Another slow start proves costly as Royals routed
SEATTLE 8 VICTORIA 1
The Victoria Royals forgot to come out for the opening faceoff for the second consecutive game. The Royals fell behind 3-0 after just eight minutes and 20 seconds Saturday night in an 8-1 Western Hockey League loss to the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Washington.
That follows the Royals going down 5-0 in the first period on Friday night in a 6-4 loss to the Saskatoon Blades on Blanshard Street.
Spotting a team like Seattle any sort of lead is tough enough at the best of times, never mind so early in a game. The Thunderbirds boast 10 NHL draft picks, including five first-rounders, and lead the WHL Western Conference and are No. 3 ranked in the Canadian Hockey League.
They proved unrelenting even with the lead, building it to 6-0 by 8:58 of the second period.
“I thought our energy to start was decent but we were tentative, perhaps, because of all the hype that surrounds Seattle and its roster,” said Victoria general manager and head coach Dan Price.
“We can’t defer to them like we did in the first period. Our third period showed we can play with anybody and that’s the momentum we want to carry over into Monday and Tuesday [when the Thunderbirds meet the Royals at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre].”
The Thunderbirds gave goaltender Thomas Milic, who backstopped Canada to the 2023 world junior championship gold medal, the night off. Back-up Scott Ratzlaff made 23 saves for the victory. Victoria starter Braden Holt allowed five goals on 15 shots before being replaced by Nicholas Cristiano in the second period and who made 13 saves on 16 shots.
Jared Davidson and Kyle Crnkovic scored twice for the Thunderbirds. Danish-import Marcus Almquist scored Victoria’s goal.
The clock continued to click ominously on the Royals’ season with 13 games remaining. The Kelowna Rockets beat the Portland Winterhawks on Saturday. Victoria fell five points behind Kelowna in the race for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference, with the Rockets holding three games in hand, as the math continues to close in on the Royals.