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The Victoria Royals dropped the Legien of Doom down on the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Forward Jared Legien picked up a Jared Freadrich chip pass off the boards and swooped to the crease to score the winning goal with 18 seconds remaining in regulation time for a 4-3 Royals victory over the Thunderbirds before 5,079 fans at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
鈥淚鈥檝e got long arms and I like to go around goalies like that,鈥� said Legien, who scored his 11th goal of the season, in the most dramatic of fashions.
Just moments earlier, Igor Martynov scored a wrap-around goal to tie the game 3-3 at 17:55. Martynov scored twice for Victoria to show why he is a candidate for the Belarus team to the world junior championships next month in Buffalo.
鈥淲e battled hard,鈥� said Legien.
And the toughest battler was Victoria goaltender Griffen Outhouse, who was named first star for his 43-save performance.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 be more proud of the guys and the way they battled,鈥� said Outhouse.
The hardest thing in graduation-heavy junior hockey is to follow a championship season. But the Thunderbirds, who last season won their first Western Hockey League title on the 40th anniversary of franchise history, haven鈥檛 done too bad a job of it.
The Thunderbirds (11-10-2) outshot the Royals 46-23 and looked to have their third consecutive victory secure until the late Victoria rally against the grain.
The Royals (17-8-1) had to contend with a rash of injuries to key players. Missing Friday night was veteran defenceman Ralph Jarratt, out for his fifth game in a row, and newly absent blueliner and third-round Montreal Canadiens draft pick Scott Walford and 18 goal-scorer Regan Nagy.
That鈥檚 a potent trio to have sitting in the press box rather than on the ice.
It forced the call-up of 15-year-old defenceman Remy Aquilon from Okanagan Rockets of the sa国际传媒 Major Midget League.
鈥淓veryone stepped up tonight,鈥� said Outhouse.
Matthew Phillips鈥� 20th goal of the season tied it 2-2 on the power play in the second period. But then a Victoria lapse in the final minute of the middle period allowed Dillon Hamaliuk to make it 3-2 for Seattle at 19:27.
鈥淲e needed everybody 鈥� and we showed a lot of perseverance,鈥� said Victoria coach Dan Price.
鈥淲e got big plays at big moments and found a way to win.鈥�
Victoria鈥檚 penalty kill, victimized six times by Lethbridge in the last game, was vastly improved in holding Seattle 0-5.
Former Royals forward Blake Bargar returned as a member of the Thunderbirds and played his usual banging game.
With returnees Austin Strand, Aaron Hyman and Turner Ottenbreit to use as a foundation, Seattle coach Matt O鈥橠ette has overseen the retooling of a blueline that is simply massive in size.
That presented a problem for Victoria鈥檚 small corps of forwards.
鈥淲e went to dumping the pucks wide and that helped us,鈥� said Legien.
The teams meet again tonight at the Memorial Centre.
