MARKHAM, ON - JAN 14, 2018: Ontario Junior Hockey League game between the Markham Royals and the Lindsay Muskies, Alessio Luciani #12 of the Markham Royals skates with the puck during the second period.

Written By Rino Mattucci    Photo by Andy Corneau / OJHL Images

FEB 02, 2018: Riding high on momentum after a 6-5 come from behind victory on Wednesday night in Trenton, the Markham Royals (24-17-1-4) will face a pair of division leaders this weekend who are battling for the #1 seed in the North-East Conference. On Friday night, the Royals will complete their 5 game road swing with a stop in Wellington to take on the Dukes (28-10-3-5) before hosting at the Markham Centennial Centre for the first time in 15 days on Sunday afternoon against the Aurora Tigers (30-11-1-3).

Wednesday night in Trenton, the Royals found themselves trailing 4-0 early on in the second period, before rallying off 4 goals in the final 4 minutes to send the game tied into the third period. With 18 shots in the second period and 14 more in the third the Royals outshot Trenton 41 - 23 in the game, improving their record to 15-5-1-1 when they outshoot their opponents. By comparison the Dukes are 21-4-3-5 and the Tigers are 24-5-1-2 when outshooting the opposition, meaning chances are going to have to come early and often for the Royals in both games.

The Royals will also have their hands full on specialty teams this weekend as both the Dukes and the Tigers lead the League in some categories. The Dukes have scored the most shorthanded goals (8) while the Tigers are the #3 ranked power play scoring 53 times which is the most goals scored on the man advantage.

Game time on Friday night at the Wellington & District Community Centre is scheduled for 7:30pm, while on Sunday at the Markham Centennial Community Centre game time is at 1:30pm.

Royals Watch
#12 Alessio Luciani - One of the two Royals players with 4 points in the game against Trenton, Luciani extended his scoring streak to 6 games compiling 4 goals and 9 points during this stretch. Since joining the Royals, the Woodbridge native has scored points in 17 of 23 games he’s played in.

Past Results
VS Wellington
09/17/17    Wellington 4 at Markham 3 OT
10/08/17    Markham 3 at Wellington 2 OT
12/08/17    Wellington 4 at Markham 2

VS Aurora
11/24/17    Markham 2 at Aurora 1
12/15/17    Aurora 10 at Markham 3
01/20/18    Markham 4 at Aurora 5

By the Numbers
Record
Markham - 24-17-1-4
Wellington - 28-10-3-5
Aurora - 30-11-1-3

Goals For / Goals Against
Markham - 173 / 160
Wellington - 170 / 125
Aurora - 188 / 108

Special Teams (PP / PK)
Markham - 30 for 198 (15.2%) / 38 for 209 (81.8%)
Wellington - 41 for 221 (18.6%) / 31 for 255 (87.8%)
Aurora - 53 for 242 (21.9%) / 24 for 229 (89.5%)