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WHL Victoria Royals

Royals Start New Year off with Road Contest against Rockets

January 3, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Victoria Royals News Release


Victoria Royals goaltender Tyler Palmer
Victoria Royals goaltender Tyler Palmer
(Victoria Royals)

Victoria, B.C. - The Victoria Royals will look to start 2023 off on the right foot with a BC Division road contest against the Kelowna Rockets on Tuesday night.

Victoria (8-24-3-1) and Kelowna (12-18-3-0) have met four times this season, with each team earning two wins a piece.

The Royals have taken both of the two most recent contests, earning a 3-2 victory in Kelowna in early December and a 5-2 win back in October.

Victoria leading scorer Jake Poole will look to stay hot as he takes on his former team for the fifth time this season. The McAuley, AB product enjoyed a successful end to 2022, finishing the year on a five game point streak - recording three goals and four assists for seven total points over that span.

Poole has continued to stand out as one of the most valuable pieces on the Royals roster all season, recording a team-high 35 points on 19 goals - five of which have been game-winners - and 16 assists over 34 games played.

Recently-acquired goaltender Braden Holt is expected to make his third start for Victoria on Tuesday. The 19-year-old has enjoyed an impressive start to his Royals tenure, recording a 35 save shutout in his debut for the club last Wednesday before allowing three goals in a shootout loss to Vancouver on Friday.

In 30 total appearances with Victoria and Everett this season, Holt has earned a 14-13-1-1 record to go along with a 3.41 goals against average (GAA), a .896 save percentage (SV%) and two shutouts.

The Rockets will be equally as hungry to get back in the win column this week after finishing 2022 on a five game losing streak.

The Rockets have recently been without top forwards Colton Dach (Canada) and Gabriel Szturc (Czechia), both of whom are currently representing their respective countries at the 2023 World Junior Championships.

However, several talented pieces remain on the current Kelowna roster, including Western Conference leading scorer Andrew Cristall, who has recorded an impressive 59 points (23 goals, 36 assists) in 33 games this season.

Puck-drop for the game is set for 7:05 pm on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at Prospera Place in Kelowna, BC.

Players to watch:

Victoria:

#29 Teague Patton (F) - 36 GP, 22 PTS (8 G, 14 A)

#8 Kalem Parker (D) - 36 GP, 20 PTS (4 G, 16 A)

Kelowna:

#11 Carson Golder (F) - 37 GP, 26 PTS (14 G, 12 A)

#4 Caden Price (D) - 33 GP, 21 PTS (5 G, 16 A)

Check out the Victoria Royals Statistics




Images from this story

Victoria Royals goaltender Tyler Palmer
Victoria Royals goaltender Tyler Palmer
   



Western Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2023


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