CHARLOTTE, N.C.– The 17^th-ranked Queens Royals completed a monumental comeback upsetting No. 6 Wingate 13-12 in overtime. The win is the Royals' first win over the Bulldogs since 2017 ending a four-game losing streak to their rival. With the win, Queens moves to 2-2 on the year and 2-0 in conference play.
 
Stealing the show today was Kyle Hornik who looked omnipotent between the pipes posting a career-high 22 saves. Hornik time after time thwarted a barrage of shots and stood on his head when it counted most. Kealan Pilon ran things offensively allowing his methodical style of play to manipulate the defense producing five points on a goal and four assists. Austin Leonard played a huge role in the Royals' comeback scoring four total goals, including the overtime winner. Quinn Tallant completed the hat trick on a trio of nifty finishes and Adam Barry totaled two points with a goal and an assist. Solo goals from AJ Curtiss, Zach Terry, Dylan Boyer, and Callin Harris rounded out Queens' scoring.
 
The game could not have started any worse for the Royals as right from the get-go Wingate controlled the ball with long patient offensive sets yielding an early 3-0 Bulldog lead. Pilon got Queens on the board after a smooth solo goal with less than five to play in the opening quarter, and Harris brought the Royals within one before Wingate notched a late goal holding a 4-2 lead after the opening frame.
 
Both teams found it more difficult in the second period to crack the other's defense as the two sides traded goals through the first five minutes. The next five minutes would turn in Wingate's favor as the Bulldogs managed to put together another three-goal run. The lead remained at 8-3 until a pair of flashy close-quarter goals under a minute apart by Tallant closed out the half and gave Queens some much-needed momentum.
 
With the lead cut to three, the Royals came out of the dressing room fired up and looking for more. Barry epitomized this energy on an alley dodge where he would not be denied, running through his defender getting to the heart of the defense, and finishing off stick high. Queens was unable to keep this energy rolling as Wingate manufactured yet another three-goal sequence. However, Leonard cut the lead to four when he unleashed a laser beam from downtown as the Royals went into the fourth quarter down 11-7.
 
Queens had a tough task ahead of them as they had to slow down a potent Bulldog attack while coming up with a little magic offensively. The Royals did not make their jobs any easier conceding the first goal of the quarter pushing the margin to five at 12-7. However, that would be the last goal Wingate would manage as Queens put the clamps on their opponent finding the antidote to the Bulldog attack. Boyer kicked off the epic comeback finishing off a fantastic feed from Barry with just over seven minutes to play. Curtiss did not waste time amplifying the situation scoring a staggering 14 seconds later cutting the lead to three.
 
The final five minutes of play was truly the Pilon show as he used the gift of a short stick defender matchup to his advantage. The attack started with a Pilon drive forcing the Bulldogs to rotate leaving holes and Pilon didn't miss once finding the open man. Leonard potted two home back-to-back deep takes cutting the lead to one with three to play. Then a jaw-dropping save by Hornik in the dying embers gave the Royals the chance they needed. With 42 seconds left to play, Pilon found a streaking Tallant on the backdoor for the goal that sent the game into overtime.
 
In a sudden-death overtime period, the most crucial aspect is the opening face-off as a team can walk off the game without their opponent ever touching the ball. Wingate won the opening draw but was unable to secure possession as Johnny Staten came up with a crucial ground ball that set Queens up with a chance to win the game.
 
The Royals came out of a timeout and turned to a reliable source. Pilon came around the net after a flip from Barry, took a half cradle then located Leonard who found a pocket of space and let fly another cannon beating the keeper low and putting the exclamation mark on an impressive win.
 
The Royals are back in action on Saturday, March 13 as they travel to Mars Hill to take on the Lions. The game is set for a 12 p.m. start.