BLAZERS WIN 6-1 AT HOME OVER AMERICANS
By Colton Davies – Follow Colton on X
The Kamloops Blazers hosted the Tri-City Americans for a Wednesday night matchup.
The Blazers went with Logan Edmonstone between the pipes for his fifth consecutive start, while the Americans went with Xavier Wendt.
The opening period started with plenty of pace and early pressure from Tri-City, but Edmonstone stood tall, continuing his strong run of play. The Blazers struck first when J.P. Hurlbert planted himself net front and fired it past Wendt to give Kamloops the 1-0 lead. Kamloops added to their lead shortly after when Tommy Lafreniere roofed one on Wendt, marking Lafreniere’s 38th goal of the season. The Americans pushed back with sustained pressure, but Edmonstone came up with a huge goal-line save to keep Tri-City off the board.
Late in the period, Kamloops would strike again when Jordan Keller tipped home a point shot from Ryan Michael, extending the lead to 3-0. Before the period came to a close, the Blazers added another, as Vit Zahejsky ripped a shot past Wendt to make it 4-0 heading into the intermission.
The second period opened with minimal action through the first eight minutes, as both teams traded shots but generated little in the way of high-danger chances. That changed when Blazers forward Ty Bonkowski intercepted a pass in front of the Americans net and beat Wendt to make it 5-0.
Kamloops struck again later in the period on a crisp passing play. Zahejsky and Bonkowski combined to set up Ty Coupland, who buried the puck from the bumper slot to make it 6-0 heading into the third period.
Tri-City struck just five minutes into the third period when Cruz Pavao fired a shot off the post and in, beating Edmonstone to make it 6-1. Tri-City continued to press for more, but Edmonstone stood tall in the Blazers crease, making a couple of crucial saves to keep the Americans from adding to their total.
Blazers’ forward Nathan Behm nearly extended the lead after deking out multiple members of the Americans before attempting a wraparound that was denied. The Blazers and Edmonstone closed it out, with a massive 6-1 win.
Up Next: The Blazers will head to Kelowna for a battle against the Rockets on Friday, before returning for the Saturday night rematch.
