Spokane Chiefs lose to Prince George 4-3

It was a night for charity and the Spokane Chiefs were most obliging.

After producing a record number of stuffed toys on Teddy Bear Toss Night, the Chiefs coughed up a 3-0 lead to the Prince George Cougars and lost 4-3 in a shootout.

Cody Carlson notched the game-winner on the fifth shot.

Spokane (14-9-2-3, 33 points) had a 3-0 lead entering the third period before the Cougars (12-19-0-2, 26) stormed back in the Arena – the second time in two weeks they stunned the Chiefs.

The charity goal, delivered at 13:06 of the first period, came from rookie defenseman Jason Fram, his third of the season.

The crowd of 9,962 responded with a record 5,409 stuffed toys.

The game was the first at home for the Chiefs in two weeks. In their last home game they allowed the Cougars to come from behind for a 5-4 victory.

Fram’s third goal, a shot from the left point that eluded PG goalie Drew Owsley, was the only marker of the first period.

Spokane stretched the lead to 3-0 late in a dull second period, getting Anthony Bardaro’s 17th goal and Steve Kuhn’s sixth in the last five minutes.

Bardaro squeezed a short-side shot from a pretty tight angle on Owsley’s stick side and just 83 seconds later Tyler King’s shot from the point was redirected by Kuhn.

Early in the third period Alex Forsberg got PG on the scoreboard with his eighth goal. It was Jordan Tkatch, with his eighth, at 14:01 that pulled the Cougars within 3-2. Then, after a double high-sticking minor with 4:22 remaining, Cody Carlson quickly got a power-play goal at 16:12, his fifth.

Spokane was without high-scoring defenseman Brenden Kichton, who left Saturday for Team Canada camp. The Cougars played without left wing Campbell Elynuik, who was suspended after a boarding major in a 1-0 win at Seattle on Friday.