WHL Victoria Royals

Royals Outdueled by Winterhawks

Published on March 10, 2013 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Victoria Royals News Release


Victoria, BC - In a Sunday evening tilt at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre the Victoria Royals welcomed the Portland Winterhawks for the first of a two-game series. Victoria gave Coleman Vollrath his third consecutive start in net, while Portland turned to Brendan Burke.

Portland opened the scoring 3:24 into the first period on an Oliver Bjorkstrand marker. Winterhawks' forward Taylor Leier corralled a loose puck in the left corner and circled behind the Victoria net before he centered a pass to Bjorkstrand. The Portland rookie quickly one-timed a shot over the right pad of Vollrath and gave the visitors a 1-0 lead. The Royals' best chance to equalize came with less than one second remaining in the first period. Joe Hicketts fired a point shot that bounced loose in the Winterhawks' crease before Brandon Magee attempted to jam the puck in. Magee got the shot away, but he was denied on the goal line by the glove of Burke and Portland held a 1-0 advantage after 20 minutes of play.

The Winterhawks doubled their lead at the 9:48 mark of the second period. After a turnover at the Royals' blue line, Leier and Chase De Leo broke in on a two-on-one. Leier fed a quick pass to De Leo who made a move to his backhand and slid the puck past the outstretched leg of Vollrath. Portland later increased their lead to 3-0 at the 13:08 mark. On a delayed penalty call against Victoria, Ty Rattie hit Seth Jones with a pass at the right point before the Portland defenceman wired a wrist shot over the shoulder of the Victoria goaltender. The Royals trailed the Winterhawks 3-0 as the two clubs headed into the second intermission.

Logan Nelson helped Victoria cut the lead to 3-1 with his 13th goal of the season at 7:47 of the third period. Nelson entered the Portland zone along the right wing and launched a hard snap shot from the right face-off circle that beat Burke inside the far post. Before the Royals could pull within one, the Winterhawks added a fourth goal just after the midway point of the final frame. Leier spun off a check behind the Royals' net before he dished a backhanded pass to De Leo who banged home his second marker of the night from the top of the crease at 10:54. Royals' rookie Joe Hicketts thrilled the sell-out crowd in the late stages of the game when he potted his third goal of the season 18:49. Hicketts caused a turnover inside the Portland zone and, despite being tripped, was able to get a shot on net from his knees that beat Burke and cut the lead to 4-2. That was as close as the home team would come as De Leo added an empty net tally to complete the hat-trick at 19:17 and seal the victory for the Winterhawks. Portland 5 Victoria 2.

Victoria went 0/1 0.0% on the powerplay while Portland was 0/2 0.0%. The Winterhawks outshot the Royals 44-29.

The Royals next home game is Tuesday, March 12th when they welcome back the Winterhawks for the back half of their two-game series. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m.

We are Royal Blue! Are you? Guarantee yourself the best seats for upcoming Royals games by visiting www.selectyourtickets.com, calling 250-220-7777 or visiting the Select Your Tickets box-office at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Mini-Packs, Vouchers and special rates for groups of 10+ are available by visiting www.victoriaroyals.com or calling 250-220-7889.

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Western Hockey League Stories from March 10, 2013


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