Sven Baertschi of the Calgary Flames shows off the puck with which
he scored his first NHL goal on Sunday.
(Photo courtesy a huge Baertschi fan)

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Vaclav Varada (Tacoma/Kelowna, 1994-96) has been loaned to Slovan Ustecti Lvi (Czech Republic 1.Liga) by Trinec (Czech Republic, Extraliga) for the remainder of this season. Varada had six goals and seven assists in 16 games for Trinec; he did not play a game for Trinec until early January due to injury. Trinec's season ended last week with their loss to Zlin in the quarterfinals, three games to two. Varada will join Slovan for their best-of-seven semi-final series against Dukla Jihlava, which begins today in Ustecti Lvi. . . .
F Keegan Dansereau (Calgary, Swift Current, 2003-09) signed a one-year contract with Mörrum (Sweden, Division 1). He had two goals in one game for the Horse Lake Chiefs (Alberta, North Peace Senior Hockey League) this season. Dansereau played for Mörrum in 2010-11, getting 32 goals and 25 assists in 37 games.
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Attention Chilliwack hockey fans!
You likely don’t pay attention to such things — after all, you have no reason to — but the WHL regular season is into its last week.
And guess what?
Yes, the first rumour surfaced on Monday.
“Hearing Cougars to Chilliwack again,” reported a source with knowledge of the situation.
So, folks, here we go again. The silly season has started.
We know that after the Bruins were taken away from Chilliwack — you perhaps know that they now are the Victoria Royals — almost a year ago, there were strong rumours that the Cougars could be headed south.
Well, I can tell you that Cougars owner Rick Brodsky seriously considered relocation and there was some communication with Moray Keith, who had been one of the Bruins’ owners. However, nothing came of it.
We will have to wait and see if they do the dance again this spring or summer.
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F Sven Baertschi of the Portland Winterhawks scored his first NHL goal Sunday as the Calgary Flames scored a 4-3 victory over the host Minnesota Wild.
Baertschi, the WHL’s only two-point-per-game player, remains with the Flames, who brought him in him Wednesday under emergency recall rules. The Flames had nine players out with injuries on Sunday. Baertschi is allowed to stay with them until two of those injured players are cleared to return.
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D Joe Morrow of Portland has a career-high 64 points. That is the highest total by a Portland defenceman since Andrew Ference put up 68 in 1997-98. The Winterhawks won the Memorial Cup that season. . . . Portland F Nic Petan scored four goals in Saturday’s 11-3 victory over the host Seattle Thunderbirds. It was the first time in Winterhawks history that a 16-year-old had scored four goals in one game.
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The Tri-City Americans have added yet another youngster to their roster. D Clint Filbrandt, 16, played for the midget AAA Calgary Northstars this season.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos, reported last night that “Swift Current Minor Hockey has relieved Jason Johns of his duties as Head Coach/Manager of the Midget AAA Legionnaires. There aren’t many more details to share than that. The board will begin the search for a new coach immediately.”
There is a link to Mullin’s blog over there on the right.
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Doug Lunney of the Winnipeg Sun is a former WHL goaltender who crossed over to the right side. He has some thoughts on the MJHL’s reaction to the performance turned in by Dauphin Kings GM/head coach Marlin Murray last week, and that piece is right here.
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Now that you’ve read Lunney’s piece, and no doubt you have viewed the video, you should know that Murray plans on filing an appeal. Seriously!
I’m thinking the MJHL should make Murray work as a referee for 12 games.
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IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY:
Eastern Conference
Edmonton (1) vs. Brandon (8)
Moose Jaw (2) vs. Saskatoon (7)
Medicine Hat (3) vs. Regina (6)
Calgary (4) vs. Kootenay (5)
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Western Conference
Tri-City (1) vs. Victoria (8)
Kamloops (2) vs. Everett (7)
Portland (3) vs. Kelowna (6)
Vancouver (4) vs. Spokane (5)
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MONDAY’S GAMES
None.
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TODAY’S GAMES
Red Deer at Medicine Hat
Prince Albert at Saskatoon
Spokane at Seattle
Prince George at Tri-City

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Friday's stuff . . .

The Medicine Hat Tigers played before their 286th straight regular-season sellout (4,006) on Friday night. They were leading the Kamloops Blazers 5-1 midway through the third period, when they gave up four straight power-play goals and eventually lost 6-5 in a shootout. Kamloops scored two PP goals in the last minute, each coming with G Jeff Bosch on the bench for an extra attacker that gave the visitors a 6-on-3 advantage. . . . F Colin Smith had three goals for Kamloops. It was his second hat trick of the season. F Thomas Frazee drew four assists, and F Dylan Willick scored the two late PP goals that forced OT. . . . The Blazers, who have been scuffling along in eighth place in the Western Conference, now are seventh, a point ahead of the Prince George Cougars. . . . On the subject of comebacks, the Brandon Wheat Kings twice overcame three-goal deficits to beat the Blades 7-6 in Saskatoon last night. . . . Brandon F David Toews got the winner with 3:12 left in the third period. . . . Brandon F Matt MacKay had a goal and two assists for Brandon and now has 37 points in 22 games since coming over from the Vancouver Giants. He also is riding a 16-game point streak. . . . Brandon D Brodie Melnychuk (broken leg) was back after missing 16 games. . . . Saskatoon was without F Marek Viedensky (groin) and F Brent Benson (knee). . . . Blades F Jake Trask had his seventh two-goal game of this season. . . .

Former Wheat Kings F Matt Calvert played his 20th game with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets last night. Calvert, who had never experienced a two-goal game, struck for three goals in a 5-3 victory over the visiting Phoenix Coyotes. . . . Calvert broke a 2-2 tie with his first goal, at 2:37 of the second period. He made it 5-2 as he, in fact, scored three straight goals. . . . Calvert, who also had an assist, has 14 points, including nine goals, in his short NHL career. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson stopped 45 shots and the Silvertips scored two shorthanded goals as they beat the visiting Portland Winterhawks 2-0 last night. . . . Everett F Tyler Maxwell got No. 39. . . .

The Washington Capitals have signed G Todd Ford (Swift Current, Prince George, Vancouver, 2000-04) to a one-year deal worth US$500,000 at the NHL level and US$40,000 in the AHL. Ford has played this season with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays and the Hershey Bears, who are Washington’s AHL affiliate. . . . F Ryan Howse of the Chilliwack Bruins scored twice in a 6-4 victory over the host Vancouver Giants last night. He has goals in nine straight games to equal Oscar Moller’s franchise record. Howse has 46 goals and is tied for the WHL lead, with Spokane C Tyler Johnson. . . . Howse is one shy of his career high in goals. His 74 points are a single-season high. He had 72 last season. . . . Howse’s second goal, the 135th of his career, was his first empty-netter. . . . The Bruins now are chasing eighth-place Prince George. Chilliwack is four back with three games in hand. . . . The Giants had C James Henry, their captain, back after he missed 22 of the last 23 games with a knee injury. . . . Chilliwack D Brandon Manning, who is the Bruins’ captain, returned after sitting out a seven-game suspension. . . .

C Tyler Johnson of the Spokane Chiefs is the second WHLer to reach 100 points this season. He got there with a goal and three assists in an 8-0 victory over visiting Prince George last night. He and Medicine Hat C Linden Vey are tied, with 102 points, atop the points derby. . . . Johnson is the first Spokane player since 1993-94 to get to 100 points. That season, the Chiefs had three 100-point men — Ryan Duthie, Maxim Betts and Valeri Bure. . . . G Adam Brown stopped 27 shots and F Geordie Wudrick got his 34th goal as the Kelowna Rockets beat the Rebels 1-0 in Red Deer last night. Kelowna, which is 2-1-0 on a Central Division swing, leads the B.C. Division by four points over Vancouver and finishes its trip in Calgary against the Hitmen tonight. . . . Kelowna D Colton Jobke was back after serving a seven-game suspension. . . . Bob McKenzie of TSN tweeted early this morning that the Chicago Blackhawks and D Brent Seabrook (Lethbridge, 2000-05) are “on verge of finalizing big contract extension, hearing five years at a shade under $30 million.”

The Regina Pats moved to within three points of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot by beating the Broncos 4-3 in Swift Current when F Shayne Neigum broke a 3-3 tie at 17:25 of the third period. . . . The Broncos, however, are going the other way. They have lost seven in a row and are six points out of a playoff spot with eight games left. . . . The midget AAA Swift Current Legionnaires have named Jason Johns as their new GM/head coach. He has spent the last two seasons as assistant GM/head coach of the Thorhild Titans of the North Eastern Alberta junior B league. . . . F Blake Geoffrion is expected to make his NHL debut with the Nashville Predators today against the Dallas Stars. If he does, he will become the first fourth-generation player in NHL history. He also will become the first player from the Nashville area to get into the Predators’ lineup. His great- grandfather (Howie Morenz) and grandfather (Bernie ‘Boom Boom’ Geoffrion) both starred for the Montreal Canadiens. And his father, Dan, played with the Winnipeg Jets and Canadiens.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
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