team. Portland opens their Memorial Cup round robin schedule versus Halifax on May 18th.
WRONG ... WRONG ... WRONG - This will be the Hawks FIFTH trip to the Memorial Cup:
1982 - WHL Champs
1983 - Host Team
1986 - Host Team
1998 - WHL Champs
2013 - WHL Champs
And finally – how many times will we hear the "talking heads" on Rogers refer to the upcoming Memorial Cup – as the "national championship" . . . (or something like that) – despite the fact a team based in Portland, Oregon, is competing?
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THE COACHING GAME:
Al Sims, the director of player personnel and head coach of the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets, has retired. Sims had been the Komets’ head coach for 10 seasons, including the last six in a row. This also was his 38th season in professional hockey, since he was a freshman defenceman with the NHL’s Boston Bruins in 1973-74.
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The Memorial Cup field is set after the host London Knights scored a 3-2 victory over the Barrie Colts in Game 7 of the OHL final las night. . . . This one ended in thrilling fashion as London F Bo Horvat broke a 2-2 tie with less than one second remaining in the third period. In fact, the clock showed 0.1 when Horvat scored. . . . It was his 16th goal of the playoffs. He had three winners in the final series. . . . Barrie was without F Mark Scheifele, who was injured during Game 6. . . .The Knights are the third team in OHL history to win a series after trailing 3-1 in games. The 1979 Peterborough Petes and 1990 Oshawa Generals also did it. . . . London is the 10th team in OHL history to win back-to-back championships. . . . The Knights will open the Memorial Cup on Friday against the host Saskatoon Blades. . . . The WHL-champion Portland Winterhawks meet the QMJHL-champion Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday. . . . Ryan Pyette of the London Free Press has more on Horvat's winning goal right here.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Passive Voice (@ZKlineWHRB): "How the hell does Hadfield let that happen? Does he know nothing about hockey? If you're in space and your team is winning YOU STAY IN SPACE"
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From Steve Murray (@NPsteve): "Well, if @cmdr_hadfield landed and the Leafs had won he wouldn't believe he was on earth."

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