The Powell River Kings (28-16-1-0) had a great opportunity to cut into the Victoria Grizzlies (27-10-3-4) lead in the Island Division this past weekend, and they did just that by sweeping both games.
Sunday the Kings got off on the right foot in a hurry, just nine seconds in Jonny Evans intercepted a D to D pass and ripped a shot over the blocker of Tony Rehm.
Victoria would tie the game a little more than six minutes later as Lucas Clark took a shot from the left wing on a three-on-two rush. Brian Wilson thought he had the puck covered, but it snuck through and was sitting in the crease for Clark to poke it in.
Before the period was up, Liam Lawson would score for the first time in 13 games. Jake Kohlhauser threw the puck at the net from the left point, and Lawson redirected it perfectly into the top corner to make it 2-1 heading into the second.
Kyle Betts scored the only goal of the second period, when a lose puck found its way to his stick. Rehm was out of position after trying to stop a previous shot, and Betts fired the puck into an open net to make it 3-1.
The Grizzlies wouldn’t go away however, and in the third Jamie Rome and Nathan Looysen scored just 1:19 apart to tie the game at three. Luckily for the Kings, they were given a power play opportunity just 12 seconds after the tying goal.
Evans would spot Tristan Mullin alone in the slot and Mullin ripped the one timer past Rehm to restore the Kings lead. Much like the previous game, the score would stay close until the final minute of play.
With Victoria’s net empty, Betts muscled his way out of his own zone and found himself on a breakaway on the empty net, firing it home with three seconds left.
The win moved the Kings to within four points of first place in the Island Division. This is the third seven-game winning streak the Kings have been on this season, and they’ll try and extend it to eight when they head to Salmon Arm on Friday.
