THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Petr Kalus (Regina, 2005-06) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Djurgården Stockholm (Sweden, Allsvenskan) after his release by Fassa (Italy, Serie A). He had eight goals and 14 assists in 20 games with Fassa this season. . . .
F Jeremy Williams (Swift Current, 2000-04) signed a contract for the rest of this season with Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Germany, 2. Bundesliga) after being released by mutual agreement from his contract with Sierre (Switzerland, NL B). He had six goals and nine assists in 28 games with Sierre this season.
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The Canadian Lacrosse Association has moved to get fighting out of its game.
As a result of recommendations made by a task force established by the CLA, its board of directors has approved changes to Rule 45 in the Box Lacrosse Rule and Situation Handbook.
Starting with the 2013 season, “A major penalty and game misconduct penalty shall be assessed to any player/goalkeeper who fights.”
As well, “if there is an instigator or clear aggressor in a fight, a major penalty and a game misconduct plus any other penalties shall be assessed to the offending player(s). Where an instigator or clear aggressor penalty is assessed the non-offending player shall not receive a game misconduct.”
“If an athlete, at any level, takes part in a fight, they will be removed from the game,” the CLA said in a news release. “Fighting in the sport is an unnecessary risk — it is a dangerous activity for any athlete to be a part of. Incidents of concussions can increase with every fight that happens; it is becoming more apparent that a blow to the head area has the potential to cause severe and long-term injury.
“The health and safety of all participants in Canada’s national summer sport is amongst the leading concerns of the Canadian Lacrosse Association.”
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If you missed it, our last poll closed earlier in the week. It began with: The disciplinary measures taken by the WHL against the Portland Winterhawks were . . .
“Far too stiff” was the runaway winner, getting 44 per cent of the 278 votes that were cast. That worked out to 123 votes.
“Just right” drew 80 votes, or 28 per cent.
“Too stiff” ended up with 45 votes (16 per cent) and “not stiff enough” got 30 votes (10 per cent).
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If you are looking for books as Christmas gifts — even if it’s a gift to yourself — here are two more suggestions, both of which are hockey related.
You absolutely can’t go wrong with Wayne Gretzky’s Ghost, a book by Roy MacGregor that is subtitled And Other Tales from a Lifetime in Hockey.
If Canada had a sports essayist emeritus, it would be MacGregor, who writes for The Globe and Mail.
This work contains a whole lot of previously published essays and it seems that every single one of them is terrific. You start reading and one just flows into another and into the one after that.
Good stuff!
Chapter One, which is titled Wayne Gretzky’s Ghost, is awfully good. I was intrigued because that chapter deals with MacGregor ghost-writing a newspaper column that carried Gretzky’s byline.
The chapter also gives the rest of the essays a tough act to follow. But MacGregor is up to the task, and we shouldn’t be surprised.
And don’t think for a moment that his book is all essays about players past and present. Because it isn’t. There is, for example, a scathing look at Hockey Night in Canada that was published in The Globe and Mail on Oct. 2, 2010. And it was as true as last season ended as it was when it first appeared in print.
If you need a hockey fix with the NHL locked out, this will get you well into 2013.
Another option is Over The Line (Wrist Shots, Slap Shots, and Five-Minute Majors), but the retired Al Strachan, who was one of the last ‘pure’ sports writers, a guy who wasn’t afraid to tell it like it is.
As he reminds us in the Introduction, he’s the guy who wrote Why the Leafs Suck “and was fired from Hockey Night in Canada as a result.”
In this book, Strachan tells story after story after story from his days covering the NHL. When he covered hockey, writers were in the dressing rooms, in the coaches’ offices and in the bars with players and coaches. So there are a lot of anecdotes here.
There also is a terrific Foreword that was written by the afore-mentioned MacGregor. “I laughed until I cried at some parts,” he writes. “And I wept for what has become of sports journalism over recent years.”
You really can’t go wrong with either book, both of which are available in soft cover.
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F Mason Wilgosh (Tri-City, 2007-12), who now plays for the U of Prince Edward Island, has drawn a 12-game suspension for a headshot during a Nov. 30 game. He won’t be eligible to return until Feb. 8, which is when UPEI plays its final regular-season game.
Monty Mosher of the Halifax ChronicleHerald has more right here.
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G Bolton Pouliot hasn’t played in more than a month but the Red Deer Rebels will turn to him tonight against the visiting Calgary Hitmen. Patrik Bartosak, the Rebel’s starter, now is with the Czech Republic’s national junior team. . . . Spencer Tremblay will be backing up Pouliot. . . . Greg Meachem of the Red Deer Advocate also reports that F Filip Vasko (knee), F Cory Millette (facial cut) and F Jesse Miller (undisclosed) won’t play. . . . F Adam Musil, 15, will play for Red Deer. He has 22 points in 17 games with the major midget Greater Vancouver Canadians. The younger brother of Edmonton Oil Kings D David Musil, Adam was the sixth overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Brandon, the teams combined for 93 shots as the Saskatoon Blades got past  the Wheat Kings, 7-5. . . . Earlier in the season, the Blades lost 9-6 in Brandon. . . . F Matej Stransky had a goal and two assists for the Blades. . . . F Jayce Hawryluk led Brandon with a goal and three helpers. . . . Saskatoon G Alex Moodie stopped 35 shots, while Brandon’s Corbin Boes blocked 46. . . . The Blades have won three in a row. . . . F Brenden Walker, who was traded from Brandon to Saskatoon over the summer, broke a 4-4 at 15:06 of the third period. The Blades weren’t caught after that goal. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Tyson Baillie scored twice as the Kelowna Rockets got past the Kootenay Ice, 3-1. . . . The Rockets scored three times in the third period. . . . F Collin Shirley gave the Ice a 1-0 lead on an early second-period PP goal. . . . Baillie tied it on a PP at 12:42 of the third, with D Colten Martin’s second goal of the season, at 14:17, winning it. . . . The Rockets were without F Henrik Nyberg, who sat out the first of a two-game suspension handed out through supplemental discipline for something that happened against the visiting Prince George Cougars on Saturday. . . .

In Prince George, G Steve Myland earned his first WHL shutout as the Swift Current Broncos beat the Cougars, 2-0. . . . Myland, getting a start with G Eetu Laurikainen having left for the Finnish national junior team, stopped 17 shots. . . . Broncos F Adam Lowry scored his 17th goal as he ran his point streak to nine games. . . . D Reece Scarlett was back in the Broncos’ lineup after missing two games with an undisclosed injury. (Injured in Kelowna) . . . The game featured two minor penalties, both against the Cougars. . . . The Cougars had two 2013 bantam draft picks in their roster in F Brad Morrison and D Jansen Harkins. Harkins was the second overall pick, while Morrison went seventh overall. . . . The Broncos went 2-3-0 on their B.C. Division tour, with all three losses one-goal decisions. . . .

In Calgary, F Colin Smith scored twice in regulation time and once in the circus as the Kamloops Blazers came from behind to beat the Hitmen, 3-2. . . . With the Blazers trailing 2-0 in the second period, Smith scored to get his club to within one. He then tied it 19 seconds into the third period on a PP. . . . Calgary F Victor Rask scored the first goal of the shootout. Smith tied it and F Brendan Ranford won it after G Cole Cheveldave made a glove save on Calgary F Greg Chase. . . . Smith leads the WHL in goals (25), assists (36) and points (61). . . . The Blazers, who have won four straight, are 6-0-0 on the road in the Central Division this season. . . . Kamloops plays in Edmonton tonight. . . . The Blazers are back in sole possession of first-place overall, two points ahead of the idle Portland Winterhawks. But after tonight’s action the Winterhawks will hold five games in hand. . . .

In Seattle, F Alex Gogolev scored two goals and set up anotehr as the Victoria Royals dumped the Thunderbirds, 6-2. . . . The Royals scored the game’s first two goals and led 4-1 after the second period. . . . Gogolev has 13 goals this season. . . . The teams combined for 120 penalty minutes, with Seattle taking 70 of those. There were 18 roughing minors handed out. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., F Josh Winquist scored the only goal of the circus as the Everett Silvertips beat the Tri-City Americans, 2-1. . . . Winquist was the first shooter in the shootout. . . . F Justin Feser scored for the Americans, on the PP, at 17:28 of the first period. . . . Everett F CarsonStadnyk tied it at 10:46 of the third period. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz stopped 45 shots. . . . Feser goal leaves him with 285 career regular-season points with the Americans. He is tied for eighth, with co-owner Stu Barnes, on the franchise’s all-time list. F Dylan Gyori is seventh (286).
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CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Ben Walker, Victoria
F Ryan Chynoweth, Tri-City

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
None
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From Portland D Josh Hanson (@HansoloCup4): “The next person that cuts me off without giving the courteous ‘thank you’ wave will get their tires slashed. #NotEvenJoking #HaveSomeManners”
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From Vancouver G Liam Liston (@liamliston): “just wondering who’s gonig to refund me my 7 dollars and 1h37 mins of my time for watching ‘killing them softly’ . . . you let me down Brad.”
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More from Liston: “And you’re lucky that it was cheap movie night or else I’d be asking for the full 15 back #joke”
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From veteran scout Mike Fraser (@MikeFraser29), now with the Brandon Wheat Kings: “Last three games I’ve watched have each ended in ties. And you know what? There’s nothing wrong with that. @gdrinnan #shootoutssuck”

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Cool Bird proves he can fly on Wednesday at KeyArena in Seattle.
(Photo courtesy Seattle Thunderbirds)

THE COACHING GAME:
The Lethbridge Hurricanes have exercised the option on general manager/head coach Rich Preston’s contract, meaning he now has two years left. Yes, he is signed through 2013-14. . . . Which takes care of rumours that he was soon to join the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings as an assistant coach under old friend Darryl Sutter. . . .
The OHL’s Soo Greyhounds have signed Joe Cirella to a two-year deal as an assistant coach. Cirella is a former OHL and NHL defenceman who captained the Oshawa Generals to the 1983 OHL title. . . . He later went on to a 14-year NHL career. . . . He has worked as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Florida Panthers (1997-98) and has spent seven seasons as an assistant with the Generals, which is where he was for the last two seasons. . . . In Sault Ste. Marie, Cirella will work alongside head coach Mike Stapleton and fellow assistants Mike Oliverio and Seamus Kotyk. . . .
The Edmonton Oil Kings have re-signed Randy Hansch, the assistant general manager and director of player personnel, and assistant coach Steve Hamilton. . . . Hansch, a former goaltender, joined the Oil Kings after spending 15 seasons with the Kamloops Blazers. He has been with Edmonton since before it took part in an expansion draft in 2007. . . . Hamilton has spent two seasons with the Oil Kings. Prior to that, he was the GM/head coach of the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints for four seasons. . . . The length of the contracts wasn’t disclosed. . . .
Ryan Mougenel, the head coach of the ECHL’s Las Vegas Wranglers, was involved in an attempt to save a man from drowning in Boston on Thursday. . . . Ed Hauth of the Las Vegas Sun has that story right here.
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D Kevin Smith, who played 286 regular-season and playoff games in his WHL career, has decided to go to the U of British Columbia and play for the Thunderbirds. Smith, who is from North Vancouver, split last season between the WHL's Kelowna Rockets and the BCHL's Victoria Grizzlies.
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F Mason Wilgosh, who played five seasons in the WHL, will attend the U of Prince Edward Island and play for the Panthers. The Charlottetown-based Panthers play in Atlantic University Sport. . . . Wilgosh, from Winnipeg, played out his WHL eligibility last season with the Tri-City Americans. He had 38 points in 59 games.
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F Brenden Silvester, who played 159 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds (2007-10), is headed for Simon Fraser University where he will play for the school’s British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League team.
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Cool Bird, the Seattle Thunderbirds’ mascot, attended the Seattle Storm’s Kid’s Day game on Wednesday.
The Storm, a WNBA team, was playing host to the Atlanta Dream.
According to Ian Henry, the Thunderbirds’ media guru, Cool Bird “took part in media timeouts and halftime promotions, including a dunk contest with other mascots.”
Henry added that he was told the game, at KeyArena, was sold out.
The game began at noon and is a big promotion involving chidren’s summer camps and youth groups getting in through special ticket offers.
The KeyArena was home to the Thunderbirds before they moved to Kent.
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The Buffalo Sabres have signed Latvian F Zemgus Girgensons, 18, who ws the 14th overall selection in the NHL’s 2012 draft. Girgensons played last season with the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints and had committed to the U of Vermont. By signing a pro contract, of course, he has forsaken his NCAA eligibility. . . . Girgensons WHL rights are held by the Kelowna Rockets, who selected him in the CHL’s 2011 import draft. However, it is unlikely that Girgensons will ever see Kelowna. Because he was drafted out of the USHL and because he has never played in the CHL, he is eligible to play with Buffalo’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. . . . Girgensons had 104 points, including 45 goals, and 115 penalty minutes in 100 USHL regular-season games over two seasons.
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If you’re a baseball fan, you are aware that the Washington Nationals plan to shut down pitcher Steven Strasburg at around 160 innings, which should happen in early September. This has become one of the biggest talking points in Major League Baseball this season. Everyone has an opinion. Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post explains right here why this is the right thing to do.
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The can of worms opened just a little bit wider on Thursday when the Michigan Daily released this statement:
“On June 28 The Michigan Daily published an article on its website that said hockey player Jacob Trouba was considering an offer to play for the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League. The article was updated to include further developments on July 2, July 3 and July 4. The Rangers and the Trouba family have denied the offer, and the Rangers have threatened legal action. The Daily stands behind the story and the reporter, Matt Slovin. The Daily will respond to threats of legal action in an appropriate fashion.”
To go back, Slovin’s original story claimed, via an OHL source, that the Rangers had come up with a $200,000 package in an attempt to entice Trouba, a first-round selection by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2012 NHL draft, to Kitchener instead of the U of Michigan.
The Rangers, a community-owned team, was quick with the denials. The Trouba family quickly issued a statement saying that Matt was going to Michigan and would play for the Wolverines.
The Rangers also threatened legal action if there wasn’t a retraction.
The retraction never came.
On Tuesday, the Waterloo Region Record reported that the Rangers did indeed visit court and filed a suit seeking $500,000 in general damages and $500,000 in punitive damages.” The suit was filed in Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Kitchener.
The blog United States of Hockey summed it up this way:
“The Rangers may be backed into a corner now into where they have to stand by their word and pursue this case despite the fact that it is unlikely they will be able to collect damages. This is due to the SPEECH Act protecting U.S. media outlets from foreign libel/defamation judgments so long as the report satisfies First Amendment standards. Should the Daily lose the case, most likely the worst that will happen is the defendants would be denied entry into Canada due to the outstanding judgment (via Student Press Law Center).
“This case has so many different angles of importance from how the Canadian Hockey League’s member leagues and clubs do their business to NCAA vs. CHL recruitment to journalism ethics and ‘libel tourism.’ The eyes of more than just the hockey world will be fixed on this case.”
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If you’re a fan of the Boston Red Sox, well, this doesn’t appear to be your season. And it sure looks like the snowball is gathering speed as it tumbles down the hill. Right here is a piece by veteran baseball write Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com on the trials and tribulations of the BoSox and manager Bobby Valentine.



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JUST NOTES:
D Dave Sutter of the Seattle Thunderbirds, F Sven Bartschi of the Portland Winterhawks and F Alessio Bertaggia of the Brandon Wheat Kings are among the 33 players in the Swiss national junior team’s selection camp. . . . That camp is being held in Red Deer. . . . The World Junior Championship opens Dec. 26 in Calgary and Edmonton. . . .
D Tanner Mort, 18, has asked the Spokane Chiefs to trade him. Dave Trimmer reports in the Spokane Spokesman-Review that Mort, “who has sat out seven games . . . requested a trade.” . . . Spokane GM Tim Speltz tells Trimmer: “We want players who are totally engaged. Tanner has had a stretch this year he needed to reflect. Because guys want (something), it doesn’t matter what they want. What matters is what’s best for the team.” . . . Mort has five assists and 11 penalty minutes in 20 games this season, his third with the Chiefs. He played 30 games in 2009-10 and 63 last season when he finished with 16 points. . . . Mort was a fourth-round selection by the Chiefs in the 2008 bantam draft. . . .
The BCHL’s Penticton Vees made it a franchise-record 18 in a row on Saturday, beating the visiting Powell River Kings, 7-2. . . . Freshman Mario Lucia, 18, had three goals, giving him 60 points, including 26 goals, in 31 games. . . . The Vees (30-3-0-2) next play Jan. 4 when they are at home to the Vernon Vipers. . . .
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SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
In Moose Jaw, F Andrew Johnson scored the winner as the Warriors beat the Kamloops Blazers 4-3 in a shootout. . . . The Warriors are 7-1-2 in their lst 10; Kamloops is 7-2-1. . . . It was the first time this season the Blazers had gone to a shootout. They were the last WHL team to get there. . . . Kamloops, which went 3-2-1 on its East Division swing, led 2-0 early in the second period. . . . The Warriors came back with three straight PP goals, with Johnson tying it eight minutes into the second and D Joel Edmundson giving the home side the lead for the first time at 7:22 of the third. It was his first goal of the season. . . . Kamloops F Chase Souto forced OT at 13:33. . . . Moose Jaw G Spencer Tremblay stopped 43 shots through OT. He gave up one goal in the shootout, made two stops and got help from a post on another attempt. . . .

In Saskatoon, F Carter Rigby scored his 10th goal and added two assists as the Kelowna Rockets droipped the Blades, 5-1. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown turned aside 37 shots. . . . The Rockets were 3-for-8 on the PP; the Blades were 0-for-5. . . . Kelowna finished its East Division trek at 2-3-1. . . . The Blades have lost three straight and are just 2-8-0 in their last 10 outings. . . .

In Edmonton, the Oil Kings ran their winning streak to 11 with a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Oil Kings, in their fifth season of existence, will complete their pre-Christmas schedule today against the visiting Regina Pats. But Edmonton will go into the break riding high atop the Eastern Conference, its 23-8-3 record leaving it with a one-point lead on the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . F Alex Gogolev game the Hitmen a 1-0 lead at 7:16 of the first on a PP. . . . Edmonton F Mitchell Moroz tied it with the Teddy Bear goal at 19:46 of the first. . . . F T.J. Foster go the winner, his 16th goal this season, on a PP at 13:58 of the second. . . .

In Lethbridge, the Hurricanes won their fourth straight game, 4-1 over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . The Hurricanes, given up for dead not that long ago, have won four in a row and are 8-2-0 in their last 10 outings and will go into the break feeling good about their game. Still, they are eight points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Hurricanes scored the game’s first three goals, including F Cam Braes’ 20th of the season, a shorthanded effort at 1:31 of the second that stood up as the winner. . . . Lethbridge G Damien Ketlo stopped 35 shots. . . . Lethbridge D Albin Blomqvist, an 18-year-old freshman from Sweden, scored his first goal of the season in his 28th game. . . . Lethbridge F Juraj Bezuch, a Slovakian freshman who turned 18 on Tuesday, incurred a clipping major at 19:42 of the third. Swift Current D Erik Fleming took a slashing major at the same time. . . . Lethbridge F Graham Hood scored the Teddy Bear goal, on a PP, 45 seconds into the second period. . . . The Broncos have lost four straight. . . .

In Medicine Hat, F Hunter Shinkaruk scored two goals to lead the Tigers to a 4-2 victory over the Victoria Royals. . . . Shinkaruk has 30 goals, second in the league to Portland Winterhawks F Ty Rattie, who has 33. Shinkaruk and teammate Emerson Etem, who is with the U.S. national junior team, have 30 apiece. . . . Shinkaruk has 48 points in 36 games; last season, he finished with 42 points, 14 of them goals, in 63 games. . . . The Tigers broke open a 1-1 game with three straight goals, F Scott McKay scoring at 19:42 of the first and Shinkaruk striking twice in the second period, at 8:49 and 19:25. . . .

In Red Deer, the Rebels scored two early second-period goals and went on to a 2-1 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . F Tyson Ness gave Red Deer a 1-0 lead 29 seconds into the second, and F Turner Elson upped that to 2-0 at 1:05. . . . Regina F Jack Rodewald cut the lead to 2-1 at 9:18 of the third but the Pats weren’t able to equalize. . . . Red Deer G Deven Dubyk stopped 22 shots. . . .

In Spokane, the Portland Winterhawks posted an 8-6 victory over the Chiefs, giving them a 4-0 record against their divisional rivals this season. . . . F Brad Ross had two goals and two assists for the Winterhawks, while F Ty Rattie had a goal, his WHL-leading 33rd, and two helpers. Both players were cut by Canada’s national junior team earlier in the week. . . . The Winterhawks were without F Sven Bartschi, who is attending the Swiss national junior team’s tryout camp. . . . Portland led this one 2-1 just 3:39 into the first period and then never trailed. . . . Spokane F Colin Valcourt scored on a second-period penalty shot to cut Portland’s lead to 3-2. . . . However, Rattie scored 6:20 later on a PP and Ross scored shorthanded eight minutes after that. . . . Ross has 22 goals. . . . F Jarid Hauptman had two goals and an assist for Spokane, with F Marek Kalus chipping in a goal and two assists. . . .

In Kent, Wash., the Tri-City Americans exploded for five third-period goals and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 5-3. . . . Tri-City F Justin Feser started the comeback just 34 seconds into the third period. . . . F Patrick Holland tied it with goals at 2:29 and 4:13. . . . Feser got his 17th, at 6:21, and that stood up as the winner. . . . F Mason Wilgosh added insurance at 18:02. He also had three assists in becoming the 49th player in franchise history to reach 100 career points. . . . This was Wilgosh’s second career four-point night. . . . Tri-City G Ty Rimmer stopped 25 shots, 13 fewer than Seattle’s Calvin Pickard. . . . Feser also had two assists, while Holland had one. . . . Tri-City F Adam Hughesman, 20, was held off the scoresheet in his 300th regular-season game. He has 293 points, including 113 goals, in those 300 games. He is the seventh player to play No. 300 in an Americans uniform. . . . Tri-City is 27-7-0, its best-ever record at the Christmas break. . . . In four of the last five seasons, the Americans have had at least 23 victories at the break. . . . The Americans have won eight in a row, the seventh time in franchise history the team has put together a streak of eight or more victories. . . . Tri-City leads the WHL in victories (27), points (54) and winning percentage (.794). . . . They also have the fewest losses (7). . . .

In Prince George, F Cain Franson scored twice to help the Vancouver Giants to a 3-1 victory over the Cougars. . . . Franson had scored once and set up two others Friday as the Giants won 3-2 in Prince George. . . . He has 14 goals. . . . Franson has 10 points in six games against the Cougars. . . . Prince George F Alex Forsberg scored the Teddy Bear goal at 15:26 of the third period on a PP. . . . Earlier, there was a false alarm when a Prince George hit the cross-bar and was ruled no goal. It did result in a few Teddy Bears on the ice, thought. . . . More bears hit the ice with 5:39 to play and the Giants leading 2-0. This time it was a fight involving Cougars D Jesse Forsberg and Vancouver D Luke Fenske that brought out the bears. . . . Must have been tough to maintain any momentum with three separate Teddy Bear-related delays. . . .
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
F Kristians Pelss, Edmonton.
F Marc McCoy, Red Deer.
D Zach Yuen, Tri-City.
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SATURDAY’S TWEET OF THE DAY:
From freshman F CurtisLazar of the dmonton Oil Kings:
“Solid evening, 2pts for the boys- @MitchMoroz picked up the teddy bear goal and we got Nintendo DS 3D's as a X-mas gift #WHL #Oilkings”
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SATURDAY’S TWEET OF THE DAY, Part 2:
From the Spokane Chiefs:
“The Chiefs want to send out a very special thank you to Dave Trimmer (@SRtrim) for all the years of great journalism. You will be missed and best of luck in the future.”
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F Charlie Coyle, the 28th overall selection in the NHL’s 2010 draft, has left the Boston University Terriers and joined the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs. “I’m at the point where I want to just focus on hockey,” he told the Boston Globe. “I just want to set school aside and focus on my pro career and get to (the NHL). That’s why I made the move to go play for Saint John, to put my 100 percent effort toward hockey.” . . . Coyle, 19, is from East Weymouth, Mass. . . . The San Jose Sharks selected him in the 2010 draft. But they dealt his rights to the Minnesota Wild last summer, along with F Devin Setoguchi and a 2011 first-round pick, for D Brent Burns.
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F Ryan Walsh, an all-star player during his QMJHL and Canadian university career, is the latest player to retire due to post-concussion syndrome. Walsh, 33, had been playing with the Clarenville Caribous of the Newfoundland Senior league. "For the most part, I'm fairly healthy,” he told John Browne of the St. John’s Telegram. “I don't have any headaches, which I had when I was younger and had a few concussions. I'm fortunate. It's not that bad. And, at the end of the day, it's just a game.”
The complete story is right here.
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This has nothing to do with hockey, but everything to do with putting people on pedestals.
This is from the blog of Gregg Doyel, a national columnist for cbssports.com:
“Rudy Ruettiger was unmasked this week as a financial fraud, a liar and a swindler who used his fame — and a series of lies — to pump up the profile of his company to unwitting investors, then dump the stock at an enormous profit.”
Rudy Ruettiger? He is the Rudy of Rudy/Notre Dame fame. If you’ve seen the movie . . . RUDY! RUDY!! RUDY!!!
Doyel spins his story into more on Tim Tebow and it’s definitely worth a read.
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For today’s good read, we take you to The Globe and Mail and a piece headlined: Ken Dryden’s call to action for NHL boss Gary Bettman.
It is right here.

Wednesday . . .

One of the great traditions in sports — the Tri-City Americans and
Vancouver Giants shake hands after going hard at each other for four games.
The Americans completed a series sweep on Wednesday night.
(Photo by CJ Relke)

If you believe in the theory that where there’s smoke, there’s fire, well, you’ve got to think the Chilliwack Bruins will be in Victoria when another season gets here.
Tyler Olsen of the Chilliwack Times has the latest right here. It’s interesting that there aren’t any denials and that some people seem to be ducking and running from the media.
Take that for whatever you want.
Of course, the Bruins could extend the suspense, and perhaps even delay a press conference or two, by continuing their playoff run, couldn't they?
———JUST NOTES: F Hunter Shinkaruk won’t play tonight for the Medicine Hat Tigers as they try to even their series with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Shinkaruk has been suspended for one game by the WHL for a hit on Brandon F Brenden Walker in Game 3. Tonight’s game will be played at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. . . . The Wheat Kings are out of their home arena because of the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. . . . The Tigers remain without G Tyler Bunz (concussion) and F Tyler Pitlick (ankle). . . . Former Wheat Kings F Mark Derlago set a franchise record Wednesday by scoring three times to lead the Idaho Steelheads to a 7-2 ECHL victory over the Utah Grizzlies in Boise, Idaho. Derlago finished the regular season with 43 goals, one more than the record he established last season.
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WEDNESDAY’S PLAYOFF GAMES:
In Prince Albert, the Raiders got two goals from each of F Igor Revenko and F Brandon Herrod in beating the Saskatoon Blades, 6-3. . . . The Blades lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 in Prince Albert tonight. . . . The Raiders, who lost the first two games in Saskatoon, went back to G Jamie Tucker for this one and he came up with 37 saves. . . . Saskatoon G Steven Stanford stopped 44 shots. . . . Attendance was 2,868. . . . The 50/50 was worth $7872.50. . . .
In Moose Jaw, G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 25 shots to lead the Kootenay Ice to a 5-0 victory over the Warriors. . . . That series is 2-2 with Game 5 in Cranbrook on Friday. . . . Three of the first four games have ended in shutouts, with the Warriors twice winning by 4-0 scores. . . . A gem from Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald: “The Civic Centre crowd and the Warriors bench were howling for offside before the opening goal went in. The crowd sarcastically cheered every offside call against the Ice the rest of the evening.” . . . Attendance was 2,744. . . . And here is Gourlie’s injury report: “The Warriors gave defenceman Travis Brown his WHL playoff debut. Matt Franczyk sat in his place. Dallas Ehrhardt (upper body), Cody Beach (knee), Brayden Cuthbert (concussion) along with Matt Grant, Torrin White and Tanner Eberle were all scratched. The Ice only dressed 19 skaters. Drew Czerwonka had his left arm in a sling after taking a big hit in Game 3. Fellow forward Jesse Ismond (upper body) was also out for the second game in a row, along with defenceman Luke Paulsen (shoulder).” . . . The Warriors took 59 of 94 penalty minutes. Gee, do you think this one is starting to heat up? . . .
In Prince George, F Shane McColgan had two goals as the Kelowna Rockets doubled the Cougars 4-2 to sweep that series. . . . The Rockets got off to a 2-0 lead at 3:27 of the second period and were never headed. . . . Kelowna F Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan had two assists. . . . The Cougars were again without F Brett Connolly (separated shoulder). . . . Attendance was 2,346. . . . Kelowna G Adam Brown stopped 33 shots, four more than Prince George’s Ty Rimmer. . . .
In Everett, the Portland Winterhawks erased a 3-2 deficit with two goals 13 seconds apart and went on to beat the Silvertips, 5-4. . . . The Winterhawks lead the series 30 with Game 4 in Everett tonight. . . . Everett D Rasmus Rissanen gave his side a 3-2 lead at 9:40 of the second period, via the PP. . . . But F Nino Niederreiter (17:14) and F Ty Rattie (17:27) erased that lead and sent the Winterhawks on their way. . . . Rissanen had two goals for Everett, while F Landon Ferraro had three assists. . . . Attendance was 2,331 and that is not a typo. . . . Everett G Luke Siemens, playing in place of the injuried Kent Simpson (ankle), stopped 45 shots, including a third-period penalty shot attempt by F Sven Bartschi. . . .
In Spokane, the Chilliwack Bruins scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Chiefs 4-3 in OT. . . . F Kevin Sundher got the winner at 3:20 of extra time after G Lucas Gore had made 54 saves. . . . The Chiefs take a 2-1 series lead into tonight’s fourth game in Spokane. . . . The Bruins, down 3-0, tied it with three third-period goals, from F Ryan Howse (3:04), F Robin Soudek (9:22, PP) and Sundher (11:44). . . . Sundher also had an assist. . . . Spokane G James Reid made 21 saves. . . . Attendance was 4,737. . . . Chilliwack D Tyler Stahl may be looking at a suspension after taking an elbowing major and game misconduct at 15:19 of the second period. . . .
In Vancouver, F Mason Wilgosh had two goals and an assist as the Tri-City Americans beat the Giants 5-1 to sweep the first-round series. . . . Last year, the Americans took out the Giants in the Western Conference final. . . . Vancouver head coach Don Hay hadn’t been swept from a playoff series since 1999-2000 when he was coaching the Americans. . . . Hay and former Portland head coach Ken Hodge remain tied for the most playoff victories (101) in WHL history. . . . Tri-City outshot the home side, 28-18. . . . Attendance was 7,064. . . .
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WEDNESDAY’S CFB COUNT:
Three minors:
Portland F Brad Ross
Spokane F Brady Brassart (double minor)

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