“We generated a lot of chances, we had a really good first period and did a lot of really good things…” said Royals Head Coach who was celebrating his Birthday.
Victoria took a 2-1 lead to the third, and outscored the home team 3-1 in the final frame.
“They (Kamloops) really elevated their physical play in the second, and it was important for us to have an answer in the third, and I thought our guys did a really good job of that.” added Lowry
Austin Carroll also had a pair of goals, while Joe Hicketts added 3 assists in his hometown, and Greg Chase chipped in with a pair of helpers. Alex Forsberg scored the other, while Justin Paulic made 30 saves in the win.
Victoria outshot Kamloops 42-32 overall, and 18-4 in the first, but the game was tied at 1-1.
“You look at the score after one and it was tied, but I look at the zone time, the possessions, the shots we directed at the net and the opportunities that we had, and I was pleased.” said Lowry
Their power play went 2 for 6 and shut down all 6 opposition man advantages.
“We talked before the game - we needed our power play to win us a game…the power play gets your top players going, they were sharp and created chances.” said Lowry
“I also look at that fifth goal, that we scored. That was a big goal after they scored to bring it within a couple.” said Lowry when asked about turning points in the game.
Cole Ully had a pair of assists, while the Blazers got goals from Matt Needham and Marc McNulty. Connor Ingram stopped 37 shots in the defeat.
The Royals lead the season series with a record of 4-2-1-0, and get back into the win column after a 7-3 loss one night earlier against the Rockets.
Soy earned his 22nd and 23rd of the year including cracking the 50 point plateau (52pts)
“It was huge for us to come back after a game like that, we’ve really been focussing on having a playoff mindset, trying to not worry about past games. We did a good job coming out, we battled hard all night and were able to get the win.” said Soy
They’ll meet one more at the Interior Savings Centre Friday Feb. 27th.
Kamloops (50pts) had their two game win streak snapped, and coming into the night as a potential first round playoff preview, found themselves on the outside looking in after wins by Prince George (50pts) and Vancouver (51pts).
Victoria remains 2nd in the BC division, and 4th in the West, 1 point up on Seattle who’ll they’ll face Sunday at 5pm to wrap up 3 in 3 on the road.
Saturday night, Kamloops jumped to a 1-0 lead before Tyler Soy evened it up at 1-1.
In the second period with just 2.4 seconds left Forsberg scored on the power play to give the Royals the lead heading into the final frame.
Austin Carroll put the visitors ahead by two with a great individual effort. Victoria killed off a 5 on 3, before Soy put the Royals up 4-1 on a shortside deke.
McNulty found the net to cut the lead in half for about minute before Carroll notched his second of the night finishing off a 2 on 1 play from Soy.
- Marlon Martens
Victoria Royals 5 at Kamloops Blazers 2 - Status: Final
Saturday, February 14, 2015 - Interior Savings Centre - Kamloops, BC
Victoria 1 1 3 - 5
Kamloops 1 0 1 - 2
1st Period-
1, Kamloops, Needham 19 (Ully, Rehill), 5:53.
2, Victoria, Soy 22 (Hicketts, Chase), 10:28.
Penalties-Chase Vic (slashing), 6:38; Needham Kam (kneeing), 10:01; Brown Vic (roughing), 10:11.
2nd Period-
3, Victoria, Forsberg 22 (Hicketts, Brown), 19:57 (PP).
Penalties-Gaudet Kam (tripping), 4:40; Ully Kam (holding), 12:39; Davidson Kam (tripping), 18:47.
3rd Period-
4, Victoria, Carroll 31 2:20.
5, Victoria, Soy 23 (Chase, Jarratt), 10:46.
6, Kamloops, McNulty 7 (Ully, Gaudet), 17:23. 7,
Victoria, Carroll 32 (Soy, Hicketts), 18:25 (PP).
Penalties-Gagnon Vic (interference), 2:54; Magee Vic (cross checking), 4:22; Gaudet Kam (hooking), 5:41; Chase Vic (slashing), 6:48; Brown Vic (hooking), 16:07; Davidson Kam (kneeing), 17:03.
Shots on Goal-
Victoria 18-10-14-42.
Kamloops 4-10-18-32.
Power Play Opportunities-
Victoria 2 / 6;
Kamloops 0 / 6.
Goalies-
Victoria, Paulic 12-10-1-1 (32 shots-30 saves).
Kamloops, Ingram 15-15-1-3 (42 shots-37 saves).
A-3,853
Referees-Kevin Bennett (29), Sean Raphael (28).
Linesmen-Riley Balson (46), Devon Sephton (149).
