Blazers Week In Review
February 24, 2010 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kamloops Blazers News Release
Week in Review:
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 vs. Spokane Chiefs
There were very few positives this night as the Spokane Chiefs defeated the Kamloops Blazers 7-0. Mitch Wahl scored first for the Chiefs sneaking a puck by goaltender Kurtis Mucha from behind the goal line; Kyle Beach added another goal to give the Chiefs a 2-0 lead through the first period. Beach scored again early in the second period, and it was the last shot Mucha saw as he was pulled in favour of Jon Groenheyde. Groenheyde didn't fair any better in goal as the Chiefs put two more pucks passed him to extend their lead to 5-0 through two periods. Kyle Beach completed his hat trick in the third period as Spokane sailed to a 7-0 victory. The highlight of the night for the hockey club was defenseman Josh Caron getting the edge in two fights with Corbin Baldwin of the Chiefs. Kurtis Mucha finished with 8 saves on 11 shots and Jon Groenheyde stopped 30 of 34 shots he faced, including a second period penalty shot awarded to Levko Koper.
Friday, February 18th, 2010 vs. Seattle Thunderbirds
A heroic overtime goal by CJ Stretch gave the Blazers a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds Friday night. The Thunderbirds score first, but a quick reply from Jordan DePape, who missed three games with a rib injury, tied the game 1-1 through the first period. The Blazers took over in the second frame outshooting the Thunderbirds 20-10 while Colin Smith, Brendan Ranford and Dalibor Bortnak, with only 3.6 seconds left in the second period, helped the Blazers to a 4-2 lead through two periods. Seattle made a comeback in the final period as they were awarded two powerplays, and scored on each one to tie the game 4-4. In overtime, CJ Stretch went end to end for his 7th game winning goal this season and a 5-4 win for the Blazers. Kurtis Mucha appeared in his 239th career WHL game and stopped 23 of 27 shots. The Blazers were 0-for-2 on the powerplay and 2-for-4 on the penalty kill.
Saturday, February 20th, 2010 vs. Calgary Hitmen
The Kamloops Blazers put in a good effort Saturday night, but fell short in a 4-3 loss to the Calgary Hitmen. The Blazers scored first as Chase Schaber, who was acquired from the Hitmen in January, scored 16 seconds into the game for the homeside. Calgary tied the hockey game at 1-1 with less than a minute remaining in the first period. The second period remained scoreless until another late period goal by the Hitmen gave them a 2-1 lead through two periods. The Blazers pushed back in the third period with Brendan Ranford and Chase Schaber each scoring a goal but the Blazers couldn't prevail and fell 4-3. The hockey game featured four former Blazers on the Hitmen roster, and two former Hitmen on the Blazers roster. Kurtis Mucha took the loss for the Blazers stopping 25 of 29 shots faced. The hockey club ended up 2-for-6 on the powerplay and were 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
On The Road Again, What's Left?
The hockey club is back on the road this week as they open a 3 game road trip in Edmonton on Wednesday night. Once this week is over, the hockey club will have played 12 home games and 16 road games over the last two months.
Following Wednesday night's game, the team will play in Lethbridge on Friday and Medicine Hat on Saturday night. The Blazers will have only 5 games remaining after this week, including four home games.
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.
Milestones
CJ Stretch has now played in 333 WHL games, all with the Kamloops Blazers. He holds the franchise record for games played in a Blazer uniform. Stretch is also the active WHL leader in games played and is 20th in all time Blazer scoring with 238 points.
Blazer goaltender Kurtis Mucha now has two WHL records and two CHL records. Mucha is first all-time in minutes played amongst goaltenders with 13,443 minutes played. He surpassed the WHL record last month and is the first goaltender in the CHL in excess of 13,000 minutes.
Mucha also holds the WHL and CHL record for games played by a goaltender with 240. He passed Ryan Mior's CHL record of 239 games played with PEI and Gatineau in the QMJHL on Saturday night versus the Calgary Hitmen.
The WHL record for most saves by a goaltender is also in reach for Mucha. He recently passed Steve Passmore for 2nd on the list with 6,768 saves in his career. Mucha is 190 saves shy of Danny Lorenz's 6,958 saves.
Team Leaders:
Goals - CJ Stretch, Brendan Ranford (26)
Assists - CJ Stretch (45)
Points - CJ Stretch (71)
+/- - Josh Caron (+4)
Rookies - Jordan DePape (31)
PIM - Josh Caron (171)
GAA - Kurtis Mucha (3.16)
SV % - Kurtis Mucha (.902)
Community Service
Monday, February 22nd
* Regular School visit 9:30am * EDGE 10am
END OF COMMUNITY SERVICE
Schedule:
Monday, February 22nd, Practice 2:00-4pm ISC
Tuesday, February 23rd, Depart for Edmonton 9am
Wednesday, February 24th, Blazers @ Edmonton Oil Kings 7pm Rexall Place
Thursday, February 25th, Practice 11:00-12:30pm Medicine Hat Arena
Friday, February 26th, Blazers @ Lethbridge Hurricanes 7pm Enmax Centre
Saturday, February 27th, Blazers @ Medicine Hat Tigers 7:30pm Medicine Hat Arena
Sunday, February 28th, Day of Rest
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Western Hockey League Stories from February 24, 2010
- Chiefs Fall to Everett 2-1 - Spokane Chiefs
- Rockets Earn Point In Shootout Loss To Lethbridge - Kelowna Rockets
- Confidence High After Oil Kings Win Fourth In A Row - Edmonton Oil Kings
- T-Birds Score Six Unanswered Goals To Defeat Cougars - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Silvertips Defeat Spokane, Win Fourth Straight - Everett Silvertips
- Hitmen Suffer Shootout Loss To Red Deer - Calgary Hitmen
- Chilliwack Bruins Clinch Playoff Spot - Chilliwack Bruins
- Blades Fight Back for Overtime Win - Saskatoon Blades
- Lucas Gore Named CHL Goalie Of The Week - Chilliwack Bruins
- Bruins' Lucas Gore Named CHL Goaltender Of The Week - WHL
- Blades Slip To #5 In CHL Rankings - Saskatoon Blades
- Fans Vote Spencer Asuchak As February Player Of The Month - Prince George Cougars
- Innovation Credit Union Awards Night March 13th - Swift Current Broncos
- Watch Canada Russia Tonight at Pats Game - Regina Pats
- Blazers Week In Review - Kamloops Blazers
- Big Hockey Night In PA - Prince Albert Raiders
- Blades Take To The Road In Moose Jaw - Saskatoon Blades
- Giants Blank Wheat Kings - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Americans Blitz 'Hawks Behind Three-Goal First Minute - Tri-City Americans
- Game Night: Watch Canada And Russia At The Pats Game Tonight - Regina Pats
- T-Birds Trap Cougars - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Winterhawks Fall 6-0 In Tri-Cities Tuesday - Portland Winterhawks
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