Saturday 1 February 2014

Recap: VAN 2 - VIC 3 OT

Joe Hicketts scored the overtime winner in a 3-2 victory Saturday for the Royals. 
Joe Hicketts scored the overtime winner as the Victoria Royals defeated the visiting Vancouver Giants 3-2 Saturday night.

The Giants erased a 2-0 second period lead of the Royals, but in the extra frame Hicketts skated in from before the centerline, went in behind the net and came out in front to bury the puck on the back hand top corner for the victory, in front of a sell out crowd on Pink in the Rink night.

Victoria takes 3 of a possible 4 points against Vancouver in the two game Island set after falling 5-4 in a shoot out the night before.  It wraps up three straight against the Giants with the Royals winning last Saturday in Vancouver 3-1.

Nelson scores on Rathjen
After a scoreless first period in which Victoria out shot their opposition 9-4, Logan Nelson (1g 1a) shovelled home his 4th goal over his last 3 games to open the scoring on the power play.  Ben Walker who later left the game after a collision with Dalton Sward, gave the Royals a 2-0 second period lead with his 20th, after a great second effort.

Cain Franson who scored the shoot out winner the night before knocked in his 20th of the year with the man advantage to cut the lead in half heading to the third.

Giants Ty Ronning evened the score in the final frame converting on a pass from Thomas Foster, forcing overtime.  Hicketts notched his 5th of the year and 3rd point on the weekend with the overtime winner in his return to the line up after missing 34 games with injury.

Vollrath gloves a shot, earns 14th victory
Coleman Vollrath earned his 14th win of the season making 23 saves, while Jared Rathjen earned 2nd star honours with a 33 save performance.  Nelson was star number 1 with a goal and assist performance.

Victoria went 1 for 7 on the power play, including a :38 second 5 on 3 when the game was tied at 2.  The Giants scored once on two chances, improving to 9 for 13 over their last 4 outings.

With their 34th victory, the Royals are just one win away from tying the franchise record for wins in a season.  They hold a 4-3-0-1 record against Vancouver and will wrap up the 10 game season series with a pair on the road Feb. 10th and Mar. 12th.

Following the game, a select number of Royals players had their Pink in the Rink jerseys auctioned off in support of the BC Cancer Foundation. The seven jerseys auctioned raised nearly $6,500 for the cause. In total, the Royals’ third annual Pink in the Rink netted more than $30,000 for the BC Cancer Foundation!

Victoria's four game homestand concludes Tuesday and Wednesday with a pair against the Calgary Hitmen.

-Marlon Martens
Nelson celebrates his opening goal in the 2nd period.

Ben Walker was helped off the ice and did not return
Hicketts with the Hit of the Night
Time out: Royals
Victoria celebrates the overtime winner infront of a sell out crowd 7,006

Hicketts scores on the back hand in overtime

National Anthem with a sea of pink in Victoria

Marty The Marmot was raring to go for Pink in the Rink Night

Vancouver Giants 2 at Victoria Royals 3 (OT) - Status: Final OT
Saturday, February 1, 2014 - Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena - Victoria, BC

Vancouver 0 1 1 0 - 2
Victoria 0 2 0 1 - 3

1st Period-
No Scoring.

Penalties-Morrison Van (slashing), 5:53; Franson Van (high sticking), 9:19; Atwal Van (roughing), 20:00; Cote Vic (roughing), 20:00.

2nd Period-
1, Victoria, Nelson 16 (Carroll), 5:40 (PP).
2, Victoria, Walker 20 (Nelson, Brown), 12:08.
3, Vancouver, Franson 20 (Kulak, Popoff), 15:10 (PP).

Penalties-Dosanjh Van (checking from behind), 4:34; Lofthouse Van (high sticking), 7:11; Brown Vic (interference), 14:28; Foster Van (major-fighting), 16:53; Skapski Vic (major-fighting), 16:53; Atwal Van (roughing, major-fighting), 19:01; Fisher Vic (major-fighting), 19:01; Sward Van (roughing), 20:00; Magee Vic (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 20:00.

3rd Period-
4, Vancouver, Ronning 6 (Foster, Geertsen), 6:22.

Penalties-Kanzig Vic (hooking), 3:44; Hamilton Van (interference), 7:36; Kulak Van (high sticking), 8:58.

OT Period-
5, Victoria, Hicketts 5   0:36.

Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-
Vancouver 4-12-9-0-25.
Victoria 9-13-13-1-36.

Power Play Opportunities-
Vancouver 1 / 2;
Victoria 1 / 7.

Goalies-
Vancouver, Rathjen 11-4-3-1 (36 shots-33 saves).
Victoria, Vollrath 14-5-0-1 (25 shots-23 saves).

A-7,006
Referees-Ryan Benbow (62), Steve Papp (17).
Linesmen-Riley Friesen (76), Justin Hull (49).