Blazers veterans under the gun

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers’ veteran players, at least those who played Friday night, are under the gun.
That became about as obvious as a punch to the nose Friday night when the Blazers lost 4-1 to the Chilliwack Bruins in an exhibition WHL game played before a friendly gathering of 1,447 fans at Interior Savings Centre.
The lineup the Bruins (4-0-0-0) dressed was bigger and badder than the Blazers (1-2-0-1), who were beaten 6-3 by Chilliwack on Wednesday night in Hope.
“That was embarrassing,” Darryl Sydor, one of the Blazers’ five owners, said as he left the building.
“I just wanted us to work hard . . . just compete hard,” said Blazers head coach Barry Smith, who saw that at times but not nearly often enough. “We had a lot of first-year guys in. I expect them to play hard. Some of the older guys I didn’t think competed as hard and that’s disappointing.”
The Blazers sat out 11 players, including five who are headed to NHL camps, two who are injured and defenceman Bronson Maschmeyer, who was acquired Thursday from the Vancouver Giants.
Smith said there are veterans who played last night who need “to realize I’ve got seven or eight guys out of the lineup and it’s pretty easy to see that they’re all going to play. . . . And (Maschmeyer) isn’t here to fill in on the back end for us.”
In fact, Smith pointed to two 16-year-olds — forward JC Lipon and defenceman Tyler Hansen — as having been his best players “because they competed.”
“They made some mistakes but they competed,” Smith said. “I can live with mistakes if you’re working hard. That’s the urgency I want to see. The young guys got it and the older guys didn’t.”
The Bruins outshot the Blazers 26-22, including 20-13 over the last two periods. However, the visitors spent far more time in their offensive zone than the shots would seem to indicate.
David Robinson, Isak Quakenbush, Travis Belohrad and Tim Traber, into an empty net, scored for the Bruins. Other than Robinson’s goal, which came off a shortside stuff job, Blazers goaltender Justin Leclerc was fine.
At the other end, Kamloops native Lucas Gore stopped 21 shots in going the distance. He was beaten only by Uriah Machuga, who walked in off the right side and beat him high.
The teams combined for 178 penalty minutes, leaving one to wonder how this all sets up a regular season-opening doubleheader — the teams will play in Chilliwack on Sept. 18 and here the next night.
Maschmeyer, who didn’t play last night, will skate with the Blazers this morning and may play tonight against the Rockets in Kelowna. If defenceman Brandon Underwood is suspended — he had his fourth fight of the exhibition season last night — Maschmeyer is expected to play.
General manager Craig Bonner gave up a 2010 third-round draft pick for him, so you know Maschmeyer isn’t going to be a part-time player.
In their first three exhibition games, the Blazers were outshot 40-25, 46-26 and 41-22. Even in the WHL, where the shot-counters are oftentimes called into question, it tells you the Blazers are spending too much time in their zone. Which is where Maschmeyer comes into play.
“I see the ice well,” the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Maschmeyer said. “I’m not a very big guy but I like to be physical. In the corners . . . I don’t mind throwing around the body, but I think my assets are seeing the ice and passing.”
JUST NOTES: With so many players away at NHL camps, the Blazers and Rockets each have agreed to dress nine forwards and six defencemen tonight. . . . The Blazers’ next home exhibition game is Friday against the Prince George Cougars. . . . F Kenton Dulle, who played the last two seasons with the Blazers, has signed with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones. Dulle had 59 points in 65 games as he played out his eligibility last season.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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