If you were at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre Wednesday night, you probably saw a flurry of hats on the ice—and for good reason.
Teydon Trembecky lit the lamp three times, including the game winner with just 30 seconds left on the clock, as the Victoria Royals edged the Spokane Chiefs 4-3 in a nail-biting game three of their second-round WHL playoff series.
The win gives the Royals a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series—and plenty of momentum heading into the weekend.
This wasn’t just a night for Trembecky to shine. Royals head coach James Patrick made a bold move between the pipes, giving Jayden Kraus his first start of the playoffs in place of Johnny Hicks—one of the league’s top netminders this post-season.
The gamble paid off as Kraus turned away 47 of 50 shots in a rock-solid performance, showing exactly why he’s ranked 12th among North American goalies for the 2025 NHL Draft.
It was a wild one from the get-go.
Trembecky opened the scoring just under 10 minutes in, then assisted on Cole Reschny’s power play goal a few minutes later. Moments after that, Trembecky struck again for his second of the night. The Chiefs pushed back with a goal late in the first, and after a scoreless second, clawed their way to a 3-3 tie in the third.
But with the Royals on the power play in the final minute, Trembecky capped off his hat trick and sent the Memorial Centre into a frenzy.
GAME. WINNER.
🎥 Carson Echlin#WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingTheFuture | #OurTimeToReign pic.twitter.com/QVSAzcRuzN
— xy – Victoria Royals (@victoriaroyals) April 17, 2025
The series now continues in Victoria this Friday and Saturday—puck drops are at 7:05 p.m. and 6:05 p.m. respectively—and fans are being encouraged to pack the barn. With the way this team is playing, every dollar is worth it.
If needed, the series will shift back to Spokane for Games 6 and 7 next week. But if the Royals keep rolling the way they have, home ice might be all they need.
Grab your tickets, get loud, and get ready—playoff hockey in Victoria is heating up.
