Blazers squashed by Giants, continue falling down the playoff beanstalk

Mar 2, 2019 | 9:44 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops Blazers battled back from a three-goal deficit against the top team in the BC Division Saturday night, but weren’t able to scrape any points from another critical game, as they dropped a 5-4 decision to the Vancouver Giants and continue to fall further back in the WHL Western Conference playoff race.

“There’s definitely some disappointment, but there’s hope going into tomorrow,” Head Coach Serge Lajoie said after the game. “The energy really started to come in the second half of that second period… It’s too late in the season to find those silver linings, but you still have to. There’s definitely something to build on for tomorrow’s game.”

The Blazers trailed 2-1 after the first and managed to tie the game at the 4:41 mark of the second period. Just over a minute later the Giants took a 3-2 lead, and less than two minutes after that the Giants scored to make it 4-2 – a goal that chased Dylan Ferguson from the game. The Giants welcomed Dylan Garand into the game with a goal just 1:01 into his tenure between the pipes, and before the halfway mark of the second period, the large men from Langley had a 5-2 lead.

With the fans already making plans for breakfast on Sunday, Jermaine Loewen scored his second goal of the night with 25 seconds remaining in the period to remind the 3400+ fans on hand they were indeed at a hockey game.

The Blazers came out with renewed energy in the third period, peppering Giants’ goalie Trent Miner with 15 shots, but they could only sneak one puck past him, as the Giants held on for the 5-4 victory.

Miner stopped 26 of 30 shots fired his way in the win, while the Dylan’s combined for 23 saves on 28 shots. These same two teams will meet Sunday in Langley.

PLAYOFF PICTURE EMERGING IN WESTERN CONFERENCE

Both teams the Blazers are behind in the standings lost Saturday, but still managed to gain some ground in the respective playoff races. The T-Birds fell 1-0 to the Everett Silvertips, while the Rockets lost 2-1 to the Winterhawks – both OT losses – meaning both Kelowna and Seattle now have 58 points, while Kamloops remains stuck at 52.

The Blazers have a single game in hand to the Thunderbirds, and still have two in hand on the Rockets.

Meanwhile, the Tri-City Americans clinched a spot in the post-season, as they picked up a single point in an OT loss to Spokane.