The Victoria Royals lost 4-2 in the final game of the weekend against the Prince George Cougars.
Victoria came into the second game of the weekend with a noticeably depleted lineup due to player injuries and illnesses. GM and Head Coach Dan Price decided to put Connor Martin in net for the Royals this afternoon with Tyler Palmer as his back up.
Thirty seconds into the first, Brayden Schuurman took a high stick and had to leave the ice giving the Royals a four-minute powerplay. The Royals went on the powerplay again at 11:04 but it remained scoreless halfway through. After applying intense pressure towards Royals netminder Martin, Cougars Blake Eastman was able to put one in the net giving the Cougars the 1-0 lead to end the first.
The second period began with a Royals powerplay at 19:32. Ten seconds into the 4-on-five, Bailey Peach set up Riley Gannon for the goal to make it 1-1. Tanner Scott, who scored the only Royals goal last night, got his second goal of the weekend after taking a nice pass from Riley Gannon and Kalem Parker to give the Royals the 2-1 lead six minutes in. The Cougars shot back with a goal off the skate of Martin from Mitch Kohner at 6:45 to tie the game again 2-2 before heading into the third.
Similar to the first period, Royals defenceman Luke Shipley took a high stick from Cougars Captain Hooker to give the Royals the four-minute powerplay. The Cougars came back from the powerplay re-energized and got the 3-2 lead off a centering pass from Mitch Kohner to Craig Armstrong. With an empty net and 20 seconds left, Craig Armstrong got his second goal to end the game 4-2. Royals forward Riley Gannon was selected as the third star of the night.
The Royals take on the Cougars next Friday for the Royals “Esports night” at 7:05 p.m. at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. On Saturday, the team celebrates Halloween with “The Royals Spooktacular on Outdoors Night” where little Royals fans can get a head start on their trick or treating at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
