WHL Victoria Royals

Victoria Drops First Game of Weekend Series against Seattle

Published on February 12, 2022 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Victoria Royals News Release


Victoria Royals defenceman Luke Shipley
Victoria Royals defenceman Luke Shipley
(Victoria Royals)

Victoria, BC - Seattle Thunderbirds (26-11-4-1) forward Jared Davidson had a goal and three assists in his team's 6-1 victory over the Victoria Royals (12-27-4-1) on Friday during Pink In The Rink presented by the Mayfair Optometric Clinic.

Teammates Lukas Svejkovsky and Reid Schaefer also had strong performances for the 'Birds, recording a pair of goals each.

Goaltender Thomas Milic stopped all but one of 15 shots against on the way to his 17th win of the season.

Discipline was a major factor in the Royals loss on Friday, collecting 16 total penalty minutes and surrendering three powerplay goals in the game

Head coach Dan Price directed blame on himself and the coaching staff for Victoria's penalty trouble on Friday:

"We lost control of our discipline, lost control of our emotions," said Price postgame. "That is 100% the coach's responsibility. Completely unacceptable, I need to do a better job of making sure our checking technique is better and we stay on the right side of the special teams battle."

Forward Brayden Shuurman scored the lone goal for Victoria on Friday, while goaltender Tyler Palmer-who was making his first start since Jan. 29-surrendered six goals on 37 shots in the team's 15th straight loss.

The team was also hosting their annual "Pink In The Rink" night which saw the team dawn special jerseys in support of breast cancer awareness through the BC Cancer Foundation. The team raised more than $6,000 in donations prior to Friday night's game.

The Royals got an early boost from their black and pink uniforms, making it 1-0 at 9:55 of the first on forward Brayden Schuurman's 25th goal of the year, with linemates Tarun Fizer and Bailey Peach on the assists.

However, the Thunderbirds would respond by scoring three unanswered goals to open up a 3-1 lead headed into the second. The first came off the stick of forward Henrik Rybinski (15) at 13:06, while teammate Lukas Svejkovsky would be responsible for the next two, scoring back-to-back at 14:59 and 18:15 for his 17th and 18h goals of the season.

Seattle kept coming in the second, with forward Jared Davidson scoring his 22nd of the year at 4:51 and forward Reid Schaefer adding another at 9:08 to give his team a commanding 5-1 lead heading into the final frame.

The Royals would continue to struggle on both ends of the ice in the third, surrendering a sixth goal to Seattle forward Reid Schaefer at 9:53 of the period and failing to find the back of the net for the remainder of the game. The game would end with a 6-1 Thunderbirds victory.

The Thunderbirds will remain in town for a Saturday night rematch against the Royals set to begin at 7:05 pm. The Royals will be hosting a Valentine's Day theme night called Swipe Right Night presented by Bell.

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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Images from this story

Victoria Royals defenceman Luke Shipley
Victoria Royals defenceman Luke Shipley
   



Western Hockey League Stories from February 12, 2022


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