Friday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Karel Hromas (Everett, 2004-06) signed a one-year contract with Chomutov (Czech Republic 1.Liga). He had seven goals and four assists in 52 games for Sparta Prague (Czech Republic Extraliga) this season. . . .
D Justin Kurtz (Brandon, 1993-97) signed a one-year contract with the Black Wings Linz (Austria, Erste Bank Liga). He had seven goals and 33 assists in 48 games for the Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven (Germany 2.Bundesliga) this season.
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The WHL’s championship final opened in Portland on Friday night, with F Ty Rattie tipping in a shot on a PP just 55 seconds into OT to give the Winterhawks a 4-3 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . Rattie tipped in a shot by C Craig Cunningham after a faceoff in the Kootenay zone. The second assist went to D Derrick Pouliot, a 16-year-old who quarterbacks one of Portland’s PP units. He was the first overall pick in the 2009 bantam draft. . . . The Ice had its playoff winning streak snapped at 11 games, one shy of the WHL record. . . . Rattie has goals in three straight games. . . . Kootenay had a late PP after Portland F Brad Ross was penalized for high-sticking at 17:28 of the third. . . . Portland’s final PP came after Ice D James Martin went off for tripping at 19:04. He dumped Portland F Ryan Johansen. . . . Ice F Kevin King forced OT with an unassisted goal at 11:11 of the third period. The goal came moments after play was delayed while a broken pane of glass was replaced. . . . The game’s first five goals all came in the first period. . . . F Sven Bartschi scored Portland’s first two goals, with Ice D Hayden Rintoul scoring between those goals. . . . Ice F Joe Antilla tied it 2-2 at 17:50 of the first, with Portland F Nino Niederreiter giving his side a 3-2 lead with 3.9 seconds left in the first. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 39 shots, nine more than the Ice’s Nathan Lieuwen. . . . The Winterhawks were 1-for-6 on the PP; the Ice was 0-for-5. . . . The referees were Pat Smith and Derek Zalaski. . . . Attendance was 7,595. . . . Game 2 is scheduled for tonight in Portland. . . . The Ice remains without F Brock Montgomery (mononucleosis) remains out, while the Winterhawks are still without D Brett Ponich (knee) and F Oliver Gabriel (shoulder). Ponich is back skating but isn’t yet ready to return.
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FRIDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
Two minors:
Kootenay D Brayden McNabb
Portland F Tayler Jordan
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In Victoria, the Salmon Kings were laid to rest on Friday as RG Properties announced that it won’t operate the ECHL franchise next season. And, just like that, the franchise, which spent seven seasons in Victoria, is dead and buried.
RG Properties, which manages the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, owned the ECHL franchise. It announced Friday that it “has withdrawn from the League with the full approval of the ECHL Board of Governors.”
According to a Salmon Kings news release: “The withdrawal effectively ends the Salmon Kings organization. The players have been awarded free-agency, and given the opportunity to choose the future direction of their hockey careers.”
The focus now has shifted to the former Chilliwack Bruins franchise, which is soon to be renamed the Victoria Tide or something like that. Andrew A. Duffy of the Victoria Times Colonist has that story right here.
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“Forget hunting for steroids and performance-enhancing substances: This is the real issue. Even if its not as sexy or black-and-white moralistic,” writes Jeff Blair in The Globe and Mail. Yes, he’s writing about Dr. Charles Tator and others and the research they are doing on concussions. If you’re a parent, or if you are playing a contact sport, you should give this a read. It’s right here.
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Meanwhile, James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail sat down with Brian Levine, senior scientist at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest in Toronto, and talked about the work they are doing with the NHL alumni association. That interview is right here.
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F Adam Chorneyko (Kamloops, Lethbridge, Saskatoon, 2004-09) scored at 4:35 of the third OT on Thursday night in Loveland, Colo., giving the Colorado Eagles a 2-1 victory over the Rapid City Rush in the fifth-longest game in Central league history. . . . The Eagles hold a 3-1 lead the Turner Conference final 3-1 with Game 5 in Rapid City, S.D., tonight. . . . The New York Rangers have signed Czech F Roman Horak to a three-year NHL contract. Horak played the last two seasons with the Chilliwack Bruins. He had 78 points, including 26 goals, in 64 games this season. Horak, who turns 20 on May 21, was a fifth-round pick in the 2009 NHL draft. . . . Former WHL D and coach Mark Ferner has been named head of Canada West for the 2011 World Junior A Challenge. Ferner is in his fourth season as GM/head coach of the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers, who have a chance to win their third straight national title this weekend in Camrose, Alta. A host community for the 2011 WHC has yet to be announced. . . . Former WHLer Dalyn Flette was named the RBC Cup’s top goaltender and most valuable player on Friday in Camrose, Alta. Flette now plays for the host Camrose Kodiaks. . . .
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In the OHL, D Matt Petgrave scored early in the first OT period Friday, giving the visiting Owen Sound Attack a 6-5 victory over the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. Attendance was 4,053. . . . Mississauga holds a 2-1 lead in the championship final with Game 4 scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Owen Sound.
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A Friday morning tweet from Willy Palov of the Halifax ChronicleHerald: “Announcement coming on Monday at Lewiston Maneaics will move to Summerside, PEI.” . . .
That was followed by this from QMJHL_Fanhouse: “Lewiston to Summerside relocation rumors are heating up once again. Usually smoke leads to fire but we'll see.” . . .
However, Charles Reid of the Charlottetown Guardian reports that it isn’t that simple. His story is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME: Mel Pearson Jr., an assistant or associate coach for 23 seasons with the Michigan Wolverines, is the new head coach of the Michigan Tech Huskies. Pearson is a Michigan Tech alum. A native of Vancouver, Pearson is the son of the late Mel Pearson Sr., who played (1955-57) and coached the Flin Flon Bombers for two full seasons (1973-75) and part of one other (1975-76). . . . As expected, the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads have named Dominique Ducharme as their head coach. He spent the last three seasons as a head coach with the Montreal Junior.
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Tweet of the day, from @mpysyk03: Congrats to @backhandsauce07 for finally graduating high school! And also happy 25th birthday buddy! You did it!

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

Saturday . . .

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Jeremy Reich (Seattle, Swift Current, 1995-2000) signed a one-year contract with Ingolstadt (Germany DEL). He had 14 goals and nine assists in 72 games for the Providence Bruins (AHL) this season. Reich also was captain of the Bruins. Ingolstadt GM Jim Boni: "Jeremy has great character, is a very hard working player with leadership qualities. He is also a good skater, which makes him even more dangerous on the larger ice surfaces in Europe. He has put up good numbers, although he has rarely played on the power play. We are delighted to have Jeremy in the Panther family."
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The WHL’s bantam draft is set for Thursday in Calgary.
With the help of Tyler Neisz of Western Elite Hockey Prospects, we are providing a bit of advance coverage in the form of some of Western Elite Hockey Prospects’ rankings.
Today, here’s a look at WEHP’s top 15 defencemen:
1. Ryan Pilon, Warman SK, 6-1.5, 170
2. Brycen Martin, Calgary Bisons, 6-0, 155
3. Jordan Thomson, Southwest Cougars MB (midget AAA), 6-0, 167
4. Zach Gonek, St. Alberta AB, 6-1, 185
5. Aaron Irving, Southside Athletic Club, Edmonton, 6-0, 165
6. Joe Hicketts, Kamloops, 5-6, 169
7. Haydn Fleury, Notre Dame, 6-1, 175
8. Jordan Harris, Prince Albert, 6-1, 170
9. Riley Stadel, Cloverdale BC, 5-10, 158
10. Zach Patterson, Southside Athletic Club, Edmonton, 5-9.5, 153
11. Josh Thrower, Pursuit of Excellence, 5-11, 172
12. Brandon Hickey, Leduc AB, 5-11, 150
13. Griffin Mumby, Calgary Bronks, 5-11, 166
14. Shaun Dosanjh, Richmond (Seafair) BC, 6-0, 165
15. Kord Pankewicz (D/F), Leduc AB, 5-10, 155
(SOURCE: Western Elite Hockey Prospects — westernelitehockeyprospects.blogspot.com)
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In Victoria, the Anchorage Aces scored six straight goals and beat the Salmon Kings 6-2 on Saturday night to take a 3-0 lead in the ECHL’s best-of-seven Western Conference final. . . . The Aces get their first shot at wrapping it up on Monday in Victoria. . . . The Salmon Kings, who are being replaced in the B.C. capital by the WHL franchise formerly known as the Chilliwack Bruins, scored the games first goal but then gave up six in a row. . . . Attendance was 3,614. . . . The Aces won the first two games at home, scoring with nine seconds left in the third period take the opener 2-1 and then winning Game 2, 4-3, in OT. By the way, the winner in Game 2, originally credited to former Salmon Kings captain Wes Goldie, later was changed to F Chris Langkow (Spokane, Saskatoon, Everett, 2005-2010). Langkow added two more goals in Game 3.
Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist was at Game 3, and his story is right here.
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ON THE WHL ICE SATURDAY:
In Portland, F Sven Bartschi scored one goal and added two assists to help the Winterhawks to a 3-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Winterhawks lead the best-of-seven Western Conference final 3-2 with Game 6 in Spokane on Monday. A seventh game, if needed, would be played in Portland on Tuesday. . . . Spokane F Tyler Johnson opened the scoring just 59 seconds into the first period. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth all but shut the door after that. He was beaten by F Mitch Holmberg at 12:48 of the third but finished with 39 saves. . . . Bartschi tied the score at 19:27 of the second and drew assists on goals by F Ty Rattie, at 5:22 of the third, and F Craig Cunningham, at 11:47. . . . Spokane G James Reid stopped 40 shots. . . . Spokane was 0-for-1 on the PP; Portland was 0-for-2. . . . Attendance was 9,486. . . . Four of the five games have been decided by one goal — 2-1, 2-1, 3-2 and 3-2. . . . Spokane won Game 4, 8-3. . . . The Chiefs were without F Collin Valcourt, who drew a one-game suspension under supplemental discipline for an unpenalized hit on Portland D Tyler Wotherspoon during the third period of Game 4. Valcourt had a career-high four points in that game. He will be back for Game 6. . . . A couple of notes from the Chiefs after Game 4: F Matt Marantz scored 10 seconds into that game, setting a franchise record for fastest goal to start a game. The previous record was set by F Brad Schell in Portland on March 17, 2002. . . . As well, F Levko Koper played in his 60th playoff game, the most in Spokane franchise history. That is one more than F Derek Schutz (1995-2000). Including Game 5, Koper has appeared in 392 regular-season and playoff games for the Chiefs and only Schutz (411) appeared in more.Paul Danzer of The Columbian covered Game 5 and his story is right here.
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SATURDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
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Taking Note on Twitter