Blazers aim to keep pace near top of Western Conference with struggling Warriors coming to town

“It kind of messes up with the naps and pre-game meals, but I think we’ve adapted well to them,” Blazers’ captain Ty Bonkowski said. “I honestly don’t mind them. Sometimes, on those 7:00 p.m. games, you’re just waiting all day. With 2:00 p.m., you get going right away, so I don’t mind them at all.”

The Blazers have not played since Friday, when they earned a comeback victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds at Sandman Centre.

Moose Jaw, which was thumped 10-3 by the Giants on Saturday in Langley, is scheduled to play the Rockets on Tuesday in Kelowna.

“You can’t take any team lightly in this league,” Bonkowski said. “They lost to Vancouver, but they’ve also beaten some pretty good teams.”

The Blazers are tied for third in Western Conference standings and sit three points behind the first-place Spokane Chiefs.

“I think we’ve been reasonably competitive, so where does that show up?” Blazers’ head coach Shaun Clouston said. “It shows up in puck battles and net fronts and blocking shots. That puts you in the battle, that puts you in the game. So, how do you win the game? It’s puck management, it’s discipline, it’s special teams.”

Kamloops will receive a lineup injection on Wednesday, with 16-year-olds Mateo Ferreira and Brady Ondrus returning after international duty.

“It was a pretty cool experience, for sure,” said Ferreira, who won bronze with Canada Red at the U17 World Challenge in Oakville, Ontario. “Putting that jersey on for the first time is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

Clouston said the Blazers will be without 17-year-old defenceman Liam Kilfoil on Wednesday, as he recovers from an upper-body injury.

Forward Gavin Nemis, 20, is suffering from a lower-body injury and questionable to play on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old forward Collin Kim had his meniscus repaired and is not expected to return to the lineup until after Christmas.

“Maybe there weren’t a ton of expectations for us,” Bonkowski said. “I think we’ve surpassed them, for sure. We’ve seen all the guys help contribute. From the bottom of the lineup to the top, it’s been really good.”

Clouston said “there is still some optimism” import draft pick forward Yegor Kravchenko will report to Kamloops this season.

He is expected to play for Kazakhstan at the IIHF World U20 Championship Division I Group A tournament, which is scheduled to conclude on Dec. 12 in Hungary.

Kravchenko, 17, toils for Snezhnye Barsy Astana of Olimpbet Molodyozhnaya Hokkeinaya Liga (MHL), a major junior league in Eurasia that features teams from Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

He has two goals and eight points in 18 games this season.

“His team is still open to him joining our team, releasing him,” Clouston said. “There are just some things between the player, the agency and the team that have to be sorted out in order for the federations, Kazakhstan and Hockey Canada, to allow him to come over. We’re chipping away. He wants to come. January 10 would probably be the final deadline.”

by Marty Hastings

Blazers aim to keep pace near top of Western Conference with struggling Warriors coming to town

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