The Opponent
The Kamloops Blazers are 37-20-4-2 with 80 points following an 8-2 shellacking at the hands of the Kelowna Rockets Friday. Nevertheless the Blazers are currently second to Prince George in the B.C. Division. They average 3.4 goals per game to Everett’s 3.1 and are second in goals against per game at 2.48 to the Tips’ league-leading 2.26. Kamloops had won three straight prior to Friday and has beaten the Tips twice in three meetings so far this year (Everett is 1-1-1-0).
The Players
No. 39 Connor Ingram (G): The main reason the Blazers are pushing Prince George for the B.C. Division lead is because of Ingram who is arguably the best goalie in the WHL (and certainly the best goalie not named Carter Hart). He leads the WHL in save percentage and is second in goals-against average to Hart. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound native of Imperial, Saskatchewan, was a third-round pick by Tampa Bay in last year’s NHL draft.
No. 31 Dylan Ferguson (G): Ferguson is the backup in perhaps the top goaltending tandem in league. He boasts a save percentage of greater than .920 and, like Everett backup Mario Petit, saw most of his playing time while Ingram was away at World Juniors. A late-1998 birthday, Ferguson is ranked No. 17 among North American goalies by NHL Central Scouting.
No. 21 Rudolf Balcers (F): A rookie from Latvia, Balcers was a fifth-round pick by the San Jose Sharks in the 2015 NHL draft. He is second in scoring for the Blazers with 35 goals and 31 assists.
No. 25 Lane Bauer (F): A former teammate of Everett’s Aaron Irving in Edmonton, Bauer has 35 goals and 28 assists. Like Irving, Bauer won a Memorial Cup with the Oil Kings before being shipped out this year prior to the WHL trade deadline.
No. 34 Deven Sideroff (F): The Blazers’ leading scorer with 33 goals and 38 assists, Sideroff was a third-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in the 2015 NHL draft.
No. 41 Garrett Pilon (F): Pilon has 16 goals and 40 assists and was a third-round pick of the Washington Capitals in the 2016 NHL draft.
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