It's not over yet

[Malc]

By GREGG DRINNAN

No one told the Kamloops Blazers it was over.

Down 4-0 just 11 minutes into the game and staring at the end of their season, the Blazers roared back to defeat the Portland Winterhawks 5-4 on Wednesday night at Interior Savings Centre.

The Winterhawks still hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven WHL Western Conference semifinal with Game 5 scheduled for the Rose Garden in Portland on Saturday night. A sixth game, if needed, would be played in Kamloops on Monday.

Only once in WHL history has a team rebounded from a 0-3 deficit to win a series. In the spring of 1996, the Spokane Chiefs did it to, yes, the Winterhawks.

Last night, the Blazers could have collapsed like a cardboard suitcase in the rain. They were down 3-0 in games and had given up four goals on only eight shots to a team that was looking for its eighth straight playoff victory. And the reward for victory would be spending today on a bus headed to Portland.

While the Blazers looked down and out, the Winterhawks looked as though they already were looking forward to the next series, the conference final against the Tri-City Americans or Spokane Chiefs.

But a funny thing happened on the road to that series — the Blazers came alive.

But who knew with all that happened that it all would come down to one faceoff in the Portland zone? Slightly more than seven minutes into the third period, with the score at 4-4 and the Blazers on the power play, Kamloops forward Brendan Ranford won the draw from Taylor Peters, moving a fluttering puck to the hash mark in front of Portland goaltender Mac Carruth.

Winterhawks defenceman Troy Rutkowski reached for the puck but had it bounce over his stick, right to Kamloops winger Dylan Willick.

“It was kind of an unlucky bounce,” Rutkowski said. “I have to give credit to their forward who read that well.”

“It was just one of those bouncing pucks... it went right to my stick,” Willick said. “I think he went for a swing at the puck to clear it. It hopped over his stick and landed right on mine. It was just one of those freak bounces that finally went our way.

“I knew I had a hole and I put it there.”

Derrick Pouliot, with two, Rutkowski and Cam Reid had given the Winterhawks a 4-0 lead as they scored seemingly at will on goaltender Cam Lanigan in the early going.

“I thought we played well early but I don’t know if we deserved a 4-0 lead,” Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks’ general manager and head coach, said. “I thought the third period was pretty well even... they got the bounce over Rutkowski’s stick and Willick made a good shot.”

With the home side trailing 4-0, all eyes were on the Kamloops bench, wondering whether head coach Guy Charron would yank Lanigan and send in rookie Taran Kozun, who played two early-season games with the Blazers before being assigned to the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks. Kozun re-joined the Blazers a few weeks back after the Hawks’ season ended and has been on the bench since starter Cole Cheveldave suffered a concussion in Game 1.

Charron, reluctant to throw the 17-year-old Kozun into this situation, stayed with Lanigan. And Lanigan, to his credit, stood tall the rest of the way.

“That was a huge game for us,” Lanigan said. “We obviously realized after the first period that the odds were against us in almost every aspect.”

Lanigan said Charron appealed to the pride of his players in the organization and in themselves.

“That was something to play for,” Lanigan said, adding that he never once wondered if he was going to get yanked.

“You try not to think that... you push those thoughts aside,” the 19-year-old said. “You put the best possible situation in your head. You never think about that. It’s early in the game and you want to focus on that next shot.”

Lanigan felt the tide began to turn with the Blazers’ first goal.

“After we got that first one... we’re such a momentum team,” he stated. “We come in waves and that’s been our success... our momentum and how we can roll lines and gain momentum. Once we got that first one it was that sense of blood.

“And we’ve always known Portland is beatable. We’ve been up on them before in this series and we’ve had close games. As soon as we got that goal, we definitely knew it was within our reach.”

In hindsight, the game may well have swung 12 minutes into the first period — just moments before that first Kamloops goal — when winger J.C. Lipon drilled Portland forward Ty Rattie into the boards at the Winterhawks blue-line. Rattie, who leads the WHL with 13 goals in these playoffs, was in distress as he went to the bench, indicated a problem in his left lower back area and was escorted to the dressing room. He didn’t return.

“I finished my check and then scored a goal right after that,” Lipon said. “I kind of heard him say like, ‘Ow!’ but that’s about it. I hit him pretty hard.”

Johnston said Rattie’s departure was huge because “he plays in so many situations for us — 4-on-4, 5-on-5, he’s on the power play, the penalty kill. Now you’re changing your power play and that’s a big adjustment because we’ve had Rattie, (Sven) Bartschi and (Brad) Ross together the whole year.”

Asked about Rattie’s injury, Johnston said: “I don’t know. He’s being evaluated.”

Johnston also said the Winterhawks may request supplemental discipline from the WHL office for the hit by Lipon and for a third-period check to the head by Kamloops defenceman Austin Madaisky on forward Taylor Leier.

Madaisky, who was suspended for the last two games of the Blazers’ first-round sweep of the Victoria Royals for a head shot, was given a minor penalty.

Johnston said after the game that he was “watching both hits... both were bad.”

The Blazers asked for and got supplemental discipline following a Game 1 hit by Portland forward Oliver Gabriel on goaltender Cole Cheveldave. Cheveldave hasn’t played since — he is believed to have a concussion — and Gabriel, who drew a minor penalty on the late-game play, was later hit with a four-game suspension. He will complete that suspension by sitting out Game 5.

Moments after hitting Rattie, Lipon beat Carruth with a short-side shot upstairs and the Blazers had their first breath of life.

“It banked off the behind wall and popped out right to me,” Lipon said.

Still, the deficit was 4-1. But the hill no longer resembled Mount Everest.

The Blazers, who halted their first three-game losing streak of this season with the victory, then got late second-period goals from defenceman Bronson Maschmeyer at 15:06 — Johnston said that goal, a power-play score off the rush, was a turning point — and Brandon Herrod at 18:30 to get within a goal.

Prior to Maschmeyer’s goal, the Winterhawks had a number of opportunities to extend their lead. Brad Ross, who scored four times in a 5-2 Game 3 victory the previous night, had a shot go off a post and end up underneath Lanigan with Portland on the power play.

On the same power play, the Winterhawks, who had scored three shorthanded goals in Game 3, had two 2-on-1 breaks and a 3-on-2 rush. But they weren’t able to beat Lanigan, who suddenly resembled a brick wall.

And when Ranford tied it by depositing a rebound behind Carruth at 6:03 of the third period, the sparse crowd of 3,587 erupted, sounding like 10,000.

It was even louder after Willick scored and again at the final buzzer.

The Winterhawks were presented with two more power-play opportunities late in the third period. But that revamped unit, without Rattie, didn’t have any success. The Blazers got a couple of key blocked shots from Willick and defenceman Tyler Bell and were able to hang on for the victory.

Despite having blown the lead, the Winterhawks didn’t sound too concerned, not with Game 5 in their town.

“It’s playoffs... everything is unpredictable,” Rutkowski said. “We just have to tighten up the defence and learn to play with a lead like that.”

As for the possibility of playing without Rattie, he said: “We have enough skill players. He’s a great player... but we have enough talented players that we should be able to fill in the gaps.”

Johnston said it’s all about facing adversity.

“It’s playoffs. You’re going to face some adversity sometime,” he said. “Now we have a little bit of adversity. We have to adjust and adapt and get ready for Saturday.”

JUST NOTES: Kamloops was 2-5 on the power play; Portland was 0-5... Lanigan finished with 27 saves, while Carruth stopped 29... The Blazers went with seven defencemen in Game 3, but scratched Landon Cross last night. That allowed F Brayden Gelsinger, 16, to make his WHL debut. He played this season with the midget AAA Tisdale, Sask., Trojans. Gelsinger, who had 42 points, including 22 goals, in 41 games with Tisdale, signed with the Blazers on March 21... Andy Clovechok, Mr. Hockey in Kamloops, was in the house celebrating his 89th birthday... The Daily News’ Three Stars: 1. Ranford: A goal and two assists; 2. Willick: Typical Willick night; 3. Lipon: Wouldn’t quit.

http://gdrinnan.blogspot.ca/2012/04/...gan-makes.html

[Malc]

By GREGG DRINNAN

The Kamloops Blazers and Portland Winterhawks will have some adjustments to make before they hit the ice for Game 5 of their best-of-seven WHL Western Conference semifinal series.

The Blazers, no doubt still feeling the glow after erasing a 4-0 first-period deficit and winning Game 4, 5-4, at home on Wednesday night, will be without right-winger J.C. Lipon as they attempt to force Game 6 at Interior Savings Centre on Monday.

The Winterhawks, who take a 3-1 series lead into tonight’s game in the Rose Garden, may be missing right-winger Ty Rattie, a native of Airdrie, Alta., who is one of the WHL’s most-prolific offensive talents.

Lipon was suspended Friday morning for a Game 4 check that took Rattie out of that game and perhaps out of the Portland lineup indefinitely. Lipon wasn’t penalized for the hit but the Winterhawks requested supplemental discipline and he was suspended yesterday morning.

“You can’t really elaborate,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said. “It is what it is. You accept it and move on.”

Lipon drove Rattie into the side boards in Portland’s zone 12 minutes into the first period and then seconds later scored the Blazers’ first goal. Rattie went to the bench and was feeling his left lower back before going to the dressing room. However, his helmeted forehead struck the glass quite forcefully and he is believed to have a neck injury. Rattie was wearing a neck brace as he watched Portland practise yesterday.

“It’s really a neck problem,” Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks’ general manager and head coach, told Jim Beseda of The Oregonian. “There are no concussion symptoms. He said his pain seems a little bit better today and they’re just trying to take pressure off it right now by having him wear a brace.”

With Lipon gone, Charron did some juggling for yesterday’s practice in Portland. He put Brendan Ranford in Lipon’s spot, on the right side with Tim Bozon and Colin Smith. Cole Ully, who has been out with an undisclosed injury, skated in Ranford’s spot, with Brandon Herrod and Jordan DePape.

Which isn’t to say that’s how the lineup will look tonight.

“That may change... we’ll see how it goes (tonight),” Charron said. “You want to balance your lines because we don’t have last change. We’ll see. We’ll see how it goes and try to match as best we can.”

Charron had broken up the Ranford-Herrod-DePape line earlier in the series and then put it back together in the third period of a 5-2 loss in Game 3. That line responded with seven points in Wednesday’s startling comeback.

Smith’s line, meanwhile, has struggled of late and has just four points, none from Bozon, in the last five games.

Charron feels that Ully, who has yet to play in this series, is capable of injecting some offence into one of the top two lines.

“He has got some offensive ability,” said Charron of Ully, who had 20 points in 55 regular-season games while seeing mostly third- and fourth-line duty. “He’s probably in a better position to be put on a top line than to use him on the fourth line, which we would have had to. He’s in a better situation for him to produce.”

The Blazers, meanwhile, will have Cam Lanigan in goal for a fourth straight game. Cole Cheveldave, who was selected to the Western Conference’s second all-star team, remains out with a concussion. He has yet to pass his baseline test that would allow him to begin exercising and then return to practice. It is highly unlikely he would be able to play should there be a Game 6 here on Monday.

At the same time, Rattie’s absence would mean some adjustments by the Winterhawks. He finished third in the WHL in the regular season in goals (57) and points (121), and leads the WHL playoffs with 13 goals and 20 points.

Rattie, who turned 19 on Feb. 5, plays alongside Sven Baertschi and Marcel Noebels on Portland’s top line. Rattie, Baertschi and Brad Ross have played together all season on the first power-play unit, as well. In fact, Rattie led the WHL with 26 regular-season power-play goals and was tied for seventh, with 28 assists.

Johnston also is without veteran left-winger Oliver Gabriel, who is serving the final game of a four-game suspension for a late Game 1 hit on Cheveldave. (Gabriel was penalized for goaltender interference on that play. The Blazers later asked for and received supplemental discipline from the WHL office.)

Without Gabriel and Rattie, Johnston is likely to shorten his bench, moving Taylor Leier up with Baertschi and Noebels, leaving Cam Reid between Brendan Leipsic and Ross, and rotating freshmen forwards Nic Petan and Chase De Leo with Taylor Peters and Joey Baker. Under normal circumstances, Gabriel would play on a line with Leier and Peters.

However, the Winterhawks haven’t yet ruled Rattie out of the game. If he is able to handle the discomfort, he just may play.

“He has to be able to play well in order to play,” Johnston told The Oregonian. “We have other guys that are ready to step in if he’s not ready. I’m hoping it won’t take more than a couple days if he’s not ready (tonight).”

Rattie has been taking treatment from athletic therapist Rich Campbell, and also from a massage therapist and a chiropractor.

“The pain’s still there,” Rattie said, “but I guess we’ll see how it goes.

“Therapy is helping a lot. It’s getting better. So, I’ll wake up in the morning and we’ll go from there. Obviously, Rich has to give me the go-ahead, I have to feel right to play, and then the final decision is Mike’s.”

Charron is hopeful that all of this, combined with what transpired Wednesday night in Kamloops, will have the Winterhawks at least thinking about things.

“It gives us a sense of confidence,” Charron said. “For them, they can’t take us for granted. I’m sure they’re going to give it the best they can to finish it (tonight).

“We just have to be prepared for the challenge and play the way we can.”

http://gdrinnan.blogspot.ca/2012/04/...nt-bureau.html

[CdnSailor]

Missed the game but congrats on the 5 goal come back in the third.

[Malc]

By GREGG DRINNAN

A curtain call?

This wasn’t Phantom of the Opera. This wasn’t The Lion King.

This was a hockey game. However, it wasn’t just any hockey game.

And when it ended, 5,080 fans stood inside Interior Savings Centre and roared and roared and roared some more. This was a crowd that didn’t want to leave.

After a few minutes of the crescendo, the Kamloops Blazers, who had just completed a heart-stopping 7-6 WHL playoff victory over the Portland Winterhawks, returned to the ice surface and saluted their fans.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the joint. And there will be hoarse voices in the city today.

“It was unbelieveable... it gave me shivers,” said Kamloops defenceman Bronson Maschmeyer, whose second goal of the game broke a 6-6 tie with 20.6 seconds left in the third period. “I’m so proud to be a Blazer and so proud that these fans came out. I’ve never had a feeling like that before. It was awesome.”

The Blazers trailed 5-2 going into the third period but, obviously, they had the Winterhawks right where they wanted them.

After all, the Blazers once trailed this series 0-3. Then, in Game 4, the home boys were down 4-0 halfway through the first period, only to come back and win, 5-4.

The Blazers then went into Portland and ran away with a 7-2 decision. Then came last night.

And now the teams will return to Portland and play Game 7, winner-take-all, in Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday night.

Only once in WHL history — the league’s first season was 1966-67 — has a team come back from a 3-0 deficit to force a Game 7. The Spokane Chiefs did it in the spring of 1996, beating the visiting Winterhawks 4-3 in overtime in that deciding game.

So, yes, it does happen. And it may happen again tomorrow night because this Winterhawks team is starting to look as though it’s living in a house in Amityville.

If there was a key goal among the 13 scored in this one, it likely came off the stick of Kamloops defenceman Marek Hrbas. He pounded a slapshot past Portland goaltender Mac Carruth at 5:55 of the third period to cut the deficit to 5-3.

“I thought the Hrbas goal started it,” Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks’ general manager and head coach, said. “It gave them a little juice. They got to 5-3 and it gave them some energy.

“They earned a lot of what they got in the third period. They had us back on our heels a little bit... the momentum from the fans got them energized.”

Right-winger Jordan DePape pulled the Blazers within one when a centring pass appeared to deflect off a prone Troy Rutkowski, a Portland defenceman, in the crease. And the crowd roared at 8:49.

Just 11 seconds later, Portland defenceman Derrick Pouliot had the puck deep in his zone when he attempted to go d-to-d and disaster struck.

“It hit a crack in the boards, went back to them and out to the slot,” Johnston said. “That’s a little bit of a bad break.”

It was. Because it went right to Aspen Sterzer, who rifled the puck past Carruth for his first WHL playoff goal. And the roof about came off the joint.

Shortly after Sterzer’s goal, the officials signalled for the timeout that is held near the midway point of each period. Amazingly, the crowd rose as one and roared for the entire 90 seconds.

Centre Colin Smith put the Blazers out front, scoring off his own rebound from in tight, at 15:21. The crowd was on its feet one more time.

But the Winterhawks quieted the place just 26 seconds later when Cam Reid fired a shot from the slot past goaltender Cam Lanigan.

Of course, all that did was set the stage for Maschmeyer, who was the beneficiary of some terrific work by Brandon Herrod and Brendan Ranford, as they forced a turnover in the Winterhawks’ zone and got the puck to the point.

“I just put a slapshot through,” Maschmeyer said. “There was a lot of traffic at the net... blocker side. I just shot it and hoped for the best. We had 20 seconds left... they had their top line and we didn’t want to give anything up.

“We were in their zone so I figured I’m going to shot the puck. The guys did a great job in front of the net.”

Three of the Blazers’ goals came off similar plays.

“They’ve been getting some shots through from the point in the series,” Johnston said. “It seems like they’ve been finding the way through screens and it’s been a factor.”

Ranford had the Blazers’ other goal, that in the first period.

Brad Ross, with two, Pouliot, Oliver Gabriel and Brendan Leipsic also scored for the Winterhawks, who got 36 saves out of Carruth.

“It’s a characteristic of this hockey club,” Kamloops head coach Guy Charron said. “I’ve said it over and over again. They don’t want to give up. It’s something you build from Day 1 of training camp. It doesn’t matter if we miss people or not. Everybody shows up and plays hard...

“I don’t know what else to say.”

Neither do 5,000 fans.

The other Western Conference semifinal also has gone to a Game 7. It, too, will be decided on Wednesday as the Spokane Chiefs visit the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash.

Should the Chiefs and Blazers both win, the conference final would open here on Friday night.

Do you believe in miracles?

JUST NOTES: Each team was 2-for-5 on the power play... Lanigan stopped 24 shots... The Daily News’ Three Stars: 1. Maschmeyer: Two goals in big game; 2. F Dylan Willick, Kamloops: Just does it; 3. Pouliot: Goal and two assists from back end... Herrod finished with three assists in a strong performance, while Ranford added two helpers to his goal... Prior to the game, a moment of silence was held in memory of former Blazers president Colin Day, who died on Friday.

http://gdrinnan.blogspot.ca/2012/04/...ce-game-7.html