Injuries and illness have left the Ste. Rose Royals with a depleted lineup, but they are still competing hard in every contest. On Saturday, the Royals fell 5-1 to the Selkirk Fishermen, with only 14 skaters in the lineup.
Dylan Peters scored twice in the second period and Cale McBride, Colton Zembik and Trevor Paradoski had goals in the third period to seal the victory.
Jarrett Day scored his third goal of the season in the third period in just his fourth game for Ste. Rose Bretton Fewchuk stopped 29 shots to earn the win in goal for Selkirk, while Connor Bell made 23 saves in taking the loss. Rangers coach Bryan Luke said the players are realizing they have to keep things simple. “We had a great first period. We were shortstaffed, but I thought we played well for the situation,” he said. “Everybody is staying positive, though.”
Luke said some changes will be made in the coming weeks as the Dec. 1 deadline approaches. That is the date junior teams must reduce their rosters to 25 players. “Depending on what some of the junior A teams do, obviously the trickle effect is going to come down to us,” he said. “We’ll be bringing in some guys and release some guys. Our whole lineup could change in the next little while.”
The addition of Day gives the Royals another scoring threat.
“It definitely helps us. He’s a local kid, plus he’s a great skater and can put the puck in the net. So he’s just going to give us some more offence up front,” Luke said.
The Royals are on the road again this weekend. They play the Arborg Ice Dawgs, Friday at 8:15 p.m. then face the OCN Storm, Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
