KAMLOOPS 3 VICTORIA 2
The Kamloops team in the Western Hockey League suffers from Toronto Blue Jays syndrome. Its championships from the early 1990s loom like a shadow over everything that has happened since.
With a veteran roster carefully cultivated for this year, 2020-21 was supposed to be the season the Blazers rose again and gave people something to talk about other than those glory days of nearly three decades ago.
But the pandemic put paid to those aspirations. There is no WHL or Memorial Cup to shoot for, only a sa国际传媒 Division regular-season title with no playoffs. There’s no hiding it is a mere consolation prize, but it’s the only one on offer and the Blazers (10-2) appear as if they aim to claim it with the kind of vengeance that would serve as a rebuke to the hand to fate that denied them their real ambitions.
The Victoria Royals, meanwhile, are enduring the worst season in franchise history at 1-11-1.
So, the 3-2 Blazers victory over the Royals on Friday night in Kamloops surprised nobody. To the Royals’ credit, they made Kamloops earn it with a feisty effort. But it wasn’t enough as Victoria lost for the eighth consecutive time.
“It was a closely contested game,” said Royals coach Dan Price.
“It had the feeling of a mid-season game in normal times.”
Goaltender and New York Rangers prospect Dylan Garand of Langford, silver medallist with sa国际传媒 in the 2021 world junior championship, was given the night off by the Blazers. Rookie Dylan Ernst made 14 saves for Kamloops. Adam Evanoff, a 20-year-old over-ager, was solid in making 31 saves for Victoria.
Rookie Brayden Schuurman drove hard to the net on the power play to score his fourth goal of the season to give Victoria the lead at 12:50 of the second period.
It came with Blazers star and NHL first-round Calgary Flames draft-pick Connor Zary in the box serving a double minor for roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct with a 10-minute misconduct piled on for good measure. Zary was assessed a minor for embellishment earlier in the second period as the sa国际传媒 world junior silver medallist amassed penalty minutes like he usually does points. He made up for his meltdown by scoring at 12:57 of the third period to give Kamloops the 2-1 lead after Matthew Seminoff had levelled it at 36 seconds of the final period.
Fraser Minten notched the winning goal at 16:25 on the power play before Brandon Cutler scored on the odd man for Victoria at 18:20.
The Royals meet Prince George (4-7-2) on Monday in Kamloops.
