Canucks up 2-0 on Bruins!

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Marcel Hossa (Portland, 1998-2001) signed a one-year contract with Spartak Moscow (Russia, KHL). He had 16 goals and 15 assists in 51 games with Ak Bars Kazan (Russia, KHL) last season.
F Ian McDonald (Tri-City, 2000-06) signed a one-year contract with Eaters Geleen (Netherlands, Eredivisie). He had 12 goals and 17 assists in 34 games with the Nottingham Panthers (UK, Elite) and one goal and five games in 10 games with Elmira Jackals (ECHL) last year.
———
F David Rutherford (Vancouver, Spokane, 2004-08) has signed with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. Rutherford spent the last two seasons with the Central league’s Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs. He helped the Mudbugs to the 2010-11 playoff championship, after which the franchise folded.
———
THE COACHING GAME:
A few signings that were mentioned here earlier in the week were announced Tuesday. . . . The Regina Pats introduced Pat Conacher as their new head coach on Tuesday. Conacher, who replaces Curtis Hunt, had been the assistant GM/assistant head coach with the Victoria Royals. The Pats have yet to sign an assistant coach, while the Royals obviously now are in the market for one. . . . The Regina Leader-Post’s Craig Slater has more on the Conacher signing right here. . . .  Of course, this means that the Royals are in the market for an assistant coach. Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist has that story right here. . . . The BCHL’s Westside Warriors signed Rylan Ferster as their GM and head coach, and gave him a three-year contract. He takes over from Darren Yopyk, who has joined the scouting staff of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. . . . In the college world, Western Michigan University has signed former NHL coach Andy Murray as its head coach. He got a five-year deal. Murray takes over from Jeff Blashill, who now is an assistant coach with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. . . .
Spencer Carbery is the new head coach of the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. He was an assistant with the Stingrays last season. Carbery takes over from Cail MacLean, who signed on as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat.
———
BC Hockey is holding its U17 provincial camp this week in Salmon Arm, which means the competition for the Ted Hargraves Cup is rolling. . . . In the first game, on Monday, the Canucks beat the Bruins, 3-2, in a shootout. F Curtis Lazar and F Nick Petan gave the Canucks a 2-0 second-period lead, with F Riley Hunt and F Sam Reinhart, the latter early in the third, pulling the Bruins even. The Canucks took the shootout, 2-0, on goals by F Chase Witala and Petan. . . . On Tuesday, the Canucks went to 2-0 with a 4-2 victory over the Bruins. Petan, F Dryden Hunt, D Joseph Carvalho and F Ryan Forbes scored for the Canucks, with Riley Hunt and Jackson Houck replying for the Bruins. Carvalho broke a 2-2 tie at 3:30 of the third period, with Forbes adding an empty-netter. The teams were tied 2-2 after one period and played through a scoreless second period. . . . They’ll play again today at 2 p.m., at the Sunwave Centre.
David Michaud, the assistant director of operations, reports from the camp:
“There are 41 players in camp. We will shortlist 20 or so and will eventually take that down to the 11 players who will combine with 11 players from Alberta to play for Team Pacific at the 2012 World Hockey Challenge.”
As an added note, Hockley Canada is expected to announce one of these days that the WHC is being moved from Winnipeg to Windsor, Ont., thanks to the rebirth of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets.
———
JUST NOTES: Kelly Moore, a former radio voice of the Kamloops Blazers, is heading back to Winnipeg. Moore, the program director at CJKC-FM (Country 103) in Kamloops, is going back to Winnipeg to work for CJOB as part of its coverage of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. Even though it didn’t get the play-by-play rights to the Jets, CJOB apparently is beefing up its hockey coverage. Moore was the radio voice of the Jets for their last two NHL seasons before they relocated to Phoenix. He also called the play for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose before returning to Kamloops to help Country 103 get off the ground. . . . Marc Paquet is the Everett Silvertips’ new athletic therapist. Paquet, 24, has a masters of education in kinesiology from Bowling Green State University. He spent the last two years at Bowling Green, where he was the supervising athletic trainer for men's soccer and softball and an assistant to men's hockey and football. He replaces Chris Walker, who left for the AHL. . . . The Edmonton Oil Kings have signed F Cole Benson, an Edmonton native who was the 178th pick in the 2010 bantam draft. Benson, 5-foot-7 and 148 pounds, played last season with the midget AAA South Side Athletic Club team, putting up 32 points, including 12 goals, in 29 regular-season games.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter