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Capitals clinch series with an overtime win

Duncan, BC – Luc Wilson’s overtime goal gave the Cowichan Valley Capitals a 2-1 win, and a 4-1 series victory, as they defeated the Powell River Kings in five games in front of a crowd of 1,477 on Friday night at the Cowichan Community Centre.

With 37-seconds left in the third and the net empty for the Capitals, Matthew Crasa walked into the slot and ripped a hard wrist-shot into the top right corner to force overtime. Seconds prior to that goal, Davis Pennington fired a shot towards the open net from center, but it was blocked by Dimitri Mikrogiannakis. 

Wilson later stepped around two Kings defenders in the mid-slot where his initial shot was blocked, but the second was not, as his first of the playoffs punched a ticket to the Island Division Finals, where they’ll take on the Nanaimo Clippers. The Capitals defeat the Kings in a series for the first time since 2006-07, while also moving onto the next for the second straight season. The Kings are eliminated in the first round for the first time since 2013-14.

Ethan Schmunk opened the scoring with his third of the series early in the first, banging home a rebound in front after Levi Glasman’s initial shot was stopped. The Kings were outshooting the Capitals 30-16 after two periods of play, but were outshot 12-2 in the third and 6-1 in overtime, leading a Cowichan Valley comeback.

Derek Krall was solid in net, making 32-saves on 34-shots including five big saves in overtime to keep the Kings in it. After giving up 11-goals in the first two games of the series, Krall settled in nicely in games 3, 4 and 5 posting 1.20 GAA and .961 SV% with one shutout in the final three games of the series.

For the Capitals, Zach Borgiel effective once again, allowing just one goal on 34-shots in their series clinching win. Borgiel went 4-1 with a 2.62 GAA / .925 SV% during the series. The Capitals also got multi-point efforts from Mikrogiannakis (2A), Wilson (1G/1A) and Crasa (1G/1A).

Throughout the series, the Kings scored first in all but one game (Game 2), and outshot the Capitals 187-to-167. All but two games were decided late in the game, as the Kings were unable to hold the lead in games 1, 4, and 5.

Kings captain Jack Long played his 281st game (playoffs + regular season), which caps off his five year career with the Kings. The local product scored a goal and tallied four assists for five points in five games this post-season. Derek Krall and Levi Glasman also played their final BCHL game, while Devin Leduc played his final game on Tuesday as he suffered a lower-body injury, and was unavailable in games 4 and 5.

The 2019-20 season comes to a close. A big thank you to all our fans, sponsors and volunteers for your support this season. Until next year, thank you.