Brian Liesse
B.C. Division, Game Recap

Blazers Weekend Wrapup: U.S. Sweep. Give Everett Their First Regulation Loss. Clouston Milestone.

Written by Kevin Olenick on

The marquee matchup of the weekend happened in Everett on Saturday.

Backstopped by Dylan Garand’s 41 saves, The CHL’s number 3 ranked Kamloops Blazers handed the CHL’s number 2  ranked Everett Silvertips their first regulation loss this year 3-2.

Logan Stankoven scored on the Blazers’ only power play of the game at 15:35 of the first period and never trailed. Nick McCarry took advantage of an offensive giveaway at his own blue line and scored an unassisted goal to make it 2-0. Quinn Schmiemann scored an empty netter with 41 seconds to go.

Alex Swetlikoff scored his 10th of the year for the Silvertips at the 16:18 mark of the second to cut the lead to 2-1. Ryan Hofer added his fourth with 13 seconds left to make it 3-2.

Garand had a busy night. He faced 16 shots in the first, 14 in the second, and 13 in the third. The Silvertips outshot the Blazers 43-29. Koen MacInnes made 26 saves for the Silvertips.

The win moved the Blazers to a tie to at the top of the Western Conference, with the Silvertips at 34 points. The Blazers are 17-2. The Silvertips are 16-1-1-1.

The win was also significant for Head Coach Shaun Clouston as it was his 467th in the WHL. The win puts him in 10th on the WHL all-time winning list. He told @blazers Twitter that it was a hard-fought battle.

 

The win completed a U.S. Thanksgiving weekend sweep. The Blazers overcame a 3-1 third period deficit by scoring three straight goals in the first 7:20 of the third period to hang on to a 4-3 win over the Portland Winterhawks.

Matthew Seminoff opened the scoring for the Blazers at the 9:23 mark in the first. The Winterhawks then scored three straight goals. Tyson Kozak scored in the first, while Marcus Nguyen and Kyle Chokowski scored in the second. Caeden Bankler, Daylan Kuefler, and Marko Stacha scored in the third to give the Blazers the win.

Dylan Ernst deserved credit for this win. He made 43 saves for the win. Including several highlight-reel saves. The Winterhawks peppered Ernst with 19 shots in the third. Dante Giannuzzi made 30 saves for the Winterhawks.

The Winterhawks fall to 7-10-2 on the year. They are in third place with 17 points, eight points behind the Seattle Thunderbirds and six points ahead of the Spokane Chiefs. They face the Prince George Cougars on Wednesday.

The Blazers have won six in a row, including a four for four in the U.S. Their current road trip started with a win over the Vancouver Giants. They end their road trip Friday in Vancouver. They return to The Sandman Centre against the Kelowna Rockets on Saturday.