Photo: Brian Johnson

Kamloops Blazer Max Sullivan bursts into the Saskatoon Blades’ goal and is pushed away by goalie Ethan McCallum Saturday night at the Sandman Centre.

The Kamloops Blazers held on from the razor’s edge to get another win in the win column Saturday night as they hosted the Eastern Conference-leading Saskatoon Blades at the Sandman Centre.

The match ended 4-3 for the Blue and Orange, who took a 4-0 lead, which was almost ceded to the Blades who cut it short as the night went on.

The Blazers opened the scoring with a 2-0 lead after the first period. Captain Emmitt Finne broke the ice with an unassisted goal about seven minutes later, while defenseman Matteo Koci got his first goal of the year at 14:57.

In the first five minutes of the second period, the Blazers scored two more goals, from forwards Kai Matthews and Nathan Behm, before the comeback began.

The Blades scored three goals in just under four minutes to make it 4-3 with less than two minutes left in the second period after two goals from forward Ben Riche and another from Brandon Lisowsky.

A scoreless third and some discipline helped the Blazers hold on to this one as they recorded just one penalty all night – a compensatory minor from Samuel Borschowa.

The power play, however, left something to be desired as the Blazers went 0-3.

The Blades dominated the Blazers as Kamloops goaltender Logan Edmonstone made 30 saves on 33 shots while Saskatoon goaltender Ethan McCallum stopped 17 of the 21 pucks he faced.

Finnie earned the first star of the game while Nathan Behm was the second star of the night with the winning goal and assists on the Blazers’ second and third goals. Ben Riche of the Blades was the third star with his two goals that allowed Saskatoon to get back into the game.

The Blazers wore commemorative SpongeBob jerseys for Nickleodeon Night, which drew 4,070 fans to the Sandman Center. The jerseys are being auctioned off to raise money for BC Children’s Hospital.

Kamloops has now won four straight games, moving from eighth place in the West to sixth place with a 10-8-1-0 record. The Blades remain first in the east with 11-5-1-1.

Next, the Blazers will face the Victoria Royals at home on Monday for a Memorial Day matinee game starting at 2 p.m. The Blades begin a three-game homestand on Nov. 15 against the Edmonton Oil Kings.