VICTORIA 5
VANCOUVER 2
It was going to take more than 6,500 screeching school kids to put a veteran like Logan Fisher off his game.
The 20-year-old Victoria Royals assistant captain scored the final three goals of the game Wednesday for a natural hat-trick in a 5-2 Western Hockey League victory over the fading Vancouver Giants.
The midweek noon start at the Pacific Coliseum attracted the stream of school kids to an Acceptance Day anti-bullying themed promotion the Giants hosted.
鈥淚t was loud in there, but we stuck with it,鈥� said Fisher.
鈥淎nd to score my first career WHL hat-trick, with three straight goals, was really cool.鈥�
Victoria (38-16-6) was coming off a 4-2 loss in Seattle and 2-1 overtime defeat in Portland which caused the Royals to drop from sixth to ninth in the Canadian Hockey League top-10 poll released Wednesday.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 sneak up on anybody anymore,鈥� said the graduating Fisher, who is considering both minor-pro hockey or the CIS for next season.
鈥淲e know it鈥檚 going to be a tough game for us every night.鈥�
It was Victoria鈥檚 fourth road game in five days. It鈥檚 part of a stretch in which the club plays six games in eight days, continuing at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre with a two-game set Friday and Saturday against the Kamloops Blazers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough schedule but it鈥檚 something every team in the WHL goes through,鈥� said Fisher.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all part of it.鈥�
It鈥檚 also something the Royals organization has always been highly attuned to, with heedful planning of travel times.
鈥淩est is your best weapon, and it鈥檚 something we manage,鈥� said Royals head coach Dave Lowry.
He gave his team the day off Tuesday and it seemed to pay dividends Wednesday afternoon.
Tyler Soy opened scoring with his Royals-leading 33rd goal of the season as defenceman Joe Hicketts found him with a cross-ice pass at 6:15 of the first period. The Giants, however, seemed as jacked-up as their school-children fans. Vancouver took the lead on first-period goals less than one minute apart by Radovan Bondra and former-Royals forward Taylor Crunk.
鈥淲e knew they would come out hard,鈥� said Lowry.
鈥淭hey are a desperate team fighting for the playoffs.鈥�
That situation didn鈥檛 get any better for the Western Conference last-place Giants (21-30-7), who trail the race for the final post-season berth by double digits, and are likely to miss the playoffs for the third time in four seasons.
Vladimir Bobylev, on a two-point day, tied the game 2-2 for Victoria on the power play at 5:29 of the second period on a sly slide assist from rookie defenceman Scott Walford. Then it became the Fisher Show, beginning with the winning goal at 6:29 of the second period on an assist from Ethan Price. That was followed by his second goal, at 14:07 of the second, by finishing off on a fine passing combination with linemates Jared Dmytriw and Regan Nagy. Fisher鈥檚 third goal was scored into an empty net.
Fisher鈥檚 hat-trick gives him 10 goals on the season, but his real worth to the Royals is measured more in his checking, face-off and leadership attributes.
鈥淓veryone knows what [Fisher鈥檚] true value is to our team,鈥� said Lowry. 鈥淲hen they see a 20-year-old work has hard as he does, the younger players realize they must be willing to do the same.鈥�
Rookie Griffen Outshouse made 28 saves in goal for Victoria and Ryan Kubic 30 for Vancouver.
The Giants were again without touted forward Tyler Benson, projected for the first round of the 2016 NHL draft, but who hasn鈥檛 played since Dec. 30 due to an injury that has seriously curtailed Vancouver鈥檚 stretch drive.
