The summer of fires moved closer to our home late Wednesday afternoon when one broke out near Monte Lake. We live about 20 km east of Kamloops above the north shore of the South Thompson River. When we go to Vernon or Kelowna, we head east on the Trans-Canada Highway to the Monte Creek interchange and then take Highway 97. Monte Lake is about 15 minutes up that highway. . . . The four photos above were taken off our deck on Wednesday evening. When I first heard about the fire, at about 5 p.m., I took a look and there was one fairly thin column of smoke. Inside of 30 minutes it had grown by leaps and bounds. . . . The top photo shows the light from the setting sun glancing off the smoke as the clock neared 9 p.m. . . . The photo second from top was taken just moments before the top one. . . . The third photo was taken around 6 p.m. . . . There were a number of airplanes working the fire; the one in the photo has a retardant bay on its bottom; it was headed back to the Kamloops airport for the night as darkness set in. . . . The Thompson Nicola Regional District put evacuation alerts and orders in place, and there are an untold number of buildings at risk. . . . Now we can only wait and see what morning will bring.
— Kamscan (@Kamscan) July 27, 2017
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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Charles Wells (Seattle, Prince Albert, Portland, 2007-12) has signed a one-year contract with the Guildford Flames (England, UK Elite). Last season, with Mulhouse (France, Division 1), he had six goals and 15 assists in 22 games. . . .
F Tyler Redenbach (Prince George, Swift Current, Lethbridge, 2001-05) has signed a one-year contract with Tappara Tampere (Finland, Liiga). Last season, he had 11 goals and 22 assists in 34 games with Pardubice (Czech Republic, Extraliga), and two goals and three assists in nine games with Třinec (Czech Republic, Extraliga). . . .
F Justin Maylan (Moose Jaw, Prince George, Prince Albert, 2007-12) has signed a one-year contract with Heilbronn (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with Fehérvár AV19 Székesfehérvár (Hungary, Erste Bank Liga), he had seven goals and 35 assists in 53 games. He led the team in assists.
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A LITTLE OF THIS . . .
Matt Weninger has joined the Moose Jaw Warriors as their new goaltender coach. . . . From a news release: “Weninger is currently the regional consultant and goaltending lead for Hockey Alberta and previously worked with the Saskatchewan Hockey Association in 2015-16 as a goaltending and coaching consultant.” . . . He also served as the goaltending coach for the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers for two seasons (2015-17) and has worked with Laurentian University (U Sports) and Hockey Canada. . . . As a player, he spent four seasons (2010-14) at St. Lawrence U, where he holds school records for career and single-season games played, minutes played, consecutive games played, and total saves. . . . He also played three SJHL seasons, splitting that time between the Kindersley Klippers and Flin Flon Bombers. . . . In Moose Jaw, Weninger takes over from Jamie Hodson, who had worked with the Warriors since 2011. Hodson now is the director of business and hockey operations for the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals.
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If you were wondering what was wrong with D Ethan Bear of the Seattle Thunderbirds late in the WHL playoffs and through the Memorial Cup, well, now we know. . . . As was reported here originally, Bear did have a broken finger. What we didn’t know until now is that he underwent surgery to repair the index finger on his left hand. . . . Bear was injured while blocking a shot in Game 3 of the Western Conference final against the Kelowna Rockets. He sat out the next three games, then returned for the final against the Regina Pats, a series that Seattle won, 4-2. . . . “I was lucky enough to get a quick surgery, and then I recovered enough to play in the final and then the Memorial Cup," Bear told Derek Van Diest for a story that is posted right here at nhl.com. “I had to adjust the knob on my stick and the way I placed my hand. But Seattle, they really made it work for me and I was able to play at my best abilities. They put a plate in it and couple of screws. The doctors did a really good job. They made it strong enough so that I could play and I wouldn't feel as much pain.” . . . According to Van Diest, “Bear still is recovering from his injury, but is expected to be ready for Oilers training camp in the fall.” . . . Bear, 20, was a fifth-round pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL’s 2015 draft and has signed a three-year entry-level contract.
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There are three WHL players on the roster for Team Finland as it prepares to play in the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Mich., from July 29 through Aug. 5. . . . F Sami Moilanen (Seattle Thunderbirds), D Juuso Valimaki (Tri-City Americans) and D Henri Jokiharju (Portland Winterhawks) all are on Team Finland’s roster for the tournament that also features teams from Canada, Sweden and the U.S.
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THE COACHING GAME . . .
Mark Lamb, who spent six seasons as the general manager and head coach of the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos, is out after one season as head coach of the Tucson Roadrunners, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes. . . . John Chayka, the Coyotes’ president of hockey operations and general manager, announced Wednesday that Mike Van Ryn has taken over as head coach. . . . The assistant coaches will be John Slaney and Steve Potvin. . . . Mark Hardy, an assistant coach last season, also won’t be returning. . . . Van Ryn spent the past season working as the Coyotes’ development coach. . . . In 2015-16, he was the head coach of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. . . . Slaney spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the Coyotes, while Potvin has been with the organization for one season as the skills coach. . . . The Roadrunners finished 29-31-8 last season, their first in the AHL. Their winning percentage (.485) left them sixth in the eight-team Pacific Division. They didn’t qualify for the playoffs.
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TWEET OF THE DAY . . .
Put me in coach #southkorea 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/Rvw17hfQ82— Sheehan Desjardins (@SheeDesjardins) July 26, 2017
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relocating the franchise to the Manitoba capital. The Kootenay Ice would then pack up and leave Cranbrook for Lethbridge.
There is speculation that moving the IceCaps to Winnipeg would be a temporary move, with the Jets continuing to look for a home for the franchise that is closer to Manitoba than St. John’s. Perhaps that would mean finding a city in close proximity to the AHL’s new Pacific Division.
Robison was asked: “Have you had much thought or many talks about expansion or relocation?”
In Prince Albert, F Reid Gardiner scored the game’s last two goals, both via the PP, to give the Raiders a 4-3 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Gardiner, who has 31 goals, tied the game 3-3at 12:01 of the second period and snapped the tie at 6:50 of the third. . . . F Simon Stransky and F Austin Glover drew assists on both goals. . . . The Raiders led 2-0 after one period, only to have the Hurricanes scored three second-period goals, two of them by F Giorgio Estephan, who now has 20 goals. . . . F Brayden Burke had two assists for Lethbridge. . . . Once again, Hurricanes G Stuart Skinner shone, this time with 55 saves. . . . Raiders G Nick McBride stopped 21 shots. . . . Each team was 2-for-4 on the PP. . . . Lethbridge D Nick Walters played in his 300th regular-season game. Walters, from Spruce Grove, Alta., has played 145 games with Everett, 50 with Brandon and 105 with Lethbridge. . . . The Raiders (27-35-3) have won three straight. . . . The Hurricanes slipped to 20-37-8. . . . 
In Moose Jaw, F Torrin White scored three times to lead the Warriors to a 7-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . White opened the scoring at 1:53 of the first period, made it 3-0 at 13:46 of the first and completed his hat trick at 1:06 of the second to make it 5-0. . . . White has 15 goals. . . . The Warriors scored four times in the first period. . . . Moose Jaw F Brayden Point scored his 32nd goal and added three assists, while F Brett Howden notched his 18th goal and had two helpers, and F Axel Blomqvist drew three helpers. . . . Moose Jaw G Brody Willms stopped 28 shots. . . . Moose Jaw was 3-for-7 on the PP; the Blades were 1-for-5. . . . The Warriors honoured the Snowbirds aerobatics team by wearing special jerseys in the warmup. Snowbirds members were in the dressing room prior to the game and on the bench during warmup. . . . The Warriors (29-32-5) have won three in a row. . . . The Blades (19-43-4) have lost three straight. . . . 
In Brandon, F Morgan Klimchuk had two goals and two assists as the Wheat Kings dumped the Swift Current Broncos, 9-1. . . . Brandon F John Quenneville broke a 1-1 tie with his 17th goal at 4:57 of the second period and the Wheat Kings ran away from there. . . . Klimchuk, who has 29 goals, is riding a 10-game point streak. . . . Brandon F Tim McGauley scored his 40th goal and added two assists as he ran his point streak to 22 games, the longest in the WHL this season. He’s got 47 points, including 15 goals, in that streak. It’s the longest point streak by a Wheat Kings skater since F Cory Cyrenne went 23 games in 1997-98. . . . McGauley also went over 200 career regular-season points. He now has 202 points in 219 games. This season, he’s got 97 points, three shy of the WHL scoring leader, F Trevor Cox of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . F Peter Quenneville scored twice and added an assist for Brandon. He’s got 26 goals, with eight of them coming in his last four games. . . . Brandon D Eric Roy scored his fifth goal and added two assists, while F Jayce Hawryluk scored his 26th goal and had an assist. D Matt Taraschuk had two assists. . . . Brandon was 4-for-5 on the PP; Swift Current was 0-for-1. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 22 shots as he became the first WHL goaltender to 40 victories this season. He is the first Wheat Kings goaltender with at least 40 victories since Glen Hanlon set the WHL single-season record of 49 in 1976-77. . . . The Wheat Kings (48-11-7) last won 50 games in 2009-10. . . . The Broncos (30-31-5) have lost six in a row. . . . Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun has a game story 
In Edmonton, F Davis Koch broke a 2-2 tie with his eighth goal of the season at 17:24 of the third period as the Oil Kings beat the Calgary Hitmen, 3-2. . . . Edmonton F Lane Bauer had tied the game with his 23rd goal at 1:45 of the third. . . . The Hitmen took a 1-0 lead on F Adam Tambellini’s 45th goal at 12:42 of the first, on a PP. . . . Edmonton D Dysin Mayo tied it with his 13th goal, on the PP, at 15:38. . . . The Hitmen took the lead when D Travis Sanheim scored his 12th goal, on the PP, at 13:51 of the second. . . . Tambellini, Sanheim and Mayo also had an assist apiece. . . . Edmonton G Tristan Jarry stopped 28 shots, four more than Calgary’s Brendan Burke. . . . Calgary was 2-for-4 on the PP; Edmonton was 1-for-5. . . . The Oil Kings were without D Marshall Donald, who was on crutches after Friday’s 6-4 loss to visiting Regina. Donald was acquired from the Hitmen in January. . . . The Oil Kings improved to 31-29-7. . . . Calgary (40-21-5) has two games left in its franchise-record 11-game road trip. It is 6-3-0 with games left in Red Deer on Friday and Lethbridge on Saturday. . . . 
In Red Deer, D Haydn Fleury broke a 3-3 tie at 7:20 of the third period and the Rebels went on to beat the Regina Pats, 5-3. . . . Fleury has six goals. . . . F Riley Sheen, who also had two assists, scored his 20th goal into an empty net at 18:38 of the third. . . . F Adam Musil gave Red Deer a 1-0 lead with a PP goal at 2:03 of the first period. He’s got 14 goals. . . . The Pats went ahead on goals by D Chase Harrison, his third, at 3:00 of the second and D Colby Williams, his ninth, just 17 seconds later. . . . Regina F Taylor Cooper assisted on both goals. . . . Red Deer F Reese Johnson pulled his guys even with a breakaway goal at 18:35 of the second and D Bart Cote broke the tie 13 seconds later. Johnson has two goals; Cote has eight. . . . Regina F Braden Christoffer scored his 24th goal, on a PP, 53 seconds into the third period. . . . Each team was 1-for-2 on the PP. . . . Red Deer G Taz Burman stopped 23 shots. . . . Regina G Tyler Brown turned aside 29 shots. . . . The Pats had Cole Sears backing up Brown. Daniel Wapple took a high shot on Friday night and now is listed as day-to-day. . . . Sears, 17, is from Red Deer. . . . . The Rebels (35-21-10) have won three in a row. . . . The Pats (35-21-9) are 2-1-1 in their last four games. . . . 
In Medicine Hat, G Marek Langhamer posted his second shutout in three games as the Tigers beat the Kootenay Ice, 1-0. . . . Langhamer has two shutouts this season and six in his career. . . . The game was about one hour late in starting after the Ice encountered some mechanical with their bus while en route to Medicine Hat. . . . Tigers F Cole Sanford score the game’s lone goal, getting No 48 at 3:36 of the first period. . . . Langhamer finished with 16 saves, 15 fewer than the Ice’s Wyatt Hoflin. . . . Kootenay was 0-for-3 on the PP; the Tigers were 0-for-2. . . . Tigers F Trevor Cox drew an assist on the game’s first goal as he became the WHL’s first 100-point man this season. . . . Cox also leads the WHL in assists, with 75. . . . Tigers D Tommy Vannelli was back in the lineup after missing 18 games with a broken finger, while D Ty Stanton (ribs) returned after a two-game absence. . . . The Tigers are 41-22-3. . . . The Ice (33-29-4) has lost three in a row (0-2-1). . . . 
In Vancouver, the Everett Silvertips scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Giants, 3-1. . . . F Tyler Benson scored his 14th goal for the Giants at 7:52 of the first. . . . Everett F Remi Laurencelle tied it with his 20th goal at 1:39 of the second and D Cole MacDonald broke the tie with his 10th goal at 2:15 of the third on a PP. . . . MacDonald also had an assist. . . . F Matt Fonteyne added insurance with his sixth goal at 6:21 of the third. . . . Everett G Carter Hart stopped 25 shots, while Vancouver G Payton Lee kicked out 27. . . . The Giants lost F Vladimir Bobylev with an undisclosed injury after he took a hit from Everett F Logan Aasman in the first period. . . . Vancouver F Zane Jones was in the lineup despite having incurred a boarding major and game misconduct on Friday night. The WHL announced Saturday afternoon that no further discipline would be forthcoming. . . . The Silvertips (40-19-7) have won three in a row. . . . The Giants (26-37-3) have dropped six straight. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has more on the game 
In Prince George, F Taylor Crunk scored in the 11th round of a shootout to give the Victoria Royals a 4-3 victory over the Cougars. . . . The Cougars had beaten the Royals 4-3 on Friday night. . . . Last night, the Royals took a 3-0 lead in the latter part of the second period, thanks to goals from D Chaz Reddekopp, his fifth, F Brandon Magee, his 19th, and D Ryan Gagnon, his first. . . . This was a special night for F Tyler Mrkonjic — more on him later — and he got the Cougars on the board with his eighth goal, at 17:27 of the second period. . . . D Tomas Andrlik pulled the home side to within a goal with his third at 5:10 of the third. . . . F Chase Witala tied it with No. 33, on a PP, at 16:59. . . . Victoria F Jack Walker, the first shooter in the breakaway contest, scored. . . . F Zach Pochiro, shooting third, kept the Cougars’ chances alive. . . . That was all the goals until Crunk scored to end it. . . . Prince George F Jansen Harkins had one assist, his 58th this season. That tied the Prince George single-season record set by F Quinn Hancock in 1997-98. . . . Cougars G Ty Edmonds stopped 31 shots. . . . Royals G Coleman Vollrath made 31 saves. . . . The Cougars were 1-for-7 on the PP; the Royals were 0-for-2. . . . The Royals (35-27-4) had lost their previous two games. . . . The Cougars (28-33-5) had won their previous five games. . . . The attendance was 5,404, with the Cougars’ owners guaranteeing the biggest 50/50 draw in franchise history. The winning number is to be posted on the team’s website. . . . The other half of the draw is to go to the Shelly L. Mrkonjic ALS Research Fund. Shelly, who died of ALS in 2006, was Tyler’s mother. So it was only fitting that he should score on what had to be a special night for the family. . . . 
In Portland, F Paul Bittner scored three times and added two assists as the Winterhawks dumped the Tri-City Americans, 6-2. . . . Bittner, who has 32 goals, scored the game’s first goal, at 7:29 of the first period. He made it 3-1 with a PP goal at 16:26 of the first and then got the game’s final goal, at 18:20 of the third. . . . Portland F Nic Petan continued his amazing run with three more assists. He has 20 helpers in his last six game. In his last 20 games, Petan has five goals and 39 assists. . . . Portland F Oliver Bjorkstrand had two assists, but his franchise-record goal streak ended at 12 games. With 97 points, he is three off the WHL lead. . . . Portland F Miles Koules scored his 25th goal and added an assist. . . . Portland F Chase De Leo came up short on a penalty shot in the second period. . . . G Adin Hill stopped 30 shots for Portland, while Tri-City’s Evan Sarthou turned aside 46. . . . Portland was 3-for-5 on the PP; the Americans were 1-for-3. . . . The Winterhawks (39-20-5) are 8-0-2 in their last 10. . . . Tri-City (28-35-3) has lost two in a row. . . . 
In Kelowna, the Rockets erased a 1-0 deficit with four straight goals and went on to a 5-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . F Jackson Playfair gave the visitors a 1-0 lead with his 11th goal, on a PP, at 1:28 of the first period. . . . Kamloops D Cole Martin tied it with his sixth goal at 5:34 of the second and F Tate Coughlin gave the Rockets their first lead with his second goal of the season at 5:58. . . . F Chase Braid upped the lead to 3-1 with goal No. 12 at 12:17. . . . Kelowna F Nick Merkley scored his 18th goal and added an assist. . . . Martin and Braid also had assists, while F Leon Draisaitl had two of them as he ran his point streak to 11 games. . . . Draisaitl has 43 points, including 16 goals, in 26 games since joining the Rockets from the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. . . . The Rockets remain without D Josh Morrissey, F Rourke Chartier and F Justin Kirkland. . . . With the victory, the Rockets (50-11-5) have won 50 games for a third straight season. The only other WHL teams to have done that are the Kamloops Blazers (1989-92) and Edmonton Oil Kings (2011-14). . . . The Chiefs (31-29-4) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., D Jared Hauf broke a 1-1 tie at 15:36 of the third period as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Kamloops Blazers, 3-1. . . . F Cory Millette gave Seattle a 1-0 lead with his 21st goal, at 4:53 of the second period. . . . Kamloops F Matt Needham tied it with his 23rd goal, at 17:16 of the second period. . . . Hauf then scored his third of the season. . . . Seattle F Nick Holowko scored his fifth goal into an empty net at 19:16 of the third. . . . Seattle F Mathew Barzal had two assists. . . . The Blazers had won the first three games of the four-game season series. . . . Seattle G Taran Kozun stopped 39 shots, 10 more than Cole Ingram of the Blazers. . . . Kamloops was 0-for-2 on the PP; Seattle’s PP didn’t get off the bench. . . . The Thunderbirds improved to 33-24-9. . . . The Blazers (24-34-7) are 3-1-1 in their last five games.
In Moose Jaw, the Warriors scored the game’s first three goals and went on to beat the Swift Current Broncos, 3-2. . . . The Broncos were without GM/head coach Mark Lamb, who spent the night in hospital in Swift Current. In his absence, associate coach Josh Dixon ran things. . . . F Brayden Point got the home side on the scoreboard with his 31st goal at 10:15 of the first period. . . . F Blake Bargar made it 2-0 with his first career WHL goal at 2:21 of the second. . . . F Brett Howden stretched it to 3-0 with No. 17 at 9:00 of the second, on a PP. . . . The Broncos got back in it on goals by F Carter Rigby, his 17th, at 14:59 of the second and F Colby Cave, his 29th, at 18:51 of the third. . . . Point also had an assist, while F Jack Rodewald had two. . . . Rigby added an assist, too. . . . Warriors G Zach Sawchenko turned aside 37 shots, while Swift Current’s Landon Bow stopped 25. . . . The Warriors were 1-for-3 on the PP; the Broncos were 0-for-2. . . . Moose Jaw D Tyler Brown was back after sitting out three games with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Warriors (28-32-5) have won two straight. . . . The Broncos (30-30-5) have lost five in a row. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has a game story 
In Edmonton, D Colby Williams and F Taylor Cooper each had a goal and two assists to help the Regina Pats to a 6-4 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Williams opened the scoring with his eighth goal, via the PP, at 1:36 of the first period. . . . F Sam Steel gave the Pats a 2-0 lead with his 17th goal, shorthanded, at 6:14. . . . The Oil Kings tied it before the end of the period as F Cole Benson got his 10th at 12:26 and F Brandon Baddock got his 17th at 14:03. . . . The Pats took control by scoring the next three goals, two in the second period and one in the third. . . . F Adam Brooks got No. 27 and Cooper got his 25th. . . . Pats F Braden Christoffer added his 22nd at 15:19 of the third, on a PP, to make it 5-2. . . . Christoffer later got the empty-netter. . . . F Edgars Kulda, with his 11th, and F Brett Pollock, with his 31st, made it interesting as they got the Oil Kings to within one with goals at 16:20 and 16:48. . . . D Aaron Irving had two assists for Edmonton. . . . Regina was 2-for-8 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-for-3. . . . Regina (35-20-9) is 2-0-1 in its last three. . . . Edmonton (30-29-7) have points in its previous four games (3-0-1). . . .
In Prince George, the Cougars erased a 2-1 deficit with three third-period goals and beat the Victoria Royals, 4-3. . . . F Jari Erricson of the Cougars tied the score 2-2 at 5:08 of the third with his 22nd goal. . . . F Brad Morrison put the home side ahead with his 21st goal at 8:35 and F Kody McDonald added insurance with his seventh goal at 15:22. . . . Victoria F Greg Chase scored his 20th goal, on a PP, at 16:03. . . . Erricson also had one assist. . . . D Jack Walker drew two assists for the Royals, while Chase had an assist. F Alex Forsberg scored No. 25 and also had an assist. . . . Cougars G Ty Edmonds stopped 34 shots, one more than Justin Paulic of the Royals. . . . Victoria was 3-for-6 on the PP; Prince George was 1-for-4. . . . The Cougars (28-33-4) have won five in a row. . . . The Royals (34-27-4) have lost two straight. . . . 
In Kamloops, F Cole Ully scored twice to lead the Blazers to a 4-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Ully, who has 32 goals, scored at 12:03 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. . . . Kamloops F Collin Shirley got his 23rd at 16:54. . . . After Kamloops F Jake Kryski scored his ninth at 2:26 of the second, the Chiefs were never able to get into this one. . . . Kamloops F Matt Needham had two assists. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram stopped 36 shots, 10 more than Garret Hughson of the Chiefs. . . . The game featured the WHL’s second- and third-winningest head coaches. Don Hay of the Blazers now has 634 victories, while Spokane’s Don Nachbaur has 629. . . . The Blazers (25-33-7) have points in four straight (3-0-1). . . . The Chiefs (31-28-4) had a four-game winning streak snapped. . . . 
In Regina, the Pats ran their winning streak over Saskatoon to 13 games with a 4-1 victory over the Blades. . . . Regina F Adam Brooks, who had missed eight games with a knee injury, scored his 21st goal and added an assist. The Pats also got a goal, his 18th, and an assist from Jesse Gabrielle. . . . Regina scored three times in the second period, the first, from F Braden Christoffer, coming 44 seconds in on a PP. he’s got 18 goals. . . . Regina F Patrick D’Amico had two assists. . . . F Ryan Graham, who had missed nine games with a back injury, scored his 14th goal, a shorthanded effort, for the Blades. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple made his 15th straight start. He stopped 32 shots, eight more than Brock Hamm of the Blades. . . . The Pats (31-19-7) had lost their previous three games (0-3-1). . . . The Blades (17-38-3) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Spokane, the Calgary Hitmen scored the game’s last three goals, all in the third period, and beat the Chiefs, 4-3. . . . F Kailer Yamamoto’s 18th goal gave the Chiefs a 3-1 lead at 4:57 of the third. . . . D Micheal Zipp got his ninth goal at 6:23 to get Calgary to within a goal. . . . F Elliott Peterson, with his ninth, tied it at 7:48. . . . D Colby Harmsworth won it with his second goal of the season, at 12:38. . . . F Adam Tambellini drew two assists for the Hitmen. . . . Calgary G Brendan Burke turned aside 26 shots, six more than Spokane’s Garret Hughson. . . . Spokane F Calder Brooks had one assist in his first game since Jan. 2. He had been out with an undisclosed injury. . . . The Chiefs also had D Nick Charif back in the lineup. He last played on Jan. 24. . . . This was the first of 11 straight road games for the Hitmen, whose home building is being taken over by the Canadian men’s curling championship. . . . The game featured a matchup of the Helgesen brothers, F Kenton, 20 with the Hitmen and D Tyson, 17, with the Chiefs. They are from Fairview, Alta., and had family in the crowd. "It was a pretty special experience," Kenton told Chris Derrick of the Spokane Spokesman-Review. "I've never really played against him. . It was kind of cool. We were kind of hitting each other a few times and getting into it.” . . . The Hitmen (35-18-5) have won three straight. . . . The Chiefs (27-26-4) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Everett, F Tyler Sandhu scored the only goal of a three-round shootout as the Tri-City Americans beat the Silvertips, 2-1. . . . F Carson Stadnyk gave the home team a 1-0 lead with his 23rd goal at 14:24 of the first period. . . . D Parker Wotherspoon tied it with his ninth goal at 16:56 of the third. . . . Each team was 0-for-2 on the PP. . . . Tri-City G Eric Comrie stopped 30 shots through OT, while Austin Lotz of the Silvertips stopped 26. . . . Sandhu began this season with Everett, before being traded to the Red Deer Rebels and then to the Americans. . . . Everett F Logan Aasman (concussion) played in his first game since Nov. 30, but the Silvertips were without D Noah Juulsen (undisclosed injury). . . . Tri-City’s scratches included D Brandon Carlo, who took a puck to the head on Tuesday. . . . Tri-City has taken three of four games from Everett over the past two weeks. . . . The Americans (27-29-3) had lost three straight. . . . Everett (35-16-7) has points in five straight (2-0-3). . . . 
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