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Top-ranked Winnipeg Ice edge plucky Victoria Royals

Winnipeg downs Victoria 3-2
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Royals forwards Anthony Wilson, left, and Reggie Newman try to slow up Ice forward Matthew Savoie during WHL action at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on Tuesday. (DARREN STONE, TIMES COLONIST)

With apologies to the New York Yankees of old, the Victoria Royals faced down the Murderer’s Row of the Western Hockey League on Tuesday night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.

Instead of Ruth, Gehrig and Lazzeri, it was NHL first-round draft picks Matthew Savoie (ninth overall to the Buffalo Sabres), Conor Geekie (11th overall to the Arizona Coyotes) and Carson Lambos (26th overall to the Minnesota Wild) of the Winnipeg Ice.

The Royals (2-8-1) acquitted themselves well against the top-ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League (8-1) but the Ice skated away with a 3-2 victory.

“We are not taking any solace in this as a moral victory,” said Victoria GM and head coach Dan Price.

“This is one we could have had and should have had.”

The Royals outplayed the Ice in the first period but lacked finishing. Victoria, however, was playing a dangerous game in giving the potent Ice talent seven power-play chances and holding Winnipeg off each time but the Royals exhausted themselves in the process.

It was indeed the special teams, but ironically the penalty kill, that finally broke through for the Ice. Savoie and Zach Benson, the latter projected for the first round of the 2023 NHL draft, broke in on a two-on-goaltender breakaway and it was no contest as Savoie expertly pulled goalie Tyler Palmer to one side and fed Benson who put it into a gaping net for the short-handed goal at 6:59 of the second period to open scoring.

That was one of the few ­blemishes on Palmer’s night, not that he had any chance on the play, as he turned in another powerhouse crease performance with 39 saves. Ice goaltender Dawson Cowan, usually the back-up to Daniel Hauser, made 19 saves.

Savoie, a lock for the ­Canadian team to the 2023 world junior championship, made it 2-0 at 40 seconds of the third period and Briley Wood 3-0 at 2:48. Matthew Hodson’s Victoria team-leading fifth goal of the season at 16:33 of the third period ruined Cowan’s shutout bid and Teague Patton brought the Royals to within one at 19:13 with Palmer pulled but it wasn’t enough.

Victoria’s lack of offensive polish was again glaringly evident as the Royal powerplay went 0-4 Tuesday to follow up its 0-8 in Saturday’s victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings.

“We need to be better. We gave up a lot of opportunities to shoot,” said Price.

The result snapped Victoria’s modest run of two consecutive wins and three games unbeaten in regulation time following seven losses to start the season.

The Royals’ last two games, against the Ice and Wheat Kings, were the first against Eastern Conference teams since the pandemic constricted the WHL schedule the past two seasons. The Royals face a more familiar foe, the Vancouver Giants, on Saturday night at the Memorial Centre.

ICE CHIPS: Ice defenceman Jonas Woo is the brother of Abbotsford Canucks AHL defenceman Jett Woo and son of former Victoria Cougars WHL forward Larry Woo.

cdheensaw@timescolonist.com