Royals even season series, stage 4-1 victory over Blazers
Victoria, BC. — The Victoria Royals were back in action at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre tonight to close a mid-week double-header with the Kamloops Blazers. After falling to the Blazers last night, the Royals staged their comeback tonight, successfully shutting down the Blazers offence to take the 4-1 win at home.
After notching several good looks at the Blazer’s goaltender through the first period, Eli McKamey broke the ice with his third goal of the season off a pass from Landon Young and secondary assist from Ludovic Perreault at 7:45 of the opening period. Odin Vauhkonen doubled the lead with an unassisted tally, shot from the slot at 15:54 of the frame. Kamloops got on the board with a goal from Ty Couplans in the final minutes of the period, but the Royals maintained the 2-1 lead headed into the first intermission.
The Royals opened the second period by killing an extended penalty, which included just under a minute of 5-on-3 play. Ludovic Perreault struck shortly after the kill, assisted by Nolan Stewart and Eli McKamey, and the Royals held their two-goal lead through to the end of the second period.
A back-and-forth third period saw close calls on both sides, but a strong defensive effort by the Royals kept it a two-goal game through a majority of the frame. In the dying minutes of the game, Ashton Brown tucked an empty-net goal, assisted by Hayden Moore, to seal the 4-1 victory and even the season series with the Blazers.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
7:45 Victoria Royals Goal
Eli McKamey (3) assisted by Landon Young and Ludovic Perreault
15:54 Victoria Royals Goal
Odin Vauhkonen (3) unassisted
18:08 Kamloops Blazers Goal
Ty Coupland (12) assisted by Cooper Moore and Vit Zahejsky
2nd Period
4:15 Victoria Royals Goal
Ludovic Perreault (14) assisted by Nolan Stewart and Eli McKamey
3rd Period
18:18 Victoria Royals Goal
Ashton Brown (11) assisted by Hayden Moore
Shots on Goal
Royals – 35
Blazers – 20
Powerplay
Royals – 0/3
Blazers – 0/3
Goalie Stats
Royals
Ethan Eskit – 19/20
Blazers
Logan Edmonstone – 31/34
What’s Next
The Royals will hit the road to kick off a US swing this weekend. Their first stop will see them face the Wenatchee Wild this Friday, February 6th, with puck drop slated for 7:00 at Town Toyota Center.
