KELOWNA聽 2 (OT)
VICTORIA聽 1
Once the ball drops in Times Square, it鈥檚 time for the hockey world to shift its focus to matters of the crease. Because this is the time of year when contending teams need to know if they have the kind of goaltending that can carry them down the stretch drive.
The Victoria Royals and Kelowna Rockets look drive ready.
Royals rookie Griffen Outhouse and Comox Valley-native Michael Herringer of the Rockets turned in outstanding performances on Saturday night in a 2-1 WHL Kelowna victory before 5,406 fans at the Memorial Centre.
The contest had the vibe of a playoff game, as befitting a match-up between two teams that met in the second round of the 2015 post-season en route to Kelowna winning the WHL championship and making it to the Memorial Cup national championship game.
Justin Kirkland finally ended it at 3:42 of three-on-three overtime.
鈥淚t was a deflection off a leg,鈥� Outhouse said of the winning goal.
Victoria forward Alex Forsberg nearly ended it late in regulation time, but his shot rang off the post during one of eight power-play chances on which Victoria failed to convert.
Herringer, making his sixth consecutive start with Jackson Whistle out two weeks with injury, made 36 saves to be named first star. Outhouse made 29 saves to be selected second star. The teams also have, respectively, 20-year-olds Whistle and Coleman Vollrath in the wings. Whistle was invited to the Vancouver Canucks rookie camp last summer in Shawnigan Lake, while Vollrath looked to be the Royals鈥� go-to goalkeeper before 17-year-old Outhouse began coming on of late.
鈥淐oleman and I both compete and push each other,鈥� Outhouse said. The pair are first in the WHL in combined save percentage and second in combined goals-against average.
The Royals (26-15-5) took three of a possible four points off the Rockets (30-11-3), the sixth-ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League top-10 rankings, over a weekend that included Friday鈥檚 4-3 Victoria victory to again emphasize how wide open the Western Conference is this season. Victoria leads the eight-game regular-season series 3-2-1 against the defending WHL-champions.
Tyler Soy, thanks largely to a stay-with-it attitude by Vladimir Bobylev, opened scoring at 7:53 of the first period Saturday. It was Soy鈥檚 eighth goal and 15th point in the last 10 games as his line, which includes Bobylev and Jack Walker, remained on a roll. The Rockets levelled through Dillon Dube at 13:08 of the first.
鈥淚t was an intense game. There was great pace and hitting,鈥� Soy said.
About going 0-8 on the power-play, Soy said: 鈥淲e missed some empty nets. We need to bear down.鈥�
The Victoria penalty kill, meanwhile, held Kelowna to 0-4.
Kelowna was again missing Tyson Baillie, second in league scoring with 66 points in 42 games, who was scratched due to a family matter.
Next up for the Royals on Blanshard is Medicine Hat on Wednesday.
ICE CHIPS: The 34-year-old rookie Kelowna head coach Brad Ralph has the Rockets playing well after three winning pro seasons as bench boss of the ECHL鈥檚 Idaho Steelheads . . . His Rockets certainly have no trouble occupying their time. Rourke Chartier played for sa国际传媒, Tomas Soustal for the Czech Republic and Calvin Thurkauf for Switzerland at the recent 2016 world junior championships in Finland, while Dube and Lucas Johansen will play in the CHL top prospects game on Jan. 28 at the Pacific Coliseum.
