PDA

View Full Version : Royals Drop Decision to Rockets



CdnSailor
09-17-2011, 10:14 AM
Victoria, BC - The Victoria Royals closed out their 2011 WHL exhibition schedule Friday night when they hosted the Kelowna Rockets at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. The Royals started Keith Hamilton in goal against Jordon Cooke for the Rockets.
The Royals looked to atone against Kelowna in their only home pre-season game after a 7-2 loss to the Rockets in the Okanagan on September 3. The Rockets would open the scoring at 10:22 when forward Filip Vasko got free in front of the Royals' goal and converted off a pass from behind the net from Tyson Baillie for a 1-0 Rockets' lead. Hamilton bounced back by making a tough right pad save on Tanner Moar on a 2-on-1 Rockets' rush. That saved sparked the Royals who tied the game moments later when forward Logan Nelson dashed down the left wing and beat Cooke high over the glove hand at 14:32. The unassisted goal knotted the game 1-1. The Royals got their first lead of the game on a 5-on-3 power play when defenceman Kade Pilton sent a wrist shot from the left point through a crowd over Cooke's left shoulder to put Victoria in front 2-1 at the 17:00 mark. Nelson and Brett Cote earned the assists on Pilton's second pre-season goal. The Royals took that lead into the dressing room and were out-shot 13-8 in the opening 20 minutes.

Hamilton came up with big saves early in the second period with the Royals short-handed. Hamilton first made two difficult stops in succession, one from the point followed by the rebound from the slot. On the next Rockets' man advantage, Hamilton stoned defenceman Jesse Lees who had snuck in from the right point for a scoring chance. The Rockets tied the game late in the second period when Colton Sissons charged the net and banged home a pass from behind the goal by Cody Chikie to even the score at 2-2 at 16:42. With 33.9 seconds left in the period, Austin Ferguson drove to the front of the net and squeezed the puck through Hamilton's legs to give Kelowna a 3-2 lead, which is how it stood after 40 minutes. The Royals were out-shot 14-7 in the period and 27-15 through two periods.

Early in the third period, the Royals were able to kill a four minute Kelowna power play to keep the deficit at 3-2. The Royals' Tim Traber and the Rockets' Mitchell Chapman provided the games first scrap when they dropped the gloves just shy of the 12-minute mark. Royals' defenceman Jesse Zgraggen and Rockets' forward Carter Rigby got into a spirited tussle with 3:06 to play that left Rigby cut over the left eye. The Royals finished the game on the power play, but could not get the puck past Cooke. Rockets 3 Royals 2.

The Royals went 1-for-6 on the power play (16.7%) and the Rockets were 0-for-8 (0.0%). The Royals out-shot the Rockets 16-11 in the third, but were out-shot in the game 38-31. The attendance for the game was 5,396. The Royals and Rockets first regular season match-up is October 14 at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.