He鈥檚 only a WHL rookie, but even Matthew Phillips knows what is the most dangerous beast in hockey or any other sport.
鈥淲e are going to be facing a desperate team,鈥� said the 17-year-old wunderkind, who leads the Victoria Royals and all WHL freshman with 30 goals.
That was outside the Royals dressing room Wednesday night, following a sixth consecutive Victoria victory. But there was little time to savour proceedings as the Royals headed out Thursday morning to dip below the border to meet the Tri-City Americans tonight in southeast Washington state.
The Americans (23-25-2) are ninth in the 10-team Western Conference and four points adrift of the eighth-place Portland Winterhawks and the final playoff spot in the conference. Tri-City however, is on a three-game winning streak. It鈥檚 something the Americans will be wanting, probably needing, to build on tonight against the Royals.
That will be easier said than done against a Victoria squad (32-15-5) that has outscored the opposition 32-6 in its last five games and has picked up points in nine consecutive games.
鈥淭his is the second time we鈥檝e put together this kind of string this season,鈥� said Royals GM Cam Hope, noting the strong start that was followed by a bit of a lull before the latest torrid stretch.
鈥淥ur best players have been our best players lately. Both the veterans and young guys that we count on, have all delivered. And we have a lot of unsung guys who eat up a lot of minutes against the top lines of other teams. We鈥檙e winning the depth battle.鈥�
The other key has been that the Royals have remained remarkably healthy compared to past seasons.
鈥淭his is the time of year when the injury bug bites and we鈥檝e run across some teams such as Vancouver and Medicine Hat that have not been fully loaded when we met them,鈥� added Hope.
Victoria鈥檚 special teams have also been effective, with the power play going 13-for-51 over the last 11 games and hitting on a 25.5 percent clip, while the stingy Royals penalty kill has held the opposition at bay 33 times over the last 35 chances for a 94.3 percent success rate.
The Americans are led by team-leading scorer Parker Bowles, a four-season Tri-City veteran, who has turned 21 and has 29 goals and 69 points. Jordan Topping, the 18-year-old former Cowchan Valley Capitals winger from Salt Spring Island, is second in Tri-City scoring with 22 goals and 49 points. The 18-year-old Evan Sarthou, a rare home-state Washington product for the Americans, has carried the load in the crease with 45 appearances and a 3.55 goals-against average.
One thing is for sure, the Americans need to get off to a quick start tonight. The Royals don鈥檛 concede much when they take the lead and are 25-5-3 when scoring first and 21-3-3 when leading after one period.
The Royals conclude their American Division excursion Saturday night in Portland against the Winterhawks.
