The Victoria Royals’ season has come to an unfortunate end last night with a 5-3 loss to the Tri-City Americans, giving the Kennewick, Washington team a 4-0 sweep of the playoff series.
Despite two goals for Victoria from Noah Gregor, the high-powered offence of the Americans was too much for the Royals to handle.
The Americans’ Morgan Geekie Geekie scored a goal and 2 assists in the series-clinching victory, while Michael Rasmussen tallied an assist, giving the pair a combined 23 points in the series.
Tri-City Were Always The Favourites
Beating the Americans was always going to take an enormous defensive effort from the Royals. Despite only getting into the playoffs through a Wild Card spot, Tri-City actually had more points this season than the Royals.
After stomping the Kelowna Rockets in four games, the Americans did just the same to the Royals. They’ve now scored 46 goals over their 8 playoff games en route to an 8-0 record.
Their power play was also lethal, clicking at a ridiculous rate of 47.8%.
Tri-City will go on to battle the winner of the series between the Everett Silvertips and Portland Winterhawks, which Everett currently leads 2-1.
Tyler Soy, Chaz Reddekopp, Kade Jensen play their final game
What a unreal group of 20's! Congrats to Kade, Chaz & Tyler on great junior careers! Thank you for all your hard work, passion & dedication! pic.twitter.com/7MERoNzfQ8
— Victoria Royals (@victoriaroyals) April 12, 2018
With the playoffs over, Royals fans can now say their farewells to a tremendous trio of 20-year olds. Tyler Soy, Chaz Reddekopp, and Kade Jensen will all now move on from their Western Hockey League careers.
Soy and Reddekopp were both first-round selections in the Royals’ second-ever draft in 2012. They went on to become some of the core franchise players.
Soy is now the most prolific scorer in franchise history, tallying 151 goals and 327 points over 323 games.
His hockey sense and ability to both score and distribute the puck made him a pillar at the top of Victoria’s lineup. The cerebral centre set a career high in assists and points in last season, amassing 92 points (36 goals and 56 assists).
Reddekopp was a pillar on the Royals blueline over his 5 seasons in the black and blue. With great size (6’3″) and mobility, Reddekopp developed into a multi-tool defender who could play both sides of the puck. In his last two seasons as a Royal, the LA Kings draft choice scored 17 goals and 57 assists over 97 games.
Jensen was acquired by the Royals this December in an effort to shore up the blueline. He did precisely that, offering a responsible defensive game and strong passing.
In his 33 games as a Royal this year, he scored 5 goals and 7 assists.
Congratulations to Soy, Reddekopp, and Jensen on their great junior hockey careers!
