Preview | Mar. 20 | Wild @ Royals

Victoria, BC – It’s the penultimate game of the WHL regular season for the Victoria Royals. Rolling into town are the Wenatchee Wild, visiting Victoria for the first time since their relocation from Winnipeg. Puck drop is set for 7:05 pm Wednesday night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria.

FIRST CAREER GOAL

Royals’ defenseman Matthew Keller picked up his first career WHL goal in Saturday’s game against the Prince George Cougars. Keller walked down the left wall and fired a rising wrist shot past Cougars goalie and Vancouver Canucks prospect Ty Young for his first goal. An Airdrie, Alberta native, Keller was drafted by the Royals in the fourth round (74th overall) of the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft.

ROYALS LAST GAME

Saturday night the Prince George Cougars rolled into Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria to take on the Royals. The Royals got on the board first when Tyson Laventure (29) scored six minutes into the first period. That lead would last just 55 seconds, when Terik Parascak (40) tied the game 1-1. A powerplay goal from Carlin Dezainde (23) and a shorthanded goal from Terik Parascak (41) would give the Cougars a 3-1 lead through one period of play. In the first minute of the second period, the Cougars struck twice in a 14 second span, getting goals from Zac Funk (65) and Borya Valis (23) to jump to a 5-1 lead. A minute later, Ondrej Becher (25) scored, making it six unanswered goals to put the Cougars up 6-1. The Royals would get one back when Dawson Pasternak (25) broke down the left wing and fired a shot past Cougars goalie Ty Young, making it 6-2. A goal from Aiden Foster (2) made it 7-2 for the Cougars. The Royals added two more before the end of the period from Matthew Keller (1) and Escalus Burlock (8) to make it 7-4. Keller’s goal was his first career WHL goal. In the third period, three consecutive goals from Ondrej Becher (26, 27, 28) gave him four total in the game, powering the Cougars to a 10-4 win in Victoria.

THE LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET

WENATCHEE

Back on December 28th, the Victoria Royals made the trip down to the Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee to take on the Wild. Jayden Kraus started in goal for the Royals while Daniel Hauser started in net for the Wild. With 11 seconds left in the first period, the game finally found its first goal as Alex Edwards (3) gave the Royals a 1-0 lead. In the second period, the Wild would tie the game 1-1 when Miles Cooper (10) scored. Edwards (4) would strike again for Victoria, sending them to the third period with a 2-1 lead. In the third, Luke Scherbyna (9) and Briley Wood (16) scored for the Wild as they picked up a 3-2 win against the Royals. Kraus made 32 saves for the Royals in the loss.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

WILD

• Forward Kenta Isogai is the Wild’s leading scorer this season. Born in Nagano, Japan, Isogai has scored 31 goals and 87 points in 62 games for the Wild this season. The 5’10” winger was drafted with the last pick in the first round (60th overall) of the 2023 CHL Import draft.
• 6’3” defenseman Graham Sward has been one of the most productive defensemen in the WHL this year. Sward, an Abbotsford native, has 15 goals and 79 points for the Wild this year in 63 games. The 20-year-old was drafted in the fifth round (146th overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry draft by the Nashville Predators, but found his rights traded to the Colorado Avalanche as part of the Yakov Trenin trade at this year’s NHL trade deadline.

ROYALS

• Rookie Cole Reschny is currently on a three-game point streak. Over that span, the Macklin, Saskatchewan native tallied four assists. This year, Reschny has produced 21 goals and 57 points in 59 games, his first full year in the WHL.

SEASON RECORDS

vs WENATCHEE

• Nov. 04 @ WEN • 6-3 L
• Dec. 28 @ WEN • 3-2 L
• Mar. 20 v. WEN • 7:05 pm
• Mar. 22 v. WEN • 7:05 pm

LAST 5 GAMES

ROYALS

• 10-4 L v. Prince George (03-16-2024)
• 6-1 L v. Prince George (03-15-2024)
• 6-2 L v. Everett (03-09-2024)
• 4-1 L @ Everett (03-08-2024)
• 6-3 L @ Spokane (03-05-2024)

WILD

• 6-1 L @ Spokane (03-17-2024)
• 5-3 L v. Portland (03-16-2024)
• 3-1 W v. Spokane (03-15-2024)
• 7-1 L @ Portland (03-09-2024)
• 8-1 W @ Tri-City (03-08-2024)

ROYALS UPCOMING SCHEDULE

• Mar. 22 v. WEN • 7:05 pm
• Playoffs: Dates TBD

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