Sometimes a goaltending change can spark a team and change the outcome of a game.
It certainly did Tuesday night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. With the Kelowna Rockets having scored three straight goals to take a 3-1 lead over the Victoria Royals, Victoria head coach Dan Price pulled Brock Gould after the 18-year-old let in the three goals on eight shots over just under a period and a half.
Enter veteran Shane Farkas. The substitution sparked the Royals鈥� offence as the home team stormed back to pull out a 4-3 shootout victory.
Will Warm got the comeback started two minutes into the third. Just 1:10 later, Kaid Oliver picked the perfect time to get his first goal of the season, burying a nice feed from Taren Fizer to set up the three-on-three OT that solved nothing.
And then it was Oliver playing hero again.
The veteran, in just his seventh game of the season due to off-season surgery, was the only goal-scorer in the shootout to help the Royals send the 3,213 fans home happy.
Farkas stopped all 16 shots he faced before the shootout and then closed the door on Kyle Topping, Tampa Bay Lighting 2019 draft pick Nolan Foote and Leif Mattson in the shootout to secure the extra point for the Royals, who improved to 6-5-1 on the season.
After 20-year-old Gary Haden beat Roman Basran on a breakaway 7:33 into the opening period to give the Royals the lead, the Rockets (7-4-2) woke up. Pavel Novak got things started for the visitors, burying one past Gould with three minutes left in the first.
In the second it was goals from Sean Comrie and Ethan Ernst spelling the end of Gould鈥檚 night before the second period was half over.
Basran stopped 25 of the 28 shots he faced in regulation and overtime.
The Royals and Rockets will do it all again tonight at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre to wrap up their two-game set.
LOOSE PUCKS: The Royals were again without veteran forward Carson Miller, who remains out with an injury. 鈥� After tonight鈥檚 game, the Royals have a one-game weekend on tap as the Medicine Hat Tigers pay a visit to Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on Saturday night.
