The Victoria Royals’ year of living dangerously continued in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Vancouver Giants in the WHL cross-strait rivalry before 3,378 fans at the Memorial Centre.
The Royals had recorded three come-from-behind third-period wins in their previous four games and rallied again Saturday from an early 2-0 deficit to earn a point. But that’s a perilous game to play night in and night out.
“We’ve got to figure it out and come out faster and harder. This can’t be happening every game,” said the Royals’ rookie standout Cole Reschny.
Reschny extended his points streak to nine games with a short-handed goal and an assist to show why he is rated for the second round of the 2025 NHL draft by Elite Prospects.
Victoria, however, will lose Reschny for the next two weeks as he plays for Canada Red in the Under-17 World Challenge in P.E.I.
Royals coach Dan Price echoed his prize rookie in stating that falling behind early can’t continue: “This just can’t keep happening. You put yourself at risk. We have to find an aggressive mentality earlier in games.”
The corollary is the resilience shown in rallying night after night and Price said he loves that spirit, but added the Royals shouldn’t always have to be in that position.
The Royals (7-6-1) have points in eight of their last 10 games while the Giants moved to 4-6-1.
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