The Victoria Royals ran into an ornery bunch of Cougars on Friday night in Prince George, but managed to escape with a 3-2 shootout victory.
The two teams played a one-goal game for the fifth straight time this season and for the third time, the Royals prevailed in a shootout.
Gary Haden played Cougar-killer, scoring 12 seconds into the third and again with 1:27 left in regulation with the goaltender pulled for the extra attacker. Haden now leads the Royals in goals with 11.
Tarun Fizer was the lone scorer in the shootout as 20-year-old netminder Shane Farkas shut the door to push his personal win streak to seven games and the Royals improved to 16-9-2 overall. Farkas finished with 40 saves.
The Cougars (6-20-4), last in the B.C. Division and coming off four straight losses to the Portland Winterhawks, jumped on the Royals early and got a goal from Reid Perepeluk just four minutes in. A 5-on-3 power-play marker from Ethan Brown gave the home team a 2-0 lead, much to the delight of the crowd of 2,079.
Haden quickly beat Taylor Gauthier early in the third to begin the comeback.
The two teams will battle again tonight at the CN Centre in the Cougars’ annual Teddy Bear and Toque Toss Night. —Times Colonist
