Back on June 29th, DUBNetwork took a glance at the Blazers’ 2019-2020 schedule and highlighted a few of the most notable storylines, one of which included a six-game Eastern road swing beginning in Brandon on December 6th and ending in Prince Albert on the 14th.
If there is one area the Blazers have excelled in this season, it’s the Sandman Centre where the team has amassed a 12-2-0-1 record while outscoring their opponents 67-25.
On the road, its been another story. The blue, white and orange will be looking to improve their 5-7 road record, and Blazers’ captain Zane Franklin would like to see his team adopt a fresh start.
“I think honestly we just gotta keep that [record] out of our minds, that’s one thing, then just keep it simple. Those are hard arenas to play in, but if we just stick with our game and build on them, we should be fine.”
The first test will be in Brandon where Franklin and the Blazers will be looking for revenge after being handed a 3-2 overtime defeat by the Wheat Kings in the lone meeting last season.
The following night — December 7th — will mark the first-ever matchup between the Blazers and Winnipeg ICE since the franchise relocated from Cranbrook. DUBNetwork’s Darnell Duff will have your recap for both games in Manitoba, and no, that alliteration was not intentional.
After two days off, the Blazers will conclude their trip with four games in five nights, all of which occur in Saskatchewan.
While Max Martin, Montana Onyebuchi and Reese Belton will all return to their home province of Manitoba for two games, Saskatchewan is home to Josh Pillar, Connor Zary, Rayce Ramsay, Quinn Schmiemann and Kyrell Sopotyk.
The Blazers will make stops in Moose Jaw, Regina and Saskatoon before wrapping up their trip in Prince Albert where they take on the league-leading Raiders. Friday’s game on December 13th against the Saskatoon Blades will be somewhat of a home game for Connor Zary whose 39 points in 26 games have him sitting fourth in WHL scoring.
Hockey Canada released its 31-player roster for the World Juniors selection camp, eight of which are WHL players. While every year seems to contain a few notable additions and/or omissions, Zary’s exclusion from the roster has raised a few eyebrows and gained the ire of the 18-year old forward. Between the upcoming NHL Draft and next year’s World Juniors, Zary’s visit to his hometown of Saskatoon could very well be one of his last ones in a Blazer uniform.
The final game of the road trip against the league-leading Raiders will be a special one for 20-year old Blazers’ defenceman Max Martin. Martin’s career with the Raiders spanned 213 games, including a memorable 2018-2019 playoff run that was capped off with a WHL Championship.
As noted in June, a rough estimate suggests that the Blazers will be on the road for 31 hours, covering a hair over 3000 kilometres from Kamloops to Prince Albert. Of course, there are always a few stops to make along the way, this time in Swift Current where the Blazers found some ice time before visiting the memorial site to honour the four Broncos killed in the 1986 bus crash.
The Blazers will then have nearly two weeks off before their December 27th game in Kelowna against the Rockets. One night later, the Blazers will return to home ice where they’ll host Dustin Wolf and the Everett Silvertips.
