BLAZERS COME BACK AGAIN WITH 4-3 SHOOTOUT WIN
The Blazers ran the table in the WHL preseason with a 4-3 shootout win over the Prince George Cougars on Friday night. The Blazers were sluggish to start as the Cougars played a strong first period. Chase Witala opened the scoring with a power play marker. His pass was blocked and ended up back on his stick for a quick shot and his third goal of the WHL preseason. The Blazers enjoyed a long 5-on-3 power play in the period and did everything right but score a goal. The Cougars held a 1-0 lead through the first period.
The second period did not go much better for the home team. The Blazers found themselves stuck in their zone for the early part of the period and the Cougars capitalized. Daulton Siwak’s long shot beat a screened Cole Cheveldave to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead. The Cougars scored another one with just under five minutes to play as Troy Bourke tapped home an easy goal and the Cougars held a 3-0 lead through two periods.
Cue the encore as the Blazers once again erased a three-goal third period deficit for the second straight game. A few key saves early in the period by Cole Cheveldave kept the Blazers in it. Colin Smith got the Blazers on the board tucking home a rebound past goaltender Devon Fordyce to cut the lead to 3-1 just under 14 minutes into the period. The Blazers cut the lead to one goal as Marek Hrbas set up Dylan Willick for a redirect on the power play to make it 3-2 with 10:05 left to play. JC Lipon tied it up on a late power play goal as his pass went off a Cougars stick and through the wickets with 1:21 to play as the game headed to overtime.
The Blazers controlled the overtime as they had a 4-on-3 power play and some terrific chances but failed to score. Colin Smith was the lone goal scorer and Cole Cheveldave stopped all three shooters to earn a 4-3 shootout win. The Blazers finished a perfect 5-0-0-0 in the WHL preseason. The Blazers were 2-for-7 on the power play while the Cougars finished 1-for-5.
The Blazers will open the regular season on Friday, September 21st as they host the Kelowna Rockets. Tickets go on sale starting Monday, September 17th at 9:00am. Call the Box Office at 250-828-3339 or go to ticketmaster.ca to purchase tickets.
