Trojans shade Kings in overtime

Brent Forster - RDC

The RDC Kings found themselves down by a pair of goals after the first period Friday evening in Calgary but they showed resolve and battled back. When 60 minutes couldn't determine a winner, the Trojans eventually picked up a 4-3 decision in overtime and the Kings earned one valuable point in the standings. 

At 2:34 of the first period, Owen Johnson put the Trojans on the board. About 9 minutes later, SAIT went up by a pair. Bo Sigurdson connected at 11:44 to give the SAIT Trojans a 2-0 edge. The Kings outshot the Trojans 14-13. 

The Kings started to crawl back into the game in the second period. Scott Ferguson narrowed the gap by a goal at 0:41 of the middle frame. The Kings tested SAIT's goaltender Payton Lee 14 times in the period. Troy Trombley turned aside all 11 of the Trojans' shots. 

At 2:07 of the third period, Tyler Berkholtz tied the game 2-2 on the power play. Lynnden Pastachak, from Bienfait, Saskatchewan, had the lone helper. Over 6 minutes later the RDC Kings took a 3-2 lead. Trevor Costello, a second-year Management Certificate student, beat Lee at 8:44. Tyler Podgorenko picked up the assist on the go-ahead-goal. With 3:46 left in the game, former RDC Kings forward Pat Martens scored on the power play to knot the game up 3-3. RDC outshot SAIT 14-7 in the third period.

In the 4-on-4 overtime period, Dave Nippard gave the Trojans a 4-3 win at 1:51.

The Kings held a 43-34 shot advantage. RDC went 1-for-4 on the power play. SAIT was 1-for-12 with the man advantage.

Saturday, the Red Deer College Kings (15-6-2-0) will face-off against the SAIT Trojans (15-6-1-1) at 8:00 p.m. at the Penhold Multiplex. While the Kings and Trojans have clinched a playoff berth, they are jockeying for position in the standings. NAIT leads the league with 40 points. After the Kings and Trojans, who are tied for second spot with 32 points, the MacEwan University Griffins and the University of Alberta Augustana Vikings are next with 31 points each.