Royals OEHL season comes to an end
- Mar 19
- 3 min read
By Lee Griffi
The Tavistock Royals 2025-2026 Ontario Elite Hockey League (OEHL) season came to an end Tuesday night with a 3-1 loss in Seaforth.
The Centenaires will move on to the Southern Division championship series against the Elora Rock, which dispatched Petrolia in five games.
After a scoreless first period, Jarrett Bogdon gave Seaforth a 1-0 lead early in the second. His goal was followed by Camden Daigle’s penalty shot marker about eight minutes later. Both players are Stratford natives.
Matt Zilke scored his first of the playoffs with six and a half minutes remaining in the third, but the Centenaires added an empty net goal with 74 seconds remaining to seal the win.
“The men on our team are unbelievable. I couldn’t ask for a greater group of guys to be coaching and to be a part of. They’re not just incredible hockey players, they’re incredible people,” said assistant coach Derek Wagler.
He added Seaforth is definitely a tough rink to play in.
“It’s small, and they’re used to that. Their structure plays well on the small ice. We were also a very fast team, so I think the smaller ice doesn’t allow us to use our speed to its full potential.”
Wagler said he was impressed by the support from Royals faithful, particularly since Game 7 was on a Tuesday night and on the road.
“Seaforth usually has good support. I was really impressed by the number of people from Tavistock and our fans as a whole. A lot of people made the trip to Seaforth to come cheer us on.”
He said the team took the loss hard and it was a sombre room after the game.
“These guys aren’t pros getting paid big bucks. They’re doing for the love of the game and because they are competitors. Winning is our only reward. It’s really tough after a loss like that, I think, especially when we felt we really had a championship-calibre team.”
Though the loss was hard to take, team president Kyle Wynette said he was incredibly proud of the players, the Royals executive and the community for their commitment to the club.
“Knowing we were heading into a hostile environment for Game 7, we offered one of our old blue championship sweaters to any fan who made the trip. It was amazing to see how many people from our community answered the call. I shared some photos on Facebook showing all the Tavi fans lined up along the glass behind our goalie during warmups – he definitely felt their support,” Wynette said.
Wynette said he and goalie Andrew Masters were chatting before the game, and the goalie mentioned an episode of Shoresy where they recognize all the behind-the-scenes volunteers who make hockey possible.
“He said that’s the reason we’re here, this is why we do it. That really stuck with me,” Wynette said.
He explained after a tough loss, he looked around the locker room and saw how close the group is.
“It may sound cliché, but it truly is a second family for all of us. We had guys playing through all kinds of injuries simply because they didn’t want to let a teammate down. It’s hard to put into words, but when you go through that roller coaster of emotions together year after year, you build a special bond.”
Wynette added he’s incredibly proud of the work the team’s executive does behind the scenes to enhance the experience, both for the players and the fans who come out to support the Royals.
“As the saying goes, planning for next season starts today. We’re already counting down the days until next fall.”
The Royals forced a Game 7 thanks to a 3-1 home-ice win on Saturday night. Masters stopped 33 of 34 shots, including all 14 he faced in the third period. Mitch Atkins opened the scoring 13 minutes into the first period and added the game-winner nine and a half minutes later.
The Centenaires pulled to within one after a second-period goal, but Deven Kropf’s marker with 21 seconds left in the game sealed the victory.
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