Royals defeat Kelowna to open double-header
Victoria, BC — The Victoria Royals hosted the Kelowna Rockets at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre tonight for their annual Canadian Armed Forces Appreciation game. A hard-fought game saw the Royals kill 6/6 penalties to secure the 4-2 win in the first half of their double-header.
Hayden Moore earned the first goal of the game at 15:56 of the opening frame, with assists from Cruz Waltze and Layne Schofield, and the Royals held the 1-0 lead headed into the first intermission.
The Rockets got on the board early in the second period with a goal from Tij Iginla to knot the game at one. Less than two minutes later, Hayden Moore notched his second goal of the night to regain the Royals’ lead; a power play marker off assists from Heath Nelson and Miles Cooper. Another goal from Tij Iginla at 9:02 of the frame brought the game back square and the teams remained tied at two after 40 minutes of play.
Kelowna nearly took the lead around the seven-minute mark of the third period, but the goal was called back and the teams remained knotted at two. A sharp one-timer goal from Timofei Runtso, assisted by Caleb Matthews and Ashton Brown, gave the Royals the lead just past the halfway mark of the frame. Hayden Moore completed his first career WHL hat-trick with an empty-net goal at 18:14, assisted by Roan Woodward, to secure the 4-2 win.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
15:56 Victoria Royals Goal
Hayden Moore (7) assisted by Cruz Waltze and Layne Schofield
2nd Period
0:44 Kelowna Rockets Goal
Tij Iginla (6) unassisted
2:41 Victoria Royals Goal
Hayden Moore (8) assisted by Heath Nelson and Miles Cooper
9:02 Kelowna Rockets Goal
Tij Iginla (7) assisted by Carson Wetsch and Peyton Kettles
3rd Period
10:29 Victoria Royals Goal
Timofei Runtso (4) assisted by Caleb Matthews and Ashton Brown
18:14 Victoria Royals Goal
Hayden Moore (9) assisted by Roan Woodward
Shots on Goal
Royals – 28
Rockets – 37
Powerplay
Royals – 1/6
Rockets – 0/6
Goalie Stats
Royals
Ethan Eskit – 35/37
Rockets
Josh Banini – 24/27
What’s Next
The Royals host the Rockets again tomorrow afternoon for the back half of their double-header. Puck drop is slated for 4:05 PM at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
