NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Kamloops Blazers

Blazers Week In Review

March 22, 2010 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kamloops Blazers News Release


Week in Review:

Friday, March 19th, 2010 @ Vancouver Giants - Game 1

It was a heartbreaker for the Blazers as a 3-1 lead turned into a 4-3 overtime loss to the Vancouver Giants. Giants forward Craig Cunningham opened the scoring with a shorthanded marker less than 3 minutes into the game to give the Giants an early 1-0 lead. The Blazers quickly stormed back, as Austin Madaisky tied the game 32 second later. Brendan Ranford gave the Blazers the lead 38 seconds later as Colin Smith fed him a pass on a 2 on 1 play. The Blazers extended their lead to 3-1 with Ryan Hanes snapping a shot past Giants goalie Mark Segal, who finished with 11 saves. Tomas Vincour responded for the Giants to cut the lead to 3-2 through the first period. It was a fairly quiet second period with no goals being scored, as Kurtis Mucha stopped all 17 Giants shots in the period and 33 of 37 overall. Craig Cunningham tied the game for the Giants with just over 5 minutes remaining in regulation time to send the game to overtime. It was a short overtime, as James Henry scored 33 seconds in to lift the Giants to a 4-3 victory and a 1-0 best of seven series lead. There was a distinct discrepancy in powerplays, but the Blazers were terrific on the penalty kill going 9-for-9 and were good on the powerplay going 1-for-3.

Saturday, March 20th, 2010 @ Vancouver Giants - Game 2

The Blazers held a lead until late in the second period when the tables turned and the hockey club ended up losing 6-3. Brendan Ranford scored his second playoff goal to give the Blazers a 1-0 lead in the first period. The Giants replied quickly, as Craig Cunningham pounded in a rebound to tie the game 1-1 through the first period. The Blazers took their second lead of the game with Colin Smith feeding CJ Stretch for a powerplay goal with just over 4 minutes remaining in the second period. Undisciplined penalties led to the Blazers giving up two powerplay goals in the last 3 minutes of the second period to hand the Giants a 3-2 lead through two periods. The Giants took over the game in the third period, as Kevin Connauton scored another powerplay goal and Craig Cunningham converted a 2 on 1 to chase goaltender Kurtis Mucha out of the net and give the Giants a 5-2 lead. Mucha finished the night stopping 23 of 28 shots. Jon Groenheyde came in and stopped 7 of 8 shots, while Dalibor Borntak added a goal for the Blazers, but it was too little too late as they fell 6-3, allowing the Giants to take a 2-0 best of seven series lead. Special teams were a major factor as Vancouver finished 3-for-7 on the powerplay, with all three goals helping give the Giants a lead. Meanwhile, the Blazers were 1-for-6 on the powerplay, with CJ Stretch scoring the lone powerplay goal.

Blazers looking to rally from 2-0 series deficit

Here is the schedule for the Blazers first round series.

Kal Tire WHL Western Conference Quarter-Final

(Series F)

VANCOUVER vs. KAMLOOPS

Game 1 - Fri Mar 19 7:30 PM Kamloops at Vancouver *SHAW TV*

Game 2 - Sat Mar 20 7:00 PM Kamloops at Vancouver *SHAW TV*

Game 3 - Tue Mar 23 7:00 PM Vancouver at Kamloops *SHAW TV*

Game 4 - Wed Mar 24 7:00 PM Vancouver at Kamloops *SHAW TV*

Game 5 - Fri Mar 26 7:30 PM * Kamloops at Vancouver *SHAW TV*

Game 6 - Sat Mar 27 7:00 PM * Vancouver at Kamloops *SHAW TV*

Game 7 - Tue Mar 30 7:00 PM * Kamloops at Vancouver *SHAW TV*

Tickets are on sale now at the Kamloops Blazers Box Office by calling 250-828-3339 or by going to www.ticketmaster.ca.

Blazers Highlights

Make sure to check out the Blazers youtube page at http://www.youtube.com/user/kblazers1?featuremhw4 to check out all the latest Blazer highlights and other great videos.

Thorimbert SJHL Rookie of the Year

Kamloops Blazers prospect Josh Thorimbert was named SJHL rookie of the year last week. Thorimbert, who is playing for the Kindersley Klippers, was terrific during the regular season finishing with 26 wins, a 2.66 GAA and a.917 SV%.

Thorimbert, a 3rd round bantam pick in 2007, has continued his strong play in the playoffs. He has a 5-1-0-0 record with a 2.80 GAA and a.912 SV% in 6 games. His Kindersley Klippers swept Nortre Dame in the first round of the SJHL playoffs and are currently tied 1-1 with Yorkton in their second round best of seven playoff series.

Blazers on Facebook

You can now check out the Kamloops Blazers on facebook! Go to this link http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kamloops-Blazers-Hockey/309165971271 to see the latest pictures, videos and other information about the hockey club.

Team Leaders (Playoffs):

Goals - Brendan Ranford (2)

Assists - CJ Stretch, Colin Smith (2)

Points - Brendan Ranford (3)

+/- - JC Lipon, Ryan Hanes (+2)

Rookies - Ryan Hanes, Colin Smith (2)

PIM - Josh Caron (10)

GAA - Jon Groenheyde (3.74)

SV % - Jon Groenheyde (.875)

Check out the Kamloops Blazers Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Western Hockey League message board...

Western Hockey League Stories from March 22, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central