The Country and Western-themed promotion made it feel more like Swift Current than Victoria.
But it was a decided West Coast drubbing the Royals inflicted on the visiting Broncos in a 4-0 WHL victory Friday night before 4,832 fans at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
The Broncos, who went from the 2018 WHL title to a league-worst 11-51-6 last season, are 2-6-2 and winless in six games.
The Royals are 3-4-1 and halted a four-game winless skid.
Only two players, current-captain Ethan Regnier and Kelowna-native Connor Horning, remain from Swift Current’s 2018 league championship team.
The two starting goaltenders were Midget rep teammates in Winnipeg in 2017-18. Sophomore Brock Gould of the Royals made three notable stretching saves to preserve his 23-shot shutout, which was the first of his WHL career. Isaac Poulter of the Broncos was much busier on a 40-shot night.
“Everybody contributed to the shutout. It was a team effort and Brock said that in the dressing room following the game,” said Royals head coach Dan Price.
Victoria forward Tarun Fizer caught the top-left corner to open scoring at 5:48 of the first period on a three-point night. Then the Royals rectified an early offensive ailment — the lack of traffic in front of the opposition net — by scoring two consecutive deflection goals in the second period on shots from the point. The first came on two-time Danish world junior championship tournament player Phillips Schultz’s first goal of the season and the second on the power play by Sean Gulka.
“It’s a matter of simplifying,” said Price.
“Ugly goals. That’s what wins games.”
The Royals fourth tally was in another fashion altogether — a virtuoso individual performance from the centre line in from Brandon Cutler for his first goal of the season — and which became an early contender for WHL goal of the season.
The Royals conclude the weekend Sunday at the Langley Events Centre against the 2019 WHL-finalist Vancouver Giants (6-6), who lost 6-0 on Friday night to the Kamloops Blazers.
ICE CHIPS: Among the missing for Victoria was defending team scoring champion Kaid Oliver, who only recently returned from shoulder surgery. . . . Making his WHL debut with the Broncos was affiliated-player Josh Davies, a forward called up from the Pacific Hockey Academy in Langford.
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