They didn鈥檛 see much of each other before Christmas, meeting just twice, but the Victoria Royals and Vancouver Giants are about to get to know each other really well in the second half of the Western Hockey League season.
And if the first three games between the sa国际传媒 Division rivals 鈥� including Friday night鈥檚 2-1 Giants鈥� victory at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre 鈥� are any indication, there are seven more grind it out, close battles coming in 2020.
After the Royals (17-12-2-0) won the first two meetings with the Giants (16-15-1-1) by 3-1 scores, Vancouver got on the season-series board with a victory Friday in the first game following the Christmas break for both clubs.
Now the teams play seven more times, including on New Year鈥檚 Day at the Langley Events Centre, and eventhough the Giants were without their star defenceman Bowen Byram, who is in the Czech Republic playing for sa国际传媒 at the world junior championship, Friday鈥檚 hotly-contested game in front of 5,402 fans wasn鈥檛 decided until midway through the third period when Giants forward Krz Plummer beat Royals netminder Shane Farkas with a high wrister to give the Giants a lead they wouldn鈥檛 relinquish.
The teams traded first-period goals 鈥� Justin Sourdif at 9:23 for the Giants and Kaid Oliver two minutes later for the Royals 鈥� and after that, Farkas and fellow 20-year-old netminder David Tendeck for the Giants shut the door the rest of the day until Plummer鈥檚 game-winner.
Farkas finished with 21 saves, while Tendeck, a draft pick of the Arizona Coyotes, made 27 saves in the Giants鈥� net.
The Royals now turn their attention to another sa国际传媒 Division opponent as the Prince George Cougars visit Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre tonight. The Cougars were 4-3 winners over the Silvertips in Everett on Friday.
LOOSE PUCKS: Royals captain Phillip Schultz returned Friday after missing seven games while playing for Denmark at the Tier II world junior hockey championship in Belarus. The Danes finished fifth out of six teams. . . . After facing the Cougars tonight, the Royals hit the road for five games beginning Monday night in Kamloops against the division-leading Blazers.
