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WHL Victoria Royals

Blazers Outpace Royals 8-4 in Offensive Battle

January 30, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Victoria Royals News Release


Victoria Royals goaltender Tyler Palmer vs. the Kamloops Blazers
Victoria Royals goaltender Tyler Palmer vs. the Kamloops Blazers
(Victoria Royals)

Kamloops, BC - Kamloops takes both games of weekend set against Victoria.

Kamloops Blazers forward Logan Stankoven recorded his second hat trick of the year in an 8-4 victory over the Victoria Royals on Saturday. He also added a pair of assists to cap a five point night.

Forward Luke Toporowski also had a successful night for the winning side, recording a pair of goals and one assist.

Three different Royals (12-23-4-1) counted multi-point nights in the loss, with defenceman Gannon Laroque recording a pair of assists, and both defenceman Ryan Spizawka and forward Brayden Schuurman scoring one goal and one assist. Spizawka's goal was the first of his WHL career.

The Blazers (27-11-1-0) got off to a hot start for the second night in a row with forward Logan Stankoven scoring at 3:30 of the first to open up an early 1-0 lead. However, the Royals would respond midway through the frame with a powerplay goal by forward Brayden Schuurman (22) at 11:25 to even the game at one.

Kamloops would retake the lead early in the second with forward Luke Toporowski's 22nd goal of the year, coming at 5:03 of the period. The Blazers would then extend their lead to 3-1 at 6:52 on a goal by forward Caedan Bankier (13), but a Carter Briltz goal (3) at 11:06 would bring the Royals back within one as the team's entered the latter half of the frame.

However, a pair of goals scored within a minute of each other by Luke Toporowski (23) at 14:38 and Logan Stankoven (21) at 14:53 would see Kamloops go up by two for the second time in the game. The pair combined to score 12 total points in the two games against Victoria this weekend, with Toporowski scoring four goals and one assist and Stankoven recording four goals and three assists.

A Bailey Peach goal (25) at 17:02 brought the Royals back into the game late in the second, then a penalty shot awarded to forward Anthony Wilson nearly cut the lead to one on the closing minutes, but a clutch save by Kamloops goaltender Dylan Ernst on the attempt held the score at 5-3 heading into the third and final period.

Stankoven would complete the hat trick at 3:38 of the third, opening up a 6-3 lead for the Blazers. He now has 22 goals on the season and has recorded points in nine straight contests.

The Royals surrendered two more goals-the first by Kamloops defenceman Viktor Persson (3) at 4:05, the second by forward Drew Englot (7) at 5:29-to deepen their deficit to 8-3 heading into the final ten minutes of the game. The goals would prompt a goaltending change for the second night in a row for Victoria, with Campbell Arnold coming in for Tyler Palmer to finish the game.

Defenceman Ryan Spizawka would score his first career WHL goal for the Royals at 8:51 of the period to decrease the Blazers' lead to 8-4, but that is as close as they would get.

Tyler Palmer made 37 of 45 saves before being replaced by Campbell Arnold in the third period. Arnold would go on to save all ten shots against after coming into the game.

On the other side, Kamloops net-minder Dylan Ernst made 21 of 25 saves on the way to his sixth win of the year.

The Blazers will head to Langley for a Sunday contest against the Vancouver Giants before taking five days off prior to hosting the Giants at their own rink on Feb. 4.

Meanwhile, the Royals next game will be in Everett, WA against the US Division leading Silvertips next Friday before heading back to the island for another two-game series against Kamloops on Feb. 5 for Lunar New Year presented by Bell and Feb. 6 for Minor Hockey Night in Victoria.

For tickets to upcoming Royals games, visit the Victoria Royals ticketing page or call the Select Your Ticket box office at 250-220-7777.

The Royals are also offering two holiday ticket packages for fans this season. Buy four vouchers for $70 or six for $100 and receive a special Royals gift. This offer is valid until January 31, 2021.

Follow the Royals on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok and visit our website to find out more about ticket sales and the latest news on the team. To get all your Royals news in one place, download the new Royals app available on both Apple and Google stores.

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Images from this story

Victoria Royals goaltender Tyler Palmer vs. the Kamloops Blazers
Victoria Royals goaltender Tyler Palmer vs. the Kamloops Blazers
   



Western Hockey League Stories from January 30, 2022


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