The Prince George Cougars couldn’t overcome a slow start, as the Victoria Royals picked up a 5-1-win Saturday night at the CN Centre. The Royals scored four first period goals, as they handed the Cougars their fourth consecutive loss. Ilijah Colina scored the Cougars’ only goal in the second period.
GAME NOTES
MILESTONE NIGHT: Joel Lakusta played in his 200thcareer regular season game on Saturday. The 20-year-old was originally a draft pick of the Saskatoon Blades but has played all 200 games in Cougars colours. Through 26-games this season, Lakusta has four goals and 13 points.
COUGAR TRAP: Royals’ forward Dante Hannoun scored twice Saturday and now has three goals and 10 points in his last eight games against the Cougars, dating back to last season. Both of Hannoun’s goals on Saturday were on the power-play.
SEASON SERIES: The Royals have won the first three of nine against the Cougars this season. The Royals improved their record to 9-5-0-0 against the B.C. Division. Last season, the Cougars were 3-3-2-0 against the Royals.
UP NEXT: The Cougars (10-14-1-2) wrap up their weekend double-header against the Royals (13-9-0-0) Sunday afternoon, in their Un-Teddy Bear Toss game. The puck drops at 2 pm. Tickets are available atwww.ticketsnorth.ca, or at the TicketsNorth box office at the CN Centre, starting at 10 am.
GAME SUMMARY
Boxscore- http://whl.ca/gamecentre/1015883/boxscore
SCORING
Cougars– Ilijah Colina (1 G), Ryan Schoettler (1 A).
Royals-Dante Hannoun (2 G), Igor Martynov (2 G), Phillip Schultz (2 A), Scott Walford (2 A), Tanner Sidaway (1 G), Dino Kambeitz (1 A), Sean Gulka (1 A).
GOALTENDING
Cougars- Taylor Gauthier (Loss) 21/26 60:00
Royals- Brock Gould (Win) 18/19 58:50, Keegan Maddocks 0/0 1:10
POWER-PLAY
Cougars- 0/3
Royals- 2/4
THREE STARS: 1) Dante Hannoun 2) Igor Martynov 3) Scott Walford
-PG Cougars
