Victorious Royals live in the present
With ten 19-year-old players on the roster, and only three allowed to return next season, the Victoria Royals are built for the here and now.
The Royals played with that sense of urgency after falling behind 3-0 in the first period Saturday night to rally for a 5-4 WHL victory over the Kamloops Blazers before 6,786 fans at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
Darting veteran forward Dante Hannoun, who began the Royals comeback with a breakaway goal in the first period, capped it with the game winner at 16:29 of the third period. Good teams punish opponents for mistakes and that’s what the Royals did as Hannoun pounced on a glaring Kamloops turnover by directing a shot to the top corner for the winning goal.
“I was high in the slot and got lucky when the puck squeezed out to me,” said Hannoun. “I was lucky to be in the right spot at the right time.” Hannoun also had two goals in Friday’s 6-5 victory over the Blazers.
It was the second time in the last three games against Kamloops (18-22-3) that Victoria (25-16-4) has overcome a 3-0 Blazers first-period lead to win. It was a double comeback Saturday as the Royals also found themselves in 4-3 hole in the third period.
Royals coach Dan Price praised his veteran team’s composure. “It was a long fight back, but nobody gave up and we found a way to get it done,” he said.
The Royals, however, have allowed 18 goals in three games as team defence has turned into a concern. The Blazers traded thirdround Washington Capitals draft pick Garrett Pilon and Dallas Stars-signed defenceman Ondrej Vala for a flotilla of prospects and high bantam draft picks last week and are banking on the future. They showed they have a good, young core.
Lantzville’s Dylan Ferguson, who earlier this season made headlines as an emergency NHL call-up for the Las Vegas Golden Knights, made 23 saves in goal for Kamloops. Griffen Outhouse, who bore down after the horror-show Victoria start, made 39 saves.
Jeff de Wit had two goals for Victoria and Andrei Grishakov one. Stuart Brodi led Kamloops with a goal and assist while Blazers defenceman Nolan Kneen of Duncan had two assists. “We faced adversity early, but came together as a group and showed a lot of push back,” said de Wit.
The Royals now depart for a four-game road trip. They are in Portland on Wednesday for a game against the American Division powerhouse Winterhawks. That will be followed by two games in Langley against the Vancouver Giants and one in Kelowna against the Rockets. It appears Kelowna, Vancouver and Victoria will be playoff teams out of the B.C. Division.
“It's going to be an intense fight to the finish line,” said de Wit.
ICE CHIPS: Lane Zablocki, a third-round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings who was acquired Wednesday, sat out a one-game suspension Saturday for his game misconduct accrued in his Royals debut on Friday.