Powell River U18 Kings gutted out an early morning semi-final win at the 2022 Cloverdale U18 Memorial Tournament on Sunday, November 13.
Several players were missing due to injury or illness, but the Kings managed to edged Peninsula Eagles 4-3 to advance to the gold medal game later that afternoon.
With a hard shot from the point during a first period power play, team captain Tyler Durant opened the scoring for the Kings, who finished with the best record (4-0) in the group stage of the event held at Surrey Sport and Leisure Complex.
Dreydan Harris and Braedyn Louie scored on second period breakaways for Powell River, which bookended a Peninsula goal after a scramble in front of goaltender Josh McCormick with nine minutes remaining.
Down 3-1 at the start of the third period, Peninsula pressed to get back into the game and were rewarded with a pair of goals, one with eight minutes left in the game and the tying goal with 5:52 on the game clock.
Momentum was in favour of the Vancouver Island-based team, who were awarded a power play opportunity a minute later. After a clearance by a teammate, while shorthanded, Harris beat two opposition players to the puck behind the Eagles' net, deked through one of them on his way out in front of the goaltender, and roofed a shot, the eventual game winner, into the top corner of the net.
The 4-3 win was the fifth in a row for the Kings since the tournament began on November 11, including two wins on the first day and another pair on November 12.
Powell River faced another team from Vancouver Island (Oceanside) in the gold medal game today (November 13) at 3 pm, and a battle of attrition worked against them.
While Oceanside's bench was full, Powell River's lineup was further depleted due to more injuries incurred during the semi-final, and more illnesses.
The 11 skaters who were able to play held their own through a scoreless first two periods, and even scored first courtesy of a Louie shot from the slot 15 seconds into the third period.
The lead was short-lived, however. Oceanside responded with a tying goal 20 seconds later and took the lead shortly thereafter.
Kings were unable to muster a comeback and surrendered three more goals, including one into an empty net, to lose out on gold by a score of 5-1.
The team’s next home game is against Nanaimo on Saturday, November 19. Puck drop is scheduled for 1:15 pm.
