Fabian Lysell opened the scoring at 11:05 and while the first goal is always important, it served an extra purpose on Friday night as the Swedish winger鈥檚 tally allowed the 91原创 Events Centre crowd rain teddy bears down on the ice as part of the annual Chevrolet Teddy Bear Toss game.

An estimated 6,000 toys were collected for the Christmas Bureau.

The Lysell goal was one of two that he scored on the night but in the end, it was the visiting Victoria Royals taking home the 4-3 victory as Gannon Laroque scored with just over two minutes remaining to snap a tie game. The win was Victoria鈥檚 sixth in the past eight games as they are now riding an eight-game point streak (6-0-2-0) improving to 7-11-3-0 on the Western Hockey League season. The Giants had won six straight games but have now dropped two in a row with the loss to the Royals.

Despite not being able to salvage a point, associate coach Keith McCambridge liked his team鈥檚 game.

鈥淚 thought we created a lot of Grade A opportunities, I liked the pressure we put on Victoria, but they are a team that as of late does a really good job of staying in the game and hanging around and when a breakdown happens, they are able to capitalize on it,鈥� he said.

READ ALSO: During active draft week, Giants fall to division leading Blazers

After Lysell opened the scoring and once the stuffed animals were cleared from the ice, the Royals power play struck for the equalizer just over three minutes later with Brayden Schuurman knotting the score at one.

The second period saw Bailey Peach give the visitors a 2-1 lead at the 6:21 mark before Lysell and Mazden Leslie scored 15 seconds apart to put the Giants ahead 3-2. The lead was short-lived, however, as Keanu Derungs capitalized on another Victoria power play to send the teams to the locker room tied at three.

2021 Teddy Bear Toss was a tremendous success! Thanks to the generosity and passion of our fans, we were able to donate over 6000 Stuffed Toys to the 91原创 Christmas Bureau.

馃Ц馃Ц馃Ц

More 馃搸:

馃抠:

鈥� Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants)

The Giants lost despite a 40-25 advantage in shots on goal as Royals鈥� goaltender Campbell Arnold finished with 37 saves.

鈥淚 thought their goaltender was really strong tonight. I thought he made some well-timed saves that he didn鈥檛 see coming through with a lot of traffic in front of him,鈥� McCambridge said.

Next up for the Giants is a trip to Victoria on Saturday, Dec. 11 as the teams complete the home- and-home series. Vancouver then hits the road for a pair of mid-week games in Prince George on Dec 14 and 15 before the Cougars travel to 91原创 to face the Giants on December 18 at 91原创 Events Centre.

Vancouver also hosts the Tri-City Americans on Dec. 19 in the team鈥檚 first Sunday matinee of the season.

It will also be their final game before the holiday break.

READ ALSO: Vancouver Giants Fabian Lysell and Jesper Vikman to play for Sweden