Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre hasn’t exactly been a graveyard for visiting teams the past few WHL seasons. The Tri-City Americans have proven the exception, having lost nine of their last 11 games in Victoria, including the last five, heading into Saturday night.
But the Americans, who missed the playoffs last season, managed to flip the script with a 5-4 overtime victory against the Victoria Royals, who made the playoffs last season for the first time since before the pandemic.
The Americans opened the scoring at 7:39 of the second period on a rebound goal by Kale Margolis. Fifth-year Royals forward Tanner Scott scored his second goal of the season to tie it before Cash Koch restored Tri-City’s lead at 11:05. The Royals’ power play, which had gone 0-8 to that point on the season, finally connected on a goal by Logan Pickford to pull the game level at 2-2 heading into the second break. Escalus Burlock of Victoria, on standout individual play, gave Victoria the lead in the third period before Tri-City retook it on goals by Jake Sloan and Cruz Pavao. The Royals tied it 4-4 through 16-year-old blueline prodigy Keaton Verhoeff’s third goal of the season. Gavin Garland scored the winner in OT for the Americans.
The game started more muted than Friday night’s fast-paced season opener, won 5-4 in overtime by the Royals over the Amerks.
Victoria was missing five players away at NHL training camps. The Americans have three players remaining in NHL camps with three having returned, including six-foot-three Czech-import goaltender Lukas Matecha from the camp of the Florida Panthers, who made 20 saves. Royals goaltender Jayden Kraus was solid in making 45 saves.
Victoria opens the road portion of its schedule next Friday and Saturday in Kelowna and Kamloops, respectively, against the Rockets and Blazers.
ICE CHIPS: Six-foot-four centre Sloan, who returned from the Boston Bruins training camp, has been named Tri-City captain while the Royals have yet to announce their captain … Cole Reschny, projected for the first-round of the 2025 NHL draft, veteran forward Scott and defenceman Cosmo Wilson skated as the Royals assistant captains in the opening weekend.
