Carter Hesselgrave scored twice, but the Prince George Spruce Kings couldn’t hold on to a 5-3 lead in the third, falling 6-5 in overtime to the Nanaimo Clippers on Saturday night at Kopar Memorial Arena.
Brock Cummings got the 1,136 fans on their feet in the opening frame when he scored on the power play, putting a rebound past Chazz Nixon. Skogen Schrott and Trent LeDrew picked up the assists, with Schrotts helper extending his point streak to 12 games.
Hesselgrave scored his first of the night minutes later, burying a rebound off a Trent Ballentyne shot. Min-Joon Huh picked up his first BCHL point with the second assist.
The Clippers second ranked power play got them within a goal at 12:31, as Dylan Kinch beat Ryder Green with a nifty deflection from Cole Lonsdale and Garin Ludwig.
Evan Bellamy restored the two-goal lead in the final minute of the period with a perfectly placed shot off a pass from Cummings, as the Spruce Kings lead 3-1 after 1 with a 23-4 edge on the shot clock.
The Clippers would even up the game in the second by scoring at the 5:00 mark and the 10:00 mark, as Lonsdale made it 3-2 before Kinch made it 3-3.
Hesselgrave responded just 46 seconds after the Kinch marker, putting home a rebound off a hard work play from Cooper Williams and Ryan Wachtel.
The Spruce Kings widened the gap to 5-3 at 6:45 of the third period as Mason Loewen beat Nixon with a wrist shot on a rush with Lucas Veilleux drawing the assist.
The Clippers power play executed again at 9:51 of the third period, as Lonsdale’s second of the game got the Clippers within one as his slapshot beat Green from the right circle.
A crazy bounce tied the game at 19:05, as Ludwig’s point shot deflected off of Luke Lavery’s head in the high slot and went directly through Green’s legs to tie the game.
In overtime, the Spruce Kings missed a hand off at the blue line, and Lonsdale went in on a break and his shot went off Green’s pad, then his elbow, and into the net.
Shots on Goal:
Prince George – 46
Nanaimo – 29
3 Stars:
1st – Carter Hesselgrave – 2 goals
2nd – Cole Lonsdale (NAN) – 3 goals, 2 assists
3rd – Brock Cummings – 1 goal, 1 assist
Next up: The Spruce Kings and Clippers hit the ice at 3:00 PM on Sunday afternoon to wrap up the doubleheader. Tickets available HERE or at the Box Office starting at 2:00 PM.
