Brian Liesse

Blazers de-claw Cougars, look to continue against Pats

In recent memory, the Kamloops Blazers have had a lot of success in the Northern Capital of British Columbia. Coming into last weekend’s set against the Prince George Cougars, Kamloops had won the last six games (every game in the 2017-18 season) in the CN Centre and with the way the Blazers had been playing lately it wasn’t a sure thing this streak would continue.

Saturday night the Blazers finished the first period strong by scoring twice in the last two minutes off the sticks of Josh Pillar and Jermaine Loewen. Kamloops scored three more times including twice in the third period. Prince George would add one late in the third to bring the score to a final of 5-1. Jermaine Loewen, Luc Smith, Zane Franklin, and Martin Lang all finished the game with two points and Dylan Ferguson picked up the win in goal. There was some concern for Ferguson’s health when he left the previous game due to a pressure cut in his finger but after making 13 of 14 saves it looks like everything is perfectly fine.

Less than 18 hours after their last meeting Kamloops and Prince George would butt heads again in an afternoon matinee. Much like the previous meeting, Kamloops would acquire a five goal lead before the Cougars would hit the scoreboard. The teams would trade goals four times late in the third period with Kamloops picking up the 7-3 win. Kamloops leading scorer Zane Franklin finished the game with five points while Luke Zazula, Luc Smith, Orrin Centazzo and Nolan Kneen had three point efforts. Goaltender Dylan Garand backstopped Kamloops in his first game since returning from international duty for Canada Red at the U17’s.

Another positive for Blazers’ fans to take out of this weekend was the penalty kill. Kamloops went 10-of-11 while down a man jumping up to 20th in the league from 22nd where they started the weekend.

Looking forward to Tuesday night, Kamloops will play host to the Regina Pats who find themselves second last in the Eastern Conference. This might be the perfect remedy for a Blazer team that has had a very difficult time finding any consistency.

Looking even further forward, the Blazers are only one point out of a wildcard playoff spot, and three points out of third place in the BC division with three games in hand on Prince George who currently occupies the third spot. The next 30 days will determine a lot for this, and other teams around the WHL. The trade deadline is fast approaching, will the Blazers be sellers or buyers? Let me know what you think.