Royals, Giants: let the rivalry begin

Royals, Giants: let the rivalry begin

BY CLEVE DHEENSAW, TIMESCOLONIST.COM SEPTEMBER 8, 2011 11:07 PM

The Victoria Royals organization envisions the Vancouver Giants becoming to it in the Western Hockey League what the Alaska Aces were to the Salmon Kings during the previous seven seasons in the pro ECHL.

But this rivalry will be more intense because just a strait separates the Royals and Giants, not an entire land mass between Victoria and Anchorage.

Instant rivalries are hard to manufacture. But the one between the Royals and Giants seems a cinch between B.C.’s No. 1 and No. 2 largest cities.

The first Royals-Giants games are exhibition tilts tonight in Ladner and Saturday in Maple Ridge. The Giants have a win and an overtime loss in the preseason, while the Royals started with two losses last weekend in Kamloops and Kelowna.

The Victoria franchise, which operated in Chilliwack the last five seasons as the Bruins, will play its first regular-season game under the Royals brand Sept. 23 against the Giants at the Pacific Coliseum. The first Royals home game in history takes place the following night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. You get no prize for guessing the opposition in that home curtain-raiser will be the Giants.

“This rivalry is an obvious one,” said Royals president Dave Dakers.

“It’s the starting point. It’s the most easy rivalry for our fans to point to first and say: ‘We want to beat those guys [Giants].’ ”

That’s something the Salmon Kings were rarely able to do against an Alaska team that always seemed to gain the upper hand.

“The Giants are a great measuring stick for us,” said Dakers.

“They have been very successful, both on the ice and as a business operation. We want to do as well or better than they do.”

But this won’t be the only rivalry, said Dakers, who sees every team in the B.C. Division as a natural rival.

“Another immediate one will be Prince George [where the Cougars moved in 1994 after 23 seasons in Victoria],” he noted.

“Can you imagine that first game when [owner] Rick Brodsky brings the Cougars back to Victoria?”

ICE CHIPS: The Royals close out the preseason next Friday against the Kelowna Rockets at the Memorial Centre . . . Three WHL teams — Portland at No. 3, Kelowna at No. 7 and Red Deer at No. 9 — are in the CHL national major-junior preseason top-10 rankings. The Saint John Sea Dogs are No. 1. The Royals, with a younger roster pointed to the future, appear to be a couple of seasons away from potentially gate-crashing the top-10 poll . . . Although only about 1,700 turned up for last week’s Royals intra-squad game at the Memorial Centre, those fans were exceedingly generous. More than $7,000 was raised for Island organizations. Admission donations and the chuck-a-puck garnered more than $6,500 for Free The Children, while the Westshore Rebels junior football team raised $550 through the 50-50 draw.