It was indeed a good Friday for the Victoria Royals as they sent their regular season to basically a winner-take-all final game tonight against the Spokane Chiefs.
The Royals parlayed a 4-0 lead after 10 minutes and 31 seconds into a crucial 7-3 Western Hockey League victory over the Spokane Chiefs at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre to set up the dramatic last game against the Chiefs.
A Victoria win tonight in any fashion sends the Royals to the playoffs. A Spokane win in regulation time sends the Chiefs to the playoffs. A Spokane win in overtime or shootout creates a stalemate in the standings with the Royals and a possible one-game tiebreaker Tuesday night in Spokane, Washington.
But there are also other last-day permutations involving the Prince George Cougars and Vancouver Giants, who are also in play, as four teams go down to the wire today to hunt down the final three of eight playoff slots in the Western Conference.
The Royals, paced by Marcus Almquist’s two goals, took a 4-0 lead in the first period against the visiting Chiefs.
“It was a great, fast start,” said the rookie Danish import. “I had a tough start but am adjusting way better with more confidence.”
But just when it seemed like it was going to be a cake walk or egg hunt, Spokane struck on just their third and fourth shots of the game to pull within two and hush an enthusiastic crowd of 3,815.
Bailey Peach answered with his Victorai team-leading 37th goal of the season at 1:37 of the second period. Spokane was back at 4:53 with its third goal on just its fifth shot on Tyler Palmer. Qucksilver Tanner Scott, the king of breakaways, scored on yet another to put Victoria up by three in the third period on what may have been the pivotal play of the game. Royals captain Tarun Fizer scored into an empty net for a three-point night on his return from a three-game suspension.
Victoria also had goals by San Jose Sharks-drafted defenceman Gannon Laroque and forward Evan Patrician. Chase Bertholet led Spokane with a goal and two assists.
Both goaltenders overcame the shakiest of starts to settle into the game as Palmer finished with 25 saves and Mason Beaupit 21 saves for Spokane.
ICE CHIPS: The Royals handed out their team awards before the game. The winners were Fizer as MVP, Laroque as top defenceman, Fizer and Laroque as the most dedicated players, Palmer the top rookie, Riley Gannon the most unsung player, Peach as leading scorer and as the most popular player as voted by the fans, Igor Zborovskiy for community service and Jason Spizawka for top academic achievement.
