Matthew Seminoff (left) and Nick McCarry having fun at Blazers practice on Tuesday (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS!

Blazers all smiles during magical start, eyeing top spot in CHL this week

Nov 30, 2021 | 2:11 PM

KAMLOOPS — There’s nothing but smiles at Blazers practice. The boys are having the most fun they’ve ever had. Winning helps bring that out, but the group is just super tight.

“It’s awesome. We’re winning lots of hockey games right now and I think the guys aren’t taking it for granted. I know I’m not. Winning doesn’t come easy in this league,” said forward Logan Stankoven.

Caeden Bankier added, “We have such a good group in this room. A lot of us have played on the team the last two years where our season got cut short. This year, we all had a collective goal that we wanted to make the most of it — challenge for a big long playoff run this year.”

At this point, a long playoff run looks promising, even though we’re only at the end of November. The Blazers are proving they can win at home — 5-0 this season at the Sandman Centre — and on the road. They’re wrapping up a perfect four-game road trip in the U.S., including a 3-2 win over the second-best team in the country in Everett.

Looped In

LOOPED IN WITH NIKKI OMEN: September 19, 2024

14h ago

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Time to listen to the soldiers in the trenches

23h ago

Question of the Week

Do you think BC should put more emphasis on involuntary care for those living with significant mental health and addiction issues?

Sep 16, 2024

“I think we did a good job focusing on what we needed to do,” said goaltender Dylan Garand. “Playing on the road, especially for the amount of time we were is not an easy thing to do, but at the same time you can look at it in a way that it’s easy just to focus on hockey and focus on what we need to do every night. I feel like we did a good job of that.”

With the last four wins on the road, Kamloops has put itself into the conversation for No. 1 in the CHL. Not only did they defeat the Silvertips in their building, but the top team, Winnipeg, lost their first of the season on Sunday.

“Yeah it would be great to see our name at the No. 1 spot there,” said Stankoven. “But it doesn’t really mean that much. Once you’re on the ice, anything can happen. I think it just comes down to who wants to work harder.”

Garand added, “It’ll be cool to be on top, but at the same time it’s not really what we’re focused on. We’re trying to get better every day and keep winning games as a team, whether we’re one in the rankings or not. It doesn’t change what we do.”

The CHL Top 10 Rankings come out on Wednesday.