'Our Timmy is keeping fighting . . . '

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Roman Wick (Red Deer, Lethbridge, 2004-06) has signed a three-year extension with ZSC Zurich (Switzerland, NL A). His current contract expires in 2015. The extension keeps Wick with ZSC through the 2017-2018 season. This season, in 47 games, he has 48 points, including 23 goals, leaving him second in the league’s scoring race. . . .

Klagenfurt (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) won’t renew seven players’ contracts, including F John Lammers (Lethbridge, Everett, 2001-06) and F Tyler Spurgeon (Kelowna, 2001-06). This season, Lammers had 34 points, including 14 goals, in 43 games, while Spurgeon had 22 points, 11 of them goals, in 34 games.
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F Tim Bozon of the Kootenay Ice remains in critical condition in Royal University  Hospital in Saskatoon as he battles Neisseria meningitis.
On Thursday, his parents, using their son’s Twitter account, tweeted: “Our Timmy is keeping fighting but . . . thank you so much for your wonderful wishes. Helene and Phil Bozon.”
The Bozons aren’t expected to offer comment unless Tim’s condition changes.
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Before being hospitalized and diagnosed with Neisseria meningitis, F Tim Bozon of the Kootenay Ice played against the Blades in Saskatoon and also attended a rock concert with one of their players. . . . On the heels of Bozon’s diagnosis, Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix writes, the Blades are taking precautions. That story is right here.
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There’s a story right here (video) from CTV Saskatoon about a hockey fan who was sticken by meningitis 20 years ago and now is offering to help the Bozon family in way he can.
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While Tim Bozon fights meningitis in a Saskatoon hospital, his Kootenay Ice teammates are preparing for weekend games. Trevor Crawley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has that story right here.
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F Kohl Bauml of the Everett Silvertips has a broken leg and, according to Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald, “is likely done for the rest of the season.” Bauml was injured early in Tuesday’s 5-1 victory over the visiting Kelowna Rockets. Patterson reports that the diagnosis is a compound fracture to a tibia. . . . Bauml, 19, had 28 points, including 14 goals, in 65 games. . . . Patterson also reports that F Tyler Sandhu and F Logan Aasman, both of whom have been out with undisclosed injuries, have been cleared to return to play. . . .

The Regina Pats have brought in G Tyler Fuhr, 18, from the SJHL’s La Ronge Ice Wolves. The Pats need a goaltender to back up Dawson MacAuley this weekend after Daniel Wapple was injured in Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. Wapple went down in a goal-mouth collision and was later seen with a walking boot on one foot. . . . Fuhr, a fourth-round selection by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the 2010 bantam draft, was 13-21-0, 3.68, .903 with the Ice Wolves this season. . . .

F Austin Daae of the Estevan Bruins has won the SJHL’s scoring championship. It’s worth mentioning because Daae, a 20-year-old native of Estevan, played 11 games with the WHL Saskatoon Blades in 2010-11, 52 with the Prince George Cougars in 2011-12 and 30 with the Prince Albert Raiders in 2012-13. Daae, a 10th-round pick by the Calgary Hitmen in the WHL’s 2008 bantam draft, also is the first Estevan player in 26 years to win the SJHL scoring crown. . . . Josh Lewis of the Estevan Mercury has more right here.
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IF THE PLAYOFFS BEGAN TODAY:
Eastern Conference
Edmonton (1) vs. Red Deer (8)
Regina (2) vs. Brandon (7)
Calgary (3) vs. Swift Current (6)
Medicine Hat (4) vs. Kootenay (5)
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Western Conference
Kelowna (1) vs. Tri-City (8)
Portland (2) vs. Vancouver (7)
Victoria (3) vs. Everett (6)
Seattle (4) vs. Spokane (5)
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FRIDAY’S WHL GAMES (all times local):
Calgary at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Saskatoon, 7:05 p.m.
Edmonton at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Kootenay, 7 p.m.
Regina at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Swift Current at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Portland, 7 p.m.
Spokane at Prince George, 7 p.m.
Everett at Tri-City, 7:05 p.m.
Kamloops at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.
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THURSDAY’S GAMES:
No games scheduled.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
Please keep Tim Bozon (@timbozon94) and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Clayton Stoner (Tri-City, 2002-05) signed a lockout contract with Banska Bystrica (Slovakia, Extraliga). He had one goal and four assists in 51 games with the Minnesota Wild last season. . . .
D David Hajek (Spokane, 1998-99) signed a contract extensio with Dresdner Eislwen (Germany, 2. Bundesliga) through the end of this season. He has three goals and four assists in 16 games for Dresden this season. Hajek had originally signed a try-out contract with Dresden in August. This was converted into a 3 1/2-month contract after one exhibition game and was set to expire on Dec. 15.
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The OHL’s Erie Otters have named Kris Knoblauch as their new head coach, replacing Robbie Ftorek, 60, who was fired on Thursday. The Otters, whose roster includes 15-year-old phenom Connor McDavid, were 7-15-5, which has them in last place in the Western Conference. Knoblauch, 34, will work his first game tonight against the Hounds in Sault Ste. Marie. . . . Peter Sidorkiewicz remains as the Otters’ assistant coach. . . . Knoblauch was dismissed by the Kootenay Ice over the summer after he applied for the U of Alberta Golden Bears’ head-coaching position while still under contract. Knoblauch had been helping out as an assistant coach with the junior B Kimberley Dynamiters of the Kootenay International Junior League.
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JUST NOTES:
The Saskatoon Blades have decided to keep D Nelson Nogier for the remainder of the season. Nogier, a fourth-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft, started the season with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts. Nogier was brought in prior to the Blades leaving on a B.C. Division swing. They are said to be especially enamoured with his leadership abilities, but don’t want to put too big a load on a 16-year-old freshman. . . . Nogier is the son of former WHL G Pat Nogier. . . . The Blades are in Calgary tonight and expect to have F Shane McColgan (concussion) back in their lineup after a three-game absence. . . .
The Prince Albert Raiders have signed F Austin Daae, 19, who was playing for the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins. Daae, who is from Estevan, had 16 points, including five goals, in 21 games. Daae had six points in 52 games with the Prince George Cougars last season. . . . The Raiders are looking for depth as they begin to prepare to lose a number of players to Christmas tournaments.
The Red Deer Rebels have acquired F Filip Vasko, who turns 19 on Dec. 10, from the Kelowna Rockets for a conditional sixth-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft. Vasko, a Slovakian sophomore, has 10 points, including three goals, in 19 games this season. Last season, in 51 games, he had 12 assists. The draft pick is payable if Vasko is on the Rebels’ roster after the Jan. 10 trade deadline.
A note from Alan Caldwell of Small Thoughts At Large about this trade: “Kelowna already owned Red Deer's 2013 6th round bantam pick from another conditional deal, the one that sent Austin Ferguson to Red Deer a month ago. Since Red Deer sent Ferguson home 2 weeks ago to decide if he wants to be a hockey player, I guess it's now safe to say the Ferguson trade has been nullified, Red Deer got the pick back and promptly traded it to Kelowna again for Vasko now.”
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In an interesting piece in The Globe and Mail, Alan Maki reports:
A season-long medical study like no other has examined head injuries among university hockey players and determined there is “significant underreporting” of concussions in both men’s and women’s hockey.
That story is right here.
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If you aren’t aware of it, there is an interesting story unfolding on a blog that carries the title The Myles McCauley Story. It is right here.
As the blog’s subtitle reads: “This is a story of Myles McCauley. Myles is hockey player from Sterling Heights, Michigan and this is the story of his journey in the OHL and a detour to Penticton, BC and the BCHL.”
The story includes emails and, well, you should check it out because someone, as they say, is going to have some splaining to do.

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.