THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Marek Svatos (Kootenay, 2000-02) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia, KHL) after an unsuccessful tryout with the Florida Panthers. Svatos last played in 2010-11, when he had three goals and five assists in 19 games with Avangard Omsk (Russia, KHL) and four goals and four assists in 28 games split between the Nashville Predators and Ottawa Senators. . . .


D Steve McCarthy (Edmonton/Kootenay, 1996-2000) signed a contract for the rest of this season with ZSC Zurich (Switzerland, NL A) after an unsuccessful tryout with the Calgary Flames. He had two goals and eight assists in 30 games with the Abbotsford Heat (AHL) this season. . . .

 F Ned Lukacevic (Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) signed a tryout contract with Aalborg (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga). He started the season with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, 2. Bundesliga), where he was pointless in a two-game tryout. Lukacevic then signed with Banska Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga), getting three goals and eight assists in 15 games before being released by mutual agreement on Monday. . . .

F Duncan Milroy (Swift Current, Kootenay, 1998-2003) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Vålerenga Oslo (Norway, GET-Ligaen). He had six goals and 22 assists in 45 games with the Krefeld Pinguine (Germany, DEL) last season.
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The Prince George Cougars have signed Mark Holick as their head coach, replacing Dean Clark who was relieved of his duties on Tuesday morning.
Assistant coach Jason Becker ran the bench Wednesday, as the Cougars dropped a 3-2 decision to the visiting Prince Albert Raiders.
Holick was to speak with the players following the game and will run practice today and take over the bench Friday when the Everett Silvertips are in Prince George.
Sheri Lamb of the Prince George Citizen has more on the coaching change right here.
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Sheri Lamb of the Prince George Citizen also has spoken with a couple of Cougars players who are dealing with post-concussion syndrome.
This is an interesting story, another one that gives you some idea of what players go through while dealing with brain injuries.
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F Dryden Hunt of the Regina Pats is working to come back from a second concussion this season. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post writes right here about what Hunt has gone through.
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Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun reports that D Ryan Pulock (wrist) was back practising with the Brandon Wheat Kings on Wednesday. He has missed five games with a chipped bone in a wrist. The Wheat Kings will meet the Rebels in Red Deer on Friday, but Pulock wasn’t ready to commit himself to playing just yet. . . . Brandon D Rene Hunter didn’t skate after blocking a shot in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the visiting Saskatoon Blades. Also missing was F Nick Buonassisi (ill), who didn’t play Tuesday.
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Michael Newman Wright, who was selected by the Tri-City Americans in the sixth round of the 1995 bantam draft, has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison on an armed robbery charge.
Hannah Spray of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has that story right here.
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WEDNESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Saskatoon, the Edmonton Oil Kings scored the game’s first three goals and went on to a 4-2 victory over the Blades. . . . D Griffin Reinhart, who turns 19 today, scored twice for Edmonton, giving him six. . . . Saskatoon F Josh Nicholls scored his 32nd goal at 2:21 of the third to get the Blades to within 3-2. . . . Reinhart got his second goal at 15:02. . . .

F Jaedon Descheneau drew three assists as the host Kootenay Ice got past the Medicine Hat Tigers, 3-2. . . . F Luke Philp broke a 2-2 tie at 13:52 of the third. . . . In 11 January games, Descheneau has 18 points, including 14 in the last seven. . . . Last season, Deschenau, a 17-year-old from Edmonton, had 14 points in 54 games. Now he has 45, including 32 assists, in 45 games. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart, who was day-to-day on the injury list, had two assists. . . . Kootenay, which has won five straight and 12 of 13, has closed to within four points of an Eastern Conference playoff spot. . . .

In Kamloops, G Austin Lotz stopped 65 shots — yes, 65! — but the last one he faced got past him and gave the Blazers a 4-3 OT victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . By period, Lotz stopped 29, 18 and 18 shots. His 65 saves were a single-game franchise record. The previous record (55) had been set by Kent Simpson in a game against Portland last season. . . . Kamloops won it when F Cole Ully scored on a penalty shot at 1:17 of extra time. It was Ully’s second goal of the game and 16th of the season. Ully, who had 20 goals, including nine goals, in 55 games last season, has 33 points in 40 games this season. . . . Everett somehow took 43 of the game’s 58 penalty minutes, including 14 of 19 minors. . . . Kamloops ended up going 0-for-12 on the PP; the Silvertips were 1-for-3. . . . Lotz was chosen as Wednesday’s first star by Neate Sager of the Buzzing The Net blog and was given all three stars by the Kamloops Daily News. In the building, he was the third star, although the fans did give him a standing ovation. . . .

In Prince George, the Prince Albert Raiders overcame a 2-0 deficit and beat the Cougars, 3-2. . . . F Mike Winther broke a 2-2 tie at 12:57 of the third period with his 17th goal. . . . It was the Cougars’ first game since head coach Dean Clark was fired on Tuesday. Assistant coach Jason Becker ran the bench, with Mark Holick, the new head coach, planning to take over with the Everett Silvertips in town for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader. . . .

In Spokane, D Brenden Kichton scored in the circus to give the Chiefs a 5-4 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Kichton, who scored his 16th goal in the first period, was the only one of six shooters to score in the circus. . . . Spokane G Eric Williams stopped 41 shots. . . . Spokane led 3-1 after the second. The Winterhawks forced OT with goals by D Troy Rutkowsk, his 16th, at 15:13 of the third and F Ty Rattie’s 23rd at 16:31. Rutkowski’s goal was a shorthanded effort. . . . Rattie’s goal was his 300th career point. It came in his 245th game. . . . The Chiefs had beaten the host Winterhawks 5-2 on Monday. The teams play again Friday in Spokane.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Austin Vetterl, Kootenay
F Manraj Hayer, Everett
F Carson Perreaux, Prince Albert

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Joel Edmundson, Kamloops
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From Everett Silvertips D Ben Betker (@Betker5): “S/O to my roomy on the road @lotzy30. Kid had a night to remember in the loops #65Saves”
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From former Kootenay Ice F Drew Czerwonka (@cwonks19): “Attempted to wax my chest tonight, did about 6 strips and quit. Mad props to all the ladies out there who do that regularly #sopainful”
Czerwonka now is at the U of Regina.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
The Krefeld Pinguine (Germany, DEL) announced that the club will not re-sign seven players, including F Duncan Milroy (Swift Current, Kootenay, 1998-2003), D Lawrence Nycholat (Swift Current, 1996-2000), and F Ben Ondrus (Swift Current, 1998-2003). Milroy had six goals and 22 assists in 45 games, Nycholat had one goal and five assists in 23 games, and Ondrus had three goals and seven assists in 47 games for the Penguins this season. . . .
F Petr Vala (Seattle, 1997-98) signed a one-year contract extension with Zell am See (Austria, Nationalliga). He had 13 goals and 23 assists in 26 games for Zell am See this season. . . .
F Brett McLean (Tacoma/Kelowna, Brandon, 1994-99) signed a one-year contract extension with Lugano (Switzerland, NL A). McLean started the season with the Rockford Ice Hogs (AHL), getting seven goals and 14 assists in 36 games. After clearing NHL unconditional waivers with Chicago on Jan. 19, McLean joined Lugano, where he had five goals and one assist in 10 games. From the Lugano press release: "The 33-year-old Canadian has proven to be a valuable player both defensively and offensively, and displays strong leadership skills."
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F Sven Baertschi scored another goal Thursday night, helping the Calgary Flames to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Phoenix Coyotes. Baertschi, who was brought in from the Portland Winterhawks under emergency recall rules, has three goals in four games with the Flames. . . . Calgary head coach Brent Sutter said after last night’s game that he plans on playing Baertschi again tonight when the Flames meet the Oilers in Edmonton. . . . After last night’s game, Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald wrote: “Under the agreement between the NHL and Canadian Hockey League, the Flames must reassign Baertschi to his junior club the moment one of their injured forwards returns to the lineup. Lee Stempniak, Tim Jackman and Lance Bouma are all prime candidates to take Baertschi's spot.”
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Neate Sager, our pal at Yahoo! Sports, has put together in interesting look at some connections between junior hockey and Hollywood. That piece is right here. If you know of any more, email me at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca and we’ll start a list.
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The Kamloops Blazers have added G Taran Kozun, 17, to their roster. He joins Cole Cheveldave, 18, and Cam Lanigan, 19, as goaltenders on the Kamloops roster. Kozun opened the season with the Blazers before being assigned to the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks on Oct. 17. With Nipawin, he got into 16 games, going 5-10-0, 3.30, .904. . . . In Nipawin, Kozun found himself playing behind Davis Jones, 19, who went 26-12-0, 2.42, .920 and was named the SJHL’s goaltender of the year.
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F Austin Bourhis of the Prince Albert Raiders has drawn a six-game suspension for what the WHL calls a “one-man fight” against the Blades in Saskatoon on Tuesdsay night. The suspension will carry over to next season when Bourhis will miss the first three games. . . . As well, Kelowna Rockets F Shane McColgan was hit with a one-game suspension for accumulation of embellishment penalties. He won’t play tonight against the host Vancouver Giants but will be eligible to return for Saturday’s rematch in Kelowna.
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The NHL’s Boston Bruins have signed G Adam Morrison, 20, of the Vancouver Giants to a three-year contract. Morrison was an unrestricted free agent. The Philadelphia Flyers didn’t sign him after selecing him in the third round of the NHL’s 2009 draft. The Giants acquired Morrison from the Saskatoon Blades earlier this season. He is 35-17-3, 2.80, .900 this season. . . .
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D Alex Petrovic of the Red Deer Rebels will join the San Antonio Rampage, the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers, on Tuesday. He will play his final WHL games tonight and Saturday against the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes and Edmonton Oil Kings. The Panthers selected him in the second round of the NHL’s 2010 draft.
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Before he wraps up his WHL career, F Taylor Vause, the 20-year-old captain of the Swift Current Broncos, took the time to write a letter to the editor of the Prairie Post.
That letter is right here, and you should take time to read it.
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The Kelowna Rockets said Thursday that D Myles Bell (leg) and D Madison Bowey (shoulder) both are day-to-day after being injured in a 4-2 victory over the visiting Everett Silvertips on Wednesday. . . . The Rockets are to play tonight in Vancouver. . . . Without Bell, Bowey and D Mitchell Chapman, who also is injured, the Rockets may use D Riley Stadel, a 2011 third-round bantam draft pick from Surrey, B.C., who spent the season at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Brian Curran, the AJHL’s coach of the year this season, has changed teams. Curran was named the coach of the year for his season with the Lloydminster Bobcats. On Thursday, however, he signed a five-year deal as GM and head coach of the Drumheller Dragons. . . . He replaces Barry Wolff, who had been general manager and interim head coach. Wolff had worked the bench for the season’s last four months.
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When the WHL playoffs approach and it gets close to the end of the regular season, I usually stay away from attempting to figure out all the possible permutations.
Why? Because I always screw it up and the mess always seem to sort itself out anyway.
But as the WHL heads into its final three days of the regular season, Garth MacBeth, who pens the MacBeth Report, has made some notes involving the Western Conference . . .
Standings now:
7. Victoria 53 (v. Portland tonight)
8. Everett 52 (at Tri-City tonight, at Seattle on Saturday)
9. Seattle 50 (at Spokane tonight, v. Everett on Saturday, at Portland on Sunday)
10. Prince George 48 (at Kamloops tonight, v. Kamloops on Saturday)
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If Victoria wins tonight, the Royals will clinch at least a tiebreaker game. That will give them 55 points after their final game. Everett and Seattle can both get to 56 points but not at the same time. One of them can only get to 55 since they play each other Saturday — by losing that game in OT. PG cannot catch Victoria, which has 53 points, so the best it can do is get into a tie for eighth place. For that tie to occur, here is what must happen:
1. PG wins both games against Kamloops. That would give it 52 points and 25 victories.
2. Everett must lose both of its games (at Tri-City and at Seattle) in regulation. Everett would then have 52 points and 21 victories.
3. Seattle, by virtue of its win over Everett on Saturday, would have 52 points and 25 victories. So it must lose in regulation tonight at Spokane and Sunday at Portland.
This is the only scenario for Prince George to make the playoffs. There is no other way. This would result in a three-way playoff for the eighth spot which, it seems, would result in two sudden-death playoff games.
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Neither Garth nor I could find anything with the rules for a three-team tie for a playoff spot. If two teams tie, they play a sudden-death game at the home of the team with the most overall victories. And that game would be played on the Tuesday before the playoffs begin.
Presumably, then, if three teams tied, there would be two sudden-death games in two different cities.
Prince George would get the bye on the basis of having the most victories. Seattle and Everett would play in the first game. It would be played in Kent, Wash., because the Thunderbirds would have the most victories.
Presumably, the winner of that game would then travel to Prince George.
And it all would have to be wrapped up in time for the teams to begin the first round of playoffs on Friday, March 23.
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Garth also pointed out that Victoria can still end up in a tiebreaker game and it could be a three-way affair, as well. If it's a tie with Everett, Victoria would have more victories than Everett and would play host to the tiebreaker. If it's a tie with Seattle, Seattle would have more victories than Victoria and would play host to the tiebreaker. If it's a three-way tie, Seattle would get seventh place with the most victories, and Victoria would play host to Everett in the tiebreaker.
Victoria could also miss the playoffs and a tiebreaker completely. If Victoria loses in regulation tonight, then Seattle needs three points and Everett two points to send Victoria to the sidelines. If Victoria loses in OT, Everett needs three points and Seattle four points. As I said earlier, if Victoria wins tonight, it gets at least a tiebreaker game. A Victoria victory and a Seattle or Everett loss in regulation tonight clinches a playoff spot for Victoria.
Whew . . .
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IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY:
Eastern Conference
Edmonton (1) vs. Brandon (8)
Moose Jaw (2) vs. Kootenay (7)
Medicine Hat (3) vs. Saskatoon (6)
Calgary (4) vs. Regina (5)
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Western Conference
Tri-City (1) vs. Everett (8)
Kamloops (2) vs. Victoria (7)
Portland (3) vs. Kelowna (6)
Vancouver (4) vs. Spokane (5)
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TODAY’S GAMES:
Calgary at Kootenay
Moose Jaw at Prince Albert
Brandon at Regina
Saskatoon at Swift Current
Edmonton at Medicine Hat
Lethbridge at Red Deer
Prince George at Kamloops
Seattle at Spokane
Everett at Tri-City
Portland at Victoria
Kelowna at Vancouver

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