About Last Night...Blizzard 6 - Kings 3 - Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays

Redemption?

Maybe so in Dauphin, but the last time the two teams met at the GLMC the Kings stole a 3-2 victory, OCN has another chance to redeem themselves tonight.

Justin McDonald picked up his 18th win of the season

The game didn't start off great for OCN, an early elbowing penalty by TJ Constant on Emerson Hrynyk would give the Kings deadly PP their first of two goals on the evening. Jesse Sinatynski would score both roughly 8 minutes apart giving the kings a 2-0 lead into the second period in front of over 1800 fans at CUP.

One of the much talked about keys to victory for the Blizzard was staying out of the box, something they were unable to do in the first period.

The second period started off, well oddly. A broken play at the OCN blue line on the PK saw Nathan Bruyere beating the Kings defender to the puck and then beat Pominville with a short handed marker. That goal would be the first of three on the night for the OCN dman who played his best game of the season. Bruyere would later score on a howitzer from the point on the PP and add the empty netter (hitting for some weird version of the hockey cycle).

Three fights, essentially all in one play would see OCN get a 4 minute man advantage, they scored twice and had all the momentum after the scraps. Interesting scraps they were, Kirk Chief vs Alarie, Naud vs Dumais and Grove vs Kirkham (Grove gave Kirkham an extra pop after being separated by the refs, one punch KO).

OCN would end up scoring 5 goals in that wacky period and take a 5-3 lead as Dayton Reinboldt scored the third and final PP goal for the Kings.

It was a hockey game that had it all.

Lots of physical play, great skill, fights, goaltending and defense.

Great treat to all those in attendance on Teddy Bear Toss night at the CUP.

It was a great game to wrap up the 2012 portion of our broadcast schedule.

Pitre Tire 3 Stars:

1. Nathan Bruyere - 3G, 1A
2. Justin Waskewitch - 1G, 1A
3. Ralph Cochrane

Northern Building Suppply Hardest Working Player:

- Whole team, came out and worked their butts off after the 1st period. Great team effort on the comeback.

With the win OCN moves to 3-0 under DeBray

We will not be on the air tomorrow night, and I won't be in attendance either as I catch an early flight home to spend some time with family and friends in Montreal.

The blog probably won't be updated tomorrow, or at all through the break, unless something substantial comes up.

I want to thank all of the readers and listeners for your support so far through the first half of the season! It's been a lot of fun so far, and I look forward to picking it back up on January 4th when OCN hosts Winnipeg.

Enjoy the holidays, be merry, joyous and cheerful.

I hope Santa brings you what you asked for ;)

I wish you an early Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...

-Brad-

Lineup @ Dauphin

Goaltenders:

McDonald - Starter
Henry - Backup

Defense:

Bruyere / Cochrane
Elmes / Fontaine
Robak / Kavanaugh

Offense:

Dumais / TJ / Waskewitch
Grove / Valiquette / Gray
Cardinal / Chief / Tagoona
Swampy / Petrino / B.Constant

Scth:

Bayer
Lathlin
MacInnis
Ward-Cardinal
Santorelli - inj
Baptiste - inj

Blizzard @ Kings - Preview - On CJ1240

Familiar foes with similar records.

Justin McDonald gets a shot at redemption tonight at Credit Union Place 

Dauphin and OCN meet up for the first half of a home and home series. This is the last road game of 2012 for the Blizzard.

After tomorrow night's game the Blizzard and Kings will have met up for four matches since the 30th of November, all of them have been important games and tonight/ tomorrow will be no different.

Two big four point games this weekend that could determine who ends up being first and second in the division come the end of the season. If OCN wants to keep Dauphin at bay they at the very least need a split. It goes without saying that their goal will be a sweep. A 3 point margin between OCN and Dauphin after the break with the Kings holding 4 games in hand would not be a good position for the Blizzard should they drop both of these games.

The last match up between these two clubs was an ugly one for OCN, a 7-2 loss where only a handful of players showed up to play. Justin McDonald was fighting the puck, as was the rest of the team.

McDonald will get the start tonight after a strong performance in Waywayseecappo on Tuesday as per Head Coach Clay DeBray on Tuesday's Murray GM post-game show.

OCN will need to get off to a fast start and quiet down what should be a raucous crowd at Credit Union Place tonight, Dauphin will be having their own teddy bear toss as well as several other big draws so I'm expecting a packed house.

If the Blizzard can weather the first five minutes unscathed they'll look good once the game settles into a regular pace.

OCN will have to shutdown Gaudet, Sinatynski and Naud if they want to have some success tonight, Murray likes to cut down on his lines as the game moves on. By the third period he really only rolls his top two lines.

Dauphin has had solid goaltending all season as well, whether it be Pominville or Archibald OCN will have to create traffic and get some Garick Gray style goals.

Speaking of Gray, he needs to get his game on track tonight, he's looked better each game since his return but the Blizzard will need him in a big way tonight and tomorrow. Gray, a converted defender, is one of the Blizz's best 2 way forwards and brings a physical edge. He'll be leaned on heavily to try and shut down three of the top five scorers in the league.

The game will be on CJ1240 tonight, or thepasonline.com . Pre-Game at 7:15 - Puck drop at 7:30.

Here are the head to head results between these two clubs:

HEAD-TO-HEAD RESULTS DATE AWAY HOME SCORE TYPE 09-Oct-12 OCN Blizzard @ Dauphin Kings 3 - 2 RS 30-Nov-12 Dauphin Kings @ OCN Blizzard 3 - 2 RS 11-Dec-12 OCN Blizzard @ Dauphin Kings 2 - 7 RS

and the team comparisons:

TEAM COMPARISON (Regular Season)
	OCN Blizzard	Dauphin Kings
Games Played	38	34
Wins	24	22
Losses	9	9
Ties	0	0
Overtime Losses	2	0
Win/Loss Points	50	44
Goals For	145	124
Goals Against	108	92

Sport Report - December 17th 2012

Here is the sport report from this past Monday.

Sport Report - December 17th by Bradley Karp on Mixcloud

About Last Night... OCN 3 - Wayway 2

The game started out with a bang, and ended in one with the lights going out in the Waywayseecappo Community Complex.

Wilson Dumais scored a short handed marker just under 2 minutes into the game, out waiting Cory Simons and going high blocker on the Wolverines goaltender on a breakaway.

Lots of scoring in the first five minutes, then things calmed down and slowed to a crawl. The Wolverines seemed hesitant to try and run and gun with OCN and kept things moving slowly.

Justin McDonald had a very solid game making 22 of 24 saves.

Wilson Dumais was a workhorse as usual as well. TJ Constant had a very strong game as well.

Colton Robak did a great job shutting things down defensively.

Here is Clay DeBray on the Murray GM post game show last night.

DeBray Post Game - December 18th 3-2 W @ Wayway by Bradley Karp on Mixcloud

Here is how the scoring broke down last night.

SCORING SUMMARY
PERIOD 1
OCN Blizzard at 1:49 (SH) - Wilson Dumais from Josh Elmes and TJ Constant
Waywayseecappo Wolverines at 2:16 (PP) - Zane Morin from Alex Mills and Brett Pinkerton
OCN Blizzard at 3:20 - TJ Constant from Wilson Dumais and Justin Waskewitch
PERIOD 2
OCN Blizzard at 8:50 - Tyler Grove from Garick Gray
Waywayseecappo Wolverines at 15:17 - Russell Turner from Brett Lafond and Curtis Veitch
PERIOD 3
No Scoring

Lineup vs Wayway / Preview

It's another battle between the only two reservation teams in the league.

Both teams are desperate for points, Waywayseecappo looks to get back to .500 before the break and OCN needs to continue creating space between them and Dauphin.

Waywayseecappo was supposed to host the Stampeders last night but a blown transfer forced Manitoba Hydro to shutdown the game during warm ups.

The Wolverines will be fresh instead for tonight's matchup against the Blizzard.

The Blizzard are 4-1 against the Wolverines this season and here is the head to head breakdown:

HEAD-TO-HEAD RESULTS
DATE	AWAY		HOME	SCORE	TYPE
26-Sep-12	Waywayseecappo Wolverines	@	OCN Blizzard	2 - 5	RS
19-Oct-12	Waywayseecappo Wolverines	@	OCN Blizzard	4 - 5 SO	RS
24-Oct-12	Waywayseecappo Wolverines	@	OCN Blizzard	0 - 3	RS
23-Nov-12	OCN Blizzard	@	Waywayseecappo Wolverines	5 - 6 SO	RS
04-Dec-12	OCN Blizzard	@	Waywayseecappo Wolverines	4 - 3	RS

After tonight's match up these two teams will only face each other twice, one home game per side.

Here is a team comparison:

TEAM COMPARISON (Regular Season)
	OCN Blizzard	Waywayseecappo Wolverines
Games Played	37	31
Wins	25	13
Losses	9	15
Ties	0	0
Overtime Losses	3	3
Win/Loss Points	53	29
Goals For	142	103
Goals Against	106	118

Here is how the teams match up on special teams:

OCN

PP: 16.79% (10)
PK: 84.54% (1)

WAY:

PP: 18.75% (8)
PK: 77.16% (7)

Here is tonight's lineup for the OCN Blizzard:

Goal:

McDonald - Starter
Henry - Backup

Defense:

Bruyere / Cochrane
Elmes / Fontaine
Robak / Kavanaugh

Forwards:

Dumais / TJ Constant / Waskewitch
Grove / Valiquette / Gray
Cardinal / Chief / Swampy
Petrino / Bayer / B. Constant

INJ:

Santorelli
Baptiste

Scrth:

MacInnis
Tagoona
Ward-Cardinal
Lathlin

Puck drop is at 7:30 - your Murray GM Pre-Game show at 7:15!

Blizzard Lineup vs Neepawa

Blizzard Jerseys for Tonight - Photo: Clay DeBray

Here is tonight's lineup vs Neepawa:



Goal:

Henry - Starter
McDonald - Backup

Defense:

Bruyere / Cochrane
Elmes / Fontaine
Robak / Kavanaugh

Forwards:

Grove / TJ / Waskewitch
Dumais / Valiquette / Gray
Tagoona / Chief / Cardinal
MacInnis / Bayer / B. Constant

Scratches: 

Swampy
Lathlin
Petrino
Baptiste - INJ
Thomas Ward-Cardinal
Santorelli - INJ

Preview: Blizzard vs Neepawa

It's the best versus the worst in the Sher-Wood division tonight, but the way the Blizzard have played over the last two games things may be a little more even. It's also pink in the rink tonight.

The Blizzard will play in pink jerseys tonight which will be auctioned off after the game via silent auction. Great Christmas gift for the Blizz fan in your life. All proceeds will go to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Clay DeBray makes his head coaching debut in the interim role. Spending countless hours around the team and coaching staff I can assure you the Blizzard (24-9-3) are in good hands with Clay.

He's taken the time to go out and get his high performance certification (he's able to coach up to minor pro in Canada, including major junior) from Hockey Canada, knows the game tremendously well not just on the board, but the mental aspect of high performance with young athletes as well. (This is no shot across the bow to Jim Mollard). The players have a tremendous amount of respect for Clay and many of them have known him for years (McDonald, Baptiste, Dumais, Waskewitch, TJ Constant... to name a few)

I expect the Blizzard to come out hungry after their performances over the last two games, and win one for Clay.

The Blizzard got some help in the standings courtesy of the Selkirk Steelers who took down the Dauphin Kings 4-3, the Kings will play two more games this weekend and make up some ground in terms of games in hand.

Coming up North tonight are the Neepawa Natives (8-18-4), who have won two in a row on the back of their goaltender Corey Koop. Koop in my mind is a top 3 goaltender in this league in talent. He would be the best goalie in the league statistically on even an average team in this league.

The Blizzard are the better team, but will want to put on another dominating performance against Neepawa before three more big divisional games ahead of the Christmas break (Waywayseecappo, Dauphin x2) in an effort to get back on track.

Thomas Ward-Cardinal has returned home for personal reasons, will be back with the club after the Christmas break.

The special teams tonight break down as follows:

Neepawa:

PP: 16.67% (11)
PK: 78.95% (5)

OCN:

PP: 16.91% (10)
PK: 84.29% (1)

Blizz Streaks:

Tyler Grove - has 5 points in his last 3 games.
TJ Contsant - has 7 points in his last 3 games.
Justin Waskewitch - has 9 points in his last 5 games.
Kolton Baptiste - has 2 points in his last 2 games.

I'll get the lineup posted for you all before the game, but will not be in attendance as it is the CJ1240 Christmas party tonight.

Hope you all enjoy tonight's game.

Will try and get something of substance posted for tomorrow.

-Brad-

Blizzard Relieve Mollard of his Duties

Here is the release from the OCN Blizzard:

"Coach James Mollard has been relieved of his duties as Head Coach of the OCN Blizzard. The OCN Blizzard wish James Mollard all the best in his future endeavors. Clay Debray will take over as Interim Coach until the conclusion of the 2012-2013 season"

Here is Derek Fontaine on Mollard's firing.

Fontaine on Mollard Firing by Bradley Karp on Mixcloud

Pink in the Rink Game Tomorrow Night

The OCN Blizzard will don some pink tomorrow night as part of their pink in the rink game.

The jerseys will be auctioned off via silent auction during the game. All funds raised during tomorrow night's game will go directly to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Puck drop is at 7PM tomorrow night as they host the Neepawa Natives.


Speaking of the Natives.... found this throwback clip in the bowels of youtube.

Jamie Vossen in a scrap with a Natives player back in the day, Huddy Hudson on the air waiting to get back from commercial drops a few swear words.

Caution this link does include some profanity...

Blues Sveinson 2 Game Supension

Winnipeg Blues D-man Ben Sveinson has received a two game suspension from the MJHL for his hit to the head of Blizzard forward Wilson Dumais on Saturday.

Dumais left the ice for a short period of time bloodied but did continue to play.

Garick Gray jumped on Sveinson immediately after the hit just on the Blues blue line.

Gray of course was on the receiving end of a hit to the head from Virden's Chase Wichellman which saw Wichellman receive a 2 game suspension. Gray suffered a concussion on the play and his first game back was Saturday against Winnipeg.

About Last Night... Blizzard 2 - Kings 7

Not too much to say about last night's game. There wasn't much effort to start when the Kings scored 1:17 in.

Gray would tie things up 40 seconds later but after that the little effort there was disappeared.

The Blizzard took the night off and it showed a 7-2 pounding by the Dauphin Kings.

Give the Kings credit, they took advantage of a sleepy Blizzard team early and often and put things in cruise control once the score was 4-1 just six minutes into the game.

Justin McDonald was fighting the puck hard and got the yank after allowing 4 goals on 10 shots.

Tyler Grove would score the other marker for the Blizzard.

Alex Henry filled in between the pipes and put on a good effort making 25 of 28 saves in relief.

Guillaume Naud put on a clinic in the offensive zone for the Kings and the Blizzard didn't help themselves by giving the Kings big guns numerous opportunities on the power play. Dauphin went 2 for 8 with the man advantage.

Here is Jim Mollard on the Murray GM post game show last night.

Mollard Post Game Dauphin by Bradley Karp on Mixcloud

SCORING SUMMARY

PERIOD 1

Dauphin Kings at 1:17 - Dayton Reinboldt from Dominick Favreau and Jon Gaudet

OCN Blizzard at 1:57 - Garick Gray from Colton Robak and Wilson Dumais

Dauphin Kings at 4:23 (PP) - Shamus Graham (unassisted)

Dauphin Kings at 5:35 - Dominick Favreau from Emerson Hrynyk and Jon Gaudet

Dauphin Kings at 8:08 - Jesse Sinatynski from Mitch Van Teeling

Dauphin Kings at 15:24 - Francis Alarie (unassisted)

PERIOD 2

Dauphin Kings at 18:09 - Guillaume Naud from Mitch Van Teeling and Jesse Sinatynski

PERIOD 3

OCN Blizzard at 6:52 - Tyler Grove from TJ Constant

Dauphin Kings at 16:36 (PP) - Jesse Sinatynski from Shamus Graham and Jon Gaudet

Blizzard Lineup vs Dauphin

Justin Waskewitch is home in OCN with the flu bug. Did not make the trip.

Goal:

McDonald - starter
Henry - backup

Defense

Elmes / Ward-Cardinal
Bruyere / Cochrane
Kavanaugh / Robak

Forwards

Grove / TJ Constant / Tagoona
Dumais / Valiquette / Gray
Chief / Swampy / Cardinal
Lathlin / Bayer / Brady Constant

Scth:

MacInnis
Fontaine
Baptiste
Santorelli
Waskewitch

Blizzard @ Kings - Preview

Tomorrow night is another "biggest game of the season" for the OCN Blizzard, until Dauphin either surpasses the Blizzard or tails off every match up between these two teams will have a huge impact in the Sher-Wood division.

Both teams seem to run through the rest of the league with relative ease while the season series sits at 1-1. The two clubs will play two more times after tomorrow before the Christmas break, so expect to get comfortable with the Kings before the holidays.

Both games have been decided by a 3-2 score and have been won by the road team.

In early October the Blizzard marched down to Dauphin and had Justin McDonald steal the show in a 50+ save performance, that would held solidify McDonald in the starters role.

Last Friday November 30th two power play markers by the Kings, and two turnovers one by Tim Kavanaugh the other by Justin McDonald as he shot the puck right into Jesse Sinatyinski who would score the eventual game winner off the bounce.

The Blizzard held a two nothing lead from the midway mark of the first period all the way to the beginning of the third period when a Jon Gaudet marker would mark the beginning of the Blizzard collapse.

OCN didn't stay out of the penalty box against the leagues top power play, the Kings scored on two of seven PP opportunities and it in part cost them the game.

The Blizzard will have to stay out of the box tomorrow night in Dauphin if they want to win. The Kings are a very good team with a deadly power play.

With full reinforcements OCN will be a tougher team for the Kings to play than last Friday.

If you can make it down to Dauphin I suggest you do, should be a playoff atmosphere.

Puck drop is at seven, game will be broadcast with pre-game at 6:45.

Blizzard Move up 1 in National Rankings

CJHL Weekly Rankings are out, and the Blizzard are back in the top 5.

Here is the release:

The Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) in conjunction with NHL Central Scouting announced today its Weekly Top 20 rankings for the week of December 10th. Last week's rankings and the leagues in which the teams belong to are in parenthesis.
The CJHL Weekly Top 20 as of Monday, December 10th:

1. (1) Brooks Bandits (AJHL)
2. (3) Minnesota Wilderness (SIJHL)
3. (2) Truro Bearcats (MHL)
4. (4) Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL)
5. (6) OCN Blizzard (MJHL)
6. (12) Yorkton Terriers (SJHL)
7. (5) Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL)
8. (10) Buffalo Jr. Sabres (OJHL)
9. (14) Penticton Vees (BCHL)
10. (9) Summerside Western Capitals (MHL)
11. (15) Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL)
12. (7) Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL)
13. (11) Chilliwack Chiefs (BCHL)
14. (13) Yarmouth Jr. 'A' Mariners (MHL)
15. (16) Dauphin Kings (MJHL)
16. (HM) Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL)
17. (8) Grande Prairie Storm (AJHL)
18. (NR) Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL)
19. (18) Smiths Falls Bears (CCHL)
20. (20) Saint Jerome Pantheres (LHJAAAQ)

Honourable Mention goes to the Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL), Winnipeg Blues (MJHL), North Bay Trappers (NOJHL), St. Michael's Buzzers (OJHL), Georgetown Raiders (OJHL)

The weekly rankings are based upon a variety of factors, including the league in which the teams play, winning percentage, win-loss record, total points accumulated, goals-for versus goals-against ratio, etc.

Blizzard 4 - Flyers 2

OCN salutes their fans after a 4-2 win over the Winkler Flyers

Winkler deserved a better fate tonight but Alex Henry won the game for the OCN Blizzard.

The young Blizzard goal tender stood on his head numerous times tonight and bailed OCN out at every key point of the game.

OCN looked sluggish and tired tonight, very different from the club that beat Winnipeg.

Sometimes after a big emotional game like that it's tough to get up for a game against a team like Winkler.

But good teams find ways to win even when playing poorly and OCN did just that tonight.

OCN was out shot, out played and out chanced tonight by the Flyers who suffered their 8th loss in a row and will have a long drive back to the Pembina Valley tonight.

TJ Constant had another 3 point game tonight with one goal and two assists. He and Waskewitch look great together, instant chemistry along with Grove.

Thomas Ward-Cardinal picked up another PP marker this evening with family in the stands.

The Blizzard have now won four in a row.

Here is the scoring summary from tonight.

SCORING SUMMARY

PERIOD 1

OCN Blizzard at 0:56 - TJ Constant from Justin Waskewitch and Tyler Grove

Winkler Flyers at 5:08 - Jordan Neduzak from Justin Faux

PERIOD 2

OCN Blizzard at 5:23 (PP) - Thomas Ward-Cardinal from Tyler Grove and TJ Constant

PERIOD 3

OCN Blizzard at 8:40 - Justin Waskewitch from TJ Constant

Winkler Flyers at 12:01 - Justin Faux (unassisted)

OCN Blizzard at 18:49 (EN)- Kirk Chief from Josh Elmes

Here is Blizzard Head Coach Jim Mollard on tonight's effort.

Mollard Post Game Winkler by Bradley Karp on Mixcloud

OCN moves to 24-8-3 on the season and become the first team in the MJHL to eclipse the 50 point mark on the season with 51. OCN sits nine points up on Dauphin who they face on Tuesday, the Kings have six games in hand

.

Lineup vs Winkler

Here is tonight's lineup vs the Flyers.

Goal:

Henry - Starter
McDonald - Backup

Defense

Elmes / Ward-Cardinal
Bruyere / Cochrane
Fontaine / Robak

Forwards

Grove / TJ Constant / Waskewitch
Chief / Valiquette / Gray
Cardinal / Tagoona / Swampy
Lathlin  / MacInnis / B. Constant

tonight's game not on the radio but Winkler will have a broadcast www.ckmwradio.com

Blizzard vs Winkler - Preview

The OCN Blizzard (23-8-3) go from playing the top team in the Addison division to the worst team in the Winkler Flyers (6-17-6) tonight.

The Flyers will try and put an end to a seven game losing skid tonight at the GLMC. They've had a tough season with only six victories on the year.

Winkler lost 5-2 to the Swan Valley Stampeders who leap frogged over Dauphin for second in the division with last night's victory.

I think most Blizzard fans are expecting the Flyers to roll over, but after 7 straight losses Winkler will be fed up and after an emotional game last night for OCN tonight could be a chance for them to pick up the win.

Any team can beat any team on any given night in this league.

Here are Winkler's top five scorers:

9 - Jory Mullin (92) - 13G/ 16A - 29PTS

15 - Tristan Keck (95) - 12G/ 15A - 27PTS

21 - Justin Faux (92) - 10G / 17A - 27PTS

16 - Jordan Neduzak (92) - 8G / 19 A -27PTS

18 - Tyler Swerdyliak (92) - 10G / 11A - 21PTS

Special Teams Matchup:

Winkler:

PP - 21.85% (5)

PK - 76.12% (11)

OCN:

PP - 16.92 % (9)

PK - 84.53% (1)

Will have lineups closer to game time.

Blizzard 6 - Blues 3

What a hockey game.

That was the most exciting game at the GLMC all season, great speed and skill by both teams plus lots of physical play.

The Blues came up to OCN and didn't back down, they stood their ground and surprised me with their physical play tonight.

Despite a 21 minute delay to tonight's game due to issues with the glass behind the Blues goal Winnipeg came out with some serious jump in the first few minutes and controlled the play.

The Blizzard were able to steer through the onslaught and TJ Constant's PP/ Teddy Bear goal changed the momentum. TJ had a great night with 1G, 2A as well as being in the pocket of Olinyk the whole night.

Thomas Ward-Cardinal picked up two goals tonight and had another strong game.

The whole crew showed up to work tonight, no one shied away from the physical play. Especially Garick Gray, which is a great sign for a kid returning from a concussion.

The Blizzard were able to ride the wave and continue to pull ahead of Winnipeg regularly despite the Blues scoring in the last minute of the 1st and second periods to pull within one.

OCN kept their heads on straight and gutted out a big win at home against a team that has some very impressive offensive talent.

The depth that GM Derek Fontaine has built really showed up tonight, the first, second and third lines all created opportunities.

The teddy bear toss was a success, hope to have an official number on that tomorrow.

The Blizzard host the Flyers at 7PM tomorrow night, the game will NOT be broadcast on the air.

Hope you all enjoyed the game at the rink, in the car or at home.

And if you need a ride tonight Operation Red Nose is out - call 623-3300.

SCORING SUMMARY

PERIOD 1

OCN Blizzard at 7:08 (PP) - TJ Constant (unassisted)

OCN Blizzard at 13:01 - Edward Bayer from Justin Waskewitch and Jack Petrino

Winnipeg Blues at 18:53 - Jared Morris from Kurt Keats

PERIOD 2

OCN Blizzard at 7:55 (PP) - Thomas Ward-Cardinal from Tyler Grove and TJ Constant

Winnipeg Blues at 12:59 - Kurt Keats from Kyle Bodnaruk and Warren Callis

OCN Blizzard at 13:42 - Thomas Ward-Cardinal from Tyler Grove and Justin Waskewitch

Winnipeg Blues at 19:28 (PP) - Jared Morris from Kurt Keats and Dylan Pascoe

PERIOD 3

OCN Blizzard at 13:50 - Kirk Chief from TJ Constant

OCN Blizzard at 19:59 (EN)- Nathan Bruyere (unassisted)

-Brad-

Blizzard Lineup vs Winnipeg

Garick Gray and TJ Constant make their returns tonight. Here is the lineup for OCN.

Goal

McDonald - Starter
Henry - Backup

Defense

Elmes / Ward-Cardinal
Bruyere / Cochrane
Kavanaugh / Robak

Forwards

Grove / TJ / Waskewitch
Dumais / Valiquette / Gray
Cardinal / Tagoona / Chief
Swampy / Bayer / Petrino

INJ:

Baptiste, Fontaine, Santorelli

SCH:

MacInnis, Lathlin, B.Constant

Blizzard vs Blues Preview + Teddy Bear Toss

It's another big match up for the OCN Blizzard (22-8-3), essentially every game up to the break is either against a top team or in the division (except for Winkler tomorrow).

TJ Constant returns tonight: Photo Credit - SP Personius

The Winnipeg Blues (20-9-0) roll into town on Teddy Bear Toss night. The Blues gave the Blizzard a bit of a boost last night beating the Stampeders 4-3 in overtime.

Meanwhile the Virden Oil Capitals stunned the Dauphin Kings at Credit Union Place 7-4.

OCN got some help last night and can increase their cushion on top spot in the league with a win against the high flying Winnipeg Blues who boast the MJHL's only NHL draft ranked player in Paul Stoykewych (Kurt Keats was in the preseason rankings but fell off in the central scouting mid season report).

The Blues come into tonight's match up having gone 6-4 in their last ten, while OCN is 6-2-2.

The Blues game is all about offence, open play with tons of speed and skill they average a blistering league high of 4.62 goals and their 3.17 goals against per game is 4th best in the MJHL.

Meanwhile OCN allows the a league best of 2.79 goals per game while scoring 3.82 goals per game which is fourth in the league (see a pattern?)

It's a battle of offense versus defense tonight.

As is only natural with such a high scoring team the Blues have one of the top PP units in the league at 22.54% (3rd) while their PK is at 79.84% (4th).

For the home team things haven't changed for OCN as they still boast the worst PP in the league (15.75%) and the best PK (84.57%)

Will have more on the Blizzard lineup a little later on, TJ Constant to make his return tonight, Gray was expected to return this weekend, will find out if he's in the lineup a little closer to game time.

Here are the top 5 leading scorers for the Blues:

9-Connor Cleverly (92) - 17G, 15A - 32PTS
8-Jake Heisinger (92) - 10G, 22A - 32PTS
21-Jeremy Olinyk (92) - 10G, 20A - 30PTS
11-Kurt Keats (95) - 13G, 15A - 28PTS
12-Jared Morris (93) - 10G, 15A - 25PTS

Tonight is also the Teddy Bear Toss. Every time the OCN Blizzard score fans are asked to throw teddy bears on the ice. All the stuffed animals will be donated to charity. They held the same event at a Calgary Hitmen game a few weeks ago and it went pretty well...




Here's a 4th Line Hockey Show special with Keats and Stoykewych from last February before they went to the World U-17's...

Blizzard 5 - Stampeders 3

The Blizzard pick up four points on a big road trip with a depleted lineup. Tonight's match was a gutty road win coming from behind in the third period with three players playing under the weather (Elmes, Chief, Kavanaugh).

Jack Petrino got the Blizzard off to a quick start just 1:07 into the first period after solid work to get past two defenders and slide the puck between the legs of Swan goaltender Landon Noel. After a bit of an off night last night both Petrino and Valiquette returned to their normal fine form tonight.

The Stampeders would tie things up later in the first as Eisenberg put the puck past Justin McDonald at the 13:51 mark.

The Blizzard who normally play a high octane offensive game slowed things down for the first two periods today, trapping and clogging up the neutral zone. With lots of youth in the lineup tonight and some players skating under the weather the Blizzard simplified their game.

The Stampeders led on the shot clock 9-4 after the first period.

Jagger Thomas put the Stamps up for the first time in the game just 2:36 into the second period. The Blizzard would pour on the shots in the second period outshooting Swan Valley 15-13 in the second frame.

With four minutes left in the second period Thomas Ward-Cardinal would chase down a Wilson Dumais rebound and wire it home off a terrible angle for his tenth goal of the season tying the game at 2-2.

Just two minutes later however Swan would answer back with a Kyle Smart marker.

The turning point in the game was a Tyler Grove scrap with Landon Hiebert. Grove who gave up a few inches and pounds in the tilt took a good right hand hook to the chin after just one punch. The Selkirk kid stood in there and answered back with a flurry of left handed shots in a tilt that most people in the crowd thought was just one Hiebert punch away from being over. Grove knocked Hiebert down and the Stampeders D-Man went down hard and re-injured his left shoulder and would not return to the game.

The momentum would carry the Blizzard the rest of the way even though they would enter the third period down a goal.

OCN would surge back from their 3-2 deficit after 40 minutes.

6:39 in Thomas Ward-Cardinal took a pass from Elmes at the point, walked in a few feet to the top of the circle, faked a shot and found a trailing Kirk Chief on the far dot who cranked home his second goal of the season into an empty cage. Ward-Cardinal’s pass was a masterpiece through legs and sticks. It was the first assist of his that put his trade mark vision on display since his return from injury.

Wilson Dumais would score his tenth of the season off a turnaround shot from the far dot, bar down on Landon Noel who also made some spectacular saves (see: Bayer, Edward). That goal would give OCN the lead for good with under five minutes left in the third.

Justin Waskewitch would add an empty netter for his fourth goal in as many games with the OCN Blizzard.

The Blizzard big guns were present tonight. Ward-Cardinal picked up a goal and an assist, Dumais had a goal and two assists, Tagoona had two helpers, Cochrane had two assists, Justin McDonald shut the door and Josh Elmes was great even though he’s battling the flu. 

Camacho Lathlin (2A) and Bryce MacInnis (who threw a thunderous snot flying check last night) also had very strong games tonight.

The Blizzard move to 22-8-3 on the season, 47 points and a .712 Winning %.

Garick Gray and TJ Constant are expected to make their return this weekend as Winnipeg and Winkler both swing North.

The Blizzard played without five regulars tonight; Baptiste, TJ Constant, Gray, Bruyere and Cardinal.

All of them are expected to play this weekend with the exception of Baptiste.

Tagoona looked great, he’ll be a fan favourite in no time, big kid, loves to hit, strong on the boards and is just a horse on the puck.

Now that Waskewitch has found his game it’ll be exciting to see him go head to head with the supremely skilled players on Winnipeg.

Bryson Constant did very well in a call up role, didn’t look out of place and made no errors. Couldn’t ask for anything more from Bubba (if anyone knows how he got that nickname leave a comment).

Pitre Tire 3 Stars:

1. Wilson Dumais (1G, 2A)

2. Roger Tagoona (2A)

3. Ralph Cochrane (2A)

Northern Building Supply Hardest Working Player:

Josh Elmes/ Tim Kavanaugh/ Kirk Chief -- three way tie tonight as those three players battled through the flu tonight and played exceptionally well.

The Blizzard host Winnipeg on Saturday and Winkler on Sunday.

That’s it for tonight!

-Brad-

SCORING SUMMARY

PERIOD 1

OCN Blizzard at 1:07 - Jack Petrino from Grant Valiquette and Roger Tagoona

Swan Valley Stampeders at 13:51 - Mitchell Eisenberg from Colton Magwood and Nathan Armstrong

PERIOD 2

Swan Valley Stampeders at 2:36 - Jagger Thomas from Mitchell Eisenberg

OCN Blizzard at 16:00 - Thomas Ward-Cardinal from Wilson Dumais and Camacho Lathlin

Swan Valley Stampeders at 18:07 - Kyle Smart from Garrett Johnston and Colin Baudry

PERIOD 3

OCN Blizzard at 6:39 - Kirk Chief from Thomas Ward-Cardinal and Camacho Lathlin

OCN Blizzard at 15:10 - Wilson Dumais from Ralph Cochrane and Roger Tagoona

OCN Blizzard at 19:20 - Justin Waskewitch from Wilson Dumais and Ralph Cochrane

Lineup vs Swan Valley

Here is tonight's lineup vs Swan.

Goal

McDonald - Starter
Henry - Backup

Defense

Elmes / Ward-Cardinal
Robak / Cochrane
Bryson Constant / Kavanaugh

Forwards

Grove / Bayer / Waskewitch
Dumais / Valiquette / Petrino
Brady Constant/ Chief / Tagoona
MacInnis / Lathlin

Scratched: None
Sick: Bruyere, Cardinal, Kavanaugh (game time)
Injured: TJ Constant, Gray, Baptiste

* Tim Kavanaugh is a game time decision tonight due to sickness.

Here are the Stampeders dressed for tonight.

2- Froese
4- Hiebert
5- Enns
6- Peel
8- Johnston
9- Baudry
11- Reimer
14- Olson
16- Thomas
17- Eisenberg
18- Smart
19- Magwood
20- Hykaway
21- Valentino
23- Avery
24- Flanagan
25- MacDonald
39- Horecka

G- 35 - Noel
29- Armstrong

Scratched:

Favell - Injured
Howe
Sigurdson

Blizzard @ Stampeders Preview

It's another big four point match up for the OCN Blizzard (21-8-3) tonight.

The Stampeders (18-8-2) are coming off a big come from behind shootout win over the Dauphin Kings, the Stamps were down 2-0 and would win 3-2 in Dauphin.

Swan Valley has now won 4 games in a row and sit at 38 points on the season, two back of Dauphin and seven back of OCN.

Dylan Reimer and Richard Olson lead the Stampeders offensively with 32 and 30 points respectively.

The Stampeders power play is ranked fifth in the MJHL (21.64%). OCN's power play is slowly creeping upwards after scoring another marker with the man advantage last night the Blizzard power play is still last in the league at 15.87%.

OCN gave up a power play goal last night to Zane Morin but still hold the leagues top PK unit at 84.12%. Meanwhile Swan Valley isn't far behind, 3rd at 81.36%.

After tonight's match up the Blizzard only have nine road games left on the season.

The rough start to the season with all those road games can pay dividends if the Blizzard can play solid hockey at the GLMC.

Puck drop at 7:30 - Pre game at 7:15 on the air.

Blizzard 4 - Wolverines 3

The Blizzard killed their losing streak by slaying the Wolverines in their home barn. OCN's new acquisitions came out to play tonight with both Roger Tagoona scoring 1, and Justin Waskewitch potting 2.

Josh Elmes fires a shot on goal during warm ups in Wayway

A clean draw by Eddie Bayer led to Josh Elmes fourth goal of the season, a hard wrist shot over the blocker of Cory Simons at the 3:14 mark, giving the Blizzard a 1-0 lead.

Justin Waskwitch would wire a shot just past Simons six minutes later with helpers from Grove and Ward-Cardinal.

OCN led 2-0 heading into the second period, where again they would lag behind in play compared to their opponent.

The Blizzard have had a tough time with the second stanza all season, tonight would be no different as Waywayseecappo would score the only two goals in the period.

Russell Turner would score glove side on Justin McDonald on a 2-1 at the 4:18 mark assisted by Brett Lafond and Drake Bodie.

Five minutes later Zane Morin hammered a one timer between the legs on the power play.

The Blizzard would give up three straight penalties to Waywayseecappo and a good chunk of time down 5-3 on the PK.

In the third period, Kyle Theryndale would take a slashing period 2:28 in, Justin Waskewitch would hammer home his second goal of the game with assists from Josh Elmes and Tyler Grove.

Five minutes later Waskewitch's former teammate in Battlefords would fire home his first goal in an OCN Blizzard jersey assisted by Colton Robak.

Shots were 26-24 in favour of OCN tonight.

Justin Waskewitch is looking more and more comfortable on the ice, his hands are the best on the team along with his vision, both possibly best in the league.

Roger Tagoona is a warrior who was a puck magnet tonight.

Garick Gray will return this weekend against Winnipeg and Winkler, TJ Constant could make an appearance as well.

Tonight's Pitre Tire 3 Stars

1. Justin Waskewitch (2G)
2. Josh Elmes (1G, 1A)
3. Roger Tagoona (1G)

Northern Building Supply Hardest Working Player

Tyler Grove (2A)

Blizzard stay in Russell over night and will head to Swan River tomorrow afternoon.

Have a good night!

-Brad-