Allen Douglas / Kamloops Blazers

Blazers get two points despite Warm’s hot saves

Last time the Tri-City Americans were in town, the home town Kamloops Blazers were able to hold off a late attack and beat the team from below the 49th parallel 3-1.

Tonight was a similar story as the Blazers were able to squeak two goals past an impressive Beck Warm beating the Americans 2-1.

Just under six minutes into the first period 18-year-old Orrin Centazzo buried a quick snapshot through the five-hole of American’s goaltender Beck Warm after linemate Zane Franklin zipped him a perfect pass. For Centazzo it was his 14th of the season and for the Blazers it was a welcome powerplay goal.

“We tried a bit of a different look and it worked. I really liked the Franklin, Stuart, Centazzo unit. They moved the puck around and let the puck do the work. We got some momentum from our power play” said Head Coach Serge Lajoie.

Allen Douglas / Kamloops Blazers

Kamloops continued the strong start to periods with Centazzo scoring again, on a rebound, off a Brodi Stuart shot just three minutes into the second period giving the River City a 2-0 lead.

Late in the period, Tri-City’s top NHL draft eligible, Sasha Mutala, scored on a power play, to cut the Blazer lead to one.

With under a minute remaining in the 2nd period Connor Zary set up Captain Jermaine Loewen for what looked like a tap in but Warm stuck out his pad and made the five-alarm save preserving the American’s deficit at one into the 2nd intermission.

Tri-City’s pressure in the third was not enough as Dylan Ferguson stopped all 11 shots he faced to preserve the victory for the home side.

The true story in this one was a combination of Kamloops’ missed chances and Beck Warm’s 43 save effort. Ultimately thought the Blazers did come away with two points.

Lajoie commented on the play of Warm after the game “We knew what we were getting into with Beck Warm, he is a tremendous goaltender.”

Blazing Along

With Both Kelowna and Seattle not in action tonight, the Blazers have not only gained ground on the Rockets, but also the Thunderbirds.

Kamloops takes on those same Thunderbirds on Friday at the Sandman Centre in a game that has big time playoff implications. With a win, Kamloops could move to within one point of the last playoff spot in the west.

It should be noted that both Kamloops and Kelowna have very difficult weekends playing three games in three nights. Kamloops against the aforementioned Seattle once and the Vancouver Giants twice. Kelowna Takes on the Giants on Friday, and then back to back games at home against the Portland Winterhawks.

Zane Franklin was asked after the game how he feels about this time of year with the season drawing to an end and the playoff race tightening.

“It’s fun, It’s a different buzz around the rink, a different buzz in the dressing room. Everyone feels it, the fans feel it. This is what it’s all about.”

Attendance –  3407 announced attendance

With a guess of 3199 @Turtly is our winner!