THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Sean O'Connor (Moose Jaw, 1999-2002) signed a one-year contract with Ingolstadt (Germany, DEL). He had 12 goals and 11 assists as captain of the Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL) this season. . . .
F Yegor Mikhailov (Spokane, 1996-97) signed a two-year contract with Amur Khabarovsk (Russia, KHL). The son of former Soviet star Boris Mikhailov had seven goals and seven assists in 35 games for Spartak Moscow (Russia, KHL) this season. Mikhailov was the most seriously injured member of the Chiefs in a January 1997 bus crash just outside of Cranbrook. The article on the accident from the Spokane Spokesman-Review is right here.
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The Edmonton Oilers have signed D Brandon Davidson, who played out his WHL eligibility with the Regina Pats this season. Davidson, who was the Pats’ captain, had 49 points in 69 games with the Pats. He was a sixth-round pick in the 2010 NHL draft.
NHL teams have to sign 2010 draft picks today — I believe the deadline is 5 p.m. ET, but please don’t hold me to that — or they become eligible for the 2012 draft.
The 2012 draft is scheduled for Pittsburgh on June 22 and 23.
Alan Caldwell at Small Thoughts at Large has a list of who has signed and who hasn’t. There is a link over there on the right.

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Bob Ridley for the Hockey Hall of Fame?
Yes, without doubt.
If anyone in the world of hockey today can be called legendary, it is Ridley, the radio voice of the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The Tigers have played 3,000 regular-season games since entering the WHL for the 1970-71 season.
Ridley has been at the microphone for 2,999 of those games. In all that time he has missed one game, that being in the spring of 1973 when his boss assigned him to cover the Canadian women’s curling championship in Saskatoon. (The boss’s wife was on the rink that was representing Alberta.) With Ridley away, Larry Plante, who rode shotgun as Ridley’s analyst for 25 years, called the play.
Ridley will call his 3,000th regular-season game on Wednesday when the Tigers are at home to the Kootenay Ice.
Throw in playoff and Memorial Cup games, and Ridley will be calling game No. 3,353 for the Tigers.
Oh, and did we mention that he also drives the bus? Yes, he does.
Hockey Hall of Fame?
Why not?
After all, it's the Hockey Hall of Fame, not the National Hockey League Hall of Fame.
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The big news on Sunday involved Connor Crisp, who made his OHL goaltending debut with the Erie Otters by allowing 13 goals and being named the game’s first star in a 13-4 loss to the host Niagara IceDogs.
Crisp, 17, underwent shoulder surgery and had yet to play a game this season, but he was designated as the backup goaltender on Sunday. Erie had lost G Devin Williams after he stopped a shot with his head on Friday. Then, on Sunday, starter Ramis Sadikov was run over by F Alex Friesen of the IceDogs at 1:45 of the first period. Friesen received a charging major and game misconduct.
For more, check out this story right here.
And if you click on right here, Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports offers up his take on the situation.
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Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that the Moose Jaw Warriors set a single-season franchise record for home victories on Saturday, when they beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 6-2 on Saturday. The Warriors are 28-3-3 at home, which betters the record (27-6-3) set in 2005-06. . . . The Warriors have won 14 straight at home. . . . Moose Jaw is 23-1-2 at home since Oct. 7. . . . And everyone thought the Warriors had a home-ice advantage when they played in the Crushed Can. Mosaic Place has turned out to be even tougher.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Portland, F Justin Feser scored with 51.2 seconds left in the third period to give the Tri-City Americans a 4-3 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . Tri-City G Ty Rimmer stopped 48 shots, 30 more than Portland’s Mac Carruth. . . . Feser, who has 35 goals, also had two assists. . . . The winning goal was the only even-strength score for Tri-City, which was 3-6 on the PP. . . . Tri-City F Brendan Shinnimin ran his point streak to 17 games with his 54th goal, one off the WHL lead that is held by Medicine Hat F Emerson Etem. . . . Shinnimin leads the WHL with 120 points. He is the first WHL skater to that mark since Red Deer F Justin Mapletoft won the 2000-01 scoring title with 120 points. . . . Tri-City F Adam Hughesman scored his 40th goal at 3:42 of the second for a 3-1 lead. . . . F Patrick Holland picked up an assist for his 199th career point. He has at least one assist in 14 straight games. . . . Portland tied it on goals by F Brad Ross, his 39th, at 9:43 of the second and F Sven Baertschi, his second of the game and 33rd of the season, at 2:20 of the third. . . . Baertschi now has 94 points in 47 games. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie had two assists; he is second to Shinnimin, at 110 points. . . . Tri-City was without F Jordan Messier, who was suspended ‘tba’ under supplemental discipline from Saturday’s 4-1 loss in Everett. . . . Last night’s victory moved the Americans to within one point of the Winterhawks, who lead the WHL’s overall standings. . . . Portland will play its next five games on the road, starting with a Wednesday night date in Kamloops. . . .

In Victoria, G Adam Morrison stopped 18 shots to help the Vancouver Giants to a 6-0 victory over the Royals. . . . This was Morrison’s first shutout this season and the fifth of his career. The first four all came with the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Vancouver F Riley Kieser scored his fifth goal just 15 seconds into the first period and the Giants never looked back. D Tyler Vanscourt, F Matt Bellerive, F Cain Franson and Kieser each had a goal and an assist. . . . Victoria G Jared Rathjen gave up five goals on 31 shots through two periods. Keith Hamilton played the third period, stopping five of six shots. . . . The Giants moved into a tie for fourth with the Spokane Chiefs in the Western Conference. Spokane has seven games remaining; the Giants have six left to play. . . . They will meet in the first round. All that is left to decide is who will have home-ice advantage. . . .

In Regina, D Brandon Davidson scored the game-winner at 19:39 of the third period as the Pats beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 4-3. . . . Regina F Lane Scheidl tied the game, with his 27th, at 12:01 of the third. Davidson, the Pats’ captain, drew an assist on what was a PP goal. . . . Davidson has 13 goals this season. . . . Scheidl had two goals and an assist in this one. . . . Prince Albert had taken a 3-2 lead on F Mark McNeill’s 29th goal, shorthanded, at 4:22 of the third. . . . Prince Albert F Mike Winther scored his 30th goal of the season. . . . Regina F Jordan Weal had three assists. One night earlier, he set up four goals as the Pats erased a 4-0 third-period deficit and beat the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings, 5-4. . . . Weal now has 378 career points, which is good for fourth on the Pats’ all-time list. He has two more points than former F Len Nielsen. . . . Weal, with 246 assists, is third on the Pats’ career list, five ahead of F Mike Sillinger. . . . Regina now is sixth in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Saskatoon Blades and one behind the Kootenay Ice. . . .

In Edmonton, the Oil Kings scored the game’s first two goals and went on to a 3-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . F T.J. Foster got his 26th goal of the season for Edmonton at 10:34 of the first period and F Michael St. Croix added his 41st at 16:31 of the second. . . . Saskatoon F Jake Trask, with his 19th, got his side to within one at 17:58 of the third. . . . Edmonton F Curtis Lazar put it away with his 16th, a PP goal, at 19:39 of the third. . . . Saskatoon was 0-8 on the PP; the Oil Kings were 1-5. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit stopped 16 shots, 15 fewer than Saskatoon’s Adam Todd. . . . The Oil Kings have won five in a row. . . . The Oil Kings are one point behind the Portland Winterhawks, who lead the overall standings. . . . Edmonton, which leads the Central Division by 10 points over Medicine Hat, is six points ahead of the Moose Jaw Warriors, the East Division leaders. The Warriors will visit Edmonton on Wednesday. The Warriors first play in Lethbridge on Tuesday, needing just one point to clinch the division.
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SUNDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Taylor Crunk, Victoria.
D Joe Morrow, Portland.
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SUNDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
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MONDAY’S GAMES
None scheduled.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES
Moose Jaw at Lethbridge
Calgary at Red Deer
Kootenay at Swift Current
Seattle at Prince George
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Mike Davies covers the OHL’s Peterborough Petes for the Peterborough Examiner, even though he has retinitis pigmentosa and his eyesight is deteriorating. That, however, doesn’t stop him from getting and telling the stories.
Steve Ladurantaye of  The Globe and Mail has that story right here.
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F Brennan Bosch (Medicine Hat, 2005-09) scored on a power play in OT on Sunday to give the U of Saskatchewan Huskies a 4-3 victory over the host U of Alberta Golden Bears. The Huskies won the best-of-three semifinal 2-1, meaning the Golden Bears won’t be in the Canada West final for the first time since 1996. Bosch had two goals in the game. . . . The Calgary Dinos, who swept the Manitoba Bisons, will travel to Saskatoon for the best-of-three Canada West Final. Game 1 is scheduled for Friday. . . . For more on the Huskies’ victory, click right here.
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Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail talks with David Johnston, the Governor-General of Canada, about the state of hockey today. It turns out that the Governor-General was once a grinder with the Harvard Crimson, who at one time considered turning pro with the Boston Bruins. Today, however, he is concerned about the state of the game. That piece is right here.

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You will have read here yesterday about Portland having received a bantam draft pick, or picks, from the Everett Silvertips as compensation for having signed Garry Davidson, the Winterhawks’ director of player personnel, as general manager.
I was told that the WHL allows only draft picks to be exchanged in the compensation package.
But I have been reminded of a situation that took place late in 2005 involving the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Kootenay Ice.
On Nov. 9, 2005, the Hurricanes dealt F Curtis Billsten, 19, to Kootenay for F Laine Allen, 19, and a conditional third-round bantam draft pick.
According to the Cranbrook Daily Townsman, “The acquisition of Billsten came one day after Roy Stasiuk, former head scout of the Ice, took the general manager position in Lethbridge. (Ice general manager Jeff) Chynoweth said the trade was part of compensation for Stasiuk's move.”
Allen, who was playing for the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons, never did play for Lethbridge.
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JUST NOTES:
I wrote something here the other day that I would like to perhaps clarify.
In a nightly roundup of Tuesday’s games, I happened to write this: “Brandon F Mark Stone was awarded a late assist sometime after Saturday’s 6-2 victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. So he went into last night’s game with a WHL-leading 102 points, not 101.” . . . I just want to emphasize that there was nothing untoward in Stone being given the assist. When scoring changes such as this are requested, the team sends in a video clip to the WHL office to make its point. . . . This isn’t like back in the day when there would be rumours about players getting assists when they hadn’t even been on the ice.
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F Michael Ferland of the Brandon Wheat Kings, the CHL’s reigning player of the week, practised Thursday. He left in the first period of a 5-4 shootout loss to the visiting Kootenay Ice on Tuesday with a suspected head injury. . . . Ferland has career highs in goals (40), assists (43) and points (83). . . . “I feel great,” Ferland told Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun after practice. “I wasn’t feeling too good in Tuesday’s game . . . but I feel 100 per cent and ready to go this weekend.” . . . The Wheat Kings are at home to the Swift Current Broncos tonight and the Regina Pats on Saturday. . . . Brandon, after a whole lot of inconsistent play, is 7-1-1 in its last nine and just might be getting things together in time for playoffs.
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A note from James Shewaga, the sports editor of the Brandon Sun:
“A few weeks ago, new Keystone Centre general manager Neil Thomson stated he was confident they could come to terms on a new lease with the Wheat Kings by the end of the month. However, the Sun has learned that negotiations have essentially ground to a halt, with both sides far apart on a new agreement to replace the current 15-year deal that expires at the end of this season.
“At risk is the future of the club in Brandon, a proud 45-year tradition, priceless positive publicity and economic spinoffs for the city, not to mention well over half a million dollars in annual revenue that the financially-strapped Keystone Centre simply can’t afford to lose.”
Brandon without the Wheat Kings? Yikes!
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F Henrik Samuelsson of the Edmonton Oil Kings has played 18 games since coming over from Sweden after the Christmas respite. He now has drawn two games in suspensions from two separate incidents. The latest — a kneeing major in a 6-4 loss to the visiting Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday — drew a one-game suspension. That followed a one-game sentence for a charging major in a game at Calgary on Jan. 15.
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D Brandon Davidson of the Regina Pats expects to be back in the lineup tonight against the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. Davidson had played in 162 straight games before sitting out a 2-1 victory over the visiting Kootenay Ice on Wednesday with a sore neck. . . . Davidson was hit by Kootenay D Jeff Hubic during a 4-2 Regina victory in Cranbrook on Saturday. Hubic was suspended for one game. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that Davidson had last missed a game on Dec. 31, 2009, during his freshman season.
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F Brett Connolly, who has been playing about six minutes a game in recent times, played 13:03 last night as the Tampa Bay Lightning lost 4-3 to the Jets in Winnipeg. . . . He played 19 shifts. . . . He saw 10:56 of ice at even strength and 2:07 on the PP. . . . NHL teams have until the NHL trade deadline, which arrives on Monday, to return players to their major junior teams. The Tri-City Americans hold Connolly’s WHL rights.
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In the BCHL, the Penticton Vees ran their winning streak to 35 games as they scored three times in the third period and beat the visiting Trail Smoke Eaters, 4-2. . . . The Vees next play on Saturday when they are in Merritt for a date with the Centennials. . . . The Vees lead the Interior Conference, at 47-3-0-2, with the Centennials second at 29-17-2-5. . . . Uhh, that would be wins, losses, ties and OT losses.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From D Eric Walker of the Swift Current Broncos, who were on their way to Brandon where they meet the Wheat Kings tonight:
“Personally I'm glad we're not watching movies on the bus. Gives us all a chance to look around and take in the Saskatchewan scenery.”
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Close behind was this tweet from D Brock Sutherland of the Calgary Hitmen:
“If goalies cared about stoppin pucks as much as they did their masks, I wouldn’t be scoring on them all the time.”
Sutherland has, uhh, nine goals in 243 regular-season games. But he’s on a tear, having recorded the first three-point game of his career as the Hitmen beat the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers 5-3 on Wednesday. Whoops! A check of the online scoresheet shows that one of his two assists disappeared and he was left with just two points.
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The family of former Chicago Bears defensive back Dave Duerson has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NFL. He died on Feb. 17, 2011, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to The Associated Press story:
“The lawsuit accuses the NFL of negligently causing the brain damage that led Duerson to take his own life at the age of 50 by not warning him of the negative effects of concussions. Attorney Thomas Demetrio, who is representing Duerson's family, said the NFL should have been a leader in educating current and former players about head injuries.”
The complete AP story is right here.


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ASK THE COMMISSIONER:
Here is one from a reader of the blog . . .
Dear Commissioner Gordon: Why is it that as I sit in Portland, Oregon USA and look at the website of the Portland Winterhawks, the first two ads I see are for ‘Canada's Best Selling and Most Durable Diesel Pickup Truck’? Aside from the fact that they have the wrong country listed (from my perspective), I would think the team doesn't like this, the sponsor doesn't like this and the fan doesn't like this.
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Mike Johnston, the general manager and head coach of the Portland Winterhawks, was good enough to answer a couple of questions regarding his organization having lost Garry Davidson, its director of player personnel, to the Everett Silvertips earlier this month.
Davidson, who had been with the Winterhawks since the ownership change took place in 2008, replaced the fired Doug Soetaert as Everett’s general manager.
Johnston confirmed that the Winterhawks were compensated by the Silvertips, but he added that the compensation “is confidential.”
The Winterhawks will have received a bantam draft pick or picks as the WHL doesn’t allow anything else to be used as compensation in these situations.
One supposes we will have to wait until the draft before finding out what it was that Portland received.
I also asked Johnston via email why the Winterhawks would allow Davidson to join another team, and a division rival at that, before the draft?
Johnston replied:
“We decided to let Garry go at this time to allow him the opportunity to be a GM in the league. He has worked very hard to help us rebuild things in Portland.
“Garry was the first person I hired and I felt I owed him the chance to run his own program. I also felt confident that our rankings for this year’s draft were in order and our area scouts had a good handle on where their guys fit in.”
With Davidson in Everett, Johnston said that Matt Bardsley, the Winterhawks’ director of hockey operations, will lead the Winterhawks into the draft. Bardsley also will attend the upcoming provincial camps.
Portland’s plan, according to Johnston, is to “hire a full time director of player personnel later in May.”
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JUST NOTES:
D Morgan Rielly of the Moose Jaw Warriors was back on the ice Wednesday, although he won’t play until perhaps early April. Rielly, who will be an early first-round selection in the NHL’s 2012 draft, had knee surgery on Dec. 1 after being injury Nov. 6. Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports that Rielly “spent most of Wednesday’s practice sitting on the bench, but would go for brief skates between drills where he showed his puck skills haven’t picked up any rust. He had a brace on his injured knee and was clearly lacking his usual explosive speed.” . . . According to Gourlie, “Rielly will return to Vancouver on March 28 where he will meet with his surgeon and some of the people who were part of his rehabilitation.” . . . “I don’t know what they’re going to say,” Rielly told Gourlie. “They might say ‘you have to wait another eight months’ or they might say I’m ready to go.”
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In Kamloops on Wednesday night, the Blazers were leading Victoria 4-3 when Royals F Robin Soudek took an instigating minor for starting a scrap with D Tyler Bell. . . . Why is it that seemingly every time a player levels another player with a really good check, there is a fight? In this instance, Bell had hit F Steven Hodges with a tremendous check that was completely legal. . . . Never mind that his team was down a goal. Never mind that Kamloops already had scored three PP goals. Never mind that the Royals are hanging on to a playoff spot by the narrowest of margins. None of that mattered as Soudek went right after Bell, even though Hodges wasn’t injured. . . . The Blazers scored 11 seconds after Soudek was penalized and this one was over for all intents and purposes. . . . So often now we seem to see this kind of a play, be it in the NHL or at the major junior level. And you have to ask why? When did a good, hard bodycheck become the impetus for a fight?
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In the QMJHL, D Connor Rogers of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles had been hit with a 10-game suspension after a kneeing incident on Saturday. Rogers will be eligible to return for Cape Breton’s final regular-season game, on March 17. . . . Rimouski Oceanic F Jean-François Plante was injured on the play but it’s not yet known how long he will be out.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Saskatoon, D Macoy Erkamps broke a 2-2 tie at 6:48 of the third period and the Lethbridge Hurricanes went on to beat the Blades, 3-2. . . . Lethbridge F Nick Buonassisi had tied the score 2-2 at 5:01. . . . Buonassisi has 15 goals; Erkamps has two. . . . F Ryan Olsen scored both Saskatoon goals, giving him 10. . . . Saskatoon F Jesse Paradis played in his 300th regular-season game. . . . Lethbridge G Damien Ketlo stopped 41 shots, three more than Saskatoon’s Andrey Makarov. . . . The Hurricanes are 19 points out of a playoff spot with 11 games left. . . . The Blades are sixth in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the Kootenay Ice and a point up on the Regina Pats. . . .

In Regina, the Pats scored the game’s first two goals and hung on to beat the Kootenay Ice, 2-1. . . . F Jordan Weal scored his 35th, shorthanded, at 5:15 of the second and F Lane Scheidl got his 25th on a PP at 8:06 of the third. . . . Weal drew an assist on Scheidl’s goal. . . . The Ice got close when F Brock Montgomery got his 19th at 18:52 of the third. . . . That goal kept Regina G Matt Hewitt from his fifth shutout of the season, something that would have tied a franchise single-season record. . . . Warren Fisher has held that record since 1967-68. . . . Hewitt finished with 31 saves, eight more than the Ice’s Nathan Lieuwen. . . . The Pats had beaten the Ice 4-2 in Cranbrook on Saturday. . . . Regina was without D Brandon Davidson, thanks to an undisclosed injury. Before the game, he tweeted: “Tough to sit out tonight but better safe than sorry.” . . . Ice D Jeff Hubic served a one-game suspension for a hit that injured Davidson on Saturday night. Hubic was back in the Ice’s lineup last night. . . . Regina had D Colby Williams of the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians in the lineup. . . . The Pats are seventh in the Eastern Conference but now are just a point behind the Saskatoon Blades. . . . The Ice fell a point behind the Calgary Hitmen who won and moved past Kootenay. . . .

In Swift Current, F Mark McNeill and F Anthony Bardaro scored in the circus and the Prince Albert Raiders beat the Broncos, 3-2. . . . F Levi Bews matched McNeill’s goal, but Bardaro scored and the Broncos couldn’t equalize. . . . Bardaro had forced OT with his 27th goal at 19:50 of the third period. . . . The Broncos now are 15 points out of a playoff spot with 10 games remaining. . . . The Raiders have been eliminated from the playoff hunt. They are 26 points back with 12 games remaining. . . .

In Calgary, D Brock Sutherland had a goal and two assists to lead the Hitmen to a 5-3 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Sutherland scored his second goal of the season to give the Hitmen a 4-1 lead at 19:02 of the second. . . . Calgary F Jimmy Bubnick got his 28th, and the 101st of his career, into an empty net. . . . F Riley Sheen scored his first WHL goal for Medicine Hat. It came in his 40th game, 36 of which he has played this season. . . . The Tigers continue to be without G Tyler Bunz, D Kale Kessy and F Hunter Shinkaruk, all of whom are injured. Medicine Hat dressed 17 skaters, one under the maximum. . . . The Hitmen won their fourth in a row and now are just two points behind the third-place Tigers in the Eastern Conference. Calgary holds a game in hand. . . .

In Edmonton, G Jordon Cooke turned aside 43 shots to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 6-4 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . F Carter Rigby and F Cody Chikie both scored twice for the Rockets. Rigby has 19 goals; Chikie has 15. . . . Edmonton F Kristians Pelss scored his 21st goal, shorthanded, at 11:17 of the first period. . . . Chikie broke the tie at 6:48 of the second, with Rigby scoring at 8:55 on the PP and Chikie again on the PP at 10:32 for a 4-1 lead. . . . Pelss, with his 22nd, and F Michael St. Croix, with this 39th, got Edmonton to within one before the second ended. . . . F Brett Bulmer, with his 26th, and Rigby gave Kelowna a 6-3 lead in the third. . . . Edmonton head coach Derek Laxdal yanked his starting goaltender for the third straight game. This time, starter Tristan Jarry gave way to Laurent Brossoit with the visitors leading 3-1. . . . “I feel like Mike Keenan,” Laxdal told Dave (Crash) Cameron of the Edmonton Sun. . . . Edmonton F Henrik Samuelsson took a kneeing major and game misconduct. That is his second major penalty in just over a month. He served a one-game suspension for a charging major he incurred on Jan. 15 in Calgary. . . .

In Kamloops, the Blazers scored the game’s last four goals, three of them via the PP, as they beat the Victoria Royals, 6-3. . . . F Tim Bozon scored twice, giving him 30 goals, and D Bronson Maschmeyer added two, giving him a dozen. . . . The victory allowed the Blazers to move back to the top of the WHL’s overall standings, one point ahead of the Portland Winterhawks, who had leap-frogged the Blazers with an 8-1 victory over the visiting Prince George Cougars on Tuesday. . . . The Blazers were able to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season. . . . The Royals were leading 3-2 when Maschmeyer scored on the PP at 18:37 of the second period. . . . Bozon’s 30th, at 1:37 of the third, also came on the PP, as did Maschmeyer’s second goal, at 6:20. . . . Kamloops F Chase Schaber returned from a one-game absence with a leg injury. . . . Kamloops G Cam Lanigan left this one at 4:19 of the second period after the Royals scored to go ahead 3-2. Lanigan was caught in traffic at the net and appeared to suffer an injury to his upper right leg. He was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure but head coach Guy Charron said he would be OK. . . . Kamloops F Brendan Ranford ran his point streak to 11 games with an assist. He has 18 points over that span. . . . The Blazers now have three 30-goal men, with Ranford and F Colin Smith, who had three assists, there, too.
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WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Lane Scheidl, Regina.
D Damon Severson, Kelowna.
D Jesse Zgraggen, Victoria.
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WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
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TWEET OF THE NIGHT:
From F Brody Sutter, the captain of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, following a 3-2 victory over the Blades in Saskatoon: “Happy bus back to LethVegas after possibly the stupidest one game trip of my career. #7hourhappybus.”
Yes, the Hurricanes made a one-game trip to Saskatoon.
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For today’s good read, we turn to Harvey Araton of The New York Times, who writes about the relationship between the late Gary Carter and the team he managed at Palm Beach Atlantic University. That piece is right here.


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Steve McCarthy (Edmonton/Kootenay, 1996-2000) signed a contract for the rest of this season with ZSC Zurich (Switzerland, NL A) after a successful tryout. He had three assists in 10 games during his tryout.
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In Spokane, the Chiefs outshot Everett 55-16 and beat the Silvertips, 8-1. . . . The Chiefs stretched a 3-1 second-period lead with five third-period goals. . . . .It was the end of a nine-game road swing for Everett, during which time it was 2-6-1. . . . The Silvertips, who are at home against the Prince George Cougars on Friday, have lost five straight. . . . Everett D Lucas Grayson was given a charging major for a hit on Spokane F Dominik Uher at 16:04 of the third period. Uher was hit as he scored the Chiefs’ seventh goal, his sixth of the season. . . . As Uher left the ice, he wasn’t able to put any weight on his right leg. . . .
In Regina, defence partners Brandon Davidson and Brandon Underwood each had three assists as the Pats beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 4-3 in OT. . . . Each team was 3-for-4 on the PP, with only the winning goal scored at even strength. . . . Regina freshman F Morgan Klimchuk won it at 1:34 of OT. . . . Regina freshman F Morgan Klimchuk won it at 1:34 of OT. . . . Tigers F Emerson Etem, who leads the WHL in goals (23) and points (39), had his 17-game point streak snapped. . . . F Mark Stone of the Brandon Wheat Kings, who has 37 points, has points in each of his club’s 18 games this season. . . . The Pats had held a players-only meeting after losing 3-2 to the visiting Calgary Hitmen on Saturday night. . . . The Tigers were without F Cole Grbavac, their captain, who took a charging major during Saturday’s 4-3 OT victory in Brandon. . . .
In Moose Jaw, the Warriors overcame a 2-0 deficit and beat the Calgary Hitmen 3-2 in OT on F Quinton Howden’s fourth goal of the season. . . . He scored on the PP at 1:22 of extra time. Calgary F Jimmy Bubnick was penalized for goaltender interference with 19.1 seconds left in the third period. . . . Moose Jaw D Morgan Rielly had two assists before leaving with an apparent right leg injury in the third period. . . . The Warriors didn’t dress D Dylan McIlrath (undisclosed), who has missed four of the club’s last five games, and D Joel Edmundson (undisclosed), who sat out a month with a high ankle sprain before returning to play four games. McIlrath has played once game since taking an elbow to the head in Cranbrook on Oct. 22 so you have to wonder if he has a concussion. . . .
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Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports, who handles the Buzzing The Net blog, has his BTN Dynamic Dozen posted (in fact, it was up before midnight Pacific time). . . . It’s right here and it’s worth checking out.
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Jeff Bell of the Victoria Times Colonist has a neat story right here that involves the carpet and logo in the dressing room of the Victoria Royals.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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