(Facebook/Kamloops Blazers).

By Chad Klassen

BLAZERS LOSING STREAK

Blazers experiencing bump in road without two best players, no panic on team

Dec 21, 2021 | 1:47 PM

KAMLOOPS — Losing is not something the Blazers have become accustomed to during the 2021-22 season.

They started the year with 11 wins in their first 12 games and were 17-2 after a monumental road win in Everett on Nov. 27.

Now Kamloops sits at 19-8 with four losses in their last five games and six defeats in eight outings.

“We’ve got our best two players [Logan Stankoven and Dylan Garand] out of the line-up. We’ve got a 17-year-old goaltender. I think there’s one other 17-year-old starter in the entire league. It’s the toughest job in hockey, so that’s a big challenge,” said Blazers head coach Shaun Clouston.

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During their first 19 games, the Blazers outscored their opponent 91-37, an average of nearly 5-2 every game. In the midst of a 2-6 stretch, they’ve been outscored 29-23, although five of those are empty-netters.

“Nobody enjoys going through times like this, but the guys are playing hard,” said Clouston. “If you look at the last five games, we’ve averaged 45 shots and given up 27 shots during that stretch, which is +17. Previous to that, our average was +10, so we’re not scoring very easily. That’s part of the concern.”

The Blazers have been without Logan Stankoven and Dylan Garand since they left for the world junior selection camp starting Dec. 9. They are 1-4 in their absence.

More than the offense of Stankoven, it seems Kamloops is missing the rock-solid Garand in net. His back-up Dylan Ernst, his first real test as a WHL goalie, has a 3.59 goals-against average and .858 saves percentage. He’s allowed some he should’ve stopped.

“Dylan Ernst hasn’t been horrible, but it’s just hard to play at the calibre of Dylan Garand. He’s arguably the best goalie in the country right now, and he’s 19 years old and he does a lot of things that are exceptional,” said Clouston.

Clouston says it’s one of those bumps in the road every team goes through during a season and there’s absolutely no panic. After all, the Blazers have a nine-point lead over Kelowna for first in the B.C. Division, although the Rockets have two games in hand.

“You look around this league and you look around other leagues. You look at the Edmonton Oilers. They were flying and now they’ve hit a rough spot. It’s impossible in a really competitive environment. We were probably overachiving. Our [scoring] percentages was probably a little higher than what was sustainable. Right now, our scoring percentages is about five percent. Well, that’s unattainable, too. We’re a much better team than that. That will go up.”

The Blazers host the Rockets in their next game Dec. 28.