Royals suffer first OEHL loss

Tavistock Minor Hockey player Emerson Dronfield (forefront) was the Royals flagbearer on Saturday night as Tavistock dropped a 4-3 decision to Petrolia. Photo courtesy of Tavistock Royals

By Lee Griffi

The Ontario Elite Hockey League’s (OEHL) South Division is a tight one in the early stages of the season as Tavistock finds itself in the middle of the pack following a 4-3 loss to Petrolia on home ice Saturday.

The Royals now sit in fifth place in the division with four points, but they have two games in hand on Seaforth and three games in hand on Dunnville, the two teams tied for first.

Tyler Schwindt scored his second goal of the season on a feed from Mitch Atkins just past the 11-minute mark of the first period before the Squires tied it up heading into the second frame. Petrolia took a 2-1 lead in the second, but Sam Rhodes’ goal deadlocked the game at 2-2 after 40 minutes.

The Squires scored two straight goals in the third period before Atkins found the back of the net on a penalty shot with 90 seconds remaining, but the Royals couldn’t score again to force overtime. Tavistock outshot Petrolia 44-37.

Deven Kropf leads the OEHL with nine assists in three games and sits fifth in the scoring race. Goalie Andrew Masters is the ninth-ranked goalie in the league with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage along with one shutout.