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WHL Kelowna Rockets

Royals Swipe Victory From Rockets

November 4, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release


Victoria Royals' Austin Zemlak versus Kelowna Rockets' Gabriel Szturc
Victoria Royals' Austin Zemlak versus Kelowna Rockets' Gabriel Szturc
(Kelowna Rockets, Credit: Steve Dunsmoor/Kelowna Rockets)

The Kelowna Rockets fell 2-1 to the Victoria Royals on Saturday at Prospera Place in Kelowna BC.

Scoreless through the first period, the Royals took a 2-0 lead into the third period. With time ticking away, Andrew Cristall was able to get the Rockets on the board with 44 seconds to play in the game.

"I think the team down the hall was the hungrier of the two," said Rockets head coach Kris Mallette in his postgame interview.

"They were sacrificing, we had a lot of shot opportunities that they were blocking and getting in front of. As the game wore on, I thought they looked like the fresher team and just won a lot of one-on-one battles when it was on the line."

Max Graham was awarded a penalty shot with 9:17 to go in the first period, but Royals starter Braden Holt turned him aside.

While playing four-on-four hockey, Tanner Scott (6) was able to put the Royals on the board first 4:20 into the middle frame. Charging to the net, Logan Pickford (1) redirected the feed up and over Rockets starter Jari Kykkanen.

In the final minute of the game, with the Rockets net empty, Andrew Cristall (11) was able to pull the Rockets within one.

ADDITIONAL STATS

The Rockets record is now 7-7-1-0

Kelowna was 0/4 on the powerplay, Victoria was 0/3

Kelowna outshot the Royals 28-20

This was the third of eight meetings between the Rockets and Royals, Victoria leads the season series 2-1. They'll face each other next on November 13th when the Rockets make their first visit of the season to Victoria

UP NEXT

The Rockets are back in action tomorrow, Saturday, when the Red Deer Rebels and former Rocket Elias Carmichael will then make their lone visit of the season.

Single Game Tickets can be purchased:

Online at selectyourtickets.com

By calling Select Your Tickets at 250-762-5050

Or by visiting the Select Your Tickets box office at the Prospera Place box office. The box office is open 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and opens at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday home game days.

Check out the Kelowna Rockets Statistics




Images from this story

Victoria Royals' Austin Zemlak versus Kelowna Rockets' Gabriel Szturc
Victoria Royals' Austin Zemlak versus Kelowna Rockets' Gabriel Szturc
(Steve Dunsmoor/Kelowna Rockets)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from November 4, 2023


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