VICTORIA 3
VANCOUVER 2 (OT)
The Victoria Royals found seventh heaven Saturday night.
The only unbeaten team in the 60-team Canadian Hockey League moved to 7-0 with a 3-2 overtime victory against the Vancouver Giants (7-1-1) on a goal by Kaid Oliver with 25 seconds remaining in three-on-three extra time in a marquee WHL match-up before 4,963 fans at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
The Giants, ranked No. 7 in the CHL top-10 poll, were coming off 4-3 victory on Friday night over the visiting Kamloops Blazers at Langley Events Centre that went to the 13th round of the shootout.
The CHL nationally fourth-ranked Royals, who had not played since the previous Saturday, sensed the Giants might be drained and went hard after the Giants in the first period.
The pressure paid off with a power-play goal by Oliver at 12:13 to extend his points streak to six games with six goals and three assists.
The Giants, however, still had plenty of jump and bite as veteran James Malm tied it on a breakaway at 18:52.
Brandon Cutler put in his own rebound, on a play initiated by Oliver and D-Jay Jerome, to restore Victoria's lead at 13:08 of the second period.
Calgary Flames draft-pick Milos Roman tied it 2-2 for Vancouver on the power play at 3:36 of the third period. Assisting on the play was Giants captain former Royals forward Jared Dmytriw.
Victoria veteran and game first-star Griffen Outhouse, and Arizona Coyotes draft-pick David Tendeck of the Giants, were both fine in goal in the taut affair in facing 28 and 23 shots, respectively. Although the number of shots wasn't high, many of them were of high quality by both teams.
It was the first meeting between the clubs since last spring's first-round playoff series in which the Giants, making their first post-season appearance in four years, took the Royals to seven games before Victoria prevailed. The Giants feature Bowen Byram on defence, projected as a first-round lottery pick in the 2019 NHL draft. "The Giants, on paper, are the best team in the B.C. Division," acknowledged Royals general manager Cam Hope. "They have elite talent and can beat anybody in the WHL."
Some have noted, that before Saturday, the Royals had yet to beat a team of note in the WHL this season. Victoria responded to that last night against a very good Vancouver team.
"This weekend is going to be a great measuring stick for us," said Hope, before the game.
The Royals and Giants play each more than any other opponents, 10 times a season, with the cross-strait rivalry continuing with a matinee performance today at 3 p.m. on Blanshard.
It is part of a six-game homestand for Victoria which includes games on Blanshard Street Wednesday against the defending WHL-champion Swift Current Broncos, the Kelowna Rockets next Friday and Saturday and Brandon Wheat Kings on Oct. 27.
The Royals 20-year-old defenceman Ralph Jarratt returned to the lineup Saturday after missing the last two games due to an undisclosed injury.
