Flin Flon's Whitney Forum is home to a number of banners.

With the Moose Jaw Civic Centre (aka the Crushed Can) having lost a battle with the wrecking ball, it would seem that Flin Flon’s Whitney Forum is the undisputed heavyweight champion of arenas.
A tweet from @boxcullen: “The TOUGHEST rink in Canada. All due respect to the Can in the Jaw. #jungleahockey”
A tweet from @HamWilder: “epic barn, i took a YouTube video for posterity last time I was home #flinflonflu #welcometothezoo”
Of course, one of these two gents may be a little biased, seeing as his father played goal for the Flin Flon Bombers back in the day. LOL!
No matter! We have a photo that was sent along by @boxcullen, and, oh boy, the memories . . .
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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Roman Teslyuk (Kamloops, Tri-City, 2003-07) signed a one-year contract with Arlan Kokshetau (Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Vyschaya Liga). He had 10 goals and 17 assists in 48 games with Beibarys Atyrau (Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Vyschaya Liga) last season.
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Let the debate begin . . .
In Regina, the Pats dropped F Tanner Olstad, 20, who had nine points in 63 games last season. The Pats acquired Olstad from the Tri-City Americans during the 2010-11 season. In 39 games in Regina that season, he had 16 points. From Calgary, his junior A rights belong to the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers.
Shortly after Olstad was released, Pats president Brent Parker tweeted: “The crappy part of this business is releasing a quality kid like @TOlstad13 solely because of his birth certificate! @WHLpats #greatkid.”
Later in the day, Pats head coach Pat Conacher told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post he would like to see the WHL increase its 20-year-old limit.
Harder wrote:
“(Conacher) sees merit in allowing teams to distribute five players as they see fit under the overage and import quotas, meaning you could stick with the standard three 20s and two Europeans or go with four 20s and one Euro, even five 20s and no imports.”
“That gives us the option,” Conacher told Harder. “That way everybody’s happy.”
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The Tri-City Americans have dealt D Derek Ryckman, 20, to the Medicine Hat Tigers for a fifth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. Ryckman, 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, was

DEREK RYCKMAN

acquired by the Americans from the Lethbridge Hurricanes last season. He had 12 points in 71 games last season, putting up 10 of those points in 60 games with the Americans. In his career, he has 40 points and 293 penalty minutes in 227 regular-season games. . . . The move leaves the Tigers with three 20-year-olds, the others being F Kale Kessy and D Alex Theriau. Theriau is expected to be out until sometime in October as he rehabs from hip surgery. . . . The Americans are down to four 20s — F Justin Feser, F Jordan Messier, F Jesse Mychan and D Drydn Dow. F Patrick Holland also is in camp with the Americans, but has signed with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens. If there is an NHL lockout, he will go to camp with the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs later this month.
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Mark Lamb, the GM and head coach of the Swift Current Broncos, has a brand new three-year contract extension in his back pocket. Shawn Mullin, the Broncos’ radio voice, reports that Lamb had one year left on his original deal; this deal erases the last year of that contract, so it runs through 2014-15. . . . Lamb has been with the Broncos since July 2009.
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The Vancouver Giants have dealt F Logan Harland, 17, to the Saskatoon Blades for a conditional seventh-round 2014 bantam draft pick and future considerations. Harland, who is from Paradise Hill, Sask., had a goal in 10 games with the Giants last season. . . . Vancouver F Anthony Ast has been suspended for four games and will miss his team’s regular-season opener. Ast took a check-to-the-head major and game misconduct for a hit on F Chase Souto in a game against the Blazers in Kamloops on Wednesday. Souto left the game and didn’t return as a precaution. He wasn’t injured. . . .
The Prince George Cougars released D Linden Springer, 18, who is from Lloydminster, Alta., and now is with the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats. Springer had six points and 89 penalty minutes in 56 games with the Cougars last season. . . . D Jordan Harris, the 10th overall pick in the 2011 bantam draft, has returned home to Prince Albert from the Cougars’ camp. He will play for the midget AAA Mintos or with a junior A club. . . . The Cougars also have returned D Sam Ruopp, 16, to the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. He was a fourth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. Yes, he is the younger brother of Prince Albert D Harrison Ruopp. . . .
The Everett Silvertips have released F Tre Potskin, 17, who is returning home to Prince George where he will play for the major midget Cariboo Cougars. . . . Everett also assigned F Luke Gordon, 18, to the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers. He has played three WHL games with the Calgary Hitmen over the last two seasons. He spent most of last season with the Clippers. . . .
The Regina Pats assigned F Dane Schioler to the midget AAA Winnipeg Thrashers. Schioler, 16, was a second-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft. . . .
The Kootenay Ice has its roster down to 28 players after having assigned F Kurt Johnas, 18, to the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons. The Ice is carrying two goaltenders, nine defencemen and 17 forwards. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades have added F Luke McColgan, 17, to their roster. He is the younger brother of Saskatoon F Shane McColgan, who was acquired over the summer from the Kelowna Rockets. Luke actually was in camp with the Rockets for a bit, although he didn’t play in any exhibition games. Luke, from Manhattan Beach, Calif., played for the L.A. Kings U-18 team last season. . . .
F Jake Trask (Kamloops, Saskatoon, 2008-12) has signed with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. Trask, from Saskatoon, had 59 points, including 23 goals, in 62 games with the Blades last season. . . .
James Shewaga of the Brandon Sun reports that D Ryley Miller (flu) is back on the ice with the Wheat Kings after being sidelined for a lot of last week. F Dominick Favreau (back) and F Jens Meilleur (back) have been clearned to to return, while F Jayce Hawryluk (concussion) remains out. . . .
The defending-champion Edmonton Oil Kings are being touted in most corners as a favourite to repeat. Their lineup is awfully deep and full of returning players, which will be at least part of the reason that three 16-year-olds were assigned from their camp on Monday. F Brandon Ralph, F Mitchell Walter and D Aaron Irving all are on the move. Ralph is returning to the midget AAA Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., Rangers, while Walter is headed to the midget AAA team in Spruce Grove, Alta. . . . Irving, the ninth overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft, is to play for the AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs. . . . Evan Daum of the Edmonton Journal reports that Oil Kings D Martin Gernat (upper body) and D Dylan Wruck (shoulder) have been slowed. Wruck had off-season surgery and is awaiting medical clearance. . . . The Oil Kings are carrying 26 players, including two goaltenders and 15 forwards. Of that number, 20 were part of last season’s championship team. . . .
The Lethbridge Hurricanes got down to 26 players by trimming a pair of 16-year-olds from their roster. F Carter Amson will play midget AAA in Saskatoon, while D Bryton Sayers is to join the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos. . . . Both were second-round picks in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . The Hurricanes are carrying three goaltenders, eight defencemen and 15 forwards. . . .
The Spokane Chiefs have assigned F Nakeh Lamothe to the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons. Lamothe, 17, was a fourth-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . The Chiefs are down to 28 players, including three goaltenders and nine defenceman. They have 19 veterans still in camp.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Stanislav Balin (Portland, 2005-06) signed a contract for the rest of this season with SKP Poprad (Slovakia, Extraliga), five days after his release by Lev Poprad (Slovakia, KHL). He had one goal and one assist in 16 games with Lev. In an assignment to SKP earlier in the season, Balin had three goals and six assists in eight games.
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WHL TRADE TRACKER (trades made since Dec. 27):
Trades made: 7
Players: 15
Draft picks: 6
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Late Saturday afternoon, the Tri-City Americans acquired F Jesse Mychan, 19, from the Everett Silvertips for a 2013 fourth-round bantam draft pick.
The Americans were in Everett to play the Silvertips last night, which meant that Mychan simply had to switch dressing rooms, although he didn’t play in the game.
Mychan, 19, is from Saskatoon. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder had seven points and 106 penalty minutes in 26 games with the Silvertips. His season’s work features three suspensions totalling 14 games, including 10 games for a headshot in a Nov. 13 game against the Prince George Cougars.
He was a 10th-round pick by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2007 bantam draft.
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Emile Therien has written an opinion piece that has appeared in a number of major Canadian newspapers.
Firstly, who is Emile Therien and why should we care what he thinks?
Therien is a former president of the Canada Safety Council; he spent 18 years in that position. He also knows something about hockey, having watched his son, Chris, who played three years at Providence College and went on to play 764 NHL games — 753 with the Philadelphia Flyers and 11 with the Dallas Stars.
Emile Therien’s piece appeared in the Toronto Star under the headline: The future looks bleak for Canadian minor hockey.
Therien writes here about hockey being “plagued with serious injuries” and the impact of that on minor hockey’s registration numbers.
“Enrolment in Hockey Canada teams is currently 572,000 players, down more than 200,000 from its peak,” Therien writes. “And the prospects are grim. In the next decade, some say there could be 200,000 fewer kids playing the game. Yet Hockey Canada remains apathetic to the injury problem.
“The opposite trend is evident south of the border, where the number of players registered with USA Hockey rose from 195,000 in 1990-91, to 500,579 in 2010.”
He goes on to point out that “the American system and players are better today than they have ever been. Currently more than 58 universities and colleges play Division I hockey. In addition, 74 colleges play NCAA Division II and Division III hockey, and 447 colleges have club hockey teams (men’s and women’s).
“Canada has no comparable development programs. Our system is built on and caters exclusively to the Canadian Hockey League and its teams, which are, in effect, commercial entities.”
The cost of playing minor hockey is spiralling out of control and, he writes, “a major overhaul of minor hocke is needed in Canada — and soon. A detailed, systemic investigation of the issues confronting minor hockey is crucial.”
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On the subject of minor hockey, right here is a piece written by Dan Bauer of HockeyByBauer.com. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it on his blog, so have provided a link to another spot where the piece appears.
“It is official, all youth athletics are nuts,” Bauer starts.
A couple of items from Bauer’s writing:
“Every rink has a water fountain. Save time and money on the Gatorade, because I'm not certain that 10 year-olds even have electrolytes. And if they do, I bet they have a lot of them. We only start losing things when we get older. Savings: 80+ games & practices @ $2.00 = $160.
“They can carry their own bag and if they can't it's too big. You don't carry your kid's backpack to school for them; you shouldn't have to carry their hockey bag either. Donate your wheelie bag to a stewardess and get one that has to be carried. Benefit: Increased leg strength.”
Take a couple of minutes and give this a read.
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And now for today’s good read. . . . No one writes with eloquence about the state of today’s game the way Ken Dryden does. He has penned another piece and it is right here, from the pages of The Globe and Mail.
Dryden writes:
“Fight” is not “fighting” or high-speed cheap shots. Fight is never giving up. Gretzky, Orr, Richard, Lemieux, Lafleur – they were great fighters. They fought with their head, hands, legs, will, and need to be the best, and rarely with their fists. Crosby too. The toughest players aren’t those who hit but those who are willing to be hit, to fight their way to the net, to fight expectation and disappointment to score the game-changing goal.
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How is it that Portland Winterhawks F Ty Rattie went from where he was last season to where he is this season? If you’ve been away, he is leading the WHL scoring race. Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune takes a look at Rattie right here.
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In the BCHL on Saturday night, the Penticton Vees ran their victory skein to 21 games, with a 6-1 victory over the SilverBacks in Salmon Arm. . . . The Vees next play Friday against the visiting Langley Rivermen.
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The Vancouver Giants made two roster moves on Saturday afternoon, adding F Riley Kieser, 18, to their roster and assigning F Levi Bews, 17, to the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers. . . . Kieser, from Sherwood Park, Alta., had 13 points and 20 penalty minutes in 31 games with the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. The Giants put him on their list last month. He is to join them on Monday. . . . Bews was acquired from the Saskatoon Blades in the swap that brought G Adam Morrison to Vancouver. Bews had eight points and 22 penalty minutes in 34 games with the Giants. . . . In that Oct. 4 deal, the Giants got Morrison, 20, and Bews for F Michael Burns, 20, D Zach Hodder, 18, and a 2013 fourth-round bantam draft pick.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, Brandon got two goals from each of F Darian Dziurzynski, Jens Meilleur and Michael Ferland and the Wheat Kings beat the Raiders, 11-3. . . . The Wheat Kings scored five times in a span of 7:18 in the first half of the third period to blow this one open. . . . Dziurzynski also had two assists. . . . D Eric Roy had a goal and two helpers for Brandon. . . . Brandon F Mark Stone had two assists. . . . According to Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun, the Wheat Kings hadn’t scored that many goals in a road game since Sept, 28, 1996, when they won 14-2 in Prince Albert. . . .

In Saskatoon, F Jake Trask had a goal and three assists as the Blades edged the Regina Pats, 4-3. . . . F Michael Burns had three assists for Saskatoon, which had lost 3-0 in Regina on Friday. . . . The Pats had been 5-0-1 in their previous six games. . . . The Blades led this one 3-0 by scoring three times in the first five minutes of the second period. . . . Regina F Jordan Weal, who had a goal and an assist, got the Pats to within one at 16:34 of the third on a PP. . . . G Andrey Makarov, so good for Russia in the final of the World Junior Championship, was back in goal for the Blades. . . . Of course, let’s not forget how good Makarov was when he came on in relief in the semifinal against Canada, too. . . . Makarov was gone after one period, though. He got run over at 4:17 of the first period and Regina F Morgan Klimchuk got tossed with a charging major. . . . Makarov finished the period but Alex Moodie took over to start the second. . . . Moodie, 16, will be returning to the midget AAA Winnipeg WIld now. . . . The Blades scratched three playes — F Ryan Olsen, F Lukas Sutter and F Locke Muller — for violation of team rules. . . . They also are without F Josh Nicholls (knee) and F Kyle Haas (undisclosed). . . . As a result, the Blades dressed 17 skaters, one under the maximum. . . .

In Edmonton, D Griffin Reinhart broke a 3-3 tie at 10:42 of the third period and the Oil Kings went on to beat the Swift Current Broncos, 5-3. . . . F Kristians Pelss, who captain the Latvian team at the WJC, had a goal and two assists in his first game back with Edmonton. . . . The Broncos scored the game’s first two goals, then gave up three in a row. . . . Swift Current D Dalton Reum tied it 3-3 at 9:53 of the third. . . . Reinhart got his ninth goal 49 seconds later. . . . Swift Current G Jon Groenheyde stopped 3y shots as his side was outshot, 42-17. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Tanner Eberle had two goals and an assist to lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Eberle forged a 2-2 tie at 6:50 of the second and broke the tie at 2:32 of the third. . . . Eberle has six goals this season. . . . Moose Jaw G Luke Siemens stopped 35 shots. . . . The Warriors closed out a six-game road trip with a 2-3-1 record. . . . Moose Jaw will spend a few days at home but won’t play there for a while longer. They have two more road games left on this trek, in Calgary on Friday and Medicine Hat on Saturday. . . .

In Red Deer, F Emerson Etem forced OT and then won it as the Medicine Hat Tigers beat the Rebels, 3-2. . . . Etem forced OT with his 32nd goal at 16:15 of the third and won it at 2:16 of OT. . . . Red Deer’s two goals were shorthanded scores by F Adam Kambeitz and D Justin Weller. . . . Etem was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after scoring the winner. . . .

In Prince George, F Brendan Ranford scored twice in the game’s first 11 minutes and later added two assists as the Kamloops Blazers beat the Cougars, 6-1. . . . Ranford, who has 21 goals, and Swiss freshman F Tim Bozon both reached the 20-goal plateau. . . . Kamloops has three 20-goal men, with F Colin Smith having gotten there Friday. . . . The Cougars have lost four in a row, three of them to the Blazers. . . . F Brandon Herrod, acquired a week earlier from the Prince Albert Raiders, had three assists, while D Bronson Maschmeyer scored twice.. . . . Prince George D Martin Marincin got his side on the board 32 seconds into the second period. That snapped Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave’s shutout streak against the Cougars at 145 minutes 12 seconds. That included back-to-back shutouts on Sunday and Friday. . . . Canada won the IIHF U-18 women’s world championship Saturday in Zlin, Czech Republic, with a 3-0 victory over the U.S. G Emerance Maschmeyer, the sister of Kamloops D Bronson Maschmeyer, stopped 28 shots for Canada. Tim O’Donovan, the Blazers’ video and media co-ordinator, handled Canada’s video work. . . .

In Vancouver, F Brendan Gallagher, in his first game after playing for Canada at the WJC, had three goals and four assists as the Giants beat the Portland Winterhawks, 8-4. . . . Gallagher has 53 points, including 27 goals, in 29 games. . . . Portland had won its previous six games. . . . F James Henry added four assists for Vancouver, which got 40 saves from G Adam Morrison. . . . Portland took 53 of 104 penalty minutes. . . . The Giants were 3-for-5 on the PP; the Winterhawks were 3-for-9. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie had two assists. He leads the WHL with 73 points, four more than Regina F Jordan Weal. . . .

In Everett, G Ty Rimmer stopped 22 shots as the Tri-City Americans beat the Silvertips, 4-0. . . . Rimmer, who has five shutouts this season and nine in his career, has back-to-back shutouts, while the Americans have won 13 in a row. . . . The Americans have posted a total of seven shutouts, two shy of the franchise record (2009-10). . . . F Malte Strömwall had a goal, his ninth, and an assist for the Americans. He opened the scoring at 16:32 of the first. . . . Tri-City F Patrick Holland, who was coming off three consecutive four-point games, was held pointless. . . . Tri-City F Adam Hughesman scored his 26th goal at 17:16 of the second. That was the 300th regular-season point of his career and came in his 305th game. He is the fifth Tri-City player to get to 300, after Brian Sakic, Daymond Langkow, Brent Ascroft and Terry Degner. . . .

In Kent, Wash., F Todd Fiddler had a goal and two assists to help the Spokane Chiefs to a 4-2 victory over the host Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Fiddler had 10 points in 35 games with the Prince Albert Raiders, when he was dealt to the Chiefs. He has five points in five games with Spokane. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 36 shots. . . . F Mitch Holmberg had two goals for the Chiefs. . . . Spokane head coach Don Nachbaur now has 498 WHL victories. . . .  Spokane’s next three games all are against Everett. . . .

In Victoria, F Zach Franko’s shootout goal gave the Kelowna Rockets a 4-3 victory over the Royals. . . . Franko was Kelowna’s first shooter. . . . The Royals have lost nine in a row ((0-6-3). . . . Victoria F Mike Forsyth forced OT with his first goal of the season at 10:41 of the third period. A 19-year-old sophomore from Calgary, Forsyth has eight points in 42 games. Last season, he had 16 points, eight of them goals, in 68 games with the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . Victoria F Zane Jones left at 16:26 of the second period after being given a major penalty for boarding. . . .
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Darian Dziurzynski, Brandon.
D Wes Vannieuwenhuizen, Vancouver.
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It was early in the third period of last night’s NHL game between the Minnesota Wild and the Flames in Calgary.
Calgary F Jarome Iginla, looking for his 500th goal, found himself alone on the left wing in the Minnesota zone. He loaded up and ripped a shot that hit the crossbar.
“Oh,” screamed Hockey Night in Canada voice Mark Lee, “he had the howitzer and 500 in his sights and he rings it off the iron.”
We now take you to Merriam-Webster’s on-line dictionary, which tells us that a howitzer is “a short cannon used to fire projectiles at medium muzzle velocities and with relatively high trajectories.”
In other words, when Kobe Bryant launches a shot from three-point range it is closer to being a shot from a howitzer than is an Iginla shot.
In other words, a howitzer basically fires lob shots. Iginla's shot was anything but a lob.
OK, Mr. Lee?

Thursday . . .

The place to be tonight is Moose Jaw where the Warriors and Brandon Wheat Kings will play the final regular-season game in the history of the Civic Centre (aka the Crushed Can).
Mark MacKay, the Warriors captain in 1984-85 when he became the only 20-year-old player in WHL history to be named rookie of the year, will drop the puck for the ceremonial opening faceoff.
Kelly McCrimmon, the owner, GM and head coach of the Wheat Kings, has more than his share of Crushed Can memories.
He shared this with Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun:
“The Bob Lowes era versus the Al Tuer era where for whatever reason we seemed to have their number over a five-, six-year period, they maybe beat us three or four times and yet we never, ever beat them easily. It was just that kind of a series that we had going.
“We’ve had good playoff rivalries with them. We had Theran Yeo get attacked by their crowd, we had Bill Aulie (the father of former Wheat Kings D Keith Aulie) in the middle of a melee. There’s lots of things that happened in Moose Jaw over the years. Bobby (Lowes) and I both got suspended there for running on the ice when we caught them cheating one night. There’s been lots of funny stories coming out of Moose Jaw.”
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McCrimmon was honoured by the Brandon Chamber of Commerce on Thursday. He was presented with its 2011 President’s Award as the city’s business person of the year.
McCrimmon, of course, was the person most responsible for the 2011 Memorial Cup having been held in Brandon, something that was a boon to the city’s economy and also put the area in the national spotlight for a few days.
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Goaltender Lucas Gore of the Chilliwack Bruins is believed to have set two WHL records on Wednesday night.
Gore, who is from Kamloops, stopped 77 shots, 72 of them through three periods, in the Bruins’ 2-1 shootout loss to the Chiefs in Spokane.
According to the Bruins, those will be held as WHL records — most saves through 60 minutes, most saves through 65 minutes — unless proven otherwise.
(The WHL record for most shots on goal in a game belongs to the Brandon Wheat Kings who, on March 12, 1979, rang up 85 shots in a 14-4 victory over the visiting Regina Pats.)
The Bruins have picked up at least one point each of their last 10 games (7-0-3) and has moved from ninth all the way up to fifth in the Western Conference.
Gore, 19, is the biggest reason for the climb up the standings. He has been nothing short of phenomenal over the last month.
Of course, his superb play couldn’t have come at a better time, what with the franchise surrounded by rumours and speculation regarding an impending sale and relocation to Victoria.
But what if the recent play of the Bruins, sparked by Gore’s play, excites the hockey fans of Chilliwack area and they show up in record numbers for how ever many playoff games their favourites play?
And what if improved attendance is enough to spark a movement that results in the Bruins staying put?
Could Gore then be credited with the greatest save in WHL history?
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JUST NOTES: F Brendan Gallagher (concussion) has been cleared to return to action and is expected to be in the Vancouver Giants’ lineup tonight against the visiting Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Giants will be without D Darren Bestland, who has drawn a one-game suspension for having incurred his third instigating penalty. . . . The Saskatoon Blades will be without F Jake Trask (head) and F Ryan Olsen (upper body) when they meet the Pats in Regina tonight. Both players were injured in Wednedsay’s 3-2 shootout victory over the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors. The Blades have asked the WHL for supplemental discipline on Moose Jaw F Brett Lyon for what they feel was a high hit on Trask. . . . Lorne Molleken, the Blades’ GM/head coach, told Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that the hit on Trask was a “cheapshot” and compared it to the hit last season by Pittsburgh Penguins F Matt Cooke on Boston Bruins F Marc Savard. “The hit by Lyon on Trask was a vicious blow to the head,” Molleken told Wolfe. “It was a cheapshot.” . . . Lyon has been suspended pending a further decision by the WHL office. . . . The Blades have brought in F Brett Stovin, 16, and F Austin Daae, 17, both of whom began the season in Saskatoon. Stovin had been with the MJHL’s Winnipeg Blues. Daae finished up with the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals. . . . The Regina Pats, who finish up their season by going home-and-home with the Blades, have brought in three draft picks for some late-season work. Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reports that F Morgan Klimchuk and D Kyle Burroughs, two 2010 bantam picks, and F Jack Rodewald, a 2009 selection, will spend the weekend with the Pats. Klimchuk, the fifth overall pick in 2010, has played the last three games with the Pats, while Burroughs, a third-round pick, might make his WHL debut tonight in Saskatoon. Klimchuk played for the midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes, while Burroughs was with the Valley West Hawks of the B.C. major midget league. Rodewald has been with the midget AAA Notre Dame Argos in Wilcox, Sask. He was an eighth-round pick in 2009. . . .
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D Wyndan Cyr, 20, of the Prairie Junior Hockey League’s Ochapowace Thunder suffered three fractured vertebrae in a playoff game Monday night.
No penalty was called on the play in which he was injured, and his family is said to be considering legal action. That story is right here.
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There weren't any games played Thursday night.
Here’s a game-by-game look at what’s happening tonight, with the number in parentheses representing position in conference standings . . .
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(all teams have two games remaining)
Saskatoon (1) at Regina (10): The Blades will finish atop the East Division, the Eastern Conference and the overall standings. . . . The Pats are out of the playoffs for a third straight season. . . . These teams will finish their schedules in Saskatoon on Saturday.
Red Deer (2) at Edmonton (7): The Rebels need one point to clinch the Central Division pennant and the conference’s second seed. . . . The Oil Kings are one point behind the sixth-place Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . The Rebels and Oil Kings will play again Saturday in Red Deer.
Kootenay (4) at Lethbridge (9): The Ice is three points behind the fourth-place Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Hurricanes are ninth, four points out of a playoff spot. They need to win their last two games and have the Prince Albert Raiders lose twice in order to force a sudden-death game. . . . The Ice and Hurricanes also will play Saturday in Cranbrook.
Brandon (6) at Moose Jaw (5): The Wheat Kings are a point ahead of Edmonton, while the Warriors will finish fifth. . . . This will be the last regular-season game in the history of the Moose Jaw Civic Centre. . . . The teams will play again Saturday in Brandon.
Swift Current (11) at Prince Albert (8): The Broncos won’t make the playoffs. . . . The Raiders need one point to clinch the conference’s eighth and final playoff spot, and a first-round date with the Saskatoon Blades. . . . The Broncos and Raiders will play again Saturday in Swift Current.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Everett (7) at Portland (1): The Silvertips, with three games left, are seventh, a point up on Prince George and four ahead of Seattle and Kamloops. . . . The Winterhawks lead the conference by one point over Spokane. . . . Everett will play in Chilliwack on Saturday and Vancouver on Sunday. . . . Portland is in Kent, Wash., against Seattle on Saturday and at home to Spokane on Sunday.
Kelowna (2) at Vancouver (6): The Rockets will finish atop the B.C. Division, so are locked in as the conference’s second seed. . . . The Giants, who have lost seven straight, are a point behind Chilliwack and four ahead of Everett. . . . Vancouver plays in Kelowna on Saturday and is at home to Everett on Sunday.
Seattle (9) at Spokane (3): The Thunderbirds are tied for ninth, three points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Chiefs are a point behind conference-leading Portland. . . . The Thunderbirds are at home to Portland on Saturday and Tri-City on Sunday. . . . Spokane is in Kennewick, Wash., against Tri-City on Saturday and in Portland on Sunday.
Chilliwack (5) at Tri-City (4): The way the standings are now, this is a first-round playoff preview. While the Americans will be the No. 4 seed and have home-ice advantage in the first round, the Bruins are only one point ahead of Vancouver. . . . The Americans are at home to Spokane on Saturday and on the road against Seattle on Sunday. . . . The Bruins are at home to Everett on Saturday.
Prince George (8) at Kamloops (10): The Cougars are three points ahead of the Blazers, who have lost six straight, and Seattle. The Cougars and Blazers will complete their schedules in Prince George on Saturday. . . . With the possibility of three-point games, the permutations involving Everett, Prince George, Seattle and Kamloops are mind-numbing. . . . Results from tonight’s game may help clarify the situation.

Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that Everett Silvertips trainer Chris Walker made a huge save following a WHL game on Feb. 4. Walker helped save the life of a recreation league player who had had a heart attack. That story is right here.
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Far too often we watch those who play in the WHL and forget that they are young men trying to find their way in this difficult and sometimes ugly world.
David Searle is an 18-year-old defenceman who played with the OHL’s Guelph Storm. At 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, he is an impressive looking player.
But, in January, Searle asked the Storm for a leave of absence. He wasn’t injured. He wasn’t ill. He simply doesn’t know if he he wants to continue playing hockey.
Todd Vandonk of kawartha.com has Searle’s story right here.
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F Stephen Peat, one of the toughest players ever to skate in the WHL, has signed with the senior AAA Penticton Vees. Peat, 31, signed at the Feb. 10 deadline. Peat (Red Deer, Tri-City, Calgary, 1995-2000) was selected by the Anaheim Ducks with the 32nd pick of the NHL’s 1998 draft. His pro career was halted by a broken leg. He now lives in Vancouver. . . . The Vees and Prince George Mohawks will play Feb. 26, 8 p.m., in Summerland, B.C., and Feb. 27, 2 p.m., at Memorial Arena in Kamloops.
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Saskatoon, F Brayden Schenn scored at 1:04 of OT as the Blades got past the Medicine Hat Tigers, 5-4. . . . Schenn also had an assist. . . . Schenn has 29 points in 13 games with Saskatoon. Of his 11 goals with the Blades, two are OT snipes. . . . Linemate Curtis Hamilton added a goal, his 19th, and two helpers. . . . Saskatoon F Jake Trask, the third member of that line, goit his 24th goal. He has points in nine straight games and at least one goal in eight of those. . . . The Tigers forced OT with two late third-period goals. . . . D Thomas Carr scored his sixth goal on a PP at 17:15. . . . F Emerson Etem tied it shorthanded at 18:45. . . . Etem, who had two goals, has 32 on the season. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey had three assists. He now leads the WHL with 95 points, two more than Spokane F Tyler Johnson. . . . Tigers F Wacey Hamilton had two assists, as did Saskatoon D Duncan Siemens. . . . The Blades, down 1-0 midway in the second period, went ahead 3-1 with three goals in 3:10. . . . Attendance was 4,838. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 34 shots, eight more than Saskatoon’s Stephen Stanford. . . . Saskatoon G Adam Morrison (mononucleosis) is back on the ice, so the Blades have returned G Tyler Oswald to the midget AAA Pembina Valley Hawks, who play out of Morden, Man. . . . The Tigers were without F Sam Dezman, F Tyler Pitlick, D Matthew Konan and D Scott Ramsay, all of whom are out with concussions. According to Sean Rooney of the Medicine Hat News, “Pitlick is listed as day-to-day, Ramsay as seven to 10 days, and Konan week-to-week. Konan was hurt Friday in Brandon, Ramsay last week in Moose Jaw, and Pitlick took a hit to the jaw (on Feb. 9) against Prince George.” . . . Rooney also reported that Dezman, who hasn’t played since Dec. 14, may be finished. Dezman, a 19-year-old from Edmonton, has a history of concussion-related problems. . . . Saskatoon, the first WHL team to 45 victories, has 92 points, eight more than the Red Deer Rebels in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Tigers, who clinched a playoff spot with the loser point, are tied with the Kootenay Ice for third. . . . As luck would have it, the Ice will play host to the Tigers on Friday night. . . . And, as more luck would have it, the Blades will visit the Ice on Saturday night. . . . And, as even more luck would have it, the Blades will be in Medicine Hat on Sunday. . . .
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In Moose Jaw, the Calgary Hitmen showed that they will continue to fight the good fight, as they dumped the Warriors, 3-1. . . . Defending-champion Calgary, with the WHL’s poorest record, scored the game’s first three goals. . . . F Jimmy Bubnick got it started with his 17th, at 1:07 of the first period. . . . F Kris Foucault had a goal, his 19th, and an assist, while F Trevor Cheek got his eighth. . . . F Andrew Johnson got his fourth for Moose Jaw, at 17:26 of the second. . . . Calgary G Mike Snider stopped 31 shots. . . . Moose Jaw G Brandon Stone turned aside 26. . . . Attendance was 2,512. . . . The Warriors, with 14 games left, appear headed for a fifth-place finish. They are nine points behind Kootenay and The Hat, and 11 points ahead of Edmonton. . . . A first-round matchup appears likely to have Moose Jaw meeting Kootenay or Medicine Hat, with the latter having home-ice advantage. . . . The Hitmen are 13 points behind eighth-place Prince Albert so will have to be content with playing the role of spoiler over their final 14 games. . . . The Warriors are in Prince Albert on Friday, while Calgary drops in on Regina. . . .
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In Regina, F Mark McNeill, a player the scouts are falling in love with, had two goals as the Prince Albert Raiders edged the Pats, 4-3. . . . The Raiders erased a 3-2 deficit with the game’s last two goals. . . . McNeill got his second, and 24th of the season, at 10:27 of the second on a PP. . . . F Justin Maylan scored the winner, his 13th, just 54 seconds later. . . . D Antoine Corbin and D Jordan Rowley each had two assists for the Raiders. . . . F Jonathan Parker got his 38th goal for the Raiders. . . . Regina got a goal and two assists from F Garrett Mitchell, who has 17 goals, and three assists from D Brandon Davidson. . . . Mitchell came up dry on a first-period peanlty shot. . . . Each team scored two PP goals. . . . Raiders G Eric Williams stopped 37 shots, eight more than Regina’s Matt Hewitt. . . . Attendance was 3,966. . . . This loss really hurt Regina, which is tied for 10th with Lethbridge and now is six points behind the Raiders, who hold down the conference’s final playoff spot. . . .
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In Vancouver, G Adam Brown kicked out 42 shots and F Colton Sissons scored three times and set up another to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 4-2 victory over the Giants. . . . Vancouver got on the board first, when F Spencer Bennett got his 28th just 34 seconds into the game. . . . The Rockets came back with the next three, with Sissons getting two and F Geordie Wudrick getting his 31st. . . . Vancouver F Andrej Stastny got his mates to within one at 16:56 of the second, only to have Sissons complete his hat trick at 17:33. . . . Sissons has 14 goals. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 18 shots. . . . Kelowna F Zach Franko had two assists, on PP goals by Wudrick and Sissons. . . . Kelowna was 2-for-3 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-for-2. . . . Attendance was 5,877. . . . Kelowna still is without F Mitchell Callahan (head). Also missing were D Mitchell Chapman (head), F Jason Siebert (wrist), F Brett Bulmer (leg) and F Jessey Astles (shoulder). As well, F Colton Jobke served the third game of a seven-game suspension. . . . The Giants remain without D Joel Rogers (concussion) and F James Henry (knee). . . . The Rockets moved atop the B.C. Division with the victory. Actually, they and the Giants are tied, each with 65 points. But Kelowna, with a game in hand, has a .580 winning percentage; the Giants are at .570. . . . They are six points ahead of Prince George. . . . Spokane visits Kelowna on Friday, while the Giants are at home to Seattle. . . .
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In Everett, D Brendon Kichton scored two goals and was plus-5 as the Spokane Chiefs dumped the Silvertips, 7-2. . . . Spokane D Jared Cowen had two assists and was plus-6. . . . Spokane F Levko Koper scored three times, giving him 29. . . . Koper, 20, had a career-high 27 goals last season. . . . Chiefs F Anthony Bardaro had three assists. . . . Spokane F Tyler Johnson, who is second in the WHL scoring race, had one assist. . . . F Tyler Maxwell scored his 37th goal for Everett. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson, making his 12th straight start, stopped 46 shots. . . . G Mac Engel made 21 saves for Spokane, which had veteran James Reid back on the bench. He has been out with a hip injury. . . . Everett D Ryan Murray was unable to score on a first-period penalty shot. . . . Attendance was 4,723. . . . The Chiefs are second in the U.S. Division, three points behind Portland with each having played 57 games. The Tri-City Americans, with three games in hand, are two points behind Spokane. . . . Spokane is in Kelowna on Friday, while the Americans are at home to Chilliwack. Portland is idle Friday but will play visiting Chilliwack on Saturday. . . . The Silvertips, who are two points ahead of eighth-place Kamloops, are on their way to Prince George for a weekend double dip. . . . Kamloops opens a five-game Central Division swing in Edmonton on Friday.
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WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

The QMJHL’s Chicoutimi Saguenéens fired GM/head coach Richard Martel on Wednesday.
Martel is the QMJHL’s winningest head coach, with 589 career victories.
Assistant coach Marc-Étienne Hubert and assistant GM Carl Bouchard were to run the bench for Wednesday’s game against the visiting Rimouski Oceanic.
The Sagueneens went into the game with an 18-22-10 record, good for 13th in the 18-team league. They were fifth in the East Division, four points behind Rimouski.
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D Brodie Melnychuk of the Brandon Wheat Kings will be out indefinitely after having been found to have a fractured left leg.
Melnychuk is the most experienced player on the Brandon roster, having played 249 games.
He was injured Jan. 11 but the fracture wasn’t discovered until it showed up in X-rays this week. In fact, Melnychuk played four games with a sore leg, thinking it was bruised, before the fracture showed up.
Melnychuk, 19, was one of seven defencemen on the Brandon roster. Of the six left, one (Ryley Miller, 18) is a veteran, while the other five are in their freshman seasons — Ryan Pulock (16), Eric Roy (16), Jordan Fransoo (17), Spencer Galbraith (17) and Rene Hunter (17). . . . The Wheat Kings are at home to the Swift Current Broncos tonight, with the Regina Pats in the Wheat City on Friday.
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Former WHL G Kelly Hrudey (Medicine Hat, 1978-81) and two partners — Paul Colborne and David Moir, both of Calgary — have purchased one-third of the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers. These three join Bill Gallacher, the Calgary-based businessman who owns the Portland Winterhawks, Ken Wagner, another Alberta-based businessman, and Bill Bestwick, the team’s GM and head coach, in the Clippers’ ownership group.
From a release on the BCHL website:
“Colborne’s background is in the oil-and-gas industry and he is currently on the board of directors for firms including Crescent Point Energy Corp., Legacy Oil & Gas Ltd. and Surge Energy. He was instrumental in the 2006 purchase of the Calgary Stampeders Football Club, helping put the team back into local hands. Colborne is also the creator of the National Sports Development Program that trains young athletes in all sports in the Calgary area.
“Moir has been involved in the NHL for 30 years and worked for the Calgary Flames organization in the 1980s, including the Stanley Cup-winning team of 1989. Since 1990 he has been a key part of the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast team as well as the TSN broadcast team in both the NHL and CFL. David has worked at seven Olympic Games, including the men's hockey games at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.”
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JUST NOTES: F Brendan Shinnimin of the Tri-City Americans is the Husky WHL player of the month for January. Shinnimin, 19, had 29 points in 13 games in January. . . . Darcy Kuemper of the Red Deer Rebels is the Vaughn WHL goaltender of the month. Kuemper, 20, went 9-1-1, 1.74, .937 in January.
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SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Brandon, F Shayne Wiebe’s goal at 11:32 of the third period gave the Wheat Kings a 3-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Wiebe, who has eight goals over his last seven games, has 29 goals this season, three shy of his career high. . . . The Wheat Kings led 2-0 in the first period. . . . The Broncos tied it on F Justin Dowling’s 17th goal at 18:04 of the first period and D Reece Scarlett’s fifth at 9:30 of the second. . . . Broncos G Mark Friesen stopped 43 shots. . . . Brandon F Mark Stone, Brandon D Ryan Pulock and Swift Current F Jordan Peddle each had two assists. . . . Attendance was 3,298, the smallest crowd in Brandon this season. . . . Brandon, which dressed only 16 skaters, lost D Spencer Galbraith when he took a charging major and game misconduct at 2:24 of the second period. . . . The Wheat Kings have won five of seven and now are alone in eighth in the 12-team Eastern Conference, a point behind the Broncos, who have lost seven in a row, and one up on the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun reports that Broncos F Ryan Bloom, who absorbed the hit from Galbraith, Peddle and F dillong Wagner “all left the game with injuries.” . . .
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In Saskatoon, the Blades got two goals from F Jake Trask as they won their seventh straight game, this one 6-2 over the Regina Pats. . . . It also was Saskatoon’s WHL-leading 40th victory of the season. . . . Saskatoon is 23-2-1 at home. . . . F Brayden Schenn had four assists for the Blades. . . . Trask also had one assist. He’s got 17 goals on the season. . . . Saskatoon D Darren Dietz had two assists and was plus-4. . . . The season series is 2-2. . . . The Blades scored three goals in the game’s first five minutes. . . . Attendance was 3,546. . . . The Pats are 11th, three points behind the eighth-place Brandon Wheat Kings. The Pats are scheduled to play in Brandon on Friday. . . .
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In Prince Albert, F Byron Froese scored three times to help the Red Deer Rebels to a 7-4 victory over the Raiders. . . . Red Deer trailed 3-1 in the first period and 4-2 in the second before scoring the game’s last five goals. . . . Froese, who was acquired from the Everett Silvertips over the summer, has 30 goals this season. . . . F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and three assists for the Rebels, while F John Persson had a goal and two assists. . . . F Igor Revenko scored three times for the Raiders, giving him 16 goals. . . . The Raiders were 3-for-6 on the PP. . . . Red Deer G Dawson Guhle stopped 28 shots, seven fewer than the Raiders’ Jamie Tucker. . . . Attendance was 2,122. . . .
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In Lethbridge, the Vancouver Giants scored twice in the shootout and beat the Hurricanes, 5-4. . . . The Giants led 4-2 late in the second period before the Hurricanes forced OT with goals from F Brody Sutter, at 16:50 of the seocnd, and D Mike Reddington, at 7:12 of the third. . . . F Brendan Gallagher and F Andrej Stastny scored for Vancouver in the shootout. . . . Gallagher had a goal, his 34th, and three assists in regulation time. . . . Vancouver F Spencer Bennett had a goal and an assist, as did F Brendan Rowinski. . . . Lethbridge F Austin Fyten (upper body) didn’t play. . . . Attendance was 3,990. . . . Gordie and Marty Howe, both of whom played with Lethbridge GM/head coach Rich Preston with the WHA’s Houston Aeros, were in the house. . . .
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In Kamloops, F Tyler Maxwell broke a 2-2 tie at 16:29 of the third period to give the Everett Silvertips a 3-2 victory over the Blazers. . . . Everett has won four in a row for the first time since the first four games of the season. . . . Maxwell scored twice, giving him 35 of Everett’s 133 goals this season. . . . The winner came on the PP. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson stopped 36 shots, including 21 in the first period. . . . Everett D Ryan Murray had a goal and an assist. . . . Everett F Parker Stanfield made two key plays that led to Maxwell’s goals. First, he tried a wraparound and the rebound went to Maxwell, who whipped it home. Then, on the winner, Stanfield set a great screen that allowed Maxwell to pick the longside corner on G Jeff Bosch. . . . Attendance was 4,428. . . .
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In Kelowna, F Evan Bloodoff scored twice to lead the Rockets to a 6-4 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins. . . . The Rockets have won seven straight, while the Bruins have lost six in a row. . . . Bloodoff has 14 goals. . . . D Tyson Barrie had three assists for the Rockets. . . . The Bruins got two goals from F Roman Horak, who has 21. . . . The teams were tied 3-3 midway through the second period. . . .Bloodoff broke the tie at 14:38 on a PP, and F Geordie Wudrick made if 5-4 with his 30th goal of the season at 15:12, on another PP. . . . Bloodoff’s first goal, at 8:40 of the second period, was a shorthanded effort. . . .. Kelowna was 2-for-10 on the PP, while Chilliwack was 1-for-6. . . . Attendance was 6,037. . . .
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In Calgary, the Hitmen halted a six-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . One night earlier, the Ice had beaten the visiting Hitmen, 8-0. . . . . The Ice also had beaten the Hitmen seven straight times this season. . . . Kootenay G Nathan Lieuwen, who left Tuesday’s game after a collision with Calgary F Cody Sylvester, wasn’t dressed. Jeff Holick, the radio voice of the Ice, reports that Lieuwen has neck and back spasms and is day-to-day. . . . G Mackenzie Skapski, 16, stopped 25 shots in his second career WHL start. . . . Calgary G Brandon Glover made 32 saves, losing his shutout bid on F Matt Fraser’s 23rd goal at 18:02 of the second. . . . F Kris Foucault and F Jimmy Bubnick each notched his 16th goal for Calgary. . . . Attendance was 7,222. . . . The Ice has returned D Mike Simpson to the junior B Port Moody, B.C., Black Panthers and F Levi Cable to the midget AAA Yorkton, Sask., Harvest. At the same time, according to Holick, the Ice is bringing in D Jeff Hubic, a fourth-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, from the midget AAA Tisdale, Sask., Trojans for the next four games. . . .
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In Kennewick, Wash., D Matt MacKenzie’s OT goal gave the host Tri-City Americans a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton oil Kings. . . . MacKenzie scored his fifth goal just 53 seconds into OT. It came on the PP. . . . Tri-City F Jordan Messier forced OT with his 23rd goal, on the PP, at 15:39 of the third period. . . . Edmonton F Dylan Wruck had given his side a 3-2 lead with his 30th goal at 11:38 of the third. . . . Wruck, who scored twice in a 4-2 victory over Seattle on Tuesday, set the Oil Kings’ modern day franchise record for goals in a season. F Brenden Dowd scored 29 in 2008-09. . . . F Brendan Shinnimin had two assists for Tri-City, running his point streak to 20 games. He has 44 points over that stretch. . . . Tri-City G Chris Driedger stopped 23 shots to earn his second victory in his third WHL start. It was his ninth appearance of the season. . . . Edmonton G Jon Groenheyde stopped 42 shots. . . . Edmonton D Braeden Laroque left at 7:02 of the first period with a boarding major and a game misconduct. . . . Tri-City was 3-for-6 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 3,588. . . . The loser point was big for the Oil Kings, who are sixth in the Eastern Conference and now are five points ahead of the seventh-place Swift Current Broncos. Edmonton, which is in Portland on Friday, opened its U.S. swing with that 4-2 victory over Seattle on Tuesday.
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WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Four minors:
Prince Albert D Harrison Ruopp
Kamloops D Austin Madaisky
Edmonton F Kristians Pelss (double minor)

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

It seems that this is a big weekend for more than one Tiger.
While Tiger Woods begins his golf season this weekend in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines near San Diego, an emailer early Thursday informs that one of the most popular players -- who at the same time likely was one of the most unpopular players -- in NHL history is about to make a comeback of sorts.
Apparently, Dave (Tiger) Williams (Swift Current, 1971-74) practised with the Herbert Hawks of the Notekeu Hockey League on Wednesday night in preparation for a game tonight against the visiting Mossbank Blades. Game time is 8:30.
Here’s hoping that Tiger scores at least one goal and treats the fans to the riding of the stick through the neutral zone.
The Notekeu Hockey League -- yes, there is more than one NHL -- features nine teams in communities located in the southwestern side of Saskatchewan.
Mossbank and Herbert go into tonight’s game tied for second place.
Williams, if you are wondering, is to turn 57 on Feb. 3.
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You have to assume that all WHL coaches aspire to be running a bench in the National Hockey League; after all, the NHL is The Show to coaches, too.
However, Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has learned that at least some of the WHL’s coaches aren’t necessarily in a hurry to get to the NHL. Check that story out right here.
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Sean Rooney of the Medicine Hat News has a look at a young player who has scored more than 100 goals in fewer than 30 games. . . . That story is right here.
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Earlier this season, F Jake Trask had trouble getting playing time. Now he’s on a line with two players off Canada’s national junior team. Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has that story right here.
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JUST NOTES: The Spokane Chiefs have played 48 games this season; the Tri-City Americans have played 45. They have met each other four times, which means they will clash eight more times during this regular season. The first of those eight is Saturday in Spokane. . . . D Cason Machacek of the Lethbridge Hurricanes has been suspended for five games for his actions at the end of the second period of what was a 10-2 loss to the host Red Deer Rebels on Wednesday night. It seems he came off the bench at the buzzer and entered into an altercation. He already has served two one-game suspensions this season. . . . F Connor Redmond, who had offseason shoulder surgery, may play his first game of the season for the Vancouver Giants tonight. They are at home to the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Kamloops finishes up a stretch of three road games in four nights on Saturday against the Chilliwack Bruins. The Blazers will meet the Bruins three times in a four-game stretch, with a visit from the Everett Silvertips squeezed in Wednesday. . . . The Kelowna Rockets entertain the Prince George Cougars tonight. That is the first of seven in a row for the Rockets against B.C. Division foes.

The drive to the WHL’s trade deadline has started.
It didn’t begin earlier in the week when the Tri-City Americans cut deals with the Everett Silvertips and Kelowna Rockets, because those were driven by Tri-City’s need to trim a 20-year-old from its roster.
No, the drive to the Jan. 10 deadline began late Friday morning with a deal between the Americans and Regina Pats.
For the second straight season, RW Carter Ashton, a first-round selection by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL’s 2009 draft, is on the move.

CARTER ASHTON

Ashton was dealt Friday by the Pats to the Americans, along with a 2012 third-round bantam draft pick, for F Tanner Olstad, F Nils Moser, a 2011 first-round bantam draft pick and second- and fifth-round picks in the 2012 bantam draft.
It was a year and a day ago, on Dec. 9, 2009, that the Lethbridge Hurricanes dealt Ashton and F Craig Orfino to the Pats for F Graham Hood, F Tayler Balog, a 2010 second-round bantam draft pick and a 2011 first-round bantam pick.
Moser, a 17-year-old from Canmore, Alta., was a second-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft. He has one goal in 20 games this season, after earning three points in 38 games last season.
Olstad, an18-year-old from Calgary, had three points in 20 games with the Americans.
Ashton, a 6-foot-3, 200-pounder, is the son of Brent Ashton (Saskatoon, 1975-79). Carter is in Toronto in the selection camp of the Canadian national junior team. In 29 games this season, he has 27 points and 44 penalty minutes.
In 206 regular-season WHL games, he has 137 points and 267 penalty minutes. He was the sixth overall pick in the 2006 bantam draft.
The bottom line is this: The Americans get bigger up front; the Pats, who aren’t likely to make the playoffs and have begun the rebuilding process, get badly needed draft picks.
For more on the deal, check out Greg Harder’s coverage right here at the Regina Leader-Post’s website.
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D Jared Spurgeon, a product of the Spokane Chiefs, is making quite an impression with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. Check out this story by Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune right here.
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Some highlights from Friday’s WHL games . . .
In Moose Jaw, F Dylan Hood had a goal and three assists to lead the Warriors to a 6-4 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . F Quinton Howden scored twice and added an assist for Moose Jaw, while F Spencer Edwards had a goal and two helpers. . . . Howden has 21 goals now. . . . F Elgin Pearce counted three times for the Ice, giving him five this season. . . . Pearce, an 18-year-old from Port Coquitlam, B.C., had three goals in 45 last season as a freshman. . . . F Magnus Christian had three assists for the Ice, with F Joe Antilla scoring once, setting up two others and finishing plus-4. . . . Attendance was 2,650. . . . The Ice was without F Kevin King, its leading scorer, thanks to an infected elbow. . . .
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In Saskatoon, F Jake Trask scored his second goal of the game at 1:44 of OT as the Blades came from behind to beat the Everett Silvertips, 5-4. . . . Trask, who is from Saskatoon, was acquired earlier from the Kamloops Blazers. This was his sixth goal of the season. . . . Blades F Matej Stransky forced OT with a PP goal at 19:50 of the third period. . . . F Parker Stanfield had given Everett a 4-3 lead with his second goal of the game on the PP, at 16:31 of the third. . . . This was the Blades’ first home game after a 4-1-0 jaunt through the B.C. Division. . . . Everett led 2-0, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2 and 4-3. . . . Everett F Tyler Maxwell had a goal and three assists. . . . F Curtis Hamilton had two assists for Saskatoon in his last game before leaving for the Canadian junior team’s selection camp. . . . Ev erett G Kent Simpson stopped 40 shots. . . . Attendance was 6,112.
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In Calgary, F Kris Foucault scored 25 seconds into OT as the Hitmen beat the Regina Pats, 4-3. . . . Regina is 0-5 in OT this season. . . . Calgary trailed this one 3-0 at 9:36 of the second period as the Pats got shorthanded goals from F Thomas Frazee and Garrett Mitchell, and an score from Dyson Stevenson at 9:36. . . . F Jimmy Bubnick got a PP goal for Calgary before the second period ended, and F Justin Kirsch got another at 2:08 of the third. . . . D Matt MacKenzie tied it with his second of the season at 7:53. . . . MacKenzie also had two assists, as did Regina F Lane Scheidl. . . . The Eastern Conference’s two poorest teams combined for 29 shots, 16 by the Hitmen. . . . These teams will play an outdoors game at Calgary’s McMahon Stadium on Feb. 21. . . . Attendance was 7,680. . . . F Morgan Klimchuk, the fifth overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft, drew an assist for Regina. He isn’t eligible to play full time, but took F Carter Ashton’s spot on the Pats’ foster for this one. Klimchuk is from Calgary. . . . Neither of the forwards Regina acquired from the Tri-City Americans in the Ashton deal — Nils Moser or Tanner Olstad — was in Regina’s lineup. They likely will play tonight against the Rebels in Red Deer. . . .
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In Lethbridge, F Ryan Howse had two goals to help the Chilliwack Bruins to a 4-3 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . Howse has 22 goals. . . . He scored two PP goals as five of the game’s seven goals came with the man advantage. . . . Lethbridge F Mitch Maxwell got his 10th goal on a penalty shot at 19:48 of the third period. . . . Chilliwack F Roman Horak had three assists, while F Robin Soudek had a goal and two helpes. . . . Howse gave the Bruins a 2-0 first-period lead. The Hurricanes tied it with two PP goals — from F Cam Braes and F Austin Fyten. The Bruins then got third-period goals from Soudek, at 13:41, and F Jamie Crooks, at 15:41, to win it. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 35 shots. . . . Attendance was 2,826. . . .
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In Red Deer, F Evan Bloodoff and F Geordie Wudrick each scored twice to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 5-1 victory over the Rebels. . . . The Rockets were without head coach Ryan Huska, who is serving as an assistant coach with Canada’s national junior team. Assistant coach Ryan Cuthbert, a former Rockets captain, will serve as head coach, with help from assistant Dan Lambert, in Huska’s absence. . . . The Rockets scored the game’s first four goals and took a 4-0 lead into the third period. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 37 shots. That included a penalty shot by F Colten Mayor at 7:57 of the third period. . . . Bloodoff has six goals; Wudrick has 15. . . . Attendance was 4,057. . . .
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In Kamloops, F Brendan Ranford scored his WHL-leading 26th goal of the season as the Blazers edged the Swift Current Broncos, 3-2. . . . Ranford’s goal, which broke a scoreless tie 49 seconds into the second period, was the Teddy Bear goal. . . . Ranford also had an assist and now is tied with Medicine Hat Tigers F Linden Vey for the WHL points lead, with 49. . . . F Cody Eakin scored both Swift Current goals and now has 18 on the season. He leaves from Vancouver today for the Canadian junior team’s selection camp. . . . The game was delayed for about 15 minutes in the third period after Swift Current F Killian Hutt, 19, went into convulsions following a hit by F Jordan DePape. Hutt was conscious and have movement in his limbs as he left the ice on a stretcher and was taken to hospital. . . . DePape was given a charging major and game misconduct. . . . The Broncos were 0-for-7 on the PP; the Blazers were 0-for-1. . . . Attendance was 4,332. . . . 
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In Portland, the Winterhawks broke open a scoreless game with three second-period goals and went on to a 4-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Portland F Sven Bartschi, the WHL’s top scorer among freshmen, got his 20th goal at 3:30 of the second, on a PP, to get it started. . . . F Brad Ross added his 14th at 7:46 and F Spencer Bennett made it 3-0 with his 10th at 14:25. . . . It was Portland’s second victory in eight games. . . . F Spencer Asuchak, with his 10th, scored for Prince George at 18:44 of the second. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 22 shots. . . . Prince George G Ty Rimmer turned aside 26 shots, including Ross on a third-period penalty shot. . . . Attendance was 5,441. . . .
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Brendan Shinnimin scored once and added two assists as the host Tri-City Americans beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-1. . . . Shinnimin scored at 1:10 of the first period and it was Tri-City’s Teddy Bear goal. . . . F Mason Wilgosh and F Justin Feser each added two assists. . . . F Adam Hughesman helped out with his 16th goal and an assist. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley stopped 22 shots, losing his shutout bid to F Charles Wells at 11:39 of the second. Wells has eight goals this season. . . . F Carter Ashton, acquired by Tri-City from the Regina Pats on Friday, wasn’t in the Americans’ lineup. He is in Toronto preparing for the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp. . . . The Americans were 2-for-10 on the PP; the Thunderbirds were 0-for-3. . . . Attendance was 4,776. . . . The teams meet  again tonight in Kent, Wash. The Thunderbirds will be without G Calvin Pickard (13-9-7), who is off to the Canadian junior team selection camp. . . .
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In Vancouver, F Blake Gal scored the lone goal of the shootout as the Spokane Chiefs got past the Giants, 3-2. . . . Gal was the only one of the six shooters to find the range. . . . The goal was allowed after video review; it seems that G Mark Segal kicked the puck into his own net in the process of trying to make the save. . . . The Giants held a 2-0 lead halfway through the first period on goals by F Michael Burns — it was the Teddy Bear goal — and F Brendan Gallagher, his 25th. . . . F Tyler Johnson got his 20th, at 19:52 of the first, on a PP, to get the Chiefs on the board. . . . D Jared Cowen, who leaves today for the selection camp of Canada’s national junior team, tied it at 18:59 of the second, on a PP. . . . The Chiefs were 2-for-5 on the PP; the Giants were 0-for-2. . . . Segal stopped 43 shots, 23 more than Spokane’s James Reid. . . . Attendance was 12,263. . . . Giants D Luke Fenske (shoulder) returned after a seven-game absence, but they were without D David Musil, who suffered a hairline fracture in his right leg last week.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Two minors:
Kootenay D Joey Leach
Kelowna F Max Adolph

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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