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KAMLOOPS BLAZERS

Blazers get ready for a battle against CHL Top 10-ranked Portland

Mar 6, 2024 | 6:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops Blazers are in action Wednesday night (March 6) against one of the top teams in CHL, as the Portland Winterhawks come to town to wrap up the season series.

The Winterhawks are ranked 7th in the CHL’s most recent Top 10 rankings, which came out on Tuesday. Portland has won all three games against the Blazers so far this year, outscoring Kamloops by a combined 18-4 margin in those games.

Blazers’ forward Emmitt Finnie knows his team will have to bring energy and effort if they hope to knock off the Winterhawks.

“They’re one of the best teams in the league,” Finnie tells CFJC Today. “We’ve had some trouble with them this year, and we’re going to have to come ready to play because they’re going want to beat us.”

The Blazers have five wins and five losses in their last ten games, including a shootout loss to Seattle a week ago. Head Coach Shaun Clouston believes his club can draw on what they were able to do in last Saturday’s win over the Giants to try and contain a potent Portland attack.

“We really focused on our game and we got a big response. We had more guys contribute, we executed our plan, we were more direct, and we were able to tilt the ice at times against a real good team,” Clouston explains. “We’ll try and replicate parts of that game against Portland. They’re a team that, when they get rolling and get momentum, they’re tough to handle, so we’ll do everything we can to minimize that momentum.”

Puck drop at the Sandman Centre is 7:00 pm.