Nicholas Gushue of the Nanaimo Clippers celebrated his 19th birthday by scoring twice against the Penticton Vees Saturday night, including the 3-2 overtime-winner at Frank Crane Arena.
The Vees opened the scoring when Alex Coulombe scored his first career BCHL goal on the power-play near the nine-minute mark of the first period. The Vees scored their second goal on the power-play when Anthony Conti deflected a Bret Beauvais shot from the slot. The goal was Cont's fourth and his first in five games.
The Vees ran into trouble and gave the Clippers a five-on-three advantage. Gushue wired a wrist-shot from the top of the right-circle over Hunter Miska’s glove on the short-side. The Vees held a 2-1 lead until the final minutes of the third when Austin Dick fired a shot from the blueline finding a hole through players and past Miska's blocker.
Gushue's overtime-winner was scored when he fired a shot over Miska's blocker. Miska finished with 25 saves. The Vees have now split their first two games of their three game road trip; the finale in Sunday against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.