Chase Harrington scores tying, winning goal; Spokane Chiefs beat Prince George 4-3 in overtime to force Game 6 | WHL playoffs

There’s something about these Spokane Chiefs where they play their best when their backs are against the wall. It’s an instinct that’s keeping them alive in the Western Hockey League postseason.

The Chiefs rallied from two goals down early in the third period – the tying goal coming with 56 seconds left in regulation – to force overtime in their win-or-go home Game 5 of the Western Conference best-of-seven first-round series against the Prince George Cougars.

And the guy that tied it, won it in overtime for the home team.

Chase Harrington scored 12 minutes, 39 seconds into the extra session – after scoring with 56 seconds left in regulation to send it there – and the Chiefs edged the Cougars 4-3, returning the series back to Prince George, B.C. for Game 6.

Game 6 is Sunday at 6 p.m. at Prince George’s CN Centre. Game 7, if necessary, would be Monday at CN Centre at 7.

The winner of the series moves on to face the winner of the Penticton-Seattle series. The expansion Vees lead the series 3-1 with Game 5 set for Friday in Penticton.

“It was a gutsy win,” Chiefs coach Brad Lauer said. “We fought our way back. Showed some guts, showed some character. That’s what it’s about. That’s how you find identity with a team. That’s how you find what type of team you have.”

Both goalies made difficult saves in the early going of overtime. But the Chiefs put together an extended cycle, generating several shots on goal, and Harrington collected a rebound along the left boards. He circled to the center of the ice and sent a snap shot through a series of screens and past Western Conference first-team goalie Joshua Ravensbergen for his second goal of the game and series.

“We had some good zone time there. And good net presence, too,” Lauer said. “Guys were dragging, both teams were very tired and we were able to get some zone time. Chase did a good job coming back around the top and good net presence. When you can’t see it, it’s tough to stop.”

The Chiefs trailed 3-1 at 6:28 of the third period, and PG defenseman Arsenii Anisimov was called for interference, giving the Chiefs their fifth power play of the game. Near the end of that infraction, Cougars’ forward Riley Ashe was called for delay of game, extending the Chiefs opportunity.

They finally broke through with 55 seconds remaining on the second infraction, as Owen Martin made it 3-2 with a rebound goal with 10:40 left in the period for his second marker of the playoffs.

Chiefs goalie Carter Esler was called to the bench for an extra skater with 1:48 to go on an offensive zone faceoff. The tactic worked, with Harrington cleaning up a loose puck on the doorstep off a Dominik Petr shot with 56 seconds left in regulation for his first goal of the playoffs.

“It was do or die,” Lauer said. “We found a way to get it done. Good teams find ways to score goals. Six-on-five has been good to us. You don’t want to have to use it all the time, but when we needed it, it was there for us tonight.”

PG had one more offensive zone faceoff with 14 seconds to go, but the Chiefs cleared the zone, sending the game to overtime.

As with the regular season, the Chiefs struggled on the power play, going empty on their first six attempts before finally registering one late. PG went 3 for 3.

The Chiefs received the game’s first power play opportunity with 9:43 left in the first when Prince George defenseman Carson Carels was called for boarding behind the PG net. But the unit that went 0 for 6 in Wednesday’s Game 4 win went empty again.

With 2:33 left in the period, Petr was hauled down roughly in the corner and stayed down for several moments while receiving help from a trainer. He left under his own power, and defenseman Bauer Dumanski was assessed two minutes for boarding.

But the Chiefs power play, which was last in the league this season at 16.7%, was again unsuccessful and the period ended in a scoreless tie.

Prince George got its first crack at the power play at 7:08 of the second when Chiefs forward Cohen Harris was sent off for tripping. The Cougars took full advantage, with Brock Souch beating Esler to the high glove side from the left wing dot for his fifth goal of the series.

PG’s Aiden Foster committed a two-minute checking-to-the-head penalty a few minutes later, giving the Chiefs their third opportunity with the extra man. But like the first two, the Chiefs were unable to convert.

Just 31 seconds after the penalty expired, though, the Chiefs scored, with Sam Oremba firing a rocket from center point on the rush past PG goalie Joshua Ravensbergen for his second goal of the playoffs.

The Chiefs received their fourth power play opportunity with 3:18 left in the second when PG was called for too many men on the ice. But they only got one shot through to Ravensbergen, who made an easy right-handed catch, then Chiefs forward Logan Wormald was called for tripping with 1:55 left to negate the advantage.

After the too-many-men call expired, the Cougars received an abbreviated power play to end the period. Esler made two quality saves, but Tarik Parascak’s shot through traffic trickled through with 42 seconds left and the Cougars led 2-1 entering the third.

Early in the third, PG defenseman Corbin Vaughn laid out Tyus Sparks with an open-ice hit and had to be helped off the ice doubled over. Logan Wormald fought Vaughn and took the worst of it and was assessed a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct for instigating – with the original high hit not penalized. Sparks did not return to the game.

The Cougars scored on the ensuing power play, with Kooper Gizowski tallying his second goal of the series, and Prince George led 3-1 with 21/2 minutes into the period.

The game was delayed for a few minutes early in the second period when Prince George forward Townes Kozicky appeared to pass out on the Cougars’ bench. Chiefs trainers and medical staff rushed to his aid and after a few minutes the 17-year-old from Calgary sat up and was helped off the bench, though under his own power, and into the tunnel for more attention.

Prince George’s verified X account announced during the second intermission that Kozicky was stable and conscious, and was taken to a hospital for further tests.