A trip back to his hometown of Kamloops during the WHL season usually means a familiar kitchen-cooked meal for Joe Hicketts. But he had more than a little company this week at the Hicketts family house as the entire Victoria Royals team joined him for some home cooking.
The team is creating a semblance of normalcy in a stretch in which it is playing 10 of 11 games on the road. It began with a 4-2 loss Saturday in Seattle against the Thunderbirds. Instead of returning to the Island, the Royals (7-3) headed to the sa国际传媒 Interior to prepare for tonight鈥檚 game against the Kamloops Blazers (2-7), allowing for some down time that included some down-home eating.
Kamloops has been hospitable in other ways. Three of Victoria鈥檚 seven victories this season have come against the Blazers, who lost their first six games overall and have missed the playoffs the last two seasons. GM Craig Bonner resigned last week after nine seasons, to take a scouting position with the Dallas Stars, and was replaced by Stu MacGregor.
MacGregor was let go over the summer by the Edmonton Oilers after eight years as head amateur scout for the NHL team, so he became available to rejoin Kamloops, a team for which he was the assistant GM and director of player personnel from 1991 and GM from 1995 to 1998. It reunites MacGregor with Blazers head coach Don Hay from the team鈥檚 long-ago glory days, including winning three Memorial Cups together in 1992, 1994 and 1995.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 hard to replicate,鈥� said Hay, who returned as Blazers head coach last season, after 10 seasons with the WHL Vancouver Giants and pro bench stints previous to that.
But you never quit trying.
鈥淸MacGregor] has no ties to these [current] players,鈥� said Hay.
The Blazers have strengthened their roster by acquiring from Kelowna 20-year-old forward Gage Quinney, who is a clutch-type performer who had four goals in five Memorial Cup games and six goals and 13 points in 15 WHL playoff games last spring. Kamloops then obtained 19-year-old blue-liner Dallas Valentine from the Moose Jaw Warriors.
The moves seem to be having immediate results as the Blazers have won two of their last three games 鈥� 3-1 over Red Deer and 5-1 over Spokane 鈥� interspersed with a 7-2 loss to Seattle. Quinney has two goals and two assists in that span.
鈥淸Quinney and McNulty] have both helped us in different ways. Overall, we鈥檙e getting better, and healthier,鈥� said Hay.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been getting more competitive with each game we play. We want to be even more competitive, but that takes time. We鈥檝e brought in new energy [Quinney and McNulty] and new ideas [MacGregor].鈥�
The Royals, meanwhile, have lost two straight games after starting out 7-1. It doesn鈥檛 hurt to be facing a team tonight whose number the Royals have had in three previous meetings.
鈥淰ictoria worked hard and took advantage of their chances in those three games,鈥� said Hay.
But this is a slightly tweaked Blazers beast, rather than the one Victoria faced earlier.
鈥淭his will be a different Blazers team we see [tonight] than in the first three games we played them,鈥� warned Victoria head coach Dave Lowry.
Hicketts, meanwhile, comes into tonight looking for his first goal despite still being in the WHL top-10 for defencemen scoring with 10 assists.
鈥淚f I keep getting the right looks, at some point the shots are going to start going in,鈥� said Hicketts, who has rung the post on several occasions.
鈥淲e have guys who can score. So if I don鈥檛 get 30 goals, it鈥檚 not going to keep me up at night.鈥�
For the second consecutive year, Hicketts will play for the WHL all-star team against the Russian junior selects. Those games take place Nov. 9 in Kelowna and Nov. 10 in Kamloops, with Lowry reprising his role as WHL head coach. Hay will assist Lowry.
The Royals will do a lot of traveling before then, including a six-game tire buster through Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
鈥淲e are looking on it as two really long trips, this one of four games and the next of six games, broken up by a home game,鈥� said Lowry, of the 10 in 11 road stretch. The home game is next Tuesday against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
The first segment began last Saturday in Seattle and concludes by re-crossing the border to Spokane for games against the Chiefs on Friday and Saturday.
鈥淭his is a good challenge for us,鈥� said Lowry.
鈥淲e are going to have to play to our strengths, which is that we play a good team game.鈥�
That鈥檚 the way it needs to be for a team that has few stars other than Hicketts.
鈥淲e have been getting contributions from everyone so far, and that needs to continue,鈥� said Hicketts, who is under NHL contract to the Detroit Red Wings.
Maybe the Hicketts family home cooking will be just the fuel to end the two-game skid and get that Royals committee approach re-ignited.
