The Western Hockey League regular-season title is within the grasp of the Victoria Royals as they look to the final five games, beginning tonight and Sunday against the Prince George Cougars at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
But this isn鈥檛 European soccer, where the regular-season champion is the champion. In North American sports, the regular-season winners are not remembered nearly as much as the playoff champions. The NHL regular-season champions famously never touch the President鈥檚 Cup. In the NFL, MLB or NBA, the regular-season champions aren鈥檛 even acknowledged with a trophy.
But it鈥檚 still quite an accomplishment to be the best over the long haul.
The Royals (45-16-6 and ranked No. 5 in the CHL) are three points ahead of the Kelowna Rockets, who hold a game in hand, and four points clear of the Brandon Wheat Kings in the race for the Scotty Munro Trophy as WHL regular-season champion. The only other teams with mathematical possibilities remaining are the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who are six points behind Victoria, and the Red Deer Rebels, nine points in arrears.
Only three of the last 12 WHL regular-season champions have gone on to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league playoff champions.
鈥淚t [regular-season crown] is not a big deal, but to get any type of banner up there would be cool for us,鈥� said Royals rookie sensation Matthew Phillips.
Victoria leading scorer Tyler Soy concurred.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a goal we would like to achieve . . . it would be great to get the [regular-season] title . . . but we鈥檙e not too stressed about it,鈥� said the 40-goal scorer.
Especially since the Royals were little-hyped in the pre-season prognostications that focused mainly on the likes of Kelowna, Brandon, Red Deer, Seattle and Prince George.
鈥淚f you had said at the start of the season where we would be now, I would have been a little surprised 鈥� a lot of people would have been, too,鈥� said Soy.
But the Royals proved relentless, especially in the second half of the season. It鈥檚 something the team feels it needs to keep up in the final five games.
鈥淲e definitely want momentum going into the playoffs,鈥� said Soy.
Phillips sees no let up ahead.
鈥淥ur work ethic has been the same all year, so I鈥檓 not surprised [with where the Royals are in the standings] and that we鈥檙e keeping it up,鈥� said the native of Calgary, who has 34 goals for a new Victoria Royals/Chilliwack Bruins franchise record for rookies.
The Cougars (36-27-5), meanwhile, were a trendy early pick and have the size and talent to still make an impact in the playoffs.
鈥淧rince George is in your face and they finish every check. They have two really good lines and are very good in the defensive zone,鈥� added Phillips.
鈥淥bviously, we鈥檙e not as big. But when we use our speed, we are tough to play against. If they can鈥檛 catch you, they can鈥檛 hit you. We need to be first to the puck.鈥�
Soy has a similar take about this weekend.
鈥淧rince George is a big team and very physical, while we鈥檙e smaller and faster,鈥� said the native of Cloverdale.
It seemed for a while as if Victoria at No. 2 in the sa国际传媒 Division and Prince George at No. 3 would be a first-round playoff matchup. But that is looking less so now, because of the Victoria surge to not just first in the division, but also in the entire league. And also the Cougars are only 4-5-1 in their last 10 games and now have to fend off an emerging threat from the Kamloops Blazers, who have won their last five games, to climb into a tie in the standings with Prince George.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot to play for 鈥� the positioning for the playoffs is critical,鈥� said Victoria coach Dave Lowry.
If the Royals hang on to place first in the Western Conference, they would meet the conference wildcard eighth-seed in the first round. That would appear to be either the Portland Winterhawks, Spokane Chiefs or Tri-City Americans. But if Kelowna overtakes Victoria for first place, the Royals would play sa国际传媒 Division No. 3, which would be Prince George or Kamloops.
鈥淭here鈥檚 two weeks to get ready for the playoffs. Anything is still possible and you can鈥檛 exclude any [first-round] match-ups at this point,鈥� said Lowry.
