Ryan Michael certainly picked a good time to score his first goal of the season. Michael, in his fifth game after returning from off-season double-hip surgery, placed a precisely-taken shot low into the net from the left face-off circle with 2:06 remaining in the third period. It broke a 4-4 deadlock and was the winner in a 6-4 Kamloops Blazers Western Hockey League victory over the Victoria Royals on Wednesday night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
Jordan Keller finished it off with an empty-net goal as Victoria pulled goalie Spencer Michnik to press for an equalizer.
“The two teams worked really hard and were competitive,” said Blazers assistant coach and junior-hockey legend Don Hay.
“We gained some momentum in the third period and took care of our chances.”
The Blazers trailed 3-2 and 4-3 in the third period.
The teams traded power-play goals in the first period as Emmitt Finnie opened for Kamloops (8-8-1) and defenceman Cosmo Wilson levelled for under-manned Victoria (9-5-3). Michnik, ranked by Central Scouting for the 2025 NHL draft, had to be sharp in the opening frame with the Royals outshot 15-6.
Special teams continued to be critical in the second period. Victoria killed off a near two-minute, two-player short-handed stint, followed soon after by Teydon Trembecky finding the range on a Victoria power play at 6:18. John Szabo equalized 2-2 for the Blazers at 12:03.
The third period began at a frenetic pace as Logan Pickford of Victoria and Finnie exchanged goals making it 3-3 before a penalty-shot goal by Cole Reschny gave Victoria the 4-3 lead at 4:02 before Keller tied it 4-4 at 8:37 with what would be his first of two goals in the final period.
Nathan Behm, ranked for the second/third rounds of the 2025 NHL draft, had three assists for Kamloops as the Behm, Finnie, Kellar line was dangerous all night.
Michnik was busy in finishing with 34 saves for Victoria and Logan Edmonstone made 23 saves for Kamloops.
The Blazers have proved confounding for the Royals and lead the season series 2-1-1.
The Wednesday game closed out Victoria’s four-games-in-six-days homestand, which began with a loss Friday against the Moose Jaw Warriors, an overtime victory Sunday against the Saskatoon Blades and overtime loss Tuesday to the Blazers.
The Royals embark on their longest road trip of the season, eight games from Saturday in Seattle to Nov. 27 in Everett, with an Eastern Conference Central Division swing sandwiched in-between.
ICE CHIPS: Royals’ prize rookie defenceman Keaton Verhoeff, who will be heard from in the 2026 NHL draft, is captaining Canada White at the World U-17 Challenge in Sarnia, Ont., and will play Finland in the quarter-finals today following Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime loss to Sweden in the final game of pool play. … Also missing for the Royals were injured veteran forwards Tanner Scott, who is week to week, and Escalus Burlock, who is day to day.
