Victoria, BC - In a Wednesday night matchup at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, the Victoria Royals faced off against their BC Division rival the Prince George Cougars in the second game of a doubleheader. The Royals gave Keith Hamilton the start in net while the Cougars countered with Drew Owsley.
The opening minutes of the game saw Victoria sustain pressure in the Cougars zone, but it was Prince George who opened the scoring. The goal came at 3:45 when Chase Witala skated in on a one-on-one and fired a low wrist shot that bounced off both posts and across the goal line. Victoria tied the game just past the halfway mark after a rebound off a point shot from Jordan Fransoo was corralled in front by Ben Walker who shoveled the puck underneath an outstretched Owsley. The Royals continued to pressure the Cougars and nearly took the lead after Austin Carroll rang a shot from the bottom of the circle off the right post. The game remained 1-1 after 20 minutes of play.
Early into the second frame, Victoria took the lead when Robin Soudek dished the puck through a crowd in front onto the stick of Walker who buried his second of the night to put the Royals up 2-1. Prince George looked to even the scoring on a two-on-one opportunity shortly after, but were denied when Hamilton slid across to make the left-pad save. Victoria would make it 4-1 after back-to-back goals on the man-advantage 52 seconds apart. The first came on a 5-on-3 after a Hayden Rintoul point shot ricocheted off the end boards on to the stick of Jamie Crooks who banged home his 27th goal of the year. Victoria's fourth marker came when Dakota Conroy stepped out of the left corner and fired the puck under the blocker of Owsley. After two periods the Royals led 4-1.
The Royals scored their fifth goal of the night just 80 seconds into the third period as Steven Hodges tipped a Zach Habscheid point shot past Owsley. Victoria cruised the rest of the way, holding Prince George to just six shots in the final frame. Royals 5 Cougars 1.
Victoria went 2/5 40.0% on the power play, while Prince George was 0/4 0.0%. The Royals outshot the Cougars 32-21.
The Victoria Royals take to the road this weekend as they travel to Spokane on Friday, February 3rd to take on the Chiefs. Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m. The Royals' next home game is set for next Tuesday, February 7th when they host the Everett Silvertips in the first game of a doubleheader. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. For further details or to purchase your tickets today, visit the Victoria Royals Ticket Office, www.selectyourtickets.com/victoriaroyals, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . or call 250-220-7889.
