Christoper Kelsall, Victoria Sports News

Victoria Royals outlast the Vancouver Giants in Game 7 to win series

There would not be another Game 7 heartbreak for the Royals.

Matthew Phillips blocked a shot with less than a second remaining to seal the win for the Royals and secure the series win.

In a Game 7 in 2016,  the Kelowna Rockets scored on the Royals with .02 seconds remaining to tie the game in Victoria, eventually winning in overtime. The scars of that loss had stuck with Victoria’s fans and players.  When asked post-game if he was thinking about that crushing goal while in the dying seconds of Tuesday’s Game 7, the Royals captain responded with a grinning “Absolutely. I looked at the clock and said no chance I’d let this happen again.”

Instead of devastating defeat, Victoria was able to hold off the Vancouver Giants and win Game 7 by a score of 4-3. True to the entire series, momentum swung back and forth in the game, with the result coming down to the final few seconds.

The start of the game saw Royals goaltender Griffen Outhouse looking strong, smothering all shots that came towards him. Outhouse was a key to his team’s victory in Game 6 and it appeared he was primed for another big evening.

The Victoria crowd of 6,467 were also primed and into the game, particularly vocal as Jared Dmytriw rolled over Outhouse at the end of a play with no penalty.
After a long stretch of play without a whistle leading to the media timeout, the Royals started to apply some pressure on the Giants. Ralph Jarratt was clipped with a high stick, as he continued to sacrifice his body during this series. On the ensuing power play, it was Chaz Reddekopp who was able to score at 18:36. The big defender worked the screen in front, and was able to tip the a shot down to the ice and beat Giants goalie David Tendeck for the 1-0 lead.

The second period saw a plethora of goals and was really a tale of two halves. The Royals kicked off  the scoring with a power move by Lane Zablocki, who muscled past the Giants defender to shovel the puck past Tendeck at 1:17 to make it 2-0 Royals.

Matthew Phillips made it 3-0 as off a puck careen Dante Hannoun found the Royals captain at the side of the net. The goal at 6:01 of the second period was the fifth of the series for Phillips and it chased Tendeck from the net as he was replaced by Trent Miner.

Igor Martynov looked like he made it 4-0, as after Miner covered the puck for a save he actually fished it out from behind the blue line with his glove. The Royals goal song “Brass Bonanza” blared in the arena, as the replays showed the puck across the goal line. However, after a lengthy review, it was ruled the whistle went before the puck went in.

The G-men finally responded as Tyler Popowich worked the puck from behind the net and past Outhouse to make it 3-1 at 7:49.

Phillips then scored his second of the night, as he took the puck at centre ice and carried into the Giants zone, ripping a shot over the blocker of Miner. The 4-1 goal at 9:36 was enough for Miner, as he was replaced as Tendeck came back into the game.

The back half of the second is where the Giants settled down and went to work. Vancouver drew within two as Tyler Benson made a nice slap-pass to Matt Barberis who scored while pinching in from the point. Brennan Riddle pulled the Giants to a one-goal deficit, with a nice shot that beat Outhouse high blocker side.

After Victoria scored twice in the first six minutes, the Giants did well in the second to regroup in the back half of the second period. Second period shots ended 12 to 9 for the Giants.

The stage for the third period was set for some intense action and it did not disappoint. Victoria began the period clearing traffic in front of Outhouse, allowing their goalie to see the puck. Outhouse recalled after the game “I thought this was probably our best game for boxing guys out and when I couldn’t see the puck they were blocking it. They did a great job.”

The Giants turned to their best players, as Ty Ronning and Benson seemed to be out for every other shift.

The Giants swarmed the Victoria net, keeping the Royals hemmed in their own end for over six minutes of furious action, but were unable to find the equalizer. Dawson Holt had a magnificent chance to tie the game, as after a turnover at the blueline, Holt received the puck at point blank range in front of Outhouse. However, the Victoria goalie came up with likely his most clutch save of the season to preserve the lead.

The Giants would pull Tendeck for the extra attacker but would eventually run out of time, with the Phillips’ block capping the victory for the Royals.

This was an amazingly hard fought series that had everything. Most notable were the wild swings in momentum. The two teams punched and counter-punched throughout seven games, alternating wins until the final two where Victoria was able to seal the series win with back-to-back victories. “It was such a hard fought series,” said Royals Coach Dan Price, “Vancouver competed so hard, it took everything we had to overcome and get through it. Not surprised that it was a one-goal game or a seven-game series.”

Vancouver’s future looks bright, as the young squad will be a force to be reckon with next season. It was the final WHL game for their graduating players, as over-agers Ty Ronning, Brennan Riddle and Darian Skeoch were honoured as the game’s three stars. “Nothing but respect for that team.” said Phillips post game when describing the Giants.

Victoria has a quick opportunity to savor the victory, before setting their sights on the next series and the Tri-City Americans. “We are going to enjoy this one tonight,” said Price “We are very proud of what we accomplished. We need to recover from tonight and we will start thinking about the future tomorrow.” That future begins with a second round matchup Friday, April 6th at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena.