Blazers bounce Royals again; Schnattinger sharp in first WHL win

Photo: Allen Douglas/Kamloops Blazers

Kamloops Blazers forward Caedan Bankier avoids a check Saturday from Victoria Royals D-man Justin Kipkie. Bankier scored an empty-netter late in the game as the Blazers held on for a 3-1 win.

Rookie goalie Michael Schnattinger was solid Saturday at Sandman Centre in his first-ever WHL start, stopping all but one of 17 shots in a 3-1 win for the Kamloops Blazers over the Victoria Royals.

Daylan Kuefler, Kaden Hammell and Caedan Bankier were the goal scorers for the Blazers. Matthew Hodson scored the lone Victoria marker.

The game was Kuefler’s first of the season. The 20-year-old arrived in Kamloops on Friday night, fresh off a stint in training camp with the New York Islanders AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, Conn.

Kuefler’s impact was almost immediate. He opened the scoring Saturday with a power-play marker at 3:29 of the first period.

Hodson beat Schnattinger at 12:23 of the opening frame, but Hammell scored with 58 seconds remaining to put the Blazers back on top.

The score remained 2-1 until late in the third, when Bankier hit an open net with 27 seconds remaining.

The Blazers scored twice on six power-play opportunities and killed both penalties they took — the club’s best special-teams performance of the young season.

Victoria goalie Tyler Palmer played well, stopping 39 of 41 Kamloops shots in the loss.

The Blazers drafted Schnattinger in the second round of the CHL Import Draft last summer.

Announced attendance at Sandman Centre was 4,444. The Blazers also beat the Royals on home ice on Friday night, when they skated to a 5-2 win.

The win moves the Blazers to 3-1 on the season. With the loss, the Royals fall to 0-6.

The Blazers will hit the road for a pair south of the border next weekend. They will play the Tri-City Americans (2-3) on Friday in Kennewick, Wash., and the Portland Winterhawks (4-0) on Saturday in the Rose City.