PRINCE GEORGE 4 - VICTORIA 0
The Prince George Cougars are probably wishing every game could be against the Victoria Royals.
The Cougars won their fifth consecutive contest against the Royals with a 4-0 Western Hockey League victory Wednesday night before 1,541 fans at the CN Centre. The Royals are 1-9 overall on the season and the Cougars 5-3, with all their wins coming in the past five games against Victoria.
Prince George goaltender Tyler Brennan, ranked by Central Scouting for the second to third rounds of the 2022 NHL draft, kept the Royals at bay with a 31-shot shutout. Tyler Palmer made 39 saves for Victoria.
Carter MacAdams and Blake Eastman scored twice each for the Cougars. Victoria had only five goals in the five games against Prince George.
“We got boxed out on second-shot opportunities,” said Royals coach Dan Price.
“They were better around the net fronts than us.”
Victoria went 0-6 on the power play, including a two-man advantage near the end of the game that tested Brennan, and Prince George was 1-6.
The Royals, riddled by injuries in the early season, had 16 skaters and two goaltenders dressed, two less than allowed. Victoria was forced to call up two affiliate defencemen, Nate Misskey and Justin Kipkie.
It didn’t help that Victoria’s most dangerous offensive performer on the season with eight points, Brayden Schuurman, left the game in the third period after taking six shots on Brennan. Price did not have a status on Schuurman following the game.
The Royals now travel to Kamloops to meet the Blazers (6-1) on Friday night and to Kelowna to take on the Rockets (2-2) on Saturday before returning to the Island to host Kamloops Nov. 5-6 at the Memorial Centre.
cdheensaw@timescolonist.com
