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P.G. fans have reasons to back the Blazers

Repeat after me -- 'Here we go Blazers, here we go!' One more time, and a little louder -- 'Here we go Blazers, here we go!' If you have trouble coaxing the words out of your mouth, I understand.

Repeat after me -- 'Here we go Blazers, here we go!'

One more time, and a little louder -- 'Here we go Blazers, here we go!'

If you have trouble coaxing the words out of your mouth, I understand. Given the long-standing rivalry between the cities of Prince George and Kamloops, the idea of cheering for the Blazers probably makes the majority of P.G. hockey fans a little queasy.

But, as the Blazers prepare for Game 1 of the WHL's Western Conference final tonight in Portland against the Winterhawks, there is good reason to throw some positive vibes their way.

Two good reasons, actually.

Dylan Willick and Josh Connolly.

Willick is a 20-year-old right winger who is captain of the Blazers and Connolly is a 17-year-old defenceman who, as a rookie, has become a mainstay on the Kamloops blueline.

Both guys, as you may have surmised by now, are from Prince George.

Willick and Connolly helped the Blazers (47-20-2-3) to a third-place finish in the Western Conference during the regular season and were in uniform for first- and second-round playoff victories against the Victoria Royals and Kelowna Rockets. In the playoffs to date, Willick has five goals and two assists in 10 games. Connolly, meanwhile, has chipped in with one assist in his 10 outings.

With no local team to support in the WHL playoffs -- again -- P.G. hockey fans may as well become Blazer backers. Willick and Connolly are high-quality individuals who have worked extremely hard to get to this point in their careers. To see them advance to the WHL final against either the Calgary Hitmen or Edmonton Oil Kings would be great.

Both players developed their games in the Prince George Minor Hockey Association and continued their growth with the Cariboo Cougars of the B.C. Major Midget League. Willick became part of the Blazers organization when he was added to the club's protected list in March of 2009 and Connolly was a third-round bantam draft pick in 2010.

On the Portland side of the equation, Prince George will be represented by Cariboo Cats head coach Trevor Sprague, who is a scout for the Winterhawks.

If the Blazers do win the best-of-seven series, the result would be considered an upset. Portland ended the regular schedule first overall with a 57-12-1-2 record and, with the likes of Ty Rattie, Brendan Leipsic, Nicolas Petan and Seth Jones in uniform, has perhaps the most star-studded lineup in all of major-junior hockey.

Most observers -- including Blazers beat writer Gregg Drinnan of the Kamloops Daily News -- are picking the Winterhawks to prevail. Drinnan's prediction is Hawks in six.

On the other side of the bracket, may as well go for the Hitmen. They feature Quesnel-born defenceman Alex Roach, another graduate of the Cariboo Cougars program.

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TERRIORS TAKE DOWN FORSBERG AND BRONCOS

In this space a couple weeks ago, I wrote about former Prince George Cougars forward Alex Forsberg and his new team, the Humboldt Broncos, who were preparing to skate in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoff final against the Yorkton Terriers. The series went six games and ended in favour of the Terriers, who clinched the Canalta Cup with a 4-3 victory last Sunday.

Yorkton gained an emotional edge when it won 2-1 in triple overtime in Saturday's Game 5.

Forsberg, who walked out on the Cougars during the Christmas break, finished the playoffs with two goals and 12 points in 16 games. The Cats still hold his WHL rights and will try to deal him to another WHL team this off-season.

The Terriers will now compete in the Western Canada Cup, which starts April 27 in Nanaimo. The tournament will also feature the host Clippers, the BCHL champion (either the Penticton Vees or Surrey Eagles) and the playoff champs from Alberta and Manitoba.

The top two clubs will advance to the RBC Cup nationals, May 11-19 in Summerside, P.E.I.