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WHL Victoria Royals

Royals Hold on to Beat Rockets 4-3 in Dramatic Wednesday Night Contest

March 24, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Victoria Royals News Release


Victoria Royals defenceman Luke Shipley and right wing Marcus Almquist
Victoria Royals defenceman Luke Shipley and right wing Marcus Almquist
(Victoria Royals)

Victoria, BC - Victoria Royals forward Brayden Schuurman had two goals and an assist as his team went down to the wire in a 4-3 victory over the Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday.

The win improves their record to 21-34-5-1 on the season as they extend their lead over the eighth place Prince George Cougars and Spokane Chiefs with 48 points on the season. They now sit only two points behind the Vancouver Giants, who occupy the sixth spot in the West.

Despite a radical improvement on their playoff hopes over the past week, head coach Dan Price continues to emphasize a day-by-day approach:

"They're focused on the next game," said Price postgame. "I don't have to remind them. We're not thinking about anything beyond Friday, nothing about the regular season, nothing about the playoffs. We're only focused on having a good day on Thursday and preparing and improving for Friday."

Several other Royals made significant contributions in the win, with forward Tanner Scott recording four assists, Marcus Almquist counting a goal and two assists and goaltender Campbell Arnold stopping 36 of 39 shots on the way to his first win of 2022.

The Nanaimo-born net-minder remarked on the confidence he gained from the win:

"It's kind of a breath of relief," said Arnold postgame. "I feel like I'm back to myself, getting that win was huge for me personally and huge for the team too. Lyden [Sammartino] and Kai [McDonald] are our goalie coaches here and I put in a lot of work with them...doing whatever I can to get better mentally and stronger mentally. I think that really came into play today."

Rockets forwards Nolan Flamand, Jake Poole and Turner McMillan counted the three goals in the loss, while starting goaltender Jari Kykkanen saved 27 of 31 shots faced.

Kelowna's record drops to 34-18-1-5 on the year as they record their fifth straight loss. However, they are still sitting pretty in the fifth playoff spot in the conference with 74 points.

It was another hot start for the Royals on Wednesday, with forward Brayden Schuurman opening the scoring at the 10:34 mark of the first.

The Rockets would tie the game at 11:34 of the second after a Noland Flamand shot redirected into the net off of the shoulder of Royals goaltender Campbell Arnold following an initial save. The Saskatoon, SK product now has nine goals on the year.

It appeared that we would head into the third with a tie game for the second night in-a-row, however, a late marker by Victoria forward Caleb Wilms (3) at 17:27 would hand the Royals a one goal advantage heading into the final stanza.

The 2-1 defensive struggle would quickly turn into an offensive shootout to begin the third as Schuurman would net his second of the night for the Royals at the 1:06 mark. The Abbotsford, BC product counted his 27th and 28th of the year and put an end to a five-game goal drought in the win.

The Rockets would bring the game back within one on a Jake Poole goal (14) at 2:22 of the period, however a quick response by Victoria came in the form of a Marcus Almquist goal (3) only a few minutes later at 4:00 to make it 4-2. The Rodovre, Denmark product has now scored goals in back-to-back contests.

The back-and-forth action would continue as Kelowna would bring it back within one on a Turner McMillian marker at 7:47 of the third.

Despite a number of chances generated by the Rockets' offence in the final ten minutes, the Royals were able to bear down on defence and walk away with a 4-3 victory.

The Rockets next game will take place in Kamloops on Friday night as they begin a weekend home-and-home series against the division-leading Blazers.

Meanwhile, the Royals will take one day to rest before welcoming the Prince George Cougars to town for a two-game weekend set beginning on Friday with the "Victoria 500" game presented by Jiffy Lube Victoria and Rupe's Roofing. Puck drop for that game is set for 7:05pm at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in downtown Victoria.

On Saturday, the Royals will celebrate Fan Appreciate Night brought to you by Charlsey Macgregor from Sutton West Coast Realty with the puck drop scheduled for 7:05pm.

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.

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 defenceman Luke Shipley and right wing Marcus Almquist
Victoria Royals defenceman Luke Shipley and right wing Marcus Almquist
   



Western Hockey League Stories from March 24, 2022


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