Powell River won the royal battle between two Kings on Tuesday night at the Recreation Complex.
On a night when Canada was mourning the WJC gold medal loss to the Americans, Powell River put some smiles back on the faces of 547 fans with a 3-1 win over Prince George.
Patience was a virtue in this one and despite a two to one shot margin (51-24) PR kept turning up the pressure until they had the lead.
PG opened the scoring in the second period when the puck slithered through the legs of a screened Michael Garteig. The goal at just 0:18 seconds into the period caught everyone off guard but happily PR responded at 5:35 to tie 1-1.
In a crowded PG crease, Chad Niddery dug out the puck and drilled it home to even the score.
More heat from PR but no goals until 8:57 of the third period when Niddery got his second of the game.
He pounced on a rebound and moved quickly to his backhand and lifted the puck high into the PG net.
Having seized the lead, PR easily held off PG and after PG pulled their goalie for an extra attacker, Niddery had a couple of modest chances to get a hattrick.
The puck was in the PG end a lot and eventually Justin DaSilva found an opening and iced the game with PR's third goal.
The game's first star would have liked the hattrick but didn't want a cheapy.
“I've never had a hattrick in my career,” he smiled, “and the coach put me out when they pulled the goalie so I could maybe get her done but I turned and I didn't want to be selfish and shoot for the icing so I waited for the red line and by then the D-man was in my lane.”
“If he didn't glove it down it was going in and I almost beat him to the puck to pass it to Granter and I knew he would pass it back just for the hattrick but – aaaah, I don't want a hattrick on an open net anyway – I'll wait,” he said.
Michael Garteig was brilliant in the PR net and of the only goal to beat him said, “I just didn't see it – I think he shot it through my D-man's leg.”
“I didn't have too many shots,” he said, “but the shots I had I thought there were some quality saves.”
The Prince George native has now beaten the Spruce Kings twice and that record gives him a reason to smile.
“I'm 2-0 against PG which is unreal,” he grinned with satisfaction.
There's a healthy battle going on that has Kings' goalies Watson (GAA 2.24) and Garteig (GAA 2.42) tied in the win column with 12 apiece. Both have save percentages over 900 and both are very supportive of each others efforts. It's a nice situation for Kings' coaches who have assigned each goaltender his share of starts – about 20 each.
Armitage Mens Wear Three Stars:
1. Chad Niddery
2. Michael Garteig
3. Kyle Nielsen
