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Memorial Cup host Blazers bury Edmonton Oil Kings in 60 shots

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The Edmonton Oil Kings are in no danger of making a run at the Memorial Cup this year, but that didn’t stop the last-place team in the Western Hockey League from giving the 2023 Memorial Cup hosts a run for their money.

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If only for a time.

In the end, the Kamloops Blazers added to their B.C. Divison-leading record with a 7-3 win at Rogers Place on Family Day Monday, boasting a fully loaded roster in anticipation of their guaranteed spot in junior hockey’s biggest tournament, May 26-June 3. It includes reigning Canadian Hockey League Player of the Year in centre Logan Stankoven (Dallas Stars) and arguably the Western Hockey League’s top defenceman in Fort Saskatchewan product Olen Zellweger (Anaheim Ducks).

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The Blazers have nine NHL-drafted prospects on their roster, which, when combined with Edmonton, still made for a grand total of nine such players on the ice Monday.

The loss was Edmonton’s sixth straight following a disheartening collapse Saturday in a 7-2 defeat at the hands of a Calgary Hitmen squad that ended what had been a 10-game losing streak, including a pair of previous losses to the Oil Kings.

“When you talk about a team that was coming off of 10 losses in a row, they’re going to be hungry,” said Oil Kings head coach Luke Pierce, whose team kicked off a five-game home stand on the weekend. “We had a really honest meeting with our group yesterday and called it out.

“We didn’t have any pushback.”

If the result was similar, at least the effort was much improved Monday, even if it came against an opponent the Oil Kings were never going to be able to go toe-to-toe with in the skill department.

“We prepare every single day as a staff to win hockey games,” Pierce said. “If you’re just showing up hoping to see a good team, it could get ugly.”

Kolby Hay stopped 53 of 60 shots that made up the Kamloops barrage, while Matthew Kieper made 16 saves on 19 shots for the win.

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THE SCORING

Kamloops opened the scoring eight minutes in with a quick shot off a faceoff to the right of Hay as Dylan Sydor, son of former NHLer Darryl Sydor, came up with the puck in space and put it in the far corner.

But Rylan Kovacevic got out his shovel in a goal-mouth scramble in front of Kieper with three other Oil Kings crashing the crease, and put the puck in the back of the net to tie the score just 26 seconds later.

The Blazers’ league-best power play gave them back the lead at 17:35, when Caedan Bankier snapped another low shot to the far corner past Hay.

Shots were 23-5 for the visitors after 20 minutes.

Noah Boyko tied it up on the power play with some patient puck handling 6:24 into the second period.

But it was Kamloops’ turn to make it a quick turnaround, as Ryan Hofer sent a centering pass off the foot of Ashton Ferster and right on the stick of Daylan Kuefler for the lightning-quick strike just 33 seconds later.

And the visitors followed up with a crease crasher of their own with no fewer than five players in Edmonton’s goal mouth as Zellweger was credited with putting the puck over the goal-line at 10:14.

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But the Oil Kings refused to go quietly, as Boyko scored another power-play goal, on four-on-three, making good on a one-time effort.

Sydor tipped a shot in front for his second of the afternoon to send the Blazers into the third period with a 5-3 lead, and pulling ahead 45-12 in shots.

Fourteen seconds into the final frame, Kamloops went ahead 6-3 with Matthew Seminoff scoring on the doorstep.

Blazers defenceman Aapo Sarell took a run at 16-year-old Gavin Hodnett, the Oil Kings leading point scorer, sparking retaliation from Edmonton that ended with Kovacevic and Harrison Brunicke sent to the box for fighting.

Kuefler rounded out the scoring in the final minute with his second goal of the game.

FAMILY AFFAIR

Rogers Place marked Family Day Monday with a pair of brothers facing each other on the ice.

Marshall Finnie, whom the Oil Kings signed as an undrafted list player following training camp this year, came up against his younger brother, Emmitt Finnie, who is in his second season with the Blazers.

As for the Oil Kings hockey family, the club welcomed back former players Jakub Demek and Shea Van Olm into the building with a video tribute showing images of both hoisting the Ed Chynoweth Cup last year.

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Demek was making his return to the WHL on Monday after being sent by the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights to their American Hockey League affiliate in Henderson, Nev., for conditioning following shoulder surgery, before skating with the Blazers prior to his season debut.

The 19-year-old Slovak put up 54 points (20 goals, 34 assists) in 55 games with the Oil Kings last season, before being acquired by Kamloops in mid-November.

“It was fantastic to see him,” Pierce said on the team broadcast ahead of Monday’s puck drop. “He was only here for a year but leaves such an impression on everyone he meets. He was such a big part of our team last year. Hopefully, he’s a little slower today.”

Van Olm wasn’t in the lineup Monday after getting injured during a 4-1 win over the Calgary Hitmen a day earlier.

Next up:?The Oil Kings will face the Kelowna Rockets on Friday (7 p.m.)

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge

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