Recap: PG 4 - VIC 2

In their first visit back to Victoria since relocating in 1994, the Prince George Cougars doubled up on the Victoria Royals 4-2 Tuesday night snapping their 5 game losing streak.

Coach & GM of the Royals Marc Habscheid addresses the team during a 3rd period Time Out.

PG Netminder Drew Osley made 30 saves for his 15th win.

“We have to give Prince George credit, they were better prepared than we were…we are very very disapointed."  According to Royals assistant Coach Enio Sacilotto, "We thought this was a huge game and thought we would of come out of the gate a little bit better and we were just a step behind all night, and we turned the pucks over like crazy and especially in the third period when we needed a little bit of desperation…and all in all, it was a pretty disapointing evening.”

The Royals with back to back losses, led 2-1 early in the second, but 3 unanswered by the Cougars secured the teams 500th victory since the move.

Victoria got goals from Jamie Crooks (26th) and Brandon Magee (16th), while Troy Bourke had 3 assists and Dalton Siwak had a goal and an assist for Prince George.

Austin Carroll takes a face off versus Prince George.

Drew Owsley made 30 saves for his 15th win, while Keith Hamilton suffered his 25th defeat, also with 30 stops. Both teams went 0 for 1 on the power play.

Victoria still leads the season series two games to one.

“It’s a crucial game tomorrow night, and we got to find a way to bounce back and get involved early and come up with a much better effort” said Sacilotto.

The Cougars with 2 games in hand, retake 9th spot in the West, just 3 back of the Royals, and will meet again tonight in Victoria.

Assistant Coach of the Royals Enio Sacilotto in the post game show.


Prince George Cougars 4 at Victoria Royals 2 - Status: Final
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena - Victoria, BC

Prince George 1 2 1 - 4
Victoria 1 1 0 - 2

1st Period-
1, Prince George, Jackson 2 (Siwak, Bourke), 14:36.
2, Victoria, Crooks 26 (Walker, Cote), 17:36.

Penalties-Fraser P.g (roughing), 14:03; Carroll Vic (roughing), 14:03.

2nd Period-
3, Victoria, Magee 16 (Forsyth, Habscheid), 1:25.
4, Prince George, Fraser 13 (Witala, Daae), 7:24.
5, Prince George, Siwak 9 (Forsberg, Bourke), 15:16.

Penalties-Hodges Vic (high sticking), 12:32; Bourke P.g (interference), 12:40.

3rd Period-
6, Prince George, Blidstrand 4 (Bourke), 9:23.

 Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-
Prince George 12-10-12-34.
Victoria 11-11-10-32.

Power Play Opportunities-
Prince George 0 / 1;
Victoria 0 / 1.

Goalies-
Prince George, Owsley 15-26-0-1 (32 shots-30 saves).
Victoria, Hamilton 15-25-1-3 (34 shots-30 saves).

A-4,417
Referees-Mike Campbell (89), Sean Raphael (28).
Linesmen-Tim Digby (75), Chris Sweeting (137).

Preview: PG at VIC

The Prince George Cougars (15-31-0-2) franchise returns to the capital Wednesday night to face Victoria Royals (16-29-2-3) for the first time since relocating in 1994.

It’s just the third meeting of the season, with Victoria winning both games in Prince George, a 5-4 shoot out win September 30th, and 6-5 October 1st.  They’ll meet six times, within the next 26 days.

The Royals picked up a spit at home on the weekend against the Blazers, a 4-2 win on Friday followed by a 5-1 loss.  The Cougars have lost 5 in a row after dropping a pair at home to the Silvertips by scores of 4-3 and 5-2.


Everett leap frogs past Prince George for the 9th spot in the conference, leaving the Cougars 5 back of the Royals for the 8th and final playoff spot in the West.

Prince George has won more games on the road (9), than at home (6).  Victoria is 2 under .500 at home with 9 victories.  The Cougars have the fewest goals and shots for, in the league.  Their power play has the lowest efficiency percentage, while the Royals is ranked 14th.  Prince George’s penalty killing is 12th best, yet they’ve taken the 2nd most penalties on average per game.

G Drew Owsley

INJURY BUG:  Prince George has been hit with a rash of injuries, as the WHL weekly report lists 8 players, plus 1 suspended.  Since the report F Greg Fraser, F Alex Forsberg and D Reid Jackson have returned to the lineup.

ISLAND BOYS:  The Cougars boast two local players, F Greg Fraser from Nanaimo, and D Cody Carlson from Victoria who is second on the club in scoring with 20 points.

TWITTER STAT:  According to @WHLFacts on Twitter, heading into the weekend losses, netminder Drew Owsley was averaging 43 shots against for every 60 mins played in January, maintaining a .909 Save % for the month.

WIKI STAT:  The Cougars are the only team in Western Hockey League history to draft 2 brothers in the first round of the Western Hockey League Bantam Draft. Jesse Forsberg, a defenceman, was drafted 11th overall by the Cougars in 2008, and his younger brother Alex, a centerman, was taken first overall in 2010.

DRAFTED/NHL SIGNED PLAYERS: For Victoria: D Tyler Stahl (Carolina, 6th rd 2010), D Jordan Fransoo (Ottawa, 7th rd 2011).  For Prince George: D Ricard Blidstrand (7th PHI ’10).

TOP PROSPECTS:  Central Scoutings mid-term rankings of North American players positions Victoria’s Steven Hodges (55), and Logan Nelson (108).  For PG: Troy Bourke (107).

DOWN THE STRETCH:
Victoria:  Home Games (13), Away (9)
Opposition: Prince George x 6, Everett x 4, Calgary x 1, Van x 3, Spok x 3, Kelowna x 1, Tri x 1, Portland x 2, Kamloops x 1

Prince George: Home (14) Away (10)
Opposition: Victoria x 6, Kelowna x 3, Seattle x 2, Red Deer x 1,
Edmonton x 2, Portland x 2, Medicine Hat x 2, Spokane x 2, Kam x 2, Tri x 2

LEADING SCORERS:

Bourke (9-24-33)
Carlson (7-23-30)
Forsberg (11-18-29)
Asuchak (13-13-26)
Fraser (12-9-21)

Crooks (25-27-52)
Nelson (20-28-48)
Soudek (21-22-43)
Rintoul (12-23-35)
Magee (15-19-34)

INJURIES:

For Victoria:
#7, Tyler Stahl, Upper body, indefinite.

For PG:
#2, Dan Gibb, Upper body, day to day
#9, Greg Fraser, Upper body, day to day
#10, Brock Hirsche, Upper body, season ending
#11, John Odgers, Upper body, 6-8 weeks
#17, Caleb Belter, Upper body, day to day
#21, Shane Pilling, Upper body, day to day
#27, Alex Forsberg, Lower body, day to day
#29, Reid Jackson, Upper body, week to week
Suspensions: #26, Campbell Elynuik, four games remaining

Recap: KAM 5 - VIC 1

The Kamloops Blazers scored five unanswered to defeat the Royals 5-1 infront of a sell-out crowd in Victoria Saturday night.

“In coaching we say, ‘Today’s highs are tomorrow’s lows’, if you’re not careful, and I think we got caught up with that a little bit…we had an outstanding performance last night and played very well and got the victory despite giving up those two early goals.  I think we were a little bit high on ourselves today, and I didn’t think we played very well tonight at all.”  Enio Sacilotto, Royals Assistant Coach.

The Royals earned a split on the weekend games with a 4-2 come from behind victory over the Blazers on Friday.

Tim Bozon was the games first star on Saturday with a goal and assist putting him atop of the rookie scoring race with 51 points, while Cam Lanigan made 26 saves for his 9th win of the season.  Keith Hamilton suffered his 24th loss stopping 31 pucks.

Tim Traber gave Victoria a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes and the Royals held the Blazers off the scoresheet for a stretch of 93 minutes and 31 seconds spanning to the opening period of the Friday night game.  That streak was ended by Bozon at the 13:46 mark of the second, the beginning of five unanswered.  Brendan Ranford added his 26th short handed, and Colin Smith his 25th before the period was out. 

Game action Saturday night

D Kade Pilton on Pink in the Rink night.

In the third, JC Lipon and Brock Balson added power play markers for the 5-1 win, to snap a 2 game slide.  Kamloops has not lost 3 in a row all season.  The win puts the Blazers back on top of the WHL standings, while the loss keeps the Royals in 8th spot, 1 back of Seattle and 4 up on Everett. 

Special teams was a factor as Kamloops went 2 for 5, and added a short handed marker, while Victoria went 0 for 5.  

The eight game season series will wrap up in Kamloops on February 22nd, Victoria with just one win so far (1-5-1-0).

Enio Sacilotto's post game thoughts (Assistant Coach of the Royals)
 
Up Next a pair of visits from the Prince George Cougars on Tuesday and Wednesday, the franchise’s first visit back to Victoria in 17 years.  The Royals won both previous meetings in Prince George by scores of 5-3 and 5-4 in a shoot out, Sept. 30th and Oct 1st respectively.

Kamloops Blazers 5 at Victoria Royals 1 - Status: Final
Saturday, January 28, 2012 - Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena - Victoria, BC

Kamloops 0 3 2 - 5
Victoria 1 0 0 - 1

1st Period-
1, Victoria, Traber 2 (Conroy, Forsyth), 11:01.

Penalties-Nelson Vic (hooking), 3:19; Ranford Kam (roughing), 4:23; Lipon Kam (major-fighting), 11:28; Fransoo Vic (major-fighting), 11:28; Souto Kam (high sticking), 11:40.

2nd Period-
2, Kamloops, Bozon 26   13:46.
3, Kamloops, Ranford 26   14:38 (SH).
4, Kamloops, Smith 25 (Hansen, Bozon), 19:25.

Penalties-Madaisky Kam (cross checking), 14:13; Soudek Vic (tripping), 17:15.

3rd Period-
5, Kamloops, Lipon 16 (Cross), 8:07 (PP).
6, Kamloops, Balson 2 (Cross, Sterzer), 19:15 (PP).

Penalties-Soudek Vic (charging), 6:45; Needham Kam (tripping), 9:08; Lipon Kam (interference), 12:07; Crunk Vic (high sticking), 15:24; Habscheid Vic (high sticking), 18:23.

Shots on Goal-
Kamloops 15-10-11-36.
Victoria 6-10-11-27.

Power Play Opportunities-
Kamloops 2 / 5; Victoria 0 / 5.

Goalies-
Kamloops, Lanigan 9-4-0-0 (27 shots-26 saves).
Victoria, Hamilton 15-24-1-3 (36 shots-31 saves).

A-7,006

Referees-Chris Crich (80), Adam Griffiths (36).
Linesmen-Kirk Van Helvoirt (107), Nathan Van Oosten (115).

Preview: Kam at Vic

Keith Hamilton notched his 15th win last night.

Tonight the Victoria Royals (16-28-2-3) look for back to back wins against the visiting Kamloops Blazers (34-11-1-3).

Last night the Royals trailed 2-0 just 15 seconds in on a pair of goals by Tim Bozon, but scored four unanswered to defeat the Blazers for the first time in six meetings (1-4-1-0).  After tonight they’ll meet once more, February 22nd in Kamloops.

Victoria got goals from Robin Soudek, Hayden Rintoul, Ben Walker and Brandon Magee.  Keith Hamilton made 33 saves for his 15th win of the season, as Cole Cheveldave recorded just his 6th loss with a 31 save effort.

Kamloops is now tied with Tri City for tops in the WHL with 72 points.  The Blazers have now lost back to back games after a riding a 9 game win streak, and held pointless for the first time in 11. 

Victoria  with 37 points, has now won 2 of their last 3, and remain one point back of Seattle for 7th, moving 5 up on 9th place Prince George.  The Cougars come to Victoria for a pair of games next Tuesday and Wednesday.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS:
Kamloops 2 @ Victoria 4 (Jan 27 2012) Final
Victoria 2 @ Kamloops 4 (Dec 3 2011) Final
Kamloops 6 @ Victoria 5 (Nov 30 2011) Final OT
Kamloops 4 @ Victoria 3 (Nov 29 2011) Final
Victoria 1 @ Kamloops 4 (Nov 25 2011) Final
Victoria 2 @ Kamloops 8 (Oct 2 2011) Final

BLAZING NUMBERS:  Kamloops is tied for the most road wins in the league with 16, have scored the most ‘first goals’ with 35, and are unsurpassed in short handed goals with 14.  With five, 20 goal scorers, the Blazers combined have scored the 3rd most goals per game.  Kamloops has been stingy in January, only allowing 18 goals in their last 11, the 4th fewest a gainst in the league.  Their special teams are both ranked 8th overall. 

Kamloops first and third period are their strongest, out scoring the opposition by 28 and 25 goals respectively, and only by 8 in the middle frame. 

WHO TO WATCH: For Victoria: Jamie Crooks has 6 points in his last 3 outings (2g 4a). Robin Soudek has now scored a goal in each of his last 3 games.  Hayden Rintoul leads all WHL defenseman in power play goals with 11.  Logan Nelson extends his point streak to 3 games (2g 3a).  Brandon Magee and Ben Walker have points in their last 2, after finishing the night with a goal and assist each. 

For Kamloops, Swiss born Tim Bozon’s 2 goals last night puts him just one back of Vancouver’s Marek Tvrdon in rookie scoring with 49 points, and leads all freshman in goals with 25. Brendan Ranford leads the team in points with 59, 15th best in the league.  Overager F Colin Smith is over a point per game with 57 in 49 games.  D Austin Madaisky is tied for 6th in defenseman scoring with 38 points.  Cole Cheveldave has the 3rd best GAA (2.37), and 4th best save percentage (91.8%) while recording 3 shut outs this month.

Tonight is 'Pink in the Rink'

Tonight the Royals will look for back to back wins against the Blazers, and chance to get back to .500 on home ice.

The pregame show starts at 6:45 on the Zone at 91.3 FM.

LEADING SCORERS:

For Kamloops:
Ranford (25-34-59)
Smith (24-33-57)
Bozon (25-24-49)
Lipon (15-33-48)
Herrod (20-24-44)

For Victoria:
Crooks (25-27-52)
Nelson (20-28-48)
Soudek (21-22-43)
Rintoul (12-23-35)
Magee (15-19-34)

DRAFTED/NHL SIGNED PLAYERS: For Victoria: D Tyler Stahl (Carolina, 6th rd 2010), D Jordan Fransoo (Ottawa, 7th rd 2011).  For Kamloops:  Brendan Ranford (PHI ’10), D Austin Madaisky (CBJ ’10).

TOP PROSPECTS:  Central Scoutings mid-term rankings of North American players positions Victoria’s Steven Hodges (55), and Logan Nelson (108).  For Kamloops: Tim Bozon (39).

INJURIES: For Victoria: #6, Jesse Zgraggen, Upper body, indefinite, #7, Tyler Stahl, Upper body, indefinite.  For Kamloops:  #13, Ryan Hanes, Upper body,day to day, #17, Jordan DePape, Upper body, 1 month, #22, Brandon Herrod, Lower body, day to day.

Recap: KAM 2 - VIC 4

Crooks shot was stopped, but Walker would score.

The Victoria Royals knocked off the #1 team in the WHL, the Kamloops Blazers 4-2 Friday night in the Capital city.

The Royals trailed 2-0 just 15 seconds in on a pair of goals by Tim Bozon seven seconds apart, but scored four unanswered to defeat the Blazers for the first time in six meetings (1-4-1-0).
 
Keith Hamilton made 33 saves for his 15th win of the season, as Cole Cheveldave recorded just his 6th loss with a 31 save effort.

Kamloops has now lost back to back games after a riding a 9 game win streak, and pointless for the first time in 11.  Victoria  with 37 points, has now won 2 of their last 3, and remain one point back of Seattle for 7th, moving 5 up on 9th place Prince George.

Royals goaltending coach Brady Robinson on the win:
 
Victoria started the come back on Robin Soudek’s 21st to trail by one after 20 minutes. 

In the second, the Royals out shot the Blazers 16-5 and came away with 2 goals to show for.  Hayden Rintoul’s 12th on the power play and Ben Walker 4th with the eventual game winner, gave the Royals a 3-2 lead heading into the third.

Brandon Magee’s 15th on the man advantage added some insurance at the 11:24 mark in the third.  The Blazers pressed late on the power play with the goalie pulled, but Victoria hung on for their 15th win, and 9th at home.

The Royals celebrate Ben Walker's goal.

Victoria’s power play clicked twice on seven opportunities, as Kamloops went 0 for 5.  The Royals and Blazers each had 35 shots on the night.

Jamie Crooks had 2 assists, and now has 6 points in his last 3 outings (2g 4a). Robin Soudek has now scored a goal in each of his last 3 games.  Hayden Rintoul leads all WHL defenseman in power play goals with 11.  Logan Nelson extends his point streak to 3 games with an assist (2g 3a).  Brandon Magee and Ben Walker finished the night with a goal and assist each. 

For Kamloops, Tim Bozon’s 2 goals puts him just one back of Vancouver’s Marek Tvrdon in rookie scoring with 49 points.  J.C. Lipon had 2 helpers.

Saturday night the Royals will look for back to back wins against the Blazers, with the pregame show starting at 6:45 on the Zone at 91.3 FM.

Rookie forward Ben Walker in the post game show:
 

Kamloops Blazers 2 at Victoria Royals 4 - Status: Final
Friday, January 27, 2012 - Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena - Victoria, BC

Kamloops 2 0 0 - 2
Victoria 1 2 1 - 4

1st Period-
1, Kamloops, Bozon 24 (Lipon), 0:08.
2, Kamloops, Bozon 25 (Lipon, Hansen), 0:15.
3, Victoria, Soudek 21 (Hodges, Magee), 7:57.

Penalties-Hrbas Kam (tripping), 3:32; Nelson Vic (charging), 9:46; Nelson Vic (interference), 12:48; Gaudet Kam (tripping), 14:59; Bell Kam (delay of game), 15:38.

2nd Period-
4, Victoria, Rintoul 12 (Walker, Nelson), 5:16 (PP).
5, Victoria, Walker 4 (Crooks, Nelson), 18:24.

Penalties-Schaber Kam (holding), 5:12; Nelson Vic (interference), 8:02; Schaber Kam (high sticking), 15:49.

3rd Period-6, Victoria, Magee 15 (Soudek, Crooks), 11:24 (PP).

Penalties-Hansen Kam (elbowing), 11:13; Needham Kam (roughing), 14:08; Conroy Vic (roughing), 14:08; Gaudet Kam (holding), 14:39; Rintoul Vic (tripping), 15:37; Walker Vic (cross checking), 19:14; Lipon Kam (roughing), 19:59; Habscheid Vic (roughing), 19:59.

Shots on Goal-
Kamloops 17-5-13-35.
Victoria 12-16-7-35.

Power Play Opportunities-
Kamloops 0 / 5; Victoria 2 / 7.

Goalies-
Kamloops, Cheveldave 25-6-1-3 (35 shots-31 saves).
Victoria, Hamilton 15-23-1-3 (35 shots-33 saves).

3 Stars:
1. Soudek
2. Magee
3. Bozon

A-5,593

Referees-Ryan Benbow (62), Mike Campbell (89).
Linesmen-Riley Friesen (76), Nathan Van Oosten (115).

Preview: KAM at VIC

The Victoria Royals (15-28-2-3) play their first home game in 20 days tonight against the top team in the WHL, the Kamloops Blazers (34-10-1-3).

The Royals (0-4-1-0) have yet to defeat the Blazers in 5 meetings, earning a single point in a 6-5 overtime loss back in Victoria November 30th, and dropped their last encounter 4-2 in Kamloops December 3rd.  The Blazers have out scored the Royals 26-13 this season.

LAST GAMES: After travelling 5,247 km in 2 weeks, Victoria returns home with a 2-4 record against the Eastern Division.  They picked up wins in Brandon and Prince Albert, with losses coming in Regina, Swift Current, Moose Jaw and most recently a 9-6 defeat Saturday in Saskatoon.  

The Kamloops Blazers had their 9 game winning streak snapped Wednesday in Kelowna, falling 3-2 in a shoot out.  Austin Madaisky had a goal and an assist and Brandon Ranford scored his 25th goal of the season and the 100th of his career. 

Victoria is in the 8th and final playoff spot in the West with 35 points, 3 up on Prince George.  The Blazers are one up on Tri City, have points in their last ten while climbing to the top of the WHL standings, earning them the number two ranking in all of Canada.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS:
Victoria 2 @ Kamloops 4 (Dec 3 2011) Final
Kamloop 6 @ Victoria 5 (Nov 30 2011) F OT
Kamloops 4 @ Victoria 3 (Nov 29 2011) Final
Victoria 1 @ Kamloops 4 (Nov 25 2011) Final
Victoria 2 @ Kamloops 8 (Oct 2 2011) Final

BLAZING NUMBERS:  Kamloops is tied for the most road wins in the league with 16, have scored the most ‘first goals’ with 34, and are unsurpassed in short handed goals with 14.  With five, 20 goal scorers, the Blazers combined have scored the 3rd most goals per game.  Kamloops has been stingy in January, only allowing 14 goals in their last 10, the 4th fewest against in the league.  Their special teams are both ranked 7th overall. 

Kamloops first and third period are their strongest, out scoring the opposition by 27 and 26 goals respectively, and only by 10 in the middle frame.

WHO TO WATCH:  Brendan Ranford (PHI ’10) is on a 4 game point streak (3g 3a), ranked 13th in scoring with 59 points.  Overager F Colin Smith is over a point per game with 57 in 48 games.  Swiss born F Tim Bozon, will play at the Top Prospects game (rank 39) and is 2nd in rookie scoring with 47 points.  D Austin Madaisky is 7th in defenseman scoring (38), and 2nd among rearguards in power play goals (9).  Cole Cheveldave has the 3rd best GAA (2.32), and 4th best save percentage (91.8%).

For the Royals, leading scorer Jamie Crooks led the charge offensively on the eastern trek with 7 points (4g 3a), and rookie Logan Nelson had 6 (3g 3a).  Newly acquired defenseman Jordan Fransoo picked up 4 assists while netminder Keith Hamilton played in all six games.  Crooks, Nelson and D Kade Pilton all have 4 points in their last 2 outings.  

Victoria players points on 6 game eastern road swing:  Crooks 7, Nelson 6, Walker 5, Soudek 5, Hodges 5, Fransoo 4, Pilton 4, Magee 3, Jones 2, Carroll 3 (in 2 games), Rintoul 2

DRAFTED/NHL SIGNED PLAYERS: For Victoria: D Tyler Stahl (Carolina, 6th rd 2010), D Jordan Fransoo (Ottawa, 7th rd 2011).  For Kamloops:  Brendan Ranford (PHI ’10), D Austin Madaisky (CBJ ’10). 

TOP PROSPECTS:  Central Scoutings mid-term rankings of North American players positions Victoria’s Steven Hodges (55), and Logan Nelson (108).  For Kamloops:  Tim Bozon (39).

Leading Scorers:
KAMLOOPS:
Ranford (25-34-59)
Smith (24-33-57)
Bozon (23-24-47)
Lipon (15-31-46)
Herrod (20-24-44)
VICTORIA:
Crooks (25-25-50)
Nelson (20-26-46)
Soudek (20-21-41)
Rintoul (11-23-34)
Magee (14-18-32)

Injuries: For Victoria: #6, Jesse Zgraggen, Upper body, indefinite, #7, Tyler Stahl, Upper body, indefinite.  For Kamloops:  #13, Ryan Hanes, Upper body,day to day, #17, Jordan DePape, Upper body, 1 month, #22, Brandon Herrod, Lower body, day to day.  Returns #7, Brady Gaudet, from injury

Playoff Picture: The Royals are in the 8th and final playoff spot with 35 points, 3 more than the Cougars who have 2 in hand.  Victoria faces Prince George 6 more times, and will have 4 meetings with 10th place Everett.  Here’s a breakdown of the remaining games::

Victoria:  Home Games (15), Away (9)
Opposition: Prince George x 6, Everett x 4, Calgary x 1, Van x 3, Spok x 3, Kelowna x 1, Tri x 1, Portland x 2, Kamloops x 3

Prince George: Home (16) Away (10)
Opposition: Victoria x 6, Everett x 2, Kelowna x 3, Seattle x 2, Red Deer x 1,
Edmonton x 2, Portland x 2, Medicine Hat x 2, Spokane x 2, Kam x 2, Tri x 2

Recap: BMO Ultimate Fan Night

BM|O Ultimate Fan Winners with Royals

The BMO Ultimate Fan contest took place at their branch downtown on Wednesday night.

L - R Tyler Stahl, Zach Habscheid & Tim Traber

I was the MC and judge, along with defenseman Tyler Stahl and Personal Banking Area Manager for Victoria, Dave Hogan.

 Marty the Marmot and BMO Bear entertained while the other two Victoria Royals Zach Habscheid and Tim Traber signed autographs.

After the judging, the finalists took to the stage for the trivia contest.  The winner of the Ultimate Fan signed Royals Jersey, and a chance to win Memorial Cup tickets was Jacob Kipling!  He was there with another big fan, his son Kolby.  Runner up and also a winner of a team jersey was Jamie Mendres.

Zach Habscheid and his 'Goalie Mask'!

Tyler Stahl & BMO Ultimate Fan Event

Tyler Stahl, Carolina Draft Pick

After missing 44 games due to injury, it was great to finally see defenseman Tyler Stahl back on the ice yesterday.  He was wearing the non-contact 'Yellow' jersey.

6 days ago

6 days ago

Speaking of Stahl, I will be joining him tonight to be one of three judges at:

BMO Ultimate Fan Event!!

·   BMO Ultimate Fan contest with the Victoria Royals will provide fans a chance to win a trip for two to the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup

• Victoria one of 41 communities across Canada where local celebrations will take place
• Community celebration to kick off four-year partnership with BMO

To celebrate BMO’s new four-year partnership with the Canadian Hockey League, BMO and the Victoria Royals Hockey Club will hold a kick-off event today, January 25^th.

The event is centred on the BMO Ultimate CHL Fan contest, which will give participants the chance to meet Victoria Royals players and compete for a chance to win a trip to the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Quebec. 

The first 100 people to register on-site at the BMO branch will be contestants in the BMO Ultimate Fan contest.

Who:           Tyler Stahl and other players from the Victoria Royals

                     BMO Personal Banking Area Manager: Dave Hogan

                     MC: Marlon Martens, The voice of the Royals on ZONE @91.3 Radio             

What:         BMO Ultimate CHL Fan community celebration and contest

·         Dress up in your best Victoria Royals colours, jerseys or costumes – whatever it takes to look like a BMO Ultimate Fan! The first 100 people to register on-site will be entered in the contest.

·         Three semi-finalists will be chosen by a panel of judges: Royals player, Tyler Stahl; Marlon Martens, from ZONE @91.3 and BMO Area Manager, Dave Hogan

·         The semi-finalists will be put to the test with trivia questions provided by the Victoria Royals.

·         The winner will receive a special team jersey and an entry into a draw with other “BMO Ultimate CHL Fan” winners within the WHL to win a trip for two to the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup

When:            Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 5 – 7 p.m.

Where:          BMO Bank of Montreal, 1225 Douglas Street, Victoria

Recap: VIC 6 - SASK 9

The scoreboard final, 9-6 loss in Saskatoon

The Victoria Royals bring home 4 points after wrapping up a 6 game in 9 night eastern road swing with a 2-4 record.

The Royals picked up wins in Brandon, and Prince Albert with losses coming in Regina, Swift Current, and Moose Jaw, and most recently in Saskatoon.

It was a see saw affair Saturday night at the Credit Union Center with 15 goals being scored in a game much closer than the 9-6 loss to the Blades would indicate.

“It felt like the last shot was going to win the game…it was a gun-slinging affair back and forth the whole way and we had the lead a number of times and just couldn’t hold on.” According to Ben Cooper, the Assistant Coach of the Royals.

Wearing their throwback ‘Pac-man’ jerseys, Saskatoon jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Michael Burns and Darren Dietz before Robin Soudek scored his 20th to cut the Blades lead to 2-1 after 20 minutes.    

Lukas Sutter tips a shot. Credit: Gord Waldner, Star Phoenix

Victoria would score three more to start the second in a span of 3:43 on Logan Nelson’s 20th, Brandon Magee’s 14th, and Austin Carroll’s 5th to jump out 4-2.

Ryan Olsen brought the Blades to within one, but rookie Luke Harrison would score his first WHL goal to regain the 2 goal advantage.  Dalton Thrower and Lukas Sutter added a pair before the period was out and the game was tied at 5 heading into the third.


“…It was one of those games where we made a mistake and it was in our net.” said Cooper.

Blades rookie, Alex Moodie

Playing against his former club, Jamie Crooks gave Victoria a 6-5 lead with his 25th goal, and 50th point.  Saskatoon responded in earnest, with 4 unanswered, the last 2 shorthanded into an empty net in the final minute to seal it for the Blades, 9-6 final. 

Rookie netminder Alex Moodie made 22 saves for his 9th win in 13 straight appearances, while Keith Hamilton suffered his 23rd loss with 33 stops.  Victoria was scoreless on 3 power plays, while Saskatoon went 1 for 5 – yet scored twice just as the man advantage expired.

When asked if perhaps fatigue was a factor late in the third, playing 4 games in 5 nights, Cooper felt it was more mental,  “I thought the guys had pretty good energy tonight and the guys were ready to play… a young team has a tendency to let up when you have a bit of a lead…a bit of mental let down, focus seemed to be lost there for a couple crucial moments, they tied it up quick and that seemed to be the way the game went back and forth.”

Dalton Thrower completed the hat trick and was named the number one star with 5 points.  Austin Carroll with goals in back to back games was second (1g 1a), and Michael Burns 4 point effort (2g 2a) earned the third star.  Ben Walker and Kade Pilton each chipped in with a pair of assists.

For a second night in a row, six different Royals scored the goals but this time all at even strength.  Cooper responded to the back to back goal outburst, “..we just needed to throw pucks to the net, just get every puck to the net we possibly could, and drive…we knew just to shoot everything, and that generates second and third chances and that got us going the last couple nights.”

The Royals bench, before the game in Saskatoon

Asked to summarize the lengthy road trip in which the club left Victoria almost two weeks earlier, Cooper chimed, “…we had some good stretches and some bad stretches, so we got some work to do certainly, we’re a young team but we don’t use it as an excuse…we’re happy for the two wins and obviously unhappy about the four losses, but we’ll get home and regroup.” 

The Kamloops Blazers come for a pair Friday and Saturday night, ranked 4th in CHL.  The Royals have yet to defeat the Blazers with a 0-4-1-0 record this season.

Victoria Royals 6 at Saskatoon Blades 9 - Status: Final
Saturday, January 21, 2012 - Credit Union Centre - Saskatoon, SK

Victoria 1 4 1 - 6
Saskatoon 2 3 4 - 9

1st Period-
1, Saskatoon, Burns 19 (Siemens, Thrower), 10:59.
2, Saskatoon, Dietz 8   14:04.
3, Victoria, Soudek 20   14:52.

Penalties-Harrison Vic (tripping), 5:31; Trask Sas (10-minute misconduct), 10:59.

2nd Period-
4, Victoria, Nelson 20 (Walker, Crooks), 0:38.
5, Victoria, Magee 14 (Fransoo, Hodges), 1:17.
6, Victoria, Carroll 5 (Pilton), 4:21.
7, Saskatoon, Olsen 8 (Siemens, Thrower), 10:56.
8, Victoria, Harrison 1 (Carroll, Kanzig), 16:56.
 9, Saskatoon, Thrower 10 (Benson), 17:26 (PP).
10, Saskatoon, Sutter 21 (Siemens), 17:55.

Penalties-Rintoul Vic (high sticking), 8:52; Conroy Vic (hooking), 17:18; Sutter Sas (high sticking), 18:51.

3rd Period-
11, Victoria, Crooks 25 (Walker, Pilton), 2:01.
12, Saskatoon, Thrower11 (Pufahl, Burns), 8:38.
13, Saskatoon, Schmidt 2 (Collins, Olsen), 10:26.
14, Saskatoon, Thrower 12 (Burns), 19:02 (SH EN).
15, Saskatoon, Burns 20   19:32 (SH EN).

Penalties-Magee Vic (holding), 6:34; Hodges Vic (charging), 13:58; Burns Sas (tripping), 15:31; Dietz Sas (boarding), 18:56.

Shots on Goal-
Victoria 9-14-5-28.
Saskatoon 12-14-16-42.

Power Play Opportunities-
Victoria 0 / 3; Saskatoon 1 / 5.

Goalies-
Victoria, Hamilton 14-23-1-3 (40 shots-33 saves).
Saskatoon, Moodie 9-3-0-0 (28 shots-22 saves).

A-7,178
Referees-Reagan Vetter (79), Colin Watt (72).
Linesmen-Jonny Bast (129), Kyle Paulsen (96).

Preview: Victoria at Saskatoon

The Victoria Royals (15-27-2-3) face Marc Habscheid’s former Junior team, the Sasktoon Blades (28-18-0-1) at the Credit Union Centre Saturday night.  

Habscheid, the Royals bench boss and general manager, played for the Blades for 3 seasons beginning in 1979-80, and in his third year amassed 151 points in 55 games.

Victoria is 2-3 on the current eastern road swing, and conclude 6 games in 9 nights (4 in 5) this evening.  With a win the Royals can head home with a .500 record on the trip.  The team left Victoria on Monday January 9th, 12 days ago.

Victoria is coming off a 6-4 win in Prince Albert Friday night on 3 point efforts from Logan Nelson and Jamie Crooks.  Victoria never trailed, went 3 for 6 on the power play and got goals from six different players.  Austin Carroll provided the winner at 7:48 of the third as Keith Hamilton collected his 14th win with 28 saves.

Saskatoon is coming off a 3-2 win over the Brandon Wheat Kings Friday night for their 8th win in their last 10.  The Blades got goals from Nick Zajac, Michael Burns and birthday boy Kyle Schmidt who scored the winner to earn their 28th win of the season.  Saskatoon is now 8 games over. 500 at the Credit Union Centre, and wrap up a 3 game home stand this evening with a 1-1 record.

Alex Moodie, the 16 year old rookie netminder, stopped 33 to earn the 8th win of his WHL career.

The Blades are 5th in the Eastern Conference with 57 points, as only 3 points separates 3rd and 7th spots.  The Royals have moved into a tie for 7th with Seattle with 35 points, and are now 3 points up on Prince George.  The Cougars have 2 in hand.

Tonight is the only meeting of the season, Saskatoon winning last years encounter 7-3 in Chilliwack on December 1st 2010. Oddly enough, all the goal scorers in the game for the Blades are still with the team: Collins, Cox, Sutter, Benson, Dietz and Nicholls with two.  Chilliwack won the last time they were in Saskatoon 5-4 in a shoot out February 23rd 2010.

WHO’S HOT:  For Victoria: Logan Nelson’s 3 point game (1g 2a) pulls him into a tie for 2nd in rookie scoring (45) with MarekTvrdon of Vancouver.  Jamie Crooks is now averaging over a point per game (48 in 47) after his 3 point effort. 

For Saskatoon: Michael Burns is on a 7 game point scoring streak (3g 8a) and has goals in 3 straight.  Darren Dietz has 5 assists in his last 4 games.

WHO’S OUT: For Victoria: D Tyler Stahl, Upper body, 1 month+ has missed 43 games. D Jesse Zgraggen, Upper Body, F Tim Traber, Day to day, but possible.  For Saskatoon: G Andrey Makarov, Upper body, day to day.  F Kyle Haas, Upper body, day to day.

DRAFTED/NHL SIGNED PLAYERS: For Victoria: D Tyler Stahl (Carolina, 6th rd 2010), D Jordan Fransoo (Ottawa, 7th rd 2011).  For Saskatoon: D Duncan Siemens (Signed COL ’11), F Matej Stransky (DAL ’11), F Josh Nicholls (TOR ’10) and D Darren Dietz (MONT ’11).

TOP PROSPECTS:  Central Scoutings mid-term rankings of North American players positions Victoria’s Steven Hodges (55), and Logan Nelson (108).  For Saskatoon: D Dalton Thrower (30), and F Lukas Sutter (86).  Sutter will participate in the Top Prospects game and is the son of Rich Sutter.

BLADES TRADE: 12/29/11 Saskatoon acquires Locke Muller & Matthew Pufahl from Red Deer for Devan Fafard & 7th '12.

Leading Scorers:
Victoria:
Crooks (24-24-48)
Nelson (19-26-45)
Soudek (19-21-40)
Rintoul (11-23-34)
Magee (13-18-31)

Saskatoon:
Stransky (25-23-48)
Sutter (20-22-42)
Burns (18-24-42)
Trask (15-24-39)
Paradis (11-27-38)