There are WHL players who cringe at the mere thought of performing in their hometown.

The athletes in question suffer from a form of stage fright when playing in front of family and friends.

Kevin Swanson admitted he may have fit into that category at one time, but no longer.

"I've been through it four times now so it's just another game," the Kelowna Rockets overage netminder and Red Deer native said last Saturday, following a 5-3 loss to the Rebels at the Centrium.

"Now, it just feels like any other barn, it doesn't even feel like home. So the nerves are gone."

After being selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1999 NHL entry draft, Swanson turned in an all-star season with the Rockets, recording a whopping seven shutouts and posting a 2.95 goals-against average.

He attended the Canucks camp in September and promptly suffered a second-degree MCL strain, an injury that ended his chances of starting the season in the pro ranks.

"I think they were planning on giving me a chance in some NHL exhibition games and then maybe sending me to Kansas City (the Canucks' main affiliate in the IHL)," said Swanson, a former midget star with the Red Deer Optimist Chiefs.

"But as it turned out I got hurt my third day in camp and they sent me home."

After six weeks of rest and rehabilitation, Swanson was back in the WHL and the Rockets welcomed him with open arms.

While Kelowna was tickled to get their all-star stopper back in gear, the 20-year-old suggesting spending another winter in the WHL is a win-win deal.

"It's a good situation. I'll get a lot of work," he said.

"It’s a developing year for myself and a year I really have to prove something to get a contract done (with the Canucks)."

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Certain WHL franchises would kill for the Portland Winter Hawks' attendance figures.

But the Hawks themselves aren't impressed with their numbers this season.

Portland has averaged 5,390 fans for its eight home dates and if the pattern continues will experience its worst attendance in 10 years. The decline in fan interest doesn't jive with the fact the Hawks are enjoying an on-ice resurgence.

Portland won the Memorial Cup in 1998, then finished fifth and sixth in the West Division each of the next two campaigns.

This season, the Hawks are off to a 10-6-2-2 start and are legitimate contenders in the highly-competitive division.

Clearly, the fans have long memories.

"Our product lacked excitement for two years," Portland GM Ken Hodge told The Oregonian.

If not for the availability of the Rose Garden, Portland's relatively new facility and the home of the NBA Trail Blazers, the Hawks' per-game attendance to date would be even worse.

In six outings at the Coliseum, the team's home arena, the Hawks have averaged just 3,905 fans.

"I don't really want to comment on the buildings," said Hodge. "We have a tremendously exciting team this season, and unfortunately people have not come out to see it. "It is a concern. I think we have a great product. I think our product matches up with other forms of entertainment. I think that people are going to turn out when they see that we're for real."

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Tri-City Americans coach Al Tuer did not enjoy his recent omecoming.

Far from it.

Tuer's Ams were crushed 10-1 by the Moose Jaw Warriors last weekend, and while the magnitude of the loss bothered the former Warriors bench boss, the work of referee Darryl Davis was a bigger issue.

Tri-City enjoyed just two power plays in the entire game, while Davis fingered the visitors for 12 consecutive penalties in the second and third periods.

"We're going to send the tape into the league," Tuer, who was ejected from the game, told the Saskatchewan News Network.

"I've never seen an official suspended for incompetence, but I've seen coaches suspended for criticizing the officials, so I better not say the wrong thing."