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WHL Victoria Royals

Derungs Scores Twice in Royals Loss to Silvertips

January 23, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Victoria Royals News Release


Victoria, BC - The Victoria Royals (12-20-4-0) lost 5-3 in a high-pressure game against the Everett Silvertips (27-7-2-2) in their final game of the weekend.

This was the Royals sixth game in eight days and their second at home in the new year.

Keanu Derungs scored twice for the Royals and earned the third star of the game for his offensive performance. Gannon Laroque also picked up two points with two assists on the night.

The Silvertips came into the first period applying intense pressure in the Royals zone, looking to take the early lead. Niko Huuhtanen would open the scoring for Everett when he put one high over the right shoulder of Tyler Palmer with assists from Hunter Campbell and Dexter Whittle at 2:19. Minutes later, the Royals went on the penalty kill when Bailey Peach took a hooking penalty and Ryan Hofer shot one between the pads of Palmer to make it 2-0 with assists from Huuhtanen and Olen Zellweger.

Victoria started off the second period killing off Luke Shipley's high sticking penalty from the end of the first period. Wyatt Wilson and Ryan Hofer both took penalties to create a four-on-four situation until Dylan Anderson went to the box for interference to give the Royals the extra attacker. Peach, Laroque and Derungs traded passes until Derungs scored to make it a 2-1 game.

After an unfortunate turnover at the blueline, Alex Swetlikoff made it 3-1 while Palmer was down from an earlier shot attempt with under ten to go. The Royals came back quickly though with multiple shots on Braden Holt when Tanner Scott scored with assists from Kalem Parker and Luke Shipley to make it 3-2. With one minute left, Marcus Almquist took a penalty for interference and then Peach was handed a cross-checking penalty with one second left.

With a minute left in the Almquist penalty and Peach's full penalty still to go, Everett had the two-man advantage for the first minute of the third. With 11 seconds left in the first penalty, Huuhtanen scored his second of the night to make it 4-2 with assists from Zellweger and Swetlikoff. The Royals had two incredible two-on-one chances with under ten to go but missed on both opportunities.

Victoria was on the power play after Jackson Berezowski went off for high sticking, but it was Zellweger who scored short handed to make it 5-2. With Victoria still on the power play, Hofer took a penalty to make it a five-on-three for 46 seconds. With 16 seconds to go in the Berezowski penalty, Derungs scored from the point with an assist from Laroque and Brayden Schuurman. Victoria pulled Palmer with one minute to go but the Silvertips kept it out of their zone to end the game 5-3.

Palmer made 39 saves in net tonight on 44 shots for the Royals while Braden Holt made 23 saves on 26 shots in Everett's win tonight.

There were a few takeaways from tonight's game and GM and Head Coach Dan Price knows there is room for improvement before next week's games against Kelowna.

"That was a great effort from both teams tonight and it really felt like a playoff game. It was physical and fast, but Everett is the best team in the conference for a reason so if we want to beat them, we have to play at least like that if not better," Price said of tonight's game. "The penalties were a big factor in the score of the game, but the resilience, the grit and the effort to eventually push back and play with that level of physicality and determination is what will get us those wins. The effort absolutely was there tonight and so we build from that."

The Royals have two days off before they welcome the Kelowna Rockets to the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on Tuesday and Wednesday. January 25th is another Royals Tasty Tuesday and on January 26th the Royals host another Way Back Wednesday when they take fans back to the 90's presented by Molson Canadian.

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.

Check out the Victoria Royals Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from January 23, 2022


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