Ben Duperreault's two goals helped the Regina Cougars overcome a 4-2 third-period deficit on Friday night and force overtime, but after a scoreless extra session Calgary finished with a 5-4 victory thanks to a goal by T.J. Brown in the first round of the shootout.
The Cougars had a hill to climb after Calgary's Chris Rauckman scored early in the third to put the No. 9-ranked Dinos up by two, but Duperreault stepped up in a huge way.
The second-year forward first scored on a deflection off a
Landon Peel point shot on the power play, and then tied it up with just three minutes left after getting a feed in front from
Conner Chaulk following a turnover deep in the Calgary end.
Regina had a 5-3 advantage in 10 minutes of overtime but neither team scored. In the shootout, Brown scored in the first round and Calgary goalie Brodan Salmond stopped Duperreault,
Isaac Schacher, and
Conner Chaulk to secure the win for the Dinos.
Matt Alfaro had the game's first two goals for Calgary with James Shearer and Rauckman also scoring in regulation for the Dinos.
Michael Eskra and
Tyler Kreklewich had Regina's other goals, while netminder
Brandon Holtby stopped 33 of 37 shots for the Cougars.
The two teams will meet again at the Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary on Saturday afternoon to finish off the weekend series. Game time is set for 3:00 MT (4:00 SK).
