Powell River Kings opened the scoring at home against Victoria Grizzlies on Saturday, March 5, but the visitors responded with four straight goals to take control of the BC Hockey League (BCHL) game at Hap Parker Arena.
Both teams converted power play opportunities into goals in the first period. Parker Lalonde and Ethan Riesterer set up Casey Aman’s sixth goal of the season at the 14-minute mark, then, with one second remaining before intermission, Grizzlies knotted the score at one while skating with the extra attacker.
Victoria dominated the middle stanza, adding a trio of goals, including another on a power play, to take a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes.
Caleb Parkhouse cut the deficit to two goals midway through the third period, with an assist going to Nic Porchetta, but the Kings would not get any closer, despite pulling goaltender Zak Brice on two occasions. Grizzlies closed out the scoring with a pair of empty-net goals to win 6-2.
Brice made 38 saves while his counterpart Kyle Kelsey turned aside 39 shots. Attendance was 720.
With five games remaining in the regular season, Powell River is one point ahead of Cowichan Valley for the eighth and final Coastal Conference playoff spot.
Kings host Coquitlam Express for a pair of games next weekend. Game time on Saturday, March 12, is 7 pm. The teams meet the following afternoon at 1:30 pm.
Coquitlam sits seventh in the conference, four points ahead of Powell River.
