A third-period surge wasn’t enough for the North Okanagan Knights Wednesday night at Nor-Val Sports Centre.
Trailing by four goals early in the final frame, the Knights got back three of them, only to fall 6-4 in Kootenay International Junior Hockey League play.
North Okanagan (2-11-1-2) has lost three straight games and is winless in its last eight, dating back to late September.
The Knights have a pair of road games this weekend – Saturday in Rutland against the Kelowna Chiefs (5-9-1-1) and Sunday in Sicamous against the Eagles (10-8).
Forward Austin Fournier (3rd, 4th goals) led North Okanagan against Princeton with a deuce. He recorded the 2-1 goal early in the second period, and completed the offence with 7:50 to play in regulation.
D-man Austin Garrington (3rd) began a Knights’ comeback 4:46 into the third period. Zackari Andrusiak (2nd), who assisted on Fournier’s first snipe, scored with 8:33 to play.
The Posse spread out the offence, singles coming from Destin Robinson, Tyler Ehlers, Colton St John, Trevor Pereverzoff, Kurtis Klinger and Daine Elphicke.
“We’re pretty evenly matched with them but the scores tell a different story,” said Knights’ captain Dryden Profeit. “We just have a little five- or 10-minute lapse and they seem to pop a couple.
“We usually come out strong against Princeton, but they had a couple of bounces. They had one goal go in off our goalie’s head. We couldn’t catch a bounce.”
Profeit and Tyler Mork will likely miss Saturday’s tilt, and possibly more, serving suspensions resulting from a second-period line brawl. Profeit tangled with the Posse’s Bradly Palumbo, Mork tussled with Morton Johnston and Trent Redschlag earned an instigator for going after Erik Dion.
Head coach Jim Armstrong might also be watching from the stands Saturday as a result of the brawl.
