If the Prince George Cougars needed a measuring stick of how good they’ll have to be to rate as one of the top teams in the Western Hockey League the Kamloops Blazers certainly provided it.
The Blazers whipped up a storm Saturday in the second period that tilted the ice at CN Centre heavily in their favour and the Cougars were powerless to stop it. Led by an energized Matthew Seminoff, the Blazers went home with a 4-1 victory that ended the Cougars five-game winning streak.
Seminoff was especially tenacious in the second period. He took three whacks at the puck to score his fourth of the season – the game-winning goal - on a power-play wraparound try 4:27 into the period, and the 18-year-old Coquitlam product was just getting started.
Picking up where he left off Friday as the first star in the Blazers’ 7-1 win over Victoria, Seminoff was a constant thorn in the side of the Cougars and he set up pointman Ethan Brandwood for the third Kamloops goal late just before the second intermission. He fed Brandwood the puck then got into goalie Taylor Gauthier’s line of sight to set up the screen. In that period, the Blazers outshot the Cats 23-8.
“That team knows how to win and you saw it in the second period there, they were just relentless on us,” said Gauthier, who made 45 saves. “We can take a lot from their game there, to see what it takes to be a winning team. We’re progressing at a high rate and in a couple years I think we’re going to be in the position that they’re in.
“I thought we played five really good games against Victoria but Kamloops is a different beast.”
Seminoff always seems to play well against the Cougars and Gauthier knows that better than anyone.
“He’s been in the league a couple years now and you see the progression and every year he gets a little bit better,” sad Gauthier. “He’s a smart player and he’s getting the opportunity now. As a young guy with that team they had, he didn’t get the opportunities, but he’s one of their guys now and he’s a threat every time he’s on the ice.”
Seminoff’s third point of the night was the prettiest goal of the game, a rapidly-developing 2-on-1 goalmouth feed to linemate Reece Belton, who arrived in full flight for the tap-in with sufficient momentum to end up kissing the end glass for his celebratory leap.
“I thought we had a bit of flat start, we had a long bus ride so that kind of makes sense, but I thought the second period we stepped on the gas,” said Seminoff. “Then in the third period we did a good job of not letting them have anything. Reece and I have been playing together for a while and he’s had a bunch of chances and he was due for one, so to see it go in for him was awesome and well-deserved.”
Seminoff joined the Blazers two seasons ago and in each of the past two seasons the pandemic has spoiled the playoff aspirations of what might have been a team capable of running the table to a title.
“I’m happy with our team, we’re winning games so it’s easy to come to the rink every day and we’re just keeping it rolling right now,” he said. “Our first year we had a really good team and it was shame we didn’t get a chance to prove ourselves but this year we have a strong team again and hopefully when we get into playoffs, if we do, we’ll have a strong showing.”
Next year is Seminoff’s draft year and he’s on NHL Central Scouting players-to-watch list, ranked as a C (fourth-, fifth- or sixth-round) prospect. If he keeps playing like he has been, his stock is almost certain to rise. He’s had been held pointless just twice this season and now has four goals and nine assists in nine games.
“If I was scouting I’d sure like him,” said Blazers head coach Shaun Clouston. “He plays hard every night, he has great skill and he’s a great teammate. He understands the game and if there’s somebody open he gets them the puck and he’s not scared to shoot. He’s not big, but he’s strong and he’ll be plenty big for today’s (pro) game.”
The win was the fourth straight for the Blazers (8-1-0-0) who improved to 3-0 head-to-head against the Cougars to improve their grip on first place in the B.C. Division.
Gauthier was the reason they were only down by two heading into the break. Way too many times the 20-year-old goalie was left on his own to make saves off turnovers or because of Cougar defenders not tying up sticks
After winning all five of their games the past two weeks over the rebuilding and injury-riddled Victoria Royals the Cougars knew they’d have to step up their game significantly to contend with Kamloops and for opening period they did that. The Blazers struck first with Connor Levis putting the finishing touches on his seventh of the season. The Cougars had some great chances after that and Koehn Ziemmer nailed the goalpost behind Dylan Garand before Riley Heidt gave the crowd of 2,044 a reason to cheer.
He was ideally-positioned standing just off the post when Liekit Reichle’s pass through the slot caromed off the stick of Blazer defenceman Logan Bairos and Heidt had an open net to fire in a backhander. But that was pretty much it for the Cougar offence. The Blazers put it into lockdown mode and protected their lead, as they’ve done so many times in their three-year run as WHL frontrunners.
“They’re a very deep and older, experienced lineup and they can beat you a number of different ways but especially off the rush with their speed and skill, and if you don’t manage the puck properly, especially on breakouts, you give them extra opportunities to play in the offensive zone and you’re really asking for trouble,” said Cougars associate coach Josh Dixon.
“For us, if we continue to close the gap between ourselves and them, for our younger players with the experience of having to play at a faster pace, they have to make decisions quicker and better under pressure and if they don’t it’s in the back of the net. It’s a good experience for us but we’re capable of playing better than that.”
LOOSE PUCKS: RW Mitch Kohner returned to the Cougar lineup after missing two games with an ankle injury. RW Kyren Gronick took the pre-game skate but was still nursing a lower-body injury and did not play. The 17-year-old from Regina was tied for fourth in team scoring heading into the game with two goals and five assists in seven games… The Cougars hit the road for their next two games, Friday in Vancouver and Saturday in Kelowna. The Cats entertain the Tri-City Americans at CN Centre Nov. 19-20, their first non-divisional opponent since March 4, 2020… The Cats have loaned 16-year-old goalie Ty Young to the Calgary Canucks of the AJHL to give him some playing time. That leaves Gauthier and Tyler Brennan to handle the puck-stopping duties… The Blazers were without the services of defencemen Kaden Hammell and Quinn Schmiemann. Hammell, 16, was out with a lower-body injury while the 20-year-old Schmiemann was attending his grandfather’s funeral in Wilcox, Sask. Schmiemann started the season in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Philadelphia Flyers’ top farm team.
Saturday WHL summary
Blazers 4 at Cougars 1
First Period
1. Kamloops, Levis 7 (Stankoven, Bankier) 6:06
2. Prince George, Heidt 3 (Reichle, Hooker) 18:12
Penalties – Ziemmer PG (cross-checking) 8:47, McCarry Kam (interference) 9:05, Hooker PG (interference) 9:54, Kuefler Kam (interference) 15:17.
Second Period
3. Kamloops, Seminoff 4 (Persson, McCarry) 4:27 (pp)
4. Kamloops, Brandwood 1 (Seminoff) 17:30
Penalties – Kmec PG (interference) 2:37, Singer PG (hit to the head) 8:54, Kuefler Kam (fighting), Thornton PG (fighting) 18:23, Belton Kam (charging) 19:48.
Third Period
4. Kamloops, Belton 2 (Seminoff, Stacha) 2:35
Penalty – McCarry Kam (high-sticking) 19:22.
Shots on goal by
Kamloops 18 23 8 -49
Prince George 13 8 6 -27
Goal – Kamloops, Garand (W,8-1-0-1); Prince George, Gauthier (L,2-2-0-0).
Power plays – Kam: 1-4; PG: 0-3.
Attendance -2,044.
