Kamloops Blazers soar to 3-2 win over Seattle Thunderbirds south of the border

Photo: Kamloops Blazers

The Kamloops Blazers jumped out to an early lead and hung on to earn a 3-2 win despite a third-period rally from the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash. on Tuesday night.

Tommy Lafreniere, Emmitt Finnie and Jordan Keller were the goal scorers for the Blue and Orange. Nathan Pilling and Vanek Popil scored for the T-Birds.

The Blazers came out strong, surging ahead in the first period with three goals in 16 minutes. After a scoreless second period, the Thunderbirds made their attempt to claw back into the game.

Pilling and Popil each found the net five minutes into the third period, but it wasn’t enough to catch the Blazers.

Dylan Ernst made 31 saves on 33 Seattle shots to earn the win in net. Scott Ratzlaff stopped 23 of 26 shots in the loss.

Announced attendance at accesso ShoWare Center was 3,589.

With the road win the Blazers have 49 points with a 22-33-4-1 record — good for 10th in the western conference standings to pull themselves to within four points of the T-Birds for the eighth and final playoff spot. With the loss, the Thunderbirds are 24-31-4-1, and have 53 points.

The Blazers continue their road trip Wednesday night in Oregon against the Portland Winterhawks. Their next home game will be on Saturday, March 8, when they face off against the Vancouver Giants.