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Blazers Ride Dominant Third Period to a 6-3 Win over Victoria in Game Four

Victor Kaisar
Mar 27, 2019 | 9:45 PM


Blazers Ride Dominant Third Period to a 6-3 Win over Victoria in Game Four

Best of seven? How about a best of three?

Talk about a wild playoff hockey game with controversial calls, big hits, bigger goals, and a boisterous crowd.

Two goals from ‘Captain Clutch’ – Connor Zary – and a three point night for Luke Zazula lifted the Kamloops Blazers to a 6-3 win in game 4 of their best of seven series against the Victoria Royals.

The testy first round series is tied at two games each.

Kyrell Sopotyk opened the scoring for the Blazers at 6:52 in the first period to lift 5,193 fans at Sandman Centre onto their feet.

But Dino Kambeitz then scored twice in just over three minutes – one shorthanded and the other on the power play – as the Royals took their first, and only, lead of the night.

However, it was Connor Zary who ensured the first period ended tied at 2-2. He put the puck past a sprawling Griffen Outhouse with 20 seconds left to play, on a 4-on-3 Blazers advantage.

Both teams traded goals in the second period – Blazers regular season leading scorer Zane Franklin gave Kamloops their second lead of the night with his first of the series, before Igor Martynov tied things up yet again.

The third period was all Blazers who took control after Kody McDonald was tossed for leaving his bench, after an off-ice altercation with Zane Franklin.

McDonald swung his stick at Blazers forward Zane Franklin, and also caught Kamloops trainer Colin Robinson, who broke his glasses.

He was given a match penalty for intent to injure, and a major penalty and will be under review for further suspension.

Franklin, who was on the Kamloops bench, was given a minor unsportsmanlike penalty, but the Blazers didn’t seem to mind as Connor Zary scored what turned out to be the game winner – his second of the night – on the ensuing 4-on-4.

That goal was 2:33 before a Luke Zazula shot from the blue line somehow found its way into the net on the power play, the first two goal lead for either team, 5-3 Blazers.

Rookie Martin Lang then put the game to bed with his first WHL playoff goal at 15:11 to give the Blazers a dominating three goal lead.

Kamloops outshot Victoria 47-18 – the Blazers with 20 shots in the third period alone to Victoria’s two.

Griffen Outhouse took the loss, making 41 saves while recording an assist, his second in as many nights, on Victoria’s third goal.

Dylan Ferguson picked up his second win of the playoffs in the Blazers net, a 15-save effort.

The two teams head to Victoria for game 5 on Saturday, March 30, before returning to Sandman Centre for game 6 on Monday, April 1.

(Photo: Allen Douglas)

 

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