WHL Kamloops Blazers

Blazers Week in Review November 8

Published on November 8, 2010 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kamloops Blazers News Release


Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010 vs. Kelowna Rockets

It was an even game through the first two periods, but the Blazers ended up taking it on the chin 5-2 at home against the Rockets Wednesday night. After a scoreless first period, the Blazers got on the board first, as a wide open Chase Souto buried his first WHL goal with Dalibor Bortnak and JT Barnett picking up assists on the play. The Rockets tied it up as Colton Heffley scored his first marker of the year getting a stick on a rebound in front of the net. The Blazers would then move in front as Austin Madaisky put home a rebound off a Chase Schaber shot for a 2-1 lead after two periods. The Blazers, who were disciplined for the first two periods, got into some penalty trouble in the third period. Powerplay goals by Damon Severson, Mitchell Callahan and Shane McColgan handed a 4-2 lead over to the Rockets. Rockets goaltender Adam Brown stoned Brendan Ranford on a breakaway late in the period and Brett Bulmer added an empty net goal to solidify a 5-2 Rockets victory. Special teams hurt the hockey club as Kelowna was 3-for-5 with the man advantage, while the Blazers went 0-for-5 on the night. Adam Brown was terrific in goal stopping 37 of 39 shots sent his direction. His counterpart Jeff Bosch took the loss stopping 27 of 31 shots.

Friday, November 5th, 2010 @ Calgary Hitmen

The Blazers ran it to 6 straight road wins for the first time since 1998-99 season as they downed Calgary 5-4 on Friday night. Trevor Cheek opened the scoring on the powerplay beating Jeff Bosch on the blocker side to take a 1-0 lead. The Blazers responded though as Chase Schaber rang a shot off the post and in to tie the game 55 seconds later. Dalibor Bortnak then made it 2-1 as he snuck a backhand on the short side of the Hitmen goaltender Juraj Holly. Logan McVeigh made it 3-1 putting in a rebound and chasing Holly from the goal as he stopped only 4 of 7 shots. The Hitmen made it 3-2 though with less than a minute left in the period as Cody Beach tallied his 5th of the year. To start the second period, goaltender Jeff Bosch was injured so newly acquired goaltender Cam Lanigan was pressed into action. The Blazers strengthened their lead to 4-2 as Brendan Ranford got the puck on his stick on a weird bounce and put it into the empty net. The Hitmen came back though as Justin Kirsch put in his own rebound and Tyler Fiddler scored on a 5-on-3 powerplay to tie the game 4-4 going into the third period. The Blazers had a terrific third period as Jordan DePape scored the winning goal on a 5-on-3 powerplay and the Blazers killed off a 5-on-3 to win 5-4. Cam Lanigan earned the win in his debut with the Blazers playing 40 minutes and stopping 18 of 20 shots. The Blazers were good on the powerplay going 3-for-7 and after giving up early powerplay goals were better on the penalty kill going 5-for-8. Saturday, November 6th, 2010 @ Lethbridge Hurricanes The Blazers led for the most of the game, but the Hurricanes stormed back for a 5-4 victory in Lethbridge Saturday night. Magrath, AB native Tyler Hansen wired a shot past goaltender Dylan Tait for a 1-0 lead. Brendan Ranford would then extend the lead to 2-0 cleaning up a rush from Chase Schaber. Lethbridge though would come back as Alex Kuvaev and Max Ross scored to tie the game 2-2. It was an energetic first period as it also featured three scraps including two from Shayne Neigum and another from Brandon Underwood. Brendan Ranford lifted the Blazers to the lead in the second period as Jordan DePape helped set up both goals by Ranford to give the 18-year-old his 2nd career hat-trick and 17 goals in the first 19 games of the season. DePape finished the night with 4 assists and the Blazers carried a 4-2 lead into the third period. A span of 4 minutes and 13 seconds hurt the Blazers in the third period as the Hurricanes scored three times, including twice on the powerplay, and sent the Blazers home with a 5-4 loss. Cam Lanigan got his first start with the Blazers and stopped 35 of 40 shots in the loss, while Dylan Tait had the win for Lethbridge with 25 saves. The Blazers were 1-for-4 on the powerplay and only 2-for-4 on the penalty kill.

Two Blazers on Team WHL

The Kamloops Blazers will be represented when they host a Subway Super Series game on Wednesday, November 17th. The team's captain Chase Schaber who has 20 points in 16 games this season and 18-year-old defenseman Austin Madaisky will both play for Team WHL. Both players were acquired from the Calgary Hitmen at the trade deadline last season. The Subway Super Series features the Western Hockey League's best competing against the Team Russia Selects. This event is the last opportunity to identify players to be invited to the Canadian National Junior Team Evaluation Camp in preparation for the upcoming World Junior Championships.

Team WHL will also have some familiar faces on the bench. Kamloops Blazers' Head Coach Guy Charron will serve as an Assistant Coach along with Calgary Hitmen Head Coach Mike Williamson. Ryan Huska, who coaches the Kelowna Rockets, will be Team WHL's Head Coach. The Kamloops Blazers' Athletic Trainer Colin Robinson will serve as a Trainer for the game in Kamloops.

Lanigan Acquired from Oil Kings

The Blazers got younger in goal as they acquired 18-year-old Cam Lanigan from the Oil Kings in exchange for 19-year-old goaltender Jon Groenheyde. Lanigan made his Blazer debut in Calgary after Jeff Bosch went down with a knee injury. The native of Calgary made 18 saves to preserve a 5-4 win over the Hitmen.

Goals and Points

Brendan Ranford has 27 points in 19 games so far this year which puts him 6th in the WHL. His 17 goals are tied for the league lead with Brendan Gallagher of the Vancouver Giants. His line mate Chase Schaber has 25 points this season which has him in a tie for 15th in WHL scoring. Jordan DePape has been streaking lately with 11 points in his last 7 games. The 18-year-old had 4 assists in Saturday's 5-4 loss in Lethbridge.

Martell Reassigned

Blazers' forward Lyndon Martell was reassigned to the Prince George Spruce Kings of the BCHL on Monday morning. The 17-year-old appeared in 8 games and recorded 1 assist this season. He spent all of last season with the Spruce Kings putting up 31 points in 44 games.

Light Week

The Blazers are playing host to two home games this upcoming weekend. The Kelowna Rockets (8-10-0-0) are back at the ISC for the second time on Saturday night at 7pm. The Everett Silvertips (6-6-1-3) will make their first appearance in Kamloops on Sunday, November 14th at 6pm.

275 WHL Scholarships Awarded to Graduates

The WHL Scholarship is solely funded by the member Clubs of the WHL.  This season WHL Clubs will contribute $1.5 million to graduates utilizing the WHL Scholarship.

All players who play in the WHL are eligible to receive the WHL scholarship.  For every season a player plays in the WHL, they receive a full year guaranteed WHL Scholarship, including tuition, textbooks and compulsory fees, to a post-secondary institution of their choice. In addition, over 100 current WHL players receive financial assistance to enroll in post secondary classes while playing in the WHL. The WHL and Athabasca University have partnered to offer, through online and other distance education vehicles, fully accredited university courses to any WHL player interested in further pursuing post-secondary studies while playing in the WHL.

The WHL continues to be the leading provider of Hockey Scholarships in Western Canada.  Since 1993, the Western Hockey League has awarded more than 4,000 Scholarships representing a contribution of more than $12 million.

Team Leaders:  Goals - Brendan Ranford (17) Assists - Chase Schaber (18) Points - Brendan Ranford (27) +/- - Tyler Hansen (+5) Rookies - Logan McVeigh, Corey Fienhage (3) PIM - Ryan Hanes (49) GAA - Cam Lanigan (3.78) SV % - Jeff Bosch (.881) 

Injury Report Josh Caron, Broken Collar-Bone, 3 weeks Jeff Bosch, Knee, Day-to-Day

Community Service Monday, November 8th Photo Shoot at Harley Davidson 3-4pm Wednesday, November 10th School visit Arthur Hatton Elementary Friday, Novembver 12th School visit Kay Bingham Elementary EDGE Arthur Stevenson Elementary

Schedule: 

Monday, November 8th, Harley Davidson 3-4pm, Photo Shoot Tuesday, November 9th, Practice 2:00-4pm ISC Wednesday, November 10th, Practice 2:00-4pm ISC Thursday, November 11th, Practice 9:00-11am ISC Friday, November 12h, Practice 2:00-4pm ISC Saturday, November 13th, Blazers vs. Kelowna Rockets, 7pm ISC Sunday, November 14th, Blazers vs. Everett Silvertips, 6pm ISC

Check out the Kamloops Blazers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Western Hockey League Stories from November 8, 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