The Victoria Royals might have discovered Friday night why the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash., is among the toughest Western Hockey League buildings in which to play and why the Tri-City Americans are 8-2 there.
The Americans defeated the Royals 4-1 before 3,903 fans as Victoria fell to 1-1-1 in the season series.
“We give them [Americans] too much credit [in the Toyota Center],” said Royals head coach Dave Lowry, not buying the difficult-arena theory.
Lowry pointed more to this own team’s shortcomings, particularly when the game was scoreless and hung in the balance in the second period.
The first period was scoreless mainly because of two outstanding saves each made by Eric Comrie of the Americans and Coleman Vollrath of Victoria.
Beau McCue finally broke through for Tri-City at 13:06 of the second period with his ninth goal of the season. Then in one of those killer late-period goals, Czech import Richard Nejezchleb put the Americans ahead 2-0 on the power play.
“That whole second period was a back-breaker for us,” said Lowry.
Two goals 37 seconds apart early in the third period — another on the power play by Nejezchleb, this one on a strange bounce, and another by Justin Gutierriez — put the game away.
“You work for your bounces,” said Lowry, referring to Nejezchleb’s second power-play goal.
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Tyler Soy’s fifth goal of the season ended Tri-City netminder Eric Comrie’s shutout bid at 11:17 of the third on a 24-save night by the Winnipeg Jets-signed NHL prospect. Vollrath made 31 saves for the Royals.
Victoria fell to .500 at 10-10-2, while Tri-City moved to 13-9.
The Americans feature a pair of Island rookies. The 16-year-old defenceman Dylan Coghlan is from Nanaimo and had an assist Friday. Seventeen-year-old forward Jordan Topping is from Saltspring but did not dress.
The Royals will cap a stretch of five away games by facing the Vancouver Giants (8-11) tonight at the Pacific Coliseum.
“We better be better [in Vancouver] than we played tonight,” said Lowry.
The Royals, who haven’t played at home since going 1-0-1 against the Americans on Nov. 1-2, return to the Memorial Centre for a four-game stand starting Tuesday and Wednesday in a marquee set against the potent Kelowna Rockets (19-1-1), the No. 2 ranked major-junior team in North America.
ICE CHIPS: The Royals brought up two affiliated players for Friday’s game. The 17-year-old Keith Anderson, a six-foot-three winger from Oregon who plays for Compete Hockey Academy in Idaho, acquitted himself well … Goaltender Griffen Outhouse, a 16-year from the Cariboo Cougars of the B.C. Major Midget League, backed up Vollrath. Victoria GM Cam Hope said Jayden Sittler, who was dressing behind Vollrath with Evan Smith on the disabled list, was sent back to his AJHL team for the weekend because the Fort McMurray Oil Barons had three games in three nights.
