BLAZERS WEEK IN REVIEW, MARCH 4
Week in Review:
Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 vs. Vancouver Giants – 5-3 Loss
The Giants had a solid road game in a 5-3 win over the Blazers. The Blazers had a great first period but only scored once for a 1-0 lead. The Giants took over from there with the Blazers equalling the score in the third period, before the Giants scored twice to put the game away. Joel Edmundson, JC Lipon and Chase Souto had the Blazer goals in the loss. Recap and Highlights.
Friday, March 1st, 2013 at Prince George Cougars – 4-1 Win
Colin Smith led the way with two goals and an assist in a 4-1 win over the Cougars in Prince George. Kale Kessy picked up two assists on both of Smith’s goals. Cole Cheveldave picked up the win with 26 saves in goal. Joel Edmundson and Dylan Willick were the other Blazers goal scorers. Recap and Highlights.
Saturday, March 2nd, 2013 vs. Vancouver Giants – 4-2 Win
The Blazers exacted revenge on the Giants with a 4-2 home ice win. Goals by Marek Hrbas, Dylan Willick, Kale Kessy and Brendan Ranford capped the game for the Blazers. Colin Smith recorded an assist for his 100th point of the WHL season. Cole Cheveldave made his second straight start earning the win with 24 saves. Recap and Highlights.
Sunday, March 3rd, 2013 vs. Kelowna Rockets – 3-0 Win
Despite the busy schedule, the Blazers played a complete game in front of a record crowd of 5756 in a 3-0 win over the B.C. Division leading Kelowna Rockets. JC Lipon had all three goals in the game with Brendan Ranford and Cole Ully each picking up two assists. Cole Cheveldave made 25 saves for his fifth shutout of the season. The win lifted the Blazers to three points behind the Rockets for the B.C. Division lead. Recap and Highlights.
Ranford Sets Franchise Record
Blazers 20-year-old forward Brendan Ranford has played more games than anyone else in franchise history. Ranford played his 342nd game surpassing C.J. Stretch’s (2005-2010) record of 341 regular season games played. At the conclusion of the weekend, Ranford has played 343 games with five games remaining this season.
Ranford is also 7th on the Blazers all-time points list with 347 points. He is only two points shy of Hnat Domenichelli for 6th on the all-time list. If Ranford reaches 350 career points, he would be the first to hit that mark since Darcy Tucker during the 1994-95 season.
Cheveldave finding his Groove
Goaltender Cole Cheveldave has found a groove the past month. The 19-year-old goaltender finished the past week with a 3-0-0-0 record, a .962 save percentage, 1.00 goals against average and a shutout. He is the WHL’s nominee for CHL Goaltender of the Week. Cheveldave is 34-14-1-1 this season with a .908 save percentage, 2.43 goals against average, and five shutouts.
Cheveldave is the first Blazer goaltender to win at least 30+ games in consecutive seasons since Daryl Reaugh in 1983-84 and 1984-85. The Calgary native also has nine career shutouts which is third all-time behind Devan Dubnyk (15) and Corey Hirsch (13).
Blazers in the Playoffs, back-to-back 40+ win seasons
The Blazers (44-18-2-3) sit three points behind the B.C. Division leading Kelowna Rockets (46-16-3-1) with five games left in the season. The Rockets have six games left this season. The Blazers and Rockets will play a home-and-home series this weekend starting in Kamloops on Friday night.
The Blazers have put together back-to-back 40-win seasons for the first time since the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons. The Blazers won at least 40 games in seven straight seasons from 1989-90 to 1995-96.
Head Coach Guy Charron has a career record of 141-94-7-12 with the Blazers over three and a half seasons. His 141 coaching wins with the Blazers is third all-time behind Don Hay (144) and Ken Hitchcock (291). He is four wins shy of passing Don Hay’s 144 victories as the Blazers Head Coach for second on the all-time list.
Kamloops Blazers Hockey School August 2013
The 2013 Kamloops Blazers Hockey School is open for registration! Hockey School will be held from August 12th – 16th with the Blazers coaching staff, current and former players instructing. Make sure to register quickly as Hockey School is filling up fast!
Download the registration form by following this link or pick up a form from the Blazers Office. If there are any questions pertaining to Hockey School give Ashley Neuls a call at the Kamloops Blazers office at 250-828-1144.
Blazers Ranked 10th in the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10
The Blazers are down to 10th in the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 with a 44-18-2-3 record. The hockey club has been in the rankings for almost the entire season. The Blazers have either been honourable mentions or as high as second in the rankings. To view the current rankings, follow this link.
Sunday, March 10th Family Fun Day
The Kamloops Blazers will be hosting ‘Family Fun Day’ on Sunday, March 10th at Interior Savings Centre. All fans are invited for a free skate with the Blazers from 11:00am – 12:00pm. There will be a team autograph session from 12:00pm – 1:00pm and cake courtesy of Safeway!
A limited number of Blazers Season Photo Books will be available for purchase for anyone who would like to get them autographed at Family Fun Day. There are two sizes of Photo Books: 8″ x 6″ soft cover and 8.5″ x 11″ soft cover. Books will be available at the Blazers Corner Store on Friday night when the Blazers host the Rockets, and any remaining books will be available on Sunday at Family Fun Day. If books sell out this weekend, more will be ordered and available by the beginning of Playoffs.
A limited number of team photo posters will also be available at no cost during the autograph session following Sunday’s fan skate.
Former Blazers among University Award Winners
Former Kamloops Blazers goaltender Kurtis Mucha (2009-10) is the WHL Grad of the Month for February. Mucha has had a stellar three year career at the University Alberta. To read more about Mucha, follow this link.
Two former Blazers were among the Canada West University all-star selections. Mucha was a first team all-star, while forward and fifth-year player Brock Nixon (2003-2008) was a second team all-star. Nixon is into his final year with the University of Calgary.
Debbie Clark of Kamloops Wins Trip to Memorial Cup
Debbie Clark of Kamloops is the WHL’s BMO Ultimate Fan. Debbie was selected as the local winner during the BMO Ultimate Fan event at a game this past January. Debbie was put into a draw with the other 17 winners from across the WHL and was selected as a winner for a trip for two to the 2013 Memorial Cup in Saskatoon. To read more, follow this link.
General Paint Draw
Grab a General Paint WHL colouring book from the Blazers Corner Store or at Family Fun Day and complete the colouring page at the end of the book and return it to the Blazers for the chance to win a team autographed Blazers jersey! Entries must be submitted to the Blazers Corner Store by Thursday, March 14th or into the entry box at Family Fun Day.
Bowl For Kids Sake
Thanks to those who donated to this great cause! Our group raised over $840 in pledges. Four Blazer teams bowled last Monday, including four lucky kids who were selected to bowl with the Blazers.
Community Service:
Thursday, March 7th – EDGE 9:30am
Sunday, March 10th – Family Fun Day 11:00am – 1:00pm
Injury Report:
Aspen Sterzer, Upper Body, week-to-week
Matt Needham, Upper Body, one week
Joe Kornelsen, Lower Body, day-to-day
Team Leaders:
Goals – Colin Smith (40)
Assists – Colin Smith (60)
Points –Colin Smith (100)
+/- – JC Lipon (+31)
Rookies – Jordan Thomson (12)
PIM – Joel Edmundson (133)
GAA – Cole Cheveldave (2.43)
SV % – Taran Kozun (.908)
Schedule:
Monday, March 4th, Day of Rest
Tuesday, March 5th, Blazers vs. Victoria, 7:00pm, ISC
Wednesday, March 6th, Practice 2:00pm – 4:00pm, ISC
Thursday, March 7th, Practice 2:00pm – 4:00pm, ISC
Friday, March 8th, Blazers vs. Kelowna, 7:00pm, ISC
Saturday, March 9th, Blazers at Kelowna, 7:05pm, Prospera Place
Sunday, March 10th, Family Fun Day 11:00am – 1:00pm, ISC
