GAME 5 TONIGHT IN PORTLAND
START OF SERIES: The Kamloops Blazers trail the Portland Winterhawks 3-1 in a best-of-seven series in the second round of the WHL playoffs. The Blazers started the series with a 5-3 loss on last Friday, a 4-1 loss last Saturday night in Portland and a 5-2 loss at home on Tuesday night. The Blazers kept their playoff hopes alive with a 5-4 win in Game 4. In Game 1, the Winterhawks erased the Blazers 3-1 third period lead with three straight goals and an empty net goal for the win. Ty Rattie had 2 goals and 2 assists, while Sven Bartschi finished with a goal and 3 assists. In Game 2, the Blazers played a solid opening 40-minutes but a mistake late in the second period ended up in the back of the Blazers net. Sven Bartschi tipped a puck in for a 1-0 lead. The Winterhawks came out flying in the third period scoring twice in the first 1:15 of the period. Chase Souto got one back for the Blazers, but Bartschi scored his second goal of the game for a 4-1 Winterhawks win. In Game 3, Brad Ross scored four goals to lead the Hawks to a 5-2 victory. In Game 4, the Blazers roared back from a 4-0 deficit scoring five straight goals to win 5-4. The Blazers have been without starting goaltender Cole Cheveldave who was hit by Oliver Gabriel while playing the puck behind the Blazers net late in Game 1. Gabriel has since been suspended for four games and is eligible to return for Game 6 of the series. Tonight, the Blazers will be without forward JC Lipon who has been suspended by the WHL under supplemental discipline for a hit on Hawks’ forward Ty Rattie.
Vs. Portland – This Season (4-Game Series)
Game 1: 10/14/11, at Portland 4, Kamloops 5 OT
Game 2: 11/02/11, vs. Portland 4, Kamloops 2
Game 3: 02/28/12, at Portland 5, Kamloops 2
Game 4: 03/07/12, at Portland 1, Kamloops 5
Blazers were 2-2-0-0 in season series
(MC) – Memorial Coliseum
(RG) – Rose Garden
WHL Western Conference Semi-Finals
Game 1: 04/06/12, at Portland 5, Kamloops 3 (MC)
Game 2: 04/07/12, at Portland 4, Kamloops 1 (MC)
Game 3: 04/10/12, vs. Portland 5, Kamloops 2
Game 4: 04/11/12, vs. Portland 4, Kamloops 5
Game 5: 03/14/12, at Portland, Kamloops(RG)
Game 6: 04/16/12, vs. Portland, Kamloops *
Game 7: 04/18/12, at Portland, Kamloops* (MC)
Winterhawks lead best-of-seven series 3-1
ROSTER BREAKDOWN: The Blazers roster currently sits at 26 players (3 goaltenders, 8 defensemen and 15 forwards). The roster includes 10 players selected in the WHL Bantam Draft, 7 players via trade, 8 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., 3 from Manitoba, 6 from Saskatchewan, 1 from the USA, 1 from the Czech Republic, and 1 from Switzerland. There are 16 WHL veterans on the roster and 10 WHL rookies. Four of those rookies suited up for the Blazers during the regular season last year.
|
Vs. Portland |
GP |
GOALS |
ASSISTS |
POINTS |
+ / – |
|
BRENDAN RANFORD |
8 |
6 |
7 |
13 |
-3 |
|
BRANDON HERROD |
5 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
|
CHASE SOUTO |
8 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
|
CHASE SCHABER |
4 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
|
COLIN SMITH |
8 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
-5 |
|
JORDAN DEPAPE |
4 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
-1 |
|
|
Record |
MP |
GA |
GAA |
SV % |
|
COLE CHEVELDAVE |
1-2-0-0 |
178 |
9 |
3.03 |
.921 |
|
CAM LANIGAN |
2-3-0-0 |
290 |
21 |
4.24 |
.884 |
AWARDS, ALL-STARS: The Blazers were well represented as the WHL’s Western Conference Award Finalists and All-Star team were announced on March 22nd. Rookie import forward Tim Bozon has been nominated as the Western Conference Finalist for the Jim Piggot Memorial Trophy as the WHL Rookie of the Year. Defenseman Austin Madaisky and goaltender Cole Cheveldave were both selected as WHL Second Team Western Conference All-Stars. Finally, General Manager Craig Bonner has been nominated as the Western Conference Finalist for the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy as the WHL Executive of the Year.
SERIES PREVIEW – BLAZERS PERSPECTIVE: The Blazers swept B.C. Division rivals the Victoria Royals in four games in the opening round to win their first playoff series since 1999 when they last advanced to the WHL Championship series. The Blazers doubled up the Royals 22-11 in scoring over the four-game set, and saw their power play go 5-for-19 in the process. Chase Souto has stepped into a bigger role and has produced with a goal in each of the first two games of the series. The Blazers need the line of Colin Smith, Tim Bozon and JC Lipon to get back on track after a dominating first round performance. Forwards Brendan Ranford and Brandon Herrod also are key contributors who will need to continue to produce offensively for the Blazers. Defensively, the Blazers are without their starting goaltender. Cam Lanigan stepped into Game 2 and was solid for the Blazers. He will need to continue to be strong to help the Blazers chances of getting a win on home ice. The Blazers did a better job defensively of shutting down Ty Rattie and Sven Bartschi las night. That task has been left up to veteran defenseman Austin Madaisky, Tyler Hansen, Marek Hrbas and Bronson Maschmeyer. All four defenseman have had tremendous seasons and will be counted upon to shut down the Winterhawks offense.
SERIES PREVIEW – WINTERHAWKS PERSPECTIVE: The Winterhawks swept the Kelowna Rockets in the first round of the WHL playoffs to advance to the second round of the post-season for a third straight season. The Hawks’ WHL-leading offense cranked out 21 goals over the four-game set, thanks to Ty Rattie’s remarkable 10-goal performance in the series. The Airdrie, AB, product and St. Louis Blues prospect has picked up where he left off with three goals and three assists in the first four games of the series. Rattie’s linemates, Sven Bartschi and Marcel Noebels, have also continued to contribute with Bartschi recording eight points in the first four games. The Hawks still have plenty of other offensive options at their disposal with Brad Ross, who has six goals in the series, Cam Reid, Taylor Leier and Taylor Peters all getting on the scoresheet. Defensively, the Hawks have allowed only six goals in this series. Mac Carruth has been a big part of shutting down the Blazers as he made 39 saves in Game 2 and backed that up by making 38 saves in Game 3. William Wrenn and Troy Rutkowski are the defensive leaders for the Hawks. They have done a good job neutralizing the likes of Brendan Ranford, Brandon Herrod, Colin Smith and Tim Bozon in this series.
NHL DRAFT: Austin Madaisky (Columbus, 5th round, 124th overall in 2010), Brendan Ranford (Philadelphia, 7th round, 209th overall in 2010)
DID YOU KNOW… Matt Needham was the highest scoring Blazers 16-year-old with 12 goals, 22 assists and 34 points since Micki Dupont had 35 points in the 1996-97 season… Tim Bozon finished 1st amongst WHL rookies with 36 goals and 2nd in scoring with 71 points… 19-year-old defenseman Austin Madaisky led the Blazers defence in scoring with 13 goals, 37 assists and 50 points playing in 70 games… Third year defenseman Tyler Hansen led the Blazers with a +38 rating… Brendan Ranford is the longest serving Blazer and has played 278 WHL games and has 270 points all with the Blazers which puts him 13th in Blazers all-time scoring… Rookie forward Tim Bozon has the most goals by a Blazers rookie (35) since Scottie Upshall had 42 in 2000-01… The Blazers surpassed their win total from last season (29) with 47 victories this year… Cole Cheveldave had 34 wins this season which is the most from a Blazers goaltender since 1999-00 season… The Blazers finished with 22 road wins this season which is the most since the 1995-96 season… Five of Cole Ully’s eight goals this season have been game winning goals… The Blazers clinched their first B.C. Division banner since 2001-02… Import forward Tim Bozon is ranked 42nd in NHL Central Scouting’s Final Rankings… The Blazers are ranked 9th in the final BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 of the 2011-12 season… The Blazers finished 16-3-1-0 against U.S. Division teams this season.
