WHL Kamloops Blazers

Kamloops Blazers Week in Review

Published on March 26, 2012 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kamloops Blazers News Release


Week in Review:

Friday, March 23rd, 2012 vs. Victoria Royals - 4-1 Win

The Blazers opened the WHL playoffs with a 4-1 win over the Victoria Royals. Dylan Willick opened the scoring for the Blazers as he took a rebound and stuffed it home with Matt Needham and Chase Schaber registering assists. The Royals tied it up shortly after as Robin Soudek ripped a shot off the post and in to make it 1-1 through the first period. The Blazers took the lead in the second period as Colin Smith made a behind the back pass to Tim Bozon and Bozon buried his first goal of the playoffs. The Blazers added to the lead as Schaber scored at 17:03 of the second period and Bozon potted a goal 47 seconds later to give the Blazers a 4-1 lead. The Blazers held on from there and won the game 4-1. Goaltender Cole Cheveldave finished with 26 saves for the victory. Full Recap and Highlights.

Saturday, March 24th, 2012 vs. Victoria Royals - 7-4 Win

The Blazers picked up where they left off the night before with a convincing 7-4 win over the Royals. The Blazers couldn't seem to score in the first period despite 19 shots on goal. Finally, Jordan DePape was awarded a penalty shot and converted a goal for a 1-0 lead with 35 seconds left in the period. The Blazers built on the lead in the second period. Tim Bozon struck for his third goal of the series with JC Lipon winning a puck battle to make it 2-0. A turnover led to Jamie Crooks walking in and scoring to cut the lead to 2-1. The Blazers kept it coming though as Brady Gaudet scored a power play marker and Chase Schaber followed that up with a nice goal to make it 4-1 Blazers. Goalteder Keith Hamilton was pulled in favour of Jared Rathjen. The Blazers continued to score as Dylan Willick found a rebound and put home another goal for a 5-1 lead. Cole Ully finished off the scoring spree with a nifty goal to make it 6-1 Blazers through two periods. The Royals found some life scoring three goals in the third period and DePape added one more for a 7-4 final. The Blazers held a decisive advantage in scoring chances and shots, 53-28. The 53 shots on goal are a season high for the Blazers. Cole Cheveldave stopped 24 shots for the win. Full Recap and Highlights.

Playoff Tickets on Sale Now!

The Blazers opened the best of seven WHL Western Conference Quarter-Finals with two wins on home ice. The Blazers lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 heading to Victoria to face the Royals on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The entire series is being broadcast live on SHAW-TV.

Series Schedule:

Game 1 - Friday, March 23 Victoria 1 @ Kamloops 4

Game 2 - Saturday, March 24 Victoria 4 @ Kamloops 7

Game 3 - Tuesday, March 27 Kamloops @ Victoria 7:05pm

Game 4 - Wednesday, March 28 Kamloops @ Victoria Time 7:05pm

Game 5 - Friday, March 30 Victoria @ Kamloops 7:00pm*

Game 6 - Monday, April 2 Kamloops @ Victoria 7:05pm*

Game 7 - Wednesday, April 4 Victoria @ Kamloops 7:00pm*

*If Necessary*

To purchase your 2011-12 playoff tickets, contact the Kamloops Blazers Box Office at 250-828-3339. For questions about playoff tickets, please contact our Director of Ticketing, Todd Carnelley by phone at 250-828-1144 or by email at tcarnelley@blazerhockey.com.

Blazers Among All-Stars and Award Finalists

The Kamloops Blazer were well represented as the WHL announced their Western Conference All-Star teams and award finalists at a press conference in Kamloops this past Thursday. To watch the full press conference, follow this link.

The Blazers had two players selected to the Western Conference second all-star team. Defenseman Austin Madaisky and goaltender Cole Cheveldave were both selected to the team. The last Blazers' defenseman selected to an all-star team was Ray Macias in 2007. The last Blazers' goaltender selected to an all-star team was Steve Passmore in 1994.

Rookie import forward Tim Bozon is the Western Conference finalist for the Jim Piggot Memorial Trophy as Rookie of the Year. Two Blazers have previously won the award as Scottie Upshall was the CHL Rookie of the Year in 2000-01 and Ron Shudra was the WHL Rookie of the Year in 1985-86.

General Manager Craig Bonner has been selected as the Western Conference finalist for the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy as the Executive of the Year. Bonner is into his 4th season as the Blazers' General Manager. Bob Brown previously won the CHL Excecutive of the Year in 1993-94 and was the WHL Executive of the Year in 1990-91.

For more information, follow this link.

Blazers Ink Two Prospects to WHL Education Contracts

The Blazers signed defenseman Connor Clouston and forward Brayden Gelsinger to WHL education contracts this past week. Clouston was a third round pick of the Blazers in the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft. The 15-year-old defenseman played with the Midget AAA Medicine Hat Tigers this past season. Gelsinger was listed by the Blazers following the 2011 training camp in September. He played this season with the Tisdale Trojans of the Saskatchewan Midget Hockey League. For more details, follow this link.

Kamloops Blazers Hockey School August 2012

The 2012 Kamloops Blazers Hockey School is open for registration! Download the registration form by following this link. If there are any questions pertaining to Hockey School give Ashley Neuls a call at the Kamloops Blazers office at 250-828-1144.

Download the Game Night Program to Win

The Kamloops Blazers are encouraging fans to download the game night program from blazerhockey.com for a chance to win! All you have to do is print the "Enter to Win" forms to the game for a chance at some great prizes. Draw boxes are located in front of the Kamloops Blazers Corner Store.

Blazers are 9th in Final BMO MasterCard CHL Top 10

The Kamloops Blazers were ranked in the CHL Top 10 throughout the second half of their season. The Blazers finished 9th in the final rankings. The Blazers were as high as 2nd in early February and were ranked in the CHL Top 10 for 17 of the 26 weeks in the CHL season. To view the CHL Top 10 Rankings, follow this link.

Team Leaders Playoffs:

Goals - Tim Bozon (3)

Assists - JC Lipon (4)

Points - Chase Schaber, JC Lipon (4)

+/- - Austin Madaisky (+4)

Rookies - Tim Bozon (3)

PIM - Colin Smith (8)

GAA - Cole Cheveldave (2.50)

SV % - Cole Cheveldave (.909)

Check out the Kamloops Blazers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Western Hockey League Stories from March 26, 2012


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central