Image Credit: File Photo (Allen Douglas/Kamloops Blazers)

By Adam Donnelly

BLAZER HOCKEY

Kamloops falls 4-1 to Royals

Dec 30, 2019 | 10:32 PM

KAMLOOPS — It felt like a Monday at Sandman Centre, as the Blazers dropped their second straight game at home to the visiting Victoria Royals by a 4-1 score.

The night started well, as Connor Zary opened the scoring nine seconds shy of the three-minute mark in the first. Sadly, that would be the last opportunity the home fans would have to cheer, as the Royals scored the next four goals – two in the second and two more in the third.

“I thought it was real similar to our last game,” Blazers Head Coach Shaun Clouston said of his teams’ effort against the Royals. “We started fine. We started, and played well, and weren’t able to sustain it.”

Tarun Fizer scored a pair of goals and added an assist for the Royals. Carson Miller and Gary Hayden notched the other goals for the visitors. Shane Farkas was solid between the pipes for Victoria, stopping 31 of 32 shots he faced.

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Rayce Ramsay got the nod in goal for the Blazers and wasn’t tested early, facing only two shots in the first period. He ended up making 19 saves on 22 shots but wasn’t to blame for the loss.

“I think it’s the response from other teams,” Clouston said. “For some reason, we seemed a little bit surprised by it. Two nights in a row, [we] weren’t, sort of, ready for that pushback.”

Monday’s loss was the first time the Blazers have suffered consecutive setbacks on Sandman Centre ice. Kamloops plays their next three games at home, including Friday against the Vancouver Giants, and Saturday against these same Royals.

Clouston is hopeful a day off, and some quality practice time will help get his team back on track.

“We had a really emotional win against Kelowna. and we haven’t been able to find that level,” Clouston said. “We’ve got a day off and then a couple of days to practice to try to find that little bit extra structure, that little bit extra intensity to keep things going for 60 minutes.”