Generals get past Oceanic . . . Rockets pay price for 'negative comments' . . . Tochkin turns to coaching

The OHL-champion Oshawa Generals eked out a 4-3 victory over the QMJHL-champion Rimouski Oceanic before 8,409 fans at the Memorial Cup in Quebec City on Saturday. . . . On Friday, the tournament opened with the host Quebec Remparts beating the WHL-champion Kelowna Rockets, 4-3. . . . The Remparts and Generals will clash this afternoon, with the Rockets and Oceanic meeting Monday night. . . . Only the left shoulder of Ottawa G Ken Appleby prevented OT as he beat Rimouski F Alexis Loiseau with six seconds left in the third period. The Oceanic was shorthanded at the time and had G Philippe Desrosiers on the bench for the extra attacker when Loiseau came loose directly in front of Appleby. Loiseau tried to go high on Appleby, and the puck hit him on the shoulder and ricocheted just wide of the post. . . .  The Generals appeared to take control of the game in the first period, as they led 2-0 before the 10-minute mark. . . . However, the Oceanic scored two goals 44 seconds apart late in the period and the teams were even going into the second. . . . Oshawa went back in front at 18:33 of the second when D Stephen Desrocher scored directly off a face-off win by F Cole Cassels. . . . Rimouski tied it at 3:46 of the third, on a PP, with D Jan Kostalek getting the goal. . . . The game-winner came at 9:24 when F Hunter Smith fired a long shot at Desrosiers and was able to get to his own rebound and score. . . . Rimouski’s chances were damaged late when it was penalized for too many men as it tried to get Desrosiers off for the extra attacker. . . . Desrosiers finished with 33 saves, 14 more than Appleby. . . . Rimouski was 1-for-4 on the PP; Oshawa was 0-for-5. . . . Brett Iverson, the lone WHL referee in the tournament, worked this game. . . . There was hardly any post-whistle shenanigans in this one, certainly not in comparison to all that went on in Friday’s game.
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On Saturday afternoon, the CHL tweeted: “Kelowna Rockets fined $500 for a member of organization approaching #CHL Hockey Ops Dept. and making negative comments regarding officiating.”
No one has coughed up the name of the person who made the “negative comments,” but speculation is that someone complained about the misconduct penalty assessed to F Leon Draisaitl following the buzzer to end the second period. (Feel free to take part in our poll over there on the right.)
Of all the calls made during Kelowna’s 4-3 loss to the host Quebec Remparts, none had a larger impact than the one that took Draisaitl off the ice for the first half of the third period.

So Kelowna got fined for a staff member confronting someone about officiating. Did they want a 6-on-2 advantage in the last minute?

— Neate Sager (@neatebuzzthenet) May 23, 2015

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Here is the Memorial Cup schedule (all games on Sportsnet; all times Eastern):
Friday, May 22: Kelowna 3 vs. Quebec 4 (9,497)
Saturday, May 23: Rimouski 3 vs. Oshawa 4 (8,409)
Sunday: Quebec vs. Oshawa, 4:30 p.m.
Monday: Rimouski vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday: Oshawa vs. Kelowna, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday: Quebec vs. Rimouski, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday: Tiebreaker, if necessary, 7:30 p.m.
Friday: Semifinal, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday: Championship game, 7 p.m.
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According to court filings made Friday, the OHL’s Erie Otters are US$5.4 million in debt, that includes $296,688 owing to former player Brad Boyes, who now is with the NHL’s Florida Panthers. . . . The money owing Boyes is from a loan he made to the team almost six years ago. . . . Ed Palattella has more on this story right here from GoErie.com.
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Michael Beschloss provided a terrific read in Saturday’s New York Times. It’s right here and it deals with the M&M Boys — Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris — and the home run race of 1961. . . . You may want to check out the comments, too.
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THE COACHING GAME:

Former WHL F Kellan Tochkin is the new head coach of the Everett Jr. Silvertips 16U AAA team. Tochkin, 24, has decided to retire as a player to coach the Tier 1 elite midget team. . . . In the WHL, Tochkin, who is from Abbotsford, B.C., played for the Everett Silvertips, Medicine Hat Tigers and Prince Albert Raiders (2006-12). . . . He played three seasons of professional hockey, making stops in the Central league and ECHL, and in Sweden.
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Almost every time a coach is fired, the team issues a news release, thanking the coach for the time he has given to the organization and wishing him the best of luck.
Not the NAHL’s Austin, Minn., Bruins, who fired general manager and head coach Chris Tok on Friday, after five years on the job. He is the only GM and head coach the franchise has known. The relationship doesn’t seem to have ended well.
Here is an excerpt from the team-issued news release:
“No one doubts coach Tok's ability to have success on the ice. In fact we believe that Chris is one of the best coaches in the NAHL. Unfortunately being head coach/ general manager involves far more than coaching. The position requires the exercise of solid managerial decisions behind the scenes, and it requires those managerial decisions be focused primarily on the long-term interests of the team.
“Over the years as coach of the Austin Bruins, Chris Tok made a number of managerial decisions which were not consistent with the team's interests nor consistent with team policy. Those decisions have created tension and conflict between Chris Tok and management which has proven difficult to resolve. In light of those managerial issues and the conflict they have produced, the team has decided to seek a new head coach.”
Assistant coach Jamie Huffman, who resigned earlier in the week, told ABC 6 News, that the Bruins had been "planning (to fire Tok) since February.” Huffman also said the firing was an "absolute shame.”
Jason Feldman of the Rochester, Minn., Post-Bulletin has more right here.
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Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports that the Columbus Blue Jackets haven’t yet decided whether to sign F Peter Quenneville, who played out his junior eligibility this season with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Quenneville was a seventh-round selection in the NHL’s 2013 draft. . . . Portzline’s piece is right here.
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To date, the 2015 Hockey Coaches Conference has two NHL head coaches on its roster of presenters — Willie Desjardins of the Vancouver Canucks and Mike Johnston of the Pittsburgh Penguins. . . . The conference is scheduled for July 24 and 25 in Vancouver. . . . There’s more right here.
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Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, spoke with reporters on Thursday, during an intermission in the playoff game between the host Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks. At one point, Bettman had something to say about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Nicholas J. Cotsonika writes right here that Bettman should have kept quiet. . . . If you are interested in a balanced look at the NHL and concussions, this is it.
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Even churches in #Toronto rejoice the arrival of #Babcock Isn't being a #Leafs fan the equivalent of hockey purgatory pic.twitter.com/0gp53JauVU

— CanadaTeams (@CanadaTeams) May 23, 2015

Happy 74th b'day to Bryan Hextall Jr. who demanded trade from Detroit because the logo was too small on his jersey. pic.twitter.com/ED13AUCRWz

— O-Pee-Chee Stars (@opeecheestars) May 23, 2015

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
G Brett Jaeger (Medicine Hat, Vancouver, Saskatoon, 2001-04) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven (Germany, 2.Bundesliga). He had a 3.12 GAA and a .908 save percentage in 27 games with CPH Hockey/Hvidovre Copenhagen (Denmark, AL-Bank Liga) this season. CPH Hockey/Hvidovre has had some financial difficulties and has now moved to an all-Danish lineup. . . .
F Juraj Gracik (Try-City, 2004-06) was released by the Milton Keynes Lightning (England, Premier). He had 14 goals and 24 assists in 32 games for the Lightning this season.
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CALVIN PICKARD

G Calvin Pickard of the Seattle Thunderbirds has made a new fan after Sunday’s game in which he set the WHL career record for saves while opposing Payton Lee, the Vancouver Giants’ 15-year-old goaltender.
That fan sent me an email that reads, in part . . .
“Calvin Pickard, who is truly a great goaltender, stopped another Sunday night to become the all-time puck-stopper in the WHL. But he truly must be acknowledged for his sportsmanship.
“During the second period of Sunday’s game as is custom there was a timeout called around the 10-minute mark. During this timeout, as the players were skating towards their respective benches, the two goaltenders, Pickard and Payton Lee from the Giants, had to cross one another’s path to get to their benches. Pickard passed Lee quite close by and, in something I haven't seen in many a day, Pickard tapped Lee on the pads with his stick and skated to his bench.
“When the timeout was over, Pickard and Lee came together again and both tapped each other on the pads as they headed back to their respective goals.
It was quite a showing and it renews your faith in the true sportsmanship of the game.
“Also during the second period, after play had resumed, Lee made quite a spectacular glove save and I noticed that Pickard was slapping his stick on the ice as a kind of ‘Nice save, kid’ gesture.
“In this day and age, you just don't see that happening and I thought it should be acknowledged.
“In the third period, when Pickard had made the save that got him the record, the fans gave him quite an ovation when it was announced by the in-house public address announcer.
“Pickard also was given quite an ovation when he was selected one of the three stars and deservedly so.
“I have seen a lot of hockey in my day but Sunday’s game really brought me back to a place that I hadn't been to in a long, long time. It was most refreshing to see.”
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DEPT. OF DISCIPLINE:
Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s hanging judge, has been busy over the last few days.
D Alex Roach of the Calgary Hitmen got three games for a Friday night check to the head that has left Prince George Cougars F Greg Fraser with a concussion.
Prince George F Campbell Elynuik came out of that game with five games in suspensions — an automatic one game for receiving his third game misconduct and four more for being involved in what the WHL calls a “one man fight.” In other words, Elynuik jumped a Calgary player.
F Austin Bourhis of the Prince Albert Raiders got hit was a three-game sentence for a charging major in a Friday game against the visiting Victoria Royals.
As well, F Dryden Hunt of the Regina Pats is out ‘tbd’ for a checking to the head of Moose Jaw Warriors F Andrew Johnson. The Warriors say Johnson isn’t concussed, but he isn’t expected to play tonight in Swift Current against the Broncos.
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Luke Siemens will be back in goal for the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight when they go up against the host Swift Current Broncos. Siemens, who is 22-9-4, 2.59, .909, wasn’t dressed for two games and spent the Warriors’ last game on the bench as Spencer Tremblay went the distance three times. When Siemens sat out the first game, head coach Mike Stothers told Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald that Siemens needed to re-focus. On Monday, Stothers told Gourlie: “The re-focusing seems to have worked.” . . . Gourlie also reports that Moose Jaw F Andrew Johnson is out after taking a check to the head from Regina Pats F Dryden Hunt on Saturday. . . . Warriors D Dylan McIlrath, with six games left in an eight-game suspension, is in New York with the Rangers for a few days. They took him 10th overall in the NHL’s 2010 draft.
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The Saskatoon Blades have returned G Alex Moodie, 16, to the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild. With G Andrey Makarov (concussion) due to return this week, the Blades were able to complete the move they started early in January. But Makarov suffered a concussion on Jan. 7, so Moodie was kept on the roster. During his stay with the Blades, Moodie, who joined them on Dec. 27, won nine of 12 starts, going 9-3-0, 3.42, .895. . . . The Blades are expected to have Makarov in goal on Friday when they meet the Warriors in Moose Jaw.
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The WHL career of Prince Albert Raiders F Kellan Tochkin, 20, would appear to be over. The Raiders revealed Monday that Tochkin has a broken wrist that will keep him sidelined for up to five months. He is scheduled to see a specialist in Vancouver and is likely to have surgery next week. . . . The Raiders acquired Tochkin, who is from Abbotsford, B.C., from the Medicine Hat Tigers earlier this season. He had 29 points in 29 games with the Raiders, and also was a plus-7. He is under contract to the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. . . . Tochkin began his WHL career with the Everett Silvertips. . . . In 256 regular-season games, he put up 243 points, including 91 goals.
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JUST NOTES: The Portland Winterhawks are at home to the Everett Silvertipts tonight. Portland will be looking to extend its franchise-record home-ice winning streak to 18 games. The WHL record belongs to the 1993-94 Kamloops Blazers (29). . . . The Winterhawks haven’t had a skater finish in the top five in the scoring race since F Josef Balej, who was fifth with 92 points in 2001-02. They haven’t had a play win the scoring race since F Todd Robinson did it with 134 points in 1996-97. F Ty Rattie leads the WHL in goals (42) and is tied with Regina Pats F Jordan Weal in points (81) at the moment. . . .
F Brett Boehm, a Calgary Hitmen list player, has made an oral commitment to the U of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. Boehm has 70 points in 33 games with the Saskatchewan midget AAA league’s Beardy’s Blackhawks. Boehm expects to play next season with the SJHL’s Flin Flon Bombers. . . . Boehm’s father, Brad, played in the WHL with the Prince Albert Raiders and Moose Jaw Warriors (1988-90). . . .
The AHL’s Connecticut Whale has signed F Randy McNaught. McNaught, 21, is from Nanaimo, B.C. He joins the Whale after starting the season with the U of Calgary Dinos. He had 24 penalty minutes but no points in 12 games. Last season, an ankle injury limited him to eight games with the Vancouver Giants, who had acquired him from the Saskatoon Blades. He also played for the Chilliwack Bruins. In 154 regular-season WHL games, he had 27 points and 321 penalty minutes. . . . McNaught was a seventh-round selection by the New York Rangers in the NHL’s 2010 draft.
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David La Vaque of the Minneapolis Star Tribune takes a look at the options facing high school players in Minnesota as they decide between the major junior and NCAA routes. That story is right here.


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BRIAN SANDY

Brian Sandy is leaving the Tri-City Americans for Portland . . . for the NBA’s Trail Blazers, that is.
Sandy, the Americans’ chief marketing officer and senior vice-president of business operations, is to become the Trail Blazers’ senior director of premium seating sales and service. With the NBA season to open on Christmas Day, Sandy is to start in his new position on Thursday.
Sandy was one of Top Shelf Entertainment’s first hires after taking ownership of the Americans in June 2005 and he played no small role in helping turn around the franchise off the ice. By averaging more than 4,700 fans per game last season, the team once again posted an increase in attendance, as it did in each of his seasons in Tri-City.
According to an Americans’ news release, “Season-ticket sales topped the 2,600 mark for the first time since the club was relocated to the Mid-Columbia.  And, within the community, Sandy and the club have helped raise over $1.5 million for local charities through integrated fundraising nights and promotions.”
The Americans close out their preseason schedule this weekend with a home-and-home series with the Seattle Thunderbirds. They’ll play Friday in Kennewick, Wash., and finish up Saturday in Kent, Wash.
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D Brandon Underwood of the Regina Pats has a hairline crack in his left ankle and is expected to be out of action for a month. “If there’s any time to get hurt it’s around the Christmas break when you get an extra week without missing any time,” Underwood, 19, told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post. . . . Underwood was injured when he blocked a shot in a 2-0 victory over the Wheat Kings in Brandon on Dec. 4. . . . Underwood, who had 13 points and 44 penalty minutes in 29 games, has missed four games. He will wear a protective boot for up to four weeks. . . . The Pats have filled the roster spot by bringing in D Tyler Borstmayer from the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings.
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F Dominik Uher of the Spokane Chiefs will play for the Czech Republic at the World Junior Championship that opens Dec. 26 in Calgary and Edmonton. Uher, 19, has 21 points in 24 games with the Chiefs. He was taken by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fifth round of the 2011 NHL draft. He will leave the Chiefs on Saturday and will miss Spokane’s final pre-Christmas game. The Chiefs are scheduled to play host to the Portland Winterhawks on Saturday and then take off for nine days. . . . First, though, Spokane will go home-and-home with the Everett Silvertips. They’ll play tonight in Spokane and Friday in Everett. . . .
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For the second time in recent games, the Everett Silvertips have had a player escape a suspension despite taking a major penalty and game misconduct. First, F Josh Birkholz wasn’t suspended after taking a check-to-the-head major and game misconduct in a game against the host Kamloops Blazers. Now, Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that F Cody Fowlie, who was tossed with a major and game misconduct for a hit on D Michal Plutnar of the visiting Tri-City Americans on Saturday, won’t be suspended. . . . “I talked to Tips coach Mark Ferner about the hit after practice (Tuesday),” Patterson writes, “and he said after watching the video he wasn't sure it even warranted a penalty. Apparently the reason why Plutnar was injured is because the visor of his helmet came down and cut him across the bridge of the nose after Fowlie rubbed him out into the boards.” . . . Patterson reports that F Vladimir Dolnik will play against Spokane tonight and then leave for Slovakia’s pre-World Junior Championship camp. . . . F Jesse Mychan of the Silvertips completes a 10-game WHL suspension by sitting out tonight.
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If you’re not aware, the BCHL’s Penticton Vees are on quite a roll. The put up their 16th straight victory on Tuesday night when they beat the Centennials 4-1 in Merritt. . . . The Vees are 28-3-2 (that would be two ties) and hold an 18-point lead over Merritt in the eight-team Interior Conference. . . . Penticton’s next game is Friday when they play host to the Westside Warriors.
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TUESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Cranbrook, the Red Deer Rebels ended their franchise-record 13-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Rebels last won on Nov. 12 when they beat the Royals 7-4 in Victoria. . . . They had been 0-11-2 since then. . . . F Colten Mayor scored twice for Red Deer, while F Chad Robinson had three assists. . . . G Deven Dubyk, in his first game with the Rebels, stopped 31 shots. . . . Red Deer D Mathew Dumba and Kootenay F Max Reinhart both played after being released by Canada’s national junior team earlier in the day. . . . “It’s nice to get that off our back and get rewarded for our effort,” Jesse Wallin, the Rebels’ general manager and head coach, told the Red Deer Advocate. “This is a tough building to come into, always a tough building to play in. And coming in here against a very good hockey team with a full lineup was a little bit intimidating from the outset. But we really dug in and got a solid effort and played a very, very good hockey game tonight.” . . .

In Prince Albert, F Kellan Tochkin scored twice as the Raiders beat the Kamloops Blazers 5-2 . . . . The Raiders have won four in a row at home. . . . Raiders F Mike Winther, the WHL’s reigning player of the week, had a goal and two assists. . . . G Cole Holowenko stopped 29 shots for the Raiders in winning his second straight start. He blanked the Rebels 5-0 in Red Deer on Sunday. . . . Kamloops is 1-2-0 on its East Division tour. . . .

In Brandon, F Darian Dziurzynski had two goals and an assist to help the Wheat Kings to a 5-3 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . The Wheat Kings won their 20th game, improving to 20-13-2. . . . Swiss freshman F Alessio Bertaggia notched his 17th goal for Brandon before leaving with an undisclosed upper-body injury. Health permitting, Bertaggia is to join the Swiss national junior team in Calgary on Saturday. . . . Dziurzynski now has 21 goals. . . . Brandon G Brandon Anderson stopped 37 shots, two more than Kelowna’s Adam Brown. . . . The Rockets are 0-2-1 on their East Division swing. . . . With G Corbin Boes out with a broken hand, the Wheat Kings had Justin Holder from the midget AAA Wheat Kings on the bench backing up Anderson. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun reports that the Rockets are hurting. “Already without six regulars including RW Brett Bulmer (Canadian junior camp), C Cody Chikie (upper body), C/RW Spencer Main (upper body) and D Myles Bell (lower body), the Rockets lost D Damon Severson and LW Tyrell Goulbourne to injuries during last night’s game.” . . .

In Kent, Wash., G Calvin Pickard stopped 37 shots as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Vancouver Giants, 3-0. . . . What’s that? You thought Pickard was in camp with Canada’s national junior team? Maybe this was his answer to Don Hay, the Vancouver head coach who also is Canada’s head coach. . . . It was Pickard’s second shutout of the season and the ninth of his career. . . . Pickard is 13-12-1, 3.31, .915. . . . Interstingly, each of Seattle ‘s scorers — F Branden Troock, Justin Hickman and Luke Lockhart — has six goals this season. . . . Troock scored the game’s first goal at 15:27 of the third period. . . . The Giants have been blanked twice this season.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Antoine Corbin, Prince Albert.
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For today’s good read we turn to old friend Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail. He writes today about, yes, the puck. Seriously! And he does it as only he can. That piece is right here.
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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Shayne Toporowski (Prince Albert, 1991-95) signed a tryout contract with Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had 16 goals and 17 assists in 58 games for Tappara Tampere (Finland, SM-Liiga) last season. . . .
F Pat Iannone (Kootenay, Try-City, Regina, 1999-2003) signed a one-year contract with Pontebba (Italy, Serie A). He had 11 goals and 26 assists in 38 games for Valpellice (Italy, Serie A) last season.
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It is quite possible that Alberta fans will never get to watch Everett Silvertips D Ryan Murray in the comfort of their favourite team’s arena. The Silvertips open an Alberta swing against the Edmonton Oil Kings on Wednesday, but Murray didn’t make the trip. He’s at home nursing a sprained ankle that could keep him sidelined for up to five weeks.
As Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports:
“This isn't the first time Murray has had to stay behind while his teammates headed to Alberta. Two years ago, Murray suffered a broken thumb just before the team departed to visit the Central Division, home of all five of the WHL's Alberta-based teams. He was left behind then, too. Given that Everett only goes to Alberta every other year, it seems unlikely the 18-year-old Murray will ever play a WHL game in Alberta as a Silvertip.”
Murray is projected as an early first-round selection in the NHL’s 2012 draft and might very well be playing in The Show a year from now.
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The Portland Winterhawks have been without F Sven Bartschi for the start of their monster 17-day, nine-game road trip. After the team bus arrived in Edmonton, he hopped a plane and flew back to Portland to get what is believed to be a hip injury examined. He already has missed the trek’s first two games and won’t play tonight against the Hitmen in Calgary. But he was to rejoin the Winterhawks on Monday night and it could be that the Flames’ medical staff will take a look at him, too. The Flames selected him in the first round, 13th overall, of the 2011 NHL draft and he sparkled in their training camp. Bartschi, 18, is a Swiss sophomore. . . .
The Vancouver Giants have added free-agent F Taylor Makin, 19, to their roster. Makin, from Blairmore, Alta., played one game with the Cougars this season before being released. He had 14 points and 43 penalty minutes in 48 games with the Cougars last season, and 17 points and 82 Pms in 70 games in 2009-10. . . . The Giants are at home to the Cougars tonight; the teams play a weekend doubleheade in Prince George. . . . Vancouver D Neil Manning (back), who hasn’t played since late September, may get back into the lineup on Friday in Prince George. . . .
The Medicine Hat Tigers have dealt F Kellan Tochkin, 20, to the Prince Albert Raiders for D James Bettauer, 20, and a sixth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft. . . . Tochkin, who has signed with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, had eight assists in 10 games with the Tigers this season, and had just returned to their lineup after suffering a concussion on Oct.10. He has 214 points in 227 regular-season games, most of that with the Everett Silvertips, who dealt him to Medicine Hat last season. . . . Bettauer had nine points, including five goals, in 15 games with the Raiders this season. He has 39 points in 153 career games. . . .
The Swift Current Broncos have assigned D Bobby Zinkan, 16, to the midget AAA Calgary Northstars. A fourth-round pick by the Broncos in the 2010 bantam draft, the Calgary native had gotten into just one game with the Broncos. . . .
 F Brendan Gallagher of the Vancouver Giants is the WHL’s player of the week. He had seven points, three of them goals, in three games last week. . . . Eric Comrie of the Tri-City Americans is the WHL’s goaltender of the week. Comrie, 16, put up back-to-back 1-0 shutouts as the Americans swept the Cougars in Prince George on the weekend. . . .
Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald fills us in on the Warriors’ injury situation. . . . The Warriors are at home to the Prince Albert Raiders on Wednesday night. . . . D Dylan McIlrath didn’t practice Monday. He took an elbow to the head in a Saturday game, but head coach Mike Stothers told Gourlie that McIlrath was having a “maintenance day” and that he also had a touch of the flu. . . . D Kendall McFaull (lower body) didn’t finish Monday’s practice. He has missed two games. . . . D Joel Edmundson (ankle) may play Wednesday for the first time this season. He was injured in camp with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. . . . F Quinton Howden (concussion) is day-to-day, while F Sebastian Svendsen (knee) remains sidelined.
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An interesting note in the weekly blog from Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman:
“Anaheim/Phoenix played Sunday night with only one referee, as Steve Kozari's eyes swelled up due to an allergic reaction. (Ugh, sounds gross. Get well, Steve.) As a result, Brad Watson did the game alone. Apparently, the players loved it.”
Friedman’s complete blog entry is right here.

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

Saturday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Kyle Bruce (Kamloops, Prince Albert, Vancouver, 1999-2004) signed a one-year contract extension with the Braehead Clan (UK Elite). He had 14 goals and 24 assists in 43 games with the Glasgow-based Clan this season. . . .
G Norm Maracle (Saskatoon, 1991-94) signed a one-year contract extension with Starbulls Rosenheim (Germany 2.Bundesliga). He posted a 2.51 GAA in 41 games this season. . . .
F Tyler Spurgeon (Kelowna, 2001-06) signed a one-year contract extension with Klagenfurt (Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had 11 goals and 10 assists in 34 games this season.
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The Eastern Conference finalists have been decided. The Kootenay Ice, having swept the top-seeded Saskatoon Blades, will be in Medicine Hat on Friday to open against the Tigers, who ousted the No. 2 Red Deer Rebels on Saturday night. . . . The Tigers finished third in the conference, while the Ice was fourth. . . . Meanwhile, the two Western Conference series resume tonight. The Portland Winterhawks taking a 3-2 lead into Kelowna to face the Rockets. And, in Kennewick, Wash., the Spokane Chiefs and host Tri-City Americans clash in a series that is 2-2.
In Kelowna, the Rockets will be without D Colton Jobke, who will serve a one-game WHL suspension. That’s for a boarding major he incurred in Game 5 for a hit on Portland F Brad Ross.
The Rockets have added D Madison Bowey, a 15-year-old from Winnipeg, to fill the vacated roster spot. A second-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft, Bowey had one assist in three regular-season games with the Rockets.
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On Saturday night in Red Deer, F Kellan Tochkin’s goal at 9:32 of overtime gave the Medicine Hat Tigers a 5-4 victory over the Rebels. . . . The Tigers won the second-round series 4-1 and now will meet the Kootenay Ice in the Eastern Conference final. That series opens with games in Medicine Hat on Friday and Saturday nights. . . . Red Deer, the conference’s second seed, led this one 4-1 after F John Persson scored on the PP at 2:21 of the third period. . . . F Boston Leier (2:44) and F Linden Vey (9:41) scored to get the Tigers close and F F Emerson Etem tied it at 15:46. . . . Vey and Etem each had a goal and two assists. . . . F Cole Grbavac scored his ninth goal of the playoffs for Medicine Hat. He has 16 points in 11 games, after finishing the regular season with 28 points, including 13 goals, in 67 games. . . . The Rebels went into the game having scored just three goals in the first four games. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 41 shots, while Dawson Guhle turned aside 28 for the Rebels. . . . Red Deer lost started Darcy Kuemper to a high ankle sprain in Game 3. . . . Attendance was 6,225.
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
One minor:
Medicine Hat F Wacey Hamilton.
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The Kamloops Blazers have signed G Cole Cheveldave, a list player from the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons. Cheveldave, who turns 18 on June 8, had a 2.90 GAA nad a .917 save percentage, and was honoured as the AJHL’s rookie of the yer. . . . The Victoria Salmon Kings erased a 1-0 deficit with three second-period goals and went on to beat the host Utah Grizzlies 4-2 last night. The Salmon Kings lead the ECHL second-round series 2-0 as the series heads for Victoria and games Wednesday, Friday and, if necessary, Saturday. F Kiel McLeod, a former captain of the Kelowna Rockets, scored Victoria’s third goal, while Tommy Maxwell, who played for the Medicine Hat Tigers, got the fourth one. . . . The AHL’s Providence Bruins will have a new head coach next season as Rob Murray has been told he won’t be back for a fourth season. . . . The ECHL’s Elmira Jackals also are looking for a head coach. GM Robbie Nichols, who took over behind the bench from Malcolm Cameron in February, is moving aside. He’ll stay on as GM but won’t coach.
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A note from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: “Rookie Jared Spurgeon, a revelation on the (Minnesota) Wild blue-line because of his IQ on the ice, only had one penalty in his 53 games. He’s one of only three defencemen (Bill Quackenbush and Tomas Kaberle are the others) in history who’ve played at least 50 games in a season to do that. How do you not get, say, six hooking penalties in a season?” . . . Spurgeon is a product of the Spokane Chiefs.
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Doug McConachie, a friend and a former sports editor of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, is dying. The pancreatic cancer isn’t going to let go and he knows it. Cam Hutchinson of the StarPhoenix, a longtime friend and co-worker, captures McConachie's personality, including that infectious laugh, in today’s good read and it’s right here.

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

Monday's stuff . . .

Defenceman Rasmus Rissanen of the Everett Silvertips has signed
a three-year deal with the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes.
(Photo by Gregg Forwerck/Carolina Hurricanes)

THE CHILLIWACK-TO-VICTORIA SAGA:Things just get stranger and stranger . . .
It was just last week when Moray Keith, who along with Jim Bond owns 25 per cent of the Chilliwack Bruins, confirmed what everyone thought they knew when he told Jim Mullin of Vancouver radio station CKNW that the Bruins are in the process of being sold to Victoria interests.
Then, on Monday, in a letter through his lawyers, Brian Burke, who owns 25 per cent of the Bruins, informed Mullin that “Graham Lee has been promised a WHL franchise in that city.”
Graham Lee, if you aren’t aware, operates RG Properties, which holds a 30-year contract to manage Save-On Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria. And the City of Victoria has said it will extend that deal by 10 years if RG Properties is able to attract a WHL franchise.
Burke’s letter also stated that it was “. . . the WHL’s and Mr. Lee’s desire to have an established team in Victoria rather than an expansion team. This will not leave Chilliwack without a WHL team. The WHL is in the process of negotiating the movement of another WHL team to Chilliwack.”
Shortly after those two notes from Burke, who runs the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs these days, hit the Internet, I was informed by a source that “league members have been threatened with huge fines if they comment on the Chilliwack situation.”
So just when you might be thinking that clarification is needed and might even be on its way, what with the Bruins’ season having ended Saturday night in Spokane, the WHL gags everyone.
And then Tyler Olsen, a writer who is working hard to cover this situation for the Chilliwack Times, tweeted this late Monday afternoon: “#WHL league head office says my repeated pleas for an interview have been ‘unprofessional.’ News flash: that's my profession. #irony.”
Which would seem to indicate that the WHL again has adopted the strategy of trying to shoot the messenger. Again.
In another development, the Chilliwack Times rounded up a number of comments from former Bruins players -- off the Keep the Bruins in Chilliwack Facebook page -- on the situation. That piece is right here.
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Meanwhile, Bruins fans have scheduled a rally for Wednesday, 7 p.m., at the front entrance to Prospera Centre.
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And one Bruins fan sent me this email:
“This whole fiasco is a huge mess. It's embarassing for the league as well
as (Darryl) Porter, Burke and (Glen) Sather (each of whom owns 25 per cent of the Bruins). They are not showing any integrity or clarity here, all the fans have gotten is from the media. . . .
“This is not fair to the fans of the Chilliwack Bruins or any other team that is on the bubble that you have named. We're under Year 2 of the Marc Habscheid era and showing signs of turning it around, much better drafting than years past, better trades and it gets yanked from us because RG Properties wanted an established team over an expansion team. We sat
through the expansion, Edmonton sat through the expansion, what makes Victoria so different? And like you said, who knows if Victoria will be a success.
"This stinks."
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MEANWHILE WE MOVE ON TO OTHER THINGS . . .
As you will be aware by now, Mandi Schwartz lost her battle with leukemia on Sunday. Mike G. Morreale of nhl.com has taken a look at Mandi and the legacy she has left. That is right here.
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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Matt Ellison (Red Deer, 2002-03) signed a two-year contract extension with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Russia KHL). He had 21 goals and 29 assists in 53 games this season for Torpedo.
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In the spring of 2001, Spokane swept the Kamloops Blazers from a first-round series in which Chiefs D Kurt Sauer was as dominant as a defenceman can be. He was tough and physical and absolutely ruled the ice surface through all four games. These days, he’s playing the role of Mr. Mom. Why? Because of concussion-like symptoms. He hasn’t been on the ice since September 2009. Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic has that story right here.
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D Rasmus Rissanen of the Everett Silvertips has signed a three-year deal with with the Carolina Hurricanes, who selected him in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL draft. Rissanen, 19, has put up 27 points and 192 penalty minutes in 139 games with Everett. He also played for Finland at the 2011 World Junior Championship in Buffalo. He has joined the Hurricane’s AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. . . . Former Everett G Leland Irving earned his second straight 1-0 AHL shutout Monday, as the host Abbotsford Heat got past the Hamilton Bulldogs. That was his seventh blank job this season. F Justin Dowling, who played for the Swift Current Broncos this season, drew the second assist on the winner as he ran his point streak to three games. . . . F Shane McColgan is the WHL’s player of the week. He had five points in two games. . . . Drew Owsley of the Tri-City Americans is the WHL’s nominee as the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He was 2-0, 0.50, .975.
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MONDAY’S PLAYOFF GAME:
In Winnipeg, F Kellan Tochkin and F Emerson had two goals each as the Medicine Hat Tigers beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 7-5 to win that first-round series, 4-2. . . . That was the last first-round series to be completed. The four tops seeds in each conference have advanced to the second round. . . . The Wheat Kings were playing their home games at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg because the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair has been in the rink in Brandon. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey had three assists. Vey, who led the regular season in scoring, now tops the playoff point derby, with 12 points. That’s two ahead of F Nino Niederreiter of the Portland Winterhawks and F Brayden Schenn of the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Medicine Hat F Cole Grbavac scored once, giving him nine points, including four goals, in the series. . . . Tochkin’s goals were his first of the series. . . . F Mike Ferland had three goals for Brandon, which took a 2-1 lead into Game 4 in which it wasn’t able to hold a couple of three-goal leads. The Tigers won the last three games. . . . The Tigers continued to be without G Tyler Bunz (concussion) and F Tyler Pitlick (ankle), while the Wheat Kings scratched F Brenden Walker (concussion) and G Liam Liston (concussion) . . . Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun covered the game. His story is right here. . . . Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free Press also was there, and his game story is right here.
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MONDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
One minor:
Medicine Hat F Wacey Hamilton.
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Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun wrote an interesting item out of that series between the Wheat Kigns and Medicine Hat Tigers:
“You may have noticed that the Brandon Wheat Kings had no backup goalie listed for Game 4 in Winnipeg, when Liam Liston was unable to play due to a concussion.
“Indeed the Wheat  Kings did have another puckstopper on the bench, but did not list him on the official gamesheet.
“It’s an uncommon — but not unheard of — occurrence, done to protect the identity of emergency goaltenders whose NCAA eligibility could be forfeited by appearing in a WHL game, and it’s something that the league office condones.
“It’s also a policy that seems a little disingenuous coming from a league that has levied heavy sanctions in the past against teams that have used players under assumed names to protect their NCAA eligibility and earlier this season came down on the Portland Winterhawks for letting an ineligible Swiss player take part in a training-camp scrimmage.
“Setting aside the NCAA rulebook for a moment (and frankly, disqualifying a player who happened to be one of the few capable of safely filling in on the bench at a hard-to-come-by position during extenuating circumstances is despicable in itself), hiding a player’s involvement is unbecoming of a league that strives to conduct its business in a professional manner. And withholding a name doesn’t change the fact that the player was there and could face repercussions if discovered.
“I’d be curious to know how others feel who have had their own NCAA eligibility burned after appearing on the gamesheet for a single WHL contest.
“I’m sure they would have appreciated the cover of the WHL’s version of the Witness Protection Program.”

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

The Vancouver Giants, wearing black Kamloops Blazers training
camp jerseys, and the Blazers, wearing their whites, prepare to start the
third period on Saturday night. The Giants' jerseys didn't get on the
bus to Kamloops for Saturday's game.

A post-game scoring change on Friday night ended F Spencer Bennett’s scoring streak at nine games. Originally, he was credited with an assist on the game’s first goal in the Vancouver Giants’ 3-0 victory over the Prince George Cougars. However, after the game, he lost that assist and the point streak went with it. . . . The winning goal, originally credited to D Darren Bestland, now belongs to F Brendan Rowinski. . . . Bennett may have started a new streak Saturday when he had a goal and two assists in a 6-1 victory over the Blazers in Kamloops.
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JUST NOTES: F Bretton Cameron, who completed his WHL career with the Medicine Hat Tigers last season, has moved from the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder to the AHL’s Connecticut Whale on a PTO (pro tryout agreement). Cameron, who is into the AHL for the first time, had a team-high 13 goals with Stockton. He has 23 points in 29 games. . . .
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SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Portland, F Craig Cunningham scored twice to help the Winterhawks to a 5-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds in an afternoon game that drew 7,395 fans. . . . Cunningham has 16 goals, including six in 11 games with Portland. He was acquired from the Vancouver Giants on Dec. 29 and has 12 points in 11 games with the Winterhawks. . . . The Winterhawks, who are at home to the hard-charging Spokane Chiefs tonight at 5, have won four in a row. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie had a goal and two assists, and was plus-3. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 44 shots. . . . Portland G Keith Hamilton turned aside 33 shots. He lost his shutout at 16:33 of the third period when F Marcel Noebels scored a shorthanded goal. Noebels, from Germany, has 17 goals. . . . Portland visits the Thunderbirds on Saturday for Seattle’s annual Fred Meyer Teddy Bear Toss. . . .
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In Regina, F Cam Braes scored the game’s last two goals, the last one in overtime, to give the Lethbridge Hurricanes a 3-2 victory over the Pats. . . . D Brandon Davidson’s sixth goal at 15:25 of the second period gave Regina a 2-1 lead. . . . Braes tied it at 16:18 of the second and won it at 4:15 of OT on the PP. . . . He has 24 goals. . . . D Landon Oslanski had a goal and two assists for Lethbridge. . . . The Hurricanes were 2-for-4 on the PP. . . . Attendance was 3,909. . . .
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In Saskatoon, F Chris Collins and F Marek Viedensky each had two goals as the Blades beat the Calgary Hitmen, 5-1. . . . F Brayden Schenn, who is from Saskatoon, had one assist in his debut with the Blades. He was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Jan. 10 but a shoulder injury had kept him on the sideline. . . . Schenn drew an assist on F Jake Trask’s 11th goal of the season at 15:15 of the second period. That gave the Blades a 3-1 lead. . . . F Brooks Macek gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 12:16 of the first period. . . . F Josh Nicholls earned three assists for the Blades. . . . Viedensky, Nicholls and Collins each finished plus-3. . . . Viedensky, with 21 goals, is the fourth Blades skater with more than 20 snipes. . . . Collins has 12 goals. . . . Saskatoon G Steven Stanford stopped 27 shots to run his record to 22-3-0. . . . Attendance was 7,646. . . .
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In Brandon, F Shayne Wiebe had two goals and an assist to lead the Wheat Kings to a 6-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . F Mark Stone added a goal and two assists for Brandon, which got two assists from each of D Ryan Pulock and F Matt MacKay. . . . MacKay has six points over his last two games. . . . F Trevor Cameron pulled the Broncos into a 1-1 tie at 12:43 of the first but the Wheat Kings then scored five straight goals. . . . Wiebe has 24 goals. . . . Brandon F Scott Glennie notched his 20th score of the season. . . . Brandon was 4-for-7 on the PP; the Broncos were 1-for-2. . . . The Wheat Kings now are three points out of the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. . . . Attendance was 4,430. . . .
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In Edmonton, F Kellan Tochkin’s shootout goal gave the Medicine Hat Tigers a 5-4 victory over Oil Kings in a wild one. . . . The Oil Kings watched a 3-0 first-period lead disappear but came back to hold a late 5-4 edge. . . . Edmonton F Dylan Wruck — they’re calling him the Wrucking Ball — broke a 4-4 tie with his 26th goal of the season at 16:01 of the third period. . . . Tochkin got the Tigers back into a tie, at 5-5, at 18:16. . . . F Cole Grbavac had pulled the Tigers into a 4-4 tie with his ninth goal at 1:32 of the third. . . . F Mark Reners scored twice for Edmonton. Reners opened this season with Lethbridge, putting up 11 points in 20 games. He was dealt to Vancouver and had three points in 11 games with the Giants. With Edmonton, he has seven points, including four goals, in seven games. . . . The Tigers actually won the 10-player shootout, 3-2. They got goals from F Hunter Shinkaruk, F Tyler Pitlick and Tochkin, with F Kristians Pelss and F Jordan Hickmott scoring for the Oil Kings. . . . Medicine Hat F Linden Vey had a goal, his 31st and two assists. He leads the WHL with 79 points, three more than Spokane F Tyler Johnson. . . . Attendance was 5,884. . . .
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In Red Deer, G Darcy Kuemper record his CHL-leading ninth shutout of the season as the Rebels beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 3-0. . . . The Rebels, who have won seven straight, now have put up three straight blank jobs. . . . Kuemper stopped 35 shots in earning his 15th career shutouts. . . . Kuemper has blanked the Warriors three times this season and those are the only times Moose Jaw has been shut out. . . . Attendance was 5,993. . . . F Andrej Kudrna’s 19th goal at 14:18 of the second period stood up as the winner. . . . F Byron Froese scored his 22nd goal in to an empty net and also had an assist. . . . Kudrna drew an assist on Froese’s goal. . . .
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In Kamloops, F Andrej Stastny scored his first three WHL goals and set up another as the Vancouver Giants dumped the Blazers, 6-1. . . . Stastny was selected by the Saskatoon Blades in the CHL’s 2010 import draft, but they weren’t able to land him. After the Blades dropped him from their list, the Giants claimed him. He played for Slovakia at the 2011 World Junior Championship in Buffalo and joined the Giants after the tournament. . . . Statsny, who finished plus-4, now has seven points in eight games with Vancouver. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 20 shots in winning his eighth straight decision. He is 17-8-4. . . . The teams were tied 1-1 after one but Vancouver took a 2-1 lead in the second on Stastny’s first goal and outshot the hosts, 22-7. . . . The Giants scored four third-period goals, including F Brendan Gallagher’s shorthanded tally. He has 29 goals this season. . . . The Giants wore the Blazers’ training camp black jerseys after their road whites somehow missed the bus to Kamloops. . . . Attendance was 4,223. . . . Kamloops scratched D Josh Caron. He had played seven games since sitting out 41 with a broken collabone. But he reinjured the collarbone on Friday and, while X-rays were negative, will be further checked out before returning to the lineup again. . . .
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In Spokane, the Kelowna Rockets scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Chiefs, 5-3. . . . Spokane, which had won four straight, last lost in regulation at home on Oct. 23, going 14-0-2 since that 4-2 loss to the Red Deer Rebels. . . . F Mitch Holmberg’s 10^th goal, 18 seconds into the second period, gave the Chiefs a 3-1 lead. . . . F Colton Heffley’s second goal of the season, at 5:03, got the Rockets to within one and F Shane McColgan’s 17^th tied it at 18:40. . . . F Brett Bulmer’s second of the game and 17^th of the season broke the tie at 16:28. . . . Kelowna F Geordie Wudrick got his 25^th into an empty net. . . . Kelowna F Zach Franko had two assists, running his points streak to 10 games. He has 13 points over that stretch. . . . F Tyler Johnson scored his WHL-leading 36^th goal and ran his points streak to 13 games. . . . Spokane F Levko Koper got his fourth shorthanded goal of the season. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 35 shots, 23 more than Spokane’s Mac Engel. . . . Attendance was 6,834. . . .
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Adam Hughesman scored three times to help the host Tri-City Americans to a 7-4 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . The teams combined for six goals in the first period and five in the second, then played a scoreless third. . . . Hughesman has 31 goals this season. He scored 17, 16 and 18 goals each of the last three seasons. . . . Tri-City F Brendan Shinnimin had a goal, his 21^st, and three assists, while F Carter Ashton got his 20^th and drew three assists. . . . D Rasmus Rissanen had three assists for Everett, while F Parker Stanfield had two goals and an assist. . . . Attendance was 5,181. . . . The Americans, who are 6-0-1 in their last seven games, have won 13 straight home games, one shy of the franchise record. The Ams can tie that mark today when they meet the Kelowna Rockets, who have won three in a row and five of six. But the Rockets haven’t won in their last nine visits to Kennewick.
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In Chilliwack, F Nick Buonassisi’s shootout goal gave the Prince George Cougars a 4-3 victory over the Bruins. . . . D Sena Acolatse also scored for the Cougars in the shootout, while F Kevin Sundher counted for the Bruins. The shootout ended in the fifth round. . . . Chilliwack F Robin Soudek tied the game 3-3 with his 12^th goal, on the PP, at 5:39 of the third period. . . . Attendance was 4,123. . . . The Bruins were 2-for-6 on the PP; the Cougars were 0-for-4. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 34 shots, two more than Prince George’s James Priestner. . . . F Taylor Stefishen scored twice for the Cougars, the first one shorthanded. He has 14 goals. . . . F Ryan Howse scored a goal, his 32^nd, and added a helper for the Bruins.

The Medicine Hat Tigers were on their way to a 5-2 victory over the host Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday night when the visitors were awarded what would be their only full power play of the game.
Head coach Shaun Clouston responded by sending out five forwards. A member of the Tigers’ entourage said it was the first time the team had done that this season.
The move involved having Linden Vey, Wacey Hamilton, Tyler Pitlick and Emerson Etem on the ice, along with newcomer Kellan Tochkin, who had just arrived via trade from the Everett Silvertips.
Those forwards, all with great skill and good speed, basically moved the puck around the outside, looking for the long pass to set up a one-timer, with the odd foray in the direction of Kamloops goaltender Jeff Bosch.
The Tigers didn’t score, but it was an intriguing couple of minutes and it will be interesting to see how often Clouston goes with that PP alignment.
Of course, it is the acquisition of Tochkin that allows Clouston to do that. Tochkin is a highly skilled player who should fit right in -- he played his first game with the Tigers on a line with Vey and Etem, two of the WHL’s premier performers.
The Tigers acquired Tochkin, 19, and defenceman Alex Theriau, 18, from Everett for forward Ryan Harrison, 18, and a 2011 second-round bantam pick.
Tochkin has signed an NHL contract, as a free agent, with the Vancouver Canucks. Theriau, who was taken sixth overall by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the 2007 bantam draft, was selected by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round of the NHL’s 2010 draft. Theriau (ankle) won’t play for a couple of weeks.
Brad McEwan, now the Tigers’ general manager, was running the Lethbridge draft table when the Hurricanes selected Theriau.
“We believe he has a lot of upside,” Clouston said earlier this week. “This is a bit of an off season for him, but last season was pretty good for him.”
Clouston is excited with the new additions because, as he put it, “One is signed and one is drafted.”
“You always want guys excited about the future,” he added, “and pushing and working and trying to get better every day. We’ve added two guys who can help us right now.”
As for how the deal went down, Clouston explained: “Both sides were interested in the other guys. Everett was definitely interested in a (1992-born) forward. With Harrison leaving, getting Tochkin in to fill that position for right now made a lot of sense. I think the deal made sense for both sides.”
Theriau is only the second 1992-born defenceman on the Tigers’ roster. The other is Scott McKay, who spent most of Wednesday’s game on a forward line.
“Yes,” Clouston said, “looking to next season on the back end, we’ve definitely got some room with the ’92 defencemen. It helps us in that area next season.”
As for this season, the Tigers would appear poised to make a run.
They’ve got two forward lines -- Vey between Etem and Tochkin, Hamilton with Pitlick and 16-year-old Hunter Shinkaruk -- that can score. They’ve got a beef line, in Dylan Bredo with Cole Grbavac and Kale Kessy. And the acquisition of Scott Ramsay from the Seattle Thunderbirds at the deadline will help them in their zone. He’s a solid 6-foot-4 defender with some sandpaper in his game, who will fit in well alongside the likes of 6-foot-4 Sebastian Owuya and 6-foot-3 Matthew Konan.
Yes, indeed, the Arena just may be rocking well into April or early May this spring.
---
The Prince George Cougars’ chances of finishing atop the B.C. Division, thus earning the second seed in the Western Conference, took a hit Wednesday when F Brett Connolly went down with a knee injury during a 5-2 loss to the Bruins in Chilliwack.
He has been diagnosed with a sprained right knee and is expected to be out from three to six weeks.
Connolly, recently returned from helping Team Canada to a silver medal at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo, was injured late in the first period when he went knee-to-knee with F Steve Oursov of the Bruins.
Oursov wasn’t penalized but has since been suspended by the WHL under its supplemental discipline rule. The length of the suspension has yet to be determined.
"He just came to hit (Connolly) and kind of stood in his path a little bit -- it ended up being knee-on-knee and (Oursov) didn't do a lot to get out of the way," Cougars head coach Dean Clark told Ted Clarke of the Prince George Citizen. "He tried to turn his body but left his knee there and there was no call on the play, which was really disappointing. The league has the video of it now. . . . Regardless of who's getting hit, we just can't go knee-on-knee, it's too dangerous. We want to take that right out of hockey, whether it's our level, minor hockey or the NHL."
Connolly, 18, was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning with the sixth overall pick of the 2010 NHL draft. Hip problems limited him to 16 games last season. This season, he has 40 points, including 25 goals.
The Cougars (21-18-3) were beaten 5-2 by the Bruins, who are in Prince George for games tonight and Saturday.
Prince George and the Vancouver Giants (20-18-5) are tied atop the B.C. Division, with the Kelowna Rockets (22-19-0) just one point back. The Kamloops Blazers (20-22-2) are three points off the pace, with the Bruins (19-18-3) in fifth, one point behind the Blazers.
The Cougars also lost F Charles Inglis on Wednesday. He took a high stick to the face, left for repairs and then finished the game. But he didn’t practise Thursday and may not play tonight. . . . Chilliwack D Brandon Manning (groin) took Wednesday’s pregame warmup but didn’t play. Manning, 20, isn’t expected to play this weekend.
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The Regina Pats will honour Mike Sillinger tonight. He is a Regina native who lived a dream by excelling for his hometown team for four seasons (1987-91). . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post talks with Sillinger right here.
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Craig Stancher of nhl.com takes a look at former Portland Winterhawks F Luke Walker, who now is with the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters, an affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche. That story is right here.
---
The 2012 World Junior Championship, which will be held in Calgary and Edmonton, already is sold out. But, boy, are there some unhappy people, none of whom are scalpers! There is a story right here from CBC News.

Your Tuesday morning feast . . .

One day after the Kootenay Ice sent five players and three bantam draft picks to the Swift Current Broncos for C Cody Eakin, 19, the Brandon Wheat Kings dealt C Brayden Schenn, 19, and a 2012 third-round bantam draft pick to the Saskatoon Blades for two prospects, three bantam draft picks and an import draft pick.
Schenn is a native of Saskatoon and the younger brother of Toronto Maple Leafs D Luke Schenn.
The Wheat Kings ended up with Saskatoon’s first-round bantam picks in 2011 and 2012, and a second-round selection in 2011, as well as a first-round selection in the CHL’s 2012 import draft.
As for the two prospects, F Tim McGauley of Wilcox, Sask., and D Ayrton Nikkel of Kelowna were the Blades’ top two selections in the 2010 bantam draft, one that is considered to be the deepest in recent history.
McGauley was taken by the Blades with the 20^th pick of the 2010 draft. They then grabbed Nikkel with the 42^nd selection.
McGauley plays for the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians, for whom he has 20 points, including seven goals, in 30 games. Last season, he had 103 points for the bantam Lumsden-Bethune Contacts.
Nikkel has 30 points, 10 of them goals, in 33 games with the midget AAA team at the Program of Excellence in Kelowna.
McGauley was pointless in five games with the Blades this season, while Nikkel played one game with them, without a point, on their B.C. Division swing. The Blades had Nikkel make his WHL debut on Dec. 4 in his hometown against the Rockets.
In a team-issued press release, Kelly McCrimmon, the Wheat Kings’ owner, GM and head coach, explained his thinking in making the deal:
“This trade is a very important trade for our franchise. We felt that it was important to recover from some of the moves we made to build our team for last season’s Memorial Cup. When we were awarded the Cup in October 2008, we felt then that it might be a three year process with today’s move being part of that process.
“Acquiring picks and prospects that include three first-round bantam draft selections, and two second-round picks, along with a first-round import draft choice was a return we could not afford to ignore.”
Schenn, who wore No. 10 in Brandon, will wear No. 21 with the Blades. Saskatoon has retired No. 10 in honour of Brian Skrudland.
Schenn starred for Team Canada at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo; in fact, he was selected as the tournament’s MVP. However, he returned with a shoulder injury and is listed as day-to-day.
Because he started this season with the Los Angeles Kings, who selected him fifth overall in the 2009 NHL draft, Schenn played only two games -- he had four points -- with Brandon before leaving for the Canadian junior team selection camp.
In 197 career regular-season games with Brandon, Schenn had 264 points, including 95 goals. He added 40 points in 33 playoff games.
Shortly after the trade was made official, Schenn posted on his Facebook page:
“Thanks Brandon. you will be missed, but I am looking forward to playing for the Blades.” He also left a YouTube link to Ozzy Osbourne’s Mama, I’m coming Home.
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One thing worth remembering is that the Blades are an original WHL team, having been in the league since 1966-67. Saskatoon, in fact, is the only franchise to have played in every WHL season.
And it has never won a Memorial Cup.
The Blades appeared in the 1989 tournament as the host team and lost the championship game in overtime to the Swift Current Broncos.
---
While doing an interview with Drew Wilson of radio station CKBI in Prince Albert on Monday, I was asked if there was a winner on deadline day.
I suggested that it would be Kootenay or Saskatoon, should one of those teams win the WHL championship. I also said that I really liked the acquisition of D Matt MacKenzie by the Tri-City Americans because he is a terrific player with Memorial Cup experience.
However, upon further review as they say in football, I have had a change of mind.
The winner on deadline day might well be D Tanner Sohn, a 19-year-old from Medicine Hat. He was traded by the Vancouver Giants to the Saskatoon Blades for a 10^th-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft.
Sohn was a 13^th-round selection by the Blades in 2006. He played one game with the Blades in 2007-08 and three more in 2008-09. He got into 29 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers last season, was dealt to Vancouver for a 2012 sixth-round pick and played 31 games with the Giants this season before being sent home last week to await a move.
Somewhere I seem to recall reading that Sohn was ninth on the Giants’ defensive depth chart at the time.
Now Sohn isn’t going to join the Blades on a full-time basis just yet. He is going to play with Saskatoon this weekend and then return to the AJHL’s Lloydminster Bobcats. But he could well end up with the Blades for at least part of their playoff run.
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Interestingly, the Sohn swap was the only trade made Monday that involved a B.C. Division team. And when was the last time that Bruce Hamilton, the president and GM of the Kelowna Rockets, didn’t make a move at the deadline? I’m told that Hamilton, at least at one point, was in the Schenn Sweepstakes but you have to think the price of poker was too high for him and Lorne Frey, the Rockets’ assistant GM and director of player personnel.
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It was a year ago when the Regina Pats were surrounded in speculation -- would they trade F Jordan Eberle or D Colten Teubert? Teubert had been selected by the Los Angeles Kings with the 13^th overall pick of the 2009 NHL draft; Eberle went to the Edmonton Oilers with that draft’s 22^nd pick.
In the end, Parker, who was the Pats’ general manager, hung on to both Eberle and Teubert.
Yesterday, I asked Parker if he had received any offers close to what Kootenay paid for Cody Eakin or what Saskatoon coughed up for Brayden Schenn.
Parker, now the Pats’ president, responded: “Not even close to it, and that was for both of our guys.”
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The Seattle Thunderbirds acquired D Ryan Button from the Prince Albert Raiders for F Charles Wells and a first-round selection in the 2011 import draft. I’m told that this deal also includes a conditional draft pick going to Prince Albert, presumably payable should Button return for his 20-year-old season.
Button, 19, is from Edmonton and was in his fourth season with the Raiders. This season, he has 23 points, including 20 assist, in 44 games. In his fourth WHL season, he has 101 points in 240 career regular-season games. He was a second-round pick by the Raiders in the 2006 bantam draft and a third-round selection by the Boston Bruins in the NHL’s 2009 draft.
Wells, who also is from Edmonton, has 27 points, 11 of them goals, in 41 games with Seattle this season. In 212 regular-season games, he has 104 points with Seattle. He was a fifth-round pick in the 2006 bantam draft.
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The Raiders then sent Danish F Sebastian Svendsen, 19, to the Moose Jaw Warriors for Slovakian F Michal Hlinka, 17, and third- and sixth-round picks in the 2011 bantam draft.
Svendsen also has played for the Vancouver Giants and Edmonton Oil Kings. The Raiders dealt F Jordan Hickmott, 20, to the Oil Kings for him over the summer. This season, Svendsen has 34 points, including 17 goals, in 44 games.
Hlinka, the 28^th overall pick in the 2010 CHL import draft, had six points in 22 games with Moose Jaw.
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The Regina Pats dealt D Mitch Spooner, 18, to the Seattle Thunderbirds for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. Spooner, from Port Moody, B.C., had five points in 15 games with Regina. He had been acquired last season from the Vancouver Giants, who selected him with the 19^th overall pick of the 2007 bantam draft.
Spooner had left the Pats in November for personal reasons.
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The Everett Silvertips dealt two veterans -- F Kellan Tochkin, 19, and D Alex Theriau, 18, -- to the Medicine Hat Tigers for F Ryan Harrison, 18, and a 2011 second-round bantam pick.
Harrison, from Kelowna, has 122 points and 295 penalty minutes in 176 career games. This season, in 40 games, he has 33 points and 47 penalty minutes. He was selected by the Prince Albert Raiders with the 29^th pick of the 2007 WHL draft and was dealt to the Tigers last summer.
Tochkin, from Abbotsford, B.C., was the 13^th overall pick in the 2006 bantam draft. He has 179 points in 185 games with Everett and has signed with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks as a free agent. This season, he has 36 points in 38 games.
Theriau was the sixth overall pick by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the 2007 bantam draft and moved to Everett in a deal that included F Kyle Beach going the other way two years ago. Theriau has 36 points and 125 penalty minutes in 166 WHL games. This season, he has seven poins and 27 PMs in 37 games.
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The Tri-City Americans acquired D Matt MacKenzie, 19, from the Calgary Hitmen for F Brooks Macek, 18, D Spencer Humphries, 18, and a conditional 2012 third-round bantam draft pick. Calgary gets a third-rounder should MacKenzie return for his 20-year-old season.
MacKenzie, a third-round pick by the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL’s 2010 draft, has 23 points and 50 penalty minutes in 40 games this season. In 192 career games with the Hitmen, he has 83 points and 144 penalty minutes. He was a second-round pick in the 2006 bantam draft.
Macek, a second-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft, is from Winnipeg. He has 24 points in 38 games this season and 121 points in 170 career games. He was a second-round pick by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2010 NHL draft.
Humphries, from Delta, B.C., was a list player. He has five points and 50 penalty minutes in 34 games this season.
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F Justin Dowling, 20, is the new captain of the Swift Current Broncos. F Cody Eakin, 19, who was traded to the Kootenay Ice on Sunday, had been the Broncos’ captain. . . . The Broncos will have a new face on the ice at practice today, but just for this practice. F Graham Black of the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians, whose rights the Broncos acquired from the Edmonton Oil Kings over Christmas, is going to skate with the Broncos today. Black, a 17-year-old who leads the Saskatchewan midget AAA league in goals (35) and points (54), wants to see how he stacks up at this level. However, he has yet to decide whether to take the WHL route or the NCAA road. . . . Black has a 12-point lead atop his league’s points race and leads the goal-scoring derby by 14. . . .
D Stefan Elliott of the Saskatoon Blades is the WHL’s player of the week. He had six points in two games, both of which the Blades won. . . . Darcy Kuemper is the WHL’s nominee as goaltender of the week. He was 1-0-1, with a 0.96 GAA and a .962 save percentage last week. . . . The Spokane Chiefs have assigned D Kyle Krzyzaniak to the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings. Krzyzaniak, 18, was pointless in seven games. . . . The Calgary Hitmen also removed three players from their roster. D Brody Luhning, 18, who joined the Hitmen after the Christmas break, is back with the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars. He was pointless in five games with the Hitmen. D Carter Berg, who had three points in 36 games, is off to the SJHL, likely to the Melfort Mustangs. Berg was taken in the second round of the 2007 bantam draft by the Chilliwack Bruins. And G Juraj Holly, 19, has returned to his native Slovakia. In his first WHL season, he was 1-6-0, 3.93, .869. Holly’s departure leaves the Hitmen with two goaltenders -- Michael Snider, 19, and Brandon Glover, 18. . . .
The Moose Jaw Warriors have assigned F Mackenzie Royer, 18, to the AJHL’s Camrose Kodiaks. Royer was acquired earlier in the season in a multi-player deal with the Calgary Hitmen. He had nine points in 19 games with Moose Jaw after putting up two points in 16 games with Calgary. . . . In the BCHL, F Kyle St. Denis, 20, wasn’t dealt to the Trail Smoke Eaters by the Victoria Grizzlies, so if he is to play this season it will have to be in the B.C. capital. I’m told Victoria asked for cash and a top six forward, something the injury-riddled Smokies weren’t prepared to do. The Smoke Eaters had kept a 20-year-old spot open for St. Denis, but later filled it by acquiring F Nic DeSousa from the Prince George Spruce Kings.
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Here’s another big trade from the WHL’s past. . . . On Oct. 31, 1986, the Regina Pats dealt F Brent Fedyk, F Ken MacIntyre, F Garnet Kaziuk, D Gerald Bzdel and D Kevin Kowalchuk to the Seattle Thunderbirds for F Craig Endean, F Ray Savard, D Grant Chorney and F Erin Ginnell. . . . I also believe that each team received a list player in the exchange. I can’t recall who went to Seattle, but I believe that’s how Regina landed F Frank Kovacs, who went on to play on Regina’s PUP line with fellow 16-year-olds Jamie Heward and Mike Sillinger. All three are Regina natives.

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

MEDICINE HAT gets: F Kellan Tochkin, 19, and D Alex Theriau, 18.
EVERETT gets: F Ryan Harrison, 18, and a 2011 second-round bantam draft pick.

There was an extremely interesting development in the WHL on Friday.
And it has to do with social media.
Early in the day, the WHL revealed that D Ryley Miller of the Brandon Wheat Kings had been hit with a two-game suspension for an open-ice hit on an unsuspecting puck carrier -- Kellan Tochkin of the visiting Everett Silvertips -- on Dec. 9.
Miller was suspended under supplemental discipline, which usually means there wasn’t a penalty on the play and one team, in this case the Silvertips, forwarded video to the WHL office.
The Wheat Kings reacted to news of the suspension by putting this on Twitter:
“WHL slaps BWK defenceman Ryley Miller with a 2-game suspension . . . for what appears on video to be a clean, open-ice hit . . . Check for yourself.”
In a follow-up tweet, the Wheat Kings provided a link to video of the hit and comments from GM/head coach Kelly McCrimmon. (Check the Wheat Kings’ home page if you haven’t already seen it.)
“I thought Ryley’s check on Tochkin was a textbook open ice hit,” McCrimmon is quoted as saying. “If you were trying to teach young defencemen how to body check it would be a perfect example. He demonstrated great angling, skating, footwork and courage in making that hit, something Wheat King fans have come to expect from Ryley.
“The suspension is very disappointing. These are not the hits we are trying to take out of the game.”
This is most interesting on a number of fronts.
First, there are very few people in the WHL who will comment so openly and on the record on disciplinary issues that are dealt with by the Calgary-based head office.
Most times it’s “no comment” or “I’d rather not say anything” or “if I say anything I’ll have to write a cheque.”
The fact that McCrimmon is so outspoken and eager to exercise what he obviously feels is his right to free speech is a breath of fresh air. Of course, you can bet that he did this with his eyes open and knows full well that -- Ch-ch-ching! -- he will be writing a cheque, likely first thing next week.
Also, the fact that McCrimmon didn’t wait for a phone call from a reporter but used his team’s website as a vehicle to present his opinion is something I don’t recall happening before in the WHL.
And I can guarantee that no WHL team has ever used social media to put anything like this before the court of public opinion.
The WHL, I don’t think, has a policy of any sort on social media. Its teams, some if not all of them, discuss with players the dangers that can be encountered on Facebook and other sites like it. Teams have had players remove what were felt to be inappropriate photos.
But the WHL has never had to deal with a team using social media to express disagreement with a decision or decisions handed down by the head office.
The fallout from the Wheat Kings’ move is going to be interesting, indeed. And I would bet that it will carry over all the way into June and the WHL’s annual meeting. Social media now is almost certain to be high on the agenda.
By the way, I have watched the video of Miller’s hit on Tochkin. While Miller may have left his feet a milli-second prior to the moment of impact, he doesn’t appear to have jumped at Tochkin, who is carrying the puck through the neutral zone with his head down. Miller wasn’t running at Tochkin so there wasn’t any intent to injure. There was intent to make a hard check on an unsuspecting player.
McCrimmon is correct in stating that these are “not the hits we are trying to take out of the game.”
If the hitter is going to draw a two-game suspension for a hit of this ilk, perhaps the hittee also should be suspended for having placed himself in danger. There was a time when you learned early on in minor hockey not to skate through the neutral zone with your head down. Are those days over?
The WHL is walking a fine line these days as it tries to find the happy medium in terms of allowing fighting and physical play in its games. If it doesn’t believe that, it need only look at some of its attendance figures and perhaps those of the UFC.

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