The Victoria Royals will face the Kelowna Rockets in round to two of the playoffs, after bouncing the Prince George Cougars four games to one.
Royals Brandon Magee scored the playoff series clinching goal in overtime Saturday against the Cougars, in a 5-4 win to advance to the second round of the post season for a second straight season.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Magee,
“I can’t credit our guys enough, they’ve been phenomenal. We had some highs and lows, but we tried to kept it even keel throughout the night. We’re really happy to come out with the win.”
Magee notched his 6th goal which gave the team its first series victory on home ice in franchise history.
Victoria took a 3-2 lead to the third, but Prince George twice came back to tie.
Zach Pochiro had a hat trick for the Cougars to tie the game at 3-3, before Greg Chase also scored his 3rd of the night, just 1:16 later to regain the lead 4-3.
Brad Morrison then forced overtime for Prince George on a late power play goal.
The line of Chase (3g), Tyler Soy (2a), and Jack Walker (2a) combined for 7 points for Victoria.
Brandon Fushimi also tallied for the home team.
Royals netminder Coleman Vollrath made 34 saves in the win, while Ty Edmonds made 22 stops on 27 shots in defeat.
Victoria was 1 for 3 on the power play, while Prince George went 2 for 5.
Games 1 and 2 are in Kelowna Friday and Saturday night, and Games 3 & 4 are in Victoria on Tuesday, April 14th and Wednesday, April 15th with puck drop slated for 7:05 p.m. for both contests.
- Marlon Martens
Series Schedule vs Kelowna:
Friday, April 10th – Victoria @ Kelowna – 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, April 11th – Victoria @ Kelowna – 7:05 p.m.
Tuesday, April 14th – Kelowna @ Victoria – 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday, April 15th – Kelowna @ Victoria – 7:05 p.m.
Friday, April 17th – Victoria @ Kelowna – 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)
Sunday, April 19th – Kelowna @ Victoria – 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)
Tuesday, April 21st – Victoria @ Kelowna – 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)
Prince George Cougars 4 at Victoria Royals 5 (OT) - Status: Final OT
Saturday, April 4, 2015 - Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena - Victoria, BC
Prince George 1 1 2 0 - 4
Victoria 3 0 1 1 - 5
1st Period-
1, Victoria, Chase 3 (Soy, Walker), 9:04 (PP).
2, Prince George, Pochiro 2 (Erricson, Morrison), 9:54.
3, Victoria, Fushimi 1 13:41.
4, Victoria, Chase 4 (Soy), 17:04.
Penalties-Pochiro P.g (roughing), 7:44; Carroll Vic (kneeing), 14:28.
2nd Period-
5, Prince George, Pochiro 3 (Harkins), 15:14 (PP).
Penalties-Walker Vic (hooking), 5:34; Ruopp P.g (roughing), 9:17; Walker Vic (hooking), 14:10; Morrison P.g (high sticking), 19:54.
3rd Period-
6, Prince George, Pochiro 4 (Ruopp), 14:00.
7, Victoria, Chase 5 (Walker), 15:16.
8, Prince George, Morrison 2 (Harkins), 18:46 (PP).
Penalties-Gagnon Vic (checking to the head), 16:17; Magee Vic (delay of game), 18:43.
OT Period-
9, Victoria, Magee 6 (Forsberg, Carroll), 1:42.
Penalties-No Penalties
Shots on Goal-
Prince George 9-15-14-0-38.
Victoria 9-8-7-3-27.
Power Play Opportunities-
Prince George 2 / 5;
Victoria 1 / 3.
Goalies-
Prince George, Edmonds 1-3-1-0 (27 shots-22 saves).
Victoria, Vollrath 4-1-0-0 (38 shots-34 saves).
A-5,839
Referees-Chad Williams (60), Derek Zalaski (8).
Linesmen-Ron Dietterle (121), Kirk Van Helvoirt (107).
ROYALS BEST COUGARS IN FIRST ROUND OF PLAYOFFS
Victoria tops Prince George 5-4 in overtime; will face Kelowna in Round 2
For Immediate Release
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Victoria, BC- Victoria Royals’ Brandon Magee tallied the game winner in a 5-4 overtime victory over the Prince George Cougars to win their Western Conference Quarter-Final 4-1.
Magee’s overtime goal gave the team its first series victory on home ice in franchise history. Greg Chase notched his first hat-trick as a Royal, while Brandon Fushimi scored Victoria’s remaining marker. The Cougars received three tallies from Zach Pochiro and a goal by Brad Morrison.
Victoria’s goaltender Coleman Vollrath stopped 34 of 38 shots, while Ty Edmonds turned away 22 of 27 shots for the Cougars.
The Royals went 1/3=33.3% with the extra attacker and the Cougars went 2/5=40.0%.
Victoria will now face the Kelowna Rockets in Round 2 of the WHL Playoffs with Games 1 & 2 on April 10th and 11th in Kelowna. Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
The Royals return home for Games 3 & 4 on Tuesday, April 14th and Wednesday, April 15th with puck drop slated for 7:05 p.m. for both contests.
Individual playoff tickets, starting at $14.50, are on sale at the Select Your Tickets Box Office located at the arena or over the phone at 250-220-7777. Avoid any lines and choose the seats you want by using the “Pick Your Own” seat map, available 24/7, online at www.selectyourtickets.com.
