If Ty Gagno and John Herrington had their way, staying on the same line would be a no-brainer.
The dynamic duo erupted for four goals on Friday during a 6-3 Prince George Spruce Kings win over the Cowichan Valley Capitals in front of 1,127 fans at the Kopar Memorial Arena.
Losers of four in a row, PG once again found itself behind the eight-ball as Luke Strickland handcuffed Spruce Kings netminder Jordan Fairlie to give Cowichan an early 1-0 lead.
Bruising defenceman Charlie Banquier made sure the Spruce Kings picked themselves off the mat as his point shot fluttered past McCoy Bidewell to even the score.
Over eight minutes later, Herrington made his presence felt, capitalizing on a pass by Kilian McGregor-Bennett who broke down the Cowichan box to make it 2-1 Spruce Kings after 20 minutes.
Capitals head coach Mike Vandekamp was incensed with the officiating crew, lobbying for a goalie interference minor and for the goal to be waved off but to no avail.
Amran Bhabra finally tallied his first of the season as his blast from inside the Capitals blueline blew past Bidewell to extend the advantage to 3-1. Gagno won a key face-off inside the Capitals zone in order to secure possession.
Cowichan refused to back down from the Spruce Kings pressure. Massimo Sarantos Lombardi gobbled up a loose puck inside the PG zone and rifled it glove side past Fairlie, trimming the deficit back down to a single goal.
The pushback lasted all of 20 seconds as on the following shift, Jake Schneider flew into the enemy territory finding Herrington who then spotted Gagno streaking down the middle, tapping home the puck into a yawning cage past a sprawled out Bidewell.
Undisciplined penalties allowed Cowichan Valley to hang around as a Evan Fedele roughing call proved costly. Former Cape Breton Eagle Logan Camp parked himself in front of the Spruce Kings net and redirected a William Elias point blast turning the game on its head at 4-3.
The special teams battle persisted into the third – only this time it would be the Capitals who shot themselves in the foot. Gagno lit the lamp for the second time on the man advantage from Herrington giving PG its third two-goal lead of the contest.
Herrington iced the victory with an empty-netter, snapping the Spruce Kings (14-10-1-1) four-game losing streak.
PG outshot Cowichan Valley (6-17-1-1) 42-27. Both teams went a combined 4-for-9 on the power-play.
It was the Drop the Mitts and Sock It to Em feature night at the Kopar Memorial Arena where fans threw new or gently used warm clothing onto the ice following the Spruce Kings first goal of the game in support of St. Vincent de Paul.
In addition, the Junior A hockey club also donated one dollar to the non-profit for every fan in attendance.
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