Nyet this time, Andrey.
The second time around in the big house on Blanshard proved not as advantageous for Andrey Makarov.
The goaltender, who backstopped the Russian junior national side to a 5-2 victory over the Western Hockey League all-stars last Thursday at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, was lit up like the Kremlin at night by the Victoria Royals with four goals in two periods on Tuesday at the Memorial Centre.
The Royals defeated the Saskatoon Blades, Makarovs WHL team, 5-2 before an announced crowd of 4,065.
Not that it was the fault of Makarov, replaced for the third period by Alex Moodie, as Victoria outshot Saskatoon 26-16 over two periods and 35-31 overall.
We played a solid game from start to finish, said Royals head coach Dave Lowry.
Saskatoon has seven players on the roster either drafted or signed by NHL teams. One of the big questions of this WHL season is when are they going to start playing like it? The answer to that question is taking on greater urgency considering Saskatoon is hosting the 2013 Memorial Cup national championship tournament with the Blades guaranteed an automatic berth.
After a 2-7 start, followed by a bit of a push of late, the Blades (10-11-1) again fell below .500. The Royals, meanwhile, climbed back over .500 at 12-11 as they moved to 8-3 at home in the friendly confines of the Memorial Centre.
The Royals got a traffic jam established in front of Makarov and a shot by Brandon Magee found its way through to open scoring 3:10 into the game.
Jamie Crooks, on a deft pass from behind the net by Logan Nelson, made it 2-0 on the power play at 1:46 of the second period. Captain Brenden Walker brought the Blades to within one at 10:25 of the second period. But Crooks took an expert lead pass from Steven Hodges short-handed to break in alone on Makarov to restore Victorias two-goal advantage with his Royals-leading 11th goal of the season at 12:29 of the second.
Only players the calibre of the 20-year-old Crooks and Florida Panthers third-round draft pick Hodges could have made those plays.
That was a big goal for us, said Lowry. It was critical and a huge momentum shifter. Our older guys led the way, which is what we expect.
Crooks began his career with a brief 14 games with Saskatoon spanning the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons in what must seem like another life. But players dont forget and scoring the two goals against his old club felt sweet.
Theres not much of a connection, but they still traded me, said Crooks.
Crooks said the Royals were full value for the victory. We played a really good game, he said.
Saskatoon is a highly-skilled team and its only a matter of time until they put it all together.
But it wasnt on this night as Victoria dominated.
We feel really good, said forward Austin Carroll, one of the Royals unsung heroes, who had two assists.
Were coming together and are looking forward to the rest of the season.
Alex Gogolev in the second period and captain Tyler Stahl in the third closed out scoring for Victoria, while Matej Stransky counted in the third for Saskatoon.
Tuesday was the first appearance on Blanshard Street by the Blades franchise since the fall of 1993. Saskatoon didnt play in Victoria last season, when the Chilliwack Bruins relocated to the Island to finally replace the WHL Victoria Cougars, who departed for Prince George after the 1993-94 season.
The Royals play the Prince George Cougars on Friday and Saturday at the Memorial Centre.
