Thursday thoughts

The Pats have a new website today. I never minded their last one, but this one is a nice look too.

Dean Clark is feeling the heat in Kamloops....after Tuesday's loss to the Americans, Clark is threatening player moves and has called out two vets by name - Travis Dunstall and C.J. Stretch. (The article will only be there for the rest of today.....you can still read it at Gregg Drinnan's blog too if you're reading this too late)

Making matters worse for Clark, at least in the short term, is the news that starting goalie Justin Leclerc has an ankle sprain and will miss the team's two-game trip into Alberta this weekend. So, the Blazers will face the Rebels (Saturday) and the Hitmen (Sunday) with two 16 year old goaltenders. James Priestner will probably start both games and will be backed up by the recently recalled Jon Groenheyde.

Speaking of goalies, Medicine Hat's rookie import goaltender Tomas Vosvrda is getting more at home with the WHL. That 5-1 record, 1.70 GAA and eye-popping .935 SV% are all the proof anyone should need that he is settling in nicely and looks like the real deal. By comparision, battery-mate Ryan Holfeld's numbers are horrible and they won't be splitting time very long at this rate.

The Edmonton Oil Kings are looking to get back on track after their disastrous road trip last weekend that saw them get blown out in Swift Current and Medicine Hat by a combined score of 16-3. Their next game, tomorrow night, is the first installment of the latest version of the Battle Of Alberta, as the Hitmen and Oil Kings tangle in the first of eight meetings this year. The Hitmen have lost three straight games after a 9-1 start so they'll be looking to get back on track as well.

From last night's results, Seattle became the last team in the WHL to lose a game in regulation time after falling 6-2 to the Bruins in Chilliwack. They did so in fine style too, getting outshot 50-15 (!!!) by the Chilliwackers. So, is Chilliwack really this good or were the Birds just really that bad last night?

And lastly, for this morning anyway, how about going back to Tuesday night in the NHL for a nifty shootout-winning goal from young L.A. Kings star Anze Kopitar? And for a chuckle, the wire service writeup of the game, obviously written by a hockey neophyte, described the goal this way: "...Kopitar shifted from forehand to backhand several times on his chance...". Uh, yeah....it's called stickhandling.