Royals Win Streak Halted by Rockets
Kelowna, BC – The Victoria Royals (6-6-0-0) and the Kelowna Rockets (7-4-1-0) met up for a midweek battle on Wednesday at Prospera Place. This marked the second meeting of the season between the two B.C Division rivals.
Jayden Kraus drew back into the net for Victoria as he made his second straight start while he faced off against Jari Kykkanen for Kelowna.
Kelowna would open the scoring just under five minutes into the contest as Hiroki Gojsic grabbed his third goal of the season. They would extend their lead to two midway through the period as Max Graham capitalized on a short-handed chance. Victoria would showcase resilience in the final stages of the period as Cole Reschny and Tanner Scott each scored within minutes of each other to get the Royals level.
The Rockets would restore their lead on a Gabriel Szturc marker as the game neared the midway mark of the second. The back and forth battle would continue as Teydon Trembecky was able to beat Kykkanen and even things up at three a piece off of a Tanner Scott assist which was his second point of the evening. Kelowna would grab another goal late in the period as Max Graham got his second of the contest which would give the Rockets a one goal lead heading into the third.
The third period started off with a couple quick goals from Kelowna as Andrew Cristall and Tij Iginla grabbed two goals in 40 seconds to extend their lead to three.
Those would be the final entries onto the scoresheet as the Rockets hung on for the 6-3 victory
Scoring Summary
1st Period
4:07 – Kelowna Rockets Goal
Hiroki Gojsic (3) assisted by Tij Iginla and Michael Cicek
14:41 – Kelowna Rockets Goal (SH)
Max Graham (3) assisted by Gabriel Szturc
16:43 – Victoria Royals Goal
Cole Reschny (3) assisted by Justin Kipkie and Nate Misskey
18:22 – Victoria Royals Goal
Tanner Scott (5) assisted by Nate Misskey and Austin Zemlak
2nd Period
9:42 – Kelowna Rockets Goal (PP)
Gabriel Szturc (3) assisted by Andrew Cristall and Caden Price
14:41 – Victoria Royals Goal
Teydon Trembecky (4) assisted by Tanner Scott
16:06 – Kelowna Rockets Goal
Max Graham (4) assisted by Andrew Cristall and John Babcock
3rd Period
0:44 – Kelowna Rockets Goal
Andrew Cristall (8) assisted by Jackson DeSouza and Caden Price
1:28 – Kelowna Rockets Goal
Tij Iginla (13) assisted by Marek Rocak
Shots On Goal
Royals – 30
Rockets – 45
Powerplay
Royals – 0/2
Rockets – 1/4
Goalie Stats
Royals
Jayden Kraus – 39/45
Rockets
Jari Kykkanen – 27/30
What’s Next
Victoria will get back into action on Friday evening for the first game of a home and home series with the Vancouver Giants. The mini series will start at the Langley Events Centre before it switches gears to Victoria for the Royals Halloween game on Saturday evening.
Photo credit: Steve Dunsmoor
