Parker notches shootout winner to help propel Royals over Giants
Ladner, BC – It was another day of Royals hockey as the 2023 pre-season circuit continued on with a matchup against the Vancouver Giants in Ladner.
Victoria was coming off a defeat to the Prince George Cougars on Saturday evening while the Giants had an off night following an 8-4 victory over the Cougars on Friday.
Jayden Kraus got the start for the Royals while Burke Hood got the nod for Vancouver.
Victoria was able to get their first goal of the pre-season on a Matthew Hodson powerplay marker as he opened the scoring late in the first period.
Vancouver would fight back in the middle frame as Ty Halaburda notched his third of the pre-season to knot things up at one a piece.
The Royals turned up the momentum midway through the final frame as the powerplay continued to shine as Gannon Laroque, Kalem Parker and Cole Reschny all scored within two and a half minutes to catapult the Royals to a 4-1 advantage.
The Giants wouldn’t give up easily as they scored three of their own in the final six minutes to force overtime.
Neither team was able to get one in the extra frame which led to the first shootout of the pre-season.
Nicholas Cristiano saved all three shots he faced and Kalem Parker scored to help propel the Royals to a 5-4 shootout victory.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
13:55 – Victoria Royals Goal (PP)
Matthew Hodson (1) assisted by Gannon Laroque and Teydon Trembecky
2nd Period
6:21 – Vancouver Giants Goal
Ty Halaburda (3) assisted by Colton Langkow
3rd Period
8:38 – Victoria Royals Goal (PP)
Gannon Laroque (1) assisted by Robin Sapousek
9:15 – Victoria Royals Goal (PP)
Kalem Parker (1) assisted by Robin Sapousek and Gannon Laroque
10:48 – Victoria Royals Goal (PP)
Cole Reschny (1) assisted by Robin Sapousek and Reggie Newman
14:20 – Vancouver Giants Goal
Ryan Lin (1) assisted by Damian Palmeri
16:33 – Vancouver Giants Goal (PP)
Aaron Obobaifo (1) assisted by Jaden Lipinski and Skyler Bruce
18:55 – Vancouver Giants Goal (SH)
Jaden Lipinski (2) assisted by Ty Halaburda
Shootout
Round 1 – Aaron Obobaifo (No Goal) – Robin Sapousek (No Goal)
Round 2 – Cameron Schmidt (No Goal) – Kalem Parker (Goal)
Round 3 – Adam Titlbach (No Goal)
Shots On Goal
Royals – 32
Giants – 45
Powerplay
Royals – 4/9
Giants – 1/5
Goalie Stats
Royals
Jayden Kraus – 28/29
Nicholas Cristiano – 13/18
Giants
Burke Hood – 28/32
What’s Next
Victoria will wrap up the pre-season with a pair of games in the interior next weekend as they are slated to take on the Kamloops Blazers on Friday, September 15 before traveling down Highway 97 to take on the Kelowna Rockets on Saturday, September 16.
The Royals open up the 2023-2024 WHL Regular Season on Friday, September 22 against the Vancouver Giants on the road before traveling south of the border to take on the Everett Silvertips on Saturday, September 23.
