D Collin Bowman, who played out his eligibility with the Calgary Hitmen last season, has signed with the ECHL’s Colorado Eagles. Bowman, who is from Littleton, Colo., played three seasons (2007-10) with the Kelowna Rockets before being dealt to the Moose Jaw Warriors. He captained with the Warriors in 2010-11 and they sent him to Calgary early last season. Bowman had 149 points and 364 penalty minutes in 346 regular-season WHL games. . . . His older brother, Drayson, is with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.
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Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that the Saskatoon Blades are without four players due to injuries. G Alex Moodie (hamstring) is expected to sit for up to 10 days, while F Shane McColgan (knee) is out for a week or so. They join D Dalton Thrower (groin) and D Ryan Graham (back) on the shelf. Nugent-Bowman’s story is right here.
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The Saskatoon Blades on Tuesday dropped two 18-year-old veterans – D Tommy Stipancik and G Adam Todd. . . . Stipancik was given his release after playing in 46 games over the last two seasons. His development was hampered by concussion problems over the previous two seasons. Stipancik, from Vancouver, was the 60th overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft. . . . He is expected to join the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles. . . . Todd, from Courtenay, B.C., has been in 12 games with the Blades over the last two seasons. The 86th selection in the 2009 bantam draft, he is expected to play for the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
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The Regina Pats signed six players on Tuesday — D Rob Fulton, G Patrick Gora, D Griffin Mumby, F Bryar Ortynski, F Austin Wagner and F Rylee Zimmer.
Fulton, a sixth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, picked up 16 points and 57 penalty minutes in 23 games with the bantam AAA Camrose, Alta., Vikings last season. He stands 6-foot-2 and weighs more than170 pounds.
Gora was a ninth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. He played last season for the minor midget AAA St. Albert, Alta., Flyers, going 12-3-5, 2.02, .931. He went home after the Pats’ intrasquad game.
Mumby, a third-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, had 18 points in 31 games with the midget AAA Calgary Flames last season. He remains on the Pats’ roster.
Ortynsky was a second-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft. He had 14 points in 33 games with the midget AAA Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club last season. He also remains on the Pats’ roster.
Wagner, a fifth-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft, had 27 points and 94 penalty minutes in 32 games with the bantam AAA Calgary Northstar Sabres.
Zimmer, a fifth-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, put up 30 points in 35 games with the midget AA Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox, Sask., last season. He is from Winnipeg.
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With WHL teams getting closer to their final rosters, there may be an opportunity for a veteran goaltender in the QMJHL. Don Campbell of the Ottawa Citizen reports that Gatineau Olympiques G Robert Steeves, 19, is to have knee surgery in the next few days and will be out for up to seven months. . . . The Olympiques acquired Steeves from the Acadie-Bathurst Titan over the summer. Without Steeves, the Olympiques have two goaltenders, Eric Brassard and Simon Bergeron, neither of whom has any QMJHL experience. . . . The Olympiques open the season on Sept. 20. . . . Campbell’s story is right here.
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F Spencer Main has left the Kelowna Rockets, bringing to a close his WHL career.
Main, 20, missed the final 60 games of last season with post-concussion syndrome and, after getting medical clearance to return to play, the symptoms returned in training camp.
From a Rockets news release: “Main suffered a concussion early in the 2011-12 WHL season and sat out the Rockets final 60 games. In the off-season he was medically cleared to work out and return to the ice but his symptoms returned after participating in games at Rockets training camp.”
A second-round pick in the 2007 bantam draft, Main, from North Vancouver, played 197 games with the Rockets over the last four seasons. However, he got into only 12 games last season.
Veteran F Zach Franko (@Franky_939) tweeted this: “Would like to congratulate spencer main on a great 5 years with the @Kelowna_Rockets. Gonna miss you not only as a teammate but as a friend.”
Prior to the start of last season, the Rockets lost F Max Adolph to post-concussion syndrome. He played 97 games over three seasons with them.
Kelowna also lost F Kyle St. Denis to post-concussion syndrome after 2009-10, although he later played as a 20-year-old with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies.

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Troy Bourke of the Prince George Cougars, here getting tight coverage
from Patrick Holland (41) of the Tri-City Cougars, beat goaltender
Ty Rimmer twice on Tuesday night.
(Photo by John Allen / AridAcres.com)

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Zdenek Blatny (Seattle, Kootenay, 1998-2001) signed a one-year contract with the Vienna Capitals (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had 20 goals and 26 assists in 47 games this season with the Graz 99ers (Austria, Erste Bank Liga).
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The NHL in Saskatoon? Why not?
Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun spent 10 days in Saskatoon covering the Tim Hortons Brier (aka the Canadian men’s curling championship) and takes an extensive look at Toontown and the NHL right here.
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A note from a WHL fan who lives in Sudbury, Ont.:

JESSE WALLIN

“Is there any precedent in the WHL in giving coach of the year honours to someone whose team never made the playoffs?
“Because I think Jesse Wallin really deserves it.
“I can't think of any coach who's managed to keep his team together with all the injuries he's had to endure.
“The Rebels have won road games in tough buildings on a regular basis with 14 or 15 skaters.
“I don't know if coaches or media vote on this, but it would make a
real statement about the integrity of this league if he got the plaque.”
Can’t argue with that!
And as if to empasize the point, the Rebels, who won’t make the playoffs, went into Medicine Hat and beat the Tigers 4-2 last night.
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F Dylan Wruck of the Edmonton Oil Kings, who suffered a shoulder injury in a 7-4 victory over the visiting Red Deer Rebels, won’t play until at least the start of playoffs. Head coach Derek Laxdal has told Chris O’Leary of the Edmonton Journal: “He’s doing OK. . . . We’re hoping to have him back for Game 1 of the playoffs, but it’s a wait-and-see approach right now.” . . . The Oil Kings, who will finish atop the Eastern Conference, have three games remaining and are a point behind the Tri-City Americans, who lead the overall standings. Should the Oil Kings win out, they will finish first overall. The Oil Kings are on the road against the Kootenay Ice tonight, the Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday and Red Deer on Saturday.
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The Kelowna Rockets expect to have F Colton Sissons, their captain, back in their lineup on Friday night as they open a season-ending home-and-home series with the Vancouver Giants. They’ll play in Vancouver on Friday and in Kelowna on Saturday. . . . Sissons, who has been out with a concussion since Feb. 11, skated with contact on Tuesday. . . . Meanwhile, F Spencer Main, who also has been concussed, has skated, albeit without contact, and will see a doctor this week. Main hasn’t played since Oct. 23. . . . Neither will play tonight against the visiting Everett Silvertips. . . . Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier reports that D Mitchell Chapman is likely to miss the Rockets’ last three regular-season games with an undisclosed injury. He should be ready to go when the playoffs open.
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If you think there’s a war going on with Brian Burke, the man who runs the Toronto Maple Leafs, and anyone in the media, well, forget it. It’s nothing. Howard Berger, who has been around the Leafs for a long time, has a piece right here that is all about the way it used to be . . . when Harold Ballard was around.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The QMJHL’s Baie Comeau Drakkar have fired head coach Mario Pouliot. The axe fell with three games left in the regular season and the Drakkar 2-7-1 in its last 10 games and tumbling from ninth to 14th place. Pouliot spent 114 games as the head coach, winning just 37. . . . General manager Steve Ahern has taken over as head coach.
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F Sven Baertschi of the Portland Winterhawks scored his second goal in three games with the NHL’s Calgary Flames last night. He got the game’s second goal in the Flames’ 3-2 victory over the visiting San Jose Sharks. . . . Former Chilliwack Bruins F Roman Horak drew an assist on Baertschi’s goal. . . . Interestingly, the Flames returned F Krys Kolanos to the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat after the game, while keeping Baertschi on emergency recall. Kolanos was a healthy scratch last night. . . . Baertschi played 20 shifts, including two in OT, totaling 14:06. . . . Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald has the details of Baertschi’s latest game right here.
In Tampa Bay, G Dustin Tokarski, a product of the Spokane Chiefs (2006-09), stopped 33 shots as the Lightning beat the Stanley Cup-champion Boston Bruins, 6-1. That was Tokarski’s first NHL victory. He was named the game’s second star. . . . This was his fifth appearance with Tampa Bay, three of which have come this season. This season, he is 1-1-0, 2.64, .906. . . .
I got a phone call on Tuesday from a fan of the Chilliwack Bruins (remember them?), pointing out that I missed D Brandon Manning’s NHL debut with the Philadelphia Flyers last week. Manning played three games, finishing plus-2. He played 14:59, 14:01 and 13:57 against visiting Florida, in Toronto and in New Jersey, respectively. . . . With D Kimmo Timonen returning from injury and playing in last night’s 3-0 victory over the visiting New Jersey Devils, Manning was a healthy scratch. But he took part in the morning skate and is still with the Flyers, at least as of last night.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Saskatoon, F Matej Stransky had a goal and four assists as the Blades beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 11-5. . . . The game was televised by Shaw and featured a third-period line brawl. . . . Prince Albert D Josh Morrissey tied the game 5-5 on a PP just 37 seconds into the third period. . . . The Blades then scored six straight goals. . . . Stransky, 18, has 77 points, including 37 goals, in 68 games. Last season, he finished with 26 points, 14 of them goals, in 71 games. . . . Saskatoon got two goals from each of F Ryan Olsen, who has 15, Jake Trask, who has 22, and Travis McEvoy, who has six. . . . Prince Albert F Joey Santucci scored his first WHL goal while killing a penalty. Santucci, 17, is from Coquitlam, B.C. He was playing in his eighth game. . . . Saskatoon was 4-6 on the PP. . . . Referees Adam Byblow and Reagan Vetter gave the Raiders 86 of the game’s 165 penalty minutes. Ch-ch-ching! They handed out 85 minutes from a line dance at 14:37 of the third period. . . . Because of injuries, the Blades dressed only four defencemen. . . . The victory lifted the Blades one point ahead of Kootenay and Regina, into fifth in the Eastern Conference. . . .

In Medicine Hat, D Alex Petrovic scored twice to lead the Red Deer Rebels to a 4-2 victory over the Tigers. . . . Petrovic broke a 1-1 tie 39 seconds into the third period with PP goal. . . . F Tyson Ness upped the visitors’ lead to 3-1 with his 20th goal at 10:00. . . . Petrovic has 12 goals. . . . Medicine Hat D James Bettauer scored his 21st goal of the season. . . . Red Deer G Deven Dubyk stopped 28 shots. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz turned aside 31 shots but was unable to pick up his 40th victory of the season. . . . The Tigers had six players out with injuries; the Rebels, who had lost four in a row, scratched nine injured players. . . . Jesse Wallin, the Rebels’ general manager and head coach, watched the game from the press box. “I wanted to take in the game from a little different perspective,” Wallin told Greg Meachem, the sports editor of the Red Deer Advocate. “You kind of remove the emotion a bit when you’re sitting up top, it’s a different point of evaluation.” . . . The Tigers remained third in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Calgary. . . .

In Kent, Wash., G Calvin Pickard kicked out 41 shots to lead the host Seattle Thunderbirds to a 3-1 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Pickard stopped Spokane F Steve Kuhn on a first-period penalty shot with the game still scoreless. . . . F Connor Honey scored twice, giving him eight this season, and F Seth Swenson ran his goal streak to three games with his 10th. Swenson also drew two assists. . . . F Brendan Rouse also had two assists for Seattle. . . . All three Seattle goals came via the PP as it went 3-4 with the man advantage. . . . The Chiefs’ PP was 0-6. . . . A note from @WHLFacts: “It's now been 150 games since someone not named Calvin Pickard has won a @SeattleTbirds game.” . . . The Thunderbirds are ninth in the Western Conference but now are just one point behind the Victoria Royals. Seattle has three games remaining, while Victoria has two to play. . . . The Chiefs are fifth, two points behind Vancouver. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., D Jesse Forsberg scored at 1:02 of OT to give the Prince George Cougars a 5-4 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The goal was Forsberg’s fifth this season. . . . F Troy Bourke scored twice for the Cougars, giving him 18, while F Spencer Asuchak, who began his WHL career with the Americans, had his 16th goal and an assist. . . . Prince George also got two assists from F Caleb Belter. . . . The Cougars erased a 3-1 deficit and took a 4-3 lead on Bourke’s second goal at 12:42 of the second. . . . Tri-City F Adam Hughesman forced OT with his 48th goal at 3:52 of the third. . . . Cougars G Drew Owsley stopped 31 shots, 12 more than Tri-City’s Ty Rimmer. . . . Owsley has 98 career victories, 76 of them with the Americans, who dealt him to the Cougars for Rimmer over the summer. . . . Hughesman scored twice, giving him nine goals in his last five games, and added an assist. . . . Tri-City F Brendan Shinnimin scored his 58th goal and added an assist. The WHL’s leading scorer ran his point streak to 21 games and is the first WHLer to 130 points since F Pavel Brendl put up 134 with the Calgary Hitmen in 1998-99. . . . Tri-City F Patrick Holland had two assists, meaning he has at least one assist in 18 straight games. . . . Holland also finished minus-4. . . . The Cougars kept their playoff hopes alive. With two games remaining, they are three points behind eighth-place Victoria. . . . The Americans lead the overall standings by one point over Edmonton and are two points ahead of Portland atop the Western Conference. . . . Edmonton has three games left, while Tri-City has two to play. So if the Oil Kings run the table they would finish first overall.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Jesse Forsberg, Prince George.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
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IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY:
Eastern Conference
Edmonton (1) vs. Brandon (8)
Moose Jaw (2) vs. Regina (7)
Medicine Hat (3) vs. Kootenay (6)
Calgary (4) vs. Saskatoon (5)
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Western Conference
Tri-City (1) vs. Victoria (8)
Kamloops (2) vs. Everett (7)
Portland (3) vs. Kelowna (6)
Vancouver (4) vs. Spokane (5)
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TODAY’S GAMES
Moose Jaw at Brandon
Lethbridge at Calgary
Edmonton at Kootenay
Prince Albert at Regina
Everett at Kelowna
Kamloops at Spokane
Portland at Victoria

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It sure does sound as though at least a couple of QMJHL teams are going to be on the move once this season draws to a close. It could be that the province of Prince Edward Island will lose one team but gain another. There is more right here.
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It turns out that the website on the Lethbridge Maple Leafs that was mentioned here earlier this week is the work of Trevor Esau and his son, Darcen. They also have another site dedicated to hockey history. It is right here. Feel free to check it out and, once you do, don’t forget to bookmark it. . . . Make sure you find the photo of the 1970-71 Lethbridge Sugar Kings. There is Lanny McDonald, without the ’stache, and, yes, that is John Chapman kneeling in the front.
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Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun was at the Top Prospects game on Wednesday night and he had Red Deer Rebels F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as the best player on the ice. Koshan’s report from the Air Canada Centre is right here. . . . The attendance? One can only assume the hockey fans stayed at home to watch their Maple Leafs lost to the Rangers in New York. And how did that go?
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They are the mostly unsung heroes of the WHL. They are the off-ice officials. About the only time you hear about them is when a coach is upset over the shots on goal.
Which is why congratulations are in order to Ken Thomas, who is an off-ice official with the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash.
Thomas, who does it all from being a goal judge to spotter to penalty box attendant, has been named Kent’s new Chief of Police. The announcement was made Wednesday by Kent Mayor Suzzette Cooke.
Chief Thomas will be sworn in sometime in the next two weeks. Presently a captain of the 185-member department, he is a 22-year veteran of policing. He also serves on the Thunderbird Community Sports Foundation and is on the foundation’s grant review committee. As well, he makes an annual presentation to Seattle players on public safety.
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Some folks were tweeting earlier today about WHL products on NHL rosters, and someone noted that every NHL team but one has a WHLer on its roster. That one, it was noted, was the New Jersey Devils. . . . The Devils do have one WHLer out with a long-term injury — D Bryce Salvador (Lethbridge, 1992-97) hasn’t played this season because of a concussion.
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The MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders, who play out of Swan River, have signed head coach Dwayne Kirkup to an extension that will run through 2012-13. He was the MJHL’s coach of the year in 2009-10, his first season with the Stampeders. . . . Kirkup is from Souris, Man., which also produced the likes of Andy Murray, Garry Davidson and Glen (Ab) Williamson, all of whom have had good runs in hockey at one level or another.
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One WHL player had his truck stolen on Wednesday afternoon. Which is why police officers regularly tell people not to leave their vehicles running, even when you are going to be away only for a minute or two. Read all about this incident right here.
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SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, goaltenders Thomas Heemskerk and Brandon Stone combined for 20 saves as the Warriors blanked the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-0. . . . Heemskerk stopped 19 shots over 59:06, with Stone coming on to make one save in the final 54 seconds. . . . Moose Jaw head coach Dave Hunchak made the goaltending change as play got chippy late in the third period. . . . F Quinton Howden scored twice for the Warriors, giving him 27. . . . D Dylan McIlrath drew three assists, while F Sebastian Svendsen had two. . . . The teams combined for 104 penalty minutes, with 64 of those going to Lethbridge. . . . The Hurricanes have been blanked six times this season; the Warriors have put up three shutouts, with Heemskerk and Stone sharing two of them — both at home against Lethbridge. . . . The Crushed Can was rocking with 2,807 fans in the building. . . .
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In Kelowna, F Spencer Main had four assists and G Adam Brown stopped 30 shots as the Rockets dumped the Prince George Cougars, 6-2. . . . F Cody Chikie scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season, getting both in the first period to help the Rockets take a 3-0 lead. . . . Chikie’s second goal, at 13:00, sent G Ty Rimmer to the bench in favor of James Priestner. Chikie stopped six of nine; Priestner 17 of 20. . . . Attendance was 6,061. . . .
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Connor Rankin had a goal and two assists and G Drew Owsley earned his third shutout this season as the host Tri-City Americans blanked the Kamloops Blazers, 5-0. . . . The Americans were leading 1-0, on D Paul Sohor’s second goal, when F Carter Ashton and Rankin scored 19 seconds apart in the second period. . . . Owsley stopped 21 shots, only two in the third period, in earning his eighth career shutout and his 25th victory this season. . . . The Blazers were without injured forwards Jordan DePape, Thomas Frazee, Bernhard Keil and Chase Schaber, then lost C Dalibor Bortnak to an undisclosed injury in the third period. That left them with eight forwards on their bench. . . . The Americans have won 12 straight home games. . . . Kamloops D Josh Caron may hear from the WHL office after being hit with a spearing major and game misconduct in the third period. . . . Kamloops took 45 of the 59 penalty minutes handed out by referee Jason Nissen. . . . Attendance was 3,812. . . . The Blazers wrapped up the U.S. portion of their road schedule with the game. The Americans have yet to play in Kamloops this season.
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WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Two minors:
D Daniel Johnston, Lethbridge
D Reid Jackson, Lethbridge

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