The Victoria Royals clinched their first playoff birth in their inaugural campaign Friday night in front of the clubs 7th sell-out of the season.
It took a 3-1 win over the visiting Portland Winterhawks, coupled with an Everett Silvertips loss, to secure a spot in the post season.
Mike Forsyth (1g 1a) congratulates Keith Hamilton in a 3-1 Royals win.
Not since the 1989 Cougars has the city of Victoria seen Major Junior playoff hockey. It’s the fifth playoff birth for the franchise.
Coach & GM of the Royals Marc Habscheid was pleased with his young groups effort:
The Royals first round opposition is uncertain, as the 9th place Thunderbirds can still catch and surpass 7th place Victoria.
The Royals wrap up the regular season with 55 points, the Thunderbirds with 52 have 2 games left, the Silvertips also with 52 have just 1 game remaining.
Everett can no longer catch Victoria. Prince George was eliminated from playoff contention Friday night.
If Seattle ties Victoria in points, the Royals would be relegated to 8th as the Thunderbirds have more wins. Seattle plays at home to Everett Saturday night, and then travel to Portland Sunday.
Habscheid also commented on their defensive effort:
#15 Jamie Crooks scored his 37th of the season in the victory.
Victoria picks up 5 of a possible 6 points in their final 3 games will start round one on the road in either Tri City or Kamloops next Friday March 23rd. Portland will now face Kelowna, and Vancouver will battle Spokane in the opening round.
Friday night the Royals broke a 1-1 third period tie with 2 goals 1:48 apart enroute to 3-1 victory. It was the second win in a row for Victoria over Portland, defeating the Winterhawks 4-3 Wednesday. They tied the season series at 2 games a piece.
Dakota Conroy scored the lone first period goal, while Nicholas Petan added a single in the second.
Mike Forsyth fired in his 3rd in the final frame, which led to Jamie Crooks 36th of the season under two minutes later. The Winterhawks pulled the goaltender late while playing 4 on 4, but were unable to muster anymore offense. Forsyth had a goal and assist, including the game winner.
Habscheid on Forsyth's efforts:
Keith Hamilton pounces on a puck, made 37 saves.
Keith Hamilton earned first star honours with a 37 save performance, his 20th win of the season and second against his former club. Mac Carruth turned aside 29 in the defeat.
The Royals went 0 for 1 with the man advantage, while shutting down all
three Winterhawks chances, ranked #1 for a second straight game.
Victoria heads into the post season killing off 40 of 42 chances over
their last 12 games.
Habscheid discussed the teams penalty killing and the play of netminder Keith Hamilton:
Logan Nelson tries a shot on Mac Carruth.
Habscheid on the invaluable playoff experience that lies ahead:
Portland Winterhawks 1 at Victoria Royals 3 - Status: Final
Friday, March 16, 2012 - Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena - Victoria, BC
It’s the final regular season game for the Victoria Royals (23-41-3-4, 53pts) as they entertain the visiting Portland Winterhawks (48-18-3-1, 100pts) in the back half of a two game set. Pregame show at 6:45 on The Zone at 91.3 FM.
Keith Hamilton stops Brad Ross in a 4-3 Royals win Wednesday.
PAST 10: Portland: 6-3-1-0 Victoria: 4-5-1-0
LAST GAME: The Royals defeated the Winterhawks 4-3 on Wednesday for their first win of the four game season series (1-2). Steven Hodges and Zane Jones had a goal and assist each while Keith Hamilton made 32 saves against his former club for the win. Victoria fell in Portland in their previous two meetings 7-6 Dec 30th, and 6-3 Dec 28th.
Marc Habscheid after Thursday practice:
STANDINGS: The Royals are in 7th spot in the West with 53 points and have yet to clinch a playoff birth as 9th place Seattle is still within stricking distance - just 3 points back and have 3 games left. Everett is in 8th with 52 points and 2 games remaining.
Any combination of points gained by Victoria or points dropped by Seattle totaling 4 will guarantee the Royals a playoff spot. (Example, Victoria wins 1, Seattle loses 1). An eighth place tie would result in a tie breaker game. Seattle begins 3 games in 3 nights Friday.
10th place Prince George can no longer catch Victoria, but the Cougars can still reach 8th.
Portland in 3rd with 100 points and ranked 4th in the CHL, are fighting for the title in the West and the League just 2 points back of top seed Tri City – both with 2 games left. Kamloops with 97 points has clinched the BC Division and therefore they will finish no lower than 2nd in the conference.
Mike Forsyth of the Royals after practice Thursday practice:
STATS: Victoria’s penalty kill has stopped 37 of 39 over their last 11 outings.
Portland has scored the most goals for (4.56) and taken the most shots for (41.23) on average per game. Goal differential by period (+31, +23, +38). When the Winterhawks score the first goal, they are (35-5-2-1).
Ty Rattie #8 scored his 55th of the season Wednesday.
WHO TO WATCH: Portland’s Ty Rattie is 2nd in league scoring with 117 points, 3rd in goal (55), and tops in power play markers (26). Sven Bartschi who scored his first 2 NHL goals this week with Calgary, is 9th in scoring with 94 points, while averaging exactly 2 points per game. Joseph Morrow is 2nd in defenseman scoring (64), top prospect Derrick Pouliot is 4th among defenseman in scoring (57).
LEADING SCORERS:
Rattie (55-62-117)
Bartschi (33-61-94)
Ross (42-40-82)
Morrow (17-47-64)
Leipsic (28-30-58)
Crooks (36-30-66)
Nelson (23-38-61)
Soudek (27-30-57)
Rintoul (17-34-51)
Magee (23-24-47)
DRAFTED/NHL SIGNED PLAYERS: For Victoria: D Tyler Stahl (Carolina, 6th rd 2010), D Jordan Fransoo (Ottawa, 7th rd 2011).
For Portland: F Ty Rattie (St. Louis 2nd rd ‘11), F Brad Ross (Tor 2nd rd ‘10), F Cam Reid (Nash ’09), F Marcel Noebels (PHI ’11), G Mac Carruth (Chi ’10), D Troy Rutkowski (Col ’10), D Joseph Morrow (Sign Pitt 1st rd 23rd overall ‘11), F Tyler Wotherspoon (Cgy 2nd rd ’11), F Sven Bartschi (1st rd 13th CGY ’11) and D William Wren (SJ ’09).
TOP PROSPECTS: Central Scoutings mid-term rankings of North American players positions Victoria’s Steven Hodges (55), and Logan Nelson (108). For Portland: D Josh Hanson (149), F Taylor Leir (117), D Derrick Pouliot (10).
INJURIES:
For Portland: None to report
For Victoria:
#3, Zach Habscheid, Lower body, 1 month
#25 Robin Soudek, Upper body, day to day
SELL OUT!: Their game versus the Portland Winterhawks on March 16th is the Royals 7TH sell-out of the season.
With 1 home game left and a capacity of 7006, the Royals will eclipse the 200,000 mark in total attendance this season. So far 196,752 spectactors have taken in the Royals games at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
Only tickets to the first two home games of the playoffs will be made available at this time. The Royals’ single-game tickets for the 2012 WHL Playoffs are on sale at the Select Your Tickets box office, online at selectyourtickets.com or over the phone at (250)220-7777.
Group rates for playoff tickets are also available, starting as low as $10 per ticket.
7th - VICTORIA 53 Points REMAINING: (1)
Mar 16 vs Portland
8th - EVERETT 52 Points REMAINING: (2)
Mar. 16 at Tri-City
Mar. 17 at Seattle
9th - SEATTLE 50 Points REMAINING: (3)
Mar. 16 at Spokane
Mar. 17 vs Everett
Mar. 18 at Portland
10th - PRINCE GEORGE 48 Points REMAINING: (2)
Mar. 16 at Kamloops
Mar. 17 vs Kamloops
TIE BREAKER SCENARIOS: * League explanations in depth below…
1) If Victoria and Seattle end up tied for the last playoff spot, the sudden-death game would be played in Seattle.
[Victoria has 23 wins thus far, Seattle 24 and 3 points back with 3 left] [Victoria record vs Seattle (1-1-0-2) ]
2) If Victoria and Everett end up tied for the last playoff spot, the sudden-death game would be played in Victoria.
[Victoria has 23 wins thus far, Everett 21 and 1 point back with 2 left] [Victoria record vs Everett (0-4) ]
3) If Victoria, Seattle and Everett end up in a 3 way tie for the last playoff spot, Seattle would get 7th, as they’d have more wins - and the sudden death game would be played in Victoria against Everett.
Standings now: 7. Victoria 53 (v. Portland tonight) 8. Everett 52 (at Tri-City tonight, at Seattle on Saturday) 9. Seattle 50 (at Spokane tonight, v. Everett on Saturday, at Portland on Sunday) 10. Prince George 48 (at Kamloops tonight, v. Kamloops on Saturday) ——— If Victoria wins tonight, the Royals will clinch at least a tiebreaker game. That will give them 55 points after their final game. Everett and Seattle can both get to 56 points but not at the same time. One of them can only get to 55 since they play each other Saturday — by losing that game in OT.
Victoria can still end up in a tiebreaker game and it could be a three-way affair, as well. If it's a tie with Everett, Victoria would have more victories than Everett and would play host to the tiebreaker. If it's a tie with Seattle, Seattle would have more victories than Victoria and would play host to the tiebreaker. If it's a three-way tie, Seattle would get seventh place with the most victories, and Victoria would play host to Everett in the tiebreaker.
Victoria could also miss the playoffs and a tiebreaker completely. If Victoria loses in regulation tonight, then Seattle needs three points and Everett two points to send Victoria to the sidelines. If Victoria loses in OT, Everett needs three points and Seattle four points. As I said earlier, if Victoria wins tonight, it gets at least a tiebreaker game. A Victoria victory and a Seattle or Everett loss in regulation tonight clinches a playoff spot for Victoria.
PG cannot catch Victoria, which has 53 points, so the best it can do is get into a tie for eighth place. For that tie to occur, here is what must happen:
1. PG wins both games against Kamloops. That would give it 52 points and 25 victories. 2. Everett must lose both of its games (at Tri-City and at Seattle) in regulation. Everett would then have 52 points and 21 victories. 3. Seattle, by virtue of its win over Everett on Saturday, would have 52 points and 25 victories. So it must lose in regulation tonight at Spokane and Sunday at Portland. This is the only scenario for Prince George to make the playoffs. There is no other way. This would result in a three-way playoff for the eighth spot which, it seems, would result in two sudden-death playoff games.
ACCORDING TO THE LEAGUE RULES:
a) In the event two Clubs finish tied in total points in WHL standings, the edge goes to the Club with the most victories. If that is a tie, it will go to the Club with the most points in games between the two Clubs during the regular schedule. If the two Clubs are still even, the edge goes to the Club with the highest ratio when taking goals for and subtracting goals against in regular season play. If it is still a tie, the edge will go to the Club with the highest ratio when taking goals for and subtracting goals against in games played between the two Clubs in regular schedule play. b) In the event three (3) or more Clubs finish tied in total points in WHL standings, the edge goes to the Club with the most victories. Should the Clubs have won the same number of games, then the higher position shall be awarded to the Club having the greatest ratio when taking goals for and subtracting goals against in regular schedule play. If the Clubs are still tied, the total records of the Clubs against each other will be used with the Club having the highest winning percentage having the edge. If the Clubs are still tied, the Club with the highest ratio when taking goals for and subtracting goals against in regular season play among the Clubs will advance.
NOTE: When only two Clubs remain tied, (a) will be used to break the tie.
c) In the event two Clubs are tied in points for the last playoff position, then these Clubs will play a sudden-death game in the home arena of the Club having won the most games in WHL standings. If the Clubs are tied in wins, (a) will be used to select the home site.
d) In the event three or more Clubs are tied in points for the last playoff position, (b) will be used to advance or eliminate one or more Club(s) and the remaining two Clubs will follow (c) to determine where the sudden-death game will be played.
Brad Ross faces Keith Hamilton in a 4-3 Royals win.
Steven Hodges broke a 3-3 tie at 13:14 of the third period to give the Victoria Royals a 4-3 victory over the visiting Portland Winterhawks Wednesday night.
Austin Carroll opened the scoring on the power play, but a pair of Winterhawk goals :19 seconds apart by Ty Rattie (55th) and Taylor Leier put Portalnd up 2-1 after 20.
Victoria added a pair in the middle frame by Jamie Crooks (36th) and Zane Jones (1g 1a) on a breakaway to take a 3-2 lead heading into the third. After Portland’s Oliver Gabriel tied it just 2:26 into the final frame, Steven Hodges (1g 1a) converted on a 2 on 1 with Logan Nelson for the eventual winner.
The Winterhawks hit 2 posts in the third, both on one shift and pulled the goal tender late while on the power play, but were unable to draw even.
Keith Hamilton made 32 saves to earn his 19th win and a first against his former club. Mac Carruth who leads the league in wins with 42, stopped 15 pucks for his 16th loss.
The Royals power play struck once on three opportunities against the 3rd best penalty kill, while Victoria was a perfect 2 for 2 – now 37 for 39 over their last 11.
Steven Hodges had a goal and assist including the winner.
Royals Assistant Coach Enio Sacilotto following the win:
It was Victoria’s 6th sell out of the season, and the Royals first win against the Winterhawks (1-2). They’ll play each other Friday night in Victoria to close out the Royals regular season.
The win moves the Royals into 7th spot in the West with 53 points and one game remaining. Everett is in 8th with 52 points and 2 games left.
Victoria has yet to clinch as Seattle is within stricking distance just 3 points back in 9th and 3 games left.
Any combination of points gained by Victoria or points dropped by Seattle totaling 4 will guarantee the Royals a playoff spot. (Example, Victoria wins 1, Seattle loses 1).
With the win, Prince George can no longer catch Victoria.
Victoria entertains Portland for the final regular season game on Friday night.
Defenseman Jesse Zgraggen comments on the win:
Portland Winterhawks 3 at Victoria Royals 4 - Status: Final
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena - Victoria, BC
Penalties-served by Petan Por (too many men), 3:03; Leipsic Por (roughing), 19:31; Ross Por (inter. on goaltender), 19:31; Stahl Vic (roughing), 19:31.
The Victoria Royals (22-41-3-4, 51 pts) entertain the Portland Winterhawks (48-17-3-1, 100 pts) for the final two regular season games Wednesday and Friday.
Pregame show both nights at 6:45 on The Zone at 91.3 FM.
PAST 10: Portland: 7-2-1-0 Victoria: 4-5-1-0
LAST GAME: Victoria is coming off a 5-4 overtime loss in Vancouver Sunday, Portland riding a two game win streak after an 11-3 win at Seattle Saturday.
PLAYOFF PICTURE: The Royals in 8th are fighting to clinch a playoff birth with 51 points and 2 games remaining. Seattle is 9th with 50 points and 3 games left. Prince George is 10th, with 48 points and 2 games left.
Any combination of points gained by Victoria or points dropped by Seattle totaling 6 will guarantee the Royals a playoff spot. (Example, Victoria wins 1, Seattle loses 2). The number is 2 points in respect to Prince George.
Portland in 3rd with 100 points is fighting for the title in the West and the League, 2 points back of top seed Tri City. Kamloops with 97 points has clinched the BC Division and therefore they will finish no lower than second in the conference.
SEASON SERIES: Victoria fell in Portland in their previous two meetings 7-6 Dec 30th, and 6-3 Dec 28th.
STATS: Victoria’s penalty kill has stopped 35 of 37 over their last 10 outings. Portland has scored the most goals for (4.58) and taken the most shots for (41.32) on average per game. Goal differential by period (+30, +25, +38). When the Winterhawks score the first goal, they are (35-5-2-1).
WHO TO WATCH: Portland’s Ty Rattie is 2nd in league scoring with 116 points, 3rd in goal (54), and tops in power play markers (26). Sven Bartschi who scored his first 2 NHL goals this week with Calgary, is 9th in scoring with 94 points, but is averaging exactly 2 points per game. Joseph Morrow is 2nd in defenseman scoring (64), top prospect Derrick Pouliot is 4th among defenseman in scoring (56).
LEADING SCORERS:
Rattie (54-62-116)
Bartschi (33-61-94)
Ross (42-40-82)
Morrow (17-47-64)
Leipsic (28-30-58)
Crooks (35-30-65)
Nelson (23-37-60)
Soudek (27-30-57)
Rintoul (17-34-51)
Magee (23-24-47)
DRAFTED/NHL SIGNED PLAYERS: For Victoria: D Tyler Stahl (Carolina, 6th rd 2010), D Jordan Fransoo (Ottawa, 7th rd 2011).
For Portland: F Ty Rattie (St. Louis 2nd rd ‘11), F Brad Ross (Tor 2nd rd ‘10), F Cam Reid (Nash ’09), F Marcel Noebels (PHI ’11), G Mac Carruth (Chi ’10), D Troy Rutkowski (Col ’10), D Joseph Morrow (Sign Pitt 1st rd 23rd overall ‘11), F Tyler Wotherspoon (Cgy 2nd rd ’11), F Sven Bartschi (1st rd 13th CGY ’11) and D William Wren (SJ ’09).
TOP PROSPECTS: Central Scoutings mid-term rankings of North American players positions Victoria’s Steven Hodges (55), and Logan Nelson (108). For Portland: D Josh Hanson (149), F Taylor Leir (117), D Derrick Pouliot (10).
INJURIES:
For Portland: None to report
For Victoria:
#3, Zach Habscheid, Lower body, 1 month
#25 Robin Soudek, Upper
SELL OUT!: Their game versus the Portland Winterhawks on March 14th is the Royals 6th sell-out of the season.
Friday’s game is quickly approaching a capacity crowd as well.
Only tickets to the first two home games of the playoffs will be made available at this time. The Royals’ single-game tickets for the 2012 WHL Playoffs are on sale at the Select Your Tickets box office, online at selectyourtickets.com or over the phone at (250)220-7777.
Group rates for playoff tickets are also available, starting as low as $10 per ticket.
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 taken in the Royals games at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
7th - EVERETT 52 Points REMAINING: (3)
Mar. 14 at Kelowna
Mar. 16 at Tri-City
Mar. 17 at Seattle
8th - VICTORIA 51 Points REMAINING: (2)
Mar 14 vs Portland
Mar 16 vs Portland
9th - SEATTLE 50 Points REMAINING: (3)
Mar. 16 at Spokane
Mar. 17 vs Everett
Mar. 18 at Portland
10th - PRINCE GEORGE 48 Points REMAINING: (2)
Mar. 16 at Kamloops
Mar. 17 vs Kamloops
If Victoria and Seattle end up tied in points, the league states:
c) In the event two Clubs are tied in points for the last playoff position, then these Clubs will play a sudden-death game in the home arena of the Club having won the most games in WHL standings. If the Clubs are tied in wins, (a) will be used to select the home site.
[Victoria has 22 wins thus far, Seattle 24]
[Victoria record vs Seattle (1-1-0-2) ]
a) In the event two Clubs finish tied in total points in WHL standings, the edge goes to the Club with the most victories. If that is a tie, it will go to the Club with the most points in games between the two Clubs during the regular schedule. If the two Clubs are still even, the edge goes to the Club with the highest ratio when taking goals for and subtracting goals against in regular season play. If it is still a tie, the edge will go to the Club with the highest ratio when taking goals for and subtracting goals against in games played between the two Clubs in regular schedule play.
The Victoria Royals earned a much needed point in a 5-4 overtime loss in Vancouver against the Giants Sunday night.
Hayden Rintoul scored with 22.2 seconds left to force overtime, but Jordan Martinook scored his 2nd of the game in the extra frame to give the Giants sole possession of 4th in the West.
Both teams played 3 games in 3 nights, with the Royals wrapping up 4 games in 5 with a record of (1-2-1-0) and 3 points.
Victoria remains in 8th with 51 points and have 2 games left. Seattle with 48 points is 9th, with 4 games remaining. The 10th place Cougars have 46 points with 3 left.
The Royals need a combination of 6 points derived from Victoria wins and / or Seattle losses to eliminate the Thunderbirds. They now need to two points in the same manner to eliminate the Cougars. (For the teams remaining schedule, scroll down)
Trailing 1-0 after 20 minutes, the Royals scored 3 in a row to take a 3-1 lead. The Giants cut the lead to 3-2 before the 2nd was over. Vancouver added 2 more in the third to retake the lead 4-3, before Rintoul’s dying seconds heroics.
Adam Morrison made 25 saves for his 35th victory as Jared Rathjen who made timely saves on Brendan Gallagher and Marek Tvrdon on a breakaway – stopped 34 in the overtime loss.
Victoria went 0 for 5 on the power play, while stopping all 3 Vancouver man advantages.
The Royals got a pair of goals from Brandon Magee, and singles from Hayden Rintoul (1g 1a), and Logan Nelson - who moves into 3rd in rookie scoring. Zane Jones had a pair of assists.
Jordan Martinook and Marek Tvrdon had a 2 goals and an assist each, with Tvrdon taking over the top spot in the rookie scoring race. Riley Kieser added a single for the Giants.
There were 3 fights in the game, two in the first. Logan Nelson landed the decision against Scott Cooke, while Austin Carroll took on Taylor Makin. In the 2nd, Tim Traber fought Wes Vannieuwenhuizen.
Victoria has two home games remaining, Wednesday and Friday against the Portland Winterhawks who are 2nd overall with 100 points.
Their game versus the Portland Winterhawks on March 14th is the Royals 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.
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.
7th - EVERETT 52 Points REMAINING: (3)
Mar. 14 at Kelowna
Mar. 16 at Tri-City
Mar. 17 at Seattle
8th - VICTORIA 51 Points REMAINING: (2)
Mar 14 vs Portland
Mar 16 vs Portland
9th - SEATTLE 48 Points REMAINING: (4)
Mar. 13 vs Spokane
Mar. 16 at Spokane
Mar. 17 vs Everett
Mar. 18 at Portland
10th - PRINCE GEORGE 46 Points REMAINING: (3)
Mar. 13 at Tri City
Mar. 16 at Kamloops
Mar. 17 vs Kamloops
Victoria Royals 4 at Vancouver Giants 5 (OT) - Status: Final OT
Sunday, March 11, 2012 - Pacific Coliseum - Vancouver, BC
Penalties-Traber Vic (major-fighting), 0:45; Vannieuwenhuizen Van (major-fighting), 0:45; Rintoul Vic (roughing), 1:37; Vanscourt Van (roughing), 1:37; Tvrdon Van (interference), 10:05; Jones Vic (checking from behind), 11:26; Burns Van (slashing), 17:38.
The Victoria Royals (22-41-2-4, 50pts) wrap up 4 games in 5 nights on the road against the Vancouver Giants (38-26-2-3, 81pts) Sunday evening.
Past 10 Games: Victoria: 4-6-0-0 Vancouver: 3-5-1-1
SERIES: It’s the final meeting of the season, the Royals with a 3-6 record thus far, falling 6-0 last Sunday at home to the Giants after defeating them 5-2 the night before.
Both teams are playing 3 in 3 nights.
LAST GAME: Victoria suffered a 3-0 loss in Everett Saturday. Vancouver is coming off a 3-2 victory in Kamloops, after falling 6-3 to the same Blazers in Vancouver on Friday.
ROAD / HOME: Victoria is 1-2 on the road trip, with the win coming in Kelowna 3-1 Friday night. They started the road trip with a 3-2 loss in Everett on Wednesday. Vancouver is 10 over .500 at the Pacific Coliseum with 21 wins, they are however, winless in their last 5 games at home.
STANDINGS: Victoria is in 8th with 50 points, 4 ahead of Seattle and Prince George. The Royals have 3 games remaining, the Thunderbirds 5, and Cougars 4.
Victoria now needs a combination of 7 points derived from Royals wins and / or Thunderbird losses to eliminate Seattle from playoff contention. They need 5 points in relation to Prince George.
Vancouver is tied with Spokane for 4th in the West, but the Chiefs have a game in hand.
UP NEXT: The Royals wrap up the regular season with a pair of home games next Wednesday and Friday against the Portland Winterhawks.
LEADING SCORERS:
Crooks (35-30-65)
Nelson (22-37-59)
Soudek (27-30-57)
Rintoul (16-33-49)
Magee (21-24-45)/
PAST MEETINGS:
Vancouver 6 @ Victoria 0 (March 4 2012)
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)
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),
Cody Fowlie scored twice, while Kent Simpson stopped 26 shots to lead the Everett Silvertips to a 3-0 victory over the visiting Victoria Royals Saturday night.
Royals Tyler Stahl blocks a Silvertip shot in a 3-0 loss in Everett.
Leading 1-0 after 40 minutes, Joshua Winquist scored short handed just 1:23 into the final frame. Cody Fowlie added his second of the game on the power play at 5:05 of the third. Brennan Yadlowski chipped in with 3 assists.
Keith Hamilton stopped 24 of 27 in the defeat, while Simpson earned his 2nd shut out of the season. The Royals were edged in shots 27-26. Victoria’s power play went 0 for 4, while the Silvertips went 1 for 5.
Everett sweeps the four game season series, and conclude their 7 game homestand with 5 wins. Victoria is now (1-2) on their 4 game in 5 night road trip. Royals forward Robin Soudek played in his 250th career game.
Everett bounces back into 7th spot with 51 points, 1 up on Victoria. With a Seattle loss to Portland, Victoria now needs a combination of 7 points derived from Royals wins and / or Thunderbird losses to eliminate Seattle from playoff contention.
With 3 games remaining, Victoria has a 4 point lead on Seattle and Prince George. The Thunderbirds have 5 games left to play. Prince George has 4 games remaining.
The Royals wrap up 3 in 3 nights with a 5pm game in Vancouver Sunday night. The Giants are coming off a 3-2 victory in Kamloops Saturday, while falling 6-3 in Vancouver the night before. The Royals have a 3-6 record against the Giants, falling 6-0 last Sunday at home after winning 5-2 the night before.
Victoria Royals 0 at Everett Silvertips 3 - Status: Final Saturday, March 10, 2012 - Comcast Arena - Everett, WA
