Royals Claim Games One and Two Over Americans

The Royals' first round matchup against the Tri-City Americans has begun about as well as Victoria could have hoped! The newly-crowned B.C. Division champions sniped their way to a 2-0 series lead on the weekend at home, and the team looked like a true powerhouse. What worked well in these first two games, and what can we expect moving forward?

Holy Hicks!

One of the biggest standouts so far these playoffs has been goaltender Johnny Hicks. The Royals could have gone either way when deciding which goalie to start in the playoffs, but so far it certainly seems like they made the right choice. Hicks recorded his first WHL shutout in a 3-0 game one victory, and made a flurry of spectacular saves on the way to stopping 29 of 31 shots to win game two with a score of 6-2. It's early yet, but rocking a .962 save percentage and a league-leading GAA of 1.00 is sure to raise eyebrows around the WHL if Johnny can continue at this pace.

Radical Reschny

It's impossible to talk about the Royals' strengths without mentioning Cole Reschny. On the cusp of being drafted in the first round of this year's NHL entry draft, a strong postseason for CR7 could raise his draft stock even higher. After having a phenomenal regular season under the pressure of being a top prospect, Reschny is continuing his remarkable offensive contribution into the playoffs, with three goals and two assists already in the Royals' first two games of the postseason. From swift skating to nifty passing to shorthanded snipes, Cole Reschny continues to prove that he can do it all.

Painful Penalties

Although almost everything seems to be going according to plan, the Royals' high penalty minute total (already 22 after just two games) is a clear weakness. As a team that had an average-at-best penalty kill in the regular season, Victoria doesn't tend to find success when spending too much time in the box. They are lucky to be having this problem against a team with a weaker offense like the Americans, but even so, both of Tri-City's goals so far this series have come on the power play. Especially against a strong, physical team like the Tri-City Americans, good discipline is a necessity for playoff success.

The Royals have been burning a hole straight through the Americans, and show no signs of stopping after two games, with players like Reschny, Lisowsky, and breakout superstar Teydon Trembecky continuing their offensive dominance into the postseason. A strong road team this season, particularly in the U.S. Division, Victoria is poised to sweep through the Americans in their away games this Tuesday and Wednesday. Can the Royals pull off the second series sweep in franchise history? If they keep playing at this pace, and unless Tri-City finds a miracle on home ice, the odds of winning this first round battle are heavily in Victoria's favour.