Royals Home Point Streak Halted at Nine Games With 8-3 Loss to Hurricanes
Victoria, BC – The Victoria Royals (12-9-0-1) and the Lethbridge Hurricanes (11-8-0-1) squared off at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre for the first time since November 15th of 2019. Not only was it a rare meeting between inter-conference foes, but the Royals were looking to extend their home point streak to ten straight games.
Jayden Kraus made his second straight start for the Royals on the eve of his seventeenth birthday, while Harrison Meneghin continued to carry the load for Lethbridge as he made his 19th start of the season.
The goals came early and often in Victoria as both teams jumped out to a quick start in front of a rambunctious crowd at the SOFMC. The Hurricanes would pounce first as Kooper Kizowski gave the road-side an early lead on the man-advantage as he propelled the puck by Kraus as the game moved towards the minute and a half mark. That lead wouldn’t last long as Cole Reschny evened things up with his fifth of the season as he tapped home a loose puck to extend his point streak to 12 games.
Lethbridge would respond in quick order as Tyson Zimmer notched his seventh of the season prior to the midway mark of the first as the Hurricanes restored their one goal advantage. This would slow down the scoring ways for roughly ten minutes until late in the frame when Brayden Edwards squeezed one by Kraus as the Hurricanes extended their lead to two goals which was the way the period would end.
The Hurricanes carried that momentum into the second period as Brayden Edwards grabbed his second of the game which extended their lead to three. Victoria responded in quick order as Logan Pickford was the recipient of a perfect pass from his linemate Casper Haugen as he deflected the puck high and over the shoulder of Menghin.
Lethbridge would respond in quick order as Noah Chadwick slotted the puck past Kraus on a slick feed from Marques as he grabbed his third assist of the hockey game. That would be the final entry into the scoresheet in the middle frame as the Hurricanes would carry a three goal cushion into the final frame.
The Hurricanes would add to their lead as the game neared the six minute mark in the third when Brayden Edwards recorded his third of the night on a breakaway effort.
Victoria would stay resilient as the period progressed as they looked to spark another third period comeback. Escalus Burlock made no mistake on a back-door pass from Deegan Kinniburgh as he propelled the puck by Meneghin to cut the Hurricanes lead in half.
That would be as close as the Royals would get as Lethbridge would add two more late in the third en route to an 8-3 victory.
Royals Head Coach James Patrick spoke post-game about the Hurricanes play from the blueline as he felt it was a difference maker in the contest.
“We never got possession of the puck to do any of that stuff that we worked on this week. They’ve got a really good defense,” stated Patrick. “They’re so mobile from the blueline. They can skate, they can really move the puck, and they did a good job stretching out the ice.”
Scoring Summary
1st Period
1:35 – Lethbridge Hurricanes Goal (PP)
Kooper Kizowski (9) assisted by Logan McCutcheon and Miguel Marques
6:03 – Victoria Royals Goal
Cole Reschny (5) assisted by Ben Riche and Dawson Pasternak
7:19 – Lethbridge Hurricanes Goal
Tyson Zimmer (7) assisted by Leo Braillard and Miguel Marques
18:24 – Lethbridge Hurricanes Goal
Brayden Edwards (9) assisted by Chase Pauls and Joe Arnsten
2nd Period
0:51 – Lethbridge Hurricanes Goal
Brayden Edwards (10) assisted by Logan Wormald and Tristen Doyle
4:00 – Victoria Royals Goal
Logan Pickford (2) assisted by Casper Haugen
13:39 – Lethbridge Hurricanes Goal
Noah Chadwick (5) assisted by Miguel Marques and Logan McCutcheon
3rd Period
5:18 – Lethbridge Hurricanes Goal
Brayden Edwards (11) unassisted
11:29 – Victoria Royals Goal
Escalus Burlock (2) assisted by Deegan Kinniburgh and Nate Misskey
17:59 – Lethbridge Hurricanes Goal
Miguel Marques (7) assisted by Leo Braillard and Tyson Zimmer
19:38 – Lethbridge Hurricanes Goal (PP)
Logan Wormald (4) assisted by Leo Braillard and Brayden Edwards
Shots On Goal
Royals – 28
Hurricanes – 30
Powerplay
Royals – 0/3
Hurricanes – 2/4
Goalie Stats
Royals
Jayden Kraus – 22/30
Hurricanes
Harrison Meneghin – 25/28
What’s Next
Victoria is set to embark on a three game southern road swing as they make their way into the United States. The trip will start on Wednesday evening as the square off with the Portland Winterhawks for the first time this season. Puck drop will take place at 7:00PM from the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
