Drew Owsley (left) and Ty Rimmer will be changing uniforms.
(Photos courtesy Try-City Americans)

THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Geordie Wudrick (Swift Current, Kelowna, 2005-11) signed a tryout contract with Starbulls Rosenheim (Germany, 2.Bundesliga). He had 43 goals and 16 assists in 71 games for the Kelowna Rockets last season. The tryout contract runs through Sept.  30.
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The Tri-City Americans dealt at least in part with their 20-year-old situation and the Prince George Cougars landed a starting goaltender in a Thursday trade.
The Americans sent G Drew Owsley, 20, and a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2013 bantam draft to the Cougars for G Ty Rimmer, 19, and two draft picks — a third-rounder in 2012 and a fifth-rounder in 2013.
Rimmer was a 14th-round pick by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the 2007 bantam draft. He was dealt to the Cougars in October and proceeded to go 17-20-2, 3.29, .899 in what was his freshman WHL season.
Rimmer shared playing time in Prince George with James Priestner last season. Priestner, 20, was released by the Cougars at some point following the season.
Owsley, who was listed by the Americans in September 2007, played in 122 regular-season games with the Americans, going 76-33-4, with a 2.68 GAA and a .911 save percentage. Owsley is third on Tri-City’s career list in regular-season victories, GAA and shutouts, second in save percentage and sixth in games and minutes played. He holds the franchise career records for playoff games played, minutes played, victories, save percentage and shutouts.
The Americans now appear ready to open the season with Rimmer and the highly touted Eric Comrie, 16, as their goaltenders.
Owsley’s departure leaves the Americans still with five 20-year-olds on the roster — F Adam Hughesman, F Brendan Shinnimin, F Mason Wilgosh, D Matt MacKenzie and D Brock Sutherland.
In Prince George, Owsley joins F Spencer Asuchak and D Cody Carlson as the 20-year-olds.
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A snippet from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, who was at the Canadian junior team’s development camp in Edmonton on Thursday:
Prince George Cougars winger Brett Connolly, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s first-round pick in 2010, suffered the first injury of the week. Connolly, who played on last year’s national team, was taken hard into the boards by local prospect Duncan Siemens and hurt his leg.
“Talking to the doctor, it doesn’t look as bad as first thought. Just a bad bruise. Hopefully he’ll recover to play on the weekend,” said Hay, who laughed when asked if it was a leg problem. “Lower-body injury.” Siemens, one of the WHL’s toughest customers, got his stick in a bit before Connolly hit the boards. “Yeah, yeah, it was a penalty. He (Siemens) plays that way and has to, to be effective.”
Matty’s complete story — and there’s some good Tyler Bunz stuff here — is right here.
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Over the last few WHL seasons, it is fair to say that D Tyler Schmidt has been one of the league’s most under-rated players.
Schmidt, who played out his eligibility last season, his fifth with the Tri-City Americans, put up 19, 14, 41, 38 and 53 points from 2006-07 through last season. He also picked up 72, 129, 164, 119 and 159 penalty minutes.
At 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, he is an honest defenceman. Plays the same at home and on the road.
He has committed to attend the U of Manitoba and play for the Bisons, but now comes word that he also has agreed to an ATO with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.
The Bisons are heading overseas later this month for games in Italy, Austria and Germany.
Upon the Bisons’ return from Europe, Schmidt will go to camp with the Oilers.
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As of the close of business Wednesday, the Brandon Wheat Kings had sold 2,320 season tickets. Last season, they sold more than 3,100 and averaged about 4,300 fans per home game. According to a news release, an adult season ticket sells for $350 plus GST. That, the news release reads, “equates to a single-game ticket price of just over $10, which is still easily the most affordable ticket price in the WHL.” . . . The Calgary Hitmen have added veteran scout Ray Payne to their staff. He will work as their travelling scout, replacing Dan Bonar, who moved up to head scout after Brad Whelen left for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Payne has worked with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals. He also has worked with Hockey Canada. . . .
F Richard Vanderhoek, who was selected by the Kamloops Blazers in the sixth round of the 2006 bantam draft, has been traded by the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles to the Westside Warriors. Vanderhoek, 20, had 71 points in 55 games with the Eagles last season. He also played one game with the Vancouver Giants. In exchange, the Eagles received D Matt Cronin, 19, who has committed to Merrimack College for 2012-13. . . . D Nathan Deck (Vancouver, Prince Albert, 2005-11) has signed with the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder. He played out his junior eligibility with the Raiders last season, picking up 18 points in 60 games. The previous season, he put up 37 points in 72 games.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The AHL’s Portland Pirates have added John Slaney to their coaching staff. The Pirates are the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes. Slaney, 39, ended his playing career after spending last season with Plzen HC in the Czech Republic. . . . He will work alongside head coach Ray Edwards. . . .
Luke Strand has been added to the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat as an assistant coach. Abbotsford head coach Troy Ward worked with Strand for two seasons (2007-09) with the Houston Aeros. . . . Cail MacLean also is on the Heat’s staff as an assistant coach, with Jordan Sigalet as the goaltending coach. . . . For the last two seasons, Strand was head coach of the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. . . . The Heat is the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames. . . .
Former NHL D Jay Wells has signed on as an assistant coach with the OHL’s Barrie Colts. Wells takes over from Dave Bell, who now is the head coach of the Central league’s Quad City Mallards. . . . Wells will work alongside GM/head coach Dale Hawerchuk in Barrie. The two were teammates with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres. . . .
Jason Brooks, a former head coach with the OHL’s Guelph Storm, has signed on as an assistant coach with that league’s Niagara IceDogs. He replaces Mike Van Ryn, who now is an assistant coach with the AHL’s Houston Aeros. . . . Brooks will work with head coach Marty Williamson and assistant Billy Burke with the IceDogs. . . .
Vicky Sunohara, a seven-time world champion and three-time Olympian with Canada’s national team, is the new head coach of the U of Toronto Varsity Blues’ women’s hockey team. Sunohara, 41, has been working as the director of women’s hockey at The Hill Academy in Vaughan, Ont. With the Varsity Blues, she replaces Karen Hughes, who had been the coach for 18 seasons.
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There was a flash from the past in my inbox on Thursday morning -- an email (actually, two of them) from Dennis Ulmer, a proud father from Regina. It turns out both of his boys have signed on to play again in Europe.
Jason, 32, has signed a one-year deal with Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg of the German DEL. He already has played 348 DEL games, with 312 points, including 226 assists. He also played with Kassel and Hanover, before moving to Wolfsburg four years ago.
Meanwhile, his brother, Jeff, 34, has left the Swedish Elite Series (SEL) to sign a one-year deal with the DEG Metro Stars of the DEL. (The Metro Stars also signed F Ben Gordon, who played last season in the ECHL and AHL.)
In 2009-10, Jeff was the DEL’s leading scorer, picking up 74 points in 56 games with the Frankfurt Lions. He split last season with Metallurg Novokuznetsk (KHL) and Linköpings HC (SEL).
Gordon, 26, signed a one-year deal after playing last season with the ECHL’s Reading Royals. He also saw time with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.

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Thursday . . .

Defenceman Tyler Schmidt has scored the OT winner and the Tri-City Americans and their fans explode in joy.
(Photo by Doug Love / Tri-City Americans)

In Kennewick, Wash., D Tyler Schmidt scored at 2:32 of the second overtime period to give the host Tri-City Americans a 4-3 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . It was the night’s only WHL playoff game. . . . The series now is tied 2-2. Game 5 is Sunday in Kennewick with Game 6 in Spokane on Tuesday. . . . The Chiefs had won the previous two games in the series. . . . The goal was Schmidt’s first of these playoffs. He sat out Game 3 with a one-game suspension after taking a clipping major in Game 2. . . . “It felt good to get that overtime winner,” Schmidt told Dave Trimmer of the Spokane Spokesman-Review. “I’ve never had one before in my career. I got lucky at the end. We needed this win.” . . . The Americans had a glorious opportunity to end it at 18:36 of the first OT when F Brendan Shinnimin was awarded a penalty shot. Spokane G James Reid kept it going with a right pad save. . . . Spokane F Tyler Johnson forced OT with his second goal of the game, via the PP, at 12:17 of OT. . . . The Chiefs led this one 2-0 early in the second period, only to have the Americans score three goals before the period ended. . . . Reid finished with 46 saves, one more than Tri-City’s Drew Owsley. . . . Owsley set a franchise record with his 18th playoff victory, one more than Chet Pickard. . . . Attendance was 3,888.
---
THURSDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
One minor:
Spokane F Kenton Miller.
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The Portland Winterhawks are at home tonight with a 3-1 lead over the Kelowna Rockets. The Winterhawks also will welcome back F Brad Ross, who has served a three-game suspension for a charging major he took in Game 1. Kelowna F Zach Franko, who took that hit by Ross, was left with a broken nose and a concussion, and isn’t expected to play.
Meanwhile, the Red Deer Rebels and Medicine Hat Tigers don’t play again until Saturday. The Tigers will take a 3-1 edge into the next game, which is to be played in Red Deer. The Rebels were without G Darcy Kuemper (ankle) for Game 4 — Dawson Guhle stopped 19 shots in a 1-0 victory — and it isn’t known yet if he will be able to dress, or play, in Game 5. The Rebels are still alive, despite having scored only three goals in four games.
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The Kootenay Ice will spend the next few days enjoying what they have accomplished to this point in the WHL playoffs.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought we would have swept this series,” Ice president and general manager Jeff Chynoweth said via text shortly after his club had swept the highly favoured Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday night. “Having said that, in all my years with the Ice, that is probably as good a four-game stretch as we have ever had.
“We will enjoy it for a few days, rest up and heal a bit, and get ready for The Hat or Red Deer, because it will not get any easier from here on out.”
The Medicine Hat Tigers take a 3-1 lead into Red Deer for Game 5 with the Rebels on Saturday.
If you were wondering, the Ice was 2-5-1 against Red Deer during the regular season and 4-1-1 versus Medicine Hat.
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If you’re wondering why the Blades went out the way they did, perhaps you should look no further than two statistics.
The Blades scored five goals in the four games and went 0-for-16 on the PP.
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The NHL’s Los Angeles Kings assigned Saskatoon Blades F Brayden Schenn to the Manchester Monarchs, their AHL affiliate.
As Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times tweeted: “Kings decision to send Brayden Schenn to AHL is based on their desire that he not feel pressure to relace (Anze) Kopitar when he's different player.”
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JAY VARADY

Jay Varady, a long-time member of the Everett Silvertips’ coaching staff, is leaving the WHL. Varady, who has been with Everett through all eight of its seasons in the league, has stepped down as associate head coach to sign on as head coach of the Ducs d’Angers, a club that plays in Ligue Magnus, which is France’s top professional league.
Varady, 33, was an assistant coach with the Silvertips (2003-07), before being named associate head coach. He helped the Silvertips to a Western Conference championship and three U.S. Division titles. The team also was in the playoffs in each of his eight seasons there.
The Cahokia, IL native won a gold medal at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championships with USA Hockey as the team’s video co-ordinator.
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Jason Vondersmith of the Portland Tribune takes a look at Mike Johnston and Travis Green, the braintrust behind the success the Portland Winterhawks are enjoying. That story is right here.
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Willy Palov of the Halifax Chronicle Herald takes a look at the names being bandied about as at least four QMJHL teams look for head coaches. That piece is right here.
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Today’s good read comes from Pulitzer Prize-winner Buzz Bissinger, who writes about Tiger Woods. That piece is good and it’s right here.


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Taking Note on Twitter

Tri-City general manager Bob Tory helps Brian Williams
put on an Americans' jersey on Monday.
(Photo courtesy Tri-City Americans)

THE MacBETH REPORT:
G Brett Jaeger (Medicine Hat, Vancouver, Saskatoon, 2001-04) signed a one-year contract with Hvidovre (Denmark AL-Bank Liga). He had a 2.59 GAA and a .915 save percentage in 57 games with the Coventry Blaze (UK Elite) this season. . . .
F Petr Vala (Seattle, 1997-98) signed a tryout contract with Zell am See (Austria Nationalliga). He had seven goals and two assists in 35 games this season, split between Dukla Trencin and Zilinia (both Slovakia Extraliga). . . .
D Victor Bartley (Kamloops, Regina, 2003-09) signed a one-year contract with Djurgården Stockholm (Sweden Elitserien). He had 11 goals and 23 assists in 52 regular-season games and two goals and seven assists in 10 Elitserien Qualifying Series games with Rögle Ängelholm (Sweden Allsvenskan) this season; Rögle did not qualify for promotion to Elitserien. Djurgården's general manager, Janne Järlefelt, said when announcing the signing: "Bartley was perhaps the best Allsvenskan defenseman over the whole season. He is also young and we believe he can continue to develop with us in Djurgården Hockey. He is good on the power play, has a very good shot, and is a good skater."
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The WHL office finalized a pair of suspensions on Monday.
F Brad Ross of the Portland Winterhawks will sit for three games for the charging major he incurred for a hit on Kelowna Rockets F Zach Franko in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal on Thursday.
Ross sat out Game 2 in Portland on Sunday and will miss Games 3 and 4 in Kelowna tonight and Wednesday.
The teams are tied 1-1 going into tonight.
Franko hasn’t played since the first-period hit. He was left with at least a broken nose and an abrasion on his face. He also is believed to have a concussion.
Meanwhile, D Tyler Schmidt of the Tri-City Americans was hit with a one-game suspension for a clipping major he picked up in the third period of Game 2 of their series with the Spokane Chiefs on Sunday. Schmidt will sit out Game 3 tonight in Kennewick, Wash.
This series also is tied 1-1.
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The Tri-City Americans have signed another highly touted Californian.
F Brian Williams, who is from Claremont, Calif., was an eighth-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft.
Williams was the first native-Californian drafted by Tri-City since it took Jason Beeman in the second round in 2001. According to an Americans press released, Williams “was projected as a top five pick prior to the 2010 draft but fell after he expressed interest in pursuing an NCAA scholarship.”
The 5-foot-9, 160-pound Williams had 34 points in 34 games with the Los Angeles Selects U-16 club. He was a teammate with G Eric Comrie, who signed with the Americans on Thursday.
Williams has joined the Americans and will stay with them for the remainder of this season.
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F Tyler Pitlick of the Medicine Hat Tigers hasn’t played since suffering a broken ankle on March 1. He won’t play in the second round of the playoffs — the Tigers hold a 2-0 lead over the Red Deer Rebels — but he is making progress.
On Monday, after seeing a doctor, Pitlick tweeted: “Well I got the news I was hoping for I got rid of the crutches, doc wants me to lose the walking cast by the weekend #greatday"
The Rebels and Tigers are to meet in Game 3 tonight in Medicine Hat.
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F Linden Vey of the Medicine Hat Tigers is the WHL’s player of the week. He had nine points, including four goals, in three games, all of them victories. . . . Medicine Hat’s Tyler Bunz is the WHL nominee as the CHL’s goaltender of the week. He went 2-0 with a 0.50 GAA and a .986 save percentage. . . . Steve Papp, who is one of the WHL’s top referees, has been selected to work the RBC Cup in Camrose, Alta., from April 30 to May 8. The RBC Cup is the national junior A championship. Papp, a veteran WHL official, is certified as a level VI referee, which qualifies him to officiate at national and international championships.
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NHL Central Scouting released its final pre-draft rankings on Monday.
If you haven’t seen them yet, they’re right here.
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There has been an interesting debate going on in some areas of the Internet of late, all because of Mark Cuban, who owns the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and HDNet, for starters.
The other day, Cuban, on his blog, penned a piece that began this way:
“I’m going to make this short and sweet. In the year 2011, I’m not sure I have a need for beat writers from ESPN.com, Yahoo,  or any website for that matter to ever be in our locker room before or after a game.  I think we have finally reached a point where not only can we communicate any and all factual information from our players and team directly to our fans and customers as effectively as any big sports website, but I think we have also reached a point where our interests are no longer aligned. I think those websites have become the equivalent of paparazzi rather than reporters.”
That entry is right here.
On Monday, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com took Cuban to task. Berger’s piece is right here.

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Taking Note on Twitter