Weekend Preview: February 7th-8th
Victoria B.C. — This weekend, the Victoria Royals hit the road to face the Tri-City Americans at the Toyota Center, puck drop is set for 7:05 on Friday, February 7. The team will travel to Spokane to match up against the Chiefs the following night, February 8, at 6:05 pm.
Friday’s contest will be the last meeting between the Royals and Americans this regular season, with Victoria holding a 2-0-1-0 record over the U.S. side. Their last meeting came on Jan. 11 and saw the Royals win 6-2. Four Royals players recorded multi-point performances, with Brandon Lisowsky leading the way with two goals and a helper.
The Royals are currently riding the momentum of a three-game winning streak, boosted by a two-game sweep of the Kelowna Rockets earlier in the week. The series began with a 7-3 victory on Tuesday, Feb. 4, followed by a 5-2 win the next night. Cole Reschny tallied six points (2 goals, 4 assists) across both games.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
VICTORIA
Markus Loponen — In just his first season with the Royals, Loponen, 18, has recorded 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists) in 48 outings. The native of Oulu, Finland, currently sits 13th in scoring among Import players this season and netted a powerplay goal during the team’s 7-3 win over the Rockets on Tuesday.
TRI-CITY
Brandon Whynott — The 20-year-old veteran who hails from Langley, B.C., has been a key piece for the Americans this season. In 49 outings, the winger has posted 50 points—tying with Jake Sloan for the team lead—and has netted 22 goals with 28 helpers. Whynott has posted career-highs in points, goals, and assists this season.
CURRENT SEASON RECORDS
VICTORIA — (29W-14L-3OTL–5SOL-TP66) — 2nd in Western Conference
TRI-CITY — (24W-20L-4OTL-1SOL-TP53) — 7th in Western Conference
SPOKANE — (33W-16L-0OTL-0SOL-TP66) — 3rd in Western Conference
ROYALS UPCOMING SCHEDULE
February, 7 @ TC • 7:05 pm
February, 8 @ SPO • 6:05 pm
February, 14 v. VAN • 7:05 pm
February, 15 @. VAN • 7:00 pm
February, 17 v. EVT • 3:05 pm
WATCH & LISTEN
Radio broadcast
All Victoria Royals games can be heard on JACK 103.1, a division of Canada’s #1
sports media brand, for the 2024-25 season.
Online video stream
All Royals games will be available on WHL Live. WHL Live is available to fans
anywhere in the world, providing high-quality streaming of WHL games on Apple TV,
Roku, and Amazon Fire TV platforms, via mobile with iOS and Android, and on the web
using Safari or Google Chrome web browsers. Visit watch.chl.ca for complete details
and subscription options.
by Erick Dominguez
