This one had to sting: The Victoria Salmon Kings scored the game-tying goal with 11 seconds left in regulation, then pulled out a 4-3 win in a shootout.
Goaltender Jeff Zatkoff stopped 44 of the 47 shots he faced between regulation and overtime, but couldn’t quite withstand a third-period barrage that saw the Salmon Kings (33-24-2-4) outshoot the Reign (35-23-3-2) 21-6.
In the shootout, Victoria was a perfect 3-for-3, but the Reign couldn’t put one past netminder Julien Ellis. The teams conclude their four-game series tonight at the Save-On Foods Memorial Center.
Geoff Walker scored a power-play goal in the first period, and Bud Holloway and Ryan MacGregor tallied goals in the third to give the Reign a 3-2 lead. They survived a brief 5-on-3 disadvantage with three minutes left in the game, but Victoria’s Aaron Brocklehurst scored past Zatkoff to tie the game 3-3 and send it to overtime.
Official scoresheet is here.