VICTORIA 2 SWIFT CURRENT 1
William Shakespeare wrote: "It is a wise father that knows his own child."
Victoria Royals head coach Dave Lowry certainly knows that his son Adam Lowry, the six-foot-five captain of the Swift Current Broncos and 2011 third-round draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets, is a fine player.
So does just about everybody else in the junior hockey universe.
The father was able to hold the son to one goal Saturday night as the Royals defeated the Broncos 2-1 in a taut Western Hockey League game at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
"You have to play hard on him [Adam Lowry]," said dad Dave.
"You have to limit time and space to that entire line and not give them opportunity to wind up. I liked the way our guys played tonight. They did a great job on [the Broncos]. That's the way our team has to play."
Adam Lowry has five goals in his last three games and looks pro-ready right now. Victoria (16-13-1) needed two game-saving stops in the final 30 seconds by goalie Patrick Polivka, one off Lowry and the other a slick glove catch, to preserve the victory.
"For me, [Lowry] is a player like anybody else," said Polivka, who made 32 saves.
"My job is to stop the puck and that's what I did."
Lowry hit the post and just missed scoring on another close call in the first period and was stopped by Polivka on a clear break in the third period as the Broncos (13-16-5) first line of Lowry, Chance Lund and Coda Gordon was skulking all night before Lowry finally connected with a laser on the power play to make it 2-1 at 16: 10 of the third.
It was Teddy Bear Toss Night and a few hair-triggered fans among the 6,031 prematurely threw their stuffed animals on the ice after Victoria's Jamie Crooks hit the post in the first period. The fans finally got to do it for real at 1: 51 of the second period on a Victoria goal by the swooping Austin Carroll.
Brandon Magee, whose line was matched against Lowry's, extended the Victoria lead moments later.
"That [Broncos first] line has big players, but we kept them to the outside," said Magee.
Victoria now embarks on a three-game road trip. [email protected]
