After a rough start time following the John Fogerty concert last night, the Victoria Royals were shutout by the visiting Kamloops Blazers on a sunday afternoon. Jared Rathjen was given his 1st start of the season and Patrik Polivka was given a rest for the night. Rathjen stopped 36 of 39 shots and played well in between the pipes. Brady Gaudet put the Blazers up 1-0 after the 1st period, follwed by Rob Trzonkowski late in the 2nd, and Colin Smith put the nail in the coffin half-way through the 3rd. The Royals suffered their first loss of the season, but they're progress so far this season is nothing short of inspiring. Brandon Magee was all over the ice tonight, causing turnovers and having multiple chances to score. Tyler Stahl also returned to the line-up, a huge gain for our defense.
Steven Hodges did not dress for today's game, as he is day-to-day with a lower body injury. Logan Nelson stepped up and had a lot of good chances and was making good passes on the powerplay. Although he didn't score, Joe Hicketts played very well today and is beginning to get in the groove of the WHL. The Royals will host Hunter Shinkaruk and the Medicine Hat Tigers on Wednesday night, The Tigers have won 3 straight and Shinkaruk recorded 4 points (1G, 3A) in his last game against the Regina Pats. This will be the first time we will be hosting a high draft pick for this year's NHL entry draft, as Shinkaruk is coming off a 49 goal campaign last year and even without Emerson Etem, he's still on pace for another explosive season.
-Tyler Bennett
Two Victoria Royals fans, one an apsiring scout the other aspiring journalist.
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