Franson Fires Giants Past Blazers

Cain Franson scored twice, including the game winner with less than two minutes remaining in the third period, as the Vancouver Giants beat the Kamloops Blazers 4-3 on Sunday night at Interior Savings Centre. Alec Baer and Blake Orban also had goals for Vancouver while Payton Lee made 20 saves for the victory.

The Giants got the first goal when Baer wired a hard wrister past Blazers goalie Taran Kozun from the slot, moments after Franson hit a goal post. Orban would add to the Vancouver lead on the power play when he found the top left corner with a shot from the right point. It looked like the G-Men would head to the intermission with a two-goal lead, but Sam Grist scored for Kamloops with less than a second remaining in the frame when his long shot bounced off Brett Kulak and past Lee.

The Blazers carried the momentum of their late period goal and came out flying in the second. Aspen Sterzer tied the game for Kamloops on the power play, knocking the puck into the back of the net after a nice centring feed from Tyson Ness. Sterzer would ripple the mesh again less than three minutes later when he tipped a Josh Connolly shot into the Vancouver goal to give Kamloops the lead, but the Giants responded quickly when Franson scored his first of the night, hammering a quick one-timer past Kozun after a nice pass from Jackson Houck behind the net.

Both teams had chances in the third, but the game remained tied until the late stages when Franson scored on a shot from the high slot with 1:41 remaining to lift the Giants to the win, ending Vancouver's two-game losing skid.

The Giants will play their third game in as many nights on Monday when they host the Prince George Cougars at the Coliseum. The face-off is set for 7:00pm. For tickets, call 604-4-GIANTS or visit vancouvergiants.com.

Game Summary

3 Stars:

1. Cain Franson - Vancouver

2. Tim Traber - Vancouver

3. Josh Connolly - Kamloops