F Chris St. Jacques (Medicine Hat, 1999-2004) signed a one-year contract extension with the Bietigheim Steelers (Germany, 2. Bundesliga). He had 13 goals and 31 assists in 43 games with the Steelers this season. This will be St. Jacques' fourth season in Bietigheim. . . .
F Brooks Macek (Tri-City, Calgary, 2008-13) signed a two-year contract with the Iserlohn Roosters (Germany, DEL). He had 32 goals and 48 assists with the Hitmen this season. According to the Iserlohn press release, Macek holds dual Canadian-German citizenship so he won’t count as an import.———
Wondering what’s going on with the NHL and Seattle? Art Thiel of SportspressNW.com has a good look right here.
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victory over the Ottawa Jr. 67’s in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., on Sunday. . . . The Chiefs are the fourth team to win back-to-back titles, the others being the Couillard/Gouverneurs de Ste-Foy (1978, 1979), Prince Albert Mintos (2006, 2007) and Notre Dame Hounds (2009 and 2010). . . . Red Deer G Matt Zentner stopped 27 shots for the shutout. . . . Zentner was a 10th-round selection by the Prince Albert Raiders in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . Chase Thudium, Trey Degraaf, Ryker Lee, Chris Gerrie and Ian McLellan had the goals. . . . The 2014 tournament will be held in Moose Jaw, with the Moose Jaw Generals as the host team.
In Edmonton, F Brooks Macek scored Calgary’s last two goals as the Hitmen came from behind to beat the Oil Kings, 4-3. . . . Macek tied the game at 7:56 of the third period, via the PP, and won it 6:59 of OT. . . . “It was a nice pass from Greg (Chase),” Macek told Crash Cameron of the Edmonton Sun. “He saw me, dropped it to me and I just saw top shelf, far side and I took it. Nobody wanted it to be our last game. Nobody thought anything about a Game 7, we just wanted to focus period by period.” . . . Calgary G Chris Driedger was tremendous in making 36 saves. . . . When the game ended, folks were talking about a second-period save he made on Edmonton F T.J. Foster to keep the score at 2-0. "That was a desperation move," Driedger told Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun. "I threw out an arm and, luckily got it. You don't make those too often. Most of the time, they're going to find the back of the net. It was nice to get one in a game like this." . . . Edmonton took at 3-1 lead into the third period. . . . F Brady Brassart scored on a PP just seven seconds into the period to get Calgary to within one. . . . Brassart has nine goals this spring; Macek has eight. . . . Edmonton D Ashton Sautner opened the scoring at 13:27 of the first. It was his third goal of the series; he had two goals in 62 regular-season games. He has four goals in 121 career regular-season games. In 26 playoff games, he has scored three times. . . . Brad Curle, the radio voice of the Hitmen, pointed out that Macek scored at 6:59 of overtime and at 6:59 Mountain Time. . . . The Hitmen are 3-0 in playoff OT games against the Oil Kings. . . . Calgary is 5-2 in OT games in these playoffs, including 2-0 against Edmonton. The Oil Kings are 0-3. . . . Game 7 will be played Tuesday in Edmonton. The WHL final opens Friday in Portland.
talks with a WHL franchise about a possible sale and relocation.
In Saskatoon, the Blades set a franchise record as they won their 14th straight game, beating the Brandon Wheat Kings, 7-4. . . . The previous record of 13 had been held by the 1987-88 Blades. . . . Saskatoon is atop the East Division, five points ahead of the Prince Albert Raiders with each team having 11 games to play. . . . Saskatoon F Matej Stransky scored three times in the first period and later added an assist. He‘s got 36 goals. His NHL rights belong to the Dallas Stars – he was a sixth-round selection in 2011 – and Les Jackson, the Stars’ director of scouting and player development, was in the house. . . . Former Wheat Kings F Brenden Walker, who now is the Blades’ captain, had a goal, his 24th, and two assists. . . . Saskatoon F Josh Nicholls scored his 40th goal, into an empty net. . . . Saskatoon D Darren Dietz scored twice. He leads all WHL defencemen in goals (19). . . . Brandon G Corbin Boes, who had been sidelined with a knee injury since Jan. 25, came on in relief of starter Curtis Honey. . . . Brandon D Nick Walters was ejected with a headshot major at 10:34 of the first period. . . . Saskatoon F Nathan Burns had his nine-game assist streak snapped. . . . The Wheat Kings are 13 points out of a playoff spot with 10 games to play. . . . 
In Moose Jaw, D Morgan Rielly’s 12th goal stood up as the winner as the Warriors beat the Regina Pats, 4-3. . . . Rielly’s goal, at 6:31 of the third, gave the Warriors a 4-2 lead. . . . Regina F Morgan Klimchuk later scored his 31st. . . . Moose Jaw F Brayden Point had a goal, his 15th, and two assists. . . . Moose Jaw F Jordan Wyton, who has missed a lot of the season with concussion-related issues, scored his fifth goal of the season. He hadn’t played since Dec. 29 and was playing in only his fourth game since Nov. 10. . . . Moose Jaw D Dallas Valentine is out indefinitely with what Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports is a “fracture to part of the growth place in his hip.” . . . Gourlie also reported that D Spencer Morse, whom the Warriors had sent home for disciplinary reasons two weeks ago, has returned. He didn’t play last night. . . . The Warriors are 10th in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Pats, but nine points out of the last playoff spot. . . . 
In Swift Current, F Miles Koules scored in the fourth round of the circus to give the Medicine Hat Tigers a 2-1 victory over the Broncos. . . . Swift Current F Adam Lowry scored his 40th goal at 8:56 of the first period, via the PP. . . . Medicine Hat got its goal from F Logan McVeigh, his 16th, via the PP, at 4:43 of the second. . . . Broncos G Eetu Laurikainen stopped 39 shots through OT, while Medicine Hat’s Marek Langhamer stopped 28 shots. . . . The Tigers now are sixth in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Broncos. . . . 
In Lethbridge, G Patrik Bartosak turned aside 32 shots as the Red Deer Rebels beat the Hurricanes, 2-0. . . . Bartosak has three shutouts this season and four in his career. . . . F Dominik Volek scored his ninth goal for Red Deer, via the PP, at 10:03 of the first. . . . F Turner Elson got his 20th into an empty net at 19:59 of the third. . . . The Hurricanes lost F Axel Blomqvist with a back injury during the first period. He was taken to hospital at the time. . . . The Rebels are tied with the Prince Albert Raiders for fourth in the Eastern Conference. Each team has 11 games remaining. . . . The Hurricanes are two points behind the eighth-place Kootenay Ice. . . .
In Prince George, F Ty Rattie scored twice and added an assist as the Portland Winterhawks beat the Cougars, 6-2. . . . Rattie has 37 goals. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic, the WHL’s leading point man, had two assists, while linemate Nic Petan, who is second, had a goal, his WHL-leading 43rd, and an assist. . . . Portland G Brendan Burke stopped 24 shots in earning his 20th victory. . . . Both Portland goaltenders now have won at least 20 games. . . . Prince George F Zach Pochiro was unsuccessful on a third-period penalty shot. . . . The Winter hawks (50-9-3) are the first CHL team to 50 victories. . . . Portland D Troy Rutkowski scored his 19th goal, moving him into a tie with Saskatoon’s Darren Dietz for most goals by a defenceman. Dietz had gotten to 19 earlier in the evening. . . . The Winterhawks also set a franchise record with their 25th road victory of the season. . . . The Cougars remain three points out of the Western Conference’s final playoff spot, which is held by the Everett Silvertips. . . . 
In Spokane, F Mike Aviani scored twice to help the Chiefs get past the Edmonton Oil Kings, 6-4. . . . Aviani has 28 goals. . . . Spokane D Brenden Kichton picked up three assists. . . . Edmonton F Cole Benson scored Edmonton’s first three goals, giving him six. It was his first WHL hat trick. . . . The Oil Kings cut the deficit to 5-4 on D Keegan Lowe’s 14th goal, a PP score, at 10:13 of the third. Edmonton then went on the PP at 17:36 but gave up a shorthanded goal to F Liam Stewart at 18:35. . . . Stewart has 11 goals. . . . The Chiefs were 3-for-5 on the PP and scored twice while shorthanded. . . . The Chiefs are fifth in the Western Conference, one point behind the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Oil Kings are second in the overall standings, but now are 12 points behind Portland. . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., F Justin Feser and F Jesse Mychan each had two goals and two assists to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 6-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Feser, who was playing in his 339th career game, has 37 goals; Mychan has 15. . . . Everett has lost a franchise-record 11 straight games. . . . Tri-City G Troy Trombley won his fourth game in his fourth straight start. Trombley, who was a late cut by the Silvertips in training camp, stopped 23 shots. . . . “As far as it goes, this is the highlight of my career,” Trombley told Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald. “I haven’t had an opportunity like this (in) forever. I can show everyone what I can do, especially Everett — they didn’t want me.” . . . The Americans were 3-for-5 on the PP. . . . Tri-City F Malte Stromwall had three assists. . . . Everett D Austin Adam, back in the lineup after missing 14 games as he battled a concussion and mononucleosis, scored his first goal and had an assist. . . . The Americans have won four in a row. . . . Tri-City F Tyson Dallman (left leg) departed 11 seconds into the game and didn’t return. . . . The Americans are fourth in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The two arch-rivals may indeed be headed for a first-round clash. . . . 
In Victoria, the Kelowna Rockets scored five times in the second period and went on to an 8-3 victory over the Royals. . . . F Myles Bell had two goals, giving him 34, and two assists for Kelowna. . . . The teams were tied 1-1 going into the second period. . . . The Royals took 100 of the 174 penalty minutes handed out by referees Jeff Ingram and Brett Iverson. . . . The Rockets were 3-for-7 on the PP. . . . F Jamie Crooks scored his 30th goal for the Royals, who have lost five straight. . . . The Royals are sixth in the Western Conference, three points behind Spokane. . . . Kelowna leads the B.C. Division by three points over the Kamloops Blazers and has closed to within a point of Edmonton, which is second in the overall standings. . . .
In Vancouver, G Cole Cheveldave stopped 24 shots as the Kamloops Blazers beat the Giants, 6-0. . . . Cheveldave has four shutouts this season and eight in his career. . . . Kamloops F Brendan Ranford opened the scoring 10 seconds into the game. . . . F Colin Smith scored his 38th goal and added an assist, while F Cole Ully got his 20th goal. . . . The Giants lost D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen with a boarding major and game misconduct for a hit on F JC Lipon at 13:37 of the second period. . . . Kamloops took 66 of the game’s 121 penalty minutes. . . . Kamloops F Brendan Ranford had a goal and an assist. He’s got 20 points in his last 11 games. . . . The Blazers, who have won eight of 10, are three points behind Kelowna. . . . Each team has 10 games remaining and they will play each other three more times, with two of those games scheduled for Kamloops.
he will finish this season and then begin the search for a head coach.
The Brandon Wheat Kings have released D Ryley Miller in order to get down to the maximum of three 20-year-old players. That leaves them with F Nick Buonassisi, F Michael Ferland and D Tyler Yaworski as their 20s. . . . Miller, a second-round pick by Brandon in the 2007 bantam draft, played 241 games with the Wheat Kings, recording 37 points and 537 penalty minutes. This season, he had six points and 99 penalty minutes in 38 games.
The Kelowna Rockets announced Tuesday that D Mitchell Chapman, 20, won’t play again this season. He suffered an ankle injury on the opening day of training camp and hasn’t played at all this season. . . . That leaves the Rockets with three 20s — F JT Barnett, F Cody Fowlie and F Dylen McKinlay.
In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice dumped the Edmonton Oil Kings 2-1 and vacated the Eastern Conference basement. . . . The Ice, which has won six straight, now is one point ahead of Brandon with two games in hand. . . . The Oil Kings had a four-game winning streak end. . . . F T.J. Foster’s 19th goal gave Edmonton a 1-0 first-period lead. . . . F Jaedon Descheneau, 17, continued his fine season — he has 31 points in 38 games — with a goal at 18:06 of the second and D Joey Leach got the winner, his third, on a 5-on-3 PP at 1:12 of the third. . . . Edmonton D Martin Gernat (shoulder) has received medical clearance to return but was scratched. He will get a few practices under his belt before returning. . . . 
In Portland, D Tyler Wotherspoon enjoyed the first four-point night of his career as the Winterhawks beat the Prince George Cougars, 6-4. . . . Wotherspoon, in his first game back after playing for Canada at the World Junior Championship, had his first two-goal game, as well. . . . The Winterhawks have won 11 in a row. . . . F Ty Rattie also was back in Portland’s lineup after being with Team Canada. He had two assists. . . . Portland D Derrick Pouliot returned from an undisclosed injury. . . . Portland D Seth Jones, who won gold with Team USA at the world junior, didn’t play. . . . Winterhawks F Paul Bittner scored his eighth goal as he ran his goal streak to four games. He has the game-winner in each of those games. . . . The Cougars dress just 16 skaters. . . . The same teams play in Portland again tonight. . . .
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