Royals Triumph Over Rockets in Overtime Thriller
Victoria, BC – In a nail-biting clash at the SOFMC, the Victoria Royals secured a hard-fought 3-2 overtime victory against the Kelowna Rockets. The game showcased the Royals’ resilience and determination, epitomized by their comeback from a 2-0 deficit to secure the win.
The first period saw the Rockets take an early lead with goals from Tij Iginla and Gabriel Szturc as they found the back of the net twice within one minute. The Royals found their footing in the second period, with defenceman Justin Kipkie netting a crucial goal at the 16-minute mark, assisted by Ryan Spizawka and Ben Riche.
The third period intensified the drama as Justin Kipkie once again played hero, knotting the score at 2-2 with a goal at 15:17, assisted by Cole Reschny. The comeback set the stage for an overtime thriller, where Kipkie emerged as the hero once more, sealing the victory with a power-play goal at 2:24, assisted by Reschny once again and Nate Misskey.
Coach James Patrick talked about the never say quit attitude of his squad, “I think there is some belief in this team. There is no quit. I do believe that when we get a number of practices under our belt, we’ll be able to really clean up some of the system areas and fine tune our game.”
Reflecting on the team’s resilience, Kipkie stated, “I think this team has been resilient all year. I think it comes from up and down the roster. I think everyone going and getting pucks deep and details like that is huge,” stated Kipkie. “These comebacks help the chemistry in the locker room as you go through all of the ups and the downs and being able to come out on top like this is huge for us.”
Patrick mentioned three things in which he is hoping to see from his squad tomorrow night, “We have to be ready to play right off the bat in all areas. Our discipline has to be better. Lastly, when we got in trouble, the turnovers, we had a couple of shifts where we were stuck in our zone. We don’t need to always try and do something on the rush. You need to get the red line, get the puck deep and get a change.”
In the end, the Rockets outshot the Royals 25-24, with goaltender Braden Holt making 23 saves out of 25 shots. On the opposing end, Jake Pilon of the Rockets faced 24 shots and stopped 21.
Looking ahead, the Victoria Royals will continue their demanding schedule with one more meeting with the Kelowna Rockets. The next matchup is set for Tuesday at 7:05 PM at the SOFMC, promising another thrilling contest between these two fierce rivals.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
10:07 – Kelowna Rockets Goal
Tij Iginla (14) assisted by Marcus Pacheco and Jackson DeSouza
11:08 – Kelowna Rockets Goal
Gabriel Szturc (7) assisted by Max Graham and Andrew Cristall
2nd Period
16:00 – Victoria Royals Goal
Justin Kipkie (3) assisted by Ryan Spizawka and Ben Riche
3rd Period
15:17 – Victoria Royals Goal
Justin Kipkie (4) assisted by Cole Reschny
Overtime
2:24 – Victoria Royals Goal (PP)
Justin Kipkie (5) assisted by Cole Reschny and Nate Misskey
Shots On Goal
Royals – 24
Rockets – 25
Powerplay
Royals – 1/4
Rockets – 0/6
Goalie Stats
Royals
Braden Holt – 23/25
Rockets
Jake Pilon – 21/24
