Thursday 8 November 2012

Preview: Victoria at Calgary

The Victoria Royals (9-9, 18pts) look to snap a 5 game slide as they visit the top team in the East, the Calgary Hitmen (12-4-1-2, 27pts)  Friday night.
The Royals practice at the Saddledome Thursday, play Calgary Friday.
Pregame show on The Zone @ 91.3 fm at 5:45, puck drop at 6pm pacific, or online at www.thezone.fm.

It’s the second of three meetings this season, as the Royals won 3-1 on home ice back on October 18th.  Alex Gogolev scored twice in the victory against his former club, while the player he was traded for, Zane Jones added a single.

Head Coach Dave Lowry will also look for his second win against his former club, this time in Calgary.

The Hitmen have won 4 in a row, most recently taking both games in a home and home with the Warriors by 2-1 scores.  Calgary won at home in a shoot out Wednesday, and in overtime in Moose Jaw.  They now have a one point lead on Prince Albert for top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Victoria is coming off a 4-2 loss in Lethbridge Wednesday, Brandon Magee scored his team leading 9th, and Steven Hodges provided the other.  The Hurricanes broke a 2-2 tie in the third and added an empty net goal to seal the win.  Coleman Vollrath made 36 saves in the defeat.

The Royals will play their 6th of 7 consecutive on the road against the Hitmen, looking for their first win of the trip.  They’ve fallen to an even .500 record of 9-9, at the quarter mark of the season and sit 6th in the Conference.

Calgary has won 4 of 9 at home, while winning 8 of 10 on the road.  The Hitmen of gone into overtime 7 times in 19 games, winning 2 in the extra frame and 2 in a shoot out.

The Hitmen are led in scoring by forward Brooks Macek’s 26 points, good for 7th in league scoring.  Cody Sylvester leads the league in power play goals with 8.  Defenseman Alex Roach is the club leader in plus minus, with a +16.

Royals forward Alex Gogolev leads the team in scoring with 21 points, Brandon Magee the team leader in goals with 9.  Florida draft pick Steven Hodges has points in his last five games (1g 4a).

Victoria wraps up a 3 games in 4 nights, part of 5 in a 9 night swing, Saturday in Medicine Hat.

How the 2 teams match up

     
 
Calgary
Victoria
Team Record 12-4-1-2 -- 27 points 9-9-0-0 -- 18 points
Division Ranking 1st Central 3rd B.C.
Conference Ranking 1st Eastern 6th Western
League Ranking 3rd 15th
Past 10 Games 6-3-0-1 3-7-0-0
Streak 4-0-0-0 0-5-0-0
Last Game 2-1 W vs Moose Jaw (Nov 7 2012) Final SO 4-2 L @ Lethbridge (Nov 7 2012) Final
Home Record 4-3-1-1 6-2-0-0
Away Record 8-1-0-1 3-7-0-0
GF 63  48 
GA 58  64 
PP (Overall) (16/72) 22.2 (17/93) 18.3
PP (Home) (6/42) 14.3 (7/42) 16.7
PP (Away) (10/30) 33.3 (10/51) 19.6
PK (Overall) (19/90) 78.9 (16/79) 79.7
PK (Home) (15/50) 70.0 (5/29) 82.8
PK (Away) (4/40) 90.0 (11/50) 78.0
Leading Rookie Padakin (2-5-7) Hicketts (1-5-6)
Most PIM Henry - 58 Carroll - 49
Team PIM/GM 19.4/Game 19.3/Game
Leading Scorers Macek (11-15-26) Gogolev (8-13-21)
  Sylvester (13-7-20) Nelson (3-13-16)
  Brassart (6-9-15) Magee (9-4-13)
  Chase (2-13-15) Walker (6-7-13)
  Jones (6-6-12) Crooks (6-4-10)
Last 5 Games 2-1 W vs Moose Jaw (Nov 7 2012) Final SO 4-2 L @ Lethbridge (Nov 7 2012) Final
  2-1 W @ Moose Jaw (Nov 4 2012) Final OT 6-2 L @ Portland (Nov 3 2012) Final
  4-2 W @ Brandon (Nov 3 2012) Final 6-2 L @ Portland (Nov 2 2012) Final
  4-1 W @ Regina (Nov 2 2012) Final 5-2 L @ Kamloops (Oct 27 2012) Final
  4-1 L vs Kelowna (Oct 28 2012) Final 4-1 L @ Vancouver (Oct 26 2012) Final
Leading After 1st 9-1-1-0 3-2-0-0
Leading After 2nd 8-0-1-0 4-0-0-0
Tied After 1st 3-2-0-0 3-1-0-0
Tied After 2nd 3-0-0-2 0-1-0-0
Trailing After 1st 0-1-0-2 3-6-0-0
Trailing After 2nd 1-4-0-0 5-8-0-0
Out Shooting Opponents 7-0-1-1 3-0-0-0
Out Shot by Opponents 5-4-0-1 5-9-0-0
1-Goal Games 6-0-1-2 7-0-0-0
2-Goal Games 2-1-0-0 2-2-0-0
3-Goal Games 2-2-0-0 0-5-0-0