Ranford and Kozun lead Kamloops Blazers over Vancouver Giants 4-1

VANCOUVER - Brendan Ranford had a goal and an assist and rookie backup Taran Kozun stopped 24 of 25 shots as the Kamloops Blazers defeated the Vancouver Giants 4-1 in WHL action Sunday.

Chase Souto scored twice, including an empty-netter, and Tim Bozon had the other goal for the Western Conference-leading Blazers (24-7-3).

Kamloops' Colin Smith chipped in two assists to leapfrog over teammate JC Lipon for the WHL scoring lead with 59 points.

Cain Franson scored for the Giants (8-23-0), who have lost three straight.

Vancouver looked strong through two periods, killing off a 5-on-3 in the opening minutes of before Franson scored three minutes into the second period. The centre skated in from the blue-line and shot a laser high glove side.

Souto tied the game at 14:23 of the second with his first of the night.

Penalties did Vancouver in in the third period, as Bozon and Ranford scored power-play goals less than a minute apart in the first minute of the frame.

Wes Vannieuwenhuizen led the march to the penalty box, piling up 18 penalty minutes.

Notes: Sunday’s game was the second of eight matchups between the teams this season. The Giants lost the previous meeting 2-1 on Nov. 24 in Kamloops.