Winterhawks in front of 'Tips . . . Former WHLer next top cop in Toronto? . . . Gong show in NHL

F Stanislav Balán (Portland, 2005-06) has signed a one-year contract with Vítkovice Steel Ostrava (Czech Republic, Extraliga). This season, with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had 13 goals and 18 assists in 51 games. . . .
F Roman Horák (Chilliwack, 2009-11) has signed a one-year extension with Vityaz Podolsk (Russia, KHL). This season, he had 31 points, including 18 goals, in 53 games. . . .
D Michal Hlinka (Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, 2010-12) has signed a one-year extension with Dukla Trencin (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had 15 points, seven of them goals, in 43 games this season.
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THURSDAY’S GAME:

In Portland, the Winterhawks scored the game’s first five goals as they skated to a 5-3 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Portland takes a 2-1 lead into Game 4 tonight at home. . . . The teams hadn’t played since Saturday because of arena availability issues in Portland. . . . Portland D Anton Cederholm opened the scoring with his first goal at 17:52 of the second period. . . . By coincidence, freelancer Scott Sepich wrote a feature on Cederholm and his father, who is in Portland this week from Sweden, for The Oregonian. That piece is right here. . . . F Nic Petan got his sixth goal at 18:13 of the second, on a PP, and F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice, giving him eight, in the third period. . . . F Dominic Turgeon upped it to 5-0 at 14:27. . . . Everett scored three times in 1:46 late in the period, with D Kevin Davis, F Ivan Nikolishin and F Graham Millar scoring. . . . Petan also had two assists for Portland, as did F Miles Koules and F Chase De Leo. . . . F Logan Aasman had two assists for Everett. . . . Winterhawks G Adin Hill stopped 16 shots. . . . Everett starter Carter Hart gave up four goals on 34 shots. Reliever Austin Lotz was beaten once on two shots in 6:26 of playing time. . . . Portland was 2-for-5 on the PP; Everett was 0-for-2. . . . Everett F Dawson Leedahl returned to the lineup after a five-game absence, but the Silvertips remain without D Noah Juulsen and D Tristen Pfeiffer. . . . Leedahl was involved in a fight with F Keegan Iverson at 10:27 of the second period, then took a cross-checking minor at 19:01. Leedahl didn’t return to serve out his penalty to start the third period. Nikolishin actually finished serving the penalty. . . . Attendance was 5,518.

Joke that'll kill at your next dinner party: Q: What do you call it when Everett hockey players pay gratuities in quarters? A: Silver tips
— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) April 17, 2015

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D Connor Hobbs of the Regina Pats has drawn one of those ‘tbd’ suspensions from the WHL for a hit in Game 4 against the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Wednesday night. Hobbs took out Brandon D Ryan Pilon, whose status for Game 5 in Brandon tonight isn’t known.
Here’s Rob Henderson, the Brandon Sun’s sports editor, with some thoughts earlier Thursday:
“It would be in the Wheat Kings’ best interest to end the series as soon as possible. In addition to the obvious desire to not let the Pats force a Game 6 on Sunday in Regina, the physical series is also taking a serious toll on both teams’ lineups.
“Wheat Kings Jayce Hawryluk, Rihards Bukarts, Colton Waltz and Ryan Pilon have all been injured since the series began, with Pilon being knocked out of Game 4 by the hit that led to Hobbs’ major. . . . Pats defenceman Sergey Zborovskiy still has one game left in his suspension for the hit that sidelined Hawryluk, while Regina’s Rykr Cole and Chase Harrison have also gone down to injuries in the series.”
Henderson added that Kelly McCrimmon, Brandon’s general manager and head coach, “didn’t divulge any information when asked if any of his injured players would return for tonight’s game.”
Brandon F Morgan Klimchuk, who has sat out six games, took part in Thursday’s optional skate.
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The Calgary Hitmen can eliminate the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers tonight and book a berth in the Eastern Conference final. . . . The Hitmen are coming off a 2-1 OT victory in Medicine Hat on Wednesday night that gave them a 3-1 lead in the series. . . . Calgary F Adam Tambellini, who leads the WHL playoffs in assists (10) and points (19), missed Game 4 with an undisclosed injury, but was back on skates Thursday. He likely will skate again this morning and then be re-evaluated. . . . You can bet that the Hitmen go into tonight’s game with their first-round series victory over the Kootenay Ice fresh in their minds. Calgary was ahead 3-1 in that series and it ended up going seven games. . . . The Tigers may be without F Blake Penner, who left Game 4 with an undisclosed injury. . . . Laurence Heinen wrote this story for the Calgary Herald.
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The NHL’s Colorado Avalanche is dropping its affiliation with the AHL’s Cleveland-based Lake Erie Monsters. . . . The NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets are expected to announce today that they are moving their affiliation from Springfield, Mass., to Lake Erie. . . . There is speculation that the Arizona Coyotes will hook up with Springfield, at least for one seasno. . . . Former WHL GM/coach/player Dean Chynoweth is Lake Erie’s head coach. . . . Jared Bednar, another former WHL player, is the head coach in Springfield. . . . Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch, who broke the story, writes that the Springfield coaching staff, which includes another former WHLer in Nolan Pratt, would move to Lake Erie. . . . Portzline’s blog piece is right here. . . . Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reported last night that the Avalanche will affiliate with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage, which had been hooked up with the Florida Panthers. Next season, Florida will be affiliated with the AHL’s Portland Pirates, who had been Arizona’s farm team. Arizona, of course, will end up cutting a deal with Springfield, and the circle will be complete.
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The Globe and Mail is reporting that former WHLer Dale McFee, who is the president of the Prince Albert Raiders, is the “wild card contender” to become Toronto’s next police chief. McFee, who played four seasons with the Raiders (1982-86), also is a former Prince Albert police chief; he now is Saskatchewan’s deputy minister of corrections. . . . Robyn Doolittle’s story is right here.
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SUN FRONT: Game 2 btw #Sens & #Habs goes Friday. All we gotta say is HEADS UP, P.K. #ottnews #NHLPlayoffs #slashgate pic.twitter.com/qYJwF18yTL
— Ottawa Sun (@ottawasuncom) April 17, 2015

As Pierre LeBrun of ESPN notes in this piece right here, the NHL series between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators already has degenerated into a “gong show,” and it's only one game old. . . . It could be that Ottawa F Chris Neil, who didn’t play in Game 1, will be doing his thing tonight in Game 2.
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Just as things heat up in the NHL players and we are wondering if something might relieve the pressure, if only for a few minutes, along comes a video starring ESPN’s Britt McHenry. . . . If you haven’t seen it or read about what happened, well, it’s like something out of Dumb and Dumber and Dumbest. Seriously, you thought stuff like this only happened in Judd Apatow movies. . . . At one point, McHenry says to the attendant at a towing company’s lot: “Maybe if I was missing some teeth they would hire me, huh? . . I’m in television and you’re in a f------ trailer, honey.” . . . Sheesh, wouldn’t you think that someone who is in the TV business would realize that she just might be on camera in a place like that?
Richard Deitsch of SI.com has more right here.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed D Jarret Tyszka, who was the 16th overall selection in the 2014 bantam draft. From Langley, B.C., Tyszka played this season for the midget team at the Yale Hockey Academy, putting up 10 points, three of them goals, in 23 games.
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F Tyler Jeanson of the MJHL-champion Portage Terriers has signed a letter of intent with the Colgate University Raiders. Jeanson, 17, was selected by the Kamloops Blazers in the ninth round of the 2012 bantam draft. The MJHL’s rookie of the year last season, he had 54 points, including 23 goals, in 56 regular-season games this season.
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The Melfort Mustangs won the SJHL championship last night, beating the host Notre Dame Hounds 4-0 to win the series, 4-0. Trevor Blevins, the Mustangs’ head coach, is from Melfort. He was a player with the Mustangs when they last won the SJHL title, in 1996. . . . The Mustangs went 12-2 in their playoff run, with both losses coming in OT. . . . In the BCHL, the host Penticton Vees beat the Nanaimo Clippers 3-2 last night. The Vees take a 3-2 series lead into Nanaimo for Game 6 tonight. The Clippers had won Games 1 and 2, both in Penticton. . . . In the AJHL, the Spruce Grove Saints hold a 3-1 lead on the Brooks Bandits with Game 5 scheduled for Spruce Grove tonight. . . . Three teams — the host Fort McMurray Oil Barons, Melfort and the MJHL-champion Portage Terriers — now have spots in the Western Canada Cup. It runs in Fort McMurray, April 25 through May 3. The top two teams move on to the Royal Bank Cup, the national championship tournament. This year, it will be held in Portage la Prairie, Man.
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I hear contract talks with Canes head coach and GM Peter Anholt are proceeding and they hope to have him signed soon.
— Dylan Purcell (@dylpurcell) April 17, 2015

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Time for celebration in Edmonton

F Greg Scott (Seattle, 2005-09) has signed a two-year extension with Brynäs Gävle (Sweden, SHL). He had 36 points, including 17 goals, with Brynäs last season. . . .

F Andrew Clark (Brandon, 2005-09) has signed a one-year contract with Esbjerg (Denmark, Metal Ligaen). Last season, he had 35 points, 14 of them goals, in 31 games with the Stockton Thunder (ECHL). He also played 35 games on loan to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL), where he had 19 points, including seven goals, in 35 games. . . . Esbjerg’s head coach is Mark Pederson (Medicine Hat, 1983-88). . . .

D Michal Gulasi (Lethbridge, 2003-05) has signed a contract (one year plus option) with Sodertalje (Sweden, Allsvenskan). Last season, with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga), he had 15 points, two of them goals, in 52 games. An alternate captain, he led the league in hits and blocked shots. . . .

Glen Hanlon (Brandon, 1974-77; assistant coach, Vancouver, 2011-13) was named head coach of Switzerland’s national team. Hanlon, who signed a two-year contract, also will be the general manager of Switzerland’s national junior team. Hanlon had been working as head coach of the Belarusian national team program. . . .

F Robin Kovář (Vancouver, Regina, 2001-04) has signed a one-year extension with the Manchester Phoenix (England, Premier). Last season, he had 78 points, including 36 goals, in 52 games. He was sixth in the league’s scoring race and was named to the second all-star team, while the Phoenix won the league championship. . . .

F Stanislav Balán (Portland, 2005-06) has signed a one-year extension with Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga). Last season, he had 31 points, including a team-high 19 assists, in 41 games.
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1. If you are in the Edmonton area today (Wednesday), you will want to be at Sir Winston Churchill Square by 11:45 a.m., because folks will be celebrating the Oil Kings’ Memorial Cup championship. . . . According to a team news release: The fun begins “at 11:45 a.m. with a procession of our champions, southward on 99 Street from 103A Avenue to 102 Avenue. The celebration will then proceed to the stage, located on the south side of Churchill Square. Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson and Alberta Premier Dave Hancock will be on hand to celebrate the Oil Kings 2014 Memorial Cup championship. Following the formal celebration, Oil Kings players will be hosting an autograph session, thanking their dedicated fans who helped them reach junior hockey's ultimate prize.”

2. Right-hander Dustin Molleken, who was selected by the Regina Pats in the eighth round of the 1999 WHL bantam draft, is working out of the bullpen of the Nashville Sounds, the Pacific Coast League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. . . . Going into today’s play, Molleken, the son of Saskatoon Blades head scout Doug Molleken, had thrown 10.2 consecutive scoreless innings over his last six outings. He had struck out 13 in that stretch. . . . This season, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Molleken, who turns 30 on Aug. 21, is 1-2 with one save and a 3.77 ERA.

3. The NHL has yet to commit to having its players perform in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games that are to be held in PyeongChang, South Korea. But what of even beyond then? . . . There is an interesting piece right here that points out how it seems to be getting more and more difficult to find cities interested in bidding for the Games.

4. “The crisis in Ukraine has now entered the hockey world,” writes Travis Hughes at sbnation.com. “Druzhba Arena, the home rink of HC Donbass of the KHL, was severely damaged Monday evening and early Tuesday by pro-Russian militants, who burned and robbed the hockey arena that's stood since 1976. The attack was perpetrated by members of a group that supports the creation of a sovereign ‘Donetsk People's Republic.’ The group is pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian, and HC Donbass called them ‘terrorists’ in a statement after the burning of their arena.” . . . Former NHLer Andrey Nazarov is HC Donbass’ head coach. . . . The arena also is scheduled to play host to the IIHF’s Division 1A World Championship in April. . . . Hughes’s complete report is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
David Robinson has resigned from his position as an assistant coach with the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers. Robinson (Chilliwack, 2007-10) was on the Vipers’ staff for two seasons. According to a team news release, he “has decided to pursue other options at this time.”
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Scott Hillman has signed a multi-year contract as the head coach of the Indy Fuel, the newest team in the ECHL. Hillman, 40, is coming off five seasons as head coach of the Central league’s Missouri Mavericks. Missouri had the CHL’s best regular-season record in 2013-14, leaving Hillman with a .607 winning percentage during his stint there.
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The QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres have signed Bruce Richardson as their new head coach. For the last two seasons, Richardson has been the head coach of the midget AAA Châteauguay Grenadiers. They reached the final of the TELUS Cup national championship tournament earlier this month. . . . With the Tigres, Richardson replaces Yanick Jean, who was fired after a first-round playoff loss to the Drummondville Voltigeurs. Jean had been the Tigres head coach since February 2008.
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From Stephen Harper (@pmharper): “Congratulations to the @EdmOilKings for their #MemorialCup victory. What a great end to a very exciting season!”
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From Dan Shulman (@DShulman_ESPN), who was watching the New York Rangers and host Montreal Canadiens last night: “I'm no hockey expert, but these hits to the head are terrifying.”
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From Terry Koshan (@koshtorontosun): “Why players push opposing players on to their own goalie is one of hockey's great mysteries, never to be solved.”
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From Butch Goring (@91Butch), who should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame: “Love the refs calling the embellishments. Hockey is a man's game, not a place for shady individuals looking for something free.” . . . Check him out on Twitter; yes, his avatar is that helmet.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:

F Stanislav Balan (Portland, 2005-06) has been assigned on loan by Zlin (Czech Republic, Extraliga) to Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga) for at least the start of next season. Balan had 16 goals and 31 assists in 43 games for Poprad (Slovakia, Extraliga) this season. . . .




F Sami Sandell (Brandon, 2004-06) signed a one-year plus option contract with Ilves Tampere (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had three goals and five assists in 40 games with Luleå (Sweden, Elitserien) this season. . . .




D Tomas Slovak (Kelowna, 2001-03) signed a one-year contract extension with Plzen (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had four goals and seven assists in 27 games with Plzen this season.
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1. Well, if you didn’t have a dog in either hunt that was a wasted evening of TV viewing. The Boston Bruins blew out the host Pittsburgh Penguins and after two games hold a 9-1 edge in goals, while the Miami Heat picked apart the visiting Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of an NBA division final. . . . An evening that began with much promise, when pfffft in a hurry.
2. Beth Bragg of the Anchorage Daily News reports that the U of Alaska-Anchorage is down to six finalists as it searches for a new head coach for its hockey team. Her story is right here, and it includes all six names, which is kind of interesting. . . . Can’t you just see a WHL team allowing its fans to follow along as it searches for a head coach!
3. With the Prince Albert Raiders having hired Cory Clouston as head coach, there now are two WHL teams — the Everett Silvertips and Lethbridge Hurricanes — who still have vacancies in that position.
4. The Hurricanes are the only team in the 22-team league without a head coach and a logo.
5. A few years ago, I got an email from a hockey fan named Bill Motiuk. He had put a lot of thought into hockey’s loser point — in many leagues, including the WHL, a team losing a game in overtime or a shootout receives one point. In brief, Motiuk proposed right here that a winner in regulation time be given three points, with two points going to an OT winner and one to a shootout winner. The loser wouldn’t get anything.
The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Of course, the powers-that-be have yet to see the light.
Recently, I received another email from Motiuk, this time with “something for hockey fans to throw around in the down time between playoff series.”
And rather than have me explain it, here he is . . .
“How would the game change if a team getting a power play with less than two minutes left in a period had the option of taking the penalty at the time of the call or at the start of the next period?
“Why the option?
“As it stands now, the penalty and subsequent power play are not really for two minutes. For example, it could be a 45-second power play in one period and a one-minute 15-second power play in the next period.
“The amount of time allotted to the power play in each period currently depends on or at what time after the 18 minute-mark the penalty was called. How often is a goal scored at the end of a period on a penalty called at 19:30 of the period? That 30 seconds is probably the easiest bit of time to kill.
“Even if you have the momentum and are pressing on the power play, the clock puts a stop to that even though you have 90 of PP time left. And when the next period begins the faceoff is at centre ice where if you lose the draw another few seconds are lost.
“As it stands now the team taking a penalty with fewer than two minutes to play in a period faces less of a challenge than it would if that same penalty were called with two or more minutes remaining in the period.
“Adopting my suggestion would most likely change a dynamic in coaching. The ability of the coach would become more evident as to his effect on the outcome of a game. Does the coach accept the time of the penalty when called to continue his team’s momentum (if his team has it) or does he go to the dressing room and draw up a plan to exploit any weaknesses he may have observed? As well, when a new period begins, his players will be rested and the ice will be fresh.
“Of course, the other team also will be rested. So does he give the opposing team a chance to re-group?
“The score at the end of the period would be another variable. Heading toward overtime near the end of the third period would also add another dynamic. Does he try to win in regulation time and deny the other team a single point or does he gamble and carry the full two-minute penalty into overtime, in a 4-on-3 situation, which has a high percentage likelihood of a power play goal and the two points?
“If he allows the penalty time to be split over the period and into overtime and the power play comes up dry, the OT becomes a toss-up as to who will win. It could all come down to who can out-coach whom?
“I’m sure a lot of people could come up many more pros and cons for this idea, but I just wanted to throw it out there to see if it raises any thoughts.”
6. I will throw out another suggestion, one that I heard Kamloops Blazers head coach Dave Hunchak mention during one of his radio appearances at the recent Memorial Cup.
If hockey really wants to increase scoring, Hunchak suggested, the nets should be enlarged, but only upwards. If they were six inches higher, putting cross-bars 54 inches off the ice, he continued, goaltenders would have to spend a lot more time standing up.
Make the goaltenders stand up more and they are able to play less butterfly, meaning the bottom of the net would be open for more scoring.
I am quick to admit that I am a traditionalist, but hockey needs more goals. It’s obvious that the equipment worn by goaltenders isn’t going to be downsized a whole lot, if at all.
So, hey, why not raise the cross-bar by six inches?
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THE COACHING GAME:
Cory Clouston is back in the game, this time as head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders. The WHL team announced Monday that it had signed Clouston to a two-year deal, with the team holding an option on a third season. . . . Clouston, a two-time WHL coach of the year while with the Kootenay Ice, is the 13th head coach in Raiders’ history. . . . He left the Ice after 2007-08 and spent a bit more than one season as head coach of the AHL’s Binghamton Senators, moving up as head coach of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators with 34 games left in 2008-09. Clouston spent two more seasons with Ottawa before being dropped, and then was head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings for one season, going 39-28-5 in 2011-12. He was fired shortly after the season ended. . . . With the Raiders, Clouston replaces Steve Young. The Raiders announced on April 29 that they wouldn’t pick up the option on Young’s contract. . . . Associate coach Dave Manson and assistant coach Tim Leonard will work alongside Clouston. . . . Perry Bergson of the Prince Albert Daily Herald has more right here.


The ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets are expected to name a new head coach today. They are replacing veteran coach Al Sims, who retired after the season. . . . The new coach may well be Gary Graham, a Fort Wayne native who was an assistant under Sims. 


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Andrew Rieder, then of the Regina Pats, and two young fans — brothers
Styles (left) and Ty Acoose.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Vladimir Sicak (Medicine Hat, 1998-2000) signed a one-year contract with Sparta Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga) after his release by Pardubice (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He has one assist in eight games with Pardubice this season. Last season, Sicak had three goals and 14 assists in 41 games with Pardubice. . . .
F Stanislav Balan (Portland, 2005-06) signed a one-year contract with HK Poprad (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had one goal and one assist in 16 games with Lev Poprad (Slovakia, KHL) before he was released. Balan then signed with SKP Poprad (Slovakia, Extraliga) and scored 10 goals and 16 assists in 26 games. . . .
F Mikael Backlund (Kelowna, 2008-09) signed a lockout contract with Västerås (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had four goals and seven assists in 41 games with the Calgary Flames last season. Västerås announced that Backlund will arrive in Sweden today and will be in their lineup for Tuesday's game against Leksand if all goes as planned. . . .
F Stepan Novotny (Kelowna, Swift Current, 2008-11) was released by Liberec (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He was pointless in six games this season. . . .
F Tomas Netik (Medicine Hat, 2000-01) signed a one-year contract with Niftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (Russia, KHL) after his release by Liberec (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had three goals and three
assists in seven games with Liberec this season. Netik had 17 goals and 11 assists in 42 games with Lev Poprad (Slovakia, KHL) and one goal and one assist in 12 games on loan to Växjö (Sweden, Elitserien) last season. . . .
G Tyson Sexsmith (Vancouver, 2004-09) signed a one-year contract with Metallurg Novokuznetsk (Russia, KHL). He had a 2.33 GAA and a .916 save percentage in 34 games with Worcester Sharks (AHL) last season.
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It has become a rite of fall, like carving a Thanksgiving turkey or the falling of the leaves.
Another 20-year-old is sent packing and everyone says all the right things.
But in the end another 20-year-old is gone, cut by a WHL team simply because of a rule. He isn’t dropped because he isn’t good enough to play. He isn’t released because he isn’t a good person.
In this instance, the player is Andrew Rieder. He ws released by the Regina Pats on Friday because he’s 20 years of age.
Each WHL team is allowed to dress a maximum of three 20-year-olds per game. And each team must declare its 20-year-old players on Oct. 10, which is Wednesday.
The Pats on Friday said farewell and thanks for everything to Rieder, who from all reports is a player with terrific work ethic on and off the ice. Rieder, who is from Regina, has been rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery. He received medical clearance to return to action on Wednesday. Just 48 hours later, he was gone.
“He’s an ultimate Pat, really,” Regina head coach Pat Conacher told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post on Thursday, before the team had made its decision public. “He has been here his whole junior career. He has done so much for us on and off the ice. That’s the tough part.”
In a news release, GM Chad Lang offered: “This has been a very difficult decision to make as Andrew is everything we want our players to be. He has been a great ambassador of our hockey club in our community, a tremendous teammate and leader.”
The above photo was taken in January 2011 in the Rieder family home in Regina. Rieder’s mother had invited a couple of young fans over to meet her son.
“I can't begin to tell you how good he was with the boys — he asked them lots of questions, showed them some of his hockey keepsakes and even gave each of them an autographed stick,” offered the boys’ foster father. “From that day forward we became big Andrew Rieder fans.
“Perhaps the best part is that this wasn't a one-time deal. He always makes a point to say hi to the boys when he sees them at the rink (or even at a mall in Saskatoon). Andrew is a great kid and we'll definitely miss seeing him in a Pats jersey.”
Unfortunately for Rieder his only sin is that he is 20. So it’s thanks for everything and see ya.
Rieder had surgery May 11 on his left shoulder. His right shoulder also has caused him problems. So, really, the Pats didn’t have any choice as they kept D Colton Jobke, G Matt Hewitt and F Lane Scheidl.
Earlier, the Pats released F Tanner Olstad and traded D Brandon Underwood to the Red Deer Rebels. Both were victims of the 20-year-old game in Regina.
For years, I have felt the WHL needs to go to four or even five 20-year-olds. I even like the idea that was broached earlier this season — I think it was by Conacher, as a matter of fact — about giving teams five spots to share among 20-year-olds and imports. A team would be allowed to have a maximum of two imports, but if it only had one, it could go with four 20-year-olds. If a team didn’t have an import, it could have five 20s.
I just don’t understand how teams invest so much in some of these players, some of whom have been with the same organization for four years, and then cut them adrift simply because of the 20-yer-old rule.
But, as you may have guessed, it’s all about the money.
One WHL owner told me recently that the NHL wants the WHL developing the younger players (i.e. 16-year-olds) and not the 20s. In other words, a loosening of the 20-year-old rule likely would mean a tightening of the NHL’s purse strings.
And that isn’t something the WHL can afford to let happen.
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The Spokane Chiefs have dealt D Davis Vandane, 20, to the Prince Albert Raiders for a conditional eighth-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Vandane, from Yorkton, Sask., has 43 points in 123 regular-season games. Last season, he had 25 points in 68 games. . . . The gets the Chiefs down to three 20-year-olds — D Brenden Kichton, who is the team captain, F Blake Gal and F Dylan Walchuk. . . . The Raiders, meanwhile, now have four 20s on their roster, the others being G Luke Siemens, F Anthony Bardaro and D Antoine Corbin. However, Corbin remains in camp with the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. Should Corbin be assigned to the Raiders, they would have two weeks after his arrival to get down to three 20-year-old players.
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Later Friday, the Chiefs announced that G Mac Engel, 19, has been released “and is awaiting a trade to another WHL team.” . . . That leaves the Chiefs with Eric Williams, 19, and Garret Hughson, 17, as their two goaltenders. . . . Engel, who was entering his third season in Spokane, was 42-28-7 in 88 appearances with the Chiefs. Last season he was 28-19-4, 2.52, .909. . . . Spokane is carrying 25 players, including eight defencemen and 15 forwards.
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As mentioned earlier, the Regina Pats got down to three 20-year-olds on Friday by releasing F Andrew Rieder, who has been working to recover from offseason shoulder surgery. Rieder, who is from Regina, played in 177 regular-season games with the Pats, putting up 51 points, including 25 goals. . . . Last season, he had 25 points, 13 of them goals, in 52 games. . . . The Pats are left with D Colton Jobke, G Matt Hewitt and F Lane Scheidl as their 20-year-old players.
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A Friday tweet from Andrew Rieder (@Rieder28): “Want to thank everyone in the @WHLpats organization for the last 5 years couldn't have ask for more. I feel honored.”
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The OHL’s Windsor Spitfires have waived Slovakian F Juraj Bezuch, who played last season with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Bezuch was pointless in four games with the Spitfires, who have claimed Russian F Alex Khokhlachev and are hoping to be able to recruit the talented 19-year-old who is with the KHL’s Moscow Spartak. The Spitfires had dealt two 20-year-olds and a seventh-round 2014 OHL draft pick to get Bezuch from the Kitchener Rangers late in training camp. “It just didn’t work out,” Windsor head coach Bob Boughner told Jim Parker of the Windsor Star.
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FRIDAY'S SCOREBOARD:
D Brendan Kichton had five points, including two goals, as the host Spokane Chiefs got past the Victoria Royals, 5-3. . . . It was the first five-point game of Kichton’s career. He had had one four-point game. . . . Spokane F Mitch Holmberg scored twice, giving him seven goals in four games. . . .

LW Brendan Ranford, in his first game since being released by the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs, had a goal and four assists as the Kamloops Blazers beat the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds, 7-2. . . . It was Ranford’s third five-point game of his WHL career. . . . The Blazers are playing their three 20-year-olds on one line. Ranford, C Dylan Willick (two goals and an assist) and RW Jordan DePape (one of each) combined for 10 points. . . . The Blazers’ other big line totalled eight points with RW JC Lipon putting up a goal and three assists, Tim Bozon getting a goal and two assists, and C Colin Smith scoring once. . . . Kamloops broke a 2-2 tie with five unanswered third-period goals. . . .

The Portland Winterhawks opened their six-game East Division swing with a 2-1 victory over the Wheat Kings in Brandon. . . . Portland G Cam Lanigan stopped 18 shots, while Brandon’s Corbin Boes turned aside 41. . . . Freshman F Alex Schoenborn broke a 1-1 tie at 12:15 of the second period with his first WHL goal. . . . Schoenborn, who turns 17 on Dec. 12, is from Minot, N.D., which isn’t that far south of Brandon, so you can bet he had some fans in the house. . . . With 30 minutes left until puck drop, scouts from at least 13 NHL teams had signed in for this one. They were there to watch Brandon D Ryan Pulock and Portland D Seth Jones. . . . Portland F Taylor Leier (abdominal tear) played for the first time this season. . . .

F Justin Feser had a goal and two assists as the host Tri-City Americans beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-1. . . . G Ty Rimmer, who spent last season with the Americans, stopped 24 shots for the Hurricanes. . . . Lethbridge had a 17-7 edge in shots in the third period, but struggled to beat a superb Eric Comrie, who finished with 36 saves. . . . The Americans were without F Jesse Mychan, who hopes to return from an undisclosed injury when Tri-City opens an East Division swing on Oct. 13 in Brandon.

The Vancouver Giants scored three times in the game’s first 5:11 and went on to beat the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers, 6-1. . . . Vancouver G Tyler Fuhr stopped 20 shots and now has backstopped both his team’s victories. He’s expected to start again Sunday when the Victoria Royals are the visitors and will be playing their third game in three days. . . . Medicine Hat G Marek Langhamer was gone after being beaten three times on eight shots. . . . Vancouver F Marek Tvrdon, who has yet to score, had two assists. . . . Among Vancouver’s scratches was D John Neibrandt, 20. . . .

F Chandler Stephenson’s goal with 15.4 seconds left in the third period gave the host Regina Pats a 3-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. . . . D Colton Jobke, named Regina’s captain earlier in the day, scored the game’s first goal. He was playing his first game since being assigned to the Pats by the AHL’s Houston Aeros. . . .

F Adam Lowry had two goals and two assists as the Swift Current Broncos went into Saskatoon and hammered the Blades, 10-1. . . . The Broncos were 5-5 on the power play. In the second period, the scored four PP goals on six shots. . . . Saskatoon is 0-3 at home. . . . “It was, to be honest with you, unbelievable,” Lorne Molleken, the Blades’ general manager and head coach, told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. “We’ve hit rock bottom here and now it’s just a matter of starting all over again.” . . . The Blades are to be the host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup. . . . Swift Current scored seven second-period goals and led 9-1 going into the third. . . . The Broncos are 2-0-4. . . . The Blades scratched veteran D Dalton Thrower. Why? Molleken told Nugent-Bowman that Thrower has been “playing by his own rules.” . . . F Ryan Graham, who has been out with back problems, was in the Blades’ lineup for the first time this season. . . . Swift Current F Graham Black (ill) sat this one out. . . .

The Prince Albert Raiders, who have yet to lose in regulation time, went into Calgary and scored a 5-4 shootout victory over the Hitmen. . . . F Mark McNeill got the shootout winner. . . . The Raiders got a goal and two assists from D Josh Morrissey, who is from Calgary. . . . The Raiders were 3-7 on the PP, scoring twice while up two men. . . . Prince Albert now is 5-0-1. . . . The 3-0-2 Hitmen also haven’t yet been beaten in regulation time. . . . The Raiders have won all three of their road games this season; last season they didn’t win a third road game until Dec. 11. . . . Prince Albert continues to play without F Mike Winther (groin). . . . Interestingy, the Hitmen had only two minus players in the game, while the Raiders had eight, including three who were minus-3. . . . Calgary was 0-3 on the PP. . . . D Davis Vandane, acquired earlier in the day from Spokane, didn't play for the Raiders. . . .

The Prince George Cougars scored five first-period goals and beat the visiting Kelowna Rockets, 6-3. . . . The Cougars are 5-0-1. . . . F Zach Pochiro, an 18-year-old from Las Vegas, scored his first two WHL goals and added two assists and was plus-3 for the Cougars. . . . Pochiro played last season for the NAHL’s Wichita Falls Wildcats, a team that then had Cougars owner Rick Brodsky in its ownership group. . . . Pochiro got tossed as part of a two-fight situation at 19:31 of the third period. Up until then, only six minors had been assessed. . . . The Cougars are 4-0-1 and tied with Kamloops atop the Western Conference. Attendance last night was 1,907.
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CHECKING FROM BEHIND COUNT:F Connor Chartier, Spokane
F Jaimen Yakubowski, Lethbridge
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CHECKING TO THE HEAD COUNT:
None.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Edmonton Oil Kings assistant coach Steve Hamilton (@hamilton_steve): “There is no worse post-event interview than MMA winner. ‘Thank you Lord for allowing me to pummel and choke that man repeatedly’ #ironic?”
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For today’s good read, we go to ESPN.com where Jeff MacGregor takes a look at New York’s relationship with Yankess shortstop Derek Jeter. It’s right here. Read closely and ask yourself if you could be reading about Wayne Gretzky near the end of his playing career.


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Marek Ivan (Lethbridge, Moose Jaw, 1996-98) signed a contract with AZ Havirov (Czech Republic, 2.Liga). He had 13 goals and 17 assists in 28 games this season with Karvina (Czech Republic, 2.Liga). . . .
F Stanislav Balan (Portland, 2005-06) was one of four players released by Lev Poprad (Slovakia, KHL). Balin had one goal and one assist in 16 games this season with Lev. He also had three goals and four assists in seven games with SKP Poprad (Slovakia, Extraliga) this season. . . .
F Marcel Hossa (Portland, 1998-2001) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Atlant Mytishchi (Russia, KHL), two days after his release by Spartak Moscow (Russia, KHL). Hossa had six goals and 11 assists in 35 games for Spartak this season.
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Prince George head coach Dean Clark met up with Gerard Hayes, one of the WHL’s officiating supervisors, moments after the Cougars had dropped a 5-0 decision to the host Kamloops Blazers on Sunday night.
“That’s embarrassing . . . that’s embarrassing,” Clark told Hayes.
Clark was referring to the officiating. He may as well have been referring to the entertainment value of the game.
The time has come for the WHL to take a serious look at its schedule in the latter half of December and into January.
This season, the WHL played games through Dec. 18 and then broke for Christmas, returning with games on Dec. 27.
The WHL boasts of having 34 of its players competing at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. And in another news release it tells us that there are 18 more of its players in the World Junior Championship.
That means the WHL’s 22 teams are missing 52 of their better players. And that doesn’t include any players who are out with injuries.
With 22 teams, the WHL’s talent pool is thin enough — some would say it’s thinner than the gruel Tiny Tim would get for breakfast — that none of its teams has the depth to withstand losing players to these Christmas assignments without it having a real impact.
On Sunday in Kamloops, for example, the two teams were missing seven players who are competing in the WJC and/or WHC. Four others were out with injuries.
While the Blazers are second in the 10-team Western Conference, the Cougars are scrambling to get into the playoffs. Down five players, they just didn’t have the depth to compete with the Blazers.
The result was a game that was anything but entertaining. As entertainment, it was . . . well, it wasn’t. (Oh, we should tell you that the same two teams get to do it again Friday and Saturday in Prince George. Hopefully, help will have arrived by then.)
Despite missing all those players, of course, the WHL and its teams aren’t about to give the fans a break by cutting ticket prices.
So why not change the schedule?
Why not play games through Dec. 22 or Dec. 23 and then break until early in the new year?
Why not allow players to go home and spend some real quality Christmas time with their families, instead of having to travel on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) in order to play games on Dec. 27?
Why not extend the break right into the new year? The WHC and WJC wrap up on Jan. 4 and Jan. 5, so why not give the teams and their fans a break and return on Jan. 6 or 7?
This season, the WHL schedule was dark for eight days. Why not play through Dec. 23, bring players back Jan. 2 for a couple days of practice and then resume the schedule? Why not take two weeks off instead of eight days?
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So . . . here's a hypothetical situation for you.
You are involved in the management of a WHL team.
It is the Friday before Christmas and your team is spread far and wide as the WHL takes its festive break.
One of your players chooses to pay a pre-Christmas visit to a local nightspot. He is of age, so that isn’t a problem.
What is a problem is this: The player gets into a fight of some sort and, no, he doesn’t emerge as the winner.
So . . . when your team resumes its schedule, what do you do?
Do you:
(a) Suspend the player and show him as being out with an upper body injury?
(b) Don’t suspend him and show him as being out with an upper body injury?
(c) Release the player?
(d) Nothing?
Hey . . . just asking.
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JUST NOTES:
F Charles Wells, 20, has joined the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints, according to Tyler King, the radio voice of the Fort McMurray Oil Barons. . . . Wells was placed on waivers by Portland and claimed by the Moose Jaw Warriors before Christmas. But he has chosen not to return to the WHL. He had 120 points in 265 WHL games with Seattle, Prince Albert and Portland.
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SUNDAY’S GAME:
In Regina, the Pats scored two shorthanded goals as they beat the Edmonton Oil Kings, 5-2. . . . Edmonton went into the game having allowed just one shorthanded goal all season. . . . Regina scored the game’s first four goals and took a 4-0 lead deep into the third period. . . . F Michael St. Croix scored twice for Edmonton, giving him 24. . . . The Oil Kings picked up five of eight points on a four-game East Division swing. . . .

In Kelowna, G Chris Driedger stopped 27 shots as the Calgary Hitmen beat the Rockets, 2-0. . . . It was the first shutout of Driedger’s career. . . . Calgary F Brooks Macek scored 1:12 into the first period and that goal stood up as the winner. . . . F Alex Gogolev added his 15th at 19:31 of the second period. . . . Kelowna G Jordon Cooke stopped 33 shots. . . .

In Saskatoon, F Matej Stransky struck for three goals to lead the Blades to an 8-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Stransky has 21 goals this season. . . . Saskatoon D Dalton Thrower, who had six points, including four assists, in a 9-4 victory over visiting Prince Albert on Friday, had a goal and three assists. . . . Yes, the Blades, who couldn’t buy goals before Christmas, have 17 goals in their last two games. . . . F Lukas Sutter broke a 1-1 tie at 18:49 of the first period and the Blades went on to take control with a 5-1 lead. . . . Saskatoon GM/head coach Lorne Molleken was behind the bench for his 963rd WHL game, moving him into a tie with the late Pat Ginnell for fourth place on the all-time list. . . . The victory was the 542nd of Molleken’s WHL coaching career. He is third on the all-time list. Ken Hodge, of course, is No. 1, at 742, with Ernie (Punch) McLean second at 548. Don Hay of the Vancouver Giants is right behind Molleken, at 540. . . .

In Swift Current, D Graeme Craig, who lost three teeth in a Friday game, scored his third goal of the season and it stood up as the winner as the Broncos beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 4-2. . . . Craig has three goals this season. . . . Craig took a puck in the chops during a 4-1 loss to the Pats in Regina on Friday night. He now is wearing a cage while he undergoes repairs and the healing process takes place. . . . Broncos F Ryon Moser, playing his 150th game, had a goal, his ninth, and an assist. . . . Swift Current F Brad Hoban (ill) was among the scratches. . . . Medicine Hat assistant coach Darren Kruger, a former Broncos defenceman, handled the ceremonial faceoff as Swift Current remembered the four players, including Kruger’s brother Scott, who were killed in a bus accident on Dec. 30, 1986. . . .

In Kamloops, G Cole Cheveldave stopped 22 shots to help the Blazers to a 5-0 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Cheveldave has two shutouts, both of them against the Cougars. . . . F Tim Bozon and F Cole Ully each scored twice for the Blazers, while F Brandon Herrod, acquired Saturday from the Prince Albert Raiders, had a PP goal. . . . Ully has five goals this season, and three of them are game-winners. . . . The teams meet again Friday and Saturday in Prince George. Which may or may not have had anything to do with a line brawl that occurred with one minute to play in the third period. Ch-ch-ching! . . . The Cougars ended up taking 95 of the 160 penalty minutes.
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SUNDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Cody Corbett, Edmonton.
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At the U-17 World Hockey Challenge, Team West fell to 0-3 as it dropped a 7-3 decision to the U.S. in Tecumseh, Ont. . . . F Remi Laurencelle, whose WHL rights belong to Lethbridge, D Kayle Doetzel (Red Deer) and F Cory Millette (Red Deer) scored for Team West. . . . G Austin Lotz (Everett) stopped 38 shots. . . . sTeam West plays Russia tonight, while Team Pacific (3-0) meets the U.S. The playoff round beings Tuesday.
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In a piece headlined How TSN Killed the WJCs, Joe Pelletier over at Greatest Hockey Legends pretty much sums up my feelings on the tournament. Check it out. There’s a link over there on the left.