BLAZERS IN PG TONIGHT

Blazers lost season series 1-6-0-1                                                               

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, 7 players via trade, 5 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, 6 from B.C., 2 from Manitoba, 4 from Saskatchewan, 2 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 Cougars are meeting for the third time this season tonight. In their first meeting, Chares Inglis scored the lone goal and the Drew Owsley recorded a shutout in a 1-0 Cougars victory. In the second meeting of the season in Kamloops, the Blazers shut the Cougars out 3-0. Dylan Willick, Colin Smith and Tim Bozon scored the goals for the Blazers. Cole Cheveldave recorded his first ever WHL shutout making 26 saves. Last night, Tim Bozon and Brendan Ranford each scored twice in a 5-1 victory. The Cougars and the Blazers meet a total of 10 times this season. This is the Blazers first trip to Prince George this season.  

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 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 for up to 4 months with an injury. The Blazers will also rely on veterans Dylan Willick, Colin Smith, JC Lipon and JT Barnett to carry 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 and 17-year-old Aspen Sterzer have been impressive throughout the start of the season because of their consistent work ethic. Veterans Logan McVeigh, Chase Souto and Ryan Hanes have contributed early and often this season. On the back end, the Blazers trio of Austin Madaisky, Josh Caron, and Bronson Maschmeyer are expected to lead the defensemen. Add in veterans Marek Hrbas, Tyler Hansen 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 is starting to figure itself out with veteran Cam Lanigan and rookie Cole Cheveldave as the two goaltenders.  Cheveldave and Lanigan have both played well, so the starting position is still up for grabs.

PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS ‘Who to Watch’: The Cougars are sitting in 5^th place in the B.C. Division with a 4-12-0-1 record. Defenseman Martin Marincin, who is solid two-way player and possesses a tremendous shot, will be back in the line up after a 4-game suspension. The Cougars are without superstar Brett Connolly who is sticking with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL. The Cougars are led by forward Charles Inglis and offensive defenseman and new team Captain Jesse Forsberg. Troy Bourke improved by leaps and bounds in his 16-year-old season. With a year under his belt, the 17-year-old forward will be a threat game in and game out. The Cougars solidified their goaltending, acquiring 20-year-old Drew Owsley in the off-season. Owsley has proven himself as a quality starting goaltender the last two seasons in Tri-City. He will be heavily counted on by the Cougars this season. The Cougars also boast super rookie Alex Forsberg. The 1^st overall pick in the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft has not disappointed leading the Cougars with 10 points this season.  

NHL DRAFT: Austin Madaisky (Columbus, 5^th round, 124^th overall in 2010), Brendan Ranford (Philadelphia, 7^th round, 209^th overall in 2010), Josh Caron (SIGNED by Minnesota, 2010)

INJURY REPORT: Jordan DePape (Upper Body, one month+), Cole Ully (Upper Body, one week). Man games lost due to injury – 18.

DID YOU KNOW… Forward Colin Smith leads the Blazers with 10 goals, 10 assists and 20 points this season… 19-year-old defenseman Austin Madaisky leads the Blazers defence in scoring with 3 goals, 9 assists and 12 points playing in 16 games… Third year defenseman Tyler Hansen leads the Blazers with +16 rating, which also leads the WHL… Colin Smith was recently added to Team WHL’s roster to play in the 2011 Subway Super Series later this month … Matthew Needham is the first second generation Blazer in franchise history… The Blazers lost 144 man-games to injury last season and another 21 games to suspensions… Colin Smith, Dylan Willick, JT Barnett, and Bronson Maschmeyer were the only players to play in all 72 games last season… Bronson Maschmeyer is the Blazers current iron man playing in his 161^st consecutive game tonight… Chase Schaber is the team’s Captain, while Dylan Willick, Bronson Maschmeyer, and Austin Madaisky are the team’s Assistant Captains… Four of the Blazers’ eight rookies saw game time with the Blazers last season, including Matthew Needham (13 games), Aspen Sterzer (10 games), Landon Cross (10 games) and Cole Ully (1 game)… Defenseman Josh Caron is among the league leaders in penalty minutes with 54 so far this season… The Blazers have a league leading 8 shorthanded goals… The Blazers have won twelve games this season, with nine different players scoring the game winning goal… The Blazers have the best goal differential in the WHL scoring 67 times and allowing only 41 goals… Colin Smith recorded his 100^th WHL point last night…