SEATTLE 3
VICTORIA 1
On a night drenched in Victoria-Seattle hockey nostalgia, you half expected Guyle Fielder and the ghost of Lester Patrick to show up.
Grant Fuhr did, which isn’t bad.
These weren’t the old Totems from Seattle or Cougars from the Island. But the Victoria Royals came up with a pretty good facsimile, sporting jerseys patterned after the 1925 Stanley Cup champion Victoria Cougars.
It didn’t help, however, as the Seattle Thunderbirds (12-6-1) defeated the Royals 3-1. After sweeping all six games of their recent swing through Saskatchewan/Manitoba and the Western Hockey League’s East Division, the Royals (14-7-1) returned home to be swept in the two-game set against the Thunderbirds.
Vintage Cougars, Salmon Kings and Edmonton Oilers jerseys dotted the sold-out Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre crowd of 7,006 on Throwback Night. And there was an actual vintage Cougar and Oiler, too.
“This has always been a great hockey town,” said Hall of Fame goaltender Fuhr, who returned to Blanshard Street as part of the WHL’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
When Fuhr was backstopping the Cougars to the 1981 WHL championship and 1980 final, the Seattle WHL team was known as the Breakers.
Now they are the Thunderbirds. And they are pretty darn good. The roster boasts Mathew Barzal, first-round NHL draft pick of the New York Islanders, Ryan Gropp, second-round selection of the New York Rangers, Keegan Kolesar, third-round Columbus Blue Jackets NHL draft pick, and Oilers blueline-prospect Ethan Bear.
“Seattle is one of the best teams in the league. They have depth and high-end skill,” said Royals head coach Dave Lowry.
“We have to keep it in perspective. We have a young group that was playing against bigger, older players. Don’t take anything away from the way the Thunderbirds played.”
That talent again proved too much as the Thunderbirds assured victory in the four-game season series by moving to 3-0 against Victoria.
The clubs close out on Valentine’s Day in Kent, Washington. But there won’t be much love lost or many hearts exchanged. Saturday night’s game ended with a degree of chippiness.
“This was as close to a playoff atmosphere as you can get in November,” said Victoria captain Joe Hicketts.
In a bit of an oddity, the teams exchanged two-man advantage power-play goals in the first period with rookie Matthew Phillips counting for Victoria at 6:10 and Kolesar for Seattle at 9:15. Barzal then unleashed a lacerating shot to the top of the net at 15:00 of the second period on a two-point night. Nick Holowko made it 3-1 just 14 seconds later.
“That’s a great Seattle team,” said Hicketts. “We want to be talked about in the same category. Now we know what that entails. We have to go back to basics and go back to using our speed and pace.”
Rookie Griffen Outhouse acquitted himself well in making 30 saves in goal for Victoria. Logan Flodell blocked 22 shots for Seattle.
ICE CHIPS: Perhaps fittingly on Throwback Night, old Victoria Salmon Kings foe Mat O’Dette of the Fresno Falcons and Stockton Thunder from pro ECHL days is assistant coach of the Thunderbirds . . . There’s a lot that going around. Former Salmon Kings ECHL opponent Scott Burt from the Idaho Steelheads and Alaska Aces came through the Memorial Centre this season as assistant coach of the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs . . . Lowry returned for the Seattle set after scouting the Thursday game in Owen Sound between the Russian junior selects and Ontario Hockey League all-stars as part of his role as Canadian head coach for the 2016 world junior championships. Lowry leaves again today to scout the remaining OHL and Quebec Major Junior League games against the Russians. He will miss Wednesday’s home game against the Edmonton Oil Kings.
