Blazers expecting wall of noise in Coliseum

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers are prepared to play in front of large crowds when their WHL playoff series with the Vancouver Giants opens with games tonight and Saturday at Pacific Coliseum.
There were 14,468 fans at Saturday’s game in Vancouver — the Giants won the regular-season encounter, 6-5, in a shootout — something the Blazers didn’t mind one bit because they are expecting noise tonight.
“We had a taste of that,” Kamloops goaltender Kurtis Mucha said. “I’m glad there were 14,500 people there.
“It didn’t affect me. I was excited. It was great. I hadn’t seen a crowd like that in a long time.
“It was good for our young guys to get one of those games in before and see all those people.”
Mucha was somewhat surprised by the size of the crowd because there were 18,810 fans watching the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks play the visiting Calgary Flames at the same time.
“They had 33,000 people watching live hockey in that city,” he said. “That’s incredible. I couldn’t believe it.”
Kamloops defenceman Bronson Maschmeyer, who was acquired from the Giants prior to the start of this season, is looking forward to the wall of noise.
“My first game there, in playoffs as a 16-year-old, they had 13,000 or 14,000,” he said. “My first shift . . . it was pretty intimidating.”
As the visitors, Maschmeyer said, “You have to feed off the energy but you can’t worry about them.”
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The Blazers, meanwhile, are asking fans to wear white to the games when the series resumes at Interior Savings Centre on Tuesday and Wednesday. Game time both nights will be 7 o’clock.
Considering recent history, it would be a mug’s game to try and predict how many fans might show up.
Last season, the Kelowna Rockets completed a sweep in front of 4,677 and 4,890.
Two years ago, it was the Tri-City Americans wrapping up a sweep before crowds announced at 2,895 and 2,570.
Three years ago, the Prince George Cougars opened what would be a four-game sweep by winning here before 4,517 and 4,463 fans.
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Early in the week, Mucha told The Daily News that the Giants’ “goaltending is their weakest point — everybody knows that, it’s no secret.”
All he was doing was verbalizing what many around the WHL have said for a lot of this season. But it apparently ticked off a few people in Vancouver’s camp.
In fact, Steve Ewen of The Province wrote that “when it was brought up with Segal’s teammates, there was instant anger.”
Segal, however, seemed to understand what Mucha was trying to say.
“It doesn’t bother me,” said Segal, 18. “I understand that people are going to say that I’m a question mark. I’m an inexperienced goalie and I haven’t been to the playoffs. I’ve talked about that with the coaching staff and it’s just a challenge for me to prove myself so that people don’t think that I’m a question mark as we carry on.
“It’s just another challenge, another thing to draw on.”
Segal began the season with the junior B North Delta Devils, and then played for the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers, before answering the Giants’ call.
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No Blazers were honoured Thursday when the WHL announced its Western Conference all-star teams and finalists for individual awards. The complete list is in Scoreboard.
However, G Josh Thorimbert, whom the Blazers selected with the 59th pick of the 2007 bantam draft, has been named the SJHL’s rookie of the year.
Thorimbert, who is from Saskatoon, went 26-14-2-2 with a 2.66 GAA and a .917 save percentage with the Kindersley Klippers.
Thorimbert hasn’t committed to the Blazers, nor has he decided to take the NCAA route. Kamloops GM Craig Bonner will be in Eston, Sask., tonight to watch the Klippers open an SJHL’s division final against the Yorkton Terriers.
Bonner will then joins his brother Scott, who is the Giants’ GM, at a bantam tournament in Regina.
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JUST NOTES: F Lance Bouma (knee) and F Tomas Vincour, whom the Giants say has been ill, wore yellow no-contact jerseys at practice Thursday but saw a lot of work. For a while, they skated on a line with James Wright. . . . The Giants, who finished 41-25-3-3, have had four straight seasons with at least 40 victories. The Blazers have had one 40-victory season since winning 48 games in 1998-99. . . . Vancouver F Craig Cunningham, the lone unanimous selection to the Western Conference all-star team, scored 13 of his club’s 94 power-play goals and drew assists on another 35, second only to WHL scoring king Brandon Kozun of the Calgary Hitmen, who had 39. . . . Kamloops C C.J. Stretch finished the regular-season having played in a franchise-record 341 games with the Blazers. His 248 career points put him into a 17th-place tie with C Erik Christensen on the Blazers’ all-time list. . . . Mucha ended up 50 saves shy of the WHL career record. That record (6,958) is held by Danny Lorenz (Seattle, 1986-90). Mucha did set CHL records for career games and minutes played. . . . In their last 10 games, the Giants are 4-5-1-0, while the Blazers are 5-4-0-1. . . . The Blazers outscored the Giants 21-13 at even strength in the eight-game season series. Vancouver D Kevin Connauton, who had 13 points, was minus-7. Stretch, who had 13 points, was plus-8. . . . These franchises met in a first-round series in 2004, with the Giants winning in five games. . . . Kamloops has lost its last 15 playoff games. It hasn’t won a playoff game since March 29, 2005, when it beat the visiting Kootenay Ice, 3-2.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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