ROYALS LOOK TO TAKE DOWN GIANTS
The Victoria Royals look to continue their winning ways against their biggest rival at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre Wednesday night. With three wins in their first four encounters with the Vancouver Giants, the Royals host Vancouver for the second time this season.
The Royals come off two big victories on the road in Prince George last weekend that improved the team’s record to 15-12-0-1 on the year. The 31 points collected by the Royals has put the team sixth in the Western Conference, with the Kelowna Rockets and Tri-City Americans just five points ahead. The Royals have gone 6-2-0-1 in their last nine outings as they play the first of two home games this week. The Swift Current Broncos will be in town Saturday night.
Logan Nelson is tied for the second longest current point streak at nine games and has the longest current assist streak in the WHL at eight. Nelson has posted nine assists and 12 points over that time. Alex Gogolev will look to start a new streak after his 11 game run ended in Prince George Saturday. Gogolev continues to lead the Royals with 32 points, with a team-high 21 assists and leads the Royals with five points against the Giants this season through four games. Jamie Crooks, who has 14 goals to lead all Royals, has been on a tear of late. Crooks has a goal in each of the last two games and has five goals and six points in the last half-dozen games.
Patrik Polivka has been the anchor in goal over the Royals’ last nine games, as he has started all of them and posted a .921 save percentage over that time. Polivka is 3-and-0 against the Giants this season, with a 2.35 goals against average and .918 save percentage.
The Giants come into action with the fewest points in the WHL with 14, thanks to a seven game slide that has dropped Vancouver’s record to 7-20-0-0. The Giants are in serious danger to miss the playoffs for the first time since their inaugural season of 2001-02, currently 10 points out of a playoff spot. However, the Giants won the last get-together with Victoria with a 4-1 decision on October 26.
Puck drop tonight is 7:05pm.
The Royals Holiday Combo is now on sale! Single game tickets and mini-packs are also now on sale. Guarantee yourself the best seats by visiting www.victoriaroyals.com, calling 250-220-7889, or emailing [email protected] before it’s too late!
