Bandits on brink after 4-1 loss in Prince George

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. (May 2, 2019) ? The Brooks Bandits fell behind 3 games to 2 in the 2019 Doyle Cup series, after another home win for the Prince George Spruce Kings, 4-1 on Thursday night.

The Bandits erased a 1-0 Spruce Kings lead in the second, but the BCHL champions responded with three straight goals to seal their second straight win on home ice.

Patrick Cozzi opened the scoring at 14:27 when a wide point shot caromed off the end wall to him at the left side of the net for a tap-in goal.

The Bandits equalized at the 16:34 mark of the second on a long point shot by Brandon Scanlin (Hamilton, ON) through a screen. But less than a minute later, the Spruce Kings fed a cross-slot pass to Ben Poisson for a one-timer goal from the right side and a 2-1 advantage.

Corey Cunningham scored on a wraparound at 10:22 of the third for insurance, and Cozzi capped off the scoring with his second of the game on a turnaround wrister from the high slot at 13:15.

Pierce Charleson (Aurora, ON) stopped 27 of 31 shots while Logan Neaton stopped 25 of 26 for the Spruce Kings. Game 6 will be Saturday night in Prince George with an 8:00 Alberta time puck drop; pre-game coverage starts at 7:45 on Real Country 105.7 FM.