VERNON — Jordan Fairlie remains undefeated between the pipes for the Prince George Spruce Kings after Kilian McGregor-Bennett came up as the shootout hero, defeating the Vernon Vipers 2-1 in a game that went the distance.
With the win, the Spruce Kings improve to 6-1 on the season while the Vipers see their record fall to 3-4.
Fairlie improves his record to 6-0 after saving 17 shots on 18 shots.
Meanwhile, Roan Clarke had a busy night in the blue paint for the Vipers. The Spruce Kings fired 36 shots on Clarke through three periods and a full frame of five-minute overtime.
Scoring didn’t get started until the second period. After four opportunities with the man advantage, it took PG the fifth time to find the back of the net. Austin Frasers stepped up inside the right-wing circle before sniping a shot in past Clarke. The goal came at 9:39 of the second period. Ty Gagno and Kai Greaves were credited as the helpers on the play.
Prince George carried the 1-0 lead into the third period.
Ahead of the midway mark of the third period, Ethan Merner scored his first goal in the BCHL from a tight angle. The rookie put the puck up over the shoulder of Fairlie and into the far corner of the net to knot the score up at 1-1.
After regulation, the score stood tied to push the game into overtime.
Neither side could find the back of the net during the five-minute period, taking things into a shootout.
After a complete three rounds of shooters and a 4th shooter from Vernon, Kilian McGregor-Bennett deked out Clarke to open up the wickets and slide the puck through the Viper goalie’s five-hole to secure the win.
Prince George will travel to Salmon Arm on Saturday for a clash against the Silverbacks. Salmon Arm is coming off of a loss against the Smoke Eaters in Trail.
Puck drop is expected at 6 p.m.
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