Blazers advance to 2023 Western Conference Championship
The Kamloops Blazers remained undefeated Thursday in the 2023 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien, scoring a post-season high 10 goals en route to a 10-4 victory, and four-game sweep of the Portland Winterhawks in their best-of-seven Second Round series.
The Blazers, now 8-0 in the 2023 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien, now advance to the Western Conference Championship versus the Seattle Thunderbirds, which gets underway Saturday, April 29 in Kent, Wash.
Hat-tricks from Dallas Stars prospect Matthew Seminoff and Anaheim Ducks draftee Olen Zellweger helped pace the Kamloops offence in the series decider at Portland’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum; Zellweger finished the contest with a game-high six points, and the Blazers power-play struck for four goals, finishing the series with eight tallies on 19 opportunities.
As has been the case all season long, Dallas Stars prospect Logan Stankoven led by example. The Kamloops captain finished the four-game series with Portland with 12 points (6G-6A) and now leads the 2023 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien in scoring, collecting 21 points after leading the post-season with 17 goals and 31 points a year ago.
The Blazers and Thunderbirds, who met in a seven-game thriller in the 2022 Western Conference Championship, enter the third round of this year’s post-season boasting identical 8-0 records. The series will mark the first occasion in which two undefeated Clubs meet in a Conference Championship since the Brandon Wheat Kings and Calgary Hitmen locked horns in the 2009 Eastern Conference Championship.
Kamloops, the hosts of this year’s Memorial Cup presented by Kia, last reached the WHL Championship series in 1999.
