On to the next one.
The Kamloops Blazers on Sunday night played a dominant 60 minutes of hockey, to vault themselves into the final four of the WHL playoffs, as they defeated the Vancouver Giants in game six.
It only took six minutes into the game for Kamloops to flex their offensive muscle. Despite a Giants power play, centre Fraser Minten pounced on a miscue from the defence to get a breakaway, where he buried the puck on his backhand for the early 1-0 lead.
That seemed to set the tone for the rest of the game, as minutes later, the Blazers first line got going, with Logan Stankoven feeding Luke Topoworski on the right side to bury his eighth of the postseason. Kamloops took a 2-0 lead heading into the second.
The middle frame had numerous early chances from the Blazers, with a couple of posts hit, and some incredible early saves from Giants goaltender Jesper Vikman.
Daylan Kuefler took advantage of an awkward bounce, that hit Vikman, to thrash home his fourth of the playoffs, and that was followed up a minute later by a power play goal by Stankoven, who pounced on a rebound.
Early in the third, the Blazers power play struck again, as Toporowski’s one timer from the blueline found the top left corner of the net, for his second of the night.
Finally, halfway through the third, Caedan Bankier found the puck right out in front of Vikman to tap in his fifth of the playoffs, as the Blazers won 6-0.
Photo Credit: Gary AhujaCaedan Bankier, who scored the Blazers sixth goal, battles with right winger Jaden Lipinski.
Toporowski and Kuefler led the way for the Blazers, as they both had three points.
Dylan Garand stopped all 24 shots he faced, for his third shutout in the playoffs.
The last time the Blazers made it to the Western Conference finals was in 2013. That year, they fell to the Portland Winterhawks in five.
Now, Kamloops awaits the winner of the Winterhawks and Seattle Thunderbirds series.
Portland is ahead 3-2, with game six taking place Monday night in Seattle.
Either way, the Blazers know that they will play host to the opening two games.
Tickets are already on sale here, as games one and two go Friday and Saturday at 7 pm from the Sandman Centre.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, the Winnipeg ICE are set to take on the Edmonton Oil Kings in their conference finals matchup. Winnipeg had the most regular season points in the WHL this year, with 111, while Edmonton was second at 104.
