PRINCE GEORGE- Saturday hosted the second of two games between the Prince George Spruce Kings and the West Kelowna Warriors at Kopar Memorial Arena.
Just like Friday, Saturday had fans on the edge of their seats.
West Kelowna would open the scoring similar to their effort on Friday. Short-handed Callum Hughes (’06) would chip a puck past Kai Greaves (’03) at the blue line and slide his 12th goal of the season through the legs of Charlie Zolin (’04).
It didn’t take long for the Spruce Kings to respond. Thirty seconds later, Skogen Schrott (’05) would go bar down, scoring his eighth goal of the year on the power play. 1-1, the score after the first period.
The only goal of the second period came off the stick of Felix Caron (’04). The Rensselaer Polytech Institute (RPI) commit would unleash a booming one-timer on the power play that beat Zolin clean over the shoulder. 2-1 Warriors after two periods.
Alexis Cournoyer (’03) would tie the game just over halfway through the final frame of regulation. Great awareness from Cournoyer saw him scoop the rebound away from the Warriors starting goalie, Justin Katz (’04), and burying his seventh goal of the year.
Just as quickly as the Spruce Kings tied the game, the Warriors took their lead right back. Callum Hughes would score his second goal of the game after Zolin misplayed a puck behind his own net and couldn’t recover in time. The Warriors led with under eight minutes to go in the game.
In the dying moments of the third period, the Spruce Kings had pulled their goalie. Max Ranström (’04) let a shot go from the point. On its way towards the net, Lucas Veilleux (’05) got his stick on the puck, redirecting it enough to fool Katz. 3-3 the score heading into overtime.
In the extra frame, each team had their chances. Ultimately it was Kazumo Sasaki (’05) who ended it. A burst of speed sent Sasaki down the wing, after blowing by Jackson Kyrkostas (’04), Sasaki made a beautiful move to beat a sprawling Katz. Spruce Kings win, 4-3, the final in overtime.
Game Summary
Scoring
Prince George: S. Schrott (8), A. Cournoyer (7), L. Veileux (4), K. Sasaki (4)
West Kelowna: C. Hughes (12), F. Caron (21), C Hughes (13)
Goaltending
Charlie Zolin (W) 64:40 (3GA 22 Saves)
Justin Katz (OTL) 65:55 (4 GA 33 saves)
Power play
Prince George: 2/8
West Kelowna: 1/5
