Blazers full marks for victory over Rockets

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The satisfied smiles told you this victory was special.
The Kamloops Blazers, not far removed from a seven-game WHL losing streak, broke open a 2-2 game late in the second period Saturday night and went on to a 5-3 victory over the Kelowna Rockets before 4,648 mostly appreciative fans at Interior Savings Centre.
And now the Blazers (10-9-2-0), who squeaked past the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings 6-5 in overtime on Friday, will take a two-game winning streak into Tuesday’s game against the Red Deer Rebels. Game time at the ISC is 7 p.m.
The latest victory lifted the Blazers into fourth place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Everett Silvertips (10-5-1-0), Spokane Chiefs (10-6-1-0) and Kelowna (10-8-1-0). The Rockets entertain Red Deer in a Remembrance Day matinee on Wednesday.
“They’re a good team,” Kamloops goaltender Justin Leclerc, who made 39 saves in a marvellous performance, said of the Rockets. “To play that way against a good team says a lot. I think we played a pretty good game against Edmonton but this definitely is a step up against a better club.”
The Blazers, who played their best game in at least four weeks, had more structure in their game than they have shown in recent outings. And when the opposition pushed them, there was little in the way of panic in the Kamloops game.
“The first couple of games we were trying to get used to new things,” offered team captain Tyler Shattock, alluding to the Oct. 26 coaching change in which assistant Scott Ferguson took over for the fired Barry Smith. “The guys are buying in. The guys like playing for Fergy and I think there are better things to come.”
Shattock, who is playing with renewed vigour alongside centre Colin Smith and left-winger Brendan Ranford, broke the 2-2 tie Saturday, scoring his club’s third and fourth goals, giving him a team-high 12 scores.
The teams had exchanged goals, with the Rockets erasing 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, until Shattock first pushed in a Colin Smith shot that had deflected off a Kelowna skate at 17:48 of the second period and then sniped on the power play at 14:42 of the third.
Jimmy Bubnick, who ended a nine-game goal drought with the overtime score Friday, also scored twice, the last one into an empty net, while Dylan Willick had the other Kamloops goal.
The Rockets got goals from Cody Chikie, Kyle St. Denis and Brandon McMillan, the latter scoring shorthanded at 15:42 of the third period to give the hometown fans brief cause for concern.
On this occasion, though, there wasn’t any panic on the ice.
“They got that one on the (penalty kill) but it was good to see no one panicked,” Shattock said. “We just went out and got right back at it. The confidence in our team that we can win one-goal games is good.”
Leclerc added: “(The game against) Edmonton and tonight were real good examples of keeping your composure. It’s almost like we flipped the switch and all of a sudden we’re a composed team. That’s nice to see.”
Leclerc was especially composed against a Kelowna team that was coming off a 3-0 shutout of the visiting Chilliwack Bruins on Friday. And there were times when the Rockets, especially the line of Mitchell (Dirty Harry) Callahan, Lucas Bloodoff and Brandon McMillan, gave the home boys everything they could handle and then some.
“That was the hardest we’ve work for the last four games,” Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska offered. “We didn’t capitalize on our opportunities. I thought (Leclerc) was good tonight . . . he was very good for them.”
The Rockets, who outshot the Blazers 15-7 in the first period, ended up with a 42-25 edge that at one point was 34-17.
“We’ve had nights where the game has been close and we need to be more determined to get in tight,” Huska said. “We had (42 shots) . . . it’s not good enough unless you are putting five or six of those in.
“What did we have? Four or five breakaways? We had one post. We have to bear down on our chances.”
Leclerc was beaten by Chikie on a breakaway after a neutral zone turnover. But, other than that, he was solid one-on-one, proving again that he is as good as any goaltender in the league in that situation.
“It’s nice to finally win,” Leclerc said. “Even though we probably didn’t play the best game of the season against Edmonton, we did do a lot of the right things and saw how that gave us success at different times in the game.
“Coming into tonight, everyone knew what they needed to do and had confidence they could do it.
“We also started to get pucks deep and go on the forecheck. That’s our strength. If we play in our end the whole night we’re not going to have much success.”
This victory also was special for Ferguson, because he and Huska are close friends. They were teammates on two Memorial Cup winners with the Blazers and have been tight ever since.
Ferguson and Huska passed each other in a hallway after the game, but only exchanged a brief greeting. There will be time for more in-depth conversations in the offseason.
JUST NOTES: Referee Derek Herman gave each team six minors and one major. . . . Kelowna D Curt Gogol (hand) didn’t return after going toe-to-toe with Kamloops D Josh Caron at 3:40 of the first period. Yes, Gogol injured his hand on Caron’s helmet. . . . The Blazers lost LW Shayne Wiebe (hip) in the first period after he partially missed a check and went heavily into the boards. He will be re-evaluated before a decision is made on whether he plays Tuesday. . . . The Blazers are 2-1 against Kelowna this season after losing 13 times to the Rockets last season. . . . Kamloops G Jon Groenheyde, after a two-game absence with a sore wrist, backed up Leclerc. . . . C C.J. Stretch drew two assists for the Blazers; he has a goal and three helpers since returning from a four-game WHL suspension. . . . Kamloops D Giffen Nyren also had two assists. . . . The Blazers complete this five-game homestand when they meet the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday, 7 p.m.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com