Royals battle to shootout win in Portland
Portland, OR — The Victoria Royals were on the road tonight, taking on the Portland Winterhawks in a mid-week clash at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. A high-shooting affair in Oregon saw the Royals and Winterhawks forced into a shootout, but the Royals came out on top to secure the 5-4 victory to earn a crucial two points.
Portland got on the board first with a goal from Griffin Darby at 11:03 of the opening frame. Max Silver immediately responded with his first WHL goal, assisted by Miles Cooper and Roan Woodward, to knot the game at one. The Royals took the lead with a power play marker from Ludovic Perreault at 13:26, assisted by Reggie Newman and Miles Cooper, but the Winterhawks followed with a goal from Alex Weiermair to tie the game again at two. The Winterhawks reclaimed their lead with a power play goal from Jordan Duguay at 15:46, and the Royals trailed 3-2 headed into the first intermission.
Cruz Waltze notched his second goal of the season, assisted by Henry Peterson and Cohen Massey, to bring the game back to a tie early in the second period, but Portland took the lead back with a goal from Luke Wilfley at 7:01. The teams traded power play opportunities through the second half of the frame, but neither could capitalize on their man advantage, and Portland maintained the 4-3 lead after 40 minutes of play.
The Royals tied the game back up with Ludovic Perreault’s second power play goal of the night, assisted by Roan Woodward and Miles Cooper, at 7:10 of the third period. After a combined 71 shots through 60 minutes of play, the Royals and Winterhawks remained tied at the end of regulation to force overtime.
Neither team could break through in overtime, sending the game into a shootout. Roan Woodward earned the only goal in the shootout to give the Royals the 5-4 win.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
11:03 Portland Winterhawks Goal
Griffin Darby (1) assisted by Alessandro Domenichelli and Kyle McDonough
11:40 Victoria Royals Goal
Max Silver (1) assisted by Miles Cooper and Roan Woodward
13:26 Victoria Royals Goal
Ludovic Perreault (15) assisted by Reggie Newman and Miles Cooper
14:42 Portland Winterhawks Goal
Alex Weiermair (28) assisted by Ryan Miller and Jordan Duguay
15:46 Portland Winterhawks Goal
Jordan Duguay (18) assisted by Ryan Miller and Alex Weiermair
2nd Period
3:09 Victoria Royals Goal
Cruz Waltze (2) assisted by Henry Peterson and Cohen Massey
7:01 Portland Winterhawks Goal
Luke Wilfley (8) assisted by Reed Brown
3rd Period
7:10 Victoria Royals Goal
Ludovic Perreault (16) assisted by Roan Woodward and Miles Cooper
Overtime
No Scoring
Shootout
Sam Spehar (POR) – MISS
Roan Woodward (VIC) – GOAL
Nathan Free (POR) – MISS
Eli McKamey (VIC) – MISS
Alex Weiermair (POR) – MISS
Shots on Goal
Royals – 37
Winterhawks – 36
Powerplay
Royals – 2/5
Winterhawks – 1/6
Goalie Stats
Royals
Ethan Eskit – 32/36
Winterhawks
Ondrej Štěbeták – 33/37
What’s Next
Continuing their road trip, the Royals will head up to Penticton to take on the Vees this Saturday, February 14th. Puck drop is set for 6:05 PM at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
