Written by: Georgina Georgiou     Photo by: Tim Bates - OJHL Images

The Markham Royals capped off 3 big wins in 3 games this weekend against a couple of divisional opponents, giving them some separation at the top of the North Division.

It all started back on Thursday night against their divisional rivals the Stouffville Spirit, where the Royals went through the first period scoreless. However, early in the 2nd, Dylan Scriver put one in the back of the net to put the Royals up 1-0. After an action packed second period, the boys went into the 3rd period still leading the game. Stouffville scored early in the 3rd to tie the game, and then shortly after the Spirit scored again to take the 2-1 lead. Not long after, however, Matt Hayami scored to tie the game all up at 2s.  It was late in the 3rd period that the Royals were able to break away, with Braedyn Aubin scoing one and Matt Hayami’s 2nd of the night and 13th goal of the season to give Markham a 4-2. The Royals hung on and took the big victory against the Spirit, leading into a crucial match-up on Friday night against their next Northern opponent, the Newmarket Hurricanes.

At the Kingdom on Friday night, the boys took on those Hurricanes who are hot on the Royals tail for first place in the Northern Division. Entering the game, the Hurricanes were riding a 5 game winning streak, and had allowed only 4 goals during that stretch (they had three shut out wins in a row!). After an action packed first period the game remained 0-0 going into the 2nd period, where about halfway through Matt Hayami scored what would be the one and only goal of the hockey game. The Royals kept their heads down and defended the 1-0 lead going all the way until the final buzzer rang. The weekend was already a success for the Royals with back-to-back wins, but could complete the sweep and take all 6 points with a win on Sunday afternoon.

Back at the Kingdom on Sunday, the Lindsay Muskies made their first and only visit of the season. The game started off with a bang, with both teams exchanging goals within the first 5 minutes, and the end of the 1st period a total of 7 goals were scored; 5 by Markham and 2 by Lindsay. Going into the second period, the goal scoring did not stop there, as Will Redick put the Royals up by 4 with his first OJHL and first goal as a Royal in just his 5th game. The Royals then ended the second period with a last second goal, when Braedyn Aubin put his second of the afternoon on the power play in the back of the net. As the third period was underway, Luca Esposito scored his 14th of the season, followed by Braedyn Aubin completing his hattrick with his 26th of the season. The Royals held onto their large lead and took the game with a 9-4 final. The Royals improve to 26-17-2-4 on the season, and sit on top in the North Division with 58 points in 49 games played.