Like Fred and Ginger and toast and jam, Tri-City and Spokane just go together when it comes to Western Hockey League road swings through eastern Washington state.
But not this time for the Victoria Royals, as they embark on the most brutal one-off trip possible within the Western Conference, other than going to Prince George.
Minus the ferry and border, it鈥檚 a six-plus-hour bus trip to Kennewick to face the Tri-City Americans tonight before taking the trek in reverse to face the Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
It鈥檚 the asphalt, as much as the Americans, that might be the biggest challenge as Victoria takes its 9-2 record over its last 11 games into Kennewick.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not ideal, but it is what it is,鈥� Royals captain Matthew Phillips said.
鈥淥ur bus really helps. Maybe for other teams it might be more difficult.鈥�
It is for moments like this that the Royals invested in what is considered the best sleeper bus in the WHL. You can overthink this sort of stuff, but the Royals organization has always been attuned to sleep and rest patterns, and how they relate to performance.
Former head coach Dave Lowry was a big advocate of incorporating that into his approach, and so is rookie Victoria head coach Dan Price.
After tonight in Tri-City, and the home one-off Friday against the Tigers on Blanshard, it鈥檚 back across the border Saturday into Seattle to meet the Thunderbirds. The Royals then head down to Portland to play the Winterhawks next Wednesday, before returning that weekend for a home set against Kelowna.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about making sure we鈥檙e rested [and building that into the process],鈥� Price said.
That is good advice, especially this season, which has been the most challenging for the Royals in terms of travel.
The trip through the Eastern Division, usually done in one swoop through Saskatchewan and Manitoba, required two trips to the Prairies this season.
Then there was the bizarre back-to-back from a game in Seattle, followed by one in Edmonton.
鈥淭his is the toughest travel schedule we have had,鈥� said Cam Hope, in his sixth season as Victoria general manager.
鈥淏oth Dave [Lowry] and I came from NHL backgrounds, where the emphasis on recovery is not new and has been around for years,鈥� said Hope, about the organization鈥檚 focus on that issue.
鈥淲e believe recovery time is as important as practice time.鈥�
Hope recalls that when the schedule was being made up last summer, tonight鈥檚 Royals tilt in Tri City was the last road game dangling out there and it had to be fit in somewhere.
鈥淎t the end of the scheduling process, you always get those games just hanging there. But that should be eliminated next season with the reduction of the schedule,鈥� he said.
The WHL schedule will be reduced from 72 games to 68 next season, lopping off two home and two road games for each team.
Meanwhile, the streaking Royals face a Tri-City team that is one of the biggest enigmas of the 2017-18 WHL season, and which currently holds down the first wild-card playoff position in the Western Conference at 25-16-7.
People were expecting so much more from this potent roster that boasts four Tri-City players selected in the first four rounds of the 2017 NHL draft. That includes first-rounders Michael Rasmussen, ninth overall to the Detroit Red Wings, and blueliner Juuso Valimaki, 16th overall to the Calgary Flames.
Now add Dylan Coghlan from Nanaimo, the big but mobile Americans rearguard signed to an NHL contact by the Las Vegas Golden Knights, and third-round Carolina Hurricanes selection Morgan Geekie, fourth-round Anaheim Ducks pick Kyle Olson and 20-year-old offensive-threat Jordan Topping from Salt Spring Island, who has 26 goals and 55 points this season.
The Americans also acquired NHL first-round draft-pick Jake Bean, taken 13th overall by the Hurricanes in 2016, at the WHL trade deadline.
They got the 2018 sa国际传媒 world junior gold-medallist blueliner from the Calgary Hitmen for two young prospects and first-and second-round bantam draft picks.
It鈥檚 all or nothing this year for the Americans, who, after a bad patch, have picked up at least a point in their last five games and look to finally be making a move. So tonight should be a compelling match against an offensively skilled Royals team (30-17-4) that has won three games in a row and scored four or more goals in 10 consecutive games.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big game in Tri City and we know we have to play hard against them,鈥� Royals forward Lane Zablocki said.
And he knows he and his teammates can always sleep on the bus there and back.
