The Kings and Prince George Spruce Kings couldn’t find a game winner through 70 minutes as Powell River had its first tie of the season, a 3-3 outing against the Prince George Spruce Kings on Friday night.
A dreadful start for Powell River with a loose puck around the net that kicked out front. Mitch Adamyk attempted to leap out of the crease to cover it but it ended up poking it with the end of his glove to the stick of Ethan de Jong who scored for the visitors 23 seconds into the game and an early 1-0 lead. The Spruce Kings held that lead through the first break with the Kings outshooting them 9-7.
The 2nd period saw PG extend the lead through Chong Min Lee’s grubber from the slot that found the five hold on Adamyk and a 2-0 advantage. Midway through the 2nd the Kings finally found some offence, and a powerplay goal as Carter Turnbull one-timed an Andy Stevens pass on the left faceoff dot into a yawning cage for his 7th of the season and a 2-1 scoreline. That score held through 40 with the Kings dominating shots on goal 15-7 in the period and 24-14 through 40.
Into the third and the Kings had a 5-on-3 carry over that they cashed in on for the first time this season. Turnbull again, this time setup in the slot from Carmine Buono for his 2nd of the game and 8th of the season and a tie game at 2. Midway through the 3rd, Prince George would take the lead through a nice passing play on the powerplay between Kyle Johnson and Jarod Hovde that resulted in Johnson’s 7th of the season.
However just 22 seconds after Prince George took the lead, Ben Berard took it right back with a goal-line one timer on a beautiful feed from Hunter Findlater. Berard’s 4th of the season also coming on the powerplay as the Kings went 3/8 on the man advantage on the night.
Regulation solved nothing despite the fact the Kings outshot the Spruce Kings 12-4 in the 3rd period for regulation totals of 36-18. First overtime solved nothing, even with powerplay time for the Spruce Kings carrying over from regulation. Shots 4-0 Kings but still a 3-3 tie. Second overtime saw great chances both ways, including a pair of opportunities for Josh Coblenz but the Kings were unable to find the back of the net as the goaltenders stood tall for a 3-3 tie.
The tie for the Kings is the third between the two teams since 2004/2005 in Powell River. The last was in the 2011/2012 season which was a 2-2 result. The tie takes the Kings record to 0-3-1-1 when trailing at any point in a game and the team still awaits its first lead change of the season. The 18 shots against is a new season best, bettering the 19 fired by Wenatchee earlier in October at the Hap. 3/8 on the powerplay is the second time this year the Kings have scored that many on the powerplay. They went 3/5 against the Bulldogs on September 30th, also at the Hap in a 4-1 win.
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The Kings continue their four game home stand on Sunday afternoon hosting the Coquitlam Express at 1:30 at the Hap Parker Arena.
