Royals fall short against Chiefs
Victoria, BC. — The Victoria Royals closed out their five-game homestand tonight, hosting the Spokane Chiefs in the back half of a weekend series. A high-shooting battle saw the Royals and Chiefs tightly matched through most of the game, but the Royals fell to the Chiefs with a final score of 3-1.
Ashton Brown opened the scoring off a feed from Caleb Matthews at 2:30 of the first period, with goaltender Ethan Eskit also earning an assist on the opening goal. The Royals killed a penalty following a waved-off power play goal around the halfway mark of the frame and held the 1-0 lead headed into the first intermission.
The Chiefs brought the game square with a power play goal from Dominik Petr around the halfway mark of the second period. A neck-and-neck second period saw the Chiefs and Royals each mark 12 shots, and the game remained knotted at 1 after 40 minutes of play.
Spokane took their first lead of the night with a goal from Tyus Sparks at 9:50 of the third period. The Royals pulled their goaltender in the final minutes of the third period to send their extra attacker in an attempt to tie the game and force overtime, but Dominik Petr struck on the empty Royals net to bring the final score to 3-1 Chiefs.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
2:30 Victoria Royals Goal
Ashton Brown (8) assisted by Caleb Matthews and Ethan Eskit
2nd Period
9:53 Spokane Chiefs Goal
Dominik Petr (10) assisted by Will McIsaac and Brody Gillespie
3rd Period
9:50 Spokane Chiefs Goal
Tyus Sparks (17) assisted by Rhett Sather and Will McIsaac
18:31 Spokane Chiefs Goal
Dominik Petr (11) assisted by Chase Harrington and Tyus Sparks
Shots on Goal
Royals – 27
Chiefs – 36
Powerplay
Royals – 0/6
Chiefs – 1/4
Goalie Stats
Royals
Ethan Eskit – 33/35
Chiefs
Linus Vieillard – 26/27
What’s Next
The Royals embark on their Eastern Conference road trip, starting in Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings. Puck drop is set for 5:00 PM PST on Friday, January 16th.
