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WHL Kamloops Blazers

Game 71 in Prince George Starts Final Weekend of Season

March 20, 2015 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kamloops Blazers News Release


The Kamloops Blazers go into the final weekend of the WHL season tied for the final wild-card spot in the WHL's Western Conference with the Tri-City Americans.

The Americans have three games left this season that will be played Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. The Blazers have two games left, tonight in Prince George and at home tomorrow against the Cougars.

The Cougars sit four points in front of the Blazers for the final divisional playoff spot in the B.C. Division. The Blazers need to win tonight and on Saturday night in regulation to tie the Cougars and guarantee at the very least a possible 1-game play-in playoff game.

Here are some notes for tonight's match up with the Cougars.

Vs. Prince George - This Season (8-Game Series)

Game 1: 11/01/14, at Prince George 4, Kamloops 1

Game 2: 11/02/14, at Prince George 3, Kamloops 2 SO

Game 3: 11/21/14, vs. Prince George 2, Kamloops 5

Game 4: 12/06/14, vs. Prince George 6, Kamloops 3

Game 5: 03/11/15, vs. Prince George 7, Kamloops 4

Game 6: 03/18/15, at Prince George 4, Kamloops 2

Game 7: 03/20/15, at Prince George, Kamloops

Game 8: 03/21/15, vs. Prince George, Kamloops

Blazers are 2-3-0-1 in season series

BY THE NUMBERS: Joel Hamilton recorded his 100th career WHL assist March 13th vs. Kelowna... Cole Ully reached 200 career WHL points on January 14th against Portland... Ryan Rehill surpassed 400 career WHL penalty minutes March 6th against Spokane... Brady Gaudet recorded the 100th point of his WHL career against Spokane March 6th... Logan McVeigh has played his 326 career WHL game for 5 WHL teams including Kamloops (twice), Prince Albert, Medicine Hat and Regina... Forward Cole Ully has points in 51 of the 67 games he has played... Matt Revel played his 200th career game in Seattle on March 7th.

THE MATCH UP: The Blazers and Cougars are meeting for the seventh time tonight in Prince George. These two teams met in Prince George on Wednesday as the Cougars won 4-2. The Blazers are 2-1-0-0 against the Cougars in Kamloops winning the last meeting on March 11th 7-4. These two teams meet tomorrow night in Kamloops to conclude the season.

KAMLOOPS BLAZERS 'Who to Watch': The Kamloops Blazers offensive leaders are Cole Ully (33+5790) and Matt Needham (24+5175). They are the longest tenured Blazers up front. 20-year-old Joel Hamilton (14+2438) was acquired from the Vancouver Giants on January 9th for some secondary scoring. The trade acquisitions last season of Collin Shirley (25+1641) and Matt Revel (17+1734) have added some secondary scoring to rely on for the Blazers. 20-year-old Logan McVeigh (9+2433) and 19-year-old Luke Harrison (12+1022) add some reliability in defensive roles. Sophomore forward Nick Chyzowski (6+410) still has time to fine tune his game and is counted on as a two-way player. Jake Kryski (10+1323) and Deven Sideroff (17+2441) are a pair of skilled rookies who play amongst the Blazers top six forwards. Jesse Zaharichuk (3+1215) and 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 (5+712) 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 (4+1418) has missed a lot of time due to injury, but has been a steady presence. Gaudet is a fifth year player who started his WHL career in Kamloops. 19-year-old import Michael Fora (6+2632) and 18-year-old import Patrik Maier (4+59) have added size, experience and some offense to the defense. Ryan Rehill (7+1320) has been a steady defensive horse for the Blazers. Marc McNulty (8+1927) is a 19-year-old defender that was acquired at the trade deadline 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+69) is a 16-year-old that joined the Blazers full-time after the Christmas break and he has been playing regularly. 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 (20-19-2-3, 2.98, .902) has played the majority of games this season. Like Kehler, he is also a 17-year-old in his first full WHL season.

PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS 'Who to Watch': The Cougars have had some strong contributions this season, but none stronger than 17-year-old Jansen Harkins. He is expected to be a high pick in the 2015 NHL Draft and has paces the offense with 78 points. He has support in 19-year-old Chase Witala, who leads the Cougars in goals with 38. The addition of 20-year-old Zach Pochiro from pro hockey has been huge as he is a point-per-game player. Jari Erricson has been consistent with 22 goals and 43 points. Brad Morrison is having a breakout season with 23 goals and 48 points as a 17-year-old. David Soltes and Jared Bethune both add some scoring depth and can move up in the line-up if needed. Players like Aaron Macklin, Tyler Mrkonjic and Aaron Boyd give the Cougars some size up front. Colby McAuley, Cal Babych and Kolby McDonald are all young players that are gaining experience this season. On defence, Josh Connolly is a former Blazer and veteran who can play a solid two-way game. Joe Carvalho and Sam Ruopp are experienced veterans that the Cougars regularly count on. Tomas Andrlik is another experienced defender along with Kirk Bear. Tate Olson is into his second season. Josh Anderson is a young 16-year-old who is starting to gain experience. Shane Collins is another first year player to watch. In goal, the Cougars are young with 18-year-old starter Ty Edmonds, 18-year-old rookie Patrick Gora and 16-year-old back-up Tavin Grant. Edmonds is the starter for the Cougars.

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: Matthew Campese, Lower Body, day-to-day. Man games lost due to injury - 66.

DID YOU KNOW ... Don Hay is 2nd in franchise history behind Ken Hitchcock (291) with 170 career regular season wins... Hay is 2nd all-time in WHL history behind Ken Hodge (742) with 636 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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