Victoria Secures Thrilling Comeback Victory Over Seattle
Victoria, BC – The Victoria Royals (10-7-0-1) and Seattle Thunderbirds (7-5-1-0) met up for the first time of the season as they renewed their Pacific Northwest rivalry at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
Braden Holt returned to the net for the Ryals as he looked to grab his fourth straight victory while it was Scott Ratzlaff getting the nod for the visiting Thunderbirds.
The road side would grab the early advantage as the Thunderbirds notched the opening goal just over five minutes into the contest as Luca Hauf slotted one by Holt. That would be the only entry into the scoresheet during the opening frame as the Thunderbirds would carry a one goal advantage into the middle frame.
Seattle extended their lead early in the second period as Eric Alarie grabbed his fifth of the season with assistance from Antonio Martorana and Coster Dunn as the game approached the one minute mark. They would hold that lead at bay until late in the period as Victoria looked to fight their way back into the contest.
Victoria stormed out in the third period with the momentum of the crowd behind them as they looked to get things evened up. They would do more than just that as Ben Riche grabbed his second of the night before Escalus Burlock grabbed his first as a Royal to give Victoria their first lead of the contest.
The Burlock tally proved to be enough for Victoria as they took down the Thunderbirds by a 3-2 scoreline.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
5:17 – Seattle Thunderbirds Goal
Luca Hauf (6) assisted by Owen Boucher and Bryce Pickford
2nd Period
0:48 – Seattle Thunderbirds Goal
Eric Alarie (5) assisted by Antonio Martorana and Coster Dunn
16:01 – Victoria Royals Goal
Ben Riche (7) assisted by Seth Fryer
3rd Period
3:17 – Victoria Royals Goal (PP)
Ben Riche (8) assisted by Dawson Pasternak and Justin Kipkie
7:51 – Victoria Royals Goal
Escalus Burlock (1) assisted by Casper Haugen
Shots On Goal
Royals – 18
Thunderbirds – 26
Powerplay
Royals – 1/2
Thunderbirds – 0/1
Goalie Stats
Royals
Braden Holt – 24/26
Thunderbirds
Scott Ratzlaff – 15/18
What’s Next
Victoria will continue their busy stretch of four games in five days with a road trip into Seattle to take on the Thunderbirds for the second straight night. Puck drop is slated to take place at 6:00 PM at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, WA.
