Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal reports right here on Edmonton Oil Kings general manager Bob Green, who discovered over the summer that he has Type 2 diabetes.
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D Kate Pilton has left the Regina Pats and returned home Pilton, 18, told the team Sunday that he was leaving. “It wasn’t out of left field,” Regina head coach Pat Conacher told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post. “We had talked previously about it. He was going back and forth (about what to do). He wasn’t satisfied where he was as far as his contribution as a player. He gave it his best shot. He didn’t want to bring himself down and the team down at the same time. His heart wasn’t in it. Not because he was a bad kid. It just looked like he lost his mojo for the game.” . . . The Pats had acquired Pilton from the Victoria Royals on Sept. 13, giving up F Demico Hannoun, 17, and a conditional 2014 third-round bantam draft pick. . . . Pilton, 6-foot-5 and 190 pounds, had two goals and an assist in 27 games with the Pats. . . . Harder reports that the Pats, who have lost seven in a row, are down to five defencemen. Colton Jobke (hand) is gone until after Christmas. Luke Fenske (wrist) has missed three games. Tye Hand (undisclosed) was hurt in Saturday’s 9-0 loss to the Blades in Saskatoon.
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The Saskatoon Blades, who visit the Wheat Kings in Brandon tonight, have added F Drake Bodie and G Patrick Johnson to their lineup. . . . Bodie had been with the MJHL’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines. He has 15 points in 17 games. . . . Johnson, 19, has been playing for the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs. He will back up Alex Moodie with starter Andrey Makarov having joined the Russian national junior team. Makarov has started the Blades’ last 24 games. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix points out that Makarov has started every Blades game going back to March 4. . . . Nugent-Bowman also reports that the Blades will be without F Nick Zajac for up to six weeks and F Brett Stovin for anywhere up to three weeks with undisclosed injuries. . . .
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It seems that F Eric Walker, 19, is on his way to join the Portland Winterhawks.
Walker, who has been with the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs, tweeted Monday night: “Couldnt be more excited for this opportunity, thanks to everybody with @AVBulldogs, wasn’t a long time but was definitely a good time!”
Walker had eight assists in 16 games with the Bulldogs.
He played 16 games with the Vancouver Giants in 2011-12, before being dealt to the Swift Current Broncos. He played 23 games with the Broncos last season and three this season.
In 42 WHL games, he has three assists and 51 penalty minutes.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Spokane F Liam Stewart (@LiamStewart11): “That awkward moment when you walk into the mall and your dads Christmas album is playing... #1intheworld baby congrats dad! @rod Stewart”


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jamie Benn (Kelowna, 2007-09) signed a lockout contract with the Hamburg Freezers (Germany, DEL). He had 26 goals and 37 assists in 71 games with Dallas Stars last season. Benn will meet with the German media today in Hamburg. . . .
D Kris Russell (Medicine Hat, 2003-07) has returned to North America after suffering an undisclosed injury while playing for TPS Turku (Finland, SM-Liiga) in Sunday's game against the Espoo Blues. He was injured on the first shift of Sunday's game. Video highlights show that Russell blocked a shot with the inside of his right foot and did not return. Russell played his first game in Finland on Saturday, a 4-3 TPS victory in overtime against HIFK Helsinki. He had a goal and an assist, both on the power play, in just under 25 minutes of action.
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If you haven’t seen the TSN feature on Brandon Wheat Kings D Ryan Pulock that ran Tuesday night, you will find it right here, and it’s well worth five minutes of your time. . . . The reporter is Leah Hextall, who works for CTV out of Winnipeg. Yes, she is part of hockey’s Hextall family. She is the daughter of Randy Hextall, who won the Centennial Cup with the MJHL’s Portage Terriers in 1973.
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CH-CH-CHING!
The WHL’s coffers sweeled for the first time this season as the Kootenay Ice and Lethbridge Hurricanes were dinged for a “multiple-fight situation” in Cranbrook on Saturday.
In the end, the tally was $1,750. (Yes, the Christmas shopping season is almost upon us.)
Each team was fined $500 for the fights, with the Hurricanes being hit up for an extra $500 and the Ice for $250 for “actions of player” during the situation.
There also were a couple of notable suspensions out of that game.
Lethbridge F Brady Ramsay, a 19-yer-old from Calgary, was hit with a five-game suspension, while Kootenay F Jon Martin, a 17-year-old from Winnipeg, got three games.
Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, noted on the WHL website that Ramsay “entered the ice during a stoppage and initiated an altercation with an opponent.”
During the game, which Lethbridge won 4-2, Martin picked up 11 minutes in penalties — two roughing minors, a charging minor and one of the six fighting majors that were handed out at 18:49 of the third period.
Ramsay wasn’t penalized at any point in the game.
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The Swift Current Broncos have trimmed their roster by two as they have moved out D Eric Walker, 19, and G Steven Myland, 18. . . . Walker is expected to join the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs. Walker, from Castlegar, B.C., had been acquired from the Vancouver Giants in January for an eighth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. He was pointless, with five penalty minutes, in three games this season. . . . Myland is off to the junior B North Delta Devils of the Pacific International Junior League. The Broncos acquired Myland from the Kootenay Ice as part of the January 2011 deal in which F Cody Eakin went the other way. From Cloverdale, B.C., he got into three exhibition games with the Broncos. His departure leaves the Broncos with two freshman goaltenders — Eetu Laurikainen, 19, of Jyvaskyla, Finland, and Landon Bow, 17, from St. Albert, Alta. . . . The Broncos’ roster is at 23 players, including 14 forwards and seven defencemen.
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The Prince Albert Raiders are down to 24 players after assigning F Spencer Meyer, 16, to the junior B Grandview Steelers of the Pacific International Junior League. . . . Meyer was a fourth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . He got into regular-season game with the Raiders this season. . . . The Raiders’ roster now includes nine defencemen and 13 forwards.
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Things have been somewhat interesting in Saskatoon where D Duncan Siemens, last season’s captain, is neither the captain nor an alternate this season. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix gives his thoughts on that situation right here.
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JUST NOTES:
F Ryan Graham, 16, of the Saskatoon Blades has received medical clearance and took part in a full practice Tuesday. He has been out with back problems and now is day-to-day. . . . The  Blades are at home tonight to the Red Deer Rebels. . . . Saskatoon is 2-2-0 but has yet to win in regulation time. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix also points out that the Blades “have led for just 16 seconds so far this season.” . . . Regina Pats head coach Pat Conacher is expected back behind his club’s bench tonight for a game against the host Moose Jaw Warriors. Conacher has missed three games while tending to a family situation in Calgary. Conacher missed three road games, with the Pats going 1-2-0. . . .
The week’s hot ticket may be Friday night’s game in Brandon between the Wheat Kings and Portland Winterhawks. For sure, Westman Place will contain a whole lot of NHL scouts, there to see two defencemen — Ryan Pulock of the Wheat Kings and Seth Jones of the Winterhawks. “I’ve talked to a number of people (from NHLteams) that are coming to the game Friday and it’s a great opportunity to see two of the top defencemen in this year’s draft play on the same sheet of ice,” Brandon /owner/GM Kelly McCrimmon told Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun. “So from a comparative standpoint, I think that’s valuable for scouts and as well it’s Portland’s only trip to the Prairies this season, so it’s a good opportunity for the scouts that are based in Manitoba and Saskatchewan to get in and watch their team play as well.” . . .
Brenden Kichton, the new captain in Spokane, has broken the Chiefs’ career scoring record for defencemen. He now has 185 points, including 140 assists, in 265 regular-season games. That is one more point than Bryan McCabe put up in 152 games during the live-puck era. McCabe played with the Chiefs from early in 1992-93 to late in 1994-95. He started with the Medicine Hat Tigers and finished with the Brandon Wheat Kings. In 254 regular-season games, he finished with 243 points. . . .
F Ryan Harrison of the Everett Silvertips has served a four-game suspension left over from last season and is eligible to play tonight against the visiting Tri-City Americans. Harrison, 20, took a charging major in Everett’s last playoff game in the spring and was later hit with a four-game suspension. A bout of mononucleosis kept him out of the club’s exhibition games.
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During my time covering the WHL and its teams, I don’t know that I have come across any one player who was as mature as Chris Phillips. A defenceman with the Prince Albert Raiders who finished up his WHL days with the Lethbridge Hurricanes (1995-97), he really was mature beyond his years . . . well beyond. . . . Don Brennan of the Ottawa Citizen has more right here on Phillips and his father, Garth, who died on the weekend.
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TUESDAY’S GAME:
There was one game, with the host Prince Albert Raiders beating the Red Deer Rebels, 5-4, in a shootout. . . . F Mark McNeill, the Raiders’ captain, scored the only goal of the shootout, after scoring his first two goals of the season in regulation time. . . . McNeill is 2-for-2 in the circus this season, having also scored against the Saskatoon Blades. . . . McNeill had a Gordie Howe hat trick in the second period. He had a goal, an assist and a scrap, the latter with D Mathew Dumba. Both were first-round NHL draft picks — McNeill by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2011, Dumba by the Minnesota Wild in 2012. . . . Red Deer F Charles Inglis scored the game’s first goal on a PP with 7.7 seconds left in the first period. . . . That was Inglis’s fifth goal this season, all of them coming in the last  three games. . . . Inglis later added a second goal, giving him three straight two-goal outings. . . . He also has five PP goals on Red Deer’s last eight opportunities. . . . The Raiders scratched F Mike Winther with the dreaded lower-body injury. . . . Prince Albert F Anthony Bardaro, 20, scored a goal in his 200th regular-season game. . . . Prince Albert D Evan Morden drew an assist on Bardaro’s goal, his fourth assist in three games. Last season, Morden had three assists in 58 games with the Everett Silvertips. . . . Former Raiders player and coach Bob Lowes was in the Art Hauser Centre for the game. He now scouts for the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. . . . Must have been some stories told at this one, what with Lowes joined there by Lorne Molleken and Daryl Lubiniecki of the Saskatoon Blades, Peter Anholt, who now scouts for the Seattle Thunderbirds, and longtime NHL scout Darwin Bennett.
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A tweet from WHL Facts (@WHLFacts): 6 — In his last 6 games vs. Red Deer, @PARaidersHockey Marc McNeill (@McNeill9) has scored 4 Goals, 9 Assists, & is a +6.
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CHECKING FROM BEHIND COUNT:
F Adam Kambeitz, Red Deer.
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CHECKING TO THE HEAD COUNT:
None.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From George Bowditch (@55golfman): “Sask. Hockey Hall of Fame now open 1-5 p.m. Tues-Sat. Broncos game days 1-4 p.m. and 6-7 p.m. Check out heroes of yesterday.”
The Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame is located in the iPlex in Swift Current.

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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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Tuesday’s moves in the Western Hockey League:
EVERETT SILVERTIPS—Released F Vladimir Dolnik, 18. Reassigned F Matt Grant, 18, to BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. Reassigned D Darian Henry, 17, to AJHL’s Drumheller Dragaons.
KELOWNA ROCKETS—Released D Kevin Smith, 20.
KOOTENAY ICE—Traded F Brendan Hurley, 18, to Medicine Hat Tigers for a 2012 third-round bantam draft pick.
MEDICINE HAT TIGERS—Traded F Reid Petryk, 18, to Everett Silvertips for F Miles Koules, 17.
MOOSE JAW WARRIORS—Traded F Brett Lyon, 20, to Kelowna Rockets for a 2013 seventh-round bantam draft pick and a 2014 fifth-round pick.
PRINCE ALBERT RAIDERS—Assigned D Mathew Berry-Lamontagna, 18, to BCHL’s Westside Warriors.
PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS—Traded D Martin Marincin, 19, 2012 fourth- and seventh-round bantam draft picks and a 2013 fourth-round bantam draft pick to Regina Pats for D Ricard Blidstrand, 19, 2012 first- and second-round bantam draft picks and a 2013 fifth-round pick. Assigned D Josh Smith, 17, to undisclosed AJHL team. Added F John Odgers, 18, to roster.
SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS—Traded F Marcel Noebels, 19, to Portland for F Seth Swenson, 18, and first-round bantam draft picks in 2012 and 2013.
SPOKANE CHIEFS—Added F Dylan Walchuk, 19, to roster.
TRI-CITY AMERICANS—Acquired WHL rights to F Brett Connolly, 19, from Prince George Cougars for 2013 fifth-round bantam draft pick, conditional 2013 first-round draft pick and conditional 2014 second-round draft pick.
VANCOUVER GIANTS—Traded F James Henry, 20, to Moose Jaw Warriors for 2012 second-round bantam draft pick and 2014 third-round pick. Traded G Brendan Jensen, 18, to Portland for a 2013 sixth-round bantam draft pick. Traded D Eric Walker, 18, to Swift Current for a 2012 eighth-round bantam draft pick.
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DRAFT TRACKER (since Dec. 27):
Trades made: 22
Players: 35
Bantam draft picks: 29
Import draft picks: 0
(Does not include conditional draft picks)
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While everyone waited to see if the Regina Pats would trade away veteran C Jordan Weal, general manager Chad Lang performed an end-around.
Instead of selling, the Pats turned into buyers as the WHL deadline came and went on Tuesday.
Lang stunned a lot of people when he landed Slovakian D Martin Marincin, 19, early Tuesday in a deal with the Prince George Cougars that ended up totalling two players and six bantam draft picks.
Marincin, a second-round pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2010 NHL draft, was one of the big fish in the WHL lake as the trade deadline approached. In exchange for him, the Cougars got Swedish D Ricard Blidstrand, 19, first- and second-round picks in 2012 and a fifth-rounder in 2013.
Along with Marincin, Regina also got fourth- and seventh-round selections in 2012 and a fourth-rounder in 2013.
Marincin, a big, rangy defender who excels on the PP, has 17 points in 30 games this season. Last season, he had 56 points in 67 games. He is expected to be in the Pats’ lineup tonight against the host Prince Albert Raiders.
Blidstrand, a seventh-round selection by the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL’s 2010 draft, had 17 points in 70 games last season. This season, he has 13 points in 30 games.
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The Prince George Cougars sent the WHL rights to F Brett Connolly to the Tri-City Americans for one bantam draft pick and two conditional picks. The Cougars get a 2013 fifth-round selection from the Americans, along with a conditional first-round pick in 2013 and a conditional second-round selection in 2014. As I understand it, if Connolly reports and if the Americans were to win the Western Conference, that 2014 pick would become a first-rounder. . . . Connolly, the sixth overall pick in the NHL’s 2010 draft, has been with the Tampa Bay Lightning this season, except for four weeks with Canada’s national junior team. He has eight points with the Lightning. . . . Connolly played 8:33 last night in a 5-4 shootout loss to the visiting Vancouver Canucks. He had 13 shifts, all at even strength. . . . Hello, Steve, this is Bob Tory calling. . . .
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The Portland Winterhawks surprised more than a few people by surrendering two first-round bantam draft picks and F Seth Swenson, 18, to acquire F Marcel Noebels, 19, from the Seattle Thunderbirds.
The Winterhawks gave up first-round picks in the 2012 and 2013 bantam drafts.
“We just could not pass up the offer that was made,” Russ Farwell, the general manager of the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent), said in a news release. “We add a younger player and two high draft picks.”
Noebels, from Germany, has 24 points in 31 games this season. He also is a minus-22. He was the 10th overall selection by Seattle in the 2010 CHL import draft. The Philadelphia Flyers own his NHL rights, having taken him in the fourth round of the 2011 draft.
Swenson, from Parker, Colo., had seven points in 33 games with Portland. This is his third WHL season. He has 21 points and 64 penalty minutes in 132 games.
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The Portland Winterhawks also acquired G Brendan Jensen, 18, from the Vancouver Giants for a 2013 sixth-round bantam draft pick.
Jensen, from El Granada, Calif., is with the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints. With the Saints, Jensen is 12-0-3, 2.14, .917.
And, to make room for F Cam Reid, 20, the Winterhawks released F Dillon Wagner, 20. Wagner, who was acquired earlier this season from the Swift Current Broncos, had seven points and 25 penalty minutes in 17 games with Portland.
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A note about the deal between Portland and Edmonton on Monday in which the rights to F Cam Reid, 20, went from the Oil Kings to the Winterhawks.
The deal was announced as being for a 2012 eighth-round bantam draft pick. Actually, that is the price Portland paid just to talk with Reid. Under conditions of the deal, that pick has been upgraded to a 2013 second-round selection as Reid has left St. Cloud State and reported to Portland.
Any doubt about whether Reid would report was erased when I received a message from an interested observer:
“At MSP airport last night, there was a SCSU hockey bag with a bag tag for PDX sitting there . . . just saying!”
That would be Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) and St. Cloud State University (SCSU) and Portland (PDX).
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On Monday, the Moose Jaw Warriors acquired F Cam Braes, 20, who had been the captain of the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
On Tuesday, the Warriors went out and got F James Henry, 20, who was the Vancouver Giants’ captain.
In exchange for Henry, the Warriors gave up a second-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft and a third-round pick in the 2014 draft.
Henry, a ninth-round pick by Vancouver in the 2006 draft, was second on the Giants’ all-time list for games played (281). This season, he has 41 points, including 35 assists, in 41 games. He has 184 points in those 281 regular-season games.
Henry, who is from Winnipeg, and Moose Jaw D Dylan McIlrath are old friends from their childhood days in the Manitoba capital.
“He was a heck of a player when we were younger,” McIlrath told Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald. “It’s going to be fun to play with him.”
Immediately following the trade, the Giants named F Brendan Gallagher as team captain.
That deal also left the Warriors with four 20-year-olds, one over the maximum. The other two were F Brett Lyon and F Kenton Miller.
The Warriors promptly traded Lyon, who is having a career offensive season, to the Kelowna Rockets for a 2013 seventh-round bantam draft pick and a 2014 fifth-round pick.
Lyon has 28 points, including 11 goals, and 95 penalty minutes in 41 games. In 199 career games, Lyon has 54 points and 537 penalty minutes.
One of the WHL’s toughest players, his previous career highs were five goals and five assists. From Grand Forks, B.C., he also has played with the Kamloops Blazers and Vancouver.
That left the Rockets with four 20-year-olds – the others being F Cody Chikie, D Kevin Smith and G Adam Brown – so the dominoes continued to fall.
In order to get down to three, the Rockets released Smith.
Late last night it was reported that Smith had signed with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies.
However, let’s not forget that Vancouver has room for a 20-year-old. Vancouver’s brass was meeting after the Giants’ 3-0 victory over the visiting Prince George Cougars last night. Should the Giants choose to add a 20-year-old, their options could include Smith or F Dillon Wagner, who was dropped by Portland.
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The Vancouver Giants sent D Eric Walker, 18, to the Swift Current Broncos for a 2012 eighth-round bantam draft pick.
Walker left Northern Michigan University to join the Giants on Nov. 19. With Vancouver, Walker had two assists and 18 penalty minutes in 16 games.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers dealt F Reid Petryk, 18, to the Everett Silvertips for the rights to F Miles Koules, 17. . . . Petryk, a fourth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft, had 19 points and 56 penalty minutes in 43 games with the Tigers. . . . Should Koules report to the Tigers, Everett also will get a fourth-round bantam pick. . . . Koules is in the U.S. National Team Development Program. He plays for the U-18 team that is based in Ann Arbor, Mich., and has committed to attend the U of North Dakota. . . . Koules is the son of former WHLer Oren Koules (Portland, Great Falls, Medicine Hat, Spokane, Calgary, Brandon, 1979-82), who did a stint as owner of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning a couple of seasons ago. Among other things, Koules, if you weren’t aware, is a movie producer. Go ahead. Google him. . . . Miles Koules has 13 points in 32 games with the U-18 team. Two seasons ago, he played at Shattock-St. Marys. . . . Pre-trade deadline speculation had Koules ending up with the Portland Winterhawks, something Oren Koules had heard.
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The Kootenay Ice sent F Brendan Hurley, 18, to the Medicine Hat Tigers for a 2012 third-round bantam draft pick. Hurley, from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., had six points and 29 penalty minutes in 26 games with the Ice. He was in his third season with the Ice, and was a member of last season’s Memorial Cup championship team.
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The Spokane Chiefs have added F Dylan Walchuk, 19, to their roster. Walchuk, who has been on the Chiefs’ list since December 2008, has played at Northern Michigan University and with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers this season. A native of McBride, B.C., Walchuk played the last two seasons with the Vipers, who won one Canadian junior A championship and reached the final last year. This season, Walchuk had eight points in 19 games at NMU. He then left NMU and returned to the Vipers, putting up six points in six games with Vernon.
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ALSO ON THE MOVE:
The Everett Silvertips reassigned F Vladimir Dolnik, F Matt Grant and D Darian Henry. . . . Dolnik, 18, was selected in the 2011 CHL import draft and is returning to Slovakia. He had five helpers in 27 games with the Silvertips. . . . Grant, with no points in four games, is returning to the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. Grant, 18, was acquired earlier in the season from Moose Jaw in a deal that had G Luke Siemens go to the Warriors. . . . Henry, 17, will join the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons. He had one assist in 16 games with Everett. . . . The Prince George Cougars have assigned D Josh Smith, 17, to an undisclosed AJHL team. Smith In his second full season with the Cougars, had six points and 77 penalty minutes in 31 games. . . . The Cougars also revealed that they will be keeping F John Odgers, 18, for the remainder of the season. The son of former WHL/NHL F Jeff Odgers, John has one goal in four games. . . . The Prince Albert Raiders have assigned D Mathew Berry-Lamontagna, 18, to the BCHL’s Westside Warriors. He had one assist and 10 penalty minutes in 17 games with the Raiders.
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Here’s how things work these days, thanks to Twitter, as folks watch the WHL trade deadline approach:
To set the stage . . . the Moose Jaw Warriors had just traded F Brett Lyon, 20, to the Kelowna Rockets. That deal left the Rockets with four 20-year-olds, the others being G Adam Brown, D Kevin Smith and F Cody Chikie.
At the same time, there had been ample speculation that the Brandon Wheat Kings were in the market for a goaltender. Never mind that they already have three on their roster.
So . . .
Early Tuesday afternoon, Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the  Wheat Kings, tweeted: “Take it for what it's worth, but Daniel Asham and Dylan Kuczek among those missing from #bdnwheatkings practice today.”
WEHP scout then responded with: “Could Asham/Kuczek be heading to Kelowna for Adam Brown? I feel things are winding down now.”
Cody Nickolet, the analyst on Saskatoon Blades’ broadcasts, followed that with: “It must be Brown on the way to Brandon now as the Rockets have too many 20's.”
Regan Bartel, the radio voice of the Rockets, ended the suspense with: “To make room for Lyon, @Kelowna_Rockets release 20 year old d-man Kevin Smith.”
But what of Asham and Kuczek?
A few minutes later, Luebke tweeted: “Apparently, Kuczek and Asham both missing practice today with illness. Don't know if it's upper body illness or lower body illness.”
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While we’re at it, let’s not forget about the toll that the lead-up to the trade deadline takes on the players. Here are a few tweets from Tuesday:
D Derrick Pouliot, Portland Winterhawks: “WHL trade deadline #nerveracking tension in the dressing room #fornow”
F James Henry, after being traded from Vancouver to Moose Jaw: “Want to say thank u to everyone in vancouver the fans players coaches management owners scouts n billets thank u for everything”
F Justin Kirsch of the Moose Jaw Warriors: “These are the most nerve racking days of a young mans career #tradedeadline”
F Andrew Johnson of the Warriors: “Sad day for the boys. Gonna miss ya @BLyon9 best of luck out there and keep in touch. Will always remember the self proclaimed 'big cheese' ”
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Former WHL G Jeff Bosch, now at Lakehead U in Thunder Bay: “for the 1st time in 5 yrs i dont have 2 worry about being dealt 2 a new team, different city #unilife #thanksciszler4nothavingtrades”
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And there was this tweet from Seattle Thunderbirds goaltender Calvin Pickard: “@bconnolly8 don't even think about it..........”
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And one from Portland F Sven Baertschi: “well i guess im not the only euro anymore....@MarcelNoebels !!!”
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If you enjoyed the extensive WHL trade deadline coverage, perhaps you would consider donating to the cause. If so, just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The NHL’s Anaheim Ducks have restructured the coach staff of their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Trent Yawney, who had been a pro scout with the Ducks, was moved in as associate head coach, Mark Holick, a former Kootenay Ice head coach, was moved from head coach to associate coach. . . . Marty Wilford stays on as assistant coach. . . . Yawney, from Hudson Bay, Sask., had been an assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks from 2008-11. . . . Yawney was an assistant coach under Marc Crawford with the Canadian team at the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland, late last month. . . . The Crunch is 15-15-4, good for fourth place in the five team East Division.
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JUST NOTES: F Henrik Samuelsson practised with the Edmonton Oil Kings on Tuesday. He was skating alongside T.J. Foster and Kristians Pelss. . . . Samuelsson, the son of former NHL D Ulf Samuelsson, is eligible for the NHL’s 2012 draft. He had been playing in Sweden but, because he was born in Sweden, he isn’t classified as an import player. . . . F Stefan Matteau, the U.S. U-18 team’s leading scorer, has decided not to go to the U of North Dakota. He announced via Twitter that he will play for the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada next season. He is the son of former NHL F Stephane Matteau, who is an assistant coach with the Armada. “My decision is final,” the younger Matteau tweeted. . . . The OHL has suspended Kingston Frontenacs D Alex Gudbranson, 18, for 10 games for a hit to the head of Peterborough Petes F Matt Puempel. Gudbranson is the younger brother of Florida Panthers D Erik Gudbranson.
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ON THE ICE:
In Vancouver, G Jackson Whistle earned his first WHL victory and his first shutout as the Giants dumped the Prince George Cougars, 3-0. . . . Whistle, a 16-year-old from Kelowna, is 1-5-0, 3.42, .873. . . . It was the first time Vancouver has blanked an opponent this season. . . . The Cougars have been shut out a WHL-leading seven times. . . . The Cougars have been shut out in three of their last four games, during which time they have scored one goal. . . . F Brendan Gallagher had a goal, his 28th, and an assist for the Giants. . . . F Dalton Sward got the game’s first goal. It was his 10th, equalling his total from last season. He also ended a 13-game drought by scoring on his 18th birthday. . . . The Giants won the season series, 7-1. . . . The Cougars have lost five in a row. 

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Tyler Redenbach (Prince George, Swift Current, Lethbridge, 2001-05) will be loaned to Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) by Olten (Switzerland, NL B) for the European Trophy finals. Redenbach has four goals and 14 assists in 20 games for Olten this season. Red Bull have five players playing with the Austrian national team during the finals, so the club needs some reinforcements. The European Trophy is a tournament featuring 24 teams from six European countries. It started in August with group play and the top eight advanced to the finals, which run Dec. 16-18 in Salzburg and Vienna. . . .
F Justin Mapletoft (Red Deer, 1996-2001) signed a tryout contract with Basel (Switzerland, NL B). He had six assists in 14 games with Schwenninger Wild Wings (Germany, 2.Bundesliga) and one goal and two assists in two games with Sierre (Switzerland, NL B) earlier this season. No contract terms were released by Basel.
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David Branch, the president of the Canadian Hockey League and the commissioner of the OHL, is major junior hockey’s visionary.
It is a role that once was filled by Ed Chynoweth, when he was the head of the CHL and running the WHL. Chynoweth was terrific at looking into the future and choosing the direction in which his league should travel.
Now it is Branch who is showing a knack for prescience.
It is Branch who, as the head of the OHL, first began cracking down on headshots and using the lengthy suspension as a deterrent.
Now, he says, the day is coming when hockey will move to ban fighting.
In a piece written by Michael Traikos of the National Post, Branch talks of ejecting players who fight.
“I think, practically, that’s really the only rule you could have,” Branch told Traikos. “And then you may choose going forward to increase the sanctions if you become a habitual fighter. There’s such a changing attitude. If you had brought that up 20 years ago, (team owners and general managers) would have shook their heads. Now, there’s more and more people saying, ‘How can we get there?’ And it’s coming.”
Traikos has presented an intriguing column, and it’s right here.
Branch, among other things, says hockey doesn’t need fighting to sell tickets.
He also points out:
“You look at the Memorial Cup; there’s no fights. You look at the world junior championships; you don’t have any fighting there. And I really believe attitudes have been changing and continue to change and there’s a steady, natural evolution away from it. The time will come where it will be deemed to be totally unacceptable and that will reduce it further.”
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Let us not forget that almost two years have passed since Don Sanderson, a player with the senior Whitby, Ont., Dunlops, died after falling to the ice and hitting his helmetless head on the ice during a fight.
Sanderson was injured on Dec. 14, 2008, and was in a coma before dieing in a Hamilton hospital on Jan. 2, 2009.
At the time, David Branch was quoted by CBC as saying:
"All of us that are in positions to exercise some influence have an obligation to challenge as to what we can do to hopefully not see something like this occur again.”
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If you have ever wondered how fighting came to be a part of hockey, well, check out this piece right here by Jeff Z. Klein of The New York Times.
Perhaps the most relevant paragraph in that piece is this quote from Adam Proteau of The Hockey News:
“You can no more ban fighting in hockey than in any other sport. But you can punish it more appropriately, starting with a game misconduct and ejection for any fight, and a sliding scale of fines/suspensions for repeat offenders.”
Proteau is the author of the newly published book Fighting the Good Fight: Why On-Ice Violence Is Killing Hockey.
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F Eric Walker of the Vancouver Giants has had charges he was facing dismissed in Marquette County District Court in Michigan.
Walker, then a student-athlete at Northern Michigan University, and six other hockey players were charged in conjunction with some stolen bicycles on campus.
The case was heard on Tuesday, with four of the players pleading no contest.
Charges against Walker, 18, who left school and joined the Giantgs before the case reached court, F Dylan Walchuk, a 19-year-old from McBride, B.C., and F Ryan Aynsley, 21, of Kelowna were dismissed.
According to The North Wind, the NMU campus newspaper, “Walchuk and Aynsley were originally charged with receiving and concealing property under $200. Walker was originally charged with receiving and concealing property valued at more than $200 but less than $1,000.”
The other four players pleaded no contest and are to be sentenced on Tuesday.
The North Wind has more right here.
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Former Portland Winterhawks player and coach Brent Peterson has been fighting Parkinson’s Disease and underwent deep brain stimulation earlier in the week. KATU-TV has the story right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The OHL’s Saginaw Spirit has fired GM/head coach Todd Watson and brought in Greg Gilbert as head coach. At the time of the change, the Spirit was 11-17-0 and six points out of the playoffs, despite a roster that includes seven NHL draft selections. . . . Jim Paliafito, the Spirit’s assistant GM and director of scouting, takes over as GM. . . . Gilbert spent three seasons (2003-06) as head coach of the OHL’s Mississauga IceDogs. Most recently, the was fired by the AHL’s Adirondack Phantoms during the 2010-11 season. . . . Watson signed on as head coach for 2007-08 and was 154-115-33, plus 12-18 in the playoffs.
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Head on over to Small Thoughts at Large (link on the right) for a look at the number of WHL players who could miss regular-season games between now and early January. As usual, Alan Caldwell has done a bang-up job of keeping track of the Christmas absentees.
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In Moose Jaw, F Kenton Miller scored twice to help the Warriors to a 4-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . Miller has 10 goals this season. . . . The Rockets, who trailed 3-0 in the second period, were burned for four PP goals as the Warriors went 4-for-7. . . . The Rockets are 0-1-1 on their East Division swing. . . .

In Swift Current, F Tim Bozon scored two goals and added two assists to help the Kamloops Blazers open their East Division trek with a 5-4 victory over the Broncos. . . . Bozon, from Switzerland, is in his freshman season. He has 28 points, including 13 goals, in 30 games. . . . F J.C. Lipon, who is from Regina, had two goals, giving him 12, and an assist for Kamloops. He has 12 goals and 18 assists in 30 games. Last season, he finished with three and 18 in 65 games. . . . Swift Current F Adam Lowry scored the Teddy Bear goal and added three assists. . . . F Taylor Vause scored twice for the Broncos, giving him 20. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave stopped 32 shots and preserved the victory with a blocker save on Lowry in the game’s dying moments. . . . Kamloops won its eighth straight game, something it hadn’t done since 2006-07. . . . The Broncos had their three-game winning streak end. . . .

In Saskatoon, the Blades erased a 2-0 second-period deficit and beat the Regina Pats, 4-2. . . . F Michael Burns pulled the Blades even at 4:07 of the third period — he has 13 goals; he score 15 all of last season — and F Matej Stransky broke the tie at 18:08. He has 15 goals. . . . Saskatoon G Andrej Makarov stopped 40 shots. . . .

In Edmonton, the Oil Kings ran their winning streak to nine games as they dropped the Prince Albert Raiders, 5-3. . . . Edmonton got four assists from F Dylan Wruck, while F T.J. Foster had two goals. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 34 shots. . . . Edmonton F Tyler Maxwell had a goal and an assist. In eight games since being acquired from the Everett Silvertips, Maxwell, 20, has 15 points and is plus-14. . . .

In Medicine Hat, the defending-champion Kootenay Ice ended a four-game losing skid with a 3-2 victory over the Tigers. . . . F Drew Czerwonka broke a 2-2 tie at 15:16 of the third period. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 31 shots, one fewer than Medicine Hat’s Kenny Cameron. . . . Tigers F Emerson Etem had the Teddy Bear goal, his 29th score this season. . . . Ice D John Neibrandt scored his first goal of the season. It came in his 32nd game. Last season, his first in the WHL, he had one goal in 65 games. . . .

In Everett, the Tri-City Americans scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Silvertips, 5-1. . . . Tri-City F Patrick Holland enjoyed his second career three-goal game. He has 10 goals this season. . . . The Silvertips have lost nine in a row, the longest losing streak in franchise history. . . . F Adam Hughesman had a goal, his 22nd, and an assist for the Americans, who got 21 saves from G Eric Comrie. . . . Hughesman, with 286 career points, moved past F Dylan Gyori and into fifth place on the Americans’ career list. . . . Everett F Cody Fowlie took a checking-from-behind majorat 17:14 of the third period. . . . The Ameicans have won four in a row on the road and five straight overall. . . . The Americans are at home to the Portland Winterhawks tonight. . . .

In Vancouver, F Jaimen Yakubowski broke a 1-1 tie on a second-period penalty shot and the Lethbridge Hurricanes went on to a 4-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . Yakubowski scored on the penalty shot at 2:29 of the second, then added his sixth goal of the season at 4:38. . . . Lethbridge went 1-2 on a brief trip into the B.C. Division. . . . The Hurricanes hadn’t beaten Vancouver in seven years, a span of 12 games. . . .

In Spokane, D Cody Carlson’s shootout goal gave the Prince George Cougars a 4-3 victory over the Chiefs. . . . The shootout went four rounds, with Carlson the last shooter. His goal won it, 2-1. . . . The Chiefs scored the game’s first three goals and took that lead into the third period. . . . The Cougars tied it on Carlson’s PP goal at 16:12. . . . D Jason Fram got the Teddy Bear goal, his second score this season. . . . Cougars F Campbell Elynuik drew a ‘tbd’ suspension for boarding major Friday night in 1-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Colin Jacobs, the sixth shooter, scored the lone goal of the shootout as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Victoria Royals, 4-3. . . . Seattle had scored the first three goals of the game, with the Royals getting the last three, all on third period PPs. D Hayden Rintoul tied it at 6:18. . . . The three goals came in a span of 2:19. . . . Seattle F Tyler Alos and Jacobs each scored their first goals of the season. Jacobs was playing only his second game after returning from an undisclosed injury. . . . Victoria F Taylor Crunk was ejected with a cross-checking major at 8:59 of the second period. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 35 shots, two more than Victoria’s Keith Hamilton.
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Logan McVeigh, Kamloops.
F Cody Fowlie, Everett (major).
F Tyler Alos, Seattle.
F Carter Proft, Spokane.
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For today’s good read, we turn to a piece penned by Peter King of Sports Illustrated, but involved a number of SI staff members.
If you have ever wondered what life after football is really like, check this out right here.
It’s about the 1986 Cincinnati Bengals and the condition the players are in today. 

The Vancouver Giants have added D Eric Walker, 18, to their roster. Walker, who was listed by the Giants after the 2008 bantm draft, spent the last two seasons with the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters and was to play this season with the Northern Michigan Wildcats. However, after not getting into one of NMU’s first 12 games, he opted to leave and join the Giants. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Walker is from Castlegar, B.C. He could be in the Giants’ lineup tonight (Sunday) against the visiting Kootenay Ice. Interestingly, in each of his two seasons with Trail, he had four goals and seven assists in 59 games. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reported: “Walker (was) in his freshman season at Northern Michigan but is yet to play a game with the squad, who were 4-6-3 as of Friday. He was also one five Northern Michigan players charged in connection with thefts of bikes from the school’s campus. According to the Mining Journal of Marquette, Mich., each of the players faces trial on the misdemeanour charges Dec. 6 in Marquette County District Court.” . . . Walker is a nephew of former NHLer Steve Bozek. . . . Former Seattle Thunderbirds head coach Walt Kyle is the head coach at NMU. . . . F Dylan Walchuk, 19, of McBride, B.C., whose WHL rights belong to the Spokane Chiefs, also was charged in the bicycle thefts. He was charged with receiving and concealing stolen property.
The Marquette Mining Journal has more on that story right here.
The North Wind, NMU’s student newspaper, has more on the story right here, includig a link to the police report.
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In Moose Jaw, the Warriors broke a 1-1 third-period tie with two PP goals and beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 3-2. . . . F Kenton Miller gave Moose Jaw a 2-1 lead at 2:51 and F Justin Kirsch upped it to 3-1 at 8:28. . . . Kirsch has seven goals, including three winners, in nine games since coming to Moose Jaw from the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Tigers again had Kenny Cameron in goal, with Dawson MacAuley of the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers backing him up. G Tyler Bunz, who took a puck to the head while on the WHL team’s bench in a Subway Super Series game in Regina on Wednesday, is expected to miss at least a week. . . . F Emerson Etem and F Hunter Shinkaruk, the Tigers’ two snipers, both were kept off the scoreboard. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald notes that the Warriors have won eight in a row at home, five by 3-2 counts. . . .

In Swift Current, the Broncos erased a 4-0 deficit and stunned the Wheat Kings, 5-4. . . . Swift Current F Daniel Dale, an 18-year-old from Grande Prairie, Alta., scored his first two WHL goals in his 19th game. . . . Brandon had won four in a row; the Broncos, who now head into the U.S. Division, have won three straight. . . . Dale broke a 4-4 tie at 11:31 of the third period. . . . F Mark Stone had a goal and two assists as the Wheat Kings took a 4-0 lead before the game was 24 minutes old. He leads the WHL with 50 points in 24 games. . . . Swift Current F Christian Magnus also had a goal and two helpers. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun points out: “Brandon had been 12-0-1-0 when leading after two periods this season, while Swift Current had been 0-11-1-1 when trailing after two.” . . .

In Calgary, D Collin Bowman scored his first three goals with the Hitmen, leading them to a 7-1 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Bowman, who enjoyed his first career hat trick, had scored four goals when he was acquired from the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . He scored the game’s first two goals and the last one. . . . Bowman has 27 goals in 295 career games. . . . Calgary F Jimmy Bubnick picked up his 100th career regular-season assist on a second-period goal by F Trevor Cheek. . . . The victory left the Hitmen, who have won three of four, at 10-9-2, the first time they’ve been above .500 this season. . . . Nine of the Eastern Conference’s 12 teams are at .500 or better. Five of the Western Conference’s teams are at .500, with three other teams within one, three and four points. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Brady Ramsay scored three times and added an assist, leading the Hurricanes to their second victory in as many nights, 5-2 over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Ramsay, an 18-year-old sophomore from Calgary, has 10 goals in 24 games. He scored one in 57 games last season. . . . The Oil Kings, already without D Mark Pysyk and D Griffin Reinhart with undisclosed injuries, lost F T.J. Foster to an undisclosed injury in the first period. . . . Lethbridge F Cam Braes played in his 300th regular-season game, all with the Hurricanes. He scored his club’s second goal, his seventh this season and the 82nd of his career. . . .

In Red Deer, the Saskatoon Blades won the latest clash of the titans, beating the Rebels, 2-1. . . . All three goals came in the second period. . . . F Colton Mayor put Red Deer on the board at 2:06. . . . The Blades got goals from D Dalton Thrower, on the PP, at 14:42 and F Lukas Sutter at 18:31. . . . Saskatoon G Andrey Makarov, fresh of playing in two games for Russia in the Subway Super Series, stopped 43 shots. . . . The victory lifted the Blades into first place overall, one point ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings and Tri-City Americans. . . . Red Deer D Matt Dumba took a slashing major and game misconduct at the game’s final buzzer. Just a few seconds before that, Red Deer head coach Jesse Wallin was given the old heave-ho. . . .

In Victoria, F Elgin Pearce had his first career three-goal game and added an assist as the defending-champion Kootenay Ice whipped the Royals, 8-3. . . . It was the second lop-sided loss in two nights for the Royals, who were trounced 11-3 on Friday by the Giants in Vancouver. . . . F Jesse Ismond had two goals and three assists for the Ice. . . . Pearce, Ismond and D Luke Paulsen, who had a goal and an assist, each was plus-4. . . . Paulsen’s goal was his first of the season and fourth in 118 career games. . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 25 shots. That included a third-period penalty shot attempt by F Austin Carroll. . . .

In Everett, the Vancouver Giants got two shootout goals and bet the Silvertips, 2-1. . . . Vancouver F Brendan Gallagher and F James Henry each scored in the shootout. . . . F Joshua Winquist counted for the home team in the shootout. . . . The Giants have won six in a row. They are at home to the Kootenay Ice tonight as the defending champions begin a nine-game road trip. . . . D Evan Morden got Everett on the board, shorthanded, at 10:32 of the second. . . . It was the third shorthanded goal allowed by Vancouver over its last four games. . . . F Taylor Makin tied it at 4:52 of the third. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz stopped 47 shots through OT. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reported before the game that Silvertips D Ryan Murray (ankle) was running stairs. . . . That is great news for the Silvertips and for the Canadian national junior team. . . .

In Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds broke a 2-2 tie with four straight second-period goals and beat the Portland Winterhawks, 6-3. . . . Seattle struck for the four goals in a span of 5:53, two of them coming eight seconds apart. . . . F Burke Gallimore had two goals for the winners, with F Luke Lockhart adding a goal and two assists. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie and F Sven Bartschi, both of whom have been burning it up of late, were pointless and minus-5 and minus-4, respectively. . . . Bartschi came up short on a second-period penalty shot with Seattle leading 6-2. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 47 shots in what was his fourth start in four nights. He went the distance in the WHL’s two Subway Super Series games with the Russians on Wednesday and Thursday in Regina and Moose Jaw. On Friday, he stopped 47 shots in beating the visiting Tri-City Americans, 3-0. Yes, he’s in the conversation as the WHL’s player of the year, and it isn’t even December. . . . Portland had won six in a row. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., F Justin Feser scored at 1:25 of OT to give the Tri-City Americans a 3-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . The winner was scored with the teams playing three skaters aside. . . . Kamloops F Matt Needham had forced OT with his fourth goal of the season, at 13:28 of the third. . . . The Americans led 2-0 going into the third period. . . . Feser’s goal was his ninth of the season. It also was the second OT goal of his career. . . . Tom Gaglardi, the Blazers’ majority owner, wasn’t at the game. Rather, he was in Dallas where the Stars, the team he officially purchased on Friday, was losing 4-1 to the San Jose Sharks, their fifth straight setback. Gaglardi will be introduced as the Stars’ owner on Monday in Dallas and will take part in a ceremonial faceoff later that evening prior to a game against the Edmonton Oilers. . . .

In Spokane, the Chiefs beat the Regina Pats 6-5 after a nine-round shootout. . . . With Spokane shooting first, F Mike Aviani opened the ninth round with a goal and the Pats weren’t able to equalize. . . . Regina D Brandon Underwood gave his side a 5-4 lead at 4:09 of the third period. . . . Spokane F Steve Kuhn tied it at 18:59. . . . Underwood went into this season with two goals and 15 assists in 149 career regular-season games with the Kamloops Blazers. He had three goals and nine assists in 22 games with Regina. . . . F Jordan Weal had a goal and three assists for Regina. He has 33 points in 21 games this season. For his career, he has 302 points, including 198 assists, in 233 regular-season games. . . . The Chiefs are 4-0 against East Divison teams, with the Swift Current Broncos coming to town Wednesday. . . .

In Prince George, the Kelowna Rockets erased a 2-0 first-period deficit and beat the Cougars, 4-2. . . . The Rockets swept the doubleheader, having won 3-2 on Friday night. . . . Kelowna F Tyson Baillie broke a 2-2 tie at 2:06 of the third period on the PP. . . .
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Rhett Rachinski, Edmonton
D Kayle Doetzel, Red Deer
D Daniel Gibb, Prince George
D Tyler Bell, Kamloops
D Austin Madaisky, Kamloops
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Two good reads today, both from the pages of The Globe and Mail. The first, which is right here, is by former Regina Leader-Post writer Darrell Davis, who chronicles the return to work of NHL referee Mike Hasenfratz. . . . The other, from the keyboard of Roy MacGregor, is right here. He’s writing about “slippage” as he wonders if the NHL’s crackdown on headshots isn’t fading away.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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