Warriors bury Blazers

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The bite was missing from Barry Smith’s voice; the fire that usually burns
was gone from his eyes.
“It’s very disappointing,” the head coach of the Kamloops Blazers said
Friday night after his team had been whipped 8-4 by the Moose Jaw Warriors,
who now have 13 victories and are 15 points out of a playoff spot, in front
of 4,255 fans at Interior Savings Centre.
The Blazers (16-20-1-4) came into this one having played three solid games,
winning two of them and losing the other in a shootout. That included a 5-2
victory over the Tri-City Americans, in Kennewick, Wash., on Monday night.
“It is bizarre,” Smith said. “You think we’ve turned the corner and . . .
(it turns out) we’ve still got a long ways to go.”
How abysmal were the home boys in this one? Let us count the ways . . .
1. They gave up eight goals on 28 Moose Jaw shots and goaltender Justin
Leclerc, who stopped 19 of 26 shots, wasn’t able to finish what he started.
2. Kamloops defenceman Giffen Nyren, who was acquired from the Warriors
prior to the start of this season, watched the third period from the bench.
3. The Blazers gave up two shorthanded goals to the 19th-ranked
penalty-killing unit, and three power-play goals to the the 21st-ranked PP.
4. The three stars all were Warriors.
5. Fans headed for the exits after the sixth Moose Jaw goal, at 8:56 of the
third period, before the winning 50-50 number had been announced.
6. By now you get the point.
“We stunk the building out,” Smith admitted.
That included the special teams.
“They were awful,” Smith said. “I think Giffen Nyren still thought he was
playing for Moose Jaw.”
The game was 210 seconds old when Moose Jaw centre Joel Broda, the WHL’s
leading goal scorer, blocked a Kenton Dulle shot and went in alone on
Leclerc while killing a penalty. The goaltender stood his ground and made
the save but that was a sign of things to come.
“(Broda) scored 31 goals; we turned it over twice and give him two
breakaways,” Smith said. “That’s not acceptable.”
Broda was a threat almost every time he was on the ice. He scored twice,
giving him 33 on the season, and that included a shorthanded breakaway at
8:26 of the second period.
Defenceman Travis Hamonic, who spent part of December at Team Canada’s
selection camp, led the Warriors with three goals, the first of which broke
a 3-3 tie at 12:59 of the second period with the first of four straight
Moose Jaw goals.
His three goals more than made up for a faux pas on the Blazers’ second goal
when he deflected a centring pass behind his own goaltender, Deven Dubyk, at
2:19 of the second period.
“It’s nice that the outcome was what it was,” said Hamonic, “and I can joke
about it with the guys. I’m sure we’ll watch it on video a few times and the
guys will harrass me. But it’s nice that the guys supported me and that we
came back from that.
“It’s not the first time I’ve scored on my own net and it won’t be the
last.”
That goal, which was credited to centre Dalibor Bortnak, who had gone 18
games without scoring, forged a 2-2 tie.
Broda and Hamonic sandwiched a C.J. Stretch score and the visitors took a
4-3 lead into the third period. Hamonic, with two, and Corey Scott scored
before the period was 11 minutes old and this one was over.
“No disrespect to them,” Smith said, “but we look at (their record) and say,
‘How can we make it an easy night?’, instead of saying, ‘How are we going to
really work hard and really pound these guys?’ ”
Ian Duval and Thomas Frazee also scored for the Warriors, while Shayne Wiebe
and Jimmy Bubnick had the Blazers’ other goals.
JUST NOTES: Referees Colby Smith and Ryan Thompson gave Moose Jaw seven of
13 minors. . . . The Warriors were 3-for-5 on the PP; the Blazers were
1-for-6. . . . The Warriors spent part of New Year’s Day at Harper
Mountain’s tubing park. . . . The Blazers meet the Giants in Vancouver
tonight and Jon Groenheyde, who played the last 9:28 last night, will start
in goal. “If we play like we did tonight, he’s going to see a lot of shots,”
Smith said.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com