Garand earns 3rd shutout as Blazers blank Cougars in final game of season

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The period played out with Pillar’s marker standing as the line goal jotted down onto the scoresheet.

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In the second period, just 27 seconds in, Pillar and Jonny Hooker dropped the mitts. Wednesday’s game marked the first time Hooker faced the Blazers since serving a 4-game suspension following a hit on Blazers’ captain Connor Zary.

Right ahead of the midway mark of the second period, it was a vet-to-rookie connection behind Kamloops’ second goal of the game.

Saanich, BC’s Sean Strange set up Saskatoon’s Logan Bairos for what would be the young defenceman’s first point in the Western Hockey League.

Carrying a 2-0 lead into the third period, Kamloops looked to add to their total. 1:27 into the period, Ethan Brandwood managed to get a shot in past Gauthier for his first of the season. The play was assisted by Mats Lindgren and Dylan Sydor.

Before that goal was finished getting announced inside the Sandman Centre, Orrin Centazzo added his 7th of the season to make it a 4-0 hockey game. Pillar added an assist to his stat line for the night, along with Inaki Baragano.

The game stood at 4-0 as the Blazers went on to win their 18th game of the season, wrapping up the season atop the BC Division.

The Kamloops Blazers conclude their season with an 18-4 record, good enough to clinch the BC Division title in a year they were built for a possible championship run under normal circumstances.

Meanwhile, the Prince George Cougars finish the season with a 9-10-2-1 record in a year expectations were more in the column of development than it was for wins. In points, Prince George finishes the season fourth in the division.

Dylan Garand completed the shutout performance for his third of the season, turning away all 28 shots he faced from Prince George.

Taylor Gauthier stopped 34 of 38 shots.

The season displayed a lot of promise out of the young squad. 16-year-old Koehn Ziemmer led the team in goals with nine, finishing 2nd on the team in points. Kyren Gronick, another standout rookie, tallied 11 points for the Cats.

After just 8 points scored in 62 games last season, Craig Armstrong finished 22 games with 13 points.

Between the pipes, while Tyler Brennan left the hub early after being selected by Hockey Canada to represent the Red and White at the IIHF U18 World Championships in Texas, the 17-year-old and Taylor Gauthier proved to be a dynamic duo between the pipes moving forward, as Gauthier is expected to return next season as an overager.

Wednesday’s game marked the final game of 20-year-old Jack Sander’s WHL career, concluding four seasons in Prince George.