For the second straight game in the BC Hockey League Island Division final, Victoria Grizzlies’ offence was stymied at almost every turn by Powell River Kings netminder Matteo Paler-Chow, allowing the Kings to take control of the series with a 3-2 win.
Powell River now heads back home to Hap Parker Arena for games three and four on Monday, March 19, and Tuesday, March 20, with a 2-0 series lead.
The Grizzlies again had the edge in shots, 41 to 32, and had some great scoring chances.
But while Grizzlies forwards were left looking to the heavens after being robbed by Paler-Chow, Kings’ snipers Carter Turnbull and Kyle Kawamura made no mistake when they were left alone in front of Grizzlies netminder Zack Rose.
“We’ve done some good things in these first two games and can take some positives out of them, but again some mental mistakes in our own end proved costly,” said Grizzlies captain Drayson Pears. “But, that being said, we know the position we’re in and know what we have to do to fix them, so we get ready for game three now.”
Powell River winger Hunter Findlater opened the scoring with just 24 seconds left in the first period when he was left all alone at the side of the net for an easy tap-in against the flow of play as the Grizzlies outshot the Kings 12-7 in the first 20 minutes.
Then it was Kawamura with plenty of time in the slot to wire one past Rose just 1:24 into the second period.
Josh Colbenz finished off a breakaway midway through the second period to give the Kings some much-needed breathing room.
The Grizzlies did break through late in the second when defenceman Carter Berger followed a shot and flipped it over Paler-Chow.
Then Cam Thompson brought The Q Centre to life in the final minute of the third with a short-handed goal. But Paler-Chow didn’t mind bending, he just wasn’t going to break.
The rookie is now 5-1 in the post-season, with a goals-against average around two.
“He’s a gamer and a battler and he’s been that way all year, and now he’s seeing results, so we couldn’t be happier for him,” said interim Kings coach Brock Sawyer of his netminder, who was the game’s first star for the second straight night.
The Kings have also smothered the Grizzlies’ power play, which was ranked number one in the regular season. The Grizzlies had just one opportunity on Saturday, but are now zero for seven in the series.
“Any time you give up six power plays to this team you’re taking a chance, so we wanted to come back and be more disciplined and we did a good job of that tonight,” said Sawyer. “We didn’t waver from our game plan, clogged up the neutral zone, and then got pucks on net and found ways to score.”
The Grizzlies, who are 2-4 on home ice in the playoffs, now hit the road having seen this movie before, going down 3-0 to Port Alberni in round one before rolling off four straight victories.
“We know what’s ahead of us,” said Pears. “We like playing in their rink, there’s always lots of energy so, hopefully, we can do the same thing they did to us.”
