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North Okanagan Knights give away valuable point

KIJHL: Knights led three-goal lead slip away vs Summerland, lose 5-4 in overtime
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The North Okanagan Knights and Princeton Posse are currently tied for fourth place in the KIJHL’s Bill Ohlhausen Division with five points each. The Posse defeated the Knights 4-1 Friday in Princeton. The two teams meet again this Saturday, Nov. 6, at the Nor-Val Sports Centre. Black Press file photo)

The day before Halloween, the North Okanagan Knights were in a giving mood.

The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League club gave away a three-goal, second-period lead and fell 5-4 to the Steam in overtime in Summerland Saturday, Oct. 30.

The loss came on the heels of a 4-1 defeat Friday night at the hands of the Posse in Princeton.

After Summerland opened the scoring two minutes after the national anthem, the Knights responded with four straight goals over the next 19 minutes and 57 seconds from Michael Greenwood, Adam Mueller (powerplay), Brock Holliday and Matthew Johnston.

Parker Konneke scored twice for Summerland, including once on a powerplay, before the end of the second period to make the score 4-3 North Okanagan.

Jackson MacDonald tied the game for the Steam on a third-period powerplay at 10:26. Greenwood opened the scoring then closed it, potting the overtime winner at 2:56.

The goal made a winner of Steam head coach and general manager Mark MacMillan, making his debut behind the Summerland bench.

Jake Dubinsky made 22 saves for the Knights while Ethan Reynaud stopped 24 shots for Summerland.

In Princeton, Anmol Garcha’s unassisted goal at 9:33 of the third period made it 2-0 Posse and proved to be the game-winner.

Nolan Thomas pulled the Knights to within a goal at 10:58 with an unassisted marker. Luke Mongrain restored Princeton’s two-goal lead at 13:41 and Jaden Fodchuk scored into an empty net with 2:22 left in the game.

Gabriel Murrells-Allaway made 30 saves for North Okanagan in his KIJHL debut while Cort Castonguay made 20 saves for Princeton.

The Knights have a doubleheader at home this weekend. North Okanagan entertains the Chase Heat Friday, Nov. 5, at 7:15 p.m., and take on the Posse Saturday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. Both games are at Armstrong’s Nor-Val Sports Centre.

North Okanagan (2-5-1-0) and Princeton (2-9-1-0) are tied for fourth place in the Bill Ohlhausen Division but the Posse have four games in hand.

READ MORE: North Okanagan Knights roll past Kelowna

READ MORE: Summerland steams past North Okanagan Knights



roger@vernonmorningstar.com

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