Pregame show at 4:45 on The Zone @ 91.3 fm
Saturday, Travis Brown scored the overtime winner 8 minutes into the extra frame, while Patrik Polivka made 26 saves as the Royals defeated the Chiefs 2-1 in front of 6,615 fans, 400 short of a 3rd consecutive sell out.
“It feels good, but it’s a long series…we know they’re going to come with a better game tomorrow and we have to do the same...” - Royals Defenseman Travis Brown
Brandon Magee chipped in with a pair of helpers, while the Royals penalty killers stopped all 5 Chief man advantages.
It was a tight checking, physical war zone, with minimal mistakes at either end.
“That’s exactly what playoff hockey is right there, a hard fought battle, a low scoring affair…And fortunately for us, we were on the right end tonight.” – Head Coach Dave Lowry
Victoria was able to hold the leagues regular season scoring winner Mitch Holmberg (118pts) and his partner Mike Aviani (81pts) off the scoresheet. It’s now back to back games the dynamic duo has been held pointless dating back to their final regular season game. Holmberg only twice went more than two games without registering a point this season. He recorded 37 multiple-point games, and 19 multiple-goal games, including 6 hat tricks.
Ben Walker opened the scoring pouncing on a rebound with under 5 minutes to go in the first period.
Walker would start the second period with a fight against the Chiefs Captain Reid Gow.
After a scoreless middle frame, Spokane tied it up early in the third as Riley Whittingham jammed in his own rebound.
In overtime Steven Hodges found Brown in front of the net and got his first post season goal through Eric Williams. Brown was star #3 on the night.
“Everybody knows this is two similar hockey teams, it’s going to be a long series and we felt tonight we were fortunate to win a hockey game.” Said Lowry
Polivka was the first star, Williams the second as Victoria out shot their opposition 33-27.
The Royals were 0 for 3 on the power play, while not allowing the Chiefs a single man advantage after the 2nd period after stopping all 5 chances.
Series Schedule:
Sunday, March 23rd Spokane @ Victoria 5:05 p.m.
Wednesday, March 26th Victoria @ Spokane 7:05 p.m.
Thursday, March 27th Victoria @ Spokane 7:35 p.m.
Saturday, March 29th Spokane @ Victoria 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)
Monday, March 31st Victoria @ Spokane 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)
Wednesday, April 2nd Spokane @ Victoria 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)
VICTORIA REGULAR SEASON:
The Royals concluded their best regular-season performance in franchise history, having smashed Club records for wins (48) and points (100) in a season. Brandon Magee led the team in points with 67, and Austin Carroll in goals with 34.
Victoria’s offense boasts a balanced attack, with six players who hit the 20-goal mark and nine players who posted at least 30 points.
The Royals were the second best defensive team in the league, with netminder Patrik Polivka earning 28 wins, and the 5th best goals against average (2.56). His tandem Coleman Vollrath lead the league in save percentage (0.928), held the 3rd best GAA (2.29) while earning 20 wins.
Other franchise records include, points in 14 consecutive games, road wins with 26 including 9 victories in a row, home wins with 21, scoring the most goals (238), giving up the fewest (181), having a positive goal differential for the first time (+57), cracking the CHL Top 10, now ranked 10th after reaching 7th last week.
SPOKANE REGULAR SEASON:
The Chiefs finished with 40 or more wins for the sixth time over the last seven seasons.
20 year old forward Mitch Holmberg captured the Bob Clarke trophy for leading the WHL in scoring, with 118 points (62g, 56a). He also led the league in goals with 62. He’s just the second WHL player since the 2000-01 season to reach the 60-goal mark, Layne Ulmer (63 in ’01 with Swift Current) and Emerson Etem (61 in ’12).
Holmberg is the first Spokane player to finish on top since Ray Whitney, who put up 185 points in 1990-91. Holmberg finished tied for second with six shorthanded goals. He also shared the League lead with 10 game-winning goals this season. Having opened the season with a 17-game point streak, Holmberg only twice went more than two games without registering a point this season. He recorded 37 multiple-point games, and 19 multiple-goal games, including 6 hat tricks.
The offensive dominance of veterans Mitch Holmberg and Mike Aviani has been a huge reason for the Chiefs’ success this season, with the pair combining for 31.3% of the points (199/636), while scoring 40% (100/244) of the clubs goals.
Holmberg and Aviani are #1 and 2 in power play goals with 23 and 22 respectively in the league. The duo combined for 66% of their teams power play markers.
Defenseman Reid Gow is 5th in defenseman scoring, with 62 points, 2nd among rearguards in assists with 56, and 3rd in power play assists with 29.
Veteran goaltender Eric Williams has 24 games of playoff experience to draw upon and earned the 4th most wins during the regular season with 33.
HEAD TO HEAD:
This season Victoria went 1-3 against Spokane, with two of those losses coming back in September by 6-2 and 6-1 scores. The Royals won their only game on the road 4-1 back on October 19th on the strength of Coleman Vollrath’s 41 saves. Most recently they fell at home 5-3 on January 19th.
In the series, the Chiefs outscored the Royals 18-10, while outshooting them 157-113.
Throughout the 4 games, Spokane’s power play operated at 35.5% (6/17) with 5 of the 6 goals coming back in September, while Victoria was at 26.3% (5/19).
Chiefs forwards Mitch Holmberg and Mike Aviani combined for 10 goals and 22 points during their encounters. Royals forward Brandon Fushimi led the way with 3 goals (3pts), while Logan Fisher (1g 2a) and Brett Cote (3a) also had 3 points in four meetings.
Spokane netminder Eric Williams was 2-0, while back up Garret Hughson was (1-1). Victoria’s Coleman Vollrath was 1-0, while Patrik Polivka went 0-3.
OVERALL:
The Royals had 8 more wins overall. The Chiefs scored 6 more goals tha Victoria, but gave up 32 more. Spokane allows the 4th fewest shots against, the Royals the 8th fewest.
Victoria is 11 over .500 at home (22-11-1-2), while Spokane is 6 over on the road (19-13-2-2).
The Royals power play is 13th, penalty kill 7th. The Chiefs are 8th most efficient with the man advantage, and 14th while shorthanded but have scored the 3rd most short handed goals with 15.
- Marlon Martens
Victoria Royals vs Spokane Chiefs: Head To Head Stats
Summary
Description
|
Result
|
|
| Head to Head Record 2013-14 Regular Season | Victoria 1-3-0-0 | Spokane 3-1-0-0 |
| Head to Head Record 2012-13 Regular Season | Victoria 1-2-1-0 | Spokane 3-1-0-0 |
| Last 5 Years record between teams | Victoria 4-13-1-2 | Spokane 16-4-0-0 |
| Victoria vs. Spokane Last 5 Years record at Victoria | Victoria 1-8-1-0 | Spokane 9-1-0-0 |
| Victoria vs. Spokane Last 5 Years record at Spokane | Victoria 3-5-0-2 | Spokane 7-3-0-0 |
| Previous Meetings This Season | Victoria 3 @ Spokane 5 (Jan 3 2014) Final Victoria 4 @ Spokane 1 (Oct 19 2013) Final Spokane 6 @ Victoria 1 (Sep 25 2013) Final Spokane 6 @ Victoria 2 (Sep 24 2013) Final |
How the 2 teams match up
Spokane
|
Victoria
|
|
| Team Record | 40-26-3-3 -- 86 points | 48-20-1-3 -- 100 points |
| Division Ranking | 4th U.S. | 2nd B.C. |
| Conference Ranking | 6th Western | 3rd Western |
| League Ranking | 10th | 6th |
| Past 10 Games | 5-5-0-0 | 6-4-0-0 |
| Streak | 0-1-0-0 | 0-3-0-0 |
| Last Game | 3-0 L @ Tri-City (Mar 15 2014) Final | 3-2 L @ Everett (Mar 15 2014) Final |
| Home Record | 21-13-1-1 | 22-11-1-2 |
| Away Record | 19-13-2-2 | 26-9-0-1 |
| GF | 244 | 238 |
| GA | 213 | 181 |
| PP (Overall) | (65/292) 22.3 | (61/297) 20.5 |
| PP (Home) | (34/142) 23.9 | (33/153) 21.6 |
| PP (Away) | (31/150) 20.7 | (28/144) 19.4 |
| PK (Overall) | (73/330) 77.9 | (53/284) 81.3 |
| PK (Home) | (35/158) 77.8 | (29/146) 80.1 |
| PK (Away) | (38/172) 77.9 | (24/138) 82.6 |
| Leading Rookie | Zwerger (16-10-26) | Soy (15-15-30) |
| Most PIM | Proft - 145 | Carroll - 114 |
| Team PIM/GM | 16.2/Game | 13.9/Game |
| Leading Scorers | Holmberg (62-56-118) | Magee (25-42-67) |
| Aviani (38-43-81) | Carroll (34-23-57) | |
| Gow (6-56-62) | Blomqvist (24-32-56) | |
| Fram (6-51-57) | Walker (24-30-54) | |
| Helewka (23-27-50) | Nelson (23-31-54) | |
| Last 5 Games | 3-0 L @ Tri-City (Mar 15 2014) Final | 3-2 L @ Everett (Mar 15 2014) Final |
| 4-3 W vs Tri-City (Mar 14 2014) Final SO | 5-3 L vs Everett (Mar 14 2014) Final | |
| 4-2 L vs Everett (Mar 12 2014) Final | 3-2 L @ Vancouver (Mar 12 2014) Final | |
| 6-4 W @ Seattle (Mar 11 2014) Final | 3-2 W @ Kelowna (Mar 11 2014) Final | |
| 8-0 W @ Prince George (Mar 8 2014) Final | 3-2 W vs Kamloops (Mar 8 2014) Final | |
| Leading After 1st | 22-2-1-0 | 27-2-1-1 |
| Leading After 2nd | 28-1-0-0 | 33-0-1-1 |
| Tied After 1st | 12-5-2-2 | 14-4-0-0 |
| Tied After 2nd | 6-3-2-3 | 9-0-0-1 |
| Trailing After 1st | 6-19-0-1 | 7-14-0-2 |
| Trailing After 2nd | 6-22-1-0 | 6-20-0-1 |
| Out Shooting Opponents | 29-14-1-1 | 20-7-1-2 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 11-12-2-2 | 24-13-0-1 |
| 1-Goal Games | 13-6-3-3 | 22-8-1-3 |
| 2-Goal Games | 11-8-0-0 | 12-6-0-0 |
| 3-Goal Games | 6-6-0-0 | 6-3-0-0 |
Victoria Royals
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Brandon Fushimi | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Logan Fisher | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | -2 |
| 27 | Brett Cote | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | -4 |
| 19 | Logan Nelson | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Tyler Soy | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 21 | Austin Carroll | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 0 |
| 22 | Taylor Crunk | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 26 | -2 |
| 28 | X Luke Harrison | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 10 | Ben Walker | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -2 |
| 14 | Jack Walker | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -2 |
| 4 | Jordan Fransoo | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -1 |
| 7 | Jake Kohlhauser | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Brandon Magee | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -3 |
| 33 | Patrik Polivka | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | X Isaac Schacher | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 |
| 23 | Axel Blomqvist (total) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 |
| LET | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | |
| VIC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | |
| 23 | X Kolton Dixon | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 26 | X Matt Dykstra | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Ryan Gagnon | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | -3 |
| 9 | X Dante Hannoun | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 2 | Joe Hicketts | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Steven Hodges | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | -2 |
| 5 | Keegan Kanzig | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | -1 |
| 8 | X Trent Lofthouse | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 |
| 24 | X Regan Nagy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 15 | Jack Palmer (total) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BDN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| VIC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 29 | Chaz Reddekopp | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -1 |
| 8 | Mitch Skapski | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 35 | Coleman Vollrath | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | X Landon Welykholowa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OTL | SL | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | Coleman Vollrath | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 88:11 | 3 | 2.04 | 0.951 |
| 33 | Patrik Polivka | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 151:49 | 15 | 5.93 | 0.844 |
Spokane Chiefs
| # | Player | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Mitch Holmberg | 4 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 6 |
| 16 | Mike Aviani | 4 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 6 |
| 18 | Reid Gow | 4 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 12 | Markson Bechtold | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 3 |
| 2 | Jason Fram | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 3 |
| 15 | Carter Proft | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 27 | Connor Chartier | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 14 | Adam Helewka | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Liam Stewart | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Jeremy McIntosh | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 10 | Blair Oneschuk | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 24 | Cole Wedman | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 22 | Dominic Zwerger | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 0 |
| 25 | Riley Whittingham | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 9 | Keanu Yamamoto | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Colton Bobyk | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | Jacob Cardiff | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | Hudson Elynuik | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 20 | Adam Hascic | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 30 | Garret Hughson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | X Tyler King | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 28 | X Jackson Playfair | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | -1 |
| 21 | Matt Sozanski | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 35 | Eric Williams | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Player | GP | W | L | OTL | SL | MIN | GA | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Garret Hughson | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 117:45 | 4 | 2.04 | 0.929 |
| 35 | Eric Williams | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 120:00 | 5 | 2.50 | 0.909 |
