Recap | Jan. 21 | Blazers @ Royals

Victoria, BC – For the second time in as many days, the Victoria Royals (24-14-3-3) played host to the Kamloops Blazers (11-28-3-2) at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in a weekend matchup. It was the seventh total meeting of the season between the two B.C. Division foes as they continued their season series, in which the Royals prevailed in five out of the first six matchups.

The battle in net remained the same as the night prior as the Royals went with Braden Holt, while the Blazers countered with Jesse Sanche.

Victoria and Kamloops kicked off the Sunday game differently than what was seen on Saturday night, as the game started with a pair of quick goals. Starting the scoring was 20-year-old Tyson Laventure on the powerplay, showcasing persistence in tight by tapping home his own rebound off the pads of Sanche. Laventure continued his strong play for Victoria since being acquired from Swift Current, extending his point streak to four games since the move.

The Blazers didn’t wait long to respond, taking just 30 seconds to pull level. Nathan Behm capitalized just prior to the five-minute mark of the opening period. Blake Swetlikoff earned his second point of the weekend series for Kamloops with the primary assist on the opening goal from Behm.

Swetlikoff wasn’t done there, giving the Blazers their first lead of the contest as he batted home his third tally of the season with just under four minutes left in the first, assisted by Josh Kelly and Kai Matthew.

It seemed as if the game was shaping up to be a seesaw battle as Victoria struck back to pull level two minutes later on a brilliant shorthanded goal from Tanner Scott. Scott stole the puck and carried it from his own end before working a passing sequence with Reggie Newman, lifting the puck over the pad of Sanche into the back of the Blazers’ net. As the crowd was settling down from the equalizer, Kamloops restored their lead off the stick of Logan Bairos with exactly one minute to go in the first, giving the Blazers a one-goal advantage heading into the second.

The middle period of play was a polar opposite from the first, as neither side could find the back of the net. Both sides had chances with the man-advantage but failed to add to the scoresheet as Holt and Sanche held strong in the second. Shots in the middle frame were deadlocked at eight apiece.

Kamloops would double up on their lead just past the midway mark of the third period as Blake Swetlikoff notched his second goal of the game and fourth point on the evening, giving Kamloops a 4-2 advantage. That would be the first of three third-period goals for Kamloops as Emmitt Finnie added a pair of goals en route to a 6-2 Blazers victory.

Head Coach James Patrick spoke post-game about the importance of starting the game on time.
“They wanted it more than us in the first period. We gave them too many opportunities in the offensive zone where we could have got the puck out. We were light on pucks, they were way more physical than us.”

Scoring Summary
1st Period
4:12 – Victoria Royals Goal (PP)
Tyson Laventure (17) assisted by Dawson Pasternak 

4:52 – Kamloops Blazers Goal
Nathan Behm (8) assisted by Blake Swetlikoff and Vojtech Vochvest

16:21 – Kamloops Blazers Goal
Blake Swetlikoff (3) assisted by Josh Kelly and Kai Matthew

18:19 – Victoria Royals Goal (SH)
Tanner Scott (17) assisted by Reggie Newman and Ryan Spizawka 

19:00 – Kamloops Blazers Goal (PP)
Logan Bairos (6) assisted by Emmitt Finnie and Blake Swetlikoff

2nd Period
No scoring

3rd Period
11:55 – Kamloops Blazers Goal
Blake Swetlikoff (4) assisted by Josh Kelly

16:53 – Kamloops Blazers Goal
Emmitt Finnie (6) assisted by Jesse Sanche

18:11 – Kamloops Blazers Goal
Emmitt Finnie (7) unassisted

Shots On Goal
Royals – 23
Blazers – 30

Powerplay
Royals – 1/5
Blazers – 1/2

Goalie Stats
Braden Holt – 24/29

Blazers
Jesse Sanche – 21/23

What’s Next
After tonight’s game, Victoria will enter an interesting stretch as they are set to square off with the Vancouver Giants in a triple-header scenario. The first game will take place on Friday in Langley at the Langley Events Centre, while the Royals will play host to the Giants on Saturday and Sunday.