Blazers get two goals from Lafreniere in 4-1 win over Wild Saturday

WENATCHEE – The Kamloops Blazers used two goals from Tommy Lafreniere to take a 4-1 win from the Wenatchee Wild in Saturday’s Western Hockey League matchup, spoiling a brief visit to British Columbia and Sandman Centre for the Wild as part of a three-game weekend.

Much like Friday’s game between the Wild and Kelowna Rockets, scoring chances were few and far between for the two sides in the early minutes of the contest. With 4:36 left in the first period, the Blazers broke through first, when Ty Bonkowski got control of the bouncing puck in front of the Wild net and took advantage of the extra chance. 58 seconds later, it was Samuel Borschowa who scored to make it 2-0, with his shot coming from just above the faceoff circles.

Lafreniere handled the offensive work for Kamloops in the second period – his power play goal with 8:45 left in the period came on a second chance, after tossing his initial opportunity off the outstretched left leg of Zach Zahara. A carom off the corner boards helped set up his second goal of the night, a one-timer from Max Sullivan in the right-wing faceoff circle with 2:32 remaining in the period.

Wenatchee busted up the shutout with 10:32 left in the third, when Kenta Isogai banged in a rebound off an initial blast from Luka Shcherbyna in the slot. The Wild were unsuccessful on their only power play of the night, but did turn aside three of Kamloops’s four power plays in the game.

Oren Shtrom finished with two assists for the Blazers, as Dylan Ernst picked up his third win of the season and Kamloops improved to 4-6-1-0 on the year. Zahara took the loss behind 21 saves, while Noah Stenvig had a perfect third period with 15 stops. Wenatchee moved to 3-5-2-0 with the loss.

The Wild return home Sunday for Daddy/Daughter Date Night presented by Keyhole Security, with the opening puck drop at Town Toyota Center scheduled for 4 p.m. Tickets for all regular-season home games are on sale now by phone at 509-888-7825, or by visiting the team office at Town Toyota Center. Updated news and information on Wild hockey are always available through the team’s website and on the team’s social media platforms on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.