Jess Brown, who covers the Spokane Chiefs for the Spokane
Spokesman-Review, re-tweeted this photo late Friday night.
Yes, that is rock star Rod Stewart, the father of Chiefs
F Liam Stewart, who was at Friday's game, which was part
of the team's annual family weekend.

THE COACHING GAME:
Joe Marsh, the head coach at St. Lawrence University, announced his retirement on Friday. Marsh, the head coach there for 26 years, didn’t coach this season as he had taken medical leave. Mike Hurlbut was the interim head coach this season. . . . Greg Carvel has been named the head coach to take over from Marsh. Carvel worked as an assistant coach this season.
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FRIDAY’S GAMES:
(If you’re a WHL fan and on Twitter, you should be following @WHLFacts)
In Prince Albert, F Anthony Bardaro scored four times to lead the Raiders to a 5-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Bardaro, who has 35 goals, broke a 1-1 tie at 1:00 of the second, then later scored the game’s last three goals, the final one into an empty net. . . . Bardaro’s second goal broke a 2-2 tie at 7:50 of the third. . . . Prince Albert D Josh Morrissey had three assists. A 16-year-old from Calgary, Morrissey has 37 points in 63 games, and he’s plus-3 on a team that has surrendered 72 more goals than it has scored. . . . Prince Albert F Justin Maylan also had three assists. . . . F Ryon Moser had a goal, his 14th, and an assist for the Broncos, while F Graham Black had two assists. . . . D Brycen Martin, the second overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft, made his WHL debut with the Broncos. . . . Neither team will be in the playoffs. . . .

In Brandon, F Matej Stransky had four points to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 6-2 victory over the Wheat Kings. . . . Stransky had a goal, his 36th, and three assists. . . . Stransky has 71 points in 66 games, after picking up 26 in 71 as a rookie last season. . . . F Ryan Olsen added two goals, giving him 13, and an assist for the Blades. . . . F Alessio Bertaggia gave Brandon a 1-0 lead, with his 23rd goal, on a PP at 8:10 of the first. . . . The Blades responded with three straight goals. . . . Brandon F Mark Stone had two assists but left in the third period favouring a hand. . . . The Blades clinched a playoff spot with the victory. . . . The Blades are on an extended road trip because the Tim Hortons Brier (aka the Canadian men’s curling championship) is in their home arena. The Blades are 2-2-1 on this swing. . . . Brandon scratched F Kevin Sundher (concussion), F Tyrel Seaman (concussion), F Daniel Asham (knee), D Dylan Kuczek (shoulder), D Rene Hunter (upper body) and G Brandon Anderson (personal). The Wheat Kings went with 17 skaters, one under the maximum. . . . The Blades scratched D Dalton Thrower (shoulder), while welcoming back D Connor Cox (back). Cox, who had two assists, hadn’t played since Feb. 18. . . . Thrower may not play again before the playoffs start. . . . Brandon F Darian Dziurzynski, who was acquired from the Blades earlier in the season, played in his 300th regular-season game. . . . Saskatoon and Regina, each having four games remaining, are tied for sixth in the Eastern Conference, just one point behind Kootenay, which also has four games remaining. . . . Brandon is eighth, 10 points ahead of Red Deer, which has five games left. Red Deer’s only hope to make the playoffs is to force a sudden-death tiebreaking game with Brandon. For that to happen, Brandon would have to lost each of its last four games in regulation time, while the Rebels went 5-0-0. . . .

In Regina, the Pats scored the game’s last two goals and beat the Moose Jaw Warriors, 5-4. . . . F Matt Marantz, who sat out the last three games, pulled Regina into a 4-4 tie with his 13th goal, at 7:13 of the third, on a PP. . . . F Morgan Klimchuk broke the tie with his 17th goal, at 15:42. . . . Regina F Jordan Weal continued his stellar season, with a goal and two assists. He has 114 points, including 39 goals. . . . The Warriors got three goals from F Kenton Miller, giving him 34, while F James Henry had a goal, his 16th, and two helpers. . . . Regina G Matt Hewitt stopped 39 shots, 22 more than Moose Jaw’s Luke Siemens. . . . Regina holds a 4-2-1 edge in the season series with Moose Jaw. They’ll finish it off tonight in Moose Jaw. . . . The Pats clinched their first playoff spot since 2008. . . . The Warriors, who have clinched the East Division title, will open playoffs as the No. 2 seed, meaning they will play the seventh-place finisher. . . .

In Cranbrook, F Emerson Etem scored twice to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a 3-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Ice took  a 1-0 lead on F Joe Antilla’s 14th goal at 14:26 of the first period. . . . That lead held up well into the third period, when Etem scored at 15:14 and 17:32, the latter on the PP. . . . F Hunter Shinkaruk got his 46th into an empty net at 19:21. . . . D James Bettauer had two assists for the Tigers. He has 44 points in 55 games with the Tigers, who acquired him early in the season from Prince Albert. All told, he’s got 53 points in 70 games. . . . Etem has a WHL-leading 58 goals as he strives to be the league’s first 60-goal game since Layne Ulmer of the Swift Current Broncos (2000-01). . . . Tigers G Tyler Bunz stopped 26 shots. . . . The Tigers had F Cole Grbavac, their captain, back for the first time since Feb. 22. . . . The Tigers are third in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Calgary. . . . The Ice is fifth, four points behind Calgary and just a point ahead of Saskatoon and Regina. . . . Bob Ridley, the longtime radio voice of the Tigers, called his 2,999th regular-season game. He gets to 3,000 tonight in Lethbridge. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Trevor Cheek scored twice to help the Calgary Hitmen to a 6-3 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . He has 22 goals. . . . Calgary D Collin Bowman broke a 3-3 tie with his 14th goal at 11:25 of the third and Cheek added insurance 1:22 later. . . . The Hurricanes erased 2-0 and 3-1 deficits. . . . F Clayton Chase and F Danny Gayle each had two assists for Calgary, which got 39 saves from G Chris Driedger. . . . The Hitmen, 8-2-0 in their last 10, stayed two points behind third-place Medicine Hat. . . .

In Red Deer, the Edmonton Oil Kings wrapped up their first Eastern Conference title with a 5-2 victory over the Rebels. . . . Edmonton F T.J. Foster scored two PP goals 30 seconds apart late in the first period to erase a 1-0 deficit. . . . Foster has 28 goals. . . . Edmonton F Curtis Lazar added his 17th at 18:57 of the first, giving the Oil Kings three goals in 2:04. . . . The Rebels got to within 3-2 when F Mason Burr scored his third goal at 14:01 of the second. . . . The Oil Kings put it away with two empty-net goals, including F Travis Ewanyk’s first of the season. He was playing in his seventh game of the season after coming back from shoulder surgery. . . . The Oil Kings are tied for first place overall with Tri-City. . . .

In Vancouver, F Brendan Ranford had five points and F Brandon Herrod scored three times as the Kamloops Blazers dropped the Giants, 6-3. . . . Ranford, who has 39 goals, had two goals and three helpers in the second five-point game of his season and career. . . . Herrod, who has 27 goals, enjoyed his third career hat trick. . . . F Jordan DePape, the third player on that line, had three assists. . . . The Blazers were 3-10 on the PP. At one point in the third period, the power plays were 10-1. . . . Vancouver finished with 56 of 88 penalty minutes. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave stopped 23 shots. . . . Vancouver starter Adam Morrison stopped seven of 11 shots and left at 1:03 of the second with his side down 4-1. Jackson Whistle came on to finish up, stopping 13 of 15. . . . Morrison has gotten the hook from three straight Friday night games. . . . The Giants have lost five in a row at home. . . . The Blazers were without F Chase Schaber (leg) and he won't play in the rematch tonight in Kamoops. . . . Kamloops, which has clinched the B.C. Division, is two points behind Tri-City and one behind Portland in the race for first place in the Western Conference. . . . The Giants remain tied with Spokane for fourth in the Western Conference. They will meet in the first round but have yet to decide home-ice advantage. The Chiefs hae five games remaining; the Giants have four to play. . . .

In Spokane, G Ty Rimmer stopped 35 shots to help the Tri-City Americans to a 4-2 victory over the Chiefs. . . . F Brendan Shinnimin, who leads the WHL with 125 points, had a goal, his 55th, and three assists. He now has 200 career assists. . . . Shinnimin also ran his point streak to 19 games, tying Medicine Hat F Emerson Etem for the longest in the WHL this season. . . . Tri-City F Patrick Holland had one assist, giving him a WHL-leading 80. He is the first WHLer player with 80 assists in a season since Portland’s Todd Robinson got there in 1996-97. . . . Holland also has at least one assist in 16 straight games, the longest such streak in the CHL this season. He hs 30 helpers in those 16 games. . . . Tri-City F Adam Hughesman scored the game’s first two goals, giving him 43 on the season. Both those goals came via the PP. . . . The Americans were 2-2 on the PP. . . . Tri-City F Justin Feser, who has 37 goals, scored shorthanded in the second period. It stood up as his third straight game-winner. . . . It is family weekend in Spokane and rock star Rod Stewart, the father of Chiefs F Liam Stewart, was in attendance. . . . The Americans lead the Western Conference and U.S. Division by one point over Portland. . . . The Chiefs have lost three in a row. . . . The Americans, who have won three in a row, tied a franchise single-season record with their 23rd road victory. . . . The Americans have four games remaining, all at home. . . .

In Kelowna, G Keith Hamilton returned to his hometown to stop 26 shots and lead the Victoria Royals to a 3-1 victory over the Rockets. . . . The Royals acquired Hamilton in a trade from Portland prior to this season. . . . Victoria F Jamie Crooks broke a 1-1 tie with his 35th goal at 6:22 of the third period. . . . D Brett Cote added insurance with his first WHL goal just 35 seconds later. . . . Cote, a 17-year-old freshman from Oakbank, Man., was playing in his 61st game. . . . Kelowna D Myles Bell opened the scoring with his 14th goal, six of which have come in six games against Victoria. . . . Rockets F Colton Sissons, who is their captain, has been out since Feb. 11 with a concussion. However, he is back on skates and hopes to return for the playoffs. . . . The Royals moved into seventh in the Western Conference, a point ahead of Everett. . . . The Silvertips are three points ahead of Seattle and five up on the idle Prince George Cougars. . . .

In Everett, D Troy Rutkowski scored with 1:31 left in the third period to give the Portland Winterhawks a 4-3 victory over the Silvertips. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth preserved the victory when he stopped F Josh Winquist on a penalty shot with 4.7 seconds left in the third period. . . . F Ty Rattie had a goal, his 54th, and an assist for Portland. . . . D Josh Caron scored his first goal of the season for Everett. It was his third goal in 166 career games. . . . The Winterhawks were without F Sven Baertschi, who made his NHL debut with the Flames, who beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-3 in Calgary. Baertschi is expected to play for the Flames on Sunday afternoon when they play the host Minnesota Wild. . . . Last night, Baertschi played 9:08 over 16 shifts. He had seven shifts in the first period, four in the second and five in the third. . . . Everett slipped into eighth in the Western Conference. . . . Portland stayed within a point of Tri-City, which leads the Western Conference and the U.S. Division.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Hayden Rintoul, Victoria.
F Shane McColgan, Kelowna.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Zach McPhee, Everett.
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SATURDAY’S GAMES
Regina at Moose Jaw
Prince Albert at Swift Current
Saskatoon at Brandon
Red Deer at Edmonton
Medicine Hat at Lethbridge
Vancouver at Kamloops
Victoria at Everett
Prince George at Kelowna
Portland at Seattle
Kootenay at Spokane
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In the BCHL, the Penticton Vees scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Spruce Kings 8-5 in Prince George, running their record winning streak to 42 games. The BCHL regular season concludes this weekend. The Vees will wrap it up tonight with another game in Prince George.

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.

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Lynn Loyns (Spokane, 1997-2001) was released by Villach (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had one goal and one assist in nine games for Villach this season.
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The WHL’s board of governors awarded hosting rights to the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup to the Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday following meetings in Calgary.
The Blades, an original in this league, have never won a league championship or a Memorial Cup. They were the host team for the 1989 Memorial Cup when they lost the final 4-3 to the Swift Current Broncos on an OT goal by Tim Tisdale.
In awarding the tournament to Saskatoon, the governors chose not to go with a bid from either the Kelowna Rockets or Red Deer Rebels.
Saskatoon’s Credit Union Centre seats 15,195.
Prospera Place in Kelowna has 6,007 seats, with room for 500 standees, and will be home to the 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects festivities, with the skills competition Jan. 31 and the game Feb. 1
Red Deer’s Enmax Centrium had 5,735 seats with standing room for 1,000. Red Deer, however, is prepared to increase capacity to 7,000 seats and to add corporate boxes.
Kelowna played host to the Memorial Cup in 2004. Red Deer has never held the Memorial Cup; in fact, the tournament hasn’t been held anywhere in Alberta since 1974.
So you take in all that information and you’re thinking: Money talks.
And you would be correct.
The economy is in the dumper and there isn’t yet any light on the horizon, and there are WHL teams in deep financial doo-doo (see: Broncos, Swift Current, who drew 1,866 to a 5-4 victory over the Prince George Cougars last night). So the more money generated by the Memorial Cup, the better for the small- and mid-market teams.
The scary thing about this is that it would seem that whenever Saskatoon or the Vancouver Giants, Canadian teams who play in large facilities, choose to bid, one of them will get it.
And that’s too bad for teams that are ensconced in smaller venues but such is the nature of this beast.
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Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix began his story with:
“WHL commissioner Ron Robison knew exactly what made Saskatoon a worthy recipient of hosting the 2013 Mastercard Memorial Cup.”
The complete story is right here.
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Doyle Potenteau of the Kelowna Daily Courier began his story like this:
“Money talks. That was the underlying message on Wednesday when the Saskatoon Blades were awarded the hosting rights for the 2013 Memorial Cup.”
His complete story should be right here sometime today.
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Here’s how Greg Meachem, the sports editor of the Red Deer Advocate, began his story:
“Perhaps, just perhaps, the Red Deer Rebels bid never stood a chance.”
Sometime today that story should be posted right here.
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It was mentioned here Wednesday that the Prince George Cougars had added F Austin Daae, an 18-year-old from Estevan, Sask., to their roster. It also was mentioned that Austin isn’t believed to be related to Christine Daae. . . . Well, it turns out that he is related to Chrissy, who happens to be his mother. . . . I now am waiting to learn whether Chrissy is able to sing ‘Think of Me.’
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It also was mentioned here Wednesday that an announcement was imminent from the WHL regarding the use of video to explain some suspensions.
That announcement, I’m told, is likely to come today.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes have dealt F Matt Marantz to the Regina Pats in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft.
The Hurricanes had given up a fourth-round 2012 pick to get Marantz, who is from Calgary, from the Spokane Chiefs on Sept. 29. Marantz had five assists in six games with Lethbridge.
Marantz’s departure left the Hurricanes with four 20-year-olds -- F Cam Braes, F Austin Fyten, F Brody Sutter and G Damien Ketlo. However, Fyten is out long term with a knee injury so another decision won’t be needed until he returns.
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The 20-year-old deadline arrives this afternoon with teams (well, most of them) having to declare a maximum of three such players.
The Saskatoon Blades are carrying four 20-year-olds but aren’t required to declare three until sometime next week. That’s because F Darian Dziurzynski didn’t arrive back from pro camp until last week, after which a team is given 14 days to trim its roster if it has more than three 20-year-olds.
The Victoria Royals have released G Braden Gamble, 20, so he will be available in today’s draft. He had a 6.22 GAA and a .816 save percentage in six games this season after going 3.54 and 3.86 in 19 games with the Chilliwack Bruins last season. The Royals have chosen to go with Keith Hamilton, 19, and Jared Rathjen, 17.
Dropping Gamble leaves the Royals with two 20-year-olds, which would seem to indicate that Victoria GM/head coach Marc Habscheid will be adding a player today.
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The photo at the top of this entry is the cover of the newest edition of DubNation.
If you go to DubNation’s link over their on the right, you should be able to click on it and download this season’s first issue.
It includes, among other things, an interview with Jeff Chynoweth, the GM and head coach of the defending-champion Kootenay Ice; a look at the young defencemen with the Kelowna Rockets; a look back at the Billings Bighorns; and, a piece remembering Brad McCrimmon.
Enjoy!
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JUST NOTES: D Joshua Smith of the Prince George Cougars had his suspension set at four games on Wednesday. The WHL website had him out with a ‘tbd’ suspension following a kneeing major and game misconduct in a game against the Warriors in Moose Jaw on Monday. . . . The Portland Winterhawks have moved a Nov. 12 game with the Spokane Chiefs to the Rose Garden. Game time remains at 5 p.m. With the NBA having cancelled the first two weeks of its regular season, that date came open in the Rose Garden. The same teams play the previous night in the Rose Garden, at 7 p.m. . . . F Emerson Etem is the CHL’s player of the week. He had six goals and an assist in three games last week. . . .
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SOME WEDNESDAY HIGHLIGHTS:
In Cranbrook, the Edmonton Oil Kings took apart the defending-champion Kootenay Ice to the tune of 6-1. . . . The Oil Kings (6-2-1-1) are in first place — they lead the Central Division and the Eastern Conference — for the first time in franchise history. . . . The Ice got two goals from F Curtis Lazar, the second overall pick in the 2010 bantam draft. He’s got three goals this season. . . . Edmonton F Dylan Wruck had three assists. . . . The Oil Kings went 4-1 on their road swing, winning in Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Lethbridge and Cranbrook. . . .
In Red Deer, the Rebels, no doubt disappointed at not being named the host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup, beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes, 4-1. . . . The Hurricanes have lost six in a row. . . . The Hurricanes had F Reid Duke, the fifth overall pick in the 2011 bantam draft, in their lineup. Duke is from Calgary. . . .
In Calgary, the Regina Pats erased a late 3-1 defict and beat the Hitmen 4-3 in a shootout. . . . Regina F Jordan Weal scored at 17:50 of the third period and F Dyson Stevenson, with G Matt Hewitt on the bench for the extra attacker, tied it with 51 seconds to play. . . . Regina now is 6-2-0. . . . Calgary G Chris Driedger, who was acquired from the Tri-City Americans over the summer, made his first appearance with the Hitmen. He stopped 20 shots through OT, then was beaten by Weal and F Morgan Klimchuk in the shootout. . . . Driedger had been slowed by a high ankle sprain (aka lower body injury). . . .
In Swift Current, F Brad Hoban scored this third goal of the game at 19:22 of the third period to break a 4-4 tie and give the Broncos a 5-4 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . Hoban has four goals this season. . . . The Broncos were 3-for-7 on the PP. . . . D Martin Marincin had a goal and two assists for the Cougars. . . . F Adam Lowry and F Taylor Vause did the same for the Broncos. . . . The Cougars went 2-4-0 in their East Division swing. They next play Saturday in Kamloops. The Cougars left for Kamloops right after last night’s game; the Blazers leave today for Portland where they will play the Winterhawks on Friday night. . . .
In Kelowna, the Medicine Hat Tigers’ two Cy Young candidates continued to roll in a 4-2 victory over the Rockets. . . . F Hunter Shinkaruk scored three times for the Tigers; he has seven this season. F Emerson Etem added his 13th goal and two assists. . . . Shinkaruk has zero assists to go with his seven goals; Etem is 13-4 in eight games. . . . The Rockets have lost three in a row after opening with three victories. . . . The Tigers spent a week in B.C., and finished 4-1-0. They now go home for five in a row. . . . As the Tigers were getting ready to leave Kamloops after a 5-4 victory Monday afternoon, the legendary Bob Ridley, the club’s bus driver and play-by-play voice, was spotted hustling out of the press box. When it was suggested that the way Etem was playing, he likely could drive the bus, too, Ridley didn’t disagree. . . . The Tigers swept the three star awards — in order, Etem, Shinkaruk and G Tyler Bunz — something that doesn’t happen all that often in Kelowna. . . .
In Spokane, the Chiefs scored the game’s last three goals and beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, 4-3. . . . F Darren Kramer tied the score at 18:33 of the second period and F Dominik Uher won it at 16:18 of the third. . . . Spokane G Luke Lee-Knight — you should check him out on Twitter — stopped 20 shots in his second WHL appearance. . . . This was Brandon’s first game on a U.S. tour. . . . Kramer, who had seven goals in 68 games last season, has five in five outings this time around. . . .
In Kennewick, Wash., G Ty Rimmer stopped 29 shots to help the Tri-City Americans to a 2-1 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . F Brendan Shinnimin’s first goal of the season, a shorthanded effort at 19:31 of the second, gave the home boys a 2-0 lead. . . . F Shayne Danyluk spoiled Rimmer’s shutout bid at 17:51 of the third. . . . The Americans have won three in a row and are 4-0 at home. . . . The Raiders, winless in their last seven trips to the Toyota Center, are 2-2 in their U.S. swing.
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Yesterday, we provided a link to a story that took you inside the locker-room of the Boston Red Sox as their season imploded. Today, we provide a look at another angle to that story, this one from veteran U.S. broadcaster Keith Olbermann, who just happens to be friends with Theo Epstein and Terry Francona.
That piece is right here.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

The Swift Current Broncos have sold fewer than 1,500 season tickets, after reaching more than 1,700 last season. 

And you wonder just how long the Broncos can survive, what with expenses continuing to rise across the WHL.

“I’m not sure that there’s a team out there that’s been able to cut costs,” Al Stewart, the chairman of the organization’s board of directors, told Matthew Liebenberg of the Prairie Post. “So as the budgets continue to rise we need to continue to generate higher and higher levels of income and our single biggest lever to income is season tickets and walk-up tickets. . . .

“We have fantastic fans here. On an average night more than 10 per cent of the people of Swift Current come to a hockey game. No other team could brag about that number. The problem that we have is that we have great fans, we just don’t have enough of them.”

The Broncos will hold their annual general meeting on Wednesday.

Liebenberg’s complete story is right here.

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The Spokane Chiefs didn’t take long to get down to three 20-year-olds following the return of F Darren Kramer from the camp of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. On Thursday, the Chiefs dealt F Matt Marantz to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a fourth-round selection in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . Marantz, who is from Calgary, had 42 points, incouding 20 goals, in 68 games with the Chiefs last season. . . . The Chiefs now have Kramer, F Steven Kuhn and D Corbin Baldwin as their three 20-year-olds. . . . Spokane is carrying 24 players, including three goaltenders and 12 forwards.

Meanwhile, Marantz becomes the fifth 20-year-old on the Hurricanes’ roster, although F Austin Fyten (knee) will be out indefinitely and could end up on the long-term injury list. Apparently, more will be known next week.

But the Hurricanes also have F Cam Braes, the recently named team captain, F Brody Sutter and G Damien Ketlo, who was acquired from the Regina Pats a couple of weeks ago.

WHL teams have until Oct. 13 to get down to a maximum of three 20-year-olds.

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The Seattle Thunderbirds have acquired D Braeden (Bunny) Laroque, 19, from the Edmonton Oil Kings in exchange for a 2012 bantam draft pick. Neither team disclosed specifics involving the draft pick. Laroque, from Saskatoon, is into his third WHL season. He had six points and 32 penalty minutes in 54 games with Edmonton last season. Edmonton selected him in the fifth round of the 2007 bantam draft. . . . It was interesting that Edmonton players were tweeting their farewells to Laroque about five hours before either team announced the trade.

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Esther Madziya is the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ new communications and public relations manager. She takes over from Ryan Ohashi effective Oct. 1, with Ohashi moving north to join the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Madziya has been working at CJOC 94.1 as half of a morning show — Mark and Esther in the Mornings. . . . She also has worked in the electronic media in Saskatoon where she covered tthe Blades.

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JUST NOTES: F Casey Pierro-Zabotel, who won the WHL’s 2008-09 scoring title, was traded Thursday by the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers to the Bakersfield Condors for future considerations. He is under contract to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who selected him in the third round of the NHL’s 2007 draft. Last season, he had 34 points, 14 of them goals, in 42 games with Wheeling. He also had 20 points in 25 games with the Cincinnati Cyclones after being loaned to them by the Nailers. . . . The Condors also have signed F Thomas Frazee, who concluded his WHL career last season with the Kamloops Blazers. Frazee had committed to the U of Calgary Dinos but obviously has decided to forego that at least for now. . . .

There are a couple of important NHL deadlines approaching. NHL teams have until Saturday, 5 p.m. ET, to sign junior-aged players who were drafted in the fourth round or later, otherwise those players can’t play in the NHL. The deadline for those players selected in Rounds 1, 2 and 3 is Tuesday, 5 p.m. ET. . . .
It appears more and more likely that the Portland Winterhawks won’t get D Joe Morrow back, at least not for a while. Morrow, 19, has signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins and reportedly has had a fine training camp. The Penguins also are missing veteran D Brooks Orpik, who is recovering from offseason abdominal surgery and Morrow could help fill that hole, at least in the short term. . . . Shawn Mullin, the radio voice of the Swift Current Broncos, reports that “F Dillon Wagner isn't with the team as he sustained a knee injury on Wednesday. No word of severity yet.” The Broncos are in Brandon tonight and Moose Jaw on Saturday. . . . The Medicine Hat Tigers have returned F Gavin Broadhead, 16, to the midget AAA Tigers. He was a fourth-round pick in the 2010 bantam draft. His father, Curt, also played for the Tigers (1977-81).

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If you have been following the attempt by Tom Gaglardi, the majority owner of the Kamloops Blazers, to purchase the NHL’s Dallas Stars, you may be wondering how a team from Texas ends up in a bankruptcy court in Delaware.

Steven Church and Dawn McCarty of Bloomberg Businessweek explain it all right here.

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F Travis Ewanyk of the Edmonton Oil Kings underwent shoulder surgery on Thursday morning. Shortly thereafter, he tweeted: “Surgery went well. Now the work begins to get back on the ice and be at 100% as soon as possible.”

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It is looking more and more as though F Brett Connolly of the Prince George Cougars will open the NHL season with the Tampa Bay Lightning. After all, he has been playing on a line with Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis. On top of which, Connolly scored twice on Thursday night as the Lightning beat the host Montreal Canadiens, 4-0.

First, however, Connolly is going to have to visit his favourite tailor.

Why?

Well, here’s a tweet from him right after Thursday’s game:

 “Great game at the bell center. Even better prank the boys pulled. Cut the legs right off my dress pants. Nothing you can do but laugh.”

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Today’s good read comes from Brett Popplewell, who tells the Derek Boogaard story for Sportsnet Magazine, which hit shelves this week.

Pour yourself a cup of coffee, click right here and be prepared for an engrossing and sad, sad story.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Sunday . . .

WILLIAM WRENN

ON THE ICE SUNDAY:
In Portland, the Winterhawks erased a 1-0 deficit and beat the Spokane Chiefs 2-1 in Game 2 of the Western Conference final. . . . The series is tied 1-1 with Games 3 and 4 in Spokane on Wednesday and Friday nights. Game 5 will be played Saturday at the Rose Garden in Portland. . . . F Matt Marantz gave the Chiefs a 1-0 lead at 17:49 of the first period, only to have D William Wrenn pull the Winterhawks even at 18:22. . . . That was Wrenn’s first playoff goal. He had two goals in 29 regular-season games after leaving Denver University and joining the Winterhawks in midseason. . . . Portland F Ryan Johansen broke the tie at 7:38 of the second period, via the PP. . . . The Winterhawks were 1-for-3 on the PP; the Chiefs were 0-for-2. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 34 shots, as did Spokane’s James Reid. . . . Attendance at the Rose Garden was 6,506. . . . Portland F Craig Cunningham, who was acquired from the Vancouver Giants during the season, played in the 70th playoff game of his career. Cunningham has played at least 10 playoff games in each of his five WHL season. Seventeen other players have played at least 70 WHL playoff games, led by F Shay Stephenson of the Red Deer Rebels (2000-04). He got into 87. In fact, six of the top 18 in that category played for the Rebels during that time. . . . This also was the first time in the last nine playoff meetings between these teams that the home team won. A year ago, they played a seven-game series in which the visitors won each game. The Chiefs opened this series with a 2-1 victory in Portland on Friday. . . .
“They had us on our heels at times,” Nachbaur said. “Whether that was their game or our game, you have to give them credit. When all is said and done it could have gone either way,” Chiefs head coach Don Nachbaur told Dave Trimmer of the Spokane Spokesman-Review. . . . Portland GM/head coach Mike Johnston, looking at Wrenn’s goal coming 33 seconds after Spokane scored, told Trimmer: “It was good to get that response goal, it was a key turning point in the game. They had just scored and you start to think, ‘Jeez, are we ever going to get one here?’ I liked our response and I thought we were good in the areas we had to be good.”
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SUNDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
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Drew Edwards of the Hamilton Spectator reports that at least some minor hockey organizers in that area are taking a serious look at concussions.
“All 244 players on the 14 teams of Hamilton Reps Hockey Club will be given a computerized neuro-cognitive test before the season and, should they suffer a head injury, be tested again,” Edwards writes. “Until their post-concussion test results resemble their pre-season baseline tests, players will not be allowed to return to action.”
It seems that the Guelph Minor Hockey Association also is on board and will test all 1,100 of its players.
That story is right here.
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After mention here a couple of days ago about Paul Kelly, the executive director of College Hockey Inc., taking some Division I coaches into Sherwood Park, Alta., for a camp, I got an email about a camp that was held in Penticton.
According to an emailer, the camp was held by the BCHL’s Penticton Vees.
“There were coaches from 11 Division 1 schools and the invitation-only camp had the top 80 bantam players from B.C. and Washington State. They put on a great presentation and Q and A session for players and parents, plus two days of games.”
Obviously, the NCAA versus CHL is going to be a big, big story. The WHL spent this weekend holding its annual camp in Anaheim, but I don’t recall the NCAA ever having this kind of a hockey presence in Western Canada.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
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