Leclerc terrific in beating Giants

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Justin Leclerc will take the victory. He deserved the shutout.
“Maybe in the last game of my career,” Leclerc, 20, said Friday night after leading the Kamloops Blazers to a 2-1 shootout victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants before 4,516 well-entertained fans at Interior Savings Centre.
Leclerc will be back in goal tonight when the Blazers (5-1-0-0) and Giants (4-1-0-2) meet in Vancouver and try to settle first place in the Western Conference, at least for now.
The Blazers will play at home again Sunday, 6 p.m., when the Portland Winterhawks, 5-3 winners over the Chiefs in Spokane last night, are in town. Portland (4-1-0-0) is expected to start Kurtis Mucha against the Blazers. With 199 regular-season appearances, Mucha is the only current WHL goaltender who has been in more games than Leclerc.
Leclerc has played in 115 games with the Blazers, since they acquired him from the Lethbridge Hurricanes prior to 2007-08. He has yet to record a shutout here, after getting two in 71 appearances with the Hurricanes.
If ever he deserved one, it was last night. (Of course, the same thing was being said on March 11, the last time he faced the Giants. On that occasion, Leclerc stopped 58 shots in a 3-1 victory over the visitors.)
Last night, Leclerc stopped 47 shots, including nine in an overtime period in which the Blazers weren’t able to muster a shot. That included a staredown of Vancouver forward Brendan Gallagher, who was awarded a penalty shot at 1:07.
Gallagher would later face Leclerc in the shootout with the same result.
Since re-examining his technique and adopting a new style after the host Kelowna Rockets went 3-for-3 in a shootout on Dec. 27, Leclerc has owned shooters on penalty shots — going 3-for-3 — and in circus time, where he now has stopped 11 of 13 shooters and won four straight games.
“I see what hand the guy is and play it like that,” Leclerc explained. “You try to get as far out as you can so he won’t shoot. Make him deke and try to follow it.”
On the penalty shot, Gallagher “tried to go five-hole and I just got my back leg around.”
It was more of the same in the shootout as Leclerc made three saves, beaten only by James Henry, who snapped a shot past the goaltender’s blocker.
Meanwhile, Shayne Wiebe, who had scored for the Blazers in the second period, and Jimmy Bubnick beat goaltender Jamie Tucker to the glove side.
Bubnick’s goal allowed Leclerc to win it when he forced Mike Piluso to go wide with a backhand.
The Blazers had given up their 1-0 lead when Craig Cunningham redirected a puck past Leclerc four minutes into the third period, just as Kamloops forward Matej Bene left the penalty box.
The first period was scoreless, despite the Blazers owning a 9-3 edge in shots. From that point on, the Giants outshot their hosts, 45-19.
“That’s why you’ve got a goalie,” Kamloops head coach Barry Smith said. “I look at it as chances. Everybody is concerned about shots. Yeah, I’d like to give up five shots a game. . . . You can shoot the puck from the blue line all day and they’re not chances.”
Leclerc, now 3-0 on the season, especially liked the fact his team competed with the Giants.
“The last couple of seasons they’ve been a top team and it looks like they will be again this season,” he said. “I think we have a top team in our room, but we have to prove that to ourselves and this was a step in the right direction.”
JUST NOTES: Referees Ryan Bonnett and Trevor Hanson gave the Blazers six of 11 minors. . . . The Daily News three stars were: 1. Leclerc — he deserved a 1-0 victory; 2. Vancouver D Kevin Connauton — put him on the all-star team; 3. Wiebe — he was a pest, as usual.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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