Chiefs methodical in beating Blazers

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Talk about your double whammys!
The Kamloops Blazers lost their leading sniper from last season and the lead
within moments of each other Tuesday night.
Five minutes after right-winger Kenton Dulle went to the bench, the Blazers
were down 4-1 and on their way to a 6-2 loss at the hands of the Memorial
Cup-champion Spokane Chiefs in front of 3,919 fans at Interior Savings
Centre.
The teams were 1-1 early in the second period when Dulle, who scored 21
times last season, attempted a shot from a prime scoring area to the left of
goaltender Dustin Tokarski. Dulle got off a weak shot, headed straight to
the bench and disappeared into the tunnel. He would later return.
“I tweaked my shoulder,” said Dulle, 20, who has one goal in six games. “I’m
gripping my stick too tight. It’s not happening for most guys right now. Our
confidence level isn’t where it needs to be and it’s really hurting us in
the offensive part of our game.”
Seconds after Dulle left, the Chiefs gathered up the puck and skated it up
the ice, where left-winger Levko Koper went to the deke and beat goaltender
Jon Groenheyde. The visitors now had a lead they wouldn’t surrender.
Before the period ended, the Chiefs added goals from centre Mitch Wahl, who
also had their first score and two assists, left-winger Drayson Bowman and
defenceman Stefan Ulmer.
The Chiefs (3-1-0-0) were almost methodical in taking apart the Blazers, who
are 2-3-0-1 and have lost three straight. It was like watching vultures pick
over a carcass — they make sure the beast won’t fight back and then go to
work.
The Blazers took one minor penalty, which tells you they weren’t aggressive.
And the Chiefs scored two unassisted goals and two that carried just one
assist each, so you know the Blazers were turning over the puck against a
team that is quick to capitalize.
Asked if the Chiefs had their swagger back this early in the season, Wahl,
who has nine points in four games, replied: “I think so. We’ve got
hard-working guys in there . . . it’s a good group . . . and I like our
chances.”
Wahl’s nine points have him in a tie for the WHL scoring lead with centre
Brenden Dowd, the former Blazer who now is with the Edmonton Oil Kings. Wahl
said he got a big boost yesterday from the return of Bowman, who had been
with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.
“I had Drayson Bowman back on the wing so that helped me out a lot,” Wahl
said. “Tonight, obviously, we played well together. We’re back in the
groove.”
Bowman had one assist to go with his goal as he and Wahl each was plus-4.
“Those two guys are easy to play with,” offered defenceman Brett Bartman,
who was, uhh, plus-6. “They both have a tremendous amount of skill. It’s fun
to watch them.”
Which is something the Blazers did a lot of last night.
“They’re a good team. Let’s be serious,” Kamloops head coach Barry Smith
said. “They moved the puck and we just didn’t do the right things. We were
out of sync. It’s very disappointing.
“Obviously, we try to prepare the team and tell them what they’re going to
be seeing . . . and tonight the guys thought they new better. They’ll figure
out tomorrow that they didn’t know better.”
Left-winger Dustin Donaghy scored Spokane’s last goal, while the Blazers got
power-play scores from right-winger Tyler Shattock, to tie the game 1-1 in
the opening period, and centre C.J. Stretch, who closed out the scoring at
9:58 of the third period.
The Chiefs also got a solid effort from Tokarski, the Memorial Cup MVP who
stopped 30 shots.
“He’s awesome,” Bartman said of his goaltender. “He’s really vocal. He’s
very calm. He’s definitely the guy who makes all the good saves and that’s
why we win games.”
Groenheyde turned aside 29 shots and was especially sharp in the first
period when he was beaten just once on 14 shots.
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t go to pucks, we didn’t move our feet,”
Smith said. “We didn’t play the style we needed to to win.
“It wasn’t about breakneck, open it up and let them go, because we can’t
hang with that kind of a team and play an open style. We did and we see what
the results were. Jonny had no support tonight.
“That was a team effort, as bad as it was . . . nobody was good.”
JUST NOTES: Referee Andy Thiessen gave the Chiefs seven of eight minors and
one of two majors. . . . Spokane was 0-for-1 on the power play; the Blazers
were 2-for-7. . . . The Chiefs had 13 players off their Memorial
Cup-championship roster dressed for this one. Four others were scratched for
one reason or another. . . . Spokane RW Justin McCrae, 20, returned from the
camp of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, only to suffer a knee injury last
weekend against the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Blazers will practise
today and then leave Thursday for Alberta where they play in Edmonton on
Friday and meet the Hitmen in Calgary on Saturday.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca