Royals Wrap-Up Home Stand with Battle Against Rival Giants
October 20, 2022 – Western Hockey League (WHL) – Victoria Royals News Release
Victoria Royals’ Justin Kipkie on the ice
(Victoria Royals)
Victoria, B.C. – The Victoria Royals will look to pick up their third win of the season as they renew their rivalry against the Vancouver Giants this Saturday night at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
Victoria (2-8-1-0) has good form of late, picking up two wins over the Kelowna Rockets and Brandon Wheat Kings last week before taking the CHL number-one ranked Winnipeg ICE down to the wire in a 3-2 loss on Tuesday.
Royals General Manager and Head Coach Dan Price emphasized the importance of winning the special teams battle in order to keep the momentum going against the Giants this weekend:
“We’ve seen trends this year when we’re even [strength] or better and in control of the special team’s battle we tend to have more success, that’s no surprise,” said Price. “So that’s a focus, keep the game at five-on-five or better and hopefully get our power play going and really try and move the puck with a lot of pace against that forechecking and physical style of play that Vancouver brings.”
Goaltender Tyler Palmer continues to come up big for the team, holding teams to three goals or less over his past six starts while recording 184 saves on 199 shots over that span, with many of them making the highlight-reels.
The Fernie, BC product has posted a 2-6-0 record with a 3.37 goals against average (GAA), and a .900 save percentage in nine appearances this year.
Another Royal who has come on of late is forward Teague Patton, who was acquired in the offseason from the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The Kelowna, BC native used a two-point performance (one goal, one assist) to vault himself into a tie for the team lead in scoring with seven total points (two goals, five assists in 11 games this year.
There is also good news on the injury front for Victoria headed into the weekend as forward Brayden Schuurman’s status had been upgraded to probable according to Coach Price. His return would give the team a much-needed boost at the top of the lineup.
However, the team still remains without the services of defencemen Gannon Laroque, Wyatt Wilson and Ryan Spizawka as well as forward Caleb Willms, all who are listed as out with injuries.
Meanwhile, the Vancouver Giants (1-4-1-2) are coming off a pair of close losses, falling 4-3 to the Winnipeg ICE on Wednesday and 4-2 to the Brandon Wheat Kings last Friday.
Despite their early-season woes, the Giants remain a team with plenty of firepower on both ends of the ice and are far from ones to be taken lightly. The Royals learned that lesson first-hand in a 4-1 loss when the teams met for the first time this year in late September.
Forward Ty Thorpe has been the top scorer for the Giants to this point in the season, recording eight points on four goals and four assists over eight games.
Vancouver also has recently benefited from the return of star forward and team captain Zack Ostapchuk from injury. The Ottawa Senators prospect recorded 43 points (26 goals, 17 assists) in 60 games for the team last season and has etched his name on the scoresheet in both his appearances this season, counting one assist and one goal on the year.
Swedish-born goaltender Jesper Vikman is expected to start in net for Vancouver this weekend, with 19-year-old Brett Mirwald occupying the backup role.
Vikman is considered one of the top goaltenders in the WHL but has gotten off to something of a slow start this season, posting a record of 1-2-0-1 with a .897 SV% and a 3.39 GAA over five games. However, those numbers will undoubtedly improve as the season goes on and the Palmer-Vikman matchup should be a fun one to watch on Saturday.
Coach Price wants to see his team create traffic around the net in order to get the Giants’ keeper off his game:
“That will be another key,” said Price. “Making sure we’re around the net. We saw that in the most recent game Vancouver had against Winnipeg…They were all around the net and we want to make sure we’re all around the net against Vikman.”
Victoria will be holding its annual Hocktoberfest celebration presented by Tedford Garage Doors during this weekend’s game, featuring dozens of activities for the whole family. More information about the event can be found here.
Puck-drop for Saturday’s contest is set for 6:05 pm on Saturday, Oct. 22. Tickets can be purchased at selectyourtickets.com.
Impact players to watch:
Victoria:
#11 Matthew Hodson (F) – 8 GP, 7 PTS (5 G, 2 A)
#9 Tanner Scott (F) – 11 GP, 5 PTS (3 G, 2 A)
#14 Carter Dereniwsky (F) – 11 GP, 6 PTS (2 G, 4 A)
Vancouver:
#29 Samuel Honzek (F) – 8 GP, 7 PTS (3 G, 4 A)
#47 Madzen Leslie (D) – 8 GP, 7 PTS (2 G, 5 A)
#7 Ty Halaburda (F) – 7 GP, 4 PTS (3 G, 1 A)
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