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CdnSailor
03-05-2012, 09:37 PM
Upcoming road trip is going to be a real barn burner
Playing 4 games in 5 nights against 3 different teams.
Down under to Everett, one day break, up to Kelowna, down under again and then finally Vancouver.
For the Royals to be guaranteed a spot in the playoffs they will have to win at least 3 of the 4 games.
Prince George is all but out of the running unless a miracle happens.

pontcanna
03-07-2012, 12:48 AM
Royals hope to be on road to playoff spot

BY CLEVE DHEENSAW, TIMESCOLONIST.COM MARCH 6, 2012 10:21 PM

If mild-mannered Victoria Royals forward Ben Walker can get into his first career fight, as he did Sunday against the Vancouver Giants, then you have to figure anything is possible over the final six games of the Western Hockey League regular season.

It promises to be quite a ride as the Royals embark on a four-game road trip trying to hold on to one of the final two playoff berths in the Western Conference, beginning tonight in Everett, Washington, with a potential four-point swing game against the Silvertips.

“It’s a big road trip and we need some points,” said Walker, a soft-spoken cross between Howdy Doody, Ron Howard, Prince Harry and that red-headed guy in the Harry Potter movies.

“As long as we’re prepared, we should be OK. We feel pretty good going in.”

Not feeling so hot, however, following Sunday’s 6-0 loss to the Giants, was Walker’s face.

“I didn’t feel the punches at all until afterwards when my face stiffened up,” said the unassuming rookie from Edina, Minnesota, of his scrap against Taylor Makin.

“It was my first fight ever. I’m not a fighter. I think I’ll stick to scoring.”

The punchline to the unexpected Walker punchfest was that it required the referee to blow the whistle in the second period just as fellow Minnesotan and Royals forward Logan Nelson had the Giants goalie deked on a clear breakaway and about to ruin Adam Morrison’s shutout.

“That was a bummer. I should have looked up to see where Nelly was,” winced Walker, after practice Tuesday at the Memorial Centre.

Nelson admitted having to do a double-take when he glanced back to see why play was being whistled in the midst of his breakaway.

“I had to look twice to see if I was really seeing what I was seeing,” chuckled Nelson.

“But Ben did all right for his first fight.”

The feistiness will come in handy tonight against an Everett team featuring a quartet of talented players. Top-shelf defenceman Ryan Murray played for Canada at the world junior championship and is the third-ranked North American skater for the 2012 NHL draft. Veteran goalie Kent Simpson was taken in the second round of the 2010 draft by the Chicago Blackhawks and forward Josh Birkholz in the third round in 2009 by the Florida Panthers. Import defenceman Dominik Bittner from Germany already has pro experience with the Heilbronn Falcons.

If you get past Murray and Bittner on defence, no easy task in itself, you still have Simpson staring you down in the crease.

“Simpson is hot right now,” noted Nelson, himself a rookie revelation ranked 108th among North American skaters for the 2012 NHL draft.

“We have to get faces in front of him and some snow on him. We have to get in his head a bit.”

The Royals’ zigzag road trip continues Friday in Kelowna against the Rockets before backtracking across the border for a another game in Everett on Saturday. Then it’s off to Vancouver on Sunday to face the Giants.

The regular season ends with a home set against the Portland Winterhawks March 14 and March 16.

Seventh-place Victoria is one point ahead of eighth-place Everett, which holds down the final playoff berth, but the Silvertips have a game in hand.

The ninth-place Seattle Thunderbirds moved to within two points of the Royals with a game in hand following Tuesday night’s 3-1 victory over the fading 10th-place Prince George Cougars, who remained six points behind Victoria.

CdnSailor
03-07-2012, 04:54 PM
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/VictoriaRoyals.gif at http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/EverettSilvertips.gif

Victoria's quest for the playoffs begins in ernest this evening.
Playing Everett 2 of the 4 games on this road trip.

Everett came into town one month ago today and kicked our butts two games straight. Victoria fans left the barn both games in shock, seeing a team that everyone thought the Royals should beat.
Hopefully there will be some revenge this evening.

One thing to factor is is our goalie and defense.
Both goalies are not all that great but we have had wins out of both of them.
Our top defensemen is -40, with this being the highest in the Royals roster. Can't do very good with a record like that.

Everett is currently in 8th spot with one game in hand and 1 point behind the Royals.

CdnSailor
03-07-2012, 11:36 PM
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/EverettSilvertips.gif 3 http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/VictoriaRoyals.gif 2

Three Silvertip wins against the Royals. Victoria drops to 8th spot and Everett moves up to 7th. Silvertips still have one game in hand as well.
Shots on goal 37 - 13 for Victoria.

Prince George takes Seattle 3 - 1 leaving the Thunderbirds in 9th position down by 2 points.

pontcanna
03-08-2012, 12:45 AM
Silvertips' stars shine brightest


BY CLEVE DHEENSAW, TIMESCOLONIST.COM MARCH 7, 2012 10:31 PM


Never underestimate the value of true blue-chip prospects.

The Everett Silvertips have a couple in goaltender Kent Simpson and defenceman Ryan Murray and rode them to a crucial 3-2 Western Hockey League victory over the Victoria Royals on Wednesday night in Washington state.

Simpson, a 2010 second-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, was simply outstanding as Victoria outshot Everett 37-13 and was named the game’s first star.

The second star selected was Murray, who played for Canada at the world junior championship and is the third-ranked North American skater for the 2012 NHL draft. Murray finished the night with two assists and a plus-3 rating.

“The hockey gods were not smiling on us tonight,” said Royals GM and head coach Marc Habscheid.

“We deserved a better fate but Simpson was totally solid. We outshoot them by 24. They get two shots in the third period and two goals. Our guys played hard and played well. We were good defensively and created chances. We wanted the points. It’s disappointing because we feel we won the game but didn’t get the points.”

Jared Rathjen made only 10 saves in a rare light night of work. The Royals goalies are more used to having the shot balance tipped decidedly the other way.

It was the type of lean, spare playoff-like atmosphere everybody expected before 3,632 fans at Comcast Arena.

The result dropped the Royals into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference as the Silvertips moved a point ahead of Victoria into seventh place with a game in hand.

It could have been worse had the Cougars not beaten the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-1 in Prince George. That Wednesday result left ninth-place Seattle two points behind Victoria with a game in hand. Both the Silvertips and Thunderbirds would win the tiebreaker against the Royals. The 10th-place Cougars, meanwhile, moved to within four points of the Royals.

The Royals have five games remaining. They all loom large. They are in Kelowna on Friday against the Rockets, before a return engagement Saturday in Everett and a game Sunday in Vancouver against the Giants. The Royals close out the regular season with a two-game set next week at home against the Portland Winterhawks.

“We’re keeping our heads up,” said Habscheid.

“If we keep playing like that [Wednesday in Everett], we will get the points.”

Robin Soudek scored his 26th and 27th goals of the season for Victoria.

Joshua Winquist pulled Everett level after Soudek scored on the power play earlier in the second period.

Manraj Hayer gave the Silvertips the lead at 2:47 of the third period and Ryan Harrison tallied the winner at 14:58 before Soudek responded at 18:09.

Things got testy in the third period with Zane Jones of Victoria engaging Zach McPhee in a fight and Tim Traber of the Royals tangling with Silvertips defenceman Lucas Grayson of Port Hardy.

the Royal Flush
03-08-2012, 10:25 AM
once again we got outgoaled...just once this season i would have liked one of our netmen to put in a stellar game when it mattered...oh well maybe next season with 2 new goalies...

rednex50
03-08-2012, 11:57 AM
if Habby didn't piss Holowenko off last season, allowed him back up Gore...released/re-asssigned Gamble they wouldn't have had to go out and pay for Hamilton, and you would have had Holowneko and Rathjen/Vollrath this season...and next.

Its ok to have 1 season of inconsistent goaltending if you feel that they will grow (Holowenko is now the starter in PA - so it would have been a mute point).

I know hindsight is 20/20, but I felt he was a stud at the time he was drafted. He was a little slower than expected in his development but that could be for several reasons (including the system he was thrown into where he so more rubber than a dead ground hog on the Trans Canada Highway)

how different things would be...

the Royal Flush
03-08-2012, 03:05 PM
more rubber than a Rock Bay prostitute...

CdnSailor
03-08-2012, 11:12 PM
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/VictoriaRoyals.gif at http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/KelownaRockets.gif

This is the final regular season game against the Rockets.

Victoria and Kelowna have played 7 games with Victoria winning 4 games. :clap:
Kelowna is locked in 6th place, currently on a 3 game winning streak and is 5 - 5 past 10.

Victoria is dwindling not sure where they will end up at the end of he season.
They are currently holding 8th spot with Seattle biting at their heals one game behind and one game in hand.

The Royals are currently on a 2 game losing streak and is 4 and 6 past 10.

IR_Hockey
03-08-2012, 11:22 PM
Victoria really needs this game against Kelowna, as the return trip to Everett and the next night against Vancouver will be difficult.

pontcanna
03-09-2012, 01:07 AM
Fired-up Rockets a tough test for Royals

BY CLEVE DHEENSAW, TIMESCOLONIST.COM MARCH 8, 2012 11:01 PM

The math is as brutal as it is simple for the Victoria Royals as they roll into Kelowna tonight for a Shaw-televised Western Hockey League game against the Rockets.

The Royals have five games remaining in the regular season, and while they hold down the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference, they do not control their own destiny.

The ninth-place Seattle Thunderbirds are two points behind Victoria and seventh-place Everett Silvertips one point ahead of the Royals. Seattle and Everett each hold a game in hand on Victoria. If all three clubs were to win out, the Royals would be done. Everett would take seventh place by three points and Seattle and Victoria would finish tied for eighth place with Seattle winning the first and second tiebreakers over the Royals — most overall season wins and most wins in head-to-head matchups.

But it’s hard to imagine either the Thunderbirds, Royals or Silvertips winning out.

Seattle goalie and second-round Colorado Avalanche draft-pick Calvin Pickard is capable of stealing games on his own, but it is highly unlikely the Thunderbirds are otherwise competent enough to win six games in a row. The same goes for Everett.

Which should make the Royals breathe easier, not that they can breathe too easy in their situation. Victoria would lose the tiebreakers and be the odd team out in the case of a three-way tie with Seattle and Everett. The Royals simply need to get points and hope the Silvertips and Thunderbirds don’t.

“We have to find a way to get wins,” said Victoria head coach Marc Habscheid, as the team bus made its way across the border following Wednesday’s key 3-2 loss in Everett.

The Royals received a huge helping hand Wednesday from Prince George, where the Cougars beat the Thunderbirds 3-1. The 10th-place Cougars moved to within four points of Victoria but remain a lesser concern.

Kelowna, meanwhile, is 29-29-9 and assured a playoff berth but can not move up from sixth position. The Rockets don’t have as much at stake tonight and are only 14-16-2 at home. Victoria (21-40-6) matches up well and is 4-3 in the season series, including 2-1 in Kelowna. The Rockets, however, have a three-game winning streak going.

“We haven’t played them [Rockets] in quite a while and they have just swept Kamloops home-and-home and beaten the Chiefs in Spokane,” warned Habscheid.

“Everybody is getting their game together heading into the playoffs. Everybody is ramping it up.”

And any team with a player like second-round Minnesota draft-pick Brett Bulmer, who already has nine NHL games with the Wild, presents problems. The six-foot-one forward has 32 goals this season for the Rockets and is always a handful.

Just which Victoria goalie will be staring down Bulmer and his mates is not yet known. Habscheid said he won’t decide on his starting goaltender until this morning. Veteran Keith Hamilton carried the season load until rookie Jared Rathjen started the last eight games, playing well until Wednesday when he let in three goals on just 13 shots in that costly outing in Everett.

the Royal Flush
03-10-2012, 12:00 AM
nice win boys...

pontcanna
03-10-2012, 12:00 AM
Nice game, announcers talking about the Royals like we're world-beaters. Good PR on Shaw TV, good call by Habby to go with Kelowna home-town boy Hamilton in net (like putting Rathjen in @ PG). Two dominant games in a row, pity only one win.

But the 'Tips just did us a favour by giving up a goal with 1:31 left to lose to Portland 4-3. The kicker - 'Tips awarded a penalty shot with 5 seconds to go (Winterhawk intentionally dislodged the net) but it was stopped. Following on radio can be exciting sometimes :)

pontcanna
03-10-2012, 01:16 AM
Royals keep playoffs in their sights with win over Kelowna

BY CLEVE DHEENSAW, TIMESCOLONIST.COM MARCH 9, 2012 11:01 PM

At this time next week, with their regular season concluded, the Victoria Royals will know their post-season fate in the Western Hockey League.

Or lack thereof.

If the Royals do make it to the playoffs, they may point to Friday night's 3-1 victory in Kelowna over the Rockets as being pivotal. It was gut-check time, and Victoria came through with three unanswered goals in the third period.

"We needed to answer the bell and did," said Victoria GM and head coach Marc Habscheid.

"It was a huge game for us, and we carried the play [Victoria outshot Kelowna 37-27]. We played well. Our young group is getting better. Hopefully, it will be enough to get us into the playoffs."

The result moved the Royals into seventh place, one point ahead of the Everett Silvertips, in a Western Conference in which eight teams make the playoffs. The Silvertips, 4-3 losers against Portland on Friday, retain a game in hand. More importantly, with four games remaining, Victoria moved four points up on idle ninth-place Seattle, although the Thunderbirds hold two games in hand and would win all tiebreakers.

Defenceman Myles Bell gave the home Kelowna side the lead Friday night at 9:51 of the second period before 6,037 fans at Prospera Place.

Victoria forward Logan Nelson of Rogers, Minnesota, the 108th-ranked North American skater for the 2012 NHL draft, tied the contest at 1:42 of the third period with his 22nd goal of the season.

"Getting that goal early in the third period by Nelson really helped," said Habscheid.

That was followed by a tidy bookend pair of goals by the Royals — Jamie Crooks' team-leading 35th of the season at 6:22 and defensive-minded blue-liner Brett Cote's first of the season just 35 seconds later.

Habscheid went with veteran WHLer Keith Hamilton in goal after starting rookie Jared Rathjen the past eight games. Hamilton responded by claiming victory in his Okanagan hometown.

"He played well and stopped the ones he should have stopped," said Habscheid. "We need that down the stretch."

Kelowna, which had a three-game winning streak snapped, is 29-30-9 and assured a playoff berth but cannot move up from sixth position. The Rockets didn't have as much at stake and are only 14-17-2 at home. Victoria (22-40-6) matched up well and won the season series 5-3, including going 3-1 in Kelowna.

The Royals managed to keep second-round Minnesota draft-pick Brett Bulmer, who already has nine NHL games with the Wild, in check. The six-foot-one forward has 32 goals this season for the Rockets and opposition teams need to be mindful of him.

The Royals are in Everett tonight before concluding the road portion of their regular season Sunday afternoon in Vancouver against the Giants. Victoria closes out the regular season with a two-game home set Wednesday and Friday against the Portland Winterhawks.

CdnSailor
03-10-2012, 11:42 AM
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/VictoriaRoyals.gif 3 http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/KelownaRockets.gif 1

SCORING 1 2 3 Total
Victoria Royals 0 0 3 3
Kelowna Rockets 0 1 0 1

SHOTS 1 2 3 Total
Victoria Royals 7 17 13 37
Kelowna Rockets 11 7 9 27

Three Stars
1. VIC - 15 Jamie Crooks
2. VIC - 27 Brett Cote
3. KEL - 29 Myles Bell

Attendance
6037

Game Summary
http://www.whl.ca/schedule/show/game/60131

CdnSailor
03-10-2012, 11:53 AM
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/VictoriaRoyals.gif at http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/EverettSilvertips.gif

Two crucial games happened last night that went the Royals way.
Victoria beat Kelowna and Everett lost to Portland.

Royals have yet to win a game against the Silvertips this season. Tonight will be one of the most crucial games in their new franchise history.

Victoria in currently holding 7th place with Everett biting at their heals in 8th.
Everett also has a game in hand, while Seattle has 2 and is four points behind Victoria.

rednex50
03-10-2012, 09:05 PM
Get used to the BS from the SHAW broadcast team. the Bruins/Royals are not the Giants...and Habby is not Don Hay...so why would they offer up any type of neutral bias for a team who is direct competition to their favourite WHL club.

You want proof? Just look up the SHAW broadcast of the brawl at the end of game 5 at the end of the 1st playoff round in season 1. Those 2 goofs balls can't even call a fight right, especially one as epic as that battle. These 2 teams HATED each other, and they were like "what happened here?" Things where said before, during and a certain goal celebrated in a not soo friendly way in our barn that pissed not only the Bruins fans off, but also the players. Bhungal the Warrior stepped up and set the tone that you don't do ***** like that in our barn and not have any consiquences. Of course Giants fans will have a different account of it, but celebrating a goal like you just won the Stanley Cup (if I recall correctly it was the 4th or 5th goal in a 5-1 bad loss to the Giants).

In fact, it was a very close series in which Archibald was given the reigns at the end of the season when Espo when down with a season ending Knee Injury. Archi almost stole game 1 (5-4 OTL), stole game 2 (3-1 W) before the wheels came off in Chilliwack with a 4-0 L in Game 3 and that bad 5-1 L in Game 4. Game 5, a 3-1 L was a very good, tough, chippy game that the Giants tried to knock Aspenlind out of the game with a bad elbow and high stick to his head which went un-called. At the buzzer, words were said, and apparently a couple of racial slurs supposively thrown and Warrior Bhungal and JD Watt went at it...for a great gut wrenching fight, and when that was over, then Hunt tried to get something started and McCue was ready to go, all the players on the ice and looking like it turn into a full fledged brawl before the refs where able to separate everyone and get on with the after game rituals. It is the ONLY known WHL Playoff Series to not end with the "Handshakes"

That was the moment that the Bruins hated the Giants. That was the pivital moment in time. May not have seemed much to the Giants and their fans, but we only disliked them before that fight. The rivalry officially began then (again contrary to Dan Russell who thought the rivalry didn't begin until the Royals home opener this season). Dan Russell is a big tool, a homer and worst of all, a guy who unless its "Vancouver" (Giants or Canucks) then it doesn't exist or matter :S

pontcanna
03-10-2012, 11:23 PM
Watched things on and off...that shorthanded goal (we specialise in those, don't we?) making it 2-0 seems to have been the turning point. I wonder if we'll have any gas left for tomorrow AFTERNOON?

So the 'Tips appear to be home and dry, Seattle getting walloped by the Winterhawks (thanks) and PG winning in Kelowna (Rockets living up to their rep for being lousy at home). It couldn't get much tighter...

dondo
03-11-2012, 12:02 AM
wow rednex .. talk about revisionist history.. the Bruins were swept every 1st round series after that between the teams, they managed to win a whole 1 game their entire playoff history with the G's - if I recall correctly.

Oddly if the game you are talking about where JD Watt ( the crazy mofo) got the instigator and Wookie and Watt fought Bhungal and McCue, then I'm not really sure what you are talking about.

It was never close, other than a bunch of OT games all of which CWK lost. Bhunghal wasn't a warrior he was thug. McCue was a big tough guy. CWK played a hard-nosed game during that year, but they weren't even in the ballpark of being competitive. This is the Giants team after struggling to become respectable for 5+ years since their inception who made it to the Memorial Cup twice in a row (2006/2007) - so forgive we fans if we didn't think the Bruins were any competition whatsoever, or that there was even a rivalry. I think I do recall Russell's comment though -- along the lines that the Giants and Bruins are not rivals? Is that it?

Personally I never liked Russell. I don't like the way he calls a game, and he misses tons when calling. I find it odd all of these fans of other teams that feel the Giants get special treatment. I personally don't see it and at times I feel we don't get the benefit of the doubt, esp lately, from the league or the officials. But then I suppose I am a biased homer that knows nothing about hockey. ;) :rolleyes:

I have to say I am a bit sad to see that the WHL lists, the team historically as Victoria in the playoff and not Chilliwack.

CdnSailor
03-11-2012, 12:31 AM
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/EverettSilvertips.gif 3 http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/VictoriaRoyals.gif 0

Victoria ends up with the big goose egg this evening. Everett is now back in 7th place while the Royals fall to 8.
Seattle was trounced this evening and Prince George won there game.
Seattle and Everett play tomorrow. Worse that can happen is that Everett wins and ends up 3 points ahead of Victoria.
Expect Vancouver game will be a washout as Victoria will have played 4 games in 5 days.
If we do win it will be from shear determination.

CdnSailor
03-11-2012, 01:49 AM
The Victoria Royals, in desperate need of points to claim a spot in the Western Hockey League playoffs, were looking to duplicate their feat from Friday with another strong third period.

However, the Everett Silvertips were not about to let the Royals come back on Saturday from a

1-0 second-period deficit. The Silvertips rode the goaltending of Kent Simpson and defensive play en route to a 3-0 victory over the Royals before 7,963 fans at the Comcast Arena in Everett.

On Friday in Kelowna, the Royals trailed the Rockets 1-0 after two periods but then responded with three unanswered goals for a 3-1 win.

With the victory, the Silvertips vault over the Royals into seventh place with 51 points, one more than the eighth-place Royals. The top eight teams in the Western Conference advance to the playoffs. The Seattle Thunderbirds and the Prince George Cougars are tied for ninth place, four points behind Victoria.

Cody Fowlie opened the scoring for Everett early in the first period, and the second was scoreless. At 1:23 of the third period, with the Royals on the power play, Joshua Winquist scored shorthanded to deflate the Royals. That extended Winquist's point streak to seven games.

"Everett has a solid team, and we have struggled to score goals against them, especially in Everett,'' said Royals coach and GM Marc Habscheid. "In our last two games here, we have scored only two goals and you are not going to win a lot of games doing that.''

Habscheid said the game's turning point came early in the third period with that shorthanded goal.

"We were on the power play, pressing for the tying goal, and then they made it 2-0,'' said Habscheid. "That shorthanded goal put us on our heels and we had to take more chances by opening it up to get those two back.''

Everett swept the season-series against Victoria 4-0.

The Royals conclude the road portion of their regular season this afternoon (5 p.m.) in Vancouver against the Giants.

Victoria finishes the regular season with a two-game series at home on Wednesday and Friday against the Portland Winterhawks. Game time both nights at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre is 7 p.m.



Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/sports/Silvertips+keep+Royals+playoff+hopes+limbo/6284201/story.html#ixzz1onBomrxH

pontcanna
03-11-2012, 02:33 AM
Worse that can happen is that Everett wins and ends up 3 points ahead of Vancouver
Eh?

CdnSailor
03-11-2012, 10:05 AM
Eh?

Thanks proof reader:p

CdnSailor
03-11-2012, 10:22 AM
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/VictoriaRoyals.gif at http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/VancouverGiants.gif

This is the 10th and final game of the season between both teams.
Victoria played Vancouver for the very first game of the season in Victoria and beat them 5-2.
Since then, the Royals have only won 2 more games against them.
The Giants are still fighting for 4th place. They are currently tied with Spokane.
Giants are currently 3 and 7 past 10 where the Royals are 4 and 10.

rednex50
03-11-2012, 07:29 PM
Season 1
Lost Game 1 in OT in Vancouver
Won Game 2 - both games Archi stood on his head, almost stole game one, stole game 2 (gee, I feel like a broken record for those who can't read)
Lost Game 3 via shutout in CHWK.
Lost Game 4 bad 5-1 in CHWK
Lost game 5 3-1 in Vancovuer, yet it was a really well played game.

Never did I ever say the Bruins should have won the series...I pointed everything out FACTUALLY. Especially the fact about Wuchterl and his antics after his goal in game 4. If a Bruin did that in your barn in a similar type of game, I think you would also take issue with it...like we did.

We were the underdogs. No one expected us to really make it a series when going in as a team with a 43 pt deficit in the regular season, yet we made it a series, almost pushed it to 6 games (Sexy was very lucky his team bailed him out in the 3rd and OT. Sexy was really shakey in game 1, and if you don't believe me, read a quote from one of your own on the Subject of Game 2 - by your own Old_Time_Hockey - "Tyson Sexsmith will get the call again in net but with a shorter lead on him this time I would imagine. If it looks like he is struggling, coach Hay might yank him sooner, rather than later."

Or this posting after the 2nd period of game 1 from another fan forum? Chiliwack 4 - Vancouver 2 (After 2)
* How bout them Bruins

Everett 4 - Spokane 0 (After 2)
Is this RIGHT?!?!
Vancouver outshooting Chilliwack 29-7 and losing 4-2??? - Gee, after 2 periods up 4-2with that shot differential, Archi WAS stealing the game.

yes, season 2 the B's and G's faced each other again, and even though it was a sweep, the games were much closer than that 2-1 / 3-2 / 4-3 OT / 2-1. All one goal games. Yes, Vancouver did have a shot advantage (but usually they always do with Hay) but to play that close to the team that goes to the Memorial Cup Championship...not too shabby when again we were the underdogs and not expected to do much against the Giants.

Giants fans can say all they want. We never had the talent or depth to really compete with them in the regular season for the first few seasons. Gee, if I recall correctly, the Giants blew goats their first season as well...but they don't want to discuss that. BUT, when it came time for the playoffs, the B's step it up. They didn't make it easy on the G's in either season, missed the Playoffs in season 3, took T.C. to 6 games in a series we SHOULD have won in season 4 and took Spokane to a hard fought 5 games with 2 going to OT (game 5 Manning/Howse/Horak and Soudek just to name 4 who I know of who gutted it out and played when they really shouldn't have because of injuries in the series/previous game.

To be honest, season 4 was our best chance to get past the 1st round. Gore was Superman in net, did what he needed to do to have his team in a place to win, 2 games with last minute goals to take it to OT from the clutches of a "Sure American Win" in regulation.

The heart and soul that this franchise had shown in the post season can all be traced back to the leadership of Josh Aspenlind in year 1. There is a reason why in our short franchises existence he was reckognized and put into the rafters at Prospera Centre.

And no offense, if you think Bhungal is a thug, then what was your beloved Hunt? Possibly the dirtiest player I have ever witnessed, even more than Shinnimann.

We not have had much in the way of celebrations or highlights in some peoples eyes, but in 5 seasons, we the fans have a plethera of highlights and memories even if some are bittersweet.

As much as Game 1 was huge for us to actually have a lead after 20 and 40 minutes, or winning Game 2 in Vancouver, but Game 5 was truly THE game that cemented our hatred towards the Giants. We may not have been "competitive" on paper, but didn't back down on the ice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV-G7awBc14

CdnSailor
03-11-2012, 08:00 PM
WoW to be in the lead after 2 is fantastic to say the least.
Go Royals Go

CdnSailor
03-11-2012, 08:51 PM
Great playing on both sides. Victoria played one of their best games in a long time.
To bad Everett got a point though.

pontcanna
03-11-2012, 11:34 PM
Royals pick up a valuable point with gritty OT loss in Vancouver


BY CLEVE DHEENSAW, TIMESCOLONIST.COM MARCH 11, 2012 10:02 PM

VANCOUVER — Heading into the final week of the Western Hockey League regular season, the playoff picture in the Western Conference is about as clear as an abstract expressionist painting.

Read into it what you will.

After the ice spray had settled Sunday, the Victoria Royals retained the eighth and final playoff position, three points ahead of the ninth-place Seattle Thunderbirds but with the knowledge Seattle retains two games in hand and would win all tiebreakers.

The seventh-place Everett Silvertips stayed a point ahead of Victoria, with a game in hand, following games Sunday in which the Royals needed a last-gasp goal to salvage a point in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Giants in Vancouver while the Thunderbirds edged the Silvertips 3-2 in overtime.

The 10th-place Prince George Cougars blew a 3-1 lead against the Americans in losing 5-3 at Tri City. The Cougars trail Victoria by five points and are now largely an irrelevancy, despite holding a game in hand.

The Royals close out the regular season Wednesday and Friday at home inside Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre against the powerhouse Portland Winterhawks (48-17-4).

“I’m proud of the guys,” said Victoria GM and head coach Marc Habscheid, after defenceman Hayden Rintoul’s 17th goal of the season, with 22 seconds remaining, sent Sunday’s game at Vancouver to extra time.

Jordan Martinook won it for the Giants at 2:50 of overtime but even a single digit added in the standings looms large at this late juncture and situation in the season for Victoria.

“That was a huge point for us, especially in a place that has been a haunted house for us,” said Habscheid, referring to the fact Victoria had lost all four previous games this season at the PNE Pacific Coliseum.

“There was less than 30 seconds left and nobody quit. Everybody supported one another.”

Rintoul, the graduating 20-year-old captain of the Royals, will not go softly from junior and finished with a goal and assist Sunday.

Brandon Magee, whose motor doesn’t come with an off-switch, scored twice for Victoria (22-41-7) while Logan Nelson, the 108th-ranked North American skater for the 2012 NHL draft, scored the other Royals goal.

Martinook and Marek Tvrdon led the Giants (39-26-5) with two goals each.

Rookie Jared Rathjen made 34 saves in goal for the Royals while WHL veteran Adam Morrison, a 2009 third-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, made 24 for Vancouver.

CdnSailor
03-11-2012, 11:36 PM
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/VancouverGiants.gif 5 http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/VictoriaRoyals.gif 4(OT)

SCORING 1 2 3 OT Total
Victoria Royals 0 3 1 0 4
Vancouver Giants 1 1 2 1 5

SHOTS 1 2 3 OT Total
Victoria Royals 7 9 11 2 29
Vancouver Giants 18 12 7 2 39

Three Stars

1. VAN - 17 Marek Tvrdon
2. VIC - 18 Brandon Magee
3. VAN - 15 Riley Kieser

Attendance
6983

Game Summary
http://www.whl.ca/schedule/show/game/60146