It was a wild adventure in more ways than one, but Powell River Kings are a happy team after winning in Coquitlam 4-3 in double overtime on Friday, losing 3-0 to West Kelowna on Saturday, then coming back strong on Sunday to capture a 6-0 win over the Wild in Wenatchee, Washington.
Kings got off to a great start against Coquitlam Express, the same team they beat 7-2 at the BC Hockey League Showcase Thursday, September 24.
This time the Kings managed to lead throughout the game but couldn’t shake the Express, who forced the Kings into overtime for the first time this season.
After goals from Austin Kamer, Jeremey Leipsic and Rylan Ball, Leipsic got his second at 2:20 of the second overtime period on a beautiful cycling exhibition with teammates Nick Halagian and Ball.
Halagian’s assist was his third of the night, earned him a first star and extra attention from the West Kelowna Warriors the next night.
West Kelowna has been a streak-breaker this year when they were the first to beat Wenatchee after the Washington team opened its season with a five straight wins.
Kings went in riding a seven-game winning streak themselves against West Kelowna, but the Warriors focused on Halagian and snapped it.
It was a physical game with passive officiating that eventually got to Kings coach Kent Lewis, who loudly protested until ejected at 13:35 of the final period.
At that time the score was 2-0, but the Kings took another minor penalty shortly after and with a two-man advantage the Warriors iced the game with its third goal on goalie Stefan Wornig at 14:19.
Happy to get out of Kelowna, the Kings departed for their final game against the BCHL’s newest and only Washington State-based franchise on Sunday.
Wenatchee toiled for years in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) where they had to fly to maintain a schedule against distant opponents in Alaska, Dawson Creek and California.
In the only previous meeting between the two teams in 2011, the Kings captain at the time, Teagan Waugh, scored in overtime at Trail’s exhibition tournament to give Powell River a win.
Over 2,000 fans were on hand at the Town Toyota Centre in Wenatchee but many left before the end of the game, mainly because of King’s forward Carter Turnbull.
Turnbull had a career performance with a four-goal game to lead the Kings to a lopsided 6-0 victory over the stunned Wild.
Despite their winning record, Kings coaches haven’t been particularly enamoured with their sluggish start to games.
Veteran forward Kamer took care of that issue early when he scored the game’s first goal at 1:19 of the opening period.
After that, it was all Turnbull as he ripped his first at 17:17, added another in the second and two more in the third.
To top off his highlight package, Turnbull fed Tristan Mullin perfectly on a two-on-one late in the final period to add an assist on the Kings final goal at 13:39. Turnbull was more than the Wild could handle.
Despite being outshot 47-31, goaltender Jeff Smith was very good for his second shutout of the season.
Wenatchee gets a chance for revenge when they visit Hap Parker Arena on Thursday, October 15 at 7 pm. After that the Kings head to the island to play Victoria on Friday, October 16 and Cowichan on Saturday, October 17.
