Goaltender Roan Clarke stood on his head and Ethan Merner scored his first career B.C. Hockey League goal, but the Vernon Vipers ultimately came up short against the Prince George Spruce Kings.
The Vipers fell 2-1 in a shootout Friday night (Oct. 14) at Kal Tire Place, snapping a three-game win streak.
The Spruce Kings dominated the first 40 minutes, out-shooting the Vipers 24-8. Clarke, who made 34 saves on 35 shots, was terrific in net making a number of big saves, particularly when the team was on the penalty kill.
Prince George opened the scoring midway through the second period on a powerplay, off the stick of Austin Fraser.
The Vipers managed a third-period rally for the second straight game as Merner sniped a shot from a sharp angle to tie the game with his first BCHL goal.
In overtime, the Spruce Kings again controlled the shot clock, out-shooting the Vipers 7-2. Clarke was up to the challenge and got his team into the shootout.
Kilian McGregor scored the only goal of the shootout as Vipers skaters Max Borovinskiy, Luke Pakulak, Merner and Hank Cleaves all missed on their shootout opportunities.
The win pushed Prince George to a 6-1 record while the Vipers are now 3-3-0-1 in the early goings of the season.
The Vipers return to action tonight as they host the Penticton Vees. Puck drops at 6 p.m.
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