The Kamloops Blazers and Calgary Hitmen squared off for the first and only time of the season on Saturday night. Despite being outshot 50-22 in the game, the Hitmen booked their tickets to the postseason with a 6-4 win.
An evenly matched first period saw both teams head into the intermission with 11 shots apiece and goose eggs on the scoreboard.
“The first period was really even,” Blazers head coach Shaun Clouston noted. “Teams were solid at both ends. I thought that, as the game went on, we really got our legs moving, we really buzzed, created lots of o-zone time, lots of chances.”
Though the Blazers gave up goals to Cael Zimmerman (3) and Luke Prokop (4) in the second period, possession favoured the home side. Kamloops outshot the visitors 18-6 and cut the lead to one with Ryan Hughes’ power-play goal.
After giving up four unanswered goals to Vancouver the night before, Calgary’s 2-1 lead heading into the third period was modest at best.
Orca Wiesblatt opened up the third period with his 18th of the season, only to be matched by Logan Stankoven’s 26th of the campaign, drawing Calgary’s lead back to one again.
Anytime momentum shifted in Kamloops’ favour, the Hitmen seemed to have a response.
“To me, the concern wasn’t in the offensive zone. Maybe we could have gotten to him a little bit earlier,” Clouston added. “I thought there was a couple of really good looks and somehow it didn’t go in, maybe a little bit more traffic in front a couple of times. He saw some stuff that you want to try and make harder for him. We put up 50 shots and scored four goals. That should be enough to win games.”
Riley Stotts (23) and Riley Fiddler-Schultz (9) scored third-period goals to create a slightly more comfortable lead for Calgary.
With 3:01 left in the game, Connor Zary capitalized on a defensive-zone turnover before beating Peters with his 33rd of the season to spark life into the home side.
Dylan Ernst jumped into action in relief of Rayce Ramsay only to be pulled off the ice for the extra attacker. With the 16-year-old watching from the bench, Kyle Olson scored his 11th of the season after a late Blazers barrage.
Daylan Kuefler’s fourth of the season put a minor dent in an otherwise spectacular performance from Peters. Though the goal played little importance with 57 seconds left in regulation, Kuefler’s tally was a nice reward for the 17-year-old and his linemates, Matthew Seminoff and Caedan Bankier.
“They’ve really come a long way,” Clouston added. “It’s very exciting to see those guys. Add Stankoven to the mix, and you see 16-, 17-year-old rookies contributing on a nightly basis and really working hard, really competing, playing simple, hard hockey and being rewarded for it.”
The fourth line provided its share of highlights for the Blazers, as did the debut of 19-year-old forward Tyler Carpendale who had been sidelined all season with a shoulder injury.
“It felt really good. It’s been a really long time. I kinda got used to watching so it felt good to be a part of the group and get out there.” The Powell River, B.C. native made a strong enough impression to jump up to the third line for a few shifts.
“I thought he played hard,” Clouston added. “He looked strong. His positional play was good. He had a good game for us.”
Carpendale’s debut took a back seat to the Blazers alumni who returned to Kamloops for a celebration of their glory years. The red carpet was rolled out for a star-studded cast on Saturday, and despite the loss to Calgary, the Blazers organization enjoyed its share of success.
