Lucas Vanroboys went from the outhouse to the penthouse in a span of two hours.
The 19-year-old from Thamesville, Ontario tipped in a Max Coyle shot in overtime to give the Prince George Spruce Kings a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Coquitlam Express.
The Spruce Kings, after their 10th straight home win, lead the best-of-seven Mainland Division semi-final series 2-0.
Vanroboys atoned from an early unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the first period, which saw him stapled to bench for the second and third periods.
“That was huge. I took a bad penalty there in the first and I got a little punishment for that but when the opportunities come you’ve got to capitalize on them and that’s what I did.
I think you could really tell towards the end they were tired based on the style we played towards them. Max made a nice shot through a couple of screens their and it just hit me and went in.”
.@LucasVanro plays the OT hero as @SpruceKings edge @BCHLExpress 3-2 on Saturday in @GoBCHL playoff action #CityofPG #sports #GoBCHL #GetInTheMix pic.twitter.com/gz2c0wN1CU
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 3, 2019
The game wasn’t all hearts and flowers for the favoured Spruce Kings who found themselves down by a goal twice in the contest.
Coquitlam held a 1-0 lead after two periods of play after a Josh Wildauer goal late on the power-play put the visitors in front.
With the crowd of 1,241 getting more and more nervous, Chong Min Lee netted a fluky one where his sharp angle shot deflected off an Express defender and through the legs of goaltender Kolby Matthews.
“It was my first BCHL playoff goal and we ran overplay where it is a come over and a shot sequence, their defenceman poked it in and I got lucky but I’ll take it, “ Lee said to My PG Now.
Chong Min Lee records goal in @SpruceKings 3-2 overtime victory over @BCHLExpress in @GoBCHL playoff action #CityofPG #sports #playoffs #GetInTheMix pic.twitter.com/x1U9kASX1J
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 3, 2019
Prince George had to dig down deep later in the period on the man-advantage as Ben Brar proved clutch once more, tipping home a Dylan Anhron pass to send the game into overtime.
“We trusted our teammates. We kind of playing for eachother out there and we knew we had the resilience to come back and tie it up in the third and when we were down one, you could obviously see we had a good push back. It was an unfortunate bounce for them on our second goal but we came out, pushed back and got the job done,” said Brar.
Prince George outshot the Express 39-29 in the game, going 2-for-5 on the power-play.
The contest even saw a fight in overtime where Liam Watson-Brawn dropped the gloves with Coquitlam defender Jordan Schulting.
Logan Neaton picked up the 27-save victory, while Matthews, a surprise starter for the Express,
made 36 stops in defeat.
The scene shifts to the Lower Mainland for Games Three and Four Monday and Tuesday.
If necessary, Game Five will be played Thursday night in Prince George.
The Spruce Kings received even better news after the game as the Langley Rivermen edged the Chilliwack Chiefs 3-2 in double overtime on Saturday to take a 2-0 series lead in their best-of-seven matchup.
.@brarzan speaks with @mypgnow post game after thrilling 3-2 overtime win against @BCHLExpress @SpruceKings in @GoBCHL action on Saturday. #CityofPG #sports #playoffs #GoBCHL #GetInTheMix pic.twitter.com/xayzigeoHG
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 3, 2019
The #BCHLPlayoffs were in full swing on Saturday night with a full eight game schedule, including three games that needed extra time.
Check out some of the best clips from a great night of hockey in #BCHLin60! pic.twitter.com/ICjnbOamei
— BC Hockey League (@GoBCHL) March 3, 2019