VICTORIA 4
BRANDON 3 (OT)
No leads seem insurmountable.
The Victoria Royals (9-4) recorded their sixth come-from-behind victory of the Western Hockey League season with a 4-3 decision Thursday night over the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Alex Gogolev's second power-play goal of the game sealed this deal for Victoria at 1: 58 of overtime.
"We came back again," said the Russian import, as the Royals rallied from a 2-0 second-period deficit.
"We have good third periods. We play very hard."
The Brandon Wheat Kings (6-5-2) made their first visit to Victoria in 18 years.
This time it wasn't with Ron Chipperfield, Laurie Boschman or Glen Hanlon in tow on Blanshard Street but with another generation.
The Wheaties met a Royals club who again got energized later in the game.
"It's nice to have a team that's able to come back," said Minnesotan Ben Walker, who scored two power-play goals for Victoria. "We needed to settle down and get some pucks on the net."
Royals head coach Dave Lowry admitted his club's slow starts may come back to haunt them but the club is happy enough right now to ride the rally momentum.
"I really don't know what to say," responded Lowry.
"I'd like to say we're a resilient group. But at some point the tide may turn. But we'll continue to ride this wave."
Brandon's first goal came on a penalty shot by Alessio Bertaggia at 2: 02 of the second period after Victoria defenceman Brett Cote brought him down from behind on a partial breakaway. Eric Roy's power-play goal went between Victoria goaltender Jared Rathjen's legs at 9: 20 to put Brandon ahead by two goals.
The Royals went 0-3 on the power play in the first period and seemed like special-teams play would do them in this night. But how wrong that turned out to be as the Royals would end up getting two power-play goals from Walker, Gogolev's overtime winner on the odd-man and another by Gogolev in the third period on a delayed Brandon penalty.
"We simplified what we were doing and got pucks and bodies to the net [on the power play]," said Lowry.
Walker, as he has done several times this season, provided the Royals with an opportunistic boost by scoring at 13: 13 of the second to bring the host side to within one.
The Royals pressed hard in the third period with Logan Nelson and Gogolev both hitting the piping before Gogolev, on that delayed penalty, connected on a darting break at 11: 24 to tie it 2-2. A goal by Brandon Magee was waived off moments later in a call the officials got right. But the Royals unrelenting pressure paid off with an odd-man goal by Walker at 13: 20.
But a weak slider by Wheat King Tim McGauley tied it 3-3 at 14: 16. It was Brandon's first shot of the third as Victoria held a 9-1 advantage to that point of the period.
Corbin Boes made 28 saves for Brandon and Rathjen 29 for Victoria.
ICE CHIPS: Newly-minted Royals captain Tyler Stahl missed the game due to injury and didn't get to show off his new 'C' on the jersey . . . A Palmer again made the scoresheet on Blanshard Street but it was for a minor penalty assessed Wheat Kings rookie forward Jack Palmer from Victoria, the son of former Victoria Cougars WHL great Brad Palmer.
