January 30th

IVANANS NETS EXTENSION FROM KINGS

Raitis Ivanans and the Los Angeles Kings reached terms on a two-year contract extension.

Financial details were not disclosed.

In 43 games this season, Ivanans has two goals and two assists with 80 penalty minutes.

The Latvian native has totalled six goals and 12 points with 229 penalty minutes in 113 games over three NHL seasons with the Montreal Canadiens and Kings.


WILLIE MITCHELL BREAKS VERTEBRA IN BACK

Vancouver Canucks defenceman willie Mitchell is out with a fractured vertebra. He sustained the fracture shortly after Christmas, but contuined to play through nine games despite feeling intense pain.

The six-foot-three blue-liner took the last two games off, and said he won't accompany the Canucks on their four-game road trip which starts tonight.

Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said there is no specific recovery time for this type of injury - a stress fracture to the L2 vertebra in Mitchell's back - but could affect him for up to five weeks.

Vigneault also said Mitchell could play though the injury without aggravating it, though the pain might be too much.

Mitchell has seven points (one goal, six assists) in 41 games for the Canucks this season.


FORMER NHLer KARALAHTI FACES PRISON SENTENCE

Former NHL player Jere Karalahti has been charged with smuggling amphetamines in a case involving 19 people, including a motorcycle gang.

The Espoo District Court opened the case against Karalahti and other suspects in a local prison in Vantaa, Finland for security reasons. If found guilty, Karalahti could face up to six years in prison.

The 32-year-old Karalahti was charged with smuggling four kilograms of amphetamines into Finland. He also allegedly provided $20,000 euros for smuggling operations, prosecutors said.

He has denied all the charges.

The drug ring is suspected of smuggling about 20 kilograms of amphetamines and hundreds of grams of cocaine from Estonia to Finland last year.

In December, Karalahti was taken off the ice during a practice session with his team Karpat for police questioning.

Karalahti left the NHL in 2002 after being suspended for six months for his third violation of the league's substance abuse policy. He played 121 games from 2000-02 as a defenceman for the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators.

Karalahti joined Karpat last year after agreeing to follow the club's strict rules on alcohol and drugs, putting him in contention for a return to Finland's national team for the upcoming world championships in Canada.

Karalahti was voted an all-star defenceman at the 1998 and '99 world championship.