Says who?
Don鈥檛 tell that to Cowtown natives Matthew Phillips and Coleman Vollrath, who made triumphant homecomings Friday night to Calgary in a 6-2 Western Hockey League victory over the Hitmen before 7,491 fans at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Vollrath, a graduating 20-year-old goaltender playing his final regular-season game in Calgary, took the victory with a 21-stop, clampdown Victoria defensive performance. The Royals put 34 shots on the Calgary net.
Phillips scored on the power play in the first period to break the Victoria Royals/Chilliwack Bruins franchise record for most goals by a rookie with 33. He was previously tied with former Bruin and current KHL pro Oscar Moller.
Tyler Soy and defenceman Ryan Gagnon scored the other goals for Victoria in a 3-0 first period.
鈥淚 liked the way we started the game, and the way we played a fast game,鈥� said Royals coach Dave Lowry.
鈥淲e were prepared to play. We were able to dictate the pace.鈥�
Sophomore Dante Hannoun, with his breakout 24th goal, and the usually quiet offensively Gagnon鈥檚 second of the game and fifth of the season spotted Victoria to a 5-1 lead in the second period.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 how were a going to have to succeed 鈥� with different guys chipping in and scoring,鈥� said Lowry.
鈥淸Gagnon] may seem like an unlikely scorer, but those were two great goals.鈥�
Soy, with his team-leading 36th goal, closed out scoring for Victoria. Alex Forsberg and Regan Nagy finished with two assists each for Victoria. Bryce Platt and Jordy Stallard scored for the Hitmen, who feature Flames NHL-prospect and former Royals blue-liner Keegan Kanzig.
The Royals showed why they are ranked No. 6 in this week鈥檚 Canadian Hockey League top-10 poll, the highest rating for any WHL team. Victoria is the winningest team in the WHL in the calendar year 2016 at 18-4-3 since Jan. 1 and 41-16-6 overall. It is only the second time the franchise has reached the 40-win plateau in the 10-season history of the Chilliwack Bruins/Victoria Royals. This squad, with nine games remaining, is tracking the all-time franchise record of 48 wins set by Lowry鈥檚 2013-14 Royals.
Victoria won its fourth consecutive game. The Hitmen (35-23-4) came into the game undefeated in three games.
The Royals continue their Alberta road swing tonight in Red Deer against the Rebels, who will host the Memorial Cup this spring. That will be the final hometown game for Royals veteran and Red Deer native Logan Fisher. The Royals are Edmonton on Monday to meet the Oil Kings in a homecoming for Victoria forward Ryan Peckford of Stony Plain.
The Royals will head back to sa国际传媒 for a game next Friday in Vancouver against the Giants at the Pacific Coliseum. The next home date is the following night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre against the Giants.
