Hurricanes add Baltram . . . Tigers stranded, game postponed . . . Lotz stones Wheat Kings

Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL) recalled F Andrej Šťastný (Vancouver, 2010-11) from Dukla Trenčín (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, with Slovan Bratislava, he had three goals and two assists in 29 games. In two games with Dukla Trenčín, he had one assist. . . .
Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL) recalled F Andrej Kudrna (Vancouver, Red Deer, 2008-11) from Banská Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, he had one assist in seven games with Slovan Bratislava and 12 goals and 15 assists with Banská Bystrica.
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THE LAST ON LEON . . .

Maybe it's just me, but I'm thinking there are some terrible optics surrounding the trade that got German F Leon Draisaitl, 19, to the Kelowna Rockets.
By now, you will be aware that Draisaitl, the third overall pick in the NHL’s 2014 draft, had been with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers after spending the last two seasons with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders.
At the moment, the Rockets are one of the WHL’s top two or three teams, while the Raiders are outside the playoff picture.
As a result, when the Oilers finally decided to return Draisaitl to the WHL, they dictated that it wouldn’t be with the Raiders. In fact, they pretty much told Prince Albert GM Bruno Campese that they wanted Draisaitl in Kelowna.
“I had a real specific destination in mind for Leon and I talked to Bruno Campese many times throughout the year, saying it was very unlikely that he’d be reassigned back to P.A.,” Oilers GM Craig MacTavish told Oilers Today. “. . . I think for obvious reasons, Kelowna was the destination for Leon and I think this is going to be extremely important for his development.”
Campese, meanwhile, was putting a positive spin on all of this.
“To have been able to get into a position to acquire assets at this time for us, it’s almost a gift,” Campese told Jeff D’Andrea of panow.com. “People can look at it in any way they want but, up to several days ago, we had nothing for Leon Draisaitl. Today, we’re sitting here announcing that we got two, we feel, quality players, plus a couple of draft picks which include the first-round pick.
“When you add all that to the mix, we feel we’ve been very fortunate.”
D’Andrea’s piece is right here.
Don’t forget, too, that Bruce Hamilton, who is the president and general manager of the Rockets, also is the chairman of the WHL’s board of governors. He also is on Hockey Canada’s management committee. He is, without a doubt, the most powerful man in the WHL today. At the same time, he is tight with a number of people in the Oilers’ front office, making you wonder if there was even one other team in the WHL that had a shot at landing Draisaitl. What if a team just outside the top four felt Draisaitl could push it over the top so offered up a couple of players and two first-round draft picks? Would that offer have been taken seriously? Or was this a one-way street with an NHL team operating as the traffic cop?
And if that was the case, as it certainly appears to have been, was it all OK with the other 21 teams?
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Meanwhile, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, in his weekly 30 Thoughts piece, writes that a European team actually inquired about acquiring Draisaitl’s services.
“Before Edmonton sent Leon Draisaitl back to the WHL,” Friedman writes, “a European team reached out about sending him there, a la William Nylander and Toronto. It appears that club was Adler Mannheim of the German Elite League. Draisaitl has a history in the city and the team is coached by Geoff Ward, who won a Stanley Cup as a Boston assistant in 2011. Might have been a nice fit, but obviously didn’t happen.”
Friedman’s latest 30 Thoughts piece is right here.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have claimed Austrian F Florian Baltram off waivers from the Seattle Thunderbirds. Baltram, 17, was released Monday by the Thunderbirds after Danish F Roberts Lipsbergs, 20, returned from the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder. . . . Baltram had a goal and four assists in 35 games with the Thunderbirds. . . . The Hurricanes also dropped F Dexter Bricker, 19, from their roster. He is expected to join the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs. Bricker, from Saskatoon, had three goals and an assist in 38 games.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers are having a tough time getting to Victoria, so tonight’s game against the Royals has been postponed until Thursday, 7 p.m. . . . It will be televised by Shaw-TV. . . . The Interior of B.C. was hit hard by snow from Sunday morning through early Tuesday morning. Kamloops, for example, experienced the largest single-event snowfall since 1927. As a result, a number of highways have been closed, mostly for avalanche control. . . . The Tigers arrived in Revelstoke on Tuesday at 1 a.m., only to find the highway ahead of them closed for avalanche control. In late afternoon, they decided to spend the night in Revelstoke. . . . Shortly after that decision was made, it was revealed that the highway may not open until at least noon today, which wouldn’t leave the Tigers nearly enough time to get over the Coquihalla Highway to the ferry. . . . Instead of playing three games in four nights in the B.C. Division, the Tigers now will play three-in-three as they are scheduled to meet the Giants in Vancouver on Friday and the Rockets in Kelowna on Saturday. . . . BTW, on Tuesday, there was a lot of freezing rain in the Interior.
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In lieu of the postponed game tonight, the Royals have invited fans to the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre for a meet-and-greet with head coach Dave Lowry and D Joe Hicketts, both of whom were part of Canada’s victory at the WJC in Toronto on Monday night. . . . The rest of the Royals also will be on hand. . . . It all starts at Gate 1, 6 p.m., with a 90-minute free skate to start at 6:30 p.m.
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With Tanner Faith’s season over thanks to a shoulder injury, the Kootenay Ice are in the market for a veteran defenceman, but general manager Jeff Chynoweth isn’t about to trade away any of his aces. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has more right here.
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The Regina Pats named F Braden Christoffer, 20, as their new captain on Tuesday. A new captain was needed after D Kyle Burroughs was dealt to the Medicine Hat Tigers on Monday. . . . Christoffer, from Sherwood Park, Alta., is in his third season with the Pats. . . . The Pats will go with F Patrick D’Amico, F Pavel Padakin and D Colby Williams as alternates.
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F Keegan Iverson of the Portland Winterhawks drew a two-game suspension for a match penalty he received on Sunday against the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. Iverson had tape on a hand during a fight in which an opponent was injured. . . . He will sit out games tonight and Friday in Spokane. . . .
F Garrett Armour of the Saskatoon Blades got a two-game suspension for a boarding major and game misconduct he incurred for a hit on F Jantzen Leslie of the visiting Everett Silvertips on Saturday. . . . The Blades’ next two games are Friday in Lethbridge and Saturday in Cranbrook.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:

In Brandon, the Everett Silvertips struck for three second-period goals and went on to beat the Wheat Kings, 5-0. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz, a native of St. Adolphe, Man., had family and friends on hand as he made his first career start in his home province a great one. He made 39 saves, including 21 in the first period. . . . He has three shutouts this season and nine in his career. . . . Everett was 3-for-7 on the PP, gettings its first two goals with the man advantage. . . . F Carson Stadnyk scored twice, giving him 15, while F Ivan Nikolishin had two assists. . . . F Remi Laurencelle added his eighth goal and an assist, while F Patrick Bajkov got his 13th goal and also had an assist. . . . D Reid Gow, who left the U of Manitoba Bisons to join the Wheat Kings, made his Brandon debut. . . . The Wheat Kings scratched F Rihards Bukarts with an undisclosed injury and D Ivan Provorov, who played for Russia at the WJC. . . . The Silvertips remain without D Kevin Davis, who has an undisclosed injury. . . . Everett (24-11-4) is 3-0-0 on a six-game East Division swing that continues tonight in Regina. . . . The Wheat Kings (29-8-4) had won five straight and had points in each of their previous 10 games (8-0-2). . . .

In Moose Jaw, the Calgary Hitmen scored three first-period goals and went on to a 6-1 victory over the Warriors. . . . F Connor Rankin scored his 19th goal, on a PP, at 3:07 of the first and F Carsen Twarynski got his third 1:14 later as the Hitmen got off to a hot start. . . . F Adam Tambellini upped the lead to 3-0, with his 23rd, at 16:29. . . . Tambellini finished with two goals and an assist, while F Chase Lang got his 17th goal and added an assist. . . . Calgary D Jake Bean, 16, had three assists. He’s got 18 points, all assists, in 29 games. . . . G Brendan Burke, acquired from Portland on Tuesday, hadn’t yet joined the Hitmen, so they had Thomas Spence of Moose Jaw backing up Mack Shields. It was the fourth time that Spence, 18, has served as an emergency backup in a WHL game. . . . D Reid Zalitach, 18, who left the Warriors for personal reasons early in November, has returned to the team. He was a scratch from this one and likely won’t play for a week as he works on his conditioning. . . . D Connor Clouston, acquired by the Warriors from the Kamloops Blazers earlier in the day, wasn’t in Moose Jaw in time to play. . . . Moose Jaw F Brayden Point, part of the golden Canadian team at the WJC, was to have played, but his equipment didn’t arrive in time. . . . Calgary F Jake Virtanen, who also played for Canada, wasn’t scheduled to play. . . . The Hitmen lost F Taylor Sanheim to a headshot major and game misconduct at 15:02 of the second period. . . . The Hitmen (22-15-3) have won two in a row. . . . The Warriors slipped to 16-21-4. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has a game story right here. . . . He also has a story right here on the Warriors’ Tuesday trades.

In Prince George, the Cougars scored five times in the third period and beat the Tri-City Americans, 8-4. . . . The Americans took a 4-3 lead into the third period. . . . Cougars F Zach Pochiro tied it with his eighth goal at 2:57 of the third period and F Colby McAuley gave his guys the lead with his third of the season at 6:56. . . . F Brad Morrison had two goals, giving him 14, and two assists for the Cougars. He also was plus-5. . . . F Chase Witala, playing his 200th regular-season game with Prince George, got his 22nd goal. . . . Cougars F Jansens Harkins had three assists. . . . The Americans got two goals from F Beau McCue, giving him 16. . . . The Americans had D Mark Drohan in their lineup. A 16-year-old from Calgary, he plays for the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons. He is expected to return to Fort McMurray after the Americans and Cougars play in Prince George again tonight. The Cougars (20-21-0) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Americans (18-19-2) have lost four in a row (0-3-1).
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Compete is not a noun. I'm looking at you, athletes, coaches and scouts. I cringe every time someone says, "His compete is... blah, blah."
— Cory Wolfe (@corywolfe) January 7, 2015

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Andrej Stastny (Vancouver, 2010-11) signed a two-year contract with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL) after a successful try-out. He had 11 goals and 18 assists in 50 games with Dukla Trencin (Slovakia, Extraliga) last season. Stastny has one goal and one assist in the three exhibition games Slovan has played so far this pre-season. . . .
F Bruno Mraz (Brandon, 2011-12) signed a three-year contract with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). He had two goals and 16 assists in 63 games with the Brandon Wheat Kings last season. . . .
D David Hajek (Spokane, 1998-99) signed a try-out contract with Pirati Chomutov (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had one goal and 10 assists in 44 goes with Orli Znojmo (Czech Republic, Austria Erste Bank Liga) last season.
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By the way, it would appear that F Dominik Volek won’t be back with the Regina Pats this season. He signed over the summer with Färjestad and is in camp with that organization now. Teams began working out Wednesday and if you click on right here you will find a couple of photos of Volek with the J20 team.
Volek, now 18, had 32 points, including 14 goals, in 70 games with the Pats as a freshman last season.
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Nine WHLers are on the 22-player roster of the Canadian team that will play at the Memorial for Ivan Hlinka tournament.
Making the grade were G Eric Comrie, Tri-City Americans; D Madison Bowey, Kelowna Rockets; D Kayle Doetzel, Red Deer Rebels; D Josh Morrissey, Prince Albert Raiders; D Shea Theodore, Seattle Thunderbirds, F Morgan Klimchuk, Regina Pats; F Curtis Lazar, Edmonton Oil Kings; F Nic Petan, Portland Winterhawks; and F Sam Reinhart, Kootenay Ice.
Those WHLers who attended the camp but aren’t on the final roster are G Tristan Jarry, Edmonton Oil Kings; D Dillon Heatherington, Swift Current Broncos; F Carter Hansen, Moose Jaw Warriors; and F Matt Needham, Kamloops Blazers.
The tournament opens Monday in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia, and runs through Aug. 18. There is no TV or radio coverage.
Canada and Czech Republic will play an exhibition game in Piestany on Saturday. Canada then opens tournament play against Switzerland on Aug. 13.
Canada, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland will play out of Piestany, with Finland, Russia, Czech Republic and the U.S. in Breclav.
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Shane Pilling has signed with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits. Pilling, 19, played the last two seasons with the Prince George Cougars. He was a fourth-round selection by the Cougars in the 2008 bantam draft. Last season, he had one assist and 14 penalty minutes in 24 games with Prince George. He had eight points, including one goal, in 56 games in 2010-11.
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If you watched that women’s soccer game from the London Olympics on Monday, you may be interested in some good reading.
Bruce Arthur of the National Post has his take right here.
George Johnson of the Calgary Herald was there, too, and his piece is right here.
Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star writes that this may have been “the best game of women’s football ever played.” But . . . yes, there was a but. Kelly’s piece is right here.
Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times has his take on proceedings right here.
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Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated, who is perhaps the U.S.’s top soccer writer, waves the Stars and Stripes right here, and even takes a moment to criticize Canadian captain Christine Sinclair. “Sinclair had a terrific game,” Wahl writes. “It was unfortunate that she decided to lash out afterward.”
To which I say, oh but for the shoe to have been on the other foot in this one. Gee, had the game gone the other way in this fashion I wonder if Hope Solo, for one, may have “decided to lash out” if it had gone the other way.
Consider that Wahl also writes:
“Sinclair's third goal, in the 73rd minute, gave Canada a 3-2 lead and set the stage for the most controversial moment U.S. Soccer has seen in a long time. Seven minutes later, Canadian goalkeeper McLeod leaped to make a save and came to the ground with the ball. She carried the ball around her box, waved her teammates downfield and . . . waited. The whistle blew. Norwegian referee Christiana Pedersen ruled that McLeod had violated Law 12, which awards an indirect free kick if the goalkeeper ‘takes more than six seconds while controlling the ball with her hands before releasing it from her possession.’
“It's exceedingly rare for the violation to be called at the elite level. The only previous incident I could track down took place in the Premier League in 2002, when referee David Elleray blew his whistle on Bolton's Jussi Jasskelainen against Newcastle United. (Alan Shearer tied the game on the ensuing free kick sequence.)”
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A great tweet from Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports (@neatebuzzthenet):
“Canadians sent 7400 cans of maple syrup to Norway in 2006 to thank a coach who helped our skier. We’d like them back, please. #olympics #ref”
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Then there’s this from Ed Willes (@willeson sports) of the Vancouver Province:
“The Americans have also turned the ‘72 basketball final into a five-decade epic so YOU’LL PARDON US IF WE’RE PISSED. #olympics”
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And, finally, if you haven’t seen this Vin Scully clip from Monday’s game between the host Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies, take a couple of minutes and give it a look. . . . This is Scully at his best.


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Andrej Stastny (Vancouver, 2010-11) has signed a try-out contract with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). He had 11 goals and 18 assists in 50 games with Dukla Trencin (Slovakia, Extraliga) last season.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Tim Bothwell, a former head coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers (1990-92), is the new head coach of the Alberta Hockey Club of the professional Canadian Women’s Hockey League. Bothwell, 57, is a former NHL player who has spent the last six seasons as the head coach of the U of Vermont women’s team. He was an assistant coach with the Canadian women’s team that won silver at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy. . . . The Tigers were 88-51-5 during Bothwell’s two-season stint. . . . The Alberta Hockey Club, which plays out of Calgary's WinSport's Athletic and Ice Complex, is preparing for its second season in the CWHL.
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SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, the Raiders built up a 4-1 lead and hung on for a 4-3 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . D Jordan Rowley had a goal and two assists for the Raiders, while D James Bettauer had one of each. . . . The Maxwell boys, Mitch and Russell, each had a goal and an assist for Lethbridge. . . . Raiders G Eric Williams stopped 33 shots. . . . Attendance was 2,433. . . . The Raiders were 2-for-5 on the PP. . . . Lethbridge again was without injured F Austin Fyten. . . . The victory lifted the Raiders into a tie with the Swift Current Broncos for eighth place in the 12-team Eastern Conference. . . . The Hurricanes, who have lost five in a row, are 10th, but just two points out of eighth. . . . The Raiders visit the 11th-place Regina Pats tonight, while the Hurricanes meet the conference-leading Blades in Saskatoon. . . .
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In Swift Current, F Linden Vey had two goals and an assist to help the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 6-1 victory over the Broncos. . . . Swift Current has lost eight in a row. . . . Vey, who has 36 goals, leads the WHL with 86 points, three more than Spokane Chiefs F Tyler Johnson. . . . F Tyler Pitlick added two goals for the Tigers. He has 22 goals. . . . The Tigers were 3-for-5 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 2,207. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 27 shots. He gave up the game’s first goal when F Taylor Vause got his 15th on the PP at 1:43 of the first period. . . . The Tigers are fourth in the conference, a point behind the Kootenay Ice and three ahead of the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Broncos are at home to Brandon tonight, while the Tigers are at home to Moose Jaw. . . .
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In Brandon, the Wheat Kings went 4-for-6 on the PP and beat the Regina Pats 7-4. . . . Brandon F Mark Stone, F Michael Ferland and F Matt MacKay each had a goal and two assists. . . . Brandon F Shayne Wiebe scored his 30th of the season. . . . Regina F Jordan Weal got his 27th goal and added an assist. . . . Attendance was 3,898. . . . Brandon D Jordan Fransoo took a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct at 17:33 of the third period. . . . The victory has the Wheat Kings in seventh place in the conference, four points behind the Edmonton Oil Kings and a point ahead of Prince Albert and Swift Current. . . . The Wheat Kings are in Swift Current tonight. . . . Regina is at home to Prince Albert tonight. . . .
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In Calgary, F Andrej Stastny scored in the shootout to give the Vancouver Giants a 4-3 victory over the Hitmen. . . . Vancouver forced OT by erasing a 3-1 deficit. F Michael Burns scored at 17:10 of the second period and F Brendan Gallagher, with his 36th, tied it at 16:33 of the third. . . . Gallagher scored twice in regulation. . . . Vancouver F Spencer Bennett and F Brendan Rowinski each had two assists. . . . Vancouver D Darren Bestland took an elbowing major and game misconduct at 7:59 of the third period. . . . F James Henry (knee) returned to the Vancouver lineup for the first time since being injured on Dec. 27. . . . Attendance was 10,463. . . . Vancouver now holds a three-point lead over the Kelowna Rockets atop the B.C. Division. . . . The Giants visit the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook tonight, and the crowd just may top 3,000. . . .
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In Red Deer, F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins struck for three goals and added three assists, leading the Rebels to an 8-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Nugent-Hopkins has 19 goals and a WHL-leading 60 assists. He is third in the points race, seven behind Medicine Hat F Linden Vey. . . . Red Deer F Andrej Kudrna had a goal and five assists, while F Byron Froese had three assists. . . . Red Deer F John Persson scored twice, giving him 26 goals. . . . The Rebels were 5-for-13 on the PP; the Warriors were 0-for--6. . . . Red Deer scored its first four goals on the PP. . . . The Warriors took 92 of the 140 penalty minutes doled out by referees Ryan Thompson and Colin Watt. Included in the penalty totals were 20 roughing minors. . . . Red Deer G Darcy Kuemper stopped 33 shots. He lost the attempt for his 11th shutout of the season when F Brett Lyon scored his fourth goal at 17:30 of the third period. . . . Attendance was 5,086. . . . The Rebels moved within three points of conference-leading Saskatoon, but the Blades hold three games in hand. . . .
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In Kamloops, F Jordan DePape broke a 1-1 tie at 8:10 of the third period to give the Blazers a 2-1 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . DePape scored nine seconds after Chilliwack D Brandon Manning was hit with a boarding major for a check on Kamloops D Austin Madaisky. . . . Kamloops D Brandon Underwood (knee) left in the first and didn’t return. . . . The teams meet again tonight in Chilliwack. It will be the third game between these teams in a week. Kamloops won the first two games. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 33 shots in a tremendous performance. . . . Attendance was 4,287. . . . The Blazers were 2-for-10 on the PP; the Bruins were 0-for-6. . . . The Blazers are eighth in the 10-team Western Conference, two points ahead of Seattle. The Bruins slipped into the basement, a point behind Seattle and three in arrears of Kamloops. Chillliwack holds two games in hand on Seattle and four on Kamloops, but has lost its last seven games. . . .
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In Prince George, the Cougars opened up a 4-0 lead and went on to a 4-2 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Kelowna had a seven-game winning streak snapped. . . . F Troy Bourke had a goal, his 13th, and an assist for the Cougars, who got 25 saves from G Ty Rimmer. . . . D Martin Marincin got his 13th goal for the Cougars. . . . Attendance was 1,916. . . . The Rockets were without F Mitchell Callahan (head), who was injured in Wednesday’s 6-4 victory over visiting Chilliwack. . . . The teams meet in Prince George again tonight. . . . The Cougars are sixth, a point ahead of Everett. . . . The Rockets slipped two points back of the B.C. Division-leading Vancouver Giants. . . .
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In Portland, the Winterhawks scored one goal on a penalty shot and added two empty-netters in beating the Edmonton Oil Kings, 5-2. . . . Portland F Nino Niederreiter scored twice, giving him 24. His second goal, at 15:44 of the first period, came via a penalty shot and gave the Winterhawks a 3-0 lead. . . . F Dylan Wruck got his 31st goal for the Oil Kings. . . . Edmonton G Jon Groenheyde stopped 34 shots, four more than Portland’s Mac Carruth. . . . Attendance was 5,023. . . . Edmonton, which plays at Everett tonight, remains sixth in the Eastern Conference, four points ahead of Brandon. . . . The Winterhawks lead the Western Conference and are four points up on the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Americans are in Portland tonight. . . .
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In Everett, the Seattle Thunderbirds snapped a nine-game losing skid by scoring the game’s last three goals to beat the Silvertips, 3-2, in overtime. . . . Everett had won four in a row. . . . F Tyler Maxwell gave Everett a 2-0 lead with his 36th goal, on the PP, at 8:31 of the second. . . . F Burke Gallimore scored his 19th, just 44 seconds into the third period to get Seattle within one. . . . Seattle F Marcel Noebels forced OT at 11:31 of the third and won it with his 20th of the season at 1:42 of extra time. . . . Noebels also had an assist as he finished plus-3. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 32 shots. . . . Seattle had veteran D Ryan Button and D Travis Bobbee back in the lineup. Both had been out with shoulder injuries. . . . The victory lifted Seattle out of the conference basement, one point ahead of Chilliwack. . . . The Thunderbirds are at home to Spokane tonight, while Edmonton is in Everett. The Silvertips are seventh in the converence, a point behind Prince George. . . .
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Brendan Shinnimin scored twice to help the Tri-City Americans to a 5-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Shinnimin, who is riding a 21-game point streak, has 24 goals. He scored twice in the second period to give the Americans a 4-1 lead. . . . F Adam Hughesman added his 35th goal and also had an assist for the Americans, who got two assists from C Carter Ashton. . . . The game was 1-1 early in the second period when D Paul Sohor, with his third, and Shinnimin scored 20 seconds apart to give the home side a 3-1 edge. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley stopped 28 shots. . . . Spokane remains without injured G James Reid. . . . In his absence, G Mac Engel stopped 26 shots. . . . The Americans are 4-1-1 against the Chiefs this season. . . . Attendance wsa 5,807. . . . The victory allowed the Americans to move past the Chiefs and into second in the U.S. Division. The Americans, who have won four in a row and eight of 10, are four points behind Portland and hold four games in hand. . . . As luck would have it, Tri-City visits Portland tonight. . . . The Chiefs, having lost two in a row, will visit the Thunderbirds.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Three minors:
Prince Albert D Antoine Corbin
Edmonton F Klarc Wilson
Seattle D Travis Bobbee
One major:
Brandon D Jordan Fransoo

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Evan Bloodoff (10) of the Kelowna Rockets looks for a rebound
in front of Tri-City Americans goaltender Drew Owsley on Sunday
in Kennewick, Wash. (Photo by John Allen/Tri-City Americans)

A few notes after a Sunday night in the WHL. . . .
Although there only were four games, it was a night of interesting matchups.
In Cranbrook, B.C., the Red Deer Rebels ran their winning streak to eight games with a 6-4 victory over the host Kootenay Ice. The victory lifted the Rebels six points clear of the second-place Ice in the Central Division and pulled Red Deer to within one point of the Eastern Conference-leading Saskatoon Blades.
Saskatoon does hold three games in hand.
But, at the same time, the schedule is getting close to the stretch drive, although, with some of the races for playoff positioning being so tight, one wonders if the run to the playoffs hasn’t already started.
In the Eastern Conference, Saskatoon, Red Deer Kootenay, the Medicine Hat Tigers and Moose Jaw Warriors can call the printers this morning and order up playoff tickets. They’ll be there.
But there are six teams in the hunt for the remaining three playoff spots (eight of the conference’s 12 teams make it), with only the Calgary Hitmen having been all but eliminated. The Hitmen are 10 points out with 25 to play, but they would have to climb over four teams to get there and, in this era of loser points, that’s near impossible.
The Edmonton Oil Kings, Swift Current Broncos and Prince Albert Raiders hold down the conference’s last three spots, but look out for the Regina Pats who are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and have crawled to within two points of the eighth-place Raiders.
The Lethbridge Hurricanes pulled into a tie with Regina by beating the host Pats in overtime on Saturday. And it’s those three-point games that are the scourge of teams trying to get back into the hunt.
The Brandon Wheat Kings, although perhaps written off a couple of weeks ago, are making noises, too. They are 3-4-3 in their last 10 and are just three points behind the Raiders. But, with 23 games left, they still have to climb over three teams to get into the spring dance.
By the way, there were only 2,373 fans at the game in Cranbrook. Must be a city full of NFL fans.
In the Western Conference, the Portland Winterhawks, all the distractions over and done with, are showing all the signs that they are getting things back together.
The Christmas tournaments are done. The trade deadline is past. The Top Prospects Game is history. That means the Winterhawks, and everyone else, now is able to concentrate on the task at hand.
Portland did that Sunday, beating the visiting Spokane Chiefs 6-5 in overtime. The Winterhawks are 7-3-0 in their last 10 and have won five straight. That has moved them three points clear of the Chiefs atop the U.S. Division. The Chiefs hold two games in hand.
The Tri-City Americans, who are third in the division, are three points in back of the Chiefs. Spokane has two games in hand on Portland; Tri-City has four.
And, hey, what’s with just 2,649 fans in Portland for Sunday’s matchup with the Chiefs? There were 7,395 there on Saturday for an afternoon affair with the Seattle Thunderbirds. Strange, no?
Meanwhile, let’s not discount two of the WHL’s hottest teams, the Vancouver Giants and Kelowna Rockets, both of whom just completed dreaded three-in-three weekends and won all three.
The Giants have won four straight and eight of 10 and lead the B.C. Division. But they can’t shake the Rockets, who have won four in a row and six of 10 to stay a point off the pace. The Giants visit Kelowna on Saturday and you know the joint will be rocking.
And you might want to keep an eye on Vancouver C Andrej Stastny down the stretch. A Slovakian, he hadn’t done a lot offensively, at least in terms of putting up numbers, since joining the Giants after playing for Slovakia at the World Junior Championship. Still, the sample size was small.
But the 6-foot-4, 215-pounder scored his first three goals and added an assist in a 6-1 victory over the Blazers in Kamloops on Saturday, then added two more goals and another assist in Sunday’s 7-3 victory over the visiting Chilliwack Bruins. He’s big, can skate, and can handle the puck. His weekend can only serve to boost his confidence.
There was a time, not that long ago, when the feeling was that it might not be so bad to finish seventh in the Western Conference. That, of course, would mean a first-round matchup with the No. 2 seed, which would be the B.C. Division pennant winner. However, that was before Vancouver G Mark Segal got on a run, before the Giants did some roster tinkering and before Stastny showed up.
And don’t discount the Rockets, who will grind you to death. They beat Seattle in Kent, Wash., on Friday, won in Spokane on Saturday and dumped the host Americans on Sunday.
Not too shabby!
For now, then, pencil in Portland, Vancouver, Spokane, Tri-City and Kelowna.
The other five teams are within six points of each other.
The Prince George Cougars, hurting without captain Brett Connolly, are searching for their game and are 4-6-0 in their last 10. They are sixth in the conference, three points up on the Chilliwack Bruins, who are 4-5-1 of late.
The Seattle Thunderbirds have been to overtime a league-high 16 times this season and their accumulation of nine loser points just may help get them into the postseason. At present, they are tied with Kamloops, which is fast running out of players thanks to injuries, and are two points ahead of the Everett Silvertips.
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SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Portland, F Nino Niederreiter’s second goal of the game, with 36.6 seconds left in overtime, gave the Winter hawks a 6-5 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Niederreiter, who has 20 goals, also had an assist. . . . F Ryan Johansen also scored twice for the Winterhawks. He had an assist on the winner, too. . . . The Winterhawks have won five in a row. . . . The Chiefs took a 2-0 lead in this one, on goals by D Brenden Kichton, his 11^th, and D Jared Cowen, his 12^th, before the first period was 15 minutes old. . . . The Winterhawks then scored four in a row, with Johansen and Niederreiter scoring before the period ended and F Sven Bartschi, with his 25^th, and F Riley Boychuk, with his 12^th, striking 10 seconds apart in the second period. . . . Spokane G James Reid, who stopped 14 of 18 shots, suffered an undisclosed injury on the Boychuk goal and was replaced by Mac Engel, who came on to turn aside 17 of 19 shots. . . . F Levko Koper, with his 24^th, got the Chiefs back to within one before the second ended, and Kichton tied it at 3:37 of the third. . . . Johansen, with his 23^rd, gave Portland the lead at 10:13 of the third, with Koper equalizing with the game’s lone PP goal, at 14:26. . . . Spokane F Tyler Johnson had three assists. He and Medicine Hat Tigers F Linden Vey are tied atop the WHL points derby, each with 79. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 42 shots. . . . Interesting that both teams ended the game with a Mac in goal. . . . Attendance was 2,649. . . .
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Zach Franko ran his scoring streak to 11 games as the Kelowna Rockets edged the host Tri-City Americans, 4-3. . . . The Rockets had lost nine straight games in the Toyoto Center. . . . The Americans had won 13 straight at home, the second-longest such streak in franchise history. . . . Franko, a 17-year-old from Winnipeg, had two goals and finished plus-3. He started his points streak on Jan. 1 and has 15 points in those 11 games. . . . The Rockets turned to freshman G Jordan Cooke and, in his ninth WHL start, he turned aside 30 shots in earning his fifth victory. . . . Kelowna has won four straight. . . . The Rockets mustered 15 shots on Tri-City G Drew Owsley. . . . Tri-City held a 16-5 edge in shots in the first and it was 13-4 in the third. . . . The Rockets took a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by F Jessey Astles, his third, at 9:28, and Franko, at 11:47. . . . The Americans tied it with F Carter Ashton (21) and F Justin Feser (16) scoring before period’s end. . . . Kelowna D MacKenzie Johnston got his first WHL goal, at 10:56 of the second, with Franko scoring at 4:11 of the third. . . . Ashton narrowed the margin at 8:24 of the third. . . . Johnston, a 17-year-old from Swift Current, is in his second WHL season. He had one assist in 54 games last season. He scored in his 34^th game this season. . . . Attendance was 4,017. . . . The Americans are at home to Portland on Friday and in Spokane on Saturday.
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In Cranbrook, the Red Deer Rebels got three goals from F John Persson and five points from F Andrej Kudrna as they dumped the host Kootenay Ice, 6-4. . . . Kudrna, who has 21 goals, scored twice and added three assists, with F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins earning four helpers -- one on each of Red Deer’s first four goals, each of which came via the PP -- and D Alex Petrovic getting three. . . . F Brett Ferguson, with a goal, was the only other Red Deer player to earn a point. . . . Persson, an 18-year-old Swedish sophomore, has 21 goals after earning 11 points, including seven goals, last season. Yes, this was his first WHL hat trick. . . . The Ice got a goal and an assist from each of D Brayden McNabb and F Cody Eakin, who got his 20th. . . . Red Deer G Darcy Kuemper stopped 36 shots, 10 more than the Ice’s Nathan Lieuwen. . . . Red Deer was 4-for-10 on the PP; the Ice was 0-for-6. . . . Attendance was 2,373. . . .
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In Vancouver, the Giants beat the Chilliwack Bruins 7-3, their third victory over a division foe in as many nights. . . . On Friday, the Giants beat the visiting Prince George Cougars, 3-0, and on Saturday then went into Kamloops and dropped the Blazers, 6-1. . . . Vancouver F Brendan Gallagher scored three times, giving him 32, as the Giants opened up a 7-0 lead early in the third period. . . . Vancouver F Andrej Stastny had two goals and an assist, giving him seven points over his last two games. . . . The Giants were 1-for-9 on the PP; the Bruins were 1-for-4. . . . Attendance was 6,929.
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SUNDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
One minor:
Tri-City D Matt MacKenzie

     
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Taking Note on Twitter  gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
For now at least, Andrej Stastny is the answer to a trivia question.
Who is the last WHL player to score three goals in a game while wearing a Kamloops Blazers jersey?
Stastny did it Saturday night as he led the Vancouver Giants to a 6-1 victory over the Blazers before 4,223 fans at Interior Savings Centre.
Got that?
Visiting player scores three goals while wearing Blazers jersey and home team loses.
Seriously.
The Giants somehow managed to forget their jerseys when they were loading the bus for the trip to Kamloops earlier in the day. So they wore a set of Kamloops’ black training camp jerseys, each with a Blazers logo on the front and small white numbers on the back.
“It probably looked really ridiculous to the crowd,” offered a laughing Brendan Gallagher, who scored his 29^th goal, a shorthanded effort, for the Giants. “It was something as players that we haven’t had to deal with. It was a little adversity that we had to black out going into the game.
“It’s definitely something we probably would never go through again . . . it was bizarre.”
Equally bizarre was Stastny’s road to Vancouver.
From Povazska Bystrica, Slovakia, the 19-year-old was selected by the Saskatoon Blades in the CHL’s 2010 import draft. The Blades weren’t able to land him, however, and dropped him from their list. The Giants, having released Swedish forward Casper Carning, had room for an import so grabbed Stastny’s rights. He went on to play for Slovakia at the 2011 World Junior Championship in Buffalo and joined the Giants after the tournament.
“We’ve been waiting for him to get his first one,” Gallagher said. “He’s been getting tons of chances in every game. For him to finally break out tonight was huge for us.”
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Stastny broke a 1-1 tie in the second period and then scored twice to key a four-goal Vancouver third period as the Giants dominated the last two periods, outshooting their hosts 33-14.
Stastny’s third goal, and his seventh point in eight games, reeked of his potential as he powered through defencemen Tyler Hansen and Austin Madaisky and went in to shovel a shot past goaltender Jeff Bosch.
“We know that he’s a big power forward who can skate,” Gallagher said. “He makes great plays on the ice. If we can get him going like this it’ll be huge for us.”
(On Sunday night, Stastny scored twice and added an assist as the Giants beat the visiting Chilliwack Bruins, 7-3. Gallagher scored three times.)
The Blazers got out of the first period in a 1-1 tie -- Colin Smith scoring on the power play almost eight minutes after Spencer Bennett had given the Giants a 1-0 lead. However, the Giants opened the middle period with a 49-second two-man advantage and took it right to the Blazers.
Vancouver, with a 12-7 edge in first-period shots, peppered Bosch with eight shots in the second period’s first 1:52 and had increased its total to 24 just four minutes later.
The Blazers, back on their heels, never recovered.
Gallagher broke the Blazers’ backs with his goal at 7:16, and forward Nathan Burns iced it 40 seconds later.
“We had a lot of shots tonight,” Gallagher said. “We wanted to crash the net and find ways to get goals any way we could. We know they’re a little bit of a banged up team over there.”
The Blazers again were missing injured forwards Dalibor Bortnak, Jordan DePape and Chase Schaber. They also were without defenceman Josh Caron, while centre Matt Needham didn’t finish the game.
Caron, who missed 41 games with a broken collarbone, hurt the collarbone in his sixth game back, Friday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the visiting Chilliwack Bruins. Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said X-rays were negative but that Caron would undergo more tests early this week.
The 15-year-old Needham, who returned to his midget team in Penticton after Saturday’s game, aggravated a knee injury on Friday and then dinged a shoulder Saturday.
“Minor stuff,” Needham said.
“They played a pretty solid game,” said Needham, who was quick to credit the Giants. “We weren’t happy with our effort. But you have to give them credit . . . they played well and we have to be better.”
Needham, the seventh overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft, returns home having played in 10 games and picked up seven points. He will play for Team B.C. in the Canada Winter Games in Halifax, Feb. 11-27, and perhaps finish his season with the Blazers.
“I definitely didn’t expect to get up (with the Blazers) as much as I have,” Needham said. “It’s been awesome. The guys are great. I love playing here, and I’ve had some success so everything’s been good.”
And he has proved his worth at this level. On Friday, in a tie game, Needham was taking a defensive zone faceoff with 1:15 left in the third period.
“Guy has had a lot of trust in me out there,” Needham said.
The Blazers, who have lost four in a row at home, are on the road for their next three games. They meet the Cougars in Prince George on Wednesday, the Giants (24-19-4) in Vancouver on Friday and the Bruins in Chilliwack on Saturday.
Kamloops (21-26-3) came out of the weekend having lost seven of its last eight games. It is tied with the Seattle Thunderbirds (18-21-9) for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.
JUST NOTES: Apparently, the Giants won’t be fined for forgetting their jerseys, but could pay for wearing jerseys without namebars. . . . Prior to the start of the game, Cory Flett, the WHL’s director, communications, tweeted: “Little bit of a jersey debacle in Kamloops tonight, Giants forget game jerseys, will be wearing Blazer practice uniforms, major mistake.” . . . The Blazers next play at home on Feb. 2 against the Everett Silvertips.

The Vancouver Giants, wearing black Kamloops Blazers training
camp jerseys, and the Blazers, wearing their whites, prepare to start the
third period on Saturday night. The Giants' jerseys didn't get on the
bus to Kamloops for Saturday's game.

A post-game scoring change on Friday night ended F Spencer Bennett’s scoring streak at nine games. Originally, he was credited with an assist on the game’s first goal in the Vancouver Giants’ 3-0 victory over the Prince George Cougars. However, after the game, he lost that assist and the point streak went with it. . . . The winning goal, originally credited to D Darren Bestland, now belongs to F Brendan Rowinski. . . . Bennett may have started a new streak Saturday when he had a goal and two assists in a 6-1 victory over the Blazers in Kamloops.
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JUST NOTES: F Bretton Cameron, who completed his WHL career with the Medicine Hat Tigers last season, has moved from the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder to the AHL’s Connecticut Whale on a PTO (pro tryout agreement). Cameron, who is into the AHL for the first time, had a team-high 13 goals with Stockton. He has 23 points in 29 games. . . .
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SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Portland, F Craig Cunningham scored twice to help the Winterhawks to a 5-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds in an afternoon game that drew 7,395 fans. . . . Cunningham has 16 goals, including six in 11 games with Portland. He was acquired from the Vancouver Giants on Dec. 29 and has 12 points in 11 games with the Winterhawks. . . . The Winterhawks, who are at home to the hard-charging Spokane Chiefs tonight at 5, have won four in a row. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie had a goal and two assists, and was plus-3. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 44 shots. . . . Portland G Keith Hamilton turned aside 33 shots. He lost his shutout at 16:33 of the third period when F Marcel Noebels scored a shorthanded goal. Noebels, from Germany, has 17 goals. . . . Portland visits the Thunderbirds on Saturday for Seattle’s annual Fred Meyer Teddy Bear Toss. . . .
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In Regina, F Cam Braes scored the game’s last two goals, the last one in overtime, to give the Lethbridge Hurricanes a 3-2 victory over the Pats. . . . D Brandon Davidson’s sixth goal at 15:25 of the second period gave Regina a 2-1 lead. . . . Braes tied it at 16:18 of the second and won it at 4:15 of OT on the PP. . . . He has 24 goals. . . . D Landon Oslanski had a goal and two assists for Lethbridge. . . . The Hurricanes were 2-for-4 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 3,909. . . .
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In Saskatoon, F Chris Collins and F Marek Viedensky each had two goals as the Blades beat the Calgary Hitmen, 5-1. . . . F Brayden Schenn, who is from Saskatoon, had one assist in his debut with the Blades. He was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Jan. 10 but a shoulder injury had kept him on the sideline. . . . Schenn drew an assist on F Jake Trask’s 11th goal of the season at 15:15 of the second period. That gave the Blades a 3-1 lead. . . . F Brooks Macek gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 12:16 of the first period. . . . F Josh Nicholls earned three assists for the Blades. . . . Viedensky, Nicholls and Collins each finished plus-3. . . . Viedensky, with 21 goals, is the fourth Blades skater with more than 20 snipes. . . . Collins has 12 goals. . . . Saskatoon G Steven Stanford stopped 27 shots to run his record to 22-3-0. . . . Attendance was 7,646. . . .
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In Brandon, F Shayne Wiebe had two goals and an assist to lead the Wheat Kings to a 6-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . F Mark Stone added a goal and two assists for Brandon, which got two assists from each of D Ryan Pulock and F Matt MacKay. . . . MacKay has six points over his last two games. . . . F Trevor Cameron pulled the Broncos into a 1-1 tie at 12:43 of the first but the Wheat Kings then scored five straight goals. . . . Wiebe has 24 goals. . . . Brandon F Scott Glennie notched his 20th score of the season. . . . Brandon was 4-for-7 on the PP; the Broncos were 1-for-2. . . . The Wheat Kings now are three points out of the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. . . . Attendance was 4,430. . . .
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In Edmonton, F Kellan Tochkin’s shootout goal gave the Medicine Hat Tigers a 5-4 victory over Oil Kings in a wild one. . . . The Oil Kings watched a 3-0 first-period lead disappear but came back to hold a late 5-4 edge. . . . Edmonton F Dylan Wruck — they’re calling him the Wrucking Ball — broke a 4-4 tie with his 26th goal of the season at 16:01 of the third period. . . . Tochkin got the Tigers back into a tie, at 5-5, at 18:16. . . . F Cole Grbavac had pulled the Tigers into a 4-4 tie with his ninth goal at 1:32 of the third. . . . F Mark Reners scored twice for Edmonton. Reners opened this season with Lethbridge, putting up 11 points in 20 games. He was dealt to Vancouver and had three points in 11 games with the Giants. With Edmonton, he has seven points, including four goals, in seven games. . . . The Tigers actually won the 10-player shootout, 3-2. They got goals from F Hunter Shinkaruk, F Tyler Pitlick and Tochkin, with F Kristians Pelss and F Jordan Hickmott scoring for the Oil Kings. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey had a goal, his 31st and two assists. He leads the WHL with 79 points, three more than Spokane F Tyler Johnson. . . . Attendance was 5,884. . . .
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In Red Deer, G Darcy Kuemper record his CHL-leading ninth shutout of the season as the Rebels beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 3-0. . . . The Rebels, who have won seven straight, now have put up three straight blank jobs. . . . Kuemper stopped 35 shots in earning his 15th career shutouts. . . . Kuemper has blanked the Warriors three times this season and those are the only times Moose Jaw has been shut out. . . . Attendance was 5,993. . . . F Andrej Kudrna’s 19th goal at 14:18 of the second period stood up as the winner. . . . F Byron Froese scored his 22nd goal in to an empty net and also had an assist. . . . Kudrna drew an assist on Froese’s goal. . . .
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In Kamloops, F Andrej Stastny scored his first three WHL goals and set up another as the Vancouver Giants dumped the Blazers, 6-1. . . . Stastny was selected by the Saskatoon Blades in the CHL’s 2010 import draft, but they weren’t able to land him. After the Blades dropped him from their list, the Giants claimed him. He played for Slovakia at the 2011 World Junior Championship in Buffalo and joined the Giants after the tournament. . . . Statsny, who finished plus-4, now has seven points in eight games with Vancouver. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 20 shots in winning his eighth straight decision. He is 17-8-4. . . . The teams were tied 1-1 after one but Vancouver took a 2-1 lead in the second on Stastny’s first goal and outshot the hosts, 22-7. . . . The Giants scored four third-period goals, including F Brendan Gallagher’s shorthanded tally. He has 29 goals this season. . . . The Giants wore the Blazers’ training camp black jerseys after their road whites somehow missed the bus to Kamloops. . . . Attendance was 4,223. . . . Kamloops scratched D Josh Caron. He had played seven games since sitting out 41 with a broken collabone. But he reinjured the collarbone on Friday and, while X-rays were negative, will be further checked out before returning to the lineup again. . . .
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In Spokane, the Kelowna Rockets scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Chiefs, 5-3. . . . Spokane, which had won four straight, last lost in regulation at home on Oct. 23, going 14-0-2 since that 4-2 loss to the Red Deer Rebels. . . . F Mitch Holmberg’s 10^th goal, 18 seconds into the second period, gave the Chiefs a 3-1 lead. . . . F Colton Heffley’s second goal of the season, at 5:03, got the Rockets to within one and F Shane McColgan’s 17^th tied it at 18:40. . . . F Brett Bulmer’s second of the game and 17^th of the season broke the tie at 16:28. . . . Kelowna F Geordie Wudrick got his 25^th into an empty net. . . . Kelowna F Zach Franko had two assists, running his points streak to 10 games. He has 13 points over that stretch. . . . F Tyler Johnson scored his WHL-leading 36^th goal and ran his points streak to 13 games. . . . Spokane F Levko Koper got his fourth shorthanded goal of the season. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 35 shots, 23 more than Spokane’s Mac Engel. . . . Attendance was 6,834. . . .
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Adam Hughesman scored three times to help the host Tri-City Americans to a 7-4 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The teams combined for six goals in the first period and five in the second, then played a scoreless third. . . . Hughesman has 31 goals this season. He scored 17, 16 and 18 goals each of the last three seasons. . . . Tri-City F Brendan Shinnimin had a goal, his 21^st, and three assists, while F Carter Ashton got his 20^th and drew three assists. . . . D Rasmus Rissanen had three assists for Everett, while F Parker Stanfield had two goals and an assist. . . . Attendance was 5,181. . . . The Americans, who are 6-0-1 in their last seven games, have won 13 straight home games, one shy of the franchise record. The Ams can tie that mark today when they meet the Kelowna Rockets, who have won three in a row and five of six. But the Rockets haven’t won in their last nine visits to Kennewick.
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In Chilliwack, F Nick Buonassisi’s shootout goal gave the Prince George Cougars a 4-3 victory over the Bruins. . . . D Sena Acolatse also scored for the Cougars in the shootout, while F Kevin Sundher counted for the Bruins. The shootout ended in the fifth round. . . . Chilliwack F Robin Soudek tied the game 3-3 with his 12^th goal, on the PP, at 5:39 of the third period. . . . Attendance was 4,123. . . . The Bruins were 2-for-6 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-for-4. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 34 shots, two more than Prince George’s James Priestner. . . . F Taylor Stefishen scored twice for the Cougars, the first one shorthanded. He has 14 goals. . . . F Ryan Howse scored a goal, his 32^nd, and added a helper for the Bruins.

By GREGG DRINNAN Daily News Sports Editor
Matthew Needham is about to become the rarest of the rare in terms of WHL players -- a skater who has played 10 regular-season games despite not yet having turned 16 years of age.
Needham, 15, will play the ninth and 10^th games of his WHL career this weekend with the Kamloops Blazers, whose forward ranks have been thinned by injuries.
The eighth overall selection in the 2010 bantam draft, Needham has 32 points in 29 games with the Okanagan Hockey Academy midget team in his hometown of Penticton.
He also six points, two of them goals, in eight games with the Blazers, who are at home to the Chilliwack Bruins tonight and the Vancouver Giants on Saturday night. The Blazers have recalled him for the fourth time this season and he is expected to play in both games.
WHL rules limit a 15-year-old player to five games before his club team has its season come to an end. However, there are exceptions.
For one thing, WHL games played by a 15-year-old during the World Junior Championship and the U-17 World Hockey Challenge don’t count if the WHL team has more than two players in those competitions. Needham played six games with the Blazers while they had four players in Buffalo and Winnipeg.
As well, the WHL may grant an exemption should a team find itself in an emergency situation, which is about where the Blazers find themselves as they will be without four and perhaps five forwards tonight.
When centre Dalibor Bortnak went down with a concussion in the third period of Wednesday’s 5-0 loss to the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash., the Blazers were left with eight forwards.
Bortnak won’t play this weekend, nor will Jordan DePape, Thomas Frazee or Chase Schaber, all of whom are sidelined with leg-related injuries. Bernhard Keil (shoulder) will be a game-time decision.
The Blazers (21-25-2) go into the weekend in eighth place in the 10-team Western Conference. They are one point ahead of the Bruins (20-20-3), who hold five games in hand.
The Bruins list forwards Brendan Persley (foot) and Jesse Pauls (leg) as out, while swingman Curt Gogol (shoulder) and winger Robin Soudek (knee) are day-to-day.
The Giants (22-19-5) are showing signs of finding their stride after an inconsistent first half. They are 6-4-0 in their last 10 and back atop the B.C. Division, one point ahead of the Kelowna Rockets and five up on Kamloops.
The Blazers returned from the Christmas break to sweep a home-and-home series from the Giants, winning 4-1 there and 6-1 here. Since then, the Blazers are 4-7-0, while the Giants are 5-3-0.
The Giants also have added centre Andrej Stastny to their roster. A 6-foot-4, 215-pounder, he was a teammate of Bortnak’s on the Slovakian team at the World Junior Championship and gives Vancouver head coach Don Hay the big centre he covets.
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Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, has rescinded the spearing major and game misconduct given to Kamloops D Josh Caron by referee Jason Nissen on Wednesday night. Instead, Caron was given a minor penalty, so won’t be suspended.
However, Doerksen didn’t rescind the slashing major and game misconduct handed to Blazers F Ryan Hanes as the third period ran out in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the visiting Portland Winterhawks.
Doerksen also chose not to suspend Hanes, who hacked at Portland G Mac Carruth. That was Hanes’ first game misconduct of the season; a third game misconduct carries an automatic one-game suspension so long as it didn’t warrant an earlier suspension.
JUST NOTES: Both games start at 7 p.m., at Interior Savings Centre. . . . The Blazers are 4-6-0 in their last 10 outings, but have lost five of six, including three of four at home. . . . The Bruins also are 4-6-0 in their last 10. . . . The Blazers are billing Saturday’s game as Mascot Night and expect as many as 20 mascots to be on hand. . . . Vancouver F James Henry (knee) still is about a month from returning. He was injured in a 4-1 loss to the visiting Blazers on Dec. 27. . . . Vancouver F Spencer Bennett has 14 points, including nine goals, over his last nine games. He and linemates Brendan Gallagher and Brendan Rowinski have combined for 37 points over those nine games, in which the Giants are 6-3-0.
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