The Kelowna Rockets take a shutout streak of 175:21 into tonight’s game against the visiting Edmonton Oilers. . . . The Rockets aren’t saying whether Jordon Cooke will be back in goal tonight. He was injured in a late-week practice and is listed as day-to-day. . . . If he can’t go, Jackson Whistle will get the start. He blanked the visiting Prince George Cougars 5-0 on Saturday.
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The Victoria Royals may have D Tyler Stahl, their captain, back as they play the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. Stahl has missed five games with an undisclosed injury. . . . Lethbridge G Ty Rimmer has started all 19 of his club’s games this season. . . . The Royals go in on a five-game losing streak, while Lethbridge is 7-1-2 in its last 10.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors are expected to have F Colton McCarthy in their lineup tonight when they meet the Hitmen in Calgary. . . . McCarthy is from Sicamous, B.C., and plays for the junior B Nelson Leafs of the Kootenay International Junior League. . . . McCarthy, 16, has 23 points, incouding 15 goals, with Nelson. Bob Hall of the Nelson Star reports that McCarthy is expected to stay with the Warriors for two weekend games and then return to the Leafs.
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D Alex Theriau, 20, came off the injured list Monday and was released by the Medicine Hat Tigers. Theriau had offseason hip surgery and has yet to play this season. . . . By releasing Theriau, the Tigers got down to three 20-year-olds — G Cam Lanigan, F Elgin Pearce and D Derek Ryckman. . . . Theriau was the sixth overall selection in the 2007 bantam draft, taken by the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He also has played for the Everett Silvertips.
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Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has a good read right here on D Mason Geertsen, who was acquired by the Vancouver Giants last week from the Edmonton Oil Kings. Geertsen family holds 12 Oil Kings season tickets and also had been billeting an Edmonton player.
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The OHL’s Brampton Battalion has served notice that it intends to operate in North Bay, Ont., next season. Dave Pollard of QMI Agency has a good look at the Brampton situation right here. If you have ever purchased a Trivial Pursuit game, you might feel that you own a small piece of the Battalion. That’s because Scott Abbott, one of that game’s inventors, owns the franchise.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Spokane, G Garret Hughson posted his first WHL shutout in his third start as the Chiefs blanked the Everett Silvertips, 4-0. . . . Hughson, a 17-year-old freshman from Foremost, Alta., stopped 22 shots. . . . The teams had played in Spokane on Saturday, with the Chiefs winning, 5-0, behind G Eric Williams’ 26 saves. . . . Last night, Spokane scored once in the first period and three times in the third period. . . . F Connor Chartier and F Adam Helewka each had a goal and and assist for Spokane. . . . Everett has lost six in a row. . . .

The Portland Winterhawks won their ninth straight game, beating the visiting Red Deer Rebels, 5-1. . . . The number with the most meaning may have been the attendance — 5,201 in the Rose Garden on election night. . . . Portland outshot the Rebels 17-5 in each of the first two periods and took the lead with three second-period goals. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie ran his point streak to 11 games with his 12th goal and an assist. . . . Portland F Brendan Leipsic, who got his ninth goal, has goals in each of his last five games. . . . Portland D Derrick Pouliot had his fifth goal and two helpers. . . . Portland D Seth Jones scored his fifth goal of the season. . . . The Rebels are 1-2 on a five-game swing that continues tonight in Everett. . . .

G Curtis Honey stopped 38 shots as the host Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-3. . . . That gives Honey, the game’s first star, bragging rights in his family. His twin brother, Connor, is a forward with the Thunderbirds. Both are 18, with Curtis being 20 minutes older. (Although according to the WHL Guide and the rosters on the WHL website, Connor was born on April 1, 1994, with Curtis entering our world on April 4, 1994. . . . For more on the Honey boys, see this story right here by Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports. . . . Seattle D Jared Hauf may be looking at a suspension after taking an interference major and game misconduct for a hit on Brandon F Jayce Hawryluk at 19:15 of the third period. Hawryluk was down for a bit but did skate off under his own power. . . . Brandon F Jason Swyripa (wrist) returned from an eight-game absence. . . . Brandon F Jens Meilleur was unsuccessful on a first-period penalty shot against G Brandon Glover. . . .

In Kamloops, the Edmonton Oil Kings scored two first-period goals and went on to a 2-1 victory over the Blazers. . . . Edmonton F Mitchell Moroz scored 21 seconds into the game and F Henrik Samuelsson counted on the PP at 12:58. . . . Kamloops F Brendan Ranford scored at 12:53 of the third period. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit was sharp in making 31 saves. . . . The Edmonton penalty killers, who are No. 1 in the WHL, were 5-for-5 against the league’s second-best PP. . . . Kamloops F Tim Bozon was given a game misconduct following an altercation with Edmonton D Keegan Lowe at the buzzer. The game misconduct apparently followed a spitting incident that is certain to be looked at by the WHL office.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From former WHL D Ricard Blidstrand (@RicBlidstrand): “worst thing about getting traded from regina was i didnt get to keep the track suit, damn they were good! goodnight”

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By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Laurent Brossoit, the WHL grapevine said, was off to a slow start. He isn’t playing as well as he did last season, they said.
After Tuesday night, you would have a hard time convincing the Kamloops Blazers of that.
Brossoit, the Edmonton Oil Kings’ goaltender, stopped 31 shots, including 14 in the first period, as the WHL’s defending champions got past the Kamloops Blazers 2-1 at Interior Savings Centre. It was the Blazers’ first loss at home in nine games this season.
The Blazers, of course, have been hotter than a pistol, running out to a 17-2-1 record and leading the WHL’s overall standings by eight points over the Portland Winterhawks.
The Oil Kings, meanwhile, have been sputtering along, or so one might believe from their press clippings. But here they are tied for the Eastern Conference lead with the Calgary Hitmen, each club at 11-4-3.
“Statistically, I’m not up to par compared to last season,” admitted Brossoit, a 19-year-old from Surrey who was 42-13-5, 2.47, .914 last season. “But I’m feeling good and I’m being realistic when I’m watching video to see what I need to do to stop the goals that are going in. I don’t think the goals that are going in are top goals.
“But as long as I make the key saves, I really couldn’t care less if my stats are good.”
This season, he is 8-1-3, 2.62, .904.
And he definitely made the key saves in this one as the Oil Kings won for the sixth time in seven games. The victory also avenged a 5-4 shootout loss to the visiting Blazers on Oct. 17.
Brossoit said the Blazers’ quick start also provided Edmonton with some incentive.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of hype over the Blazers right now . . . they’re having a hell of a season,” he said. “That kind of motivated us even more.
“That was a bitter loss in our building. We could have won that one. I’m just glad we came back strong and won tonight.”
Brossoit, as is often the case with good teams, also proved to be his side’s best penalty killer. Edmonton’s PK is the best in the WHL and it shut down the Blazers’ power play, which is ranked No. 2, on five opportunities, three of them in the first period when the home boys had a 14-10 edge in shots.
What hurt the Blazers even more was that Edmonton scored both its goals in the opening period.
First, Mitchell Moroz beat Cole Cheveldave off a centring pass just 21 seconds into the game.
Then, at 13:58, Henrik Samuelsson, who has a chunk of his father Ulf’s game in him, skated out of a corner on an Edmonton power play and put a backhand over Cheveldave.
“Giving up a goal on the first shift . . . you never want to do that to start a hockey game,” bemoaned Kamloops head coach Guy Charron. “Then they got a power-play goal . . .”
Cheveldave, who finished with 24 saves, had a good night, although he likely would want Samuelsson’s goal back. Still, he kept his mates in it in the second period when they gave up 15 shots and, according to Charron, 10 scoring chances.
The Blazers turned over a lot of pucks between the top of the circles and the blue-line in their zone. That resulted in their having to play in their zone far more than they would have liked.
“I thought we got in trouble when we used the wall way too much . . . more than what we need to,” Charron said. “In our own zone you have to make sure you make the short passes and have someone available for the (defencemen) and that’s how you get your transition. It was scattered for awhile and they’re a quick team so they were on the puck a lot and they made it difficult in our end.”
Brossoit took his shutout bid into the second half of the third period before he was beaten at 12:53 when Brendan Ranford re-directed a Marek Hrbas point shot through him.
But the Blazers couldn’t get another one. They now have scored only two regulation-time goals in their last three games during which time Colin Smith, JC Lipon and Tim Bozon, their big line, don’t have even one point.
“The concern I have is looking for secondary scoring,” Charron stated. “Those thee guys have been leading the league. They’re going to have a checking lines against them. I would like to see more secondary scoring right now.”
The search will continue on the road this weekend. The Blazers will head into the U.S. Division to play the Spokane Chiefs (Friday), Tri-City Americans (Saturday) and Portland (Sunday). Kamloops next plays at home on Nov. 16 against Portland.
JUST NOTES: Attendance was 4,586. . . . Bozon ended up with a game misconduct following a dustup with Edmonton D Keegan Lowe at the final buzzer. That penalty apparently followed a spitting incident that is sure to be looked into by the WHL office. . . . Edmonton F Dylan Wruck extended his point streak to eight games with an assist. . . . The Oil Kings were 1-for-3 on the power play. . . . Edmonton plays the Rockets in Kelowna tonight. . . . The Daily News Three Stars: 1. Brossoit: Was in the right zone; 2. Samuelsson: Plays with an edge; 2. Foster; 3. Hrbas: Another solid night. . . . The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers had some of their braintrust here last night, including Kevin Lowe, the president of hockey operations; Craig MacTavish, the senior vice-president of hockey operations; and assistant coach Kelly Buchberger.

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