THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Robert Schnabel (Red Deer, 1997-99) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Fassa (Italy, Serie A). He had one assist in nine games with Plzen (Czech Republic, Extraliga) earlier this season. . . .
F Tyler Bouck (Prince George, 1995-2000) and D Chris Heid (Spokane, 1998-2003) each signed a contract extension with Ingolstadt (Germany, DEL). . . . Bouck signed a two-year extension through the 2013-14 season, while Heid signed a one-year extension through 2012-2013. . . . Bouck, who also is the team captain, has eight goals and 10 assists in 22 games this season. Heid has two assists in 13 games. . . . Ingolstadt's head coach is Rich Chernomaz (Saskatoon, Victoria Cougars, 1979-83); the assistant coach is Rick Nasheim (Spokane, Regina, 1980-83). This is Chernomaz's 13th season as a head coach in the DEL.
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F Branden Troock of the Seattle Thunderbirds will miss up to four weeks with an injury suffered early in the first period of Saturday’s 8-2 loss to the Blazers in Kamloops.
Troock was taken off the ice on a stretcher at 1:50 of the first period. He was taken to

Semisportmed.com

Royal Inland Hospital for X-rays and a CT scan, where he was found to have a non-displaced fracture of his first rib. He returned to Seattle on the team bus after the game and was re-examined by team doctors on Monday.
Here is part of the Thunderbirds’ press release:
“Kamloops forward Brendan Ranford attempted to make a check on Troock as he was moving the puck up the ice from the Seattle zone. In the process of the check, the momentum of Ranford's stick swung and hit Troock from behind in the neck. The blow struck Troock along the full vertical length of his neck.
“Troock fell to the ice upon the impact of Ranford's stick hitting him. He attempted to get up and skate off the ice, but was unable . . .
“Because of the graphic nature of this injury to Troock and the many fans who have inquired, the T-Birds feel it is important to let fans and media know the extent of his injury. . . . it has been confirmed that Troock suffered a fracture of the first rib from the force of the blow.
“It is estimated that Troock will miss about four weeks as the rib heals.”
A note from Wikipedia on the first rib:
“The first rib is the most curved and usually the shortest of all the ribs; it is broad and flat, its surfaces looking upward and downward, and its borders inward and outward.”
There is more right here.
The Thunderbirds are to be commended for the way in which they have handled this situation. Trainer Phil Varney was patient in providing an explanation during a trying situation after Saturday’s game. The statement issued by the team late Monday afternoon lets people know exactly what happened.And that certainly beats leaving it until Tuesday and listing Troock as being out for a month with an upper-body injury.
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You won’t read a whole lot here about Canada’s national junior team as there are plenty of other places that have lots of information.
But there were two noteable omissions from the selection camp roster that was announced Monday.
Calvin Pickard of the Seattle Thunderbirds is the WHL’s best goaltender and deserves a spot on that roster.
And you really have to wonder what F Jordan Weal of the Regina Pats has to do in order to get an invitation? His omission is especially glaring.
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Later in the day, Pickard tweeted:
“Congrats to all the invitees to team Canada!! Lots of buddies got invited! Go for gold!”
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Rob Vanstone, in the Regina Leader-Post:
“What does Jordan Weal have to do to suitably impress the Hockey Canada brass? The Regina Pats star has been turning heads ever since entering the WHL as a 16-year-old. He routinely makes amazing plays at high speed and, as such, should have been a mortal lock for inclusion on Canada’s world junior team. Yet, he wasn’t among the 41 invitees to the selection camp. Granted, the CHL is loaded with elite talent, but it is preposterous to suggest that Weal is not among the top 41 major-junior players in the country.”
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JUST NOTES: Don’t look now but this season is starting to shape up a lot like the last one for the Kootenay Ice. The Ice is 18-5-3. Last season, after 26 games, it was 17-7-2. And we all know what happened last season, don’t we? . . . By the way, when the Ice went 5-0 in its trip through the B.C. Division last week, it was the first time in franchise history it had done that. . . . The Ice has won six in a row on the road, tying a franchise record (Dec. 18, 2009, to Jan. 22, 2010; Nov. 11, 1999, to Nov. 26, 1999). . . . Ice G Nathan Lieuwen has played in 141 games played, two shy of the franchise record held by Jeff Glass (2002-05). . . .
The Russian Ice Hockey Federation revealed the preliminary roster for its national junior team on Monday. However, it didn’t include any major junior players. Those players, including perhaps Saskatoon Blades G Andrey Makarov, will be added later in December. . . .
With two NHL teams, the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals, changing coaches on Monday, former WHL D Ian Herbers (Kelowna, Spokane, Lethbridge, Swift Current, 1984-88) became a head coach. He had been an assistant coach under Kirk Muller with the Milwaukee Admirals, the AHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators. With Muller moving up to Carolina, Herbers, 44, is the Admirals’ new head coach. . . . Herbers’ first game as head coach comes tonight against the visiting Abbotsford Heat. . . . Muller’s AHL head-coaching career lasted 17 games. He took over from former WHL player/coach Lane Lambert, who moved up to the Predators as an assistant coach. . . . Dave Boehler of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the last time Milwaukee went through a mid-season coaching change “was in 1984-85, when Jim Pappin took over for Cliff Koroll.” . . . Boehler also reported: “Martin Gelinas, the current director of player development with Nashville, will help Herbers until a new assistant coach is hired.”
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If you haven’t yet seen it, the Joe Kapp-Angelo Mosca dustup has more than gone viral. It happened Friday at a Grey Cup lunchon in Vancouver. The two, both of whom are only three or four months from turning 74, have had a thing going since the 1963 Grey Cup game.
Anyway, their clip got play prior to ESPN’s Monday Night Football and also got on CNN. Kapp, of course, is a name in the U.S., if only because he is the only quarterback to have played in the Rose Bowl, Super Bowl and Grey Cup.
And, on Monday, there also was this right here in The New York Times. If you haven’t seen it, the video is here, too.
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Some Wednesday stuff . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Tyler Bouck (Prince George, 1995-2000) signed an extension with Ingolstadt (Germany DEL). He has three goals and five assists in 19 games this season, which was cut short in December by a torn ACL.
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The AHL’s Binghamton Senators have released G Garrett Zemlak (Saskatoon, Prince Albert, 2006-10) from his professional tryout contract. Zemlak, from Saskatoon, made his AHL debut in Binghamton's 5-2 loss to the Adirondack Phantoms on Feb. 27. Zemlak, 21, was traded from the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder to the Elmira Jackals on Jan. 31. The 6-1, 195-pounder has appeared in 21 total ECHL games this season with Elmira, the Kalamazoo Wings and Stockton, going 5-9-4, 2.90, .896. . . .
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After beating the Rebels 4-2 in Red Deer on Tuesday night, the Medicine Hat Tigers no doubt were in a celebratory mood. It didn’t last, however, as their bus encountered mechanical difficulties.
Goaltender Tyler Bunz tweeted: “Stranded on the side of the road waiting for a new bus to pick us up..what a night.”
And later, after the Tigers finally arrived in The Hat, F Emerson Etem tweeted: “bus broke down, just got home, good morning and goodnight.”
Later in the day, Bunz was back on Twitter: “never slept in till 3 before haha, feels like the day is already done!”
Darren Steinke of the Medicine Hat News reported: “One of the valves on the air breaks ended up being stuck frozen in an open position. Once an air break on bus loses its air, the vehicle can't move.”
The Tigers spent about four hours waiting for another bus to arrive from Airdrie, and got home after 7 a.m.
Bunz had stopped 40 shots in the victory, so had no doubt earned the sleep.
Meanwhile, according to CHAT-TV in Medicine Hat, the Tigers could be without F Tyler Pitlick (broken ankle) into the second round of the playoffs.
Pitlick, 19, was a second-round pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL’s 2010 draft. He left Minnesota State-Mankato to join the Tigers. In 56 games, he has 62 points, including 27 goals.
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All those WHL coaches whose next paycheques will be complete, please take one step forward.
Curtis Hunt, not so fast.
"It's really hard to compete against two teams," Hunt told the Regina Leader-Post after his Regina Pats dropped a 5-3 decision to the Warriors in Moose Jaw on Tuesday night. "The Moose Jaw Warriors are a good hockey team and I thought our guys worked hard. We just couldn't overcome the striped team tonight."
Ch-ch-ching!
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Alan Schwarz has a piece in the New York Times that should make hockey administrators at all levels sit up and pay attention.
Here is one paragraph from that story:
“After examining Probert’s brain tissue, researchers at Boston University said this week they found the same degenerative disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, whose presence in more than 20 deceased professional football players has prompted the NFL to change some rules and policies in an effort to limit dangerous head impacts.”
Later in the story, there is this paragraph:
“Probert’s widow, Dani, said in an interview at their home on Tuesday that the B.U. group had said that her husband’s C.T.E. was less developed than that found in most football players of similar age. She added that in his final few years, Probert exhibited some behavior uncharacteristic to him, especially memory loss and a tendency to lose his temper while driving.”
Schwarz’s story is right here and it is a must read.
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The SJHL’s Estevan Bruins are looking for a general manager and head coach. There is more right here.
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Brandon G Corbin Boes stopped 40 shots for his first career shutout as the host Wheat Kings beat the Kootenay Ice 4-0. . . . Brandon F Matt MacKay ran his points streak to 17 games as the Wheat Kings won for the 10th straigh time at home. He had his 26th goal and an assist, while F Shayne Wiebe got No. 38 and also had an assist. . . . F Brayden Schenn and D Stefan Elliott each had two goals and an assist as the Saskatoon Blades beat the host Edmonton Oil Kings, 8-5. . . . The Blades had F Marek Viedensky (groin) back for the first time since Feb. 20, and he had a goal and an assist. . . . Edmonton F T.J. Foster (shoulder) had three assists in his first game since Feb. 18. . . . Edmonton F Michael St. Croix had a goal and an assist, giving him 119 career points and the franchise’s modern day record. F Brent Raedeke had held the previous record of 117 points. . . .
The host Chilliwack Bruins scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 3-1. . . . F Jamie Crooks scored twice for Chilliwack, getting the winner and an empty-netter. . . . Chilliwack G Lucas Gore stopped 22 shots. . . . The Kelowna Rockets got two goals from F Evan Bloodoff and beat the host Kamloops Blazers, 6-2. . . . Kelowna F Geordie Wudrick scored his 37th goal. The Rockets are 22-4 when Wudrick scores. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 25 shots for his 80th career victory. He is three victories shy of the franchise record held by Kelly Guard. . . . Tri-City D Tyler Schmidt had three assists in the Americans’ 6-5 Tuesday night loss to the visiting Portland Winterhawks. He has 127 career assists now, one shy of Darrell Hay’s franchise record. Hay also holds the franchise record for career points (161), but Schmidt is only three away. . . .
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WEDNESDAY’S CFB COUNT:
One minor:
Kamloops D Tyler Hansen
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And finally, if you haven’t heard about it, a press release from Canadian Interuniversity Sport:
GUELPH, Ont. (CIS) — Morgan McHaffie scored at 17:14 of the sixth overtime period to lead the Queen's Gaels to a 2-1 win over the host Guelph Gryphons in Game 1 of the best-of-three Ontario University Athletics women's hockey final Wednesday night.
The game, which lasted 167 minutes and 14 seconds, including 107:14 of extra time, is the longest on record in CIS or NCAA hockey — women's or men's.
When compared to the NHL, it trails only a contest played on March 24, 1936 that saw Detroit beat Montreal 1-0 after 176:30 of action (including 116:30 in OT).
After battling for 60 minutes in regulation, Queen's and Guelph played a 10-minute overtime period, then four 20-minute OT frames, before McHaffie ended the affair at 17:14 of the sixth OT.
Interestlingly enough, Guelph was only five seconds away from victory in regulation but Becky Conroy saved the day for Queen's with the tying goal at 19:55 of the third.
Queen's now is 4-0 in the 2011 playoffs, all 2-1 victories that went to at least second overtime. The Gaels' playoff results so far are as follow:
- OUA quarter-final: Queen's 2, Windsor 1 in 2OT (20:34 of OT)
- OUA semifinal Game 1: Queen's 2, Laurier 1 in 2OT (13:24 of OT)
- OUA semifinal Game 2: Queen,s 2, Laurier 1 in 2 OT (27:31 of OT)
- OUA final Game 1: Queen's 2, Guelph 1 in 6OT (107:14 of OT)
- TOTAL: 168:43 of overtime
Morgan McHaffie (1-3-4) and twin sister Brittany (2-1-3) have tallied seven points on Queen's four overtime goals in the post-season, scoring three of them.
Morgan assisted on Kelsey Thompson's game-winner against Windsor. Brittany scored both winners against Laurier, each time assisted by Morgan. And Brittany set up Morgan's winning tally against Guelph.
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Taking Note on Twitter