Merkley keys Rockets victory . . . Matthews to Switzerland? . . . Portland forward signs with Detroit

F Adam Courchaine (Medicine Hat, Vancouver, 2001-05) signed a one-year contract with Hradec Králové (Czech Republic, Extraliga). This season, with the Krefeld Pinguine (Germany, DEL), he had 11 goals and 12 assists in 27 games. In five games with Olten (Switzerland, NL B), he had a goal and five assists. . . . The head coach of Hradec Králové is Peter Draisaitl, the father of Kelowna Rockets F Leon Draisaitl.
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SATURDAY’S GAME:

In Brandon, F Nick Merkley scored twice, including a key shorthanded goal, and added an assist as the Kelowna Rockets beat the Wheat Kings, 5-3. . . . The Rockets lead the best-of-seven WHL championship series, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, 2-0. . . . The next three games, if needed, are scheduled for Kelowna — on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. . . . As they did in Game 1 on Friday, the Rockets scored key goals late in one period and early in another. . . . Merkley broke a 1-1 tie at 19:57 of the first period and F Gage Quinney stretched the lead to 3-1 just 27 seconds into the second period. . . . Brandon tied it on two goals by F Peter Quenneville, at 2:49 and 6:37, in the third. He’s got 10 playoff goals. . . . Merkley got the winner, his fourth goal of these playoffs, at 10:16 while skating shorthanded. . . . Moments earlier, Brandon had come up empty on a 2-on-1 break. . . . Kelowna F Leon Draisaitl closed it out with an empty-netter at 19:39. . . . F Dillon Dube had two assists for Kelowna, with Draisaitl and F Rourke Chartier each with a goal and an assist. . . . F Morgan Klimchuk had two assists for Brandon. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle stopped 38 shots, 12 more than Brandon’s Jordan Papirny. . . . Brandon was 1-for-4 on the PP; Kelowna’s PP never got on the ice. . . . The referees were Jeff Ingram and Reagan Vetter. . . . At one point in the first period, the Wheat Kings had a 5-1 edge in shots on goal. At period’s end, the Rockets led, 16-8. . . . There weren’t any lineup changes from Game 1. . . . Attendance, for the second night in a row, was 5,502. . . . Bruce Luebke, who calls Wheat Kings games on CKLQ, has a game story right here. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story right here.
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The three most powerful men in the WHL may well be Bruce Hamilton, the owner and general manager of the Kelowna Rockets; Kelly McCrimmon, the owner, GM and head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings; and Tim Speltz, the GM of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Perry Bergson takes a look right here at the relationship between Hamilton and McCrimmon, with a bit of Speltz there, too.
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F Auston Matthews isn’t eligible for the NHL draft until 2016, but there already is a lot of buzz around the phenom from Scottsdale, Ariz. As things now sit, he is considered by most observers to be the favourite as the top pick in that 2016 NHL draft. . . . Matthews is coming off a tremendous season in the U.S. National Team Development Program. . . . Now the $64,000 question is this: Where will Matthews play in 2015-16? . . . To date, the options have been seen as the NCAA (Boston College, Boston University, Denver, Michigan or North Dakota) and the WHL. The Everett Silvertips selected him in the third round of the 2012 bantam draft. . . . But perhaps there is another option. On Saturday, Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News reported that Matthews’ advisors have said he is “fielding offers from the Swiss League.” . . . Kennedy’s piece is right here. . . . No one is saying which Swiss League team or teams are involved, but, hey, what if the Kloten Flyers are in the chase? The Flyers are owned by Avenir Sports & Entertainment, which also owns the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Now there is some fodder for the conspiracy theorists.
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F Dominic Turgeon of the Portland Winterhawks has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. Turgeon, the son of former NHLer Pierre Turgeon, turned 19 on Feb. 25. He was a third-round pick by the Red Wings in the NHL’s 2014 draft. . . . This season, he had 43 points, including 18 goals, in 67 games. In three seasons, he has 82 points., 31 of them goals, in 187 games. He scored eight times in Portland’s 17 playoff games this spring. . . . Turgeon has joined the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit’s AHL affiliate, for the remainder of the playoffs.
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F Joseph Veleno's application for exceptional status that would have allowed him to play in the QMJHL at 15 years of age reportedly has been rejected by Hockey Canada. The request was made well after Hockey Canada’s deadline of Feb. 15, so it apparently wasn’t even considered. . . . Veleno now is expected to attend and play hockey at Shattuck St. Mary’s, the prep school in Faribault, Minn. He is from Kirkland, Que., and played this season with the midget AAA Lac. St-Louis Lions. In 41 games, he had 52 points, including 16 goals.
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In the OHL, the host Oshawa Generals scored a 5-1 victory over the Erie Otters to take a 2-0 lead in the championship series. . . . F Matt Mistele scored twice for Oshawa, giving him 10 goals in these playoffs. . . . Erie F Connor McDavid had his 16-game playoff point streak snapped. He has 43 points, including 19 goals, in 17 games. . . . Attendance was 6,085. . . . They’ll play in Erie on Monday and Wednesday nights.
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James Andrew Miller is the author of Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN. No outsider is more connected inside ESPN. Right here, he chronicles how ESPN came to part company with Bill Simmons. This is intriguing stuff.


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Steve McCarthy (Edmonton/Kootenay, 1996-2000) signed a one-year contract extension with ZSC Zurich (Switzerland, NL A). He started the season with Abbotsford Heat (AHL), getting two goals and eight assists in 30 games. McCarthy then signed with ZSC in late January and had one assist in eight games.
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Lester Munson, who is a legal analyst at espn.com, has taken a look at the wrongful death lawsuit filed against the NHL by the family of the late Derek Boogaard. He provides some insight into what all is going on. That piece is right here.
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The WHL got some pub at SI.com this week. Of course, the story is about the Portland Winterhawks having won the WHL championship and, yes, it mentions the little matter of those sanctions. That piece is right here. (BTW, the same story got some play from the Washington Post.)
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The Tri-City Americans have signed F Nolan Yaremko, who was a second-round pick (29th overall) in the 2013 WHL bantam draft. The 5-foot-11, 178-pound Yaremko, who is from Spirit River, Alta., played for the Edmonton-based Southside Athletic Club Southgate Lions, putting up 69 points, including 28 goals, in 33 regular-season games. He added 25 points, 11 of them goals, in 11 playoff games. . . . The Americans signed F Parker AuCoin earlier in the week, meaning they have signed their first two selections from the 2013 bantam draft.
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Travis Green, the acting GM and head coach of the Portland Winterhawks, is the flavour of the day in the coaching game. He has done a terrific job since the WHL suspended Mike Johnston, the club’s GM and head coach, for the remainder of the season on Nov. 28. But what’s next for Green? Paul Buker of The Oregonian tackles that question right here.
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Glen Gulutzan, who was fired this week as the head coach of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, now is on staff with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. Gulutzan will work with the Blades through the end of the Memorial Cup. . . . Gulutzan was with the Blades on Wednesday. . . . "We’re happy to have another set of eyes to help us out," Lorne Molleken, the Blades’ general manager and head coach, told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. "He’ll be the eye in the sky. As we go through the different games his input will be real, real important." . . . What’s the connection between Gulutzan and the Blades. As Nugent-Bowman explains: "Gulutzan played for the Blades in 1992, captaining the team to Game 7 of the WHL final before losing to the Kamloops Blazers. Molleken was the coach that season and current associate coach David Struch was the alternate captain."
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Now here's an interesting story.
Jon Kuiperij of the Metroland Media Group has a story right here about a junior A league in Ontario that is about to begin charging players to play. In fact, one general manager said his club may charge between $3,000 and $4,000. . . . Players already pay to play, but the ceiling is being removed. . . . That story is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Dave Hunchak is the new head coach of the Kamloops Blazers. Hunchak, the team’s associate coach for the past two seasons, replaces Guy Charron, who now is the advisor to hockey operations. . . . The Blazers now will hire a full-time assistant coach. . . . Before joining the Blazers, Hunchak spent four seasons as head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors and three as an assistant coach with the Swift Current Broncos. . . . According to a Blazers news release: "Charron’s new role with the hockey club will include attending practices and home games while assisting the general manager, coaching and scouting staff on all hockey related matters. Charron will also aid in on-ice skill development and represent the Blazers at local community events." . . . Charron went 144-97-20 in 3½ seasons as the Blazers head coach. He is tied with Don Hay, behind only Ken Hitchcock (291) in terms of coaching victories with the Blazers. . . . The Blazers also have re-signed Colin (Toledo) Robinson, their athletic trainer/equipment manager. Robinson, who is preparing for his 18th WHL season, joined the Blazers from the Vancouver Giants over the summer of 2005. . . . Hunchak and Robinson signed multi-year contracts. No other details were provided by the Blazers. . . . Hunchak will attend the Memorial Cup in Saskatoon, where he also is to be involved in a daily radio show during the tournament.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From ESPN's Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons), who is a huge NBA fan and follower: "Between tonight's playoff games, David Stern is going to ram a knife into the back of a giant Seattle SuperSonics piñata."

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Shayne Putzlocher of Trilight Entertainment is off to Berlin and the Berlin Film Festival today as he begins to spread the word about plans to turn the book Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos into a movie. . . . Oh yes, he’s also looking for financing. . . . Before leaving, he appeared on Saskatoon radio station CKOM and, among other things, touched on the chances that the movie might be filmed in Swift Current. That interview is right here.



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F Tyler Benson of the Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club Southgate Lions is in the process of rewriting the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League record book. There also is speculation that he may apply for ‘exceptional status’ in order to allow him to play in the WHL next season on a full-time basis, even though he will be only 15 years of age. Kristen Odland of the Calgary Herald examines that issue right here.
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If you have always wanted to own a piece of a hockey team, here’s your opportunity.
For $2,000, you now may purchase a share in the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos, who are calling this membership campaign ‘Saddle Up For Success’.
According to a news release from the Broncos: “All members hold a vote at the Annual General Meeting, provide influence on the organization through the Board of Directors and receive a charitable tax receipt issued by the City of Swift Current.”
Liam Choo-Foo, the chairman of the Broncos’ board of directors, adds: “I certainly acknowledge those people that stepped forward over 25 years ago as the original members, but as time has gone on we have lost a majority of that membership and it’s now down to less than 100 people. We would like to see it renewed and bring in new energy and enthusiasm as we go through this whole renewal of the Bronco organization.”
If you’re interested in this program, visit www.scbroncos.com.
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While the Broncos were announcing this initiative in an attempt to raise money and help guarantee their future in Swift Current and in the WHL, the league’s pooh-bahs were meeting in Las Vegas.
Yes, that Las Vegas.
You are free to wonder why the pooh-bahs wouldn’t gather in, say, Swift Current, if for no other reason than to spread some goodwill in a community that certainly does a lot to support its franchise.
You have to think the WHL folks left a fair chunk of change in Nevada, but not one penny of it will have done the league any good in terms of marketing or public relations in any of the communities in which it plays.
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The WHL has suspended D Tyler Yaworski of the Brandon Wheat Kings for six games. That’s the result of a headshot major and game misconduct for a hit on Pats D Luke Fenske in Regina on Saturday. Yaworski is a repeat offender, having served a three-game suspension for the same infraction during a game in Vancouver on Oct. 24. . . . Fenske, who is concussed, didn’t play in Regina’s 5-2 loss to the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes last night.
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The way Ryan Lambert of Yahoo! Sports sees it, the NHL is doing less to prevent and deal with concussions than is the NFL. And we all know how much concussion-related heat the NFL is receiving these days.
Lambert explains the way he sees things right here.
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Bill Simmons of ESPN and Grantland is a prolific writer who also happens to be a fan of all teams Boston. That, however, is something that hampers his thinking only on occasion. The vast majority of the time he writes with clarity and this piece right here is no exception. The title on it is Daring to Ask the PED Question.
Pour yourself a cup of coffee and dig in.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Regina, F Jamal Watson scored twice to help the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 5-2 victory over the Pats. . . . Hurricanes G Ty Rimmer stopped 48 shots. . . . Lethbridge jumped out front 2-0 by 6:03 of the first period and never looked back. . . . Regina G Matt Hewitt left at that point, having been beaten twice on four shots. . . . Watson has 14 goals this season. . . . F Sam Mckechnie got his 24th goal for Lethbridge. . . . The Pats scratched D Luke Fenske (concussed) and Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that they lost D Tye Hand with concussion-like symptoms during the game. . . .

In Prince Albert, the Edmonton Oil Kings erased a 3-1 third-period deficit and beat the Raiders 4-3 in OT. . . . The winner came from D David Musil at 3:31 of extra time. It was his seventh goal of the season. . . . The Oil Kings have won nine in a row and now hold a 13-point lead over the Calgary Hitmen atop the Eastern Conference. . . . D Davis Vandane gave the Raiders a 3-1 lead at 7:56 of the third on the PP. . . . F Michael St. Croix got his 27th goal at 12:10, on the PP, to get Edmonton to within one, and F Stephane Legault, with his 11th, tied it at 13:29. . . . Raiders G Luke Siemens stopped 48 shots. . . . The Raiders had won three in a row from Edmonton. . . .

In Saskatoon, the Blades twice erased deficits en route to a 5-4 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The Blades have won five in a row. . . . F Tanner Eberle’s shorthanded goal gave the Warriors a 2-0 lead at 16:17 of the first period. . . . F Brett Stovin scored goals 33 seconds apart, pulling Saskatoon into a tie at 3:50 of the second. Stovin, who now has seven goals, had scored just once in his previous 23 games. . . . F Brayden Point, who had two goals, gave Moose Jaw a 3-2 lead at 11:11, only to have the Blades come back with three straight goals, the last two from F Brenden Walker, who now has 18 goals. . . . Saskatoon D Duncan Siemens had one assist and was plus-4, while D Darren Dietz was pointless and plus-4. . . . Moose Jaw G Justin Paulic stopped 50 shots. . . . The Blades now trail the East Division-leading Prince Albert Raiders by six points. The teams meet tonight in Saskatoon. . . .

In Victoria, F Alex Gogolev scored his 20th goal but later left the game with a skate cut as the Royals beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-1. . . . Gogolev left early in the third period with an apparent skate cut that required immediate medical attention. . . . Cleve Dheensaw in the Victoria Times Colonist reported: “In what may be bad news for the Royals, leading-scorer Gogolev was helped off the ice in the third period with his left skate off and leaving a trail of blood from his foot. The club did not have information about the extent of the cut immediately following the game.” . . . D Joe Hicketts scored his second goal and added an assist for the Royals. . . . Victoria moved into a fifth-place tie with the idle Spokane Chiefs in the Western Conference.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Darren Dietz, Saskatoon
D Ryan Gagnon, Victoria
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From the Edmonton Oil Kings (@EdmOilKings): “ 'I had Manson and Baumgartner both on me at the same time' — Coach Laxdal reminiscing about his playing days at the Art Hauser #OldTimeWHL”
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From Regan Bartel (@Reganrant), the radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets: “USHL reduces schedule by 4 games going from 64 to 60. When does WHL reduce schedule to eliminate exorbitant amount of 3 games in 3 nights?”

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