After erasing a 3-1 deficit the Quesnel Millionaires couldn’t hold on as the Nanaimo Clippers scored early in the second overtime period to collect two points for the 4-3 overtime win.
Kyle Kramer stole the puck at the Mills blueline along the boards and skated in all alone on Bryton Udy and made no mistake rifling the puck high glove side, at 1:59 of the second overtime period, to send a dejected Mills team back to the dressing room with just a single, but very important, point.
Despite some lackluster play, especially on the defensive side of the puck, the Mills managed to overcome 1-0 and 3-1 deficits to force the overtime.
Skyler Smutek started the comeback late in the second period when his point shot found its way through a maze of players to end up behind Clippers netminder Charles-Andre Pelletier who stopped 30 of 33 shots for the win.
Bradley Buckingham knotted the score at 3-3 for the Mills seven minutes into the third period when he rifled a nice pass from Taylor Orser off the crossbar and to the back of the net.
Udy, who looked shaky on the first goal of the game by Andrew Gladiuk, stopped 31 of 35 shots fired his way, including some impressive saves in the third period and the first overtime period that had the more than 650 fans cheering.
Thomas Hardy scored his fifth of the season early in the second period to tie the score at 1-1
The 4-3 loss was the fifth time in the last 13 games the Mills took a game into overtime, three of which have ended in overtime losses. The Mills are winless in their last 13 games.
The single point for the overtime loss puts the Mills three points ahead of the Prince George Spruce Kings in the race for the last playoff spot in the interior conference of the BCHL with just seven games remaining in the regular season.
The Mills host the Spruce Kings Tuesday, Feb. 8. In addition to valuable points in the standings, the game is the last in the CNC Cup Challenge and bragging rights between the two northern B.C. teams.
