Pats gain some life . . . Rockets have Royals on ropes . . . Brown a hall of famer

D Michael Busto (Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Kootenay, 2001-07) has signed a one-year extension with Angers (France, Ligue Magnus). This season, in 24 games, he had three goals and 11 assists. . . .
F Riley Emmerson (Tri-City, 2004-06) has signed a one-year contract as player/head coach with the Edinburgh Capitals (Scotland, UK Elite).This season, with Edinburgh, had had 14 goals and 18 assists in 50 games. That was strictly in a playing role; he was an alternate captain.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:

In Regina, the Pats broke a 1-1 tie with two second-period goals and went on to beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 3-2. . . . Brandon leads the series 2-1 with Game 4 in Regina tonight. . . . Game 5 is scheduled for Brandon on Friday. . . . The Wheat Kings had won their previous six games. . . . F Jared McAmmond’s first playoff goal gave the Pats a 1-0 lead at 4:45 of the first period. . . . That was Regina’s first lead of the series. . . . Brandon F Stelio Mattheos, the first pick in the 2014 bantam draft, tied it with his first goal at 15:48. . . . D Carter Hansen put the Pats back into the lead with his first goal at 1:53 of the second. . . . F Jesse Gabrielle, who was acquired from the Pats from Brandon in January, got his second goal at 5:08 for a 3-1 lead. . . . Brandon F Peter Quenneville, with his second goal, cut into the lead on a PP at 18:32 of the second. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple stopped 39 shots, 11 more than Brandon’s Jordan Papirny. . . . Brandon was 1-for-3 on the PP; Regina was 0-for-1. . . . Among Brandon’s scratches were F Rihards Bukarts, F Jayce Hawryluk, F Morgan Klimchuk and D Colton Waltz. . . . D Chase Harrison (undisclosed injury) and D Sergey Zborovskiy (suspended) were among Regina’s scratches. . . . D Brady Pouteau, a fourth-round pick in the 2013 draft, made his playoff debut with the Pats. Poteau, who turned 17 on Jan. 9, is from Oak Bluff, Man. (Not Oak Lake. Not Oak River. Oak Bluff.) He played for the midget AAA Pembina Valley Hawks. . . . Attendance was 5,236.

In Victoria, special teams were a big deal as the Kelowna Rockets dumped the Royals, 4-2. . . . The Rockets lead the series, 3-0, having outscored the Royals 13-5. . . . The Rockets scored a shorthanded goal and two on the PP as they erased an early 1-0 deficit. . . . F Alex Forsberg got Victoria on the board with his third goal at 1:03 of the first period. . . . Kelowna F Leon Draisaitl tied it with a shorthanded goal at 8:18. It was his first goal of this series and third of the playoffs. . . . F Nick Merkley gave Kelowna the lead with a PP score at 14:19. It was his second goal of the playoffs. . . . The Royals tied it when F Greg Chase got his sixth goal 54 seconds into the second period. . . . The Rockets scored the game’s last two goals, with F Gage Quinney getting his fourth goal at 9:02 of the second and D Madison Bowey scoring his fourth, on a PP, at 15:16. . . . Kelowna was 2-for-6 on the PP; Victoria was 0-for-6. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle stopped 28 shots as the Rockets ran their winning streak to seven games. . . . Victoria G Coleman Vollrath turned aside 24 shots. . . . Rockets F Tyson Baillie had two assists. . . . Yesterday, in this space, I mentioned that Shaw TV was covering the Medicine Hat-Calgary series in its entirety. Yes, that was in error. Shaw actually is showing all games in the Kelowna-Victoria series, including Game 4. It will be played in Victoria tonight. . . . D Josh Morrissey was among Kelowna’s scratches, although he is in Victoria with his teammates. . . . Attendance was 5,517.
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F Cole Ully of the Kamloops Blazers has been reassigned to the Texas Stars, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, Ully was selected by Dallas in the fifth round of the NHL’s 2013 draft and has signed an NHL deal. Ully has been in Texas for a while now, but the move was just made official, which frees him up to dress for the AHL team. This season, he had 94 points, including 34 goals, in 69 games.
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I was remiss in not mentioning earlier in the week that Bob Brown, the architect of those great Kamloops Blazers teams in the late-1980s and early-1990s, was inducted into the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday. (I, too, was surprised that he hadn’t been inducted a long time ago.) Brown was the general manager, head cook and chief bottle washer when the Blazers on the 1992, 1994 and 1995 Memorial Cup titles. . . . If Brown wasn’t the best GM in WHL history, he certainly is in the conversation. . . . These days, Brown is a scout with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.
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F Connor McDavid totalled 14 points in the Erie Otters’ sweep of the London Knights in the OHL playoffs. Erie will play the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the next round.
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In the MJHL, the Portage Terriers completed a sweep of the Steinbach Pistons to sweep the championship final. The Terriers, the host team for the RBC Cup, went 12-0 in the playoffs. The Terriers had gone 53-3-4 in the regular season. . . . In the BCHL, F Dakota Conroy (Brandon, Victoria, Prince Albert, 2010-15) drew four assists to lead the Penticton Vees to an 8-5 victory over the host Nanaimo Clippers. The Clippers won twice in Penticton; the Vees won twice in Nanaimo. They’ll play Game 5 in Penticton on Thursday and Game 6 in Nanaimo on Friday.
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THE COACHING GAME:

The QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs and head coach Ross Yates announced Tuesday that they have chosen to part company. . . . Yates joined the Sea Dogs as an assistant coach in 2012 and was the head coach by October 2013. He also was co-general manager, with Christian Vermette. Prior to this season, Yates dropped the GM part of his duties as Darrell Young became director of hockey operations. The Sea Dogs finished this season 32-26-10, then lost a first-round series to the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.
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The OHL’s Niagara IceDogs announced Tuesday that GM/head coach Marty Williamson will be out of action for the immediate future. “Williams is currently suffering from heart issues, which he is working to address,” according to a news release from the team. . . . Assistant coaches Dave Bell and Billy Burke are handling the team in Williamson’s absence. . . . Later Tuesday, the IceDogs beat the visiting Oshawa Generals 7-3 in Game 3 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Generals lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 in St. Catharines on Thursday.
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The SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers have decided not to renew the contract of general manager/head coach Rockie Zinger. This season, the Klippers went 37-12-7 to finish atop the Kramer Division. Only the Sherwood Division’s Melfort Mustangs, with 87 points, finished with more points than the Klippers (81). Kindersley was 6-4 in the playoffs, losing a semifinal series in six games to the Notre Dame Hounds. . . . Zinger moved up from assistant coach to head coach in Kindersley in December 2010 when he replaced Larry Wintoneak.

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The new rink for @tigershockey is taking shape on the west side of Medicine Hat. #viewfromthehighway pic.twitter.com/SEJY55WYqs
— Brad Curle (@BCurle_Hitmen) April 14, 2015

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
Nothing in the way of signings today, just some odds and ends from the KHL . . .
The KHL held their “extension” draft to stock the new Russian team, Admiral Vladivostok, on Monday. No WHL or North American players were taken in the draft. The league didn’t release the names of the players who were available for selection, only the players chosen by Admiral.
The KHL released its 2013-14 schedule. The 52-game regular season starts Sept. 4 and ends March 3, with no games scheduled for Nov. 2 through Nov. 10 or from Dec. 13 to 24 for national team tournaments. There also will be a four-week break (Jan. 30 to Feb. 24) for the Olympics. By contrast, the NHL is planning on breaking for the Olympics on Feb. 9, just three days before the start of the tournament on Feb. 12.
Here is something you would never see in the NHL. KHL vice-president Vladimir Shalaev attacked the schedule, saying he is “embarrassed” that it offers only 52 games due to international hockey commitments. “A league like the KHL has no right giving fans only 52 games in the regular season,” Shalaev said. “It’s a mockery; it’s like making Pavarotti sing once a year.”
Russian Hockey Federation president Vladimir Tretiak said last month that it was the KHL’s duty to organize its regular-season schedule based on the interests of the national team.
The KHL also released team salary cap data for the 2012-13 season. The 26 KHL teams paid total salaries of 13.8 billion rubles (US$434.4 million) to 791 players for an average per player of 17.4 million rubles (US$549,134). This does not include NHL lockout contracts, which didn’t count against the league salary cap.
Three teams had player payrolls of more than 1 billion rubles (US$31.5 million): Ak Bars Kazan (1.06 billion rubles, US$33.4 million), Salavat Yulaev Ufa (1.043 billion rubles, US$32.9 million), and SKA St. Petersburg (1.023 billion rubles, US$32.2 million).
Metallurg Novokuznetsk had the lowest player payroll at 128.5 million rubles (US$4 million).
The league didn’t provide individual player salary information but 37 players counted more than 60 million rubles (US$1.89 million) each against the salary cap.
The KHL has import rules, unlike the NHL. For the 21 Russian-based clubs, they are allowed five non-Russian citizens on their rosters. There are two exceptions for 2013-14 season.
Admiral Vladivostok are allowed seven and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl are allowed six. The seven clubs based outside of Russia have a sort of “reverse import” rule. Each team must have at least five players on their roster who are eligible to play on their country’s national team.
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1. The City of Medicine Hat is getting a new multi-purpose facility that will include a 7,059-seat arena. City Council voted 8-1 in favour of the construction of the Medicine Hat Regional Event Centre in the northwest part of the city by the Trans-Canada Highway. . . . According to a news release, the facility will be “designed by PBK Architects and will be constructed by PCL Construction Leaders. Council also agreed to have SMG Worldwide Entertainment and Convention Venue Management operate the building which will become the new home for the Medicine Hat Tigers.” . . . Shovels should be in the ground in August, with the Tigers in the new arena for the start of the 2015-16 season. . . . The cost: $74 million.

2. Hey, Medicine Hat, well done. But, sheesh, I thought you might name a new arena after the one and only . . . the legendary Bob Ridley. . . . There are enough Centres, Places and Arenas out there. Why not go with something like, uhh, Bob Ridley’s Bus Stop? . . . Hey, just thinking out loud here. . . .

3. On the subject of arena names, the Ottawa Senators have called a news conference for today at which, according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, it will be announced that Scotiabank Place has been replaced by the Canadian Tire Centre.

4. Marty Williamson, the GM/head coach of the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs, isn’t about to complain about the CHL’s decision to get rid of import goaltenders. But that doesn’t mean he understands why it’s happening. Bill Potrecz of the St. Catharines Standard has more right here, including this from Williamson:
“We believe we’re the best development league and we always take pride in making those comments. We have the Yakupovs as well as the Ryan Stromes and Dougie Hamiltons so that makes for quite a league. Now, to me, there’s a little asterisk beside it because now we don’t have the best goalies. We have the best North American goalies, but we don’t have the best goalies in the world coming to our league.”

5. If you have been watching the Stanley Cup final, perhaps you are asking yourself: How is it that Boston Bruins D Zdeno Chara didn’t win the Norris Trophy? . . . Then you realize that he finished fifth in the voting. And then you go and bang your head against a wall.

6. The Lethbridge Hurricanes have hired Kyle McDonald as their high performance coach. . . . McDonald, the owner of Regina-based Competitive Will Training, actually began his hockey coaching career as an assistant with the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns while he was studying psychology. Since then, he has had coaching stints at the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask., with Hockey Canada and with the Iowa State Cyclones.



7. The OHL’s Kitchener Rangers have promoted assistant coach Troy Smith to assistant GM/assistant coach and signed him through 2014-15. . . . They also extended assistant coach Mike McKenzie through 2014-15. . . . They work alongside GM/head coach Steve Spott.




8. The AHL’s Calder Cup final could be decided tonight as the Grand Rapids Griffins take a 3-2 series lead over the Crunch into Game 6 in Syracuse. . . . Of course, the Griffins led this series 3-0 before losing two in a row at home. . . . If it goes to Game 7, it would be decided in Syracuse on Thursday night.



9. I don’t know where he got the information, but I’m certain that I heard TSN’s Dan O’Toole say the NHL Entry Draft is history and that it’s now simply the NHL Draft. . . . To that, I say: It’s about time!




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Tri-City defenceman Zach Yuen (left) and goaltender Chris Driedger
combine to deny Chilliwack centre Kevin Sundher during a
Friday night game in Kennewick, Wash.
(Photo by John Allen/AridAcres.com)

The OHL has suspended Marty Williamson, the head coach of the Niagara IceDogs, for five games for actions during and after a Thursday night game. Not enough coaches get into it with the officials and then repeat it for public consumption. A five-game suspension would indicate that the OHL doesn't want its coaches going public.
There’s more right here.
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D Luke Fenske of the Vancouver Giants lost some teeth the other night. On Friday, he took time to show off his new smile and Dan Elliott, the Giants’ director of broadcasting and media relations, was on hand with a camera. That pic is right here.
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The WHL has issued a response to the lawsuit that has been filed by former Everett Silvertips captain Zach Dailey. Check out that response right here.
Somewhere Paul Kelly, the executive director of College Hockey Inc., is smiling as he enjoys his morning coffee.
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Kyle Woodlief of of Red Line Report checks in with a look to the NHL’s 2012 draft and which WHL players may be early selections. You can start with Everett Silvertips D Ryan Murray. In fact, Woodlief and his staff wonder if the first five picks from the WHL might be defencemen. . . . Check that out right here.
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Mike Caccioppoli, who covers the Seattle Thunderbirds for mynorthwest.com, has posted a lengthy interview with general manager Russ Farwell. Lots of interesting thoughts on the Thunderbirds right here.
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F Cody Eakin and F Brayden Schenn will renew acquaintances tonight in Cranbrook as Eakin’s Kootenay Ice plays host to Schenn’s Saskatoon Blades. They were teammates with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship and were the biggest fish in the trading pond at the WHL deadline. . . . Patrick King of Sportsnet has more right here.
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If you’re into the late Stieg Larsson’s trilogy (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo; The Girl Who Played with Fire; The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest), speculation continues on whether a fourth book may be forthcoming at some point. Eva Gabrielsson, Larsson’s longtime girlfriend, has published a memoir. There’s more right here.
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Should the Regina Pats qualify for the playoffs, they won’t be playing first-round games in the Brandt Centre, which is their home arena. The Ford World men’s curling championship will be decided in Regina, April 2-10. With the necessary setup time needed for the curling event, it’s unlikely that the Pats would get into the building for first-round games. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has that and some interesting stuff on the Pats’ lease negotiations, and it’s all right here.
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This week’s WHL injury report lists 11 players as being out with concussions and four others with head injuries. . . . Craig Hartsburg, the head coach of the Everett Silvertips, will coach his 500th major junior game tonight against the Cougars in Prince George. He also has coached the OHL’s Guelph Storm and Soo Greyhounds. . . . Hartsburg also has coached 491 NHL games. He will get to No. 1,000 combined when the Portland Winterhawks visit Everett on March 12. . . . The Tri-City Americans have recalled F Dylan Fluter, 16, from the midget AAA North Battlefords Stars. An eighth-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft, the 5-foot-9, 160-pound Fluter has 30 points and 45 penalty minutes in 42 games with the Stars.
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SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Brandon, F Scott Glennie scored two goals and set up another as the Wheat Kings dumped the Swift Current Broncos, 10-1. . . . F Hampus Gustafsson, who ended an 18-game drought, had a goal and two assists, as did F Mark Stone and F David Toews. . . . Brandon F Matt MacKay scored 12 seconds into the game. He has goals in six straight games and points in each of his last 13 outings. . . . Brandon G Corbin Boes stopped 22 shots, losing his shutout bid when F Adam Lowry got his 15th goal at 19:19 of the third period. . . . Attendance was 4,508. . . . The Wheat Kings visit Swift Current tonight. . . . The Wheat Kings have won four straight and eight of 10. They are seventh in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Edmonton and and three in front of Prince Albert. . . . The Broncos, who have lost four straight and nine of 10, are ninth, four points out of a playoff spot. . . . Swift Current was without F Justin Dowling (ankle) and F Dillon Wagner (knee). As well, F Killian Hutt (concussion) remains out. He hasn’t played since Dec. 10. . . .
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In Regina, the Calgary Hitmen scored two shootout goals and beat the Pats, 2-1. . . . The teams will meet again Monday at Calgary’s McMahon Stadium in the first major junior outdoor game to be played in Canada. . . . Regina went into this one with a 9-1 record in shootouts. . . . Calgary got SO goals from F Brooks Macek and F Jimmy Bubnick. . . . Regina F Nils Moser scored his fifth goal at 17:10 of t he second period. . . . Calgary forced OT on F Rob Trzonkowski’s second goal at 12:18 of the third. . . . Attendance was 4,167. . . . The Pats are tied for 10th with Lethbridge, five points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Hitmen, who have won two straight, are last in the conference, but now are just six points behind Lethbridge and Regina. . . . The Pats will play in Medicine Hat tonight. . . .
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In Prince Albert, F Quinton Howden struck for four goals to lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 6-3 victory over the Raiders, who are celebrating their 40th anniversary this weekend. . . . Howden has 37 goals. . . . D Nathan Deck gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead at 2:30 of the first. . . . Howden then scored twice to put Moose Jaw out front. . . . Howden added a third goal at 2:40 of the third, giving the Warriors a 3-2 lead. . . . His fourth goal, at 13:50 of the third, came via the PP and gave Moose Jaw a 5-3 lead. . . . F Brett Lyon scored his fifth goal in 20 games since Moose Jaw acquired him from Vancouver. Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald points out that Lyon had three goals in his first 143 regular-season games. . . . Moose Jaw G Thomas Heemskerk stopped 32 shots, four more than Prince Albert’s Eric Williams. . . . Attendance was 2,442. . . . The teams meet again tonight in Moose Jaw. . . . The Warriors, who are without F Antonin Honejsek (ankle) and F Brayden Cuthbert (concussion) are fifth, seven points behind Medicine Hat and 12 in front of Edmonton. . . . The Raiders are eighth, three points behind Brandon and four ahead of Swift Current. . . .
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In Edmonton, F Thomas Frazee’s second goal of the game, at 2:32 of OT, gave the Kamloops Blazers a 4-3 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . Frazee, who was playing in his 301st regular-season game, has 26 goals. . . . Kamloops F Brendan Ranford was kept off the scoresheet as he played his 200th regular-season game with the Blazers. He is from Edmonton. . . . C Dalibor Bortnak had two assists for Kamloops. . . . F Michael St. Croix had a goal, his 23rd, and two helpers for Edmonton. . . . Oil Kings F Kristians Pelss forged a 3-3 tie with his ninth goal just 17 seconds into the third period. . . . Kamloops G Jeff Bosch stopped 46 shots. . . . Edmonton G Jon Groenheyde, who was acquired from the Blazers on Nov. 4, turned aside 31 shots. . . . Attendance was 5,492. . . . The Blazers moved three points ahead of Chilliwack in the race for the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . Edmonton is sixth in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Brandon. . . . Kamloops moves on to Red Deer tonight, while Edmonton is in Lethbridge. . . .
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In Cranbrook, the host Kootenay Ice scored the game’s first four goals and went on to beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 4-1. . . . Ice D Brayden McNabb scored his 16th goal and added an assist, while D Luke Paulsen, recently returned from a concussion, had two assists, as did F Matt Fraser. . . . The Ice had a 2-0 lead when F Joe Antilla and F Max Reinhart each scored shorthanded goals. . . . Reinhart has 30 goals this season. . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 27 shots. He lost his shutout when F Linden Vey, who leads the WHL points race, notched his 39th goal at 8:22 of the third. . . . Attendance was 2,593. . . . The Ice welcomed back F Steele Boomer (ankle) who hadn’t played in more than a month. . . . Ice D Joey Leach (ankle) could be back skating next week. . . . The Tigers had F Tyler Pitlick (concussion) back for this one. . . . The Ice is third in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Tigers. . . . The Ice is at home tonight to Saskatoon, while the Tigers return home to face Regina. . . .
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In Red Deer, F John Persson scored his 29th goal of the season at 1:58 of OT to give the Rebels a 2-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . Red Deer F Adam Kambeitz gave his side a 1-0 lead at 8:58 of the first period. . . . Lethbridge D Daniel Johnston tied it with his seocnd goal at 17:53 of the second on a PP. . . . Red Deer G Darcy Kuemper stopped 27 shots, one fewer than Lethbridge’s Brandon Anderson. . . . Attendance was 4,619. . . . The Rebels closed to within six points of idle Saskatoon, which leads the conference, but the Blades hold two games in hand. . . . Red Deer is at home to Kamloops tonight. . . . The Hurricanes meet the visiting Oil Kings. . . .
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In Prince George, G Kent Simpson stopped 28 shots and F Scott MacDonald scored twice as the Everett Silvertips beat the Cougars, 4-1. . . . D Sena Acolatse gave the home team a 1-0 lead 52 seconds into the first period. . . . Everett F Jari Erricson, who is from Prince George, tied it with his seventh goal at 10:11 of the first. . . . MacDonald, who has seven goals, broke the 1-1 tie at 8:06 of the third period. . . . He later added an empty-netter. . . . Everett D Ryan Murray had two assists. . . . Attendance was 2,003. . . . The Silvertips closed to within two points of sixth-place Prince George in the Western Conference. . . . The teams meet again tonight in Prince George. . . .
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In Kelowna, the Spokane Chiefs erased a 2-1 deficit and beat the Rockets, 3-2. . . . Spokane F Levko Koper had two goals, giving him 31, and an assist. . . . Koper tied the score 2-2 at 10:19 of the second period and D Brenden Kichton got the winner on a PP just 50 seconds into the third period. . . . Spokane was 2-for-4 on the PP; the Rockets were 0-for-2. . . . D Davis Vandane assisted on each of Spokane’s last two goals. . . . Spokane G Mac Engel stopped 22 shots, 14 fewer than Kelowna’s Adam Brown. . . . Attendance was 6,101. . . . The loss, combined with a Vancouver victory, dropped the Rockets into second in the B.C. Division, while the Chiefs closed to within one point of conference-leading Portland. . . . Vancouver travels to Kelowna tonight, while the Chiefs visit the Tri-City Americans. . . .
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In Kennewick, Wash., the Tri-City Americans got three goals and an assist from F Justin Feser as they beat the Chilliwack Bruins, 6-2. . . . The Americans, who have won 17 of their last 18 at home, scored the game’s last five goals. . . . Feser, who finished at plus-6, has 22 goals. . . . Americans F Patrick Holland, who missed their last game with the flu, had a goal, his 20th, and three assists. . . . Americans F Connor Rankin had a goal and two assists. . . . Feser, Holland and Rankin are linemates. . . . Americans D Tyler Schmidt was one and one. . . . Holland, Rankin and Schmidt each was plus-5. . . . Chilliwack F Ryan Howse scored the game’s first goal, his 41st. It also was his 16th on the PP, which tied F Oscar Moller’s single-season franchise record. . . . With G Drew Owsley still injured, G Chris Driedger stopped 14 of 16 shots in his third straight start. He made way for Cam Gorchynski with 14:13 to play. Gorchynski, who stopped four shots, will be returning to the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies early next week. . . .The Bruins dressed only 16 skaters, two under the maximum. . . . Attendance was 5,518. . . . The Americans are third in the U.S. Division, two points behind Spokane and three back of Portland. The Americans hold two games in hand on Portland and three on Spokane. . . . Spokane is in Kennewick tonight, while the Bruins are in Portland. . . .
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In Vancouver, F Nathan Burns and F Jordan Martinook each scored twice as the Giants beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 6-2. . . . F Teal Burns drew three assists for Vancouver. . . . Martinook also had an assist. . . . The Giants scored the game’s first three goals and the last three. . . . Attendance was 8,387. . . . The Giants moved back atop the B.C. Division, meaning they again are the Western Conference’s second seed. . . . The Thunderbirds now are six points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Giants are in Kelowna tonight. . . . The Thunderbirds are at home to Chilliwack on Sunday. . . .
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Two minors:
Lethbridge F Austin Fyten
Seattle F Justin Hickman

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