Victoria, BC – The Powell River Kings (7-6) dropped their third straight game with a 7-2 loss to the Victoria Grizzlies (4-7) on Sunday afternoon at the Q Centre.
The Kings finish their nine game road trip 3-6, while the Grizzlies break their five game losing-streak, scoring a season-high seven goals.
Henri Schreifels and Marty Westhaver each tallied a goal and two assists, while Chase MacInnis scored twice in the Grizzlies win.
Matteo Paler-Chow was pulled 35-seconds into the second period after he allowed four goals on nine shots. Eric Clark made his first BCHL appearance, and stopped 18 of 21 in relief.
“He’s a 20-year-old and you’d hope he’d step up and give us a chance to win,” said Powell River Kings assistant coach Brock Sawyer. “He was deep in his net for the first three, so it was a tough one for him.”
The Grizzlies went 3-for-4 on their power-play, with two of the three coming early in the first period. Chase McInnis opened the scoring, as he fired the puck off the bar and into the goal. Then, Nico Somerville beat Paler-Chow with a one-timer from the high slot to give Victoria a 2-0 lead.
“We were dominating the game until we took some penalties, said Sawyer. “Their goalie kept them in it, as the shots were 19-7 after one period. It’s been a long haul, so we need to get home and reset.”
Joe Howe was named first star, as he made 41-saves on 43-shots for his fourth win this season.
Reilly Moran scored his fifth of the year, and Levi Glasman snapped his seven game goalless streak, scoring off a hard slap shot from the left circle.
“It’s been a tough stretch where he couldn’t buy a goal. Hopefully that’s what he needs to get back in the grove of scoring goal,” said Sawyer on Glasman snapping his goalless streak. “Give Jack Long credit, too. He made the pass from our blue line on a bad line change, so it was a nice play all around.”
The Kings will have four days to prepare for their matchup against the undefeated Penticton Vees on Friday. Puck drop begins at 7:00 p.m., inside the Hap Parker Arena.
