The Globe and Mail delves into the Orr situation in an editorial right here.
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The Portland Winterhawks, who have been banned from the first five rounds of the 2013 bantam draft, added a pair of eighth-round selections on Friday. They dealt the rights to D Troy Stecher, 18, to the Victoria Royals for two eighth-round picks in the 2013 draft. . . . Although it is well past the Jan. 10 trade deadline, WHL teams are allowed to move players who are on their protected lists but not on their rosters. . . . The Winterhawks acquired Victoria’s eighth-round selection and one that originally belonged to the Vancouver Giants. . . . Portland had selected Stecher with the 149th pick of the 2009 bantam draft. From Richmond, B.C., Stecher is in his third season with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees — he is the team captain — and went into the weekend with 36 points in 39 games.
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John Blanchette, a columnist with the Spokane Spokesman-Review, writes right here about Travis Green and the Portland Winterhawks. Green once was a highly popular player with the Spokane Chiefs. Now, as the column’s headline reads, Gree is the “ringleader of Hawks’ jailbreak.”
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, F Sam Fioretti’s PP goal with 0.1 second left in OT gave the Warriors a 3-2 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Warriors had lost 10 in a row. . . . Fioretti had forced OT with his 23rd goal at 3:09 of the third period. . . . F Sam Reinhart scored his 24th goal for the Ice. . . . The Warriors were without G Daniel Wapple, who suffered an undisclosed injury in a practice collision with Fioretti on Thursday. The Warriors brought in G Zach Sawchenko, who turned 15 on Dec. 30, from the midget AAA Notre Dame Argos to back up Justin Paulic. . . . Ice F Brock Montgomery, 20, made his final regular-season appearance in his hometown. A note from Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald: “Montgomery enjoyed a special moment during the first-period intermission when the Ice allowed him to take part in the Timbits hockey game with his five-year-old twin brothers Rylan and Blake. while their father, Rod, was also on the ice. . . .
In Swift Current, F Adam Lowry scored his 32nd goal on the PP at 4:34 of OT as the Broncos escaped with a 5-4 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . Broncos F Colby Cave had tied the game at 18:56 of the third with his 14th score. He also had two assists. . . . Swift Current has won seven in a row, while Regina has lost six straight. . . . The Pats erased a 3-2 deficit with two third-period goals. . . . F Chandler Stephenson scored his 10th goal at 7:16 to tie the score, and F Trent Ouellette, with his ninth, gave Regina the lead. . . . D Brycen Martin scored his first goal for the Broncos, pulling them into a 2-2 tie at 8:24 of the second period, via the PP. He also had two helpers. . . . Broncos F Chance Lund, playing in his 300th regular-season game, gave his side a 3-2 lead at 19:11 of the second, with his 11th goal. . . . Regina F Marc McCoy (knee) was back after missing nine games. . . .
In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes ereased a 2-0 first-period deficit with five straight goals and went on to beat the Calgary Hitmen, 6-4. . . . D Macoy Erkamps scored his fourth goal of the season to open the second period and also had three assists. . . . F Cody Sylvester scored twice for Calgary, giving him 25. . . . F Josh Derko, playing in his first game since Dec. 4 when he was with Swift Current, scored his fourth goal this season. . . . 
In Red Deer, D Eric Roy’s goal 55 seconds into OT gave the Brandon Wheat Kings a 2-1 victory over the Rebels. . . . F Chad Robinson, who drew an assist on the winner, got his 11th goal at 15:04 of the first period to open the scoring. . . . Red Deer tied it 2:34 later when F Joel Hamilton scored shorthanded, his seventh goal this season. . . . Roy has eight goals. . . . Brandon D Ryan Pulock has been fitted with a playing cast to protect an injured wrist and he was back in the lineup after missing five games. . . . Brandon G Corbin Boes stopped 43 shots. . . .
In Kamloops, F Colin Smith had two goals and an assist as the Blazers dumped the Prince Albert Raiders, 4-1. . . . Smith’s linemates, JC Lipon and Tim Bozon, each had two points. Lipon scored once and set up another; Bozon had two assists. . . . Former Kamloops D Scott Niedermayer in a 40-minute pregame ceremony as his number (28) was retired. . . . Kamloops had 41 shots on goal, two nights after firing 69 at Everett G Austin Lotz in a 4-3 OT victory. . . .
In Prince George, G Austin Lotz stopped 40 shots to lead the Everett Silvertips to a 3-2 victory over the Cougars. . . . It was head coach Mark Holick’s first game behind the Cougars’ bench since his hiring was announced on Wednesday. . . . Everett trailed 2-1 until F Manraj Hayer tied it at 9:43 of the third period. . . . F Kohl Bauml scored his second goal of the game, and 17th this season, at 10:56 to win it. . . . Cougars D Rinalds Rosinskis, who leads the WHL in s’s, scored his first WHL goal to give his guys a 2-1 second-period lead. . . . Lotz was coming off a 65-save performance in a 4-3 OT loss in Kamloops on Wednesday. . . . 
In Spokane, G Mac Carruth turned aside 36 shots to help the Portland Winterhawks to a 3-0 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Portland was 3-for-7 on the PP. . . . Carruth has five shutouts this season and eight in his career. He tied the franchise single-season record for shutouts and set the career record. He shares the single-season record with Lanny Ramage. . . . F Ty Rattie scored his 24th goal and added an assist, while F Nic Petan got his 32nd goal and also had an assist. . . . Portland D Seth Jones drew two helpers. . . . Petan leads the WHL with 83 points, five more than teammate Brendan Leipsic. . . . Spokane F Riley Whittingham came up dry on a third-period penalty shot with his side trailing 2-0. . . . D Troy Rutkowski became the Portland franchise leader in games played. This was his 327th regular-season game, one more than D Kevin Haupt. . . .
In Kennewick, Wash., the Medicine Hat Tigers came from behind three times and beat the Tri-City Americans, 6-5. . . . The Tigers trailed 1-0, 3-2 and 4-3, before they scored three straight third-period goals to take control. . . . F Logan McVeigh tied the score with his 14th at 7:32. F Curtis Valk got No. 28 to give the Tigers a 5-4 lead at 10:43 and F Boston Leier upped it to 6-4 at 14:44. He’s got nine goals. . . . F Jesse Mychan had two goals, giving him nine, and an assist for the Americans, while F Justin Feser had a goal, his 27th, and two assists. . . . 
In Victoria, F Brandon Magee scored four times to lead the Royals to a 6-4 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Giants held a 3-2 lead in the second period when Magee began a run of three straight goals. He had opened the game with his 20th goal at 3:52 of the first. . . . He scored PP goals at 8:05 and 13:38 of the second and added an even-strength marker 32 seconds into the third. . . . F Alex Gogolev assisted on all four of Magees goals. . . . F Brandon Fukishimi scored Victoria’s other two goals, meaning Brandon’s accounted for all six snipes. . . . The Royals were 3-for-5 on the PP in winning their sixth straight game. . . . F Jackson Houck had two goals, giving him 15, for Vancouver. His first goal, which gave Vancouver a 3-2 lead at 4:52 of the second, came via a penalty shot. . . . The Royals lost D Tyler Stahl to a checking-to-the-head major at 9:22 of the first period. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., F Tyson Baillie scored at 3:38 of OT to give the Kelowna Rockets a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds (of Kent). . . . The Rockets overcame a 3-1 deficit to win their fifth straight game. . . . F Dylen McKinlay scored his 18th goal, shorthanded, at 7:55 of the second to get the visitors to within one. . . . F Zach Franko pulled Kelowna into a 3-3 tie with his 20th goal at 17:33 of the third. . . . Baillie has 16 goals. . . . Seattle has lost three in a row.———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Cole Ully, Kamloops
D Kolton Dixon, Victoria
F Mitch Elliot, Seattle
CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Tyler Stahl, Victoria (major)
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