Royals travel to Mainland for games against Blazers, Giants, Silvertips

The Victoria Royals are back in action this week as they depart the Island for a three-game road trip that will see them travel to the mainland for a pair of matches against BC Division rivals in the Kamloops Blazers and Vancouver Giants, before heading south of the border to play the Everett Silvertips.    

They will hope for a big weekend from star forward Bailey Peach, who currently rides a six-game point streak and leads the team with 59 points (26 goals, 33 assists). The team has also recently benefited from the added production of captain Tarun Fizer, who has recorded six points (one goal, five assists) since returning from injury earlier this month. The Royals will need strong performances from both forwards if they are to capture some points this week.   

The first game of the week will get underway Wednesday night in Kamloops, where the Royals will certainly have their hands full playing against a division-leading Blazers squad that owns a  10-0 record against Victoria this season. Only ten days have passed since the teams last met on Feb. 6, a game which ended in a close 3-2 victory for Kamloops. 

The Blazers currently sit atop the BC Division and rank second overall in the Western Conference with a 33-12-1-0 record and 67 total points. They are led by the dynamic first line duo of Logan Stankoven (28 goals, 36 assists) and Luke Toporowski (29 goals, 23 assists) who rank first and second on the team with 64 and 52 points, respectively. Stankoven is currently in the midst of a 16-game point streak and has registered 15 points (six goals, nine assists) against the Royals this season. 

Blazers goaltender Dylan Garand, a Victoria native, is another obstacle the Royals will need to overcome if they are to come away with points on Wednesday. He leads all WHL net-minders with a 2.09 goals against average (GAA) and ranks second with a .935 save percentage (SV%) while sporting a 25-7-2 record in 32 games this year.  

Victoria has had much better success against their Friday night opponent–the Vancouver Giants–this season, owning six wins against two losses. The Giants currently sit fourth in the BC Division and seventh in the Western Conference with a 18-23-2-0 record, totalling 38 points. The two foes last met back on Jan. 21, with the Giants taking home the 4-2 victory.  

While Vancouver no longer benefits from the play of former leading scorer Justin Sourdif, who was traded to Edmonton at the deadline, the team still features the skills of centre Ty Thorpe, who leads the team with 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists) as well as Swedish-born forward Fabian Lysell who has registered 35 points (15 goals, 19 assists) of his own on the season.   

The Giants also feature the rock-solid play of goaltender Jesper Vikman between the pipes. The native of Stockholm, Sweden boasts a 15-12-2 record with a 3.03 GAA and a .901 SV% this year. 

Finally, the Royals will have the challenge of playing the Western Conference-leading Everett Silvertips (33-7-2-4, 72 points) when they cross the border for a game in Everett on Saturday night.  

Victoria has struggled against the ‘Tips in their last two meetings, suffering a 4-2 loss on Feb. 2 and a 5-3 defeat on Jan. 22. However, the team does have one win over Everett this season, defeating them 4-3 in overtime back on Nov. 26.  

Silvertips forward Nikko Huuhtanen has played well in both the recent victories over the Royals, posting 5 points (three goals, two assists) between those two contests. The Helsinki, Finland product  has totalled 54 points this season (26 goals, 28 assists) which is tied for the team lead with fellow forward Jackson Berezowski (32 goals, 22 assists)–who currently rides a five game point streak–and is only two more points than teammate Alex Swetlikoff, who has registered 52 of his own (21 goals, 31 assists) in 2021-2022.  

Everett also employs one of the top goaltenders in the WHL in Brayden Holt, who ranks in the top ten in both save percentage (.914) and goals against average (2.46) with a 20-4-3 record this season.  

Wednesday night’s game is set to get underway at 7pm at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, while the team’s Friday, Feb. 18 game against Vancouver will commence at 7:05pm at the Langley Events Centre. 

Victoria’s final game of the week is set to begin at 6:05 pm on Saturday, Feb. 19 at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, WA.   

The next Victoria Royals home game will be on Saturday, February 26 at 7:05 p.m. against the Vancouver Giants. The game will have a “Hockey For All” theme presented by Charlsey Macgregor and will highlight diversity and inclusivity.  

For tickets to upcoming Royals games, visit the Victoria Royals ticketing page or call the Select Your Ticket box office at 250-220-7777. Visit the Royals promo page for all special ticket offers.  

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