THOUGHTS WHILE IN PORTLAND

The Kamloops Blazers arrived in Portland on Thursday evening in preparation for Friday’s game. It was a fairly uneventful day of travel on a beautiful October day. The movie selections were 'Horrible Bosses', ‘Just Go With It’, and ‘Sanctum’. All the movies seemed to go over well.

The Blazers received the bad news that Jordan DePape’s injury will keep him out of the Blazers line-up for longer then first expected. DePape will require surgery and will be out of the Blazers line-up for an undetermined time. If all goes well with the surgery and rehab, DePape has the potential to return towards the end of the season. Good luck to Jordan and his recovery. On the positive side, DePape’s injury offers up an opportunity to some of the Blazers’ young forwards to gain more experience and ice time. 

Portland is truly a beautiful city. The population is close to about 600,000 people. Tomorrow's game will be played in the Memorial Coliseum which has a 1970s flavour to the rink. The NBA team, the Portland Trail Blazers played in the Coliseum before moving to the spacious Rose Garden for the 1995-96 season. The Winterhawks split time between the Coliseum and Rose Garden for their home games. With the NBA lockout in full effect, the Winterhawks have moved one of their games from the Coliseum to the Rose Garden. Don’t be surprised to see more of their upcoming games moved to the Rose Garden due to the lockout.

Cam Lanigan will get the start in goal for the Blazers tonight. It looks like Cole Cheveldave will get the start in Kamloops when the Blazers host the Cougars on Saturday night. The goaltending position is still up for grabs with Lanigan, Cheveldave and 17-year-old Taran Kozun fighting for playing time.

The Blazers were winless against Portland last season, but the games were definitely entertaining. Last November, the Blazers and Winterhawks had an on-ice incident at the end of the second period which led to fines and suspensions for both teams. The Blazers mounted a third period comeback but fell short in a 6-4 loss to the Winterhawks. In December, the Blazers lost a close game 5-4 in Portland with only 15 skaters. Injuries and international tournaments depleted the Blazers roster.

The ‘Hawks and the Blazers have a storied rivalry that dates back to the 1980s. The Blazers and ‘Winter Hawks’, as they have been known for much of their existence, met 9 times in 14 seasons from 1981-95 in the WHL playoffs. The Blazers won 5 of 9 memorable playoffs series. Portland, Seattle and Kamloops are the oldest WHL teams in the Western Conference.

Go to blazerhockey.com to read the game notes in anticipation of tonight’s game.

BLAZERS HIT THE ROAD TOMORROW

The Kamloops Blazers will depart tomorrow for Portland for their second road game of the season. This will be the Blazers first real road trip, making just a day trip to Everett last Saturday. The drive to Portland usually takes about 8-9 hours. The team will make a pit stop on the way to grab a bite to eat.

Forward Jordan DePape is being left behind to visit the doctor on Thursday. The Blazers hope to find out more about the injury following the appointment tomorrow. The team knows they will be without the services of Jordan for at least four-to-six weeks. It is tough luck for the 19-year-old forward who has battled the injury bug during training camp, and at different times last season. 

The Blazers will get their first look at the defending Western Conference Champions on Friday night. The Winterhawks have returned most of their team, but are still without forwards Ryan Johansen and Nino Niederreiter. Johansen has been a healthy scratch for the Columbus Blue Jackets first two games, while Niederreiter is on the injured list with the New York Islanders. The Blazers will still have their hands full with talented players like Sven Bartschi, Ty Rattie, Joe Morrow, Brad Ross, and Troy Rutkowski who are all high NHL draft picks.

The dreaded three games in thee nights has arrived for the Blazers. In total, the Blazers actually play six games in nine nights. If you really want to break it down, the Blazers will play those six games in five different cities. It is always a grind, but the hockey club has 24 healthy players on their roster. This should give everyone an opportunity to contribute over the next couple of weeks.

Expect to see a few pictures up on the blog from the trip to Portland.