Given their second and third placing in BC Hockey League’s Island Division it is little wonder that Powell River Kings and Victoria Grizzlies are in a back and forth best-of-seven series.
Five games into the series Kings prevailed in games one, three and five to lead at press time three games to two.
It all started in Victoria last Tuesday, March 3, with the Kings strutting their stuff in an explosive 7-2 win.
Nick Halagian led the way with a pair while Ross Hnidy, Brent Lashuk, Jarid Lukosevicius, Stephen Hiff and Mitchell Hawes added singles.
Brett Magnus recorded his first BCHL playoff victory with 30 saves to secure home ice advantage for the Kings.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle for the Kings in this series might be the Kings themselves as they became a softer opponent for the Grizzlies the next night.
Kings’ Jonny Evans opened the scoring at 4:28 of the first period but Victoria tied it 1-1 late in the period and neither team could solve the goalies through the next 40 minutes.
At 2:19 of the first overtime Grizzlies evened the series at one apiece and the next day both teams boarded a ferry for the next three games in Powell River on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Friday’s game was an odd one, in that the Grizzlies outshot the Kings badly, 49-22, but the Kings scored on four of six shots in the second, to glide to a 5-2 win.
Magnus was razor sharp in goal while Kings’ snipers couldn’t miss on almost every one of their chances.
Lukosevicius and Jacob Pritchard each had a pair of goals with Kurt Keats adding a fifth to give the Kings a healthy five-goal lead heading into the final period.
The Grizzlies were able to get two by Magnus but the result was never in question as the Kings cruised to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Game four on Saturday was a complete flip to the one the night before as this time Grizzlies’ sticks got hot and they scored four unanswered goals in the second period to post a 6-1 win and even the series 2-2.
Thus far, neither team had played with the consistency expected of a successful playoff team but in game five the Kings seemed to be grinding the Grizzlies down.
In a tight checking first period Lashuk opened the scoring for the Kings but the Grizzlies replied less than a minute later.
Pritchard made it 2-1 after the first but the turning point for the Kings came later in the second period.
With five minutes to play in the period Pritchard was assessed a double minor that the Kings killed off successfully.
In the third they dug in their heels and actually got stronger in the final period when Halagian, Jeremy Leclerc and Evans scored to give them a 5-1 win and 3-2 series lead which switches to Victoria for the last two games.
All of the other BCHL playoff series elected for the standard 2-2-1-1-1 format but if the Kings are successful in winning one more game in Victoria it would be a win-win for the club with the 2-3-2 (first two games in Victoria followed by three in Powell River, then two in Victoria as needed).
The weekend dates drew very well and three games in three days for the Kings is a schedule they have become quite used to over the year which showed on Sunday.
The series wraps up in Victoria on Tuesday, March 10, or Wednesday, March 11.
The winner will face Nanaimo Clippers or Alberni Valley Bulldogs starting Friday, March 13, and Saturday, March 14.
Nanaimo leads that series three games to one but credit for the lone Alberni win might go to a Clippers fan at the fourth game in Alberni. When Nanaimo scored at 8:28 of the third to go up 4-2 a Clippers fan threw an orange broom onto the ice that inspired the Bulldogs to score twice to tie and then win it in overtime to extend the series. When the game stars were announced, first star Mitch Makin skated out victoriously waving the orange broom.
