Blazers work OT for victory

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
No one on the Kamloops Blazers’ roster scored more WHL goals last season
than did right-winger Kenton Dulle.
So when the going got tough Friday night, who did the Blazers turn to in
order to bust the Everett Silvertips? Dulle, of course.
Dulle’s goal, at 2:02 of overtime, gave the Blazers a 4-3 victory in front
of 5,087 fans at Interior Savings Centre. It was the regular-season opener
for both teams.
Dulle, who scored 21 goals last season, lifted the Blazers from the agony of
near defeat to the thrill of victory after Everett had tied proceedings with
just 6.7 seconds left in the third period.
Kamloops captain Scott Wasden, who was solid, especially on the penalty
kill, had given his mates a 3-2 lead at 3:58 of the third period, slamming
an Alex Rodgers centring pass behind goaltender Shayne Barrie.
The Blazers looked to be in control late, too, even though the Silvertips
forced a couple of late faceoffs in the Kamloops zone. Wasden won two of
them, but the Silvertips came up with the puck off the second one when
Kamloops couldn’t clear. And disaster struck when winger Shane Harper’s shot
bounced off defenceman Jordan Rowley and past goaltender Justin Leclerc, who
turned in a fine 26-save effort.
“I was a little worried there,” Dulle admitted. But the Blazers brushed off
the adversity.
“The guys are believing in the dressing room. That’s the main thing,” Dulle
continued. “After they scored to tie it, we didn’t stop. Guys continued to
push.”
As things turned out, that simply set the stage for Dulle, a 20-year-old
from Regina. He skated the puck down the right wing, going one-on-one with
Everett defenceman Shayne Brown.
“The puck came off (Kamloops defenceman) Mark Schneider’s toe and came to
the boards,” Dulle recalled. “I looked up and saw open ice so I took it. I
went wide and pretty much closed my eyes and took a shot.”
The puck squeezed through Barrie’s legs, the building erupted and the
Blazers emptied their bench.
“I think we were pretty nervous,” offered Kamloops left-winger Shayne Wiebe,
the best player on the ice, in explaining what had been a slow start for his
side. “This was probably the most fans we’ve had for awhile and I think we
were gripping the sticks a little too tight.
“We settled down, got back to the game plan and we executed.”
And in the process they executed the Silvertips.
“We were trying to get the fancy plays,” Kamloops head coach Barry Smith
said of his club’s early play. “Against a team that traps like that and has
five (players) above the puck, we have to push pucks through and get in
behind. They were holding their (defencemen) up tight and you can’t do
anything with that. You can’t go east-west, that just creates turnovers.
“We figured it out pretty well, though. I was happy with it after that.”
Centre Paul Van de Velde, a third-round selection by the Blazers in the 2005
bantam draft, opened the scoring for Everett at 8:29 of the first period,
tucking the puck into an open side. Van de Velde, who left the Blazers’ camp
a year ago and subsequently was dropped from their list, received a gift
when a shot by Brown glanced off linemate Kellan Tochkin in front and ended
up on his stick with Leclerc on the other side of the net.
The Blazers got that one back 10 minutes later, with centre C.J. Stretch the
beneficiary of Wiebe’s work. Wiebe stripped Everett defenceman Graham Potuer
of the puck behind the visitor’s goal line and got it to Stretch, who beat
Barrie.
The line of Stretch between Wiebe and Dulle caused problems for Everett on
every shift.
“They stuck us together in exhibition and we’ve worked well together,” said
Wiebe, who had six preseason goals and also scored last night, giving his
mates a 2-1 lead at 1:52 of the second period.
Winger Matt Ius had Everett’s other goal, tying the score 2-2 at 6:49 of the
second.
“A couple of bounces didn’t go our way,” Wiebe said, “but we battled and
skated them into the ground in the third and OT.
“It was a great way to start off the 2008-09 season.”
A beaming Smith added: “I thought we did a real good job. We deserved the
win.”
JUST NOTES: Last season, the Blazers drew only two home crowds of more than
5,000. Still, last night’s crowd was the fourth smallest opening night
gathering since the ISC opened for the 1992-93 season. So is the glass
half-full or half-empty? . . . Van de Velde is from Mariapolis, Man., a
small community about 90 miles southeast of Brandon. Two seasons ago, he
played midget AAA for a team based in Morden, Man. Schneider and Wiebe
played for the Brandon team in the same league. . . . The NHL’s Pittsburgh
Penguins returned C Casey Pierro-Zabotel, 20, to the Vancouver Giants
yesterday. He played his minor hockey in Kamloops. . . . There is always
more WHL news at gdrinnan.blogspot.com.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca