THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Doug Lynch (Red Deer, Spokane, 1998-2003) was signed to a contract extension for the rest of this season by Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) at the end of his three-month contract. He has four goals and five assists in 16 games for Red Bull this season. Last season, Lynch had seven goals and 21 assists in 44 games for Red Bull.
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Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports either has too much time on his hands, or he’s a real hard-core junior hockey fan.
Bet on the latter.
F Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers goes into the weekend with 22 goals in 16 games, which is eight more goals than any other WHL player.
“So just for fun,” Sager writes, “and to be a huge stat nerd, someone pored through 15 years of WHL game-by-game stats to look up how many other players had scored so prolifically through their first 16 games.”
We will leave it to you to figure out who that someone was.
His findings are reported right here.
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The WHL firmed up a pair of suspensions on Thursday.
F Darian Dziurzynski of the Brandon Wheat Kings will sit two games for a charging major he incurred late in their 7-3 victory over the Broncos in Swift Current on Tuesday. He will sit out Friday and Saturday games against the visiting Calgary Hitmen and Medicine Hat Tigers. (The latter game, by the way, signals Chapter 2 in the Clouston Contest, with Shaun, the head coach of the Tigers, holding 1 -0 edge over Cory, the Wheat Kings’ head coach.)
F Jordyn Boyd of the Everett Silvertips received a one-game suspension after being hit with a clipping major in a 4-3 shootout loss to the host Lethbridge Hurricanes on Wednesday.
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In the QMJHL, meanwhile, F Jonathan Lessard of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar was hit with a 15-game suspension. He initiated a knee-on-knee hit on Quebec Remparts F Nick Sorensen on Oct. 28. Sorensen, a freshman from Sweden, suffered a season-ending knee injury on the play. According to the Remparts, Sorensen has ACL and MCL damage and won’t play for up to six months.
As a sidebar to that suspension, Patrick Roy, the Remparts’ GM/head coach, was fined $2,500.
The QMJHL employs a discipline system that employs an independent disciplinarian, in this case a gentleman named Raymond Bolduc.
After the game in which Sorensen was hurt, Roy told the media that the league’s disciplinary system had one problem, that being that Bolduc was “too nice”, resulting in discipline that wasn’t nearly stiff enough.
Gilles Courteau, the QMJHL commissioner, said in a statement: "At no time will I permit that a staff member of a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League club make inappropriate comments toward League personnel, especially in regards to their capacity to accomplish a mandate which I have given them."
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JUST NOTES: The ECHL’s Alaska Aces have released G Andrew Hayes (Brandon, 2007-10). The move was made in order to make roster room for G Adam Courchaine, who played with the Aces last season but opened this season with the AHL’s Providence Bruins. The NHL’s Boston Bruins re-assigned Courchaine to the Aces on Thursday. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun reports that Hayes “is expected to go to the University of Regina.” . . . The Vancouver Giants have Russian F Alex Kuvaev, 18, on their list. Kuvaev had 24 points in 58 games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes last season, but was dropped prior to the 2011 CHL import draft. The Kootenay Ice picked up his rights, but dropped him after learning that he had signed a three-year contract with the KHL’s Dynamo Moscow. Dynamo had acquired Kuvaev’s rights from HC Vityaz Chekhov. The Giants are playing with just one import — Slovakian F Marek Tvrdon, who has 20 points in 17 games after shoulder woes limited him to 12 games (and 11 points) last season . . . .
D Zach Habscheid of the Victoria Royals will be back in the lineup tonight against the visiting Vancouver Giants. Habscheid, 19, has missed 11 games since suffering the fourth concussion of his career on Oct. 6. . . . The Royals continue to be without D Tyler Stahl, 19, who has sat out 13 games since suffering a concussion on Oct. 1.
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From today’s Regina Leader-Post:
“Delisle Chiefs goalie Cam Irwin scored an empty-net goal with 44 seconds left in Wednesday's Prairie Junior Hockey League game against the visiting Saskatoon Quakers.
Irwin, who also made 20 saves, helped the Chiefs win 7-4. Paul Sonntag led the Chiefs with two goals and an assist.”
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The Connolly family quite enjoyed it when F Brett Connolly of the Tampa Bay Lightning scored his first NHL goal the other night.
Dave Kearsey of the Western Star in Corner Brook, Nfld., has that story right here.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
This comes from the aforementioned Brett Connolly, who on Thursday afternoon tweeted:
“Nothing like buying your first car. And nothing like going to the rink in flip flops. What a job.”

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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Taking Note on Twitter

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jan Fadrny (Brandon, Kelowna, 1998-2001) signed a one-year contract with Königsbrunn (Germany, Bayernliga). He had four goals and one assist in nine games with Dresdner Eislöwen (Germany, 2.Bundesliga) and four goals and 13 assists in 23 games with Pisek (Czech Republic, 1.Liga) last season.
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And now for something completely different. . . . Mark Ferner, the head coach of the Everett Silvertips, and Steve Konowalchuk, the head coach of the Seattle Thunderbirds, will be doing a live chat today at SeattleTimes.com. The two coaches, each of them in his first season, will run from noon to 1 p.m.
If you are so inclined, you may join the chat right here.
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For the second time in two seasons, the Kelowna Rockets sent a player home in the hopes that time away from the arena will allow him to recover from post-concussion syndrome.
Last year, the Rockets sent F Kyle St. Denis home to Trail. He never did return to the Rockets, although he later completed his 20-year-old season with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies.
On Tuesday, the Rockets revealed that F Max Adolph, 19, has gone home to Saskatoon and has been placed on the indefinite injured list.
Concussions limited Adolph to 36 games last season, during which he totalled six points. He was injured on Oct. 30, returned in late November and was hurt again in January. He tried to come back in February but was sidelined again just two weeks later.
He returned for training camp and played in the Rockets’ first exhibition game but suffered another concussion.
“After assessment from our doctors, we’re doing what is in in the best interest of Max,” Rockets president and general manager Bruce Hamilton said in a news release. “Our medical team has advised Max to avoid body contact and shut his season down for now.
“The best place for Max to recover is at home with his family. We’re going to stay in touch with Max and he will be re-assessed after Christmas.”
Adolph is the son of Dave Adolph, the head coach of the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team.
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The WHL’s 20-year-old deadline — at which time each team may declare a maximum of three such players — arrives on Oct. 13.
The Tri-City Americans are going to have a tough decision to make before it gets here.
F Brendan Shinnimin is back with the Americans after skating in the camps of the NHL’s PHoenix Coyotes and the AHL’s Portland, Me., Pirates.
The Americans’ roster also includes three other 20-year-olds — D Brock Sutherland, who was plus-5 in two weekend games, F Adam Hughesman, the WHL’s player of the week, and F Mason Wilgosh.
As well, there still is a chance that D Matt MacKenzie could be returned. He went to camp with the Buffalo Sabres and now is with the AHL’s Rochester Americans.
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JUST NOTES: The Regina Pats got down to 25 players on Tuesday by assigning F Mikael Jung, 19, to the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. Jung had 16 points, eight of them goals, in 69 games with the Pats last season. That move left the Pats carrying two goaltenders, nine defencemen and 14 forwards. . . . The Brandon Wheat Kings are at 24 players after assigning three 16-year-old skaters. D Colton Waltz is off to the AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs, while F Tim McGauley and F Taylor Cooper are bound for midget AAA teams in Sherwood Park, Alta., and Notre Dame, respectively. The Wheat Kings now are carrying two goalies, nine defencemen and 13 forwards. They are missing F Brenden Walker, who hasn’t played since suffering a concussion last spring, and D Brodie Melnychuk (broken wrist). . . .
F Quinton Howden, 19, has been returned to the Moose Jaw Warriors by the NHL’s Florida Panthers. But he came back with a concussion and there isn’t a timetable for his return. Howden was injured two weeks ago in a rookie game against the Nashville Predators. Howden is a key part of the Warriors, having had 79 points, including 40 goals, in 60 games last season. . . . On Tuesday, the Warriors released veteran F Markus McCrea, 19. He played 175 games with the Everett Silvertips before being released and picked up by the Warriors. He played in the Warriors’ 4-3 victory over the Wheat Kings in Brandon on Friday but was minus-2. . . .
G Andrew Hayes, who played three seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings before spending his 20-year-old season with the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, has signed with the ECHL’s Alaska Aces. Hayes, 21, is in camp with the AHL’s Peoria Rivermen, who have an affiliation with the Aces. . . . The Swift Current Broncos have returned F Zac MacKay to the midget AAA Swift Current Legionnaires. MacKay, 17, was pointless in nine games with the Broncos last season. . . . Tyler King, the radio voice of the AJHL’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons, reports that the team has added F Cole Penner, 20, to its roster. The Prince Albert Raiders selected Penner with the fourth overall pick in the WHL’s 2006 bantam draft. Penner has played only 17 WHL games.
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The OHL issued three lengthy suspensions on Tuesday, sitting one player for 12 games, another for 10 and one for six.
The really interesting thing, however, is that the OHL also issued this news release:
“The Ontario Hockey League today announced the results of three separate disciplinary reviews. The league has taken the position, that for education purposes, any announcement regarding supplementary discipline will be supported by video footage and additional rationale for all incidents involving checking to the head, checking from behind, and others at the discretion of the league.”
If you visit the OHL website and click on one of the video links, you won’t get commissioner David Branch in front of a camera, a la Brendan Shanahan, but you will get a written explanation along with video of the infraction.
Well done, OHL!
And over to you, QMJHL and WHL.
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Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s disciplinarian, handed out two suspensions, on Tuesday. . . . F Dominik Uher of the Spokane Chiefs will sit for three games for a checking from behind major he incurred in a Saturday game against the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash. Tri-City F Jordan Messier got two games under supplemental discipline from a game against the visiting Portland Winterhawks on Sunday.
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You may recall that just last week the BCHL suspended F Logan Johnston of the Penticton Vees for 20 games after a cross-check broke an opponent’s jaw. Well, it seems the Vees appealed the suspension. Not only did the Vees lose the suspension, but the BCHL’s appeals committee — an independent body that comprises three former police officers — added five games to the suspension, turning it into a 25-game sentence.
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THE COACHING GAME:
There has been a coaching change in the MJHL where former WHL goaltender Jomar Cruz (Brandon, Tri-City, Portland, 1998-2001) has taken over as head coach of the OCN Blizzard. Cruz, who was an assistant coach with the Blizzard, was named interim head coach after Scott McMillan, who was both GM and head coach, chose to step away from coaching. McMillan was quoted in a press release as saying he “just doesn’t have the energy to keep a group of teenagers on the right track at this time.” The Blizzard opened this season 0-2-1.
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Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post was able to chat with Gerry James the other day. Gerry James? He is one of the great stories in all of Canada’s sporting history. He also took a turn as head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors. It turns out that a book — Kid Dynamite: The Gerry James Story — now is available. I will be hunting up a copy. Vanstone’s piece is right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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Taking Note on Twitter

Tuesday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT: F Oscar Möller (Chilliwack, 2006-08) signed a two-year contract with Skellefteå (Sweden, Elitserien). He had one goal and three assists in 13 games with the Los Angeles Kings (NHL) and 23 goals and 27 assists in 59 games with the Manchester Monarchs (AHL) this season. . . . Möller said to Skellefteå newspaper Norran when asked if he wanted to return to the NHL: "Absolutely. I've said to all the clubs I talked to. It is my goal to get back to the NHL. I have not given up my dream, and it is certain with Skellefteå that you have that attitude.” . . .
F Joni Lindlöf (Kelowna, Lethbridge, 2002-04) signed a one-year contract with Kristianstad (Sweden Division 1). He had 21 goals and 21 assists in 38 games for Björklöven Umeå (Sweden Division 1) this season.
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You may have seen F Mikael Granlund score that spectacular goal for Finland in the world championship game against Russia last week. The MacBeth Report points out that he did the same thing during the 2006-07 season while playing for the Kärpät Oulu bantam team. The video isn’t top-flight but you can see it right here. . . . As The MacBeth Report adds: “So in four years, he goes from bantams to scoring possibly the most talked about goal in World Championship history.”
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Allan Maki of The Globe and Mail writes today about the Kootenay Ice and the Chynoweth connection. That piece is right here.
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He was the Missing Link. But it turns out that Link Gaetz isn’t missing. Mark Emmons of the San Jose Mercury News talked with Gaetz and that story is right here.
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JUST NOTES: The U of Regina Cougars have landed a couple of former WHLers in D Mark Schneider (Kamloops, Brandon, Regina, 2006-10) and G Andrew Hayes (Brandon, 2007-10). Hayes played this season with the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. . . . Red Deer city council has supported a $1-million grant that is to be used towards adding seating to the Centrium. Paul Cowley of the Red Deer Advocate has more right here.
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THE COACHING GAME: Former NHLer Gordie Dwyer is the new head coach of the QMJHL’s P.E.I. Rocket. He had been working with the junior A Summerside Western Capitals as head coach and associate director of hockey operations. . . . The MJHL’s Winkler Flyers have signed John Marks, their director of hockey operations and head coach, to a two-year extension, while the Selkirk Steelers have signed head coach Ryan Smith to a deal that goes through 2013-14. Smith also will serve as the club‘s director of player personnel. The Steelers also will have assistant coaches Justin Harris and Jordan Sobkowicz back for another season.
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Remember the Gassoff Gang? . . . Curtis Gassoff is working hard to revive the Quesnel Kangaroos, and has applied for entry into the Central Interior Hockey League in B.C. Curtis, if you’re wondering, is Ken’s 25-year-old son. Percy Hebert of the Quesnel Cariboo-Observer has the story right here.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Regina Pats president Brent Parker: “For those wondering nothing new to report on our ongoing lease negotiations. We are looking forward to a face to face in the coming days!”

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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Taking Note on Twitter

Necklaces in play at the Crushed Can

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Martin Hohenberger (Victoria/Prince George, Lethbridge, 1993-97) has come out of retirement to sign a one-year contract with ATSE Graz (Austria Nationalliga). Hohenberger also is the assistant coach for ATSE. . . . Hohenberger was the first overall pick in the WHL's 1993 draft, taken by the Vicoria Cougars. . . .
F Zdenek Blatny (Seattle, Kootenay, 1998-2001) signed a four-game tryout contract with the Hannover Indians (Germany 2.Bundesliga). He had seven goals and eight assists in 50 games for Liberec (Czech Republic Extraliga) last season.
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CH-CH-CHING: The host Prince Albert Raiders and Swift Current Broncos engaged in some fisticuffs on Friday night. The Broncos won the game, 5-1, but the late-game line brawl cost each team in the pocketbook. The Raiders got touched for $500 because it was their second such incident this season. It was the first line brawl for the Broncos so only cost them $250.
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THE WHL AND JEWELLERY: Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald posted his on his blog after the Warriors had beaten the visiting Regina Pats on Saturday night . . .
“Call it the game within the game . . . with 2:58 left in a 5-3 game, the Warriors iced the puck. (Moose Jaw head coach Dave) Hunchak had already used his timeout and had no way of changing his tired skaters. The Pats put out their top line of Jordan Weal, Carter Ashton and Garrett Mitchell. However, Hunchak had taken note of the fact that Ashton and Weal were both wearing chains around their necks. That goes against WHL rules. Hunchak called over referee Devin Klein, pointed out the jewellery and as a result, two-thirds of the Pats top line had to leave the ice for a crucial offensive zone faceoff.
“That shift ended with the three-fight altercation that put the Warriors on the power play and effectively ended the game.”
By the way, that blog is right here.
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JUST NOTES: G Jacob DeSerres stopped 13 of 15 shots over two periods Friday as the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs scored a 7-2 victory over the visiting Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. DeSerres left after the second period with a groin pull. You’ll recall that DeSerres lost out in the 20-year-old game as the Brandon Wheat Kings released him. He cleared WHL waivers and joined the Sea Dogs in mid-October. Yes, he is still wearing his Wheat Kings-coloured goal pads. . . . (It actually was a reunion of sorts. G Andrew Hayes, another 20-year-old who was waived by Brandon, is with the Screaming Eagles but he backed up in this one.) . . . That victory left the Sea Dogs at 16-3-1, including 9-0-0 at home. It also put them in first place overall, a point ahead of the Quebec Remparts. . . . DeSerres was on the bench Saturday as the Sea Dogs were beaten at home, 4-3 in a shootout, by the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. . . . The Remparts lost 3-2 to the visiting Montreal Juniors on Saturday, so the Sea Dogs were left in first place. . . .
The WHL’s player of the week is F Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan of the Kelowna Rockets. Actually, the WHL won’t made a decision until Monday. However, Callahan put up 12 points as the Rockets went 4-0-0, winning four straight games from B.C. Division opponents. On Saturday, Callahan had a goal and two assists as the host Rockets dumped the Chilliwack Bruins, 9-3. Kelowna D Tyson Barrie helped out with a goal and three assists, while G Geordie Wudrick scored three times in the 296th regular-season game of his career. . . . The Bruins tied a franchise record for most goals-against in a regular-season game. . . . Brandon D Darren Bestland and D Ryley Miller each was plus-3 as the Wheat Kings beat the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds, 3-2. This was Seattle’s first game on an East Division swing. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 37 shots. . . .
The Calgary Hitmen, the WHL’s defending champions, saw their losing streak reach nine games as they dropped a 5-2 decision to the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook. . . . Kootenay lost F Drew Czerwonka (right shoulder) in the first period. He is questionable for the rematch in Calgary on Thursday. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen already had shut out the Hitmen twice this season. . . . D Collin Bowman had three assists to lead the host Moose Jaw Warriors to a 5-3 victory over the Regina Pats, who blew a 3-0 first-period lead by giving up four goals before the frame ended. The Warriors had won 3-1 in Regina on Friday night. . . . The Crushed Can also was home to a third-period line brawl. There were six fighting majors handed out. . . . Ch-ch-ching!!! . . . There were 2,830 fans in the 2,705-seat Crushed Can. . . . The Warriors also got two goals and an assist from F Brendan Rowinski, 20, who was playing his first game since having offseason knee surgery. The Warriors now have two weeks to declare their three 20-year-olds. They also are carrying G Thomas Heemskerk, F Dylan Hood and F Spencer Edwards. Hood was the odd-man out in this one. . . .
The Lethbridge Hurricanes scored three goals in a 4:13 stretch of the third period to erase a 4-2 deficit and beat the visiting Kamloops Blazers, 5-4. The first two of those goals came via the PP. The Blazers, who had a six-game road winning streak snapped, got three goals from F Brendan Ranford. He has 17 goals but has yet to be named to the WHL team that will a touring Russian side in Kamloops on Nov. 17. . . . Kamloops F Jordan DePape had a four-game goal-scoring streak snapped but did get three assists. . . . In Portland, the Winterhawks scored the game’s last two goals in a 4-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips. F Brad Ross broke a 2-2 tie at 16:38 of the third period and F Ryan Johansen added an empty-netter. Portland forwards Ty Rattie and Sven Bartschi both extended their point streaks to 10 games. . . . Portland has won eight in a row, the franchise’s longest run of success it won 15 in a row in 1997-98. . . . The Winterhawks open a six-game East Division swing in Swift Current on Tuesday. . . .
G Jon Groenheyde stopped 32 shots in his first with Edmonton and the Oil Kings stopped a nine-game losing skid with a 7-3 victory over the Cougars 7-3 in Prince George. F Jordan Hickmott had two goals for the Oil Kings, who lost 6-3 to the Cougars on Friday. . . . The Spokane Chiefs unleashed a 50-shot barrage at Swift Current G Adam Smith and beat the host Broncos, 3-1. The Chiefs went 3-2-1 on their East Division swing. . . . In Richland, Wash., F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice and set up another while F Byron Froese was one and two, leading the Red Deer Rebels to a 5-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans. F Kruise Reddick, the Americans’ captain, returned after being out since Oct. 9 with a concussion.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT FOR SATURDAY:
Minors:
Calgary F Trevor Cheek
Calgary F Rob Trzonkowski

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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Taking Note on Twitter