It seems as sure as it will rain in Victoria in November, the Western Hockey League all-stars will beat the touring Russian team in the Subway Super Series.

Team WHL defeated the Russian Selects 2-1 last night before a near-capacity crowd of 6,695 at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre to move to 12-1 all-time against the Russians in Super Series games.

Six-foot-four Russian goalkeeper Igor Bobkov, a 2009 Anaheim Ducks third-round draft pick from

Metallurg Magnitogorsk, was outstanding in holding the WHL at bay for as long as he could.

The WHL, which held a glaring territorial advantage, finally broke through when Levko Koper, a

seventh round draft pick of the Atlanta Thrashers, snapped a wrist shot past Bobkov at 1:00 of the third period to make it 1-0.

“He [Bobkov] played great the whole game but we kept on doing what we were doing,” said Koper, who plays for the Spokane Chiefs.

Wacey Hamilton of the Medicine Hat Tigers

followed up by deflecting a Linden Vey pass by Bobkov at 8:48 of the third.

Victoria’s Tyson Barrie of the Kelowna Rockets was awarded the second assist on that goal.

“It was nice to get on the score sheet,” said Barrie, a Juan de Fuca youth hockey product.

“Especially against [Bobkov]. He is a big guy and he was tremendous.”

Kirill Petrov broke Calvin Pickard’s shutout bid with only moments left at 19:27 of the third period.

The closest opportunities in the second period where when hometown boy Barrie, an Avalanche draft pick and son of embattled Tampa Bay Lightning co-owner Len Barrie, ripped a drive from the point off the crossbar and Koper bore in on a breakaway that was thwarted by Bobkov.

“It would have been nice to get that one [crossbar shot] in front of the home crowd,” said Barrie.

“This is a weird circumstance for me to be playing in my own town and then again [tonight] in Kelowna [where the WHL and Russia close out the 2009 Subway Super Series], where I play for the Rockets.”

Seventeen-year-old Pickard of the Seattle Thunderbirds, a hotly-followed prospect for the 2010 NHL draft, made 19 saves in the WHL nets.

Russian player-of-the-game Bobkov finished with 40 saves, including in the frenetic first period in which the WHL held a 17-2 shots advantage.

“I liked how we played in the first period. But you always worry when you get so many chances that don’t go in,” said Team WHL head coach Willie

Desjardins.

“But we played hard and kept at it.”

The Russian Selects

(0-5), swept in their earlier two-game sets against both the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Ontario Hockey League

all-stars, have been outscored 23-9 in the 2009 Super Series.

The six-game series concludes with the WHL and Russian Selects meeting again tonight in Kelowna. Seven of the players from the Victoria game, including Barrie, will play again tonight in the Okangan.

Victoria is the first non Canadian Hockey League city to host a Super Series game. Despite the near sell-out, there are many in the B.C. capital still harbouring lingering resentment toward the WHL over its baffling indifference in failing to grant a franchise to replace the Cougars, which relocated to Prince George in 1994.

“We were driving around on the bus and all the players remarked on how beautiful this city is,” said Koper, WHL player of the game.

“It’s a very nice rink and the crowd was great. They could easily support a WHL team here.”

Desjardins, a former WHL player, knew well the old arena on Blanshard

during visits to play the Cougars.

“The crowd was outstanding. This has always been a great market,” said Desjardins, who coaches the Medicine Hat Tigers.