Spruce Kings Rebound with Narrow Loss to Wenatchee

2                                     Final OT Score                                  3
Johnson, Tilsley	Goal Scorers	Von Ungern, Rockwell, Conzo
10	Total Shots	43
3	1st Period Shots	13
3	2nd Period Shots	15
4	3rd Period Shots	12
0	OT Shots	3
1 for 3	Power Play	0 for 6
	3rd Star	Tyler Rockwell
	2nd Star	Troy Conzo
	1st Star	August Von Ungern

Following a 6-1 score the night before, the Spruce Kings responded brilliantly. They had a pair of unlucky goals go against them that sent the game to overtime, and got a spectacular game from Liam McCloskey who made 40 saves following getting pulled on Friday.

In the first, Prince George had two power plays, while Wenatchee had two and a half where the other half transferred to the second period, but neither team was able to score.

Wenatchee would score the first goal, as just 1:50 in August Von Ungern was able to jam the puck in. Liam McCloskey thought he had the puck under his pad, but the linesmen disagreed, and never blew the whistle until after the goal.

It took Prince George 14:52 to get their first shot of the second period, but they made it count. Tanner Campbell in his first game back since suffering a lower body injury against Langley a few weeks ago led a two on one with Parker Colley. With Colley hustling to the net, he was able to draw the defender away, and Campbell spotted Kyle Johnson as the trailer. Wenatchee was one of the three teams in the BCHL Johnson didn’t have a point against, but he changed that with a shot past the blocker of Garrett Nieto.

Prince George would take their first lead of the weekend, as Cavin Tilsley stole the puck at the Wild blueline, and took the puck down beating Nieto five hole on a power play in the third. The goal doubled Tilsley’s team in PPG, as he now has four with the nearest teammate at two.

Wenatchee would continue pushing, and extending their shot dominance. The eventual tying goal was a goofy one from the blueline, as Von Ungern slid the puck around the boards to Tyler Rockwell at the left point. Rockwell shot the puck about two metres wide left of the net, but wound up taking a deflection, and beating McCloskey to tie the game at two with 5:58 remaining in the third period.

That would take the Spruce Kings to extra time, where they hadn’t won in four attempts heading in. With three losses and a tie, Prince George would again fall flat as Troy Conzo cut to the slot, and fired a puck into the net for a big home ice win. With the two points, and Chilliwack losing to Cowichan Valley, the Wild climbed to within two points of first place in the Mainland division. The Chiefs do hold a game in hand, and the two will meet on Wednesday in a critical four point game.

With the OT loss, Prince George earned at least one point from the weekend, in a very tough arena in Wenatchee. They take on Coquitlam today in an afternoon game starting at 2pm.