Three-goal leads have been the downfall of the Beaver Valley Nitehawks of late.
For the second straight game and the third in three weeks, the Nitehawks squandered a 3-0 second-period lead and fell 4-3 in overtime to the Kimberley Dynamiters on Friday in Kimberley.
Related read: Border Bruins battle back for win over B.V.
The Hawks led the Castlegar Rebels by three goals on Nov. 10, but the game ended in a 3-3 tie, and last week with coach Terry Jones looking for his 1,000th win at home against Grand Forks, the Bruins battled back from the same deficit to steal a 5-4 victory.
Versus Kimberley on Friday, the Hawks’ Morgan Peace and Ryan Crisalli put B.V. up 2-0 in the first period, and Jake Yuris scored at 14:59 of the second period for a 3-0 Nitehawks’ lead.
But the Nitros Brock Palmer drew Kimberley to within two, pouncing on a puck on the goal line and shovelling it in with 26 seconds to play in the middle frame.
A mere 25 seconds into the third period Mitch Fargey scored from the point to get the Nitros to within one.
The teams traded chances in the third, but with 4:31 remaining Kimberley tied it. A point shot by Tyson Meier deflected towards the ceiling, and Brady Daniels kept his eye on the puck and fired it as it touched down on the ice to tie the game at three and force extra time.
“They didn’t change anything, they didn’t panic,” head coach and GM Derek Stuart told the Kimberley Bulletin. “I really thought all three periods we played the same way, we just got rewarded in the third.”
In the extra frame, Cam Russell found Mitch Fargey in the slot and Fargey one-timed it past Decottignies for the game winning goal.
“It was obviously a good feeling. I don’t score a lot of OT winners, so when it happens it was nice.” Fargey said.
The Dynamiters donned their Kidney Cancer jerseys for the game, and the lucky green jerseys have helped the 20-3-0-0 Nitros win 11 in a row.
“I really liked how the guys stuck with the game plan, stuck to the systems, and finally got rewarded with some bounces in the third,” Stuart said. “If we play like that, we won’t lose too many hockey games.”
Kimberley outshot Beaver Valley 36 to 23 with both teams going 0-for-2 on the power play. The Dynamiters have raised over $15,000 for Kidney Cancer Canada during the month of November.
B.V. earned a point in the OT loss, and sit two points back of the 12-10-0-2 Spokane Braves in third place in the Neil Murdoch Division standings.
The Nitehawks are on the road again next week when they head to Revelstoke to take on the Grizzlies on Friday, and play the Chase Heat on Saturday.