BLAZERS BACK ON THE ISLAND TONIGHT
November 29, 2011 at Victoria Royals
HOME STRETCH TO CHRISTMAS: The Blazers have started the season with a 16-7-1-0 record and sit in second place in the B.C. Division. The Blazers completed the month September and October with an 11-3-0-0 record. The Blazers have a 5-4-1-0 record so far in the month of November. The Blazers played host to two games this past weekend and won 4-1 over the Victoria Royals on Friday and 8-2 over the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday. The Blazers schedule has been light to start the month, but the hockey club will play four games in their next five nights and 11 games in the next 20 days before the Christmas break. Following tonight’s game, the Blazers next game action will be tomorrow night to close out a doubleheader in Victoria. The hockey club will then travel home to play host to a pair of weekend home games against the Prince George Cougars and Victoria Royals.
Vs. Chilliwack – Last Season (8-Game Series)
Game 1: 09/25/10, vs. Chilliwack 5, Kamloops 2
Game 2: 10/02/10, at Chilliwack 6, Kamloops 1
Game 3: 01/07/11, vs. Chilliwack 2, Kamloops 5
Game 4: 01/21/11, vs. Chilliwack 3, Kamloops 2 OT
Game 5: 01/29/11, at Chilliwack 1, Kamloops 5
Game 6: 02/04/11, vs. Chilliwack 1, Kamloops 2
Game 7: 02/05/11 at Chilliwack 3, Kamloops 1
Game 8: 03/05/11 at Chilliwack 4, Kamloops 1
Vs. Victoria – This Season (8-Game Series)
Game 1: 10/02/11, vs. Victoria 2, Kamloops 8
Game 2: 11/25/11, vs. Victoria 1, Kamloops 4
Game 3: 11/29/11, at Victoria, Kamloops
Game 4: 11/30/11, at Victoria, Kamloops
Game 5: 12/03/11, vs. Victoria, Kamloops
Game 6: 01/27/12, at Victoria, Kamloops
Game 7: 01/28/12, at Victoria, Kamloops
Game 8: 02/22/12, vs. Victoria, Kamloops
ROSTER BREAKDOWN: The Blazers roster currently sits at 24 players (2 goaltenders, 8 defensemen and 14 forwards). The roster includes 11 players selected in the WHL Bantam Draft, 6 players via trade, 6 players from the free agent list, and 1 player selected from the CHL Import Draft. The roster breakdown by region includes 8 players from Alberta, 7 from B.C., 2 from Manitoba, 4 from Saskatchewan, 1 from the USA, 1 from the Czech Republic, and 1 from Switzerland. There are 17 WHL veterans on the roster and 7 WHL rookies. Four of those rookies suited up for the Blazers during the regular season last year. This includes forward Jordan DePape who the Blazers will be without most of the season due to injury.
THE MATCH-UP: The Blazers and Royals are meeting for the third of eight games this season. The Royals and Blazers are in a stretch of playing each other four times over nine days. In the first meeting of the season, the Blazers won 8-2. JC Lipon and Colin Smith each led the Blazers with four points. In their last meeting this past Friday, the Blazers won 4-1. Dylan Willick scored twice for the Blazers, including an empty net goal. This trip will be the first trip for the Kamloops Blazers to Victoria since January 30th, 1994 when the Victoria Cougars beat the Blazers 5-4. The Blazers will again make the trek to Vancouver Island for games on January 27th and 28th.
KAMLOOPS BLAZERS ‘Who to Watch’: The Kamloops Blazers have a roster filled with a mix of WHL veterans and WHL rookies. The Blazers offence has been spread out throughout three lines. Chase Schaber, Colin Smith and Brendan Ranford are the veteran leaders up front that are pacing the offence. The loss of forward Jordan DePape will be tough on the hockey club, but will give opportunity to some of the younger players. DePape will be out until at least March with an injury. The Blazers have relied on veterans Dylan Willick, and JC Lipon to pitch in on the offensive load. Some young rookies that have caught the eyes of scouts and fans include a pair of 16-year-old forwards, Matthew Needham and Cole Ully. Import Tim Bozon, who is eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, has been outstanding to this point of the season with 20 points in 24 games. Logan McVeigh, Chase Souto, Aspen Sterzer and Ryan Hanes have contributed with energy and work ethic. Newly acquired forward Brock Balson should compliment the forward crop. On the back end, veteran defensemen Austin Madaisky, Josh Caron, Bronson Maschmeyer and Tyler Hansen are leading the back end. All four defensemen are into their third or fourth WHL season. Add in second-year players Marek Hrbas, and Brady Gaudet and the Blazers have a lot of experience on the back end. First year defensemen Tyler Bell and Landon Cross have both played well when needed this season. The goaltending position has been solid for the Blazers with veteran Cam Lanigan and rookie Cole Cheveldave as the two goaltenders. Cheveldave and Lanigan have both played well, and are expected to share the net most of the season.
VICTORIA ROYALS ‘Who to Watch’: The Royals have been up and down to start to the year. Veteran forward Kevin Sudher has led the team this season with 40 points in 22 games. Sundher has a supporting cast which includes Robin Soudek, Steven Hodges, Logan Nelson and Jamie Crooks who all have at least 10 goals this season. Brandon Magee also adds to the strong group up front with 20 points in 20 games for the 17-year-old. On the back end the Royals have had injury problems among the four returning players. Tyler Stahl, Zach Habscheid and Jesse Pauls have all missed significant time due to injuries. Hayden Rintoul, an off-season acquisition and Jesse Zgraggen are the only veterans who have stayed healthy all season. Rookies Kade Pilton, Keegan Kanzig, and Brett Cote have all played significant minutes in their first WHL seasons which should go a long way in the next few years. In goal, the Royals are down to two goaltenders. Keith Hamilton has established himself as the starting goaltender. Rookie Jared Rathjen is the other goaltender on the roster and has seen a limited time in goal.
NHL DRAFT: Austin Madaisky (Columbus, 5th round, 124th overall in 2010), Brendan Ranford (Philadelphia, 7th round, 209th overall in 2010), Josh Caron (SIGNED by Minnesota, 2010)
INJURY REPORT: Jordan DePape (Upper Body, one month+). Man games lost due to injury – 28.
DID YOU KNOW… Forward Colin Smith leads the Blazers with 13 goals, 15 assists and 28 points this season… 19-year-old defenseman Austin Madaisky leads the Blazers defence in scoring with 4 goals, 13 assists and 17 points playing in 24 games… Third year defenseman Tyler Hansen leads the Blazers with +20 rating… Colin Smith played for Team WHL in Game #5 of the Subway Super Series on November 16th in Regina … Logan McVeigh has tied last season’s total with 13 points this season… Colin Smith recorded his 100th WHL point in Prince George on November 4th… Dylan Willick has only missed one game over the past two and a half seasons… Bronson Maschmeyer is the Blazers current iron man playing in his 169th consecutive game tonight… Chase Schaber is the team’s Captain, while Dylan Willick, Bronson Maschmeyer, and Austin Madaisky are the team’s Assistant Captains… Brendan Ranford is the longest serving Blazer and has played 230 WHL games and has 201 points all with the Blazers… Defenseman Josh Caron is among the league leaders in penalty minutes with 88 so far this season… Caron is serving game three of a three game suspension tonight… The Blazers have a league leading 9 shorthanded goals, compared to only 4 shorthanded markers all of last season… The Blazers are 8-1-0-0 on Friday nights this season… The Blazers have the best road winning percentage in the WHL going 7-2-1-0 with a .750 winning percentage.
