Royals edged out by Cougars in tight overtime battle
Victoria, BC. — The Victoria Royals returned to the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre for a Sunday afternoon clash against the Prince George Cougars. After a game that saw the teams tight in shots, faceoffs and goals, the Cougars bested the Royals in overtime with a final score of 4-3.
Hayden Moore opened the scoring with a tip-in goal in the first minute of the game, assisted by Odin Vauhkonen and Reggie Newman. The Cougars responded with a goal from Kooper Gizowski at the seven-minute mark of the first period, but an unassisted short-handed goal from Miles Cooper brought the Royals back into the lead. Cooper’s bury marked the Royals’ first short-handed goal of the season, and the Royals maintained the 2-1 lead after the first 20 minutes of play.
The Cougars brought the game back to a tie with a goal from Townes Kozicky at 3:41 of the second period. Despite tallying 4 shots on 7 attempts, the Royals were unable to convert on an extended power play, and the teams remained knotted at two headed into the second intermission.
Prince George took their first lead of the night with a goal from Brock Souch just over five minutes into the third period. Timofei Runtso netted the equalizer goal on a power play at 12:35, assisted by Hayden Moore and Reggie Newman. Neither team could break through in the final minutes of regulation, and the game was sent into overtime for the second consecutive game.
Carson Carels struck in the first minute of the overtime frame to seal the final score of 4-3 for the Cougars.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
0:55 Victoria Royals Goal
Hayden Moore (11) assisted by Odin Vauhkonen and Reggie Newman
7:00 Prince George Cougars Goal
Kooper Gizowski (13) assisted by Patrick Sopiarz
8:45 Victoria Royals Goal
Miles Cooper (8) unassisted
2nd Period
3:41 Prince George Cougars Goal
Townes Kozicky (1) assisted by Arsenii Anisimov
3rd Period
5:41 Prince George Cougars Goal
Brock Souch (9) assisted by Carson Carels
12:35 Victoria Royals Goal
Timofei Runtso (6) assisted by Hayden Moore and Reggie Newman
Overtime
0:24 Prince George Cougars Goal
Carson Carels (8) assisted by Brock Souch and Terik Parascak
Shots on Goal
Royals – 28
Cougars – 29
Powerplay
Royals – 1/4
Cougars – 0/3
Goalie Stats
Royals
Ethan Eskit – 26/29
Cougars
Joshua Ravensbergen – 26/28
What’s Next
Wrapping up their five-game homestand, the Royals will host the Vancouver Giants this Friday, December 12th for their annual Teddy Bear Toss game. Puck drop is set for 7:05 PM at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre and tickets are already 80% sold.
