The Quesnel Kangaroos made a herculean push to force their Saturday night game (Nov. 10) against the Williams Lake Stampeders into overtime, but were unable to complete the comeback at West Fraser Centre, losing 8-7 thanks to a late marker by the away team’s Wilfred Robbins.
Curtis Gassoff scored a hattrick for the hometown squad, who never gave up despite being down 6-2 going into the third period.
Alessio Tomassetti, Jordan Low, Red Fulton and Karl Weberg also contributed markers for the Roos.
The Stampeders were buoyed by a hattrick from Zach Sternberg and additional goals from Chad Wilde, Kaleb Boyle, Travis Flaherty and Darcy Flaherty.
READ MORE: Quesnel Kangaroos return to West Fraser Centre
While the 3-2 first period was a tight yet fast-paced affair, with teams exchanging goal-for-goal, the Stampeders took advantage of several defensive breakdowns by the Roos to pour in a trio of unanswered goals, much to the chagrin of the packed home arena.
Whatever Roos head coach Harley Gilks said to his team in the dressing room before the third period, it worked, as the boys stormed back with a five-goal third period.
Though they might have lost eventually, the game was surely a character builder for the team, who now know what they are capable of when the chips are down.
Their next game is a Sunday afternoon match-up at home against the Prince Rupert Rampage on Nov. 18.
sports@quesnelobserver.com
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