THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Tomas Kopecky (Lethbridge, 2000-02) signed a lockout contract with Dukla Trencin (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had 10 goals and 22 assists in 80 games with the Florida Panthers last season. . . .
D Tomas Mojzis (Moose Jaw, Seattle, 2000-03) has been assigned on loan for an indefinite period by Lev Prague (Czech Republic, KHL) to Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He has no points in five games with Lev this season.
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The Prince George Cougars have made a move in an attempt to solve some early-season goaltending woes.
The Cougars gave up a 2014 fourth-round bantam draft pick in order to acquire G Mac Engel, 19, from the Spokane Chiefs.
Engel spent the previous two seasons with the Chiefs, but lost the starter’s job to Eric Williams during last spring’s playoffs. Williams then won the No. 1 spot during training camp and the Chiefs sent Engel home to Red Deer last week to await a trade.
The Cougars (5-3-1) have been going with Devon Fordyce, 18, who backed up Drew Owsley last season, and freshman Brett Zarowny, 17.
Fordyce hasn’t finished two of his last three starts.
"Every game there's been a goal that hasn't been good," Cougars head coach Dean Clark told Sheri Lamb of the Prince George Citizen. "It's not a good thing. When you're a goaltender for me you've got to stop all the easy ones and most of the hard ones, not most of the hard ones and some of the easy ones.”
Prince George general manager Dallas Thompson said the Cougars will go with three goaltenders, at least for now.
The Cougars are at home to the Calgary Hitmen tonight and will meet the Rockets in Kelowna on Thursday. Then, wouldn’t you know it, the Cougars will play three in a row against the Chiefs. They’ll play Saturday in Spokane, and Tuesday and Wednesday in Prince George.
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Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s vice-president, hockey, handed out 14 games worth of suspensions to four players on Monday.
F Lucas Grayson of the Everett Silvertips drew five games for a checking-to-the-head major in a game at Regina on Saturday. Pats F Dryden Hunt, who had just returned from a concussion, left after the hit and didn’t return. Grayson will miss games in Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Prince Albert and Saskatoon, and a home game against Spokane.
F Ryan Olsen of the Kelowna Rockets will sit for three games after taking a checking-to-the-head major at Victoria on Saturday. He was penalized for a high hit on Royals D Joe Hicketts. Olsen will sit for visits by Prince George and Brandon, and won’t play in Medicine Hat on Oct. 24.
D Dalton Thrower of the Saskatoon Blades got two games for a checking-to-the-head major at Lethbridge on Saturday. Thrower didn’t play Sunday against the host Lethbridge Hurricnes, so will complete his suspension by missing Wednesday’s game against the visiting Tri-City Americans.
F Tim Vanstone of the Prince Albert Raiders will watch for four games after taking a checking-from-behind major at Moose Jaw on Saturday. F Miles Warkentine of the Warriors, who was hit by Vanstone, was left with a concussion. The Raiders start a seven-game game homestand tonight against Tri-City. Vanstone will miss that game and visits by Everett, Swift Currrent and Moose Jaw.
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F Lyndon Martell (Kamloops, Regina, 2010-12) of the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings suffered a concussion during an Oct. 6 game against the host Langley Rivermen. So far, Martell, 19, has missed three games.
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Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reported Monday that, according to the Vancouver Giants, “the WHL has changed how it’s counting Kale Kessy’s 12-game suspension and he’ll now be available to the Giants for a Friday, Oct. 26 visit from the Victoria Royals.” . . . The Giants acquired Kessy from the Medicine Hat Tigers last week. He is serving a suspension for an incident in a game on Sept. 22. . . . Had he not been traded, he would have been eligible to return to the Tigers’ lineup for an Oct. 26 game in Calgary. . . . While Kessy was Tigers’ property, he sat out six games. From Oct. 12 through Oct. 25, inclusive, the Giants are scheduled to play four games. . . .
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The Red Deer Advocate reports that Rebels G Patrick Bartosak has vacated the Chateau Bow Wow.
Bartosak, a 19-year-old Czech sophomore, returned to practice yesterday after being suspended by the club late last week.
“It was a disciplinary thing that has been dealt with,” Brent Sutter, the Rebels owner and general manager, told the Advocate. “He understands it, he knows why (he was suspended). I don’t think we need to go any deeper with it than that.
“It was something that had to be done. He’s a great kid and he’s obviously a heck of a goaltender, one of the best in our league.”
The Rebels are at home to the Kamloops Blazers tonight.
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The Tri-City Americans, who are on their six-game East Division swing, stopped at a Tim Hortons outlet in Moose Jaw on Monday before making their way to Saskatoon.
“Tim Hortons is about $350 richer,” Jim Hiller, the Americans’ head coach, jokingly told Annie Fowler of the Tr-City Herald.
The Americans are 2-0-0 on their swing. They are in Prince Albert tonight and Saskatoon on Wednesday.
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F Rodney Southam of the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts has signed with the Tri-City Americans. The 5-foot-11, 167-pound Southam, 16, has 10 points, five of them goals, in his first five games with the Contacts. . . . Southam was listed by the Americans in July. Last season, as a rookie with the Contacts, he had 23 points and 93 penalty minutes in 43 games. . . . Southam will be with the Americans on Wednesday when they play the Blades in Saskatoon.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings have assigned F Quintin Lisoway, 17, to the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons. Lisoway, a ninth-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft, had one assist in three games with the Wheat Kings. Last season, he had 46 points with a midget team in Omaha, Neb. . . . The Wheat Kings, who left Monday on the longest road trip of their season, are carrying 24 players, including eight defencemen and 14 forwards. . . . The Wheat Kings (5-3-1) open the swing tonight in Medicine Hat.
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F Cody Fowlie, who was released last week by the Everett Silvertips, has signed with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers. Fowlie got caught up in the 20-year-old numbers game after the Silvertips claimed D Connor Cox, who had been dropped by the Saskatoon Blades. That left Everett with four 20s, meaning one had to go. That one was Fowlie, who turns 20 on Nov. 5. Fowlie had 40 points, including 14 goals, in 72 games last season with Everett.
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The QMJHL’s Val-d’Or Foreurs fired head coach Marc-André Dumont on Monday. Assistant coach Mario Durocher moved up as head coach. Dumont was in his fourth season as head coach. The Foreurs are 4-6-0 and in fourth place in the six-team West Division. Dumont said he already is looking for an assistant coach. . . .
Meanwhile, the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles have dismissed general manager Pierre Roux. Head coach Ron Choules will handle the GM’s duties on an interim basis. Interestingly, Roux was hired in May 2011 to replace Mario Durocher. The Screaming Eagles are 2-6-3, sixth in the six-team Maritime Division
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Jack Todd writes an entertaining read in Monday editions of the Montreal Gazette. Part of this week’s piece was ‘The Top 10 Things We Don’t Miss About NHL Hockey:
10. Foghorn Dreghorn telling us that “TSN has just learned that the Stanley Cup is awarded to the team that wins the NHL playoffs.”
9. Barry Melrose, with or without the mullet.
8. Pierre Gauthier.
7. Leaf fans waving tin-foil Stanley Cups after the team wins two in a row in October.
6. Scott Hartnell’s hair.
5. Brian Burke’s 21,375th interview.
4. Morning skates.
3. “We just have to stay focused and take it one game at a time.”
2. Lobotomized fans watching themselves on the big scoreboard.
And the No. 1 thing we don’t miss about NHL hockey? Don Cherry.
For Todd’s complete column, click right here.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Saskatoon Blades (@blades hockey): “Hey @justinbieber, the members of @blades hockey wanted to send out an invite to come practice with the team when your in Saskatoon tomorrow.”
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If you haven’t seen this right here, well, give it a look. It’s a music video that involves members of the Red Deer Rebels taking off on the latest fad — Gangnam Style. . . . It also features members of the morning crew from Red Deer radio station The Kraze 101.3. . . . The star of the show, however, is Morris Flewwelling, the obviously fun-loving mayor of Red Deer. . . . If you’re wondering where Brent Sutter, the Rebel’s owner and general manager, is in the video, well, if you look behind the flower beds at about the 1:27 mark.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun talks with F Brandon Leipsic of the Portland Winterhawks prior to the opener at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. Leipsic and his Team Western teammates meet Team Pacific tonight and the game is sold out. Wiebe’s story is right here.
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F Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers is in Buffalo with the U.S. national junior team at the World Junior Championship. Early in the week, Etem slagged Buffalo in a tweet. Things were in damage control-mode on Tuesday. That story is right here.
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F Brian Matte (Prince George, 2008-09) has signed with the Central league’s Laredo Bucks. Matte, who is from Prince George, started the season in camp with the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons. He played 12 games with the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns last season.
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JUST NOTES: F Tyler Fiddler (ankle) has returned to the Calgary Hitmen lineup after an 11-game absence, but F Misha Fisenko is weather-bound in Russia so hasn’t yet made his way back from the Christmas break. . . . The Saskatoon Blades, with skaters away at the WJC and the WHC, have added F Tim McGauley, 15, from the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians and F Hudson Morrison, 16, from the Manitoba midget AAA league’s Southwest Cougars. McGauley was the 20th overall pick in the 2010 WHL draft, while Morrison was a ninth-round pick in 2009. . . . The NHL’s Minnesota Wild has re-assigned D Jared Spurgeon (Spokane, 2005-10) to the AHL’s Houston Aeros. He had two penalty minutes in 12 games with the Wild. He average 12:09 in playing time during those games.
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SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM TUESDAY’S GAMES:
F Dylan Hood scored three goals, giving him 17, as the Moose Jaw Warriors beat the Hitmen 6-1 in Calgary. . . . In Regina, F Lyndon Martell, who was acquired earlier this month from the Kamloops Blazers, had a goal and an assist in the last two minutes of the third period to force OT and the Pats went on to defeat the Swift Current Broncos 4-3 in a shootout. Martell was playing in his first game with Regina. The Pats have 11 victories this season, with five of those against the Broncos. . . . The Kootenay Ice got two goals from each of D Brayden McNabb and F Brendan Hurley and beat the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers, 6-3. F Tyler Pitlick scored twice for the Tigers. . . . D Aaron Borejko and F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had two assists to help the Red Deer Rebels to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings. . . .
F Jordan DePape returned from serving a five-game suspension to score twice as the hometown Kamloops Blazers beat the Vancouver Giants, 6-1. Kamloops F Brendon Ranford had three assists, increasing his point total to a WHL-leading 57, two more than F Linden Vey of Medicine Hat. . . . In Portland, the Messier brothers, Jordan and Marcus, each scored as the Tri-City Americans dropped the Winterhawks, 5-1. Marcus has two goals, while Jordan has 21. . . . In Prince George, G Lucas Gore stopped 29 shots to lead the Chilliwack Bruins to a 3-0 victory over the Cougars. Gore has two shutouts this season and seven in his career. . . .
In Kelowna, F Evan Bloodoff scored twice and G Adam Brown stopped 26 shots as the Rockets blanked the Everett Silvertips, 4-0. Bloodoff has eight goals, while Brown has nine career shutouts, one this season. Everett has been blanked a WHL-high six times this season. . . . Kelowna was 4-10 on the PP, while Everett was 0-1. . . . In Kent, Wash., before 6,125 fans, G James Reid stopped 29 shots to lead the visiting Spokane Chiefs to a 2-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. Reid, who now has 20 victories this season, has three shutouts this season and 12 in his career.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Five minors:
Kootenay D Luke Paulsen
Kootenay F Matt Fraser
Kootenay D Brayden McNabb
Tri-City F Connor Rankin
Seattle F Chance Lund

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

Blazers, Pats cut a deal

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers continue perhaps the ugliest part of their WHL schedule tonight in Portland against the Winterhawks.
They’ll play tonight without two thirds of the league’s highest-scoring line, but will have a new face in the lineup Friday when they meet the Cougars in Prince George.
The Blazers announced late Tuesday night that they have acquired centre Thomas Frazee, 20, from the Regina Pats in exchange for centre Shayne Neigum, 20, winger Lyndon Martell, 17, and a 2011 third-round bantam draft pick.“He’s a big guy,” Kamloops general manager Craig Bonner said of the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Frazee. “He’s a good skater for a big guy. Obviously, he’s got big numbers this season. We’re getting all our offence from one line. . . . I felt we needed to add somebody and he’s a guy who was available right now.”The trade came less than 12 hours after the WHL announced that Kamloops right-winger Jordan DePape had been suspended for five games and that centre Chase Schaber would sit for one.
DePape was suspended after he incurred a charging major in the third period of the Blazers’ 3-2 victory over the visiting Swift Current Broncos on Friday night.
DePape’s hit left Swift Current right-winger Killian Hutt on the ice and needing medical attention. He spent Friday night under observation in Royal Inland Hospital and is out indefinitely with a concussion.
DePape, who plays on a line with Brendan Ranford and Schaber, has 29 points, including 12 goals, in 26 games. He will be eligible to return on Dec. 28 against the visiting Vancouver Giants.
Schaber, meanwhile, drew a one-game suspension after taking a game misconduct in the first period of the Blazers’ 10-5 loss to the Chiefs in Spokane on Saturday. Schaber was tossed for making what was ruled an inappropriate gesture following a fight with Chiefs defenceman Brenden Kichton.
Schaber, the Blazers’ captain, was playing in his sixth game after serving a three-game suspension for making physical contact with an on-ice official during a 6-4 loss in Portland on Nov. 20.
Schaber has 38 points, including 26 assists, in 29 games, but won’t play tonight.
That leaves Ranford as the only member of that line who will play tonight. He leads the WHL in goals (26) and points (50).
Frazee, from North Vancouver, is joining his fifth WHL team since the Winterhawks selected him with the 11^th overall pick in the 2005 bantam draft. He also has played for the Medicine Hat Tigers and Moose Jaw Warriors. The Pats acquired Frazee from the Warriors on Sept. 24.
This season, he has 37 points, including 13 goals, in 33 games with the Pats. He had been playing on Regina’s No. 1 line with wingers Jordan Weal and Carter Ashton.
Bonner said he has been looking for an available 20-year-old forward for a while. He watched Frazee play twice in recent days and “got more serious into it” with Regina GM Chad Lang last week.“I wanted to get it done before Christmas if possible because we’ve got a big stretch of games coming up here,” Bonner said.In 276 regular-season games, Frazee has 153 points, including 99 assists.
Neigum, from Kindersley, had a goal and two assists in 23 games after joining the Blazers from the Chilliwack Bruins. He also had 69 penalty minutes.
Martell had one assist in eight games with the Blazers early in the season, before being assigned to the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings.
After tonight’s game in Portland, the Blazers will climb on their bus and head directly to Prince George where they are scheduled to close out the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule with games against the Cougars on Friday and Saturday nights.
The Blazers return to action after Christmas with a game in Vancouver on Dec. 27.
Kamloops goes into tonight’s game with a 15-15-2 record. That leaves it 10th in the 10-team Western Conference, but it is just two points out of fifth place.
The Winterhawks (24-8-3) lead the conference.The Blazers also may welcome back defenceman Josh Caron tonight. A broken collarbone has kept him out since the second game of the season. If he doesn’t play tonight, he is almost certain to play Friday in Prince George.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
Taking Note on Twitter

Thursday . . .

The Moose Jaw Warriors will be without their leading scorer when the WHL playoffs get underway. F Quinton Howden suffered a broken collarbone during Wednesday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Tigers in Medicine Hat and will miss up to six weeks. Howden has 65 p will be out of the Moose Jaw Warriors lineup for 4-6 weeks with a broken collarbone. Howden suffered the injury in the Warriors 3-2 shootout loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers Wednesday. He leads the Warriors in assists (37) and points (65) and is second in goals (28), one behind F Brendan Rowinski. . . . Moose Jaw D Dylan McIlrath also was injured in Medicine Hat and is listed as being out day-to-day with an upper body injury. . . . The Warriors play the Wheat Kings in Brandon on Friday.
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The Kamloops Blazers have signed F Lyndon Martell, 16, a list player who started the season with the major midget Cariboo Cougars and finished with the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Martell had 23 points in 10 games with the Cougars and 31 points in 44 games with the Spruce Kings. He was named the Spruce Kings’ rookie of the year. Martell practised with the Blazers on Thursday and will stay with them through the end of the regular season but isn’t expected to play in any games.
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It may be a bit late, because Prince George won’t make the playoffs, but the Cougars have F Brett Connolly back at practice. Connolly has missed 53 games with hip problems and won’t play either of two games this weekend. But he hopes to play in a doubleheader against the visiting Chilliwack Bruins on Tuesday and Wednesday. . . . What kind of a season have the Cougars had? Well, consider that Connolly has played 12 games and has 13 points, good for 13th on the team’s list of leading scorers. . . . Still, he remains one of the top-rated players for June’s NHL draft and will attend the Central Scouting combine in Toronto in May. . . . G Alex Wright, who suffered a broken collarbone on Jan. 8, also is back practising and will be be on the bench Friday against the visiting Everett Silvertips. . . . Prince George D Kurt Torbohm (broken hand) and D Jesse Forsberg (shoulder) won’t play again this season.
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F Brayden Schenn of the Brandon Wheat Kinghs has signed a three-year deal with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. Schenn, 18, was taken fifth overall in the NHL’s 2009 draft. He already has played one game in the NHL, that coming Dec. 14 against the Canucks in Vancouver after he signed a one-day amateur tryout agreement. Schenn leads the Wheat Kings with 56 assists and 85 points in 54 games. . . . He is the younger brother of Toronto Maple Leafs D Luke Schenn.
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The Regina Pats, who won’t make the playoffs, have F Dyson Stevenson, a fifth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft, practising with them. He spent the season with the midget AAA Swift Current Legionnaires, but there season is over.
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You may remember that things got a bit messy last summer when Brent Sutter left as head coach of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and then signed as head coach of the Calgary Flames. Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger has a good piece right here that looks at that situation and more.
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If you’re wondering about the Federal Hockey League, which is to begin play in the fall, there’s a bit right here. And, no, Reggie Dunlop is nowhere to be found.
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THE PLAYOFF CHASE
Teams in the running for playoff spots, showing games remaining (d — denotes division leaders, who are seeded one-two):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Calgary (5) 47-17-1-2-97
dx-Brandon (5) 45-18-1-3-94
x-Saskatoon (6) 43-16-3-4-93
x-Kootenay (5) 40-22-3-2-85
x-Red Deer (6) 38-24-0-4-80
x-Medicine Hat (5) 36-23-3-5-80
Moose Jaw (6) 32-24-4-6-74
Swift Current (4) 34-30-0-4-72
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Prince Albert (5) 31-31-3-2-67
x — clinched playoff spot.
Thursday: Swift Current 0 at Calgary 2.
Friday: Moose Jaw at Brandon; Medicine Hat at Kootenay; Swift Current at Red Deer; Lethbridge at Regina.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Tri-City (6) 45-18-1-2-93
dx-Vancouver (6) 39-22-2-3-83
x-Everett (6) 42-19-3-2-89
x-Spokane (6) 40-21-3-2-85
x-Portland (5) 40-24-2-1-83
x-Kelowna (5) 31-30-2-4-68
x-Kamloops (4) 30-32-2-4-66
x-Chilliwack (6) 29-31-1-5-64
x — clinched playoff spot.
Thursday: No games scheduled.
Friday: Vancouver at Kamloops; Tri-City at Chilliwack; Seattle at Kelowna; Spokane at Portland; Everett at Prince George.
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THURSDAY:
In Calgary, G Martin Jones stopped 27 shots to earn his second straight shutout as the Hitmen dumped the Swift Current Broncos, 2-0. . . . Jones has a WHL-leading seven shutouts this season and a franchise-record 15 in his career. . . . The Hitmen, who are first overall, have won four straight games and nine of 11. . . . Calgary has blanked its opponent on nine occasions this season. . . . Calgary F Tyler Fiddler opened the scoring with his 28th goal of the season at 12:16 of the first period. . . . Calgary D Matt MacKenzie got his sixth, on the PP, at 3:51 of the third. . . . Calgary was 1-for-4 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-for-3. . . . Swift Current G Mark Friesen stopped 31 shots. . . . Calgary F Jimmy Bubnick, who missed seven games with a shoulder injury, returned to action. . . . Attendance was 7,468. . . . The Broncos had won three in a row. . . . Calgary F Joel Broda had his four-game goal streak end. . . . The Hitmen went 4-0 versus the Broncos, outscoring them 14-4. . . . WHL goaltenders have put up 81 shutouts this season, the seventh-highest total in league history. That number last season was 92. The record is 141 from 2004-05.