Saturday, October 06, 2007

All Around Good Night in the 'Loops

Sorry for the late recap... a ride up the wildlife laden Cache Creek highway to Prince George had us arriving just after 4am....

The Broncos left Kamloops with more than just the two points, bus driver Dan Adrienne also claimed the 50/50 jackpot for over $1600 dollars. Nice.

That was the kicker to the night where the Broncos played a fairly solid game for the 2-1 win. They went into shutdown mode for the final period protecting the one goal lead while outshooting and outchancing the Blazers.

Some rough stuff to kick off the third period. The Blazers really wanted a piece of Geordie Wudrick after he took a whack at Victor Bartley when he laid on the ice in the 2nd period period. Sasha Golin was talking to him off the face-off when R.J Larochelle stepped up and delivered some solid lefts in a long scrap. Geordie eventually got jumped by Mark Hall during the same stoppage. Both were kicked out of the game. Bad trade for the Broncos there.

Spencer McAvoy also stood up for rookie teammate Justin Dowling after he was hit awkwardly into the glass at the penalty box by Tyler Shattock. Spence didn't fare so well but it was a good response to the dangerous check.

Cody Eakin probably didn't sleep much last night. His breakaway chance in the third resulted in him shooting the puck well over the net. Eakin was disappointed after the game. With his speed and sense he'll get more chances.

It was great to have Kamloops Daily News Sports Editor Gregg Drinnan on the broadcast last night. The fellow blogger at http://www.gdrinnan.blogspot.com/ has been covering WHL hockey for 30 plus years. He joined us for a 1st intermission chat.

The guys were treated to a nice Thanksgiving-like post-game meal afterwards. Some turkey, potatoes, gravy, salad.... it was fantastic and a nice touch from Broncos Assistant Coach Tim Kehler who looks after planning the meals on the road.

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Not sure what to expect tonight in Prince George. The team hopefully can get some downtime and some rest before face-off. It's a tough stretch playing in Kamloops and then P.G. in back to back nights. The Cougars didn't play last night and have been waiting for the Broncos since Wednesday's win over Tri-Cities. It was the Cougars first win of the season.

We're on the air at 7:30 with the Big Show, 8pm play-by-play. Former Broncos goaltender Kyle Moir will be my guest in the pre-game show. He's out in Thunder Bay at Lakehead University.

The Broncos are out to a solid 4-2 start with two more games to go in this string of eight straight to begin the season. Dean Chynoweth's target was 4-4. Hopefully he can re-work those numbers to a more attractive 5-3 or 6-2.

Time to go check out some P.G. scenery.....

Jon

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