Visiting Blazers top Hitmen 2-1

The Calgary Hitmen missed out on a chance to win two games in a row for the first time since early November.

After beating the Saskatoon Blades 6-5 at the Saddledome Tuesday, the Hitmen hosted the Kamloops Blazers Friday.

Seeing as how Kamloops started the WHL season with 10 straight setbacks — including a 4-2 loss at home to Calgary on Oct. 11 — the Hitmen had pretty good odds to notch back-to-back victories for the first time since Nov. 3 and 4.

The Blazers (19-23-3) had other ideas, however, as goalie Dylan Ferguson made 32 saves while Luc Smith and Quinn Benjafield scored to lead Kamloops to a 2-1 win in front of 6,196 fans.

Vladislav Yeryomenko scored the lone goal for the Hitmen to extend his point-scoring streak to four games.

Goalie Nick Schneider, who finished with 34 saves, did the best he could to keep the Hitmen (1426-5) in the game until Smith and Benjafield scored goals 1:25 apart late in the second period.

The Blazers recorded the first four shots on net before Ferguson was finally forced to make a save 7:45 into the first period. The netminder made a great glove grab to snag a shot fired by Jakob Stukel.

With a minute left before the first intermission, Schneider made a nice blocker save to stop a pointblank chance by Tylor Ludwar.

Just before the seven-minute mark of the second period, Schneider kicked out his left pad to stop a slapshot from the point through traffic by Nolan Kneen.

Hitmen forward Riley Stotts manufactured a great chance to snap the scoreless tie with four minutes left in the middle frame when he spun around to avoid a hit by Montana Onyebuchi before regaining control of the puck and firing a shot on net that Ferguson turned aside with his blocker.

Smith finally broke the deadlock at 17:29 of the second when he tipped Kneen's point-shot past Schneider.

Benjafield then shovelled a rebound past the Hitmen goalie at 18:54.

Stukel had another great chance early in the third on a partial breakaway, but Ferguson cut down the angle and made another pad save.

After the Hitmen failed to score on a two-man advantage, Yeryomenko finally notched a power-play goal at 16:58 of the third when he snapped a shot from the faceoff circle past Ferguson for the home-side's only goal.

After wrapping up their threegame home stand Sunday against the Prince Albert Raiders (4 p.m., Sportsnet 960 The Fan), the Hitmen will head out on a seven-game road trip from Jan. 27 to Feb. 9.

HIT PARADE

Since losing to the Hitmen early in the season, the Blazers have gone 19-13-3, but they're still well out of a playoff spot in the WHL's Eastern Conference … Only Stukel and Luke Coleman have played in all 46 games for Calgary this season … A pair of Hitmen also saw their point-streaks come to an end. Tristen Nielsen scored four times and set up five others in his previous six games, while Stotts had two goals and four assists in his past four contests.