Carter Shinkaruk scored the tying goal early in the second and then added the insurance marker late in the third as the Merritt Centennials downed the Prince George Spruce Kings 3-1 to take a 2-0 series lead.
Zack Rassell scored with 11 seconds to go in the first to give PG a lead after 20 minutes but Shinkaruk tied it 2:50 into the middle frame. Evan Stack's goal at 14:02 of the second proved to be the winner.
It remained a one-goal game until Shinkaruk's power-play tally with just under four minutest to go in the game. Lino Chiminenti made 27 saves for the win.
The only series that's split after two games is the one between the Chilliwack Chiefs and Penticton Vees and that's thanks to Trevor Hills' tally for the Chiefs at 8:41 of the first overtime session. Chilliwack was up 2-0 midway through the second after Spencer Graboski's goal but Ryan Reilly got the Vees on the board just before the end of the middle frame. Vees captain Logan Johnston tied the game early in the third and Penticton came on strong in the third but couldn't get a third goal past Mitch Gillam who wound up with 36 stops.
A pair of first-period goals by Steven Schmidt proved to be all the scoring the Powell River Kings needed as they took a 2-0 series lead on the Coquitlam Express with a 4-1 win. Alex Kerfoot got the Express back within one on a power-play goal early in the second but J.P. Villeneuve restored the two-goal Kings lead and Cohen Adair tacked on another in the last minute of the third.
In Surrey, the Eagles took a 2-0 series lead on the Cowichan Valley Capitals with a 4-1 win. A first-period goal by Beau Orser and goal by Tyler Morley in the second had the home side up 2-0 going into the third. Another Orser goal came next before Troy Paterson got the Caps on the board. Brandon Morley's empty-netter was the final tally. Andrew Hunt made 34 saves in the win.
