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WHL Victoria Royals

Royals Welcome Surging Thunderbirds to Town

February 10, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Victoria Royals News Release


Victoria, BC - Victoria will host Seattle for a two game set beginning Friday, Feb. 11.

The Victoria Royals (12-26-4-1) will look for a couple of wins this weekend as they host the Seattle Thunderbirds for a pair of games beginning Friday night for the annual Pink in the Rink game brought to you by Mayfair Optometric. Saturday's game will include a Valentine's Day theme as the Royals host the first ever Swipe Right Night presented by Bell.

Victoria's past three games have seen a noticeably improved effort from the Royals, who took a pair of games down to the wire against the Everett Silvertips and Kamloops Blazers-two of the top teams in the entire WHL-eventually losing 4-2 and 3-2, respectively.

The Royals will hope to turn their effort into results this weekend against the Seattle Thunderbirds, who sit fourth in the Western Conference and third in the US Division with a 25-11-4-1 record and 55 points on the season. The Thunderbirds enter the weekend having won four of their last six contests, their most recent being a pair of wins over the Vancouver Giants and Prince George Cougars last week.

They are led on offence by Edmonton, AB native Jared Davidson who has logged a team leading 51 points (21 goals, 30 assists) in 2021-2022, and currently rides a six game point streak.

However, there is plenty of depth behind Davidson, with four other Thunderbirds (Jordan Gustafson, Lukas Svejkovsky, Henrik Rybinski, and Connor Roulette), currently sitting with 40-or-more points on the season, a stat only three other WHL teams (Everett, Edmonton, Winnipeg) can claim.

Seattle also boasts a pair of talented net-minders in Thomas Milic and Scott Ratzlaff. Milic, the elder of the two goaltenders at 18-years-old, has registered a 16-11-2-1 record on the season with .911 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.62 goals against average (GAA), which ranks eighth among all WHL goaltenders. His understudy, 16-year-old Scott Ratzleff from Irma, AB, has impressed throughout his rookie season in Seattle, posting a 9-0-1 record with a .902 SV% and a 2.36 GAA in 12 appearances.

The Royals will need a strong performance from their top six if they are to take home a win this weekend.

Perhaps Swiss-born forward Keanu Derungs can provide the spark his team needs, as he enters the weekend riding a four game point and a two game goal streak. He has been a major contributor for the Victoria powerplay this season, scoring eight of his thirteen goals on the man advantage.

Forward Bailey Peach is also one to watch, as he looks to extend his point streak to four games on Friday. While the Falmouth, NS native may not be producing at the level seen earlier this year, he remains the team's top offensive performer game-after-game and has quietly posted points in seven of his last eight contests. A big game from him could thrust the Royals back into the win column this weekend.

Victoria currently sits in eighth place in the Western Conference and fifth in the BC Division with 29 total points on the season.

Puck drop for the first game on Friday is set for 7:05 pm at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria. The Royals will be wearing a special Pink in the Rink jersey for the game and will be auctioning it off to fans in attendance. All proceeds of the sale of the jersey will go to benefit the BC Cancer Foundation.

For tickets to upcoming Royals 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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Western Hockey League Stories from February 10, 2022


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