The Victoria Royals got some top goaltending from Shane Farkas and blew open a close physical game in the third period for 3-1 win over the Vancouver Giants.
The Royals netminder was solid throughout the game, making big saves and was less than two minutes out from a shoutout.
“The goalie coaches and I have been doing a lot of work in practice, so kudos to them for helping to tweak my game a little,” said Farkas postgame of 33-save night, while also giving credit to his teammates. “The guys did a good job with their sticks, putting pressure on their guys and blocking a lot of shots. It makes my night easier.”
“Shane Farkas really led the charge,” said Victoria head coach Dan Price postgame. “He was fighting through traffic, he dealt with rebounds and got us whistles.”
Momentum swung each period, with the Royals striking early and carrying the play in the first. The Giants controlled the play on the second, something that Price addressed with his club in the second intermission.
“From the TV timeout in the first, until the end of the second period, I didn’t think we were ourselves,” said Price. And that’s something our team needs to embrace and find consistency. No disrespect to Vancouver, but I felt like we had more control of the game than we showed in those middle 40 minutes or so. That’s something we’re going to really work on.”
“It was it was very similar to the message after the game in Spokane,” added Price. “We had been in control going into the second here against Vancouver, and we just took our foot off the gas a little bit. The second period was a reminder that we’ve learned this lesson, let’s turn it on and go close this out.”
And close it out they did, with two quick goals late in the third period combined with Farkas’ solid goaltending secured the victory.
Coming in on the game, both clubs found themselves deadlocked in the tight BC Division with 28 points each. The Royals, however, have three games in hand. Both clubs have had success in their last 10 games, with the Giants going 6-3-0-1 over that stretch and the Royals sporting a 7-2-1-0 record through their last ten games.
Victoria opened the scoring early, as Graeme Bryks scored just 20 seconds into the game. Brandon Cutler wheeled behind the Giants’ net and found Bryks wide open out front, who then beat David Tendeck.
In the second, the Giants showed some push courtesy of the man-advantage, but Farkas showed quick reflexes and solid rebound control.
Farkas continued his strong play throughout the second, including a poke-check on a streaking Tristen Nielsen to preserve the 1-0 lead. The Royals’ netminder also had some luck, as Justin Sourdif rang a laser of a shot of the crossbar.
The second period ended scoreless, as Farkas was the difference, making big saves and flashing the leather multiple times, a little razzle-dazzle. After two frames, shots were 22 to 13 in favour of Vancouver.
The final period saw Victoria take consecutive penalties early but were unable to make the advantage count.
A potentially dangerous moment saw Will Warm receive a kneeing penalty after colliding with Zach Ostapchuk. Warm looked to take the worst of the encounter, as he headed down the tunnel and Gary Haden served his penalty.
As the penalty expired, Haden picked up the puck as he came out of the box and went in all alone on Tendeck. The Vancouver goalie made a good save, but the rebound went straight to Keanu Derungs who buried it for the 2-0 lead at 11:13.
Victoria kept it coming less than a minute later as Nolan Jones wheeled and fired as he was falling. Jones found the puck between the two Giant defenders for his first goal as a Victoria Royal, making it a 3-0 game. The defender looked pretty comfortable playing forward, “
With 1:42 left in the game, the Giants finally solved Farkas as Cole Shepard tipped the puck up and over the Victoria goalie.
That goal would be it for the scoring, as Victoria took the win against their division rival. With the win, the Royals have points in nine of their last ten games. Vancouver has now lost their last two games, and with their power play going 0-for-6 on the night, are now a league-worst on the power play at 10.7 percent.
Next up for Victoria is a back-to-back set at home versus the Seattle Thunderbirds, with the first game on Friday, December 6th. Saturday’s game against the T-Birds is the annual Teddy Bear Toss night and expects to be a sellout crowd on hand.
Quicks Hits
International Duty – Royals’ captain Phillip Schultz joined Team Denmark’s selection camp last Sunday for the 2020 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship, Division 1, Group A tournament. Denmark is playing in the tournament being held in Minsk, Belarus and are looking to secure their spot in the 2021 WJHC in Edmonton and Red Deer, AB
Sending their Best – Joining Schultz with team Denmark is Royals assistant coach J.F. Best. This is the 4th consecutive year for Best to work with Denmark, the first as assistant coach for the international squad.
Captain Will – With Phillip Schultz at Denmark’s selection camp for the 2020 WJHC, Victoria Royals defenceman Will Warm donned the “C” as interim captain while Schultz is away.
