“Their goalie did play well, he outplayed our goalies, their top players out played ours…" Said head coach Dave Lowry,
Kamloops held period leads of 3-0 and 4-2.
“We didn’t do enough to win a hockey game, and it was evident in our start.”
Victoria was short a defenseman and had 7 first year players dressed, while 5 skaters were still away at NHL camps.
“Tonight their was good opportunity on the table for some of our young guys and some of our older guys. Some guys did a good job, and some are going to have be a heck of a lot better tomorrow.”
The Royals were missing 20-year-olds Brandon Magee, and Austin Carroll along with regulars Keegan Kanzig, Joe Hicketts and Axel Blomqvist who were all away attending NHL training camps
Kamloops was without Chase Souto (inj), and Ryan Rehill away at New Jersey camp.
Victoria outshot Kamloops 33-32, with netminder Bolton Pouliot credited with the win.
“We generated some good quality chances, but when it’s a clear shot, he’s going to stop it.” Said Lowry
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| Smith replaced Vollrath by Quigley |
Victoria was 1 for 6 on the power play, and did not allow Kamloops a man advantage in the final two periods, as the Blazers went 1 for 4.
Mitch Skapski and Travis Brown had a goal and assist each for the Royals, while 16 year old defenseman Ralph Jarratt scored his first WHL goal.
In the first minute Matt Revel batted a rebound out of the air past Vollrath, Josh Connolly fired a rising shot in on the power play and Matt Needham knocked in a puck which bounced out front after it came off the back glass.
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| Jarratt scored his 1st WHL Goal. Credit: Quigley |
Victoria would respond in the second as Mitch Skapski would bury a rebound. Rookie Jake Kryski would again extend the lead to three as he fired in his first WHL goal coming down the wing, sending Vollrath to the bench midway through the period.
Royals 16 year old rookie defenseman Ralph Jarratt fired a puck from the point that found it’s way past Pouliot for his 1st WHL goal in his first game and Victoria was again to within 2.
Ryan Gagnon had a dust up with Luke Harrison in the middle frame.
Revel added his second of the game in the third, before Brown ripped a shot top corner on the power play for Victoria. Cole Ully found the top corner as well for Kamloops to round out the scoring.
The Royals now take on the Giants in Vancouver Saturday night in the G-men’s home opener.
Victoria’s home opener is next Friday as they entertain Kamloops for a pair of weekend games.
-Marlon Martens
Victoria Royals 3 at Kamloops Blazers 6 - Status: Final
Friday, September 19, 2014 - Interior Savings Centre - Kamloops, BC
Victoria 0 2 1 - 3
Kamloops 3 1 2 - 6
1st Period-
1, Kamloops, Revel 1 (Shirley, Ully), 0:52.
2, Kamloops, Connolly 1 (Gaudet, Sideroff), 5:40 (PP).
3, Kamloops, Needham 1 (Connolly, Kryski), 16:14.
Penalties-Kryski Kam (hooking), 2:50; Brown Vic (holding), 4:07; Fushimi Vic (hooking), 5:40; Gagnon Vic (charging), 14:14; Brown Vic (hooking), 18:57; Crunk Vic (elbowing), 20:00; Needham Kam (boarding, roughing), 20:00.
2nd Period-
4, Victoria, Skapski 1 (Palmer, Brown), 2:03.
5, Kamloops, Kryski 1 (Shynkaruk, Pouliot), 11:04.
6, Victoria, Jarratt 1 (Skapski), 11:51.
Penalties-Maier Kam (hooking), 2:16; Gagnon Vic (major-fighting), 5:36; Harrison Kam (major-fighting), 5:36.
3rd Period-
7, Kamloops, Revel 2 (Ully, Harrison), 3:25.
8, Victoria, Brown 1 (Fushimi, Soy), 6:56 (PP).
9, Kamloops, Ully 1 (Connolly), 12:02.
Penalties-Fora Kam (elbowing), 5:49; Reagan Kam (tripping), 13:07; Harrison Kam (kneeing), 16:15.
Shots on Goal-
Victoria 7-14-12-33.
Kamloops 10-12-10-32.
Power Play Opportunities-
Victoria 1 / 6;
Kamloops 1 / 4.
Goalies-
Victoria, Vollrath 0-1-0-0 (14 shots-10 saves); Smith 0-0-0-0 (18 shots-16 saves).
Kamloops, Pouliot 1-0-0-0 (33 shots-30 saves).
A-4,421
Referees-Mike Campbell (89), Dexter Rasmussen (25).
Linesmen-Riley Balson (46), Spencer Lockert (84).
ROYALS FALL TO BLAZERS IN SEASON OPENER
Victoria drops 6-3 decision to Kamloops.
For Immediate Release
Friday, September 19, 2014
Kamloops, BC- The Victoria Royals dropped a 6-3 result to the Kamloops Blazers on Friday night in the teams’ opening game of the 2014-15 WHL Regular Season at Interior Savings Centre.
Veteran goaltender Coleman Vollrath got the start in net for the Royals while rookie Evan Smith replaced him midway thru the second period.
Kamloops jumped out to 3-0 lead thru one period of play on goals by Matt Revel, Josh Connolly, and Matt Needham. Teams exchanged goals the rest of the way with Mitch Skapski, Ralph Jarratt and Travis Brown scoring for the Royals. Jarratt’s tally was the first of his WHL career. Jake Kryski, Revel, and Cole Ully had the other markers for the Blazers.
Vollrath stopped 10 of 14 shots he faced, while Evan Smith turned away 16 of 18 shots in relief for the Royals. Blazers’ netminder Bolton Pouliot made 30 saves on 33 shots for the win.
Victoria went 1/6=16.7% on the power play, while Kamloops went 1/4=25.0%.
The Royals were missing 20-year-olds Brandon Magee, and Austin Carroll along with regulars Keegan Kanzig, Joe Hicketts and Axel Blomqvist who were all away attending NHL training camps
Victoria now heads to Vancouver tomorrow for a match-up against the Giants. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
The Royals kick-off their 2014-15 home schedule with a Friday night clash versus the Kamloops Blazers on September 26th. Interested in joining our Royal Family? Royals season ticket packages start at just $414 and offer a host of fantastic benefits including early entrance to home games, savings at the Royals team store, monthly e-newsletters, and first right of refusal on the same seats for the play-offs. Get the full details at www.victoriaroyals.com or by calling 250-220-7889.
