Two of Kamloops’ provincial hockey hopes fall short of final

KAMLOOPS — Two Kamloops teams had the chance on Thursday to advance to their respective provincial finals, but both were sent packing, falling just short of competing in the finals. 

The Pee Wee Tier 1 Junior Blazers needed a win or a tie against the Victoria Racquet Club to have a shot at the provincial banner, but they fell one-goal short in a 6-5 loss this afternoon.

Kamloops’ Brady Milburn led the team with two goals and an assist, while Jordan Keller – the son of blazers’ assistant coach Aaron Keller – had three assists in the loss. Victoria’s Dayton Arneson notched a hat-trick and added two assists to lead his team to the final against Burnaby Winter Club. 

Meantime, the Midget Tier Two Thompson Zone Blazers had the chance to automatically advance to the final with a win over Prince George. It looked good for most of the game, ahead 3-0 in the second period. But the blazers coughed up the lead and wound up losing 5-3 to Prince George. Haden Nordick, Brogen Taphorn and Jayden Russell had the goals for Kamloops.