The Victoria Royals scored two unanswered goals in the first 20 minutes to defeat the Kamloops Blazers 5-1 in the second of back-to-back games Saturday night to continue their hot start to the season.
Royals’ Matthew Phillips and Regan Nagy gave the home team a two-goal lead in the first period. The game-winner was scored by Nagy with 27 seconds left in the first period.
Victoria’s other goals were fired in by Tyler Soy and Alex Forsberg on the power play, while Jack Walker would score the fifth and final goal for the home team. Nick Chyzowski scored Kamloops’ lone marker in the second period.
Royals’ defenceman Joe Hicketts notched three assists to surpass former Chilliwack Bruin Brandon Manning for the most assists by a defender in franchise history. Hicketts has tallied 94 assists in his 170 game career, while Manning recorded 91 assists in the 200 contests he played with the Bruins.
Victoria’s netminder Coleman Vollrath tied former Royal goaltender Patrik Polivka for most victories in club history at 56.
The Friday night game saw the Royals score on two power play opportunities in a 4-2 victory over the Blazers.
The Royals will wrap up their six-game home stand with a weekday back-to-back series against the Spokane Chiefs on Tuesday and Wednesday night.