Sports stats



WHL Victoria Royals

Royals Wrap-Up Home Stand with Loss to Raiders

February 1, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Victoria Royals News Release


Victoria Royals' Carter Dereniwsky in action
Victoria Royals' Carter Dereniwsky in action
(Victoria Royals)

Victoria, BC - Victoria Royals forward Jake Poole counted his second-straight multi-point game with a goal and an assist in a 6-3 loss to the Prince Albert Raiders on Tuesday night at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.

The Royals would come out of the gate strong, scoring early in the first to grab the lead. However, the Raiders responded with three goals in the second period and would do their best to negate a late comeback attempt by Victoria on the way to sealing the victory.

Royals General Manager and Head Coach Dan Price emphasized the importance of staying consistent for a full 60 minutes in his postgame press conference:

"We were definitely flat, especially in the second period," said Price. "Against a team like Prince Albert, they work really hard, so you need to be really hard on pucks and hard around the net. We just played a bit more of a free-flowing game tonight, that's what got us in trouble and behind the eight-ball...We need to make sure those habits are more consistent going forward."

Victoria forward Alex Thacker would also pick up two points in the contest, recording a pair of assists, while starting goaltender Braden Holt made 16 saves on 21 shots before being replaced at the end of the second by backup Nicholas Cristiano, who stopped all four shots he faced in relief.

Defenceman Landon Kosior would be the top performer for Prince Albert in the victory, scoring one goal and collecting three assists for a four point night, while goaltender Tikhon Chaika made 28 saves on 31 shots.

Jake Poole (27) would open the scoring for Victoria (14-29-4-1) at the 2:48 mark of the first period, giving the home side an early 1-0 lead. Forwards Carter Dereniwsky and Alex Thacker would pick up assists on the play.

However, Prince Albert (18-25-3-0) would answer back with a game-tying goal by forward Ryder Richie (13) on the powerplay at 7:16 of the first.

That would be followed by a short-handed goal by defenceman Landon Kosior (13) at the 16:16 mark to put the Raiders up 2-1 heading into the second.

Prince Albert would add another to start the second, with forward Evan Herman (10) striking at the 3:08 mark to open up a 3-1 lead for the visitors.

The Raiders would continue to grow their lead in the back-half of the frame, first making it 4-1 on goal by forward Harrison Lodewyk (5) at 13:03, then adding a powerplay marker by forward Aiden Oiring (8) at 16:02 of the frame to bring the score to 5-1 entering the third.

The Royals would mount a comeback attempt in the third, with defenceman Kalem Parker (5) scoring at the 12:22 mark to cut the Raiders' lead to 5-2. Forwards Alex Thacker and Teague Pattton would collect assists on the play.

Victoria would then pull within two on a marker by forward Matthew Hodson (15) at 17:01 of the third, with Kalem Parker and Jake Poole on the assists. However, that is as close as they would get as forward Evan Herman (11) scored an empty-netter at the 19:13 mark to seal the win for Prince Albert.

Looking ahead, the Raiders will continue their tour of the Western Conference with a matchup against the Vancouver Giants in Langley on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, the Royals will travel north for a trio of weekend games against two BC Division opponents.

They will begin the road trip with two matchups versus the Prince George Cougars on Friday, Feb. 3 and Saturday, Feb. 4, and finish up with a contest against Kamloops Blazers on Sunday, Feb. 5.

Puck drop is set for 7 pm on Friday, 6 pm on Saturday at the CN Centre in Prince George and 5 pm on Sunday at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops.

Follow the Royals on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, TikTok and visit victoriaroyals.com to find out more about ticket sales and to learn the latest news about the team.

Get Your Ticket Packs Now

Multiple ticket packages are available for purchase, including a Family Pack, Group Pack, VictoriaNow Family Section, Vizzy Section and Molson Ice Seats. Call our ticket office at 250-220-7889, send an email to tickets@victoriaroyals.com or visit our website to learn more victoriaroyals.com/ticket-promos.

Check out the Victoria Royals Statistics




Images from this story

Victoria Royals' Carter Dereniwsky in action
Victoria Royals' Carter Dereniwsky in action
   



Western Hockey League Stories from February 1, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central