Royals’ American Division dance swings south
GAME DAY: VICTORIA AT SPOKANE 7 p.m. at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena TV: None / Radio: The Zone 91.3 FM
This is where the rubber meets the ice in rinks from eastern Washington to northern B.C.
The Victoria Royals begin a five-game, 1,700-kilometre Western Hockey League road trip tonight in Spokane against the Chiefs and Saturday in Kennewick, Washington, against the Tri-City Americans, followed by games Wednesday in Kamloops and back-to-back Feb. 15-16 in Prince George.
There’s a bit of breathing room for the Royals (26-21-3) who are in second place in the B.C. Division. They’re eight points clear of the third-place Kelowna Rockets, who have played two more games. Looking the other way, however, the first-place Vancouver Giants are 18 points ahead and look out of reach.
“The whole league is starting to take on a playoff feel and each point is so important,” Royals head coach Dan Price said. Victoria GM Cam Hope agreed. “I like the way we are playing. But I don’t know if you’re ever fully comfortable in this division. Teams can get hot and cold and it’s a battle again,” Hope said. “There is plenty of parity.” It’s more the American Division of the Western Conference the Royals have been concerned with, in the midst of six straight games in which they are 2-1-1 following home clashes against Tri-City and the Seattle Thunderbirds.
The Star Spangled stretch concludes this weekend with a dip below the border.
"Spokane and Tri-City are both tough buildings to win in,” Price said.
Spokane (27-17-6) heads into tonight undefeated in regulation time in its last four games, winning three of them. But that came after a six-game stretch in which they won only one game, losing four in regulation and another in a shootout.
Any team with Los Angeles Kings prospect Jaret Anderson-Dolan is bound to be a handful. The second-round draft pick began the season with five games in the NHL and his career-first assist for the Kings, and five games in the American Hockey League, with two assists for the Ontario Reign.
The Chiefs forward then missed a lengthy stretch beginning in early November, following wrist surgery, before returning to play for Canada in the 2019 world junior championship. Anderson-Dolan, who had 39 and 40 goals in his previous two seasons in Spokane, has six goals and 19 points in 15 games during this abbreviated season with the Chiefs.
He will face veteran Victoria goaltender Griffen Outhouse, who was healthy but on the bench the last two Royals games, as rookie Brock Gould started at home in the split against Seattle.
Gould was shaky in a 5-3 Thunderbirds victory on Tuesday, but settled down to make 22 saves in a 5-3 Royals win Wednesday.
The idea is to not wear down Outhouse as the playoffs approach. “We want to share the load,” Price said.
Added Hope: “We want to make sure both goalies are ready for the playoffs and so we are careful how we deploy them [down the stretch in the regular season].”
ICE CHIPS: Sean Gulka of Victoria and Cade McNelly of Seattle, both six-foot-three, landed blow after blow in a heavyweight fight Wednesday. Gulka fell head-first to the ice during the melee but is reported to be fine. … The Royals were missing veteran defenceman Ralph Jarratt against Seattle. He is week to week with a lower-body issue and was not on the travel leg to Spokane and Tri-City, but the club has not ruled out a return in Kamloops or Prince George. The 20-year-old has played only 25 games this season.