Preview: Victoria at Kelowna (Fri Mar 9)

Steven Hodges tries to score in a 3-2 loss at Everett Wed.

The Victoria Royals (21-40-2-4, 48pts) continue their quest to secure a playoff spot on the road against the Kelowna Rockets (29-29-3-6, 67pts) Friday night.  Pregame show on The Zone @ 91.3 FM Victoria, or online at: www.thezone.fm

PAST 10: Victoria (4-6) - Kelowna (5-4-0-1)

STANDINGS:  Victoria is in 8th, 2 up on Seattle who have a game in hand.  Victoria has 5 games remaining, while Seattle has 6.  The Royals now need a combination of 11 points derived from Victoria wins and/or Seattle losses to eliminate the Thunderbirds.

Kelowna has locked up 6th spot in the West.

LAST GAME:  The Royals out shot the Silvertips 37-13, and got a pair of goals from Robin Soudek but fell 3-2 in Everett Wednesday night.  Kelowna is coming off a 3-2 shoot out win in Spokane Wednesday.  They defeated the Blazers 4-3 in overtime and 6-3 in Kamloops in their current 3 game win streak.

SERIES:  It’s the final meeting of the season, the Royals with a (4-2-0-1) record against the Rockets.  Kelowna has won their last two encounters 4-3 in a shoot out Jan 7th and 5-2 the night before, both in Victoria.  The Royals last win against the Rockets was Dec 2nd in Kelowna, 2-1.

Kelowna 4 @ Victoria 3 (Jan 7 2012) SOL
Kelowna 5 @ Victoria 2 (Jan 6 2012)
Victoria 2 @ Kelowna 1 (Dec 2 2011)
Victoria 5 @ Kelowna 6 (Nov 26 2011)
Victoria 3 @ Kelowna 2 (Oct 22 2011)
Kelowna 3 @ Victoria 4 (Oct 15 2011) OTW
Kelowna 5 @ Victoria 7 (Oct 14 2011)

ROAD / HOME: Victoria looks for their 10th road win, as they begin 3 in 3 nights, part of their 4 game in 5 trek.  They face Everett Saturday, and Vancouver Sunday at 5pm.  Their final two regular season games will be at home versus the Portland Winterhawks.  The Rockets begin a 3 game homestand, with a 2 under .500 record at Prospera Place (14-16-0-2).

STATS:  Victoria has killed of 25 of 26 penalties over the course of their last 7 games.  The Royals set a franchise record for the fewest shots allowed in a game with 13 versus the Silvertips Wednesday.  The Bruins still hold the record for fewest shots against in a period with 1, as Victoria came close by holding Everett to 2 in the 3rd.

For more in depth Head to Head stats, head to:
http://reganbartel.blogspot.com/2012/03/rockets-game-notes-vs-royals.html

HEAD TO HEAD:
                         GP G A Pts
Jamie Crooks     7 3 8 11
Robin Soudek     7 7 3 10
Hayden Rintoul    7 3 5 8

Shane McColgan   7 2 10 12
Myles Bell             5 5 3 8
Brett Bulmer         4 4 2 6
Colton Sissons     7 3 3 6

LEADING SCORERS:
Crooks (34-30-64)
Nelson (21-37-58)
Soudek (27-30-57)
Rintoul (16-33-49)
Magee (21-24-45)

McColgan (17-45-62)
Bulmer (32-25-57)
Sissons (26-15-41)
Bell (13-26-39)
Lyon (13-22-35)

DRAFTED/NHL SIGNED PLAYERS: For Victoria: D Tyler Stahl (Carolina, 6th rd 2010), D Jordan Fransoo (Ottawa, 7th rd 2011).  For Kelowna: F Shane McColgan (NYR, 2011), F Brett Bulmer (Minnesota 2nd rd 2010).

TOP PROSPECTS:  Central Scoutings mid-term rankings of North American players positions Victoria’s Steven Hodges (55), and Logan Nelson (108).  For Kelowna:  F Colton Sissons (14), D Damon Severson (46), D Colten Martin (146), F Colton Heffley (191)

INJURIES:

For Victoria:
#3, Zach Habscheid, Lower body, 1 month

For Kelowna:
#10, Filip Vasko, Lower body, 1 week
#15, Colton Sissons, Upper body, 1 month+
#16, Spencer Main, Upper body, 1 month+

With 2 home games left and a capacity of 7006, the Royals have an opportunity to eclipse the 200,000 mark in total attendance this season.  So far 189,746 spectactors have enjoyed the Royals games at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Their game versus the Portland Winterhawks on March 14th has already sold out!  This is the team’s sixth sell-out of the season. 

There is only one way left to get tickets to the game, and that is to get your hands on some of the limited number of $5 Mad Monday tickets. These hot tickets will be available Monday, March 12th at 9:30 a.m. at the Select Your Tickets Box Office at the SOFMC.

EVERETT 49 Points REMAINING GAMES: (6)

Mar. 9       Portland                                
Mar. 10     Victoria                                
Mar. 11     at Seattle                                
Mar. 14     at Kelowna
Mar. 16     at Tri-City    
Mar. 17     at Seattle

VICTORIA 48 Points REMAINING GAMES (5)

Mar 9     at Kelowna
Mar 10   at Everett
Mar 11   at Vancouver
Mar 14   vs Portland
Mar 16   vs Portland

SEATTLE 46 Points REMAINING GAMES: (6)

Mar. 10    vs Portland
Mar. 11    vs Everett
Mar. 13    vs Spokane
Mar. 16    at Spokane
Mar. 17     vs Everett
Mar. 18    at Portland

PRINCE GEORGE 44 Points REMAINING GAMES: (5)

Mar. 10    at Kelowna
Mar. 11    at Tri City
Mar. 13    at Tri City
Mar. 16    at Kamloops
Mar. 17    vs Kamloops

Recap: VIC 2 at EVT 3 (Wed, Mar 7)

Robin Soudek scored twice in a 3-2 loss at Everett

The Victoria Royals out shot the Silvertips 37-13, but fell 3-2 in Everett Wednesday night.

Tied 1-1 going into the third, the Silvertips added a pair before hanging on for their 3rd straight win.  Robin Soudek scored twice, once to open the scoring in the second, and once late in the third with the extra attacker to bring the Royals to within one. 

Everett got goals from Joshua Winquist, Manraj Hayer and Ryan Harrison while D Ryan Murray added two assists.

Kent Simpson stopped 35 shots for number 1 star honours, as Jared Rathjen in his 8th consecutive start made 10 saves in the loss.

The Royals power play went 1 for 2, and stopped the lone Silvertip man advantage.  Victoria held Everett to a season low 13 shots against, and fewest in a single period with just 2 in the third.

The game saw two fights, Tim Traber tangled with Lucas Grayson and Zane Jones fought Zach McPhee.

Everett leap frogs over Victoria into 7th spot, leaving the Royals in 8th, 2 up on the Thunderbirds who lost in Prince George 3-1 last night.  Victoria has 5 games remaining, while Seattle has 6.  The Royals now need a combination of 11 points (Victoria wins and/or Seattle losses) to secure a playoff spot in respect to Seattle.

The Silvertips have won all three season meetings by 3-2 scores and will duel once more on Saturday night in Everett.

Assistant Coach of the Royals Craig Didmon after the loss:

 
Victoria continues on their 4 game in 5 night road trip in Kelowna against the Rockets on Friday, holding a record of (4-2-0-1) against their BC division foes.

The Royals press against Kent Simpson who made 35 saves.

Victoria Royals 2 at Everett Silvertips 3 - Status: Final
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - Comcast Arena - Everett, WA

Victoria 0 1 1 - 2
Everett 0 1 2 - 3

1st Period-
No Scoring.

Penalties-Hayer Evt (tripping), 8:39.

2nd Period-
1, Victoria, Soudek 26 (Rintoul, Hodges), 7:12 (PP).
2, Everett, Winquist 17 (Murray), 17:48.

Penalties-Winquist Evt (boarding), 6:10; Cote Vic (holding), 13:49.

3rd Period-
3, Everett, Hayer 3 (McPhee, Erricson), 2:47.
4, Everett, Harrison 19 (Fowlie, Murray), 14:58.
5, Victoria, Soudek 27 (Walker), 18:09.

Penalties-Traber Vic (major-fighting), 6:01; Grayson Evt (major-fighting), 6:10; Soudek Vic (roughing), 9:43; Morden Evt (roughing), 9:43; Jones Vic (roughing, major-fighting), 14:36; McPhee Evt (instigator, major-fighting, 10-minute misconduct), 14:36.

Shots on Goal-
Victoria 11-12-14-37.
Everett 5-6-2-13.

Power Play Opportunities-
Victoria 1 / 2; Everett 0 / 1.

Goalies-
Victoria, Rathjen 3-9-1-0 (13 shots-10 saves).
Everett, Simpson 18-29-1-5 (37 shots-35 saves).

A-3,632
Referees-Adam Griffiths (36), Matt Kirk (4).
Linesmen-Kevin Boris (95), Justin Hull (49).

Preview: Victoria at Everett (Wed March 7)

The 7th place Victoria Royals (21-39-2-4, 48pts) hit the road looking to widen the gap against the 8th place Everett Silvertips (19-37-1-8, 47pts) Wednesday night.

PAST 10: Victoria (4-6), Everett (5-5)

SERIES:  The Royals dropped a pair of one goal games at home to the Silvertips by 3-2 scores Feb. 7th and 8th in their only two meetings of the season.

STANDINGS:  With 6 games remaining, Victoria is in 7th, 1 point ahead of 8th place Everett, 2 up on 9th place Seattle as both the ‘Tips and T-Birds have a game in hand.  Prince George remains 6 back with 6 games left.

The Royals magic number is 13 points.  Any combination of Victoria wins and Seattle losses totalling 13 points would secure a playoff birth without consideration to Prince George (7 points).  Individual Play-off tickets are on sale on Monday March 12th.

GAMES REMAINING: Victoria begins their 4 game in 5 night road trip in Everett Wednesday, then face Kelowna Friday, Everett again Saturday, and Vancouver Sunday at 5pm.  Their final two regular season games will be at home versus the Portland Winterhawks.

LAST GAMES:  Victoria settled for a split against the visiting Vancouver Giants, winning 5-2 Saturday and falling 6-0 Sunday afternoon.  Saturday night the Royals held period leads of 2-0, and 4-2 while their power play struck twice in the win.  Sunday, the Giants scored 15 seconds into the first, and added 4 in the second, while Adam Morrison earned his first shut out of the season with 18 saves.

The Everett Silvertips earned their 3rd win in 4 games with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Tri-City Americans Saturday night.  Josh Winquist led the way with a goal and an assist for the Silvertips, as they scored three second-period goals for the second straight game.  Ryan Murray recorded his 100th career point with an assist while Kent Simpson made 30 saves for his 9th win in his last 14 starts. Everett finished 1 for 3 on the power play and kept Tri-City off the board on four opportunities.

HOME & AWAY:  Everett is 5 under .500 at home (12-17-0-4), but have won 3 of 4 in their current 7 game home stand.  Victoria (9-20-1-2) has won their last two on the road, both in Prince George.

STATS:  Victoria’s penalty kill is ranked 14th, and has stopped 24 of 25 over their last 6 games.  The Royals have found the net 217 times this season - 52 more goals than Everett has scored, and Victoria has six players who have accumulated 40 or more points this season.

Everett has scored the 3rd fewest goals in the league, however they’ve lit the lamp 8 times over their last 2 outings.  Having surrendered the 5th most goals against this season, the Silvertips have only allowed 1 goal against in their last 2, and only 5 in their last 4 games.  Over the course of the season they’ve allowed the 2nd most shots against, and taken the 2nd fewest.

WHO TO WATCH:  The Royals are led in scoring by F Jamie Crooks (64), and goals (34).  F Logan Nelson who’s 4th in rookie scoring (58), leads the team in assists (37).  D Hayden Rintoul is in the top ten in defenseman scoring (48) and leads all reargaurds in power play goals (13).  F Ben Walker is now tied for 17th in rookie scoring with 31 points in 40 games.  Projected points based on the teams 66 games played would put him 6th in rookie scoring with 51 points.

The Silvertips are led in scoring by Josh Birkholz (55), who’s on a 3 game point streak (2g 2a).  Riding 4 game point streaks are Reid Petryk (3g 2a), Joshua Winquist (4g 1a) and Ryan Murray (1g 3a).  Josh Caron is 2nd among defenseman in penalty minutes with 146, and 2nd in majors taken with 16.

D Ryan Murray represented Canada at the World Juniors, played at the Top Prospects game as the Captain for Team Cherry and is ranked 3rd by central scouting among North American skaters for the upcoming NHL draft.

LEADING SCORERS:

Birkholz (28-27-55)   
Harrison (18-28-46)
Petryk (16-21-37)
Winquist (16-20-36)
Bauml (13-22-35)

Crooks (34-30-64)
Nelson (21-37-58)
Soudek (25-30-55)
Rintoul (16-32-48)
Magee (21-24-45)

ISLANDERS:  D Josh Caron is from Campbell River, and D Lucas Grayson is from Port Hardy.

DRAFTED/NHL SIGNED PLAYERS: For Victoria: D Tyler Stahl (Carolina, 6th rd 2010), D Jordan Fransoo (Ottawa, 7th rd 2011).  For Everett: Josh Birkholz, (Florida 2009), Ryan Harrison, (Vancouver, F/A), Kent Simpson, (Chicago 2nd rd 2010).

TOP PROSPECTS:  Central Scoutings mid-term rankings of North American players positions Victoria’s Steven Hodges (55), and Logan Nelson (108).  For Everett: D Ryan Murray (3), D Nick Walters (68).

INJURIES:
For Victoria:
#3, Zach Habscheid, Lower body, 1 month

For Everett:
#4, Evan Morden, Lower body, week to week
#9, J.T Barnett, Lower body, week to week
#19, Manraj Hayer, Upper body, day to day

With 2 home games left and a capacity of 7006, the Royals have an opportunity to eclipse the 200,000 mark in total attendance this season.  So far 189,746 spectactors have enjoyed the Royals games at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Their game versus the Portland Winterhawks on March 14th has already sold out!  This is the team’s sixth sell-out of the season.

There is only one way left to get tickets to the game, and that is to get your hands on some of the limited number of $5 Mad Monday tickets. These hot tickets will be available Monday, March 12th at 9:30 a.m. at the Select Your Tickets Box Office at the SOFMC.

EVERETT REMAINING GAMES: (7)

Mar. 7        Victoria
Mar. 9     Portland                                 
Mar. 10     Victoria                                 
Mar. 11     at Seattle                                 
Mar. 14     at Kelowna                                 
Mar. 16     at Tri-City     
Mar. 17     at Seattle

SEATTLE REMAINING GAMES: (7)

Mar. 7        at Prince George
Mar. 10    vs Portland
Mar. 11    vs Everett
Mar. 13    vs Spokane
Mar. 16    at Spokane
Mar. 17     vs Everett
Mar. 18    at Portland

PRINCE GEORGE REMAINING GAMES: (6)

Mar. 7        vs Seattle
Mar. 10    at Kelowna
Mar. 11    at Tri City
Mar. 13    at Tri City
Mar. 16    at Kamloops
Mar. 17    vs Kamloops

Recap: VAN 6 - VIC 0

Brendan Gallagher is stopped by Jared Rathjen in a 6-0 Giants win.

Riley Kieser’s goal 15 seconds into the opening period stood as the eventual winner as the visiting Vancouver Giants shut out the Victoria Royals 6-0 Sunday afternoon.

#10 Ben Walker and Taylor Makin duke it out.

The Giants earned a split of the weekend set, snapping a 2 game skid after falling to the Royals 5-2 on Saturday night. 

Adam Morrison earned his 1st shut out of the season for the Giants with an 18 save performance, while Jared Rathjen blocked 26 of 31 through 40 minutes, and Keith Hamilton stopped 7 of 8 after starting the third.

After leading 1-0 after 20 minutes, Vancouver added 4 more in the second and added one more in the third.  The Giants out shot the Royals 37-18.

Vancouver got a goal and assist performance from Riley Kieser, Matt Bellerive, Cain Franson and Tyler Vanscourt.  Singles by Jackson Houck and David Musil, while Brendan Gallagher and Marek Tvrdon had an assist each.

The Giants power play went 1 for 7, while the Royals were 0 for 3 with the man advantage.

Victoria now has a record of 3-6 in the ten game season series which wraps up next Sunday night in Vancouver.

Victoria remains 7th in the West, 1 ahead of 8th place Everett whom they’ll face twice in the upcoming 4 game in 5 night road trip - which starts against the Silvertips Wednesday.

Royals pose for a picture following the game.

Brady Robinson, the Royals Goaltending Consultant following the loss:

 
Vancouver Giants 6 at Victoria Royals 0 - Status: Final
Sunday, March 4, 2012 - Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena - Victoria, BC

Vancouver 1 4 1 - 6
Victoria 0 0 0 - 0

1st Period-
1, Vancouver, Kieser 5 (Gallagher, Martinook), 0:15.

Penalties-Vannieuwenhuizen Van (holding), 2:00; Hodges Vic (hooking), 9:04; Crooks Vic (hooking), 10:08; Rintoul Vic (roughing), 18:04.

2nd Period-
2, Vancouver, Musil 5 (Franson, Vanscourt), 3:45 (PP).
3, Vancouver, Vanscourt 12 (Tvrdon, Kieser), 8:40.
4, Vancouver, Bellerive 5   10:07.
5, Vancouver, Houck 8 (McNaughton, Kuvaev), 17:33.

Penalties-Crunk Vic (checking from behind), 2:32; Stahl Vic (roughing), 10:31; Gallagher Van (high sticking), 14:11; Makin Van (major-fighting), 19:49; Walker Vic (major-fighting), 19:49.

3rd Period-
6, Vancouver, Franson 26 (Bellerive, Burns), 6:22.

Penalties-Vanscourt Van (kneeing), 13:56; served by Carroll Vic (bench - coach), 15:41; Nelson Vic (boarding), 15:41.

Shots on Goal-
Vancouver 12-19-6-37.
Victoria 8-4-6-18.

Power Play Opportunities-
Vancouver 1 / 7;
Victoria 0 / 3.

Goalies-
Vancouver, Morrison 33-16-1-1 (18 shots-18 saves).
Victoria, Rathjen 3-8-1-0 (31 shots-26 saves);
Hamilton 17-30-1-4 (6 shots-5 saves).

A-5,935
Referees-Jason Nissen (91), Reagan Vetter (79).
Linesmen-Jason Cramer (122), Justin Hull (49).

Preview: Vancouver at Victoria (Sun March 4)

The Victoria Royals (21-38-2-4, 48pts) look to sweep the two game set against the visiting Vancouver Giants (36-25-1-3, 76pts) Sunday afternoon at 1pm.  Pregame show at 12:45 on The Zone @ 91.3 FM.

Jared Rathjen stops Jordan Martinook in a 5-2 Royals win Saturday

PAST 10:  Victoria (4-6), Vancouver (4-5-0-1)

LAST GAME:  Saturday night in Victoria, the Royals power play struck twice and stopped all 4 Giant chances in a 5-2 victory over Vancouver.  Victoria held period leads of 2-0, and 4-2 before adding an empty goal.

The win snapped the Royals two game skid, and handed the Giants a second consecutive loss, with only one win in their last six outings.

SERIES:  The Royals have a 3-5 record against the Giants in the ten game series.  Victoria's three victories have come on home ice, and will have their final meeting next Sunday evening at 5pm in Vancouver.

Vancouver 2 @ Victoria 5 (March 3 2012)
Victoria 3 @ Vancouver 11 (Nov 18 2011)
Vancouver 5 @ Victoria 3 (Nov 5 2011)
Vancouver 1 @ Victoria 2 (Nov 4 2011)
Victoria 1 @ Vancouver 8 (Oct 21 2011)
Victoria 1 @ Vancouver 5 (Oct 10 2011)
Vancouver 3 @ Victoria 5 (Sep 24 2011)
Victoria 2 @ Vancouver 5 (Sep 23 2011)

STANDINGS: Victoria sits 7th with 48 points, 1 ahead of Everett, and 4 up on 9th place Seattle who has a game in hand.  Prince George is 10th, 6 back.  The Spokane Chiefs are 2 ahead of the 5th place Vancouver Giants in the West.

HOME & AWAY:  Victoria looks for their 13th home win with a record of (12-18-1-2) at the SOFMC, while Vancouver is an even .500 on the road (15-15-1-2).  They wrap up 3 games in 3 days this afternoon.
STATS:  Victoria’s penalty killing has been a perfect 18 for 18 over their last 5 games, ranked 13th.  Their power play went 2 for 6 Saturday night, improving to 14th best overall.

Vancouver has taken the 3rd most PIM’s on average per game.  Their power play is ranked 15th, and penalty kill 11th best.  They’ve scored the 11th most goals for, while allowing the 12th most.  The Giants are stingy only allowing the 3rd fewest shots against on average (28.49).  Statistically their first period is the best when analyzing the goal differential per period (+23, -2, -7) over the course of the season.

Jared Rathjen stops Marek Tvrdon on 3rd period breakaway.

WHO’S HOT:
Saturday night, the Royals got two point efforts from Hayden Rintoul (1g 1a), Jordan Fransoo (1g 1a), Logan Nelson (2a), and Robin Soudek (2a).  Nelson remains 4th in rookie scoring, while Soudek has 149 career points.  Jamie Crooks notched his team leading 34th while Ben Walker and Zane Jones also scored.

Brendan Gallagher scored his 40th to extended his point streak to 4 games (4g 2a).  Marek Tvrdon had his 3 game point streak halted.

LEADING SCORERS:

Gallagher (40-34-74)
Tvrdon (25-38-63)
Martinook (34-20-54)
Franson (25-29-54)

Crooks (34-30-64)
Nelson (21-37-58)
Soudek (25-30-55)
Rintoul (16-32-48)

UP NEXT:  The Royals embark on their final regular season road trip to play 4 games in 5 nights beginning Wednesday in Everett.  They then travel to Kelowna, back to Everett before wrapping up the trek in Vancouver Sunday.  They’ll play their final two home games against Portland March 14th and 16th.

HEAD TO HEAD:
                         GP    G    A    Pts
Robin Soudek     8     4     4     8    
Steven Hodges   8     3     2     5    
Jamie Crooks     8     3     2     5    
Brandon Magee  7     1     4     5   
Logan Nelson     8     2     3     5

Brendan Gallagher  6     8     8     16    
Marek Tvrdon         8     7     8     15    
Cain Franson           8    4     5     9    
Dalton Sward          8     6     2     8    

DRAFTED/NHL SIGNED PLAYERS: For Victoria: D Tyler Stahl (Carolina, 6th rd 2010), D Jordan Fransoo (Ottawa, 7th rd 2011).  For Vancouver: F Marek Tvrdon (DET 4th rd 2011 ), F Brendan Gallagher (MTL 5th rd 2010 ), D David Musil (EDM 2nd rd 2011)

TOP PROSPECTS:  Central Scoutings mid-term rankings of North American players positions Victoria’s Steven Hodges (55), and Logan Nelson (108).  For Vancouver: D Brett Kulak (67), F Dalton Sward (188),

INJURIES:
For Vancouver:
#14, Austin Vetterl, Lower body, 1 month+
#16, Austin Fyten, Lower body, 1 month+

For Victoria:
#3, Zach Habscheid, Lower body, 1 month

Recap: VAN 2 - VIC 5

Zane Jones scored the eventual game winner and the Victoria Royals power play struck twice in a 5-2 win over the visiting Vancouver Giants Saturday night.

Marek Tvrdon was stopped by Jared Rathjen on a 3rd period breakaway.

Victoria held period leads of 2-0 and 4-2 before Hayden Rintoul (1g 1a) added some insurance into an empty net, snapping a 2 game losing skid.

#1 Star Jordan Fransoo defends against Brendan Gallagher

Jared Rathjen made 29 saves for his 3rd career win in his 6th consecutive start for the Royals, while his counterpart Adam Morrison stopped 22 in the defeat.

Victoria also got goals from Jordan Fransoo (1g 1a), Jamie Crooks, and Ben Walker.  Logan Nelson and Robin Soudek chipped in with 2 assists each.  Vancouver got goals from Nathan Burns and Brendan Gallagher, his 40th.

Victoria with a record of 3-5 against Vancouver, the clubs will meet again this Sunday March 4th, in the afternoon at 1pm.

The Victory keeps the Royals in 7th with 48 points, 1 ahead of Everett who defeated Tri City 4-1, and 4 up on 9th place Seattle who fell 7-3 in Portland.  Prince George keeps pace, 6 points back with a 4-3 overtime victory versus Spokane.  The Chiefs move 2 ahead of the 5th place Giants in the West.

The Royals power play went 2 for 6, while stopping all 4 Giants man advantages.  Victoria’s penalty killing has now been a perfect 18 for 18 over their last 5 games.

Enio Sacilotto commented on the victory:

 

The Royals celebrate the 5-2 win.

Victoria who never trailed, led 2-0 after 20 minutes on Jordan Fransoo’s 3rd and Jamie Crooks team leading 34th on the power play.

Nathan Burns cut the lead in half in the second, but the Royals responded on Jones 13th with the man advantage at the 15:05 mark to restore the 2 goal lead.  Brendan Gallagher would tap in his team leading 40th goal to draw within one, but 29 seconds later Ben Walker added his 8th to take a 4-2 lead into the final frame.

Early in the third, Victoria’s Brandon Magee would be stopped by Adam Morrison on a breakaway.  Jared Rathjen would counter with a breakaway stop of his own on Marek Tvrdon to preserve the 2 goal cushion.  With 1:05 left, Hayden Rintoul added his 16th into an empty net to seal the win.

It’s the Giants second loss in a row, as Vancouver has just one win in their last six games.

Vancouver Giants 2 at Victoria Royals 5 - Status: Final
Saturday, March 3, 2012 - Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena - Victoria, BC

Vancouver 0 2 0 - 2
Victoria 2 2 1 - 5

1st Period-
1, Victoria, Fransoo 3 (Soudek), 1:28.
2, Victoria, Crooks 34 (Nelson, Soudek), 11:12 (PP).

Penalties-Jones Vic (roughing), 6:33; Cooke Van (boarding, major-fighting), 9:07; Pilton Vic (major-fighting), 9:07; Vanscourt Van (delay of game), 10:20; Traber Vic (hooking), 11:43; Kuvaev Van (hooking), 14:34; Tvrdon Van (roughing), 20:00.

2nd Period-
3, Vancouver, Burns 11 (Vanscourt, Makin), 4:32.
4, Victoria, Jones 13 (Rintoul, Magee), 15:05 (PP).
5, Vancouver, Gallagher 40 (Martinook, Manning), 17:28.
6, Victoria, Walker 8 (Nelson, Fransoo), 17:57.

Penalties-Kulak Van (hooking), 8:04; Tvrdon Van (slashing), 13:10; Stahl Vic (interference), 18:17.

3rd Period-
7, Victoria, Rintoul 16   18:55 (EN). Penalties-Cote Vic (high sticking), 3:59.

Shots on Goal-
Vancouver 10-11-10-31.
Victoria 6-11-10-27.

Power Play Opportunities-
Vancouver 0 / 4;
Victoria 2 / 6.

Goalies-
Vancouver, Morrison 32-16-1-1 (26 shots-22 saves).
Victoria, Rathjen 3-7-1-0 (31 shots-29 saves).

A-6,727
Referees-Jason Nissen (91), Reagan Vetter (79).
Linesmen-Jason Cramer (122), Justin Hull (49).

Preview: Vancouver at Victoria (Sat. March 3)

The 7th place Victoria Royals (20-38-2-4, 46pts) entertain the 5th ranked team in the West, the Vancouver Giants (36-24-1-3, 76pts) in the first of a two game home set Saturday.  The pregame show is at 6:45 pst on The Zone @ 91.3 FM

STANDINGS:  Victoria holds the 7th spot in the West by one point over the Everett Silvertips who lept into 8th place with a 4-0 win over the now 9th seed Seattle Thunderbirds Friday night.  Just 3 points separates 7th from 9th.  Prince George remains in 10th, six back of Victoria.  Only Seattle has a game in hand.

With 76 points, Vancouver is 5th, one point back of Spokane.  The Giants are 13 ahead of the Rockets.

SERIES: It’s meeting number 8 of 10, with Victoria looking for their 3rd win in the season series.  Their most recent encouter an 11-3 loss in Vancouver Nov. 18th.  The Royals last win against the Giants came on home ice Nov. 4th by a score of 2-1.  They’ll clash again Sunday at 1pm, and wrap up the series in Vancouver on Sunday March 11th.

Victoria 3 @ Vancouver 11 (Nov 18 2011)
Vancouver 5 @ Victoria 3 (Nov 5 2011)
Vancouver 1 @ Victoria 2 (Nov 4 2011)
Victoria 1 @ Vancouver 8 (Oct 21 2011)
Victoria 1 @ Vancouver 5 (Oct 10 2011)
Vancouver 3 @ Victoria 5 (Sep 24 2011)
Victoria 2 @ Vancouver 5 (Sep 23 2011)

LAST GAMES:  The Royals opened up a four game home stand with a pair of losses to the Spokane Chiefs, 4-2 Tuesday and 6-1 Wednesday, after a pair of wins in Prince George.  They closed out the month of February with a record of (4-8-0-1).

The Medicine Tigers came from behind to beat the Giants in Vancouver Friday night 6-4.  The Tigers scored 3 power play goals while the Giants went 0 for 8.  Vancouver out shot Medicine Hat 39-20.  The Giants won their previous game 5-3 in Kamloops Feb 25th, but have only one win their last 5, and 5 wins in 10.  Vancouver is in the middle of 3 in 3 nights with a road record of (15-14-1-2).

UP NEXT:  After the weekend set with Vancouver, Victoria heads out for their final four road games with stops in Everett, Kelowna, Everett and Vancouver – 4 games in 5 nights.  They wrap up the regular season at home with a pair against Portland.

WHO’S HOT:  Victoria’s Steven Hodges has 4 points (2g 2a) during his 3 game point streak.  Jamie Crooks leads the team in goals (33) and points (63).  Hayden Rintoul leads all defenseman in power play goals with 13, and is tied for 9th among reargaurds in points (46).  Logan Nelson is 4th in rookie scoring and leads the team in assists (35).

Vancouver is led by Brendan Gallagher’s 73 points and team leading 39 goals.  He’s on a 3 game point streak (3g 2a).  Marek Tvrdon is second in team scoring with 63 points, on a 3 game point streak (3g 1a) and is second in rookie scoring (63). 

STATS:  Victoria’s penalty killing has been perfect over their last four games (14 for 14), moving into 15th best overall.

Vancouver has taken the 2nd most PIM’s on average per game.  Their power play is ranked 15th, and penalty kill 11th best.  They’ve scored the 11th most goals for, while allowing the 12th most.  The Giants are stingy by allowing the 3rd fewest shots against on average (28.49).  Statistically their first period is the best when analyzing the goal differential per period (+25, -2, -6).

LEADING SCORERS:

Crooks (33-30-63)
Nelson (21-35-56)
Soudek (25-28-53)
Rintoul (15-31-46)
Magee (21-23-44)

Gallagher (38-35-73)
Tvrdon (25-38-63)
Franson (25-29-54)
Martinook (35-18-53)
Manning (7-30-37)

HEAD TO HEAD:
                        GP    G    A    Pts
Robin Soudek      7     4     2     6    
Steven Hodges    7     3     2     5    
Jamie Crooks      7     2     2     4    
Brandon Magee   6     1     3     4    
Logan Nelson     7     2     1     3

Brendan Gallagher 5     7     8     15    
Marek Tvrdon        7     7     8     15    
Cain Franson        7     4     5     9    
Dalton Sward        7     6     2     8    

DRAFTED/NHL SIGNED PLAYERS: For Victoria: D Tyler Stahl (Carolina, 6th rd 2010), D Jordan Fransoo (Ottawa, 7th rd 2011).  For Vancouver: F Marek Tvrdon (DET 4th rd 2011 ), F Brendan Gallagher (MTL 5th rd 2010 ), D David Musil (EDM 2nd rd 2011), G Adam Morrison (PHI 3rd rd 2009)

TOP PROSPECTS:  Central Scoutings mid-term rankings of North American players positions Victoria’s Steven Hodges (55), and Logan Nelson (108).  For Vancouver: D Brett Kulak (67), F Dalton Sward (188).

INJURIES:
For Vancouver:
#16, Austin Fyten, Lower body, 1 month+
#14, Austin Vetterl, Lower body, 1 month+

For Victoria:
#3, Zach Habscheid, Lower body, 1 month