Reschny’s Hat-Trick Powers Victoria Royals to Dominant 6-1 Victory over Kamloops Blazers in BC Division Clash

Victoria, BC – Talk about an interesting dynamic as the Victoria Royals (14-10-0-2) played host to the Kamloops Blazers (6-14-2-2) in the first of four back-to-back meetings on Tuesday night at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. The two squads renewed their B.C. Division rivalry on Tuesday night for just the second time this season.

20-year-old Braden Holt returned to the net for Victoria after a night off in the Royals most recent outing on Saturday, while Dylan Ernst got the nod for the visiting Blazers. 

Victoria got out to a quick start in front of their home crowd as it was the first game at the SOFMC in over a week and a half. Just over six minutes in saw Nate Misskey record his fifth on the season as he let a wrist shot go from the blueline that trickled it’s way past Ernst to open the scoring. They wouldn’t stop there as Reggie Newman tallied a powerplay marker just over two minutes later as he notched his second in as many games.

Cole Reschny would extend the lead to three midway through the frame as he intercepted a puck at his own blueline before taking the puck the length of the ice and propelling a wrist shot high and over the shoulder of Ernst. 

That would be the final entry into the scoresheet during the opening period of play as the Royals carried a three goal cushion into the middle frame. 

Victoria would carry the momentum into the second period as Cole Rescnhy tallied his second goal of the evening on a back door tap-in pass from Dawson Pasternak. The two forwards continued to showcase their chemistry that they have built throughout the season as they have formed another strong partnership up front. 

That was the only goal in the middle frame as the Royals carried a four goal cushion into the final twenty minutes.

The night of Cole Reschny continued into the third as he notched his first career hat-trick midway through the period as he tallied the Royals second powerplay tally of the evening. That goal extended their lead to five goals.

Kamloops would end the shutout bid for Braden Holt as Conner Radke grabbed his first of the season to get the Blazers on the board.

Victoria would add the next marker as Logan Pickford tallied his third of the season on a breakaway effort as he showcased his skating and precision with a solo effort that ended with him beating Ernst high and over the shoulder.

In the end, the Royals grabbed a big 6-1 victory over their B.C. Division Rivals.

After the game, Royals Head Coach James Patrick highlighted the play of netminder Braden Holt as made 29 saves on 30 shots.
“Since I’ve been here, he’s played very well. I would say he is in the top tier of elite goalies in the league,” emphasized Patrick. “The biggest thing about Braden is how mature and poised he is. That’s the only Brayden Holt that I know.  He’s very calm in the net and works extremely hard in practice.”

Victoria and Kamloops will continue their four game stretch tomorrow night, and Patrick thinks the physicality may ramp up. 

“I just want to take it one game at a time. But I know it’s also like a playoff series. Over the course of a playoff series, you pretty quickly develop some distaste for the opponent. There is some physical edge or some nastiness. So you could even see developing with a young team that plays physical. I’m going to expect nothing different for tomorrow,” explained Patrick, “I think special teams was the difference in the game tonight. Our penalty killing and our power play came through. 

Scoring Summary
1st Period
6:17 – Victoria Royals Goal
Nate Misskey (5) assisted by Robin Sapouŝek

8:38 – Victoria Royals Goal (PP)
Reggie Nemwan (7) assisted by Austin Zemlak and Robin Sapouŝek

12:40 – Victoria Royals Goal
Cole Reschny (8) unassisted

2nd Period
9:19 – Victoria Royals Goal
Cole Reschny (9) assisted by Dawson Pasternak

3rd Period
8:53 – Victoria Royals Goal (PP)
Cole Reschny (10) assisted by Dawson Pasternak and Ben Riche
10:55 – Kamloops Blazers Goal
Conner Radke (1) assisted by Josh Kelly and Ashton Tait

17:59 – Victoria Royals Goal
Logan Pickford (3) unassisted

Shots On Goal
Royals – 26
Blazers – 30

Powerplay
Royals – 2/2
Blazers – 0/3

Goalie Stats
Royals
Braden Holt – 29/30

Blazers
Dylan Ernst – 20/26

What’s Next
Victoria and Kamloops won’t have to wait long for their next meeting as the two teams will square off tomorrow night at the SOFMC. Puck drop is set for 7:05 PM as both teams look to make their mark in the second of back-to-back meetings.