THE MacBETH REPORT:

F Tyler Maxwell (Everett, Edmonton, 2008-12) was released by Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, Erste Bank Liga) and signed a contract with the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL). He had seven goals and seven assists in 23 games with Red Bull.

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The OHL’s London Knights won their 23rd straight game last night, beating the host Plymouth Whalers, 4-2. . . . The Knights now own the second-longest winning streak in OHL history, surpassing the 2009-10 Barrie Colts, who won 22 in a row. . . . The OHL record is 25, held by the 1983-84 Kitchener Rangers. . . . The Knights will play the Sting in Sarnia on Monday and the teams will stage a rematch Tuesday in London. Should the Knights sweep that series, they would go for the record on Jan. 4 against the visiting Saginaw Spirit.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES:
In Portland, F Paul Bittner had three points as the Winterhawks got past the Tri-City Americans, 4-3. . . . The Winterhawks have won eight in a row. . . . Portland had beaten host Tri-City 4-3 on Friday noght. . . . Bittner, who went into the game with two goals in 21 games, scored twice and set up another. . . . Bittner’s second goal, at 11:15 of the third period, came via the PP and broke a 3-3 tie. . . . F Nic Petan got his 25th goal of the season for Portland and F Brendan Leipsic added his 23rd. . . . Portland has taken four of five from Tri-City this season. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth picked up his 104th regular-season victory, one shy of the franchise record held by Darrell May Sr. (1978-82). . . .

In Saskatoon, F Anthony Bardaro struck for three goals in a span of 7:38 in the first period as the Prince Albert Raiders dumped the Blades, 4-2. . . . Bardaro has 14 goals this season. . . . F Logan McVeigh drew an assist on each of Bardaro’s goals. . . . Raiders G Luke Siemens stopped 40 shots. . . . The Raiders had beaten the visiting Blades 5-4 on Friday, with Bardaro scoring once and adding three assists. . . . Despite being outshot 12-6 in the first 20 minutes, the Raiders had a 4-1 lead. . . . It was Dalton Thrower Bobblehead Night and he scored the game’s first goal. Thrower, a 19-year-old defenceman, scored his third goal of the season at 7:02 of the first period. . . . G Daniel Johnson made his first WHL start, and second appearance, for the Blades. He stopped 19 shots. . . . The Blades have lost three in a row. . . .

In Moose Jaw, the Regina Pats scored the game’s first five goals and went on to a 5-1 victory over the Warriors. . . . Regina F Marc McCoy scored twice, giving him four this season. . . . The Warriors had beaten the Pats 4-3 in Regina on Thursday and then gone into Brandon and beat the Wheat Kings 4-3 on Friday. . . . Regina D Colton Jobke returned last night after missing 17 games with a cut hand. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Zach Jones, F Brady Brassart and D Jaynen Rissling each scored his 10th goal as the Calgary Hitmen dumped the Hurricanes, 4-1. . . . The Hurricanes had won 2-1 in Calgary on Friday. . . .


In Medicine Hat, F Trevor Cox had a goal and two assists as the Tigers beat the Swift Current Broncos, 4-1. . . . Cox opened the scoring with his 11th goal at 10:34 of the first period. . . . Tigers G Marek Langhamer stopped 36 shots. . . . Swift Current F Adam Lowry had his goal-scoring streak snapped at eight games, the longest in the WHL this season. . . . Medicine Hat F Hunter Shinkaruk missed most of the third period. “It was the knee that he got stitches on (in November), when he was out for a long time,” Shaun Clouston, the Tigers’ GM/head coach, told Darren Steinke of the Medicine Hat News. “There is still some scar tissue there. He went into the boards and hit the ice pretty hard. It just swelled up to the point, where he just wasn’t able to go. Hopefully, it is nothing very serious. We don’t think it is going to affect him too long.” . . . The Tigers were without D Spenser Jensen (concussion), who was injured on Friday. . . .

In Kamloops, F Tim Bozon and F Cole Ully each scored three times as the Blazers dumped the Vancouver Giants, 9-4. . . . F Chase Souto added a goal and three assists for the Blazers. He was playing on the right wing with Bozon and C Colin Smith, who scored his WHL-leading 27th goal. Smith also leads the WHL in assists (38) and points (65). . . . Ully, playing his second game since returning from a bout of mononucleosis, has 11 goals; Bozon has 24. . . . The Blazers, who had lost their last four games, have surrendered 28 goals over their last five games. . . . Kamloops D Tyler Hansen (ill) left the game in the final minute of the second period. . . . The Blazers also got three assists from each of D Sam Grist and F Matt Needham. . . . F Jackson Houck had three goals for Vancouver, while F Cain Franson had a goal and two assists. . . . The Blazers last scored nine times in a game on March 16 when they beat the Cougars 10-4 in Prince George. . . .

In Everett, F Josh Winquist scored twice as the Silvertips edged the Seattle Thunderbirds, 2-1. . . . Winquist, who has 14 goals, got the winner at 1:56 of OT. . . . Seattle F Seth Swenson forced OT with his 12th goal at 15:27 of the third. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz stopped 34 shots. . . . Seattle F Connor Honey left in the second period with an undisclosed injury and didn’t return. . . . The Silvertips had beaten the host Thunderbirds 2-1 on Friday. . . . Seattle now has lost seven in a row. . . .

In Spokane, F Sam Reinhart had two goals and an assist as the Kootenay Ice exploded for a 7-3 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Reinhart has 13 goals. . . . The Chiefs led this one early in the second period when Reinhart scored on the PP at 4:26 for a 3-3 tie. . . . Ice F Levi Cable broke the tie at 14:19 and D Tanner Faith got his first goal at 16:46 to provide insurance. . . . Ice F Jaedon Descheneau had three assists. . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 39 shots. . . . The Chiefs had beaten the Ice 1-0 in Cranbrook on Friday. . . .

In Victoria, the Royals overcame a 3-0 third-period deficit and beat the Prince George Cougars 4-3 in the circus. . . . F Chase Witala had two goals, giving him six, and an assist as the Cougars led 3-0 at 6:28 of the second period. . . . F Brandon Magee pulled the Royals into a 3-3 tie at 17:21 of the third. . . . Magee and F Steve Hodges scored shootout goals to win it. . . . One night earlier, the Royals beat the Cougars, 5-1.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
 F Joey Santucci, Prince Albert
F Marek Kalus, Spokane

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Dan Gibb, Prince George
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From Portland Winterhawks F Taylor Peters (@thepistolpete25): “Most goals in the league and not a single nod in the plays of the first half video . . . #typical”

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THURSDAY’S GAME:
In Regina, the Pats halted a seven-game losing skid with a 3-0 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . G Matt Hewitt stopped 23 shots for his second shutout this season. . . . F Marc McCoy, acquired Wednesday from the Red Deer Rebels, scored for the Pats. . . . D Darian Henry, acquired by Regina from the Calgary Hitmen, also made his Regina debut. F Filip Vasko, who came over with McCoy from Red Deer, remains out with a knee injury. . . . F Trent Ouellette scored in the first period for Regina, giving the Pats their first goal in 206:21. The Pats were coming off back-to-back shutouts at the hands of the Saskatoon Blades. . . . A note from Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that will interest WHL scouts: “Vancouver Giants director of player development Todd Ripplinger, a former Pats’ head scout, won the 50/50 draw of $3,350.” . . .
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Brent Sutter has said he will run the Red Deer Rebels’ bench for the remainder of this season. . . . “I just think it’s the right thing to do,” Sutter told Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate. “It wouldn’t be fair to the kids now to make a change. There’s a certain way I want this team to play and I don’t think it would be right to all of a sudden make another coaching change. It wouldn’t be fair to anyone involved, including the fans. The right thing to do is stay the course and get through the year, hopefully have a real good second half (of the regular season) and a good playoff run. Then I can take some time to think about the situation.” . . . Sutter, the owner and general manager of the Rebels, had named himself interim head coach when he removed Jesse Wallin as head coach on Nov. 13. . . . The Rebels are 9-1-1 under Sutter, after going 10-11-2 under Wallin.
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Please take a moment today to think about — or, if you are so inclined, to say a prayer for — the families and friends of Brennan Luffman and Shaun Seghers, two senior hockey players who were killed when their truck hit a semi near Weyburn, Sask., in ugly weather on Tuesday night.
Both men played for the Arcola-Kisbey Combines and were on their way to Arcola for a Big Six Hockey League game against the Oxbow Huskies.
Seghers played in the SJHL with the Weyburn Red Wings a few years ago, while Luffman also had pitched in the Western Major Baseball League with the Weyburn Beavers and Moose Jaw Millers.
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The Kamloops Blazers announced late Wednesday night that they have released F Charles Inglis, 20.
Shortly after the Blazers had been beaten 5-2 by the Oil Kings in Edmonton, Kamloops issued a news release. Here it is, in its entirety:
“General Manager Craig Bonner announced tonight that the Blazers have parted ways with 20-year-old forward Charles Inglis.
“Inglis came to the Blazers in a trade in late November. Inglis played 11 games with the Blazers and recorded five assists in his short time.”
The Blazers had acquired Inglis from the Red Deer Rebels for a conditional fifth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft. Chances are the pick was conditional on his being on the Blazers’ roster on Jan. 10, the trading and roster deadline, so that pick now will remain with Kamloops.
Inglis played in last night’s loss, and got into a scrap with F Mitch Moroz.
In 290 regular-season games, split between the Saskatoon Blades, Prince George Cougars, Red Deer and Kamloops, he has 177 points, including 92 goals, and 440 penalty minutes.
The Blazers’ roster now contains two 20-year-olds — F Brendan Ranford and F Dylan Willick, who won’t play until after Christmas because of a broken ankle.
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F Filip Vasko, 19, is on the move for the second time in a couple of weeks. Vasko, from Slovakia, was dealt by the Kelowna Rockets to the Red Deer Rebels on Nov. 29. Then, on Wednesday, he was moved by the Rebels, along with F Marc McCoy, 18, and a conditional fifth-round 2015 bantam draft pick for the rights to Czech F Dominik Volek, 18.
McCoy, 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from Edmonton, has six points in 28 games with the Rebels. Last season, he had 10 points in 63 games. Vasko has 11 points in 23 games split between Kelowna and Red Deer. He has missed the last couple of Red Deer games with a knee injury but may make his Regina debut this weekend.
Volek had 32 points in 70 games with the Pats last season, but chose not to return this season. Instead, he is playing with Farjestad of Sweden’s Super Elite League for whom he has five points in 13 games. He is the son of former NHLer David Volek and, according to a Red Deer news release, “is expected to join the Rebels after the Christmas break.“
Brent Sutter, the Rebels’ owner/general manager/interim head coach, played with David Volek with the NHL’s New York Islanders.
“We didn’t make the trade for him because I know the family, although it’s nice to have an idea of what the kid is about and to know what the family is about,” Sutter told Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate. “(David) has talked to me about Dominik as a player in the past.”
According to Meachem, “Volek will be in Red Deer for a Boxing Day practice and will be in the Rebels’ lineup for a Dec. 27 meeting with the Oil Kings in Edmonton.”
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The Pats also made another deal yesterday, acquiring D Darian Henry, 18, from the Calgary Hitmen for a fifth-round selection in the 2015 bantam draft.
Henry, 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds, was a seventh-round pick by the Everett Silvertips in the 2009 bantam draft. He had one assist in 16 games with Everett last season. The Silvertips dealt him to Calgary over the summer for F Luke Gordon, 18, who is with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals.
This season, in 30 games with Calgary, Henry had six points and 77 penalty minutes.
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F Dylan Stewart, a fifth-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft, is joining the Prince Albert Raiders for a couple of days. Stewart will return to the midget AAA Edmonton-Canadian Athletic Club Raiders on Saturday. The Raiders are at home to the Kootenay Ice on Friday.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Marlin Murray, the general manager and head coach of the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings, has signed a contract that will take him through the 2015-16 season. Murray,35, is in his 10th season with the Kings.
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WEDNESDAY’S GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, the Saskatoon Blades erased a 1-0 deficit with four straight goals and beat the Warriors, 5-2. . . . The Blades have won four in a row. . . . F Josh Nicholls scored his 24th goal of the season for Saskatoon. . . . Moose Jaw F Sam Fioretti didn’t return to the game after taking a high-sticking minor and a misconduct at 14:59 of the second period. “Sam wasn’t feeling good,” Moose Jaw head coach Mike Stothers told Katie Brickman of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald. . . .

In Red Deer, the Calgary Hitmen scored two quick third-period goals and beat the Rebels, 2-1. . . . The Hitmen were trailing 1-0 when F Brooks Macek and F Victor Rask scored at 5:46 and 6:12 respectively to put them out front. . . . The Hitmen are 12-1-1 on the road, but just 9-6-3 at home. . . . F Adam Musil, the Rebels’ first-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft, made his WHL debut. He may stay and play in weekend home games against the Victoria Royals and Kelowna Rockets. . . .

In Lethbridge, the Kelowna Rockets scored twice in the first period and went on to beat the Hurricanes, 3-1. . . . The Rockets, who have won four straight, are 9-1-0 in their last 10. . . . F J.T. Barnett’s fourth goal of the season, on a PP at 14:12 of the first, stood up as the winner. . . .

In Edmonton, G Tristan Jarry made 37 saves and F Henrik Samuelsson scored twice as the Oil Kings bounced the Kamloops Blazers, 5-2. . . . The Blazers had won four in a row. . . . F Aaron Macklin got his first WHL goal for Kamloops. . . . Samuelsson has 16 goals this season. . . . Jarry got the start with Laurent Brossoit, the Oil Kings’ No. 1 goaltender, in Calgary at the national junior team’s selection camp. . . . Patrick Dea, a 15-year-old from St. Albert, Alta., backed up Jarry. Dea was the 22nd overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft.
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
Former WHLer Stu Grimson (@asgrimson): “@heyojayo, ‘Tomorrows New York Times crossword 66 down: _ _ _ Grimson of the NHL. again’ i got 66 down …. and ONLY 66 down.”
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From Portland D Josh Hanson (@HansoloCup4): “It’s called an ‘acceleration ramp’ for a reason. I’m not 100% sure but I think you’re supposed to accelerate. #GasIsOnTheRight:
The Winerhawks defenceman continues his campaign to get Oregon drivers on the same page.


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