Blazers' line fuelled by chemistry

Tim Bozon (left), Colin Smith and J.C. Lipon give Kamloops one
of the WHL's premier forward lines.
(Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Most comedians are known for a line.
“Take my wife,” muttered Henny Youngman. “Please.”
“I went to a fight the other night,” said Rodney Dangerfield, “and a hockey game broke out.”
“A house is just a place to keep your stuff,” said George Carlin, “while you go out and get more stuff.”
The Kamloops Blazers have a line, too. They just don’t expect the opposition to find it at all funny.
Colin Smith centres Tim Bozon and J.C. Lipon. A 19-year-old from Edmonton who gets around in a Hummer H3. An 18-year-old left winger who was born in St. Louis, speaks English, French, Italian and German, lives in Switzerland, and plays internationally for France. A 19-year-old right winger from Regina who is a national-calibre wakeboarder.
Together, they put up 221 points, including 90 goals, last season.
Chemistry? The Nutty Professor should have had such chemistry.
It all began with the second game of last season. The Blazers had lost their season-opening game “then we got put together,” says Smith.
“The first game was against Vancouver and I think we had a couple of goals,” Smith says, referring to a 6-2 Kamloops victory in which he scored once and the other two combined for five assists. “The next game was against Victoria and it was kind of our coming out party, if you want to put it that way.”
The Blazers buried the Royals 8-2 in that one, with Lipon scoring twice and setting up two others, Smith getting a goal and three assists, and Bozon picking up one of each.
They only got better as the season went on, too.
“When we really started to have good chemistry was in the second half,” says Bozon, who was honoured as the Western Conference’s rookie of the year and later found himself being selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the third round of the NHL’s 2012 draft. (Smith was taken by the Colorado Avalanche in the seventh round; the undrafted Lipon later signed a tryout deal with the Avalanche.)
They also learned that a hockey season is much like a ride on a roller-coaster.
Lipon: “When you are playing together for so long, you can go into little droughts. But we always ended up back together.”
Smith: “It’s good, too, if one guy is having an off night, the other two guys kind of pick him up. We have that sense of confidence in each other.”
Bozon: “We know if one of us is weak one game, we aren’t going to change the lines. We are going to be back together the next game.”
Put all of that together and what do you have?
“It’s confidence,” Smith explained. “For a long time, whatever the reasons were, we had some down years, but the bar was raised last season. It’s almost like a standard . . . We want to win and that’s our goal.
“In the past, it was kind of ‘we’ll see what happens’ and unfortunately we were on the wrong side of a lot of games. Now it’s ‘we want to win’ and that’s our expectation.”
“Going into a game now,” Lipon says, “you have it in the back of your mind that we’re going to win this game.”
Then, referencing a 5-4 overtime victory over the Vancouver Giants on Sept. 7, in which he scored the winner, Lipon added, “The other night we were down 4-1 in the third period, and it was ‘We’re not going to lose this game.’ ”
It would seem that Lipon benefited more than anyone from this alliance. After all, he topped out at three goals in each of his first two seasons with the Blazers. Last season, he scored 19 times and finished with 65 points.
What happened?
“I changed my curve,” Lipon says, exhibiting a dry wit that is far beyond his years.
Seriously, after getting four points against Victoria in that 8-2 victory, he realized he could still score.
“But,” he adds, “I still think my goal on the line is to take the body.”
If a successful line has a hitman, a playmaker and a shooter, Lipon would fill the former role, with Smith as the assist man — he had 35 goals and 50 assists — and Bozon the one who loves to shoot and score.
And there may not be a line in the WHL that cycles the puck in the offensive zone the way these guys do. They love to get the puck deep and work over the other team’s defencemen.
“That’s probably our biggest asset,” Smith says. “In the league now, it’s tough to get a whole lot off the rush. We try to use the whole zone and each other.
“Our whole team, we practise it a lot. As a team identity, we try to thrive off the cycle.”
And now, coming off the successes of last season, Bozon, Smith and Lipon are prepared to lead their teammates into another winter.
“You want the puck and you want to be out there in key situations,” Smith says. “It’s awesome having two guys that you feel confident with out there with you.”
They know, too, that they will have targets on their backs. After running with the big dogs last season, the Blazers won’t be sneaking up on anyone.
“Last season, in meetings with coaches,” Bozon says, “they said to be ready for next season because everybody knows us now.
“It’ll be a challenge.”


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It is hard to take hockey seriously on a day when the NHL’s Florida Panthers laid off their mascot, Stanley C. Panther.
It is hard to take hockey seriously on a day when one player, having just showered after a morning workout, was denied a towel by those same Panthers.
It is hard to take hockey seriously when, in some NHL cities, players are paying to rent ice from the very people who have locked them out.
But, hey, here we are just three days before the kids in the WHL start to play for real.
And optimism reigns supreme.
The Kamloops Blazers, fresh off their first B.C. Division pennant since 2002 and their first playoff series victory since the spring of 1999, open at home Friday to the always-despised Kelowna Rockets. Game time at Interior Savings Centre will be 7 p.m. Actually, the hoisting of the pennant will start sometime around then; the dropping of the puck will be delayed by the good times.
And once this season gets rolling it could be that the only thing capable of stopping the Blazers from soaring with the eagles for a second straight winter will be — wait for it! — the Kamloops Blazers.
Assuming everyone stays healthy, this edition of the Blazers isn’t going to have any trouble scoring goals. As a group, the top six forwards may be the best in all of the WHL.
Tim Bozon, Colin Smith and J.C. Lipon provide the Blazers with perhaps the league’s top forward line.
Going into the season, head coach Guy Charron has been playing his three 20-year-olds — Brendan Ranford, Dylan Willick and Jordan DePape — on the same line. Only time will tell how long that lasts but, at least in the short term, that threesome also will provide opposing teams with some nightmares.
When you add to the mix the likes of Aspen Sterzer, who will be one of the WHL’s speediest skaters, Cole Ully, whose play is so solid, the much-improved Chase Souto, the always-improving Matt Needham and Rob Trzonkowski, who brings some much-needed size, this is an imposing group of forwards.
At the same time, the back end is a bit of a work in progress in that associate coach Dave Hunchak is working to figure out how he will spread around Austin Madaisky’s minutes.
A 35-minute man, Madaisky won’t be available until sometime in October, if at all. Under contract to the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, he will join the AHL’s Springfield, Mass., Falcons next week. He could still end up back with the Blazers, but it’s a mug’s game to count on that before it happens.
The Blazers will hope, then, that Brady Gaudet, already in his third season, is able to shake off what was a disappointing sophomore season and turn into the puck-mover he can be. Freshman Josh Connolly also is going to get a chance to fill that role and to play on the power play, but has yet to learn how to pick his spots, when to jump into the offensive zone and when to stay at home.
A year ago, the Blazers had much bigger problems than any of these, though, because they didn’t know who would be their starting goaltender. Cole Cheveldave more than solved that problem and he’s back for more.
So . . . what might keep the Blazers from returning to the top of the heap?
Well . . . they need to learn to do a better job of starting and finishing, to get ahead of an opponent and to put a foot on the throat and keep it there.
“When we play the way we can,” Charron said after a 7-4 exhibition victory over the visiting Vancouver Giants, “we’re probably going to have success because we have some guys who can put the puck in the net as we showed tonight.
“Whenever they took momentum, we had the ability to come back and score goals and that’s the strength of our team.”
A few nights later, the Blazers had to overcome a 3-0 deficit en route to a 4-3 shootout victory over the Prince George Cougars.
“I thought there were times when we were too lackadaisical,” Charron said, “and we didn’t really match their effort. And consequently they dominated part of that game.”
The Blazers finished the exhibition season at 5-0, but twice had to erase three-goal deficits, something that didn’t sit well with the coaching staff.
You should know that Charron understands full well that he and Hunchak hold the hammer.
“The message tonight,” Charron said after the victory over the Cougars, “was that if you want the ice time that you think you deserve, you are going to have to earn it. If you do that, you will. If not, we have the ability to put other people on the ice.”

(Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca)

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Goaltender Cole Cheveldave of the Kamloops Blazers gets in front of a shot
off the stick of Jari Erricson of the Prince George Cougars on Friday night.
(Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Three-goal deficit? Who ya gonna call?
Try the Kamloops Blazers.
For the second time in a week, the Blazers erased a three-goal third-period deficit and won a WHL exhibition game.
On Sept. 7, they trailed the host Vancouver Giants 4-1 in the third period and came back to win 5-4 in extra time.
Then, on Friday night, they were down 3-0 in the third period, only to come back and drop the Prince George Cougars 4-3 in a shootout at Interior Savings Centre.
The victory allowed the Blazers to finish the exhibition season at 5-0. But, as centre Colin Smith pointed out, the reigning B.C. Division champions don’t want to be facing three-goal deficits every game.
“We’re well aware of our starts and we’ve got a week to go and now it’s for real,” said Smith, who scored the Blazers’ first goal and then notched the only goal of the shootout. “Preseason game or not, we have to be better than that.
“At the same time, I thought we did a great job of standing up and taking a stand for ourselves in the third period. I think that reassured us what we have to do to be successful, getting it low and working their (defence) . . . now it’s for real and we have to play to our strengths.”
Head coach Guy Charron pointed out that his Blazers “were not in sync” for 40 minutes.
“We couldn’t make good short passes,” Charron said. “We just weren’t playing the game that we need to play to be successful. When we did in the third period, we were able to have the success that we should have.”
At the same time, though, Charron was quick to credit the Cougars, a team that finished last in the B.C. Division last season but one that always seems to play the Blazers tough.
“This is a team for as long as I’ve been here, it’s not an easy game,” Charron said of head coach Dean Clark’s club. “Dean has them playing hard. He expects effort from his team and they have a lot of young guys who got experience last season.”
That effort had the Cougars leading 3-0 after 40 minutes — Chase Witala, Daulton Siwak and Troy Bourke had the goals — and with a 22-14 edge in shots.
Prince George started the third period on the power play and perhaps the game began to change 30 seconds in when Kamloops goaltender Cole Cheveldave got across his crease in time to stone Siwak with a right pad.
“He definitely kept us in it,” Smith said of Cheveldave’s 33-save performance and perfect shootout. “If it wasn’t for him it probably would have been out of our reach.”
The Blazers began to play their game deep in the Cougars’ zone shortly afterwards and the comeback began at 6:23 when Smith put a puck through goaltender Devon Fordyce’s legs.
At 9:55, Dylan Willick scored his fourth goal in as many games, this time the beneficiary of a great move by defenceman Marek Hrbas who presented him with a power-play tap-in.
Then, at 18:39, right-winger J.C. Lipon scored his fifth goal of the exhibition season, on another power play, to force overtime.
The Blazers were presented with a power play in the extra time but weren’t able to beat Fordyce, who was stellar in making 29 saves,
“We played hard,” said Clark, whose side finished 3-2 in the exhibition season. “They are probably the class of the B.C. Division and have some good offensive guys.
“We had a good power play to start the third and didn’t score.”
Yes, that power play may well have told the story for both teams.
But, as Charron said, the Blazers “need to be more consistent” with their effort. And, he added, “we have to make sure as coaches that we make everyone accountable.”
Charron felt the Blazers had a terrific practice on Thursday, which made last night’s start that much more confusing.
Maybe, just maybe, it really was due to the Cougars.
“It didn’t happen tonight,” Charron said, “because the team that we played against played hard and played well and all of a sudden things didn’t work out the way we expected.”
In the end, though, the Blazers were able to come back and, in the end, that’s what mattered.
“We have to give ourselves a little credit for coming back bcause that’s not easy,” Smith said.
JUST NOTES: The Blazers are scheduled to open their regular season on Friday against the visiting Kelowna Rockets. . . . As expected, the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned Blazers D Austin Madaisky to the AHL’s Springfield Falcons. Madaisky, 20, is under contract to the Blue Jackets. He will report to the Falcons’ training camp on Sept. 27. Madaisky will be one of at least 10 defencemen in the Falcons’ camp. . . . The Blazers are to take part in Sunday’s Terry Fox Run. They have set up a team fund-raising page at www.blazerhockey.com.

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The Tri-City Americans have signed D Riley Hillis, 16, to a contract. Hillis, from Arvada, Colo., played last season with the U-16 Rocky Mountain Roughriders. The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder picked up 22 points and 60 penalty minutes in 65 games. Hillis is with the Americans through the weekend and then will return home where he will play for the U-16 Colorado Thunderbirds.
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The Swift Current Broncos have signed D Max Lajoie, who was the 95th overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft. Lajoie, 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds, had 12 points and 18 penalty minutes in 33 games with the bantam AAA Calgary Royals last season.
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The Edmonton Oil Kings have added Sean Brown to their coaching staff. Brown spent six season in the Edmonton Oilers’ organization, playing with the big club and the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. He retired as a player after spending 2010-11 in Germany. With the Oil Kings, he will work alongside head coach Derek Laxdal and assistant Steve Hamilton. . . . Brown takes over from Jesse Pearson, who spent last season on the coaching staff after ending his playing career due to post-concussion syndrome.
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The Brandon Wheat Kings have a new goaltending coach. The Brandon Sun reports that Brent Zelenewich, a former Brandon U Bobcats goaltender, has taken over from Matt Cockell. Cockell, who is helping the Wheat Kings in training camp, has stepped aside because he also works with the Canadian women’s national team.
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The Vancouver Giants tweeted Friday that F Jordan Martinook, 20, has agreed to terms on a contract with the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes. Martinook, who blossomed into a 40-goal scorer last season, was the 58th overall selection in the NHL’s 2012 draft. . . . Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports right here that Martinook has been told by the Coyotes that he won’t be back with the Giants.
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JUST NOTES: The Brandon Sun reports that the Brandon Wheat Kings were without two veteran forwards in Friday’s scrimmages. F Dominick Favreau and F Jens Meilleur are out with back woes. That can’t be good for Favreau, who is one of four 20-year-olds on Brandon’s roster. . . . F J.C. Lipon’s three goals helped the Kamloops Blazers to a 5-3 victory over the Victoria Royals in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Friday night. Lipon had a career-high 19 goals last season — he scored three in each of his first two seasons — and this was his first hat trick. In 187 regular-season games, he has four two-goal games.
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Slovakian F Juraj Bezuch had 21 points in 67 games for the Lethbridge Hurricanes, but, for whatever reason, he was released following the season. Now he’s in camp with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers, who now have three import players, one over the limit. Not only that, but according to this story right here, Bezuch has been “dazzling” folks in the Kitchener camp.
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Fans of the QMJHL got good news earlier in the summer. Now it seems there soon may be the same good news for OHL fans. But there is no good news on this subject for WHL fans. . . . The trapezoid, which is gone from the QMJHL, is soon to be gone from the OHL, according to this piece right here. . . . The WHL has shown no signs of following suit and that's too bad. Because all the trapezoid does is penalize goaltenders who have worked hard to develop their puck-handling skills. It also prevents goaltenders from handling pucks in the corners and helping save defencemen from taking a beating from forechecking forwards.

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By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
What a difference five goals makes!
It was just on Wednesday evening when the Kamloops Blazers were staring playoff elimination squarely in the face. Already trailing the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 in a best-of-seven WHL Western Conference semifinal, the Blazers found themselves losing Game 4, 4-0, with the first period barely half over.
Oh, woe were they!
But wait! Since that point in time, the Blazers have outscored the Winterhawks 12-2, won two games and put themselves right back into the thick of this series.
In fact, a victory in Game 6 tonight at Interior Savings Centre will send the series back to Portland for Game 7 on Wednesday.
“We’re not quite there yet,” forward Dylan Willick of the Blazers said Sunday evening. “We have the momentum to the point where we believe we can make it 3-3 in our building and go back to Portland . . . we know that we the two games to keep going so we can’t let that get away.
“It definitely doesn’t feel like we’re down 3-0 anymore. It definitely doesn’t feel that we’re that close to elimination.”
The Blazers have gotten yeomen work from goaltender Cam Lanigan over the last five periods. He gave up four goals on eight shots early in Game 4, but has since stopped 57 of 59 shots, a save percentage of .966.
“He is standing on his head,” Willick said. “He has given us big hope. He’s done everything that’s been asked of him. He has given us a chance against a highly offensive team. That’s exactly what we need out of a goaltender.”
Lanigan, a 19-year-old from Calgary, will make his fifth straight start tonight as he replaces Cole Cheveldave, who suffered a concussion when he was run over by Portland forward Oliver Gabriel in Game 1 on April 6.
Gabriel has served a four-game suspension and is eligible to return tonight.
Cheveldave was on the ice last night for the first time since he was injured, but that doesn’t mean he is close to returning. Goaltending coach Dan De Palma put Cheveldave and Taran Kozun through some drills; Cheveldave left the ice after about 30 minutes.
Cheveldave has passed his baseline test. He also has ridden a stationary bike and done some jumping exercises. His re-appearance on the ice was just another step in the right direction.
While Cheveldave won’t play, winger J.C. Lipon will be back in the Blazers’ lineup after serving a one-game suspension for a Game 4 hit on Portland sniper Ty Rattie. With Rattie having played Saturday night, the WHL ruled Sunday morning that Lipon would be eligible to return tonight.
Willick, for one, is of the opinion that the play involving Lipon’s hit and subsequent goal may well have been the key moment, at least until now, in this series.
“About 15 seconds there,” Willick said. “I say it was a good body check . . . it was a good play overall. (Lipon) did what we’ve been preaching the whole time — finishing our checks. Then the bounce goes our way and he puts it home.
“Ever since then, we’ve been doing the exact same thing — playing physical, getting chances and finishing them.”
Willick said it’s simply a case of wanting to play hard-hitting hockey.
“We want to put the puck in deep and just crash and bang,” he explained. “They’re wearing down. In the third period, we have all the energy and they're just tired.”
JUST NOTES: The Blazers last won a playoff game by five or more goals on April 18, 1999, when they beat the visiting Tri-City Americans, 6-0, in Game 2 of the Western Conference final. . . . The last time the Blazers were involved in a series that went six games was 2005 when they lost 4-2 to the Kootenay Ice. . . . The Blazers haven’t been in a seven-game series since 1998. That spring, they took a 3-1 lead over Prince George, only to have the Cougars win the next three games and the series. . . . Lipon, F Brock Balson, D Landon Cross, D Jordan Thomson, F Brayden Gelsinger and F Aspen Sterzer joined Cheveldave and Kozun on the ice last evening. . . . The Blazers arrived home from Portland at 6 a.m. . . . The Americans hold a 3-2 lead over the Spokane Chiefs in the other Western Conference semifinal. The Americans posted a 5-3 home-ice victory on Saturday night. That series continues tonight in Spokane. . . . The Western Conference final is to begin Friday in the home arena of the highest-seeded survivor. . . . The Eastern Conference final, featuring the Edmonton Oil Kings and Moose Jaw Warriors, will open in the Alberta capital on Friday. Moose Jaw and Edmonton last met in a WHL playoff series in the spring of 1967.

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Series turns into adjustment bureau

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers and Portland Winterhawks will have some adjustments to make before they hit the ice tonight for Game 5 of their best-of-seven WHL Western Conference semifinal series.
The Blazers, no doubt still feeling the glow after erasing a 4-0 first-period deficit and winning Game 4, 5-4, at home on Wednesday night, will be without right-winger J.C. Lipon as they attempt to force Game 6 at Interior Savings Centre on Monday.
The Winterhawks, who take a 3-1 series lead into tonight’s game in the Rose Garden, may be missing right-winger Ty Rattie, a native of Airdrie, Alta., who is one of the WHL’s most-prolific offensive talents.
Lipon was suspended Friday morning for a Game 4 check that took Rattie out of that game and perhaps out of the Portland lineup indefinitely. Lipon wasn’t penalized for the hit but the Winterhawks requested supplemental discipline and he was suspended yesterday morning.
“You can’t really elaborate,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said. “It is what it is. You accept it and move on.”
Lipon drove Rattie into the side boards in Portland’s zone 12 minutes into the first period and then seconds later scored the Blazers’ first goal. Rattie went to the bench and was feeling his left lower back before going to the dressing room. However, his helmeted forehead struck the glass quite forcefully and he is believed to have a neck injury. Rattie was wearing a neck brace as he watched Portland practise yesterday.
“It’s really a neck problem,” Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks’ general manager and head coach, told Jim Beseda of The Oregonian. “There are no concussion symptoms. He said his pain seems a little bit better today and they’re just trying to take pressure off it right now by having him wear a brace.”
With Lipon gone, Charron did some juggling for yesterday’s practice in Portland. He put Brendan Ranford in Lipon’s spot, on the right side with Tim Bozon and Colin Smith. Cole Ully, who has been out with an undisclosed injury, skated in Ranford’s spot, with Brandon Herrod and Jordan DePape.
Which isn’t to say that’s how the lineup will look tonight.
“That may change . . . we’ll see how it goes (tonight),” Charron said. “You want to balance your lines because we don’t have last change. We’ll see. We’ll see how it goes and try to match as best we can.”
Charron had broken up the Ranford-Herrod-DePape line earlier in the series and then put it back together in the third period of a 5-2 loss in Game 3. That line responded with seven points in Wednesday’s startling comeback.
Smith’s line, meanwhile, has struggled of late and has just four points, none from Bozon, in the last five games.
Charron feels that Ully, who has yet to play in this series, is capable of injecting some offence into one of the top two lines.
“He has got some offensive ability,” said Charron of Ully, who had 20 points in 55 regular-season games while seeing mostly third- and fourth-line duty. “He’s probably in a better position to be put on a top line than to use him on the fourth line, which we would have had to. He’s in a better situation for him to produce.”
The Blazers, meanwhile, will have Cam Lanigan in goal for a fourth straight game. Cole Cheveldave, who was selected to the Western Conference’s second all-star team, remains out with a concussion. He has yet to pass his baseline test that would allow him to begin exercising and then return to practice. It is highly unlikely he would be able to play should there be a Game 6 here on Monday.
At the same time, Rattie’s absence would mean some adjustments by the Winterhawks. He finished third in the WHL in the regular season in goals (57) and points (121), and leads the WHL playoffs with 13 goals and 20 points.
Rattie, who turned 19 on Feb. 5, plays alongside Sven Baertschi and Marcel Noebels on Portland’s top line. Rattie, Baertschi and Brad Ross have played together all season on the first power-play unit, as well. In fact, Rattie led the WHL with 26 regular-season power-play goals and was tied for seventh, with 28 assists.
Johnston also is without veteran left-winger Oliver Gabriel, who is serving the final game of a four-game suspension for a late Game 1 hit on Cheveldave. (Gabriel was penalized for goaltender interference on that play. The Blazers later asked for and received supplemental discipline from the WHL office.)
Without Gabriel and Rattie, Johnston is likely to shorten his bench, moving Taylor Leier up with Baertschi and Noebels, leaving Cam Reid between Brendan Leipsic and Ross, and rotating freshmen forwards Nic Petan and Chase De Leo with Taylor Peters and Joey Baker. Under normal circumstances, Gabriel would play on a line with Leier and Peters.
However, the Winterhawks haven’t yet ruled Rattie out of the game. If he is able to handle the discomfort, he just may play.
“He has to be able to play well in order to play,” Johnston told The Oregonian. “We have other guys that are ready to step in if he’s not ready. I’m hoping it won’t take more than a couple days if he’s not ready (tonight).”
Rattie has been taking treatment from athletic therapist Rich Campbell, and also from a massage therapist and a chiropractor.
“The pain’s still there,” Rattie said, “but I guess we’ll see how it goes.
“Therapy is helping a lot. It’s getting better. So, I’ll wake up in the morning and we’ll go from there. Obviously, Rich has to give me the go-ahead, I have to feel right to play, and then the final decision is Mike’s.”
Charron is hopeful that all of this, combined with what transpired Wednesday night in Kamloops, will have the Winterhawks at least thinking about things.
“It gives us a sense of confidence,” Charron said. “For them, they can’t take us for granted. I’m sure they’re going to give it the best they can to finish it (tonight).
“We just have to be prepared for the challenge and play the way we can.”

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Some notes and thoughts on the Western Conference semifinal between the Kamloops Blazers and Portland Winterhawks, which resumes Saturday in the Rose City with the host team holding a 3-1 edge. . . .
1. Dylan Bumbarger, who blogs about all things WHL and Winterhawks at OregonLive.com, did the research and reported that the Winterhawks “hadn't lost a game in which they led by four goals in at least 15 years” prior to Wednesday night. He went back to 1996 on the WHL website and reached that conclusion. . . . On Wednesday, of course, the Winterhawks led 4-0 just past the first-period’s midway point and went on to lose, 5-4.
2. Portland-based writer Scott Sepich pointed out that the Blazers once blew a four-goal lead against the Winterhawks. On April 9, 1989, the Blazers had a 5-1 lead in the third period of a best-of-nine second-round series. Portland, playing in front of 5,102 fans, roared back for a 6-5 victory. The Winterhawks had won the opener 7-3. Portland would go on to take a 3-0 lead in games and would eventually win the series, 5-3.
3. Portland F Oliver Gabriel will sit out the fourth game of his four-game suspension on Saturday. He was suspended for a late-game hit on Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave in the series opener. . . . Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said Thursday evening that Cheveldave won’t be available for Game 5.
4. Charron said that F Cole Ully, who has missed the series with an undisclosed injury, will be available. That being the case, look for the Blazers to insert Ully in place of F Brayden Gelsinger, who made his WHL debut in Game 4 but saw very limited playing time.
5. It is interesting that the Winterhawks players on the bench actually sit while between shifts. I don’t know that there is another WHL team whose players do that, the players preferring instead to stand and hang over the boards. . . . Sure, it’s a case of a team doing something that it thinks might give it an edge somewhere down the road. . . . But when you think about it, it makes sense. Why not take advantage of an opportunity to get off your feet and rest your legs, even if for only a few minutes?
6. The Winterhawks didn’t play on Thursday but F Ty Rattie picked up another goal. A scoring change has given Rattie credit for Portland’s first goal in Game 4. The goal had been given to D Troy Rutkowski. . . . On the goal, Rutkowski rifled the puck from the right side toward the Blazers net. Rattie, fighting off a defenceman, got his stickblade on the puck and directed it into the net. . . . Rattie, who was injured eight minutes later, now has 13 goals in these playoffs. . . . Rutkowski and F Sven Baertschi got the assists on the goal.
7. Rattie left with what appeared to be a lower back problem but may well be a concussion after he was drilled by Kamloops F J.C. Lipon. On Thursday, Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks’ general manager and head coach, asked the WHL for supplemental discipline on Lipon, who wasn’t penalized on the play. . . . Rattie was fishing for a loose puck in his feet, when Lipon hit him. Rattie’s helmeted forehead bounced off the glass, although when he reached the Portland bench — after Lipon followed up by scoring the Blazers’ first goal — he reached for his left lower back area. . . . I would suggest that Rattie is doubtful for Game 5.
8. Johnston chose not to ask for supplemental discipline on Kamloops D Austin Madaisky, who was given a minor penalty for a check to the head of Portland F Taylor Leieir. Madaisky received a minor penalty but, because Leier wasn’t injured, Johnston chose not to press the issue.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Oshawa Generals announced a changing of the guard on Thursday. General manager Chris DePiero, head coach Gary Agnew and Joe Cirella, the assistant head coach and assistant GM, won’t be back. . . . Agnew took over the coaching reins from DePiero in November. The Generals went into the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed and lost a six-game series to Niagara IceDogs. . . . DePiero had been with the Generals since 2006, first as associate coach. . . . Cirella was an assistant coach with the Generals from 1998-2004 and later returned in 2010. . . .
The NHL’s Calgary Flames have parted company with head coach Brent Sutter and assistant coach Dave Lowry. . . . Sutter owns the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels and is a former Rebels head coach. . . . Lowry coached the Calgary Hitmen for one season, reaching the WHL final where they lost to the Kelowna Rockets, before moving up to the Flames. . . .
The USHL’s Omaha Lancers have named Mike Aikens as GM and head coach, with Michael Zucker staying on as associate head coach. . . . The two have been co-coaches with the Lancers since Bliss Littler was fired on Nov. 30. . . . Omaha is 27-11-1 since the coaching change. . . . Aikens and Zucker are signed through the end of the 2012-13 season. . . .
The U of Alberta is looking for a hockey coach for the Golden Bears. The position is posted right here. . . . Stan Marple was the head coach last season, but now is the general manager after a restructuring took place. . . .
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The Manitoba community of Virden, which is about 80 km west of Brandon, has a new recreation facility that includes a 1,200-seat arena. It appears that also may soon have an MJHL franchise. Should the MJHL’s Winnipeg Saints relocate there, it would leave Winnipeg with just one franchise, the Blues, in the junior A league.
There’s more on that story right here.
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JUST NOTES:
D Brandon Underwood of the Regina Pats will join the Central league’s Texas Brahmas in time to play Sunday in Game 2 of a best-of-seven second-round series with the Wichita Thunder. That series opens tonight in Wichita with Game 2 there on Sunday. . . . Underwood, from San Marcos, Calif., is eligible to return to Regina as a 20-year-old. He had 13 points and 76 penalty minutes in 54 games this season. Underwood missed some time with a broken foot incurred while blocking a shot. . . .
The Moose Jaw Warriors are expected to have D Morgan Rielly in their line up for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final against the Oil Kings in Edmonton on April 20. Rielly hasn’t played since Nov. 14 when he suffered a knee injury. He had surgery on Dec. 1. Despite not playing, Rielly was ranked at No. 5 by NHL Central Scouting among North American skaters eligible for the NHL’s 2012 draft. . . . Rielly has been skating with the Warriors for two months and good on them for not rushing him back into the lineup. . . .
F Emerson Etem, whose season with the Medicine Hat Tigers ended on Wednesday night, has joined the Syracuse Crunch, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Anaheim selected Etem, who is from Long Beach, Calif., with the 29th overall pick in the NHL’s 2010 draft. . . .
In case you missed it, D Ryan Pulock of the Brandon Wheat Kings and F Hunter Shinkaruk of the Medicine Hat Tigers have joined the Canadian team at the IIHF U-18 World championship tournament in Czech Republic. . . .
The Vancouver Giants’ website shows Dan Elliott as the director of media relations and broadcasting. But it seems that the Giants and Elliott, who also was the team’s play-by-play man, have parted company. Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun first tweeted that news on Wednesday.

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Kamloops goaltender Cam Lanigan makes a save on Portland winger Brad
Ross during the Blazers' 5-4 victory over the Winterhawks on Wednesday night.
(Photo by Murray Mitchell / Kamloops Daily News)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
No one told the Kamloops Blazers it was over.
Down 4-0 just 11 minutes into the game and staring at the end of their season, the Blazers roared back to defeat the Portland Winterhawks 5-4 on Wednesday night at Interior Savings Centre.
The Winterhawks still hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven WHL Western Conference semifinal with Game 5 scheduled for the Rose Garden in Portland on Saturday night. A sixth game, if needed, would be played in Kamloops on Monday.
Only once in WHL history has a team rebounded from a 0-3 deficit to win a series. In the spring of 1996, the Spokane Chiefs did it to, yes, the Winterhawks.
Last night, the Blazers could have collapsed like a cardboard suitcase in the rain. They were down 3-0 in games and had given up four goals on only eight shots to a team that was looking for its eighth straight playoff victory. And the reward for victory would be spending today on a bus headed to Portland.
While the Blazers looked down and out, the Winterhawks looked as though they already were looking forward to the next series, the conference final against the Tri-City Americans or Spokane Chiefs.
But a funny thing happened on the road to that series — the Blazers came alive.
But who knew with all that happened that it all would come down to one faceoff in the Portland zone? Slightly more than seven minutes into the third period, with the score at 4-4 and the Blazers on the power play, Kamloops forward Brendan Ranford won the draw from Taylor Peters, moving a fluttering puck to the hash mark in front of Portland goaltender Mac Carruth.
Winterhawks defenceman Troy Rutkowski reached for the puck but had it bounce over his stick, right to Kamloops winger Dylan Willick.
“It was kind of an unlucky bounce,” Rutkowski said. “I have to give credit to their forward who read that well.”
“It was just one of those bouncing pucks . . . it went right to my stick,” Willick said. “I think he went for a swing at the puck to clear it. It hopped over his stick and landed right on mine. It was just one of those freak bounces that finally went our way.
“I knew I had a hole and I put it there.”
Derrick Pouliot, with two, Rutkowski and Cam Reid had given the Winterhawks a 4-0 lead as they scored seemingly at will on goaltender Cam Lanigan in the early going.
“I thought we played well early but I don’t know if we deserved a 4-0 lead,” Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks’ general manager and head coach, said. “I thought the third period was pretty well even . . . they got the bounce over Rutkowski’s stick and Willick made a good shot.”
With the home side trailing 4-0, all eyes were on the Kamloops bench, wondering whether head coach Guy Charron would yank Lanigan and send in rookie Taran Kozun, who played two early-season games with the Blazers before being assigned to the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks. Kozun re-joined the Blazers a few weeks back after the Hawks’ season ended and has been on the bench since starter Cole Cheveldave suffered a concussion in Game 1.
Charron, reluctant to throw the 17-year-old Kozun into this situation, stayed with Lanigan. And Lanigan, to his credit, stood tall the rest of the way.
“That was a huge game for us,” Lanigan said. “We obviously realized after the first period that the odds were against us in almost every aspect.”
Lanigan said Charron appealed to the pride of his players in the organization and in themselves.
“That was something to play for,” Lanigan said, adding that he never once wondered if he was going to get yanked.
“You try not to think that . . . you push those thoughts aside,” the 19-year-old said. “You put the best possible situation in your head. You never think about that. It’s early in the game and you want to focus on that next shot.”
Lanigan felt the tide began to turn with the Blazers’ first goal.
“After we got that first one . . . we’re such a momentum team,” he stated. “We come in waves and that’s been our success . . . our momentum and how we can roll lines and gain momentum. Once we got that first one it was that sense of blood.
“And we’ve always known Portland is beatable. We’ve been up on them before in this series and we’ve had close games. As soon as we got that goal, we definitely knew it was within our reach.”
In hindsight, the game may well have swung 12 minutes into the first period — just moments before that first Kamloops goal — when winger J.C. Lipon drilled Portland forward Ty Rattie into the boards at the Winterhawks blue-line. Rattie, who leads the WHL with 13 goals in these playoffs, was in distress as he went to the bench, indicated a problem in his left lower back area and was escorted to the dressing room. He didn’t return.
“I finished my check and then scored a goal right after that,” Lipon said. “I kind of heard him say like, ‘Ow!’ but that’s about it. I hit him pretty hard.”
Johnston said Rattie’s departure was huge because “he plays in so many situations for us — 4-on-4, 5-on-5, he’s on the power play, the penalty kill. Now you’re changing your power play and that’s a big adjustment because we’ve had Rattie, (Sven) Bartschi and (Brad) Ross together the whole year.”
Asked about Rattie’s injury, Johnston said: “I don’t know. He’s being evaluated.”
Johnston also said the Winterhawks may request supplemental discipline from the WHL office for the hit by Lipon and for a third-period check to the head by Kamloops defenceman Austin Madaisky on forward Taylor Leier.
Madaisky, who was suspended for the last two games of the Blazers’ first-round sweep of the Victoria Royals for a head shot, was given a minor penalty.
Johnston said after the game that he was “watching both hits . . . both were bad.”
The Blazers asked for and got supplemental discipline following a Game 1 hit by Portland forward Oliver Gabriel on goaltender Cole Cheveldave. Cheveldave hasn’t played since — he is believed to have a concussion — and Gabriel, who drew a minor penalty on the late-game play, was later hit with a four-game suspension. He will complete that suspension by sitting out Game 5.
Moments after hitting Rattie, Lipon beat Carruth with a short-side shot upstairs and the Blazers had their first breath of life.
“It banked off the behind wall and popped out right to me,” Lipon said.
Still, the deficit was 4-1. But the hill no longer resembled Mount Everest.
The Blazers, who halted their first three-game losing streak of this season with the victory, then got late second-period goals from defenceman Bronson Maschmeyer at 15:06 — Johnston said that goal, a power-play score off the rush, was a turning point — and Brandon Herrod at 18:30 to get within a goal.
Prior to Maschmeyer’s goal, the Winterhawks had a number of opportunities to extend their lead. Brad Ross, who scored four times in a 5-2 Game 3 victory the previous night, had a shot go off a post and end up underneath Lanigan with Portland on the power play.
On the same power play, the Winterhawks, who had scored three shorthanded goals in Game 3, had two 2-on-1 breaks and a 3-on-2 rush. But they weren’t able to beat Lanigan, who suddenly resembled a brick wall.
And when Ranford tied it by depositing a rebound behind Carruth at 6:03 of the third period, the sparse crowd of 3,587 erupted, sounding like 10,000.
It was even louder after Willick scored and again at the final buzzer.
The Winterhawks were presented with two more power-play opportunities late in the third period. But that revamped unit, without Rattie, didn’t have any success. The Blazers got a couple of key blocked shots from Willick and defenceman Tyler Bell and were able to hang on for the victory.
Despite having blown the lead, the Winterhawks didn’t sound too concerned, not with Game 5 in their town.
“It’s playoffs . . . everything is unpredictable,” Rutkowski said. “We just have to tighten up the defence and learn to play with a lead like that.”
As for the possibility of playing without Rattie, he said: “We have enough skill players. He’s a great player . . . but we have enough talented players that we should be able to fill in the gaps.”
Johnston said it’s all about facing adversity.
“It’s playoffs. You’re going to face some adversity sometime,” he said. “Now we have a little bit of adversity. We have to adjust and adapt and get ready for Saturday.”
JUST NOTES: Kamloops was 2-5 on the power play; Portland was 0-5. . . . Lanigan finished with 27 saves, while Carruth stopped 29. . . . The Blazers went with seven defencemen in Game 3, but scratched Landon Cross last night. That allowed F Brayden Gelsinger, 16, to make his WHL debut. He played this season with the midget AAA Tisdale, Sask., Trojans. Gelsinger, who had 42 points, including 22 goals, in 41 games with Tisdale, signed with the Blazers on March 21. . . . Andy Clovechok, Mr. Hockey in Kamloops, was in the house celebrating his 89th birthday. . . . The Daily News’ Three Stars: 1. Ranford: A goal and two assists; 2. Willick: Typical Willick night; 3. Lipon: Wouldn’t quit.

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Kudos to the WHL for putting a link from its website to DubNation, the online magazine that is loaded with WHL-related information. . . . It’s produced by Doyle Potenteau of Kelowna, a veteran hockey writer who follows the Rockets for the Daily Courier. . . . If you haven’t checked out the March edition, get on over to whl.ca and give it a look.
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D Cody Carlson of the Prince George Cougars has signed an ATO with the Central league’s Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. The team announced the signing Tuesday morning. Carlson had 39 points in 72 in his final season of junior eligibility. . . . G Damien Ketlo, who played out his WHL eligibility with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, stopped 27 shots to record his first pro shutout and was the game’s first star last night as the ECHL’s Colorago Eagles, who play out of Loveland, beat the visiting Ontario Reign, 3-0. . . . F Spencer Asuchak of the Cougars made his pro debut in that game. Asuchak, 20, had two shots on goal.
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The Spokane Chiefs confirmed Tuesday morning that D Brenden Kichton has had surgery to repair a broken jaw suffered Friday in Game 1 of their series with the Vancouver Giants. Kitchton was struck in the face by puck early in the third period. He has undergone surgery and is awaiting medical clearance to travel to his family’s home in Spruce Grove, Alta. . . . Kitchton is a first team Western Conference all-star and the conference’s defenceman of the year.
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Another hockey career has come to a sudden end because of concussions. Matt Eagles, the captain of the St. Thomas University Tommies men’s hockey team, has had to walk away from the game. That story is right here. St. Thomas U is in Fredericton, N.B.
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Eric Duhatschek of The Globe and Mail has written an interesting piece about the impact that concussions may have on the NHL playoffs.
“More and more,” he writes, “you get the sense that the 2012 NHL playoffs may well be The Concussion Games, a two-month marathon that could twist and turn on how many times players in (Daniel) Sedin’s category get clocked in the head and are forced out of a team’s lineup.”
That complete column is right here.
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If you read anything today, make it this piece right here. It’s columnist Dave Kindred remembering the legendary Furman Bisher, who left us earlier this month.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers fired head coach Regg Simon on Tuesday. He promptly told Mark Emmert of t he Des Moines Register that it was “one of the happiest days of my life, and I’m glad it happened now rather than later.” . . . Simon is the fourth coach to be fired in the 16-team USHL this season. . . . The Buccaneers are 20-27-4 and in danger of missing the playoffs. . . . A replacement should be named today.
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TUESDAY’S WHL GAMES:
(If you want WHL facts and stats, get on Twitter and follow @WHLFacts)
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Let’s get this out of the way early. . . . The Spokane Chiefs came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Portland Winter Hawks in the spring of 1996. That is the only time in WHL history a team has done that. . . . There are six playoff games scheduled for tonight and the Saskatoon Blades, Everett Silvertips and Victoria Royals all are down 3-0. . . .
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In Winnipeg, F Mark Stone had a goal and an assist to lead the Wheat Kings to a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Wheat Kings, the Eastern Conference’s sixth seed, hold a 3-1 series lead over the No. 3 Hitmen and can wrap up the series in Winnipeg on Thursday night. . . . Game 6, if needed, would be played in Calgary on Sunday. . . . Brandon D Ryan Pulock also had a goal and an assist. . . . The Wheat Kings are playing their first-round home games at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg because the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair has taken over Westman Place in Brandon. . . . F Cody Sylvester, Calgary’s captain, returned after missing the first two games with an undisclosed injury. The Hitmen remain without F Victor Rask (leg). . . . Calgary G Brandon Glover came in for Chris Driedger with the Wheat Kings leading 3-0 at 1:53 of the second. . . . Brandon G Corbin Boes stopped 32 shots. . . . Attendance was 3,563, 15 fewer than attended Game 3. . . .

In Saskatoon, Medicine Hat F Emerson Etem scored all of his club’s goals as the Tigers beat the Blades 3-2 in overtime. . . . This was the first overtime game of this season’s playoffs and it ended at 9:42 as Etem scored his sixth goal of the series. . . . Etem has scored or assisted on the Tigers’ last 10 goals. He leads all playoff scorers, with 10 points, and is tied with Portland F Ty Rattie, each with six goals. . . . The Tigers hold a 3-0 edge and can wrap it up tonight in Saskatoon. . . . Blades F Matej Stransky forced OT with his first goal at 16:52 of the third. . . . F Michael Burns scored Saskatoon’s first goal. He was playing his first game after missing seven with a concussion. . . . Tigers F Dylan Bredo drew two assists. . . . Medicine Hat G Tyler Bunz stopped 32 goals, one fewer than Saskatoon’s Andrej Makarov. . . .

In Regina, the Moose Jaw Warriors scored five first-period goals and went on to a 5-3 victory over the Pats. . . . The Warriors take a 2-1 lead into Game 4 tonight in Regina. . . . Moose Jaw D Joel Edmundson scored 23 seconds into the first period and F Quinton Howden made it 2-0 just 27 seconds later. . . . Howden also had two assists. . . . F James Henry had two assists for the Warriors. . . . F Lane Scheidl got his first two goals of the series for Regina. . . . Moose Jaw F Cody Beach served a one-game suspension for making derogatory comments to the Regina bench in Game 2. . . . Moose Jaw D Travis Brown sat out with an undisclosed injury. . . . Regina F Andrew Rieder left during his first shift with an apparent shoulder injury. He missed the last 16 games of the regular season with a shoulder problem. . . .

In Kelowna, F Sven Baertschi and F Ty Rattie each had two goals and two assists as the Winterhawks doubled the Rockets, 6-3. . . . Portland leads 3-0 and can finish it in Kelowna on Thursday. . . . Rattie and Baertschi have nine points apiece in the series. Rattie is tied for the WHL lead in goals, with six, while Baertschi and teammate Marcel Noebels are tied for the WHL lead, with seven assists. . . . Noebels had three assists last night. . . . Rattie and Baertschi each was plus-4. . . . Portland ended it with two empty-netters. . . . Rattie broke a 2-2 tie at 19:19 of the second period and Baertschi gave the visitors a 4-2 lead at 3:55 of the third. . . . Portland G Mac Carruth stopped 38 shots, two fewer than Kelowna’s Adam Brown. . . . D Damon Severson had two goals for Kelowna, but finished minus-5. . . . The last time Kelowna has been swept? That hasn’t happened since 1994 when the franchise was in Tacoma, Wash., and lost four straight to Portland. . . . The Winterhawks had F Brendan Leipsic back in their lineup after he missed the first two games with an undisclosed injury. . . . Portland D William Wrenn, who was kneed by Kelowna F Brett Bulmer in Game 2, also played. Bulmer, who was given a kneeing major on that play, served the first game of a ‘tbd’ suspension. . . .

In Spokane, D Corbin Baldwin gave the Chiefs a 3-1 lead at 15:56 of the third period and they hung on for a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Giants lead the series 2-1 going into Game 4 tonight in Spokane. . . . The Chiefs got first-period goals from D Reid Gow and F Blake Gal. . . . Vancouver F Cain Franson cut into that lead with his fourth goal of the series at 3:48 of the second. . . . Vancouver F Brendan Gallagher got his team’s second goal at 17:30 of the third. . . . The Chiefs turned to Eric Willians in goal after going with Mac Engel in the first two games. Williams made 26 saves, one more than Vancouver’s Adam Morrison. . . . Giants F Jordan Martinook wasn’t able to beat Williams on a penalty shot with 5:48 left in the third period and the Chiefs leading 2-1. . . . Vancouver added F Anthony Ast to its lineup and scratched F Alex Kuvaev. . . . The Chiefs were without D Brenden Kichton (broken jaw). . . .

In Everett, G Ty Rimmer stopped 23 shots to lead the Tri-City Americans to a 4-0 victory over the Silvertips. . . . The Americans hold a 3-0 series lead and can end it tonight in Everett. . . . F Brendan Shinnimin, the WHL scoring champ, scored his first two goals of the series as he ran his point streak to 26 games. . . . He scored the game’s first goal at 1:41 of the second period. . . . Tri-City F Patrick Holland, who led the WHL in assists during the regular season, took a clipping major and game misconduct at 13:28 of the first period. . . . There was only one minor penalty called in the game, that an elbowing infraction by Everett F J.T. Barnett. . . . Everett G Kent Simpson stopped 27 shots. . . . The Silvertips were without F Ryan Harrison and F Manraj Hayer, both of whom were serving suspensions. Harrison is eligible to return tonight; Hayer’s suspenskon was ‘tbd’ . . . The Americans were without D Drydn Dow (broken arm), who was hurt on the check by Hayer. . . . Tri-City F Jesse Mychan left in the second period with a leg injury. . . .

In Victoria, the Kamloops Blazers scored six second-period goals and went on to a 7-5 victory over the Royals. . . . Kamloops holds a 3-0 lead and can win the series tonight in Victoria. . . . The Blazers haven’t won a playoff series since the spring of 1999 when they beat the Tri-City Americans in the Western Conference final. . . . The Royals got three goals from F Jamie Crooks, the first playoff hat trick in Chilliwack Bruins/Victoria franchise history. . . . Kamloops F Matt Needham broke a 4-4 tie with his first playoff goal, a shorthanded effort, at 17:26 of the second period. . . . Blazers F J.C. Lipon stretched the lead to 6-4 with a PP goal at 18:48 of the second. Lipon also had two assists, his third straight game with two helpers. . . . Kamloops F Colin Smith had a goal and three assists. . . . Kamloops has scored 18 goals in this series, 14 of them in second periods. . . . The Blazers were 3-6 on the PP and also scored two shorthanded goals. . . . Victoria was 0-4 on the PP. . . . Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave stopped 18 shots, while the Victoria duo of Jared Rathjen and Keith Hamilton combined for 26 saves. Rathjen started and left after Needham’s goal. . . . Kamloops F Chase Schaber, the team captain, suffered a skate cut to one of his legs and spent the night in hospital. He is to be re-examined and re-evaluated today but isn’t expected to play tonight. . . . According to Mike Walker of CHEK-TV, the teams also combined to hit seven goalposts.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
D Tyler Vanscourt, Vancouver.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
D Kiefer McNaughton, Vancouver.

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Numbers definitely favour Blazers

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers and Victoria Royals, who open a best-of-seven WHL first-round playoff series tonight at Interior Savings Centre, met eight times in the regular season.
The Blazers won seven, outscoring the Royals, 39-21.
When the regular season ended Saturday, the Blazers had a 47-20-5 record, good for 99 points. The Royals were 24-41-7, for 55 points.
There can be no doubting then that the Blazers are the favourites as this series gets rolling.
But do the Royals have a chance?
“I would say Kamloops should win the series, but . . .,” offered Dean Clark, the head coach of the Prince George Cougars, who didn’t qualify for the playoffs. “Kamloops can’t take them lightly. If they do that, they’ll be in trouble.
“If (the Blazers) go into this thinking it’s going to be easy, I think they’ll be in trouble.”
At a Thursday news conference, Guy Charron, the Blazers’ head coach, emphasized that won’t happen.
“We aren’t taking this series lightly, at all,” Charron said.
At the same time, Charron knows that the team’s outstanding regular season has led to high expectations among its fans.
”We would like to think that we won’t disappoint everyone,” Charron said.
Clark sees this series as the Blazers’ offence against the Royals’ defence. The Blazers scored 290 goals, the third-highest total in the WHL; the Royals surrendered a WHL-high 325.
“Defensively,” Clark said, “the Royals are going to have to be way better than they have been. They’ve given up a lot of goals. But they played well against Portland, so who knows?”
The Royals closed out the regular season by scoring 4-3 and 3-1 victories over the visiting Portland Winterhawks, who were one of three teams to finish with at least 100 points.
“Defensively,” Clark continues, “Kamloops has better puck-movers than what Victoria has.”
From a Kamloops perspective, he says, the Blazers “have to take (defenceman Hayden) Rintoul out of the equation by not letting him skate the puck up the ice. You have to make him move it . . . don’t let him skate it from end to end.”
Rintoul, the Royals’ captain, was acquired during the offseason from the Kootenay Ice, last season’s WHL’s champions. Victoria general manager/head coach Marc Habscheid was wanting to add that experience to a young roster.
Rintoul paid off with 51 points, including 17 goals, a team-leading 13 of them coming via the power play. He also was a team-worst minus-40.
But, as Clark points out, “Rintoul plays a lot.”
The Blazers are likely to use their defensive pairing of Austin Madaisky and Tyler Hansen against Victoria’s Jamie Crooks, who had a team-high 37 goals, and whomever Habscheid chooses as linemates.
Kamloops won’t juggle its lines, as Charron chooses to stick with what got his team this far.
In the eight games against the Royals, the Blazers got 35 points, including 16 goals, from the line of Tim Bozon, Colin Smith and J.C. Lipon. Lipon finished the season with 65 points, and 13 of them came against Victoria.
In all likelihood, then, that trio will see a lot of Victoria’s checking line that features Mike Forsyth, Tim Traber and Dakota Conroy.
But the Blazers’ top line may be the one that has Brandon Herrod between Brendan Ranford and Jordan DePape. Ranford put up 92 points in 69 games, while Herrod had 70 in 68. DePape, who missed most of the season with a shoulder problem, finished with 14 points in as many games.
And, if that isn’t enough, a third line that features Matt Needham with Chase Schaber and Dylan Willick boasts two 20-goal men. And seven of Schaber’s 23 goals came against the Royals.
“There’s no doubt the Blazers line up better against Victoria with their lines,” Clark says.
At the same time, the Royals may be missing two of their five 20-goal men tonight. Robin Soudek, who had 27 goals, sat out the last three games with an undisclosed injury, while Brandon Magee (23 goals) is believed to have injured a foot in the third period of the final game and may not play in the series.
“Soudek is a pretty good player,” Clark says, “and Magee’s got some speed.”
The Blazers also have an edge in the goaltending department where freshman Cole Cheveldave, a second-team conference all-star, is matched up against Keith Hamilton, who also is completing his first season.
Clark said he has concerns that Cheveldave, who has played 9-1/2 more games this season than he did with the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons last season, may be “a little tired.” Cheveldave and the Blazers maintain they aren’t the least bit concerned about that, so time will tell.
And while observers are looking in from the outside and trying to predict the future, the Royals predictably are playing the respect card.
Habscheid began the week by claiming “some are picking (Kamloops) in three games, not just four.”
“We shouldn’t even go to Kamloops, the way it sounds,” he told the Victoria Times Colonist.
Dave Dakers, the Royals’ president, echoed that Thursday when he sarcastically told a news conference: “I’m not sure why we’re playing this series.”
JUST NOTES: All three Kamloops goaltenders picked up at least one victory against Victoria. Cheveldave, who starts tonight, was 5-1, 2.67, .901, while Cam Lanigan went 1-0, 2.85, .882, and Taran Kozun, who made an early-season start, was 1-0, 2.00, .913. . . . Victoria F Logan Nelson, who is from Rogers, Minn., had a terrific season, finishing with 62 points, including 23 goals. Against the Blazers, he had 11 points, four of them goals. . . . Hamilton, who will start in goal for the Royals tonight, was 1-5-1, 4.31, .872 against Kamloops.

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DePape preparing to rejoin Blazers

Forward Jordan DePape, here checking Ryan Murray of the Everett
Silvertips, is eager to return to the Kamloops Blazers.
(Photo by Christopher Mast / Mastimages.com)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor

Under normal circumstances, Jordan DePape is a chatty young man.
Ask him how he’s coping with not being a part of the Kamloops Blazers’ run to first place in the WHL’s Western Conference, though, and he is lost for words.
“Ahh, I don’t know . . . it’s . . . it’s . . . it’s definitely really hard to explain,” DePape, 19, said from his home in Winnipeg. “I’ve been with the Blazers for a couple of years and I haven’t been around when the team has had much team success. Being away is harder than anything.”

JORDAN DePAPE

He won’t be there tonight, either, as the Blazers try to protect their perch atop the WHL’s overall standings from the Tri-City Americans, who are two points in arrears and visiting Interior Savings Centre. Game time is 7 o’clock.
DePape last played for the Blazers on Oct. 10 against the Medicine Hat Tigers. At 1:41 of the second period, he got into a scrap with forward Emerson Etem — the two had had a verbal jousting match late in the first period. In the early going of the scrap, DePape grabbed onto Etem’s jersey with his left hand, felt something give in his left shoulder and left the ice surface with the arm hanging at his side.
DePape returned to Winnipeg and had reconstructive surgery on Nov. 4.
He began rehabilitation shortly thereafter. That includes regular trips to a physiotherapist and four on-ice sessions a week, one with the St. Boniface Riels of the Manitoba Major Junior League and three with the midget AAA Winnipeg Wild. DePape played for the Wild as a 15-year-old.
“It’s feeling good,” he said of the shoulder, “especially the last two weeks. It’s made some huge improvements. I’m hoping it keeps going that way.”
He has been doing a lot of skating and shooting, but hasn’t been cleared for contact.
“My wrist shot and snapshot are probably at about 80 per cent,” he said. “I‘m taking about three-quarter strength slap shots with no pain. I’m making some good improvements.”
The plan right now is for DePape to rejoin the Blazers later this month when he will begin working on getting back into playing shape.
“My upper-body strength isn’t where it was but, realistically, it’s not that important for hockey,” DePape said. “If you look at my cardio and my leg strength, it’s pretty darn good. There should be no excuses when I come back.”
Upon his return, DePape said he expects to be reintroduced to associate head coach Dave Hunchak.
“I’ll probably get some nice bag skates in from Uncle Hunch,” DePape said with a laugh. “I’ll have some nice visits from him, I’m sure.
“I’ll get a couple of weeks of practice in and then hopefully get back in the lineup.”
When DePape was injured, he was skating on one of the Blazers’ top two lines. But that spot alongside Brendan Ranford and Chase Schaber now is being filled by Brandon Herrod. However, that doesn’t bother DePape. He just wants to play.
“I hope I can come back, add some depth, bring some leadership and make our team that much stronger,” DePape said. “Wherever I am in the lineup, it doesn’t really matter. If you look at our top three lines, top nine forwards, that’s a pretty elite core.
“I think our third line could almost be a first line on some teams in this league. You look at Dylan Willick and he’s a 20-goal scorer already. He’s a third-line guy? I don’t think so.
“It’s kind of hard to find a place on our team. The depth is scary.”
The Blazers won’t have any trouble finding room for DePape on their roster. They know that they will need all the depth they can find if they are to make a playoff run.
Last season, DePape had 48 points, including 21 goals, in 54 games. This season, he had five points, two of them goals, in six games.
When DePape does return, he hinted that he might be something of a different player.
“This has been a learning experience,” he said. “With this time off, I have (had) time to reflect on a lot of things that I can work on and change with my game. My off-ice training, I’ve been working on other things than just strength. I think I can bring some new elements to my game when I come back.”
———
While the Blazers were the No. 2-ranked team in all of the 59-team CHL when last week’s rankings came out, they are only at No. 16 in the Buzzing The Net Dynamic Dozen that is done by Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports.
Sager, who writes the Buzzing The Net major junior blog, uses something called the Ratings Percentage Index with a recency factor. It takes into account a team’s record with the strength of its opponents.
In the Dynamic Dozen, the Blazers are behind Tri-City (tied for 2), the Edmonton Oil Kings (4), Portland Winterhawks (5), Moose Jaw Warriors (6), Calgary Hitmen (9), Saskatoon Blades (10) and Spokane Chiefs (12). Sager has the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs ranked first, with the Americans and the Shawinigan Cataractes tied for second. Shawinigan is the host team for this season’s Memorial Cup tournament.
———
JUST NOTES: Kamloops F J.C. Lipon (concussion) didn’t pass the neurocognitive test on Monday so will be out a while longer. He has missed two games. . . . D Tyler Hansen, who sat out Saturday’s 3-1 victory over the host Seattle Thunderbirds with an undisclosed injury, practised Tuesday and will play tonight. . . . The Blazers will open with Cole Cheveldave in goal. . . . Kamloops is 2-0-1 against the Americans this season, having won 3-2 in regulation time and 4-3 in a shootout, while losing 3-2 in OT. . . . Kamloops is 30-5-3 against conference opponents. . . . While the Blazers are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, the Americans are 4-4-2. . . . The Oil Kings, who lead the Eastern Conference, moved into a tie with the Americans after beating the visiting Kootenay Ice 3-1 on Tuesday afternoon. . . . Kelowna F Brett Lyon has been hit with a six-game suspension for a Saturday night hit that left F Jarrett Fontaine of the Prince George Cougars with a concussion. That means Lyon won’t play in this weekend’s home-and-home set with the Blazers that opens here on Friday.



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Playoff hockey back in Kamloops

Ryan Hanes of the Kamloops Blazers hits Shea Theodore of the Seattle
Thunderbirds early in the first period of Saturday's WHL game in Kent, Wash.
(Photo by Christopher Mast / Mastimages.com)

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor

The Kamloops Blazers left it too late last season and never did qualify for the WHL playoffs.
There will be no such mistake this season — the Blazers became the first team to qualify for postseason play when they skated past the host Seattle Thunderbirds, 3-1, in Kent, Wash., on Saturday night.
That decision also left the Blazers (37-12-4) atop the WHL’s overall standings, two points ahead of the Tri-City Americans (37-12-2) and four ahead of the idle Edmonton Oil Kings (34-12-6), who lead the Eastern Conference.
The Blazers and Americans will conclude their season series Wednesday at Interior Savings Centre. Kamloops goes into that game with a 2-0-1 edge; from the other side, the Americans are 1-1-1.
On Saturday, the Blazers gave up the game’s first goal, to Colin Jacobs at 7:26 of the first period, but came back to hand the Thunderbirds their fifth straight loss.
The Thunderbirds (18-31-2), who are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games, remain in eighth place in the Western Conference, meaning a first-round playoff matchup between Kamloops and Seattle is within the realm of possibility.
Brendan Ranford tied it six minutes later and Cole Ully got the eventual winner in the last minute of the second period. Ully, with seven goals this season, has four game-winners, second on the Blazers to Ranford (7) and Chase Schaber (6). Ully also has goals in back-to-back games after going 12 games without a goal.
“He’s not scoring from the outside; he’s scoring from the crease,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said of Ully, a freshman from Calgary who will turn 17 on Feb. 20. “We’re fortunate with our kids . . . they’re very determined young people. Cole Cheveldave, Matt Needham, Cole Ully . . . all our young guys have good minds  . . . for doing what it takes to be a successful player.”
When Brandon Herrod was out with a knee injury, Ully, a second-round selection in the 2010 bantam draft, got to skate alongside Ranford and Schaber. On Saturday, with Herrod back, Ully was on a line with Needham and veteran forward Dylan Willick.
“It’s been the strength of our team,” Charron said. “When somebody’s missing who has good numbers, somebody else steps up.”
Tim Bozon completed the scoring with an empty-netter at 19:17 of the third period.
The Blazers, who beat the visiting Spokane Chiefs 4-1 on Wednesday and then dropped a 7-5 decision to the Giants in Vancouver on Friday, got 38 saves from goaltender Cam Lanigan, who has won his last three starts, two of them against Seattle. Lanigan, 19, has allowed only five goals over that time.
“He was good,” Charron said. “The last few games have given him a little bit of confidence. We’re encouraged by that. It looked like he was in control the whole game, and that’s a good sign.”
Seattle goaltender Calvin Pickard made 40 saves.
The Blazers were without two regulars — defenceman Tyler Hansen and right-winger J.C. Lipon.
Hansen suffered an undisclosed injury — Charron said it is of the “upper body” variety — on Friday in Vancouver, took the warmup in Kent and then was scratched. According to Charron, Hansen is possible for Wednesday.
Lipon, meanwhile, suffered a concussion in the second period against Spokane and hasn’t played since. “He feels pretty good,” Charron said, adding that Lipon “has to pass another test today.”
Lipon is questionable for Wednesday, and may return for a weekend home-and-home series with the Kelowna Rockets. They will play here Friday and in the Little Apple on Saturday.
JUST NOTES: The Blazers continue to have the WHL’s best road record (18-6-4), their .714 winning percentage well ahead of the Medicine Hat Tigers (18-8-2, .679). . . . Kamloops is 6-2-1 in its last nine road games. . . . Overall, the Blazers are 12-2-1 in their last 15 games. . . . The Blazers swept the season series from Seattle, outscoring the Thunderbirds 23-7 in the four victories. . . . Ranford, who drew an assist on Ully’s winner, has six game-winning assists. That means he has been in on 13 game-winning goals this season. . . . Ranford, who leads the team with 29 goals, also has seven goals over his last six games, including one in each of the last four. . . . The WHL was quiet on Super Bowl Sunday.


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Blazers remain alone atop overall standings

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers, their nine-game winning streak having ended the previous night, were in the pink Saturday night.
The Blazers, who lost 4-2 to the host Victoria Royals on Friday night, got a split of their doubleheader in the B.C. capital with a 5-1 victory on Saturday night.
When the weekend was over, the Blazers remained atop the WHL’s overall standings, two points ahead of the Edmonton Oil Kings and Tri-City Americans, who lost 4-1 to the Hitmen in Calgary on Sunday.
On Saturday, the Royals wore pink uniforms as part of a Pink in the Rink promotion on behalf of cancer research. And it was the home team that struck first, Victoria forward Tim Traber getting his second of the season at 11:01 of the first period.
However, the visitors pretty much took over from there.
“They have it figured out as a team and don't let up,” Traber told Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist. “We kind of broke down halfway through the second period.”
Tim Bozon, who scored twice in the first 15 seconds of Friday’s game, got the visitors on the board at 13:46 of the second period. Brendan Ranford added the team’s WHL-leading 15th shorthanded score a minute later and the Blazers were in control.
Colin Smith, J.C. Lipon and Brock Balson, the latter two on the power play, rounded out the Kamloops scoring.
The Blazers’ power play hadn’t struck twice in one game since a 6-1 victory in Prince George on Jan. 7. Since then, it had gone 5-for-43 over eight games, including 0-for-5 on Friday.
While it was hardly the Blazers’ first PP unit that scored in Victoria, Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said he isn’t concerned.
“We have the tools, it’s just that sometimes we’re not scoring,” he explained. “We don’t depend on a lot of traffic in front of the net; it’s puck movemnt, shooting, converging. But that may be an element that we may have to add on some nights, using people who are willing to go there and park themselves there.
“This team has enough talent to make it work. How many guys do we have with 20 goals?”
The answer is a WHL-high six, and Lipon is knocking on the door with 16 goals.
Meanwhile, Kamloops goaltender Cam Lanigan, making just his third start in the club’s last 23 games, stopped 26 shots. In his previous start, he came up with 30 saves in a 5-3 victory over the host Seattle Thunderbirds on Jan. 20.
“If he can give us the kind of hockey he gave us in Seattle and (Saturday) night, I’m going to be very happy,” Charron said. “I thought his performance (Saturday) night was even better than Seattle. It’s not like he was bombarded, but he looked like he was in control. He didn’t look shaky.”
Charron said the Blazers surrendered 19 chances on Friday and just nine on Saturday.
The Blazers next play Wednesday against the visiting Spokane Chiefs (27-14-7), who are 5-0-1 in their last six games and 7-1-2 in their last 10. The hot streak has moved them into a tie with the Vancouver Giants for fourth in the 10-team Western Conference. The Chiefs will play the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash., on Tuesday before heading for Kamloops.
The Royals (16-29-5) are in possession of the conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. They will play host to the Prince George Cougars on Tuesday and Wednesday. That will be the Cougars’ first trip back to the capital since the franchise left Victoria for Prince George after the 1993-94 season. The Cougars (15-31-2) have lost five in a row and are five points behind the Royals.
 Continued from A8
The Royals (16-29-5) are in possession of the conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. They will play host to the Prince George Cougars on Tuesday and Wednesday.
That will be the Cougars’ first trip back to the capital since the franchise left Victoria for Prince George after the 1993-94 season. The Cougars (15-31-2) have lost five in a row and are five points behind the Royals.
JUST NOTES: The game on Saturday drew 7,006 fans, which is a sellout at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. . . . Last season, the Blazers scored four shorthanded goals. . . . Ranford’s goal stood up as his seventh game-winner of the season, one behind F Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers, who leads the WHL. . . . Kamloops F Aspen Sterzer had one assist, his first point in 15 games. . . . Freshman D Landon Cross had two assists, his first two-point outing in 30 games with the Blazers. . . . The Blazers scratched F Jordan DePape (shoulder), F Ryan Hanes (concussion) and F Brandon Herrod (knee). . . . Hanes, who has missed 15 games, and Herrod, who has sat out six, may be back Wednesday. . . . Bozon won’t play Wednesday as he will be in Kelowna at the CHL Top Prospects Game. . . . Bozon and Ranford share the team lead, each with 26 goals. . . . After playing the Chiefs at Interior Savings Centre, the Blazers will meet the Giants in Vancouver on Friday and the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash., on Saturday. . . . The Americans are to visit Kamloops on Feb. 8.


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