Blazers start season off right, look ahead to Royals

Speed was a point of emphasis for Lajoie during training camp. The flashiest of the bunch was Orrin Centazzo and Brodi Stuart, who combined for six points in Friday’s 4-1 win before Centazzo scored the game’s first goal in a 3-1 victory on Saturday.

“We’re both pretty fast guys and after training camp we can find each other really easy out. It’s really nice playing with [Stuart],” said Centazzo, who was acquired by Kamloops in a trade last year with Everett that sent Garrett Pilon and Ondrej Vala to the Silvertips.

Lajoie added, “More so than chemistry, they took advantage of their opportunities. I think that’s the biggest thing. It’s not always going to materialize where you’re going to have a [seven-point] weekend, but you’ve got to be focused on: are you playing the game the right way? Very happy for those two guys.”

Among the nine new faces to join the Blazers, Zane Franklin stood out as the second star in both games. He scored the team’s first goal of the season on Friday to get the momentum going and he was a fighting major away from a Gordie Howe hat-trick. He also scored on Saturday against the Rockets.

“It’s huge for our confidence, especially going into Kelowna,” said Franklin, who was also an assist away from a Gordie Howe hat-trick on Saturday. “Winning shows us that we can win in a tough arena against a good team. It’s awesome. It’s good for our confidence.”

He added, “We’ve really grabbed onto what Serge has said and ran with it. It’s a fun way to play hockey. It gives us chances to score goals.”

The weekend sweep marked the first two wins of Lajoie’s WHL career, a great way to begin his major junior coaching career. But Lajoie is already looking ahead to next weekend’s doubleheader on the Island against Victoria Royals.

by Chad Klassen

Blazers start season off right, look ahead to Royals

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