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Victoria Royals head coach Dan Price was happy with the effort put forth offensively in Tuesday鈥檚 5-4 loss in Prince George, but wants to see his team clamp down at the opposite end of the ice in the Langley Events Centre tonight.
The Royals will face the Vancouver Giants in a home-and-home series that continues in Victoria on Saturday evening, before the teams break for the Christmas holidays.
鈥淚 would like to see more of the same, but I want to see us a little bit tighter defensively 鈥� not necessarily with our defensive structure, but more our defensive technique,鈥� Price said. 鈥淲e just need to be better one-on-one with good defensive angles, good body contact, stick at the puck and support. I think if we do that, it will clean up some of the scoring chances as a group.鈥�
Despite outshooting the Cougars 45-25 on Wednesday, the Western Conference-leading Royals let one get away against basement-dwelling Prince George. In fact, Victoria allowed eight goals in the two games up north. The Royals came back for a 5-4 overtime win over the Cougars on Sunday.
The 20-11-3-0 Royals now focus on the 15-13-2-2 Giants, who picked up a 4-1 win at home over Victoria on Remembrance Day. Vancouver is 5-1 in its last six and has won its last three at home. The Royals are 4-1 in head-to-head matchups, however.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e been very good the last little while and they have some guys who can score, so we need to be better defensively, for sure,鈥� Price said of the Giants.
Vancouver鈥檚 Ty Ronning and James Malm have run roughshod on opposing teams at times with 53 and 51 points, respectively. But Ronning is also minus-20 this season while Malm is minus-16. Tyler Benson has chipped in with 11 goals and 33 assists in 31 games.
鈥淓very game with them now is a hard-fought game. They鈥檙e sound structurally and they are very well-coached. They are always a great challenge to play against,鈥� Price said.
Tonight鈥檚 game will be newcomer Noah Gregor鈥檚 second with the Royals after being acquired from Moose Jaw on Monday. Gregor had an assist Tuesday on Tyler Soy鈥檚 power-play marker. He also led the Royals with eight shots on the night as he showed his offensive capabilities.
鈥淗e was excellent. He鈥檚 a great addition to the team. He鈥檚 fast, intelligent and very competitive,鈥� Price said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a quality person and versatile. He can play wing or centre, high in the zone as well, and we鈥檙e really happy he鈥檚 here.
鈥淗e has a very high hockey IQ, understands the game well and reads time and space.鈥�
Linemate Eric Florchuk had similar thoughts on his new left-winger.
鈥淗e was really good. He鈥檚 skilled and he has a lot of speed. He鈥檚 at that level, that pro level of skating where if he gets a few strides, he鈥檚 gone,鈥� Florchuk said. 鈥淗e can shoot the puck as well and he has the ability to make plays.
鈥淗e鈥檚 doing well already and he was a good pick up for us. He seems to fit in very well with our first power-play unit, too, with Soy and [Matt] Phillips.鈥�
As for facing the Giants, Florchuk stated: 鈥淚 think we need a better start. A few little breakdowns ended up costing us in these last two games, down 3-0 after two periods. We can鈥檛 have that happening every game. We need to make sure those breakdowns don鈥檛 happen moving forward and we should be fine.鈥�
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