Powell River, BC – Derek Krall made 41-saves for his first career playoff shutout, and the Powell River Kings defeated the Cowichan Valley Capitals 3-0 in front of a crowd 860 on Tuesday night at the Hap Parker Arena.
The Kings get their first victory of the post-season, taking game three, as they now trail the Capitals 2-1. Krall’s playoff shutout was the first by a Kings goaltender in the post-season since Brian Wilson shutout the Victoria Grizzlies on March 23rd, 2017.
The Kings got multi-point games from Jack Long (1G/1A) and Michael Abgrall (1G/1A) and an opening goal by Devin Leduc for the Kings first playoff win since game six of the Island Division Finals last year.
Late in the first period, Brett Roloson poked the puck across the line for a 2-on-1 where Leduc fed Abgrall a pass, and his one-timer was stopped, but Leduc jammed home a rebound for his second this series. In the second, Abgrall snuck a harmless wrist-shot underneath the glove of Zach Brogiel and Jack Long popped a hard snap-shot into the top corner.
The final shots were 41-26 for Cowichan Valley, with the Kings going 0-for-7 on their power-play but 6-for-6 on the penalty kill. The Kings are now 9-for-9 on the penalty kill over the last two games of this series.
Devin Leduc and Ben Wozney both left the game in the second period with what looked like lower-body injuries. Jack Brackett and Jacob Slipec did not play in game three due to injuries, and Brett Pfoh and Nic Porchetta checked in.
The Powell River Kings have an opportunity to even up this series with the Caps’ tonight at 7:00 p.m., inside the Hap Parker Arena. Game five will be on Friday in Duncan, while if needed, game six will be played on Saturday in Powell River and game seven in Duncan on Monday.
