Tyler Benson had an early opportunity to put the home team in front but was stopped by Kamloops goalie Bolton Pouliot. Benson played the game with a half-visor rather than a full cage as he has now joined the G-Men for the remainder of the season. Cole Ully had the best opportunity of the opening period for the Blazers when he hit the post with a shot from the left circle, and Lee was called into action later in the period when he denied Matt Needham on a re-directed chance from the slot.
Lee came up with another gigantic stop in the second period when he kicked out the right pad to rob Eric Krienke from in close. Pouliot responded by making a big save on Carter Popoff at the other end of the ice, flashing the leather for a nice glove-hand stop. Franson finally put the Giants on the board a few minutes later when he knocked a puck home at the right post after a scramble in the crease. The goal was Franson's 29th of the year, equalling his total from last season.
Hamilton doubled the Vancouver lead in the first minute of the third period when he chipped a loose puck in the crease across the goal line for his 10th of the season. Lee kept his shutout bid alive later in the stanza with a solid stop on Jesse Shynkaruk from the top of the blue paint. However, the Blazers would find the net in the final minute after Matt Bellerive beat Lee with a one-timer from the slot. The Kamloops squad turned up the pressure with the goalie out, trying to tie the game, but the Giants held on for the win.
The Giants out shot the Blazers 37-18. Vancouver went 0-for-1 on the White Spot Power Play while Kamloops was 0-for-4.
The G-Men will now head south of the border to visit the Portland Winterhawks on Saturday. The face-off is set for 7:00pm. Catch the call on teamradio.ca. The game will also be joined in progress on TEAM 1410 following the Vancouver Whitecaps FC soccer match.
Game Summary
3 Stars:
1. Payton Lee - Vancouver
2. Joel Hamilton - Vancouver
3. Cain Franson - Vancouver
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