A pair of goals to Neal Samanski, and a late tally from Ben Berard to close the gap wasn’t enough as the Kings cut a rut to the penalty box en route to a 4-3 loss in game 2 of their Island Division Semi Final series on Saturday night in Nanaimo.
Much the same as game 1, the two teams played an entertaining opening period. However unlike Friday’s game 1, the Kings got on the board in the opening frame through Neal Samanski’s 2nd of the playoffs as he was on the receiving end of a smart pass from Carmine Buono at the left point who found Samanski skating down the slot and firing into the top corner for a 1-0 advantage. It stayed 1-0 through the first period with the Kings outshooting the Clippers 10-6.
The second period saw two tough breaks go against the Kings. First, a good stick from Carmine Buono denied the Clippers a setup offensively, however David Melaragni latched onto the loose puck to fire home his 1st of the playoffs for a 1-1 game. Then midway through the period on a Clipper powerplay, a shot from Melaragni at the point was partially blocked by the stick of Jack Long, only for it to trickle through to Jamie Collins at the side of the goal for a 2-1 Nanaimo advantage. The Clippers outshot the Kings 13-9 in the period with shots tied at 19 through 40.
Trips to the penalty box began to catch up with the Kings with Powell River shorthanded for almost a third of the game. The Kings though found themselves on a third period powerplay midway through the frame as Samanski again found the back of the net, this time tipping past an Andy Stevens point shot for Samanski’s third and a 2-2 game. However a pair of Nanaimo goals late in the period put the game beyond reach. Parker Colley scored with 4 minutes remaining, then 2 minutes later Tristan Crozier would score on a powerplay to give the Clippers a 4-2 lead.
Ben Berard scored with 30 seconds remaining as the Kings had a late powerplay and pulled the goaltender for the extra attacker but it wasn’t enough as the Clippers won game 2 by a 4-3 score. The win ties the series at 1, with the series now down to a best of five with the Kings hosting three of those games at the Hap Parker Arena.
Here’s what Brock Sawyer had to say following the game:
The Kings return home to Powell River for games 3 and 4 at the Hap Parker Arena, a 7:00pm start on both nights.
