Awards Ceremony

ROYALS CAP OFF REGULAR SEASON WITH AWARDS CEREMONY

Alex Gogolev takes home 2012-13 National Bank Financial Most Valuable Player award.

Cliff Lesquene

For Immediate Release

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Victoria, BC –The 2012-13 Victoria Royals Awards Ceremony took place on Sunday afternoon at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.

Gogolev accepts an award on crutches

Cliff Lesquene, from 100.3 the Q, hosted the event that saw the organization hand out 10 awards in total and celebrate a record setting 2012-13 regular season.

Jordan Fransoo Top Defenseman

Alex Gogolev was chosen as the team’s most valuable player as he took home the National Bank Financial MVP Award. The Moscow, RU native also earned the Pemberton Homes Top Scorer award finishing the season with 65 points (20g-45a).

Jordan Fransoo was presented with the Wilson’s Transportation Top Defenceman award while Joe Hicketts was named the Ron Neal Rookie of the Year.

Logan Fisher and Joe Hicketts were named co-winners of the Fisgard Scholastic Player of the Year award. The Telus Community Service award was given to Tyler Stahl for the second consecutive year.

Cam Hope, Patrik Polivka - Unsung Hero

Logan Fisher was also awarded the 2 Burley Men Hardest Worker award while Patrik Polivka was named the Coca-Cola Unsung Hero. Tim Traber earned the Connect Hearing Most Dedicated trophy.

The Keg Fans’ Choice award, chosen by a vote on www.victoriaroyals.com, was presented to Brandon Magee.

 Here Comes the Blue! The Victoria Royals take on the Kamloops Blazers in Round 1 of the 2013 WHL Playoffs. Tickets for Games 3 and 4, held at Bear Mountain Arena, are on sale now. With limited Round 1 seats available, Royals fans are encouraged to order tickets quickly by calling 250-220-7777, visiting www.selectyourtickets.com, or heading down to the Select Your Tickets box office.

2012-13 Victoria Royals Awards Ceremony PHOTOS:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.503239893067276.1073741835.180623155328953&type=1

The Graduating players and Head Coach Dave Lowry

The Royals also paid tribute to the graduating players, Tyler Stahl, Jamie Crooks and Alex Gogolev.

Alex Gogolev shares a laugh

Tyler Stahl

Jamie Crooks

Joe Hicketts, Rookie of the Year

Scholastic Award Winners, Logan Nelson & Joe Hicketts

Recap: Victoria 4 - Everett 3 (Overtime)

Joe Hicketts scored the overtime winner as the visiting Victoria Royals (35-30-2-5, 77pts) came from behind to upend the Everett Silvertips 4-3 Saturday, and roll into the post season riding a 2 game win streak.

The Royals celebrate the victory

Michael Herringer

 Victoria sweeps Everett in the two game home and home set after a 4-1 win on the Island the night before.

The Royals scored the final 3 goals of the game, after trailing 1-0 after 20 minutes, and 3-2 after 40. Netminder Michael Herringer earned his first win in his first WHL start, with 36 saves.

“It felt great.  It was a little nerve wraking for a little there, it didn’t start out so well but we battled hard and got the win.” – Michael Herringer, Royals Netminder

Herringer, a Royals 9th round bantam selection is 16 years old and plays for the Junior B Victoria Cougars.

“Fantastic, great start for him.  He made some miraculous saves, coming out of nowhere.  I thought he had a really strong performance…he’s got a bright future as a WHL netminder.”  - Enio Sacilotto, Royals Assistant Coach

Logan Nelson who’s 3rd period goal sent the game to overtime, had a goal and assist.  Ben Walker chipped in with 2 helpers.  Steven Hodges and Jack Walker rounded out the scoring.

It’s the 11th come from behind victory this season, snapping a winless in 7 road slide.  It was the first win for the club in Everett since relocating to Victoria, taking the season series 3 games to 1.

Logan Nelson ties the game at 3 in the third to force overtime.

Victoria will face Kamloops next Friday on the road in the opening round of the playoffs while 8th place Everett will travel to Portland.

The Royals set franchise highs this season for wins with 35, and points totalling 75.

Victoria learned that leading scorer Alex Gogolev needs surgery to help repair a skate cut to his leg, and will likely miss the remainder of the season.  Gogolev has already missed 20 games. 

Carroll tries a shot

According GM Cam Hope,

“The doctors all put their heads together and decided (Gogolev) should have the surgical repair, so unless we go very deep (playoffs) all the way into May, he’ll be lost for the rest of the season.”

The Royals are still without their captain Tyler Stahl (Lower, day to day), Trent Lofthouse (Upper, day to day), Luke Harrison (Upper, indefinite), and G Patrik Polivka (Lower, 1-2 wks).

“We’ll hopefully have Patrik Polivka back, hopefully have Tyler Stahl back and Trent Lofthouse soon…”  Hope said.

The Victoria Royals take on the Kamloops Blazers in Round 1 of the 2013 WHL Playoffs. Tickets for Games 3 and 4, held at Bear Mountain Arena, are on sale now. With limited Round 1 seats available, Royals fans are encouraged to order tickets quickly by calling 250-220-7777, visiting www.selectyourtickets.com, or heading down to the Select Your Tickets box office.

Victoria Royals 4 (OT) at Everett Silvertips 3 - Status: Final OT
Saturday, March 16, 2013 - Comcast Arena - Everett, WA

Victoria 0 2 1 1 - 4
Everett 1 2 0 0 - 3

1st Period-
1, Everett, Hayer 15 (MacDonald, Zipp), 6:20.

Penalties-Hodges Vic (tripping), 14:50.

2nd Period-
2, Everett, Soumelidis 4 (Low, MacDonald), 3:55.
3, Victoria, Hodges 28 (Crunk), 6:44.
4, Everett, Low 2 (Soumelidis, Fonteyne), 7:15.
5, Victoria, Walker 9 (Soy, Traber), 8:13.

Penalties-Traber Vic (checking from behind), 8:36; Low Evt (too many men), 11:28; Kanzig Vic (roughing), 14:32.

The club celebrates

3rd Period-
6, Victoria, Nelson 14 (Walker, Kanzig), 17:37.

Penalties-Schacher Vic (boarding), 2:05; Oslanski Evt (cross checking), 6:19; Walker Vic (tripping), 9:45; Stadnyk Evt (hooking), 13:25.

OT Period-
7, Victoria, Hicketts 6 (Nelson, Walker), 1:57.

Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-
Victoria 7-14-14-3-38.
Everett 15-15-9-0-39.

Power Play Opportunities-
Victoria 0 / 3;
Everett 0 / 5.

Goalies-
Victoria, Herringer 1-0-0-0 (39 shots-36 saves).
Everett, Lotz 15-19-3-1 (38 shots-34 saves).

A-7,322
Referees-Brett Iverson (24), Colin Watt (72).
Linesmen-Tim Digby (75), Bevan Mills (98).

Preview: Victoria at Everett (March 16)

The Victoria Royals (34-30-2-5, 75pts) wrap up the regular season on the road, looking to sweep the home and home against the Everett Silvertips (24-40-2-4, 54 pts) on Saturday.

Pregame show at 6:40, with puck drop at 7 pm on The Zone @ 91.3 fm, or online at www.thezone.fm/listen

Victoria has a 2-1 season series lead, and will look for the clubs first win in Everett since moving to the Island.  Previously Victoria won 5-0 November 16th at home, while Everett earned a 7-4 victory in Washington on January 11th.

The Royals (34-30-2-5, 75pts) set the franchise record for wins (34) and points (75) in a season with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Silvertips Friday night.  Jordan Fransoo and Joe Hicketts both scored a pair of goals while Coleman Vollrath earned his 4th win of the year as the Royals outshot the ‘Tips 32-20. 

The Royals snapped a 3 game slide, while the Silvertips have won just 3 games in their last 9, after going winless in 11.

Victoria, in 6th spot will take on Kamloops in the opening round of the playoffs beginning on the road next Friday March 22nd.  With 2 games left, Everett is in 8th, 3 points back of Seattle with one in hand of the Thunderbirds.

“They’re a hungry team…they’re still going to be playing for something (Saturday)...it’s a good test for us, we’d rather have that than a meaningless game, because we need to prepare for the playoffs...” – Ben Cooper, Royals Assistant Coach

The Royals are looking to snap a 7 game road winless streak, while the ‘Tips are 6 under .500 at home this season.

Victoria was without their leading scorer Alex Gogolev (day to day) who’s missed 19 games with a skate cut, their captain Tyler Stahl (Lower, day to day), Trent Lofthouse (Upper, day to day), Luke Harrison (Upper, indefinite), and G Patrik Polivka (Lower, 1-2 wks).

Tim Traber is availble after serving the final of a 6 game suspension.

Victoria now has five 50 point men as Steven Hodges had 3 assists to hit the 50 point plateau, while Ben Walker’s lone assist gives him 50 - joining Jamie Crooks (53), Brandon Magee (60), and Alex Gogolev (65). 

The Victoria Royals take on the Kamloops Blazers in Round 1 of the 2013 WHL Playoffs. Tickets for Games 3 and 4, held at Bear Mountain Arena, are on sale now. With limited Round 1 seats available, Royals fans are encouraged to order tickets quickly by calling 250-220-7777, visiting www.selectyourtickets.com, or heading down to the Select Your Tickets box office.

Previous Meetings This Season

Everett 1 @ Victoria 4 (Mar 15 2013) Final Victoria 4 @ Everett 7 (Jan 11 2013) Final Everett 0 @ Victoria 5 (Nov 16 2012) Final

How the 2 teams match up

	Everett	Victoria
Team Record	24-40-2-4 -- 54 points	34-30-2-5 -- 75 points
Division Ranking	5th U.S.	3rd B.C.
Conference Ranking	8th Western	6th Western
League Ranking	19th	12th
Past 10 Games	3-6-1-0	2-6-1-1
Streak	0-1-0-0	1-0-0-0
Last Game	4-1 L @ Victoria (Mar 15 2013) Final	4-1 W vs Everett (Mar 15 2013) Final
Home Record	12-18-0-4	21-11-2-2
Away Record	12-22-2-0	13-19-0-3
GF	162	219
GA	259	249
PP (Overall)	(46/275) 16.7	(71/331) 21.5
PP (Home)	(26/152) 17.1	(36/167) 21.6
PP (Away)	(20/123) 16.3	(35/164) 21.3
PK (Overall)	(73/318) 77.0	(68/316) 78.5
PK (Home)	(31/145) 78.6	(31/145) 78.6
PK (Away)	(42/173) 75.7	(37/171) 78.4
Leading Rookie	Mueller (6-25-31)	Hicketts (5-18-23)
Most PIM	Soumelidis - 119	Kanzig - 157
Team PIM/GM	16.0/Game	18.5/Game
Leading Scorers	Winquist (24-24-48)	Gogolev (20-45-65)
	Oslanski (16-30-46)	Magee (30-30-60)
	Petryk (15-24-39)	Crooks (33-20-53)
	Hayer (14-23-37)	Hodges (27-23-50)
	Bauml (21-15-36)	Walker (19-31-50)
Last 5 Games	4-1 L @ Victoria (Mar 15 2013) Final	4-1 W vs Everett (Mar 15 2013) Final
	4-3 W @ Seattle (Mar 9 2013) Final	4-1 L vs Portland (Mar 12 2013) Final
	6-3 L @ Spokane (Mar 8 2013) Final	5-2 L vs Portland (Mar 10 2013) Final
	6-3 L @ Portland (Mar 5 2013) Final	3-1 L @ Vancouver (Mar 9 2013) Final
	1-0 L @ Vancouver (Mar 3 2013) Final OT	5-3 W vs Vancouver (Mar 8 2013) Final
Leading After 1st	9-7-1-2	16-6-1-1
Leading After 2nd	16-1-0-2	21-0-0-2
Tied After 1st	9-7-1-0	13-7-1-2
Tied After 2nd	5-7-1-1	3-2-2-2
Trailing After 1st	6-26-0-2	5-17-0-2
Trailing After 2nd	3-32-1-1	10-28-0-1
Out Shooting Opponents	7-5-0-0	13-8-0-2
Out Shot by Opponents	16-34-2-3	19-22-2-3
1-Goal Games	15-5-2-4	14-4-2-5
2-Goal Games	3-9-0-0	9-5-0-0
3-Goal Games	3-11-0-0	6-11-0-0

Recap: Everett 1 - Victoria 4

The Royals salute the crowd in the final regular season home game.

The Victoria Royals (34-30-2-5, 75pts) set the franchise record for wins (34) and points (75) in a season with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Everett Silvertips on Friday.

The club surpasses the previous best set by the Chilliwack Bruins in ‘10-11 of (33-31-4-4, 74pts).

It’s been a long time in the making…the guys are really proud to be a part of it  and everyone in the room is real happy for it.”    - Jordan Fransoo, Royals Interim Captain

Royals buzzing around Austin Lotz

Victoria takes a 2-1 season series lead, and will play in Everett Saturday to complete the home and home and wrap up the regular season.  They face Kamloops in the opening round of the playoffs Friday March 22nd on the road.

Nelson behind the net

It was fan appreciation night in the last regular home game of the season, snapping a 3 game losing streak in front 6,707 – 299 short of a sellout.

“We wanted to get our game back on track and wanted to do it for the fans…they’ve been really loyal to us all year long…we took it really dearly to put on a good show tonight.”  Fransoo said.

Vollrath 19 saves

The Royals got a pair of goals from interim Captain Jordan Fransoo and Joe Hicketts as the defense provided all four goals for the club.

“We got some secondary scoring, we got all the scoring from the back end tonight.  That hasn’t happened all year.  It’s good to see them get rewarded…”  - Dave Lowry, Royals Head Coach

Victoria now has five 50 point men as Steven Hodges had 3 assists to hit the 50 point plateau, while Ben Walker’s lone assist gives him 50 - joining Jamie Crooks (53), Brandon Magee (60), and Alex Gogolev (65).

Hodges would miss but Fransoo scores

8th place Everett clinched a playoff berth with Prince George’s loss and can still catch 7th place Seattle.  The Tips are 3 points back with 2 games left, the Thunderbirds have just one game remaining.

“They’re a hungry team…we knew they were going to come at us hard and they’re still going to be playing for something (Saturday) night..it’s a good test for us, we’d rather have that than a meaningless game, because we need to prepare for the playoffs..” – Ben Cooper, Royals Assistant Coach

After a scoreless first, Fransoo playing in his 200th career game opened the scoring on the power play, and Joe Hicketts converted a 3 on 2 to give the Royals a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes.

Vollrath Robs Winquist

Fransoo would put the club up 3-0 in the 3rd, before Joshua Winquist would bring the Silvertips to within two, making for an interesting finish.  With Everett on the power play late and the net minder pulled, Joe Hicketts found the empty net for his 5th of the year on 3rd goal in his last 3 games.

In his 6th straight start, Coleman Vollrath stopped 19 of 20 for his 4th win of the season.  His counterpart Austin Lotz allowed 3 goals on 31 shots.  Victoria was dominant in the middle frame outshooting Everett 12-3, and 32-20 overall.

Kanzig blocks a shot

The Royals were 1 for 4 on the power play, while the ‘Tips went 0 for 4.

Victoria was without their leading scorer Alex Gogolev (day to day) who’s missed 19 games with a skate cut, their captain Tyler Stahl (Lower, day to day), Trent Lofthouse (Upper, day to day), and Luke Harrison (Upper, indefinite), G Patrik Polivka (Lower, 1-2 wks).  Tim Traber sat out the final contest 6 game suspension.

Vollrath & Fransoo

Pregame show Saturday night at 6:40, with puck drop at 7 pm on The Zone @ 91.3 fm, or online at www.thezone.fm/listen

The Victoria Royals take on the Kamloops Blazers in Round 1 of the 2013 WHL Playoffs. Tickets for Games 3 and 4, held at Bear Mountain Arena, are on sale now. With limited Round 1 seats available, Royals fans are encouraged to order tickets quickly by calling 250-220-7777, visiting www.selectyourtickets.com, or heading down to the Select Your Tickets box office.



Everett Silvertips 1 at Victoria Royals 4 - Status: Final
Friday, March 15, 2013 - Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena - Victoria, BC

Everett 0 0 1 - 1
Victoria 0 2 2 - 4

1st Period- No Scoring.

Penalties-Kanzig Vic (interference), 6:27; Walker Vic (boarding), 15:40.

2nd Period-
1, Victoria, Fransoo 7 (Hodges, Cote), 8:04 (PP).
2, Victoria, Hicketts 4 (Hodges, Walker), 19:23.

Penalties-Winquist Evt (tripping), 6:57; Soumelidis Evt (interference), 8:49; Carroll Vic (inter. on goaltender), 10:53; Betker Evt (major-fighting), 18:30; Carroll Vic (major-fighting), 18:30; Cox Evt (roughing), 19:57.

3rd Period-
3, Victoria, Fransoo 8 (Hodges, Crunk), 6:32.
4, Everett, Winquist 24 (Petryk, Bauml), 13:05.
5, Victoria, Hicketts 5   18:49 (SH EN).

Penalties-Adam Evt (high sticking), 10:00; Deacon Vic (roughing), 17:25.

Shots on Goal-
Everett 11-3-6-20.
Victoria 14-12-6-32.

Power Play Opportunities-
Everett 0 / 4;
Victoria 1 / 4.

Goalies-
Everett, Lotz 15-19-2-1 (31 shots-28 saves).
Victoria, Vollrath 4-12-0-2 (20 shots-19 saves).
A-6,707
Referees-Curtis Marouelli (86), Derek Zalaski (8).
Linesmen-Ryan Gibbons (73), Chris Sweeting (137).

Preview: Everett at Victoria (March 15)

The Victoria Royals (33-30-2-5, 73pts) begin a home and home against the visiting Everett Silvertips (24-39-2-4, 54 pts) on Friday.

Pregame show at 6:40, with puck drop at 7 pm on The Zone @ 91.3 fm, or online at www.thezone.fm/listen

The clubs split their earlier two meetings with the home team winning on each occasion.  The Royals won 5-0 November 16th, while the Silvertips won 7-4, in their first game with GM Garry Davidson assuming Head Coaching duties January 11th.

Victoria, in 6th spot will take on Kamloops in the opening round of the playoffs, while Everett is in 8th, 3 points back of Seattle with one in hand of the Thunderbirds.

A single point gained by 8th place Everett or dropped by 9th place Prince George, would clinch a playoff birth for the Silvertips and eliminate the Cougars.  Everett with 3 games remaining can still catch Seattle who has a 3 point lead and only 2 games left, and avoid the Winterhawks in the first round.  The Thunderbirds have a home and home with Portland remaining, while Prince George is 4 points back with just 2 games left and face Kamloops in a home and home this weekend.

Rank	Western Conference	GP	W	L	OTL	SL	PTS
1	y * - Portland Winterhawks	69	54	12	1	2	111
2	x * - Kelowna Rockets	70	50	16	3	1	104
3	x Kamloops Blazers	70	45	20	2	3	95
4	x Spokane Chiefs	69	42	25	2	0	86
5	x Tri-City Americans	69	40	25	1	3	84
6	x Victoria Royals	70	33	30	2	5	73
7	x Seattle Thunderbirds	70	24	37	7	2	57
8	Everett Silvertips	69	24	39	2	4	54
9	Prince George Cougars	70	21	41	2	6	50
10	Vancouver Giants	70	21	47	2	0	44

Conference standings reflect the order in which teams would qualify for the playoffs (1st thru 8th ). Division leaders (marked with a *) are automatically seeded first and second.
x = Teams who have clinched a playoff spot.
y = Teams who have clinched the conference title

The Silvertips snapped a 3 game road winless slide with a 4-3 victory at Seattle last Saturday. Tyler Sandhu scored twice, and Dawson Leedahl got the game winner.  The game saw a goalie fight as Austin Lotz tangled with Seattle’s Brandon Glover.  Everett has 3 wins in their last 8, after going winless in 11.

The Royals have dropped their last 3 after a pair of losses to the visiting Portland Winterhawks.  Most recently a  4-1 defeat Tuesday as Taylor Crunk scored the lone goal and Coleman Vollrath made 40 saves. 

Victoria was playing their 6th game in 8 nights against the #2 ranked team in the CHL.  The Royals have just 1 win in their last 15 (1-11-1-2) and without Gogolev are (4-11-1-2).

With one more win, Victoria can set the franchise mark for victories in a season with 34.  With one more point, the Royals can tie the franchise mark for points in a season with 74.

Victoria was without their leading scorer Alex Gogolev (day to day) who’s missed 18 games with a skate cut, their captain Tyler Stahl (Lower, day to day), Trent Lofthouse (Upper, day to day), and Luke Harrison (Upper, indefinite), G Patrik Polivka (Lower, 1-2 wks).  Tim Traber sat out his 5th of a 6 game suspension.

After the Silvertips Friday, the Royals travel and play in Everett Saturday before returning home on Sunday for the afternoon awards ceremony which begins at 3pm at the SOFMC.

The Victoria Royals take on the Kamloops Blazers in Round 1 of the 2013 WHL Playoffs. Tickets for Games 3 and 4, held at Bear Mountain Arena, are on sale now. With limited Round 1 seats available, Royals fans are encouraged to order tickets quickly by calling 250-220-7777, visiting www.selectyourtickets.com, or heading down to the Select Your Tickets box office.

Everett Injuries:
#23 Logan Aasman, F, upper body, day-to-day
#20 Lucas Grayson, F, lower body, day-to-day
#22 Ryan Harrison, F, upper body, day-to-day
#27 Ryan Murray, D, upper body, indefinite
#3 Aryton Nikkel, D, lower body, week-to-week

Previous Meetings This Season

Victoria 4 @ Everett 7 (Jan 11 2013) Final Everett 0 @ Victoria 5 (Nov 16 2012) Final

How the 2 teams match up

	Everett	Victoria
Team Record	24-39-2-4 -- 54 points	33-30-2-5 -- 73 points
Division Ranking	5th U.S.	3rd B.C.
Conference Ranking	8th Western	6th Western
League Ranking	19th	13th
Past 10 Games	3-6-1-0	1-7-1-1
Streak	1-0-0-0	0-3-0-0
Last Game	4-3 W @ Seattle (Mar 9 2013) Final	4-1 L vs Portland (Mar 12 2013) Final
Home Record	12-18-0-4	20-11-2-2
Away Record	12-21-2-0	13-19-0-3
GF	161	215
GA	255	248
PP (Overall)	(46/271) 17.0	(70/327) 21.4
PP (Home)	(26/152) 17.1	(35/163) 21.5
PP (Away)	(20/119) 16.8	(35/164) 21.3
PK (Overall)	(72/314) 77.1	(68/312) 78.2
PK (Home)	(31/145) 78.6	(31/141) 78.0
PK (Away)	(41/169) 75.7	(37/171) 78.4
Leading Rookie	Mueller (6-25-31)	Walker (8-13-21)
Most PIM	Nikkel - 117	Kanzig - 155
Team PIM/GM	16.0/Game	18.6/Game
Leading Scorers	Winquist (23-24-47)	Gogolev (20-45-65)
	Oslanski (16-30-46)	Magee (30-30-60)
	Petryk (15-23-38)	Crooks (33-20-53)
	Hayer (14-23-37)	Walker (19-30-49)
	Bauml (21-14-35)	Hodges (27-20-47)
Last 5 Games	4-3 W @ Seattle (Mar 9 2013) Final	4-1 L vs Portland (Mar 12 2013) Final
	6-3 L @ Spokane (Mar 8 2013) Final	5-2 L vs Portland (Mar 10 2013) Final
	6-3 L @ Portland (Mar 5 2013) Final	3-1 L @ Vancouver (Mar 9 2013) Final
	1-0 L @ Vancouver (Mar 3 2013) Final OT	5-3 W vs Vancouver (Mar 8 2013) Final
	4-2 W vs Portland (Mar 2 2013) Final	4-3 L @ Kelowna (Mar 6 2013) Final SO
Leading After 1st	9-7-1-2	16-6-1-1
Leading After 2nd	16-1-0-2	20-0-0-2
Tied After 1st	9-6-1-0	12-7-1-2
Tied After 2nd	5-7-1-1	3-2-2-2
Trailing After 1st	6-26-0-2	5-17-0-2
Trailing After 2nd	3-31-1-1	10-28-0-1
Out Shooting Opponents	7-5-0-0	12-8-0-2
Out Shot by Opponents	16-33-2-3	19-22-2-3
1-Goal Games	15-5-2-4	14-4-2-5
2-Goal Games	3-9-0-0	9-5-0-0
3-Goal Games	3-10-0-0	5-11-0-0

Recap: Portland 4 - Victoria 1

Coleman Vollrath stopped 40 shots in a 4-1 loss.

Ty Rattie had a goal and assist to help the visiting Portland Winterhawks to a 4-1 victory over the Victoria Royals Tuesday.

Taylor Crunk gave the Royals a 1-0 lead late in the first, before a four goal second period by the Winterhawks ultimately put the game out of reach.

Logan Fisher battles for the puck

“We had a great first period, they turned it on in the second and we couldn’t match them…” – Enio Sacilotto, Assistant Coach

Portland ranked #2 in the CHL, put out another 44 shot effort with Coleman Vollrath of Victoria making 40 saves.  Victoria fired 26 shots total while holding the most offensive team in the league to without a goal in the first and the third.


“We’re learning…and for us it’s great to see how hard you have to compete every night, how well and hard their top guys work…that’s something that we need.” – Dave Lowry, Head Coach

Logan Nelson celebrates, but the goal was waived off.

The Winterhawks scored a power play goal and one shorthanded in the middle frame.  The Royals were 0 for 6 against the #1 ranked penalty kill in the league.  The ‘Hawks were 1 for 4.

Portland sweeps the two game set and the four game season series after a  5-2 win on Sunday.

Victoria was playing their 6th game in 8 nights and have dropped their last 3.

Ty Rattie scored his 45th goal

Brendan Liepsic also scored Tuesday, making it a 4 way tie in the league for goals with 45.  He joins teammates Rattie and Nicolas Petan along with Josh Nicholls of the Blades who also has 45.  Dominic Turgeon and Taylor Peters (sh) rounded out the scoring.

The Winterhawks tie the WHL road win record with their 28th, and can break it with their final away game at Seattle Saturday.

Victoria was without their leading scorer Alex Gogolev (day to day) who’s missed 18 games with a skate cut, their captain Tyler Stahl (Lower, indefinite), Trent Lofthouse (Upper, 1wk), and Luke Harrison (Upper, indefinite), G Patrik Polivka (Lower, 1-2 wks).

Tim Traber sat out his 5th of a 6 game suspension.

“We miss Tim Traber, we miss his reckelss abandon, his intensity and his compete level and that’s big for us.”  Sacilotto said.

A battle along the boards

Up next the Royals entertain the Silvertips Friday beginning a home and home to wrap up the regular season before facing the Blazers in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Victoria Royals take on the Kamloops Blazers in Round 1 of the 2013 WHL Playoffs. Tickets for Games 3 and 4, held at Bear Mountain Arena, are on sale now. With limited Round 1 seats available, Royals fans are encouraged to order tickets quickly by calling 250-220-7777, visiting www.selectyourtickets.com, or heading down to the Select Your Tickets box office.

Portland Winterhawks 4 at Victoria Royals 1 - Status: Final
Tuesday, March 12, 2013 - Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena - Victoria, BC

Portland 0 4 0 - 4
Victoria 1 0 0 - 1

1st Period-
1, Victoria, Crunk 3 (Hodges), 19:32.

Penalties-Leier Por (hooking), 12:41.

2nd Period-
2, Portland, Rattie 45 (Pouliot, Rutkowski), 4:01 (PP).
3, Portland, Turgeon 3 (Mahon, Kopeck), 10:21.
4, Portland, Leipsic 45 (Petan, Rattie), 15:51.
5, Portland, Peters 14 (Leier), 17:17 (SH).

Penalties-Fisher Vic (boarding), 3:39; Deacon Vic (interference), 7:26; Rutkowski Por (hooking), 16:31; De Leo Por (high sticking), 19:34.

3rd Period-
No Scoring.

Penalties-Fransoo Vic (checking to the head), 5:21; Leier Por (hooking), 11:29; Fransoo Vic (slashing), 11:39; Kopeck Por (hooking), 18:00; Petan Por (hooking), 19:03.

Shots on Goal-
Portland 13-17-14-44.
Victoria 11-4-11-26.

Power Play Opportunities-
Portland 1 / 4;
Victoria 0 / 6.

Goalies-
Portland, Carruth 30-7-0-2 (21 shots-20 saves);
Burke 21-5-1-0 (5 shots-5 saves).
Victoria, Vollrath 3-12-0-2 (44 shots-40 saves).

A-5,107
Referees-Mike Campbell (89), Pat Smith (12).
Linesmen-Bevan Mills (98), Ron Dietterle (121).

Royals First Round Schedule

ROYALS TO FACE BLAZERS IN FIRST ROUND OF WHL PLAYOFFS

Victoria will host opening round games at Bear Mountain Arena!

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Victoria, BC – The Victoria Royals will meet the Kamloops Blazers in the first round of the WHL Playoffs in a best-of-seven series beginning on Friday, March 22^nd in Kamloops.  

The Royals will finish the 2012-13 season as the sixth-seed in the Western Conference, while the Blazers will end as the third-seed. Victoria and Kamloops met eight times during the regular season with the Royals finishing with a 4-4-0-0 record. These two teams also clashed last year in the first round of the playoffs with Kamloops winning the series.

Due to the Ford Men’s World Curling event at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, the Royals will play their first round games at Bear Mountain Arena.

Series Schedule:

Friday, March 22^nd Victoria @ Kamloops 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 23^rd Victoria @ Kamloops 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, March 26^th Kamloops @ Victoria (Bear Mountain Arena) 7:05 p.m.

Thursday, March 28^th Kamloops @ Victoria (Bear Mountain Arena) 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, March 30^th Victoria @ Kamloops 7:00 p.m. (if necessary)

Monday, April 1^st Kamloops @ Victoria (Bear Mountain Arena) 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)

Wednesday, April 3^rd Victoria @ Kamloops 7:00 p.m. (if necessary)

Victoria and Kamloops met eight times during the regular season. The Royals finished with a record of 4-4-0-0 versus their BC Division opponent.

Here Comes the Blue! The Victoria Royals take on the Kamloops Blazers in Round 1 of the 2013 WHL Playoffs. Tickets for Games 3 and 4, held at Bear Mountain Arena, are on sale now. With limited Round 1 seats available, Royals fans are encouraged to order tickets quickly by calling 250-220-7777, visiting www.selectyourtickets.com, or heading down to the Select Your Tickets box office.