A typically stagnant mid-November week led into what was to be a busy weekend, on Friday the Royals continued their four-game homestand with a visit from the Newfoundland Growlers. The Growlers have been the bane of the Royals' postseason appearances in each of the last two seasons, both teams have a lot of new faces this time around but the history is still there. Those in attendance at the Arena on this night may have been forgiven for thinking they were watching a television rerun, as the well-known baseball player Yogi Berra might have said "it's deja vu all over again". Will Zmolek gave the Royals a 1-0 lead five minutes into the game, that held until the Growlers tied it in the first minute of the second period. A late-period score by Yvan Mongo and a third-period marker from Joseph Nardi gave the Royals a 3-1 advantage but the visitors from The Rock weren't going away easily. Newfoundland cashed in on a power play with five minutes left to draw within one and scored an extra-attacker goal with fifteen seconds on the clock to send it into overtime at 3-3. The extra session lasted all of thirty-one seconds before Darren Brady got a break into the offensive zone and blasted home the game-winner. Nolan Maier (back from the Phantoms) was the winner in net as the Royals earn their third home-ice win, two of them coming in OT with the other decided in the last minute of regulation. The homestand finishes with the clubs lacing them up for the rematch on Saturday the 18th. Take care, thanks for reading.
