Penticton, BC: Nobody said it would be easy. An overtime loss in game three has put the Penticton Vees down 2-1 in their best-of-seven series against the Cowichan Valley Capitals, with the Vees looking to even the series before returning home.
Game three saw the Vees open the scoring in the second period when James Miller ended a 19-game scoring drought with a power-play goal 5:50 into the second.
The Capitals evened the score before the second period was done when Luc Wilson redirected a wrist shot from the blue line passed the blocker of Jack LaFontaine.
Penticton was called for their second too many men on the ice penalty early in the third, sending the game to 4-on-4 for 53 seconds.
Just four seconds after the puck was dropped Niko Selivanov stole the puck and roofed it over LaFontaine’s glove to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead 5:12 into the third period.
The Vees didn’t quit and Massimo Rizzo scored a power-play goal with 7:16 left in regulation to tie the game again. After a mad scramble at the top of the Capitals crease formed, Rizzo was able to dig the puck free before beating Pierce Diamond on the blocker side for his first of the playoffs.
In overtime, Mason Snell lost his stick in the neutral zone and the Capitals eventually took advantage. After LaFontaine elected to play the puck instead of cover it up for a faceoff, the Capitals regained control before David Melaragni scored the game winner from the left circle 3:54 into overtime.
Penticton now looks to make the series a best-of-three with a win Wednesday night before returning to the South Okanagan Events Centre for game five Saturday night at 6:00.
Team Statistics
Leading Scorers
Penticton Vees
Ryan Sandelin – 1G 3A 3GP
Eric Linell – 2G 0A 3GP
James Miller – 1G 1A 3GP
Cowichan Valley Capitals
Niko Selivanov – 3G 2A 3GP
Paul Selleck – 1G 3A 3GP
Brady Lynn – 1G 2A 3GP
Special Teams
Penticton Vees
Power Play – 25.0 per cent (3-for-12)
Penalty Kill – 83.3 per cent (5-for-6)
Cowichan Valley Capitals
Power Play – 16.7 per cent (1-for-6)
Penalty Kill – 75.0 per cent (9-for-12)
Series Schedule
Game one – Vees 1 vs Capitals 4 Boxscore
Game two – Vees 4 vs Capitals 1 March 2, 2019 Boxscore
Game three – Vees @ Capitals March 5, 2019 Boxscore
Game four – Vees @ Capitals March 6, 2019
Game five – Vees vs Capitals March 9, 2019
Game six – Vees @ Capitals, March 11, 2019*
Game seven – Vees vs Capitals March 13, 2019*
*If necessary
