Sheri Lamb of the Prince George Citizen has the Cougars’ side of the story right here.Unfortunately, as Lamb writes, “Repeated attempts by The Citizen to contact Forsberg over the telephone and through social media for his comments were ignored, while his Twitter account was shut down last weekend.”
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The Portland Winterhawks have added D Shaun MacPherson, 18, to their roster. MacPherson, who was in their training camp prior to this season and has been on their protected list, had 18 points in 32 games with the SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers. From Edmonton, he played for the midget AAA Knights of Columbus Pats last season, putting up 15 points in 33 games.———
JUST NOTES:
D Rene Hunter, 19, was back skating with the Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday. Hunter, from Ebb and Flow, Man., left the club for personal reasons on Nov. 28. . . . F Mike
Ferland, 20, was on the ice with the Wheat Kings yesterday but was wearing a no-contact jersey. He was injured Monday in Edmonton and didn’t play Wednesday in Calgary. . . .D Martin Gernat of the Edmonton Oil Kings, who hasn’t played all season due to
shoulder surgery, is expected to get medical clearance on Monday and could play a couple of weeks after that. Having Gernat, 19, in the lineup will be liking getting a freebie at the trade deadline. The Slovakian had 55 points in 60 games as a freshman last season. . . . Edmonton GM Bob Green has told Evan Daum of the Edmonton Journal that he has spoken with Brandon GM Kelly McCrimmon about Wheat Kings F Mike Ferland, 20. The Oil Kings have room to add a 20-year-old player. . . . Congrats to former WHL coach Walt Kyle (Seattle, 1992-94) picked up his 200th victory as head coach of the Nortern Michigan Wildcats last night. NMU posted a 6-2 victory over the host St. Cloud State Huskies. Kyle is in his 11th season with the Wildcats.
G Mac Carruth of the Portland Winterhawks will tie a franchise record for career victories should he get the start and beat the Silvertips in Everett tonight. He and Darrell May Sr. share the record, at 105. . . . Carruth is a Chicago Blackhawks draft pick; May scouts for Chicago. . . . Paul Buker of The Oregonian has more right here.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Saskatoon, F Josh Nicholls scored twice to help the Blades to a 6-3 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Nicholls, who was playing in his 300th regular-season game with the Blades, leads the WHL with 29 goals. . . . Nicholls also drew an assist, giving him 50 points in 39 games. . . . With 29 goals, Nicholls is five shy of his career high from 2010-11. . . . In his 300 career games, Nicholls has 278 points. . . . Saskatoon F Adam Kambeitz, who also was playing in game No. 300, scored his ninth goal of the season, into an empty net. . . . Saskatoon G Patrick Johnson stopped 36 shots for his second straight victory. . . . The victory lifted the Blades to within eight points of the East Division-leading Raiders. . . . F Anthony Bardaro scored his 16th goal, and his sixth in four games, for the Raiders. . . . You have to live on the Prairies, or to have lived there, to appreciate the promotion the Blades ran last night — it was Ukrainian Night and the Saskatoon goal song apparently was Beer Barrel Polka. . . . The only thing missing was the Schmenge Brothers. . . . 
In Regina, F Morgan Klimchuk scored in the circus to give the Pats a 3-2 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Klimchuk was the only one of six shooters to score in the shootout. . . . Regina F Jack Rodewald forced OT with his fifth goal at 17:42 of the second period. . . . The Pats have won three in a row and four of five. . . .
In Calgary, the Hitmen scored the game’s last five goals and beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 6-1. . . . Calgary F Brooks Macek had a goal, his 20th, and two assists, while D Colby Harmsworth had three assists. A 17-year-old freshman from Saskatoon, Harmsworth went into the game with one assist in 22 games. . . . 
In Cranbrook, the Kootenay Ice ran its winning streak to four games by beating the Swift Current Broncos, 4-1. . . . The Ice has won four in a row for the first time this season. . . . The Broncos have lost three in a row. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart got his 15th goal, shorthanded, and added an assist. . . . Broncos F Adam Lowry drew an assist on his club’s goal, running his point streak to 16 games. . . . 
In Red Deer, the Vancouver Giants scored three times in the circus and beat the Rebels, 5-4. . . . F Cain Franson, F Trevor Cheek and D Brett Kulak scored for Vancouver in the shootout; Red Deer got circus goals from F Rhyse Dieno and F Dominik Volek. . . . Volek scored his first two goals of the season in regulation time. . . . Vancouver F Jackson Houck forced OT with his ninth goal at 9:13 of the third. . . . This was the start of a Vancouver road trip in which the Giants will play five games in six nights. . . . G Jared Rathjen, who was acquired from the Victoria Royals on Thursday, backed up Tyler Fuhr for Vancouver. . . . Giants F Lucas Leone, who signed Thursday after playing for the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express, had one assist. . . .
In Kamloops, F Kale Kessy scored twice in his first game with the Blazers, as they dumped the Seattle Thunderbirds, 6-1. . . . Kessy, who was acquired from the Vancouver Giants on Wednesday night, has 11 goals. . . . He played on a line with Brendan Ranford, who had four assists, and Cole Ully, who scored once and added two assists. . . . Kamloops D Josh Connolly, the younger brother of Tampa Bay Lightning F Brett Connolly, scored his first WHL goal. . . . The Blazers have won three in a row, while the Thunderbirds have lost nine straight. . . .
In Prince George, the Kelowna Rockets scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Cougars, 4-2. . . . F Zach Franko had a goal, his 16th, and two assists for the Rockets, while F Myles Bell got his 25th goal and added an assist. . . . The victory kept the Rockets within two points of the B.C. Division-leading Kamloops Blazers. . . . The Rockets, who have won five in a row, play in Prince George again tonight, while the Blazers are idle. . . . The Cougars hae lost four straight. . . . Prince George had G Nathan Warren of the major midget Cariboo Cougars backing up starter Mac Engel. That’s because Brett Zarowny was ill. The Cougars were missing seven other regulars, as well. . . .
In Victoria, D Michal Plutnar’s OT goal gave the Tri-City Americans a 3-2 victory over the Royals. . . . Plutnar’s second goal of the season came at 4:59 of OT— there was 0.3 left on the clock. . . . Tri-City D Zach Yuen forced extra time with his fourth goal, on the PP, at 10:38 of the second. . . . The Royals had F Alex Gogolev back from an undisclosed injury, but F Logan Nelson, F Luke Harrison and F Ben Walker all were out. . . .
In Everett, F Reid Petryk broke a 2-2 tie at 17:16 of the third period as the Silvertips beat the Spokane Chiefs, 3-2. . . . Petryk’s 11th goal of the season came on a penalty shot. . . . Petryk also scored in the second period. . . . Everett F Josh Winquist also had a penalty shot. He came up short against G Garrret Hughson at 11:33 of the third. . . . Winquist took the penalty shot in place of F Manraj Hayer who was shaken up when he was hauled down on a breakaway. . . . The Chiefs overcame a 2-0 deficit, with F Blake Gal forcing OT with his sixth goal at 12:13 of the third period on the PP. . . . F Todd Fiddler drew assists on both Spokane goals. . . . D Kevin Davis, the 11th overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft, made his WHL debut with the Silvertips. . . . Spokane D Brenden Kichton had an assist as he played his 300th regular-season game. . . . Everett is 3-1 since the Christmas break, including three victories within the U.S. Division.———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Tanner Eberle, Moose Jaw
D Brett Lernout, Swift Current
CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Bryson Gore, Moose Jaw
F Chase Clayton, Calgary
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From Tampa Bay Lightning F Brett Connolly (@bconnolly8): “@jconnolly02 congrats on your first of many goals. Don’t stop at 1. #stayhot”
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