- That was WHL hockey at it's finest in Seattle. A wild game saw the Blazers give up a three goal third period and eventually win it in a shootout thanks to shootout goals from Brendan Ranford and Colin Smith in and a pair of saves from G Jeff Bosch.
- The Blazers played a perfect game for 48 minutes. Dressing only nine forwards, the Blazers got pucks in deep, limited odd-man situations against and took advantage of opportunities to build a 3-0 lead four minutes into the third period with goals from Brady Gaudet ( 5-on-3), Chase Souto and Dylan Willick.
- The T-Birds roared back with a pair of goals 19 seconds apart and then tied the game with 1:12 to play as Travis Toomey deflected a puck home in front from a pass off the near boards.
- Overtime saw the Blazers fire nine shots on goal thanks to a powerplay. The Blazers finished the night outshooting the T-Birds 58-37. At one point in the first period the Blazers were outshooting their opponents 22-1. The shot clock operator was very generous, but the Blazers were playing well too. It took Seattle 13 minutes to get their first shot on goal - a dump in from center in which the fans responded to with a mock cheer.
- Like riding a bike? D Josh Caron fought for the first time in four months coming off a collarbone injury. It was his first WHL fight of the season and first since Minnesota WIld training camp as he danced with Mitch Elliot. Caron got some late shots in, knocking Elliot down to the ice in his "welcome back scrap".
- The Blazers had a solid defensive effort. Head Coach Guy Charron singled-out F Dylan Willick, F Brendan Ranford and F Logan McVeigh for their good efforts. McVeigh was playing basically on one leg but fought threw the pain. An ankle injury had McVeigh leave the morning skate early.
- The Blazers pulled into Kennewick, WA just a few minutes after the Tri-City Americans who were on the road in Portland, losing 5-4 in OT. The teams play tonight at the Toyota Center for the 2nd time in a week.
Some pics from the broadcast booth tonight...
Blazer Head Coach Guy Charron "After the Buzzer"
And this guy.......
This guy came right into the booth at the start of the third period and told me he was going to call the third period for me. While I appreciated the gesture, I stuck with it. He was a good sport. He bares a strong resemblance to Mickey Rourke in the movie "The Wrestler". However, I avoided getting body slammed. His better-half (pictued left) was the voice of reason and got Mickey out of there.
The Blazers and the Tri-City Americans tomorrow night... hopefully I have an update between now and face-off.
Jon
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