Ties are the most popular holiday gift for men so maybe it’s appropriate that Powell River Kings picked up three on their last road trip before the holiday.
All three were of the come-from-behind variety with a 5-5 tie in Surrey against the Eagles on Friday, then a 3-2 overtime loss against Coquitlam Express on Saturday and finally a 2-2 final with Langley Rivermen, Sunday afternoon.
Kings have traditionally struggled with the games prior to the Christmas break but this year they played gritty hockey right to the end and richly deserved the three points.
They started off on the right foot Friday when Matt Dupont scored the only goal of the opening period at 17:29 at South Surrey Arena.
The one-goal lead and decisive 13-4 shot count was a good reflection of their dominance early but the second period was a complete turnaround.
Eagles scored five times while the Kings mustered just one goal from Jarryd Leung and Surrey led 5-2 after 40 minutes.
Starter Jonah Imoo was lifted after the third goal and Braeden Ostepchuk took over for the second half of the game.
His steady play kept the Eagles grounded until Kings’ Jordan Burns, Evan Richardson and Luke Nogard each scored to tie the game 5-5 at the end of regulation.
Surrey showed their displeasure at the Kings’ comeback by dominating the overtime and outshooting the Kings 10-1, but they couldn’t beat Ostepchuk in either of the two five-minute periods.
Kings were guilty of an extremely inconsistent effort, but full credit to them for fighting back from a large deficit in the third period for the tie.
On to Coquitlam the next night and this time Kings dug themselves a 2-0 hole early in the game.
Two Coquitlam powerplay goals in the first seven minutes wasn’t exactly the way the Kings’ coaches drew it up, but once again players responded to the challenge.
Dupont closed the gap to 2-1 in the first period when he scored at 15:50 and then after a scoreless second period Matt Scarth evened it 2-2 on the Kings’ powerplay at 1:15 of the final period.
Kings heavily outshot the Express in regulation 34-23, but Coquitlam’s very first shot in overtime eluded starter Ostepchuk and Powell River suffered its fourth overtime loss of the year.
One more quick stop on Sunday afternoon had the Kings in Langley where both teams played their third game in three days.
Langley opened the scoring at 17:34 of the first period, but Kings’ Luke Ripley scored a buzzer beater at 19:59 on a shot from the point to tie 1-1 after one.
There was no further scoring in the game until 16:02 of the third period when Langley added their second goal. The Kings, as they had all weekend, had an answer.
The powerplay has been their saviour of late and on it Nogard drove the net to send the game into overtime at 18:22.
Both sides had good chances to win but Kings’ goalie Imoo was outstanding as he robbed several Rivermen in the extra 10 minutes and the 2-2 tie stood.
Kings head into the break tied for third in the division with Nanaimo Clippers. They have played 34 games in the 56-game schedule and will return on Saturday, December 29 to play at home against Alberni Valley Bulldogs on a very special night.
In addition to the action on the ice, between the second and third periods the draws will be made to determine the lucky winners of the Kings’ Dream Lottery and the huge 50/50.
TEAM GP W L T OTL PTS
Victoria 32 22 8 0 2 46
Alberni Valley 33 16 11 1 5 38
Nanaimo 31 16 13 0 2 34
Powell River 34 14 14 2 4 34
Cowichan Valley 28 7 19 0 2 16
