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Royals extend winning streak to six games

Victoria extended its winning streak to six games and is undefeated in regulation time in its last seven games
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Victoria Royals forward Brandon Lisowsky tries to get around Everett Silvertips defenceman Landon DuPont at 颅Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre this month. DARREN STONE, TIMES COLONIST

VICTORIA 6 TRI-CITY 2

Most pundits are looking for the road to the 2025 Western Hockey League championship to go through Everett, Prince George, Spokane, Calgary or Medicine Hat, but the Victoria Royals and Tri-City Americans are staking their claims as intriguing chancers.

The Royals and Amerks met Saturday night in Kennewick, Washington, in what could be viewed as a telling game as Victoria won 6-2 before 4,335 fans at the Toyota Center to move to 23-11-7 as Tri-City fell to 21-13-3.

Victoria extended its winning streak to six games and is undefeated in regulation time in its last seven games.

“That was the best first period I can remember,” Victoria head coach James Patrick said of his team’s 3-0 goals lead in the opening frame.

“When you build a lead like that, the game becomes different. We filled lanes, pressured their defence and crashed the net. And we finished checks. All four lines played the same way.”

Both the Royals and Americans looked to improve their outlook at the trade deadline with Victoria adding 20-year-old veteran forwards Brandon Lisowsky from the Saskatoon Blades and Kenta Isogai from the Wenatchee Wild for a combined total of three future second-round WHL prospects draft picks, a third-rounder, veteran Tanner Scott and two young prospects. Lisowsky scored twice Saturday and has four goals in his five games for Victoria and 26 on the season.

Promising rookie forward Nolan Stewart, 16, also scored twice and has eight goals on the season. Hayden Moore and veteran Reggie Newman, on an assist from Lisowsky, got the other Victoria goals.

The Americans improved their blueline considerably by adding 2024 NHL second-round Columbus Blue Jackets draft-pick Charlie Elick from the Brandon Wheat Kings.

But they had to give up 2025 NHL draft-ranked forward Jordan Gavin, a gold medallist for sa国际传媒 in the U-18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, to the Wheat Kings in exchange to make the deal a bit of a push but with a slight advantage to the Americans as they look to keep pace with Victoria, if not Everett, Prince George and Spokane in the Western Conference.

Meanwhile, goaltender Spencer Michnik, who made 12 appearances this season for the Royals with a 3.77 goals-against average in going 5-5-1, has signed with the Sherwood Park Crusaders of the BCHL as the Royals have decided to go with recently-signed Johnny Hicks to back up six-foot-two starter Jayden Kraus.

The five-foot-10 Hicks was a BCHL all-star 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 Division 1 Tennessee State. Kraus got the start Saturday in Kennewick as the Royals outshot the Amerks 46-25.

The Royals return to Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on Wednesday night to face Gavin and the Wheat Kings, who make their once-every-two-years visit to Blanshard Street.

ICE CHIPS: Medicine Hat Tigers mentor Willie Desjardins, a former Vancouver Canucks head coach in the NHL who guided sa国际传媒 to the bronze medal in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and sa国际传媒 to two world junior championship gold medals, became the 12th coach in WHL history to reach 500 career wins. Two former Victoria coaches are also on the 500 Club list with former Royals bench-boss Marc Habscheid fifth all-time with 582 wins guiding various teams. The colourful and bombastic late former Victoria Cougars coach Paddy Ginnell is 11th all-time with 518 victories, including with Medicine Hat and the Flin Flon Bombers. The all-time leader is Don Hay with 752 career WHL wins.

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