Royals Remain Undefeated against Vees
Penticton, BC – The Victoria Royals kicked off an interior road trip this afternoon, facing off against the Penticton Vees at the South Okanagan Events Centre for a Thanksgiving Monday matinee matchup. After shutting out the Vees in their inaugural game, the Royals were challenged to an overtime battle by the Vees but came out on top with a 3-2 win to remain undefeated.
Wyatt Danyleyko gave the Royals an early lead with an unassisted goal at 3:25 of the opening frame. Danyleyko’s goal marks his second of the season after he notched the first Royals goal of the 2025/26 campaign in the home opener against Penticton last month. The Royals were unable to convert on their late-frame power play but held their 1-0 lead headed into the first intermission.
The first half of the second period saw the teams trade power play opportunities, but it wasn’t until over 15 minutes into the frame that the Vees broke through with a goal from Tristan Peterson to get on the board and tie the game at one. Penticton outshot the Royals 12-8 in the second period, and a goal from Brady Birnie in the final two minutes of the frame gave the Vees the 2-1 lead after 40 minutes of play.
After being outshot by the Vees in the second period, the Royals offence found its groove and marked 12 shots on net in the first half of the third frame. At 10:06 of the third period, rookie Royal Jacob Schwartz struck to tie the game and earn his first career WHL goal. Goaltender Ethan Eskit built off his first-star performance from Saturday’s game to hold off the Vees offence through the remainder of the third period, and the teams sat knotted at two as regulation time expired to send the Royals into overtime for their second consecutive game.
The Royals secured their 3-2 win with a goal from Heath Nelson off assists from Miles Cooper and Odin Vauhkonen at 1:10 of overtime.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
3:25 Victoria Royals Goal
Wyatt Danyleyko (2) unassisted
2nd Period
15:24 Penticton Vees Goal
Tristan Peterson (2) assisted by Brady Birnie and Nolan Stevenson
18:15 Penticton Vees Goal
Brady Birnie (4) assisted by Jacob Kvasnicka and Ryden Evers
3rd Period
10:06 Victoria Royals Goal
Jacob Schwartz (1) unassisted
Overtime
1:10 Victoria Royals Goal
Heath Nelson (2) assisted by Miles Cooper and Odin Vauhkonen
Shots on Goal
Royals – 31
Vees – 29
Powerplay
Royals – 0/4
Vees – 0/1
Goalie Stats
Royals
Ethan Eskit – 27/29
Vees
Andrew Reyelts – 28/31
What’s Next
The Royals will head up the highway to cap off their interior road trip by taking on the Kelowna Rockets for their first matchup of the regular season. Puck drop is set for 7:05 on Wednesday night at Prospera Place in Kelowna.
