Two goals from Corey Cunningham and three assists from Nick Poisson were not quite enough as the Spruce Kings fell 5-4 in a shootout to the Nanaimo Clippers.
In the opening frame, it took just 1:06 into the opening frame for former Nanaimo Clipper Preston Brodziak as he fired the puck past Jordan Naylor to give PG an early lead. At 4:24, Clipper forward Kyler Kovich put one by Jett Alexander to knot the game up at one. It was Kovich again on the power play on a beautiful redirect off an Ethan Scardina shot to give the Clippers a 2-1 lead after the opening frame.
In the second, it was 6’4 forward Josh Bourne firing one past Alexander at the circle in the dying seconds of a power play to give Nanaimo a 3-1 lead. The Spruce Kings began to pour it on in the second half of the period as it took to the 16:16 mark for Fin Williams to tap home a feed from Chong Min Lee to put PG within one. Just over a minute later, it was the hometown boy Corey Cunningham jamming the puck by Naylor to tie this game at three.
In the third, it took 1:43 for Nanaimo to take the lead. Former Lethbridge Hurricane Scott Mahovlich fired the puck past Alexander on the glove side to give the Clippers a 4-3 lead, 1:43 into the period. At 14:10 of the period, Travis Walton delivered a check to the head on Chong Min Lee, resulting in a 5 minute major and a game misconduct. On the ensuing power play, it was again Cunningham who fired the puck through the wickets of Naylor at 18:21 to tie it back up at four. 60 minutes was not enough, to overtime we go.
In overtime, both teams traded chances, but there was nothing to show for in the OT period.
Off to a shootout.
It took until the 5th round for a goal to be scored as Sean Donaldson fired the puck past Alexander on the glove side to give the Clippers a 5-4 win in front 862 fans at the RMCA.
Next up for Prince George are the 9-2-1 Salmon Arm Silverbacks at the RMCA tomorrow night. The Spruce Kings office will be open from 10-4 and you can also get your tickets online on the Spruce Kings website.
If you cannot make it, you can catch all of the action on Mixlr.com or HockeyTV. Pre-game will be at 6:45 with play by play at 7:00.
