Whatever the number is for the Everett Silvertips, the Victoria Royals have it. The Royals gave the Silvertips, the top team in the Western Hockey League, another dunking in Puget Sound with a 4-3 shootout victory Saturday night before 8,087 fans at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington.
The Royals (20-11-7) have won all three of their games this season against the third-ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League (28-5-5), following earlier overtime wins, 2-1 Friday night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre and 3-2 at Everett in November.
Rookie Victoria defenceman Keaton Verhoeff, 16, who scored the overtime winner on Blanshard on Friday, sent the Saturday game in Everett to overtime with his 14th goal of the season at 14:11 of the third period to again overshadow blueline prodigy Landon DuPont of the Silvertips, projected as the next mobile superstar defenceman of the Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar and Adam Fox mold. The 15-year-old, five-foot-11 Calgary native made his Memorial Centre debut Friday for the Silvertips with an assist and added a shootout goal on Saturday in Everett.
But the weekend belonged to his six-foot-four rival Verhoeff, who TSN head scout Craig Button this week compared to Aaron Ekblad: “That’s the type of game [Verhoeff] possesses. Everything projects with him being a top-pair defenceman in the NHL. He rarely makes mistakes and suffocates opponents. Whenever he is on the ice, everything is under control”
It certainly was, as this weekend match-up between Verhoeff and DuPont, clearly went to Verhoeff. There will be plenty more to come over the next four years as DuPont is only the second player after current Chicago Blackhawks sophomore forward Connor Bedard to receive exceptional status to play in the WHL as a 15-year-old and the ninth in CHL history on a list that includes Ekblad, Connor McDavid and John Tavares.
Internationally, sa国际传媒’s blueline lynchpins appear to be set between DuPont and Verhoeff for future world junior championship tournaments. The two know each other from having come up through Alberta youth rep hockey and have long been measured against each other.
“Wins would mean more than outperforming him [DuPoint],” said Verhoeff, upon entering the weekend back-to-back Royals-Silvertips set.
Mission accomplished on both counts Friday and Saturday.
Royals forwards Hayden Moore and Teydon Trembecky each had a goal and assist in regulation time Saturday with Moore also scoring the winner in the shootout. Veteran Nanaimo-product Jesse Heslop scored his 22nd goal for the Silvertips, Andrew Petruk his second of the season and Carter Bear, who scored the tying goal Friday in Victoria, again tallied for Everett for his 26th of the season.
Royals goaltender Jayden Kraus recorded a fine performance with 35 saves while Raiden LeGall turned aside 26 shots for Everett.
The Royals continue on a four-game road swing through the U.S. Division on Tuesday in Kent, Washington, against the Seattle Thunderbirds before closing out Friday in Wenatchee against the Wild and next Saturday in Tri-City against the Americans.
ICE CHIPS: The Royals signed sa国际传媒 Hockey League all-star goaltender Johnny Hicks, who had a stingy 1.37 goals-against average and .943 save percentage in 21 games this season for the Brooks Bandits. The 19-year-old is committed to NCAA Div. 1 Tennessee State. The Royals have three goaltenders on the roster with Kraus, Spencer Michnik and Hicks.
