BLAZERS WIN 9-5 OVER HITMEN
By Colton Davies – Follow Colton on X
The Calgary Hitmen came into town to faceoff against the Kamloops Blazers following the Christmas break.
The first frame opened with energy as Cooper Moore was sprung alone on a breakaway but rifled it off the blocker of Eric Tu. Tu then came up with another miraculous save, robbing Josh Evaschesen to keep it knotted at zero.
The Blazers got on the scoresheet first though, as Tommy Lafreniere banged home a net front rebound making it 1-0, while also recording his 100th career WHL point. Kamloops doubled the lead shortly after as Carson Olsen’s point shot was deftly redirected by Nathan Behm, beating Tu to make it 2-0.
The Hitmen opened the second frame up with a goal of their own as Harrison Lodewyk fired it past Logan Edmonstone to make it 2-1. Kamloops answered right back on a 5-on-3 as Lafreniere notched his second of the night. The Blazers kept the pressure on when Ty Bonkowski blasted home a shot to restore the three-goal cushion at 4-1.
Calgary answered back on its own powerplay as Caine Wilke beat Edmonstone, but Kamloops quickly re-established control when J.P. Hurlbert buried a goal to make it 5-2. The Blazers continued to dominate as Lafreniere found Behm on a cross crease for his second of the night. Not long after, Behm completed the hat trick, giving Kamloops a commanding 7-2 lead heading into the third period.
Edmonstone stayed busy through the opening minutes of the third period, turning aside quality chances from Maze and Kamloops native Hunter Aura. The added to their lead when Andrew Thomson found the back of the net for his second goal of the season to make it 8-2.
Calgary responded on the powerplay as Lodewyk scored to cut it to 8-3, and the Hitmen struck again shortly after with Kale Dach redirecting a shot past Edmonstone. Kamloops continued to press offensively and Evaschesen fired one past Hesse to make it 9-4. Ty Meunier would get the Hitmen one more, but Kamloops would hold onto the lead and secure the win, 9-5.
The Blazers will head to Langley for a battle against the Vancouver Giants on Sunday before returning home for a matchup against Prince George on Tuesday.
