The Victoria Royals (18-34-5-1) got a measure of revenge on Friday night against the Prince George Cougars (20-33-2-1) at Save on Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria.
Coming off 9-1 loss to the Cougars last Saturday, the Royals responded with a 6-2 win on Friday night, as they moved within one point of Prince George for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Devin Aubin scored his first two goals of the season and finished with three points to lead the way for the Royals. His linemate Tanner Scott had a goal and two helpers, as the Royals fourth line potted three goals in the win. Tyler Palmer was excellent in the Victoria net, as he stopped 40 shots, including the final 24 he faced over the last 40 minutes.
It was a tough night for the Cougars’ goaltenders. Ty Young started but was replaced by Tyler Brennan 13 minutes into the game after he surrendered three goals on seven shots. Brennan stopped 14 of 17 fired his way over the final 46 minutes.
Koehn Ziemmer and Connor Bowie each scored power play goals in the first period for Prince George. Hudson Thornton and Ethan Samson each had a pair of assists.
The two teams combined for six goals in the opening 20 minutes, as the Royals led 4-2 after the first period. Victoria scored a goal in each of the final two periods to cruise to their ninth win on home ice. Friday was just the third time the Royals scored six or more goals this season and the first time in 10 games against Prince George.
Prince George dominated the shot clock in the first and third periods. The Cougars outshot Victoria 18-9 in the opening frame and 14-2 in the final period of regulation. Prince George also won the special teams battle, as they were 2-2 on the power play and 2-2 on the penalty kill.
GAME NOTES
Prince George is now 8-2-0-0 in 10 games against the Royals this season. Ziemmer’s goal was his team-leading 28th of the season and 12th in 10 games against the Royals. He has now scored in five straight games. Samson and Thornton each extended their point streaks to eight games. Friday was Blake Eastman’s first game since February 5th. He had missed the last 11 games with a lower body injury.
GAME SUMMARY
Scoring
Royals: Devin Aubin (2), Tanner Scott, Riley Gannon, Carter Briltz, Tarun Fizer
Cougars: Koehn Ziemmer, Connor Bowie
Goaltending
Royals: Tyler Palmer (W), 60:00, 40 saves, 42 shots
Cougars: Ty Young (L), 13:38, 4 saves, 7 shots | Tyler Brennan, 46:22, 14 saves, 17 shots
Power-Play
Royals: 0/3
Cougars: 2/2
Shots
Royals: 24
Cougars: 42
Three Stars: 1) Devin Aubin 2) Tanner Scott 3) Tyler Palmer
Next Game: Saturday at Victoria Royals, 7:05 p.m.
