Battle Royale
If the Kamloops Blazers and Victoria Royals meet in the first round of the WHL playoffs — look out.
There were 156 penalty minutes in total — 93 of them assessed to Victoria in the third period —in a 6-0 win for Kamloops at Interior Savings Centre on Tuesday, March 5.
The most controversial point of the game came in the third period when Tim Traber of the Royals jumped Kale Kessy of the Blazers and began choking him with the Blazer's own jersey.
Kessy, by many player accounts, was rendered unconscious.
Victoria head coach Dave Lowry, Traber and Keegan Kanzig will be suspended by the WHL for their roles in the team’s third-period indiscipline.
According to the league's website, Lowry will be suspended for the conduct of his club, Traber for his actions and Kanzig for a one-man fight, in which Kessy declined to participate.
The lengths of the suspensions have not yet been determined.
Should the Blazers finish second in the B.C. Division, a Round 1 series with the Royals — a rough-and-tumble one, no doubt — will be in the cards.
Kessy scored twice for Kamloops, with JC Lipon, Sam Grist, Tim Bozon and Colin Smith adding singles.
Cole Cheveldave made 14 saves and earned the shutout in net for the Blazers.
Patrik Polivka started the game for the Royals, making 17 saves on 22 shots before being pulled after the second period.
Coleman Vollrath finished the game between the Royals' pipes, stopping 10 of 11 shots that came his way.
With the win, Kamloops is one point back of the division-leading Kelowna Rockets, who have two games in hand on the Blue and Orange.
The Blazers are off until Friday, March 8, when they host the Rockets at ISC. Game time is 7 p.m.
Kelowna hosts the rematch on Saturday, March 9.
The Rockets play the Royals in the Little Apple on Wednesday, March 6.
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