The Kootenay ICE donned Cranbrook Colts jerseys for their New Year’s Eve threads against the Victoria Royals at Western Financial Place.
However, the ICE were unable to dethrone the Royals anbd lost 4-3 in overtime.
Davis Murray scored in the first to tie the game after Dino Kambeitz opened the scoring for Victoria.
“I looked [for the] pass and I didn’t see anything. To be honest, I was just shooting, and it went in. So, fortunate,” Murray said about his goal.
But, Dante Hannoun and Kaid Oliver both got on the scoresheet in the second to give the Royals the lead. Brad Ginnell got the ICE back within one but were still down 3-2 going into the third period.
Dallas Hines took care of that, ripping one past Royals goaltender Brock Gould to tie the game up.
“In the third period…we were playing on our toes and getting pucks to the net. Getting some motion in the offence zone, all those things happened in the third,” said head coach James Patrick.
The crowd got into the game in the third period, which flowed energy onto the bench, said Patrick.
“You could hear them, you could feel the crowd. I think that got our guys going a little more,” he added.
The game couldn’t be settled in regulation, and the two teams went to three-on-three overtime.
In the end, it was D-Jay Jerome who got the game winning goal for the Royals late in the extra frame.
Ice goaltender Jesse Makaj faced 52 shots during the game, while Gould saw 29 shots.
“I thought Jesse was outstanding, he gave us a chance,” said Patrick. “I didn’t like our team in the first two periods…our lack of compete by a number of players. We had half of our defence missing – Jesse gave us a chance. He kept us in the game.”
The ICE saw a new face in the lineup with 15-year-old defenceman Carson Lambos playing in his second Western Hockey League game. He finished the night with two shots.
“He’s a strong skater he can skate with the top players. We played him on our second pairing, in overtime, in the third – he had some great chances. Not only did he not look out of place, but he added a lot to our team,” said Patrick.
Lambos said it felt good to get into the action and gained confidence as the night went on.
“It was a good fast-paced game out there, a fast-checking game. It was a great experience,” he added.
The ICE will head to Medicine Hat to face the Tigers on Jan. 4 and be back at Western Financial Place Jan. 5 to take on the Spokane Chiefs.
