Cougars Drop 6-3 Decision to Royals at CN Centre
PRINCE GEORGE – The BC Division banner is headed to Vancouver Island as the Victoria Royals defeated the Prince George Cougars 6-3 on Friday at the CN Centre. With the win, Victoria secures its second BC Division title and first since the 2015-16 season. As a result, Prince George will face the Portland Winterhawks in the opening round of the 2025 WHL Playoffs.
The Royals jumped to an early lead at the 5:29 mark courtesy of Teydon Trembecky’s team-leading 45th goal of the season. The Cougars, however, responded with a gorgeous goal of their own, coming off the stick of Carson Carels, who received a great pass from Evan Groening. Carels made a tremendous move around the Victoria goaltender to make it 1-1. The Royals, however, responded swiftly with a pair of goals just three minutes apart, coming from Markus Loponen (12:03) and Logan Pickford (15:21), making it 3-1 Victoria after the opening twenty minutes.
In the second, Prince George had some great chances, but Victoria goaltender Johnny Hicks was solid all night long. The Royals were awarded a penalty shot, but Brayden Boehm was stopped by Josh Ravensbergen, keeping the game at 3-1. The Cougars built some momentum after the save and got a big goal from Riley Heidt at the 15:23 mark to make it 3-2. The Royals, once again, replied quickly, getting a marker from Teydon Trembecky at 17:31 and a tip-in from Cole Reschny at 18:05, making it 5-2 Victoria through 40 minutes.
In the third, the Royals held the Cougars to just four shots. Victoria added to their lead at 2:21 with a Nate Misskey one-timer to make it 6-2. Riley Heidt added his second of the game at 9:13, but that was as close as the Cougars would come, falling by a 6-3 count. The Cougars and Royals will conclude their regular-season schedule tomorrow at 6:00 PM.
They Said It…
General Manager and Head Coach Mark Lamb on the game…
