Recap | Feb. 19 | Royals (1) @ Blazers (3)

Kamloops, BC – It was an afternoon Family Day matchup at the Sandman Centre as the Victoria Royals (27-22-4-4) squared off with the Kamloops Blazers (18-31-3-2) for the eighth and final team during the 2023-24 regular season. The two teams showcased several high-scoring affairs throughout the campaign, with the first seven matchups producing 47 goals between the sides which equated to nearly seven goals a game. Victoria prevailed in five of the seven previous encounters, but the Blazers nabbed the most recent matchup, 6-2, back on January 21st.

In net, it was a battle between 20-year-olds as Braden Holt was aiming for his 20th victory of the season in his third consecutive start for Victoria, while Dylan Ernst looked to catapult the Blazers to back-to-back victories.

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As the game got started, the Royals started behind the eight ball as the team was only able to dress 17 skaters, with Ryan Spizawka being unable to participate in the Monday afternoon action. This brought 20-year-old Dawson Pasternak back to the blueline as he was paired with Justin Kipkie.

While down on a man on the roster, the Royals earned the first man-advantage of the game as Zach Pantelakis made his way to the penalty box for high-sticking. On the ensuing powerplay Victoria would open the scoring. It was red-hot Tyson Laventure (24) providing the tally as he parked himself in front of Ersnt and redirected a Justin Kipkie shot from the blue line into the back of the Blazers net. Casper Evensen Haugen drew the secondary assist on the play as he continued to showcase his abilities as the season progresses.

Their lead was short lived as the home side returned the favour just over six minutes later as Kai Matthew (8) beat Braden Holt with assistance from Matteo Koci and Josh Kelly. The mid-period tally from Kamloops was the final in the opening twenty as the game went into the break deadlocked at ones.

Kamloops would grab their first lead of contest midway through the middle stanza. This time it was Matteo Koci (4) beating Holt with a powerplay tally as Deegan Kinniburgh sat for a two-minute hooking penalty. Nathan Behm and Kai Matthew drew the assists on the Koci goal which was the lone entry into the scoresheet during the second as Kamloops carried a one goal lead into the third.

The Blazers would add a third midway through the third as Kai Matthew (9) continued his impressive afternoon as he tallied his second of the evening, and third point. Josh Kelly and Logan Bairos grabbed the assists, with the goal coming just over 12 minutes into the period.

That would be all Kamloops needed as they knocked down Victoria by a 3-1 scoreline to earn two crucial points in their pursuit of a playoff spot.

Next up
Portland @ Victoria – Friday, February 23rd at 7:05 PM (Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre)
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