VICTORIA聽 7
MOOSE JAW聽 2
It was a night of intertwined emotions Saturday as the Victoria Royals defeated the Warriors 7-2 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
The clubs were involved in a Western Hockey League trade last month as 2019 first-round NHL draft pick Brayden Tracey and goaltender Adam Evanoff went from the Warriors to Royals and goaltender Brock Gould and defenceman Nolan Jones the other way.
鈥淲e really wanted this for Adam and Brayden. The guys went out and got it done for them,鈥� said Royals head coach Dan Price. The Royals made good use of the knowledge gleaned from all those shots in practice against Gould. Brandon Cutler, with his first of two goals on the night, and Kaid Oliver scored first-period short-handed goals to key the Victoria victory.
Carson Miller joined Cutler in producing two goals and three points. Gary Haden counted for the 20th time this season with his sixth goal and eighth point in his past seven games. Nanaimo product Riley Gannon scored his first career WHL goal.
Victoria starter Evanoff made 15 saves against his old Warriors teammates while Gould made 31 against his former comrades.
鈥淔amiliarity with [Gould] definitely helped,鈥� said Price.
鈥淏ut the Warriors also know [Evanoff] well. Our guys did a good job of not allowing pucks to get through to our net. We contested every shot. We held them to under 20 shots, despite that Moose Jaw had five power plays.鈥�
The Royals finished 1-3-2 in their once-every-two-seasons 5,500-kilometre trek through the East Division. The win snapped an overall seven-game winless slide for Victoria (26-18-5). The Warriors (12-32-2) have the second-worst record in the WHL.
鈥淭his was the most aggressive we played on the road trip,鈥� said Price.
Goaltender Shane Farkas and defenceman Will Warm remained out for the Royals.
The Royals return for games Friday and Saturday against the sa国际传媒 Division-leading Kamloops Blazers at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
