KELOWNA 5 VICTORIA 2
The host Kelowna Rockets defeated the Victoria Royals 5-2, but perhaps the biggest triumph was that a WHL game was played at all Saturday amid a spate of recent postponements in junior hockey.
“Definitely, safety is front of mind and we’ve been open in discussing it with our players,” said Royals GM and head coach Dan Price.
“It’s out there. It’s a reality. Let’s control everything we can control to stay safe and keep playing.”
The Lethbridge Hurricanes became the latest club to pause team activities Saturday following 14 players being on the WHL COVID-19 protocol list due to exhibiting symptoms or having tested positive for COVID-19. The Swift Current Broncos also paused team activities Thursday with four players under COVID-19 protocol. The WHL also postponed four games in Manitoba scheduled for Saturday, Monday, Friday and next Saturday due to capacity being restricted to 250 for arenas in that province.
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has suspended play until Jan. 14 and the Ontario Hockey League has postponed 41 games and reduced arena capacity limits to 1,000. And, of course, the 2022 world junior championship was called off mid-stride last week in Edmonton and Red Deer.
On the ice, the Rockets (16-9-3) scored three unanswered third-period goals to win their fifth consecutive game while snapping the Royals’ winning streak at three games before a half-capacity capped crowd of 3,400 at Prospera Place.
Victoria (12-14-4) had 10 regulars out of the line-up, mostly due to injuries, including captain Tarun Fizer.
“We were a very depleted group with a lot of affiliates called up,” said Price.
“But this is such a competitive group. Through the fatigue of playing four games in five days, they fought hard and threw everything they had at them [Rockets]. It was a game of inches with the puck barely crossing the line for the winning goal.”
It was reviewed, at 11:17 of the third period, and the goal by Jake Lee stood to make it 3-2. Max Graham went bar down four minutes later for the insurance goal and Lee scored his second into an empty net.
Six-foot-four centre Colton Dach, a 2021 NHL second-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, had two assists for the Rockets. The 20-year-old Bailey Peach scored both Victoria goals to push his total to 20 on the season.
“It’s how he scores and how he plays off the puck that is most impressive,” said Price.
“[Peach] is a gritty and relentless 200-foot player.”
Peach, a native of Falmouth, N.S., has been a revelation since coming across the country after four seasons in the QMJHL. He is committed for next season to the Acadia Axemen of U Sports, but is also looking for a pro contract in the AHL, ECHL or Europe. Peach leads the Royals in points with 44, including a franchise-record seven points in Thursday’s 7-3 victory over the Vancouver Giants at the Memorial Centre, and may yet sign on the dotted line.
“He is a pro, in my mind,” said Price.
The Royals were again widely outshot, a glaring feature of their season even in victory, but the goaltending could not bail the team out this time as Kelowna held a 44-21 shots advantage. Goaltenders Tyler Palmer and Campbell Arnold have been among the stars of the season for Victoria but could not bail the team out Saturday.
“I have been up front in the media that we are allowing too many shots in some games,” said Price.
He said the team tightened things up in the previous game, despite still begin outshot in the 7-3 win over the Giants, and said Saturday’s imbalance could be attributed more to fatigue.
Victoria is at Prince George to play the Cougars on Friday and next Saturday.
