Did Logan Nelson use a phone booth?
The Victoria Royals forward went from suit-and-tie as a roster scratch on Saturday night to super-hero on Sunday. The Buffalo Sabres prospect scored in overtime to give the Royals a 4-3 Western Hockey League playoff victory over the Spokane Chiefs before 4,629 fans at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
Who says last-shot victories only happen in basketball? For the second night in succession in overtime, a final shot won it for Victoria. On Saturday, it was defenceman Travis Brown’s goal that gave the Royals a 2-1 victory in extra time.
The third-seed Royals lead the best-of-seven Western Conference opening-round series 2-0 over the sixth-seed Chiefs. Games 3 and 4 are Wednesday and Thursday nights in Spokane. This is the first time in the eight years of Chilliwack Bruins/Victoria Royals history that the franchise has led a playoff series. The franchise has never advanced past the first round.
The Royals weren’t saying whether the streaky Nelson was a healthy, or injury, scratch in Game 1.
“At this time of year, I’m not going to talk about it,” said Victoria head coach Dave Lowry.
But you can bet the Royals braintrust was happy Nelson was on the ice Sunday in OT.
“Logan is one of the most individually skilled players. He is a very dynamic player,” said Lowry.
Nelson’s skill has never been in question. It was evident on the winning goal Sunday as the native of Minnesota stayed with a Ryan Gagnon rebound to put the puck behind Spokane goaltender Eric Williams.
“[Defenceman Gagnon] did a good job of getting the puck on net ... then I looked at my feet and the puck was there,” said Nelson, a fifth-round NHL draft pick of the Sabres in 2012.
About going from the press box to the ice within 24 hours, Nelson said: “Hockey has its ups and downs.”
And clearly nothing can be taken for granted.
“We’re looking at this as a 0-0 series heading into Spokane,” said Nelson.
The game was sent into overtime by Spokane captain Reid Gow, on the point from the power play, to tie it 3-3 at 9:07 of the third period. It was only a matter of time before Spokane’s skilled power play would connect. It finally did on the 10th attempt of the series.
Spokane’s player of the game was steady defenceman Jason Fram.
“Every game [in the series] is a lot of back and forth and a game of inches, right?” Fram said.
“We know if we can come that close, we have to give it that much more to get the win.”
It wasn’t an auspicious start Sunday for Victoria, as a glaring turnover by defenceman Joe Hicketts gifted Spokane a goal by Dominic Zwerger to give the Chiefs the lead in the first minute. But that was followed by a Spokane goaltending miscue by the usually reliable 20-year-old veteran Williams, allowing Logan Fisher to pull Victoria level at 1-1 before the game was two minutes old.
“I’m glad we got that second goal [Fisher’s] back quickly, or it would have been a different hockey game,” Lowry said.
Brandon Magee, with a top-corner shot off a sizzling ice-length assist from Ben Walker, put Victoria ahead 2-1 at 9:31 of the first period. Magee then drew one of two Royals penalties in quick succession as Victoria survived a near full-on two-minute, two-man Spokane power play.
Royals rookie Tyler Soy made it 3-1 at 3:47 of second period. The Chiefs came right back to make it 3-2 at 4:33 through Liam Stewart, whose father Rod Stewart was the first act to play the Memorial Centre when it opened in 2005.
Both games in the series to date have been rugged, with much chippiness and talking back and forth between the players.
“It creates intensity,” Nelson said.
“They [Chiefs] try to get under our skins and do a good job at it. We have to play between the whistles [avoid retaliation penalties after play has been whistled dead — which has been a Victoria problem in the series].”
Both goaltenders again excelled, with Williams making 41 saves for Spokane and Patrik Polivka 28 for Victoria.
ICE CHIPS: Spokane assistant coach Scott Burt, the former Idaho Steelheads and Alaska Aces veteran player, knows the Memorial Centre well from old pro ECHL days against the Salmon Kings.
