Chris Mounk
The local Boston Pizza PeeWee ‘AA’ hockey team travelled to Kenora over the weekend to take part in an eight-team tournament.
The Royals opened round-robin play Friday against the Dauphin Kings.
Although the Kings came to play, they could not handle the offensive onslaught of the Royals.
The Royals not only outscored the Kings 11-2, but they also dominated in every zone.
Then early Saturday morning, the Royals faced a much more formidable opponent—the Dryden Paperkings.
This, in some sense, was a game of retribution as the Paperkings had bounced the Royals out of their own tournament back in November.
The Royals had one thing in mind: payback. And they got off to a good start, grabbing a 1-0 lead after the first period.
The physical play by both teams was second to none as both tried to set the tone. After exchanging goals, Fort Frances went into the second intermission clinging to a 2-1 lead.
With both teams recharged heading into the third, the tempo was fast and there were many scoring chances at each end of the rink.
Grit and determination provided the Royals a 3-1 victory.
Then that afternoon, the final game of the round-robin portion, another Manitoba team fell victim to the dominant local squad.
The Beausejour Blades found out first-hand that although it may have been cold outside, the Royals where in no mood to warm them up as the locals skated away with a 4-2 victory.
The first period ended in a 1-1 tie, but then the Royals’ offence decided to take matters into their own hands—scoring three times in the second.
The third period saw the Royals control most of the play despite allowing a goal.
With the win, the Royals earned themselves a spot in their second-consecutive tourney final.
On Sunday, the Royals found out who their next road bump to earn a win in the 2010 DST Challenge Cup. The Portage Terriers not only proved to be a worthy adversary, but they also found they could skate with the Royals.
The first period ended 1-1 as the two teams exchanged heavy hits.
Then the second period saw the Royals apply their forechecking that the Terriers could not control. Using speed and puck-handling skills, the Fort Frances squad let Portage know that there was a reason why they went undefeated during the round-robin.
The third period started tied 2-2 and ended the same way although the Royals missed numerous scoring chances.
Sudden-death overtime saw end-to-end action, with key saves highlighting the intense period. But neither of the stingy teams would sacrifice a goal, leading to a shootout.
The first three shooters on each side failed to tally, leading to a sudden-death shootout.
The Royals finally won the game as their fourth shooter found twine while the Terriers were held scoreless.
Next up for the BP Royals is a traditional New Year’s tournament in Bemidji, Mn., followed by their home tourney Jan. 7-9.
