Recap | Mar. 9 | Silvertips (6) @ Royals (2)
Victoria, BC – For the second time in as many nights, it was the Victoria Royals (28-27-5-4) and the Everett Silvertips (41-18-2-3) going to battle, but tonight, with a different setting, as the teams traveled from Washington into British Columbia to meet at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. The Saturday evening game marked the opening game of a five-game home stand for the Royals, in which they will close out the regular season with a lengthy stretch on home ice. Coming into action, the Royals boasted a 17-9-1-2 record at the SOFMC and aimed to utilize that as they sought two crucial points.
In between the pipes, it was once again a battle between two goalies who were swapped for each other last season. Each netminder was making their 44th appearance of the season. Braden Holt (20-14-4-3, 3.44 GAA, .898 save percentage) got his fifth consecutive start for Victoria, while Tyler Palmer (27-9-2-3, 2.61 GAA, .905 save percentage) countered for Everett.
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Victoria was once again starting the game a man short, as they dressed 17 skaters (11 forwards and 6 defensemen) for the second consecutive evening. The Royals would head to the first powerplay of the game as Hayden Smith went to the box for a hooking call, but the Silvertips penalty kill unit was up to the challenge. Shortly after the conclusion of the penalty, the Silvertips would strike. It was red-hot Julius Miettinen (29) earning the tally as he carried the momentum from yesterday’s contest. It was set up on a pretty passing play, which saw Miettinen finish off a tic-tac-toe play from Jesse Heslop and Kaden Hammell.
The lead wouldn’t last long as the Royals found an equalizer just prior to the midway mark of the opening frame. It was a WHL first for Hayden Chaloner (1) as the Winnipeg, Manitoba native tallied his first career goal in the Western League. He started the play off in his own end by intercepting a pass from the Silvertips, deflecting it up to Matthew Keller who then fired it high and off the glass. Teydon Trembecky would chase after it and muster his way into the Silvertips zone before finding Chaloner at the back door, tapping in the Royals’ first of the contest.
Miettinen and Chaloner were the only ones to find a way by Palmer and Holt as the game went into the first intermission deadlocked at one apiece.
Victoria would capture their first lead of the game just three minutes into the second period with a powerplay marker. Escalus Burlock (7) crashed the net on a Royals odd-man rush as Cole Reschny carried the puck into the offensive zone and wired the puck towards the blue paint. The towering 6’4″ forward deflected the puck over the shoulder of Palmer to give the Royals a 2-1 advantage.
That was the lone goal in the middle frame as the Royals carried a one-goal advantage into the third, despite being outshot 29-11.
Everett went to work early in the third as they looked to pull level, having over a minute of powerplay carryover time courtesy of a late Royals penalty in the second. On the ensuing man-advantage, Vegas Golden Knights prospect Ben Hemmerling (28) was in the right place at the right time as the puck banked off his body and into the back of the Royals’ net, making things even at two apiece. Shortly after that, Everett would grab the lead, with Dominik Rymon (33) capitalizing with assistance from Parker Berge and Kaden Hammell.
The Silvertips continued the momentum in the minutes following as they peppered Holt with eight shots throughout the next five minutes of play. Nashville Predators prospect Austin Roest (33) would make it 4-2 for Everett, before Dominik Rymon (34) doubled his tally to extend the Silvertips’ lead to three goals. Lukas Kaplan (7) added to the Silvertips’ impressive period as he buried one past Holt to make it a 6-2 contest.
The five-goal outburst in the third period catapulted the Silvertips to a 6-2 decision over the Royals.