Image Credit: Kamloops Blazers/Allen Douglas

By Adam Donnelly

WHL PLAYOFFS

Blazers prepared for tough test as playoff series vs Giants shifts to Langley

May 10, 2022 | 4:03 PM

KAMLOOPS — With a perfect record on the line, the Kamloops Blazers are in Langley tonight (May 10) taking on the Giants. After a sweep of the Spokane Chiefs, the Blazers won the first two games of the second-round series at home – 3-1 and 4-3 – leaving them undefeated heading into games three and four.

It takes 16 wins to capture a WHL Championship. As of today, the Kamloops Blazers have achieved 37.5 per cent of that goal, all without experiencing a single defeat. Until Saturday night, they hadn’t trailed in a playoff game this year. The Giants’ only lead lasted 88 seconds in game two, after scoring late in the first period.

“In between periods, the guys were able to get refocused, start managing to puck and get to certain spots in order to get after it a little more,” Head Coach Shaun Clouston explains.

Despite limping into the playoffs as the eighth-seed, the Giant’s first-round upset of the top-seeded Silvertips shocked many onlookers. The Blazers expected a stiffer test from the Giants – and so far, have been able to counter those efforts.

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“I think they’re playing really hard,” defenceman Ethan Brandwood says. “Coming off that Everett series, I think they had a lot of confidence – they kind of brought some that hard and fast into this series. It’s making for a great challenge.”

“They’re pretty structurally sound – they play good systems, they have a good coach,” forward Ethan Rowland says. “We’ve had a couple of lapses in our structure that we need to fix, and have talked about.”

Part of what made the Giants successful against Everett was Giants’ size and physicality. So far, the Blazers have been able to withstand that extra pressure – and in Ethan Brandwood’s case, dish out some punishment.

“They’ve always played us physical – even through the regular season, that’s something they like to do,” Brandwood says. “It’s one of their game plans. [We’re] just trying to match that – especially in the playoffs. It’s how we can get some energy and get them off their game.”

Heading into Tuesday’s game three, the Blazers are doing their best to focus on what they’re able to control.

“We talked about rest and hydration, everyone feeling good,” Rowland tells CFJC Today. “Other than that, just keep doing the same things we’re doing, keep battling hard and playing the way we should.”

With the Giants likely looking to prove their first-round win against the ‘Tips was the real thing, Coach Clouston expects the toughest test of the post-season tome come Tuesday night.

“We expect them to have some confidence going into their building. We expect them to have some confidence because they were able to come back in the series against Everett,” Clouston says. “We expect we’re going to have to find more in our game because they’re going to find more in theirs.”

Puck drop for both games three and four are slated for 7:00 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre.