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   The Ste. Rose Royals earned three of a possible four points this past weekend. Chad Bodie’s second goal of the game 2:24 into overtime lifted the Arborg Ice Dawgs to a 6-5 win over the Royals, Friday in Arborg. Cody Gibson also scored twice, while Brett Barkman and Kalon Jonasson added singles.

   Mitchell Merry tallied three times for the Royals, with Jarrett Day and Luke Werbicki adding singles. Brendan Darowski made 22 saves for Arborg before giving way to backup Connor Darowski, who stopped 19 shots in relief. Connor Bell made 44 saves in the loss.

   The Royals rebounded with an 8-1 win over the OCN Storm, Sunday in OCN. The Storm opened the scoring on a goal from Dennis Dorion, but it was all Royals after that. Day, Werbicki and Dean Richard each scored twice, while Brendan Laquette and Cole Doak added singles.
Deagan Delaurier stopped 22 shots for his third win of the season. Jon Asmus made 16 saves in taking the loss.

   “We were very happy with our weekend. Friday was probably one of the best games that the guys played. It’s just positive knowing that if we play like we can, we can compete,” said Royals coach Bryan Luke. Again, the Royals were playing with a short bench, with just 14 skaters hitting the ice against Arborg and 13 against OCN, which also iced a lineup with only 13 skaters.

   “Sometimes it’s not about the number of guys you’ve got there, but the guys you have are willing to buy in and do what you want to do,” Luke said. “That’s what we have right now. It’s working for us.”
The successful weekend will give the players confidence going forward, Luke said.

   “The guys are believing in themselves and believing in each other. We’re coming together as a unit and working together,” he said.
Luke hopes to get some players back in the lineup this week as the team prepares for a tough three-games-in-three-nights weekend.
“Plus we’re working on some things regarding the deadline. There will be a few moves made to spruce up our lineup a little bit,” he said.

   The Royals host the Peguis Juniors Friday at 7 p.m. before traveling to Winnipeg to battle the North Winnipeg Satellites, Saturday at 8 p.m. On Sunday, the Royals are back home to host the St. Malo Warriors at 2 p.m.