Laroque Scores in OT to Defeat Thunderbirds
The Victoria Royals won another overtime thriller against the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday night.
The first period began with a goal from Seattle that was waived off due to goaltender interference. The Thunderbirds continued to apply pressure for the remainder of the first period building off the momentum from their initial attempt. With two minutes left to go, the Thunderbirds got the first goal of the night on a goal from Jared Davidson to make it 1-0. Tyler Palmer was looking sharp in net for the Royals fending off 14 of 15 shots.
Seattle opened the second period with their second goal of the night from Sawyer Mynio to put the Thunderbirds up 2-0. A minute later, Carter Briltz got one for the Royals with help from Anson McMaster and Igor Zbrovoskiy, making it 2-1. Seattle took a five-minute major putting Victoria on the power play with just under ten minutes to go. A minute in, Bailey Peach tied the game up with assists from Evan Patrician and Brayden Schuurman. While the Royals were on the power play, Seattle scored a shorthanded goal to take back the lead 3-2. However, that lead was cut again when Keanu Derungs tied the game with a goal assisted by Anthony Wilson and Anson McMaster.
Both teams were working hard in their own zones to start the third when Seattle’s Eric Van Impe scored the Thunderbirds fourth goal of the night. This was quickly followed up by the Royals with an equalizer from Evan Patrician assisted by Luke Shipley. Neither team was able to take the lead in the third and the game went to overtime for the fourth game in a row for the Royals.
It was a close overtime with multiple chances for both teams. However, with two minutes to left to go Peach made a centering pass for Gannon Laroque who shot the puck past Martin for the 5-4 win.
The three stars of the night were Jared Davidson (SEA), Sam Popowich (SEA) and Anson McMaster (VIC).
GM and Head Coach Dan Price continues to be proud of the effort he is seeing from his team.
“Our players had to fight through another tough test tonight; A hostile environment, on the road, trailing in the first period and then again in the third period. However, they stuck with the process and rose to the challenge and the entire depth of the lineup contributed,” Price said. “The coaches are very proud of the players’ effort, consistency and resilience. We’ll recover tonight and get ready for another great challenge in Portland tomorrow.”
The next Royals home game is December 11th against the Vancouver Giants for the Royals inaugural Lighthouse Island Bowl igniting the rivalry between the two teams on the eve of the CFL Grey Cup. Visit the Victoria Royals ticketing page or call the Select Your Ticket box office at 250-220-7777.
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