April 10-12

Friday evening: back at the Arena for the final weekend of the regular season. The Indy Fuel was the opponent in the opener of a two-game set, they had played a double-dip at the Arena back in November. The Royals took an early lead in the first few minutes on a score by Sean Wiles but Indy took a 2-1 advantage into the third period. Midway through the stanza Kevin Walrod evened the score but in the closing moments the Fuel snapped the tie and held on for the 3-2 win, Martin Ouellette was the goalie of decision for the Royals. On Saturday the teams met again in game #72, on this night Indy scored first but Maxim Lamarche lit the lamp in the second period to tie it at 1-1. The deadlock remained through the remainder of regulation play and a scoreless overtime, in the OT shootout the Royals prevailed three goals to none as Connor Knapp picked up the 2-1 win. After the game the organization announced its end-of-season awards. Team captain Bryant Molle won the leadership award. Brett Flemming was recognized for dedication, Jordan Heywood received the sportsmanship award, Maxim Lamarche was named top defenseman and Cam Reid was voted team MVP. The Royals' final record checks in at 45-21-6 (21-13-2 at home), the club faces the South Carolina Stingrays in the first round of playoffs. The series opens in SC on the 17th, the Royals host games 3, 4 and 5 (if needed) on the 23rd, 25th and 26th. Take care, thanks for reading.