Somebody sure lit a fire under these guys, both on the Island and in the Okanagan. Two suddenly-hot teams in the WHL Western Conference meet tonight in Kelowna.
The Victoria Royals (6-5) have won four consecutive games and six of the past seven after opening the season with four losses. The Rockets (6-4-1) are on three consecutive wins.
Andrew Cristall, selected by the Washington Capitals as the 40th overall pick in the second round of this year’s NHL draft, was named WHL player of the week for his nine points in three games. Observers might object there was only one goal in the mix but that is more than countered by the fact all eight of Cristall’s assists were the primary assists. That’s what you call a set-up guy.
Victoria’s main storyline going in is that its past two games were come-from-behind overtime victories over the Spokane Cheifs as the club showed a senses of resiliency.
“We’re never just going to quit. We’re always there. We’re always in the game no matter what. It’s just an attitude and mental state,” said the Royals rookie forward Cole Reschny, 16, who belies his age.
“You’ve got to realize you’re never out of the game and can always come back. We saw that last weekend and that gives us even greater confidence.”
The Royals’ recent winning ways have coincided with a willingness to block shots and “eat pucks,” as Royals head coach Dan Price put it.
“The players really take a lot of pride in it. It’s one of those things you need to do to win. The bruises hurt in the moment but they sure feel good after,” added Price.
There’s a team history to it, as well. A year after an uncontested shot from the point with just 0.2 seconds remaining against the Rockets famously ended up denying the regular-season champion Royals in the second-round Game 7 of the 2016 playoffs, Matthew Phillips sacrificed his body to block a shot against the Vancouver Giants in a similar Game 7 situation in the first round of the 2017 playoffs. The diminutive forward is doing the same thing now for the Capitals in the NHL.
“Matthew Phillips is getting his recognition in Washington [but where it emerged] … there’s the famous shot block of his in the Game 7 against Vancouver,” said Price.
“Our guys are starting to realize it really helps us win, but that it’s also an important characteristic of pro hockey players.”
The Royals, meanwhile, won the first meeting of the season against the Rockets in a 9-7 speedskating meet in Kelowna.
“That was a great battle last time we were there. I know it was a high-scoring affair but it was a really difficult game,” said Price.
“The Rockets have been playing really well lately. They are a really good team, as we know both generally speaking, but especially the last few games they have been excellent. They are very structured and their special teams have been outstanding and they are rolling all four lines and everybody is involved. It’s going to be a really big test for us and we’re going to need the full depth of our bench. We’ve not been able to use our fourth line as much because of all the special teams play we’ve had in the past few games. Both teams are going to try to make it a four-line game [tonight].”
The Royals are at the Langley Events Centre to meet the Giants (3-5-1) on Friday night before the second leg of the cross-strait derby on Saturday night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
