KAMLOOPS, BC — Dylan Ferguson’s month of January continued it’s spectacular tear on Wednesday night.
The 19-year-old Dallas Stars draftee made 36 saves, and the Kamloops Blazers scored a pair of third period markers in a 3-1 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers at the Sandman Centre.
Ferguson’s win streak is now up to five games.
Luc Smith, Luke Zazula and Jermaine Loewen scored for the Blazers, who treatead the 3321 fans in attendance to their 24th win of the season to reach a .500 record.
Elijah Brown notched the lone tally for Medicine Hat, his first since joining the Tigers at the WHL Trade Deadline. Josh Williams collected an assist, while Michael Bullion stopped 32 shots in the loss.
Medicine Hat held shot advantages in the first two periods, but allowed Kamloops to throw 14 on Bullion in the third compared to nine shots on Ferguson. Zazula and Loewen both scored in the opening nine minutes of the final frame, allowing the rest of the team to bare down defensively for the victory.
Brown’s goal, his second of the season, came late in the second period on the Tigers second of two powerplay opportunities. That squared up the match 1-1. Kamloops went 1-for-4 with the extra attacker.
This was also the final time the Chyzowski brothers squared off against each other. Nick Chyzowski, captain of the Blazers, left with an assist, while younger brother Ryan was a -1 with four shots on goal.
The Tigers, now losers of seven of the last nine, are halfway through a B.C. Division road trip, which will wrap up with stops in Victoria on Friday and Vancouver on Saturday. Although their record away from home is two games below .500, it remains the best winning percentage out of all divisional rivals.
Medicine Hat’s lead in the Central Division remains four points over Lethbridge. The Hurricanes were given the night off, and now hold three games in hand.
Kamloops remains fairly distanced from the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, now synched to six points behind the Spokane Chiefs. They also topped the Tigers earlier this season in a 6-3 decision.
