The rising Victoria Royals couldn’t have made more of a statement than they did this weekend in a two-game sweep of the Kamloops Blazers, in which Victoria outscored Kamloops by a combined 14-2 with a pair of 7-1 Western Hockey League victories. It was capped Saturday night before 3,714 fans at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre as the Royals won for the eighth time in their past nine games to continue answering pundits wondering if they are true championship contenders.
The Royals are 25-12-7 atop the sa国际传媒 Division, third in the Western Conference and third in the league. The Blazers are 15-23-3 and chasing the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference.
“Our goal is to finish as high as we can and to show we are not a team to be messed with,” said Royals star forward Cole Reschny.
“We’ve come together. We’ve come a long way in this last stretch of 10 games [8-1-1] and are in a good spot.”
With two goals and two assists on Saturday, Reschny also had his own personal answer for those in Central Scouting who dropped him from a season-starting ranking projection for the first round of the 2025 NHL draft to last week’s mid-season poll that dropped him to the second round as a prospect.
“I don’t really look at that stuff, but sure, it is motivation,” said the slippery centre.
“At the end of the day, it’s up to me what I put in the scouts’ minds.”
WHL veteran and Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick Brandon Lisowsky also scored twice Saturday for his eighth goal in eight games for Victoria since being acquired from the Saskatoon Blades on Jan. 2, and his 30th goal of the season. Kenta Isogai, another 20-year-old forward acquired this month, from the Wenatchee Wild, had a goal and two assists Saturday. That added to the two goals and assist recorded in Friday night’s 7-1 win by the native of Nagano, Japan, who learned to play hockey in the rink that hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics.
“Kenta has everything. He can make plays and score goals. He’s the kind of guy you want on your line,” said Reschny, who plays the middle on Victoria’s first line with Isogai and Teydon Trembecky on the wings.
Caleb Matthews the always-reliable, two-way Reggie Newman also scored for the Royals on Saturday.
Victoria head coach James Patrick said Saturday of the additions of Lisowsky and Isogai: “When you add two top-end players like that, the ripple effect is felt throughout the line-up.”
Former NHLer Patrick, however, said he wouldn’t categorize it as a statement weekend: “I would instead call it a good bounce back after Wednesday [last-minute loss to Brandon on a strange bounce].”
After recently-acquired goaltender Johnny Hicks received his first start for Victoria in Friday night’s 7-1 win over the Blazers, the Royals were back with regular-starter Jayden Kraus, who made 23 saves as the Royals outshot Kamloops 43-24 Saturday. John Szabo ruined Kraus’ shutout bid on the Kamloops power play at 17:25 of the third period. The Royals, meanwhile, scored on both their power plays.
The Royals lead the season series against the Blazers 4-2-1.
The Royals are in Kent, Washington, on Friday to play the Seattle Thunderbirds and meet the Swift Current Broncos next Saturday at the Memorial Centre.
