The Calgary Rockies put on a clinic against Victoria HA, skating to a commanding 8-1 victory in a game they controlled from start to finish. The Rockies set the tone early, with Maddox Gullage opening the scoring midway through the first period. Victoria’s Yihwan Joo answered quickly to tie the game, but that would be the lone bright spot for the home team as Calgary’s relentless attack and stifling defense took over from there. The Rockies outshot Victoria 48-30, a testament to their offensive zone pressure and puck possession throughout the contest.
The second period was where the game truly got away from Victoria. Seth Scutt scored a shorthanded goal early in the frame, a backbreaker that seemed to deflate the home squad. Nolan Van Waes, Graydon Proctor, and Liam Beswick then piled on with three more goals before the period was out, with Beswick’s coming on the power play. The Rockies' top offensive players were in sync, with Carson Paulgaard and Graydon Proctor each racking up multiple assists to fuel the onslaught.
The third period saw more of the same, as Calgary continued to pour it on. Liam Beswick netted his second of the game just 23 seconds into the period, and Oliver Chan and Maddox Gullage added late goals to cap the scoring. The game grew increasingly chippy as it wore on, with a major scrum at the 15:17 mark of the third resulting in a misconduct for Victoria’s Seth Hinse and a gross misconduct for Calgary’s Jackson Cowan. For the Rockies, goaltender Cooper Schmidt was a perfect 30-for-30 in a stellar shutdown performance, while his counterpart Mathias Ramos-Gadbois faced a barrage of 48 shots in the losing effort.