It wasn't exactly the way the Kings had it drawn up but to survive a scare from the cellar dweller in the Coastal Conference, they'll take it.
Kings looked to be off to a great start after Schuler drilled a shot into the top corner at 6:01 and then Adair took a great finesse pass from Forbes while shorthanded and deked to make it 2-0 at 7:28.
Kings were cruising for the next 10 minutes before the Caps popped in a couple of goal in a minute to make it 2-2 after one period.
Probably a movitivational speech from the coach got their motors running again and Chad Niddery responded with two quick ones to make it 4-2 after 3:31 forcing Purinton pulled his starting goaltender.
Niddery had a chance to make it three in a row when Trent Knorr called a penalty shot but he couldn't quite shove the puck by Chase Martin who stood his ground.
Despite suffering their second two goal deficit in two periods the Caps wouldn't go away and they not only tied the score before the sixth minute they went ahead on a powerplay goal by Matt Ridley to lead 5-4 after two periods.
Cowichan gave themselves some breathing room when they scored at 6:05 on a great rush by Matt Cassidy and from there the Kings pressed hard but couldn't find the handle or a way to beat Martin.
Finally, under relentless pressure and a mad scramble in front of the Caps net Mike Sones dove into the pile and scored to make it 6-5.
With the large crowd urging them on King pulled Garteig for an extra attacker with a minute to go and had a couple of good chances to even the score but had to wait until 19:24 to do it.
That's when Matt Garbowsky got to a rebound and with Martin down and out, drilled in the tying goal.
After that it looked as though the Caps were out of gas and the Kings were still reving their engines as they dominated the first overtime period.
Forbes had a chance, Waugh had a chance and Garbowsky was just wide on his.
Nothing was solved in the first overtime and to start the second five minutes Justin Dasilva got a partial breakaway with Matheson in hot pursuit. Call it a dead heat from the two tired big guys as Dasilva did manage to get a backhand away but his shot went wide.
The next chance came from Garbowsky and Niddery when the two broke in on the lone defender, Jordan Grant. Niddery dropped a pass to Garbowsky who waited for his partner to set the screen and then let a shot rip that went bar-down for one of the most beautiful overtime goals you'll ever see.
Kings and the fans were pretty darn happy about this one but more for the score than the way they won it. Losing a two goal lead twice isn't pretty for the best defensive team in the league and Chad Niddery commented on that after the game.
“We pride ourselves on goals against and tonight wasn't a good night for that.”
“A wins a win,” he said, “but a lot of mistakes were made.”
He worked hard all night and would have been rewarded with a hattrick if he could have capitalized on his penalty shot.
Finally there was the hint of a smile as he recalled, “once you touch the puck I just black out, put my head down and it's tunnel vision from there and I hope that it goes in.”
“I had my head down most of the way and I should have brought it up to see if I could shoot but I went for the deke and it didn't turn out for the best.”
He logged a lot of ice time after that and finally all the hard work paid off late in the game.
The team was very aware of the large crowd for the game and Niddery said, “it was exciting for the crowd and I'm happy they got to see overtime and it turned out good.”
It certainly did and the crowd was still buzzing as the Ron Armitage Three Stars were announced.
1. Chad Niddery
2. Matt Garbowsky
3. Matt Ridley
The Kings will have to fight for the headline in their next game as the winner of the Massullo Motors Equinox is announced between the 2nd and 3rd period.
Winners of the Dining Room table and chairs donated by Rick Hopper, Country Woodworkers, $2500.00 in cash and a load of uncut firewood will also go to lucky winners during the draw.
Don't miss it and bring your friends to Kings versus Victoria on Sunday at 1:30 P.M.
