The Kamloops Blazers were in action over the weekend, this time with games against two tough US Division opponents.
On Friday, Kamloops took part in a back and forth affair against the Everett Silvertips. The two teams traded the first two goals before Everett eventually won 3-2.
During the game, Everett started the scoring. Connor Zary would tie it up in the second with his sixth goal of the season. After Everett scored two more times, Zane Franklin put one home to cut it to one. That is as close as the Blazers would come as Dustin Wolf was a monster in net for the Tips, stopping 43 of 45 shots. On the other side, Dylan Garand blocked 25 of 28 shots attempts.
Saturday's game against the Portland Winterhawks was a different story. This high-scoring match against two juggernauts resulted in 11 goals.
On the backs of Josh Pillar, Orrin Centazzo, Ryan Hughes, and Connor Zary, Kamloops scored four first period goals. Portland would answer with two of their own midway through the frame to keep it at 4-2 going into the second. Between the next two periods, Portland scored three unanswered goals to take a 5-4 lead. Zary would not let the Blazers lose as he tied the game up before Inaki Baragano scored the game-winner with 14 minutes left to go.
The 6-5 win saw Rayce Ramsay stop 14 of 18 shots before he was pulled for Garand. In his limited action, Garand stopped 24 of 25 shots. Kamloops was outshot 43 to 29 in the contest.
Up next, Kamloops has one more game left in their USA road trip, this time against the Seattle Thunderbirds. Puck drop is at 7:35 pm on Friday in Kent Washington.
