Braves force 7th game with win in double OT

Spokane has lived to play another day in its second-round Kootenay International Junior Hockey League playoff series with the Nelson Leafs.

That comes tonight in Nelson, with the best-of-7 series tied 3-3.

After more than 93 minutes of hockey Monday night at Eagles Ice-A-Rena, in the second double-overtime game between the teams in two nights (Nelson won Sunday on its home ice), Rance Hughes scored to give the Braves a 4-3 victory.

Jake Peterson, whose goal at 2:50 in the third period tied the game at 3, started a 3-on-2 Spokane rush that ended it. He passed to Guisseppe Dippolito, who fed Hughes for the winner at 13:24 of the second overtime.

Uriah Machuga and Brycen Fischer also scored for the Braves.

Goalie Cash Ulrich, the MVP of the Braves’ first-round win over Castlegar, stopped 48 Nelson shots, 20 in the third period to help Spokane take it to OT.

Ulrich, who won five of his last six games in the month, was named Kootenay Conference player of the month for February.