Royals open weekend with 7-1 loss to Cougars

Victoria Royals forward Matthew Hodson recorded his 30th point of the season with one goal in a 7-1 loss to the Prince George Cougars at the CN Centre on Friday.

The Saskatoon, SK product currently sits sixth among all Royals skaters in scoring with 16 goals and 14 assists on the year.

Starting goaltender Braden Holt would finish the game with 31 saves on 38 total shots, while both Reggie Newman and defenceman Kalem Parker would record points with one assist each.

Forward Chase Wheatcroft would be the top-scorer for the Cougars in the win, recording two points on a goal and an assist, while goaltender Tyler Brennan made 20 saves on 21 shots against.

Prince George (35-24-6-0) would open the scoring on a goal by forward Zac Funk (24) at the 4:08 mark of the first.

The Cougars would then double-up their lead on a powerplay marker by forward Koehn Ziemmer (38) at 11:54.

However, Victoria (15-43-6-1) would get one back before the end of the frame with a goal by forward Matthew Hodson (16) at the 16:13 mark, assisted by forward Reggie Newman and defenceman Kalem Parker, to make it 2-1 entering the second.

The Cougars would see their lead grow in the second, first on a goal by forward Chase Wheatcroft (47) to go up 3-1 at the 12:24 mark, then making it 4-1 following a goal by forward Caydan Glover (6) at 17:39.

Prince George would add on in the third, with defenceman Hudson Thornton (22) scoring at the 3:12 mark to extend the lead to 5-1, followed by a goal by forward Arjun Bawa (4) at 5:55 to bring the score to 6-1.

Forward Jaxsen Wiebe (15) would collect one more before the end of regulation, sealing the 7-1 win for Prince George.

The Royals and Cougars will wrap-up their season series tomorrow night at the CN Centre in Prince George, where puck-drop is set for 6 pm.