Big hugs for Royals at teddy-bear toss
Victoria Royals forwards Kaid Oliver and Tanner Sidaway grab a giant teddy bear from fans on Teddy Bear Toss Night during a game against the Vancouver Giants at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on Saturday. All of the stuffed toys tossed onto the ice by fans will be donated to local charities. >
VICTORIA 4 VANCOUVER 2
The fur flew Saturday night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in what has become a signature coast-to-coast junior hockey tradition this time of year.
D-Jay Jerome scored the Victoria Royals first goal 4:50 into the game to unleash a torrent of stuffed animals, from the 6,812 fans, to the ice for charity.
But it was Jerome’s second goal of the night at 8:46 of the third period that was the most important and stood as the winner in a 4-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants.
Dante Hannoun added an empty-netter against the B.C. Division-leading Giants, who are 21-8-2 and ranked No. 6 in the CHL national top-10 poll. The Royals, who began the season 7-0, enter the Christmas break at 16-13-1.
Victoria goaltender Griffen Outhouse was full value with 25 saves in becoming only the 16th goaltender in WHL regularseason history to reach the career 100-victory plateau.
The Royals had almost ruined the Giants' bear-toss night the previous Saturday in Vancouver before Bowen Byram saved the night with the Giants’ first goal with just 1:19 remaining in regulation time.
Byram, meanwhile, knew he was going to be in Victoria on this particular weekend in December. He just didn’t know if it would be with the Giants or in training camp with the Canadian junior national team.
But it’s Ty Smith of the Spokane Chiefs and Josh Brook of the Moose Jaw Warriors as the two WHL defencemen on the Canada blueline for the upcoming IIHF world championship with Byram not even receiving an invite to the selection camp here. So club play it was Saturday night for the projected 2019 NHL draft firstround lottery pick, who is a lock for the Canadian world junior team next year in the Czech Republic.
Victoria’s other goal scorer was Ty Yoder. Owen Hardy and Tristen Nielsen scored for Vancouver.
The Bear Toss scorer the last two years for the Royals was Eric Florchuk, the last player selected in the 2018 NHL draft, and who was traded and is now with the Saskatoon Blades. ICE CHIPS: Germany, with forward Yannik Valenti of the Giants, won the Div. 1 world junior championship Saturday in Fussen, Germany, and has been promoted to the top tier for the 2020 IIHF world junior championship. Belarus, with forward Igor Martynov of the Royals, placed second.