It was a case of poetic justice as the Prince George Cougars' slim playoff dream was crushed in Kamloops in the 71st game of the Western Hockey League season.
A year ago it was the Cougars ending the Blazers' playoff hope in Game 71 at the Interior Savings Centre with a shootout victory. The Blazers (47-19-2-3) didn't need extra time Friday as they scored six unanswered third-period goals to blitz the Cougars (23-46-0-2) 10-4.
Even if the Cats had won their playoff chances would've ended as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Spokane Chiefs 4-3. With the 4-1 loss suffered by the Everett Silvertips (21-40-2-8) to the Tri City Americans, the win moved the Thunderbirds (25-43-1-1) into the eighth, and final, Western Conference playoff spot. The 'Tips and T-birds are tied with 52 points, but Seattle has more wins and a game in hand.
The Blazers also learned they'll face the seventh-place Victoria Royals in the first round of the playoffs.
Richard Blidstrad picked up his first of three assists for the Cougars when Caleb Belter gave the visitors an early 1-0 lead in the first period, but Jordan DePape tied the game with a late power-play goal.
Jake Mykitiuk restored the Cougars' lead with his sixth goal of the season but it wasn't long before the Blazers were back on even terms.
It was the Blazers' line of DePape, Brendan Ranford and Brandon Herrod striking again as they combined for nine points with DePape picking up two goals, Ranford notching his 40th and Herrod contributing three helpers as Kamloops led 4-3 after 40 minutes.
Colin Smith gave the Blazers their first lead of the game at 3-2, but captain Jesse Forsberg tied the game at 3-3, before DePape put the Blazers back on top. Smith added his 34th goal of the season early in the third period giving Kamloops a two-goal lead.
The floodgates opened for the Blazers as Smith added two more goals, while Herrod, Chase Souto and Cole Utly gave them a 9-3 lead with 10 minutes to play.
Ryan Hanes joined the Kamloops' fun making it 10-3.
Cougars' goaltender Drew Owsley stopped 29 shots as his season record fell to 22-38-0-1, while Blazers' rookie Cole Cheveldave picked up the win with 23 saves. The Blazers were 3-for-4 on the power play, while the Cougars were 1-for-3.
Alex Forsberg added a late power-play goal to complete the scoring.
Before the game, the Blazers handed out their year-end team awards and Prince George native Dylan Willick picked up three awards, including the unsung hero award which he shared with 20-year-old Bronson Maschmeyer. Willick picked up his 26th assist, 55th point, of the season Friday.
The injury-plagued Cougars were without forward Greg Fraser (upper-body injury) Friday in addition to forward Daulton Siwak (high-ankle sprain), defenceman Shane Pilling (concussion), forward Brock Hirsche (shoulder) and forward John Odgers (arm).
In the first eight meetings between the clubs the Cougars have a 2-8 record, including a 1-0 win back in September as the teams opened the WHL season in Kamloops. The Highway 97 rivals haven't met since early January when they played three games -- two in Prince George -- with the Blazers sweeping the games and out scoring the Cougars 13-1.
The Cats and Blazers conclude the regular season tonight at CN Centre, 7 p.m.
