Patrick Polivka and Jack Walker were the latest heroes for the surging Victoria Royals, as the Western Hockey League club continued their solid play Wednesday with a 1-0 shootout win over Everett at Save-On-Foods Memorial.
Polivka notched his league-leading fifth shutout of the season, stopping all 24 Everett shots in regulation and overtime and three more in the shootout. Walker beat Austin Lotz with a backhand to the top corner on the second of Victoria’s three shootout shots.
The New Year’s Day victory was the Royals’ second in two days over the Silvertips, following a thrilling 3-2 win in Everett. Ben Walker scored his 17th goal of the season with just 35 seconds left in the third period, on the power play from Axel Blomqvist and Steven Hodges, to seal Tuesday’s win for the visitors.
The second-place Royals (27-13-0-2 have seven wins and an overtime loss in their past eight games. They sit eight points back of league-leading Kelowna Rockets in the B.C. Division and in the overall league standings heading into tomorrow night’s contest in Spokane.
The Royals play the Winter Hawks in Portland the next night then have a six-day break in the schedule before returning home to host the Hawks for back-to-back games Jan. 10 and 11.
