There are no gimmes this season in the Western Hockey League.
The Victoria Royals are finding that out against the Prince George Cougars, who are eliminated and going nowhere at 23-36-9. But the playoff-bound Royals (38-25-6) have had a dickens of a time against Prince George, including needing to rally late Friday night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre for a 4-3 overtime victory. The Cougars earned a split last weekend in Prince George in a 2-1 overtime win and 7-3 loss to Victoria.
The teams close out their season account with a matin茅e Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Memorial Centre.
鈥淭hese have been really intense games,鈥� said Royals head coach Dan Price.
鈥淭here is so much parity in the league this season. Prince George and Kamloops [the two teams that will miss the Western Conference post-season] might have been playoff teams any other year.鈥�
The Cougars and Blazers have enough young, returning talent to make a climb up the standings next season.
The Cougars are rebuilding after going all in last year with 13 19-year-old players, a move that backfired with a first-round playoff exit.
鈥淭hey have enough older players, left, too, to provide a solid core,鈥� Price said.
The Royals are pretty much in the same ferry boat as the Cougars were last season. Victoria is all in this season with 10聽players who are 19.
With only three regular-season games remaining for the Royals, everything is now a dress rehearsal for the playoffs.
鈥淭he games naturally are taking on that intensity and feeling,鈥� Price said.
鈥淲e want to come out fast Sunday and be aggressive and set the tempo for the game.鈥�
Tyler Soy, who holds the Royals records for most career goals, assists and points, will add another to his trove of all-time franchise standards by playing in his 321st game for Victoria to break the record of 320 he shared with former Royals defenceman Ryan Gagnon.
Victoria goaltender Griffen Outhouse can break the franchise single-season record for victories Sunday with 35 to eclipse his own record from last season.
Meanwhile, the Kelowna Rockets and Vancouver Giants were both winners Saturday night.
The Royals are five points behind the sa国际传媒 Division-leading Rockets, with three games remaining for each team.
Victoria is three points ahead of third-place Vancouver with the Giants holding one game in hand, giving adding urgency to Sunday鈥檚 game against Prince George for the Royals, in Victoria鈥檚 race to win home-ice advantage in a potential Victoria-Vancouver first-round playoff series.
ICE CHIPS: WHL forward Patrick Bajkov from Nanaimo didn鈥檛 let being overlooked in the NHL draft discourage him. The 20-year-old Everett Silvertips player improved steadily and this weekend was signed to a three-season, NHL entry-level contract by the Florida Panthers.
