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WHL Victoria Royals

Royals Defeat Rockets 4-2 in Wire-To-Wire Battle

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


Victoria Royals goaltender Tyler Palmer high fives the team mascot Marty the Marmot
Victoria Royals goaltender Tyler Palmer high fives the team mascot Marty the Marmot
(Victoria Royals)

Victoria, BC - Victoria Royals forward Bailey Peach came up clutch once again as he netted the game-winning goal late in the third period in a 4-2 defeat of the Kelowna Rockets.

The win extends the Royals recent win streak to three games and marks their first defeat of the Rockets since Oct. 8.

Head Coach Dan Price commended his team's ability to hold on and get the win:

"We've had some really close games against Kelowna this year," said Price postgame. "Including games when we were leading and we didn't close it out quite the same way in the third, so I thought tonight was a good display of aggression, going for it and playing to win."

Goaltender Tyler Palmer had yet another strong performance in his third straight start, stopping all but two of 30 shots against.

Forward Tarun Fizer extended his point streak to seven games after recording a goal and an assist. In a similar vein, forward Riley Gannon reached the 20 goal mark on the season while also counting an assist to complete a two-point performance of his own.

The team also welcomed back the services of forward Evan Patrician, who had been out with an injury since late January.

The 6'3" centreman expressed his excitement in making his return to the lineup in the middle of his team's playoff push:

"Feels great to be back battling with the boys," said Patrician. "It was a hard fought game where everyone contributed, we're going to try to do the same thing tomorrow...This is the time where you need to dig deep and win games."

Forwards Gabriel Szturc and Mark Liwiski had the lone goals for Kelowna, while starting net-minder Tayln Boyko made 21 of 24 stops in the loss.

The Royals picked up where they left off on the weekend, opening the scoring at the 6:46 mark of the first on forward Marcus Almquist's second goal of the season to make it 1-0. However, the Rockets would respond at 12:14 with a Mark Liwiski goal, tying the game at one.

Victoria's Riley Gannon would put his team back up by one before the end of the period, counting his 20th goal of the season at 13:32 and handing his team the 2-1 advantage heading into the second.

That score would hold until 19:44 of the middle frame when Rockets forward Gabriel Szturc would net his 15th of the season to tie the game at 2-2 heading into the final period.

The defensive struggle would continue to start the third as both teams looked to break the deadlock. Ultimately it would be Victoria's Bailey Peach handing his team the one goal advantage after netting his 34th goal of the season at 13:43. Captain Tarun Fizer would put the cherry on top with an empty net goal (15) at 19:20 as his team secured the 4-2 victory.

Victoria's victory improves their record to 20-34-5-1 on the year, placing them a full three points clear of Prince George and Spokane in the playoff battle. They currently sit in seventh place with 46 points on the year.

Meanwhile, Kelowna's record drops to 34-17-1-5 as they retain the fifth spot in the conference with 74 points.

The BC Division foes will wrap up their two-game midweek set tomorrow night, with puck drop set for 7:05pm at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria.

Wednesday's game will also be dedicated to "Industry Nights" and the Royals are offering $10 tickets in sections 105-106 and 112-114 for all Tuesday and Wednesday games for the rest of the season.

For tickets to upcoming Royals home games, visit the Victoria Royals ticketing page or call the Select Your Ticket box office at 250-220-7777. Visit the Royals promo page for all special ticket offers.

Check out the Victoria Royals Statistics




Images from this story

Victoria Royals goaltender Tyler Palmer high fives the team mascot Marty the Marmot
Victoria Royals goaltender Tyler Palmer high fives the team mascot Marty the Marmot
   



Western Hockey League Stories from March 23, 2022


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