There is three-year age difference between forwards Alex Forsberg, a 20-year-old veteran, and rookie Matthew Phillips. In the Western Hockey League, that is a chasm. Yet, the pair have found a chemistry. That was attested by two Phillips set-ups of Forsberg goals, and a Forsberg assist on Phillips鈥� winning goal, that keyed the Victoria Royals to a 4-3 victory over the Kelowna Rockets before 5,171 fans at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
鈥淭hey [Forsberg and Phillips] both understand the game on the offensive side,鈥� said Royals coach Dave Lowry.鈥淚t鈥檚 a credit to Alex [Forsberg] that he has helped bring along those two young guys [17-year-old linemates Phillips and Dante Hannoun].鈥�
The Royals (26-15-4) knocked off the Rockets (29-11-3), the sixth-ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League top-10 rankings, to show just how wide open the Western Conference really is this season. Victoria leads the eight-game regular-season series 3-2 against the defending WHL-champion Rockets.
鈥淭here is parity in our conference,鈥� noted Lowry.
Forsberg ripped home his 18th goal of the season, on a fine set-up on the power play from Phillips, at 15:55 of the first period to open scoring. Forsberg took another gift pass from Phillips to tap home his 19th goal at 11:45 of the second period to make it 2-0.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been nice, especially with this being my last season [in junior],鈥� said Forsberg, whose three points gave him 202 in his WHL career. 鈥淲ith those guys [Phillips and Hannoun], the future is bright here.鈥�
Tyler Soy, on assists from Vladimir Bobylev and Jack Walker, pushed the Victoria lead to three at 16:03. It was Soy鈥檚 seventh goal and 14th point in the last nine games as that line also remained on a roll. Walker, who also assisted on Forsberg鈥檚 power-play goal in the first period, finished with two points.
Tanner Wishnowski got Kelowna on the board at 4:35 of the third period but Phillips restored the three-goal advantage less than a minute later with his 23rd goal of the season on Forsberg鈥檚 assist.
鈥淎lex is a pass-first guy and not a selfish player,鈥� said Phillips.
鈥淎nd then when you feed him, he knows how to bury it, too.鈥�
Phillips鈥� goal turned out to be the winner as Calvin Thurkauf and Arizona Coyotes first-round draft pick Nick Merkley pulled it to within one during a late Kelowna push.
Rookie Griffen Outhouse made 30 saves for the Royals. Michael Herringer of Comox, making his fifth consecutive start with Jackson Whistle out two weeks with a lower-body injury, made 32 saves in goal for Kelowna.
Kelowna was missing forward Tyson Baillie, second in league scoring with 66 points in 42 games, who was scratched due to a family matter. Royals blue-liner Chaz Reddekopp, the Los Angeles Kings draft pick who sat out a one-game suspension Friday because of instigating a fight in the last five minutes of a game in Prince George last weekend, returns to the Victoria lineup tonight when the teams meet again on Blanshard. The series concludes with games Jan. 30 and March 16 in Kelowna.
