Preview | Mar. 2 | Royals @ Winterhawks
Portland, OR – The Victoria Royals continue their final road trip of the regular season with a stop in Portland against the Winterhawks. It’ll be a 6:00 PM puck drop at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon.
ROYALS LAST GAME
Last night the Victoria Royals paid a visit to the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Washington. The starting goalies were Braden Holt (19-12-3-3) for the Royals and Lukas Matecha (13-17-1-1) for the Americans. Just over a minute into the game, the Americans took a 1-0 lead off a goal from Carter MacAdams (13). A Cole Reschny (18) goal would tie the game, before the Royals got two goals in just 14 seconds from Dawson Pasternak (23) and Jaren Brinson (3). That wasn’t all for the Royals in the first, as Dawson Pasternak (24) would strike again to give the Royals a 4-1 lead. With under one minute to go in the first, Jake Sloan (26) would cut the Royals lead to 4-2 through one period of play. In the second, Sloan (27) would score again for Tri-City, as the Royals held onto a 4-3 lead heading into the third period. Early in the third, Brandon Whynott (14) would tie the game 4-4. This game felt destined for overtime, until in the final two minutes Reggie Newman (18) put the Royals up 5-4. Jaren Brinson (4) would add an empty net goal as the Royals earned an eventful 6-4 win.
THE LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET
PORTLAND
The Royals last played the Portland Winterhawks on February 24th in Victoria, at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. Winterhawks forward Nate Danielson (18) scored the first period’s lone goal to put Portland up 1-0. Early in the second period, Carter Sotheran (9) found the back of the net to double the Winterhawks lead. The Royals would respond just 43 seconds later when Deegan Kinniburgh (5) made it a 2-1 game. Four minutes later, Tyson Laventure (26) tied the game at two. In the late stages of the second period, goals from Diego Buttazzoni (25) and Tyson Jugnauth (7) would put the Winterhawks ahead 4-2 heading into the final period. In the third, Gabe Klassen (32) would score the fifth Portland goal, as the Winterhawks came away with a 5-2 win.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
WINTERHAWKS
- Gabe Klassen has been one of the engines driving the phenomenal year the Portland Winterhawks have had. Klassen leads Portland with 95 points on the season, and has scored 33 goals.
- Since being acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings at the WHL trade deadline, Nate Danielson has been very good for the Winterhawks. The ninth-overall selection in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings has produced 8 goals and 26 points in 19 games since joining Portland.
VICTORIA
- Acquired at the WHL trade deadline, Jaren Brinson has fit seamlessly into the Royals defense. Fresh off a three-point night against Tri-City, Brinson now has three goals and eight points in 21 games for Victoria.
- Victoria Royals prospect Keaton Verhoeff is back with the Royals, and made a strong impression against Tri-City. While the 6’3” defenseman has yet to collect a point through six WHL games, the 15-year-old had a solid outing last night paired with Justin Kipkie.
SEASON RECORDS
vs PORTLAND
- Nov. 22 @ POR • 4-3 SOL
- Feb. 23 VS POR • 6-2 L
- Feb. 24 VS POR • 5-2 L
- Mar. 2 @ POR • 6:00 PM
LAST 5 GAMES
ROYALS
- 6-4 W v. Tri-City (03-01-2024)
- 5-2 L v. Portland (02-24-2024)
- 6-2 L v. Portland (02-23-2024)
- 3-1 L @ Kamloops (02-19-2024)
- 3-2 W v. Kelowna (02-17-2024)
WINTERHAWKS
- 3-0 W v. Regina (03-01-2024)
- 4-3 L v. Moose Jaw (02-28-2024)
- 5-2 W @ Victoria (02-24-2024)
- 6-2 W @ Victoria (02-23-2024)
- 4-0 L @ Everett (02-18-2024)
ROYALS UPCOMING SCHEDULE
- Mar. 05 @ SPO • 7:05 pm
- Mar. 08 @ EVT • 7:05 pm
- Mar. 09 v. EVT • 6:05 pm
- Mar. 15 v. PG • 7:05 pm
- Mar. 16 v. PG • 6:05 pm
WATCH AND LISTEN
Radio broadcast
Royals games will be broadcast on 91.3 FM the Zone this season with Marlon Martens calling all of the action.
Online video stream
All Royals games will be available on WHL Live. WHL Live is available to fans anywhere in the world, providing high-quality streaming of WHL games on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV platforms, via mobile with iOS and Android, and on web using Safari or Google Chrome web browsers. Visit watch.chl.ca for complete details and subscription options.
Written by Graham Morrison