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WHL Victoria Royals

Royals Triumph in OT against Americans

December 2, 2021 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Victoria Royals News Release


Victoria Royals face the Tri-City Americans goaltender
Victoria Royals face the Tri-City Americans goaltender
(Victoria Royals)

Victoria, B.C. - The Victoria Royals are heading to Seattle with another win under their belt after defeating the Tri-City Americans 4-3.

The Royals came into the game applying heavy pressure looking to take an early lead and halfway through the period the team did just that. Bailey Peach and Tarun Fizer connected with Brayden Schuurman who was able to shoot the puck just under Tomas Suchanek's pads to make it a 1-0 game. Then, with just over a minute left in the first period, Gannon Laroque scored the second goal for Victoria with assists from Marcus Almquist and Peach. When it looked like the period was about to end, Fizer and Peach earned their second assists of the night after finding Anson McMaster who made it 3-0 to end the period.

It looked like Victoria would be up 4-0 when Keanu Derungs put the puck between the pads of Suchanek who slid into the net, but the Tri-City goaltender held on to keep it at 3-0. The Americans amped up the pressure in the latter half of the period forcing the Royals defence to work harder in their own zone. With six minutes to go in the second period, Petr Moravec of Tri-City had a one-on-one chance but was denied on a huge glove save from Tyler Palmer.

Tri-City opened the third period with a goal from Parker Bell while Palmer was protecting the other side of the net. After gaining momentum from the goal, the Americans were hungry to catch up to the Royals and applied heavy pressure in Victoria's zone. The Royals went on the power play when Kalem Parker was knocked down at centre ice with 11 minutes to go and had some close calls saved by Suchanek. With two minutes left to go, the Americans made it a 3-2 game on a goal from Sasha Mutala and then with 0.06 seconds left, Bell got his second of the night to tie it 3-3 and send it to overtime.

In overtime, the two teams traded excellent chances, but Royals captain Fizer got the goal for the Royals on a breakaway to end the game 4-3.

Royals GM and Head Coach Dan Price commented on his team's maturity and success tonight.

"Tonight was a good challenge and a tough test. Credit to Tri-City for their effort to tie it. They played well and worked hard," Price said. "I was proud of our response in OT. To counter the momentum and push back showed maturity and was an important building block for our group."

The three stars of the night were Tarun Fizer (VIC), Bailey Peach (VIC) and Parker Bell (TC).

The next Royals home game is December 11th against the Vancouver Giants for the Royals inaugural Lighthouse Island Bowl igniting the rivalry between the two teams on the eve of the CFL Grey Cup. Visit the Victoria Royals ticketing page or call the Select Your Ticket box office at 250-220-7777.

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Images from this story

Victoria Royals face the Tri-City Americans goaltender
Victoria Royals face the Tri-City Americans goaltender
   



Western Hockey League Stories from December 2, 2021


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