Rivalry building up steam
Giants take aim at Kamloops Blazers’ first-place spot
The Vancouver Giants and Kamloops Blazers have a rivalry under renovation, and Jordan Martinook can explain in seven little words why it’s building.
“They are where we want to be,” said Martinook, the Giants centre.
First place in the B.C. Division, and the top-two seed in the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs that goes with it, is what Martinook is speaking of. The Blazers (42-14-1-3) do sport a 14-point lead on Vancouver (35-22-1-3) with 11 Giant games remaining, but with four of those contests coming against Kamloops, including tonight’s Pacific Coliseum clash (7:30 p. m., AM 650), Martinook and Co. insist they still have a chance.
The teams also play Saturday at the Interior Savings Centre in Kamloops (7 p.m., AM 650).
“We feel like we can play with them and beat them and we’ve proved it,” said Martinook, whose team is 2-2-0-0 versus the Blazers so far this season.
Most Giants would point to the Tri-city Americans, the team that’s knocked Vancouver out of the playoffs the past two seasons, as their most heated rival. There’s also an edginess between the Giants and the Victoria Royals, dating back to their days down the highway as the Chilliwack Bruins.
This thing with the Blazers is coming on, though, and coming on quickly. A strong showing in these four games will at worst help the Giants hold off the Spokane Chiefs (32-20-4-3) for fourth spot in the West, the final posting that gets home ice advantage in the opening round. Conversely, success for the Blazers would go a long way toward them beating out the Portland Winterhawks (42-152-1) and the Americans (41-15-12) for No. 1 seed in the West.
Even though Giants coach Don Hay is a Kamloops native and former Blazer bench boss and Kamloops general manager Craig Bonner used to work for Giants, alongside his older brother Scott, Vancouver’s general manager, the rivalry hasn’t had this potential, mainly because the Blazers haven’t had this presence in the standings.
The 88 points in the standings they’ve accumulated so far are the most they’ve put up since they had 109 in 1998-99. They lost in the WHL final that year; it was the last time they made it past the first round of the playoffs.
“I do think Vancouver is our most heated rival because the games are always intense and the battle for the division makes the games even more important,” said Kamloops rearguard Bronson Maschmeyer, a former Giant.
Craig Bonner added: “I think things will become very intense with us playing each other four times in the next three weeks. The games will be competitive, I’m sure.”
A Giant to keep an eye on is left winger Nathan Burns. He has 10 goals in 46 games this season, but five of his tallies have come in four games with Kamloops.
He does, coincidently or not, have some strong ties to the Blazers. He played midget hockey alongside Kamloops forward Colin Smith, with the Canadian Athletic Club Distributors of Edmonton. He also played spring hockey against Blazers netminder Cole Cheveldave.
“When you play against kids that you know, it makes you want to win that much more,” said Burns.
As a bonus, Burns is expected to have Dalton Sward back on his line Friday. Sward has missed the past 18 games with a shoulder injury; he’s skated all week alongside Burns, teaming to flank Taylor Makin.
As well, Marek Tvrdon is slated to return to the Giants after a threegame suspension for a spearing major; he was skating on the first line again all week, with Brendan Gallagher and Riley Kieser, while Cain Frason and Matt Bellerive were flanking Martinook on the second. Five players were eligible for the fourth line.