KELOWNA 5 VICTORIA 0
Welcome back, Kotter.
Only this wasn鈥檛 a classroom in Brooklyn, but an arena in the Okanagan.
The Victoria Royals and Kelowna Rockets picked up on Friday night where they left off on March 11, 2020, when they both last played a Western Hockey League game.
The Royals won the game last March 3-2 before the sports world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Rockets figured turnabout is fair play with a 5-0 victory Friday at Prospera Place in Kelowna that was more than a year in the making.
Steel Quiring scored at 2:48 of the first period for Kelowna, the first goal for either team, since Anaheim Ducks first-round draft pick Brayden 颅Tracey鈥檚 game winner for 颅Victoria at 11:22 of the third period 380 days ago.
Alex Swetlikoff scored twice for Kelowna and Jake Lee, 颅Quiring, Elias Carmichael once each in the decisive victory.
Victoria goalkeeper Adam Evanoff faced 35 Kelowna shots and Rockets netminder Cole Schwebius only 19. The Royals went 0-4 on the power play and the Rockets 1-5.
Attendance the previous time the teams met in Kelowna was 4,780. It was zero on 颅Friday night as no spectators are allowed in the abbreviated 2021 WHL sa国际传媒 Division season in which each team will play 24 games in 48 days in Kelowna and Kamloops. There are no playoffs. It鈥檚 a straight sprint to the top of the table.
Both the Royals and Rockets are in rebuilding mode with 12 rookies each on the roster.
Victoria had a top-heavy 19-year-old roster last season and only three of those 10 players are eligible to return as 20-year-old over-agers this year.
Kelowna went all-in and traded for several veteran 颅players to host the cancelled 2020 Memorial Cup.
It seemed like a good idea at the trade deadline in January of 2020. Little did they know those plans would lay in ruins just two months later when the final week of the regular season and playoffs were cancelled.
鈥淚t was scrambly with a lot of players new to both teams and the league,鈥� Victoria general manager and head coach Dan Price said following the loss.
鈥淲e were more passive than we should have been. I need to make it more clear when we need to press, and the pace that is expected.鈥�
The Royals play the Prince George Cougars on Monday in Kelowna and the Vancouver Giants on Tuesday in Kamloops.
