Charron delivering message to Blazers

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
After two games — and two losses — head coach Guy Charron’s message to the Kamloops Blazers was pretty simple.
“My message to them was, ‘We made little steps but we’re not where we want to be,’ ” the WHL team’s head coach said Sunday afternoon, less than 24 hours after a 3-0 loss to the Bruins in the Chilliwack.
That defeat came one night after the Blazers blew a 4-0 third-period lead to the visiting Kootenay Ice and fell 6-5 in a shootout.
The result was that the Blazers, who often have been given a day off after playing back-to-back games, skated Sunday morning.
“The days off . . . they’re going to have to earn them,” Charron said.
So, he said, the club “had a pretty intense workout as far as skating.”
Part of that was because Charron admitted to being concerned about the level of the players’ conditioning.
“We had a good go at it,” he said. “The players responded very well to it. I was encouraged.”
The skate came the morning after the Blazers were outshot 36-15 and shut out for the second time this season, this time by Lucas Gore, a 19-year-old Kamloopsian who earned his second shutout of the season and the second of his career.
“I thought our team battled hard to some extent,” Charron said. “The shots . . . we didn’t generate what we should have offensively but we were doing some good things. We were only down by one goal. Our goalie was playing well.
“The penalties took the wind right out of our sails.”
Ahh, yes, the penalties . . .
The Blazers, outshot 30-7 through two periods, got a solid effort out of goaltender Jon Groenheyde. But things came apart in the third period when they were hit with four straight minor penalties and gave up two power-play goals.
By game’s end, the Bruins were 2-for-10 on the power play, while the Blazers, who took 10 of 14 minors, were 0-for-4. The Blazers actually were the beneficiaries of the game’s first two power plays and then surrendered 10 in a row.
And, after just two games, Charron admitted to being bothered by what he sees as a lack of consistency by the referees.
“I brought it at one point to the referees’ attention,” said Charron, who watched veterans Matt Kirk and Colby Smith work in Chilliwack. “I don’t have a problem with what they call, but I would like to see some consistency on both teams.”
Charron felt his side’s penalty killers “did well for two periods . . . then they get a 5-on-3 . . . and we get two power plays at the end of the game when the game is out of reach.”
Still, he has been around long enough to know that this is something with which his club is going to have to deal.
“I talked to the players (Sunday),” he said. “I said, ‘We’re the most penalized team . . . we have to try to improve. If we have a call go against us, we have to go to the box.' ”
The Blazers continue to be the WHL’s most-penalized team and their penalty killers have faced more opposition power plays (177) than any team in the league. Kamloops also has given up more power-play goals (47) than anyone else. It also has given up at least one power-play goal in 14 straight games and has surrendered at least one in 23 of 29 games this season.
The Bruins got a first-period goal from winger Alexander Wiklund and third-period power-play scores from defenceman Jesse Craige and forward Chris Collins.
The victory lifted the Bruins (12-13-1-4) past the Kelowna Rockets, who lost 4-2 to the visiting Kootenay Ice on Saturday, and into sixth place in the Western Conference.
The Blazers, who start a stretch of three home games in four nights when they play the Edmonton Oil Kings on Wednesday, are eighth, two points ahead of the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Kamloops (11-14-2-2) goes into that game having lost seven of its last eight games.
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The Blazers had three healthy scratches Saturday, with defencemen Zak Stebner and Josh Caron joining forward Dylan Willick in the stands. While Caron was a healthy scratch for the 11th time this season, it was a first for Stebner and Willick.
Charron said he is a firm believer in rewarding good performances and that the opposite also holds true.
“We discussed it,” Charron said. “The performances (Friday) were not up to par. They reacted professionally.”
JUST NOTES: The Saturday game also signalled Charron’s first WHL road trip. As he put it, with a chuckle: “I had my first bus trip and it wasn’t too bad.” . . . Kamloops has been outshot in 24 of 29 games this season and has surrendered 35 or more shots in 23 of those games. . . . Kamloops and Chilliwack have already met six times. The Blazers are 4-2-0-0 in the series, while the Bruins are 2-2-0-2.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com