VICTORIA 3 VANCOUVER 2
Joe Hicketts was pretty in pink Saturday.
Returning from surgery for only his second game since Oct. 26, the rushing Victoria Royals defenceman was concerned about his game legs. But he found them all-right, swooping in and staying with the puck for the winning goal in overtime to give the Royals a dramatic 3-2 Western Hockey League victory over the Vancouver Giants.
“I knew it was 200 feet back to my own end [if his gambit to the Vancouver net didn’t pay off],” he said.
“So I wanted to win that battle for the puck, and I did, and managed to tuck it into the [high] side.”
Saturday was Pink In The Rink Night and attracted a sold-out crowd of 7,006 to Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, with more than $30,000 raised for the B.C. Cancer Foundation.
Meanwhile, Giants head coach Don Hay likens January in hockey to what is referred to in baseball as the dog days of August.
“Once February starts, it’s all about gearing up for the playoffs. The dog days of January are over,” he said.
Maybe that’s why Saturday’s tightly-played game had a playoff-like feel to it.
“These two teams match up well and compete very hard,” said Hay. “The Victoria organization has done a great job and are a hard team to play against.”
The Royals, an honourable mention in the CHL national top-10 poll, are 34-16-3. The Giants, resurgent after missing the playoffs last season for only the second time in franchise history and the only time in the Hay era, are 26-19-9.
“We’re on schedule. It’s an important goal for us to make the playoffs,” said Hay. “You want to stay competitive and don’t want that winning feeling to leave you because it’s hard to get back.”
Victoria’s Logan Nelson opened scoring at 5:49 of the second period on the power play. Nelson then assisted on fellow-Minnesotan Ben Walker’s 20th goal of the season at 12:08. The rest of the period did not go as well for Walker, who had to be helped off the ice with an injury. Cain Franson brought Vancouver to within one on the power play at 15:10. Ty Ronning tied matters 2-2 at 6:22 of the third period.
The Royals and Giants meet each other 10 times. Victoria is 4-3-1 against Vancouver this season.
ICE CHIPS: Two notable Victoria scratches Saturday were captain Jordan Fransoo and forward Brandon Fushimi . . . The Royals conclude their four-game home stand Tuesday and Wednesday against the Calgary Hitmen.
