Friday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Petr Kalus (Regina, 2005-06) signed a tryout contract with Jokerit Helsinki (Finland SM-Liiga). He had seven goals and two assists in 45 games split between the Houston Aeros and Springfield Falcons (both AHL) this season. Jokerit GM Jarmo Kekäläinen: "Kalus is an interesting player, who looked like an NHL player when he was 18. He had a good start to his professional career in Boston. Now with us he has the opportunity to rebound." Kalus's tryout contract goes until Aug. 30. . . .
F Brett Lysak (Regina, 1996-2001) signed a one-year contract with the Graz 99ers (Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had 20 goals and 19 assists in 36 games with Jesenice (Slovenia, playes in Austria Erste Bank Liga) and two goals in three games with SönderjyskE Vojens (Denmark AL-Bank Ligaen) this season. 99ers head coach Mario Richer: "Brett represents strong offensive hockey, the style we will play in Graz next season. He has great experience and that will help our young team." . . .
D Tim Wedderburn (Prince George, 1998-2002) signed a one-year contract extension with the Braehead Clan (UK Elite). He had one goal and 16 assists in 54 games for the Glasgow-based Clan this season. Clan head coach Bruce Richardson: "Tim is one of those guys that every team needs. He's dependable, focused, a true leader, very motivational, and he knows his position well. He's a true professional on the ice and off and in the dressing room, he is just a great guy to be around.”
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It would seem that the hockey fans in Chilliwack can forget about a WHL franchise, at least for this season. The Chilliwack Times reported Friday that the WHL and the Chiefs Development Group, which manages Prospera Centre, haven’t spoken in two weeks. In the meantime, CDG and the owners of the BCHL’s Quesnel Millionaires have chatted. That story is right here.
chilliwacktimes.com/sports/trying+cash+Millionaires/4696079/story.html
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Every spring, the QMJHL holds a prospects luncheon before its annual draft. This year, however, the QMJHL has cancelled the luncheon. Willy Palov of the Halifax Chronicle Herald explains things right here, in an interesting piece on players manipulating the system, not that there is anything wrong with that.
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Mike Ozanian of Forbes takes a look at the latest news involving Tom Gaglardi, the majority owner of the Kamloops Blazers, and his pursuit of the NHL’s Dallas Stars right here. The headline is interesting: Tom Gaglardi makes offer to buy Dallas Stars without cash.
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ON THE ICE FRIDAY:

LEVKO KOPER

In Spokane, F Levko Koper scored three goals and set up another as the Chiefs dumped the Portland Winterhawks, 8-3. . . . That ties the Western Conference final, 2-2, with Game 5 at the Rose Garden in Portland tonight. . . . The winner will meet the Kootenay Ice in the WHL championship series. . . . The first three games of this series were one-goal games with Portland winning two of them. . . . The Chiefs held period leads of 2-1 and 5-2. . . . Koper has eight goals in these playoffs. He scored three times in 7:55 as the Chiefs stretched a 4-2 lead to 7-2. . . . Spokane F Collin Valcourt, who went into the game with five points in 14 games, had his first goal and three assists. Yes, it was the first four-point game in the WHL for the Red Deer native, who turned 18 on March 18. . . . Portland got a goal and two assists from F Ryan Johansen. . . . Johansen has 20 points, including 10 goals, in 14 games. . . . Koper’s second goal, at 3:43 of the third, sent Portland G Mac Carruth to the bench, with Keith Hamilton coming on in relief. Carruth gave up six goals on 28 shots. . . . Hamilton stopped 11 of 13 shots. . . . Spokane G James Reid made 27 saves. Mac Engel came on for the last 5;37 and stopped seven of eight shots. . . . Spokane was 1-for-10 on the PP; Portland was 2-for-7. . . . The Winterhawks took 60 of 94 penalty minutes. . . . Attendance was 8,412. . . . Game 6 is scheduled for Spokane on Monday, with a seventh game, if necessary, to be played in Portland on Tuesday. . . . That means that if the series goes seven games the teams will finish by having played four games in five nights.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Two minors:
F Brendan Leipsic, Portland
F Nino Niederreiter, Portland

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THE MacBETH REPORT: F Jay Fehr (Brandon, 2006-10) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Dresdner Eislöwen (Germany 2.Bundesliga) after withdrawing from Acadia University (CIS). He had three goals and seven assists in 17 games at Acadia this season. Fehr was expected to be in Dresden in time to practice with the club this morning. . . .
F Brett Lysak (Regina, 1996-2001) signed a contract for the rest of this season with SönderjyskE Vojens (Denmark AL-Bank Ligaen) after obtaining his release from Jesenice (Slovenia, plays in Austria Erste Bank Liga) earlier this week. He had 20 goals and 18 assists in 39 games for Jesenice this season. Lysak played the past three seasons in Denmark prior to signing with Jesenice last summer and led AL-Bank Ligaen in goals with 23 last year while with Esbjerg.
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The Saskatoon Blades expect to have F Brayden Schenn in their lineup Saturday when they are at home to the Calgary Hitmen. Schenn, the MVP at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo where he starred for Team Canada, was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Jan. 10.
However, he suffered a shoulder injury at the WJC and hasn’t played since the tournament finale, which was played on Jan. 5.
In practice with the Blades this week, Schenn, who is from Saskatoon, has been skating on a line with Curtis Hamilton, who also played for Canada at the WJC, and Jake Trask, a Saskatoon native who was acquired earlier in the season from the Kamloops Blazers.
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JUST NOTES: F Brenden Silvester, 19, won’t play this season. A back problem has kept Silvester, who is from Port Coquitlam, B.C., from playing since March 14. The Swift Current Broncos acquired Silvester and D Tanner Muth, 17, from the Seattle Thunderbirds for D Travis Bobbee, 20, and a conditional draft pick. . . . Muth (fractured clavicle) has played only 19 games this season, while Bobbee also is injured. He is out for perhaps another three weeks with a shoulder injury. . . . Darcy Kuemper of the Red Deer Rebels is the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 3-0-0, 0.32, .988 last week. He put up two shutouts last week and leads the entire CHL with eight blank jobs. . . . It also was the third time this season that Kuemper has won the award. . . . G Jordan White (Prince George, Portland, 2006-08) was in the NHL on Thursday night. White, who attends the U of B.C. and plays for the Thunderbirds, signed a one-game amateur tryout deal with San Jose and backed up starter Antti Niemi in a 2-1 shootout victory. White is from Surrey, B.C. He was practising with the Thunderbirds when he got the call. . . . With G Adam Morrison not feeling well, the Saskatoon Blades have brought in G Tyler Oswald, a fifth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft, from the midget AAA Pembina Valley Hawks, who play out of Morden, Man. . . . Doug Hetherington, a member of the Moose Jaw Warriors’ board of directors, died suddenly on Sunday. He was 58. There is more right here. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that Silvertips D Chad Suer, 20, is to get the wires removed from his broken jaw on Jan. 31 and could return shortly after that. He hasn’t played since being injured on Dec. 17 and has since missed 10 games. . . . Olivier Roy of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan became the second-winningest goaltender in QMJHL history Thursday with a 4-2 victory over the P.E.I. Rocket. It was the 111^th career victory for Roy, leaving him behind only Jacques Cloutier, who won 142 games with the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs (1976-80).gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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