Blazers come back from 3-1 deficit to beat Giants 4-3 in shootout

Canadian Press
Dec 29, 2006, 1:34 AM EST

VANCOUVER (CP) - The Kamloops Blazers came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Vancouver Giants 4-3 in a shootout in Western Hockey League action Thursday.

Milan Lucic scored a hat trick for Vancouver, but it wasn't enough. Captain Reid Jorgensen and alternate captain Brock Nixon scored in the shootout for the visitors, while Kyle Lamb scored for the Giants.

Vancouver (25-5-3-4) took a 2-0 lead to the dressing room after 20 minutes.

Jonathan Blum began the first scoring play when he kept the puck in on a power play. Blum put it on net and a flurry began in front of goalie Dustin Butler (20-0-2). Eventually Lucic was able to put it in.

With two minutes to go in the opening frame, Lucic doubled the lead. Bearing-down on Butler with a man to his left, Lucic kept on the two-on-one and scored through the five-hole.

Butler did his best to keep his team in the game, stopping all 10 second-period shots the Giants threw at him. He made 22 saves in the win.

Watt took a five-minute penalty for elbowing with three minutes to go in the second, and was ejected. On the power play the Blazers (24-10-1-1) scored with six-and-a-half seconds to go in the middle frame to cut the deficit to one. Ryan White shot the puck from the point and his slap shot beat Tyson Sexsmith (16-4-2-3), who was screened by Blazer captain Jorgensen.

Lucic completed his hat trick on the power play 6:32 into the third. He took a pass from Machacek in the slot, brought the puck to his forehand, and roofed it.

After a Giants defender fell at the opposition blueline, Terrance Delaronde blazed in to the Vancouver zone. Defenceman Brendan Mikkelson blocked the pass, but Delaronde retrieved the puck in time to slip it five-hole on Sexsmith with 11 minutes to go in the game.

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