The Powell River Kings are through to the second round and will face the Victoria Grizzlies for the third straight year in the Island Final following a clinical performance from the Kings en route to a 5-1 win in game 5 and a 4-1 series victory.
With six of Nanaimo’s nine goals in the series entering game 5 coming in the first period, a huge key to the game was the Kings ability to control from the drop of the puck. Any questions about Powell River’s ability or drive to end the series were answered early as the Kings got out to an early 2-0 lead. First, Neal Samanski buried on a chance in front following a good forecheck from Matthew Byrne and Mitch Williams to make it 1-0. Then less than 5 minutes in, the Kings doubled the lead as Ben Thomas cut to the low slot and got a puck to roll over the shoulder of surprise starter Landon Pavlisin for his first of the playoffs and a 2-0 lead.
The Kings held that lead through 20 minutes, outshooting Nanaimo 23-6 in the frame. The 23 shots on goal is the second most shots in a period for the Kings this season, second only to the 24 that the Kings put on the Clippers in the 3rd game of the regular season in September.
Nanaimo came out better to start the second and went to an early powerplay with Josh Bourne cashing in to cut the lead, but as was the case all series, the Kings had the answer. 1:28 after Bourne’s tally, the Kings restore a 2-goal lead via Levi Glasman finishing a pretty passing play between Josh Coblenz and Ben Thomas for his 6th of the playoffs. 1:41 after that the Kings extended their advantage through Mitch Williams, then rounded out the scoring at 13:08 through Williams again for a 5-1 advantage, putting the game well beyond the reach of the Clippers.
The third period was marred by penalties kick-started from a non-call late in the second on a blindside hit from Ethan Scardina on Ethan Kimball in open ice. A parade to the penalty box for both teams as referees called four sets of coincidental minors in an effort to keep a lid on tensions. Ultimately the Kings closed the series in cruise control, sailing to a 5-1 win and a 4-1 series victory.
Mitch Adamyk stopped 25 of 26 in net for his 3rd victory of the playoffs.
Here’s what Brock Sawyer had to say in the post game show:
The Kings now move onto the second round for the 6th straight season, and are set to face the Victoria Grizzlies for the third year in a row in an Island Final, and the 6th time in the last 7 years overall. The Kings are 2-3 in the previous five playoff matchups. In the regular season, the Kings defeated the Grizzlies 6-2, outscoring them 44-26, outshooting 288-263 while going 25.7% on the powerplay and 82.8% on the penalty kill. The series was punctuated by three big wins including a 12-5 result in October, an 8-3 win in February and a 5-3 victory on opening night where the Kings rallied from a 3-0 deficit late in the second period.
Games 1 and 2 will be in Victoria the weekend of March 15-17, with games 3 and 4 coming to Powell River Tuesday March 19th and Wednesday March 20th, both 7:00pm starts. A full schedule will be released early next week.
