With how the Kamloops Blazers are playing on a marathon road trip that has taken them as far as they can travel in the Western Hockey League, the club can only look forward to the March Brier, when it will again be away from home for an extended stretch.
The Blazers left Kamloops last week to start a six-game road trip on the Prairies, with stops in Brandon, Regina, Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw and Swift Current.
When Kamloops left the Tournament Capital, the team packed a 12-game losing streak into the bus as it headed east on the Trans-Canada Highway.
ROAD SUCCESS
Kamloops/Saskatoon Dec. 14 game summary
Kamloops/Prince Albert Dec. 13 summary
After opening the road trip with a 5-2 loss in Brandon, the Blazers rattled off three straight wins — 4-3 in Regina, 4-2 in Prince Albert and 3-2 in Saskatoon.
Kamloops plays in Moose Jaw on Sunday, Dec. 15 (4 p.m. face-off on Radio NL AM 610) and in Swift Current on Tuesday, Dec. 17 (5 p.m. face-off on Radio NL AM 610) before the Christmas break.
The Blazers defeated the Saskatoon Blades 3-2 on Dec. 14 behind Carson Bolduc’s two goals and Taran Kozun’s 38 saves.
Kamloops knocked off Prince Albert Raiders 4-2 on Dec. 13 behind a seven-point effort from Matt Needham and Cole Ully and 39 saves from Kozun. Raider goaltender Cole Cheveldave, traded to Prince Albert from Kamloops in the off-season, did not play.
The Blazers beat the Regina Pats 4-3 on Dec. 11 in a wild contest in the Queen City. The Pats led 2-1 with 1:22 left in the third period, but the two teams combined for three goals in that span to send the game to overtime and, eventually, a shootout, during which Jesse Shynkaruk won it for Kamloops.
Kozun had 39 saves in the win, while Needham and Ully had three points each.
OVERTIME — Kamloops is now 9-21-2-2 on the season. The club is last in the Western Conference with 22 points, nine back of Prince George and 15 points behind Tri-City, which sits in the eighth and final playoff spot . . . As of Dec. 14, the Blazers have played 36 of this season’s 72 games . . . The Brier Canadian men’s curling championship will take place in Interior Savings Centre from March 1 to March 9, but Kamloops will have started an epic road trip much earlier. Beginning on Feb. 15 and continuing to March 8, the Blazers will undertake a 10-game road trip, including three-game swings into the U.S. and Alberta.
