The Powell River Kings (29-16-1-0) were trailing 3-1 heading into the final period of Friday’s game in Salmon Arm, but used three power-play goals in the third to propel themselves to a 5-3 win over Salmon Arm (16-23-2-2).
The game got off on the wrong foot for the Kings; 54 seconds in they were trailing 1-0 when Trevor Ayre walked out from the goal line and fired a shot through the legs of Mitch Adamyk.
Exactly 10 minutes later, Max Wutzke scored his first career BCHL goal when he let a slap shot go from the high slot that beat Adamyk over the glove.
The period ended 2-0 Salmon Arm, despite the Kings outshooting the Silverbacks. Things didm’t get much better in the second as Josh Arnold and Kade Nagy came in on a two-on-one, and Arnold fed Nagy for his first BCHL goal to make it 3-0 5:10 in.
A lengthy delay ensued as one of the pieces of glass behind the Salmon Arm net had to be readjusted.
When play resumed, the Kings started to play a little better and would get on the board before the period was up.
Jack Long let a shot go from the blue line that hit the traffic in front. It was sitting free at the side of the goal and Tristan Mullin, playing in his 200th junior hockey game, was able to slide it in to cut the lead to 3-1 heading into the final; period.
The Kings came out like a new team in the third and controlled play for the majority of the final 20.
The lead was cut to 3-2 on the power play after Matt Cairns sent a perfect pass from the left-wing goal line to Carter Turnbull at the right circle. Turnbull rifled a wrist shot past Nic Tallarico to get the Kings within one.
Cairns wasn’t done there. Later in the period, and again on the power play, Cairns had the puck at the right point and fired it down low to Kyle Betts who tipped it past Tallarico to tie the game with 9:46 to go.
Three minutes later the Kings would take their first lead of the game. At the tail end of a penalty kill, Turnbull carried the puck down the left wing into the Salmon Arm end.
Once he got to the goal line, he looked up and realized he had two teammates off the bench heading to the front of the net. Turnbull slid the puck in front and Gavin Rauser quickly fired it into the open net to make it 4-3.
Mullin iced the game on the power play late as he wired a wrist shot past the blocker of Tallarico after walking off the right-wing wall for his second of the game with under two minutes to go.
The Kings finally got over the hump of winning seven, but not eight games in a row. They don’t have a ton of time to enjoy the victory as they’re right back in action Saturday night against the Vernon Vipers (23-14-4-3)
