1. Another fan checks in with thoughts on the WHL's decision not to print its Guide for this season:
"I too was disappointed that the WHL did not publish a print copy. I did go to fedex office and they printed out the guide for me in a spiral bind for $27."

2. F Ryan Pruden of the Saskatoon Blades was scheduled for surgery on Wednesday in Winnipeg to repair a fractured scaphoid left over from March. The Winnipegger is likely to miss at least two months. . . . Pruden, 17, was pointless in three games this season. He was a 13th-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft.

3. The Vancouver Giants, who have been short on size and depth up front, have acquired F Trent Lofthouse, who turns 19 on Nov. 17, from the Victoria Royals for a 2014 eighth-round bantam draft pick. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Lofthouse, who has two points in 11 games with Victoria, is in his third WHL season. A native of Surrey, B.C., the son of former WHLer Mark Lofthouse, Trent began his career with the Everett Silvertips. He has 23 points in 112 regular-season games. . . . Lofthouse is expected to make his debut with the Giants on Friday against the visiting Kamloops Blazers.

4. The BCHL's Trail Smoke Eaters' board of directors reacted to a 4-9-1-1 start by firing general manager/head coach Bill Birks on Wednesday. Birks had been head coach since May 2011. He joined Trail as an assistant coach during the summer of 2010. . . . Barry Zanier and Craig Clare, the club's two assistant coaches, have taken over as interim head coaches while the board searches for a new head man.

5. The Everett Silvertips have dropped D Lucas Skrumeda, 17, from their roster. He is expected to join the MJHL's Winnipeg Blues. He had yet to get into a game with the Silvertips.

6. D Zach Hodder, 20, has joined the BCHL's Coquitlam Express. Hodder had one assist in six games with the Moose Jaw Warriors before leaving the team last week. He also has played in the WHL with the Vancouver Giants, Saskatoon Blades, Prince Albert Raiders and Medicine Hat Tigers.

7. Former Moose Jaw Warriors general manager Ralph Schmidt died on Saturday in East Chatfield Beach, Sask., near North Battleford. . . . He was the Warriors' general manager for three years, leaving in June 2001. . . . An obituary is located right here.

8. D Riley Stadel, who scored twice in 49 games as a freshman last season, counted three times last night as his Kelowna Rockets dropped the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes, 6-0. Stadel, who also had an assist, has seven goals this season. . . . The Rockets, who held a 62-26 edge in shots, were 3-for-13 on the PP as the Hurricanes took 72 of 106 penalty minutes. . . . Lethbridge, which has lost seven in a row, went 0-4 on a swing into the B.C. Division and was outscored 21-4 in the process. . . . F Tim Bozon scored twice as the host Kamloops Blazers beat Seattle, 3-1, to snap the Thunderbirds' five-game winning streak. F Ryan Gropp, who left the BCHL's Penticton Vees and joined the Thunderbirds on Tuesday, didn't play as he waits for the paperwork to be completed. . . .
Brandon D Ryan Pulock tied it with 16 seconds left in the third period and F Taylor Cooper won it at 1:51 of OT as the Wheat Kings got past the host Moose Jaw Warriors, 3-2. . . . In Portland, F Adam Rossignol scored the winner on his 20th birthday as the Winterhawks dumped the Tri-City Americans, 4-1. D Garrett Haar was plus-4. . . .
F Logan Nelson ran his goal-scoring streak to six games as his Victoria Royals beat the visiting Prince George Cougars, 5-4. Nelson scored his side's fifth goal, giving Victoria a 5-3 lead after it had almost given up a 4-0 edge. . . . In three previous meetings, the two teams had combined for six goals. . . . Victoria G Patrik Polivka is 8-0 against the Cougars over the last two seasons. . . . The Royals have won five in a row, all at home. . . . F Mitch Holmberg and F Mike Aviani each scored twice and added two assists as the host Spokane Chiefs dropped the Swift Current Broncos, 5-1. Holmberg has 14 goals; Aviani has 11.

9. One of the problems with concussions is that they can't be measured definitively. Geoffrey Mohan of the Los Angeles Times writes right here about a man who is working to shed light on that situation and the key may involve fruit flies. Seriously, give this a read.


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1. Jumbo Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks unleashed some locker-room humour on Thursday, before his side met the Canucks in Vancouver. One reporter took it and ran with it, and before long it was all over everywhere.
For starters, that's what you hear in men's locker-rooms, so stop pretending to blush. Wasn't it Gordie Howe who once said he spoke two languages, English and hockey? Well, in this instance, Jumbo Joe was speaking hockey.
Secondly, a whole lot of reporters/journalists apparently heard Thornton, but only one of them chose to take it and run with it, posting it on a blog on his newspaper's website. That reporter, Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province, later attempted to defend himself on TSN. Among the reasons he gave for posting Thornton's comment was that the newspaper's management expects him to write with an "edge." Botchford didn’t explain how reporting locker-room/toilet humour equates to writing with an edge.
Later in the day, Scott Emmert, the Sharks' director of media relations, issued a statement that included this: "I don't think it would be a surprise to anyone in the industry that 'locker room talk' exists. Professional reporters understand that concept and respect it."
According to Emmert, Botchford's decision to post the quote was "a pathetic attempt to generate some page hits and controversy by reporting an off-the-cuff and off-the-record comment made by someone who wasn't even being interviewed at the time."
Here's a tweet from reporter Jim Toth of Winnipeg radio station CJOB: "Heard Thornton audio, that is totally off the record & you can clearly tell he is joking. Regardless of what was said unprofessional to use."
And then there was this tweet (actually, it was two tweets) from Cory Wolfe, a former sports writer with the Saskatoon StarPhoenix: "#JoeThornton anatomical reference reminds me of time that former @MJWarriors coach Al Tuer described a role player's performance thus: He's got more balls than brains - and that's saying something 'cause he's a smart kid."
Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy fame has a good take on what happened right here.
Later, Botchford took to the blogosphere in an attempt to explain things. That is right here.
The last word on this situation goes to Stu Walters of Vancouver radio station CKNW. After San Jose's 4-1 victory, Walters tweeted: "About to head into #sharks room for post game, hope Thornton isn't too prickly."

2. On Thursday afternoon, I saw this tweet from Regan Bartel, the radio voice of the Kelowna Rockets: "The WHL has decided not to hand out copies of the beloved Official Guide, the Bible for radio broadcasters. #shame"
Later, I saw confirmation on the WHL website.
The decision by the WHL and its teams not to print the annual Guide is shameful. It also is terribly shortsighted and a slap in the face to its dedicated fanbase and media members who follow the league.
My late father used to tell me that there is a certain cost to doing business, and if the time comes that you can't pay that cost, then you should get out of the business. The publishing of an annual Guide is one of those costs that the WHL should be eager to pay every season.
Unfortunately, the WHL, in its haste to either save money or make even more use of an Internet that it already over-uses, has made a horrible mistake. That Guide is an invaluable resource; it also has contained the name of every player who ever has played in the league and you can bet a lot of those former players looked forward to seeing their names in there every autumn.
Sure, you can download the 2013-14 Guide onto your computer. Good luck accessing it while you’re in your seat at a WHL game.
The WHL and each of its teams should be ashamed and embarrassed by this decision.

3. With the fighting/no-fighting chatter brought on by a couple of recent incidents, some folks are forgetting why some people have taken a stance against fighting in hockey.
It has nothing to do with liking or not liking fighting, with enjoying or not enjoying a bout, with whether a scrap is capable of swinging the momentum of a hockey game.
Rather, this stance is all about three things, at least it is in my case: 1. With what we are learning about brain injuries and the long-term impact of them, more must be done to get rid of fighting; 2. Sooner or later, this is going to become an issue of liability and someone will have to pay the piper; and, 3. Society is recognizing how illogical it is to suspend a player for a check to the head of an opponent, while not suspending players for punching each other in the face.
That is what this is about. Period.

4. D Zach Hodder, 20, may have ended his WHL career on Thursday when he left the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald tweeted: "Zach Hodder has left the @MJWarriors and gone home to ponder his future. With Forsberg arriving writing was probably on the wall." . . . The Warriors acquired D Jesse Forsberg, 20, from the Seattle Thunderbirds on Wednesday, so the writing may have been on the wall for Hodder, who also has played for the Vancouver Giants, Saskatoon Blades, Prince Albert Raiders and Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . A native of Delta, B.C., Hodder battled injuries for a lot of his career and played in only 128 career regular-season games over four-plus seasons. He has 38 career points. . . . Hodder was a first-round selection, 20th overall, by Vancouver in the 2008 bantam draft.

5. The Red Deer Rebels have added a defenceman to their roster, while moving out a forward. . . . The new face belongs to D Nick Charif, 18, who had been with the BCHL's Victoria Grizzlies. He had two points in nine games with the Grizzlies. Last season, he had 14 points in 29 games with the midget AAA Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club. . . . The Rebels also dropped F Earl Webb, 17, and D Jake McLachlan, who turns 17 on Dec. 20. Webb will play with the AJHL's Calgary Mustangs. He was pointless in five games with the Rebels. . . . McLachlan is joining the BCHL's Cowichan Valley Capitals. He had one assist in five games with Red Deer.

6. The Saskatoon Blades made a couple of roster moves on Thursday. . . . They acquired F Cory Millette, 18, from the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for F Evan Polei, 17. . . . Millette, who was released earlier this season by the Rebels, was with the SJHL's Estevan Bruins. From Storthoaks, Sask., he has 40 points in 106 regular-season WHL games. Red Deer selected him in the second round of the 2010 bantam draft. . . . Polei, 17, was an 11th-round pick by the Blades in the 2011 bantam draft. He had 32 points in 34 games with the Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club last season. . . . The Blades also have added D Ross Hnidy, 17, to their roster, while deleting D Kevin Pochuk. . . . Hnidy, a sixth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, had been with the SJHL's Nipawin Hawks. He was pointless in one game with the Blades last month. He played the last two seasons with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts. . . . Pochuk, 18, had been picked up from Red Deer in a deal over the summer. He was pointless in five games. In that deal, the Blades got Pochuk and third- and seventh-round picks in the 2014 bantam draft for F Lukas Sutter.

7. Major League Baseball is down to four times and a whole lot of history. The Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals open the NLCS today, with the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox starting the ALCS on Saturday. . . . Who you got? . . . My heart tells me St. Louis and Detroit; my head says Los Angeles and Boston.

8. It was Thursday, so that meant Dorothy and I spent the morning at what is known as a "clinic" at the hospital. Bloodwork is done and then everything from that point goes off the numbers.
Dorothy's numbers are excellent. I mean, really excellent. Like Gretzky's were. On top of that, one doctor told her the new kidney is working "extremely well."
What this means is that the two of us may not have turkey this weekend -- we've joked about having kidney pie -- but this still will be the best Thanksgiving of our lives.


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See you later, alligator!

This is the last post that will appear here for an indefinite period.
I have taken an indefinite leave from the Kamloops Daily News as my wife is scheduled for a kidney transplant.
Thank you for stopping by and hopefully we’ll meet here again in the not-too-distant future.
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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D David Hajek (Spokane, 1998-99) signed a contract through Dec. 1 with Dresden (Germany, DEL2). He had five goals and 15 assists in 48 games for Dresden last season.
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The MacBeth Report has joined the Twitterverse. With this blog going black for a while, you will be able to follow The MacBeth Report on Twitter at @MacBethReport.
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The Victoria Royals have signed F Dante Hannoun, the 11th overall selection in the 2013 WHL bantam draft. The 5-foot-6, 145-pound Hannoun, from Delta, B.C., will spend this season with the major midget Greater Vancouver Canadians. Last season, he captained the bantam AAA North Shore Winter Clukb Hawks, putting up 151 points, including 63 goals, in 63 games.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors have acquired D Zach Hodder, 20, from the Medicine Hat Tigers for a conditional eight-round 2014 bantam draft pick. . . . Hodder, from Delta, B.C. will be joining his fifth WHL team as he also has played for the Vancouver Giants, Saskatoon Blades and Prince Albert Raiders. . . . In 125 regular-season games, he has 38 points. . . . Hodder was selected by the Giants with the 20th overall pick of the 2008 bantam draft. . . . The Tigers’ roster now includes four 20-year-olds — D Dylan Bredo, F Jacob Doty, F Boston Leiter and F Curtis Valk. . . . Hodder’s arrival gives Moose Jaw three 20-year-olds, as he joins F Sam Fioretti and F Todd Fiddler.
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The Medicine Hat Tigers got down to two goaltenders on Friday when they released G Keelan Williams, 17. . . . Williams, from Calgary, played last season with the midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes. . . . The move leaves the Tigers with sophomore Marek Langhamer, 19, who is from Czech Republic, and freshman Zac Robidoux, 17, from Morden, Man. . . . Langhamer returned Thursday from the Phoenix Coyotes’ rookie camp in Glendale, Ariz.
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The host Everett Silvertips scored four second-period goals and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-4 on Friday night. That allowed the Silvertips to run their preseason record to 6-0. . . . Interestingly, the Silvertips, who struggled to score last season, lead the WHL with 31 goals, 27 of those in their last four games. . . . The Silvertips conclude their exhibition schedule tonight when they meet the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash.
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“Hockey fans at the season-opener of the Tri-City Americans will have a chance to help the U.S. Department of Homeland Security improve its facial recognition capabilities,” writes Annette Cary of the Tri-City Herald. “Video will be taped by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory at the Sept. 21 game in a portion of the Toyota Center in Kennewick.” . . . Cary’s complete story is right here.
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The Seattle Thunderbirds are down to three goaltenders after releasing Logan Flodell, 16, from their training camp roster. Flodell is from Regina and played last season with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians. . . . The Thunderbirds are left with Danny Mumaugh, 17, Devon Fordyce, 19, and Justin Myles, 18, as their goaltenders to this point.
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“Minor hockey officials, please take note,” writes Stephen Hume in the Vancouver Sun. “The lawyers came for the National Football League, that $10 billion marketing behemoth that makes the National Hockey League look like a peewee division. And soon they’ll be coming for you, too. At least they will if you don’t move much more aggressively to clean up attitudes regarding head injuries in hockey.”
That complete column is right here.
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Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail writes today of the need to get fun back into the game of hockey. As usual, MacGregor hits the nail squarely on the head. That piece is right here.
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From Michael Scissons (@mrscizz): “I wish the best to @SportyHurly and @Johnny_ops on their future endeavours. It was my pleasure to have worked with you. #dontbestrangers”
Scissons is the director of sales for the Saskatoon Blades. . . . Davis Hurlburt (@SportyHurly) was an account executive with the Blades. . . . John Brodsky (@Johnny_ops) was the Blades’ director of business operations. He is the son of former Blades owner Jack Brodsky.

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Things are happening in Arizona when it comes to attempts to cut down on the number of concussions being experienced by young athletes. Wynter Holden of Phoenix magazine has that story right here.
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In the NFL, ball carriers no longer will be able to use the crown of the helmet to deliver blows.
Len Berman of ThatsSports.com reports that Jim Brown, only the greatest running back in football history, had this to say: "I used my forearm. And the palm of my hand. And my shoulders. And my shoulder pads. I wasn't putting my head into too much of anything. I don't think that sounds like a good idea to me. What is my guarantee that my head is going to be strong enough to hurt somebody else, and not hurt myself?"
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You may know Diana Swain as an investigative reporter with CBC News; on occasion, she also sits in for host Peter Mansbridge on The National. On top of that, She is a hockey mom, and she is preparing for her final minor hockey game. Actually, it’s her son’s final game. Anyway, she has written a terrific piece looking at her son’s minor hockey career. Her son never played junior hockey and won’t be playing professionally. As Swain writes: “University beckons in the fall. When he plays again, it will be in a men's beer league somewhere where there will be women in the stands, but not the moms. I will miss it very much. It's not just a chapter of his life that’s closing. But, a chapter of mine too.”
That piece is right here. Give it a read.
If you aren’t aware, there was a time when Diana’s late father, Brian, was a TV/radio guy in Brandon and covered the  Wheat Kings.
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F Dyson Stevenson of the Regina Pats is joining the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors, while D Dan Gibb of the Prince George Cougars will finish up with the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder. . . . D Brett Kulak of the Vancouver Giants will finish up with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat. The Calgary Flames, the Heat’s parent club, selected Kulak in the fourth round of the 2012 NHL draft. . . .
The WHL announced its Western Conference award winners and all-stars teams yesterday. Check them out at whl.ca.
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It seems that the Washington Capitals have requested that the Lethbridge Hurricanes do something with their logo.
Cam Charron of Yahoo! Sports has more right here.



All of this reminds me of when the franchise first was nicknamed the Hurricanes. Pat Sullivan, a columnist with the Lethbridge Herald, was trying to understand the choice of nickname and wrote that perhaps the logo should have featured an overturned mobile home.
Had the Hurricanes only taken his advice, they could have avoided all of this.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The BCHL’s Coquitlam Express has relieved general manager and head coach Jon Calvano of his duties. Calvano had been with the Express for three seasons. “A very strong shortlist of Head Coach candidates has been identified and a decision on a replacement is pending,” reads a release posted on the Express’ website. . . .
The junior B Kimberley Dynamiters of the Kootenay Junior Interional Hockey League are looking for a general manager/head coach. They chose not to renew the contract of Glenn Burgess, who was a midseason replacement for Roman Vopat.
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The WHL’s first-round playoff matchups:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Edmonton (1) vs. Kootenay (8)
Saskatoon (2) vs. Medicine Hat (7)
Calgary (3) vs. Swift Current (6)
Red Deer (4) vs Prince Albert (5)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Portland (1) vs. Everett (8)
Kelowna (2) vs. Seattle (7)
Kamloops (3) vs. Victoria (6)
Spokane (4) vs. Tri-City (5)
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THURSDAY’S GAMES:
Two playoff series began last night. All eight series will feature games tonight. . . .
In Saskatoon, G Cam Lanigan stopped 42 shots as the Medicine Hat Tigers got past the Blades, 4-1. . . . The Tigers led 1-0 after a period on goals by F Trevor Cox and F Hunter Shinkaruk. . . . Medicine Hat was never caught after that. . . . Medicine Hat D Zach Hodder didn’t get a point, but he was plus-4. . . . Blades G Andrey Makarov, who played in 61 regular-season games, turned aside 29 shots. . . . The teams play again tonight in Saskatoon. . . . A year ago, the Tigers swept the Blades from a first-round series. . . . In fact, the Blades now have lost nine straight playoff games. . . . This season, the Blades went 4-0 against the Tigers, outscoring them 23-11. . . . Medicine Hat D Matt Staples didn’t return after taking a hard check from Saskatoon F Jessey Astles in the first period. . . . The Tigers didn’t bring F Blake Penner (leg, skate cut) or D Ty Stanton (concussion) to Saskatoon. . . . The Blades have added G Patrick Johnson to their roster. Johnson, who played for the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs, will be behind Makarov and backup Alex Moodie on the depth chart. . . .

In Calgary, D Alex Roach scored at 4:32 of OT to give the Hitmen a 6-5 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The goal came off a shot from a bad angle and originally was credited to F Pavlo Padakin. . . . The Hitmen took a 1-0 lead just 34 seconds into the first period when F Brooks Macek scored on a PP. It was the seventh time this season that Macek scored in the opening minute of a period. . . . Calgary went on to lead this one 4-0 halfway through the second period. . . . Calgary F Brady Brassart gave his side a 5-3 lead with his third goal at 3:47 of the third. . . . Broncos F Coda Gordon scored at 4:20 of the third period and F Graham Black tied it on a PP at 13:53. . . . That was Brassart’s first WHL hat trick.
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From Tri-City Americans F Jesse Mychan (@jmychan28): “Game 1 in spoke tomorrow! Nothing better than 10,000+ booing you #muckonmuck”
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From Edmonton Sun columnist Terry Jones (@sunterryjones): “Big upset in Saskatoon. Medicine Hat Tigers 4 Saskatoon Blades 1. Toon Town is Memorial Cup host two months from now. Imagine . . .”

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Happy New Year!
The Prince Albert Raiders served notice Tuesday that they are intent on spoiling the Saskatoon Blades’ Memorial Cup party.
With the WHL trade deadline arriving on Jan. 10, the Raiders began the day with a 12-point lead over the Blades atop the East Division. The Blades, of course, are the host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup but have had more ups and downs than a yoyo in the first 38 games of their season.
The Raiders, who haven’t even made the playoffs in four of the last five seasons, perhaps sense an opening here, so they and the Medicine Hat Tigers got together Tuesday and agreed to swap five players and two draft picks.
The Raiders acquired D Dylan Busenius, 19, F Jayden Hart, 18, and a sixth-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft from Medicine Hat for D Zach Hodder, 19, F Logan McVeigh, 18, D Connor Hobbs, 15, and a second-round pick in the 2013 draft.
Hobbs is the the only player involved who isn’t in the WHL. A fourth-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft, he turns 16 on Friday and is with the midget AAA Saskatoon Blazers. The 5-foot-11, 175-pounder has eight points in 22 games.
Busenius, from Edmonton, was in his fourth season with the Tigers. He has 26 points in 37 games this season. The 16th overall pick in the 2008 bantam draft, he gives the Raiders some size – he’s 6-foot-1, 190 pounds – and some more offence from the back end.
Hart had been at home in Spruce Grove, Alta., having asked the Tigers to trade him. A third-round selection in the 2009 bantam draft, he put up 32 points in 67 games as a freshman. This season, he has 10 points in 18 games.
Hodder, from Delta, B.C., was a first-round selection, 20th overall, in the 2008 bantam draft by the Vancouver Giants. He has a history of shoulder problems and has played 87 games with the Giants, Saskatoon Blades and the Raiders over three season. He has three points in 25 games this season.
McVeigh, from Kenaston, Sask., was a second-round selection by the Kamloops Blazers in the 2009 bantam draft. In his third WHL season, he has 23 points in 38 games with the Raiders this season.
On Dec. 31, 2011, the Blazers dealt McVeigh, and a second-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, to the Raiders for F Brandon Herrod, 20.
Hodder and McVeigh were in the Tigers’ lineup last night as they brought in 2013 with a 7-2 loss to the Blades in Saskatoon. McVeigh scored the Tigers’ first goal, while Hodder was minus-4.
The Tigers meet the Raiders in Prince Albert tonight.
For more on the trade, check out the story right here by Dave Leaderhouse of the Prince Albert Daily Herald.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings close out a three-game Alberta swing in Calgary against the Hitmen tonight. F Mike Ferland, 20, has an undisclosed injury and will be re-evaluated today before a decision is made as to whether he will play. He left in the second period of Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the host Edmonton Oil Kings.
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D Sena Acolatse (Seattle, Saskatoon, Prince George, 2006-11) underwent surgery for a broken jaw after being hit in the face by a puck on Saturday as his Worcester Sharks dropped a 3-2 decision to the host Providence Bruins. . . . Acolatse, in his second AHL season, had his jaw broken in two places.
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In the OHL, F Nikolay Goldobin scored four times, the last one in OT, as the Sarnia Sting beat host London 6-5 to end the Knights’ winning streak at 24 games. . . . That is one shy of the OHL record held by the 1983-84 Kitchener Rangers. The Rangers share the CHL record with the QMJHL’s 1973-74 Sorel Eparviers. . . . The WHL single-season record of 22 straight is held by the 1967-68 Estevan Bruins. . . . Goldobin, a Russian who isn’t eligible for the NHL draft until 2014, now has 18 goals. . . . London had won 3-2 in Sarnia on Monday. . . . The Knights actually had a 3-0 first-period lead.
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Concussions and how to prevent them will continue to be a big story in 2013.
Men’s Health magazine has come up with a list of “13 ladies to look for this year.”
No. 3 on the list is Dr. Ann McKee, the co-director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University.
There’s more right here.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Swift Current, the Lethbridge Hurricanes struck for five third-period goals and beat the Broncos, 6-4. . . . The Broncos led this one 4-2 with 13 minutes left in the third period. . . . F Tyler Wong got the visitors to within one at 7:14 and F Sam Mckechnie tied it at 8:05, with his 18th. . . . D Daniel Johnston got the winner, his seventh, at 14:42, via the PP. . . . F Graham Hood wrapped it up with the empty-netter, at 19:51. . . . Swift Current F Adam Lowry ran his point streak to 15 games with his 25th goal and an assist. . . . Johnston also had an assist, giving him 31 points in 38 games this season. Last season, he finished with 30 points on 55 games. . . . Lethbridge F Brady Ramsay had a goal, his 11th, and two assists. . . . The Hurricanes brought in G Jonny Hogue to backup starter Ty Rimmer as Chris Tai had to leave the club to deal with a family matter. Hogue, 16, was an eight-round bantam draft pick in 2011. Hogue plays for the midget AAA Lethbridge Pronghorns. . . .

In Saskatoon, the Blades opened up a 7-0 lead and went on to beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 7-2. . . . The Blades had lost their previous four games. . . . F Adam Kambeitz had two goals, giving him eight, and an assist for Saskatoon. . . . Blades F Shane McColgan had a goal, his 11th, and an assist on his 20th birthday. . . . Saskatoon G Patrick Johnson stopped 38 shots in earning his first WHL victory. . . . F Josh Nicholls scored his 27th goal for the Blades and now is tied for the WHL lead with F Colin Smith of the Kamloops Blazers and F Todd Fiddler of the Spokane Chiefs. . . . Nicholls scored off a turnover high in the Medicine Hat zone. He went in alone on G Cam Lanigan, put his stick between his legs and went upstairs. “I practise that a lot in warm-ups just for fun,” Nicholls told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. “It just felt like the right time to do it. I got it off nicely, luckily. I would have looked pretty stupid if I missed that.” . . . Nicholls, F Shane McColgan and D Dalton Thrower had been bench for the third period of a 6-2 loss in Regina on Sunday. . . . And what did Saskatoon GM/head coach Lorne Molleken think of the goal? “It was a highlight goal,” Molleken told Nugent-Bowman. “Those are things that the fans like to see. I’ll keep my own remarks to myself.” . . . The Blades lost F Nathan Burns in the second period when he didn’t return after being cross-checked from behind by Medicine Hat D Ty Stanton. “It doesn’t look good,” Molleken told Nugent-Bowman. . . . Medicine Hat lost D Kyle Becker following a first-period collision with Saskatoon F Alex Elliott. Becker may be concussed.
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The first time I saw the move that Nicholls used to score last night was in the mid-1980s.
F Theo Fleury of the Moose Jaw Warriors went in alone on G Stacey Nickel of the host Regina Pats, who went down and stacked his pads. Fleury tucked the stick through his legs, reached back and lifted the puck over Nickel’s pads and into the net.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Graeme Craig, Saskatoon

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None
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From hockey fan Chris Cote (@RealChrisCote): “Who needs a winter classic? The @SCBroncos play today.”
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From Everett Silvertips assistant coach Mitch Love (@mlovehockey): “I swear I grab a broken down grocery cart every time I attempt to go to the store. #nomoreshoppingfor this guy”

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The Vancouver Giants will give G Payton Lee, 16, a second straight start tonight as they play host to the Victoria Royals. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that head coach Don Hay will start Lee, who stopped 25 shots in a 3-2 loss to the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Wednesday night. Lee has been playing with the junior B Richmond Sockeyes, while the Giants have been working with Liam Liston and Tyler Fuhr as their goaltenders. On Wednesday, Liston backed up and Fuhr was scratched. . . . Ewen also reports that F Cain Franson is being listed by the Giants as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Franson was the hittee on a late game play on which Brandon D Tyler Yaworski was given a checking-to-the-head major on Wednesday. Apparently, the penalty was originally given as a charge, but the officials huddled and changed it. . . . As of early this morning, Yaworski hadn’t been suspended by the WHL. The Wheat Kings are in Kamloops tonight. . . . Here’s Ewen on Franson’s injury: “Does Franson have a concussion? Good luck getting that out of the Giants. Hay hates the idea of concussions, hates the stigma that comes with them. He quite likely had the word surgically removed from his vocabulary. For what it’s worth, Franson did stay on the ice to finish the game.” . . . The Giants will have F Kale Kessy, 20, in the lineup for the first time tonight. Kessy was acquired from the Medicine Hat Tigers while serving his seventh WHL-issued suspension, this one a 12-gamer. That suspension has been served. . . . The Giants (2-9-0) have lost five straight games and have the WHL’s poorest record.
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In something of a scheduling quirk, the Moose Jaw Warriors are in Prince Albert where they will play the Raiders tonight and Saturday. . . . Dave Leaderhouse of the Prince Albert Daily Herald reports that the Raiders are expected to use D Shayne Gwinner and D Riley Guenther as forwards. . . . F Anthony Bardaro will miss both games as he has left the team for a family funeral. . . . F Tim Vanstone finishes up a four-game WHL suspension tonight. . . . F Reid Gardiner could miss up to three weeks with an undisclosed injury. He hasn’t played since Oct. 16. . . . The Raiders will get D Zach Hodder (shoulder) back tonight after an 11-game absence. . . .
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The Everett Silvertips have cleared up their goaltending situation, at least for now, by moving out Cole Holowenko, 19. Holowenko had been acquired from Prince Albert on Sept. 17, with the Raiders getting G Andy Desautels, 18, and D Evan Morden, 19, in return. . . . Holowenko went 0-2-1, 6.41, .808 with the Silvertips, who have chosen to go with sophomore Austin Lotz, 17, and Daniel Cotton, 18, who was acquired from the Seattle Thunderbirds on Oct. 7 for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. Cotton is turning into one of the really good stories in the WHL. After getting into  only 18 games over the last two seasons while backing up Calvin Pickard in Seattle, Cotton has gone 4-2-0, 2.45, .918 with Everett.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Los Angeles Times hockey writer Helene Elliott (@helenenothelen): “One phrase I haven't uttered during lockout: "Gee, I miss those sumo hockey intermission stunts."
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TWEET OF THE DAY II:
From Brock Sutherland (@brock_obama): “Thought this would be the year I'd finally crack the subway series roster. Oh well, there's still world j's to look forward too #showguy”
Sutherland, who played in the WHL with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Tri-City Americans and Calgary Hitmen, now is with the U of Manitoba Bisons. He’s 21 years of age.
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TWEET OF THE DAY III:
From TSN’s Dave Hodge (@TSNDaveHodge): “NHL withdraws latest proposal. Similarly, my dinner offer to Charlize Theron is off the table.”

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