It was spillover from the Feb. 10 game in Victoria, in which the Royals’ Dmytriw was suspended three games for a hit-to-the-head penalty on Kamloops’ Sideroff. That took out two potent forces for each team. Dmytriw has been among the better Victoria forwards of late. Sideroff is a third-round draft pick of the Anaheim Ducks with 35 goals and 75 points this season for the Blazers.
But it was clearly the Royals who felt it the most, losing for the second consecutive game, while the Blazers snapped a two-game losing skid by scoring three unanswered goals in the third period. Victoria still leads the eight-game season series 4-3. It concludes Friday night with the back-end of the two-game set in Kamloops.
The Royals, fourth in the B.C. Division, trail third-place Kamloops (39-23-6) by five points with one game in hand and five games remaining. Both clubs have clinched playoff berths. But it is looking increasingly likely the Royals (37-25-5) will be the seventh seed in the tough Western Conference and will play the second seed.
“I was very disappointed in the game, considering everything that was at stake [chance to move up on Kamloops in the standings],” said Royals coach Dave Lowry.
“It was unacceptable. We knew the importance of the game but didn’t get it done. We need to be better.”
Matthew Phillips and Ethan Price scored for the Royals before 3,896 announced fans at the Sandman Centre. Phillips’ goal was his 47th, breaking Tyler Soy’s single-season record for the most scored in the six seasons the team has played in Victoria. Phillips is now in pursuit of the Chilliwack Bruins/Victoria Royals all-time franchise record of 51, held by former Bruins forward Ryan Howse.
Rudolfs Balcers, who played for Latvia at the 2017 world junior championship, scored twice to lead the Blazers.
Connor Ingram, who played on Canada’s silver-medallist team at the 2017 world juniors, made 27 saves for Kamloops. Griffen Outhouse faced a 50-shot Blazers onslaught in making 45 saves for Victoria.
The Royals’ power play was blanked 0-2, while the Blazers went 1-4.
