Victoria Royals rookie Ty Yoder scored his first WHL goal Wednesday night in a 7-2 loss to the Portland Winterhawks.
Although the game didn’t feature a score Victoria would be thrilled about, a first goal in the league is always something special.
Yoder recalled the setup to the goal “It was just a normal neutral zone play,” he said. “We usually do hybrid icing and try to beat it out. (Brandon) Cutler dumped it in, D-Jay (Jerome) was after the puck and I went to the net. Culter found me and I just threw it on net and saw the puck go in. I looked at Cuts (Cutler) and we were both very excited. It was really good to get my first goal in this league.” Teammate Jameson Murray made sure to grab the puck for Yoder, a keepsake of the young forward’s first league goal.
Head Coach Dan Price had praise for his young forward, “The players were all really happy for him. He almost had a couple more in the game, he was around the puck and the net. He works hard and it was good to see him rewarded.”
When asked if it was a relief to have the challenge of a first goal out of the way, Yoder replied “It helps a lot to get the first one off my back. Now that’s done I don’t have to worry about it and focus on my game.”
At 16-years-old, Yoder is the youngest player on the Victoria roster. Now with 23 games this season under his belt, the confidence is beginning to grow. “It’s feeling really good. The beginning of the season Cutler told me that you’ll be nervous for the first couple games but by Christmas you will figure it out. I feel comfortable now and it’s been really good.”
With just a couple of games remaining before the holiday break, the native of Tofield, AB is looking forward to heading home to see family and friends. “Very excited to go see everybody at home. Lots of visiting and hopefully spend lots of time with my family.”
There will be more opportunity to see family, and for them to watch Yoder play live as the Royals take a trip through Alberta after the break. “My parents are coming down to Red Deer and Calgary. Then Edmonton there will lots of friends and family from home.”
With the first goal out of the way, Yoder will look to build and continue to grow his offensive game. When asked what his goals were for the second part of the season, Yoder said “To start finding the back of the net more while helping the team out in any way I can. Contribute and get some wins for the guys.”
