Spud Kings rally late, but Grand Junction wins in overtime to tie the Mountain Division series at 1-1

IDAHO FALLS – No ever said the playoffs are supposed to be easy.

Dramatic maybe, but not easy.

That was the case Wednesday night as the Spud Kings were on the verge of being shut out for just the second time this season as Grand Junction nursed an early 1-0 lead in Game 2 of the Mountain Division best-of-5 series.

That’s when Daniel Macleash, the Spud Kings’ top points scorer, broke through, scoring with 31 seconds left in the game to tie it at 1-1.

The game went into overtime, much to the delight of the Mountain America Center crowd.

But the celebration was short-lived as the River Hawks’ Tai Kontrec netted the game-winner just 1:19 into overtime.

The series is now tied 1-1 with Game 3 set for Friday at the River City Sportsplex in Grand Junction, Co.

Wednesday’s matchup had a similar start to Game 1 for the Spud Kings, who had to rally and finished strong in the third period for the win in the opener.

The River Hawks scored first on Wednesday as Marius Koivisto found the net at 16:05 in the first period. But unlike in Game 1, the Spud Kings didn’t recover.

The game was chippy, with a combined 45 penalty minutes assessed.

Idaho Falls had 10 shots on goal in the second period but couldn’t convert. They had nine shots in the third.

The Spud Kings bombarded the River Hawks’ goal in the closing minute before Mcleash fired the game-tying shot in the closing seconds.

Idaho Falls had won six of nine matchups against Grand Junction during the regular season