ENERGY LINE HUGE IN ROYALS’ PLAYOFF PUSH

The forward trio of Mike Forsyth, Tim Traber and Dakota Conroy might not get all the headlines, but they have earned the attention of the opposition since they came together in January. It is a line that has been placed against other teams’ top line and yet, in the last encounter Friday night against the Portland Winterhawks, they combined for two goals, two assists and a +5 in a 3-1 victory that clinched a playoff spot for the Victoria Royals. They have gotten to know each other’s style of play since Conroy was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings on January 9 and the three have continued to build a strong foundation for a difficult line to deal with for Royals’ foes.

“Right away we noticed chemistry between us three and Marc (Habscheid) recognized that too and he saw that as a positive and ever since we’ve just been creating offence and that’s a bonus for us,” said Forsyth, who led the charge Friday with a goal and an assist and was +3. “The big thing with us is we know where each other are on the ice and in the offensive zone and we just kind of feed off that. Every pass ends up on one of our sticks and if we just keep doing that, I think we can really contribute offensively.”

“We’ve been playing hard nosed and we got rewarded in the last game,” said Conroy. “We just do whatever Marc wants us to do and right now it’s just to bring energy and finish off our checks. Our line has shown that it’s capable of scoring goals, too.”

The hard work the three have shown to help keep the puck out of the Royals’ net has led to the trio chipping in at the other end of the ice.

“I think Conroy has helped them by adding some skill to the line-up and he’s a pretty heady player,” said Royals’ General Manager and Head Coach Marc Habscheid. “The other two guys have some skill too, but they work hard, they crash and bang and get their opportunities out of it.”

“(Conroy’s) got the scoring touch,” said Traber, who had three goals and 12 points on the season. “Mike and I are pretty hard. It’s nice when we’re working down low and he’s in the slot and we get him the puck and he can bury it, so it’s pretty nice.”

“First and foremost, our hard work helps,” added Forsyth. “Trabes and I like to pride ourselves on working hard and Conroy adds a lot of skill on our line. We just out-worked our opponents and we created a lot of turnovers and that’s how we scored the goals that we did Friday. They were two big goals.”

The Royals handed out their team hardware Saturday afternoon as Traber earned the Hardest Worker Award while Forsyth picked up Unsung Hero honors.

“I like to think that I contribute a lot to the team and guys know that I do,” said Forsyth of his award. “Sometimes it doesn’t go as noticed as you’d like, but that award made me feel good about myself because no matter what I do, my teammates know that I’m doing my best. Sometimes you get looked over a little bit, but getting that award boosted my confidence a lot, that’s for sure.”

“We have a lot of guys that could have won that award, too, so I was fortunate enough to win that,” saidTraber.

Now that line, and the rest of the Royals, gets set to face a Kamloops Blazers’ squad that was third in goals scored in the WHL with 290. The BC Division champs, led by 40-goal and 92-point man Brendan Ranford, pose a big challenge for the Royals, but one they are excited to accept.

“I know that we’re a gritty, hard-working team and I know anything can happen in the playoffs,” said Conroy, one of about a dozen playoff rookies on the Royals’ roster. “We have confidence in ourselves as every team should. Those two wins over Portland help as a young team and reassure us that we can play with any team in the league. It definitely gives us a boost, but we have to dust it off and look forward to the task at hand.”

“They’re a quick team and they have good all-around players,” said Traber. “We just have to work hard and do our systems properly and come together as a group like we have in the last five or six games.”

“They are very tough to beat in their building. They’ve got really good fans and no doubt it will be a packed house,” added Forsyth. “If we come in there and play our game and work as hard as we can, then our chances will be pretty good.”