POLIVKA STEALS ONE FOR ROYALS
Goaltender Patrik Polivka stole the show on Tuesday night turning aside 42 shots to secure a 2-1 victory for the Victoria Royals (14-10-1-0) over the Kamloops Blazers (6-15-2-1) on Tuesday night in Kamloops.
The Blazers did not get off to a great start in this one as the Royals were the stronger team in the first period. The Royals made it count on the power play 5:33 into the game. Logan Nelson made a great centering pass to Tyler Soy as he scored his 5th of the season to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. The Blazers still fired 13 shots on goal despite the slow start. The Royals took advantage of another power play as Steven Hodges shot a puck towards the net and it squeaked through goaltender Taran Kozun to give the Royals a 2-0 lead after the first period. They outshot the Blazers 15-13 in the period.
The second period was back to Blazer hockey as they were buzzing creating chances and getting pucks to the net. They outshot the Royals 16-11 and had some great looks, but Patrik Polivka came up big making difficult saves on Cole Ully and Josh Connolly in the period. The Blazers cut into the Royals lead with 1:04 left in the period on the power play. Chase Souto’s quick shot beat Polivka clean as he was set up by Cole Ully and Matt Needham on the play. For Souto, it ties a career high with his 15th goal of the season in only the 24th game of the year.
The Blazers carried the momentum in the third period. Aaron Macklin had a great chance on a 2-on-1 but was denied by Polivka. Jesse Shynkaruk, who is still looking for his first WHL goal, played well on the night and had a few chances in the period. The Blazers hemmed the Royals in their zone for the final three minutes of the game but weren’t rewarded in a 2-1 loss to the Royals.
Patrik Polivka was the first star on the night with 42 saves, while Taran Kozun had a strong game in the Blazers goal with 33 saves.
The Royals power play was clicking going 2-for-2 on the night, while the Blazers power play finished 1-for-3.
The Blazers concluded a stretch of 10 of the last 11 games on home ice and now head to Victoria for two games this weekend against the Royals on Friday and Saturday night.
