By Adam Donnelly

Blazers train keeps rolling over the Royals for fourth win in a row

Jan 26, 2019 | 9:56 PM

KAMLOOPS — Through the first 37 minutes and change at Sandman Centre Saturday night, it was almost like deja vu all over again. Almost.

The Kamloops Blazes scored early in the first period and dominated the first 20 minutes of play against the Victoria Royals, only to come out flat in the second. Luckily for them, Dylan Ferguson picked up right where he left off Friday night, making several circus saves through the first and second periods to keep Kamloops ahead.

Jermaine Loewen scored his second in as many nights just 1:15 into the game, as he took a pass from Martin Lang at his own blueline and beat a defender to the outside, before finishing high short-side over the shoulder of Royals goalie Brock Gould.

It would be Scott Walford who ended Ferguson’s shutout streak with a seeing-eye wrister from the point on the power play to tie the game with just 2:20 remaining in the middle stanza. The puck popped out of the net so fast, the 4615 fans in attendance weren’t sure it was ever in.

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Just 32 seconds into the third, Victoria took their first lead, as Ralph Jarratt floated a shot from the point that eluded Ferguson.

The Blazers thought they tied it up a few minutes later, but after the play was called no-goal on the ice, a quick video review confirmed that and the Royals lead remained intact.

But that call seemed to wake the Blazers up.

“That non-goal call seemed to spark us,” Head Coach Serge Lajoie told CFJC Today after the game. “We just had a flurry of shots, and all of a sudden it was just a wave of… not so much effort, but just resolve, putting pucks on net. I think it speaks to a little of that resiliency piece you need at this time of year.”

The Blazers peppered Gould throughout the third and finally broke through with just 45 seconds remaining. With Ferguson out for the extra attacker, Kamloops would win an offensive zone draw and crowd the Royals’ crease. Zane Franklin’s shot stayed out, but Loewen was there to swat home the rebound and tie the game 2-2.

Overtime solved nothing, so the game went to a shootout.

Connor Zary scored for Kamloops, while Ferguson stopped the Royals’ Igor Martynov.

Centazzo couldn’t beat Gould, and at the other end, Fergie would keep his clean sheet against D-Jay Jerome.

With the game on his stick, Franklin would fake a shot, then deke to the forehand before stuffing it past Gould to win it for the Blazers.

WATCH THE FULL BLAZERS vs ROYALS SHOOTOUT:

Ferguson stopped 33 of 35 shots he faced for the win, while Gould made 30 saves on 32 shots in a losing effort.

The win puts Kamloops one point up on the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Wild Card race. The Blazers travel to Seattle for a 5:00 pm matchup against those very same T-Birds tomorrow (Jan. 27th).