After three consecutive losses to U.S Division teams to start the season, the Blazers returned home to kick off a four-game homestand against the Kelowna Rockets on Friday night.
While five games were crammed into the team’s first two weekends, the Blazers made as much noise during their four days off with the acquisition of Ryan Hughes from the Saskatoon Blades. Hughes — who was already familiar with Blazers general manager Matt Bardsley from their time in Portland together — had spent his entire junior career with the Winterhawks until being shipped to Saskatoon this past January in a blockbuster at the trade deadline. Hughes suited up for a total of 27 regular-season games with the Blades before Bardsley traded two draft picks and 18-year-old Jerzy Orchard for the 20-year-old forward.
Win-win
To say that Hughes made a good first impression would be an understatement. The left-winger tallied three points in his debut, including the game-winner in overtime to seal a 4-3 win over the Rockets. After Friday night’s game, the trade looked pretty good for all parties involved: the Blades solved their 20-year-old conundrum, Orchard returned closer to his home of Delisle, Sask., and Hughes put an exclamation point on the first Blazers win of the season.
No rest for the wicked
It was a short-lived celebration in Kamloops. After dispatching the 2020 Memorial Cup host Kelowna Rockets on Friday, the Blazers then shifted their focus to the defending Western Conference champion Vancouver Giants. With Bowen Byram’s return from the Colorado Avalanche just days earlier, the Giants hopped out of the gate early and capitalized on a power play courtesy of Milos Roman’s second goal of the season.
Not to be outdone, Logan Stankoven glided into the offensive zone on his off-wing and unleashed a snap-shot that snuck under the bar on Trent Miner’s glove side just 45 seconds after Roman’s opening tally. With the game tied 1-1 at the break, the Giants came out to play in the second, but not before Josh Pillar had his say.
That line is a work ethic line
The sophomore forward scored his first of the season just 1:27 into the second period. “I literally stepped on the ice, O.C [Orrin Centazzo] was forechecking, and he slipped me the puck, and I just banged it home. I didn’t even look.”
Pillar was recently reunited with wingers Kyrell Sopotyk and Brodi Stuart after playing with them down the stretch last season, and the 17-year-old couldn’t be happier.
“I love playing with those guys. [At] the end of last year, we were buzzing pretty good. I think we use our speed pretty well on that line. We’re a kinda ‘hem them in their own end’ kinda line, and that’s when we’re at our best.”
After the game, Blazers head coach Shaun Clouston had his own praise for the line. “I like their work ethic. I thought they managed the puck better as the game went on, especially in the third period. They can all skate. There’s good skill, and that line is a work ethic line.”
The third period may have gone a different direction if it were not for Dylan Garand’s effort in goal. Though Pillar’s marker stood up as the lone goal of the second, Garand’s 14 saves in the middle stanza kept the Blazers in the game heading into the final period. From there, it was the Orrin Centazzo show. His first goal of the game and season put the Blazers up 3-1 just 34 seconds into the third period. Centazzo went on to add another goal and assist in the final frame, tallying his first career four-point night in the WHL.
With Vancouver down 4-2, Miner skated to the bench for the extra man, leaving a wide-open cage for Zane Franklin to fill with 3:19 left. Onyebuchi followed up Franklin’s tally with one of his own just 15 seconds after the empty-netter, capping off a 6-2 win for Kamloops.
Game notes
Kamloops was 1-for-4 on the power play against Vancouver and 3-for-10 on the weekend.
The Centazzo, Zary, Franklin line finished with nine points against Vancouver and 15 points in the two weekend games.
The Blazers snapped a 10 game losing streak to the Giants on Saturday night in which they had gone 0-7-2-1 dating back to March 3rd, 2018, against their divisional rivals.
3 stars in the building
3: Dylan Garand
2: Connor Zary
1: Orrin Centazzo
DUBNetwork’s 3 stars
3: Bowen Byram – Had the puck on a string and commanded the play all night.
2: Dylan Garand – Made tracking the puck look easy and his second period kept the Blazers in this one.
1: Orrin Centazzo – Some goals are lucky, some are top shelf from the faceoff dot, but four points are four points.
What’s on tap
The Blazers now have three days rest before welcoming the Seattle Thunderbirds to the Sandman Centre on Wednesday, October 2nd. Kamloops will be looking to get some revenge on the Thunderbirds after putting up 51 shots in a 4-1 loss on September 21st.
