The Powell River Kings have taken a 3-0 series lead over the Cowichan Valley Capitals after a 5-0 win in game three at the Island Savings Centre Tuesday night.
Brain Wison was strong from start to finish as the veteran goalie picked up his first playoff shutout in the same building he got his first BCHL shutout in.
Five and a half minutes into the first period the Kings opened the scoring for the third straight game. Tristan Mullin took a pass from Kyle Betts and came down the left wing into the Capitals zone.
Mullin snapped a shot off the shoulder of Lane Michasiw that went up in the air, landed in the crease and rolled into the net for Mullin’s second of the playoffs.
A little over a minute later, a scary moment occurred when Betts was on the receiving end of a big open ice hit just outside the Kings zone from Rhett Kingston.
Betts was bloodied on the play, and the hit resulted in every other player on the ice gathering in front of the Cowichan bench to exchange words and punches.
Kingston was given a major blow to the head penalty, resulting in a five-minute power play for the Kings, though they weren’t able to make the Capitals pay and the score was 1-0 Kings heading into the second.
Early in the second frame the Kings scored a pair of goals just over a minute apart. First it was Gavin Rauser coming down the left wing and firing a perfect shot into the top corner over Michasiw’s glove.
Not long after, the Kings were given a power play and Cam Donaldson took a feed from Carmine Buono near the left-wing goal line before sliding it through Michasiw’s pads to make it 3-0 less than two minutes into the period.
In the third period Donaldson would find the back of the net again. The Capitals tried to whip the puck around the glass in their own zone, but it bounced off a stanchion and came right to Donaldson who walked in front of the net and fired a backhand past Michasiiw.
During the media timeout in the third the Capitals made a goaltending change and Adam Marcoux took over for Michasiw, who gave up four goals on 42 shots.
Powell River would add one more goal before the game was up. Off a face-off in the Kings end, a shot from Ben Verrall at the point missed the net and rung around the boards.
Josh Owings couldn’t hold it in at the right point and Rauser came into the Capitals end on a partial two-on-one with Curtis McCarrick. Rauser fed the puck to McCarrick on the right wing and he put him his second of the playoffs to make the final 5-0.
The Kings now have a chance to advance to the Island Division Final for the third consecutive year Wednesday night in game four.
