Frog Lake plans moving forward . . . Wenatchee not ready now . . . T-Birds, Royals await test results

Coun. Hong: "I want to apologize to the community..." over heated interactions during events centre process. "This was rushed." #nanaimo

— Dominic Abassi (@domabassi) March 14, 2017

Coun. Thorpe: "we will take this as a lesson," on a message sent by voters of council's poor behaviour.

"It's a shame" the WHL rushed us

— Dominic Abassi (@domabassi) March 14, 2017

More than 48 hours after the taxpayers of Nanaimo resoundingly defeated a referendum that would have led to the relocation of the WHL’s Kootenay Ice to the Vancouver Island city, the WHL has yet to comment.

Presumably, the high foreheads are huddled together and studying options after that referendum — the City wanted the OK to borrow $80 million for an events centre that would house a WHL team — was soundly rejected. If you missed it, 80 per cent of the 23,885 people who voted said NO.

So . . . if places like Winnipeg, Wenatchee, Wash., Penticton and Abbotsford aren’t options, what’s left?

You may recall that it was eight months ago when Alberta’s Frog Lake First Nation announced that it wants to build a complex just west of Lloydminster, Alta., that would include an arena. It also revealed that it wanted a WHL franchise for that arena.

It seems that those plans continue to move forward but there isn’t yet a shovel in the ground. In fact, mylloydminsternow.com reports right here that it all is moving through the regulatory process with Vermilion River County and the City of Lloydminster.

The plans for the complex also include a casino and that awaits direction from Alberta Gaming and Liquor, which presently has in place a moratorium on any new casinos. With the proposed site just off Highway 16 (the Yellowhead Highway), there also is traffic-impact study in progress.

In other words, an arena there is a long ways away.

The difference between that site and Nanaimo is that the Vancouver Island community has a facility — the 2,400-seat Frank Crane Arena — that would have housed the WHL team until the new arena was ready. In Lloydminster, the Centennial Civic Centre, with 1,700 seats, likely is seen as being too small, even on a temporary basis. It is home to the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats.

It’s interesting that the WHL went so far as to sign a memorandum of understanding with Nanaimo that guaranteed a team and a 20-year lease had the referendum passed and a new arena been built.

Bruce Simms, the project manager for Frog Lake, told mylloydminsternow.com:

“What we’re hearing is ‘if you build a building, and you talk to us to apply, we’ll be very interested.’

“They’re not really going to talk to you seriously until you’ve taken concrete steps to build a facility. But the fact that we are talking to them, and hearing what they have to say about arena size and equipment, etc., they understand we’re serious.”

The WHL has to hope they’re serious, because that flat, undeveloped piece of land just west of Lloydminster, Alta., may be their only hope right now.

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Coun. Bestwick says unless there is a different model, events centre discussion likely won't come up again for 10+ years in #Nanaimo

— Dominic Abassi (@domabassi) March 14, 2017

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Just because Wenatchee isn’t an option for the WHL at the moment, doesn’t mean it won’t re-enter the picture at a later date.

Bliss Littler, the BCHL’s franchise’s general manager and head coach, told Taking Note on Monday evening: “We’re not there as an organization yet. We should catch up soon.”

The Wild plays out of the 4,300-seat Toyota Town Center.

The Wild had the BCHL’s best record (45-9-4) during the regular season and eliminated the Prince George Spruce Kings from a first-round series on Sunday. The Wild is preparing to face the Chilliwack Chiefs in the second round.

According to announced attendances, the Wild drew 73,837 fans to 29 home regular-season games this season, an average of 2,546 per game.

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F Mathew Barzal of the Seattle Thunderbirds has been isolated while the team waits to see if he does have mumps.

Russ Farwell, the WHL team’s general manager, said Monday morning that “we are being careful but will not know for three days. We are treating it as mumps until we learn otherwise.”

Barzal has undergone tests and it is those results which the team awaits.

If it turns out that Barzal has mumps, the Thunderbirds will become the fourth WHL team to have been stricken, along with the Brandon Wheat Kings, Medicine Hat Tigers and Swift Current Broncos.

The Victoria Royals are awaiting tests on head coach Dave Lowry and defencemen Ralph Jarratt and Mitchell Prowse, who have been isolated since late last week after showing symptoms.

There is an outbreak of mumps in the state of Washington and it has spread to the U of Washington, where at least a dozen students have been diagnosed.

According to KING 5, a Seattle TV station, the Washington State Health department has reported 563 cases of mumps, with more than 200 each in King and Spokane counties. That is quite an increase from 2016 when 154 confirmed and probable cases were reported statewide.

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The Swift Current Broncos have signed F Ethan Regnier, 16, who is a native of Prince Albert. He played this season with the midget AAA Swift Current Legionnaires, recording 18 goals and 36 assists in 44 games. Last season, he had 10 goals and eight assists in 41 games with the Legionnaires. . . . He was an 11th-round selection in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. . . . Regnier was on the bus with the Broncos when it left Monday for Brandon and a game tonight (Tuesday) with the Wheat Kings.

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F Tate Popple, who turned 17 on March 3, has joined the Moose Jaw Warriors for the remainder of this season. Popple, from Brandon, played the past two seasons with the midget AAA Wheat Kings. He had 30 points, including 12 goals, in 44 games last season. This season, he put up 22 goals and 32 assists in 41 games. . . . He is the son of Lavern Popple, who played 18 games with the WHL’s Wheat Kings (1977-80).

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The Kootenay Ice has shut down D Austin Wellsby and D Sam Huston for the remainder of the season, both with undisclosed injuries. . . . Wellsby, 19, had six goals and 12 assists in 60 games in what was his second full season with the Ice. From Chilliwack, B.C., he was a fourth-round pick in the WHL’s 2012 bantam draft. . . . Huston, 17, had a goal and four assists in 45 in his freshman season. From Brandon, he was a ninth-round selection in the 2014 bantam draft.

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The Everett Silvertips have added F Dawson Butt to their roster. He has been playing for the Everett Jr. Silvertips 16UAAA club (NAPHL), who are coached by former WHL/NHL F Turner Stevenson. A native of Buckley, Wash., Butt was a sixth-round selection in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. He has played two games with the Silvertips this season. . . . In 22 regular-season games with the Jr. Silvertips, Butt had 18 goals and 11 assists. . . . He is the son of Jamie Butt, who played four WHL seasons (1992-96) with the Tacoma/Kelowna Rockets.

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The Kamloops Blazers have added three 16-year-olds — D Devan Harrison, G Max Palaga and F Brodi Stuart — to their roster for the remainder of this season. . . . Harrison, a second-round pick in the 2015 WHL bantam draft, had five goals and 24 assists in 44 games with the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals. . . . Palaga, who is from Kamloops, played this season with the Thompson Blazers of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. . . . Stuart had 44 points, including 18 goals, in 34 games with the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League.

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Dave Burkholder won’t be back for a 17th season as head coach of the Niagara U Purple Eagles. The move comes after a 5-31-3 season. That included three regular-season victories and two more in a first-round upset of RIT in an Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal series. Canisius eliminated Niagara from playoffs last weekend. . . . The school is saying the decision for change was “mutual.” . . . In a news release, athletic director Simon Gray said: "Both Dave and the university have decided that a change in leadership is best for the program.” . . . Burkholder’s record at Niagara was 247-279-68.

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If the playoffs began today . . . 

Eastern Conference

Regina vs. Calgary

Medicine Hat vs. Brandon

Moose Jaw vs. Swift Current

Lethbridge vs. Red Deer

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Western Conference

Seattle vs. Tri-City

Prince George vs. Victoria

Kelowna vs. Kamloops

Everett vs. Portland

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MONDAY’S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.

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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Swift Current at Brandon, 7 p.m.

Edmonton vs. Kootenay, at Cranbrook, B.C., 7 p.m.

Red Deer at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.

Prince Albert at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.

Saskatoon at Regina, 7 p.m.

Portland vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.

Victoria vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7 p.m.

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A nightmare for junior teams? . . . Meet Vaughn Karpan . . . Tigers win clash of leaders

Very meaningful memorial will be erected here in the near future as the 30th anniversary of the Broncos bus crash approaches on Dec 30. 🍀 pic.twitter.com/4HBK5GJHSq

— Candace (@c_woodside) November 2, 2016

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F Toni Rajala (Brandon, 2009-10) has signed a two-year extension with Biel-Bienne (Switzerland, NL A). He has 13 goals and four assists in 19 games.

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These days, the OHL’s London Knights are the most successful of the CHL’s 60 franchises. The defending Memorial Cup champions regularly play in front of 9,000 fans at Budweiser Gardens. Morris Dalla Costa of the London Free Press has following the OHL and the Knights for a long time and has written a column on the proposed class-action lawsuit filed by current and past players as they attempt to have the CHL teams in Alberta and Ontario pay them at least minimum wage and benefits. Late last week, Justice R.J. Hall of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench ordered teams to turn over financial statements and tax records. “It’s a nightmare decision for the junior teams,” Dalla Costa writes. . . . He fully understands that a ruling favouring the players may cause havoc with some franchises. “Some of the junior hockey teams, the small market teams,” Dalla Cost writes, “would be justified with those concerns. But junior hockey is a business and as business partners, teams will have to find a way to help each other survive . . . or not.” . . . His complete column is right here.

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Vaughn Karpan is one of the most impressive and most thoughtful people I have met during more than 40 years around the world of hockey. We both are from northern Manitoba — he was born in Flin Flon and calls The Pas home; I was born in Sherridon and call Lynn Lake home — so perhaps that is why we hit it off. He really is an intriguing guy and had quite a playing career; for one thing, he was on Team Canada when it won the 1987 Izvestia Cup right in Moscow. He is correct when he says “it’s something nobody in Canada talks about.” It should be remembered as one of the greatest moments in Canada’s hockey history. . . . Anyway, Karpan recently left the scouting staff of the Montreal Canadiens to sign on with the expansion Las Vegas franchise as director of player personnel. So why would he leave the Canadiens for an expansion franchise in Las Vegas, which is a long, long way from The Pas? . . . Lucas Aykroyd of iihf.com talks with Karpan about that and a lot more right here.

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Got a tip or some information you feel could be useful to me, feel free to email me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

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The BCHL’s Wenatchee Wild has signed Bliss Littler, its general manager and head coach, through the 2020-21 season. The Wild is in its second season in the BCHL, having moved from the NAHL. . . . Last season, the Wild finished 34-16-4-4 and lost a divisional final series. This season, the Wild is 13-2-1-0 and sits atop the six-team Mainland Division. Its .844 winning percentage is No. 1. . . . Littler, one of junior hockey's most successful coaches, has been coaching since 1989 when he was an assistant coach with the SJHL’s Minot Americans.

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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:

What a shot by Nikita Pop-Pop-Popugaev and the Warriors win 3-2 in OT. pic.twitter.com/HUvDxsjI3L

— Moose Jaw Warriors (@MJWARRIORS) November 3, 2016

At Brandon, F Nikita Popugaev scored at 2:13 of OT as the Moose Jaw Warriors overcame a 2-0 deficit and beat the Wheat Kings, 3-2. . . . Popuvaev finished with two goals — he has 11 — and an assist. . . . F Reid Duke had given Brandon a 2-0 lead with goals at 9:35 of the first period and 7:37 of the second. . . . Popugaev cut into that lead at 8:09 of the second and drew the secondary assist when F Brayden Watts tied it, with his second goal, at 19:06. . . . G Brody Willms stopped 28 shots for the victory, while Brandon’s Logan Thompson made 37 saves. . . . The Warriors were 0-7 on the PP; the Wheat Kings were 0-2. . . . Moose Jaw (10-3-2) has won three in a row. . . . Brandon (6-6-3) has lost four straight. . . . The Wheat Kings continue to be without F Nolan Patrick, while the Warriors again scratched injured F Brett Howden. . . . Announced attendance: 2,825.

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At Everett, F Dominic Zwerger scored twice as the Silvertips skated to a 4-1 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Zwerger, who has six goals, opened the scoring 26 seconds into the game. . . . F Patrick Bajkov’s sixth goal make it 2-0 at 2:13. . . . Everett went up 3-0 when Zwerger scored again, at 6:53 of the second period, on a PP. . . . F Michael Spacek’s ninth goal got Red Deer on the board at 14:07 of the second. . . . Everett F Eetu Tuulola ended the scoring with his fourth goal, via a penalty shot, at 11:11 of the third period. . . . Bajkov added an assist to his goal. . . . G Carter Hart came up with 27 saves for the Silvertips. . . . Red Deer G Lasse Petersen made 28 stops. . . . Everett was 1-4 on the PP; Red Deer was 0-3. . . . The Silvertips (12-2-2) are 4-0-1 in their last five. . . . The Rebels (8-7-2) have lost four in a row. . . . F Matt Fonteyne returned to Everett’s lineup after missing eight games with a shoulder injury He drew the primary assist on Bajkov’s goal. . . . The Rebels are without D Carson Sass, who left the team to attend a grandfather’s funeral. The Rebels brought in D Jacob Herauf from the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings. . . . Announced attendance: 2,657.

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Wishing @TheWHL referee and #Kelowna's Steve Papp a solid start to season tonight in Kamloops. Has been out after undergoing hernia surgery.

— Regan Bartel (@Reganrant) November 2, 2016

At Kamloops, F Jordy Bellerive scored at 1:44 of OT to give the Lethbridge Hurricanes a 2-1 victory over the Blazers. . . . Bellerive has four goals. . . . F Collin Shirley’s seventh goal gave the Blazers a 1-0 lead, on a PP, at 7:27 of the first period. . . . F Giorgio Estephan’s seventh goal pulled the visitors even at 12:26 of the second period. . . . D Kord Pankewicz had two assists for the winners. . . . The Hurricanes got 27 saves from G Stuart Skinner. . . . G Connor Ingram turned aside 30 shots for the Blazers. . . . Kamloops was 1-5 on the PP; Lethbridge was 0-2. . . . The Hurricanes (7-7-2) have won two in a row. . . . The Blazers slid to 9-9-0. . . . Announced attendance: 3,448.

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Raiders forward Cavin Leth shares a laugh pre-game with two ex-teammates, T-Birds Matt Berlin and Turner Ottenbreit pic.twitter.com/b2Ca6SJ1iV

— Jeff D'Andrea (@Jeff_paNOW) November 3, 2016

At Prince Albert, the Seattle Thunderbirds erased a 2-0 deficit with five third-period goals and beat the Raiders, 5-2. . . . Seattle (6-6-1) has won two in a row and now is 3-1-0 on its six-game East Division tour. . . . The Raiders (4-11-1), who have settled into the league basement, have lost four straight. They are 1-6-1 at home. . . . The Raiders jumped out front 2-0 in the first period on goals from F Luke Coleman (5), at 12:03, and F Parker Kelly (3), at 13:41. . . . The Thunderbirds erased that with three goals in 40 seconds, with F Nolan Volcan (5) scoring at 4:26 of the third period, F Ryan Gropp (2) counting at 4:43 and F Dillon Hamaliuk (1) breaking the tie at 5:06. . . . Seattle got insurance from F Ian Briscoe (2), at 10:10, and F Sami Moilanen (4), at 11:04. . . . Moilanen also had an assist for a two-point game. . . . G Rylan Toth stopped 25 shots for the Thunderbirds. . . . Prince Albert starter Ian Scott surrendered five goals on 30 shots in 51:04. Nick Sanders finished up with nine saves. . . . Each team was 0-5 on the PP. . . . Announced attendance: 1,975. . . . Before the game, the Raiders dropped F Dylan Williamson, 18, from their roster. A fourth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft, he had one assist in eight games this season. Last season he had three goals and four assists in 60 games with the Raiders.

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At Prince George, F Steve Owre had a goal and three assists as the Medicine Hat Tigers, the WHL’s highest-scoring team, dumped the Cougars, 6-4. . . . The Tigers (11-4-1) have won three in a row and sit atop the Central Division. . . . The Cougars (13-3-2) had been 5-0-2 in their previous seven games. They continue to lead the B.C. Division and the overall standings. However, their lead atop the overall standings is down to two points over the Everett Silvertips (12-2-2), who hold two games in hand. . . . The Regina Pats (11-0-3) are three points behind the Cougars and have four games in hand. . . . F Jared Bethune put the Cougars out front with his sixth goal, shorthanded, at 2:28 of the first period. . . . The Tigers took control with the next three goals. F Max Gerlach (10) got it started at 12:25 of the first period. Owre, who has two goals, got a shorthanded score at 19:18. F Zach Fischer (9) scored on the PP for a 3-2 lead at 9:50 of the second period. . . . The Cougars got back to within one when D Sam Ruopp scored his second goal, at 17:46. . . . The Tigers then got the next two goals, with D David Quenneville (9) getting a PP goal at 4:09 of the third period and Fischer scoring again, at 6:47. . . . The Cougars made it interesting on goals from F Yan Khomenko (6) at 13:18 and F Jesse Gabrielle (7), on a PP, at 18:20. . . . Medicine Hat F John Dahlstrom iced it with the empty-netter at 19:32. He’s got seven goals. . . . F Chad Butcher had two assists for the visitors. . . . Bethune recorded two helpers for the Cougars. . . . The Tigers got 36 stops from G Nick Schneider, while G Ty Edmonds turned aside 31 for the Cougars. . . . Medicine Hat was 2-3 on the PP; Prince George was 1-2. . . . F Kody McDonald of the Cougars was hit with a slashing major and game misconduct at game’s end. At the same time, the on-line scoresheet indicates that Ruopp took a fighting major and game misconduct. It would appear to have been a one-man fight and that could result in disciplinary action. . . . Announced attendance: 2,737.

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#1 in the country, #1 in your hearts! #JoinTheRegiment https://t.co/5PPcejPouQ

— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) November 2, 2016

At Regina, the Pats celebrated their move to the top of the CHL rankings with a 10-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Pats (11-0-3) have won seven in a row and remain the only one of the CHL’s 60 teams not have been beaten in regulation time. . . . The Ice (3-9-4) was coming off a weekend sweep of the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . D Connor Hobbs had a goal and three assists, with F Filip Ahl, F Nick Henry and F Sam Steel each scoring twice and adding an assist. F Dawson Leedahl and F Adam Brooks each had three assists and F Austin Wagner had two. . . . The Ice got both of its goals from F Fedor Rudakov. . . . G Jordan Hollett stopped 30 shots for Regina. . . . Kootenay starter Payton Lee gave up six goals on 39 shots through 40 minutes. Jakob Walter played the third period, stopping 19 of 23 shots. . . . Regina had a 62-32 edge in shots. . . . Regina was 2-3 on the PP; Kootenay was 0-6. . . . The Pats had D Sergey Zborovskiy, D James Hilsendager and D Brady Pouteau back from injury when they beat the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds, 6-3, on Sunday. . . . Hilsendager, who missed five games, and Zborovskiy, who sat out one game, played against the Ice, but Pouteau was scratched. He had suffered an ankle injury in the preseason. . . . Announced attendance: 3,713.

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.@SCBroncos F Tyler Steenbergen (@T_Steener) has 30 goals in his last 53 games since coming back from Christmas break last season

— Shawn Mullin (@shawnmullin) November 3, 2016

At Swift Current, D Aaron Irving’s third goal of the season, just 29 seconds into OT, gave the Edmonton Oil Kings a 5-4 victory over the Broncos. . . . The Oil Kings built a 4-0 lead and then watched as the home team tied it with four third-period goals. . . . Edmonton earned its lead on goals from F Davis Koch (3) at 4:56 of the first period, F Branden Klatt (2) at 5:55 of the second period, F Nicholas Bowman (2) at 6:20 and F Lane Bauer (8), on a PP, at 11:49. . . . F Tyler Steenbergen got the Broncos started at 3:47 of the third period, via a PP. . . . D Kade Jensen (2) made it 4-2 at 7:02. . . . Steenbergen (12), on a PP, made it a one-goal game, at 10:44. . . . D Artyom Minulin (4) forced OT when he scored at 19:22, with G Taz Burman on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Koch, Irving and Bauer had an assist each. . . . Minulin, D Max Lajoie and F Aleksi Heponiemi had two assists each for the Broncos, while Steenbergen added an assist to his brace of goals. . . . G Patrick Dea stopped 32 shots for the victors. That included stopping F Arthur Miller on a penalty shot at 7:57 of the second period. . . . Swift Current starter Travis Child was beaten four times on 21 shots in 31:49. Burman came on in relief and allowed one goal on 14 shots in 27:57. . . . Each team was 2-5 on the PP. . . . The Oil Kings (5-8-2) snapped a three-game losing skid. . . . The Broncos are 9-5-3. . . . The Broncos have dropped D Noah King, 17, from their roster and brought in F Josh Baker, 17, who had been with the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints. An eighth-round pick in the 2014 WHL bantam draft, Baker is expected to say with the Broncos through the weekend. King had gotten into only four of their first 16 games. He was pointless. King, from Winnipeg, was a 10th-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. . . . Announced attendance: 1,801.

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THURSDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.

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FRIDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Seattle at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.

Medicine Hat at Kamloops, 7 p.m.

Edmonton at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.

Kootenay at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.

Saskatoon at Regina, 7 p.m.

Red Deer at Spokane, 7:05 p.m.

Calgary at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

Portland vs. Tri-City, at Kennewick, Wash., 7:05 p.m.

Kelowna vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7:30 p.m.

Lethbridge at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
This was filed late Friday night . . .
No player moves today but we have some Glen Hanlon news. This is from the English-version website of the Belarus Ice Hockey Association:
Former Belarus national team head coach, Canadian specialist Glen Hanlon arrived in Minsk on May 29 by invitation of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Association to hold negotiations on the prospects of his work as the national team head coach. Earlier, the Canadian had lead the team in 2005, 2006, and 2009. Let’s note that team Belarus achieved its best result at the IIHF WMs with Glen Hanlon as a head coach in 2006 in Latvia (6th place) and in 2009 the team promoted to the quarterfinals (8th place). Glen Hanlon also coached HC Dinamo Minsk in 2009.”
The contract of head coach Andrei Skabelka wasn’t renewed at the end of May. Belarus is the host team for the 2014 IIHF world championship.
Last month, Hanlon resigned from his position as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Giants.
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The moves....
F Mark Derlago (Brandon, 2003-07) signed a one-year contract with Aalborg (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga). He had 30 goals and 41 assists in 41 games for Anyang Halla (South Korea, Asian Hockey League) this season. Derlago finished fifth in league scoring. . . .
Mora (Sweden, Allsvenskan) announced the signings of F Jeremy Colliton (Prince Albert, 2001-05) and D Jonathan Harty (Everett, 2004-08) to one-year contracts. . . . Colliton played senior hockey with the Allan Cup-champion Bentley Generals (Alberta, Chinook Hockey League) this season. He had 11 goals and 16 assists in 41 games as captain of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) last season. . . . Harty had two goals and nine assists in 18 games with Angers (France, Ligue Magnus) this season.
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At least two WHLers are going back into the NHL draft. . . . F Shane McColgan of the Saskatoon Blades wasn’t signed by the New York Rangers. They had selected him in the fifth round of the 2011 NHL draft. McColgan, who will be heading into his 20-year-old season, had 66 points in 69 games with the Blades, who last summer acquired the native of Manhattan Beach, Calif., from the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Meanwhile, Spokane Chiefs D Brendan Kichton also will be available in the draft. Kichton, from Spruce Grove, Alta., was a fifth-round pick by the New York Islanders in the 2011 draft. He led all WHL defencemen in scoring in each of the last three seasons, putting up 81, 74 and 85 points, but the Islanders chose not to sign him. Kichton has used up his junior eligibility.
As well, I don’t believe the Ottawa Senators signed Victoria Royals D Jordan Fransoo, who was a seventh-round selection in 2011, while I don’t think the Winnipeg Jets signed D Zach Yuen, who was a fourth-round pick. Both are heading into their 20-year-old seasons.
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F Luke Paulsen, who played three seasons with the Kootenay Ice, will attend the U of Manitoba and play for the Bisons in 2013-14. Paulsen, from Winnipeg, was with the Ice from 2009-12 and at one point in 2011-12 actually retired from the game after suffering a brain injury. This season, he got into 19 games with the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues.
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The Vancouver Giants simply are rolling the dice with the trade they made to acquire D Dalton Thrower from the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Dickson Liong has that story right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Steve Christie, a native of Winnipeg, is the U of Manitoba Bisons’ new goaltending coach. Christie, 28, played four seasons (2006-11) with the Bisons before going onto a pro career. He got into 14 games this season with the Southern Professional league’s Pensacola Ice Flyers.
The USHL’s Omaha Lancers have signed Brian Kaufman as their general manager and head coach. Kaufman, 29, was an assistant coach with the Lancers last season. Kaufman played four seasons at Miami U (Ohio) and spent 2011-12 there as a graduate assistant coach. . . . Kaufman replaces Mike Aikens after he and the Lancers agreed to go their different ways with two games left in the regular season. Kaufman ran the bench after Aikens left.
The Central league’s Brampton Beast has hired former professional player Brent Hughes as an assistant coach. He will work alongside head coach Mark Desantis. . . . The Beast is preparing for its first season in Brampton. Desantis and Hughes were teammates and roommates while playing with the Central league’s Amarillo Gorillas. Hughes, who played four seasons in the Central league, also played with the OHL’s Brampton Battalion in 2001-02.
The NAHL’s Wenatchee Wild, the new version, has signed general manager/head coach Bliss Littler. The Wild franchise that Littler coached this season has moved to the Hidalgo, Texas, and has been replaced in Wenatchee by the former Fresno Monsters. The Fresno franchise has adopted the Wild nickname and owner David White has signed Littler to a five-year deal. . . . Chris Clark and Tom Rudrud will return as the assistant coaches.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Andrej Kudrna (Vancouver, Red Deer, 2008-11) was assigned to Skalica (Slovakia, Extraliga) by Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL) for the rest of this season. He has one goal in 13 games for Slovan and 10 goals and three assists in 18 games for Skalica this season. . . .


F Parker Stanfield (Prince George, Everett, 2007-11) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Poprad (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had six goals and seven assists in 33 games with the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL) this season. . . .


F Marek Curilla (Kootenay, Medicine Hat, 2005-06) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Zvolan (Slovakia, Extraliga) after obtaining his release from Most (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). He had six goals and 11 assists in 40 games with Most this season.


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The WHL’s pooh-bahs, no doubt somewhat played out from what has been a hectic schedule with lots of three-in-three and four-in-five stretches, are gathering in Las Vegas this weekend for two days of meetings that are to begin on Monday.
These aren’t shaping up as your normal run-of-the-mill, dog-days-of-February meetings, either.
No.
You may recall that it was in late November when the WHL hammered the Portland Winterhawks for what it called “a series of violations of WHL Regulations.”
The Winterhawks were banned from the first five rounds of the 2013 bantam draft, lost their first-round draft picks in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, and had their general manager and head coach Mike Johnston suspended for the remainder of this season, including the playoffs. Oh, and the Winterhawks also were fined $200,000.
The Winterhawks have admitted to some violations but are of the opinion that the punishment far exceeds the crimes.
Apparently, there is no appeal process to decisions such as these within the WHL. But the Winterhawks, with owner Bill Gallacher planning to attend, are hoping to have their say in Las Vegas.
We will find out early next week, then, if this is one of those situations where what happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas.
Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune has more right here, including the fact that the Winterhawks have consulted legal counsel.
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While you’re waiting for that meeting to start, you may want to read this piece right here by Ken Goe of The Oregonian. It’s about Mike Johnston and a hospital visit he made more than a year ago. It’s interesting that very few people were aware of this until now.
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The WHL has posted a job opening for director, communications, the position presently filled by Cory Flett.
Here’s the job description:
“The WHL Director, Communications will be responsible to manage all aspects of the WHL Communications portfolio including media relations, the WHL website; social media platforms; WHL broadcast agreements and other media partnerships; WHL publications; WHL awards; the WHL results system and other special projects.”
All that for one person? Job must pay awfully well.
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If you look in on the Saskatoon Blades tonight — they are at home to the Swift Current Broncos — you will note that they are wearing new and different sweaters. Here’s how Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix described the sweaters as “featuring navy blue, royal blue and grey strips and a stylized ‘Blades’ logo where the ‘L’ is a hockey stick.” . . . These sweaters are the result of a contest in which fans were asked for design ideas. . . . Nugent-Bowman reports that there were 113 entries. Those were whittled down to five and then put to a fan vote. . . . The winning design is from Fabio Burà of Switzerland.
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Bliss Littler, the head coach of the NAHL’s Wentchee Wild, has drawn a five-game suspension and assistant coach Chris Clark is gone indefinitely. That is the fallout from Clark’s turn as a blindman during a recent game in Wenatchee.
Stephen Heisler of juniorhockey.com has more right here.

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An Associated Press story out of the Super Bowl in New Orleans begins like this:
“ It defies logic that there are now far more precautions taken to protect NFL players from head trauma than youth and high school football players, said several current or former NFL players speaking on behalf of a group advocating safer sports.”
That story is right here.
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Two former NFL players have undergone tests that “may have found a destructive protein called tau” in their brains.
What this means is that the science involving brains and concussions is progressing.
That story, written by CNN’s Stephanie Smith, is right here.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Regina, F Lane Scheidl scored twice and added an assist to help the Regina Pats to a 3-2 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . The Pats had lost eight straight. . . . Brandon has dropped four in a row. . . . Scheidl has 26 goals. . . . He broke a 2-2 tie at 17:28 of the third period. . . . F Jayce Hawryluk had both Brandon goals, giving him 13. . . . G Jordan Papirny, 16, the 22nd selection in the 2011 bantam draft, made his WHL debut with the Wheat Kings. They are without Corbin Boes (knee) and have been going with Curtis Honey. . . . Papirny stopped 21 shots and was returned to the midget AAA Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club Athletics after the game. . . .

In Moose Jaw, D Morgan Rielly drew four assists as the Warriors doubled the Medicine Hat Tigers, 8-4. . . . The teams combined for seven goals in the second period, with F Curtis Valk scoring three times for the Tires, two of them on the PP. . . . Moose Jaw emerged with a 5-3 lead. . . . Valk has 32 goals. . . . Moose Jaw F Bryson Gore, who went into the game with 10 points, had a goal, his seventh, and two assists. . . . The Warriors now have won four of five. . . .

In Saskatoon, G Andrey Markarov posted his WHL-leading sixth shutout as the Blades dumped the Calgary Hitmen, 6-0. . . . He has a franchise-record eight shutouts in his WHL career, having broken the record he had shared with Braden Holtby (2006-09). . . . Makarov made 42 saves as the Blades won their third in a row. He has allowed one goal in the three victories. . . . F Brenden Walker and F Nathan Burns each had two goals for Saskatoon. . . . The Hitmen are three games into a nine-game road swing. . . . F Brooks Macek of the Hitmen played in his 300th regular-season game. . . . Blades F Josh Nicholls scored his 33rd goal, to give him 286 career points. He had bee tied with Saskatoon associate coach David Struch for 12th on the Blades’ alltime list. . . . Saskatoon F Shane McColgan picked up two assists, giving him 250 career points. . . .

In Edmonton, G Laurent Brossoit stopped 23 shots as the Oil Kings beat the Swift Current Broncos, 3-0. . . . Brossoit has three shutouts this season and eight in his career. . . . Edmonton has won seven in a row and leads the Eastern Conference standings by nine points over Calgary. . . . F Curtis Lazar scored the game’s first two goals, giving him 26. . . . The Oil Kings have won 13 of 15, blanking the opposition in six of those games. . . .

In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes erased a 2-1 third-period deficit and beat the Red Deer Rebels, 3-2. . . . Lethbridge F Sam Mckechnie scored an unassisted shorthanded goal at 11:24 of the third to tie the score. . . . F Russell Maxwell won it with his 19th goal at 17:09. . . . Mckechnie has 23 scores this season. . . .


In Kamloops, F Kale Kessy and F Colin Smith enjoyed five-point nights as the Blazers downed the Spokane Chiefs, 8-4. . . . Kessy had two goals and three assists in what was the first five-point game of his career. . . . Smith had a goal and four assists for his second five-point outing. . . . Smith also earned his 250th career point. . . . F Tim Bozon, the third member of that line, had two goals, giving him 31, and two assists. . . . F Mitch Holmberg had three goals for the Chiefs, giving him a career-high 30 on the season. He scored 27 last season. Holmberg also has a career-high in points (57), two more than he recorded last season. . . . Spokane D Jason Fram left the game at 8:45 of the second period. Unable to put weight on his left leg, he needed help getting off the ice and didn’t return. . . .

In Prince George, F Chase Witala scored three times to help the Cougars to a 6-2 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Witala scored the Cougars’ first two goals, at which point he had scored his team’s previous five goals. . . . He has 14 goals this season, six of them in his last three games. . . . Cougars D Dallas Ehrhardt had a goal and two assists. . . . The Cougars were awarded two penalty shots in this one. F Colin Jacobs beat G Coleman Vollrath t 7:14 of the second period; F Jarrett Fontaine was foiled by G Patrik Polivka at 13:38 of the third. . . . The Royals were coming off a 6-1 loss to the Rockets in Kelowna on Thursday night. Not many teams play one night in Kelowna and the next night in Prince George. . . . The Cougars are without G Brett Zarowny (concussion), so had Ty Edmonds, 16, on the bench, backing up Mac Engel. Edmonds plays for the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals. . . .

In Vancouver, F Colton Sissons scored twice and G Jackson Whistle stopped 32 shots as the Kelowna Rockets beat the Giants, 5-1. . . . Sissons broke a 1-1 tie at 3:19 of the first period. . . . After scoring those three early goals, the teams didn’t score again until Sissons got his 20th of the season at 2:42 of the third period. . . . Whistle was acquired by the Rockets from Giants on Sept. 7 for a 2014 third-round bantam draft pick. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Ty Rattie had a goal and three assists as the Portland Winterhawks dumped the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent), 5-3. . . . Portland D Shaun MacPherson broke a 2-2 tie with his first WHL goal at 6:55 of the second period and Rattie upped the lead to 4-2, on the PP, at 17:55. . . . Portland F Nic Petan, who leads the WHL in scoring, got his 36th goal, and two assists, while F Brendan Leipsic also had a goal, his 34th, and two helpers. . . . Rattie is riding a 16-game point streak. . . . Portland was 3-10 on the PP; Seattle was 0-3. . . . Petan leads the WHL in goals, assists (57) and points (93). He has five points more than Leipsic and eight more than Kamloops F Colin Smith. . . .

In Everett, the Tri-City Americans scored twice in the circus and beat the Silvertips, 2-1. . . . F Malte Strömwall gave the Americans a 1-0 lead just 23 seconds into the first period. . . . F Logan Aasman pulled Everett even at 4:25 of the third. . . . F Justin Feser and Strömwall scored shootout goals to win it. . . . With G Austin Lotz (foot) out, the Silvertips had Nik Amundrud, 15, on the bench in support of starter Daniel Cotton. Amundrud was a third-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft. He is playing with the midget AAA Tisdale, Sask., Trojans.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Dalton Thrower, Saskatoon
F Greg Chase, Calgary
D Mathew Dumba, Red Deer
F Alexander Delnov, Seattle
F Justin Gutierrez, Tri-City

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Adam Lowry, Swift Current
F Ben Walker, Victoria
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From F Cody Fowlie (@Fowls11) of the Kelowna Rockets: “Just got a hug from Joe Sakic. I literally almost cried. #isthisreallife? #burnabyjoe #newbestbud”

Former WHLer David Rutherford with the Kelly Cup that he
and his Florida Everblades teammates won on Wednesday night.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Filip Novak (Regina, 1999-2002) signed a one-year contract extension with Dynamo Moscow (Russia, KHL). He had two goals and nine assists in 39 games for the KHL champions this season. . . .
D Tomas Slovak (Kelowna, 2001-03) signed a one-year contract with Plzen (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had one goal and one assist in 31 games for Dinamo Minsk (Belarus, KHL) and was pointless in one game on assignment to Gomel (Belarus, Open League) this season. . . .
F Milan Kytnar (Kelowna, Saskatoon, Vancouver, 2007-10) signed a three-year contract with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL). He had one goal and two assists in 13 games with the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL), seven goals and five assists in 17 games with the Stockton Thunder (ECHL), was pointless in one game with the Edmonton Oilers (NHL), and had no goals and three assists in 16 games with HPK Hämeenlinna (Finland, SM-Liiga). . . .
F Robin Soudek (Edmonton, Chilliwack/Victoria, 2009-12) signed a one-year plus option contract with Ceske Budejovice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had 27 goals and 30 assists in 65 games with Victoria this season.
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ROB TRZONKOWSKI

On a day when the NFL’s Denver Broncos acquired FB Chris Gronkowski from the Indianapolis Colts, it was only fitting that the Calgary Hitmen should trade away F Rob Trzonkowski.
Trzonkowski, an 18-year-old from Calgary, was sent to the Kamloops Blazers for a fourth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Trzonkowski has 16 points and 200 penalty minutes in 111 regular-season games. He was an eighth-round selection in the 2009 bantam draft.
As for Gronkowski, he was acquired for CB Cassius Vaughn. Gronkowski is one of three brothers in the NFL at the moment. Trzonkowski is the only member of his family in the WHL.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Bliss Littler is the new director of hockey operations and head coach of the NAHL’s Wenatchee Wild. Littler is a veteran coach who has 577 career victories at the junior A Tier 1 and Tier 2 levels in the U.S. He has been coaching for more than 19 years. Most recently, he has been the GM and head coach of the USHL’s Omaha Lancers. In Wenatchee, Littler replaces John Becanic, who resigned last month. . . .
The owners of the NAHL’s Johnstown Tomahawks have signed Jason Spence as the team’s head coach. He is an assistant coach with the ECHL’s Greenville Road Warriors. . . . Spence

played and worked for the ECHL’s Johnstown Chiefs from 2005-10. . . . The owners, according to a news release, named the “new team the Johnstown Tomahawks and unveiled a new team logo and name design that honors the storied history of the Johnstown Chiefs and its home arena made famous in the classic hockey film Slapshot.” . . . The Tomahawks will play out of the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown. . . . From the news release: “The team logo and name's color scheme of red, white and blue was created as a tribute to the American war veterans honored and commemorated throughout the War Memorial Arena for their sacrifices and service to our country. The "Tomahawks" nickname was chosen to symbolize the new team's fighting spirit, exciting style of play and good sportsmanship the team and its fans expect from their young players.” . . . Sportsmanship? That means this team won’t include a  future Denis Lemieux. . . . “You do that, you go to the box, you know. Two minutes, by yourself, you know and you feel shame, you know. And then you get free.” . . . Presumably there will be any bounties placed on the opposing Tim McCrackens of the world, either. . . . Hmmm! Wonder how many games the Hanson brothers will attend. . . .
Luke Richardson has been named head coach of the Binghamton Senators, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. Richardson, a former NHL defenceman, has been an assistant coach with Ottawa for the last three seasons. With Binghamton, he replaces Kurt Kleinendorst, who announced May 8 that he was leaving the organization with expiration of his two-year contract next month. Under Kleinendorst, the B-Sens won the AHL’s 2011 championship. . . .
The BCHL’s Vernon Vipers have signed Jason Read and David Robinson as assistant coaches to work alongside GM/head coach Jason Williamson. . . . Read worked this season with the midget AAA Calgary Royals. . . . Robinson is a former WHL player (Chilliwack, 2007-10) who returned to Vernon to play for the Vipers in 2010-11. He was the team captain as it reached the RBC Cup final. Robinson played this season at the U of Calgary with the Dinos. . . .
The AHL’s Hershey Bears announced Wednesday that head coach Mark French and assistant coach Troy Mann will return for another season. The Bears are affiliated with the NHL’s Washington Capitals. . . .
The ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays have signed head coach Spencer Carberry, 30, to a two-year extension. . . . Carberry is from Victoria and just completed his first season as head coach, after spending a season as assistant coach. He took over from Cail MacLean, who moved to the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat as an assistant coach.
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The price of rent goes up . . . the price of tickets go up. Such is life in Brandon.
The Wheat Kings and the Keystone Centre announced the signing of a five-year lease agreement that will have the team continue to play in Westman Communications Group Place. The parties had been working on the five-year extension to a 10-year lease, with the extension due to expire on May 31.
"We are pleased to come to this agreement with the Wheat Kings," Neil Thomson, the Keystone Centre’s general manager, said in a news release. "It does mean a significant increase in the revenue for the facility since the last agreement in 1997."
Kelly McCrimmon, the Wheat Kings’ owner and GM, added: "It is true that we are paying much higher rent in our new agreement. However, in our minds we traded that with various factors. One of our goals in these negotiations was to protect our customers from additional fees. The Keystone Centre was looking for more revenue in the deal and spoke at length about increasing agency fees, implementing a new facility fee and even paid parking.
"In our minds, we felt that this would not work out for our fan base. So as a result, those costs were absorbed by us in the framework of this new agreement."
It is expected that the increased rent will help pay for improvements in lighting, seating and sound in the arena.
The Wheat Kings also announced their season-ticket prices, with adult tickets having risen $75 to $425. (Purchase by June 15 and save $25.)
That “equates to a single-game ticket price of just over $12 . . . which represents a saving of close to $8 (based on box office regular admission prices),” reads a news release. “To help illustrate the savings, if one was to purchase tickets for 36 individual games, the price (including agency fees) would be $720. That means, fans will have paid for their season tickets by the 22nd game of the year.”
The Wheat Kings also have gone back to offering Senior season tickets, at $375. Youth tickets (18-and-under) are going for $200.
"Our season ticket base is very important to us," McCrimmon said. "Under terms of our new lease, we will be paying in excess of four times the cost of the previous one and, while this is a positive development for the Keystone, it does significantly increase our cost of doing business."
This season, the Wheat Kings averaged about 4,100 fans per game, with about 3,000 of those being season-ticket holders.
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F Brandon MacLean scored at 4:54 of OT to give the host Florida Everblades a 3-2 victory over the Las Vegas Wranglers and the ECHL’s Kelly Cup title. . . . Florida won the series, 4-1, to earn its first championship in its 14-season history. . . . The Everblades’ roster included former WHLer David Rutherford, who lost five teeth to a high-stick in Game 1,
———
The Red Deer Rebels and Westerner Park are adding 100 feet of digital LED ribbon signage to the fascia of the newly created lower suite level. According to a news release, “This signage is identical to that found ringing the lower bowl of both the Scotiabank Saddledome and Rexall Place.” . . . Gotta wonder if Cam Moon, the longtime radio voice of the Rebels, will have Major League Baseball scores on the ribbon in season?
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G Mark Segal, who played in 36 games with the Vancouver Giants in 2009-10 and 55 the next season, has decided to end his competitive hockey career. Segal spent this season with the McGill Redmen, who won the school’s first CIS championship since its hockey program began in 1877. . . . Segal got into 11 games with McGill, going 9-2, .924, 2.27. . . . Segal, who is from Vancouver, has chosen to move to the U of Victoria but doesn’t plan on playing hockey, unless it’s of the intramural variety.
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The Prince George Cougars have signed F Brett Roulston, a native of Whitehorse, Yukon, who turns 18 on Oct. 15. . . . Roulston played this season with the major midget Cariboo Cougars, who play out of Prince George. He had 36 points, including 16 goals, in 35 games. . . . He has been on the Cougars’ list since March. At one time he was on the Kamloops Blazers’ list, but a recurring back problem caused him to miss the 2010-11 season.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Oleg Tverdovsky (Brandon, 1994-95) was released by Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Russia, KHL). He had no points in 12 games this season. Tverdovsky cleared KHL waivers last week but elected not to report to Salavat Yulaev's farm club, Toros Neftekamsk (Russia, Vysshaya Liga).
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JUST NOTES: F Filip Vasko, 18, of the Kelowna Rockets will attend the Slovakian national junior team’s selection camp in Three Hills, Alta., Dec. 15-23. Vasko, in his freshman WHL season, has 11 assists in 24 games with the Rockets. . . .
F Geordie Wudrick (Swift Current, Kelowna, 2005-11) is leaving the Rosenheim Star Bulls, a German pro team, to join the U of New Brunswick Varsity Reds, the No. 1 team in Canadian Interuniversity Sport’s latest rankings. . . . Wudrick had 59 points, 43 of them goals, in 71 games with the Kelowna Rockets last season. . . . He will play for the V-Reds after Christmas. . . . Wudrick had nine points in 14 games with Rosenheim, which plays in the 2.Bundesliga. . . .
F Thomas Frazee (Portland, Medicine Hat, Regina, Moose Jaw, Kamloops, 2005-11) will play for the Lakehead University Thunderwolves after Christmas. Frazee, 21, finished up his WHL eligibility with the Kamloops Blazers last season. He went to camp this season with the NHL”s Washington Capitals and began the season with the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors, finishing up with a goal and three assists. . . .
F Adam Rockwood of the Northeast Chiefs put up 28 points in eight B.C. major midget league games in November. That broke the record for most points in a month set by F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, now with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. . . . Rockwood is on the Medicine Hat Tigers’ list. . . . The Chiefs, who are coached by Doneau Menard (New Westminster, Victoria, 1985-89), are on an 8-0 run. . . . The Federal Hockey League’s Vermont Wild, who played out of Morrisville, have ceased operations. They lasted 10 games, going 3-7-0. . . .
The NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets have returned F Oliver Gabriel, 20, to the Portland Winterhawks. He should play Friday against the visiting Everett Silvertips. Gabriel, a free-agent signee of the Blue Jackets, was with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons. He had one goal in 11 games. Last season, he had 32 points in 41 games with Portland before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in January. . . . Gabriel’s arrival leaves Portland with four 20-year-olds, one over the limit. The others are D William Wrenn, the team’s captain, F Dillon Wagner and F Charles Wells. The Winterhawks have two weeks from Gabriel’s arrival to get down to three. . . .
The Lethbridge Hurricanes have assigned G Tanner Kovacs to the AJHL’s St. Albert Steel. That leaves the Hurricanes with Damien Ketlo, 20, and Liam Liston, 18, as their goaltenders. Kovacs, 17, had gotten into only three games.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Former WHL player and coach Brad Lauer has joined the Anaheim Ducks as an assistant coach. The move came as the Ducks fired head coach Randy Carlyle and replaced him with Bruce Boudreau, who had been dumped a couple of days earlier by the Washington Capitals. Lauer was an assistant under Cory Clouston with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators last season. After Ottawa cleaned house, he signed as an assistant with the Syracuse Crunch, Anaheim’s AHL affiliate. . . .
The USHL’s Omaha Lancers fired GM/head coach Bliss Littler on Wednesday, replacing him with assistant coach Mike Aikens, at least on an interim basis. The Lancers were 9-8-2 and third in the Western Conference in Littler’s fourth season with them. He was 117-60-22 in Omaha. . . . Perhaps it’s a sign of the times that Littler announced his firing via Twitter. Here’s his tweet: “Fired this morning. Good luck to a bunch of great kids and staff.” . . .
Earlier in the week, Kevin Willison resigned as director of hockey operations and head coach of the AJHL’s Olds Grizzlys. Assistant coach Brett Hopfe is the interim head coach. Olds was 9-18-0-3 after going 0-7-1-2 in November. Willison had been with the Grizzlys since August 2010. . . .
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In Saskatoon, the Reinhart brothers combined for seven points as the Kootenay Ice whipped the Blades, 6-1. . . . F Max Reinhart scored three times, while his younger brother, Sam, drew four assists. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 20 shots. . . . Max Reinhart, 19, has 34 points, including 15 goals, in 24 games. In his career, he has 191 points in 229 games. . . . This was his third WHL hat trick — he had a four-goal game and three-goal game last season. . . . Sam Reinhart, 16, has 26 points, 18 of them assists, in 27 games. He has followed three pointless games by putting up 18 points in his last six games. He has had at least two points in each of those games, as he has alternated two- and four-point outings. . . . The Ice also set a franchise record with its seventh straight road victory. . . . The defending-champion Ice (19-5-3) boasts the WHL’s best record. . . . “That was like some of the girls you used to date, Daniel,” Lorne Molleken, the Blades’ GM/head coach, said to Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. . . .

In Brandon, F Brenden Walker had a goal and two assists as the Wheat Kings scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Vancouver Giants, 5-4. . . . F Mark Stone, the WHL scoring leader, got the winner just 38 seconds into the third period. He has 25 goals. . . . Brandon, which had lost three straight, trailed 4-2 when it scored two quick PP goals, the first on the 5-on-3. . . . F Alessio Bertaggia got the Wheaties to within one and D Brodie Melnychuk tied it. . . . F Brendan Gallagher had three goals for the Giants, giving him 22 on the season. . . . Vancouver D Kiefer McNaughton didn’t return after taking a punch from Brandon F Mike Ferland in a second-period bout. . . . The teams became involved in a donnybrook of sorts at games end. It resulted in six fighting majors, which means it was a multi-fight situation. That means — ch-ch-ching! — there will be fines. And just in time for Christmas shopping, too. . . . The Wheat Kings were without G Brandon Anderson (flu), so had Tyrel Heap of a local high school team, the Crocus Plains Plainsmen, backing up Corbin Boes. . . .

In Prince Albert, G Luke Siemens stopped 18 shots to help the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 3-0 victory over the Raiders. . . . Siemens has two shutouts this season. . . . Prince Albert D Tyler Hart took a cross-checking major and game misconduct at 11:02 of the third period. . . . The Warriors had a 35-18 edge in shots. . . . D Dylan McIlrath was back in Moose Jaw’s lineup after sitting out a three-game suspension. . . .

In Medicine Hat, the Lethbridge Hurricanes erased a 2-0 deficit and went on to beat the Tigers, 4-3. . . . D James Bettauer had two goals and an assist for the Tigers. He has 12 points, including seven goals, in 16 games. . . . The Hurricanes were one skater short due to injuries. . . . Lethbridge G Damien Ketlo stopped 35 shots. . . . The Hurricanes were without F Graham Hood (suspension), who is awaiting supplementary discipline for a hit on Red Deer F Josh Cowen, who didn’t play last night in a loss to the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Lethbridge did have D Albin Blomqvist and F Juraj Bezuch back after one-game absences (flu). . . .

In Red Deer, F Mitch Holmberg scored twice as the Spokane Chiefs beat the Rebels, 5-2. . . . The Chiefs, who won for the first time in nine road games this season, are 1-1 on their Central Division trek. . . . The Chiefs had a 22-15 edge in shots. . . . Spokane captain Darren Kramer scored his 10th goal of the season in his 22nd game. he had seven in 68 games last season. . . . Chiefs D Brenden Kichton, one of the WHL’s more under-appreciated players, had a goal and two assists. He has 24 points in 23 games. . . . The Rebels have lost seven in a row. . . . Red Deer had four forwards and two defencemen out with injury or suspension. The Rebels dressed F Conner Bleackley of the midget AAA UFA Bisons. He was their first pick in the 2011 bantam draft. F Scott Feser, an eighth-round pick in 2010, played his second straight game. He plays for the midget AAA Red Deer Optimist Rebels. . . . All told, the Rebels were without D Alex Petrovic, D Aaron Borejko, F Turner Elson, F Josh Cowen, F Daulton Siwak and F Adam Kambeitz. . . . The Rebels open a four-game road trip in Brandon on Friday. . . .

In Kelowna, F Brett Bulmer scored two goals to help the Rockets dump the Tri-City Americans, 6-2. . . . Bulmer has eight goals. . . . The Rockets are 6-3-1 in their last 10 outings. . . . The Americans had won four in a row and finished November with an 8-2-0 record for the month. . . .

In Victoria, F Chase Schaber’s fourth goal in two games, at 2:30 of overtime, gave the Kamloops Blazers a 6-5 victory over the Royals. . . . Schaber’s goal came with Victoria forward Jesse Pauls in the penalty box for slashing. . . . Schaber had scored three times Tuesday night as the Blazers beat the Royals 4-3 in Victoria. . . . Kamloops has now beaten the Royals four straight times this season, including 4-1 in Kamloops on Friday night. . . . The teams meet for the fourth time in nine nights on Saturday in Kamloops. . . . The Blazers (18-7-1) are 6-1-1 in their last eight games and have won four in a row. They boast the WHL’s best road record (9-2-1) and are 10-2 inside the B.C. Division, which they now lead by a point over the Vancouver Giants. Kamloops also is within a point of the Western Conference-leading Tri-City Americans. . . . The Royals (11-15-2) now have lost six in a row and nine of 10.
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WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Justin Weller, Red Deer
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TWEET OF THE NIGHT:
From Edmonton Oil Kings F Tyler Maxwell, who tweets as KingMaxymus23: “I'm proud to be part of a generation that was once mesmerized by Lite-Brites but now complains if we can't stream HD video from our phones.”
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