After digging themselves out of a hole, the Prince George Spruce Kings couldn’t seal the deal against the Penticton Vees on Friday night.
Despite the efforts of Patrick Cozzi and Chong Min Lee, the Spruce Kings fell short in a shootout once again, this time by a 3-2 margin in the Okanagan to kick off a three-game road swing.
The Vees jumped out to a quick start lighting the lamp twice in nine minutes courtesy of Jack Lagerstrom and Ty Pochipinski who found the back of the net against Prince George netminder Logan Neaton.
An aggressive middle frame led to some success offensively as Cozzi’s buzzer-beater slid past Penticton goaltender Jack Lafontaine, cutting the deficit to 2-1 after 40 minutes.
The brother act of Nick and Ben Poisson set up the equalizer from Lee sending the game to extra time.
Following a scoreless overtime, Ottawa Senators prospect Luke Loheit potted the game-winner in round two of the shootout after the Spruce Kings failed to beat Lafontaine.
Prince George outshot Penticton 37-31 but went 0-for-5 on the power play.
The road swing continues Saturday in Vernon against the Vipers at 6pm.
