Though an exciting exhibition game between two NHL teams at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre tonight, there sure was a whole lot of love for Victoria Royals alumni Matthew Phillips.
To the cheers of a sold-out crowd of 7,006 in the stands, the former captain and second star of the game took a standing ovation on the bench during a highlight reel tribute video presented by his old team, and perhaps it’s true – once a Royal, always a Royal.
This was a pleasant aside to the Vancouver Canucks falling 4-3 to the visiting Calgary Flames tonight in their first exhibition game, after participating in a 3-day Training Camp in Victoria.
Goalie Michael DiPietro started the first and second periods for the Canucks, flashing the pads several times in the first few minutes of the game before a rushing play led by none other than Matthew Phillips himself – which resulted in a goal for the Flames, Dube scoring and Phillips taking the shiny apple.
After penalties from either side and a powerplay goal from Calgary, the first 20 wrapped up with a score of 2-0 for the visitors.
Shots were tallied at 27-19 for the Flames in the second period, and Calgary’s Czarnik earned his second goal of the game, the score being 4-0 at the end of 40 minutes.
The third period saw a goalie change for the Canucks’ with Zane McIntyre between the pipes – the boys in blue also got their first goal of the game by Loui Eriksson, with Josh Teves and veteran Bo Horvat scoring two more in a mad dash towards the finish – but it unfortunately was not enough to secure a win.
Check out these photos from tonight’s Canucks vs. Calgary game at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre:
