THE MacBETH REPORT:
F David Hruska (Red Deer, 1995-96) signed a one-year contract extension with Chomutov (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had 22 goals and 17 assists in 49 games with Chomutov this season.
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Something extra from The MacBeth Report:
Game 5 of Finland’s Sm-Liiga final, Ässät Pori at Tappara Tampere. Series is tied 2-2 and has been a"homer" series. Each team trade goals in the second period and that is how it ends in regulation, 1-1. Shots were 34-28 Ässät in regulation.


Apparently, Ässät was just getting started with the shooting gallery.
The first overtime period is scoreless with Ässät getting two power-plays and Tappara one, but Ässät decided to crank it up as the shots were 20-4 Ässät.
In the second overtime, Tappara had two power-play opportunities but was unable to connect on either one, so we head into the third overtime period.

Tappara got a few more shots on goal in the second overtime but was still outshot 21-11 by Ässät. Ässät got a power-play early in the third overtime. Tappara killed it off, but Ässät scored at 8:59, just
six seconds after the power-play ended, to win the game and take a 3-2 lead home to Pori for Wednesday's Game 6.
The shots in the third OT were 11-5 Ässät. Total shots on goal in the 49 minutes of OT were 52-20 Ässät; 86-48 Assat for the game.
The Tappara goalie making the 84 saves was former Lethbridge Hurricanes G Juha Metsola (2007-09).
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Former WHL coach Curtis Hunt helped Canada win gold at the world men’s sledge hockey championship in Goyang, South Korea, last week. And he had a “fantastic” time doing it. . . . Ian Hamilton of the Regina Leader-Post has that story right here.
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The Victoria Times Colonist and Nanaimo Daily News are reporting that WHL commissioner Ron Robison addressed “an in-camera meeting of Nanaimo city council Monday.” . . . Graham Lee, who owns the WHL’s Victoria Royals and whose company, RG Properties, manages Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria and Prospera Place in Kelowna, and Ken Wagner, one of the owners of the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers, also were in the meeting. . . . After the session, Robison told the newspapers: “It is up to Nanaimo council to see if it wants to proceed. We left it for them to determine.” . . . According to the Times Colonist, “Robison said the WHL would not expand but that an existing team would be relocated to Nanaimo. He did not specify which team that could be.” . . . The problem of course, is the lack of a WHL-calibre facility in Nanaimo. It is no secret that this is a case of ‘Build It and They Will Come’ — if Nanaimo had a 5,000-seat arena, it already would have a WHL franchise.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Brampton Beast, a Central league team that will begin operations next season, has hired Mark DeSantis as its head coach. . . . DeSantis spent this season as head coach of the Fayetteville FireAntz of the Southern Professional  League. . . . DeSantis, who was honoured as the SPHL’s coach of the year this season, is from Brampton. . . .

Barry Wolff is the new head coach of the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express. Wolff spent this season has head coach of the junior B Fernie Ghostriders of the Kootenay International Junior League. He was the KIJHL’s coach of the year after going 35-13-1-3. . . . He also has coached in the BCHL, with the now-defunct Quesnel Millionaires and Surrey Eagles. . . . With Coquitlam, Wolff replaces Jon Calvano, who was dropped after the season despite having a year left on his contract.
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The Eastern Conference final resumes in Calgary tonight with the Hitmen and Edmonton Oil Kings even at 1-1. . . . The Hitmen almost certainly will be without F Jake Virtanen. The first overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft was hit was one of those ‘tbd’ suspensions for a hit on Edmonton D Cody Corbett at 5:43 of the second period in Game 2 on Friday. Corbett didn’t return to the game after the hit. . . . Corbett is expected to miss at least Games 3 and 4. . . . The Oil Kings are expected to get D Dysin May bacvk into the linup tonight. . . . Virtanen has six points, two of them goals, in 12 playoff games this spring.
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The WHL’s playoff situation:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Edmonton (1) vs. Calgary (3)
(Series tied 1-1; Game 3 tonight in Calgary; all games on Shaw TV, with Dan Russell calling the play.)
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Portland (1) vs. Kamloops (3)
(Portland leads series, 2-0; Game 3 tonight in Kamloops.)
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MONDAY’S GAMES:
No Games Scheduled.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (19):
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (6):
None


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Alexander Boikov (Victoria/Prince George, Tri-City, 1993-96) signed a one-year contract extension with Dynamo Moscow (Russia, KHL). He had one goal and six assists in 41 games with Dynamo this season. . . .
By my count, Boikov, Winnipeg Jets G Chris Mason and D Dwayne Newman (Chelmsford, England National League) are the only players still playing pro hockey who played for the Victoria Cougars. Victoria relocated to Prince George for the 1994-95 season.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Twenty years to the day after he celebrated a Memorial Cup victory, Tom Renney was dumped as head coach of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. On May 17, 1992, Renney’s Kamloops Blazers beat the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 5-4 in the Memorial Cup final in Seattle. On Thursday, Edmonton GM Steve Tambellini travelled to Castlegar, B.C., and informed Renney that his contract wouldn’t be renewed. . . .
Chris Johnston, who played in the WHL with Brandon, Red Der and Regina (1990-95), is the new head coach of the midget AAA Southwest Cougars, who play out of Souris, Man. This season, he was the head coach of the bantam AA Brandon Wheat Kings. Johnston, who is from Brandon, replaces Troy Leslie, who now is the head coach of the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals. . . . Johnston is the son of former WHL player and coach Mark Johnston. . . .
Mark DeSantis, an assistant coach with the Central league’s Rapid City Rush, has signed on as head coach of the Southern Professional league’s Fayetteville FireAntz. . . . DeSantis is a former Rush captain who has been an assistant coach for three seasons. . . . The FireAntz began the season with Sean Gillam as head coach; he was fired Feb. 16 and Todd Bidner was named interim head coach.
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Jason Becker, the lead assistant coach with the Prince George Cougars, has been named head coach of Team Pacific that will compete in the 2013 U-17 World Hockey Challenge. That tournament runs Dec. 28 through Jan. 4 in Victoriaville and Drummondville, Que. . . . Wade Klippenstein, the Cougars’ assistant GM and director of player personnel, has been named Team Pacific’s head scout, while Steve Hamilton, an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oil Kings, will work with Becker as an assistant coach. . . . Also on the staff will be athletic therapist Brian Cheeseman, also of the Oil Kings. . . . Brent Polischuk of Victoria is the director of operations, while Brandon West of Kelowna is the other assistant coach and Troy Clifford of Kamloops is the equipment manager. . . . Team Pacific will comprise the top 22 players from the Pacific Region (Alberta and B.C.), with 34 players from each region taking part in a camp in Kamloops, July 25-29. The final 22-player roster will be announced in November.
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Shane Malloy at The Art of Scouting has posted his top 40 eligibles for the NHL’s 2012 draft. That list is right here.
Malloy has D Griffin Reinhart of the Edmonton Oil Kings listed fourth overall, proving once again that a draft-eligible player can only do himself a whole lot of good with a deep playoff run.
Interestingly, Malloy is swimming a bit against the stream as he has Red Deer Rebels D Matt Dumba ranked No. 25.
The list is right here.
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Jesse Wallin, the general manager and head coach of the Red Deer Rebels, along with his wife Jenn, will be taking part in an awareness session on concussions. Concussion: A Game Changer is scheduled for June 9, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the Frontier Room at Westerner Park in Red Deer. The Wallins know of what they speak as Jesse’s career ended because of concussion problems.
Jim Claggett of the Red Deer Express has more right here.
“As a traditionalist I’d love to see hockey maintain a physicality in the game," Wallin tells Claggett. "I think that’s a big part of hockey but I think if we’re going to be able to do that there’s going to have to be a level of respect in the game.
“It’s the old adage, do unto others as you would have done to you.”
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JUST NOTES:
G Drew Owsley, who played out his eligibility last season with the Prince George Cougars, has committed to attend St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S., and play for the X-Men. . . . Owley announced the move via Twitter last night: “Excited to announce I committed to StFX university of be an X-men!” . . . D Bronson Maschmeyer, who finished up his WHL career with the Kamloops Blazers this season, announced Wednesday that he, too, will attend St. FX and play for the X-Men. . . .
F Joe Antilla, who played five seasons with the Kootenay Ice, will attend UBC and play for the Thunderbirds next season. He has been accepted into the UBC School of Kinesiology. . . . In 340 regular-season games with the Ice, he put up 140 points, including 56 goals.
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Rob Facca is an assistant coach with the Western Michigan  Broncos whose four-year-old son, Louie, 4, has been diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal genetic disorder.
Rob’s father, Bob, was devastated by the news and has decided to go for a long, long walk.
Their story is right here.

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