The Prince George Cougars kicked off the unofficial second half of the season with a 5-1 loss to the Victoria Royals on Friday night. Ben Walker, Jamie Crooks and Brandon Magee all had three points for Victoria, while Marc McNulty supplied the lone goal for the Cougars.

The Cougars started the game well, outshooting Victoria 5-1 in the early stages. Mid-way through the first period, momentum shifted thanks to three straight penalties called against the Cougars.

The Royals were given a lengthy five-on-three man advantage, and at 10:06, Jamie Crooks fired a shot from the right point that beat Brett Zarowny to make it 1-0 for the Royals.

The Cougars responded well by killing off the second penalty, and tied the game moments later on a shot from the right point from Marc McNulty.  Troy Bourke and Dan Gibb were able to win a battle along the right wing wall, and Bourke found McNulty on the point. For McNulty it was his sixth of the season.

Late in the first, the Royals made it 2-1 when Taylor Crunk was able to beat Brett Zarowny off a rebound. Seconds earlier, the puck found it’s way to the front of the net from the near-side corner and Tim Traber and Taylor Crunk got to the loose puck first.

The second period was largely dictated by the Royals, who ended up outshooting the Cougars 14-3. Despite the large difference in shots, Brett Zarowny held his team in it, keeping the score at 2-1 until the back half of the period.

Seconds after the Cougars killed off a power play, Brandon Magee fed a nice pass through the defence to Ben Walker who was able to beat Brett Zarowny from in close on a backhand to make it 3-1.

After the 3-1 goal, the Cougars responded with some urgency, and were nearly rewarded. Jarrett Fontaine, Caleb Belter and Zach Pochiro provided a good response for the Cougars, with Zach Pochiro ringing a hard shot off of the post.

The Cougars started the third off strongly, peppering Patrik Polivka with some early shots. But Patrik Polivka rose to the challenge, and then somewhat against the flow, the Royals scored twice in a 37 second span to finalize the scoring. Ben Walker and Steven Hodges supplied the goals.

Victoria ending up outshooting the Cougars 34-20 and finished the night three for four on the power play. The Cougars were zero-for-three on their power play opportunities.

The Cougars (12-19-1-3) won’t have to wait long for a chance at redemption, as they’ll face the Royals again on Saturday night from Victoria.