Tough-luck Regals lose heartbreaker

Lakeland Eagles James Tallman, left, and Kelly Cunningham, right, surround High Prairie goaltender Cannon Cunningham while looking for a rebound during their game Jan. 17. Lakeland won 7-4.

Chris Clegg
South Peace News

As far as losses go, this was one of the toughest the High Prairie Regals have suffered in years. With a hold on first place secure with just under a minute to go, the Regals surrendered two goals in the last 38 seconds in an 8-7 loss to the hometown Grande Prairie Athletics an. 19. The loss left the Regals in a tie with the Lakeland Eagles with 28 points in the NPHL’s East Division but the Eagles have all the tiebreaking advantages. They have one game in hand, one more win and lead the season series, In short if the clubs are tied at the end of the season, the Eagles win any tiebreaker. The Regals also blew a 3-0 first period lead and led 5-1 in the second. The A’s roared back with five third period goals. Tyler Shantz scored three goals to lead the Regals while T.J. Cunningham added two goals, both on the power play, and an assist. Brad Macnab and Tyrell Macnab added the others goals. Rod Bowers scored a hat-trick of his own to lead the A’s, including the game-winner with nine seconds left. Kurt Woodward, Shane Mudryk, Jordan Menzies, D.J. McDonald and Dean Watson scored the other goals. The loss left the Regals with consecutive losses in three nights as they dropped a 7-4 home decision to the Eagles Jan. 17. The Regals led 1-0 and 2-1 in the first period but watched the Eagles take a 5-3 lead at the end of two. James Tallman and Matt Hunter added third period goals for the Eagles to put the game away. Travis Cunningham scored twice and added two assists to lead the Eagles while Kelly Cunningham, Jay Anderson and Daniel Belcourt scored the others. Regals’ captain Lance Gauchier scored three goals for the Regals while Justin Paul added the other. The Regals play twice this coming week and face the same opponents as last week. The Regals travel to McLennan to play Lakeland Jan. 25 before returning home to face the A’s Jan. 26. Game time is 8:30 p.m.

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