BLAZERS FALL 4-2 TO COUGARS

By Colton Davies – Follow Colton on X

The Kamloops Blazers hosted the Prince George Cougars for a Saturday night contest on the heels of a Friday night loss in P.G.

Veteran goaltender Dylan Ernst was given the start between the pipes. With a 14-16-2-0 record and a shutout to his name this season.

The opening period saw plenty of action from both teams right from the get-go. On the penalty kill, Emmitt Finnie seized a breakaway opportunity, firing a shot off Cooper Michaluk’s pad before collecting his own rebound and attempting a wraparound but was denied. The Blazers then garnered their own powerplay, and in the final seconds it was the ‘nailgun’ Conner Radke snapping a shot from close quarters beating Michaluk glove side. Blazers grinder John Szabo then laid a thundering hit on Cougars forward Van Eger, igniting Blazers nation.

Just a minute and a half into the second period, Vit Zahejsky delivered a slick no-look, behind-the-back pass to veteran Beau Courtney, who hammered home a one-timer to extend Kamloops’ lead to two. The Blazers kept the pressure on, firing shots toward the net in an effort to widen the gap.. Tensions began to flare between both teams, leading to a stretch of four-on-four play. During the action, Tommy Lafrenière and Jordan Keller found themselves on a prime two-on-one rush, but Cooper Michaluk stood tall. Following a delayed call, Washington Capitals prospect Terik Parascak deked out Ernst and scored a backhand goal to cut the lead to one. The Cougars kept coming, and soon after, Parascak connected with Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Borya Valis, who found the back of the net to even the score.

Ernst came up big with a couple crucial stops to open the third period. Lafrenière then intercepted an errant pass from the Cougars netminder but was unable to beat Michaluk, who got just enough of his blocker on the shot. Kamloops’ assistant captain Harrison Brunicke jumped up from his own end, carrying the puck up ice and sliding it to Lafrenière, who tried to set up Emmitt Finnie for a deflection, but the puck sailed wide. Back the other way it was the Cougars cycling the puck before Koehn Ziemmer ripped a shot past Ernst to give the Cougars their first lead of the night. The Cougars kept the pressure on as Riley Heidt found himself all alone on a breakaway but was denied by Ernst.

With 1:08 left in the game, the Blazers pulled Ernst and opted for the extra attacker. Parascak then had a wide open net but rang it off the post and wide. But that would do it from the Sandman Centre.

Kamloops hits the road for an American road trip with crucial games against the Seattle Thunderbirds and Portland Winterhawks on Tuesday and Wednesday. Kamloops returns home on March 8th to face the Vancouver Giants.