Couple of Small Rule Changes

CHL and WHL makes a few small rule changes.

Face-Offs - When players are penalized at a stoppage of play so as to result in penalties being placed on the penalty time clock to one team, the ensuing face-off shall be conducted at one of the two face-off spots in the offending team’s end zone. There are only four exceptions to this application:
(i) when a penalty is assessed after the scoring of a goal (face-off at center ice)
(ii) when a penalty is assessed at the end (or start) of a period – face-off at center ice
(iii) when the defending team is about to be penalized and the attacking players enter the attacking zone beyond the outer edge of the end zone face-off circle – face-off in the neutral zone (see paragraph 11 of this section)
(iv) when the team not being penalized ices the puck – face-off in the neutral zone outside the blue line of the team icing the puck

Puck out of bounds - When the puck hits the goal frame, goal post or crossbar and goes out of play, regardless as to which team shot the puck, the ensuing face-off shall take place at one of the end zone face-off spots in the zone where the puck went out of play.

Old Radio Signal

If anyone is curious.... and I was... what KKNW's coverage map looked like I found those as well.


KKNW had 10,000 watt during the day and only 6000 watt power at night. I'm not positive but I don't believe the station goes to nighttime power until after games would have been over. Here is what the 10,000 watt coverage looked like.

Tbirds announce 104.9 Funky Monkey to broadcast games

Tbirds entered into an agreement with Clear Channel to put all regular season and playoff broadcasts on 104.9 FM the "Funky Monkey". http://www.funkymonkey1049.fm/main.html

The official story can be found here.

Couple things of interest from the story.

I don't know this for a fact but I would assume that Thom Beuning is employed by the Thunderbirds and will remain as the Play by Play guy for broadcasts.

Also... a little information on 104.9. As I mentioned the station is owned by Clear Channel who also happens to own KJR AM 950, which is nice as I could see some synergy and maybe slightly more coverage of the team.

I would love nothing more than to have me replaced by some more actual extensive coverage (or somebody who wants to hire me.. haha)

The tower is located out of Eatonville (the actual station is listed as Lynnwood) and has a 17,000 watts of ERP.

Here is a rough coverage map that I was able to locate. It looks like the signal might not be the best in Seattle but the further south you go the better it gets, which makes a lot of sense for this team.

All is quiet....

I haven't had an ounce of Tbird related material in several days.

Anyone want to speculate on how the team will do this year?

I'm still standing behind 2nd in the U.S Division and 3rd in the Western Conference.

Tbirds win again today

Tbirds beat Portland tonight 7-2 in "Tri".

A good recap can be found by our friend Andy Kemper here http://afterthewhistle.wordpress.com/2008/09/06/portland-vs-seattlepre-game-2/.

Tbirds win tonight

"Ams Rocker" has a nice little report from the other side of the state that can be found here.

If his report is correct... "new guy" Colin Haas scored a goal... which is pretty cool after I imagine a very long drive down from Prince George.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/40684/message/1220682410/At+Tri-City+Day+2

Part 4 (and final) of my Q and A with Coach Rob Sumner

This is the final piece of my interview with Coach Rob Sumner. I hope everyone has enjoyed the articles.

Hunnex: Did Spokane winning the Memorial Cup surprise you?

Sumner: Spokane winning the Memorial Cup didn’t surprise me one bit and they were very deserving to win. They played a great all around game and their goaltending was excellent. Their group was all focused on the same goal and it showed. It helps to have a little good fortune with injuries along with good play and they remained healthy throughout.

Hunnex: Going over some rough roster calculations the team appears to be really deep on the blue line. Are there any plans to possibly move a guy up to any of the forward lines? Haber?

Sumner: At this point there isn’t any plan to move defencemen up front. With that being said, it’s nice to know that several of our d-men, Haber included, are capable of helping out if needed.

Hunnex: Along the same lines… there appears to be a log jam on Defense but there is not a lot of experience (19 or 20s) back there? Is that a concern going into the season?

Sumner: Our defence may lack age but it doesn’t lack experience. Jackson and Olson leave many key minutes on the table but I think we have several players that have goals to take those minutes. We’ll have to see what happens with Hickey and we don’t know Warg well yet, but I think huge steps will be taken by the 18-year-old group.

Hunnex: Is there any reason at all to think that your style of play will change after the team moves from Key Arena to the KEC? As far as I know the ice surfaces will be the same, so I’m not sure why you guys would change your style of being defensive minded first.

Sumner: We are always striving to improve and I think playing in an energetic rink with a home-ice advantage will surely help us. As far as the type of game we play, we will strive to improve on what I think is a high energy, exciting style.

Hunnex: Any goals for the season? I know winning the Memorial Cup is every team’s goal but do you have more team specific goals in mind for the season?

Sumner: We have goals within our team that I will choose to keep within our team. Every team’s ‘big’ goal is to win the Memorial Cup and we are no different. I believe though, in order to get there, we will have to strive for and achieve our team’s goals to give ourselves a chance to get there.

Hunnex: Thank you very much for taking the time out to answer some questions for the fans.

Sumner: I tried to answer all of your questions and I hope this is what you had hoped for Tyler. Thank you for your interest and support of our team.

Quakenbush Traded, Lund suspended

A few items from yesterday that became news right about the time I left my office... so I figured I would just wait until this morning.

The big news for Seattle is the trade of 18 year old Winger Isak Quakenbush to Prince George. In return Seattle receives 19 year old Center Colin Haas from Plano, Texas.

In 65 games with the Cougars, Haas had 3 goals and 5 assists, a -17 rating and 37 penalty minutes. I don't know much about him but in general I like the idea of the Tbirds getting a tad bit older for the season. Colin was listed last year at 6'2" and 190 lbs.

For Quakenbush... this is probably a good move for him. Not only will he actually be closer to home but a fresh start for him might help his game. I have been told from several people that Quakenbush is an excellent player in practice and just hadn't been able to translate that into games. Perhaps an opportunity with a young Prince George team is exactly what he needs.

In addition, Chance Lund was suspended for one game for his Cross-Checking Major and Game Misconduct in this past Sunday's game against Portland. Not sure if this applies to a regular season game or just Friday's exhibition game in Tri-Cities.

Part 3 of my Q and A with Coach Rob Sumner

Part 3 of my interview with Rob Sumner. Keep in mind now that these questions were asked and answered a couple of weeks ago.

Hunnex: Is Sena going to show up in shape this year?

Sumner: I believe he will be in great shape. I saw him in mid-July and he looked very fit. Colin Alexander saw him last week and was very impressed, so yes, I believe he will be very well conditioned. Not every guy understands the importance of training and conditioning at a young age. Some guys get it right away and for others it takes longer. Sena is a player with so many unique talents. If he has matured to the point where he understands how good he can be and what it will take to get there, I believe he will take huge steps and will have a huge impact on our team.

Hunnex: How do you expect to split playing time for the goaltenders? Do you see Jake playing as many as 60 games?

Sumner: I am very optimistic with our depth in the goaltending position. Jake is keen to be the main guy and is coming off a great second half and successful NHL draft, Pickard is a young guy who was maybe our best player in all of camp last year, and Jahraus has had a taste with Tri City and will be trying to prove he can play at the WHL level. So for me to say how many games Jake will play at this point would be a little premature.

Hunnex: The OHL recently has been rumored to be suggesting to the CHL that they would like to eliminate the Import Draft. Any thoughts on that?

Sumner: There are obviously factors that contribute to this even being a topic in the CHL today. I’m sure the General Manager’s and Governor’s of the WHL will steer the league in the appropriate direction at the appropriate time. My personal opinion is that I love having import players. It makes the team and dressing room so much more interesting and fun having players with different backgrounds. Oh yeah…it also helps if they’re great players.

Hunnex: What kind of personal professional goals do you have for yourself?

Sumner: Win a Memorial Cup. That is one goal that I have yet to achieve. We have developed into a strong team but still have yet to win the whole thing. My focus is to do the best possible job in my current position before I think too far ahead to other possibilities. It’s one of those situations where unless you succeed, you don’t have to worry about moving up anyways. My family and I love Seattle and to be here or anywhere else one day, it would have to be a fit for our whole family, not just me as a hockey coach.

Monday Evening

Got a tip today that the team cut a few more players to reduce the roster.

Eddie Friesen, Reid Johnson, Chip Petrino and Matt Betker were all cut from the roster. I don't know whether any of those players were reassigned, de-listed, released, etc. I was just told they are no longer with the club.

Johnson doesn't surprise me too much... played decent but I thought was outplayed by Carlson in camp and I was surprised he made it to the exhibition games.

Friesen is a small surprise as I know they liked his game a little bit. It appears for now they are keeping Trumbley and Fleming.

Petrino... tough one. I thought the kid deserved a spot on the team but the team must have felt it wasn't enough to bump another player's spot. I hope he lands somewhere else... he played well.

Betker is a slight surprise to me over Hallick as all reports I had read said that Betker was a "hustle" type player. In my opinion, some of these guys were real close and the decision in the end might have hinged on keeping guys they traded for like Krgovich and Edwards