Broncos 2 @ Blazers 0

[Big Ern]

WOW. What a game in Kamloops. The Broncos rode Travis Yonkman's unbelievable night all the way to a 2-0 shutout win as they blanked the Blazers on their Teddy Bear toss night.

-I would say this was by far the best game of the season to watch. Although a hair-greying affair at times, the game was so intense it was unbelievable. Both clubs played really well.

-the guys made countless great defensive plays, and again, Travis Yonkman was incredible with 28 saves and at least 70% of that total counting as quality scoring chances. The Blazers were pretty determined to get that Teddy Bear goal, but quite frankly it seemed like there was a wall in front of that Bronco net. The puck just could not go in. On the other hand, I don't think you could point at any one of our defensemen tonight and say he wasn't on. They were really really good. Let's not forget the 5 on 3 PP that Swifty killed off...the likely turning point in this contest.

-Swift Current scored the winning goal on really the only mistake of the hockey game. A bad line change by Kamloops caused a 3 on 1 for the Broncos and Cody Eakin was able to capitalize off the great feed from Brad Hoban, who had lots time to dust off the puck and think about his move. Welcome back Eaks!

-Justin Leclerc was fantabulous (if that's a word...it's one of Razor's favourites on the Dallas Stars' telecast) in goal for Kamloops. Does the name Justin Leclerc ring a bell? It did for me...the Broncos saw him in Lethbridge a couple times and he was involved in a playoff series between Calgary and Lethbridge some three years back. I remember him making save after save, until Calgary's import player at the time (I don't remember his name...just that he was Ukranian) scored the OT winner to take the series. Leclerc has stoned the Broncos before also. Goalies seemingly get in a groove to play certain teams.... Leclerc kept the Dowling/Dansereau/Tassone line at bay...especially Matt Tassone who tried several of his wrap-around tuck-in plays and came up empty-handed.

All in all, what an effort! That's three in a row after the team was challenged by Dean Chynoweth in Edmonton, and the group has really stepped up. Kudos. The biggest challenge lies ahead in Vancouver......



LET'S GO SWIFTY!!!

Some Notes:

-Kamloops camera man? Please focus on the play where the puck is whenever possible. lol

-the team is finally back to full health...knock on wood.

-as Kirk Fraser, the voice of the Blazers pointed out....interesting move by the Blazers' coaching staff to give them two days off after a 8-3 loss in Cranbrook in their last outing. The team apparently implored the coaching staff to give them two days off instead of bag-skating them or putting them through the paces, and claimed "they'd be ready to go on Saturday." Well I must admit as an avid reader of Gregg Drinnan's blog, who covers the Blazers with the Kamloops newspaper, head coach Barry Smith seems pretty off the wall at times. It turns out he gave them the two days off and guess what...the Blazers were ready to go and energized tonight. I guess the end result wasn't good from their standpoint, but oh well.....

-the fans in Kamloops could not wait until the end of the game to throw the bears on the ice, even as the PA announcer pleaded with them..."Don't throw your bears...don't throw your bears until the Blazers score or the final buzzer sounds." There was over a minute left when the bears were fired after Taylor Vause scored the empty-netter. Contrary to that, fans in Kootenay waited until the final buzzer last season to throw their stuffed toys when the Broncos blanked them 1-0 in the same scenario. Interesting....

That's enough for tonight...big win.

[CrazyGeorge]

Buyers or sellers come deadline day Mr. Ern? You appear to be the man with answers or strong opinions on the team so I thought I'd ask you your opinion. I don't think we can wait till Dudas is back to determine if we are buyers or sellers or not. A lot of players have strong trade value right now...including Dudas (seeing how teams covet a top 4 dman to make a strong run)...Yonkman, Dansereau, Dudas and maybe even a few 19 year olds...depending on what Dean values the chances of making a strong push. I'm not saying all, any or some of these players are getting moved but at least one twenty has to go eventually...that situation has been draging on for ever it seems. Does Dudas want to stay or not? Is his knee more of an issue than once thought? Is a blockbuster being made with teams out west perhaps? Hopefully answers come soon. Thoughts? Opinions?

[Scout]

Keen's Korner

Sunday, December 14, 2008

For the 2nd year in a row, the Broncos spoiled the Teddy Bear party,

Like they did a year ago in Cranbrook to the Kootenay Ice, the Broncos did it again. This time the Kamloops Blazers fans and their bears had to sweat it out.

With the fans waiting for the Blazers to score, and Travis Yonkman denying any and every opportunity of that happening, the bears finally came down,

The Broncos Taylor Vause scored into an empty net with 1:11 to play to seal the fate of the Blazers as a stream of teddy bears flooded the ice despite pleads from the P.A Announcer for the fans to stop.

It didn’t work. Soon ten bears was a hundred then a thousand and so on.

The final buzzer sounding after a 10 minute clean-up and the Broncos posting a 2-0 win – their third straight on this road trip through the B.C. division.

The story? A goaltenders duel between Travis Yonkman and Justin Leclerc.

Cody Eakin’s goal 8:29 into the third period broke the ice in the stalemate. For Eakin it was his first game back into the Broncos line-up after missing three weeks with an ankle injury.

Yonkman continued his brilliance right to the end making 28 saves for his 2nd career teddy bear toss night shutout.

“He’s got the eye of the tiger back,” said D Ryan Molle to me after the game in reference to Yonkman.

The game was a physical, fast-paced action packed tilt. It was perhaps one of the best games from an entertainment standpoint.

The fans may have not left happy, but it was a doozy.

The win was #250 career for Broncos Head Coach / GM Dean Chynoweth behind a WHL bench.

The team now takes a well-deserved two days off before taking on the Giants in Vancouver Tuesday night.

Just a few notes:

- I was impressed with the entire volunteer / gamenight staff at the Interior Savings Center. Friendly, cheerful and helpful the whole night. I heard “Welcome to Kamloops” several times upon the teams arrival. They were in a festive, happy mood. They made a good impression on me.

Had a good chat with Gregg Drinnan of the Kamloops Daily News. He jumped on-air with me to help bridge the gap during the ten-minute teddy bear cleanup. Our talk, among other things included the blog fad and the way they are taking over the #1 source of WHL information. His blog, gdrinnan.blogspot.com is commanding 2500 hits a day from around the WHL. The art of waiting until the next day for the paper to come out is a thing of the past. Everything is available almost instantly. The power of the internet, the power of the blog.

The team now has some things planned to make the most of their two days off in Vancouver. I will try and snap some pics along the way.

Have a great Sunday,

Jon
www.jonkeen.blogspot.com

Scout

[Scout]

SOUTHWEST BOOSTER SPORTS
The Southwest Booster

Playing their fourth game in five nights Travis Yonkman stopped all 28 shots he faced and Taylor Vause and Cody Eakin, in his first game back from injury, scored the only goals to help the Swift Current Broncos to a 2-0 win over the host Kamloops Blazers to ruin Teddy Bear Toss Night for 4,575 fans at the Interior Savings Centre on Saturday.

Eakin, 17, broke 51:31 of scoreless play when he notched his ninth goal of the season midway through the third period in his first game back in the line-up since Nov. 14th.

Vause, 17, sealed the game with his sixth goal of the season into an open net with 1:11 remaining in regulation prompting the Blazers fans to shower the ice with stuffed animals as a part of the Teddy Bear Toss promotion.

The win moves the Broncos to 3-1 with two games remaining on their annual west coast swing with their third consecutive win after opening the trip with a loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings on Tuesday.

Yonkman, 20, moved to 10-4-0-1 with his first shutout of the season. Justin Leclerc dropped to 13-13-1-2 with 21 saves on 22 shots.

Both teams went scoreless on the powerplay, Swift Current on three opportunities and Kamloops on six.

The win improves the Broncos to 20-14-0-1, while Kamloops drops to 14-18-1-3. Swift Current now leads the Regina Pats and the Brandon Wheat Kings by a single point for second place in the East Division behind the Saskatoon Blades. Kamloops remains in third spot in the B.C Division.

Tuesday the Broncos will continue their six-game road trip in Vancouver against the Western Conference leading Giants before concluding their pre-Christmas schedule in Chilliwack on Wednesday.

Broncos Bits: The Broncos improved to 9-8 on the road this season and also earned coach Dean Chynoweth his 250th career WHL win, fifth among active coaches. Matt Tassone's 10-game point streak came to an end, followed by Justin Dowling's five-game streak. Mark Guggenberger earned the Broncos only other shutout this season in a 2-0 win over the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers on Oct. 12th. The Broncos are now 3-0 against B.C. Division teams. After allowing 44 goals in their previous eight road games, an average of 5.5 per game, the Broncos have now allowed only one goal over their past two road games.



Scout

[Speedy Broncs]

Did not have a chance to listen to game last night ... can anyone who saw or listen to the game talk about what happened with the Eakin/Calla fight? Looks like Eakin high sticked someone ... Calla coming in to help?????

Great to see Eakin back in the lineup - adds another set of speedy legs and grit. Let's hope he can stay healthy and build up his draft potential.

[Broncs in RD]

I have to say I am surprised that they are doing so well. So Congrates to the boys for getting things done. Great road trip so far.

[bronco rep]

Like Molle said Yonks has got the EYE OF THE TIGER right now. watched it on the net & boy the guys were flying. Its amazing when you work what kind of results you get. Stomp on those giants tues night boys. dancing pi

[Big Ern]

Buyers or sellers come deadline day Mr. Ern? Appear to be the man with answers or strong opinions on the team so I thought I'd ask you your thoughts. I don't think we can wait till Dudas is back to determine if we are buyers or sellers or not. A lot of players have strong trade value right now...including Dudas (seeing how teams covet a top 4 dman to make a strong run)...Yonkman, Dansereau, Dudas and maybe even a few 19 year olds...depending on what Dean values the chances of making a strong push. I'm not saying all, any or some of these players are getting moved but at least one twenty has to go eventually...that situation has been draging on for ever it seems. Does Dudas want to stay or not? Is his knee more of an issue than once thought? Is a blockbuster being made with teams out west perhaps? Hopefully answers come soon. Thoughts? Opinions?

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that. I don't know why my opinions would be any "stronger" than anyone else's, or how I "appear to be the man with answers." I'm an on-looking fan like you, and I enjoy typing up recaps and posting them on the forum. That's about it.

As for the buyers or sellers question, I don't think I've ever posted regarding that, because I'd rather not discuss it. The answer works itself out over the year, and right now I it's still a tad early. The Broncos have not played with a full roster once this season. I trust the GM fully to make the moves needed...he always has.

On the other hand, maybe this will shed some light on the situation. Below is a transcript of a segment in Dean Chynoweth's interview with the voice of the Rockets, Regan Bartel from two nights ago:


Bartel: I gotta ask you about your 20-year-old defenseman Jesse Dudas, who is not with the hockey club. There's been some interest out here...at least that's the rumour mill. The Rockets have a 20-year-old spot available, and they need a veteran defenseman. Do you essentially have that veteran defenseman? What is the status with him...where is he...is he healthy, and can a trade be consented?

Chynoweth: Well he (Dudas) went to Edmonton Oilers training camp and hurt his knee and Edmonton has kept him there throughout the process of his rehab. With the situation of having four 20-year-olds, nothing will come into play until he's cleared and ready to play. He's actually cleared for contact today, but isn't with us because of the limited practice time that we have on this road trip. We felt it was more beneficial for him to stay back until of course we hit the Christmas break. He'll be back on the 26th and we'll see what's what. There's a few other teams that have expressed interest not only in Jesse, but in a couple of our other guys. The unfortunate part is, you'd like to be able to have a stretch where you can see them all play at once and see how your line-up looks. We'll get a short stretch with that when Jesse does get back and does get in shape, and then we'll have to evaluate it at that point. Kelowna's not the only team that's interested. Maybe Bruce (Hamilton) will do me a favour like I did for him with Brady Leavold. (laughs)

You can download the interview or play it in it's entirety right here:

http://www.box.net/shared/j8muecgq05#

[CrazyGeorge]

What were line combinations in the game against Kamloops? I know Ius and Magnus were the players that sat (Ius injured and Magnus healthy scaratch I assume)...

Tassone/Dowling/Dansereau
Wudrick/Eakin/Hoban
Peddle/Vause/Wagner
Dalecky/Toulmin/Brown

Was that close?

[Scout]

with Gregg Drinnan

Sunday, December 14, 2008

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Kamloops Blazers experienced a hockey team’s worst nightmare Saturday —
no offence on Teddy Bear Night.
It’s like being broke when it’s all-you-can-eat night for $5 at your
favourite restaurant. Or having the flu and not being allowed out of the
house when the teachers are having another pro-development day.
In this one, the Blazers threw everything but the Interior Savings Centre
cat at Swift Current goaltender Travis Yonkman before 4,575 well-entertained
fans at Interior Savings Centre. But the home boys came up empty as the
Broncos, playing their fourth road game in five nights, escaped with a 2-0
victory.
Yonkman, 20, finished with 28 saves as he recorded his first shutout this
season and the sixth of his career.
It turns out that he has a bit of a history with shutouts and Teddy Bear
games, having turned in a 34-save 1-0 blanking of the Kootenay Ice in
Cranbrook on Dec. 7, 2007, to ruin the party there, too.
Still, the Saskatoon native said this was just another game to him.
“I don’t think about it (being Teddy Bear Night),” he said. “It’s another
distraction that can get you off your game.”
The game was scoreless until 8:29 of the third period when Swift Current
centre Cody Eakin, a 17-year-old sophomore, took a pass from Brad Hoban and
pounded the puck into an open side behind goaltender Justin Leclerc.
It was Eakin’s ninth goal in his 17th game but his first since Nov. 14. He
had been nursing a high ankle sprain.
The goal came a couple of minutes after the Blazers’ power play had come up
dry — not for lack of effort — on a 53-second two-man advantage.
“We did everything right,” Kamloops head coach Barry Smith said. “Puck
movement was good. Shots were good. We did everything right there. It wasn’t
like we couldn’t get anything done or there was no puck movement or any of
that.
“I thought our power play was real good. It moved the puck but, in the end,
you have to score goals to win hockey games.”
And, on this night, the Blazers weren’t going to beat Yonkman, who appears
to be just rounding into form after missing most of October with a shoulder
injury.
“I’ve been back for a little bit but I haven’t been playing with
confidence,” Yonkman said. “That’s one thing my goalie coach (former Kelowna
Rockets goaltender Kevin Swanson) and I have been talking about . . .
showing that confidence on the ice” so that the Broncos can “build off that
confidence.”
Which was the case Saturday. Yonkman played as though he was overflowing
with confidence and, as a result, he seemed only to take up more of the net
as the game wore on.
When his side was two-men short, Yonkman was spectacular, in one stretch
making pad and glove saves off Tyler Shattock and also robbing Shayne Wiebe
and Kenton Dulle.
“It’s all about reaction. If you think, it’s already too late,” Yonkman said
of those stops. “We work on it during practice, a couple of 5-3 situations,
but it’s all about just working as hard as you can.”
Smith, however, wasn’t about to concede anything to the visitors.
“(Yonkman) was all right but we missed more chances . . . we did all the
things we needed to do,” he said. “The plays were made, the puck movement
was quick . . . it wasn’t to be.
“There was nothing wrong with that game. . . . we were great. If you play
like that you are going to win more games than that.”
The Blazers, who finished with a 28-23 edge in shots, had a territorial
advantage for a lot of the game, but couldn’t beat Yonkman. They also were
guilty, as has frequently been the case, of erratic shooting.
“(The Broncos) weathered the storm,” Smith said. “For us, I thought we
played real well. We carried the play most of the night.”
Dean Chynoweth, the Broncos’ general manager and head coach, said he
expected an early storm, but . . .
“We were prepared to have to weather the storm,” he said, knowing full well
that the Blazers had laid an egg in losing 8-3 in Cranbrook on Wednesday,
“and I didn’t think early there was a lot of emotion either way.
“It was one of those games where there were lots of scoring chances and
quite a few sloppy turnovers. But I thought both goalies played very well.”
Yes, Leclerc was solid, too, as he matched Yonkman almost save for save.
And, as for the Teddy Bear goal, well, it ended up being scored by Swift
Current centre Taylor Vause. He deposited the puck into an empty Kamloops
net with 1:11 left to play and the fans, ignoring the pleas of public
address announcer Bill O‚Donovan not to throw anything, littered the ice
surface with stuf***e.
If nothing else, it gave Vause, a 17-year-old freshman from Calgary, an
early-career highlight. Not too many players get to score a Teddy Bear goal
on the road.
JUST NOTES: Referees Matt Kirk and Brett Iverson, the latter working his
12th WHL game, gave the Broncos nine of 16 minors, and one of two majors,
with Kamloops taking the lone misconduct. . . . Yonkman is a first cousin to
former WHL D Nolan Yonkman, who played with the Kelowna Rockets and Brandon
Wheat Kings. . . . Swift Current has gone 114 games without being blanked,
the longest such streak in the WHL right now. . . . Kamloops has been
blanked twice this season. . . . It was the 12th time in franchise history
that the Blazers have been beaten 2-0 but only the fourth time it has
happened at home. . . . D Jesse Dudas, who has a knee injury and hasn’t
played this season, will rejoin the Broncos after Christmas. His arrival
will give the Broncos four-20-year-olds, meaning one will have to go. That
is expected to happen by the Jan. 10 trading deadline. . . . The WHL’s
Christmas trade moratorium runs from Friday though Dec. 26.

Scout