The Powell River Kings winning streak was halted at seven games after a 4-2 loss to the Nanaimo Clippers at the Frank Crane Arena Saturday night.
The first big chance of the game went to the Clippers as Spencer Hewson had a breakaway from the blue line in. He tried to deke Brian Wilson, but the Kings goaltender stood his ground and made a good right pad save to keep the game scoreless.
The Kings opened the scoring later in the period as Liam Lawson found the back of the net when he took a nice pass from behind the net off the stick of Gavin Rauser. Lawson roofed the puck over Evan DeBrouwer to make it 1-0 Kings after 20 minutes.
The Clippers tied the game a few minutes into the second. Jamie Collins had speed coming down the right wing, and threw a centring pass to the net for Tristan Crozier to one time his sixth of the season.
Midway through the period the Clippers would take the lead for the first time. Kings defenceman Callum Volpe took a hard hit in the far corner in his own zone and was slow to get to his feet. The Clippers took advantage, as after regaining the puck in the neutral zone, they came in on a 2-on-0 and Lucas Finner finished off the play to make it 2-1 Nanaimo.
Once again the Kings would strike late in the period, and one again it was Liam Lawson. A great individual effort Saw Lawson control the puck along the left wing boards, elude pressure and find a lane to the slot. Lawson walked to the middle and fired a shot off the post and in, tying the game at two with 3:45 left.
A back and forth third period saw good chances for both teams, including a breakaway for Cam Donaldson and a shot off the post from Tristan Mullin.
The Clippers took advantage of their power play opportunities however, and halfway through the period Jake Harries tapped home a rebound on the doorstep to give his team a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Nanaimo added a late power play goal by Hewson to round out the scoring and make the final 4-2.
The loss ended a seven-game streak for the Kings, who look to start a new streak Sunday afternoon against the Cowichan Valley Capitals. It’s the second meeting of the season against Cowichan, the only other was a 5-2 Capitals win September 10.
