Home sweet home.
It certainly is for the Victoria Royals.
The Western Hockey League team squares off against the Red Deer Rebels tonight at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in the second instalment of a crucial five-game homestand as the Royals go hunting for the B.C. Division regular season crown.
And their opponents better watch out, because the Royals have them right where they want them — on the cool, crisp ice of the Memorial Centre.
Until Wednesday night’s blip — a shootout loss to the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings — the Royals had won nine straight on home ice. So make it 10 straight games with at least a point when in front of their hometown fans. Add the fact that the Royals have the best home-ice power play in the league at a conversion rate of 28 per cent, and you can see how the players love their home cooking.
“I think the guys just love playing in front of our fans,” said Royals head coach Dan Price, whose club has a 20-5-1-1 record on home ice, third best in the WHL.”
That’s good news for the Royals (34-20-3-2). Nine of their remaining 13 regular season games are at the Memorial Centre, and they are currently tied with the Kelowna Rockets for first in the division. However, the Rockets (34-18-4-1) hold two games in hand.
But the Rebels are not likely to be drinking the Royals’ Kool-Aid. The central Alberta squad is fresh off winning 4-1 in another tough rink in the Okanagan, home to the Rockets. The Rebels sit 10 points adrift of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but they’re coming on strong, posting a 7-1-2 record in their last 10 games. Twenty-year-old winger Mason McCarty hit the 30-goal mark last game.
“They’re a really hard-working team that is very structured and well-coached, so it doesn’t surprise me they are making a push for the playoffs,” Price said.
The Royals will be counting on the usual suspects up front to help keep the Rebels at bay. Captain and Calgary Flames prospect Matthew Phillips extended his point streak to 19 games on Wednesday, while veteran Tyler Soy, a draft pick of the Anaheim Ducks, is coming off WHL player of the week honours and chipped in a goal and an assist against the Oil Kings.
LOOSE PUCKS: No. 1 netminder Griffen Outhouse is still nursing minor injuries, so will be a game-time decision, Price said. As will veteran defenceman Ralph Jarratt, who also sat out Wednesday. … The Royals’ homestand continues Saturday when they play host to the Vancouver Giants.
