Preview | Feb. 19 | Royals @ Blazers

Kamloops, BC – The Victoria Royals head to Kamloops for their final of eight games this season against the Blazers. It’s a Family Day matinee, as puck drop is set for an early 2:00 PM start on Monday at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops.

Highlight of the Night

Victoria Royals rookie Cole Reschny impressed in the Royals last game, as his eventual game winning goal was named the WHL Highlight of the Night.

COLE. RESCHNY. WOW. @victoriaroyals pic.twitter.com/Le55jmgDQ0

— The WHL (@TheWHL) February 18, 2024

ROYALS LAST GAME

The Royals had a date with the Kelowna Rockets on Saturday evening. Braden Holt got the start for Victoria while Jari Kykkanen was in goal for Kelowna. It took until the final minute of the first period for the game’s first goal, when Reggie Newman beat Kykkanen to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. The Royals would strike again, just nine seconds into the second period, on Newman’s second goal of the game. In the third, Tij Iginla got the Rockets on the board to cut the lead to one, making it a 2-1 game. Midway through the third, the Rockets tied the game at two on a goal from Gabriel Szturc. With just under three minutes to play, and the Royals short-handed, Cole Reschny would steal the puck, before burying the go ahead goal for the Royals. That would be the last goal of the game as the Royals prevailed 3-2.

THE LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET

KAMLOOPS

The Royals and Blazers last met on Sunday, January 21st at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria. The Royals got on the board first off a Tyson Laventure goal, but the Blazers would answer back just 40 seconds later with a Nathan Behm tally. Blake Swetlikoff would then score to jump the Blazers ahead 2-1. With the Blazers on the powerplay, Tanner Scott would score short handed tying the game at two, but 41 seconds later, Logan Bairos scored on the powerplay to give the Blazers a 3-2 lead through one period of play. A back and forth second period saw each team fire eight shots at the net, but neither goalie would be beaten in the second. In the third, Blake Swetlikoff’s second of the game put the Blazers up 4-2, before Emmitt Finnie added a paid of goals to give the Blazers a 6-2 win.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLAZERS

• Emmitt Finnie has gained recognition from the WHL for his performance this past week, being named the WHL Player of the Week. Finnie recently saw an 11-game point streak come to an end, on which he scored 10 goals and 24 points.
• Jesse Sanche was unbelievable in goal for the Blazers in their last game against the Prince George Cougars, Sanche stopped 47 of the 48 shots he faced, stealing the Blazers a 2-1 shootout win.

VICTORIA

• Reggie Newman is fresh off a strong performance against the Kelowna Rockets. The product of Kamloops, BC,  scored a pair of goals as the Royals won 3-2.
• Goaltender Braden Holt was key in the Royals going 2-0 against the Rockets this weekend. The 20-year-old netminder made 28 saves on Friday night, and 35 saves on Saturday night to pick up a pair of 3-2 wins. Holt now boasts a 19-10-3-3 record for Victoria.

SEASON RECORDS

vs BLAZERS

• Oct. 06 @ KAM • 4-1 Win
• Nov. 28 v. KAM • 6-1 Win
• Nov. 29 v. KAM • 3-2 Loss
• Dec. 01 @ KAM • 4-1 Win
• Dec. 03 @ KAM • 6-3 Win
• Jan. 20 v. KAM • 7-2 Win
• Jan. 21 v. KAM • 6-2 Loss
• Feb. 18 @ KAM • 2:00 pm

LAST 5 GAMES

ROYALS

• 3-2 W v. Kelowna (02-17-2024)
• 3-2 W v. Kelowna (02-16-2024)
• 5-1 L v. Vancouver (02-14-2024)
• 9-6 L @ Prince George (02-10-2024)
• 4-1 L @ Prince George (02-09-2024)

BLAZERS

• 2-1 W v. Prince George (02-17-2024)
• 7-1 L @ Prince George (02-16-2024)
• 7-3 W @ Kelowna (02-10-2024)
• 6-3 L v. Kelowna (02-09-2024)
• 2-0 W v. Seattle (02-07-2024)

ROYALS UPCOMING SCHEDULE

• Feb. 23 v. POR • 7:05 pm
• Feb. 24 v. POR • 6:05 pm
• Mar. 01 @ TRI • 7:05 pm
• Mar. 02 @ POR • 6:00 pm
• Mar. 05 @ SPO • 7:05 pm

WATCH AND LISTEN

Radio broadcast

Royals games will be broadcast on 91.3 FM the Zone this season with Marlon Martens calling all of the action.

Online video stream

All Royals games will be available on WHL Live.  WHL Live is available to fans anywhere in the world, providing high-quality streaming of WHL games on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV platforms, via mobile with iOS and Android, and on web using Safari or Google Chrome web browsers. Visit watch.chl.ca for complete details and subscription options.

Written by Graham Morrison