Royals vs. Winterhawks March 14 & 16

[pontcanna]

I'm not sure I would have taken 50-1 odds that we would rise to the occasion again tonight, let alone win the game without the benefit of Wednesday's lucky bounces. Very impressed by the whole lineup, especially the clinical way we kept them to the outside and killed off the game once a lead was established. Hamilton got the recognition tonight that he merited Wednesday as well (isn't the psychology of young goalies interesting...such a rough run for him and he stands on his head against his former team twice in a row with the season on the line).

The growing maturity of the lineup was obvious...nights like this are the payoff for being a junior hockey fan, seeing the development right before your eyes. Seattle is showing a lot of guts too, coming from behind in Spokane and on a little winning streak of their own. I was nervous about the 'Tips result for quite a while, but luckily the Ams prevailed, guaranteeing us a playoff spot.

Guess I'll be queuing up Monday @ SOFA

[CdnSailor]

3 1

Victoria comes out playing real hockey at the end of the season taking 5 very important points. 1 Against Vancouver and 4 against Portland.
Now the waiting game is to see who the Royals play. Either Tri-City or Kamloops.
Games wise, I think that the Royals would have a better chance playing the Blazers even though their record against each other is not that great against each other.
Royals had there 7th sells out this season as well.

SCORING 1 2 3 Total
Portland Winterhawks 0 1 0 1
Victoria Royals 1 0 2 3

SHOTS 1 2 3 Total
Portland Winterhawks 13 16 9 38
Victoria Royals 9 10 13 32

3 Stars
1. VIC - 30 Keith Hamilton
2. VIC - 29 Mike Forsyth
3. VIC - 18 Brandon Magee

Attendance
7006 (sellout)

Game Summary
http://www.whl.ca/schedule/show/game/60169

[CdnSailor]

ROYALS CLINCH PLAYOFF BERTH!!!!

Victoria’s Keith Hamilton stops 37 of 38 shots in 3-1 win over Portland.

For Immediate Release

Friday, March 16, 2012

Victoria, BC – The Victoria Royals clinched their first playoff berth in team history and fifth in franchise history on Friday night against the Portland Winterhawks.

Single game tickets for the 2012 WHL Playoffs are available for purchase at the Select Your Tickets box office located at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Tickets can be purchased at the Select Your Tickets box office, online at selectyourtickets.com or over the phone at (250)220-7777.

The Royals’ playoff game dates, opponents and start times are all to be determined. Only tickets to the first two home games of the playoffs will be made available at this time. Group rates for playoff tickets are also available, starting as low as $10 per ticket.

In a Friday night matchup at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Center the Victoria Royals took on the Portland Winterhawks in the final game of the 2011-2012 WHL regular season. The Royals gave Keith Hamilton the start in net while the Winterhawks countered with Mac Carruth.

The game opened with a playoff-like intensity as both teams looked for the early advantage. Portland had a chance to open the scoring after a Victoria defender’s stick broke at the Winterhawk blue line. Brad Ross looked to have a clear break on goal, but was thwarted on a diving play by Royals’ defenseman Keegan Kanzig. Victoria opened the scoring at the 14:35 mark of the period. Off of a scrum in front of the Portland net Royals’ forward Mike Forsyth fired a puck that rebounded off the right pad of Carruth. The bouncing puck found Dakota Conroy at the side of the net for the forward to bang home his 11th goal of the season. Keith Hamilton stopped all 13 shots he faced, including a right pad save on the Winterhawks’ Marcel Noebels in the last minute of the frame. Victoria would take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Portland found the tying goal just 55 seconds into the second period. Ty Rattie created a turnover behind the Victoria net and fed a backhand pass to an unmarked Nicolas Petan in front of the Royals’ net. The Winterhawks’ forward beat Hamilton with a shot over the right shoulder. Victoria killed off two late Portland powerplays to keep the game tied 1-1 after 40 minutes of play.

The Royals scored the go-ahead goal 5:40 into the third period after Dakota Conroy won a battle for the puck along the half boards and fed Mike Forsyth at the top of the left face-off dot. Forsyth ripped a shot high to the glove side that beat Carruth for his third goal of the season. Jamie Crooks increased the Victoria lead to 3-1 as he picked up a pass at the right circle and toe dragged around a Portland defender. The Royals’ leading goal scorer fired a shot that beat the Portland netminder to the glove side to round out the scoring and clinch a playoff birth. Royals 3 Winterhawks 1.

Victoria went 0/1 = 0.00% on the power play, while Portland was 0/3 = 0.00%. The Winterhawks outshot the Royals 38-32.

[CdnSailor]

Royals clinch playoff spot
By CLEVE DHEENSAW, Times Colonist March 16, 2012 11:01 PM

With daylight streaming through the windows of the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre at the opening face-off Friday evening, there was ample visual evidence that hockey playoff time is near.

And the Victoria Royals assured they will be in the Western Hockey League post-season dance with a 3-1 victory over the mighty Portland Winterhawks, fourth ranked among all major-junior teams in North America.

When it comes to a desperate team against a top team, it’s never a bad idea to bet on the former. The Royals waited until the final period of the final regular-season game, scoring two unanswered goals from Mike Forsyth and Jamie Crooks to clinch either the seventh or the eighth playoff berth in the Western Conference.

The Royals will open the best-of-seven conference opening round series next Friday and Saturday in either Tri City, Wash., against the top-seed Americans or in Kamloops against the second-seed Blazers.

Friday’s win, before a capacity crowd of 7,006, moved seventh-place Victoria three points ahead of both the Everett Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds. Everett has one game remaining and cannot catch Victoria. Seattle has two games remaining and still has a chance to bump Victoria to eighth place.

“This feels amazing,” said Forsyth.

“It was do-or-die and we wanted to make our own destiny and we did that tonight. We’ve been feeling a lot of pressure on us the last couple of weeks. But lately, things have been clicking a lot better and we’ve come together as a team. We’re playing better at the right time of year. There’s no telling how far we can go now.”

Former Winterhawk Keith Hamilton was outstanding in making 37 saves in goal for Victoria.

“It feels great,” said Hamilton, the game first star.

“But our work is just starting now.”

The Winterhawks were missing Swiss import Sven Bartschi to a late season call-up by the Calgary Flames. But there are nine more NHL draft picks on this deeply talented roster, including first-rounder Joe Morrow and second-rounders Ty Rattie, Brad Ross and William Wrenn. Not to mention projected 2012 first-rounder Derrick Pouliot.

Yet, the general feeling was that while Portland had the better individual conglomeration of talent, the Royals were the better team in sweeping the crucial two-game set this week against the Winterhawks to close out the season.

Victoria forward Dakota Conroy opened the scoring at 14:25 of the first period. A Jordan Fransoo turnover allowed Nicolas Petan to tie it 1-1 at 55 seconds of the second period. Victoria leading scorer Crooks then somehow missed a power-play gimme that should have put the Royals back in the lead. But Crooks would be heard from a period later. Forsyth made it 2-1 at 5:40 of the third period and Crooks got the insurance tally at 7:28.

“That was the biggest goal I’ve ever scored,” said Forsyth, of his game winner.

© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist

Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/sports/...#ixzz1pLshxXoC

[the Royal Flush]

far and away the best game of the season...Hamilton saved his best for last and we fans thank him for that...the boys gave it 110% and got the job done...the reffing was absolutely terrible and those two handjobs should be officiating Tier 2 at best...as a forever fan I am very satisfied with how the season went...onto the Playoffs!!!