The Victoria Royals will try to continue their hot play Friday and Saturday with the Vancouver Giants in town for back-to-back games at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.

The Royals take a five game win streak into Friday’s tilt, with one of those wins at the expense of the Giants last Friday at the Pacific Coliseum by a 6-2 score. The Royals have had the upper hand so far in the 10-game season series, with four wins in the first six encounters. The Royals go into the weekend with a 25-17-1-2 record and remain in sixth spot in the Western Conference. The Royals are still hot on the heels of the Tri-City Americans for fifth spot as they trail by six points but hold three games in hand.

Alex Gogolev scored the game winner against the Giants Friday, part of a huge week for Gogolev that yielded him the CHL Player of the Week honors after three goals and nine assists in four games. Gogolev leads the Royals with seven assists and nine points in the season series with the Giants. Gogolev isn’t the only Royal on a roll, as he shares a six game point streak with Brandon Magee, who has three goals and nine points over that span. Steven Hodges has filled the net eight times over the last five games, the longest current goal streak in the WHL.

The Vancouver Giants have lost four straight and their 24 points are the fewest in the WHL, 15 points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Even though they were shut-out by Everett, the Giants scored plenty of times the last time they were in Victoria when they scored a 7-2 win on December 5. Jackson Houck, who leads Vancouver with 11 points in the season series against the Royals, is tops for points among the Giants this season with 40. Cain Franson leads the Giants with 18 goals, six have come against Victoria.

The Royals and Giants face-off again Saturday. Puck drop for both games is 7:05pm. The season series will wrap up with a home-and-home March 8 and 9.

We are Royal Blue! Are you? Guarantee yourself the best seats for upcoming Royals games by visiting www.selectyourtickets.com, calling 250-220-7777 or visiting the Select Your Tickets box-office at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Mini-Packs, Vouchers and special rates for groups of 10+ are available by visiting www.victoriaroyals.com or calling 250-220-7889.