The first day of the next chapter

Well, that was an interesting day.
I’m referring to Saturday, a day in which I experienced unemployment for the first time in my life.
I have always been employed, from my high schools days when I spent summers working for the Local Government District of Lynn Lake or Sherritt Gordon Mines. I started in the newspaper business with the Brandon Sun in the summer of 1971 and have been in one sports department or another since then.
Until the Kamloops Daily News ceased publication with Saturday’s paper.
The day began when I awoke and, as per usual, checked my email. Which is where I found a news release from the Kamloops Blazers informing me that head coach Dave Hunchak “has taken a leave of absence from the team effective immediately” and that Guy Charron, the head coach for more than three seasons (2009-13), was back.
I will admit to feeling a strange sensation skip through my system when I read the news release and then realized that it meant little to me, that I no longer was employed by a daily newspaper, so I didn’t have to start assembling a story for Monday’s edition.
The adrenaline rush that usually followed news like that just wasn’t there. It was a feeling that I hadn’t experienced in a long, long time and I’m not yet sure whether I enjoyed it. However, it’s one I realize that I am going to have to get used to.
Anyway . . .
Who knows what really happened with Hunchak and the coaching change; perhaps, in time, we will find out.
The news release ended with: “No further comment will be made at this time.”
General manager Craig Bonner later said just that in a conversation with Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week.
On Saturday night, following a 4-3 shootout loss to the visiting Prince George Cougars, Charron, as quoted by Hastings, at least hinted that Hunchak’s disappearance was more than a leave of absence, or at least a voluntary leave of absence.
“Let’s face it — things weren’t going very well,” Hastings quotes Charron as saying. “(Bonner) doesn’t like to step in and let go of anyone unless it has to come to the point where it needs to be done and maybe it had reached that point and that’s when he asked me to come in and help the kids.”
After stepping aside as head coach after last season, Charron had been serving the Blazers as an advisor to hockey operations, a position that was created in order to keep him in the organization. One of the things that he mentioned when he left the head-coaching position was that he didn’t feel that his back could take too many more bus trips.
The Blazers, who have lost five straight and nine of 10, opened a seven-game homestand last night. Later, they have a six-game homestand that ends Feb. 15. After that, with the Tim Hortons Brier (the Canadian men’s curling championship) in the Interior Savings Centre, they will play 11 of their last 13 games on the road, including 10 in a row.
Yes, there are some bus miles left for Charron to travel.
Following last night’s loss to the Cougars, the Blazers are 10-29-5 and 19 points out of a playoff spot. This is a team that has been searching for its personality and it’s no wonder, because of the 24 players listed on its roster, 12 were acquired via trades. The Blazers also are carrying 11 players who were born in 1996 or 1997, with eight others born in 1995. Yes, this is a young team.
Hastings also reported that Hunchak actually left the Blazers on Thursday while the team was in Spokane. The head coach apparently flew home to Kamloops at that time, leaving associate coach Mark Ferner to run the bench in a 6-3 loss to the Chiefs on Friday night.
Interestingly, I don't think there was any mention of Hunchak’s absence during Friday night’s pre-game show, game broadcast or post-game show on Radio NL, the longtime radio voice of the Blazers. Ferner appeared on both the pre- and post-game shows.
I was at my then-desk through the entire game and listened from the start of the pre-game show to the end of Ferner's appearance on the post-game show. Perhaps I missed it, but I don't recall hearing anything about Hunchak's absence.
Hunchak, who worked as an assistant/associate coach alongside Charron for two seasons, was named head coach on May 15. He signed a two-year contract that includes a club option for a third season.

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Ferner proves you can come home again

Mark Ferner offers instruction to Cam Reagan, a prospect from Sherwood
Park, Alta., during a Friday session at the Kamloops Blazers' rookie camp.
(Photo by Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Kamloops really isn't home to Mark Ferner, but he keeps coming back.
“It was always some place I came back to when I was playing,” the Kamloops Blazers' new associate coach said Friday before taking to the Interior Savings Centre ice surface on the opening day of the WHL team's training camp.
Ferner, a 47-year-old Regina native, played two seasons with the Kamloops Junior Oilers and one (1984-85) with the Blazers. After his pro career ended, he spent more than four seasons on the Blazers' coaching staff.
So is it fair to call Kamloops at least his second home?
“Yeah, for sure,” he said with a smile. “Vernon is a great little community and we loved it there. But inevitably you have to move if you want to accomplish what you want to do as far as coaching is concerned.”
Ferner, in other words, is prepared to move again and again and again, because he wants to coach.
Ferner and his family - wife Jody and son Mackenzie, 17, who is with the BCHL's West Kelowna Warriors - have lived in Vernon since 2007. Mark spent four seasons as general manager and head coach of the BCHL's Vipers, going an amazing 165-51-24, winning consecutive national championships (2009, 2010) and making the 2011 national final.
“It was fun,” he said. “There was a lot of hard work. But I have to give credit to the kids. We had good kids there and they wanted it . . . they got a taste of it.
“We had the mentality that we were going to get better every day.”
Ferner left Vernon for the head-coaching position with the Everett Silvertips. However, Doug Soetaert, the general manager who hired him, lost his job on Feb. 2, 2012. Garry Davidson, who replaced Soetaert, fired Ferner 11 months later.
Asked if there are any regrets about his time in Everett, Ferner quickly replied: “Not at all.”
“Doug Soetaert is such a great man,” Ferner continued. “I worked for and with him for a year and a half and I can honestly say he's one of my favourite people in hockey. He really truly cared about that organization and the people he hired.
“You learn in a lot of different ways. You learn when you have success and you learn when maybe your team doesn't have as much success as you want. You learn to motivate yourself and use that the next time you get an opportunity to coach.”
That next time is with the Blazers. Ferner will work alongside Dave Hunchak, who moved up from associate coach to head coach when Guy Charron chose to step back. He now is an advisor to hockey operations.
Ferner said a chance meeting with Kamloops general manager Craig Bonner resulted in his coming back. At the time, Charron had just made his decision and, according to Ferner, Bonner asked if working here was something that might interest him.
“I didn't think too much about it at the time,” Ferner admitted, “but I said, 'Yeah, if I have nothing else going on, it's something that I would be really intrigued with.' ”
So . . . here we are.
Interestingly, in a game where a lot of back-scratching goes on, Hunchak and Ferner don't have any history together. In fact, their first conversation may have come late last January when they chatted at a party to celebrate the retirement of former defenceman Scott Niedermayer's number.
“When this opportunity came up, with the history of Guy and Dave,” Ferner said, “I thought it was a great opportunity to grow and learn.”
The relationship in its early stages, the two haven't sorted out their roles just yet. Ferner, however, is really excited because of something Hunchak said during the hiring process.
“I think it'll be real rewarding because he has basically said, 'You're going to come in here and we're going to coach together. If there's something that you see, you have to tell me or you have to tell the team.' ”
Which is exactly what Ferner plans on doing.
JUST NOTES: A weekend training camp schedule is in Scoreboard under What's On. . . . Rookie camp concludes today, with main camp started Sunday morning. . . . The Blazers have two guest coaches in camp. Mike Valley, a former free-agent signing of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks and a Richmond native, is preparing for his fifth season as the Dallas Stars' goaltending coach. Jack Campbell, 21, was the 11th overall selection in the 2010 NHL draft. He is preparing for his second pro season after spending last season with the AHL's Texas Stars. . . . Sophomore D Jordan Thomson is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. . . . F Philip Knies of Phoenix was unable to attend due to an undisclosed injury, while D Josh Bishop of Strathmore, Alta., is day-to-day with an undisclosed ailment. . . . In rookie camp, F Nick Chyzowski scored the lone goal as Team Iginla beat Team Recchi 1-0 in the first half of a scrimmage. In the second half, the Recchis got goals from F Deven Sideroff and F Jermaine Loewen in winning 2-0. G Connor Ingram (Iginla) and G Dylan Ferguson (Recchi) had the shutouts. . . . In the other scrimmage, Team Sydor and Team Doan tied 1-1 in the first half, with F Jesse Zaharichuk (Doan) and F Adam Tisdale (Sydor) scoring. Team Doan won the second half 2-1 on two goals by F Josh Beaudry. Tisdale scored for Team Sydor. . . . A full schedule and rosters are at blazerhockey.com.


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THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Steve McCarthy (Edmonton/Kootenay, 1996-2000) signed a one-year contract extension with ZSC Zurich (Switzerland, NL A). He started the season with Abbotsford Heat (AHL), getting two goals and eight assists in 30 games. McCarthy then signed with ZSC in late January and had one assist in eight games.
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Lester Munson, who is a legal analyst at espn.com, has taken a look at the wrongful death lawsuit filed against the NHL by the family of the late Derek Boogaard. He provides some insight into what all is going on. That piece is right here.
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The WHL got some pub at SI.com this week. Of course, the story is about the Portland Winterhawks having won the WHL championship and, yes, it mentions the little matter of those sanctions. That piece is right here. (BTW, the same story got some play from the Washington Post.)
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The Tri-City Americans have signed F Nolan Yaremko, who was a second-round pick (29th overall) in the 2013 WHL bantam draft. The 5-foot-11, 178-pound Yaremko, who is from Spirit River, Alta., played for the Edmonton-based Southside Athletic Club Southgate Lions, putting up 69 points, including 28 goals, in 33 regular-season games. He added 25 points, 11 of them goals, in 11 playoff games. . . . The Americans signed F Parker AuCoin earlier in the week, meaning they have signed their first two selections from the 2013 bantam draft.
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Travis Green, the acting GM and head coach of the Portland Winterhawks, is the flavour of the day in the coaching game. He has done a terrific job since the WHL suspended Mike Johnston, the club’s GM and head coach, for the remainder of the season on Nov. 28. But what’s next for Green? Paul Buker of The Oregonian tackles that question right here.
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Glen Gulutzan, who was fired this week as the head coach of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, now is on staff with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. Gulutzan will work with the Blades through the end of the Memorial Cup. . . . Gulutzan was with the Blades on Wednesday. . . . "We’re happy to have another set of eyes to help us out," Lorne Molleken, the Blades’ general manager and head coach, told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. "He’ll be the eye in the sky. As we go through the different games his input will be real, real important." . . . What’s the connection between Gulutzan and the Blades. As Nugent-Bowman explains: "Gulutzan played for the Blades in 1992, captaining the team to Game 7 of the WHL final before losing to the Kamloops Blazers. Molleken was the coach that season and current associate coach David Struch was the alternate captain."
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Now here's an interesting story.
Jon Kuiperij of the Metroland Media Group has a story right here about a junior A league in Ontario that is about to begin charging players to play. In fact, one general manager said his club may charge between $3,000 and $4,000. . . . Players already pay to play, but the ceiling is being removed. . . . That story is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
Dave Hunchak is the new head coach of the Kamloops Blazers. Hunchak, the team’s associate coach for the past two seasons, replaces Guy Charron, who now is the advisor to hockey operations. . . . The Blazers now will hire a full-time assistant coach. . . . Before joining the Blazers, Hunchak spent four seasons as head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors and three as an assistant coach with the Swift Current Broncos. . . . According to a Blazers news release: "Charron’s new role with the hockey club will include attending practices and home games while assisting the general manager, coaching and scouting staff on all hockey related matters. Charron will also aid in on-ice skill development and represent the Blazers at local community events." . . . Charron went 144-97-20 in 3½ seasons as the Blazers head coach. He is tied with Don Hay, behind only Ken Hitchcock (291) in terms of coaching victories with the Blazers. . . . The Blazers also have re-signed Colin (Toledo) Robinson, their athletic trainer/equipment manager. Robinson, who is preparing for his 18th WHL season, joined the Blazers from the Vancouver Giants over the summer of 2005. . . . Hunchak and Robinson signed multi-year contracts. No other details were provided by the Blazers. . . . Hunchak will attend the Memorial Cup in Saskatoon, where he also is to be involved in a daily radio show during the tournament.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From ESPN's Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons), who is a huge NBA fan and follower: "Between tonight's playoff games, David Stern is going to ram a knife into the back of a giant Seattle SuperSonics piñata."

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Hunchak steps up as Blazers' head coach

By MARK HUNTER

Daily News Sports Reporter
For Dave Hunchak, “a title’s just a title.”
He certainly got a bigger one Wednesday when he was named head coach of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers.
Hunchak had spent the past two seasons as an associate coach with the club. He takes over from Guy Charron, who stepped down to take on a new role as the team’s advisor to hockey operations.
According to a Blazers news release, Hunchak signed a “multi-year contract.” Details weren’t made available.
As the right-hand man to Charron, who went 144-97-20 over three-plus seasons as head coach, Hunchak was a big part of the coaching staff. That’s why he’s not exactly worried about the transition to head coach.
“A title’s just a title — it doesn’t mean a whole lot,” Hunchak said. “This team has a good group of people, the best I’ve worked with.
“Behind closed doors, everyone has a voice. It’s important to make sure we keep on doing that.”
This isn’t Hunchak’s first turn as a head coach. He spent four seasons as head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors. His contract wasn’t renewed after he led the team to a 40-26-6 record in 2010-11, good for fifth in the Eastern Conference.
Considered one of the league’s top young coaches, Hunchak was hired by the Blazers in June 2011, and helped Charron lead the team to back-to-back 47-20-5 records. In each of those seasons, the Blazers won at least one playoff round, and made it into Round 3 last month, before losing to the eventual WHL-champion Portland Winterhawks.
A lot of the credit for the turnaround — the Blazers had missed the playoffs in 2010-11 — went to Hunchak’s work with the defencemen. But Hunchak doesn’t consider himself a defence-first kind of coach.
“Defence is one of the critical parts of the game,” he said. “Every team that wins usually is a good defensive team. Look at Portland — everyone thinks they’re offence, offence, offence. But they have the best defence in the league.”
When the Blazers hired Hunchak to be their associate coach, it was assumed he would eventually take over the head-coaching position. The opportunity arose after the Blazers lost the Western Conference final to the Winterhawks.
Charron chose to step back, opening the door for Hunchak.
“We had some discussions right after the season was done,” Hunchak said. “Then (general manager) Craig (Bonner) was away so they slowed down. But everyone knew where we were at by that point.”
The Blazers should be a contender again in 2013-14. Although the team is losing, among others, captain Dylan Willick, five-year forward Brendan Ranford and defenceman Tyler Hansen, who is headed to South America for a mission with his church, it should return an excellent group of players.
Up front, Colin Smith, JC Lipon and Tim Bozon are eligible to return, as are budding forwards Matt Needham, Cole Ully and Chase Souto. Six defencemen can return as well, along with goaltender Cole Cheveldave, one of the league’s best.
And, in case Hunchak needs any help on the bench, Charron will be available in his advisor role.
“We’ve talked about (Charron’s role) a little bit,” Hunchak said. “He has a wealth of knowledge and experience, and it’s great to have that around.”
Charron will be in the arena at home games and will help out in practices.
“He’ll be more involved in the player development side of things,” Hunchak said.
Hunchak’s first order of business will be finding a full-time assistant coach. He’s scheduled to leave today for the Memorial Cup in Saskatoon, where he’s going to talk with a couple of possible candidates.
He also figures he’ll receive “quite a few emails” from coaches looking for work, before starting the day-to-day grind that goes with his new title.
“I have to communicate with the guys on the roster and our list players, including the newly drafted guys,” Hunchak said. “At this stage of the year, it’s about continuing to build relationships with the players.”
The Blazers also announced Wednesday that athletic trainer/equipment manager Colin (Toledo) Robinson has signed a “multi-year contract extension.” Robinson, who is preparing for his 18thWHL season, has been in his role with the Blazers since 2005-06.

mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca

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Charron bids adieu to bench, bus

By MARK HUNTER

Daily News Sports Reporter
Guy Charron no longer is the head coach of the Kamloops Blazers, but he couldn’t be happier that he’s still a part of the organization.
General manager Craig Bonner announced Wednesday that Dave Hunchak had signed a contract to be head coach of the WHL club, with Charron serving as an advisor to hockey operations. Hunchak had served as an associate coach under Charron for the past two seasons, during which the Blazers went 94-40-10.
Charron said he stepped back because he felt “the timing was right.”
“If I was going to take a step back,” he said, “I wanted it to be at a time when I felt the organization was in the right place.”
That it is, thanks in large part to Charron’s work over the past three-plus seasons.
Charron, a 64-year-old native of Verdun, Que., was hired by the Blazers on Nov. 23, 2009, replacing interim head coach Scott Ferguson, who served in that role for about a month after the firing of Barry Smith on Oct. 26, 2009. Charron was 144-97-20 during his time as head coach, and is tied with Don Hay for second on the franchise’s all-time list of coaching victories. Only Ken Hitchcock (291) has won more regular-season games as a Blazers head coach.
More importantly, though, Charron helped bring the franchise back to relevance in the community and respectability in the league.
Under his watch, the Blazers won the B.C. Division title in 2011-12, the first time that had happened since 2002, and also won a playoff series in 2012 — that hadn’t happened since 1999.
This season, the Blazers made it to the Western Conference final before bowing out to the Portland Winterhawks, who would go on to win the WHL title.
Unfortunately for Charron, who played 734 career NHL games and previously had served as head coach of the NHL’s Calgary Flames and Anaheim Mighty Ducks, time was starting to catch up with him. He admitted that the bus trips, which often would end at a cold arena at around 5 or 6 a.m., began wearing him down.
“Throughout the year, I was talking with my wife (Michele) and expressed that maybe it was time to start considering taking a step back,” he said. “I hoped that perhaps I could stay on and fulfill a role with the organization. I expressed this to Craig and they were very comfortable with that idea.”
With Hunchak, a former Moose Jaw Warriors head coach, waiting in the wings, the Blazers had no trouble finding a replacement. The Charron-Hunchak team hasn’t exactly been broken up — it’s more of a Hunchak-Charron pairing now.
In his new role, Charron will continue to attend practices and work with players, and also will be at home games. He will be involved in community events — he just won’t be traveling with the team anymore.
“I’ll still be busy,” he said, “just not on the road.
“I’ll be doing a lot of the same things,” he added.
What this means is that Charron still will get a chance to work in the game he loves, all while staying in the city he and Michele love.
“To fulfill a role in player development is something I always wanted to do,” he said. “Dave and I have worked together for a couple of years. We have a special relationship.
“To get to keep working with him and the players . . . it’s a win-win situation for me.”


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Winterhawks move into WHL final

With help from Paul Buker of The Oregonian and Portland freelance journalist Scott Sepich, here’s a look at Game 5 between the Winterhawks and Kamloops Blazers.

PORTLAND – The Portland Winterhawks are hoping the third time’s the charm.
The Winterhawks scored two power-play goals and another while shorthanded in skating to a 4-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers to win the WHL’s best-of-seven Western Conference final, 4-1.
The Winterhawks, who will be making their third straight appearance in the WHL’s championship final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, now await a winner from the Eastern Conference. Last night, the host Edmonton Oil Kings beat the Calgary Hitmen 5-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Game 6 is scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Calgary.
“You go the final twice and you lose, it’s not easy,’’ said Travis Green, Portland’s acting coach. “It’s hard to swallow. You live with it forever. . . . I’m hoping the third time’s the lucky charm.’’
The Winterhawks lost to the Kootenay Ice two years ago and last year were beaten by the Oil Kings.
Against Kamloops, the Winterhawks held serve, having also won Games 1 and 2 at home. The Blazers won Game 3 in Kamloops; the Winterhawks took Game 4.
“I thought Portland played very well,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said. “It’s a very determined group. I’m sure last year’s experience was something that they used. They didn’t want to see this go to seven games again and their effort tonight showed that. I thought they were very committed defensively, and I thought their goaltender played well, especially early in the series.”
It was only a year ago when the Blazers lost the first three games of a second-round series with Portland, then won three in a row before losing Game 7, 2-0, in Portland.
The Blazers and their fans were hoping for the same sort of comeback this time, but it wasn’t to be.
The Winterhawks, who finished atop the WHL’s overall standings, simply were too strong. Goaltender Mac Carruth allowed only seven goals in the six games, with five of them coming in the Blazers’ 5-1 victory in Game 3.
For the third time in three games, the Blazers gave up a 5-on-3 power play — this one for 1:14 — early in the first period. The Winterhawks didn’t score on the 5-on-3, but defenceman Seth Jones scored shortly after the first penalty expired.
“I think the most frustrating thing was again we took penalties,” said Charron, who harped on his club’s lack of discipline at inopportune moments for most of the series. “I thought we’d respond a bit different, but we started with a 5-on-3 the last three games and we can’t put ourselves in that position.”
Kamloops pulled even with 36.2 seconds left in the first period when winger JC Lipon pounced on a loose puck and got it behind Carruth.
But the Winterhawks regained the lead at 4:23 of the second period when Kamloops turned over the puck in the neutral zone and forward Taylor Leier pulled the trigger on a 2-on-1 break with Oliver Bjorkstrand.
The Blazers had a glorious chance to tie it in the period’s last minute but winger Kale Kessy’s shot hit the crossbar and bounced harmlessly away.
The Winterhawks gained some breathing room at 10:05 of the third period when left-winger Ty Rattie, who leads all playoff scorers in goals and points, picked off an errant pass by Brendan Ranford and beat goaltender Cole Cheveldave on a shorthanded breakaway.
“Just the way it goes sometimes,’’ said Rattie. “We were shading that side on their power play and (Ranford’s pass) happened to land on my stick.’’
How big was that goal? Rattie said it was a big one.
“That would be top goal of my career, with the crowd being so loud and how close a game it was,” he said. “It was awesome to score . . . an exciting game to play.’’
“After that (goal), our back was really against the wall,” Blazers captain Dylan Willick said, “and it was do-or-die time. I think we were still giving it all we had at that point and it maybe even made us more fired up. We wanted it that much more, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.”
Portland put it away when forward Nic Petan banged in a rebound on a power play at 13:58.
The Winterhawks were 2-for-4 on the PP and finished 7-for-28 in the five games. The Blazers, meanwhile, went 0-for-2 and wound up 1-for-21.
“They have so much firepower and transition,” Charron said. “and they were very committed to playing two-way hockey and made it very difficult for us. So, they deserve their wins.”
Charron also complimented the Winterhawks for their defensive work against Kamloops’ top forward, who were all but shut down.
“It wasn't easy for (our top guys),” he said. “Whoever played against them are great players. It made it tough to produce. We didn't have much room.”
As for Portland top four defencemen, Charron said: “Let's give credit to their defensive core — their top four is as good as anybody I've ever seen in this league and all four might play in the NHL. They didn't make it easy.
“In other series, we were able to capitalize because other teams broke down more and this team just doesn't break down very often. They were very committed defensively and really came back hard in the zone. We didn't have many breakthroughs.”
Willick, who completed his WHL eligibility, as did Kessy and Ranford, admitted the Blazers battled discipline problems most of the series.
“It’s tough to pinpoint, but we go back to discipline again,” he said. “For the third game in a row we started off down 5-on-3, so that gives them life and gives them the first goal. It’s tough to chase a team like that.”
And so ends a Kamloops season that included a lot of highlights, from an early-season franchise-record 14-game winning streak to the No. 1 position in the CHL’s weekly rankings, from a second-round sweep of the arch-rival Kelowna Rockets to an appearance in the Western Conference final for the first time since 1999.
“There’s a lot of good memories this season,” Charron said. “To start off with 14 wins in a row was a unique situation.
“I think this group of players has accomplished something tremendous in terms of consistency and winning over 40 games. Credit has to be given to these guys.
“It takes commitment, it takes believing and I think they did that. I hope they learned what kind of effort it takes to get to this level.”
Willick, who played four seasons with the Blazers, said it was a great season, but added that it’s tough to have his final WHL campaign come to an end.
“These guys have been my best friends and my family for four years,” he said. “I don’t know how to say goodbye to these guys. I don’t know how to say goodbye to all this.
“It’s truly been humbling and been an honour to be named a captain with this group. To play for Kamloops and for these fans, it’s a fantastic city.
“I’ve been dreading the day I had to say goodbye to it, and I don’t think it’s hit me yet that it’s over.”
While it’s over for Willick and the Blazers, the Winterhawks have another WHL final to which to look forward.
“Unbelievable,” Rattie said. “I’ve been so lucky to be here for four deep playoff runs, three WHL finals. Now the last thing to do is win this next series and go on to the Memorial Cup.’’
Rattie said he doesn’t care if Portland next sees Calgary or Edmonton. He just doesn’t want history to repeat itself.
“Doesn’t matter to us,’’ he said. “I think we’re ready for either team. Whoever we play, we don’t want last year or the year before to happen.’’
JUST NOTES: Rattie was the series MVP, thanks to 12 points, eight of them assists, in the five games. He leads all playoff scorers with 15 goals and 30 points. . . . Carruth finished with 22 saves, while Cheveldave turned aside 37 shots. . . . Ranford, who left in the third period of Game 4 on Wednesday night after taking a hard check, was in the lineup. Portland F Keegan Iverson, who received a charging major and game misconduct for the hit on Ranford, wasn’t suspended and played last night. “It was a good, clean bodycheck . . . a good hockey play,” Ranford said on Radio NL’s pregame show. . . . After three fans caused some problems behind the Blazers’ bench late in Game 2, there were three extra security people in the area for last night’s game. . . . Portland is the first team to win three straight Western Conference titles since Kamloops did it from 1984-86. . . . In the Eastern Conference, the Red Deer Rebels won three from 2001-03. . . . The championship series, for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, will begin with games in Portland’s Rose Garden on May 3 and 4.

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West Coast offence carries Winterhawks to Game 4 victory

Portland forward Brendan Leipsic expresses his dismay after being called
for embellishment in the first period of the Winterhawks' 3-0 victory
over the host Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday night.
(Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

Portland forward Brendan Leipsic was a lot happier
after defenceman Seth Jones scored his side's
second goal on Wednesday night.
(Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

 By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Portland Winterhawks, their short passing game working the way the West Coast offence is supposed to, made short work of the Kamloops Blazers at Interior Savings Centre on Wednesday night.
The 3-0 Portland victory, behind goaltender Mac Carruth’s 29 saves, left the Winterhawks with a 3-1 edge in the WHL’s best-of-seven Western Conference final.
Shortly after the game, both teams headed for Portland where Game 5 will be played on Friday night. While Games 1 and 2 were played in Memorial Coliseum, the next game is scheduled for the Rose Garden, the home of the NBA’s Trail Blazers. In its hockey alignment, the Rose Garden seats about 11,000 fans.
Should the Blazers win Game 5, the teams will reconvene at ISC on Sunday, 6 p.m.
Just like in Tuesday’s Game 3, which Kamloops won 5-1, the Blazers found themselves facing a 5-on-3 disadvantage early in the first period. And, again, they gave up a quick power-play goal, this one to forward Nic Petan on a back-door play. (Yes, the Winterhawks show up at the back door more often than a hobo in the Great Depression.)
“Two games in a row,” said Petan, “you get that 5-on-3 and it’s definitely a bonus. When you get those, you just have to capitalize.”
Why?
“You know they’re going to get those power plays back,” reasoned Petan.
“Any time you get a 5-on-3 you’ll take it,” offered Travis Green, Portland’s interim general manager and head coach, who then allowed that, yes, “it’s kind of weird that we’ve gotten two early in both games.”
Guy Charron, the Blazers’ head coach, didn’t offer any excuses for his guys starting both games in an identical fashion.
“We haven’t been disciplined against them,” Charron said. “Yesterday, we were able to get away with it and we scored on some opportunities. Tonight, we didn’t.”
But this wasn’t the same Portland team as the previous night. This bunch of Winterhawks did a much  better job of managing the puck, the short-passing game worked really well, and the result was a first period in which the Blazers spent a lot of time chasing the game.
“We spent the last 24 hours . . . our team had to look at themselves in the mirror a little bit,” Green said. “When you play well, you have to own the game and when you play bad, you have to own the game as well.”
Green was quick to give Kamloops credit for its play in a 5-1 victory in Game 3 — “They did stop some of our puck movement,” he said — but wasn’t at all happy with his club’s effort.
“We made some soft plays that I didn’t think we made tonight,” Green added. “Little backhand passes . . . we were a lot more direct in our game tonight and our execution was a lot better. We didn’t have many passes in our feet. (Tuesday) night, I didn’t like our game; we didn’t look sharp.”
The Winterhawks likely had possession for two-thirds of the first period, if not more. And they ended up with a 2-0 lead when defenceman Seth Jones scored on a point shot that appeared to clip goaltender Cole Cheveldave’s catching mitt on the way by. Cheveldave didn’t seem to see the shot, what with forward Brendan Leipsic camped out in front of him.
The second period took on something of a different tone, with the Blazers pushing and the Winterhawks seeming to have lost the oomph from their game.
It started when Portland wasn’t able to muster even one shot on a power play that took up the first 1:44 of the period.
And it continued for the rest of the period, the result being a 16-5 edge in shots for the home boys, but they weren’t able to solve Carruth. On one occasion when Carruth was beaten, winger JC Lipon drilled a goalpost.
In the second half of period, Kamloops forwards Kale Kessy and Colin Smith both had Carruth dead to rights but couldn’t beat him.
“I thought our second period was very strong. We had 16 shots,” Charron said. “But, again, as we were having momentum we took another penalty in the offensive zone.”
Kessy was penalized for roughing at 13:21 after he separated Jones’ head from his helmet.
“It’s frustrating for everyone,” Charron continued, “because we’re a team that when things go well, yeah, we’re a happy group and we play well . . . we’re hard to play against. But adversity . . . all year we’ve had a difficult time dealing with it.”
The Blazers’ attempt to get back into this one took a severe hit at 1:35 of the third period when Petan scored his second goal of the game, and eighth of the playoffs, getting to a loose puck in the crease and shoving it over the line.
Portland forward Ty Rattie drew three assists in the game, as he and linemates Petan and Brendan Leipsic showed the form that allowed them to finish 1-2-3 atop the WHL’s regular-season point derby.
“Just our feet moving,” Rattie said when asked about the different from one night to the next. “We weren’t sharp with the puck (Tuesday) night. Keep our feet moving and the puck moving up (ice) and we like our game.”
Petan agreed.
“We were more simple tonight; we didn’t try anything too fancy,” he said. “You make those short, good passes and the long ones will work after.”
The Blazers lost centre Brendan Ranford at 11:29 of the third period when he took a hit from Portland forward Keegan Iverson and went down hard. Originally, a penalty wasn’t called. However, during the stoppage, referees Adam Byblow and Jeff Ingram huddled with linesman Chris Sweeting, and Iverson ultimately was given a charging major, meaning the WHL will take a close look at the situation before Game 5.
Ranford, who was treated on the ice by trainer Colin Robinson, eventually skated off the ice and went straight to the dressing room. He didn’t return.
The Blazers struggled to mount even a shot on goal on the five-minute penalty as the lights dimmed on their chances of winning this one.
Charron was unable to provide an update on Ranford’s condition, saying only that the player was “with the medical people.”
“The thing that upsets me,” Charron said, “is that we may have another good player out on a hit by a secondary player. That to me . . . I’m not saying it was meant to be, but . . .”
JUST NOTES: Attendance was 5,164. . . . Rattie picked up two assists in the first period, giving him 87 career playoff points. That moved him into third on the WHL’s all-time list, one ahead of former Blazers star Rob Brown. . . . The Daily News Three Stars: 1. Rattie: A maestro in this one; 2. Petan: A gritty effort; 3. Jones: Huge improvement over Game 3. . . . Portland played without F Joe Mahon, who drew a one-game suspension for a game misconduct he incurred in Game 3. As well, each team was fined $250 for what the WHL calls “warmup violations.” . . . While the Blazers were to travel directly to Portland after last night’s game, the Winterhawks planned to go as far as Bellingham, and continue on to Portland later today. . . . The highest-priced tickets for Game 5? Seats along the glass are going for US$54.

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Blazers right back in Western Conference final

Kamloops Blazers goaltender Cole Cheveldave made some key first-period saves,
including this one on Portland forward Nic Petan.
(Keith Anderson / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
It was late in the second period when the Interior Savings Centre crowd began chanting “Chevy! Chevy!! Chevy!!!”
And the sound system blared: “Like a rock.”
The fans were saluting Kamloops Blazers goaltender Cole Cheveldave, who was exactly that as he and his mates overwhelmed the Portland Winterhawks to the tune of 5-1 on Tuesday night.
What that means is that the Winterhawks take a 2-1 edge in the WHL’s best-of-seven Western Conference final into tonight’s game at ISC. And the series now is certain to return to Portland for Game 5 on Friday.
The Blazers won this one because Cheveldave was terrific in the first period, and the Winterhawks didn’t have an answer for the Kamloops line of, left to right, Tim Bozon, Colin Smith and JC Lipon.
On Nov. 16, the trio combined for 14 points in a 6-4 victory over the visiting Winterhawks, the only time this season that Kamloops beat Portland, prior to last night. For various reasons, including Lipon’s stint with the national junior team, the line was broken up and rarely reunited . . . until last night.
“It was a matter of, we weren’t generating what we thought we needed to generate,” Guy Charron, the Blazers’ head coach, explained. “You sometimes go back to what gave you success and early on they were the top line in the WHL. There was no reason to think they wouldn’t be able to put it together.”
“They’re a good line,” said Travis Green, Portland’s interim general manager and head coach, “one of the best lines in the league. But we made mistakes tonight that we don’t usually make.”
Bozon, playing his third game since coming back from a fracture in his right hand, had two goals and two assists; Smith potted a goal and had two assists; and Lipon had an assist and a whole lot of sandpaper.
“We just wanted to come out and play hard,” Smith said. “We need to focus on playing hard and things will open up. If we’re focused on the end result, some things can go sideways.”
The Blazers also won this one by beating Portland goaltender Mac (The Truth) Carruth four times on 11 shots in the second period, turning a 1-1 tie into a 5-1 lead in the process. They also triumphed by winning pretty much every one-on-one battle for two periods, no matter where it took place, and that was something they had failed to do in 4-1 and 4-0 setbacks in Portland.
“The effort was there,” Charron said. “We had more jump. We skated well. We took the body.”
Defenceman Joel Edmundson got it started just 1:07 into the second, fourth-line winger Aaron Macklin kept it going with a nifty wrap-around against the flow at 8:02, and Bozon scored twice, at 14:56 and 17:04, to hand control to the Blazers.
“Smith, Bozon, Lipon got things going and that’s what we needed,” said Charron, whose team went into the game not having beaten Carruth in 117 minutes 50 seconds. “We needed some offensive production, something positive to build on.”
All of that came after a first period in which Portland had a number of glorious scoring chances and the Blazers were fortunate to escape at 1-1.
That, of course, was thanks to Cheveldave, the 19-year-old sophomore from Calgary who missed a practice last week as he attended the funeral of a grandfather.
“He was in perfect control of every situation,” Charron said of his goaltender, who made 35 stops. “He was really strong. He was never out of position . . . a very strong game by him.”
Portland defenceman Tyler Wotherspoon agreed.
“Their goalie played well,” he said. “We got some chances and Cheveldave stood on his head over there. He kept them in it right away.”
Right away was when Portland was handed a 5-on-3 advantage for a full two minutes just 4:53 into the game.
“The 5-on-3 didn’t make us too comfortable,” Charron admitted. “But I thought we did a pretty good job under the circumstances. Their first goal, it was so early in the game we knew we had plenty of time.”
The Winterhawks were only able to score once on that PP, when the puck appeared to bounce past Cheveldave off an ankle belonging to winger Ty Rattie. The Blazers got that one back at 16:37 when Smith redirected a Bozon shot through Carruth’s legs.
In between, it was the Cheveldave show.
There was a come-across stop on Oliver Bjorkstrand early on, and three outstanding saves in one flurry during a late Portland power play as he beat Nic Petan on a back-door play, then robbed Petan with a glove, and got a shoulder on a Rattie back-door shot. And let’s not forget stoning Wotherspoon with a glove when he went in alone after a big-league pass from defenceman Seth Jones. All of that came in a 50-second span.
Late in the period, Cheveldave beat Chase De Leo from in tight.
It’s no wonder the crowd was chanting.
“I felt great,” Cheveldave said, “and I was seeing everything. That’s all I can ask for. Our defencemen were clearing bodies out in front of me and I was able to see the puck really well.”
While the Blazers were savouring the sweet taste of victory, the Winterhawks already were working on erasing the loss from their minds.
“We can’t dwell on this night,” Wotherspoon said. “We have to learn from our mistakes. We have to come out strong in the first period and show them that we’re ready to play, and clean up our mistakes.”
“It doesn’t happen very often,” Green said, “but tonight we just weren’t sharp in a lot of areas. The good thing is we get right back at it (tonight).”
JUST NOTES: Attendance was 4,642. . . . Each team was 1-for-5 on the PP. . . . Carruth stopped 24 shots. . . . Green said he never once thought about yanking Carruth. “Not at all,” the coach offered. “I don’t think he (gave up a bad one). I liked Mac’s game tonight . . . it didn’t cross my mind at all.” . . . The Winterhawks lost F Joe Mahon to a game misconduct eight minutes into the first period. Green said he understood the penalty was for “a gesture of some kind, but I’m not 100 per cent sure.” . . . The Daily News Three Stars: 1. Cheveldave: In the zone; 2. Bozon: Looks healthy; 3. D Joel Edmundson, Kamloops: Big in his zone. . . . Earlier in the day, Carruth was named the CHL’s goaltender of the week after stopping 60 of 61 shots in the first two games of this series. . . . Both goaltenders have terrific playoff beards, but Cheveldave gave a bit of an edge to Carruth. “He’s got a pretty good one,” Cheveldave said with a laugh. “He’s got a year on me, though.”

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Charron not concerned about contract

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The only future Guy Charron wants to talk about these days involves the Kamloops Blazers’ next WHL playoff game.
He certainly doesn’t want to talk about next season.
But the fact of the matter is that Charron’s contract is up after this season. So, too, are the contracts of Kamloops general manager Craig Bonner and associate coach Dave Hunchak.
“That’s a question we’ll have to sit down at the end of the season (and address),” Charron said before his club began the WHL’s Western Conference final against the Portland Winterhawks. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
Charron, 64, has been the club’s head coach since Nov. 23, 2009. Originally, he signed a contract through the end of 2009-10. Later, he got a two-year deal that ran through 2011-12. On Dec. 13, 2011, the team announced a one-year extension through the end of this season.
In his three complete seasons as head coach, the Blazers have gone 29-37-6, 47-20-5 and 47-20-5. They didn’t make the playoffs in 2010-11, finished atop the B.C. Division and were eliminated in the second round last season, and are in the Western Conference final this season.
Asked if he wants to keep on coaching or if he is thinking about retirement, Charron replied: “I don’t think of anything right now except playoff hockey.”
He then chuckled and added: “(A contract) is the last thing on my mind right now. I’m really enjoying this.”
Blazers majority owner Tom Gaglardi, who also owns the NHL’s Dallas Stars, chose not to comment.
“It isn't club policy to comment on such matters,” Gaglardi wrote in an email. “We will make any necessary announcements when and if we see fit, and certainly not while our team is still competing for the Ed Chynoweth Cup.”
Hunchak is completing his second season with the Blazers, who announced his hiring on June 9, 2011. Prior to then, he spent four seasons as head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors and three seasons as an assistant coach with the Swift Current Broncos.
His contract wasn’t renewed in Moose Jaw despite the Warriors going 40-26-6 in 2010-11.
Bonner, a former Blazers defenceman, joined the Blazers from the Vancouver Giants, where he had been assistant GM/assistant coach. The Blazers announced on April 22, 2008, that he had signed a five-year contract with the Blazers.
The Blazers have a 187-143-29 regular-season record under Bonner, who has overseen a rebuild of the on-ice product.
———
NHL Central Scouting is to release its final ratings today for the 2013 NHL entry draft.
Reports indicate that Portland D Seth Jones, who turns 19 on Oct. 3, will be in the No. 1 slot, followed by, in order, F Nathan MacKinnon of the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, F Jonathan Drouin of Halifax, D Darnell Nurse of the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and F Sean Monahan of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s.
Nurse is a nephew of former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Blazers F JC Lipon was at No. 96 and F Cole Ully at No. 97 in Central Scouting’s last rankings.

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By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Broken down, hockey is a game of one-on-one battles. Win the majority of the battles and, in theory, you win the game.
The Kamloops Blazers lost the first two games of the WHL’s best-of-seven Western Conference final with the Portland Winterhawks in no small part, according to head coach Guy Charron, because they lost too many battles.
“When we’re in their end, cycling and working deep,” Charron said after practice at Interior Savings Centre on Monday, “we lose battles deep, and we get all three guys caught . . . . Portland’s transition from defence to offence is as good as I’ve seen on any team in the league.”
The Blazers, then, are looking to be more disciplined when the series resumes tonight at ISC. Game time is 7 p.m.
“It’s not going to be easy,” Charron admitted. “The way Portland is playing right now . . . they’re playing very hard at both ends of the rink. We can’t have any passengers and our best players have to be our best players.”
In describing the first two games, Charron all but sang a paean to the Winterhawks as he discussed how well the team that finished atop the WHL’s overall standings is playing right now.
“Their work ethic,” he said, “is really, really good. They work hard at both ends of the rink. Their backchecking . . . from a forechecking situation, they outnumber us on a counter-attack. We get caught three deep and they get rushes like 3-on-2, 4-on-2. . . .”
The Winterhawks’ power play is 3-for-11 in the two games and it isn’t a case of a malfunction with the Kamloops penalty killers.
“They are executing well,” Charron said. “They aren’t fanning on too many opportunities. Whatever they try works.”
Of course, the Blazers also have to find a way to solve Portland goaltender Mac (The Truth) Carruth, who is 7-0 in April.
“Some people say we need more traffic, but he’s made saves in traffic,” Charron said. “What we need to do is find ways to get more than just first chances. We haven’t been getting second and third chances.”
So . . . from a Kamloops perspective, what’s the answer?
“We just need to be more disciplined,” Charron said, “and play more our game . . . and not give up outnumbered situations the way we are.”
The players talk about being more disciplined, too, and not just in staying out of the penalty box.
“When we got the puck in their zone and in behind their defencemen, we generated a lot of chances,” veteran defenceman Tyler Hansen said. “But in the neutral zone and defensive zone, we were a little too passive. We know they’re a good team and we respect them, but I think we almost respected them a little too much. We gave them too much time. If we’re a little more aggressive and take the body a little bit more, we’ll be more successful here at home.”
At the same time, Hansen recognizes that the Blazers “were a little undisciplined” in the first two games.
“We were almost trying to make a statement,” he said, “but I think that was their plan and they kind of lured us into that. If we’re physical and play hard between the whistles, we’ll be better.”
Charron also pointed out that the Blazers haven’t been very good in the faceoff circles.
“We need to be better,” he said. “We’re chasing versus having possession.”
Blazers captain Dylan Willick agreed.
“It comes down to competing and battling,” Willick said, “and it’s not just the centremen; the wingers aren’t getting in there quick enough sometimes and they’re beating us to the pucks.
“We’re chasing from the draws so we’re chasing the game.”
Even with all of that, and with having been outscored 8-1 in the two games, Charron said Portland had only a 44-37 edge in scoring chances over the two games.
“Where they dominated,” he said, “was on the power play, where it was 17-8.
“If we play the way we can, we can beat this team. We can play with this team and we can have success against this team.”
Of course, hovering over this series is a ghost from one season ago when the Winterhawks won the first three games of a second-round series between these teams and held a 4-0 lead in Game 4. However, the Blazers came back and took the series to seven games, with Portland winning the last one 2-0 at home.
Naturally, the Winterhawks aren’t dwelling on what happened a year ago.
“I don’t think it’s worthwhile to analyze it,” Travis Green, the Winterhawks’ interim GM and head coach, told Paul Buker of The Oregonian. “You worry about the games in front of you, not the games behind you. They’re a good team, they play well at home, and I’m sure they will play well (tonight).”

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The truth is . . . Winterhawks up 2-0!

A story on Game 2 of the Western Conference final, with thanks from Portland freelancer Scott Sepich and Paul Buker of The Oregonian . . .

PORTLAND — The Kamloops Blazers scored one goal in the first two games of the WHL’s Western Conference final.
It should come as no surprise, then, that they are trailing the Portland Winterhawks 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, with Games 3 and 4 scheduled for Kamloops on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
“We need to score,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said after Portland’s 4-0 victory on Saturday night. “We need to generate some offence so we can take the lead and reverse the roles as far as playing catch-up hockey.
“We did that in the first game, taking the one-goal lead. But we know with their offence it's not going to be easy to sustain just a one-goal lead to win a hockey game.”
Goaltender Mac Carruth stopped 27 shots and forward Ty Rattie had a goal and two assists in Portland’s Game 2 victory.
Rattie also had a goal and two assists in Friday’s 4-1 victory and now leads the WHL’s playoff scoring race with 25 points, four more than Blazers forward JC Lipon, who is pointless through two games.
The Blazers scored on their first shot in Game 1 — forward Joe Kornelsen getting his first goal in these playoffs — but now have gone 117:50 without beating Carruth, who has stopped 60 shots over two games.
Charron admitted that Carruth’s value to the Winterhawks comes from more than just stopping pucks.
“Carruth is becoming too effective for them,” Charron explained. “Part of the game plan is to make their defencemen work, and forecheck and finish our checks. But our dump-ins are always handled by Carruth and he has that ability to handle the puck and use his body as a screen. We really can't forecheck aggressively against that.”
Kamloops forward Brendan Ranford lit up the Kelowna Rockets for nine points in a four-game second-round sweep, but has yet to get even a point against Portland. He credits Carruth for at least some of that lack of success.
“Mac's been playing really well,” Ranford said. “He's battling hard. We have gotten our chances, and I feel he's been a little bit lucky. He's made some saves that not too many goalies can make. He's working hard and playing well and we have to get to him and get in the crease to score tough goals.”
“Whatever we're doing now isn't working in our favour,” Charron added, “and we have to make some changes and get some confidence. Our frustration is coming from not scoring.”
Each member of Portland’s top line — Rattie, Brendan Leipsic and Nic Petan — had a goal, as did defenceman Seth Jones, who is likely to be the No. 1 selection in June’s NHL draft.
“Mac’s been a rock for us,’’ Leipsic said. “They’ve got a lot of good offensive guys, and we’ve kind of kept them quiet for the first two games. We’re looking forward to doing that up in Kamloops.’’
Charron pointed out that “we have players who aren’t playing to their potential, and to beat a team like the Winterhawks, everyone has to be pulling the load.“
Having said that, he knows that Kamloops’ top-end players have to be better.
“With all the experience I've had in hockey,” he said, “when you look at the success of teams you have to look at your best players. Their best players are on the scoresheet every night. For us, our big guns haven't showed up on the scoresheet yet and it's going to be difficult until they get going.”
Jones opened the scoring, carrying the puck into the Kamloops zone and putting a wrap-around in behind goaltender Cole Cheveldave.
“His goal was big-time,’’ Travis Green, Portland’s interim general manager and head coach, said. “I say it a lot, but when you get this far in the playoffs you need your best players to be your best players.’’
The Blazers also aren’t getting any help from a power play that has dried up.
“We're 0-for-10 on the power play,” said Charron, whose club was 0-for-5 in each game. “We have to find a way to generate more and get some momentum from the power play.”
On Saturday, the Winterhawks were 2-for-8 on the power play, and are 3-for-11 in the two games.
“I thought our discipline tonight needed to be better,” Charron stated. “They have a good power play; they scored two goals tonight. (Friday) night, they had a goal. All their power-play goals have been important for the success of their team.
“We didn't generate anything from our power play. It's a good hockey team we're playing and they work very hard. I could sense there was some frustration from our team as the game went on. But we have to realize that it's going to come from hard work and from hopefully scoring some goals.”
The Blazers no doubt will gain some comfort from the fact they are returning home to the ISC, where they were 27-7-2 in the regular season and are 4-1 in the playoffs.
“There should be comfort of playing in our building,” Charron said, “but we have to find a way to sustain pressure. It's way too easy for them in transition. We haven't been able to neutralize that at all. We're not supporting the puck as well as we should. We're playing too much on the perimeter.”
Ranford said he and his teammates are excited about going back home.
“Our fans are the best in the league for us and they support us all the time,” he said. “They've been with us through thick and thin through years where we didn't make the playoffs. I think it's been 14 years since making the conference finals the last time and they're going to be buzzing. We have to live off the energy like Portland did here.
“We're going back home and we're going to win those games if we work hard. We have to stop getting outworked, and that's been what's happening.”
Like Game 1, the second game featured some late-game silliness, something Ranford said comes with the territory.
“It's a playoff series,” he said. “Both teams are competing hard for the conference title. Emotions get high and things happen, but we can't get undisciplined like we have been. The stuff at the end of the game, we're not trying to intimidate or anything, we just don't want to quit.”
The Winterhawks say they don’t mind if the Blazers want to try and stir things up.
“They’ve got a few guys that are kind of running around a little bit trying to get you into penalties,’’ Leipsic said. “I like the way our guys kept their composure at the end. We kind of let them take the dumb penalties.’’
Green doesn’t know what will happen in Kamloops; he just expects to see more from the Blazers.
“I don’t know if they’ll play a lot better or be any different, obviously that’s up to them,’’ he said. “But with them being down two, we’ll probably see their best game.’’
JUST NOTES: Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave stopped 30 shots. . . . A year ago, when the Winterhawks ousted the Blazers from a second-round series in seven games, Portland won the first two at home, 5-3 and 4-1. . . . For Game 2, the Blazers inserted D Jordan Thomson and F Devin Oakes into their lineup, while taking out D Ryan Rehill and F Josh Connolly. . . . The Winterhawks added F Joe Mahon and F Dominic Turgeon, while taking out F Paul Bittner and F Keegan Iverson. . . . In something of a twist, three Portland players — Jones, D Derrick Pouliot and F Adam De Champlain — were seen signing autographs while serving penalties during Game 2.

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Winterhawks draw series' first blood

Here’s a story on Game 1 of the Western Conference final, with thanks to Paul Buker of The Oregonian and Portland freelancer Scott Sepich . . .

PORTLAND — The difference was a penalty shot.
At least, that was the opinion of Kamloops head coach Guy Charron after his Blazers dropped a 4-1 decision to the Portland Winterhawks in Game 1 of the WHL’s Western Conference final on Friday night.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series will be played here tonight. The teams then will head for Kamloops and games on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“It’s a tough game to over-assess or say what needs to be changed,” Charron said. “After two periods it was a 2-1 game and the difference was a penalty shot, so overall we were playing a good road game.
“We knew the next goal was going to be important in the third period and they got it. They’re an explosive team. They play well with the lead. That’s what we need to do is capitalize and make them play catch-up hockey.”
Across the way, Travis Green, Portland’s GM/head coach, liked what he saw.
“I thought we played pretty good, start to finish,” Green said. “I thought we deserved to win, but we know tomorrow is going to be a tough game.”
Portland veteran Ty Rattie was awarded a penalty shot at 17:16 of the first period. The Winterhawks were killing a penalty when he broke in alone and was hacked from behind by Blazers defenceman Joel Edmundson.
Rattie put a shot over goaltender Cole Cheveldave to give Portland a 2-1 lead.
“You’ve got to have one move in your head. If you have a couple moves stuck in your head it will screw you up,’’ Rattie said. “I know Cole pretty well. I know his tendencies. I had had one thing on my mind and luckily, it worked.’’
That was Rattie’s 12th goal of the these playoffs, which is tops in the WHL.
The Blazers had opened the scoring when centre Joe Kornelsen scored his first goal since Jan. 4 — a span covering 24 regular-season and four playoff games — at 2:10 of the first period.
“We got the first goal, which was a good momentum builder for us,” Charron said, “but as the game went on I think the chances were pretty even.”
Kornelsen’s goal came on Kamloops’ first shot on goaltender Mac Carruth. Who knew the Blazers wouldn’t score again on this night?
“It’s tough when you let in one of your first few shots,” Green said. “The thing about Mac is, he’s matured a lot over the years. Mac from a few years ago, it might have rattled him a little bit.”
Portland pulled even at 15:03 when forward Taylor Leier scored his sixth goal of this spring.
After a scoreless second period, the Winterhawks put it away with third-period goals from defenceman Troy Rutkowski, on the power play, and forward Brendan Leipsic. Rattie drew an assist on each of those goals.
Carruth, who often was verbally involved with opposing players, stopped 33 shots, four fewer than Cheveldave.
“We had opportunities to stay even closer or take a bigger lead but you have to give credit to Carruth,” Charron said. “He played well and made the saves he needed to make.
“We need to be more tenacious at the net. Carruth needs to work more and we need to get pucks into his feet, look for rebounds and that kind of thing.”
Kamloops captain Dylan Willick agreed.
“It starts with traffic at the net,” he said. “We had a lot of shots, but when Carruth can see it all, he’s going to make the saves. He’s a good goaltender. We need to finish some chances. We had a hot start and probably could have made it 2-0 or 3-0 if we just would have beared down and capitalized.
“They’re a team that makes the most of their chances, and they did that against us tonight.”
Things got a little fractious late in the game and Rattie was ejected with a checking-from-behind major for a hit on forward Chase Souto at the Kamloops bench. The Blazers lost forwards JC Lipon and Macklin to misconducts during the scrum.
"I was just going back to the bench,” Rattie said. “I get a stick, and I was trying to protect myself. I pushed (Souto) away and it was unlucky he went into the boards. That's hockey.”
Charron chalked it up to “a little frustration when it’s 4-1.”
“Any time someone takes an advantage it becomes frustrating,” Charron continued, “whether you take liberties or your discipline goes. But that’s playoff hockey. It’s intense, everybody cares and wants to do well. But when a team gets a 4-1 lead on you it gets difficult.”
Willick said the Blazers “didn’t really plan on the way the game ended, but it’s an emotional time of the season. It’s huge for us and we need to tell them that we’re not going away and that’s how we did it.”
It was an emotional game and Carruth found himself involved with Kamloops players, especially forward Kale Kessy, on more than one occasion.
“They kind of left me alone there in the first,” Carruth said, “and I kind of brought it on myself in the second and third. It’s something I’ll probably need to work on in Game 2. Keep my mouth shut and my stick down.”
Carruth said Kessy got him good on one occasion.
“He elbowed me, stuck me in the head, whatever,” Carruth said. “It’s what they’re going to try and do all series. It’s just going to be the way it is.”
Green, meanwhile, said Carruth “played great tonight. I liked his focus. I liked his composure.”
Green also said he wasn’t surprised to see his goaltender involved the way he was.
“We’ve seen that in the past,” Green said. “Stuff after the whistle, and what-not. He’s dealt with it before, and I’m sure he’ll deal with it again.”
Willick said things were perhaps “a little excessive in the scrums, but there's some rivalry going on between these teams and we're trying to set a tone in Game 1.”
Willick added that his guys aren’t about to change their game plan.
“Losing 4-1 isn't the message we wanted to give,” he said. “We need a bit more of an effort whistle to whistle to get going in Game 2.”
The Winterhawks won a seven-game second-round series from the Blazers a year ago and Willick said there is a real rivalry between these teams.
“Even in the regular season this season,” he said, “there's guys trying to establish how it's going to be between us. In the playoffs, guys might do a little bit extra. These guys aren't our friends by any means. We're going to go at them hard and physical every game.”
The Blazers had forwards Colin Smith and Tim Bozon back in their lineup. Smith had missed three games with a suspected concussion, while Bozon sat out seven with a hand injury.
“When you miss games,” Charron said, “there’s an element of timing and conditioning with them. It’s never like playing the games, especially in the playoffs when you have lighter practices.
“Overall, the effort was there. It wasn’t perfect for Tim but we were asking him to play a lot. Hopefully, his timing and his production will come.”
JUST NOTES: Portland was 1-for-3 on the PP; the Blazers were 0-for-5. . . . Carruth tied the WHL record for most games by a goaltender (65). He shares that record, for now, with former Red Deer Rebels G Cam Ward. . . . Lipon was held off the scoresheet for the first time in these playoffs. . . . Rattie now leads the WHL scoring race, with 22 points, one more than Lipon and three more than Kamloops F Brendan Ranford, who also was pointless. . . . Rattie’s goal was his 42nd career playoff score, second in WHL history. He had been tied with former Flin Flon Bombers star Reg Leach. Rattie trails former Medicine Hat Tigers sniper Mark Pederson, who finished his career with 47 playoff goals.

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By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
All signs point to the Kamloops Blazers being the underdogs when they open the WHL’s Western Conference final against the host Portland Winterhawks on Friday.
While the Blazers put up the WHL’s fourth-best record (47-20-5) during the regular season, the Winterhawks finished atop the overall standings, at 57-12-3.
Portland also led the WHL in offence (334 goals) and was second in defence (169 against). The Blazers were seventh on offence (261) and fourth on defence (180).
“We have to respect the season they’ve had and the kind of team they are,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said after Tuesday’s practice at Interior Savings Centre. “You don’t accomplish what they’ve accomplished . . . we have to show respect to these guys.”
Of course, there’s respect and there’s too much respect.
A year ago, the Winterhawks finished two victories and three points ahead of the Blazers. Then, when they met in the second round of playoffs, the Blazers were hanging by the fuzz on their chins — down 3-0 in games, trailing 4-0 in Game 4 — when they awoke from their slumber and forced Portland to a Game 7.
“The good thing,” Charron said, “is that we have played them before . . . last season. It was a good experience and in some ways we have learned what their strengths are. Hopefully, we have learned and can be better at what we need to do to be successful against them.”
What makes the Winterhawks tick isn’t an international secret.
“Their top four (defencemen) are as good as anybody in the league,” Charron said.
Freshman Seth Jones almost certainly will be the first player taken in the NHL’s 2013 draft. Derrick Pouliot, who is wrapping up his third season, was taken by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the eighth pick of the NHL’s 2012 draft. Troy Rutkowski (Ottawa Senators) and Tyler Wotherspoon (Calgary Flames) have signed NHL contracts.
Led by Pouliot’s 13 points, the four Portland defencemen have combined for 37 points in 10 playoffs games. In the regular season, they totalled 204 points.
“We paid attention quite a bit to their defence last year and our philosphy hasn’t changed,” Charron said. “We can’t afford to have them be the impact players that they can be.”
In other words, when they don’t enter the offensive zone on the rush, the Kamloops forwards are going to have to get pucks deep, regain possession and not allow the Portland defencemen to start the transition game at which the Winterhawks are so good.
The Winterhawks took three of four games from the Blazers, with the last two of those played after the trade deadline.
On Jan. 30, the host Winterhawks overcame a 2-0 first-period deficit and posted a 5-2 victory. Moments after taking that 2-0 lead, Kamloops lost defenceman Joel Edmundson to a checking-to-the-head major and game misconduct.
Portland’s top line of Brendan Leipsic, Nic Petan and Ty Rattie combined for three goals and three assists, while each member of what was then the Blazers’ No. 1 line — Tim Bozon, Colin Smith and JC Lipon — was minus-4.
On Feb. 20, the Winterhawks skated into Kamloops and beat the Blazers, 3-0. The Blazers mounted 27 shots on goal in that one but Portland severely limited the good scoring chances.
“We played shinny. We played to their game,” Charron said of those two losses. “We can’t do that if we want to be successful. We have to be much better defensively.”
Charron feels that he has seen improved defensive play as the playoffs have progressed.
One thing that doesn’t concern him is playing on the road, where the Blazers were 20-13-3 during the regular season and are 4-1 in the playoffs. Of course, the Winterhawks had the WHL’s best regular-season road record (29-5-2) and are 5-0 in the postseason.
“I think we’ve played better on the road than we have at home,” Charron said. “The players get excited to play at home; we have good support here. Maybe they feel that because they’ve played well on the road it’ll be easier at home. But in the playoffs, that’s not the case.”
The Blazers are taking a different approach to this road trip, by leaving today for a Friday game. They will ride the bus to Everett and spend the night there, then continue on to Portland on Thursday, arriving in time for an on-ice session.
“The nine-hour bus ride makes for a long day,” Charron explained. “Your recovery time is tough. It makes it more sense to do this going there.
“It’s a situation I think will leave us fresher.”
JUST NOTES: Kamloops F Tim Bozon (hand) did conditioning drills after yesterday’s practice. . . . Blazers G Cole Cheveldave was absent, as he attended a funeral. He is scheduled to return today. . . . The Winterhawks have added D Keoni Texeira to their roster. Texeira was Portland’s first selection in the 2012 bantam draft, taken 26th overall. From Fontana, Calif., Texeira, who turned 16 on March 24, played this season with the L.A. Jr. Kings U16 AAA team. The 6-foot-0, 195-pounder had 24 points in 32 regular-season games.
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Rest won't hurt Kamloops

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
To the victors go the spoils.
In this case, the victors are the Kamloops Blazers and the spoils are eight days off before they resume their WHL playoff schedule.
The Blazers, who completed a four-game sweep of the Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday night, will begin the Western Conference final against the Winterhawks in Portland on April 19 and 20.
Games 3 and 4 are to be played at Interior Savings Centre on April 23 and 24.
After Wednesday’s 4-3 overtime victory over the visiting Rockets, Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said his players would be given “a couple of days to themselves.”
He added that the players would “be back on Saturday,” although he said he didn’t think they would skate.
“We have plenty of time,” Charron said. “We want to make sure they’re rested and ready.”
The time off also will be good for the walking wounded.
Centre Colin Smith suffered a suspected concussion early in the second period of the first game against Kelowna on Saturday and missed the last three games. He skated on Wednesday morning but there never was a chance that he would play in Game 4.
However, Smith, who led the Blazers with 106 points in the regular season, should play in Game 1 in Portland.
Bozon, however, is a different story.
The Swiss sophomore is sporting a cast after suffering a fracture in his right hand during a game-ending melee against the host Victoria Royals on March 26. The recovery time for such injuries normally is in the area of four weeks. If all goes well, that could put Bozon on track for a return late in the series against Portland.
Smith, who also had a team-high 41 goals, finished behind only Portland linemates Brendan Leipsic and Nic Petan (each 120 points) and Ty Rattie (110) in the regular-season scoring race. Bozon was tied for eighth, with 91 points, including 36 goals.
As well, centre Dylan Willick, the Blazers’ captain, went down awkwardly late in Wednesday’s game and left the ice in some discomfort. The rest can only help him.
“It’ll be all good,” Charron said of Willick.
———
The Rockets, playing their sixth game in nine nights, could have rolled over on Wednesday and no one would have raised an eyebrow.
They didn’t, though, as they erased a 3-1 third-period deficit before eventually losing to an overtime goal by Kamloops right-winger Kale Kessy.
“We had it all season,” Ryan Huska, the Rockets’ head coach, said. “We were a resilient team all season. We weren’t surprised that we didn’t roll over. We fought through a fair amount of things. We expect (our players) to push.”
The Rockets started this season 2-7 and found themselves well behind the Blazers, who went on an early-season 14-game winning streak. However, Kelowna recovered and finished 52-16-4, good enough to place them atop the B.C. Division. But, in the opening round, the Rockets ran into a determined bunch of Seattle Thunderbirds, who had finished 50 points behind them. The Rockets lost the first three games to Seattle, then won the last four to take the series, 4-3. Five of the games, including the last two, went into overtime. And the last two were played on back-to-back nights in different cities.
There’s not much doubt that the Rockets, who at times had seven players scratched, were a tired bunch by the time Wednesday’s game ended. But Huska was having none of that.
“At the end of the day,” he said, “Kamloops was the better team in this series.”
———
Referees Chris Crich and Devin Klein handed out 12 minor penalties on Wednesday, each of them resulting in a power play. The Rockets took 11 of those minors – the first six and the last five.
Asked about the penalties, Huska took a moment, measured his words and replied:
“I find it sad . . . when in this type of a game the calls are 11-1. And I find it even sadder that it was a televised game where people see that type of officiating. . . . No discredit to (the Blazers) for what they did on the other side, but if you look back at this series, it was sad.”
———
When F JC Lipon scored at 3:43 of overtime to give the Blazers a 5-4 victory in Game 3 on Tuesday, it was the first time Kamloops had won an OT game on home ice since April 6, 1996. On that occasion, F Jarome Iginla’s power-play goal at 13:23 gave the Blazers a 4-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans in Game 2 of a best-of-five conference semifinal that Kamloops woud win, 3-2.
Of course, the Blazers then won a second straight OT game at home on Wednesday. Kessy’s goal, at 2:42 of OT, allowed the Blazers to wrap up a playoff series at home for the first time since April 11, 1996, when they beat the Americans, 5-1. The Blazers had trailed 2-1 in that series, before winning 6-1 in Kennewick, Wash., on April 9. The Blazers then lost the conference final to Spokane in six games.
———
JUST NOTES: Lipon leads the WHL playoffs in assists (16) and points (21). He is the only WHL player with at least a point in each of his team’s games. . . . Rattie and Kessy lead with 11 goals. . . . Rattie has 19 points, leaving him tied with Kamloops F Brendan Ranford, who has 13 points in his last five games. . . . The Blazers scored three power-play goals on Wednesday, including Kessy’s winner, on the power play. That’s a 27.2 per cent success rate, which is excellent in any coach’s opinion. . . . Iginla finished the 1996 playoffs with 16 goals in 16 games. Kessy is the first Kamloops skater since then to reach double digits in goals.

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Blazers looking to Portland

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
It was late Wednesday night in the bowels of Interior Savings Centre.
The vanquished, the Kelowna Rockets, were packing their gear and loading their bus, wanting only to get out of the building where their WHL season had come to a sudden stop less than 30 minutes earlier.
The conquerors, the Kamloops Blazers, meanwhile, already were looking ahead to the Portland Winterhawks.
The Blazers swept the Rockets from the Western Conference semifinal, the series-winning goal coming from right-winger Kale Kessy at 2:24 of overtime.
That goal set up a rematch of sorts with the Winterhawks, this one in the best-of-seven conference final. It will open with games in Portland on April 19 and 20, before resuming in Kamloops on April 23 and 24.
“They’ve won the last two Western Conference finals,” offered Kamloops centre Brendan Ranford, who put up nine points in the four games with Kelowna. “We had a great series with them last year and it’ll be a good one again.”
A year ago, Kamloops and Portland met in a conference semifinal. The Winterhawks won the first three games before the Blazers staged a near-epic comeback, winning the next three before falling 2-0 in Game 7 in Portland.
That series will be remembered in these parts mostly for Game 6, a game in which the Blazers trailed 5-2 early in the third period, took a 6-5 lead at 15:21, fell into a tie at 15:47 and won it 7-6 on defenceman Bronson’s Maschmeyer goal at 19:39.
The 5,080 fans in the house were so pumped when it ended that they stood and cheered until the Blazers returned from their dressing room for what amounted to a curtain call.
“I think we learned a lot from that series . . . that we never quit,” Ranford said. “Even when it’s tied, we just keep pushing and pushing.
“You could see it in Game 3 and 4 (against Kelowna). It was a tie game but we kept pushing. We are playing with confidence instead of playing scared . . . we’re playing to win; we’re not playing to lose.
“It’s been fun and we’re going to keep pushing.”
While Ranford and Co. were eliminating the Rockets, the Winterhawks were sweeping the Spokane Chiefs, ending it with a 5-0 victory on the road on Wednesday.
“They get rolling and they play hard and they have a lot of skill on that team,” Ranford said of the Winterhawks, who outscored the Chiefs 18-3 in four games. “We have to minimize their skill and just play a hard-nosed game like we can.”
For the Blazers, it also has been a case of sticking with the game plan no matter the circumstances.
On Tuesday, the Rockets dominated the first period, but the Blazers stayed with the game plan – get pucks deep, make the Kelowna defence work – and it paid off. On Wednesday, the Blazers had the great start, but the Rockets came back and tied it. Still, the Blazers stuck with the plan.
“They were tired. You could tell,” Charron said of Kelowna’s defencemen. “We kept by the game plan and made sure pucks were in deep and made them work.”
Charron pointed out that making defenders work doesn’t necessarily mean being physical.
“If you work down there and you force them to work defensively, to defend, it makes them tired,” Charron said. “If you can make the other team defend more than you, chances are you will get some offence and you should be able to pull it off.”
“Even when it was 3-3,” Ranford said, “we kept on sticking to our game plan. It worked out, didn’t it? That’s what we do and it’s been awesome. . . . it’s been a good ride so far. But we’ve got a good team in Portland . . .
“I think we’re a good match for them. We just have to play our game and play our structure and it’ll be good.”
Meanwhile, Kelowna head coach Ryan Huska expects a Kamloops-Portland series to be “entertaining to watch” because both teams have excellent transition games.
“They are two of the most offensively dangerous teams in our conference,” Huska said. “I think it will be a fast paced series. Probably at the end of the day it will come down to goaltenders.”
If an MVP had been selected in the Kamloops-Kelowna series, it may well have been Blazers goaltender Cole Cheveldave. It wasn’t that he stopped an overwhelming number of shots – 105 out of 115 (.913) – but the number of timely, momentum-killing saves he made was off the charts.
In 10 playoff games, Cheveldave is 8-2, 2.60, .895.
Meanwhile, Portland’s Mac Carruth became the first goaltender in franchise history to post two shutouts in one series when he held Spokane to three goals over four games. Overall, Carruth is 8-2, 1.74, .925.
Carruth also became the winning goaltender in WHL playoff history. He has 41 victories, two more than Cam Ward, who won 38 during his career with the Red Deer Rebels.
 

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