The boomerang on Blanshard continues.
The Victoria Royals extended their Western Hockey League resurgence Saturday night by scoring five unanswered goals before 3,444 fans at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in a 5-3 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings (4-3-1).
The Royals started their season with seven consecutive losses but have now won two consecutive games and are unbeaten in three.
“You can’t panic. You have to commit to the process,” said Royals GM and head coach Dan Price, following the comeback victory Saturday.
The result snapped a three-game road winning streak for Brandon.
Three goals in less than three minutes in the second period, including one on a penalty shot, spotted Brandon to a 3-0 lead. Victoria responded late in the middle period on goals by Carter Dereniwsky and Alex Edwards. Tanner Scott’s third goal of the season tied it 3-3 at 1:06 of the third period and Jake Poole gave Victoria its first lead at 7:19 with Caleb Willms adding the insurance goal.
“It was a players’ win,” said Price.
“Down 3-0, the coaches stepped back and made it about the players doing this together. We didn’t say anything. The players took it over among themselves and showed their resilience and maturity.”
Tyler Palmer made 23 saves in goal for the Royals and Nicholas Jones 21 for Brandon.
It was the first game for the Royals against an Eastern Conference team since the pandemic restricted the WHL schedule. The Brandon game is followed Tuesday night at the Memorial Centre by the Royals taking on the Canadian Hockey League top-ranked Winnipeg Ice and NHL first-round draft picks Matthew Savoie, Conor Geekie and Carson Lambos.
“It’s really refreshing and our guys are looking forward to the re-integration and seeing perhaps a different style of play that they have not seen for awhile,” said Price.
The Royals are turning things around despite a staggering injury situation, not so much in terms of quantity but quality. Top-pairing defenceman Wyatt Wilson, who was in the NHL rookie camp of the Winnipeg Jets, is out for several months with a lower-body injury incurred last week. Forward and sa国际传媒 U-18 player Brayden Schuurman was hurt in the NHL rookie camp of the Boston Bruins and Victoria captain Gannon Laroque, signed to an NHL entry-level contract by the San Jose Sharks, is also out with injury. Both have yet to play this season. Schuurman is week-to-week and Laroque month-to-month.
