Four down, 12 to go.

The Kamloops Blazers breezed through their first-round series against the Vancouver Giants in a four-game sweep that saw the Blazers outscore the Giants 24-5.

With no disrespect meant towards Vancouver, the next test for the Memorial Cup hosts will be a much more formidable foe in the Portland Winterhawks.

The series kicks off with games one and two at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops this weekend.

Portland may have finished 15 points behind Kamloops in the standings this year, but the Winterhawks beat the Blazers three times in four meetings during the regular season.

The makeup of the two teams is quite different, as the Blazers are a high-flying offensive threat led by the reigning CHL Player of the Year, Logan Stankoven.

Stankoven finished the season with 97 points, 28 more than the Winterhawks leading scorer in Gabe Klassen.

In fact, Klassen would have been fifth on the Blazers in scoring, and only eight points clear of Daylan Kuefler, who was Kamloops’ ninth leading scorer this season with 61 points.

Photo Credit: Keith Dwiggins

It’s been a decade since these two teams have met in the playoffs, with their last meeting coming during the 2013 Western Conference Championship.

The Winterhawks won that series in five games en route to their most recent WHL Championship.

Here’s the full schedule for the round two series between Kamloops and Portland:

Game    Date        Away          Home            Time    
1    April 14, 2023    Portland    Kamloops    7:00 p.m. PT    
2    April 15, 2023    Portland    Kamloops    7:00 p.m. PT    
3    April 19, 2023    Kamloops    Portland    7:00 p.m. PT    
4    April 20, 2023    Kamloops    Portland    7:00 p.m. PT    
5    April 22, 2023    Portland    Kamloops    7:00 p.m. PT    *
6    April 24, 2023    Kamloops    Portland    7:00 p.m. PT    *
7    April 26, 2023    Portland    Kamloops    7:00 p.m. PT    *
* – if necessary