Blazers hoping to complete sweep in Spokane, get as much rest before second round

Luke Toporowski, who’s come back for the playoffs after missing five weeks with a knee injury, says an extended break anytime in the playoffs is huge benefit for a lot of the players dealing with bumps and bruises.

“Rest is a big thing, especially for me coming back from injury. I don’t want to get it to be too taxing on my knee, so winning on Friday and getting a whole week off would be awesome,” said Toporowski, who’s tied with Everett’s Niko Huuhtanen as the goal scoring leader in the WHL Playoffs with five tallies. “But we can’t get too ahead of ourselves.”

The team knows winning the fourth game to close out a series is the toughest and they expect a really desperate Chiefs team in Game 4.

“They’re playing for their season right here,” said Blazers forward Logan Stankoven, who’s tied for the playoff lead with 10 points. “Game 4 is always the hardest to win. Being up 3-0, you’ve got to win that final game. I think we just put everything in it Friday night. Make sure we come out hard, ready to go. Obviously we’re going to be in their barn now with their fans. It’s going to be a pretty good atmosphere, so we’re just going to have to be motivated and hopefully end it quick — one-and-done and come back to Kamloops and get prepared for the next series.”

Despite winning the first three games handily — by a combined 20-3 — head coach Shaun Clouston is trying to keep the team’s routine the same.

“We’ve tried to just be in the moment as much as we can,” said Clouston. “It’s almost a bit methodical. We kind of have a system of tracking some stats, giving the guys some feedback on those stats after a game, then some video work and then some practice work and get ready to go again.”

A Blazers series win will likely set up a second-round meeting with Portland, who finished a sweep of the Prince George Cougars on Wednesday.

by Chad Klassen

Blazers hoping to complete sweep in Spokane, get as much rest before second round

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