The 8th place Royals opened the scoring and held leads of 2-1, 4-2 and 6-5 after 2. Netminder Keith Hamilton helped preserve that lead going into the third by stopping Brad Ross on a penalty shot with 3.5 seconds left in the second. Zane Jones scored a pair in the middle frame while the Royals outshot the Winterhawks 22-18, but were edged 54-39 on the night.
Portland got the only two goals of the third. Victoria could only muster 6 shots in the final frame as the Winterhawks enjoyed 5 man advantages – going 2 for 11 on the night.
Enio Sacilotto, assistant coach of the Royals following the 7-6 loss:
According to Marc Habscheid Head Coach and GM (taken from Times Colonist)
“I thought that we competed very hard,’’
“Our work ethic was there and if we keep playing like that, we will be fine.’’
The Winterhawks connected on two of 11 penalty opportunities while Victoria was 1-for-4
“I have been in this league a long time and all I can say is wow when looking at the penalty sheet,’’ said Habscheid. “I have never seen anything like that before.’’
Kevin Sundher with a goal and two assists extends his season high point streak to 9 games with 15 points. Robin Soudek and Ben Walker both chipped in a pair of assists. The newly formed line of Sundher, Crooks and Walker combined for 9 points. Brendan Leipsic was named 2nd star for his 2 goals and 2 assist performance for the Winterhawks, while Brad Ross had 3 helpers.
Victoria holds the 8th and final playoff spot with a record of (13-22-2-2) 30 points, picking up 2 points in 6 straight on the road. They remain 2 points up on the Prince George Cougars who have 2 in hand.Portland takes the first 2 games of the season series with a 6-3 victory back on Wednesday. The Winterhawks are now 12 games over .500 (23-11-2-1), extended their home win streak to 11 games. They’ll meet next in Victoria for the final 2 games of the regular season March 14th and 16th.
Up next the Royals will head home to face the Calgary Hitmen Tuesday night. It’ll be their first home game since December 9th. The new Video Screens will be ready to go for the fans, enhancing the overall experience at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Center.
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
Vic – Crooks 18th (Magee) 7:00
Por – Rattie 34th (Ross, Leipsic) 7:53
Vic – Crooks 19th (Sundher, Soudek) 10:37 PP
Por – Rattie 35th (Ross, Carruth) 19:36 PP
2nd Period:
Vic – Jones 9th (Traber) :31
Vic – Sundher 22nd (Walker, Crooks) 2:36
Por – Leipsic 10th (Rattie, Ross) 7:12
Por – Wotherspoon 5th (Peters, Swenson) 7:23
Por – Rattie 36th (Pouliot) 8:34
Vic – Jones 10th (Soudek) 9:39
Vic – Crooks 20th (Walker, Sundher) 18:52
3rd Period:
Por – Leipsic 11th (DeLeo, Leier) 4:41 PP
Por – Pouliot 6th (Leipsic, Wager) 6:14
Shots:
Victoria (11 + 22 + 6) = 39
Portland (21 + 18 + 15) = 54
Power Plays:
Victoria 1 / 4
Portland 2 / 11
Goalies:
Victoria, Hamilton 12-18-1-2 (54 shots-47 saves).
Portland, Carruth 22-10-1-0 (39 shots-33 saves).
Penalty Minutes:
Victoria – 35
Portland – 21
Stars:
1) Rattie
2) Leipsic
3) Crooks
Attendance:
8,836
