Victoria at Swift Current 17 Jan and Moose Jaw 18 Jan

[pontcanna]

Three goals against and a lot of shots is something of an improvement, even with no points (moral victory ahoy).

[Tamal_SC]

It was great to see the Royals in Swift last night. I had been looking forward to the game all season and it was quite entertaining. The Royals really controlled things for a good stretch of time in the 2nd and it really showed on the shot clock. The team battled pretty well and I am sure that if they keep working hard like that the 'W's will start to come a bit more. Congrats to Victoria on their team and hopefully the weather gets better so the rest of the travelling home goes well.

[pontcanna]

Broncos ride goalie to win over Royals

BY RON RAUCH, TIMES COLONIST JANUARY 18, 2012


The Swift Current Broncos didn't play like a 10th-place team Tuesday.

The Broncos, 10th in the Eastern Conference of the Western Hockey League, scored one goal in each period en route to a 3-1 victory over the Victoria Royals before 2,167 fans at the Credit Union I-plex in Swift Current.

Swift Current goaltender Jon Groenheyde, the game's first star, was outstanding, kicking out 38 shots.

"He [Groenheyde] was the difference in the game,'' said Victoria general manager and head coach Marc Habscheid. "He played great for them. We generated some great scoring chances and he made some key saves.

"We carried a lot of the play, especially in the second period, and for the most part, the effort was there.''

The Broncos opened the scoring in the first period when Victoria product Brad Hoban beat Royals goaltender Keith Hamilton, who finished with 25 saves.

Hoban caused a turnover in the Victoria zone and he went to his backhand to score on Hamilton.

Trailing 1-0 to start the second period, the Royals came out flying and did everything but score. The Royals outshot Swift Current 9-0 in the early going, forcing Swift Current coach and general manager Mark Lamb to call a time-out. The Royals were finally rewarded with a goal when Robin Soudek tallied his 18th of the season on a deflection. The goal came just as a Victoria power play had expired.

Taylor Vause, Swift Current's leading scorer, restored the one-goal lead at 18: 22 of the second period with his 24th of the year. Vause took a cross-ice slap pass from defenceman Richard Nedomiel and caught Hamilton out of position to score the goal.

Reece Scarlett gave the Broncos a 3-1 lead in the third period with a powerplay marker. Scarlett jumped on a loose puck during a goal-mouth scramble to give Swift Current the insurance marker. The Broncos now have a record of 18-22-5.

The Royals pulled Hamilton with just over two minutes remaining in the game in favour of an extra attacker and again had all kinds of chances but Groenheyde kept the puck out of the net.

[the Royal Flush]

i am really glad i didnt do the Eastern roadswing...too damn cold.

[CdnSailor]

2 0

Game Highlights

http://youtu.be/Uqf-5CG68T0

[CdnSailor]

Quite the head shots and fight to say the least.
Will be interesting to see the fines/suspensions that will be coming out of this one.

[pontcanna]

Loss a Royal pain

BY MARIO ANNICCHIARICO, TIMESCOLONIST.COM JANUARY 18, 2012 10:17 PM

The Victoria Royals’ first-ever visit to Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw was far from an artistic masterpiece Wednesday night, but as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

A tough 2-0 loss to the big and talented East Division-leading Warriors has to be considered a bit of a moral victory, especially after a 3-1 loss in Swift Current the night before to the lesser-light Broncos.

“It was quite a vicious game,” said Royals general manager and head coach Marc Habscheid. “They came out and played real physical and I didn’t think we responded real good in the first. I thought in the second and third we competed a lot better.

“Especially for our young guys, I thought it was a game where they needed to face that level of physicality and intensity. They were thrown into the fire and after watching in the first, I thought we were much more committed to compete.”

The Royals organization has had little success in Moose Jaw. As the Chilliwack Bruins, the team posted a 1-4 record in the Civic Centre, better known as the Crushed Can. Mosaic Place opened in September of 2011 and the run of losses in the Jaw continues, but it wasn’t from a lack of effort.

James Henry made it 1-0 for the Warriors at 9:20 of the first period, converting on a power play. Cam Braes, of Shawnigan Lake, collected an assist, as did Quinton Howden, recently of the Canadian junior team.

Braes later collected the second Moose Jaw goal and, in fact, leads the Warriors in scoring with 52 points. Braes now has three goals and four assists in six games since the former Lethbridge Hurricanes’ captain moved eastward at the trade deadline.

Moose Jaw out-shot the Royals 13-2 in the first 20 minutes, a physical affair that spilled into the second. Victoria’s Zac Habscheid was injured on a Howden hit late in the opening stanza and the Royals defenceman did not return, though he managed to skate off on his own steam.

In the second, Victoria’s Tim Traber laid out Cody Beach with a solid hit, but was cut in a subsequent fight with Moose Jaw’s Dallas Ehrhardt. Like Habscheid, Traber did not return.

Bad news came in threes as Warriors defenceman Dylan McIlrath — the 10th-overall draft pick of the New York Rangers in 2010 — took a run at Victoria’s Jesse Zgraggen late in the second and he, too, was hurt. McIlrath was ejected on a major for checking to the head, which comes with a game misconduct.

The Royals out-shot Moose Jaw 11-6 in the second, but couldn’t solve netminder Spencer Tremblay, named first star for his 23 total saves. Third star Keith Hamilton made 26 stops for Victoria, which is now 1-3 on the six-game road trip that stops in Prince Albert on Friday and then in Saskatoon on Saturday. Braes was the second star.

[fatshad]

Loss a Royal pain

BY MARIO ANNICCHIARICO, TIMESCOLONIST.COM JANUARY 18, 2012 10:17 PM

The Victoria Royals’ first-ever visit to Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw was far from an artistic masterpiece Wednesday night, but as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

A tough 2-0 loss to the big and talented East Division-leading Warriors has to be considered a bit of a moral victory, especially after a 3-1 loss in Swift Current the night before to the lesser-light Broncos.

“It was quite a vicious game,” said Royals general manager and head coach Marc Habscheid. “They came out and played real physical and I didn’t think we responded real good in the first. I thought in the second and third we competed a lot better.

“Especially for our young guys, I thought it was a game where they needed to face that level of physicality and intensity. They were thrown into the fire and after watching in the first, I thought we were much more committed to compete.”

The Royals organization has had little success in Moose Jaw. As the Chilliwack Bruins, the team posted a 1-4 record in the Civic Centre, better known as the Crushed Can. Mosaic Place opened in September of 2011 and the run of losses in the Jaw continues, but it wasn’t from a lack of effort.

James Henry made it 1-0 for the Warriors at 9:20 of the first period, converting on a power play. Cam Braes, of Shawnigan Lake, collected an assist, as did Quinton Howden, recently of the Canadian junior team.

Braes later collected the second Moose Jaw goal and, in fact, leads the Warriors in scoring with 52 points. Braes now has three goals and four assists in six games since the former Lethbridge Hurricanes’ captain moved eastward at the trade deadline.

Moose Jaw out-shot the Royals 13-2 in the first 20 minutes, a physical affair that spilled into the second. Victoria’s Zac Habscheid was injured on a Howden hit late in the opening stanza and the Royals defenceman did not return, though he managed to skate off on his own steam.

In the second, Victoria’s Tim Traber laid out Cody Beach with a solid hit, but was cut in a subsequent fight with Moose Jaw’s Dallas Ehrhardt. Like Habscheid, Traber did not return.

Bad news came in threes as Warriors defenceman Dylan McIlrath — the 10th-overall draft pick of the New York Rangers in 2010 — took a run at Victoria’s Jesse Zgraggen late in the second and he, too, was hurt. McIlrath was ejected on a major for checking to the head, which comes with a game misconduct.

The Royals out-shot Moose Jaw 11-6 in the second, but couldn’t solve netminder Spencer Tremblay, named first star for his 23 total saves. Third star Keith Hamilton made 26 stops for Victoria, which is now 1-3 on the six-game road trip that stops in Prince Albert on Friday and then in Saskatoon on Saturday. Braes was the second star.

I saw the game live in Moose Jaw and I will say that McIlrath and Beach are classless players and man do they think they are something !! Can hardly wait untill they move up level , if they do , and take a real **** kicking !!

[mjw22]

I saw the game live in Moose Jaw and I will say that McIlrath and Beach are classless players and man do they think they are something !! Can hardly wait untill they move up level , if they do , and take a real **** kicking !!

You're funny lol our whole team but those two in particlar scared the s**t out of the royals. Royals couldn't get rid of the puck fast enough that night .good young fast team no grit or toughness though . Again you're funny