BLAZERS WIN 4-2 OVER WINTERHAWKS
By Colton Davies – Follow Colton on X
The Kamloops Blazers hosted the Portland Winterhawks for a Wednesday night matchup, returning home after a two-game road trip in Alberta.
Kamloops welcomed back captain Emmitt Finnie from injury after he missed the last nine games. However, they were without Nathan Behm, who was sidelined after suffering an injury in practice.
Logan Edmonstone got the start in goal for the Blazers, entering the game with a .913 save percentage over his last 10 starts.
The first period opened with a couple of quick chances for Kamloops. First, in his return, Finnie made a slick move around a Winterhawks defender and fired a shot off the pad of Ondrej Stebetak, who sprawled out in a Dominik Hasek-inspired save. Shortly after, Vit Zahejsky found himself all alone on a breakaway. With a couple of quick head fakes, he pulled the puck to his backhand but was robbed by his fellow countryman.
After a Portland power play, Blazers veteran Beau Courtney opened the scoring with a highlight-reel goal. Capitalizing on a turnover, Courtney stumbled but managed to fire the puck from his knees, beating the Stebetak. Shortly after, Winterhawks forward Kyle Chyzowski—nephew of Blazers legend Dave Chyzowski—tied the game at 1-1.
As the final minutes of the first period wound down, Tommy Lafrenière found the back of the net from a sharp angle, netting his 22nd goal of the season to restore Kamloops’ lead. However, with just one minute remaining in the period, Portland’s Diego Buttazzoni beat Edmonstone to send the game into the intermission tied 2-2.
Kamloops began the second period on a four-minute power play after Zahejsky took a high stick to the face, resulting in a double minor. Portland successfully killed off the penalty, but the Blazers quickly went back on the man advantage. This time, Emmitt Finnie capitalized, tapping in a cross-crease pass to restore Kamloops’ lead at 3-2. Finnie has now scored a career high 30 goals during the 2024-25 campaign.
Portland responded by ramping up the pressure, firing shots on Edmonstone at every opportunity. Chyzowski then broke free, weaving through defenders for a clean break, but was denied. Moments later, chaos erupted around Stebetak’s crease as the puck came loose, leading to a frantic scramble. Ultimately, Portland was able to clear it out of their zone.
The third period opened with both the Blazers and Winterhawks generating prime scoring opportunities in a fast-paced, back-and-forth exchange. Blazers veteran rearguard Ryan Michael had the chance to extend the lead by two but ripped the puck off the iron.
Kamloops nearly struck again when a loose puck found its way in front of Stebetak, but the Czech goaltender managed to get his blocker on it. Moments later, chaos erupted when Stebetak was knocked over following a save, leading to a scrum between Blazers veteran Oren Shtrom and Winterhawks defenseman Max Psenicka.
The Blazers continued to apply pressure, throwing as many shots as they could on net trying to extend their lead. With two minutes remaining Portland pulled their goaltender looking for the game tying goal but the Blazers pulled away with a crucial victory in their playoff push as Finnie notched the game winning goal on the empty net.
Kamloops will head to Prince George for a game at the CN Centre on Friday and will return home to face the Cougars on Saturday.
