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WHL Victoria Royals

Victoria Splits Midweek Series against Portland

March 10, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Victoria Royals News Release


Victoria Royals left wing Caleb Willms vs. the Portland Winterhawks
Victoria Royals left wing Caleb Willms vs. the Portland Winterhawks
(Victoria Royals)

Victoria, BC - Portland Winterhawks forward Cross Hanas registered two goals and two assists in a 5-2 victory over the Victoria Royals on Wednesday night, helping his team split the midweek series after a 5-3 loss the previous night.

Forward James Stefan also recorded a multi-point night for the victorious Winterhawks, earning a pair of assists on goals by Hanas and teammate Gabe Klassen.

Goaltender Tyler Gauthier was another key in the win, stopping all but two of 28 shots against on the way to his 22nd win of the season.

Meanwhile, Royals starting goalie Campbell Arnold made 11 of 13 saves in the first period, but later had to leave the game due to injury. Tyler Palmer would come in to replace his partner to start the second and would record 35 out of 38 saves over the final two periods.

On the offensive side, Royals captain Tarun Fizer had another solid night for his team, counting a pair of assists on goals by Brayden Schuurman and Marcus Almquist.

Almquist-a product of Rodovre, Denmark-netted his first WHL goal in the loss and earned the game's third star for his efforts.

The 2004-born forward felt a sense of relief when the puck hit the back of the net:

"It's a dream come true," said Almquist. "Even though it wasn't the best way to do it in a loss, I've been waiting a while for my first one, it feels good. I've been feeling it coming for a long time now and hopefully I'll get more and keep it going."

Head coach Dan Price was equally as happy to see his winger get on the board:

"I'm super proud of him," said Price. "He's such a great kid...he's had so many chances, so for him to step into one and make it a no-doubter was a great exclamation point. I know that's going to spark him, he'll drive a lot of offence going forward."

Speaking on the overall effort on Wednesday, Price believed the final score was not indicative of what he saw from his guys on the ice, and mentioned injuries as playing a huge factor:

"It was a great game," said Price. "It didn't feel like 5-2...we were down a bunch of bodies, and they got a few scrambly ones that got through and were able to get a whack at, but we had our chances too. There were a lot of big minute-eaters out [for us], Arnold had to leave the game with an injury, Laroque was out, Wyatt Wilson left the game, Bailey Peach left the game. You're looking at about 100 minutes of ice time between the guys that were out."

The Winterhawks would open the scoring for the second night in-a-row, making it 1-0 on a goal by forward Robbie Fromm-Delorme (14) at 5:18 of the first. Portland would soon double their lead, with defenceman Clay Hanus netting his 14th of the season on the powerplay at 11:45.

The first frame was also characterized by some undisciplined play, with each team accruing multiple minor penalties in addition to fighting majors issued to Victoria's Bailey Peach and Portland's Kurtis Smythe.

Royals forward Brayden Schuurman would open the second with his 26th goal of the year at 0:10. However, the remainder of the period would belong to the Winterhawks who would strike three times to take a commanding 5-1 lead into the third period. The first came off of the stick of forward Cross Hanas (21) at the 3:51 mark, the second scored by forward Gabe Klassen (28) at 6:06 and the third scored once again by Hanas who counted his second of the game and 22nd of the season.

The lone goal in the final period would be scored by Royals forward Marcus Almquist at 9:48, the first of his WHL career.

When the final buzzer sounded to end the game, the Royals found themselves on the wrong end of a 5-2 Portland victory. Despite the defeat, Victoria takes home a win in the season series over Portland, with Wednesday marking their only loss in the three meetings between the teams in 2021-2022.

The win improves the Winterhawks record to 37-14-3-2 on the year, giving them 79 total points as they retain the third spot in the Western Conference.

As for the Royals, their record drops to 16-33-5-1 with 38 points, trailing the Prince George Cougars and Spokane Chiefs by three points for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Portland will travel back down south for a Friday night road contest against the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Victoria will head in the opposite direction, travelling up to the BC Interior to face off against the Prince George Cougars for a two-game weekend set on Friday and Saturday night. Both of those games are set to begin at 7pm at the CN Centre in Prince George.

For tickets to upcoming Royals games, visit the Victoria Royals ticketing page or call the Select Your Ticket box office at 250-220-7777. Visit the Royals promo page for all special ticket offers.

Follow the Royals on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok and visit our website to find out more about ticket sales and the latest news on the team. To get all your Royals news in one place, download the new Royals app available on both Apple and Google stores.

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Images from this story

Victoria Royals left wing Caleb Willms vs. the Portland Winterhawks
Victoria Royals left wing Caleb Willms vs. the Portland Winterhawks
   



Western Hockey League Stories from March 10, 2022


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