iSight Optometry Recap: Royals out score Rockets in track meet of game

iSight Optometry Recap: Royals out score Rockets in track meet of game

The Victoria Royals outlasted the Kelowna Rockets 9-7 in a high-scoring affair on Monday afternoon at Prospera Place in Kelowna, BC.

After scoring the opening goal Victoria found the back of the net three times before Kelowna responded towards the end of the opening frame. With the lead cut in half, Victoria once again scored three unanswered goals in the second frame before answering back with their lone goal of the period. The Rockets and Royals traded goals early into the third period, Kayden Longley and Tij Iginla then drew the Rockets back within one before Ben Riche scored back-to-back goals to complete a hat-trick.

“If we’re not willing to defend, that’s just poor on our part,” said Rockets head coach Kris Mallettte following the game. “The goals we gave up were so ill-advised and the decisions we made were really poor. It shouldn’t get into a track meet at that point for me. You play the game the right way, these are an anomaly, we don’t get into the back and forth if we commit to playing with some structure in our own end this game isn’t close.”

With Jari Kykkanen still out day-to-day with an upper-body injury, 17-year-old rookie goaltender Jake Pilon made his third straight start for the Rockets. Following the sixth goal Pilon was replaced in net by 16-year-old affiliate goaltender Nathan Kam. Making his first WHL appearance, Kam stopped 16 of the 19 shots he faced through 27:52 of action in relief of Pilon.

“We had two young goaltenders in the net, it wasn’t easy by any means to have to pull Jake,” said Mallette. “After the last game we played and tonight, we did him (Jake) no favors. To put Nathan in wasn’t an easy decision, but I thought he handled himself admirably.  Our guys I thought rallied behind it, but again three of those goals were gift-wrapped”

POSTGAME MALLETE INTERVIEW | GAME HIGHLIGHTS | BOXSCORE 

GAME SUMMARY

Tij Iginla (6) put the Rockets on the board first 3:38 into the game while on the power play. Seth Fryer (1) and Robin Sapousek (3) quickly responded for Victoria in the minutes following Iginla’s goal, Ben Riche (1) then pushed the Royals out to a two-goal lead before the midway point of the frame. Dylan Wightman’s (1) power play goal pulled the Rockets back within one.

Matthew Hodson (2) and Austin Zemlak (2) struck for the Royals within the first three and a half minutes of the second frame. Robin Sapousek (4) padded Victoria’s lead just after the midway point. Kam came into the game Following Spousek’s goal. Andrew Cristall (3) made it a 6-3 game.

Cristall (4) found the back of the net again 1:12 into the third while in on a short-handed breakaway. The Royals once again pushed back with a goal from Reggie Newman (2) before Kayden Longley (1) and Tij Iginla (7) pulled Kelowna back within one. Riche (2, 3) scored back-to-back goals to complete the hat-trick. Wightman (2) redirected his second goal of the game past Holt in the final minutes of the game.