WHL Kamloops Blazers

Blazers Week in Review

Published on November 2, 2010 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kamloops Blazers News Release


Week in Review:

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010 vs. Brandon Wheat Kings

The Blazers were poised for a comeback but fell short as they lost 6-4 at home Wednesday night. The Wheat Kings scored often in the first period, as former Blazer Shayne Wiebe opened the scoring on the powerplay. Jason Swyripa, Ryan Pulock and Brodie Melynchuk, who scored with one second left on the clock, also scored in the first period to give the Wheat Kings a quick start out of the gate and a 4-0 lead after the first period. The Wheaties continued to pour it on in the second period as Mark Stone collected his third point of the night and Brandon scored their third powerplay marker of the night and gave the visitors a 5-0 lead. The hockey club then woke up as Jordan DePape got his third goal of the year against his former team on a shorthanded breakaway to make it 5-1. Brendan Ranford scored his thirteenth goal shortly after, and Dalibor Bortnak converted on the powerplay to make it a 5-3 game going into the third period.

Chase Schaber made it 5-4 with less than 5 minutes to play in the third period but the comeback came short as Brandon scored an empty net goal and won their second game in as many nights 6-4. Jon Groenheyde took the loss in goal despite stopping 19 of 20 shots coming in relief of Jeff Bosch who stopped 6 of 10 shots in the first 20 minutes of play. Final shots on goal were tied at 31 apiece. The Wheat Kings went 3-for-10 on the powerplay and the Blazers were 1-for-7.

Saturday, October 30th, 2010 vs. Seattle Thunderbirds

Peppering shots at Calvin Pickard finally paid off as the Kamloops Blazers won 3-2 in overtime at home Saturday night. Colin Smith opened the scoring in the first period as he fooled Pickard on a wrap around and potted his 3rd goal of the season. The Blazers outshot the Thunderbirds 19-3 in the first period and led 1-0. The teams went through the second period fairly evenly as it was a tight checking game and both teams were limited on their chances. The Thunderbirds got on the board late in the period as Travis Bobbee scored his first goal of the year on a shot that was deflected off a Kamloops player to tie the score at 1-1 through two periods. Seattle got a break early in the third period as Linden Saip took a delay of game penalty 11 seconds into the period and Marcel Noebels put home a powerplay goal as Seattle led 2-1. The Blazers kept firing shots at Pickard and Austin Madaisky blasted a rebound past Pickard on the powerplay to knot the game at 2-2. Overtime was needed to end this one as Jordan DePape scored in the extra frame and gave the team a 3-2 victory. Calvin Pickard was outstanding stopping 49 of 52 shots while Jeff Bosch was solid stopping 23 of 25 shots. The Blazers were 2-for-6 on the powerplay and went 5-for-6 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.

Prospect Update: Josh Connolly

The Blazers 3rd round bantam pick in 2010 is having a terrific start to the 2010-11 season. Josh Connolly, playing with the Cariboo Cougars in the BC Major Midget League, had 2 goals and 3 assists in 2 games this weekend. He is leading all defensemen in scoring with 4 goals and 13 assists for 17 points in 14 games this season as his Cougars are 2nd in the 11 team league.

Streaks and Points

Third-year forward Brendan Ranford has 22 points in 16 games so far this year which puts him 10th in the WHL. He ended an 11-game point streak on Saturday with 10 goals, 8 assists for 18 points during the streak. Ranford has points in 14 out of 16 games this season. His line mate Chase Schaber has 20 points this season which has him in a tie for 17th in WHL scoring.

Three Games This Week

The Blazers are playing host to the Kelowna Rockets (4-10-0-0) on Wednesday, and then hit the road for two weekend games in Alberta. The team is back in Calgary on Friday to face Jimmy Bubnick and the Calgary Hitmen (4-10-0-0). The Blazers won 3-2 in Calgary on October 23rd. A short trek to visit the Lethbridge Hurricanes (6-5-0-3) on Saturday night will finish off their brief trip to Alberta.

Team Leaders:

Goals - Brendan Ranford (13)

Assists - Chase Schaber (14)

Points - Brendan Ranford (22)

+/- - Josh Caron (+4)

Rookies - Logan McVeigh, Corey Fienhage (2)

PIM - Ryan Hanes (42)

GAA - Jon Groenheyde (3.67)

SV % - Jeff Bosch (.884)

Community Service

Monday, November 1st

* School visit Chase Elementary

* EDGE Parkcrest Elementary

Tuesday, November 2nd

* School visit Savona Elementary

* EDGE Lloyd George Elementary

Schedule:

Monday, November 1st, Practice 2:00-4pm ISC

Tuesday, November 2nd, Practice 2:00-4pm ISC

Wednesday, November 3rd, Blazers vs. Kelowna Rockets, 7pm ISC

Thursday, November 4th, Depart 8:30am to Calgary

Friday, November 5h, Blazers @ Calgary Hitmen, 7pm Scotia Bank Saddledome

Saturday, November 6th, Blazers @ Lethbridge Hurricanes, 7pm ISC

Sunday, November 7th, TBA

Check out the Kamloops Blazers Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from November 2, 2010


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