Weekend Preview – November 22nd-23rd
This weekend, the Victoria Royals are ending their time in Alberta with a back-to-back set of games against the Calgary Hitmen and Red Deer Rebels. The first game will be against the Hitmen on Friday, Nov. 22, at the Scotiabank Saddledome with puck drop set for 6:00 PT.
This will be the first matchup between the two sides since Jan. 1, of last season, when the Royals edged out a close win over the Hitmen in overtime. A total of eight goals would be scored during regulation, which led to a deadlocked score of 4-4. In the extra period, it was Justin Kipkie who scored in the opening minutes to seal a win and two points for the Royals.
The Royals are currently sporting a 3-2 record through five games of their extended eight-game road trip. Along the way, they’ve secured wins against the Seattle Thunderbirds, Kamloops Blazers, and Lethbridge Hurricanes, while falling to the Medicine Hat Tigers and Edmonton Oil Kings. Ahead of this weekend’s set of games, the Royals sit fourth in the Western Conference and second in the B.C. Division.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
VICTORIA
Keaton Verhoeff — The 16-year-old, who hails from Fort Saskatchewan, AB, has skated in four games since his return from the World U17 Challenge and has tallied points in three of them. Verhoeff has appeared in 17 games throughout his rookie season thus far and has 13 total points after netting six goals and seven assists.
CALGARY
Ben Kindel — Hailing from Coquitlam, B.C., the 17-year-old center has appeared in 21 games for the Hitmen and is their leader in both points (28) and goals (15). Kindel has also been valuable for the Hitmen’s powerplay unit, as he sits with a team-leading eight powerplay assists. Kindel is in the midst of a six-game point streak which dates back to Nov. 8, and has seen the center net four goals while adding five helpers during the span.
CURRENT SEASON RECORDS
VICTORIA — (12W-7L-2OTL–1SOL-TP27) — 4th in Western Conference
CALGARY — (10W-7L-3OTL-1SOL-TP24) — 6th in Eastern Conference
RED DEER — (9W-9L-1OTL-2SOL-TP21) — 7th in Eastern Conference
ROYALS UPCOMING SCHEDULE
- November 22, @ CAL • 6:00 pm
- November 23, @ RD • 6:00 pm
- November 27, @ EVT • 7:05 pm
- November 29, v. SEA • 7:05 pm
- November 30, v. SEA • 6:05 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.
Written by Erick Dominguez
