Royals shut out in Game 1
Victoria Royals forward Kaid Oliver takes Tri-City Americans defender Roman Kalinichenko into the end boards during their first game of the WHL Western Conference semifinals at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on Friday. The Royals lost 7-0. The Victoria squad rallied back from the brink in the quarter-finals, winning the series four games to three against the Vancouver Giants. >
TRI-CITY 7 VICTORIA 0 Tri-City leads series 1-0
The Tri-City Americans, as big as they are skilled, have yet to lose a game in the 2018 Western Hockey League playoffs. And it doesn’t appear they intend to any time soon.
That script played out to form Friday night as the Americans, who swept the Kelowna Rockets in the first round, defeated the Victoria Royals 7-0 to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven secondround Western Conference series.
The Royals started out with jump, despite having played in Game 7 on Tuesday of their opening-round series against the Vancouver Giants, to show they can pressure a Tri-City defence that includes NHL first-rounders Jake Bean and Juuso Valimaki.
But Victoria would later rue missing several close chances in the opening period and ending the frame 0-2 on the power play before 5,179 fans at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
“For a 7-0 game, I thought it was pretty close,” said Victoria captain Matthew Phillips.
“We had a good first period, but [Tri-City goalie Patrick] Dea made some good saves.”
Royals coach Dan Price echoed that: “We don’t feel the score was indicative of the game. We had some great chances early, but unfortunately, they didn’t go in. Dea played well, but two pucks hit the knob of his stick.”
The Americans absorbed the pressure before Detroit Red Wings prospect and 2017 top-10 NHL draft-pick Michael Rasmussen scored at 11:18 of the first.
The Royals, boosted by their third straight power play, also started the second period strongly.
But the counter-flow lane was again open as third-round Carolina Hurricanes selection Morgan Geekie scored his 10th goal for his 15th point in five playoff games.
Bean, a gold medallist with Canada at the 2018 world juniors, then sent a laser to the top corner and Nolan Yaremko slid home a rebound to make it 4-0.
Dylan Coghlan, a defenceman from Nanaimo under NHL contract to the Las Vegas Golden Knights, scored from the point in the third period.
Jordan Topping of Salt Spring Island scored from the side of the net and Parker AuCoin added another on a two-on-one.
Dea made several timely saves in a 27-shot shutout.
Griffen Outhouse, the hero of Game 7 against the Giants, made 31 saves for the Royals.
The Tri-City power play went 1-2 to continue its torrid 50 per cent-plus pace in the post-season. The Royals were 0-3.
The Royals’ horrendous injury situation, meanwhile, just got worse.
Forward Igor Martynov, who represented Belarus in the world junior championships, was helped off the ice with an ankle injury that appeared serious. That makes it five Royals now out, including three NHL draft picks in Tyler Soy, Tanner Kaspick and Scott Walford.
The second game is tonight at the Memorial Centre.
Meanwhile, Royals forward Noah Gregor signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks earlier Friday, before being stymied by the Americans.
ICE CHIPS: The WHL posted a message on Twitter about Friday’s tragic bus crash involving the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League: “The Western Hockey League is keeping the Humboldt Broncos in its thoughts tonight. Hockey is family.”