Kingsford senior Jaxon Buckley (right) connects for a first period goal against Hancock as teammate Jake Crockford looks on, Tuesday evening at Mountain View Ice Arena. (Ron Deuter photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Kingsford did just about everything right Tuesday evening against Hancock, except stop the puck when it mattered most.

Sophomore Jack Spreen scored two goals, the Flivvers held a 30-25 advantage in shots and a third-period lead, but the Bulldogs rallied for a game-tying goal late and then knocked in a rebound for the game-winner just 14 seconds into overtime to deal Kingsford a crushing 5-4 loss at Mountain View Ice Arena.

“I thought our puck movement was really good,” Flivvers head coach Greg Wadge said. “Our power play was good. We outshot them again. What else can you say? Our kids battled and unfortunately we came up short.”

Unlike last season when the Flivvers really struggled to consistently put the puck on and in the net, offense hasn’t been the issue of late, as the team has shown steady improvement and averaged better than four goals per game over its last seven contests. Last year’s team only scored four or more goals in two games all season.

Keeping the puck out of the net on the other end, however, remains the challenge – as was the case Tuesday evening. Most of Hancock’s goals were of the second-chance variety, as the Flivvers struggled to defend after an initial shot – which included the sequence leading to the game winner.

A blast from up high was wide of the net but slammed off the boards and trickled back out in front of the goal. With the Flivvers unable to react quick enough, Hancock junior Kirby Storm pounced and flipped it in to end the game in heart-breaking fashion for Kingsford.

The Flivvers had erased an early 2-0 hole against the Bulldogs, scoring the final three goals of the first period to carry a lead into the second. Seniors Jaxon Buckley and Jake Crockford scored the first two, with Spreen adding the third. But that lead didn’t hold, as Hanock evened the score 3-3 after a power play tally by Storm at 2:21 of the second.

Still knotted 3-3 into the third period, Kingsford again took a lead when Spreen netted his second of the game in the opening minutes on a power play, winning a battle in front of the net and tipping one through with assists from sophomore Jonah Doenier and Crockford. The goal propelled Spreen into the team lead in scoring with eight goals on the season.

Unfortunately for Kingsford and despite holding a 12-6 advantage in shots in the final frame, Hancock evened the score at 10:07 when sophomore Brady Axford found the back of the net.

Crockford finished with four points for Kingsford with his goal and three assists. Senior captain Gavin Moore had a helper on the Flivvers first goal, and senior Evan Moyer and sophomore Seth Greenleaf assisted on the Crockford goal.

Junior goalie Nate Scullon took the loss between the pipes, stopping 20 shots overall.

Kingsford, dropping to 4-8-0, heads to Traverse City for a pair of games this weekend, facing Saginaw Heritage on Friday afternoon and Genesee on Saturday morning.