Keanu Derungs sealed the game with his first WHL goal standing as the game-winner for the Victoria Royals as they defeated the Prince George Cougars 2-1.
“It feels amazing,” said Derungs of his first goal. “Cutsy [Brandon Culter] gave me a nice pass and I just had to tap it in.”
The product of Kloten, Switzerland fought off his check to redirect the puck into the Cougars net for a goal at 4:56 of the third period. The forward had been buzzing all night and was rewarded to give Victoria their first lead of the game.
The 17-year-old Derungs had impressed with not only his skill but his overall level of compete. Something that has earned him the trust of the coaching staff and given him time on the powerplay.
“The coaches have given me a lot of confidence. When you get time on the powerplay and you have the puck on your stick you will play better.”
Shane Farkas also had a first, recording his first win as Royal. The 20-year-old netminder stopped 22 of 23 shots for the win. After a difficult season opener in Everett where the Royals fell 6-0 to the Silvertips, the native of Penticton, BC had a bounce-back game.
“Shane was really solid,” said Royals Head Coach Dan Price postgame. “You could tell after that Everett game that he wished we could have played the next day. He wanted to get back at it so badly. That showed that in practice, where he was ultra-competitive and worked very hard. He was one of our hardest workers all week and it showed in the game tonight. He looked huge in the net, got us lots of whistles even when there was a lot of traffic in front. I thought he dealt with that very well, so very proud of him.”
The evening was also the first time playing in front of the home fans for several Royals, including three Island grown players. River Fahey, Riley Gannon, and Nolan Bentham, all raised on Vancouver Island, played their first game as Royals in front of the home crowd.
Fahey had a strong game, forming a line with Derungs and Brandon Cutler and the trio was productive throughout the night.
“We had lots of chances,” said Fahey. “We just built off the energy of the fans tonight.”
Some of those fans were Fahey’s friends and family, something that had to play with the nerves. “I tried to block out the nerves, but when there are that many people here to watch you specifically, it’s hard.”
“That line was really solid,” said Royals Price. “They were great on the defensive side of the puck, created lots of offensive zone playtime, controlled the puck with the cycle, used their speed and physicality to get the puck to the net.”
The game was evenly fought throughout, as expected from two BC Division rivals.
An early hit by Victoria defenceman Jacob Herauf at centre ice led to an interference penalty at 1:32 and some heated moments on the ice. Herauf would be a focus of the Cougars attention for the rest of the night.
Victoria forced some turnovers and created traffic in front of Cougars goalie Taylor Gauthier. The line of Culter, Derungs, and Fahey caused the Cougars some early grief. Gauthier stood strong however and was able to settle Prince George down. The Calgary, AB native ended with a solid game as he stopped 33 of 35 shots.
The first goal of the game came at 5:40 of the second period, as Matéj Toman scored for Prince George. The native of Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic appeared to deflect the shot past Farkas for his first goal of the season.
Victoria responded with some close chances, that cumulated in emotions boiling over. After a nice series of chances hat included a wrap-around attempt by Gary Haden, Sean Gulka and Austin Crossley dropped the mitts. The fight brought up the energy level in the building and seemed to push the home team.
“A tremendous overall game by Gulka,” said Price. “The fight was one thing. You should have heard the bench, the guys went crazy when that happened. They just really followed his lead with the momentum after that.”
Victoria evened the score as Carson Miller sniped a shot from the left faceoff dot, beating Gauthier high blocker-side. The goal came just seconds after a Victoria powerplay ended and tied the game 1-1 at 13:15 of the second. Assisting on the goal were Haden and Logan Doust, with Haden’s assist being his first point as a Royal.
Derungs goal early in the third stood as the winner. The Cougars pulled Gauthier for the extra attacker late in the third but could not find the equalizer. The Royals hung on for their first win of the season, with their record now 1-1. With the loss, Prince George fell to 0-3 on the season.
Both clubs meet again Saturday night, where the Royals expect the Cougars to come out playing hard.
“Prince George played very well tonight and they will be even better tomorrow. They’re a hard-working team so we’re going to ask ourselves for better as well. We will need to improve every game moving forward.”
Game Notes
- Victoria was still without the services of Kaid Oliver, (out since February 24th) and Phillip Schultz, who is yet to suit up this season.
- For the Cougars, they were without their top defenceman Cole Moberg, a Chicago Blackhawks draft pick. Moberg was injured in the Cougars second game of the season and will miss 2-3 weeks with an upper-body injury
- Both clubs were unsuccessful on the powerplay, as each team went 0-for-3 in the game.
- Victoria also defeated the Cougars 2-1 last season in their home opener, a game decided in a shootout.
