Regals begin 2008 with 2 wins

Tyler Shantz leads the team in scoring after the first two games in 2008 with 24-25-49 points.

Chris Clegg
South Peace News

The High Prairie Regals find themselves tied for first place in the North Peace Hockey League’s East Division after play concluded Jan. 5. The Regals are tied with the Lakeland Eagles with 24 points. Each club has 11 games left including three against each other. Those games will go a long way to determining the fate of both clubs. High Prairie made the long trip to Fairview Dec. 22 and lost 6-4 to begin a three-game losing streak. The Regals went to Fairview with only nine skaters and a goaltender so the result was predictable. The Regals were lead by Ryan Trimble’s pair of goals. The Regals were tied 4-4 with just under four minutes left until Nolan Robertson scored the game-winner with 3:16 left. Derek Larsen added an insurance goal with 2:12 left to seal the deal. The Regals began their traditional home-and-home series over the Christmas holiday with the Eagles and lost the first game in McLennan 11-5 Dec. 27. The Eagles led 5-2 after one period but the Regals battled back to close the gap to 5-4 in the second. A short bench once again proved to be the downfall as the Regals ran out of gas. The Eagles began to roll and put the game away with two late second period goals. T.J. Cunningham scored twice to lead the Regals and led the NPHL scoring race after the game. Al Anderson scored a hat-trick for Lakeland while Jay Anderson scored twice and added four assists. Mark Lindsay and Travis Cunningham each added a pair. The return match back in High Prairie went into overtime before Lindsay settled the issue. The Regals trailed 2-1 after one period but rallied to take a 4-2 second period lead. The Eagles then rallied to take a 6-4 lead but momentum swung again as the Regals scored three of the last four goals in regulation time, including the tieing goal by Lance Gauchier with 1:24 left. Tyler Shantz scored three goals and added an assist to lead the Regals while Al Anderson and Jerry Cunningham each scored twice for the Eagles. Eagles’ defenceman Travis Chalifoux received a gross misconduct and match penalty for abuse of an official in the game. He is suspended indefinitely by Hockey Alberta until a ruling is made. The Regals went to Peace River Jan. 4 and came up with a big 8-5 win. Justin Paul led the way with four goals and two assists. He also scored the game-winner which broke a 5-5 tie in the third period with just under 13 minutes left. Shantz, who also scored twice on the night, and Rollie Gladue added goals in the next six minutes to clinch the victory. Aaron Parenteau and Nick Laporte each scored twice for Peace River. The Regals continues their road trip in Falher Jan. 5 and came up with a 6-4 win. The Regals took a 5-0 first period lead but watched the Pirates roar back to close the gap to 5-4 early in the third period. Justin Paul’s goal with 16 seconds left finally sealed the deal for the Regals, who outshot the Pirates 52-44 in the wide open game. The Regals play at Valleyview Jan. 10 to conclude a streak where they played seven of eight games away from the Sports Palace. They return home Jan. 12 to play the Fairview Kings at 8:30 p.m.

Copyright © 1999-2005 South Peace News. All Rights Reserved.
No part may be reproduced without written permission.

View our Privacy Statement.
Send website suggestions to the Webmaster