Taking Note

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Brad Moran (Calgary, 1995-2000) signed a contract for the rest of this season with SaiPa Lappeenranta (Finland, SM-Liiga) after his release by Växjö (Sweden, Elitserien). He had five goals and three assists in 37 games with Växjö this season. Moran was released after Växjö signed American F Ryan Lasch, which put the club over the Swedish limit of two non-European Union citizens per team — ex-NHL/AHL D Noah Welch is the other non-EU player on Växjö. Lasch, who was playing in the Anaheim Ducks farm system this season, led SM-Liiga in scoring last season with 24 goals and 38 points in 59 games for Pelicans Lahti.
———
It was a ch-ch-ching kind of day in the WHL office on Tuesday as $2,250 in fines were handed out. Toss in another $1,500 from the previous few days, and the coffers are swollen these days.
Rich Preston, the GM/head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, paid $500 for getting tossed from a 7-1 loss to the Oil Kings in Edmonton on Sunday.
It’s interesting to note that Preston was seething after a 3-2 shootout loss to the Rebels in Red Deer on Saturday night. The Hurricanes went ahead 2-1 at 16:28 of the third period, only to have the Rebels tie it at 18:28.
Preston felt his club got the short end of the stick in that one.
Preston told Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate that he felt the Rebels should have penalized right before the tying goal.
“It was a tripping call. They (referees Adam Bylbow and Reagan Vetter) put their whistles away and it ends up in our net,” Preston told Meachem. “Our guy has the puck, he gets tripped, they (Rebels) get it and it’s in the net. But that happens.
“We blew two one-goal leads and that was the difference. At least one of those should have been the winner. But we gained a big point and now we have to move on. That’s all you can do.”
After that, you know that Preston likely wasn’t happy to show up in Edmonton, look out at the referees and see — you guessed it — Byblow and Vetter.
Meanwhile, Lethbridge also was fined $750 because the line brawl in Edmonton was its second of the season. The Oil Kings got touched for $500 for their part in the donnybrook.
As well, each team was fined $250 because the goaltenders — Laurent Brossoit of the Oil Kings and Ty Rimmer of the Hurricanes — also fought.
On Monday, the WHL fined the Moose Jaw Warriors and Swift Current Broncos each $500 for a line brawl in Swift Current on Saturday. As well, Calgary Hitmen GM Kelly Kisio paid $500 for postgame comments to officials after a 4-2 loss in Lethbridge on Friday.
———
James Shewaga, the sports editor of the Brandon Sun, tweeted Tuesday that “sources confirm Dauphin of the MJHL fined $2,500 after being accused of contacting PG Cougars' Daulton Siwak without authorization.”
Later, Shewaga reported that the WHL had filed a complaint “on the behalf” of the Cougars. . . . Siwak, 19, left the Cougars on Jan. 6 and is under suspension until Feb. 10, after which he is expected to join Dauphin. . . . Shewaga reports: “Siwak has not yet played a game for the Kings, who were fined after an investigation by a joint committee of members of Hockey Manitoba, the WHL and the MJHL who operate under a recruiting agreement.”
———
THE COACHING GAME:
The BCHL’s Cowichan Capitals have made a coaching change, with assistant coach Aaron Plumb taking over as head coach from Jim Ingram.
According to a statement on the team’s website, the move was made “after much discussion between management, ownership and coaching staff” and it was made by “mutual agreement.”
“In what has been a year with some difficult challenges,” the statement continued, “it was felt that the best interest of the team, moving forward, would be best served by a coaching change.”
Plumb will be helped by assistant coach Darren Rodney.
The Capitals are 10-26-1-3 and in fifth place in the five-team Island Division.They are 18 points out of fourth but do hold six games in hand on the Power River Kings.
———
The Spokane Chiefs have added F Markson Bechtold to their roster for a pair of road games. They’ll play in Kamloops on Friday and in Portland on Saturday.
Bechtold, 16, was a third-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft. From Strathmore, Alta., he is playing for the midget AAA UFA Bisons. He has 28 points and 64 penalty minutes in 30 games.
———
The Brandon Wheat Kings will be without G Corbin Boes (knee) indefinitely after he was injured in Friday’s 2-1 loss to the Rebels in Red Deer. . . . The means Curtis Honey, 18, is Brandon’s starter for the foreseeable future. He will start tonight against the visiting Saskatoon Blades. . . . G Jordan Papirny, who plays for the midget AAA Edmonton-South Side Athletic Club Athletics, has joined the Wheat Kings for now. He was a first-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft.
———
TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Medicine Hat, F Pavlo Padakin broke a 2-2 tie at 4:40 of the third period as the Calgary Hitmen scored a 3-2 victory over the Tigers. . . . Padakin, an 18-year-old from Kiev, Ukraine, has 15 goals. . . . The Hitmen trailed 2-0 late in the second period. . . . F Hunter Shinkaruk scored twice for the Tigers, giving him 30 in 47 games. . . . Tigers G Cam Lanigan stopped 45 shots, including a first-period penalty shot attempt by F Cody Sylvester, wo later got his 26th goal to tie the score at 19:58 of the second. . . .

In Everett, the Portland Winterhawks put up their third straight shutout as they beat the Silvertips, 6-0. . . . The Winterhawks (40-7-3) became the first team to 40 victories this season and also are the first to clinch a playoff spot. . . . G Brendan Burke stopped 17 shots to post his second straight shutout and his fourth of the season. . . . The Winterhawks have recorded a team-record 10 shutouts this season. . . . F Nic Petan, the WHL scoring leader, had a goal and two assists, while F Ty Rattie scored twice. . . . Rattie is riding a 14-game point streak. . . . Petan has 34 goals, one behind F Todd Fiddler of Spokane, who leads the WHL. . . . Portland is 8-0-0 against Everett this season. . . . G Daniel Cotton went the distance for Everett. He made 35 saves while being backed up by Bryce Fink, a 19-year-old from Gig Harbor, Wash., who plays for the Seattle Totems of the Western States Hockey League. He filled in for Austin Lotz (foot). . . . Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald reports that the Silvertips are likely to bring in G Nik Amundrud for the weekend. Amundrud, a third-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft, plays for the midget AAA Tisdale, Sask., Trojans. . . . The Winterhawks started a strech of four games in five nights with this one. They are at home to the Kamloops Blazers tonight. . . . The Winterhawks remain without D Derrick Pouliot (high ankle sprain). . . . Everett F Josh Winquist departed with an injury in the second period. . . . By game’s end, the Silvertips were without Lotz, Winquist, D Ryan Murray (shoulder), F Ryan Harrison (concussion), D Austin Adam (concussion), D Ayrton Nikkel (finger) and F Lucas Grayson (undisclosed). . . .

In Victoria, F Leon Draisaitl scored the only goal of the circus and the Prince Albert Raiders got past the Royals, 6-5. . . . The Raiders forced OT when F Mark McNeill scored with 0.1 seconds left in the third period. Draisaitl drew the lone assist on McNeill’s 19th goal. . . . D Davis Vandane had a goal, his seventh, and two assist for the Raiders. . . . Prince Albert got shorthanded goals from Vandane and F Shane Danyluk. Vandane gave the Raiders a 3-2 lead at 19:02 of the first period as the visitors erased a 2-0 deficit. . . .

In Kent, Wash., the Seattle Thunderbirds snapped a three-game losing streak with a 6-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . D Shea Theodore scored twice for Seattle, which got 29 saves from G Brandon Glover. . . . F Alex Delnov had three assists. . . . Seattle D Griffin Fould scored his first WHL goal. It came in his 26th game this season and the 40th of his career. . . . The Thunderbirds hold down the Western Conference’s eight and last playoff spot. They are three points behind Everett and sixahead of Prince George. . . . There was a two-fight situation at 19:38 of the third period. Although the goaltenders — Glover and Prince George’s Mac Engel — didn’t scrap, they got tossed for at least making motions as though there were going to square off.


There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.