Victoria Royals defeated Prince George Cougars 5-2 on March 2 on home ice in the first round of playoffs.
Royal’s forward Phillip Schultz scored two goals in the third period to lead the club to a 5-2 victory over the Cougars, as the team secured the second seed in the B.C. Division to guarantee home ice in the first round of the 2019 WHL Playoffs.
Carson Miller and Igor Martynov both scored one goal and two assists throughout the game, along with Ralph Jarrat scoring one and Kody McDonald, Jay Jerome, Jake Kustra and Jameson Murray assisting goals.
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Brock Gould, Royal’s goaltender, saved 32 out of 34 shots.
With the March 3 victory the Royals’ clinched their eighth straight playoff berth. Victoria became the second B.C. Division team to secure a spot behind Vancouver. Additionally with this win the Royals secured second place in the B.C. Division and home ice in the first round of the WHL playoffs.
The Royals improved 6-2-0-0 in their final Saturday home game of the season since they moved to the Island in 2011. Furthermore, the team improved to 14-7-1-2 on Saturdays this season, with eight wins on home ice.
With an assist in the game on March 3, Royal’s forward Kody McDonald extended his point streak to four games (three goals and three assists) along with Phillip Schultz (four goals and one assist) and Jameson Murray (four assists) tallied points in their third straight game.
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The club embarks on a four-game road trip following the game on March 3 — beginning March 6, the team will face the Tri-City Americans. The Royals will then travel to Seattle to battle the Thunderbirds on March 8, followed by Spokane on Saturday, March 9 to take on the Chiefs, concluding their travels by facing Kamloops Blazers on March 13.
The Royals return home on March 15 to battle the Everett Silvertips for their final regular season home game ad their annual Fan Appreciation Night.
March 1: Victoria beat Prince George 4-3
The Victoria Royals earned a 4-3 victory over the Prince George Cougars as forward Kody McDonald registered three points (two goals and one assist) which included the game winner, against his former team.
Tarun Fizer scored one goal and one assist, Jameson Murray assisted two goals and Phillip Schultz scored one goal. Mitchell Prowse, Scott Walford and Igor Martynov all assisted a goal.
Griffen Outhouse, Royals goaltender, saved 32 out of 35 shots.
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This was McDonald’s first time facing off his former team, who spent parts of five seasons (2013 - 2018) with the Cougars playing 232 games.
Tarun Fizer celebrated his 18th birthday at the game on March 1. Fizer, originally from Chestermere Alta., has tallied 34 points (13 goals and 41 assists) in 61 games this season.
The Royals recorded a trio of goals in the opening frame of the March 1 game. The club has scored three goals in the first period three previous times this season; Nov. 9, Dec. 11 and Feb. 1 — all four occasions ended with a Royals win.
kendra.crighton@blackpress.ca
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