There will be no backing into the playoffs for Powell River Kings. They worked extremely hard and earned their spot with a 4-3 overtime loss in Cowichan against the Capitals on Tuesday to grab one point and then battled back to beat Nanaimo Clippers 3-2 in overtime Wednesday night.
They returned home for a day off then got the job done in a pair of games against the Capitals, winning both 8-2 and 6-4.
Cowichan Valley Capitals dug themselves a hole by winning just three of 16 games in the first two months of the season and now their playoff lives are hanging by a thread.
Saturday night, they scored first but the Kings stormed back on goals from Kurt Keats, Jarid Lukosevicius and JJ Coleshaw to lead 3-1 late in the second period.
The teams exchanged goals before the end of the period and Cowichan did create some excitement with a couple of goals, the first one shorthanded, to tie 4-4 but Adam Tracey finished off the Caps with the winner and insurance goal to win 6-4.
The Kings’ sweep of the Capitals was a sweet reward for playing hard during a tough four games in a five-day week.
Tuesday against the Capitals in Duncan, Kings’ lineup included six affiliate player call-ups to capably fill the holes caused by injury and illness.
They totally dominated the Caps in the first period and got goals from Nick Halagian and Jacob Pritchard to lead 2-0 after the first period but the Capitals gradually crept back in through the next two periods to tie 3-3 after regulation.
Kings managed to kill a minor penalty in the first overtime period but eventually lost 4-3 at 1:12 of the second overtime.
They went into Nanaimo Wednesday with Tuesday’s chip on their shoulder and played one of their best 60-minute games of the year.
Pritchard and Jonny Evans traded spectacular solo effort goals with the Clippers through three periods to send the Kings into overtime for the second night in a row tied 2-2.
This time, after a scoreless first overtime, it was the Kings who prevailed when Coleshaw skated around the Clippers’ net and into the slot where he let go a wrist shot.
It was blocked by the goaltender but the rebound came to Pritchard who buried the winner into a gaping net to win 3-2.
Three out of four points was not too shabby for a team with a depleted roster but they only got stronger heading into the third and fourth games of the week.
Friday night was all Kings when they jumped out to a 4-0 lead and went on to throttle the Capitals 8-2.
Seven Kings registered goals including Pritchard with two and Keats, Lukosevicius, Curtis McCarrick, Evans, Tracey and Coleshaw adding singles.
Brett Magnus, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Vancouver Island, also picked up his 21st win of the year and all through the week he was very good for the Kings.
Tracey, who added to his fan base immensely with two Tim Hortons’ goals on the weekend, got the first one on a deflection.
“[Nick] Nonis got a little flutter puck there,” he said, “like [Jordan] Burns used to do it all the time and I think it caught a little piece of me and squeaked through his five hole. Getting pucks to the net was really big for us tonight and it paid off.”
Other keys to their success, Tracey said, included getting “their defencemen pretty well, putting the body on early and setting the tempo for the rest of the game where they just couldn’t keep up with us.”
Certainly head coach and general manager Kent Lewis was happy with their success in a tough week.
“We’ve gone through a month with a lot of people out of the lineup,” he said, “but we’ve added to the depth of our call-ups and the guys are just getting down to playing good hockey. It’s also got to be a fun thing, but you’re not having fun if you’re not getting two points.”
Kings get some of their injured players back this week and they will need them to host three different divisional opponents.
At 7:15 pm on Friday, February 6, they host Langley Rivermen then Penticton Vees at 7:15 pm Saturday, February 7, and a free game against Nanaimo at 2 pm on Monday, February 9, Family Day, all at Hap Parker Arena.
DIVISION: Island Division
TEAM GP W L T OTL PTS
Nanaimo 48 33 12 0 3 69
Powell River 50 25 16 0 9 59
Victoria 47 21 16 1 9 52
Alberni Valley 46 22 19 2 3 49
Cowichan Valley 50 18 28 2 2 40
