VICTORIA ROYALS 2
KELOWNA ROCKETS 1
Royals lead series 1-0
There are enough of the Victoria Royals who remember last spring to make Thursday鈥檚 result at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre all that more satisfying.
The Royals defeated the Kelowna Rockets 2-1 to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven second-round Western Hockey League playoff series before 5,113 fans.
The Rockets beat Victoria in five games last year in the second round en route to the WHL title and Memorial Cup national championship game.
Kelowna took the play to the Royals for much of the night, but the Victoria defence and goaltender Coleman Vollrath stood their ground.
After going with rookie Griffen Outhouse for the final three games of the six-game opening-round series victory over the Spokane Chiefs, Lowry went back to Coleman Vollrath in the net. The 20-year-old veteran responded with a 40-save, first-star performance.
鈥淚 can only control what I can control,鈥� said Vollrath.
鈥淚 have to be prepared to play any game I am put in.鈥�
The Royals鈥� defence helped Vollrath by stepping up to knock down numerous Kelowna shots.
鈥淚t seemed like Ryan [Gagnon] and Chaz [Reddekopp] blocked 10 shots each,鈥� said Vollrath.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to have to take them out for lunch.鈥�
The Royals opened scoring in the series through Tyler Soy鈥檚 quick pass from behind the net to Jack Walker, who snapped it home at 4:01 of the first period to run his points streak to four games. Walker has four goals and seven points in that stretch. It didn鈥檛 take long for Kelowna to get blooded, too, with Tyson Baillie tying it just over a minute later with his first goal of the playoffs.
Dante Hannoun converted a Matthew Phillips assist to make it 2-1 at 1:25 of the second period for the winner.
Logan Fisher of Victoria then got five minutes for boarding and game misconduct. The Royals penalty kill held the Rockets at bay.
鈥淭hat was a huge momentum boost for us,鈥� said Royals coach Dave Lowry.
That came after Victoria also weathered a four-minute double minor to Jared Dmytriw in the first period.
鈥淪pecial teams have to be the difference this time of year,鈥� said Lowry.
The Rockets鈥� power play, only two-for-26 in the first round seven-game victory against Kamloops, was 0-4 Thursday and appeared bamboozled as it looked for answers.
鈥淚t was a hard-fought, tight-checking game. That鈥檚 what playoff hockey is all about,鈥� said Lowry.
Michael Herringer from Comox, the Kelowna workhorse goaltender after the season-ending injury to No. 1 netminder Jackson Whistle, made 29 saves and was named the game鈥檚 third star.
On the Victoria injury front, captain Joe Hicketts missed his sixth consecutive game and forward Vladimir Bobylev his second. Hicketts skated Thursday morning before the game but did not dress.
Game 2 is Saturday night at the Memorial Centre before the series swings into the Okanagan for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and next Thursday.
ICE CHIPS: A moment of silence was held before the game for slain RCMP Const. Sarah Beckett.
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