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Victoria Royals even with Kelowna in playoff race despite three losses on the week

Royals beat the Rockets 5-1 but Kelowna has games in hand
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The Victoria Royals beat the Rockets 5-1 in Kelowna on Jan. 22. The two teams are now tied at 31 points on the year as they fight for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. (Courtesy of the Victoria Royals)

It took three losses before the Victoria Royals escaped last week with a win, but that was enough for them to match the team ahead of them in the standings in points.

Victoria suffered a tough swing south of the border with losses to Tri-City, Portland and Spokane before they capped the four-game road trip with a win against the Kelowna Rockets.

After going up 4-0 against Tri-City on Jan. 18, the Americans rallied back with five unanswered goals to take a 5-4 win over the Royals.

Next up was a high-scoring match against the Winterhawks in Portland two days later. Teague Patton scoring two goals and several other Royals having multi-point nights helped them push the third-place Winterhawks into overtime.

The teams wouldn’t let the other side get more than one goal ahead as they traded scores until it was 4-4 with 10 minutes to go. Victoria was able to score twice in just over three minutes but Portland would tie the game again with two late tallies.

The Winterhawks then completed the comeback with a goal halfway through the extra frame.

The Washington State losing streak continued against Spokane as the Chiefs broke away from a 3-3 tie, scoring three in the third period for a 6-3 win.

Victoria’s one win then came when they needed it the most as the capital city toppled the Kelowna Rockets 5-1 on Sunday (Jan. 22).

Kelowna lost two out of three last week, allowing the Royals to tie them in points with 31 on the year. The Rockets still hold the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference as they have games in hand on Victoria.

The Royals are back home against the Kamloops Blazers on Jan. 28. Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m. for that game.

READ: Playoff spot in reach after Victoria Royals stay hot with weekend sweep


 

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