Friday night at the Arena for the second three-in-three weekend of the season, the Norfolk Admirals were the opponent. The roster received some extra fortification during the week with the return of goalie Parker Gahagen from the Phantoms and ex-fan favorite Patrick Bajkov (a member of the 2021-22 squad). Weekends like this are always a stern test for everyone, by the time it's over the teams will have played three games in less than forty-eight hours (and that's with no travel involved, it's exponentially worse when you move between cities). In the opener on Friday Norfolk took a 1-0 lead three minutes in, early in the third period Ryan Leibold found twine to tie it 1-1. Sixty minutes of regulation and seven more of 3-on-3 overtime failed to produce a winner, in the shootout both teams scored in the fifth and ninth rounds before Shane Sellar walked it off in the eleventh for a big 3-2 win. Gahagen picked up the win in his first Royals appearance since mid-November. On Saturday the visiting Admirals evened the weekend with a rather ordinary 4-1 win, Gianfranco Cassaro scored the lone goal for the Royals with Keith Petruzzelli taking the loss in net. The rubber game on Sunday saw the clubs play through a scoreless first period, five minutes into the second Ryan Leibold gave the Royals the lead. Midway through the third Patrick Bajkov scored his "homecoming" goal to make it 2-0. Parker Gahagen came within two minutes of a shutout before the Ads spoiled it but the Royals were able to hold on for a 2-1 victory and a win of the weekend two games to one. The club's record stands at 28-24-10 (18-7-6 since the New Year started), 14-10-7 at home. The next home dates are March 28-30, another 3-in-3 endurance test with the Maine Mariners, Take care, thanks for reading.
