Blazers scouting report

TRI-CITY AMERICANS at KAMLOOPS BLAZERS
Today, 7 p.m., Interior Savings Centre (Radio NL 610)
TRI-CITY (8-3-0-0): The Americans last played Saturday when they got past
the visiting Spokane Chiefs 3-2 in a shootout. . . . C Johnny Lazo scored
the winner in that one. . . . It was the Americans’ third victory in a row .
. . . Tri-City is 4-3-0-0 on the road. . . . Tri-City head coach Don
Nachbaur has won 391 regular-season games, 11th on the WHL’s all-time list.
. . . LW Spencer Asuchak, 17, of Kamloops has gotten into five games with
the Americans. An undrafted list player, he has one assist and is minus-2. .
. . Chet Pickard, the WHL’s goaltender of the year last season, is 6-3-0-0
with a 2.80 GAA and a .909 save percentage. . . . The Americans are carrying
two other goaltenders — Drew Owsley, a 17-year-old from Lethbridge, who is
2-0 and Brett Martyniuk, 17, of Winnipeg, who has yet to make an appearance.
. . . Freshman F Justin Feser, the 194th pick in the 2007 bantam draft, has
nine points in 10 games. . . . C Jason Reese, 20, leads the Ams in goals (9)
and points (16). . . . Injuries: None.
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KAMLOOPS (4-8-0-1): The Blazers, who have lost four straight, dropped 5-2
decisions to the Chiefs in Spokane on Friday and to the Silvertips in
Everett on Saturday. . . . Kamloops is eighth in the 10-team Western
Conference, four points ahead of the Seattle Thunderbirds. Eight teams will
qualify for the playoffs. . . . This is the first meeting between the
Blazers and Americans since Tri-City swept Kamloops from the first round of
last season’s playoffs. . . . G Jon Groenheyde, who beat the Americans 3-2
on Jan. 4 in his only start of last season, gets the call tonight. He is
1-2-0-0 with a 3.92 GAA and a .878 save percentage. . . . The Blazers are
home to Seattle on Wednesday night. . . . RW Jimmy Bubnick leads the Blazers
in goals (9) and points (14), while D Giffen Nyren has a team-high 11
assists. . . . Injuries: C Mark Hall (knee, out).
— GREGG DRINNAN