.JPG)
It’s a rematch of last years playoffs, as the Royals look to avenge a sweep at the hands of the Blazers.
Pregame show at 6:40 on The Zone @ 91.3 fm or online at www.thezone.fm/listen
Both clubs wrapped up the regular season on 2 game win streaks. Victoria won a home and home against Everett while Kamloops won theirs against Prince George.
Victoria’s leading scorer Alex Gogolev had surgery recently to help repair a skate cut to his leg, and will very likely miss the remainder of the season. Gogolev sat out the final 20 games but still led the club in assists (45) and points (65) in only 49 games. The Royals went (6-11-1-2) in his absence.
According GM Cam Hope, “…unless we go very deep (into the playoffs) all the way into May, he’ll be lost for the rest of the season.”
The Royals are still without their captain Tyler Stahl (Lower, day to day), Trent Lofthouse (Upper, day to day), Luke Harrison (Upper, indefinite), and G Patrik Polivka (Lower, 1-2 wks).
“We’ll hopefully have Patrik Polivka back, hopefully have Tyler Stahl back and Trent Lofthouse soon…” Hope said.
The Royals set franchise bests in wins (35) and points (77). The club also set the franchise record for consecutive victories this season with 7 in a row, part of a 12 win in 15 game stretch.
Victoria had a franchise best 11 come from behind victories when trailing after 40 minutes, and never lost in regulation when leading after 40 minutes (20-0-0-2).
The Blazers are (6-4) over their past 10, while the Royals are (3-5-1-1).
The Royals split the season series at 4 games a piece, winning 3 of the last 4. Most recently a 6-0 loss on the road March 5th after winning 3 straight in one week back in January.
The Blazers have outscored the Royals 32-22 in the 8 game season series, including two shut outs.
Victoria’s power play went 10/42 (23.8%), Kamloops was 8/38 (21.05%). Overall the Royals power play ranked 8th best (21.3%), the Blazers were 6th (21.4%).
The Royals allowed 73 fewer goals this season, while scoring the 11th most goals for per game. The Blazers scored the 7th most, while allowing the 4th fewest against overall.
Kamloops finished with the same record as last season, and scored 29 fewer goals this time and cut their goals-against by 31.
Victoria has the most penalty minutes on average per game in the league with 23.81, Kamloops the 6th most. However, over their final 6 games the Royals took just 48, averaging just 8 minutes per game.
The Blazers are led in scoring by F Colin Smith, with goals (41) and points (106). He ties Brendan Ranford in assists with (65). Smith was the only player to play in all 72 games, while the Royals iron men are Brandon Magee and Brett Cote.
With the injured Gogolev, Brandon Magee is Victoria’s active leading scorer with 60 points and 30 goals. Jamie Crooks is next with 53 points and team leading 33 goals. Followed by Ben Walker (52 pts) and Steven Hodges (51).
Kamloops G Cole Cheveldave finished fifth in GAA (2.38) and 13th in save percentage (.908) while winning 36 games (3rd most). Victoria G Patrik Polivka has 28 wins and a 3.24 GAA.
With the Ford world men’s curling championship occupying the Save On Foods Memorial Centre, Games 3 and 4 on March 26 and 28 will be held at Bear Mountain Arena. The rink seats 2,300 compared to 7,006 at the SOFMC. The boards are seamless Plexiglas and are NHL caliber… literally! They were bought from the Florida Panthers, who used the boards and glass for only one season before putting them on the market. The score clock, purchased from the demolished Victoria Memorial Arena, brings with it a history of 50 years of hockey, skating, and lacrosse in Victoria.
Series Schedule:
Friday, March 22nd Victoria @ Kamloops 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 23rd Victoria @ Kamloops 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 26th Kamloops @ Victoria (Bear Mountain Arena) 7:05 p.m.
Thursday, March 28th Kamloops @ Victoria (Bear Mountain Arena) 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 30th Victoria @ Kamloops 7:00 p.m. (if necessary)
Monday, April 1st Kamloops @ Victoria (Bear Mountain Arena) 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)
Wednesday, April 3rd Victoria @ Kamloops 7:00 p.m. (if necessary)
With limited Round 1 seats available, Royals fans are encouraged to order tickets quickly by calling 250-220-7777, visiting www.selectyourtickets.com, or heading down to the Select Your Tickets box office.
| Previous Meetings This Season | Victoria 0 @ Kamloops 6 (Mar 5 2013) Final Victoria 5 @ Kamloops 4 (Jan 19 2013) Final Kamloops 2 @ Victoria 3 (Jan 16 2013) Final SO Kamloops 4 @ Victoria 6 (Jan 15 2013) Final Victoria 2 @ Kamloops 5 (Oct 27 2012) Final Victoria 2 @ Kamloops 5 (Oct 10 2012) Final Kamloops 3 @ Victoria 0 (Sep 30 2012) Final Kamloops 3 @ Victoria 4 (Sep 28 2012) Final SO |
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Alex Gogolev | 7 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 6 | -1 |
| 18 | Brandon Magee | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 35 | -3 |
| 11 | Steven Hodges | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | -2 |
| 27 | Brett Cote | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | -3 |
| 19 | Logan Nelson | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 21 | Austin Carroll | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 25 | -9 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OTL | SL | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | X Jared Rathjen | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60:00 | 3 | 3.00 | 0.923 |
| 33 | Patrik Polivka | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 390:00 | 26 | 4.00 | 0.869 |
| 35 | Coleman Vollrath | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40:00 | 3 | 4.50 | 0.833 |
Kamloops Blazers
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Tim Bozon | 7 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 5 |
| 9 | Colin Smith | 8 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 5 |
| 21 | Cole Ully | 8 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 8 |
| 14 | Matt Needham | 7 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 8 |
| 34 | JC Lipon | 8 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 18 | 1 |
| 22 | Kale Kessy (total) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 32 | 7 |
| KAM | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 32 | 3 | |
| VAN | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 4 | |
| 19 | Brendan Ranford | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OTL | SL | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | Cole Cheveldave | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 315:48 | 11 | 2.09 | 0.908 |
| 41 | Taran Kozun | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 173:01 | 9 | 3.12 | 0.888 |
Kamloops
|
Victoria
|
|
| Team Record | 47-20-2-3 -- 99 points | 35-30-2-5 -- 77 points |
| Division Ranking | 2nd B.C. | 3rd B.C. |
| Conference Ranking | 3rd Western | 6th Western |
| League Ranking | 5th | 12th |
| Past 10 Games | 6-4-0-0 | 3-5-1-1 |
| Streak | 2-0-0-0 | 2-0-0-0 |
| Last Game | 7-0 W @ Prince George (Mar 16 2013) Final | 4-3 W @ Everett (Mar 16 2013) Final OT |
| Home Record | 27-7-1-1 | 21-11-2-2 |
| Away Record | 20-13-1-2 | 14-19-0-3 |
| GF | 261 | 223 |
| GA | 180 | 252 |
| PP (Overall) | (71/332) 21.4 | (71/334) 21.3 |
| PP (Home) | (42/178) 23.6 | (36/167) 21.6 |
| PP (Away) | (29/154) 18.8 | (35/167) 21.0 |
| PK (Overall) | (53/320) 83.4 | (68/321) 78.8 |
| PK (Home) | (21/147) 85.7 | (31/145) 78.6 |
| PK (Away) | (32/173) 81.5 | (37/176) 79.0 |
| Leading Rookie | Thomson (2-12-14) | Hicketts (6-18-24) |
| Most PIM | Edmundson - 141 | Kanzig - 159 |
| Team PIM/GM | 16.4/Game | 18.4/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Smith (41-65-106) | Gogolev (20-45-65) |
| Bozon (36-55-91) | Magee (30-30-60) | |
| Lipon (36-53-89) | Crooks (33-20-53) | |
| Ranford (22-65-87) | Walker (19-33-52) | |
| Ully (22-28-50) | Hodges (28-23-51) | |
| Last 5 Games | 7-0 W @ Prince George (Mar 16 2013) Final | 4-3 W @ Everett (Mar 16 2013) Final OT |
| 5-2 W vs Prince George (Mar 15 2013) Final | 4-1 W vs Everett (Mar 15 2013) Final | |
| 2-1 L @ Kelowna (Mar 9 2013) Final | 4-1 L vs Portland (Mar 12 2013) Final | |
| 3-2 L vs Kelowna (Mar 8 2013) Final | 5-2 L vs Portland (Mar 10 2013) Final | |
| 6-0 W vs Victoria (Mar 5 2013) Final | 3-1 L @ Vancouver (Mar 9 2013) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 25-4-0-2 | 16-6-1-1 |
| Leading After 2nd | 34-3-0-2 | 21-0-0-2 |
| Tied After 1st | 16-8-1-0 | 13-7-1-2 |
| Tied After 2nd | 7-4-1-0 | 3-2-2-2 |
| Trailing After 1st | 6-8-1-1 | 6-17-0-2 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 6-13-1-1 | 11-28-0-1 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 39-11-2-2 | 13-8-0-2 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 7-8-0-1 | 20-22-2-3 |
| 1-Goal Games | 16-6-2-3 | 15-4-2-5 |
| 2-Goal Games | 6-8-0-0 | 9-5-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 15-5-0-0 | 6-11-0-0 |
