Eight is enough.
The Prince George Spruce Kings have suffered the agony too many times.
It came down to a shootout to decide their game Saturday against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena and just like the night before, the Silverbacks left the rink smiling.
Michael Ladyman scored in the eighth round of the shootout to give the Silverbacks a 3-2 victory.
It was the eighth time this season the Kings have lost in a shootout and it came a day after they beat Prince George 4-3 in regulation time at RMCA.
Silverbacks’ sniper Simon Tassy put the pressure on Prince George when he scored in the second round of the shootout, but Simon Labelle kept the game going when he scored in the third round and both teams went scoreless for the next four rounds until it was Ladyman’s turn.
Tassy’s 37th goal of the season , 14:19 into the third period, tied the game 2-2.
Labelle’s ninth goal, midway through the second period, gave the Kings a 1-0 lead and that lasted until the 8:16 mark of the third, when Brandon Santa Juana knotted the score. Rowan Miller scored 29 seconds later to restore the Kings’ lead, which proved short-lived.
Owen Say made 25 saves for the win in the Salmon Arm nets, improving his season record to 22-7-0-3. Jordan Fairlie took the loss in goal for Prince George, with 24 saves.
The Silverbacks improved their stake on second place in the BCHL’s Interior Conference and they improved to 32-8-3-1-0, .773 winning percentage), while the third-place Spruce Kings dropped to 25-11-3-8-0, .649).
The Spruce Kings’ only shootout win this season happened on Nov. 12 at home when they beat the Vernon Vipers 3-2.
The Kings head out on a three-game roadtrip that starts Wednesday in Vernon. They’ll also play Friday in Penticton and Saturday in West Kelowna.
