NHL-National Hockey League roundup

Dec 8 (The Sports Xchange) - The Vegas Golden Knights' trademark request was denied by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Wednesday because of a "likelihood of confusion" with The College of Saint Rose Golden Knights in Albany, N.Y. The expansion franchise revealed its name and logo on Nov. 22. It has until June 7, 2017 to respond to the trademark denial. "There are countless examples of college sports teams and professional sports teams with coexisting names," the Golden Knights said in a statement to Sports Illustrated. "We will plan on making these arguments and others in our detailed written response." NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly offered the league's support and said there is no plan to rename the franchise in a statement released Thursday. -- The Calgary Flames recalled defenseman Tyler Wotherspoon from the Stockton Heat of the American Hockey League and assigned defenseman Brett Kulak to the same club. Wotherspoon, 23, scored a goal and tallied five assists in 19 games with Stockton this season. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning recalled defenseman Luke Witkowski from the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. Witkowski, 26, tallied six shots on goal but zero points in six games with the Lightning earlier this season. He totaled three assists over 11 contests with Syracuse in 2016. -- The Minnesota Wild reassigned left wing Teemu Pulkkinen to the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League. Pulkkinen, 24, was recalled before the Wild's 3-2 win at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night, but did not play. He scored one goal in eight prior games with Minnesota in 2016. -- The San Jose Sharks reassigned defenseman Mirco Mueller to the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League. Mueller, 21, was recalled before the Sharks' 4-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night but did not play. (Editing by Larry Fine) ))