Don Cherry is not pleased with one prominent Vancouver Island hockey product — head coach Rod Brind’Amour and the post-game antics of his Carolina Hurricanes that everyone thinks are clever, except Cherry.
But Cherry would have certainly directed one of his “it’s a beauty” shoutouts to the Victoria Royals on Saturday for clinching home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a 5-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars.
The Royals wore jerseys inspired by Cherry’s famously loud suits to raise awareness for organ donations, a cause close to the hockey commentator’s heart. The Royals’ jerseys weren’t as garish as some of the Cherry jerseys worn by WHL teams this season, but they had the amusing touch of having each players’ nickname listed on the back namebar.
Phillip Schultz scored twice in the first six minutes of the third period to make it 4-2 for Victoria (33-25-4) on a three-point night for himself. Schultz might have grown up in Europe, but he knew enough of Canadian hockey culture to flash the Cherry thumbs-up to the crowd of 5,797 after his first goal.
Scoring earlier for Victoria on the power play were Carson Miller, on a three-point night, and defenceman Ralph Jarratt. Igor Martynov scored into an empty net on a three-point evening.
Josh Maser, with his 28th goal of the season, and Jack Sander scored for the Cougars (17-39-8), who had earlier been eliminated from post-season contention.
The Royals decidedly won the season series against the Cougars 8-1.
Veteran 20-year-old Victoria goaltender Griffen Outhouse will not tie Tyson Sexsmith’s and Corey Hirsch’s WHL record for most career victories at 120. Brock Gould got the start Saturday and made 32 saves. Outhouse’s 113 victories rank seventh on all-time WHL career list, but the Royals now have only six games remaining, making it unlikely for Outhouse to reach 120.
Taylor Gauthier, the Canadian U-18 gold-medallist who is the fifth-ranked North American goaltender for the 2019 NHL draft and second-highest ranked goalie from the WHL, made 27 saves for the Cougars.
Even with home-ice clinched for the first round, the Royals need to continue to play hard to end the regular season.
“You can’t just turn it on for the playoffs,” said Victoria blueliner Jarratt.
The Cougars will return to CN Centre to face the Portland Winterhawks Friday and Saturday.
