For the second night in a row the Royals hosted the Kelowna Rockets, and for the second night in a row the Royals played a very entertaining game for the fans. Coming into this game the Royals were tied atop their division with the Kamloops Blazers. The team was lead by Kevin Sundher, Robin Soudek, Jamie Crooks, and Logan Nelson who are all in the top 20 scoring in the league.
First Period
The Royals starter in goal was Keith Hamilton (No Suprise) , and the Rockets replied with Jordon Cooke. Robin Soudek would waste no time to get the crowd into it, as he scored his 8th goal of the season just 19 seconds into the game. Austin Carroll and Kevin Sundher drew the assists on the goal. The Rockets and Royals would then start the chippy, grinding play as both teams traded chances midway through the first. Victoria had a chance on the powerplay to make it a 2-0 lead, but it was Kelowna that would capitalize. Shane McColgan would take a pass from Filip Vasko, and beat Hamilton for a shorthanded goal. The shorthanded tally was scored at the 15:05 mark. Both teams would sustain a couple good offensive zone pressure shifts, but the period would end in a 1-1 tie. Victoria out shot Kelowna 14-10 in the first.
Second Period
The Royals would get a couple powerplay chances in the first half of the second, but they would not be able to get one past Cooke. Traber continued his strong season as an agitator, as he would lure in Spencer Main for matching roughing penalties. Kevin Sundher would give the home side the lead again, as he scored his 4th of the season at the 16:33 mark. Austin Carroll got the lone assist. That lead would only last just over a minute though, as Kelowna would respond. Tyson Baillie would tie the game up at the 17:44 mark. Cody Chikie and Jesse Lees were credited with the assists. The teams would go to the locker room after the second tied at 2. Kelowna out shot Victoria 16-9 in the middle frame.
Third Period
The team would trade chances in the first half of the third frame, but it wasn't till near the midway mark of the period that the teams potted some goals. First it was Cody Chikie scoring his 5th of the season at the 8:44 mark. Spencer Main got the lone assist. The Royals would get a chance to tie things up on the powerplay, and that's exactly what they would do. Hayden Rintoul would score his 5th goal of the season with the man advantage. Kevin Sundher and Robin Soudek would get the assists on the goal scored at the 10:02 mark of the third. The rest of the period wouldn't see anymore scoring as the teams would head to overtime. The Royals out shot Kelowna 12-7 in the third.
Overtime
The Royals would waste no time in overtime. It took a mere 35 seconds for Jess Zgraggen to scores his first goal of the season, and give the home side the win. Kevin Sundher and Robin Soudek provided the assists.
Top Three Royals' Players of the Game
Kevin Sundher- Sundher would finish the game with a goal and 3 assists. He is now tied at first in league scoring, and leads the entire league in assists with 17. He continues to dominate and he shows now signs of slowing down.
Robin Soudek- Soudek finished with a goal and an assist and a +3 rating. Soudek continues to set the tempo of most of the games offensively for the Royals. He continues to provide solid veteran leadership on a young team.
Jesse Zgraggen-There is no way Jesse Zgraggen would be left off this list. He finished +2, but more importantly he got the OT game winner. Zgraggen has been a very effective physical defenseman for the Royals all season long. Kudos to him for getting his first goal of the year which won his team the game.
The Royals kept pace with the Blazers to stay atop the division. The Royals next game is Friday in Vancouver to take on the Giants.
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