2022-2023 Tavistock Royals | Mar 28, 2023 | Royals | 2250 views
Royals 1 WIN away from AA Championship
After splitting the weekend series, the Royals now sit 1 win away from being declared AA Champions.
Much like the Semi-finals vs. Seaforth, this series has proven to be a chess match with very little separating the teams on the score sheet.
Game 3 went Saturday night in Ripley as the home team looked to get into the series, trailing 2-0 after the first weekend of play. Missing their Captain #5 Geoff Killing and points leader #10 Sean Kienapple, the Royals had their work cut out for them at the onset.
Through 2 periods of play, the opponents remained knotted at 2 goals a piece, with both teams recognizing what was on the line. The 3rd period saw each team trade 2 more goals before Ripley scored the 5-4 go ahead goal with 2 mins remaining the period. An empty netter with 28 secs was the final dagger as the Royals had to accept a 6-4 loss in Game 3 of the series. #30 Jensen van Boekel played well in net for Tavi, but had to pickup his first AA Championship loss of the series. Wolves #9 Ethan Skinner scored a hat trick on the night.
Royals goal scores on the night were:
#15 Matt Zilke (Vulgan/Gerth)
#18 Trevor Sauder (Christner/Kropf)
#28 Patrick Vulgan (Zilke/Gerth)
#17 Deven Kropf (Mike Noyes)
519 Sports Highlights of Game 3 here
Full game here
Looking to rebound at home Sunday afternoon in front of a packed house, fans from both sides enjoyed an action filled game with both teams spending their share of time in the box.
Ripley opened the scoring with 6:02 in the 1st period and took a 2-0 with 12:57 left in the 2nd period. The Royals rallied back with #17 Deven Kropf (assisted by Christner/Sauder) getting the home team on the board at 11:05. #91 Erik Robichaud fired in the tying goal off the feed from #8 Mike Noyes with 1:29 left in the 2nd. Ripley scored early in the 3rd period at 17:03 but with 1:44 left to play, #15 Matt Zilke (assisted by Robichaud/Hartwick) kept the Royals hopes alive, making it 3-3 and forcing OT to decide the winner of the pivotal game 4. Halfway through the 20 min OT period it was the Royals #17 Deven Kropf (assisted by Killing) scoring the game winning goal and giving the Royals a 3-1 series lead in front of an adoring crowd of Royals faithful. #30 Jensen van Boekel earned his 3rd AA Championship win on the afternoon.
519 Sports Highlights of Game 4 here
Full Game Here
