Blazers 1-and-1 in pre season after loss to Victoria

KAMLOOPS —- The Blazers are 1-and-1 in the pre season after a 4-2 loss to the Victoria Royals.     Victoria took a 2-0 lead in the first period with goals 23 seconds apart.   The Blazers tied it early in the second —- first with Nolan Kneen on a setup from Josh Pillar.    Pillar then scored mopping up after Kyrell Sopotyk was stopped in a breakaway.    But 31 seconds later the Royals took back the lead and then sealed it with an empty net goal with under a minute remaining.   The Blazers outshot Victoria 36-30.

Max Palaga started in goal for Kamloops and was good on 15 of 18 shots.    16-year old Dylan Garand was 11-for-11 in the second half of the game.    2017 first round bantam pick Josh Pillar led the Blazers offensively with a goal and an assist on six shots.     “He’s got a good motor, he just keeps going.”   Says head coach Serge Lajoie.   “You just know he’s only going to get better.   He understands the game —- even though he’s only 16 he’s already one of those quiet leaders —— he leads by example.”

Victoria was 0-for-4 on the power plays.   The Blazers 1-for-3.    Lajoie says right now some of the older players maybe feel they have to do more than they need to which led to some of the penalties ——-  and that’s something, says Lajoie, that they still have to work on.  “We have to play with our sticks on the ice.” Says Lajoie. “We have to be a skating team and we have the ability to do that.”    

 The 15 year olds have all had a game and willl now be sent back to their minor hockey teams.  That will include 2018 first round bantam draft pick Logan Stankoven, who will join the Thompson Blazers major midget team.  Stankoven showed a glimpse of what his future will look like with the Blazers, scoring a goal and setting up another one in his Western League debut in Friday’s 5-0 pre-season win over Prince George.