The Saskatoon Blades made their pandemic-delayed first visit to Blanshard Street in more than four years count with a 6-4 Western Hockey League victory over the Victoria Royals on Friday night before 3,336 fans at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
One of the songs played on the PA in the first period was I Want To Be Sedated by the Ramones. It was perhaps an appropriate choice for the home side as the Royals fell behind 5-0 in the first period. They weren’t just sedated to start the game, they were shambolic.
Victoria got three back consecutively to start a spirited four-goal second period. But even with the wild swings associated with junior hockey, the gaping first-period deficit proved too hard to overcome against the big, deep and relentless Blades (36-13-4).
Trevor Wong led the Blades, an original WHL franchise, with two goals. Belarusian forward Egor Sidorov, the 86th ranked North American-based skater for the 2023 NHL draft, scored his 32nd and 33rd goals for Saskatoon on a four-point night.
Victoria leading scorer Jake Poole, making a return to the lineup after injury, scored his 28th and 29th goals for the Royals and Tanner Scott nothced his third goal in two games. Carter Dereniwsky scored the other Royals goal. Victoria outshot Saskatoon 35-27 but, to paraphrase the Bard, it was all desperate sound and fury after the hapless start and signified not enough on the scoreboard.
The great other clock continued to click down ominously on the Royals’ season with 14 games left. The Royals remained three points behind idle the Kelowna Rockets in the race for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference with the Rockets holding three games in hand.
It doesn’t get any easier for Victoria (15-33-5) as it follows up with three consecutive games against the Western Conference-leading and Canadian Hockey League No. 3-ranked Seattle Thunderbirds, who boast five first-round NHL draft picks. The Royals and Thunderbirds meet tonight in Kent, Washington, and again Monday in a matinee and also Tuesday evening at the Memorial Centre.
ICE CHIPS: The Royals warmed up in orange jerseys in honour of the Indigenous Moose Hide Campaign Night to end violence against women and children.
