By Chad Klassen

Blazers shut out in Victoria in Game 1 loss

Mar 22, 2019 | 11:05 PM

VICTORIA — The Blazers struggles on the Island continue.

Riding a high entering the opening game of the Western Conference Quarter-Final in Victoria, the wind was quickly taken out of Blazers’ sails on Friday with a 4-0 loss against the Royals.

Victoria’s Sean Gulka opened the scoring 6:23 into the first period to make it 1-0, a tight margin that remained until Carson Miller stretched the lead to two for the home side midway through the second.

Three minutes later, Dino Kambeitz got in on the scoring, beating Dylan Garand for his first of two on the night.

The Blazers pulled Garand for an extra attacker with 3:37 left before Kambeitz scored into the empty net to cap off a 4-0 win for the Royals in Game 1. It’s first time Kamloops has been blanked since a 5-0 loss to Vancouver on Mar. 6 — a loss that arguably ignited the Blazers’ run to the playoffs.

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Garand made 33 saves in the loss, while Griffen Outhouse earned the shutout with 28 saves on the night.

In five games in Victoria, the Blazers are 0-5 while being outscored by the Royals 22-9. They will try to bounce back and earn a split in Victoria on Saturday night for Game 2.