Saturday 31 January 2015

Preview: Victoria at Tri City, Sat.Jan.31.2015

The Victoria Royals (27-20-3-1, 58pts) wrap up their 3 game in 4 night US Division road trip against the Tri City Americans (24-24-0-2, 50pts) Saturday night.

Pregame show on The Zone @ 91.3 fm at 6:40, puck drop at 7pm cjzn.streamon.fm

Victoria is looking for back to back wins on consecutive nights after a 3-0 shut out victory in Spokane Friday.

Tyler Soy had 2 goals and an assist, while Coleman Vollrath earned his 4th shut out of the season with 29 saves.  Soy’s line with Greg Chase and Jack Walker combined for 7 points.

Tri City is looking to snap a 2 game losing skid after falling at home 4-1 Friday to Medicine Hat.

Eric Comrie made 35 stops, and was back in goal for the Americans after Evan Sarthou had made 20 consecutive starts (8-10-0-2) while Comrie was with Team Canada at the World Juniors, and then out with an injury.

The Americans with 50 points are tied with the Chiefs for 4th in the US and the final Wild Card playoff spot.  The Royals have 58 points, sitting comfortably in 2nd spot in the BC Division and would face the Blazers in the first round if the playoffs started today.

It’s the fourth and final meeting of the season, with Victoria holding a record of (1-1-1-0).  Most recently a 4-1 loss at Tri City on Nov. 14th.  The Royals earned 3 of a possible 4 points in a two game set on the Island in early November.

Tri City features two players from the Island.  Forward Jordan Topping is from Salt Spring Island, and defenseman Dylan Coghlan hails from Nanaimo.

Americans defenseman Brandon Carlo played for the U.S. at the World Juniors and is ranked 16th by NHL CSS among North American skaters for the upcoming draft.  Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon is ranked 46th.  Forward Ty Comrie is rated 169th.

Victoria will return home to face Red Deer next Saturday, February 7th and Edmonton on Monday afternoon at 2pm.

- Marlon Martens

Victoria Royals vs Tri-City Americans: Head To Head Stats Summary
Description
Result
Head to Head Record 2014-15 Regular SeasonVictoria 1-1-1-0Tri-City 2-1-0-0
Head to Head Record 2013-14 Regular SeasonVictoria 3-1-0-0Tri-City 1-2-1-0
Last 5 Years record between teamsVictoria 9-8-2-0Tri-City 10-7-1-1
Victoria vs. Tri-City Last 5 Years record at VictoriaVictoria 5-3-2-0Tri-City 5-4-1-0
Victoria vs. Tri-City Last 5 Years record at Tri-CityVictoria 4-5-0-0Tri-City 5-3-0-1
Previous Meetings This SeasonVictoria 1 @ Tri-City 4 (Nov 14 2014) Final
Tri-City 5 @ Victoria 4 (Nov 2 2014) Final OT
Tri-City 1 @ Victoria 4 (Nov 1 2014) Final

How the 2 teams match up
Tri-City
Victoria
Team Record24-24-0-2 -- 50 points27-20-3-1 -- 58 points
Division Ranking5th U.S.2nd B.C.
Conference Ranking8th Western4th Western
League Ranking16th9th
Past 10 Games5-5-0-07-2-1-0
Streak0-2-0-01-0-0-0
Last Game4-1 L vs Medicine Hat (Jan 30 2015) Final3-0 W @ Spokane (Jan 30 2015) Final
Home Record15-8-0-116-7-3-0
Away Record9-16-0-111-13-0-1
GF140 175 
GA151 158 
PP (Overall)(41/201) 20.4(50/221) 22.6
PP (Home)(28/108) 25.9(29/104) 27.9
PP (Away)(13/93) 14.0(21/117) 17.9
PK (Overall)(35/200) 82.5(43/214) 79.9
PK (Home)(12/99) 87.9(17/102) 83.3
PK (Away)(23/101) 77.2(26/112) 76.8
Leading RookieLukin (7-3-10)Nagy (5-6-11)
Most PIMHamonic - 69Carroll - 93
Team PIM/GM14.2/Game14.5/Game
Leading ScorersBowles (13-30-43)Carroll (28-31-59)
McCue (18-20-38)Brown (16-31-47)
Williams (14-21-35)Hicketts (9-37-46)
Nejezchleb (13-21-34)Forsberg (21-22-43)
Nickles (18-15-33)Soy (17-26-43)
Last 5 Games4-1 L vs Medicine Hat (Jan 30 2015) Final3-0 W @ Spokane (Jan 30 2015) Final
7-5 L @ Portland (Jan 25 2015) Final4-3 L @ Portland (Jan 28 2015) Final
2-0 W @ Spokane (Jan 24 2015) Final6-0 W vs Kamloops (Jan 24 2015) Final
4-0 W vs Seattle (Jan 23 2015) Final4-3 L vs Kamloops (Jan 23 2015) Final OT
3-1 L @ Kamloops (Jan 21 2015) Final4-3 W @ Edmonton (Jan 18 2015) Final OT
Leading After 1st12-2-0-013-3-0-0
Leading After 2nd16-1-0-018-1-0-0
Tied After 1st10-7-0-28-6-0-1
Tied After 2nd6-2-0-05-3-2-0
Trailing After 1st2-15-0-06-11-3-0
Trailing After 2nd2-21-0-24-16-1-1
Out Shooting Opponents10-3-0-115-6-1-0
Out Shot by Opponents13-21-0-111-13-2-1
1-Goal Games8-4-0-210-7-3-1
2-Goal Games6-9-0-05-6-0-0
3-Goal Games6-4-0-05-3-0-0

Friday 30 January 2015

Recap: VIC 3 - SPK 0

Tyler Soy had 3 points and Coleman Vollrath 29 saves as the visiting Victoria Royals blanked the Spokane Chiefs 3-0 Friday night.

“I liked the way we started the game, we generated a lot of chances early, and capitalized.” said Head Coach Dave Lowry,

“As the game went on we got away from what we need to do, and just know we have to be a better team tomorrow.”

Soy, the first star of the game, had 2 goals and an assist.  His line with Greg Chase (2a) and Jack Walker (1a 1a) combined for 7 points.

“Playing with guys like Walker and Chase it’s hard to stay off the scoresheet, they use incredible speed…” said the humble Soy who now has 2 more goals than all of last year.

“It was good to see that we had one line that was throwing pucks at the net, going to the net, and getting into areas to score.” said Lowry on the dynamic unit.

Victoria out shot Spokane 10-2 in the final frame, not allowing a single shot in the final frame until 15 minutes in.

“We really wanted to build on what we had done in the first 2 periods, we weren't satisfied with how we played.  We came out hard in the third, and had some good pressure and had a good period.” said Soy.

Vollrath earned his 4th shut out of the season, while Garrett Hughson made 25 saves in the loss.

The Royals take the season series 3 games to 1, and remain 4th in the West, but pull 8 points up on the Chiefs in the Conference, who remain tied with the Americans for 6th.

With 7 players injured, Spokane was shut out for a 3rd game in a row, and are now winless in 7 (0-6-0-1).

Victoria wins their first of their 3 game US division road trip after a loss against the Winterhawks 4-3 Wednesday.

The Royals jumped to a 2-0 first period lead on even strength goals by Soy and Walker.  After a scoreless second, Soy sniped his 17th on a breakaway after a great pass from Joe Hicketts.  Soy also hit the post in the final frame.

The Royals went 0 for 3 on the power play against the 4th best penalty kill in the league, and shut down the single chance they gave the Chiefs.

Victoria wraps up the trek in Tri City Saturday, playing their 3rd game in 4 nights.

- Marlon Martens

Victoria Royals 3 at Spokane Chiefs 0 - Status: Final
Friday, January 30, 2015 - Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena

Victoria 2 0 1 - 3
Spokane 0 0 0 - 0

1st Period-
1, Victoria, Soy 16 (Chase, Walker), 4:32.
2, Victoria, Walker 12 (Chase, Soy), 7:57.

Penalties-Rayman Spo (interference), 1:49.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Walker Vic (cross checking), 17:51.

3rd Period-
3, Victoria, Soy 17 (Reddekopp, Hicketts), 7:41.

Penalties-Bechtold Spo (tripping), 2:49; Stewart Spo (boarding), 9:47; Gagnon Vic (roughing), 17:42; McAndrews Spo (roughing), 17:42.

Shots on Goal-
Victoria 12-6-10-28.
Spokane 16-11-2-29.

Power Play Opportunities-
Victoria 0 / 3;
Spokane 0 / 1.

Goalies-
Victoria, Vollrath 20-12-3-1 (29 shots-29 saves).
Spokane, Hughson 15-15-3-1 (28 shots-25 saves).

A-4,746
Referees-Trevor Shively (11), Nathan Wieler (18).
Linesmen-Jeremi Del Campo (44), Jason Michelbook (112).

Thursday 29 January 2015

Preview: Victoria at Spokane Fri.Jan.29.2015

The Victoria Royals (26-20-3-1, 56 pts) visit the Spokane Chiefs Friday night in their 2nd of a 3 game US road swing.

Pregame show at 6:40 on The Zone @ 91.3 fm or online cjzn.streamon.fm

Victoria is looking for their first win of the trek after a 4-3 loss at Portland on Wednesday night, snapping their points in 6 games streak.

Alex Forsberg scored twice, as the Royals outshot the ‘Hawks 39-36, but could not find the equalizer with the goaltender pulled.  Justin Paulic took his first loss with the club in 5 starts.

Spokane is winless in 6 (0-5-0-1) after falling by a pair of 2-0 scores versus Tri City and Seattle last Saturday and Sunday.

With 8 players on their injured list, the Chiefs have only scored one goal in their last 4 outings, while allowing 15 against.

It’s the fourth and final meeting, with the Royals holding a 2-1 series advantage after a pair of wins on Island in early January by 8-1 and 4-2 scores.  Victoria fell in Spokane 4-2 on Nov. 26th.

The Royals are 4th in the West with 56 points, 6 up on the 7th place Chiefs, but Spokane has 3 games in hand.

The Royals have scored 37 more goals overall, but have given up 16 more than the Chiefs.

Spokane owns the 4th best penalty kill, while Victoria has the 5th most efficient power play, operating at 40% over their last 5 games (8/20).  The Royals penalty killing is 11th, and has only allowed 2 goals against over their last 8 games (25/27).

The Chiefs are led in scoring by Adam Helewka with 57 points.  16 year old Kailer Yamamoto is 2nd in rookie goals with 16 and scoring with 39 points, 3rd most on his club.

The Royals are led in scoring by Austin Carroll with 59 points.  Travis Brown and Joe Hicketts are 1-2 in defenseman scoring in the WHL with 47 and 45 points respectively.  Victoria has 7 players with 40 or more points, while Spokane has 2.

The Royals are in the middle of 3 games in 4 nights on the road.

The 3 game US road swing wraps up Saturday night at Tri City.

- Marlon Martens

Victoria Royals vs Spokane Chiefs: Head To Head Stats Summary
  
Description
Result
Head to Head Record 2014-15 Regular SeasonVictoria 2-1-0-0Spokane 1-2-0-0
Head to Head Record 2013-14 Regular SeasonVictoria 1-3-0-0Spokane 3-1-0-0
Last 5 Years record between teamsVictoria 5-11-1-2Spokane 14-5-0-0
Victoria vs. Spokane Last 5 Years record at VictoriaVictoria 3-6-1-0Spokane 7-3-0-0
Victoria vs. Spokane Last 5 Years record at SpokaneVictoria 2-5-0-2Spokane 7-2-0-0
Previous Meetings This SeasonSpokane 2 @ Victoria 4 (Jan 3 2015) Final
Spokane 1 @ Victoria 8 (Jan 2 2015) Final
Victoria 2 @ Spokane 4 (Nov 26 2014) Final

How the 2 teams match up
   
 
Spokane
Victoria
Team Record23-20-3-1 -- 50 points26-20-3-1 -- 56 points
Division Ranking4th U.S.2nd B.C.
Conference Ranking7th Western4th Western
League Ranking15th9th
Past 10 Games2-7-0-17-2-1-0
Streak0-5-0-10-1-0-0
Last Game2-0 L vs Seattle (Jan 25 2015) Final4-3 L @ Portland (Jan 28 2015) Final
Home Record11-10-2-016-7-3-0
Away Record12-10-1-110-13-0-1
GF135 172 
GA142 158 
PP (Overall)(37/176) 21.0(50/218) 22.9
PP (Home)(11/82) 13.4(29/104) 27.9
PP (Away)(26/94) 27.7(21/114) 18.4
PK (Overall)(33/192) 82.8(43/213) 79.8
PK (Home)(10/89) 88.8(17/102) 83.3
PK (Away)(23/103) 77.7(26/111) 76.6
Leading RookieYamamoto (16-23-39)Nagy (5-6-11)
Most PIMLaday - 67Carroll - 93
Team PIM/GM13.3/Game14.8/Game
Leading ScorersHelewka (26-31-57)Carroll (28-31-59)
 Fram (8-32-40)Brown (16-31-47)
 Brooks (16-23-39)Hicketts (9-36-45)
 Yamamoto (16-23-39)Forsberg (21-22-43)
 Stewart (16-14-30)Magee (15-27-42)
Last 5 Games2-0 L vs Seattle (Jan 25 2015) Final4-3 L @ Portland (Jan 28 2015) Final
 2-0 L vs Tri-City (Jan 24 2015) Final6-0 W vs Kamloops (Jan 24 2015) Final
 4-1 L @ Portland (Jan 23 2015) Final4-3 L vs Kamloops (Jan 23 2015) Final OT
 7-0 L @ Tri-City (Jan 17 2015) Final4-3 W @ Edmonton (Jan 18 2015) Final OT
 5-3 L @ Everett (Jan 16 2015) Final4-1 W @ Calgary (Jan 17 2015) Final
Leading After 1st11-3-0-012-3-0-0
Leading After 2nd15-0-1-117-1-0-0
Tied After 1st5-6-3-08-6-0-1
Tied After 2nd4-3-1-05-3-2-0
Trailing After 1st7-11-0-16-11-3-0
Trailing After 2nd4-17-1-04-16-1-1
Out Shooting Opponents15-10-1-015-6-1-0
Out Shot by Opponents8-8-2-110-13-2-1
1-Goal Games13-5-3-110-7-3-1
2-Goal Games4-9-0-05-6-0-0
3-Goal Games3-3-0-04-3-0-0

Wednesday 28 January 2015

Recap: VIC 3 - PORT 4

Alex Forsberg scored twice, but the visiting Victoria Royals (26-20-3-1, 56 pts) fell 4-3 to the Portland Winterhawks (29-19-0-3, 61 pts) Wednesday night at the Moda Centre.

“We did a lot of good things tonight, and that’s what makes it disappointing.” - Royals Head Coach Dave Lowry

The Royals had their streak of points in 7 snapped, while the Winterhawks win their 6th in a row and take the season series 3-1.

Victoria out shot the opposition 39-36, and 16-10 in the third while hitting two posts late, but could not find the equalizer.

“I thought our guys played well, played hard.  We made a couple mistakes and against a good team like Portland, they’re opportunistic and they found a way to capatalize,” said Lowry,

“I was really pleased with how we played and how hard we competed.”

The game was tied at 1-1 after 20 minutes, and at 2 after 40 minutes.

Portland jumped to a 4-2 lead in the third, which only last :18 seconds as Forsberg notched his 2nd of the night, and 21st of the season.

“I thought we played pretty good tonight,” said Forsberg, “We made a couple mistakes and that’s really what hurt us.  (Hill) is a big goalie and he played well tonight and was definitely a factor.”

Adin Hill in his 14th straight start earned the win with 36 saves, while Justin Paulic took his first loss as a Royal in five starts stopping 32 shots.

Regan Nagy scored the other goal for Victoria.

The Royals were 0 for 2 on the power play, and shut down all 3 Winterhawk man advantages.  Victoria's penalty killing is 25 for 27 over their last 8 games.

Chase DeLeo, and Alex Schoeborn had a goal and assist each for Portland, while Blake Heinrich chipped in with a pair of helpers.  Nic Petan and Oliver Bjorkstrand were held off the scoresheet.

Forsberg now has a 4 game goal streak with 5 goals in that span including 1 assist.  Chase and Magee had their 3 game goal streak snapped.

Austin Carroll extended his point streak to 5 games with 6 points (2g 4a).

Victoria now heads into Spokane for a game Friday night, and then at Tri City Saturday before returning home.

-Marlon Martens

Victoria Royals 3 at Portland Winterhawks 4 - Status: Final
Wednesday, January 28, 2015 - Moda Center - Portland, OR

Victoria 1 1 1 - 3
Portland 1 1 2 - 4

1st Period-
1, Portland, Turgeon 15 (McKenzie, Iverson), 15:46.
2, Victoria, Nagy 5 (Jarratt), 18:20.

Penalties-Fisher Vic (cross checking), 10:44; Forsberg Vic (tripping), 19:19.

2nd Period-
3, Victoria, Forsberg 20 (Carroll, Hicketts), 12:41.
4, Portland, Schoenborn 15 (De Leo, Koules), 17:20.

Penalties-Cederholm Por (tripping), 18:46.

3rd Period-
5, Portland, Henry 5 (Heinrich, Schoenborn), 3:08.
6, Portland, De Leo 22 (Koules, Heinrich), 13:21.
7, Victoria, Forsberg 21 (Magee), 13:39.

Penalties-Petan Por (slashing), 4:25; Soy Vic (interference), 6:26; Carroll Vic (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 19:59; Heinrich Por (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 19:59.

Shots on Goal-
Victoria 11-12-16-39.
Portland 10-16-10-36.

Power Play Opportunities-
Victoria 0 / 2;
Portland 0 / 3.

Goalies-
Victoria, Paulic 10-9-1-1 (36 shots-32 saves).
Portland, Hill 18-7-0-0 (39 shots-36 saves).

A-5,798
Referees-Jason Nissen (91), Nathan Wieler (18).
Linesmen-Jarrod Boman (116), Joel Nyberg (145).

Tuesday 27 January 2015

Preview: Victoria at Portland, Wed Jan.28.2015

The Victoria Royals (26-19-3-1, 56pts) kick off a 3 game US Division road swing against the Portland Winterhawks (28-19-0-3, 59pts) Wednesday night.

Pregame show at 6:40 on The Zone @ 91.3 fm or online cjzn.streamon.fm

It’s the fourth and final meeting of the season with the Winterhawks hold a 2-1 series advantage.

Portland is 3 points up on Victoria in the Conference, and both clubs are 2nd in their respective divisions.

The Royals have points in 7 straight games (6-0-1-0), and in 10 of their last 11, while the Winterhawks are riding a 5 game win streak.  Both clubs have 8 wins in their past 10.

Portland is coming of a 7-5 win at home against Tri City Sunday, as Oliver Bjorkstrand netted a hat trick and four points.  Nicolas Petan also picked up one goal and two assists for the Winterhawks while Paul Bittner had a goal and a helper.  They won 3 in 3 nights with victories against the Thunderbirds 4-3, and versus the Chiefs, 4-1.

The Royals earned a split against the visiting Blazers Saturday with a 6-0 victory and picked up 3 of a possible 4 points on the weekend after falling 4-3 in overtime Friday.

Brandon Fushimi was the games first star with 2 goals and an assist, while Jack Walker also had 3 points (1g 2a) for 2nd star honours.

Paulic, the games 3rd star has won all 4 starts for Victoria since arriving from Moose Jaw in a trade in early January.

The Royals power play went 4 for 7, while shutting down all 4 Blazer man advantages.  Victoria was 4 for 4 at one point in the middle frame, and are 8 for 18 (44.44%) over their last 4 games, and is now ranked 5th best in the league.  Their penalty kill has stopped 22 of 24 over their last 7 outings.

Portland in 4 over .500 at home, while Victoria is 2 under on the road.

The Winterhawks are led in scoring by Blue Jackets signed prospect Oliver Bjorkstrands 61 points in 37 games, good for 5th in overall scoring.  He also has the 4th most goals with 30.  Bjorkstrand has 21 points in 9 games since he returned from the 2015 WJC, where he played for Denmark.

Chase De Leo has 54 points and played for the USA at the WJ, and Nic Petan who won Gold for Canada at the WJ, in 3rd in scoring with 45 points in 32 games.

Netminder Adin Hill owns the leagues best save percentage at 0.928 and is ranked 9th among goaltenders by NHL CSS.

Austin Carroll leads the Royals in scoring with 58 points, and has the most power play goals in the league with 13.  Travis Brown leads all defensemen in scoring with 47 points, goals with 16, and 8 power play markers.  Joe Hicketts is tied for 3rd in rearguard scoring with 44 points, including 35 assists.

After Portland, Victoria plays in Spokane Friday and Tri City Saturday.

- Marlon Martens

Victoria Royals vs Portland Winterhawks: Head To Head Stats Summary
  
Description
Result
Head to Head Record 2014-15 Regular SeasonVictoria 1-2-0-0Portland 2-1-0-0
Head to Head Record 2013-14 Regular SeasonVictoria 3-1-0-0Portland 1-1-1-1
Last 5 Years record between teamsVictoria 8-11-0-0Portland 11-6-1-1
Victoria vs. Portland Last 5 Years record at VictoriaVictoria 6-4-0-0Portland 4-5-0-1
Victoria vs. Portland Last 5 Years record at PortlandVictoria 2-7-0-0Portland 7-1-1-0
Previous Meetings This SeasonPortland 6 @ Victoria 4 (Dec 2 2014) Final
Victoria 2 @ Portland 4 (Nov 25 2014) Final
Portland 2 @ Victoria 6 (Oct 6 2014) Final

How the 2 teams match up
   
 
Portland
Victoria
Team Record28-19-0-3 -- 59 points26-19-3-1 -- 56 points
Division Ranking2nd U.S.2nd B.C.
Conference Ranking3rd Western4th Western
League Ranking7th9th
Past 10 Games8-2-0-08-1-1-0
Streak5-0-0-06-0-1-0
Last Game7-5 W vs Tri-City (Jan 25 2015) Final6-0 W vs Kamloops (Jan 24 2015) Final
Home Record13-9-0-216-7-3-0
Away Record15-10-0-110-12-0-1
GF176 169 
GA164 154 
PP (Overall)(41/191) 21.5(50/216) 23.1
PP (Home)(19/101) 18.8(29/104) 27.9
PP (Away)(22/90) 24.4(21/112) 18.8
PK (Overall)(40/218) 81.7(43/210) 79.5
PK (Home)(17/113) 85.0(17/102) 83.3
PK (Away)(23/105) 78.1(26/108) 75.9
Leading RookieHeinrich (5-11-16)Nagy (4-6-10)
Most PIMSchoenborn - 66Carroll - 91
Team PIM/GM13.5/Game14.9/Game
Leading ScorersBjorkstrand (31-30-61)Carroll (28-30-58)
 De Leo (21-33-54)Brown (16-31-47)
 Petan (8-37-45)Hicketts (9-35-44)
 Bittner (21-18-39)Forsberg (19-22-41)
 Koules (21-18-39)Magee (15-26-41)
Last 5 Games7-5 W vs Tri-City (Jan 25 2015) Final6-0 W vs Kamloops (Jan 24 2015) Final
 4-3 W @ Seattle (Jan 24 2015) Final OT4-3 L vs Kamloops (Jan 23 2015) Final OT
 4-1 W vs Spokane (Jan 23 2015) Final4-3 W @ Edmonton (Jan 18 2015) Final OT
 8-2 W @ Prince George (Jan 17 2015) Final4-1 W @ Calgary (Jan 17 2015) Final
 4-3 W @ Prince George (Jan 16 2015) Final SO2-1 W @ Red Deer (Jan 16 2015) Final SO
Leading After 1st17-3-0-312-3-0-0
Leading After 2nd21-2-0-117-1-0-0
Tied After 1st8-5-0-08-5-0-1
Tied After 2nd5-4-0-15-2-2-0
Trailing After 1st3-11-0-06-11-3-0
Trailing After 2nd2-13-0-14-16-1-1
Out Shooting Opponents13-5-0-215-5-1-0
Out Shot by Opponents15-13-0-110-13-2-1
1-Goal Games10-7-0-310-6-3-1
2-Goal Games8-2-0-05-6-0-0
3-Goal Games5-4-0-04-3-0-0

Saturday 24 January 2015

Recap: KAM 0 - VIC 6

Justin Paulic made 26 saves to backstop the Victoria Royals to a 6-0 shut out victory over the visiting Kamloops Blazers Saturday night.

The Royals earn the split in the two game set, picking up 3 of a possible 4 points after falling 4-3 in overtime one night earlier.  The Blazers had their 4 game win streak snapped.

Victoria led 2-0 after 20 minutes and 6-0 after 40 while out shooting Kamloops 37-26 on the night.

The Royals power play went 4 for 7, while shutting down all 4 Blazer man advantages.  Victoria was 4 for 4 at one point in the middle frame, and are 8 for 16 (50%) over their last 4 games.

Brandon Fushimi was the games first star with 2 goals and an assist, while Jack Walker also had 3 points (1g 2a) for 2nd star honours.

Paulic, the games 3rd star has won all 4 starts for Victoria since arriving from Moose Jaw in a trade in early January.  Connor Ingram started for Kamloops stopping 18 of 23, and was replaced by Cole Kehler who went on to stop 13 of 14 in relief.

The Royals also got goals from Greg Chase, Alex Forsberg and Brandon Magee (1g 1a).  Tyler Soy and Matthew Phillips chipped in with a pair of helpers each.

Victoria now has points in their last 7 straight (6-0-1-0), and 10 of their last 11.  Their past 10 record sits at (8-1-1-0).

The season series now sits at (3-2-1-0) for both clubs.

They’ll meet twice more on the road in Kamloops Feb 14th and 27th.

The Royals remain in 2nd place in the BC Divison with 56 points, while the Blazers remain in a 3 way tie for the final playoff spot in the West with the Giants and Cougars.

Victoria now heads out on a 3 game US Division road trip with stops in Portland Wednesday, Spokane Friday and Tri City Saturday.

- Marlon Martens

Kamloops Blazers 0 at Victoria Royals 6 - Status: Final
Saturday, January 24, 2015 - Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena - Victoria, BC

Kamloops 0 0 0 - 0
Victoria 2 4 0 - 6

1st Period-
1, Victoria, Fushimi 10 (Walker, Soy), 8:08.
2, Victoria, Chase 14 (Hicketts, Brown), 16:38 (PP).

Penalties-Walker Vic (hooking), 5:03; Fisher Vic (hooking), 8:43; Walker Vic (hooking), 14:13; Needham Kam (roughing), 16:25.

2nd Period-
3, Victoria, Walker 11 (Reddekopp, Soy), 4:34 (PP).
4, Victoria, Forsberg 19 (Phillips, Magee), 13:18 (PP).
5, Victoria, Magee 15 (Carroll, Fushimi), 14:57 (PP).
6, Victoria, Fushimi 11 (Phillips, Walker), 17:32.

Penalties-Maier Kam (interference), 4:17; Magee Vic (high sticking), 6:01; Benjafield Kam (charging), 12:00; Hamilton Kam (hooking), 13:35.

3rd Period-
No Scoring.

Penalties-McNulty Kam (hooking), 4:49; Revel Kam (high sticking), 5:18; Needham Kam (10-minute misconduct, game misconduct), 8:48; Shirley Kam (roughing), 8:48.

Shots on Goal-
Kamloops 11-10-5-26.
Victoria 16-11-10-37.

Power Play Opportunities-
Kamloops 0 / 4;
Victoria 4 / 7.

Goalies-
Kamloops, Ingram 11-12-1-3 (23 shots-18 saves);
Kehler 3-11-2-0 (14 shots-13 saves).
Victoria, Paulic 10-8-1-1 (26 shots-26 saves).

A-5,501
Referees-Ryan Benbow (62), Adam Griffiths (36).
Linesmen-Blake Copeland (95), Riley Friesen (76).

Friday 23 January 2015

Recap: KAM 4 - VIC 3 OTL

Ryan Rehill scored in overtime to lift the visiting Kamloops Blazers to a 4-3 victory over the Victoria Royals (25-19-3-1, 54pts) Friday night, in the first of back to back games.

The Royals had their 5 game win streak snapped in front of a sellout crowd, and now have points in their last 6 (5-0-1-0), and 9 of their last 10 (8-1-1-0).

The Blazers (18-24-3-3, 42pts) pushed their win streak to a season high 4 games, and move into a 3 way tie for the final playoff spot in the West with 42 points joining the Cougars and the Giants.

Kamloops outshot Victoria 45-31, but trailed the Royals 3-2 in the third period after Matthew Phillips gave the home team their first lead of the game with his 1st goal in his first WHL game.

Quinn Benjafield forced overtime with his 2nd of the night and was named first star.

Greg Chase and Alex Forsberg scored the other Royals goals. Cole Ully opened the scoring for Kamloops who snapped a winless in 5 road skid.

Connor Ingram earned the victory, while Coleman Vollrath took the overtime loss.

Neither team was able to capitalize on the powerplay with the Royals going 0/1, while the Blazers went 0/2.

Their were no penalties in the first and 3rd periods plus overtime.

After Victoria entertains Kamloops in the rubber match Saturday night, they head out on a three game US Division road trip with stops in Portland Wednesday, Spokane Friday and Tri City Saturday.

- Marlon Martens

Kamloops Blazers 4 (OT) at Victoria Royals 3 - Status: Final OT
Friday, January 23, 2015 - Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena - Victoria, BC

Kamloops 1 1 1 1 - 4
Victoria 0 2 1 0 - 3

1st Period-
1, Kamloops, Ully 22 (Sideroff, Gaudet), 16:13.

Penalties-No Penalties

2nd Period-
2, Victoria, Chase 13 (Soy, Sayers), 2:45.
3, Kamloops, Benjafield 2 (Chyzowski, Campese), 3:21.
4, Victoria, Forsberg 18 (Brown), 5:46.

Penalties-McNulty Kam (hooking), 3:56; Carroll Vic (slashing), 4:15; Nagy Vic (tripping), 10:12.

3rd Period-
5, Victoria, Phillips 1 (Walker, Carroll), 13:55.
6, Kamloops, Benjafield 3   15:21.

Penalties-No Penalties

OT Period-
7, Kamloops, Rehill 6 (McVeigh), 1:25.

Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-
Kamloops 18-15-11-1-45.
Victoria 10-9-12-0-31.

Power Play Opportunities-
Kamloops 0 / 2;
Victoria 0 / 1.

Goalies-
Kamloops, Ingram 11-11-1-3 (31 shots-28 saves).
Victoria, Vollrath 19-12-3-1 (45 shots-41 saves).

A-7,006
Referees-Chris Crich (20), Kyle Kowalski (15).
Linesmen-Jeff MacAdams, Kirk Van Helvoirt (107).

Thursday 22 January 2015

Preview: Kamloops at Victoria, Friday Jan.23.2015

The Victoria Royals (25-19-2-1, 53pts) entertain the Kamloops Blazers (17-24-3-3, 40pts) for a pair of back to back games Friday and Saturday.

Pregame show on The Zone @ 91.3fm at 7:10 Friday, and 6:40 Saturday.  Online:
cjzn.streamon.fm

The season series is tied at 2 games a piece with Victoria winning their last 2 encounters.  Most recently 5-3 in Kamloops on November 29th.

The Royals are on a 5 game win streak, and have won 8 of their last 9.  The Blazers are on a season high 3 game win streak, but winless in their last 5 on the road.

This week Tyler Soy was ranked 152nd and Chaz Reddekopp #199 by NHL Central Scouting for the upcoming draft.

Victoria returns home after going 3 for 3 in 3 last weekend in Alberta.  The Royals edged the Oil Kings 4-3 in overtime Sunday, beat the Hitmen 4-1 on Saturday and got past the Rebels 2-1 in a shoot out Friday.

The Blazers hit the road after sweeping their 3 game home stand.  They beat the Americans 3-1 on Wednesday, blanked the Giants 1-0 and defeated the Winterhawks 6-2.

Kamloops now finds themselves tied with Vancouver for 4th in the BC Division, with 40 points, 2 back of Prince George and 2 out of a playoff spot.

Victoria is in 2nd, 11 up on Prince George, and tied with Portland for 3rd in the Conference.

Austin Carroll leads the Royals in scoring with 56 points.  His 28 goals are the 4th most in the league.

Travis Brown and Joe Hicketts are 1-2 in defenseman scoring in the league with 45 and 43 points respectively.  Brown has the most goals by a reargaurd with 16, while Hicketts leads all defenders in assists with 43.

Kamloops is led in scoring by Dallas 2nd rounder Cole Ully with 60 points.  17 year old Devin Sideroff is 5th in rookie scoring with 30 points.  Sideroff is ranked 110 among N.A. skaters for the upcoming draft.

Defenseman Michael For a is ranked 114th, and played for Switzerland at the World Juniors, while defenseman Patrik Maier played for Slovakia.

New Jersey’s 5th round pick, defenseman Ryan Rehill leads the league in minors with 39, and has taken the 5th most penalty minutes.

Netminder Connor Ingram is undefeated in his last 5 starts (4-0-0-1).  He’s been named the #1 star for a 5th straight home game after the 3-1 win over the Americans (26 saves).  Ingram is ranked #33 among North American goaltenders by NHL CSS.

Two former Royals suit up for the Blazers in forwards Luke Harrison and Matthew Campese.

After the two game set against Kamloops, Victoria heads out for a 3 game US road trip with games in Portalnd Wednesday, Spokane Friday and Tri City Saturday.

-Marlon Martens.

Victoria Royals vs Kamloops Blazers: Head To Head Stats Summary
  
Description
Result
Head to Head Record 2014-15 Regular SeasonVictoria 2-2-0-0Kamloops 2-1-1-0
Head to Head Record 2013-14 Regular SeasonVictoria 7-1-0-0Kamloops 1-7-0-0
Last 5 Years record between teamsVictoria 19-16-1-0Kamloops 17-15-2-2
Victoria vs. Kamloops Last 5 Years record at VictoriaVictoria 12-5-1-0Kamloops 6-9-1-2
Victoria vs. Kamloops Last 5 Years record at KamloopsVictoria 7-11-0-0Kamloops 11-6-1-0
Previous Meetings This SeasonVictoria 5 @ Kamloops 3 (Nov 29 2014) Final
Kamloops 3 @ Victoria 4 (Sep 27 2014) Final OT
Kamloops 8 @ Victoria 2 (Sep 26 2014) Final
Victoria 3 @ Kamloops 6 (Sep 19 2014) Final

How the 2 teams match up
   
 
Kamloops
Victoria
Team Record17-24-3-3 -- 40 points25-19-2-1 -- 53 points
Division Ranking5th B.C.2nd B.C.
Conference Ranking10th Western4th Western
League Ranking19th9th
Past 10 Games4-5-0-18-2-0-0
Streak3-0-0-05-0-0-0
Last Game3-1 W vs Tri-City (Jan 21 2015) Final4-3 W @ Edmonton (Jan 18 2015) Final OT
Home Record11-10-0-115-7-2-0
Away Record6-14-3-210-12-0-1
GF139 160 
GA171 150 
PP (Overall)(33/169) 19.5(46/208) 22.1
PP (Home)(17/75) 22.7(25/96) 26.0
PP (Away)(16/94) 17.0(21/112) 18.8
PK (Overall)(50/212) 76.4(43/204) 78.9
PK (Home)(23/91) 74.7(17/96) 82.3
PK (Away)(27/121) 77.7(26/108) 75.9
Leading RookieSideroff (15-15-30)Nagy (4-6-10)
Most PIMRehill - 98Carroll - 89
Team PIM/GM13.8/Game15.3/Game
Leading ScorersUlly (21-39-60)Carroll (28-28-56)
 Needham (15-34-49)Brown (16-29-45)
 Sideroff (15-15-30)Hicketts (9-34-43)
 Shirley (15-14-29)Forsberg (17-22-39)
 Revel (14-13-27)Magee (14-25-39)
Last 5 Games3-1 W vs Tri-City (Jan 21 2015) Final4-3 W @ Edmonton (Jan 18 2015) Final OT
 1-0 W vs Vancouver (Jan 17 2015) Final4-1 W @ Calgary (Jan 17 2015) Final
 6-2 W vs Portland (Jan 14 2015) Final2-1 W @ Red Deer (Jan 16 2015) Final SO
 5-2 L @ Spokane (Jan 10 2015) Final5-2 W vs Prince George (Jan 10 2015) Final
 2-1 L vs Kelowna (Jan 9 2015) Final SO3-2 W vs Prince George (Jan 9 2015) Final OT
Leading After 1st9-1-0-011-3-0-0
Leading After 2nd13-1-0-116-1-0-0
Tied After 1st7-5-3-18-5-0-1
Tied After 2nd3-3-3-05-2-1-0
Trailing After 1st1-18-0-26-11-2-0
Trailing After 2nd1-20-0-24-16-1-1
Out Shooting Opponents10-9-2-214-5-1-0
Out Shot by Opponents6-15-1-110-13-1-1
1-Goal Games5-2-3-310-6-2-1
2-Goal Games5-6-0-05-6-0-0
3-Goal Games3-10-0-04-3-0-0

Tuesday 20 January 2015

Royals Host Blazers This Weekend: Events

ROYALS HOST BLAZERS FOR TWO GAMES THIS WEEKEND
Victoria hosts Kamloops on Friday and Saturday night.

For Immediate Release
Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Victoria, BC- The Victoria Royals host BC Division rivals, the Kamloops Blazers on Friday and Saturday night. Friday’s contest is Women in Sport Night with puck drop at 7:30 p.m., while Saturday’s game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

RECORD SETTING: In Sunday’s game vs the Edmonton Oil Kings Royals’ forward Brandon Magee set a new all-time franchise record in points at 242 (104g-138a). The native of Edmonton, AB passed former franchise scoring leader Kevin Sundher who registered 241 points (90g-151a) in 255 games with the Royals/Bruins.

OFF TO THE RACES: As a franchise, the Victoria Royals are successful when they score the first goal of the game, going 85-28-2-7. So far this season, Victoria has scored the first goal 21 times in 47 total games played with a record of 17-4-0-0. Royals’ defender Travis Brown is tied for the league lead in first goals of the game with six.

FRIDAY NIGHT – WOMEN IN SPORT NIGHT

Tickets:
-          Season ticket holders are reminded that Friday’s game is raincheck night where any unused season ticket can be redeemed at the Select Your Tickets Box Office.

Pre-Game:

6:00 p.m.

-          Mixed Martial Arts fighter and Victoria, BC native Sarah Kaufman of the UFC along with Jessica Dovanne and Brittany Waters of the Canadian Women’s Rugby Team will be on hand to sign autographs in the concourse.

-          The Sticky Wicket will be at Gate 1 providing music and will have a draw for a big screen LED TV

Intermission Activities & Promos:

Second Intermission
-          Pacific Restaurant Chuck-a-Puck
o   Round trip flight for two from Victoria to Pitt Meadows by Harbour Air
o   Dinner for two to the Pacific Restaurant at the Hotel Grand Pacific
o   Jiffy Lube Oil Change

Promo
-          The Royals are pleased to welcome back the Yates St. Taphouse as the host of the Tweet Suite for Friday’s game. The Taphouse Tweet Suite is an interactive suite experience where fans can meet and greet with players and hockey staff, enjoy complimentary food and beverage and enjoy a Victoria Royals home game from one of the luxury suites. Tune in to the official Victoria Royals twitter account @victoriaroyals for contesting details on how one can win a pair of tickets for the tweet suite. Two lucky fans will also be upgraded to the suite before puck drop.

-          itgroove Musical Chairs (Second Intermission)
o   Fans will compete to win a Canon All-In-One Printer from itgroove

SATURDAY NIGHT – OFFICIATING NIGHT

The Royals will be welcoming a special group of BC Hockey minor officials to Saturday’s game vs. the Blazers as part of the WHL Officiating Experience initiative.

Pre-Game:

6:00 p.m.
-          He Sticky Wicket will be at Gate 1 providing music and will have a draw for a big screen LED TV

Intermission Activities & Promos:

Second Intermission
-          Pacific Restaurant Chuck-a-Puck
o   Dinner for two to the Pacific Restaurant at the Hotel Grand Pacific
o   Jiffy Lube Oil Change

Promo
-          Sticky Wicket Find Marty (Second Intermission)
o   One fan will have the chance to win $40.00 to the Sticky Wicket

The Royals’ Pink in the Rink and Canadian Forces jerseys will be on display in the concourse at Gate 1 an available to bid on in ongoing jersey auctions. All proceeds support the BC Cancer Foundation and the Military Family Resource Centre respectively. Full jersey auction schedule can be found at www.victoriaroyals.com/jerseyauctions.

The Royals celebrate their first annual Women in Sports Night on Friday, January 23rd when they face-off at 7:30 p.m. vs. the Kamloops Blazers. Join us as we recognize the accomplishments and promote the growth of local female athletes. Activities for the night include autographs and appearances by decorated sportswomen, concourse displays and fundraising for The Canadian Association of Women and Sport (CAAWS). For full details or to bring out your female sports team call the Royals’ ticket team at 250-220-7889.


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Soy & Reddekopp Make NHL CSS Mid-Term Rankings

51 WHL PLAYERS IN NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING MIDTERM RANKINGS
44 WHL skaters and seven WHL goaltenders ranked.

CALGARY, AB – The Western Hockey League announced today that 51 WHL players have been listed by NHL Central Scouting in their Midterm Rankings for the 2015 NHL Draft.

Matthew Barzal (Coquitlam, BC / Seattle Thunderbirds) is currently ranked ninth amongst North American skaters while Ivan Provorov (#10 – Yaroslavl, Russia / Brandon Wheat Kings), Nick Merkley (#13 – Calgary, AB / Kelowna Rockets), Brandon Carlo (#16 – Colorado Springs, CO / Tri-City Americans), Jansen Harkins (#18 – North Vancouver, BC / Prince George Cougars), and Paul Bittner (#19 – Crookston, MN / Portland Winterhawks) were all ranked in the top 20.

Nick Schneider (Leduc, AB / Medicine Hat Tigers) was ranked eighth amongst North American goaltenders while Adin Hill (Calgary, AB / Portland Winterhawks) followed at ninth.

Last year, 37 WHL players were selected in the NHL Draft including nine in the first round.

WHL Skaters - NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings (North America):
Rank
Name
Team
Position
Height
Weight
9
BARZAL,MATHEW
SEATTLE
C
5' 11.25"
175
10
PROVOROV, IVAN
BRANDON
D
6' 0.0"
191
13
MERKLEY,NICHOLAS
KELOWNA
C
5' 10.75"
191
16
CARLO, BRANDON
TRI-CITY
D
6' 4.75"
198
18
HARKINS, JANSEN
PRINCE GEORGE
C
6' 0.75"
177
19
BITTNER, PAUL
PORTLAND
LW
6' 4.0"
206
24
DeBRUSK, JAKE
SWIFT CURRENT
LW
5' 11.5"
171
31
PILON, RYAN
BRANDON
D
6' 2.0"
206
32
MUSIL, ADAM
RED DEER
C
6' 2.5"
198
37
GAWDIN, GLENN
SWIFT CURRENT
C
6' 0.75"
188
38
JUULSEN, NOAH
EVERETT
D
6' 1.25"
175
43
WAGNER, AUSTIN
REGINA
LW
6' 1.0"
178
46
WOTHERSPOON,PARKER
TRI-CITY
D
6' 0.25"
171
61
GABRIELLE, JESSE
REGINA
LW
5' 10.75"
205
62
GROPP, RYAN
SEATTLE
LW
6' 2.0"
184
66
STRAND, AUSTIN
RED DEER
D
6' 3.25"
194
69
NIELSEN, ANDREW
LETHBRIDGE
D
6' 3.0"
207
76
GUHLE, BRENDAN
PRINCE ALBERT
D
6' 1.5"
184
93
PAWLENCHUK, GRAYSON
RED DEER
LW
5' 11.5"
183
94
KOLESAR, KEEGAN
SEATTLE
RW
6' 1.25"
217
97
ZBOROSKY,ZACHARY
KOOTENAY
RW
5' 11.0"
175
100
HOBBS, CONNOR
REGINA
D
6' 0.5"
187
101
BETHUNE, JARED
PRINCE
GEORGE
C
6' 0.0"
174
104
GARDINER, REID
PRINCE ALBERT
C/RW
5' 10.5"
187
106
OLSON, TATE
PRINCE GEORGE
D
6' 2.25"
174
108
STEPHENS, DEVANTE
KELOWNA
D
6' 1.25"
171
110
SIDEROFF, DEVEN
KAMLOOPS
RW
5' 11.0"
171
114
FORA, MICHAEL
KAMLOOPS
D
6' 2.5"
210
133
BEAR, ETHAN
SEATTLE
D
5' 11.0"
200
134
GATENBY, JOE
KELOWNA
D
6' 0.25"
176
137
DAVIS, KEVIN
EVERETT
D
5' 11.75"
183
140
KARNAUKHOV, PAVEL
CALGARY
LW
6' 2.5"
194
144
BRADLEY, MATTHEW
MEDICINE HAT
C
5' 11.25"
187
150
MORRISON, BRAD
PRINCE GEORGE
C
5' 11.5"
154
152
SOY, TYLER
VICTORIA
C
5' 11.5"
172
160
HUNT, DRYDEN
REGINA
C/LW
6' 0.0"
199
164
JENSEN, KADE
LETHBRIDGE
D
6' 1.5"
191
169
COMRIE, TY
TRI-CITY
C
5' 11.5"
169
179
PFEIFER, TRISTEN
EVERETT
D
6' 4.0"
180
184
OVERHARDT, ALEX
PORTLAND
C
5' 11.0"
181
190
BUKARTS, RIHARDS
BRANDON
LW
5' 8.5"
190
191
PHILP, LUKE
KOOTENAY
C
5' 9.25"
180
197
ZBOROVSKIY, SERGEY
REGINA
D
6' 3.0"
198
199
REDDEKOPP, CHAZ
VICTORIA
D
6' 3.25"
219

WHL Goaltenders - NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings (North America):
Rank
Name
Team
Hand
Height
Weight
8
SCHNEIDER, NICK
MEDICINE HAT
R
6' 1.75"
160
9
HILL, ADIN
PORTLAND
L
6' 3.5"
198
12
TOTH, RYLAN
RED DEER
L
6' 1.5"
195
13
MCBRIDE, NICK
PRINCE ALBERT
L
6' 3.5"
179
25
PAPIRNY,JORDAN
BRANDON
L
6' 0.5"
173
31
PARENTEAU,RYLAN
PRINCE ALBERT
L
6' 0.5"
191
33
INGRAM, CONNOR
KAMLOOPS
L
6' 0.5"
212


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