Tag was it for the North Okanagan Knights.
Tag Bryson scored the only goal of the overtime shootout to give the Knights a big 3-2 Kootenay International Junior Hockey League road win over the Bill Ohlhausen Division-leading Posse in Princeton Wednesday, Dec. 7.
Bryson, from Lloydminster, Sask., beat Princeton goalie Peyton Trzaska with the first shot of the shootout. Teammates Kevin-Thomas Walters and Brodie Pearson were stopped by Trzaska.
Knights netminder Josh Hager gave North Okanagan the extra point by not allowing a goal against Brayden Bablitz, Anmol Garcha and Ty Olsen. Hager had 43 saves during the 65 minutes of regulation time and overtime.
Trzaska finished with 28 stops.
After a scoreless first period, Olsen opened the scoring for Princeton with a powerplay marker at 9:04 of the middle frame.
It stayed 1-0 Princeton until Matthew Johnston scored with the man advantage for North Okanagan at 5:43 of the third period.
Less than two minutes later, the Posse regained the lead on a goal from Kassius Kler.
Pearson forced overtime with a goal for the Knights at 13:15.
The two points moved North Okanagan (13-10-1-0) into a second-place tie with the Osoyoos Coyotes (12-7-3-0). The Knights have one more win but Osoyoos has two games in hand on North Okanagan.
Both teams are nine points behind Princeton (16-4-1-3), and two ahead of the fourth-place Summerland Steam (10-10-2-3).
The Knights are 3-0 in December, with two of the wins coming against the league’s top-two teams, the Revelstoke Grizzlies and the Posse. Princeton has lost two straight since the calendar flipped from November.
North Okanagan and Princeton’s next games are Friday, Dec. 9, against teams in last place in their respective divisions.
The Knights visit the Kelowna Chiefs (3-19-1-2), fifth in the Ohlhausen Division, while the Posse entertain the Creston Valley Thunder Cats (11-12-1-1), fifth in the Eddie Mountain Division, at 7 p.m. at the Princeton and District Arena.
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roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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