The St. Francis-Xavier X-Men made it official Monday — they will have G Drew Owsley, D Bronson Maschmeyer, F Chase Schaber, F Steven Kuhn and F Cole Grbavac in the lineup next season. All are products of the WHL. . . . Owsley finished his career with the Prince George Cougars. . . . Maschmeyer and Schaber were with the Kamloops Blazers, while Kuhn was with the Spokane Chiefs and Grbavac the Medicine Hat Tigers.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings announced Monday that F Bruno Mraz, who had 18 points in 63 games last season, won’t be returning for a second season. Mraz, 19, has signed to play professionally in his native Slovakia. . . . Brandon has the 35th pick in Wednesday’s CHL import draft and will use it. . . . The Wheat Kings’ lone import at the moment is F Alessio Bertaggia, 19, who is from Switzerland and had 50 points in 64 games as a freshman last season.
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Alan Caldwell, over there on the right at Small Thoughts At Large, takes a team-by-team look at WHL teams as the import draft approaches. Check it out.
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More undrafted WHL players heading to NHL development camps. . . . G Andrey Makarov of the Saskatoon Blades will join the Florida Panthers. . . . F Miles Koules, who is to play for the Medicine Hat Tigers, has accepted an offer from the Phoenix Coyotes, as has Victoria Royals F Austin Carroll. . . . F Cain Franson of the Vancouver Giants and D Corbin Baldwin of the Spokane Chiefs are to go to camp with the Vancouver Canucks.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Jeff Blashill, an assistant coach with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, has been named head coach of the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. . . . They are the AHL affiliate of the Red Wings. . . . Blashill, 38, joined Detroit’s coaching staff a year ago after two seasons as head coach at Western Michigan.

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The first time I saw Chad Lang, then the general manager of the Moose Jaw Warriors, he was in the press box in the arena in Kamloops. I thought he was one of that night’s scratches from the Moose Jaw lineup. Today, he is the general manager of the Regina Pats. Andrew Matte of the Regina Leader-Post has Lang’s interesting story right here.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
The Edmonton Oil Kings and Moose Jaw Warriors have advanced to the Eastern Conference final. The Oil Kings go in having won all eight of their playoff games, while the Warriors are 4-1. . . . They’ll begin with games in Edmonton on April 20 and 22. . . .

In Brandon, the Edmonton Oil Kings scored four first-period goals and went on to beat the Wheat Kings, 6-0. . . . Edmonton swept the Eastern Conference semifinal, running its playoff record this spring to 8-0. . . . The Oil Kings now have won 19 straight games. . . . The Wheat Kings scratched their top two forwards, Mark Stone and Michael Ferland. Stone has whiplash, while Ferland has a broken finger. Neither finished Game 3 on Tuesday night. . . . With those two out, F Daniel Asham an d F Tim McGauley made their playoff debuts. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit stopped 24 shots for his second shutout of these playoffs. . . . Edmonton got two goals from D Martin Gernat, who was celebrating his 19th birthday. . . . Edmonton F T.J. Foster had a goal and two assists. He and Gernat each finished plus-4. . . . Edmonton F Dylan Wruck left the game in the third period with an apparent shoulder injury. . . . Brandon D Ryan Pulock is expected to heard for Czech Republic where he will play for Canada at the IIHF U-18 world championship. . . .

In Medicine Hat, F Brayden Point continued to pen an amazing story as his PP goal in overtime gave the Moose Jaw Warriors a 4-3 victory over the Tigers. . . . The Tigers won the Eastern Conference semifinal, 4-0. . . . Point, the 14th overall pick in the 2011 bantam draft, has eight points, including five goals, in nine playoff games. He leads the WHL with three game-winners — two of them in OT — in the playoffs. This one came on the PP at 8:50 of OT. . . . D James Bettauer scored twice in the first period as the Tigers got out front 3-1 with three PP goals. . . . Moose Jaw F Kenton Miller scored on a PP at 3:08 of the second and F Sam Fioretti forced OT when he scored at 15:51 of the third. . . . Moose Jaw F Cam Braes had two assists as he ran his point streak to nine games. . . . The Tigers were 3-6 on the PP; the Warriors went 2-4. . . . Medicine Hat scratched D Alex Theriau, while the Warriors remain without D Morgan Rielly (knee). . . .

In Spokane, the Tri-City Americans scored the game’s first two goals and went on to a 2-1 victory over the Chiefs. . . . The Americans take a 2-1 series lead into Game 4 in Spokane on Friday. . . . Game 5 is scheduled for Saturday in Kennewick, Wash. . . . F Nathan MacMaster scored his first goal at 9:20 of the first period and F Brendan Shinnimin added his fifth at 14:56. . . . Shinnimin, who won the WHL scoring race, has at least one point in each of his last 30 games. . . . Spokane F Steven Kuhn scored at 12:16 of the third period. . . . Tri-City G Ty Rimmer stopped 24 shots, three fewer than Spokane’s Eric Williams. . . . The Chiefs won the opener 3-2 in OT; the Americans have won the last two, both 2-1. . . .  The Americans have won their last four games in Spokane. . . . Spokane F Marek Kalus sat out his second straight game. He has an upper-body injury and may not play again in the series. . . .

In Kamloops, the Blazers scored the game’s last five goals and beat the Portland Winterhawks, 5-4. . . . The Winterhawks, who lead the series 3-1, led 4-0 at 10:58 of the first period. . . . Game 5 is to be played in Portland’s Rose Garden on Saturday. . . . Kamloops F Dylan Willick broke a 4-4 tie with a PP goal at 7:37 of the third period. . . . Kamloops F Brendan Ranford had a goal and two assists, including a faceoff win that led to Willick’s winner. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie left the game 12 minutes into the first period after taking a heavy hit from Kamloops F J.C. Lipon. He was favouring his back as he left the bench and went to the dressing room. He never did return to the game. . . . Kamloops G Cam Lanigan gave up four goals on eight shots but then stopped the last 23 shots he faced. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth turned aside 29 shots. . . . Kamloops was 2-5 on the PP; Portland was 0-5. . . . After the game, the Portland coaching staff was contemplating asking the WHL office for supplemental discipline for two checks delivered by Kamloops players. Check my game story elsewhere on this blog for more details.

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THE MATCHUPS
Eastern Conference
Edmonton (1) vs. Kootenay (8) — Overall leaders face defending champs.
Moose Jaw (2) vs. Regina (7) — The Trans-Canada Rivalry heats up.
Calgary (3) vs. Brandon (6) — Brandon draws first blood.
Medicine Hat (4) vs. Saskatoon (5) — Will the Tigers Etem up? Or are Blades equal to the Trask?
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Western Conference
Tri-City (1) vs. Everett (8) — Can Silvertips handle Ams’ all-star line?
Kamloops (2) vs. Victoria (7) — This one’s on Shaw TV.
Portland (3) vs. Kelowna (6) — To tell the Carruth, Portland’s favoured.
Vancouver (4) vs. Spokane (5) — The battle of the two Dons.
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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Chad Bassen (Regina, Vancouver, Medicine Hat, Everett, 2000-04) signed a one-year contract extension with the Augsburger Panther (Germany, DEL). He had nine goals and 16 assists in 52 games for Augsburg this season.
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There was more than one full page of copy and photos dedicated to the Western Hockey League in Thursday’s edition of the Kamloops Daily News.
In fact, about half the editorial space that was provided to the sports department was filled with WHL-related copy.
In one story, the Victoria Royals were referenced on one occasion as the Victoria

Grizzlies. The Royals, of course, are the team that the WHL allowed RG Properties to purchase and move to Victoria after five seasons as the Chilliwack Bruins; the Grizzlies are the BCHL’s Victoria franchise.
And so it came to pass that Dave Dakers, the president and alternate governor of the Bruins, er, Royals, chose to get up on his hind legs during a Thursday news conference in Kamloops — he was the guy who someone suggested looked as though he’d slept on a Greyhound bus and arrived just before the talking started — and whined about the lack of respect his club was getting.
Yes, the Bruins, er, Grizz . . . ahh, Royals are in full ‘woe is me’ mode. Rodney Dangerfield never had it this bad.
Victoria, the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, got into the playoffs with 24 victories — the Bruins, er, Royals also lost 48 games, although they earned loser points for seven of those setbacks.
Were they in the Eastern Conference, they would have missed the playoffs by 27 points. (By the way, WHL commissioner Ron Robison spent part of his address yesterday talking about his league’s competitive balance. Ahh, we won’t go there, not when the final standings show 14 of 22 teams at better than .500, not when three Eastern Conference teams are out, despite having far superior records to three Western Conference teams that are in.)
But we digress . . .
So far the Royals have played the experts-are-picking-Kamloops-in-three card, the we-beat-Portland-twice-last-week-and-didn’t-get-any-respect card, the we-don’t-know-why-we’re-playing-this-series card, the nobody-knows-our-name card. . . .
All of which means the playoffs have arrived.
Here’s Marc Habscheid, the Bruins’, er, Royals’ GM/head coach, to the Victoria Times Colonist earlier in the week:
“Some people are picking them in three games, not just four. We shouldn't even go to Kamloops, the way it sounds. All I know is, we’ll show up Friday when the puck is dropped.”
Here’s Habscheid, to Travis Paterson of the Victoria News:
“We beat Portland and we’ve heard, ‘Well, they didn’t have (Sven) Baertschi.”
Here’s Dakers, at Thursday’s news conference:
“We’re not sure why we’re playing this series.”
One of the reasons the WHL held the news conference, as it put it in a news release, was to launch the 2012 playoffs.
The news conference was held in the Interior Savings Centre in Kamloops, but only one team — the Blazers — had a coach and players in attendance.
Here’s hoping the Bruins, er, Grizzlies or whoever they are — the Salsa? — show up tonight and for five or six games after this one.
Hey, at least we didn’t call them the Cougars! Or did we?
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If you're looking for the Western Conference individual award winners and all-star teams that were announced yesterday, you will find them at www.whl.ca.
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THURSDAY’S GAME:
In Calgary, F Mark Stone broke at 2-2 tie late in the second period and the Brandon Wheat Kings went on to a 6-2 victory over the Hitmen. . . . This was the first game of a first round series, with Game 2 scheduled for tonight in Calgary. . . . The teams then head to Winnipeg for as many as three games, if necessary. With the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair in Brandon, the Wheat Kings have again had to take their first-round show on the road. . . . Stone, who is playing with a thumb injury, got his first playoff goal at 16:13 of the second period. . . . F Darian Dziurzynski scored twice for Brandon, which got two assists from F Paul Ciarelli. . . . After Brandon took a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by F Jason Swyripa and Dziurzynski, Calgary tied it when F Brooks Macek scored at 19:01 of the first and F Alex Gogolev scored at 1:16 of the second, on a PP. . . . Brandon G Corbin Boes stopped 34 shots. . . . Calgary was without F Cody Sylvester (undisclosed) and F Victor Rask (leg), two of its top three regular-season scorers.
Scott Fisher of the Calgary Sun was at the game and filed this story.
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On the eve of opening a playoff series in Edmonton, Jeff Chynoweth, the president and general manager of the Kootenay Ice, talked with Chris O’Leary of the Edmonton Journal about what might have been. The Ice, you’ll recall, began life as the Edmonton Ice and spent two seasons there before relocating to Cranbrook.
That story is right here.
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Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province has all but guaranteed the series between Don Hay’s Giants and Don Nachbaur’s Spokane Chiefs — it opens tonight in Vancouver — will be a goaltender’s nightmare.
Here’s some of what Ewen wrote:
“Hay is an old school guy. Don Nachbaur is  an old school guy. They are defence first guys and this is going to a series of 2-1 and 3-2 games. The regular season match-ups this year, which saw Vancouver win 2-1 in Spokane on Feb. 15 and 3-2 at home in a shoot-out on Oct. 5 certainly suggest that. The team that sticks with its plan the best should win. Another point to ponder? Vancouver is 11-1 in playoff series under Hay when it has home-ice advantage like it does in this one, and 1-5 when it does not.”
Ewen also has a piece today on Vancouver G Adam Morrison who, it turns out, has a relative on the Chiefs’ roster. Morrison and Spokane F Steven Kuhn are cousins.
For more from Ewen, scoot on over to The Province’s website.
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It has been almost 23 years since Duncan MacPherson, a former Saskatoon Blades defenceman, disappeared while traveling in Austria. You will recall that his body was found 14 years after his disappearance. His parents, Lynda and Bob, were convinced that there was more to this story than authorities were letting on. Now there’s a book about the case — Cold a Long Time: An Alpine Mystery — and author John Leake has spoken about it with Kevin Mitchell, the sports editor of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
That story is right here.
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F Turner Elson of the Red Deer Rebels has signed an ATO with the Abbotsford Heat, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames. Elson, a free-agent signee of the Flames after their last training camp, had 46 points and 59 penalty minutes in 56 games with the Rebels. Elson turned 20 on Wednesday.
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Dave (Crash) Cameron of the Edmonton Sun writes that the bandwagon is filling up. Of course, that would be the Edmonton Oil Kings’ bandwagon. That piece is right here.
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If there is a model franchise in the CHL today, it very well may be the Tri-City Americans. The franchise is operated by general manager Bob Tory, who is profiled right here by Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald.
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Pat Conacher, the first-year head coach of the Regina Pats, is the Eastern Conference nominee as the WHL’s coach of the year. When he heard the news, he was surprised, honoured and uncomfortable.
Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has that story right here.
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And finally . . . I’m sorry but this just slays me. Mac Engel, a writer with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, has a blog — The Big Mac Blog. . . . No, he isn’t related to Mac Engel, the Spokane Chiefs goaltender. . . . But Mac the Blogger is keeping tabs on Mac the Goaltender, “the greatest goalie in the history of hockey” as it says here. . . . The latest entry is right here.


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Kirill Starkov (Red Deer, 2006-07) was released by Rögle Ängelholm (Sweden, Allsvenskan). He had three goals and 12 assists in 39 games for Rögle this season. . . .
F Petr Kalus (Regina, 2005-06) signed a contract for the rest of this season with MoDo Örnsköldsvik (Sweden, Elitserien). He had three goals and four assists in 30 games with Slavia Prague (Czech Republic, Extraliga) this season.
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The Regina Pats will honour the memory of the late Rick Rypien on Friday night as they play host to the Swift Current Broncos.
It will be Rick Rypien Bobblehead Night, with a limited quantity of bobbleheads available for fans to purchase with a minimum donation of $2. All proceeds will go to KidSport, and there is a limit of one bobblehead per customer.
Rypien spent his entire WHL career with the Pats, serving as captain in 2004-05.
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The Saskatoon Blades have signed D Nelson Nogier, a hometown boy who was a fourth-round selection in the 2011 WHL bantam draft. Nogier, the son of former WHL G Pat Nogier, has 14 points in 35 games with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts this season. . . .
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D Tyler Stahl, who suffered a concussion on Oct. 1, is back on skates, although there is no timetable for his return to the Victoria Royals’ lineup. Stahl was injured on a hit from F Charles Inglis, then with the Prince George Cougars. Inglis drew a 10-game suspension for the hit. . . . Stahl, who turns 21 on Sunday, was back on the ice Tuesday, although he isn’t yet ready for contact. . . . He won’t play Friday and Saturday against the visiting Kamloops Blazers. . . .
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In the BCHL, the Penticton Vees ran their winning streak to 26 games with a 9-0 victory over the Centennials in Merritt. The Vees are 38-3-2; the Centennials have the BCHL’s second-best record, at 26-13-7. Penticton G Michael Garteig (32-4, 1.97, .929) has put up three shutouts over his last four starts. . . . The Vees next play Friday against the visiting Salmon Arm SilverBacks.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Calgary, F Brooks Macek scored three straight goals to help the Hitmen to a 7-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Macek, who also had an assist, has 14 goals. His first career hat trick came in his 238th game. . . . The Hitmen have won nine of 10 and are tiede with the Saskatoon Blades for fifth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Kootenay Ice. . . . Calgary F Victor Rask had a goal, his 21st, and two assists. . . . Brandon G Corbin Boes made his first start since breaking a hand in a 7-3 loss to the host Edmonton Oil Kings on Dec. 8. . . . Boes was gone at 12:18 of the second, having given up five goals on 21 shots. . . . Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the Wheat Kings on CKLQ, notes that it was “Brandon’s fifth loss by four or more goals in the last month.” . . . The Wheat Kings had beaten the Kootenay Ice 1-0 in Cranbrook on Tuesday night. . . .

In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Kootenay Ice, 5-4. . . . Ice F Jesse Ismond scored shorthanded to give his side a 4-2 lead at 15:11 of the second period. . . . Lethbridge F Jaimen Yakubowski got the home side to within one at 17:47 of the second. . . . F Brody Sutter, with his 21st, tied it at 7:34 of the third and F Phil Tot won it, with his 10th, at 15:02. . . . The last two goals came via the PP as Lethbridge went 2-for-6. . . . Lethbridge G Liam Liston stopped 23 shots. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart scored his 17th goal, which was his 41st point and set a franchise single-season record for a 16-year-old. The previous record had been held by D Steve McCarthy (1997-98). . . . The Ice was without F Max Reinhart, who blocked a shot Tuesday night against Brandon and is expected to be out at least a week. . . .

In Medicine Hat, F Hunter Shinkaruk struck for three goals to help the Tigers to a 6-5 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Shinkaruk, who has 35 goals, also had an assist. . . . The Tigers were without F Emerson Etem, who is at home in California. He hadn’t had any time off since playing for the U.S. in the World Junior Championship. Etem left Sunday and should be back for a Friday game against the host Lethbridge Hurricanes. . . . F Mark McNeill had four goals and an assist for the Raiders. He’s got 22 goals. . . . Prince Albert F Justin Maylan drew four assists, while F Logan McVeigh had three. . . . The Raiders have lost six straight. . . .

In Edmonton, F Brendan Shinnimin scored with 32.2 seconds left in OT to give the Tri-City Americans a 5-4 victory over the Oil Kings. . . . The goal was the second of the game for Shinnimin, who has 29 this season. . . . The outcome left the Americans second in the overall standings, one point ahead of the Oil Kings and one behind the Kamloops Blazers. Kamloops dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Rockets in Kelowna, but the loser point kept them in top spot. . . . The Oil Kings, who had won three straight, took a 3-2 lead into the third period. . . . The Americans then got goals from Shinnimin and F Malte Stromwall in the period’s first five minutes. . . . D Martin Gernat of Edmonton forced OT with his eighth goal at 7:35. . . . Edmonton took three of the game’s five minor penalties. . . . The Americans were 1-for-3 on the PP; Edmonton was 0-for-2. . . . Oil Kings D Griffin Reinhart was back after having been out since Jan. 8 with an undisclosed injury. He scored back-to-back second-period goals, giving him 11. . . . Americans G Ty Rimmer stopped 42 shots, including 18 of 19 in the first period. Rimmer just happens to be from Edmonton. . . . Oil Kings G Laurent Brossoit stopped 39 shots. . . .

In Red Deer, F Charles Inglis had a goal and two assists as the Rebels doubled the Vancouver Giants, 4-2. . . . D Mathew Dumba added two assists for Red Deer. . . . Inglis broke a 2-2 tie at 9:22 of the second period. . . . Red Deer G Deven Dubyk stopped 29 shots. . . . Vancouver started Payton Lee, a 15-year-old from Cranbrook who had won his last two starts. But he gave up four goals on 30 shots through two periods and was replaced by Jackson Whistle, who stopped all 11 shots in faced in the third. . . . The Giants had F Brendan Gallagher (shoulder) and D David Musil (wrist) back after 10-day absences. . . .

In Everett, F Steven Kuhn had two goals and an assist as the Spokane Chiefs beat the Silvertips, 4-2. . . . F Josh Birkholz got Everett to within one at 3-2 at 15:58 of the third period. He’s got 21 goals. . . . Kuhn provided insurance with his 12th goal into an empty net at 19:59. . . . Spokane was 2-for-7 on the PP; Everett was 0-for-2. . . . The Chiefs have won four in a row to close to within a point of fourth-place Vancouver in the Western Conference. . . . Spokane and Everett have completed their season series, with the Chiefs holding an 8-1-1 edge. . . . The Silvertips now head for Prince George and a Friday-Saturday doubleheader with the Cougars. . . .

In Kelowna, the Rockets scored a 3-2 shootout victory over Kamloops, ending the Blazers’ nine-game winning streak. . . . F Brett Bulmer pulled the Rockets even at 11:10 of the third period. . . . F Zach Franko and D Myles Bell scored for Kelowna in the shootout. . . . Kamloops F Brandon Ranford scored his 25th goal of the season and the 100th of his career in the second period. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave stopped 34 shots, 11 more than Kelowna’s Adam Brown.
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WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Jordyn Boyd, Everett (double minor).
FCurtis Lazar, Edmonton.
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The Under-20 Emirates Hockey League has dropped the puck on its first season. There are four teams, including the Dubai Mighty Camels. There’s more right here.


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If you don’t read anything else today, read this story by Scott Burnside of ESPN.com. It’s the latest on Marc Savard, the former Boston Bruins centre, and how he is dealing with post-concussion syndrome. And after you have read it, stop and think about the number of concussions we are seeing in hockey today.
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Of course, on the same that Marc Savard met with the media in Boston, D Andrew Ference of the Bruins tried to run D Ryan McDonagh of the New York Rangers through then end boards from behind. If you haven’t yet seen the play, Ference rushes the puck up the ice, dumps it into the Rangers zone and then follows it in. McDonagh turns, Ference follows him over the icing line and then shoves him from behind.
Joe Michelleti, who was on the telecast crew, summed it up: “One of these days someboyd’s not going to get up and then maybe some of these players will wake up. . . . it’s ridiculous . . . it’s ridiculous.”
Unfortunately, Michelleti is right. It is ridiculous.
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While all of this was happening, the Winnipeg Jets revealed that their leading scorer, former Vancouver Giants star Evander Kane, is sidelined with a concussion.
The Philadelphia Flyers revealed that F Daniel Briere has joined the list of concussed NHLers. He left Saturday’s 4-1 victory over the visiting New Jersey Devils.
And, in Pittsburgh, it was revealed that Penguins F Sidney Crosby had a session with a specialist in chiropractic neurology earlier in the week and that he now is in California for a few sessions with a neurological spine specialist.
What is especially interesting is that NHL teams now are publicly declaring which players have concussions, while continue to refer to other injuries as upper- or lower-body.
In the WHL, however, there are no concussions, only upper-body injuries. There were more than 100 concussions in the WHL last season. Prior to the start of this season, the WHL chose to go to the upper- and lower-body system of reporting injuries.
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And here’s a good read, by Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen. It deals with Ottawa Senators F Brad Winchester who hasn’t played since Dec. 20. Yes. Concussion. Here, he details what his life has been like since he was injured.
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As the WHL heads into the last two months of its regular season, there are going to be a couple of interesting individual races worth watching.
Regina F Jordan Weal moved into the lead for the point title on Friday night, his two points giving him 79 in 47 games, one more than F Ty Rattie of the Portland Winterhawks, who had played 43 games.
Weal and Rattie each picked up two more points last night, leaving the Regina veteran with an 81-80 lead.
Rattie went into last night with 40 goals, which had him tied for the lead with F Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers, who got there with a deuce on Friday night.
Last night, it was Rattie scoring twice and Etem once, leaving the Portland sniper with a 42-41 edge.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes are the latest team to encounter weather-related travel problems.
The Hurricanes were excited to get on the bus and head for home after beating the Rockets 6-3 in Kelowna on Saturday night.
But what normally is about an eight-hour jaunt turned into much more than that as the Trans-Canada Highway was closed so they overnighted in Revelstoke.
G Liam Liston tweeted: “Never seen roads this bad. Stuck in Revelstoke for the night.”
Team captain Brody Sutter followed with: “Stuck in Revelstoke for the night... All I want to do is go home. #Rattled”
On Saturday, Sutter added: “Left Kelowna over 14 hours ago, the 8 hour bus trip has turned into a 18+ hour bus trip. Get me back to Lethy. #LightAtTheEndOfTheTunnel”
The Hurricanes reached Calgary at about 1 p.m. MT.
Meanwhile, the Portland Winterhawks had some problems of their own as they worked to get to Spokane late Friday.
The Winterhawks didn’t play Friday and were headed for Spokane for a Saturday night engagement with the Chiefs when their bus experienced a flat tire. A problem with the spare meant the Winterhawks had to wait for another bus to come to their rescue.
These problems pale compared to what the Kootenay Ice went through earlier in the week when it took the club 28 hours to get to Regina for a Wednesday night game with the Pats.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Prince Albert, F Michael St. Croix scored three goals and added two assists as the Edmonton Oil Kings dropped the Raiders, 9-2. . . . St. Croix has 77 points, including 31 goals, in 48 games. He has three hat tricks this season. . . . F Tyler Maxwell had opened the scoring in each of Edmonton’s previous four games, but didn’t get it done this time. Instead, he scored the game’s fifth and sixth goals, giving him 29. . . . He also had two assists. He has 38 points, including 18 goals, in 24 games since moving from Everett to Edmonton in a trade. . . . F Dylan Wruck added a goal and two assists for the Oil Kings, who now are tied with the Tri-City Americans for second in the overall standings. . . .

In Regina, F Jordan Weal scored in OT to give the Pats a 3-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Weal scored his 30th goal of the season at 30 seconds of OT. . . . He also had an assist and now has a WHL-leading 81 points. He also leads the WHL in assists (51). . . . Regina F Lane Scheidl forced OT when he scored his 17th goal on a penalty shot at 11:29 of the third period. . . . Regina F Dryden Hunt got tossed at 2:16 of the first period with a checking to the head major. . . .

In Saskatoon, the Blades scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Victoria Royals, 9-6. . . . Victoria gave up the game’s first two goals, then held 4-2 and 5-3 leads. . . . The Blades tied it 5-5, only to have Victoria F Jamie Crooks scored his 25th goal at 2:01 of the third period. . . . Saskatoon D Dalton Thrower got his second goal of the game at 8:38, D Kyle Schmidt added his second of the season and second in two nights at 10:26 and Thrower completed his hat trick at 19:02. . . . Thrower has 12 goals this season. . . . Thrower’s last goal was shorthanded and into an empty net, as was Michael Burns’ 20th of the season at 19:32. . . . Burns also had two assists and finished plus-6. . . . Saskatoon F Lukas Sutter, who had one goal, also was plus-6. . . . Victoria went 2-4-0 in its swing through the East Division. . . .

In Brandon, G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 33 shots to help the Kootenay Ice to a 7-3 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Brandon has lost five in a row at home. . . . Skapski was making his first start since Jan. 2. . . . The Ice broke open a scoreless game with goals 1:16 apart late in the first period, D Jagger Dirk sniping at 17:38 on the PP and F Joe Antilla following up at 18:54. . . . The visitors went on to a 5-0 lead. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart picked up a first-period assist which tied him for the franchise single-season record for most points by a 16-year-old. It was his 40th point, tying D Steve McCarthy. . . . F Max Reinhart had three assists for the Ice. . . . F Levi Cable had two goals for the Ice, giving him three on the season, while F Jesse Ismond also scored twice. He’s got 13. . . . These same teams meet Tuesday in Cranbrook. . . .

In Medicine Hat, the Tigers erased an early 1-0 deficit and beat the Swift Current Broncos, 2-1. . . . F Christian Magnus scored for the Broncos at 12:05 of the first period. . . . The Tigers then got two first-period PP goals, from F Emerson Etem, at 13:10, and F Jayden Hart, at 14:34. . . . Etem has 41 goals, which is second in the WHL. . . . He also has scored at least one goal in each of his last 10 games, the longest such streak in all of the CHL since F Nigel Dawes of the Kootenay Ice in 2004-05. . . . F Hunter Shinkaruk had two assists for the Tigers. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 35 shots, one fewer than Swift Current’s Jon Groenheyde. . . .

In Red Deer, F Turner Elson had two goals and two assists to lead the Rebels to a 5-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . D Mathew Dumba added his 13th goal and two assists. The goal was shorthanded and opened the scoring at 18:24 of the first. . . . Red Deer G Deven Dubyk stopped 32 shots. . . . Red Deer, down to 11 healthy forwards, had F Connor Bleackley, a first-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, in the lineup. . . . The Cougars were without F Greg Fraser, who was concussed by a hit to head from Calgary D Alex Roach on Friday night. . . .

In Everett, the Silvertips got three goals from F Kohl Bauml and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-4, in overtime. . . . Bauml, who has 12 goals, got the winner at 3:21 of OT to complete his first WHL hat trick. . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald points out that Bauml has 18 points over his last 16 games after he had just seven points in 30 games. . . . Everett overcame deficits of 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3. . . . Everett F Josh Birkholz forced extra time with his 20th goal at 19:14 of the third. . . . Birkholz finished with two goals and two assists. . . .

In Kelowna, the Rockets came from behind a 3-0 second-period deficit and beat the Vancouver Giants 4-3 in a shootout. . . . Vancouver led this one 3-0 with a minute left in the second. . . . Kelowna F Cody Chikie scored at 19:23 of the second and the Rockets were on their way. . . . F Tanner Moar got his third of the season at 10:36 of the third, on the PP, to tie it at 3-3. . . . Kelowna D MacKenzie Johnston drew two assists. . . . Vancouver G Jackson Whistle, who is from Kelowna, stopped 38 shots, nine more than Kelowna’s Adam Brown. . . . In the shootout, Kelowna got goals from F Zach Franko and D Myles Bell, while Vancouver forwards Marek Tvrdon and Cain Franson were blanked. . . .

In Spokane, F Steven Kuhn’s two goals led the Chiefs to a 5-2 victory over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . Kuhn has 10 goals. . . . F Dominik Uher and D Brenden Kichton each had a goal and two assists for the Chiefs. . . . Uher has 14 points in nine games since playing for the Czech Republic at the World Junior Championship. . . . F Ty Rattie scored both Portland goals and both came via the PP. He has a WHL-leading 42 goals. He also leads the WHL in PP goals, with 21. . . . Spokane G Eric Williams stopped 24 shots. . . . The teams meet again tonight in Spokane. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., the Kamloops Blazers maintained their position atop the WHL’s overall standings with a 4-3 shootout victory over the host Tri-City Americans. . . . The Blazers (34-10-3), who have won nine straight games, have 71 points, two more than the Americans (34-11-1) and the Eastern Conference-leading Edmonton Oil Kings (32-11-5). . . . The Americans, who play in Edmonton on Wednesday, now have lost two in a row at home after rattling of a 13-game home-ice win streak. . . . This also is the first time this season that Tri-City lost back-to-back games this season. . . . Kamloops F Chase Schaber scored twice for the second straight game. His second goal, and 19th of the season, gave his side a 3-1 lead at 5:28 of the second. . . . Tri-City tied it on goals by F Brendan Shinnimin, his 27th this season and the 100th of his career, at 15:30 of the second and F Adam Hughesman, his 29th, at 16:05. . . . The Blazers won the shootout 2-0 on goals by Schaber and D Bronson Maschmeyer. . . . The Americans had a great chance to win when Kamloops D Austin Madaisky was penalized for delay of game at 19:46 of the third period. . . . When the Blazers dropped the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-3 in Kent, Wash., on Friday, Schaber and Maschmeyer both reached career highs in goals. Schaber has 17 in 42 games; last season, he had 16 in 46. Maschmeyer has nine in 46 games. Two seasons ago, he had seven in 72 games. Last season, he had eight in 72 games. Maschmeyer, acquired from Vancouver prior to the start of the 2009-10 season, hasn’t missed a game with Kamloops. Last night, he played in his 191st straight. . . . The Blazers are 11-1-1 against the U.S. Division.
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Sawyer Lange, Prince Albert.
F Torrin White, Moose Jaw.
F Colton Sissons, Kelowna.
D Joe Morrow, Portland.
D Mitch Topping, Tri-City.

The Swift Current Broncos have assigned F Trevor Cameron, 19, to a yet-to-be-named junior A team. Cameron, from Mission, B.C., has five points in 20 games this season. . . . Last season, Cameron had 11 points in 33 games.
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WEDNESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Medicine Hat, G Tyler Bunz, dropped earlier in the day by Canada’s national junior team, stopped 33 shots as the Tigers beat the Red Deer Rebels, 5-2. . . . Bunz now has 94 regular-season victories and is tied with Mark Fitzpatrick for third on the Tigers’ career list. . . . D James Bettauer had a goal, his 14th, and two assists for the Tigers. . . . F Emerson Etem got his 30th goal of the season for the Tigers and also added an assist. . . . Etem has 61 points, four behind Brandon Wheat Kings F Mark Stone, who is with the Canadian junior team. . . . Of course, Etem will be joining the U.S. national junior team. . . . The Tigers had D Patrik Parkkonen and F Boston Leier back from injuries. Each had an assist. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Graham Hood scored 21 seconds into OT to give the Hurricanes a 6-5 victory over the Hitmen. . . . Hood scored twice in the game, giving him six this season. . . . Lethbridge F Cam Braes forced OT with his third goal of the game with 25 seconds left in the third period. . . . Braes has 19 goals. . . . The Hitmen trailed 4-2 when they struck for three third-period goals to take the lead. . . . Calgary F Cody Sylvester broke a 4-4 tie at 15:13, only to have Braes tie it 4:22 later. . . . Calgary F Victor Rask had three assists. He will play for Sweden in the World Junior Championship. . . .

In Regina, D Colten Martin scored at 2:33 of overtime to give the Kelowna Rockets a 3-2 victory over the Pats. . . . The goal was Martin’s first of the season. A 17-year-old freshman from Arlington, Texas, he has six points in 31 games. . . . Regina F Morgan Klimchuk scored a PP goal at 19:27 of the the third period to force extra time. . . . The Rockets are 1-2-1 on their East Division swing. . . . F Brett Bulmer opened the scoring for Kelowna just 21 seconds into the game. He got to Regina and played after being released by Canada’s national junior team in the morning. . . .

In Edmonton, F Michael St. Croix had a goal and three assists as the Oil Kings ran their winning streak to 10 games with a 6-3 victory over the Victoria Royials. . . . F Dylan Wruck had two goals and F Tyler Maxwell had a goal and an assist as both ran their point streaks to 12 games. . . . Edmonton was 2-for-2 on the power play. . . .

In Saskatoon, F Aspen Sterzer scored twice to help the Kamloops Blazers to a 6-3 victory over the Blades. . . . Sterzer, a freshman from Canal Flats, B.C., went into the game with two goals in 25 games this season. . . . He scored his second shorthanded goal and second game-winner at 10:28 of the second period to give Kamloops a 4-2 lead. . . . F Tim Bozon had one goal  for Kamloops. He has five on the first four games of the Blazers’ East Division tour. They are 2-2-0 on the trip. . . . The Blazers also got a goal from F Logan McVeigh, who is from Kenaston, 75 kilometres south of Saskatoon. . . . The Blades got the game’s first goal from Ryan Graham, a 15-year-old from Calgary who was a fifth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . Kamloops F J.C. Lipon had an eight-game point streak halted.

In Spokane, F Steven Kuhn scored at 4:14 of OT to give the Chiefs a 3-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips, who saw their losing streak reach 10. . . . Everett F Kohl Bauml forged a 2-2 tie at 12:25 of the third period. . . . According to the online scoresheet, Spokane enjoyed a 47-16 edge in shots, including 18-1 in the second period. . . . The Chiefs are 5-0 against the Silvertips. The teams meet again Friday in Everett.
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WEDNESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Mason Geertsen, Edmonton.
F Locke Muller, Red Deer.
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Like a lot of people, Ed Willes, today a sports columnist with the Vancouver Province, wonders how he missed seeing what was going on with Graham James and young hockey players, in particular Sheldon Kennedy.
Willes writes about that today and it’s right here.
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The Saskatoon Blades remembered an old friend with a donation to the StarPhoenix’ Sporting Christmas. Thanks to Jack Brodsky, Lorne Molleken and the Blades for keeping alive the memory, the smiles and the laughter of a good friend.
That story is right here.
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Wednesday’s tweet of the night, from Moose Jaw Warriors D Kendall McFaull:
“Thanks to the @MJWARRIORS for our unreal christmas presents, customized blackberry playbooks! #soexcited #unreal”
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And then there was this . . .