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Kamloops  

Ferguson blanks Spokane helping Kamloops Blazers to big win

Dylan Ferguson stopped all 37 shots he faced on Friday night (Jan. 25), lifting the Kamloops Blazers to a 3-0 win over the visiting Spokane Chiefs. 

The shutout was Ferguson's first of the season and third of his WHL career. The Vegas Knights prospect was named the first star of the night across the WHL.

The Blazers number one goalie looks to have turned a corner after a few rough weeks to start January. Ferguson was pulled in back-to-back starts against Vancouver (Jan. 12) and Moose Jaw (Jan 15). But after stopping 52 of 55 shots in Prince George over the weekend in two-straight wins, he had perhaps his best performance of the season in front of home fans.

"He's a kid that just needed a little bit of a reset and I think he proved to everybody that when he's in the right frame of mind and the right head space, he's a tremendous goalie and a tremendous athlete," head coach Serge Lajoie told the gathered media after the game. "I'm very happy for him tonight."

It helped that Kamloops had a lead almost immediately. Zane Franklin scored 28 seconds into the game from Orrin Centazzo and Brodi Stuart. Eight minutes later, Connor Zary added to the Blazers lead with his 11th of the season. Joonas Sillanpaa and Jermaine Loewen had the assists.

Loewen would pot one in the third period to shut down any hopes Spokane had of a comeback. Jeff Faith and Zary had the helpers.

What made the night's shutout all the more impressive, was that the Chiefs came into the game with the top power play unit in the league. Yet Kamloops was able to kill off all four penalties they took on the night.

There was also two fights in this chippy game, with Ryley Appelt dropping the gloves with Erik Atchison and Jackson Caller dancing with Jaret Anderson-Dolan.

The Blazers are right back it tonight, welcoming the Victoria Royals to the Sandman Centre, before travelling to Seattle for a huge game on Sunday (the two are currently even at 39 points for the final playoff spot in the West).

Puck drop tonight is at 7 p.m.



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