Gord Rufh

Victoria Royals ride a comeback third period to defeat the Spokane Chiefs 5-4

The Victoria Royals exploded for three goals in the third period on the way to defeat the Spokane Chiefs 5-4 on Tuesday night.

In the final frame, the home team rode goals from Carson Miller, Keanu Derungs and Brandon Culter.  The Royals countered a middle frame that saw the momentum swing to the Chiefs, who had a trio of goals themselves.

“It felt really good,” said Gary Haden postgame. “We got contributions from all the lines. It was awesome to score five goals and hopefully, we keep it going.”

“In the third, the players really responded to that challenge,” said Royals’ Head Coach Dan Price. “With more net-front presence, accuracy with our shooting and we limited the turnovers. That allowed us to come back in and eventually get the win.”

A key to the game was discipline, as the Royals did not take a penalty in the game. Victoria also went 2-for-4 on the power play, making the most of the man-advantage.

Carson Miller was the first star (photo: Gord Rufh)

With two goals on the night, Miller was deservedly voted the game’s first star. The Yorkton, SK native seemed to be under the skin of the Chiefs all night. “I just love the competition really,” said Miller postgame. “Anytime every there’s some one-on-one battles throughout the ice, I don’t want to lose the single one. And I want to be there for my teammates, that’s just how I play.”

Victoria faced the Chiefs for the third time this season, after dropping the first two contests in Spokane. The Chiefs were coming in hot, with a 13-3-2-1 record since the beginning of November.

Campbell Arnold got his third start versus the Royals this season, and so far, has been excellent versus Victoria. The Nanaimo, BC product recorded wins in both the Chiefs’ victories over Victoria.

At the other end, Brock Gould got the start, fresh off receiving the invitation to the upcoming Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

Brock Gould tracks the puck while under pressure from Bear Hughes (credit: Jay Wallace/Victoria Royals)

Victoria went to power play first and made the opportunity count.  At 7:43 off the faceoff, the Royals worked it around to Carson Miller on the point, who wired home a slapshot just nine seconds into the man-advantage.

“A couple of good passes and a really good screen from Oliver gave me an easy chance to get it past the goaltender,” said Miller of his first goal.

Quickly after, a turn-over behind the Chiefs net lead to the Royals’ Kaid Oliver wide-open out front. While Arnold made the initial stop, the rebound went to the red-hot Haden who buried it for the 2-0 lead at 8:48.

In the second, the Chiefs got on the scoreboard early. Leif Mattson wrapped the puck around the net and beat Gould for his first as a Spokane Chief. The overage forward was traded on December 5th from the Kelowna Rockets in exchange for a 3rd draft pick in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft.

The Chiefs would tie the game, as Eli Zummack picked the pocket of Will Warm in the Royals zone. The puck went to the ever-dangerous Adam Beckman who made no mistake for his 21st of the season at 14:19.

Beckman would immediately strike again just 25 seconds later, as his first goal was still being announced, just 25 seconds later. The Minnesota Wild prospect teed up a shot that whistled past Gould for the 3-2 Spokane lead at 14:44.

The second period was an all too familiar theme with the Royals, as the middle frame has seen them give up the momentum to their opponents. Period shots were 21 to 10 in favour of the Chiefs.

The Royals opened the third period, like the first period, with a power-play goal from Miller.  Haden passed the puck from behind the net and found Miller out front who scored his second of the night to tie the game at 3-3 at 4:32.

Keanu Derungs breaks in on Arnold (photo: Gord Rufh)

Victoria took the lead on a blown coverage in front of the net by Spokane. Arnold made the initial save but Keanu Derungs was able to break free and kick in the rebound for his 8th of the season. After a lengthy review by the officials, the go-ahead goal stood at 12:04.

The Royals were not done as Brandon Culter added another goal just as the Derungs goal was finished being announced. The goal at 12:33 was the fourth of the year for the product of Spruce Grove, AB.

With three minutes left, Spokane Head Coach Manny Viveiros pulled his goalie for a last pushback.

The late gamble paid off, as the Chiefs worked it around to Noah King who fired the puck on home to make it a 5-4 game with 1:40 remaining.

The Royals were able to close the game out, securing a come-from-behind victory, their first versus Spokane this season.

The two clubs meet Wednesday in the second game of the back-to-back. Price expects the Chiefs to bounce back, “They’re going to push really hard. Spokane is going to play with a lot of pace and they’re going to try to stretch the ice. So, we have to play with time and space, move the puck quickly ourselves.”