VICTORIA 5 - PORTLAND 4 (OT)
Everything is just Peachy for the Victoria Royals these days.
After giving up a late two-goal lead for the second straight night, the Royals got a Bailey Peach goal at 2:15 of overtime to stun the Portland Winterhawks 5-4 on Saturday night in front of 2,466 fans at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Despite being outshot 52-18 and allowing the Winterhawks to score twice in the last eight minutes to force the extra frame, Victoria finished their swing through Washington state and Oregon with a 3-0-1 record.
It was the fifth straight overtime finish for the Royals, who have also collected points in seven straight games.
After the Royals scored four straight to erase an early 2-0 Winterhawks lead, Portland stormed back in the third with Jaydon Dureau and James Stefan beating Campbell Arnold in the final period.
Peach finished with a pair of goals, including a shorthanded marker midway through the second period that drew the Royals even with the home team. Riley Gannon and Evan Patrician then struck late in the second and early in the third, respectively. Gannon also opened the scoring for the Royals.
The victory moved the Royals to 6-11-3 on the season, while the Winterhawks drop to 8-10-3-1.
The Royals now return home to prepare for next weekend’s home-and-home set with the Vancouver Giants beginning Friday night in Langley and finishing next Saturday night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
LOOSE PUCKS: Royals forward Macus Almquist missed Saturday’s game as he heads back home to Denmark to represent his country in the Div. 1A world junior championship. The tournament will be played in Horsholm, Denmark, with Belarus, Latvia, Norway, Kazakhstan, Hungary and the host team taking part. The winner advances to the 2023 world junior championship in Russia.
