Gerry Fitzgerald's magical touch was unavailable to the Prince George Spruce Kings in a 3-2 loss Saturday versus the Nanaimo Clippers.
The youngest of the Fitzgerald triplets has scored the game-winning goal in three of the last four Spruce Kings' games while collecting an assist in the other game.
"I wish I did it again but it just didn't come to my stick this game," said Gerry after the Kings suffered their first loss in February and snapped a six-game win streak.
It was the first time he and brothers Leo and Myles played against their former British Columbia Hockey League team since being traded to Prince George on Aug. 12 in exchange for Trevor Fitzgerald, Josh Bryan and Scott Milnthorp. Trevor serves as the Clippers' captain this season while Bryan is among a crowded defensive corps of seven in Nanaimo. Milnthorp, a Calgary native, was subsequently shipped to the AJHL and plays with the Grande Prairie Storm.
"We battled hard but gave up some pucks at the wrong time when we should've just got around their defence like we usually do," said Gerry. "It was nice to see some old faces on the other bench and compete against them."
The Kings out shot the Clippers 37-31 but couldn't bury the chances they had and when they did get a good shot away Nanaimo goaltender Billy Faust was their to make the save in front of a sellout crowd of 2,112 at the Prince George Coliseum.
"It was a great crowd today, really energetic and great to play in front of," said Gerry. "It got me going and gave me some goose bumps before the game. I think it's always good to be a little nervous before a game."
The Kings gave the capacity crowd a reason to cheer early in the first period when Gerry sent the puck into the corner for brother Leo who skated along the goal line and buried it behind Faust for the 1-0 advantage.
Brenden Forbes tied the game for the Clippers but before the period was over Jarryd Ten Vaanholt restored the Kings' lead when he stole the puck in front of the Clippers' net and beat the Nanaimo goalie.
After a scoreless second period, the Clippers scored two goals in less than two minutes midway through the final period on Kyle Kramer's 28th of the year and Mason Blacklock's third.
Kings head coach Dave Dupas said he was disappointed with his team's play in front of the largest crowd of the season, especially since they knew of the Clippers' trap-style defensive system.
"We didn't play with enough urgency," said Dupas. "They're a frustrating team to play against. That team, they play a shutdown style, they trap a lot and take away the neutral zone. When we did get pucks deep, we didn't get our speed through the neutral zone so we didn't create enough of a fore-check."
The loss combined with a Merritt Centennials (29-17-2-5) win, 4-2 over the Chilliwack Chiefs, leaves the Kings (28-18-2-4) three points behind Merritt for second place in the Interior Conference. The Chiefs (26-21-1-3) fell down to fifth spot Saturday after the Vernon Vipers (27-23-1-2) knocked off the
Westside Warriors 3-2 in double overtime.
Penticton beat the Salmon Arm Silverbacks 4-1, running the Vees (46-3-0-2) win streak to 35 games. Meanwhile, the Clippers (23-20-0-9) kept their fading post-season hopes alive in the Coastal Conference but remain 11 points behind the Coquitlam Express (31-18-2-2) for the final spot.
Dupas said he felt goaltender Kirk Thompson should've played the first two Clippers goals differently.
"We out-chanced them an awful lot," said Dupas. "Their goaltender made saves and we didn't get the saves we needed from our guys. At the end of the day that's the difference.
"The first on and second one have to be stopped," he added. "Their goalie didn't let those goals in. I'm not sure if [Thompson] was screened on it or if the first one was deflected right now. It just seems like we really have to work for our goals."
The Kings next six games are on the road the next two weekends before they host the Vees for a pair of games March 9 and 10 to close out the regular season.
Prince George defencemen Cody Bardock (shoulder) and Latrell Charlieson (unknown) missed Saturday's game with injuries. No one was victorious in the shoot-to-win for a new truck contest a the game but both shooters left with brand new ipads.
