The Victoria Royals are awaiting their first round playoff opponents.

With all 68 regular season games completed, the Kamloops Blazers and the Kelowna Rockets find themselves deadlocked at 64 points. That unique scenario has triggered a “play-in” game Tuesday night in Kamloops, with the winner facing the Royals in the first round of the playoffs.

The hockey talk in Victoria is a discussion of who fans would rather see battle their home club.

Is it the historical playoff heart-breakers in the Rockets? Or the suddenly red-hot Kamloops Blazers?

Royals versus Rockets

No one in Victoria forgets the Royals game seven overtime loss to Kelowna in 2016.

Arguably that loss led to the first true rival in the Western Hockey League for Victoria, as each subsequent matchup with the Rockets was a call for vengeance. But time heals wounds and along with the resurgence of a more geographical rival in the Vancouver Giants, Kelowna may no longer be enemy number one for Victoria.

While perhaps no longer hated, the Rockets are far from a pushover for the Royals. The island club struggled this season against it’s B.C. Division foe. The season series saw Kelowna win six of nine versus Victoria, with the Rockets scoring 34 goals to the Royals 20.

Although Kelowna sputtered all season, including being caught by the Blazers to force the tie-breaker game, the Rockets are always a difficult opponent for Victoria. A Victoria versus Kelowna series would have the makings of a lengthy and drawn-out battle.

Royals versus Blazers

Kamloops picked the right time to heat up.

Predicted to be a contender in the B.C. Division this year, the Blazers did not make much noise for the majority of the season. An up and down season saw Kamloops on the outside of the playoff wild card race with the end of the season drawing near.

Then came an impressive 5-0-1-0 streak to finish the season and force the matchup with the Rockets.

Victoria and Kamloops had a more even season series, with the Royals winning five of the nine games these clubs faced each other. The Blazers out scored Victoria 30 goals to 25, which was aided by a recent 8-0 Kamloops’ victory over a depleted Victoria lineup.

All Eyes on Tuesday

So who is the preferred opponent for Victoria? Is it a suddenly dangerous Kamloops team? Or an old foe in Kelowna looking to inflict more playoff pain?

If you were to ask the Royals, they would say it doesn’t matter, that they are ready to play their game. And that is the right mentality. Regular season records and past series losses are thrown out as a new post-season starts.

However, the club and it’s fans will be tuned in, hoping for a physical and lengthy game in Kamloops.

The Kamloops and Kelowna tie-breaker game is free to watch on WHL.Live.