Image Credit: Steve Dunsmoor

By Victor Kaisar

Rockets 4 Blazers 3

Blazers fall to Rockets in WHL season finale

Mar 23, 2025 | 9:46 AM

KELOWNA — The Kamloops Blazers wrapped up the 2024-25 WHL regular season with a 4-3 defeat in Kelowna Saturday (March 22) night.

Gabriel Guilbault’s first WHL goal, which stood after a lengthy video review, helped the Rockets snap a ten-game losing streak. It was the Rockets second win in their last 27 games, and their first win at Prospera Place since Jan. 10.

Jordan Keller and Oren Shtrom had the Blazers up 2-0 inside five minutes, before the Rockets struck through Dawson Gerwing. The Blazers led 2-1 after one period.

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Connor Pankratz pulled the Rockets even at 13:13 of the second before Bryce Minten’s first of the year put the Blazers ahead after 40 minutes. Minten, the younger brother of former Blazers captain Fraser, batted the puck past Jake Pilon on the breakaway..

But the third period was all Kelowna as Jakub Stancl at 8:55 and Guilbault at 11:14 scored to give the Rockets the lead for the first time on the night. While the officials had blown the whistle before the puck crossed the net, they later ruled it as a good goal.

Blazers’ goaltender Dylan Enrst stopped 30 of 34 shots in the final game of his WHL career. With 165 games to his name, the Weyburn, Sask. native passed Davis Parley for fourth all-time in games played by a Blazer goalie.

Pilon turned aside 31 of 34 shots to pick up the win for the Rockets.

The Blazers finished the season in tenth place in the Western Conference with a 24-39-4-1 record, good for 53 points from 68 games. While it was an improvement from last year, its successive years without playoffs after Kamloops hosted the Memorial Cup in 2023.

CFJC Today will have a Blazers season recap next week as the team looks back on the year that was and a look ahead to the upcoming 2025-26 season.