Blueliners In Spotlight At Arena High Draft Choices Ference, Stuart Key Teams’ Power Plays Regina Vs. Spokane

Two of the high-profile defensemen in the Western Hockey League - Regina’s Brad Stuart and Brad Ference of the Chiefs - will match skills tonight in the Arena.

Stuart was the third pick of the 1998 NHL entry draft. Ference went No. 10 in the first round in 1997.

An unusual blend of speed and strength, Stuart had the fastest slap shot in last year’s WHL All-Star Game skills clinic at 94.5 miles an hour. At 6-2, 216 pounds, he’s among the league’s quickest skaters.

Both Ference and Stuart are deadly on the power play.

Ference, picked by the Vancouver Canucks, has assisted on 11 power play goals in only 18 games. In large part because of Ference’s powerful shot and precise passes from the back end, the Chiefs are second in the league in power-play scoring percentage at home.

Stuart, the San Jose Sharks first-round selection, has 16 points on the power play - 10th in the WHL.

This could be a long night. Regina leads the league in penalty minutes. Spokane ranks second. This promises to be one of the more physical games of the year here.

One reason the Pats are 11-14-1 is their inability to kill off their many penalties. They rank next-to-last in penalty killing.

An obvious key for Spokane is to capitalize on its chances with the extra attacker on the power play, and stay out of the box as much as possible. Regina is fifth in the league in power-play success, at 22.5 percent.

The Pats started the season with former Chiefs assistant Parry Shockey behind the bench. Shockey was let go after the ninth game of the season, his second as head coach in Regina.

Under Shockey, the Pats won their first Eastern Division regular-season championship in 14 seasons last year, but after a 2-6-1 start this year - and lingering friction between the coaches and front office - Shockey was dismissed with nearly a full season left on his contract.

He was replaced by 30-year-old Tim Tisdale.

Shockey plans to be here tonight to watch his two former teams. He served briefly as interim head coach in Spokane in the 1993-94 season and was a Chiefs assistant for three seasons after four seasons of scouting for Spokane.

Tisdale wrote his name in the record books by scoring the winning goal in overtime in the championship game of the ‘89 Memorial Cup for the Swift Current Broncos.

Maser makes the adjustment

Josh Maser, traded to Swift Current late last week, was on the phone Tuesday after putting in his second practice with his new team.

“Any time you leave friends and a good situation it’s sad,” said the 19-year-old right wing, a physical player whose ice time had dwindled with the return of veteran forwards Derek Schutz, Cam Severson and Ty Jones and the emergence of younger forwards.

“Babs and Plugger (coaches Mike Babcock and his assistant Mike Pelino) gave me an opportunity, so there’s no bitterness. I wasn’t progressing, so it was time to move on.

“We discussed playing time. Babs told me he wasn’t going to be able to give my any more ice time and asked how I felt about it. I said I’m 19. I want to play.

“I didn’t really ask for a trade but I’m not surprised they made a move. It sounds like they’re going to play me a lot here. The guys have been great. Hopefully, I can get her going here.”

Maser, a hard-nosed player who stuck up for his teammates, led the Chiefs in penalty minutes.

“It’s human nature to want to play, to contribute as much as you can,” Maser said. “It (a reduced role) bothered me a little bit, but Babs and Plug thought that was best for the team. I’m not sure I agree with that, but they did what they had to.”

The Chiefs in return get a pick in the 2000 bantam draft.

“Josh was a great contributor while he was here,” Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz said. “A guy at his age needs and wants to be in the lineup every night, and we couldn’t offer him that.”

Maser and the Chiefs will renew acquaintances when the Broncos make their annual appearance in Spokane on Wednesday night, Dec. 9.

Around the WHL …

Regina’s top line includes two of the WHL’s top scorers. Kyle Calder, tied for third in the league, recently ran up a 12-game scoring streak, the league’s longest this year. Teammate Brett Lysak is tied for ninth… . Former Chief Justin Ossachuk, playing with Seattle, picked up a checking-from-behind major the other night against Portland that calls for an automatic suspension. The league is reviewing the incident to determine the length of the suspension… . Portland goaltender Jason LaBarbera was impressed with Spokane’s play around the net on the power play in Friday night’s 5-3 Spokane win. As big as the Portland netminder is at 6-foot-2, the screens in front of the net were tough to deal with. LaBarbera said he didn’t know Spokane had scored its fourth and fifth goals until he heard the thump of the puck behind him.