The Royals (44-16-6), three points clear of Kelowna for the most points in the WHL and gunning for the franchise’s first league title, extended its winning streak to seven games. Victoria, which swept its four-game road trip, leads the league with 22 victories away from home.
“We played in some tough buildings on this trip but we came in and created chances,” said Royals coach Dave Lowry.
It was a sweet homecoming Friday to the Lower Mainland as five-foot-five Royals sophomore forward Dante Hannoun from Delta scored the natural hat-trick against the Giants to move his total to 26 goals in a breakout season.
“[Hannoun] is a good player but was not where he wanted to be at the beginning of the season, but he earned the right to play, and has put himself into a good position,” said Lowry.
Jack Walker had a goal and assist and Russian import Vladimir Bobylev two assists. The slyly effective 20-year-old forward Alex Forsberg assisted on a goal by Ryan Peckford, who scored on his 17th birthday. It was Forsberg’s 78th point of the season to set the new standard by a Royals player in the five years the franchise has been in Victoria, breaking the old mark of 77 established last season by Austin Carroll.
The dismal Giants (23-36-8), meanwhile, are winless in their last six games, with five losses, and have lost 12 of their last 15 games. They are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs for the third time in four years.
Trevor Cox scored for a Vancouver team that is missing injured Tyler Benson, projected for the first round of the 2016 NHL draft, for the rest of the season. Injured leading-scorer Chase Lang from Nanaimo missed his fourth game.
Rookie goaltender Griffen Outhouse, making his first start in six games, made 16 saves for Victoria. Jake Morrissey blocked 27 for the Giants.
The cross-strait rivals close out their 10-game season series tonight at 7 in Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre with Victoria leading the series 6-3.
