After losing back-to-back games for the first time since January, the Prince George Spruce Kings answered back with a 3-1 win over the Brooks Bandits in Game 4 of the Doyle Cup to tie the series 2-2.
Brooks came out strong in the first period, outshooting the Spruce Kings 8-4 and opening the scoring on Jakob Lee’s series-leading fourth goal. Prince George picked things up in the second as Nolan Welsh scored less than two minutes into the frame and Patrick Cozzi gave the Spruce Kings the lead on an end-to-end solo effort to make it 2-1 heading into the third.
With the game still 2-1 and less than a minute to go in the third period, Bandits forward William Lemay picked up a loose puck all alone in front of the net. He pulled the puck wide to go around the defence, but Prince George goalie Logan Neaton stayed with him and managed to stretch his right pad out to block the shot and preserve the lead for his team. That save proved to be the difference as Welsh buried his second of the game into an empty net with 30 seconds to go to give the Spruce Kings the 3-1 win.
Neaton made 19 saves to get the victory, while Bandits goalie Pierce Charleson stopped 25 in the loss. Cozzi added an assist to his game-winning goal and was named the game’s first star.
With the series deadlocked at two, Game 5 goes tomorrow night from Prince George.
