(Photo courtesy of Gar Fitzgerald)

The Guelph Jr. B Regals and rival Elora Mohawks battled to a 7-7 tie in the Regals’ 2019 home opener Wednesday evening at Victoria Road Arena.

After trailing 2-0 early in the 1st period, Guelph battled back to take a 7-4 lead in the 3rd frame before the Mohawks drew even. After a scoreless 10 minute overtime, both teams left the rink with a point in the standings.

After dropping their opener 11-6 to Elora in 2018, it was a better effort this time around versus the defending National Champions. Both squads experienced some turnover from last year, but for different reasons. Elora lost a dozen players due to overage while the Regals brought in some new faces to improve their roster. Entering the 2019 season, Guelph has just 2 players who were born in 1999 or earlier in Captain Jack Burke and goaltender Chris Wood while the remainder of the team is in their 3rd season of eligibility or less.

“It was our first game playing altogether as a team,” Burke said in an interview with Guelph Sports Journal’s Rob Massey.

“I think it just took us a couple of minutes to get the kinks out and then from there we got back to our game. We slipped a little bit throughout, but we mostly kept it from there.”

While there is still plenty to work on for Guelph, things are looking up for a team that is looking to crack the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

The team will hit the road for 3 straight road games, beginning Saturday night in Windsor. From there, the Regals will play in Thorold on Sunday evening for a battle with the Spartans before heading north to play Owen Sound Thursday night. The team is back home next Friday night (May 3) when they welcome the Welland Generals to town.

To read more from Wednesday night’s contest, visit the GSJ’s story here.