Royals Welcome Wheat Kings to Town for First Eastern Conference Matchup Since 2020
October 13, 2022 – Western Hockey League (WHL) – Victoria Royals News Release
Victoria Royals goaltender Tyler Palmer
(Victoria Royals)
Victoria, B.C. – The Victoria Royals will continue their five game homestand this weekend as they host the Brandon Wheat Kings at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre on Saturday night.
Saturday will be a special day at SOFMC as the team will celebrate Marty the Marmot’s birthday presented by West Coast Insurance Services.
It is the Royals’ first game against an Eastern Conference team since the 2019-2020 season, as the pandemic restricted WHL teams to playing teams exclusively within their own conference for the past two years.
Victoria (1-7-1-0) will look to keep their positive momentum going after picking up their first win of the season against the Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday night.
Forward Matthew Hodson has enjoyed a successful week for the team, recording two goals and an assist in Wednesday’s victory to extend his point streak to four games. The Saskatoon, SK product has scored a team-high four goals this year and sits second in total points with five (four goals, one assist) on the season.
Another player who has proved his value to the team of late is goaltender Tyler Palmer. The 19-year-old netminder has held opponents to two goals in each of his previous three starts, making 96 saves on 102 shots over that span for a save percentage of .941. He earned his first win of the campaign on Wednesday and was named the game’s first star after putting up a 40 save performance.
The last time the Royals met the Wheat Kings was way back on Jan. 26, 2020 at Westoba Place in Brandon, MB.
The Wheat Kings have played some quality hockey of late, earning a pair of road wins over the Calgary Hitmen and Prince George Cougars earlier this week to bring their record to 3-2-1-0 on the season. They currently sit in a tie for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
A large part of their recent success has been the play of 2003-born forward Brett Hyland, who is riding a three-game point streak and sits in a tie for the team lead in scoring with seven points (three goals, four assists) over six games this season.
Brandon also benefits from having one of the best young goaltenders the WHL has to offer in Carberry, MB native Carson Bjarnason. The 17-year-old was one of three goalies selected to Team Canada’s roster at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup this summer and has posted a 3-1-1-0 record to go along with a 2.18 goals against average and a .941 save percentage over five appearances with the Wheat Kings this year.
Saturday’s game will also see the Royals hold a birthday celebration for mascot Marty the Marmot. The team has a number of pregame festivities planned, including a cake-cutting ceremony, visits from some of Marty’s mascot friends, and loads of games and activities such as mini-sticks, mini-bowling, giant chess, face-painting and even a magician.
Fans will also have an opportunity to enter a Shoot to Win $5,000 contest courtesy of West Coast Insurance Services. Kids under the age of 12 will also be able to purchase a ticket at the box office for $5.
Puck drop for the game is set for 6:05 pm at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in downtown Victoria. Tickets can be purchased by visiting selectyourtickets.com.
Impact players to watch:
Victoria:
#28 Riley Gannon (F) – 9 GP, 6 PTS (1 G, 5 A)
#34 Jake Poole (F) – 7 GP, 5 PTS (1 G, 4 A)*
#24 Luke Shipley (D) – 8 GP, 4 PTS (2 G, 2 A)
*2 PTS (1 G, 1 A) with Kelowna.
Brandon:
#19 Jake Chiasson (F) – 5 GP, 7 PTS (4 G, 3 A)
#15 Nolan Richie (F) – 5 GP, 7 PTS (2 G, 5 A)
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.
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