Brayden Schuurman’s overtime marker three minutes into the extra frame propelled the Royals to a 2-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. The win snapped a 10-game losing skid for the island team.
HAPPY WITH 10: With tonight’s victory the Royals avoided tying a franchise record for consecutive losses tonight. Coming into this evening’s contest the team was one loss shy of tying the franchise mark for longest losing streak at 11 games. Twice in franchise history the team has experienced an 11-game drought. The first instance occurred while the team was located in Chilliwack. During the franchise’s inaugural season in 2006, they went winless from September 23-October 20. Then in the 2012-13 season, Victoria had an 11-game winless streak from February 13-March 6.
2 OUT OF 3: Tonight, was only the second time this season that the Royals held a team scoreless for two periods in a game. In both instances, Victoria did not allow a goal in either the first or second periods. Unfortunately for the Royals the trend did not continue in the third periods as they gave up goals in the final frame in both contests. Tonight, Victoria allowed one goal to Prince George, and on April 23rd vs. Kamloops the Blazers scored three goals in the third period and took the contest 3-2.
ROOKIE POINT PRODUCTION: The Royals have 12 rookies on their roster this season, and the first-year players have been contributing on offensive end. Freshman players have contributed 33 points (9g-26a) for the Island team out of the 95 total points from Royals’ players this year. This accounts for 35% of Victoria’s total points. With their 26 assists Royals’ rookies have contributed 43% of the team’s total assists for the year.
Next Game: The Royals welcome the Vancouver Giants to the RE/MAX Hub in Kelowna at Prospera Place tomorrow night @ 7:05 p.m.
