It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

And the County Royals are a happy bunch: this old hockey adage rang true Saturday. The Monarchy escaped a rough first period, pulling away from the visiting Tamworth Sabres 12-4.

The Royals surrendered three goals in the opening frame. Tamworth opportunistically converted on miscues, turned over pucks and happy bounces.

Royals Bench Boss Greg Verner admitted his club was sluggish from the opening puck drop and struggled as a team defensively through the first period.

“I am very pleased with the team’s response to start the second, through the finish of the game,” he said. “We continue to grow leaps and bounds as a team.”

Breaking Out

Down 3-0, the Royals didn’t wait long to rip the lid off their offence. Justin Arnold got the locals on the board just 18 seconds into the frame with his first of two in the middle stanza. By the time the buzzer went to mark the end of the period, the County had lit the lamp a handful of times. Zack Thompson also counted twice for the Royals. Braydan Forestell stuffed home a power play goal with just nine seconds left to make it a 5-3 lead.

The County continued to make up for lost time in the third, bombarding the Tamworth net early and often.

Captain Calvin Wojtaszak, recently named to represent the Royals at the Northern Premier Hockey League’s All Star Game in Tweed on January 17, 2026, paced the offence with a pair of goals.

Also scoring were Nick Kirby, Kenny Murdoff, Ryan Dreossi, Malcolm Hurd, and Josh Cameron.

Tempers flared at the end of the contest. Royal Chucky Minns and Sabre Cory Burghardt dropped doffed mitts for a spirited set-to.

The locals will need all that intensity and then some Saturday. The Royals head to Smith Falls to take on the Heritage Division-leading Rideaus.

“Going forward, we need to come prepared and focused every game from start to finish,” the coach added “Tamworth came to the rink hungry. Once we matched their intensity and committed to the team’s defensive assignments, we were able to turn the game around.”