Royals extinguish Blazers in 4-2 win

Kamloops, BC. — The Victoria Royals were in Kamloops this afternoon, taking on the Blazers in a Monday afternoon matinee matchup to close their road swing. A hard-fought, full-squad effort saw forward Hayden Moore record two points and goaltender Ethan Eskit save 39 shots in the Royals’ 4-2 win.  

 

The beginning of the first period saw the Royals dominate offensively, as they spent a majority of the first few minutes of the frame in their offensive zone and held the Blazers shotless through nearly five minutes of play. Victoria’s heavy pressure paid off quickly, as Henry Peterson opened the scoring at 4:57, assisted by Odin Vauhkonen and Heath Nelson. Timofei Runtso followed to double the lead at 7:13, assisted by Max Silver and Wyatt Danyleyko, and the Royals held the 2-0 lead headed into the first intermission. 

 

Kamloops got on the board with a power play goal from Nathan Behm at 4:35 of the second period, but a strong defensive effort through the remainder of the frame preserved the Royals’ 2-1 lead after 40 minutes of play.  

 

The Blazers struck on another man advantage at 7:51 of the third period to knot the game at two, but Royals captain Reggie Newman buried a shorthanded goal, assisted by Hayden Moore, at 13:11 to reclaim the one-goal lead. Kamloops pulled their goalie and sent their extra attacker late in the frame in an attempt to tie the game and force overtime, but Hayden Moore scored on the empty Blazers net to secure the 4-2 Royals road win. 

 

Scoring Summary  

1st Period 

4:57 Victoria Royals Goal 

Henry Peterson (3) assisted by Odin Vauhkonen and Heath Nelson 

7:13 Victoria Royals Goal 

Timofei Runtso (9) assisted by Max Silver and Wyatt Danyleyko 

 

2nd Period 

4:35 Kamloops Blazers Goal 

Nathan Behm (31) assisted by Jordan Keller and Harrison Brunicke 

 

3rd Period 

7:51 Kamloops Blazers Goal 

Tommy Lafreniere (32) assisted by Harrison Brunicke and JP Hurlbert  

13:11 Victoria Royals Goal 

Reggie Newman (11) assisted by Hayden Moore 

18:14 Victoria Royals Goal 

Hayden Moore (16) unassisted 

 

Shots on Goal 

Royals – 29 

Blazers – 41 

 

Powerplay 

Royals – 0/4 

Blazers – 2/6 

 

Goalie Stats 

 

Royals 

Ethan Eskit – 39/41 

 

Blazers 

Logan Edmonstone – 25/28 

 

What’s Next 

The Royals will return home for their annual Lunar New Year celebration game this Friday, February 20th; the team will be hosting the Wenatchee Wild, with puck drop set for 7:05 PM at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.