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Kamloops Blazers

On the Road to Vancouver

February 21, 2015 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kamloops Blazers News Release


THE FINAL STRETCH: The Kamloops Blazers franchise is in their 34th season in the Western Hockey League and the 31st season as the Kamloops Blazers. The Blazers have a record of 22-32-3-3 through 60 games this season. The Blazers are currently three points back of the Vancouver Giants with 12 games to go for the final playoff spot in the B.C. Division. The Blazers are 2-6-0-0 in the month of February. The hockey club is coming off a 4-3 loss to the Moose Jaw Warriors last night.

Vs. Vancouver - This Season (8-Game Series)

Game 1: 10/17/14, at Vancouver 3, Kamloops 0

Game 2: 10/22/14, vs. Vancouver 2, Kamloops 7

Game 3: 12/30/14, at Vancouver 6, Kamloops 3

Game 4: 01/03/15, vs. Vancouver 2, Kamloops 3 SO

Game 5: 01/17/15, vs. Vancouver 0, Kamloops 1

Game 6: 01/31/15, at Vancouver 2, Kamloops 3 SO

Game 7: 02/21/15, at Vancouver, Kamloops

Game 8: 02/28/15, vs. Vancouver, Kamloops

Blazers are 4-2-0-0 in season series

BY THE NUMBERS: Dawson Davidson scored his first WHL in his 2nd WHL game December 30th in Vancouver... Cole Ully reached 200 career WHL points on January 14th against Portland... Matt Needham recorded his 150th career WHL point January 2nd vs. Kelowna... Brady Gaudet is 4 points shy of 100 in his WHL career... Logan McVeigh played his 300th career WHL game in Spokane on January 10th... McVeigh has also played for 5 WHL teams including Kamloops (twice), Prince Albert, Medicine Hat and Regina... Forward Cole Ully has points in 43 of the 56 games he has played... Matt Revel is 7 games shy of 200 career WHL games.

THE MATCH UP: The Blazers and Giants will meet eight times this season. These two teams have met six times this season with the home team winning five of the six games. The Blazers have won the last three meetings, including two of them via the shootout. All three games have been one-goal games. The Giants will be back in Kamloops on February 28th to conclude the season series.

KAMLOOPS BLAZERS 'Who to Watch': The Kamloops Blazers offensive leaders are Cole Ully (29+4877) and Matt Needham (20+4262). They are the longest tenured Blazers up front. 20-year-old Joel Hamilton (13+1932) was acquired from the Vancouver Giants on January 9th for some secondary scoring. The trade acquisitions last season of Collin Shirley (20+1535) and Matt Revel (15+1530) have added some secondary scoring to rely on for the Blazers. 20-year-old Logan McVeigh (6+2127) and 19-year-old Luke Harrison (11+516) add some reliability in defensive roles. Sophomore forward Nick Chyzowski (4+48) still has time to fine tune his game and is counted on as a two-way player. Jake Kryski (8+1220) and Deven Sideroff (16+2339) are a pair of skilled rookies who play amongst the Blazers top six forwards. Jesse Zaharichuk (2+1012), Matt Campese (2+13) are two 17-year-old players gaining more ice time as the season progresses. Jermaine Loewen (0+00) and Quinn Benjafield (3+36) are both 16-year-old forwards on the roster. On defence, the Blazers have a mix of young and old. 20-year-old Brady Gaudet (2+911) has missed a lot of time due to injury, and is looking to regain his form. Gaudet is a fifth year player who started his WHL career in Kamloops. He is counted on to add leadership in the dressing room and to play in all situations. 19-year-old import Michael Fora (4+2125) and 18-year-old import Patrik Maier (4+59) have added size, experience and some offense to the defense. Ryan Rehill (6+1117) has been a steady defensive horse for the Blazers. Marc McNulty (7+1522) is a newly acquired 19-year-old defenseman from Prince George. Cam Reagan (0+11) and Travis Verveda (0+44) are both capable 17-year-old players that need to establish themselves to earn ice time. Dawson Davidson (3+47) is a 16-year-old that joined the Blazers full-time after the Christmas break and he has been outstanding. In goal, Cole Kehler (3-14-2-0, 4.65, .855) is in his second season after playing 11 games as a 16-year-old. Kehler has had two very good seasons with the Okanagan Hockey Academy Midget Prep team. Connor Ingram (15-16-1-3, 3.11, .899) has played the majority of games this season. Like Kehler, he is also a 17-year-old in his first full WHL season.

VANCOUVER GIANTS 'Who to Watch': The Giants have a strong core of veteran forwards up front. Dalton Sward, Zane Jones and Matt Bellerive are the 20-year-olds on the Giants roster. All three players are into their fifth WHL season. Carter Popoff is the offensive leader for the Giants. He is just under a point-per-game and has 23 goals and 47 points. Jackson Houck is a big rugged forward who has been drafted by the Edmonton Oilers. He's a guy that regularly puts the puck in the net. Thomas Foster is into his third WHL season and has shown he is a reliable two-way player. The Giants have a young core of rookie players led by 16-year-old Tyler Benson. Benson was the first overall pick in the 2013 WHL Draft and hasn't disappointed with 39 points this season. Alec Baer, Jakub Stukel, Jesse Roach and Ty Ronning are part of a strong group of 17-year-old forwards. On defense, Mason Geersten and Arvin Atwal are the veteran leaders for the Giants. Clayton Kirichenko, Josh Thrower, Shaun Dosanjh and Dmitry Osipov are four 18-year-old players that add depth to the Giants. Brennan Menell and Ryely McKinstry are the two young players on the roster. The Giants have two reliable goaltenders with Payton Lee and Cody Porter between the pipes. Lee is 18 and into his third season and Porter starts his first season with the Giants.

NHL DRAFT: Cole Ully (Dallas, 5th round, 131st overall in 2013), Ryan Rehill (New Jersey, 5th round, 131st overall in 2014), Marc McNulty (Detroit, 6th round, 169th overall in 2013).

INJURY REPORT: Jermaine Loewen, Lower Body, day-to-day. Man games lost due to injury - 55.

DID YOU KNOW ... Don Hay is 2nd in franchise history behind Ken Hitchcock (291) with 164 career regular season wins... Hay is 2nd all-time in WHL history behind Ken Hodge (742) with 630 regular season wins... D Michael Fora played with Switzerland at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Toronto and Montreal... Cole Ully suited up for Team WHL in the Subway Super Series and recorded a goal and an assist in 2 games... 20-year-old Logan McVeigh was picked up on waivers in October from Regina... Brady Gaudet and Logan McVeigh were selected by the Blazers in the first and second round of the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft... 16-year-old forward Jake Kryski was acquired from the Prince Albert Raiders back on July 10, 2013 for former goaltender Cole Cheveldave... Deven Sideroff (110), Michael Fora (114), and Connor Ingram (33rd among goaltenders) were all ranked in NHL Central Scouting's mid-term rankings... Jermaine Loewen was born in Jamaica and has only been playing hockey for six years... Jake Kryski competed for Canada - Team Red at the U-17 World Challenge in Sarnia in November and recorded 5 points in 5 games... Matt Needham's father Mike played for the Blazers from 1986-1990... Nick Chyzowski's father Dave played for the Blazers from 1987-1990...

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