Cougars fall to Royals in Friday night game

The second period continues to be the Prince George Cougars nemesis. The Victoria Royals erased a 1-0 deficit, scoring twice in the middle frame and added three in the third period, in their 5-1 win on Friday night.

Rhett Rhinehart’s goal in the first staked the Cougars out to a 1-0 lead through 20-minutes but the Royals found another gear in the second period, scoring twice in one minute and 14-seconds to lead 2-1 after 40-minutes. Victoria then added two more early in the third period, scoring 38-seconds apart, to pull away.

Isaiah DiLaura stopped 29 of 34 shots, in a losing effort. Brock Gould stopped 34 of 35 shots to pick up the win for the Royals. Friday was the Cougars’ fourth-straight loss.

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD

Cougars [1-0] Rhett Rhinehart (3) from Ethan Browne and Josh Maser- 12:27

SECOND PERIOD

Royals [1-1] Dino Kambeitz (5)- 14:25

Royals [2-1] Tarun Fizer (8)- 15:39 [Power-Play]

THIRD PERIOD

Royals [3-1] Kaid Oliver (15) from Logan Doust and Dino Kambeitz- 1:18

Royals [4-1] Brandon Cutler [7] from Ty Yoder- 1:55

Royals [5-1] Phillip Schultz [6] from Dante Hannoun and Tarun Fizer- 8:23

SHOTS

Cougars- 35

Royals- 34

POWER-PLAYS

Cougars- 0/4

Royals- 1/4

ONE-TIMERS

ROAD WOES: Friday was the Cougars’ sixth-straight loss on the road. In four of those six games, the Cougars have surrendered five or more goals. The Cougars are now 4-9-1-1 away from the CN Centre.

SEASON SERIES: The Cougars are now 1-3-0-1 in five games against the Royals this season. The seasons series continues in Prince George on Feb. 15 and 16 for a weekend double-header. The Cougars have been outscored 43-17 in the second periods this season.

UP NEXT: The Cougars (11-18-1-2) wrap up their road trip Sunday against the Vancouver Giants (21-7-2-0) at the Langley Events Centre; the puck drops at 4:00 pm. The Cougars beat the Giants 1-0 on Nov. 11.

Fans can listen to the game on 94.3 The GOAT.