Blast's next foe features several ex-NHLers
Brantford Expositor - Thurs. Oct. 25, 2007
Brantford Blast general manager Peter Ham is well aware of the fact that the Dundas Real McCoys have former NHLer Todd Harvey in their lineup on a fulltime basis this season.
However, Ham doesn't believe Harvey is the McCoys' most impressive newcomer this season.
He gives that accolade to 29-year-old Beamsville native Ryan Christie, who has seven NHL games to his credit as compared to the 671 played by Harvey, a first-round draft choice of the Dallas Stars in 1993.
Brantford fans have a chance to judge for themselves when the Blast face the McCoys in a Major League Hockey game at the civic centre Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Christie, drafted in the fifth round by Dallas in 1996, has enjoyed several outstanding offensive seasons in the minor professional leagues.
Proven Point-Getter
"To me, he's the most impressive . . . player they (McCoys) have," Ham said.
"He's a proven point-getter in every league he's played in. It doesn't matter what league he plays in, he's going to get points.
"When you talk about Todd Harvey, he wasn't a goal-scorer in the NHL so he won't be a goal-scorer in this league. He'll be a good all-round player like he was in the NHL, a tough guy."
Christie has scored three goals in four games for the McCoys and Harvey has one goal and one assist in four games.
Mike Kennedy, who has played 145 games in the NHL, leads the McCoys in scoring with four goals and four assists for eight points.
The Blast are in first place with a 4-1 record and the McCoys are second at 3-1, with Harvey's uncle, Ken Mann, back as their head coach.
Chad Spurr leads the Blast in scoring with six goals and five assists for 11 points.
Left winger Wayne Muir and defencemen Steve Hurst and Jeremy Bloomfield each have five points. Muir has four goals and an assist. Hurst and Bloomfield each have one goal and four assists.
The Blast, winners of their first four games, are coming off a 4-3 loss to the Windsor Saint Clair Saints in Windsor last Sunday afternoon.
Blast suffer first loss of season
Brantford Expositor - Oct. 22, 2007
It was only a matter of time before the Brantford Blast lost their first Major League Hockey game of the 2007-08 season.
And that time came on Sunday, as the Blast were edged 4-3 on the road by the Windsor Saint Clair Saints.
"We played about half a game," Brantford coach Larry Trader said. "It was just too many mistakes and we weren't in the game for a full 60 minutes."
The first-place Blast were coming off a 3-2 shootout win at home on Friday against the Saints that saw their record improve to 4-0.
During its opening four games, Brantford had allowed just four goals. Goalie Anthony Marshall had been a one-man brick wall, recording two shutouts in his team's first three games.
On Sunday, Trader couldn't fault Marshall or either of the team's other two units.
"Anthony Marshall had nothing to do with this loss tonight," Trader said. "I can't condemn just the defence or forwards solely for the breakdowns."
Jason Dixon got the home team on the board in the first, as he beat Marshall at the 9:22 mark. Kyle Raymond and Lane Moodie drew assists.
After a sluggish first period, Brantford didn't waste much time getting going in the second.
Just one minute into that frame, Ian Jacobs evened the game when he scored a power-play goal that included assists from Ryan Healy and Chad Spurr.
The Blast then went ahead 2-1 when Wayne Muir scored an unassisted tally at 4:23 mark.
But, with 13 minutes gone in the second, the roof fell in on Brantford.
"In the second period, we came back and played well in the first half," said Trader. "But in the second half of the second, we quickly collapsed.
"The first goal came on a breakdown when we were killing a penalty. We chipped the puck into the neutral zone and had control of it, but, rather than firing it into the zone, we turned it over and (Windsor) had a three-on-two."
That goal was scored by Brett Trudell, with assists to Sean Fischer and Bill Ruggiero.
The next goal, at 15:27 of the second, came on another breakdown. Dixon set up Erik Stone's goal to give the Saints the lead again at 3-2.
Just 13 seconds later, Windsor went up by two goals, when Mark Loza, from Brent Vandehogen and Fischer, scored.
Not Enough
Although Brantford's Tyler Pelton got the Blast back to within one goal at 13:40 of the third, it wasn't enough as Brantford came up just short.
Steve Hurst and Adriano Fiacconi assisted on Pelton's marker.
With the win, Windsor is third in the five-team league with a record of two wins, one loss and one shootout loss, for five points.
Dundas Real McCoys are second with six points (3-1), Tillsonburg Vipers are fourth with two points (1-3) while the Petrolia Squires (0-3) have yet to record a point. The Blast will be back in action on Friday when they host Dundas at the civic centre in a 7:30 p.m. game.