Blazers Week In Review
January 4, 2010 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kamloops Blazers News Release
Week in Review:
Sunday, December 27, 2009, Blazers vs. Prince George Cougars
The Blazers allowed the first goal once again, but responded with 6 of their own to defeat the Cougars 6-1. The Cougars took a 1-0 lead through one period, but the Blazers responded with 3 powerplay goals in the second period to take a 3-1 lead through two periods. The Blazers continued the onslaught as they allowed only 1 shot against in the third period and scored 3 more goals to win 6-1. Tyler Shattock and Jimmy Bubnick had good nights, as Shattock tallied 2 goals and Bubnick enjoyed a 3 point night. Goaltender Kurtis Mucha wasn't tested much in this one, but still stopped 14 of 15 shots faced. Hudson Stremmel of the Cougars didn't have his best outing stopping 25 of 31 shots against. The Blazers were great on the special teams as they went 4-for-9 on the powerplay and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill.
Monday, December 28, 2009, Blazers @ Vancouver Giants
Kamloops couldn't get past Vancouver on this night as they fell 6-3 to the Giants. The Giants scored 2 powerplay goals in the first period and opened a 3-0 lead after the first period. Vancouver continued their scoring spree in the second period as they led 5-0 through two periods. The Blazers got their act together and scored 3 third period goals, but the deficit was too significant and the Giants added a late goal to cruise to a 6-3 victory. Jimmy Bubnick and CJ Stretch each had multi point nights and extended their point streaks to 7 games. Jon Groenheyde was in net for the Blazers and stopped 34 of 40 shots faced while his counterpart Jamie Tucker stopped 33 of 36 shots. The Blazers were 0-for-5 on the powerplay and 9-for-11 on the penalty kill.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009, Blazers @ Kelowna Rockets
The Blazers travelled to Kelowna and won in Prospera Place for the first time in almost two years 4-1. The Blazers scored 7 seconds into the game when Josh Caron dumped the puck in and a weird bounce directed it in front of the net where Dalibor Bortnak tapped it in. Linden Saip added a powerplay goal to give the Blazers a 2-0 lead after the first period. The Rockets cut the lead in half scoring once in the second period. Kelowna had a strong push early in the third period but Ryan Hanes, with his first WHL goal, and Jordan DePape banged in his own rebound to seal the victory for the Blazers. The Blazers outshot the Rockets 32-28; Kurtis Mucha made 27 saves for the victory. The Blazers were 1-for-7 on the powerplay and a perfect 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.
Saturday, January 2, 2010, Blazers @ Prince George Cougars
The Blazers and Cougars did battle once again, but fell 6-4 on Friday night. It was as shootout in the first period, as Jordan DePape and Tyler Shattock scored for the Blazers, but the visitors trailed 3-2 at the break. Prince George scored early in the second period, but Linden Saip replied with a powerplay marker to cut the lead to 4-3 after the second period. The Blazers battled hard in the third period as Dylan Willick cut the lead to 5-4, but the Cougars added an empty netter and won 6-4. Kurtis Mucha was pulled after 14 minutes allowing 3 goals on 9 shots. Jon Groenheyde didn't fair much better stopping 21 of 24 shots faced. The Blazers were 2-for-6 on the powerplay and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.
Sunday, January 3, 2010, Blazers @ Prince George Cougars
The Blazers got their revenge Sunday afternoon downing the Cougars 5-2. Prince George started quickly, scoring twice in the first 3 minutes to take an early 2-0 lead which they held after the first period. Zak Stebner, a defenseman who played forward on this night, scored two second period goals to tie the hockey game at 2-2 going into the third period. The Blazers took over in the third, as CJ Stretch scored the game winner and insurance goal, and Tyler Shattock shovelled a puck into an empty net to give the hockey club a 5-2 victory. Kurtis Mucha bounced back, stopping 28 of 30 shots he faced and the Blazers outshot the Cougars 40-30. There were very few penalties handed out as the Blazers went 1-for-2 on the powerplay and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.
Game Change
The Blazers have changed tomorrow night's game time to 8pm. This will allow fans to watch the entire World Junior Gold Medal game between Canada and the United States which starts at 5pm on TSN. The doors to Interior Savings Centre will open at 5pm and the game will be shown on the big screen. Fans are encouraged to watch the entire hockey game at the rink.
Milestones
CJ Stretch has now played in 310 WHL games, all with the Kamloops Blazers. Stretch is only the 5th player to play 300 games in a Blazer uniform. Erik Christensen (304), Greg Hawgood (310), Donnie Kinney (319), and Aaron Gionet (324) are the others. Stretch recorded his 210 WHL points and is 27th on the Blazers all-time scoring list. Tyler Shattock has 156 points in 213 games all with the Kamloops Blazers.
Blazer goaltender Kurtis Mucha is on pace to break three WHL records. Mucha needs to play 12 more games to have played the most games by a goaltender. He now sits third all-time in minutes played amongst goaltenders. Mucha is also now third all-time in saves for a goaltender.
Blueliner Breakfast
The third of four blueliner breakfasts will be held on Sunday, January 10th in the Sports Action Lounge.
Trade Deadline
The trade deadline in the WHL is on Sunday, January 10, 2010. Check out blazerhockey.com for any updates with the Kamloops Blazers.
Team Leaders:
Goals - Tyler Shattock (20)
Assists - Tyler Shattock, CJ Stretch (27)
Points - Tyler Shattock (47)
+/- - Josh Caron (+3)
Rookies - Dylan Willick (18)
PIM - Brandon Underwood (91)
GAA - Kurtis Mucha (3.14)
SV % - Kurtis Mucha (.902)
Western Hockey League Stories from January 4, 2010
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- Blazers Week In Review - Kamloops Blazers
- Weekly Ice Report - Kootenay Ice
- Blazers Change Game Time For Tomorrow Night - Kamloops Blazers
- Pats Weekly - Regina Pats
- Vancouver Giants' Kevin Connauton Named Boston Pizza WHL Player Of The Week - WHL
- Special Jerseys and Gainer Visit Saturday, Highlight Raiders Week - Prince Albert Raiders
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