F Roman Tománek (Calgary, Seattle, 2004-06) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Gyergyói HK Gheorghieni (Romania, Erste Liga) after being released by Michalovce (Slovakia, 1. Liga). He was pointless in two games with Michalovce. . . .
D Colby Robak (Brandon, 2006-10) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Sport Vaasa (Finland, Liiga). Last season, the with the Stockton Heat (AHL), he had three goals and nine assists in 45 games. He was named the Man of the Year by the Heat for his outstanding contributions to the Stockton community and charitable organizations.
When a junior-aged hockey player gets traded, sometimes we are inclined to read about the transaction and then go on to the next one. But there is a lot that goes on when a player is moved from one team to another.
Earlier this week, the Portland Winterhawks traded F Ty Kolle, 18, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a fifth-round selection in the 2019 WHL bantam draft.
After the deal was done, Kolle’s father, Matt, took the time to visit the Winterhawks Booster Club’s Facebook page and leave the following message, which might provide some insight (a tip of the fedora to Pat Nolan in Kanagawa, Japan, for the lead):
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To Portland Winterhawks, Billets, Fans:
I have been very quiet during Ty’s time in Portland, but I want to ensure the Kolle family’s appreciation is heard.
As a family, the Kolles would like to thank you all.
Mike Johnston and staff have done nothing short of providing Ty a first-class opportunity in hockey. In conversation with Ty as he drove towards Lethbridge, he spoke of how much respect he has for Mike. We thank Mike and we assure Portland you are in great hands.
As far as billets go, Vandy, you made Ty a part of your family and your family went far and above what a billet family needs to do. Your family has a special place in our hearts and we look forward to keeping things going in the future.
Dante (Giannuzi), enjoy these folks as as they will ensure you are in the best environment to succeed.
To the fans of Portland, all I can say is “Wow!” . . . first class and big league. I truly enjoy the passion of the sport of hockey and coming to Portland to watch my son play was a first-class experience. It was a big-league experience. The passion, flair and true support for the team by the fans is at another level.
Overall, the Portland experience is something Ty and family will relish forever.
In talking with Ty, he is excited about the opportunity in front of him in Lethbridge. He is thankful for Portland for enabling the opportunity and Lethbridge for providing it. He is appreciative of the opportunity and more than excited to get started.
He drove 13 hours to ensure he is in the lineup to play the game he loves on Friday night.
Again, from Ty’s family, we thank you.
Cheers,
Matt Kolle
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If you’re wondering, Pat Nolan wasn’t able to watch the Winterhawks’ 5-3 victory over the host Kamloops Blazers on Friday. He said he was driving from Sagamihara to Osaka for a bowling tournament. However, the Winterhawks are to meet the Silvertips in Everett tonight and Nolan said he’ll be watching. As he pointed out, “Saturday night’s game starts at 11 a.m. Sunday here.)
A new feature popped up on the WHL website this week — at least, it was new to me. Headlined WHL XX Journal: Thanksgiving thoughts & gravy for the Raiders, it was written by Tyler Rocca, the WHL’s senior manager, communications, and is loaded with information and tidbits. . . . You will find it right here.
Meanwhile, the SJHL has taken a similar approach with a piece written by Dave Leaderhouse that was posted on its website on Friday. This one is headlined ‘Light schedule leads into short break for Thanksgiving holiday weekend.’ Like the piece on the WHL site, it’s full of tidbits, and it’s all right here.
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Former NHL D Chris Pronger will be the guest speaker at the 10th annual Off The Leash Luncheon in support of the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey program on Nov. 1. The fun is scheduled for Prairieland Park in Saskatoon and it all gets started at 11:30 a.m. . . . There’ll be lots of laughs, too, because comedian Kelly Taylor will be the emcee. . . . Individual tickets are $125, and Friends of the Dogs sponsorship packages, each of which includes a full table, are $1,250. . . . Tickets and sponsorships may be purchased through PICATIC at : http://www.picatic.com/offtheleashluncheon2018. . . . For more information, call Matt at 306-222-7475. . . .
If you aren’t aware, there is much excitement in Saskatoon this weekend as the Huskies women’s team opened the new arena — Merlis Belsher Place — with a 1-0 victory over the Alberta Pandas. G Jessica Vance stopped 24 shots to record the shutout. She is the daughter of Liane and Bruce Vance. Bruce, who now works for the City of Prince Albert, spent more than 20 years working in the WHL, with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Prince Albert Raiders. He is a member of the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame. . . . The U of S men’s hockey team is home to the Calgary Dinos next weekend.
Ron Kraft, who spent one season (1997-98) as an assistant coach with the Regina Pats, now is coaching a pee wee team in Houston, Texas. He has his team in Red Deer this weekend for a Thanksgiving tournament. Sheldon Spackman of rdnewsnow.com has more right here.
FRIDAY NIGHT NOTES:
The Portland Winterhawks erased a 3-2 deficit with two goals in the opening 1:36 of the 
third period and went on to a 5-3 victory over the Blazers in Kamloops. . . . The Winterhawks, who have won three straight, had beaten the host Blazers, 7-3, on Wednesday night. . . . Kamloops has lost four straight. . . . Last night, each team scored twice on the PP. . . . F Joachim Blichfeld scored twice — once on the PP and once shorthanded — and added an assist for Portland. . . . Blichfeld has six goals and seven assists in six games. . . . Kamloops F Jermaine Loewen was tossed with a headshot major at 10:12 of the first period for a hit on Portland D Matthew Quigley, who left the game and didn’t return. The Winterhawks scored twice in the final 30 seconds of Loewen’s major. . . . Loewen could end up being suspended before the Blazers entertain the unbeaten Victoria Royals tonight. . . . Portland F Ryan Hughes scored once in his return to Portland’s lineup. He missed the first five games with an ankle or foot injury, one that at one time required a walking boot. . . . If last night was any indication, both teams have some work to do in the discipline department. . . . The Blazers and Winterhawks will complete their regular-season series in Portland on Oct. 27 and 28. . . .
D Josh Brook scored his third goal of the season 16 seconds into OT to give the host 
Moose Jaw Warriors a 3-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Brook also had two assists. . . . D Jett Woo was in Moose Jaw’s lineup for the first time this season. A second-round selection by the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL’s 2018 draft, he had what was reported was a minor knee procedure early in September. As a result, he missed Vancouver’s training camp and also sat out Moose Jaw’s. . . . This was the third meeting of the young season between these teams. Brandon is 2-0-1 in the three games; Moose Jaw is 1-2-0. . . .
F Jake Leschyshyn scored twice to lead the Regina Pats to a 6-5 victory over the Broncos in Swift Current. . . . Leschyshyn has three goals. . . . The outcome left the Pats at 1-4-0, while the Broncos slipped to 0-5-0. . . . D Aaron Hyman and F Nick Henry each had three assists for Regina. . . . According to the online scoresheet, Swift Current D Matthew Stanley was involved in a one-man fight at 5:48 of the third period. Earlier in the week, D Cade McNelly of the Seattle Thunderbirds drew a three-game suspension for just such a penalty during a game in Portland on Sept. 29.
G Dorrin Luding stopped 42 shots to help the visiting Saskatoon Blades to a 3-0 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . Luding was making his first start of the season. This was his second career shutout, but his first with the Blades. He had one shutout in 11 appearances last season with the Everett Silvertips. . . . F Kirby Dach’s fifth goal of the season, at 7:35 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . D Dawson Davidson of the Blades recorded his 100th regular-season when he got in on his club’s third goal. . . .
F Connor Dewar’s fourth goal of the season, 17 seconds into OT, gave the host Everett 
Silvertips a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . G Cole Schwebius stopped 39 shots for the Thunderbirds in first WHL start. Schwebius, 17, was a 10th-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . G Liam Hughes, the Thunderbirds’ No. 1 guy, is sidelined with an undisclosed injury. With Hughes out, Seattle had Eric Ward, 17, on the bench in a backup role. . . . Seattle F Dillon Hamaliuk (4) tied the game at 19:03 of the third period. He has goals in four straight games. . . . Everett F Sean Richards took a headshot major and game misconduct at 14:02 of the third period. That was for a hit on Seattle D Reece Harsch, who needed on-ice help from trainer Phil Varney and didn’t return to the game and is doubtful for a game tonight against the visiting Kelowna Rockets. . . .
F Peyton Krebs scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Kootenay Ice a 5-4 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . F Quinn Benjafield (2) of the Oil Kings forced OT with a goal at 19:55 of the third period. . . .
The Prince Albert Raiders ran their season-opening record to 7-0-0 with a 5-1 victory over the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. . . . F Noah Gregor scored his first two goals of the season and added an assist. Both of his goals were shorthanded, the last one into an empty net. . . . Prince Albert got 39 stops from G Ian Scott. . . . The Raiders, who opened the 1985-86 season with eight straight victories, visit the Red Deer Rebels tonight. . . .
F Josh Williams scored the only goal of a shootout to give the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers a 3-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. . . . The Tigers (2-4-1) had lost their previous five games. . . . F Riley Woods (5) pulled Spokane into a 2-2 tie at 18:55 of the third period. . . . Medicine Hat G Mads Søgaard blocked 39 shots through OT and then was perfect in the three-round shootout. . . .
G David Tendeck turned aside 24 shots as the Vancouver Giants opened a weekend doubleheader with a 3-0 victory over the Cougars in Prince George. . . . That was Tendeck’s fourth career shutout. . . . The teams played through two scoreless periods before F Owen Hardy (2) scored at 5:11 of the third period. . . .
The Victoria Royals built up a 4-1 lead and hung on for a 4-3 victory over the Rockets in 
Kelowna. . . . F D-Jay Jerome (3) gave the Royals a 4-1 lead at 10:18 of the second period, on the PP. . . . The Rockets got close on goals from D Lassi Thomson (3) and F Leif Mattson (6), the latter at 12:31 of the third, but weren’t able to equalize. . . . Victoria now is 5-0-0 as it travels to Kamloops for a Saturday night date with the Blazers. . . . F Liam Kindree scored once in his return to the Kelowna lineup after missing the first six games. He was injured during an exhibition game in Kelowna. . . . The Rockets (1-6-0) visit the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent, Wash., tonight.
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Blades guaranteed a profit of $3.5 million. When all was said and done, the event fell a bit short of that, so the Saskatchewan government, which had agreed to underwrite the guarantee, shelled out $668,000 to the CHL. The 2013 tournament drew 82,503 fans to nine games, at the time the fourth-highest attendance in the event’s history.
for a fifth-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft. Kolle, from Kamloops, was scratched on Wednesday night when the Winterhawks went on to score a 7-3 victory over the Blazers in Kamloops. . . . Kolle was picked by Portland in the fourth round of the 2015 bantam draft. In 77 regular-season games with the Winterhawks, he has seven goals and 11 assists. Last season, he put up seven goals and seven assists in 60 games. . . . Kolle could make his Lethbridge debut tonight (Friday) against the visiting Prince Albert Raiders.
with the Hitmen last season. This season, he was pointless in two games. He joined the Hitmen in late October from the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits. Prior to then, he had been committed to attend the U of Vermont and play for the Catamounts. . . . Armitage will turn 19 on Oct. 30. He got into 19 games with the Hitmen last season (4-7-1, 3.55, .890) as a freshman, and had played in one game this season (0-1-0, 5.05, .839). The Spokane Chiefs selected him in the fourth round of the WHL’s 2014 bantam draft. . . . Armitage’s departure leaves the Hitmen with two goaltenders — Carl Stankowski, 18, and freshman Jack McNaughton, who turns 17 on Oct. 30. The move also would appear to signal that the Hitmen are feeling good about Stankowski’s health. Then with the Seattle Thunderbirds, he sat out all of last season due to injury and health issues.
CHL’s 2017 import draft. The move allows the Ice to keep Slovakian D Martin Bodak, 20, and Finnish D Valterri Kakkonen, who is in his first WHL season. . . . Kohler, 18, is from Biel, Switzerland. He had eight goals and 11 assists in 55 games as a freshman last season. He had one assist in one game this season. . . . Kohler has cleared the 48-hour import waivers and is expected to return to Switzerland and play for Biel-Bienne in the Elite Jr. A League. He had eight goals and 42 assists in 43 games there in 2016-17.
him in the fourth round of the NHL’s 2016 NHL draft and have signed him to a three-year entry-level deal. . . . Gregor, from Beaumont, Alta., had been in camp with the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. . . . The Raiders acquired Gregor from the Victoria Royals on July 25 for a conditional third-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft and a conditional fourth-rounder in 2021. The conditions are triggered by point totals and games played. The Royals could end up with none, one or both picks depending on how Gregor does this season. . . . The Royals selected him in the third round of the 2013 bantam draft, later dealt him to the Warriors, then re-acquired him. . . . He split last season between Victoria and the Moose Jaw Warriors, totalling 29 goals and 36 assists in 60 games. In 194 career regular-season games, he has 205 points, including 86 goals. . . . Gregor also has played in 28 playoff games, recording 11 goals and 12 assists. . . . The Raiders open a Central Division swing tonight (Wednesday) in Medicine Hat and should have Gregor in their lineup against the Tigers.
immigration-related stuff, then rejoin the Broncos so that their medical team can check him over and determine how close he is to returning to action.
acquired D Ty Ettinger, 18, from the Brandon Wheat Kings on Monday, added D Ryan Pouliot, 20, off waivers.
period deficits en route to a 5-4 victory over the Saskatoon Blades. . . . The Blades have lost two in a row after opening the season with three straight victories. . . . The game featured two PP goals by each team. . . . F Jeff de Wit scored twice for Red Deer. He’s got five goals in six games; he finished last season with 11 goals in 43 games split among the Regina Pats, Kootenay Ice and Victoria Royals. . . . Red Deer D Alex Alexeyev had two assists to run his point streak to six games.
put on a tremendous show, icing the cake by winning the whole thing. . . . Who wouldn’t want to spend 10 days in May in Kelowna? . . . Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ president and general manager, is the chairman of the WHL’s board of governors. He is the most-powerful person in the WHL and don’t discount that as a factor. . . . Including standing room, Prospera Place, which opened in 1999, has room for 6,286 fans. . . . The Rockets are off to a slow start (1-4-0) but history shows that they are more likely to be a contender than a pretender come next season. . . . Odds: 1-1.
The Hurricanes, under general manager Peter Anholt and Terry Huisman, the general manager of business operations, have made a remarkable turnaround. After the 2014-15 season, the Hurricanes had missed the playoffs for six straight seasons and lost more than $1.25 million. Ron Robison, the WHL commissioner, was urging shareholders to sell the franchise to private interests. Today, the Hurricanes have reached two straight Eastern Conference finals and shown more than $1 million in profits over those two seasons. . . . On the ice, the future looks bright, led by forwards Dylan Cozens and Logan Barlage, two of the WHL’s best young players. . . . The ENMAX Centre, which opened in 1974 but has undergone recent upgrades, has a capacity of 5,479. . . . Odds: 2-1.
them three Memorial Cup titles in four years. The 2020 tournament will be the 25th anniversary of the third one. . . . Tom Gaglardi and Co. are into their 11th season as the franchise’s owners and have yet to show they can build a winner. That won’t help their cause with the BoG. Neither will the ham-handed fashion in which the retirement/dismissal of Don Hay was handled in May. . . . The Blazers’ new braintrust — headed up by GM Matt Bardsley and head coach Serge Lajoie — hasn’t had time to prove itself. . . . Kamloops, the Tournament Capital of Canada, has a wonderful history of playing host to events like the Brier, the Canada Games and the IIHF World Women’s Championship, something that should hold the bid in good stead. . . . The Sandman Centre had 5,464 seats before some were removed in order to put loge seating in the upper deck on one side. That new seating, in itself, will be an attraction. Unfortunately, the Sandman Centre doesn’t include an on-site restaurant like Prospera Place and the ENMAX Centre. . . . Odds: 5-1.
again on Wednesday in Calgary. When the WHL’s board of governors votes on a host team/city for the 2020 Memorial Cup, it could easily decide to go with the bid that includes the highest guaranteed profit — teams all get a cut of the profit. If it comes to that, Kamloops may have an edge because the Gaglardi family has more chips than the Kelowna or Lethbridge owners. . . . Earlier this year, Canadian Business estimated the net worth of the Gaglardi family, through Northland Properties, at $3.92 billion, up 10.4 per cent from 2017. . . . Tom Gaglardi owns the NHL’s Dallas Stars and is the majority owner of the Blazers. Might he be interested in attempting to buy the hosting rights for the 2020 Memorial Cup?
Monday that they will be getting back defencemen Dylan MacPherson and Linus Nassen. Both players had been in camp with the NHL’s Florida Panthers before being assigned to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. . . . MacPherson, from Redcliff, Alta., has played two seasons with the Tigers, putting up four goals and 18 assists in 124 regular-season games. . . . Nassen, from Sweden, was a third-round pick by the Panthers in the NHL’s 2016 draft. Last season, his first in the WHL, had had one goal and 25 assists in 44 games. . . . With those two in town, the Tigers have four 20-year-olds on their roster, the other two being F Ryan Jevne and D Dalton Gally. . . . As an import, Nassen would be a two-spotter should the Tigers keep him. His arrival won’t affect the Tigers’ import situation as freshmen G Mads Sogaard is their only other European player.
Barberis and D Joel Sexsmith to undisclosed injuries, have acquired D Ty Ettinger from the Brandon Wheat Kings for a seventh-round selection in the WHL’s 2020 bantam draft. . . . Steve Ewen of Postmedia reports that Dhaliwal, 19, who has a history of shoulder problems, could be out for six weeks. . . . Ettinger, 18, is from Ardrossan, Alta. He was dropped from Brandon’s roster late last week. The Wheat Kings selected him in the fifth round of the 2015 bantam draft. . . . Last season, as a freshman, he had two goals and five assists in 45 games with Brandon. This season, he was pointless in one game. . . . As Ewen tweeted: “You’d think the Giants would have good intel on Ettinger, since scouting director Daryl Anning is the father of Wheat Kings head coach David Anning.” . . . Ettinger skated with the Giants on Monday afternoon and could make his debut with Vancouver on Wednesday against the Rockets in Kelowna.
decision to the host Oshawa Generals on Sunday night. According to the North Bay Nugget, Butler, the Battalion’s director of hockey operations and head coach since 1998-99, said before the game that he plans to take time “to try to get some things sorted out.” Butler, 62, apparently met with Oshawa’s club doctor before deciding not to go behind the bench on Sunday. . . . Butler was behind the bench on Saturday night for a 6-1 loss to the Niagara IceDogs in St. Catharines. . . . In Butler’s absence, assistant coaches Scott Wray and Adam Dennis ran the bench. . . . Butler is the fourth-winningest head coaching OHL history, his 703 victories trailing Brian Kilrea (1,194), Bert Templeton (907) and Dale Hunter (728). . . . Butler spent one season (1996-97) in the WHL, as the head coach of the Prince George Cougars.
I referred to as “old-fashioned news releases.”
Jaw Warriors, winning 2-1 in the Wheat City and 4-2 on the road. . . . G Jiri Patera, a 19-year-old rookie from Praha, Czech Republic, recorded both victories. A sixth-round pick by the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL’s 2017 draft, Patera stopped 56 of 59 shots in the two victories. . . . Patera is the first European goaltender to play for the Wheat Kings in the franchise’s 52-year history. . . . The Wheat Kings have had at least one American-born goaltender in their history — Scott Olson, from Bloomington, Minn., got into 63 games over three seasons and was a part of the 1978-79 championship team that lost only five regular-season games.
for a hit in the corner and went awkwardly into the boards. Blocker was taken off the ice on a stretcher after a lengthy delay and did not return.” . . . However, after being checked out at hospital and released, Blocker returned to the arena and returned to Lethbridge with his teammates after the game.
of $422,443 in 2017-18. . . . That was down from the $737,710 profit the previous season. However, the 2017-18 financials included a payment of $167,000 to the City of Lethbridge that was due after improvements were made to their home arena. . . . The Hurricanes lost out in the Eastern Conference final in each of the past two seasons. . . . There was other interesting item to come out of the annual meeting. The Hurricanes will be out of their arena early in the playoffs next spring, what with the World men’s curling championship in the ENMAX Centre from March 30 through April 7. General manager Peter Anholt told shareholders that the tentative plan is for the team to play early home playoff games, if necessary, in the Nicolas Sheran Arena. . . . According to the City of Lethbridge’s website, the Nicolas Sheran Ice Centre has a seating capacity of 978. It is home to the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s and men’s hockey teams. . . . “We’ve talked to a lot of other teams that have moved from their venue to another venue outside of their city, and it doesn’t work,” Anholt said. “We’ve got the Nicolas Sheran. It’s not perfect, there’s going to be some unhappy fans and unhappy advertisers, but we’ll deal with it.” . . . Aaron Mahoney of 
with 26 players on its roster, including two goaltenders and 10 defencemen. . . . F Gunnar Wegleitner, 20, F Sebastian Streu, who turns 19 on Nov. 22, and F Eli Lieffers, 18, all were released. . . . The Ice had acquired Wegleitner from the Brandon Wheat Kings on July 20 for a conditional sixth-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft. From Vancouver, he has also played for the Everett Silvertips and Victoria royals. In 112 regular-season games, he has 11 goals and nine assists. . . . From Neuwied, Germany, Streu had nine goals and three assists in 54 games as a freshman last season. He has dual Canadian/German citizenship so wasn’t classified as an import. . . . From Saskatoon, Lieffers was fourth-round pick by the Ice in the 2015 bantam draft. He had one goal and one assist in 11 games over three seasons with the Ice. Lieffers was pointless in two games with the Ice last season. . . . Two of the 10 defenceman on Kootenay’s roster are imports — veteran Martin Bodak, a Slovakian who will turn 20 on Nov. 28, and Finnish freshman Valtteri Kakkonen. The Ice also has sophomore F Gilian Kohler, who is from Biel, Switzerland, on its roster.
to the Burnaby Winter Club where he is expected to play for the Burnaby Winter Club’s midget prep team. A second-round pick in the 2017 WHL bantam draft, MacInnes started three exhibition games and went 3-0-0, 2.27, .929. . . . His departure leaves the Blades, as expected, with Nolan Maier, 17, atop the depth chart and Dorrin Luding, 19, as the backup, at least to open the regular season. . . . The Blades also dropped F Braden Plaschewsky, 16, from their roster. A second-round pick in that 2017 bantam draft, he is expected to play for the midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes. He had two goals in six exhibition games with the Blades. . . . Saskatoon is carrying 26 players, including two goaltenders and nine defencemen.
Wheat Kings, which leaves them with three goaltenders on their roster. . . . Patera, 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, was selected by Vegas in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL draft. He played last season with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. . . . With the CHL lifting its ban on import goaltenders prior to its 2018 import draft, the Wheat Kings selected Patera. . . . Of course, Kelly McCrimmon, the Golden Knights’ assistant general manager, owns the Wheat Kings. . . . Also on Brandon’s roster are veteran Dylan Myskiw, 19, and freshman Ethan Kruger, who will turn 17 on Sept. 27. Kruger, from Sherwood Park, Alta., was a fifth-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . While the WHL website shows Patera as having been born on Feb. 16, 2000, he actually was born on Feb. 24, 1999.
operations assistant. Labelle played the past two seasons with the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos and is a survivor of the April 6 bus crash. . . . From a Blades news release: “Following the accident, Xavier spent a considerable amount of time in the hospital recovering from his injuries, which included a fractured skull and concussion, internal bleeding, approximately 20 broken bones (including 13 in his spine), plus nerve damage affecting his legs and left arm.” . . . From Saskatoon, he continues to rehab in his hometown. . . . Labelle attended the Blades’ training camp on three occasions and also was on their protected list at one time.
Junior Hockey League and the Kamloops Storm, well, I can’t imagine it. . . . “It’s a great city and it’s a great hockey market and it’s just a bit of a mess right now,” KIJHL president Larry Martel told Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week.“All franchises go up and down. Right now, we’re in a low point in that city.” . . . This is a story that involves charges of tampering, $10,000 in fines, a one-year suspension to one individual, a head coach who has been suspended for 20 games, except, well, it doesn’t seem that he really is the head coach. . . . It seems that someone else was named the head coach so that he could take the hit instead of the real head coach. Got that?. . . . Oh, it’s all enough to give you a headache. . . . Check out Hastings’ complete story 
TAKING NOTE 