Sentencing date set for Blazers' majority owner . . . Konowalchuk's wallet lightened . . . Rockets to be without coach

Tom Gaglardi, the owner of the NHL’s Dallas Stars and the majority owner of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, will be sentenced on federal environmental-related charges on Dec. 12. Gaglardi and his family’s company, Northland Properties, were convicted on charges of harmful alteration of a fish habitat. . . . Tim Petruk of Kamloops This Week has more right here.
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Steve Konowalchuk, the head coach of the Seattle Thunderbirds, wasn’t happy with the officiating in a 2-1 OT loss to the host Everett Embellishers, er, Silvertips on Saturday night. Thom Beuning, the radio voice of the Thunderbirds, explains right here that the frustration has been building all season and that the explosion finally came. . . . On Monday, Konowalchuk was fined $750 by the WHL office.
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Trevor Bast, the founder of Revive TRU Hockey, a group with the goal of bringing university hockey back to Kamloops, said Saturday the program could run on an annual budget of $90,000. “That was the approximate cost to run the team in 2013-14,” Bast, who lives in Victoria, said. “That number isn’t cast in stone but it’s a starting point.” . . . Bast’s group also is working on restructuring the cost to each potential player. “We are working with a couple of players and they suggest that a player fee of $1,800 is fair and manageable,” Bast said. Based on a 25-player roster, that would give the program $45,000 right off the bat. . . . “You could then say that hockey can exist at a CIS school, where the players pay $1,800 each and don’t receive any academic or athletic financial assistance, for an additional $45,000 per season,” Bast said. . . . At the same time, Bast has started up a petition aimed at reviving the program. That petition is right here. . . . For more information, contact Bast at revivetruhockey@gmail.com or Cam Weir, a TRU student and hockey player, at cweir19@yahoo.ca.
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A lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis claims the NCAA and its Division 1 schools should be paying the federal minimum wage to student athletes. Unlike other pending lawsuits of this nature filed against the NCAA, this one includes each Division 1 school. . . . Steve Berkowitz of USA TODAY has more right here.
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Every newspaper editor should aspire to be Ben Bradlee, the legendary editor of the Washington Post, who died a week ago at the age of 93. If you click right here you will find a remarkable essay that he wrote dealing with lying and how it has become so popular in today’s culture.
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F Tim Bozon of the Kootenay Ice is on the limp. Bozon, 20, made his season debut by playing in two games on the weekend. But the Ice’s weekly report has him out again, day-to-day, with an undisclosed injury. . . .
The Kelowna Rockets head for Portland and two games with the Winterhawks this week, but the B.C. bunch won’t have head coach Dan Lambert behind the bench. He’s headed for the U-17 World Hockey Challenge, where he’ll be the head coach of one of three Canadian entries. In his absence, first-year assistant coaches Kris Mallette and Travis Crickard will run the Rockets for six games, including Thursday and Saturday in Portland. . . . The Rockets and Winterhawks met in last season’s Western Conference final, with Portland winning in five games. . . . On Sunday, the Winterhawks will play host to the Edmonton Oil Kings in a one-game rematch of last season’s championship final. The Oil Kings won that series in seven games and went on to win the Memorial Cup. . . .
The Winterhawks will be without F Alex Schoenborn, as he sits out a four-game suspension for a  headshot on F Reid Gardiner of the Prince Albert Raiders. See Monday’s Tweet of the Day for the visual evidence. . . . 
A news release from the Brandon Wheat Kings, who play the Royals in Victoria tonight, points out that their average attendance through six games is 4,018. Last season, the Wheat Kings averaged 3,529 through 36 games. “Brandon is a respectable 12th in league attendance and drawing better than six teams in larger locales -- Kamloops, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Prince George, Regina and Tri-City,” the news release reads. “Wheat Kings season-ticket sales are also ahead of pace, with 2,398 sold, up from last year's final tally of 2,357.” . . .
The NHL’s Anaheim Ducks recalled D Josh Manson from their AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, on Monday. Manson, a sixth-round selection by the Ducks in the NHL’s 2011 draft, played two seasons at Northeastern U. He is the son of former NHL/WHL D Dave Manson, now an associate coach with the Prince Albert Raiders. . . .
The Vancouver Giants have released F Jack McClelland, an 18-year-old from Wichita, Kansas. He was pointless in five games. . . . McClelland, who was born in Oshawa, Ont., is the son of former NHL F Kevin McClelland.
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THE NUMBERS GAME:

The Prince George Cougars are the WHL’s most-penalized team, with 375 minutes. The least-penalized team? That would be the Everett Silvertips, a team accused by Seattle Thunderbirds head coach Steve Konowalchuk of embellishing, with 99 minutes. The Cougars are taking 23.4 minutes per game, the Silvertips 8.25. . . . The Thunderbirds? A total of 212 minutes, for an average of 16.3. . . . Second to the Cougars in this dubious category are the Regina Pats, and they are 98 minutes behind in one fewer game. . . .
The team that leads the WHL in penalty minutes also has the poorest penalty killing, and that’s not a good combination. . . . The Cougars have been shorthanded a league-high 92 times and have given up 31 goals, 11 more than Regina. Swift Current has the league’s best PK unit (88.5 per cent) and has given up only seven goals. In four fewer games, Medicine Hat (88.2) has allowed only six PP goals. . . . I’m thinking the Cougars (8-8-0) are talking discipline these days. . . .
On the other side of the coin, the Cougars have had 78 PP opportunities (only the Medicine Hat Tigers, with 79, in three fewer games, have more), but are 19th in PP efficiency, at 14.1 per cent. . . . The Kelowna Rockets (24-for-73, 32.9) are first. . . . Everett is 11th (13-for-61, 21.3), with Seattle 13th (10-for-54, 18.5). . . . BTW, the Tigers are the only team in the league not to have scored a shorthanded goal. . . . The Brandon Wheat Kings, with the third-ranked PK unit, and the Moose Jaw Warriors (20th) have four apiece.

A horse named I’ll Have Another is running for history on Saturday at Belmont Park in New York.
And you are going to watch Saturday’s third race in the Triple Crown after I tell you that there is a WHL angle to this horse.
That angle is named Larry Jones — he goes by the nickname Thumper — and he used to play in the WHL.
According to hockeydb.com, Jones played 58 games in 1977-78, splitting them between the Portland Winter Hawks, Medicine Hat Tigers and New Westminster Bruins. He played 13 games with the Lethbridge Broncos and 12 with the Regina Pats in 1978-79.
In 83 games, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound winger had four goals, seven assists and 212 penalty minutes.
It was while with the Bruins that Jones was involved in one of the most legendary bench-clearing brawls in WHL history. That was Feb. 12, 1978, against the Billings Bighorns.
“In the last game of that season (1977-78), we played Billings and pretty much brawled them up to the point that they had become terrified of us,” Jones told Tom Wolski of the Vancouver Province.
Ernie McLean’s Bruins went on to sweep the Bighorns en route to winning the 1978 Memorial Cup.
Jones’s hockey career was ended by back problems. Ultimately, he found relief from a chirorpactor.
It wasn’t quite this easy, but after finding help for his back, Jones wondered why he couldn’t do the same for horses. So he has done just that.
Most recent stories on him have referred to him as an “equine chiropractor,” although he has told Ryan Goldberg of The New York Times that “I’m not a chiropractor, I’m a positionalist.”
And there have been a lot of recent stories because the native of Stettler, Alta., has done a lot of work with I’ll Have Another, a horse that was ridden by Mario Gutierrez during the Kentucy Derby and the Preakness. (Gutierrez has been a regular jockey at Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver.)
There was a time when Jones worked at a now-defunct track in Kamloops and then went on to Exhibition Park in Vancouver.
On Saturday, Jones, now 53, will be at Belmont Park in New York.
And if I’ll Have Another should happen to win, Thumper’s legend — he is know for wearing shorts and cowboy boots — will continue to grow.
For more on Jones, check out Goldberg’s story right here.
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F Taylor Peters of the Portland Winterhawks can be a deep-thinker, which is why I linked to his blog (Blades of Glory) over there on the right.
In his latest entry, he provides a major junior player’s reaction to the story from The New York Times that detailed the easy access the late Derek Boogaard had to prescription drugs.
Check out Blades of Glory because it’s definitely worth a read.
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You should also check out Thom Beunig’s blog (In the Corner) that also is linked to over there on the right.
He lost one of his best friends on Wednesday and offers up some heartfelt thoughts and memories.
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The NHL has a problem. A big problem. It seems that its teams don’t know the direction in which the league is headed. For example, the Detroit Red Wings, with D Nicklas Lidstrom having retired, have a lot of money to spend under the cap. But they don’t know whether to spend it on skill or gritty shot-blockers. Seriously. . . . Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail has an intriguing look at the situation right here.
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F Dillon Wagner, who played out his eligibility this season, has decided to attend UBC and play for the Thunderbirds. Dillon played most of his WHL career with the Swift Current Broncos, but was traded to the Portland Winterhawks this season and then claimed on waivers by the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . He is a veteran of four WHL seasons, recording 66 points in 212 games. . . .
Three ex-WHLers have decided to go to the U of Lethbridge and play for the Pronghorns. G Damien Ketlo, who finished up his WHL career with the Lethbridge Hurricanes this season, has made the commitment. Head coach Greg Gatto immediately named Ketlo his starter, replacing the graduated Scott Bowles. . . . Ketlo played most his four-season career with the Regina Pats, before being dealt to Lethbridge this season. . . . Also agreeing to attend the U of L were D Hayden Rintoul and D Cason Machacek. . . . Rintoul played for the Kootenay Ice, who dealt him to the Victoria Royals prior to this season. He put up 144 points in 260 WHL games, and helped the Ice to the 2010-11 championship. . . . Machacek, who is from Lethbridge, finished up with Seattle, after playing for the Kootenay Ice and Lethbridge. He had 28 points and 536 penalty minutes in 245 WHL games.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Evan Daum of the Edmonton Journal has spoken with Kris Knoblauch, the former head coach of the Kootenay Ice. That piece is right here. . . . Knoblauch, you’ll recall, had his contract terminated by the Ice as he was trying to land the head-coaching job with the U of Alberta Golden Bears. . . . There are some extremely interesting comments from Knoblauch who, among other things, told Daum: “Certainly, there wasn’t a guarantee that the job was mine, but I was under the impression I was a very good candidate. Everything short of the job being guaranteed to me. After this process was over, I’ve heard many names of people being kind of given the same sales pitch of applying.”


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THE MATCHUPS
Eastern Conference
Edmonton (1) vs. Kootenay (8)
Moose Jaw (2) vs. Regina (7)
Calgary (3) vs. Brandon (6)
Medicine Hat (4) vs. Saskatoon (5)
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Western Conference
Tri-City (1) vs. Everett (8)
Kamloops (2) vs. Victoria (7)
Portland (3) vs. Kelowna (6)
Vancouver (4) vs. Spokane (5)
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SUNDAY’S GAME:
In Portland, the Winterhawks beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 8-2 in the final game of the WHL’s 2011-12 regular season. . . . The outcome allowed the Everett Silvertips to finish eighth in the Western Conference, meaning a first-round date with the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Thunderbirds needed a victory in order to pull into a tie with Everett. Had that happened, the teams would have played a sudden-death game in Seattle’s home arena in Kent, Wash. . . . Portland will open as the No. 3 seed against the No. 7 Kelowna Rockets. That series starts Friday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland. . . . Portland got three goals from F Oliver Gabriel, his second hat trick this season and the 13th by the Winterhawks. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie had two goals, giving him 57, and an assist. He finished third in goals and third in points (121). . . . The Winterhawks rested starter Mac Carruth, who led the WHL with 42 victories, and started Brendan Burke. Portland also scratched D Joe Morrow, F Brad Ross, F Brendan Leipsic and F Sven Baertschi, who was returned by the NHL’s Calgary Flames on Saturday. . . . Burke stopped 29 shots to earn the victory. . . . Portland had F Keegan Iverson, who signed yesterday (more on this below) in the lineup. . . .
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After the game in Portland, Winterhawks D Troy Rutkowski (@TRutter2) tweeted: “Congrats to @cpickard1 on a great career in the #whl. 3 years with 2000 saves. Anyone who's played against him knows how good he is #theman”
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However, the tweet of the week goes to Everett D Brennan Yadlowski (@BigBadYads) for this one on Sunday: “If Portland beats Seattle I’ll come in their room again . . . except this time to kiss every one of them #ptownforplayoffs”
Of course, Yadlowski served a 10-game suspension earlier in the season after entering the Portland dressing room following an on-ice altercation.
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SUNDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Dillon Wagner, Seattle.
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
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A note from a reader of the blog:
Thanks for the tip on Thom Beuning . . . what a refreshing upgrade, even in tough circumstances. Not the greatest scenario to describe tonight, but he is very good, and pleasant to tune to . . . even sounded like he could be a neutral site.
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The Portland Winterhawks have signed F Keegan Iverson, a 15-year-old product of Breck High School in Minneapolis. Iverson had 36 points, including 13 goals, in 23 games with Breck this season. He was the only Grade 9 player on Breck’s varsity team that got to the state semifinals. Iverson has been on Portland’s protected list since last summer and was in its training camp prior to this season. “Keegan was outstanding in training camp for us last summer, and went on to have a terrific season at Breck. Signing him has been a big priority for us this season,” Mike Johnston, Portland’s general manager and head coach, said in a news release. “As a converted defenseman, Keegan combines physical play with tremendous offensive abilities. To thrive as a 15-year-old in Minnesota high school hockey is remarkable.” . . . More from that news release: “Iverson is the latest high-profile American player the Hawks have signed in the last year, joining recent signees Dominic Turgeon (Colorado) and Alex Schoenborn (North Dakota), along with last year’s signings of Brendan Burke (Arizona) and Chase De Leo (California), who are playing for the Winterhawks this season as 16-year-olds.”
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F Brody Sutter, the captain of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, will join the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers early this week. The Checkers are the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. They selected Sutter in the seventh round of the 2011 NHL draft. He had 60 points, including 30 goals, in 65 games this season.
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Jesse Wallin, the general manager and head coach of the Red Deer Rebels, has been named head coach of the Canadian U-18 team that will play in the 2012 IIHF World Championship, April 12-22 in Brno and Znojmo, Czech Republic. . . . The assistant coaches will be Gordie Dwyer, the head coach of the QMJHL’s P.E.I. Rocket, and Todd Gill, the head coach of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs. . . . Ron Tugnutt, Hockey Canada’s goaltending consultant, will serve as goalie coach. . . . Canada’s team will comprise players from CHL teams that missed the playoffs or lose out in the first round. . . . Canada opens April 12 in Brno against Denmark. The Canadians will also face the Czech Republic, Finland and the United States in the preliminary round. . . . As an aside, Wallin told Greg Meachem, the sports editor of the Red Deer Advocate, that he and Gill have some history. “Todd was my defence partner in my first NHL game (with Detroit in 1999-2000), so it’s funny how the world kind of spins,”  Wallin told Meachem.

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F Killian Hutt of the Swift Current Broncos hasn’t played a game since Dec. 10. On that night, he suffered a severe concussion during a game against the Blazers in Kamloops.
He has spent most of his time since then recuperating at his family home in Edmonton.
But Hutt, 19, plans to spend this weekend in Swift Current — it’s parent weekend — and then return to Edmonton. But he is hoping to return to action this season.
“I’ve been doing better as of late,” he told me in a text Tuesday. “I’m looking at going back permanently (at the) end of February.”
Hutt was preparing to take a shot on goal when was injured on a hit by Kamloops F Jordan DePape, who was penalized and served a five-game WHL suspension.
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The QMJHL announced Tuesday that no franchises — there are 16 of them —  filed notification of sale or relocation prior to Monday’s deadline.
"Although a number of reports have been published over the past few weeks, not a single Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team submitted a request to sell or relocate on Jan. 31," QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau said in a statement. "Guidelines are outlined in our Constitution and our members are well-aware of the process regarding these types of requests."
There had been speculation, and lots of it, that the Lewiston Maineiacs, who are averaging about 1,900 fans per game, would be moving to Summerside, P.E.I.
There also have been rumblings about the P.E.I. Rocket, which is averaging fewer than 1,700 fans per game in Charlottetown.
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Brett Montsion, a WHL referee, has done a quick tour through the OHL and he tells Wally Donaldson of the Oshawa Express that he quite enjoyed it. That story is right here.
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Mike Johnston, the GM and head coach of the Portland Winterhawks, lost out Sunday at the Oregon Sports Awards. He was nominated as Sportsperson of the Year. If you follow U.S. college football, it will come as no surprise that the award went to Chip Kelly, the head coach of the Oregon Ducks. All they did was play for the national championship. . . . But just the fact that Johnston was nominated shows the inroads the Winterhawks have made there in less than three seasons under new ownership. . . . He doesn’t get a whole lot of attention but it says right here that Thom Beuning, who handles the play-by-play of Seattle Thunderbirds games on 710 ESPN, is as smooth as they come. . . . F Travis Dunstall (Kamloops, Medicine Hat, Everett, 2004-10) is the Southern Professional league’s player of the week. Dunstall, who joined the Augusta RiverHawks on Jan. 18, had seven points, four of them goals, as his club won three road games. Two of those four goals were game-winners. Overall, he has eight points in five games.
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Somehow I don’t think linesman Derek Nernberg, a 26-year-old from Regina, had planned on becoming a YouTube star by hitting a post. If you haven’t seen it, you are in the minority as this 28-second clip was heading towards 50,000 views late Tuesday night.
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SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Saskatoon, F Brayden Schenn scored his first two goals on home ice as the Blades won their sixth straight, getting past the Red Deer Rebels, 7-5. . . . The victory lifted the Eastern Conference-leading Blades five points clear of the Rebels who, as the Central Division leaders, are the No. 2 seed. . . . The Blades, who have won six in a row, now have scored 204 goals, the first Eastern Conference team to go over 200. There are three teams in the Western Conference — all from the U.S. Division — with at least 200 goals scored (Spokane, 216; Portland, 203; Tri-City, 200). . . . The Rebels had won their last 11 games. . . . Schenn, who also had an assist, was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Jan. 10. . . . F Josh Nicholls and F Jake Trask each had a goal and an assist for the Blades. . . . The Rebels took a 3-2 lead on F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ 15th goal at 4:24 of the second period. . . . Saskatoon tied it on D Dalton Thrower’s sixth goal, at 9:44 of the second, then took control with two goals 16 seconds apart early in the third. Schenn scored 58 seconds into the period on a PP and Nichools got his 25th at 1:14. . . . Nugent-Hopkins, F Byron Froese and F Andrej Kudrna combined for two goals and three assists for Red Deer, but each was minus-3. . . . Saskatoon G Steven Stanford stopped 18 shots, 12 fewer than Red Deer’s Darcy Kuemper. . . . With G Adam Morrison out with mononucleosis, Stanford was making his sixth straight start. . . . Attendance was 5,184. . . . Schenn actually left the game for a brief time after absorbing a teeth-rattling open-ice hit from Red Deer F Brett Ferguson. “That hit (from Ferguson), I don’t if I’ve ever been hit that hard in my life,” Schenn told Cory Wolfe of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. “It didn’t feel good at the time. I got winded there a bit, but I was able to come back.” . . . The Blades are at home to the Regina Pats tonight, while the Rebels meet the Raiders in Prince Albert. . . .
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In Medicine Hat, F Spencer Bennett continued to weave his magic for Vancouver as his goal at the third-period buzzer gave the Giants a 3-2 victory over the Tigers. . . . The goal, which came on a wrap-around, came with one-tenth of a second left and wasn’t awarded until after a 10-minute video review. . . . Bennett scored twice, giving him 26 goals this season. He has 27 points, including 14 goals, in 15 games since being acquired from the Portland Winterhawks on Dec. 30. . . . The Tigers led this one 2-0 in the first period on goals by F Kale Kessy, his 10th, and F Emerson Etem, his 28th, shorthanded at 18:55. . . . F Dalton Sward, with his ninth, got Vancouver on the board at 15:55 of the second. . . . Bennett scored a PP goal 33 seconds into the third to tie it. . . . Vancouver G Mark Segal stopped 31 shots, 10 more than Medicine Hat’s Tyler Bunz. . . . Segal won for the 20th time this season. . . . With the victory, the Giants moved one point ahead of the idle Kelowna Rockets atop the B.C. Division. . . . Attendance was 4,006. . . . The Giants continue their Central Division swing tonight in Lethbridge, with Marty and Gordie Howe scheduled to be on hand. . . .
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In Cranbrook, F Cody Eakin had two goals and three assists to lead the Kootenay Ice to an 8-0 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Eakin has 11 points, including five goals, in six games since being acquired from the Swift Current Broncos on Jan. 9. . . . On the season, he has 50 points in 36 games. . . . Kootenay goaltenders Nathan Lieuwen and Brett Teskey shared the shutout. Lieuwen made 27 saves before leaving at 8:17 of the third period after making a stop on F Cody Sylvester. Teskey came on to stop five shots. . . . D Brayden McNabb chipped in a goal and two assists, while F Kevin King and F Elgin Pearce each had two helpers. . . . The Ice was 4-for-7 on the PP; the Hitmen were 0-for-5. . . . Attendance was 2,159. . . . F Matt Fraser (concussion) returned to the Ice’s lineup for the first time since Jan. 18. Fraser, 20, scored the game’s last goal, his 22nd of the season, and you can bet it felt good. . . . The Ice meet the Hitmen tonight in Calgary. . . . The Ice has put up five shutouts this season, three of them against the Hitmen, who have been blanked a total of five times. . . .
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In Seattle, the Edmonton Oil Kings scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Thunderbirds, 4-2. . . . It was the first of a four-game U.S. Division swing for Edmonton. . . . Seattle has lost nine in a row and remains in the Western Conference basement. . . . The Oil Kings took a 1-0 lead into the third period on F Travis Ewanyk’s ninth goal, shorthanded, at 10:53 of the second. . . . The Thunderbirds grabbed a 2-1 lead on third-period goals from F Mitch Elliot (1:57) and F Brendan Rouse (3:01). . . . However, F Kristians Pelss tied it for Edmonton at 10::11 and F Dylan Wruck won it with his 29th at 12:01. . . . F Jordan Hickmott got the empty-netter at 19:38. . . . Edmonton G Laurent Brossoit, in his third straight start, stopped 32 shots. He evened his record at 8-8-0. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard made 38 saves. . . . Attendance was 3,141. . . . Seattle play-by-play man Thom Beuning points out on his blog that the Thunderbirds are 1-10-0 since D Travis Bobbee was injured, and they are 0-6-0 since D Ryan Button went down. Those two have combined to play 541 regular-season games. . . . The Oil Kings are in Kennewick, Wash., against the Tri-City Americans tonight. . . .
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
One minor:
Calgary F Danny Gayle

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