DUBNetwork Game of the Night: Victoria Royals (31-23-6-2) @ Portland Winterhawks (44-11-3-4) 5:00 PM
Another exciting battle will take place this evening as the Royals and Winterhawks play the second of back-to-back games. Tonight’s shifts to the Moda Center.
Every game in the season series has required overtime so far. Portland has the advantage, collecting wins in two of three games.
Both teams are looking for points down the stretch as playoff positioning is still on the line. Portland leads the US Division by a single point over Everett with six games to play. Victoria is tied with Vancouver at 70 points, good for second and third in the BC Division. Both teams also have six games remaining.
Draft-eligible Seth Jarvis has feasted on Victoria this season. He has two goals and seven assists over the three games. Jaydon Dureau has also experienced success against the Royals with three goals and three assists. Leading all goal scorers is Kaid Oliver with four tallies and zero assists. Brayden Tracey also has four points for the Royals on one goal and three assists.
Portland will need to figure out its special teams which are both below the team’s season stats against the Royals. This season, the Winterhawks power play is clipping along at 23.9% but has gone just 2-for-12 against the Royals (16.7%). Their penalty kill is also among the league leaders at 83.5% but is just 5-for-9 (55.6%) in this series.
There is a good chance you’ll see both teams’ current starting netminders back between the pipes for their respective teams tonight. Joel Hofer has been outstanding for the Winterhawks this season with a 33-8-3-2 record. He has a top-10 goals-against average of 2.53 and a .913 save percentage. Adam Evanoff has come in in relief of the injured Shane Farkas. He is 7-9-4-1 since joining Victoria from Moose Jaw. His goals-against average is 3.66 and he has a .892 save percentage.
As always you can tune in to the game on WHL Live. Winterhawks play-by-play man Nick Marek can be heard on the Winterhawks app, while Royals play-by-play man Marlon Martens is on 91.3 FM the Zone.
In other WHL action:
Prince Albert Raiders (36-17-6-4) @ Winnipeg ICE (36-24-1-0) 5:00 PM
The Raiders have the lead in the season series at 3-2-0-0. One of their wins required overtime. With five games left, the Raiders lead the East Division by six points over the Brandon Wheat Kings. Winnipeg is in third place, three points back of Brandon with two games in hand.
Kamloops Blazers (40-17-3-1) @ Tri-City Americans (17-39-4-2) 4:05 PM
With their 8-1 in win in Kennewick last night and both Vancouver and Victoria losing in overtime, the Blazers clinched the BC Division crown. Tri-City has been eliminated from playoff contention. Kamloops won all three previous meetings between the two teams.
Everett Silvertips (45-13-3-1) @ Seattle Thunderbirds (24-31-4-3) 5:05 PM
Three games in three nights with the last two a home-and-home. Seattle won on the road 5-2 last night. Everett is in a dogfight down the stretch with the Portland Winterhawks. The Silvertips now sit one point back of the US Division leaders. Seattle gave itself a better chance of locking up a playoff spot with the win, now seven points ahead of Prince George for the final wild-card spot. The Cougars and Thunderbirds each have six games remaining.
