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WHL Victoria Royals

Royals Fall in 3-0 Loss to Cougars

March 27, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Victoria Royals News Release


Victoria, BC - Prince George Cougars goaltender Tyler Brennan stopped all 24 shots against in a 3-0 victory over the Victoria Royals on Saturday.

The Winnipeg, MB product now has four shutouts on the season.

Forward Craig Armstrong led the way for the Cougars' offence scoring once and adding an assist on the way to being named the game's first star.

Meanwhile, the Royals suffer their fifth scoreless defeat of the year and see their five game win streak come to an end.

Head Coach Dan Price emphasized the effect of a heavy workload over the past week as a contributing factor to the final result:

"The guys are pretty tired," said Price postgame. "Definitely not going to use that as an excuse, you never accept a loss, but I thought the effort was really good....Execution wasn't quite there, you could see the fatigue at times-little passes we usually make or shots we'd usually get off just weren't quite there"

He looks forward to using the upcoming week to rest and recover:

"We have a couple guys that are worn down a little bit," said Price. "We'll get them rested and recovered. We'll get some mental rest as well, do some team building, and have some great practice time."

Starting goaltender Campbell Arnold would make 16 of 19 stops in the loss.

Despite racking up six minutes in penalties during the first, Prince George found themselves holding a 2-0 advantage early in the game. Forward Craig Armstrong would count the first goal, scoring his 12th of the season while shorthanded at 9:59. This would be followed by a Riley Heidt powerplay marker (18) at 15:32 of the frame, putting his team up by two heading into the second.

The Cougars would extend their lead to start the middle frame on a goal by forward Blake Eastman at the 0:47 mark. That was all the offence either team could muster in the period and the game would head into the third with Prince George up 3-0.

Prince George would continue to shut down Victoria's attack in the third, allowing just five total shots against in the frame. Apart from a disallowed goal by the Cougars around the 10-minute mark, the final frame proved uneventful, and Prince George would cruise to the 3-0 victory.

The win improves the Cougars record to 21-35-2-1 on the season, putting them in sole possession of the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference with 45 points. They will head to Vancouver for another road matchup against the Vancouver Giants tomorrow night.

Meanwhile, the Royals remain in a tie for sixth place with the Giants-who also suffered a loss on Saturday-their record now standing at 22-35-5-1 with 50 points overall.

Victoria will finally get some much-needed rest after playing their sixth game in the past nine days. They will not be in action until next Friday night when they head to Kelowna for a date with the fifth place Rockets. Puck drop for that game is set for 7:05pm at Prospera Place in downtown Kelowna.

For tickets to upcoming Royals home games, visit the Victoria Royals ticketing page or call the Select Your Ticket box office at 250-220-7777. Visit the Royals promo page for all special ticket offers.

Follow the Royals on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok and visit our website to find out more about ticket sales and the latest news on the team. To get all your Royals news in one place, download the new Royals app available on both Apple and Google stores.

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Western Hockey League Stories from March 27, 2022


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