Image Credit: Kamloops Blazers

By Adam Donnelly

WHL FIRST-HALF

Blazers have been good, but believe they can improve in the second half

Jan 3, 2020 | 4:55 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops Blazers hit the halfway point of their WHL season last Friday in Kelowna with a 4-0 shutout win over their rivals, the Rockets.

While they lost the two games after that win, it’s safe to say the first half go the 2019 – 2020 season was a success. However, what the Blazers do the next 32 games and beyond will determine if this team is good — or if they’ll be remembered as great.

After last Friday night’s shutout win over the Rockets in Kelowna, it looked like the Blazers were set to make 2020 their year. They looked dominant — from their opponents net, all the way back to theirs.

However, in the two games since — home ice losses to the Silvertips and Royals — the team hasn’t looked as good.

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“When you’ve got teams like Everett and teams like Victoria that have been very, very consistent, they’ve been playoff teams, they believe that they’re playoff teams. They believe that when there’s a very important situation or game, they believe they can do it,” Blazers head coach Shaun Clouston explained. “We’ve really got to work to find that. It’s been there at times, and it’s been missing at times.”

The Blazers sit atop the BC Division, five points ahead of Victoria. Their 47 points put them in third place in the Western Conference, behind Portland and Everett. For 20-year-old captain Zane Franklin, he says he believes this team is one of the best he’s played on.

“We’re right there. Obviously, we’re not perfect. we don’t believe we’re perfect, we can still improve,” Franklin told CFJC Today after the loss to the Royals. “I honestly believe we can do whatever we put our minds to. If we want to be a championship team or a contending team, we have the right mindset. I think we’ll get there for sure.”

The coaching staff hopes if they get improved contributions from players already in the lineup, to could help bolster their chances of a long playoff run.

“I think there are guys we believe that can break out, a little bit,” Clouston said. “Brodi Stuart has been a guy that works so hard. He works hard every night, and he’s a little bit snakebit. He’s a guy that just has to keep going and believing in himself.”

Aside from scoring, Stuart’s prepared to put in that work as one of the leaders for the hockey club. He’s confident this Blazers team will be in the mix down the stretch.

“You want to lead by example, with work ethic on the ice and off the ice,” Stuart said. “I think we can be a top team. When we’re playing at our best, we can play with any team in this league.”