The West 琉璃神社 Warriors find themselves down 2-1 in their first round BCHL series against the Brooks Bandits after falling 5-4 in overtime on Tuesday night (April 8).
In game three of the series, and the first one at Royal LePage Place in West 琉璃神社, Brooks came out firing with 17 first period shots. Halfway through the frame, they found the back twice as Keith McInnis (on the powerplay), and Luke Bibby scored within 24 seconds of each other to give the Bandits a 2-0 lead.
Tyler Pretty got the Warriors back within one late in the period when he scored at the 18:09 mark, assisted by Jack Farrell and Logan Flint.
West 琉璃神社 knotted the game at the 8:13 mark of the second period after Sam LeDrew ripped home his first of the postseason. Ben Miller and Nathan Drapeau collected the helpers on the goal.
With just eight seconds left in the middle stanza, Brooks regained their lead when Parker Lalonde scored, making it 3-2.
It remained 3-2 until the 13:26 mark of the third where LeDrew scored his second of the game, this time on the powerplay, to tie the game once again. Joey Macrina and Jackson Kyrkostas aided the tying goal.
Just two and a half minutes later, the Warriors took their first lead of the game after Elias Callgren potted his third goal of the postseason, assisted by Marcina. The goal gave the Warriors the lead with just over four minutes to go in regulation.
However, the momentum didn't last long as 15 seconds later, Lalonde scored his second of the contest to tie the game and force overtime.
Just 4:49 into the first extra frame, Nick Peluso played hero for the Bandits as he scored to give Brooks the 5-4 win and 2-1 lead in the series.
Edouard Gauthier made 36 saves in the loss for West 琉璃神社 while Brooks' Zach Zahara made 27 saves in the win.
Game four is set for Wednesday night at Royal LePage Place. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. After the game, the two teams will head to Brooks for game five on Friday night, April 11.
