WHL Kamloops Blazers

Another Solid Effort, But A 3-1 Loss

Published on February 8, 2014 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kamloops Blazers News Release


The Kamloops Blazers (11-39-2-3) played another solid game but were not rewarded in a 3-1 loss to the Victoria Royals (36-16-1-3) on Friday night at home.

The Blazers played well in this one from start to finish as they outshot the Royals 37-29 in the game. It was a fairly uneventful and scoreless first period for both sides. The best chance of the period came within the first minute of the game as Chase Souto's shot rung off the post.

It was the Blazers who scored first in this game on the power play 3:45 into the second period. Ryan Rehill, who played despite battling the flu, stopped a clearing attempt and his long shot found its way through a maze of bodies for his third goal of the season and a 1-0 Blazers lead. The Blazers continued their strong play in the period and continued to battle. They were forced to kill off a late penalty, but the Royals tallied a goal shortly after the power play ended. The Blazers could not clear the puck and Brandon Magee made a nice move before putting a shot top corner with 32 seconds to play in the period to tie it 1-1 going into the final frame.

Puck luck was not on the Blazers side and it showed with the Royals getting a shorthanded marker 1:29 into the period. Keegan Kanzig's clearing attempt got past Cole Ully and the Royals went the other way on a two-on-one break. Tyler Soy showed patience and eventually slid a shot five-hole past goaltender Bolton Pouliot to give the Royals a 2-1 lead.

The Blazers stuck with it and continued to press. Their best chance likely came off the stick of Chase Souto who had an open net, but put it off the side of the net. Still, the Blazers continued playing well and again pucks stayed out. Joe Kornelsen's long shot beat goaltender Coleman Vollrath but hit the post and it remained a 2-1 game. The Royals would find puck luck as Logan Fisher's centering pass deflected off a Blazers stick and hit Taylor Crunk's stick deflecting past Pouliot as the Royals went on to a 3-1 win over the Blazers.

The Blazers finished the night 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Royals were 0-for-3.

Coleman Vollrath was solid for the Royals making 36 saves for the win, while Bolton Pouliot finished with 26.

Check out the Kamloops Blazers Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from February 8, 2014


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