THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Petr Senkerik (Kootenay, Prince George, 1999-2001) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Berkut Kiev (Ukraine, PHL). He was pointless in one game with Kometa Brno (Czech Republic, Extraliga) before being loaned to Havlickuv Brno (Czech Republic, 1.Liga), where he had three assists in 23 games. . . .
F Tomas Karpov (Moose Jaw, Calgary, 2007-09) was released by Dukla Jihlava (Czech Republic, 1.Liga). He had one goal and three assists in 18 games for Dukla. Karpov was assigned on loan to Dukla by Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga) in early June. The press release from Dukla says that Karpov's agent is looking for another club to take on the loan assignment. . . .
F Björn Svensson (Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, 2003-06) signed a contract through the 2013-14 season with MoDo Örnsköldsvik (Sweden, Elitserien) after a successful tryout. He has three goals and four assists in 11 games for MoDo this season. In two prior tryouts this season, Svensson was pointless in six exhibition games with Eisbären Berlin (Germany, DEL) and had three goals and four assists in 10 games with Sierre (Switzerland, NL B).
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Kelly Hrudey, one of five owners of the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers, says that bringing a WHL franchise to the Vancouver Island city isn’t even on their current radar, writes Josh Aldrich of the Nanaimo Daily News. “Everyone is aware of it, for sure, but all of our conversations focus on the B.C. Hockey League and our role in it and our contribution to it,” Hrudey told Aldrich.
That story, which focuses on Hrudey’s relationship with the Clippers, is right here. No, the story doesn’t make mention of any talk there may be related to a new arena.
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There is an interesting story about Spokane Chiefs F Liam Stewart posted on the IIHF website. It’s interesting, not because of is parents, but because it details how he came to get clearance to play internationally for Great Britain, despite the fact that he hasn’t lived there. That story is right here.
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Crooner Michael Buble, whose Christmas CD just happens to be playing in my car these days, was on the ice with the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. He isn’t expected to play tonight against the Detroit Red Wings. Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun was at practice yesterday and his story on Buble’s stint is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Robin Gomez (Calgary, Seattle, 1999-2003) has joined the U of Victoria hockey club as an assistant coach. He will work alongside head coach Harry Schamhart and assistant coach Cole Byers. Last season, Gomez was head coach of the junior B Saanich Braves of the Vancouver Island junior league.
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The Portland Winterhawks have a friend in Mitch Lammert, a local hockey player who is battling cancer. Mitch visited the Winterhawks on Thursday and spent some time with the players on the ice and in the dressing room.
That story, from KATU.com, is right here.
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Meanwhile, Jim Beseda of the Oregonian takes a look at the Portland Winterhawks organization and how they’re working just as hard off the ice to as they are on the ice to ensure success. (Did you know the Winterhawks have 40 full-time employees?)
Beseda’s piece is right here.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers, who next play on Wednesday when they visit the Saskatoon Blades, have four players out with concussions. According to Darren Steinke of the Medicine Hat News, F Sam Dezman, F Tyler Pitlick, D Scott Ramsay and D Matthew Konan all are sidelined with concussions. . . . The Tri-City Americans, having lost G Drew Owsley to a knee injury on Saturday, have brought in G Cam Gorchynski, who had been with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies. . . . The Tri-City Herald’s annual Best of the West poll was in the Sunday paper. If you haven’t seen it, it’s right here. . . .Michael Buble, who owns a chunk of the Vancouver Giants, was a winner at the Grammy Awards on Sunday. His album Crazy Love was saluted as Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. . . .
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SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Chilliwack, F Adam Hughesman scored two goals to help the Tri-City Americans to a 6-1 victory over the Bruins. . . . Hughesman has 38 goals. . . . F Carter Ashton and F Brendan Shinniman each had a goal and two assists for the visitors, while D Tyler Schmidt drew three assists. . . . G Chris Driedger, starting for Tri-City in place of the injured Drew Owsley (knee), stopped 20 shots in his fourth career start. He was beaten only by F Ryan Howse, who got his 40th goal of the season at 17:35 of the first period. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore set a franchise record by playing in his 49th game of the season. He stopped 34 shots but left trailing 6-1. . . . Braden Gamble relieved him and stopped all five shots he faced. . . . The Bruins, who had won three in a row, were without D Brandon Manning (suspended), D Zach Habscheid (injured), D Jeff Einhorn (injured) and F Tim Traber (broken leg). . . . Attendance was 3,804. . . . The Americans are back within one point of second-place Spokane in the U.S. Division. . . . The Bruins hold down eighth spot in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Kamloops. Chilliwack now holds three games in hand on Kamloops. . . .
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In Red Deer, F Brett Connolly scored the game’s last two goals as the Prince George Cougars scored a 4-3 OT victory over the Rebels. . . . Connolly tied the game 3-3 at 18:02 of the third period, then won it with his 35th goal this season, on the PP, at 2:33 of extra time. . . . D Sena Acolatse had two assists for the Cougars, who got 39 saves from G Ty Rimmer. . . . Red Deer F Brett Ferguson ran his point streak to 14 games with one assist. . . . Attendance was 4,527. . . . With the loser point, the Rebels, who lead the Central Division, moved seven points clear of the Kootenay Ice and now are within a point of  Eastern Conference-leading Saskatoon. . . . The Cougars are sixth in the Western Conference, four points behind Kelowna and four ahead of Everett. . . .
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In Swift Current, D Adrian Van de Mosselaer broke a 2-2 tie at 11:53 of the the third period to give the Edmonton Oil Kings a 3-2 victory over the Broncos. . . . Van de Mosselaer has four goals this season. . . . F Jordan Hickmott and F Colton Stephenson had two assists each for Edmonton. . . . And on a weekend when the WHL played its first game in Whitehorse, Edmonton F David Stephens scored his first WHL goal. Stephens is a 17-year-old Whitehorse native. The goal came in his 28th game. . . . F Justin Dowling had a goal, his 19th, and an assist for the Broncos. . . . Edmonton G Jon Groenheyde stopped 25 shots, seven fewer than Swift Current’s Mark Friesen. . . . Attendance was 1,878. . . . Edmonton, which was 0-for-0 on the PP, took three of the game’s four minor penalties. . . . The Broncos were 0-for-2 on the PP. . . . The Oil Kings are sixth in the Eastern Conference, five points ahead of Brandon. . . . The Broncos remain tied for eighth with Prince Albert, just two points ahead of Regina and Lethbridge. . . .
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In Everett, D Zak Stebner scored twice, including the OT winner, as the Kelowna Rockets beat the Silvertips, 3-2. . . . Stebner scored the game’s first goal, at 9:28 of the first period on a PP, and the last, at 2:22 of extra time. He’s got seven goals this season. . . . Kelowna F Max Adolph scored his third goal of the season. He now has goals in two straight games. . . . Everett F Josh Winquist and F Josh Birkholz forged a 2-2 tie with goals 1:21 apart late in the second period. . . . Kelowna F Shane McColgan had two assists. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke stopped 33 shots, four more than Everett’s Kent Simpson. . . . Attendance was 5,574. . . . Kelowna closed to within two points of B.C. Division-leading Vancouver and the Rockets hold one game in hand. The team that wins the B.C. Division will be the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, meaning home-ice advantage in the first round of playoffs. the division’s second-place team looks certain to finish fifth in the conference, which is looking like it will mean a first-round date with Spokane or Tri-City, with the U.S. team holding home-ice advantage. . . . Everett is seventh in the conference, four points behind Prince George and three ahead of Chilliwack. . . .
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In Kent, Wash., G Calvin Pickard kicked out 57 shots and the host Seattle Thunderbirds scored the game’s last three goals to beat the Spokane Chiefs, 3-1. . . . Pickard won his 20th game of the season. He is 20-26-8. . . . F Anthony Bardaro gave the Chiefs a 1-0 lead at 10:27 of the first period. . . . Seattle F Travis Toomey tied it at 15:09 of the second and F Colin Jacobs gave his side the lead at 1:57 of the third. . . . F Burke Gallimore got the empty-netter at 19:04. . . . D Ryan Button had three assists for Seattle, while F Brendan Rouse had two. . . . Spokane G Mac Engel stopped 34 shots. . . . Attendance was 2,538. . . . The Thunderbirds are last in the Western Conference, but now are just three points behind Chilliwack, which is eight. . . . Spokane is second in the U.S. Division, five points behind Portland and one ahead of Tri-City. The Chiefs now have one game in hand on Portland.
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SUNDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None to report.

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

Tuesday . . .

Hardy Sauter, the head coach of the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, is thrilled that professional hockey is coming back to Oklahoma City.
Sauter played nine seasons with the Central league’s Oklahoma City Blazers. During that stretch, he established himself as arguably the best defenceman in CHL history. In each of his first three seasons, he put 100 points on the board.
He joined the Chiefs as an assistant coach prior to 2007-08 and now is in his second season as the team’s head coach. He took over from Bill Peters, who now is the head coach of the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs.
But back to Oklahoma City . . .
The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers announced earlier this month that they will allow their affiliation agreement with the Springfield, Mass., Falcons to expire after this season. Instead, the Oilers will revive the AHL franchise which they own -- it last operated as the Edmonton Roadrunners during the lockout season of 2004-05 -- and set up shop in Oklahoma City.
The Blazers ceased operations after last season and there had long been speculation that something would happen involving an AHL franchise.
Asked if he feels the city is capable of surviving at an AHL level, Sauter replied: “Yes, I believe so.”
“I think they have an excellent fan base for hockey at any level,” he continued. “I don’t know exactly what an American league team needs as far as numbers. But I would think they’d get anywhere from 5,000 to 8,000 people on a nightly basis.
“The people there love their hockey.”
When Sauter played there, from 1996-2005, it wasn’t unusual to see 9,000 fans in what now is the Cox Convention Centre, a facility that is in the process of being renovated.
“My first three years, they were really hot and I think we averaged more than 9,000,” Sauter said. “My last four or five years, it was somewhere between 8,600 and 8,900.
“And they are moving back to the old building where the hockey atmosphere is way better than the new building (Ford Center).”
Last season, the Blazers averaged 6,508 fans for 32 home games.
As for a leap to the NHL . . .
“If they want to be a big-time city with big-time sports, obviously the NBA is outstanding,” Sauter said. “For myself, again, not knowing the numbers you need to be generating, I think they can well support an American league team.
“Anything more than that . . . I don’t know.”
Sauter is the son of Mike Sauter, a former WHL player and coach, and the nephew of Doug Sauter, a long-time WHL player and coach who had been the Blazers’ head coach since 1995.
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The QMJHL has announced changes to its divisions and to its playoff format, effective with the 2010-11 season. The press release is right here.
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If you’re up early Wednesday, you may want to flip your TV to NBC, where, at some point in time on NBC Today, you’ll see host Matt Lauer, along with former Giants star Evander Kane, now of the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers, present Giants G Greg Lamoureux and singer Michael Buble, one of the WHL team’s owners, zipping around the Ladner Leisure Centre. . . . By the way, the Giants will without F Lance Bouma, their captain, for up to six weeks with a knee injury. He apparently will stay home as the Giants head into the East Division for a swing that opens Friday against the Blades in Saskatoon.
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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-Brandon (11) 41-16-1-3-86
d-Calgary (13) 40-17-1-1-82
Saskatoon (14) 39-13-3-3-84
Kootenay (12) 37-18-3-2-79
Medicine Hat (10) 33-21-3-5-74
Red Deer (13) 34-21-0-4-72
Moose Jaw (13) 28-23-4-4-64
Swift Current (11) 30-27-0-4-64
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Prince Albert (12) 28-27-3-2-61
Regina (12) 25-28-3-4-57
Tuesday: Swift Current 2 at Kootenay 1; Red Deer 3 at Prince Albert 1; Moose Jaw 1 at Tri-City 3.
Wednesday: Prince George at Calgary; Swift Current at Lethbridge; Red Deer at Saskatoon.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
(top eight advance)
dx-Tri-City (14) 41-15-1-2-85
dx-Vancouver (12) 36-20-1-3-76
x-Portland (11) 37-21-2-1-77
x-Everett (13) 36-19-3-1-76
x-Spokane (13) 35-20-3-1-74
Kelowna (12) 29-26-2-3-63
Kamloops (11) 27-28-2-4-60
Chilliwack (12) 26-28-1-5-58
x — clinched playoff spot.
Tuesday: Seattle 0 at Chilliwack 1 (OT); Moose Jaw 1 at Tri-City 3.
Wednesday: Portland at Everett; Spokane at Kamloops;
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TUESDAY:
In Prince Albert, the Red Deer Rebels built up a 3-0 second-period lead and went on to a 4-1 victory over the Raiders. . . . The Rebels have closed to within two points of the fifth-place Medicine Hat Tigers in the Eastern Conference. Red Deer holds three games in hand on Medicine Hat. . . . The loss, combined with a victory by the Swift Current Broncos in Cranbrook, left the Raiders three points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Rebels, who are 21-7-0-4 in their last 32 games, have won four straight. . . . Red Deer G Darcy Kuemper stopped 26 shots. . . . Red Deer F Turner Elson opened the scoring with his eighth goal, shorthanded, at 5:48 of the first period. . . . Red Deer F Brett Ferguson got the eventual winner, scoring his 10th on the PP at 14:20 of the first. . . . Prince Albert G Garrett Zemlak stopped 11 of 15 shots before leaving at 7:30 of the second. Jamie Tucker came on to stop all 10 shots he faced. . . . Attendance was 2,032. . . . The Raiders, who lost 3-1 in Red Deer on Saturday, are 22-7-1-1 at home. . . . Red Deer played without D Aaron Borejko (shoulder) and D Simon Witt (groin).
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Johnny Lazo broke a 1-1 tie with a PP goal at 14:17 of the second period and the Tri-City Americans went on to a 3-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . The victory lifted the Western Conference-leading Americans to within one point of the Brandon Wheat Kings, who are first overall. . . . .Lazo also added an assist. . . . He has 36 goals. . . . Attendance was 4,092. . . . Tri-City G Drew Owsley stopped 34 shots, seven more than Moose Jaw’s Jeff Bosch. . . . The Warriors went 2-3 in their U.S. Division tour. . . . The Americans are 25-6-0-0 in the cozy confines of the Toyota Center.
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In Chilliwack, F Shayne Neigum scored 37 seconds into overtime to give the Bruins a 1-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent. . . . Bruins G Lucas Gore stopped 28 shots but shares the shutout with Braden Gamble who played 13 seconds without facing a shot. . . . Gore broke his stick during the second period and went to the Bruins’ bench to get a replacement. But it seems that he forgot to ask referee Matt Kirk for permission, so he had to leave play for one stoppage. . . . Gore has three shutouts this season; one more would have given him the single-season franchise record. . . . The Thunderbirds were 0-for-2 on the PP; the Bruins were 0-for-3. . . . The Thunderbirds have lost 15 straight games. . . . G Calvin Pickard stopped 26 shots for the visitors. . . . Attendance was 2,761, the second-smallest crowd of the season in Chilliwack.
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In Cranbrook, D Travis Bobbee broke a 1-1 tie with a second-period PP goal as the Swift Current Broncos beat the host Kootenay Ice, 2-1. . . . The victory lifted the Broncos into a tie with the Moose Jaw Warriors for seventh in the Eastern Conference. . . . Bobbee scored his sixth goal at 12:01 of the second with the Broncos enjoying a 5-on-3 advantage. . . . F Justin Dowling had a goal, his 26th, and an assist for the Broncos. . . . Ice D James Martin tied the score 1-1 at 3:38 of the second on the PP. . . . Broncos G Morgan Clark stopped 31 shots. . . . The Ice’s Todd Mathews made 18 save. . . . The Ice had won its previous three games. . . . Attendance was 2,530. . . . The Broncos are without F Matt Tassone (hernia).