RANFORD, SCHABER LEAD BLAZERS PAST WINTERHAWKS 5-4

The Kamloops Blazers were led by forwards Brendan Ranford and Chase Schaber in a 5-4 win on Friday night. The Winterhawks opened the scoring in a back and forth first period. Sven Bartschi put one past goaltender Cam Lanigan for a 1-0 lead. Ranford replied quickly as an interchange with Schaber allowed Ranford to walk in and beat goaltender Mac Carruth for a 1-1 tie.

The Winterhawks continued back though as Nicolas Petan buried a rebound to make it 2-1 for the ‘Hawks. Schaber replied for the Blazers on the power play, beating Carruth stick side for a 2-2 tie. The ‘Hawks gained the advantage late in the period on another rebound goal by Ty Rattie to take a 3-2 lead after the first period.

Adjustments were made to start the second period, and the Blazers started to limit Portland’s chances. Brendan Ranford scored the only goal of the period to make it 3-3. Lanigan was tested when Brad Ross was awarded a penalty shot, but Lanigan stood his ground.

The Blazers were full marks for their start in the third period. Brendan Ranford scored his third goal of the night on a rebound for a 4-3 Blazers lead. The ‘Hawks tied it on their own power play with under three minutes to go and it looked like this one was headed for overtime.

A turnover led to Peters breaking in towards the goal. Peters was able to get a shot away, but the Winterhawks were still awarded a penalty shot on the play. Again, Lanigan stood his ground and stopped Peters on the penalty shot.

In overtime, Brendan Ranford found a block shot and scored the winner, his 4^th goal of the night, for a 5-4 win. The final shots on goal were 41-37 for the Winterhawks. Both teams finished the game 2-for-6 on the power play.

The Blazers return home tonight to host the Prince George Cougars. Game time is 7:00pm. Get your tickets by visiting blazerhockey.com or by calling the Kamloops Blazers Box Office at 250-828-3339.

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