A landmark evening for the Powell River Kings offence who took advantage of a goaltending and defensive nightmare game from the Victoria Grizzlies to rout the Island Division leaders 12-5 on Saturday night at the Q Centre.
Despite the final score, it was the Grizzlies to draw first blood after a competitive start to the game for both teams. NHL Draft prospect Alex Newhook took advantage of a miss cue in neutral ice to generate a 2-on-1 back the other way for the Grizzlies, Newhook keeps and fires past Adamyk for a 1-0 Victoria lead.
From there, Powell River turned on the offence and turned the game on its head. Less than a minute after Newhook’s goal, the Kings came right back through Rowan Miller’s first in the BCHL, teed up on a good pass from behind the net by affiliate Michael Abgrall. Less than a minute after that the Kings got the lead through Matt Fawcett who snapped it past goaltender Keenan Rancier from the left faceoff circle and a 2-1 lead. Three minutes later the Kings went to the powerplay and worked it low to high for Ryan Pouliot to find a lane to net, his 2nd of the season and a 3-1 Kings lead.
That stood until late in the period when the Kings scored three goals in the final 1:20 of the first period. Ryan Brushett got his 6th, followed quickly by Mitch Williams’ 6th and the eventual game winner via Ben Thomas’ 3rd of the season and the Grizzlies were left shellshocked, with Powell River up 6-1 through 20. Shots 13-10 Powell River as Keenan Rancier made way in net for former Kings affiliate goaltender Charles-Olivier LePage for the 2nd.
Unfortunately the change didn’t stop the flood of goals. Five minutes into the 2nd period Matt Fawcett added his 2nd of the game. Three minutes later, Neal Samanski got a shot on a rush that came off the glove of LePage and trickled over the goal line for his 3rd of the campaign and an 8-1 lead. Victoria’s Alex Newhook stopped a run of 8 straight Powell River markers with his 2nd of the game but the good feeling was shortlived. 44 seconds later Mitch Williams scored shorthanded to restore the advantage with Rowan Miller and Kyle Kawamura adding goals before the frame was out. The Kings scored 5 goals in the 2nd period on 11 shots and led 11-2 through 40.
By comparison, a more docile third with Ethan Schmunk opening the scoring with his 2nd goal in the BCHL, before Victoria would close the gap slightly through a trio of goals. Henri Schreifels, Carter Berger and Riley Hughes getting Victoria back within 7. Mitch Adamyk stopped 32 in net as the Kings ran away 12-5 winners.
The Kings move their record to 8-6 on the season. They are 4 back of the Grizzlies for 1st spot in the division with two games in hand. The Kings are also up by 4 on the 3rd place Clippers.
Here’s what Brock Sawyer had to say in the post game show:
Three Stars of the Game
- Matt Fawcett (Kings) – 2 goals, 1 assist
- Kyle Kawamura (Kings) – 1 goal, 1 assist
- Christian Buono (Kings) – 3 assists
The Kings wrap their road trip on Sunday afternoon in Nanaimo against the Clippers, a 2:00pm puck drop.
