Jermaine Loewen loves playing in Prince George. The Kamloops Blazers forward had a pair of goals and four points, in the Blazers 4-2 win over the Cougars Saturday night at the CN Centre.
Loewen scored twice and finished with a game-high eight points and has four goals and eight points in four games at the CN Centre this season. Orrin Centazzo and Travis Walton also scored for Kamloops, who are now just six-points back of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Jackson Leppard and Kjell Kjemhus scored for the Cougars in the second period, and Isaiah DiLaura stopped 31 of 32 shots.
Kamloops opened the scoring, like they did Friday, as Loewen scored on a wrap-around 7:17 into the first. The 19-year-old darted down the left-wing, before shaking off a defender and tucking the puck in on the far-side of the net.
The Cougars best chance to tie in the first came on a two-on-one rush between Jared Bethune and Aaron Boyd. Bethune found Boyd streaking down the middle but just missed the open net when he pulled the puck to his backhand.
Prince George made a push in the second period, scoring twice and outshooting the Blazers 13-9. Jackson Leppard tied the game on the power-play, finding a rebound out front of the Blazers net. Joel Lakusta had his point shot blocked, but Leppard had the puck bounce right to him and he put it in past Dylan Ferguson at 12:34.
A night after scoring his first WHL goal, Kjell Kjemhus was at it again, scoring his second goal in as many games. Ethan Browne grabbed the puck at the side of the goal, took it around the net, and found Kjemhus at the top of the crease, who quickly one-timed the puck over a fallen Ferguson at 16:13.
Heading into Saturday’s game, Kamloops had not one when trailing after 40-minutes this season, but they rallied for three goals in the final frame.
First, Travis Walton spun off the goal-line and fired the puck between DiLaura and the post on the blocker-side at 6:59 to tie it 2-2.
Orrin Centazzo grabbed the Blazers the lead late, scoring after his shot ramped off a stick and floated in. Jermaine Loewen picked up the puck on the wall and found Centazzo in the middle, who had his shot go off a defender’s stick and sail into the Cougars’ net at 16:47 to make it 3-2.
Loewen put the final touches on the win for the Blazers, scoring into an empty-net at 18:48 for his second goal of the game.
FINAL SCORE: 4-2 Blazers
Shots: 33-32 Blazers
Power-Plays: Cougars 1/3 Blazers 0/1
Three Stars: 1) Jermaine Loewen 2) Kjell Kjemhus 3) Orrin Centazzo
The Cougars (19-29-4-4) are back in action on Monday afternoon against the Red Deer Rebels, on Family Day; puck drop is 2 pm. Fans are invited to paint the ice with the team after the game. Tickets are available at the TicketsNorth box office, or online at www.ticketsnorth.ca