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 Season	Victoria 1-1-1-0	Tri-City 2-1-0-0
Head to Head Record 2013-14 Regular Season	Victoria 3-1-0-0	Tri-City 1-2-1-0
Last 5 Years record between teams	Victoria 9-8-2-0	Tri-City 10-7-1-1
Victoria vs. Tri-City Last 5 Years record at Victoria	Victoria 5-3-2-0	Tri-City 5-4-1-0
Victoria vs. Tri-City Last 5 Years record at Tri-City	Victoria 4-5-0-0	Tri-City 5-3-0-1
Previous Meetings This Season	Victoria 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 Record	24-24-0-2 -- 50 points	27-20-3-1 -- 58 points
Division Ranking	5th U.S.	2nd B.C.
Conference Ranking	8th Western	4th Western
League Ranking	16th	9th
Past 10 Games	5-5-0-0	7-2-1-0
Streak	0-2-0-0	1-0-0-0
Last Game	4-1 L vs Medicine Hat (Jan 30 2015) Final	3-0 W @ Spokane (Jan 30 2015) Final
Home Record	15-8-0-1	16-7-3-0
Away Record	9-16-0-1	11-13-0-1
GF	140	175
GA	151	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 Rookie	Lukin (7-3-10)	Nagy (5-6-11)
Most PIM	Hamonic - 69	Carroll - 93
Team PIM/GM	14.2/Game	14.5/Game
Leading Scorers	Bowles (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 Games	4-1 L vs Medicine Hat (Jan 30 2015) Final	3-0 W @ Spokane (Jan 30 2015) Final
	7-5 L @ Portland (Jan 25 2015) Final	4-3 L @ Portland (Jan 28 2015) Final
	2-0 W @ Spokane (Jan 24 2015) Final	6-0 W vs Kamloops (Jan 24 2015) Final
	4-0 W vs Seattle (Jan 23 2015) Final	4-3 L vs Kamloops (Jan 23 2015) Final OT
	3-1 L @ Kamloops (Jan 21 2015) Final	4-3 W @ Edmonton (Jan 18 2015) Final OT
Leading After 1st	12-2-0-0	13-3-0-0
Leading After 2nd	16-1-0-0	18-1-0-0
Tied After 1st	10-7-0-2	8-6-0-1
Tied After 2nd	6-2-0-0	5-3-2-0
Trailing After 1st	2-15-0-0	6-11-3-0
Trailing After 2nd	2-21-0-2	4-16-1-1
Out Shooting Opponents	10-3-0-1	15-6-1-0
Out Shot by Opponents	13-21-0-1	11-13-2-1
1-Goal Games	8-4-0-2	10-7-3-1
2-Goal Games	6-9-0-0	5-6-0-0
3-Goal Games	6-4-0-0	5-3-0-0

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).

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 Season	Victoria 2-1-0-0	Spokane 1-2-0-0
Head to Head Record 2013-14 Regular Season	Victoria 1-3-0-0	Spokane 3-1-0-0
Last 5 Years record between teams	Victoria 5-11-1-2	Spokane 14-5-0-0
Victoria vs. Spokane Last 5 Years record at Victoria	Victoria 3-6-1-0	Spokane 7-3-0-0
Victoria vs. Spokane Last 5 Years record at Spokane	Victoria 2-5-0-2	Spokane 7-2-0-0
Previous Meetings This Season	Spokane 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 Record	23-20-3-1 -- 50 points	26-20-3-1 -- 56 points
Division Ranking	4th U.S.	2nd B.C.
Conference Ranking	7th Western	4th Western
League Ranking	15th	9th
Past 10 Games	2-7-0-1	7-2-1-0
Streak	0-5-0-1	0-1-0-0
Last Game	2-0 L vs Seattle (Jan 25 2015) Final	4-3 L @ Portland (Jan 28 2015) Final
Home Record	11-10-2-0	16-7-3-0
Away Record	12-10-1-1	10-13-0-1
GF	135	172
GA	142	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 Rookie	Yamamoto (16-23-39)	Nagy (5-6-11)
Most PIM	Laday - 67	Carroll - 93
Team PIM/GM	13.3/Game	14.8/Game
Leading Scorers	Helewka (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 Games	2-0 L vs Seattle (Jan 25 2015) Final	4-3 L @ Portland (Jan 28 2015) Final
	2-0 L vs Tri-City (Jan 24 2015) Final	6-0 W vs Kamloops (Jan 24 2015) Final
	4-1 L @ Portland (Jan 23 2015) Final	4-3 L vs Kamloops (Jan 23 2015) Final OT
	7-0 L @ Tri-City (Jan 17 2015) Final	4-3 W @ Edmonton (Jan 18 2015) Final OT
	5-3 L @ Everett (Jan 16 2015) Final	4-1 W @ Calgary (Jan 17 2015) Final
Leading After 1st	11-3-0-0	12-3-0-0
Leading After 2nd	15-0-1-1	17-1-0-0
Tied After 1st	5-6-3-0	8-6-0-1
Tied After 2nd	4-3-1-0	5-3-2-0
Trailing After 1st	7-11-0-1	6-11-3-0
Trailing After 2nd	4-17-1-0	4-16-1-1
Out Shooting Opponents	15-10-1-0	15-6-1-0
Out Shot by Opponents	8-8-2-1	10-13-2-1
1-Goal Games	13-5-3-1	10-7-3-1
2-Goal Games	4-9-0-0	5-6-0-0
3-Goal Games	3-3-0-0	4-3-0-0

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).

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 Season	Victoria 1-2-0-0	Portland 2-1-0-0
Head to Head Record 2013-14 Regular Season	Victoria 3-1-0-0	Portland 1-1-1-1
Last 5 Years record between teams	Victoria 8-11-0-0	Portland 11-6-1-1
Victoria vs. Portland Last 5 Years record at Victoria	Victoria 6-4-0-0	Portland 4-5-0-1
Victoria vs. Portland Last 5 Years record at Portland	Victoria 2-7-0-0	Portland 7-1-1-0
Previous Meetings This Season	Portland 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 Record	28-19-0-3 -- 59 points	26-19-3-1 -- 56 points
Division Ranking	2nd U.S.	2nd B.C.
Conference Ranking	3rd Western	4th Western
League Ranking	7th	9th
Past 10 Games	8-2-0-0	8-1-1-0
Streak	5-0-0-0	6-0-1-0
Last Game	7-5 W vs Tri-City (Jan 25 2015) Final	6-0 W vs Kamloops (Jan 24 2015) Final
Home Record	13-9-0-2	16-7-3-0
Away Record	15-10-0-1	10-12-0-1
GF	176	169
GA	164	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 Rookie	Heinrich (5-11-16)	Nagy (4-6-10)
Most PIM	Schoenborn - 66	Carroll - 91
Team PIM/GM	13.5/Game	14.9/Game
Leading Scorers	Bjorkstrand (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 Games	7-5 W vs Tri-City (Jan 25 2015) Final	6-0 W vs Kamloops (Jan 24 2015) Final
	4-3 W @ Seattle (Jan 24 2015) Final OT	4-3 L vs Kamloops (Jan 23 2015) Final OT
	4-1 W vs Spokane (Jan 23 2015) Final	4-3 W @ Edmonton (Jan 18 2015) Final OT
	8-2 W @ Prince George (Jan 17 2015) Final	4-1 W @ Calgary (Jan 17 2015) Final
	4-3 W @ Prince George (Jan 16 2015) Final SO	2-1 W @ Red Deer (Jan 16 2015) Final SO
Leading After 1st	17-3-0-3	12-3-0-0
Leading After 2nd	21-2-0-1	17-1-0-0
Tied After 1st	8-5-0-0	8-5-0-1
Tied After 2nd	5-4-0-1	5-2-2-0
Trailing After 1st	3-11-0-0	6-11-3-0
Trailing After 2nd	2-13-0-1	4-16-1-1
Out Shooting Opponents	13-5-0-2	15-5-1-0
Out Shot by Opponents	15-13-0-1	10-13-2-1
1-Goal Games	10-7-0-3	10-6-3-1
2-Goal Games	8-2-0-0	5-6-0-0
3-Goal Games	5-4-0-0	4-3-0-0

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).

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).

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 Season	Victoria 2-2-0-0	Kamloops 2-1-1-0
Head to Head Record 2013-14 Regular Season	Victoria 7-1-0-0	Kamloops 1-7-0-0
Last 5 Years record between teams	Victoria 19-16-1-0	Kamloops 17-15-2-2
Victoria vs. Kamloops Last 5 Years record at Victoria	Victoria 12-5-1-0	Kamloops 6-9-1-2
Victoria vs. Kamloops Last 5 Years record at Kamloops	Victoria 7-11-0-0	Kamloops 11-6-1-0
Previous Meetings This Season	Victoria 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 Record	17-24-3-3 -- 40 points	25-19-2-1 -- 53 points
Division Ranking	5th B.C.	2nd B.C.
Conference Ranking	10th Western	4th Western
League Ranking	19th	9th
Past 10 Games	4-5-0-1	8-2-0-0
Streak	3-0-0-0	5-0-0-0
Last Game	3-1 W vs Tri-City (Jan 21 2015) Final	4-3 W @ Edmonton (Jan 18 2015) Final OT
Home Record	11-10-0-1	15-7-2-0
Away Record	6-14-3-2	10-12-0-1
GF	139	160
GA	171	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 Rookie	Sideroff (15-15-30)	Nagy (4-6-10)
Most PIM	Rehill - 98	Carroll - 89
Team PIM/GM	13.8/Game	15.3/Game
Leading Scorers	Ully (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 Games	3-1 W vs Tri-City (Jan 21 2015) Final	4-3 W @ Edmonton (Jan 18 2015) Final OT
	1-0 W vs Vancouver (Jan 17 2015) Final	4-1 W @ Calgary (Jan 17 2015) Final
	6-2 W vs Portland (Jan 14 2015) Final	2-1 W @ Red Deer (Jan 16 2015) Final SO
	5-2 L @ Spokane (Jan 10 2015) Final	5-2 W vs Prince George (Jan 10 2015) Final
	2-1 L vs Kelowna (Jan 9 2015) Final SO	3-2 W vs Prince George (Jan 9 2015) Final OT
Leading After 1st	9-1-0-0	11-3-0-0
Leading After 2nd	13-1-0-1	16-1-0-0
Tied After 1st	7-5-3-1	8-5-0-1
Tied After 2nd	3-3-3-0	5-2-1-0
Trailing After 1st	1-18-0-2	6-11-2-0
Trailing After 2nd	1-20-0-2	4-16-1-1
Out Shooting Opponents	10-9-2-2	14-5-1-0
Out Shot by Opponents	6-15-1-1	10-13-1-1
1-Goal Games	5-2-3-3	10-6-2-1
2-Goal Games	5-6-0-0	5-6-0-0
3-Goal Games	3-10-0-0	4-3-0-0

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 23^rd 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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