Blazers run into hot goaltender, fall 3-1 to Giants in Langley

Photo: Allen Douglas/Kamloops Blazers

Jesper Vikman, shown here in action at Sandman Centre on Nov. 12, stopped 39 of 40 Kamloops shots on Friday in a 3-1 Vancouver Giants win.

Jesper Vikman made 39 saves on Friday to halt the Kamloops Blazers win streak at six games, earning a big win for the Vancouver Giants in Langley.

The Blazers fell to 17-3-0-0 on the season with the 3-2 loss, their first defeat since Nov. 10.

Zack Ostapchuk, Ethan Semeniuk and Payton Mount scored for the Giants. Ethan Brandwood had the lone Kamloops goal, an unassisted marker with five minutes left in the third period.

Kamloops netminder Dylan Garand made 26 saves on 28 Vancouver shots in the loss, his third of the season.

The Giants win closes the gap between them and the Blazers in the WHL’s B.C. Division standings. At 12-7-1-0, the Giants are now nine points back of Kamloops.

The win was the fifth in a row for the Giants. They will get another good test on the road on Saturday against the U.S. Division-leading Everett Silvertips.

The Blazers are back in action on Saturday, as well, welcoming the Kelowna Rockets to Sandman Centre for a 7 p.m. puck drop. The game will be the first home game for the Blazers since Interior Health’s gathering restrictions were lifted, allowing for full capacity at WHL games in Kamloops and Kelowna.